Judas Priest - Rocka Rolla (1974)

Good old stuff again! One day I decided to checkout Judas Priest, and since I had no idea of their music I opted to start from the beginning - Rocka Rolla from 1974. Judas Priest is a legendary British heavy metal band, one of the pioneers of the genre.

From the very beginning there was something unusual but due to my poor musical expertise I couldn't realize what it is. Not until I read a fantastic review of the album and the "secret" was revealed - they are using two leading guitars.

For me this album doesn't really sound like heavy metal, but rather hard rock, and probably that's why I like it so much. The original record has very low quality so one should get a remastered version in order to fully enjoy the music. Here it is on Spotify.

Favorite songs from Rocka Rolla - Run Of The Mill, Rocka Rolla and Cheater (in the end of Winter/Deep Freeze/Winter Retreat)

Keane - Hopes And Fears (2004)

Keane are often compared with Coldplay, and they do have similar style, but the piano rock sound of Keane is for sure distinctive enough. The band was formed in England in 1995, under the name Lotus Eaters. In 1997 they changed the name to Cherry Keane, and soon after that to Keane. The same year one of the founders of group Tim Rice-Oxley was invited by Chris Martin to join Coldplay, but he preferred to stay with Keane.

They started using piano as a lead instrument, instead of guitar, somewhere around 2001. Keane's debut album Hopes And Fears was released in 2004 and has gone 9x platinum in the UK. 

The album is really good, I think, with nice tender melodies, and vocals that remind me the vocals of Radiohaed and sometines Muse. It should be pleasing for any fan of britpop and indie music.

Hopes And Fears on Spotify.

AC/DC - 74'Jailbreak (1984)

The discography of the Australian hard rock band AC/DC looks really crazy. They started in 1975 with High Voltage, and they are still active, releasing their last soundtrack album in April this year. The reason to go for AC/DC for me is my friend Batkata. He is an old rock fan and he never misses to praise AC/DC, so one day I decided to check them out.

Initially I didn't get very excited, but it came pretty soon. What I noticed is that AC/DC's music is very suitable for listening on the stereo when you spend time with the family or with friends. It is not too noisy and dense, and yet it really rocks.

74'Jailbreak is an EP that was released in 1984 in US, Canada and Japan. It has only 5 tracks (24 minutes total length) that are just excellent and thoroughly enjoyable. It is really hard to pick favorites, even so mine are You Ain't Got A Hold On Me, and Soul Stripper. I want to mention that the vocals are by Bon Scott, who was the lead singer and lyricist of AC/DC until his death in 1980.

The Shins - Wincing The Night Away (2007)

My interest in indie started with The Charlatans, and now it develops a bit slowly because of my obsession with the classic 70's hard rock. Anyhow, occasionally I listen to such stuff, and The Shins is one of my favorite indie bands. It is an American band formed in 1997 as a side project of a couple of musicians, which I've never heard of. Here I want to share my opinion about their third studio album Wincing The Night Away, released in 2007.

The album is Grammy-nominated and, I think, for a good reason. This music is exceptionally good, pleasant, and charming. I like every single song on the CD, and I listen to it quite often.

I'm looking forward to hear something else from The Shins and to comment it here.

Wincing The Night Away on Spotify.

Megadeth - Endgame (2009)

I just got the latest Megadeth album Endgame, and I took my time to hear it several times in the last couple of days. When Dave Mustaine was kicked out from Metallica for drug and alcohol problems, and violent behavior, he started Megadeth with the intention to create a band more successful than Metallica. While he didn't managed to outperform Metallica commercially, he proved to be very productive and made Megadeth one of the thrash metal's "big four", together with Slayer, Anthrax, and Metallica.

Endgame is well made, solid album, just like United Abominations, but I still cannot find some really catchy songs. The instrumental opener Dialectic Chaos sounds particularly good and has some complexity that reminds me Dream Theater, real joy. Another favorite moment is the guitar riff in the beginning of the title track Endgame.

Endgame on Spotify.

Metallica - St. Anger (2003)

Metallica is a heavy metal band formed in 1981 in California. Their eight studio album, called St. Anger, was released in 2003 after almost six years pause. It is fun to read the reviews for this album, people seems to either hate it or love it. And their arguments are even more fun, ranging from "poor recording" to "everything Metallica plays is great stuff for me" :).

