Driller – Alchemy of Love

Alchemy of Love by Driller
Original Release: 2010
Label: independent
Catalog Number: digital download

1. “Alchemy of Love” … 4:21
2. “Into the Dark Blue Sky” … 3:49
3. “Burning Youth” … 3:52
4. “She” … 3:43
5. “Angels Without Wings” … 5:08

Band:
Alex Rech – Vocals, Guitars
Jet Silk – Bass
Kk Rech – Drums

Produced by: self-produced

So it has been a while (more than a month, almost two) since I did a review but I have listened to a lot music in the past month and these guys got a good amount of play in the past two weeks since I downloaded their EP (still need to get the cd but mp3 will do for now). Prior to downloading it I was familiar with them from Last.fm and their free download of Angels without Wings. But now since I have the full EP I can listen to it entirely and boy I will tell you thta these guys deserve more attention. These guys are a melodic hard rock band with a bit of metal in there. Their biggest influences includes Van Halen, Mr. Big, Winger, Rush, Extreme, and Whitesnake.

For the actual music, all of the tracks are hard rockers and the song that stands out most to me is Angels without Wings, which was also the free track they released. The song has a really 80′s metal/melodic rock vibe to it, the guitar solo reminds me of Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, The main riff itself is really catchy and sticks in your head. Two of my other favorites are Into the Dark Blue Sky and She, both of them are edgy and the Van Halen/Mr. Big/Extreme influences come out. Heck all of the songs are great and make you want to band your head and crank up the volume. These guys definitely deserve or listen or two at the least and if you are into the melodic hard orck scene of modern day or even the 80′s glam metal/melodic hard rock stuff then you would like these guys, so go out there and download this album from Amazon or itunes or order the cd from their website: http://www.drillertheband.co.uk/ and help get these guys signed t0 a record company too!

Top Tracks: Alchemy of Love, Into the Dark Blue Sky, Burning Youth, She, Angels Without Wings

The Big Four – The Big Four: Live From Sofia Bulgaria

The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria by The Big Four
Original Release: 2010
Label: Warner Bros.
Catalog Number: 525521-2

Disc 1
1. “Caught In A Mosh” … 6:04
2. “Got the Time” … 3:43
3. “Madhouse” … 4:25
4. “Be All, End All” … 8:01
5. “Antisocial” … 6:37
6. “Indians/Heaven and Hell” … 10:10
7. “Medusa” … 5:53
8. “Only” … 6:46
9. “Metal Thrashing Mad” … 3:27
10. “I Am the Law” … 8:14

Disc 2
1. “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due” … 6:33
2. “Hangar 18” … 5:04
3. “Wake Up Dead” … 3:45
4. “Head Crusher” … 3:18
5. “In My Darkest Hour” … 5:27
6. “Skin O’ My Teeth” … 3:14
7. “A Tout le Monde” … 4:28
8. “Hook In Mouth” … 4:39
9. “Trust” … 5:05
10. “Sweating Bullets” … 4:51
11. “Symphony of Destruction” … 4:16
12. “Peace Sells/Holy Wars Reprise” … 10:23

Disc 3
1. “World Painted Blood” … 6:26
2. “Jihad” … 4:32
3. “War Ensemble” … 5:09
4. “Hate Worldwide” … 3:12
5. “Seasons In the Abyss” … 6:25
6. “Angel of Death” … 5:35
7. “Beauty Through Order” … 5:12
8. “Disciple” … 5:07
9. “Mandatory Suicide” … 4:14
10. “Chemical Warfare” … 5:51
11. “South of Heaven” … 4:31
12. “Raining Blood” … 5:39

Disc 4
1. “Creeping Death” … 8:12
2. “For Whom the Bell Tolls” … 4:30
3. “Fuel” … 4:16
4. “Harvester of Sorrow” … 6:18
5. “Fade to Black” … 7:32
6. “That Was Just Your Life” … 6:54
7. “Cyanide” … 7:16
8. “Sad But True” … 6:34
9. “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” … 6:15
10. “All Nightmare Long” … 7:50

