Category: Video
0 Sin City – This Ain’t Heaven…Welcome To Hell!
The German band Sin City ( http://www.myspace.com/sincityacdcrock and http://www.sin-city.de/ ) is releasing their next studio cd titled “This Ain’t Heaven…Welcome To Hell” on September 22nd of 2007.
Last week, we had the distinct honor and privilege of viewing a small part of the creative processes involved in the making of this cd.
Lars Lunova ( http://www.drpank.de/cms/index.php), the drummer for Sin City, sent us a cd video. This vid had an hour and a half of clips showing discussions, practices and recording sessions for “This Ain’t Heaven…Welcome To Hell”!
These clips are apparently part of hundreds of hours of video shot, and are tentatively going to be used to produce a Rockumentary on the making of “This Ain’t Heaven…Welcome To Hell”.
These clips were very intense in spots…..Sin City worked night and day to make this cd come together.
We got to hear snippets of virtually every song that is coming out this September 22nd, and heard how each song progressed from formation until final production. Some songs changed immensely, some were obviously almost perfect from the start.
Some clips were hilarious. At times a miniature ac/dc “Hells Bells” bell would appear in front of the camera, much to our delight…..or a small Spiderman cutout would swoop across the lens…LOL!
And virtually everyone who was filmed has a little bit of the devil in them! You know….the old high school prank where you put a victory sign up behind the person who is being filmed (without their knowledge of course)…..LOL!
There was a very intense man in a lot of the clips…VERY intense! Who did not look like a rocker at all, but was very much involved with everything from the creative process to actually being in the background vocals.
A quick email to Pank (Lars), after viewing this vid, came back telling us that this man was in fact Eddi. He is the former singer for the band; who still writes, sings and helps produce their music!
Now how many bands do you know who do that!?!?!?!?!!!
The only drawback to viewing this video was that, for the most part, all the band members are speaking in German.
This was especially frustrating to us when Pank and Dshurgen are sitting on a couch somewhere in Rock ‘N Roll land, obviously discussing the inner workings of a particular song (and there were four different songs discussed this way). But we could not understand a word that was spoken except the song titles!
We should have studied harder in high school German class! LOL!
Hopefully, if this Rockmentary is ever released to English speaking countries, they will put subtitles in place.
The website guru’s for Sin City are working on a band website to be done totally in English and are setting up a Paypal account. And hope to have this all in place before the cd’s release, so that anyone worldwide can learn about Sin City and purchase the latest release.
The members of Sin City genuinely love each other, they love what they do and they can not wait to share their new music with the world!
Also, Sin City has produced two other cd’s of original music, “And There Was Rock” & “Hellectric”. These cd’s should be required additions for every true Rockers library. Truly awesome tunes in both, from start to finish. But we must say that “This Ain’t Heaven…Welcome to Hell” is their finest effort to date!
One last little tidbit, for you trivia lovers at Hard Rock Hideout…..better file this one away in the memory banks for future retrieval….
The title of their latest cd is actually a combination of two song titles by Rhino Bucket!
And that is intentional.
In the meantime we are waiting anxiously for the release of “This Ain’t Heaven…Welcome to Hell” and as far as we’re concerned September 22nd can’t come soon enough!
Bring it on Sin City…..we are ready to ROCK!
Article Courtesy of Bic & Que
0 New Video – Slamer – Not In Love
Mike Slamer and Terry Brock worked out a videoclip for the song “Not In Love” taken off the SLAMER awesome debut album “Nowhere Land” released in September 2006 on Frontiers.
Directed by Mike Slamer’s daughter Nicole (also responsible for the SEVENTH KEY dvd “Live In Atlanta”).
Check it out!
3 Atreyu – Lead Sails Paper Anchor (Released-2007)
Lead Sails Paper Anchor is the fourth studio effort by the California five piece metal band. Atreyu had moderate success with 2006’s, A Death-Grip on Yesterday.
Judging from what I have heard on this disc, this may be release that sends the band into the stratosphere.
Atreyu is powered by two singers. Drummer/Singer Brandon Saller provides the melodic vocals, while Alex Varkatzas handles the aggressive screaming. This dual vocal approach gives the band a somewhat unique sound that meshes the metal and hardcore genres together.
Lead Sails Paper Anchor is a radio friendly collection of modern metal songs. This disc ought to generate at least four to five singles on mainstream rock radio.
I can only describe the song Doomsday as melodic metal meets thrash. This song mixes the excellent vocals of Saller’s, with the thrashing guitar licks of Dan Jacobs and Travis Miquel. This is a very cool way to start off this disc.
Becoming The Bull is a killer song that has already been released as a single and is having mild chart success.
Honor has a similar guitar riff to Becoming the Bull. It is a good song, but not quite as good as the track that precedes it.
The style of the song Falling Down reminds me of Green Day quite a bit, but the heavy guitar work sets it apart. This is an upbeat song that screams radio hit.
When Two Are One is an upbeat thrasher that will put most metalheads into a moshing frenzy.
No One Cares is a mid to high tempo number that Saller’s vocals shine on. This is another song that has hit potential.
