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Album Retrospective

Retrospective #9 – Tool

Tool are a band from Los Angeles, California. Forming in 1990, the bands original line-up included Maynard James Keenan, Adam Jones, Danny Carey and Paul D’Amour. 1995 saw the bands one and only line-up change when D’Amour was replaced by Justin Chancellor. Tool have released a mere 5 albums throughout their history!

It was June 1997, and I was somewhat indifferently watching MTV, when this video started that led to Tool becoming 1 of my top 3 favourite bands. The song was ‘Stinkfist’ and I remember being absolutely blown away by both the song and the video. I have been fortunate to see them live on just 2 occasions. First time was in 2001 at London’s Brixton Academy and then again in 2006 at London’s Wembley Arena. You will note the 2 venues are in London and fortunately, I lived in the South of England for 20 years.  Currently on tour in Europe in 2022, it is with a high degree of extreme disappointment that this tour does not include a date or 2 in Scotland.

The fact that I have only ever seen them live on 2 occasions is disgraceful, considering the extremely high regard I hold them in. That said, at least we have the albums.

Please welcome Retrospective #9, Tool.

Album Retrospective – Tool

Following the success of 1992’s debut EP, ‘Opiate’, Tool made the decision to lean away from the EP’s heavy sound, potentially as an anti-thesis to the burgeoning Grunge scene, but more than likely to create more atmosphere to Keenan’s dark and twisted lyrical content. Released in 1993, the album was called Undertow and it identified Tool as an incredible, technically proficient, band with deep and insightful lyrics, albeit with the dark undertones mentioned. ‘Prison Sex’, probably the best song on the album, is about child abuse. Nobody in 1992 was writing lyrics like this, we had not long emerged from the horrific Hair Metal scene, with bands like Motley Crue singing about girls or smoking in the boy’s room – you know, real intelligent stuff!  Meanwhile, Tool were getting videos withdrawn from MTV due to their lyrical content.

This was the only album to feature Paul D’Amour, and it is something he should be incredibly proud of being part of. In listening to the album as part of the retrospective, I totally lost my shit during ‘Bottom’, another stunning track.

Undertow is an album that demands your attention. With incredible videos featuring Adam Jones designed Stop-Motion techniques, Tool merely hint at that artistic future of the bands vision and sound.  8/10

September 1996 saw the release of their 2nd album, Ænima. If I were to concoct a list of my top 5 favourite albums of all time, this one would be near the top. There are very few albums I would deem as perfect, but Ænima is, to my mind, perfect. Be it through the cleverly placed interludes, the moments of extreme heaviness, sitting alongside superbly executed time signatures, there is absolutely no criticism that should be made about this album. When I heard ‘Stinkfist’ for the first time, I immediately went out to buy the CD. I was absolutely obsessed with the album from day 1.

Needless to say, the band still courted controversy with their lyrical content – again by MTV who refused to use the songs name when playing ‘Stinkfist’. ‘Die Eier von Satan’ is another controversial track. Designed to sound like a 1930’s Nazi rally, the industrial track is essentially a recipe for a Hash cake.

But it isn’t the controversies that make this album, it is the sheer quality of the tracks on offer, it is the way the album makes you lose your mind, makes you sing along to every single song and ultimately gives you goosebumps.  Perfection 10/10

It was then nearly 5 full years before we would hear a new Tool album. Yes, we had the Salival box set (which I only mention as I own it), but legal battles created by the folding of their record lable would apparently hinder the growth of the band. Well, it should have, but for the fact that Tool decided to write another absolute classic! Lateralus was released in May 2001 and eager fans, including myself, immediately gobbled it up. I remember buying it on the day of release, playing it constantly as I strived to learn all the lyrics. This was especially helpful when they band got 2 of the albums best tracks, ‘Parabola’ and ‘Schism’ onto the Guitar Hero game.

Salival by Tool

I loved the transition Tool were making into their sound, a more progressive form of metal and I was overjoyed when I got to see them live for the first time on this tour, especially at an iconic venue that is famed for its excellent acoustics, Brixton Academy.  I remember watching in absolute awe, just staring at the stage as the band exceeded the sky high expectations I had of seeing them live. 2001 was a good year! 9/10

Another 5 years and Tool were ready to release the 4th album. Called 10,000 Days, we were able to buy it in the UK at the beginning of May. I have the copy with the ‘eye glasses’, a gimmick that I don’t actually think benefits the album, but that is irrelevant. The songs themselves went even deeper into progressive territory and, again, many of them were absolute bangers, in particular the opening track, ‘Vicarious’. Yet again, the song made it on to a Guitar Hero game, demonstrating the popularity.

My life, around this time, was in a bit of a state, but I still managed to grab the chance to see the band at Wembley Arena in London, a far bigger, and far less awesome a venue than Brixton Academy. This time, I was in a seat with my friend, Simon, as we eagerly watched Mastodon open for the band. When Tool arrived, Maynard was situated on a riser in the back left of the stage, beside Danny and the drums, with Justin and Adam taking prominence at the front. Essentially a silhouette throughout the set, I again watched the band, awestruck at how cool it looked and how Tool were a proper band and that I was so happy that they were back! 9/10

My Favourite Tool T-Shirt
T-Shirt Back Print

Alas, my optimism that Tool were back was misplaced. As months became years and rumour replaced rumour, and as with so many of the bands I listened to in my 20s and early 30s, I grew apart from their music, listening to the albums less and less. Like many Tool fans, I didn’t think we would ever see the new album. Hope was just about extinguished, with potential release dates being mooted and then changed.

Then, in 2019, news broke of 2 new songs being played at a festival in the USA.  2 new songs…. I was beside myself. Then, in August 2019, Fear Inoculum was released and…. I didn’t buy it! Yes, I listened it on Spotify, as Tool had recently put their catalogue on streaming platforms, but they did not provide a ‘normal’ CD for anybody to buy. Instead, we had to buy a special edition at an exorbitant price, something I was, and am still not, willing to do. I love Tool and this is the only album I don’t own.  I go by the mantra buy, don’t Spotify, but I cannot do it on this occasion.

