CD/DVD/VHS REVIEWS

Lizzy Borden – Deal With The Devil

Click on the album title of your favorite band & then the link will take you to that review.  To return to this page click the picture of the cd.

For more information about this boxed set with 8 -CD's, 2 - DVD's, color booklet  & Yngwie silver cross necklace check out the photos of this set at http://www.yngwie.org/discog/Archives.html

Poison – GREATEST VIDEO HITS DVD

 What was called the glam rock scene in the late 80’s was domination of the airwaves by bands such as Poison, Faster Pussycat, L.A. Guns and Pretty Boy Floyd just to name a few.  After all of these years in 2001, Poison is still going strong by selling out arenas worldwide with special guests on their tours such as Ratt, L.A. Guns, Great White, Cinderella, Dokken and Slaughter.  Good rock & roll is back in fashion and Poison is doing their part by bringing it back to the masses.
  The new DVD Poison GREATEST VIDEO HITS is an 85 - minute collection of all of their videos from “Cry Tough” all the way through last years “Power To The People”.  Special features of this DVD include all tracks recorded in 5.1 Surround Sound, a complete album discography, behind-the-scenes footage, info on the official Poison website and 3 videos that were never commercially released for the songs “So Tell Me Why”, “Stand” and “Until You Suffer Some (Fire & Ice)”.  I personally like the videos for “Fallen Angel”, “I Want Action”,  “Your Mama Don’t Dance” and “Talk Dirty To Me” the best because of their hard rock guitar tone, great visual imagery and also because they are some of Poison’s songs that had helped me get through life when it was difficult.  These songs also helped me realize that life can be positive when you put it in the right perspective.
  Vocalist Bret Michaels, guitarist C.C. Deville, bassist Bobby Dall and drummer Rikki Rockett hopefully will always continue to follow their dreams and to always give the fans 110% in whatever they do.  Michaels also does a great job of including liner notes in the Poison – GREATEST VIDEO HITS DVD book that describe everything that was going on when the videos were made and what some of the songs were written about.       

Alice Cooper – BRUTALLY LIVE (DVD) 

 Alice Cooper has always had a commanding stage presence throughout his entire career. As a true pioneer of heavy metal, Cooper likes to shock his audience and to capture their attention with stunning visual effects that look like they came from a haunted house.  The new approximately 105 minute DVD from Alice Cooper titled BRUTALLY LIVE is a concert that includes many of his early classics such as “No More Mr. Nice Guy”, “School’s Out” and “Under My Wheels” as well as new hits such as “Poison” and “Brutal Planet”. 
  The stage production for this show was designed by a team of people who had previously set up the production of The Lion King and Six Flag’s Haunted House the concert.  Cooper takes his audience on an emotional roller coaster ride through the use of various stage props.  As the show begins a man appears in a metal box that looks like a mix of half man half robot and speaks about the Brutal Planet.  Alice Cooper and his band come out with the thick heavy metal riffs and rhythms of “Brutal Planet”.   During the song “Elected”, three people wearing the masks of former U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Regan and Bill Clinton have a mock fistfight.  Then, Cooper walks around during “Pick Up The Bones” and places bones scattered across the stage into bag.  Later in the set he does a very cool visual trick by placing his head in a guillotine and then has a henchman chop it off.  During “Feed My Frankenstein” Cooper collects the arms, legs and torso of a chopped up body and then places them into a lit up chamber.  After a brief instrumental by the other band members a nurse takes Cooper’s decapitated bloody head off of a stake by the guillotine and places it on top of the chopped up body and shuts the chamber door.  Presto it is magic, the chamber lights up and fills with smoke again as Cooper walks out of the chamber in a white tuxedo with matching top hat.     
  Alice Cooper gives the fans their money worth by performing his concert by using what W.A.S.P. vocalist Blackie Lawless once called “psycho drama” where the band uses various tricks and visual effects to get the audience involved as if they were part of the stage show.  The DVD version of Alice Cooper’s BRUTALLY LIVE has special features on it such as 2 choices of audio options that can be set for DTS Digital Surround or Dolby Surround 5.0, alternate camera angles, the bonus video for “Gimme” and a web link to the Spitfire Records web site.  The video for “Gimme” is a masterpiece full of visual imagery that is full of fire, snakes, insects, spiders and split screen video tricks.  This video has Alice Cooper in his liar playing the role of the devil with five young musicians wearing make-up with lots of metal bracelets and clad in leather wanting to do anything to get a record contract.  These musicians sign a deal with the devil and ultimately sell their souls for fame and fortune.  In essence, the devil represents the record company signing this band to a record contract and totally changing their image to sell more records.  At the end it shows the five guys dancing around looking like some boy band clones such as Insynch or the Backstreet Boys and not the rock band that they once were before the deal with the devil.  The lesson learned seems to be that as a creative unit a band should stay true to themselves and their musical vision and not be a flavor-of-the-month band that out of desperation for the good life that will change their image or their music just to satisfy some record company executives.  Alice Cooper has set the bar very high for other bands on future DVD releases, this should make other groups strive harder to pack their DVD’s with extra materials and put out a good product that will make their fans happy.

Scorpions – MOMENT OF GLORY LIVE WITH THE BERLIN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA DVD

 In the last few years there has been a movement in the music industry to put an orchestra together with a hard rock band.  By doing this groups such as Metallica, Yngwie Malmsteen and the Scorpions have created a different feel and sound that breathes new life into their classic songs.  On June 22, 2000 the Scorpions played live with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra at the Expo 2000 in their home city of Hanover, Germany.  Rudolf Schenker founded the Scorpions in Hanover in 1964.  Conductor Christian Kolonovitis, who has achieved international success as a classical rock fusion arranger, composer, conductor and producer, did the long five-year process of planning this show.
     When you take one of the world’s best rock bands such as the Scorpions and put them together with one of the world’s best orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra you get a dynamic arrangement that focuses heavily on the harmonies and melodies of the songs.  When Matthias Jabs (guitars) and Rudolf Schenker (guitars) strike a power chord or play a solo the orchestra highlights the notes by putting their soft sound right next to the heavy guitar sound, which creates great dynamics.  When Klaus Meine (vocals) sings along with the melodies it seems almost as if the orchestra’s instruments are singing right along with him.  The guitar riffs on “Rock You Like A Hurricane (2000)” and the guest vocals from Genesis singer Ray Wilson on “Big City Nights” sound very powerful next to the orchestra.  The great arrangement of these songs are a credit to how well the conductor understands how both rock and classical compositions can be fused together to show their unique strengths.  Lyn Liechty from St. Louis, MO. does an amazing emotionally engaging duet with Meine on the Jennifer Warren hit “Here In My Heart”.  It was interesting to hear the Scorpions play with an orchestra, but it also reinforced the notion about how well-written their songs are and about their diversity as a band willing to take a risk by trying something new to them.
     The Scorpions MOMENT OF GLORY LIVE WITH THE BERLIN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA DVD includes a special such as an audio option to choose Dolby Stereo, DTS Digital Surround and 5.1 Surround.  It also has extra footage that includes interviews with the Scorpions and director’s cuts of   “Rock You Like A Hurricane (2000)”, “Moment Of Glory” and “Here In My Heart”.  This Scorpions performance with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra was pure magic and its success is a product of the songwriting of the band.  Maybe the marriage of rock & roll with an orchestra might be a new musical trend in the future.

Powerman 5000 – BACKSTAGE AND BEYOND THE INFINITE DVD

 While Powerman 5000 are working on their third album to be released in the summer/fall 2001, they have released a new DVD called BACKSTAGE AND BEYOND THE INFINITE to appeal to their fans.  This DVD shows the rise of the band from the clubs of Boston to international superstars.  This DVD is approximately 60 minutes in length and features the videos for the songs “When World’s Collide”, “Nobody’s Real” and “Supernova Goes Pop” from TONIGHT THE STARS REVOLT! And “Tokyo Vigilante #1” and “Organized” from their 1997 debut album MEGA!! KUNG FU RADIO.  It also has never-before-seen backstage clips, footage of the life of the band on the road and in the studio plus T.V. appearances and live performances.  This DVD also has special bonus material such as a behind the videos feature, photo gallery, complete discography including singles, interactive menus with web links, scene selection and band/personal bios.  Other bonus features include an audio option to choose either 5.1 surround or digitally mastered 2.0 stereo sound, the MEGA!! KUNG FU RADIO T.V. ad, extra fan footage and the “Organized” video.
     The BACKSTAGE AND BEYOND THE INFINITE DVD from Powerman 5000 is packed with anything anyone would ever want to know about the band.  I personally liked the behind the video feature because it was very interesting to see how the videos for “When World’s Collide” and  “Nobody’s Real” were made.  The videos for “When World’s Collide” and  “Nobody’s Real” were awesome with their great special effects and attention to detail.  This is definitely not the last you’ll hear of Powerman 5000 because I predict that they will become even more popular after their new album comes out this year.    

