Myrath - Legacy

If you've never heard "Oriental metal", you should check out Myrath's latest.It can never be overstated that one of metal's strongest qualities is its diversity. And Franco-Tunisian progressive power metal band Myrath's new album Legacy is testament to that fact. It would be reasonable to fear that the addition of a Middle Eastern sound would come off as a novelty that ultimately derails what would otherwise be pretty good genre fare. But in fact it breathes new life into it, something the band itself calls "oriental metal", taking us back to my original assertion that metal is like a culinary base for almost any spice to be added to for unique and amazing new flavors to be discovered and enjoyed. The first single, Believer, gives a great taste of the overall album, with some energetic singing from Zaher Zorgati and solid solo work from guitarist Malek Ben Arbia.

From there the album continues on a steady path of heavy, rhythmically sophisticated jams that are catchy enough to be worthy of airplay. What I appreciate is that while the lighter moments are great, the heavier tunes such as The Needle (which features some nice Symphony X-style riffing) are every bit as powerful, if not more so by contrast, proving that the band stands firmly by the balls and chunk mantra of all good progmetal. At the risk of sounding reductionist, I would describe it all as Norway's Ark with Enchant's Ted Leonard singing, all filtered through a Middle Eastern melodic sensibility. However you want to think of it, this is some really good progmetal music that deserves a listen.

The Bottom Line: This is some great progmetal with a different twist on the genre from Tunisia of all places. Myrath manages to give the genre a shot in the arm while avoiding the trap of collapsing under the weight of novelty. Nice work!

- Genghis really digs this band - but doesn't "the Orient" traditionally refer to Asia?

Gygax - Critical Hits

Lovers of Eric Harris' brainchild Gypsyhawk will love Gygax.If you got the chance to check out Gypsyhawk when they were around, you may have succumbed to their mighty groove. I know I did. Their brand of Thin Lizzy-esque, 70's hard rocking made for some of the better music of the whole retro craze that burned through metal acts a few years ago. Luckily for us, from the ashes of that outfit comes a second iteration of OG goodness from the mind of bassist/vocalist Eric Harris. Joined by his erstwhile co-hort Bryant Throckmorton (guitar), Eric has assembled a new quartet of rockers around a core love of fantasy literature and role-playing games, Gygax.

This debut album, Critical Hits (nice), is fantastic, with all of the best bits of inspired jamming from Gypsyhawk taken to the next level of custom van-rocking glory. One of the most telling aspects of the sound is the classic twin guitar attack of Throckmorton and [the oh-so-appropriately named] John Lizzy. There's some sweet, sideburn-heavy vibes here and tracks like World Breaker, Draw Breath, and The Hunter's Heart showcase the might of Throckmorton and Lizzy in galloping rockers that threaten to flare out your skinny jeans to Travolta-esque proportions. And don't discount the fuzzy basswork of Eric Harris whose smoky crooning evokes the great Philo himself. If you don't dig this stuff, you just don't dig rock and roll, man.

The Bottom Line: This is plain and simple, kick-ass, rock and roll in the Thin Lizzy mould. If you were a fan of Gypsyhawk, that spirit continues in Gygax. But if you're new to the band, and dig old school grooves when hard rock was hairy and the bands were hairier, this is your jam. So, twist turn it up!

- Genghis fantasizes (way more than he should) about owning a 70s custom Chevy van...

Podcast Interview: Tracy G!

Right To Rock main man Tracy G is back in the [interview] saddle again with Rags.The one the only, inimitable Tracy G is back to talk face to face with Ragman about his latest projects, as well as previous endeavours, in his own candid style. Join us we enjoy a lively chat with one of our absolute favorite guests and friend of the show.

And by all means check out Tracy G's website to see everything he's got for purchase - including White Horse Rider (Lea Almazan and Tracy Grijalva) and This Device EP (Tracy G Group) - cuz we can't praise his talent enough. HORNS UP!

Featured Tracks: Dio - Black, Tracy G Group - Space Beast, This Device, Red, White, Black and Blue, Leech (World Premiere, unreleased track from forthcoming CD!), and WWIII - Call Me Devil

Tracy G Interview

UFO @ Concert Pub North

Man, I love to see old school pros lay down some sweet jams. And UFO is one of the best I've seen in a long time on that front. Founded in 1969 (yeah, the 1969 when I was still in diapers) by singer Phil Mogg, Mick Bolton (guitar), Pete Way (bass) and Andy Parker (drums), the band has seen its share of ups and downs in the business - and employed quite a few high-profile musicians (Billy Sheehan, Michael Schenker, Jason Bonham, et al). But the core of their sound has remained a masterful blend of hard rock and British heavy metal that now belies a older man's confidence and poise in its swagger. It's seriously good stuff.

