Nightman Listens To – Bruce Dickinson – Balls To Picasso (Non Maiden Series)!

Greetings, Glancers – it’s Brucey time! It’s a long time since my last Bruce solo outing, and in truth that was pretty crap. This was his first album after fully leaving Maiden. Unlike his debut, this one I haven’t heard of at all, and I don’t remember anything about it from around the time of its release. I don’t recognise any of the ten tracks below, though at least they sound metal. CLICHES!

‘Cyclops‘ this opens with a bit of an Iron Man vibe, albeit with some pseudo-industrial 90s beats and sounds. I’m not sure how to feel about it, then a crunching riff drops and I suddenly feel a lot better. It spends its time getting to the first verse, then Bruce begins singing, theatrical as always, sounding revitalized. He’s sneering and yelping. The chorus reminds me of Brutal Planet. It’s a while since I heard Tattooed Millionaire, but this feels heavier than anything off his debut. It doesn’t sound like anything Maiden would write, which I suppose is the point. The guitar attack and tone is completely different from your Maiden style, but I can see most Maiden fans getting behind this, even if it is a harsher sound. A great extended instrumental to close out.

‘Hell No‘ opens interestingly enough. A tribal, looping beat. I can only imagine this sounded quite modern in 94. It’s a type of metal I’m not overly familiar with so it feels fresh to me. It carries on with ominous verse and booming chorus. Nicely layered vocals in the chorus – these always sound great when you have as powerful a singer as Bruce. There’s a whispering, then shouting middle 8 just for fun. It’s a good follow up to the first track.

‘Gods Of War‘ has another different type of drum intro. I’m going to level with yoy, let you see behind the curtain. I’m writing this sentence, listening to the song for the first time on 24th March 2020. Earlier today I listened to AC-DC’s Highway To Hell album for the first time and was pissed off by how similar each song was and by how samey the drums were. Basically every song followed the same rhythm, format, and beat. Here we are, three songs into this album and each one has been different in form, rhythm, and beat. But enough of that. I like the more tender nature of the verse and how the pre-chorus veers between effervescent, epic, and vicious. The chorus itself isn’t the best, but there’s a great solo and rhythm section in there. I hope this continues, but so far this is a vast improvement over the first album.

‘1000 Points Of Light‘ opens with a repetitive series of crunching chorus before the venomous drums and vocals join. The verses are somewhat monotone yet there is an underlying layer of funk. The chorus offers more in terms of melody, the instrumental breaks up the funk quota, and the second verse mostly dispenses with guitar. It’s the little changes and choices which prevent this mostly average song from being boring. We even get a little soft jazz ballad breakdown in between solos somewhere in the middle. If the verses were less monotone this would be better.

‘Laughing In The Hiding Bush‘ has a more disjointed feel in its opening moments before the verse finds coherence thanks to another near tribal beat and a great snarling vocal. This time its the verses which offer the more interesting melody over the chorus. Not a lot too this one, just a simple hard rock song.

‘Change Of Heart‘ begins with, is that a slight Latino feel? The beat and the guitar tone certainly suggest as much. The verse vocal is despondent and mournful. Melodically it reminds me of Audioslave’s Like A Stone. I’m waiting for the metal to come. A crunch of sorts comes for the chorus, it’s a brief chorus – I would have liked a little more to it, but it’s good while it lasts. It’s a song which feels like it could have been, in the right ot wrong hands, a power ballad in another life. Dickinson keeps things grounded, even when he’s tackling subject matter he usually doesn’t, such as here.

‘Shoot All The Clowns‘ has a beat which a lot of rock bands adopted in the mid 90s, or which a lot of pop artists did when they wanted a little more oomph. It does feel a little, not dated, but it does scream mid 90s. Dickinson is enjoying the vocals here, giving it the snarl from his previous two Maiden albums. It’s all quite funky too and was that a Welcome To The Jungle in joke? It all continues in this vein until Bruce decides to give rap a crack, and a fair crack it is because we know the man can do anything. A strange entry in his canon, but it’s quite fun.

‘Fire‘ has a good old fashioned dinosaur stomping riff and drum intro which treads onward through the verse. Now this one reminds me of Slash’s Snakepit and several other rock and metal bands of the 90s. It’s loud and violent and it cruises but the melody isn’t there so it slips from memory. There’s a little hook in the chorus. Is that actually Slash playing the solo – it sure feels like him.

‘Sacred Cowboys‘ brings the speed again. It also brings the rap again. It’s cool that Bruce is trying stuff that he either wouldn’t or couldn’t in Maiden. Jeepers, take a breath there son, you’ll faint. It’s another which lacks melody in the vocals, until the chorus which thankfully is a good one. I’m not sure I’d listen to this again, but it does stand out in memory as one to recommend to fans who may not have heard it – just as a bit of an oddity and something different. Bruce keeps it from being a failure and there’s some variance and depth in the instrumentation.

