martindavey87 Released in 2022 as part of the ‘Lost Not Forgotten Archives’ series, ‘Live At Wacken (2015)’ sees Dream Theater make a stop on their 30th Anniversary tour at the world-famous German heavy metal festival.

With only an hour to spare, the band make a brief run through a number of their albums, with a set list that incorporates all their major elements, both heavy and melodic (‘As I Am’, ‘Panic Attack’, ‘The Spirit Carries On’), and full-on progressive (‘Metropolis Pt. 1’). No easy task, given the wealth of their back-catalogue, as well as the duration of most of their songs.

As expected, the musicianship is superb, with the band on top form and really smashing the instrumental side of things. Sadly, as always, vocalist James LaBrie is tough to listen to at times, especially on the older material. He’s struggling, but he tries anyway. Bless him.

Overall, ‘Live At Wacken’ is a decent enough live album. It’s not essential by any stretch, but die-hard collectors will certainly enjoy owning it and giving it a spin or two.

martindavey87 ‘Live At Madison Square Garden (2010)’, recorded July 12th 2010 at the “world’s most famous arena”, sees Dream Theater playing to their hometown crowd as the opening act for metal legends Iron Maiden. The fact that Dream Theater are a headline band themselves shows how much of a big gig this was for them, and so I can totally understand why they’d want to release this under their line of “Lost Not Forgotten” series.

Consisting of six tracks and clocking in at only 50 minutes, this is a relatively short affair as far as Dream Theater live albums go. The set list caters to the heavier side of their fanbase, which would make sense considering who they were opening for, although surely Maiden fans wouldn’t have cared that much. I’m sure most of them probably like Dream Theater anyway.

As for the recording itself… it’s okay, I guess. The sound is fine, the playing is flawless, although LaBrie’s vocals, as always, are a little strained live. Drummer Mike Portnoy randomly speaks a number of times mid-song, which shows us his enthusiasm and excitement, but probably irritated the hell out of his bandmates. Two months after this concert happened, he would do the unthinkable by handing in his notice and departing the band he helped form.

Overall, ‘Live At Madison Square Garden’ fits the bill perfectly for this line of releases. It’s a nice gem for collectors to own, and highlights a special moment in the bands history, but ultimately, after a couple of listens, it doesn’t really have that much replay value. OCD completionists, like me, will snap this up, regardless.

martindavey87 Nickelback fan here! Hi everyone! I love this band. I don’t care if they’re soppy, radio-friendly pop stars, or hard rockin’ heroes, these guys know how to write catchy, memorable songs, that are easy to get into, and are great to sing along to, or great to just flat out bang your head to. For all the hate they get, I think the Canadian quartet are massively underrated as songwriters.

But yeah, this album, ‘No Fixed Address’, isn’t very good.

They’ve stuck to their formula, with some songs massively overproduced to give them a huge sound, and plenty of melodic soppiness cater-made for pop fans, but I just really can’t get into these tracks. Sorry guys. I’m still a fan. As always, praise to Chad Kroeger’s vocals, which are always a joy to listen to (I for one, think he’s a fantastic vocalist), but overall, the songs are just pretty dull and uninteresting.

This album does have its moments though, with two absolute bangers in particular. ‘A Million Miles Away‘ is a huge, upbeat and energetic track that starts the album with some promise, but the true gem is the cheesy but infectiously fun ‘She Keeps Me Up’ (bet you weren’t expecting that, were you?). As goofy and mainstream-friendly as they can get, this song is genuinely fun to listen to, incredibly catchy and full of positive energy. Honestly, I love it!

But sadly, that’s as far as it goes with this record. I love Nickelback, and I know they still have plenty of hits left in them, but for no viable reason other than “I can’t get into it”, I just can’t get into it.

martindavey87 ‘Three Days Grace’ is the 2003 self-titled debut album by Canadian three-piece rock band, Three Days Grace. With nu metal dying down and with bands like Nickelback gaining mainstream superstardom, it was a natural process that the next big thing was all this guitar-driven hard rock, often cited as “post-grunge” (whatever the hell that means).

Three Days Grace were one of the more prominent bands of this next trend. They were young, good looking, wrote emotional (or “whiny”) songs and were tailor-made for radio.

But what I didn’t realise back then (it took me a while to get into this group), is that frontman Adam Gontier and co. have a great knack for some catchy, memorable hooks! Is this album repetitive? Yeah. Does it tick every radio-friendly box? Yeah, pretty much. But is it easy to listen to, and memorable enough to make me sing along, even when I don’t think I actually know the lyrics? Damn right!

Don’t get me wrong, this album is nothing new, fresh or unique. But why does it have to be? This is just some good, catchy, inoffensive radio rock, heavy music for people who may not like heavy music. Songs like ‘Let You Down’, ‘Just Like You’, ‘Burn’, ‘Home’, and smash hit ‘I Hate Everything About You’ are all good enough tracks to warrant checking these guys out, and bearing in mind their youth when this came out, it’ll certainly be interesting to see how they might improve with age.

martindavey87 Whenever a band releases a self-titled album, there’s always that feeling that this is their definitive piece of work, something that so truly encapsulates their sound and legacy that no mere title will do. Simply put, this is supposed to be THE Dream Theater album.

And yet, it’s just that. Another Dream Theater album.

The progressive metal legends have been one of my all-time favourite bands since the early 2000’s, and each of their previous twelve studio albums or EP’s have all garnered a four or five-star rating. But sadly, the band have finally put out an album that doesn’t quite match up.

Why? I don’t know… the magic just isn’t there. Whilst previous album ‘A Dramatic Turn of Events’ saw the band continue onwards after the departure of original drummer Mike Portnoy, this outing is starting to show that perhaps without Portnoy’s drive and vision, the band really are on autopilot.

All the usual traits are here. Absolutely fantastic musicianship, with incredible chemistry between guitarist John Petrucci and keyboardist Jordan Rudess, and James LaBrie’s voice still sounds great despite wear-and-tear. But the songs, ugh, they’re not awful, but damn, these took a lot longer to get into than previous output. ‘The Looking Glass’ and ‘Along For the Ride’ are pretty decent, and the usual “epic track” of the album, ‘Illumination Theory’ is pretty good, but nowhere near holds up to classics like ‘A Change of Seasons’, ‘Octavarium’ and ‘The Count of Tuscany’.

Overall, ‘Dream Theater’ isn’t a bad album, it’s just, kind of there. When I can be bothered to listen to it, it’s alright, and has its moments, but mostly, I just find that I can’t really be bothered to actually listen to it.

martindavey87 Sonata’s Arctica’s 1999 debut, ‘Ecliptica’ is an incredible piece of power metal history, full of energy and youthful exuberance, the band’s majestic sound instantly made them a hit with fans of the genre. So it comes with regret that I find their follow-up, 2001’s ‘Silence’, to be a huge letdown.

The problem is, I can’t really figure out what the actual problem is. The songwriting is pretty solid, and the musicianship is fantastic, but overall, there’s just not a lot here to really get me going. It all seems very by-the-numbers power metal, which is weird, because Sonata Arctica have put out some absolutely amazing albums, but I find this one very hard to enjoy.

With that said, the record does have its moments. ‘San Sebastian’ and ‘Wolf and Raven’ are both exceptional, and worthy of any greatest hits compilations. And tracks like ‘Respect the Wilderness’ and ‘The Power of One’ both demonstrate the skills and potential this band has. Tony Kakko’s voice is a pleasure to listen to throughout, and the interplay between guitars and keyboards is stunning, though sadly wasted on a mostly generic album.

