Concert Review: Iron Maiden, 7-18-19, Sunrise FL

Scream for me,

Ft Lauderdale!!!

Ok, I know I'm late to the party in terms of reviewing this concert. I will do better, I promise. I'm back and am going to resume reviewing albums, shows, etc on a regular basis. Now, on to the show! 

Iron Maiden has been my favorite band for most of my life, since I was first introduced to them in the early 80's. But, in all the concerts I've been to, I had NEVER seen Maiden! Shocking, I know. And it wasn't that I didn't want to. Life ALWAYS found a way to prevent me from going. On the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son tour, I had tickets. Something came up at the last minute, and I had to sell them. On Sept 7, 2013 (my birthday) my ex wife and I had just moved to North Carolina, and were broke from the move. What do I find out? Iron Maiden and Megadeth were playing in Raleigh ON MY BIRTHDAY! So, when the Legacy of the Beast tour was announced, I decided I was going and nothing was going to stop me this time.

So, I made it there. I was excited, obviously and was ready to see what I hoped would be the concert of a lifetime. I was out getting a beer when I heard Doctor Doctor by UFO come over the PA system. I knew it was time. I rushed back to my seat in time to hear Sir Winston Churchill's Never Surrender speech. I knew what was coming next. The place lit up with explosions and lights, as the band lept onstage and the iconic intro to Aces High blasted through the arena. A huge spitfire aircraft came down from the roof. It would dive, roll and scramble on cue, then go in again. It stayed there until the end of the second song, which was Where Eagles Dare. 

Rolling, Scrambling, Diving!

The first part of the set was war themed, and the stage reflected that, with changing backdrops featuring the various Eddie war artwork, explosions, and the camouflage terrain cover. Songs also included 2 Minutes 2 Midnight,  The Trooper, where Bruce Dickinson bested a 12 foot high Eddie in a red coat in a sword duel. That segment ended with a Blaze Bayley era song, The Clansman, which Bruce nailed, and made his own. 

The stage then changed to a cathedral type setting with stained glass windows featuring Iron Maiden artwork in them, as well as chandeliers. Religious songs followed, including Revelations, For the Greater Good of God, and another Blayze Bayley era song, Sign of the Cross. It also featured a revved up version of Flight of Icarus featuring Bruce with a flame thrower and a huge winged Icarus hanging from the roof. Although, this Icarus was more lucky than the one in the myth and the songs, because his wings did not turn to ashes. I think the fire marshal might have frowned on that one. 

You could feel the heat all the way up
in my crappy seats

That act finished with Number of the Beast, The Wicker Man, and Fear of the Dark, which featured Bruce creeping around the stage with a lantern, wearing a tattered cloak. Then, the classic single guitar lick from the song, Iron Maiden screeched through the speakers, and during the break in the song, the most terrifying super sized Eddie to date came up over the stage. The Legacy of the Beast Eddie was there for dinner. 

The Encore was The Evil That Men Do, Hallowed Be Thy Name, and Run to the Hills. They could have played 20 more songs, and I would have still loved every minute of it. I knew how amazing Iron Maiden was in concert, which is why I was so irritated that I had never gotten to see them. Was it worth the wait? I gotta say it was. It was in fact the best concert that I personally have ever seen, which is saying a lot because I've seen a lot of great concerts. And, judging by reading other reviews, this indeed was the best production the band, now in their 60's has ever done. They were energetic, bouncing around on stage like they did on the Powerslave tour. Bruce's voice was raw power throughout the show, Steve Harris's fingers were stronger than a weight lifter's femur, Nicko McBrain was all over the place like the playful puppy that he is, and the guitar trio of Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, and Janick Jers was tight as ever. The energy of the band was turned up to 11 as they rushed around from all sides of the stage from the first song to the last. They say they are going to keep pushing forward, and why not?

When you are the undisputed kings of heavy metal, you can do whatever you want. 

Who Dat? The Replacement Singers

Who Dat?

