U.D.O.

Z Nonsensopedii, polskiej encyklopedii humoru

Muzycy

Udo Dirkschneider

Przez wiele lat wokalista Acceptu. Niezwykle rozpoznawalny dzięki swojemu charakterystycznemu, przypominającemu dźwięk wiertarki udarowej głosowi. Dzięki niemu stał się wzorcem do naśladowania dla wokalistów blackmetalowych, jak na razie niedoścignionym. Niejaki Nergal zaprosił go nawet kiedyś do wspólnego nagrywania albumu. Niestety poczuł się do tego stopnia zawstydzony marnością swojego growlu, że nie zezwolił na wydanie tejże płyty. Hitlersynek postanowił jednak nie odpuścić tego tak łatwo i prawdopodobnie nagrania z jego udziałem znajdą się na planowanym na maj 2012 albumie Celebrator.

Zapytany o wielką tajemnice swojego niezwykłego głosu, Dirkschneider zaczął świecić na niebiesko i cytować Mein Kampf. Jeśli przyjąć, że był wtedy poczytalny, to za barwę jego głosu, tak jak za wszystko odpowiedzialni są Żydzi.

Prywatnie Dirkschneider uważa się za nazistę, co wyraża nosząc czarną kurtkę ze znakiem słońca na ramieniu.

Wolf Hofffman

Najlepszy, najwspanialszy i w ogóle naj... niemiecki gitarzysta. Od wielu lat lider zespołu Accept. Znany z tego, że wymyślił speed metal i potrafił zagrać na gitarze Dla Elizy. Ostatnio zagrał też hymn Rosji. Putin zapowiada protest za zrównywanie jakiegoś tam niemieckiego kompozytorka z wielkim, natchnionym przez rewolucję]] rosyjskim twórcą hymnu. Postanowił przy tym przemilczeć dyskretnie fakt, że rosyjski hymn jest coverem God save the King/Queen.

Mark Tornillo

Nowy wokalista Acceptu. Mimo to jest już starym dziadem. Przez całe lata osiemdziesiąte i dziewięćdziesiąte śpiewał bowiem w chałowych amerykańskich zespołach, które nie odniosły najmniejszego sukcesu. Nie posiada co prawda wiertarki udarowej w gębie, ale w Accepcie radzi sobie nieźle.

Michael Weikath

Eksportowa wersja Blackmore'a, przynajmniej jeśli chodzi o charakter, bo z talentem u niego momentami cienko. Wyrzuca innych muzyków z Helloween tak często, że rodzi to spekulacje, że jest bękartem angielskiego gitarzysty z czasów, gdy ten przebywał w Niemczech. W przeciwieństwie do Blackmore'a do wyrzucania członków zespołu nie używa już siekiery, tylko nowoczesnego środka przekazu, jakim jest e-mail.Wyznaje zasadę: Helloween to ja.

Markus Grosskopf

Basista Helloween, zdaniem niektórych prawie tak dobry jak Steve Harris. Jako jedyny nie został jeszcze wyrzucony przez Weikatha, ale być może to dlatego, że się nigdy nie odzywa, a swój pierwszy i jak na razie jedyny utwór skomponował w 2003 na płytę Rabbit Don,t Come Easy. Posiada własny projekt Bassinvaders, z którym wydał jedną płytę. Projekt ów wyróżnia się tym, że zwyczajową rolę gitary przejęła jej basowa wersja.

Michel Kiske

Jedyny słuszny wokalista Helloween, który zasłynął głosem tak wysokim, że zawstydził nawet Halforda. Być może mógłby po nim objąć posadę Boga Metalu, zwłaszcza że skalą głosu przewyższał Freddie'go Mercury'ego, gdyby nie fakt, że olał sobie metal, gdy został z tegoż Helloweeen wyrzucony. Od tego czasu nagrywał solowe płyty utrzymane w klimacie gitarowego popu (nie licząc występów w Avantasii, a jego popularność ustawicznie spadała, zapewne przez charakterystyczną czapeczkę, którą nosił na koncertach, aż do momentu,w którym odkrył, że nie stać go na taksówkę. Wypłakał się wtedy Hansenowi w ramię, który z litości pomógł mu założyć zespół Unisonic (i z litości zapłacił za taksówkę).

Roland Grapow

Rusek, który zastąpił Hansena jako solowy wymiatacz w Helloween, z którego zresztą został dziesięć lat później wyrzucony (e-mailem rzecz jasna]]. Z rozpaczy założył z Jørnem Lande zespół Masterplan. Ma kompleksy wobec Yngwiego Malmsteena.