It is a shame, as Fear Inoculum is a fine album, albeit one that doesn’t really match up to the predecessors. Perhaps this is because of the excellent side projects the guys have had over the years, or more than likely it is because my musical taste changed drastically in the intervening 13 years between albums.  That said, I hope we get a new album fairly rapidly, with ‘normal’ version for us to purchase. 8/10

Listening to each of the albums during this retrospective, it is immediately obvious that the standard of each album is impeccable. The timelines between the releases has also not blunted the affection that I, and many others have for Tool. I now just hope for a Scottish date in the upcoming months so that I can see them live once again, as I don’t want to wait another 10+ years for this to happen.

Album Ranking

  1. Ænima
  2. Laterlus
  3. 10,000 Days
  4. Undertow
  5. Fear Inoculum

Off the beaten track – Check out the numerous Danny Carey Drum Cam videos on Youtube, although with nearly 24m views of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FssULNGSZIA We can assume most readers of this blog will have seen them.

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Me vs The Wildhearts

The Wildhearts are my favourite band!

I say this safe in the knowledge that whatever happens within the band, my love for the band will never die. The Wildhearts shall endure! May have asked me why my favourite band have not been the subject of a retrospective. The answer is that I have never stopped listening to the band. I probably listen to at least 1 Wildhearts song every few days.

It has been a few days since the announcement that the band are on ‘hiatus’. How long this will last, nobody knows, but I have been a fan of the band since the early 90’s and so I know that, in one shape or another, they will return, bigger and better than ever!

Whilst this ‘hiatus’ is incredibly disappointing, especially considering the strength of their last 2 albums, I cannot say that it is unexpected.  The Wildhearts are a band that have thrived on conflict and internal strife.  Fights with record labels, trashing the office of music magazines, numerous personnel changes – the band has had it all, but through it all, the band has ultimately survived.

The Wildhearts have been responsible for some of my favourite moments in music. My favourite ever concert experience is seeing the boys at Kelvingrove Bandstand in Glasgow. I met the band for the one and only time in Glasgow early in the afternoon. I tried not to say anything stupid and utterly failed. I was a gibbering wreck and I also refused to have my work-shirt signed, as it was my ‘good shirt’. Idiot!

I then drove home 20 odd miles, changed, and got the train back to Glasgow to meet a bunch of strangers in the Solid Rock Café – the best rock pub in Scotland – as my normal gig going buddy had retired due to hearing issues. I cannot adequately explain how great this day was. I met people from all over the UK, including a guy who came up from Birmingham. Now, I don’t have a ‘face’ picture on Facebook, my picture is me passed out in my tent at the Reading Festival. So, this bearded hero hung about in the pub trying to figure out who I was. We were joined by a girl from Aberdeen, an awesome dude from Falkirk (I think) and a dude from the Islands. I have left their names out as I haven’t asked if I can use them. 

After introductory boozing at the pub, we piled in a taxi to the venue and drank even more. It was a fantastic gig, I was down the very front, have brilliant pictures of the band, including one where CJ and Danny actually posed for me, which helped this to be the greatest gig-going experience of my life!

The Wildhearts are also responsible for my second favourite song of all time. ‘The Trooper’ by Iron Maiden is the greatest song ever written by anyone, but ‘Everlone’ runs it close. It is one of 2 songs that can still give me goosebumps (Pilo Erect) when I listen to it. The other song is ‘Stinkfist’ by Tool. Any time I hear ‘Everlone’ live, I shut my eyes and the air-guitar appears to close the bad-boy out. I will always have this.

I have seen the band live more than any other….by a huge margin. I have never been let down at any gig, although I know that others have. I even heard CJ’s guitar in Glasgow. I’ve seen them at Festivals, indoor venues, posh bandstands, even ‘online’ gigs. I’ve seen several line-ups, different drummers, Jef Streatfield, Random Jon Poole spitting in the air and catching it again in his mouth, Toshi and Scott Sorry. I have nearly caught Ginger’s guitar (well, I was in the crowd watching them at Donington if that counts) and I have had a drink of Ginger’s JD and Coke in Southsea. I don’t like JD.

I have seen the band sober, and also very drunk. I have spent more money on Wildhearts merch than I can add up. I wish I still had all my t-shirts. More than half my ‘band’ t-shirts are Wildhearts related. I am lucky enough to have the fan-club release of ‘Fishing for Luckies’, and I still bought the update version of ‘PHUQ’, even though I could have put the tracklisting together to create the album proper.

I spent £25 for the ‘Caffeine Bomb’ EP on eBay back in the day, to complete my collection after they split up following the release of ‘Endless Nameless’, an album that I immediately adored, only for them to reform and release more singles. I was the President of the ‘Rock Society’ at university and knew the person running the University Radio Station. The upshot was that I was lined up to interview the band, only for them to split up.

Gutted!

I know people that ‘don’t get’ The Wildhearts. They are unable to understand the adulation that fans give them. Whilst I am by no means the ‘massive’ fan some folk assume I am (I know some fans that are incredibly intense), I am still a huge fan. I will never, ever understand why they are not huge and I do believe that they do not get the respect they deserve. I cannot understand anybody who doesn’t ‘get’ the band. It just does not compute.

For now, this hiatus gives the band time to get themselves together. Whilst we wait for this to happen, we can look forward to solo releases, gigs and all the other good things that allow the individuals to make the whole. I have complete confidence that I will be able to buy another new Wildhearts album. Until then;

‘Through edging greys, we remember these days’.

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Type O Negative formed in Brooklyn, New York in 1989. Pioneers of the Gothic Metal genre, they released 7 albums up until Peter Steele’s untimely death in 2010.

Although I was aware of Type O Negative having seen the video for ‘Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All) on countless occasions, it was not until I saw them live at the Donington Monsters of Rock Festival in 1996 that the band forced themselves into my steadily growing CD collection.