As the legendary bands age, members come and go. Some die, some get fired, some quit. But just because an original member isn't in the band anymore, is it still the same band? Should the band call it quits because the original bass player quit? Hell, should the band hang it up if the singer or guitarist quits? Gets fired? Dies? I got into a discussion with a good friend of mine a couple days ago, and we disagreed on the subject. He was saying that if the original lineup wasn't there, it was nothing more than a cover band. I maintained that it depends on the situation. Bands like Molly Hatchet, who have a lineup that features not one single original member are cover bands. Or, Bobby Blotzer, formerly of Ratt suing the original lineup for the name, where  he would be the only original  member. However, a band like Queensryche is still the band. 3/5 of the original lineup are still there. We're going to talk about several bands in this piece, and explore the fan's reaction to the new members. Since I've already mentioned Queensryhe, we'll start with them.

Queensryche's original lineup released their first 6 albums together. The first member to depart was guitarist, Chris DeGarmo, who left the band to pursue a career as an airline pilot. Many people considered the band to be dead when he left. Since his departure, they had 2 replacement guitarists, neither of who captured the essence of DeGarmo's playing. However, the third time is the charm in this case. Current guitarist, Parker Lundgren does the best job out of the three of them at matching the style of DeGarmo. And, he's been on more Queensryche albums than the other two guitarists, including the 2 released with replacement singer, Todd LaTorre. (Both albums charted in the top 30, which had not happened in a long time) LaTorre who replaced singer, Geoff Tate after his firing as mostly accepted by the fans, although you'd never know it if you look at social media, where supporters of Geoff Tate rattle off the same tired dribble like "No Tate, no Queensryche!" over and over again. Although they never seem to dispute the counter arguments that say that Tate can't even sing the songs anymore for some reason. The song writing is back to the style that the fans wanted, which is the classic power metal that made the band famous in the first place.

Todd LaTorre of Queensryche

Next, we'll take a look at a replacement singer who was hated by the fans. Blaze Bayley of Iron Maiden. And, before you start sending me messages and comments, Yes, I know that Bruce Dickinson was also a replacement singer. We aren't talking about Bruce. Not to mention, he's back in the band, and has been for a long time, so its a non issue. Blaze had a rough time as Maiden's singer. All that really needs to be said is that the fans hated him, and they hated the 2 albums that he sang on. But, finally, Bruce came back on 2000's Brave New World, and the fans rejoiced.

Blaze Bayley with Iron Maiden

Next, we're going to talk about another group of metal gods, who are none other than the Metal Gods themselves. Judas Priest. When Rob Halford left the band to pursue a solo career, the fans were angry. But, a few years later, the band found Tim 'Ripper' Owens, who sounded just like Halford.  His first album with Priest, Jugulator was released with a mix of criticism and praise. Most fans liked the album, but there were some detractors who complained that it was too heavy. I've always maintained that if you read the album credits in Jugulator, you will see Halford's name listed in about half the songs. Jugulator was going to be the next Priest album with or without Halford. But, the next album, Demolition, a lot the praise for Ripper had gone away. Although it was a great metal album, it didn't sound like Priest, and many fans believed that it was time for Ripper to go. And, he did, and has had a pretty successful career. 

Tim 'Ripper' Owens with Judas Priest

And last, but not least, we're going to talk about the most successful replacement singer of all time...well, recent time, anyway, since Brian Johnson of AC/DC, who is the most successful replacement singer of all time is not with them anymore. Plus, he's a lot like Bruce Dickinson. He is a replacement singer, but the band got gi-normous once he came in. No, we're going to talk about Arnel Pineda of Journey. You all know his story. Guitarist, Neal Schon found him on YouTube, a singer in the Philippines, playing in cover bands, in crappy bars. They had tried to bring other singers, but were unsuccessful. But, once Pineda came in, Journey found themselves selling out arenas and stadiums once again. Having a singer who launches himself through the air like a young David Lee Roth certainly doesn't hurt. But, while there are detractors and purists for all of these singers, Pineda, I would say has had the most success. Sure, there are people who would rather have Steve Perry back in Journey, but I'm not one of them...And, neither is Steve Perry!

Perry and Pineda. Respect.

So, in conclusion, you simply aren't going to be able to please everyone. I don't think that just because an original singer goes away for whatever reason that the band simply becomes a cover band, or a 'Fake-Ryche' or 'Mock Up Priest,' or 'Iron Rip-Off' or whatever creative name that the detractors came up with. The band members want to continue to tour, and make albums, and the fans still want to see them. So, why should they quit? If you ask me, they shouldn't.

