ALL THINGS ROCK N' METAL

 Metallica was founded in 1981 by Drummer Lars Ulrich and singer/guitarist James Hetfield,before settling in on a definitive line up Brian Slagel who owned MetalBlade Records asked Metallica to record a song for his first compilation record called "Metal Massacre" "Hit the Lights" was chosen from James and  Ron McGovney's previous band Leather Charm and recorded it with James singing,Lars on drums,Ron on bass and temporary guitarist named Lloyd Grant.  But the Original line up comprised of James,Lars,Ron and a fresh faced guitarist in Dave Mustaine. Metallica's first show was at Anaheim's Radio City on March 14,1982 Suddenly Ron McGovney left after a dispute between him and Dave Mustaine so they turned to Trauma's Cliff Burton with the condition is that they move from Los Angeles to San Francisco which would be the home of Thrash Metal. They recorded a number of demos including "No Life Til Leather" and "Power Metal" to gain atten...

 Following "Fatal Portrait" King Diamond (the man and the band) were in the studios of Copenhagen,Denmark to start writing and recording the follow up to "Fatal Portrait" only this time this album would be a full concept album. From December of 1986 to February 1987 King Diamond's second studio album "Abigail" is completed. Released on June 15,1987 "Abigail" tells the tale of a young couple named Jonathan La'Fey and Miriam Natias.  They move into a mansion in which Jonathan inherited in the summer of 1845. Upon the arrival the seven horsemen show up to warn the couple not to move into the mansion otherwise 18 would become 9. They didn't heed the warning and moved into the mansion anyway.  During the first night while Miriam slept The Family Ghost Count de La'Fey a dead relative of Jonathan's shows him a casket where the corpse of a stillborn child named Abigail rests. The Family Ghost then drops a bombshell that Miriam is carr...

 For years I have heard stories about King Diamond and alot of it was negative,mainly because he is a devil worshipper. However when he was fronting Mercyful Fate years before releasing albums like "Melissa" (1983) and "Don't Break The Oath" (1984) the theme was all about The Occult and Satan etc etc they were in that Black Metal Category and many critics claim that they're the originators of Black Metal. But when he started his own solo band named "King Diamond" his concepts are mainly horror themed stuff. King Diamond was more into shock rock,straight up heavy metal with bits of speed added on.  King Diamond was formed in his home country of Copenhagen,Denmark in 1985 and joining him was his fellow Mercyful Fate members Guitarist Michael Denner and Bassist Timi Hansen after King had a falling out with another Mercyful Fate Guitarist in Hank Shermann and I don't know who was the drummer for Mercyful Fate at the time,but that's nothing to w...

 It's nice to see a band like Skid Row finally re-emerge from being at the bottom following the departure of frontman Sebastian Bach to hiring a fresh young energetic singer from Sweden named Erik Gronwall. But today I review Skid Row's second studio album "Slave to the Grind"  For "Slave to the Grind" Skid Row comprised of then singer Sebastian Bach Bassist and co-founder Rachel Bolan,Guitarist and co-founder Dave "Snake" Sabo,guitarist Scotti Hill and drummer Rob Affuso had retained the services of German producer Michael Wagener (who also produced Skid Row's debut release when it came out in 1989) Beginning recording in the later half of 1990 in two studios one in Fort Lauderdale's New River Studio and Los Angeles' Scream Studios,for "Slave to the Grind" this record marked the band's move toward a heavier sound with the title track moving more towards Speed Metal. However it included power ballads and a few lighter trac...

Over the past number of years I have grown a deep appreciation for Whitesnake's music I even considered them The Led Zeppelin of the 1980's but today on JoeLumb's album review I review Whitesnake's self titled 1987 album. After their tour in support of "Slide It In" ended in early 1985 Whitesnake played two shows in Brazil's Rock in Rio festival. After forming Whitesnake back in 1977 Singer David Coverdale considered folding the band,but executives at their label Geffen records(where they were signed to at the time) asked Coverdale to continue working with guitarist John Sykes. Sykes was in bands like Tygers of Pan-Tang and Thin Lizzy before hooking up with Coverdale to start work on the next Whitesnake album. Whitesnake had previously signed with Geffen for distribution in North America while they were still with EMI over in Europe.  Coverdale and Sykes started writing material for the new album in the south of France in the Spring of 1985 according to Da...

 After releasing "High N' Dry" in 1981 with famed producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange who was the man responsible for the successful AC/DC albums "Highway to Hell" and "Back in Black" and "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" plus he produced Foreigner's "4". Def Leppard retained Mutt's services for the band's third album. But many of the rhythm guitar parts were recorded by Steve Clark and Pete Willis. Pete Willis was fired from Def Leppard towards the end and he was ultimately replaced by Phil Collen (He's been with them eversince as their lead guitarist) With Phil recording most of the guitar parts Willis failed to do,plus contributing to many of the guitar solos. The album was recorded in two studios one is Park Gates in Battle,Sussex,England the other was Battery Studios in London.  "Pyromania" was released  on January 20,1983 and it was seen as a transitional record between Leppard's t...

 For those who believe that "Master of Puppets" released in 1986 was the recording where they found their trademark sound. All "Puppets" did was show their maturity in songwriting,however it was "Ride the Lightning" that Metallica comprised of Singer/Rhythm Guitarist James Hetfield,Drummer Lars Ulrich,Bassist Cliff Burton and Lead Guitarist Kirk Hammett had solidified their trademark sound.  "Ride the Lightning" showcased Metallica's musical growth and lyrical sophistication. Metallica began recording the album on February 20,1984 at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen,Denmark produced by Fleming Rasmussen. It was Lars Ulrich's idea to create "Ride the Lightning" outside the United States,due to his admiration for Rasmussen because he liked his work on Rainbow's 1981 release "Difficult to Cure" At first Rasmussen had never heard of Metallica until he heard their demos and he was impressed due to them showing alot o...