My, rather sketchy, memories of that day included a genuine Man Mountain on stage with a chain as a guitar strap. Peter Steel was a huge man who utterly dominated the 2nd stage at the festival. With a mere 30 minutes on stage, Type O Negative boasted of playing a grand total of 3 songs. Their set was enough to win me over.

Peter Steele with Chain guitar strap

Joining Bassist/Lead Vocalist Peter Steel in the band were, Ken Hickey on guitars/backing vocals, Josh Silver on Keyboads and backing vocals and original drummer Sal Abruscato. Type O Negative benefited from having a relatively stable line-up throughout their history, with only a change in drummer, with Johnny Kelly beating the skins following Abruscato’s departure.

Retrospective #5 features the incomparable Type O Negative.

Album Retrospective – Type O Negative.

In 1991, rising from the ashes of Carnivore, Type O Negative formed and quickly released their debut album via Roadrunner Records. Slow Deep and Hard was the, not-so-subtle, title of the album and merely hinted at the sound the band would cultivate and make their own.

This album was, and still is, a strange listen for me, as I had heard some of their later albums before this. I wasn’t expecting the lack of a gothic sound. This album takes a number of metal elements and crushes them together to create a sound that, to be perfectly blunt, would not have encouraged me to purchase future albums. However, luckily, Type O Negative were a band who continually evolved with each album.  6/10

This evolution, however, wasn’t immediately apparent, as the follow up album was a ‘live’ album featuring renamed tracks from their debut as well as a few other additional releases. When I say Live, I mean it wasn’t. 1992’s The Origin of the Feces was a studio album with additional crowd noise added and is billed as being ‘Not Live at Brighton Beach’. As it is a studio album, it makes it onto the retrospective.

Again, I bought this album prior to hearing the debut which has led me to have a sense of love for the album that Slow Deep and Hard wasn’t able to capture. Songs such as ‘I Know You’re Fucking Someone Else’, although featuring on the debut with a different name, seem to fit The Origin of the Feces in a more natural manner. The genius of this album was the inclusion of, what was to become a Type O Negative trait, of cover versions. An outstanding cover of Sabbath’s ‘Iron Man’ was accompanied by an alternative version of ‘Hey Joe’, entitled ‘Hey Peter’. Both covers are well worth your time. 7/10

By the summer of 1993, Type O Negative had finally managed to hit their stride, and it was their first truly gothic album, an album that defined a genre. Bloody Kisses is, without a shadow of doubt, a magnificent album. Featuring truly epic songs, including the aforementioned ‘Black No 1’ as well as ‘Set me on Fire’ and, perhaps my personal favourite, ‘Christian Woman’, it is not a short album. But it utterly envelopes you in its dark humour and I still, to this day, sing ‘Christian Woman’ in my head on a consistent basis, although Jesus Christ doesn’t really look like me at all.

Bloody Kisses was the first Type O Negative album I bought, and I utterly adore it. It contains my two favourite Type O songs and it has a special place in my heart. There is a reason why it became a platinum album and for many years I considered it to be a perfect album up until I saw them live for the first time at Donington Monsters of Rock in 1996. Needless to say, perfection was to be redefined. 9/10

3 days after blowing my mind at Donington 96, Type O Negative released October Rust, their first without original drummer Sal Abruscato . I bought this almost immediately. I had always considered their 3rd album to be perfection and this was the album to prove me wrong. I remember playing this constantly. Not long after, I went to University and this album was a constant on my very heavy metal Sony CD player. Again, the album demonstrates a dark humour in amongst the gothic metal overtones.

October Rust is one of the most consistent albums I have ever heard. There is absolutely zero weak songs, it is perfectly produced and it is, to my ears, pretty much flawless. I remember having one of my many drunken conversations with my best pal, Kenny, about this album, where I talked about how the best songs on Bloody Kisses were better than the tracks on October Rust, but the actual album was not as good as October Rust. Peter Steele and the boys had reached a high that, unfortunately, they would find impossible to hit again. 10/10

One of the biggest surprises in doing theses retrospectives is rediscovering albums that I had previously disregarded. 1999 saw the release of the bands darkest album to date, World Coming Down. Featuring tracks such as. ‘Everyone I love is Dead’, and, ‘Everything Dies’ you begin to get the state of mind the Peter Steele was in. At this time in my life, I had recently graduated from University and was wondering where life was going to take me.  So, when this album came out, I never really gave it the chance the band deserved. Yes, I still played the album, but I never really listened to it, never listened to the more ‘upbeat’ tracks, ‘All Hallows Eve’ or ‘Pyretta Blaze’.

What has happened since I listened to this album for the retrospective, is that I now understand the content. It has hit a home run with me and I regret not listening to this more than I did in the last 20 years. Instead of being a weaker album than the previous 2, it is actually every bit as strong an album as Bloody Kisses.  9/10

Almost 4 years then passed before the band released album No.6, Life is Killing Me. Unfortunately, my retrospective listen to this album did not change my thoughts about it. When I bought this in 2003, I immediately to a dislike to it. For every good track like ‘I don’t Wanne be Me’, there was a ‘I Like Goils’. To say I was disappointed is a massive understatement. Following on from my, now incorrect, opinion of the previous album, I felt that I had moved on from the band. If you have read my previous retrospectives, you will see that my music tastes were changing around this time and so, it was with very fond memories, that my heart said a fond goodbye to Type O Negative. 6/10

So, it is with a slight hint of disgust about myself that I must admit that I did not have a clue that Type O Negative released a 7th album until I started this retrospective. I had always assumed that they only had 6, this is how much I switched off to the band.

In 2007, their last album, this time with a new record label, SPV Steamhammer. Having listened to this for the first time after revisiting their previous 6 albums, I was eager to see if they could recapture lost glories, make me feel like man in his 20’s again. Alas, it was not to be.  A new record label did not mean a new start and Dead Again, is an album that make you feel the guys were going through the motions.  I was pretty disappointed, especially as there will never be a chance of a redeeming album. 5/10

On April 14th 2010, Peter Steele died. I remember being absolutely devastated at reading this news. Although latter day Type 0 Negative albums hadn’t hit home with me, their music was a massive part of my younger life.

