Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Best Of January 2020 Review

January releases got broken up into two blog articles.

Part 1 is here.

Part 2 is here.

Single song releases from Free Spirits Rising, The Night Flight Orchestra, The Hu, CrashCarBurn, Archon Angel, Shakra, Apocalyptica and Mustach got my attention.

Those Damn Crows a band from Wales, with a singer who sounds like Brent Smith, dropped a song called “Never Win” from their “Point Of No Return” album.

A solemn piano riff kicks off the song and I was interested and when the vocal melody started, I pressed like.

If I worked to the bone, pay for all we own, would you let me in?

Sometimes the expectations of others is a chain around the neck. How can we measure up when the rules are made up every day and are constantly changing?

There’s no more I can do, I have proved to you, I will never win…

How much people are prepared to compromise determines how the relationship goes?

I know we were far from perfect but I fought so hard for you

I’ve had friends who told me they never argued, until they did and separated.

And a few albums got my attention.

Saint Asonia – Flawed Design

The personnel in this band have platinum awards on their walls as previous members of “Staind” and “Three Days Grace”.

In case you are not aware, Adam Gontier from Three Days Grace is on vocals and Mike Mushok from Staind is on guitars. And this time around, they have some heavy duty guest vocalists.

“Sirens” features Sharon Den Adel from Within Temptation. “The Hunted” which features Sully Erna from Godsmack on vocals.

Rodrigo Y Gabriela – Mettal EP

I love this EP and the work these two do.

They cover “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due” from Megadeth, “Battery” from Metallica and “Season In The Abyss” from Slayer in their unique hybrid style of flamenco and classical and pop acoustic guitar playing.

How can you not like it?

Especially the way Gabriela percussively lays down a rhythmic foundation and flamenco’s her way through it all. The true star of this duo.

The Ragged Saints – Sonic Playground Revisited

I’ve been a fan of this band from Melbourne, Australia, since their 2013 album called “The Sound Of Breaking Free” entered my life via a cyberlocker site that specialised in melodic rock titles.

Yes I obtained it illegally and became a fan via illegal means.

“Absence Of Light” really stood out, with it’s Rainbow/Malmsteen (Odyssey) era feel along with “Turning Cold” which has this Aussie pop rock sound crossed with Euro melodic rock.

Mark Morton – Ether

Mark Morton is really showcasing his diversity. He is so much more than just the guitarist in Lamb Of God.

“All I Had To Lose” and “Black” (Pearl Jam cover) feature Mark Morales on vocals, “Love My Enemy” features Howard Jones, “The Fight” features John Carbone on vocals and “She Talks To Angels” features Lzzy Hale.

Dirty Shirley

How many more projects can George Lynch be involved in?

“I Disappear” is heavy foot stomper, “The Dying” sounds like it came from George Lynch’s “Sacred Groove” album and “Siren Song” sounds like a “Tooth N Nail” cut with just a mild distorted sound.

And its cool how the Frontiers label is getting people from different countries but with similar tastes, to write and create.

Dino Jelusick is one hell of a vocalist and from Croatia. There are YouTube videos of him doing “The Last Time”, a Badlands cover and his band “Animal Drive” released a covers EP of some hard rock gems along with a full length album.

And the jury is out if these little projects from Frontiers are actually working or just a copyright grab from Frontiers to secure as many copyrights as it can, so they have a better negotiating position when it comes to streaming deals.

But like Revolution Saints, I would like to see Dirty Shirley get a few more chances to record albums on Frontiers.

British Lion – Last Chance

Do we listen to British Lion to hear Steve Harris recreate Iron Maiden or do we listen to this to hear Steve Harris do something different?

“Last Chance” is a good track. It starts off with an apreggiated riff which reminds me of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. At 55 seconds the song kicks in and Steve’s bass is rolling along.

How good is that lick from the 1.15 mark?

The verse riff is brilliant.

And the vocals are an acquired taste. If you listen to this and expect Dickinson style vocals, then don’t bother.

The album that reigned supreme for January is

Storm Force – “Age of Fear”

This album surprised me and made me press like on a lot of songs and thanks to the Thunder Bay blog for sharing their music with us.

Opening track “Because Of You” has the symphonic keys for about 50 seconds before it goes into a “Won’t Get Fooled Again” style riff from The Who and once the verses kick in, I felt like I was listening to a seventies act.

“I heard on the news today, it’s all about to change, but I think well be okay”

The human spirit sees hope in all situations, because our DNA coding is to survive and we find that strength in ourselves and because of others.

