Rock

Not Metal and Not Hard Rock

New Music Monday Avenged Sevenfold Hail To The King

In this Music Monday Blog, we are going to get into the latest studio record from Avenged Sevenfold.  “Hail To The King” is their sixth studio record from this band.  We are going to get into the history of this band and then the music.  Let us get into the history.

History

The band was formed in 1999 at Huntington Beach, California.  The founding members of this band are M. Shadows, Zacky Vengeance, The Rev, and Matt Wendt.  M. Shadows came up with the band name from the Bible’s story Cain And Adel.  Justin Sane replace Matt Wendt before they record their first record.  Dameon Ash replace Justin Sane around 2001.  Justin was checked into the hospital because of drinking too much cough syrup and try to commit suicide.  The band recorded their first record, which was “Sounding The Seventh Trumpet” in 2001.  Most of the members were around eighteen and still in high school.  Johnny Christ replaced Dameon Ash and release their second record, which was “Walking The Fallen.”  In 2004, the band after touring several times on the Vans Warped Tour signed with Warner Bros. Records.  In 2005, the band released their third studio record and their first under a major label.  The record was called “City Of Evil.”  They played on Ozzfest in 2006 and also won Best New Artist at the MTV Music Awards.  They returned to the Van’s Warped Tour.  “City Of Evil” gave them a few hits on the modern rock charts.  In 2007, the band released their fourth studio record, which was self-titled.  Two years later, their drummer “The Rev” was found dead.  At this time, band members in several interviews thought about disbanding and breaking up.  However, Mike Portnoy, who was with Dream Theater at time and now with Winery Dogs, stepped up to record the drum tracks for “Nightmare,” the band and the music community loved the fact the music sounded like The Rev was playing drums.  “Nightmare” was released in 2010 and it was their fifth record.  Mike was not the replacement of “The Rev” and the band found a new drummer, who was Arin Ilejay.   In 2013, the band release “Hail To The King,” which was the first record with Arin Ilejay on drums.  Let us get into the music.

Track List:

Shepherd Of Fire

There is some sound effects of rain and a bell to start the song.  The guitar comes in with the drums.  This is pretty good beginning to the record and this song.  The bass playing is pretty good.  M Shadows has a nice melody and lyrics.  I have to be honest.  I kept on hearing how this record is supposed to be different from the rest of their records.  To me, it sounds like all their old music.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the middle of the song.  Their new drummer has about the same drumming style as their old drummer.  I love how they ended this song with a nice fade out.

Hail To The King

“Hail To The King” is the first single off this record and is the name of the record.  The guitar solo at the beginning is like something off this first few records.  The second guitar comes in but it is a little different.  I love that guitar riff.  The second guitar riff reminds me of something that Metallica would have written.  I do not like the fact that the other guitar player is playing a guitar solo throughout this song.  That is a little too much.  I love the lyrics on this song.  M Shadows has melody like something off Metallica’s Load and Re-Load.  There is a extended guitar solo towards the back half off the song.  I love the back up singing.

Doing Time

I love the music at the beginning of the song.  I am really not a fan of M Shadows singing.  Hello, you are not Axel Rose and please, stop thinking you are.  I love the lyrics.    I love the pace of this song.  There is a pretty good guitar solo in the last-minute of the song.

This Means War

I love the guitar work at the beginning.  I love how the drums and bass are playing at the beginning of the song.  I love the sound effect on the nuclear bomb blowing up.  The music is really good on this song.  M Shadows has pretty good singing and lyrics.  I just feel they are listening to way too much 1980’s and early 1990’s metal.  They are starting to sound like a cheap version of those bands.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the middle of the song.  This is a really good song but I just feel this song is way too long.

Requiem

There is worship singing like church singing at the beginning.  The music is pretty solid.  I just feel lead singer’s singing is a little loss in the music.  I just feel they are running apart.  This is just a mess of music and white noise.  It kind of came together just before the guitar solo.  The guitar solo is pretty good in the mid-point of the song.

Crimson Day

There is some nice acoustic guitar work at the beginning of “Crimson Day.”  I love the singing from M Shadows.  I love the heavy guitar playing on the main part of the song.  The acoustic guitar stays in the background.  Mr. Shadows has put some thought behind these lyrics.  This is a pretty solid song and by far the best one so far on this record.  There is some nice guitar solos towards the end of the song.

Heretic

Here is some old school Avenged Sevenfold fade in guitar riffs at the beginning of the song.  I am not a fan of the main part of the song from a music stand point.  Mr. Shadows’ singing is not up to his standards.  I love how they are using the keyboard in the background.  I do not like how they shaped the music around his singing or how he is singing with the music.  It does bend good.  I love how they pushed the keyboard playing to the front in the back half of the song.  There is a well placed and written guitar solo towards the end of the song.

Coming Home

The start of this song reminds me of something from Iron Maiden.  The singing is something off Iron Maiden’s first two records with their original singer.  The main part of the song is like themselves.  The lyrics are good, however, I just feel they do not fit well on this song.  There is a pretty good guitar solo half way through the song.  I love how they build up the ending as it fades out.  I love the double bass action at the end from the drummer.

Planets

I love the build up to the start of this song.  The drumming and bass playing are insane.  The guitar playing I believe are step down to the rest of the record.  The singing is pretty solid with some below average lyrics.    This song has loss me over the half way point of the song.  I love the music but the singing and lyrics are making my mind wander in a bad way.  There is an average guitar solo towards the end of the song.

Acid Rain

I love how they started the song with the music.  Nice touch on the piano.  I love the guitar solo over the top of the music.  This is a pretty solid song to end this record.  M Shadows has some good singing and nice lyrics.  There is a pretty good guitar solo in the first quarter of the song.  I love the sound effects of rain falling at the end of the song.

Original Line Up:

  • M. Shadows – Lead Singer, Acoustic Guitar, and Keyboards
  • Zacky Vengeance – Guitars
  • The Rev – Drums, Back Up Vocals, and Piano
  • Dameon Ash – Bass

Current Line Up: 

  • M. Shadows – Lead Vocals
  • Zacky Vengeance – Guitars And Back Up Vocals
  • Synyster Gates – Guitars and Back Up Vocals
  • Johnny Christ – Bass Guitar and Back Up Vocals
  • Arin Ilejay – Drums

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.avengedsevenfold.com

Twitter:  @TheOfficialA7X

Closing, I am happy for any band that gets back on the iron horse and makes new music after a death of band member or a key member leaving a band.  I give them a ton of credit and I know how hard it might be to do that again without a brother.  However, the member they loss in this band was a key song writer, they wanted to do something different but keep true their sound.  I just feel this band has loss too much and they are living on their past success right now.  I hope they find it soon because I do love their style.  It took me half way through my radio DJ career to really love what this band was doing in the past.  I am not saying this is a bad record because it is not.  It is a solid record but for Avenged Sevenfold this is not up to their standards.  The band came out before this release saying this record will be different from the rest of their music.  I do agree to some point but it still sounds like their old music.  I just feel the loss of their old drummer made them change their sound.  I still recommend checking out his record and let me know what you think of it.  Go get some!  Drink it! Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:   djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Unknown Music Thursday Blog The Winery Dogs Self Titled

In this Unknown Music Thursday blog, we are going to get into the latest super group that might be around a lot longer than most.  You might know the names but not the band name.  I am talking about The Winery Dogs and this is their first record, which is named after the record.  The band is Richie Kotzen, who is Lead Singer, Keyboards, Guitars, and Percussion, Billy Sheehan, who is Bass and Back Up Vocals, and Mike Portnoy, who is Drums, Percussion and Back Up Vocals.  Richie Kotzen was part of Poison for one record in the early 1990’s and put out several solo records.  Billy Sheehan has been part of several bands like Mr. Big and Dave Lee Roth solo band.  Mike Portnoy is best known for his time with his old band Dream Theater and was part of Avenged Sevenfold for one record.  There is not much history on this band.  They were formed in Brooklyn, New York in 2012.  They were looking to a more of a classic hard rock sound for their music.  Let us get into the music.

