CD Odyssey Disc 1964: Sabaton

There is a special rule in the CD Odyssey that when I go see a band live in concert I can directly select their album, provided it is the album they are touring. That’s what’s happening here. So today it isn’t random, but don’t get used to it. We’ll be back to not knowing where our musical journey takes us in no time.

Also, if you like a bit of live concert review with your studio experience, I’ve provided exactly that following this review. Just keep scrollin’!

Disc 1964 is…Legends

Artist: Sabaton

Year of Release: 2025

What’s up with the Cover? Artwork that depicts the various characters you are going to encounter on the album. Looks like that rascal from the 12^th Dynasty Senusret III is getting centre stage on this one. Not my favourite song on the album but he does have a handsome visage and a resplendent headdress, so it’s an understandable choice.

Other notables you’ll see include Hannibal, Napoleon and Miyamoto Musashi. And others! Collect all your historical favourites here on…Legends!

How I Came To Know It: This was just me buying the latest release from Sabaton – a band I have been following for about seven years now. This is not remotely from the beginning, so I claim no street cred, but I have been making up for lost time.

How It Stacks Up: I have ten Sabaton albums. “Legends” is a good record, but I must reluctantly rank it at #9.

Ratings: 3 stars

Sabaton is one of those bands that I call “ACDC bands”. Not because they sound like ACDC (they don’t) but because like ACDC their songs all sound very similar to one another. If you like the sound, you tend to like their albums and if you don’t then you really need to go find a new interest, because this is their thing, and the lads aren’t for turning.

That thing is a mix of power metal, folk metal, and New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal (NWOTM – yes, it’s a term, IYKYK), a galloping beat, power chords and the bombastic vocals of frontman Joakim Broden.

Despite 25 years in the bombast game, Broden hasn’t lost a step and his vocals still cut through the fog of war (and on a Sabaton record there is a lot of that) and tells tales of various characters and battles through the course of human history.

I’ve mentioned this on previous reviews but it bears repeating: Sabaton are a band that sings about historical events, almost exclusively of the military variety. Much like their style of music, if this appeals to you, you will tend to view their records favourably and if this does not appeal to you then it is going to be a very long and fitful 45-55 minutes, indeed.

“Legends” is no exception to both the musical and thematic rules of the band, and because I land nicely at that intersection of bias, I had no complaints on that front. In fact, there are a few standouts on the album.

The first of these is “Templars”, a classic full-tilt Sabaton galloper about the Knights Templar that has a first-rate guitar riff hooking your ears. Broden is particularly good here, as the song lends itself to his range well and as usual, makes everything the height of DRAMA. This despite lyrics that are literal to the highest degree (another Sabaton standard). Don’t look for a lot of metaphor on a Sabaton record – they are here to share some history they found interesting, and they’re sticking to the facts, ma’am.

Another winner is “Crossing the Rubicon” about the fateful decision made by Julius Caesar to bring his legions back to Italy and contest for the leadership of Rome. Again, the heavy riffs and the unison singing on the chorus encourage singing along and create a surge of energy. Sabaton captures the dread import of decision like the crossing of the Rubicon and transports those momentous events across time and space so a modern audience can feel the urgency. It ain’t exactly time travel, but it’s a cousin.

My last of three favourites is “Lightning at the Gates” the story of Hannibal surprising the Roman legions by invading Italy across the alps. A bold maneuver that didn’t ultimately win him the war, but an inspiring bit of generalship all the same. Also, this song has one of the better melodic structures on the record, capturing the shifts in elevation, the determined march of an army and even a bit of optimistic whimsy in the guitar solo, as befits such an unorthodox bit of strategy.

So why only ranked 9th? Because apart from these three songs a lot of “Legends” is just not up to the same standard of earlier Sabaton records. When you do the same thing a lot, you walk a thin line to avoid becoming an imitation of yourself, and there are songs on “Legends” that feel a little like they are trying to squeeze water out of a stone. Also, while I don’t expect Shakespearean prose, songs like “I, Emperor” (Napoleon) and “Maid of Steel” (Joan of Arc) land awkwardly in both lyrics and phrasing. “I, Emperor” in particular is a plodder.

But even with a couple of clunkers this is still a Sabaton record, and all the ingredients you like (if you like this sort of thing) are there. While I didn’t get the full rush of some of their truly great records, I still had a good time and unlike most of the stuff they sing about, no one got hurt in the process.

Best tracks: Templars, Crossing the Rubicon, Lightning at the Gates

The Concert: October 8, 2026 at the PNE Forum, Vancouver, BC

This concert was originally scheduled for April but one of the members of the band had a medical issue and the show had to be delayed. I decided to stick it out, and with the companionship of my buddy Spence, I took it in with several thousand other screaming metalheads.

The Venue:

If you haven’t been to the PNE Forum, it is pretty great to see a show. It is essentially a mid-sized hockey rink built in the early thirties with a big central floor for moshing/fist-pumping types with good backs and bleachers on either side for those with backs that are a bit dodgier. No good for moshing, but still plenty of room to pump a fist or two. My companion and I, being of the dodgy-back persuasion, chose this option.