Disc 5
1. “One” … 8:35
2. “Master of Puppets” … 8:06
3. “Blackened” … 7:58
4. “Nothing Else Matters” … 5:57
5. “Enter Sandman” … 11:08
6. “Am I Evil?” … 6:06
7. “Hit the Lights” … 5:25
8. “Seek & Destroy” … 12:41

Band:
Joey Belladonna – Vocals
Rob Caggiano – Guitars
Scott Ian – Guitars, Vocals
Frank Bello – Bass, Vocals
Charlie Benante – Drums, Percussion
Dave Mustaine – Vocals, Guitars
Chris Broderick – Guitars, Vocals
David Ellefson – Bass, Vocals
Shawn Drover – Drums, Percussion
Tom Araya – Vocals, Bass
Kerry King – Guitars
Jeff Hanneman – Guitars
Dave Lombardo – Drums, Percussion
James Hetfield – Vocals, Guitars
Kirk Hammet – Guitars, Vocals
Robert Trujillo – Bass, Vocals
Lars Ulrich – Drums, Percussion

Produced by: Jim Parsons

So I haven’t reviewed in a while because I have been busy with schoolwork but now that semester finals have just passed, I have a bunch of free time so I decided to spend my morning reviewing The Big 4 Live that my brother got for Christmas. So What do you get in the nice little box about the size of a hardcover Harry Potter book? Well when you first open it up you see a poster which is double-sided, one side is a recreation of the promotional poster for the event and the other side is the album cover. Next you find a booklet containing a bunch of pictures of the band and also the liner notes. After that you find four band photos, one for each band, sometime during their stay in Sofia, Bulgaria. Next is the actual DVD case which is made out of cardboard. After that (if you got the version with the five cd’s) are the cd’s. Each band gets its own cardboard slip case for the cd’s with Metallica’s being a foldout slipcase because their portion is feature don two cd’s. The cd cases are arranged in order from beginning of the show (on top) to end of show (on bottom) and each case features the band logo and a photo from each band’s performance. And at the very bottom of the case in a little card board slit is the Big 4 pick with the Big 4 logo on one side and on the other are the band logos/icons.

Now what good is all this junk if you don’t like thrash metal or just heavy metal in general? Well not much but if you are a fan then you will enjoy this box set for sure featuring the entire historic concert in Sofia, Bulgaria. The DVD’s and CD’s are mirror images of each other and you will definitely want to get the version which also includes the cd’s because then you can listen to this in your car or anywhere and not have to listen to it through the TV. The DVD’s themselves are cool, but the cd’s are well worth the extra money.The concert is split into two DVD’s, the first one contains Anthrax, Megadeth, and Slayer’s performance and the second one contains Metallica’s performance and behind the scenes footage. Now on to the actual performances. Each band played a great setlist featuring most of each bands best songs with a couple of new ones from each of their most recent albums (save for Anthrax) and they all sounded great. Anthrax was smoking, playing all the songs I would expect them to play and they sounded great, I am looking forward to their next album this year (2011). Megadeth, my second favorite of the four,  also kicked some major ass, although there wasn’t much stage banter from them, they got through the majority of songs that I wanted to hear, the only things that they didn’t play were The Mechanix and This Day We Fight!, but they still played a fantastic set and I still think that they should have played after Slayer and before Metallica. Slayer is my least favorite of all the bands here, not because of their lyrical content, but because it is so hard to pick out even choruses to sing along with, but that is okay since Kerry King puts out killer riffs on the guitar, yet again, Slayer played all the hits I expected them to. Metallica, my favorite fo the four, played a fantastic set, with all of their most popular songs, except I would have preferred to see more of what they were doing with the Death Magnetic tour where they played a bunch of songs that they haven’t played in a long time, but that is okay, they still did fantastic and I’m glad to see that they did do a little jam after Enter Sandman and before Am I Evil? with the main riff of The frayed Ends of Sanity. The cover of Am I Evil? is fantastic, probably the biggest highlight of the album, but there appears to be a band missing, actually most of Slayer is missing save for their drummer Dave Lombardo. Now something that I think will be really cool is when The Big 4 come do their one show in California, that if they do the Am I Evil? thing again, is to include all four bands and after that Dave Mustaine comes out and performs some early Metallica songs with them that he cowrote, like Jump In the Fire, Phantom Lord, Metal Militia, The Mechanix/The Four Horsemen, Ride the Lightning, and The Call of Ktulu. So if you are a fan of any of these bands then I suggest going and buying it (get the one with the cd’s) because I am sure (as long as you aren’t a fan of Metallica’s later stuff only) that you will be drawn to at least one of the other bands and they sure did put a lot fo work in putting this together with all the memorabilia included. If this were to happen again (besides the upcoming dates) I would love to see what I consider the Big 10: Metallica, Megadeth, Metal Church, Exodus, Flotsam and Jetsam, Anthrax, Overkill, Testament, Death Angel, and Slayer, but that can’t hapoen because then the stelists would be short, and because Metal Churhc is no longer together becuase their record label collapsed.

