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ROCK AND ROLL! => All Them Other Guys => Topic started by: Zzzptm on November 30, 2023, 02:08:47 PM
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Just got an email about Sky Valley Mistress having a new album underway. :love: Expecting it in early 2024. :yes:
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Yup! Got an email from them as well! Looking forward to it! Should be a good one!
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At the moment the only album I'm aware of coming out next year is
New Model Army - Unbroken
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And as we typed those things, Rosetta Stone just dropped 3 albums on digital in 2023 and vinyl/CD release in early 2024. If you like goth-punk a la The Sisters of Mercy, this band is very much in that vein.
EDIT: Thought it was strange to not have liner notes on new releases and for all the tracks to be up... and that's because 2 of the 3 are already available digitally on their anthology. These are back-catalog vinyl releases, as the anthology ain't on vinyl. The third disk is their covers of other tracks. Disappointment that they're not 2023 new, but OK with them being new to me. I'll save a few bucks, though, and pick up the anthology.
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It appears that Bruce Dickinson has a new solo album coming out in March next year, it's called The Mandrake Project.
The first song released is Afterglow of Ragnarok...
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It's a pretty good song I'd say. Nothing that blows my mind or anything but it's a good tune.
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Talking about upcoming albums
Death Angel (have said they've been working on a new album for a 2024 release)
Judas Priest - Invincible Shield
Savatage (they've been writing but Jon recently had a nasty fall and broke one of his vertebra and it's a long recovery so it's uncertain but possible)
Anthrax (Joey is recording his vocals so this album is on it's way for sure)
Zakk Sabbath - Forever Doom Doomed Forever
Alice Cooper (He has said that the follow up to Road is already recorded and finished so that should come out next year)
Blaze Bayley (he was working on a new album already before his heart attack and since he has very succesfully returned back on stage he will be determined to get an album out next year for sure)
Exodus (Gary and Zetro both have said they've got ideas and have been working on songs but next year of 25 is a still a question mark)
Solitude Aeturnus (has been teasing for something big for next year, they already have a reunion show planned so an album might also be in the works which would be rather epic!)
Tim "Ripper" Owens solo album (Tim has told me that he's been working on material but depending how busy the year will be with KK it's hard to know if he'll have enough time to put it together)
Those came on top of my head...
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Alice Cooper (He has said that the follow up to Road is already recorded and finished so that should come out next year)
Exodus (Gary and Zetro both have said they've got ideas and have been working on songs but next year of 25 is a still a question mark)
I'm expecting Alice Cooper will release their already recorded studio album in 2024; hopefully Exodus can get their next studio album released next year as well.
Ted
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Black Sky Giant dropped a surprise on New Year's Day, 2024:
https://blackskygiant.bandcamp.com/album/the-red-chariot
(https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a0598856006_16.jpg)
I let it play as I did other stuff. It's definitely a more ambient album than their other releases. Missing, though, were gut-crunching rockers that make me go :yes: and :rockon: and :headbanger: . It's name your own price, so I might do that, but it's a disappointment to not have some strong, heavy rock in a Black Sky Giant release.
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This guys lists a few albums (possibly) coming out this year:
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Saxon back to their old tricks, singing about early-high medieval conflicts. :yes:
Other two tracks I've heard sound strong so far, I'll give the others a spin before committing, but this one looks like it deserves at least a moderate buy signal.
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5/5 so far on that Saxon album. And with titles like "Kubla Khan And The Merchant Of Venice", you'd think this was some kinda Iron Maiden album. It certainly hearkens back to that NWOBHM spirit of the early-mid 80s, and the song lengths are tight on this release. Longest track is 5:33. It's 10 tracks, total, 42 mins running length, and that includes a 1:24 intro, so more like 9 actual tracks hitting just over 40 minutes running time. But I do not find myself checking my watch during the tunes to see how much more they have before I can move on.
Just finished listening to "Kubla Khan And The Merchant Of Venice" as a matter of fact, and it was a great tune. It had the right balance between history lesson and galloping chorus for a great history-rock track.
On "Madame Guillotine" right now and it's a bit slow for my liking, but has a nice lyric in there about "please don't lose your head!"
"Fire and Steel", however is as fast as I like it and YEAH! DUDE! :yes:
All the issues Biff Byford was having on the previous album of covers are GONE here on this album. He sounds great in these tracks, and I'm glad for that. The band as a whole is running well, it's 6/7 so far with Madame Guillotine being the only one that I wasn't stoked about. It's still OK, just not stoking things. On to the next track...