.

Arnel Pineda with journey

However, Bobby Blotzer needs to give it up! 

Album Review: Iron Maiden's 'The Book of Souls'

____________________________________________
....Humanity Won't Save Us
...At the Speed of Light
_______________________________________

But, Iron Maiden might. Or at very least keep REAL metal alive. Early reviews of their new album, The Book Of Souls signaled a juggernaut of an album. And, they weren't wrong. This double album masterpiece has all of the elements that made Maiden the greatest metal band. You could say that its a revisit to the sound of their classic albums, and that's partially true. Iron Maiden has always had the skill of a progressive metal band, but always stayed true to pure raw metal. The Book of Souls is arguably a progressive metal album. All six members are firing on all cylinders (Not that they ever weren't) has resulted in the best album straight through since Fear of the Dark. And, Bruce Dickinson has turned in his finest vocal performance since then as well. I mentioned the elements? Twin axe harmony attack, thundering bass, the trademark middle of the neck rhythm riffs, complimented by leads that are as powerful as the rhythms, epic drums, eerie synth, superb vocals (after Bruce whooped throat cancer's ass!) and of course, WHOAHS! Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, and Janick Gers all have prominent writing roles as well.

The album starts off with in my opinion, the best opening song since Moonchild, from Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. If Eternity Should Fail starts with an intense synth that leads into a driving force of a song. I bet they use to open the tour just like they did with Moonchild. You aren't really going to have any radio ready hits (despite the fact that radio sucks unless its satellite radio) like Run to the Hills or The Trooper. Although Speed of Light is VERY close to that type of song. You also get a 13 minute epic assault on the senses. The Red and the Black starts off with a creepy bass lick that is followed by the what you'd expect. Guitars, epic whoahs, and another 13 minute beast of a song. It is actually a true progressive metal song. And, that isn't even the longest song on the album! We'll get to that later.

When the River Runs Deep picks up the pace, and gets down and dirty. If Aces High, Sea of Madness and Seventh Son were to have a baby together, it would be this song. It simply rocks. The title track starts with a very heavy harmony guitar lick, and a groove that with the synth in the background makes for a monster of a song to hear live. In the song Shadows of the Valley, you might think you know what to expect. It starts off similar to the opening lick in Wasted Years, then it goes in a completely different direction. Offbeat lead licks, and blistering mid tune rhythms....and whoahs!

Early reports were saying this is a concept album. It isn't. Its a themed album, which is just fine with me. I won't say which ones, but I've been let down by a few concept albums over the last decade. Book of Souls is simply about life after death, sacrifice, and souls. All the songs have that theme to them. In fact, Eddie is a Mayan mummy in this album cover. Likely the most touching song on this album, Tears of a Clown is a heart felt tribute to Robin Williams. I say that because as far as I know, its the only song about such an inspirational figure, who left us in such a tragic way. 

Iron Maiden saved the best for last on this 11 track epic album, and so did I. Empire of the Clouds makes this album that is already incredible into a 5 star masterpiece. It starts off with an amazing piano intro that Bruce Dickinson plays. He begins singing, and Nikko McBrain joins in with a marching beat on the snare drum. The song builds some more as the guitars join in and the drums are playing a whole beat. Harmony guitar solos come and provide an intro into an almost orchestral break, worthy of Dream Theater or TSO with guitar breaks reminiscent of Hallowed be Thy Name, then explodes back into another verse. You will really listen to this one and think "Did they just do that???"

Sure, Maiden has always been talented enough to do a progressive metal album, but they've never done it...Until now. And, while many progressive metal bands will have moments of filler, The Book of Souls has NO filler songs, or unnecessarily long musical breaks. Take my word for it, and buy this album. It signals that Iron Maiden is nowhere near done yet. Just like all the other great metal bands who have put out absolutely incredible albums over the past few years, Maiden has staked their flag, and let us know that the future of metal is still after all these years in capable hands. UP THE IRONS!

Wrapping it up, a friend of mine, Miss Zoe Federoff, the incredible singer of the incredible progressive metal band, Insatia said after hearing the album today "I have just now accepted a great truth about myself. I want Bruce Dickinson's babies." You don't need to go to those extremes, but you get the point. Just take our word for this. You'll dig the album!