Dream Theater – METROPOLIS 2000: SCENES FROM NEW YORK DVD

 Recently Dream Theater had released their new METROPOLIS 2000: SCENES FROM NEW YORK DVD.  This was the final live of their concept album SCENES FROM A MEMORY in its entirety on 08-30-00 from the Roseland Ballroom in New York City.  This was a flashback of the time I saw this same show performed by the band in February 2000 in St. Louis.  Dream Theater is regarded by many fans and musicians as being one of the best technical bands in rock & roll today.  Each of the band members always pays careful attention to the harmonies and melodies of every section of each song to play each note to perfection.
     This 3 hour and 10 minute DVD includes a full-length audio commentary by the band that explains the story behind SCENES FROM A MEMORY.  Bonus material on this DVD includes 1 hour of extra live material which includes the only live release of the 25-minute epic “A Change Of Seasons” as well as performances of the songs “Erotomania”, “Voices”, “The Silent Man” and “Learning To Live”.  There is also a behind the scenes documentary of everything it takes to perform, set-up, rehearse and produce the SCENES FROM A MEMORY show and a special METROPOLIS 2000 World Tour gallery.
     Dream Theater gives the fans their moneys worth on the METROPOLIS 2000: SCENES FROM NEW YORK DVD by including all this extra footage on top of the live concert.  I like that Dream Theater weaves the SCENES FROM A MEMORY story together with the combination of video screens and their flawless live performance.  Drummer Mike Portnoy did a killer job of directing this DVD from the addition of clips of video footage from the show to the making of the show.

Halford – Live Insurrection

 After releasing last years critically acclaimed album RESURRECTION, which was his first true metal album in several years, Rob Halford has returned with a vengeance. His band Halford toured world wide last year with Iron Maiden and Queensryche and this was proof that the Metal God is back for more. Halford’s new 2-cd set LIVE INSURRECTION is a celebration of his return to metal and as he says, “Insurrection implies creating a kind of rowdy and intense reaction and that is what this band definitely does on the stages of the world. So I just think it’s a great title to carry people onto the next step, which will be a second Halford studio CD.”
   Halford covers a variety of material on these discs from his entire 30- year career. He performs a few tunes from his industrial metal outfit Fight, several classic Judas Priest songs and also tracks from his RESURRECTION disc. Halford re-recorded two unfinished Judas Priest rare tracks from the mid-80’s called “Heart Of A Lion” and “Prisoner Of Your Eyes” to include on this live collection as well as a brand new Halford track titled “Screaming In The Dark”. The entire band is superb as they whip through rarely performed Judas Priest classics such as “Sad Wings Of Destiny”, “Riding On The Wind”, “Tyrant” and “Jawbreaker”.
   The songs that in my opinion sound the best on Halford’s LIVE INSURRECTION are “Electric Eye”, “Resurrection”, “Made In Hell”, “Breaking The Law”, “Riding On The Wind” and “Jawbreaker” because of the hell hath no fury vocals of Halford, the machine-like precision of guitar duo Pat Lachman and Mike Chlasciak and the tower of power rhythm section of bassist Ray Riendeau and drummer Bobby Jarzombek. The new bonus song “Screaming In The Dark” seems like an indication that Rob Halford’s current take-no-prisoners heavy metal style will only get better when his second studio disc gets released.          
   

W.A.S.P. – Unholy Terror

 W.A.S.P. have been the target of former PMRC (Parent’s Music Resource Center) co-founder Tipper Gore and ex- Vice President Al Gore since the mid- 80’s. Fortunately, two great things have happened since then.  The first is that Al Gore didn’t win the 2000 Presidential election and the second is that the PMRC’s attempted censorship of W.A.S.P. only made the band stronger with much higher album sales. Their music isn’t for everyone, especially if you get easily offended and their new disc UNHOLY TERROR is no exception to this rule. Lead vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Blackie Lawless stated, “Unholy Terror deals with socio, religious and political hypocrisy. I had a fundamentalist Christian upbringing and I grew up seeing the world through a very different pair of eyes. This album attempts to draw attention to those hypocritical points of view”.  Lawless also said that, “this record in no way is intended to be blasphemous or an attack on religion, but specifically man’s interpretation of what they believe the Bible says”.
   UNHOLY TERROR is hard rock W.A.S.P. style with super-charged guitar riffs, fiery solos, tear-down-the-walls rhythm section and Lawless’ uncompromising search for the truth through his powerful lyrics delivered with a knock -out punch to the face. This disc has an in-your-face sound that seems to be a combination of the sound on their self-titled W.A.S.P. debut album and their HEADLESS CHILDREN disc. By far, “Charisma”, “Wasted White Boys”, “Unholy Terror” and “Let It Roar” show W.A.S.P. at their best with their thought-provoking lyrics about the double-standard often used by many religions and razor-sharp hard-edged rock & roll sound that is not meant for the weak at heart.              
 

Annihilator- Carnival Diablos

 Annihilator has sold 10 million records worldwide since their debut album in 1989. Not bad for a band from Canada that has not released albums in America since 1993’s SET THE WORLD ON FIRE. During this time, the band had only released albums in Europe and Asia. In 1999, Annihilator had returned to the U.S. with their critically acclaimed release CRITERIA FOR A BLACK WIDOW that was a reminder of the past when their song “Alice In Hell” was heavily played on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball. Annihilator’s newest release CARNIVAL DIABLOS (means the devil’s carnival) is a head-banging riff fest. The songs show guitarist Jeff Waters’ constant musical progression as he explores several different guitar tones and styles ranging from mosh pit type thrash metal to slow melodic power ballads.
   Even though the line-up of the band has changed throughout the years, one thing has remained true and that is the unique musical vision of Waters. Annihilator includes the following members: Waters (lead guitars), Dave (guitars), Russ (bass), Ray (drums) and new vocalist Joe Comeau (ex-guitarist for Overkill). Comeau has brought a different dimension to the band because at one minute he can sound very similar to former lead singer Randy Rampage and at another minute do a great vocal impression of legendary Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford. This has allowed Waters to play around with various melodies and song structures because of Comeau’s versatility as a lead vocalist. “Time Bomb”, “Insomnia”, “Carnival Diablos” and “Hunter Killer” are the cream of the crop on CARNIVAL DIABLOS because of their razor-sharp vocals, great vocal phrasing, super-fast rhythms and tuned-down thrash heavy guitar riffs. Annihilator hopefully will tour the U.S. soon maybe with a package tour with W.A.S.P. and Megadeth. That would be awesome and it would be cool to see the great riff-master Jeff Waters play live in your face. There also is a hidden track on CARNIVAL DIABLOS called “Chicken & Corn” that is a funny little kids cartoon like song. 

Powerman 5000- Mega!! Kung Fu Radio & Tonight The Stars Revolt!

 In 1997 Powerman 5000 released their major label debut album MEGA!! KUNG FU RADIO was a collection of remixed and re-mastered tracks from their disc called the BLOOD-SPLAT RATING SYSTEM. Their following grew as they toured throughout the year with Primus, Marilyn Manson and Coal Chamber as well as many other bands. I like the songs “Tokyo Vigilante No. 1” and “Organized” off MEGA!! KUNG FU RADIO because of their metal guitar riffs, funky grooves and the over-the-top vocals.
  A few years later, Powerman 5000 fine-tuned their sound and developed a tighter sound as a band after being on the road for so long touring the world. Their second eagerly anticipated album TONIGHT THE STARS REVOLT! Took off with a bang when the first single “When World’s Collide” became an instant rock radio hit. The songs on this disc have heavy metal guitar riffs, futuristic synthesizers, hip-hop dance beats and sci-fi lyrics about the question of if there are really any other life forms in space. In my opinion, the songs that really blow the other ones away on TONIGHT THE STARS REVOLT! are “Nobody’s Real”, “When World’s Collide” and “Automatic” because of their bone-crushing guitar riffs, pumped-up rhythm section and the great vocal performances that bring these songs to life. The band also does a slow lounge act type song called “Watch The Sky For Me” that shows their diversity and includes a clarinet and jazz piano. Powerman 5000 also does a very interesting version of the hit single by the Cars called “Good Times Roll”. Powerman 5000 took a giant leap when it comes to progression in sound from their debut MEGA!! KUNG FU RADIO to their new disc TONIGHT THE STARS REVOLT! Their songwriting is better, as a unit they are much tighter, the melodies are very catchy and their forward vision of our future world is very insightful. Powerman 5000 are working on a new studio disc that should be out some time in the summer or fall of 2001, but right now their new DVD BACKSTAGE AND BEYOND THE INFINITE will have to satisfy your craving for their music.               

Lizzy Borden – Deal With The Devil

 Lizzy Borden has always put on a show that includes tension and danger that at times have even rivaled the shock rock antics of Marilyn Manson and Alice Cooper. In the 80’s, LOVE YOU TO PIECES was the hard rock masterpiece that made Lizzy Borden a household name in rock & roll. Their newest disc entitled DEAL WITH THE DEVIL is full of melodic hard rock songs that paint dark images of the seven deadly sins, sex, death and religion. The tracks that really stand apart from the rest on Lizzy Borden’s DEAL WITH THE DEVIL are “There Will Be Blood Tonight”, “Deal With The Devil” and “We Only Come Out At Night” because of Borden’s high-powered vocals that sound like a combination of Queensryche’s Geoff Tate and Rob Halford along with the ultra-thick heavy metal guitar riffs. Spawn creator Todd McFarlane did the cover artwork of the sinister-looking devil holding a tombstone with Lizzy Borden’s name on it.   

