13/05/2025
- New review: BillyBio - Feed the Fire (2018)
- Updated review: Biohazard - Reborn in Defiance (2012)
12/05/2025
- Updated reviews: Biohazard - Kill or Be Killed (2003), Means to an End (2005)
11/05/2025
- Updated review: Biohazard - Uncivilization (2001)
10/05/2025
- Updated reviews: Biohazard - No Holds Barred: Live in Europe (1997, live album), Tales from the B-Side (2001, compilation)
08/05/2025
- Updated review: Biohazard - New World Disorder (1999)
07/05/2025
- Updated reviews: Biohazard - State of the World Address (1994), Mata Leao (1996)
06/05/2025
- Updated reviews: Biohazard - Biohazard (1990), Urban Discipline (1992)
25/04/2025
- New review: Metal Church - A Light in the Dark (2006)
16/04/2025
- New review: Metal Church - From the Vault (2020, compilation)
13/04/2025
- New review: Metal Church - Masterpeace (2000)
06/04/2025
- New review: Metal Church - Congregation of Annihilation (2023)
04/04/2025
- New review: Metal Church - Damned If You Do (2018)
03/04/2025
- New article: 'Albums I own, but don't know where or when I obtained them!'
02/04/2025
- New review: Metal Church - Generation Nothing (2013)
31/03/2025
- New review: Metal Church - XI (2016)
- Hi there. I haven't really given a proper written update since November, so here's some info on what's been happening in my musical hobby recently. I saw Biohazard again on the 2nd March at the 02 Institute in Birmingham. I hadn't seen them live since 2014 for a couple of reasons. Firstly, they were on hiatus for a very long time, but I had the chance to see them again at Bloodstock in 2023 when they finally started touring again. I didn't, because they headlined Sunday night on the Sophie Lancaster stage, and by that point I was already home and recovering from all the beer consumption! I normally head home on Sunday afternoons these days.
Like I said, I finally saw them again a few weeks ago at least, and they were great. They only played songs from the first 3 albums, which was fine by me I guess. I think their whole discography is pretty solid, but the first 3 are undeniably their best works. The whole gig was a whirlpool of moshing and carnage, as it should be. It was also the first time I saw them with original bassist/vocalist Evan Seinfeld; when I saw them in 2012 and 2014, Scott Roberts was in that position. So that was cool. I can't really compare this performance to the 2012 one. I remember it was in the same venue, only on the smaller stage downstairs. But it feels like a lifetime ago; I was 20, and next week I turn 33. I still have the t-shirt from that 2012 tour however, when they were promoting the Reborn in Defiance album - I dusted it off and wore it to this year's gig! My mate managed to bag Billy Graziadei's guitar pick too - I'm a bigger Biohazard fan than him, so he very generously gave it to me (cheers Ad). I stuck it in my copy of Billy's solo album, Feed the Fire. In support of Biohazard was Life of Agony. I'd heard of them prior, but never listened to them. But they were good too! They even played a cover of Cro-Mags' 'We Gotta Know', which was fun.
Right now I'm working on obtaining all the main Metal Church albums, and have been reviewing them. I've been a fan of this band since my teens, but never got round to actually collecting their entire studio discography until now. Their albums are kind of expensive here in the UK, and it seems to be really hard to find any of them for less than £13-ish on average. I already owned a few of them thankfully (some I've had since college), so it's not a case of starting from scratch. But they're definitely a band I whose CDs I have to shop around for. It's also a discography I should've gone out of my way to collect more of many years ago. It's a catalogue that's full of gems, especially if you like metal to be as pure as possible.
Since my last written life update, or whatever you want to call it, I've also reviewed both Blind Guardian and Steppenwolf's discographies, and also finished updating my Iron Maiden page (that was a lot of fun). I do plan on re-working my Biohazard page too. It's been up since this blog started in 2017 so by default it doesn't read all that well. Going to that gig the other week has obviously made me revisit many of their CDs recently as well, so hopefully I'll find the energy to re-do that page in the coming months. I don't have much else to say really. I haven't got many upcoming gigs right now, just Saxon in November. I'm hoping to change that of course - I almost always find gigs to go to after all.
Cheers,
Adam
30/03/2025
- New review: Metal Church - This Present Wasteland (2008)
25/03/2025
- New review: Metal Church - The Weight of the World (2004)
22/03/2025
- New review: Metal Church - Hanging in the Balance (1993)
19/03/2025
- New review: Metal Church - The Human Factor (1991)
16/03/2025
- New review: Metal Church - Blessing in Disguise (1989)
15/03/2025
- New review: Metal Church - The Dark (1986)
14/03/2025
- New review: Metal Church - Metal Church (1984)
07/03/2025
- New article: 'Some of my own '90s metal picks that try to steer clear of the most obvious critic choices!'
06/03/2025
- Updated review: Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls (2014)
03/03/2025
- New reviews: Blind Guardian - Live (2003, live album), Somewhere Far Beyond Revisited (2024)
27/02/2025
- New review: Blind Guardian - The God Machine (2022)
25/02/2025
- New reviews: Blind Guardian - Beyond the Red Mirror (2015), Legacy of the Dark Lands (2019)
21/02/2025
- New reviews: Blind Guardian - A Twist in the Myth (2006), At the Edge of Time (2010)
20/02/2025
- New review: Blind Guardian - A Night at the Opera (2002)
17/02/2025
- New review: Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle-Earth (1998)
13/02/2025
- New review: Blind Guardian - Imaginations from the Other Side (1995)
12/02/2025
- New review: Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond (1992)
10/02/2025
- New review: Blind Guardian - Tales from the Twilight World (1990)
09/02/2025
- New reviews: Blind Guardian - Battalions of Fear (1988), Follow the Blind (1989)
04/02/2025
- New review: Saxon - The Eagle Has Landed 40: Live (2019, live album)
03/02/2025
30/01/2025
- New review: John Kay & Steppenwolf - Rise & Shine (1990)
23/01/2025
- New reviews: Steppenwolf - Early Steppenwolf (1969, live album), For Ladies Only (1971)
22/01/2025
- New review: Steppenwolf - Slow Flux (1974)
21/01/2025
- New reviews: Steppenwolf - Steppenwolf Live (1970, live album), Hour of the Wolf (1975)
18/01/2025
- New reviews: Steppenwolf - Monster (1969), Skullduggery (1976)
16/01/2025
- Updated reviews: Steppenwolf - The Second (1968), At Your Birthday Party (1969)
12/01/2025
- Updated review: Judas Priest - Battle Cry (2016, live album)
01/01/2025
- New reviews: Iron Maiden - The Book of Souls: Live Chapter (2015, live album), Nights of the Dead, Legacy of the Beast: Live in Mexico City (2020, live album)
24/12/2024
- New review: Iron Maiden - The Beat Sessions (2023, bootleg live album)
15/12/2024
- New article: '2024 wrap-up'
04/12/2024
- New review: Iron Maiden - Best of the Beast (1996, compilation)
- Updated review: Iron Maiden - Maiden England '88 (2013, live album)
28/11/2024
- Updated reviews: Iron Maiden - Flight 666 - The Original Soundtrack (2009, live album), En Vivo! (2012, live album)
27/11/2024
- Updated review: Iron Maiden - Death on the Road (2005, live album)
24/11/2024
- Updated reviews: Iron Maiden - Live After Dead (1985, live album), A Real Live One (1993, live album), A Read Dead One (1993, live album), Live at Donnington (1993, live album), Ed Hunter (1999, compilation), Rock in Rio (2002)
23/11/2024
- Updated review: Iron Maiden - The Book of Souls (2015)
19/11/2024
- Updated review: Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier (2010)
17/11/2024
- Updated review: Iron Maiden - A Matter of Life and Death (2006)
16/11/2024
- Updated review: Iron Maiden - Dance of Death (2003)
15/11/2024
- Updated reviews: Iron Maiden - Virtual XI (1998), Brave New World (2000)
14/11/2024
- Updated review: Iron Maiden - The X Factor (1995)
- A quick note. I'm getting through these updated Iron Maiden reviews quite consistently. I'm getting closer to the 'modern' Maiden era now, i.e. from 2000's Brave New World onwards. These are the albums I'm looking forward to revisiting most because I've said some unkind things about some of them in the past, and I really want to love them! And I love Maiden... from 1980 up to 2000 anyway!! I do plan to go back and re-review all the live albums too, but the studio records are my priority right now.
Cheers,
Adam
13/11/2024
- Updated review: Iron Maiden - Fear of the Dark (1992)
12/11/2024
- Updated review: Iron Maiden - No Prayer for the Dying (1990)
11/11/2024
- Updated review: Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
- Hi. Some words about the Deep Purple concert at the NEC in Birmingham (or so-called 'BP Pulse Live' as it's known now... it was Resorts World Arena in March when I saw Judas Priest!!) last Monday - it was great. Well, of course I'd say that - I'm a fanboy!! I did see them in October 2022, again in Birmingham (although it was at the Utilita Arena instead of the NEC) and I must admit I still can't decide whether or not that was a better performance yet. I think part of the enjoyment of that 2022 gig was because it was the first time I saw them, whereas last week's performance was just as good in reality. In terms of all the gigs I've been to this year, Bruce Springsteen at Wembley Stadium was probably best though. I've seen 2 of my absolute favourite bands this year (Judas Priest and Deep Purple), but Bruce was that good I'm starting to think it may be the best gig I've ever seen. And I'm not even a hardcore fan!!
Simon McBride is one hell of a guitar player. He was killin' it! I do remember him seeming to be fully confident back in 2022, and now it feels like he's been with the band for donkey's years already. I still maintain the opinion that his playing style is closer to Blackmore than Steve Morse - and that's no disrespect to Steve Morse because both Purpendicular and Now What?! are among my favourite Deep Purple albums. Meanwhile Don Airey was, as always, on fire. His solos are always immensely entertaining, and he even adds humour to them by holding a note and drinking a glass of wine mid-solo!! Ian Gillan is about as good as he can possibly be aged 79, and despite not always matching the original high notes of oldies like 'Highway Star', 'Space Truckin'' etc., he does still scream when he can fit them in, which is very commendable for a man of his age. And his chatter between songs is always funny. Meanwhile Roger Glover was as tight as a drum on the bass, and I will always consider Ian Paice to be one of rock's greatest ever drummers.
The setlist was fairly similar to when I saw them in 2022, but in place of the Whoosh! tracks were songs from the new album, =1. And I was all for this - I think at this point =1 is my album of the year, and there's been plenty of great ones in 2024. Seriously, I was so happy with Judas Priest's Invincible Shield when that dropped in March, I thought nothing could top it. But since =1 came out in July I honestly cannot stop listening to it!! I already own it on both CD and vinyl and I've listened to it over and over... and over again!! It's such a rockin', groovin' record! So the fact they played a whopping 6 songs from =1 ('A Bit on the Side', 'Lazy Sod', 'Now You're Talkin'', 'Portable Door', 'Bleeding Obvious' and 'Old-Fangled Thing') only made the concert all the better for me! Needless to say, all the stuff from the new album was the highlight of the concert for me, songs-wise.
Me and my fiancée left the gig during the final song of the encore, 'Black Night'. Not because I hate 'Black Night' or anything, but because we drove to the concert and wanted to avoid the horrid traffic jams that almost always clog up the roads when 1000s of people are leaving an arena venue all at once. She had work the next morning too, and we live approximately 62 miles from the venue. Still, I could hear 'Black Night' all the way to the carpark, so I knew what to expect! I'd like to mention the fact my partner is no rock fan - soul and Motown is her thing, so this was her first rock concert. But she enjoyed it, and was also blown away by both Don Airey and Simon McBride.
The support definitely wasn't as good for me this year. We had Blue Oyster Cult in 2022, this year it was Reef. Not that there's anything wrong with Reef - in fact, I enjoyed them. But BOC are legends! Funnily enough, I was supposed to see Reef last year at KK's Steel Mill in Wolverhampton with my mate, but the gig was postponed to a later date that I couldn't attend, nor could my mate because he was in the process of moving to America last year and was out of the country! Still, at least I can say I've seen them now.
Cheers,
Adam
10/11/2024
- Updated review: Iron Maiden - Somewhere in Time (1986)
09/11/2024
- Updated review: Iron Maiden - Powerslave (1984)
07/11/2024
- Updated review: Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind (1983)
05/11/2024
- Updated review: Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast (1982)
04/11/2024
- Updated review: Iron Maiden - Killers (1981)
03/11/2024
- Updated review: Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden (1980)
- Hi there. Updates have been lacking recently, 'cos life. I've just come back from a 5-day cruise to Hamburg, and am now engaged to my former girlfriend, now wonderful fiancée! So yeah, I've been busy to say the least.
I'm seeing Deep Purple for the second time tomorrow night in Birmingham at the NEC (or Resorts World, or BP Pulse, or whatever the fuck it's called nowadays), so that's gonna be great. I've played that new album, =1, to death since it dropped in July. I absolutely love it. I've looked at the setlists for the tour and they're maybe a bit too similar to what we got in 2022 when I first saw them, but I'm just thankful to still be able to see them on stage in 2024. My mate moved to the States last year and caught them a few months back in Cincinnati and said they were great, so that's cool.
I've also decided that I'm gonna re-write my Iron Maiden page over the next few weeks (or however long it takes me). When I last touched that page in 2020, I wrote some silly reviews (like giving the legendary Seventh Son of a Seventh Son an 8/10 - I always loved that album as a teenager! So I have no clue what I was thinking 4 years ago. The 'Rona lockdowns must've messed with my head) and I've been a bit harsh on their later stuff. I don't think I'll ever be a fan of Maiden's entire discography, and I doubt post-Brave New World Maiden will ever resonate with me in the same way that the '80s album do, but I'm eager to dive deep and revisit the newer stuff again to see if my opinion has shifted in any sort of way. I'm going to keep my old reviews up, as a timely reminder of my own stupidity! In all fairness, I don't think all my new ratings will change much, but some most definitely will.
