Panic! At The Disco - "Pray For The Wicked"

Panic! At The Disco - Pray For The Wicked
2018, Fueled By Ramen

1. (F**k a) Silver Lining
2. Say Amen (Saturday Night)
3. Hey Look Ma, I Made It
4. High Hopes
5. Roaring 20's
6. Dancing's Not a Crime
7. One of the Drunks
8. The Overpass
9. King of the Clouds
10. Old Fashioned
11. Dying in LA

Death of a Bachelor was great. Really great. Written before Brandan Urie married his wife, that album is filled with vigor and passion. This one? Well...it definitely feels like a plateau. It's definitely not his worst album - not by a long shot. It's also not his best. Pray for the Wicked busts out of the gate with two really great tunes, but after "Say Amen (Saturday Night)" it sort of levels off. I've listened to this album several times and I still don't remember some of the songs. Not great, not crap - sort of in the middle along with Vices & Virtues. Oh, and there's a song with some trap influences on here so...ew. It doesn't stay that way but I really don't like trap music. I don't have much more to say because, unfortunately, this is just that kind of album.

Useless Fact: I don't really know any interesting factoid about this album. That's kind of par for the course for it though.

Angelica - "Rock, Stock, & Barrel"

Angelica - Rock, Stock, & Barrel
1991, Intense

1. The Fire Inside
2. Someone to Believe In Me
3. Cover Me
4. Home Sweet Heaven
5. A Little Love
6. Sail Away
7. Keep Pushing On
8. Bumble Boob Groove
9. Rhyme & Reason
10. Without Words
11. Oh Canada

Ahh...the summer of '91. Good times, good times. One of the things that sticks out in my mind was the Hot Metal 4 compilation. It had videos from Angelica, Deliverance, Tourniquet, etc. This was pretty momentous to my cousin and I because we didn't really have any Christian music videos anywhere unless we bought them. Sure, there was CCMtv on at like 11pm on Saturday, but they sure as heck weren't playing Ransom. To say that video got a lot of VCR time that summer is an understatement (I still have a copy, though I have nothing to play it on). "Cover Me" was Angelica's contribution and it was killer... kind of bluesy and melodic but definitely metal. It's kind of an oddball track because the rest of the album is a lot more metallic and shiny a la Walkin' In Faith. Not that I have a problem with that. I think I might prefer Walkin' In Faith, but Rock, Stock, & Barrel isn't bad by any stretch. I think new vocalist Drew Baca doesn't quite fit as well as Jerome Mazza. He does fit on "Cover Me" but the rest of it... I don't know. Not bad... he just doesn't "click" for me. Also, how the heck did they get away with using the word "boob" in "Bumble Boob Groove?" How did Christian stores everywhere not have a fit?

Useless Fact: Years and years later I was watching a DVD from Third Day and saw Drew hanging out with them. I can't remember if he was an engineer or what. But I was like, "Hey, it's Drew!" and no one knew what I was talking about.

The Choir - "Bloodshot"

The Choir - Bloodshot
2018, Galaxy21

1. Bloodshot Eyes
2. Californians On Ice
3. Summer Rain
4. Birds, Bewildered
5. Only Reasons
6. House of Blues
7. The Dizzy Wounded
8. Because You're Beautiful (Bloodshot Reprise)
9. The Way You Always Are
10. Magic
11. We've Got the Moon
12. The Time Has Come

Hey, remember way back during the Loudest Sound Ever Heard era when Steve Hindalong said his wife didn't want him to write about their relationship anymore? Well...let's just say he's gone back on that a bit here. Most of the album's lyrics are inspired by Steve's recent divorce. I hate to say it, but that tragedy makes Bloodshot a pretty compelling album. The heartache is real. All of the fights, the sleepless nights, the confusion - it's all here. In "House of Blues," Derri sings, "Bittersweet reverberations/That melancholy ghost is here/Haunting every empty room/Meet me in the hallway/I'll trade you tear for tear." You can really feel the anguish in every note. It makes me look at my own marriage and appreciate what I have and maybe try to avoid some pitfalls. "The Dizzy Wounded" is another favorite with the chorus, "Before we begin our descent into madness/Why don't we/The dizzy wounded dance." There are a few breathers here, "Californians On Ice," "Magic," and "We've Got the Moon," are mercifully upbeat and provide a reprieve from the tumult and balance out the album a bit. Music-wise, the band doesn't stray too far from Shadow Weaver except with maybe a little more acoustic guitar and a little less ambient guitar swirlies. "The Way You Always Are" sounds like it could have been on Steve's solo album, The Warbler (especially because Steve sings the lead). Probably the only track that I don't care for is the album closer "The Time Has Come." It contains 90% of the albums guitar swirlies ("Because You're Beautiful" contains the other 10%). The lyrics center around the theme of forgiveness... but I don't know. It feels like the band wanted to end on a more positive note so they included this song - it falls a little flat for me. Also, as Uvulapie pointed out to me, the bass is kind of buried in the mix for some reason. It sucks sometimes that heartache and pain translate into some of the best art but it's what makes Bloodshot so engrossing. It's among the best of the band's 2010's era for sure.

