Album Of The Week
Album Of The Week - 07/02/2026 - Track 2
My second selection from Brave New World is the title track from the album.
Like some of the best Iron Maiden songs, its based on a classic work of literture, in this case the novel of the same name by Aldous Huxley.
The song itself is classic Maiden with a quiet, vocal opening which then unleashes into the killer anthemic metal song that Iron Maiden deliver so well.
I would have to say this song would easily feature in top 10 favourite Maiden songs.
Album Of The Week - 07/02/2026
Brave New World –
Iron Maiden
We remain within my metal collection this week with the second Iron Maiden to be selected as my album of the week and the first studio album to be drawn.
Brave New World is Iron Maidens twelfth
studio album, released in 2000 and marked the return of guitarist Adrian Smith
and vocalist Bruce Dickenson to the Maiden camp.
Prior to my delving more in metal
almost 30 years ago, Iron Maiden were of the few metal bands in my collection pre-1996
when I bought their Best Of The Beast compilation and decided to explore the
genre a bit more.
I didn’t take much notice of Iron
Maiden until 1988 when I heard the singles released from their Seventh Son Of A
Seventh Son album and very much against my punk and post-punk leanings I bought
the album. I was instantly hooked by the quality and depth of the music but
even I didn’t become an avid, dedicated follower although I did pick up a few
of their other albums along the way.
By the time I really started to get
immersed in their music, iconic vocalist, Bruce Dickenson had left the band and
the two albums recorded without him did not seem to be held with the same fondness,
although in the defence of replacement, Blaze Bailey, I loved the X Factor
album that came out in 1995 although vocally he is not in the same league as
Dickenson.
In 1999 discussions took place
between the band and Bruce Dickinson which resulted in him rejoining Iron
Maiden along with Adrian Smith who had left in 1990. This took the band to a 6
piece line-up with 3 guitarists, as Smiths replacement, Janick Gers remained in
the band.
After a very successful reunion
tour, the turn of millennium saw the first release with this new 6 piece line
up and I remember at the time there being a lot of attention and anticipation
regarding the immanent release of Brand New World.
Prior to the album release, the
opening track, The Wicker Man, was put out as the lead single with it reaching
number 9 in the UK album charts, further driving the excitement for the
forthcoming album. I have to admit, that I was fuelled by this enthusiasm for
the album and for the first time I bought an Iron Maiden album on the day of
release and rushed home from work to play it.
The intervening 26 years have passed
very quickly and as I now look back on this album I still rate it an outstanding
Iron Maiden release and a landmark record in their impressive catalogue. Although
the two albums released prior to this were certainly worthy releases, with Dickinson
back on lead there is a feel that Brave New World is classic Maiden and a
return to form.
What I really like about this album
is the progression of the sound while staying completely true to the intrinsic
Maiden feel. I am very much in favour of the incorporation keyboards which at
one time would have filled the fanbase with horror. The atmospheres and
textures gives a progressive element which is fitting giving the influences
that have been cited by the band members. The word “progressive” can often
cause alarm but there is no indulgence here even with the longer songs but what
we have is shades and subtleties to balance the power that comes with Iron
Maiden.
With 10 songs featured on Brave New
World, named after the novel by Aldous Huxley, the album runs for 66 minutes with
7 of the songs over 6 minutes but as I said above, there is no lingering indulgence
and certainly no padding out making it a fully engaging album throughout. We
have the traditional lead guitar breaks, the interplay with the 3 guitarists
working perfectly alongside Steve Harris’s trademark rampaging bass.
Commercially the album performed
well, reaching number 7 in the UK album charts with the two singles released
both hitting the higher reaches of the UK singles chart.
My first selection is the album opener
and lead single, The Wicker Man. Although named after the 1970’s cult film the
lyrics are not a direct reference to the film plot itself.
Album Of The Week - 31/01/2026 - Track 5
My final selection from Leaves Of Yesteryear is the third of the 3 new, original songs on the album.
Hounds is a 10 minute that starts with a quiet acoustic section, laced with synths and builds into a superb, melodic rock song with an introspective lyric typical of the album.
Album Of The Week - 31/01/2026 - Track 4
Going a little out of order with today's selection from Leaves Of Yesteryear, with the closing song on the album.
The track, Solitude, is a cover of a Black Sabbath song originally released on their 1971 album, Master Of Reality.
This Green Carnation version stays true to the Sabbath original with its sorrowful, atmospheric portrayal envoking a sense of loss and despair.