Britny Fox – Long Way To Live

 In 1987 the power pop band Britny Fox emerged from Philadelphia with their debut album BRITNY FOX. This album had three hit singles and MTV videos for the songs “Long Way To Love”, “Girlschool” and Save The Weak”. The band featured the following members: ‘Dizzy’ Dean Davidson (vocals/guitars), Michael Kelly Smith (guitar), Billy Childs (bass) and Johnny Dee (drums). In 1990 Davidson split from the band to form Black Eyed Susan. Shortly thereafter, Smith, Childs and Dee brought in new singer Tommy Paris to record and release their 1991 disc BITE DOWN HARD. In 1992 when Kurt Cobain and the whole grunge rock scene started, the death of Britny Fox and many other rock bands was inevitable.
   After 8 years, Britny Fox with the BITE DOWN HARD line-up have reunited and have recently released the disc LONY WAY TO LIVE. This cd is a collection of some of their best live performances of songs from their debut through BITE DOWN HARD. Britny Fox sounds great live and Paris’ vocals sound great, but I’m not one for change and I liked the take-it-or-leave-it attitude that came through in Davidson’s vocals. Childs and Dee are an awesome rhythm section that is tighter than most of the leather pants I see on the women at rock concerts. Smith’s guitar tone is perfect and sounds just like the tone of the songs on the bands debut album. I feel that the performances of “Long Way To Love”, “Dream On” from their second disc BOYS IN HEAT, “Louder” from the BITE DOWN HARD disc and “Girlschool” are the best because of their knock-down, drag-out, kick-in-your-teeth guitar solos. I’m not taking anything away from Paris who is an awesome singer, but I feel that the songs were heavier when Davidson was still in Britny Fox. There have been reunion rumors of Davidson rejoining Britny Fox for years, but will they ever come true?

Yngwie Malmsteen – Concerto Suite for Electric Guitar and Orchestra in E flat minor Op. 1

                                 Canyon International, 1998.
                                 (Multi-track mix for the rock/popular market.)

                                 All music composed and produced by Yngwie Johann Malmsteen.
                                 All guitars played by Yngwie Johann Malmsteen.
                                 Orchestra: Czech Philharmonic.
                                 Chorus: Czech State Opera Chorus.
                                 Orchestration by Yngwie Johann Malmsteen.
                                 Assisted by Mats Olausson and David Rosenthal.

                                 Conducted by Yoel Levi.
                                 Transcription by David Rosenthal.
                                 Recording Director: Chris Tsangarides.
                                 Orchestra Recording Director: Tomoyoshi Ezaki.
                                 Orchestra Assistant Director: Miyuki Ito.
                                 Balance Engineers: Chris Tsangarides (Electric Guitars), Tomoyoshi
                                 Ezaki (Orchestra).
                                 Assistant Engineers: Peter Rooth (Electric Guitars), Keith Rose
                                 (Acoustic Guitar), Lubomir Novacek, Takeshi Muramatsu, Tomas
                                 Pekarek (Orchestra).
                                 Disc Editor: Tomoyoshi Ezaki.
                                 Recorded at Rudolfinum Dvorak Hall, Prague, Czech Republic.

 Concerto Suite for Electric Guitar and Orchestra in E flat minor Op. 1cd by Yngwie Malmsteen includes the following tracks: 1) “Icarus Dream Fanfare”, 2) “Cavallino Rampante”, 3) “Fugue”, 4) “Prelude to April”, 5) “Toccata”, 6) “Andante”, 7) “Sarabande”, 8) “Allegro”, 9) “Adagio”, 10) “Vivace”, 11) “Presto Vivace” and 12) “Finale”. Yngwie Johann Malmsteen was influenced by music at a young age because his brother and sister were multi-instrumentalists playing piano, flute, violin and drums. At age 7 after seeing Jimi Hendrix on Swedish T.V. and after getting Deep Purple’s album FIREBALL for his eighth birthday, Malmsteen’s love of rock & roll and the guitar began. Then his love for classical music came about after he had analyzed his mother’s classical baroque record collection. He then fused together his love of classical baroque and rock & roll music to make up his own unique neo-classical rock sound. Malmsteen has always drawn his inspiration from great maestros that have played a pivotal role in his musical development such as Antonio Vivaldi, Johann Sebastian Bach, Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach, Nicolo Paganini, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Tomaso Albinoni, Ludwig Van Beethoven, George Frederick Handel and Peter Ilytch Tchaikovsky.
   Simple standard rock & roll pentatonic chord progressions, song structures and melodies didn’t challenge Malmsteen after he had started to write his own compositions. His ultimate dream was to one day compose an orchestra piece with no “rock” vocals or drums and with himself as the soloist on guitar. In 1997, this vision became a reality when Malmsteen recorded his own piece with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra from Prague, Czechoslovakia. Yngwie Johann Malmsteen’s Concerto Suite for Electric Guitar and Orchestra in E flat minor Op. 1is a 12 track collection that sounds as if Malmsteen is right at home with the orchestra as his guitar sounds almost as if it is humming right along with the music. “Prelude to April”, “Andante”, “Allegro” and “Finale” are the best compositions in my opinion because of their awesome solos and emotionally uplifting music that is very relaxing. Concerto Suite for Electric Guitar and Orchestra in E flat minor Op. 1would is great mood music to play at a dinner party. As always, Malmsteen never fails to amaze me with his insightful knowledge of classical music and technical ability on the guitar.                        

Yngwie Malmsteen – Inspiration

                                 Canyon International, 1996;
                                 Foundation Records, 1996.
                                 Produced by Yngwie Malmsteen, co-produced by Chris Tsangarides.
                                 Recorded at Studio 308, Miami, Florida.
                                 Drums recorded at Heptagon Studios, Malmo, Sweden.

                                 Yngwie Malmsteen: Guitars, bass, sitar, lead vocal on "Manic
                                 Depression."
                                 Joe Lynn Turner: Vocals.
                                 Mark Boals: Vocals.
                                 Jeff Scott Soto: Vocals.
                                 Anders Johansson: Drums.
                                 Jens Johansson: Keyboards.
                                 Mats Olausson: Keyboards.
                                 David Rosenthal: Keyboards.
                                 Marcel Jacob: Bass. 

Yngwie Malmsteen released INSPIRATION a few years ago that includes his interpretation of 11 rock & roll classics that he grew up listening to and playing on his guitar. The songs include the following: 1) “Carry On Wayward Son (Kansas-Left Overture 1976)”, 2) “Pictures Of Home (Deep Purple-Machine Head 1972), 3) “Gates Of Babylon (Rainbow-Long Live Rock 'n Roll 1978)”, 4) “Manic Depression (Jimi Hendrix-Are You Experienced? 1967)”, 5) In The Dead Of Night (U.K.-U.K. 1978.)”, 6) “Mistreated (Deep Purple-Burn 1974)”, 7) “The Sails of Charon (Scorpions-Taken By Force 1977)”, 8) “Demon's Eye (Deep Purple-Fireball 1971)”, 9) “Anthem (Rush-Fly By Night 1975)”, 10) “Child in Time (Deep Purple- DP in Rock 1970)”, 11) “Spanish Castle Magic(bonus track) (Hendrix1967)”. Malmsteen lays down a thick powerful riff on “Carry On Wayward Son” and Jeff Scott Soto’s vocals sound as close as you can get to the original version. I’ve always been curious to hear Malmsteen sing and he does during his great vocal debut on  “Manic Depression”.  Malmsteen’s killer solo and opening riff makes his version of “Mistreated” very heavy. “Child in Time” has an extended guitar jam that would sound enormous in concert. Many of these songs have a blues-rock feel to them, which is really different compared to his usual classical rock guitar riffs. Yngwie Malmsteen does a great job of paying tribute to those artists that have sparked his interest in rock & roll by adding his own unique touch without ruining the original versions of these timeless classics. “Spanish Castle Magic” the studio version is a bonus track on this cd because Malmsteen had previously released a live version of it on LIVE IN LENINGRAD.  

Yngwie Malmsteen – War To End All Wars

                                  Pony Canyon, Dream Catcher, Spitfire Records, 2000.

                                 All Compositions, lyrics, and arrangements by Yngwie J. Malmsteen
                                 Produced by Yngwie J. Malmsteen

                                 Yngwie J. Malmsteen: Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Bass Guitar,
                                 Acoustic Guitar, Sitar, Gong, and Vocals
                                 Mark Boals: Lead Vocals
                                 Mats Olausson: Keyboards
                                 John Macaluso: Drums

                                 Recorded at Studio 308 and Baroque & Roll Studios, Miami, FL,
                                 USA. Additional recording: White House Studio, Miami, FL, USA.
                                 Engineered by Brian Fitzpatrick. Mixed by Brian Fitzpatrick and
                                 Yngwie J. Malmsteen.
                                 Mastered by Michael Fuller at Fuller Sound, Miami, FL, USA.

