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

[TAC]

Speaking of little Seattle cult metal band Fifth Angel -- fans may be surprised to know they have reunited with drummer Ken Mary 

Did someone say Ken Mary?

Taken at the Boston Garden, November 17, 1987.

[wolfking]

I love Time Will Tell, but never gave the debut much attention.  I should change that.  I have both on cd somewhere.

[Samsara]

Great pic, TAC!!! I've seen that a time or two, and still jealous as hell.

I love Time Will Tell, but never gave the debut much attention.  I should change that.  I have both on cd somewhere.

Wolf -- the debut is much less polished. It's more metal. I prefer the self-titled debut, but love both records. Gonna have to take some photos here and show off. 

[bl5150]

Poor Ken still has the scars from the chickenpox Tim gave him.

Both the Fifth Angel albums are cool - from memory I would also lean toward the debut marginally.

[TAC]

. Gonna have to take some photos here and show off. 

Definitely Sam. Or do we call you Anybody now?

I prefer the debut from Fifth Angel. It's a cool album.

Poor Ken still has the scars from the chickenpox Tim gave him.

That's not chickenpox!

[bl5150]

That's not chickenpox!

Just kidding - I knew it was "blood" from Alice Cooper. 

[TAC]

I was making some nasty backstage joke.

[Samsara]

OK, here are a couple.

First, what's on my den wall, currently, from Fifth Angel. A photo of me, Ed Archer, Kendall Bechtal, and John Macko, from the Seattle Hard Rock Cafe, where one of their pictures from 1989 is displayed. Fully autographed and personalized record (self-titled and Time Will Tell -- yes, Ted Pilot autographed both), and a setlist personalized and signed to me by the band circa 2010 (pre-gig setlist, it has a song on it they cut):



Here's another...Fifth Angel lead guitarists James Byrd and Kendall Bechtall, flanking me. This is from 2006 (pre-goatee for me). It's a story for a different day, but both guys were gracious enough to hang out with my wife and I for an afternoon while we were up in Seattle. Great guys, both of them, and both very supportive of one another.




Lastly, a pair of drumsticks used by Jeffrey McCormack, who played drums for the band in 2010 at the Keep it True Festival in Germany





>>>The guys in Fifth Angel are friends of mine. When they were prepping in 2010 to play live, I was helping them out with some online stuff, and visited rehearsal one day before they had a singer. They played me the entire set instrumentally, which I sang along to as loud as I possibly could. Kendall heard me singing, and after the set, they told me to get up to the mic and sing a few songs. I blew out my voice (remember, this was my first favorite band before Queensryche), so I couldn't really sing. But I did my best on We Rule, The Night, and...I think we did In the Fallout. I have video, but don't want to post it. I actually CAN sing, and this was not a good representation. I can sing those songs OK (would prefer them to drop it a half step, as I am a baritone naturally), but I had already sung for an hour like a crazed fanboy.  Simply put, it is my fondest musical memory. My inner 11 year old, who got that first record in 1987, was in all his glory. 

[TAC]

All very cool Brian. Except for the Jets jersey!



So recently in this thread, we've talked about what it was like to check out new bands back in the day. Fifth Angel was a band that I saw countless ads for but for some reason just never pulled the trigger. They always piqued my interest, but they weren't available in any record store near me, and it would required me to order from a magazine ad. Blindly. And I don't remember if I knew that Ken Mary joined them. I know I saw him with House Of Lords.

Anyway, I'm glad I checked out Fifth Angel eventually. Those two albums are very cool.

[jjrock88]

Brian could probably confirm this, but I don't think Fifth Angel played many, if any gigs live during their time in the 80s. I think they were mostly a studio band.

I put Fifth Angel in the same category as Armored Saint, Crimson Glory, Sword and Lethal. Very underrated pure metal bands.

I also don't think I've ever played one Fifth Angel disc without playing the other. To me it's mandatory to play both one after the other.