Wings of Steel

The first of two opening acts was Wings of Steel, a traditional heavy metal band that went full in for the eighties metal vibe. The line between homage and imitation in this genre can be admittedly fuzzy, so I’ll just say Wings of Steel did not offer anything new. The singer had good vocals and the songs were well structured, if a bit obvious. The guitar player played fast, but his solos felt disconnected from the song. It wasn’t to my taste, but I will say that on aggregate, these five guys had the BEST metal hair I have seen in many a decade.

Pop Evil

The second opener was Pop Evil, which was a very different kind of metal entirely. More thrashy/nu-metal crossover with a bit of nineties alternative mixed in there. These guys had good thump, but this isn’t a style that I personally find enjoyable, and I admit I started to get fidgety in anticipation of the main act.

Sabaton

At last, the band we’d been waiting for took the stage. I turned with breathless excitement to my friend and warned him that I might “fanboy out a bit”. This did happen.

First of all, Sabaton have a great stage setup. As you can see from the photo, it features a full-scale model of a First World War tank that the drummer perches on. There’s also a model piece of artillery to the side. With such initial promise, would this show feature explosions and smoke? Reader, it did, and plenty of it.

The band played tight and energetically and had a very knowledgeable and willing crowd eating out of their hands throughout the show. We sang along, we pumped our fists on demand and joyously participated as Sabaton rocked out.

The band has been doing this for a couple of decades now and their resulting mastery of the stage was on full display. They played off each other (often kidding each other with sight gags during songs and self-deprecating banter between them). Broden is a natural showman and brings levity and excitement to songs that are sometimes about heavy topics.

Unison singing is a big part of many Sabaton songs, and everyone brought their A game. There was even a trio of sexy (and talented) backup singers lending some higher range to the tunes.

In terms of setlist, I got almost everything I wanted, with two of my three favourites from “Legends” (see above) being played. Sadly, they also played, “I, Emperor” but even though I still didn’t like this song, it was markedly better live.

Other standouts for me included rousing renditions of “Bismarck”, “Fields of Verdun”, and “Night Witches”. The only one I really wanted to hear that didn’t make the setlist was “Winged Hussars” but hey, you can’t have everything.

Weirdly, there was no encore but that was OK with the show naturally wrapping up with a crescendo of bangers and a very theatrical series of bows (the band, Broden alone, the band with the backup singers, etc.) followed by the very welcome tossing of drumsticks, guitar picks and even the setlist sheet into the crowd.

I am always a little leery of stadium shows with “older” bands, but there were no concerns here with either sound quality or energy levels, and it was a rollicking, fist-pumping good time. Well worth the trip.

CD Odyssey Disc 1963: Ted Nugent

Welcome back to the CD Odyssey where I randomly select and review every album in my collection. Since we’re not done yet, let’s sail on to the next port of call.

Disc 1963 is…Weekend Warriors

Artist: Ted Nugent

Year of Release: 1978

What’s up with the Cover? You’ve heard of the key-tar? The double-necked guitar where one neck is a bass? Well Ted does this one better with a guitar that doubles as a shotgun.

Apparently the ‘gun-tar’ is fired when Ted plays a particularly killer riff, as Ted demonstrates here. Any concert where this thing gets played probably needs an extra rider on the insurance.

How I Came To Know It: This was another of the “Ross Records” collection that I got from my buddy Ross when he was divesting himself of CDs. I was already a fan of Nugent so this was an easy selection. Thanks again, Ross!

How It Stacks Up: I have four Ted Nugent albums, two with the Amboy Dukes and two solo. I like them all, but competition is fierce and “Weekend Warriors” lands in fourth – but a respectable fourth.

Ratings: 3 stars

The world can sometimes be a confusing place but there is one thing you can count on: put an electric guitar in the hands of Ted Nugent and magic happens. On his fourth solo record since parting ways with the Amboy Dukes, Nugent once again displays his mastery on the axe.

That is the main thing that draws most people to a Ted Nugent record, and on “Weekend Warriors” I was not disappointed. The style is solidly hard rock, with heavy influences of rock’s next-door neighbour, the blues.

The blues vibes on “Weekend Warrior” are strongest on “One Woman” and manifest in the chord progression and classic blues riffs. However, the way the song is played is crunch-forward with a metallic aftertaste that lets you know that hard rock is the driver on this record, even if blues helps with the initial recipe.

I’m a big fan of the epic sonic explorations on Nugent’s early work with the Amboy Dukes, and while there is less of that on this record, there is still plenty to get behind. The best song for those who also love that early sprawl is “Venom Soup”. The album’s longest song by well over a minute and a half, “Venom Soup” is a throwback to that earlier sound. It takes a little time to get going but once it does you are rewarded with a deep soak in Nugent’s guitar brilliance.

To varying degrees, Nugent’s guitar work is a star on every song on the record, but on the majority of tracks the vocals are handled by bandmate Charlie Huhn. Huhn takes singing duties on six of the ten tracks, but his tone and Nugent’s are so similar that I didn’t really notice who was on the mic and had to look it up several times to confirm. If anything, Huhn’s voice is the stronger of the two, but Ted’s got that patented Nugent grime to it which lets you forgive a lot.

