The Official Hard Rock / Classic Metal Music Discussion and Memorabilia Thread!

[TAC]

Just ordered Fire Power. Not sure why, but I thought it was being released next month. I'll get to auto rip it tomorrow after work.

[bl5150]

Just through my second listen and Rising From Ruin (and perhaps Never The Heroes) seem to be the key track/s that have a bit of extra "atmosphere" and might be on an old Defenders - Painkiller style album.

I can't see my rating changing much.   Good album with a few higher level tracks but couldn't see myself above lower mid 80's.


EDIT:  Traitor's Gate seems to be growing on me a bit too.

[bl5150]

My local JB had Firepower in stock Kade so you should be right - $20

[wolfking]

My local JB had Firepower in stock Kade so you should be right - $20

Yeah dawg.    Tomorrow will be out there after work in the morning.

[Lowdz]

First listen at work was positive but I couldn’t really concentrate as I was writing up some reports. Proper listen tomorrow and then decide whether to buy it.

Rob sounded very good.

[jjrock88]

First listen at work was positive but I couldn’t really concentrate as I was writing up some reports. Proper listen tomorrow and then decide whether to buy it.

Rob sounded very good.

Paul you know you are going to buy it, so don't delay lol

It rocks and Rob does sound very good.

[TAC]

Watching Schenker and Graham fucking Bonnet right now. Holy shit is he old!!

[TAC]

Thank God Bonnet has the lyrics written on the stage for him!
I swear he’s gonna have a heart attack any second now.

[bl5150]

 

If he looks old next to Schenker then that's an achievement.

[Lowdz]

He’s well into his 70s. With the way he sings, he’s doing well.

[max_security]

Graham Bonnet has always been old I think.

[TAC]

Graham Bonnet has always been old I think.

Very true! 

[wolfking]

70 years old, he's doing well, I think.

[max_security]

Yeah but he was close to 70 in Alcatrazz.

[bl5150]

He has always sounded like some fibre might be of benefit 


So what's the deal on favourite tracks from Firepower?


For me : Rising From Ruins, No Surrender,Never The Heroes, Evil Never Dies and Traitor's Gate

[Lowdz]

Played it twice now. JJ was right -Going to have to buy it.

Not familiar enough with titles yet as I’ve been driving or working when listening.

[wolfking]

Yeah, I'll have to get through it a couple of times, still only listened to the first few songs.

The one two punch of the title track and going right into Lightning Strike is really cool.

[TAC]

I'm not quite through the first half of it yet.


Um...it's OK..

[TAC]

In case you guys haven't checked out the Michael Schenker thread, here's a few shots I took at Berklee Friday night.
















And then there's this one..

...I love this pic. It totally sums up the night.



Barden: "um..yeah.."
McCauley: "This is great. I'm a rock star again!"
Bonnet: "What are the words, again?"
White: "This is MY gig!!! I'm so freaking pissed."

[wolfking]

Really nice pics Tim.  Looks like a good show.

Damn, Doogie got fat.

[jjrock88]

Cool pics! Did the set list include songs from all his different bands and eras?

As for Firepower, I'm definitely liking it a little more than ROS and my early favorites are Never the Heroes, Spectre and especially No Surrender 

[TAC]

Cool pics! Did the set list include songs from all his different bands and eras?

Yes. So each singer sang 5 songs each from their era with Schenker instrumentals between each guy.

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/michael-schenker/2018/berklee-performance-center-boston-ma-13ef853d.html

[bl5150]

As for Firepower, I'm definitely liking it a little more than ROS and my early favorites are Never the Heroes, Spectre and especially No Surrender 

No Surrender is pretty short, sweet and basic but I really like it - reminds me of stuff I like from the Turbo album.



How many people turned up to see Schenker Tim?

[TAC]

Well, the Berklee Performance Center is apparently 1200 seats. I'd be shocked if there were 500 people there.

I saw Dream Theater there in 1994. It was a lot smaller than I remember it.

[jjrock88]

Nice to see Desert Song played!! 

[TAC]

Nice to see Graham Bonnet alive! 

[max_security]

That is cool that he's still doing it. Desert Song is a good one with Graham.

[TAC]

I was thrilled to see Bonnet. He looked really old though. He forgot his lyrics, and was definitely reading them from the floor, but vocally he was GOING FOR IT!

I loved seeing him. His singing on the new Schenker album is really good. I think the fact that his voice isn't nearly as strong is, to my ears, relief actually. There's a warmth to it that wasn't there back in the day.