I didn’t really care for Can’t Happen Here very much. Varkatzas reminds me of Rob Zombie at times, but I don’t think he is quite as good vocally. The music is good, but Varkatzas’s vocals ruined the tune for me.
Slow Burn on the other hand is an upbeat powerhouse of a tune, and ought to be the band’s second single.
Blow is probably my favorite track on the whole CD. This song has a very 80’s metal feel to it. The lyrics are catchy. This is a killer song. (You can preview this song below.)
Lead Sails(and a Paper Anchor) is a very good mid tempo number, that is probably the least heavy song on the record. This is going to be yet another hit for Atreyu.
My copy came with a cool cover of Faith No More’s hit, Epic. This song wasn’t listed on the digipak, so it is a nice surprise. It is a tad more hardcore with Varkatzas’ vocals, but it is still very true to the original song.
As a whole, Atreyu’s Lead Sails Paper Anchor is another decent hard rock disc, and one that is worthy of your hard earned dollars.
You can pick up Lead Sails Paper Anchor in stores today! Go Get It!
Rating:
Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Doomsday
2. Honor
3. Falling Down
4. Becoming the Bull
5. When Two Are One
6. Lose It
7. No One Cares
8. Can’t Happen Here
9. Slow Burn
10. Blow
11. Lead Sails (And a Paper Anchor)
12. Epic* (Bonus Track)
3 Metal Skool – Fat Girl Video
0 Shakra – Infected (Release Year – 2007)
Another hot release in 2007 is the new disc Infected by Swiss rockers, Shakra. This band reminds me of a cross between Gotthard, Pink Cream 69, and a dash of the Scorpions and Def Leppard for good measure. If you like any of those bands, then Infected may be a disc for you to check out.
This is very good 80’s style metal release. There are plenty of great vocals by Mark Fox, and lots of excellent guitar work throughout this disc by the guitar tandem of Thom Blunier and Thomas Muster. Most of the songs on this disc are upbeat semi heavy rockers, but this disc does have a slower moment or two.
The video below is for the excellent low tempo number, Love Will Find A Way.
Infected is one of those discs that you have to hear to appreciate. I have given this one quite a few spins, and seemingly enjoy more with every listen. It also mixes well with my playlist that is a good mix of 80’s through 00’s hard rock and metal.
I recommend checking out some of the band’s other songs off of Infected, on their myspace page here. You can pick up Shakra’s infected at CD Inzane, and Impulse Music. All other U.S. retailers sell this disc at import prices.
Rating:
Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Make Your Day
2. Inferno
3. One
4. Playing with Fire
5. Dance with Madness
6. Love Will Find a Way
7. Vertigo
8. Conquest
9. Higher Love
10. Cardiophobia
11. Look at Me
12. The Other Side
13. Let’em Have It
14. Acheron’s Way
1 New Video – Koritni – Heaven Again
Australian Rockers Koritni released a video for their single, “Heaven Again”. This song is from their new CD, Lady Luck that was released back in February.
Check it out here!
If you like what you hear, go check out the 4 tunes they have on their myspace page here.
0 New Video – Cinder Road – Get In, Get Out
Check out the new video for the single Get In, Get Out, by Cinder Road. This is off of their new album, Superhuman that was released in June! You can hear more of the band’s songs at their myspace page here.
1 New Hanoi Rocks Video – Fashion
Hanoi Rocks has released a video for their new song, “Fashion”.
This is the first single released off the up and coming disc, Street Poetry, that will hit the stores in September.
This is the band’s first new disc since 2005’s, Another Hostile Takeover.
Check it Out!
0 New HIM Video – Passions’ Killing Floor
The latest music video clip from HIM’s new album Venus Doom (coming
September 18th) carries the secret and code-breaking game from the last
video forward.
Written as part of the original treatment by Director
Meiert Avis, you must watch the video for the new song, “Passions’ Killing
Floor,”fully because things are not what they seem. Follow the link below to continue or begin your quest for the answer to HIM’s latest album Venus Doom.
0 HIM video – Bleed Well
HIM have released a new video clip for their song, “Bleed Well,” off their September 18th release of Venus Doom.
The clip is a small segment of a longer video for the “Bleed Well”.
Hidden within the video is another secret key code that will unlock a hidden video from the band. Check out the video below to crack the code on Heartagram.com.
2 New Adrenaline Factor Video – Ride
Check out the new video by Adrenaline Factor – Ride! You can read the Hard Rock Hideout review for Adrenaline Factor’s CD here!
2 New Video by Nightwish – Amaranth
Check out the new video Amaranth by Finnish rockers, Nightwish featuring the band’s new singer, Anette Olzon.
This is the new single, off the up and coming CD, Dark Passion Play, which will be released in September.
