Iron Savior’s latest release, Condition Red, is probably the best album I’ve ever given a mediocre review to. It reminds me of the time I went to the Grand Canyon. Two days of driving, and when we finally got there, the only thing I said was, “it’s a hole”. And it was. A tremendous hole. A big hole. Probably the biggest hole on the Earth. One of the seven natural wonders of the world. And in two minutes, I was bored and ready to go to a mall.

In the power/speed metal genre, Iron Savior is definitely one of the best bands I have ever heard –maybe even on a Grand Canyon scale. “Titans Of Our Time”, the first track on the disc, kicks in with a rapid fire double bass attack that doesn’t stop until the song ends four minutes later. The guitarists employ every trick in the book, from amazingly complex and fast solos to sailing riffs and scales. The bass lies right where it’s supposed to and somehow manages to keep up with the frantic pace and hold this rocket ship together. The vocals are a “clean” style, but vocalist Sielck has just a hint of gravel in his voice to save it from sounding like an operatic performance.

The lyrics are … a cross between fantasy and sci-fi, and certainly goofy. There are songs about saving mankind from “something malicious”, the Protector, and of course the “battle cry being screamed on the way to the Galactic War”. Uh huh. Fans of the genre will probably not be surprised to hear songs about warriors, “Mindfeeders”, and “riding the wind on a thunderbird”, but outsiders will most likely just snicker (at least) at most of the lyrics.

Iron Savior is from Germany, and I hope there’s a bigger market over there for this kind of music than there is in the States. These guys should be given fuckin’ medals for how tight they perform, but even the best power metal band in the world is still only a power metal band. Make no mistake though, these guys could probably teach 99% of the bands out there something about their instruments. Except Lord K, of course.

Nu metal kids will be confused by the lack of a DJ. death metal and black metal fans may relate to the subject matter (ancient warriors) but will be repelled by the harmonies and musical talent. There’s no rapping — the disc containts a lot of what they used to call “singing”. As many of my reviews end, fans of 80s style Iron Maiden or Judas Priest will love this album. If you think wearing a leather vest with no shirt under it is “pretty cool” or wish that bullet belts and wristbands were back in style, you will probably build a friggin’ Iron Savior shrine in your house after hearing this disc. Even haters of the genre will not be able to dispute the sheer talent and musicianship of these guys.

01. Titans of Our Time
02. Protector
03. Ironbound
04. Condition Red
05. Warrior
06. Mindfeeder
07. Walls of Fire
08. Tales of the Bold
09. I Will Be There
10. No Heros
11. Paradies
12. Thunderbird
13. Crazy

I’ll throw it out — Edward the Great is the greatest Iron Maiden disc ever.

Why? Because this is the best of the best baby, the cream of the crop. And unlike some other bands’ half-assed “best of” discs, which are padded with rare demos or other filler pulled out from under the artist’s bed, here you have sixteen classic Maiden tunes which have been remastered and paraded in front of you like models at some sort of heavy metal fashion show. Although Edward the Great was released at the same time as Eddie’s Archive (the six-disc box set consisting of BBC Archives, Beast Over Hammersmith, and The Best Of The B-Sides), don’t let that mislead you. The two albums are two totally separate releases, with no common tracks between them.

If you’re not familiar with Iron Maiden then this is the CD for you, as it’s basically a crash-course in Maiden’s 25 year history. “Run to the Hills”, “The Number of the Beast”, “Flight of Icarus”, “The Trooper” … and those are just the first four tracks on the disc! I would never call myself a huge Maiden fan, but on the way to dinner last night, you can bet your ass I was belting out some choruses on the freeway. “RUUUN TOOO THAAA HILLSSSS … RUUUN FOOOR YOOOOUR LIIIIIIIIIIFE …”

But it doesn’t stop there. After leaving behind the sing-a-long “Wasted Years”, listeners are plunged headfirst into Maiden’s Seventh Son of a Seventh Son era. “Can I Play with Madness,” “The Evil That Men Do,” and “The Clairvoyant” had me reliving my youth. I could hardly resist the temptation to pull out an ink pen and scrawl “Eddie Lives” on my pants, or head to the flea market to get an Iron Maiden patch for my jean jacket (in retrospect, I don’t think I even HAVE a jean jacket anymore).