I am not a school-years Metallica fan, so I consider myself unbiased in this dispute. Everything Metallica plays is simple but effective, I would say. So is St. Anger, and it is also brutal enough that I like it. I listen this CD very often when I run or bike, or just whenever I want to hear something strong.

My favorites are Frantic and Shoot Me Again. Since Metallica are so concerned about their commercial success and the albums in not available on Spotify, I suggest you to check out this version of St. Anger by Metal Militia.

Deep Purple - Shades Of Deep Purple (1968)

Shades Of Deep Purple is the debut studio album of Deep Purple, one of the most famous and successful British hard rock bands. It's a very interesting album, containing four covers.

Hush is a Joe South's cover that is probably the most recognized song in the album.

Prelude: Happiness is a cover of Skip James's song I'm So Glad. It starts with instrumental section full of spanish motifs. The same thing I can hear in Hey Joe, a cover of song by Billy Roberts. I wonder where this spanish impact comes from! Anyway, I like the touch of Deep Purple in these covers.

There is also a cover of Help!, the song by The Beatles. I can notice Beatles influence in One More Rainy Day and Love Help Me.

I can strongly recommend this early Deep Purple work to every rock music fan.

Spotify link!

Depeche Mode - Violator (1990)

Not that Depeche Mode needs any introduction, but still, this is an English electronic synthpop band formed in 1980. They emerged in the new wave era and became one of the most successful and influential bands ever. I saw them live in 2006 at the Stockholm's Touring The Angel concert, and it was an astonishing experience.

Violator became a big hit when it appeared, but I remember that I didn't like this kind of music so much. This was partly because the records we had at that times had really bad quality, and the sound was indistinct and disturbed, like coming from the beyond.

Today on the contrary, I am fascinated by the sound of this album. I can't believe that songs like World In My Eyes, Enjoy The Silence etc. were created 20 years ago. Violator is an amazing album and I enjoy it often. Sweetest Perfection, Blue Dress and Clean are a bit moody tracks, but still good.

Violator on Spotify.

Hammerfall - Glory To The Brave (1997)

Here comes some power metal from Sweden. Hammerfall was formed in 1993 by members of another Swedish metal band - Ceremonial Oath. Hammerfall's story goes a bit messy and confusing for someone like me, not very familiar with power/heavy metal area. Jesper Strömblad from In Flames was involved in Hammerfall during their first years, and he was listed as a drummer for the debut album Glory To The Brave, although the drums were actually played by Patrik Räfling (he joined the band as full time member after the album release).

I think the album is very good, with a lot of speed and powerful guitar work. The epic vocals remind me of the early Iron Maiden, especially the first three tracks - The Dragon Lies Bleeding, The Metal Age, and Hammerfall. Steel Meets Steel is also a good one, but it would be even better without the repeating "Steel Meets-Steel...Steel Meets-Steel...Meets-Steel". The CD end with admirable emotional metal ballad - Glory To The Brave (the title track).

A must have album for the metal fans. Try it out on Spotify.

And this YouTube video will go into the Crimson Thunder (Hammerfall's fourth album from 2002) post, when I write it, but I couldn't hold myself :). Such thing can only be done by Swedes:

James Blunt - Back To Bedlam (2004)

James Blunt is a British musician and songwriter, whose real name is James Hillier Blount. Before releasing Back To Bedlam, his first album, he made a military career as a NATO peacekeeper in Kosovo. He was on duty for the funeral of the Queen Mother, 2002. As a child James Blunt took piano and violin lessons, and at the age 14 he started playing guitar and write songs. His style is a mix of pop, rock and folk.

Back To Bedlam was recorded in 2003 at a studio in LA, where James Blunt himself performed on different instruments for the recording. The actress Carrie Fisher supported him by suggesting the album's name and providing him a bathroom in her home for the recording of Goodbye My Lover.

I like the high voice of James Blunt, the tender melodies, and the beautiful lyrics. The whole album is an irresistible pleasure. The singles High and You're Beautiful are well known to everyone, I guess. My personal pick is Tears And Rain. Back To Bedlam is accessible on Spotify.