Top Tracks: Caught In a Mosh, Madhouse, Antisocial, Indians/Heaven and Hell, I Am the Law, Metal Thrashing Mad, Holy Wars…The Punishment Due, Hangar 18, Wake Up Dead, Head Crusher, In My Darkest Hour, Skin O’ My Teeth, A Tout le Monde, Trust, Sweating Bullets, Symphony of Destruction, Peace Sells/Holy Wars Reprise, Chemical Warfare, Raining Blood, Creeping Death, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Fade To Black, Blackened, Am I Evil?, Seek & Destroy

Have A Metal Christmas Everyone

Have a merry Christmas everyone, I know I haven’t posted in a while but I have been busy (and lazy) in my spare time, but hopefully I can post more soon, especially if I get a laptop. I also hope to get some cds but I have a wonderful day full of joy and merriness (is that how it is spelled?)

Overplayed Songs

I haven’t posted anything in a while so I guess it is time for me to post something. The past week or so I have been making a list of songs that are overplayed to the point that I can’t stand to hear them so I thought I should share this list with all of you, along with songs I would rather hear instead. Don’t take me wrong, I like all these songs, it is just that I can’t listen to them that often. So In no particular order:

AC/DC – Back In Black   alternative: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

KISS – Rock and Roll All Nite   alternative: Love Gun

Guns N’ Roses – Sweet Child O’ Mine   alternative: Out Ta Get Me

Bon Jovi – Livin’ On A Prayer   alternative: She Don’t Know Me

Journey – Don’t Stop Believin’   alternative: Faithfully

Scorpions – Rock You Like A Hurricane   alternative: Coming Home

Journey – Any Way You Want It   alternative: Wheel In the Sky

Metallica – Enter Sandman   alternative: Fade To Black

Queen – We Will Rock You   alternative: Stone Cold Crazy

Queen - We Are the Champions   alternative: I Want It All

Van Halen – Jump   alternative: Hear About It Later

Ozzy Osbourne – Crazy Train   alternative: Diary of A Madman

Van Halen – Eruption   alternative: Mean Street

Van Halen – You Really Got Me   alternative: Unchained

Poison – Every Rose Has Its Thorn   alternative: Life Goes On

Deep Purple – Smoke On the Water   alternative: Burn

Led Zeppelin – Stairway To Heaven   alternative: Trampled Under Foot

Def Leppard – Animal   alternative: Wasted

Def Leppard – Pour Some Sugar On Me   alternative: Let It Go

Boston – More Than A Feeling   alternative: Piece Of Mind

Black Sabbath – Iron Man   alternative: Sign Of the Southern Cross

The Eagles – Hotel California   alternative: Take It Easy

I am sure there are some missing so if I do remember any I will update this list.

