Artist: Twisted Sister Title: “The Video Years” Label: Rhino Entertainment Release Date: 6/26/2007 Genre: Heavy Metal Rating: 4/5
I cannot tell you how happy I am about this release because during my own formative Metal years, Twisted Sister and their music were among the catalysts that propelled me deeper into the heavy music genre in terms of the appreciation and respect that I would give it for decades to come. With that being said I am sure that I am not alone in these thoughts as so many people who grew up around this time were also exposed to the unforgettable images of the band and the incredible early videos they had brought to the table of a video network that was itself just being born. When Twisted Sisters third album “Stay Hungry” first broke, it would break big and this was primarily because of the MTV videos that were kept in an almost constant rotation. The aspect of music video was still very new and TS welcomed the chance to use this format for their own growth while few others realized the potential it held for them. The albums lead single would also be hitting many Rock radio stations on an hourly basis it seemed and from this the rest would become Metal music history. Everywhere you turned you found the Metal heads screaming “what do you want to do with your life” and strumming their own air guitars to the sounds of “I Wanna Rock” and “We’re Not Gonna Take” it. I know this for certain as I myself was among those air guitar slingers even though at the time I was really a drummer. This was a great time for Heavy Metal music because the band was larger than life and in the faces of the parents and conventions we were often held at bay by. With Sister we had a defense against those who preached about how we “we should be living our lives” as opposed to giving our own adventures a try. Continue reading “The Video Years” by Twisted Sister→
Artist: Dokken Title: “Unchain The Night” Label: Rhino Records Release Date: 3/13/2007 Genre: Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Rating: 3.5/5
In 1985 the home video for eighties Hard Rock sensation Dokken entitled “Unchain The Night” was unleashed on the Metal fans of the world. The VHS Tape (anyone remember those?) included eight of the bands videos from their hit singles of the time and also featured very candid footage of the group on tour, onstage and just having fun in the towns and hotels that they would visit. Historically the group was touring in support of their second platinum album “Under Lock And Key”. The “Old School” fan that I am remembers these videos very fondly and not only from the tape which I owned and is still buried somewhere, but from when they first aired on both MTV and also the U68 “Power Hour”. The memories come flooding back to me as I watched this DVD and I had to laugh aloud at the fact that I recalled these videos as being so “cool” at the time while realizing just how cheesy they actually were. I was young, but so was the format of music video and its super powered grip was not yet at full strength. Dokken as a band was a guilty pleasure for many Hard Rock and Metal fans as while they had the suave crooning singer in Don, there was also blistering guitar from George Lynch as well as pounding drums from “Wild” Mick Brown. The level of appeal the band had was able to snare fans of the melodic and the heavy as well. Continue reading “Unchain The Night” by Dokken→
Artist: Queensryche Venue: Nokia Theatre (New York, NY) Opener: n/a Date: 9/21/2006 Label: Rhino Entertainment
“I remember now, I remember how it started” – For me the experience of Queensryche started in July of 1984 as the band KISS, while on tour for their album “Animalize” had brought a new band from Seattle as their opening act. The newly signed group was as new to their recording contract as they were to the stage but believe me it did not show like this at all. The group delivered an impressive set from their new (and first) album entitled “The Warning” and while a KISS crowd is often unreceptive to the opening act, lead singer Geoff Tate was clearly a man who could handle them and hold their attention. He also sounded incredibly close to the recording and as a result, legions of KISS fans became followers of Queensryche as well. They would follow this release with their sophomore effort “Rage For Order”, and while it was an album that would give some fans pause they did not suffer a Sophomore curse and give you sub-par music. Many fans actually cite this album as a personal favorite and songs from it often bring resounding response from the audience. For their third album, there would be no resting on ones laurels and instead this would be the one to do it. The third record would be one of the best albums to hit the Progressive Metal genre ever and come to be regarded as one of the most important pieces of music of all time. The album was “Operation: Mindcrime”. It was a recording that would set Metal fans and the genre on its ear, as it was a tale full of intrigue, political viewpoints and mind control. To its credit, the album remains as strong in the minds of fans today as it did when it was originally released. Continue reading Queensryche @ Nokia Theatre Times Square (9/21/2006)→
Artist: Queensryche Title: “Q2K” (remaster) Label: Rhino Entertainment Release Date: 8/29/2006 Genre: Progressive Rock Rating: 3.5/5
In 1999 Queensryche would find themselves in a bit of a bind for not only did they lose the label they had for much of their career but co-founder Chris DeGarmo would also choose to move on and pursue other interests in life. Musically this would not be a release that many Queensryche fans would embrace very openly; but upon listening to the remastered and expanded edition some seven years – I can safely say that there is some enjoyable stuff on it and necessary as part of the complete Queensryche catalog. The best way to enjoy this one is to skate around the tracks and find the most acceptable ones such as “Sacred Ground” and “One Life” which show a different Queensryche from the band you grew up remembering. I think the initial problem fell in the expectations of the fan base as well as the bands quest to keep themselves relevant during a difficult musical point in time. They were no longer Progressive Metal and had instead become a style of harder Progressive Rock that used their typical strong melodic sense mixed in throughout their songs. Technically, they remained the same and sounded fine, as the band did not aim for high levels of avant-garde musical exploration as the bands that came after them (I speak especially of Dream Theater and Fates Warning). DeGarmo’s spot in the band would be temporarily filled by Kelly Gray (now of Slave To The System) while the rest remained the originals (Tate, Rockenfield, Wilton and Jackson). Gray was good but perhaps did not receive any level of compliment based on fans refusing to let go of the fact that Chris had left the lineup. The remaster includes several additional tracks and “Until there Was you” is a perfect ballad for the group while “Howl” is a rocker from top to bottom. Maybe their inclusion to the original release would have helped it along but now we have them on the re-issue so its no longer a problem. The original album tracks of “Breakdown”, “Right Side Of My Mind” and “Liquid Sky” are quite good as well and could have carried the release forward but perhaps its lack of an overall theme and instead just built as straight songs caused this additional grief. To be honest, I remember finding myself uninterested in it when it first hit the shelves but cannot recall what kept me from it back then. Continue reading “Q2K” (remaster) by Queensryche→