Ghost: Opus Eponymous 2010

When I was in high School 1,000,00 years ago, I listened to a lot of Danzig. Which was great, because that was when he and his band were really fuckin’ good. I can also remember a preacher from a local church spending a great deal of time hanging around our High School, buddying up with students, talking to faculty, and basically worming his way into the culture of our school. He especially zeroed in on the “troubled” kids, of which I was one — by his estimation anyway. I don’t know if any of this was appropriate or even legal, but it happened. Our principal was perfectly OK with it. I suspect they both shared a mutual admiration for that Jesus fellow.

ANYWAY…I remember enthusiastically sharing my new CD, “Danzig II: Lucifuge” with our local High School-stalker-preacher-guy. We’ll call him “Bob” for the purposes of this story. I was totally stoked to have my grubby little paws on the Danzig album. I told Bob it kicked ass and even took the time to demonstrate how the CD sleeve folded out into an inverted cross. Bob was not amused. He explained to me that out of all the satanic metal bands, Danzig bothered him the most. To Bob, Danzig posed the greatest threat. Danzig’s music, with its tendency toward catchy hooks and sing-along choruses, had the greatest potential for commercial success. In Bob’s opinion, musically abrasive satanic bands like Slayer or Morbid Angel would never have the ability to reach a wider audience. Therefore, while he found their message troublesome, they posed little threat.

In the end Bob’s analysis was somewhat accurate. Danzig scored a huge radio hit with “Mother”, proving that the band could enjoy some widespread, mainstream success. However, Slayer did eventually win a couple Grammy’s. Which proved that they too, could enjoy commercial success. Either way the world didn’t come to an end.

So what the fuck does any of this have to do with Ghost’s “Opus Eponymous?”

“Opus Eponymous”, is an album packed full of un-metal melody, which at times borders on pop. The songs will borough their way into your skull and sit their like some kind of satanic tumor. Like early Danzig, Ghost’s songs are accessible enough to eventually yield some mainstream success. Also, like Danzig, their lyrics are always about Satan, Satan, and every once in while for a change of pace, Satan.

Bob should be worried.

“Opus Eponymous”, is best described as a cross between Blue Oyster Cult and Merciful Fate. The riffs are retro in a wonderfully 70’s kinda way. The production is bone dry. The music on “Opus Eponymous” will remind you of other bands at times, but it never sounds derivative.

I imagine most metal heads will take umbrage with the vocals. Lead vocalist, “Papa Emeritus”, sings on “Opus Eponymous.” He doesn’t shout, bark, growl, belch or fart into the microphone like most modern metal vocalists. He doesn’t appear to suffer from any bro-like tendencies of metal machismo. Instead he delivers a poppy vocal performance, peppered with just enough falsetto to remind you of King Diamond. The approach works and serves as the perfect compliment to the retro metal groove being laid down by the backing band.

The album clocks in at around 30 minutes, which I personally love, because you can listen to it again and again without growing a long white beard. Every track is outstanding. My favorites are “Ritual,” “Elizabeth,” and “Stand by Him.” There are two instrumentals.

The Japanese version contains a cover of The Beatles “Here Comes the Sun” as a bonus track. Oddly enough, it makes for an outstanding album closer and sounds positively evil while not deviating too much from the original.

“Opus Eponymous” is an outstanding debut album for Ghost. The album has an undeniable classic rock vibe. The playing is progressive, yet tasteful. The songs are amazingly well crafted. Give it a few spins and I guarantee you’ll find yourself singing, “This chapel of ritual Smells of dead human sacrifices”, while in the shower. Not since the Misfits have poppy choruses and Satan sounded so good together. 9.5/10

Misfits: The Devil's Rain 2011

I was at a buddy’s house in the early nineties when I noticed he had a copy of American Psycho sitting beside his stereo. I asked him if it was any good and he sheepishly shrugged his shoulders and gave me the ole’, “It’s O.K.” The truth is I didn’t care what he said. I had already written it off. I suspect that the truth may also be that he didn’t want to admit that he liked it. We all subscribed to some unwritten and unspoken idea that the Misfits without Glenn Danzig were not the Misfits at all — that “The Misfits: Mach II” represented nothing more than a cash grab on behalf two former members of the original band, both of whom apparently lacked the creativity, ambition, or talent necessary to start their own, new band. The original incarnation of the Misfits was in many ways, pure magical brilliance, an elusive combination of timing and talent that happens to only a handful of bands. And when it happens, those bands become legendary.

