Falconer - Grime Vs. Grandeur (2005)

Mention the word ‘Sweden’ to most people (well, mostly guys) and beautiful blond women of generous proportions will be the first thing that comes to mind. Well, never having visited this lovely Scandinavian country, I am unable to intelligently comment on the nature of its distaff population. After spending the last six months sorting through a pile of heavy metal CDs, however, the Reverend can authoritatively state that those Swedes sure know how to kick out the jams. Death metal, black metal, power metal…you name the sub-genre and Sweden is importing it to an enthusiastic and appreciative worldwide audience. Sadly, the Nordic nations seem to have beaten us at our own game, ‘cause most of these bands, hands down, are cranking out tunes far superior to our homegrown artists (who all seem too intent on getting on the radio, MTV and/or a television reality program).

Case in point: Falconer. Rising from the ashes of popular Swedish black metal band Mithotyn, Falconer set aside the Viking preoccupations of that band in favor of a wider, more extensive worldview. Over the course of four albums (and a number of roster changes) over the past five years, the band has shown continued growth and maturity, resulting in Grime Vs. Grandeur, Falconer’s most consistent and consistently rocking effort to date. With the extraordinary guitarist Stefan Weinerhall increasing his songwriting collaborations with vocalist Kristoffer Göbel, the material on Grime vs. Grandeur showcases an increased boldness, the confidence and chemistry of a band hitting its full stride.

The production on Grime vs. Grandeur is precise, the songs offering a good, clean sound, sharp like a surgeon’s scalpel. Weinerhall and Jimmy Hedland’s guitars roar like the ass end of a jet fighter while Karsten Larsson’s thundering drumbeats and Magnus Linhardt’s muscular bass lines gallop like a herd of wild mustangs escaping the rope. Göbel’s vocals soar to great heights, like Icarus searching for the sun. Although not the operatic equal of, say, Timo Kotipelto, his expressive voice is a magnificent instrument nevertheless, the band’s secret weapon and a valuable addition to the overall sound of Falconer.

Unabashedly power metal, the band embraces all the assets and liabilities that inhabit the genre, and if they come across a bit cliched at times (note “Power,” which has great instrumental work behind hackneyed lyrics) they make up for it with talent and enthusiasm. Rather than a concept album, Grime vs. Grandeur is instead composed of a number of conceptual vignettes, spirited song/stories and philosophical queries that encompass an entire tale/concept within the pace of several breathtaking minutes. It’s an ambitious effort, and when it pays off – such as with the eerie “Jack The Knife” or the glorious “No Tears For Strangers” – the band hits the jackpot. By incorporating elements of Celtic and Swedish folk into their sound, Falconer softens the traditional metallic overkill with carefully crafted instrumental passages, thereby strengthening the overall impact of the material.

Falconer soars above the musical landscape like a fierce bird of prey, its eye on the prize. When the band hits its mark, which it does more often than not on Grime vs. Grandeur, the guitars strike like razor-sharp talons and the rhythms hit with the impact of a hurricane. Delivering “thinking man’s metal” with no compromise in brain or brawn, Falconer is one of the more engaging of the young bands assaulting the staid ranks of the power metal elite. Highly recommended…. (Metal Blade Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Grime vs. Grandeur from Amazon.com)

Redemption - The Fullness Of Time (2005)

On paper, Redemption’s pedigree couldn’t look any stronger – vocalist Ray Alder and guitarist Bernie Versailles hail from the legendary band Fate’s Warning while bassist James Sherwood and drummer Chris Quirarte are on loan from up-and-coming prog-metal band Prymary. Multi-instrumentalist Nick van Dyk is the glue that holds it all together, molding the contributions of these various talents into a cohesive sound and sonic texture imbued with his unique musical vision.

