Tim Brough's Black Leather Bookshelf

All Rock, No Bust
4 Out Of 5 Stars

There's no-one else alive that can power-chord the way Angus Young can. Or yowl the way Brian Johnson does. It's why any AC/DC album is met with such great anticipation. This time, from the powerful title track to the walking shuffle of "Emission Control," "Rock Or Bust" delivers hammer-down rock like only AC/DC can.

Another noteworthy thing about "Rock Or Bust" is its brevity. Clocking in at 11 songs in 35 minutes, it delivers short and sharp stabs of guitar and Phil Rudd's primitive thud, Each song delivers its message, solo and gets out of its own way as soon as the meat is delivered. Heck, the great "Play Ball" (heard during the 2014 MLB World Series) gets it done in under 3 minutes. While it may disappoint fans who would rather Angus wing-it off into super solo land or a blues workout or two, to me it's like a prize fighter dispensing with the dancing and heading straight for the knockout punch.



At times the lyrics fall into beer raising similarity (4 songs that have 'rock' in the title is more than a little telling), but the album doesn't suffer from it. You don't come to an AC/DC party looking for PhD material. "Rock Or Bust" is AC/DC proving their point. There's a nice shout out to founding member Malcolm Young in the CD booklet...like it or not, your favorite bands are growing older with you. Even so, AC/DC enter their 40th year as a rock and roll powerhouse, and they show no signs of stopping.

I Wanna Go Hot Rockin'
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Sandwiched as it is between two five star metal classics, "Point Of Entry" suffers from being buffered by "British Steel" and "Screaming for Vengeance." There's plenty of high energy rocking coming of the disc, but it's only average high energy as opposed to classic stuff like "Breaking The Law" and "You've Got Another Thing Coming" from opposite sides of this release. There are a couple of tracks here that just feel like filler, which was rare for a Priest album.

But when the going is good, Rob Halford and crew were still delivering the goods. "Heading Out On The Highway," "Hot Rocking" and "Desert Plains" are as good as Judas Priest gets, but then you're saddled with the iffy stuff, like "Don't Go." There were some other inconsistencies, like the lack of the trademarked twin-guitar attack that is a huge part of the band's signature sound. It's also worth noting that most of the songs clock in at under four minutes, which means the band was given no room to stretch out. Perhaps it is because of the "large quantities of alcohol" the band admits to using in the liner notes or the fact that the songs were written in the studio without some road-testing to see what would or would not work.

Be that as it may, "Point Of Entry" lacks the drive and inspiration of most of the Priest albums in their discography and especially in the fertile period between "Hell Bent for Leather" and "Defenders Of The Faith." What makes Judas Priest so inspirational is simply missing, and there are many other better albums to pick up on.

Death Comes Driving Down The Highway: RIP Allen Lanier: 1946-2013
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Today, I heard that Allen Lanier died. It kind of hit hard as Blue Oyster Cult were one of my gateway bands into hard rock and heavy metal. Having an Aunt who gave me Alice Cooper and Black Sabbath albums helped, too. But BOC, they were pushing buttons with songs like "Dominance and Submission" and "Don't Fear The Reaper." So I became a fan. Loyal even through the albums like "Mirrors" and "Cultosaurus Erectus." Then, in the summer of 1981, "Fire Of Unknown Origin" arrived at my college radio station. All the detractors could then officially go to hell. "Fire Of Unknown Origin" kicked as hard as "Spectres" and "Agents of Fortune." And oddly enough, this may have been one of Lanier's finest moments with the band, as many of these songs are heavily keyboard and synth driven.

Take the lead-off of the title track. On top of one of Buck Dharma's fiery lead guitar solos, Lanier lays down a keyboard bed that was worthy of The Cars. This was, after all, 1981 and plenty of bands were playing catch up with the music of the times. But Blue Oyster Cult did so on a minimal level, relying mostly on Lanier's keys and tighter song compositions. It was those qualities that made "Burning For You," the second of only two singles to ever break the Top 40 for the band, such a marvel. Tightly wound up with a great Dharma lick to open it up, it was set up as a standard pop construction but with bigger sound.

There was an additional incentive for the band on "Fire Of Unknown Origin." They were approached by the producers of the upcoming "Heavy Metal" animated feature to contribute a couple of new songs. They responded with one of the band's best, "Veteran Of The Psychic Wars." A pounding martial drum gives marching orders to a soldier who has seen so many battles that "wounds are all I'm made of." It's a haunting and inescapable rocker, one of several compositions that band co-wrote with science fiction author Michael Moorecock (including another favorite of mine, "Black Blade" from "Cultosaurus"). The other was "Heavy Metal (The Black and The Silver)." Riding in on a squalling guitar feedback, it's a shame it wasn't in the movie, as it encompasses what the band was about from the beginning. (Although in my humble opinion, "Psychic Wars" is the better song.)