Type O Negative were at the forefront of an entire genre, perhaps releasing the definitive Goth Metal album in Bloody Kisses. It is perhaps fitting that the remaining members of the band did not continue as Type O Negative as it leaves Peter Steele’s legacy intact.

Album Ranking

  1. October Rust
  2. Bloody Kisses
  3. World Coming Down
  4. Origin of the Feces
  5. Life is Killing Me
  6. Slow Deep and Hard
  7. Dead Again
  • Find out more – Check out  their 2007 set Live at Wacken on You Tube.
  • Off the beaten track – Check out the 10 Unforgettable Peter Steele Moments on You Tube, including his Jerry Springer appearance.
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Album Retrospective

The Almighty were a Scottish band, forming back in 1988. Over a 12 year period, they released 7 studio albums, with line-up changes throughout their career. Only Ricky Warwick and Stumpy Munroe remained a constant throughout.

The Almighty’s importance to me and my journey through heavy metal can and should not be underestimated. In the late 80’s/early 90’s, I listened to the ‘Mega’ bands, such as Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Guns n’ Roses and Bon Jovi. The Almighty were the first ‘small’ band that hooked me. This wasn’t a band that played arenas or stadiums. This was a hard-working, hard-rocking band who built themselves a fan-base that still supports frontman, Ricky Warwick, to this day.

Being a fan of The Almighty has nearly gotten me into a fight, upset my wife and taught me that bigger name bands are not necessarily better bands.

Please welcome Retrospective #4, The Almighty.

Album Retrospective – The Almighty.

In 1989, Blood Fire and Love was released via Polydor records and it was a bit of a banger! Full to the brim of anthems, it was an introduction that bands dream of. From the opening track, ‘Resurrection Mutha’ it grabs you and doesn’t let go. Even when it slows things down, with the title track especially, it turns things up to 11 with other tracks.  To this day, I still sing ‘Full Force Loving Machine’ and ‘Wild and Wonderful’ in my head. In fact, I still own a ‘Wild and Wonderful’ t-shirt that is slightly worse for wear. My wife is disgusted that I have not thrown this out, but hey, ‘I’ve taken all that I can from the skies up above, don’t believe in God but I do believe in love…..’.

This t-shirt lost its sleeves in the mid 90s.

On a journey in a van from England to Scotland in 1991/92, I can’t quite remember, it was getting late in the evening and there was a rock show on a Scottish radio station. They were counting down a list of Scottish Rock/Metal bands and this was the first time I ever heard The Almighty. ‘Free n’ Easy’ was the song and it was taken from the, nothing short of superbsophomore album, Soul Destruction. I was hooked.  Immediately, unabashedly, complete and utterly.

Free n Easy

Again, Soul Destruction was a mixture of Hard Rock songs, with a smattering of slow songs, such as ‘Little Lost Sometimes’. Again, it is full of anthemic bangers, ‘Crucify’, ‘Devil’s Toy and the aforementioned, ‘Free n’ Easy’ are proper headnodders!  The Almighty were on their way. World domination beckoned….. then lead guitarist, Tantrum, was no longer in the band.

Tantrum was replaced by the, ‘star of Waynes World and Canadian Club Whiskey’, Pete Friesen. Friesen was Alice Cooper’s guitarist and so he had a bit of pedigree. I remember reading a Kerrang! interview with Ricky Warwick, where he waxed-lyrical about the technical know-how of Friesen with regards to guitar tuning. It was also around this time that I saw The Almighty for the very first time, at Donington Monsters of Rock 1992. My abiding memory of that day was that it was very wet, but it didn’t rain on The Almighty’s opening set.

Addiction

The band premiered a new song from the upcoming new album, ‘Addiction’. I was blown away with how heavy it was, and how radical a change it was from songs on the previous 2 albums. Friesen obviously had an impact on the upcoming album and I was gutted to have to wait over 6 months, it wasn’t released until April 1993 to get my grubby little hands on it.  I bought it on cassette, and I still have it to this day. To my everlasting joy, my version of Powertrippin’ also has the ‘bonus’ Donington live set on there.

Powertrippin’ has a different sound to it, it still features the trademark ‘slower’ songs, but it came out at the beginning of the ‘Grunge’ era, and the sound of the album is more akin to that than the previous hard rock from before. It is all the better for it. This is an album that is well worth an hour or so of your time.

In 1994. The Almighty changed record labels, and again there was a slight evolution of their sound. I remember buying this on the Saturday of its release, putting the cassette in my car stereo, driving home and, as I ejected the cassette, it caught in the stereo and the tape snapped. I immediately turned on the engine, drove back to the shops and bought a 2nd copy.  It is worth it Crank is their 4th album and it is cracking. ‘Wrench’, ‘Jonestown Mind’ and ‘Crank and Deceit’ dominate a very good album. One of the funnier album reviews appeared in a UK newspaper, I forget which one, but it would appear the song, ‘Crank and Deceipt’ scared the reviewer a little, as he criticised the song as being, ‘expletive laden’ and gave it a very low review.  The Almighty were not made for pop music reviewers.

It was this album that nearly got me into a fight, or more specifically, my ‘Jonestown Mind’ t-shirt, complete with the lyrics, ‘You’re the Jesus that didn’t get nailed’ emblazoned on the back. In a bar in Leicester, I was wearing this t-shirt when I got a tap on the shoulder with an older Gentleman who proceeded to tell me how offensive he found my t-shirt and explain what would happen if I didn’t take it off…….. instead a debate ensued around the lyrical content of the song and we parted with no aggression.  Happy days!

