PAUL DI'ANNO'S WARHORSE (UK/CRO) - Paul Di'Anno's Warhorse (CD, BraveWords, 2024)

RATING: 7/10

I really wish I was writing this under different circumstances. As I'm sure you all know quite well by now, our good fellow Paul Di'Anno - one of the most unique vocalists in the history of heavy metal, a man who redefined many notions associated with heavy music during his time as the frontman of Iron Maiden - has left the building. It seems he was suffering from a number of health issues recently, and the repeated cancelling / rescheduling of his intended final European and South American tours were a clear sign he wasn't doing very well, unfortunately. These were times of rehabilitation for the man, both in his health and his career, and it sucks that he didn't have enough time to really sort himself out - because there's good reason to believe that (though in his typically stubborn, erratic way) he was indeed trying hard to get himself back on track this time. I'm damn sure this "Paul Di'Anno's Warhorse" CD wasn't meant to be the man's swansong when it comes to original music, but that's how things turned out to be, unfortunately - and knowing the singer is now gone to the other side sure gives the listening experience a whole different vibe, adding some extra layers of meaning to what was originally supposed to be an upbeat, no-fucks-being-given ride.

While in Croatia, during his reabilitation process after some delicate knee surgeries, Paul Di'Anno crossed paths with two local guitarists, Hrvode Madiraca and Ante 'Pupi' Pupačić, who are both involved with a power/thrash outfit named Rapid Strike (formely named Azazel) and had a number of more traditional Metal tracks demoed for the purposes of a side project. I don't how just how much Stjepan Juras (an Iron Maiden biographer who have acted as both manager and guardian angel for Di'Anno for nearly a decade, so God bless him) got involved here, but fact is that Di'Anno seems to have enjoyed the songs, and agreed to write lyrics and record vocals for what would become a new metal proposition named Warhorse. Not the most original band name by any means (I'm sure Nick Simper would like to have a word or two with you about it, Paul), but an apt choice when it comes to describe the project's spirit, so nevermind. With the much needed help of a few scenesters to fill the blanks - including some members and ex-members of local heroes Osmi Putnik, as well as bass player Becky Baldwin (now playing with none other than Mercyful Fate) and drummer Joe Lazarus (Steve Harris' nephew, and a much in-demand sticksman-for-hire for many projects and bands) - ten tracks were finished, and now comprise the "Paul Di'Anno's Warhorse" I hold in my very hands. To avoid further confusion, I'll just keep on calling the band Paul Di'Anno's Warhorse, as a way to diferentiate it from any namesakes (and oh yeah, some reviews of the old 1970's Warhorse are indeed a possibility around here) and to make it easier to be found in the blog's index.

As the musical contents, well, it's mostly good, unapologetic heavy metal fun, though not without its flaws. For me, opening track "Warhorse" is the best by far, a simple, yet extremely efficient heavy rocker with lyrics that (although not really making that much sense under close scrutiny) have a nice, somewhat evocative feel to it, like Paul is using this mythical, powerful equine as a metaphor to his own life and (often troubled) times as a metal champion working his way back to the top. I would have toned the gang-shouting down a bit, most of all in the chorus, but it's a truly nice track nonetheless, and perhaps one of the very best songs by Paul Di'Anno since at least the late '90s - and God knows how many dross he did record during this period (we'll get to it eventually). 

Though none of the following tracks work quite as well as this very strong opening, most work under the same formula, with a handful of simple-but-effective riffs put to use in some pretty straightforward heavy metal fare. Paul Di'Anno was never a highly skilled poet to be frank, but he sure had an individualistic way to write lyrics, trying to evoke particular feelings or situations rather than engaging in any serious storytelling - and it works quite well in most of the songs here featured, such as "Get Get Ready" (an uplifting tune about, you know, enjoying rock and roll) and "Here Comes the Night" (ditto), two very catchy tunes that are guaranteed to make old metal geezers shake their heads and pump fists in the air. I also really enjoy "Forever Bound", a good-hearted semi-ballad where Di'Anno express some sincere gratitude to those who had helped him while he was down. Pretty heartfelt lyrics here, and the musicianship also works to good effect. But if you want to hear Di'Anno's voice really shine, look no further than "Stop the War", a song about the war in Ukraine that really allows Paul to stretch his vocal pipes. The man still had it, no doubt about that, and this song proves it.