“Age Of Fear” is a foot stomper of a title track with Scorpions like harmonies in the intro.

“It’s the age of fear, where you spread your made up stories”

It’s a sign of the times when everyone surrounds themselves in their own echo chambers and the people in power are trying to influence others by spreading fake stories.

“Breathe – Words” starts off ominous and the opening lyric sets the tone of depression.

“You’ve got nothing to live for, nothing to wish for, nothing to hold on”

There is always something to live for, something to wish for and something to hold on to. Resilience and survival go hand in hand.

“Breathe with me, just let it all go”

That’s all we want in life, someone to talk to and breathe with.

“Breathe with me, just take control”

Take control, let the past die and embrace the day, for you have everything to live for.

“Ride Like Hell” makes me want to jump in the car and speed 55.

And all of the other tracks are worthy, so invest some time and check it out.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

The Record Vault – Cold

On Geffen Records.

“13 Ways To Bleed On Stage” is the album in which their spider logo made its first appearance.

It was a bargain bin purchase in Australia even though it was a Gold selling album in the U.S.

I really liked the Staind/Bush vibe of the album.

Scooter Ward on vocals sounded a lot like em but I didn’t care.

“No One”, “End Of The World” and “Confession” stood out right away. Modern rock songs.

“It’s All Good” has a vocal melody in the verses which is catchy.

“Bleed” has an acoustic arpeggio riff that reminds me of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. As the album closer it is my favourite.

So I went down a rabbit hole listening to their catalogue on Spotify.

On a side note, guitarist Terry Balsamo would depart after the 2003 follow up “Year Of The Spider” to fill the vacant guitarist spot left by Ben Moody in Evanescence.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

The Record Vault – Crowded House

Neil Finn joined his brother’s Tim band Spilt Enz in the late 70s and they had success up until 84 when Split Enz broke up and Crowded House began, formed by Neil Finn and Paul Hester who at that point in time was the most recent appointed drummer in Split Enz.

This box set is unique because all the albums are released on CD but packaged as miniature LP’s.

Crowded House

The debut album.

It broke through in the US and UK markets and of course went to number 1 in Australia.

In relation to sales, it went 6x Platinum in Australia, 5x Platinum in New Zealand and Canada and Platinum in the U.S.

Not bad for an album that didn’t have any promotion from Capitol.

And the monster smash single of “Don’t Dream Its Over”. It’s getting close to 237 million streams on Spotify.

Temple Of Low Men

Capitol Records wanted to capitalize on the success of the debut and they put the band in the studio to record a new album, which again they failed to promote but then jumped on board once “Better Be Home Soon” started selling and connecting with audiences.

On Spotify “Better Be Home Soon” it’s also the star of the album, with streams of 35.8 million. “Into Temptation” is another great song.

Woodface

Neil Finn started writing with his brother Tim for a different project. And they put these songs on hold when Neil started writing with his Crowded House band members for a new album.

But, Capitol rejected these Neil Finn penned songs as the label wanted Crowded House to use the songs that the Finn brothers wrote.

It’s a great album but commercially it didn’t translate to sales like the previous albums but it’s something that streams and streaming services have been correcting.

“Weather with You” at 82+ million streams is the star, “Fall At Your Feet” has 31.7 million streams and “It’s Only Natural” is at 16.1 million streams.

And the reason why this album was ignored in the U.S but loved around the world is “Chocolate Cake”.

“Chocolate Cake” was the first single off the album, even though the label and their management objected to it being released. It’s also the opening track on the album.

The song is a tongue and cheek attack on U.S culture and American radio program directors got upset over it and never put it into rotation.

Check out why.

I saw Elvis Presley walk out of a Seven Eleven
And a woman gave birth to a baby and then bowled .257
The excess of fat on your American bones
Will cushion the impact as you sink like a stone

Can I have another piece of chocolate cake
Tammy Baker’s got a lot on her plate
Can I buy another cheap Picasso fake
Andy Warhol must be laughing in his grave

Pretty tame compared to today’s standards.

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A to Z of Making It, Copyright, Music, My Stories

Selling Your Songs And Creative Copyright To Get Around Laws

Richie Sambora sold his 200 song catalog to an investment fund called Hipgnosis Songs for a large undisclosed sum. Hipgnosis was founded by a former manager called Merck Mercuriadis, who has spent over $1 billion on catalogs over the past 4 years.