Alice Cooper – Mascara & Monsters: The Best of Alice Cooper

Mascara & Monsters: The Best of Alice Cooper by Alice Cooper
Original Release: 2001
Label: Warner Archives/Rhino
Catalog Number: R2 75806

Track Listing:
1. “I’m Eighteen” … 2:58
2. “Is It My Body” … 2:39
3. “Desperado” … 3:28
4. “Under My Wheels” … 2:47
5. “Be My Lover” … 3:21
6. “School’s Out” … 3:31
7. “Elected” … 3:43
8. “Hello, Hooray” … 3:03
9. “Generation Landslide” … 4:32
10. “No More Mr. Nice Guy” … 3:07
11. “Billion Dollar Babies” … 3:39
12. “Teenage Lament ’74″ … 3:52
13. “Muscle of Love” … 3:46
14. “Only Women Bleed” … 3:30
15. “Department of Youth” … 3:18
16. “Welcome to My Nightmare” … 2:48
17. “I Never Cry” … 3:43
18. “You and Me” … 3:26
19. “How You Gonna ” … 3:31
21. “Clones (We’re All)” … 2:51
22. “Poison” … 4:27

Band:
Alice Cooper (Vincent Furnier) - Vocals
Glen Buxton – Guitars
Mick Mashbir – Guitars
Dick Wagner – Guitars
Steve Hunter – Guitars
Davey Johnstone – Guitars
Michael Bruce – Guitars, Keyboards
Fred Mandel – Guitars, Keyboards
Bob Dolin – Keyboards
Josef Chirowski – Keyboards
Bob Ezrin – Keyboards, Drums
Dennis Dunaway – Bass
Prakash John – Bass
Tony Levin – Bass
Bob Babbitt – Bass
John Cooker LoPresti – Bass
Neal Smith – Drums
Pentti Glan – Drums
Allan Schwartzbberg – Drums
Jim Gordon – Drums
Johnny Bandanjek – Drums
Dennis Conway – Drums

Produced by: Bob Ezrin, Jack Richardson, Jack Douglas, David Foster, Roy Thomas Baker, Desmond Child

Getting into the Halloween spirit I have decided to review a compilation of the shock rock master Alice Cooper. Alice Cooper’s Mascara and Monsters is an updated version of his earlier greatest hits and for all of you that didn’t know, Alice Cooper’s original name was Vincent Furnier and he changed in the ’70s to Alice Cooper, so for a short period of time Alice Cooper refers to a band rather than a solo act, just look at the albums of them as a band, there was an actual band of people rather than a crap load of musicians, and I don’t even include all the musicians above, I took a lot out so that it wasn’t too monstrous. But anyway, after he changed his name and became a solo act, he started having more guest musicians than actual permanent band members which can make things confusing because they seemed to change every album, but anyways, if you need a best of Alice Cooper than this album works fine, it pretty much includes all the ’70s hits and Poison and Clones (We’re All) from the ’80s, I don’t know if he didn’t think that material was worth putting on or because he wanted a single disc collection of his most popular songs (which are the ’70s songs) so his later stuff was left out. My point is that if you Cooper’s glam metal years then this album probably won’t suit you too well, but if you want some of his glam rock years then this works perfectly. I like pretty much every song on here, the best to me are I’m Eighteen, School’s Out, Elected, No More Mr. Nice Guy, Only Women Bleed, Welcome To My Nightmare, I Never Cry, How You Gonna See Me Now, and Poison. All the songs a re great though, I do believe Feed My Frankenstein should have been included but oh well.

Top Tracks: I’m Eighteen, No More Mr. Nice Guy, Welcome To My Nightmare, I Never Cry, Poison

Giuffria – Giuffria

Giuffria by Giuffria
Original Release: 1984
Label: MCA
Catalog Number: MVCM-21064

Track Listing:
1. “Do Me Right” … 4:10
2. “Call To the Heart” … 4:37
3. “Don’t Tear Me Down” … 4:54
4. “Dance” … 4:08
5. “Lonely In Love” … 4:52
6. “Trouble Again” … 5:24
7. “Turn Me Again” … 4:22
8. “Line of Fire” … 4:55
9. “The Awakening” … 2:34
10. “Out of the Blue” … 5:32