Well, that's it for now. More Maiden reviews to come.
Cheers,
Adam
19/09/2024
- New reviews: Venom - Temples of Ice (1991), The Waste Lands (1992)
15/09/2024
- New article: 'Calling out Loudersound and their Metallica album ranking'
- New review: Magnum - Keeping the Nite Light Burning (1993)
06/09/2024
- New review: Venom - In Nomine Satanas (2022, box set)
04/09/2024
- New review: Venom Inc. - There's Only Black (2022)
02/09/2024
- New review: Venom - Storm the Gates (2018)
01/09/2024
29/08/2024
- New reviews: Venom - Possessed (1985), From the Very Depths (2015)
27/08/2024
- New review: Venom - Fallen Angels (2011)
- Updated review: Venom - Hell (2008)
- Howdy. I'm in the process of updating my Venom page right now. It's been up since 2017, so I've deleted all my crappy old reviews and re-written them (save for Venom Inc.'s 2017 album Avé , but I'll be redoing that one too when I get 'round to it). I've added reviews for At War with Satan (1984) and Calm Before the Storm (1987).. I've actually had these in my collection for a number of years now but for some reason never reviewed them when I started this page. I've also recently bought a bunch of Venom albums I didn't own - Cast in Stone (1997), Fallen Angels (2011), From the Very Depths (2015), Storm the Gates (2018) and the box set In Nomine Satanas (2022), so I'm having fun reviewing these albums I missed out on. Annoyingly, I'm still missing Temples of Ice (1991) and The Waste Lands (1992) because I'm struggling to find these albums for sale at a reasonable price right now, but hopefully I will soon. They're the only one's missing in my Venom collection right now, so fingers crossed I track them down in due time.
Cheers,
Adam
25/08/2024
- Updated review: Venom - Metal Black (2006)
24/08/2024
- New article: 'The pros and cons of concerts!'
- Updated review: Venom - Resurrection (2000)
23/08/2024
- New review: Venom - Cast in Stone (1997)
20/08/2024
- Updated review: Venom - Prime Evil (1989)
19/08/2024
- New reviews: Venom - At War with Satan (1984), Calm Before the Storm (1987)
- Updated review: Venom - Black Metal (1982)
16/08/2024
- Updated review: Venom - Welcome to Hell (1981)
29/07/2024
- Hi there. I just saw Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band last Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London. I have to say I was blown away by the performance. Bruce's music has been in my life for as long as I've been alive, my mum is a huge fan of his and as a rock fanatic I felt like I had to see him at least once time in my career as a concert goer! So my mum bought tickets for me and her, mine being a birthday present. This was her 4th time seeing the Boss, the first time being at the old Wembley Stadium back in 1985 on the Born in the USA tour!
First of all, this was by far the biggest concert I've ever attended. Wembley Stadium is enormous, with a concert capacity of 90,000. I don't know how many people were actually in attendance, but the whole place was packed, including all the seating. I saw the Rolling Stones in 2018 at Principality Stadium, and just very recently the Foo Fighters at Villa Park Stadium, but neither were on the same scale as Bruce.
It was a very long day; I was staying at a campsite in my parents' motorhome just outside Denham, and we arrived on the Friday night. The train station was about a 25 minute walk from our campsite, so on Saturday we walked down to the station around 12.30pm and got on the train to Wembley Stadium (which I never even realised had it's own train platform - the last time I was in Wembley was when me and my mate saw Smashing Pumpkins at the Arena in 2018) around 1.15pm. It was only a 10-15 minute journey with 1 stop, so we arrived at the stadium around 1.30pm, and by the time we'd found our ticket queuing zone and bought some merch, we were actually queuing at around 2pm. The doors opened at 5pm, and because we were maybe within the first 100 or so people within our zone, we got wristbands early and were allowed to get into the stadium and get a good spot before everyone else. There were 2 standing areas - the front sector which probably covered about 30% of the floor space and was only open to people with special gold wristbands, and the rest of the space for 'rear standing' ticket holders, which included us. The areas were separated by a couple of barriers, plus a very small VIP-type area with it's own walkway in the centre, which I'll get to later!
Like I said, we got into the stadium a little before 5pm thanks to the early wristbands and managed to get right on the barrier at the front of our standing sector, which was the closest we could possibly be to the stage, and also meant we could lean on the barrier for the entirety of the show which is far more comfortable than standing straight for hours on end. There was no support, and Bruce and the E Street Band started at 7.15pm.
I must admit I didn't know every song in the setlist; I knew all of the old stuff from albums like Born in the USA, The River, Darkness on the Edge of Town, Born to Run etc. because they've been in my life since I was a little kid, but there were a few odd songs from albums such as 2020's Letter to You, 2012's Wrecking Ball and 2007's Magic in the setlist that I wasn't familiar with because I've never actually sat down and really listened to any of his albums in full after 2002's The Rising. I might have heard a few newer tracks here and there when my mum has played them, but I'm only really a casual Springsteen fan and haven't ever done a deep dive into his discography yet.
Either way, it didn't matter if I didn't know every single song because the entire 3 hour gig was outstanding from start to finish. Standout performances for me include 'Hungry Heart', 'Adam Raised a Cain', 'Badlands', 'Born to Run' and 'Thunder Road'... so, a lot of oldies then!! But like I said, I really enjoyed every song performance when it comes down to it. Maybe the performance of 'Tougher Than the Rest' with Bruce duetting with his wife Patti Scialfa was my least favourite, but even that was still great. I also liked how the E Street Band left the stage after playing the second-to-last song and Bruce closed the concert with a solo acoustic performance of 'I'll See You in My Dreams' from Letter to You.
The E Street Band themselves almost feel like a motley crew of musicians, but a fantastic one at that. I was particularly impressed by saxophonist Jake Clemons, original saxophonist Clarence Clemons' nephew. I don't normally do saxophones; Bruce Springsteen's music is just about the only artist I really dig them in! But Jake was awesome. As was guitarist Nils Lofgren - highly underrated, gifted guitarist! Obviously you've got Steven Van Zandt in there too, but I kinda think all he has to do is show up and people will warm to him. He has an eccentric image and his Sopranos acting status makes him even cooler. I'll also give credit to backing singer Curtis King and percussionist Anthony Almonte, because they really added a lot to many of the songs.
But naturally, Bruce was the hero of the day. The man still has heaps of energy on stage, can still belt out the tunes, the fans loved him and the atmosphere of the entire crowd was just insanely wholesome and happy - more-so than any other gig I've ever been to. I think I have post-concert blues right now by default! Anyhow, the show finished at 10.15pm, and I got back to the motorhome by around midnight. All the hours of waiting was 100% worth it.
This may have been the greatest gig I've ever attended, and I think I've been to a fair amount of 'em at my age of 32 years old now. It's ironic, in that I've seen almost all of my absolute favourite artists live at this point (still haven't seen AC/DC yet), yet I'm only a casual fan of the Boss and he may have just topped everyone for me live. He is as good as people say he is live.
I don't think Bruce will ever be one of my favourite artists; I'm too much of a heavy rocker and metalhead at the end of the day. Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Judas Priest will always be my absolute favourite jams. I've always liked Bruce up to a point because like I said, his music has been with me since birth purely because my mum loves him. I never used to listen to him as a teenager because he wasn't heavy enough, but my tastes have expanded a lot as I've gotten older and I've had a handful of his records in my collection for years (Darkness on the Edge of Town, Born to Run and Nebraska. Plus I have a copy of The Rising which I picked up maybe a couple years back in my local record shop), and overall appreciate him even more as an artist and especially lyricist these days. Well, I guess I'll be picking up more of his stuff now! Who knows, maybe I'll own his entire studio discography and review it for this blog someday.
P.S. - About that VIP area in the stadium... about 3 songs into the set, a very suave and cool-looking older gentleman walked right past me and everyone leaning on the barrier that was forming the walkway between the 2 standing areas. It took me moment to realise it was none other than Pierce Brosnan!! He was wearing sunglasses, so I didn't immediately realise it was him - but it definitely was!! He walked past again closer to the end of the set, this time minus the glasses. Naturally, people noticed him!
Cheers,
Adam
25/07/2024
- New review: Deep Purple - =1 (2024)
21/07/2024
- New reviews: Emperor - Live Inferno (2009, live album), Mayhem - European Legions (2001, compilation)
20/07/2024
- New review: Turisas - Turisas2013 (2013)
18/07/2024
- New review: Turisas - Stand Up and Fight (2011)
12/07/2024
- New review: Turisas - The Varangian Way (2007)
11/07/2024
- New review: Turisas - Battle Metal (2004)
06/07/2024
- New article: 'Deep Purple - thoughts on the upcoming new album, =1'
01/07/2024
- New review: Magnum - Marauder (1980, live album)
28/06/2024
- Hello. Not much in the way of updates/activity this June simply because of life. Very busy with home DIY projects at the moment, but the updates will become more regular again soon I'm sure.
In other news, I just saw the Foo Fighters at Villa Park in Birmingham last night. Now I'm no serious Foo Fighters fan - to be honest, I'm barely even a casual fan and only have 2 of their albums (1 of them being a compilation). But man were they brilliant live. Dave Grohl is just a brilliant frontman and performer, 'nuff said. Foo Fighters are one of those bands that have a few songs I like, and in general are pretty harmless overall to me. But I've never heard a single track by them that's really sounded special to me. Yet live, Dave Grohl turns what I consider to be these decent if unexciting songs into something really special. I really admire that. Of course, my opinion of their recorded music is purely just my opinion, and I do understand why they're so popular with the masses. But yeah, terrific show. The set lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes or thereabouts, and another thing that really made my night was when Geezer Butler came out on stage and performed a cover of 'Paranoid' with them!! Of course, as a Sabbath fanatic, 'Paranoid' is definitely their most overplayed song - but this was a mainstream concert crowd so of course they were gonna play the obvious hit. I was just thrilled to see Geezer on stage again - I hadn't seen him on stage since Sabbath were touring as Heaven & Hell in 2009 (I also saw this lineup in 2007). Anyhow, if you consider yourself in any way to be a rock enthusiast and ever get the chance to see the Foo's, do it.
I wasn't into Hot Milk, one of the support acts. Far too emo for me, but whatever. The second support act, Courtney Barnett, I enjoyed somewhat. I liked her guitar playing style - loose, sloppy and distorted. Reminded me a lot of Neil Young's plugged-in, rockier material. Her almost-monotone vocals weren't settling all that well with me however. Wikipedia lists her as indie rock, which is definitely true up to a point - but I was also getting garage rock vibes too. Pretty decent, but not entirely my thing either. I'd pretty much forgotten about the support by the time Foo Fighters had finished playing 'All My Life', the first song in the set!
Back to the blog though, I couldn't really say what I've got planned next here. I have a backlog of live albums/collectors discs etc. reviews from bands like Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and the like - I always do. But I'm at the point where I'd quite like to start a new page and review a complete discography right now. I have plans to revisit and rework the Biohazard discography page, because I wrote that in 2017 or something, and my writing was really shitty then. I also reviewed the entire Cannibal Corpse discography back then too, but you can't see it here anymore because I reverted it to draft about 2 years ago. It was just badly written, lazy and amateur writing from me. But I haven't actually deleted it, you just can't view it anymore. I do plan to re-review this discography at some point, but couldn't tell you when. The new Deep Purple record, =1, is out next month (19th July I believe). I have both the CD and vinyl on pre-order, and can't wait to dive deep into it and write a comprehensive review here when it's out.
So, stay tuned for more updates. I don't know when exactly, but soon!
Cheers,
Adam
11/06/2024
- New review: Blue Oyster Cult - Ghost Stories (2024)
08/06/2024
- New article: 'Black Sabbath - Anno Domini 1989-1995 and general rambles about Tony Martin-era Sabbath' (Link)
23/05/2024
- New reviews: Magnum - On the 13th Day (2012), Escape from the Shadow Garden (2014), Live at the Symphony Hall (2019)
21/05/2024
- New reviews: Magnum - Sleepwalking (1992), Brand New Morning (2004)
20/05/2024
- New reviews: Magnum - Kingdom of Madness (1978), Magnum II (1979)
17/05/2024
- New review: UFO - A Conspiracy of Stars (2015)
14/05/2024
- New review: Magnum - Here Comes the Rain (2024)
13/05/2024
- New review: UFO - Ain't Misbehavin' (1988, EP)
12/05/2024
- New review: Magnum - The Monster Roars (2022)
01/05/2024
- Updated review: Deep Purple - Come Taste the Band (1975)
27/04/2024
- New reviews: UFO - UFO 1 (1970), UFO 2: Flying (1971)
- Hello. I've been a bit a spoiled with new releases from several of my favourite bands this year thus far, and it's only April!! There's been Magnum - Here Comes the Rain and Saxon - Hell, Fire and Damnation in January, Judas Priest - Invincible Shield in March, Blue Oyster Cult - Ghost Stories in April (which I do own, but admittedly haven't listened to much yet), and even better still is the fact Deep Purple just announced their new studio album, =1 the other day - set for release in July. My birthday was just a couple of weeks ago, and I also received the new Bruce Dickinson album, The Mandrake Project (released in March), as a gift. Oddly enough, I currently don't own any other Bruce solo albums, but I have to say that I might like The Mandrake Project more than anything Iron Maiden has put out since possibly Brave New World in 2000. It's bloody good.
As for the other albums I've mentioned, well, Magnum's Here Comes the Rain is due a review sometime, but I think it's a fine swansong for them to go out with. Not surprising at all. And I've already reviewed the new Saxon and Judas Priest, so check those out. I still haven't heard the latest BOC enough to form a proper opinion yet, but I like it. However, it's an archive album of old '70s recordings, patched up in the 21st century - so it's a not your typical affair. I'll review it when I can however.
