Ferrigno - Leal - Kuprij. 2003 Lion (Finland) (CD). Thrift shop find (May). Super fast and technical instrumental metal fusion. Well done for the style but old hat by this time.
Pessimist - Cult of the Initiated. 2021 Seasons of Mist (1997) (LP). From the RMRS (Apr). Not as heavy as expected, but certainly as annoying. Bark, growl, grunt. Blleeeeeuuuuuuuuuhhhhh. The music rumbles on. Not much in the way of dynamics or metrics. I've always struggled with death metal, and this isn't the title to change my mind. Good score at 5 bucks though.
*Motorhead - Bomber. 1979 Bronze (LP). Blue vinyl. From the collection buy last year (Apr). Pretty much what I said about Overkill, I could say here: Juiced up hard rock, borderline metal; Excellent solos; "Not sure if I'm keeping all these Motorhead's, but maybe the classics will get a longer ticket. Neat cover art as well."
Gargoyle. 1988 New Renaissance (EP). If you're a collector of private pressings, there's no way you'd miss this cover. I was surprised to see something like this at the end of the RMRS show for $5 (Apr). Gargoyle were from Portland (OR) and played a brand of speedy traditional heavy metal. A bit primitive and unsophisticated for this late date. I do like the vocals as he can actually sing, rather than scream or bark. The EP features three tracks that ultimately all ended up on their debut, so that diminishes the value somewhat, though not entirely for specialty collectors. If I ever do find the full album, I'd probably keep it if the music is similar.
Black Sabbath - Seventh Star. 1986 Warner Bros (LP). From Dr. Boom in a trade (Mar). Generally regarded as one of the worst Sabbath albums, if not the worst, much of that has to do with the time and place. Were I a huge Sabbath fan in 1986, and I had adopted all the new trends in metal, I can imagine that Seventh Star was quite the shock to the system. I definitely enjoyed Sabbath back then, and was deep into NWOBHM and thrash, but I had no expectation from Black Sabbath at that time. I figured they were irrelevant. Many apologists point out it's really a Tony Iommi solo album, so it shouldn't even count as a Sabbath album. So here I am some 38 years later hearing this much maligned album for the first time. OK, yep, definitely not Mob Rules or even Born Again. To me it sounds like Rainbow - a good follow up to Bent Out of Shape. But I can be objective at this point, versus being emotional as a youth. There's a couple of clunkers, A2 being the most notable one that everyone points out. I thought the album overall was very good, but nothing revelatory. I have plenty of 80s hard rock like this, including Rainbow themselves, so I'll take my profit.
Metal Majesty - This is Not a Drill. 2004 Lion (Finland) (CD). Thrift shop find (Feb). From The Netherlands, Metal Majesty is essentially a solo project with additional drums. Imagine Queen as a light metal band. Usually I take a dim view of all-instruments-played-and-sung-by-one-guy albums, but this isn't so bad really. Objectively it's well done and thought out, but it's not for me.
Iron Mask - Hordes of the Brave. 2005 Lion (Finland) (CD). Thrift shop find (Feb). From Belgium and led by guitarist Dushan Petrossi. He's one of many European guitarists who mastered the instrument and can play faster than what seems possible. And he proves it over... and over... and over. The music is typical Euro Power Metal, with choruses, digital keyboard symphony orchestras, and a neoclassical styling (chromatic scales, man). Like a heavier and faster Blind Guardian. There are a couple of vocalists featured, one has a Bruce Dickinson fixation, the other James LaBrie. Hard to be too critical here, as this is a very professional release with good songwriting. I prefer my metal a bit more messy and unpredictable. I feel like I've heard this album before - many times in fact.
---online (all Feb)
Chase - Evensong / Evermore Pt. II. 1983 Corduroy Mouse Wax. From the endless well that was the NWOBMH scene, Chase offer a more thoughtful romp with keyboards and thematic changes, straddling the line with both progressive rock and AOR. Chase has ties to Diamond Head and there are similarities to their respective sound.
x Aquilla - Rock the Night / Running Down. 1985 private. No idea where this is from. All potential, no delivery. Starts off great with a wonderful metal riff only to devolve into a boogie track complete with one note pounding piano. Hey - they're going to rock the night! pfft. B) side is better, high energy, but still average for the era. Keyboards are a nice touch. 2.5/3
x Mean Streak - I Don't Wanna Hear It / Reasons Rhyme. 198? Streak Records. Pittsburgh based group who more than likely named their band after the Y&T album of the same name. Musically similar in that radio friendly hard rock, light metal way. Keyboards on the B side were more than a welcome presence. Another mostly unknown 45. No RYM - so 3 stars here.
x Orlando – Future School / Lunacy. 1982 Futurock. From the Detroit area. A) side starts with a good hard rock guitar melody line. Vocals are higher pitched and sound very 80s - bridging the gap with new wave it would appear. Good fast soloing also recalling the decade. B) starts off even faster, some real guitar hero type playing. The music isn't really metal, but it has that attitude and the solos belong to that school. The solo on 'Lunacy' is nuts, something Malmsteen would bring to prominence a year later with Steeler. Very creative and pioneering piece of music. Well worth hearing. 3.5 / 4.5
---collection revisits
*Kyuss - Blues for the Red Sun. 1992 Dali (CD). Arguably the beginning of stoner rock as we know it. Some powerful moments and others that drag, typical of the style. But Kyuss were first, and for that alone, it's worth admiring and keeping. (May)
Behind the Curtain – Till Birth Do Us Part. 1999 Sensory (CD). Despite claims of being “avant garde”, I felt this band from Denmark fit more comfortably in the traditional prog metal areas of Dream Theater and Fates Warning. They have strange sound too, not particularly heavy, but certainly metal. This was to be their only album. (Jan)
* - Keeping for the collection; x- Not in RYM
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