Tag: Entertainment
4 JORN – Lonely Are the Brave Artwork!
Pictured is the album artwork for Lonely Are The Brave, the new JORN album from vocalist Jorn Lande (ex-MASTERPLAN), due out through Italy’s Frontiers Records in early June.
The album’s title track is currently streaming at Jorn’s MySpace page.
Lonely Are The Brave was mixed at Tommy Hansen’s Jailhouse Studio in Denmark.
1 Rush Promises Surprises On Summer Tour
Rush fans can expect some different songs and “surprises” when the Canadian trio hits the road on April 11 — but guitarist Alex Lifeson says, “I’m gonna keep those a secret until then, I think.”Lifeson tells Billboard.com that since the next segment of Rush’s Snakes & Arrows World Tour — which kicks off in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and runs through July 20 — visits a number of cities the group hasn’t played in quite some time, “we thought we should maybe revisit some older songs we’re not playing currently or haven’t been in the last little while. So we changed out a few songs in the set. We’re gonna keep it loose and maybe kind of bounce back and forth.”
Lifeson says the group frequently gets fan requests for specific material. “We see ‘Camera Eye’ come up quite often, ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ and some of the longer songs like that from our mid-period,” he says. Last year’s Snakes & Ladders dates featured rarities such as “Circumstances” and “Entre Nous,” which Rush has never performed live, and are captured on the upcoming “Snakes & Arrows Live,” due April 15.
Lifeson says Rush is also starting to tuck into the video material from the same show last October at Ahoy Rotterdam arena in the Netherlands for a DVD the guitarist says will be out in the late summer or early fall.
“We shot it in HD, and I hear it looks really dramatic,” says Lifeson, who supervised the stereo mix for the CD. The group decided to put the CD out first, he says, because “we wanted to kind of bridge the two halves of the tour with a release so there’s something there, and then we’ll follow up with the live DVD.”
Lifeson says that he and bandmates Geddy Lee and Neil Peart are also thinking a bit about Rush’s next studio album — mostly likely with “Snakes & Arrows” co-producer Nick Raskulinecz — but suspects that will come later rather than sooner.
“I’m guessing that we’re probably going to take a little bit of the break at the end of this tour,” says Lifeson, who’s been updating his Web site with a number of new features he hopes to roll out soon. “I don’t see us really doing much in the way of any new material probably until the spring of next year, and then we’ll see where we go. We generally prefer to just start on that first day and sit down and start jamming; it’s such an exciting moment, and it becomes it’s own living thing. We seem to be much more balanced and a lot happier working that way.”
Courtesy of Billboard.com
1 New Video – Helix – Fill Your Head With Rock
HELIX frontman Brian Vollmer has issued the following update:
“For the past two weeks we’ve been going back and forth on the video for ‘Fill Your Head With Rock’, which we filmed right here in the back room at Planet Helix. The idea was to film it on high def in a small space to achieve a certain “look”, but after seeing the rough footage it was evident to us that our idea wasn’t working as intended. Not that the filming looked bad or that the bad didn’t perform-quite the contrary. It was more the fact that we tried to take an arena band and put it in a location which made us look small.
Initially John Hockley, who puts our stuff up on YouTube, put together a vid from my own footage that I filmed over the past couple of years with my Sony movie camera. Gord and I thought that it looked great and conveyed that feeling of ‘…being larger than life…’ that we wanted to portray to our fans. There were some things that needed to be changed however, so we set about to find more film and to effect some of the footage we already had. Amazingly, John used a $125.00 editing program to put it all together. The results speak for themselves. Expect the launch of the video Sunday night (March 30th).”
19 Lostboys – Lost and Found (Release Year – 1990)
After ODIN slit up in the late 80’s, singer Randy O was able to secure another record deal with Atlantic Records, for his band, Lostboys. Lostboys also included former ODIN guitar player, Jeff Duncan.
Lostboys played a fairly typical brand of hair metal, that was quite common for 1990. At times Randy O sounds quite a bit like, Drew Hannah from the band Wildside. Some of the songs on Lost and Found are hit and miss, but there are a few good tracks including Crying Out, Right on Track and the title track, Lost and Found.
Lostboys sound certainly doesn’t set them apart from so many of the bands of the early 90’s, and are one of the more obscure bands of the era. The guitar work by Jeff Duncan is very good, but Randy O’s vocals can often go from cool to annoying very quickly. With
that being said, I am not crazy about this CD. If you like the CD, Under the Influence from Wildside, you might find a few songs that you enjoy here. Some songs are decent, and others are quite bad.
