Iron Maiden - Fear of the Dark

So, after an evening of resturaunt/bar hopping with my lovely lass I'm stuck sitting at work for a few hours today.  This is my own doing, but sometimes one needs to sleep in during the week, thus forcing me to make up my time on a saturday, or as I like to call it whilst stuck here... SHATURDAY.  Clever, clever me.

Why not be pseudo-productive while I'm here?  I could do work, but I'm relatively confident that NOBODY does work here on the weekends, just sits and wallows in their own misery because of being stuck here, for however long.  Lo, I shall write my first album review to give myself some sort of sense of accomplishment.  Rock.

Instead of starting off with an absolute legend of an album, or a personal favorite, I'm going to go with an album that I've been spinning lately that seems to be a point of contention for a lot of metalheads.

Iron Maiden - Fear of the Dark (1992)

Maiden's last album with Bruce Dickinson, and the successor to No Prayer for the Dying, which is seen by most people as the weakest album with Bruce at the helm.  They say this is the first time they ever tried to reclaim sounds from the past to reinvigorate them as a band, and I'd say overall it worked.  At the time of release the press thought this album was a heaping pile of garbage, but chances are they all had their wangs directly in Kurt Kobain's asshole at the time (remember 1992 was the peak of grunge's popularity), so who gives a fuck what they think.

I'm an outrageously big Maiden fan, and I just absolutely love this band's attitude and sound, regardless of any minor flaws or lack of originality that can sometimes swerve in front of their direct path to glory.  So, this review could be potentially more positve than some you would see, but I'm not here to be the everyman reviewer for Metal Hammer.  Let us get to the meat.

1.  Be Quick or be Dead:  Maiden jump out of the gates with the barn burner of the album.  A quick drum intro and we're away with what may be their best album opener since Aces High.  Frankly, I'm always partial to starting off albums with a kick in the face, so the guys get immediate points here.  One thing that's easy to notice right away is that Bruce's voice sounds worn out or damaged.  This continues throughout the album, and while it's slightly disappointing on some songs, this one actually benefits from the raspyness.  Quick, short, and to the point.  I dig. 

2.  From Here to Eternity:  This song is a bouncy romp through hard rock land.  Sort of a similar direction as Bring your Daughter to the Slaughter, which a lot of people dislike, so I can see a lot of people disliking this one also.  I think it's actually pretty fun, with a solid chorus, and it's short enough that it doesn't really overstay it's welcome.  Solid.

3.  Afraid to Shoot Strangers:  And what we have here could be considered a ballad of sorts I suppose, although it does pick up pace about midway through.  I have to say, I really like this tune.  The guitar melodies and Bruce's moody vocals really do the trick here.  It may be a tad overlong, but I'm willing to deal with it for the payoffs that show up throughout.

4.  Fear is the Key:  First official mediocre song on the album.  The song starts off with a egyptiany riff and guitar melody that forwhatever reason sort of reminds me if Deep Purple tried to write a song after looking at the cover to Powerslave.  Anyways, the song isn't terrible at the beginning, but I've never been into these damn egyptiany riffs that just plod along, and that goes for a lot of my favorite bands.  There are a few good songs that use this well, but they are few and far between.  That damn "lies and lies and lies and lies and lies and lies" part absolutely crushes this song's ability to be anything aside from middling.  I fucking hate that part.

5.  Childhood's End:  The surprise awesome song of the album.  This song would be proof that Maiden can crush it at trying some new, progressive ideas.  This song's verses are relatively traditional, driving Maiden, but that chorus is so weird and different, in a very good way.  It complements the dark tone of the song fantastically and it absolutely sucks you in.  You can feel the chill in the air every time it kicks in.  Love it.  Oh, the solo section is the shit too.

6.  Wasting Love:  Another very controversial song, mainly because it is often considered Maiden's only power balad.  I suppose that would depend on your opinion of what makes a power ballad, but it's definitely not something maiden throw into every album, which is something I always respect.  Few bands can ever do ballads well.  In fact, I can only think of two off of the top of my head (Blind Guardian and Kamelot), and one of them uses a more medieval folk style, so I'm not sure they count.  So, how does this one stack up?  Not bad at all, actually!  Bruce's voice is impressively emotive and sounds great on this one, and I'd say the success of ballads in general really depend on the singer's ability.  The guitar harmonies are great and memorable, and the lyrics aren't half bad.  The chorus isn't particularly memorable, and once again, I feel this song is a bit overlong.  But not a bad job, here.