Buy it! Now! Amazon Itunes Best Buy

TNT Found Active on Skid Row

I really don't get it. All the hatred that comes from "fans" of rock/ metal singers when the band dares to replace a singer. We went through it when Todd La Torre replaced Geoff Tate in Queensryche, when Ripper Owens replaced Rob Halford in Judas Priest, and when Blayze Bayley replaced Bruce Dickinson in Iron Maiden. There are others which we will get to shortly, but now, we are going to focus on the current situation.

The current situation is of course, Tony Harnell of TNT replacing NOT Sebastian Bach of Skid Row, but Johnny Solinger of Skid Row. But, if you read over the comments on Blabbermouth's Facebook page. you'd swear that Skid Row with Sebastian Bach had been a united force releasing hits and packing stadiums since the 80's, and that the band had just replaced Bach out of the blue. That isn't the case. Not even close.

Its 18. As in the number
of years Solinger was in
Skid Row.

Skid Row and Sebastian Bach parted ways in 1996, and have had (NOT counting Tony Harnell) not one, but TWO singers since Bach. Johnny Solinger has been Skid Row's singer for almost TWENTY YEARS which is almost double the amount of time that Bach was the singer,

One of the most prevalent comments I've seen is about the newly released re recording of the Skid Row hit, 18 and Life with Tony Harnell on vocals. These people somehow think that the recording is a slap in the face to Sebastian Bach. It isn't. Its simply a preview of what is coming from the band, The band understands that releasing a classic hit would reach more people than it would if they had re recorded one of the songs from any of their albums with Solinger. Really. That's all it is. A preview, and a damn good one at that. The band is not going to re record the first two albums. Tony Harnell not only hit all of the notes in that song, he nailed them. That's the best that song has sounded since it was originally recorded. Sebastian Bach is a great studio singer, but he was nowhere near as good live than he was in the studio. Another fact that is lost on some of these people is that Harnell was announced as the singer 2 weeks ago, and the band has already clicked with him well enough to record this song.

Harnell

Bach

Click this link. Its a live performance of Sebastian Bach while with Skid Row.(In the 80's.) Now, click this link. Its a performance of Tony Harnell that was done last year with TNT. At 50 years old, Harnell sounds better live than Bach did when he was in his 20's. There, I said it. Nothing against Bach at all. He has always been and always will be one of my favorite singers. But so is Harnell.

This move also is not like Owens, La Torre, or Bayley replacing the singers in Priest, Queensryche, and Maiden. Its much different. Its more like Ronnie James Dio replacing Ozzy in Black Sabbath than anything. Harnell is a well known and respected singer. The aforementioned singers were relative unknowns for the most part.

Truth

Its really as simple as this: Sebastian Bach and Skid Row will never reunite. To expect them to hang it up just because Bach (who is NOT even the original singer) is stupid and delusional. If you like Skid Row, they finally have a singer who can not only nail the notes, but is a class act. Go see them, and buy the albums. Or, don't. But to trash and insult the band is stupid. To say that Tony Harnell sucks is idiotic, and shows ignorance on an epic scale. The band knows better what is best for them than their so called fans who apparently didn't even know that Bach has been gone for years. To expect them to simply change the name is even more ignorant. The band owns the name, so why should they?

I guess another situation you could compare this to would be when Van Halen brought in Sammy Hagar. Everyone was screaming about how horrible it was. Then, after a couple decades, they brought back David Lee Roth, and the same people are bitching about that. Maybe these people need to just let the band do what they need to do. Van Halen proves that no matter what a band does, the fans are never going to be satisfied as long as it doesn't sound exactly like it did back in the glory days.

We brought Dave back!
What more do you want???

People need to stop living in the past, and accept what is in front of them, or just be happy listening to the old music.

Metal in the Super Bowl? Time For a Metal Crusade!

______________________________________

...Here comes the metal meltdown

Run for your life...

