CD Review: Iron Maiden, by Iron Maiden (1980)

There are few heavy metal CDs that have had a greater impact than Iron Maiden's debut. Rising out of the ashes of the punk movement in England, Maiden toiled in obscurity for five years before exploding out of east London in 1980 and ushering in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal with a raw, energetic and stunning set of nine songs.

Barely produced (no producer was credited on the album), and recorded by the band in a matter of days, Iron Maiden overnight redefined what the sound of heavy metal can be. Using Black Sabbath as a foundation, Maiden added duelling twin guitars, sharp in-song melody and tempo changes, a thunderous drum sound, and a prominent bass guitar: a suite of remarkable innovations that entered the DNA of heavy metal and changed the music forever.

The album introduced the Eddie character as Iron Maiden's mascot, and the artwork of Derek Riggs -- two more major and long-lasting influences on the metal cultural landscape.

The songwriting, masterminded by Steve Harris, broke new ground: an emphasis on combining compact melodies with complex structures, and a mix combining short tracks with long, epic compositions, all underpinned by driving guitar solos that somehow combined insane speed with magnificent control and emotion.

Paul Di'Anno's vocals are unquestionably punk-inspired -- suitable for the era and forever associated with these songs, but Harris was in search of an operatic sound and eventually replaced Di'Anno with Bruce Dickinson. This CD is also the only Maiden record to feature guitarist Dennis Stratton. Although the band would go on to superstardom with Adrian Smith, Stratton's contribution to this CD was outstanding.

The entire album is a highlight, but special mentions must go to the ominous Prowler that so perfectly opened Maiden's recording career; the epic Phantom of the Opera that invented the heavy metal opera sub-genre; the thunderous drums that defined Running Free as the anthem for the new heavy metal generation; and the simply majestic Iron Maiden - never has a band before or since written a more appropriate self-titled track, recognizable for ever as Maiden from the opening note.

Iron Maiden is one of the foundation rocks of heavy metal, a raw CD that is most excellent and most influential.

Band:

Steve Harris - Bass
Paul Di'Anno - Vocals
Dave Murray - Guitar
Dennis Stratton - Guitar
Clive Burr - Drums

Songlist (rating out of 10):

1. Prowler - 9
2. Remember Tomorrow - 8
3. Running Free - 9
4. Phantom of the Opera - 10
5. Transylvania - 9
6. Strange World - 7
7. Sanctuary - 8
8. Charlotte the Harlot - 8
9. Iron Maiden - 10

Average: 8.67

Produced by Will Malone.

Iron Maiden at the Ace Black Store.
The Ace Black Blog CD Review No. 46.
All Ace Black Blog CD Reviews are here.

CD Review: Romulus, by Ex Deo (2009)

Ex Deo is the side-project of Canadian vocalist Maurizio Iacono, otherwise known for his work with the band Kataklysm. Romulus, the band's first CD, is all about battles, gods, warriors, swords, gladiators, and the glory of Rome. The CD offers the sounds of galloping horses, marching armies, and spoken words as warriors beseech the gods for help. In short, it's Manowar updated (but only a bit) for the year 2009.

Ex Deo do effectively transport us to a medieval war environment with solid mid-tempo melodies, shadings of folk metal, and thoughtful structures, but the CD also generally keeps us on the plateau hearing the battle from a relatively safe distance. The music provides an effective impression of the distant rumble of battle, but rarely takes us close to where the swords are glinting and limbs flying. While always interesting and professionally delivered, rarely do the songs soar into memorable tunes and melodies that evoke true glory.

This allows Legio XIII to stand out as the most impressive track on the CD, with the band spreading their wings and delivering a powerful, brooding groove-driven battle song with a slightly faster tempo, and featuring a satisfying, if not stunning, guitar solo.

Romulus is one of those recordings that may have sounded better with the help of an independent producer. As it is, there is a lack of spark and a sense of slight dullness about the music that adds to the overall battle-gloomy mood. The bass, in particular, is missing in action as a distinct sound.

But let's celebrate a beefy, crunchy and well-constructed CD that avoids any histrionics, and gets on with the job of churning out warrior-ready metal.

