Originally, we were going to look at three bands of this ilk but let’s look at Judas Priest’s previous attempts at modernizing and how those albums played out.

Judas Priest and the 14 Year Run

It’s always easy to start with Priest for most things. Long-time metal and Judas Priest fans will know which albums tend to get left out of streaming music catalogs. Released in 1997 and 2001 respectively, Jugulator and Demolition are two albums that came about in the Tim “Ripper” Owens period of the band.

After roughly 19 years as lead singer, Rob Halford decided to dip out and see what else he could do musically and just do life. Priest had been heavily active throughout the 1970s and 1980s churning out quality albums, some divisive pieces, and delivering some exciting live performances on their tours.

Just looking at their discography from Rocka Rolla until Ram It Down, you’re looking at 12 albums in 14 years. Total iron horses. One issue that arises is creativity. Sure, they have the work ethic and had been putting projects together with a high level of quality overall sans a lengthy break but those creative juices need time to replenish.

Early Attempts at Being Hip

This kind of dovetails into the other issue: change with the times. The heavily sci-fi, love-of-metal, and life themes of the band were good throughout the 70s and early 80s but the rock and metal industry was changing rapidly in the late 80s. Glam rock was hot and bands wanted their bag. The genre had some impact of Judas Priest as heard in 1986’s Turbo.

I felt that Priest was at its best just evoking the word of the Metal Gods at varying speeds while sprinkling one or two romance or veiled sex tunes per album. A good mix where even the romance tracks are heavy as hell. Turbo is the band’s second attempt at hanging with what’s hot and while I actually like the album (there are bangers here, folks), I can see that the glam-tinged approach didn’t take well to my fellow Judas Priest hardcores.

Again: long run of the same approach for over a decade. I’ll let them slide on Turbo. It’s not a bad album at all, it’s just not as heavy as other releases. Their first attempt came in 1981 with Point of Entry when new wave and arena rock were big mainstream-wise. The band took cues from arena rock and turned out a fun album that was similar to Turbo in a lack of heaviness.

What I like to check is what albums these releases are sandwiched between. Point of Entry came after British Steel, a good project but an even better international introduction. The album came before the incredible Screaming for Vengeance. So, treat PoE as a brief break to see if the hook catches any new fans that don’t care for heavy Priest.

Turbo fell between two monsters in Defenders of the Faith and Ram It Down. That’s a tough roll but the late 70s and the 80s was mostly a murderers’ row of very strong albums. It was going to be viewed as a drop off to some and an enjoyable side trip to others. A mixed reception, I suppose.

1990 and The Ripper Arrives

The Metal Gods would kick off the new decade with another tempt at hip with my favorite Priest release: Painkiller. It was released in this interesting time where the thrash bands had already thrashed throughout the late 80s.

Some bands were slowing it down and delivering more layered music in part distancing from thrash or just adding something new. Other thrash acts just kept thrashing or moved into other extreme subgenres. Of course, you had those bands that ended or went on an extended hiatus.

Glam metal had gotten its hands on the power ballad nuke, so there were a couple of those that actually became some of those bands’ better known songs. However, glam metal was about to get wiped in popularity by fast-growing grunge and groove metal bands. Never mind the growth of west coast and east coast hip-hop at that time.

Apparently, there was only so much air time for metal (and later, music videos) on MTV at the time. I can’t personally speak on how the radio was going for metal at the time since I wasn’t regularly listening to it until the late 1990s but I don’t reckon it was any better.

Painkiller releases and it’s like Judas Priest was attempting to catch up when other bands that regularly did that kind of speed and aggression had matured. In a way, JP had matured as well then again, I’m very biased towards this album since it hits every I want in a speed metal album from start to finish.

Fortunately, it came in largely uncontested as it followed Ram It Down and Priest had a little more time between the albums. When there’s time between musical projects, films, books, or games that’s when you have to bring something truly amazing. You can’t bring more of the same and Judas Priest understood the assignment.

Then lead singer Rob Halford leaves the band and forms the band Fight and later own forms Two, giving him the means to dip a toe into groove metal a bit. Now Judas Priest gets that extended hiatus. They would load up on compilations before picking up Tim “Ripper” Owens in 1996 as their lead singer.

Jugulator and Demolition

The band dropped Jugulator in 1997 and I’d eventually listen to it in my first Judas Priest binge a decade later. Prior to that I’d heard Halford’s Resurrection and Crucible. While those were a few years later, that cleaner production and more aggressive approach was familiar. The guitars in Halford could have that heavy, crunchy bite or sound crisper for something more like an anthem or one of Halford’s romance tunes.

Jugulator featured a more aggressive, thrashy—and darker—Judas Priest. It was like “Turn the darkness up some from Painkiller”. Both albums I felt were fine, I preferred Jugulator much more. They keep some of the Judas Priest tropes including my favorite: epic character songs. You don’t exactly get “Painkiller”, “The Sentinel”, or “Exciter” but they’re solid offerings.