My favourite of the Nugent-led tunes is “Good Friends and a Bottle of Wine” which is a classic Nugent song in the “party on” vibe that his music inspires. The solo work in “Good Friends…” sits back a bit in the mix compared to some tracks, but when it hits it grabs your attention and does not let you up for air.

It is hard to describe what makes Nugent’s guitar solos so singular and impressive. So many other guitarists in the hard rock/metal world will fall into a fit of excess, showcasing how fast they can play or how “balls-out” they can sound. Nugent writes solos that serve the song’s underlying melody but that also take you on a journey through a different facet of that melody, just like a good solo should. Yes, he can play fast, but only when the moment calls for it, and he never sounds hurried.

I didn’t learn a lot about life, the universe, and everything while listening to “Weekend Warriors’ nor was there a plethora of new musical ideas to choose from. But that’s not what you come to a Ted Nugent album looking for. You come looking for songs about good times and bad times, played with virtuosity by one of rock and roll’s greatest.

On that front this record delivers and then some.

Best tracks: Venom Soup, Good Friends and a Bottle of Wine

CD Odyssey Disc 1962: Neil Young

I made the mistake of trying to listen to this on my MP3 player after sorting for “album name” and got a mix of songs from Neil Young and the Offspring for my troubles. The CD in the car was far more reliable.

Disc 1962 is…Americana

Artist: Neil Young and Crazy Horse

Year of Release: 2012

What’s up with the Cover? What you see here is not the cover, but an artist’s rendering of turn of the century America on the inside fold of the CD jacket.

For the actual cover, Neil took a 1905 photo of Geronimo and some other First Nations and superimposed the faces of the band over top of them. Opinions no doubt vary on what Neil was intending here, but at minimum it could be triggering, and I’ve chosen to go in another direction. Forewarned, you can look it up elsewhere on the internet.

How I Came To Know It: This was just me giving Neil a chance based on previous positive experiences. I was learning around this time to be more discerning with which Neil Young albums were worth my time.

How It Stacks Up: Neil Young has released 45 albums over his long and illustrious career, but I don’t have all of ‘em and I don’t like all of ‘em. I have at one time or another owned (and reviewed) 23 albums. This is the last one left, and I rank it…21^st. So, not good.

Ratings: 2 stars

As this is the final Neil Young record in my collection, here is the full and exhaustive recap of all 23 (read them all here). Enjoy and/or seethe with disagreement as the mood strikes you:

1. Harvest: 5 stars (reviewed at Disc 1877)
2. Rust Never Sleeps: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 664)
3. On the Beach: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 579)
4. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 497)
5. After the Gold Rush: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 1450)
6. Hawks & Doves: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 188)
7. Prairie Wind: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 160)
8. Le Noise: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 403)
9. Hitchhiker: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 1158)
10. Chrome Dreams II: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 1196)
11. Harvest Moon: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 257)
12. Comes a Time*: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 883)
13. Homegrown: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 1604)
14. Freedom: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 1750)
15. Sleeps With Angels: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 20)
16. Ragged Glory: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 730)
17. Tonight’s the Night: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 422)
18. Self-Titled: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 435)
19. Everybody’s Rockin’: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 914)
20. America Stars ‘n’ Bars: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 855)
21. Americana: 2 stars (reviewed right here)
22. Colorado: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 1809)
23. A Letter Home: 1 star (reviewed at Disc 850)

·         *I was probably a bit harsh on “Comes a Time” at three stars, and it likely should be higher on the list, but a star laid is a star played…

Before we launch into “Americana” let the record above show that I’m not one of those “I only like his early stuff” jerks, and there have been plenty of records (well, five) that Neil put out after 2005 that are solid records.

But it is also true that later Neil has doubled down on doing whatever the hell he wants. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. On “Americana” it doesn’t.

“Americana” sees the return of Neil’s backing band Crazy Horse, whose presence is almost guaranteed to make a record grimier. When these folks get together with Neil everything tends to get drawn out a bit longer with a lot more reverb on the guitar.

Given that this record is a collection of re-imagined old classic American folk songs, I was hopeful that this would mean that some of the “lost” lyrics of standards like “Clementine” and “Oh Susannah” would make an appearance. Some of those lyrics make these old songs even darker and creepier than they already are. To some degree, this hope was rewarded, particularly on these two tracks.

However, Crazy Horse mostly used the extra time to “explore the space” with a lot of not very inventive jam-session style grooves that were equal parts self-indulgent and unimaginative.

The further I went into the record the more irritating this long, drawn-out “go nowhere” vibe became. If the song is going to be five plus minutes long, I want most of that time exploring the various lost stanzas of these classics, not a bunch of hot-boxed, blue haze studio wankery.

Whether you’re covering a song from two, twenty, or two hundred years ago, the unspoken rule of the exercise is well understood: make it original and do it well.