The Finnish five-piece were still pretty young into their careers here, and this is only their second album. It’s not terrible by any stretch, but it’s not anything I’m likely to come back to, either. I’d much rather listen to ‘Ecliptica’.

martindavey87 It’s crazy to think that somehow this album would spurn an upwards momentum that would lead Limp Bizkit to, at one point, being the biggest band on the planet. Released in 1997, ‘Three Dollar Bill Y’all$’ is the debut album of the Florida-based nu metal outfit. They weren’t the first band to fuse rock and rap, in fact, bands like Stuck Mojo, Body Count, H-Blockx and Clawfinger and countless others were already worldwide names by this point. But for some reason, ‘Three Dollar…’ was one of the earlier albums that helped usher nu metal into the mainstream. I just can’t see what people saw in it!

Now, I should point out, I’m not a Limp Bizkit hater. In fact, I really like them! They’ve released some absolute bangers, and, let’s face it, was the soundtrack to my (and everyone else’s) teenage years at the turn of the century. But that still doesn’t explain to me what people back in 1997 saw in this album.

Overall, it’s very forgettable. The guitar riffs are quite messy, and Fred Durst’s blend of rapping, singing and shouting just aren’t really cutting it. At least not yet, anyway. Then there’s the cover of George Michael’s ‘Faith’ which was an early hit for the band, but again, does nothing for me. But if I had to pick, I guess ‘Pollution’, ‘Counterfeit’ and ‘Stuck’ are all okay.

But only okay. Nothing more.

It’s amazing that the band would go on to absolutely conquer the world, because if any bands released a debut this lacklustre and generic today, they’d be doomed. Still, the band are headed to bigger and better things, so skip this album and get the next one.

martindavey87 ‘Some Kind of Monster’ is an EP released by Metallica in 2004 to coincide with the release of their documentary movie of the same name. Originally appearing on 2003’s ‘St. Anger’, an album we’re all familiar with for the wrong reasons, it’s an okay song, but, like a lot of the tracks on that release, it’s quite long, and can tend to drag at times.

But never mind, because we’re also treated to six live tracks that… wait… hold on… these are the same live tracks that appeared on the ‘Unnamed Feeling EP’ which came out seven months earlier!

Okay, so thanks for that Metallica! So basically nothing new here, other than the edited version of ‘Monster’. Pretty sure I could cope without that.

Overall, a pretty pointless EP, which as I said, was only there to tie-in with the movie. They could have at least given us some different live tracks, but ah well. Collectors like me will still snap this up anyway.

martindavey87 Celebrating 25 years of arguably their best and most important album, as well as THE album that set the blueprint for all of progressive metal to follow, Dream Theater played the entire ‘Images and Words’ album throughout 2017, and as recorded and released here, this was the performance in Japan, a country which has been very kind to the band over their careers.

With that said, I don’t really know what to make of this. ‘Images and Words’ is without doubt, my favourite album of all time. It changed my life when I first stumbled across it back in 2003 at the age of sixteen, and to this day I still consider every track an absolute masterpiece. And yet, this particular release doesn’t really do anything for me.

I mean, there are some obvious detriments, for one thing, James LaBrie absolutely struggles to sing a lot of this now. Age, and a well-documented vocal incident in the 90’s, hasn’t helped. Of course, being a live recording means that the sound isn’t as polished and clear as the studio album either. Then there’s just the general question… why? Why bother releasing this at all?

The answer is simple. Because there are prog nerds such as myself that would snap this up in an instant, if for no other reason than because it’s another Dream Theater CD! But it’s not all bad, for what it’s worth, ‘Images and Words’ IS indeed an absolute classic, and the band have added a few small touches here and there. It makes the album listenable, but only just.

So with that said, buy it, don’t buy it. Whatever. This is one for the die-hard fans. By all means, if you don’t have ‘Images and Words’ then why are you even reading this? Get the bloody thing! It’s only one of the greatest albums ever! But ‘Images and Words – Live in Japan’… it’s basically what it says it is, and not worth owning unless you’re a nerdy collector like me, who must own everything, then proceeds to never listen to it.

martindavey87 Here’s something that I imagine nobody asked for, and I imagine not many people are interested to listen to, but here we have it anyway; ‘Plays Metallica by Four Cellos’ by Apocalyptica. An album of Metallica covers played by, well… four cello players.

I give them kudos for originality, I mean, surely there’s not much else out there like this, and in their world of classical instruments, this might make them stand out quite a bit (it sure must have, because they’d go on to become a legit metal band), but overall, this is just kind of boring to listen to. I don’t care much for cellos, although a full-blown orchestra covering Metallica would have been more exciting. But cellos? No thanks.

Still, it makes an interesting novelty listen I guess. But after one or two plays the novelty wears thin. Why would anyone want to listen to this over the actual Metallica versions? Perhaps classical music fans that want to dabble in something different than the usual Bach or Beethoven? Who knows?

The end result, however, is that it put them on the map, and now they’re in a successful recording and touring band, and I’m not. So maybe I need to take up the cello instead!

martindavey87 Eight albums into their career, and Iced Earth’s output was proving to be very hit-or-miss with me. Sure, they’d released some absolute masterpieces, such as their self-titled debut, its follow-up ‘Night of the Stormrider’ and 1998’s ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’, but they’d also put out some very sub-par stinkers, such as ‘The Dark Saga’ and ‘Horror Show’. And so, with their ninth studio album, 2003’s ‘The Glorious Burden’, the rollercoaster ride continues, as the American power metal quintet once again are on top form.

Most notable here is the addition of new vocalist ‘The Ripper’ Tim Owens. Recently ousted from Judas Priest, this was a huge score for Iced Earth after the departure of long-time singer Matt Barlow. Owens’ powerful voice is not only a great fit for the group without copying his predecessor, but it sounds like it sparked a few creative juices for band leader Jon Schaffer, who was probably as motivated by the new recruit as he was by his passion of the albums theme; military history.

Musically, this is classic Iced Earth and very typical power metal; lots of fast guitars and harmonies, galloping bass lines and rich orchestrations. But the song-writing is solid and very inspired, and Tim Owens’ vocals are absolutely perfect for this band, replacing Barlow with ease and really giving this album an identity of its own.

With highlights including ‘Declaration Day’, ‘The Reckoning (Don’t Tread On Me)’, ‘Greenface’, ‘Attila’ and the epic three-part ‘Gettysburg (1863)’, this is a banger of an album that furthers Iced Earth’s erratic discography, but shows that when the right pieces fall into place, this band rocks seriously hard.

martindavey87 Ah… the song that basically kicked off the whole Metallica/Napster ordeal waaaaaaaay back in the year 2000 (if you don’t know about it, look it up!). After years of alternative rocking and symphony collaborations, this was an early sign of Metallica slowly turning a slightly harder corner with their music again. Sure, it’s still hard rock, but it just felt like it was upgrading for the new millennium.

Anyway, nothing came of it, as Metallica ended up becoming the most hated band in the world for a while, lost their bass player, almost split up… etc. etc. It’s been documented a million times over. No need for it now.

But this song? Yeah, this rocks! Had Metallica followed suite with this, rather than gone in the direction their careers went, things could have been totally different (not that their careers faltered in any way!). Great song! Totally naff single, mind you. It’s only the one song, so it’s totally pointless now. Unless, like me, you need to own everything.

martindavey87 What’s interesting about this live EP is that it was recorded in “The Basement”, a small, indoor music venue which is about as far away as you can get from the stadiums that Metallica are used to. Released in 2010 and only available in independent record shops and on the bands website, it’s not the easiest CD to get hold of, especially in the UK, but I did it, and I spent upwards of £25 to get it (including postage).

But really, why bother?

Answer: because I’m a fan who has to own everything.

And that, is pretty much the only reason anyone would have for having this in physical format. It’s not a terrible release, and the more intimate setting actually makes for a more chilled out vibe. But it’s just so overdone. We’ve heard live versions of these songs so many times by now, that this EP, especially for the money spent, is just so pointless unless you’re a super fan like me. Even more is that the band had put out two similar live EP’s that same year, exclusive to Australia, which, you guessed it, I had to own.

