It’s the last Saturday of August
and summer has flown by! It’s time for the Harbinger’s Killer Picks, my dear
fellow music lovers. Here are my top five picks of the month, in chronological release
order.
First, a reunion fifty years in
the making with the original Alice Cooper Group and their follow-up to 1973’s Muscle of Love, earMusic released The
Revenge of Alice Cooper on July 25th. I wanted to let this one
simmer a bit before reviewing it as I used to be a huge Coop fan back in the
day. Alice is reunited with former bandmates Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway,
Neal Smith, and even original guitarist Glen Buxton (who died in 1997) for a
song. That lineup represents the classic era who made seven terrific albums together,
including fan favourites Killer
(1971) and 1973’s Billion Dollar Babies.
My preferred era of Alice Cooper is when he returned in 1986 after getting
sober with Constrictor, followed by Raise Your Fist and Yell (1987), Trash (1989), and my personal favourite
of his solo LPs, Hey Stoopid (1991)—and
let’s not forget 1994’s vastly underrated The
Last Temptation. I followed his career through the ups and downs of the
industrial era of the late ‘90s/early ’00s all the way up to the excellent Along Came a Spider (2008)—his last
great album in my opinion. But after the autotuned letdown that was Welcome 2 My Nightmare in 2011, I sort
of stopped caring what old Coop had to sell. I’ve only heard a handful of songs
from the three LPs that followed and sadly, they all sounded very forgettable
in my ears. So, when the news came that he’d be doing a classic rock ‘n’ roll
album with his OG band, I was both intrigued and eager to hear if the boys
could recreate the magic of the ‘70s. Unfortunately, for the most part, The Revenge of Alice Cooper is a good
but not great, at times quite bland affair, in my humble opinion.
The three singles thus far are
definitely the highlights of the album: the atmospheric first single, "Black
Mamba", featuring The Doors’ Robby Krieger on guitar; the catchy second
single “Wild Ones"; and my pick as best track of the LP, the third single
featuring guitarist Glen Buxton, "What Happened to You" which takes
you right back to the band’s heyday with its classic sound. Aside from that,
there’s the cinematic standout track "One Night Stand" with its
groovy rhythm, and their homage to The Kinks, the vibing "Crap That Gets
in the Way of Your Dreams". That’s pretty much it in terms of memorable tracks
on this 54-minute record in this listener’s opinion. We get a bunch of songs
that are fun at times but mostly unremarkable ("Up All Night", "Kill
the Flies", "Blood on the Sun", and "Money Screams"). There’s
also a nice Yardbirds cover, "I Ain't Done Wrong", and a decent
closing song in memory of Glen Buxton, aptly titled "See You on the Other
Side". The last tier of the LP is composed of average tunes that feel more
like filler than anything else to me ("Famous Face", "What a
Syd", and "Inter Galactic Vagabond Blues"). From what I’ve read
and heard, the album seems to be getting a mostly positive reception and I’m
glad as Alice deserves all the praise in the world for such a lengthy career. I
love what he and the original band have brought to the landscape of rock and
metal; without Coop, the world of rock would be a very different place and nowhere
near as gleefully macabre. While I can only recommend The Revenge of Alice Cooper to die-hard Alice Cooper fans, I wish Coop
and the boys nothing but success with this record. We’ll always have his
classic discography and its various eras to go back and listen to. For my
personal taste though, his mid-‘80s/early ‘90s metal years are the ones that I
cherish the most.
earMusic’s Page for Alice Cooper
Second, legendary German power metallers Helloween released yesterday via Reigning Phoenix Music their seventeenth studio album, Giants and Monsters, kicking off the celebrations for the band’s 40th anniversary. The 7-piece band shows no sign of slowing down and this LP is an excellent follow-up to their much lauded 2021 self-titled album and their Live at Budokan release from last December. Who knows how many records Helloween—or any band from the ‘80s—has left in them at this juncture of their career, so they should be cherished. I’ve got to admit, I was never the biggest Helloween fan back in their prime, or of power metal for that matter, but they’ve grown on me in recent years (and so has power metal). I really dug their 2021 effort and after a handful of spins, I’d give Giants and Monsters a pretty similar rating. It’s a different animal, not as diversified as their 2021 LP, but more accessible to non-fans, in my opinion. Also, where the 2021 record was a tad on the long side, the standard edition running at 65 minutes, this latest LP has a perfect length of 50 minutes. The highlights for me include the banging opener, “Giants on the Run”; the stellar, super catchy “A Little Is A Little Too Much” which may well be my favourite song on the record; the superb dual singing of “We Can Be Gods”; the terrific power ballad “Into the Sun” with its symphonic arrangement; the blistering epic new single that is “Universe (Gravity For Hearts)”, complete with multiple movements; and “Hand of God”, an old school metal gem. Helloween is in rare form on Giants and Monsters and the triple threat of Michael Kiske, Andi Deris, and Kai Hansen turns out to work incredibly well in the long run, much to my surprise. Helloween disciples will surely greet this album with open arms while newer fans will discover just how melodic a deluge of guitar solos and vocal harmonies can sound in the hands of metal masters. Giants and Monsters will more than likely wind up as a contender on many year-end lists. Pumpkins unite!
RPM’s Page for Helloween
Third, German power metal titans Primal
Fear will unleash their 15th studio album, Domination, on September 5th via powerhouse metal label
Reigning Phoenix Music. I’m new to this band, having only heard a handful of
songs over the years but I don’t know why I never got around to properly giving
them a shot. They’re every bit worthy of their 25 plus years longevity in the
metal world. Primal Fear was co-founded in 1997 by singer Ralf Scheepers and bassist
Mat Sinner after Scheepers wasn’t hired as Rob Halford's replacement in Judas
Priest. Amongst his previous bands, Scheepers was also part of a Judas Priest
cover band by the name of Just Priest.