I've also nearly finished my UFO page! I now own almost the entire discography on CD, plus a few on vinyl that I've had for years. It's only 2015's A Conspiracy of Stars that's currently missing. Actually, I do have that one pending - I won a copy in an Ebay auction for a decent price, but the seller decided to tell me that he's currently on holiday until the 13th May after the auction ended. Bellend. To be fair, he did ask if I wanted a refund rather than wait it out, but I'm happy with the price, so I can wait. There was also an EP released in 1988 called Ain't Misbehavin' - I had no real intentions of getting hold of this anytime soon, but I found a Chinese seller on Discogs with a reasonably priced CD copy for sale, so I bagged it. I only bought it a couple of days ago however, and am still waiting for that one... and probably will be for a while given it's coming from China! Anyhow, I've added UFO to the Quick Reference Guide. I know I haven't technically finished reviewing the discography yet, but it's on there now anyway.
Cheers,
Adam
25/04/2024
- New review: UFO - The Salentino Cuts (2017)
23/04/2024
- New review: UFO - The Monkey Puzzle (2006)
22/04/2024
- New review: UFO - Covenant (2000)
21/04/2024
- New review: UFO - Walk on Water (1995)
18/04/2024
- New review: UFO - Lights Out in Tokyo - Live (1993, live album)
16/04/2024
- New review: UFO - High Stakes & Dangerous Men (1992)
13/04/2024
- New review: Uriah Heep - Sonic Origami (1998)
09/04/2024
- New review: Uriah Heep - Raging Silence (1989)
01/04/2024
- New review: UFO - You Are Here (2004)
26/03/2024
- New article: 'A ramble about CD collecting'
22/03/2024
- Updated review: Judas Priest - Angel of Retribution (2005)
20/03/2024
- Last night I saw Judas Priest once again at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham - it was my 6th time seeing them. When I purchased my ticket last year I thought "what the fuck is the Resorts World Arena?!" - a quick Google later and I realised it was just the NEC, renamed and with a fancy food/shopping plaza opposite. The first time I saw Judas Priest was at the NEC in 2009 with Megadeth and Testament, when I was 16 years old and less than 2 months from turning 17. And until last night, it was also the last time I'd set foot in the NEC... the 16 year old me would have been so happy to find out that the 31 year old me would be seeing them again in the same venue some 15 years later!
So, in 2009, the Nostradamus concept album was their newest at the time, KK Downing was still in the band and Glenn Tipton was still healthy. Fast-forward to 2024 and Richie Faulkner has been with the Priest since 2011, Andy Sneap has been filling in live since 2018 and Glenn Tipton has sadly been struggling with Parkinson's for a number of years and only appears during encores on stage (but is still very much involved in the studio). The good news is that Priest are still awesome live - I've seen them 3 times under their current format now and they've rocked each and every time.
With the new album Invincible Shield under their belt - which I've been enjoying immensely - I was eager to hear any of those new tracks live. Lo and behold, they played 3 tracks from the album last night - 'Panic Attack', 'Invincible Shield' and 'Crown of Horns'... I guess if I had the choice I'd have swapped 'Crown of Horns' for 'The Serpent and the King' or 'As God Is My Witness', but I get why they played it. It's a ballad and they probably wanted to mix things up with the flow of the setlist - and it's still a great tune anyhow. 'Panic Attack' and 'Invincible Shield' were fantastic in the live setting, and melded seamlessly with the rest of the songs.
There weren't too many surprises with regards to the rest of the setlist however. Only 'Sword of Damocles' from Redeemer of Souls was unexpected to me. Redeemer is not one of their best albums; it's good for sure, but it suffers from a strange production job... it does have some great tunes on it however, and this is one of them. It was nice to see 'Rapid Fire', 'Saints in Hell' and 'Love Bites' in there too, even if none of them really count as 'deep cuts' anymore. Crowd favourites such as 'You've Got Another Thing Comin'', 'Electric Eye', 'Breaking the Law', 'Painkiller' and 'Hell Bent for Leather' etc. all made their usual appearances, and 'Victim of Changes' almost always ends up being my favourite performance of the night... and right now I'm thinking it was my favourite of last night's show too. Glenn Tipton did make an appearance for 'Metal Gods' and 'Living After Midnight' at the very end of the show, which was awesome. I'll admit it's quite sad to see the man in his poor health nowadays - he can only play what he can handle live these days, but the crowd went nuts either way when he stepped on stage, and so did I.
The rest of the band performed about as good as they possibly could in 2024. Rob obviously isn't always 100% on point live these days - the man is 72, so it's understandable!! His vocals on the new album are incredible, but he hasn't been perfect live for a long time now - however, he's still performing to the best of his abilities now and still manages to screech more often than not. He's still awesome regardless. And Richie Faulkner is always brilliant nowadays; obviously age is on his side, but he's such a big presence in the band now it feels like he's been there longer than he has. Scott Travis will always be a great drummer too, Ian Hill does his bass duties the same he's always done them while Andy Sneap - though a touring member and not an official member - backs up Faulkner just fine.
Not much to complain about in terms of the band. The stage setup was awesome, the sound was great and I was immersed for the entire performance. I'd have tweaked the setlist; as a die hard fan, of course I'd rather hear deep cuts at this point in time, but they have to please the average crowd and the new tracks mixed in with classics was good enough for me at the end of the day.
Support was brilliant too - Judas Priest in the UK seem to always pick suitable supporting acts. Iron Maiden and Metallica have had some questionable one's, but last night we had Saxon and Uriah Heep. I'm a big Heep fan, and I'm a die hard Saxon fan. Saxon have literally been one of my favourite metal bands since school - other than some live releases and a few of rarities, I own pretty much everything they've ever released. As for Heep - I started seriously getting into them 6 or so years ago, and saw them live in 2019. I have enough of their records to be considered a fan and their last 2 albums are some of my favourites of any genre in the last few years. So I couldn't be happier with the support.
Uriah Heep's set was short but sweet with 7 songs played in total. They blitzed through a couple of the newer tracks from 2023's Chaos & Colour and threw in some classics such as 'Easy Livin'' and 'Gypsy'. I particularly enjoyed keyboard player Phil Lanzon; I'm a huge fan of that distorted Hammond organ sound, and it's only really Heep and Deep Purple that do it so well in my mind. But the whole band were great, and served as a nice warmup for the rest of the night.
As for Saxon - heavy metal gods, 2.0. Like Priest, I've seen them multiple times and they're just pros at what they do. They played for about an hour, crushing it with the oldies such as 'Heavy Metal Thunder', 'Dallas 1PM', 'Motorcycle Man', 'Princess of the Night' etc., but I'm also such a big fan of the newer stuff (and by 'newer stuff', I mean everything from 1997s Unleash the Beast onwards) that I absolutely loved hearing all the new tracks from Hell, Fire and Damnation, which dropped in January this year. the song 'Hell, Fire and Damnation' and 'Madam Guillotine' are such good tracks that I'm even thinking I might have to up my review score for the album already. Nice to see 'Sacrifice' in the setlist too. Biff Byford's the man, Nigel Glockler is an unbelievably good drummer and this was also the first time I've seen Saxon with Diamond Head legend Brian Tatler on stage. Original guitarist Paul Quinn retired from touring last year, but still has some studio presence; it was a bit odd not seeing him on stage, but Tatler is just about the best replacement you could ask for with a band like Saxon. He fits in incredibly well and soloed alongside Doug Scarratt like he'd always been there.
So, a great night then. Dunno if it was the best Priest gig I've ever been to, but it was about as good as it possibly could be in regards to how things are in 2024.
On the 15th last Friday, I also Filter at the 02 Academy 2 in Birmingham. My friend asked me a month or 2 prior if I fancied joining him for it, so I said yes. I must admit, even though I've been aware of Filter since my teens, the only song I really knew by them was 'Take a Picture'. But hey, I like to experience many kinds of rock n' roll from the live perspective, and I enjoyed myself. Their early stuff often gets lumped into the industrial genre alongside Nine Inch Nails and the like, but to me they're kind of like an alternative rock band with some heavier and occasional electronic bits thrown in for good measure. 'Twas a good night, only problem was transportation wasn't quite what I'd anticipated. I was going to get the train and meet my mate there, but due to cancellations I had to drive and stay sober all night. Ahh well.
Deep Purple are playing the Resorts World in November... tickets go on sale Friday... hoping to get me and my girlfriend a ticket each!!
Cheers,
Adam
12/03/2024
- New review: KK's Priest - The Sinner Rides Again (2023)
10/03/2024
- New review: Judas Priest - Invincible Shield (2024)
22/02/2024
- New article: 'The albums that changed my life'
17/02/2024
- New review: Saxon - The Eagle Has Landed - Part III (2006, live album)
08/02/2024
- New review: Oliver/Dawson Saxon - Motorbiker (2012)
05/02/2024
- New review: Saxon - The Eagle Has Landed - Part II (1996, live album), Diamonds and Nuggets (2000, compilation)
- Updated review: Saxon - The Eagle Has Landed (1982, live album)
02/02/2024
- New article: 'Saxon - favourite track from every album'
26/01/2024
- New review: Magnum - Breath of Life (2002)
22/01/2024
- New review: Magnum - Rock Art (1994)
21/01/2024
- New reviews: Saxon - More Inspirations (2023), Hell, Fire and Damnation (2024)
18/01/2024
- New review: Magnum - Goodnight L.A. (1990)
16/01/2024
- New review: Magnum - The Serpent Rings (2020)
07/01/2024
- New article: '2023 wrap-up'
27/11/2023
- New review: Emperor - Reverence (1997, EP), Emperor/Wrath of the Tyrant (1998, compilation), Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire & Demise (2001)
23/11/2023
- New review: Emperor - IX Equilibrium (1999)
20/11/2023
- New reviews: Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse (1994), Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk (1997)
08/11/2023
- New article: 'Calling out Loudwire and their Anthrax album ranking'
16/10/2023
- New review: Mayhem - Atavistic Black Disorder (2021, EP)
09/10/2023
- New review: Mayhem - Wolf's Lair Abyss (1997, EP)
03/10/2023
- I know it's not the end of the year yet, but I've had an extremely busy time over the past 9/10 months that a roundup feels okay to do right now. I finished all the work renovating my house in August, a couple of days before I went to Bloodstock festival actually. I started the work in November last year, and aside from a couple of weeks or so off, and maybe the odd day or two, the work was non-stop. I was working on the house daily on top of my normal 8 hour shift Monday-Friday (plus the occasional Saturday) day job, so obviously I had little time for relaxing. You get used to it though, and any downtime I did have I tried to make the most of it. The good thing about the whole project, and grafting like that is the fact it got done in a 9 month window. Considering I fitted a new kitchen, bathroom and the fact every single room needed completely reworking, that's some good going if you ask me.
Since August I've had much more free time of course. I've spent most of it with my wonderful girlfriend, socialising, drinking and getting back to my normal gym routine. I've also been on holiday twice. I went to America for a couple of weeks as my friend is moving out there permanently soon, and is getting married. I stayed around Cincinnati and Kentucky, to the point where you could cross a bridge and you'd literally be crossing states. I've been to America 4 times now, but this was the least touristy kind of trip so far. Cincinnati isn't like the other cities I've been to - New York, LA, Vegas, San Francisco, New Orleans and Chicago (I've also been to Florida, but not Miami). There isn't any tourism to speak of, so I was getting a much more authentic experience, but I did some fun stuff while I was there. Plenty of bars, and I also visited the zoo (the same one where Harambe was killed), went to Reds game and even a theme park several miles out of the city. Kentucky was cool too. Friendly people in my opinion, cool bars and breweries and lots of bourbon. Also, many of my friends from home were also present. It was a much-needed break for me.
Just a few weeks ago I drove the north coast of Scotland (NC500) with my girlfriend across 7 days. It was glorious. The weather was insane for the UK in September - we getting temperatures of 23-25 degrees Celsius and clear skies every day. The scenery was just unreal. We stayed in a different hotel along the way every night and I saw about a thousand lochs, castles and epic hills and mountains. It couldn't have gone better. Of course, it rained on the last day but by that point I was already back in England and nearly home.
I haven't been to any concerts since the last written update like this, save for Bloodstock festival which was much more enjoyable this year as well as a better lineup. The weather was bearable and not heatwave hot thankfully. Favourite performances were Candlemass (FINALLY got to see 'em!), Gatecreeper, Sepultura, Crowbar, Triptykon playing Celtic Frost, Meshuggah and Ugly Kid Joe. I missed out on Biohazard because they were on fucking Sunday night after 10pm, and I'm normally home by then! I don't stay on Sunday nights because I'm normally written-off by about 5pm. Oh well. Great festival though, as always. Tons of drinking, laughs and heavy metal music. And on the 21st October, I'm seeing Glenn Hughes at the Steel Mill doing a Deep Purple set!! I cannot wait. It'll be fucking awesome to hear those classic Burn and Stormbringer songs performed by the man himself, especially since Ian Gillan has no interest in performing any of that stuff with the actual Deep Purple. I have a couple of gigs lined up for next year too - one of which is an unbelievable lineup for me personally. It's Judas Priest, Saxon and Uriah Heep all on the same bill in Birmingham next March. I'm psyched, naturally. I'm also seeing Foo Fighters in June (also Birmingham)... I'm not the biggest FF fan, but I like a lot of their singles and I just know they'll be a great live band. I can enjoy a lot of concerts regardless of if I'm actually a fan or not these days.
Since Bloodstock I'm still very much in 'metal mode'! I've reviewed the whole Mayhem discography (minus the endless stream of live albums which I can't be bothered to purchase that is), although I've bought the Wolf's Lair Abyss EP too, but it hasn't arrived yet - so a review will be up soon. I hadn't really sat down and listened to a lot of black metal in a very long time, and I feel like I might enjoy it more now than I did when I was younger somehow. I had a fun time with the Mayhem discography anyhow.
That's about all for now.
