2023 Hard Rock Journal Vol. 1 - Complete

Thin Lizzy - Black Rose: A Rock Legend. 1979 Warner Bros. Part of that large hard rock buy a few months ago. I still a few left, and this is the last Thin Lizzy in the bunch. Pretty standard lightweight hard rock from the Liz. Other than Johnny the Fox, none of their albums that I've heard have raised to the excellent level. I've already kept the iconic Jailbreak and the unusually heavy Thunder and Lightning, which are at the same level as Black Rose for my tastes. According to RYM, Black Rose is considered their second most popular album, and I did recognize a couple of cuts from it. I did enjoy this more than Bad Reputation, but I'm going to let it slide. (Dec)

Moloch. 1969 Enterprise. This is the kind of album I hope to find in the wilds. There are at least three pressings and these kind of obscure American blues rock albums aren't very well known to most collectors, so the possibility is very real. But they are also the kind that are whipped beyond usefulness. Well obviously I haven't found one, so let's check it out online. Moloch were from Memphis and represent their regional blues tradition well. Definitely the right sounds. Good fuzzy guitar, Hammond organ, husky/scratchy vocals, even some phasing. Of course you can count on hearing more trad blues as well, plodding rhythms, harmonica, slide guitar, etc... holding back some of my enthusiasm. Highlights include A1, A2, A5, and B3. The reissues are of the dicey variety, and one hopes for better treatment at some point. Incidentally Moloch is an ancient deity associated with child sacrifice. A moniker better suited for the death / black metal scene I would submit (and has been many times over). If I do find one, I'll probably sell it. Good but inessential for my tastes. (Nov)

Thin Lizzy - Thunder and Lightning. 1983 Warner Bros. More from that collection I bought awhile back, as I catch up on Thin Lizzy albums (Aug). This title is considerably heavier than anything else I've heard by the band, and it's clear they wanted to be relevant in the heavy metal space. Opener packs a wallop and you can hear traces of Judas Priest and Motorhead (among others) throughout the LP. But Thin Lizzy is a hard rock band at heart, and a melodic one at that, so the majority of the album still falls within that genre. This was to be the final Thin Lizzy effort, and it would have been curious to see where they would have gone next. I suspect towards more poppy roads than continuing to amp it up, but we'll never know. Personally I don't remember Thin Lizzy being a player at all in the heavy metal brackets, but I clearly missed this album altogether.

Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak. 1976 Mercury. By far and away, this is Thin Lizzy's most known album, containing their biggest hit 'The Boys are Back in Town' along with the title track. I find this to be a very good hard rock album, certainly better than the unfocused Bad Reputation, but trailing Johnny the Fox. (Aug)

*Quartz - Deleted. 1980 Jet (1977). Bizarre packaging that is nothing more than a folded paper bag and insert. This second press was meant to be sold very cheaply, and even today, the album remains reasonably affordable. For the music, this is my kind of all-over-the-place proggy hard rock. This is the kind of music that was getting onto cassettes in the early 80s. There's a lot of flute, heavy guitars, multiple theme changes, etc... Not an album with the best reputation but that's primarily due to it being tagged as NWOBHM and that Tony Iommi produced the record. It wasn't meant to be a metal album - certainly too early for the NWOBHM movement (Judas Priest's Sin After Sin was miles ahead of the pack). And we tend to forget that Iommi wasn't a metalhead either, especially in the late 70s as Sabbath was experimenting with similar sounds. So from a revisionist historical perspective, it doesn't fit the narrative. And in my world, that usually means it's great. Chalk it up to another make-it-up-as-you-go-along record. The best kind. (Jul)

*Budgie - If I Were Brittania I'd Waive the Rules. 1976 A&M. Believe it or not, after all these years, this is the first time for me to own this album in any form or fashion. It was the only album by them I never took the time to buy. But I had heard it and it didn't convince me to own. By this point in their career, Budgie was attempting relevancy and didn't bring too much of their hard rock sound with them. But there's plenty of good music to be heard. There really wasn't any band like Budgie back in the day - they were quirky, sometimes progressive, oftentimes heavy. (Jul)

*Tin House. 1971 Epic. Florida based power trio that proves the hard rock genre doesn't need to be complicated to produce a classic in the space. Lay down hard on the fuzz pedal and give me some tough love. Similar to the Road album I reported on recently, though less Cream influenced I'd submit. (Jul)