"Supercharger"... GREAT start to it... :abbath: :death: :beerbang: makes for a noice road trip tune.
Playing "Pirates of the Airwaves" as my last track from my play-before-I-pay exercise, as I thought it would be the final track for the album. Supercharger is actually the last one, but, well, if there's no playlist on YT, I play 'em as I take 'em. As it is, this is a fun song about pirate radio stations and has a good midtempo feel to it. It belongs in the middle of an album, and it's an alright tune.
8/9 were toe-tappin' hits for me and the 9th will be fine with the others playing around it. I'm putting out a strong buy signal for Saxon's Hell, Fire and Damnation for some good times heavy metal done right.
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The intro track is spoken-word by Brian Blessed. Buy signal upgraded to OH HELL YES!!! THAT is the way to start a metal album! Oooooh yeaaaaaaaaaaaah! and then the title track kicks off and it's all hell for leather!
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Blue Oyster Cult will have an AI-remixed album of older material coming out. Just heard the pre-release track and it's a snoozer. Shame.
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BCC V is due for release June 14th
(Psst, Don't tell Charger!)
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Pilots of Baalbek, a hard rock outfit from Australia that I follow, will have a new album on 11 March. We can tell Charger about that one. :D
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The Pilots of Baalbek album is a fun "name your price" offering that delivers some good hard rock. Call it pub rock, action rock, whatever, it's a nice set of background tunes to rock out with as you do stuff and things with work.
https://pilotsofbaalbek.bandcamp.com/album/by-the-seat-of-our-pants
(https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a4072020268_16.jpg)
It is not my top album of the year by any measure, but it's better than a lot of other stuff coming out. Definitely in the middle to high-middle of the pack for this year.
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https://travelermetal.bandcamp.com/album/prequel-to-madness-2
Thinking of buying this one. The vocals are good, but not inspiring. It's one of those top-of-the-middle-of-the-pack albums I like to listen to a few times and then move on, but for CAN $12, I need to be a little more sure of things before I commit to tossing my cash their way. The guitar player is winning me over, though, and I think it's worth playing online before committing to purchase.
*Strong* NWOBHM flavor in this record, no question about that. Somewhere in between Judas Priest and Iron Maiden in terms of speedy double-bass drum work and running guitars.
(https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a1655885156_16.jpg)
EDIT: The vocals really started to fall off in quality when they did a slower song. I'm out.
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BLAZE BAYLEY - CIRCLE OF STONE
Took me a while to get this due to customs issues but here it is and my god Blaze has done it again! One hell of an album!!!
There's so much character in Blaze's vocals here! It's crazy to think he's 60 now and his voice just keeps getting more and more powerful.
After first listen I don't think this can quite challenge Hell Fire And Damnation for the best album of the year (so far) but it's pretty damn close!
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https://buffalobudbuster.bandcamp.com/album/el-diablo-locomotor
(https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a1970425216_16.jpg)
This one for CAN $6, and a great buy at that. Great groove metal, like Pantera meets Motorhead. Vocals very growly, I like that style. Slamming, keep-it-simple riffage, really clever lyrics add to the fun. The music sounds EXACTLY like the cover indicated it would. Beef jerky for the ears. I'm buying it.
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BLAZE BAYLEY - CIRCLE OF STONE
Took me a while to get this due to customs issues but here it is and my god Blaze has done it again! One hell of an album!!!
There's so much character in Blaze's vocals here! It's crazy to think he's 60 now and his voice just keeps getting more and more powerful.
After first listen I don't think this can quite challenge Hell Fire And Damnation for the best album of the year (so far) but it's pretty damn close!
I will check this out after I'm done with Buffalo Bud Buster. :)
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Really enjoying the Blaze Bayley album so far... it pairs very nicely with last year's Uriah Heep release with the progressive elements in the tracks. Got an awesomeness point for Charger for this one!
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I agree this is the most progressive album Blaze has done...there were some prog elements already present on the Infinite Entanglement trilogy but this takes it further...not over doing it though.
Glad you're enjoying it too!
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Just finished with a listen, it has a very lovely closing track. It's going to be in the top area of my rankings this year, pretty sure about that. :smug: Good, clean, metal with progressive influences. Again, as you mentioned, HF&D it isn't, but it's certainly an album that stands proudly on its own foundations, really good album.
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Just saw this...