Nu-metal fans will appreciate “Infinite Dreams”, since this is where Papa Roach stole the guitar riff for “Last Resort” from. After hearing this track though, there will be no doubt as to who the true innovators were. After banging out two more semi-classics Maiden tracks, the album takes a brief nose dive into the “Blaze Bayley” years — yes, those unfortunate years when Dickinson left the band, handing the vocal duties over to Bayley (formerly of Wolfsbane). Bayley does what he can to carry the group along, but I ended up skipping those two tracks anyway. Bayley’s okay, but let’s face it, he’s no Bruce Dickinson (and who is?). It’s not like saying you like the Sammy Hagar Van Halen era; it’s like saying the Gary Cherone years were your favorite. (Incidentally, Paul Di’Anno, the original vocalist for Iron Maiden, doesn’t even make an appearance on the disc.) Fortunately, the disc swings back and ends on a bang with “Fear of the Dark” from their 2001 Rock In Rio show. The last track proves that, yes, there are still SOME bands that sound as good live as they do in the studio.

The CD comes with a very nice booklet, complete with a few pictures of the band, complete lyrics for all the tracks, and an introduction by Steve Harris. The theme of “Edward the Great” is carried throughout the booklet with black and gold pages, and a killer new picture of Eddie. Sitting in his throne with royal scepter in hand and wrapped in king’s robes, Eddie is surrounded by some mean lookin’ dogs, complete with growling teeth and glowing red eyes. The entire painting is a throwback to the old days of rock.

I remember being slightly frustrated with Motley Crue’s Decade of Decadence, because it teased me just enough with the old songs to make me want to break out all the old albums again. In that respect, long time fans of the band may grow tired of this disc quickly as they surely already know and love all these songs. I will, however, strongly recommend this CD to people who are either non-Maiden fans, or casual Maiden fans. If you’ve been curious about Iron Maiden, but didn’t know where to start listening, this disc is the answer. Casual Maiden fans (such as myself) will recognize the majority of these tracks from MTV. With such a wide selection of songs from different eras, you can use this CD as a sort of “time line” to determine which era of Maiden tunes you like the best, and hone in on those albums if you want more.

And, oh yes, after hearing this, you WILL want more. All hail Eddie!

01. Run To The Hills
02. The Number Of The Beast
03. Flight Of Icarus
04. The Trooper
05. 2 Minutes to Midnight
06. Wasted Years
07. Can I Play with Madness
08. The Evil That Men Do
09. The Clairvoyant
10. Infinite Dreams
11. Holy Smoke
12. Bring Your Daughterto The Slaughter
13. Man On The Edge
14. Futureal
15. The Wicker Man
16. Fear Of The Dark (Live in Rio)

The fact that Iron Maiden has been together for twenty-five years now is astounding. That’s older than half of the staff members here at Review to a Kill. Hell, the same year Iron Maiden formed, Jimmy Carter became president. Star Wars was released. Elvis died. Convicted murdered Gary Gilmore was executed in Utah… by a firing squad. 1977 was a long time ago folks, which explains why the track listing to this box set is longer than some of our reviews.

Eddie’s Archive is just that – a volume of collectibles to complete true Iron Maiden fans’ collections. From live performances to rare B-sides, this would truly be the icing on your Iron Maiden cake, whatever an “Iron Maiden cake” means.

This volume of recordings comes delivered in a limited edition silver Eddie casket. There’s also a crystal Eddie Head shot glass and a copy of the Iron Maiden family tree, printed on a parchment scroll and rolled up in an Eddie ring. Cool stuff, but not free stuff — with a $99 list price, these extras aren’t gifts. Still, the price is very reasonable for collectors, and the music alone is worth the price to collectors.

