My CD Reviews!

[Deathstroke]

Chastain
For Those Who Dare
Tribunal Records / Divebomb Records - 2010
http://www.divebombrecords.com

The remastered and reissued 1990 Chastain album For Those Who Dare comes with an introductory essay and an interview with guitarist/mastermind David T. Chastain.

The standards are here, with the lyrics reflecting stances on social issues, lightning fast guitar riffs and the instantly memorable voice of Leather Leone. David T. Chastain wrote most of the songs on this album but Leone did write the lyrics for four of the songs.

The album opens with "The Mountain Whispers" and for the most part continues on a very intense heavy rocking sound all the way through. I did like the tempo changes in "Please Set Us Free" though. It opens with a menacing sound with a midtemp pace, rises to the pace of the other rockers on the album and then settles back into how the song began for the final verse.

The title track is fantastic, and the video they made for the song while standard fare did make its way into airplay back in the day. You can see it below.

Other than the title track, my favorite song on the disc had to be "Night of Anger". The song works perfectly lyrically and musically.

I liked the way the band covered the Heart song "Barracuda" in a very metallized way. Although, I think Leather did over sing in a couple of spots. The song "Secrets of the Damned" would've been better if the vocals hadn't been buried in the mix.

I didn't particularly care for how the vocals were delivered in "Not Much Breathing". The whole performance vocally just felt off to me for some reason.

The album closes out on a pretty good note with another hard charger, the song "Once Before".

The band was tight and powerful under the hand of Chastain who produced the album as well. Leather Leone left the band after this album and practically disappeared for a good 20 years, though thankfully she's starting to get back into the scene.

I love that the album got reissued, nothing can top bringing a band as good as Chastain was back into the spotlight. This album was decent (read the interview for what Chastain's problems with it were). I don't think you'll necessarily bring in a large new crowd of admirers but there is a lot to love here despite my own misgivings with some of the songs.

RATING: B MINUS

[Deathstroke]

An old CD, newly reviewed now that I actually got around to buying it:

U.D.O.
Mission No. X
AFM Records - 2005
http://www.udo-online.de


I've been VERY slowly working my way towards acquiring some CDs that have been on my pull list, and I finally got around to picking up some more U.D.O. discs.

You know, I first heard Udo Dirkschneider when he was with Accept because of the song "Balls To The Wall". At first I just hated the vocals because it sounded so much like he couldn't sing. It took me a bit to grasp how good the pit bull growl with the shards of glass and razorblades sound of his voice was. And I'm glad that I have come to really appreciate his vocals because it lets me appreciate his music that much more.

In the past I've had the Man and Machine and Mastercutor albums and I've loved them.

Now I've found more U.D.O. enjoyment with Mission No. X. The album opens with a brief instrumental track before launching directly into the title track. This is a midtempo rocker that was pretty good.

I loved the anthemic "24/7". The band rocks behind Udo's declaration of living life "24 / 7...24 hours 7 days a week".

The odd way the vocals were delivered in the main lyrical passages on "Mean Streets" ultimately made me less interested in the song. A shame because the chorus was decent. I also didn't care much for the slower tempo track "Eye of the Eagle" which is charitably a ballad.

"Cry Soldier Cry" has a softer vocal take to start the song off and then heads back into more familiar territory. However, in this case it actually works.

The high energy attack of "Shell Shock Fever" rips your head off. "Stone Hard" has a slightly slower pace but the heaviness makes up for the lack of speed.

The remaining three tracks on the album are "Breaking Down The Borders", "Way of Life" and "Mad For Crazy" and they are all driving rockers.

Essentially this is a great album. A couple of tracks that I didn't care for overall, but Mission No. X is otherwise a superb metal album and more proof positive that Dirkschneider & Company are in the business of simply "bringing it" when it comes to pure powerful metal.