(https://f4.bcbits.com/img/0035393420_100.png)
Drive By Wire is a band I'd been wishing had more albums out there, looking forward to this. The advance track with this announcement is heavy, laid-back, and trippy. Vocalist is as on-point as ever, expecting much from this release. :yes:
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https://drivebywire.bandcamp.com/album/time-horizon
(https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a3302296356_16.jpg)
Drive By Wire album just dropped and it's everything I expected it would be. If you like Sky Valley Mistress, Drive By Wire is definitely worth checking out. DBW goes more for grooving, but the vocalist is great for what they do.
https://highdesertqueen.bandcamp.com/album/palm-reader
(https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a0295635042_16.jpg)
I also bought High Desert Queen's latest release. I didn't go for their earlier stuff, but this one has a strong maturity to it and I didn't get one bit tired or bored with it in two full play-throughs before deciding that if I liked it so much, I should buy it.
Still waiting for that SVM album that was supposed to be "early 2024"... :-\
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My list of 2024 albums on my "They're good" list is:
Saxon - Hell Fire & Damnation
Blaze Bayley - Circle of Stone
Buffalo Bud Buster - El Diablo Locomotor
Drive By Wire - Time Horizon
High Desert Queen - Palm Reader
That's a rate of one per month, so far. Be nice if 7 more goodies dropped through the rest of the year.
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Looking over the Wiki page of 2024 releases thus far, I am reminded that my wife got Beyonce's Cowboy Carter and really enjoyed it. I liked quite a lot from it, as well. Not all, but a lot.
Anyway, looks like I'll also need to check out the latest from Judas Priest, Hawkwind, The Black Crowes, Ian Hunter and Lenny Kravitz. Hawkwind and Black Crowes have their albums up on Bandcamp, so I can likely spin them there first, then hunt down the other three on YouTube for a try before I buy.
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Tried out The Black Crowes and liked it a lot.
https://tbchappinessbastards.bandcamp.com/album/happiness-bastards
(https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a2849938494_16.jpg)
If you liked Hackney Diamonds, you'll enjoy this release. It's got a good mix of tempos and vocals are strong. Guitar work reminiscent of Stones, AC/DC, and Tom Petty as the album evolves. After I finish listening to the radio, I'll take a swing at one of the other albums. Might try one I think I won't like so it'll be over quick and I can pan it and move on to the next one. :smug:
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Ian Hunter's Defiance Part 2: Fiction has a pair of rockers, "That Ain't Rock and Roll" and "Everybody's Crazy but Me" that do a fine job. But the collection of songs, although very well written, is a bit too ballad-y for my tastes to take in large helpings, which is how they're served up here. It's not like I only liked 2 songs. It's that I rocked out to 2 of them and really enjoyed several others. But it's overall just not quite right for me, even though I have great respect for the man and the music he's made.
EDIT: Checked out the Lenny Kravitz and it's just too digital for my taste. Or something like that. I can't get into it with those 80s pop-sounding drums on top of perfectly good funk or house tracks. Oh well...
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Speaking of 80s drums... the first track of the Judas Priest album sounds like they got the drum line for Tears for Fears' "Shout." Guitars soon arrive to change the vibe... :)
My question is if I'm listening to anything substantially different from Turbo. There's supposed to be more prog stuff on the songs, where they don't just go verse chorus verse chorus bridge solo chorus outro.
Speaking of the bridge, "Panic Attack" has a definite reference to Rush's "Tom Sawyer" in that part just before the solos start.
I'm ready to get excited, but they're not really doing anything with that willingness on my part, not at all like what Saxon bloody went and done.
"The Serpent and the King" is a fast rocker, but... it just sounds so... *same*... I had to skip ahead and didn't get anything different later in the song. Moved to the title track and yeah, that's a fast rocker... but it's not doing it for me. Hang on, I need to check to see if I'm reacting properly to good metal... yeah, I just rocked out to a few mins of Saxon's latest. OK, so now this song is working better for me. Guess I had to prime the pump or something like that.
Nope, this goes on too long... I'm getting ironmaidenitis in my brain as it just. goes. on. and. on. Pass. Also pass on the next song.
"Gates of Hell" does the job, YEAH! :yes: But that was after 4 songs that just missed the mark for me. I won't take away from anyone that likes the songs I didn't, but I also won't fault anyone else finding this album lacking somewhat. This is the 14-track edition, so I have 9 more songs to play through.
I skipped over the 6th song... but number 7, YEAH! :yes: "As God as My Witness" has a great riffing start to it and is holding my attention. But 2/7 is pretty poor hit rate, no way would I want to pay for the other 5 songs just to get these 2.