Still, it’s got a handful of the classics… ‘Master of Puppets’, ‘Harvester of Sorrow’, ‘Welcome Home (Sanitarium)’, ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ and ‘Seek and Destroy’… same old, same old. Decent enough sound quality and all that… but it’s just such a pointless EP unless you’re a diehard fan who needs to own everything.

martindavey87 The Megadeth episode of VH1’s ‘Behind the Music’ series is pretty much exactly what it says it is; a look at the history of one of heavy metal’s most beloved bands. The VH1 name gives this a bit more credibility and authenticity than your typical unofficial band biography, and as such, this features interviews with band members past and present, as well as other people associated with the band at one point or another.

Looking candidly at Dave Mustaine’s expulsion from Metallica, the bands early days and their later attempts to break into mainstream territory, as well as Mustaine’s endless battles with addictions, other than being a bit outdated now, (being released in 2001), this is overall a very interesting watch, and a worthy addition to any Megadeth fan’s collection.

martindavey87 I’m totally unashamed about my love for this band and this DVD! Released in Fozzy’s early days when they were playing mostly covers, this is complete rock ‘n’ roll nonsense documenting how Fozzy created heavy metal and then signed a dodgy contract that left them stranded in Japan for twenty years!

The main documentary is hilarious. You can tell everyone is just having a blast filming it, and the added cameos from the likes of Zakk Wylde, Sebastian Bach and Mike Portnoy just add to this. And at barely a half an hour in duration, this main feature has plenty of replay value.

There’s an abundance of extras too, including more daft early Fozzy shenanigans as well as sincere and out-of-character footage too, showing that even in their early days this band possessed unlimited potential, but then, what would you expect when rap metal pioneers Stuck Mojo joined forces with wrestling icon Chris Jericho?

martindavey87 ‘Some Kind of Monster’ is an interesting look at the personal problems that arise amongst band members after having worked together throughout careers that span decades. The biggest rock band in the world is on the verge of breaking up, with one member leaving, one member in rehab and one member being the most hated man in music. It’s compelling viewing, that’s for sure.

However, it’s been often stated that this will appeal to Metallica fans and non-fans alike, and I do consider that a bit of an overstatement. I’m a huge, huge die-hard fan of the band, but at two hours and 10 minutes in duration, and a couple of hours of extra material, even I find this quite a tedious viewing at times.

Essentially, it boils down to the egos of two men, James and Lars, and goes on to become nothing more than “Temper Tantrum: The Movie”. Still, it’s always fun and interesting to see what musicians I admire get up to when they’re not on stage. The process of recording their 2003 dud of album ‘St. Anger’, what they do in their spare time, the auditions for a new bass player and the endless promotional events they partake in.

While this isn’t essential viewing to the average movie-goer, fans of the band will enjoy this stripped and bare movie that shows that even rich and famous rock stars have egos and emotions, and the tolls that that stardom takes on them.

martindavey87 Considering this was actually released on VHS in 1990, Paradise Lost must surely overestimate the passion and loyalty of their fan club. Filmed in Bradford in 1989 to coincide with the band’s debut album, this is a 30-minute video of the band playing on stage. They barely move around, you barely see glimpses of the crowd, and in fact, you barely see vocalist Nick Holmes’ face due to his shaggy hair constantly covering it.

I’m not really a fan of their earlier, death metal growly material anyway, but even if I was, this video isn’t enjoyable or interesting to watch at all. Re-released in 2004 on DVD, this isn’t worth the 50p I spent on it if not for the fact that I do, in fact, actually like this band, and have a compulsive obsession to own everything a band puts out.

martindavey87 This is basically a DVD highlights package of the two Metallica VHS releases, ‘A Year and a Half in the Life of…’ that the band released in the early 90’s. A harmless enough watch, which looks at the making of one of heavy metal’s most iconic albums, we’re given a track-by-track look at the process of writing and recording each song, and there’s some additional material with band members reflecting upon the album years later.

It’s interesting to watch, but it mostly comprises of footage we’ve already seen in countless other videos, and it lacks all the emotional depth of Metallica’s 2004 movie ‘Some Kind of Monster’.

Still, while it’s hardly going to be the most riveting thing you’ve ever watched, if you’re a fan of Metallica it’s certainly not a bad way to kill two hours.

martindavey87 Let’s face it, when it comes to music videos, Metallica have had some absolute bangers, and some absolute stinkers. Some of them, such as the iconic ‘One’ and ‘Enter Sandman’, have become heavy metal classics, which stand up as well today as they did upon release. Then there’s the not-so-classic ones… ‘Hero of the Day’, ‘King Nothing’ and ‘The Unforgiven II’, all of which are great songs, but the videos could easily be any other generic rock band from that era.

With that said though, this is a cool disc for any die-hard Metallica fans. Music video compilations are obsolete now thanks to YouTube, but it’s still cool for a collector to have these on DVD, especially if they insist on owning everything a band puts out.

martindavey87 It feels like a lifetime ago that I bought this DVD! Back in 2002, at the impressionable age of 15, this was such an awe-inspiring show to watch. Metallica were (and still are) so much larger than life, and everything about this home video release was amazing.

The main show, despite being at the peak of Metallica’s mid-90’s alternative rock era, shows a band who could rock out with the best of them, and while the set list may not hold up amazingly well by today’s standards, it’s still brimming with heavy metal and hard rock anthems.

There’s an abundance of extras that show the behind-the-scenes process of the show and it’s titular stunts, and the pre-show footage is a blast to watch, so much so, that lurking somewhere out there is a home video my friends and I (all aged 15 and in our first band) made of us embarrassingly recreating many of the scenes.

While Metallica has certainly released better home videos and DVD’s, ‘Cunning Stunts’, with its top notch sound and picture, and brimming with fantastic visuals, still holds up just as well today as it did 20 years ago.

martindavey87 Don’t get me wrong, I love Deep Purple, and I really enjoy the songs on offer here, but these videos are all pretty hilariously bland and uninteresting, and sure reflections of the times and music genre. Besides that, this DVD is barely half an hour long, and comes with no extras, and all these videos are available on YouTube. Not even some additional chit chat between the videos. So there’s really no point in owning this unless you’re an OCD collector like me, who needs to own everything. And even then, it only takes up space.

But I’m a collector, and I only paid 50p for this. So why not?

martindavey87 ‘Rusted Pieces’ was my first music DVD purchase, way back in the year 2000, at the tender age of 13! While YouTube makes any collection of promotional music videos pretty pointless today, this was still an awesome video to watch back when I was barely old enough to shave. Featuring just six music videos and small bits of dialogue in between each song, these are some of Megadeth’s finest early songs, and have some significance to heavy metal history. However, despite that, at barely half an hour in duration, this isn’t worth owning today unless you’re an OCD collector like me, who needs to own everything.

martindavey87 Released in 1993, ‘Tokyo Tales’ is the first official live album by German power metal legends Blind Guardian. Having been a long-time fan of the band, I’ve always swayed more towards their later, more progressive and “epic” albums, whilst finding their earlier, speed metal days a little too repetitive for my liking.

Recorded whilst touring for 1992’s ‘Somewhere Far Beyond’, it was at this point that the band would begin to incorporate a wider range of influences in their music and focus on concept albums, more ambitious arrangements and lavish orchestrations. However, while ‘Tokyo Tales’ covers pretty much all the best songs those early albums have to offer, it’s still a bit too samey for my tastes.