                                 Art Direction & Design: Rich DiSilvio
                                 Original cover artwork: "Death Dealer #5" by Frank Frazetta.
                                 Photography: Michael Johansson

 I used to think that Yngwie Malmsteen’s MARCHING OUT was his best album, but now I’ve changed my mind. His newest disc WAR TO END ALL WARS in my opinion shows vintage Malmsteen at his best. It’s amazing that he could write all of his instrumentals for the disc in the studio and improvise all of his solos while recording without even writing down the notes first. The lyrics for vocalist Mark Boals were written as the recording process progressed and he would come into to the studio to do his vocal tracks after the lyrics were written for each song. This relaxed no-pressure method to recording WAR TO END ALL WARS shows because the entire album has an explosive yet natural feel to it that is fluid especially in Malmsteen’s guitar playing.
   A few years ago, Malmsteens’s fans were saying that he was losing sight of his true musical vision and just writing commercial hits for radio airplay and an increase in record sales. WAR TO END ALL WARS will put that notion to rest because it is full of very good well-written songs that he has written without any preconceived concept in mind. For example, “Bad Reputation” and “Wild One” are songs about a very young Yngwie coming to America and finding out that he could do almost anything he wanted such as break the laws and get away with it. “War To End All Wars” is a song that is focused on the dark side of the music business where as Malmsteen says, “that one is basically me saying that you’ve f*cked with the wrong guy. It’s a war that I’m winning.” The heart-felt ballad “Miracle Of Life” is a beautiful song about the cycle of life where you are born and your parents die and then you have your own child. “Bad Reputation”, “Wild One” and “War To End All Wars” are up-tempo rockers that have lightning fast arpeggios that are a combination of power and speed with choruses that hook. If anyone ever doubted it, Yngwie is back on top of the world with WAR TO END ALL WARS. The bonus track for USA/Europe is  “Black Sheep of the Family” and the Japanese bonus tracks are the instrumentals “Treasure from the East” & “Requiem”      

Yngwie Malmsteen – Alchemy

                                 Canyon International, 1999
                                 Produced by Yngwie J. Malmsteen.
                                 All compositions, lyrics, and arrangements by Yngwie J. Malmsteen
                                 Recorded and mixed at Studio 308, Miami, Florida. Drums recorded
                                 at Criteria Studios, Miami, Florida.
                                 Mixed by Tom Fletcher with Yngwie Malmsteen.

                                 Yngwie Malmsteen: Electric guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals,
                                 bass guitar on 2 tracks*.
                                 Mark Boals: Lead vocals.
                                 Mats Olausson: Keyboards and backing vocals.
                                 Barry Dunaway: Bass and backing vocals.
                                 John Macaluso: Drums.

 For several years now, Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen has been experimenting with different sounds and songwriting styles. On his disc ALCHEMY it is back to his roots with this collection of guitar-driven tracks. Alchemy was the study of chemistry in the Middle Ages where the main goal was to change base metal elements into gold. This disc rocks harder than anything Malmsteen has recorded since his classic album MARCHING OUT in the 80’s. The tracks on ALCHEMY that I feel are the best are “Stand (The)”, “Legion Of The Damned” and “Demon Dance (7,405,926)”. I like these songs because of their full-blown up-tempo rhythms, high-powered vocals and heavy metal guitar riffs with intense solos. The Japanese bonus track on this disc is “God Is God”.      

Yngwie Malmsteen - Seventh Sign

                                 Pony Canyon, 1994
                                 Produced and arranged by Yngwie J. Malmsteen.
                                 Published by Watanabe Music Company Ltd.
                                 Recorded at New River Studios, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

                                 Yngwie J. Malmsteen: All electric and acoustic guitars, electric and
                                 fretless bass, sitar, and backing vocals.
                                 Michael Vescera: Vocals.
                                 Mats Olausson: Keyboards and small Hammond organ.
                                 Mike Terrana: Drums and triangle.
                                 Japanese release of the album contained a bonus track, "Angel in
                                 Heat."
                                 Cover photo by Larry DiMarzio, Additional photography by William
                                 Hames, Design by Taka Shibayama.

      The musical direction has changed on this album. It is harder rock then from previous efforts with Yngwie's patented classical guitar scales and solos being less strict. This meaning, he is not sticking to the strict classical scales he normally does, but yet he is playing better than ever. Radio stations were playing tracks from this disc in heavy rotation. After a long absence from rock & roll, the fret board wizard came back and thrilled fans with his performances which led to great success on the charts. In Japan, the had reached #1 on the charts and remained in the Top 20 charts in several European countries for a long time. Songs like "Never Die", "I Don't Know" and "Seventh Sign" are some of the most notable tracks on the album.                                            
                                                       

Yngwie Malmsteen - Magnum Opus

                                 Pony Canyon, 1995
                                 Produced by Yngwie Malmsteen, co-produced by Chris Tsangarides.
                                 Published by Malmsteen Publishing/Mike Vescera Publishing.
                                 Recorded at Criteria Studios, Miami, Florida.

                                 Yngwie Malmsteen: All electric and acoustic guitars, sitar, backing
                                 vocals.
                                 Michael Vescera: Vocals.
                                 Mats Olausson: Keyboards and backing vocals.
                                 Barry Sparks: Bass.
                                 Shane Gaalaas: Drums.
                                 Japanese release contained a bonus track, "Cantabile, by Vivaldi."
                                 Photography by Rick Gould, Lyn Parks, and Koh Hasebe; Design by
                                 Asari Yoda.

     Fret board wizard Yngwie Malmsteen has returned with a rocking disc entitled MAGNUM OPUS (which means a great work; masterpiece).  In the early 80's,Yngwie brought a new concept to rock music when he took classical scales by the likes of Bach & Beethoven among others and transposed them from the piano to the guitar.  Even today, he is one of the most innovative musicians in rock and roll.
       Shane Gaalaas seems to add a more aggressive drumming style to the band's razor-sharp rhythms.  MAGNUM OPUS was previously issued in Japan and had debuted at the top of the charts while quickly being certified platinum.  This new album also raced its way up the European charts and was expected to sell extremely well in the U.S.  On this new disc, Yngwie's playing has progressed to a level higher than the one he had achieved on his last release SEVENTH SIGN.  The best tracks on MAGNUM OPUS are "Vengeance", "Voodoo" and "Cross The Line".  This disc is full of warp-speed guitars, awesome instrumentals, emotional ballads and hard-driving rockers.

Yngwie Malmsteen – Facing the Animal

                                 Canyon International, 1997.
                                 Produced by Yngwie Malmsteen and Chris Tsangarides.
                                 Recorded at Studio 308, Miami, Florida, except drum tracks
                                 recorded at Criteria Studios, Miami Florida.
                                 Mixed and engineered at Criteria Studios by Chris Tsangarides,
                                 assisted by Keith Rose.

                                 Yngwie Malmsteen: Guitars.
                                 Cozy Powell: Drums.
                                 Mats Leven: Lead vocals.
                                 Mats Olausson: Keyboards.
                                 Barry Dunaway: Bass.
                                 Japanese bonus track is "Casting Pearls before the Swine."
                                 Album cover photo by Michael Johansson, other photography by
                                 Mark Weiss. Band photo by Peter Rooth.
                                 Art Direction and design by Ioannis, Linda Loiewski for Vivid Images
                                 Worldwide. 

Swedish guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen is regarded by many critics and musicians as the one who brought neo-classical stylings back to rock & roll.  This neo-classical (new classical) style of music takes its inspiration from classical artists such as Vivaldi, Bach and Nicolo Paganini and fuses it  with the power of rock and roll to create a unique musical hybrid.  Malmsteen’s disc FACING THE ANIMAL is a return to old style Yngwie that incorporates heavier rhythm guitar parts, great fiery solos, melodic vocals and a hard-hitting rhythm section.  The tracks that rock the hardest on Yngwie Malmsteen’s FACING THE ANIMAL are “Sacrifice", “Facing The Animal” and “Another Time”.  I personally feel that this is one of Malmsteen’s best albums ever, because he has recreated his old sound from his first few albums such as RISING FORCE and MARCHING OUT while expanding his overall soundscape by using more intricate guitar rhythms and harmony-based vocals. 

