Vanden Plas - The Seraphic Clockwork

German progressive metal at its finest.For those of you whose only familiarity with Vanden Plas is seeing the name on the back of some rich guy's Jag, this German progressive metal band has been cranking out music for nearly 25 years.  That said, The Seraphic Clockwork is only their 6th studio album to date.  And if you're looking for music set firmly in the archetypes of the genre, you've come to the right place.

Vanden Plas' strengths lie in crafting compelling rhythms with a judicious use of dynamics, reminiscent of genre forefathers like Dream Theater.  Following another common prog metal standard, The Seraphic Clockwork is a concept album chock full of imagery.  Songs like Holes In The Sky will definitely call to mind the satisfying unison runs (at 3:35 in the track) heard so often on albums like Images and Words.  While Sound of an Angel wields the power of Symphony X-style interludes (@ 2:26) with ease.  But don't let me mislead you; Vanden Plas definitely puts its own stamp on the genre with a Gothic chorus on Sound of Blood (2:25) and a string accompaniment on Quicksilver (1:51) and On My Way To Jerusalem (:25), the album's showpiece.

Andy Kuntz ably handles the singing chores, from smooth crooning to accentuating growls, demanded of prog metal's better vocalists.  Stephan Lill's guitar work won't immediately blow you away necessarily, but make no mistake, he can play.  See what I mean on tracks like Quicksilver (7:29) and on the intense Rush of Silence (7:11) for proof of his skills.

The Bottom Line:  Despite a disappointingly flat mix overall, The Seraphic Clockwork is a solid album from one of the better bands in the genre.  Fans of prog metal should definitely add this to their collection.

- Genghis likes his metal proggy

Podcast #103: Union

Richard Christy knows how to drink.Bands are like families; they fight and sometimes breakup, but something usually brings them back together.  When a band gets back together, the first thought that comes to mind, is how long will it last this time?  Bands like Dokken - and now, Anthrax - have broken up and gotten back together more times than John changes his jock.  Are they teasing the fans with these short-lived reunions?  Not sure, but don’t really care, because I welcome them back every time with open arms.  Join Genghis and Ragman as they discuss the recent reunion of Anthrax and their predictions on how long it will last.  Next, the boys round up Richard Christy from Charred Walls of the Damned, as he discusses the band’s debut CD as well as their current tour.

DVD of the show: Anthrax - Alive 2

Beer of the show:  Monschof Kellerbier

Featured Tracks:  Charred Walls of the Damned - Voices Within The Walls; Anthrax - Anti-Social; Trust - Prefabricated; Anthrax - Superhero; Crimson Glory - Cydonia; Anthrax - Medusa; Accept - Dead On; Dokken - Heart to Stone; Charred Walls of the Damned - Ghost Town & Fear In the Sky

Classic of the Show: Malice - Rockin' With You

Genghis Pick of the Show: Bullet for My Valentine - Fever

Ragman Pick of the Show: Sevendust - Confessions (Without Faith)

- Ragman is perplexed as to what happened to the old site...

Podcast #103: Union

Update on Monday, July 19, 2010 at 3:00PM by Genghis

By the way, the old feed on iTunes is most likely no longer valid.  However, until the new feed shows up in the iTunes Store, you can still manually subscribe to it by choosing Subscribe to Podcast... under the Advanced menu in iTunes and using this feed link:

http://therighttorock.com/ituneslink

- Genghis does what he can to help the fans

We're Back!

As you might have noticed, we had a spot of bother with the website a few weeks ago.  Well, it was about time we updated and reorganized anyway even if it wasn't the way we planned on going about it.  But enough of that.

We're actually pretty excited to show you around the new place, including some of the new features here at The Right To Rock.  First, the podcast is back online with a new show: Episode #103, with special guest, Richard Christy, of Charred Walls of the Damned.

Next, we have a Discussions section which allows people to discuss various topics which Ragman and I will post for the listening audience.  The more interesting responses will be featured on future shows and might even get you a little something in return...

We've got a much better way to provide listeners and our guests with links to their sites on a separate Recommended Sites page in order to clean up our once cluttered sidebar.  Speaking of which, the sidebar on the right will contain better information about the CD of the Month as well as my Twitter feed (for whoever actually cares) so you can keep up with what's currently making our heads bang.

We'll add more features as we can, but until then, I'm thinking this will work out better than our old Wordpress site.  Hope you guys like it, and the podcast, and we'll keep on puttin' them out until our necks break from old age at a Megadeth reunion show.  Cool?

- Genghis wishes everyone a mighty HORNS UP!

Podcast #102: Covered

Airbourne has come for your women!What is your favorite album cover of all time? There are so many to pick from, it just may boggle the mind. Join Genghis and Ragman as they discuss their favorite metal artwork and see if they were able to pick just one. Also, the boys pay their respects to the late great Peter Steele (Type O Negative). Next, the boys corner vocalist/guitarist Joel O'Keefe of Airbourne for a one on one, who discusses the band's latest offering, No Guts, No Glory as well as their current tour.

DVD of the Show: Extreme - Boston 2009 (Take Us Alive)

Beer of the Show: Hoogstraten Poorter (Overall Beer Rating - 3.5)

Featured Tracks: Extreme - Decadence Dance; Type O Negative - Love You to Death; Dio - Jesus, Mary and the Holy Ghost; Type O Negative - Summer Breeze/Everything Dies; Poison - Sexual Thing; Iron Maiden - Genghis Khan; In Flames - Ordinary Story; Airbourne - Runnin' Wild; Steel Town - Blonde, Bad and Beautiful and Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast

Ragman Pick Of the Show: Adelita's Way - Invincible

Genghis Pick of the Show: Hellyeah - Cowboy Way

Classic of the Show: Steve Stevens - Pet the Hot Kitty

- Ragman feels he should let you know that this show was recorded before the passing of RJD...

Podcast #102: Covered

Alex Rudi Pell - The Crest

A little heavier edge is nice.There aren't many bands out there that are more consistent from release to release than Axel Rudi Pell.  Yeah, you might get a dud here and there, but for the most part you get a solid product every time.  Another thing about Axel, is that you pretty much know what your going to get every time - Good solid hard rock with a metallic edge.  Since Pell joined forces with vocalist Johnny Gioelli back in 1998, it seems like this guitar virtuoso has excelled as a song writer.  Gioelli's awesome vocal style fits Pell's songwriting to a "T".  ARP is as traditional hard rock, and metal as you can get.  His CD's are full of big catchy riffs, big choruses and smoking guitar solos.  The Crest is Pell's 14th studio album, and could very well be his best.

The Crest explodes with the uptempo rock Too Late, which sets the stage for the CD.  It is a heavy track with a great melody and a strong chorus.  The next track Devil Zone (My favorite), is a traditional metal track fueled by a killer riff.  Once the song kicks in from a mellow intro, Axel comes in with this driving guitar riff that sent me into a head banging frenzy.  It is one of those tunes that just makes the head bang and the fist fly in the air.  The next track is Prisoner of Love, which is destined to be a single on metal radio.  Its got the catchy melody and memorable chorus that will stick in your head for days.  The thing I love about this CD is the heaviness of it.  The majority of the songs are heavier and are mixed with a darker vibe, which is shown on the track Dreaming Dead.  All in all a very solid effort.  I think this could be the best CD Pell has ever put out.  Go get it!

Bottom Line:  Standard Pell, but with a welcomed heavier edge.

Standout Tracks: Devil Zone, Dreaming Dead,  Too Late and Burning Rain.

- Ragman is searching for buried treasure