7-9.  The Fugitive, Chains of Misery, The Apparition:  Now, these 3 songs are, to me, the reason why I wouldn't consider this a great album.  All 3 of the worst songs on the album back to back to back.  All three are mediocre to less than mediocre.  The Fugitive would be the best of the bunch probably, what with it's upbeat tempo and solid riffage.  Chains of Misery is an ok little number in passing, but in all honesty you won't remember much of it after a throrough listening of the album.  Yay, gang vocals?  The Apparition just sits there, with a similar tempo to Fear is the Key.  No like.

10.  Judas be my Guide:  Aaaand, we're back!  This is a fun ass song, and it almost sounds like early Queensryche, what with it's melodic chord structures in the verse and that wild, swerving vocal melody in the chorus.  Another short and sweet number, and it's very good.  God damn does that chorus sound like Queensryche.  Cool shit.

11.  Weekend Warrior:  A song about soccer hooligans.  As you might expect, the song is rather weak by maiden standards.  The riffage is actually similar to Priest song from the 80's, in that it sounds like it was made to be played at a party or something.  I would not play this at a party.  And fuck, Bruce's voice sounds BAD on this song.  It almost sounds like he was drunk or something while recording it.  Some vocal melodies are very questionable and his backing vocals during the chorus sound like he's just yelling at you for whatever reason.  Blargh.  I lied about 7-9 being the worst tracks here. 

12.  Fear of the Dark:  Everyone knows this one, as they should.  One of the, if not the best live songs in Maiden's bag of tricks.  It's a classic, there's not a lot to be said, aside from the fact that I hope maiden never retire this song from their setlist.  The crowd explodes every time.

So there you go.  FotD is a solid album, with some very good tunes, one classic, and a sprinkling of turds and mediocrity.  If you like Maiden, I don't see how you wouldn't at least get SOME enjoyment out of this one, but there's no denying it has it's issues as well.  Overall, definitely still a solid one. 

7/10

The First Ramble

Blogging.  It's sort of like an online diary, correct?  I'm wondering what makes all of this any different than the livejournal account that I had years and years ago, or the "blog" tab that facebook offers us all that nobody seems to use.  Well, after watching my partner in crime (and life in general) excel at putting her interests and adventures in the world of cooking into written word I figured maybe my life could use a similar place to output my adventures into my favorite things in life.  Sadly, there's already one about my favorite thing (my wife's cooking), so my other interests will have to do.  Don't want to flood the interwebs, as it were.

So, I suppose an introduction is in order.  I do believe I shall go by "Miles", as that's what everyone calls me anyways.  Every time I've tried to go as my first name (Brandon), eventually everyone begins calling me by my last name anyways.  It's just a matter of time.

So yes, I'm Miles.  I'm a pretty easy going guy, with some noticable quirks and flaws.  I'm prone to getting very quickly worked up over things that other people would just brush off or ignore.  It leads me to dwell and become aggrivated over time.  I can't do one thing for extended periods of time, I always need to get involved in something new to keep my interest.  That's why this blog will be devoted to the 3 things I tend to devote most of my time to.  I can't just write about one topic! 

A warning that I must give to you if you plan on reading further; I am an incredibly rambly writer.  I have no regard for pacing, or for proper paragraph building or even making any points.  You're basically getting exactly what I would say to you if I were talking to you face to face.  And as anyone who knows me personally would tell you, it's always a struggle for me to get my words out correctly when it' something I'm passionate about.  Or even when it's something I'm not passionate about.  It's a curse.

My 3 main interests are:

Beer
Heavy Metal
Video Games

No particular order of course. 

GAME TALK.

I've been a gamer since I first watched my dad play Zelda on our brand spanking new NES when I was 4 years old.  I've always been a Nintendo guy, and while you could make the argument that I'm a fanboy, I would disagree.  I'm not in denial about the silly mistakes or bad games the big N has made in the past, their games just appeal to me most.  I suppose my favorite genres are platformers, fighting games, and rpgs, but I like 'em all when done right.  First Person Shooters are fun in single player, but I hate online multiplayer so I don't bother with that particular aspect of FPS play.  Beginning to feel that way about fighters too.  It's just not worth it to play games non-locally (people in the same room).  My favorite console ever is the SNES, for it has the most epic library of platformers and rpgs in history.  Delish. 

LIST TIME.  I love lists.  I love ranking things, so I do believe I'll do so.  Since we are on the topic of games, we'll start there.

My top 10 games of all fookin' time.  The rankings change depending on my mood though, so this is a rough list, with Earthbound almost assuredly forever locked in the top spot.