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Texas Flood (1983)

This is the debut album for Stevie Ray Vaughan, a brilliant American guitar player, and one of the most influential blues musicians. Credits to Pesh for making me aware of him.

I was never too much into the blues style, so this is "new" for me and I don't have too much to compare with. Nevertheless I find the album Texas Flood really enjoyable. It makes me feel like I'm sitting in an old bar with a glass of bourbon. I like the clear electric sound and the rhythm, just amazing guitar performance.

Mary Had a Little Lamb and Testify are my personal favorites, otherwise the whole CD is highly recommended. A expanded and remixed version of the album is available on Spotify.

Madrugada - Industrial Silence (1999)

It took my wife more than a year to turn me on to Madrugada (Wikipedia). She discovered them at the Last.fm online radio and got hooked, but I never bothered, until recently. The band is formed in 1995 in Norway, and the name means "early morning" in spanish and portuguese. A spanish guy told me recently that this is in fact the time between midnight and six in the morning.

Sadly, in 2007, the guitarist and songwriter for Madrugada Robert Burås died 31 years old, R.I.P.!

I start here with their debut album called Industrial Silence. The album is excellent not only because they have already been playing together for 5-6 years before releasing it. They are just great, with nice melodies, versatile guitars, and the special deep voice of the singer Sivert Høyem.

My favorites are Norwegian Hammerworks Inc., the melancholic ballads Electric and Quite Emotional, and... all the rest. I love the whole album indeed. It's available on Spotify.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - By The Way (2002)

When I got this Red Hot Chili Peppers video, about 8 years ago, I watched it hundred times that same day. I still think it's quite cool. No wonder some call Anthony Kiedis "the sexiest man alive". And the long-haired guy with the guitar, having so much fun, is John Frusciante who actually wrote most of the album's melodies, bass and guitar parts.

By The Way is one of my favorite albums of the Californian band Red Hot Chili Peppers (RHCP). No song is bad here, they are all fun and cool. My personal favorites are Can't Stop, The Zephyr Song, By The Way, and Dosed, which doesn't mean that I don't like the rest. This album is a real pleasure to listen on any occasion.

"If you don't know what music to choose on the party, play Red Hot and you won't make a mistake!". My friend Stan said that long time ago, and even though we always used to accuse him for sloganeer, he was surely right. By The Way is an album that definitely confirms this rule of thumb.

Queen - Queen (1973)

I need hardly introduce Queen to anyone, for this is one of the greatest and most influential bands in the history of rock music. I've heard about them already in my childhood, at a place where serbian folk music had been ruling for decades. Back in 1991, when Freddie Mercury died, all that noise and attention felt like hype to me. I guess I was simply too young to realize that Freddie was one of the biggest, most charismatic frontmen ever.

You cannot imagine how happy I got one day when I decided to take a look at the early Queen music. I started with the debut eponymous album Queen from 1973.

Surprisingly for me the album seems to be slightly underrated. I think it's just great. The complexity of the Queen ingenious style shows up already in this first record, coated with solid hard rock guitars. The heavy rockers are Keep Yourself Alive, Great King Rat, Liar, Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll, Son And Daughter, and Jesus.

Check out Keep Yourself Alive on YouTube, amazing rhythm, really cool bass, and excellent vocals from Freddie Mercury:

Muse - The Resistance (2009)

July 2006 I saw the supporting act of Muse at the Depeche Mode concert Touring The Angel, in Stockholm. On the concert I didn't even know who they are but I liked them. Soon after that I noticed the ads for their new released album Black Holes And Revelations on tv.

This post, however, is about their last album The Resistance, released September 2009. Unfortunately I have to say that I don't like it so much as an album, even after several plays in the last couple of days. In the first place the mix of rock, new wave, classical piano wrapped in typical Muse style sounded quite messy.

Most of the songs are really good taken alone. I can go further and divide the songs in a few groups that go well together. Undisclosed Desires, Guiding Light, MK ULtra, and I Belong To You remind earlier Muse stuff. Uprising, Resistance, and Unnatural Selections sound newer and catchy. Finally United States Of Eurasia and Exogenesis:1, 2, 3 can form a group of their own.

This is probably too complicated for me at the moment. But I'll keep trying because after all I think Muse are very good. I intend to listen the above groups of songs separately and add to this post later. In the meantime enjoy the album on Spotify!