Random Track of the Day

[Trollheart]

Title: "Bloodbonded Tribes"
Artist: Forgotten Deity
Format: Solo artist
Year 2017
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Nationality: Polish
Taken from: 33rd album Wisdom
Familiarity with artist: Zero, though I have heard of them. Him.
Familiarity with album:
Familiarity with track:
Comments: Leave it to me to come up with a weird one to kick off the new year! For some reason, the player brought this one up in the native Polish, so I spent some considerable time trying to track it down without success, until I saw the words "Forgotten Deity" in brackets after the name, so then I could go searching under that name. It seems pretty incredible to me that a band who have been together since 2014 could have almost fifty albums, but I think I have an idea this is actually a one-man band. Let me check: yeah I'm right. One guy. Adam Tarczweski. That's even more impressive. Now admittedly most of the albums seem to be in the single digits in terms of tracks, but even so, some of the tracks are quite long, as you might expect with this genre.

This is a shorter one, less than five minutes, and it's dark and brooding, atmospheric with a kind of threatening feel to it - all instrumental of course, with a heavy, slow, pounding drum beat melding with high crying synth to create quite a soundscape. It's decent, but I suspect our Adam is capable of much better.

Rating:

(No video available)

[Trollheart]

Title: "Man and Machine"
Artist: Saxon
Format: Band
Year 2004
Genre: Heavy Metal
Nationality: English
Taken from: 16th album Lionheart
Familiarity with artist: Very; I have all their early albums. Not so au fait with the later ones though.
Familiarity with album: Like this one.
Familiarity with track: Zero
Comments: Saxon are no-frills, honest and straight-forward. You won't find them trying to write 13-minute songs about dodgy sailors who are too old to get insurance going to sea, or men who come in the night and throw sand in children's eyes. No. Saxon write about the staples - women, beer, bikes and the odd bit of history. Maybe. I mean, hell, I don't know: as I say above, I don't know all their albums, but any band who can write a song about a train and a plane on subsequent albums get my vote! Saxon don't try to reinvent the wheel - they fly down the highway on ones of steel. This is kind of what you'd expect: no-nonsense, unapologetic metal which may not be as polished as Maiden or necessarily as raw as Raven, but they've been doing this for nearly fifty years now and they know what they're at. They'll do for me.

Rating:

[Trollheart]

Title: "Life Boat"
Artist: Ani Di Franco
Format: Solo artist
Year 2012
Genre: Indie rock/Folk rock
Nationality: American
Taken from: 17th album Which Side Are You On?
Familiarity with artist: I've only heard this one album.
Familiarity with album: I reviewed it once. Didn't think much of it, as I recall.
Familiarity with track: Didn't leave enough of an impression on me, even though it's the opening track.
Comments: Don't ask me where I got this from. Indie rock is not normally my thing, and folk doesn't do a lot for me, but for some reason I downloaded it, and as I say above, when I reviewed it I remember being distinctly underwhelmed. I suppose, with 16 albums under her belt by the time this was released, perhaps expecting a high quality record was asking too much. Or maybe all her music is shite. I don't know. All I know is this left no impression on me. It's a typical low-key, somewhat drab song that reminds me of someone trying to be a star singing this on acoustic guitar in their bedroom. It's probably fine, for what it is, but it ain't for me. As I surely said in the review, in response to the question in the title, not yours, sister. Next!

Rating:

[Trollheart]

Title: "Sacred Heart"
Artist: Jorn
Format: Band
Year 2010
Genre: Hard rock
Nationality: Norwegian
Taken from: 7th album Dio
Familiarity with artist: I've heard some songs
Familiarity with album: None, but I'm sure I know all the songs as this is a tribute album.
Familiarity with track: Yes I know it.
Comments: Jorn (not Korn, thank god) are one of the many bands I have to check out more. Like Jaded Heart, First Signal, Bonfire, Panopticon and hundreds more, I like just about everything I hear from them when they come up on playlists, but these days I seldom settle down and listen to a full album, which I should do. This is from, as I say above, an album which pays tribute to that much-missed diminutive rock legend, Ronnie James Dio, and covers music he played with his own band and his time with Black Sabbath and Rainbow. This track is one of his own solo efforts, in fact the title track to his third album. That album I found to be okay, but suffering from a lot of weak tracks, and it sort of pointed the way to my ceasing to listen to or be interested in his further work.