With songs like ‘Banish from Sanctuary’, ‘Majesty’, ‘Welcome to Dying’ and ‘Lost in the Twilight Hall’, the set list is pretty good. The sound is great, and is pretty similar to the studio albums, and the audience is truly alive and loving every minute of it. But ultimately this comes down to taste. I’d rather listen to the studio counterparts of these tracks, and even then, I think I’d prefer to listen to ‘Nightfall in Middle Earth’ or ‘A Twist in the Myth’ than anything from those early albums.

martindavey87 I think there’s no denying that 2003’s ‘St. Anger’ is hardly a career highlight for Metallica. While certainly a pivotal moment in the bands history, the album itself is probably more a result of a well-documented time of turmoil for the band, than an actual critical success.

Which brings us to any promotional singles that were released, and there were a few. ‘Frantic’ is arguably one of the better songs from the album, which isn’t really saying too much. Especially as this is standard Metallica fare. The title track, accompanied by two generic live recordings, in the case of CD1 of this two-disc set, ‘Blackened’ and ‘Harvester of Sorrow’. Both original studio recordings are Metallica masterpieces... these live recordings... umm... rather forgettable, really.

Nothing overly special or remarkable, the band sounds quite rusty here, no doubt due to having not toured in a number of years at this point. None-the-less, this doesn’t make for any notable live recordings, which ultimately makes for a rather mundane single release, which finds itself only worth owning for die-hard fans.

martindavey87 ‘Ghost in the Ruins’ is the second official live album by American metal band Savatage. Released in 1995, it serves as a tribute to the late Criss Oliva who died in a car accident in 1993, however, it’s release comes just months after the band had released ‘Japan Live ‘94’, and two live albums, both with similar set lists in such a short span tends to lessen the impact.

To be brutally honest though, while I absolutely love Savatage, and they are one of my all-time favourite bands, I’ve always felt that their material doesn’t translate well into live albums. Sure, there’s no doubt the energy of hearing these songs live is off the hook, but hearing it “live”, in album form at least, seems to lack what makes the studio versions so powerful to begin with.

I mean, the band play exceptionally, and there’s a palpable chemistry between them all, and the set list is spot on, especially considering when this was recorded, but as I’ve touched upon, I just really can’t get into this. With the likes of ‘Gutter Ballet’, ‘When the Crowds Are Gone’, ‘Sirens’, ‘Hall of the Mountain King’ and ‘Of Rage and War’, this album isn’t a complete loss, but at the end of the day, I’d much rather listen to any of the studio albums and hear the music in all its fist-pumping studio glory.

martindavey87 One of the best tracks from 2008’s ‘Death Magnetic’, an album brimming with great songs, ‘All Nightmare Long’ rightfully received a single release and a promotional video, and as is always the case with Metallica, there’s multiple versions and discs.

This one, disc one of a three-disc set, features the titular track, as well as live versions of ‘Wherever I May Roam’ and ‘Master of Puppets’. Two exceptional tracks in themselves, overall, this single release doesn’t really offer anything new, however.

It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the two live tracks, just that we’ve heard countless different live versions of them by now, that as great as the compositions are, there’s nothing remotely notable about these two recordings in particular. Still, they’re great songs, so whatever. And the title track is amazing, full of twists and turns, with some breakneck speed guitar riffs and Hetfield’s voice sounding the best it has sounded in years. If nothing else, ‘All Nightmare Long’ is a great little nugget for fans and collectors.

martindavey87 2011’s ‘Here and Now’ is the seventh studio album by Canadian rockers Nickelback, and yep, you guessed it, it’s similar to their previous few releases. But is that such a bad thing? The band have sold millions of albums and toured the world over, so they must be doing something right. They have a winning formula and they’ve stuck with it. Radio-friendly enough for the casual listener yet rocking enough for metal fans. Those willing to give the band a chance, that is. As is usually the case by now, the band can be hard and heavy enough for rock fans, yet some softer ballads allow the band to garner radio airplay. The production is top-notch, giving the band a full sound which really makes the rockier songs heavy as hell and gives the soft pop songs a warm, vibrant feel.

The lyrics, as always, range from the usual rock debauchery to more introspective and reflective themes. Sex, women and parties are usually at the top of the bill, but there are themes of unity, suicide and dependence too. For the most part, they’re usually a fine old slab of cheese, but anyone willing to dig a little deeper can see that occasionally the band can have something meaningful or poignant to say.

While Nickelback will never be known specifically for virtuoso musicianship, there’s no denying their penchant for writing catchy and memorable songs, and with beastly guitar riffs and pounding drums aplenty, there’s an abundance of quality material here. The likes of ‘This Means War’, ‘Bottoms Up’, ‘Lullaby’, ‘Kiss It Goodbye’, ‘When We Stand Together’ and ‘Trying Not to Love You’ are all exceptional rock songs that are certainly worth a listen or two. And while ‘Here and Now’ may not be anything groundbreaking or innovative, the truth is, it doesn’t need to be. This is good, quality hard rock at its finest.

martindavey87 2014’s ‘Men of Honor’ is the second full-length album by American metal band Adrenaline Mob. It is the bands fifth overall release in just three years of existence, and follows on with the same sound and style the band have polished and refined over the years prior.

If the name of the band wasn’t a big enough clue, Adrenaline Mob’s formula is simple... heavy, melodic and grooving metal, with aggressive and powerful vocals. Lyrical themes include the usual, manly, testosterone-induced stupidity, such as “feeling the adrenaline”, fighting, loyalty (to “the family”, or course), various pseudo-gang references and the occasional soppy tune too. But you don’t go into an album by a band like this expecting deep, meaningful introspection. This is high-voltage, fist-pumping rock at its finest.

The production on ‘Men of Honor’ is fantastic. Heavy, beefy guitars are well accompanied by a thumping bass and a pounding drum to make this an incredibly “loud” album, and the performances by everyone are exceptional. Guitarist Mike Orlando is an absolute riff machine and his guitar solos wail away at dizzying speeds, and Russell Allen’s vocals, as always, are unmatched, whether loud and aggressive or quiet and beautiful, the guy is one of metal’s all time greats.

With highlights including ‘Dearly Departed’, ‘House of Lies’, ‘Mob is Back’, ‘Judgment Day’, ‘Let It Go’, the title track itself and the beautiful ‘Fallin’ to Pieces’, it’s clear that there’s an abundance of groove metal anthems here, that, as touched upon above, if you go in expecting nothing more than dumb, fists-in-the-air head-banging madness, you’re in for a huge treat.

martindavey87 Okay, so seriously, the band is called “Leash Law” and the album is called “Dogface”. Doesn’t that pretty much sum this up?

No?

Sigh...

Formed in 2003, Leash Law are an American metal band which are probable most notable for featuring drummer Richard Christy of Iced Earth and Death fame, as well as vocalist Wade Black, who had sung on power metal band Crimson Glory’s 2000 album ‘Astronomica’. I actually really enjoyed that album, so had some interest in what this ridiculously-named band were like, but I should have guessed just by the title.

This is generic metal at its finest. The riffs are uninteresting, with each song sounding the same as the last, and none of them standing out either. The production sounds pretty weak, and everything just feels dated. But the true letdown is that Black’s vocals just kind of sit there, screeching away willy-nilly, out of tune and with no notable melodies, a poor man’s version of Tim “The Ripper” Owens.

I don’t want to dwell on this for too long as I’ve listened to ‘Dogface’ a number of times, and nothing sticks. In fact, there’s a similar word to “Dogface” they could have used to name this album which would have been much more appropriate, but hell, this is my fault for thinking a band named “Leash Law” could actually put out anything of substance in the first place. Okay, so seriously, the band is called “Leash Law” and the album is called “Dogface”. Doesn’t that pretty much sum this up?

No?

Sigh...

Formed in 2003, Leash Law are an American metal band which are probable most notable for featuring drummer Richard Christy of Iced Earth and Death fame, as well as vocalist Wade Black, who had sung on power metal band Crimson Glory’s 2000 album ‘Astronomica’. I actually really enjoyed that album, so had some interest in what this ridiculously-named band were like, but I should have guessed just by the title.

