Slash - Living The Dream (2018)

With this Guns N' Roses reunion still going strong, it is easy to forget that Slash actually have a fully functioning solo project together with Alter Bridge singer Myles Kennedy and his Conspirators. The project was on a roll when they had to force a hiatus, gaining a respectable slew of fans and a steady flow of radio air time. Now that the guitarist with the sunglasses, nose ring, and top hat turns his focus back to make his fourth solo album, it might be that his old band is still on his mind.

Yes, I might be crazy in saying that "Living The Dream" might be the true follow up to the two "Use Your Illusion" albums that fans have been waiting for so long. Not to say that any of the three previous Slash records (or any other album from his Snakepit or Velvet Revolver) did not have a vein of Guns N' Roses in them, but this records feels a little more wild and raw than what we have previously heard from this constellation. Some songs like "My Antidote" have this attitude to it that is just so confident, which is certainly very reminiscent of good old GNR.

"Living The Dream" is otherwise not much of a surprise if you have followed Slash in recent years. It is catchy ass rock with a lot of sweet guitar riffs and licks all over the place, but not to the degree where it becomes full on guitar wanking, it stays just under the acceptable levels. Take a song like "Sugar Cane" for example, where Slash just cram in a lot of meaty guitar gymnastics in, but it never takes away from the other guys and their effort (especially Myles Kennedy, who is his usual magnificent self), therefore we get a groovy and catchy song that spices up the otherwise sluggish second half. The balance in this album is really on point, from start to finish.

Even if the slower songs on the records help balance it all out, those songs are still the weakest of the records. The main problem is that they are not memorable at all, you forget about them as soon as they are over, which is a big disadvantage in an album that is filled with catchy tracks like "The Call of The Wild" and "Mind Your Manners". Despite Myles' brilliant vocal performance, these songs are mostly luke warm, not adding too much to elevate. Yeah, so do not expect a new "Civil War" or "Don't Cry" in here, or else you will be disappointed.

Fortunately, we got enough rock power in here to last some time, all adding up to one of the more complete Slash records so far, giving "Apocalyptic Love" a true run for its money. This is through and through a really enjoyable record, showing a guy who is doing exactly what the album title says, just enjoying himself and pouring that enjoyment all over us in CD/LP/streaming format. I can't believe I am saying this, but this album has actually made me excited for a possible Guns N' Roses album in the future, because Slash is on a roll.

Songs worthy of recognition: Mind Your Manners, The Call of The Wild, My Antidote, Slow Grind

Rating: 8/10 Sugar Canes

www.slashonline.com/
twitter.com/slash

More reviews of Slash
World On Fire

Helloween - Pink Bubbles Go Ape (1991)

What in the ever loving hell is going on here? Seriously, what is this album cover? What is this madness? We are in what looks like a hotel hallway, with a pin-up woman in the foreground, seducing a fish (who looks horrified btw)? Add an awful placement to both band name and album title, and you got "Pink Bubbles Go Ape"... EVEN THE TITLE IS BONKERS!!! Damn these speedy Germans and their peculiar ways.

I wished the strange things ended with the cover, but I am afraid to tell you all that there is more. First up we have a line up change, and it is a major one, none other than Kai Hansen himself left the band stating that the band was now too big for him to have full control over. This led to a shift in the band's sound, going away from the fantasy themes and the extremely epic arrangements, to a more grounded style, both musically and lyrically. Kai was obviously a huge part of the band, so it did not surprise anyone that the band changed a lot after he left (and that his new band Gamma Ray would become an old school Helloween clone). His replacement Roland Grapow (who would later form Masterplan) is not bad at all, but it is just not the same without Kai.

So since Helloween stopped singing about fantasy, wizards, and dragons, what are their lyrical themes now? Well, they are now both more serious, and more humorous in their approach. In one track, they could be speaking up about what kind of future we leave for future generations, or about loneliness and depression. Then there are tracks like "Heavy Metal Hamsters", which is a comedic take on the band's experience with a previous record company. It is so god damn strange that I love it, do not really care that it is far from the fastest or most epic song on the album, hamsters are awesome, and so is this band.

Even if "Pink Bubbles Go Ape" is a clear departure from the "Keeper of The Seven Keys" albums, we still have some of that epic power metal that made us fall in love with the band in the first place. In the middle of the record we find the dynamic duo "Someone's Crying" and "Mankind", two songs that are equally epic, with one being quick and the other being more melodic. Both "Kids of The Century" and "The Chance" has some nice power too, but other than that, "Pink Bubbles Go Ape" is kind of a mess in its sound, opening up with a strange acoustic intro, and having several songs that is more of fast classic rock than power metal ("Back On The Streets", "Goin' Home", "I'm Doing Fine, Crazy Man"). The band is all over the place in this one.

From start to finish, "Pink Bubbles Go Ape" is a strange album that is a huge departure from what Helloween had built up towards this point in their career. It is definitely not a bad record, but it is one that leaves you mostly confused, wondering what happened to the band that wrote such majestic tunes just a couple of years ago. Kai's departure is a big factor of this change, but there is still enough quality in here to make every subsequent listen joyful. Say what you want, but these German hamsters has a knack to make people smile, and it works well, even on such an uneven record.