Any questions of a “sophomore slump” are quickly laid to rest with the opening notes of The Fullness Of Time, Redemption’s second album. “Threads” kicks off with blazing guitar riffs, waves of sound leveling everything within sight until the quieting piano begins to seep in around the edges of the song. From this point, it’s full-scale madness, galloping rhythms supporting Alder’s soaring vocals as the song takes more instrumental twists and turns than a dark country road. “Parker’s Eyes” is a chilling take on the loss of innocence, using the tragedy of September 11^th as a backdrop to illustrate the effects of hate and violence. Alder’s vocals impart a certain weary worldliness to van Dyk’s intelligent lyrics, while cacophonic instrumentation swirls behind him in the mix. “Scarred” is a battle of self-doubt and reflection, the song matching industrial-strength arena-rock riffs with classic prog keyboard wizardry behind Alder’s impressive vocal gymnastics. “Sapphire,” a tale of love lost, or perhaps the path not taken, begins as a subdued ballad before van Dyk’s keyboards take flight and the drums begin to pound and the entire band kicks in and the song leaves the stratosphere on wings of divine noise.

The second half of The Fullness Of Time is a conceptual song suite, lyrically divided into four themes. As you might guess from the titles of each section, the song describes a spiritual journey, of sorts, from the betrayal and loss of “Rage” and the subsequent abject loneliness and hopelessness of “Despair” to forgiveness of “Release” and the freedom of “Transcendence.” It’s an ambitious lyrical suite that stumbles now and then but succeeds in the end, describing both a personal sojourn as well as that of the country in a post-911 world, all wounds healed by only “the fullness of time.” The four songs, clocking in at a healthy 20 minutes altogether, are also an excellent showcase for the instrumental prowess of the band that van Dyk has assembled. Over the course of the four sections, everybody has a chance to shine, and the various inspired combinations of vocals, guitar, bass, drums and keyboards stun the listener with both the creative mastery and the technical proficiency of the players.

Progressive rock and metal may be about the least “hip” genres on the entire musical planet, kissing cousins holding hands, snubbed by alt-rock indifference and ridicule. As fans of the two faces of prog realize, though, there’s some great music being made in the trenches, bands like Redemption leading the charge out of the underground. Incorporating elements of everybody that has come before, from Kansas and Rush to Dream Theater, Fate’s Warning and Spock’s Beard, Nicolas van Dyk has brought his considerable vision and talent to bear on The Fullness Of Time and it shows. If you’re bored by the cookie-cutter kiddie-metal and rote hard rock being crammed down your throat by the major labels, take a walk on the prog-rock wild side with Redemption. (Sensory Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy The Fullness Of Time from Amazon.com)

Def Leppard - Rock Of Ages (2005)

With fleeting trends ruling the destiny of popular music, sometimes history becomes obscured by time. It may be forgotten by many, but back during the rough-n-tumble decade of the ‘80s, no band was bigger than England’s favorite sons, Def Leppard. Cruising into the era on the heels of the “New Wave Of British Metal,” Def Leppard masterfully blended ‘70s glam-rock with metallic overtones and pop sensibilities to create a sound that would be heard around the world. No other band, it could be argued, utilized the music video format and the fledgling MTV network with more savvy than Def Leppard. However history is written, however, the truth is that the band’s immense fortunes are tied with those of producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange

The band was formed in 1977 by a group of untried musicians barely out of high school. From the beginning, Def Leppard eschewed the punk aesthetic prevalent in the UK at the time in favor of a throwback sound that updated the influence of mid-70s acts like Mott The Hoople, Queen and Led Zeppelin. The band’s 1980 debut album, On Through The Night, climbed as high as number 51 on the Billboard Top 100 album chart on the strength of hard-rocking cuts like “Wasted” and “Rock Brigade.” High ‘N’ Dry, Def Leppard’s sophomore effort and its first with producer Lange, would place the band on the brink of superstardom. The video for “Bringin’ On The Heartbreak,” which introduced the American mainstream to the photogenic band, received ultra-heavy airplay on MTV and launched the album into the Top Forty.

