Sunday 30 August 2015

Great Rock Albums of 1980: The Ramones- End of a Century

Ramones_-_End_of_the_Century_cover
Throughout the 70's there were a number of "family groups" who made the airwaves. We had the likes of The Jackson Five, The Osmonds and the De Franco family all of whom graced the pop charts in that decade. However, none of those mentioned, in my humble opinion, ever came close to matching The Ramones. Except for the Sex Pistols, The Ramones were the first punk band (at least that's what they were labelled as back then) that I listened to. I have always dug their one, two, three go playing style with songs that totally stomp you into the ground in less than three minutes and it was their 1980 album, "End of the Century" that did it.
When I listened to the album again, I had the same reaction that I had when I first listened to it thirty plus years ago. I thought the first three tracks were all right but nothing to get terribly excited over and then "Chinese Rock" just came out and totally kicked my ass. Just like old times, I found myself wanting to slam dance around the living room. The rest of the album just kind of followed suit after that. "Let's Go" and "I Can't Make It On Time" were also stand outs as well but this album just happens to feature my all time favourite Ramones tune, "Rock And Roll High School." I still love how they add the 50's style harmonizing with the hard fast sound they're known for. A great song because for the past three decades I continue to sing those lyrics:
"I just want to get some kicks
 "I just want to get some chicks."
Track Listing:
1. Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio
2. I'm Affected
3. Danny Says
4. Chinese Rock
5. The Return of Jack and Judy
6. Let's Go
7. Baby, I Love You
8. I Can't Make It On Time
9. This Ain't Havana
10. Rock And Roll High School
11. All the Way
12. High Risk Insurance
The Ramones
The Ramones
Joey Ramone- lead vocals
Johnny Ramone- lead guitar
Dee Dee Ramone- bass, backing vocals
Marky Ramone- drums
It can be argued that The Ramones were the early pioneers of speed metal. After all, not many bands, then or now have albums that contain twelve tracks but have a total length of less than 35 minutes. These guys were ahead of their time and many bands easily cite them as an influence. With an album like "End of the Century," it's easy to see why.
Next post: Alice Cooper- Flush the Fashion
To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html
Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London

Saturday 22 August 2015

Bloodstock, Friday August 7, 2015: Part2

When we last left our story, our heroes had just been completely blown away by Fire Red Empress. Uplifted by such a great set from the fore mentioned band, we now move back to the main stage and take our positions close to the stage in order to appreciate the full impact of Overkill who were coming on next. While we waited two fellow metalheads came up to me saying that the recognised me from attending both Armoured Saint and Nuclear Assault. One gentleman, Waylon from Mid-Wales as he introduced himself as, stated that the thing about a metal festival is that metalheads from all over can get together and enjoy great music. I fully support his sentiments and Waylon, if you are reading this, thanks for that. It has given me food for thought at the end.
Waylon and pals showing their love of metal
Waylon and pals showing their love of metal
Anticipation increased as the sound checks were carried out before Overkill made their dramatic entrance onto the main stage. Some caught a glimpse of lead singer Bobby 'Blitz' Ellsworth prompting a guy near me to shout out "Hey Bobby!" I don't think Bobby heard him. Then the inevitable happened and Overkill were out on stage bringing mayhem and destruction with them. As soon as they were out, mosh pits opened either side of where I was standing and wave upon wave of crowd surfers started being passed overhead. I'm sure I passed the same young lady to the front three times because those skimpy denim shorts and thin black tights were looking all too familiar. One person told me that I was getting too old for this shit, I beg to differ.
At first, I thought there was something wrong with Overkill's sound because I could hear the bass over both guitars and it just didn't sound right, not that it mattered that much to the crowd. They were all enjoying the mayhem. Fortunately, it must have gotten sorted because twenty five minutes into their set, Overkill played the song I wanted most to hear, "In Union We Stand," and it sounded fine. What was better was that they followed it up with "Rotten to the Core." So it was a double helping of metal nostalgia for me. Other great Overkill anthems included "Hello From the Gutter," "Electric Rattlesnake" and saving it for the end was "Fuck You," to which Bobby got the audience singing along to. Yes, a very appropriate song to end things with I thought.
Having never seen Overkill before and having seen a lot of bands with front men who possess varying degrees of charisma, I have to say that I was more than impressed with the showmanship of Bobby Ellsworth. He definitely knew how to work the crowd even if did refer to us as mother fuckers throughout. I guess it was a compliment. Overkill could have covered a Wham song and Bobby would have had me singing along to it. It just shows how good he and Overkill are live and credit to Bloodstock for getting them to play there.
Overkill playing to the crowd
Overkill playing to the crowd
Playing In Union We Stand
Playing In Union We Stand
Overkill establishing their dominance
Overkill establishing their dominance