So did Bob Dylan for $300 million and Stevie Nicks sold 80% of her stake for $100 million. Desmond Child sold his share in his songs a long time ago and regrets it.

All of this activity is because of streaming.

Spotify is the great paradigm shift.

Streaming scales and it pays for the big songs. The publishing companies and investment funds are not stupid. The return on their purchases of catalogues can now be quantified because of the data available. It’s not hidden and shrouded in record label secrecy anymore.

Desmond Child mentioned in the linked article how in 2017, the publishing company that purchased his songs in the mid 90s made up that huge purchase price x 20.

And since Copyright terms last forever, these purchases are guaranteed to keep bringing monies into the companies for the life of the creator plus 70 years after death.

And Copyright law is designed for songs to fall into the public domain but artists and labels are finding different ways to circumvent these laws.

Like Bob Dylan.

His label released a collection of songs/jams with George Harrison in Europe. This release was in response to a European law which states that recordings will enter the public domain if they aren’t officially released by the copyright holder 50 years after their creation.

Since 2012, the Dylan team have been avoiding copyright laws by releasing albums in limited runs to avoid these songs from the entering the public domain.

I guess it’s not a bad time to be a musician with a huge catalogue of songs and a popular one at that.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, Unsung Heroes

Thunder Bay Down Under Summertime Spin Series – Kings Of The Sun

Here is the usual prologue.

My blogger pal Deke over at Thunder Bay had a cool Northern Hemisphere Summertime Series between July and August. Each week, he wrote about albums he spun during the summer.

Well, the real Earth summer is between December, January and February in the Southern Hemisphere. So the good act that Thunder Bay is, boarded a Qantas plane, landed in Sydney, survived 14 days quarantine in a Sydney hotel and is finally here to present the “Thunder Bay Down Under Summertime Series”.

And all the acts will be Australian acts.

What do ya get when you cross AC/DC, first three albums Def Leppard, The Rolling Stones, The Angels, Rose Tattoo, John Cougar Mellencamp, The Cult and Georgia Satellites.

Well you get “Kings Of the Sun”, an Australian hard rock band formed by brothers Jeffrey Hoad and Clifford Hoad in Sydney in 1986.

The band got a deal with RCA Records.

In 1988 the band released their self-titled debut album “Kings of the Sun”, which was produced by Eddie Kramer and mixed by Dave Thoener.

The album kicks off with “Serpentine” which has that slide guitar blues riff that Cinderella used to kick off “The More Things Change” on their “Heartbreak Station” album a few years later. “Get On Up” sounds like a John Cougar Mellencamp cut. “Black Leather” has a bridge part which is catchy.

“Tom Boy” is a cross between AC/DC and Def Leppard.

“Hot To Trot” has an open string pull off riff that reminds me of Van Halen’s and Angus Young’s love child.

“Jealous” has a foot stomping riff.

“Bottom Of My Heart” feels like a Hanoi Rocks cut as it has that cross between 70’s pop and hard rock that Hanoi Rocks brought to the table. “Cry 4 Love” is a blues stomp ballad. “Medicine Man” has a more aggressive “When The Levee Breaks” riff and a memorable vocal melody.

The album closes with “Bad Love” (which has this funky blues riff in the verses that makes me pick up the guitar) and “Wildcat”

They opened for Guns N’ Roses in 1988 and got themselves kicked off the tour.

How bad can you be to get kicked off a Gunners tour?

Singer Jeffrey Hoad dropped his pants in front of the audience and bad-mouthed Guns N’ Roses in the process.

But context is an important thing, so according to the good ole Hoad brothers, what they meant was “for the Australian press at the time, to stop making a fuss over the newest act in GNR and remember that bands like Rose Tattoo who actually influenced them, still exist”. Well that didn’t fly either and by then the Australian audiences had been taken under the GNR spell and started to turn away from the band.

I don’t let artists views affect my listening experience. For me to drop an artist, they would have to do something criminal and against my moral code.

Kings Of The Sun did rule for a few years, because they’re very good at delivering their brand of hard rock.

Open a beer and crank it.

And if you want to go down the rabbit hole with these guys, then check out the excellent follow up in “Full Frontal Attack”, released in 1990, and the powerhouse drumming from Clifford Hoad.

It’s on YouTube, not on Spotify, with stand-out tracks like “Lock Me Up”, “Drop The Gun”, “There Is Danger”, “Vampire” and “Full Frontal Attack”.