[ozzy554]

I was thrilled to see Bonnet. He looked really old though. He forgot his lyrics, and was definitely reading them from the floor, but vocally he was GOING FOR IT!

I loved seeing him. His singing on the new Schenker album is really good. I think the fact that his voice isn't nearly as strong is, to my ears, relief actually. There's a warmth to it that wasn't there back in the day.

Yeah Bonnet always goes for it. Which is kinda his problem. Sometimes he can pull off still trying to sing with full power and I wonder why people crap on the guy.......then I'll see a clip from a week later and be reminded why lol.

I'd still love to see him live but he's certainly not the most consistent.

[wolfking]

I put some thoughts I had on Firepower in the Priest thread but I'll post them here too;


My thoughts after a full listen of Firepower is really positive.  It's funny how Priest can make an album full of rehashed generic metal riffs sound so strong and fresh and exciting.  In terms or the riffs and rhythm this is such basic stuff it's unbelievable.  Nothing on here is complex or breaking any new ground at all.  The E-C-D chord progressions are strong here.  But, that makes no difference because Priest make it work within the songwriting.  How the simplicity of a riff like Rising from Ruins be so cool is commendable.

There's not too much going on in the leads here either.  As Brent said it does miss some of the trademark Tipton sound which I thought was the case on ROS also, but Glenn actually does a lot of work here and plays leads on most songs, which I'm surprised and happy about.  I'll break it down when I get a chance for some fun.  I never understood what they saw in Richie.  I still think it was the KK like image but as a lead player, he's really generic.  BUT, given the generic nature of the songs and the nice production, I think what he offers is pretty good.  He has some nice passages and note selections and his leads flow really well.  There is no one else playing here but Glenn and Richie also btw.

Rob sounds awesome, really awesome, and Sneap has done a great job on the production.  I've always liked his modern style of production, so I'm happy with it.  As for the songs, hard to pinpoint favourites as it needs more listens but Never the Heroes surprisingly is one of my favs, has that 80's feel with Glenn's presence on this one strong.  Rising From Ruins is probably my fav, that's a cracker.  No Surrender to me is like something the band has never really done, it took me by surprise but can see that being a fav too.  Evil, Spectre and Traitors are strong too as is the one two punch that starts the album.

I don't think it's got that much filler, the only one's I'd probably cut are Children of the Sun, that sounds like a ROS leftover, and Flamethrower, that's a piece of shit.  Don't know what the fuck they were thinking with that one and brings the mood down after Rising From Ruins.

All in all, very, very impressive and it's inspiring to hear Tipton play here despite what he's going through, proud to be a Priest fan.

[Lowdz]

Summed up pretty well there Kade.

First Priest album I’ve l8ked in a long time, probably since Angel Of Retribution, and this one is probably better than that.

I think Rob’s performance is probably why I like it. He isn’t trying to go too high.

And all things considered, Glenn’s performance is great.

[jjrock88]

Flamethrower is definitely cheesy, but that chorus can easily get stuck in your head.

I'm still playing No Surrender over and over. Like Kade said, it's a song that is different from anything they have really done and stands out on Firepower in a good way. Even upon first listen, when that song came on, it was the only song that made me pay close attention and the first one I wanted to revisit after the first listen was done. So it's my favorite on the album for sure.

If Sneap makes comfort Metal, I'm on board because that's what I like!

[wolfking]

Summed up pretty well there Kade.

First Priest album I’ve l8ked in a long time, probably since Angel Of Retribution, and this one is probably better than that.

I think Rob’s performance is probably why I like it. He isn’t trying to go too high.

And all things considered, Glenn’s performance is great.

It is.  Don't quote me, but pretty sure he solos a lot more here than ROS.  I'm impressed with what he delivered here and it's so very inspiring.

[wolfking]

Flamethrower is definitely cheesy, but that chorus can easily get stuck in your head.

I'm still playing No Surrender over and over. Like Kade said, it's a song that is different from anything they have really done and stands out on Firepower in a good way. Even upon first listen, when that song came on, it was the only song that made me pay close attention and the first one I wanted to revisit after the first listen was done. So it's my favorite on the album for sure.

If Sneap makes comfort Metal, I'm on board because that's what I like!

Sneap's production is pretty much the same on everything he does, but he's so reliable in that department.  I admit the Flamethrower chorus can get stuck in your head but I can't get past the pure stupidity of it haha.

[bl5150]

Was it you Tim that was chatting with me a while back about this old obscure thing from 1982?   



Anyway - it's getting a re-release on CD in April if that's of interest.