Nightwish has the following dates scheduled for their North American Tour this fall:
Oct 15 2007 8:00P jaxx Springfield, Virginia
Oct 16 2007 8:00P Trocadero Theatre Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Oct 18 2007 8:00P Nokia Theatre New York, New York
Oct 20 2007 8:00P The Palladium Worcester, Massachusetts
Oct 21 2007 8:00P Metropolis Montreal, Quebec
Oct 23 2007 8:00P The Docks Toronto, Ontario
Oct 24 2007 7:30P Peabody’s Cleveland, Ohio
Oct 26 2007 7:00P Harpos Concert Theatre Detroit, Michigan
Oct 27 2007 8:00P House Of Blues Chicago, Illinois
Oct 28 2007 6:00P First Avenue Minneapolis, Minnesota
Oct 31 2007 9:00P Showbox Seattle, Washington
Nov 1 2007 8:00P Roseland Theater Portland, Oregon
Nov 2 2007 8:00P Slims San Francisco, California
Nov 4 2007 8:00P House Of Blues Los Angeles, California
Nov 6 2007 8:00P House Of Blues Anaheim, California
Nov 7 2007 8:00P Marquee Theater Phoenix, Arizona
Nov 8 2007 7:30P Sunshine Theater Albuquerque, New Mexico
Nov 10 2007 8:00P White Rabbit San Antonio, Texas
Nov 11 2007 9:00P The Palladium Ballroom Dallas, Texas
Nov 12 2007 9:00P Meridian Houston, Texas
Nov 14 2007 7:30P Culture Room Ft Lauderdale, Florida
Nov 15 2007 8:00P House Of Blues Orlando, Florida
Nov 17 2007 8:00P Masquerade Atlanta, Georgia
3 New Atreyu Video – Becoming the Bull
As the days of summer race forward, many have been awaiting an assortment of record and video releases from around the world. Today we join the race toward the August 27th release of Atreyu’s Lead Sails Paper Anchor, with the premier of their video and first single “Becoming the Bull”. The video was directed by Kevin Kerslake (Rise Against, Green Day, Nirvana) and shows a new side of a band that has refined their outlook on the music they make.
Cool Stuff!
1 Soundtrack Album to the Remake of the Halloween Film By Rob Zombie
Halloween rocks as writer/director Rob Zombie unleashes his terrifying remake of the classic film Halloween. Halloween: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Hip-O/UMe), released August 21, 2007, precedes the premiere of the film on more than 2,000 screens on August 31.
Halloween is a trick-or-treat goodie bag of audio clips from the film and ‘70s arena rock that turns sinister when heard in the film. From Nazareth’s “Love Hurts” (Top 10, 1976) and Peter Frampton’s “Baby I Love Your Way” (Top 20, 1975) to Iggy Pop’s live version of “1969” (1969), Alice Cooper’s “Only Women Bleed” (Top 20, 1975), Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” (1981) and Blue Oyster Cult’s “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” (Top 20, 1976), Zombie mixes the expected with the surprising, just as he does with the film itself. Also included is composer Tyler Bates’ (Dawn Of The Dead, The Devil’s Rejects, Slither, 300) remake of John Carpenter’s iconic “Halloween” now titled “Halloween 2007.”
Rob Zombie, who previously wrote and directed The Devil’s Rejects (2000) and House Of 1000 Corpses (2004), offers an entirely new take on the highly successful series of Halloween films that began in 1978. Zombie turns back time to uncover the making of a pathologically disturbed, even cursed, child named Michael
Myers.
Also heard in the film and on the soundtrack are “Let It Ride” (Top 30, 1974) from Bachman Turner Overdrive, “God Of Thunder” (1976) from KISS, The Misfits’ 1982 “Halloween II” (which was not connected with the film), a new version of “Mr. Sandman” recorded by Nan Vernon and produced by Tyler Bates, as well as the Bates’ composed “The Shape Stalks Laurie.”
Besides the soundtracks to House Of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects, Zombie’s horror film musical exploits includes 1999’s innovative Rob Zombie Presents…Frankenstein, for which he created a mixtape of dialogue and score from the three classic original Frankenstein films.
Rob Zombie has sold over 15 million albums worldwide and continues to be one of Geffen Record’s top selling artists.
Watch the Halloween trailer here.
5 Shark Island – Law of The Order (1989)
One of the hottest bands on the L.A. circuit in the mid to late 80’s was Shark Island. Rumor has it that they were so good, some singer named Axl Rose used to tape singer Richard Black’s performances to he could copy his moves. Read more about that here.
Shark Island’s debut CD Law of the Order was originally released in 1989, and was the band’s only release until 2006’s Gathering of the Faithful.
Law Of The Order is a CD that is hard to categorize. This isn’t your typical hair metal. It isn’t flamboyant enough to be glam (but they sure tried to market the band that way). It isn’t gritty enough to be considered sleaze metal. This is more of a straight forward hard rock cd, and a very good one at that.
Richard Black proves to be an excellent singer. Sadly, most people know him more for his
brief time spent in the supergroup, Contraband.
Law Of The Order is one of those CD’s that you truly need to hear to appreciate. There are several really good songs on this disc including Paris Calling, Somebody’s Falling, Get Some Strange, Passion to Ashes, and an excellent jamming cover of the Fleetwood Mac tune, The Chain. (I actually prefer the Shark Island version, to the original.)