There are two covers in the package (The Champs' "Tequila" and Depeche Mode's "Precious"), and none of them are particularly interesting IMO, though at least the latter is a not-remotely-obvious song choice and deserves some respect because of that. I'm not that convinced about "Go" either, though this one is also worth a mention in the lyrics department, as Di'Anno (while telling a not very subtle tale about a female companion that seemingly overstayed her welcome) gives quite an interesting tone to the "never will I bend, never will I break anymore" chorus - like he is, once again, singing to convince himself, more than anyone else. "The Doubt Within" is a more convoluted, serious track that manages to create a pretty effective, somewhat ominous atmosphere - but the choice to keep things simple and direct is somewhat ill-advised here IMO, as the song is cut way too short and really deserved some extra minute or two to fully develop its ideas. The football-hooligan shouting that appears in most tracks also gets quite annoying after a while, sometimes sounding like a silly attempt to give some tough-guy quality to songs that didn't really needed it. But these are minor flaws, to be fair, and "Paul Di'Anno's Warhorse" is mostly a pleasant, enjoyable record that never sounds over-pretentious and easily fulfills most of its promises. 

And oh well, I could not finish this review without mentioning the final track, "Going Home". I wasn't at all impressed the first time I heard it, but then Mr. Di'Anno's untimely death was reported and, oh man, did this particular tune gain a whole new meaning or what? Now, this rough-and-ready heavy rocker sounds like Di'Anno is saying goodbye to us all: "and now I'm going home / to the place where I belong / Now I've lived it all / Somewhere I have to atone". As I said earlier, no Nobel-prize-winning poetry here, but these simple lines really carry the message across: his time here was almost finished, and he somehow knew it, and he was ready to get back home. No fade-out here, by the way: the song ends somewhat abruptly, as if the guy singing it didn't wanted to make a fuss in his last hooray. In the end, it's quite an adequate way for a man like Paul Di'Anno to leave the stage: crowd still cheering, guitars still roaring, ready to enjoy whatever else the night has to offer. Hope he's doing fine now, all pain and physical hindrances forever left behind, and let's raise some glasses for one of the true metal legends. Auf Wiedersehen, Paul, now you're forever running free.

Paul Di'Anno (V), Hrvoje Madiraca (G), Ante 'Pupi' Pupačić (G).

01. Warhorse 3:53
02. Get Get Ready 4:29
03. Go 2:53
04. Stop the War 3:30
05. The Doubt Within 3:24
06. Here Comes the Night 3:50
07. Tequila 2:21
08. Forever Bound 4:20
09. Precious 4:16
10. Going Home 3:28

Have you been involved with any of the bands mentioned here? Have any extra info and/or corrections? Please e-mail me (drequon@gmail.com) and let me know! 

DREQUON'S OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT (October 2024)

Yeah, I know. The blog has moved on pretty sluggishly in recent times, as I was completely absorved by daily life and obligations. I also lost access to my e-mail for a long period of time (none to blame but myself, to be honest), and it surely also made things more difficult. But oh well, here I am, and here we go again!

Times have been quite nice here on Drequon's camp, with some nice surprises I hope to share in the near future. I'm thinking about adding a few sections around here, regarding live shows I attended and some NWOBHM news as well - not sure if I'll actually make it happen, but you guys and girls be warned that things may change around here in the coming months. As for now, a new rating system is finally being implemented - something I've been thinking about for a long while, but only now comes to fruition.

Gone are the 5-star rating (which I felt had become too limited and ineffective when it comes to form a previous image of how good a record is), and now comes a 0-10 rating system, that hopefully will be far more informative and actually allow me to evaluate bands and records in a more meaningful manner. You can read the description in the link above, but let's say that ratings ranging from 10-7 are mostly pretty good, while tags 6-5 are for unspectacular, run-of-the-mill releases,  and 4-0 are for records that, most honestly, I would not reccommend you to spend much time with. Older posts will be edited to reflect the change in earnest - hope it won't take too long.

More to come in a reasonable timescale, I suppose. Stay safe, stay lucid, stay metal! \m/

PRAYING MANTIS (UK) - Defiance (CD, Frontiers, 2024)

RATING: 8/10

Praying Mantis has been in great shape for quite a while, if you ask me. At least since the excellent "Sanctuary" (2009), the band has maintained a fairly impressive consistency in their work, always presenting that pleasant mix of AOR, hard rock and NWOBHM that we have become accustomed to hearing from them. That said, the previous work, "Katharsis" (2022) had honestly left a little to be desired, at least for me - of course far from a disappointment (it is a very pleasant album overall), but perhaps a little too formulaic and serviceable for its own good. Although they have never been a band known for wild experimentation, this old carnivorous insect has always had dynamism as one of their main features, and I couldn't help but feeling that their previous CD played a bit too safe. Thus, it is very pleasant to realize that "Defiance" not only rescues the adventurous side of the group's music, but is also one of the most dynamic and enjoyable albums ever recorded by the band.