I’ve read reviews and a few posts discussing the Ripper era and it’s a mix of views. Some felt that Ripper is powerful singer but wasn’t a good fit for Priest. The songwriting was a topic of discussion, the overall tone of the albums, and so on. Then you had those who at least liked Jugulator or they’re similar to me and liked songs from those albums but didn’t care for the albums overall.

When streaming music became a thing, I noticed that Jugulator and Demolition weren’t in the discography on Spotify. Just Painkiller to Angel of Retribution. Having looked at Apple Music recently and I see Demolition is in their albums and that’s the album I felt was the weaker of the Ripper era.

It’s always interesting to see that because it raises questions. In Judas Priest’s case, there’s some legal stuff preventing it from appearing. Also, you could say there was some other distancing from that era with Halford returning even if Halford himself feels they’re valid entries. For our wrestling fans, it’s similar to the question of if Jeff Jarrett was ever a member of the Four Horsemen.

The face of the group might say it’s acceptable but everyone else is either mixed on the notion or shuts it down. Add in legal restrictions and you get an situation that can look like erasure of that era. It’s s shame because it’s part of the band’s overall history and Jugulator was a fine release.

Overall, I wouldn’t say it’s a Pantera and the Terry Glaze era situation.

Running two vocalists is always an interesting approach. In 3IOB’s case, it was even more interesting when your primary singer (Cam Pipes) had some Painkiller-mode Rob Halford clean vox action going on and the singer handling the chorus and duet stuff (Jamie Hooper) with some modern (for the early 2000s) harsh vox.

This is also one of the things that garnered some opposing views on the band. From what I’ve seen, it’s not the existence of both vocals at the same time, it’s how they intermingle on releases in addition to lyrics that have been viewed as basic fantasy material.

Mind you, I love that low fantasy, sword and sorcery focus and I don’t necessarily need all the lore and intrigues of different nations and treaties when there’s an evil sorcerer or some beast that needs clapping. I’m here for sword-swinging, orc-slaying action and 3 Inches of Blood typically delivered.

Most fans introduction to 3 Inches of Blood was probably through Advance and Vanquish, a very good intro that I enjoyed. It was one of my purchases through the “4 CDs for one cent” schemes we’d occasionally get in the mail or in a magazine.

3 Inches of Blood’s First Adventure: Battlecry Under a Wintersun

Normally, I’d go into side A and side B separately, but the version available on Apple Music features some bonus tracks that piqued my interest. Full disclosure: I listened to the follow-up release Advance and Vanquish way before I got to the debut. Hell, I listened to everything post-Battlecry Under a Wintersun. This is the kind of power metal I dig. It’s as if U.S power metal OGs Omen or Jag Panzer had their Painkiller and just stayed in that mode.

It’s a different kind of power metal than Canadian OG Thor delivered two decades earlier. The debut dropped in 2002 and comes packing a cool album, 11 tracks on the initial release, and comes in at just under 37 minutes. Our longest track here is “Hall of Heroes” at just over four minutes.

For most of the tracks, you’re getting a speedy 3IOB and that’s something I greatly appreciate. Even on tracks where Cam and Jamie are screeching and screaming to the tempo of the strings and percussion, the others are still just blazing through the song giving each tale told some degree of urgency or severity.

Lyrically, it’s a lot of wars, battles, and fantasy themes. You also get what comes with those themes: stories of bravery, anthems, figures to beware of—this album could’ve served as the start of a concept series of albums.

Verdict

As a debut, it’s a decent start for 3 Inches of Blood. My sole gripe would be that Battlecry Under a Wintersun would’ve benefited greatly from the experience, line up, and production value of Advance and Vanquish. I mean greatly. What hurts the debut is the production in regards to the vocals.

Something about how the voices are mixed or layered over each other doesn’t do it for me. It’s certainly not on the band since the song “Destroy the Orcs” makes it from the debut to Advance and Vanquish and sounds great. It’s not uncommon for production of that time or creative direction to hobble an otherwise good album. In the case of Battlecry, it’s just on that specific part.

The band hung up the gear in 2015 but were sharpening their blades again in 2023 with the Fire Up the Blades and Here Awaits Thy Doom era members. From an interview in April 2026, the band acknowledged that the music and distribution industries are very different from 2015 but aimed to start “trickling” out new stuff in 2027.

While I’m looking forward to new music from 3 Inches of Blood, I say give Battlecry Under a Wintersun a remaster. When it was released, this album showed a lot of the potential the band had. With a few years and better production 3 Inches of Blood would be a banger machine.

Every release had songs to slam and they were one of my consistent releases along with 2000s and early 2010s Darkthrone and Stormwarrior. I knew I was at least going to enjoy their album that year. If I had listened to this before Advance and Vanquish, I might not have put them in rotation initially. It’s a cool album but not an essential listen in their discography.

Strongest Tracks: Destroy the Orcs, Lady Deathwish*, Curse of the Lighthouse Keeper, Balls of Ice

Centered around the mythos of Vancouver-based former Mr. USA and Mr. Canada bodybuilding champion Jon Mikl Thor, the eponymous band started out heavily rooted in the love of rock and adventures-with-swords fantasy.

Thor’s music is right up my alley thematically and you might dig them too if you’re into early Manilla Road and Manowar from the U.S, Sweden’s Heavy Load, or early Stormwitch from Germany.