Track List:

Elevate

A classic hard rock start to the opening track.  Richie is rocking it on the guitar while the bass and drums are solid.  This is a solid song.  I love the drumming and bass playing.  I love Richie’s singing, which I have always loved it.  This band wrote some nice lyrics to go along with the music.  Mike is a mad man on the drums.  I love the bass break that they gave Billy on this song.  Mike is going nuts on the drums during the bass solo.

Desire

I love the guitar riff at the beginning of the song.  Billy is dancing all over the place on bass.  Richie’s singing is pretty strong with some really great lyrics.  I love how everyone in this band is singing.  It is a pretty rare situation.  I am loving the music on this song.  I love the bass break towards the middle of the song.  There is a nice guitar break right after the bass solo.

We Are one

I love the heaviest on the bass and drums at the beginning of the song.  The guitar riff is simple but bends nicely with bass, drums and the singing.  I love how Mike and Billy sing with Richie on this song.  I love the lyrics and he is singing is pretty strong.  I love Richie guitar breaks between the singing.  There is some pretty solid playing towards the end of this song.  I am enjoying the music middle point and at the end.

I’m No Angel

I love the guitar playing at the beginning with some solid drums and bass playing that comes in seconds after the guitar playing.  The slower is perfect at the point of this record.  There is some solid lyrics.  There  is some really nice music on “I’m No Angel.”  I really like the back up singing on this song.  The guitar playing is pretty good with those short guitar solos.

The Other Side

I love the drumming at the beginning and the bass player enters with a nice riff.  Richie comes in with a nice high-end guitar riff to float over the top.  Richie’s singing is solid on this song.  I love the lyrics.  The music is pretty solid on this song.  The guitar break brings on some nice fast pace drumming from Mike.  It turns into a nice guitar solo at the midway point of the song.  I love the trade-off from the drums and bass in the last two minutes of the song.  The guitar solo over the top is just right and perfect.

You Saved Me

I love the fast pace acoustic guitar with the echo from the bass in the background.  The drums are calm and fade which makes it just right.  I love the layers on the guitars.  I am not going to say this much but multiple guitars are just right for this song.  It sounds good and right.  I love Richie’s singing and there is some nice lyrics.  There is some well placed back up singing.  I am really loving the music on this song.  I love the ending of this song.

Not Hopeless

I love the solid start of this song on a music stand point.  Richie’s singing is solid with some nice back up singing.  Winery Dogs wrote some nice music on this song.  I love the trade-off on the solos from the guitar and bass player.  There is some solid lyrics and music on “Not Hopeless.”  I love the meaning and theme behind this song.  There  is a nice exiting guitar solo at the end.

One More Time

I love the guitar playing at the beginning of the song.  Billy comes in dancing all over the bass with some solid drumming from Mike.  I love Richie’s singing.  There is some well written lyrics on “One More Time.”  There is a solid ending.

Damaged

I love the music and the pace of this song.  I love the lyrics and how Richie’s singing is calm and relax.  This is a nice relaxing song.  He has a nice melody on “Damaged.”  I love drums and bass playing on this song.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song.

Six Feet Deeper

I love the music at the beginning.  It has a nice pace to it.  Billy has some nice movement on the bass guitar.  There is some nice lyrics and the lead singer singing is solid.  I love the well placed back up singing.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the middle part of the song.  I love how they ended the song.

Time Machine

I love the guitar playing at the beginning.  It reminds me of something you would hear from Soundgarden or Alice In Chains.  This whole song sounds like something from the Grunge era of metal in the early to mid 1990’s.  They did a great job on the writing between the lyrics and music.  I believe this is my favorite song on this record.  I love bass break at the end of the song.  I love the ending of “Time Machine.”  There is a nice guitar solos towards the end.

The Dying

“The Dying” starts off slow with some nice guitar playing.  The singer has some solid singing.  There is some nice lyrics.  I love drumming from Mike.  I love distorted guitar effected.  It is not over the top but it is just right.  He has a nice overdrive pedal to make that nice powerful warm sound.  I love the how they are using the back up singing on this song.  There is a nice build up to a guitar solo towards the middle part of the song.  I love how they ended this song.

Regret

I love the drumming and the keyboard playing on “Regret.”  They twisted some piano and organ playing.  I love melody and lyrics from the singer.  I could see Bruno Mars singing on this song and writing it.  Richie and Bruno has some nice soulful singing voices.  I love the music on this song.  They put some thought behind this song.  There is some nice guitar and piano action towards the middle of the song.  It turns into a nice guitar solo.  This is a perfect ending to this song and this great first record for this band.

Line Up:

  • Richie Kotzen – Lead Vocals, Guitars, and Keyboards
  • Mike Portnoy – Drums and Backing Vocals
  • Billy Sheehan – Bass and Backing Vocals

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.thewinerydogs.com

Twitter:  @TheWineryDogs

In closing, when I heard this band was happening, I was pretty excited to hear the music.  I have always been a huge fan of Richie Kotzen and Mike Portnoy.  This is pretty much what I thought the record would sound like.  It reminds of a Richie Kotzen solo record.  I mean that in a good way since I am a huge fan of this guitar playing and singing.    Richie writes some great tunes and put Mike behind some of the songs to help write them.  It is something else.  The lengths of these songs are just right.  They are not too long but not too short.  Some I do feel need to be a little bit longer.  The music on this record is off the charts good.  I hope they have success with this record and tour.  I would love to hear more tunes from this group.  I highly recommend this band and record if you are a fan of the classic hard rock sound.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Music Monday Blog Five Finger Death Punch The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell Volume 1

In this New Music Monday Blog, we are going to get into their fourth studio record, which his called “The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell Volume 1.”  There will be a volume 2 release in the later part of 2013 and that will their fifth studio record.  We are going to get into the history of this band and then the music.  Let us get into the history.

History:

Five Finger Death Punch was formed in 2005 by Zoltan Bathory, who is the guitar player, and Jeremy Spencer, who is the drummer.  Zoltan Bathory was a bassist in his old band which was called U.P.O.  Matt Snell joins the band in 2006.  The band recorded music and then send it to Ivan Moody in Denver.  The band named themselves after some classic martial arts movies.  Ivan later that year flew out to Los Angeles.  They began to record their first studio record, which was called “The Way Of The Fist.”  The band did not have a second guitar player, however, Stevo “Shotgun” Bruno and Mike Sarkisyan recorded parts on the record while being mixed by guitarist Logan Mader.  Caleb Andrew Bingham joined the band for a few shows as their second guitar player.  He was later replaced by Darrell Roberts.  During this time, the band signed with the record company, which was “The Firm.”  In 2007, the band released their first EP, which was called Pre-Emptive Strike through American Itunes.  “The Way Of The Fist” was released in 2007 and enter the Billboard Charts Top 200 at #199.  They went on several major tours to support their first record.  They were on the Maythm Festival and Korn’s Family Values Tour.  They supported Disturbed during this time too.  The band re-release “The Way Of The Fist” in 2008 with few bonus tracks.  “Never Enough” was added on to the record and became the band’s second single off the record.  Darrell Roberts was asked to leave and was replaced by Jason Hook in 2009.  The band stop touring and supporting their first record at this time too.  “War Is The Answer” which is their second studio record was release in 2009.  It entered the Billboard Charts at #7.  The record had several singles including the cover of Bad Company’s song, which was “Bad Company.”  This is one of my favorite cover songs from a hard rock and metal band.  The band went into the studio to work on their third record, which was called “American Capitalist.”  The record was released in the later part of 2011.  The band brought in bassist Chris Kael to replace Matt Snell, who departed from the band.  The band had some success with this record but like their first two studio records.  They had several singles off “American Capitalist.”  Early part of 2013, the band began to work on their fourth record.  By May of 2013, the band announced they will be putting out two records.  “The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell Volume 1,” which is their fourth record and the one that will be review on this posted, and later in the year Volume 2 will be released.  The band realize they were writing some good tunes and they did not want to stop writing.  They dropped some tunes for a double studio record.  The band brought in several special guests and one was Rob Halford from Judas Priest.  They performed this song with Rob at 5th Annual Golden God Awards.  The second volume will be released in November, however, they just release the first single off that record called “Battle Born.”  Let us get into Volume One.