Yngwie Malmsteen – Live at Budokan DVD

                                    Yngwie Malmsteen: Guitars, backing vocals
                                    Mike Vescera: Lead vocals
                                    Mats Olausson: Keyboards, backing vocals
                                    Barry Sparks: Bass
                                    Mike Terrana: Drums
 
Yngwie Malmsteen’s LIVE AT BUDOKAN DVD includes 3 interviews, 14 songs and the bonus clip for “Forever One”. This 1994 performance was recorded during the bands SEVENTTH SIGN tour. The picture and sound of this show are excellent and the many different camera angles made me feel as if I were there in Japan at the concert. Vocalist Mike Vescera’s voice is awesome as he hits notes well into the stratosphere on up-tempo rockers such as “Heaven Tonight”, “I See The Light Tonight”, “Never Die” and “Rising Force”. Malmsteen’s guitar playing is crisp and fresh. He dances around the stage while swinging his instrument around his neck. He also carefully plays each note and solo with such precision and dexterity, which are a few of the traits that have made him one of just a few of the guitar legends of today. Keyboard player Mats Olausson, bassist Barry Sparks and drummer Mike Terrana lay down the rhythmic foundation for each song that sets the mood and tempo. There are also solos for guitar, keyboards and drums during the concert, which show off the skills of the band individually. The track list includes the following songs: “Toccata (J.S. Bach)”, “Never Die”, “Bedroom Eyes”, “Rising Force”, “Bad Blood”, “Forever One”, “Pyramid of Cheops”, “Seventh Sign”, “You Don't Remember, I’ll Never Forget”, “Brothers”, “Crash and Burn”, “Heaven Tonight”, “Black Star” and “I'll See the Light Tonight”.         

Yngwie Malmsteen – Live!! DVD

                                    Yngwie J. Malmsteen: Electric guitar, acoustic guitar, backing
                                    vocals, lead vocals on "Manic Depression".
                                    Barry Dunaway: Bass and backing vocals.
                                    Mats Leven: Lead vocals.
                                    Mats Olausson: Keyboards and backing vocals.
                                    Jonas Ostman: Drums.

 YNGWIE MALMSTEEN LIVE!! is a DVD that was recorded in May of 1998 in Brazil during the bands FACING THE ANIMAL tour. The 12 tracks on this disc include the following: “My Resurrection”, “Facing the Animal”, “Rising Force”, “Bedroom Eyes”, “Far Beyond the Sun”, “Like an Angel”, “Braveheart”, “Seventh Sign”, “Guitar Solo (Trilogy Suite, Manic Depression, Badinere)”, “Never Die”, “Black Star” and “I'll See the Light Tonight”.
   This show was awesome because they use effects such as flash pots, explosions and a giant wall of sparklers that looks like an enormous sparkler hanging from the ceiling. Malmsteen’s constant showmanship and musicianship live is shown through boundless energy as he runs across the stage playing to the audience. He makes sure that no note is missed and solos are over-the-top inspirations that any future guitar player would die to hear. Mats Leven sounds great as his high-powered vocal delivery reaches new heights. His soaring vocals fit together very nicely with Malmsteen’s rock meets classical musical melting pot of creativity. During his guitar solo, Malmsteen sings and plays guitar on the Jimi Hendrix cover song “Manic Depression”. Malmsteen sounds really good on vocals because he has a rich deep voice and I really respect him for trying something new. It is hard enough just to sing sometimes, but Malmsteen shows that he can sing and play guitar at the same time without missing a beat. This band is a world-class touring machine that is made up of nothing but the best at every instrument. Would the guitar god have it any other way? As always Yngwie Malmsteen strives for musical perfection and on the DVD YNGWIE MALMSTEE LIVE!! He definitely delivers the goods once again. The picture and sound of this concert are remarkably clear and the quality is excellent.                                                            

Perpetual

 In the spring of 1997, St. Louis based band Perpetual had formed to bring back 80’s style melodic hard rock to local music fans.  At that time the rap metal and grunge musical styles were the popular new fads. Perpetual means to last for eternity, for a long time or continuing without interruption.  Perpetual continue to make a name for themselves in and around the St. Louis and Illinois areas through constant touring.  They have opened up for well known rock bands such as Quiet Riot, Black Label Society (featuring former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde) and Mike Tramp (former White Lion vocalist) with the dream of making it to the top.  As vocalist Al Fredwell says about Perpetual, “As far as the style of music, we're sticking to what we love. 80's style, high energy, party when ya' can and rock 'till 'ya drop hard rock. Not what’s popular, not what’s going to make us tons of money. In our hearts we honestly feel like people want to go to a show and feel good and have a good time again. Not sit there and hear a bunch of depressing garbage that became so popular in the 90's. If Curt Cobain were still alive, I would love to meet him in person just to KICK HIS ASS!”
   Perpetual includes the following members: Al Fredwell (lean vocals), Austin Sprague (guitar/vocals), Sean Quideon (bass/vocals) and Scott Garber (drums/percussion).  Their 5-track demo cd includes the songs “Set The Night On Fire”, “Got Your Love”, “Jimmy”, “Fire Inside” and “Back, Bad & Kickin’ Ass”.  The songs this disc are well-written 80’s party rock anthems that are a reminder of a time when hot women, heavy metal and wild parties had defined our generation.  The vocals have a smooth rock meets r & b sound that is very similar to that of lead singer Marc Torien of the Bulletboys.  The guitars have a melodic style that includes heavy riffs and soaring solos that are reminiscent of Eddie Van Halen, Cinderella’s Jeff LaBar and George Lynch of Dokken.  The up-tempo bass and drums have a very dynamic sound that seems to be a mix of the powerhouse rhythm sections of Van Halen, Winger and Dokken.  If you took bands such as Van Halen, the Bulletboys, Winger, Dokken and Cinderella and put them in a room together, Perpetual would walk out “Back, Bad & Kickin’ Ass”.  The Perpetual debut cd will be coming out in the near future and is definitely worth a listen.  Just remember everyone; Perpetual needs you to help keep that train a rolling by rocking out at their shows and by also picking up their cd when it comes out.                 

Yngwie Malmsteen – I Can’t Wait

                                 Pony Canyon, 1994
                                 Limited edition Japanese EP produced by Yngwie Malmsteen.
                                 Published by Malmsteen Publishing/Warner Chappell Inc./EMI Music
                                 Recorded at New River Studios, Florida, and Nippon Budokan,
                                 Tokyo.

                                 Yngwie Malmsteen: Guitars and backing vocals.
                                 Mike Vescera: Vocals.
                                 Mats Olausson: Keyboards and backing vocals.
                                 Mike Terrana: Drums and backing vocals.
                                 Barry Sparks: Bass and backing vocals.
                                 Photography by Masakatsu Ishikawa, Design by Taka Shibayama,
                                 Cover illustration by Asari Yoda.

I CAN’T WAIT by Yngwie Malmsteen is a rare cd with 9 songs that will not disappoint his fans. It includes the following songs: 1) “I Can’t Wait”, 2) “Aftermath”, 3) “Rising Force (live)”, 4) “Far Beyond The Sun (live)”, 5) “Power And Glory – Takada’s Theme”, 6) “Power And Glory – Takada’s Theme (stadium edit) ”, 7) “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)”, 8) “Flamenco Diablo” and 9) “Amadeus Quattro Valvole”. The soft acoustic guitar intro of  “I Can’t Wait” sounds great with Mike Vescera’s vocals and then when Malmsteen’s hard rocking electric guitars kick into overdrive. “Aftermath” and “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!….” have powerful guitar riffs and enormous choruses that fit very well together. The instrumental of  “Power And Glory – Takada’s Theme” has a go-for-the-broke solo that shows Malmsteen’s fret board magic at its finest. 

St. James – American Man

When vocalist Jamie St. James was the front man for 80’s rock band Black ‘N Blue, they were touring the world and living the fast-paced rock & roll life.  Their singles “Hold On To 18” and “Miss Mystery” helped cement their legacy as one of the best metal bands with instantly recognizable catchy songs.  Times have changed and the demand for heavy metal keeps getting stronger every year.  Jaime put together the band St. James to keep playing his older songs and to create some new songs.  The band St. James features Jaime, guitarist Jimmy Maguire, bassist Joe Frietchen, drummer Todd Shelly and keyboard player Danny Morris. 
   Their new cd AMERICAN MAN is a straight forward 11 – track collection of melodic well-written rock & roll songs that will satisfy fans old and new.  The songs that I feel are the best on this cd are “Generation Suicide”, “Deaf, Dumb and Blind” and “Die Like A Star”.  “Generation Suicide” has a hard-driving guitar riff at the beginning that jams with great vocal phrasing and then the super tight rhythm section with melodic keyboards kick into over-drive with the high-powered chorus.  “Deaf, Dumb and Blind” has a killer rhythm sound with the drum cymbals and bass together pounding it out with the free flowing vocals and fast guitar riffs.  “Die Like A Star” has a dance beat that you would hear at a party and features an awesome mix of vocals, rhythms and guitars.  St. James are a great live band that put it all on the line for the fans and AMERICAN MAN is a killer rock & roll album that is a reflection of the past heavy metal glory of the 80’s with a bright future in the millennium.