As I mentioned in my sister review for Edward the Great – The Greatest Hits, these two releases do not share any common recordings, despite the fact that they were both released on the same day. By looking at the contents and price tags, you can tell the two packages have two separate intended audiences. While the greatest hits package is great for new Iron Maiden fans, this box set is intended for the fan that has everything (or HAD everything), and wants more.

The six discs making up Eddie’s Archive are split into three, double disc packages. The first of which, entitled “BBC Archives,” includes music recorded “between 1979 and 1988 for the BBC’s Friday Rock Show.” The shows from 1979 and 1980 feature original vocalist Paul Di’Anno (who doesn’t appear at all on the greatest hits disc). The 1982 recordings document Bruce Dickinson’s arrival into the band, and the 1988 tracks from the Monsters of Rock Donington festival document the largest crowd ever played too. Not only are the tracks all classics, but the shows are symbolic as well.

The second two disc collection are the “Beast over Hammersmith” recordings, considered by many to be the “show that put Iron Maiden on the map”. I didn’t know that, but their press release says it did, and I’ll take their word for it. By listening to these two discs back to back, you can get somewhat of an idea what it was like to sit in the crowd and see one of the greatest metal bands of all time crank out perfection. This show covers most of their good material, and was released before Seventh Son of a Seventh Son came out so don’t look for those tracks here.

The third set of discs are titled “The Best of the B-Sides,” and contain a lot of rare, hard to find, and unreleased Maiden material. The liner notes with this set of CDs give a little background on each song, telling you the whens and wheres and what single or compilation it appeared on. All the B-sides are unique tracks that never appeared on albums, so if you never bought an Iron Maiden single, there’s a lot of material here for you to go through.

As I stated before, Eddie’s Archive is the ultimate collectable for Maiden fans. Hardcore and longtime fans who need to own “it all” should pick up this box set this Christmas. It’s a great collection that shows Iron Maiden off in it’s best light — live, on stage. It’s a lot of great material, but overkill for the average Joe. Casual fans or the uninitiated should probably stick to the greatest hits package.

CD One – BBC Archives
Disc One
Friday Rock Show Session 1979
01. Iron Maiden
02. Running Free
03. Transylvania
04. Sanctuary
Reading Festival 1982
01. Wrathchild
02. Run To The Hills
03. Children Of The Damned
04. The Number of The Beast
05. 22 Acacia Avenue
06. Transylvania
07. The Prisoner
08. Hallowed Be Thy Name
09. Phantom Of The Opera
10. Iron Maiden
Disc Two
Reading Festival 1980
01. Prowler
02. Remember Tomorrow
03. Killers
04. Running Free
05. Transylvania
06. Iron Maiden
Monsters Of Rock Festival Donington 1988
01. Moonchild
02. Wrathchild
03. Infinite Dreams
04. The Trooper
05. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
06. The Number Of The Beast
07. Hallowed Be Thy Name
08. Iron Maiden

CD Two – Beast over Hammersmith
Disc Three
01. Murders In The Rue Morgue
02. Wrathchild
03. Run To The Hills
04. Children Of The Damned
05. The Number of The Beast
06. Another Life
07. Killers
08. 22 Acacia Avenue
09. Total Eclipse
Disc Four
01. Transylvania
02. The Prisoner
03. Hallowed Be Thy Name
04. Phantom Of The Opera
05. Iron Maiden
06. Sanctuary
07. Drifter
08. Running Free
09. Prowler

CD Three – Best of the B-Sides
Disc Five
01. Burning Ambition
02. Drifter – Live
03. Invasion
04. Remember Tomorrow – Live
05. I’ve Got The Fire
06. Cross-Eyed Mary
07. Rainbow’s Gold
08. King Of Twilight
09. Reach Out
10. That Girl
11. Juanita
12. The Sheriff Of Huddersfield
13. Black Bart Blues
14. Prowler ’88
15. Charlotte The Harlot ’88
Disc Six
01. All In Your Mind
02. Kill Me Ce Soir
03. I’m a Mover
04. Communication Breakdown
05. Nodding Donkey Blues
06. Space Station No.5
07. I Can’t See My Feelings
08. Roll Over Vic Vella
09. Justice of The Peace
10. Judgement Day
11. My Generation
12. Doctor Doctor
13. Blood On The Worlds Hands- Live
14. The Aftermath-Live
15. Futureal – Live
16. Wasted Years ’99 – Live

