Thin Lizzy - Live in London

To say I was disappointed that John Sykes left Thin Lizzy, would be the understatement of the year (Well at least in 2009).  Being such a Sykes fan, it was hard to accept that he was out, and a new incarnation would carry on without him.  Once Sykes left Scott Gorham recruited Vivian Campbell (Dio, Riverdogs and Def Leppard) to fill the missing axe roll as well as Ricky Warwick (The Almighty) to take over the vacant vocal slot.  If you're not familiar with Warwick, he was with the band The Almighty, back in the 90's.  The band had moderate success but never really made an impact.  Warwick's vocal style, at least in Lizzy, is very close to Phil Lynott's.  Just like many of the classic band's from that era, as they carry on, they move away from any sort of new identity and stick to the old sound, at least vocally.  Hence, the addition of Warwick. 

I was prepared to scrutinize this new line up, but knew in the back of my mind it would be great, because Gorham, wouldn't have it any other way.  I had seen some footage of the band, fan shot, but never got a true idea of how the band would sound, until their new release Live in London.  The band sound really good and Warwick is solid doing his Lynott style vocals.  The band is tight which made this release an enjoyable listen.  This won't replace the classic Live and Dangerous, but will fill the void of no new material from the band.  The songs are updated with current production techniques, but do not hold the same magic as only the original lineup could produce.  The band did a nice job on tracks like Are You Ready and Dancing in the Moonlight.  The set list is standard Lizzy and should make any diehard happy.

Bottom Line: The latest incarnation of Lizzy killing it live.  With Sykes out of the band there is a new dynamic to the band, which takes them back to the classic sound. 

Standout Tracks: Dancing in the Moonlight, Jailbreak, Still In Love With You and Are You Ready.

-Ragman wonders if there wil be a new studio record from the band at some point in time.

Jim Florentine - Cringe "N" Purge

Hot off the heels of the success from VH-1 Classic's - That Metal Show, Jim Florentine has just released his comedy album Cringe "N" Purge on Metal Blade Records.  Florentine and his TMS counterpart Don Jamieson were both signed to MB this year for the first ever comedy releases on the label.  Unfortunately Jamieson's release was disappointing, so hopefully Florentine has more in his arsenal than his counterpart.

Florentine's release starts off strong and finishes strong without a hiccup.  The jokes are funny, racy and totally offensive; all the ingredients for a solid effort.  Jim's brand of comedy is on the lines of the great Andrew "Dice" Clay, but in his own style.  Jim touches on his metal side, but does not make it totally prevalent in his act.  I know a lot of us know him from TMS, but the dude has been on the circuit for awhile, and is known more for his comedy than his love of metal.  I like that he didn't use that as a crutch during his act, and stuck to the jokes about his family, and his jokes about kids.  This CD had me rolling in several parts.  My only critique is that is was hard to hear him at times.  It seemed like he was stepping away from the mike and then he would come back in, which made it more audible.

Bottom Line: Some of the best racy comedy I have heard in a while.  Jim showing his game outside of TMS and succeeding.

-Ragman had his reservations about this one, but then was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

Anterior - Echoes of the Fallen

It is hard to believe that it has been 4 years since Anterior's debut record on Metal Blade Records.  Anterior was a shining star, which stuck out in 2007, and I vowed to follow them, if they were to make it to a second recording.  Their sophomore release Echoes of the Fallen, picks up where their debut The Age of Silence left off.  These guys are all about the Swedish Death Metal, even though they're a British band.  The sound is that of the great At The Gates, but with a modern twist.  The songs are well structured and the musicianship is out of this world. 

Guitarist's Leon Kemp and Steven Nixon are absolutely amazing.  These guys rip like no other.  Their intricate rhythms matched with their melodic solos will have any guitar aficionado creaming their pants.  These guys are monsters.  The vocals by Luke Davies are your standard death growls, which do not venture into clean territory.  Unlike many of the bands in the genre today, Anterior has decided to keep the gutteral vocals and have resisted the clean style.  The music is so strong on this release, that the vocals don't really matter.  All in all, a solid release that will stay in the rotation for awhile.

Bottom Line: Anterior are back and do not suffer from the sophomore jinks.  The new CD actually surpasses the debut, which is a tough thing to do.  Solid melodic death metal with guitars for days.  Gets better with each listen.

Standout Tracks:  By Horror Haunted, Blood in the Throne Room, Sleep Soundly, No More and Venomous.

-Ragman's fingers are tired from air guitaring.

Lust for Vengeance

Always the sucker for the cheesy slasher movie, I decided to check out the recent MVD release Lust for Vengeance.  The film, if you can call it that, is a throw back to the 60's/70's slasher flicks.  The director's vision was to re-create a Giallo type film, which is an Italian thriller.  It is the typical story of 5 friends that have a dark secret from their past.  Once one of the friends end up dead, the others start to think and reminisce of their dark secret.  As you have probably guessed, the cast starts dying off, one by one, until the killer is revealed. 

In theory, this could have been an entertaining watch, but due to the poor filming and bad acting, this one never had a chance.  The film itself looks like a security tape.  The motion is staggered and becomes annoying really quick.  If that weren't bad enough, the color tones of the movie keep changing, making some scenes unwatchable.  The movie does contain elements of the genre they were shooting for, but due to the poor picture, bad acting and lack of gore, this one never stood a chance.

Bottom Line: B-rated movie, that scored an F.  Good idea, but poor execution.  Typical slasher flick with nothing exciting to help it stand out.  Bad acting and even worse cinematography, are a recipe for disaster.

-Ragman needs some aspirin.

Paul Rogers and Friends - Live at Montreaux 1994 (CD and DVD)

Paul Rogers is an icon in the hard rock community.  He has fronted some of the biggest English rock bands (Free, Bad Company and Queen) in history.  His vocals are unmatched and get better with age.  Paul has been associated more with the bands he has fronted, than his solo career.  When he is on hiatus from working with a group he tours and has recorded some solo material.  In 1994 Paul was asked to play the legendary Montreaux Festival, so he assembled an all-star line up and proceeded to rock the crowd into a frenzy.  At the time of this performance, Paul and Co. were in the midst of supporting his Muddy Water Blues record.  Paul recruited most notably Neal Schon (Journey) and Jason Bohnam for this tour, but for this performance their were a few extra surprises, with appearances by Brian May (Queen) and Steve Lukather (Toto).

Live at Montreaux is a well shot DVD which gives you a sense of being in the audience.  The sound is  great as well.  This was a very enjoyable view because the performance was spot on, and it appeared that all were having a good time.  I think the highlight for me was, seen Neal Schon, Steve Lukather and Brian May all on the same stage.  Three monster guitarists all on one stage.  It doesn't get much better than that.  The set list was a nice mix of Blues and Classic Rock tunes from Paul's past.  The tunes were performed to perfection and sounded very fresh.  A solid view from start to finish.



Bottom Line: Paul Rogers doing what he does best - Singing his ass off.  He is one of the greats and he proves it on this DVD.  Not only that, you have some of the greatest guitarist on the planet jamming on one stage.  The songs really came alive on this one for me, and I enjoyed it much more than I originally thought I would.

-Ragman is looking for his bellbottoms.