Track List:

Lift Me Up (Featuring Rob Halford Of Judas Priest)

There is some nice heavy guitars with the drums and bass.  The drums have a nice beat to it.  Ivan has a nice melody to his singing.  I am loving the lyrics.  I love how they are using Rob Halford on this song.  Their voices match really well.  This is a great opening track to this song.  Metal God still sounds great when he is singing.  I love the pace of this song.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song.  I love the ending of this opening track.

Watch You Bleed

I love the reverb on the singer’s voice and the nice acoustic guitar at the beginning.  I love the heavy guitars and the drums during the main part of the song.  Ivan wrote some nice lyrics on this song.  I love the fact that the drummer is using double bass during the main part of the song.  There is a nice guitar break that turns into a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song.  Nice touch on the ending of this song.

You

There is some nice music at the beginning.  I love the melody of this song.  Ivan wrote some nice lyrics on “You.”  I love the slower pace on this song.  It gives this record a different element.  This band reminds of Pantera back in the day.  I have to say they are today’s Pantera.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song.  It kind of feels forced into the song.  I am not a fan of the ending.

Wrong Side Of Heaven

I love the acoustic guitar with the second over the top of it in a semi guitar solo.  I love how they had the drums in the distance and it comes front.  I love Ivan’s clean vocals.  I love the lyrics.  They wrote some nice music on this title track.  There is a pretty good guitar solo towards the middle of the song.  I love how Ivan sings over the top of the back half of the guitar solo.

Burn MF

I love the heavy guitars and the drums highlighting parts at the beginning.  There is some solid bass playing on this song.  I am not fan of Ivan’s singing, however, the lyrics are solid.  The drums are insane on this song.  This song is straight to the point.  I love the ending.

I.M.SIN

I love the music at the beginning of this song.  I love  singing and lyrics on this song.  It fits the song and the theme.  Ivan wrote a nice melody to this song.  They pull a page out of Pantera’s music book and did the spoken words before a nice guitar solo.  I love the ending of this song.

Anywhere But Here (Featuring Maria Brink)

I love the heavy guitars at the beginning with a nice backing from the drums and bass.  I love the acoustic guitar with the heavy guitar at the front.  I love the melody and lyrics from Ivan.  I love the guitar solo at the back half of the song.  I wish they would use Maria more on this song.  There is another version of this song towards the end of this record.  It is part of the bonus tracks.  Why even have her on this song if you are not going to use her.

Dot Your Eyes

I love the drums and the guitar playing is pretty good at the beginning.  There is a simple but to the point bass playing.  This song reminds of “When Worlds Collide” from Powerman 5000.  The rhythm and melody from the singer and how the music is playing.  You can see that this band was influenced from the bands from the 1990’s.  I love how they are using the back up singers.  There is a nice guitar break at the end of the song.

M.I.N.E (End This Way)

There is some nice acoustic guitar playing at the beginning of this song.  I wish they used it more and more.  Ivan’s singing is good with some good lyrics.  I love how the bass and drums calm to fit theme of this song.  This song has a nice pace to it.  There is another forced guitar solo towards the middle of this song.  Can this band go one song on this record without a guitar solo?  They are well written but some are just forced into the song.

Mama Said Knock You Out (Featuring Tech N9Ne)

I love the guitar and drums at the beginning of this song.  This is the first cover on this record.  It seems like they always has a cover on all their records.  This is really bad.  I wish they did not do this song.  Are you kidding?  Really?!?!?!?!  This is the worse cover I have heard in a very long time.  I am good.  I cannot finish this song.

Diary Of A Deadman

I love the music at the beginning.  I am really not a fan of the spoken words on this song.  I love the guitar break.  These last two songs at the end of this record have been really disappointing.  I feel this is a bad way to end this great record.

I.M.SIN (Featuring Max Cavalra)

This is the first of three bonus tracks with guest singers.  “I.M.SIN” has lead singer from Soulfly, who is Max Cavalra.  I love the music as I said above.  I want to see how they work Max into this song.  They did a great job working him into this song.  I love this version better than the regular record one.

Anywhere But Here (Duet With Maria Brink)

This song features Maria Brink, who is the lead singer of In This Moment.  I love how they are using her on this version.  This is a better version.  They should have used this version on the main record not the other one.  There voices work well together.

Dot Your Eyes (Featuring Jamey Jasta Of Hatebreed)

“Dot Your Eyes” features Jamey Jasta from Hatebreed.  I love this version like the rest of the bonus tracks.  The second lead singer gives another element to the songs and music from this band.  This is a great song to end this record with the bonus tracks.

Orinigal Line Up:

  • Ivan L. Moody – Lead Vocals
  • Zoltan Bathory – Guitars
  • Darrell Roberts – Guitars
  • Matt Snell – Bass and Backing Vocals
  • Jeremy Spencer – Drums

Current Line Up: 

  • Ivan Moody – Lead Vocals
  • Zoltan Bathory – Guitars
  • Jason Hook – Guitars
  • Jeremy Spencer – Drums
  • Chris Kael – Bass

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.fivefingerdeathpunch.com

Twitter:  @FFDP

Closing, this record is by far their best work to date.  I am pretty impressed because I thought their last two records were their best.  This band is at the top of metal world right now and I do not see them going away anytime soon.  They remind me of a modern-day Pantera.  Is this what Pantera would be doing today if they were still around?  It is a great question.  There were only two songs on this great that I would do without.  It was the last two songs before the bonus tracks.  This is a solid record and I can see them doing really well with it along with their Volume 2.  Volume 2 will be out later part of 2013.  I highly recommend you checking out this great record.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Unknown Music Thursday Hell’s Addiction Raise Your Glass

In this Unknown Music Thursday blog, we are going to get into and upcoming band called Hell’s Addiction.  They just released their first record this year which is called “Raise Your Glass.”  There is not too much history or information from this young band.  Here is some information I found off their website.

Here is their bio from their website (www.hellsaddiction.com):

Hell’s Addiction deliver classic no-bullshit Rock and Roll in a style that draws comparison with the likes of AC/DC, Guns ‘n Roses, Skid Row and Mötley Crüe.

The band came together in 2010 in Leicester, born of a mutual passion for the hard-hitting rock of the great 70s and 80s bands. Before long they were supporting bands such as Heaven’s Basement, Voodoo Six, Fury UK, The Heavy Metal Kids and Zodiac Mindwarp around the country.

Over the following months the band wrote and recorded their debut album Raise Your Glass. With crowd-pleasers like Let The Good Times Roll, Feels like Rock ‘n Roll and the debut single Alcohol you’re left under no illusion as to where the band’s passions lie.

Now in 2013, the band have unleashed the album and will be bringing the rock to a venue near you soon.