The cost of admission makes this one that might be worth exploring for you. You can find copies of this disc on Amazon.com for less than a dollar. Tread at your own risk!
Rating:
Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Cryin’ Out
2. Right on Track
3. Lonely Man
4. Cool Me Down
5. Seaside Lover
6. Lost and Found
7. Flying Free
8. Boulevard
9. In the Middle
10. Shot Song
11. Misery
Lostboys are:
Randy O – Vocals
Jeff Duncan – Guitars
Patrick Gainor – Rhythm Guitar
James Tavis – Bass
Dorian Matson – Drums
7 New Video – Voodoo Six – Faith
Check out the new video Faith, by Voodoo Six! For more information on the band, check out their website!
3 New Video – Voodoo Six – Crawl
4 Voodoo Six – Feed My Soul (Release Year – 2006)
When Steve Harris from Iron Maiden recommends a band, I tend to take notice. He has talked favorably about Voodoo Six, and has called their debut, the best he has heard in years.
That was enough to have me search out a copy of the band’s 2006 debut, Feed My Soul. After spinning this disc for the first time, all I can say is, Thank You, Mr. Harris! Voodoo Six delivers the goods!
Singer Henry Rundell has one of those one of a kind 80’s style metal voices, that is quite cool to hear for the first time. His sound falls somewhere between a Jeff Keith from Tesla, and a little bit of Robert Plant.
The band itself leaves me speechless. Voodoo Six has a sound that is a very good blend of 70’s, 80’s and 90’s hard rock. They may not have a completely unique sound, but it is different enough to excite this hard rock fan. In their tunes, I hear elements of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and quite a few others. While their sound may borrow a little from these bands, they don’t sound exactly like any of them, and that is completely cool.
If you want to hear a CD, where guitar solos are not a lost art form, where the bass playing is not a bunch of distortion, where the drum beats will ignite your inner head banger, THIS is the CD to get. Voodoo Six is still very much an unknown band in the U.S. as Feed My Soul has not had a proper release here.
With a disc this good, rock fans that haven’t heard this are truly missing out! This is killer stuff! Voodoo Six will be releasing then 2nd disc in 2008. I highly recommend that you check this band out. Chances are you may find yourself buying two V6 discs this year. Feed My Soul is a very good debut, and is one I will be spinning a lot in 2008.
For more info on Voodoo Six, visit their myspace page!
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Crawl
- No Friend
- Feed My Soul
- I Am The Sun
- Mistaken
- Century
- Walking On Nails
- Saints and Sinners
- One More Day
- Shine On
- Slip Inside
Voodoo Six is:
Henry Rundell – Voice
Richie Faulkner – Lead Guitar
Tony Newton – Bass
Dave ‘Grav’ Cavill – Drums
Matt Pearce – Guitar
9 Loudness to Return in 2008 with Metal Mad!
According to a posting on the Tokuma Communications web site, veteran Japanese metallers LOUDNESS will release their new album, “Metal Mad”, through the label on February 20 in Japan. Release dates for other territories have not yet been announced.Metal Mad features the following tracklist: ‘Fire Of Spirit’ (instrumental), ‘Metal Mad’, ‘High Flyer’, ‘Spellbound #9’, ‘Crimson Paradox’, ‘Black And White’, ‘Whatsoever’, ‘Call Of The Reaper’, ‘Can’t Find My Way’, ‘Gravity’, ‘Transformation’.
4 Kane Roberts – Saints and Sinners (1991)
Kane Roberts claim to fame was his stint as the lead guitar player for shock rocker, Alice Cooper.
He was a member of Alice Cooper’s band at the same time, as Kip Winger.
Both musicians branched out with music careers of their own after their stint with Alice.
Chances are, if you enjoyed Winger’s tunes to any degree, you will probably love Saints and Sinners. They style of music is quite similar.
Saints and Sinners is Roberts’ sophomore effort that was originally released on Geffen Records. This disc was produced by Sir Arthur Payson, who also has discs by RATT and Alice Cooper to his credit. Most of the songs on this disc were written by Roberts and Desmond Child.
With this record he had a couple of modest hits, with the track
Twisted and Does Anybody Really Fall In Love Anymore? which was written by Jon Bon Jovi. I like both of those tunes quite a bit, as well as Rebel Heart and Fighter.
The sound on this record is typical early 90’s pop metal, but I am OK with that. I got a lot of play out of this disc back when I owned it on cassette years ago. I tracked down another copy of this one recently.
Fans of 80’s Hair Metal will definitely enjoy this disc. It is out of print, but you can still find copies of this one through Amazon.com and Ebay. Happy Hunting!