This is generic metal at its finest. The riffs are uninteresting, with each song sounding the same as the last, and none of them standing out either. The production sounds pretty weak, and everything just feels dated. But the true letdown is that Black’s vocals just kind of sit there, screeching away willy-nilly, out of tune and with no notable melodies, a poor man’s version of Tim “The Ripper” Owens.

I don’t want to dwell on this for too long as I’ve listened to ‘Dogface’ a number of times, and nothing sticks. In fact, there’s a similar word to “Dogface” they could have used to name this album which would have been much more appropriate, but hell, this is my fault for thinking a band named “Leash Law” could actually put out anything of substance in the first place.

martindavey87 American power metal band Iced Earth had managed to carve a bit of a niche for themselves at this point in their career. Having established themselves as one of the more notable and prominent bands of the subgenre, it’s surprising that their discography has been drastically hit-or-miss. Unable to truly capture any momentum over a string of consecutive releases, one album could be amazing, while the next could be pretty average. There really was no predicting how each release could be received, and 2001’s ‘Horror Show’ follows on with that trend.

After a bit of a lull had been rectified with 1998’s critically acclaimed ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’, the band followed this up with, uh, a pretty mundane themed release focusing on horror characters and stories. While one or two tracks could be acceptable, an entire album seems a bit uninspiring and not overwhelmingly promising.

And so here we have it, another pretty average release. Iced Earth’s sound by this point is what it is, and while they aren’t looking to branch out and explore new styles, the quality of songwriting could still benefit from a bit more focus and enthusiasm. This feels slightly by-the-numbers. An abundance of the usual speed metal trappings and powerful, operatic vocals, this is undeniably Iced Earth, but the songs just don’t have the same exuberance and determination that the band have shown with past releases.

Still, it’s not all terrible, as there are a couple of decent tracks on here. ‘Wolf’, ‘Damien’ and ‘Jack’ are alright, though mostly forgettable compared to the bands stronger material. Admittedly however, a cover of Iron Maiden’s ‘Transylvania’ is actually fantastic and the true highlight of this album. The band truly stamp their identity all over this instrumental track, and, most notably for me, it’s the song that served as my introduction to the band (how ironic that it was a cover, a fact I didn’t find out until years later).

Overall, ‘Horror Show’ isn’t by any stretch a terrible album, it’s just not overly memorable, and considering that Iced Earth have shown the ability to put out some incredibly strong releases, it just fails to truly stand out in any way other than being “that horror album”.

martindavey87 Way back in 2002, 15 year-old me was browsing my local second hand shop when I came across this CD. Digging the artwork and a quick glance at the booklet showing me this was indeed a rock band, I thought I’d check them/him out. Here I am all these years later, still loving this album (and still unsure whether to address “them” as a band or an artist!).

By this point, Axel Rudi Pell’s formula is simple and effective (and also a tad repetitive). Opening instrumental followed by a few high-energy rock tracks, long “epic”, etc. You get the idea. And 1998’s ‘Oceans of Time’ is no different. A great mixture of hard rock and power metal, this is guitar-driven rock at its cheesy finest, full of energy, emotion and melody.

Renowned rock vocalist Jeff Scott Soto is gone, ushering in the bands forth vocalist, powerhouse Johnny Gioeli, and boy, does he make an impression! With his powerful voice and impressive range, it’s clear upon hearing the first couple of songs that he is a perfect fit for this band. As for the others, they all play their roles perfectly. While Pell’s guitar solos are pretty much all the same, there’s no denying his penchant for catchy hooks or riffs, and there’s an abundance of outstanding tracks here.

‘Carousel’, ‘Pay the Price’, ‘The Gates of the Seven Seals’, ‘Ashes from the Oath’, ‘Ride the Rainbow’ and the title track itself are all incredibly cheesy yet satisfying slabs of hard rock, that are easy to listen to and highly memorable. Arguably one of Axel Rudi Pell’s best releases, this album made me a fan, so I’d say it’s a great place to start, and definitely worth a listen for fans of the genre.

martindavey87 ‘Tokyo, Japan 10/28/95’ is the second release in Dream Theater’s live series of official bootlegs. Recorded in 1995 (the clue’s in the title!), it shows a fairly young band who, while playing immaculately, are still polishing off and refining their live shows.

With only three studio albums and one EP under their belts at this point, the set list seems fairly limited by today’s standards, especially as the band don’t play anything from their debut, and miss two pretty important tracks from their seminal ‘Images & Words’ album. Still, it’s a look back at the band in their early days, and the set is pretty solid nonetheless. There’s a fair bit of “jamming” added in which does get a little tedious, especially as some of the placements of these sections seem a bit jarring, but again, this is something the band will refine over time.

The sound is okay. The band themselves sound great and everyone is perfectly balanced in the mix. Unfortunately the audience are barely audible, which, considering this is a live album, is a little bit of a shame. Vocalist James LaBrie trying to get the crowd to sing only for the listener to receive near-silence in response is a bit of a letdown.

But otherwise, this is a decent enough release. The performances from all involved are fantastic, including LaBrie, who struggled enough live as it was, even before his infamous food poisoning incident, and there are a few added in extras that make this worth having for fans, such as an acoustic guitar version of piano ballad ‘Wait for Sleep’. While this pales in comparison to the bands later official live albums, it’s still cool to hear them in their earlier days, making this a worthy addition to any fans collection.

martindavey87 ‘The Expedition’, released in 2000, is a live album by power metal band Kamelot. It follows their forth studio album and rather than being one specific concert, features highlights from their tour of the same year, supporting power metal peers Stratovarius.

The band perform exceptionally, especially vocalist Roy Khan who can really belt out the high notes, and there’s no doubting the energy of the music or the enthusiasm of the musicians, especially as there’s a palpable chemistry between everyone involved. However, now the down side... I find Kamelot’s first four albums range from okay to good, and while the songs here are some of the best of the bands earlier days, I’d still prefer to listen to their later material, which, conveniently, starts to really pick up with their next studio album.

But for what it’s worth, this is still a decent enough release. The sound is spot on, giving everyone space to shine and stand out without drowning anyone else out. There are some cringe-inducing moments too, such as Roy Khan shouting “let’s tear this place apart” between songs! I love his voice, and his energy is infectious, but this isn’t the kind of music to mosh to.

Thankfully there’s only eight live tracks, keeping the album fairly short and sweet, as there’s then three new studio tracks included at the end, and this is where you really get your money’s worth. ‘One Day’ is a nice enough ballad, but the key highlight for me is the rerecording of ‘We Are Not Separate’ from the bands debut album. With a much updated and richer sound, improved vocals and arrangements, this song is a true gem in Kamelot’s discography and one of their finest works.

For that alone, this album is a great addition to any Kamelot fans collection, and at least worth checking out once by any casual listeners.

martindavey87 Aw man... poor James LaBrie. I can’t help but feel that this release is some kind of dig at the fella. Perhaps he’d upset Mike Portnoy or maybe he lost a bet or something? The fact is, this official bootleg by Dream Theater is a pretty substandard album thanks in part to LaBrie’s absolutely horrendous vocals which falter and diminish more and more as the set drags on.

It’s been well documented the issues LaBrie had after rupturing his vocal chords whilst touring in the mid-90’s, but damn, the number of times his voice cracks or wobbles or he just flat out can’t sing like he use to, is painful to hear. But props to the guy for never giving up, since stuff like this must have been a HUGE knock to his confidence.

Besides that, while the musicianship is fantastic as you’d always expect from this band, the only other notable reason that this recording was put out there was because it features the legendary Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden on vocals for a number of songs, (and Ray Alder of Fates Warning too! But that pales in comparison), and to be fair if I was joined on stage by Bruce Dickinson I’d probably want everyone to hear it too.