Andreas Deris

Następca Kiskego w Helloween. Z racji kompletnie innych warunków głosowych wykonywane przez niego na koncertach utwory brzmią cokolwiek śmiesznie. Aby mogły zabrzmieć też śmiesznie w studiu Michael Weikath wymyślił sobie nagrać coś o nazwie Unarmed:Best of 25th Anniversary. Wcześniej Andi śpiewał w zespole Pink Cream 69 i wydał nawet z nimi trzy płyty.

Ulrich Kusch

Perkusista najpierw Gamma Ray, a potem, na prośbę samego Hansena, Helloween. Po paru latach zresztą z tegoż Helloween wyleciał razem z pewnym Ruskiem. Uli jest standardowym niemieckim perkusistą, czyli raz zaprogramowany potrafi grać tylko jedną melodię, stąd brak zmian tempa w utworach powermetalowych.

Hansi Kürsch

Wokalista Blind Guardian. Uwielbia barwę własnego głosu dlatego, wzorem Freddiego Mercury'ego zwielokrotnia go podczas produkcji albumów (tj. chórki powstają nałożenie na siebie tej samej partii wokalnej w minimalnym rozsunięciu czasowym. Jest też wielkim fanem Władcy Pierścieni i czasem zdaje mu się, że jest hobbitem.

André Olbrich

Gitarzysta Blind Guardian. Nie potrafi zagrać własnych solówek (gra je za niego Kai Hansen), gdyż powstają poprzez dogrywanie poszczególnych fragmentów podczas produkcji albumów. Mimo to jest uznawany za jednego z lepszych niemieckich gitarzystów.

Thomas Stauch

Były perkusista Blind Guardian. Jest przeciwieństwem standardowego niemieckiego perkusisty i potrafi zmieniać tempo w czasie trwania utworu. Czasem nawet zespół pozwalał mu zagrać solówkę na koncercie. W 2005 stwierdził jednak, że dzieje się tak zdecydowanie za rzadko i odszedł szukać sobie szczęścia w innym zespole. Jak na razie bez sukcesu.

Ralf Scheepers

Śpiewak prowadzący najpierw Gamma Ray, potem Primal Fear. Ma kompleks niższości wobec Halforda, który wzmógł się dodatkowo w momencie, gdy przegrał casting na wokalistę Judas Priest z Timem Owensem, gdy rzeczony Halford strzelił focha. Na dodatek, gdy Scheepers starał się o posadę Hansen nagrał z Gamma Ray album z własnym wokalem i stwierdził, że nie chce oglądać więcej Ralfa na oczy. Scheepers trafił wtedy do Primal Fear, gdzie śpiewa do dziś.

Mat Sinner

Basista i lider Primal Fear. Czasem pomaga Scheepersowi śpiewać. Ma też własny zespół o nazwie Sinner, tj. Grzesznik.

Tobias Sammet

Wokalista zespołu Edguy i lider projektu Avantasia. Zbliżony możliwościami wokalnymi do Bruce'a Dickinsona i uważany za jego godnego następcę. Nabił sobie jednak do głowy, że będzie naśladował Kiskego, co wychodzi mu delikatnie mówiąc śmiesznie. Sammet grał też na basie na pierwszych albumach Edguya, ale w pewnym momencie stwierdził, że mu się nie chce.

Jørn Lande

Szwedzka wersja Davida Coverdale'a. Śpiewał nawet w zespole The Snakes, założonym przez byłego gitarzystę BiałegoWęża. Z czasem jednak doszedł do wniosku, że chciałby stworzyć coś własnego naśladować Dio niż Coverdale'a. Światową sławę przyniósł mu album Dio, na którym nagrał dziewięć piosenek idola i jedną dedykowaną mu (Song for Ronnie James). Dzięki temu zaśpiewał też na pożegnalnym koncercie Heaven & Hell

Oprócz tego Jørn udziela się w Avantasii i jest wokalistą Masterplanu.

Piet Sielck

W młodym wieku wyjechał do Stanów, bo zamarzyło mu się zostać producentem muzycznym. Niestety nie odniósł za oceanem większych sukcesów i wrócił do Europy. Tu założył z pomocą Hansena zespół Iron Savior, któremu przewodzi do dziś. Wyróżnia się bardzo charakterystycznym śpiewem przywodzącym na myśl rannego niedźwiedzia. Jest też stosunkowo kiepskim gitarzystą.

Zespoły

U.D.O.