Cheers,
Adam
02/10/2023
- New review: Mayhem - Live in Leipzig (1993, live album), Daemon (2019)
28/09/2023
- New review: Mayhem - Esoteric Warfare (2014)
25/09/2023
- New review: Mayhem - Ordo Ad Chao (2007)
20/09/2023
- New reviews: Mayhem - Grand Declaration of War (2000), Chimera (2004)
19/09/2023
- New reviews: Mayhem - Deathcrush (1987, EP), De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (1994)
31/08/2023
- New review: Uriah Heep - Head First (1983)
22/08/2023
- New article: 'Talkin' about Tim 'Ripper' Owens-era Judas Priest'
01/07/2023
- New review: Smashing Pumpkins - Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts (2023)
- Updated reviews: Smashing Pumpkins - Gish (1991), Siamese Dream (1993)
18/06/2023
Hello there. It's been a couple of months since the last personal update from me, so here's a little catch-up on me and my life. Been working solidly on renovating my house the past six or so months now, and I'm nearing completion. Finally! Obviously that means my time on this blog is not exactly priority, but I've still managed to fit in an article, or a review or two here and there as you can see.
I've also attended three concerts so far this year. I saw Karnivool in February; they're a band that my mate was really into during my college days, and then I kind of forgot about them for a decade until he told me he was seeing them live, and asked if I wanted to tag along. I did of course, and I quite enjoyed them - good, atmospheric proggy rock/metal with great musicianship. Probably not a band I'd listen to very often in my own time, but I wouldn't hesitate to pick up any of their CDs if I found them in a used record store.
I then saw Polyphia last month. As for these guys, I'll be honest and say I'd never even heard of them until my mates once again asked if I'd be interested in seeing them. Of course, I instantly looked at them on Spotify and noticed their total monthly plays was in the millions, so I must have been living under a rock to have not heard about them. The concert spoke for itself in terms of the band's popularity - it was sold out, and everyone was packed in shoulder-to-shoulder. As for the music, ehhhhh... not really my thing. I totally appreciated the band from a technical, musical perspective; but I can't see myself ever listening to them again outside a live performance. I don't dislike instrumental rock, but I'm more of a Joe Satriani-type guy overall. Doesn't mean I didn't still enjoy them up to a point.
Last Wednesday I saw Amon Amarth at the newly-refurbished Civic Hall in Wolverhampton. I hadn't been to the Civic since 2012 when I saw Motorhead. We've been having a lot of muggy heat here in the UK recently, and that night was particularly sticky heat-wise, but the Civic was air-conditioned and surprisingly pleasant, which was a relief. Anyhow, the support was Bleed from Within... I liked their heavier stuff, but the melodic parts to their music clashes a little too much for me. But they were still enjoyable enough to watch live. Amon Amarth were great though... I've actually seen them a handful of times from the outdoor festival perspective, and they never quite lived up to the hype for me. But they're one of those bands that I thought could probably be great in an indoor venue, and I was right. Great live sound, great stage presence, great props... the works.
I would've liked to have seen Metallica at Download a few days ago... I mean, they played two sets, which is nuts! Sadly, with everything else going on in my life right now, it wasn't really an option. Still, I've enjoyed the hell out of 72 Seasons and every time I hear it, it makes me go back to the rest of their discography and think "You know what, they are one of the best fucking metal bands on the planet!" - and I don't give a shit what anybody else thinks, they've got some quality fucking songs from every era.
Cheers,
Adam
15/06/2023
- Updated review: Metallica - Live at Grimey's (2010, live album)
10/06/2023
- New review: Metallica - Six Feet Down Under (2010, EP)
30/05/2023
- New review: Steppenwolf - Steppenwolf 7 (1970)
26/05/2023
- New article: 'Headbanger's Bible 2005 compilation retrospective'
26/04/2023
- New review: Magnum: Lost On the Road to Eternity (2018)
23/04/2023
- New review: Iron Maiden - Senjutsu (2021)
20/04/2023
- New review: Metallica - 72 Seasons (2023)
17/04/2023
- New review: Uriah Heep - Chaos & Colour (2023)
- Mornin'. Just a random chit-chat kind of update, 'cos I feel like it. I've listened to the new Metallica album, 72 Seasons, just once so far. I was having a great time on my friend's stag party in Edinburgh over the weekend, so obviously I didn't have time to hear it. But now I have, so first impressions? It's decent, if a little pedestrian-sounding, and also rather long (again). It's twelve songs and seventy-seven minutes long, so obviously there's a lot to take in here. I like the single 'Lux AEterna', and 'Sleepwalk My Life Away' seems to stand out a lot for me on first listen. I also like Hetfield's vocals a lot this time around. He's got more of a raspy thing going for him, almost reminds me of the '80s stuff. In fact, nothing on this album stood out to me as 'immediately bad'. But like I said, it's really fucking long again like most Metallica albums these days, and I can't remember how many of these tracks go yet, save for the singles that were released across the past few months. I'm hoping to review it soon, after more listens of course.
On the other hand, the latest Uriah Heep album Chaos & Colour is brilliant. If you've been following this band since roughly the mid-'90s, it comes as no surprise that they've put out another corker of a record. They're consistent, and in my opinion one of the best legacy bands that's still consistently touring and recording right now. I reviewed Chaos & Colour today.
The next big release for me is the new Smashing Pumpkins, Atum. It's a supposed 'rock opera in three acts', and the first two parts have been released on Spotify for some months now. According to Amazon, the CD is out on the 5th May. I've avoided hearing anything from it aside from single 'Beguiled', which I enjoyed a fair bit. I must admit, I'm not particularly hopeful for this one. I couldn't get into 2020's Cyr at all, and an album as long as Atum just screams pretentiousness (then again, this is Billy Corgan we're talkin' about...). But hey-ho, I'm trying to keep an open mind.
Cheers,
Adam
08/04/2023
- Updated review: Rainbow - Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (1975)
07/04/2023
- New article: 'Calling out Loudersound and their Megadeth album ranking'
02/03/2023
- New reviews: UFO - Making Contact (1983), Misdemeanor (1985)
25/03/2023
- New reviews: UFO - No Heavy Petting (1976), No Place to Run (1980), Seven Deadly (2012)
20/03/2023
- New reviews: UFO - Strangers in the Night (1979, live album), The Visitor (2009)
19/03/2023
- Updated reviews: UFO - The Wild, the Willing and the Innocent (1981), Mechanix (1982), Sharks (2002)
17/03/2023
- New review: UFO - Lights Out (1977)
- Updated review: UFO - Obession (1978)
16/03/2023
- New reviews: UFO - Phenomenon (1974), Force It (1975)
12/03/2023
- New review: Geezer Butler - Plastic Planet (1995)
10/03/2023
- Updated review: Black Sabbath - Technical Ecstasy (1976)
08/03/2023
- Updated review: Black Sabbath - Never Say Die! (1978)
- Updated review: Deep Purple - Stormbringer (1974)
04/03/2023
- Updated reviews: Pantera - The Great Southern Trendkill (1996), Reinventing the Steel (2000)
01/03/2023
- Updated review: Pantera - Far Beyond Driven (1994)
26/02/2023
- Updated reviews: Pantera - Cowboys from Hell (1990), Vulgar Display of Power (1992)
24/02/2023
- New review: Cro-Mags - 2020 (2020, EP)
12/02/2023
- New review: Cro-Mags - In the Beginning (2020)
04/02/2023
- New review: Bloodclot - Up In Arms (2017)
- New review: Cro-Mags - The Original Cro-Mags Demos 1982/83 (2018)
- Updated review: Cro-Mags - Before the Quarrel (2000)
- Updated reviews: Harley Flanagan - Cro-Mags (2016), Hard-Core (Dr. Know EP) (2018, EP)
31/01/2023
- New review: White Devil - Reincarnation (1995, EP)
- Updated review: Cro-Mags - Revenge (2000)
29/01/2023
- Updated reviews: Cro-Mags - The Age of Quarrel (1986), Best Wishes (1989), Alpha Omega (1992), Near Death Experience (1993)
15/01/2023
- New review: Smashing Pumpkins - Cyr (2020)
- New reviews: Tygers of Pan Tang - Burning in the Shade (1987), Animal Instinct (2008)
30/12/2022
- New article: 'Calling out Loudersound and their Judas Priest album ranking'
20/12/2022
- Updated review: Faith No More - Sol Invictus (2015)
18/12/2022
- Updated review: Faith No More - Album of the Year (1997)
15/12/2022
- Updated reviews: Faith No More - Angel Dust (1992), King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime (1995)
12/12/2022
- Updated review: Faith No More - The Real Thing (1989)
11/12/2022
- Updated reviews: Faith No More - We Care a Lot (1985), Introduce Yourself (1987)
28/11/2022
- There's been no updates here for a few weeks. Why? Because for the last two/three weeks me and my old man have been fitting a new bathroom in my house and it's taking up 90% of my free time. It's a massive job, because the original bathroom was fucking terrible and fitted by idiots about thirty years ago. That means we've had to completely rework all the plumbing. I'm still working my normal job too, so I don't exactly have much of a life at the moment. In fact, I'm not even staying in my own house right now due to the lack of a functioning bathroom. That and the fact my entire home is a total shithole right now; tools, materials and dustsheets in every single room - and there's no point in properly tidying up yet until the bathroom is finished. On the plus side, I'll be very surprised if I haven't moved back in by the end of this week. The bulk of the plumbing and wiring is done, as is the tiling and shower tray - so it's really just a case of actually installing the new stuff now.
Cheers,
Adam
06/11/2022
- New article: 'Calling out The Guardian and their Black Sabbath album ranking'
05/11/2022
02/11/2022
- Updated review: Deep Purple - Slaves and Masters (1990)
26/10/2022
- Hello.
I just saw Deep Purple at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham last night. My ticket was my Christmas 2019 present, originally due for October 2020. But of course, due to all the COVID shite, it was pushed back to Oct 2021 and then Oct 2022, so I'd been eagerly anticipating this concert for almost three fucking years!! And when I say 'eagerly anticipating', I really do mean it. Not just because of all the delays, but because Deep Purple are literally my favourite band alongside Black Sabbath. So I feel obliged to give some sort of concert review on here.
Last time I was at the Utilita Arena was in 2011 when I saw Iron Maiden on The Final Frontier tour (with Airbourne supporting... for some reason), and at that time it was called the National Indoor Arena. Once I got into the venue however, I started to remember the arena itself and the whole layout. The only difference was that last time I was standing, but this time the entire concert was seated - even the standing area was decked out with seating. I'm on the fence with these kinds of concerts. While I've been seated for a couple of gigs (Sabbath in 2007 because me and my friend were 15 and not old enough to be standing unless accompanied by and adult, and Rolling Stones in 2018 because I took my mother and she'd rather sit), I almost always prefer to stand. The only other entirely-seated concert where I had no choice was when I saw Magnum in March this year, and the reason it worked like that was because the Birmingham Symphony Hall has no standing area anyway.
I don't actually know what the reasoning is behind seated concerts like these. Surely they can fit more people in if they stood?! Even weirder was the fact that everybody stayed seated for 95% of the concert. People only stood up for 'Smoke on the Water' and the encore ('Hush' and 'Black Night') - when I saw Magnum, everyone stood up anyway for the whole show the second they came on stage. So, erm, yeah. I'm not exactly used to this kind of arrangement.
Getting back to the stuff that really matters, the support was Blue Oyster Cult - and I couldn't be happier about that. I will admit that I've only become a BOC fan in recent years - I owned Secret Treaties and Agents of Fortune for years, but never actually bothered to dive deep into the rest of their discography until this Deep Purple tour was announced and I got my ticket. Yep, I regret not picking up all their albums many years ago, but sometimes you just end up being a late bloomer to a band. Still, they played a relatively predictable setlist, but when you've only got an hour to perform you're not going to throw in a ton of random deep cuts into the show - and I can't complain because this was my first time seeing 'em. So obviously songs like 'Godzilla', 'Burnin' for You', 'E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)', 'Then Came the Last Days of May' and of course, '(Don't Fear) The Reaper' were played. But they also threw in 'Hot Rails to Hell', 'Harvester of Eyes' and 'Transmaniacon MC' too - all are still classics, just not as obviously popular as the first bunch of songs (at least in my mind anyway). They played a couple from the newest album, The Symbol Remains - 'That Was Me' and 'Train True (Lennie's Song)'. This made me very happy 'cos that was my favourite album of 2020 and I'm still listening to it semi-regularly two years later.
In terms of the guys in the band and their actual playing, well, the legends Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma were understandably kind of static overall, but they're both well into their seventies. Eric seemed very happy to be there though, and Buck is a great guitar player, his age not having an effect on his ability - and vocally, both dudes still sounded fine. The guy in the band who deserves the most credit last night though, is Richie Castellano - this bloke is awesome. At 42, he's a lot younger than Eric or Buck, and his energy really helps the band live as a whole these days. He's a fantastic lead guitar player - as good as Buck, and also a talented keyboard player and singer. He switched instruments throughout, and handled the vocals for 'Hot Rails to Hell'. Kudos to Richie then. He also seems like a really chill guy, as evidenced in a Sea of Tranquility interview last year.
As for Deep Purple, the first thing I have to say is this - and I've said it before - DON FUCKING AIREY!! The man is a wizard when it comes to keyboards!! A true maestro! I was blown away by any and all of his keyboard/Hammond organ solos. Roger Glover and Ian Paice make up one of the finest rhythm sections in any band ever, in my opinion. And the concert just reinforced that. Roger played a bass solo of his own towards the end of the set. As for Ian Gillan - in general he was great. He can't hit the highs like he used to, but he's adapted his capabilities in a way that works for him today. And he was still telling amusing stories between songs like he's always done - he seemed to be really enjoying the night, as did the whole band.
That leaves the new guy, Simon McBride then. In July this year Steve Morse sadly stepped down from the band due to his wife suffering from cancer. In September Simon McBride officially replaced Morse. When I first heard this news I was disappointed because it was only months before I was due to see the band. Steve had been with Purple since 1994 and his playing style is fucking amazing. Not to mention the fact 2013's Now What?! is one of my favourite DP records while 1996's Purpendicular, 2017's Infinite and 2020's Whoosh! are all fantastic albums too. Hell, 1998's Abandon is great too. So it's disappointing that I never got the chance to see the band live with Morse despite the fact he'd served with the band for longer than Ritchie Blackmore.