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Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

2020 On Spotify

It’s no surprise that the decade I listened to most on Spotify was the 80s. And “Stormwind” from Europe is my most listened to track from that decade.

I also didn’t mind Podcasts this time around.

Bob Lefsetz had some great guests on his show that had some involvement in my favourite decade like Bob Rock, Bob Ezrin, Derek Schulman, Joe Bonamassa, Lawrence Lessig and Desmond Child.

There is a Tom Werman interview that just came a few days ago which I will be checking out because a lot of artists like Nikki Sixx and Dee Snider had their say on their time with Werman but Werman has remained quiet.

My top song for the year was “Moon Of Forever” from an Australian act called Free Spirits Rising. I didn’t know it but I played it 835 times.

Actually my top 5 listened songs on Spotify came from Free Spirits Rising.

I discovered 278 new genres this year

But the main ones are;

And I discovered 289 new artists.

These new 289 artists found their way into a list of 943 artists, I listened to throughout the year.

This is the problem that every artist right now is up against. Too much supply and the history of music at our fingertips.

When I was purchasing music heavily and listening to music at home, I would probably have less than 10 new artists come into my life and no more than 50 artists throughout the year that I would listen too.

The top 5 of these artists are made up of;

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

November 2020 – Part 8

This will be the final post for November 2020 releases.

To put into context the volume of November releases that I had in my Spotify playlist, it came to 44 hours of music for the month.

All covered in 8 posts.

The most I have done for any month.

LA Guns

I liked the first two albums, and purchased a few more here and there after that. I was aware they had returned, at first in two different versions and now as just one version. While the previous album didn’t get me interested, “Renegades” does.

Listen to the riffs in “Crawl” and you will be pressing like and save. “Why Ask Why” is a cross between punk rock and hard rock. “Lost Boys” is essential listening. “You Can’t Walk Away” is a ballad, a cross between Southern Rock and The Beatles. The title track “Renegades” sounds like a Billy Idol cut with Steve Stevens.

The Night Flight Orchestra

“Paper Moon” is another single release from my favourite retro sounding rockers in the modern age.

And it’s perfect.

Kill The Lights

A smashing cover of “Battery” from Metallica. Press play and enjoy.

Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons

This is a good blues rock album with a mix of modern metal and rock chucked in. Check out songs like “We’re The Bastards” with its “For Those About To Rock” interlude and “Son Of A Gun” with its fast rockabilly metal feel.

“Promises are Poison” boogies its way into my brain and the vocal melody is reminiscent to Gavin Rossdale from Bush.

Firstborne

Chris Adler is a fantastic drummer and one of the best in the metal genre. His work with Lamb Of God, Megadeth and Protest The Hero is a masterclass in groove metal, thrash metal and progressive metal. Whatever went down with him and the rest of Lamb of God is between them and I’m still a fan of both artists.

Firstborne is a new metal and hard rock project from Chris Adler on drums, James Lomenzo on bass, guitarist Myrone and singer Girish Pradhan.

There’s an EP of songs plus a few stand alone singles and a cover of “Seperate Ways” from Journey.

Serj Tankian and Destind

“War” is the song. It’s fitting as Serj is a big activist for humanitarian issues and the recent war between Armenia and Azerbaijan has escalated his activism.

Diamond Head

They have re-recorded their classic album, “Lightning To The Nations 2020″ for the 40-year celebration.

Plus they’ve added some covers to the album, like Judas Priest’s “Sinner”, Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song”, Deep Purple’s “Rat Bat Blue” and Metallica’s “No Remorse”.

When you add the classic Diamond Head songs (which Metallica have covered) like “The Prince”, “Sucking My Love”, “It’s Electric”, “Helpless” and “Am I Evil”, you get a sense of DH’s influence to the sound of metal.

Hatebreed

Jamey Jasta has always been on my radar but since his solo album work and his work with Dee Snider, I’ve become a fan.

The riffs are metal and lyrically I think that writing lyrics for Dee Snider has rubbed off on Jasta as well.

Dream Theater and Volbeat also released live albums. There are so many doing the rounds these days, it’s hard to keep up. But I am biased when it comes to these two bands, so they will be getting spins well into Christmas and the New Year.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

November 2020 – Part 7

Jesper Binzer

It came up on my Twitter feed from a few months ago and the people I follow just kept talking about, so I spent time with it in November.

And I was surprised.