Zespół założony przez Udo Dirkschneidera po tym jak opuścił on Accept. Stało się tak z powodu różnic w poglądach dotyczących kierunku, w którym powinna podążać muzyka zespołu. Jest to dość charakterystyczne twierdzenie, jeśli wziąć pod uwagę, że U.D.O. gra niemal dokładnie to samo co Accept. Chociaż nie, rosyjskiego hymnu nie grają.

Stratovarius

Edguy

Zespół założony przez grupkę kolegów ze szkoły. Jego nazwa pochodzi od przezwiska jakim obdarzyli swojego nauczyciela matematyki w liceum. Aby się wylansować sięgali po pomoc wielu znanych muzyków takich jak Hansi Kursch czy Michael Kiske. Muzycznie powielają z reguły pierwsze płyty Helloween. Na tle innych zespołów powermetalowych wyróżnia go zaskakująca obfitość instrumentów klawiszowych (to ktoś jeszcze pamięta, że jest coś takiego jak klawisze!?).

Avantasia

Rewolucyjny projekt Tobiasa Sammeta, tak przynajmniej zapowiadało się po premierze pierwszego albumu. Sammet zagonił do roboty najlepszych instrumentalistów i kilku uznanych wokalistów i nagrał coś co nazwał metalową operą. Brzmiało to całkiem przyzwoicie, po wydaniu drugiej płyty zespół stracił parę, pomimo że współpracą z nim zainteresowały się całkiem znane postaci takie jak Klaus Maine czy Tim Owens. Niestety w międzyczasie Kiskemu znudziło się śpiewać i to najpewniej jest przyczyna upadku projektu.

Demons & Wizards

Dość charakterystyczny twór mogący pochwalić się dwupłytowym dorobkiem. Składa się z Hobbita i gitarzysty Iced Earth Jona Schaffera. Grają Power Metal z elementami Heavy metal, a teksty ich utworów dotyczą najczęściej literatury fantastycznej.

Masterplan

Szwedzko-niemiecki zespół powermetalowy. Dość charakterystyczny biorąc pod uwagę, że ma na składzie tylko jednego gitarzystę, a rolę drugiego przejął klawiszowiec. Przez to wiele utworów brzmi jak podróbka Disco polo.

Dream Evil

Szwedzki zespół założony przez producenta, w związku z czym gra odtwórczą, skrajnie komercyjną wersję power metalu. W pewnym momencie podczas nagrywania pierwszej płyty uśpić jego czujność i stworzyć cudo o nazwie The Book of Heavy Metal (March of Metallians), która to piosenka stanowi unikalne połączenie Power metalu z death metalem. Stosunkowo ciężkim momentem dla zespołu było odejście w 2009 gitarzysty Gusa G., który zaczął grać w zespole Ozzy'iego Osbourne'a.

Iced Earth

Amerykański zespół założony przez dwóch policjantów, przyrodnich braci zresztą, grający coś pomiędzy thrashe a power metalem. Jest niezwykle amerykanocentryczny, dlatego w Europie mało kto o nim słyszał. Niemniej w pewnym momencie, gdy policjant robiący za wokalistę stwierdził, że mu się nie chce, wydali całkiem sympatyczny album z Timem Owensem jako wyjcem. Co prawda dotyczył on dalej amerykańskiej historii, ale widać nie można mieć wszystkiego.

Unisonic

Kaia Hansena i Michaela Kiskego. Miał być wielkim powrotem do czasów helloweenowych Kiperów, a wyszło jak zwykle. Mamy rżnięcie na całego z Blackmore'a i to na dodatek jakieś niedorobione takie.

Płyty

Blood of the Nations

Blood of the Nations is Accept's twelfth studio album. It is the band's first studio recording since 1996's Predator and the first album to feature vocalist Mark Tornillo and drummer Stefan Schwarzmann. It is the first album without Udo Dirkschneider on vocals since Eat the Heat in 1989. This is also the first album to feature guitarist Herman Frank since Balls to the Wall in 1983.

Additional credits


Reception

Szablon:Album ratings

Since its release, Blood of the Nations has been met with positive reviews. Reviewer Scott Alisoglu of Blabbermouth.net reviewed the album positively saying that Blood of the Nations "is the shot in the arm that fans of traditional heavy metal needed", and gave the album 8.5 out of 10.[1] The album also received a positive review from musicreview.co.za, with reviewer Sergio Pereira saying that "This isn’t about 3 minute radio-friendly singles, Blood of the Nations is about metal – cold hard metal", and noting that minute-long solos, such as the one in the album track 'Pandemic', are rare in current music.[2]

Personnel

Keeper of the Seven Keys Trilogy

Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1 is the second studio album from German power metal/heavy metal band Helloween, released in 1987. It marks the first appearance of vocalist Michael Kiske, and is consideredSzablon:By whom to be one of Helloween's best albums, credited by manySzablon:Who as the birth of power metal. "Future World" was released as a single and a music video was made for "Halloween" but omitted 8 minutes of the song. The band originally planned to release Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1 and Part 2 as a double album, but their record label refused, insisting that the albums be released separately. But much later in 2010 both albums were released together with bonus tracks.