I wrote a review on their single, which is “Alochol” in one of my earlier blog posts.  We will review that song and the rest of their songs in this post.  Let us get into the music.

Track List:

Feel The Fire

I love the guitar playing at the beginning.  The drumming and bass playing are simple but solid for the backbone for this band.  The singing is really solid with some really good lyrics.  His singing brings back the metal singers of late 1970’s and 1980’s.  There is a nice guitar break that turns into a pretty good guitar solo towards the end of the song.  The music on this song reminds me of something that Ratt or early Saxon would have written.  This is a great beginning to their frist record.

Brand New Story

I love the beginning of this song.  There is a nice short guitar solo.  There is some great playing from drummer and bass player.  I love his clean vocals at this point of the song.  I love his melody he wrote for his vocals.  There is solid lyrics.  The music kind of reminds me little bit of early Whitesnake at least during the main part of the music.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the mid-point of the song.  There is an extended guitar solo towards the end of the song.  There is a nice ending to this song.

Feels Like Rock And Roll

There is a nice classic hard rock guitar sound and playing at the beginning.  The simple music from the bass and drums gives you a little feel like this could have been a Kiss song.  It is not but it is pretty solid.  The singing and the lyrics are solid.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song.  You can feel the guitar solo coming and it just fit perfectly where they placed it.  I love the ending with the screaming vocals over the top of the music.

Breaking Free

I love the start of “Breaking Free.”  There is some awesome music.  I am loving the lyrics.  This song reminds me a little bit like Motorhead.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the middle of the song.  This song is solid and short to the point.  I love the guitar solo exiting the song.

Big Bitch

I love classic sound on the guitars.  I love the bass playing on this song.  I love how the bass is equal to the rest of the band.  I love the lyrics.  This band has some punk influence.  This song has elements from the New Jersey rockers known as Skid Row.  I am talking off their first record.  There is a nice and solid guitar break towards the middle of the song.  It turns into to a short guitar solo.  They put some thought behind the writing of the music on “Big Bitch.”

Heaven Sent Me

I love the drumming and the guitar solo at the beginning of “Heaven Sent Me.”  I love the music and the guitar riff that is over the top good.  There is some nice vocal singing with some great lyrics.  I love the guitar solo at the mid-point of the song.  I love how the singer hits the some of the notes during the solo.  I love the ending to it.

Raise Your Glass

This is the title track off this record.  The beginning is something you would heard from 1980’s metal band.  I love the music.  The lyrics and singing are pretty solid.  This  band has written a nice anthem for today’s rocking youth.  I love the stops in the music and the start back up.  There is a pretty solid and well placed guitar solo towards the end.  I love the stops from the bass and drumming.  It gives the music another element.  The guitar work on this song reminds of fast Whitesnake.

Let The Good Times Roll

I love the music at the beginning of this song.  This singer sounds like younger Lemmy but not as deep as him.  There is some pretty solid lyrics and music on “Let The Good Times Roll.”  I love the guitar break and solo towards the end of the song.  There is a solid ending to “Let The Good Times Roll.”

Wings Of An Angel

The start of “Wings Of An Angel” has the classic 1980’s metal pop sound.  I am talking like Ratt and WASP.  The singing and lyrics remind me of something from those bands.  Even the back up singing is solid.  I love the drumming and bass playing.  It fills the music up.  There is no holes in this song.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song.  I feel at the end the singer needs some back up vocals.

Alochol

The first single of this record is “Alochol.”  I love the pace of this song.  It is fast and in your face metal music.  There is some great singing and lyrics.  This is one of my favorite songs off “Raise Your Glass.”  I love the music break that enters into a well written guitar solo.  The drumming towards the end is awesome.  This is a perfect ending to this song and the record.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MepAWXOdWXw

Line Up:

  • Ben Sargent – Lead Vocals And Guitar
  • Liam Sargent – Lead Guitar And Backing Vocals
  • Jason Green – Bass And Vocals
  • Headache – Drums

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.hellsaddiction.com

Twitter:  @Hells_Addiction

Closing, Hell’s Addiction has put together a pretty solid first record.  This is a band that is on the raise in the hard rock and metal world.  This band has taken elements of the classic rockers of the past.  I am talking like Whitesnake, Ratt, and WASP.  The more and more I listen to this band’s music.  It reminds me of Motorhead.  The lyrics, song titles, and how the singer sings.  There is more from the sound of the bass and the guitar playing.  It reminds me a little Fast Eddie’s sound.  I am not saying they sound totally like Motorhead.  They brought back classic hard rock and metal sound from the late 1970’s and 1980’s.  The singer has a little punk influence to today’s Lemmy, who is the lead singer and bass player of Motorhead.  He has brought back this singing style and put his own twist on it.  Along with the lead singer, Hell’s Addiction has some punk influence and mixed it with some hard rock and metal.  They put their own twist on their music.  They took a page out of American rockers Skid Row and many of those bands from 1980’s.  If you are classic hard rock and metal fan, you will love this band.  I believe any metal fan will fall in love with Hell’s Addiction.  If you do not, please, tell me why.  I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas.  Go get some “Alochol” and “Let The Good Times Row.”  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Unknown Music Thursday First Reign As The Dead Lead The Dead

In this Unknown Music Thursday blog, we are going to get into a band that comes out of the northern part of Canada.  The band is called First Reign and the record is “As The Dead Lead The Dead.”  I have played their songs when I had a radio show on www.stfu.fm before the station shut down.  I have talked to these guys from their twitter feed and they are really nice and down to earth dudes.  I have been wanting to do a review on their record on my blog but I have been so far behind.  I now have a chance to do it and I am going to write it.  There is not much history on this death metal from Canada.  I know they are working on their second record.  Let us get into the first record.

Track List:

Inception

The opening track is “Inception.”  This track is intro to the real opening track.  I have to say I love the music from the guitars.  The drumming is pretty good.  I love how they are using the bass on this song.  It is a nice build up song.  I feel this song is great display of an opening song.  Most bands should take some notes from this song and band on how to write a good opening track.

This Ghost Of Ours

I love the insane and in your face drumming.  It is a nice step up for the fast pace music.  The guitar and bass playing is really good.  I really love the singing on this song.  They have written some nice lyrics.  There is a nice guitar solo in the first quarter of the song.  I love the lead singer’s death metal vocals.  It is pretty than most death metal singers.  There is another pretty good short guitar solo almost to the half way point of the song.  There is a nice groove to this song.  I love the music change in the back half of the song.  I love the singers screaming.  There is a nice long extended guitar solos towards the end.  I love the trade-off from the two players.

Where The Ocean Meets The Sky

I love the drumming and bass playing at the beginning.  I love the nice guitar riff with the guitar solo over the top.  This is some awesome music.  I love the singing from the singer.  I love the switch off from clean to death metal singing.  There is a nice guitar solo in the first quarter of the song.  The drumming so far on this record is off the charts.  I would put him in the same class as Richard Christy of Charred Walls Of The Damn and Iced Earth.  I love the music change in about the half way point.  Nice touch on the acoustic guitar with some nice singing over the top.  This music on this song is mind-blowing.  First Reign took the idea of Opeth to the next level.  I love the guitar works towards the end of the song.  There is some nice exiting guitar solos at the end.

Wretched Flesh

I love the drumming and guitar work at the beginning.  The bass playing is simple and there is nothing wrong with that writing.  I love the singing and the lyrics.  There is a nice pace on this song.  There is a nice guitar solo in the first quarter of the song.  I love the change in the music about the half way point of the song.  There is some awesome singing about this point of the song.  I love how they pick up the heaviest of the music after that point.  I love how they are ending this song.  It is a very good ending.