If you don’t know who Jesper Binzer is, and I had to google this as well, he’s the singer from D-A-D. This is his second solo album. I’m not a huge fan of D-A-D, however I am a fan of this album. Its classic rock, rooted in the blues.

My favourite song is “The Heart Will Find Its Way” which is more in vein of the melodic rock that happened in the 90’s with a bit of a grunge influence.

Yeah, I was quiet, wouldn’t say a word
I didn’t know how to begin

You know those moments when your partner senses something is wrong and keeps asking “what’s wrong” and you don’t know how to explain it. So you say, “nothing” and stare off into the distance.

Your head is telling you lies
When you say I’m not your guy
I know the heart will find its way

At the moment I make 22 years married. It’s been up and down, more so when the kids were young and taking up a lot of time and i was sleep deprived. But we find ways through those moments because the heart always finds a way.

The same way up and the same way down
Your fingers count my faults

Arguments.

Who hasn’t been there?

I’ve had the finger fault count used against me.

Firekind

They are a three piece band from England and “What I Have Found Is Already Lost” is the album. I like a band who writes good lyrics and their music lives in an area that many would call “genre hopping”. There are classic rockers, modern rockers, pop songs, progressive rock songs, acoustic songs and so much more on this album.

“Adrenalin” kicks off with its ragged, polyrhythm riff. You can even hear a bit of “Achilles Last Stand” in this.

I met a man who said he knew the day I would die

Do we really want to know when that day would be?

Would we live our lives any different

We love to sleep when it’s pouring down to the sound of rain

“Sound Of Rain” is a great pop rock song. And who doesn’t want to stay in bed when it’s raining.

“If There’s Any Reason” is one of those Collective Soul/Lifehouse style tracks I like.

“Cry For Help” has a digital delay arpeggio riff which reminds me of U2, a guitar melody that keeps repeating which reminds me of Muse and a vocal line that reminds me of Snow Patrol. It’s one of my favourite tracks on the album. “Defend” has this Soundgarden and Pearl Jam musical vibe. “Coming Out Alive” is a cross between Snow Patrol, Coldplay and Radiohead.

“These Are The Thoughts” sounds like a cross between Rush and “Achilles Last Stand” from Led Zep with a Chris Cornell vocal melody. Its aggressive and I like it. The title track “What I Have Found Is Already Lost” is a Muse/Radiohead like ballad.

Jas Morris is an excellent vocalist and guitarist. Magazines still exist and I read on the net that he was voted Guitarist Magazine’s Guitarist of the Year. His brother Dan is on bass and keyboards. Drums on the album are played by Dan Collings however he’s been replaced by Robin Shute.

I’m really interested.

When Rivers Meet

I don’t even know how I came across this band, but they play a brand of rock which reminds me of John Fogerty. Case in point is “Bound For Nowhere”. The verses came straight from a John Fogerty album, but with a Chorus that’s more hard rock than blues rock.

So I wanted to know more.

From the UK, this is their first album, on the back of the two EP’s. Guitarist Aaron Bond and singer Grace Bond are the core of the group. The same surnames are because of marriage.

“Walking On The Wire” has slide guitar and a lot of lyrical lines about a fortunate son. “Breaker Of Chains” continues the John Fogerty style of blues soul rock.

“Battleground” feels like cut from “The Smashing Pumpkins” and their “Mellon Collie” album. “Take Me To The River” has this “Life In The Fast Lane” blues vibe.

Ashen Reach

The opening riff from “Fighting For My Life” reminds me of Disturbed, but its more hard rock than metal once the vocals come in. I pressed saved and I followed the band on Spotify.

I was in.

The album is called “Homecoming”.

Check it out.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

November 2020 – Part 6

Gene The Werewolf

“I Should’ve Known Better” appeared on my Release Radar playlist on Spotify. I remember hearing “Rock N Roll Animal” back when it came out in 2012 and liking it, but then I lost track of the band.

But when I went to the Spotify account and saw all these releases since 2012, well I went into a rabbit hole with it. The bands take on ZZ Top’isms, with the AC/DC blues riffs mixed with hard rock and southern rock is interesting.

“Love And Touch” is a single released in 2019 which was a quick save based on the riff.

The following songs are from “The Loner” album, released in 2016.

“Too Kool For Skool” is a ZZ Top like track in the verses. “The Loner” is a 12 bar blues romp. “Fortune And Fame” could have come from an AC/DC album.

The following songs are from the “Rock N Roll Animal” released in 2012.