Mention the band Black Sabbath, and people instantly think of Ozzy. And yet, while the average teenager doesn’t know all the words to “Iron Man,” even Beavis and Butthead could belt out “duh,duh,duh-duh-duh, duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh, duh, duh duh.” Tommy Iommi, the man that spawned a million air guitar Gods and wrote riffs that are as heavy now as they were over 30 years ago is back with a self-titled release, Iommi.

The formula for an album like this is simple, in theory. Step A, name the band after yourself and maintain control of ever step of the process (see: Danzig). Step B, since you don’t sing, do collaborations with everyone who might possibly have street cred, and connect you with the younger generation (see: Santana). But, in the end, does Iommi pull it off?

The surprising answer is, yes! Iommi has picked an interesting group of people to work with, all of whom should get up every morning and thank him personally for creating their careers and letting them suckle off of Sabbath’s success the last 30 years. Guest vocalists on the album include Henry Rollins, Skin, Dave Grohl, Phil Anselmo, Serj Tankian, Billy Corgan, Ian Astbury, Peter Steele, Billy Idol, and the “Oz” man himself. The musician’s roster is also a who’s who of people who probably learned to play their instruments as teenagers by wearing out their Sabbath record collection.

The guitar work (that’s what this is all about, right?) is great. It’s not too flashy, which is perfect – 100mph solos and overtracking ruins doom music. The solos that are there are tasteful and blend right in. I didn’t get the feeling that these were “songs written around solos,” but rather complete songs. The songs do show off Iommi’s style, usually with some heavy chords in the foreground and a bit of lead work just in the background.

Iommi makes the transfer pretty smoothly between old rock guy and new rock guy. Some of the songs, like “Time is Mine” (with Phil Anselmo) sound like they could have come straight off of Paranoid. The album is pretty evenly divided between older sounding doom’ish type songs, and newer, riff based rockers. “Black Oblivion,” featuring Billy Corgan, is a great riff based rock song. Most of the songs seem to start out with some sort of synthetic drum loops, and each time I was afraid that Iommi was going to go for a Ministry or Nine Inch Nails type of thing, but they all quickly head back to the realm of rock before embarassing anyone.

When I finally got to track nine, “Who’s Fooling Who,” featuring Ozzy on vocals, I forgot I was listening to Iommi – this is as close to Black Sabbath as you’re going to get these days. Hell, any of these songs could have appeared on a Sabbath album. I won’t say that every song on this disc could have been another “War Pigs,” but they’re all enjoyable and I didn’t hate any of them.

If you’re looking for a fix of “new” Black Sabbath tunes, pick this disc up. It’s a tasteful combination of old and new. Classic doom riffs, tight drums, and some new vocal talents joining the party. Tonight I’m gonna party like it’s nineteen-sixty-nine.

01. Laughing Man (In The Devil Mask)
02. Meat
03. Goodbye Lament
04. Time Is Mine
05. Patterns
06. Black Oblivion
07. Flame On
08. Just Say No To Love
09. Who’s Fooling Who
10. Into The Night

Every week I receive multiple CD’s from multiple bands, covering many different styles of rock. Occasionally, I receive CD’s from bands like Insomnium, who do me the favor of combining multiple musical styles on to one disc.

Since the Day it all Came Down is the second album from Finnish rockers Insomnium. While at its roots the album is Swedish melodic death metal, the band begins throwing curve balls right out of the gate. In fact, the first few minutes of the album contain more piano than blast beats. In the long run, Insomnium does little to add to the style of music that fans of Opeth and In Flames are already familiar with. But what they do manage to do is crank out a solid album that neither embarasses the genre or the band in any fashion, and give us just a little taste of a band that’s beginning to break out of a mold and begin creating their own.