Thistle

Here is another intro song to the ending track of this great record.  I love the acoustic guitars.  The drumming is calming but still heavy enough to be a metal song.  I love the dancing bass line with an awesome acoustic guitar solo over the top of the music.

As The Dead Lead The Dead

I love how the acoustic guitar playing at the beginning of the song but yet echoes the intro song.  I love the heavy guitar and the screaming vocals in the main part of the song.  I love the melody and the singing on this song.  There is a some insane drumming on this song.  I love the music on this record.  I love the guitar solo towards the mid-point of the song.  The drumming in the last-minute of the song is off the charts.  I love the distance effects on the music at the end of the song.  This is a perfect ending to the song and the record.

Line Up:

  • Russ O’Shea – Bass
  • Sean Lang – Drums
  • Dallas Erickson – Lead Vocals
  • Chris Holtz – Guitar
  • Ryan Macdonald – Guitar

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.firstreign.com

Twitter:  @firstreignband

In closing, I enjoyed the music on this record and I find myself going back and re-listening to this record at least every two weeks.  I love the length of these songs.  They are long and have a ton of thought behind them.  The drumming from Sean is off the charts.  This guy practiced a ton and he is extremely talented drummer.  I love the bass playing from Russ.  I am a bass player and I could not picture myself playing that fast.  I would have to work myself up to it.  This rhythm selection makes this band what it is as far as music side. The guitar playing is off the charts from Chris and Ryan.  The guitar solos are well written.  The singing from Dallas is really good.  I love his death metal vocals and his clean vocals.  First Reign taken the idea of Opeth and took it to the next level.  I really love this band and I cannot wait to see what their next record is going to be like.  I highly recommend you checking out this band.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Music Monday Blog Charred Walls Of The Damned Cold Winds On Timeless Days

In this Music Monday blog, we are going to get into the second record from Charred Walls Of The Damned.  The record is called Cold Winds On Timeless Days.  We are going to get into the history of the band and then the music.  Let us get into history.

History:

Richard Christy, who is the drummer and founder of Charred Walls Of The Damned, left Iced Earth in 2004.  The lead singer at that time was Tim “Ripper” Owens.  He began working on the Howard Stern Show. In 2009, Richard returns to music with his band called Charred Walls Of The Damned.  The name of the band came from prank calls while on the Stern Show.  In 2010, the band released their first record which was self titled.  In 2011, the band released their second record called Cold Winds On Timeless Days.  Let us get into the music.

Track List:

Timeless Days

I love the guitar playing at the beginning of the song.  There is a nice guitar solo before the main part of the song.  I love the drumming from Christy.  Tim’s singing is pretty solid.   There is some pretty good lyrics.  The guitar and drumming is pretty solid on this song.  This is a pretty good opening track for the record.  I just kind of feel this song is too long.  There are also parts of the song where Tim’s vocals do not fit with the song.  There is a nice acoustic guitar break towards the end.

Ashes Falling Upon Us

I love the beginning of this song.  There is heavy guitars with a guitar solo over the top.  The drumming is pretty solid with some nice bass playing.  Tim’s singing is solid and his voice fits the song.  There is some pretty good lyrics.  There is a nice short guitar solo quarter into the song.  There is some well placed nice short guitar solos between the main part and chorus. There is a long and extended guitar solo at the end of the song. I love the end of this song.

Zerospan

The music on this song is insane.  The drumming is what I expect from Richard Christy.  I am talking about speed and more speed on this song.  The lead singer’s singing is solid.  The lyrics are pretty good too.  There is an awesome guitar solo towards the middle of the song.  The guitar and bass playing is pretty strong on “Zerospan.”

Cold Winter

I love the acoustic guitar playing with the other guitar over the top.  The bass is dancing in the background.  I just wish it was a little bit turn up on the bass.  I love Tim’s singing on this song.  The lyrics are pretty solid.  The music had some emotion and feeling behind it.  This is one of my favorite tracks off this record.  I love the ending of this song.

Lead The Way

I love the fade in on the guitar playing.  It is a pretty solid riff.  I love the drumming and the bass playing is really good.  The music is pretty strong on this song.  The singing from the Tim is strong.  I love the lyrics on this song.  There is a pretty good guitar solo towards the middle of the song.  Nice touch on the fade out of the music.

Forever Marching On

I love the bass playing at the beginning.  I am glad they let him out to dance up and down on that neck.  The guitar playing to me does not seem to fit.  There is a crazy drum beat.  Tim’s singing is pretty good.  I am not sure how i feel about that guitar riff over the top of the bass.  The chorus music is awesome.  I love the lyrics on this song.  I love the pace towards the end of the song.

Guiding Me

I love the acoustic guitar playing.  The music during the main part of the song is good.  Tim’s singing is solid with some great lyrics.  I love the melody on this singing.  The music is pretty solid.  There is a pretty good guitar solo towards the middle of the song.  This band wrote some nice music on this song.  I love the ending to the song.

The Beast Outside My Window

There is a nice acoustic guitar at the beginning of the song.  This is thinking man’s music.  This is very well written music.  The music picks up to the heavy part.  The guitars are using the same riff but it is heavier.  There is some solid singing from Tim.  I am not really a fan of the lyrics but the music is pretty killer.  There is a pretty good ending.

On Unclean Ground

I love the bass playing at the beginning.  It is an insane riff.  The drumming is starting to sound the same in each song.  It is still pretty good.  I love the music on this song.  The lyrics are pretty good.  There is a pretty good guitar solo towards the end of the song.

Boodworm

I love the slow down pace on this song to the rest of fast over top speed songs on this record.  I love Tim’s singing with some good lyrics.  The music is pretty good.  The music gets pretty killer towards the middle of the song.  There is a nice guitar break about the same point.  They wrote some nice music on this track.

Admire The Heroes

I love the music at the beginning of the song.  It is just like the last song.  It has a nice pace and groove to it.  Tim has been pretty solid on his singing on this record.  There is no drop off on this song.  There is some solid lyrics on this song.  There is a nice exiting guitar solo to end the song.

Avoid The Light

This song is over the top fast and in your face at the beginning.  The music is pretty good.  I love the drop off during the main part of the song.  Once again, Tim’s singing is pretty solid.  I love the bass playing on this song.  This is a great tune but I just feel this is a bad song to end the record.  This record deserves more and I do not know what it is and what song.  Overall, this was a pretty good second record.

Line Up:

  • Richard Christy – Drums
  • Steve DiGiorgio – Bass
  • Tim “Ripper” Owens – Lead Vocals
  • Jason Sueof – Guitar

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.richardchristy.com

Twitter:  @cwotd

Closing, I had interested in this band because of their lead singer, who is Tim Owens.  I discovered Tim when he was part of the legendary band, who is Judas Priest.  Yes, he was the guy that replaced Rob Halford.  I am a fan of his ever since.  Charred Walls Of The Damned first record was really good.  I still pull it out and put it in my music of the day.  I did not know how to feel towards their second record, which is one that I am reviewing it here.  Richard’s drumming is up to his standards.  It was over the top good.  I just felt at times that the drumming sounds the same in every song or most.  I had the same feeling in their first record.  There is nothing wrong with that because that is Richard’s style.  Tim’s singing is really good but I felt his singing in some songs did not fit.  I love the bass playing on this record.  This band has a really good rhythm selection.  The one thing I noticed on this record is the guitar playing.  There was some really good guitar playing.  I enjoyed most of it.  I just felt some of the guitar solo were not forced into songs.  They sound like they should be in the songs.  There is many guitar solos in many songs from other bands where the solos sound like they were forced in so the guitar player can show off.  Not every song needs a guitar solo and I am glad Charred Walls Of The Damned realizes this situation.  This was a really good record overall.  I will be adding it once in a while to my daily line up of music.  I highly recommend this record and their first one too.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Unknown Music Thursday Blog Ass Kick Ass Kick Ass

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In this Unknown Music Thursday Blog, we are going to get into a local Detroit base hard rock band.  The band was started around 2010 with Brian Thomas, who is the lead vocals of Halloween.  I am talking about Halloween not Helloween.  Halloween is hard rock and metal group based in Detroit in the 1970’s to now.  There is not much history on this band.  They are having fun with this band and trying not to take it too serious.  The band on their Facebook page says anyone from the 1970’s hard rock to today’s metal will like their band.  Let us get into the music.

