Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Quiz #108 - Heroes del Silencio "Nuestros nombres"

Back in the days when MTV was still cool (to watch)...

A band that could easily be recognized due to a crystal clear guitar sound (more poignant on their previous album though). Or even by the tone-deaf due to the lyrics they composed...

They were huge in 1993 and even now they make big waves whenever they decide to resurface.

UPDATED:

The "Rock en Espanol" band Heroes del Silencio was formed in Zaragoza, Spain during the mid-'80s. Comprised of singer/guitarist Enrique Bunbury, lead guitarist Juan Valdivia, second guitarist Alan Boguslavsky, bassist Joaquin Cardiel and drummer Pedro Andreu, Heroes del Silencio quickly gained a fervent local following; among their fans was Ole Ole member Gustava Montesano, who helped the group win a contract with EMI. In late 1987 they issued their debut EP, Heroes de Legenda; it was well received by both critics and audiences, and their 1989 full-length effort El Mar No Cesa went platinum within weeks of its release. 1990's Senderos de Traicion immediately topped the Spanish charts, and in 1991 Heroes del Silencio appeared at the "Rock Against Racism" festival in Berlin, resulting in enormous popularity throughout Germany as well. 1993's El Espiritu del Vino was another smash, and in 1995 the group travelled to Los Angeles to record Avalancha with noted producer Bob Ezrin. The double live LP Para Siempre followed in 1996, and in 1998 Heroes del Silencio returned with Rarezas, a collection of rare and unreleased tracks.


[source]



Heroes del Silencio "Nuestros nombres"
Album "El espiritu del vino" - 1993



















Monday, October 15, 2007

Quiz #107 - Hurricane "Dance little sister"

The name of the band resembles a famous Scorpions song.
The name of the song resembles a famous Terence Trent D'Arby song.
The name of the album resembles a famous Skid Row song.

Confused?

Please provide your answers til next Monday - October 22 :)

UPDATED:

BAND - Famous Scorpions song: "Rock you like a Hurricane"
SONG - Famous Terence Trent D'Arby song: "Dance little sister"
ALBUM - Famous Skid Row song: "Slaves to the grind"

Los Angeles had an endless supply of hair metal bands in the 1980s. On any given night, you could catch several hair bands at the Sunset Strip's famous Whiskey-a-Go-Go — that is, if you weren't busy checking out some hair bands at the Roxy or the Coconut Teaser. Hurricane was among the numerous hair bands that came out of the L.A./Hollywood club scene of the 1980s — a scene that had more than its share of faceless, generic acts. But Hurricane was a cut above much of the competition, and while the foursome wasn't quite in a class with Guns N' Roses or Mötley Crüe, their work was generally respectable. Slave to the Thrill wasn't Hurricane's first album, but it was arguably their best — the Angelinos never sounded more focused and assured than they do on driving but melodic pop-metal/hard rock tracks like "Smiles Like a Child," "Let It Slide," and "Reign of Love." It isn't hard to pinpoint Hurricane's various influences; Dokken, Foreigner, and Aerosmith have all affected their sound — in fact, lead singer Kelly Hansen often reminds you of Foreigner's Lou Gramm. And guitarist Doug Aldrich has a bluesy outlook that makes you think of Aerosmith's Joe Perry. Nonetheless, Hurricane has an energy of its own — as well as a certain sincerity. While Hurricane was never innovative or groundbreaking, their albums weren't the sort of knee-jerk, formulaic affairs that so many Sunset Strip bands (or, for that matter, non-L.A. hair bands) were known for in the 1980s. If you could only acquire one Hurricane CD, Slave to the Thrill would be the best choice.

[source]


Hurricane "Dance little sister"
Album "Slave to the Thrill" - 1990













Sunday, October 14, 2007

October - First Week's Chart

1. Gareth = 80 points.
2. Petrica, The Cat = 30 points
3. objectValues = 20 points

Gareth changed his Blogger Profile; nowadays his comments are published as GC - probably he was afraid of the bad publicity he'll get from this exposure...

