Great Rock Albums of 1980: Billy Joel- Glass Houses

Back in the late 1970s, Billy Joel was known as the singer who sat behind a piano and sang such ballads as "Just The Way You Are" or more pop oriented tunes like "Piano Man" or "My Life." I admit that I liked these very songs back then, after all, they weren't disco. However, I knew that he had the potential to be a little harder with his sound. Evidence of this can be sighted with songs like "Only the Good Die Young," (I always thought the song would have been perfect if they used a fuzz box with the guitar) the guitar in "Big Shot" and my all time favourite song of his, "Captain Jack." In 1980, Billy Joel finally realised this potential with the "Glass Houses" album.

If you asked any hard rocker and many metalheads back in the 80s about Billy Joel, they would probably say they liked "Glass Houses" or at the very least, it was an okay album. It helps a great deal that the album begins with that famous glass breaking sound followed by my all time second favourite Billy Joel song, "You May Be Right." The rest of the album follows on with catchy rock tunes like, "Sometimes a Fantasy" and the big top forty hit "It's Still Rock and Roll To Me" which as far as hit singles go, is not that bad. I won't say that this album ranks with any of the monster metal albums but I have to give Billy Joel and "A" for effort in trying to go harder here.

Track Listing:

1. You May Be Right

2. Sometimes a Fantasy

3. Don't Ask Me Why

4. It's Still Rock And Roll To Me

5. All For Leyna

6. I Don't Want To Be Alone

7. Sleeping With The Television On

8. C'etait Toi (You Are The One)

9. Close To The Borderline

10. Through The Long Night

Billy Joel

Billy Joel- vocals, piano, synthesisers, harmonica, accordion

Dave Brown- guitars

Richie Cannata- organ, flute, saxophone

Liberty DeVitto- drums, percussion

Russell Javors- guitars

Doug Stegmeyer- bass

"Glass Houses" will go down in history as the one Billy Joel album found acceptable by many metalheads. Unfortunately, his later albums would go down the trail of 1980s commercial rock; although he did play piano on the Twisted Sister song "Be Cruel To Your School." Even the thought of "Uptown Girl" still makes me want to put on some Venom or Slayer and smash things up. As a rock album, this one is all right with me.

Next post: The Clash- London Calling

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

Great Rock Albums of 1980: The Beatles- Rarities

You are all now totally convinced that I have completely lost the plot. A Beatles album in 1980? They had broken up ten years prior to this. I will be the first to admit that this "Rarities" album released in 1980 was yet another attempt to milk more money out of The Beatles name off the many fans who followed and still follow them now but that didn't stop me from buying this album. I admit, I have always been a big fan of The Beatles and while I question why some of the tracks on this album are considered rarities, there are others on it that made me decide that I had to buy it.

"Love Me Do," "Help" and "Penny Lane" are all well known Beatles classics to me and I do not consider them to be rare. They are all good songs nonetheless and only added to my desire for this album. The case is also true to one of my all time favourites "I Am The Walrus," a song that continues to amuse me some four decades later. "Sie Liebt Dich," which is the all time classic "She Loves You" sung in German is for me a definite rarity and also my first piece of evidence that music can be enjoyable in whatever language it is sung in. "Across the Universe" would have been another one where I debated it being called rare. However, the version on this album is different to the one I heard on The Blue Album. The song begins the sound effect of a flock of birds flying off and the chorus is accompanied by a children's choir and is very well done. I still get a kick out of the next to last track "You Know My Name Look Up the Number" where there is a vocal part by one of them using a woman's voice. It reminds me of Monty Python.

Out of all the tracks mentioned, there is one track that stands alone. "Helter Skelter" is the track that makes this album for me, even if the the version on this album omits that famous rant from Ringo, "I got blisters on my fingers!" As most people agree, The Beatles influenced many genres of rock music and the song "Helter Skelter" is my evidence that they even had an influence on heavy metal. Two metal bands I can think of off the top of my head, Motley Crue and Vow Wow, have recorded covers of this Beatles classic as well as Pat Benatar in her more hard rocking days.  I probably would have bought this album for this song alone.

Track Listing:

1. Love Me Do

2. Misery

3. There's a Place

4. Sie Leibt Dich

5. And I Love Her

6. Help

7. I'm Only Sleeping

8. I Am the Walrus

9. Penny Lane

10. Helter Skelter

11. Don't Pass Me By

12. The Inner Light

13. Across the Universe

14. You Know My Name Look Up the Number

15. Sgt. Pepper's Inner Groove

The Fab Four

John Lennon- guitar, vocals

Paul McCartney- bass, piano, vocals

George Harrison- guitar, vocals

Ringo Starr- drums, vocals

Back in the 90's, I was at a 60's theme party where the self appointed deejay was playing a bunch of one hit wonders who nobody remembered and as a result the dance floor was empty. I suggested putting this album on and once I did, the dance floor filled right up. This is proof that everybody knows The Beatles even if some of their songs are considered rarities. On a personal note, if I were producing this album, I would have included the songs "Octopus's Garden" and "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" but that's just me. The Beatles influenced a lot of rock music, even heavy metal. So when you put on your next metal album, think of them.

