In March, the mighty Judas Priest surprised me with a strong platter of metal, Firepower, and began their world tour (I caught their thunderous live show here in town) to support the record. The legendary headbangers have still got that magic touch, producing a seriously rockin' album that is nearly on par with the music from their heyday in the 80's. I'm still giving Firepower serious rotation in my playlist, my most-played songs being Firepower, Lightning Strike, and Evil Never Dies. This album is so hot that it truly sizzles.
Just last week, the princess of pop Kylie Minogue released her fourteenth studio album, Golden. The three advance singles are pop gems, though I was at first a bit stunned to hear a country influence in Dancing. But that slight twang sound works well. The remaining songs on the album vary in their success, and I feel differently about the record from day to day. A veteran in the music business, Kylie took a risk in changing her sound, but at least she hung onto her pop sensibility just enough to keep my interest.
Setting aside the oldsters for a moment, the more modern band Ghost has announced a June 1st release date for their next studio effort, Prequelle. As soon as Amazon has the vinyl LP up for pre-order, I'll line that up. The advance single Rats is pretty cool, still bearing the distinctive Ghost sound... heavy yet melodic... and a "new" frontman to replace Papa Emeritus III... Cardinal Copia. Based on the song Rats, I have a good feeling about the upcoming album.
Further down the road, there will be a brand new offering from thrash metal kings (in my opinion) Megadeth. The band recently let slip that they're going into the studio mid-year, with a 2019 release date in mind. Riding on the strength on their Grammy-winning Dystopia of 2016, Megadeth is sure to continue to pummel fans with their brand of technical metal. I once saw the guys perform as opening act for Heaven & Hell (Black Sabbath with Dio on vocals), but their set was far too short for my liking. I'd love to see the Mega-dudes headline sometime in the near future, while I'm still in decent shape for concert-going. These old bones can only take so much rattling.
A Ghost-ly ceremony in days of yore, Papa Emeritus is no more
Cardinal Copia now conducts the masses, the ghouls... the lads... and the lasses
New additions to the record shelf:
This week the mail brought me a couple of vinyl classics that are making me very happy. Screaming For Vengeance by Judas Priest is quintessential 80's metal. On this nice 180-gram re-issue, the twin-guitar attack simply explodes... and every song is a winner, even the few that I was a little iffy about for many years. Funny how the media format can make all the difference; I never got this fired up over the remastered CD, for crying out loud.
The other record I got is Peace Sells... But Who's Buying, by good ol' Megadeth. Also a re-issue on heavy-weight vinyl, this is another 80's masterpiece, though far angrier and edgier than the slick polish of the Priest disc. Mega-Dave is in all his young and snarling glory on the band's second album, and his players dazzle with guitar, bass, and drum pyrotechnics throughout, particularly on mainstays Wake Up Dead, The Conjuring, and of course, the title track. Sick.
Not long ago, I snagged a super cheap copy of Priest's Defenders of the Faith on CD. I never owned a proper copy before... just a tape-to-tape dub I had in the 80's. Back in the day, for whatever reason, that album never quite resonated with me the way Screaming For Vengeance did (and still does, of course). But giving it another chance, I find I quite like it... I've always really enjoyed the high-energy Freewheel Burning... and can now better appreciate the album as a whole. The slow tempo of a few songs used to turn me off, but I can now dig them nearly as much as jackhammers like The Sentinel and Eat Me Alive.
As far as further listening goes, I enjoyed the weirdly retro-looking video on Youtube for First Aid Kit's folk-pop song Rebel Heart. I inadvertently experienced the metal madness of Deathklok when I looked up the three Batmetal videos... the music isn't what I'd normally go for (way too much gutteral vocals) but the draw of the extreme animation took me there. Crazy as hell. And I finally broke down and got an inexpensive copy of Kylie Minogue's collection of re-mixes called Boombox. For the most part, it's pretty good, with just a couple of so-so tunes. Now my Kylie collection is more complete than ever before.
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