Rating: 
Out 0f 10
Track Listing:
1. Wild Nights
2. Twisted
3. Does Anybody Really Fall In Love Anymore?
4. Dance Little Sister
5. Rebel Heart
6. You Always Want It
7. Fighter
8. I’m Not Lookin’ For An Angel
9. Too Far Gone
10. It’s Only Over For You
Kane Roberts band is:
Kane Roberts – lead, rhythm guitars, lead vocals
John McCurry – guitar
Steve Steele – bass
Myron Grombacher – drums
Chuck Kentis – Keyboards
6 New Godsmack Greatest Hits CD in stores Now!
Godsmack released their widely anticipated Greatest Hits album, Good Times Bad Times….Ten Years of Godsmack, today. The 16-track collection is loaded with career defining milestones and seminal Godsmack classics.
Fronted by charismatic and uncompromising singer/songwriter Sully Erna, 2008 will mark the tenth anniversary of Godsmack’s self-titled debut album; in honor of that occasion, /Good Times Bad Times….Ten Years of Godsmack /encapsulates some of their most captivating and enduring hits.
From the foundation of Godsmack emerges the formidable Another Animal.
While Godsmack relishes in their undeniable achievement, Godsmack members Tony Rombola (guitar), Shannon Larkin (drums) and Robbie Merrill (bass) teamed up with Whitfield Crane (Ugly Kid Joe) and Lee RichardsAnother Animal (Dropbox) to form side-project: .
Another Animal’s name is the perfect description of what the band has become. By incorporating elements of hard rock, metal, punk and grunge, Another Animal is an eclectic tribute to the sounds the band grew up with. Another Animal’s self-titled debut album is sure to stimulate every nerve with their prodigious talent and unparalleled sound.
Another Animal is currently on tour in support of Alter Bridge and their new album is in stores now!
You can read the review of the new Another Animal CD, at this link: Hard Rock Hideout – Another Animal Review
3 Towers of London – Blood, Sweat, & Towers (2006)
Sometimes it amazes me how one band can be so popular in one country, and virtually unknown in another.
The glam punk band, the Towers of London has been doing extremely well in the UK, but in the United States, if you mentioned the Towers of London band, you would get the infamous, deer in the headlight look.
It is a shame too, as this band, that was heavily influenced by the New York Dolls, have crafted a disc that was clearly one of the best of 2006.
This disc is quite unlike so much of the rock that I listen to today. This is also the reason why I find the Towers of London so appealing. The Towers of London have a sound that reminds me of the Sex Pistols quite a bit. The tunes on this record are more of the punk variety, but they most definitely rock hard.
As you can see below, the band has several videos for their album, Blood, Sweat, and Towers. I won’t give you a song by song breakdown, but you can hear quite a few of the songs yourself. If you like what you hear and see below, go pick up a copy of the disc today! I like this record, and I think you will too!
On A Noose
Fuck It Up
Air Guitar
How Rude She Was
I’m a Rat
For more information on the Towers of London, check them out here.
Rating:
Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. I’m A Rat
2. Air Guitar
3. Kill The Pop Scene
4. Beaujolais
5. Fuck It Up (Acoustic Version)
6. King
7. Good Times
8. On A Noose
9. Start Believing
10. Northern Lights
11. I Lose It (BONUS TRACK)
12. Fuck It Up
13. How Rude She Was
14. Son Of A Preacher (BONUS TRACK)
15. Seen It All
Towers of London is:
Donny Tourette – Vocals
Dirk Tourette – Guitars
Tommy Brunette – Bass
Former members:
The Rev – Lead Guitars
Snell – Drums
11 Alter Bridge – Blackbird (Release Year – 2007)
If you are a fan of the band Creed, then Alter Bridge probably needs no introduction. Alter Bridge consists of 3 former members of platinum recording artist Creed, and ex-Mayfield Four singer, Myles Kennedy.
With the new CD Blackbird, not only has the band crafted their finest work since the breakup of Creed, but they have also created what could be one of the best new hard rock records of 2007. Yes, It really is that good!
Blackbird starts off with a crushing rocker, Ties That Bind. This song sets the stage immediately for what I knew was going to be an incredible listening experience.
Come To Life has a cool groove, a heavy bass line, sing along lyrics, and killer guitar work. GREAT!!
The pace slows down a bit with Brand New Start. Myles Kennedy excellent voice shines almost as much as his guitar work on this track. More Great Stuff!
I have listened to Buried Alive a few times now and this song hasn’t impressed me as much as some of the others. It is slowly growing on me.
Coming Home has a very heavy bass line. This is another headbanging track that has a Tool like feel about it. Cool!
