heaven & hell / rock and roll angel / the devil you know (5) / Apr 2009

So, I've just heard the Heaven & Hell album for the first time and anticipate people asking my opinion. I intend to save them the bother by answering before they have the chance to ask.

Bare in mind this is my opinion after playing the album a single time through and my opinion could well change.

(If you've yet to hear the album and don't want any of the surprises ruined, you might want to wait before you read the rest of this,…

Iron Maiden / where eagles dare / Piece of Mind (1) / 1983

One of my absolute favourite Maiden tracks and my favourite Nicko McBrain moment by far at the beginning of this. No wonder, looking back, that when I was having drum lessons and my teacher asked if I wanted to learn anything specific he had to politely advise me against attempting this at that time. Still, I love playing the guitar parts - ooh triplets!

Piece of Mind is, IMO the most inconsistent Maiden album of the 80s, six of the nine tracks I consider to be good…

Andy Timmons Band / deliver us / resolution (1) / 2006

Also tagged as: andy timmons - deliver us

At the moment it looks like I have to either make a considerable effort to restore some regularity to my journal posting or consign myself to just the two I've been keeping up each week, so a semi-spontaneous journal on a Thursday is called for.

I've awarded former danger danger guitarist Andy Timmons the SotD award a few times before, but recently thistrack has risen in my estimation to be easily my favourite track of his. Every section of this instrumental…

feeder / descend / swim (4) / 1996

I've picked a track by Feeder for SotD before, but whereas that choice represented the trio's leaning toward commercial balladry of the early 00s, Descend (featured on their debut EP and still regularly appears in their live shows) hints at a path the band could have taken effectively utilising contrast between heavy grungey, almost metal guitar sounds and echoey mid 90s alternative rock picking, ultimately sounding (IMO) very much like a porcupine tree track that would have been right at home on in absentia, perhaps not quite as technically demanding as…

(Previous NWoBHM Band of the Week) / (Next NWoBHM Band of the Week)

Alright! Here we go with another NWoBHM Band of the Week entry!

rock goddess were one of two prominent (at the time) all female bands involved in what we affectionately refer to as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.

Depending on the source you quote Rock Goddess formed as a band between '77 and '81 and for some time existed as a three piece consisting of vocalist/guitarist Jody Turner, her little sister Julie on drums and friend Tracy Lamb on bass.

Goddess' first single was to…

A slightly different journal today.

I have gillan's mr. universe sitting on my desk. It's been sitting on my desk for 6 days. I've not heard a single track from it. I'm dying to hear it, but something is stopping me from putting it on.

Thing is, I'm keenly looking forward to hearing it and I don't want anything to spoil that for me. For some reason I have such faith that it is a good album that I want my first listen to it to be perfect, uninterrupted bliss. An ideal I've not attempted to achieve with the…

The New Tony Williams Lifetime / snake oil / Believe It (1) / 1975

The drummer tony williams was talent spotted at age 17 and shortly thereafter joined miles davis's quintet, achieving a hefty helping of success and cult following for his adept skill as part of Davis' rhythm section. In '69 at the age of 23 though Williams surprised by leaving Davis' group to put together the tony williams lifetime with guitarist john mclaughlin and organist larry young. Soon after their first album emergency line up was joined by cream's jack bruce on bass. However acclaimed…

(Previous NWoBHM Band of the Week) / (Next NWoBHM Band of the Week)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbgv587ooNM

"I think 'Am I Evil?' will always be the most important song to me; it's certainly become our most famous and made the most money."
-Brian Tatler, diamond head.

When Diamond Head set out to write a song heavier than symptom of the universe, they were a young unsigned band consisting of Brian Tatler (guitar), Sean Harris (vocals), Duncan Scott (drums) & Colin Kimberly (bass). (Note: they did however borrow heavily from gustav holst's I. Mars, the Bringer of War from…

black sabbath / trashed / born again (1) / Sep 1983

After around 8 months of keeping a keen eye out for it, I finally managed to get myself an actual physical copy of Deep Sabbath's Born Again album today. I had given up waiting and sacrificed having that lovely 'first listen' feeling you usually get after loading the disc up for the first time about three weeks ago only to find that the week after the cd became readily available again. Whether it was re-released, entered a new pressing or what was happening I don't know, but the copyright…

triumph / rock & roll machine / rock & roll machine (8) / Aug 1977

This choice is an indirect response to sablespecter's Album of the Year awards, in particular his Honorable Mentions for 1983. (In which Triumph were one of two artists I had absolutely no familiarity with whatsoever not so long ago)

Triumph…they sometimes sound a bit like Rush…but what else could I tell from the 11 track retrospective collection classics?

First listen through I made some notes on my first reactions and found a vague pattern (keyboard presence) giving away which tracks were from…