______________________________________

Katy Perry, Prince, Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, etc. They were all big time guests for the Super Bowl Halftime show, but they all have one thing in common. They aren't metal. The NFL and the record company moguls seem to be in lock step agreement about what the public wants to see on the biggest stage on Earth. They actually think that everybody wants to see either the current radio cash cows (Katy Perry, New Kids on the Block, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake) or the super classic artists (Paul McCartney, The Who, Prince, etc) And, they even threw us a bone with Aerosmith and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but sorry...That is not good enough.

I'll take a gigantic Eddie over a walking
tiger any day.

The fact of the matter is that there are 3 metal bands that fit BOTH categories...Record album sales and classic artist. They are: Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Metallica. And, they are all three still going strong. I'd include Black Sabbath, but they aren't going strong, despite a great showing with their latest album.

So, I am launching a 'Metal Crusade.' Simply put, I am going to do everything I can to make the NFL do the right thing, and schedule a metal band for the halftime show. You may like one of the bands I listed better than another, but if we throw the top 3 metal bands of all time in their face, they will have to pick one. Personally, I'd be stoked if any of these three were to be selected.

Think the halftime show would suck
with Priest? 'You Got Another
Think coming!"

So, how do we accomplish this? Its easy. Click this link and like and share the hell out of this Facebook page. Tell all your metal friends to do the same. Comment on the page repeatedly. If we get a million likes, then maybe the NFL will notice. Once we get to 500,000 REAL likes (meaning I am not going to enlist fake likes the way some people do) I will send the NFL an email a week until I get a reply. I'll post the contact info as well so that everyone can email.

You might think that I'm wasting my time because not everyone likes metal. You're wrong for several reasons. One, not everyone likes bubblegum pop garbage either. Katy Perry's huge tiger was cool, but her music sucks. How in the can you use the 'Eye of the Tiger' line in a song??? Next, is she going to come out with a song talking about being 'Comfortably Numb' on a 'Stairway to Heaven? Come on now. Anyway, let me get back on track here. There are just as many country fans in the US than there are metal fans. But, country fans actually LIKE Metallica. Seriously. One night years ago, I went to a country concert with a friend who had an extra ticket. The headliner took the stage at 9PM. (NINE? WTF?))) That was my reaction too. But after the early show ended, the cowfolk line danced the night away. One of the songs that they danced to was Enter Sandman by Metallica. No joke. They had a routine that looked like puppets on strings (MASTER!!!) and it really did twist my mind and smash my brain.

Say your prayers, little one, don't forget my son
to include every one!!!

Anyway, my point of that last paragraph was that even though we can't stand pop music, we all watched the rest of the half time show after we took a piss and grabbed some more beer and hot wings. Need proof? How many of you saw Janet Jackson's boob live? I know I did. But on the flip side of that coin, pop heads and country fans will watch a metal band if its on the halftime show. AND, the show would get enormous ratings which could pave the way for future metal bands to get the call.

Plus, metal is kicking its way into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The time is right to do this, but it doesn't matter. Which conquering army ever asked permission to invade?

You know you were watching!
Don't lie!

So, I am calling the metalheads to action! Let's get this done, and bitch slap the corporate douchebags in the record industry by demanding a metal band on the world's biggest stage! Lets get it done. Let's show the world that metal is more relevant than all this candy ass pop. I'd bet that Powerslave by Iron Maiden has sold more copies than all of Katy Perry's albums combined.

Hey, NFL..You will do what the fans say
when the fans say!!!

So, let's do this!!! Don't disregard this post and Facebook page as just another fan page. It isn't! Its a call to action to all metal lovers not just in the US, but the world. The NFL wants a team in London? I'm looking at you British metalheads too! Up the Irons! Summon the Metal Gods, and lets shove some metal up the NFL's ass!!!

"It has to start somewhere, It has to start some time. What better place than here? What better time than NOW???"

If you don't get on board, don't bitch about lame halftime shows. Its as simple as that.

Top 11 Best Metal Anthems of All Time!

I've gotten away from music a little too much this month, so to make it up to my readers, its time for the baddest and the loudest list you'll ever see, and you'll be cranking it, I promise. Grab a beer, and get ready to rock!

Now, I have a criteria. This is strictly metal anthems. There will be no death metal, and no nu metal or grunge. There will only be glam if the song or band is considered metal. For example, Slayer used to be glam, but they were always metal. There will also be no classic rock bands like Foreigner or Led Zeppelin. Its just METAL! Also, only one entry per band. Makes it more difficult, and more entertaining to list.