Track List:

Sabbwacwij

The song starts out with a nice piano music.  I love the guitar playing that echoes the piano music.  I love the guitar work on the main part of the song.  There is a nice pace to this song.  I love the screaming from the lead singer before he sings the main part of the song.  There is some good music and lyrics.  There is a well placed and good guitar solo towards the middle of the song.  I love how they used the back up vocals towards the end of the song.

The Machine

I love the drumming at the beginning of “The Machine.”  The simple but perfect guitar and bass riff.  I love how they shaped the music around the lyrics.  I love the lyrics.  There is some well placed sound effects.  This song sounds like something that Anvil would have written as far as music and lyrics wise.  I love the guitar break towards the middle of the song.  I love the ending.

I’ve Always Hated You

I love the speed on this song.  The drumming is insane.  I love how they let the bass player free and he dances around.  I love the lyrics.  There is some really good music on this song.  I love the guitar solo at end of the song.  This is classic speed metal song.

Marching On

There is a killer guitar riff.  I love the drums.   There is some killer metal music on this song.  There is some nice acoustic guitar work during the versus.  Ass has written some awesome music on this track.  I love how they build up to the guitar solo towards the end of the song.  They know how to use the back up vocals.

Falling Angel

There is a pretty good guitar riff at the beginning.  The singing is solid with some great lyrics.  I love the groove and pace on this song.  The drummer is really good along with the bass player.  Ass has a great rhythm selection and that is key to a successful band.    I love the guitar playing on this song.

The Running Of The Bull

Hola! I love the start of this song.  There is some nice acoustic guitar and a nice dancing bass playing.  There is some nice music on this song.  It is Mexican Metal music.  This is a pretty fun song.  Si!  The singer has written some great lyrics and the singer is a pretty solid.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song.

I Am A Warrior

I love the guitar playing on this song.  There is some nice lyrics and singing from the lead singer.  I love the drumming and bass playing.  I love the groove on this song.  There is a guitar solo that is well placed half way point of the song.  I feel they need to turn up the lead singer on this song.  He just seems like he is singing in the background along with the rest of the band.

Line Up:

  • Brian Thomas – Lead Vocals And Bullhorn
  • Chris Taylor – Bass And Back Up Vocals
  • T.J. – Lead Guitars And Back Up Vocals
  • Foot – Drums And Back Up Vocals
  • Brandon Richardson – Guitars And Back Up Vocals

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  Facebook Page

Twitter:  No Twitter account

In closing, this record was passed to me by a friend and co-worker, who is Ed Harker.  We love our music and we are always trading and leaning out our music.  He told me to check out this band for two reason.  One I am from the Detroit area and two this is some good metal music.  I have to say I was pretty impressed.  I know Brian’s singing from his Helloween years.  I have a few of their records.  I love the pace of all these songs.  They know slow but their fast is over the top good.  The lyrics are funny but really good.  Brian’s singing is really good and strong.  The guitar playing is really good.  The drumming and bass playing is awesome. I will be looking for this band when I come back to visit Michigan.  Go get some Ass!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

New Music Monday Blog Black Country Communion Afterglow

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In this Music Monday Blog, we are going to get into the third record from a super group, who is called Black Country Communion.  The third record is called Afterglow.  We will get into the history and then the music on this blog.  Let us get into the history of this young super group.

History:

Glen Hughes and Joe Bonamassa met at a NAMM Show in 2006 and they jammed at Hughes studio.  In 2009, the two artists did jam after three years since their first jamming session.  The band had Jason Bonham, who is the son of John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, and Derek Sherinian, who was park of Dream Theater.  Bonamassa producer, who is Shirleys, suggested to pick these musicians.  Joe wanted a second guitar player not a keyboardist.  The band named their band called Black Country, however, there was a band out of Maryland that put a lawsuit against the band.  The band later named themselves Black Country Communion.   The band entered the studio to record in their first record in 2010.  In the later part of 2010, the band released their first record which was self titled.  The record was a UK success.  The band did not tour to support their first record.  In that same year, the band started to talk about recording their second record.  Black Country Communion Two was released in June 2011.  The band did a short Europe dates and a seven-day dates in the United States.  The band announced it was going to record a live record.  The band released their live record in later part of 2011.  The band took a little break to work on their other projects.  In 2012, the band return to the studio to start recording their third record, which is AfterGlow.  This is the record that will be reviewed on this blog.  Afterglow was released in the later back of 2012. Glen Hughes did not like the lacking of touring and the support from Bonamassa.  Joe said the band can tour but I had to pick the guitar player.  The band did not like this at all.  Joe finally left the band in March of 2013 he left the band.  Glen said that the rest of the band would recorded in the future in the another name.  Let us get into the music.

Track List:

Big Train

The guitar, bass, and drums start-up the song like a driving force.  I love the touch on the music when Glen comes in singing.  There is a nice driving groove to this song.  I love the back up vocals on this song.  I am not a fan of the lyrics but I love the music on “Big Train.”  There is a nice guitar break halfway through the song that turns into a nice guitar solo.  I love the slow down on the music after the guitar solo.  The band turn to the main riff and chorus to finish up the song.

This Is Your Time

I love the dark theme guitars at the beginning of the song.  I love the melody that Glen wrote for his vocals.  I love the lyrics on this song.  I love the pace of this song.  This song has elements of Bad Company and Deep Purple in it.  I love the guitar solo towards the back half of the song.  The bass line and drums are simple but are perfect the song.

Midnight Sun

I love the guitar riff at the beginning of the song.  I love the music on the main part of the song.  There is a nice pace on this song.  Glen’s singing is strong with some great lyrics.  He sounds better than ever.  I have always loved his singing since Deep Purple.  There is a pretty good guitar solo that does not need all the reverb on his guitar solo.  It is pretty good but I just feel like this song could live without a guitar solo.  There is some nice drumming towards the end of the song.

Confessor

I love the heavy music at the beginning.  This is classic hard rock driving song.  There is some really good singing and I read the lyrics before listening to this song.  I have to say I love how they wrote for “Confessor.”    Jason is killing it on the drums on this song.  There is a nice guitar and organ solo towards the end of the song.  It seems forced but it smooths out towards the middle of the solo.  I love the ending of the song.

Cry Freedom

I love the classic hard rock guitar sound and riff.  There is some nice music on this song.  The singing is strong on this song.  The singing is pretty Blues like on “Cry Freedom.”  I love how they are using the back up vocals.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the middle of the song.  The singing on this song reminds me a little bit of the Deep Purple Mark III and IV era.  There is nice guitar break at the mid-point of the song.  The guitar work kind of has a little Robert Kriger, who is the guitar player from The Doors, feel to it.

Afterglow

The title track for this record is “Afterglow.”  There is some nice music at the beginning of the song.  I love the acoustic guitar playing and the singing is pretty strong.  There are parts that sounds like later Led Zeppelin.  The drumming and bass playing has that feeling too.   There is some pretty good music on this song.  The lyrics are pretty average but the music is what saves this song.  I love the build up to the ending of the song.

