House Of Lords "Precious Metal"

2014 brings a new release from this rather “under the radar” Arena Rock, Glam band that I had not heard of before.

Then I went on to listen some of their previous songs on the net and I can state that this new offering keeps on the same line as previous releases maybe being a tad heavier.

The album was produced by their singer James Christian and it has a very refined 80’s feel to it.   

It opens with two of the best tracks on the album “Battle” and “I’m breaking Free” from then on it feels a bit samey and repetitive, however there are some really interesting elements and catchy vocal melodies found along the way as well as the sappy type of ballads that are essential in this type of Melodic Rock albums.

Overall if you are a fan of 80’s Rock with Big choruses, wailing vocals and a polished production then you will most definite will find something to like here. But if you are expecting a bit more complexity or variety in musical composition you may look elsewhere.

                       

Aside the repetitiveness this album is quite solid and is one you should definitely check out

7.5/10

Scorpion Child "Scorpion Child"

The Eponymous debut album by Scorpion Child was one of those albums that you see at record store's shelves and intrigues you from the moment you spot it because of it's cover artwork reminiscent of something the bands would so in the 70's.

I bought it based on the cover without knowing a single thing about the band. To my surprise when I popped the CD in the stereo the first thought that came to my mind was: "The Usual Zeppelin rip off that we are now so accustomed to" so I wrote the off for some days.
Then due to my patiently persistent nature I gave the album another spin only to reinforce my initial opinion that they do sound very Zeppelinish, so what? I am sure they wear tons of other bands influences on their sleeves and that will be more apparent in future releases i am sure.

Rock enthusiasts often complaint that there are not many good bands nowadays because the ones out there sound too commercial, indie, light, poppy and you name it. Then a band like Scorpion Child comes along and we complaint again? Certainly it's an impossible task to please everyone but when you have a very consistent record filled with great musicianship you ought to be more objective and give credit where credit is due.

This album is really good with tons of great songs that made you realize had this band been around in the 70's they would have been BIG by now, obviously that is not the case and they find themselves in an era where plastic music seem to be more prevalent.
However there seems to be a revival of good old Rock happening and hopefully Scorpion Child will find their good niche in the world of Rock if they keep releasing this good material (something that has been happening to a similar band named Rival Sons).

My favorite songs are: the first two singles "Polygon of Eyes" and "Liquor" as well as the beautiful ballad "Antioch" and the rockers "In The Arms Of Ecstasy" and "Paradigm".

All in all a very addictive album recommended for fans of good 70's Classic Rock and for Psychedelic Rock alike.

9/10

A Drunk Mikkey Dee, Hilarious!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--ceUPf6sfA

Have a look at what I found on YouTube, a video of a drunk Mikkey Dee (drummer from Motörhead) invited onstage in a Berlin club. Funny!

Mort by Terry Pratchett

My interest for occultist matters and thanks to the recommendation of some friends this book called "Mort" landed in my hands.
I started reading it and immediately got engaged in it not only because of it's subject matter but also because of the way the story unfolds itself.

The story tells the tale of a young man called Mort who gets picked up by "Death" (the character) to be his apprentice and develop his skills. Then Mort starts picking up in all it takes to be Death and gets sucked into his "time still world". As the story progresses he learns how to effectively use the scythe and travel from one place to the other to take the souls of those who just died. In the meantime he finds out some odd yet funny things about the reaper, such as: he's got a human daughter, he likes cats and eats curry.

Unwittingly as the story progresses Mort stars to talk and behave like his grotesque master while the real Death who is tired of his day to day job gets interested in drinking and partying and other human activities he has never indulged in before.
Then faith gives Mort's life a dramatic turn and some other unexpected events happen along the way.

Even though the subject of this story is quite somber one finds it very amusing to read as it is filled with hilarious dialogues and unusual and illogical happenings.

This book is the fourth novel in the Discworld series which was created by Pratchett in the 80's as a humorous reaction to the more serious fantasy Tolkien books fever that had broken out years before.