"Trial by Fire" isn't too bad... I'm letting it play as I do some server troubleshooting, even though right now I'd be happier with Saxon. :D It has a little extra part in the middle that I'd barely call "prog". But I guess that's what's prog for Priest. Now I want to listen to the latest Uriah Heep for some proper prog-metal that blew me away from start to finish.
I really shouldn't be thinking about other albums I'd rather be listening to if the album I'm playing is decent...
"Sons of Thunder" is a good rocker, and at under 3 minutes, has a good chance I'll listen to the whole of it. "Vicious Circle" is another good one, at 3:01.
And we done here. 5/14, I'd buy it before I put down money for Lenny Kravitz, but I'd only keep those 5 songs, toss the rest.
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And I'm just not getting into the new Hawkwind, it's a bust. :(
But the Black Crowes one, yeah... that's the winner of those "others" that I found. Getting it now and adding it to my playlist with Drive By Wire and High Desert Queen.
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^^^
Their "Stories from Time and Space" is one of their weaker albums. Such a let down after last years excellent "The Future Never Waits".
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I had some high expectations for Hawkwind's album. :(
Lenny Kravitz I expected somewhat better from.
Ian Hunter was about what where I thought he'd be, and it's a great album for someone else.
After the blandness of the preview tracks, Judas Priest was where I figured they'd be.
The Black Crowes was a quite pleasant surprise.
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I haven't gotten the new Priest album yet...which is odd as I've usually gotten them on the day they've come out. Honestly the songs that I have heard haven't impressed me much and that's why it's been on the back burner.
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I haven't gotten the new Priest album yet...which is odd as I've usually gotten them on the day they've come out. Honestly the songs that I have heard haven't impressed me much and that's why it's been on the back burner.
Yeah, they really didn't jump out and grab me, except for the 5 I mentioned. When I'm checking my watch and seeing how much time is left on the track, it's not a good thing at all.
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Just got excited when Sky Valley Mistress announced a t-shirt pre-order, so maybe that album drops at the end of the month. Oooh, I'll be happy if and when, if and when...
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Yeah saw that myself...getting excited!
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Yeah saw that myself...getting excited!
Got a follow-up email that explained why the t-shirt and not the album that mentioned it's just two of them right now. Which explains this video:
This is from 4 months ago and on a different YT channel from the one they had before. So stuff be happening but they are determined to get. shit. done. I love it.
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New album from Fu Manchu, hoping it sees the band getting back to their early 2000s form, as the last few albums have disappointed me at not being at the level of California Crossing or King of the Road.
https://fumanchuband.bandcamp.com/album/the-return-of-tomorrow
The opening track, "Dehumanize" is getting me where I like getting gotten. It's heavy, chunky, fuzzy, churns along at mid-tempo. The false ending is a nice touch. :) 1 song good, 12 to go.
"Loch Ness Wrecking Machine" - OK, the title is already a winner. :) Keeps in the mid-tempo groove with a seventies swagger.
"Hands of the Zodiac" - Is the whole album going to be mid-tempo? I mean, it's working and all, but I'm ready for a fast song. That being said, this one has a NOICE doom groove in it. Very fun solo at the end and I think this is 3 in a row for me. Definitely liking this better than the Judas Priest album.
"Haze the Hides" - slower tempo for this one and lots more doom on it. Totally getting into it, forgot completely that I was asking for a fast song with this offering.
"Roads of the Lowly" - this one kicks ass. 5 good ones in a row and I'm thinking now of making a buy recommendation. Again, not a fast one, but it's a real rocker with a great doomy groove.
So far, the first third is leaning on the doom side, like the band played Sabotage, SBS, Vol. 4 and Master of Reality over and over again and then went into the studio. This is some strong stuff and I'm glad to be playing these tracks.
HOT DAMN A FAST ROCKER!!!
"(Time Is) Pulling You Under" :headbanger: :yes: :rockon: YEAH! That's what I'm talkin' about! I'm getting my money's worth with just the first 6 songs on this album, yessir!
"Destroyin' Light" - I have a rule that a rock song with an apostrophe in place of a final g is a sign of fun times ahead. This one follows that rule. Very Sabbath-y and I'm lovin' it.
"Lifetime Waiting" - You know, I think they were also spinning that Dehumanizer album a lot. Yeah, this one's a slow burn, really liking it. The guitar solo is practically a love letter to Tony Iommi.
"Solar Baptized" - Slow, doomy, and cold-blooded. Guitars like Diamond Head's Brian Tatler. Noice. My head is involuntarily moving to the beat, like it does with any really good song. Man, this one's a trip. So we got 9 for 9 so far on this album.
