Blackfinger. 2014 The Church Within (LP). Looks like I added this to my Discogs collection in Aug 2024. You think I'm running behind here? At least I know when I added my LPs. The CDs are piling up without an acquire date on them - some going back to 2015. So who is Blackfinger? One of a handful of vocalist Eric Wagner's bands. He of Trouble fame. As soon as the vocals appear, you'll recognize his trademark Ozzy interpretation immediately. The music is, as expected, heavily influenced by early Black Sabbath. More like a distilled version of the metal aspects with included stoner tendencies and even a little Pink Floyd. Modern revisionism without the charm of the past. There's not much new under the sun, especially in the doom metal genre. If a diehard fan of Trouble, the allure is there, though it doesn't have that 80s mystique. I'm a huge fan of the first three Trouble albums, and while this album felt comfortable, I didn't derive much excitement from it. (2/20)
Moxy Roxx - Victims of the Night. 1986 private (EP). Even without looking at the cover, just the moniker alone should clue you in as to the type of music on display. Then you see the four dudes with makeup, eyeliner, teased hair, and that clinches it. Moxy Roxx, hailing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, were like hundreds of 80s bands hoping to jump on the glam metal train. Victims of the Night is notable for how lightweight the metal is, focusing more on getting radio airplay. On the plus side, the EP does contain a much stronger than normal keyboard presence (including organ, which is unheard of in this genre). The guitar talent isn't half bad honestly, though one wishes for a bit more grit. Overall it's a decent entry for hair metal, though the bar remains pretty low here. As with the Black Flag that I wrote about recently, this came from the same clueless chain that couldn't find it in their own database, so it was considerably cheaper than current market value. (2/11)
Falconer - The Sceptre of Deception. 2003 Metal Blade (CD). Another year, another attempt to tackle that 2016 metal buy. One decade in, and I haven't made a dent. Will this be the year? Doubt it. But we'll continue to pick at it along with the other full drawers of CDs that are laying around here. The Sceptre of Deception is listed as Power Metal, and it's from Sweden. Oh boy. "Raise a pint ye downtrodden and we shall arise with might, and defeat thy enemy!". Chugga chugga chugga. I sense cynicism. Nah. If AI created a power metal album from Europe, would it sound like this? Hey, you never know. I'm beginning to despise the European variation of power metal. I shouldn't be so harsh, as the music is, as usual, very well performed. Based on what I'm reading, Falconer are well respected within the style, that of Viking folklore metal. I have another title by them here, maybe it will fare better. As an aside I don't think I've ever seen a CD that was harder to read. Dark green on dark green is not what one would call... good contrast. (2/9)
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