Cool picture Tim and cool pictures Brian!

[TAC]

I put Fifth Angel in the same category as Armored Saint, Crimson Glory, Sword and Lethal. Very underrated pure metal bands.

Armored Saint is the only one that really had any exposure. I actually bought Sword's Metallized as a blind buy. I found it in a bargain bin.

[Samsara]

Brian could probably confirm this, but I don't think Fifth Angel played many, if any gigs live during their time in the 80s. I think they were mostly a studio band.

I put Fifth Angel in the same category as Armored Saint, Crimson Glory, Sword and Lethal. Very underrated pure metal bands.

I also don't think I've ever played one Fifth Angel disc without playing the other. To me it's mandatory to play both one after the other.

Cool picture Tim and cool pictures Brian!

Thanks!

Fifth Angel only played a couple of record label showcases that were not public in the 80s. 2010 was their first official live gig.

[TAC]

Brian, when the Queensryche EP came out, there was a newsletter that came out at the same time. It talked about them also not doing live shows, but staying underground to perfect their sound and songs. Have you ever seen this?

You also had a scan of the Capitol "Hot Metal" poster with Iron Maiden, Queensryche, and Helix on your site. That was a free poster being given out, and I had that as a 14 year old hanging on my bedroom wall. I got goosebumps seeing that on your site.

[Samsara]

Brian, when the Queensryche EP came out, there was a newsletter that came out at the same time. It talked about them also not doing live shows, but staying underground to perfect their sound and songs. Have you ever seen this?

You also had a scan of the Capitol "Hot Metal" poster with Iron Maiden, Queensryche, and Helix on your site. That was a free poster being given out, and I had that as a 14 year old hanging on my bedroom wall. I got goosebumps seeing that on your site.

Yes, Queensryche didn't play any live gigs from the time EMI signed them until they went on tour. Probably a six-month span. They spent that time writing songs that would end up on The Warning, and played a bunch of them when touring on the EP.

I remember that newsletter. I am not sure I have it. Would be cool if I found it and posted it. I think I have a whole bunch of fan club newsletters up there. If I don't, I need to get them scanned and up.

[TAC]

The newsletter I'm thinking of was being distributed in the record store. It definitely wasn't a fan club newsletter.

That poster was so cool. I remember just staring at the Iron Maiden picture. It was a lot clearer and larger than the one in my cassette.

[jjrock88]

I've never seen that poster before. It looks awesome!

[wolfking]

Looks like I'll definitely have to find the debut cd I have from Fifth Angel.  I think I always leaned towards Time Will Tell cause it had more of the melodic rock style.

[Samsara]

Looks like I'll definitely have to find the debut cd I have from Fifth Angel.  I think I always leaned towards Time Will Tell cause it had more of the melodic rock style.

It certainly is more melodic hard rock for sure. I remember getting it in my Christmas stocking in 1989. I had scanned the music magazines forever for two years to hear more about Fifth Angel, and then saw it reviewed. Thankfully, Santa saw my desperation and got it. 

It immediately struck me as different, but I loved it all the same. It was the classic story of the kid (I was 13) waking up at like 3 a.m., pulling that out of his stocking, and falling asleep again clutching the cassette case with  my Walkman headphones on. My Christmas was made. I can't tell you anything else I received that Christmas, but I'll never forget that. Good memories. 

My favorites to this day are We Rule, Cathedral, and Angel of Mercy. But I dig the whole thing. I think they could have left off one of the ballads (either So Long or Broken Dreams), but it was 1989, so I get it. lol

[jjrock88]

Nothing says Christmas more then family, turkey dinner, candy canes, mistletoe, eggnog and a Fifth Angel cassette!

[wolfking]

But I dig the whole thing. I think they could have left off one of the ballads (either So Long or Broken Dreams), but it was 1989, so I get it. lol

I have no problem with the whole thing either, but I kinda wish they left off the UFO cover.