Songs worthy of recognition: Someone's Crying, Heavy Metal Hamsters, Mankind

Rating: 6,5/10 Crazy Men

www.helloween.org/
twitter.com/helloweenorg

More reviews of Helloween
Walls of Jericho
Keeper of The Seven Keys: Part 1
Keeper of The Seven Keys: Part 2
Chameleon
Master of The Rings
The Time of The Oath
Better Than Raw
The Dark Ride
Rabbit Don't Come Easy
Keeper of The Seven Keys: The Legacy
Gambling With The Devil
7 Sinners
Straight Out of Hell
My God-Given Right

Grave Digger - The Living Dead (2018)

It seems like the Germans in Grave Digger are trying to revive the zombie hype again with their 19th record "The Living Dead", and I certainly would not mind, if it was not for the fact that the zombie craze has tried to revive itself for the last decade or so. Zombies feel a little outdated these days, and unfortunately, so does Grave Digger it seems. After a couple of mediocre albums in "Return of The Reaper" and "Healed By Metal", it gives me a bad feeling when they are unveiling another new album only one year after the last one. Let us hope my gut feeling is wrong this time.

So it should come as no surprise that "The Living Dead" is pretty much like every other Grave Digger album, classic German heavy metal with catchy choruses, sweet riffs, and a little cheese sprinkled in between. It is certainly comfortable for me as a reviewer, since I do not need to listen through the album a billion times to get me an opinion on it (I do it anyway). You sit there, bob your head from time to time, and let their age old tricks entertain you.

At the same time though, it is kind of boring to listen to this record, since you already know what it is going to sound like, and you also know that they have done this formula better previously. It does not seem to matter that songs like "When Death Passes By", "Hymn of The Damned", and "The Power of Metal" are of good quality, you are still more likely to go back to other songs the band have made half a year from now. Most of the songs in here work for the moment, but are unlikely to have a lasting impact on fans, or live setlists.

Neither the lyrical themes seem to excite, with most of them being already explored in previous outings, and other being slightly strange. "Fist In Your Face" is one of the more confusing ones, not only for the title that would be more fitting on Anthrax's debut record, but also that the lyrics do not match up with the music at all. You would think it is a hard hitting tune, but nope, it is one of the more mellow songs on the album. All of this is just weird.

Speaking of weird, when the final track "Zombie Dance" hits my ear drums I get treated with... polka? This is the only original injection from the band in this record, a strange and infectious folk metal song in the style of Trollfest that must be a homage to Michael Jackson's "Thriller". It is an incredibly strange song that has gotten me hooked, getting me into a trance that sounds wrong, but feels right. And like that was not enough, the video for this track is pretty strange as well, which is topped by the Grim Reaper leading a conga line, whilst playing the accordion. This is definitely a track that will divide the fan base.

Yes, this is another Grave Digger album that is certainly not missing any passion or skill, but it has very little new to offer, which makes "The Living Dead" a fairly anonymous outing amongst the rest of the band's esteemed discography. It has a lot of enjoyable things, and even a wtf moment, but it is a comfortable record from a comfortable band. They know who they are, and that is fine in itself, but if they expect to make any "best of the year" lists, then they have to step up their game significantly. The fans will be happy, the rest will go back to their coffins in the wait for something more powerful.

Songs worthy of recognition: Hymn of The Damned, When Death Passes By, Zombie Dance

Rating: 6/10 Fists In Your Face

www.grave-digger.de/
twitter.com/GRAVEDIGGERclan

More reviews of Grave Digger
Return of The Reaper
Healed By Metal

Metal Allegiance - Volume II: Power Drunk Majesty

The super group formula is a concept that has been done what feels like a million times in recent times, with side projects, collaborations, and friendly experimentations popping up here and there at a consistent pace. Most of these are fairly harmless, a chance for the people involved to express themselves a little bit more outside of their main bands, but there are also those that feels like instant cash grabs, a way to push the fan's nostalgia buttons. Metal Allegiance might not be a pure cash grab, but it is easy to see it as one, knowing how they have been promoted by Nuclear Blast, so even if this group feels like a friendly get together, there is still something bugging me about it all.

So the talent pool in Metal Allegiance is certainly no laughing matter. The group consists of Alex Skolnick (Testament), David Ellefson (Megadeth), and Mike Portnoy (ex-Dream Theater), but as far as the vocals go, the trio hires vocalists from all around the metal globe to do the job. In this installment, we have Johan Hegg (Amon Amarth), John Bush (ex-Anthrax), Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth (Overkill), Mark Tornillo (Accept), Floor Jansen (Nightwish), Max Cavalera (ex-Sepultura, Soulfly), Troy Sanders (Mastodon), Trevor Strnad (The Black Dahlia Murder), and Mark Osegueda (Death Angel). Wow, that is quite a cast, especially when you also have a little guitar work from Joe Satriani, Nita Strauss (Alice Cooper), and Andreas Kisser (Sepultura).