‘Tears Of A Dragon‘ closes the album. There’s different versions of this, I’m going for the 8 minute one, which certainly begins in epic form, all pianos and building. Then it enters a phase with some muted guitar which reminds me of one of my all time favourite songs – Dangerous Tonight. The verses are a little cheesy but we’ll excuse him. It builds to what I assume is the chorus – epic melodies. Yeah, it is more cheese than not, but it’s good and I think I would have loved it more if Id heard it at the time. Into an instrumental section which soon begins to gallop along with all manner of string synth sounds. It even manages to sound like Beat It. And like a precursor to Knights Of Cydonia. Good solo. From the name, he’s obviously poking fun at the whole thing. I like it – it doesn’t hit the peaks of other epics I love, but like I say – many of those epics I’ve been listening to for more than 20 years so this would have some catching up to do regardless. Then he rips the arse out of it for the final minute.

This was a much stronger effort than Bruce’s first solo. While I couldn’t identify a common thread tying it all together, beyond Bruce and beyond it being a hard rock album, there wasn’t anything bad I can pull away from it. Mostly good songs, a few very good songs, and the rest are passable. Metal vocalists don’t have a great track record when they go solo, but I’d wager that this is one of the better ones and there’s a lot here for fans of heavy music to enjoy.

Nightman’s Playlist Picks: Cyclops. Gods Of War. Change Of Heart. Tears Of A Dragon.

Nightman Listens To ASAP – Silver And Gold (Maiden Solo Output Series)!

Greetings, Glancers! It’s time to check out another Iron Maiden related release. This one is going to take a little ‘splaining, so bear with me. Back in the early 70s before Iron Maiden was created, childhood mates Adrian Smith and Dave Murray formed a band. It was a bit crap so Murray left and began prepping for Maiden. Smith rounded up other friends and friends of friends and made a couple of singles under the name ‘Urchin’. I was planning to cover their stuff but they didn’t do much and a compilation of singles and live stuff was released in 2004. Maybe I’ll check it out too, but probably not (SPOILER ALERT – I did check out their album, and inexplicably posted my thoughts about it before publishing this post which was written much earlier. Mysteries Of The Spac Hole). More importantly, Smith went on to join Murray with Maiden and the rest is history.

In the late 80s, Smith was taking a break after the grueling Maiden touring session and decided to call up his old ‘Urchins’ to see if they wanted to try writing and recording some stuff. Silver And Gold got quite a bit of hype at the time, given that it featured a member of the biggest metal band in the world and Ringo Starr’s son on the skins. However, grunge was on the rise and the album was dismissed like so many others. The band collapsed soon after and Smith went on to form the slightly more successful Psycho Motel before re-joining Maiden at the end of the 90s. So that’s the story of Silver And Gold… but is it any good? I have no idea, because I haven’t heard a single second of it yet, but that’s what we’re here to find out. Maybe we’ll uncover a few gems, maybe it’ll be another 45 minutes of regret to add to my running tally. Life is all about taking risks though, expanding your horizons, giving something you haven’t experienced a shot. Even if you don’t like it, you’ve learned something. Maybe you even get something more.

‘The Lion‘ opens the album. Perhaps I should mention that Smith isn’t only the guitarist here, he’s the vocalist too. I’ve no idea how he sounds, beyond the odd bit of backing from Maiden. This opens, perhaps unsurprisingly, with some sort of synth. Musically it has a touch of 80s without being immediately obvious. Smith’s vocals are different – I’m not sure what I was expecting. He’s a good singer then, his voice harsher, more gruff than Bruce. It’s a similar style to a lot of 80s rock singers, but less strained, less high pitched. The approach is more rock than metal. There’s an abrupt shift from chorus back to verse but I can get behind the melodies. Harmonies provided by a series of backing vocals. It has a good, fast pace for an 80s rock song. A brief piano interlude. This style of song was probably dated by 89 but was super popular earlier. Typically fast solo with a heavy use of the whammy. The lyrics less story driven than Harris, more like a standard rock ballad lyric. Nice start.

‘Silver And Gold’ is next up. I forgot to mention that the name ASAP made me think of WASP, which isn’t good. This is starting like a more atmospheric ballad. I go on about this atmospheric feeling in 80s music – it’s a combination of synth, of chord choice, of pace, of the production, but there’s something less tangible in there that just wraps me in a warm nostalgic embrace – even if I’ve never heard the specific song before. It’s your typical verse opening, vocals and an airy synth before the drums and guitar kick in. The pre chorus and chorus are more in line with cheesy 80s rock – it’s not quite Def Leppard levels of cheese but it’s in that general vein. There’s an echo effect of some description on the vocals, given the appearance of depth and again adding to that atmosphere. The chorus is a little meh, but I can people singing along to it, there’s enough of a hook. A more extended solo this time. It’s very heavy on the harmonies throughout, highlighted in the little bridge. There are a few progressive twists, if I can call them such – just slight variations on the standard structure – a tuck here, a tug there. Not really progressive, just stretching the norms and expectations very gently or abruptly for added effect.