Credits

  • Tommy Hansen - Co-Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Emulator
  • Edda & Uwe Karczewski - Cover Design
  • Limb - Sleeve & Back Cover Concept
  • Tommy Newton - Producer, Engineer

Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 2 is the third studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 1988. The album capitalized on the success of Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1 and picks up where it left off. Success bloomed all over Europe, Asia and even the United States. The album went gold in Germany[3] and reached #108 in the US.

The album contains two singles, which are "Dr. Stein" and "I Want Out". "Dr. Stein" has a very long and moody solo, played with a blues tinge, very unlike other solos in the album as well as an organ solo. "I Want Out" remains one of the band's most popular songs, and has been covered by Gamma Ray, Unisonic, HammerFall, LORD and Sonata Arctica. This song was written by Kai Hansen, and it's rumored to have to do with how he felt about Helloween, that maybe the band was not his anymore.Szablon:Citation needed The title track is the longest song of the album. Michael Weikath's "Eagle Fly Free", one of the well known songs of the album has also been covered, as Kai Hansen's "I Want Out", by bands like Vision Divine, and Bassinvaders.

Credits

Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy is the eleventh studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released October 31, 2005. The musicians, Andi Deris (vocals), Michael Weikath (guitar), Markus Grosskopf (bass), Sascha Gerstner (guitar) and new addition Dani Löble (drums, ex-Rawhead Rexx), see this recording in direct context with their 1987 and 1988 classics Keeper Of The Seven Keys parts I and II. The album is a double CD with nearly 80 minutes playing time and comes in a digipack with 6 flaps. Keeper of the Seven Keys - The Legacy leans more towards the genre of Progressive metal than the previous album, Rabbit Don't Come Easy, which was much more of a Power metal album. It was produced by Charlie Bauerfeind (Blind Guardian, Halford, Rage) and features Blackmore's Night singer Candice Night on the track "Light The Universe".

The song "Occasion Avenue" uses samples from "Halloween", "Eagle Fly Free" and "Keeper of the Seven Keys" with Michael Kiske on vocals. One of the samples is a clip from a heretofore unreleased live version of "Keys" with Kiske singing the first part of the chorus and the crowd joining in.

Track listing

Disc one

  1. "The King for a 1000 Years" (Music: Helloween; Lyrics: Deris) – 13:54
  2. "The Invisible Man" (Gerstner) – 7:17
  3. "Born on Judgment Day" (Weikath) – 6:14
  4. "Pleasure Drone" (Gerstner) – 4:08
  5. "Mrs. God" (Deris) – 2:55
  6. "Silent Rain" (Music: Gerstner; Lyrics: Deris) – 4:21

Disc two

  1. "Occasion Avenue" (Deris) – 11:04
  2. "Light the Universe" (featuring Candice Night) (Deris) – 5:00
  3. "Do You Know What You Are Fighting For" (Weikath) – 4:45
  4. "Come Alive" (Deris) – 3:20
  5. "The Shade in the Shadow" (Deris) – 3:24
  6. "Get It Up" (Weikath) – 4:13
  7. "My Life for One More Day" (Music & lyrics: Grosskopf/Deris) – 6:51
  8. "Revolution" (Grosskopf) (Japanese bonus track) - 5:06

Personnel

Music

  • Candice Night guest vocal on "Light the Universe"
  • Backing vocals by Oliver Hartmann & Olaf Senkbeil
  • Keyboards by Friedel Amon

Production

  • Produced by Charlie Bauerfeind at Mi Sueno Studio, Tenerife
  • Design and cover artwork by Martin Häusler
  • Photography by Mathias Bothor

Land of the Free

Land of the Free is the fourth studio album by German power metal band Gamma Ray, released in 1995. Continuing a trend that would conclude with the band's fifth studio release, the lineup for the album was different from the previous one, as Land of the Free was the first Gamma Ray album to be released since the departure of Ralf Scheepers, leaving Kai Hansen to take up lead vocals. While not his first stint as a vocalist (Hansen had sung lead for Helloween until 1987 and had also recorded lead vocals on "Heal Me" from Insanity and Genius), it would be the first time he had performed lead vocals exclusively in 8 years.