Anyhow, Primal Fear went on to have success of their own through the past two
decades and are now signed to Reigning Phoenix Music. Domination is a thunderous album chock-full of soaring vocals,
roaring riffs, and arena-worthy anthems. From the opening song to the curtain
call, Domination is wall-to-wall
power metal featuring a strong dose of trad and speed metal, much to this
listener’s delight. Some of the highlights for me include the sonic barrage of
the first single, “The Hunter”; the melodic, catchy second single “Far Away”; the
galloping rhythms of “I Am the Primal Fear”; the emotional “Tears of Fire”; the
kick-ass barn-burner that is “Heroes and Gods”; and the epic song of darkness
and light, “Eden”. I have a feeling long-time fans of the band will love this latest
record and new listeners will find a lot to like. Judas Priest aficionados and
metalheads in general will certainly get a kick out of it. This album has put a
big grin on my old face and it’s a solid contender for the Top Ten Albums of
the Year list. Domination should have
no problem dominating the metal charts around the world.
RPM’s Page for Primal Fear
Fourth, Brooklyn, New York
fantasy doom metal quartet Castle Rat will make their highly-anticipated return
on September 19th with their sophomore LP, The Bestiary, via Blues Funeral Recordings. The Rat Queen, the devilishly
sexy Riley Pinkerton, and her cohorts have taken things to another level with
this one. The Bestiary is a concept
album and a far more polished effort than its predecessor. Castle Rat has
garnered a rabid following since the release of their debut, Into the Realm, in the spring of 2024.
They launched a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign to fund what would become The Bestiary, and fully funded it in
just 37 minutes! The month-long fundraiser went on to be the most successful
metal Kickstarter in over a decade. No small feat, to say the least. What we
get here is an even more fully realized vision of Sword & Sorcery imagery
combined with Sabbath worship, classic rock tendencies, and even some NWOBHM
inspiration. Right off the bat, everything sounds louder and more in-your-face
on this record. It kind of reminds me of when I played KISS’s Creatures of the Night LP for the very
first time, how much its bombast blew me away. From the first track and second
single after the instrumental intro, “Wolf I”, with its aura of death and
danger, you know that Castle Rat means business with this album. It’s followed
by the first single, “Wizard”, where The Rat Queen proceeds to put the listener
under her spell for the duration of the record’s 49-minute runtime. I’m glad we
got a full-length record this time around as their first outing felt more like
an EP disguised as an LP, with a runtime of just over 30 minutes and only six
of the nine tracks were actual songs. Some of the highlights for me include
“Unicorn”, an epic-sounding piece; “Crystal Cave”, a gorgeous and mesmerizing
song that’s more on the delicate spectrum of things; “Dragon” with its pounding
rhythms and sizzling guitar solo; and “Summoning Spell”, which is quite the
hypnotic interlude. The Bestiary continues
Castle Rat’s fascinating evolution and takes all the ingredients of its
precursor a notch higher. Devotees of the band will love this new record and
new initiates will likely be entranced by the full-package that The Rat Queen, The
Count, The Plague Doctor, and The All-Seeing Druid have concocted for us. I’m
sure we’ll find The Bestiary on
countless AOTY lists come year-end.
Castle Rat on Bandcamp
Fifth, Québec City’s heavy metal quintet Ultra Raptor will
return with their sophomore LP, Fossilized,
via Fighter Records on October 7th. I’m super stoked about this
release as Ultra Raptor is a band from my town and there’s nothing I enjoy more
than promoting great local talent. Formed in 2015, they released their
self-titled EP in 2018 followed by their debut LP, Tyrants, on Fighter Records in 2021. They smash the doors open with
the first single and title track, a war cry to signal their triumphant return.
“Spinosaurus” follows, Maidenesque at times, it’s quite the incendiary tune;
“Hard ‘N Fast” is self-explanatory with its hard rock roots; “Livin’ for the
Riff”, the second single, is an earworm; “Bitter Leaf” with its awesome intro,
is a highlight of the record and the band’s answer to Sabbath’s “Sweet Leaf”; “X-Celerator”
is a speedy, thrashy gem that takes no prisoners; “Ptero-Ranger” is a battle
hymn aligned with the band’s dino theme; “Down the Drain” is trad metal at its
finest, complete with sing-along chorus; “Le Voyageur d'Oort” is a brief but
superb instrumental. They saved the best for last with the uplifting and
memorable “Face the Challenge”, my personal favourite—it should absolutely be
their next single. Fossilized is full
of blazing guitar solos, relentless basslines, and pounding percussions paired
with powerful, high-pitched vocals that all converge together to deliver a
classic slab of metal. What we get here is a more polished record than its two
predecessors. Fans of Judas Priest, Annihilator, and speed metal in general
will really dig this record. Ultra Raptor has evolved musically and lyrically
in the past four years, serving up an energetic platter of old school speed
metal. Fossilized is an album that
should propel Ultra Raptor to new heights of success and I look forward to
catching the band perform live here in Québec.
Ultra Raptor on Bandcamp
Fighter Records’ Bandcamp Page for Ultra Raptor
And that’s all she wrote, folks! This has been the August issue of the Harbinger’s Killer Picks. HKP will be back on September 27th before the spooky season returns in October. Until then, stay safe, enjoy those last summer days, and crank up the tunes!