There's still more ominous story telling, like on "Vengeance (The Pact)," again a candidate for "Heavy Metal," or in the bizarrely funny and again, piano heavy "Joan Crawford" (...has risen from the grave!). "Fire of Unknown Origin" was a mighty comeback album, which was a shame as the band would start to fragment soon after, and the next album would be the generic "Revolution By Night."

RIP Allen Lanier: 1946-2013. Thanks for adding so much music to the soundtrack of my life.





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When Dinos Roamed The Earth
4 Out Of 5 Stars

"Black Blade" is one of my favorite Blue Oyster Cult songs. It marked their most successful foray into the science fiction/hard rock hybrids that made the meat of their first three albums, and is easily as great as the classic "Golden Age Of Leather" from "Spectres." That said, there are plenty of cool songs here for the BOC fan, and I pretty much figure this was their last really good album. "The Marshall Plan" is possibly one of the funniest songs the Cult ever made! Especially for the Guitar Riff 101 segment in the middle, this rates with right there with Blotto's "Heavy Metal Head." It may also be important to note that Blotto toured with Blue Oyster Cult and Dharma played on the previously mentioned parody.

If the thought that Blue Oyster Cult could possess a funny bone gets under your skin, then you should probably avoid this disc and go for "Spectres" or "Agents." But for "Cultosaurus Erectus," the BOC stretched their chops in a really fine way. Get this for "Black Blade," "Unknown Tongue" and the stunning "Divine Wind" ("if he really thinks we're the devil, then let's send him to hell..."). They were still capable of giving us hard rock (courtesy of super producer of the time Martin Birch) with brains.

As to the quality of the re-issue, it has the usual complaints aimed at Culture Factory's releases. It's hard to say that the CD is 'remastered' as much as 'made louder.' Audiophiles will cry foul, but they'll be plenty for whom the listening experience will be unsullied. "Cultosaurus Erectus" has none of the flaws from other in CF's collection (the shoddy digital skips in "The Romantics," for one example). I like the recreation of the album sleeve, with the caveat that the print is so freaking tiny. Proceed at your own risk.




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Back to Sludge Metal
4 Out Of 5 Stars

After decades of waiting, 3/4's of the original Black Sabbath (including Ozzy) reunite for what has to be one of the most anticipated CD's of the year, the boomtastic "13." I can testify that it was worth the wait. Producer Rick Rubin told the band to go back to their early albums to get a feel for what he was expecting to produce, and the band took it to heart. This is metal so dense, it cuts like used crankshaft motor oil. It's that heavy.

If you're looking for speedy riff rocking, it's not here. This is the sound that created such anthemic dirges as "War Pigs" or "Sweet Leaf." There's even a touch of Ozzy the blasphemer as he raises the question "Is God Dead?" And they pound that riff into submission for over 8 minutes. Granted, Ozzy's voice is showing its weathering, but Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler still have the magic spooky touch. (Audioslave drummer Brad Wilk fills in for Bill Ward.) "End Of The Beginning" snakes a demented blues riff to kick the album off with a oozing pounce. Or there's "Dear Father," which tackles the subject of abuse.

The band has never been scared of heavier topics, which "Dear Father" and the anxiety provoking "Methademic" show. (Given Ozzy's recent trip to rehab, maybe even closer to home than known.) The band even throws a few touchstones from the old days in when "Zeitgeist" pays homage to "Planet Caravan." Even with that obvious reference, "13" pounds and stomps like the monsters Black Sabbath were at the peak of their powers. The sense of dread and thrill of doom still permeate the best of the songs here, and - despite their age - the band doesn't sound like they are pandering to their past or trying to stay current. "13" is every bit as tasty as "The Devil You Know" (by Heaven and Hell with Dio), just down tuned and packed with 50% more evil.

Worth the wait and better than anyone could have possibly expected at this point in their collective life, "13" is a triumphant comeback. "I ain't no hero to come and save you," Ozzy wails in "Peace of Mind." Well, actually guys, you are. Thanks for saving heavy metal for 2013.

Magnum Toxic
4 Out Of 5 Stars

"Toxicity," System of a Down's second album, remains their best effort. They mashed together thrash metal and melodic hard rock (yes, I said that seriously) to the point that Serj Tankian, could jump from his harsh shouting to the tuneful but complex "Aerials." Guitarist Daron Malakian even picks up an acoustic for "Chop Suey!" And like brothers in arms Rage Against The Machine, System of a Down weren't afraid of taking on political rocking, as in the CD's opening "Prison Song." At the same time, there's a weird sense of humor, like in "Bounce," where the bans seems to be taking a whiz at their own brand of metal, or using a flute in "Science."