So, here we go with the top 11 (HAD to be 11, and you know why!) songs that make us want to break out the air guitar, and rip out some air solos, while throwing the horns, and just all out jamming!

So, crank it to 11, sit back, and get ready to head bang! Ready? Too bad! We're starting!!!

Number 11: Death to All but Metal by Steel Panther Sure, I've mentioned them before, but this song HAS to be included. You can't get much more metal than calling for the death of lame acts in a song with a brutally tough guitar lick, blistering solo and piercing screams. Say what you want, but Steel Panther is partially responsible for the resurgence that metal is seeing right now.









Number 10: Bang Your Head (Metal Health) by Quiet Riot You can't have a metal countdown without this song somewhere. The press hated this band, but they didn't care, and the fans loved them. Plus, it spawned 2 legends on guitar and bass. Of course, I'm talking about Randy Rhoads, and Rudy Sarzo.

Number 9: Caught in a Mosh by Anthrax This one brought the mosh pit into the spotlight, and made parents from coast to coast consider insuring their kids before they went to an Anthrax concert.

Number 8: Soldiers Under Command by Stryper
Some of you guys are going to give me grief on this one, I know it. But this song has it all. Twin axe attack, blistering high notes, powerful rhythm section, huge chorus, and one of the most legendary opening riffs there is. Funny...I never knew they made a video for this song.







Number 7: Symphony of Destruction by Megadeth I know Megadeth has lots of better songs than this, but this one fits with the anthem format, since that's what we are going with here. Hangar 18 just doesn't have the chorus that you would want to sing along with. Sure, Peace Sells could be on here too, but I can only pick one, and everybody picks Peace Sells. We like to be different and not cliche. Wait..Wrong band. Anyway, CRANK IT UP!!!

Number 6: Master of Puppets by Metallica How could we not include this one? If this is #6, what could possibly be #1??? Be patient, my friends. This song defined a genre. This was the song that put thrash metal on the map, and blew everyone's doors off. I still remember being afraid of this album when I first heard it. Master of Puppets was my first thrash album.








Number 5: Mister Crowley by Ozzy Some of the finest guitar work ever done, and it is unmatched to this day. If I were to do an air guitar list, this song would likely be #1. I think this song also has some of Ozzy's best vocals too.

Number 4: Holy Diver by Dio Never before has there been a bigger voice from such a little guy. He is one of the 4 singers that when you hear their name, you think METAL. The other 3 are also on this list too. This song put Ronnie James Dio on the map as a solo artist. And by the way...He didn't die. He was killed by a dragon. I am convinced of this.

Number 3 Hallowed be thy Name by Iron Maiden So many to choose from Iron Maiden. I chose this one because of the guitar work, however its vocals are raw power, especially when the song kicks into full speed. Out of Iron Maiden's many masterpieces, I would rank this one definitely top 5. You can't go wrong here, and if my memory serves, this was the song that got me into Iron Maiden.

Number 2: Heaven and Hell by Black Sabbath I had a very hard time choosing this one. It was between 4 songs. This, Black Sabbath, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, and NIB. I finally went with this because it would have required choosing between 3 Ozzy songs, and I couldn't do it. Plus, Heaven and Hell has that anthem sing along feel to it on top of the dark overtones. Plus, what would it hurt to have a second tribute to RJD?

Number 1: Painkiller by Judas Priest And, now here we are at number one. This song is so badass that it KNOWS it is #1 It even has its own drumroll to intro the song to the number one slot. Sure, Priest has lots of songs that are more anthem like than Painkiller like Metal Gods, Breaking The Law, Another Think Coming, Electric Eye, and the list goes on and on. But, this song is their most heavy hitting, and is the epitome of what a metal anthem should be. Plus, the number one song shouldn't be in my opinion a radio hit. So, get ready to blast it, and get the air guitars blazing because Painkiller is bad. Think there's a better song than Painkiller to be number one? Well, you got another think coming!




So, there you have it. The top 11 Metal Anthems of all time. I hope you enjoyed it. I sure as hell did. As always, I welcome comments. And as always, if its not METAL, TURN IT OFF!!!