Thin Lizzy - Bad Reputation. 1977 Mercury. As I've stated before, I'm surprisingly ignorant when it comes to Thin Lizzy, a band that I never pursued real time. I always thought they were lightweight compared to their hard rock peers. When I obtained Johnny the Fox, I realized that maybe I'd made a mistake in my judgement. Well... maybe not. Bad Reputation is exactly the kind of album I was trying to avoid in my youth. There are three great hard rockers here (A2, A3, B2) and the rest is various forms of commercial radio music. In reading reviews, I remain the minority. They have a cult-like following, and there's not much point in disagreeing. (Jul)

The Michael Schenker Group - MSG. 1981 Chrysalis (Germany). In keeping my promise, I made the effort to hear another MSG beyond the debut which I recently reported on. As I was listening to their sophomore effort, I realized that I knew this album pretty well. But I'm sure I never owned it. At first I thought it might be the album cover as the German edition (this) is different than the US release. But no, I never owned that either. What gives? Ah, now I remember. I used to record whole albums onto cassette from the radio on a "new album feature night". I was tempted to buy this back then, but it just didn't have enough "something" to extract precious dollars from my wallet at the time. In retrospect, MSG sounds like a rewrite of the debut, and there are some fine compositions here. It's a point less than that debut, though nostalgia may be driving my evaluation. (Jul)

*Black Sabbath - Never Say Die! 1978 Warner Bros. From the recent large buy (Jul). Never had this on LP before, just a very nice Japanese CD that I couldn't resist the offer I received a few years back. This one is a grower though. Side 2 is about as progressive as Sabbath ever got. I can see why dedicated fans don't care for it, but from my perspective it might be better than Technical Ecstasy at the very least.

Rymdstyrelsen - Lunar Mountains. 2020 Kommun 2 (CD). I'm a sucker for bands I can't pronounce or have any clue what they mean (in this case: Ministry of Space). Two notes in and its apparent that Rymdstyrelsen come from the stoner rock school. The production speaks volumes. The volume speaks volumes. It's more space rock oriented than that may imply, but nothing here made me sit up and pay attention. There are scores of albums like this today. If you're a huge fan of the genre, and can't get enough, then Lunar Mountains comes recommended. 15 years ago, that person might have been me. But no more - have to downsize here. (Jul)

Vic Vergat - Down to the Bone. 1981 Capitol. Would you believe this is the same guitarist that was behind Toad? Hard rock and boogie are name of the game here. Straightforward and dull. That cover suggests Vergat was Down to the Last Nickel. (Jun)

Hard as Nails - Cheap as Dirt. 1987 Blackjack. With the front cover of a buxom low cut tank top and the back cover of (way) cutoff shorts, it's safe to say Hard as Nails is making a play for the white trash southern rock sound. Musically that's exactly what this is. Hard to tell if they're mocking the South or paying homage to it. The material is average though. Obscure album. (Jun)

UFO - Obsession. 1978 Chrysalis. I'm always on the lookout for UFO in bargain bins, and this title popped up in one at the last Denver record show. I keep thinking I'm going to like these hard rock UFO albums more than I actually do. Not a lot of risk taking, and it's only Schenker's guitar soloing that does much for me. I'll keep trying though, as many have stated that Obsession was a let down at the time of release. Personally I wasn't into them real time, and it's beginning to make sense as to why. (May)

Uriah Heep - Wonderwall. 2006 BMG (Japan) (CD) (1974). Collection revisit (Apr). This is a fine example of a very good but nonessential album. It's straight up hard rock with excellent guitar and organ sounds. The problem is the songwriting. There's really nothing memorable here and the instrumentals are more perfunctory than innovative. Keep in mind I didn't keep The Magician's Birthday either, as they were beginning to run out of ideas during this period. As it stands, I own nothing past Sweet Freedom (itself likely to be under scrutiny), except for a live album from 2009 (that we reported on here a couple of years ago). However they have 28 studio albums (including a new one from 2023!) and 29 live ones, so I'll keep my eye out in the thrift bins and continue to listen to anything the band put out. 

Krokus - Hardware. 1981 Ariola (Germany). From JL (Apr). As promised / warned, I noted that I acquired the four early 80s Krokus albums from JL. Kept the first one as I suspected I would. Hardware ended up being a little bit better than I recall, but not my much. The German track listing is more interesting I think. The opener is the closer on the US version. I think it makes for a thoughtful and moody opening. They should have left it. A2 ('Easy Rocker') is the album's best track calling on their Scorpions side. Then it's AC/DC hell. And it's really bad AC/DC too. The only other track I think is worthy is 'Winning Man' which seems to be their next try at 'Fire' but not as dynamic. 'She's Got Everything' is the kind of track the Scorps would use as filler, but shines OK here. Overall, I'll go with a rating of Good. 

