‘Magna Invocatio – A Gnostic Mass for Choir and Orchestra Inspired by the Sublime Music of Killing Joke’ Spinefarm Records Classical
For such an influential figure in music, Jaz Coleman remains somewhat anonymous. Cutting his teeth and forging his legacy with Killing Joke, the band became masters of noise, post-punk, industrial, metal, reggae and deep-dub. Meanwhile, Coleman, never content to rest upon his laurels has also spent the last 30 years working on classical music, releasing a string of classical compositions with himself at the conductor’s helm. This year has Coleman returning with the St. Petersburg Orchestra with ‘Magna Invocatio – A Gnostic Mass for Choir and Orchestra Inspired by the Sublime Music of Killing Joke’ to celebrate the music of the band which made Coleman who he is today.
As a collection of music, ‘Magna Invocatio…’ could well be Coleman’s Magnum Opus, the songs chosen to represent the Killing Joke music are a wide spectrum from the bands career and arranged in a way that would make the listener doubt that they were listening to Killing Joke at all. It is here that the beauty of this album lies; this is not an album of classical instruments playing second fiddle to guitars, keyboards, drums and bass with Coleman’s distinctive rasp lurching over the top; no, this is a high-brow appreciation of intricate melodies and arrangements that give these tracks not just a whole new life, but a completely different meaning.
For the standard rock, punk and metal fan, ‘Magna Invocatio…’ might be a difficult pill to swallow; to fully appreciate the work that Coleman and the St. Petersburg Orchestra have put into this is to completely detach yourself from Killing Joke. But the trade off gives the listener something new, something soothing, relaxing and beautiful that can be appreciated by everyone, anyone, at any time. 80/100 Adam McCann
Judas Priest
Firepower
Sony Music/Columbia Records 2018
All Guns Blazing
The release of the latest Judas Priest album has been marred by band politics following the announcement of Glenn Tipton’s battle with Parkinson’s Disease. The solution selected by members of Priest, whether right or wrong, will not be discussed here. Politics aside, ‘Firepower’ is the long awaited follow up to ‘Redeemer of Souls’ and has been long awaited, but has it been worth the wait?
There is no denying that the addition of Richie Faulkner to the Priest camp has re-ignited the creative embers into a blazing inferno and this once more comes out in ‘Firepower’. The first half of this album is superb as producers Tom Allom and Andy Sneap use their artisan production skills to create a classic Priest sound in a modern setting which gives the illusion of ‘Defenders of the Faith’ writhing in battle with ‘Redeemer of Souls’.
‘Firepower’ already has the makings of some long serving Priest songs, ‘Lightning Strike’, ‘Evil Never Dies’, ‘Rising from Ruins’ and the title track all look set to take their place within the Priest cannon. However, the latter end of the album does tail off slightly, but this is not a criticism, these songs are not bad, in fact, they’re not even mediocre, it is just that the first half of the album is that good. Furthermore, Tipton and Faulkner are not exactly ashamed of recycling some ideas and there are elements of ‘Dragonaut’, ‘Secrets of the Dead’ and ‘Halls of Valhalla’ here from their previous album, but who cares? For every hint of this, there is something to embrace. For example, the almost mandolin sound during ‘Rising from Ruins’ adds a different dimension to the track which debatably makes the album.
So, is it worth the wait? Simple answer, there is no beating around the bush here. Yes, yes it has, Priest come out of the traps all guns blazing and 40 years into their career, they have nothing to prove to anyone. However, ‘Firepower’ does prove one thing and that is that Judas Priest are still able to set the bar high and there will be many bands that struggle to reach it this year.
85/100
Adam McCann
Lightning Strike; Judas Priest 'Firepower', 2018; Sony Music/Columbia Records
Jorn
Life on Death Road
Frontiers Records 2017
Jorn deliver their best album in 9 years
Jørn Lande has it all, the long flowing blond hair set against that powerful Viking build and that voice, conjoined of a three way battle between one third hard rock, one third heavy metal and a final third of pure melody, when heard for the first time, it was like hearing the golden larynx of David Coverdale ooze against the raw melody of Ronnie James Dio. However, over the course of 25 years in the business, Lande has developed his own tonality that is distinctly Jørn Lande and it is no wonder that other than being a solo artist in his own right, Lande is one of the most sought after vocalists in metal being one half of Allen/Lande, until more recently the vocalist in Masterplan and multiple guest slots with Tobias Sammet’s metal opera; Avantasia. With a voice like Lande’s it is hardly surprising why Sammet rates him so highly.
