Quiz #131 - Savatage "Jesus saves"

Savatage formed in Florida in 1978 as Avatar, led by brothers Jon (vocals) and Criss (guitar) Oliva. They changed their name to Savatage in 1983, pursuing a strongly Judas Priest- and Iron Maiden-influenced style of metal. They meandered between basic metal and more commercial fare before adding second guitarist Chris Caffery and hitting their stride in 1990 with "Gutter Ballet". The band showed a flair for intense, melodic hard rock, dramatic balladry, and elaborate, operatic concepts, which they pursued over their next few albums. [source]

"Streets: A Rock Opera" picked up where "Gutter Ballet" left off, taking Savatage's interest in progressive metal into a full-album concept. Based around a short story written by producer/songwriter Paul O' Neill, Streets is a diverse collection of songs about a lost soul trying to find himself in the New York City night. Although not based around real life events in the life of the band, it's obvious the group is quite attached to the material, turning out very emotional performances. Unlike many rock operas where the story suffers to further the music or vice versa, the band finds a nice compromise on Streets and is able to convey feelings of deep sorrow, elation, anger, and beauty, sometimes even on the same track. Opening with a snippet from Mozart's Magic Flute, the group quotes from a wide range of influences. "A Little Too Far" has a show tune quality to it, while the beautiful "Heal My Soul" takes its melody from an old Welsh lullaby. Both songs feature lead singer Jon Oliva alone with a piano. Savatage, who before Gutter Ballet had only written a handful of ballads, turns in several brilliant ones here, concluding with perhaps the band's greatest song, the dramatic and impassioned "Believe." That's not to say that there are not a fair share of rockers, as well. In fact, "Strange Reality," "Ghost in the Ruins," and "Jesus Saves" are among the leanest and most intense the band wrote, and Criss Oliva got more interesting as a guitar player with each successive album. While many metal guitarists seem only interested in technical displays, Oliva turns out material here that equals the heart-wrenching singing of his brother. Considering the intensity and beauty of the diverse material here, this is a fine place to start learning about this band.

[source]



SAVATAGE "Jesus saves"
Album "Streets: A Rock Opera" - 1991

Quiz #130 - Bulletboys "Talk to your daughter"

You can talk to your mother, father, brother, sister, uncle, second degree cousin, son or daughter, as long as you provide the right answer :))

UPDATED:

Led by former Ratt guitarist Marq Torien, the L.A. metal band Bulletboys also included ex-King Kobra guitarist Mick Sweda, bassist Lonnie Vincent, and drummer Jimmy d'Anda. Their style was strongly influenced by bands such as AC/DC and Van Halen, later going in a bluesier direction. Torien's personality often drew comparisons to David Lee Roth. The group had a couple of MTV hits off their self-titled debut but faded away after their second album. Song titles like "Do Me Raw," "Hard as a Rock," and "Kissin' Kitty" give a fairly accurate impression of the band's worldview.

Why it took three years between their debut and Freakshow is anyone's guess — perhaps these things are better left for a documentary-length special on the band — but Freakshow alters things a bit stylistically when compared to their first record. Many things have remained the same: the blues-driven, scale shredding guitar work, lyrics that would make Keats spin in his grave, and of course, the obligatory odes to feminine charm ("Do Me Raw," "Goodgirl," and "Huge") all remain constant bulletpoints (no pun intended) that keep the boys strong rockers. But unlike their first album, things do get to be more a bit on the serious side at points, and this is where the album begins to lose its charm. While the band would continue to release records, this would be their last for Warner Brothers, perhaps a reaction to the serious and sensitive music movement that was brewing on the U.S. Pacific Northwest coast around that time. Whatever the reasoning may be, this was their last solid album, as what followed in their career was merely a rehash of the latest music trends of the moment, with trace elements lurking here and there of what made the Bulletboys so fun to begin with.