“Wicked Love” needs to be listened to, to be appreciated. “I Only Wanna Rock N Roll” sounds like a certain song called “Long Way To Top (If You Want To Rock N Roll” and I like it. “Heart Of Steel” is one of those major key pop rock songs that I like. The title track, is a party anthem. “Light Me Up” is one hell of a ballad, a glorious collision between The Cars and hard rock.

“Give It Up” could have come from “Unmasked” or maybe there is more “Beat It” from Michael Jackson than Kiss.

The album closes with “The Ballad Of Gene”, an Alice Cooper, Aerosmith and Beatles mash up, about trying to make it.

It’s perfect.

But there is still more, “Make Love” is an iTunes bonus track, and it could have come from the pens of the Madden brothers.

David Lee Roth

“Somewhere Over The Rainbow Bar And Grill” is Roth’s tribute to EVH. These dudes changed the game for hard rock music and EVH changed the game for all guitarists.

Press play and enjoy.

Doro

Doro is a powerhouse singer and Warlock was the vehicle for her voice to break into the lucrative U.S market back in the late 80’s.

And Warlock did have some success, but she built her career as Doro after Warlock.

I liked “All We Are” back then and when “All We Are” (The Fight Version) kicks off this 56 song, set called “Magic Diamonds – Best Of Rock, Ballads & Rare Treasures” I was all in because I haven’t heard much of Doro’s work after Warlock.

“Haunted Heart” gets me with the riffs, the vocal delivery and melody and the double kick metronomic drumming throughout the whole song.

“I Rule The Ruins” from the Warlock albums appears a few times, as a live version and as a classical version with all the guitars and bass played by violins and cellos. There is an excellent cover of “Egypt (The Chains Are On)” from “The Last In Line” album by Dio. And another bone crunching cover of “Nothing Else Matters”.

Raven

I never gave em a chance back in the day. But in 2020, I gave the “Metal City” album a listen and it was the title track that got me to press save.

And the rest of the tracks seemed interchangeable with each other, which is a good thing as it shows consistency.

And then “When Worlds Collide” started, with a Sabbath like groove as its foundation,

Durbin

From when I saw clips of James Durbin covering “You Got Another Thing Comin’” on American Idol many years ago, I became a fan and have followed his solo career and his time with Quiet Riot with interest. Now he has gone to Durbin, which is being promoted as a Dio like project.

“Kings Before You” is the pre-release track of this project which features, Phil Demmel on guitars and Chris Jericho on backing vocals and second verse duties.

Lyrically, it’s about castles, skies, horizons and wizards.

I’m interested to hear what comes next.

Joel Hoekstra’s 13

“Hard To Say Goodbye” is the first pre-release of Hoekstra’s next album release. This is in Night Ranger territory, which isn’t a surprise considering he spent time with em before joining Whitesnake.

Apart from crafting a great melodic rock song, Hoekstra uses it as a springboard to some superb guitar moments in the bridge before the solo and the solo itself.

I’m interested to hear what comes next.

David Hodges

I went into a rabbit hole with David Hodges.

Hodges, along with Ben Moody and Amy Lee wrote/co-wrote a monster album called “Fallen”. Then Moody and Hodges became a song writing team, writing songs for other artists and for themselves.

While none of these albums came out in November, I did give them time.

AVOX is an instrumental cinematic rock project between David Hodges and John Campbell. The album “The Fragile World” came out in 2010.

Opening song “The War” had this piano riff that kept on repeating while the guitars, drums and orchestra kept building. “The Fuse” borrows from that same template. “The Legacy” gets me thinking of the “Intermission” movie from Christopher Nolan. “The Breach” reminds of the first “Transformers” movie. “The Source” feels sad, yet hopeful.

Trading Yesterday is a band project, like a melancholic acoustic rock with different moods. They released “The Beauty And The Tragedy” album in 2004 and “More Than This” in 2011.

Songs from this project which made it to instant saves are “The Beauty And The Tragedy”, “She Is The Sunlight”, “World On Fire”, “Love Song Requiem”, “Shattered” and the haunting “For You Only”.

And five of these songs (except “World On Fire”) appear on the “More Than This” album.

“Revolution” opens the “More Than This” and this time around, the mood is still slower, but there are rocking guitars and busier drums. Like “Lifehouse”. “One Day” reminds me of “The Calling”.