It is difficult to see where Lande gets time to sleep, he seems to be one of the busiest men in the metal business, following the release of another Jorn cover album late last year; ‘Heavy Rock Radio’, 2017 has Jorn deliver their latest album; ‘Life on Death Road’. Jorn overturns members of the band that could rival that of Ritchie Blackmore or Yngwie Malmsteen with ‘Life on Death Road’ featuring no members from Jorn’s previous studio album; ‘Traveller’, released in 2013. ‘Life on Death Road’ features the line-up of hard rock band; Voodoo Circle with the vocalist replaced by Lande. This line-up is well bedded in with Mat Sinner, Francesco Jovino, Alex Beyrodt used to already playing together in Primal Fear whilst the sound of ‘Life on Death Road’ is augmented by keyboardist Alessandro Del Vecchio.
‘Life on Death Road’ doesn’t waste much time in getting started and kicks things off with the title track which sets the tone for the remainder of the album. ‘Life on Death Road’ is a beast of a track, clocking in at near seven and a half minutes, it features Lande spitting bile at the music industry, describing that being in band is the equivalent of walking on death road, being sucked in and eaten up by the machine and after 25 years in the music business, who can blame them? Lande appears jaded with the inability to escape the monotony of the road. However, ‘Life on Death Road’ suddenly changes pace halfway through with a bridge section that seems disjointed and out of place before crashing back in to the rather catchy chorus of the title track which at first doesn’t seem enjoyable, but it will suck you in and you’ll find yourself humming it. This sense of despair doesn’t stop with ‘Life on Death Road’, it continues throughout with the album and if you thought the title track contained bile, then the following track; ‘Hammered to the Cross (The Business)’ develops venom, teeth and claws as Lande speaks of being built up and knocked down by a business that thrives upon the fantasies of fame and youth, in possibly the most scathing record since ‘The Crimson Idol’ by W.A.S.P. back in 1992.
As an album, ‘Life on Death Road’ feels like a long listen, it checks in at over an hour with most songs being around 5 minutes long. But, let’s face it, Lande is not the greatest songwriter, his lyrics are mediocre at best and has spent 17 years of his solo career spreading himself far too thin, mixing solo albums, live albums and cover albums in amongst extra-curricular work with other bands. This unfortunately see’s Lande rehashing more than enough lyrical ideas, think wheels, fire, sun, blackbirds and rock music, you’ll find them all here. ‘I Walked Away’ even features a familiar hallelujah from Jorn’s earlier work with ‘Something Real’, whilst the chorus to ‘Dreamwalker’ pretty much allows you to sing ‘Hellraiser’ of Ozzy Osbourne/Motörhead fame alongside it. However, the accolade for the poorest song on the album goes to ‘Fire to the Sun’ which basically features poor rhyming couplets throughout the song that would make Marc Bolan blush. Fortunately, ‘Life on Death Road’ is saved by some fantastic musicianship from the band and it is this that keeps the album alive with some utterly sublime playing during; ‘Man of the 80’s’, ‘Insoluble Maze (Dreams in the Blindness)’, ‘I Walked Away’ and ‘The Slippery Slope (Hangman’s Rope)’. ‘Insoluble Maze (Dreams in the Blindness) even sees Lande tear through the song as if possessed by the spirit of Ronnie James Dio with the entire of ‘Life on Death Road’ given the classic Jorn sounding production by Lande himself alongside Del Vecchio. Although, not all the credit can go to the band alone, ‘Love is the Remedy’ and ‘The Optimist’ feature guitar solos from Firewind leader Gus G with even ex-Dio guitarist; Craig Goldy adding a guitar solo during the title track.
Lande’s voice is as always, flawless throughout and once more shows that Lande has one of the best voices of the last 25 years. However, when you look at Lande’s work outside of his solo band, you know that Lande sounds nearly perfect when other people write for him – think Avantasia and that is what Jorn is missing, a lyricist and that would be the final piece of the jigsaw. But, ‘Life on Death Road’ is typical of Jorn, it is a mixed bag, there are some brilliant tracks here propped up by album filler, but as a Jorn album, ‘Life on Death Road’ is their best album since 2008’s ‘Lonely are the Brave’ and with a new line-up rejuvenating a band that was possibly stagnating, there is plenty of fuel in the tank for Jorn to continue on death road.
73/100
Adam McCann
Life on Death Road; Jorn, 'Life on Death Road', 2017; Frontiers Records