Band:

J.F. Dagenais - Guitar

Sephane Barbe - Guitar

Maxime Duhamel - Drums

Francois Mongrain - Bass

Jonathan Leduc - Keyboards

Maurizio Iacono - Vocals

Songlist (rating out of 10):

1. Romulus - 8

2. Storm the Gates of Alesia - 7

3. Cry Havoc - 7

4. In Her Dark Embrace - 8

5. Invictus - 7

6. The Final War (Battle of Actium) - 8

7. Legio XIII - 9

8. Blood Courage and the Gods That Walk the Earth - 7

9. Cruor Nostri Abbas - 7

10. Surrender the Sun - 7

11. The Pantheon (Jupiter's Reign) - 7

Average: 7.45

Produced by Maurizio Iacono and J.F. Dagenais.

Engineered and Mixed by J.F. Dagenais.

Mastered by James Murphy.

Romulus at the Ace Black Store.
The Ace Black Blog CD Review No. 45.
All Ace Black Blog CD Reviews are here.

CD Review: Character, by Dark Tranquility (2005)

There isn't much that is wrong with Character, the 7th CD from Sweden's Dark Tranquility. The problem is, there isn't much on the CD that gets the blood to stir, either.

For the most part, Character delivers well-played, professional, serviceable, mid-tempo metal driven by large chords on the keyboards and the growly vocals of Mikael Stanne. There is a polish about the song writing and the delivery that comes from a band that is confident and comfortable in its sound, but there is also the distinct smell that hints at a lack of innovation and a scarcity of new ideas.

Seven CDs and a 12 year recording career can be a long time. On Character, Dark Tranquility's melodies are adequate but mostly forgettable. The guitar work is barely on the interesting side of bland, and lacks any adventure. And the drums and bass just fade into the background.

In fact, almost the entire CD melds into one long song that has all the emotional impact of relatively bland wall-paper. If modern day heavy metal has the equivalent of elevator music, it may sound like this. The heavy metal world moves along rapidly, and while Dark Tranquility were among the main contributors to Sweden's heavy metal success in the 1990's, their music now sounds predominantly stagnant.

The solid opener The New Build soon gives way to a series of soundalike songs, but right in the heart of the CD, Dark Tranquility stumble onto some spirited grooves on the trio of Lost to Apathy, Mind Matters and One Thought, and these three tracks hint at what the band can still deliver when they break free of their comfort zone. Unfortunately, Character soon drowns right back into a sea of sameness that can best be described as...tranquil.


Band:

Mikael Stanne - Vocals
Martin Henriksson - Guitars
Niklas Sundin - Guitars
Michael Nicklasson - Bass
Anders Jivarp - Drums
Martin Brandstrom - Electronics


Songlist (ratings out of 10):

1. The New Build - 8
2. Through Smudged Lenses - 7
3. Out of Nothing - 7
4. The Endless Feed - 7
5. Lost to Apathy - 8
6. Mind Matters - 9
7. One Thought - 8
8. Dry Run - 7
9. Am I 1? - 7
10. Senses Tied - 7
11. My Negation - 7

Average: 7.45

Mixed by Fredrik Nordstrom. Produced by Dark Tranquility.
Mastered by Peter In de Betou.

Character at the Ace Black Store.
The Ace Black Blog CD Review No. 44.
All Ace Black Blog CD Reviews are here.

CD Review: Kingdom of Might, by Woe of Tyrants (2009)

On their major-label debut CD (and second overall), Ohio's Woe of Tyrants deliver a mix of technical and melodic metal that sometimes reaches exquisite heights of brilliance, while just as often wallowing in tuneless mediocrity. And these swings in inspiration often occur on the same track.

Witness the outstanding introduction to Soli Deo Gloria, which then quickly descends into a monotonous bashing; or the magnificent introduction and ending of Break the Fangs of the Wicked, dragged down by a featureless mid-section. Sounding Jerusalem includes a passage that promises a launch into a stratospheric journey, but it quickly lands in a boring thud. The Seven Braids of Samson offers nothing for three and half minutes but finishes with a steel-melting solo that travels from Ohio to Finland at the speed of light.

There are a few tracks on Kingdom of Might that never emerge out of the maniacal franticness, and the worst one is Kingdom of Might (The Eclipse) which achieves exactly nothing at the expense of massive energy.