RATING: A MINUS

[Ottmeister X]

Black Country Communion
S/T
J & R Adventures / Fontana - 2010
http://www.bccommunion.com

I have to admit prior ignorance of Joe Bonamassa but holy cow, he rocks as a guitarist and I loved the track "Song Of Yesterday" he sang on this CD. Fiery guitar licks, ripping solos and smooth rhythms...I have to get more of his own stuff. The song is one of my favorites on the disc.

Joe Bonamassa kicks ass and ranks right up there with any current living guitarist. Blues fans who haven't been aware of him for the past decade or so should check his stuff out. BB King knew Joe was going to be great when Bonamassa was a kid and that's a strong endorsement.

[Deathstroke]

Joe Bonamassa kicks ass and ranks right up there with any current living guitarist. Blues fans who haven't been aware of him for the past decade or so should check his stuff out. BB King knew Joe was going to be great when Bonamassa was a kid and that's a strong endorsement.

I'm looking forward to hearing what the group comes up with for the 2nd album.

[DonC]

So can you name me a criminally underrated metal band that always seems to turn out quality album after quality album and gets praise from their fan base and nobody else it seems?

Overkill.

.

[Deathstroke]

Overkill.

.

I'd disagree because I didn't like a lot of albums they did after The Years of Decay.

[abbott]

An old CD, newly reviewed now that I actually got around to buying it:

U.D.O.
Mission No. X
AFM Records - 2005
http://www.udo-online.de

Good review. Agree with you.

[Deathstroke]

Finally got around to picking this up a few weeks ago, here's what I thought:


Queensryche
Mindcrime at the Moore
Rhino Entertainment - 2007
http://www.queensryche.com

When the original Operation:mindcrime album came out and for a few years after, Queensryche was my favorite band. The story they told was just far and away the most explosive tale I'd heard in a music recording. A friend and I used to make up stories set in the Mindcrime World. I saw the full Mindcrime performance on the band's Empire tour (TWICE!). I bought Operation: Livecrime.

Like many, I was very wary when the news was announced that the band was recording a sequel. While most people had a mixed reaction to the finished product, I thought Operation:mindcrime II was a pretty good follow up.

Now comes Mindcrime at the Moore, a three night recording of the band playing both albums and recording it for posterity. Musically, the band sounds pretty good.

To the surprise of I'm sure no one, there are musical changes and flourishes that weren't a part of the original studio recordings. Thankfully nothing that really amounts to such drastic change that one hates the new version.

The thing that bugs the heck out of me is that Geoff Tate sounds horrible. I'm sorry, I used to think Geoff Tate was one of the best singers in the metal world, but unless my ears have completely gone wacky, he just cannot do justice to the material all this time removed from the original performance. Of course 20 plus years will change a voice, I understand that. But there are times when he struggles to hit notes that aren't even as high as the original songs. Not too mention he sometimes sounds off-key.

The two encore songs of Queensryche classics "Walk In The Shadows" and "Jet City Woman" round out the evening as a come down from the two albums, but this is one fan who has been mightily disappointed in LIVE Queensryche recordings once again.

Rating: C

[Slackbert]

Yeah, I have the DVD. The C applies to that as well, imo.

[Deathstroke]

Yeah, I have the DVD. The C applies to that as well, imo.

I haven't seen it yet since I don't own it, but I didn't hold out much hope for it anyway.

[Deathstroke]

I just got my hands on this album so here's my review.

Whitesnake

Good To Be Bad

Icarus Music / SPV / Steamhammer - 2008

http://www.whitesnake.com



This album was one heck of a rocking disc. 7 out of the 11 tracks were outstanding. "Best Years" and "Call On Me" were particularly notable for the guitar playing.

"A Fool In Love" had a cool bluesy opening while "Til The End of Time" sounded as if it belonged on the soundtrack to a Western film.

"All I Want All I Need" started off slow but featured more of a rock rhythm in the chorus. The band's ballad "Summer Rain" was a great little number.