Paris Calling
My copy of this CD is the re-released version from 2004 that has a few bonus tracks that were only available on movie soundtracks at one time. Both Dangerous and Father Time, came from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure Soundtrack. My City came from the Point Break Soundtrack. All 3 songs are an excellent addition to a great CD.
Not only did my copy include the bonus songs, but it also has the Bastille Day, Alive The Whiskey CD included with it. This is the CD that the band wanted to release as the major label debut. The record company didn’t like that idea, and it didn’t get released until now. This captures the band performing live at the Whiskey in Hollywood, back on July 14th, 1989. The songs do sound a lot better than their studio versions. It is a very tight set, and definitely a collection of live tunes worth owning.
This CD is out of print and is starting pull down bigger dollars on EBay. I was able to secure a copy through Impulse Music recently. If you can still order it, I would get this one before it is gone. It is well worth your hard earned dollars.
You can check out Shark Island on their myspace page here.
Rating:
Out of 10
Track Listing:
CD1
Law Of The Order
1. Paris Calling
2. Shake for Me
3. Somebody’s Falling
4. Bad for Each Other
5. Passion to Ashes
6. Spellbound
7. Get Some Strange
8. Why Should I Believe
9. Ready or Not
10. The Chain
11. My City*
12. Dangerous *
13. Father Time*
CD2
Alive At the Whisky
1. Paris Calling
2. Ready or Not
3. Shake For Me
4. Get Some Strange
5. Passion To Ashes
6. Make A Move
7. Spellbound*
8. Sanctuary*
*Bonus Tracks
Shark Island is:
Richard Black – Vocals
Spencer Sercome – Guitars
Chris Heilmann – Bass
Greg Ellis – Drums
38 Airbourne – Running Wild (Release Year – 2007)
Getting my hands on a copy of Airbourne’s debut, Running Wild has been one of 2007’s biggest ordering challenges. After a month of waiting and a few follow up calls to check on my order, the disc finally arrived in the mail. The $25,000 question is, was this disc worth the wait.
Damn straight it was! Running Wild could end up being one of my top hard rock CD’s of the year.
Airbourne’s style of music is easily compared to AC/DC type of party rock. These Aussie rockers do it right by coming out with a full disc of hard rocking tunes that totally kick ass! Songs that are full of great drumming, guitar solos, sing along choruses and massive energy. What more could you want?
Stand Up for Rock ‘N’ Roll is the type of anthem that will get you off of your Barcalounger, make you throw your fist in the air, and scream “Hell Yeah”! This is a high energy rocker that will make you a new Airbourne fan on the first listen.
Runnin’ Wild is a catchy sing along anthem, that will give you whiplash from all of the headbanging you WILL be doing.
Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast is the first song that I ever heard by Airbourne. It only took one listen for me to start trying to find out more about this group. This is another sing along anthem that rocks hard.
If the first three videos above haven’t made you a fan yet, you have probably clicked on the Hard Rock Hideout address by accident.
Those of you that are still reading are probably asking, “how are the rest of the songs?” Without breaking the songs down any further, every single song on this record rocks. Their are no wimpy power ballads. There are no songs that you will want to skip. This is great party music all the way until the last song Let’s Ride.
WARNING!!After you listen to this disc, the first time, you may find yourself hitting repeat.
I have heard a lot of bands recreate the AC/DC sound over the years, and I think Airbourne does it better than most of them. Running Wild is a compact disc that will surpass the expectations of most hard rock fans. 80’s rock fans and AC/DC fans will love this.
You can pick this up at Impulse Music, CD Inzane, and a through the HRH storefront at Amazon.com. Go Get It!
You can check out Airbourne on the web at their myspace page here, and at AirbourneRock.com.
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Stand Up for Rock ‘N’ Roll
2. Runnin’ Wild
3. Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast
4. Diamond in the Rough
5. Fat City
6. Blackjack
7. What’s Eatin’ You
8. Girls in Black
9. Cheap Wine & Cheaper Women
10. Heartbreaker
11. Let’s Ride
Airbourne is:
Joel O’Keeffe – Vocals, Lead Guitar
Ryan O’Keeffe – Drums
David Roads – Rhythm Guitar
Justin Street – Bass Guitar
3 New Buckcherry video – Broken Glass
1 Bang Camaro – S/T (Release Year – 2007)
Just when I thought I have seen it all in rock music, a band comes along and does something that totally surprises me.
Bang Camaro has a great 80’s style hard rock sound, but the major difference is the band has a choir of twenty lead singers.
With 20 singers at the helm, every track becomes a sing along anthem. It is a unique idea, that I do not recall being done before.
Not only does the band employ an army of singers, but they also have 3 axe slingers at their disposal: Alex Necochea, Bryn Bennett, Maclaine Diemer on Guitars and Keyboards, Dave Riley on Bass, and Andrew Dole on Drums.
The guitar sound on this album is very tight and full of guitar solos. I am not sure if I appreciate the novel idea of a male choir approach, but I do like the music on this record very well. Some of the songs here could have gone from good to great with a very good single male vocalist instead of twenty. This band probably would not have stood out if they didn’t try something new, so kudos to them for trying something different.