For most of this record, Neil and Crazy Horse only manage the first half of that social contract. Yes, these sound original, but they are mostly deliberately messy dive-bar renditions. If that’s what you want with your timeless folk classics, you might like – even love – this record. I thought it was just a lot of doubling down on an idea that was good for a couple of songs (both of which I’ve already mentioned) but not for a whole record that approaches a full hour of playing time.

“Tom Dula” is a particularly good example of the excess, with eight full minutes that go nowhere special and travel there in the loudest manner possible. The song features plenty of Neil Young’s exceptional guitar playing, but I kept waiting for the song to have a purpose, and it never did. Instead all the layers of improvisation just caked an otherwise interesting tale with a thick layer of sonic mud.

Half-way through the record you get a listless version of “Get a Job,” lurching like Frankenstein’s Monster through a song designed to be lively and full of jump. I found myself wishing this song had instead appeared on Neil’s 1983 rockabilly record “Everybody’s Rockin’.

As a fan of folk music history, there was a part of me that was just happy to have all these old songs, but then I realized that over the years I had many of them by other artists. A quick search of my music catalogue revealed many a gem (“Oh Susannah” – the Be Good Tanyas and the Byrds; “Gallow’s Pole” – Led Zeppelin; “This Land Is Your Land” – Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings; “Wayfarin’ Stranger” – Emmylou Harris; and “God Save the Queen” – Queen).

Young’s version of “Wayfarin’ Stranger” (where he finally tones it down) is pretty solid but he’s no Emmylou…

At the end of the otherwise brilliant version of “Clementine” you can hear a member of the band say, “I thought we shoulda gone back to the F sharp minor”. It’s the kind of conversation you might have with your buddies while jamming, but it isn’t something worth recording.

Which, sadly, is how I felt about large chunks of this record.

Best tracks: Oh Susannah, Clementine, Wayfarin’ Stranger

CD Odyssey Disc 1961: India Ramey

This next album is going to be a contender for my Top 10 albums of the year list. I won’t decide that until all the listens are in, but it’ll definitely be in the conversation.

Disc 1961 is…Villain Era

Artist: India Ramey

Year of Release: 2026

What’s up with the Cover? Old school cover, old school country and western, and India Ramey herself, looking as confident and self-possessed as a burgeoning talent should.

How I Came To Know It: I read a review on a music review site called Americana Highways and decided to give it a listen. Then I hit her up on Bandcamp. Every song I heard I liked more and more, and here we are.

How It Stacks Up: India Ramey has six albums but so far I only own “Villain Era”. I feel this is going to change soon but until it does, there is no stacking up to be had.

Ratings: 4 stars but almost 5

It seems like every year we lose another icon of the golden age of country music (miss you already, Dolly) and our western heroes have been gone even longer (RIP Tex Ritter, 1974; Marty Robbins, 1982). But readers, I’m here to tell you there is still cause for hope – and the name of that hope is India Ramey.

On “Villain Era” singer-songwriter Ramey has accomplished greatness in both genres – country and western – and found a way to take traditional structures in both genres and bring them into the 21^st century with panache, power and a dollop of dark humour.

Ramey’s liner notes indicate she wanted this record to sound like “Johnny Cash and Loretta Lynn had risen from the grave to score a Quentin Tarantino film”. A lofty goal with some name-dropping hubris but damn it if she doesn’t land it exactly as planned.

It starts with skillful songwriting, that matches up traditional country and western structures with clever and evocative lyrics.

The record’s opener, “We Ride at Dawn” is a classic dark western. In under three and a half minutes Ramey lays out a tale of rape, murder and revenge as a group of women survivors ride out to exact frontier justice on the gang that destroyed their community and left them for dead. It’s dark and powerful, with haunting pedal steel and a galloping beat that matches the horses of the avenging angels that tell the tale. It’s tough and tragic and resonates with the thunder of horse’s hooves and the anticipation of the gun smoke to come. As openers go, you can’t do better.

As I noted, Ramey does both western and country, and it isn’t long until we get a country classic in “Scattered and Smothered” (the title of which is an homage to her old cover band of the same name). The darkness of “We Ride at Dawn” is replaced with a whimsical mid-tempo gallop. The entirety of this record features more clever turns of phrase than you can shake a six-gun at, but “Scattered and Smothered” may be my favourite of all, with an opening stanza of:

“Well it's 2 a.m. and I'm waffling
I've been somewhere I ain't supposed to been
And I'm looking like Alice Cooper
In a little black dress
Well I'm hot mess, I must confess
Ever since he brought up taking next steps
And my drunk ass needs
Some hash browns and scrambled eggs”

Ramey sings it all with a playful southern drawl and a gift for phrasing that is reminiscent of early Dolly Parton, minus the sweetness.

Ramey can also belt it out, as she does on “Six Feet Under” where she shows big lungs, peeling out rich notes that fill out every corner of the room.

“Six Feet Under” is one of many songs that feature imagery of graves and death. This is Gothic country at its best since Johnny Cash rumbled on about a long black veil. Other fine examples on “Villain Era” include “Dead to Me” and “Ghost Town”. The latter is a song that bemoans the loss of the classic country sound in favour of the polished pop version that now sadly dominates Nashville.

