2017 Review Roundup, Part I: Accept, Bloodbound, The Darkness, Deep Purple

In the interest of trying to swiftly move forward into 2018 so that I can blog about fresh new music (and non-music stuff), I’ve decided to condense and compile a handful of my remaining album reviews from 2017 down to a few blurbs. Part II coming shortly!

There are two full reviews I’d like to knock out after this, and then I’ll follow up with my annual year-end awards later.

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Accept – The Rise of Chaos
Nuclear Blast Records

Despite enjoying Blood of the Nations and Stalingrad being a decent follow-up, I ended up skipping Blind Rage as I felt the band was taking a heavier, harsher direction that wasn’t enjoyable to my ears. However, the band’s fourth effort with former T.T. Quick vocalist Mark Tornillo is a winner. The album is heavy, but it seems like there more of an emphasis on melody and the band has opted for a more straight-forward and traditional heavy metal style that draws influences from the likes of Motorhead or AC/DC and the songs are catchy this time around! In other words, The Rise of Chaos sounds more like classic Accept.

And, whether intentional or not, Tornillo is sounding more and more like former Accept vocalist Udo Dirkschneider.

Random side-note: “Hole in the Head” sounds like a ’90s Megadeth song.

Highlights: “No Regrets”, “Hole in the Head”, “Analog Man”, “Worlds Colliding”, “Race to Extinction”

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Bloodbound – War of Dragons
AFM Records

In 2015, I was new to the band and blown away by Stormborn, when it was released that same year.  I anxiously awaited the next release. Unfortunately, War of Dragons is not a standout album by any measure. It’s a generic slab of European power metal, keyboards and all. Sure, Stormborn was European power metal as well, but it was heavy and truly powerful. Most of what fits the modern label of “power metal” these days lacks balls and bite and the same can be said of this release. Even when I thought the band was going to deliver the heavy metal goods on “King of Swords”, they cut to the typical soaring Euro power metal chorus and galloping drums that completely ruin the song.

Don’t be fooled by the amazingly heavy metal album cover– Bloodbound has retreated into wimpy power metal mediocrity with War of Dragons.  What a shame.

Highlights: None.

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The Darkness – Pinewood Smile
Canary Drawf Records

I’m fairly confident this band is never going to be able to match Permission to Land or One Way Ticket to Hell… and Back, they simply lost too much time and momentum, but The Darkness is still a fun, quirky band and they still write great vintage hard rock riffs inspired by the likes of AC/DC and Thin Lizzy with an interesting mix of pop.

Ugly cover art aside, Pinewood Smile is a satisfying release that I would at least put on par with their previous effort, Last of Our Kind. Of course, the lyric and situations being described by the lyrics are still usually quite silly and they don’t always make sense to my American ears, but the music is so good that it doesn’t matter.

Highlights: “Buccaneers of Hispaniola”, “Southern Trains”, “Lay Down with Me, Barbara”, “I Wish I Was in Heaven”, “Stampede of Love”, “Seagulls (Losing My Virginity)”

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Deep Purple – Infinite
earMUSIC

I’m very casual Deep Purple fan. They have some classic tracks and albums, but I’ve never been particularly devoted to them, nor do I own the majority of their catalog. I suppose if I grew up during the heyday I’d have a greater appreciation for that band and their modern releases. That said, I do enjoy the “Deep Purple sound”. When you hear Deep Purple, you KNOW it’s Deep Purple, and that’s exactly what Infinite is– Deep Purple.

Inifinite is perhaps a bit laid back and a little mellow with a spaced-out track such as “The Surprising”, but that’s pretty much to expected from a bunch of guys in their late 60s and early 70s. I know not to expect In Rock or Machine Head from these guys. Even so, the band still can crank out a solid heavy rocker or two, and Ian Gillan sounds good even though he is now 72 years old! Yeah, you’re not going to get a “Child In Time”-style screeching performance out of him anymore, but his voice is still fantastic.

This is a fine album, but I can’t say it’ll stick around in my brain or playlist for much longer.