A couple of my favorite tunes are Push Push Lady Lightning and Out on the Streets.
You can get the Bang Camaro CD from CD Freedom for the paltry sum of $10.00. Buy it, I think you will like it! You can check out Bang Camaro at their myspace page here.
Rating:Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Push Push Lady Lightning
- Swallow the Razor
- Pleasure (Pleasure)
- Gates of Love
- The Ballad
- Out On The Streets
- You Know I Like My Band
- F.Y.T.F.O.
- Nightlife Commando
- Rock of Mages
- Rock Rebellion
- Bang Camaro
1 New Music Video – Invitro – When I Was a Planet
Invitro’s new music video for the song, “When I Was A Planet” is one of the funniest videos that I have seen in a long time. This is the title track from their upcoming CD, to be released in September.
Check it out!
0 Asphalt Ballet – S/T (Release Year – 1991)
Asphalt Ballet’s name comes from a motorcycle crashing at high speed and sliding across the pavement. Their music is no accident, even though the band eventually crashed and burned.
The self title debut from 1991 is a damn good one, by this San Diego five piece unit.
This CD blends the west coast sleaze sound with southern rock. It may sound like a strange combination, but it works.
Asphalt Ballet was a regular on the MTV headbanger’s ball back in the early 90’s. Three videos were released in support of this disc:
Soul Survive
Tuesday’s Rain
Unlucky Mr. Lucky
After this release, the band was pushed to alter their sound to grunge, so they could stay current in the music scene. Needless to say, that decision would spell their demise.
I would have loved to have heard another disc, in the vein of this one, with the original band’s lineup in tact. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.
This CD has several good songs including Hell’s Kitchen, Blood on the Highway, Goodbye Yesterday , and the three songs featured in the videos above.
Singer, Gary Jeffries has been in several bands since Asphalt Ballet, and is currently in a Dayton, Ohio band called Gary Jeffries and the Gator Stew Band. Guitarist Julius Ulrich, and drummer Michael Kiner are in a Hollywood Metal band called 13-A.
This disc has been out of print for a while, and regularly goes for over $20.00 on Ebay right now. This disc will appeal to most sleaze and southern rock fans. I like this one a lot. If you can find it, buy it, you won’t be disappointed.
Rating:Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Hell’s Kitchen
2. Soul Survive
3. Tuesday’s Rain
4. Unlucky Mr. Lucky
5. End of My Rope
6. Heaven Winds Blow
7. Blood on the Highway
8. Goodbye Yesterday
9. Wasted Time
10. Taking a Walk
11. Hangmans Swing
12. Blue Movie
13. Do It All Over Again
2 American Dog – No Pity
4 Cold Sweat – Break Out (Release Year – 1990)
Cold Sweat is a five piece hard rock band that recorded one CD in 1990 on MCA Records.
This band features former Keel guitar player Marc Ferrari, ex-Wasted guitarist Erik Gamans, bassist Chris McLernon, drummer Anthony White, and singer Rory Cathey.
There was some stink between Cold Sweat and Lynch Mob for a while as Oni Logan who was the
original singer, defected to go sing for George Lynch on the day Cold Sweat was to sign with MCA.
Break Out is a very solid 80’s style hard rock disc that is often forgotten about. Marc Ferrari’s guitar work on this CD is superb. This disc doesn’t have a band song on it, and even features a writing credit on Four on the Floor by current KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer.
Let’s Make Love Tonight
This disc has it all! A great power ballad in Waiting in Vain, and a bunch of excellent hard rockers: Four on the Floor, Take This Heart of Mine, Let’s Make Love Tonight and Fistful of Money. This disc also has a pretty cover of the Foghat song, I Just Want to Make Love To You.
This long out of print CD often sells for 20 or more dollars on EBay, but can often be found for lesser amounts. It is a disc well worth seeking out if you are a fan of 80’s hard rock and glam metal. Buy Break Out if you can! You will love it!
You can hear more songs at the band’s myspace page here.
Rating: Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Four on the Floor
2. Cryin’ Shame
3. Lovestruck
4. Waiting in Vain
5. Take This Heart of Mine
6. Killing Floor
7. Riviera/Long Way Down
8. Let’s Make Love Tonight
9. Fistful of Money
10. Jump the Gun
11. I Just Want to Make Love To You
13 Wildside – Under the Influence (Release Year – 1992)
One of the discs that I still play from time to time is the glam metal release by Wildside, called Under the Influence.
If Under the Influence was released five years earlier, Wildside would have been a household name. Armed with a sound that was a mixture between RATT and Cinderella, they had the sound, and the look to make it big. Sadly, this disc was released right at the time that the music scene was going through the change to Grunge, and the disc did not gain the success is deserved.
The CD was produced by Andy Johns (Cinderella, Van Halen, L.A. Guns), and even had a little writing help by Paul Stanley on the track Clock Strikes.
I picked this disc up after hearing a few cuts on he syndicated hard rock station Z-Rock. This disc has remained in my play list ever since.