The song "Good To Be" was decent overall but I thought the chorus was a bit weak. I didn't like the bare bones opening of "Lay Down Your Love"

The version of the album I got contained a bonus live disc with 7 songs from a concert and a video clip. The performance was fine but I would've liked it if the CD booklet had mentioned where the concert was performed. The track listing for that CD ranged from a 2 song Deep Purple medley to the blues rock version of Whitesnake and the more 80's metal version of the band.

All in all, while I liked the band's latest CD Forevermore a bit more, this album is a wonderful installment in the band's discography.

GRADE: A MINUS

[Deathstroke]

Queensryche
Dedicated To Chaos
Loud & Proud Records / Roadrunner Records - 2010
http://www.queensryche.com



Having successfully avoided hearing any audio samples from the album but not online opinions, I didn't know what to expect but had a sinking feeling about Dedicated To Chaos going into my playing of the disc for review.

I came out rather pleasantly surprised for the most part. I think in order to really enjoy the disc, you have to accept that Queensryche as anything resembling a metal outfit is dead and buried. They are now a rock and roll band and this isn't a case of splitting musical genre hairs.

I continue to be amazed that Kelly Gray does a decent job producing the band when he was such a lousy addition as a band member.

I didn't like the "chaotic" design to the interior CD booklet for the album.

As for the music, I really liked the opening track "Get Started". Geoff Tate really sounds pretty good on this album and I'm hoping that it is all him and not some Autotunes stuff going on. "Hot Spot Junkie" was a nice uptempo track.

"Got It Bad" sounded almost like it was intended to be a pop song. And the band hasn't completely left themes behind either, "Retail Therapy" has some decidedly pointed lyrics on society's materialism. The song itself is okay.

The version I got of the album had 3 bonus tracks mixed in among the standard album cuts. "I Believe" and "LUVNU" were both bright spots but "Hard Times" was awful.

I also didn't care for "Broken". A few of the other songs were kind of iffy, but didn't rise to the "I HATE IT" category.

This isn't an album that will thrill longtime fans of the band, of which I consider myself one. But time and the musical interests of the band have moved on and it is either move on with them or move on FROM them.

It is a decent album if you can do the former.

As an aside, I really wish the band would NEVER do another caberet tour ever again. It was beyond embarrassing to see videos of their performances. And while Tate sounds good on this album, he comes off as an embarrassing wanker at times in interviews.

GRADE: B MINUS

[Deathstroke]

Seven Witches
Call Upon The Wicked
FrostByte / eOne - 2011
(No Active Up To Date Website That I Can Find)



With nary an easing off on the gas, Seven Witches stays on full throttle throughout Call Upon The Wicked.

And with the lineup they have for this album, it isn't any wonder why? James Rivera is back on vocals and you've got the founder of the band, Jack Frost, shredding on guitar. If that wasn't enough, you've got the solidly built metal foundation of drummer Taz Marazz and Symphony X's bassist Mike Lepond.

You've got a great CD package with superb production from Frost, Lepond and Armored Saint's Joey Vera, who has become one of the most active guys in metal the last few years whether as an artist or producer.

With Rivera back on vocals, the band has a much better sound. I'm sure Alan Tecchio has his fans but I didn't like the vocals on Amped all that much and for a while there the band fell off my radar. Rivera has a classic metal voice that propels the band to a sound that remains both powerful yet accessible.

The title track on the disc is actually the one that would seem to be the one that would be most likely to get radio airplay back in the day.

There were three live bonus tracks on the album and they were OK, nothing great overall until the closing Judas Priest medley.

On "End of Days", Marazz gets the spotlight early in the song as his pounding of the skins is pushed to the forefront. The band chose a really interesting song for a cover. They did "White Room" from Cream and while I don't think Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker will think much of how metallized their song is, I think this version is rather good. I'm normally very wary of cover songs but Seven Witches got this one right despite the changes to tempo and tone.