Band:
David Glen Eisley – Vocals
Craig Goldy – Guitar
Chuck Wright – Bass, Vocals
Alan Krigger – Drums
Gregg Giuffria – Keyboards, Vocals

Produced by: Gregg Giuffria

If any of you know your rock history then you know that House of Lords is basically Giuffria, just without David Glen Eisley, Alan Krigger, and Craig Goldy; and if you have ever watched the Spongebob Squarepants episode Band Geeks then you know there is an arena rock anthem called Sweet victory which is by the lead singer of Giuffria David Glen Eisley and co-written with Bob Kulick who is Bruce Kulick’s brother for all those KISS fans out there. My copy of the album is the Japanese import of the album in a white jewel case which looks pretty cool, the only thing I noticed is that the song Turn Me Again is noted as Turn Me On in the liner notes but the back of the case lists it as Turn Me Again and almost everywhere on the internet lists it as that. So I chose to stick with the back of the case. Also I always pronounced Giuffria as Gee-Uf-Ree-Ah but the liner notes give it as Je-Free-Ah. The album is pretty much standard AOR with some glam metal sounds floating around in there, I usually consider most bands like Night Ranger, Giuffria, and Craaft as AOR but also Hair Metal because they have the Glam Metal sound floating around in there, but other AOR bands like Journey I just leave as AOR because they don’t resemble hair metal as much.

Anyways the album is very keyboard driven because it is Gregg Giuffria’s band and he plays the keyboard, but at times the keyboards really make the album sound dated, but it doesn’t bother me, AOR is usually heavy on the keyboards. The album’s first track is very keyboard driven, and contains some of Gregg’s best work. Of course the album’s highlight is the ballad call to the heart which was their biggest hit and also one of the best songs on the album. But of course the better songs tend to be the ones that are overshadowed by the singles. Don’t tear Me Down is more guitar driven then the past couple songs and gives you a head-knocking rhythm and sounds a lot like Turn It On Again or Abacab by Genesis. Dance is a party-rocking synth/guitar driven song. Lonely In Love is a ballad that I personally think is better than call to the heart and features some fantastic guitar work from Craig Goldy.

Trouble Again also reminds me of Genesis (with Phil Collins that is, the Peter Gabriel period not so much) and is perhaps my favorite song on the album if Turn Me Again wasn’t on the album. Turn Me Again (Turn Me On for those who refer to the booklet) is favorite song on the album and is the fastest song on the album, Alan Krigger’s drums are finally noticeable compared to the other songs and features far less synths, it also has a pretty sweet guitar solo. Line of Fire is another ballad and is probably the best of the three ballads so far. It also has a pretty catchy chorus. The Awakening is the intro to the next song Out of the Blue and features various sound clips and some keyboard work. Out of the Blue is my favortie of all the ballads on this album and features  some dark keyboards from Gregg and is also just overall darker than any other song on the album. Overall this is a good AOR album and if you need some 80′s keyboard cheese ( not that is a bad thing) then I would recommend this to you.

Top Tracks: Do Me Right, Call To the Heart, Don’t Tear Me Down, Trouble Again, Out of the Blue

Van Halen – Van Halen III

Van Halen III by Van Halen
Original Release: 1998
Label: Warner Bros.
Catalog Number: 9 46662-2

Track Listing:
1. “Neworld” … 1:51
2. “Without You” … 6:37
3. “One I Want… 5:35
4. “From Afar” … 5:29
5. “Dirty Water Dog” … 5:33
6. “Once” … 7:51
7. “Fire In the Hole” … 5:37
8. “Josephina” … 5:48
9. “Year To the Day” … 8:47
10. “Primary” … 1:31
11. “Ballot or the Bullet” … 5:48
12. “How Many Say I” … 6:16

Band:
Gary Cherone – Vocals
Edward Van Halen – Guitars, Keyboards, Vocals
Michael Anthony – Bass, Vocals
Alex Van Halen – Drums, Percussion

Produced by: Mike Post, Edward Van Halen

Van Halen III is Van Halen’s weakest album for most people, even I agree this time, but it isn’t as bad as people say it is, well at least for me, I have been known to like albums most people wouldn’t pick up like Load and ReLoad. This album sees Van Halen combine the sound of the DLR years and the Hagar years taking the piano and softness from the Hagar years and combining it with the upbeat heavy guitars of the Roth years. Also Gary’s voice sounds like roth’s voice combined with Hagar’s, raspy yet very energetic.

