Month: August 2024

Bruce Dickinson – Resurrection Men

On By bigbadburchIn Song Of The Week5 Comments

This week’s song is a bonus feature as it includes a few more tracks. Bruce Dickinson just released a single for another song from The Mandrake Project. For my full review of that album, look no further than here.

Resurrection Men is a curious choice for a single release. We got a vinyl release with the lead single Afterglow Of Ragnarok, and the excellent Rain On The Graves was a digital-only offering. Now we have another physical product, this time a CD only issue of this song. It does seem a bit odd to see a CD single in 2024 but hey, it’s not expensive so I’m not complaining. This release did come with a big poster that I’m not hanging up or folding out so no pics of it, sorry.

The main serving here is Resurrection Men. As I said when I reviewed the album, I was a bit thrown off by this song at first. It does feature a bit of a spaghetti western riff with it, which is fine and isn’t the part that throws me off. It’s a weird sort of a slow-tempo breakdown or interlude a bit into the song that I think doesn’t fit all that well and detracts from the power Bruce showcases on the song’s chorus. I have warmed up to it on repeated listens but I’ll still be honest and say I would have done the song differently and let it ring solid throughout. But I’ve grown to be ok with it so I’m not going to rip it apart or anything.

I have zero clue what this song is about. There is a story through some of the album’s songs that discuss being able to resurrect people and this is certainly one of those songs. It mentions Lazarus, who is both a Biblical figure of resurrection and also a character in the story so I’m not really going out on a limb to figure this is a “story song.” I don’t know the story beyond Lazarus, Necropolis and dead bodies being brought back to life so there’s that.

A new music video came with the single release. It is a standard live performance clip that doesn’t tie in to the story at all. Cool video but nothing to help dig further into the concept that is mostly presented in graphic novel form.

As B-sides there are two songs performed live in Sao Paulo, Brazil earlier in 2024. Bruce performed on this tour with his House Band From Hell, which curiously did not include Roy Z. There is fan speculation on there being untidy reasons for that but nothing has really been said by anyone so I’ll leave it at that. To my knowledge these B-sides are only available on the CD right now, I’m sure in the future they’ll find their way to a streaming platform.

The first song is Afterglow Of Ragnarok, already mentioned as the lead single from this current album. The crowd kicks off the recording and is in full form as South American crowds are. If you aren’t aware, they are the most boisterous crowds on the planet. Things then kick in to a bit of an introduction from Bruce and the song proper, which sounds very heavy and honestly quite good on here. On first listen I remember telling Deke that these B-sides might not be up to snuff for a full live album, but my ears might have been wrong about that. This one is sounding pretty damn good after repeated listens.

The second B-side goes back in time to Bruce’s prior solo album which was Tyranny Of Souls from 19 years ago in 2005. Abduction was the lead and only single from that effort. It is really cool to hear this live after not having Bruce solo material for so long. It’s a good performance for a song that’s shockingly about alien abduction, then the single fades out as Bruce gives a “how the fuck are you?” to Brazil.

Overall this is a pretty cool package. The poster isn’t my thing but it’s a cool bonus for those who would want it, and two live B-sides are worth the price of admission. This does tip us off that live material is being recorded and we can draw lines and speculate that a full live offering might be on the horizon, so if you’re a Bruce and Maiden fan it might be best to keep a few bucks handy, especially since Maiden themselves will most certainly have a new live album in the next year.

3 Year Anniversary Extravaganza

On By bigbadburchIn Uncategorized11 Comments

Last Friday marked three years of this site, or at least three years of me actually using it. Three years is nothing “special” in the grand scheme of things but it’s nice that I was able to get this actually going and keep it running for that long. I wasn’t sure if I’d have the desire to truly do this when I started out, it was a roll of the dice.

And while I haven’t had the time or energy to put effort into improving things in some areas, I’m pretty well content with how things are going so I’m not going to make a huge push for anything soon. I might actually tweak a few design things and all that but I’m in no rush, things will happen as they may.

Posting will remain fairly consistent. Three posts a week works out nicely for now, an occasional fourth post might pop up here and there with other things I’d like to discuss but don’t fit the weekly templates I have going right now.

The 1984 celebration will continue until the end of this year. There are plenty more albums and songs to talk about and I’ll have a few more special posts about ’84 before the end. I don’t have much else huge planned for now, the albums of 2024 will come up as we get to the end of the year. But not much beyond that.

I won’t be doing the same scope of a thing for 1985 that I’ve done for 1984. I might do a few posts looking at the year as there was plenty of great music then too, but 1984 was pretty special and I wanted to truly commemorate that one. The remainder of the ’80’s will mostly just get looked at as time rolls on, there won’t be another in the style of what I’ve done this year.