Judas Priest - Demolition

For more than 25 years, Judas Priest has been leading the charge of heavy metal.  Their new disc DEMOLITION is the bands second studio album featuring singer Ripper Owens and their major label debut with Atlantic Records.  Having sold over 20 million records worldwide, Judas Priest are regarded by many as one of the true pioneers of classic metal.  They have always experimented with their sound to try something new while maintaining a balance between their past and their future.
 DEMOLITION is just as brutal as 1997’s JUGULATOR yet has taken the band in a more modern direction.  Owens’s progression is evident as he emotionally expresses himself through the use of vocal phrasing to give the lyrics a life of their own.  He sings in a lower range on the ballad “Close To You” which conveys a distant longing for someone he has loved and lost.  Then he uses higher range vocals on “Bloodsuckers” to show anger towards corrupt lawyers.  Judas Priest have kept their tradition of the blazing double guitar attack of KK Downing and Glenn Tipton, the fast-paced rhythms of bassist Ian Hill and drummer Scott Travis and high-powered screaming vocals of Owens intact while adding different song structures and more melodies. “Machine Man” has explosive guitar riffs/solos, warp-speed rhythms, and killer operatic style vocals.  “Devil Digger” has an infectious guitar riff, grooving drums and bass, and a great aggressive chorus.  “Bloodsuckers” includes thumping bass licks, hard-hitting drums, great lyrics, a blues-based heavy metal guitar solo and over-the-top vocals.  All the songs on DEMOLITION have a very distinctive sound, but in my opinion  “Devil Digger”, “Machine Man” and “Bloodsuckers” stand out because of there high level of intensity.  Judas Priest continue to buck all trends and their willingness to take musical chances will only help them keep getting better with time. 

The Scorpion King Soundtrack

The Scorpion King starts off the 2002 summer blockbuster action movies with a bang.  WWF wrestler The Rock stars in the movie as a sword-wielding assassin named Mathayus hired to kill an evil ruler that slaughters innocent people and who takes all of their earthly possessions as his own.  On his quest to knock this dictator off his throne, the Mathayus encounters several obstacles in some great sword fighting scenes.  After several explosions and near death experiences, Mathayus defeats the evil one and is chosen as the leader of the people named the Scorpion King.
 The Scorpion King soundtrack is an explosive 16-track collection of songs from many of today’s hottest rock bands such as Godsmack, Drowning Pool, Creed, Nickleback, Sevendust and Rob Zombie featuring Ozzy Osbourne.  Newer groups such as P.O.D., System Of A Down, Hoobastank, Flaw, 12 Stones, Mushroomhead, Lifer, Injected, Breaking Point and Coal Chamber also contributed tracks to this disc.  The songs from The Scorpion King fit together very well with the movie.  The first radio single and video for “I Stand Alone” by Godsmack seems to capture the story line and the intensity of the film with its hard rock guitar assault, swirling rhythms and in-your-face vocals.  “Iron Head” by Rob Zombie featuring Ozzy Osbourne is an upbeat high-octane song that teams up two of the best vocalists in heavy metal to make one killer track.  This soundtrack should appeal to people who like several different types of music and has consistently remained in the Billboard Top 10 sales charts.  “I Stand Alone” is in heavy rotation at national rock radio stations and many of the other songs should get heavy airplay in the future.  This cd is enhanced with video files of the movie trailer, photo gallery, web links and a special screen saver for use on a PC computer.         

Orange County Soundtrack

Orange County is a movie that stars Colin Hanks as a very smart high school senior named Shaun Brumder who wants to go to college at Stanford University.  The only problem is that his high school guidance counselor accidentally sends the transcripts of another student with horrible grades to Stanford instead of his and he gets a letter of rejection from the college.  His crazy older brother Lance played by Jack Black offers to help him get into Stanford by taking him on a wild road trip.  Lance gets him into all sorts of trouble in this hilarious comedy about searching through life and following your dreams.
     The Orange County movie soundtrack includes several different styles of music such as rock, pop, alternative, punk and easy listening.  A few of today’s most popular bands such as The Offspring and Foo Fighters have recorded new songs and the rest of the groups have included some of their recent hits to round out this very diverse collection.  “Defy You” by The Offspring and “The One” by the Foo Fighters are the two hit singles off the disc that have been put into heavy rotation at rock radio stations across the country.  This soundtrack also includes  “Story Of My Life (Live)” by Social Distortion, “Shadow Stabbing” by Cake, “Butterfly” by Crazy Town, “1st Time” by Bad Ronald, “Lay Down Burden” by Brian Wilson, “Everything's Cool” by Lit, “Glad That It's Over” by 12 Rods, “Stick 'Em Up” by Quarashi, “Lose You” by Pete Yorn, “Under The Tracks” by Creeper Lagoon, “Love And Mercy” by Brian Wilson, “California” by Phantom Planet and a bonus track that lists no songs title or artist.  The song  “Defy You” is a standard hard rocking song from The Offspring that includes a big chorus, grooving guitar riffs and an up-tempo rhythm section.  “The One” by the Foo Fighters starts out with a super-fast drum/bass rhythm, the great vocals of Dave Grohl, a larger-than-life chorus and hard rock warp-speed guitar riffs.  The initial pressing of this Orange County soundtrack also includes a special limited edition 4-track bonus disc that includes songs from up-and-coming artists such as “O.C. Life” by Zebrahead, “Radio #2” by The Ataris, “I Feel Fine” by Riddlin' Kids and “Love Ain't No Friend Of Mine” by Ill Kidd.

Journey 2001 (DVD)

Since their formation in 1973, Journey have become one of the greatest rock & roll bands with worldwide album sales of over 60 million.  Change has always been one of the things that have led to the evolution of the band and the new line-up is no exception with the addition of vocalist Steve Augeri and drummer Dean Castronovo along with long-time members guitarist Neal Schon, bass player Ross Valory and keyboard player Jonathon Cain.  In 2001 the band released their first full-length album ARRIVAL with the new line-up and hit the road for a world tour.  The new DVD from the band titled JOURNEY 2001 includes live performances of many of their classic hits as well as some new songs from their ARRIVAL CD. 
 This DVD was filmed in December 2000 in Las Vegas in front of a sold-out crowd.  The songs featured on this disc are “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)”, “Ask The Lonely”, Guitar Solo, “Stone In Love”, “Higher Place”, “Send Her My Love”, “Lights”, “Fillmore Boogie”, “All The Way”, “Escape”, “La Raza Del Sol (intro)”, “La Raza Del Sol”, “Wheel In The Sky”, “Be Good To Yourself”, “Anyway You Want It”, “Don't Stop Believin' ”, “Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin' ” and “Faithfully”.  Journey’s stage show at this show was massive with a giant stage featuring a video screen showing computer- generated images that added a great visual element to many of the songs.  Augeri prowled the stage with his soulful voice that has a range and sound similar to that of former singer Steve Perry while maintaining his own unique smooth bluesy style.  Schon makes his guitar scream out the song melodies as he passionately plays his monster riffs and captivating solos.  Valory’s aggressive bass style is a perfect match for Castronovo’s raw high-powered drum technique.  Cain provides many of Journey’s vocal harmonies and his keyboard playing is a mix of jazz, blues, rock and pop music.  Journey has had many hits on a few different radio formats as well as MTV and their memorable songs that are easy to sing along to have made them one of the best bands in rock & roll.
 This JOURNEY 2001 DVD has a very clear picture and great sound and includes special features such as Dolby digital 5.1 surround sound, PCM stereo, interactive menus, instant chapter access to songs, a biography and a photo gallery.  The running time of this disc is about 106 minutes and is a bargain with all of these special features that make it easy to navigate for your favorite song.  On Saturday, August 10th Journey will play a show at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield, Illinois.                         

Kiss – Exposed (DVD)

Kiss has been a legendary rock & roll band since the early 70’s known for their unique music, flashy costumes, over-the-top concerts with giant explosions, make-up and platform boots.  Over the years their fans (the Kiss Army) have seen the band change line-ups, sounds and take off the make-up.  Kiss’ 1987 Exposed VHS compilation is a collection of video clips from the bands’ unmasked period during the 80’s, interviews of Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons showing their fast-paced lifestyle with the ladies and vintage live performances from their 70’s heyday is now available on DVD for the first time. 
 This behind-the-scenes look at the hottest band in the world includes video footage of the following: “Who Wants to Be Lonely (censored version)” (video '86), “Uh! All Night” (video '86), “I Love It Loud” (live Rio de Janeiro '83), “Deuce” (live San Francisco '75), “Strutter” (live Detroit '76), “Beth” (live Houston '77), “Detroit Rock City” (live Australia '80), “Tears Are Falling” (video '85), “Lick It Up” (video '83), “All Hell's Breaking Loose” (video '84), “I Love It Loud” (video '82), “I Stole Your Love” (live Houston '77), “Heaven's on Fire” (video '84), “Ladies Room” (live Houston '77), “Rock and Roll All Nite” (live Australia '80).  Band members Eric Carr and Bruce Kulick also make brief appearances during this video.  Paul and Gene are hilarious and this DVD is a reminder of the awesome 80’s when the important things were great rock & roll, sexy women in tight spandex and living life to the fullest.  This DVD Kiss Exposed was re-mastered in digital audio and video.  This DVD includes special features of an interactive menu where you can go straight to your favorite songs and a choice of PCM stereo or Dolby digital sound.  Kiss never does anything half way and this power-packed DVD is a perfect example of the quality products that they want to provide for their fans.  Hopefully, all of their VHS videos will come out on DVD as well as many of their concerts from the past with and without the make-up.                  