Teal with his souvenir from the festival
Teal with his souvenir from the festival
Just when we had recovered from the carnage caused by Overkill, Sabaton took the stage with intent of causing more destruction. Being second from the top of the bill, they had more use of lights and effects and they took full advantage of it. The drums was on the turret of a tank and I also liked the army helmet and M-16 theme on the microphones. Coming out below the strobe lights and through the dry ice all dressed in camouflage trousers, it gave me the notion that this was somebody to see. Their music proved the notion right. The combination of power, speed and viking metal was a sound to behold. Admittedly, I don't listen to the bands of today as much as I should because of my love for the golden decade, the name of the blog bears witness to this but Sabaton has made me promise to myself that I will pay more attention to them and other more modern bands. I have to say that I was very impressed with them.
The mosh pits dwindled down to one and the waves of crowd surfers thinned out during Sabaton's reign on the stage but it didn't matter. They orchestrated a new way to go nuts by having the entire audience start jumping up and down. I could do that and so I did. In fact I jumped a lot during their performance. Still it was the music that won me over. I knew very little of their music before that particular evening but one song that I remember and loves was "Panzerkampf," which was about a big battle in World War 2 between the Germans and the Soviets. Maybe metal would be a good way to teach history. That's the one thing I found paradoxical about them. They played several songs from their "Art of War" album and that had me wondering that for a band from Sweden, a country who hasn't had a proper war in 250 years, they seem to write a lot of songs about war. It didn't matter that much because again, the power metal had me until the end when Sabaton released blue and yellow confetti into the crowd marking the finale of a really great show.
Sabaton's ascent to the stage
Sabaton's ascent to the stage
Sabaton wowing with their sound
Sabaton wowing with their sound
Great fire effects
Great fire effects
Jumping to Sabaton
Jumping to Sabaton
Need I say more?
Need I say more?
Hail to Sweden
Hail to Sweden
Wanting to avoid having to leave before the end, my stepson and I went and got some energy drinks and rushed back to the main stage to await the headliners, Trivium. The stage set up alluded to the idea that this was going to be a great show. I loved the two devil skulls in the background on either side of the stage. When they came out, they didn't disappoint the huge crowd assembled in waiting before them. However, their appearance didn't go as smoothly as hoped. Guitarist Corey Beaulieu disappeared for two songs. When he came back, he stated he kept getting shocks of the electrical system but thank God, it was fixed and he showed what a good guitarist he is.
Back in full flow, Trivium let their music do the talking for them. Sure they had some great effects being the headliner but it was the music that did it for me. They were another band who I considered too modern for me, (yes I got to stop being such a stick in the mud,) but like Sabaton, they made a believer out of me. At one point, lead singer Matt Heafy stopped to talk about the time he met Ronnie James Dio when Trivium supported Heaven and Hell in Japan in 2007. Heafy explained how gracious Ronnie was in talking about his vocals and what a great man Dio was and reminded the Bloodstock fans that the main stage was named in honour of him. I thought that was cool but of course, Trivium went back to making great music and taking the crowd all the way to the end, even playing three encore songs and ending a great day in metal history.
The stage
The stage

Trivium in full swing
Trivium in full swing
Trivium under the lights
Beaulieu wailing away
Trivium in a blur
Trivium in a blur
Near the end
Near the end
One thing I noticed on this very eventful day is that metalheads are a family. There was one blind man who had to be led by his friends to the front of the stage and another with profound special needs in a wheel chair. In both cases, fellow metalheads accommodated them, allowing them to get through the crowd. I wonder if a One Direction audience would have been so thoughtful and considerate. Another thing I would like to see as a result of the day is Armoured Saint on a UK tour with Fire Red Empress as support. They could play the Thekla in Bristol, I would go see that show for definite.
Next post: Sammy Hagar- Three Lock Box
To buy Rock and Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html
Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London

