Random Thoughts Following The Sad Passing Of Ronnie James Dio.

It is the sad, and unavoidable truth, that often an artist needs to pass away (young is good, but not essential) to be truly appreciated, and in some cases revered. Already this year, we have been unlucky enough to have lost two giants of the metal world (literally in the case of Pete Steele...not so literally with the more portable RJD). On both occasions I was shocked and saddened...what was my first instinct? To post a condolence on Facebook, of course (the joys of the modern world). Obviously my second instinct was to spend the next few days playing nothing but the music of the aforementioned artists...proclaiming to myself and to anyone else who cared to pay any attention to me, how great and under-rated they were.

This is always the case isn’t it? We all know how great these people are, and always feel that it doesn’t need to be said. It is only on the sad occasion of their passing on from this mortal coil, that we feel the need to suddenly share this opinion with everyone else. Wouldn’t it be nice if we took the same time to celebrate them when they were still breathing air? To set up, for example, a Facebook page or a website extolling the greatness of our favourite artists. Ah, wait. This does happen, but when the artist in question is still with us, these people are considered a bit too fanatical in most cases...just for doing the same thing we will all be doing when the person dies. 

No, this blog is never going to go anywhere...I’m just spending a few minutes getting these random ramblings out of my brain to make room for new stuff.

But when all is said and done, whatever our motives or reasoning, the people who give us this wonderful music which makes our time on this earth that much better deserve our time and our thanks....be it during their lives or by remembering them on the day of their death. I would, therefore, just like to say a huge thanks to all of the bands and musicians who have improved my life over the last 2 decades. I can’t even begin to list individuals here, but I am sure that I will remember you all and honour you all in due time. Unfortunately, you will more than likely be in the next world when this actually occurs.

Rest In Peace Ronnie James Dio and Peter Steele. You will both (truly and honestly) be missed, and although it is a cliché, the world will certainly be an emptier and less interesting place without you.

Under-rated albums: Part 3: This is Menace - The Scene Is Dead

This instalment of my series focuses on the second album by the “supergroup” This is Menace. It is one of those albums (you know the ones) where each track features a different singer. This type of album (project) is, more often than not, nothing much more than a vanity project from an artist (or artists) who wants to record an album with metal luminaries, childhood heroes or “celebrity” friends just to give their own ego a rub. We (the consumer) usually don’t get anywhere near as much from them,  as these projects, by their very nature, are more often “miss” than “hit” (think Probot or Iommi),but this album is definitely a “hit” (after hit).

I think one of the main reasons for this, is despite each track having a different “guest” vocalist, this feels like the work of a real band. This is down to the fact that each song has the same core musicians (with 2 members of Pitchshifter among them) which gives the album a more cohesive feel than others in this vein. Also, when you take into account that most of the vocalists here appeared on the first album (No End In Sight) too, it all starts to make sense. Rather than “feeling” like a real band, this IS a real band...just with a wide variety of singers and singing style. To my ears, this gives This Is Menace a real edge over a lot of other bands in the scene, and definitely makes for a more interesting and compelling listening experience.

“No End In Sight” was a worthy enough debut, but I felt that it lacked that certain something. The band has come on in real leaps and bounds (to use a well-worn cliché) on this, their sophomore release, giving us, the listeners, a lot more to get our teeth (ears surely?) into. Each song, whilst being distinctive, gels nicely into the album as a whole, and with the vocal style changing with each track on the CD, it is a little more exciting to listen to. As I said previously, though, this doesn’t  detract from the album at all, and this still feels like the work of a group of musicians with a common agenda and a singular goal. That, for me, is why “The Scene Is Dead” stands mightily over the pretenders and over the metal scene in general. If you haven’t heard this, well, why not?  It features the talents of some of the best (and most loved?) singers the metal/rock world has to offer, ranging from the more mainstream palatable, Colin Doran (Hundred Reasons) and JS Clayden (Pitchshifter), through to the more extreme in the forms of Barney Greenway (Napalm Death) and Jeff Walker (Carcass).   It is hard to pick out stand-out tracks, so I would just recommend that you go out and buy this record (come on, you can trust me) or check out any random song on itunes...go on...be daring!

To summarise, this is definitely a “real” album by a “real” band, so don’t be put off by the, often used and misleading, “supergroup” term. It’s hard to really describe what the band are doing here musically, other than just to say that Pitchshifter are an obvious point of reference as far as the guitar and bass style goes, but the overall songs take on a life (and style) of their own, which I would say id distinctively “This Is Menace”. This is a band which deserves much more recognition, and maybe we can all help them to achieve it.