Album Of The Week - 31/01/2026 - Track 3
The third selection from Leaves Of Yesteryear is the longest song on the album, My Dark Reflections Of Life And Death.
This 15 minute epic is a reworking of a song by the same name that appeared on the debut Green Carnation album, Journey To The End Of The Night.
I must say that I much prefer this new, more polished version but its a superb song full of melancholic, introspective lyrics looking at the passing and loss of life.
Album Of The Week - 31/01/2026 - Track 2
The second selection from Leaves Of Yesteryear is one of the shorter and more direct songs on the album.
Sentinals is a more standard rock song with a well crafted lyric which talks of chaos and deception and features a mix of vocal styles.
Album Of The Week - 31/01/2026
Leaves Of Yesteryear
– Green Carnation
This week we remain within my metal collection and again in music with its roots in the Scandinavian / Nordic reaches of Europe, this time with Leaves Of Yesteryear from Norwegian progressive metal band, Green Carnation.
I first became aware of the band
back in 2005 when I found myself exploring the gothic and doom sub-genres of
metal and came across their album, The Quiet Offspring. It was one of those albums
that captured me instantly with its melodic gothic tinged progressive metal.
Green Carnation go all the way back
to 1990 but their first album did not see the light of the day for about 10
years and by the time their second album came out in 2001, the acclaimed Light
Of Day, Day Of Darkness the band had seen a major line-up overhaul.
Remaining from the original band line-up
was guitarist Terje Vik Schei (Tchort) who was a member of the seminal and
infamous black metal band Emperor and he was joined by Stein Roger Sordal on bass
and vocalist Kjetil Nordhus and despite regular line up changes these 3 remain
at the core of Green Carnation.
It is the presence of Kjetil Nordhus
that has interested me as he was an integral part of the band Tristania for
many years and I really enjoy his vocal style.
Following the release of The Quiet
Offspring the band released The Acoustic Verses in 2006 and from there they went
into a 7 year break as all the band members had other musical projects.
From 2014, the band reunited for various
live performances and re-releases but the next album did not see the light of
day until 2020, a full 15 years since their last rock/metal album, and it has
to be said that the album, The Leaves Of Yesteryear, was a wonderful return.
Containing 5 songs, two of which
are over 10 minutes, this an album packed with melody and power and shows the
maturity and progression within the band over the years.
The album is generally mid-paced,
not quite slow enough to dip into the realms of doom and the vocals are
generally clean with just a few bursts of the death growls.
The album is packed with atmosphere
changes, quiet piano and string refrains intermixed with guitars and keyboards.
For me, generally, the term progressive
puts me off a band as I think back to the to indulgent bands of the 1970’s, the
bands that punk provided the antidote for but with Green Carnation I find their
music completely engaging. Maybe this is more of a sign of my developing music
tastes over the years or the fact that term progressive is now more about the
music than the individual musical virtuosity of the players.
Anyway, my first selection from the
album is the opening and title track, Leaves Of Yesteryear, an 8 minute opus on
the passing of the years.
Album Of The Week - 24/01/2026 - Extra
The second part of Human: II Nature is a 30 minute classical work entitled All The Works Of Nature Which Adorn The World.
Written by Toumas Holopainen and performed by the Pale Blue Orchestra and the Metro Voices choir this orchestra piece is bold, beautiful and completely captivating.
Toumas has stated he gets a lot of inspiration from film scores and this work certainly pulls on that but there is a folk flavour to the compostion which also seems to pull on the Auri project that he is a key member of.
This an essential companion to the first disc of rock and metal and together they make a complete work and a true masterpiece from Nightwish.
Album Of The Week - 24/01/2026 - Track 5
The final selection from the first disc of the Human: II Nature album is the closing track, Endlessness.
This is a epic Nightwish song and features vocals from Marco Hietala, the last song he recorded before his departure from the band.
The song explore the themes of universal forces that flow through all life and is excellent song to close the "metal" side of the album.
Album Of The Week - 24/01/2026 - Track 4
My penultimate selection from Human: II Nature is the track Shoemaker.
The actual song is about the American geologist Eugene Shoemaker, who I nothing about before the album but what grabbed me about this one is the fantastic orchestral and choral section at the end of the song.
Album Of The Week - 24/01/2026 - Track 3
My latest selection from Human: II Nature is the track Tribal.
This one of the shorter tracks on the album and has a real punchy delivery aided by vocals from Marco Hietala.
