Light the candles in the study as we open the arcane tomes in celebration of King Diamond’s sophomore album as a solo artist with the seminal work “Abigail”. An album that was released thirty years ago on this very day. It was the King’s second outing as I’ve noted but his first full length concept recording. He touched upon his sinister storytelling with “Fatal Portrait” on a few numbers but with “Abigail” a terrible tale was woven across each and every track. You can read more about the whole premise and the finer details down on the official Wikipedia entry as I always include them here.
At the time of the original release I must admit that I was not listening to much that King Diamond was dishing out. I was a very latecomer to Mercyful Fate and while some of their stuff intrigued me back then, I always felt it was a bit much for me and I leaned more towards the building Power Metal genre. It wouldn’t be until King’s “Them” album that I immersed myself more into his work. As I listened to the release once more for its anniversary, it’s amazing to find that it still holds up really well and still sends chills down your spine as the tale plays out. The whole album was written by King but guitarists Andy LaRoque and Michael Denner tossed their talents into a couple of tracks as well. The band was rounded out by bassist Timi Hansen and drummer Mikkey Dee. Andy and Dee would quickly become a lot of aspiring musicians favorites based on their his skillful playing. The King Diamond band was a quick lock for fans of the Mercyful Fate group based on that bands bassist Hansen and guitarist Denner being in the lineup with the King. Let’s take a look at the original track listing and then toss together our favorites. Continue reading King Diamond’s “Abigail” Hits Its Thirtieth (1987-2017)→
For crying out loud my readers, can you believe that “Bat Out Of Hell” by Meat Loaf is now hitting its “Fabulous Fortieth” Anniversary? Yes my friends this album, while the second of Meat’s storied career was released on this very day back in 1977 and what an album it was. Composed in full by Jim Steinman, this release began the pairs historic collaboration during a very interesting time in music history. As a score this one is bombastic to the nth degree and from the moment it begins with the title track brings you deep into the story of a biker who is heading for the great unknown despite his unawareness of this being the case. This track remains a favorite based on its flourishing intro part and it was something I always tried to master as an up and coming musician. I got some of it but hey I was young. Oh yeah and before I get carried away here please remember that this isn’t as much line by line history and more of a personal reflection on the body of work. All of the finer details are locked into the Wikipedia entry if you’d like some deeper fact checking. So where was I. Oh yeah so this one was a killer if you glanced at the liner notes and featured players such as Todd Rundgren, Kasim Sulton, Max Weinberg, Edgar Winter, Roy Bittan, Ellen Foley and of course Jim Steinman. Rundgren would produce the album when no one else really wanted to. This one was a hard sell to the record companies of the day and that surprised me just a little bit since they were already open to bands like KISS, Judas Priest and Angel. Two of which could be considered “way out there” by the times standards.
The song “Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad” was an immediate radio hit or at least I believed that it was since I heard it on so many radio stations back in the day. My parents had a rocking side to them so traditional Rock Radio was something that was listened to in my household quite a bit. I think that was what led them to grabbing me the album because if they didn’t my copy came from one of those Record Clubs that let you snag a bunch of albums for a penny. I think everyone that I knew back as a youth took advantage of that “deal” and then was shell-shocked by how high the albums cost for you to make good with the company for the super discount but I digress. Continue reading Meat Loaf’s “Bat Out Of Hell” Still Rocking At 40 (1977-2017)→
Stand up on top of your seats and raise your fist in the air and light that lighter to its highest flame because KISS “Alive II” has reached its fortieth anniversary and was released on this date back in 1977. As this is one of my very favorite albums of all time I am pretty stoked to reflect upon its awesomeness. Here we go.