The Sixth Release of Thor: Triumphant

What we’re looking at is Thor’s 2002 full-length release Triumphant and the tracklisting. When the album released, it featured ten tracks and clocked in at just 58 minutes:

1. Call of the Triumphant
2. Intercessor (from the film The Intercessor: Rock n Roll Nightmare Part 2)
3. Viking’s Funeral
4. Back for Blood
5. Anger
6. Thunderhawk
7. Everybody Needs a Hero
8. Fubar Is a Super Rocker (from the film Fubar: The Movie)
9. Hail Steeve Reeves
10. The Guardian’s Flame – An Opus by Thor I. Thunder on the Tundra, II. Crimson Twilite, III. War Hammer

I remember getting this album in 2007 as part of one of those Columbia House CD-type deals where you could get a selection of CDs for the price of one. Also in that haul was the Judas Priest compilation Metal Works ’73-’93. At the time, I remember the album being alright. I definitely enjoyed “Call of the Triumphant”, loved “Intercessor” and liked “Anger” but it was either the selection of songs or the placement of the songs that didn’t really do it for me.

It was shame because there are Thor albums I liked such as Only the Strong and Thunderstruck where the song placement wasn’t an issue. Remember, it always helps  to have a good amount of fun or great songs on each side. It isn’t unusual to get an album that is too top-heavy with all the bangers in the first half or too bottom-heavy where you have to get through some mid or decent tracks to get to the primo songs.

Look For Those Alternate Versions

I admit that Triumphant might not be the best example of an alternate release. That’s an honor that Judas Priest’s Killing Machine and Hell Bent for Leather would take. Triumphant was picked because the 2003 re-release by Scratch Records featured some slight shuffling of tracks and the addition of a few songs bringing it to 15 tracks and a length of a little over 70 minutes:

1. March to Glory
2. I Am Thor
3. Anger III
4. Call of the Triumphant
5. Intercessor (from the film The Intercessor: Rock n Roll Nightmare Part 2)
6. Slave
7. Viking’s Funeral
8. Back for Blood
9. GraveYard
10. Thunderhawk
11. Throwing Cars at People in Coke with Thor (ft. Full Blown AIDS)
12. The Guardian’s Flame – An Opus by Thor I. Thunder on the Tundra, II. Crimson Twilite, III. War Hammer
13. Fubar Is a Super Rocker (from the film Fubar: The Movie)
14. Everybody Needs a Hero
15. Hail Steeve Reeves

The extra songs were like decent bonus than tunes that gave the album a different sound or made for different listening experience but the slight tracklist shuffling made this a better listen. Sometimes you just want all the bangers in one place or in close proximity to each other. In the case of Triumphant, the songs I enjoyed the most from the original release make up a trifecta of tracks.

Meanwhile, other tracks I wasn’t initially impressed with were viewed more favorably because they were deeper into the album or had better lead-in songs. That isn’t to say that this became the Thor album—that’s either Thunderstruck or Thor Against the World—but this was the album where I first noticed tracklisting and song placement is everything.

What are some albums you believe could’ve benefited from better track placement? Are there some songs from an album you believe would be better used on a different album? Let us know in the comments!

Also, Dissident Alliance is a release that is best that it isn’t included. It would’ve been better just to drop Chain of Command in 1994. At any rate, we’re looking at the band’s debut Ample Destruction.

Introducing Jag Panzer

Jag Panzer is a band that fans of 80s metal or power metal might be familiar with. Founded in 1981 as Tyrant, the act has featured co-founders bass player John Tetley and guitarist Mark Broidy for the bulk of its first run until 1988 and since the band’s revival in 1993. Their present vocalist is also a co-founder: Harry “The Tyrant” Conklin.

The Tyrant remained with the band until shortly after the release of Ample Destruction then left to record the 1986 release Metal from Hell for fellow Colorado metal act, Satan’s Host. Conklin would make his return to Jag Panzer in 1995 in time to record the band’s other classic, The Fourth Judgment in 1997.

For the early 1980s, the band’s sound reminds me of a mix of Brocas Helm’s performance on their 1984 debut Into Battle and Lizzy Borden’s performance on Love You to Pieces. Jag Panzer is one of those bands I often point to as a great example of 80s U.S power metal or epic heavy metal. They’re capable of dark, moody dungeon-exploring metal and speedier war-ready battle hymns.

We’re going to look at both sides of Ample Destruction, see what stands out on both sides of the album, and go into the opening and closing track. This album in its original form included nine tracks, no instrumentals or spoken word parts, and runs for just over 39 minutes.

While the OG album isn’t on Apple Music, you can check out Decade of the Nailed-Spiked Bat. Released in 2003, it features the tracks from Ample Destruction shuffled and mixed in with tracks from the 1992 Tyrants EP and Chain of Command.

A-Side of Ample Destruction

With five tracks, the A-side of Ample Destruction is one of the stronger album A-sides. On the one hand, this isn’t exactly rare because there are plenty of albums that either A-side-heavy or have good distribution on both sides. Then again, you also have albums that can be an ordeal together because of a boggy A-side with only a smattering of bangers, rippers, or pounders or it’s lop-sided with all the good stuff on the B-side.