Additionally, bassist Jan Rubach was to swap positions with guitarist Dirk Schlächter. Rubach initially agreed, but then resisted making the move. Rubach and drummer Thomas Nack instead decided to leave Gamma Ray. Rubach left towards the tail end of Men On A Tour; Schlächter took over the bass duties and Henjo Richter took over as the second guitarist. Nack would complete the tour and then leave, with both Rubach and Nack rejoining their former band Anesthesia.

Michael Kiske (ex-Helloween) and Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian) were featured on the album as guest vocalists.

The track "Afterlife" was written as a tribute to Ingo Schwichtenberg, Kai Hansen's former bandmate in Helloween, who committed suicide prior to the album's release.

Along with most of the band's past catalogue, the album was re-released in 2003 with a different cover and expanded tracklist which featured three tracks that had either appeared as bonuses on various editions of the album (namely "Heavy Metal Mania", which was a Japanese bonus track on the original release) or were unreleased tracks.

Reception

Critics praised the album, with one review stating that it served "the definition of power metal well and is indeed one of the most metal albums of the late '90s".[4]

Land of the Free is by far Gamma Ray's most successful album with the most copies sold worldwide.Szablon:Citation needed

Credits

Guest musicians

  • Keyboard: Sascha Paeth
  • Guest Vocals: Hansi Kürsch (additional lead vocals on "Farewell", backing vocals on "Land of the free" and "Abyss of the void")
  • Guest Vocals: Michael Kiske (all lead vocals on "Time to Break Free", backing and additional lead vocals on "Land Of The Free")

To the Metal!

To The Metal! is the tenth full length studio album by Gamma Ray. It was released on 29 January 2010.
To promote To The Metal!, Gamma Ray will headline a tour with Freedom Call and Secret Sphere. The album was recorded in Kai's own studio in Hamburg in autumn 2009.
The band has recorded 12 songs. Ten of them will be featured on the regular album release, while the other two will be bonus tracks and they will appear on the different editions of the album.
The band described some of the songs on the official website, revealing that there will be a full-throttle number called "Rise", a rhythmic and melodically diverse song called "Time To Live", and a multilayered anthem titled "All you need to know", featuring ex-Helloween frontman Michael Kiske.
Other songs mentioned are "No Need to Cry", a song written by Dirk Schlächter about the death of his father, "To The Metal", a song they played on various festivals last summer and the atmospherically dense "Empathy".

Album versions

  1. Regular jewel case CD
  2. Limited edition featuring an additional DVD (including the making-of)
  3. Red vinyl in gatefold packaging
  4. Collectors’ edition featuring CD and 7” vinyl with 2 unreleased tracks, completely hand-signed

Critical reception

The critical reception to this album has been mostly positive, with some critics praising the musicianship and the drumming in particular. [[[:Szablon:Allmusic]]] Others have praised the band for their consistency and for remaining 'one of heavy metal’s most unsung heroes'. [5]

Personnel

Guest musician

Credits

Crimson Thunder

Crimson Thunder is the fourth studio release by Swedish metal band HammerFall. It was the first album the band worked with producer Charlie Bauerfeind on.

The cover art is made by Samwise who is best known for his Warcraft concept arts.

Personnel

Release information

  • Digipack CD, LP, shaped CD, picture LP, comic book edition, leather bound comic book edition, DVD-Audio, value box (with "Hearts On Fire" CDS), Gold Award edition.
  • Limited Gold Editions comes in an amaray (DVD-box), including printed HammerFall signatures, including golden HammerFall-plektrum, including bonus track ("Heeding The Call" - live) and videoclip ("Hearts On Fire").
  • Special Comic Edition Features a CD of Crimson Thunder housed in an oversize hardback comic book, with an original comic story and the album's original liner notes/lyrics. Stricktly Limited CD & Comicbook with 25 pages comic + 7 pages booklet, hardcover size A4 & the bonustrack "Rising Force".
  • DVD-Audio comes in 5.1 Dolby Surround Multichannel Sound. Playable into all DVD Players and with 5.1 Channel Surround Sound System and has "Hearts On Fire" videoclip.
  • There has also been a numbered (1000 have been made) limited edition 3CD longform leather digibook, that contains two 3" MCDs with one track on it each: Crazy Nights (Loudness cover), Detroit Rock City (Kiss cover).
  • The Japanese version contains the bonus tracks: Crazy Nights (Loudness cover), Renegade (live), Hammerfall (live).

Rainbow (album)

Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (sometimes stylized Ritchie Blackmore's R-A-I-N-B-O-W) is the first album by English rock guitarist Ritchie Blackmore's solo band Rainbow, released in July 1975.