‘Down The Wire‘ opens with an interesting enough arpeggio, not one you hear often. Well, this is a strange verse with a melody I can’t quite grasp or catch up to, at least on first listen. A very strange rhythm, at least to me, with an odd structure and stretched backing noise. It’s like the different pieces were shoved together and don’t really work but have been left in anyway? The drums are just bordering on the 80s sound I don’t like – just enough out of it to still be good. The second verse doesn’t help me out in terms of melody – there’s something very strange going on there. The chorus is non-eventful, but the verse has this strange drum structure which moves from single thumps to doubling the beat later which seems to have caught me off guard. Interesting middle section which fades completely away then brings the single thump drums back before returning to the chorus. Some neat acoustic guitar pieces in the middle part too. The Wall Of Sound style extended backing vocals are doing a bit of a number on me – as they stretch out it’s giving me an uneasy sensation, like a not unpleasant pain in the pit of my stomach. Best I can describe it is when I’m trying to cut my toenails I get an uneasy, anxious feeling. Yeah, you’ve no clue what I’m talking about and neither do I.

‘You Could Be A King‘ seems to be going full cheese. It starts like Take My Breath Away. Then it breaks into a faster part akin to Footloose before settling on the verse. Not a lot of guitar for the verses in this one. I’m not sure I like the effects on the vocals. Some of the vocals and melodies here… there’s no way we can’t compare with Springsteen. I think that’s the style they’re going for, but I’ll leave it for you to decide how successful it is. I do like the 80s strained vocal style, even though it’s so easy to ridicule. Nice middle break which reminds me of Bryan Adams – What’s It Gonna Be specifically. I’m not paying much attention to the lyrics, but this seems to be a positive encouraging message. There’s a country twinge to it too. This was the softest song so far, as commercial MOR 80s rock as you can get. Very American too.

‘After The Storm‘ starts with a lot of synth and is just begging me to shout ‘I! I JUST DIED IN YOUR ARMS TONIGHT!’ Jeepers, then it does another bit of Bryan Adams rhythm thievery as this verse sounds exactly like Can’t Stop This Thing We’ve Started. That is bizarre. Actually, that song came a couple of years after. I wonder if Adams or Mutt Lange heard this. Unfortunately the album is getting more cheesy as it goes along, at least so far. Some of these backing vocals sound like a Southern Gospel choir. Good solo though and those tiny progressive elements remain; like after the solo we get a plaintive quieter vocal with gospel backing. Going back to the chorus is less exciting, but those backing vocals keep the chorus interesting. WTF. Hold on a sec – as the song has an extended coda with more of those backing vocals, I had to google the singer as there’s no way that’s Smith. And the name is Stevie LANGE. Could it be? Stevie Lange for those in the know, is Stevie Vann, a famous backing vocalist on many 70s and 80s hits and appeared in one of my favourite movies The Monster Club. But most importantly here, she was married to Mutt Lange, who I mentioned above, and has worked with Bryan Adams. Have I just uncovered some previously unknown case of theft, imitation, flattery, Illuminati bullshit? Almost certainly.

‘Misunderstood‘ plays the same trick again – intro goes one way, then threatens that the verse will go in another direction, then flips the switch and instead goes in a third direction. It’s a very cheesy first part of the intro, the second part is much more interesting, Alice Cooper-esque, then the verse is fair enough. The chorus is unfortunate cheese. I do like the middle, goes in on the minor key and holds that for the solo.

‘Kid Gone Astray‘ gives me instead Journey or Springsteen vibes. Similar tone. The verse does the minor to major shift thing I life, better melodies on this one. The chorus doesn’t stay in the minor so falls a little foul of my own tastes. But that’s fine. They’re going for another positive anthem and the chorus certainly allows a certain listener to get pumped up. There are some funny vocal twitches and twerks in later verses, the solo is okay, I don’t like the echo on the backing vocals and think it’s unnecessary and makes the melody more irritating by constantly reminding us of it.

‘Fallen Heroes‘ starts with overlapping synth bass and drum sounds before the verse explodes through. It’s similar enough to where the last song left off, then I get excited as there are a few minor notes, then the chorus does something completely different. Is it the chorus? It’s where the chorus should be anyway – basically all the backing instruments withdraw leaving Smith’s vocals and some dweeby synth before another abrupt return to the verse. Very odd. I’ll give the album credit for trying to be different – credit for making those choices, not necessarily credit to the results.

‘Wishing Your Life Away‘ starts out ALLLL wrong, way too much like a 70s crooner trying to make an 80s rock song. Those brass synths are awful. The vocals are very late 80s, early 90s Pink Floyd here, melodies, riffs all hackneyed and silly. The middle section tries to be different, pulling back certain instruments again, and the solo doesn’t add anything – just thrown in for the sake of it. Probably, definitely the least interesting song here and doesn’t give any indication to the talent involved.