The thing with this is the A-side is typically the first album or the early tracks on an album and you don’t want to have to go through a mid or bad A-side just to get to the actual A-side material. A heads up: this album falls into the first category with a strong distribution of bangers on both sides and no skips.

Ample Destruction opens with the banger “License to Kill”, the shortest song on side A and the album overall at just over 3-minutes and it gives the album a strong start and is a nice sample of what you’re getting into with Jag Panzer. I feel it’s a good introduction to Harry Conklin’s singing ability but it isn’t the best example on the album. Following “License to Kill” are “Warfare” and “Symphony of Terror”. “Warfare” is a strong follow-up pounder and “Symphony of Terror” a more of a mid-tempo, building epic. Again, it showcases Conklin’s singing throughout and really lets him do his thing on chorus.

Closing out the A-side are the star tracks “Harder Than Steel”, a tune that picks up the pack just a bit but keeps the pounder approach. I often mention this song as a good example of epic heavy metal or U.S power metal. The guitars have that bite you’ll hear in “License to Kill” and “Warfare” and the dazzle of “Symphony of Terror” but it has a little more umph or speed to it. However, it’s not the speeder of this side.

That honor goes to A-side closer “Generally Hostile”, one of the two speed metal entries of the album. The song gallops, rides, and has a lot of punch to it. It’s also my favorite vocal display for Conklin on the album. I talk a lot about the vocals but the guitars and drums do their job and then some throughout the project. Whatever the theme or story of the song, they lay a great stage in each track for Conklin to paint the picture.

Standout Tracks: Symphony of Terror**, Harder Than Steel**, Generally Hostile**

B-Side

After a heavy A-side, we have “The Watching” which a slower, somewhat grim tune that clocks in at over four minutes. I’d say this song, B-sider “Reign of Tyrants”, “Symphony of Terror” and closing track “The Crucifix” are good introductions to Conklin’s band after Jag Panzer, Satan’s Host. Those are three songs that could easily be on their debut album Metal from Hell. Speaking of “The Crucifix”, it’s longest song on this debut at over seven minutes.

Often when I see lengthier song times, I tend to think “This is going to be a slow affair” and I might give the faster songs another listen to prep me. After doing that, I got into “The Crucifix” and the first three minutes and change seemed to confirm my fears. Then it kicks into the second half of track and the tempo picks up. I was pleased and it went together well enough that I couldn’t say “Just give me the second half of the song.” The entire song is fine but in the mix of the first nine, I don’t see it as a particularly strong closing song. It’s definitely a closer but I don’t know about it on Ample Destruction.

One reason for that is that the version I listened to was a re-issue which featured the bonus “Black Sunday”. I felt that would’ve made a better closer as it’s similar in tempo but brief at under three minutes. Before closing this out, we can’t forget “Cardiac Arrest”. Falling between “The Watching” and “Reign of Tyrants”, “Cardiac Arrest” is the other speed metal offering. While doesn’t have that same gasoline and fire as “Generally Hostile”, it gives the B-side a shot of energy on a mostly mid-tempo, heavy-leaning side.

Standout Tracks: The Watching*, Cardiac Arrest**

Strength of the Debut

I tend not to put grades or scores on these since they’re more retrospectives or quick dives than reviews but this a debut I would’ve given at least four stars or a low-90. It’s a great debut album and while it’s a cult album, it’s a classic of power metal and epic heavy metal. It showcases that early 80s period in U.S power metal and was how I discovered other U.S power metal acts from that period such as Brocas Helm, Manilla Road, Chastain, and Omen.

Admittedly, if I had discovered any of those bands first, I would’ve found Jag Panzer but this album was good enough and hit all those spots that I dig in metal music: strong, piercing vocals, fantasy or warfare lyricism, and guitar work that boosts or blends with the direction of the band and the singer’s abilities.

Ample Destruction is a ridiculously strong debut and highly recommended.

One of the things I wanted to do was touch on each Priest album before really digging into the best and worst parts of the band’s iconic releases. So, while there’s still Invincible Shield from 2024 to look at let’s take a gander at Redeemer or Souls—for a refresher or first look. This album was significant as it was the first album without long-time Priest guitarist and co-founder K.K Downing, the entrance of Richie Faulkner, and pretty much sharpened the sound of Angel of Retribution.

When it comes to Judas Priest, I tend to say follow their “of” albums to trace their sound and how it grows over time. The sound here is a more seasoned  version of what we heard on Angel of Retribution.

The First Act of ‘Redeemer of Souls’

So, Redeemer of Souls starts off with “Dragonaut” which wasn’t the strongest song to run as an opener on the album but this wasn’t your usual Priest album. If anything you could say it was lacking in firepower a bit throughout. The second and third tracks had stronger claims to being an opener but this is the track arrangement we have.

Again, the arrangement can make for a totally different listening experience in most cases. In the case of Redeemer of Souls—eh. Who knows? This album had a strong concentration of mediocre tunes and stuff that could’ve been left off. That’s another thing: less is more sometimes. While many artists drop releases with 15-20 tracks, oftentimes they can get it done with 10-15 of the strongest tracks on the album and have a near-untouchable release.