The album starts off with the acoustic-piano instrumental Neworld which has an innocent sound to it. Without You is the lead single off of here and also my favorite song and also most people’s favorite song off of this album. It brings in a funk sound from extreme and combines it with van halen’s hard-rock sound to make a brand-new Van Halen. One I Want is a funky guitar-driven song and is my second favorite song off of here. The band sounds a lot younger now that Hagar is gone, but also Cherone has a raspy voice like Hagar making it almost like he never left. From Afar is a slower song and contains some pretty cool guitar work from Eddie. I don’t see why people hate this album so much, Eddie’s guitar work is fantastic and Gary brings in a younger sound to the band. I guess Michael only playing on a couple of songs might be some people’s problem, but the musicianship is fantastic. Dirty Water Dog sounds like an Extreme song from III sides to Every Story. Once is another of my favorite songs on this album and reminds me of Phil Collins’ solo act.

Fire In the Hole was featured in Lethal Weapon 4  and is another really good song on here and features an amazing riff from EVH. It is easily one of the easiest songs to sing along to on this album. Josephina is a softer song on this album and is a love song. Year To the Day is another soft song that eventually kicks off into a hard-rocking song that sounds like a Hagar-era song. Primary is completely instrumental and features some funky sounding guitar-work from EVH. It is actually a pretty good solo from him but won’t rank among any of his other work except maybe 316. Ballot Or the Bullet is another strong song from this album and features some guitar work sounding like something from Women and Children first or Fair Warning. How Many Say I features Eddie on piano and lead vocals which is a first for Van Halen. It actually sounds pretty good and is the first time I have ever heard Eddie’s voice, but it is a bit repetitive with the “How Many Say I”s. Overall this album sound really good and I don’t see why people are complaining, there are some pretty strong songs on here and nothing on the album, is bad, but I do admit, it took me about three listens to start to catch on to the album.

Top Tracks: Without You, One I Want, Once, Fire In the Hole, Year To the Day

Van Halen – Balance

Balance by Van Halen
Original Release: 1995
Label: Warner Bros.
Catalog Number: 9 45760-2

Track Listing:
1. “The Seventh Seal” … 5:18
2. “Can’t Stop Lovin’ You” … 4:07
3. “Don’t Tell Me (What Love Can Do)” … 5:56
4. “Amsterdam” … 4:45
5. “Big Fat Money” … 3:54
6. “Strung Out” … 1:29
7. “Not Enough” … 5:13
8. “Aftershock” … 5:29
9. “Doin’ Time” … 1:41
10. “Balucitherium” … 4:05
11. “Take Me Back (Deja Vu)” … 4:43
12. “Feelin’” … 6:36

Band:
Sammy Hagar – Vocals
Edward Van Halen – Guitars, Keyboards, Vocals
Michael Anthony – Bass, Vocals
Alex Van Halen – Drums, Percussion

Produced by: Bruce Fairbairn

Balance is considered by some to be the best Hagar-era album or the worst Hagar-era album, I am not a person for comparing albums, I like to think of each album as its own masterpiece. Anyways, this album is really good, at first it took a while but now all the songs are in heavy rotation for me. Only one thing bugs me though, Japan got Crossing Over as a bonus track and the only other way to get ahold of it is to get it from the Crossing Over cd single, when bands do that it really displeases me, especially if it is a band that I am a die-hard fan of like Metallica, Led Zeppelin, or Van Halen. At least Led Zeppelin never did that and Metallica released all of those songs on Garage Inc. due to all of them being cover songs. Also this is the first album to have Eddie with his cut hair and also you can hear that time is taking its toll on Sammy’s voice, it has more of a raspy sound to it, just listen to Don’t Tell Me (What Love Do).