The song itself looks at the tribal behaviour of mankind and that tribalism is portrayed with the emphatic drumming on this excellent track.
Album Of The Week - 24/01/2026 - Track 2
The second selection from Human: II Nature is the lead and only single taken from the album.
The song, Noise, is a commentary on how the proliferation of technology and especially social media as come to dominate and in some cases take over people lives creating a Utopian illusion.
The release is accompanied by a lavish, tongue in cheek video.
Album Of The Week - 24/01/2026
Human: II Nature -
Nightwish
This week we are featuring the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish with their 9th studio album, Human: II Nature, the fourth of my 18 Nightwish albums to be selected as an album of the week.
As I have quoted before, Nightwish
were one of the bands that got me more interested in metal around 1997 as up to
then it was a genre I had generally spurned with just a few exceptions.
Since the release of Oceanborn, the
second album from Nightwish, I have been avidly following their output including
through all of their line-up changes and style shifts.
As far as heavy metal goes,
Nightwish are certainly on the more accessible side but that could be said of the
symphonic metal subgenre in general but unlike some of their contemporaries ,
there is no cheesiness with Nightwish that can occasionally creep in, where style
takes over from content.
Nightwish, creatively, are driven
by keyboardist, songwriter and founding member Tuomas Holopainen but the
dynamic and quality of his vision could not be met so effectively without being
part of such a good band. Despite various line-up changes, including 3 lead singers
that mix of power and beauty that defines Nightwish has never been lost, and that
is what leads us into Human: II Nature.
Holopainen has stated over the
years that his creativity is often inspired by film music and since the release
of Dark Passion Play in 2007 there has been a greater incorporation of
orchestral elements into the Nightwish sound. We saw this orchestral theme
expanded with their film score to accompany the Imaginaerum cinematic project
that built on the concept of their album of the same name in 2011.
With Human: II Nature we have a
double album that comprises of 9 songs of standard symphonic metal and 10th
track on disc 2 which is purely orchestral music running for 30 minutes broken
down into 8 chapters, the collective title being All The Works Of Nature Which
Adorn The World. This piece sits perfectly as an expansion and continuation of
the themes explored on their previous album, Endless Forms Most Beautiful.
Although thematically, the album
follows closely on from their previous release, an album that looked and mans interaction
with nature and creation theories Human: II Nature is not a concept album as other
subjects and personal interests are covered.
As is often the case in metal,
especially the symphonic realm, the music is grand, diverse and compelling with
sweeping choral and symphonic arrangements to accompany the guitars. It is this
mix of elements that drew me to Nightwish and the genre in general although
like all realms of music some excel while others prove to be poor copyists.
Human: II Nature is the last album to
feature bassist and male vocalist Marco Hietala who left the band shortly after
the release of the album due to health problems. His contribution to Nightwish
cannot be understated and his presence was certainly felt on their most recent
album, but more of that at a future date.
This is also the second album to
feature the outstanding Floor Jansen on lead female vocals and this is also the
first album to see Kai Hahto as the permanent drummer who replaced Jukka
Nevalainen again due to health issues.
Human: II Nature received generally
good reviews within the metal press and commercially carried on a run of 8 consecutive
number 1 studio albums in their home nation of Finland as well as reaching number
28 in the UK album charts.
Such is the success of Nightwish in
Finland they are now the 3rd highest selling act of all time in the
country but their reach has been felt worldwide especially in mainland Europe
which seems to embrace this type of music maybe more than the UK.
My first selection from the album
is the opener, Music, the longest song on the album which looks at the history of
music.
Album Of The Week - 17/01/2026 - Track 5
The final selection from Second Still is the closing track, Judgment.
This one of the more uptempo songs on the album and at just under 5 minutes, it's a persistant track with a predominantly spoken lyric and is a strong end to this very enjoyable debut album.
Album Of The Week - 17/01/2026 - Track 4
My penultimate selection from Second Still is the short and punchy song, You Two So Alike.
The quirky melody of the song took me back to some of early offerings from XTC.
At just over 2 minutes this is the shortest track on the album.
Album Of The Week - 17/01/2026 - Track 3
My third selection from Second Still is the track Try Not To Hide.
As well as the typical driving bass there is a some very enjoyable lead guitar which reminds me of early Killing Joke, one of the stronger tracks from the album.
Album Of The Week - 17/01/2026 - Track 2
The second selection from Second Still is the longest song on this 32 minute album.