The good news is that Simon McBride is awesome. Obviously I don't know how his playing style will mesh with the rest of the band when they start writing and recording the new album (sessions taking place in 2023 apparently), but if he works as well in the studio as he does live with the rest of the band, then frankly there's no reason to worry. In terms of his performance last night, he was on fire - he was playing many of his own solos that fit extremely well over the songs and seemed perfectly comfortable on stage with the rest of the guys. Moreover, he wasn't being brushed aside by the rest of the band; the spotlight was on McBride when it was necessary. The whole situation kind of reminded me of when Richie Faulkner joined Judas Priest and stepped on stage for the first time with the band in 2011 for the Epitaph tour. I remember being at the Wolverhampton show and he looked visibly nervous at times, but when you see Priest these days he literally leads the band next to Rob Halford and looks like he's been there forever. Only difference is that McBride didn't seem nervous or intimidated at all.
The setlist was kind of predictable I suppose. 'Highway Star', 'Black Night', 'Smoke on the Water', 'Perfect Strangers', 'Pictures of Home', 'Space Truckin''... these were all performed of course. We got two songs from 2020's Whoosh!, 'No Need to Shout' and 'Nothing at All', both of which sounded amazing live. 'When a Blind Man Cries' and the Jon Lord tribute 'Uncommon Man' were slightly unexpected for me, but the most surprising song was 'Anya'. I mean, the fact they played anything from 1992's largely forgotten record The Battle Rages On... seemed nuts to me. It sounded great live though.
My main complaint in terms of the setlist was the fact 'Hush' was part of the encore. Gillan pretty much refuses to play any Purple number he never sang on (despite Burn being among their best and even albums like Come Taste the Band and the 1969 self-titled being considered classics) and basically deemed this whole concept as pointless - which is truly mind-boggling. Who the fuck doesn't want to hear 'Burn' or 'Mistreated' live?! Yet they do include 'Hush' from the original lineup because... I don't know really. Sure, it was a hit for them in the States back in '68, but even Gillan himself can't quite nail it live and I just don't think it fits in all that well among the rest of the setlist. Musically it was fun though, with Airey and McBride facing off against each other with endless soloing. A minor complaint, but a complaint none-the-less.
On the whole though, I had a fantastic evening. I'd have preferred to have been standing, and I'd liked to have heard something from Deep Purple In Rock ('Black Night' doesn't count), but whatever. Favourite performances for me were 'Nothing at All', 'Perfect Strangers', 'Highway Star', 'Uncommon Man' and, well, I guess I have to include 'Smoke on the Water'!! Bring on the new record.
Cheers,
Adam
15/10/2022
- Updated review: Deep Purple - Now What?! (2013)
11/10/2022
- Updated reviews: Thin Lizzy - Renegade (1981), Thunder and Lightning (1983), Life (1983, live album)
09/10/2022
- Updated reviews: Thin Lizzy - Black Rose: A Rock Legend (1979), Chinatown (1980)
06/10/2022
- Updated review: Thin Lizzy - Bad Reputation (1977)
04/10/2022
- Updated reviews: Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak (1976), Johnny the Fox (1976)
03/10/2022
- Updated reviews: Thin Lizzy - Nightlife (1974), Fighting (1975)
30/09/2022
- Updated review: Thin Lizzy - Vagabonds of the Western World (1973)
29/09/2022
- Updated reviews: Thin Lizzy - Thin Lizzy (1971), Shades of a Blue Orphanage (1972)
19/09/2022
- New review: Tony Martin - Thorns (2022)
18/09/2022
- New review: Megadeth - The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead! (2022)
- Updated reviews: Slayer - Christ Illusion (2006), World Painted Blood (2009), Repentless (2015)
16/09/2022
- Updated review: Slayer - God Hates Us All (2001)
13/09/2022
- Updated reviews: Slayer - Divine Intervention (1994), Diabolus in Musica (1998)
11/09/2022
- Updated review: Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss (1990)
10/09/2022
- Updated reviews: Slayer - Reign in Blood (1986), South of Heaven (1988)
06/09/2022
- Updated reviews: Slayer - Live Undead (1984, live album), Hell Awaits (1985)
05/09/2022
- Updated reviews: Slayer - Show No Mercy (1983), Haunting the Chapel (1984, EP)
01/09/2022
- New reviews: Tony Iommi - Eighth Star (1996, bootleg), The 1996 DEP Sessions (2004), Fused (2005)
28/08/2022
- New review: Def Leppard - Diamond Star Halos (2022)
- Updated review: Megadeth - Dystopia (2016)
27/08/2022
- Updated reviews: Megadeth - Th1rt3en (2011), Super Collider (2013)
26/08/2022
- Updated reviews: Megadeth - United Abominations (2007), Endgame (2009)
22/08/2022
- Updated review: Megadeth - The System Has Failed (2004)
- Howdy. These past few weeks have been extremely busy for me. After weeks of fitting in jobs on my new house (cleaning, painting, DIY etc.), actually moving my stuff in whilst still working my normal day job, I'm now officially moved in and proud to call myself a homeowner. 'Course, the work doesn't stop there, because I'll actually be renovating and completely redecorating this place in three months time, and that's gonna take up most of my free time. Still, I've been able to somewhat relax over the past week or so (finally), and I've set up my new internet meaning I've been able to do plenty of writing these past few days. As I've been doing with many of the other discography pages that I started in 2017, I've now started updating the Megadeth page - and it's going pretty well so far! But jeez, I forgot how janky the Megadeth discography really is... the albums range from utterly outstanding, legendary-status thrash metal to completely worthless, abysmal garbage! I will be resorting my music library pretty soon though. I've decided to ditch my old bookcase which I was using to store my CD's on, a) because I ran out of space and b) because I've moved house I wanted to splash out on something new and have all my music on display in my living room. Yep, I've just spent a ton of cash on new shelving and it's going to be a big job to set them up - but I'm confident that when I've fitted them, they'll look awesome. And I've also bought more than I need to try and future-proof things for a few years at least.
I was at Bloodstock the other week too. Didn't watch a whole lot of bands across the four days, to be honest. The weather was fucking insane - 30-37 degrees Celcius, which is crazy for the UK. Absolutely no shade at all unless you went into one of the tent stages, but when that happened it was just ridiculously humid and swelteringly hot. You couldn't win either way! I must admit, I did still have a good time overall though. And I didn't get too burnt either! Well, apart from my shoulders that is. I caught Testament, Exodus, Discharge, Party Cannon, Mercyful Fate, Ingested, Cattle Decapitation, Venom Inc. and Vio-Lence. I also watched Sleep Token, and I was bored shitless by them, but whatever. I'd have probably watched more bands if the weather wasn't taking it's toll on everyone's ability to actually do anything other than sit in the campsite and drink. Anyhow, I've just detoxed for a week (save for a beer or two), because I probably didn't drink enough water the whole festival and was knocking back alcohol 24/7, as you do at a festival. I felt so horribly dirty by the end of it. Well, I almost always feel nasty after a festival, but this year's heat made it particularly bad.
Cheers,
Adam
21/08/2022
- Updated reviews: Megadeth - Cryptic Writings (1997), Risk (1999), The World Needs a Hero (2001)
20/08/2022
- Updated reviews: Megadeth - Countdown to Extinction (1992), Youthanasia (1994)
19/08/2022
- Updated reviews: Megadeth - Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! (1985), Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? (1986), So Far, So Good... So What! (1988), Rust in Peace (1990)
24/07/2022
- Updated reviews: Metallica - Lulu (2011, collaboration album w/Lou Reed), Beyond Magnetic (2012, EP), Hardwired... to Self-Destruct (2016)
16/07/2022
- Updated reviews: Metallica - Some Kind of Monster (2004), Death Magnetic (2008)
14/07/2022
- Updated review: Metallica - St. Anger (2003)
09/07/2022
- Updated review: Metallica - Garage Inc. (1998), S&M (1999, live album)
06/07/2022
- Updated review: Metallica - Reload (1997)
26/06/2022
- Updated review: Metallica - Load (1996)
24/06/2022
- Updated review: Metallica - Metallica (1991)
19/06/2022
- Updated review: Metallica - ...And Justice for All (1988)
16/06/2022
- Updated review: Metallica - Master of Puppets (1986)
15/06/2022
- Updated reviews: Metallica - Kill 'Em All (1983), Ride the Lightning (1986)
01/06/2022
- Hello. I finished reworking the Annihilator page the other day, which is yet another post I made when I first started this blog and was in dire need of updating. Metal II came out in February, so I've been binging on Annihilator recently, and was reminded why they were one of my favourite bands in the first place. I hadn't been listening to a lot of metal over the past year, but with that release and the fact I bought a ticket to see Anthrax in September, pretty much all I've been listening to over the last month is metal. I think this will be my twelfth time seeing Anthrax now, or something daft. I've seen them more than any other band as they always seem to be playing at whatever festival I go to. I also saw Bloc Party in Birmingham last week. This was an unusual gig for me 'cos I don't normally do indie kind of stuff, but a couple of my friends were going and I did enjoy them to be fair. I'm not convinced I'll actually be buying any of their records anytime soon, but as far as seeing them live goes, I had a good time.
The most important thing going on in my life right now is the fact I've just bought a house and am currently in the process of going through all the legal shit that goes with it. This has been a long time coming - house prices in the UK are generally pretty insane throughout the country, and the cost of living is only going up. I'm pretty chuffed with myself to be honest - buying your first house aged 30 was a hell of a lot easier a few decades ago, but I'd say I know homeowners in my age group than I do people that rent (it's really not uncommon for people to still be renting at older ages these days... it shouldn't be that way). I'm glad I won't be renting anymore. I've worked hard over the past few years, so it's good see the work actually paying off right now. If all goes well I'll be moved in by July, if not August. I doubt I'll be buying much music over the course of the year as I have more work to do working on the house itself, and most of my money is going into a new kitchen and bathroom.
Cheers,
Adam
28/05/2022
- New review: Annihilator - Metal II (2022)
27/05/2022
- Updated reviews: Annihilator - Suicide Society (2015), For the Demented (2017), Ballistic, Sadistic (2020)
25/05/2022
- Updated review: Annihilator - Feast (2013)
21/05/2022
- Updated reviews: Annihilator - Metal (2007), Annihilator (2010)
20/05/2022
- Updated review: Annihilator - Schizo Deluxe (2005)
19/05/2022
- Updated reviews: Annihilator - Waking the Fury (2002), The One (2004, EP), All for You (2004)
18/05/2022
- Updated review: Annihilator - Carnival Diablos (2001)
16/05/2022
- Updated review: Annihilator - Criteria for a Black Widow (1999)
13/05/2022
- Updated reviews: Annihilator - Refresh the Demon (1996), Remains (1997)
09/05/2022
- Updated reviews: Annihilator - Set the World on Fire (1993), King of the Kill (1994)
08/05/2022
- Updated reviews: Annihilator - Alice in Hell (1989), Never, Neverland (1990)
02/05/2022
- New review: Uriah Heep - Sweet Freedom (1973)
28/04/2022
- New reviews: Magnum - The Visitation (2011), Sacred Blood "Divine" Lies (2016)
23/04/2022
- New page: Concert List
- New reviews: Magnum - Princess Alice and the Broken Arrow (2007), Into the Valley of the Moonking (2009)
18/04/2022
- New review: Magnum - Wings of Heaven (1988)
17/04/2022
- New reviews: Magnum - On a Storyteller's Night (1985), Vigilante (1986)
15/04/2022
- New reviews: Magnum - Chase the Dragon (1982), The Eleventh Hour (1983)
14/04/2022
- New review: KK's Priest - Sermons of the Sinner (2021)
10/04/2022
- New reviews: Uriah Heep - Look at Yourself (1971), The Magician's Birthday (1972)
29/03/2022
- Updated review: Black Sabbath - Seventh Star (1986)
19/03/2022
- New review: Blue Oyster Cult - Imaginos (1988)
- New review: Saxon - Carpe Diem (2022)
- Hi. I've not said anything about me for ages on this page, so here's some music and gig-related stuff I've been up to lately. Since I last did one of these updates, I've been to a few concerts. I saw the Michael Schenker Group at the end of October last year at KK Downing's Steel Mill in Wolverhampton, which is probably my favourite local(ish) venue. The gig was packed, and the band were really tight - and I'm not even the biggest MSG fan either. I am a fan of the awesome Assault Attack album with Graham Bonnet on vocals, and I love his work with UFO, but I've never really bothered to listen to the bulk of his MSG work. Still, Michael's guitar work was phenomenal, and he played songs from his UFO days too which was great. Also, Ronnie Romero is a very talented singer - I can see why Ritchie Blackmore snatched him up for the Rainbow revival a few years back. Support was Doro. Not the biggest fan of her music as I find a lot of her stuff to be a bit on the cheesy anthem side of things, but I admire how upbeat and positive she is. She's good at what she does and always puts in the effort to put on a good show, so I still enjoyed the set (last time I saw her was at Bloodstock in 2010). Always thought she was a bit of a milf too when I was a teenager, so there's that. Erm, yeah.
I saw Eagles of Death Metal in November at the 02 Institute in Birmingham a month later. I had a blast. I've seen them a few times at festivals over the years, but never in an actual headlining venue performance, until now. Jesse Hughes is a hell of a frontman in terms of stage presence and charisma - I always got Jagger vibes from him. At one point, he went up to the seating stands above and played up there which was cool. He looked me and my friends directly in the eye at that point (we were below standing a couple rows back from the stage), which made one of my mates very happy, because he is a huge EODM fan. Jesse was even moved to tears of joy at one point because the crowd was chanting his name repeatedly throughout the set. Great show. I got plastered during and after the gig. We headed to the Subside rock bar after and got wankered, nearly blackout drunk there. Luckily I booked a hotel in the city centre that night, but I have barely any memory of getting back. The hangover was real - I can still drink like I used to, but goddamn those hangovers are getting worse!