Before Tomorrow Comes will be a monster radio hit! This song is exactly the type of tune that Creed had some hits off. Soaring vocals and sing along lyrics. I love this song!
Rise Today is the first single and video from Blackbird. If you like this song, you are going to love this disc. This was the first song that I heard, and I knew that I had to hear more after listening to this one. Check out the video below:
Blackbird is the longest song on this disc, clocking in at nearly 8 minutes in length. This is like 2 or 3 songs wrapped up in one. At times, it has a stoner rock like feel, but then the music slows down, and Myles Kennedy’s voice takes off. The guitars really howl on this track. This is an extremely cool song that does not feel too long. In fact, you will find yourself replaying this one to pick up on things that you didn’t catch the first time around. Amazing!
The bass riff that starts off on One By One sounds like something that Tony Iommi would write. The song itself has a slightly darker feel to it, but once again the voice of Myles Kennedy powers this song to new heights. This song has some hit potential.
Watch Over You slows the tempo back down again. At this point Myles Kennedy has me saying Scott who? This guy has a killer voice!
Break Me Down is a song that I think could have had much more potential with a little different arrangement on the music. It is still a solid tune though.
White Knuckles is one of the heavier songs on Blackbird. Be prepared to headbang to this one!
Wayward One is a mid tempo, moody sounding song. It is a solid track, but not the strongest one on Blackbird. I probably would have mixed this song higher in the playing order, but that is just my personal taste.
Don’t even hesitate in picking this disc up! Blackbird is nothing short of a brilliant listening experience. You don’t even have to take my word for it! Alter Bridge have launched a special listening party for their fans a chance to check out the album in its entirety. Click this link to listen to Blackbird in its entirety. Warning…..you will be heading to store to purchase this one, if you take the time out to preview it!
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Ties That Bind
2. Come To Life
3. Brand New Start
4. Buried Alive
5. Coming Home
6. Before Tomorrow Comes
7. Rise Today
8. Blackbird
10. Watch Over You
11. Break Me Down
12. White Knuckles
13. Wayward One
Alter Bridge is:
Myles Kennedy – Lead Vocals and Guitar
Mark Tremonti – Guitar and Backing Vocals
Brian Marshall – Bass
Scott Phillips – Drums
1 Babylon A.D. – S/T (Release Year – 1989)
One of my favorite albums from the great Hair Metal era is the debut by the Oakland, CA glam metal band, Babylon A.D.
This CD gets a lot of play on XMRadio’s The Boneyard, but sadly, is becoming rarer than hen’s teeth. Used copies sell for over $20.00 at Amazon.com and on Ebay.
Is it worth seeking out? Absolutely! The songs Bang Go the Bells, Hammer Swings Down, and the Kid Goes Wild (featuring the late, great Sam Kinision) are worth the price of admission just by themselves.
With three big videos on MTV at the time, it puzzles me why this band didn’t hit the same level of success as some of their late 80’s counterparts.
To me their debut release is their best effort, and is one that will appeal to most 80’s hard rock fans. If you can find it, grab it, you wont be disappointed.
For more information on Babylon A.D., check out their myspace page here.
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Bang Go the Bells
2. Hammer Swings Down
3. Caught Up in the Crossfire
4. Desperate
5. The Kid Goes Wild
6. Shot O’ Love
7. Maryanne
8. Back in Babylon
9. Sweet Temptation
10. Sally Danced
5 Airbourne signs with Roadrunner records!!
ROADRUNNER RECORDS SIGNS AUSTRALIAN ROCKERS AIRBOURNE:
Press Release / New York, NY- Roadrunner Records is proud to announce the signing of Aussie hard rockers, Airbourne. Forming a genuine brand of fist-pumping, beer-slinging rock ‘n’ roll, Airbourne have established a respectable name for themselves in their native country. Although still very young, the band sonically tears pages from the bible of anthemic rock of the 70’s and 80’s, taking us back to a time where music was loud, fiercely genuine and hook laden. Their dynamic and energetic live performances offer a much-needed cure for the downtrodden vibe of popular music. Much like their forefathers, Airbourne offers nothing but a good time! Airbourne is: brothers Joel O’Keeffe (vocals/lead guitar) and Ryan O’Keeffe (drums), David Roads (guitar) and Justin Street (bass).
Forming out of the musical connection of two brothers, Airbourne was conceived by Joel and Ryan O’Keeffe, and was vested in their mutual love for bands such as Rose Tattoo, Van Halen, Motörhead, AC/DC and The Angels. Later joined by David Roads and Justin Street, the quartet set out to make straightforward rock ‘n’ roll, complete with catchy choruses, decadent themes and the driving rhythm to match.
