Cries from the Quiet World: mayo 2017

martes, 30 de mayo de 2017

Hollow "Architect of the Mind"

Hollow were a progressive power metal band from Umeå, Sweden.

The band begun in the early 1990s when members met in the university town of Umeå. Tomas and Andreas had decided to start a band when they met during their military service, serving together in the same platoon. Originally called Valkyrian they decided to change their name to Hollow which they felt was more in tune with their musical style "The name Hollow reflects the constant void within, which we all feel from time to time".

Influenced by acts such as Queensrÿche, Crimson Glory and Elegy in 1995 they released a six track demo called "Speak To Me". In 1997 they released a self-titled Ep with four tracks which caught the attention of MM Records, a small independent label. They then went on to create two albums both released through Nuclear Blast Records, Modern Cathedral (1997) and Architect Of The Mind (1999).

Hollow chose to split up not long after the release of Architect Of The Mind.

Hollow is now a solo project of Andreas Stoltz, who in 2009 released the song "Descending" which was written in memory of Midnight, Crimson Glory's vocalist, who died in 2009.

In 2010 Polish record label Metal Mind Productions remastered and rereleased Architect Of The Mind and Modern Cathedral as a double pack.

Architect Of The Mind is a concept album on artificial intelligence. The album follows a story where a scientist goes almost crazy after his father dies and buries himself in work, eventually creating an artificial intelligence which he never expected this being to be so similar to himself. The album raises questions regarding creation and responsibility for the created, parenthood and religion as well.

Hollow "Modern Cathedral"

Anthrax "Volume 8: The Threat is Real (USA, Ignition Records, IGN 7-4034-2)"

Volume 8: The Threat Is Real is the eighth studio album by American thrash metal band Anthrax. The album was released on July 28, 1998 by Ignition Records and debuted at number 118 on the Billboard 200 chart. The record was produced by the band and Paul Crook. It features the song "Crush", which appeared in the video game ATV Offroad Fury for PlayStation 2 and in the game's soundtrack. Other released singles from the album were "Inside Out", "Piss N Vinegar" and "Born Again Idiot".

Stephen Thomas Erlewine, in a mixed review for AllMusic, wrote that the album is a continuation of the band's "writing slump" which started with 1993's Sound of White Noise. He said that there aren't many "memorable songs" on the record, and went to call it "transitional album" leading the band to "new, uncharted territory". Stephen Thompson of The A.V. Club found the album to be "aggressive to the point of being exhausting". Martin Popoff in his Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal remarks how the band put a bit of everything in the songs, including multiple speeds, "humor scattered here and there", "big grungy guitars", "meat and potatoes riffing and roaring vocals from Bush", while "experimenting with some different textures and dynamics". The result is not just "an accessible thrash metal record", as is typical with Anthrax.

Track listing

All lyrics written by John Bush and Scott Ian; all music by Charlie Benante, except where noted.

"Crush" 4:21
"Catharsis" Benante, Frank Bello 4:53
"Inside Out" 5:31
"Piss N Vinegar" 3:12
"604" Benante, Ian 0:35
"Toast to the Extras" 4:24
"Born Again Idiot" 4:17
"Killing Box" 3:37
"Harms Way" Benante, Ian 5:13
"Hog Tied" 4:36
"Big Fat" Benante, Ian 6:01
"Cupajoe" Benante, Ian 0:46
"Alpha Male" 3:05
"Stealing from a Thief" (ends at 5:33, hidden track "Pieces" begins at 8:03 after 2:30 of silence) Bello ("Pieces") 13:06

Total length: 63:37

Track 15 is a hidden track after 2:32 of silence at the end of track 14.

Recording information:

Co-produced by Anthrax.

Arranged by Anthrax.

Mixed at Platinum Island.

Mastered at Sterling Sound.

domingo, 28 de mayo de 2017

Deep Purple "Perfect Strangers (1988 Reissue, Japan, Polydor K.K., P28P 25067)"

Perfect Strangers is the eleventh studio album by English rock band Deep Purple, released on 29 October 1984. It was the most successful album recorded by the re-formed 'Mark II' line-up.

It was the first Deep Purple studio album in nine years. Perfect Strangers is also the first album with the Mk II line-up in eleven years, the last being Who Do We Think We Are (1973). Its nine-year gap from Come Taste the Band (1975) marks the longest between two studio albums from the band to date. Ritchie Blackmore and Roger Glover arrived from Rainbow, Ian Gillan from Black Sabbath, Jon Lord from Whitesnake, and Ian Paice from Gary Moore's backing band. Just two songs in the reformed Deep Purple’s new repertoire, "Nobody’s Home" and "Not Responsible", would be credited to all five band members. Gillan and Glover attempted to return matters to the all-for-one composition credits of the Mk II lineup's 1970–73 recordings, but Blackmore held firm. It was not until Blackmore permanently left the group in 1993 that the issue was finally resolved.