But even that is mildly entertaining, as it’s literally just a fun jam, and nothing overly memorable. But for what it’s worth, that’s probably the only major selling point of this release. Hell, even the front cover is a shot of Dickinson jamming with the band, leaving poor James LaBrie standing in the background with whatever shred of dignity and self-respect he had left slowly fading away.

Poor LaBrie.

martindavey87 1999’s ‘Scenes From a Memory’ is not only one of Dream Theater’s most beloved and pivotal albums, but also prog’s in general. A monumental success for the band and often cited as one of the best concept albums of all time... that doesn’t change the fact that you’d have to be the most nerdy virgin possible to actually “like” this album.

I mean, it’s mostly snippets of the album is production. Sound interesting? It’s really not. Even for die-hard fans, this is the kind of thing you’d listen to once just for the sake of hearing a documented “making of” release, only to keep it in your collection for collector’s sake.

The second disc features an alternate mix of the entire album, which is mostly why this release gets two stars. The music is fantastic, but why wouldn’t you just listen to the actual, final studio product instead of remixes and snippets and demos.

The only real notable thing here is John Petrucci’s vocal demo for ‘The Spirit Carries On’, which is hilariously entertaining.

martindavey87 ‘Lonesome Crow’ is the 1972 debut of one of metal and hard rock’s longest running and most endearing bands, the Scorpions (or, more specifically, just Scorpions, without the “the”). Like countless others, I was introduced to this band by winds of change, being rocked like a hurricane and suffering severe blackouts, so it’s a huge surprise, and kind of an odd disappointment, to discover that the German hard rockers were something completely different when they first debuted.

Commonly referred to as “krautrock”, ‘Lonesome Crow’ is more psychedelic and progressive than what the band would go on to become known for. With a heavy emphasis on non-linear guitar solos and vocal lines that don’t really follow very clear melodies, it’s a bit of a mess of an album, especially if, like me, you were expecting the bands latter riff-fuelled sound to be present here.

Most of this falls down to guitarist Michael Schenker, who’s distinctive playing style is all over this album, but would leave the band before they could record a follow-up, which is where the group really start to develop their more recognizable sound. There is some impressive musicianship, which feels more akin to the progressive rock bands of the day, but for all the competent playing, they’re not very competent at writing catchy songs. Not yet, anyway.

I mean, if I had to really look for positives, then full credit would go to the bands technical abilities on their instruments. But I don’t really listen to albums marvelling at the musicianship if the songs themselves are pretty boring and forgettable. It’s a shame, but in fairness, these guys would certainly go on to evolve and eventually conquer the world, so dismissing ‘Lonesome Crow’ shouldn’t be such an issue, surely?

martindavey87 Body Count’s discography has always been a story of up’s and down’s, a great album followed by a disappointing one, followed by a... you get the idea. And after 2006’s uninspired ‘Murder 4 Hire’, the band went on hiatus. With frontman rapper Ice-T keeping busy with his solo music and acting career, it would be eight years until the crossover thrash, rap rock pioneers would return, and the trend continues, because 2014’s ‘Manslaughter’ is a fantastic return to form for the band.

Featuring some of their most polished and well-written tracks, ‘Manslaughter’ shows that age hasn’t slowed these guys down, and in fact, they sound more energetic and enraged than ever before. The production is amazing, really emphasizing the bands precision playing and incredibly tight guitar riffs, making this by far the heaviest Body Count have ever sounded, and the lyrics and rapping are probably more consistent than they’ve ever been, fitting wonderfully with the music, and still rapping about themes that are as relevant and relatable today as they’ve ever been.

With the likes of ‘Talk Shit, Get Shot’, ‘Pray for Death’, ‘Pop Bubble’, ‘Back to Rehab’, ’99 Problems BC’, ‘Bitch in the Pit’ and an updated cover of Suicidal Tendencies ‘Institutionalized’, this is some of the strongest material Body Count have put out. And while they’ve often been considered a band that courts controversy and is hard to take seriously, the truth is that ‘Manslaughter’ is a very coherent and well put together album.

martindavey87 ‘Dearly Departed’ is a 2015 compilation by groove metal band Adrenaline Mob. Released a year after the groups second studio album, it features a mixture of original, cover and acoustic tracks.

However, as much as I like this band (and I really like this band!), this compilation, much like their previous EP’s, just does nothing for me. The covers range from average to adventurous, though none of them are ones I’m particularly bothered about listening to, and the acoustic versions of previously released songs are alright, though I prefer the originals.

The only real saving grace is the title track. Originally taken from the 2014 ‘Men of Honor’ album, ‘Dearly Departed’ is a great track, which features some nice guitar work and Russell Allen’s powerfully heavy yet melodic vocals in full effect. But for what it’s worth, I’ll just listen to it on the studio album itself, which is actually a fantastic album.

In fairness to A-Mob, they seem pretty consistent with putting out high-quality albums, with some kind of EP, compilation or filler release in the interim, and for what it’s worth, it’s a nice little nugget for fans, and certainly a harmless addition to the collection, but that’s all this really is to me, an addition to the collection.

martindavey87 ‘Made in Germany’ is a compilation by German industrial metal giants, Rammstein. Released in 2011 (the clue’s in the title), it features sixteen of the bands biggest and most powerful tracks, and is a well-rounded career retrospective for the sextet at that point in their career. However, as is always the case with these types of collections, the quality of the track list is subjective, and in my opinion, there’s an abundance of missing material!

But that comes down to my own personal tastes, and while there’s a few songs I’d have taken out and replaced with others, as a whole, this is a solid album which represents the band well. Full of bombastic and over-the-top hits such as ‘Du Hast’, ‘Sonne’, ‘Ich Will’, ‘Pussy’, ‘Amerika’, ‘Engel’, ‘Links 2 3 4’, ‘Mein Herz Brennt’ and album-exclusive track, ‘Mein Land’, there are so many awesome songs here that ‘Made in Germany’ still packs one hell of a punch, and will satisfy fans of the group or will make a fantastic entry point for newcomers.

However, while the track listing is fantastic, let’s look at some of the cons of this album. There’s a few fairly subtle edits that take away from the songs. While there’s nothing too severe, one notable exception that irks me is the awesome intro to ‘Du Riechst So Gut’ being cut in half. Not cool. There’s the obvious omissions, which comes down to personal taste again, but where the hell is ‘Feuer Frei’ or ‘Ich Tu Dir Weh’? But the biggest letdown is a bonus disc full of remixes. Sure, these things are normally more of a novelty, but for the most part, none of these remixes are really all that great, barring two; ‘Sonne’ remixed by Clawfinger is pretty good, and amazingly, a Scooter, rave-inspired mix of ‘Pussy’ is incredible, and saves that disc from becoming completely pointless.

Never mind all of that though, as the pros easily outweigh the cons, making ‘Made in Germany’ a fantastic album! While it will no doubt feel dated over time, as most compilations do, it does still hold up well, and the quality of the material on offer is of a high standard. Definitely worth a spin or two!

martindavey87 Okay this isn’t going to make me any friends... but this is my review and I can only share my honest opinion...

Yuck. What is this?

I was heavily into thrash metal in my early teens, and while I don’t sway very often towards the heavier and more aggressive side of metal these days, I still like many of the artists that I’m already a fan of. So here I am many, many years later, and it’s time to get stuck in with one of the main metal subgenres that has always eluded me; death metal. And what better place to start than one of the most revered and beloved bands of the genre? Death.

But this? Nope! Not into it! I mean, the playing is incredibly intense and these guys are all incredibly proficient at their instruments, with pinpoint precision and accuracy, and there are a couple of decent riffs. But most of it is just way too fast and lacks any kind of melody. Ditto for the vocals. Angry, growly stuff, which is fine if you’re into that, but for me, I need some kind of melodic vocal line that I can sing along to!