Tesla - Five Man Video Band DVD

On July 2, 1990 Tesla played and recorded a live all-acoustic concert at the Trocadero club in Philadelphia that they later released on cd and VHS titled FIVE MAN ACOUSTICAL JAM.  They performed many of their own hit songs; two new songs and cover versions of their favorite classics such as the Top 10 hit "Signs" in this legendary unplugged concert.  This live acoustic rock & roll show is also Tesla’s first DVD home video titled FIVE MAN VIDEO BAND.  Tesla played their own songs that were rearranged for acoustic instruments such as "Modern Day Cowboy," "Before My Eyes," "Cumin' Atcha Live," "Little Suzi", "Gettin' Better", "Love Song," "Heaven's Trail (No Way Out)," "The Way It Is" and "Paradise."  They also debuted two newer tracks "Tommy's Down Home" and "Down Fo' Boogie" especially for this show.  Tesla played some of their own versions from many of their favorite bands such as the Rolling Stones' "Mother's Little Helper", The Beatles' "We Can Work It Out", the Grateful Dead's "Truckin'", "Signs" originally recorded by the Five Man Electrical Band and Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Lodi". 
 Tesla might have paved the way for the unplugged trend, because not long after this show, MTV was inviting several different rock bands to put down their electric instruments and to go acoustic for one performance.  I respect Tesla for taking the chance to try something new and for using their many talents to change the song arrangements from the electric to the acoustic format.  The re-mastered audio and video of this DVD makes the picture and sound very sharp.  This FIVE MAN VIDEO BAND DVD also includes special features such as an interactive set list so that you can go straight to your favorite track and audio set-up where you can choose either PCM stereo or Dolby digital 2.0.  In the near future, Tesla will also be releasing the DVD version of Time's Makin' Changes: The Videos And More, which was originally released on VHS.        

Def Leppard – Historia/In The Round In Your Face (DVD)

Def Leppard's home videos Historia & In The Round In Your Face have been released together on one DVD for the first time ever.  These two multi-platinum videos were originally released on VHS in 1988 and 1989 respectively.  Having these two on one DVD is very convenient and can eliminate some of these VHS tapes in your collection. 
     Historia features 18 videos of 16 different songs that include all of the group's albums made between 1980 and 1988.  The Historia section has rare TV performances, an early recording of “Hello America” from the band's debut album, as well as the videos from their multi-platinum albums Pyromania and Hysteria.  Def Leppard included two versions of their first big hit “Bringin' On The Heartbreak” (one with original guitarist Pete Willis, one current guitarist Phil Collen).  The other video clips on Historia are for the songs “Animal”, “Hysteria”, “Love Bites”, “Pour Some Sugar On Me” (the U.K and live U.S. versions), “Armageddon It” (live), “Let It Go”, “Photograph”, “Rock of Ages”, “Foolin’”, “Too Late For Love”, “Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)”, “Me And My Wine”, and “Women”.
 In The Round In Your Face is live concert footage filmed during a two-day Denver concert plus footage from a trio of Atlanta shows in 1988 during the Hysteria World Tour.  The tracks included are of the songs “Stagefright”, “Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)”, “Women”, “Too Late For Love”, "Hysteria", “”Gods of War”, “Die Hard The Hunter”,  “Bringin' On The Heartbreak”, “Foolin’”, “Armageddon It”, “Animal”, “Pour Some Sugar On Me”, “Rock of Ages”, and “Photograph”.
 This combination of Def Leppard's home videos Historia & In The Round In Your Face on DVD include special features such as exclusive interviews, full motion menu screens to chose songs, subtitles (English, Brazilian, Portuguese, Latin American Spanish) and a complete discography.  This DVD also includes 5 bonus videos for the songs “Slang”, “Work It Out”, “All I Want Is Everything”, “Goodbye”, and “Promises”.  This DVD has great digital sound and picture quality that make it worth the money along with the bonus videos and other materials.  Def Leppard also recently released the Visualize/ Video Archive combination DVD.

Def Leppard – Visualize/Video Archive (DVD)

Def Leppard's home videos Visualize & Video Archive have been released together on one DVD for the first time ever. These two videos were originally released on VHS in 1993 and 1995 respectively.  Having these two on one DVD is very convenient and can eliminate some of these VHS tapes in your collection. 
     Visualize features all of the videos made between 1989 and 1993 (including videos for the triple platinum album Adrenalize) as well talk about solo projects, making videos, Vivian Campbell joining Def Leppard, fans, life off the stage, their return to Sheffield, the future of Def Leppard and live tracks.  The video clips on Visualize are for the songs “Rocket”, “Switch 625” (Steve Clark Tribute), “Let's Get Rocked”, “Make Love Like A Man”, “I Wanna Touch U”, “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad”, “Tonight”, “Heaven Is”, “Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)”, “Two Steps Behind (Live)”, “Love Bites (Live)”, “Photograph (Live)”.
 Video Archive is mix of live concert footage filmed during a 1993 concert from their hometown of Sheffield, England of the songs “Let's Get Rocked”, “Foolin'”, “Rocket”, “Two Steps Behind”, “Armageddon It”, “Pour Some Sugar On Me”, “Rock Of Ages”, and “Love Bites”.  Also included are five videos made from 1993 through 1995 for the tracks “When Love & Hate Collide” (performance only), “Two Steps Behind”, “Action”, “Miss You In A Hearbeat”, “When Love & Hate Collide” (Epic 8 Minute Version).  If that wasn’t enough, they also include live tracks from a special 1995 Sheffield acoustic Def Leppard concert recorded at the Wapentake Club of the following songs: “Two Steps Behind”, “Armageddon It”, “When Love & Hate Collide”, “Animal”, “Pour Some Sugar On Me”, and “Ziggy Stardust”.
 This combination of Def Leppard's home videos Visualize & Video Archive on DVD include special features such as exclusive interviews, full motion menu screens to chose songs, subtitles (English, Brazilian, Portuguese, Latin American Spanish) and a complete discography.  This DVD also includes additional interview footage, TV appearances and live tracks.  This DVD has great digital sound and picture quality that make it worth the money along with the bonus videos and other materials.  Def Leppard also recently released the Historia/In the Round In Your Face combination DVD.

Rush – Chronicles: The DVD Collection

Rush is one of the most successful bands in rock & roll with some of the most loyal fans in the world.  This technically proficient trio of singer-bassist Geddy Lee, drummer Neil Peart and guitarist Alex Lifeson have been together since 1974 and have recorded over 20 albums to date.  Their unique progressive rock sound and lyrics about world issues have influenced the music of other great artists such as Kings X and Dream Theater.  In 1990 Rush had released Chronicles: The Video Collection, which is now certified gold in worldwide sales.  Chronicles is also available on 2 compact discs or 2 cassettes.
 This DVD features 12 videos with digitally enhanced video and re-mastered audio of many of the bands hits such as “Closer To The Heart”, “The Trees”, “Tom Sawyer”, “Red Barchetta”, “Time Stand Still”, “The Big Money,” “Mystic Rhythms”, “Lock And Key”, “Limelight”, “Subdivisions”, “Distant Early Warning” and “Red Sector A”.  Chronicles: The DVD Collection features two hidden bonus videos that were previously unreleased titled “The Enemy Within” and “Afterimage”.  This is the first DVD release from Rush and includes special features such as an interactive song menu and viewers choice of PCM stereo or Dolby digital audio options.  Many of the videos on Chronicles: The DVD Collection show Rush’s innovative visions of computer-generated animation, stationary shots of Lee and Lifeson jumping around playing their instruments while Peart was spinning around underneath them and images flying around in all directions on the screen at the same time.  Maybe Rush will release some concert footage on DVD in the near future for their many fans.                
     

James LaBrie`s MullMuzzler 2

Dream Theater vocalist James LaBrie has just released his second solo album titled MullMuzzler 2, the follow-up to his 1999 debut Keep It To Yourself.  LaBrie could have recorded an album that sounds almost just like Dream Theater, but instead he wanted the challenge of creating different songs with their own chemistry.  He is joined by the following band members: Matt Guillory- keyboards/piano, Trent Gardner - keyboards/piano, Mike Mangini – drums, Mike Keneally- guitars, Mike Borkosky – guitars and Brian Beller – bass.  This disc is a collection of deep lyrics that cover the emotional spectrum of human relationships. 
  “Venice Burning” is a track with great dynamics that starts out with a soft acoustic guitar/piano and then kicks in with hard rock guitars, up-tempo rhythms with emotional soaring vocals about a father with a child that finds out that his best friend has been molesting his son.  “Stranger” is layered with a mix of piano, acoustic guitar and synthesizer put together with a thick heavy electric guitar sound with an intense chorus and an amazing jazzy guitar meets synthesizer solo.  “Afterlife” has a funk meets rock guitar with grooving rhythmic feel with progressive rock synthesizer and high-powered melodic vocals.  LaBrie does an incredible job of using various vocal melodies to convey many different emotions that bring the characters in these songs to life.  The other musicians of MullMuzzler match the various vocal melodies very well with their creative use of different drum and bass rhythm patterns, guitar tones and chord structures.     James LaBrie`s MullMuzzler 2 is a well-written selection of emotionally enriched tracks that show why LaBrie is one of rock & roll’s best and most versatile vocalists.  LaBrie also has a unique way of finding the voice of the characters in his songs and he shows their challenges and struggles through the use of vocal phrasing.  MullMuzzler 2 is a great follow-up to LaBrie`s debut solo album Keep It To Yourself and is a giant leap forward in musical growth.  Each song on this disc is a story about life, love and the evolution of the relationships in our lives. 