Monday 10 August 2015

Bloodstock- Friday August 7, 2015: Part 1

Metal concerts aren't just simply concerts, they are pieces of history. I said that about many of the concerts that appeared in "Rock and Roll Children" and it applies today as much as it did back in the 80s. On August 7, literally less than 24 hours before the time I am writing this now, another chapter in heavy metal history was carved in stone. History was again made at Bloodstock.
Having never driven to the festival on a Friday morning, I was concerned about getting caught in Birmingham rush hour traffic. I have been caught in it in the past and it's not fun. Furthermore, I've never driven through the British city of Tamworth on a weekday morning, so I had no idea what to expect. The in flight entertainment provided by Axel Rudi Pell's "The Masquerade Ball" and "A Real Live One" by Iron Maiden did a great job in taking the edge off my anxieties. It also helped that my worries were for naught as I cruised around Birmingham and straight through Tamworth with little bother.
Arriving earlier than expected, my stepson and I had to wait to be let into the complex as they had no one to take the one day ticket but fortunately, the wait was only a few minutes. It was the same with access to the Ronnie James Dio stage. Once we were let in, we went to the main stage. Not much seemed to be happening, so like two years prior, we went to the New Blood Stage in the hopes that I might discover another Black Emerald. However, people seemed to be blundering about with no sign of any band taking the stage. Suddenly, a riff from a guitar coming from the Ronnie James Dio Stage sent us back there. Things were looking serious so we found a place near the stage and eagerly awaited Nuclear Assault to emerge. After nearly half an hour of waiting and listening to lots of sound checks, Nuclear Assault's bassist, Dan Lilker, came out on stage and explained that the band's gear had gotten tied up at the airport. He further explained that they had left Frankfurt on six hours prior so the band was feeling "a bit bushed." I'm nuot sure if he convinced the crowd but he left to let the crew sort out the sound checks.
Dan Lilker talking to the crowd
Dan Lilker talking to the crowd
When Nuclear Assault finally came out on stage, they put to rest any question by me or anyone else in the audience over the wisdom of the promoters to put such an iconic band as the very first act of a three day festival. The answer came straight away. Normally, the very first act on any day at Bloodstock plays to about fifty people and in some cases, that band is very gracious in thanking those fifty people for turning up to see them. Not the case with Nuclear Assault. A brief glance over my shoulder saw that there was a very large crowd and they were lapping up everything the band on stage threw out. I now see the move of putting Nuclear Assault first was genius. Their hardcore thrash pummeled the Bloodstock crowd into submission. What songs they played have kind of slipped my ageing mind although I do remember the classic "Critical Mass" being played and they played "Died in Your Arms" from the new EP. Mental note to buy it. Nuclear Assault succeeded in setting the bar for the rest of the day and my stepson was converted.
Nuclear Assault  in full assault
Nuclear Assault in full assault

And again
And again
When you are at a festival for three days, when a band leaves the main stage, you usually head for the bar. When you are only there for one day, you try to fit as much in as possible. So not even taking a second to catch our breath after being battered by Nuclear Assault, we headed over to the Sophie Lancaster stage to see what was there. What we saw was quite unique, a drum and bass act. You are now probably thinking 'what in Sam hell is a drum and bass act doing at a metal festival?' Well, they were a drum and bass act because they had a drummer and a bass player and boy the bass player could shred. In fact, I've never seen anyone shred a bass quite like it and it worked along with his heavy metal vocals. So, you have to give Oaf credit where credit is due. They rocked without having a guitar player. I did manage to catch the drummer a few hours later, you couldn't miss him, he was dress in very bright colours, and compliment him on how good Oaf was. I just hope that the band forgives my unsteady hand when taking the photos.
Oaf, This one was the better of the two I took
Oaf, This one was the better of the two I took
When Oaf finished their highly amusing set, we headed back to the Ronnie James Dio stage to get ready for Armoured Saint. However, Raging Speedhorn hadn't finished making their mark on history for the day. If Oaf hadn't have been so entertaining, I would have seen more of Raging Speedhorn. I was fortunate enough to catch the last few songs and I did like the two lead vocalists trading off vocals they way dual lead guitarists trade solos. What I did hear did arouse my interest in them in the future.
Raging Speedhorn
Raging Speedhorn
Armoured Saint was the only band on the day who I had seen previously. That was back in 1986 and I partied a little too much before the show to fully appreciate them. This time was different. When they came onto the stage, I was ready and so was the crowd and so was Armoured Saint. From the moment they got onto the stage, they set out to dominate. The first song got my attention but the second one was their old faithful classic, "March of the Saint." A few songs down the line, they premiered their new song, "Mess," which only had me making mental notes to buy their new album. A veteran of thirty years of shows, vocalist John Bush worked the Bloodstock fans very well. Even going out to the sides of the stage to encourage audience participation. For me though, the big story was the guitar work of Phil Sandoval. He just shredded the whole set and it left me asking myself, 'why hasn't anyone taken notice of him before?' Just when things were winding down, Armoured Saint pulled one more surprise when they brought out Sandoval's young son to play with them on stage. He looked about five or six but he did genuinely play the song the band was playing, excellent. When they did finish, (they weren't on stage long enough) I was pleased to have converted my stepson to another great band from my era.
Armoured Saint establishing their dominance
Armoured Saint establishing their dominance
John Bull singing to the crowd
John Bull singing to the crowd
Phil Sandoval shredding away
Phil Sandoval shredding away
Armoured Saint with their newest young member
Armoured Saint with their newest young member
After a morning and part of the afternoon of headbanging away to the likes of Nuclear Assault and Armoured Saint as well as being entertained by Oaf and Raging Speedhorn, we decided to go for lunch. Upon our return, we heard some very good metal sounds erupting from the Sophie Lancaster stage, so we had to check it out. Those responsible for that sound were called Re-Animator. We literally caught the last song of their set but it was a good song played well. Therefore, I decided it was worth taking their picture and putting it here.
Re-Animator
Re-Animator
Once Re-Animator had cleared the stage, we decided to head back to the Ronnie James Dio stage. Shortly after, Norwegian prog metallers Enslaved ascended the stage. I had listened to a couple of songs in You tube in the days before the festival but hadn't formed an opinion of them one way or the other. At first, I wasn't so sure about them, especially when the lead singer made an awful joke. However, about fifteen minutes in, they were starting to grow on me. However, my stepson wasn't impressed and asked if we could go back to the Sophie Lancaster tent. He stated that Enslaved were sending him to sleep and I wanted to avoid the situation of two years ago when we had to leave before the end, so we left.
Enslaved
Enslaved
Maybe Teal was guided by some heavy metal light because when we returned to the Sophie Lancaster tent, a better band called Neobliviscaris was on stage. These guys were unique in a couple of ways. Many bands have either a left handed guitarist or bassist. Neobliviscaris had both. Furthermore, they had a violinist in the band. The only bands where that has worked have been the Charlie Daniels Band, Jefferson Starship on their first two albums and most notably Kansas. I have to say, this was the second surprise of the day arising from the Sophie Lancaster stage. The violinist played a solo with guitar back up and he complimented the band very well. We were both impressed.
Neobliviscaris
Neobliviscaris
When Neobliviscaris left the stage, it was announced that the next band would be Fire Red Empress. My stepson's eyes lit up immediately. He has been following this band on line and so we had to see them. I had converted him to two bands so far this day so it was his turn to convert me. I had never heard of this band before so like Leaves Eyes in 2010 and Black Emerald in 2013, Fire Red Empress won my award for band I had never heard of who impressed the hell out of me. All of their songs were in excess of five minutes but with the musicianship they displayed, it was worth it. It was straightforward metal, I think the best comparison, actually I can't think of anyone to compare them to, they were phenomenal. I hope all of you will keep your metal radar out for this band in the future.
Fire Red Empress entertaining the crowd
Fire Red Empress entertaining the crowd
And again
And again
As it's late, I have decided to bring the post to a close and save the top three bands for next time. Sorry, if you're disappointed but I think all would agree that the likes of Overkill, Sabaton and Trivium should possibly have a separate post where I can write with a clear mind.
Next post: Part 2
To buy Rock and Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html
Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London

