When I run across music from the 80′s that I have never heard of, I always ask, “How did I miss that band?” I ask that same question in regards to the band Treat. How the heck did I miss this hard rock goodness?
I’ve been reading about their new album, Coupe de Grace, and how good it was. It hasn’t been released in the States yet, but I could get a taste of their back catalog with the album, Weapons of Choice. Whoa! These guys are awesome! Imagine Heart, mixed with a little Bon Jovi, mixed with some Kiss and Firehouse and some more modern hard rock of Harem Scarem or Pink Cream69. That’s what you get with Treat!
I will always refer to the 1980′s as the era in which the best music in the world was created. 80′s rock ‘n roll will always be my preferred music of choice. As the 90′s rolled around, grunge seemed to take over the world and all was bleak and hopeless.
Or so I used to believe. I’ve recently discovered that the 90′s was a great time of melodic rock; bands such as Pink Cream 69, Harem Scarem, Jaded Heart, Novella, and Mastedon were creating some unbelievably great music. It wasn’t the flashbang spandex big hair in your face rock of the 80′s, but a much more mature sound in which the bands took control of their music and craft.
I have recently “discovered” a band who call themselves Tall Stories. They released one self titled album in 1991 and another album entitled “Skyscrapers” in 2009. I downloaded the self titled album and was absolutely amazed. These guys were GOOD! This is an almost perfect melodic rock album.
A quick Google search reveals the following facts about the band:
Hailing from New York City, the band Tall Stories consisted of lead singer Steve Augeri, guitarist Jack Morer, bass player Kevin Totoian, and drummer Tom DeFaria. The band was generally dismissed as another slick, corporate-style rock act and had the misfortune of releasing their self-titled debut as grunge acts were breaking. The ill timing resulted in an album that sank without a trace despite garnering fairly strong support from the fading AOR format. Augeri went on to join Tyketto, but by the late ’90s, he had retired from music and was working in the maintenance department for the Gap chain in Manhattan. In 1998, he was tapped to replace Steve Perry as the lead singer for Journey.
There is some talent in this band! I’m waiting until payday so I can buy their 2009 album. If you love melodic, AOR style music, you’ll LOVE this band!!
Jeff Loomis – why have I never heard that name? I have been a metal fan for most of my life, and I love instrumental albums in the vein of Satriani, Vai, Johnson and Becker. Yet I have never heard of Jeff Loomis or his band Nevermore. I sure have missed out on some great music!
I have to give a shout out to Amazon.com’s recommendation feature. I was browsing through some music and Amazon thought I might like Jeff Loomis’ Zero Under Phase. Golly, were they right!
Zero Under Phase is a true heavy metal masterpiece. Heavy, thundering guitars that rip your face right off, fat bass lines and jammin’ drums – every song on Zero Under Phase is awesome. Don’t just take my word for it! Listen to two tracks from the album below:
[audio=https://dl-web.getdropbox.com/get/Music/06%20Race%20against%20disaster.mp3?w=bea3fea7]
Track 6 – Race Against Disaster
[audio=https://dl-web.getdropbox.com/get/Music/09%20Miles%20of%20machines.mp3?w=8148c6a5]
Track 9 – Miles of Machines
Gotta chalk up another album to the “Lost But Found” category. A friend of mine let me go through his CD collection and I picked up this gem of an album. David Coverdale of Whitesnake fame teams together with Jimmy Page of Led Zepplin fame and together they make awesome music! The album is simply titled “Coverdale-Page“.
Released in 1993, this entire album is an instant classic hard rock offering. There are no filler or throw-away songs at all. If you love the bluesy rock of Whitesnake with a tinge of Zepplin added in, you will absolutely love this disc.
Permission to Land was released in August of 2003, so I’ve missed out on this jewel for almost five years now!!
The Darkness is an over-the-top metal band that is all about how music used to be – FUN!! This is what rock is really all about! The guitars wail, the bass and drums pound your skull and the vocals….what can you say about the vocals? Totally over the top and totally catchy!! Crap, I just can’t stop listening to this album!! I have to say that I Believe In a Thing Called Love is the catchiest darn song I’ve ever heard in my life.
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=6-4VOLeKBOw]
There is some language on the album, so I wouldn’t let your youngsters listen to all the songs. The first song is called “Black Shuck” and I’m sure you can guess what word they are using to rhyme.
I like to consider myself a music connoisseur. I’ve been a madly avid music buff since the age of 13 and have an iTunes library that fills up an entire 300Gb hard drive.
Every now and again I run across an album that I somehow miss and I have one of those famous “D’OH!!” moments and wonder how the heck that happened.
I had one such moment yesterday. I had put some Alice Cooper on my iPod and selected the album “Trash“. Immediately the song Poison starts playing, and I take a trip down memory lane. I’ve heard this song before, and I love the sugary pop-metal goodness of it. After Poison is finished, Spark in the Dark starts and then House of Fire and then Why Trust You and the album plays until I’m your Gun….Every song on this album is total and utter pop-metal greatness!! How in all that is good did I miss this album in 1989?
Well, you can read my story in this blog post here and that’ll tell you why I did miss it. I’m just glad I’ve had the chance to listen to this incredible album.
There is absolutely not one bad song on this thing. I guess you could call this album a love album, as only Alice Cooper can write. The songs are fun and over the top. Upon hearing them, I could totally imagine the glory of 80′s hair metal, with the band posing and having fun on stage. I looked up the videos from this album, and sure enough, I was not mistaken!
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=1RRY0R0Xgl0]
The video for the song Poison.
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=IX701UimhTM]
The song House of Fire
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=s_CRjq96B5k]
The song Bed of Nails
As you can see, these videos are great! Total 80′s hair/pop metal cheesiness in all its glory!
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