AnybodyListening.net, curious, where have you been hiding?  Your contributions in this thread have been awesome, unless I'm just living under a rock and been completely oblivious haha.

[jjrock88]

We've been eating at Monk's and Brian (anybodylistening) has been eating at Reggies.  But he is more than welcome to join us!

[wolfking]

We've been eating at Monk's and Brian (anybodylistening) has been eating at Reggies.  But he is more than welcome to join us!

 

He's from the bizarro world?  Lucky we don't already have a Brian!

[jjrock88]

Brian has major music knowledge and his Queensryche knowledge is unmatched

[TAC]

Brian has major music knowledge and his Queensryche knowledge is unmatched

You might say he's the King Of The Reich. 

[bl5150]

The Vest of the Vest 

[jjrock88]

 

[wolfking]

When it comes to Queensryche, he can tate on anyone!

[wolfking]

New Firewind;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3Q1o0m2sik

Pretty good even if it is pretty standard and generic.  Doesn't really sound like Firewind that much to me, but Henning seems like a good choice.

[Samsara]

AnybodyListening.net, curious, where have you been hiding?  Your contributions in this thread have been awesome, unless I'm just living under a rock and been completely oblivious haha.

Thanks about the additions. I have a bunch more, particularly Queensryche, if anyone wants to see that, but most others are not "classic" hard rock and metal. Big Alter Bridge fan, have stuff from them, and a few things from various artists (Testament, Eric Gales, etc.)

No, I haven't been around at all, so you're not oblivious. To be really honest, I haven't really liked what Dream Theater has done in recent years, starting with Octavarium. And while bosk1 and I are friends, we lost touch for awhile, so I pretty much disappeared. I kept my finger on the pulse of what DT was doing (I'm a native Long Islander, and love the band's 90s output), but jumped off the forum.

Brian has major music knowledge and his Queensryche knowledge is unmatched

You might say he's the King Of The Reich. 

   Ha ha ha. Thanks guys.

Wolf - yeah, my main passion is the ORIGINAL LINEUP of Queensryche. I've been working on my AnybodyListening.net site for awhile now. I wrote a historical retrospective on the band that isn't quite where I want it to be yet, but is meant to preserve the history of the original band, which sadly, has been sort of been forgotten about to an extent over time. A bunch of folks asked me to write a book on the band (I spent most of my career as a journalist), but the market really isn't there for that (and I didn't want to profit off the band). I didn't want to give up on the idea, however, as the original lineup has been my favorite group since 1987/1988. So the site is written in a way to serve as the definitive guide to Queensryche's formation, and the evolution of the original lineup. If you ever have time to read it, there are two parts: the historical retrospective, and then the appendix which has a huge tour date archive and clippings scrapbook, along with a discography. In a nutshell -- it's an online book laid out as a website.

New Firewind;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3Q1o0m2sik

Pretty good even if it is pretty standard and generic.  Doesn't really sound like Firewind that much to me, but Henning seems like a good choice.

I think Henning is better than who Gus had previously fronting Firewind. To my ear, you can't appropriately replace Apollo. My wife is a huge Firewind fan, and she says the same thing. But unfortunately, there is some bad blood between FW and Apollo, so I don't expect a reunion any time soon. The new FW song sounds like FW musically, but with a gruffer vocal style. Not nearly as dynamic as Apollo.

Apollo has a solo record coming out in a couple of weeks...

[bl5150]

Apollo has a solo record coming out in a couple of weeks...

It's actually been out for a couple of weeks and it's better than I expected.  Strong Whitesnake/Purple vibe at times but the songs just have that little extra bit of thought compared to a lot of the cookie cutter retro crap around at the moment and I gave it a repeat listen straight away (rare these days).   A good effort from him.  I must admit I was sceptical when I saw the list of about 50 people who played on it - those albums are often a jumbled mess but he has clearly pulled the right strings and got the result he wanted.

[Samsara]

Here's some more stuff.