Two of the songs on the album were cover versions. "Black Sheep of the Family" was a cover of a song recorded by Quatermass, and "Still I'm Sad" was an instrumental cover of a Yardbirds track.

Production and release

During studio sessions in Tampa Bay, Florida on 12 December 1974, Blackmore originally planned to record the solo single "Black Sheep of the Family" with the newly composed B-side "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves". Other musicians involved included singer/lyricist Ronnie James Dio and drummer Gary Driscoll of blues rock band Elf, in addition to keyboardist Matthew Fisher formerly Procol Harum, and cellist Hugh McDowell of ELO. Satisfied with the two tracks, Blackmore decided to extend the sessions to a solo album.[6]

For the album, other Elf members, keyboardist Micky Lee Soule and bassist Craig Gruber were utilised. The album was recorded in Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany in about 3 weeks during February-March 1975. Though it was originally thought to be a solo album, the record was billed as Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, and later progressed to a new band project. Blackmore and Dio did promotional work for the album. Shortly after the album was released, all Elf members excepting Dio were sacked, and Blackmore recruited new members for subsequent Rainbow albums. This first line-up never performed live, and the live photos used in the album art are of Blackmore while with Deep Purple and Elf playing live.

The original vinyl release had a gate fold sleeve, although later budget reissues on Polydor reduced to a single sleeve. The album's songs have been performed by subsequent Rainbow lineups.

Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow was re-issued on CD in remastered form in the U.S. in April 1999. The European release followed later in the year.

Vocalist Ronnie James Dio considered this release his favourite Rainbow album.[7]

Track listing

All songs written by Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio except where noted.

Note: On the cassette version of the album Side One features the last five tracks while Side Two plays the first four. On the case insert and on the cassette itself, "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves" is written as "Sixteen Century Greensleeves".

Personnel

Rainbow

with

  • Shoshana – backing vocals

Production notes

  • Produced by Ritchie Blackmore, Martin Birch, Ronnie James Dio
  • Mixed by Martin Birch
  • Recorded at Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany, February 20 – March 14, 1975

Covers

  • Bible Black, whose membership included Craig Gruber and Gary Driscoll, would occasionally cover "Man on the Silver Mountain" live. In 2011 Gruber's new band, ED3N (Which also contained his Bible Black bandmate Jeff Fenholt) recorded a cover of "Man on the Silver Mountain" as a tribute to Dio and Driscoll.
  • German guitarist Axel Rudi Pell covered the song "Still I'm Sad" on the tribute album "Holy Dio: A Tribute to the Voice of Metal Ronnie James Dio". A cover of The Temple of the King appeared on his career compilation "The Ballads III".
  • Opeth played "Catch the Rainbow" live in concert as a tribute to the recently deceased Ronnie James Dio. Jack Starr's Burning Starr also recorded a version on their 2009 album Defiance, which was also featured on the Dio tribute album Magic.
  • Spanish folk metal band Mägo de Oz covered "The Temple of the King" (albeit with different lyrics, in spanish) as "El Templo del Adiós" on their 1998 album La Leyenda de la Mancha. Also, by Mägo de Oz, a cover of "Man on the Silver Mountain" is included in their compilation album Rarezas, though this album is somewhat unrecognized by the band itself due to some unresolved disagreements with the album's producer: Locomotive.

Long Live Rock 'n' Roll

Long Live Rock 'n' Roll is the third studio album released by Rainbow, released in 1978, and the last to feature Ronnie James Dio.

Although Bob Daisley & David Stone are listed on the album credits for their contributions they joined the band part way through the recording sessions and only appear on a couple of tracks. (Stone wrote parts of "Gates of Babylon" but was never credited). Blackmore played most of the bass parts himself for the album.

"Kill the King" was already a staple part of the tour setlists, opening Rainbow concerts since mid-1976. It first appeared on the live album On Stage in 1977.

The original vinyl release was in a gatefold-sleeve, with a lyric-sheet insert. The crowd picture is actually from a Rush concert, with the wording on the banner the fans were actually holding replaced by the Rainbow album title and the visible Rush t-shirts airbrushed to black.

Long Live Rock 'n' Roll was remastered on CD for the US market in April 1999, with the European version following later. The US version had a matte booklet/ insert, which matched the original vinyl sleeve for all markets, whereas the European issue was the standard glossy type.

In the 1977-78 live concerts the title track and "Kill the King" were the only songs performed, although "LA Connection" did get a few airings on the US tour before being dropped from the set.

This was Rainbow's last album to feature Ronnie James Dio on vocals. From 2004 to his death in 2010, Dio's solo shows featured a live version of "Gates of Babylon."