Phil Mogg is just old school class all the way.You wouldn't have known it was the Sunday before Spring Break here in Texas as Concert Pub North was packed with many a long (and gray) haired rocker primed and ready for some hard rocking thanks to opener Love and War. Kicking off the proceedings with We Belong To The Night (Mechanix, 1982), it was immediately apparent that Phil Mogg hasn't lost a note - in fact, his voice actually sounded better live. Throw in Andy DeLuca's solid bass work and Andy Parker's steadfast drumming and you've got some trusty live show bedrock. They followed their first song with the opener from 2012's Seven Deadly, Fight Night (apparently, Phil was a junior boxing champ back in the day) which led into the first song of the evening off of the new album (A Conspiracy Of Stars), Run Boy Run, to huge applause.

Vinnie Moore is just on another level, okay?This is where I have to hand it to my boy, guitarist Vinnie Moore who Rags and I have been a fan of since his debut album (Mind's Eye, 1986) on Shrapnel Records. Vinnie may be one of those neoclassical shredheads from the 80s, but his talent involves so much more finesse and flavor than a one-trick pony from a bygone era. With influences like Ritchie Blackmore, Uli Jon Roth, and Al Di Meola, the man can't help but play with tasteful, melodic phrasing even at warp speed. He's a modern guitarist with incredible technical skill raised on some of the best music of classic hard rock and heavy metal, and his playing is a perfect compliment to the sound of UFO. And while there was surely a contingent of knowing fans like myself and Ragman that were there in part to see this amazing artist play live, he never made any of his playing about him. He played to the music and helped make the band shine like the consummate professional he is.

The Bottom Line: The setlist was a good mix of the old and the new and never left the audience staring at their shoes even when a couple of very minor technical glitches came up during their 90 minutes of stage time. This was one damn fine evening of music from hard rock veterans that know what works and what doesn't and you can't buy that kind of experience. Kudos to Phil and the lads. You guys kicked ass.

- Genghis will be ecstatic when they finally lick that viewing problem for us short guys...

Can We Stop Treating Concept Albums Like Regular Albums?

Welcome to a new segment where Genghis Runs His Mouth about stuff.I've been listening to rock music for over 30 years now and while I'm no expert on the subject, I've spent a lot of time in my life observing my fellow humans do what they do. And a particular pattern has emerged regarding how long time fans of a band treat that band's occasional concept albums.

There tends to be a reaction of "meh, it's all right," (usually when comparing it to previous works from the band) which I think belies a fundamental misunderstanding of where such an undertaking fits into the scheme of things. Concept albums by their nature - when done right - are cohesive narratives, with each individual song a part of a larger storyline that dictates a dynamic structure. Just as a Hollywood movie has moments of intense drama mixed with thoughtful silence, so does the musical trajectory of the concept album. You might think it exciting, but imagine a movie like Die Hard where every single scene that's not about shooting and fighting are taken out. You don't have an intelligible story, and ultimately aren't engaged in the movie. And in fact, it's the inbetween scenes that give impetus to the actions scenes and make them satisfying.

For example, this scene from The Matrix, while a nice bit of choreography, is made so much cooler by the preceding scene where Neo finally realizes his power within the matrix, that he may actually be The One.

So it goes with music. Radio stations never play Rush's Discovery off the legendary 2112 album as a standalone track; it's not meant to be. Who really wants to hear Alex tuning his guitar and noodling around? But within context it's absolutely essential to the imagery of the story as our hero gains insight into the music of a bygone era.

Take us nearly 40 years hence to Dream Theater's The Astonishing - and ironically a pretty similar story to, albeit more fully realized than, 2112. It's a double album with 34 songs, many of which are punctuated with sound effects and ambient vocalizations/music (e.g. The Hovering Sojourn and Brother, Can You Hear Me?) rather than full-fledged progmetal tunes as enjoyed on the band's preceding self-titled album (e.g. The Looking Glass). What I've heard mostly from critics as well as fans is "wow, what an ambitious album," which sounds suspiciously like "it's kind of boring, but they clearly put a lot of work into it, God bless 'em."

All I'm saying is you can't look at such art and treat it like you're looking at the ingredients on a box of cereal: "Bastards! There's nearly 40% less balls and chunk™ in this than there used to be!" It's not a straight numbers game. And I can't say I've ever overheard someone in a museum looking at the Mona Lisa like "Not bad, but this one's so drab compared to his earlier stuff. Wish he'd done another Last Supper".

- Genghis admits it's taking a little time to fully appreciate The Astonishing...