In 1996, The Almighty released their 5th album, Just Add Life. Again, there was a slight evolution in their music, this time with Horns being added to some of the tracks.  In truth, it works more than expected. ‘All Sussed Out’ is a fine song, full of quotable lyrics (“You can’t fight the power, if you ain’t got the power to fight”). It is another strong album for the boys, but alas, it marked the end of phase one of the band.  Our intrepid heroes had attempted to break into the US Market earlier in their career, but to no avail, and, despite never having dropped the ball with the quality of music, they decided to call it a day and it was over.

All Sussed Out

Except it wasn’t. In 2000, the band reformed with Nick Parsons replacing Pete Friesen on guitar and the eponymous 6th album was released. I was genuinely excited when I read that a new album was coming out and immediately bought it on CD. I wouldn’t say that the album disappointed me, it has a handful of excellent tracks, ‘Broken Machine’ and ‘USAK 47’ totally hit the mark, closely followed by ‘White Anger Comedown’ and ‘I’m in Love (with Revenge), but for me, some of the old magic was gone. It didn’t have the same feel about it as the pre-split albums and it still has the feeling that The Almighty had lost their mojo.

The band then followed up with the 7th and, so far, final studio album in 2001, the quickest time between releases in the bands history. A new bassist was introduced, Gav Gray, replacing founder member, Floyd London. Psycho Narco was the name of the album and to this day, it remains the album I have listened to the least. Even on this retrospective, it is an album that just doesn’t excite me in the same way their earlier albums did. Perhaps this is because of my ever evolving musical taste, but perhaps it was because Ricky had outgrown the style of music that The Almighty had developed. It is no coincidence that his first proper solo album was an acoustic album. I may be guessing, but perhaps both Ricky and myself moved away from The Almighty at a similar time.

It was an absolute joy for me to listen to these albums again, for the first time in many years and it is somewhat disconcerting the sheer amount of lyrics I remembered and could sing along to. Below is my ranking of these albums and I would urge you to check them out if you can and let me know your thoughts.

Album Ranking

  1. Soul Destruction
  2. Crank
  3. Powertrippin’
  4. Blood Fire and Love
  5. Just Add Life
  6. The Almighty
  7. Psycho Narco
  • Find out more – Check out ‘Blood Fire and Live’, released prior to Soul Destruction
  • Off the beaten track – Track down a copy of (Sic) – Eyeball Kicks EP for Ricky Warwick’s early solo material after the split of the band in 1996
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Album Retrospective

Retrospective #3 – Monster Magnet

Monster Magnet are New Jersey’s finest! Originally formed in 1989, only Dave Wyndorf remains from the original line-up. This retrospective will cover their first 10 studio albums and does not include their latest 2021 covers album.

In the 90’s, it was very hard to find Metal on terrestrial television in the UK. We had a show originally called the Power Hour, that changed to Raw Power that morphed into something like Noisy Mothers or similar. Because us metal heads are nocturnal, they showed this show about 3am on a Saturday Morning. This was before modern technology let you set things up in advance with series links or anything spectacular like that. No, in my youth, I had to set my VHS video recorder to record the show on tape.  It was worth it. In addition to falling in love with the presenter, Nikki Groocock, I later saw a music video that led me to fall in love with New Jersey’s finest.

‘Negasonic Teenage Warhead’ was the song and Retrospective #3 is Monster Magnet.

Album Retrospective – Monster Magnet.

Before we start on the full album retrospective, I need to advise that I think Dave Wyndorf epitomise a Metal God. Skinny as a rake, long hair, shades and seriously charismatic. Dave Wyndorf is ultra-cool. He also shares the same birthday as me, which obviously makes me every bit as awesome as Dave.

Spine of God was the first full album released by Monster Magnet. It was released in 1991 in Europe, and 1992 in the USA. Deemed a ‘classic’ by many, to me it is an album where Wyndorf was finding himself and the sound of the band. Deeply rooted with a 70’s psychedelic vibe, it was a precursor to the ‘Stoner Rock’ tag that would follow the band to this day. It has sprinklings of prog about it and it is a very enjoyable listen if you can get by the particularly ropey production. The importance of this album, however, should not be understated, as it is one of the earliest examples of Stoner rock. The importance of the album is all well and good, but many look at it with rose tinted glasses and fail to acknowledge that it is average at best. 5/10

Although not rating highly with me, Monster Magnet’s debut album secured a deal with A&M Records, where Wyndorf’s creativity spiralled magnificently.  Superjudge was their 2nd album and it was a level above their debut. This was not reflected in the sales it should have made. You see, Superjudge was released in 1993. This was the time of Grunge. People were buying albums by the likes of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden in this period. How was a Stoner Rock band ever going to stand out? The genre was not cool enough to become mainstream, and so it remained underground with bands like the mighty Kyusscarrying the Stoner torch alongside Monster Magnet. It is with Superjudge that Monster Magnet subtly moved away from the overt psychedelia of their debut and began to stretch their wings. 7/10

In 1995, Monster Magnet hit the big time…. Well, for me they did as this was the year I heard ‘Negasonic Teenage Warhead’ for the first time. Interestingly, it is more akin to their debut, with its psychedelic leanings, but make no mistakes. This is a rocker. This is Wyndorf exercising his inner Rock God, standing astride the Stoner genre like a colossus. The album, ‘Dopes to Infinity’ is riddled with great tracks, with ‘King of Mars’and ‘Dead Christmas’ being stand-outs – the latter often getting airplay in my house on or around Christmas day. Although this is their best album so far, people are still buying later era Grunge albums as well as listening to music from a new genre that was in its infancy ‘Nu-Metal’. Fortunately, Monster Magnet prevailed and we were in for a Stoner classic! 9/10

