Raw To The Bone (2CD)

You a fan of vintage Uriah Heep?  Then pay attention please...Blind Golem started out life as a Uriah Heep cover band.  Ultimately they became Ken Hensley's backing band for live gigs.  This latest album from the band features a guest shot from Mr. Hensley on Hammond organ and slide guitar.  Its his last recorded performance before his passing.  What does the new album sound like?  Uriah Heep of course!  They've got the look...they've got the sound.  BUY OR DIE!"There’s no talking about Blind Golem’s first full-length album without mentioning Uriah Heep. The Italians initially began as a Heep tribute band and desired to write their own music in a similar Seventies Rock style, going so far as to give the artwork that Demons and Wizards aesthetic and even getting Ken Hensley himself to record keyboards and slide guitar just months before his tragic passing. A Dream Of Fantasy (MaRaCash Records) makes for an inevitably derivative listen with that established, but it is also an undeniably infectious labor of love.Right off the bat, the musicians absolutely nail the tropes for the style at hand. The guitars and keyboards in particular are dead on; the former mixes in an array of wah effects and acoustic minstrelry with its Classic Rock grooves as the latter chimes in with period perfect washes of organ and piano. The vocals don’t attempt too many of David Byron’s signature falsettos but deliver the melodies in a husky but pleasant timbre. Top it off with an extra vibrant, retro friendly production job.The songwriting also does a good job of conveying the different vibes that made classic Heep so beloved. Songs like the opening ‘Devil In A Dream’ and ‘Scarlet Eyes’ hit the upbeat spirit of ‘Easy Livin’ while others like ‘The Ghost Of Eveline’ and ‘Star Of The Darkest Night’ expand on the ominous Proto-Doom of ‘Rainbow Demon.’ Their softer side also finds different ways to express itself as ‘The Day Is Gone’ is a somber slow burn, ‘Night Of Broken Dreams’ and ‘The Gathering’ are lighter-worthy power ballads, and ‘Carousel’ tries out some pleasant acoustics. The only thing that seems to be missing is a pastoral rocker on par with ‘The Wizard’ or a ‘Salisbury’-style epic.Of course, there is certainly concern in having fourteen tracks to work with. Having so many does make a few of them seem redundant, but they’re all executed with unwavering enthusiasm. It’s hard to complain when the biggest flaw on an album is having too much of a good thing. If anything, it’s fun to think of this album as a greatest hits collection from an alternate universe.Although the real Uriah Heep seems to actually be doing pretty well for themselves over fifty years after their formation, Blind Golem’s debut album makes for an enjoyable homage. The band has a firm understanding of their inspirations, bringing in plenty of memorable tracks and lively musicianship. It accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do and even listeners unfamiliar with their Seventies Rock idols could get something out of it. If they can craft a follow-up with a more compact presentation, they just might end up with a real masterpiece on their hands." - Ghost Cult

“You can expect a beefy rock album, freak style. I think that Cooking with Pagans finally has the sound and energy of Freak Kitchen live; the energy and rawness. It is anything but overproduced, stripped down, drums, bass and guitar. To the point.” – Mattias “IA” EklundhIt has been 5 years since Freak Kitchen graced us with a new album.  Since the release of 2009’s Land Of The Freaks, the band has toured the world – making stops in Europe, USA, and Asia along the way.  Finally the band was able to settle down in their home base of Sweden to record the long awaited follow up Cooking With Pagans.The album finds the band collaborating with Blacksad comic book creator and former Disney animator Juanjo Guarnido.  In addition to creating the amazing packaging for the album, Mr. Guarnido has created an incredible animated video to support the album release.Freak Kitchen consists of world renowned guitarist Mattias “IA” Eklundh, bassist Christer Ortefors and drummer Bjorn Fryklund, The trio offers an intense blend of progressive metal and rock, often served up with a wicked dose of humor.  RIYL Frank Zappa, Steve Vai, and Bumblefoot. 

"Signing on with Deep Purple/Black Sabbath producer Martin Birch, Blue Öyster Cult made more of a guitar-heavy hard rock album in Cultosaurus Erectus after flirting with pop ever since the success of Agents of Fortune. (They also promoted this album by going out on a co-headlining tour with Sabbath.) Gone are the female backup singers, the pop hooks, the songs based on keyboard structures, and they are replaced by lots of guitar solos and a beefed-up rhythm section. But the band still were not generating strong enough material to compete with their concert repertoire, so they found themselves in the bind of being a strong touring act unable to translate that success into record sales." - All Music Guide

Raise The Curtain is the latest effort from the former Savatage mastermind.  Its quite different from the Jon Oliva's Pain project and in a surprising way.  The music has a strong 70s vibe blending elements of progressive rock, AOR, and metal.  Oliva plays all the instruments but he collaborated on the songwriting with Dan Fasciano.  From the opening roaring organ sounds you know you are in for something a bit different.  You can tell this is Jon Oliva - there are parts that will remind you a bit of Savatage but you will also think in terms of Kansas, ELP, Alice Cooper.  A mash up of styles for sure but quite well done.  A friend who heard an advance copy summed it up perfectly: "A fun album".  This is the first pressing that has one bonus track.  Grab it while we got 'em.

Remastered edition with 2 bonus tracks."The third and final album of what could be called Journey's cocoon phase (Escape would give birth to a fully formed butterfly and put the band through the stratosphere), 1980's Departure would also be the quintet's last with keyboardist/vocalist Gregg Rolie. Produced by Geoff Workman and Kevin Elson (essentially both engineers turned producers), the album continued to build on the band's previous two recordings, but offered an added edge, arrangement-wise. This was likely due to the fact that the band had walked into Automatt Studios with 19 new tunes and proceeded to record most of them live, eventually trimming down to 11 songs. Catapulted all the way up to number eight on the Billboard Top 200, Departure was the band's highest charting album to date and got off to an explosive start with the driving riffs and chorused vocals of "Anyway You Want It" (another radio smash that would chart Top 25). Never sounding tighter, the quintet then launched into "Walks Like a Lady" (another future FM staple, climbing to number 32) and a string of outstanding rockers, including future concert opener "Where Were You" and the stop-go-stop-go energy of "Line of Fire." On the other hand, elegant power ballads like "Good Morning" and "Stay Awhile" would foreshadow the band's future commercial triumphs on Escape. And even though it packs the occasional filler like "Someday Soon" and "Homemade Love" (a weak attempt to boogie that falls absolutely flat), Departure is a solid record all around. Soon, Rolie would be replaced by the greater pop-savvy songwriting muscle of former Babys keyboard man Jonathan Caine, and Journey would go from huge cult act to monster superstars." - All Music Guide

"Lemmy Kilmister had been leading Motörhead for 16 years by the time 1916 was recorded in 1991. Over the years, Motörhead had experienced more than its share of personnel changes -- and in fact, Kilmister was its only remaining original member. But the band's sound hadn't changed much, and time hadn't made its sledgehammer approach any less appealing. As sobering as his reflections on the horrors of World War I are on the title song, he's unapologetically amusing on "Going to Brazil," "Angel City" (an ode to the "beautiful" party people of L.A.), and "Ramones" (which salutes the New York punk band). Whether the subject matter is humorously fun or more serious, Motörhead is as inspired as ever on 1916." - Allmusic Guide