For those not familiar with the term “melodic death metal”, I’d describe the sound as “death metal plus”. All the basics of death metal are there: duel guitar leads, blast beats and kick drums galore, and plenty of screaming. On top of the that, the band adds plenty of extras, like keyboards intros and a varied pace. It’s almost like mixing death metal with doom metal. It’s heavy, but it’s not 100 miles per hour straight forward the entire time. There’s plenty of growling and screaming, but there are some (gasp) harmonies here too. The guitars can be exchanging leads one minute, and acoustic the next.

Insomnium’s first album sounded like every other Swedish band playing melodic death metal. While Since the Day it all Came Down doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, it does show that the band is beginning to develop their own style and sound. The longer these guys are together the more original they are going to become.

Ok, I’ll admit it. I downloaded and watched Rob Zombie’s new horror film House of 1000 Corpses early. I’ll also admit to being a huge Zombie fanboy, and to being extremely excited about this movie and this soundtrack. House of 1000 Corpses (the movie) has Rob Zombie’s fingerprints all over it. The movie looks like his music sounds — rough, gritty, and full of samples from other horror flicks. With a musician behind the project, it only makes sense that the film’s soundtrack would receive strong focus and promotion as well. It has, and as if the horror film everybody’s been waiting two years to get to see needed any more hype, Geffen has now released the soundtrack to the film two weeks before the movie’s debut. Offering a little something for everyone, the soundtrack contains a mix of new songs, old songs, soundtrack pieces, film samples, and “a big surprise” at the end (spoiled for you in about four paragraphs).

First up is Rob Zombie himself, who brings to the table five brand new songs: “Everybody Scream,” “Run Rabbit Run,” “Pussy Liquor,” “Little Piggy,” and the title track. Most of the tunes are slower paced than what we’re used to hearing from Zombie. Just as the film is a nod to 70’s horror, most of Zombie’s original songs on the soundtrack are a nod to 70’s horror music. Never before has Rob Zombie sounded so much like Marilyn Manson than on the album’s title track — maybe it’s that same, eerie keyboard sample they both use. And if you think that’s weird, both the title track and “Pussy Liquor” both remind me of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus” in different ways. Go figure. Anyway, Zombie’s five new tracks are much closer pace-wise to “Living Dead Girl” than “Dragula.” Those waiting for a new White Zombie album can keep on waiting.

Several classic tracks found their way onto the track list as well. For those who haven’t seen the movie, track selections such as Slim Whitman’s “I Remember You,” Buck Owens’ “Who’s Gonna Mow Your Grass,” and particularly Helen Kane’s “I Wanna Be Loved By You” will seem out of place. And even to those of use who have seen the movie, the songs seem more like speed bumps than additions to the set list. The best classic track (and maybe the best song of the album) is the Ramones’ “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue.”

In between songs, listeners are treated to movie samples and musical pieces from the film. The movie samples consist of 30 second clips from the film of people saying creepy stuff. “Oh I remember now,” one begins, “Doctor Satan! Goddamnnit everybody got to know about Doctor Satan. You know what I’m gonna do boy? I’m gonna do you a favor. I’m gonna let you meet the old bastard. It’s all true. The boogeyman is real. And you found him.” The musical soundscapes, while slightly longer in length, are similar in quality. While I admit to being a card-carrying Rob Zombie fan, and the musical pieces are okay to listen to once or twice, Dean Kamen or Danny Elfman he ain’t.

The big “surprise” at the end of the album is Rob Zombie’s cover version of the Commodores’ classic, “Brickhouse,” complete with guest performances by Lionel Ritchie, a rapper named Trina, and some chick who screams “harder, faster, oh yeah baby, give it to me!” long enough and loud enough to make even ME blush. And just when you think a nu-metal version of “Brickhouse” featuring both Lionel Ritchie and Rob Zombie on vocals couldn’t get any worse, the song breaks down to a female (Trina, I assume) rapping. “When I walk, nigga’s whistle/I keep ’em harder than a missile/when I’m doing my thisso.” I’m guessing this is the first Zombie track to include the words “my thisso” in it.

