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Powerage5

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Powerage5 last won the day on January 9

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  1. I love all of his solo albums in one way or another - all very much worth checking out. For me the high points are Accident Of Birth and The Chemical Wedding - both done with the same band, including Adrian Smith. The former has some big Maiden vibes but a heavier tone, and The Chemical Wedding is a quasi concept album that leans heavily into the occult, Alistair Crowley, and William Blake. Some of the finest heavy metal albums ever recorded IMO. Tyranny Of Souls continues the same sound but with a different band - some of Bruce’s strongest vocals ever though. The rest is all a bit more out there. Tattooed Millionaire is a straight ahead hard rock album that’s quite fun and good at what it aims to do (And it features Janice Gers on guitar). Balls To Picasso is his most experimental album which went through several iterations and rerecordings before it finally got released. Heavy at times but also a diverse sound with some different elements sprinkled in. Skunkworks leans heavily into the grunge/alt rock sound, and comes off quite good at times. It was panned at the time but has since gained a number of big fans.
  2. It's definitely got a split opinion. I had one of my preorders show up significantly early, so I've been able to digest the album for a few weeks already. It's a very diverse album - not at all a true heavy metal album in the same vein as Accident Of Birth or The Chemical Wedding, nor is it the true concept album that was originally envisioned (Though a few songs carrying the concept remain). It's very clear the album is compiled from material recorded over a vast number of years just from listening to Bruce's voice, he's suggested Sonata was recorded just after Accident Of Birth and the original vocals that were recorded are left untouched, that's completely believable from listening to the tone of his voice. That said, the production is pretty consistent across, and the album mostly works together despite how piecemeal the process was. There's a few really standout tracks, and really only one that isn't clicking with me on any level: - Afterglow of Ragnarok - We'd heard it already, but it's a big heavy track that works well as an opener. It's probably the most riff-oriented song on the album. - Many Doors To Hell - Quite a simple song, but it's probably my favorite on the album. It's a great slice of hard rock/pop metal that's infectiously catchy. Bruce has likened it to something from the Scorpions in interviews, but I get huge Ghost vibes on it in line with some of their catchier rock songs like Square Hammer, Dance Macabre, etc. - Rain On The Graves - It's a fine heavy, bluesy song. It's a bit silly and campy, but it's not like Bruce has ever shied away from that in the past. - Resurrection Men - This is one that's grown on me a lot since my first spin. It's kind of a strange song - it feels very much like two separate ideas that got lumped into one song, but it somehow...works? The intro, first verse/chorus, and outdo have this big Latin rock/spaghetti western vibe, before going straight into this sort of stoner rock, Sabbath-y middle section that's riff-y with a big fuzzy bass sound. Bruce shows off his Ian Gillian influences a lot on this one. - Fingers In The Wounds - One of my favorites on the album. It's got a big, majestic, epic sound but condensed into three and a half minutes. It's kind of fire and ice with mellow verses and a big anthemic chorus. It reminds me a little bit of Prostitute from GN'R. I wish Maiden could write more songs that have this epic feel but not so drawn out. - Eternity Has Failed - This one is what became of If Eternity Should Fail, the song was originally meant to be a Bruce solo song before Steve heard the demo and nicked it for Maiden's use. It's got some differences; the instrumentation on the intro, no second verse, the lyrics have been tweaked a bit, and the instrumental section in the middle is way more developed. But it's largely the same song as what Maiden released, with a different feel. Maiden gave the song a little more urgency, this is a more sinister, brooding affair with the laid back tempo. - Mistress Of Mercy - Kind of like a heavier Skunkworks-era song. Riff is very similar to Freak. But it's a nice shot of energy in the middle of the album, and it's grown on me a lot since my first listen. - Face In The Mirror - This is the one I can't get into at all. I thought it was fine on my first listen, but my opinion has soured since. It's very unremarkable, I can't take Bruce seriously singing about alcoholism (Since he isn't an alcoholic), and it just doesn't go anywhere. He's put out some fantastic ballads during his solo career, but this isn't one of them. - Shadow Of The Gods - My second favorite on the album, but it's undeniably the best song I think. Bruce had originally written this for a planned project with Halford and Dio, and it's interesting to hear how the song was arranged to cater to all three vocalists' unique voices. The Halford section is one of the meanest vocal performances Bruce has ever done. I get massive Chemical Wedding vibes on this one, just a fantastic epic track. - Sonata (Immortal Beloved) - This one is really interesting. It's very prog-influenced, there's nothing in Bruce's catalogue that is comparable. Lots of alternating between singing a speaking, Bruce really experiments with using his voice as an instrument on this one. Sublime guitar work from Roy Z on this one. All in all, not sits firmly in the middle of Bruce's solo catalogue for me. Nothing could ever top Accident Of Birth or The Chemical Wedding, and I like it about as much as Tyranny Of Souls, although I can admit that is a much more cohesive album.