Arrows To Athens is a band project that I am aware of. The “Kings And Thieves” album from 2011 is an essential rock album for me which I have covered on this blog before. Tracks like “Stars”, “Used To Be” and “Alive” are prefect. And then there is the six song “Exile” EP which was unknown to me.

And finally there are David Hodges albums.

These are made up of “The December Sessions” Volumes 1 to 5 albums, released separately over the years. “Volume 1” came out in 2011, “Volume 2” in 2013, “Volume 3” in 2015, “Volume 4” in 2016 and “Volume 5” in 2017.

And there EP’s. “Passengers: Sirens” and “Passengers: Weapons” came out in 2014. “Discrepancies In The Recollection Of Various Principles/Side A” and “Discrepancies In The Recollection Of Various Principles/Side B” came out in 2019. Also in 2019, a single release called “Waking Up With You” with Armin Van Buuren also came out.

Hodges is one hell of a talent.

Part 7 is coming up.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

November 2020 – Part 5

Stan Bush

If you’ve watched any 80’s movie with a hard rock soundtrack, there is a very high chance that you would have heard a song from Stan Bush.

My first encounter was “The Touch” from “The Transformers” cartoon movie, when Hot Rod grabbed the matrix of leadership, opened it and became “Rodimus Prime”.

And Jean Claude Van Damme was a big name once upon a time in the action genre, and Stan Bush songs appeared in his movies. But apart from soundtracks, there was nothing else I could get my hands on and information on him was scarce.

So here we are in 2020 and “Dare To Dream” is released.

“Born To Fight” is more melodic metal than AOR rock, with a guitar solo section that reminds of “The Final Countdown” from Europe. And the song is being used to promote a few anime shows on Netflix.

“Dare To Dream” is more in vein with his AOR rock with a bit of Rick Springfield chucked in.

“The Times Of Your Life” is basically the guitar verse riff from “Run To You” from Bryan Adams, played on a piano. And I like it.

“A Dream Of Love” is a cross between Whitesnake and Def Leppard. Think of “The Deeper The Love” and “Hysteria” with a guitar solo that is John Norum level quality, very Euro influenced.

So I had to Google who is playing guitar. And that person is Holger Fath, a German guitarist. He basically does all the guitars and bass, as well as the production.

“The 80’s” sounds like it came from the 80’s. A cross between “Summer Of 69”, “Hysteria”, “Animal” and various Night Ranger songs. It’s a fun clichéd track to listen to.

“Live And Breathe” sounds like those Heart piano ballads with a bit of Michael Bolton thrown in.

“Heat Of Attack” has a bass groove like “Heaven And Hell” which is a perfect canvas for Stan Bush to take over with his melodic rock vocals, about fighting to stay alive and keeping the flame burning inside.

“Dream Big” has a lot of keyboard hooks and an outro guitar solo which I like and “True Believer” has a groovy bass riff with a staccato keyboard riff in the Chorus.

“Never Give Up” has a keyboard riff that reminds me of Bush’s biggest song, “The Touch”, which is very similar to “Jump” from Van Halen.

“Home” closes the album. A ballad straight from the Mutt Lange written cuts, like “All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You”.

In the end, it’s all these old sounds from the 80’s done in a modern way and I like it.

Wytch Hazel

“III: Pentecost” is the album. The feel is a throwback to those 70’s acts that current bands like Audrey Horne do.

So I did some digging and took in some interviews and reviews about how the band sounds like a cross between Angelwitch and Thin Lizzy. I haven’t heard Angelwitch, so I can’t comment there, but I can hear Thin Lizzy. In the interviews, it was mentioned that Fleetwood Mac and the “Rumours” album was being spun while the writing was happening.

“He is the Fight” kicks off the album with harmony leads and its followed by “Spirit And Fire”. It’s a one two knockout punch musically, so I did some more digging to see who these guitar heroes are. Alex Haslam and Colin Hendra. I’m sure like me, no one has heard of em, but the point of writing blogs is to spread the word. Let the “spirit and fire” lead the way. And listening to the lyrics, it’s a very Christian album. The real Pentecostal kind, so when you hear the lyrics, you know that every word is meant with heart.

“I Am Redeemed” starts off with a bass riff similar to “Wrathchild” from Iron Maiden but once the harmony guitars kick in, its living in Thin Lizzy territory with nods to Maiden in the verses.

“Archangel” has an excellent clean tone intro before it moves into a riff that reminds me of “Ghost BC”. Then the chorus kicks in and it’s memorable straight from the outset. “Dry Bones” has this interlude/solo riff which is just head banging material.

