Grave Digger - Exhumation: The Early Years

Grave Digger date back to a time that is very fond to me. Having cut my teeth on early 80's metal as a kid, especially the kind of material coming out of Europe, Grave Digger have a sound very near and dear to my heart. Germany metal - ah so sweet. Grave Digger got their start in 1980, coming up through the ranks with other great German metal bands like Accept, Running Wild, Rage, Sinner, and early Helloween, and  are not only still going strong today, but are often ranked as one of the top German metal bands around. Following up last year's amazing release "Return of the Reaper" this 2015 release finds the band joining the ranks of the numerous other bands who have done a re-record project of this nature.

Exhumed - The Early Years finds the band breathing new life into some of their early classics and sets the stage for what is to come in 2016 with the inclusion of two new tracks. The title track from their iconic debut 'Heavy Metal Breakdown', as well as “Headbanging Man” were some the first anthems showcased in their groundbreaking new era of Metal, and now they can be heard anew. Charismatic front-man Chris Boltendahl, core and figurehead of the band since the very beginning left his mark with his unique vocal style on each and every release since. 

Deep Purple - Long Beach 1971

Here we have another release from "The Official Deep Purple (Overseas) Live Series" of a concert that was previously available  for quite some time as a poor sounding bootleg. This new "official release" comes from original tapes, though not a multichannel recording.

This show was recorded for a radio show on July 30, 1971 in Long Beach (California) with the permission of the band. Deep Purple was on tour promoting the album "Fireball" in the United States and give us this amazing set that is only four tracks long but that clocks in at over 70 minutes of music. "Speed King" opens, followed by"Strange Kind Of Woman" (unique theme of the album "Fireball" promoted with that tour),"Child In Time" and traditionally lengthy edition of "Mandrake Root" as has been presented on previous live recordings.

Soto - Inside the Vertigo

Jeff Scott Soto is BACK! And with a metal vengeance. He has always had a metal edge, but this new band release feels bit heavier than we normally think of when thinking of Soto's work.

His excellent melodic vocal style is here, but with an edge and heaviness that in places reminds me of Chad Kroeger (Nickelback - eeek). And I guess I am not the only one to think so, as after thinking this I read another reviewer who stated "There are songs that sound heavy like Metallica, progressive like Dream Theater, commercial like Nickelback, and funky like Talisman."

All of this to say, we have one amazing release here and should appeal to most any melodic metal/hard rock fan. While there may not be anything really new offered here style-wise, in the overall catalog of Jeff Scott Soto release, this one stands strong as one of his best, and could easily capture much attention on hard rock radio. I for one will be spinning this disc over and over for some time.

Starbynary - Dark Passenger

I am a sucker for a few things: progressive metal and cool album artwork, and this has both. (I will admit, I have bought releases based on cool artwork and have been disappointed, but not so when it comes to Starbynary).

Starbynary is a Progressive Metal trio founded by some of the most talented musicians in the scene. ‘Dark Passenger’ is the band’s debut album, and it is an exciting concept inspired by Jeff Lindsay’s ‘Darkly Dreaming Dexter’ (as the highly successful TV series ‘Dexter’), a musical journey in the vein of classic Progressive bands of the Seventies with a modern touch and outstanding technical abilities displayed throughout the record. ‘Dark Passenger’ was produced by Peter Pahor in Trieste, Italy, and features a very special guest appearance by Mike LePond (Symphony X) on bass. The beautiful artwork was handled by renowned artist Felipe Machado Franco (Blind Guardian, Rage, Secret Sphere)

Nightglow - Orpheus

In past reviews I have mentioned how I often pick up and try bands based on their cool cover artwork. Well, at first, this artwork was not impressive enough to make me give it a look, it just seems kind of remedial, and yet at the same time kind of eerie.The artwork was blah, but the color scheme and content was a bit captivating.

Then I read a little of the band's style and the term "Classic Heavy Metal" appeared, which is one of my fave styles, so I read on.

Nightglow saw the light of the day in 2003 and soon established themselves as a Classic Heavy Metal band devoted to the great English acts of the Eighties. After many years of live performances (also as the official Manowar Italian tribute band), collaborations with many international acts such as Lizzy Borden, Eric Martin, Kiko Loureiro, Fabio Lione, Jack Starr to name a few, and a critically acclaimed debut album, Nightglow are ready to come back with a new effort combining all their past influences and projecting them to the future. ‘Orpheus’, this is the title of the new work, sounds heavy and refreshing, delivering great melodies, powerful guitar riffs and groovy rhythms like there was no tomorrow. The album was recorded at B-Demolition Studios, with mixing and mastering by Tuvo (Shake Well Before) at Try Studios. The artwork was handled by Alessandro Conti (Trick or Treat, Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody). A special guest appearance by Sara Ciucci from folk metal band Artaius has also been announced.

Book Review: Paul Stanley - Face the Music: A Life Exposed

People usually write books about themselves in order to put themselves in a good light, and tear down other around them. Paul's band mates Ace and Peter did that (more so in Peter's case). So I expected that from Paul's side here. Well, there is a little of it, but not near as much as I expected.

When I read the Peter Criss biography, at times I felt sorry for him and the way he was treated by Gene and Paul (at least from his perception of things), but for the bulk of his book I just shook my head thinking what a total loser he was to continue time and time again to screw things up in his self-destructive life. He was an addict and abused drugs, and let it screw up his career. Understanding how his self-destructive lifestyle was in his own words, it has to make you wonder just how much of his "stories" about band abuse are remembered clear enough to be accurate.

Book Review: Peter Criss: Makeup to Breakup

Okay, I am a pretty huge Kiss fan. They were the first band I got into as a young kid of 11 years-old. I discovered the band in 1977 right around the time Kiss Alive II was released, and I heard it at a friend's house. I promptly went out and purchased their latest studio album Love Gun, and became an instant fan. Prior to that, it was music like the Grease soundtrack, and the Bee Gees, and other poppy disco stuff of the time. So, Kiss was my first taste of hard rock, and I consumed all they had.

They were my first concert experience, seeing the Dynasty tour in 1979 and many times after that. The only thing I really knew about the band was what I saw. Not an avid reader, nor a real follower of the latest tabloid/magazine world, I did not spend much time following the behind the scenes publicized dirt. They were super heroes to me - amazing musicians who put on a great show.

Now, 35 years later, I am still a big fan. I have all of their albums, I have a bunch of merchandise too. I follow them religiously to a degree. Obviously I like hundreds of other bands now, but still Kiss ranks up their as a key player in my eye. I have followed the solo stuff, I have followed the former members (Ace & Peter), but still, only paid a small amount of attention to the publicized dirt.