Dragos (object Values) - what happened this week? :)

And where is Cassandra? :))

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Quiz #106 - Neil Young "Rockin' in a free world"

Great rock anthem :)

UPDATED:

After Neil Young left the Californian folk-rock band Buffalo Springfield in 1968, he slowly established himself as one of the most influential and idiosyncratic singer/songwriters of his generation. Young's body of work ranks second only to Bob Dylan in terms of depth, and he was able to sustain his critical reputation, as well as record sales, for a longer period of time than Dylan, partially because of his willfully perverse work ethic. From the beginning of his solo career in the late '60s until the late '90s, he never stopped writing, recording, and performing; his official catalog only represented a portion of his work, since he kept countless tapes of unreleased songs in his vaults. Just as importantly, Young continually explored new musical territory, from rockabilly and the blues to electronic music.


[source]



Neil Young "Rockin' in a free world"
Album "Freedom" - 1989















Friday, October 12, 2007

Quiz #105 - Dream Theater "Take the time"

After seeing an interview with the band along with some footage of this video, I couldn't wait to get my hand on the actual song, or the actual video AND the album - none of them easy to come by back in early 90's...

UPDATED:

The technically proficient guitar playing of John Petrucci elevated Dream Theater to the upper echelons of contemporary heavy metal. While its lineup has continuously evolved, the Long Island-based quintet has consistently delivered sharp-edged music. Dream Theater is known for its high-energy concert performances. While they've released several live albums — Live at the Marquee, recorded at the London club; Live in Japan, recorded during the Music in Progress tour in 1993; and a triple CD and DVD, Live Scenes from New York — they remain one of heavy metal's most bootlegged bands.

[read more about Dream Theater here]



Dream Theater "Take the time"
Album "Images and words" - 1992

















Thursday, October 11, 2007

Quiz #104 - Helloween "I want out"

The good ol' times :)

UPDATED

Alongside Switzerland's Celtic Frost and Sweden's Bathory, Germany's Helloween were possibly the most influential heavy metal band to come out of Europe during the 1980s. By taking the hard riffing and minor key melodies handed down from metal masters like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, then infusing them with the speed and energy introduced by the burgeoning thrash metal movement, Helloween crystallized the sonic ingredients of what is now known as power metal.

Helloween were formed in Hamburg, Germany, by guitarists Kai Hansen and Michael Weikath, bassist Markus Grosskopf, and drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg. Originally named Second Hell then Iron Fist before morphing into Helloween in 1982, they signed with Germany's own fledgling Noise International two years later. With Hansen also handling vocals and the bulk of songwriting duties, the quartet recorded its self-titled debut mini-album in early 1985. The full-length Walls of Jericho and the Judas maxi-single followed the year after, and the media was soon buzzing over the band's thrash-fueled interpretation of classic heavy metal. Countless fans across continental Europe were also fast converting to the band's cause, but Hansen remained dissatisfied with his singing ability, and felt Helloween needed a proper frontman in order to achieve their full potential. Enter teenage vocalist Michael Kiske, whose high-pitched delivery followed in the footsteps of previous heavy metal banshees like Rob Halford and Bruce Dickinson.


[source]



Helloween "I want out"
Album "Keeper of the 7 keys" part 2 - 1988








Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Quiz #103 - White Lion "Radar love"

I was just emailing a couple of these snapshots to my best friend. "It's fucking cold here, but I bet he could warm me up" :))

Oh well, girl talk. You have til next Wednesday (Oct. 17) to guess who the hunk is.

UPDATED:

Of all the glam/pop-metal bands that crawled out of hair salons coast to coast during the mid- to late '80s, one of the more talented acts was New York's White Lion, led by singer Mike Tramp (originally from Denmark) and guitarist Vito Bratta. The group originally formed in 1983 and despite several bassists and drummers coming and going (including future Black Sabbath and Great White bass player Dave Spitz), the group managed to issue a debut, "Fight to Survive", on the independent metal label Grand Slamm in 1984. With Tramp's pinup good looks and Bratta's Eddie Van Halen-esque six-string work, the group seemed destined for success (especially with such similarly styled outfits as Mötley Crüe and Ratt storming the charts), but it would be several years before their next album would appear. Finally finding the right rhythm section (bassist James LoMenzo and former Anthrax drummer Greg d'Angelo), White Lion inked a major-label recording contract with Atlantic, issuing "Pride" in 1987.


[more about White Lion here]



White Lion "Radar love"
Album "Big Game" - 1989