‘Blood On The Ocean’ closes the album, lets hope it’s a good one. Starts out okay, has (I’m sure they have a name, not a xylophone but something like that) that synth percussion which always reminds me of Commando or something summery. The verse is slow, piano led, lyrics about war or about people dying or some such, melodies a little bland and overly open and free form, but that’s fine if it leads somewhere interesting. The chorus melody is better, but hardly memorable. I think they’ve tried to make an epic here but haven’t really started with a good base or strong central idea. The middle section is divided into several parts – the first is chaotic and aimless, the second being a solo played over the verse structure, the third simply the solo continuing over the chorus backing. It’s a decent solo but it misses scratching that epic itch.

It started out well. A few good songs which made me hope things would progress. Instead the best was in the first half and the ideas and quality has all but drained away by the time we reach the end. It’s not bad – none of the songs are terrible and I can see hair metal and less discerning rock and 80s fans digging it. It simply lacks the smarts, the punch, the ideas, of Iron Maiden. I know this isn’t remotely trying to be Maiden, but that’s the inevitable comparison. I’m not comparing them in terms of their genres or approach, more what both bands do within those labels. Maiden make fantastic metal music, ASAP make uneventful, MOR rock which no amount of mid-song fiddling can improve. I like Smith’s vocals – he doesn’t have the character of Dickinson or of a wealth of other 80s vocalists, but he doesn’t go into screechy territory which ruined many a decent singer of that period. I can’t recall a single strong riff or truly memorable solo after this single listen – generally after one listen the truly great stuff does stay in my mind, while it takes another couple of listens for the more subtle stuff to take route. So based on this one listen there are a handful of songs I’d like to hear again – some for regular enjoyment, and that strange one which freaked me out with its drums and structure. I can’t say many Maiden fans loving it too much, but I think it deserves a shot – it’s certainly more appealing than many other bands from that period who had massive success.

Let us know in the comments what you thought of Silver And Gold!

Nightman Listens To – Urchin – High Roller (Non-Maiden Series)!

Greetings, Glacers! It’s time for another history lesson for any of you budding metallers out there. In fact, I’ve probably already mentioned this before, so the brief version is that Urchin were formed before Iron Maiden by Dave Murray and Adrian Smith. Murray only played on a song or two, while Smith became one of the main driving forces. They were essentially a live only band and Smith went on to form a series of other bands. Every so often he would get Urchin together for the odd show. Their limited album releases are collections of singles and live stuff. So they say, I haven’t heard them yet. UNTIL NOW!

Keeping It Mellow: A loose and mellow opening which is much smoother and softer than I was expecting. If anything, it sounds reminiscent of Free’s All Right Now. Just good cruising music for nice weather. It’s far from amazing, the vocals are a little scratchy and the production isn’t great but much better than what I was expecting. A simple, easy listening rock song which says everything it has to say well within three minutes, yet keeps going for another two. There’s a tasty solo in those two minutes, but still could have done with some shaving.

Life In The City: Another good intro, some guitars with a flange or phaser effect, the vocals are a little too shouty and plain for my liking. There’s an ever so faint touch of Maiden in there, but it more accurately sounds like a tonne of American MOR rock bands. Parts of the solo go full Maiden at times.

Watch Me Walk Away: A subtle melding of cymbals and bass gives way to some synthesized guitars for something with sounds like an up tempo ballad. I don’t think that’s what the lyrics are going for. There’s that 70’s rock beat again. It’s another good song – not anything that’s going to change anyone’s world and if I heard it on the radio I wouldn’t go searching to see who it was by – but I wouldn’t change the station.

Countdown: Well, this is a collection of oddities – a very nice and atmospheric opening which reminds me of the slower, mysterious stuff from the first two Maiden albums gives way to chugging chords clearly borrowed from Phantom Of The Opera – the opera, not the Maiden song. Then it feels like 22 Acacia Avenue. The vocals suit the song better this time around, and the solo is great too – very Maiden.

Lifetime: This is verging on cheesy. There’s a slow, stomping beat and all this twinkling keyboard stuff, and the lyrics are all lovey dovey. Still, the extended intro has a certain level of intrigue. It’s not bad. One thing missing from the songs for me is any real sort of emotion, beyond the fact that the band seem to enjoy playing, and that there are no standout hooks, no big chorus, no major melody. The solo here goes pure futuristic, or at least what they thought the future would sound like in the 70s.

The Late Show: Another distinctly Iron Maiden sounding song. Once the verse starts it turns pure Pink Floyd – Time to be precise. It’s a softer Maiden with a more bluesy, jazzy texture. We even get an organ solo. It’s still just missing the hook.

My Lady: Oh, this one tops 8 minutes. Are they gonna go for it? That’s a pretty great intro, again quite Maiden in tone, especially with that swirling guitar. The vocals are too flat in the verses and the chorus is far too plain. It’s the same issue I had with most of Di’Anno’s vocals – just boring to me, ignoring any Dickinson comparison. We get a solo, instrumental section just before the 4th minute, assuming it’s going to change gears for final half. Well over a minute of guitars, no gear change yet. Back to the verse, that’s a shame. A song this long, you gots to change it up. This is meant to be emotional or something, but it doesn’t work. Decent song, but no need in being so long.