The album starts off with the hard-rocking Seventh seal which is considered one of the best songs on the album by most people, including me. Can’t Stop Lovin’ You is the lead single from this album and has a pop sound to the guitar which sometimes bugs me but after getting about halfway through the song I am used to it. Don’t Tell Me (What Love Can Do) is my favorite song off of here and is the heaviest song off of here. Amsterdam is my second favorite song off of here and has a DLR-era sound to it. Big Fat Money is another good song and is a straight up party rocker. Strung Out is an instrumental that is pretty old but it has Eddie destroying a piano by plucking its strings and stuff.

Not Enough is another hard rock song that takes on a softer tone. Aftershock is a hard rocking standard Hagar-era song. Don’t Time is a drum instrumental by Alex and goes directly into Balucitherium which is a guitar instrumental which Eddie hasn’t done since Diver Down (if you don’t include the acoustic 316). Take Me Back (Deja Vu) is a softer song from this album and is another of the best songs from this album. Feelin’ is straight up hard rock and is one of my favorites songs off of here.

Top Tracks: Can’t Stop Lovin’ You, Don’t Tell Me What Love Can Do, Amsterdam, Not Enough, Feelin’

Metallica – ReLoad

ReLoad by Metallica
Original Release: 1997
Label: Elektra
Catalog Number: 61926-2

Track Listing:
1. “Fuel” … 4:31
2. “The Memory Remains” … 4:39
3. “Devil’s Dance” … 5:21
4. “The Unforgiven II” … 6:38
5. “Better Than You” … 5:23
6. “Slither” … 5:15
7. “Carpe Diem Baby” … 6:13
8. “Bad Seed” … 4:05
9. “Where the Wild Things Are” … 6:55
10. “Prince Charming” … 6:05
11. “Low Man’s Lyric” … 7:38
12. “Attitude” … 5:18
13. “Fixxxer” … 8:15

Band:
James Hetfield – Vocals, Guitars
Kirk Hammet – Guitars
Jason Newsted – Bass
Lars Ulrich – Drums

Produced by: Bob Rock, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich

ReLoad, the follow-up to Load and also recorded in the same studio and some songs at the same time, others were recorded after Load, is usually considered better than Load, it is heavier than Load due to there not being any softer songs like Mama Said and Here of the Day. The album does make a good follow-up to Load and the two could ave been combined in a double disc or a single disc with all the best cuts and a deluxe edition with all the rest of the songs. The album also has pretty cool pictures of the band unlike Load which features pictures of them looking like an emo-punk band from modern-day.

The album starts with the upbeat song Fuel which is one of the lead singles and is one of my favorites on here, they re-recorded the song with alternate lyrics for NASCAR and called it Fuel For Fire and is available on a NASCAR soundtrack (why would NASCAR even need a soundtrack anyways?). The Memory Remains is my third favorite song off of this album but I think the S & M version is far better with the crowd singing certain parts and that annoying na-na-na being replaced by the crowd instead which sounds far better than the studio version. The song is a really good song though.

Devil’s Dance is my second favorite song off of there and starts with a kick-ass riff and the song has some of Metallica’s coolest lyrics so far “come on, come on, take a chance, haha,  let’s dance”. The Unforgiven II is my favorite song off of this album and is also my favorite from the Unforgiven trilogy. It remains faithful to the original and yet also is unique enough to be a whole new song. Better Than You is a typical song from this period of time from Metallica. Slither follows the last song in that it is pretty standard and was probably filler, although both Load and ReLoad don’t have any bad songs, some do sound like they were originally filler, but they still sound good. Carpe Diem Baby is a hard-rocker and is also pretty standard.