That said, IF this site is still going in seven years, that does bring up 1991. I would do a year-long commemoration of it as I’ve done for ’84 as 1991 was easily the most significant year in music in my life. But that’s all dependent on the huge IF of this site still going in seven years. This is purely a hobby for me, I don’t have enough traffic to make money off the site so there’s nothing there in that respect. And eventually one day I’m going to get bored with doing this. If the 40th anniversary of 1991 comes along before I get bored enough to quit, then it’ll happen. If not, then obviously not.

I think that about covers it for this three year mark. Not much else to do but continue to celebrate the forty year mark of 1984.

Exciter – Violence & Force

On By bigbadburchIn Album of the Week8 Comments

And we’re off – to the Great White North to revisit a glorious dose of speed metal.

Exciter – Violence & Force

Released February 1984 via Megaforce Records

Exciter formed in 1978 under the name Hell Razor, the same year Judas Priest released the song Exciter. The song would, not coincidentally, offer a template for a faster, more aggressive sound that would come to be known as speed metal. Exciter the band would rechristen themselves in 1980 and pursue the noisy, thrash-like aggressive metal.

Exciter’s debut album Heavy Metal Maniac came in 1983 after the band signed to Shrapnel Records. Not long after, Jonny Z of Megaforce would get Exciter’s contract and the band was set to offer their second album on that label.

Exciter rode as a three piece – Dan Beehler on drums and vocals, John Ricci on bass and Allan James Johnson on guitar. The album was produced by Carl Canedy, who was a member of The Rods and who also produced the Anthrax debut Fistful Of Metal. Jonny Z was along for a production credit as well.

The cover picture offers up a scene both sinister and goofy. A person decked out in leather and spikes is attempting to break through a door and presumably do bad things to a victim who is trying to keep the door shut. This same figure was on the debut album cover but this second album marked his final appearance. Some have tried linking

Violence & Force offers ten tracks at a 41:34 runtime. It has been reissued by different record labels over the years. Curiously, a 2004 reissue from Megaforce removed a song – Evil Sinner was struck from the record and this is what is found on streaming services. I have no information as to why the song was plucked from the album, though it did turn up as a bonus track on the reissue of the prior album. Also of some note – the reissues were made possible by fellow Canadian metal luminary Jeff Waters of Annihilator, who bought the rights to the Exciter catalog so Beehler and company could get new issues into circulation.

Oblivion

Up first is a noisy and very brief guitar intro. It’s not much of anything but it doesn’t really waste any time either so it isn’t a detraction of any real sort. Grade: B-

Violence & Force

The first song in earnest is the title track. This one is a ripping affair, slamming along at a breakneck pace through its run. The lyrics bring exactly what one would expect from a song with this title, while Beehler offers up a few ear-piercing screams in the chorus and there’s a wild, dissonant guitar solo as well. Great way to kick off the album. Grade: A

Scream In The Night

Another blast of speed and aggression here about the classic metal topic of stuff in the dark coming to get you. It’s intense and pounding all the way through, with the gang choruses used throughout the record coming in full effect. Grade: B

Pounding Metal

This one eases off the gas pedal just a bit but remains slamming and intense. It is a very basic metal track, as evidenced by the title being repeated about a million times. It does stick out but the song is still pretty good even with the psychotic repetition. Grade: C+

Evil Sinner

Here is the deleted track, again present on original versions but gone from reissues. This does maybe sound like it was recorded somewhere else, perhaps why it was pulled later on. There’s nothing maliciously blasphemous here, it’s just a song about some sort of evil tyrant ruining stuff as they do. Grade: B+

Destructor

This one goes all out on the speed and does show off how closely related speed and thrash metal are. A very solid offering. Grade: B+

Swords Of Darkness

Exciter lay off the pace by a literal hair here and throw in another dark fantasy tale of battle, death and destruction. None of these battles go well for people who aren’t dark and evil, by the way. Grade: B

Delivering To the Master

A fairly long one here at six minutes and it comes with a quiet, moody intro passage. This marches at a slower pace with pretty sick riffs as it relays someone presumably about to sell his soul. A nice change of pace here. Grade: B+

Saxons Of The Fire

This goes all out for sure. It’s a blistering track that venerates the ancient Saxons in battle. The limits of the albums’ production only enhance the atmosphere on this one, it is a barnburner that goes straight for the throat. Grade: A

War Is Hell

We close up shop with a song that goes back to a mid-pace setting and is also the longest track on the record. The punk and NWOBHM influences come straight through on the vocals while the main riff is a straight razor throughout. Grade: A-

Violence & Force was a landmark album for heavy metal, its cacophony of sound would inform thrash metal and later the extreme metal movement. Exciter would not become a “huge” band in the grand scheme of things but they would enjoy a bit of sales success for these early albums and also be cited as an influence from people all over the metal spectrum. The production was a bit lacking due to financial limitations but that would become an album highlight as opposed to a detriment.