"What I Need" - This one's OK. Not bad, but it's not grabbing me like the other 9 before it did. But it hits a quiet little prog part in the middle that tells me it'll likely grow on me over time. I'm cool with that.
"The Return of Tomorrow" - Got that Diamond Head feel back again and some of that prog from the track before. I'm liking the colors and flavors on the album for sure.
"Liquefy" - ... and then there's a bit of a ZZ Top vibe all of a sudden on this one before it goes full metal. Playful and classy.
"High Tide" - Last track ends like "Planet Caravan", very chill jamming, even got the same bass tone on this track.
(https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a2954480573_10.jpg)
Don't know if it'll be in the top five for me this year, but I think it'll be somewhere 6-10 overall. Strong album, well worth a listen to see if it's something you'd want to buy.
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Here's an album that jumped right up there with Blaze and Saxon...
THE CRYPT
Project led by Candlemass / Avatarium mastermind Leif Edling and Marcus Jidell.
Doom metal with a light 70s twist and stellar vocals.
This band kind of came out of nowhere although their history goes back to 2021 when they released their first single and a song to an Online Casino game House Of Doom 2 The Crypt.
I'm really digging this stuff!
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That was cool, especially the (no surprise here) fast song. :)
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Some 2024 releases from Savage Magic Records...
First, the dud: https://savagemagicrecords.bandcamp.com/album/motell-scandinavia
Sounds way too theatrical for my tastes, which is a shame as I wanted to like a plucky band of Finnish musicians. Oh well...
Second, the very fun (if also very short): https://savagemagicrecords.bandcamp.com/album/go-ape
(https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a0948387917_16.jpg)
That's right THE EGYPTIAN GAY LOVERS. Very thrashy, raucous, uninhibited. 7 short tracks, but it's still technically an album, right? Can't wait to be driving around and someone asks, "who's that on the stereo" and I say, "Oh, it's The Egyptian Gay Lovers!" 100% fun and furious thrashin' rock and roll.
Finally, the one I'm listening to and will likely also buy: https://savagemagicrecords.bandcamp.com/album/20
(https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a0021446707_16.jpg)
Late-80s-flavoured metal and not in a hairspray way. It's a traditional metal album with varied tempos and volume levels, so lots to choose from here. I'm liking the slow songs, always a good sign, and there's plenty of fast to keep my interest piqued.
The real gem on this one was their cover of Zodiac Mindwarp's "Prime Mover". I thought I was the only one still listening to it in 2024 and here it is, jumping out in its sonic glory on this release from The Chuck Norris Experiment! Tasted real sweet.
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This one's not from the above label:
(https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a1652592214_16.jpg)
https://sonsofarrakis.bandcamp.com/album/volume-ii
Totally kickass tunes based on the Dune saga. The spice be flowin' on these tracks, as well. Lots of groove metal, heavy beats, and smooth playing on this desert metal gem.
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Best part is, they're up on Bandcamp, where you can try before you buy. Don't like? Don't buy! And don't be disappointed at least in the short run! :smug: But these indie metal bands are putting out some good product and every now and then, one of them can break into the top 10 of our rankings for the year. They're seriously worth checking out a track or two and seeing if you want to do the rest of the album.
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=1 from Deep Purple
Total album length is 52:11 and if it's all like this one, I'm gonna have a great microcentury spent with these 13 tracks. Most are around 4 mins, give or take, some closer to 3, last one at 5:50.
Playing it now and "Show Me" is a HELLUVA OPENER wow! The new banjo player is earning his keep, that's for sure. Gillan's vocal is edgy, sharp, a razor line. Instrumentally, I love how it does that hard rock cookin' like it was Highway Star.
"A Bit on the Side" comes next, and it's fast & hard, whatta riff! Simon McBride delivers the goods and Ezrin's production draws out an excellent heavy rocker with some prog subtlety around the choruses. Airey's keys are reminiscent of late-70s synths, so it's got something of a Ian Gillan Band sound to it, something I haven't said about any of the Morse-era releases, and not bad when there's no jazz-fusion going on. Getting to McBride's solo, it draws almost evenly from Blackmore's sound as well as Morse's style. Nice.
"Sharp Shooter" slower pace, very heavy, like "Bloodsucker". I'm taking it as a good sign that I'm only 3 tracks in and am finding favorable comparisons with both Machine Head and In Rock. I'm also starting to wonder if Deep Purple can unseat Saxon at my current #1 spot for Album of the Year. They're making a strong run of it, that's for damn sure. It may all come down to how I'm feeling on the day I make the list. But considering Gillan's 78 and Biff Byford's 73, that's a massive testament to the staying power of their respective voices.