At the same time, the instrumental track Sons of Thunder is close to brilliant, while Like Jasper and Parnelian does achieve spine-tingling magnificence despite some messiness in the structure and transitions. When Woe of Tyrants are good, they evoke a mouth watering triangular marriage of Iron Maiden's twin-guitar harmonies; Kalmah's lead guitar supremacy and the best of Unearth's metalcore strength. They just don't achieve their highest potential too often.

It is not clear yet if Woe of Tyrants want to be labelled as Christian metal or not, but there certainly are enough clues in the track titles, lyrics, and band member notes in the high-quality CD booklet to suggest strong positive religious tones.

Hopefully the band matures from here and focuses on developing more structured melodies and more coherent tracks, more often.

Band:

Chris Burns - Guitar
Johnny Roberts - Drums
Adam Kohler - Bass
Matt Kincaid - Guitar
Chris Catanzaro - Vocals

Songlist (ratings out of 10):

1. Jesu Juva - n/a (short instrumental)
2. Soli Deo Gloria - 7
3. Break the Fangs of the Wicked - 8
4. Pearls Before Swine - 6
5. Kingdom of Might (The Eclipse) - 5
6. Kingdom of Might (Dawn in the Darkness) - 7
7. Sounding Jerusalem - 7
8. Sons of Thunder - 9
9. The Seven Braids of Samson - 7
10. Like Jasper and Parnelian - 10
11. Golgotha - 6

Average: 7.20

Produced by Woe of Tyrants and Joey Sturgis.
Engineered and Mastered by Joey Sturgis.

Kingdom of Might at the Ace Black Store.
The Ace Black Blog CD Review No. 43.
All Ace Black Blog CD Reviews are here.

World Affairs: Managing the Middle East with a Nuclear Iran

The current soap opera -- or is it a comedy? -- of a "deal" whereby Iran sends Uranium to be semi-enriched in Russia before being shipped back to Iran as an arrangement to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons is strictly for the consumption of the mainstream press.

Here is what is probably really going on.

1. Russia has "advised" the United States that with sanctions or without sanctions, there will be no stopping the assistance that Russia is providing to Iran to acquire a nuclear arsenal. Russia wants Iran to be to Russia what Israel is to the United States - an on-the-ground regional power near the oilfields.

2. Russia has also "assured" Israel that for all the blustery rhetoric, Iran will not use its nuclear capability, once acquired, against Israel. In fact, as a nuclear power, Iran is much more likely to start behaving -- and sounding -- like a responsible regional power. Russia will perform the necessary guard-dog duties in this regard.

3. The United States and Israel have "assured" both Iran and Russia that any truly threatening moves against Israel by a nuclear-equipped Iran will mean the destruction of Iran beyond recognition.

The pragmatic Obama administration has come to terms with the historical reality that South Africa, India, North Korea, and Pakistan, not to mention Israel itself, acquired nuclear weapons capabilities when the technology was much more closely guarded.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the creation of the first Islamic bomb in Pakistan, the nuclear genie is not just out of the bottle, it is available for sale pretty much on the open market. It is difficult to keep any secrets in a global village.

Iran will therefore get nuclear weapons; the US has to decide how engaged in managing the process it wants to be, and at the moment, Russia offers the best regional management expertise in the neighbourhood.

The alternative is for a pre-emptive strike by the US, Israel, or both, in an attempt to destroy or disrupt Iran's program. Such military action could fail and will trigger mass retaliation against US and Israeli interest world-wide. After much agony, bloodshed, and severe disruption to the fragile world economy, the long-term implications for the region will be no less difficult to manage than a nuclear-capable Iran with a Russian watchdog. If the catastrophic Bush presidency proved anything, it demonstrated that going in with all guns blazing only makes a bad situation much worse.

So what concessions will the US attempt to extract out of Iran and Russia in exchange for quietly allowing Iran to gain a managed nuclear capability?

The most likely answer rests in both Iraq and Afghanistan, where Obama is looking to pull-out his troops from the Bush-created quagmire. The US will insist that Iran's involvement in both theatres migrate from a disruptive presence to a stabilizing political force in order to make Obama's task easier, and while giving Iran the sub-regional role that it craves.