In some sense it began for me with the opening line that shouted “You Wanted The Best And You Got The Best! The Hottest Band In The World —- KISS!!!” From the moment this album began with that intro I started my first truly full exploration into a band that I had only heard every now and again at that point in history. I would sometimes hear them if my parents had the Rock radio station on in the car and songs like “Rock and Roll All Night” or “Strutter” came across the airwaves. I liked those songs enough to the best of my recollection but that was all I was able to absorb since I was still at a pretty young age. When KISS “Alive II” came out I was still in grade school and for some reason I can still recall seeing a double page advertisement for it in one of the major newspapers of the day. Since money was not really in my own control around those years it would be a couple of years later when I finally got my own copy of the album but of course I had heard it quite a few times by then since some older friends had it and allowed me to indulge in its greatness and be schooled in a sense with what truly was “The Hottest Band In The World” to my young ears. To me, Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss were Rock and Roll superheroes and their wild image was like watching the comic books that I was reading come to life. KISS “Alive II” 1977 LP Front Cover Continue reading “You Wanted The Best!!!” – KISS “Alive II” Is Forty Years Old!!! (1977-2017)→
Join me now as we return to the year 1987 when MTV was ruling the small screens of homes everywhere and teenagers and the not so much would tune in to see the top videos of the day. It was during this time that the band KISS would release what amounted to be their most commercial album yet with “Crazy Nights”. An album that celebrates its thirtieth anniversary today. By the time 1987 rolled around, it seemed like the makeup had been gone from the faces for so much longer and I guess this was due to the band having released three albums previously all without the famous face paint. “Creatures Of The Night” would be the last makeup years album and when Vinnie Vincent became an official member for “Lick It Up” it was gone. Then came “Animalize” and “Asylum” and new guitarists in Mark St. John for “Animalize” onto Bruce Kulick for “Asylum” where he would continue the role on “Crazy Nights”. At the time of this release Eric Carr (RIP) had become my very favorite drummer and despite being a super diehard for the legendary Ace Frehley, I was quite enjoying the skills that Kulick was bringing to the table. Before getting deep into thoughts on this one, remember that these are personal reflections to the best that’s possible and not line for line history since that is already on the Wikipedia entry. Here we go.
I bought my copy of “Crazy Nights” on vinyl from a store in my neighborhood called The Record Factory. It’s been gone for a very long time as I write this and now is one of the numerous cell phone providers sales places. A band friend of the time would join me in my first listen to the album over a couple of beers in my Sanctum Sanctorum basement headquarters in my parent’s house and while I had heard the single somewhere already was a tad concerned on just how commercial this seemed to be. According to interviews of the time the band had hired on producer Ron Nevison and he was tasked at giving the band a brand-new radio friendly sound. Nevison had worked on Ozzy’s “The Ultiimate Sin” and there were some hits on the release so KISS probably felt that his touch would do similar magic to their latest work. As my friend and I worked through the listen it was agreed that the second number was a killer one but “Bang Bang You” was junk. Too corny and lame we felt – with lines like “I’ll shoot you down with my love gun baby” – Please. I was pretty much a fan of KISS for the past ten years at this time and was feeling very let down by my favorite band as I worked deeper into the release. Below you can examine the full track listing and I’ll continue to share my favorites afterwards. Continue reading KISS’ “Crazy Nights” Hits Thirty Years (1987-2017)→
Hails My Metal Legions, it’s time to “Heben Sie Ihre Faust” or as we say in English, “RAISE YOUR FIST” because today is the 30th Anniversary of the Warlock album “Triumph and Agony” which was released on this day care of Mercury Records. The album, while their fourth and final release, was probably the one that the fans of this type of music first learned of the band and their rocking leader – The Amazing Doro Pesch. The group was popular in their native Germany but back then it was very hard to break a band over in this part of the globe. We had Helloween of course, but even they didn’t come over here for touring all that much to my recollection. The album would feature a completely new lineup for the group and its signature, and most iconic track is the anthemic “All We Are”. I’ll go over some more about the tracks after reminding how like most of our toasts, this is a personal reflection more than its line by line analysis since that stuff has long been done on the albums Wikipedia entry.
Warlock’s new lineup consisted of Niko Arvanitis and Tommy Bolan on guitar, Tommy Henriksen on bass while Michael Eurich handled the drums. I found it interesting to learn that there were also three guest drummers on the release that included the late great Cozy Powell (a personal favorite player), Rich Richman and Sterling Campbell. The latter two I am unfamiliar with any work from across my Metal mainframe. Bolan and Henricksen would add an American Metal flair to the previously full German based band that was found delivering “True As Steel” (the preceding album). Some of the Metal fans that were more “in the know” about what was happening elsewhere in the world got into them care of that album but as I’ve said for the larger side its “Triumph and Agony” all the way. Though my copy of the original is a long unsolved mystery in terms of its location, I do have a copy of this on CD which allows me to blast it at maximum volume once more for its anniversary. I still enjoy the whole release, but like most albums there are some songs that I absolutely love from the session. Let’s take a look at the full track listing down below from the original album. Continue reading “Es Wird Gefeiert”; Warlock’s “Triumph and Agony” Hits 30 (1987-2017)→