I’m sure there will be many people like myself who buy this soundtrack just to support Rob Zombie. The rest of the masses, who will pick this up either because they were looking for “Rob Zombie Solo Album Number 3” or perhaps just liked the film, will undoubtedly dump this CD into the nearest used bin by the thousands, where it will sit next to the thousands of “Beavis and Butthead Do America,” “Howard Stern’s Private Parts,” and “Airheads” soundtracks I see at every pawn shop. The original Zombie songs aren’t that good and the other songs are weird, which just leaves us with musical soundscapes, samples, and Lionel Ritchie.

Say you, say me. Say pass.

01. Howdy Folks
02. House Of 1000 Corpses – Rob Zombie
03. Saddle Up The Mule
04. Everybody Scream – Rob Zombie
05. Stuck In The Mud
06. Holy Miss Moley
07. Who’s Gonna Mow Your Grass – Buck Owens
08. Run Rabbit Run – Rob Zombie
09. Into The Pit
10. Something For You Men
11. I Wanna Be Loved By You – Helen Kane
12. Pussy Liquor – Rob Zombie
13. Scarecrow Attack
14. My Baby Boy
15. Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue – Ramones
16. Investigation And The Smokehouse
17. The Bigger The Cushion
18. I Remember You – Slim Whitman
19. Drive Out The Rabbit
20. Mary’s Escape
21. Little Piggy – Rob Zombie
22. Ain’t The Only Thing Tasty
23. Dr. Satan
24. Brickhouse 2003 – Rob Zombie
25. To The House

Agoraphobia is Holy Mother’s fifth album in ten years.

Yeah, I know. I hadn’t heard of them either.

In Holy Mother’s bio, they refer to this album as “dynamic power metal with a license to bang your head.” Combine that with the two following facts. One, the band includes members and ex-members of Messiah’s Kiss, yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, Virgin Steele, Gothic Nights, and Victory. Two, lead singer and founder Mike Tirelli cites his influences as “Dio, Halford, Coverdale and Tate”, and also plays in a Dio cover band.

I’ll continue the review for the sake of tradition, but you should probably know by this point if Agoraphobia is for you.

“Dynamic power metal” translates to “sounds like Skid Row” — and while that might sound good to a few of us, most metal heads are looking for a bit more modern and heavier these days. Fans of classic Judas Priest and Armored Saint will be in heaven, as Holy Mother’s classic metal sound stays pretty much true to the godfathers of the genre.

Agoraphobia means “an abnormal fear of open or public places.” Expanding on that idea, each song on Agoraphobia deals with a different fear or phobia, spanning from anxiety to schizophrenia to nymphomania. While tracks like “Hungry for Exxstacy” and “Sheer Erotica” probably won’t take the place of a trip to the psychiatrist any time soon, the effort put forth is noted. It is CDs such as this one that make me think that the “album” format isn’t going away any time soon. Sure, you could download individual tracks from this disc, but in this case, the sum is greater than the parts.

Even though Agoraphobia contains tuned down guitars, listeners will have no trouble distinguishing the difference between Holy Mother and nu-metal. Rockin’ guitars, plenty of kick drums, and wide open vocals establish Agoraphobia as a listenable but overall uninspired power metal album.

Up until the mid-1990s, local bands were for the most part just that: local. Prior to the Internet, YouTube and MySpace, there was no free global market for local bands to pimp their music.

Back in 1996 (originally through computer BBSes and later, the Internet) I struck up a friendship with a fellow from Columbia, South Carolina. While our common interests initially revolved around computers, we soon discovered we had similar tastes in music as well. Based on that, my friend mailed me a four-song demo from a local, unsigned band: Hollow Kriez. I may be the only person in Oklahoma with a copy of this tape, which is actually a shame; Hollow Kriez is a pretty decent band.

The Time Has Come…, the four-song demo from Hollow Kriez, is a solid early offering from the four piece Columbia metal band.

The opening song is probably all most people would need to decide if Hollow Kriez is for them. After a pounding introduction full of double bass, the song divides itself into equal parts thrash and groove metal. In early press material the band compared themselves to Slayer and Pantera, and while there are whisps of those bands floating around, the breakdown in the middle of the first song is all Crowbar.