Ramey is also funny where the situation calls for it – notably on “Cult Money” about the snake oil salesmanship of false religion. Something that is made possible – as Ramey notes in the refrain – because “people’ll pay a whole lotta money/to stay outta hell.”

The musicianship on “Villain Era” is also top notch, with Ramey assembling a group of players that are up to the task of songs that require heavily on pinpoint timing and just the right amount of jump. I was pleased to note the appearance of Chris Masterson and Eleanor Whitmore, bringing back fond memories of their work as country duo, The Mastersons.

The worst thing about “Villain Era” was finding out it was Ramey’s sixth record, meaning I have been living for years without her music, and didn’t have to. Consider that sad era at an end and sign me up for the Cult of Ramey. I won’t pay any money to stay outta hell, but I’ll happily spend for records like “Villain Era”.

Best tracks: We Ride at Dawn, Scattered and Smothered, Six Feet Under, Nobody’s Coming, Cult Money, Ghost Town

CD Odyssey Disc 1960: Bleached

Today we explore the bittersweet experience of what is likely a band’s last album. Technically this band is still active, but it has been seven years since their last full LP so hope is getting slim. Nevertheless, let’s live in the moment, where that moment is 2019.

Disc 1960 is…Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough

Artist: Bleached

Year of Release: 2019

What’s up with the Cover? The ladies of Bleached looking sassy and dangerous. Likely ready for a party, although as this record explores, partying doesn’t always end well…

How I Came To Know It: I was already a Bleached fan through their first two albums. This was just me exploring their latest offering.

How It Stacks Up: I have three Bleached albums, which is all of them. Of those, “Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough” comes in at #2, with a surprise nudging of “Ride Your Heart” in the process.

And since this is the final album in my collection here’s a recap:

1. Welcome the Worms: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 1218)
2. Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough: 3 stars (reviewed right here)
3. Ride Your Heart: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 971)

Ratings: 3 stars but almost 4

“Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough” sees sisters Jennifer and Jessica Clavin departing from their earlier fuzzy pop/punk sound toward a cleaner more pop-forward production. It isn’t bad, it’s just evolution. Bands are allowed to do that. If you miss the grittier sound of their previous two records, I have good news for you – both remain available and recorded.

The new sound has them much more aligned to Canadian band the Beaches. Like the Beaches’ Jordan Miller, Jennifer Clavin has a natural rock vocal, not as rich and deep as Miller, but featuring the same combination of rock star and playful pop icon. It had me thinking that the two bands would make a very good 1-2 punch on tour.

Bleached retains their traditional base of garage punk and Go-Gos/Shangri-Las fun on “Don’t You Think…” but also branch out into new territory. On previous reviews I noted their obvious love for Blondie, and that is again evident here, but it is more the later disco-adjacent Blondie. “Hard to Kill” in particular had me thinking of “Heart of Glass”. It isn’t a copy, just an homage, and they take the basic rolling disco rhythm in new directions that results in one of the better songs on the record.

Like a lot of the songs on “Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough”, “Hard to Kill” explores unhealthy choices and struggles with sobriety in a way that feels on the surface like a party song, but on a closer listen reveals a darkness. There’s a price to be paid when you party this hard, and the record is a retrospective of excess and – not infrequently – regret.

We get a lot more of this as the record progresses, with most of the typical outcomes from an unhealthy relationship with drugs and/or alcohol: bad relationships, betrayed friends, calls to 911, and the inevitable apologies that are part of recovery. It’s been done many times by many rock and rollers before, but that doesn’t take anything away from Bleached, who approach the topic with unabashed honesty and a healthy dose of uncertainty of what comes next.

The album features plenty of pop record tricks, like hand claps and whistles all of which have been deployed on various records throughout the years for one reason: it works. True to form, these little flourishes add colour and texture to songs that aren’t complicated in construction and lend themselves to different treatments. There were a couple of places where one too many tricks and instrumental shifts had me feeling fidgety, but mostly I liked it even when it went too far.

Bleached have a natural ability to write a pop hook, and I admire that they add in elements of doo wop, disco and punk wherever they damned well feel to make it more interesting. There was a part of me that kept thinking other Bleached fans might balk at the adjustments, but I had no problem with the evolution of their sound. It didn’t make their sound any more innovative –likely it made it less so – but it generated a lot of novel approaches to songs that, in their bones, are just solid pop hits that deserve to show off a little.

Best tracks: Hard to Kill, I Get What I Need, Somebody Dial 911, Rebound City, Valley to LA

CD Odyssey Disc 1959: Einherjer

It seems like every time I roll a record by this next band fate has me taking a long drive. Last time it was “Norron” reviewed back in June when I went to Sidney to go shopping and this time once again out to Sidney, but this time to the airport. Maybe listening to Viking metal dares the universe to send you on a journey, although neither of mine involved sailing in a longship or looting a monastery.

Disc 1959 is…Dragons of the North XX

Artist: Einherjer

Year of Release: 2016 (remake of the 1996 record “Dragons of the North”)

What’s up with the Cover? A depiction of a carved figurehead, presumably on the front of a Viking longship because, well, that’s where they go.