Speaking of Firewind -- below is my wife's collection of signed stuff from the last tour with Apollo. Jealous she got to go, but only one of us could, and she is the bigger fan. The lithograph is signed, she took the Gus G. photo, and then the VIP pass and pic with the band:



Below are a couple Queensryche things (of many) we've had signed over the years:





A couple of pictures of myself with Fates Warning (including Frank Aresti, who lives in the Bay Area now, and was at the show and played "Still Remains" with the band) from Dec. 2013, and Sevendust from their acoustic tour a couple years back:



A couple of signed Alter Bridge items:



Part of my den wall with assorted signed LPs and pics. Of note is the signed copy of Mastodon's Crack the Skye (and my pic meeting them), and some more Alter Bridge stuff:



>>>>I've got a bunch of Queensryche stuff (photos with the original band, signed stuff, etc.) I am in the process of getting everything framed and hung up in my home office. Once I do, I'll post it up. Of note in that stuff is a signed 206 Records copy of the EP (before QR was signed), a signed blue-ring (original) Rage for Order LP, some personalized stuff signed by Pamela Moore, etc.

I don't have the biggest collection, but I slowly add to it as I have the opportunity.

[Samsara]

Apollo has a solo record coming out in a couple of weeks...

It's actually been out for a couple of weeks and it's better than I expected.  Strong Whitesnake/Purple vibe at times but the songs just have that little extra bit of thought compared to a lot of the cookie cutter retro crap around at the moment and I gave it a repeat listen straight away (rare these days).   A good effort from him.  I must admit I was sceptical when I saw the list of about 50 people who played on it - those albums are often a jumbled mess but he has clearly pulled the right strings and got the result he wanted.

Glad it is good. Weird. I have it pre-ordered on Amazon as a gift for the Mrs. Not out yet at least on there, for the U.S.

[bl5150]

Apollo has a solo record coming out in a couple of weeks...

It's actually been out for a couple of weeks and it's better than I expected.  Strong Whitesnake/Purple vibe at times but the songs just have that little extra bit of thought compared to a lot of the cookie cutter retro crap around at the moment and I gave it a repeat listen straight away (rare these days).   A good effort from him.  I must admit I was sceptical when I saw the list of about 50 people who played on it - those albums are often a jumbled mess but he has clearly pulled the right strings and got the result he wanted.

Glad it is good. Weird. I have it pre-ordered on Amazon as a gift for the Mrs. Not out yet at least on there, for the U.S.

Must be an Amazon thing - might be worth following up.    Escape (the label) have it as 18th Nov and a US distributor that stocks this sort of stuff (NEH Records) has it currently available , order shipping tomorrow.   I would guess it has been this way since the 18th.

Nice memorabilia too

Personally I hate the stuff


If anyone's interested I posted a couple of my guitars in another thread a few days back

 https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=39545.msg2242096#msg2242096

[Big Hath]

so the Armored Saint/Queensryche concert was last night and it was awesome.  It was my first time seeing either band and both Bush and La Torre were awesome.  Both of them unleashed some pretty impressive vocals in the high registers throughout their respective setlists (Queen of the Reich, wow).

The venue is a favorite of mine as it is relatively small and the stage is very tight so there is almost no way of getting a dull performance.

Saint mixed in 3 or 4 new songs with a list of classics.  Tribal Dance, Reign of Fire, In An Instant, Aftermath, Can U Deliver, and March of the Saint were standouts.  Wish I could have seen Last Train Home and Chemical Euphoria, but they mixed in a song or two I don't think they've played this tour yet like Mad House.  Joey Vera is fun to watch live.

QR also played 4 new songs amongst their normal hits and fan faves.  Of the new songs I thought Eye9 and Guardian came across the best, although none of them were bad.  The crowd was great and you could hear them singing along with just about every song.

[TAC]

That's awesome Hath!

John Bush is ridiculous. Period. And Gonzo was the heaviest drummer I've ever seen. His playing shook my whole body.