Sentinel's Quick Reviews

Dammit!  That should have been their "Sweet Child O' Mine"

Boris2008 wrote:

the sentinel wrote:

Was in the mood for some Lizzy tonight. This is quickly becoming my fave LB album, possibly overtaking "Visual Lies" in the near future. Growing up, I only owned these two, but I have since added Master of Disguise to my collection and I am probably going to get Menace to Society and the live album, Murderous Metal Roadshow soon. Classic American Metal here with the uniquely awesome vocals of Mr. Lizzy Borden. I remember seeing promo posters for this one in a now defunct record store in the '80's and the axe wielding Lizzy in the mirror always freaked me out. Ha. However cool as the cover is, it's the music that matters. And this a stone cold classic. Songs like "American Metal" and "Red Rum"  and "Flesh Eater"are sure to please any fan of Hard Rock and Metal; while some of the demos are a bit rough (hence the term demo) there is a diamond in the rough in the last track, "Dirty Pictures" which is great in my opine. Anyway, if you like 'Ol Lizzy, sit back and enjoy a familiar fave. If you are not familiar at all with the man's work, sit back and I hope you enjoy. Btw, there is more than just the first track here. If you go to youtube it plays the whole thing if you are digging it. Peace.

Oh yeah! There IS an axe wielding dude in the mirror! In all the times I've seen this cover I have never noticed. Must of been because I was 15 years old when I had this record and the cover also had a hot girl in her underwear!

You are forgiven.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

the sentinel wrote:

James B. wrote:

Need to upgrade my two Spread Eagle tapes to CD someday, good stuff (IMHDO)

Now is a pretty good time as they have come down a bit in price the last few years. I don't think I paid more than $15 for either album a few years back when I upgraded.

I just won a copy of Open to the Public for $10 and change. Their s/t debut still seems pretty pricey.

Very nice!

I need to expand my Lizzy Borden collection too. I have a best of collection that I need to dust off and give it a fresh spin. I think his last 2 (Deal w/t Devil and Appointment w/Death) are excellent as well. He's about due for a new one, isn't he?

007 was recommending those two to me as worth grabbing. I still have to get the new Anthrax this week and I also have my eye on either the first Omen or another Impellitteri disc.

So, the warm weather here is makin' me think of summer time. I spent some time cutting down some damaged trees from the winter today after work and I had this tape in the Walkman:



One of my b level faves of the late '80's early '90's hair bands. Awesome opener that sets the tone right away and then follows up with the best song (imho) on the album in "Walks Like a Woman". Another standout cut is "Bad Time Comin' Down" and the obligatory ballad, " There Was a Time (The Storm)" is a really good tune. Vocalist Kelly Keeling has a smooth delivery that gets a bit raspy when the song calls for it (like Paul Shortino). I own this (their debut) and the sophomore offering (Lights Out On The Playground) on Cd as well as cassette, but I prefer Shake Your Soul as it's a bit heavier and more focused.

Next up while I organized CD's in the music room:



These guys are awesome and kind of unfairly got lumped in with a lot of low level hair metal bands back in the day. They had to change their name to avoid a problem with Hurricane (Kelly Hansen's old band), hence the odd spelling of the word. Love the vocals, the riffs, the attitude and the heaviness that this album brings. These dudes are from Minnesota so I am sure Uncle Sax is a fan! Bruce Nauman has a perfect voice for this type of heavy hair metal music and the guitarist (whose name escapes me at the moment) lays down some good riffage and tasty lead breaks.If you like Dangerous Toys, Britny Fox, and Dokken, then you're probably going to find something to like here. Roll down the windows and crank.

Faves:
"Wild Young and Crazy"
"Need a Lover"
"Badboy Breakout"
"Shake, Shake, Shout"

the sentinel wrote:

So, the warm weather here is makin' me think of summer time. I spent some time cutting down some damaged trees from the winter today after work and I had this tape in the Walkman:



One of my b level faves of the late '80's early '90's hair bands. Awesome opener that sets the tone right away and then follows up with the best song (imho) on the album in "Walks Like a Woman". Another standout cut is "Bad Time Comin' Down" and the obligatory ballad, " There Was a Time (The Storm)" is a really good tune. Vocalist Kelly Keeling has a smooth delivery that gets a bit raspy when the song calls for it (like Paul Shortino). I own this (their debut) and the sophomore offering (Lights Out On The Playground) on Cd as well as cassette, but I prefer Shake Your Soul as it's a bit heavier and more focused.

Next up while I organized CD's in the music room:



These guys are awesome and kind of unfairly got lumped in with a lot of low level hair metal bands back in the day. Love the vocals, the riffs, the attitude and the heaviness that this album brings. These dudes are from Minnesota so I am sure Uncle Sax is a fan! Bruce Nauman has a perfect voice for this type of heavy hair metal music and the guitarist (whose name escapes me at the moment) lays down some good riffage and tasty lead breaks.If you like Dangerous Toys, Britny Fox, and Dokken, then you're probably going to find something to like here. Roll down the windows and crank.

Faves:
"Wild Young and Crazy"
"Need a Lover"
"Badboy Breakout"
"Shake, Shake, Shout"

Wow.  I have both of those and haven't listened to either one in at least a decade.  I do remember liking that Baton Rouge better than the followup but damned if I can remember anything from either album.

