Those wishing to find the PDFs of Andrew Ian Dodge’s eurosceptic cyberpunk novels can now find them at http://www.mac.com/lagwolf
_______________________________

Here are some reviews of recent rock releases. A mixed bag ranging from death metal to AOR. Periodically Dodgeblog will be posting CD reviews from Marty.

Giant
III
(Now & Then)

Giant’s third album is the a big event in hard rock circles of 2001. Giant always have been one of hard rock’s best kept secrets, adored by fans and musicians alike. Giant produced two stellar albums, one in ‘89 and the other in ‘92. These never made into the mainstream, overshadowed as they were by such pap as Poison, Motley Crue and the rest of the Sunset Strip crowd. The band produced straight ahead hard rock closer to Tesla than any of the glam rock so popular during their heyday. Fed up with going no where and no doubt seeing no money, the driving force behind the band, the brothers Huff buggered off to Nashville. Dan became a well respected producer of so-called “new country” and in the late 90s ended up producing two Megadeth albums. The last of these was their “Risk.” The brothers kept their hand in the song writing game pumping out songs made hits by new country stars (Restless Heart, Amy Grant et al), which in normal times would have been AOR or hard rock. Giant III does not see the band doing anything radical and they don’t try to jump on any band-wagons. Instead, you find a collection of damn good hard rock songs perfect for the mellower moments in your life. They have all the elements you would expect from this sort of music, great guitar solos, a catchy chorus and soaring vocals. There is supposed to be a new wave of melodic rock around at the moment. It�sngood to see Giant back to show some of these bands that you can be both melodic, catchy and still rock with the best of them. As they would say down Nashville way: �Brother it don’t get any better than this!�

Marty Dodge: 9.5

Otep
(Capitol Records)

This 5 track ep is a mixed bag that is not at all consistent. On it you can find a spoken word piece ala Patty Smith ‘Germ’, lame nu-metal and decent driving metal. This is a primer for the band’s soon to be released proper album “Sevas Tra” that is suppose to drop early 2002. Fronted by Otep Shamaya, Otep seem to be trying to cover all the bases at the same time. Ms Shamaya doesn’t so much sing on the tracks but speak, sounding like a female version of the former RATM singer combined alternately with the standard death metal growl. The EP starts out with two decent tracks ‘Possession’ and ‘The Lord is my Weapon”, but things go downhill culminating it the rap-metal posing of ‘T.R.I.C.’. For those of you wishing a no-risk way to take a look at the band go to www.otepsaves.com, be warned this flash heavy site is plug slow on anything but broadband. This EP is best avoided, even at the cheap price.

Jordan Rudess
Feeding the Wheel
(Magna Carta)

Jordan with a bunch of his chums both from Dream Theatre and outside the band get together for a pleasant collection of jazz-prog. Billy Sheehan (ex-Mr Big, Niacin), Steve Morse (Deep Purple), John Petrucci (Dream Theatre) and Terry Bozzio (Bozzio, Levin, Stevens) all appear on this album. In fact Rudess� CD features a collection of artists who appear in many different forms on the Magna Carta label. As you would expect with sort of disc, the playing therein is exemplary. It never delves into the realm of boorish noodling There are actually coherent songs on here. Not the hardest of prog CDs of late but one that is bloody good and a great listen if you are so inclined. For those times when DT is just too hard for your ears. Still, you can�t help wishing that the members of Dream Theatre would stop mucking about with solo/side projects and get back to making more Dream Theatre music.

Marty Dodge 7

Vinnie Moore
Defying Gravity
(Shrapnel)

Oh, egads. Yet another guitar virtuoso widdling on a solo CD! How dull and boring for everyone who isn�t a guitarist or guitar nutter. The album contains almost an hour of great guitar playing and features ex-Journey/The Storm drummer Steve Smith, former Rainbow keys player David Rosenthal and Dave LaRue of the Dixie Dregs. Like many recent solo albums, this one borders on the self-indulgent with lots widdling and complicated solos. It does take the right mood to listen to it, or it gets rather boring fast. At times bordering on background music, Moore�s latest is not the most accessible of recent releases. Still, if you are interested in hearing a great guitar player noodling away on 12 tracks then this might be for you.

Marty Dodge: 5

MSG
Be Aware of Scorpions
(SPV)

Veteran axeman Micheal Schenker is back with yet another version of his personal band, MSG. This release sees him team up with unknown vocalist Chris Logan. This grouping is much less satisfying than other versions of the band. Logan�s singing ability is decent at best and total crap at worst. For some the reason the second offer on this disc sees both the songwriting and Chris� singing going south. As Mr Logan is responsible for much of the lyrics on this disc, it is possible that the sole problem with this band is Logan. Only half of the 13 songs are worth a damn. Schenker�s guitar playing is top-notch as per normal. The music on this disc is closer to the content of �The Unforgiven� than to MSG in the Robin McCauley era. Two of the better tracks are “Blinded by Technology” with its acoustic intro and prog-like feel, and �How will I get back” with its rocking intro and catchy Rainbow-esque feel. There are similar echoes of Rainbow/Alcatrazz on the opening track “No turning back.” The only decent track on later half of the CD is “On Your Way” which combines some fine acoustic work with Logan toning down his normal strained vocals. There are far better examples of Mr Schenker�s work, �The Odd Trio, � and his recent solo album is a much better bit than this one.