In 2007, Under the Influence is becoming increasingly harder to find, and averages between 20 – 30 dollars on Ebay. It is a disc worth seeking out, if you missed it the first time around.
The band put out a second release in 1995, that was a change in sound (more grunge, than glam) that completely bombed, and the band broke up. In 2004, another disc, The Wasted Years surfaced that contained some demos and live cuts, as well as Wildside’s version of the G ‘N R song Crash Diet.
The released Under the Influence is the best release by the band, and is the release most people are still looking for.
My favorite cuts off of this disc are, Hang on Lucy, Just Another Night, Hair of the Dog, and Clock Strikes.
You can hear some of the tunes off of the Under the Influence at a fan made Wildside page on myspace. Buy this disc if you can find it. You won’t be disappointed!
Rating: Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Hang On Lucy
2. So Far Away
3. Monkey See Monkey Do
4. Just Another Night
5. Looks Like Love
6. Lad In Sin
7. Drunkin’ Man’s Blues
8. How Many Lies
9. Hair Of The Dog
10. Heart-N-Soul
11. Kiss This Love Goodbye
12. Clock Strikes
Wildside is:
Drew Hannah – Lead vocals
Brent Wood – Lead, rhythm, and acoustic guitars, backing vocals
Benny Rhynedance – Rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Marc Simon – Bass, backing vocals
Jimmy D. – Drums
5 Megadeth – United Abominations (Release Year – 2007)
The mighty Megadeth returns in 2007 with their eleventh studio album, United Abominations!
There has been plenty of hype about this disc over the last several months, so the major question is does it live up to the hype?
This first track assaults your ears and senses immediately and sets the stage for what is going to be an amazing listen. Sleepwalker takes Megadeth back to their thrash roots. This heavy track could have easily been on the Rust In Peace album. This is one of my early favorites! I love it!
Washington is Next gets better each time I hear it. This track is a heavy high speed number that the wimpy rock radio stations wont come close to touching. I have listened to this track several times, and I seem to like it more each time.
Man oh man, the guitars howl on Never Walk Alone…A Call To Arms. I love this song for the guitar work alone, but the song structure is very cool. This song is heavy, but has radio potential.
After my first listen, I did not care for United Abominations. Multiple listens later, the song has now grown on me, and I can see some radio potential with this song. It is good, but far from the best track on this disc.
I heard a rough demo of Gears of War a few months ago, and have been looking forward to this one. The polished track is nice and heavy, and features more stellar guitar work by Dave Mustaine and Glen Drover.
My least favorite track off of U.A. so far is Blessed are the Dead. It is the least memorable track after a couple of listens.
Play for Blood has an awesome groove and will have most ‘deth fans head banging for sure. GREAT Stuff!!
The track that is already getting plenty of radio airplay is the reworked version of À Tout La Monde that was originally on the 1994 disc, Youthanasia. This new version features the vocals of Dave Mustaine and Cristina Scabbia from Lacuna Coil. I like this version as well as the original, and the video for the song is kind of cool.
I am not crazy about Amerikhastan. I know Dave Mustaine is passionate about politics, but hearing him chant about it in a song, is not what I am looking for in a Megadeth song. Sorry Dave, but this song doesn’t work for me.
Your Dead is heavy, guitar-shredding, monster of a track. The best thing about this one is the guitar work.
Burnt Ice is an insane guitar noodling festival of Metal. I get tired just trying to play the air guitar along with this one. Crazy!
So the bottom line, does United Abominations live up to the hype, Yes and No. I guess it depends on what you are looking for in a Megadeth album. United Abominations is heavier that some of the bands’ more recent offerings, and less mainstream, that what a lot of the newer fans may be used to. For me, I enjoyed this disc, as it is heavier than the last few, and guitar work is superb. Is this the best Megadeth CD I have ever listened to? No it isnt. You don’t hear too many new metal discs sounding this good today. Long time Megadeth fans should certainly pick this up. Metal fans will love United Abominations.
Rating:Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Sleepwalker
2. Washington Is Next!
3. Never Walk Alone…A Call To Arms
4. United Abominations
5. Gears Of War
6. Blessed Are The Dead
7. Play For Blood
8. À Tout Le Monde (Set Me Free)
9. Amerikhastan
10. You’re Dead
11. Burnt Ice
Megadeth is:
Dave Mustaine – Vocals and Guitars
Glen Drover – Guitars
James Lomenzo – Bass
Shawn Drover – Drums
0 Big Cock – S/T (Release Year – 2006)
In 2005, Robert Mason joined up with his buddy David Henzerling (a.k.a. David Michael-Philips – King Kobra, Keel, Lizzy Borden) to form Big Cock.
This self titled disc is the 2nd studio release by Big Cock. If you heard the first disc, Year of the Cock, you already probably familiar with this band’s 80’s Hard Rock Sound. The sound has not changed on Big Cock’s sophomore effort. They lyrics may be a little more explicit at times, and
some of lyrics are dripping with sexual humor.
