Category: Music

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Master Of Puppets – Metallica

It’s hard to write about an album which affected me so much. There are a few that have had that effect and the first three Metallica albums definitely gave me something new from music. This was a new style for me, I expect I listened to this in the late 80s after getting into Iron Maiden and AC/DC. The sounds of this album and the thematic experience were beyond my then understanding of what heavy metal was.

I used to think that Metallica took the “chug” sound and made it into a note. They took melody and turned that into rhythm. It felt like a whole new way of writing music and it shook me [but not all night long].

For music to be where it is today you have to have all the bands who now bore me. You have to have the big four. Without them music would be different. Although someone else would have got there, I’m not obsessive enough to think that the creativity of humans is so poor that only a few people are capable of changing the world. If not Metallica then another band. If not Picasso then another artist. That seems quite logical to me.

Every song on this album is an artwork. It is a classic. This is an album that should be owned and played by all. It’s stunning. Yet, now, it bores me. My music has moved on and while I can appreciate this album for the genius that it is I rarely play it and consider it almost a part of history. I would rarely seek this album out. I still play AC/DC and some other bands so I’m not sure what it is about this that does that.

If you asked me to list the top ten metal albums I don’t think this one would make it for me. I’d rather have the first Metallica album. I understand that is a controversial choice and I also understand why but the first album is raw. This album is somewhat polished and I’m not so keen on that sound. Which is ironic given my current propensity for electronic industrial music!

Go listen to this. It’s a classic. It’s just history now.

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Master Of Confusion – Gamma Ray

In reality this is a Helloween album. I think it’s Kai Hansen playing guitars and then the sound is more “Helloween”.

So, I’ve just been over to Wikipedia and I’m not sure what’s going on. This album is named for Gamma Ray on my music collection but it isn’t in the list of titles by Gamma Ray on their Wikipedia page. This means it might really be by Helloween [which is almost the same thing].

Fuck. It’s not on the Helloween Wikipedia page either. That’s me a bit bollocksed there then. Now the next thing is to search for the title rather than the band name. Perhaps I’ll try Kai Hansen.

Now I’m lost. It’s not on his page either.

The album is playing as I write this and bugger me if they haven’t covered “Death Or Glory” by a NWOBHM band which I’ve heard many times on a album collated by Lars Ulrich. However, the search isn’t going well to figure out this album because now I’ve search for “Death Or Glory” and all I’m getting is a song by The Clash and it’s NOT THAT ONE.

The next song has started and it’s a ballad bullshit thing. It’s called Lost Angels and sounds like it too.

Right, I’ve solved the Death Or Glory problem, it#s by a band called Holocaust, of course it is.

Back to searching for the album artist that I’m listening to at the moment. This review is causing pain and effort. Originally I was just going to write:

It’s typical Helloween and I haven’t listened to it much.

Jesus! That took some time. But now I’ve found it. The album is actually an EP with only a couple of new songs and some live versions of other songs. Here’s the Wikipedia page. Oh, it has three sides to the EP. Because, of course it does.

My next challenge is to try and find the NWOBHM compilation that Lars Ulrich put together as there’s a load of great songs on it.

MasterOfConfusioCover.jpg
By Source, Fair use, Link

On my previous communication I forgot to mention that I have finally completed the L section of the reviews and now I’m on the M bit, I mean I know it’s obvious but it feels like an achievement.

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Maiden England ’88 – Iron Maiden

Honestly, I bought this a few years back because it’s a recording of the first concert I went to. Except it isn’t. I saw Maiden on 10th December 1988 at Wembley Arena and it was spectacular. This recording is them at the NEC in Birmingham. I think I’ve played it once.

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Lovesexy – Prince

Wow, two albums in the “L” section of this as I trawl through my stuff alphabetically. The main this I remember about this album is that it was recorded on a tape which had Bon Jovi and then went straight into this. I’m not sure they go together but that tape was a product of its time, around 1990 in my lifescale.

There are two songs which strike me as best on this album and they would be: Alphabet St and Lovesexy. I don’t listen to this album often, it is however most definitely a summer sound. It’s worth a listen.

As I had a taped copy of this originally from SR I didn’t know the format of the album and when I got the CD version I was annoyed that the whole album is listed as a single track. I spent quite a while finding software to break the album into individual tracks but I go there in the end. I now have this as a digital copy on the NAS. It’s there forever. Unless there’s an EMP, in which case we are all fucked.

I can remember this tape playing as I drove cadets to a band competition in the late 1990s. I had this playing in the minibus and we were all singing along to Bon Jovi and then Prince started playing. I quite liked the contrast but it was not universal!

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Loveless – My Bloody Valentine

I got this after a friend recommended it as a highly rated album. I knew it wasn’t metal but I wasn’t sure what it was. I can tell you that I would describe it as haunting blurry music with distortion. I can’t decide if it’s actually any good. It sounds like it comes from the early 90s and they are a band trying to make a name for themselves as being different and not the usual Manchester lot.

