For Week Ending:
1 April 2023

Iron Maiden - Senjutsu (2021)

[Heavy Metal]

Iron Maiden have never been a band known for shock value. They stand solid like a British institution, unwavering and unchanging. Sure, they have had a couple of vocalist changes and sometimes we see an unexpected twist or two in their music, but for the most part - you always know what you are going to get. And therein lies both the strength and weakness of most late period Maiden albums. The predictability level is always quite high (there will be multiple epics, with the slow bass introduction, building to the soaring chorus), and on first listen I tend to feel disappointment that this all sounds a bit too familiar - yet something still draws me back for more. Once it all sinks in you see there are still some brilliant songs on display here. On disc 1 the title track opener broods and builds to a massive war epic, and 'Stratego' and 'Days Of Future Past' harken back to the 80s. 'The Writing On The Wall' has a western flavour, and 'The Time Machine' sounds like something from the 90s era. Disc 2 heads into more of the epic territory with only 4 songs, but there are some surprising moments hidden in there. Even at close to 50 the band still has the magic, but there is certainly some bloat that could be removed. Not every song needs to be an epic after all - but which ones would I possibly trim.?

Arist Information
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in East London in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most of the band's history has consisted of Harris, lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson, guitarists Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers, and drummer Nicko McBrain. As pioneers of the new wave of British heavy metal movement, Iron Maiden released a series of UK and US Platinum and Gold albums, including 1980's debut album, 1981's 'Killers', and 1982's 'The Number Of The Beast'. In fact, 'The Number Of The Beast' is among the most popular heavy metal albums of all time, having sold almost 20 million copies worldwide and the band's first album with Bruce Dickinson, who replaced Paul Di'Anno as lead singer in 1981. The addition of Dickinson was a turning point in their career.

Release Information
'Senjutsu' (Japanese for 'tactics') is the seventeenth studio album by Iron Maiden. Their first album in six years, it was a critical and commercial success, praised for its ambitious epic scope.

Uncle Slam - Say Uncle (1988)

[Thrash Metal]

Think 1988. Think all the happenings and maturation of the Heavy Metal Scene at that stage - Iron Maiden, Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax, Kreator etc. In addition, if you are not pinned to the ground with heavy metal, you were starting to experience the likes of Suicidal Tendencies which is more the modern punk scene. I mention ST as they formed half of the thrash band that became Uncle Slam. Now the title of their debut says it all in terms of North American slang, being a call to a contestant in a fight to submit. Well I wasn't ready to until I listened to all 35 minutes of this debut record. There is plenty of fast riffing, fast lyrics that are hard to decipher in parts and a bunch of songs that focus on topics that are questionable at best - 'Weirdo Man' and 'Ugly Dude' for example that lead off the record. All these years later, I still listen to this regularly when you're after something not so serious - just great thrash metal.

Arist Information
Uncle Slam was an American crossover thrash band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1987. They were influenced by punk rock bands of the 1980s like Suicidal Tendencies (which featured some of the members of Uncle Slam and precursor The Brood), D.R.I., Corrosion Of Conformity, Black Flag and Circle Jerks, as well as heavy metal bands like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Slayer and Motorhead. Many of their songs are about politics, rebel themes, death, pain and violence.