V_clortho: Powermad, “Nice Dreams”: Dammit! This brought me back to 1984, and “Defenders of the Faith”. Perhaps a little more Metallica than Priest, but still it has that 80’s metal ethos that I was ass deep into until at least 1989. Metallica was the granddaddy of thrash, and you had Slayer who took it a little farther in the pure “thrash” direction (too far in my opinion; they’re a cartoon to me) and this isn’t quite far enough (or perhaps too far into the opposite direction). And the years are important; I missed Powermad the first time around, because by 1989, we already had Priest and Maiden and Metallica. DT – blending all that came before – was just on the horizon, but they took it a step further than this, incorporating the keyboards (the prog) into the mix. Here, the vocals are good, but the growls aren’t quite fierce enough, the screams aren’t quite wailing enough… it’s good but it’s kind of like dating the hottest girl in high school’s… younger sister. 6.5
Lethean: Katatonia, “Lethean”: Mystery solved! I still don’t know what a “Lethean” is, but I know where to find one if I need it! Actually not true; I know what “lethean” means; it’s not an “it”, but a descriptor of “oblivion”, and is a rather apt (in a good way) title for this song. Katatonia is a band I’ve heard a lot about here, and yet never heard them in any depth. I liked this; didn’t LOVE it, but like this. It feels as if it is of a piece. Musically solid (is it just me, or are you starting to really hear the Mike Portnoy influence in drummers of the next wave, of the last say, 10 years?), and seems to reveal little things throughout the song. Vocally, and before I recognized that it was, as I said, “of a piece”, I was waiting for it to go somewhere that it never did. Near the end was a nice, subtle layering of vocals that created a really cool, shimmering effect that really added something ethereal to the song, and as sometimes happens, that made the entire song click for me in a way that is really, almost, brilliant. “Oblivion” indeed. This is art. 8
Home: Alter Bridge, “Cry of Achilles”: Okay, so I’m human, like anyone else. I have my pet peeves, and my annoyances, but I also have my buttons. And this pressed it. Myles fucking Kennedy. I was perhaps one of about 14 people not named “Kennedy” that was really bummed when Myles went back to Alter Bridge and Slash went back to Axl. I REALLY liked the collaboration between the two, and through that I fell in love with Myles Kennedy (euphemistically, of course). I tried to get into Alter Bridge – I have the first record and Live In Amsterdam – but it seemed a harsher, more metallic version of what he was doing with Slash, and I prefer the more 70’s. Aerosmith/Zeppelin stylings of Slash (there’s even one “pair” of songs that to me sound like the same vocal line and chorus melody set over different backing tracks, and for my money, the Slash version is more slinky, more groovy and more… better). Except for this, the song of the round. I LOVED this. Rumor is, Myles sang with the remaining Zeppelin members for a spell, and this could have been from that session. Achilles! Acoustic guitar! A massive riff! Dark and light! The layered vocals! Another massive riff! The way he sings “EYES!” in the chorus! The processed vocals right before the solo! The solo! What more do you need? For me, nothing. I’ll have this album in my collection by Friday. 9
Topic: Stadler's Wheel of Fortune! (A Roulette) - ROUND 7 RESULTS (Read 38029 times)