1998 saw me buy my first Monster Magnet CD. Powertrip was their 4th album and it was absolutely stunning. No longer were the band stifled by other genres of metal. Wyndorf had released perfection.  I remember hearing a song called ‘Bummer’ on a compilation CD, potentially from Kerrang! or Metal Hammer, and it utterly ripped me apart from the inside out. It was ‘Negasonic Teenage Warhead’ plus infinity. I bought the CD on the day of release and played it constantly, much to the annoyance of a few of my University friends. The singles were also superb, true genre classics, ‘Space Lord’is still awe inspiring. I then got to see the band for the first time at Metallica’s ‘Big Day Out’ festival at Milton Keynes Bowl in the UK. This gig demonstrated the fact that Wyndorf is a Rock God, setting fire to his guitar, refusing to leave the stage. This is when I truly fell in love with Monster Magnet. Alas, it was not to last. 10/10

God Says No was released in 2000, and I greedily snapped it up, perhaps unfairly, expecting a similar experience that their previous album gave me. The potential was there, there are BIG tunes on there! ‘Doomsday’ and ‘Heads Explode’ are particularly good, however over here in the UK, we received 2 bonus tracks, of which ‘Silver Future’ is an absolute stunner. The problem was that the album isn’t as consistent as Powertrip, and so perhaps I have judged it too harshly in the past.  It is an album that should be judged on its own merits, as this improves the listening experience. 7/10

It was the release of Monotholic Baby in 2004, on a new record label, where my interest in the band started to drift. Rooted firmly with a 70’s vibe, the album has 3 cover songs included, of which ‘The Right Stuff’ is worth a listen, as is ‘Monolithic’, however, the album does tend to meander. This is fine if you like a tickle psychedelica in your tunes, but alas, my musical journey was heading in a different direction that that of Dave. Although I own this album, this retrospective was probably the first time I had listened to it in 15 years.  It maybe another 15 before I venture into it again. 5/10

In 2006, Dave Wyndorf overdosed on prescription medication. Speaking to Blabbermouth, Dave said that they were anti-anxiety drugs, intended to help solve sleep issues he had whilst touring. Fortunately, after a spell in hospital, Dave recovered and Monster Magnet was able to continue. I remember this time vividly, reading the stories in Kerrang! and Metal Hammer at the time, just hoping he would be OK.

The musical upshot of this was that 4-Way Diablo, their 7th album, was delayed a year, finally being released in 2007. This is the last Monster Magnet album that I bought and, until very recently, I had not listened to it since that year. A slight improvement on the previous album, it lacks the joy and oomph of the early albums. During my research for this retrospective, I found an interview with Dave, where he says it was recorded in ‘the wrong key’ and that is why songs from this album are never included in their live set-list. I find this a bit strange, surely they could play them live the way that they ‘should’ have been recorded?  Perhaps it is, and I am speculating here, that this album reflects a bad time in Dave’s life and also that it isn’t very good?  6/10

By now, it was obvious to me that my musical tastes, heading towards Death Metal and other forms of Extreme Music was at a tangent to that of Monster Magnet, and although I still adored their earlier albums, I never listened to any of their post 2007 material until a few weeks ago. Part of the reason that I want to write these retrospectives is to try to reconnect with bands that left me behind, or that I had left behind. So, it was with keen interest that I started listening to modern Monster Magnet for the first time.

Mastermind was released in October 2010 on a new record label, Napalm Records. I was gobsmacked when I listened to the opening tracks. My Monster Magnet was back, in a manner of speaking.  The band I had abandoned were back with swagger, still hinting at the 70’s vibes, but with a hard rock exterior that all but ditched the psychedelic overtones. I made a mistake in never listening to it. Tracks like ‘Gods and Punks’, ‘100 Million Miles’ and ‘Dig That Hole’ prove that Dave was back. Mastermind should be noted as being lead guitarist Ed Mundell’s final album with the band, meaning that he left on a High.  8/10

Album number 9 was released in 2013 and, after listening to the previous album for the first time, I was genuinely intrigued to see if Monster Magnet would continue in this new vein, or would they slip back again? In truth, Last Patrol does a bit of both. It is not as strong as the previous album, but it retains a sense of fun, it doesn’t take itself too seriously, which gives it a sense of charm. More of a traditional Stoner Rock album that previously, it goes to show that Dave will never stand still and, love them or loathe them, Monster Magnet will march to the beat of their own drum. 7/10

Mindfucker was released in 2018 and is the final album of this retrospective (remember – no cover albums will be included). It seems now, that Monster Magnet have found their groove. A 70’s influenced Stoner/Hard Rock band. This is a very enjoyable listen, again not quite hitting their highs, there are a handful of ‘fillers’ on here, but the hard hitting tunes prevent it from ever getting close to being a generic album, especially songs like ‘Soul’ and ‘Mindfuck’. Dave Wyndorf is now 64 years old. He still the epitome of a Metal God.  7/10

  • The DevilsHorns must listen – Powertrip
  • Find out more – Check out the original versions of their latest album A Better Dystopia
  • Off the beaten track – Check out Ed Mundell’s band The Ultra Electric Mega Galactic
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Uncategorized

A Novice Blogger

So I am now a few months into whatever ‘this’ is and it has become abundantly clear to me that I don’t really have a clue what I am doing, especially with regards to setting up the page the way I think it should look. That’s why it looks a little bit of a mess at the moment. It will, however, improve.

I believe I have a decent basic idea for the blog. I can be very anal with my listening habits and for many years, I have listened to albums by one band/artist in order of the year they were released. So, why not see if anything I listen to sparks a bit of interest in somebody else, even if it is to say that they don’t like it.

That said, I am aware that I need change things slightly. My Devin Townsend Retrospective is too long. At 25 albums, this should have been split into 2 parts to make it more readable. But this is a learning curve for me. Although I have written hundreds of album reviews, I am very much a novice blogger. I have never started a blog from scratch nor have I set up a web page. It is new but it is fun.

I have plans for the blog as well. I want to incorporate others to help, maybe have my friends compile an album retrospective from their point of view. Also, I have an idea that has been in my head since 2016 where I have already sounded out my friend of 40+ years to help. More on this to come, but it will provide more content and be a little more pithy than a full retrospective.

