Podcast #139: What If...

Gus G's legato runs and sweep-picking? It's all greek to me! Yeah, we went there.What if some of our fallen metal heroes were still alive and what might they be doing today? Would Randy Rhoads still be playing metal, would Hendrix still be ripping things up or re-inventing himself? Join Genghis and Ragman as they discuss this "What If..." topic and much more. Next, Firewind/Ozzy Ozbourne guitarist, Gus G, calls in to chew the fat with the boys, discussing Firewind’s latest release Few Against Many, as well as what it's like playing with the Prince of Darkness.

Optical Illusion - HellYeah (Live from Rocklahoma)

1st Beer of the Show: Cain’s Dark Mild (Robert Cain & Company Limited)
	Appearance: 3.5 Aroma: 4.0 Palate: 3.5 Taste: 3.0 Overall: 3.5	"Decent beer with a low ABV that makes it good for working."

2nd Beer of the Show: Scratchin' Hippo (Adelbert's Brewery)
	Appearance: 4.0 Aroma: 4.0 Palate: 4.0 Taste: 4.0 Overall: 4.0	"An amazing brew from a new local brewery that scratches our Belgian itch."

Featured Tracks: HellYeah - The Debt That All Men Pay; ZZ Top - Just Got Paid; Talisman - Frozen; Jorn - Ride Like the Wind; Iommi - Dopamine; Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy, Chickenfoot - Come Closer; Testament - More Than Meets the Eye; Firewind - Cold As Ice, Wall of Sound, Long Gone Tomorrow, Another Dimension, Few Against Many & Edge of a Dream

Classic of the Show: Danger Danger - Bang Bang

Genghis Pick of the Show: Dark Forest - Hourglass

Ragman Pick of the Show: Mad Max - Fallen From Grace

- Ragman is on a bit of a tear, but how long will it last?

Podcast #139: What If...

Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance (30th Anniversary)

Screaming for Vengeance, to me, is the best Judas Priest record ever recorded.  I also, believe, it is the one of the best metal records of all time.  That being said, this iconic record has just had its 30th birthday and the Priest have decided to throw it a party.  Yes this musical gem has been given the royal treatment for it's big day.  This masterpiece has just been remastered and re-packaged with a DVD of their classic appearance at the 83 US Festival.  Dude this  is like a dream come true,  The ever so coveted US Festival performance, now given the proper treatment, by finally being released officially on DVD for the first time.  Pinch me cause I think I'm dreamin.

I got to hand to the Priest because they have been doing a nice job re-packaging their classic albums and adding some nice bonus material.  I was hoping after what they did with British Steel a few years back, that they would do the same for Screamin.  Sonically the CD sounds better than ever.  This album has always had a killer sound, thanks to Tom Allom. but the remastering has made it even better, if you can imagine that.  The CD is loaded with some bonus tracks as well, mainly live, with one unreleased track called Prisoner of Your Eyes.  To be fair, Prisoner was released a few years back, so its not that unreleased, especially if you got it the first time this gem was remastered. 

This is a must buy if you're are a Priest fan or just a metal fan.  I don't care if you have this one already, it is worth every penny, just for the inclusion of the US Festival DVD.  The DVD is awesome.  It is great to see the band in their prime.  The band were on fire that day and sound amazing.  This a great package and is essential for any metal collection.

Bottom Line: A re-release worth buying.  The Priest do it right when they re-release their CD's, by including something special.  A classic metal record paired with a classic live DVD. It doesn't get any better than this.

-Ragman can't imagine what they'll do for Defender's, but he can't wait.

Triumph - Live at Sweden Rock Festival (CD/DVD)

Well Triumph fans have been clamoring for some time, for new material from the band and they have finally delivered, well kind of.  Triumph have just released their live performance from the Sweden Rock Festival, which was recorded only a mere 4 years ago.  The show is a document, of one of the select shows the band did on their brief reunion tour.  After 20 years apart, the band put their differences aside and did a string of festivals around the world and Live at Sweden Rock is a document of this occasion.  Being a major Triumph fan, I was extremely bummed the band didn't make it to my town, but now. at least I have a document of this reunion.  The band is still on good terms, but is not going to do more until the musical economy gets a bit stronger.

Live at Sweden Rock, as you might of guessed, is a greatest hits set done live, with a few twists.  Very surprised to see Blinding Light Snow/Moon Child in the set.  Killer tune!  Yes the guys look a bit older, but man can they still rock.  After being apart for so long, it was really cool to see the band playing together and having a good time.  The band were firing on all cylinders and sound amazing on this set, with only a few exceptions.  Rik Emmett had a little bit of a rough time, vocally, with Fight the Good Fight, but take into account it has been 20 years since he has sang the tune, and he ain't getting any younger.  Overall it was impressive to hear how well Emmett and Gil Moore sounded vocally.  Apparently they haven't lost too much over the years.