"Portable Door" - coming as it does at fourth track on the playlist, the "Pictures of Home" vibe is even more pronounced, and these songs are whizzing past me. I'm not checking to see how much time is left on them or stuff like that. I'm listening, checking things, typing and then BAM the next song comes up, welcome and fresh.
"Old Fangled Thing" - a fun jumpy little tune and then a great groove for the main lyrics. Wicked little bridge in there for a Iommi-sounding solo from McBride. Loving this album 100% so far, at just a third of the way through. These are a bunch of old blokes that know that they know a thing or three about heavy rock and that they can wipe the floor with most acts out there.
"If I Were You" - This one's the "When a Blind Man Cries" of the first half, I'm guessing. Smooth and bluesy, slow and plaintive. This is one that I'm not immediately in love with, but I'm not unattracted. It's going to grow on me, one of those songs that needs its root system to develop to fully realize its promise. And how is it that the keyboards put out something of a Jethro Tull feel? That's really cool, not complaining. Great solo from McBride. Lovely finish on this one.
"Pictures of You" - Hard rock back in effect, slow-mid tempo. Through the album, Gillan's shown excellent lyric-writing sensibilities and they come forward more on this track, as it's slower than the first 5. Good gosh, I'm already half-way through? Wow, this is an excellent album!
"I'm Saying Nothin'" Actually starts in the last 2 seconds of the previous track, so be sure to play it back to back for best effect. Similar tempo, but the hardness is turned up on the delivery.
"Lazy Sod" - time to pick up the tempo again, and here we have a killer track. :yes: Chorus takes me back to Gillan (band) and its style, so this album is now something of a career retrospective of Ian Gillan. :smug: If we get psych, that'll be Episode 6 covered.
"Now You're Talkin'" - Fast and hard returns with some really freaky keyboard work. And Big Ian screams effectively on this one, too! :headbanger: I think this one's my favorite, thus far, and it's had tough competition.
"No Money to Burn" - Midtempo and bluesy, hard and tasty.
"I'll Catch You" - Taking down a notch, slow and bluesy with some 60s-sounding keys in the back. Not immediately attaching to it, but I hear another one that I'll grow to like. It's another one of those tunes.
"Bleeding Obvious" - Last track, and it starts with a tricky bit on the guitar, good tempo to it, quick and steady. A little slower on the verses, but drives hard. Haven't mentioned Paice and Glover's work yet, but they've been solid throughout. As for this tune, it steams along through the verses with absolutely lovely choruses. There's a lot of texture in this tune. Midway, a total change that is blowing me away with its delicateness. That part was the Episode 6 nod I was half-expecting, so, yes, it's a full career retrospective for Ian Gillan on this album, and given his career, it's amazing in breadth and quality. When you leave out the stinkers he's done. :D And again, it's over before I know it. Wow.
All in all, an excellent EXCELLENT album - very much like Purpendicular, where a new guitarist strolled up and turned everything around for a fresh, new ride. Even better, though, is that the band isn't recovering after a tantrum thrown by a former member, but are moving from strength to strength.
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Black Country Communion V is out, as well, and it's sounding great on the 2 tracks I've played on the YouTube.
Just when I was already having a tough time picking between Saxon and Deep Purple, these guys come along with a potential smasher.
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BCC V has got some good songs on it, but it's a little patchy. But I need to play it some more but other stuff has come out and got in the way of that!
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Definitely not a top spot contender, but I'm liking it well enough to consider the purchase. Maybe not right away, as I need to digest the ones I just picked up, but it will likely be in my next round of album buys.
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1000mods will have a new album out in November... I'm excited for that. https://1000mods.bandcamp.com/album/cheat-death
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Well, I wasn't as thrilled about the 1000mods album's two tracks as I was hoping for. But Chris Joss just made a new release, and I usually love his stuff. I'll pay the full price of the album for the opening track alone.
https://chrisjoss.bandcamp.com/album/classic-lineup
(https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a3461510829_16.jpg)
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Found the rest of 1000mods' newest on YouTube and I'm baffled why they didn't unlock full playing on Bandcamp. This is some good stuff, I believe I'll buy.
Much harder than their previous recent releases, I'm getting into it, yeah.
Then comes the accounting where we look at what we got and give it some rankings. And that means I get to crank up the Saxon again! :D
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And looking over the list of 2024 albums, that's all, folks! I checked out the "MC5" release that's more of a Wayne Kramer solo album and was disappointed. So after I download the 1000mods album, I'll have bought my last record for 2024.