“It’s hard to explain,” vocalist/guitarist Joel O’Keeffe states, “but that’s what I always wanted to hear – straight-ahead Aussie pub rock.” The resulting product was a stripped down approach to rock with song titles to match the party oriented sentiment. Investing time and money for the love of the music, the band spent years working the local circuit, eventually graduating to national tours and exposure. Years of hard work paid off, catching the attention of music fans throughout Australia and the world.
Roadrunner senior VP of A&R, Ron Burman, instantly fell in love with “their brand of anthemic, catchy, hard rock-n-roll.” He states, “I am so excited that we signed Airbourne. They are a young, fists in the air, high energy, in-your-face type of hard rock band. I saw them play a few times in Austin at South By Southwest and they blew me away.”
Sharing national stages with the likes of the Rolling Stones, Motley Crüe and The Living End, the band has honed in on its performance Zen. A live show is sure to include bursting energy, rowdy crowds singing their hearts out and free-flowing beer. “We always go on-stage and try to prove a point,” O’Keeffe directs, “about how GOOD rock ‘n’ roll is!” The band takes on the mission to spread that infectious love of rock, even performing at Australia’s biggest rock festival in 2006, Big Day Out. They are currently playing dates throughout Australia.
In June the band released Runnin’ Wild, a red-blooded collection of rallying rock anthems with undeniable choruses and feel good momentum in Australia. Scheduled to be released in the US and Europe through Roadrunner Records in early 2008, the album channels the endearing qualities of classic rock while breathing new life through modern production and arrangement. Boasting an all-star team, Runnin’ Wild was produced by Bob Marlette (Black Sabbath, Quiet Riot) and mixed by Andy Wallace (Guns N’ Roses, Nirvana, Linkin Park). With lead tracks such as “Runnin’ Wild,” “Stand Up For Rock n Roll,” and “Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast,” Runnin’ Wild will be the new soundtrack to all-night partying. Airbourne have risen to the challenge and are ready to bring their authentic brand of power rock to the US in 2008!
WebLinks: www.airbournerock.com / www.myspace.com/airbournerock
You can check out their video for Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast below:
9 Ozzy Osbourne – Black Rain (Release Year – 2007)
Ozzy Osbourne returns with his 9th studio CD, and his first full studio effort with new material since 2001’s Down to Earth.
His band mates this time around are Zakk Wylde on guitar, Rob “Blasko” Nicholson (Rob Zombie) on bass, and Mike Bordin (Faith No More) on drums.
I must admit that my first impression with Black Rain, is that this is the heaviest Ozzy disc in years. Zakk Wylde has been wanting to something heavy with Ozzy for a long time, and was pretty disgusted with the writing on Down to Earth. On that record, Zakk Wylde played on all of the songs, but did not have any writing credits. Zakk Wylde co-wrote eight of the 10 tunes on Black Rain. The end result is a far heavier disc, and probably the closest thing to Ozzy’s 1995 disc, Ozzmosis.
The first track, Not Going Away starts off with a monstrous, Black Sabbath type of riff. This track gets better with each listen.
The track, I Don’t Wanna Stop is getting airplay just about every where now, and Ozzy is playing this live in various TV programs, in an effort to promote Black Rain. I agree with what seems to be the majority opinion on this song. I love this track!
The title track, Black Rain is a mid tempo track with a heavy bass sound; and a cool song that is nearly a throw back to early 80’s Ozzy. I can see this track being a hit on the radio, easily.
A nice change of pace is the number Lay Your World on Me on which Ozzy’s voice is the most powerful instrument. On this low tempo track, Blasko’s bass is mixed louder than Zakk’s guitar 95% of the time, but it comes across sounding very cool.
The Almighty Dollar is kind of weird to me. This sounds like Ozzy trying to do a Nine Inch Nails song. Its not all bad, but it has some strange music elements to it. I like the heavy parts, but when this song gets a little bouncy, it doesn’t work. At least not for me.
11 Silver is an extremely upbeat sounding song, but is different from anything I recall Ozzy doing in the past. The bass groove is extremely springy, and Zakk Wylde’s guitar solo in the center is great! I didn’t like this song at first, but its growing on me with every listen. In 2007, its hard to make Ozzy sound fresh, but this is pretty damn good attempt to do so.
Civilize the Universe reminds me a lot of the sound Rob Zombie’s band has. Blasko really shows his influence in this song. This is another good, foot-stomping, rock and roll hit.
Here for You is a piano based ballad that is actually very good. I have heard Ozzy do these type of songs before, but I think this one is one of the better ones in a long time.