The Illusion - If It's So. 1970 Steed. Acquired from a store from down in Pueblo (Jan). One of the first albums here in the States to go for a pure hard rock sound while leaving any psych traces on the curb. A good representation if a bit tepid. There just not enough meat on the bone for me to keep this, but like many albums, that has more to do with me already owning many great titles in this space. Another anomaly is this is the kind of album that usually sells for big bucks. Small label distributed by Paramount. But supply far outstrips demand here. It's just not dynamic enough to gain any kind of cult following.

* - Keeping for the collection

2023 Metal Journal Vol. 1 - Complete

Cloudscape - Crimson Skies. 2006 Nightmare (CD). Pitch perfect prog metal with perfunctory keyboards. I don't want that. But it's still very good, objectively speaking. (Dec)

Aesma Daeva - Dawn of the New Athens. 2007 private (CD). Collection revisit (Nov). About 20 years ago Purple Peak Jeff turned me onto Minneapolis based Aesma Daeva, a type of gothic metal I hadn't encountered before. As is my habit, I loaded up on the group, picking up all three of their albums at the time, and then added this one when it came out as well as future band Visions of Atlantis. The latter is long gone. And so will this be. Based on my initial rating, this last Aesma Daeva album didn't capture my imagination as had the others - or at least as I remember them. We'll see soon enough. For Dawn of the New Athens, Aesma Daeva play a more traditional symphonic metal with soprano / operatic female vocals which was all the rage back then with bands like Nightwish, After Forever, Lacrimosa, Within Temptation, et al... I burned out on the genre years ago with Therion, and kept only one of their albums. Dawn of the New Athens remains a very good, professionally done album. So if your tastes continue to run this way, I'd recommend it. I'm hoping the earlier ones still have that magic I originally heard.

*Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss. 1990 Def American (CD). Collection revisit (Sep). As mentioned on the Show No Mercy review, I didn't get into Slayer during their 80s prime. In fact, this was the first album I bought real time. If you take each of these tracks individually there isn't a lot of depth or compositional development. But it works as a whole as each song segues into the next. And the riffs keep coming at you with some nice changes in pace. In later years I picked up what I had missed, demonstrating the band had peaked in the mid 80s. In an era when tech thrash was thriving, Slayer could be seen as a throwback to a simpler time. Seasons in the Abyss sounds like pre-1983 thrash, before Metallica elevated the art. Nothing wrong with that. 33 years on from that purchase, I see no reason to let go of this.

*Motorhead - Overkill. 1979 Bronze (UK). Continuing on with my exploration through the early Motorhead catalog. What do you do with Motorhead really? They're never going to win an innovation award, yet I find myself being entirely comfortable listening to their blend of energized hard rock / borderline metal. And I think that may be the best way to enjoy the band. If this were some private label 1979 album from Cleveland, it would go for $500 on the open market, and be highly praised as one of America's great private press hard rock albums. Yet it's good ole Lemmy the English factory worker putting in a Joe Lunchbox kind of effort. This is considered one of their classics, and you can almost pinpoint a riff or two. The solos are pure 1970s styled, which adds to the allure. Good one on the whole. Not sure if I'm keeping all these Motorhead's, but maybe the classics will get a longer ticket. Neat cover art as well. (Aug)

*Quartz - Stand Up and Fight. 1980 MCA (Germany). Regarding the 1977 debut, I had mentioned that the large misconception about that album is that it was somehow heavy metal. Stand Up and Fight is the complete opposite. From the cover to the sound, Quartz most certainly became self-aware of their place on the musical map within the next three years. One could do worse than putting a picture of this album as the encyclopedia entry for NWOBHM. It's not a complicated body of music, has the right amount of heaviness, is slightly quirky, and contains a solid melodic quotient. All plusses as far as I'm concerned. The cover does indicate something far more epic and heavy than it is, but that was typical of many of the albums from the scene. (Aug)

Motorhead - On Parole. 1979 United Artists (UK). As noted earlier, I loaded up on all the early Motorhead albums. Technically this is their first album, shelved by UA due to a lack of interest. Later to be retrieved from mothballs due to the success of their first few albums. Recorded in 1976, this has little in common with the Motorhead brand. Still searching for an identity, On Parole is more towards boogie and blues rock, and Lemmy's voice is almost clean. One can understand the label's reticent to release this, as it lacks any kind of hooks, and its audience is unclear. Certainly not like Hawkwind in any way either. This one is easy to part with. It's good mind you, but nothing more. (Aug)

*Meliah Rage - Kill to Survive. 1988 Epic. A lot of similarities to the Sanctuary album below, including same label and time of release. Meliah Rage were a Boston based group whose primary influence seems to be Metal Church. Solid thrash that doesn't take too many chances, but adds just enough changes to keep it interesting. +1 on Sanctuary at the very least. (Jul)