Highlights: “Time for Bedlam”, “All I Got Is You”, “The Surprising”, “Birds of Prey”

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Sainted Sinners – s/t [Album Review]

Sainted Sinners
2017, El Puerto Records
Buy the album

 

1. Knight of the Long Knives
2. Beauty in the Beast
3. Maybe She’s Got Balls
4. We’re All Sainted Sinners
5. Blue Lightning Man
6. This Love That I Have Found
7. Did You
8. In Need
9. Evangeline
10. Shine Diamond Girl
11. Truth Is A Lie

Band:
David Reece – Vocals
Frank Pané – Guitar
Malte Frederik Burkert – Bass
Berci Hirleman – Drums
Ferdy Doernberg – Keyboard, Organ

Do you like Deep Purple, Rainbow and pre-MTV Whitesnake? Then you’ll probably like Sainted Sinners.

Fronted by former Accept singer David Reece and self-described as “the essence of rock ‘n’ roll”, Sainted Sinners plays in a classic heavy rock style that many people will find familiar and comforting. There is no doubt this band takes their cues from a number of classic hard rock bands from the ’70s and early ’80s with their bluesy heavy riffs and use of the Hammond organ.

I was quite surprised by how many tracks I ended up enjoying from this album after I finally gave it a complete spin many months after its initial release. The opening track “Knight of the Long Knives” really lets you know what you’re in with this album as the bands I previously mentioned immediately come to mind. A few turns to other classic rock bands happen as “This Love That I Found” carries a Led Zeppelin vibe and the southern boogie rock of “In Need” sounds like a lost ZZ Top track.

And David Reece’s voice is perfect for this style of music. He has the right amount of soulful grit to pull off the style of vintage-sounding heavy rock. Depending on the song, he vocals are reminiscent of Ian Gillan or David Coverdale.

This is an album well-worth exploring for fans of classic hard rock from the 1970s.

Highlights: “Knight of the Long Knives”, “Blue Lightning Man”, “This Love That I Found”, “Did You”

Ace Frehley – Origins Vol. 1 [Album Review]

Ace Frehley – Origins Vol. 1
2016, Entertainment One Music

Buy the album

1. “White Room”
2. “Street Fighting Man”
3. “Spanish Castle Magic”
4. “Fire and Water”
5. “Emerald”
6. “Bring It On Home”
7. “Wild Thing”
8. “Parasite”
9. “Magic Carpet Ride”
10. “Cold Gin”
11. “Till the End of the Day”
12. “Rock and Roll Hell”

Band:
Ace Frehley – Lead Vocals, Guitar, Bass
Chris Wyse – Bass
Scot Coogan – Drums, Lead Vocals
Matt Starr – Drums

Additional Musicians:
Paul Stanley – Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals
Slash – Guitar
John 5 – Guitar
Lita Ford – Lead Vocals, Guitar
Mike McCready – Guitar

Well, cover albums are usually fun, even they do have kind of a throwaway feel to them. But, hey, at least it’s not a live album, right?

Origins, Vol. 1 is a collection of classic rock songs covering the likes of Zeppelin, the Kinks, the Rolling Stones, Steppenwolf, the Troggs, and, of course, KISS. Ace also recruits a number of impressive friends to help out on the album, including his old KISS band mate Paul Stanley (lead vocals on Free’s “Fire and Water”). This album marks the first time Stanley & Frehley have appeared on a studio album together since Psycho Circus way back in 1998.

Having success with “2,000 Man”, I guess Ace figured it was a good time to cover another song by the Rolling Stones. This time he picked “Street Fighting Man”. It’s a song that’s been covered plenty of times over the years, but Ace’s version may be the best of all the cover versions that I’ve heard.

It’s no surprise that this album focuses on rock ‘n’ roll from the 1960s & 1970s, but I did find it slightly surprising that Ace chose to cover thee songs from his old band — “Parasite”, “Cold Gin”, and “Rock and Roll Hell”. Especially so in the case of “Rock and Roll Hell”, which was written by Gene Simmons about Ace and was recorded for the band’s Creatures of the Night album. Although to be fair, despite technically being in the band at that point, he didn’t play on the album at all as he was on his way out the door. It’s a song about him after all, so I guess Ace wanted to put his own stamp on it.