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I'm gonna take a look soon at my best albums of the 2024 list...although it will be somewhat incomplete as I am still missing few essentials from the year.
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My list to organize:
Saxon - Hell, Fire & Damnation
Blaze Bayley - Circle of Stone
Pilots of Baalbek - By the Seat of Our Pants
Buffalo Bud Buster - El Diablo Locomotor
Drive By Wire - Time Horizon
High Desert Queen - Palm Reader
Black Crowes - Happiness Bastards
Fu Manchu - The Return of Tomorrow
The Egyptian Gay Lovers - Go Ape
The Chuck Norris Experiment - 20
The Sons of Arrakis - Volume II
Deep Purple - =1
1000mods - Cheat Death
Chris Joss - Classic Lineup
14 albums to arrange in order, so I need to listen to 'em all, in the order above. Damn that Saxon album is a monster! It is king of the hill for 2024, I think.
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I bought 3 albums this year!!
Hawkwind - Stories from Time and Space
Black Country Communion - V
Bruce Dickenson - The Mandrake Project
I need to play them all again!
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So my list of albums include
Saxon - Hell, Fire & Damnation
Kerry King - From Hell I Rise
Deep Purple - =1
Metal Church - The Final Sermon (Live in Japan)
Blaze Bayley - Circle Of Stone
Black Sabbath - Anno Domini
The Crypt - The Crypt
Not many...
What I am missing are
Judas Priest - Invincible Shield
(The few songs I've heard from it have not been very impressive so haven't gotten it yet)
Bruce Dickinson - The Mandrake Project
(Same goes for this one...very underwhelming songs)
Castle - Evil Remains
(The songs I have heard have been excellent, but it's just been hard to find for a resonable price including postage)
Anette Olzon - Rapture
(For some reason have completely forgotten about this one)
Vision Of Atlantis - Pirates II The Armada
(This one too slipped through the cracks, shame on me!)
Hammerfall - Avenge The Fallen
(Bit underwhelmed by their singles for this one so I opted to not buy it yet)
So there are quite a few albums that I either intentiously didn't buy or some that just slipped through the cracks...but honestly this year I was bit hard up for cash so had so leave some albums out...but all of the albums here I will buy eventually.
I'm gonna put those 7 in order bit later... #1 is already quite clear to me...but the rest are not.
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#1 is already quite clear to me...
S A X O N ! ! ! :headbanger:
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I'm playing the albums now and then slotting them where I think they belong in the order for ranking, with an eye towards a second play-through. Saxon is on top and I think it stays there.
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So I guess it's time to put the albums of 2024 in order...
7.
The Crypt - The Crypt
Behind this female lead DOOM band is non other than Candlemass mastermind Leif Edling. He wrote most of the songs on the album along with singer Pepper. This is some good old school oriented doom metal but with a modern twist. Marcus Jidell from Avatarium (Another Leif's brain childs) produced and played guitars on the album.
Pepper's vocals can be soft or rather harsh as they should. She's no Jennie Ann Smith or Michelle Nocon but she has a lot of presense.
There can never be too many female fronted doom metal bands in the world!
6.
Metal Church - The Final Sermon
The last ever shows with Mike Howe in Japan were recorded and finally released on this double live album. Mike was on top of his game during the Damned If You Do tour that's for sure. He belts out some of the best preformances here I've ever heard. Such a bitter sweet album this one. Mike was one of the most unique voices in heavy metal no doubt about it.
5.
Kerry King - From Hell I Rise
It took a while for Kerry to get this one out considering Slayer called it quits back in 2019...and kind of ironically as soon as Kerry did get this out Slayer announced their comeback...but regardless. Kerry got himself quite the band. Paul Bostaph on drums, Kyle Sanders on bass, Phil Demmel on lead guitar and one of the best singers in all of thrash metal Mark Osegueda! It was hard to imagine this album could have possibly been a miss...and ofcourse it was not. Eventhough Mark is somewhat constrained here relying almost solely on his Tom-esque screaming it's still clear that he was the right man for the job. Kerry belts out Slayer-like riffs, Paul drums his ass off and so on and so on. Sure this isn't the most original and unique sounding album, but it doesn't need to be. This is Kerry King.
4.
Black Sabbath - Anno Domini
And talk about been long in the making! This boxset should have come out 10 years ago. But better late than never. The remastering work is AMAZING. And the remix of Forbidden is SUBERB! It's like a whole new album again! And that's the reason I've included it here. Hell of these album sound fresh again. Only gripe is that they should have included the Cross Purposes Live here!