So the question must be asked, why would Jerry Only, the sole original remaining member in the Misfits, want to continue operating under the Misfits moniker, knowing that anything they create, no matter how good it may or may not be, will never live up to the legendary status of the original bands output? The obvious answer is that the Misfits brand is a cash cow and that no matter how uninspired any new material may be, the name alone gives it a chance to sell. And if you can’t actually move the albums themselves, you can always sell Misfits posters, t-shirts, coffee mugs, air fresheners, lunch boxes, socks, buttons, belt-buckles, shot glasses, lighters, cell phone cases, beer mugs, incense, and whatever the fuck else you can fit a smiling, money-making Crimson Ghost logo on.

The fact is though, much to the chagrin of  Danzig die-hards, the “Newfits” (The Misfits: Mach II) records were pretty good. American Psycho and Famous Monsters were heavy, thrashing, and damn fun to listen to. It was good to have the Misfits around in any incarnation over a decade after the original line-ups demise. Many fans came on board after Metallica covered Last Caress and Green Hell in 1986 on their Garage Days: The $5.98 E.P., three years after the original Misfits broke up. The “Newfits” gave a new generation of fans a chance to see their heroes in action.

Today, “The Misfits: Mach III” is comprised of original fiend, Jerry Only on bass and vocals, Dez Cadena on guitar, and Eric “Chupacabra” Arceon on drums. This version of the Misfits has been around awhile, but has not released any new material until now. The Devil’s Rain took a few listens to grab me and ultimately it did. The album kicks off with the title track, and it is the best track on the album. The Devil’s Rain is a dark anthem of sorts, featuring a nice driving riff and ominous thunderclouds clapping throughout. It segues nicely into the second track, Vivid Red, which in true punk fashion, clocks in at less than two minutes. It’s a slammin’ tune that when coupled with The Devil’s Rain, makes for a nice opening one-two punch. Land of the Dead follows and is another strong track.

The Devil’s Rain has more of a punk vibe than American Psycho or Famous Monsters, which skewed toward more of a metal sound. However, a few of The Devil’s Rain’s tracks do sound metal. For example, Jack the Ripper actually reminds me of a Paul Di’Anno-era Iron Maiden song — think Phantom of the Opera. It is also one of two tracks, along with album closer, Death Ray, which Dez Cadena sings lead vocals on.  The Black Hole, Twilight of the Dead, and the Ghost of Frankenstein all sound like tracks that could have come from “The Misfits: Mach II” era.

The Devil’s Rain loses some points for the obvious filler in the back half of the record. Monkey’s Paw, Where Do They Go?, and Sleepwalkin’ could have all been left off and the result would have been a tighter, more focused album. The Devil’s Rain features more guitar solos than Misfits fans may be accustomed to, as well as a few moments of 50’s style doo-wop vocals. Jerry Only does a decent job in taking over the lead vocal duties, He doesn’t have the dynamic range of either of the band’s previous singers, but this particular set of songs doesn’t require it either.

The Devil’s Rain is the weakest entry into the Misfits canon of legendary horror-punk. However, that doesn’t make it a bad album. At the very least it raises to the level of the bands “Mach II” nineties output and at times even surpasses it. The songs are not as dark as the bands classic Danzig-era output. At times the music is downright cheesy. However, if you are in the mood, it’ll hit you the right way.

Fair or not, The Devil’s Rain will be judged against the original Misfits material. If it were a Jerry Only solo project, I might think that Jerry has a pretty nifty lil’ solo record on his hands.

But it’s not.