Why did Vikings adorn the front of their ships with these carvings? Presumably because they are scary and to show they meant business.

How I Came To Know It: This is part of the “Ross Records” collection that I got from my buddy Ross when he left CD technology behind. I secured a whole bunch of Einherjer records at the time. Thanks, Ross!

How It Stacks Up: I have four Einherjer albums, and I like them all. I think “Dragons of the North XX” is my favourite, but then I don’t own the original “Dragons of the North” from 1996 and it is pretty great.

Ratings: 4 stars

I don’t know what possessed Einjerjer to re-record their entire 1996 classic folk/Viking metal album “Dragons of the North” twenty years later. I suppose if you make such a classic record in the genre there’s no harm in making it twice. As for me, I like this record plenty – both times in fact.

The two biggest differences you will encounter is the XX version leans a bit further into metal and away from folk than its predecessor and the vocals of Rune Bjelland and Audun Wold are replaced by guitarist and singer Frode Glesnes. I’m not sure who I prefer better, but Frode is the voice I know on all my other Einherjer records and I like the sound of him.

Glesnes will not blow the doors off any singing contest, but he delivers the melodic rasp and a sinister tone that these songs require. The lyrics – which are almost universally about groups of Vikings killing and plundering about the place, or the perspective of an individual Viking doing the same thing.

The title track leads us off with a folksy guitar riff and the heavy thump of long-time drummer Gerhard Storesund (aka Ulvar) setting the stage. The song is notably heavier and crunchier than the 1996 version, with the ominous pounding of Storesund’s reminding me favourably of Black Sabbath’s Bill Ward. The song has a pulse to it that makes you feel the pull of the oars of a Viking longship as it climbs its way up a river in search of the aforenoted killing and plundering.

The album’s other standout is “Forever Empire” which has the same dread-filled heaviness to it, offset by the record’s best guitar solos. While a few of the lesser solos on “Dragons…” feel uninspired, there are more than a few that pull you in with both tone and construction. They also provide a good foil to the drum-heavy groove. The combo is like the flashes of sword and human struggle that punctuate the moment when the rowing stops and the fighting starts.

Lyrically the stories aren’t always clear, but there is a common thread of mania to the characters Frode gives voice to. These characters are warlord conquerors; an occupation that doesn’t lend itself to humility and circumspection. I have a friend who likes to remind me that with their “if you die while fighting you go to Valhalla” mythology Vikings were essentially a death cult, and Einherjer – a band that is literally named after those dead warriors feasting in Odin’s hall – double down on the mindset that would create.

The result is music that transports you to the nexus of menace, dread, and glory, which is entirely appropriate to the subject matter. Listening to “Dragons of the North XX” is a modern sonic experience that interprets the manic exhilaration of the raiders, and by extension I also found myself contemplating the terror of seeing these raiders inexorably advancing up a river to your town.

Capturing both those experiences across a thousand years of history on a modern heavy metal record is an impressive feat. Making that same record resonate essentially twice twenty years apart even more so.

Best tracks: Dragons of the North, Forever Empire, Slaget Ved Hafrsfjord

CD Odyssey Disc 1958: Katy Kirby

Blue Raspberry is one of my favourite “drink” flavours but I always feel that raspberry gets short-changed on the use of red, which is reserved for strawberry (light red) and cherry (dark red). This record has very little to do with drink flavours, but I just had to get that off my chest.

Disc 1958 is…Blue Raspberry

Artist: Katy Kirby

Year of Release: 2024

What’s up with the Cover? Katy (assuming the brunette is Katy) and another person engage in some sort of embrace. Maybe they’re wrestling, maybe Katy is rescuing them from drowning or maybe it is a more amorous adventure. Whether it is sport, a rescue or sex, based on the sun-dappled water it looks like the weather is cooperating. Way easier to do all those things when the waves aren’t too big.

How I Came To Know It: I was already a fan of Kirby having encountered her through her 2021 debut, “Cool Dry Place” (reviewed back at Disc 1726). When I saw she had a new album out a couple of years ago I checked it out and liked what I heard.

How It Stacks Up: Kirby only has two full length records, and if you’re following along you’ll know that I have both of them. Of the two I enjoyed “Blue Raspberry” slightly more, so it is…#1.

Ratings: 4 stars

Katy Kirby has a languid style to her brand of indie pop that leaves you feeling relaxed and ready to see the world in a fresh and unhurried way. This is a record to both relax you musically, while throwing in just enough unexpected imagery that your mind is active and searching for the next line. Also, it’s very sexy.

Kirby’s high sweet vocals shows a lot of range in songs that are all sweet and introspective, but surprisingly variable in how they approach a melody. This record keeps your groove engaged throughout,

The opening track, “Redemption Arc” is even a bit off-brand, sung in her lower register, with a lurching minor key lilt that had me favourably comparing the approach to “Bachelor No. 2” era Aimee Mann. Unlike early Mann, Kirby is a bit more romantic than fatalist, and “Redemption Arc” is an apology song that is more focused on the comfort of making up than the apology itself. You get the sense that all is forgiven without any words spoken, but the words are welcomed all the same.