Marty Dodge 5

Ozzy
Down to Earth
(Epic)

The Ozzman is back with a new 11 song collection of new tracks. Back
together with Zack Wylde �Down to Earth� sees Ozzy returning to near the level of his 90s opus
�No More Tears�, an album which has never left my playlist. While there is nothing on here as
immediate as “No More Tears” or “Mama, I�m coming Home,” �Down to Earth� has no duffers and quite a few good tracks. This is a solid return for Ozzy after the patchy effort on 95�s �Ozzmosis.� For
long time fans, there is the addition of video which includes Ozzy interview snippets and footage of
Ozzy and Randy Rhoads rehearsing “Crazy Train” and “Mr Crowley.” It is rather a pity
that neither clip is the complete song, but saying that, the additional stuff is a great addition to an
already good album. The opening track “Gets me Through” is a tribute to Ozzy�s fans and autobiographical as the history of the man and a signal of what is to come. Opening with a tender piano solo, then diving into a Wylde riff, this is what you have come to expect from the man. Pianos appear again in the “Mama �”-like “Ode to Earth, ” “Dreamer,” and the catchy “Running Out of Time.” But don�t
worry, there is plenty of heavy rifting from Wlyde on tracks like “That I Ever Had,” “Black Illusion” and “Can
you hear them?” This paranoid rant finishes the album and perfectly sums up all that is the double O.
Ozzy has kicked off his 4th decade in heavy metal with a damn good album. Could this one see Ozzy
finally make it to the top of the album charts?

Marty Dodge: 8.5

Sodom
M16
(SPV)

German 3 piece Sodom are back with a tender new album focused on the Vietnam war, a favourite
subject for thrash metallers worldwide from Lazz Rockit to Sacred Reich. Rather ironic, this release,
considering the current world events. The band went to great lengths to research their subject, traveling to Vietnam to see the place for themselves and touring the many museums dedicated to the war. As you would expect with this perenial thrash metal combo, the music is hard, fast and heavy. Brutally depressing imagery pervades tracks like “Napalm in the Morning” (complete with THAT line from Apocalypse Now), “Genocide” and “Cannon Fodder.” While this stuff hammers you like a mallet to the chest, the tunes are still catchy and have some melody in there. Bizarre ending, the trio decide to cover a surfing classic with “Surf Bird.’” It is a final twist to a crushingly heavy album and shows that the lads have a sense of humour. Even after over 15 years of existence, Sodom can still deliver the goods.

Marty Dodge: 7

Styx
StyxWorld 2001
(CMC)

Hot on the heals of the appaling rip-off that was the split live album
“Arch Allies” (with REO Speedwagon), Styx release Styxworld. This fully
solo effort features a great selection (13 tracks/68 mins) of Styx music
recorded over 3 nights on their most recent tour. As an added treat
there are a few unexpected cuts from band members’ solo work. The Eagles have
been known to allow their members a tune or two during their stageshow
but it is a rare occurence to see such tracks on a band name live album. In
addition to the Styx hits, we get to hear Styx playing (Lawrence)
Gowan’s (keys/vocals) hit ‘Criminal Mind’ a track which does not work even withc Styx as a backing band. Tommy Shaw gets to show his stuff on Damn
Yankees’c hit “High Enough” a song which benefits greatly from the “Styx” sound. Bassist Glen Burtnik (one of two, the other being Chuck Panozzo) gets to wheel out two of his songwriting successes, “Love is a Ritual” and the
Don Henley/Patti Smyth track “Love ain’t enough.” We get to hear some of
the older tunes from the band that have not been a regular part of the
Styx live set for a long time, including “Half-Penny, Two- Penney” and “Crystalc Ball.” All in all, this is a great testament to an enduring band in its newest guise. The disk has just enough of the unusual to make it a worthwhile purchase. One listen to this album and even die-hard Styx nuts will be saying Dennis DeYoung, who’s that?

Marty Dodge: 8

Iron Fire
On the Edge
(Sanctuary)

Iron Fire are a bunch of talented players who don’t know whether they want
to be Motley Crue or Helloween. Martin Steen has a good voice with a
great range, but it can be a bit disconcerting to hear his metal growl on one
track only to have a his Vince Neil impression on the next. By
impression, I mean, if Neil could actually sing well. The cover art sums up the album perfectly with a light and a dark side. The trouble is that this
sometimes just doesn’t work well. “Lost n’ Alone,” a power ballad with
strings, is placed between two metal rants and just sounds a bit daft.
When you listen to “LnA” right after a track like “Eternal Damnation,”
it really sounds silly. As you can expect with this sort of band, the
playing is very good. There is some great stuff on here, it’s just rather
haphazard and doesn’t sit well as a whole.

Marty Dodge: 6