Exciter would go on to tours with Anthrax, Mercyful Fate and Motörhead. They would subsequently begin shifting band members and pursuing a more melodic sound. Exciter broke up a few times over the years but have reformed under various line-ups, no one original member had a constant presence through the band’s full run.

This album offers up a fine slab of nasty, aggressive heavy metal. While it’s not technically challenging or “innovative” I suppose, it is a significant point in metal history. It is also, while sounding heavy like other offerings of the day, very much its own thing. Exciter didn’t sound like Metallica or Slayer nor did the reverse happen. Violence & Force is its own experience that won’t be found in anyone else’s recording catalog.

Album Grade: B+

Understanding the full scope of heavy metal requires getting under the hood. No doubt that Ride The Lightning was influential in 1984. But Exciter lie as a central cog in the development of heavy metal in the early 1980’s. It was ok to be fast and nasty, and also listenable alongside that.

Picking Five Songs From 1968

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year5 Comments

Back again to pick songs from a year. This time it’s on to 1968, which again I’m not radically familiar with the time period. This was nine years before I was born so this is me going back to songs I’ve heard in the years since.

And as always, this is more of a “five of my favorite songs” kind of thing as opposed to “my five favorite songs” of any year. Nothing radically definitive here, just me going through stuff. Let’s get to it.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience – All Along The Watchtower

Up first is something definitive, this being the definitive cover song. Hendrix worked on this before Bob Dylan even released his version and Hendrix’s cover was out only six months after Dylan’s original. And Jon Bon Jovi’s cousin was the recording engineer in with Hendrix for long sessions of recording guitar tracks over and over again.

But in the end what came out was a masterpiece of a song. Hendrix did such wonders with the song that Dylan wound up working some of the cover into his performances. The song is a crazy, mind-melting trip through what sounds like an apocalyptic wasteland. There’s really nothing more I can say, the song is just flat out amazing.

Johnny Cash – Cocaine Blues

Another cover song here, as Cash pulled out this old time song for his famous set at Folsom Prison. A twisted tale of Willy Lee, who gets messed up on the white powder and shoots his woman for having other lovers. Lee runs off to Mexico buts gets caught and put away for life in Folsom (it was San Quentin in older versions).

This is one hell of a heavy song for a country performance, though also one fitting for the audience Cash was playing for. Cash said he almost “did himself in” playing it, it’s a pretty hard hitting tune to play out with basic country instruments. And it’s a magnificent highlight of a landmark performance.

The Beatles – Back In The USSR

For a bit of a spoiler alert – this is the only Beatles song to appear on my lists. And the one I pick is essentially a joke song, this one mocks up the Beach Boys and Chuck Berry and clowns around with their takes on the USA. And Ringo was pissed off during this time so Paul had to do the drums, or something, I’m not entirely sure.

But this is a fantastic boogie, it’s both funny and also a really good song on its own merits. And it was a great way to open an album, especially one with all the crazy shit that the White Album had on it. Paul and company took some flack for recording this back then but the song outlived the Soviet Union and it’s been a widely played and celebrated track.

Cream – White Room

One more Cream song for the list before the group bowed out. This one is another crazy psychedelic offering but was actually just about Jack Bruce’s poet friend who had just got an apartment or something. It’s also probably about drugs, I don’t know that but it has to be because these lyrics are totally crazy. Another fine jam from a group that did more than they probably want credit for to get heavy metal off and running.

Merle Haggard – Mama Tried

A little more country to wrap this one up. But this is not just a country song, Mama Tried was a huge hit for Merle and has been all over the place since its recording over 50 years ago. The song is partially a look at Merle’s own early life – he was a petty criminal growing up and wound up doing a stretch in San Quentin. A series of events with other inmates led to him turning his life around, and also he happened to catch a Johnny Cash performance while locked up.

This song is far more tragic than Merle’s own life, though. The guy here gets put away for life, even with his mother doing her damnedest to keep her son from going astray. It’s a sad, sad tale that gets to just about anyone who listens to the song. This was 18 And Life long before Skid Row was a thing.

That covers it for 1968. Just eight more of these and we’ll actually get to years that I was around for.

Speaking of years, a quick note – today marks the third anniversary of this site. I’ll have a more in-depth acknowledgment of that some time next week. Until then, enjoy your weekend.