The record launches into Kirby’s more familiar high head voice on “Cubic Zirconia” which also oozes with a relaxed romanticism that permeates the record. Not content to rely on the record’s catchiest melody and a delightful birdsong phrasing, Kirby throws in some top-tier imagery. Best stanza:

“Face framed by hoodie like an oyster in a shell
And your eyes are rolling at me as a pair of angry pearls
You're the prettiest mermaid in the souvenir shop
But if you're coming home this late
You know you'd better be drunk”

Not something typically wished for, but there is a strong current of sexy that flows through this record that makes even a drunken homecoming feel like a fairy tale. Readers please note: this outcome is rarely the case and only works for the absolutely prettiest mermaids. If you're a merman, just forget about it entirely. Take off your shoes quietly in the hall and sleep on the couch.

But I digress.

“Wait Listen” has a song construction that is reminiscent of Leonard Cohen, both in terms of how the song builds the story as well as the mix of the tender and the bawdy poetry of a memorable hook up.

That ribbon of lyrical sexuality twists like a ribbon through the entirety of “Blue Raspberry” taking a record that could fall into its own introspection and instead making each song a sensual confession.

Kirby re-examines imagery used in earlier songs throughout the record, trying concepts out from different angles like the facets of the fake diamonds she references early on. She will return to the image of the cubic zirconia on “Salt Crystal” along with pearls (now in the mouth not the eyes), and the erotic nature of a well-placed bite (earlier featured in the amorous adventures of “Wait Listen”). Then, as your mind skips along with the sweetness of the melody, Kirby pulls it all together in a golden hour moment with:

“The rhinestones on your baseball cap reminding me of when
The salt left crystal on the sunset of your sunburned skin”

The best part of it all is that with its slow and relaxed style, this clever construction of image upon image slips into your mind slowly, like a cool summer breeze through an open window – invisible but alive on your skin.

Some albums hit you hard and early, but “Blue Raspberry” is a slow build that steals inside of you with a quiet beauty. It might take a few listens to catch everything that’s going on, but it’s worth the effort.

Best tracks: Redemption Arc, Cubic Zirconia, Wait Listen, Salt Crystal

CD Odyssey Disc 1957: The Hives

When you’re a kid you might say “let’s pretend” to get your playmates to buy in to some imagined world. As a teenager it morphs to “let’s say” and as adults we try to pull off the sophistry of “I think we can all agree” without anyone noticing.

Here on the CD Odyssey we don’t do any of that. It’s just one person’s musical observations (mine) and you can agree as much or as little as you like.

Disc 1957 is…The Hives Forever Forever the Hives

Artist: The Hives

Year of Release: 2025

What’s up with the Cover? The Hives dressed up as a quintette of kings (which would be a good name for a band).

When I was younger I belonged to a medieval re-enactment group. I was a 15^th century pirate with a penchant for purple, which some of the more ardent re-creationists felt was an affront to the king.

It was good fun and I was mostly left unaccosted unless I crossed too close in front of the throne (occupied or not) and made it even more of a thing.

If the Hives tried to cosplay these particular outfits there would definitely be some accosting. Of the fun kind, though. Less fun if they were actually trying to pull this off in the actual 15^th century, where it would have led to five very serious and immediate beheadings.

How I Came To Know It: I read a review and overcame that common bias we experience when we know a band has been around for a while and assume that if we were going to like them it would’ve happened by now. Instead I gave it a go and…here we are.

How It Stacks Up: The Hives have a bunch of records but so far this is my only one, so it can’t stack up.

Ratings: 3 stars

Sometimes when you see a bunch of soccer hooligans marching toward a stadium and chanting I think to myself “what do these guys listen to pre-game to get themselves into a good lather?” “The Hives Forever Forever the Hives” feels like a strong contender. More on this later.

“The Hives Forever, etc.” are what I would call “straight rock and roll, no chaser”. This is the pure stuff. Not particularly creative, nor innovative but just good old fashioned guitar riffs and up-tempo bangers. Good for driving fast, toasting your buddies, or maybe fisticuffs. I like the first two of those things (n.b. not at the same time) and that generally supportive but not all-in approach is how I’d characterize my reaction to this record.

The Hives have a throwback British punk scene sound, with beats that lean forward and guitar chords that crash with frenetic energy. I was surprised to learn they are actually from Sweden. Not exactly a Stefan Edberg “talented but genteel” vibe here.

Where they are Edberg-like is in the precision of their playing, which is top notch. These guys are tight in a way most bands dream about. It is all very fast and furious, but their skills give these songs a polish that most pop songs would envy.

The result is a lot of radio bangers that aren’t exceptionally creative but are a lot of fun. Not a complicated road course here, but they lean tight and fast into what corners there are. As for the riffs, at their best they are timeless perfection and at their worst they are “pretty sure I’ve heard this one before – but still like it”.

In terms of the lyrics, I found myself returning to the aforenoted hooligans (I told you we’d return). I would say that the Hives mostly sing about what can best be characterized as mindless rebellion; middle finger raised to the world (or two fingers in England) combined with recurring announcements exhorting you to party. I love to party, but the parties depicted here feel like the kind that start with friendly toasts and end with someone getting head-butted over something they said about Arsenal.