You could say the same for “Parasite” (which sounds FANTASTIC here) and “Cold Gin”. Ace wrote both of those songs but didn’t sing on either one, Gene Simmons did.

Enjoyable listen, as Ace always does well when covering other musicians. Looking forward to a second volume.

Highlights: “White Room”, “Street Fighting Man”, “Emerald”, “Parasite”, “Rock and Roll Hell”

The Monkees – Good Times! [Album Review]

The Monkees – Good Times!
2016, Rhino Entertainment

1. Good Time
2. You Bring the Summer
3. She Makes Me Laugh
4. Our Own World
5. Gotta Give It Time
6. Me & Magdalena
7. Whatever’s Right
8. Love to Love
9. Little Girl
10. Birth of an Accidental Hipster
11. Wasn’t Born to Follow
12. I Know What I know
13. I Was There (And I’m Told I Had a Good Time)
Digital Bonus Tracks:
14. Terrifying
15. Me & Magdalena (Version 2)

Band:
Micky Dolenz – Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Drums
Peter Tork – Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Banjo, Organ, Keyboards, Guitar
Michael Nesmith – Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Guitar
Davy Jones – Lead Vocals

Producer: Adam Schlesinger

Fifty years after their debut album, who would have ever thought The Monkees would release a new album in 2016? Without Davy Jones (R.I.P.)? With Michael Nesmith?

Smartly, the album doesn’t try to sound contemporary as 1987’s Pool It! and 1996’s Justus attempted. Instead, Good Times! offers up thirty-seven minutes of ’60s-style rock ‘n’ roll and power pop that the Monkees are known for. This sound is partly achieved because the archives were opened and a few unused songs were dusted off. “Good Time” was a song Harry Nilsson had demoed for the band. It has been turned into a duet between Nilsson and Dolenz. “Love to Love” was penned by Neil Diamond and originally recorded with Davy Jones on lead vocals during the Headquarters sessions. It was previously released as a bonus track years ago, but this version features the addition of backing vocals from Dolenz and Tork.

“Whatever’s Right” is a track from the songwriting team of Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart (these guys wrote the Monkees theme song and “Last Train to Clarksville” among other popular Monkees song). “Gotta Give It Time” and “Wasn’t Born to Follow” also were written by frequent Monkees contributors during the group’s heyday. Finally, there’s “Little Girl”, which was written by Peter Tork and intended for Davy to sing on back in the day, but was forgotten before any recording could be done.

So you’ve got six tracks that are deeply rooted in prime Monkees era. They were either written, demoed, or recorded during the late ’60s by people who already had an established connection with the group and I appreciate their inclusion.

But how does the new stuff fare? Well, it’s actually extremely good, and it still captures the spirit of The Monkees despite being written (or co-written) by members of Weezer, Oasis, Fountains of Wayne, and Deathcab for Cutie. My four of my five favorite songs come from these new sessions. “She Makes Me Laugh” (written by Rivers Cuomo of Weezer) is already one of my all-time favorites from the Monkees. Another track that you’d swear was cut in the 1960s is “You Bring the Summer”. Rounding out the best of the new are the ballads “Me & Magdalena” and “I Know What I Know”. Michael Nesmith is on lead vocals for both of those tracks and wrote “I Know What I Know”.

Sadly, Nesmith is not joining Dolenz & Tork on the upcoming tour due to a book deal commitment, but has expressed he’s open to touring later this year. I hope that happens, because these guys are all in their 70’s and it’s really sad that all four members didn’t get to give the world one more tour & album before Davy passed away in 2012.

I imagine this is going to be the last Monkees album and it’s a high note to go out on. This is a must-have release for anyone who is a fan of the band.