I'm in the midst of my annual Celtic binge in honor of St. Pat's Day so maybe I'll revisit these after that.

Nice! I think you will be pleased and take a trip down memory lane.

I found both of those albums (plus Lights Out In The Playground) rather cheap at a local used shop. I think all 3 are excellent.

Walks Like A Woman is an all-time classic tune.

Kelly Keeling (Baton Rouge) has an amazing voice (IMHDO)
Haven't listened to them or Hericane Alice in a long, long time.

Thanks man

tohostudios wrote:

Dammit!  That should have been their "Sweet Child O' Mine"

You're right Toho! Great song! But like you say it's hard to pick a fave on that album.

007 wrote:

I found both of those albums (plus Lights Out In The Playground) rather cheap at a local used shop. I think all 3 are excellent.

Walks Like A Woman is an all-time classic tune.

Oh, heck yeah. I think that was the first tune I heard from them and the chorus immediately got stuck in my brain.

James B. wrote:

Kelly Keeling (Baton Rouge) has an amazing voice (IMHDO)
Haven't listened to them or Hericane Alice in a long, long time.

Thanks man

Anytime, brother.

Thrasher73 wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

Dammit!  That should have been their "Sweet Child O' Mine"

You're right Toho! Great song! But like you say it's hard to pick a fave on that album.

Agreed. But, if I had to pick a fave from the debut, it's definitely "Switchblade Serenade" cuz it just crushes.

So, I have been getting up early each morning ( kind of in preparation for being a Dad and my daughter waking me up anyway) and I have some time to hear some tunes in the AM. So, here's a classic that is way too short in my opine:



I know there is some love for these guys on HoM so I am not going to go into too much detail. If you don't know 'em and like what you hear, check out James B.'s great work in the "Complete Works" section for a better review.

Faves:

Killer Machine
World War
Rock On (Through the Night)
I'm Alive

I just got this in the mail from the bay yesterday and I spun it 3 times last night. It's only about 35 minutes or so, so it goes by fast. Awesome album. Up tempo opener sets the tone right away and it never really lets up. Each song has a smokin' solo from Chris and of course the smooth, soaring vocals of "the voice of Melodic Metal" Rob Rock. "Fly Away" has an anthemic, sing along chorus as does the excellent "Warrior" a song that has seen life on a few other RR projects. I can't be too critical as this is truly an awesome tune that gets stuck in your head for hours after it's over. My only complaint is the length of the album. It's too short. It leaves me wanting more. I have about half of Impellitteri's studio albums in my collection now and this seems to be a characteristic of most of them. Also, a lot of the riffs (and melodies) are somewhat repetitive sounding. Is it just me or does the opening riff to the title track sound a lot like Dokken's "Lightning Strikes Again" from ULaK? However, the musicianship and talent (and vox) make this album (and others) an extremely enjoyable listen.

Faves:

Warrior
Fly Away
Answer to the Master
Hold the Line

I love Answer To The Master. I've had it for quite a few years now and it hasn't gotten old. Valid points on the repetitive melodies and riffs.

Terrific album! I have all the Rob Rock era Impellitteri albums (plus one with Bonnet). This is certainly one of the better ones, and probably the one that solidified their sound from that point on. Grin and Bear It still had a little bit if that commercial hair sound and sounds mixed in. But this is pure screaming, shredding metal. Metal, but still with incredible hooks and melodies. Good stuff.

Fly Away is my favourite track off it. Superb verses, you just can't beat that.

Fly Away is my favourite track off it. Superb verses, you just can't beat that.

Spinning it again now, amazing song!

Spun this one four consecutive times today while working around the house:



Two killer instrumentals and a great message. More awesome riffage and amazing vocals from RR. This one continues in the same vein as previous albums. The two ballads, "on and On" and "Paradise" are terrific as well.
Faves on this one:

Shed Your Blood
Fuel For the Fire
Kingdom Fighter
Eye of the Hurricane

Eye Of The Hurricane is great. I don't think there's a weak song on it. Do you have the Fuel For The Fire EP ? It has 2 exclusive songs on it and they're every bit as good as what's on the Eye album.

No, I don't. I am slowly building the collection. I will keep an eye and ear out, though.

Here are the 2 exclusive songs :





I think the EP was a Japan only release so it may be a bit difficult to come by. I picked my copy up a few years ago on Ebay.

Thanks, 007, I liked both songs a lot but prefer "Stand or Fall" by just the slimmest of margins. All of my Impellitteri discs are from Japan ( and all but one have the Obi strip) so it's surprising that there aren't bonus tracks. I just checked the bay for this and Amazon and they got it for $33 plus shipping. I guess I will have to wait a bit.

007 wrote:

Eye Of The Hurricane is great. I don't think there's a weak song on it.

It's the only Impellitteri cd I own, but dang, it's a good one.

Incredible album. My copy comes with a 5 track "Victim of the System EP" as a bonus, though it's not actually the Victim of the System EP that was released separately. Only 2 of the tracks are the same.

Anyway, Eye of the Hurricane is probably my favourite Impellitteri album.