It helped that a producer like Rick Rubin could come in and make order out of chaos, much like he did with Slayer's best albums. He's one of the few producers who can take bands that make music as jagged as SOAD create and stitch it into a complete and coherent album. When this kind of sound was all the rage in 2001 (think Korn, Rage and Deftones), "Toxicity" was the album that stood above the crowd in terms of sheer originality and stylistic verve.



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Dinosaurs Still Stomp the Earth
3 Out Of 5 Stars

For their 20th studio album in 40 years, Kiss lean into their strength as old-man rockers. "Monster" treads the same stomping grounds as past Kiss albums like "Revenge" or "Sonic Boom," doing their utter best to capture passed glories, while still rocking righteously. Paul is still in fine voice and Gene is still in big ego. Expecting anything else?

Well, you shouldn't be. Kiss has been Stanley/Simmons with sidemen since Ace and Peter left almost three decades ago. They have carried that with aplomb and made plenty of good music, even if the themes have not changed all that much. Gene still sings about being the demon and headed "Back To The Stone Age," they still try and flaunt outsider status on "Freak," and Tommy Thayer is coached to sound as much like Ace as he can on "Outta This World." Drummer Eric Singer does his time on "All For The Love of Rock and Roll" to keep up the appearances of a democratic, four man band.

Make no mistake, though. This is the Stanley/Simmons machine, with Paul still strutting his stuff (the love on an elevator saga "Take Me Down Below" and the first single "Hell or Hallelujah") and Gene is still in arrested development ("The Devil Is Me"). The lone concession to trying something out of character is the a capella opening on "Eat Your Heart Out." As for the rest of "Monster," you've heard this before. It's not a bad Kiss album, it's just Kiss being Kiss.

Meanwhile. more from the oldman rock brigade....


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We've got a thing...
3 Out of 5 Stars
And it's called "Radar Love." In America, at least, that was one of two calling cards for Golden Earring. The other came a decade later for these Dutchmen, and that was the top ten "Twilight Zone," which sounds almost like it came from a different band. But in between, Golden Earring cut twenty-some albums and had a huge following in Europe. Their cult following in the USA kept them on major labels through their career, and the obvious title of "The Continuing Story of Radar Love" tries to sum up the decade plus between the band's two main hits.

The CD does OK in that regard, especially since most folks will be buying this for one or the other hit. However, there are Golden Earring albums not even represented here, like "Hilt," "Prisoner of The Night" or "NEWS," which even had a near miss with "When The Lady Smiles." What falls between the two hits are a mixture of songs and styles; GE were straddling hard rock and prog and not really grounded on either. It made a song like "Radar Love," with the hard rock book-ended by jungle drums and a horn break in the center, or "Ce Soir" a film noir of a song about an assassin. Or even another attempt at US single, "Candy's Going Bad" (the follow-up to "Radar Love"). It starts of with a hard rock band and slows down at the end into a proggy instrumental fade. Or that, by the time they got to "The Devil Made Me Do It" and "Twilight Zone" (yet another song about an assassin), they were embracing slickness and new-wavish synths.

Lead vocalist Barry Hay manages to pull off his English pretty well, and guitarist George Kooymans often has a flair for quirky riffs and solos (give a listen to the spacy "Vanilla Queen" or the solos that build the bridge of "Twilight Zone"), but many of these songs do show their age. That's not in a good way, I should add. Come for the hits, and explore the rest with the knowledge that Golden Earring have been style chameleons throughout their career. Then listen to "Leather," a song that riffs about that "same old masochism" for a good chuckle.



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Worth it just for "Bully"
3 Out Of 5 Stars

Shinedown goes for the commercial rock sound on their fourth CD, "Amaryllis," which means if you like Nickelback, you'll probably dig this. Plenty of stop/start guitar chords, lead singer Bent Smith does good vocal air-horn, and drummer Barry Kerch is a secret weapon. Shinedown go hard, fast and melodic. Nothing new here.

What does set them apart is subject. "Bully" takes on a touchy topic; if you're in high school and you actually look like most hard rockers do, you're probably gonna get the crap kicked out of you. Shinedown goes for the attackers with gusto and it is the best thing on the disc. Second is their smack-back of fair-weather fans on "Nowhere Kids," who will probably dislike this album since it went top ten.

There is the obligatory set of power ballads on "Amaryllis," "I'll Follow You" actually has some soul to it (and strings). Smith can carry a melody just fine, and he does so on the acoustic finale, "Living Through The Ghost." Shinedown uses "Amaryllis" to come off as better than the average rock band, and this may be their best album so far.





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