There may also be other deals related to government stability in Lebanon and Iran's role in Syria, and far-fetched as it may sound, the overall peace process in the Middle East, that are being negotiated.

Ultimately, and ironically, Shi'ite Iran and the United States share a common enemy in Sunni Islamic extremism. And there is little doubt that the recent bombing in Sistan-Baluchistan, in which several high ranking leaders of Iran's Revolutionary Guard were killed, was a timely reminder delivered to Iran that it is not beyond being destabilized from within by these extremist forces.

So the world powers are probably shuffling over on their sofas to make room for a new nuclear power at the table. The United States' next challenge may be to reassure the relatively moderate Sunni powers in the region, notably Saudi Arabia and Egypt, that they need not rush to start their own nuclear weapons program. And in this regard, Obama's long term vision -- idealistic perhaps -- is to move towards no countries having nuclear weapons, and away from the failed model of a select group of nuclear powers attempting to keep others out of the exclusive club.

The Middle East is never far away from a violent disaster, and it is filled with weak and short-sighted men who act out of fear instead of leading out of courage. All it takes is one twitchy finger to set off the next wave of violence. For the sake of the citizens of the region, hopefully this time the threat of violence can be rationally managed and contained before it ignites.

Movies: The Worst of All Time

It takes a special combination of horrible writing, wooden acting, uninspired directing, and misplaced intentions to create a truly bad movie. Sometimes, illusions of grandeur or super-inflated egos contribute. In other cases, a total misreading of the public's mood, a misunderstanding of the fans' affection for a star, or a disconnect with the ever-changing cultural landscape, result in a memorable mess. And it always helps to have a runaway, out of control budget.

Here is a brief description of 10 of the all-time worst.

At Long Last Love (1975), directed by Peter Bogdanovich. Stars like Burt Reynolds, Cybill Shepherd, and Madeline Kahn were somehow convinced by director and writer Bogdanovich that they could sing - live - in this homage to the 1930's style Hollywood musical. Instead, they just embarrassed themselves and delivered one of the clumsiest movie disasters of all time. The poor reaction may have also been prompted by a backlash against the off-screen relationship between Bogdanovich and Shepherd.

Gigli (2003), directed by Martin Brest. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez so over-exposed themselves as a glamour real-life couple, and so over-hyped this on-screen pairing, that the film's failure was both spectacular and well-deserved. The movie cost $54 Million and recouped $4 Million. The story reportedly involved Affleck as a low-level mobster involved in some sort of kidnapping, but the few people who saw the movie were so stupefied by the overall incompetence in front and behind the cameras and the shocking lack of star chemistry to really care.

Heaven's Gate (1980), directed by Michael Cimono. One of those movies that got trampled under it's director's ego. In an era where directors considered themselves visionary artistes, Cimono had one good but over bloated film to his name in The Deer Hunter, and proceeded to put together this massively over bloated and certainly not good western that may have had something to do with the Johnson County War. It cost $42 Million and earned back less that $3 Million, and sunk its studio, United Artists. Arriving soon after the Watergate scandal, this film ensured that "Gate" become the added descriptive noun of choice for any man-made scandal.

Howard the Duck (1986), directed by Willard Huyck. Probably the only disaster on the resume of executive producer George Lucas. A lame story about an unfunny duck from another planet (Duckworld) who arrives for an adventure on Earth. Disagreements over whether this should have been a live-action or a cartoon (it would not have mattered), and various production difficulties ballooned the budget to $36 Million, and this disaster grossed no more than $10 Million. The film destroyed the careers of many who worked on it, in front of and behind the camera.

Inchon (1982), directed by Terence Young. This supposed war movie was intended to depict the battle of Incheon during the Korean War. Natural disasters, natural deaths, sheer incompetence, the shady financial involvement of the Unification Church (otherwise known as the Moonies), not to mention the participation of the US Military in the production resulted in a $46 Million disaster that was laughed out of theatres after recovering a paltry $5 Million. Somehow, talented actors such as Sir Laurence Olivier, Jacqueline Bisset, Ben Gazzara, and Toshiro Mifune were among those involved; thankfully, none of their careers suffered permanent damage.