You see though, the talent pool was not exactly poor last time around either, but the song writing was, making the band look like a glorified cover band. That is something Mike, David, and Alex has worked on, because "Volume II..." sounds a lot more cohesive, like it has a clear cut identity to build upon. Sure, the songs get tweaked a little bit to fit the vocalist, but it never feels like a poor b-side track that the vocalist just scooped up from the bottom of the drawer, except for two songs, the slower Overkill rip off "Mother of Sin", and the heavily "Roots" inspired "Voodoo of The Godsend".

There is otherwise a good amount of quality tracks in this record, which certainly surprised me. Sure, nothing in here will make you lose your breath over its suffocating excellence, but there is some golden moments in here, like the beautiful solo in the otherwise dark and heavy "King With A Paper Crown", or Portnoy's nifty drum work in "Terminal Illusion". However, there are as many strange decisions as well, like not giving the amazing Floor Jansen more room to work on in the second part of the title track. The sound consistency is there, but the same cannot be said in terms of quality.

I still see Metal Allegiance as a deluxe version of a cover band, a chance for a bunch of buddies to drink and play music (the drinking part is not confirmed). "Volume II..." is certainly a serviceable album that has a playful attitude, but it still has a major problem, that there is no real reason for it to exist. Mike, Alex, and David takes a step towards establishing this project into a real band, but I still would rather hear them in their respective main bands (which for Mike must be Sons of Apollo? The Winery Dogs?). They got power, and they might be drunk, but a majesty this band ain't.

Songs worthy of recognition: Terminal Illusion, The Accuser, King With A Paper Crown

Rating: 6,5/10 Liars & Thieves

metalallegiance.com/
twitter.com/metalallegiance

Helloween - Keeper of The Seven Keys: Part 2 (1988)

The second part of the epic "Keeper of The Seven Keys" series was released just over a year after the first part, and with the success that the first amassed, this sequel could relish in the attention that the band has suddenly got. This album became popular quickly, gathering new fans all across the globe, and cementing its legacy as the most successful Helloween record, being so still to this date. But why did it become so popular? Is it really better than its bigger brother? And where are the other 6 keys at?

First question first, one main reason to why the second part is slightly higher regarded is that it contains the two most famous Helloween songs ever made. The opener "Eagle Fly Free" may have never been officially released as a single, but it quickly became a humongous fan favourite thanks to its rapid speed and its epicly catchy chorus. Hell, the entire song is epic, mostly thanks to Kiske and his amazing vocals. Then we have "I Want Out", a more traditional heavy metal song with a memorable main riff, a simple but effective chorus, and a Gary Moore like feeling that will make every metal head bang. It is a classic for all the right reasons, but it is kind of a shame that the more casual fans only know this song from the band, and no other.

While those two tracks might steal the show, there are still a lot of other goodies on "Keeper of The Seven Keys: Part 2". This album is incredibly solid through and through, never dipping down into some sort of abysmal abyss of mediocrity, keeping the quality levels high. Just like with the first part, there are some real 80's moments in here that may not be some of my favourites moments in this record, taking away from some of the more creative bits of the record, but they are still really enjoyable songs that contribute nicely to the album.

One track in here that definitely does not get enough credit is "March of Time", probably because it gets outshined by "Eagle Fly Free". This track is also a epic force of nature where Kiske pushes his voice to the limit, and the results are glorious beyond belief. In any other Helloween record, this would have been the stand out track. One song that do stand out is the title track that ends this album just like "Helloween" did in the first part, by being a 13 and a half minute epic monster. This is a different kind of monster though, not as heavy hitting, but more delicate in its delivery. It is a fine ending to the story with its fantasy like aura, and while I definitely prefer "Halloween", "Keeper of The Seven Keys" ties it all up nicely.

So the differences between the two "Keeper..." records are pretty much minimal, with some more star potential in the second part, but does that make it a better record? Not necessarily, but it is instead the higher floor that is the difference maker for me. "Keeper... Part 2" is a much more even record, with no filler tracks, no annoying sound effects, and it also helps that it contains three of the best Helloween songs ever made. It is a hell of a double header Helloween has created, one of the absolute best metal has ever seen, and while none of the two albums are perfect, they are still incredibly important, both for Helloween and power metal in general. A classic for sure, one that has not lost its shine.

Songs worthy of recognition: Eagle Fly Free, March of Time, I Want Out, Keeper of The Seven Keys

Rating: 9,5/10 Dr. Steins

www.helloween.org/
twitter.com/helloweenorg

More reviews of Helloween
Walls of Jericho
Keeper of The Seven Keys: Part 1
Pink Bubbles Go Ape
Chameleon
Master of The Rings
The Time of The Oath
Better Than Raw
The Dark Ride
Rabbit Don't Come Easy
Keeper of The Seven Keys: The Legacy
Gambling With The Devil
7 Sinners
Straight Out of Hell
My God-Given Right