Aw well. I tried, and I know I’ll get flayed alive for this review (metal fans can be so annoyingly passionate sometimes, it’s just a review, come on guys, chill!), but there we have it. I gave Death’s ‘Human’ multiple listens, and it’s just not growing on me. What can I say? I’m only human.

martindavey87 Highly revered by fans and often regarded as the bands finest work, 1993’s ‘Edge of Thorns’ is a pivotal album in Savatage’s discography. It’s the first album to feature new vocalist Zak Stevens, with Jon Oliva stepping away from the mic to focus on keyboards and songwriting, and most notably, it’s the final album to feature guitar hero and founder Criss Oliva, who was tragically killed by a drunk driver six months after the release of this album.

It couldn’t have come at a worse time for the band either. Already fighting an uphill battle against changing musical trends, the band were managing to continually improve with each release, and while following 1989’s ‘Gutter Ballet’ and ‘1991’s ‘Streets: A Rock Opera’ itself would seem a daunting task, the band rise to the challenge with this, one of their most polished and well-rounded releases to date.

With its great production and overflowing with fantastic musicianship, ‘Edge of Thorns’ sees the band step away slightly from the more classical leanings of their previous few releases, and focus more on a metal-tinted hard rock edge. Which is fine, as it’s still a solid album full of memorable tracks. The likes of ‘Edge of Thorns’, ‘He Carves His Stones’, ‘Follow Me’, ‘Damien’, ‘Lights Out’ and bonus track ‘Forever After’ makes this one of Savatage’s strongest releases.

While the band would go on to new creative heights, this was probably their commercial peak. With metal in the mainstream being completely dead by this point, any momentum the band had garnered up until now would slowly squander over the next few years, and while the 90’s would see the band release some of their best and most ambitious works, at this point they would firmly enter the realm of being a cult band. ‘Edge of Thorns’, really is the end of one era and the start of another.

martindavey87 By 2008, Nickelback were undoubtedly two things; one of the biggest rock bands on the planet, and also one of the most hated. Despised by metal fans and too heavy for pop fans, Nickelback are one of those bands that have their audience and knows what works for them. And so here, with 2008’s ‘Dark Horse’, we see the band continue to tread safely with what made them one of the biggest bands on the planet.

However, take heed, for “treading safely” doesn’t mean they’re coasting and resting on their laurels, because ‘Dark Horse’ is arguably one of the bands best albums. With consistently strong tracks throughout, this album is brimming with highly energetic rock anthems and catchy, radio-friendly ballads that are incredibly easy to listen to. It’s this simple, yet infectious, songwriting style that make Nickelback so easy to get into.

Of course, haters will hate, but if you give the Canadian quartet a chance, there’re some absolutely solid tracks here that sound great! Driven by heavy, beefy guitar riffs and a thumping rhythm section, Nickelback’s formula is simple, yet, in a world where musical virtuosity is running amok, sometimes you need to strip it all down and stick to the basics. Dirty, raunchy songs with dumb lyrics that primarily focus on love, sex, parties and occasionally a meaningful, introspective ballad, sometimes less really is more.

And this is never more evident with the likes of ‘Something in Your Mouth’, ‘Burn It to the Ground’, ‘Next Go Round’, ‘S.E.X.’, huge hit ‘If Today Was Your Last Day’, ‘Gotta Be Somebody’ and one of my personal favourites, ‘Just to Get High’. With excellent performances by all involved (as always, Chad Kroeger is incredibly underrated as a vocalist), ‘Dark Horse’ is a powerful album packed full of hard rock goodness. Flying by at a brisk 44 minutes, it’s easy to digest and is a great example of why Nickelback shouldn’t be judged merely by their unfair reputation.

martindavey87 Released in 2019, Rammstein’s self-titled seventh album came out a lengthy ten-years after its predecessor, 2009’s ‘Liebe ist fur Alle Da’. The band managed to maintain popularity over the years by continuing to tour, with their world-renowned stage show becoming impossibly bigger and bigger each time. But with such an extended break from the studio, does absence really make the heart grow fonder?

There’s no doubt ‘Rammstein’ is quintessential Rammstein (aha!). It’s got all the elements that make the band so unique, be it Til Lindemann’s deep and powerful voice, the heavy, riff-oriented guitar work, the electronic pop elements or the overwhelmingly heavy and catchy compositions. But unfortunately, there’s just something a little underwhelming about the album as a whole, and I think that perhaps after ten years of waiting, it just kind of feels like it could have been a little bit better, maybe?

Ah, who am I kidding? It’s still a great release, and in a world where more and more bands are failing to feel as “big” as they once did, it shows that Rammstein, a German-singing industrial metal band, can peak chart lists and fill up stadiums of tens of thousands of fans the world over, with their less-is-more approach showing that you don’t need to be musical virtuosos to release a compelling metal album. And while the quality of the tracks do start to dip a little halfway through, there’s still some standout moments here that deserve mention.

‘Deutschland’, ‘Radio’, ‘Sex’, ‘Auslander’, ‘Zeig Dich’ and ‘Weit Weg’ are all fantastic and amazingly catchy tracks, and show that the band, 25 years into their career and still with the original line-up, are nowhere near slowing down. And while ‘Rammstein’ may not possess any unique, singular quality that makes it stand out from the German’s discography, it’s honestly just a great album that is sure to please fans of the band.

martindavey87 By 2002, nu metal had peaked. With world domination accomplished, the only way forward was down, and with that, so many bands that were “on top of the world” found themselves quickly discarded and back down from massive festivals to small clubs. And while a handful of groups, most notably Linkin Park, were able to outlive the subgenre, one of the bigger casualties was Californian quartet, Papa Roach.

The Roach’s 2000 major label debut, ‘Infest’, saw the band at the forefront of the scene, with a number of major hit singles, in particular, ‘Last Resort’, transcend the metal genre and branch out to casual radio listeners. In 2000, Papa Roach were arguably one of the biggest bands on the planet. But by the time they released 2002’s follow-up, ‘Lovehatetragedy’, nu metal was in decline, and unfortunately so was the group’s popularity.

Which is a shame, because ‘Lovehatetragedy’ isn’t a bad album, but it’s a clear reflection of where the subgenre was headed. There’s just something about the record that doesn’t quite have the same punch as before. It’s like ‘Infest’ made a huge statement, and now they’re just coasting the waves. Perhaps all the lyrical themes were already passé, or the lack of rapping and more focus on radio-friendly rock took away some of the edge of what originally made the band stand out?

Still, for what it’s worth, this release has its merits. There’s some catchy, hook-laden tracks, and vocalist Jacoby Shaddix has improved as a singer, especially with more melodic-based vocal lines. There’s some nice guitar work too, though metal fans quickly tired of nu metals repetitive, de-tuned riffs, I personally think there’s some nice, tight playing here. Songs like ‘Black Clouds’, ‘She Loves Me Not’, ‘Time and Time Again’, ‘Life is a Bullet’, ‘Born With Nothing, Die With Everything’ and ‘M-80 (Explosive Energy Movement)’ are all decent tracks that show that the subgenre still had lots of potential left, even in its dying days.

And while Papa Roach will never reach the same heights they did in 2000, this album shows that they’re actually not as bad as most people will make them out to be.

martindavey87 Following on from the success of 2001’s ‘Silver Side Up’ and 2003’s ‘The Long Road’, it’s now 2005, and Nickelback are unarguably one of the biggest bands on the planet. Appealing to rock and (some) metal fans, while also endearing themselves to pop fans and casual radio listeners, the band were at a point where they’d been able to establish a sound, as well as a name and reputation, that would keep them in the spotlight.