Highlights: “You Bring the Summer”, “She Makes Me Laugh”, “Me & Magdalena”, “Love to Love”, “Birth of an Accidental Hipster”, “I Know What I Know”

Buy the album

Motley Crue – Carnival of Sins: Live [Album Review]

Motley Crue – Carnival of Sins: Live
2006, Motley Records

1. “Shout at the Devil”
2. “Too Fast for Love”
3. “Ten Seconds to Love”
4. “Red Hot”
5. “On With the Show”
6. “Too Young to Fall in Love”
7. “Looks That Kill”
8. “Louder Than Hell”
9. “Live Wire”
10. “Girls, Girls, Girls”
11. “Wild Side”
12. “Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)”
13. “Primal Scream”
14. “Glitter”
15. “Without You”
16. “Home Sweet Home”
17. “Dr. Feelgood”
18. “Same Ol’ Situation (S.O.S.)”
19. “Sick Love Song”
20. “If I Die Tomorrow”
21. “Kickstart My Heart”
22. “Helter Skelter”
23. “Anarchy in the U.K.”

Band:
Vince Neil – Vocals
Mick Mars – Guitar
Nikki Sixx – Bass
Tommy Lee – Drums

Producer: Bob Rock

Even though I caught the band on this tour, I didn’t bother checking out this live album (which was recorded in Grand Rapids, Michigan) when it was released. I’m not a huge fan of live albums and something about this one seemed like a cheap cash-in. Released as a 2-CD set, it was simultaneously released as two volumes exclusively to Walmart. This was during the short-lived craze of releasing product exclusively to a single big box retailer (GNR, KISS, AC/DC, etc.). I remember the two Walmart volumes looked especially cheap, like those cash-grab budget releases you can find at a gas station (or a Walmart). This album was a success though, going platinum, while the DVD release went 3X platinum!

Of course, music is only half of Motley’s charm. They’ve always been a band that appeals to the eyes just as much, if not more, as they do to the ears. With no opener at my show, the band played close to a three hour set with its dark carnival theme featuring all kinds of additional circus performers. Motley seemed to be taking its cue from Rob Zombie and Slipknot during this era with their promotional photos and stage show.

The performance itself is a good representation of Motley Crue, and while the band fell into the trap of playing the same “greatest hits” set list with recent tours, they don’t shy away from playing earlier tunes like “Red Hot” (which sounds great), “Live Wire”, or “On With the Show” here.

Also included are “Sick Love Song” and “If I Die Tomorrow”. Both of which I thought were great songs but I remember the live crowd at my show not really caring. That’s a shame because I really like the new stuff Motley did during this time.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see the band release a live album commemorating their 2015 retirement tour, but as of now, Carnival of Sins: Live stands as the band’s final live release, and it’s a pretty good one.

Highlights: “Shout at the Devil”, “Too Fast for Love”, “Ten Seconds to Love”, “Red Hot”, “Live Wire”, “Sick Love Song”, “If I Die Tomorrow”, “Kickstart My Heart”

Jorn – Heavy Rock Radio [Album Review]

Jorn – Heavy Rock Radio
2016, Frontiers Records

Buy the album

1. I Know There’s Something Going On
2. Running Up That Hill
3. Rev on the Red Line
4. You’re the Voice
5. Live to Win
6. Don’t Stop Believin’
7. Killer Queen
8. Hotel California
9. Rainbow in the Dark
10. The Final Frontier
11. Stormbringer
12. Die Young

Musicians:
Jorn Lande – Vocals
Trond Holter, Jimmy Iversen (“Rainbow in the Dark”), Tore Moren (“Rainbow in the Dark”), Jorn Viggo Lofstad (“Stormbringer”) – Guitars
Francesco Iovino, Willy Bendiksen (“Rainbow in the Dark” & “Stormbringer”) – Drums
Thomas Bekkevold, Nic Angileri (“Rainbow in the Dark”), Sid Ringsby (“Stormbringer”) – Bass
Alessandro Del Vecchio – Keyboards

Vocalist extraordinaire continues to pay respect to the old gods with his latest release. It’s no secret that Jorn is a HUGE fan of Ronnie James Dio, or that has covered Dio’s songs many, many times (and even devoted an entire album of cover songs to him), but now he’s expanding. Heavy Rock Radio has Jorn covering Journey, Paul Stanley (from his 2005 Live to Win solo album!), Queen, Eagles, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Foreigner, and, of course, Dio and Dio-era Black Sabbath. There’s also tracks originally recorded by Kate Bush (“Running Up That Hill”) and some ’80s pop (Frida’s “I Know There’s Something Going On”).