A just under 5 minutes, the track Sleep is a richly atmospheric, post-punk song lavished with an hypnotic bass melody running through it.
Album Of The Week - 17/01/2026
Second Still –
Second Still
This week we delve into the realms of goth rock with an American band I came across via the Out Ov The Coffin podcast.
Second Still are a 3 piece gothic
rock/darkwave outfit who combine synths, atmospheric guitars, moody and driving
bass topped with some superb low range female vocals.
Second Still, released in 2017, is the
self-titled debut album from the band and I was very impressed with the release
after being introduced to the band by the above mentioned
Overall, its very melodic over its
8 tracks with lots of dark, gothic melodies with the mix of bass and synths
giving the definition and drive to the album. The style of the album is rooted
in the atmospheric giving a darkwave electronic feel and has it influences very
much from the 80’s British goth rock and shoegaze bands. The vocal style would
draw obvious comparisons to that of Siouxsie and the Banshees whose charismatic
singer Siouxsie Sioux very much set the template 80’s post-punk and goth rock.
Despite this strong offering, to
date they have only released one more album, 2019’s Violet Phase and there has
been no social media updates since 2020 which would indicate they are no longer
active.
There is also very little information
about them online and I assume that the 3 band members have either moved onto
other projects or are not involved in music anymore.
My first selection from the album is
opening track, Recover.
Album Of The Week - 10/01/2026 - Track 6
My final selection from Feline is the closing track from the album, Never Say Goodbye.
A nice little piece of Stranglers irony in making this the final track on the album. Its a reflective song of loss and the passing of time and is a fitting end to this very unique and far from typical Stranglers album.
Album Of The Week - 10/01/2026 - Track 5
Today I am moving into the extended version of Feline which contained the b-sides from the various singles releases from the album.
For me, this pick of these is the reggae infused track Permission, originally released on the 12 inch version of Paradise and far too good not to have had its own release as a single.
Album Of The Week - 10/01/2026 - Track 4
My penultimate selection from the initial release of Feline is All Roads Lead To Rome.
This song has The Stranglers fully embracing the European electronic influences with this song which has a sad, melancholic feel with Hugh Cornwells vocal delivery about the "big city".
Album Of The Week - 10/01/2026 - Track 3
My lastest selection from Feline is one of my favourite tracks on the album, Ships That Pass In The Night.
The song builds from acoustic bass and guitar opening with the synths easing in to give a deep soundscape for this song about missed chances and opportunities.
Album Of The Week - 10/01/2026 - Track 2
My second selection from Feline is The European Female, the lead single from the album.
The release of this song as a single gave a good impression of what to expect from the album with its gentle, clean, lush tones. Commercially is was very successful reaching number 9 in the UK singles chart.
The song itself, one of the few on the album with lead vocals by Jean Jaques Burnel is about his girlfriend at the time although he said it was also about Europen identity.
Album Of The Week - 10/01/2026
Feline – The Stranglers
This week we mark the 200th album to be selected with a band that made a massive impact me as a 12 year old discovering the joys of punk and alternative music.
Feline is the 7th studio
from The Stranglers and marked a massive move away from their 1977/1978 albums
that saw them become a major name in the punk scene, even though they always
denied being a punk band.
We had seen some impressive
experimentation from the band before Feline, especially with 1981’s The Gospel
According To The MenInBlack, but Feline took the band into a more European,
electronic influenced direction. Gone was the rumbling bass, scratchy guitars
and Hammond organ and instead we have layers of synths, intricate electronic
drums and acoustic guitars.
More than any of their previous 6
albums Feline took The Stranglers well away from the punk / post punk scene and
highlighted their desire to follow their own creative path. This was endorsed by
their new label, Epic Records, who the band signed with following an
acrimonious departure from EMI.
This freedom took the band into a
rich vein of creativity and accompanying commercial success and in a way, took
the Stranglers, into a more soft rock direction as was the original vision of
founding member and drummer Jet Black.
The early 1980’s saw a whole raft
of bands experimenting with electronics and synthesizers and the charts were
dominated with songs from the likes of the Human League, Duran Duran, Depeche
Mode and Gary Numan but the Stranglers take on this was in a more European direction
with electronic art rock influences.
With Feline, we have 9 songs that
flow and ebb nicely, each being very listenable and show a side of the band rarely
seen in the past, a side that dispelled the myth of aggressive rabble rousers
as was portrayed within some of the music papers of the time.