There are a few stand out tracks on this disc, including Real Man, Ride on Me, Real Hard, Get Me Up and the straight forward cover of the Tom Jones’ song, She’s A Lady.
Real Man
Ride on Me
So Easy Bein’ Me has a punk feel to it, and reminds me of when Motley Crue covered Anarchy in the UK.
I could have lived without a couple of the songs, including the 50’s sounding Scottsdale Girls, and country flavored Let’s Make Love. Both of these tracks seem out of place here. The lyrics for Scottsdale Girls are kind of funny, but something about this song has a 50’s, Jimmy Buffett, Beach Boys, bubble gum type of feel about it.
I wonder if Robert Mason is about ready to bust a gut, while trying to keep a straight face singing Every Inch of My Love. The lyrics are pure cheese, but this is still a cool sounding track. This is the closest thing you will get to a power ballad from Big Cock.
Take Me and Booze My Baby are ok tracks, but are nothing special.
As a whole, I tend to like this Big Cock disc, a little more than the debut effort. Big Cock’s sound and delivery are constant on both discs, and are a solid listen. This disc still wont make Robert Mason a household name, but it sounds like he enjoys what he is doing, and that comes across in the music.
Neither one of the Big Cock discs will set your world on fire, but if you like bands with that great 80’s hard rock sound, and are a fan of bands like Lynch Mob, and AC/DC, you will probably want to both of them. If you pick one, I’d say this is the one to get.
Rating:
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Second Coming
- Fucked Up
- Real Man
- Ride on Me
- Real Hard
- She’s A Lady
- So Easy Bein’ Me
- Every Inch of My Love
- Dirty Girl
- Scottsdale Girls
- Get Me Up
- Take Me
- Booze & My Baby
- Let’s Make Love
1 Funny Money – Stick It (2006)
If you have been wondering whatever happened to Kix, look no further than the band Funny Money. Funny Money features former Kix members, Steve Whiteman on vocals, and Jimmy Chalfant on drums. The band has gone through some line up changes over the years, but Funny Money has formed a solid four piece lineup with former Centerfold bassist, Mark Schenker and Rob Galpin on lead guitar.
Stick It, is the third studio album by Funny Money, and may be the best one yet. Legendary producer Beau Hill, mixed this disc, and all of the songs flow well as a result of it. Stick It should give Kix fans everything they have been wanting. This is a very strong offering full of AC/DC style, blues infested hard rock.
Check out a couple of tracks below:
About Women is a live video performance by Funny Money.
Slow to Blow is a great track that will give you an idea of what you will hear on Stick It.
If you like either of the tracks above, you need to pick this up. This is a disc that will appeal to 80’s Hard Rock fans, Kix fans, and probably quite a few AC/DC fans as well. It is solid all the way through, and well worth checking out.
You can hear more tracks at CD Baby.com or at the band’s Myspace page here.
Buy It! You will be glad you did!
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- By The Balls
- Hot On Your Heels
- Crush
- Big Bang Boom
- All Tied Up
- Fool’s Confession
- Slow To Blow
- Nowhere At All
- Play Me Like A Rhythm
- Thousand Thank Yous
- Weeds And Roses
- About Women
Funny Money is:
Steve Whiteman – Vocals
Jimmy Chalfant – Drums
Mark Schenker – Bass
Rob Galpin – Lead Guitar
0 DIO – Killing the Dragon (2002)
Killing the Dragon is the 9th DIO studio disc, and the first to feature current Whitesnake guitarist Doug Aldrich. Craig Goldy was not available for Killing the Dragon as he just recently had gotten married and his wife had a newborn child. Goldy did leave his mark on a few tracks, and has writing credits on Throw away Children, Rock ‘N Roll, and Push.
Doug Aldrich, on the other hand ,had played in quite a few hard rock bands prior to DIO, including Lion, Bad Moon Rising, House of Lords and Hurricane. He was the perfect replacement for Goldy at the time, and his guitar work on Killing the Dragon is awesome.
Killing the Dragon stars this disc off with a high tempo rocker. Doug Aldrich establishes himself quickly by showing off his mad guitar skills. This track sounds like classic DIO to me.
The heaviness continues with Along Comes the Spider. There are plenty of chugging guitars on this track. Sure the title and chorus is kind of silly, but the music is great.
Scream is one of the better tracks on this disc. Its a pretty solid song with some excellent guitar noodling by Aldrich.
Better in the Dark is an excellent upbeat rocker with a cool guitar riff by Aldrich. Dio sounds great here but Aldrich steals the show with some killer guitar solos!
Rock ‘n Roll is one an extremely cool track on Killing the Dragon. This song has an very heavy bass riff. Dio’s voice sounds amazing here. As a whole, this is a very heavy track, and a cool one at that.
Push is probably my favorite track off of Killing the Dragon. Aldrich reminds me of Jake E. Lee on this track. Its a cool song with excellent vocals by Dio. This song may be a little less heavy than some of the other tracks here, but it works.
Push
Guilty would have to be a close 2nd to Push as my favorite on this disc. This is another rocker that kicks ass. This track is also not quite as heavy as some of other tracks on Killing the Dragon.