In December I saw Dvne and Bossk at Mama Roux's in Birmingham. This was a last minute thing for me. One of my other best mates is a hardcore metalhead and is really into his sludgy, dark, proggy kind of metal and asked if I wanted to go, so I did. Honestly, I hadn't heard of either of these bands before, but I enjoyed the gig. I was more impressed by Dvne, who were really atmospheric and heavy, but Bossk were still okay, if forgettable (not sure why they needed three guitarists either). Neither of these bands are the kind of thing I'd listen to very often in my own time, but I like seeing a lot of live music regardless of genre.
Last month I was back in Birmingham again for Hammerfest, which was a two-day indoor event at the 02 Academy. This has gotta be the worst-organised music event I've ever been to. For weeks I was wondering how the tickets even worked. It wasn't clear at all if they were going to send me an email document with my ticket. A day before the event I found a QR entry code in my fucking spam email list! Whatever. I got in fine in the end. The lineup was disappointing though. I've seen Napalm Death a billion times, but they're always great live and I always look forward to seeing them. They pulled out a month before, for whatever reason. I was also really looking forward to seeing Venom Inc. again, but they pulled out just days before the event, presumably due to shitty promotion! Lordi were scheduled to play, but didn't in the end, not that I cared. I hate Lordi. Still, none of these bands were replaced by anyone I'd ever heard of, and I got no money back or anything like that, which was lame. In terms of stuff I actually saw at Hammerfest, Blaze Bayley was by far the highlight for me. He was awesome - he and his band did a set composed entirely of songs from his stint in Iron Maiden (The X Factor and Virtual XI albums). I love X Factor - it's one of my favourite Maiden albums and I don't give a shit that Bruce Dickinson isn't on it. Anyhow, Blaze was great - and what a guy! One of the nicest musicians you will ever see. I met him in 2011 when he supported Saxon, and he hasn't changed one bit. Straight after Hammerfest, I bought his 2021 album War Within Me and have been enjoying the fuck out of it. I did see a lot of other bands of course, some good, some crap. Nothing I'd really heard of before, save for Ashen Crown because I actually know the singer (he used to live in my town). Some of the bands that I did like were Ashen Crown, Wolfbastard (great name) and Pist. Raging Speedhorn were terrible. I swear every fucking festival I go to, these guys are playing. Well, I finally decided to watch 'em, and I thought they were awful. There was also some power metal band that wore armour and had a keytar player - I watched maybe two songs before moving to a different stage, they were that bad.
Just last night I saw Ingested in Birmingham (B'ham is generally where most concerts are for me, unless you couldn't tell), at the Asylum. To be honest, I don't go out of my way to find new death metal these days. I still love all the old stuff (Obituary, Morbid Angel, Suffocation etc.), but I only listen to death metal very occasionally. Still, I get a kick out seeing live death metal. I had fun last night - a couple of the opening acts were more on the deathcore side of things, which is a no-no for me. There was also a few dickheads in the crowd doing the whole 'hardcore dancing' bollocks in the pit. It's been a while since I last saw this bullshit, which effectively involves the moron in question throwing their fists around and karate kicking the air like an absolute cunt, making everyone else move the hell away before they spill everyone's pints. Still, Ingested were good. I did see them at Bloodstock in 2018 - I thought it was 2019 for some reason, but I ended up briefly meeting the vocalist at the merch stand after the show and he insisted it was 2018! Damn, time flies. The vocalist, Jay, was a super nice guy and was taking the time to meet everyone.
So, those are the shows I've been to in the last six months. I'm seeing Magnum in - you guessed it - Birmingham on the 31st March. It's actually an entirely-seated concert, which is a change. I've only really been getting into Magnum properly these past couple of months. I've had On a Storyteller's Night in my collection since I was 18, but I never really dug it because I found the band to be too melodic and mellow for my tastes back then. But then I randomly gave it another listen at the start of the year and absolutely loved it. How tastes mature over time! Anyhow, I looked to see if they were touring a couple of weeks ago, and turns out they're literally playing at the end of this month, so I bought a ticket for the hell of it. I'm also seeing Bloc Party in May, which is different for me. A couple of my friends are attending and asked if I'd be interested, and even though indie rock isn't really my cup of tea, I said yes anyway. I need a reason to get into more indie! Then of course, there's the Deep Purple gig in October, which was supposed to have happened in 2020 originally (!). This is obviously the concert I'm most looking forward to most this year.
In terms of just stuff that's going on in general with me, I got a decent pay-rise this year, which was nice. Mind you, the cost of living just keeps going up at the moment, so we'll see how that works out over time. I'm going to Ireland next month for my 30th birthday too. Never actually been there before, which is odd because I have a little Irish heritage in my family. And I love Guinness, so I'm looking forward to it.
Cheers,
Adam
05/02/2022
- New reviews: Blue Oyster Cult - Cult Classic (1994), Heaven Forbid (1998)
03/02/2022
- Updated review: Suicidal Tendencies - Still Cyco Punk After All These Years (2018)
01/02/2022
- Updated reviews: Suicidal Tendencies - World Gone Mad (2016), Get Your Fight On! (2018, EP)
30/01/2022
- Updated review: Suicidal Tendencies - 13 (2013)
29/01/2022
- Updated reviews: Suicidal Tendencies - Free Your Soul... and Save My Mind (2000), No Mercy Fool!/The Suicidal Family (2010)
23/01/2022
- Updated reviews: Suicidal Tendencies - Six the Hard Way (1998, EP), Freedumb (1999)
20/01/2022
- Updated reviews: Suicidal Tendencies - Still Cyco After All These Years (1993), Suicidal for Life (1994)
15/01/2022
- Updated review: Suicidal Tendencies - The Art of Rebellion (1992)
09/01/2022
- Updated reviews: Suicidal Tendencies - Controlled By Hatred/Feel Like Shit... Deja-Vu (1989), Lights... Camera... Revolution! (1990)
05/01/2022
- Updated review: Suicidal Tendencies - How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today (1988)
04/01/2022
- Updated reviews: Suicidal Tendencies - Suicidal Tendencies (1983), Join the Army (1987)
02/01/2022
- New review: Deep Purple - Turning to Crime (2021)
21/12/2021
- Updated review: Motorhead - Bad Magic (2015)
18/12/2021
- Updated reviews: Motorhead - The World Is Yours (2010), Aftershock (2013)
16/12/2021
- Updated review: Motorhead - Motorizer (2008)
17/11/2021
- Updated review: Motorhead - Kiss of Death (2006)
14/11/2021
- Updated review: Motorhead - Inferno (2004
13/11/2021
- Updated reviews: Motorhead - We Are Motorhead (2000), Hammered (2002)
10/11/2021
- Updated review: Motorhead - Snake Bite Love (1998)
09/11/2021
- Updated review: Motorhead - Overnight Sensation (1996)
06/11/2021
- Updated reviews: Motorhead - March or Die (1992), Bastards (1993), Sacrifice (1995)
25/09/2021
- Updated reviews: Motorhead - Rock 'n' Roll (1987), 1916 (1990)
24/09/2021
- Updated reviews: Motorhead - No Remorse (1984, compilation), Orgasmatron (1986)
21/09/2021
- Updated reviews: Motorhead - Iron Fist (1982), Another Perfect Day (1983)
20/09/2021
- Updated reviews: Motorhead - Bomber (1979), Ace of Spades (1980)
19/09/2021
- Updated reviews: Motorhead - On Parole (1979), Motorhead (1977), Overkill (1979)
13/09/2021
- Updated reviews: Led Zeppelin - Presence (1976), In Through the Out Door (1979), Coda (1982)
09/09/2021
- Updated reviews: Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy (1973), Physical Graffiti (1975)
05/09/2021
- Updated review: Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV (1971)
03/09/2021
- Updated reviews: Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin (1969), Led Zeppelin II (1969), Led Zeppelin III (1970)
25/09/2021
- New reviews: Blue Oyster Cult - The Revölution by Night (1983), Curse of the Hidden Mirror (2001)
19/09/2021
- New review: Blue Oyster Cult - Fire of Unknown Origin (1981)
18/09/2021
- New review: Blue Oyster Cult - Spectres (1977)
13/09/2021
- New review: Blue Oyster Cult - Club Ninja (1985), The Symbol Remains (2020)
12/09/2021
11/09/2021
- New review: Blue Oyster Cult - Mirrors (1979)
08/09/2021
- New review: Blue Oyster Cult - Agents of Fortune (1976)
07/09/2021
- New review: Blue Oyster Cult - Tyranny and Mutation (1973), Secret Treaties (1974)
06/09/2021
- New review: Blue Oyster Cult - Blue Öyster Cult (1972)
19/06/2021
- Updated reviews: Van Halen - Live: Right Here, Right Now (1993, live album), A Different Kind of Truth (2012)
18/06/2021
- Updated review: Van Halen - Best Of - Volume 1 (1996, compilation)
14/06/2021
- Updated review: Van Halen - The Best of Both Worlds (2004, compilation)
13/06/2021
- Updated review: Van Halen - Van Halen III (1998)
11/06/2021
- Updated review: Van Halen - Balance (1995)
04/06/2021
- Updated review: Van Halen - For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991)
31/05/2021
- Updated review: Van Halen - OU812 (1988)
30/05/2021
- Updated reviews: Van Halen - 1984 (1984), 5150 (1986)
29/05/2021
- Updated reviews: Van Halen - Fair Warning (1981), Diver Down (1982)
27/05/2021
- Updated reviews: Van Halen - Van Halen II (1979), Women and Children First (1980)
26/05/2021
- Updated review: Van Halen - Van Halen (1978)
- Well, that was an unexpectedly lengthy period of inactivity. I guess I got a little burned out by March, but I've also been pretty busy these last couple of months. Just life n' stuff. England has been coming out lockdown, and the gyms have reopened, so I've been focussing on training a lot. Fitness has been a large part of my life for several years, so I'm relieved to have the gym back.
Getting back on topic, I've got a cold right now. I'm supposed to be at work, but I feel crappy, so I phoned in sick. Makes sense to return to the blog then, right? To be honest, another part of the reason why I've been inactive for a while is because I've been umming and ahing over which page to go over and rework. I don't really want to start any new pages until I've finished updating the discography pages I wrote in 2017. For whatever reason, I ended up choosing Van Halen.
Cheers,
Adam
17/03/2021
- Updated review: Anthrax - For All Kings (2016)
07/03/2021
- Updated reviews: Anthrax - Worship Music (2011), Anthems (2013, EP)
28/02/2021
- Updated reviews: Anthrax - Volume 8: The Threat Is Real (1998), We've Come for You All (2003)
26/02/2021
- Updated review: Anthrax - Stomp 442 (1995)
25/02/2021
- Updated review: Anthrax - Sound of White Noise (1993)
24/02/2021
- Updated review: Anthrax - Persistence of Time (1990)
23/02/2021
- Updated reviews: Anthrax - Among the Living (1987), State of Euphoria (1988)
17/02/2021
- Updated reviews: Anthrax - Armed and Dangerous (1985, EP), Spreading the Disease (1985)
12/02/2021
- Updated review: Anthrax - Fistful of Metal (1984)
08/02/2021
- New reviews: AC/DC - Bonfire (1997, boxset), Power Up (2020)
- So, the AC/DC page update is done and dusted! Almost two solid weeks of listening to AC/DC, sometimes for several hours a day! I really enjoyed the whole experience, actually. I had fun. In fact, I'd almost forgotten just how good and consistent a band they really are - I ended up increasing some of my ratings for a whole bunch of their albums. And the newest one, Power Up, is great too.
Of course, I've still got plenty of other discography pages to update, though I haven't decided which one I'm gonna do next, but hopefully I'll make up my mind at some point this week. Last year I reworked my Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest pages, which I feel was a solid start. But I want to kick it up a gear and achieve more with this project in 2021. I've still got the Anthrax, Led Zeppelin, Megadeth, Metallica, Motorhead, Slayer and Van Halen pages to rework yet.
This Friday, Black Sabbath's Vol. 4: Super Deluxe Edition boxset is being released. It's a really nice-looking collector's piece and I've got the CD version on order from Amazon, but I won't be getting it on the day of release because the postage added another £6 or so to the overall cost. And I'm a cheapskate, so I went with free postage, meaning I won't get it 'til next week (I'm a patient man). I was tempted to go with the vinyl edition, but it was an extra £50 or something daft, and I just don't want to spend that much (despite how much I like Vol. 4). I'm also bidding on a sealed copy of the 2009 AC/DC boxset, Backtracks, but we all know how moronic some eBay bidders can be. I've been outbid by plenty of idiots in the past who end up paying higher prices than 'Buy it now' listings for the same item. So we'll see what happens there. Backtracks is on my priority list now, but I won't pay more than what I feel it's worth.
Cheers,
Adam
07/02/2021
- Updated review: AC/DC - Stiff Upper Lip (2000), Black Ice (2008), Rock or Bust (2014)
06/02/2021
- Updated review: AC/DC - Ballbreaker (1995)
05/02/2021
- Updated review: AC/DC - The Razors Edge (1990)
04/02/2021
- Updated review: AC/DC - Blow Up Your Video (1988)
01/02/2021
- Updated reviews: AC/DC - '74 Jailbreak (1984, EP), Fly On the Wall (1985)
31/01/2021
- Updated reviews: AC/DC - For Those About to Rock We Salute You (1981), Flick of the Switch (1983)
30/01/2021
- Updated reviews: AC/DC - Highway to Hell (1979), Back in Black (1980)
29/01/2021
- Updated review: AC/DC - Powerage (1978)
28/01/2021
- Updated review: AC/DC - Let There Be Rock (1977)
27/01/2021
- Updated review: AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976)
26/01/2021
- Updated review: AC/DC - High Voltage (1976)
- Hello. I've just started to go through my AC/DC page and update each of the reviews. The first one, High Voltage, is already done. This year I'd ideally like to update several of the old pages that I wrote years ago when I first began this project, and the AC/DC page is one of them. But the other reason is because the other day I got hold of their newest album, Power Up (or is it meant to be spelt out as 'PWR/UP'? I don't know...), which was released a couple of months ago. Normally I'd have picked this up sooner, but with Christmas and other shit going on, it just didn't happen. I also bought a copy of the Smashing Pumpkins' Cyr album, which also came out in November last year.