It was the band’s subsequent collaborations in the studio with “Mutt” Lange that would write Def Leppard’s legacy. Lange had produced AC/DC’s monster breakthrough album Back In Black, and he brought the same artistic vision and console skills to the unassuming band from Sheffield. Smoothing out Def Leppard’s rough edges in favor of a glossier, pop-metal sound, Lange might have alienated some of the band’s purist headbanger fan base but he opened the door to the entire world. Pyromania, the band’s Lange-produced 1983 release, would sell over 10 million copies in the US alone. Hit songs fell from the grooves like shooting stars in the sky: “Photograph,” “Rock Of Ages,” “Too Late For Love,” “Foolin’” and “Billy’s Got A Gun.” Pyromania spawned four top ten singles, with two hitting the number one spot on the charts.

Def Leppard was on top of the world in rock & roll. Entering the studio to record the anticipated follow-up to Pyromania, the band fell prey to various missteps and tragedies. Sessions with bombastic producer Jim Steinman (Meatloaf, Bonnie Tyler) went nowhere, resulting in little usable material. Halfway through the sessions, drummer Rick Allen lost an arm in an automobile accident; it would be over a year before Def Leppard would recover. Allen learned to play a custom drum kit with one arm and producer Lange was brought back in to clean up Steinman’s mess. After the blockbuster success of Pyromania and the band’s various trials and tribulations, nobody expected what would come with the release of Def Leppard’s fourth album, Hysteria.

Released in the spring of 1987, Hysteria was slow out of the gate, but picked up steam as the year wore on, eventually dominating the charts, radio and MTV and the world of popular music for the next two years. Hysteria eventually sold over 12 million copies in the US, charting an amazing seven singles and becoming the band’s first number one album. Fueled by MTV and constant touring, the biggest hits – “Animal,” “Rocket,” “Armageddon It,” “Love Bites” and the ubiquitous “Pour Some Sugar On Me” – were omnipresent from ’87 until 1989, when Guns ‘N’ Roses broke through commercially and toppled Def Leppard from the top of the hard rock heap.

Expectations were high when Def Leppard released Adrenalize in 1992 and the band’s fortunes flagged only slightly with its fifth album. Adrenalize topped the charts upon its release and yielded hit singles in the songs “Let’s Get Rocked” and “Have You Ever Wanted Someone So Bad.” Lange’s role in the studio was greatly diminished with Adrenalize, the band working mostly with its longtime engineer Mike Shipley. The band had been shocked by the death of guitarist Steve Clark, and perhaps a decade of heavy touring and ever-increased stardom had taken its toll. Although the hits still showed glimpses of the old energy, Def Leppard’s time in the spotlight was clearly coming to a close.

Although the musical tides had turned, Def Leppard soldiered on well into the ‘90s. Although “grunge” bands like Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Soundgarden – the latter obviously influenced by Def Leppard – now rode atop the charts, the band would release fine albums in Slang (1996) and Euphoria (1999). With a dwindling but loyal fan base, the band enjoyed minor hits with “Work It Out,” “Promises” and “Paper Sun,” and both albums charted in the top twenty. Def Leppard entered its fourth decade together as a band with its tenth album (including two compilation discs), 2002’s X, which showcased a more adult-oriented, pop-rock sound with its lone hit, “Now.”

All of the above-mentioned songs, and many more, are represented on Rock Of Ages, the two-CD “definitive” collection of Def Leppard material. Pulling songs from the band’s entire twenty-five year recording history, Rock Of Ages is the best place to start for the uninitiated listener curious about the biggest of ‘80s-era bands. The collection pulls heavily from Pyromania and Hysteria, and rightfully so, but also includes integral songs from the band’s first and last two albums, as well as a newly recorded version of Badfinger’s “No Matter What,” from an upcoming “covers” album.