Useless Fact: There are a few videos for songs on this album, "Californians on Ice," "Birds, Bewikdered," and "The Time Has Come."

Driver Eight - "Watermelon"

Driver Eight - Watermelon
1996, Tooth and Nail

1. Watermelon
2. Polish
3. Cheers
4. Strange
5. Getting This Thing To Go
6. Waiting For Godot
7. Brown Paper Bag
8. Drive
9. Sunbittern
10. Carrousel
11. Superglue

I remember listening to the demo of Driver Eight back in the day at my local Christian bookstore. I also remember really being impressed and wanting to buy it. Shortly thereafter though I got out of music entirely and Watermelon was lost to me...until now. I guess I was in the mood for some mid-nineties indie alternative rock. This album was just the thing to scratch that itch. I also like the lyrics which are Christian in nature but very subtle. Though that was the thing back then. Nevertheless, this disc is quite good and it just proves that, even as a teenager, I had pretty good taste. It's too bad this band never put out any more albums...at least I don' think they did.

Useless Fact: "Driver 8" is the name of an R.E.M. song. I'm pretty sure the band is named after this song. There's definitely some R.E.M. influence in their sound.

Mortification - "Relentless"

Mortification - Relentless
2002/2013 Soundmass

1. Intro
2. Web of Fire
3. God Shaped Void
4. Priests of the Underground
5. Bring Release
6. Syncretize
7. The Other Side of the Coin
8. Altar of God
9. Sorrow
10. 3 of a Kind
11. Arm the Anointed
12. New York Skies
13. Apocalyptic Terror

If you're looking for one of the best albums of the post-EnVision era, this is it. The jump in quality versus what I've heard so far is amazing. This is the first album with Terrorphobia's Mick Jelinic. I thought maybe he was maybe the main songwriter here. But, nope. It's actually Steve Rowe and second guitarist Jeff Lewis. Relentless is a thrash album for the most part. It's filled with tasty, infectious riffs and a lot of attitude. "Sorrow" is a doom metal track and I'm not usually one for doom metal, but this one rocks. Again, largely due to some stellar riffing and guitar work. "Apocalyptic Terror" is full on death metal - reminding me of the old B-side "Butchered Mutilation." Steve is using his clean thrash vocals, but they're not annoying. Though I do think that if he did the whole album in growls it would be better. Also, there are a couple tracks that I could do without. "Bring Release" and "Arm the Anointed" come to mind. They're not bad but the rest of the tracks are so good these bring down the vibe a little bit. Despite my minor complaints, Relentless is just as good as stuff from the early era. I wished this quality would have continued...

Also, I can't tell if the cover art is awesome or cheesy. Both, maybe? I do like it, I can tell you that.

Useless Fact: This is the only time in the band's history to have four people (two guitar players) in the line-up.

Bowie, David - "Hunky Dory"

Bowie, David - Hunky Dory
1971, Parlophone

1. Changes
2. Oh! You Pretty Things
3. Eight Line Poem
4. Life On Mars?
5. Kooks
6. Quicksand
7. Fill Your Heart
8. Andy Warhol
9. Song For Bob Dylan
10. Queen Bitch
11. The Bewlay Brothers

Uvulapie:  Hunky Dory was released back in 1971, before David Bowie was DAVID BOWIE and one year before Ziggy Stardust obliterated the minds of youth the world over.  It was his fourth album and I’m fairly certain his only hit up to that time was “Space Oddity” from his second album.  This album starts with his second hit, “Changes”, which still sounds amazingly fresh and invigorating despite it being drawn from 50's pop nostalgia and nightclub noir.  Another song which immediately caught my fancy is the lighthearted “Kooks” in which he asks his newborn son if he wants to stay and be raised by a couple of kooks.  The music is upbeat with strings, a plucky piano in the verse, and an unusual arrangement.  It sounds sentimental and sweet, almost kitschy, and certainly not something I was expecting from the experimental, gender-bending DAVID BOWIE.