Cheers,
Adam
22/01/2021
- New review: Montrose - Paper Money (1974)
18/01/2021
- New review: Montrose - Montrose (1973)
- Updated review: Judas Priest - Angel of Retribution (2005)
17/01/2021
- Updated review: Judas Priest - Firepower (2018)
15/01/2021
- New review: Halford - Resurrection (2000)
10/01/2021
- New review: Glenn Tipton - Baptizm of Fire (1997)
09/01/2021
- New review: Halford - Crucible (2002), Halford IV: Made of Metal (2010)
08/01/2021
- New review: Fight - War of Words (1993)
- New review: 2wo - Voyeurs (1998)
29/12/2020
- New review: Neil Young - Weld (1991, live album)
17/12/2020
- Merry Christmas. Well okay, it's not quite Christmas yet, but ahh, it's close enough. Not much new content these last few weeks for a number of reasons. I was on a roll these past few months, but I kinda got burned out and have lacked motivation to do any work on here recently. I haven't actually bought any new albums for a while - Christmas is always an expensive few weeks for me, so music hasn't been much of a priority. Also, I was involved in a car accident last month where a delivery driver decided to change lanes at the last minute and hit my car. Nobody was hurt or anything like that, but I've had shit like this happen to me before, and it's almost always a hassle to get these incidents sorted - endless phone calls to insurance companies and being put on hold for ridiculous lengths of time. Ugh, can't stand it. Thankfully my car has now, finally, been repaired free of charge, but I literally only got it back yesterday.
Lastly, my mental health hasn't been the best lately - we may have come out of lockdown again (well, I use the phrase "come out of lockdown" loosely), but there's still no end in sight to all these restrictions. And frankly, I'm sick of it at this point. I still have zero plans for the future because of all the uncertainty. After that accident, I'm kinda tempted to just get a new car next year (mine is getting kinda old now and the mileage is high... plus that's the third time in three years it's been fixed because of other drivers' stupidity), but at the same time, I might just be thinking that because I've got nothing else to do at the moment and want to blow my cash on something expensive. I actually want to go back to America for a couple of weeks next year, but because of everything that's going on, that still seems unlikely.
So yeah, a bit of a rant there I'm afraid. Some people have got it way worse at the moment, so I shouldn't complain too much. I've got some time off from Christmas Eve up until January 4th (my workplace closes every year around this time), so I'm hoping I'll find some time to work on here in that time off.
Cheers,
Adam
01/12/2020
- New review: Neil Young - Sleeps with Angels (1994)
29/11/2020
- New review: Diamond Head - Diamond Head (2016)
16/11/2020
- New review: Diamond Head - What's in Your Head? (2007)
12/11/2020
- New review: Diamond Head - Death and Progress (1993)
09/11/2020
- New review: Tygers of Pan Tang - Ritual (2019)
- Updated review: Def Leppard - Def Leppard (2015)
05/11/2020
- Updated reviews: Def Leppard - Euphoria (1999), X (2002), Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008)
04/11/2020
- Updated reviews: Def Leppard - Adrenalize (1992), Retro Active (1993), Slang (1996)
03/11/2020
- New review: Def Leppard - Yeah! (2006)
- Updated reviews: Def Leppard - Pyromania (1983), Hysteria (1987)
- How y'all doin'? With all that's happened this year, I've had a lot of time to spend on here. And guess what? We're going into lockdown again tomorrow, for four weeks. And while I am still going to work as normal throughout all this, obviously lockdown means I can't really do much else - so there's no excuse for me to stop bringing new content at the rate I've been going these past few months.
I started a Jimi Hendrix page in September and reviewed the three major Experience studio albums, plus the live album, Band of Gypsys. However, I've still got a couple of posthumous records and a BBC Sessions album to talk about, but somehow I managed to get side-tracked and start re-reviewing some of my old Rainbow pieces and started reviewing Uriah Heep albums and various NWOBHM stuff in my collection too! And now I've started going through my Def Leppard page and re-reviewing everything on that! So Jimi needs revisiting for sure.
Cheers,
Adam
02/11/2020
Updated reviews: Def Leppard - On Through the Night (1980), High 'n' Dry (1981)
01/11/2020
- New review: Alcatrazz - No Parole from Rock 'n' Roll (1983), Born Innocent (2020)
- New review: Raven - Wiped Out (1982)
31/10/2020
- New reviews: Uriah Heep - Different World (1991), Living the Dream (2018)
27/10/2020
- New reviews: Raven - Rock Until You Drop (1981), Nothing Exceeds Like Excess (1988), Everything Louder (1997)
26/10/2020
- New review: Tygers of Pan Tang - Crazy Nights (1981), The Cage (1982)
21/10/2020
- New review: Thin Lizzy - Shades of a Blue Orphanage (1972)
- New review: Vardis - The World's Insane (1981)
- Updated review: Saxon - Power & the Glory (1983)
17/10/2020
- New reviews: Tygers of Pan Tang - Wild Cat (1980), Spellbound (1981), The Best of Tygers of Pan Tang: On the Prowl (1999, compilation)
- New reviews: Uriah Heep - Sea of Light (1995), Wake the Sleeper (2008)
16/10/2020
- New reviews: Uriah Heep - Demons and Wizards (1972), Abominog (1982)
15/10/2020
- New review: Uriah Heep - Salisbury (1971)
14/10/2020
- New review: Uriah Heep - ...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble (1970)
- Updated review: Rainbow - Stranger in Us All (1995)
09/10/2020
- Updated review: Rainbow - Bent Out of Shape (1983)
08/10/2020
- Updated reviews: Rainbow - Difficult to Cure (1981), Straight Between the Eyes (1982)
06/10/2020
- Just heard about Eddie Van Halen's passing. Absolutely gutted. The self-titled debut, Van Halen II, Women and Children First and Fair Warning are some of the finest heavy rock albums ever recorded in my humble opinion, and played a huge role in me being the die hard rock fan I've been (virtually) all my life. 1984 and Diver Down are fucking great too. Just got home from work (I work shifts, so it's 10.30pm) and listened to Fair Warning in my car on the way home, tomorrow morning I'll no doubt be blasting my vinyl copy of Women and Children First. R.I.P. Eddie! Cheers for all the kick-ass music!
On a side note, I've been working through my Jimi Hendrix CD's, as you can see. I've already reviewed the 'main' three albums, but I've got a couple of posthumous albums to review next, plus a live album. Hopefully these'll be up by the end of the week, but no guarantees as I've been re-reviewing a few randoms here and there too.
Cheers,
Adam
05/10/2020
- Updated review: Rainbow - Down to Earth (1979)
03/10/2020
- New review: Jimi Hendrix - Band of Gypsys (1970, live album)
30/09/2020
- New reviews: Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland (1968), Smash Hits (1968, compilation)
28/09/2020
- New reviews: Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced (1967), Axis: Bold as Love (1967)
27/09/2020
- Hey there. I finished re-writing all my Deep Purple studio album reviews a week or so ago, and I plan on eventually updating some of the live CD reviews too. Hell, I've actually got a few more live albums from them that I haven't even added to the page yet. I also plan on updating some live album reviews for other bands that I've re-worked the pages for, such as Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden etc., but generally I don't listen to live albums very often, so again, I don't know when this will happen. I'm thinking of re-writing the Rainbow and Led Zeppelin pages soon. As for brand new pages, possibly Jimi Hendrix will be next, seeing as I own all the major releases in his discography, but I'm not sure yet. I'd like to start a Bob Dylan page, but there's still a couple of his albums I picked up that I haven't got round to listening to yet. Just a brief update just to let people know what exactly I'm working on, or at least thinking of working on.
Cheers,
Adam
26/09/2020
- New review: Deep Purple - Scandinavian Nights (1988, live album)
- Updated review: Deep Purple - Nobody's Perfect (1988, live album)
21/09/2020
- New review: The Band - Stage Fright (1970)
- New review: Ian Gillan - Gillan's Inn (2006)
20/09/2020
- Updated review: Deep Purple - The Book of Taliesyn (1968)
19/09/2020
- Updated review: Deep Purple - Shades of Deep Purple (1968)
18/09/2020
- Updated reviews: Deep Purple - Rapture of the Deep (2005), Infinite (2017)
17/09/2020
- Updated review: Deep Purple - Bananas (2003)
16/09/2020
- Updated reviews: Deep Purple - Purpendicular (1996), Abandon (1998)
13/09/2020
- Updated review: Deep Purple - Deep Purple (1969), The Battle Rages On... (1993)
12/09/2020
- Updated review: Deep Purple - Slaves and Masters (1990)
11/09/2020
- Updated reviews: Deep Purple - Come Taste the Band (1975), The House of Blue Light (1987)
10/09/2020
- Updated reviews: Deep Purple - Burn (1974), Stormbringer (1974)
09/09/2020
- Updated reviews: Deep Purple - Machine Head (1972), Who Do We Think We Are (1973)
- Howdy. So yeah, I've been doing a lot of work on here the past couple of weeks, as you can see. I've been through most of the Iron Maiden studio album discography and re-written my page on them, and I'm now working my way through re-writing the Deep Purple studio album reviews. I started this blog about four years ago (originally with a different web-host), and there's a lot of old stuff I've written on here that I feel needs updating. Can't complain really, just gives me an excuse to really binge on Deep Purple - one of my favourite bands - again!
I've bought a lot of new stuff for my collection over the last few months. I've really been getting into Bob Dylan recently. I've had Blonde on Blonde in my collection for years, but I never really got into it until recently. I picked up his latest, this year's Rough and Rowdy Ways on vinyl to see what all the fuss was about, and I really dug it (though not immediately) to the point where I've been picking up more of his back catalogue such as Highway 61 Revisited, Blood on the Tracks, Time Out of Mind etc. - hopefully I'll start a page on Bob in the near future, but I need more time to really sink my teeth into his discography yet.
This year has been good for this blog. 'Course, it's not been good in terms of anything else! But seriously, while this blog is really just a little hobby side project of mine, it has at least kept me occupied in these unusual times. I've been enjoying my work on here.
Cheers,
Adam
08/09/2020
- Updated reviews: Deep Purple - Deep Purple In Rock (1970), Fireball (1971)
06/09/2020
- New review: Deep Purple - Whoosh! (2020)
- New review: Ian Gillan & Roger Glover - Accidentally on Purpose (1988)
- New review: Ian Gillan - Naked Thunder (1990)
04/09/2020
- Updated reviews: Iron Maiden - Dance of Death (2003), A Matter of Life and Death (2006), The Final Frontier (2010)
31/08/2020
- Updated reviews: Iron Maiden - Virtual XI (1998), Brave New World (2000)
30/08/2020
- Updated reviews: Iron Maiden - No Prayer for the Dying (1990), Fear of the Dark (1992), The X Factor (1995)
29/08/2020
- Updated reviews: Iron Maiden - Powerslave (1984), Somewhere in Time (1986), Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
26/08/2020
- Updated reviews: Iron Maiden - Killers (1981), The Number of the Beast (1982), Piece of Mind (1983)
22/08/2020
- Updated review: Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden (1980)
20/08/2020
- New reviews: The Band - Music from Big Pink (1968), The Band (1969)
- New review: Sublime - 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Sublime (2002, compilation)
16/08/2020
- New reviews: Sublime - 40oz. to Freedom (1992), Robbin' the Hood (1994), Sublime (1996)
09/08/2020
- New review: Neil Young - Mirror Ball (1995)
- So, I've finished re-writing my Judas Priest reviews - that is, I've re-written all the reviews for each studio album at least. I'm sure I'll get around to looking at live albums and other releases at some point too. I must admit that I didn't bother touching my review of 2018's Firepower, as I didn't really feel it needed updating just yet. In terms of upcoming work on here, I've got some more Neil Young albums in my collection now, and I've been binge-listening his discography on Spotify, so don't be surprised if I add some more content to the Neil Young page.
Of course, yesterday I FINALLY received my box set for the new Deep Purple album, Whoosh!. I've been a Deep Purple fan since my early teens, so a new studio album from them is always a big deal for me. I pre-ordered my vinyl box set way back in March, and the album was originally supposed to come out in June, but with COVID-19, it was delayed until August. Anyhow, the box set is very nice stuff for enthusiasts like me. You get the album itself on 2 LP's in a gatefold sleeve, a CD copy of the album with bonus DVD, 3 exclusive 10" LP's (The inFinite Live Recordings Vol. 2), a t-shirt and 3 art prints. More importantly, I sat down yesterday evening and gave the album a spin for the first time on my turntable, and like all the other Gillan/Glover/Paice/Morse/Airey-lineup albums, I enjoyed it a lot. Of course, I plan to listen to it more over coming weeks, so hopefully a review will be up soon. The bad news for me is that I was supposed to see the band live in Birmingham in October, but obviously it's been postponed 'till next year.
Yeah, mainly just wanted to mention the new Deep Purple really. Again, be sure to check out my page on them, as I do have a large collection of their material.
Cheers,
Adam
08/08/2020
- Updated review: Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls (2014)
- Updated review: Judas Priest - Nostradamus (2008)
14/07/2020
- Updated review: Judas Priest - Angel of Retribution (2005)
10/07/2020
- Updated review: Judas Priest - Demolition (2001)
09/07/2020
- The Judas Priest page is currently in draft, meaning you can't actually view it right now! I'm working on re-writing my Demolition review, but I've hit a wall right now and probably won't finish it for another day or so!