So what we are left with as listeners and fans is a decent record bearing the Misfits name, but lacking the magic, wondering where our loyalties end, and if the name alone means that we owe it a chance. 6.5/10

Megadeth: TH1RT3EN 2011

Megadeth’s thirteenth album is surprisingly called TH1RT3EN, which while admittedly lacking the humor or creativity of past Megadeth titles, seems logical enough. In spite of its star-crossed moniker, Megadeth fans are in luck. TH1RT3EN is outstanding. However, before I start beating off all over my keyboard, let me issue the following disclaimer — this is not Rust in Peace II, Peace Sells II, or even Countdown to Extinction II. The thrash is minimal (like two songs minimal), it is not packed full of trademark Megadeth dual guitar solos, and it is not going to win the “Heaviest Face-Melting Thrash Metal Album of the Year” award from anyone, any time soon. It is however, packed full of well-crafted, catchy, modern-era Megadeth music.

It’s time for Megadeth fans clamoring for RIP II to accept defeat and move on. It’s clear that after twenty years of releasing non-RIP II albums, Dave Mustaine simply no longer has any interest in exploring the brand of thrash metal that put Megadeth on the map. The band spent the bulk of the nineties moving progressively further away from thrash, ultimately culminating in the complete genre departure that was Risk. The post-Risk era has seen Dave move the band back toward a more conventional Megadeth sound, but it is still far from the thrash glory of the bands first four albums. Instead, Dave & Co. find themselves nestled quite comfortably in the midst of a late career run of solid, mature, albeit somewhat predictable, heavy metal albums. Each one peppered with just enough old-school feel to keep their fanbase happy, while still allowing Dave to explore the hooky, hard-rock-radio ready heavy metal he is so damn good at writing.

For those of you looking for RIP II, I have taken it upon myself to compile the following list of post-Risk tunes. Feel free to throw them on your iPod and make-believe Dave did indeed deliver the album of your dreams.

Rust in Peace II Released November 1, 2011
1. Recipe for Hate… Warhorse
2. Return to Hanger
3. Blackmail the Universe
4. Kick the Chair
5. Sleepwalker
6. You’re Dead
7. Burnt Ice
8. This Day We Fight!
9. 1,320
10. Endgame
11. Headcrusher
12. Sudden Death
13. Never Dead
14. New World Order

O.K., that ought to do it.

Now we can go about the business of reviewing TH1RT3EN.

Megadeth have not released an album that sounds this good since 1994's Youthanasia. I always loved the thick sound of that record and thought that it suited Megadeth well. Countdown to Extinction, while a technical exercise in studio perfection, always sounded too robotic to me. TH1RT3EN sounds nice and fat, the band sounds live, the bass in audible, and Dave’s vocals are high in the mix, which is key because these songs are catchy and vocal dependent.

The songs themselves remind me of some of the deep cuts on Youthanasia, such as I Thought I Knew it All and Black Curtains. Deadly Nightshade has a funky palm-muted riff reminiscent of Train of Consequences. I absolutely love Wrecker. It sounds like a heavier version of Megadeth’s Risk-era track, Seven, mixed with Guns-n-Roses, Out Ta Get Me. The lyrics are great and will be appreciated by any married man such as myself. It’s really nice to hear some humor in a Megadeth song again. Megadeth employed humor in their music as far back as their debut album Killing is My Business with their cover of Nancy Sinatra’s These Boots. Unfortunately, they have gotten away from the funny stuff in recent years, as the lyrics have become increasingly political & preachy. TH1RT3EN is more fun & simpler lyrically.

There are a handful of reworked b-sides on the album that fans may recognize, but they fit perfectly and each is better than the original. A few tracks like, We the People and Guns, Drugs, & Money, didn’t click for me immediately, but now I find myself really digging them. So give the record a few spins.

TH1RT3EN is strong and consistent from top to bottom. The playing is a bit more restrained and the song structures are more to the point. The focus is clearly on simpler songs with infectious hooks. The production is stellar and gives Megadeth a more modern sound that really compliments the band and the material. Some fans may be disappointed at the lack of overt thrash and TH1RT3EN’s pop tendencies, especially after the old-school promise of Megadeth’s previous effort, Endgame. TH1RT3EN is certainly not the ever-elusive RIP II. However, disgruntled fans should remember that Mr. Mustaine is in charge, and after all, Who’s Life is it Anyways. 8.5/10