Animals: Well, this takes a different approach. It’s not disco, but it’s certainly funky. Still rock of course. Topical lyrics. It almost, dare I say it, has a ska feeling. We head into a groovy instrumental section, the lead jangling chords linking with the constant drum beat while Smith lets loose on the six string. This doesn’t feel like Maiden in any way. An interesting end.

That was a lot better than what I was fearing. It’s a pity then that none of the songs really standout as a crusher. For picking my playlist tracks I could really pick any of them for the same reasons – none are bad, none are great – they’re all equally good. They’re all equally B- grade. You can tell their influences quite easily, and you can also tell how the sound went on to determine that Maiden sound. Taken as a whole they feel like any number of 70s rock bands who haven’t quite nailed down their own sound and direction and hit that niche where they can express creatively and deliver what they are capable of.

Let us know in the comments what you think of High Roller!

Nightman’s Playlist Picks: Keeping It Mellow. Countdown.

Nightman Listens To – Samson – Head On! (Iron Maiden Solo Output Series)

Greetings, glancers! As I warned you previously, it’s time to listen to some more of the Iron Maiden side-output. So where is the Iron Maiden connection you ask? Keep reading and you’ll learn. Samson were another NWOBHM band emerging in the late 70s and featured at various times both Clive Burr on drums and Bruce Dickinson on vocals. Dickinson joined as their first album (Survivors) was released, but played no part on it. We’ll skip that one. Head On was their second album, released in 1980, features Bruce on vocals and an early version of The Ides Of March which would appear in a different format on Maiden’s second album. It’s all very confusing, as is much of metal. How about I shut up and listen before the executioner on the album cover fulfills his wish and fists me?

‘Hard Times‘. I listened to the first track of Survivors first – As imagined the production isn’t stellar, but gives a very raw, garage feel. The bass was very prominent, has a very rusty feel (I mean that as a positive), and was overall a fine punk influence track. This has a similar production, possibly a little thinner, and Dickinson has a weird and unnecessary effect on his vocals. He sounds young here, but not unrecognizable. The song itself is fun, a clear enjoyable riff, but the whole thing is let down by very tinny drums which sound more like someone tapping a pen on a table in places. The drumming itself is fine, the guitar solo is serviceable following a descending rhythm, and it feels fairly commercial. I’m guessing it’s named after the Bronson/Hill movie based on the lyrical content.

‘Take It Like A Man‘ starts with some distant whistling, what sounds like someone chucking a milk bottle, then the crunching guitars come in nicely. The intro is at odds with the eventual verse – it has an early Di’anno era Maiden feel actually, a rough edge, a joyful intensity, and a sense of fun and ambition. Dickinson sounds pretty different here, the drums are excellent, if again a little under-produced, and the guitars are good. Bruce does let out a trademark screech at one point. Good song.

‘Vice Versa‘ opens with cascading drums before shifting into some bizarre slow tempo, otherwordly verse. It’s interesting, and I like it, and as it progresses the effects give way and a more traditional vocal and sound emerges. The drums here are hilarious, going off on their own Keith Moon or Mastodon style, using it as a lead instrument rather than providing a beat and fill. There’s a lot of phasing on the guitars, Bruce singing ‘vice versa’ actually sounds more like ‘bite faster’ or ‘fight bison’. We get a groovy instrumental section in the middle followed by a very abrupt stop and return to the verse. PS: I know what this reminded me of – One Track Lover from Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place. 

‘Manwatcher‘ opens with another dirty riff, Bruce’s vocals following its melody. There isn’t a chorus so it feels a little repetitive, at least so far. Samson loves those sudden pauses. It’s moving off into a new section now which bears little resemblance to the first part aside from the obvious. Again the drums are maybe the best part, good guitar solo, but its still let down by the production – listening through Youtube certainly isn’t helping. Bruce doesn’t sound like himself here – less force, less volume.

‘Too Close To Rock‘ gets straight to the point, big riff and hanging backing chords, the riff feeling a little Zeppelin-esque and having little changes each time. Bruce really sounds like Bruce here, though the drum sound is again a let down. The song suddenly shifts around the minute mark for what I suppose is a chorus, but feels like a random charging increase of pace. There is another verse and chorus, followed by an electric, energetic instrumental/solo section. I like how without warning these shifts are – no pre chorus or change of beat, just straight in almost as if there was something edited out. It’s refreshingly short, and closes on a trademark Brucie ‘WAOOW!’

‘Thunderburst’ reminds me in its opening moments of Alice In Chains – acoustic, mysterious, ominous. Then the thunderburst comes in, crushing guitars, tumbling drums. As Maiden fans will surely note, this is an early version of The Ides Of March and in all honesty it isn’t much different.