In the first half, we have standout tunes in the titular track and “Halls of Valhalla”. I feel they “Halls” is the stronger of the two. They sounded like they could’ve been bangers on Angel of Retribution easily. A tune that wasn’t going to be a banger but still had some muscle to it was “March of the Damned”. It was just above mid but I wouldn’t call it a highlight among the first seven tunes.

Strongest Tracks: Redeemer of Souls, Halls of Valhalla*

Act Two

The second act features six tracks capping off this 13-track journey. Now the first three tracks on this side of “Cold Blooded”, “Metalizer” and”Crossfire”? Not particularly bad. These songs could’ve been on Angel of Retribution with stronger nods to “Metalizer” and “Crossfire”. They have a shortness to them which make them punchy and at this point in Priest’s run, I prefer screeching Rob Halford with a punchy, powerful Priest.

Once we get to the last three tracks, we’re in longer tunes territory and I won’t lie, it didn’t work for me. This is a hard assortment of tracks to try and rearrange for the stronger album. Some songs—like these three—run a little long and if you tune out and let the music just run the speakers, you won’t know where one song ends and another begins. I often caught on that “Battle Cry” was playing because I’d heard it a bit before listening to the full album.

Oddly, this was one of those time where the B-side didn’t totally show the A-side how it’s done.

Strongest Tracks: Metalizer, Crossfire

Recommendation: Skip

By the time we reach track eight, this album really just flows from one song to the next without any song after the third really standing out up until this point. That’s not entirely a bad thing but you could say it is when the album had been in the works for three years and it’s six years after the last release. Not only that, it was a release that many were mixed on. I’d say the average take on Nostradamus from those I asked has been “It’s alright.”

Meaning Redeemer just had to be better than “Alright” or at least match it. Unfortunately, it was a bit flat listening to it years later. It’s odd because I actually remember enjoying this album for the most part. If you’re exploring Priest for the first time, I’d say this isn’t the best introduction. If you’re rusty, this one is skippable and didn’t get better after a decade of marination.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

What Type of Vibe Is Blind Guardian?

To be honest, there are different vibes with Blind Guardian’s music. It can depend on the decade or the particular project. For most of their discography BG is pretty intense and that’s mostly on the pace of albums and the band’s playing speed.

Blind Guardian is one of the pioneering bands of what speed metal—my favorite genre—would become in the 1980s. The genre had already been established with albums such as Judas Priest’s Sad Wings of Destiny, Motorhead’s debut album, and Riot’s Rock City.

With the bands that made it out of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal—the ones that found success and fame—you’d hear a lot of speed metal on albums. There was a mixing of UK punk and heavier rock music during this period. The result of a mix of bands with more mid-tempo approach and some that were faster but had their mid-tempo moments.

These albums would make it outside of England and influence younger bands that were experimenting with their sound—such as Blind Guardian in the late 80s. So, for their sound, BG was definitely faster early on. The band mixed this speedy approach with fantasy and Lord of the Rings-inspired lyrics.

It was a new and fun experience when I first heard this classic German outfit, I had dove into speed metal and thrash metal. All of it was aggressive with songs about Hell, destruction, violence, nuclear war, politics, and so on. So, this was extremely refreshing.

There was still this aggressive, fast approach that I love but it had its moments where it would get away from that for a moment. When I researched Blind Guardian more, I found that this was also one of the bands that would pioneer power metal—another favorite genre—and it made sense.

In short, if you like some umph to your fantasy tales and epic legends, Blind Guardian has you most of the time. As the 90s and 00s rolled around, BG mixed in some more mid-tempo pieces as their albums became more conceptual and featured more of an atmosphere to tell stories.

The Performance of Battalions of Fear

This album is a total beast from start to finish. Hell, I’m far from the biggest instrumental fan but the two instrumentals that are on the A-side and B-side (the third and eighth tracks, respectively) were really good. As I’ve always said, I’m a big vocals and lyrics guy, so instrumentals really have to add to the album’s pace or atmosphere.

From “Majesty”, the album opener to “Battalions of Fear”, the last lyrical track, this album doesn’t let up pace-wise. It’s a fun, fast album that blitzes you with semi-related but commonly-themed adventures, lore, and the like. These are themes you’d want in music that is more mid-paced or slower so that you can digest the stories and stuff.

In BG’s case, it’s taking out a lot of the exposition and hitting you with the heat seekers. It’s like watching the trailer or a commercial for Lord of the Rings or the later Harry Potter films where the most exciting or dramatic parts are shown. That’s Battalions of Fear and the follow-up.

The original album is a 37-minute trailer to reel the listener in on their sound and material—and works! Their first two albums just reel you in and then you start to get the full movie or whole book approach with the 90s albums.

As a matter of fact, as unrefined as Battalions of Fear can sound at times when compared with their recent albums, I’d say that not only is BoF a great debut but probably one of the greatest. BG’s sound came a long way in albums 35 years of making metal.