1983-1988...Heavy Metal's Golden Age

I do not hide the fact that I am a fan of the 1980's heavy metal music. The music that came out during that time frame inspired me in my own music, and I judge all other metal against that era. Sadly, pretty much all of it comes up lacking.

Friends always joke with me, and tell me that I am stuck in the 80's. I tell them they are damn right, and I am proud of it. Sometimes, I will ask friends to name one album that is better than what came out during the Golden Age of metal. They will try, but are unsuccessful.

Let's take a moment and look at the masterpieces that came out during that time frame. Here are some of them off the top of my head...I'm sure I've left some off the list, but you get the point with this list:

Between 1983 and 1988, 

Iron Maiden released 3 of their greatest albums: Powerslave, Somewhere in Time, and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. While they put out great albums before and after the Golden Age, not one album lives up to these three.

Judas Priest  released Defenders of the Faith, Turbo, and Ram It Down. Screaming For Vengeance was released in 1982. Priest is probably not the best example for this considering the latter two albums were not very well received, but you can't have a list like this without Priest. Plus, they more than redeemed themselves in 1990 with the masterpiece, Painkiller.

Stryper released Soldiers Under Command and To Hell With The Devil. Both are masterpieces. Their next release, In God We Trust was a major letdown, and the band never recovered. Although, their followup to In God We Trust which was Against The Law in 1990 was not well received, the music and songs were very good. Had this been the follow up to To Hell With The Devil, I think Stryper would have been Bon Jovi huge.

Queensryche released Rage for Order, and the iconic masterpiece, Operation: Mindcrime. The followup release in 1990, Empire was very good, but a letdown after Mindcrime, and Promised Land was a gem. The band went downhill fast after that.

Metallica released Ride the Lightning and the iconic Master of Puppets. In 1988, they released ...And Justice For All which was a good album, but nowhere near as good as the prior two. And Metallica has not come close to matching those two albums since.

Anthrax released Among The Living and State of Euphoria. By far, their two best albums.

Dokken released 3 great albums in that time frame: Tooth and Nail, Under Lock and Key, and Back for the Attack. Since then, the band has had a revolving door of musicians whose efforts will never live up to their best 3 albums.

Megadeth released Peace Sells, But Who's Buying and So Far, So Good, So What. These 2 albums were groundbreaking, however Megadeth released their crowning jewel, Rust in Peace in 1990.

RATT released their 4 best efforts, Out of the Cellar, Invasion of Your Privacy, Dancing Undercover, and Reach For the Sky during that time frame. Nothing special since then.

Slayer released their juggernaut, Reign in Blood.

Ozzy, released Bark at the Moon, Ultimate Sin, and No Rest For The Wicked. I know his first 2 albums were also masterpieces, but with these three, he was trying to adjust to losing Randy Rhoads. Not an easy feat to accomplish, but he did it, and the albums were great. No Rest for the Wicked was Ozzy's last great album.

Honorable mention to Crimson Glory, who's Transcendence album, released in 1988 is an iconic album for progressive metal. With better management, they would have been HUGE.

So, tell me why I should modernize? I say if it ain't broke, don't fix it. These BANDS can't even top their own albums written in the Golden Age, so how could some crap corporate rock band like Nickelback even hope to come close? Not to mention, these new metal bands, and even some of the bands I listed just simply write forgettable music these days, and in the days following the Golden Age.

There are several newer bands that are very good, and I do get into such as Disturbed. But, if Iron Maiden and Disturbed are playing concerts the same night, and I can only go to one, guess which one I'm going to see. If you said Iron Maiden, then you would be right.

So, if you still insist on telling me that I am stuck in the 80's, and should modernize, here is your mission if you choose to accept it: Find me a band that compares musically, lyrically, and with overall talent to the pioneers of Heavy Metal's Golden Age. If you can, I will listen, and if I think it compares, I will be honest.

However, don't hold your breath. It hasn't happened yet, and I doubt it ever will.

Could heavy metal have a second Golden Age? I hope so, and all we can do is wait and see. But in the meantime, grab Master of Puppets, throw it in the CD player, turn it up to 11, Rock the horns, and Bang Your Head because the Golden Age of heavy metal will never die!