Ishtar (1986), directed by Elaine May. Teaming up Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty as two lousy lounge singers who end us in an unanticipated desert adventure must have seemed like a good idea -- in the 1940's. Fans of the 1980's wondered why there was no humour, no charisma, and no trace of how the $30 Million production budget was used. Beatty and Hoffman have enough quality on their resume to be given a pass for this flop.


Moment By Moment (1978), directed by Jane Wagner. After Saturday Night Fever and Grease, John Travolta was the hottest star on the planet. Removing him from singing / dancing roles and teaming him with Lily Tomlin in a Spring / Winter romance quickly put an end to all that, as fans groaned at the insipid plot, witless script, and stultifying boredom. Wagner never directed another movie, Tomlin's career never recovered, and Travolta's career took a dive that required a generation to correct.



Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959), directed by Edward D. Wood Jr. Aliens who look exactly like humans hover menacingly in saucers that look exactly like paper plates, and hatch a plot to destroy earth by re-awakening the dead. The zombies then walk around a single cemetery looking for other humans to kill. It all comes to an end with a good old fashioned fist fight. Before his death the once great Bela Lugosi filmed a few scenes apparently for a whole other movie with director Wood, and these somehow got inserted into this gem.

The Postman (1996), directed by Kevin Costner. When it comes to overblown egos, few could compete with Kevin Costner. After the huge success of Dances With Wolves (1990) catapulted him to the A-List, he came up with not one, but two epic post-apocalyptic failures: Waterworld (1995) and The Postman. But while Costner's name saved the horrible Waterworld from financial ruin, there was no saving The Postman: An $18 Million return on an $80 Million budget is the best equivalent to burning money. The plot, by the way, has something to do with a loner hero taking on a future neo-fascist army.

Showgirls (1995), directed by Paul Verhoeven. Overhyped as a sex-and-nudity epic, audiences just laughed at the cliched script (by the pompous Joe Eszterhas) in which every character was borrowed from some other movie and every wooden line of dialogue was recycled and delivered by actors who seemed to take it all seriously. The story has to do with the mysterious girl dancer who lands in Vegas and wants to be a star!


Agree? Disagree? Share your thoughts and your favourite horrible movies in the comments below.

Film Review: For A Few Dollars More (1965)

The middle chapter of Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy, For A Few Dollars More is probably the least celebrated installment, but also ironically the most complete film among the three.

While A Fistful Of Dollars is magnificent in its sparseness and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is magnificently overblown, For A Few Dollars More sets about delivering the most solid character-driven narrative, perfectly meshing Leone's style with another brilliant Morricone score and a fleshed-out story that is now clearly backed by a bigger budget.

There are more locales, more extras, more scenes, more characters and more background than the first installment, without yet veering into the all-out opera territory of the final chapter.

After the remarkable and unexpected success of A Fistful Of Dollars in Europe, Leone rapidly pulled For A Few Dollars More together. He convinced Eastwood to sign-up for the sequel and reprise his role as the Man With No Name, even though the first film had not even been released in the US. With more budget at his disposal, Leone was also able to afford another American actor, and Lee Van Cleef got the role of Colonel Mortimer.

The plot sees Eastwood and Van Cleef as two bounty hunters who eventually team up to take down the gang of the vicious bandit El Indio (another perfect Gian Maria Volonte villain). There are bank robberies, gun-fights, exotic guns, and a terrific hat-shooting duel. There are memorable secondary characters, like Klaus Kinski as a massively haunch-backed member of El Indio's gang. The film reaches a climax with a final showdown that is almost triangular, and that sows the seed for the magnificent finale that Leone conjured up for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The final post-climax math puzzle that is resolved by The Man With No Name is a terrific cherry on top of the icing on the cake, perfectly capturing the spirit of the trilogy.

For A Few Dollars More makes use of flashbacks and a simple but haunting tune (in this case played by a pocket watch), both tools that Leone would develop to chilling perfection in Once Upon A Time in the West.

For A Few Dollars More is the meat in the sandwich of the Dollars trilogy, not the most visible part of the meal, but certainly an essential component of the experience.

The Ace Black Blog Movie Review No. 35.
All Ace Black Blog Movie Reviews are here.