I’d even recommend listening to the bonus edition. It’s available on Spotify and iTunes and features some demo material which is often times rawer than the released studio albums.

Power of the Opener: “Majesty”

The opening track on Battalions of Fear is “Majesty” which clocks in at seven and a half minutes. It’s not a fast seven minutes, either. You are cognizant that you’ve been on this song for some time and that it hasn’t bled over into another song. No, this is still the same song and you’re just four minutes through it.

That aside, it’s a lengthy track with a strong, fast-pace. If it were a little faster it would be exhausting, actually. Keeping that pace for anything over three or four minutes? Insanity! Four minutes is pushing it before I start considering pressing “next”. However, there are tracks that either ride the full time at full speed or tracks that ride fast, give you a short breather, and continue riding.

“Majesty” falls in the latter category. There is a momentum of breathing space before the pace ramps back up. This is a damn good opening track and a good pick as here are some other lengthy songs on the album which hit five and six minutes.

I couldn’t picture “Majesty” being in the middle of the album and at least not on the A-side. However, a good replacement opener would definitely be “Run for the Night”. It rides harder than “Majesty” at less time. However, it lacks that little extra that would make it a better opener. “Run for the Night” is a song for after you’ve caught Blind Guardian’s pace and approach. It’s not exactly the first BG song I’d pick as an intro if time wasn’t an issue.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

Definitely hard rock but there’s speed and weight to it. Most of these songs don’t have that slower blues mosey or rockabilly bounce you’ll hear in energetic songs from AC/DC or Kiss. Also, pay attention to what Freddie Mercury is able to do with his voice on the debut.

The A-Side

I’ve done a few albums from the 1970s and 1980s where we have a 10-track release that manages to keep things under 40 minutes. In those cases, the album is usually split eventually across the two sides. With Queen, we an A-side with four tracks but that’s because a few songs are a bit on the beefy side length-wise.

There are two tracks that really caught my attention here in the two “King” songs. “Great King Rat” comes in with speed and heaviness which I love, of course. It’s not what you’d get from speed metal in the 1980s but it was similar to a song on New York band Riot’s first two albums. I’d something like “Road Racin’” or “Warrior.”

As mentioned in our review of Riot, those first two albums—also released in the 1970s—were hard rock with a speed metal song tucked in there somewhere. Queen was definitely cooking with something here—they were cooking throughout the album—but this song and the other A-side banger really intrigued me.

Before getting into that one, “Keep Yourself Alive” deserves a nod for opening the album with some bite. There’s such a mix on this album that if you’re someone who needs some fire off the bat—like myself—this track does the job.

“My Fairy King” is my favorite track on the album. It reminds me of something I would hear on a Rainbow album—and that gets a massive thumbs up. Queen released before Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow but the more of that and Uriah Heep I hear here, the better.

I’m not the biggest progressive rock fan and Queen isn’t just dominated by it but what prog is here leans more towards the faster, heavy end. That works for me.

Standout Tracks: Great King Rat**, My Fairy King***

The B-Side

The B-side is pretty damn good throughout. It opens with “Liar” which has the same bite and oomph as “Keep Yourself Alive.” Things slow down quite a bit with “The Night Comes Down” which is a fine song and the only track on the album that catch me off the bat. It would be replayed but on the first run through, it didn’t get any replays.

“Son and Daughter” and “Jesus” were the replay magnets on the B-side. I really enjoyed “Son and Daughter” it was right along what I like about “Great King Rat” with the heaviness. The album closes with “Jesus” and the instrumental “Seven Seas of Rhye.”

Instrumentals rarely do it for me but the closer was a brief one and decent. Again, there was a lot going down in under 40-minutes.

Standout Tracks: Liar*, Son and Daughter**, Jesus

Strength of the Opener: Keep Yourself Alive

My replacements for opener tend to come from the standout tracks on both sides. “Keep Yourself Alive” does a fine job as an opening track but either of the two “King” songs would be my top two picks for that slot. I love an album that starts off with dynamite, high energy—some fire and fury.

“Keep Yourself Alive” has both but “Great King Rat” is a stronger song and “My Fairy King” is even stronger! “GKR” is a bit lengthy for an explosive opener but part of this song’s strength comes from keeping that aggressiveness throughout.

“Son and Daughter” would make for a good opener as well and is punchy in length to where it doesn’t stick around too long.

Overall—like others who have reviewed or recommended Queen—I believe this album shows a lot of the potential that Queen would realize in the 1970s and 1980s. There were a few songs that were fine and many that were good or better. You can hear Queen showcasing “We can do this and that—oh and this! Plus we have this awesome singer and amazing guitarists!”

This album isn’t a collection of Queen’s best but they do deliver some bangers that make me wonder “What if they went this route?” and “I’d love more of this and less of that.” Queen encourages possibilities and ups anticipation for the follow-up and that gets a thumbs up.

Staff Writer; James “Metal” Swift Jr.

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

It’s never been particularly difficult to mix in funk with rock or metal to get a good mix. Living Colour, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Faith No More all did this and produced legendary bangers. As far funk taking in elements of rock, it’s been done with the likes of War, Mandrill, Funkadelic, Prince, and Rick James. We’ll definitely get into Funkadelic because their sound mixed psychedelic rock and their brand of P-funk wonderfully.