Thanks for reading my thoughts – comments are welcome, as is any advice that can help improve on my Novice Blogger status.

I am The DevilsHorns!

Categories
Album Retrospective

Retrospective #2 – Devin Townsend

Devin Townsend burst on to the scene in 1993 providing vocals in Steve Vai’s ‘Sex and Religion’ album. Since then, he has amassed 25 studio albums in a variety of different genres as a solo artist and the leader of various bands.

Album Retrospective – Devin Townsend

Prolific is, perhaps, a word that still lacks the gravitas to describe the recorded output of one Devin Garret Townsend. He has released, on average, an album a year since his debut release in 1995. I first became aware of Devin following his brief stint in my favourite band, The Wildhearts, where he played guitar on tour with them. It was during this tour that he signed with Century Media, ultimately releasing his debut album, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing, via Century Media Records, under the name of Strapping Young Lad. Essentially a solo album, with a wee bit of help along the way, it is entirely possible that the world of metal was not ready for this type of ‘extreme metal’. Not fitting into any of the traditional genres, it is a slightly flaky album that only hinted at the awesome SYL would release over the coming years.  6/10

I actually thought I was relatively knowledgeable about Hevy Devy’s output (Hey – check his website www.hevydevy.com I am allowed to call him that). So, when carrying out the retrospective, I was genuinely shocked to learn that he had released a punk album, of sorts. Punky Bruster – Cooked on Phonics was that album, and it goes to show Hevy Devy has a bit of humour about him. Originally release under the band name, Punky Bruster, it is a parody album about a Death Metal band that sells out and releases a Punk album….and it is brilliant fun. I never knew this existed and I would urge you all to go to your streaming platform of choice and fire into it. You will not be disappointed, it is fantastic fun!  8/10

Then there was City, the 2nd SYL album. Hevy (hey I can do this….), by now, had assembled a genuine band, and it showed. City is an absolute beast of an album, truly extreme, unrelenting in the heavy!  It is an album high that Devin would never quite reach again with the SYL output, despite delivering high class albums under the line-up. Songs like, ‘Underneath the Waves’, ‘Detox’ and ‘All Hail the New Flesh’ are the aural equivalent of having a butcher forcibly remove your spleen as you sit and eat a donut. This is a genuine, must listen, album and if you consider yourself a fan of extreme metal, I would imagine this is in your collection. 10/10

Then, Devin through a wee bit of a curve-ball. He followed up a seriously heavy album by creating a new band and releasing the album Biomech.  Originally released under the band name of Ocean Machine, it served notice that Devin was not limited in his song writing ability or stylings. This is a criminally underrated album, featuring tracks that have stood the test of time. ‘Regulator’ regularly forces itself into my head, my internal radio (© Ginger Wildheart) if you will. ‘Bastard’ is also superb.  This is the perfect entry album if you want to listen to non-Hevy Devy. 8/10

Infinity was the first Devin Townsend album I bought and so it holds a special place in my heart. Recorded and released after he was diagnosed as Bi-Polar, it is the first album released under his own name, featuring several great songs, and a few oddities. ‘Wild Colonial Boy’ is one of the odd tracks, an oddness that Devy would seek out in more detail in future albums. This album feels like Devy is beginning to gain confidence in his ability to capture his audience, allowing a certain amount of audacity to be present (check out the song ‘Ants’), knowing that his audience are there with him. 8/10

This, more confident, Devy moved onto his next project, where after a dalliance with Jason Newsted, then of Metallica, was curtailed, allegedly by the control freaks in Metallica, he enlisted the help of his SYL bandmates. Although it was the SYL line-up, Physicist is very much a solo album released, once again, under his own name. It was supposedly meant to be a project featuring Newsted, so it is no surprise that the album has a thrashier feel about it, however the album does have a lack of feeling about it. Where Infinity took the listener on a journey, Physicist seems to have left them at the station, with just the engine pulling away. Perhaps if it had been recorded as intended, it may have had a different feel. 5/10

Terria is an album that almost feels like a bounce-back. Gone is the lack of direction found in Physicist, and welcomed in is another, new, direction by Devy. Again released under his own name, Terria is an album that begins his journey into more poppy ambience territory, whilst still keeping an air of heaviness – the pure ambience would follow soon after. An introspective look into his Canadian homeland, Devy recaptures the territory lost in his Physicist experiment and, as such, it is a recommended listen. 7/10

Part of the joy of being a fan of Devy, is the fact that you never know what is going to happen next. Having released 4 solo albums after the last SYL release, Devy got the SYL boys back in the studio to release the eponymous Strapping Young Lad. However, SYL marked a change in tone from the first 2 albums, become a much more straight-forward sounding metal album, slightly leaning to Death Metal. The production is nowhere near as crisp as the previous albums, it is, without a doubt, the weakest SYL album released.  There was, perhaps, a reason for this….. 6/10

A potential reason for the weak SYL album may have been that, the ever prolific, Devy was hard at work on another album, this time with a new band The Devin Townsend Band as well as embracing a new genre, Progressive Metal. The resultant album, Accelerated Evolution, is nothing short of stunning. Devy breathes live into Accelerated Evolution with apparent ease. Songs like ‘Deadhead’, ‘Suicide’ and ‘Slow me Down’ are stand-outs in an album full of highlights. It is one of my favourite Devy albums. It also appears to be the album he put more effort into in this timespace.  9/10

Remember when I mentioned ‘Ambient’ earlier……. Well, next up is Devlab. This is nearly 66 minutes of my life I will never see again. If you like pure ambience, great.  Fire in and listen to it. Until my retrospective, and like Punky Bruster, I never knew this existed. Unlike Punky Bruster, I still wish I never knew about it.  Avoid! 0/10

So, after a dalliance with ambience, it is only natural that Devy returned to, yes – you’ve guessed it – Strapping Young Lad. What an album it is.  Alien, like previous SYL albums, puts the heavy back into Hevy Devy. It is dark, probably due to the state of mind of the main man himself, but it is also monolithic in its intent. Not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, it goes to show how Devy cannot be pigeonholed…. I mean, Ambient to Extreme Metal?  Who does this? 7/10