‘Hammerhead‘ starts with a little drum snap before another cool riff. This does suffer from those silly group vocals shouts that I always hate but the melodies, especially in the chorus are reminiscent of some 80s Maiden tracks – just commercial enough to widen the listening net. The drums are good again, but you know by now the production lets things down. There seems to be some sort of breaking glass noises in the background too. There is a sort of middle 8th or change in the middle where a lot of the distortion is withdrawn – it changes things up just a little before the obligatory solo. It’s another good New Wave metal song that I had no idea about previously, not too sure about the fade out ending though.

‘Hunted‘ sees the band almost breaking out into a bit of funk. There’s a prominent bass line and some Di’Anno style verse vocals. Nice reverb on the guitar gives the song an air of mystery, the backing guitar lines have a nice crunch to them. The chorus is a bit of a let down, musically and lyrically, but we can forgive it as the song as a whole is short. Interesting ending too.

‘Take Me To Your Leader‘ has a weirdo intro, effects and flange, but it’s only for a few seconds before the speed pounces on you. This one sounds much more like the Bruce we know, lots of screams and yelps, and the pace is relentless. You know the score by now – drums, playing – great, production – not so great. Nifty bass again here, and the lyrics are amusing. This one seems like it had a bit more thought in the construction, it’s more dynamic, and it has another interesting ending. The band had ideas, weren’t merely playing hard and fast.

‘Walking Out On You‘ opens with a plodding single bass note, like someone flicking an elastic band. Then a lot of weird stuff happens – noises, distorted choir vocals, creaks, alien guitars – I wasn’t expecting anything like this, so props to them. This goes on for about a minute before a more traditional song structure emerges. It’s heavy, slow, then the volume withdraws and we get a more subtle verse – still lots of effects on the vocals and guitar, and the drums are still doing their own thing. The whole quiet verse, loud chorus thing had mostly been perfected by Zep, but it’s nice to see an actual metal band giving it a go. Nice instrumental section in the middle with guitar parts I quite enjoyed, the beat remaining steady throughout. The final minute goes a bit crazy, with Christmas bells, spoken parts, kids, all sorts of weird effects and oddities.

‘Angel With A Machine Gun‘ gets this back to basics – simple riff, Brucey vocals, tight playing, fact pace, standard British metal lyrics. As seems to be the case with the band, they add the occasional little twist – a brief drum interlude or twist on the existing guitar riff. Otherwise, this is straightforward stuff, nothing startling, but plenty of energy and fun.

‘Kingsway Jam‘ is apparently a bonus track. It’s near 10 minutes long too  – will it be instrumental? We get stuck in straight away – a fade in to chaos, drums blasting and distant guitars twiddling. Bruce unleashes one so we’re not in instrumental territory. This feels like a live track from the production, the vocals are noticeably less polished on this one, but I could attribute that to them simply arsing about in the studio with this one. Guitar and drums are good as always. This ostensibly follows a verse and chorus format, just that there are longer jams between each, at least until the 4.30 mark where the pace slows and Bruce starts talking hilariously. He’s laughing as he does it, adding to the banter. This settles into a more routine steady slow jam, along with some fairly funny lyrics, and more instrumental pieces. It’s your standard bonus track jam in other words.

Overall I would say this was a pleasant surprise. I enjoyed it a lot more than Bruce’s first solo effort, and I think I was relieved that it didn’t succumb to many of the tropes and ‘mistakes’ of early 80s metal. There’s a lot of ideas, if not full blown ambition on display, and there is that unmistakable quirky sense of fun which comes from the band being British – there are a lot of tongues in cheeks, but the band prove they can play with the best of them. It’s a shame the production isn’t the best – the overall sound has a lot of hissing and the drums lose the impact which they no doubt would have had with a fuller sound. Nevertheless, this is one I’ll listen to again and one I’d recommend to any fellow metal heads who enjoy this era or are looking into the past.

Let us know in the comments what you think of Head On and if you have any special memories of the band or the time!

Nightman’s Playlist Picks: Take It Like A Man. Take Me To Your Leader. Hammerhead.

 

Nightman Listens To – Bruce Dickinson – Tattooed Millionaire

Greetings, Glancers! As I said in a previous post, it’s time for me to delve into the other output which the the core members of Iron Maiden have released over the years. I don’t know much about any of these, I don’t have high hopes of any of them being any good, but if any of them are then it’s going to be Brucey’s solo stuff. While we’re here, we may as well listen to the bonus tracks from the various re-releases. Lets go.

‘Son Of A Gun‘ opens with a tinny, distant, atmospheric riff. Sounds like early Maiden. Dickinson singing in his more traditional voice than the gruff approach. Slow, heavy. Doesn’t have an 80s vibe, just sounds like classic metal/rock. The chorus isn’t great melodically, and on the whole it’s very simple – not too many risks or progressive elements – I was expecting it to get faster at some point but it stays on the same level throughout.

‘Tattooed Millionaire‘ is one I may have heard at some point, but I can’t remember. This one is very 80s and does feature a more Fear of The Dark era vocal by Dickinson. It’s a little faster, a little lighter musically – a little more Def Leppard in other words. It has a commercial chorus, though the lyrics are as biting as what Maiden were putting out at the time. Good solo in there, but this is basically a pop song with more prominent guitars. That lead/ending riff also sounds like a copy of Run To You by Bryan Adams.