Rick James and His Street Funk

However, Rick James—who had a rock edge to his funk since 1979’s Fire It Up—had been considered one the main names in early funk rock. One way to describe it that I really liked was “funk straight from the street”. That’s actually very accurate because even in metal now, having a sound that has a street-wise edge—especially in speed metal—tends to add some character to a Motorhead, Hellhammer, or early-Venom-inspired band.

While his tales of street life, sex, and sleaze predated the L. A metal likes of Motley Crue, Faster Pussycat, and W.A.S P, it was that extra rock bite that made that took his funk from the jam-like enclosures of Parliament and Bootsy Collins and actually saw him become a name in the early MTV age. His funk and later Prince’s were marketable to the mainstream. It wasn’t dated and was right at home alongside Madonna, Michael Jackson, Bon Jovi, and so on.

Street Songs was the approach of Fire It Up revisited and sharpened. Released in 1981, Rick James had dropped an album loaded with memorable bangers, MTV and radio-ready, and headed up with four very strong singles. The other eight tracks that weren’t singles were no slouches either!

He had found a formula that would work for this period and simply had to stick with it. Of course, those in funk or with funk roots regularly experiment and aim to evolve their sound to some degree. While we might hear some funk acts in a form they’ve been in for 10 to 20 years now, it took them years to get their sound to that point and decide “This is it, this is the sound.”

Plus, you have to hear a funk band live to really hear them go through different influences, sounds, and tempos. Yes, even on records funk can be wild and unchained but even those releases see the acts take the best, most cohesive tracks for a release meant to make a profit. Once they’re live, you get a mix of promo and the band in their natural environment.

Rick James was no different despite the decade. Even when he made a comeback with the momentum from his Chappelle’s Show appearances, there was still a fast and loose approach to his performances as he touched on the classic bangers that brought him to the dance. That approach is why the star of Street Songs, “Super Freak” has an amazing 7-minute version—which could’ve been longer, honestly.

Looking at it now, it would’ve been interesting to see how his sound would’ve evolved in the early 1980s with the rise of the glam metal bands—some of which had a very Rick James-approach to their lyrics and showmanship. Could he have gone in a faster, harder direction as many acts do with age and seniority in the industry or would he have kept his approach in full and become eclipsed by his contemporaries who surpassed him before the decade was out?

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

What Kind of Vibe is Riot City?

At first, I was thinking “Wow, Riot City gives me Riot vibes.” Riot is an 80s band from New York City that different periods before settling in the speed metal and power metal lanes. The thing about each of those periods is that they each had some pretty damn good stuff. Their first two albums were hard rock but had speed metal songs on both in the late 1970s.

However, Riot wasn’t to be exact. It’s just that the opening track “Warrior of Time” rides like a Riot song. No, Riot City reminded me more of a speedier Judas Priest. They’re as if you mixed Priest’s Painkller and Defenders of the Faith together, tossed in some Battalions of Fear from Blind Guardian, and gave it a gallon of 80s bite.

Riot City is as if Judas Priest played just their high energy hits and we’ve got some King Diamond or Lizzy Borden mixed in where the lead singer will ride the peak of their shrieking. It all makes for a fast, heavy, and sometimes epic listen. The way that the vocals are used from track to track takes the album on some other direction with a familiar conductor.

The band has been around since 2011 and just released their debut in 2019. They had plenty of time to practice, write songs, round them out, and perform with other projects before they floated out Burn the Night and that was time well spent.

If I had to firmly place the sound, it’s towards the end of Halford’s first run with Judas Priest and some of Halford’s solo albums—but faster. The sound is as if you had all of the fast Priest songs in simplest terms. I know many enjoy the slower, more meaningful Priest songs but the faster ones really rock, folks.

So, imagine if Judas Priest played Defenders of the Faith, Painkiller, Redeemers of Souls, and Firepower—and only those albums but faster. That’s pretty much Riot City. It’s not the best description but that’s what I’d go with for someone more familiar with Judas Priest or older metal.

Great Debuts: “Burn the Night”

Talk about an A+ debut! Burn the Night is just about a perfect debut for a metal band in their vein. There’s the foundation of “We play fast, heavy as hell metal music. We’re loud and heavy” with a little of the unexpected. After the first two songs, you get the idea that this might be a pretty fast affair.

You’d be correct as the album is 37-minutes. However, the third track changes things up a bit. “In the Dark” starts off sounding like a ballad—which I’m not too big on—then it really starts to rock. I mean, it really starts to rock once it kicks into gear. Then you know “Oh, this whole thing is a speedy affair. Nice.”

Throughout the album, the band just rides tracks. The percussion and bass are holding the pace of these songs tightly because the guitars can go on their own at times. Sometimes, the guitars can ride a little hard then the vocals glues all of it together.

Speaking of the vocals, Cale Savy did the damn thing on this album. He had moments where he brought tracks into this epic realm outside of the speed fest approach. Apparently, he’s handed over vocal duties so we’ll see if they keep the explosive approach of this debut or make something entirely different.