Next post: Billy Joel- Glass Houses

To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Great Rock Albums of 19890: Queen- The Game

This album first came to my attention back in 1980 when the single "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" was played on a juke box in a bar whose name I can't remember. At first, I thought it was an Elvis Presley song and I wasn't the only one. That whole song radiated The King, especially Brian May's guitar solo. When I discovered it was actually Queen, I was even more impressed and liked the song that much more.

Of course, most people not in metal, those who worship the Top 40 charts especially, identify "The Game" with the number one hit single from the album, "Another One Bites the Dust." That song crossed over into previously uncharted territory for Queen because it also reached number one in the soul charts. I remember many of my African American comrades in arms listening to it extensively and found it a little amusing one day when one such comrade said to another, "These are a bunch of white boys." However, I doubt that many of them actually bought this album. What I always liked about that song is that it showed what a brilliant bassist John Deacon was.

My record buying philosophy has always been not to buy an album on account of one or two songs. The three prominent singles from the album: the two I already mentioned plus "Play the Game" are not indicative of this album. "Play the Game" is a decent opener but the second track, "Dragon Attack" is a total rocker as is the fourth track "I Need Your Loving Tonight," which after many years of not listening to it, is now firmly entrenched in my brain like it had been back then. The last five tracks are all classic Queen and that includes my favourite track on the album, "Don't Try Suicide."

Track Listing:

1. Play The Game

2. Dragon Attack

3. Another One Bites the Dust

 4. I Need Your Loving Tonight

5. Crazy Little Thing Called Love

6. Rock It

7. Don't Try Suicide

8. Sail Away Sweet Sister

9. Come On

10. Save Me

Queen

Freddie Mercury- vocals, synthesiser

Brian May- guitars, vocals, piano, synthesiser

Roger Taylor- drums, percussion, vocals, piano, rhythm guitar

John Deacon- bass, vocals, guitar, synthesiser

"The Game" has been considered more of a pop album and with some of the singles from it, there is scope for that argument. However, I'm not going to argue it here, For me, "The Game" still radiates some classic Queen and is a brilliant album.

Next post: The Beatles- Rarities

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

Great Rock Albums of 1980: Alice Cooper- Flush the Fashion

Back in 1980, this was the one album I was always intending to buy but never got around to actually doing so. It was there on the music counter of my PX for a number of months so I ask myself now, "Why did I never buy it?" The funny thing is that I have no answer to that question especially as "Flush the Fashion" was the follow up to my all time favourite Alice Cooper album "From the Inside." Maybe the reason is that except for it being at the PX, I don't remember anyone outside mentioning the album at all and therefore didn't take the chance. Having now finally listened to it, I can say that I regret that decision somewhat.

The early 1980s were dark days for Alice. He was heavily into drink and drugs and this was one of the albums he doesn't even remember recording. His career had been on the wane before that as many of his albums, except for "From the Inside," lacked that punch that was so in your face with his earlier albums. Saying that, he did have some Top 40 success during the late 70s.

"Flush the Fashion" was Alice Cooper's attempt to go more new wave. Like The Ramones, all of the songs, with exception of "Pain," are all well under the four minute mark and quite a few of those are less than three. But I must say, when I listened to the album, I do say that I liked it. "Clones" is a fantastic song and some others like "Model Citizen," "Talk Talk" and "Aspirin Damage" are all very good songs. Unlike the more progressive sound from his previous album, this one has a more straight forward hard rock feel to it and it works on many levels. Still it's not quite as good as that previous album or any of his more classic material.

Track Listing:

1. Talk Talk

2. Clones

3. Pain

4. Leather Boots

5. Aspirin Damage

6. Nuclear Infected

7. Grim Facts

8. Model Citizen

9. Dance Yourself to Death

10. Headlines

Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper- lead vocals

Davey Johnstone- guitar

Fred Mandel- keyboards, guitar

Dennis Conway- drums

John Cooker Lopresti- bass

Howard Kaylan- backing vocals

Mark Volman- backing vocals

Keith Allison- backing vocals

Joe Pizzulo- backing vocals

Ricky Tierney- backing vocals

For Alice, "Flush the Fashion" was the beginning of a steep descent into near oblivion, which would only end a few more years down the line. I agree that he wasn't at the top of his game when he recorded it but when you listen to it, you can definitely imagine how good his albums were when he was at the top of his game.

Next post: Queen- The Game

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

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

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

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

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

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

Playing In Union We Stand

Overkill establishing their dominance

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 wowing with their sound

Great fire effects

Jumping to Sabaton

Need I say more?

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

Trivium in full swing

Beaulieu wailing away

Trivium in a blur

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

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

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

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

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

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

John Bull singing to the crowd

Phil Sandoval shredding away

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

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

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

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

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