‘Born In ’58’ starts quite nicely, not metal at all. Nostalgic lyrics. This could be anyone, sounds like stadium rock, but a bit more subtle. It’s quite nice, feels like a centerpiece and Dickinson saying he can do more than just metal. As The Mullet Man might say, this is one for the ladies.

‘Hell On Wheels‘ is slow – ACDC slow. Gruff vocals for the verse, old school for the chorus.  Instead of locked he sings ‘lacked’, that style. Very simple and plain. Standard uninspired rock, okay melodies.

‘Gypsy Road‘ starts slow and soft, similar to ‘Born In 58’. Everything on the album is much lighter than the Maiden wall of sound. It’s Springsteen again, but via Dickinson’s mind and mouth. It’s all very formulaic, verse chorus verse chorus solo chorus end stuff. Melodies okay again.

‘Dive! Dive! Dive!‘ is presumably going to be higher, starting with an ‘Aces High’ vibe. Then it goes… weird. Oh wow oh vocals. No guitars. Drum, bass, vocals. Then guitar and oh wow oh. I won’t call this one formulaic, though there’s nothing outlandish here. It’s just weird, not weird in a good way, weird in a ‘who thought this was a good idea’ way. A good minute long than it needs to be, not that any of it needs to exist.

‘All The Young Dudes‘ is Bowie with Bruce’s voice. If you’ve read my Bowie posts you’ll know I’m not a massive fan of Bowie’s vocals. Bruce does a Bowie mimic here for the most part. Still a good song, but get the feeling that all of these should have just been B-Sides or demos or something.

‘Lickin’ The Gun’ follows what has gone before – gruff vocals, slow pace, basic structure. This one is riff heavy but still sounds weak – middle of the road and uninspired. This could be any 80s rock or soft metal band.

‘Zulu Lulu‘ opens with howls and guitars. That steady pace is here again and we can already tell from the intro how this is going to go. Talky vocals, lots of pauses in the guitar parts, simplistic. Maybe Bruce had all this crap boiling up in him and needed to get it out of system before getting back to Maiden and making good music again?

‘No Lies‘ is, of course, the early Bruce version of Bring Your Daughter, with a very similar opening riff. This feels like a demo as the same few words are repeated over and over. Then in the second minute the lyrics start pouring out. It’s a little bit better than most of the other stuff, but it has the same problems – vocals aren’t great and there’s nothing new or of any decent quality. It just reminds us of better songs – No More Lies due to the title, Bring Your Daughter, and Can I Play With Madness thanks to the drums in places. We have this long section in the middle with drums and distortion and nothing else, a bit of bass that no-one cares about. After this brief dalliance with the pointless we return to the chorus and an okay solo.

‘Spirit Of Joy‘ is the first bonus track. It’s an Arthur Brown cover. A lot of these will be covers. It has a faster pace, sounds better already than most of the album stuff. Not a song I’m overly familiar with but it’s fine.

‘Darkness Be My Friend‘ is not a cover. It starts well, ominous and soft, much better vocal. Like a dark and lonesome folk song. This is easily the best song so far. Then the flute (?) comes in. Yet it works, even if I imagine pixies skipping about a glade or something.

‘Sin City‘ is AC/DC, so not my favourite band. Starts with starty stoppy chops of music. Ding don ding dung. Then the familiar ACDC beat comes in. Then the vocals and the cut-off guitars. Not my thing. Growly vocals sound silly. Shite all round.

‘Winds Of Change‘. Ha ha, this really does sound like G’n’Rs version of Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door. And that’s all we’ll remember from this. This is some sort of love song with big Brucey vocals. It’s cheese, but it’s fine.

‘Riding With The Angels‘ is a Russ Ballard cover – he wrote songs for KISS and others. Sounds live. Screeches and talking. At least this is fast and energetic which makes a change from the rest of the album. It sounds both like very early Maiden and early 90s Maiden. Just a bit of throwaway speed fun.

‘Bring Your Daughter‘. You know it. You love it. Or hate it. Maybe you haven’t heard this version. It’s almost the same though, slightly different vocals, different guitars but almost the exact same song.

‘Ballad Of Mutt’. It’s a funny name, and it seems it’s a funny song with some unfortunate vocal appropriation. Still funny though, funny lyrics, standard blues stuff. I wrote a song almost exactly the same as this. Except mine was called ‘Barnaby’.

‘Black Night‘ is Deep Purple. Live again. More energy and speed. You all know this one, right? Feels like Sabbath, but isn’t, so must be Deep Purple. It’s unfortunate when your covers, which aren’t that great, are better than most of the songs on your official album.

So I said at the top I didn’t have high hopes but that this was likely the best? Oh dear. If this is the best, then we’re in for a whole crapload of crap in the coming listens. Mercy, please. Let us know in the comments what you thought of this – did I get it wrong, does it deserve another listen?