W.A.S.P. - The Sting Live At The Key Club L.A. (DVD)

W.A.S.P. performed a live concert at the Key Club in L.A. on April 22nd 2000 to a sold-out crowd with their trademark balls-to-the-wall showmanship.  A live audience of over 10,000 fans got to witness that night's concert broadcast live over the Internet and over 100,000 others logged it to view it at a later time.  The demand to view this show was so great that 39,000 repeat users watched it over the following 7days.  This W.A.S.P. Live At The Key Club L.A. concert was released later on DVD uncut and uncensored due to the overwhelming demand.  This is also the last known documented live performance of original guitarist Chris Holmes with the band.
  The music of W.A.S.P. has always been powerful in itself with its lyrics about partying, sex and social issues combined with heavy metal guitars, thunderous rhythms and menacing vocals.  Live the visual effects of their stage show take the songs to a whole new level and grab the audiences’ attention by employing psycho drama that gets the fans physically involved in the show.  Examples of this are the sparking cod piece that singer Blackie Lawless wears, the W.A.S.P. logo that is lit on fire under the drummer riser, the fake blood that Lawless drinks from the human skull and the feathers that the band throws into the audience.  In their early days in the 80’s, the band even threw huge chunks of raw meat into the crowd and the basic philosophy was that if you weren’t paying attention that you might get hit in the head with a piece of meat.  Other legendary rock & roll bands such Kiss and Alice Cooper have fire breathing, fake blood and simulated guillotines to sever the head off a body during their concerts to add their own unique visual aspects to their concerts.  During this performance, W.A.S.P. played many of the well-known fan favorites as well as a few new songs such as “Helldorado”, “Inside The Electric Circus”, “Chainsaw Charlie (Murders in the New Morgue.)”, “Wild Child”, “L.O.V.E Machine”, ”Animal (Fuck Like A Beast)”, “Sleeping (In The Fire)”, “Damnation Angels”, “Dirty Balls”, “The Real Me”, “I Wanna Be Somebody” and “Blind In Texas”.             
  W.A.S.P. The Sting Live At The Key Club L.A. on DVD is an awesome concert that every fan will want to have for their collection and also features a special bonus audio cd of the concert, which, make it a great buy.  This DVD is also packed with many extras such a photo gallery, Dolby surround 5.1 sound, full W.A.S.P discography, web links and sleeve notes written by Dante Bonutto.  W.A.S.P. has a new cd coming out on June 11th titled DYING FOR THE WORLD.        

Classic Albums - Judas Priest: British Steel (DVD)

The 1980 album British Steel by Judas Priest took them from a working-class band and made them into international superstars.  To this day, British Steel is one of the most influential heavy metal albums of all time.  Glenn Tipton, K.K. Downing, Ian Hill and former Priest vocalist Rob Halford talk about the recording of the album as well as many of the homemade sound effects that they made while experimenting with various musical sounds and tones to give the tracks a unique feel.  They also talk in-depth about the writing of the lyrics and what they meant to the band.  Rare live performances spanning their career are included of songs on British Steel such as "Living After Midnight", "Breaking the Law", "Metal Gods", "The Rage", "United" and "Grinder" as well as archive footage and interviews.   Producer Tom Allom also shares his insight into the recording sessions and how the enormous impact that the album had on rock & roll. 
  Judas Priest has always been known for their twin lead guitar attack, howling vocals that scream into the night and their clothing made of leather and chains.  They laid the groundwork for the popular heavy metal of the mid-70’s through the mid-80’s as well as the speed and death metal of the 90’s with their fierce hard rock sound.  They had rented the house of Beatle’s drummer Ringo Starr to record British Steel and talked about how they had set-up certain rooms to capture the vibe of some of the songs.  They also tell of the strange feeling they had when they recorded in the same room where Beatle’s singer John Lennon had done the song “Imagine”.  The Metal Gods cemented their legendary status with their memorable performance at the first ever Donington Monsters of Rock Festival and have not slowed down ever since that day.  Had it not been for Judas Priest, who knows what music would sound like today.  This British Steel Classic Albums DVD also includes special bonus features such as extended interviews and exclusive live performance footage as well as the promotional videos for the songs "Living After Midnight", "Breaking the Law" and “United".  The videos of these 3 songs are amazing considering that MTV didn’t even exist yet when they were recorded.  The sound quality also is excellent because this DVD was recorded in Dolby digital stereo sound and nearly 2 hours of material.  Judas Priest have recently released their new album with Ripper on vocals titled Demolition and will be touring the world.  

Classic Albums - Metallica: Metallica (DVD)

Nearly ten years ago, Metallica were already one of the world’s most popular heavy metal bands with a loyal legion of fans and then they changed their entire formula by changing their trademark sound.  Metallica also known as the Black Album featured shorter songs with simpler structures than their previous albums with more of an emphasis on layered grooving rhythms, vocal melodies and over-the-top guitar solos that better fit the feel of the songs.  This is one of the best-selling albums ever with over 12 million sold worldwide with hit singles for the tracks “Enter Sandman”, “Sad But True”, "The Unforgiven", "Wherever I May Roam" and "Nothing Else Matters".
  Well-known producer Bob Rock pushed the band to their limits to make the best album that they could by recording multi-tracks of all of the songs and then fine tuning the vocals, rhythms and any melodies that he thought could be changed to make the songs sound better.  This story of the recording of this momentous album features the majority of interviews by singer James Hetfield, Bob Rock and drummer Lars Ulrich with memories of how Rock and Ulrich were tired of each other towards the end of the recording sessions as well as how a digital clicking sound had almost ruined the final mix of the master tape until it was mastered.  Guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Jason Newsted give some of their accounts of the process also to complete the picture of how things were during the Metallica sessions.  They have also included archive footage and performances from the recording session as well as a sample of previously unheard demo recordings.  This Classic Albums - Metallica: Metallica DVD is a must have for Metallica maniacs and includes bonus features such as Dolby digital 2.0 stereo sound, another 45 minutes of interviews as well as discussions on the hard-hitting drum sound of Ulrich and the vocal problems of Hetfield during that point in time.  Learning about the recording process of this album was very interesting and this in-depth DVD is the perfect format for such a documentary.  
     

Classic Albums - Iron Maiden: The Number of the Beast (DVD)

In 1982 Iron Maiden achieved success worldwide after recording The Number of the Beast with new vocalist Bruce Dickinson.  This album was regarded as one of the most influential heavy metal albums of all time.  After several positive reviews from both fans and critics for two weeks the album was #1 on the U.K. charts, put them in the U.S. Top 40 sales chart and appeared on Top 10 album charts worldwide.  Metal standards such as “The Number of the Beast”, “Run to the Hills” and “Children of the Damned” catapulted the band from an opener to a headliner and had helped Iron Maiden achieve several gold and platinum awards sales awards. 
  The story of the making of this album is very interesting as Iron Maiden weave their tales of recording the songs “Run to the Hills”, “The Number of the Beast”, “Hallowed Be Thy Name”, “The Prisoner”, “22 Acacia Avenue” and “Children of the Damned” complete with chapter selection.  This Iron Maiden: The Number of the Beast Classic Albums DVD features exclusive interviews with the entire band including Bruce Dickinson, Steve Harris, Adrian Smith, and Dave Murray.  It also has the first interview for many years with drummer Clive Burr who left the band after the The Number of the Beast World Tour. Producer Martin Birch fondly states his memories during the recording session for the Beast album. Guitarist Adrian Smith performs exclusive acoustic guitar renditions of “Children of the Damned” and “The Number of The Beast” and Current drummer Nicko McBrain, who wasn’t even in Maiden at that time, shares his favorite stories of the Number of the Beast World Tour.  Bonus materials on this DVD include an additional 30-minutes of interviews, pre-Iron Maiden video clips of Dickinson in his former band Samson, previously unreleased live footage from the 1982 Hammersmith Odeon show on this tour and a new clip of the song “Hallowed Be Thy Name” from the new Iron Maiden DVD Rock In Rio filmed in January 2001 that will be out soon.  This The Number of the Beast Classic Albums DVD is packed for of materials that Maiden fans will want to have and also has Dolby digital stereo sound.  I especially like the “Hallowed Be Thy Name” clip from the Rock In Rio DVD and the stories of the recording sessions for the album.