In June 2009 a CD size book about the making of album was released in the series "Rock Landmarks" called "Long Live Rock N' Roll Story", written by Rainbow and Blackmore expert Jerry Bloom.


Track listing

All songs written by Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio except where noted. All lyrics by Dio.[8]

Personnel

Rainbow

with

  • Bavarian String Ensemble conducted by Rainer Pietsch on "Gates of Babylon"
  • Ferenc Kiss & Nico Nicolicv – viola on "Rainbow Eyes"
  • Karl Heinz Feit – cello on "Rainbow Eyes"
  • Rudi Risavy & Max Hecker – flute on "Rainbow Eyes"

Production notes

  • Produced by Martin Birch
  • Direction: Bruce Payne

Singles

  • 1978 - "Long Live Rock 'n' Roll / Sensitive to Light"
  • 1978 - "L.A. Connection / Lady of the Lake"

These two singles were also re-released in the UK in July 1981.

Covers

British Steel

British Steel is the sixth album by the British heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 14 April 1980. It saw the band reprise the commercial sound they had established on Killing Machine however; this time, they abandoned many of the dark lyrical themes which had been prominent on their previous releases. British Steel was recorded at Tittenhurst Park, home of former Beatle Ringo Starr, after a false start at Startling Studios, a recording studio located on Tittenhurst's grounds. Digital sampling was not yet widely available at the time of recording, so the band used analog recording of smashing milk bottles to be included in "Breaking the Law", as well as various sounds in "Metal Gods" produced by billiard cues and trays of cutlery.[10] It was released in the UK at a discount price of £3.99, with the advertisements in the music press bearing the legend "British Steal". Songs "Breaking the Law", "United", and "Living After Midnight" were released as singles,[10] while the track "Metal Gods" earned the band members their moniker.

British Steel is also Judas Priest's first album to feature songwriting for all songs by only current members of the band at the time: Rocka Rolla and Sad Wings of Destiny featured songwriting by Al Atkins; Sin After Sin inclues a cover of Joan Baez's Diamonds & Rust; Stained Class has a cover of Spooky Tooth's Better By You, Better Than Me; Killing Machine features a cover of Fleetwood Mac's The Green Manalishi.

The album was remastered in 2001, with two bonus tracks added. Bonus track "Red, White, and Blue" was written in the earlier years of Priest's career. It was recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau in July 1985.[10] The second bonus track, a live performance of "Grinder", was recorded on 5 May 1984, in Los Angeles during the Defenders of the Faith tour. The first album to feature drummer Dave Holland.

In 2009 Judas Priest kicked off their 30th anniversary tour in the US by playing the entire album live for the first time. The only other Judas Priest albums of which all the songs have been performed live are Defenders of the Faith and Rocka Rolla, but neither of them were played in the original LP running order or during the same tour.

Anthrax guitar player Scott Ian said in an interview in the documentary Heavy Metal: Louder than Life that British Steel was probably the album that really defined heavy metal, because, according to him, it did away with the "last shards of blues" that had otherwise been characteristic of the genre. He said, "Even the title... how does it get more metal than that?"

The 30th anniversary release of the album came with a DVD and CD of a live show recorded on 17 August 2009 at the Seminole Hard Rock Arena in Hollywood, Florida as part of the British Steel 30th Anniversary tour.[11] The live versions of all the British Steel tracks from this release were also made available as downloadable content for the Rock Band video game series beginning 11 May 2010.[12]

Personnel

Judas Priest

Additional Musicians

Defenders of the Faith

Defenders of the Faith is the ninth studio album by British heavy metal band Judas Priest. It was recorded at Ibiza Sound Studios, Ibiza, Spain and mixed from September to November 1983 at DB Recording Studios and Bayshore Recording Studios in Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida. The LP and cassette tape were released on 4 January 1984 and later appeared on CD in July. A remastered CD was released in May 2001. Three tracks were released as singles: "Freewheel Burning", "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" and "Love Bites".

"Rising from darkness where Hell hath no mercy and the screams for vengeance echo on forever. Only those who keep the faith shall escape the wrath of the Metallian... Master of all metal."

-- Album back cover

The cover art by Doug Johnson (who also designed the Hellion in Screaming for Vengeance) depicts the Metallian, a ram-horned, tiger-like land assault creature with Gatling guns and tank tracks conceptualized by the band.

"Eat Me Alive" was listed at #3 on the Parents Music Resource Center's "Filthy Fifteen", a list of 15 songs the organization found most objectionable. PMRC co-founder Tipper Gore stated the song was about oral sex at gunpoint. In response to the allegations, Priest recorded the song "Parental Guidance" on the follow-up album Turbo. Defenders of the Faith is a guitar-related section in Guitar World Magazine in which Guitar World readers are shown along with personal information. This is referred to as "Defending the Faith".