I guess that first paragraph is rather vague but I have listened to this quite a bit and it might possibly be summer music but it’s not one I rush to. I also haven’t looked up anything on Wikipedia [which I will do after publishing this] so I can’t be held accountable for anything I’ve said which accidentally is true.

It’s worth a listen but probably best while high?

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Love Symbol – Prince

I don’t thin that as a metal head it’s wrong to really like Prince. This album comes after Diamond and Pearls and was when he changed his named to a squiggle.

There is a level of funk in this album which is delightful. I don’t listen to this album as much as Diamonds and I think that’s because the latter has more of a personal connection, I did see Prince on tour at Earls Court.

Turn the bass up and play this loud on a sunny day and it can’t do anything but brighten your life.

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Look What The Cat Dragged In – Poison

I can remember a poster of the singer of Poison on the wall in our sixth form centre at school and I couldn’t tell if he was a he or a she. It’s good that these things matter less these days and most people don’t really care, be what you want to be. I haven’t seen Poison and that may be a good thing, I dread to think what the audience would be like.

This is classic terrible 80s rock and it’s brilliant. This is an horrific look at the culture of cock-rock and what it does to a generation. I love this stuff but at the same time I can inform you that it is terrible [sorry Pom].

This album has some classic songs on it and everyone would be singing along.

My problem now is trying to imagine four chaps in their sixties with balding heads running around in drag-queen make up singing these songs. It was and is a product of its time and is a bloody good examples of that time.

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Lodestar – Lodestar

This band was a spin-off from Senser. The singer and a couple of others created this album and toured for a while in 1996 or so. I can’t remember when I bought this album. The wiki page for them seems to indicate they are a prog-rock band but it’s not as boring as prog rock and quite upbeat. I enjoy it and some of the songs run through my head now and then, the sign of a good album. It’s worth a listen.

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Lving Proof – Live In Chicago – Wishbone Ash

I bought this album because I heard somewhere that the lead singer of Iron Maiden said that this band were one of his influences.  I have listened to it and quite enjoyed it, but it is generally slow and not metal. It’s good for having on in the background on a summer’s evening while sitting outside.

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Nachtmahr – Electrowerkz

Last night was a chance to listen to some classic Austrian Industrial music at Electrowerkz. It’s in Torrens Street, Angel, which is a tiny little cul-de-sac with a smart pub at its entrance and an Alien-themed industrial-alternative club for other people at the other end.

I think last night was the forth time I’ve got clothes on and ready in another person’s driveway. I park in spaces that people don’t use, but I’m not a thief, I pay for the privilege to keep my car there.

First band on at Electrowerkz was Dunkelsucht. This probably translates to either dark thoughts or depression. I’m not sure and in this day and age it’s terrible that I haven’t looked up which it is. Maybe I’m too lazy. OK, I just went and did it and it apparently means Dark Investigated. I suspect not!

Dunkelsucht
Dunkelsucht

This band comprised a male singer and a female computer controller type person. They are from Switzerland and I quite enjoyed them. It seemed quite pop-like to me, but I suspect that in reality it’s quite heavy stuff? I’m never sure and I hate the fact that it’s all so subjective. I wrote in my notes that it was OK, they had good beats and I enjoyed it overall. I did find that in the middle of a few songs it suddenly went strange with melodies that seemed out of place.

The next band on were DKAG and I’ve seen them before a number of times. Smith and I stayed in the bar. I spent thirty seconds watching them, just to check they were the same. There’s a limit to how much I can take. I’ve kinda come to the conclusion that I really enjoy about forty five minutes of any band and show but after that I start to get bored because all the songs sound the same. I think that’s either because I enjoy M’era Luna and the shorter sets that I generally see there or the causation is the other way around and I just find shorter sets more interesting.

The headliners were Nachtmahr. As with the last time I saw them here there were only two of them. The singer, Thomas Rainer, and the computer controller were all by themselves. I know there were about five people on stage at M’era Luna although two of those were female stage show actors.

Nachtmahr - March 19
Nachtmahr – March 19

Nachtmahr played for a solid ninety minutes and if I’m honest I only started to struggle in the last fifteen or so, even given my rant a couple of paragraphs ago. They were pretty good, but I don’t think Rainer is a natural frontman. To me he looks like he’s playing an act, which all singers are to an extent, but he seems uncomfortable with it. I don’t mind that though. I’ve paid to see a show and I don’t want my musicians to look like they aren’t enjoying it.

Hello Crowd
Hello Crowd

This set had a load of classic songs you would expect to hear. I enjoyed it a lot.

What I found most interesting at the venue was that I would say it was easily a 50-50 split in the sexes of those attending. There was also a wide age spread from around 18 to around 65 from the looks of the people I saw. It was quite probably the most diverse audience I have seen yet for a gig. It was such a nice atmosphere, really enjoyable. A good night.

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