Anyone who follows Praying Mantis' fortunes sure know by now that, although they were never a proper heavy metal band, the Troy brothers have always known how to sound and look the part, ensuring that their music would always have a denser and more 'serious' atmosphere around it than most bands associated with AOR. This is evident from the opening track, "From the Start": far from being the explosion of euphoria that so many similar bands aim for, it's a song that captivates with its sharp melodies, rock-solid song structure and the excellent vocal performance of Jaycee Cuijpers. It's music written, played and sung by people who damn sure know how to do it - and it is such a level of performance, which will remain unchanged throughout the album, that will ultimately capture the listeners with the band's spell.

A brief but special spotlight must be directed towards the mike stand, by the way. Many people have already lend their vocal services for Praying Mantis, and I always kept the view that, at the end of the day, they could just have left Chris Troy singing, since the bassist is responsible for most of the (pretty good) vocals on the first albums and his delivery is actually more recognizable than most of the technically excellent (but ultimately unmemorable) singers that came afterwards. Well, Jaycee Cuijpers have sure changed my mind on that subject. On his fourth consecutive album with the Praying Mantis, the Danish singer has already done more than enough to be seen as the definitive holder of the flame - and the truth is that he sings so nicely, and in a way that fits so well with the power and spirit of his current band, that it has now become difficult to imagine Praying Mantis without him. A voice that, in essence, crowns a period of admirable stability in a band quite familiar with internal turbulence: since 2013, Chris (bass) and Tino Troy (guitar), augmented by Cuijpers, have enjoyed the good services of Andy Burgess (guitar) and Hans in't Zandt (drums), a line-up that can easily be ranked among the strongest the band ever had.

"Defiance" is an album that, without reinventing the wheel, still manages to create an air of freshness around it, never sounding like a nostalgic exercise or a simple collection of songs by a band without any greater purpose. From top-notch rockers like "Feeling Lucky" and "I Surrender," to poignant ballads like "Forever in My Heart" and the title track, and culminating in grandiose, epic moments like "One Heart" and "Let's See," what we have here is a band expertly employing their most important elements - the guitar duets, the captivating harmonic progressions, the meticulous vocal arrangements - to create some truly  great, memorable music. And I'm glad to say they are relevant today, in 2024, without the need for us to project our minds into some kind of imaginary time machine. Even the instrumental "Nightswim" is very nice, far from being the mere filler that songs of the type usually turn out to be.
 

Let me say, by way of conclusion, that I feel the 'defiance' mentioned in the album's title does not refer to any life-challenging endeavor, but to something way more mundane, with which we can all identify: the daily challenge of holding firm to our principles and convictions. Completing 50 years of history, Praying Mantis continues to be successful in this battle. Long may it continue.

Jaycee Cuijpers (V), Tino Troy (G), Andy Burgess (G), Chris Troy (B), Hans in't Zandt (D).

01. From the Start (C.Troy) 4:26
02. Defiance (C.Troy) 4:06
03. Feelin' Lucky (Burgess, C.Troy) 3:45
04. I Surrender (R.Ballard) 3:40
05. Forever in My Heart (C.Troy, Cuijpers) 4:32
06. Never Can Say Goodbye (C.Troy) 4:10
07. One Heart (C.Troy) 4:31
08. Give it Up (Burgess, C.Troy) 3:35
09. Nightswim (T.Troy, Burgess) 3:42
10. Standing Tall (T.Troy) 5:18
11. Let's See (C.Troy) 4:56

Have you been involved with any of the bands mentioned here? Have any extra info and/or corrections? Please e-mail me (drequon@gmail.com) and let me know! 

NEMESIS (GG) - The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Metal (CD, independent, 2007)

RATING: 7/10

I guess everyone can be excused for not taking Guernsey into any strong consideration when looking for some heavy metal. I mean, the Channel Islands as a whole never harbored anything remotely close to a thriving rock scene (which is understandable when you consider that the whole archipelago holds little more than 170.000 people in total), and locating any items released by local bands is not exactly straightforward, if you know what I mean. In a remote location with seemingly little competition, I think it's safe to assume that Nemesis are the undisputed champions of all things metal, with a convoluted story that harks back to the second half of the 1980s and with roots even further in the past, this particular entity having pretty significant links with Vengeance, arguably the only bona fide NWOBHM manifestation to have ever come out of Guernsey - a combo that, unfortunately, doesn't seem to have released any demos to the public during their somewhat fleeting existence, but it's still fondly reminded by those who were there as a hard-working unit that promoted dozens of metal-related shows and festivals around the Channel Islands.