Something about Coundown’s Begun reminds me quite a bit of Lynch era Dokken. The whole guitar and heavy bass riff is very Dokken like. Zakk Wylde and Blasko reproduce a sound that is very complimentary of one of the best metal tandem’s of 80’s style hard rock (Lynch and Pilson). Very cool!
Trapdoor is probably my 2nd most favorite song on Black Rain. Zakk Wylde’s riff on this track has a real mean sound to it. This is the kind of song that could make me go to Ozzfest, so I can see it live. The whole bass and drum sound in the center of the track are cool as hell. What an amazing way to close out this record!
On my first listen to this disc, I wasn’t extremely impressed with this disc. Successive listens have changed my mind. I keep hearing and noticing different things each time I listen to it. Ozzy Osbourne sings his ass off on this disc, and sounds great all throughout Black Rain. The Zakk Wylde neigh sayers will be happy to know that, Zakk does not over use the pinch harmonics on this record. Zakk’s playing is stellar, end of story. Blasko and Mike Bordin are not fill in musicians. They are excellent additions to Ozzy’s band, and truly add to the music on this record. I hope this group stays together for another record. Until then, I will enjoy this record repeatedly. Hopefully Ozzy wont make us wait six more years for another one.
Don’t even hesitate to pick this disc up! If you are an Ozzy fan, it is required listening!
Rating: Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Not Going Away
2. I Don’t Wanna Stop
3. Black Rain
4. Lay Your World on Me
5. Almighty Dollar
6. 11 Silver
7. Civilize the Universe
8. Here for You
9. Countdown’s Begun
10. Trap Door
Ozzy Osbourne band is:
Ozzy Osbourne – Vocals
Zakk Wylde – Guitars
Blasko – Bass
Mike Bordin – 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 Dangerous Toys – Pissed (Release Year – 1994)
Pissed is the third studio disc by Dangerous Toys, and the first featuring new lead guitarist Paul Lidel.
Dangerous Toys is a band that I always thought would be a good poster child for sleaze rock. I have picked up all of their CD’s over the years and I have never been let down by any one of them. I always know that I will get a disc full of hard driving tunes with great vocals.
On Pissed, Jason McMaster delivers the goods once again, and Paul Lidel sounds like he has been playing in the band forever.
There is a lot to like on this disc, and it does not disappoint. The title track Pissed, is a great up tempo number that need to be cranked up to be appreciated.
Pissed
Paintrain and The Law Is Mine continues the fun with two great in your face rockers back to back.
Promise The Moon is an excellent ballad and something that you wouldn’t expect to hear from the DT guys.
Strange is a heavy track full of sleaze and head banging goodness. Great Stuff! Loser has an AC/DC type of sound, and a great party rock feel to it.
Hard Luck Champion is one of my favorite tracks on this disc, and should be my theme song. 🙂
Screamin’ for More is an upbeat song that has a less heavier feel that the rest of the tracks on Pissed. There are more acoustic guitars on this song but it has a great sound.
Oh Well, So What! is one of those songs that you would love to crank up and play in your office when you are having a bad day. This is the closest thing to giving someone the bird in audible fashion.
Illustrated Man is a cool song that would make a good theme song for Miami Ink. It is a great way to close out Pissed.
Pissed is a great hard rock record all the way through. There are no filler tracks, and it is a fun party rock record that is a great listen. Sadly, Pissed was released right in the middle of the grunge movement, and got very little attention. It is one of those nice gems in my collection that I like to break out from time to time. You can still find this one online quite often for under $10.00. It is worth picking up!
Rating:
Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Pissed
2. Paintrain
3. The Law Is Mine
4. Promise The Moon
5. Strange
6. Loser
7. Hard Luck Champion
8. Screamin’ For More
9. Oh Well, So What!
10. Illustrated Man
Track Listing:
- Jason McMaster – Vocals
- Mark Geary – Drums
- Scot Dalhover – Guitar
- Paul Lidel – Guitar & Vocals
- Mike Watson – Bass & Vocals
0 10 Days of JORN
For the Next 10 Days I will be posting new reviews on releases from Jorn Lande’s Discography, leading up to the reviews of the hot new January releases, Unlocking the Past and the Gathering. I am going to cover a lot of different material, so stay tuned to the Hard Rock Hideout and check back daily for more reviews, videos and music worth listening to!
Day 1 has now been posted. Check out the review for Ark’s Self Titled Debut from 1999 here.
Day 2 has now been posted. Check out the review for Jorn’s debut as a solo artist, Starfire.
Day 3 has been posted. Check out the review for Ark’s 2nd disc, Burn the Sun!
