Thin Lizzy - Renegade

1981

This album has a really smooth production job and synthesizers and they experiment with song styles as well as a lot of the usual Thin Lizzy sound. The vocals sometimes remind me of ZZ Top. I think one of the guitar players that was new on this and the previous album has a bluesier style that contributes to the ZZ Top vibe. This album has more in common with Night Life than the harder rocking albums Thin Lizzy is known for. I think if you throw out any preconceptions you have of Thin Lizzy this is another good album from them. It's a bit on the lighter side. The fact that Thin Lizzy has so many quality albums would put this towards the bottom of my favorites list but it's still a good listen. 

Thin Lizzy - Chinatown

1980

While the previous two albums have some of Thin Lizzys' all time best songs, I thought the overall quality of the records were slipping since Johnny the Fox. Some of the songs were feeling samey and didn't have the same emotional impact with me that the earlier albums had. I assumed the quality would drop off even more when we got to this record. I was wrong. I don't know why but this group of songs really connect with me. The tempo of most all the songs is pretty quick. My faith in Thin Lizzy has been restored!

Thin Lizzy - Black Rose

1979

Apparently this is one of Thin Lizzy's most popular albums. There are a few great songs on here but overall this is actually pretty far down my personal list of favorite albums from these guys. The sound is distilled and to the point. The production here  One of their catchier albums. There's a lot of guitar ripping on here. There's no doubt this is a really good album. I think with repeated listens I'll come to appreciate this more.

Kiss - Albums Ranked

Kiss - Best to Worst.

1. Alive
2. Ace Frehley
3. Alive II
4. Hotter Than Hell
5. Rock and Roll Over
6. KISS
7. Destroyer
8. Dressed To Kill
9. Unmasked
10. Love Gun
11. Dynasty
12. Creatures of the Night
13. Lick It Up
14. Paul Stanley
15. Asylum
16. Revenge
17. Sonic Boom
18. Crazy Nights
19. The Elder
20. Carnival Of Souls
21. Animalize
22. Gene Simmons
23. Hot In The Shade
24. Monster
25. Psycho Circus
26. Peter Criss

Thin Lizzy - Johnny the Fox

1976

     Their tightest most driving, focused rocker to date. Great songs, great vocals and storytelling. The production is great and the guitars sound amazing. Drumming is great and fun to listen to. Overall this album has a darker feel than any that came before.  This is their seventh album and it's in the running three others for their best. 

     I assume the pressure was on to follow up with a solid record after the success of Jailbreak. In many ways this is better.

Thin Lizzy - Fighting

1975

The fifth Thin Lizzy and where the dual guitars really take shape. On the four albums before this Thin Lizzy still hadn't figured out what kind of band they we're going to be, I'm sure line up changes didn't help matters, but here they are fully committed to being a Hard Rock band. Interestingly the softer songs like Wild One are among the strongest. It's Phil's story telling and sincere delivery that really make every song enjoyable. That holds true for every Thin Lizzy song up to this point. Of the first five I think this is tied with Vagabonds of the Western World for being the best. This is a really good album.

Grin - Revenant

2018

Bottom crawling drum and bass not to far removed from Om. Psychedelic, and sometimes it's a bad trip. I like this one.

Bruja - Desde lo oculto

2018

Old school doom lo/mid-fi lyrics in Spanish. Cool groove. Mid tempo.

Thin Lizzy - Nightlife

1974

Well, it's Yacht rock isn't? It's not that bad but it's hovering near there. A couple rockers, but the lighter stuff is Really light. Probably my least favorite of the first four.

Just when I thought they had it figured out they drop this one. I think the balance between the poetic soft side and the rockers was perfect on the previous album. Then if I understand correctly they lost their guitar player, then lost the guitar player who replaced him then got two new guitar players for this album. The soft side of Thin Lizzy here goes way overboard and go's full on Yacht rock. There's only a couple rockers, which are great.The rest of the album is filled in with slow dull songs. Now, this is the first time I've listened to this and was expecting something totally different. I'm sure this album has it's place. The songs are done well, I was just hoping/expecting  so much more after Vagabonds of the Western World.

It's like they're starting over trying to figure out what kind of band they're going to be. Most of this really is something you could listen to while having coffee in the morning. It's pleasant and easy going.

Thin Lizzy - Vagabonds of the Western World

1973

This is a great album. I like every song on it. The balance between the poetic softer side and the rockers is perfect here.

Thin Lizzy - Shades of a Blue Orphanage

1972

I think this one is not quite as interesting as their debut. It's a little bit of a grab bag. They remind me of Queen in that sense, where they're mixing up styles...it doesn't really matter what kind of music they play because the singer is so strong he can pull off anything, but they usually return to the core of what the band is about. In this case it's still being solidified. The first album is so odd/good it makes me want to return to it and figure out what's going on. This album is good, but I don't get the urge to return.

Thin Lizzy - Thin Lizzy

1971

     Hendix-y in places. Baroque in places. Folksy in places. Good vocals everywhere. Production/mixing techniques that you certainly don't hear anymore. Nice/good storytelling songs. 

     Not the rock powerhouse they would become, but this is a really good album. This is before it all gets put together, this album has all (most) of the ingredients. They're not quite hard rock at this point. It's more of a Hendrix inspired folksy bluesy rock band. 