The opening lines of “Enough is Enough” are:

“Everyone's a little f**kin' bitch
And I am getting sick and tired of it
Went to the doctor 'cause I was sick
Sick of everybody's bulls**t”

And if that doesn’t sufficiently paint a picture, try the chorus from “Paint a Picture”:

“Oh, let me paint a picture
I ain't no f**king slob
Oh, let me paint a picture
More like a f**king god to you”

The chorus from “Paint a Picture” is delivered in unison barroom style that was tailor-made to be a soccer chant someday, if it isn’t already. It’s fun to sing along but it doesn’t exactly provide compelling metaphors or convincing oratory. Then again, it isn’t supposed to. It is supposed be mindless fun, and “The Hives Forever, etc…” is exactly that. Not in any way thought-provoking but a high-energy good time whether driving fast, partying hard, or just getting energized – ideally with no one getting punched.

Best tracks: Enough is Enough, Bad Call, Paint a Picture, Path of Most Resistance

CD Odyssey Disc 1956: The Monks

I’m fresh off an eventful long weekend that had a little bit of everything. There was even a power failure through most of Labour Day Monday. Growing up I experienced many a power failure, often in the winter and lasting several days. Given this, a few hours without TV on a sunny holiday Monday was no problem at all. I just caught up on some reading and set some time aside for a full and undivided listen to this next record.

Disc 1956 is…Suspended Animation

Artist: The Monks

Year of Release: 1981

What’s up with the Cover? The Monks only have two albums and both feature covers with women dressed up as nuns and showing a lot of leg.

Here we have a 'nun' apparently awakening from cryo-sleep (the “suspended animation” alluded to in the album title). Looks like she’s arrived at her destination based on the space station in the porthole window. We don't know how many light years have passed in her journey across space but fear not: simple black pumps never go out of style.

How I Came To Know It: I like the Monks’ first record “Bad Habits” and through that discovered they’d done a second. However, “Suspended Animation” was devilishly hard to find, suffering from low album sales and – I suspect - a limited release.

Eventually I found it on a double album set with both records and a whole bunch of bonus material called, “No Shame: The Complete Recordings”. That compilation’s album art is just the band standing around looking like early eighties mods.

Choosing between that and the long-limbed space traveler depicted on the original was a no-brainer.

How It Stacks Up: I have two Monks albums, which is all of them. Of the two “Suspended Animation” is the lesser record, so #2.

Ratings: 2 stars

Listening to “Suspended Animation” had me thinking that the Monks were a bunch of slackers. Very talented slackers. Their follow up to their much better debut record, the Monks seem prepared to dabble in various musical ideas like a bunch of cheeky dilettantes. Sometimes it works, sometimes it don’t.

The style of the record is mostly a New Wave/post punk feel that was of its time back at the turn from the seventies to the eighties. A bit Joe Jackson, a bit the Clash at the poppier end of their range, but mostly just a bunch of experienced English musicians taking the piss.

Like the Clash, there is a reggae influence on the record in places, and the Monks also seem determined to try to land some funky bass lines and guitar licks. It would work better if the songs weren’t so uniformly at the front of the beat. That’s the New Wave in them, and they consistently refuse to sit down in the pocket.

So you get songs like “Don’t Want No Reds” that could have been a semi-serious song about Cold War angst but instead feels like a funhouse vision of looming nuclear winter. The haste of the beat makes you think that the reds they are avoiding could just as easily be pharmaceuticals as Communist agents.

From there they uncork a wide array of topics, most of which more than live up to the compilation’s title of “No Shame”. Scheming evangelicals, BDSM enthusiasts, and eating disorders are just a few of the themes you will encounter. There’s a good chance if you listen to this record something will offend you but I’m not going to predict what, as it is a target-rich environment.

This being a “complete recordings” situation the original record’s 12 tracks are ‘augmented’ by eight bonus tracks, pushing the playing time to an unwieldy and tiring 75 minutes. I’d like to say they should have just cut all that content, but the truth is some of it is pretty solid, notably “Cybernetic Sister” which has the easy groove blended with what I think is someone exhorting the virtues of a sex-bot.

Through it all, the Monks know how to write a catchy pop hook. I imagine they take a bit of perverse pride in combining sing-a-long quality to lyrics that would likely get you kicked out of the local karaoke bar.

The final two bonus tracks, “Space Noises” and “Electric Shivers” remove all doubt about who the Monks are mocking. It’s everyone, and with these two instrumentals of weird special effects sounds their final victim is, in fact, the listener.

Sitting confused at the end of the long listening journey, and with the echoes of weird computer trills and metallic clangs bouncing in my head, I was not quite sure what to think. It is the musical equivalent of a Jimmy Carr concert; the catchy phrasing draws you in, you laugh at some parts and wince at others, and the next day you can’t even talk about what you heard in mixed company.

Was it all just performance art in the end? Probably yes.

Best tracks: Don’t Want No Reds, Suspended Animation, King Dong and from the bonus tracks: Cybernetic Sister