A highly recommended book for anyone interested in the Comedy/Fantasy category
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8.5/10

The Scream "Let It Scream"

Ever since I listened to the eponymous Motley Crue album from 1994 I got hooked to John Corabi's voice and to the new dimension it brought the Crue's music to. A deeper, raspier more powerful voice was what Motley had on their arsenal circa the middle 90's on Corabi's mighty lungs as opposed to the wailing more girly voice of Vince Neil.

Then having read "The Dirt" I found out that when the Crue were holding auditions for a new singer after neil's departure this record named "Let It Scream" by a relatively unknown band called The Scream had landed on Nikki Sixx ears. To his delight and and amazement he got in touch with Corabi and invited to audion for the Crue, the rest as everyone knows is history.

I looked incessantly to secure a copy of this record only to find disappointment as this record has been out of print for many years now (you can't even find it on Itunes, even though that's that is not my usual means of acquiring music)  and the only way to get it was thought expensive imports from around the world.
I finally secured my import for around £30 thought an Australian shop. So the question arises: Was it worth the money and the two and a half week wait?

YEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSS IT WASSS!!!!  

Memorable songwriting with great riffs, solid drumming and the unmistakable voice of John Corabi, confines the album to the "hidden treasure" category.

The album boasts an immaculate production where every instrument sounds as organic and audible as it possibly can thanks to the the fine production skills of Eddie Kramer. This type of production was in its heyday in the 80's and 90's til the loudness war came in and in my opinion ruined it for us aka: "Death Magnetic", but that's another subject.

The Aerosmith and Stones influence in it is eminent and I can't see how a fan of 80's Hard Rock would not like it.
It's so full of classics that it's hard for me to pick a bunch of favorites, songs like "Outlaw", "I Believe In Me", Man In The Moon", "Father, Mother and Son", "Never Loved Her Anyway", Loves Got A Hold On Me", "You Are All I Need" and pretty much all the tracks are standout numbers that leave you wondering: What if John Corabi would have never joined The Crue and stayed in the band?

Sadly we will never know the answer and this disc may never get the credit it deserves but for the treasure hunters like me is a pleasure when along the journey you come across pieces of gold which is a useful metaphor for what this disc encapsulates.

9.5/10  

Voodoo Six "Songs To Invade Countries To"

Where do I begin with this band? A mixture of feelings come into play when I listen to Voodoo Six. Feelings of nostalgia of the good old days when I first discovered the classics such as Zep, Purple and that lot.

After endless spins of their previous album "Fluke" (which was solid) and knowing they had a new album on the works,  I was left wondering: Could their previous output have been a just a fluke? or a threshold of a long road of successful Rock stardom? Thankfully for them and their fans the latter applies.

As I wrote in a comment above this albums has a 70's aura reminiscent of the bands already mentioned with extremely groovy riffs that make some of the songs quite memorable yet it manages to sound modern at times specially during the choruses giving the whole album a well balanced vibe of a vintage sound and a modern one alike. 

Songs like "Falling Knives", "Sink Or Swim", "Stop" (which has a kind of funky riff that creates some sort of rhythm friction with the drums and makes it very interesting) and "One More Day" fall into my favourites category and becomes essential listens when playing the album.

On the other hand trying to describe the variety on each track becomes a needless task as there is not much variety in here, and maybe that's where the alums falters a bit. I personally would have liked the and to be a tad more experimental with their sound as it sounds a bit samey at places. But hey! you find some of the biggest names in Rock never altered their sound and that became their trademark.

So aside the repetitiveness factor I find "Songs To Invade Countries To" to be a very enjoyable listen with some of the grooviest riffs I've heard since Audioslave :p and I can't wait to hear what direction will the following offering will take.

7.5/10

Waiting for "The Satanist" by Behemoth

As if listening to "Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel" on a non stop stop basis every single day wasn't enough to fuel the emotion of having this album in my hands, now Metal Hammer Magazine has released a poster (see above) of the members of Behemoth dressed up in robes and diabolical masks as they appear on their aforementioned video.

Only two weeks til this baby gets released, listened and reviewed by me :)

\m/