Full disclosure: I don’t like the original Bat Out of Hell. I know most of the words to the songs and probably even most of the words in the spoken word parts. But I hate what that record represents – nostalgia meets the Broadway musical meets arena rock – and the whole thing is so …
Tag: Hard Rock
No Rest for the Wicked (1988) by Ozzy Osbourne
I was really tempted to think of Ozzy as an anachronism by 1988, as metal had changed one hell of a lot in the last 20 years. But the opening intensity of the guitar gave me hope that maybe he wasn’t! Then that talk box kicked in, and I wasn’t so sure.
Shout at the Devil (1983) by Mötley Crüe
I have managed to avoid Mötley Crüe for most of my life, beyond their biggest songs, and I can’t say I was looking forward to this. But I find myself…. not pleasantly surprised but at least not horrified. For all their reputation as a “hair metal” band, on this record at least they still sound …
Devil Without a Cause (1998) by Kid Rock
Full disclosure: I don’t like Kid Rock. I don’t like his urban hick persona. I don’t like his public support of The Donald. I don’t like that he owns a craft brewery that makes watery lagers because he didn’t think there were enough watery lagers available in the United States. If I never heard another …
Vagabonds of the Western World (1973) by Thin Lizzy
I’ve been meaning to listen to Thin Lizzy since I listened to classic rock almost exclusively (i.e. for 20 years). For some reason that has never happened. And now I find myself listening to a different album that their reputed best. I worried that was a recipe for disaster. Good thing Thin Lizzy are pretty …
Danzig (1988)
This is not the first Danzig record I’ve heard. So I worry that my reaction to it comes from the fact that I’ve heard a more “mature” version of the band, and this debut, which may have seemed relatively unique at the time – given the state of metal – sounds like something lesser to …
pronounced ‘lĕh-‘nérd ‘skin-‘nérd (1973)
With their debut album, Lynyrd Skynyrd didn’t invent southern rock, as it had already existed for at least 4 years. But you might say they invented the populist form of southern rock, a louder, more blue collar version that relies more on hard rock and country than on soul or jazz. There are eight songs …
Outsideinside (1968) by Blue Cheer
I don’t know what it is exactly, whether it’s the lack of novelty or something more concrete like weaker songs, but this record does not feel like it is the equal to Vincebus Eruptum. Making the comparison is not fair to begin with, simply because the debut is arguably one of the most important records …
We’re An American Band (1973) by Grand Funk Railroad
I don’t know much about Grand Funk Railroad. I’ve heard the title track and a few other hits, but most of what I know of them consists of jokes about them from The Simpsons and other places, so I have kind of always dismissed them without giving it a second thought. And, since it’s been …
Never Turn Your Back on a Friend (1973) by Budgie
My memory of Budgie’s self-titled debut album is that it is fast; Budgie play faster than just about any of the original metal bands (with the exception of Deep Purple on occasion). And so, putting everything else aside, that record is important as it points towards the New Wave of British Heavy Metal well over …
Vivid (1988) by Living Colour
This is a pretty great, albeit over-produced, fusion of funk and soul music with mainstream metal, with some extremely political lyrics.
Holy Diver (1983) by Dio
I have only heard one Dio-era Sabbath album, and I can’t say I loved it. But it was a few years ago and I can’t really tell you specifically what it was that rubbed me the wrong way; maybe it just seemed out of step with the time.
Van Halen (1978)
The first time I ever heard “Eruption” my mind was blown. I had never heard anyone play guitar like that (though that was because I hadn’t heard so many guitarists). It was my gold standard in virtuoso (masturbatory?) guitar showmanship until I heard “Spanish Fly,” which seemed so much more impressive for being played on …
Tyranny and Mutation (1973) by Blue Oyster Cult
I didn’t quite grow up with early British metal but when I started listening to music other than oldies in my late teens, Zeppelin, Purple and Sabbath played a pretty big part of my listening. On my second Blue Oyster Cult record I find myself thinking that it was all those years of worshiping those …
Billion Dollar Babies (1973) by Alice Cooper
Though I have known of Alice Cooper the man for most of my life, this is my first Alice Cooper album (band or man). As you might imagine, I’m a bit surprised.