Okay, so “Don’t Stop Believin'” isn’t exactly lacking for cover versions, but what I love about this album is that Jorn didn’t go for the obvious choice for some of these musicians. I mean, a cover of a Paul Stanley song from 2005? Or an Iron Maiden song that was released in 2010? Or a Deep Purple song that isn’t “Burn” or from the Gillan era?

Having said that, I would be completely satisfied if Jorn recorded every song Ronnie James Dio ever sang on from his days in Dio, Rainbow & Black Sabbath. I’m not kidding. No one can ever replace Ronnie, but Jorn shows great love and appreciation for Ronnie’s work and he always sounds completely amazing on Dio covers as evident by this album’s versions of “Rainbow in the Dark” and “Die Young”.

Jorn absolutely slays all of these songs. I couldn’t care less for Kate Bush, but his cover of “Running Up That Hill”? Amazing. Heavy Rock Radio is another fantastic album from Jorn Lande.

Highlights: “I Know There’s Something Going On”, “Running Up That Hill”, “Live to Win”, “Hotel California”, “Rainbow in the Dark”, “The Final Frontier”, “”Stormbringer”, “Die Young”

Wolfpakk – Rise of the Animal [Review]

Wolfpakk – Rise of the Animal
2015, AFM Records
Buy the album

1. Rider Of The Storm
2. Sock It To Me
3. Monkey On Your Back
4. Highlands
5. Black Wolf
6. Somewhere Beyond
7. Running Out Of Time
8. Grizzly Man
9. High Roller
10. Rise Of The Animal
11. Universe

Musicians:
Michael Voss, Mark Sweeney, Michael Kiske, Andi Deris, Ted Poley, Joe Lynn Turner, Rick Altzi, David Reece, Charlie Huhn, Don Dokken, Marc Storace, Michaela Schober, Jean-Marc Viller – Lead Vocals
Michael Voss, Bob Daisley, Al Barrow, Barend Courbois – Bass
Jeff Watson, Ryan Roxie, Bernie Torme, John Norum, Doug Aldrich, Axel Rudi Pell, Martin Rauber – Guitar
Mike Terrana, Mark Schulman, Simon Philips, Chris Slade, Gereon Homann – Drums
Chris Ivo – Keyboards

Producer: Mark Sweeney & Michael Voss

Wolfpakk is an all-star melodic hard rock/metal project put together a few years back by vocalists Mark Sweeney (ex-Crystal Ball) and Michael Voss (ex-Casanova). I won’t repeat all of the musicians involved but Rise of the Animal features an exceptional line-up of guest musicians like Doug Aldrich, Joe Lynn Turner, David Reece (!), Don Dokken, Michael Kiske, Axel Rudi Pell and Bob Daisley.

Honestly, I checked out this album based on the cover art and the band name (another ‘Wolf’ band!) alone. I didn’t realize until reading up on Wolfpakk that they are more of a project than a legit band. Or if they are a band, you can distill it down to simply Sweeney & Voss (who write the songs as well) as the guest musicians change from album to album.

So, for an album that includes such a large guest list, the cohesiveness of the album is very impressive. Not even the different vocalists take you out of the moment. It all works. Rise of the Animal flows together as a great collection of melodic hard rock and melodic metal, great guitar solos and soaring vocals with large catchy choruses.

Rise of the Animal is a powerfully and skillfully made block of melodic metal and rock that won’t disappoint you if you’re a fan of the artists involved. The album was a very pleasant surprise to me that seemingly came out of nowhere.

Highlights: “Rider of the Storm”, “Sock It to Me”, “Black Wolf”, “Running Out of Time”, “High Roller”, “Rise of the Animal”, “Universe”