Wychound - Earth Orbiter

2018

I don't usually listen to instrumental music, but this is good rockin' songs and production.

Witchskull - Coven's Will

2018

Rockin' Doom. Top 3 releases for me in 2018. This is great.

The Death Wheelers - I Tread On Your Grave

2018

Raw high energy bluesy instrumental rock that I believe is a sound track to an imaginary movie. Garagey Rocky retro tunes. Fun stuff. 

Slother - Slother

2018

     Sludge! These guys are not another second rate Eyehategod clone. Slother adds some other elements and swing in a Doomy way. I like it.

Self Hatred - Hlubiny

2018

Blackened Atmospheric Death Doom from the Czech Republic.

High Priestess - High Priestess

2018

Cool Doom. Banshee reminds me of building the pyramids. Female vocals that sing/scream/growl/harmonize. Songs that build and build. They don't sound anything like Iron Maiden, but I get these ghostly Iron Maiden feelings once in a while when I listen to this. I'm guessing the guitar player is a fan. I keep getting these Egyptian undertones throughout the album, which of course go perfectly with their name. Good stuff! 

Manilla Road - To Kill A King

2017

So, I thought I had heard this when it came out. When I started listening I thought I had never heard it. Also it sounds just like Manilla Road. I'm half way through it right now. Without close study and more listens, I'm not sure if I could tell this apart from the most recent ones, like Mysterium. It seems like they really have it figured out at this point and they do what they do and it's still really good.

Graveyard - Peace

2018

This is really good stoner rock. Very polished and good songs and production, everything. This band doesn't do much for me though. This is straight forward. No surprises. If you've never heard Graveyard, their first couple albums I think is the place to start.

Glanville - First Blood

2018

Retro hard rocking. Stoner rock. From Germany. Duel leads. Singer can remind you of Chris Cornell once in a while. This is a solid five song ep.

Fading Bliss - Journeys in Solitude

2018

Spooky heavy music with growly vocals that are hard to take seriously as an adult then angelic female come in for a duet. Death/Doom Metal. These guys are from Belgium.

Electric Hydra - World Domination

2018

Thick hard rockin fuzzy stoner rockin with female vocals. Two song e.p. From Sweeden.

Postmortal - Soil

2018

Slow heavy Death Metal, or if you prefer. Funeral/Death/Doom. These guys are from Poland.

Monje - Monje

2018

Monje is from Buenos Aires. They play Doom metal/stoner Metal. I think they're singing in Spanish. 

Disgusted Giest - Reign of Enthrallment

2018

Black Metal of the aggressive, grind core, sludge variety. No waiting around for things to happen with this one.

Jack Harlon & Dead Crowes - Hymn

2018

Neo psychedelia very reminiscent of All Them Witches. Very good album.  Bluesy rockin.

Saffire - Where the Monsters Dwell

2018

These guys embrace the cheese and it's really slick. They're doing the Rainbow thing, but it's just too polished for my taste. There's an 80's element...it's like these guys are too serious or something.

Green Dragon - Green Dragon

2018

Reminds me of Devils' Witches but more expansive. More parts. Heavy psyche from New Jersey.

Black Elephant - Cosmic Blues

2018

Guitar driven rockin out. Essentially an instrumental album with occasional vocals that come on like a power house. Like Chris Cornell or something, then a lot of rockin out on guitar. Sometimes it's funky fast groovy. Stevie Ray Vaughn meets Earthless. These guys are from Italy.

Smock - Interstellar Nobody

                                                                            2018

High Energy neo psychedelia.

Churchburn - None Shall Live...The Hymns of Misery

2018

Big huge steamroller wall of blackened heavy heavy crush. From Rhode Island.

1968 - Ballad of the Godless

1968

Stoner Metal that's drawing from Alice in Chains/Soundgarden. Not till their last song do they sound like what you would expect a band called 1968 too sound like. These guys are from the UK.

King Goat - Debt of Aeons

2018

Really dramatic vocals. Reminds me of the guy from System of a Down. Good stuff, it can take them a while to get around to the action sometimes. This is some epic Doom.

Mournful Congregation - The Incubus of Karma

2018

It's Funeral Dirge. From Australia.

Hell Obelisco - Swamp Wizard Rises

2018

I think there's a Pantera/Soilent Green influence at work here. These guys are from Italy.

Flood Peak - Plagued By Sufferers

2018

These guys do seem to have a bit of a Neurosis thing going on. From Portland, Oregon. There are some Black Metal elements in the mix. Sludgey with hardcore screaming vocals.

Manilla Road - Crystal Logic

1983

     This album rips and shreds and is totally awesome. The only drawbacks are the vocals, that I've longs since been able to over look and possibly the production, which is way better than the first two but still a little off, but also at this point I don't mind.

     Fist pumping head bobbin sword swinging Heavy Metal!

Manilla Road - Metal

1982

     The way this one starts, the drums on the first song, the mix, the production...it feels so disjointed. The album has a theatrical vibe. There's still a little bit of hard rock. They've tightened things up since the first album. A couple songs get the epic Metal going. This is really rough and raw. My first impression was I prefer the first album, but this was growing on me after another listen.