  3. There's plenty more good recordings besides Philly. Marseille, Werchter, Buffalo, and NYC all spring to mind as pretty good recordings but I'm sure there's others I'm forgetting. There's also a couple excellent audience-shot Blu Rays from Vienna and Aarhus, the latter of which is one of the handful of times they played Touch Too Much.
  4. I know we've got a few other big Maiden fans on here, and didn't want to clutter the Maiden thread with this. Anyone on here looking forward to Bruce's new solo album and/or seeing him on tour this year? First solo album since 2005, and first full tour since 1998 (Barring a handful of dates in 1999 and 2002). I've always been a big fan of all of his solo stuff, and the two singles released so far are good/great. Very excited for the tour also, I'll be doing the first few dates to open the tour in April.
  5. My list is based on the officially released versions, and no unreleased songs included. Just for fairness' sake. 1. Better 2. There Was A Time 3. Prostitute 4. Oh My God 5. Perhaps 6. This I Love 7. Shackler's Revenge 8. Sorry 9. Madagascar 10. I.R.S. 11. Chinese Democracy 12. The General 13. Street Of Dreams 14. Catcher In The Rye 15. Abusrd 16. Rian N' The Bedouins 17. If The World 18. Hard Skool 19. Scraped This list would be radically different based on different versions of these songs.
  6. In Blaze's defense, he can sing the Bruce songs really well...when he's allowed to do so in a key that suits him. He'll occasionally do Bruce era songs during solo shows, and they do sound quite good. But Steve was (And likely still is) adamant that Maiden does not tune down. Period. So Blaze, who physically could not reach the upper parts of Bruce's range, was left yelping hopelessly trying to hit notes that he simply could not. They released an handful of live b-sides with Blaze during that era, and I simply cannot believe they were okay with that stuff being released officially - there's one particular one of The Evil That Men Do that was just...atrocious. Like many of the other issues with the band during that era, it falls on Steve yet most of the time Blaze is the one that carries the blame. Also, I actually love Blaze's versions of Afraid To Shoot Strangers - much better than Bruce's renditions in the 90's:
  7. I am not, and I say that as a massive, massive AC/DC fan that has accepted every other thing that has come before. AC/DC has always sort of…had an air of legitimacy that a lot of other bands lack. They’ve always kept a solid core, they’ve always been affordable concerts, they’ve never over-commercialized (I mean, we’re talking about one of the last major holdouts in streaming and the band that wouldn’t license individual songs to be in Guitar Hero/Rock Band). That’s not to say I don’t legitimately consider this AC/DC, it is. But the lineup changes are getting so frequent it’s dizzying. I mean honestly, no exaggeration, there has been as many lineup changes in the last decade as there were in the 40 years that preceded. On top of that AC/DC has always “kept it in the family” so to speak, a lineup change was a very rare thing, and it did not come lightly. That’s not to say any of the changes have been bad, and especially during the Rock Or Bust era it was unavoidable. It’s unfortunate that Malcolm could no longer continue, but also Stevie was family literally and figuratively (Since he briefly filled in for Malcolm during the Blow Up Your Video tour) - Stevie is as close as you can get to Malcolm without being Malcolm. Dates for the ROB tour were already announced and on sale when Phil got himself into legal trouble, nothing that could be done except to replace him (And once again it was done with an AC/DC alum). The Brian situation was very bizarre, but again it was either get a fill in or face a huge issue canceling so many dates. But now feels different somehow. The band would have known for some time that Phil is unable to tour, and I would assume Cliff’s intentions were known given that he had intended to retire in 2016. And yeah it’s great that Brian is back (As much as we loved Axl in the band), but bringing in two members that are entirely fresh blood both at the same time…it just doesn’t felt like how AC/DC has always functioned in a business sense. It feels more like a cash grab this time around. That said, I am confident it will still be a great show. I am confident that the new rhythm section will be able to carry on that classic AC/DC sound. As @James Bond said, it’s also exciting in the sense that Angus tends to refresh the set lists when the lineups shift. And it probably won’t even stop me from catching a show or two when they come stateside. But it just doesn’t have that same excitement as it normally does when AC/DC announces a tour. They’ve toured so infrequently since 1991 that it was always a huge event when AC/DC announced a tour. This time around I just don’t feel, or see from others the same level of anticipation.