“Sonata” has church organs and a cello/violin before the clean tone arpeggios kick in. And it’s a moody 2 minute instrumental which bleeds into “I Will Not” and that riff. It’s time to pick up the guitar and learn it.

The album closes the way it started with “Ancient Of Days” a high energy hard rock song with harmony guitars and the drumming from “The Ides Of March”.

Within Temptation

I’ve been a fan of this band since the early 2000’s. Their blend of Euro metal and symphonies into cohesive 4 minute hard rock songs is just to my liking.

“The Purge” is a pre-release single drop of a new album. And as soon as it started, I was hooked. It has the riffs, the synths, the almost metronomic drums and the powerhouse vocals of Sharon den Adel.

Avandra

I saw the cover on a blog, liked the way it looked and added the album to my November playlist. Going in blind, the music is progressive rock, with touches of metal and other styles.

“Life Is Not A Circle, But A Sphere” got me to pay attention. It’s track three.

And then “Eternal Return” starts, with its Pink Floyd style of digital delay riffing.

And while I was listening, I did some more digging.

From Puerto Rico.

The beauty of the internet and allowing everyone to create. As a fan of music, I am exposed to artists from all over the world.

“Procgen” has these various moods which I like and then there is this vocal melody that goes with the harmony guitars towards the end of the song, which makes me press repeat.

“Afferent Realms” starts off with some serious shred, which makes me want to break my guitar. It’s all over a polyrhythm riff and drum beat.

Here’s a review for ya from the blog manofmuchmetal, that I agree with (plus it’s the blog that I saw the cover on).

Volbeat

“Die To Live” was a favourite from the album, and the same energy captured there is captured live. It’s just a powerhouse rock-a-billy metal cut.

Crank and let it intoxicate you.

Black Veil Brides

“Scarlett Cross” is the new pre-release single of a forthcoming album. If you read this blog, you will know that I am a fan of the band, especially guitarists Jinxx and Jake Pitts.

These two dudes can play and are modern day guitar heroes.

So I wait..

Trixter

Trixter got labelled pretty quick when they came out with the glam/hair metal tag. Unfortunately labels stick, which in reality wasn’t a right label for them, as they had more of a blues rock sound with AOR rock choruses now and then. After a few albums in the early 90’s they disappeared for a long time only to be resurrected on Frontiers around 2010.

“New Audio Machine” was released in 2012 on Frontiers Records and it features the original line up of the band which is Pete Loran on lead vocals, Steve Brown on lead guitar, P. J. Farley on bass guitar and Mark “Gus” Scott on drums and percussion.

I liked the album then and in 2020 it got a remaster, plus a bonus track thrown in, hence the reason why it appears in my 2020 list.

“Drag Me Down” is a blues southern rock ditty while “Get On It” has this foot stomping blues rock groove. The riffs in “Dirty Love” are influenced from Pasadena and a certain EVH. Steve Brown on guitars is another excellent guitarist who remains ignored by the wider public. Listen to his lead break on “Dirty Love” to get a feel for his abilities.

When Trixter did AC/DC, they did it an way that is more melodic. Listen to the excellent guitar riffs in “Machine” from Brown with arpeggios, palm muted chromatic lines and double stops with an AC/DC feel.

“Live for the Day” is an acoustic/electric ballad, which bands like Matchbox 20, Live and Tonic would be proud to call their own.

“Ride” is a rocker with a heavy riff. “Physical Attraction” and the lead break. Give it a listen.

“Tattoos & Misery” could have come from a Lifehouse album and one of my favourite tracks on the album.

“Walk With a Stranger” is an unused Skid Row song written by Bolan and Sabo, before Sebastian Bach even joined the band. There is a demo of Matt Fallon singing it, released in 1987 on YouTube. It’s a great melodic rock song which has been on the Skid Row backburner for a long time, until Trixter brought it officially back. Coming from the same area as the Skid Row guys, guitarist Steve Brown remembered it from back in the day and this cover is brilliant. One of my favourite tracks.

“Find a Memory” is the European Bonus track and it sounds like “Love Me Back To Life” from Bon Jovi’s “Bounce” album in the intro. Another favourite track for me. “Heart of Steel” is an acoustic cover from a song on their debut album released in 1990. It’s listed as a U.S Bonus track.

If you haven’t heard Trixter before, start with this album. If you like it, then dig deeper.

Stay tuned for part 6 as November was a huge month for releases.

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