Happy New Year!  Let’s kick it off with another rousing rendition of shuffling through the first ten songs on the iPod and giving you my two cents…

“Mobius Slip”, Sound Of Contact Dimensionaut

For you progheads out there comes this nearly twenty minute behemoth of a cut featuring Simon Collins (Phil’s son) that mixes a great deal of spacey Floydisms and the grandeur of Genesis or Hogarth era Marillion.  Plenty of buildup here too, with lighter touches from guitar and keyboards layering into heavier phases that weave various magics throughout the song.  If you’re up for slipping away into a cool musical journey awash in various vibes and textures you’re in for a treat.

“Sweet Blue Midnight”, Georgia Satellites In The Land Of Salvation And Sin

Far removed from “Keep Your Hands To Yourself” but still in the Stonesy range that these boys do quite well, “Sweet Blue Midnight” is a fine slow burner in the country rock vein with a good dollop of bluesiness thrown in.  Kind of an electrified “Wild Horses” for the newer generation with some sweet slide guitar playing from Dan Baird (or is that Rick Richards?).  A good ol’ slow dancing tune for you  and your sweetie.

“Grow Or Pay”, D.A.D. Riskin’ It All

These tuneful Danes were one of those bands that would occasionally pop up on Headbanger’s Ball back in the late 80s and I must admit that I dug ’em.  Musically, these guys could rock but also write a decent ditty like “Grow Or Pay” which features a melodic chorus and some awesomely cool reverb-laden guitar in an AC/DC punkabilly vibe.  Singer Jesper Binzer’s vocals are nice and gritty and brother Jacob’s guitar work is simple yet quite effective.

“Stealing From A Thief”, Anthrax Volume 8: The Threat Is Real

From the John Bush era of the band comes this Pantera-esque groover with a thick and chunky bottom end and the occasional odd detour during the verses.  Midway through the song kicks into double time and rocks out the rest of the way as Bush does his typical stellar vocal job with a nice singalong chorus.  This era of the band was definitely more groove oriented instead of their thrash heyday and there’s nothing wrong with that-  just be prepared for a different taste 🙂

“Doomed”, Galactic Ruckus

Come the Ruckus album, Galactic starts moving away from straight ahead New Orleans funk and throws in different elements into their worldvision stew.  “Doomed” certainly leans more trip hop with effects laden and echoey drums and various keyboard sound textures but lays down the heavy hammer with a fat guitar riff and horn pattern.  Certainly a departure from their original sound but a nice change of pace.  And yes, Stanton Moore laying down a killer groove on the drums.

“Oh Lonely Grave”, Maylene & The Sons Of Disaster III

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzZ04tilE4U

Like a bastard son of Bill Monroe, Hank Williams, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Iron Maiden, and Pantera comes “Oh Lonely Grave”, featuring an incredible mix of bluegrass, southern rock, and four on the floor heavy metal.  What’s amazing is how all elements are effectively layered in together; not featuring too much of one style over another although the heavier spots might be a shock, especially Dallas Taylor’s full throated roars.  An all out assault on the senses.

“Bark At The Moon”, Ozzy Osbourne Bark At The Moon

Randy Rhoads was gone (perished in a tragic plane crash) and the Ozzman plucks young Jake E. Lee for the role as his guitar player and our first exposure is this dead on classic with its memorable riff and equally memorably video.  Jake acquits himself well in filling Rhoads’ large shoes, sounding quite a bit different from his predecessor as he ably tosses out fast, bluesy runs and killer rhythmic patterns.  Ozzy does a good job vocally but he takes a backseat on this cut.

“Soul Serenity”, Vintage Trouble 1 Hopeful Rd

Full admission here…  my preference for these guys is their balls to the wall soulful rock but something like “Soul Serenity” and its cool acoustic shuffle and smooth vocal arrangement is pretty fab too.  Lead vocalist Ty Taylor is a gem here (as he is on almost everything), full of smooth soul but also tossing in a few gritty bits and falsetto touches for some tasty flavor.  Like I say, a bit more of a campfire tune that what I normally like from these guys but good for those chillin’ times.

“Nowhere Road”, Steve Earle Guitar Town

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nni2VZP966Y

I don’t have much country on the iPod but what I do have certainly leans more old fashioned or outlaw in vibe.  Steve Earle came out as a fresh voice and mixed in some rockier elements, with “Nowhere Road” giving the listener a good taste of country swing with fiddle and steel guitar but a more rocked up production.  Really good tuneful stuff that walked that fine line between country and rock when the genre needed a good kick in the pants.

“Laughing On Judgment Day”, Thunder Laughing On Judgment Day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU3buhICM9c

‘Tis a shame…  these guys should be bigger than they are.  “Laughing On Judgment Day” gives you a good taste of what these guys are all about-  a big riff straight out of the Zep/Free/Whitesnake playbook, some killer vocal chops, huge layers of production, and a sing along chorus.  If you like bluesy rock as the aforementioned bands that leans more on the commercial side, Thunder will do ya good.  A fun band that doesn’t take itself too seriously but has plenty of chops for you to sit up and take notice.

Lots of variety this week!  Fave song goes to “Bark At The Moon” by a wide margin followed by a tie between “Grow Or Pay”, “Laughing On Judgment Day”, and “Doomed”.