The bonus of this release, is that you not only get a CD, but you also get a DVD as well.  It doesn't get much better than that.  The visual portion of the package, is your standard festival live footage.  It looks like it has been remastered, but it looks like typical festival concert footage.  The audio is solid, just like you would expect.  As usual Mike Levine does a nice job putting these things together.  My only critique is that the band did a cover of Rocky Mountain Way, in lieu of playing their own material.  Though it sounds good, I would have preferred one of their own tunes.  I mean they have been gone for 20 years, why are they doing a Joe Walsh cover?  I would have much rather heard Spellbound, Hold On or anything from their catalog.  All is all a solid release. 

Editor's note: I've corrected the mispelling of Mr. Emmett's name. Sorry, Rik.

Bottom Line: Triumph proving that 20 years apart didn't change a thing; they still kick ass.  A great live set from one of the best power trios of our time, even though they have a little help now and again.  A great live package giving you the best of both worlds - CD and a DVD combo pack.

- Ragman hopes to one day hear a new Triumph studio album...

Unisonic - Unisonic

When I heard that Michael Kiske (Ex Helloween, Place Vendome) and Kai Hansen (Ex-Helloween, Gamma Ray) were teaming up for a new project called Unisonic, I got pretty geeked.  Yeah, I know the first thing we all thought was Helloween re-union right?  But if you have followed both of their careers over the years, it was pretty obvious that was not what we were going to get.   What we got is melodic hard rock with a metallic edge.  Joining Kiske and Hansen is bassist/producer Dennis Ward (Pink Cream 69) and guitarist Mandy Meyer (Ex-Krokus).  Seeing all the pieces in this puzzle, it was pretty obvious the musical direction of the band. 

The CD Unisonic is a nice collection of hard rockers, ballads, with a little bit of metal thrown in for good measure.  The title track may give you some false hope, because it teeters on the metal edge and slightly hearkens back to the pumpkin days, because it definitely has a bit of a power metal feel to it.  The second track Souls Alive follows suit with a bit of a power metal feel, before the lads settle into more of a straight ahead hard rock vibe.  This is not a bad or unexpected thing, due to the track record of Kiske, since leaving Helloween.  This album is full of strong melodic tunes, with only a few clunkers.  I have to say I was really happy with this release.  Definitely the best thing Kiske has done in some time.  Die hard Helloween fans may have a hard time with this one, but once they accept this isn't Helloween and it is Unisonic, they should dig it.

Bottom Line: Unisonic is definitely a suprgroup that will hopefully be more than just a one off.  Solid tunes, that are melodic but still contain a metallic edge.

Standout Tracks: Souls Alive, Unisonic, Renegade and Never Change Me.

-Ragman recently tried to fit in his Keeper of the Seven Keys Tee, but it just didn't work out.

Podcast #138: M3

An amazing show, and the boys had the best seats in the house.What is the next best thing to being at an all day festival? Watching it at home on your flat screen, of course. Join Genghis and Ragman as they review the M3 Festival from Nightmare Studios. Offering up some critiques like only they can, the boys discuss the bands that played that day as well as what they think of their current line-ups. This show was so big there wasn't an interview included, but they'll catch ya on the flip-side, dig?

Beer of the Show: Saint Landelin La Divine (Les Brasseurs de Gayant)
	Appearance: 3.5 Aroma: 3.5 Palate: 3.0 Taste: 4.0 Overall: 4.0	"Saints be praised! This little bière de garde is a glorious find."

Optical Illusion of the Show: M3 Festival

Featured Tracks: Jorn - A Thousand Cuts; Enuff Z'Nuff - Heaven or Hell & We’re All Right; Van Halen - Honey Baby Sweetie Doll; Ritchie Kotzen - My Messiah; LA Guns - Rip N Tear; JK Northrup - Wired In My Skin; Great White - Feelin So Much Better; Stryper - Calling on You; Lynch/Pilson - When You Bleed; Loudness - Let it Go; Fastway - Say What You Will; Warrant - Life’s a Song; Lynch Mob - Bed of Roses; Giant - In My Dreams; Patrick Hemer - Edge of Insanity; Thin Lizzy - Bad Reputation

Classic of the Show: Dokken - Into the Fire

Ragman Pick of the Show: Burning Point - In the Night

Genghis Pick of the Show: Barn Burner - Dark Side of the Barn

- Ragman gave himself 40 lashes for being so late with this post...

Podcast #138: M3