With vocalist/rhythm guitarist Danny Joyce as main creative force, Nemesis seems to have had two main periods of activity. Released in 1989, their "Unleash the Beast" 12'' mini-album (an independent affair, as nearly everything ever put out by the group) had a stronger connection with hard rock, whereas the elusive "Smile or Die" cassette (does anyone have it?) from 1991 seems to show the band veering towards more thrash/crossover landscapes. I also believe the line-up was different by this juncture, with guitarists Mike Helyar and Glenn Holmes (an ex-Vengeance veteran) doing the 6-string work and Joyce concentrating on his singing duties on the live environment at least. Whatever the story, the renewed sound direction of the tape was probably little more than a piece of experimentation, and the band seems to deem this particular release as unrepresentative, as none of its songs appear on the "Unleash the Beast" compilation CD issued by Cult Metal Classics in 2014 (and one I'm surely going to review in the near future).

Nemesis were laid to rest in 1993, but some well regarded comeback gigs (with both Holmes and Helyar on guitars) have reignited the fire a full decade later. Thus, 2007's "The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Metal" (god, I love this title) full-length CD is something of a comeback release for the outfit, while also restablishing their reputation as a more unequivocal heavy metal proposition. For this endeavor, Joyce is accompanied by Zack Mousetrappe (G), Brin Harrison (B) and Darran James (D) - the band's original line-up from the 80s, no less - and I have to say that the effort to record and release a fully independent album was worth it in this particular case, as "The Hills are Alive" are quite an entertaining listen for the most part. The title track opens the record with a bang, showcasing some simple-but-effective riffing and a truly memorable chorus that you'll be well excused to sing along on occasion. Quite a nice way to kickstart the record, and "Nemesis Awakes" keeps the energy high, with a more syncopated main riff drive that works very well and may even invite some discreet headbanging if you're in the right frame of mind (the final section reminds me of Motörhead a little, and it's also a nice touch). The contents are definitely metal of the most traditional brand, with some much welcomed power metal thrown in for good measure, a recipe that is usually much appreciated around here.

Unfortunately, I must admit track three "Supercharged" lost me a little, and the CD as a whole would never fully recover its appeal for me afterwards. Not that the band has done nothing wrong, mind you - but this song brings forth the more hard rocking side of Nemesis, which is not exactly of my personal liking, I'm afraid. Nothing sticks out as particularly bad (though "Everyday is a Good Day (To Rock)" is so cheesy that it gets perilously close to parody), but I tend to think that tunes such as "News for the Girls" and "Kings of Rock" don't get along that well with the more hard-hitting side of the band, sometimes almost sounding like a different combo altogether - an issue that significantly hinders the overall flow of the album, if we're to be honest here. I understand that they most probably simply enjoy writing and playing songs in that vein, and that I can keep any feeble reservations to myself for all they care - and they're probably right, as I'm trying right now to purchase a copy of the CD to call my own, so what do I know? But I can't help feeling that, had they recorded a couple more aggressive-sounding songs to replace some of the more sleazy tracks here featured, the final results would be way more memorable and enjoyable.

With that said (and who knows, maybe you'll listen to the hard rocking tunes here and enjoy it all immensely), there are redeeming features aplenty in the shape of tracks such as "The Footsteps of Vengeance", "Blood Red Sun" (a more meditative tune with nice guitar work throughout) and "Kingdom of Steel", that closes proceedings with silly lyrics that could well have been inspired by He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, but still quite enjoyable due to its uncompromising, don't-take-it-too-seriously vibe. In fact, most of the undeniable charm of "The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Metal" comes from the not-too-pretentious energy it emanates: the production is simple and adequate, the songwriting is uncomplicated, there's nothing disruptive of though-provoking being proposed at any level. Nemesis aren't trying to teach us a lesson or to astound us with their sheer heavy metal prowess or whatever: they just happen to enjoy the whole metal thing quite a lot, and want us to join them and have fun. I honestly see no reason to refuse their invitation.

Danny Joyce (V/G), Zack Mousetrappe (G), Brin Harrison (B), Darran James (D). All songs by Joyce/Mousetrappe. All lyrics by Joyce.

01. The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Metal 3:44
02. Nemesis Awakes 3:13
03. Supercharged 3:20
04. Everyday is a Good Day (to Rock) 3:39
05. Blood Red Sun 5:20
06. News for the Girls 4:33
07. She Bitch (Q.O.D.) 3:11
08. The Footsteps of Vengeance 3:34
09. Kings of Rock 4:27
10. Kingdom of Steel 4:14

Have you been involved with any of the bands mentioned here? Have any extra info and/or corrections? Please e-mail me (drequon@gmail.com) and let me know!