There is a clean, polished
production on the album with producer, Tony Visconti bringing out the multiple layers
of instrumentation to give us a wide, expansive offering where all the elements
have room to breathe. Having a producer of Visconti’s pedigree was evident of
the strides the band had made as he had produced such greats as T-Rex and David
Bowie.
Feline performed very well
commercially, reaching number 4 in the UK album charts and producing 3 singles,
the first of which, The European Female, went to number 7.
In 2001, an extended version of
Feline was released which contained all the b-sides from the singles and their
associated 12 inch releases, and I will touch upon this at the end of the week.
My first selection is the album
opener, Midnight Summer Dream, a 6 minute song which has become very much a
fans favourite and starts Feline beautifully. An edited version was released as
a single but it does not do justice to the album version although the extended,
10 minute version released on a 12 inch single is superb and is well worth
checking out.
Album Of The Week - 03/01/2026 - Track 5
My final selection from Dark Fields is a live recording of the tradional folk songs High Germany / Molly Oxford.
This excellent version is where Show of Hands excel, playing live and this recording is given added depth with the wonderful vocals of folk legend Kate Rusby.
Album Of The Week - 03/01/2026 - Track 4
My penultimate selection from Dark Fields is probably the darkest song on the album (pardon the pun), the harrowing and haunting track, The Bristol Slaver.
The song tells of the association of the slave trade to Bristol and how its ghosts are still heard to this day.
Album Of The Week - 03/01/2026 - Track 3
My third selection from Dark Fields is a traditional folk song that goes back to the early 19th century.
Flora, also known as Flora (Lily of the West) is a song that has been covered by numerous artists and is a typical folk song filled with love, betrayal and murder, all the key components of good folk music especially this excellent West Country themed Show of Hands adaptation.
Album Of The Week - 03/01/2026 - Track 2
My second selection from Dark Fields is one of the livelier songs from the album and highlights Steve Knightley's ability to pen wonderfully witty and ironic folk songs.
The song, Longdog, is about poaching as is named specifically after the poachers dog.
The song became a live favourite and the fan club and online community adopted the name The Longdogs.
Album Of The Week - 03/01/2026
This week’s album, Dark Fields, is
the fourth of my 32 Show of Hands albums to be selected as my album of week and
its an album that has a special memory, as I bought it at a gig we attended at
the Exeter Phoenix soon after Julie & I started following them.
Dark Fields, released in 1997, is
actually the bands 6th album although the first 3 were cassette only
and are now long out of print. Therefore, Dark Fields is the third main release
album and continued the success and acclaim Show of Hands had garnered from their
previous 2 albums.
In 1996, Show of Hands surprisingly
booked the Royal Albert Hall and even more surprisingly sold out the venue well
in advance. The success of the gig promoted the profile of the band along with glowing
reviews of their previous albums which took the band into the Dark Fields album
with a rapidly growing following and attention beyond the folk realm.
Dark Fields, as is commonplace with
the band, has its roots firmly in the West Country with songs about life and
history in the region and there are songs on this release that stayed part of
the bands live set right up to the end when they played their final tour gig at
Exeter Cathedral in May 2024.
There are also some more personal
songs within Dark Fields, along with traditional folk songs and a Bob Dylan
cover but as is the case with Show of Hands, it’s the song writing of Steve Knightley
that drives the album. Lyrically, we have songs about wayward teenagers,
poaching, slavery and the emigration of Cornish miners. As is typical of
Knightley he can inject melancholy, humour and cutting insight into most topics
and we have plenty of that within Dark Fields.
Although a duo, there are contributions
on the album from folk luminaries such as Chris While, Andy Cutting and one of
my folk favourites, Kate Rusby.
For anyone new to Show of Hands,
Dark Fields is certainly a good insight into their earlier offerings.
My first selection is the album
opener, Cousin Jack, probably one of the most famous Show of Hands songs which
is about “Cornish diaspora” that saw thousands of miners leave the county in
the 19th century to seek work abroad.
Incidentally, this was one of the
last songs they played at Exeter Cathedral on their final tour and as I looked
around me that night there were many in tears due to the emotion of the song
and the occasion and it’s a memory that will stay with me as it was a very
moving moment.
Show Of Hands announced an “indefinite
hiatus” in 2024 and although Steve Knightley and Phil Beer are both very active
live, as both are now in their seventies I wonder if we will ever see this iconic
duo on stage together again.
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