Bad Seed is one of the best non-single songs off of this album and also has a reference to Sweet Leaf by Black Sabbath at the end. Where the Wild Things Are is another good non-single song from the album and helps keep the second half from being mediocre. Prince Charming follows the last two in that it is really good for a non-single. Low Man’s Lyric is what breaks the pattern in that it is standard and was most likely filler. Attitude is pretty good but not as good as Prince Charming but not as standard as Low Man’s Lyric. Fixxxer is like Attitude in that it is above /Low Man’s Lyric but below Prince Charming.

Top Tracks: Fuel, The Memory Remains, Devil’s Dance, The Unforgiven II, Low Man’s Lyric

Van Halen – Live: Right Here, Right Now

Live: Right Here, Right Now by Van Halen
Original Release: 1993
Label: Warner Bros.
Catalog Number: 9 45198-2

Disc 1
1. “Poundcake” … 5:29
2. “Judgement Day” … 4:52
3. “When It’s Love” … 5:22
4. “Spanked” … 5:09
5. “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” … 4:38
6. “In ‘N’ Out” … 6:21
7. “Dreams” … 4:49
8. “Man On A Mission” … 4:50
9. “Ultra Bass” … 5:15
10. “Pleasure Dome/Drum Solo” … 9:38
11. “Panama” … 6:39
12. “Love Walks In” … 5:14
13. “Runaround” … 5:22

Disc 2
1. “Right Now” … 6:13
2. “There’s Only One Way To Rock” … 4:59
3. “Why Can’t This Be Love” … 5:22
4. “Give To Live” … 5:40
5. “Finish What Ya Started” … 5:51
6. “Best of Both Worlds” … 5:01
7. “316” … 11:38
8. “You Really Got Me/Cabo Wabo” … 7:58
9. “Won’t get Fooled Again” … 5:42
10. “Jump” … 4:27
11. ” Top of the World” … 4:59

Band:
Sammy Hagar – Vocals, Guitars
Edward Van Halen – Guitars, Keyboards, Vocals
Michael Anthony – Bass, Vocals
Alex Van Halen – Drums, Percussion

Produced by: Edward Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, Andy Johns

Van Halen’s only live album is from the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Tour and isn’t too shabby, the musicianship is pretty good and the song selection is ok, it is a typical live album and certainly isn’t anything like Live Evil or Live Shit, but it certainly isn’t bad, it is better than The Song Remains the Same which had a pretty bad sound quality but this album has an average sound quality, it isn’t clear like Live Evil but is isn’t bad like The song remains the Same. It also features all but one song from F.U.C.K. which would be The Dream Is Over which is one of my favorites off of there, it also features One way To Rock and Give To Live from Standing Hampton and I Never Said Goodbye from Sammy Hagar, with Eddie performing Bass on the second album. You Really Got Me and Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love from Van Halen and Jump and Panama from 1984 are included and Sammy actually sings Jump rather than the crowd. 3 songs from OU812 are included (and they are the best songs save for Mine All Mine from that album) and 4 songs from 5150 are included. This album features Ultra Bass which is a bass solo by Michael Anthony and a Drum Solo from Alex Van Halen. Pleasure Dome and the drum solo are one track and You really Got Me and Cabo Wabo are also the same track. 316 features pieces from Eruption, Sunday Afternoon In the Park, and Cathedral. Overall most of the Hagar-years are included and most of EVH’s solos are included save for Spanish Fly, Intruder,  and Little Guitar’s (Intro); but Spanish Fly is just an acoustic version of Eruption so it can be said it was included too. Overall if you need a Van Halen live album I would recommend this to you but I would let you know it isn’t with DLR and that it is with the Red Rocker. Also this version of Panama contains a little talk from Sammy Hagar about not putting things off till later and be in the now rather than the past or future because yesterday is history and tomorrow might not ever come, it is actually a very good speech and made me really think about my habits of putting things off. It is also where the name of the album comes from.

Top Tracks: Judgement Day, When It’s Love, Dreams, Pleasure Dome/Drum Solo, Panama, Love Walks In, There’s Only One Way To Rock, Why Can’t This Be Love, Finish What Ya Started, Won’t Get Fooled Again