The guitar work on Throw Away Children is absolutely superb. If it wasn’t for Aldrich’s playing, I would probably skip this track.
Before the Fall has a very Deep Purple sounding keyboard throughout the song, but the guitars are far heavier than any Deep Purple track. Once again, the guitar work is great, but I consider this an average DIO track. It is good, but not great.
The keyboards on Cold Feet give this song a less heavy feel to it. I like this song, but I don’t think I would have placed this as the last song on the disc.
Bottom line, If you want to hear an above average hard rock disc, with amazing vocals and stellar guitar work, you need to pick up Killing the Dragon. There are at least 4 songs on this disc that are mainstays on my play list today. DIO fans should not hesitate picking this up.
Rating: Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Killing the Dragon
- Along Comes a Spider
- Scream
- Better in the Dark
- Rock ‘n Roll
- Push
- Guilty
- Throw Away Children
- Before the Fall
- Cold Feet
Dio is:
Ronnie James Dio – vocals
Doug Aldrich – guitar
Jimmy Bain – bass, keyboards
Simon Wright – drums
4 Video – Skid Row – Ghost
1 Saliva – Blood Stained Love Story (Release Year – 2007)
Saliva is back with their 5th release, Blood Stained Love Story. Saliva has upgraded their sound for this record. This disc has more of a main stream sound than the nu-metal songs of their past. I decided to give this disc a look due to Saliva’s excellent debut at 19th on the Billboard charts. I have liked some of their songs in the past, and “Ladies and Gentleman” is a song that you can not ignore.
I am betting that you will hear quite a few cuts off of this “Blood Stained Love Story” on mainstream rock radio. This reminds me a lot of Stone Temple Pilot at times, but then at times ventures into something completely different.
I tend to lean towards the harder edged tracks like “Ladies and Gentleman”, “King of the Stereo”,”Twister” and “Black Sheep”. The Nickelback like “Starting Over” is also pretty good.
I found the slower tracks some boring, and I didn’t think there was enough to help Saliva stand out from the countless other sound-a-like acts on the radio.
This disc probably will not set fans of big hair hard rock on fire, but if you enjoy some of the groups enjoying main stream rock radio success today like Hinder, Nickelback and Daughtry, you will want to check this disc out. Is this Saliva’s best CD? No, not by a long shot, but those with an open mind will find some tunes to enjoy.
You can listen to some of the bands new tracks here!
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Ladies and Gentleman
- Broken Sunday
- Never Gonna Change
- King of the Stereo
- One More Chance
- Going Under
- Twister
- Black Sheep
- Starting Over
- Here With You
- Is It You (Bonus Track)
- Write Your Name (Bonus Track)
Saliva is:
Josey Scott – Vocals
Wayne Swinny – Guitars
Jon Montoya – Guitars
Dave Novotny – Bass
Paul Crosby – Drums
2 Gotthard – Lipservice (Release Year – 2005)
Quite possibly one of the best discs of 2005 is Lipservice, the 10th release by Swedish rockers Gotthard. Gotthard is well known in the UK and Europe, but continue to go unnoticed in the United States. It is really a shame, because a record this good should really be heard by the masses.
“Lipservice” has gone Double Platinum in Switzerland and continues to sell well everywhere but in the United States.
Gotthard has a sound that falls somewhere between Def Leppard and Bon Jovi, but”Lipservice” is a stronger release than either of those bands have put out in years.
Whether you want some rocking pop metal songs or some power ballads, “Lip Service” has it all.
“All We Are”, and “Dream On” start this disc off right by rocking. “Lift You Up”, should have been a massive hit here. “Everything I Want“, is an awesome Def Leppard like power ballad, and “Cupid’s Arrow” sounds a lot like a Whitesnake track musically.
“I’m Alive” is an excellent heavy track with a killer vocal by Steve Lee. “Stay For the Night” and “Anytime Anywhere” could have both been radio hits. Both tracks have a sound that is similar to House of Lords.
“Said and Done” is another quality rock track with excellent guitars of Leo Leoni and Freddy Scherer.
“Nothing Left At All” is an acoustic guitar, piano based ballad that could have been another big hit.
There is a lot to like on Lip Service. This is a very upbeat and clean sounding record. It has a good mix of excellent vocals, and great sounding guitars, crafting one of the best Hard Rock/Melodic metal discs I have ever heard. Fans of Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake and the Scorpions are going to like this disc a lot. All other should at least give this a listen too.
Here are a couple of videos from Lip Service for you to check out!
Lift You Up
Anytime Anywhere
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- All We Are
- Dream On
- Lift You Up
- Everything I Want
- Cupid’s Arrow
- I Wonder
- I’m Alive
- I’ve Seen An Angel Cry
- Stay For the Night
- Anytime Anywhere
- Said and Done
- The Other Side of Me
- Nothing Left At All
- And Then Goodbye
Gotthard is:
Steve Lee – vocals
Leo Leoni – guitars
Mandy Meyer – guitars
Marc Lynn – bass guitar
Hena Habegger – drums