However, while I found their albums to continually improve with each subsequent release, 2005’s ‘All the Right Reasons’ doesn’t quite live up to its predecessor. But there’s really not any particular reason, other than the songs just don’t seem as good. The sound is the same, the production is the same, sure, there’s probably a bit more emphasis on soft radio rock here, but it’s still not that different than what the Canadian foursome did on ‘The Long Road’. But overall, the songs just aren’t as good.

Which is kind of weird, seeing as how this album features some of Nickelback’s biggest hits (outside of 2001’s ‘How You Remind Me’), ‘Photograph’ and ‘Rock Star’, both of which were huge radio hits for the band. There’s also some great rockers such as ‘Animal’, ‘Next Contestant’, ‘Someone That You’re With’ and the emotional and thoughtful ‘If Everyone Cared’. But yet, there’s just something about this release that doesn’t resonate with me as much as what came before it.

But don’t be deterred, as it’s still a good album! The performances from everyone involved are of a high standard, and the band clearly knows what works for them and how to get the most out of it. By 2005 Nickelback would be known more for their hits than their albums, and as it stands, this probably won’t appeal to everyone. And while I don’t think it’s as good as 2003’s ‘The Long Road’, ‘All the Right Reasons’ is still a solid, hard rock release with some good songs that definitely won’t be amiss in any collections.

martindavey87 ‘Oceanborn’ is the second studio album by symphonic metal legends Nightwish. Released in 1998, it comes just one year after their debut, but already there’s a marked improvement in every aspect of the band and their music.

For starters, everything is more polished. The compositions flow a lot better and don’t seem as disjointed as before. The interplay between all the musicians, in particular, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen is fantastic. Full of exciting melodies and energetic performances, the music sounds much more vibrant and alive on this release. There are also more varied influences on this album, such as ‘Swanheart’ with its folk influence, ‘Moondance’ with its exotic flavour, and a wide use of neoclassical runs used throughout. It makes for a much more refreshing album.

Then there’s the production. Wow! A huge improvement! While ‘Angels Fall First’ always sounded raw and, in my opinion, a little flat, ‘Oceanborn’, again, sounds much more alive. Everything is clear and well balanced and it suits the music perfectly.

However, despite all the praise, there are still a few filler songs, and in general, a lack of that “big” sound that Nightwish would develop more over the years. But it’s not really a criticism, as this is a really good release. And songs like ‘The Riddler’, ‘Gethsemane’, ‘Passion and the Opera’, ‘ Stargazers’, ‘Sacrament of Wilderness’ and their amazing rendition of the classic ‘Walking in the Air’ are all great signs that this band are developing and maturing at a fast rate, and are definitely destined for bigger things.

martindavey87 After two incredible albums of high-quality progressive metal, Danish band Beyond Twilight shoot themselves in the foot by getting a bit too artsy and fancy with 2006’s ‘For the Love of Art and the Making’. The clue is clearly there in the title. At 38 minutes in length, and featuring 43 tracks, each barely a minute long, the idea behind this release is that the tracks can be played in any order and, depending on how you listen to it, it supposedly can bear different meanings each time.

Yeah, alright.

Can anyone truly say they listened to this more than a couple of times without losing interest? Just as you start to enjoy one segment it skips straight to the next. And everything is so disjointed, no matter what order you play it in. In fact, I tried it a couple of times in random orders, and nothing flows smoothly at all. Additionally, it’s near-impossible to really understand any of what’s going on without actually knowing the lyrics. Bugger that!

It’s a huge shame, as Beyond Twilight’s previous two releases, 2001’s ‘The Devil’s Hall of Fame’ and 2005’s ‘Section X’ are genuinely fantastic albums. These guys are amazing musicians and have an instantly distinctive sound of their own. And while the idea behind ‘For the Love...’ is interesting and massively ambitious, they just weren’t able to make anything substantial come out of it.

I give the album two stars simply because there is some great musicianship and performances, and there are a couple of moments that are pretty neat (if, by pretty neat, you don’t mind songs that last barely a minute). But overall, this album is a huge disappointment, and at the time of writing this review the band haven’t done anything since. Coincidence? I doubt it. Art for art’s sake? Art over substance? Whatever. This album sucks.

martindavey87 Released shortly after the bands second studio album, ‘Interlude’ is the 1999 EP by German power metal band, Iron Savior. While their debut album was decent enough, their follow-up, ‘Unification’ was a solid release, with some strong compositions and performances. But sadly, they seemed to have gone back a step with this rather mundane, by-the-numbers disc.

Broken into two parts, live tracks and new tracks, there’s not really anything here that stands out. The live songs, taken from the bands 1998 Wacken Open Air festival performance, are okay. They’re nothing amazing, although the crowd seem into it, which is pretty nice to hear, but I think I’d prefer the studio versions.

Then there are the new compositions, and man... these suck. I just totally can’t get into any of them, and not for any particular reason either, they’re just not doing anything for me. The best one is a bloody Judas Priest cover, which in itself isn’t bad, but speaks volumes about the bands original output here.

Overall, this is one for die-hard fans... if any actually exist.

martindavey87 I don’t really like live albums. The few that I do, I very rarely listen to. I’ve just always been a studio albums kind of guy. And that’s for the bands I like. So what does that leave for a band like Pantera? Their live album, 1997’s oddly-titled ‘Official Live: 101 Proof’ doesn’t stand a chance.

Pantera are one of those bands that I just don’t get. Highly revered and beloved amongst metal fans, their albums hold up as some of the greatest of all time... but they’re really not. I find each album has a couple of excellent tracks, such as ‘Cowboys from Hell’, ‘Cemetery Gates’, ‘Walk’ and ‘Revolution is My Name’, and then a whole load of filler tracks. But it’s those singles that manage to keep the bands reputation intact.

This album mostly mixes the two. There’re a handful of tracks I enjoy, and then a load that I don’t. But I’d just much rather listen to the studio version. For what it’s worth, the production is good, with the band sounding incredibly energetic, raw and aggressive, and Phil Anselmo is a crazy frontman who’s between-tracks waffling can be fairly entertaining.

But overall... no. This just doesn’t work for me.

While I have all of Pantera’s groove metal output (from 1990’s ‘Cowboys from Hell’ and onwards’), the truth is, their 2003 greatest hits compilation, ‘Reinventing Hell’, is pretty much the only album I need.

martindavey87 Covers albums. Love them or hate them, there’s just always something about them that sticks out like a sore thumb in a bands discography, whether they’re good or bad, they just “stand out”. Y’know? Some bands are great at covers, though. Metallica comes to mind. Maybe it’s because most of the songs they cover are obscure bands that nobody would have heard of otherwise, but they have a knack for basically taking a song and completely making it their own.

Then there’s Iced Earth. Theirs are not so good.

‘Tribute to the Gods’ is Iced Earth’s attempt at paying homage to the bands that inspired them. It was originally released in 2001 as part of the ‘Dark Genesis’ box set, but has since been released a number of times by itself. Not that that makes it any better or anything... just saying...

The thing is, Iced Earth just don’t really have the right sound that lends itself well to covers. I mean, they’ve kept their own guitar tones, Matt Barlow can sing really well, but none of it works well when comparing thrash-inspired power metal to hard rock like AC/DC or Blue Oyster Cult. Also, in all honesty, I find the choices of songs mostly lacklustre.

At best however, their cover of KISS’s ‘Creatures of the Night’ is pretty damn good, as is their Iron Maiden covers ‘The Number of the Beast’ and ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name’, but honestly, they’re not really good enough to make me choose to listen to them of my own free will, and if anything it’s a simple case of the originals being better.

Never mind though, it’s a covers album, never really something to take too seriously in the first place. I originally got this with the aforementioned ‘Dark Genesis’ box set, so it wasn’t like I splashed out particularly on this release, which is good, because if I had I’d probably feel slightly perturbed right about now.