Words: Malcolm Dome

Bands doing classic albums live has become de rigueur. But in the case of Styx you get two of their finest albums on Live (Eagle Vision). Available on Blu-ray, DVD and CD, there’s the whole of The Grand Illusion followed by the entire Pieces Of Eight album, each in the proper track order. Truly brilliant. A pomp haven.

Metallica have now made the EP Beyond Magnetic (Mercury) available on CD. It features four tracks from the Death Magnetic recording sessions, all of which are previously unreleased. In all honesty, any could have made it onto the album without any drop in quality.

Ronnie Montrose, whole career has been coloured by the classic Montrose self-titled debut album. But he has been involved in other highly desirable projects. Gamma 2 (Rock Candy) was the second album from Gamma, the band he formed almost immediately after Montrose. Originally released in 1980, it mixes blues and a slightly more contemporary state-of-the-art hard rock edge. Definitely a CD to play while roaring down an American highway, or sunning yourself in a Clacton back yard.

Lillian Axe are in splendid form on XI – The Days Before Tomorrow (AFM). Their stylish, creative grip of AOR is as firm as ever on a set of songs that traverse from intricate ballads to more balls-out thumpers.

In theory, the combination of Lacuna Coil and top pop-rock producer Don Gilmore should have made Dark Adrenaline (Roadrunner) a stunner. So, why is it so mediocre? For a start, the songs seem overly airbrushed, losing the gothic sparkle of the band at their best. Secondly, there appears to be little rapport between the musicians and the producer. It all sounds a little lacklustre, without the drive or panache of Lacuna in their prime.

The Evil Dead are from Argentina and have a reputation in the extreme metal arena. But Pronounced The Evil Dead (Rising) shows that, take away vocals which sound like an angry Chihuahua with a raging ulcer, and you’re left with a surprisingly melodic metal band who nod at Megadeth and Iron Maiden  and can certainly carry a tune.

Tony Ashton was a cult figure on the rock scene, thanks to his involvement with Ashton, Gardner & Dyke and Paice, Ashton, Lord. A real character who lived and loved life to the maximum, he died in 2001. The memoir Zermattitis: A Musicians’ Guide To Going Downhill Fast (Wymer Publishing) captures his humour, quirkiness and sheer effrontery brilliantly. Unlike so many autobiographies from more high profile figures, this hums with affection and truth. It’s not full of self-aggrandisement and hubris. A lesson for others on how to write such a book. This comes with a bonus DVD, featuring previously unreleased footage of Ashton, Gardner & Dyke.

Young Brummies Capital Sun have recorded three songs with producer Chris Tsangarides. The first of these, Forgotten Songs, is now available through their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/capitalsun). It goes back to the mid-to-late 70s British hard rock style, bringing to mind Thin Lizzy, UFO and Budgie. Very promising.

According to a survey carried out at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, both are creative, at ease with themselves and introverted. This comes from a study of 36,000 music fans around the world.

Metal and classical followers are also obsessive and dedicated. Professor Adrian North, who led the study says:

“There’s also a sense of theatre which is common with both groups. For heavy metal bands it’s about putting on a show”.

What are the chances of Iron Maiden or Judas Priest appearing at the Proms, then?!

It’s called En Vivo! and comes in Blu-ray, two-disc DVD and double soundtrack album. To be released on March 26 by EMI it was filmed and recorded on April 10 last year at the Estadio Nacional in Santiago, Chile during the band’s Round The World In 66 Days tour.

The DVD track listing is:

Disc One

1. Satellite 15
2. The Final Frontier
3. El Dorado
4. 2 Minutes To Midnight
5. The Talisman
6. Coming Home
7. Dance Of Death
8. The Trooper
9. The Wicker Man
10. Blood Brothers
11. When The Wild Wind Blows
12. The Evil That Men Do
13. Fear Of The Dark
14. Iron Maiden
15. The Number Of The Beast
16. Hallowed Be Thy Name
17. Running Free

Disc Two

1. Behind The Beast documentary
2. Satellite 15 – The Final Frontier promo video (director’s cut)
3. The making Of Satellite 15
4. The Final Frontier promo
5. The Final Frontier World Tour show intro

Find our more at www.ironmaiden.com

Words: Malcolm Dome

So, the wait is over. A new Van Halen song. Tattoo (Interscope) is the new single, and it’s already divided opinion. Some love it, others hate. Personally, I feel it’s a complete let down. A highly disappointing and ultimately failed attempt to recapture the glory days of the Diamond Dave era. Let’s hope there’s much better to come from the album A Different Kind Of Truth. Oh, and doesn’t this unreleased song from 1977 remind you of Tattoo?

More were one of the NWOBHM era bands who never quite made the expected impact. They did feature one-time Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Mario Day on their 1981 debut Warhead (Rock Candy). Now reissued, if anything it’s got better with age. A real master blaster.

The late John Du Cann was always an underrated guitarist. His work with the equally undervalued Atomic Rooster in the early 1970s was highly impressive. The Many Sides Of: 1967-1980 (Angel Air) is a compilation is his work not just with the Rooster but before and after his stint with them. The likes of late 60s band Andromeda come across well, but it’s still the Atomic stuff that holds up best. Du Cann himself put this together just prior to his death.