Pyromania (1983) by Def Leppard
I struggled with just giving Hysteria my usual three listens and so I was not looking forward to this record. The good news is that it is better than Hysteria. The bad news is that claiming anything is better than Hysteria is damning with faint praise.
Inside (1973) by Eloy
A band I wanted to listen to a lot when I was much younger; finally got around to it.
Restless and Wild (1982) by Accept
I didn’t know what to think of this band with a hilariously un-metal band name, which was a good thing, as this record surprised me.
Under the Blade (1982) by Twisted Sister
If you grew up in the 80s as I did, you were inundated by certain music videos and two of them were “I Wanna Rock” and “We’re Not Gonna Take it.” And through my entire life this is all I’ve known of this band, aside from Dee Snyder testifying before congress, which definitely upped my …
Vol 4 (1972) by Black Sabbath
Round about the time the piano opens “Changes,” we start wondering what is going on. Prior to this moment (or, perhaps, prior to “The Straightener”), Black Sabbath was the heaviest band in the entire world. There was no band louder or lower than Sabbath. And then we get a piano ballad backed with a fucking …
Hysteria (1987) by Def Leppard
I have had a hard time finding this album online; Google Play doesn’t have a license for the early Def Leppard stuff (just their later, better stuff!!) and YouTube is missing a bunch of songs. So I probably shouldn’t review it. But I can and I will.
My Own Prison (1997) by Creed
I thought this was their big record until I listened to it. It was still (sadly) a pretty big record, but the big hits I was expecting are not here. That means I don’t know these songs. But that doesn’t make it any better.
Danzig III: How the Gods Kill (1992)
I have never heard Danzig before and, to the best of my knowledge, never heard Glenn Danzig before (except maybe on some Misfits song, but I think the only version of the band I’ve heard is one without him in it). And there’s something I am having a hard time shaking, which will likely infuriate …
Screaming for Vengeance (1982) by Judas Priest
Every time I listen to Priest I get a different feeling than I do with their NWOBHM contemporaries (I am not saying Priest is NWOBHM), and that is that they are a little more concerned with selling records. Maybe that’s because Priest were always interested in doing that (I have never heard any of their …
Love Gun (1977) by KISS
I absolutely hated Destroyer, KISS’s most famous and ostensibly best record, so I had really low expectations for this record. Maybe that’s why I don’t hate it, but I think there are other reasons.
America Must be Destroyed
I must admit that my idea of GWAR and what they actually sound like were very far apart. In some ways they remind me of KISS, in the sense that they look significantly harder than they sound.
Filth Hounds of Hades (1982) by Tank
The opening of “Shellshock” made me think I was in for a crazy, crazy record. The chanting seemed so far outside of what I was expecting from metal from 1982, that suddenly I had all these expectations.
Generation Terrorists (1992) by Manic Street Preachers
What do we do with a record like this? It’s called Generation Terrorists but sounds like it was produced by Mutt Lange or Bob Rock or someone like that. (Well, the production is maybe not that bad.) We have the bizarre amalgam of 80s hard rock (or “cock rock” as some call it) with extremely …
Fireball (1971) by Deep Purple
I feel like Fireball perfectly illustrates why Purple are known less than Zeppelin and Sabbath: the playing is excellent (it feels like Blackmore and Lord just keep trying to push each other), Gillan is doing his insane over-singing thing and the record is actually more diverse than you might guess, but the songs aren’t great …
The Runaways (1976)
I understand why this is an important record to a lot of people: it’s an all-woman rock band, with a bit of a punky attitude and very much behaving like men (or, at least, not like women were supposed to behave). And I’m sure it’s been hugely influential. But the music isn’t all that great: …