1.  Earthbound - SNES
2.  Super Mario Galaxy 2 - Wii
3.  Super Mario Bros. 3 - NES
4.  Phantasy Star Online - Dreamcast/Gamecube
5.  Age of Empires II - PC
6.  Final Fantasy VI - SNES
7.  Super Castlevania IV - SNES
8.  Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Wii
9.  Super Paper Mario - Wii
10.  Donkey Kong Country 2 - SNES

So that should give you some idea as to where my gaming tastes tend to veer.  I didn't put any fighters in there, as they don't tend to mean as much to me dispite the enjoyment I get from them.  My favorites in that genre are Guilty Gear: XX and Street Fighter Alpha 3. 

METAL TALK

So, onto what I would probably consider the thing I'm most passionate about overall.  Heavy Metal has probably been the one interest I have that defines me most as a person.  There is no event that I look forward to more than a good concert, and there is no release that gets me more excited than a new album by my favorite bands.  I've been a metalhead for a long time, but I would say that I was around 15 when I officially made the jump into full blown headbanger status.  I liked Megadeth, Metallica, Slayer, and all the mainstream band well enough before then, but when I started getting into Iced Earth, the ball offically started rolling.  The internet helped point out more and more new bands and I jumped headfirst into this whole world of music i never knew existed, but could have sworn was created for my ears only.  That's really all I could think as I was listening to this stuff, particularly power metal, which basically sounded like god himself was whispering sweet, sweet nothings into my ears directly. 

So, as far as my taste in metal goes, I do like almost all of it to some extent.  I don't particularly like a lot of the more extreme stuff, such as grindcore or technical death metal.  I can get into a bit of anything as long as it's well done though.  For example, I like early Cryptopsy and Morbid Angel.  My real bread and butter is Power Metal.  It's been my favorite sub-genre for years, and probably will remain thus.  My tastes to lean towards the melodic, old school end of metal in general.  A good sense of melody trumps all.  And with that...

LIST TIME.  Top 10 metal bands.

1.  Blind Guardian
2.  Manowar
3.  Iron Maiden
4.  Sonata Arctica
5.  Megadeth
6.  Running Wild
7.  Judas Priest
8.  Helloween
9.  Moonsorrow
10.  Edguy

As always, subject to change.

BEER TALK

I love beer.  Beer is the most recent passion of mine to develop, as age limits in all of their draconian glory have kept me from this glorious nectar for too long.  I've just started brewing my own over the past 2 years or so, and it's becoming my personal obsession since.

I don't think there is anything about beer i dislike.  It tastes, smells, and looks great.  I do, however, greatly dislike beer snobbery.  It's a pretty big issue in the craft beer community.  A lot of people seem to be unable to appreciate beers for what they are, as opposed to comparing beers of completely different style and price range to each other.  No shit Budweiser doesn't taste like Dark Lord Imperial Stout, it's not supposed to.  One is brewed specifically for crisp drinkability and economic pricing, while the other is brewed with 7 billion pounds of malt to clobber you over the head and cost 12 bucks per bottle.  Both are great for what they are.  Remember folks, you are drinking to relax, so relax and drink!

Also, I hate how the community is trying too hard to be like the wine community.  Beer is cooler than wine (I like wine too, don't hit me), and thus should be appreciated as it was meant to be.  Be honest with yourself, you love to get drunk.  It's awesome.  It's fun.  You are allowed to drink and enjoy the taste and aroma and the effects all at once.  If I ever see you spitting out beer after tasting it because you don't want to get intoxicated, I'm going to kick you right in the balls.  Just don't sip it at all if you are going to do that.  As a species, we've been drinking for the fun effects for thousands of years.  It's a lovely time.  And when you couple beer with metal?  Dear god nothing is better! 

Reminder:  Drink responsibly kiddies.  Just because I like to get tipsy doesn't mean I'll go fly a plane afterwards. 

I would greatly struggle to come up with a list for this particular topic, because unlike the other 2 passions of mine, It's more of a time of the year thing as to what I drink.  I will say that my favorite style of beers is probably porter or IPA.  Two extremes, but hey, I like every style of beer really.  It just has to be well made.  I'm super laid back with it, and nowhere near as demanding with it as I am with metal.  A mediocre band has no business on my ipod, but a mediocre beer will still find it's way to my belly.  It just won't be purchased again.  :)

So, with this blog I basically plan on bringing you reviews of games, albums, and beers.  Basically whatever I consume, listen to, or play at the moment shall be brought up.  I'll also do plenty of retro reviews, as most of my favorite albums and games in particular are retro-ish.  I don't think I should drink retro beer though, that seems like it could lead to me vomiting.  They have expiration dates for a reason.

HAIL AND KILL.