3.
Blaze Bayley - Circle Of Stone
Blaze is one busy guy. He's constantly on tour and puts out new albums every two years or so...only time he takes off the road is when he gets a near death heart attack and a quadruple by pass surgery!
Anyways with Circle Of Stone Blaze ventures on to some more progressive ground, that he had touched a bit with the Infinite trilogy but here he takes a step further. Chris Appleton's guitar playing and writing is top notch through out. And eventhough there are some solid in your face heavy metal tunes even some of them have an interesting hook or bridge or something that adds a new layer to the song. Great album
2.
Deep Purple= 1
I'm not gonna lie, I didn't really know what to expect with a new album with a new guitarist after all these years with Steve. But Simon surely proved himself on the live stage and it was clear they had great chemistry together so why wouldn't a studio album work?
And oh boy did it work!! I don't have a lot of bad things to say about any of Purple's albums with Steve (although Whoosh might have taken the prog element bit too far) but this one felt like a breeze of fresh air. Something different yet distinctively PURPLE. Where some of the past albums might have bit more keyboard driven than guitar driven this one is purely guitar driven with excellent keyboards layered on the side. Songs like Show Me, Lazy Sod, Now You're Talking and Bleeding Obvious are all suberb tracks...in fact there isn't a single bad track on the whole album.
1.
SAXON - HELL, FIRE & DAMNATION
There was never any doubt what would be number one for this year...none...zero. So 10 points to ZZZ!
And the funny thing about all of this was that I hadn't really heard any single Saxon song until I heard the title track of this album and was totally blown away.
Well say hello to a brand new Saxon fan! :rockon:
This album is pure perfection from start to finish. Highlights being the title track, Roswell, Merchant Of Venice and the insanely stellar Madame Quillotine!
If I'm still alive at the end of 2029 (and if the forum is still here) and we're doing a best albums of the 20s list this album WILL be somewhere near the top of that list too!
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My rankings -
Chris Joss' Classic Lineup isn't a rock album, so I'll put it in a separate category. But it's a fantastic album, a great set of tunes for background music or focusing, you choose.
Now, for the rock and metal...
13. Buffalo Bud Buster - El Diablo Locomotor
This one's fun. Also short. I'd pay to see 'em live at a club, they rock hard and are likely a fun band to see live.
12. The Egyptian Gay Lovers - Go Ape!
Like the BBB album above, this one's fun times, but the tunes really don't stand up to the other selections from this year. Still a solid album, and I'm glad I picked it up.
11. High Desert Queen - Palm Reader
Great desert rock, got a little long at the end of things, but otherwise great album.
10. Pilots of Baalbek - By the Seat of Our Pants
Top ten territory starts here. The Pilots of Baalbek are wild and crazy Aussies that thrash out good and hard.
9. The Chuck Norris Experiment - 20
This one's very close to the ones in 10 and 8, a solid album from experienced hard rockers.
8. 1000mods - Cheat Death
Much harder and heavier than their previous releases, but still good stuff. I liked their previous release and Super Van Vacation more than this one, but I don't think they've hit a slump at all. They're good to go.
7. Fu Manchu - The Return of Tomorrow
The band are back in their desert stride with this release. Very heavy and hard-hitting. Most tasty stuff here.
6. Blaze Bayley - Circle of Stone
Blaze does a great job here with a solid, hard-hitting effort that is quite captivating. Reminds me of Uriah Heep's release from last year, goes very well paired with that album.
5. Sons of Arrakis - Volume II
Second album is better than the first. :) Excellent metal action fueled by the Dune universe, but doesn't require familiarity with the series to appreciate.
4. Drive By Wire - Time Horizon
Solid yeoman band from The Netherlands, putting down a tight album with great playing and singing. They haven't faded in terms of quality, not one bit.
3. Deep Purple - =1
This was a tough call, but I think they gave it their all with this one. Simon McBride is a breath of fresh air, just like Charger said. I do hope the band has another album or two still in them, because this one was great fun.
2. The Black Crowes - Happiness Bastards
I did not expect to like this one better than the Deep Purple album, but here we are. This one's fantastic.
1. Saxon - Hell, Fire & Damnation
These guys took the top of the mountain back in January and held off all comers. Magnificent album, best of the year.
And I'd love to see how it holds up for the rest of the decade. It has to measure up against Tony Martin's Thorns, Holy Ground from The Dead Dasies, The Stranglers' Dark Matters, Deep Purple's Whooosh!, and Sky Valley Mistress' Faithless Rituals.