Nightman Listens To – Steve Harris – British Lion

Greetings, Glancers! So, we’ve listened to solo Dickinson, and we’ve listened to pre-Maiden Dickinson. It’s time to tackle some alternative work from Maiden’s primary songwriter Steve Harris. I don’t think I’ve ever heard any of his solo, or non-Maiden work and I have no idea what this will be like. Harris has been with Maiden from the start, and they are a fairly prolific band, and while they do change it up a bit in each album you generally know what you’re going to get – fast paced metal. Maybe Harris wanted to explore other avenues, other sounds? Maybe this is more streamlined rock? Maybe it blues? Maybe it’s simply material he didn’t feel was good enough for Maiden, or suited the direction the band was going in at the time. Lets consult the online world – the album was released in 2012, and came about after a band of the same name contacted Harris in the early 90s. It seems he was impressed with them to the extent that he decided to mentor and eventually join them as a side project. Fair enough, lets do this.

This Is My God: A promising start – heavy, but not punishingly so. An immediately different sound than Maiden. There’s a lot of wah and effects on the guitars, not something Maiden usually play with, and the vocals and style are very different. It’s at a slower pace than I was expecting, but feels very assured. It’s almost more in the vein of something like Audioslave. There’s a spoken part in the middle that we could have done without, but I do like the chorus, and overall I think it’s a good song.

Lost Worlds: The bass is more prominent here. I appreciate the melodies in the opening tracks, there’s a lot of focus on their crafting rather than knocking us on the head with volume or speed or technique. There seems to be a lot of negativity against the vocals – I must say I really like them so far, but then I’m not an entrenched metal fan who can’t look beyond sheer force. he has a great tone and a lot of emotion and range. This is… actually great stuff. There’s a fake ending leading into a softer acoustic section which closes the song.

Karma Killer: This starts with a fat, wah based riff, crashing steady drums, before the vocals and bass take over in the verses. Not a fan of the pronunciation of ‘deeper and deeper’. The chorus is fairly simple, vocals matching the fat riff. Maybe the heaviest feeling song, but the weakest so far.

Us Against The World: This has the most Maiden intro so far. I know, I shouldn’t be comparing them, but I wouldn’t be listening to them otherwise. The comparisons fade in the verse, and we’re back on track with more atmospheric melodies. The vocalist is somewhere between the guy from Khoma and Gary from Haven. This has much more interesting chorus than the previous song. It must be said that there isn’t anything new here, it’s just emotional, commercial heavy rock.

The Chosen Ones: This starts like ACDC, or early Maiden. It doesn’t feel like it will fit with the rest of the album. The verses are muck, but there are moments in the pre-chorus and chorus which work well enough. It’s all very cheesy and is very out of place – like a different band from the one who performed the previous songs.

A World Without Heaven: This starts off like Fear Of The Dark era Maiden, a more atmospheric rock feel. I like the punch of the chords, I like the vocal melodies and emotion in the verses, though the chorus needs a bit more force or grit to really push it forwards. I will say that the pronunciation of ‘heaven’ is awful. Why is it ‘havan’? That almost puts me entirely off the song, which is unfortunate as the rest of it is great. The extended instrumental section seems tacked on for the sake of appeasing Maiden fans, but it’s much more simplistic than what we would get from Maiden, and the guitars are very plain. Still a good song though, just held back from being great.

Judas: Deeper vocals this time around. The guitars move between metal and rock, the verse melodies are largely one-note and uneventful, while the chorus for some reason reminds me of The Stereophonics, and that’s never a good thing. After the second chorus the song takes a very abrupt shift – like mid note – into some weird faded acoustic section which I probably enjoyed more than the louder half of the song. The loud part comes back for the last minute.

Eyes Of The Young: What is this happy horseshit… was my first thought on hearing the opening riff. This is clearly going for the positive, yearning anthem. It has crowd friendly ‘wooh ohhh’ chants and decent enough melodies, but it doesn’t quite work. It’d fine, but it’s no Summer Of 69. 

These Are The Hands: Another slower start. Don’t worry, it’s still heavy. It follows the atmospheric and melodic qualities of the reset of the album. This one feels a little more assured and complete, and it’s a great vocal performance. I like everything about this one – it’s not amazing, but very catchy and the melodies flow superbly throughout.

The Lesson: It’s only four minute so it probably won’t be an epic closer. It starts off in that vein though – piano and strings, two of my loves. It’s like a condensed version of a latter day Maiden intro. Lots of not quite off key guitar and bass. It never gets out of that first gear though – I keep expecting the volume to switch, but it’s content to remain soft and… miserable isn’t the right word. It’s good, but an odd choice to end the album.

I assumed when I started this post that this would be an early 80s band. I wasn’t expecting them to be so recent, and I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did. I know that many will complain about the vocals – it’s not Bruce essentially – but I enjoy that sort of sound and tone. There are moments when the vocals could have been more urgent or forceful, but on the whole I think they suit the songs very well. Let us know in the comments what you think of British Lion – if you’re a Maiden fan, does this style grab you too, or do you crave Dickinson?