None of the tape’s four tracks are filler. “Hatred” features a galloping drum track with grooved guitars sprinkled over the top; “Heaven’s War” is probably responsible for those “early Metallica” comparisons — some of the vocals are a bit rough and the main riff may be the tape’s most forgettable; album closer “Fate” redeems the package, starting with another brutal drum attack and bringing the pace of the album back with a bit of respectable thrash.

Over the years I lost contact with my Columbian friend and I’ve often wondered what happened to Hollow Kriez. This week, twelve years after originally receiving this cassette, I found out. They became Undefined. They’re still making and recording music, and even kept a few old Hollow Kriez tunes in their set list. If you’re closer to Columbia, South Carolina than I am, be sure to pick up a copy of their latest CD.

01. Hollow Kriez
02. Hatred
03. Heaven’s War
04. Fate

Every now and then a band comes along and reminds us what rock and roll is all about. It’s not spending ten thousand dollars on the right microphone, wasting two weeks in a studio getting a guitar solo just right, or having all the red M&M’s picked out of your candy dish backstage.

It’s about rocking. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you Hog Molly.

Tad Doyle (yes, from TAD!) is back and he’s not taking names this time. After his first band got dropped from Warner Brothers in ’94, Tad’s been regrouping. The band, even without a major label deal, continued to grind until 1999 when they finally called it quits. Tad (the band) was known for being loud, sweaty, slow and low rock and roll. Hog Molly is all that and more.

I love albums that sound like they were recorded live. I know that “Kung Fu Cocktail Grip” probably wasn’t, but it sounds like it was. It has the same production sound that Rollin’s “The End of Silence” did – like four guys just showed up in the studio, kicked ass, and left. The guitars are loud and loose, the bass drives right up the middle, the drumming is frenzied, and of course Tad’s vocals are right out front. The songs are mostly riff-driven, with the riffs divided up between guitar and bass.

So what does a band with a 300+ pound lead singer/bass player sound like? Exactly how you think it would. Heavy, sweaty, sticky, sludge rock. Don’t expect samples or drum machines on this disc, Hog Molly is bringing straight forward rock and roll back to the masses. The lyrics are fairly light-weight – there’s songs about racing, drinking, partying, fighting, and a few other vices. One of my favorite songs is “Short Bus,” where Tad points out that there’s “No stress on the short bus,” so just “take a tip from the kids on the short bus, they always wave.”

I always felt Tad’s biggest problem was that they got thrown in with the grunge scene because they were from Washington. There’s nothing in this music that sounds like Pearl Jam or Nirvana.

Rock is coming back, and Hog Molly is leading the charge. Definately pick this disc up – it’s perfect music to dance, drive, and fight to.

Just after hearing Scott “Wino” Weinrich’s vocals on a Probot demo track a couple of weeks ago, I really started craving some new music from the man. Fortunately for me, two days later Divine Propaganda by The Hidden Hand appeared in my mailbox. Woo hoo!

The Hidden Hand is Wino’s (Saint Vitus, Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, Place of Skulls) latest project. If you haven’t heard of any of those bands, put down the mouse and drive to the nearest record store. Wino created the stoner rock/doom bandwagon being ridden by bands everywhere today.

That being said, The Hidden Hand’s Divine Propaganda doesn’t far too fall from the tree which he planted. Lyrically, the album is more political and less religious than Place of Skulls’ album. Musically, the CD is dead on. While the style and songs themselves tip their hat to the masters of reality, the band never comes off as a Sabbath cover band. In fact, the band injects several different music styles into their music – including lots of blues and progressive moments, all wrapped in warm fuzz. A few of the tracks get a little long in their extended “freak-out” sections, but eventually they are roped back in and the rocking continues.

There’s so much here that it was tough for me to make it all the way through this CD the first time. Some of the songs are so interesting and heavy that I ended up listening to them two or three times before moving on. Any fans of stoner rock, doom, 70’s rock, good ol’ rock and roll or just Wino himself should check out Divine Propaganda.