*Motorhead. 1978 Chiswick (UK) (1977). I wasn't planning on "loading up" on Motorhead, but I ended up getting all of their early albums on vinyl anyway. What I will end up keeping is the mystery. Ace of Spades is iconic and Iron Fist is nostalgic. Motorhead's debut is historical. More like a punk record with lengthy guitar solos. A very interesting contrast. Murky production. Not necessarily a great album by any measure, but hard to let it go. (Jul)

*Manowar - Battle Hymns. 1982 Liberty (Netherlands). Another album I bought after it came out, but I can't remember why I did back then. It wasn't ever played on the radio and I don't remember reading anything about it. I think it was a pure spec buy which would have been rare for me in 1982 given money was very scarce. In any event I hit a major home run - or so I felt at the time. Side 1 and the first track on the flip are solid hard rockers, but starting with 'Dark Avenger', Manowar essentially invents epic metal, even before Manilla Road. With none other than Orson Welles providing narration, the track sends chills down one's spine, and they climax in a fantastic heavy manner. The solo bass guitar run through of 'William Tell Overture' is insane which leads to the other epic song 'Battle Hymn'. After this debut, Manowar became incredibly self-conscious about their image and were a mix of cornball and cheesy. I do need to hear these early albums again, but I remember being very disappointed at the time. And I think it tainted my opinion about this debut which I sold in the 90s, but really should not have. Glad to have it back. (Jul)

*Motorhead - Iron Fist. 1982 Bronze (Germany). I bought this album when it was released while in high school, and it was the first Motorhead for me to hear. Ace of Spades had been elusive, so I started with Iron First. What a huge disappointment. These are sketches of songs with little to no development. And it's not very heavy either. Compared to my new favorite at the time The Number of the Beast (Iron Maiden of course), it was weak and limp. So I traded it off before I got to college if I recall right (one year later). My original assessment was spot on, I just appreciate more today where the band was coming from and what they represented. I'll keep it for now from a nostalgia perspective, but it's probably not a long hauler. (Jul)

Redemption - This Mortal Coil. 2011 InsideOut (CD). Redemption features Bernie Versailles (Agent Steel) on guitar and Ray Alder (Fates Warning) on vocals along with band leader Nick Van Dyk and a solid rhythm section. That's a good mix of musicians and I'd expect a bit different from the norm. But unfortunately - at least on This Mortal Coil - Redemption is square-on Dream Theater meets Symphony X like prog metal. I have way too much of this kind of metal already. 'Noonday Devil' being the sole exception - if there was more like it, I'd hold onto this. There's a second CD of cover songs (not even the usual vintage hard rock / metal tunes either), which is also an annoying novelty that these bands felt compelled to do. Very good on the whole, though. Someone else will enjoy this more in their collection than I. This is the second Redemption I've owned over the years (the other was the debut), and both have been let go. If I find others in the wilds, I'll continue to check them out. (Jun).

Final Chapter – The WizardQueen. 2004 Underground Symphony (CD). Title is stylized as such. This was part of that large metal buy from 2016 that I still haven’t evaluated most of. Seems I listen to less than 5 of these every year. Most of them are Euro power metal, and I just find that style too regimented for repeated listens (as noted in my recent weed out posts). I like Final Chapter’s raw sound, and they gallop with the best of ‘em. But overall there just isn’t enough invention to carry it forward. (Apr)

Primal Fear - Black Sun. 2002 Nuclear Blast (CD). Yet again, we have a fine album here. Solid power metal. I like their tone too. But... what can I tell you? Gotta bring more than rehashing the 80s for me to get excited. I have a great 80s metal collection. It's going nowhere. This is. (Jan)

Mastodon - Crack the Skye. 2009 Reprise (CD). Guessing Reprise was hoping for someone other than Fleetwood Mac to sell some product haha. They succeeded. Believe it or not this is my first time to hear Mastodon. Been curious for a long time. Generally this kind of metal music turns me off, but I can totally see the allure. Much more sophisticated than your average stoner band moving into prog. Not bad at all. And if I see their other albums in a thrift shop, I'll try them anyway just for the heck of it. Had I purchased this when it came out, it might have survived the collection cut. But this isn't really my thing. (Jan)

Impellitteri - Stand in Line. 1988 Relativity. Thrift shop pickup (Jan). Seems that singer Graham Bonnet had a thing for shredder guitarists. Here's his latest hero. Bonnet makes every album he's on sound like his band. This is a lot like Alcatrazz. But Malmsteen is a more interesting guitarist. They try hard to play anthemic metal tunes rather than showoffy material, but it's soooo 80s. Bad cover songs too like 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'. Really? OK, an average album for the style. At best.

* - Keeping for the collection