Tag Archives: hard rock
Iron Maiden – The Number Of The Beast
Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast
I came across this fantastic review of Iron Maiden – The Number of the Beast. This was the 3rd album from Iron Maiden and was released in 1982. The Number of the Beast saw the debut of vocalist Bruce Dickinson, and the final appearance of drummer Clive Burr in the band.
The Number of the Beast was a major success and was a landmark release for the band, becoming their first album to reach No. 1 in the UK albums chart, and to go platinum in the US. The album included ”Run to the Hills” which was Iron Maidens first top-10 UK single. The Number of the beast was also controversial – particularly in the US – due to the religious nature of its lyrics and its artwork.
Iron Maiden – The Number Of The Beast
But does Number of the Beast live up to all of its hype, quoted as the single album that made Maiden into what they are?
The answer is definitely a mixed bag. It is certainly one of Maiden’s best albums, if not better than the two before it. Number of the Beast presented a fresh, new face: Bruce Dickinson, one of the most powerful metal vocalists. Due to Di’ Anno being kicked off for his chaotic actions, Dickinson left his group Samson to join Maiden. One headlining tour was made for Beast, their third and most important release is a nostalgic climax, in a way: even the most basic music on their later albums were refreshing. The instruments were very atmospheric, in some ways, and Dickinson’s moving, low-and-high mix of a pitch rockets through the album. And so, in half a year, Iron Maiden turned fourty-five minutes into their magnum opus, to some. And yet, as much as the album can annoy me, I cannot help but enjoy it.
Maiden has ditched their old material. Besides the obvious vocal change, the band entirely changes their material into something different, something more unique. Every band member would have a part of writing. There are no instrumentals, and the obvious answer is Dickinson’s vocals. But Number of the Beast is a slightly new path, one that totally changed the style. It utilizes the strength of every instrument and vocals, whereas there were times in the previous albums that were dependent on a single instrument or vocal performance. The screaming and drums on “Number of the Beast” add to the atmosphere, whereas the bass and guitar lead “Hallowed Be Thy Name”. Through the nine songs, the album otherwise proves the strength Maiden has been known for.
Perhaps fitting is the title. The name of the album alone constitutes a theme of chaos, rather than satanism. Though considered more satanic at first, they soon realized the album’s atmosphere was just dark and thought-provoking. (Black Sabbath anyone?) Said themes are proven in the nature of ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name’, which deals with the hanging of a man, ‘Invader”s classic theme of Viking attacks, and ‘Children of the Damned”s slower nature, more haunting.
But the instruments help mix up the atmosphere well: there are some that are adrenaline rising, or grow over time. The dual-guitar work by Adrian Smith and Dave Murray prove to be as cataclysmic as many say. The blazing, shredding nature of each song otherwise prove a frenzied atmosphere. Harris proves to be one of the strongest bassists of all time, creating some of the most crushing rhythms in metal. Burr pounds his drums at an incredible pace. Guitars and bass can highlight songs such as Hallowed Be Thy Name and Total Eclipse, but drums add to the dark, violent nature of Run to the Hills, which also highlights Gangland, which highlights 22 Acacia Avenue. Every instrument has their part to play, and they are all significant in their own way.
via Iron Maiden – The Number Of The Beast (album review) | Sputnikmusic.
Iron Maiden – The number of the Beast was a truly landmark album as the change in sound and energy of the music still proves. Which is your favourite track off the album?
Van Halens 2012 tour
Van Halens 2012 Tour seems to of got the old magic and chemistry back into the band! The Greensboro show 21 April, showcased old and new tracks, opening with Unchained from the 1981 release Fair warning and then followed up with Running with the Devil from their début album in 1977. In case anyone forgets, this was one of the most successful début albums for a Rock Band of all time!
Van Halens 2012 tour - Greensboro Coliseum
Their third song was “Shes the Woman” from their new release from A
Van Halens 2012 Tour has added 18 new venues! photo by GHOSTRIDER2112
Different Kind of Truth.The missing era:The 2012 set list was missing something… no songs from 2003 to 2005. How could they have forgot about those years and great hits…? Rumor has it the David Lee Roth refused to sing any of the songs that were produced during the Sammy Hagar era. We can appreciate his pride and not wanting to cover any of the Sammy tunes, but lets face it, Mr. Hagar added a new dimension to the band and those were some very productive years.
Sammy was not the only member missing, the original bassist Michael Anthony was replaced by Eddie’s son, WolfGang Van Halen. He did a fine job and preformed flawlessly, however he offered very little stage presence. A subtle smile was about most emotion we saw. This certainly did not diminish the show, as expected David Lee Roth brought enough “show” to fill the stage. Considering his age (59) David was surprisingly spry, very active, and animated. About mid way through the show he nailed an old jump spin move. He also took the microphone stand and mimicked the samurai sword routine form the old days. His voice was as expected for almost 60. The tour must have strained his vocal chords, as several songs presented a challenge for him.
The 2 Van Halen brothers were spot on. Eddie and Alex did not miss a beat. Eddie’s guitar solos were vintage 1980’s and rivaling his legendary reputation of one the best rock guitarist ever.
With extra dates being added to Van Halens 2012 tour, there sure is a lot of love and support for the band still out there. The venue may not have been totally sold out but with about 85% of tickets sold I’d say that they will be still be filling gigs for as long as they want!
New London Metal Band – Monument
New London Metal Band – Monument formed in the streets of East London by vocalist Peter Ellis (Ex- White Wizzard, The More I See). MONUMENT is bringing back a sound that has been missing from the UK for nearly 30 years… True British Heavy Metal!