Accusations that Jorn were cashing in on the death of Dio, which occurred only two months before the album was released, were hotly rejected by them, and from the way Jorn Lande, band creator and leader, talks of him you get only admiration and respect for the man from his words, so personally I would say it was just bad timing, but you can see why the accusation was made. Might have been more sensitive to have waited a while. At any rate, of the few good tracks on Sacred Heart, this is one of them, though perhaps an odd choice, being the only one they cover from that album. I would have suggested "Hungry for Heaven", "Just Another Day" or even the single, "Rock and Roll Children". But this is what they chose, and it's at least not one of the weaker songs. The important thing, of course, is for them to have done a good job and not ruined the song, and I think Jorn succeed here, while reminding us what we lost when Ronnie passed, over fourteen years ago now.

Rating:

[Trollheart]

Title: "Can't Lose What You Never Had"
Artist: Westlife
Format: Band (allegedly)
Year 1999
Genre: Pap sorry pop
Nationality: Irish, god forgive us!
Taken from: Debut self-titled album
Familiarity with artist: Far more than I wish to, thanks to my brave descent into Boybandland for my journal years ago. The things I do for my art!
Familiarity with album: I assume I reviewed it
Familiarity with track: Forgettable
Comments: Jesus Christ on Autotune! What the fuck are Westlife doing on my PC? Oh yeah, right. That time I had the mad idea to explore the world of boyband music thoroughly. Must have forgotten to delete their albums when I was finished. Let this be a lesson, as Principal Skinner once warned, to recycle frequently. Anyway, this is the last track on the first album they unleashed upon us, and from which they gained many hit singles. This wasn't one. It's not quite sure if it wants to be a ballad or some sort of half-pop rocker. All I'm sure is that I do not want to listen to it again. Puerile. Makes me ashamed to be Irish, it does.

Rating:

[Trollheart]

Title: "Black Rock"
Artist: The Infamous Stringdusters
Format: Band
Year 2008
Genre: Progressive/Acoustic Bluegrass
Nationality: American
Taken from: Second, self-titled album
Familiarity with artist: Zero
Familiarity with album:
Familiarity with track:
Comments: Ah, I do like a bit of bluegrass! Blow away the cloying cobwebs and sticky sentimentality of Westlife. Mind you, what exactly "progressive bluegrass" is I do not know: I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's not banks of synthesisers added to lineup, nor do I expect these guys to sing about riding on the back of a dragon or anything! Why they titled their second album eponymously is also something I don't know, but anyway. Plenty of fiddle and banjo, as you'd expect, good fast tempo on the song, definitely makes you want to stomp your feet and holler for another tankard of rotgut! I must admit, I think I hear the progressive bit in there, where there's a sort of slower violin part, which does change the music somewhat. Seems to be an instrumental. Good fun, as it always is with bluegrass. Yee (and may I add, into the bargain) haw!

Rating:

[Trollheart]

Title: "Right Here, Right Now"
Artist: Kylie Minogue
Format: Solo artist
Year 1991
Genre: Pop
Nationality: Australian
Taken from: 4th album Let's Get To It
Familiarity with artist: Well duh!
Familiarity with album: Zero
Familiarity with track:
Comments: This appears to have been the parting of the ways between Kylie and the "Hit Factory", with Stock, Aiken and Waterman (SAW) finally realising they could not hold back this blonde bombshell and that she was going to do as the album title suggested. She was "allowed" to write six songs herself for the album, and as a result it's more varied than her previous, tightly-controlled ones, and points the way towards her, if you will, musical and artistic emancipation as she broke free and exploded onto the music scene in her own right.

Mind you, I don't know the album. Like everyone, I know her hits and I have a greatest hits album, and I've reviewed two others I think, but that's about as far as my knowledge of her music goes. Though this is one of the songs she collaborated with the tasteless trio on, you can hear their influence still tightly maintained on it, the album apparently sold poorly and Kylie left them behind. The split does not appear to have been amicable, but who's laughing now, guys?

Rating:

[Trollheart]

Title: "Scarsick"
Artist: Pain of Salvation
Format: Band
Year 2007
Genre: Progressive Metal
Nationality: Swedish
Taken from: 6th album Scarsick
Familiarity with artist: I've heard a few albums
Familiarity with album: But not this one
Familiarity with track:
Comments: Couldn't call myself a huge fan of the band, but I've heard some good stuff from them. This I feel has a kind of Riverside feel to it, quite uptempo and with guitars leading the charge and then some sort of choral singing, and honestly then I kind of lost interest. I mean, it's okay but it didn't keep my attention and it certainly hasn't given me an epiphany about the band or anything.