Burn the Night is the debut from a young band made of seasoned musicians who have been in other bands in Canada. While each player has other projects that either came before Riot City or are more active, this band has a lot of potential to deliver a strong follow-up based off just the debut.

To sum up the album: it’s what Painkiller III or Painkiller IV would’ve been if Judas Priest made the first Painkiller a series of albums. I hate to keep comparing Riot City to Judas Priest but there are times in this album where it just really hits: “Priest”.

Strength of the Opener: “Warrior of Time”

I’d say that “Warrior of Time” is a good opener for Burn the Night. It’s an explosive track that doesn’t even display Cale’s vocals at their peak but it rides for almost six minutes. It has this pace that really establishes what you’re getting into on this album. Sometimes you want to be surprised while other times you just want to know what kind of party it is.

Hell, sometimes you just want consistency. I’m big consistency in a band and throughout an album. Burn the Night is a very consistent album and “Warrior of Time” really sets that up. If I had to pick a different opener then “Steel Rider” or “The Hunter” would be my closest picks. However, “Warrior of Time” is the strongest track of the three.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

My mother passed in January 2021 and decided to look more into bands she enjoyed such as Journey, Blondie, and yes, Heart. The first album I heard from the band was their third release Little Queen from 1977 which features a hit song we’re all probably familiar with by now.

Heart – Little Queen (1977)

Little Queen features ten tracks—twelve if you get the reissue which features a cover of “Stairway to Heaven”. The album leans towards folk rock but there are flashes of hard rock.

It’s important to note that in listening to 1970s Heart, you’ll notice that they weren’t the heaviest or hardest band in the land. A lot of the stuff from this period lean towards a lighter side but all of their songs on these releases have emotion to them.

They’re albums you have to sit with and actually take in. On each album there is some hard rock, so you’ll get that fix of music you can just enjoy and not have to really reflect on but that’s not Heart’s bag.

Which I always thought was a shame because Heart rocks out, they really rock out. The best example of the band putting these two sounds together was “Magic Man” from Dreamboat Annie.

I don’t know what it is but there’s just something about female lead singers and folk rock that just clicks. Now, I won’t say it’s hard for a female singer to mess up with folk rock but regardless of vocal range or vocal power, they just tend to gel well with the genre.

It’s no different here. Even though it’s far from my preferred genre, I dig vocalists first then guitarists. Both sisters delivered on Little Queen as they did in the two previous albums and as they would in the 1980s.

Heart was just ridiculously consistent and talented. I tend to use “vibe” a lot when discussing hip-hop but this album is very much a vibe with some harder, rocking songs sprinkled in.

You have something like “Love Alive” and “Cry to Me” right next to “Barracuda” and “Little Queen” on this release and it’s a nice mix that just works. It helps that the songs are good as well, obviously.

While I’m going to get into “Barracuda”, I applaud the placing of “Kick It Out” and “Little Queen”. It’s this double whammy of just hard rock and that gets a thumbs up from me!

Standout Tracks: Barracuda*, Kick It Out, Little Queen*, Cry to Me

The Star: Barracuda

Interesting known fact: the album cover for Dreamboat Annie resulted in one of the band’s most well-known hits. Their original label Mushroom Records released a sleazy tagline that alluded that the sisters were in an incestuous relationship.

Angry, Ann and Nancy began writing “Barracuda” which is their most known song. Trust me: if you’re an adult, you’ve run into “Barracuda” more than three times in your life. It’s like “Ace of Spades” and “Breaking the Law”.

What I really love about this particular song is that it’s the opener. When half or the bulk of your album is lighter, a heavier song like “Barracuda” is a double-edged knife.

On one hand, it’s good to get the blood pumping with a hard song. However, you kind of have to keep that tempo up. That harder song might end up being the selling point of the album or the lead single.

That creates an impression of what kind of party it is when your band might have a wild mix or were just trying something to see what sticks. Hell, your band probably thought “This is a really good song! Let’s make it the single!”

Yet the rest of album isn’t exactly in that same area or it might be another state or two over from that sound. It’s weird but “Barracuda” is such a great song. I would’ve loved an album heavy on this or the sound of “Magic Man”, honestly.

Album Verdict

It took some listens over the years for me to appreciate the album. This just wasn’t my sound for the most part. Once you appreciate an album, you might even get to enjoy it.

Right now, I’m still at the appreciation stage. While “Barracuda” and “Little Queen” are in my hard rock playlist—as is “Magic Man” and a few others—the album as a whole isn’t something that get revisited regularly.

The musicianship here is extremely tight and they use their inspirations extremely well to make some good tunes but as an entire project, I’m just in the middle on it.

As I said, this album has more of a chill vibe than what was usually on the radio at the time. Folk rock still had some skin in the rock game in the late 70s but Heart brought just enough hard rock that mainstream fans would give it a purchase.

I’ll say overall, this was a solid album. Great musicianship by all involved, Ann is a favorite of mine as far as singers go but the vibe or just how the tracks are arranged keeps Little Queen from being a strong album.

Grade: Solid Album

Staff Writer; James Swift, Jr.

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.