Rock the Night is from Monument’s first EP. Take a look and tell us what you think
Rock the Night by New London Metal Band – Monument
Click on the image below to play the track:
Guns and Roses : Axl Rose Letter To Fans And Cleveland
Well this is a surprise! Axl Rose has released “Axl Rose Letter To Fans” on the Guns and Roses Official Website after his no show at the Rock and Roll Hall of fame induction on Sunday!
The refusal to attend was partly due to to the rift between Slash and Axl (they haven’t shared a stage together since 1993) and partly because he doesn’t agree with the whole reasoning behind the induction – the Guns and Roses front man explains more in his letter.
The letter simply thanks his fans for standing by him and offering him support, which frankly he didn’t expect.
Axl Rose Letter To Fans :
To: Cleveland, Ohio, Guns N’ Roses Fans and everyone who’s shown support for my decision regarding the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
Axl Rose Letter To Fans after his no show at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2012
I seriously didn’t plan on or expect the overwhelmingly positive response and public support for my decision regarding the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. With such a generous outpouring of solidarity from fans, media outlets, writers and other artists, I’m truly humbled, blown away and unbelievably relieved! To be honest, I thought it would go the other way and was just hoping to weather the storm. As I said, I sincerely didn’t want to disappoint anyone. It gets old being the outlaw even if “it’s only rock and roll”.
It took a lot of focus and soul searching to be sincere and informative while making a genuine effort to be somewhat diplomatic. We made, what I feel, are real efforts to learn about the Hall and the Board, spoke as I said with the president and various members, and though I inducted Elton John and Bernie Taupin in ’94 saying something to the effect of “I’m learning what the Hall’s about…”
I still don’t exactly know or understand what the Hall is or how or why it makes money, where the money goes, who chooses the voters and why anyone or this board decides who, out of all the artists in the world that have contributed to this genre, officially “rock” enough to be in the Hall?
This isn’t an attack. These are genuine issues I don’t have enough verified information on to have more than rough ideas. Certainly not enough information to make any judgments about.
I would like to apologize to Cleveland, Ohio for not apologizing to them beforehand for not attending [the ceremony] in their city. I think they know how much I genuinely love performing there. Cleveland does in fact Rock!!
Now that the smoke’s cleared a little, any desperate, misguided attacks have been just that, a pathetic stab at gossip, some lame vindictiveness, the usual entitlement crap, he’s obsessed, crazy, volatile, a hater. I once bought a homeless woman a slice of pizza who yelled at me she wanted soup. We got her the soup. You can get your own.
Again: HUGE thanks to the fans and to everyone for the incredible public support. My congratulations to the other artists inducted. And my apologies to the city and people of Cleveland, Ohio. I hope you’ll forgive me and we hope to see you again soon!
Keep Rockin’,
Axl
via A Letter From Axl Rose To Fans And Cleveland : Guns N’ Roses.
Well, what a turn up for the books – at least he released the letter on the official website and not in the press. Do you think he was right in not accepting the induction or do you think it was all a publicity stunt? Personally I’m not sure – but we are still talking about aren’t we?
Rock of Ages Tour 2012- Def Leppard, Poison, Lita Ford
Waterfront Concerts has added another date to it’s schedule for the Rock of Ages Tour 2012. 22nd August will see the likes of Def Leppard, Poison, Lita Ford hit Bangor, Maine, USA.
Rock of Ages Tour 2012
Rock of Ages Tour 2012 with Joe Elliot of Def Leppard
Waterfront Concerts has added an Aug. 22 concert date to its 2012 schedule for the Rock of Ages tour featuring Def Leppard, Poison and Lita Ford.
“I would say 30 percent of the requests we get overall involve Def Leppard and Motley Crue,” said Old Town native Alex Gray, Waterfront Concerts promoter. “We haven’t really had a single ’80s heavy metal hair band yet, but we’re constantly asked for this type of show.”
The major factor has been cost, according to Gray.
“Motley Crue and Def Leppard have been very expensive to book in the past, but this particular bill is so good it made it more cost effective for us to do it, especially when agents offered it to us on this particular date,” said Gray.
Def Leppard, which began a career spanning four decades in Sheffield, England in 1977, will headline the 40-plus-dates tour beginning in June with the same member lineup it has kept intact for more than 20 years: Joe Elliott, Rick Savage, Rick Allen, Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell.
The British band has come one of the world’s best-selling bands with an estimated 100 million albums sold worldwide. They have a pair of RIAA “diamond-certified” albums — “Pyromania” and “Hysteria” — with more than 10 million copies sold, making them one of only five rock bands to accomplish that feat in the U.S. Surprisingly, the band has only one No. 1 Billboard single to its credit with “Love Bites” in 1987.
“Pour Some Sugar on Me,” widely regarded as one of the band’s all-time most popular hits, peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard charts in 1988. The two hits combined spent 47 weeks on the Top 100 charts.
Poison started up in 1983 and has gone on to sell 30 million albums — half of those in the U.S. — worldwide. The quartet — featuring Bret Michaels, Rikki Rocket, Bobby Dall and C.C. DeVille — formed in Pennsylvania and went on to chart 10 top 40 hits, six of those climbing into the top 10, in the Billboard Top 100. The band’s most successful song, “Every Rose Has its Thorn,” spent three weeks as the No. 1 song in the U.S. in 1988.
The tickets go on sale April 20th for the Rock of Ages Tour 2012 date 22nd August. Check out the above post for full details.
If you were going to pay to see a metal band of this calibre would you rather pay for one band or prefer to see several? What if you were a fan of one group but hated the other? Personally I would rather see more than one but what do you think?