Old Man:  I won't belabor the point here - I like Hunky Dory more than Scary Monsters. It seems a lot more unified that's for sure. It's also nice to hear Bowie just sing the dang songs instead of yowl all over them. Wow... that was a lot more critical of Bowie than I thought I'd be, but there it is. "Andy Warhol" is great and it's one of my favorite Bowie songs ever already. I also really enjoyed "Oh! You Pretty Things," "Kooks," and "Queen Bitch." The last one sounds like a sort of proto-"Suffragette City." "Kooks" also vaguely reminds me of Daniel Amos' "Props." Not really sure why, though. I'm probably not as wild about "Fill Your Heart" because it seems a little goofy and cheesy but without the familial grounding of "Kooks." However, unlike Scary Monsters, there's not one song on here that I don't like.

Uvulapie: I just re-listened to both “Queen Bitch” and “Suffragette City” so that I could properly tear your comparison to shreds (purely for readership entertainment value, of course) and daggonit Old Man, you’re right.  Whatever.  Good catch.  I’ll respectfully disagree on the “Props”/”Kooks” comparison, however, though you get points for working in a Daniel Amos reference.  One song neither of us mentioned is the gorgeous “Life On Mars?”  It’s a dramatic yet forlorn piano song (in fact, most of the songs on this album are either based on piano or feature it in some way) that builds in an orchestral string section and a big, reaching vocal melody in the chorus.  And if I may work in one final digression, and I will unless you edit it out, this song reminds me of the first two Alice Cooper solo albums in its lofty rock/orchestra arrangement.

Old Man: Dude, I would never edit anything out. What's the fun in that? I didn't think to make the Alice Cooper comparison, but you're right. They were contemporaries on different continents but they tapped into a similar vibe. Though I don't know off-hand when this album was released in comparison with those. Another song we didn't mention was album closer, "The Bewlay Brothers." It's a bit more "Bowie" in that it seems a little more dour, experimental, and more... well Bowie than the rest of the album. It also ends with him singing in a thick accent for theatrical effect. Something Peter Gabriel used to do pretty regularly around the same time in Genesis. Theatrics were big back then...

Hunky Dory seems to be a hit with the both of us. I confess that I would direct someone to this album rather than Scary Monsters to get a sample of the artist.

Useless Fact: The line, "I am a product of Churchill's lies" in "Quicksand" shows up in Jimmy P. Brown's first Fearful Symmetry album as, "I am a product of Church's lies" from "Reinvent the World."

Def Leppard - "Hysteria"

Def Leppard - Hysteria
1987/2017, Mercury

1. Women
2. Rocket
3. Animal
4. Love Bites
5. Pour Some Sugar on Me
6. Armageddon It
7. Gods of War
8. Don't Shoot Shotgun
9. Run Riot
10. Hysteria
11. Exictable
12. Love and Affection

I've mentioned that back in the day, my life consisted of mostly MTV, Nintendo, Nickelodeon and church. My cousin would "babysit" me during the summers and we'd pretty much spend all day watching music videos and going to the store for penny candy. Yeah.... they don't call me "The Old Man" for nuthin'. Anyway, Def Leppard's Hysteria was quite popular at the time with "Rocket," "Love Bites," "Pour Some Sugar On Me," and the title track on regular rotation. I never had this album before but I did have a copy of Vault in college that I never replaced (it got CD rot). Instead of replacing that one I thought I'd just get the album with most of the songs I'd heard. It's pretty good. It hits all the nostalgia buttons in my brain. Though I've heard a lot of fans kind of regard this album as a huge sell-out. I guess they were a lot more metal sounding on their old stuff. This album does have a lot of super shiny, clean production and layered vocals. I had a friend that saw them in concert once and confirmed that they could not replicate those layers live. Anyway, sell-out or no, I dig it and it does make me want to explore their discography a bit.

Useless Fact:  This really isn't a fact to anyone who knows the band, but the drummer is one handed. He lost one of his arms up to the shoulder. Instead of rolling over and quitting, he devised this byzantine system of pedals to compensate and - as far as I know - is still drumming for the band to this day. That's quite a feat!