Day 4 has now been posted. There are some awesome videos to go along with this next review. Be sure to check back and check out the review for JORN – Worldchanger
Day 5 is up! Check out the review for debut by Masterplan!
Day 6 is now up! Check out the review for Jorn’s work on the Brazen Abbot disc, Guilty As Sin.
Day 7 has been posted! Check out the review for the Junior Solo Effort by Jorn, Out To Every Nation
Day 8 is up! Check out the 2nd Amazing Disc by Masterplan – Aeronautics.
Day 9 is here! Check out the incredible release Allen / Lande – The Battle.
Tomorrow night is the Grand Finale to the 10 Days of Jorn!! Be Here for not one but two new Jorn Lande reviews! Until then, check out the top 26 songs by Jorn Lande on Last FM here.
Check out the Day 10 Reviews JORN – The Gathering and JORN – Unlocking the Past !
I hope you all enjoyed this segment! I hope to do more things like this in the future at the Hard Rock Hideout!
8 Jorn – The Duke (Release Year – 2006)
If you want to hear an amazing CD, with awesome vocals, and melodic but heavy metal to match. Run, don’t walk to pick up the Jorn Lande release, The Duke.
For several reasons, the Norwegian Jorn Lande is not very well known in the United States. Lack of promotion, and no radio airplay are a few problems Jorn faces in the U.S. It is really too bad, because most people are missing out on one of the top singers in Metal today.
For those of you who have not been exposed to Jorn Lande, He has a voice that falls somewhere between Ronnie James Dio and David Coverdale. If you know how amazing those two singers are, you will know what to expect from Jorn.
Musically and lyrically, the Duke is a superb effort from start to finish! This is melodic metal in its finest form. The guitar tandem of Tore Moren and Jørn Viggo Lofstad do an amazing job on this disc.
Take one listen to the heavy Blacksong which sounds like Lynch era Dokken and you will be hooked.
Another stand out song is Stormcrow, which sounds like a heavy Whitesnake track. The guitars on this song blow me away every time. Awesome!
Duke of Love could have easily been on the Whitesnake, Slide it In Album.
Jorn Lande truly shines on the low to mid tempo Burning Chains. You have to hear it, to appreciate it.
The cover of Thin Lizzy’s Are You Ready may be the best cover song I have heard in 2006. It is very well done here.
The final song, Starfire, is a remake of the same track from his debut disc and sounds even better than the original.
The Duke is certainly one of the top Metal discs of 2006, and a favorite of mine.
If you would like to hear some of the tracks off the Duke, You can listen to a few songs off of this disc at:Jorn Lande’s Website
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- We Brought the Angels Down
- Blacksong
- End of Time
- Stormcrow
- Duke of Love
- Burning Chains
- After the Dying
- Midnight Madness
- Are You Ready
- Starfire
Jorn is:
Jorn Lande – Vocals
Jorn Viggo Lofstad – Guitars
Tore Moren – Guitars
Willy Bendiksen – Drums
Morty Black – Bass
0 Jon Oliva’s Pain – Maniacal Renderings (Release Year – 2006)
I didn’t think I would hear too many new quality releases to close out 2006, but I could not have been more wrong. Jon Oliva’s Pain, is one Heavy Metal release that took me by surprise.
This disc starts off with a very strong track, Through the Eyes of the King, which is unmistakably Savatage in style! This track is one of the best metal songs I have heard all year.
The title track Maniacal Renderings is a progressive number that stretches past 7 minutes. Parts of this song remind of Queensryche, in a good way.
The Evil Beside You starts off slow and kind of reminds me a little of Queen in style, but then breaks into another Savatage style rocker. Time to Die turns up the heaviness, and at times sounds like Black Label Society backing up Oliva. ( At this point, this reviewer has a big evil grin on his face ).
Push It To the Limit cranks the tempo way the hell up. I can see people in a mosh pit, slamming to this song. The bass rhythm on this song reminds me of Anthrax at times.
Who’s Playing God returns to more of a Progressive Metal style. This almost reminds me of a heavy Queen song. Timeless Flight also starts off with that Queen styling, but in a very heavy sense. This is one of those progressive tracks that is technically brilliant. It is one of those songs that make you wonder if you are hearing a CD that may one day be considered classic.
Holes is another heavy track that could easily fit on any Savatage CD. Lots of heavy guitars, rhythm and bass. At first I didn’t like this track, but I had to give it a couple of listens. You have to hear the way this song ends. Awesome!!
End of Times is another prog rocker with plenty of crunching guitars and heavy bass. This is another decent song with excellent guitar work. I didn’t care for this song too much.
Still I Prey For You Now is a slow short number that fails to excite me. I was hoping for something a little more powerful at this place in the record.
