Extreme - "Pornograffitti"

Extreme - Pornograffitti
1990/2015, A&M

DISC ONE:
1. Decadence Dance
2. Li'l Jack Horny
3. When I'm President
4. Get the Funk Out
5. More Than Words
6. Money (In God We Trust)
7. It ('s A Monster)
8. Pornograffitti
9 When I First Kissed You
10. Suzi (Wants Her All Day What?)
11. He-Man Woman Hater
12. Song For Love
13. Hole Hearted

DISC TWO:
1. More Than Words (Remix)
2. Nice Place To Visit
3. More Than Words (Edit)
4. Decadence Dance (Edit)
5. Money (In God We Trust) (Edit)
6. More Than Words (Non Percussion Version)
7. Get The Funk Out (What the Funk? Mix)
8. More Than Words (A Capella with Congas)
9. Get the Funk Out (12" Remix)
10. Sex N' Love

I wasn't a huge fan of Extreme when they first came out. Not sure why other than I was in that "can only listen to Christian music" phase. However, I got it into my head that I needed to hear this whole album because I really like "Hole Hearted." The rest of the album doesn't quite sound like that... it's a lot heavier for one, but it's just as good. The highlight is the guitar work of Nuno Bettencourt. He is one of those guitar talents that is so comfortable with the instrument that it's impossible for him to do something that's not interesting. There's the main riff, then he dances and fills around it like the crazy virtuoso he is. You've also got Gary Cheron's vocals which are also top notch. I guess what I'm saying is that I was a fool to not listen to this back in the day. It's an excellent example of guitar-centered pop rock from that era.

The album is kind of a loose concept record dealing with finding real love in a sex-obsessed world. This is the 25th anniversary edition of this album with an extra disc and liner notes which detail the conception and recording of the album. There's no lyrics though. Ugh! Oh well...

Useless Fact: According to the extensive liner notes in this reissue, Bettencourt did a lot of his songwriting on the toilet.

One Bad Pig - "Love You To Death"

One Bad Pig - Love You To Death
2016, Porky's Demise

1. Love You To Death
2. What Does the Fool Say?
3. The Lust, the Flesh, the Eyes, and the Pride of Life
4. Get Your Hands Dirty (ft. Les Carlson)
5. Footwashin'
6. Sunday Skool Rawk
7. Teenage Royalty
8. Heads Will Roll
9. It's Not Pig Latin (Itsay Otnay)
10. Judgement Stick
11. Straitjacket
12. Ben Moors
13. Red, White, or Blue (Color Me)
14. Tumbleweed
15. OMG

So you're looking at this probably wondering the same thing I wondered when I say it: Who the heck is Mitch Connell?! Answer: someone with more disposable income than me! But seriously, this was a Kickstarter funded album and one of the rewards was to have the donor's name on the cover. So there it is! Mitch Connell! Question is, of course, after all these years does the pig still have much of an oink left? Yeah... pretty much I'd say. In terms of style it's pretty similar to what the guys were doing in their heyday. Of note is the cover of The 77's "The Lust, the Flesh, the Eyes, and the Pride of Life" and the medley of Sunday school tunes - "Sunday Skool Rawk." Also, Les Carlson lends some guest vocals to "Get Your Hands Dirty" and his vocals are always great. Though I confess this one had to grow on me a little and I only really "got it" the other day listening to it at work. Also, I know that another Kickstarter reward was to have a song written for you, but "Ben Moors" is definitely the weakest song here. Other than that I think if you like OBP, you'll like this though I don't think it reaches quite the legendary heights of their past discography.

Useless Fact: Just a heads up, "OMG" stands for On a Mission from God... y'know... in case that was gonna keep you up at night.

HammerFall - "Built To Last"

HammerFall - Built To Last
2016, Napalm

1. Bring It!
2. Hammer High
3. The Sacred Vow
4. Dethrone and Defy
5. Twilight Princess
6. Stormbreaker
7. Built To Last
8. The Star of Home
9. New Breed
10. Second To None

Hammerfall kind of remind me of a metal version of AC/DC or Enya - performers that know their thing and pretty much stick to it. There is nothing wrong with this, especially if it keeps resulting in good music. Built To Last is straight-up, no nonsense, traditional heavy metal. If you like heavy metal and/or Hammerfall, you'll like this. Though I think I might slightly prefer the previous album over this one.

Useless Fact: Is "Twilight Princess" a Zelda reference? I don't know... I'm going to say it is even though the lyrics don't have anything to do with the game.

Petra - "Beyond Belief"

Petra - Beyond Belief
1990, Word

1. Armed and Dangerous
2. I Am on the Rock
3. Creed
4. Beyond Belief
5. Love
6. Underground
7. Seen and Not Heard
8. Last Daze
9. What's In a Name
10. Prayer

Beyond Belief is, without a doubt, Petra's biggest, most successful album. This was the peak of the John Schlitt years, for sure. It's a monster album and it still holds up today. Heck, even the theology holds up today (except for maybe "Underground"). It's a classic, hard rock masterpiece and there's not much else to say about it. I loved it then, I still love it today.

So I've talked about the Beyond Belief video and poked fun at it for they guy going on the missions trip and it's the best thing ever and blah blah blah. I guess there's a little bit more to the movie than that. The kid's friend gets in a wreck, he has a crisis of faith, resolves it... THEN the missions trip. Anyway, I haven't watched the entire movie in years, this was gleaned from the music videos I pulled up on You Tube one night.

Useless Fact: During this time, drummer Louie Weaver had this thing with Mickey Mouse. It was on his clothes, his drums... he always had something Mickey Mouse around. I have no idea why. Anyone know?