The first Genesis album has always stuck out as being almost completely at odds with what was to come. The reissue of From Genesis To Revelation (Repertoire) does nothing to persuade you that it really should be taken seriously as a prog classic. Produced by Jonathan King and originally released in 1969, it comes across as an album from a band still finding their mark and direction. There are hints at what was to follow, but mostly it’s psychedelically tinged pop.

Crippled Black Phoenix are a band featuring musicians associated with Electric Wizard, Iron Monkey and Mogwai. But as they show on new album (Mankind) The Crafty Ape (Cool Green) they owe so much to the heritage of Pink Floyd. At time they stray across the line between influence and mimickry, but that rarely happens. Most of the time, this double CD offers intelligent, sophisticated yet accessible music that has a 1970s pulse, but definitely a contemporary spine.

Released at the end of last year, Imaginaerum (Nuclear Blast) is the most ambitious album yet from Nightwish. It has a sweeping, epic power, and the band haven’t been afraid to overload the senses. In a strange way, this is Abba but with everything turned up to beyond OTT.

Venom revert to a tried and trusted approach for Fallen Angels (Spinefarm). This is old school Venom and all the better for it. The riffs are dark, the songs are imaginative yet sparse and the overall impact is of a band proving they are still more than capable of living up to their stature as true metal pioneers.

Finally, Black Rain offer some convincing trash ‘n’ roll on Lethal Dose Of… (SPV). It’s hard to believe they’re French, because that country has no pedigree with this sort of music. But these Black boys really do swing with a Crue/Hanoi grip. They’re on tour in the UK next month. Check ’em out if this is to your lipsmackin’ taste.

Called Awoken Broken, it was co-produced by the pair and mixed by Simon Hanhart. It will be on the Spinefarm label and will be available as a digipack, double coloured vinyl in a gatefold sleeve and also digitally.

The full track listing is:

1. No Friendly Neighbour
   2. No Place Like Home
   3. I See Lights
   4. Bright As A Fire
   5. Savage World
   6. Tortured Tone
   7. White Sheet Robes
   8. As Tears Come Falling From The
   9. Awoken Broken
   10. Search For Bliss
   11. Snake
   12. Mirror and the Moon

Find out more at www.primalrockrebellion.com

He’s joined forces with former Sikth frontman Mikee Goodman in this band, who will release their debut album through Spinefarm at the end of February.

The band’s style apparently, ‘Fuses together two very different approaches to music — Mikee’s unique vocal tones and dark-yet-colourful lyrics, and Adrian’s instantly recognizable guitar melodies and song writing prowess. Adrian also plays bass throughout the album. All songs were co-written by Adrian and Mikee as individual pieces of work and recorded in creative windows of opportunity’.

Find out more at http://primalrockrebellion.com

Clayton was asked to do the iconic recording for the 1982 song when original choice Vincent Price demanded a very high fee. He was also a pioneer in black TV and radio programming in the UK.

Find out more at www.ironmaiden.com

Talking to Absolute Radio’s Geoff Lloyd, the former Slade frontman recalled the madcap incident:

“We were going down to see Iron Maiden down at Hammersmith Odeon, as it was in those days. Ozzy decided we’d got to get dressed up, so we went up near Marylebone High Street somewhere, there was a sort of antique shop there that used to sell war memorabilia. So we went in and Ozzy got us both a German helmet each, and then there was a fancy dress shop just up the road and he got us ballerina tutu dresses. So I had to tag along with him. Can you imagine us trying to get a cab in the West End?”

On a more serious note, Holder explained that, thanks to a Slade fan, a studio version of Hear Me Calling has been included as a bonus track on the reissued version of 1974’s Sladest album.

“This guy had found an acetate of Here Me Calling that we used to open our show with for years. Now it’s been on live albums in the past but the studio version, had got lost many years ago, the tapes and everything, and he found this acetate. We managed to clean it up and re-master it.”

Listen to the entire interview here.

It’s being made by Banger Films, who were responsible for acclaimed Iron Maiden and Rush documentaries, as well as Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey. This is to be called Vincent Goes To Hell: An Alice Cooper Doc Opera, and should be premiered in September at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Film maker Sam Dunn told spinner.com: “We’re in the early stages of telling the story of his career. We’re probably going to focus in on his early years up to his comeback in the 80s. We’re exploring a different stylist approach with this film. It won’t be talking heads; it’s going to be more of an archival and animated journey through his career”.

Find out more at http://alicecooper.com

Dickinson is looking at buying the company’s certificate of operation and starting again with a single jumbo: “There would be one aircraft, a skeleton staff — and from there we can build things up.”

Astraeus folded after running out of cash. Insiders blamed the charter airline’s Icelandic owners.

Dickinson continued: “I’m already working on a plan to try to save Astraeus, or at least create a new business with new jobs for my friends and former colleagues at Astraeus. This is a serious plan involving people who are very good at their jobs.”