The Bonus track features 2 tracks in 1. Reality’s Fool is another slow tempo number that almost seems out of place. A few seconds later another instrumental track continues the fantastic solo work of the late, great Chris Oliva.
As a whole, this is a very strong effort from Jon Oliva’s Pain. Savatage fans should be rushing to pick this up. Progressive Metal fans will likely enjoy this too. If you don’t like either of those, this disc may not appeal to you. I have always liked Savatage, and felt they were very under rated. This disc stands up to any of the Savatage records out there, and is one of the best new releases of 2006.
Rating:Out of 10
Below are a couple of live videos of songs that are from the Maniacal Renderings CD. If you like these, you are going to love this CD!
Evil Beside You
Maniacal Renderings
Track Listing:
- Through the Eyes of the King
- Maniacal Renderings
- The Evil Beside You
- Time To Die
- Push It To the Limit
- Who’s Playing God
- Timeless Flight
- Holes
- End Times
- Still I Pray for You Now
- Reality’s Fool (Bonus Track)
3 Bo Bice – The Real Thing (Release Year – 2005)
Out of all singers I have discovered on TV, Bo Bice is the best of them all, hands down.
He has the best voice, and to me is still the best new talent to come off the TV screen.
Does the Real Thing reflect this? Yes and no. First off, RCA forced Bo to do songs in this Pop/Rock style.
Bo Bice would be better suited for a Skynyrd style rock album than a bunch of pop tunes. The amazing thing is, on The Real Thing it works, it just isn’t what you would expect from a southern rocker like Bice.
So The Real Thing is mainly a collection of Pop Rock tunes. There are no bad song on this disc, but some are certainly better than others. Personally, I think the title track, The Real Thing is kind of lame. RCA released this as a single, along with a lame video. What the hell were they thinking. Its not even close to being, one of the better songs on the disc.
You’re Everything was written by Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger. I like this track a lot.
The Jon Bon Jovi/Richie Sambora track Nothing Without You is also pretty good.
Lie…It’s Alright has a pretty good groove and is kind of cool.
Valley of Angels, Whiskey Women and Time, Cinnamon and Novocaine are Bice penned tracks, and shows off his writing skills. All 3 are great tracks, and show what kind of CD Bo would have made, if not overpower by RCA’s strong-arm. Sadly, 2 of these are only available on the DVD side of The Real Thing Dual Disc CD/DVD, so most people never got the chance to hear these.
Even though I would not consider this music hard rock by any means, I like this CD. There isn’t a track on this CD, where the music overpowers Bo’s voice, and that says what kind of talent Bo Bice really is. I can only hope that CD #2 will be more in the Southern/hard rock vain I would expect.
Rating: out of 10
Tracking Listing:
- The Real Thing
- You’re Everything
- U Make Me Better
- Nothing Without You
- My World
- Remember Me
- Hold On To Me
- Lie…It’s Alright
- It’s My Life
- Willing To Try
- Valley of Angels
- Whiskey, Women and Time (Dual Disc only)
- Sinner in a Sin (Dual Disc only)
- Cinnamon and Novocaine (Dual Disc only)
0 Slave to the System – S/T (Release Year – 2006)
Slave to the System is one of the better CD’s released in 2006.
This group consists of Damon Johnson, and Roman Glick from Brother Cane, and Scott Rockenfeld and Kelly Gray of Queensryche.
I have always liked both bands, but I must admit that I haven’t been very fond of the Kelly Gray, Queensryche years.
After hearing this CD, I wonder how much Geoff Tate has been holding back Kelly, as he kicks ass on this CD. Damon Johnson and the rest of the guys are great as well. Some songs lean towards more album oriented radio friendly rock, others are a little harder. The slower tracks took two or three listens to digest, and have really grown on me. The CD does a good job of mixing the two up.
As a whole, this is a killer CD with no filler tracks. This is straight up hard rock all the way through. If you like either of the two bands, I mentioned above, you are going to like this. It may take you a couple of listens to get into this, but if you give this a chance, you will be pleasantly surprised.
This CD is one of my top picks in 2006.
For more information on Slave to the System, check out their myspace page here.
Rating: Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Stigmata*
- Ruby Wednesday
- Slave to the System*
- Live this Life
- Cruze out of Control*
- Abyss
- Disinfected*
- Gone Today*
- Will You Be There
- Leaves
- Ragdoll
- Walk the Line
*Best Tracks
Slave to the System is:
Damon Johnson – Vocals and Guitar
Roman Glick – Bass
Kelly Gray – Guitar
Scott Rockenfeld – Drums
Hard Rock Hideout 