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by Matman On December 9th, 1980, I heard the shocking news about the death of John Lennon the night before. As a 12 year old Beatles fan, this destroyed my world. The previous summer I began to really get into music and the Beatles were my obsession, an obsession that has never left me. Until that night in December I never experienced a death of anything and this was my introduction to how crappy the world could be. For the next week I buried my sadness and pain in the world of the Beatles and of course, John Lennon's solo work. I would listen to everything; the albums, the radio specials... everything. I wanted to know everything about Lennon's life and over the span of a month or so, I would become inundated with every part of his life. At the time of his death, Lennon's single (Just Like) Starting Over and the album DOUBLE FANTASY were marking the return of Lennon to the world of music. I was incredibly frustrated because as a 'little kid' I didn't know what to do or how to channel my feelings. Sure my parents helped me work through it but I wanted to do more. I would see fans gathering at John's home in New York City, The Dakota and I wanted to be there... with everyone else hurting. At the time of his death I was living in Broad Brook, CT, a small town about 2 1/2 hours from New York, but in 1980, it might as well have been a million miles away. As the years went on and I started making trips to New York City I never wanted to go to the Dakota, because I wasn't ready. I walked around Strawberry Fields with my family and saw the Imagine mosaic, but standing near or on the site where John Lennon was shot was a hard one. Yesterday, on another trip to New York City, I decided it was time. As I walked towards the building with my wife Amy, daughter Rebekah and her fiance Lucas, we walked by the infamous gate and just stopped to soak it all in, the place where so many lives changed back in 1980. I've never been one to hide my emotions and I am incredibly in tune to peoples feelings but as I stood there, I couldn't think or even speak. As I tried to focus my thoughts and prayers, all I could hear was Elton John's amazing and passionate Empty Garden in my head. My feelings; sadness, optimism, happiness, depression, confusion, clarity all hitting me at once. For the next few hours I kept trying to figure out why so many emotions all at once and as I sat to type this I realized I was just feeling everything I felt as a 12 year old who wanted to be there in 1980. It seems so weird in 2018 to now feel like i'm finally at peace with this.
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the last episode of 2018, we recap our favorites of the year! And the categories are:
Favorite Albums of 2018 Favorite 3 Songs of 2018 Favorite 3 Album Covers of 2018 Favorite 3 Concerts of 2018 Favorite Live Album Favorite Reissue Thanks for listening! If you're subscribing on iTunes or Google play, please leave us a review, as it will help spread the word about the show! You can also hit us up on twitter at twitter.com/powerchordspod, and email us at [email protected].  by Matman It is mind boggling that THE END OF CHAOS is lucky album '13' for Flotsam And Jetsam. The band made their debut in 1986 with the classic album DOOMSDAY FOR THE DECEIVER and for most of their career have been lumped in and pigeonholed as a thrash band. To me there has always been so much more to the band than that and here, the band get to prove it! Following up 2016's self titled album is going to be tough, considering I look at that album as the best in their career... until now! THE END OF CHAOS is a non-stop barrage of heavy riffs, pounding rhythms and amazing vocals that set a new standard. The songs are all amazing... not a clunker in the bunch! From the double bass drum attack of Prepare For Chaos, the chugging of Architects Of Hate or the the brilliance and balanced Prisoner In Time, THE END OF CHAOS is the perfect album for anyone who considers metal 'their music'. Vocalist Eric 'AK' Knutsome's voice just keeps better and better and has an aggressive quality to it, yet is very pleasing to the ears especially on Demolition Man. The guitar duo of Steve Conley and Michael Gilbert are amazing!!! The duo match heavy riffs and leads that give the music a new dimension on every song and are given that freedom by bassist Michael Spencer and new drummer Ken Mary who are just brilliant. I compare this album to Iron Maiden's classic POWERSLAVE, one of the first metal albums that seemed to rise above the norms of the day and created an experience, not just a record. Over the past few years I have felt a few bands have put out their most complete and satisfying albums like Armored Saint with WIN HANDS DOWN and Metal Church's latest DAMNED IF YOU DO. Like Flotsam and Jetsam, these bands have the freedom to make the music they want to make and who wins? We do!! After a few solid 10 to 12 listens front to back, Flotsam And Jetsam prove that heavy metal's best days are not in the past, but in the future. THE END OF CHAOS will be a great way to welcome in 2019! Thanks boys... y'all did real good here! THE ORDER OF CHAOS on AFM records will be released on January 18th 2019 on AFM. Flotsam And Jetsam hit the road in May. For more information go to their official site, www.flotsam-and-jetsam.com Look for interviews wit Flotsam And Jetsam's 'AK' and Ken Mary in upcoming episodes of Power Chords.