Rating:

[Trollheart]

Title: "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)"
Artist: Savatage
Format: Band
Year 1995
Genre: Heavy metal
Nationality: American
Taken from: 9th album Dead Winter Dead
Familiarity with artist: I've heard one album
Familiarity with album: Not this one
Familiarity with track:
Comments: I feel Savatage are one of the always-underrated and forgotten bands in the metal scene, certainly in the prog metal one. Their album The Wake of Magellan is a total masterpiece, and this is the one before that, also a concept album, based around the Bosnian War. This track is an instrumental, which points the way towards Jon Oliva's other project, Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It's basically a retreading of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", beginning on mournful cello and then blasting into a guitar and tubular bells (wait, what?) rendition of that other one, can't remember the title, but you can listen to it below. It's a pretty masterful fusion of metal tune and Christmas carols. Easy to see why he went in the direction he would go ten years later, and if you like this try any of the TSO albums, especially Christmas Eve and Other Stories, The Lost Christmas Eve or The Christmas Attic.

Rating:

[Trollheart]

Title: "Bitter Suite"
Artist: Marillion
Format: Band
Year 1985
Genre: Progressive Rock
Nationality: English/Scottish
Taken from: 3rd album Misplaced Childhood
Familiarity with artist: Total; my second-favourite band
Familiarity with album: One of my all-time favourites of theirs
Familiarity with track: Completely; one of their epics
Comments: Given how much I listen to Marillion, it's perhaps odd that it's taken so long for me to get a random track from them, but it's been worth waiting for. This is one of the two suites (geddit?) on their third album, the concept Misplaced Childhood, and for those familiar with it, the piece uses the main melody which would be the backbone of their second hit single, "Lavender". It features the usual excellent wordplay from Fish, some great atmospherics and of course wonderful music. Even the title is a pun. Go, Fish! (Yes, another one).

Rating:

[Trollheart]

Title: "Heartbroken"
Artist: Dalton
Format: Band
Year 1989
Genre: Hard rock/Glam Metal/AOR
Nationality: Swedish
Taken from: 2nd alum Injection
Familiarity with artist: Zero
Familiarity with album:
Familiarity with track:
Comments: This is interesting. And confusing. This is not the same Dalton we sampled a track from previously, and yet I know nothing of either band. Must have downloaded them both at the same time, thinking they were the same artist. These guys are, or were, Swedish - they broke up in 2014 - and certainly this track at least sounds much more promising than the other Dalton, with a kind of Asia-like synthy intro and it's a pretty high-level lush ballad, which makes me want to listen to more of their music. Very impressed.

Rating:

[Trollheart]

Title: "Ride of the Daylight"
Artist: Axxis
Format: Band
Year 1999
Genre: Heavy metal
Nationality: German
Taken from: 6th album Pure and Rough
Familiarity with artist: Yes I'm quite familiar with them. I've heard a few of their albums.
Familiarity with album: Think I've heard it
Familiarity with track: But I don't recognise this one.
Comments:  Find it hard to pin this album down. RYM haven't got it, nor Discogs, Wiki says it's their sixth but then Metal Archives does have it, but says it's a compilation and that it was released in 2002, not 1999. Not that you or I care, but it's odd how little information there is about it. Also, some of those who have it list this song as "Ride OF the Daylight", but my media player calls it "Ride ON the Daylight". Guess I'll find out once I play it through. Which I'll do now.

Turns out it's a rather nice acoustic ballad, something I've heard Axxis do well before. In fact, I maintain my contention that metal bands often write the best ballads. Right, this isn't quite acoustic - I can hear an electric guitar in there. But it's relaxing, and it's "Ride OF the Daylight", in case you were wondering. Actually picks up a bit later on, but still a ballad, and very enjoyable.

Rating:
(No video, strangely. Oh well.)

[Trollheart]

Title: "A Man Like Me"
Artist: Styx
Format: Band
Year 1974
Genre: Pomp Rock/Hard rock
Nationality: American
Taken from: 4th album Man of Miracles
Familiarity with artist: Very little; I know the singles, that's it
Familiarity with album: Zero
Familiarity with track:
Comments: Like a lot of people I guess, my introduction to Styx was via their number-one hit "Babe", and, similar in ways to Journey, it seems the band got tagged with this "love ballad" label, though the next single, "Mr. Roboto", was certainly no love song! However the fact remains that anyone who isn't a fan or into this style of music probably knows them for those two singles, maybe Dennis DeYoung's "Desert Moon" and little else. I have never particularly had the incentive or desire to explore their catalogue, so this is new to me. It doesn't change my mind. Very basic hard rock, sort of I don't know? Very early Yes, bit of Kiss, maybe GnR. Ah I don't know. It is, basically, nothing special at all.

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