Saturday 1 August 2015

Great Rock Albums of 1980: Rush- Permanent Waves

220px-Rush_Permanent_WavesLiving proof that my mind is going in my old age. Two posts ago, I stated that no other band with the possible exception of Kansas could equal Styx in the fusion of progressive and hard rock. There is another who should never be left out when talking about this category and I'm posting about them right now. Throughout the mid to late seventies, Rush have brought their unique blend of progressive and hard rock to the ears of many with great success. Some of the albums I have visited in the past like "2112" and "Farewell to Kings" bear witness to this. Rush are truly one of the all time greats.
The 1980 album "Permanent Waves" is no different. Back then, I knew and loved the song "Free Will"  but it was later before I really came to appreciate this album. That happened in 1986 when I used to frequent a night spot in London called Oscar's (it's a McDonald's now) on their Friday night heavy metal nights. "Spirit of the Radio" was often played and it always got me out onto the floor, headbanging away to it and into many a floor pile up during the guitar solo. FFI, on what I mean, you'll have to read "Rock And Roll Children."
"Permanent Waves" is not a heavy metal album as it has a definite progressive sound to it. "Jacob's Ladder" begins with what I would call an intriguing guitar intro but as a complete song, can definitely stand on it's own. Then there's the leaning to the harder side "Entre Nous," which is another good song. The final song, which is in the tradition of previous albums, is broken into different parts and has the keyboard sound that I have always identified with Rush and not to leave it out, "Different Strings" is a good song too.
Track Listing:
1. Spirit of the Radio
2. Free Will
3. Jacob's Ladder
4. Entre Nous
5. Different Strings
6. Natural Science
I. Tidal Pools
II. Hyperspace
III. Permanent Waves
Rush
Rush
Geddy Lee: vocals, bass, synthesisers
Alex Lifeson- guitars, taurus pedals
Neil Peart- drums, bells, chimes, percussion
Rush have always been the ultimate rebuttal to the silly proposition that Canada is the land of shitty music. They have shown is for nearly four decades now that it's simply not the case. "Permanent Waves" is just one of their many albums to demonstrate what a great act they are and the sooner they are inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame, the better.
Next post: The Ramones- End of the Century
To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html
Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London