 by Matman As I try to catch up on my albums to review I decided to pick one based on its title and cover art. For those who don't know, I am a 46 year comic book collector who gravitates towards anything superhero or comic book related... so why not listen to an album called SUPERHERO? WOW... i'm so glad i did! Not knowing anything about State Of Salazar I didn't know what to expect at all, but just a few minutes into the albums first track, If You Wait For Me and I was hooked... and hooked bad! The band have a sound that combines the best of commercial hard rock and the pop aspects of progressive rock. From song to song, State Of Salazar takes the musical pedigree of ASIA, the ear candy of Journey, the grooves of Toto and combines it with the hard rock push of Europe and UFO. What you get is an album full of amazing songs and brilliant performances. The band; Marcus Nygren, guitarist Johan Thuresson, keyboardist Kevin Hosford, bassist Johannes Hansson and drummer Kristian Brun are amazing and certainly wear their influences on their collective sleeves. The danger of a modern band making AOR style music is that the material and performances can be at times cringe worthy, but here, everything is just... perfect. A perfect example of this is the ballad, Lie To Me, features a duet with Kristina Talajic and it just melts your heart with its passion. Now for the bad!!!!! I am a week away from presenting my Top Ten albums of 2017 and with the late release of SUPERHERO, my list is all screwed up!!!! Good for State Of Salazar... bad for me. As I listen to the album over and over (x20) I just fall in love with the brightness, clarity and very clean production. With each pass I keep hearing elements of Kansas, Kate Bush, Shooting Star, GTR, Meat Loaf, Survivor, Chicago, Phil Collins, A-ha... this album is so good! Sweden has been the home for some of the best new music in recent years and State Of Salazar has found a nice spot with bands like Ghost, Manimal, Palace and Perfect Plan. If you love your rock with a certain bit of sophistication, sweetness and 'pomp', SUPERHERO is your album. it's my album!!!! Matman Rating - 5 out of 5  
Opening Act:
Extreme Working on New Album Ace Frehley to Tour With Alice Cooper Judas Priest Announce 2019 Tour Accept loses founding member New Geezer Butler forms Deadland Ritual Ear Candy: Black Sabbath--Heaven and Hell (1980) Metal Church--Damned If You Do (2018) Six Degrees of Frankie B. Rockversation: Chris Impellitteri Matt spoke with the founder and lead guitarist of Impellitteri about the history of the band and their new album Nature of the Beast. Bonus Track: Fiction Syxx--Monster in the Mist From the upcoming album THE ALTERNATE ME, which you can preorder now at melodicrock.com/artist/fiction-syxx Thanks for listening! If you're subscribing on iTunes or Google play, please leave us a review, as it will help spread the word about the show! You can also hit us up on twitter at twitter.com/powerchordspod, and email us at [email protected].  by Brian LeTendre Who would have thought that in mid-December we’d get a late entry into the “Album of the Year” conversation? Metal Church, that's who. Damned if You Do, the twelfth full-length studio album from Metal Church, is an absolute revelation. It’s sonically and emotionally powerful from start to finish, and it might actually be my favorite album from the group. For me, one of the things I’ve always liked about Metal Church is how their songs can go from old school hard rock to brutally heavy metal to genuine thrash territory. And yet, there is a consistency to their sound that ties everything together, so they always sound like Metal Church. That diversity is well-represented on this album. The opening title track begins with yoga-like humming and then kicks into an uptempo, double bass-driven, crusher. The second song “The Black Things” features a classic Metal Church slow build intro that explodes into another uptempo assault. And third song “Living by the Numbers” has such an earworm of a main riff that I guarantee will be a staple of live sets for years to come. After that hat trick of an opening, the album is in full stride and never lets up. Kurdt Vanderhoof takes advantage of singer Mike Howe’s vocal abilities, giving him plenty of opportunities to mix both melody and raw power. My favorite song on the album is number five, “Revolution Underway” which is the perfect blend of metal, melody and emotion. It brings everything together in the best way, and it lets you know this album is not just a straight shot, but a winding road of different experiences.
Speaking of Mike Howe, he just absolutely kills it on this album. He sits in that special category for me of vocalists like Dee Snider and Blackie Lawless. He can bring the gravel, the heft and the melody. And he does it all on this record. Kurdt Vanderhoof brings killer riffs and great solos as usual, and I really like the sense of momentum he builds in a lot of these songs. There is a motion to them that makes each one memorable. He and Rick Van Zandt provide a great dual attack and some wonderful flair, giving songs like “Guillotine” an almost Queen-esque epicness. Former W.A.S.P. drummer Stet Howland and bass player Steve Unger bring the thunder and create the foundation for Howe, Vanderhoof and Van Zandt to spring off of. As I’ve talked about on the podcast many times, there is nothing I love more than veteran bands putting out some of their best music at this stage of their careers. Bands who know what they’re doing, and doing it the best they ever have. That is what we have here in Metal Church’s Damned If You Do. I feel like their legacy in metal history was already secure, but if there was ever a doubt, this album cements it. You can hear me raving about this album on the next episode (31) of the Power Chords podcast, which will be up this weekend. |