Alas, the 2nd of the Devin Townsend Band albums, Synchestra, was Devy’s next release.  It was the final album under this band name and it didn’t come close to matching the brilliance of the 1st album. 14 tracks long and coming in at over 65 minutes, Devy appears to have forgotten the ‘off-switch’ on Synchestra and it is, at least, 15 minutes too long. Unusually for Devy, the quality control seems to have gone missing on this one. 6/10

Fortunately, Devy is not a man for standing still, and the Heavy returns with, what is until now, the final SYL album, The New Black. It is a beast! Slightly more melodic than any previous SYL release, it still manages to maintain the manic feel, listen to ‘You Suck’ for proof. Apparently, Century Media put a strict deadline in place for the recording, which if true, probably helped to maintain the quality control that was so missing on Synchestra. If there is not to be a new SYL album, and there is nothing to indicate that Devy will go back to this, then The New Black is a fitting way to end what are the genre of Devy albums that I enjoy the most. 8/10

The Hummer is 73 minutes of Ambient Pish. No Devy, NO!  0/10

In 2007, Hevy Devy introduced the world to Ziltoid, releasing his, fully solo album, Ziltoid the Omniscient.  In order to understand the album, you need to know Ziltoid’s back story, you see, this is a concept album, and it is absolutely fantastic. Ziltoid is an Alien, from the planet Ziltoidia 9 to be accurate, and he loves his coffee. So he travels to Earth in search of the ultimate cup of coffee, only to decide he doesn’t like it. Therefore, in what can only be described as, ‘a slight overreaction’, he orders his plant to attack earth.  With his humour fully on display, Devy provided the perfect comedy album, full of tunes and riffs lesser mortals would die for.  This is Devy at his playful best and it is a must listen. 10/10

After Ziltoid, Devy took a well-earned break to recharge his batteries, and get a haircut, becoming the shiny bonced man we know and love now. After rediscovering himself, he announced the formation of The Devin Townsend Project, with an initial 4 album plan. The first of those was Ki and to be honest, I never really got it. Again, it is very long, well over an hour again, and it contains to many ambient elements for my tastes. Ambience is not a genre I embrace. Although I eagerly snapped the CD up, obtaining a signed copy, it is one I have never really listened to with any great enthusiasm. 5/10

Addicted soon followed, this time with a different band line-up, as the DTP was designed to evolve with each release. It was released in the same year as Ki, but it is streets ahead in energy, resulting in greater enjoyment. Mercifully shorter than its predecessor, Addicted show that the drug and alcohol free Devy, still has the song-writing skills that make him so appealing. 7/10

Devy then released the 3rd and 4th albums from the DTP, namely Deconstruction and Ghost respectively. Of the pair, Ghost is perhaps more accessible, but the more enjoyable listen is the former. A concept album, Deconstruction is more complex than its companion and, as a result, delivers a more intense listening experience. This is not the last time that Devy would provide a dual album release. 8/10 and 7/10

Originally a 4 album plan, Devy then surprised everybody with Epicloud, the 5th DTP album. A pop Metal album, it is a joyful listen, with co-vocalist Anneke Van Giersbergen providing a stunning alternative to Devy’s vocals. Also present are Gospel choirs, bringing a sense of grandeur to a very enjoyable album. One very good addition to the album is an improved version of Kingdom, from his Physicist album, demonstrating how weak that particular album was. Epicloud was a very strong release that still sound great today. 8/10

Casualties of Cool was the next Devy project, a standalone album full of country, blues and, unfortunately, ambience. It is different to any previous Devy release, originally released on the, now defunct, Pledge platform. Another album with an underlying concept, Devy has been quoted as saying how much he loves it and how satisfying it is. Alas, I believe it is dull and I personally don’t have the imagination to derive anything from it. This probably says more about me than it does the quality of the album, as I know of many Devy fans who love it. 5/10

In 2009, Devy announce the follow-up to Ziltoid the Omniscient, and it sent quite a few of us into a minor frenzy. Could he pull it off, would it be as quirky and fun?  It would take another 5 years before it would surface, being released they say before my Birthday. I obviously received it as a birthday present, although I had heard it previously for a website I was writing for at the time. Z2 is a double album, with the first album called Sky Blue and the 2nd album being the actual follow-up to ZIltoid, Dark Matters. Again, Devy hits the biggest of Home Runs. Sky Blue is a very enjoyable romp, but it is Dark Matters that impressed me the most. It actually helps to improve your enjoyment of the previous Ziltoid album. It helped to introduce a range of Merchandise, including Ziltoid puppets and Poozers.  Dark Matters on its own is a perfect 10, however Sky Blue just lowers the score for Z2. 9/10

Ziltoid the Omniscient in puppet form

Transcendence was the first album that was not solely produced by Devy and, in truth, does not really comply with the Devin Townsend Project ethos by featuring different musicians for each album. This is no bad thing, as the band members all had input into the album. Almost unheard of in Devy’s output.  The result is a fairly enjoyable, but not outstanding, prog-style album. It has reworkings of a few earlier Devy tracks, including ‘Truth’ from Infinity – a song I didn’t think needed reworking as well as ‘Victim’ from Physicist – a song that benefits from reworking. I find this album slightly disappointing. 7/10

For the final album in this retrospective, Devy put the DTP on hold and released the solo album, Empath. Again, a full-on progressive rock/metal album, Devy throughs caution to the wind, looking to release his one true vision on the masses. This is an album that does not immediately hit home. It is the definition of a slow-burner and then, when it clicks, it is an album of such beauty that you wonder why it took so long to hit home.  It is Devy at his eclectic finest. 9/10

  • The DevilsHorns must listen – City
  • Find out more – Check out the Making of Empath videos on YouTube
  • Off the beaten track – why not check out Ziltoid TV, again found on YouTube