Although Rock Of Ages offers little for the hardcore faithful that already own all the studio discs, it is a solid collection for the fair-weather fan that may have forgotten the charms of Def Leppard. At one time, vocalist Joe Elliott, bassist Rick Savage, guitarists Steve Clark and Phil Collen and drummer Rick Allen were rock & roll royalty, each album better than the previous one, every hit single bigger and badder than the last. Rock Of Ages documents this magic, the two discs accompanied by a great booklet that includes song-by-song notes from the band, rare photos and liner notes by writer Dave Ling. Now, perhaps, since Universal has revisited the band’s past glory, perhaps they can dig into the vaults and find that live Def Leppard album that fans have been thirsting after for twenty-five years now? (Island Records/Universal)

(Click on CD cover to buy Rock Of Ages from Amazon.com)

Ministry - Rantology (2005)

For a quarter-century now, Ministry frontman and guiding light Al Jourgensen has channeled his rage and frustration with American society through the lens of his band. With a musical formula that is equal parts metallic din and industrial electroclash – with just enough rhythmic signature to make it somewhat danceable – the sound of Ministry is that of a nuclear blast of white sound bursting forth from your speakers like some sort of saber-rattling golem. While it took Nine Inch Nails and Trent Reznor’s alienation politics to make industrial music palatable for the unwashed masses, Ministry has remained on alt-rock’s lunatic fringe, making only coy advances towards mainstream popularity through the years, and then abruptly pulling back like a nervous schoolboy.

Over the past decade, however, Jourgensen – and, by association, Ministry – has become increasingly politicized. Although Ministry has long addressed controversial and political issues in its lyrics, since the reign of King George I and Ministry’s blistering attack “N.W.O.” the rules seemed to have changed. With the arrival of George the Younger, Jourgensen seems to have gone full-tilt into madness, raging against the machine with a ferocity and decibel level surpassing even the most radical of punk bands. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. The striking, black leather-clad singer is nevertheless a middle-aged musician and an unlikely spokesman for a generation of youth that is being lied to, manipulated and sent to war by the current (conservative) administration. Like an old lion whose claws remain razor-sharp, Jourgensen’s uncompromising stance and powerful language speaks to the dissatisfaction many of us feel with the direction of the ship of state.

Rantology seems to be the logical conclusion of Jourgensen’s anger at the way things are going these days, the artist both revisiting his storied past and burning many of his bridges to the future. A collection of remixes/remakes with a handful of live tracks thrown in to spice up the blend, Jourgensen is reinventing Ministry’s music for the new millennium even while celebrating the 25 years that have passed by. Many of the usual suspects are taken out of mothballs and prettied up for Rantology, from a mondo-scary remake of “N.W.O.” and the eerily discomforting “Stigmata” to the surreal collaboration with Gibby of the Butthole Surfers, “Jesus Built My Hot Rod.” All of the songs are provided a sharp, shiny new edge, remaking even old gems like “Unsung” into lethal weapons. Live tracks like “Psalm 69” and “The Fall” illustrate the eardrum-shredding power and majesty of Ministry as live performance terrorists.

The one new track on Rantology is “The Great Satan,” a muscular, abrasive dismissal of President Bush and conservative politics that cuts like a scalpel and bludgeons like a lead pipe. Woven throughout the album’s frankentracks are spoken word pieces nabbed from the TV news, Bush’s public pronouncements fodder for studio-manipulated samples that help reveal that the emperor truly has no clothes. Although Jourgensen’s overwhelming anger and tacit alienation often leave the artist intellectually inarticulate – even “The Great Satan” presents few new lyrical or musical ideas – there’s no denying the sheer sonic power of Ministry’s take-no-prisoners musical approach. Given the current media landscape, it’s unlikely that Rantology will jumpstart the sort of mutiny that Jourgensen may be imagining…in which case, Ministry’s final legacy may be in the band’s creation of the soundtrack for the coming apocalypse. (Sanctuary Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Rantology from Amazon.com)