On the tour for this album, the band had played every song live, with the exception of "Eat Me Alive". On the tour for the Nostradamus album, in 2008, the band played many songs which had never been played live before, one of them being "Eat Me Alive". This made Defenders of the Faith the only Judas Priest album from which every song had been played live (other than the first LP Rocka Rolla), until the 2009 tour where British Steel was performed in full, in order.

"The Sentinel" was covered by Machine Head for the special edition version of their 2011 album Unto the Locust.

Personnel

Judas Priest

Framing Armagedon

Framing Armageddon: Something Wicked Part 1 is the eighth studio album from Iced Earth, released on September 11, 2007. It is part one of two concept albums based on a trilogy of songs from Iced Earth's fifth studio album, Something Wicked This Way Comes. The saga, aptly titled the Something Wicked Saga, tells the fictional history of mankind, from its creation to its destruction. It is the second and final album with vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens.

Overview

Framing Armageddon is the band's first studio album featuring lead guitarist Troy Seele, and drummer Brent Smedley, who never played on an Iced Earth studio album during his previous stints with the group. Tim "Ripper" Owens makes his final appearance as lead singer on this record, as well. Also, this was bassist Dennis Hayes' first appearance on an Iced Earth album, though he only appears on two songs. Former Iced Earth lead guitarist Tim Mills is featured on "Reflections", and co-wrote both that song and "Infiltrate and Assimilate".

In December 2006, Jon Schaffer posted a journal announcing that Iced Earth's new album, then titled Something Wicked - Part 1, would be released in September/October 2007. The followup album, then titled Something Wicked - Part 2, would be released in January/February 2008. On March 17, Schaffer announced the final tracklist, and that the album would be renamed to Framing Armageddon (Something Wicked Part 1), with a new target release of August or September. On June 25, Schaffer uploaded the cover of the album on icedearth.com. Audio samples of all the tracks have been posted at spv.de, the official site of the band's record label.

A music video for "Ten Thousand Strong" was released, though lead guitarist Troy Seele was not yet with the band when it was filmed. The video features rotoscoping.

The Japanese release of Framing Armageddon featurs the album's single, "Overture of the Wicked," as a bonus disc.

Jon Schaffer intends to release both of the Something Wicked albums in one boxed set, with Matt Barlow contributing the vocals on both albums for the sake of continuity, adding at least four songs to The Crucible of Man and remixing Framing Armageddon.[13]

Story

Framing Armageddon: Something Wicked Part 1 tells the story of the Setians, who were the original inhabitants of Earth, and are directly descended from the "Great Architect". They are said to have nearly omniscient knowledge. Humans, who have developed space travel, invade Earth in a bid for "ultimate power and ultimate knowledge", killing all but ten thousand Setians (Invasion, Motivation of Man, Setian Massacre).

The remaining ten thousand go into hiding in the mountains in the east (A Charge To Keep). The Setian High Council, which consists of the twelve Elders and the High Priest, make a plan to get revenge on the invading human race (Reflections, Ten Thousand Strong, Order of the Rose). They plan to initiate "The Clouding", which involves brainwashing all the humans and making them forget their origins (Cataclysm, The Clouding). Once completed, the Setians will manipulate history by creating religions (Judaism, Islam, Christianity, etc.) to further divide the humans (Infiltrate and Assimilate, Retribution Through the Ages, The Domino Decree, Framing Armageddon). Once humankind is sufficiently divided, after ten thousand years, the Setians will await, as the prophecy told millennia ago, the birth of the Antichrist, Set Abominae (When Stars Collide, The Awakening). Set Abominae will destroy all of the human race and execute the revenge the Setians have long awaited.

Framing Armageddon tells the story from the prophecy to the events right before the birth of Set Abominae.

Personnel

Additional personnel

  • Troy Seele - Guitar Solos (Tracks 5,6,10,12,14 and 17)
  • Dennis Hayes - Bass Guitars (7); Fretless Bass Guitar (12)
  • Jim Morris - Lead Guitars (16); Backing Vocals
  • Tim Mills - Clean Guitars (7)
  • Howard Helm - Keyboards; Hammond Organ; Backing Vocals
  • Steve Rogowski - Cello
  • Todd Plant - Backing Vocals
  • Patina Ripkey - Backing Vocals
  • Debbie Harrell - Backing Vocals
  • Kathy Helm - Backing Vocals
  • Jason Blackerby - Backing Vocals

Przypisy