[source]



BULLET BOYS "Talk to your daughter"
Album "Freakshow" - 1991

Quiz #129 - Primus "Jerry was a race car driver"

All I remember about this video is that it used to piss me off big time. I could never understand these guys' music and to me it was just some sort of noise. Really I was amazed they were getting so much airplay. But, judgind by the full house and the tremendous fun the crowd was having... maybe I was wrong.

Nah... :))

Anyway, you only have til next week - Tuesday (19) to guess who they are.

UPDATED:

Primus is all about Les Claypool; there isn't a moment on any of their records where his bass isn't the main focal point of the music, with his vocals acting as a bizarre side-show. Their music is willfully weird and experimental, yet it's not alienating; the band was able to turn their goofy weirdness into pop stardom. At first, the band was strictly an underground phenomenon, but in the years between their third and fourth albums, their cult grew rapidly.

[source]



Primus "Jerry was a race car driver"
Album "Sailing the Seas of Cheese" - 1991

Quiz #128 - Leaves' Eyes "Elegy"

Leaves' Eyes is a symphonic metal band with folk metal elements from Norway and Germany assembled in 2003, shortly before singer Liv Kristine was fired from Theatre of Tragedy. Leaves' Eyes was formed by her husband Alexander Krull and members of his band Atrocity. The band combines atmospheric, metal and classical elements. The vocals of Liv Kristine are occasionally backed up by death grunts from Krull, but most of the time she sings alone.

Their debut album, "Lovelorn", was released in 2004. The second album, "Vinland Saga", was released 30th of May 2005, and retells the tale of the discovery of Vinland (i.e. North America) by Leif Erikson.

[from wikipedia]



Leaves' Eyes "Elegy"
Album "Vinland Saga" - 2005

Quiz #127 - Warrior Soul "The Wasteland"

Often described as "one of the most underrated bands of all time"...

UPDATED:

Singer-songwriter Kory Clarke has Important Statements to make. In rock & roll, that's dangerous -- it risks sounding pretentious and self-indulgent. On his band Warrior Soul's 1990 debut, "Last Decade Dead Century", Clarke often fell into that trap, but now with his band's second album, he has thankfully found a balance between social consciousness and just plain rocking out. "Drugs, God and the New Republic" paints a bleak world of crooked politicians, corrupt media, and deteriorating ozone layers -- in other words, the uglier aspects of modern-day life -- but songs like the semiautobiographical "The Wasteland" and the funky, hard-hitting "Real Thing" also have great melodies and danceable rhythms. In addition, the brutal lullaby of the title track and the folky introspection of "Hero" make you realize that Clarke actually believes the world can be changed through rock & roll. Such bold naivete deserves a certain amount of admiration. [from here]

Do you remember my trip to London to see them?
Looks like I'll be doing the same in April...



Warrior Soul "The Wasteland"
Album "Drugs, God and the New Republic" - 1991

Quiz #126 - Lee Aaron "Hands on"

You have til next Thursday to figure it out :))

UPDATED:

Aaron was born in Belleville, Ontario, as Karen Lynn Greening. She started her professional career early, appearing on a televised musical variety show when she was only 15-years-old. Two years later, around 1979, Greening became a member of a little-known band called Lee Aaron. She served as both a keyboardist and backup singer for the group. Over time, Greening was moved from backup singer to lead. She also took the band's name, Lee Aaron, as hers. A short time later she went solo, hiring Rick Santers and his band to work with her. In 1982 she completed her first album, The Lee Aaron Project.

Aaron's sophomore album, Metal Queen, was released in 1984 under the Attic Records label. The superb album left her with the nickname "Metal Queen" and also caused more than a little controversy. It was banned in Australia and given an R rating from the BBC. Still, with the help of a video and maybe some help from the controversy itself, the title track became Aaron's first big hit.

Read more about Lee Aaron onAllmusic.com




Lee Aaron "Hands on"
Album "Bodyrock" - 1989