02/07/2020
- Updated review: Judas Priest - Jugulator (1997)
01/07/2020
- Updated reviews: Judas Priest - Ram It Down (1988), Painkiller (1990)
28/06/2020
- Updated reviews: Judas Priest - Stained Class (1978), Killing Machine (1978), British Steel (1980), Point of Entry (1981), Screaming for Vengeance (1982), Defenders of the Faith (1984)
27/06/2020
- Updated reviews: Judas Priest - Sad Wings of Destiny (1976), Sin After Sin (1977)
26/06/2020
- Updated review: Judas Priest - Rocka Rolla (1974)
- Hi. Hope you're doing okay during these strange times. I'm lucky to be in a stable job. As it happens, I've been working as normal throughout the lockdown, so at least I'm still mostly occupied with something, although the majority of my hobbies beyond music collecting are obviously on hold. Could be worse, I suppose. I'm planning to re-write most of my Iron Maiden and Judas Priest review pages - some of the older content is in dire need of updating, and I was looking through my collection the other day and couldn't decide on what to review next which hasn't been reviewed already. So those are definite updates, though like I said, I'm not sure what's to come beyond that yet. Maybe I will decide on something out of the blue.
In terms of collecting, I've mainly been focusing on vinyl at the moment, purchases from the past couple of months include Bruce Springsteen - Darkness on the Edge of Town, Steppenwolf - At Your Birthday Party, Neil Young - Freedom, Blackfoot - Marauder, Molly Hatchet - Flirtin' With Disaster and Ted Nugent's debut record. Most of these have been reviewed now. I did also pick up Neil Young's Ragged Glory as well as a Steppenwolf live album (Live in London) on CD. Anyhow, to anyone still reading this, thanks for following this blog. I really appreciate it, even if it is just a fun little project for me. Stay safe.
Cheers,
Adam
20/06/2020
- New review: Living Colour - Vivid (1988)
- New review: Neil Young - Ragged Glory (1990)
19/06/2020
- New review: Neil Young - Freedom (1989)
18/06/2020
- New review: Steppenwolf - At Your Birthday Party (1969)
17/06/2020
- New reviews: Sturgill Simpson - A Sailors Guide to Earth (2016), Sound & Fury (2019)
16/06/2020
- New review: Gillan - Glory Road (1980)
- New review: Ted Nugent - Ted Nugent (1975)
- New review: Steppenwolf - John Kay & Steppenwolf: Live in London (2006)
- Updated review: Ted Nugent - Love Grenade (2007)
15/06/2020
- New reviews: Steppenwolf - Steppenwolf (1968), The Second (1968)
06/06/2020
- New reviews: Blackfoot - Strikes (1979), Marauder (1981)
10/04/2020
- New reviews: Smashing Pumpkins - Monuments to an Elegy (2014), Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol.1 (2018)
27/03/2020
- New review: Annihilator - Ballistic, Sadistic (2020)
- New review: Rebel Meets Rebel - Rebel Meets Rebel (2006)
23/03/2020
- Updated review: Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers (1984)
20/03/2020
- I just wanted to give a brief update, what with the whole Coronavirus thing going on. I haven't done any work on here this month so far, but considering the current situation we are all in, that will probably change. Of course, I was supposed to see Robert Plant this week, but it's predictably been postponed due to the government lockdown on social gatherings. I was also supposed to be going to Download festival in June and Bloodstock in August, and while they haven't been cancelled just yet, I can only hope don't get cancelled. Hell, I can't even go to the pub for a pint, or the gym for a workout as of today. I don't know what's happening with my job either, i.e. are we shutting down for a few weeks (I work in electronic manufacturing). It is what it is. We're all in this together - so don't be a cunt and selfishly panic buy everything in the supermarket.
On the brighter side, I've been enjoying my new record player however. I've picked up a handful of LP's in the past few weeks, naturally. They include Black Sabbath - Master or Reality and Born Again, Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced, The Band's self-titled, Gillan - Glory Road and Sturgill Simpson - Sound & Fury. But yeah, I just wanted to say that despite the current hard times, I will at least have more reason do some more work on here due to being stuck at home. Stay safe.
Cheers,
Adam
01/03/2020
- I've finished re-writing the Black Sabbath discography reviews, finally. Well, I've finished all the studio album reviews, and I will get around to updating the live albums and compilations etc., at some point. I'm writing this mainly to say that I've bought a new turntable for my LP's (or lack thereof). I did have a turntable some years ago, it was originally my Dad's, but it's disappeared since I moved house a couple of years ago - and the stylus was broken on it too, from what I remember. But anyway, I bought a ION Audio Max turntable from Amazon and it should be with me by Tuesday. This does not mean I'm going to stop collecting CD's, not at all. I just fancied treating myself, and it'd be nice to be able to play my LP's again, as well as purchase all my favourite albums on vinyl too.
I also went to see Napalm Death in Birmingham a week ago, with Misery Index and Eyehategod supporting. I've seen Napalm Death a bunch of times over the years (last time was 2017), and it was fun to see them again. Well, I took a bad hit around my upper arm/shoulder thanks to the pit, to the point where I think I've bruised the bone. Still hurts a little now when I move it in certain ways, which is annoying, but it happens. In other news, I'm also seeing Robert Plant in my home town of all places, in a couple of weeks time. He's performing with a band called Saving Grace and a singer called Suzi Dian; I don't exactly know what to expect - I just want to be able to say that I've seen Robert Plant live, so I'm going. Plus, it's cool that he's playing the Theatre where I live.
Cheers,
Adam
25/02/2020
- Updated review: Black Sabbath - Mob Rules (1981)
21/02/2020
- Updated review: Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell (1980)
09/02/2020
- Updated reviews: Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973), Sabotage (1975), Technical Ecstasy (1976)
02/02/2020
- Updated reviews: Black Sabbath - Master of Reality (1971), Vol. 4 (1972)
29/01/2020
- Updated reviews: Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1970)
21/01/2020
- Updated review: Black Sabbath - Dehumanzier (1992)
16/01/2020
- Updated review: Black Sabbath - The Eternal Idol (1987)
12/01/2020
- Updated review: Black Sabbath - Forbidden (1995)
- Just a quick few words, as you can see I'm currently re-writing many Black Sabbath reviews. I've been on a binge with them and recently purchased the 2010/2011 Deluxe Editions of both Born Again and The Eternal Idol. This is something I've been meaning to do for a long time because I've always loved both albums and have wanted to hear the bonus material from both for years. Granted, my 2004 reissue of Born Again is still in good condition, but my old and scratched 80's pressing of Eternal Idol has been in dire need of updating (not that I'm ever going to get rid of it). I'm going to go through the Ozzy and Dio stuff too, already done Never Say Die!, I'm just not sure which ones I'm going to be re-writing next... depends on how I feel.
Cheers,
Adam
11/01/2020
- Updated review: Black Sabbath - Cross Purposes (1994)
07/01/2020
- Updated review: Black Sabbath - Never Say Die! (1978)
05/01/2020
- Updated review: Black Sabbath - Tyr (1990)
01/01/2020
- New reviews: Heaven & Hell - The Devil You Know (2009), Neon Nights: Live at Wacken (2010)
23/12/2019
- Updated reviews: Black Sabbath - Born Again (1983), Headless Cross (1989)
20/12/2019
- Updated review: Black Sabbath - Seventh Star (1986)
15/12/2019
- New review: Hank 3 - A Fiendish Threat (2013)
13/12/2019
- Updated reviews: Deep Purple - Come Taste the Band (1975), Slaves and Masters (1990), Now What?! (2013)
- Hello there. Currently coping with a cold, annoying but at least I'm getting the illness out of the way before Christmas. The last couple of months have been great for me in terms of music. I saw Annihilator in Wolverhampton and Cattle Decapitation in Birmingham both in October. Both were great; Cattle Decapitation was just carnage, as you'd expect, while I sang along to every song in the Annihilator set (save for 'Psycho Ward', which is coming out on the new album in January). Annihilator are a very special band for me personally, I have all their major and most of their minor releases in my collection and the setlist featured many underrated classics like 'Ultraparanoia', 'Tricks and Traps' and 'Burns Like a Buzzsaw Blade'. I couldn't have been happier.
I managed to catch Agnostic Front too in Birmingham last month. They were great, lots of old-school hardcore moshing to be done. It only got better for me when I got to the venue too, because I was unaware of who was opening for them and it ended up being The Take, a new band featuring Scott Roberts of Biohazard fame and former AF and Madball drummer Will Shepler. I've been following these guys since their album came out earlier this year, and bought a digital copy. I also went to see Uriah Heep and Diamond Head last week, and that was great too. Diamond Head have been a band I've been listening to since my teens, and I've had Uriah Heep's Abominog in my collection for years, but never really checked out of the rest of their stuff until recently. Either way, both bands were awesome, and in the past couple of weeks I got Uriah Heep's ...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble (1970), Salisbury (1971), Demons and Wizards (1972), Sea of Light (1995) and Wake the Sleeper (2008) in preparation for the gig. Last week I also managed to get a ticket for Deep Purple next October. It's kind of embarrassing that Deep Purple have been one of my favourite bands since I was about 13 and I still haven't seen them live! Well, that's about to finally change.
Cheers,
Adam
09/12/2019
- New reviews: UFO - Obession (1978), The Wild, the Willing and the Innocent (1981), Mechanix (1982), Sharks (2002)
08/12/2019
- New review: Hank 3 - 3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin' (2011)
07/12/2019
- New review: Hank 3 - Ghost to a Ghost/Gutter Town (2011)
- Updated review: Hank 3 - Attention Deficit Domination (2011)
06/12/2019
- New review: Hank 3 - Rebel Within (2010)
04/12/2019
- New review: Hank 3 - Straight to Hell (2006)
- New review: Hank 3 - Lovesick, Broke & Driftin' (2002)
21/11/2019
- Updated review: Hank 3 - Risin' Outlaw (1999)
07/10/2019
- New review: Fear Factory - Concrete (2002)
- New review: Smashing Pumpkins - Oceania (2012)
- New review: Hank 3 - Brothers of the 4x4 (2013)
- New review: Smashing Pumpkins - Zeitgeist (2007)
- New reviews: Agnostic Front - Another Voice (2004), Warriors (2007)
- New review: Annihilator - Ten Years in Hell (DVD, 2006)
- Updated reviews: Annihilator - Live at Masters of Rock (2009), Annihilator (2010)
- I've decided to start this updates page because I haven't done much on here throughout 2019 - and if anyone actually follows this Blog, it will at least inform people about my inactivity. My life's been full of ups and downs lately. My mental health has been all over the place. I'm currently in a sort of 'purgatory' state - I have had the same stable job that pays fairly well for a number of years, but I'm at a point where I want to move on. The problem is, I have zero idea where I actually want to go with my working life right now. All I know is that I want to do something completely different with my life. I feel kind of lost in that regard... so yeah.
On the plus side, I have done a bunch of cool things this year. In February I went to Hamburg for a stag party, and spent those few days very drunk mostly. I absolutely loved Hamburg, and will definitely head back there some day. I also went to France in June. I camped in Normandy for a few days to visit all the D-Day sites, beaches, museums, landmarks and memorials for the 75th Anniversary. This is something I've always wanted to do and there was still plenty of things left to see! I then drove down south to the Sarlat area, spent the time sitting in bars and drinking Leffe beer, eating crepes, exploring and canoeing on the Dordogne river in a heatwave that meant the temperature was around 40 degrees Celsius most days. A bit too hot really, but I can't complain too much because I still enjoyed myself. I'm also heading to Budapest in December, so that's cool as well.
Music-wise I've been to a couple of festivals. I went to Download festival in Donnington in June for the first time since 2015. The weather was absolutely atrocious, just Google it. Thankfully the music and lineup was another story. I saw Anthrax (for about the 10th time), Smashing Pumpkins, Power Trip, Tool, Def Leppard (finally), At the Gates, Carcass, Eagles of Death Metal, Royal Republic, Zebrahead, Clutch, Whitesnake, Amon Amarth, Behemoth, Stone Temple Pilots, Dinosaur Pile-Up, Tesla, Blackberry Smoke, Those Damn Crows, Kvelertak, Opeth and Slayer for their final UK show (or so they claim). The bands I enjoyed most were Anthrax (naturally), At the Gates and Eagles of Death Metal. Despite the weather I still had a great time.
I also went to Bloodstock Open Air in August, which is a festival I've been going to every year since 2010. In all honesty, this years lineup was a bit of a let down for me personally. I wasn't interested in any of the main stage headliners (Scorpions, Parkway Drive and Sabaton) and I almost didn't go. I did end up watching Sabaton of the 3 headliners, but wasn't very impressed. They were okay, but I didn't think they were headlining material. Swallow the Sun bored me and I didn't like Soilwork either. However, Aborted were incredible, and I also really enjoyed watching a German thrash band called Dust Bolt, who I'd never heard of. I also saw Anthrax (yet again, but their set was hindered by strong winds), Tesseract, Soulfly, Death Angel, Xentrix, The Wildhearts (last time I saw them was 10 years ago), Cancer Bats, Grand Magus, BongCauldron and Witch Tripper. All these bands were pretty good. The weather wasn't brilliant aside from Thursday, though nowhere near as bad as Download. Luckily I still ended up enjoying myself regardless of what I thought of the lineup; I've always found Bloodstock to have an amazing atmosphere and me and my two buddies that go always meet tons of cool people in the campsite, so that helps. Also picked up a few CD's while I was there.
I saw Orange Goblin in Wolverhampton in February, and that was fun. I'm seeing Annihilator in October at the same venue, and that's a pretty big deal for me because they've been one of my favourite bands since I was 14 or 15 (I'm now 27). So I'm looking forward to that. I'm also looking forward to seeing Agnostic Front in Birmingham in November - I've never seen these guys before, and I've wanted to for years. I may also be going to see Voivod/GWAR in December as well as Uriah Heep, but it depends on what my buddies are doing. We'll see.
In regards to this site. I'm currently working on the Smashing Pumpkins discography, and hopefully I'll be motivated enough to start regularly working on here once again.
Cheers,
Adam