The CD and cassette versions of the album contained the extra track "Not Responsible" (which contains the lyric "I've got no ticket, but I'm gonna take a fucking ride", making it one of the few Deep Purple tracks to feature profanity). The album was remastered and reissued on 22 June 1999 with the bonus instrumental track "Son of Alerik". The latter had previously been available as a B-side on the single "Perfect Strangers" in 1984.

The album was a commercial success, reaching #5 in the UK charts and #17 on the Billboard 200 in the US. Perfect Strangers was only the second Deep Purple studio album to be certified platinum in the United States, following Machine Head (1972). The tour was so successful that the band had to book many additional dates to the U.S. arena tour, as tickets sold out very quickly. Their U.S. tour in 1985 out-grossed every artist that year except Bruce Springsteen.

The album received mixed reviews. Deborah Frost of Rolling Stone in a contemporary review remarked that, with the exception of the two singles, "The material consists of hastily knocked-off jams" and wondered if the release was just made "to cash in on the current heavy-metal craze." But she also stated, "Blackmore's Strat has such a great roar that you're willing to just let it reverberate in your eardrums for a bit. And it's nice to hear Jon Lord's unsynthesized organ squalls, Ian Paice's electrifying drumming, Ian Gillan's howls and whispers and Roger Glover's solid bass lines once again," although, "Instead of Glover, an outside producer might have forced the band to tighten up its licks and arrangements."

Canadian journalist Martin Popoff praised this comeback album which "only nods to the '70s" and concentrates "on songcraft rather than technical display," placing Deep Purple as "a reference point of a genre in metal without categorization."

"A great moment in time," suggested Glover, "but, as an album, it doesn't quite hang together." The rest of the band all maintained positive feelings towards the album in subsequent years.

Track listing

All songs by Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover and Ian Gillan except where noted.

"Son of Alerik" had appeared in an edited form on the 7" B-side of the "Perfect Strangers" single, or in full on the 12" "Perfect Strangers" single and the European version of the compilation Knocking at Your Back Door: The Best of Deep Purple in the 80's.

"Knocking at Your Back Door" 7:09
"Under the Gun" 4:40
"Nobody's Home" (Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice) 4:01
"Mean Streak" 4:26
"Perfect Strangers" 5:31
"A Gypsy's Kiss" 4:14
"Wasted Sunsets" 3:58
"Hungry Daze" 5:01
"Not Responsible" (Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice) 4:53

Time: 44:11

All tracks by Gillan, Blackmore, Glover, except 3, by Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice.

Mark II members team up again.

Recording information:

Recorded digitally at Horizons, Stowe, Vermont with Le Mobile Studio, 1984.

Mixed at Tennessee Tonstudio, Hamburg, Germany.

Mastered at Sterling Sound, New York

Co-produced by Deep Purple.

Engineered by Nick Blagona

Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, New York

Deep Purple "The House Of Blue Light (2013 Reissue, Remastered, Japan, Universal Music Japan, UICY-75501)"

The House of Blue Light is the twelfth studio album by The British rock band Deep Purple, released in 1987. It is the second recording by the re-formed Mark II line-up.

The album's creation was an exceedingly long and difficult process, which singer Ian Gillan compared to the recording of Who Do We Think We Are in Rome. Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore has said much of it was re-recorded. Gillan has remarked on how strained relations within the band compromised the album: "I look back at House Of Blue Light, there are some good songs on that record, but there’s something missing in the overall album. I can’t feel the spirit of this band. I can see or hear five professionals doing their best, but it’s like a football team, it’s not functioning. It’s like eleven superstars that are playing on the same field but are not connected by the heart or by the spirit". Added organist Jon Lord, "We made the massive mistake of trying to make our music current. We discovered that people didn't want us to do that."

Despite the band's concerns, House of Blue Light sold well. It hit No. 10 in the UK charts, No. 34 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, and reached the top 10 in six other countries.

Two promotional videos to the songs "Bad Attitude" and "Call of the Wild" were produced. Both of them feature members of the band.

Several tracks on the LP and cassette versions are shorter than those of the original CD released in 1987. The 1999 CD remaster used the original vinyl master tapes, and so its running time is correspondingly shorter than the original CD version as well.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, except where noted.