The thing they got wrong was the song "Mind Games". The repetitive nature of chorus highlight a dearth of creativity (I'm only speaking of this song) in the lyrics.

I also loved the uptempo tracks "Ragnarok" and "Fields of Fire". (The video for the latter is below in this review)

Seven Witches has consistently turned out decent albums. I thought their Passage To The Other Side was positively brilliant. While they do get their share of acclaim, I think they remind me of Metal Church, where they turn out quality music but their albums seem destined to be heard by only their hardcore fans.

That being said, expand your metal horizons and check out Call Upon The Wicked. I think you will agree that the band is an underrated gem and the album a proud addition to your CD collection.

GRADE: B PLUS

[Deathstroke]

Simon Kirke
Filling The Void
Megaforce Records - 2011
http://www.freewebs.com/simonkirke/


The first thing I made note of when doing some minor research to talk about this album was that it wasn't the first solo CD that Simon Kirke has done. He apparently did one back in 2005. I'm thinking that must've been really low key because I've never heard of it until now.

And I might just have to check it out if it is even half as good as Filling The Void turned out to be.

Simon Kirke may be best known as the drummer for Bad Company, but he is so much more than that as he demonstrates so aptly on this CD. Besides singing and playing drums on the disc, he wrote or co-wrote all of the songs plus played bass, piano and guitar on various tracks as well.

You probably wouldn't think of him as a band leader, but when you take his smooth vocals that fit the material so well and smart songcraft, he is all that and more.

The album's booklet is a fountain of information on the creation of the disc. It's got an essay/interview with Kirke plus a track by track commentary. It also keys you into the who's who that guested on the album. His daughter Domino sang on two track, Mick Ralphs appeared on the track "Make Up Your Mind" and Howard Leese was on the title track. G.E. Smith and Steve Conte also made appearances along with others that I will let you discover for yourself.

As for the songs, the title track opens the disc. It is a confessional song related to the time Kirke spent in rehab and how things in his life were at the time. His daughter's singing on the track makes it that much more poignant.

"Message From The Lost" was inspired by his time spent as a Red Cross driver after 9/11. The story of the life and times of a long term couple in "Angel In My Eyes" was interesting because normally you'd find that type of subject to be in a ballad, but here the song was more uptempo.

"Over There" was the second song to touch on more of a topical subject matter, Kirke listed it as being his homage to the soldiers who had died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The saxophone makes an appearance on two tracks and provides the two songs with a headier sense of atmosphere. On "Jaunty Sarcasm" (which is just a great title by the way), the story of a really bad relationship is set to a music soundtrack that has me feeling like I'm in a swinging smoky nightclub at 2am. "Melting On Madison" is a slow song about a couple so into each other that they barely notice the world around them. The sax here makes you feel as if you are right there in the rainy night.

While rehab has apparently worked for Kirke, it doesn't seem to have left him without a sense of humor as evidenced on the rather entertaining "Make Up Your Mind" which is a bluesy/country type of song that is "a tongue in cheek ode to drunkeness".

The midtempo song "Going Home" really hit home for me. Not necessarily the lyrics, which are about a guy driving to get to his girlfriend who he fears has done something crazy. It was how Kirke sounded, to me at least, when singing. The song, co-written by Derek St. Holmes (Ted Nugent), has him sounding a whole lot like Warren Zevon. And that is just fantastic to my ears.

"Talk To The Hand" is about a mysogynist and while the song isn't necessarily all that great, I liked the guitar solo.

The album is full of songs of love (both good and bad), loss, longing and a few topical subjects. It is a superbly recorded and performed album. It won't "rock your socks off" because it is not a rock and roll album full of chunky riffs and bombastic drumming.

What it is is something that classic rock fans will love to add to their collection. Simon Kirke steps out from behind the drum kit and shows the world that he is the total musical package.

GRADE: A MINUS

[Deathstroke]

Great information! I agree most of you here and I’ve been looking for something like this for a while now. Thanks!

Glad you liked.