Dandelion

There is some nice driving music at the beginning of this song.  I love the drumming and bass playing on this song.  The singing is pretty good with some great lyrics.  I love the music on this song.  There is a well placed guitar solo towards the end of the song.  I thought the ending was a little weak.

The Circle

I am not sure on how I feel about the beginning of this song.  I am not sure on how I feel on the singing and the lyrics.  I love the keyboard playing in the background.  The music did get a little bit better during the chorus part of “The Circle.”  I am really not liking this song.  I hate to say it but I really do not like this song.  I can see someone liking this song and it could be you.

Common Man

I love the music at the beginning of this song.  There is a killer guitar riff on this song.  I love the movement on the bass.  There is some pretty good singing and good lyrics.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the middle of the song.  The band switches off and on in the solo part.  I love the organ playing right after the guitar, bass, and drum solo.  The back half of the song there is some nice playing from the bass, drums, and organ players.  There is some nice playing over the top from the guitar player.

The Giver

There is some nice slow pace music on “The Giver.”  There is some nice singing and some pretty good lyrics.  I love the pick up going into the chorus part of the song.  I am really not liking the guitar riff during the main part of the song.  I am not a fan of the guitar solo towards the end of the song.  It does not fit in the song.  I love the music and the singing for the ending of the song.

Crawl

I love the music on this song.  This song has some powerful music on it.  There is some great singing and lyrics.  I love the keyboard touch on this song.  This song is full with no holes in it.  There is a nice guitar break towards the middle part with a nice keyboard solo right after it.  I love the trade-off solos between the keyboard and guitar players.

Current Line Up:

  • Glenn Hughes – Lead Vocals, Bass Guitar, And Acoustic Guitar
  • Joe Bonamassa – Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, And Co-Lead Vocals
  • Jason Bonham – Drums, Percussion, and Backing Vocals
  • Derek Sherinian – Keyboards

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.bccommunion.com

Twitter:  @bccommunion

In closing, I was so sad to hear that this band has broken up.  I was a little late picking up this record.  I feel bad for it.  I have to say this record lives up to their last two records.  There is some great music and lyrics on this awesome record. There is a few songs towards the end of the record that I could do without on the record.  This is one of the best super groups put together in the last few years.  I am glad Glenn clean up his act and is drug free.  He is a great bass player and singer.  I love all his work and I cannot wait to see what he will be doing next.  I highly recommend this record and their first two records.  Please, hope this band gets back together and tour with some more new music.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Unknown Music Thursday Blog Black Wizard Black Wizard

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In this Unknown Music Thursday Blog, we are going to get into another newer and upcoming band.  The band is called Black Wizard and the record is their self titled.  There is not much on the history of this band.  They were formed before 2009 or 2010 because of their Facebook joining date.  I do not know about you but I am looking forward to get into this music.  I love how they label themselves.  Let us get into the music.

Track List:

Spacer

There is a nice acoustic guitar at the beginning of the opening track.  There is some nice drumming and bass playing.  It is pretty calming at first.  I love how they worked the second guitar playing over the top of everything.  I love the effects on the guitar.  The music is pretty strong so far on this song.  The singing is pretty good and it fits the music.  The effects on his vocals are perfect mix and haunting.  I love the back up vocals.  There is some pretty good lyrics on “Spacer.”  I love the guitar break and time changes about the mid-point of the song.  It sounds like time changes.  There is a pretty solid guitar solo but short towards the end of the song.  I love the ending.

Young Wisdom

I love the music at the beginning.  The singer is singing pretty good.  There is some pretty good lyrics too.  I love the drumming on this song.  The bass playing has been pretty solid so far on this record.  I love the guitar playing on this song.  I love music change half way through with the acoustic guitar and then enters a short guitar solo.  It enters a slower part of the song.  This is a pretty dark song.  There is a nice guitar break towards the end of the song that turns into a pretty good guitar solo.

Midnight

I love the drumming and guitar playing.   The singer is singing like all the rest of the tracks and it is pretty good.  I love how they used the back up vocals on this song.  This song has a nice pace to it and a little different from the rest of the songs thus far.  There is some nice music on this song.  I have to say this is one of my favorite songs so far on this record.

H.U.G.H

This song might come off being heavy but it has some weird influence in it that I cannot figure out.  I love the singing and the music is pretty good.   I love faster pace towards the back half of the song.  The drumming and bass playing is solid for being the backbone of this band.  They have a really good rhythm selection.  I love the guitar solo that is short and to the point.  I love how they are using the back up vocals on this song.  I love the ending to this song.

Danger Dances

I love the acoustic guitar and the slightly distorted guitar at the beginning.  I can hear some Radiohead influence on this song.  This might be the shortest song on the record, however, it is one of the best songs as far as it comes to the music side.  They wrote some great music on “Danger Dances.”

Somethin’ Sweet

I love the classic hard rock sounding guitar at the beginning.  The drumming and bass playing are pretty solid.  I love the bass playing in the main part of the song.  I really not a fan of bass players playing with a pick.  The drumming is pretty crazy on this song.  The lead singer is singing is solid with some great lyrics.  The lead singer’s screaming singing is well placed and not over the top.  I love the guitar players trading off on the guitar break.

Appetite

I love the guitar playing along with the bass and drumming.  I love the singing on this song.  I am not a fan of all the effects on his vocals in some parts.  I love the guitar playing at the mid-point of the song.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song.

Wicked Wanderer

The last song on this record is “Wicked Wanderer.”  The guitars remind me of something that Megadeth would do on their songs.  The drumming and bass playing is solid.  I love the bass playing before the singer starts to sing.  I love the build up to the main part of the song.  This is a pretty solid ending track to this record.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song.  I love how the guitar players are playing the same riff to give that double-sided sound.  I love the ending to this song.

Line Up:

  • Kyle Fee – Bass
  • Eugene Parkomenko – Drums
  • Adam Grant – Vocals And Guitars
  • Johnny de Courcy – Vocals And Guitars

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.blackwizard.bandcamp.com

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/pages/Black-Wizard/97722554850

Twitter:  no address

Closing, this is a pretty good band with a heavier side that you do not want to mess with anytime.  I love the music and the singing.  There are some parts of the singing that I just feel the band needs to get away from with the effects on the vocals.  Overall, the music is pretty solid and lyrics are pretty good.  They wrote a nice first record and I highly recommend you to check this band out.  You will not be disappointed.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djwieser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Music Monday Blog Anvil Hope In Hell

In this New Music Monday Blog, we are going to get into a band I wish I had a chance to see them way back in the day.  I am talking about the band called Anvil.  This is their new record that is called “Hope In Hell.”  This record is their fifteenth studio record.  This band has went through several line up changes but Lips and Robb are the only original members.  Anvil has been known to influence several big names in the Metal, Speed Metal, and Thrash Metal world.  They never made it until their movie hit the air a few years back.  We are going to get into the history and then the music.  Let us get into the history.