  8. Well now you're in it. Time to pick a club
  9. Fuck sake, this time we didn't even have to wait until February 12
  10. I agree with @ZoSoRose that Q+AL is tough to call a reunion. It is in the sense that there seems to be no intent to make new music with Adam, but to me it's more of a...legacy continuation. The whole point of adding the "+ singer" for any post-Freddie iteration of the band was so that the other singers wouldn't be judged against Freddie (I know it's hard not to), because the band agrees that Freddie is irreplaceable. Besides all that, Adam Lambert doesn't try to be Freddie at all (And Paul Rodgers was even more his own thing). He is his own thing live - the similarities really end at flamboyant vocalist with an impressive range. On the Mike Patton front, one that is definitely divisive but I've absolutely loved is the Mr. Bungle reunion. It's the most Mike Patton thing imaginable to reunite his band that fans had been clamoring for going on 20 years...only to rerecord their high school thrash metal demo tape and none of the music they're known for. I love it. I've seen them twice and the shows have been fantastic, and Scott Ian/Dave Lombardo have been so, so good with Bungle. Scott Ian especially, I've seen Anthrax over 50 times and I've never seen him have as much fun as he has with Bungle. Another great reunion I'll add to the mix is the Misfits. I was prepared to hate it because, prior to 2016 Danzig's vocals had not been great (And his attitude even worse), but I still wanted to see them since they're my favorite punk band. They were fucking fantastic - Danzig sounded like he was dying in between songs but his singing voice is as good as you could expect at his age, it's fun to see them with an over the top production, and all three of Danzig, Jerry, and Doyle seem to be really enjoying themselves. It's a pure cash grab for sure, but as long as the performances are great that doesn't bother me.
  11. In all seriousness, I don't see Duff fitting into AC/DC at all. I can't see him staying completely stationary for the whole show, save for stepping up to do backing vocals (Which speaking of, I can't see his backing vocals meshing well with Stevie's). As simplistic as bass is in AC/DC, it's an extremely stoic, bordering on invisible gig. It works for an "every man" like Cliff, but Duff just...stands out too much.
  12. Hard to rank 19 shows, some of these are fairly interchangeable. Just a couple quick notes to justify all of these also. 1. 2012-02-15 New York, NY (The Ritz, great setlist, performance, and crowd at a special venue. Couldn't ask for more.) 2. 2014-06-06 Las Vegas, NV (Night 8, one of the longest GN'R shows ever and a very good performance from Axl by any post-2010 standards.) 3. 2010-01-24 Hamilton, ON (First show, excellent setlist with TWAT, ITW, and Scraped all in the same show.) 4. 2014-06-07 Las Vegas, NV (Final NuGN'R show, first time I met Axl after the show so this one holds a special place.) 5. 2016-06-23 Detroit, MI (Opening night of NITL, great performance from all, a few gems in the set. Best reunion show I've seen by far.) 6. 2023-09-03 Toronto, ON (Fun show in good company, loved the 2023 setlist and a couple rare picks that night.) 7. 2013-06-08 New York, NY (Governor's Ball - lean, mean show clocking in at an hour and 40 mins. The only show I've seen that didn't feel bloated at all.) 8. 2017-08-16 Buffalo, NY (In the pit with good company, a thoroughly enjoyable NITL-era show.) 9. 2021-09-16 Chicago, IL (In the pit at a legendary venue, felt very fun after the mess that was Hershey. Glad I gave them another go.) 10. 2014-06-04 Las Vegas, NV (Night 7, return of Yesterdays, Prostitute, and Marseille to the setlist. Very good show overshadowed by the next one.) 11. 2013-06-06 Brooklyn, NY (Brooklyn Bowl - the show was a mess musically/vocally, but a lot of fun to attend such a tiny show.) 12. 2016-07-12 Pittsburgh, PA (Not bad, but unremarkable. Felt very tame a few weeks after Detroit.) 13. 2017-08-19 Montreal, QC (Felt like the band was treading water. Took a four year break from seeing them after this one.) 2012-02-12 New York, NY (Terminal 5 - a fairly good show that was soured by very poor venue staff. Probably better than I rank it in reality.) 2011-11-28 Hamilton, ON (Disappointed how similar it was to Wilkes-Barre the week before, but a better show.) 2013-06-05 Buffalo, NY (Outdoor show that was windy and cold AF. Axl sounded rough, and setlist was stale other than CITR.) 2011-11-20 Wilkes-Barre, PA (Pretty sloppy, and a fairly short show due to a lengthy production delay.) 2014-05-14 Bethlehem, PA (I hardly remember a thing about this show. Stale in every sense of the word.) 2021-07-31 Hershey, PA (The only redeeming factor was seeing, a very poor rendition of, Dead Horse live. Laughably bad show.) Seeing how I ranked them out, I think I may avoid seeing GN'R in Pennsylvania anymore
  13. No, I agree it’ll likely never be officially released. But that doesn’t stop me from wanting to hear it for the reasons I stated above. Can just hope for more leaks someday.
  14. I don’t see the issue with wanting to hear Bucket/Finck versions of songs - it’s not like anybody is obsessively saying “I wish they would rejoin GN’R”. They were involved in the creative process for these songs a lot more than Slash was, and we know Monsters and Hard Skool sound quite different than they did at one point. I am insanely curious to hear earlier versions of all of these songs, because it’s about the creative process for me. That’s one of the most fascinating things about the CD era to me - with the number of leaks we have, there aren’t many albums out there where the creative process and evolution of some songs can be heard the way it can with CD. Some songs changed fairly significantly over time, others not at all.
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