History:

Anvil started in Toronto, Canada back in 1973.  A few high school friends who are Steve “Lips” Kudlow, who is the lead singer and guitar player, and Robb Reiner, who is the drummer.  Marty Hoffman, who is a guitarist and neighbor, was in the band for one show but left shortly after it.  In 1978, Dave “Squirrely” Allison, who was the second guitar player and Ian “Dix” Dickson, who was the bassist joined and the band called themselves Lips.  The band released their first record which was independent release called “Hard N’ Heavy.”  The band was signed to Attic Records and they changed their name to Anvil.  David Krebs and Paul O’Neil signed Anvil as their management team.  They had Attic Records to release them from their contract because they could get them on a major label.  David stop returning phone calls and did not get the band a major label contract.  His management team release the band from their contract.  In 1987, the band signed with Metal Blade Records by William Howell.  Metal Blade Records re-release their first three records and their fourth record, which is called “Strength Of Steel” in the United States.  “Strength Of Steel” was the most commercially success in the United States.  It reached 191 on the Billboard 200.  The band was picked up by Maximum Records and then from 1996 on the band was signed to Hypnotic Records and Massacre Records, which is from Germany.  Anvil will say to this day if it was not for Germany for buying their records.  There would not an Anvil today.  In 2001, the band put out “Plenty Of Power.”  They toured and toured and there would be gigs where no one was there to watch them play.  In 2006, the band decided to record a record called “This Is Thirteen” with  Chris Tsangarides, who is the producer from “Metal On Metal” record.  It was released in 2007.  The band was filmed in a movie called “Anvil! The Story Of Anvil”  This movie put the band back in the public mind.  They released a book on the band author by Lips and Robb.  They appear on “The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien” which was the first time the band was on TV.  They supported AC/DC, which was in the United States, and Saxon, which was in United Kingdom, on their tours.  The band went on headline tour of Europe in 2010 and sell out each place they played.  In 2011, the band release their fourteen studio record, which is called Juggernaut of Justice.  Also in 2011, the band release their second greatest hits record and all their old records under their new record label.  Glenn Gyorffy in 2012 quit the band and was replaced by Sal Italiano.  In 2013, Anivl put out their fifteen studio record, which is “Hope In Hell.”  They are out on tour supporting this record.  Let us get into the music.

Track List:

Hope In Hell

The opening and title track of the record is “Hope In Hell.”    The beginning has some sound effects and the guitar, bass, and drums jump into the song.  The drums and bass has a nice groove and pace to them.  I love the guitar playing from Lips.  Lips’ singing is pretty solid.  I love the lyrics he has written on this song.   There is a nice guitar solo from Lips about the half way point of the song.  I have always love his guitar playing through all their records.  This song has elements from the first few records.  I love the ending to the song with the sound effects.

Eat Your Words

I love the fast pace and the drumming is insane on this song.  The bass playing is simple but it fits the song and it is perfect.  I love the guitar riff on this song.  I love the lyrics.  It is classic Anvil lyrics.  Robb is playing out of his mind on this song.  Lips is killing it with the a guitar solo half way through “Eat Your Words.”  This is a classic Anvil song.  I love the exiting guitar solo at the end of the song.

Through With You

I love  the distortion on Lips guitar .  I love the drums and bass.  “Through WIth You” has a nice driving feeling.  Lips wrote some great lyrics and he is singing is pretty average.  I love it.    I love the melody.  I also love the guitar playing during the chorus.  This record so far has a nice pace to it.  This song is not as fast as the last few songs but it has a nice pace and groove.  I love the guitar break half way through the song.  It turns into a nice guitar solo.  I love the build up guitar solo towards the end that ended the song.

The Fight Is Never Won

I love the guitar, bass, and drum action at the beginning of the song.  The drumming is pretty insane on this song.  I love Lips’ singing and lyrics.   He has a nice melody on this song.  The drums are something else on this song.    There is awesome guitar solo towards the middle of the song.  The bass playing has been pretty solid throughout this record so far.  The last few songs has had some nice guitar solos ending the song.  This is yet another pretty solid ending.

Pay The Toll

I love the groove and pace so far on this song.  The guitar, bass, and drums are awesome.  I love the music on “Pay The Toll.”  I am not a fan of the lyrics but it is classic Anvil.  Lips’ singing is pretty good.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the middle of the song.  I have to say this guitar solo just seemed a little forced into the song.  This is a quick and to the point song.  I love some of Anvil’s short songs.

Flying

I love the drumming at the beginning and the guitar and bass enters the song.  There is a nice guitar solo before singer starts to sing.  I love the lyrics and singing on this song.  This song has some meaning for the band that is one thing I love about this band.  They put some feelings and emotion behind their lyrics.  There is a nice guitar break and guitar solo towards the end of the song.  I love the build up to end the song.  Nice guitar solo to end the song with the drums and bass going nuts too.

Call Of Duty

I love the music at the beginning of the song.  I love the lyrics.  I love the pace and rhythm of the music.  I will have to look it up.  It seems Anvil wrote a song for the Video Game franchise.  It just seems like they wrote a song for the video game.  It is not the case.  There is a killer guitar solo towards the middle to the back half of the song.  Anvil wrote some awesome music and lyrics on “Call Of Duty.”  The ending on this song is one of the best ending for a song so far on this record.

Badass Rock N Roll

I love the start to this song.  It has that old school classic hard rock meets speed metal to metal.  I love the drumming on this song.  I love how Lips is singing on this song.  This song sounds like a song that Kiss of Gene Simmons would have been singing if he wrote it.  Hey Kiss, here is your next cover song.  There is a nice and well placed guitar solo towards the middle of the song.  I really love how the guitar and the rest of the band re-enter the back into the main part of the song.   I love the lyrics and the ending to this song.

Time Shows No Mercy

I love the drumming at the beginning with some well place highlighting from the guitar and bass player.  I love the short guitar solo before they enter the main part of the song.  I love the lyrics and the singing is pretty solid.  The music is pretty song.  There is an awesome guitar solo towards the middle of the song.  The drumming is crazy during the guitar solo.  Most drummers would sit in the pocket because they do not want the song sound thin.  I will have to say this song does not sound thin.  I love the build up to end the song.

Mankind Machine

The song starts with some sound effects.  The guitar and drums come in to start the music part.  The bass is shortly after that with the singer coming in strong.  I love the singing and the lyrics on this song.  The music sounds like a bunch of robots or machines.  There is a nice guitar break to a solo towards the back half of the song.  There is a nice drumming break just after the guitar solo.

Shut The Fuck Up

The last song of the record before the bonus tracks.  It starts how as a fast pace to the music.  I love the lyrics and the singing.  This is a pretty solid record so far.  This is classic Anvil.  The music is so good on this song.  This is a perfect song to finish this great and soon to be classic Anvil record.

Hard Wired

I love the drumming, bass, and guitar playing at the beginning of the song.  There is a nice short guitar solo at the beginning just before Lips starts to singing.  I love the melody he wrote for his singing.  There is some nice lyrics.  The guitar solo towards the middle of this song is good but it just feels a little forced into the song.  I love the ending to the song.

Fire At Will

The song starts out with some strong music with everyone playing at the same time.  Lips singing is pretty solid with some great lyrics.  I love singing before the chorus and then in the chorus.  I love how they set up the guitar solo and the well placed solo in this song.  This guitar solo feels right in the song.  This is a perfect ending with the bonus tracks for “Hope In Hell” record.  I love how the song ends.

Current Line Up:

  • Steve “Lips” Kudlow – Lad Vocals And Lead Guitar
  • Robb “Geza” Reiner – Drums
  • Sal Italiano – Bass Guitar

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.anvilmetal.com

Twitter:  @AnvilMetal666

Fuel the fire, Anvil keeps on going and they are still writing some great music and records.  Anvil puts out yet another classic record.  I know I was not their at the beginning but I wish was to see Anvil at the beginning of their career.  I discover them before their movie came out.  I heard some of their tunes.  I had a hard time finding their records.  I overpaid for their first greatest hits because I wanted to play it on my radio show, which is www.stfu.fm.  I wanted to support this great band.  I had a chance to meet the whole band outside of their Chicago show.  I was able to get all their records from www.ebay.com and some release.  I have to say this record “Hope In Hell” as lived up to the rest of their records.  This record is solid from start to finish.  I highly recommend you checking out this record and this band.  I would go see the movie if you have not.  If you are not a metal fan, I would go see it.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

Credit source: history part of this blog came from Wikipedia.