You Can't Kill Rock N Roll- Ozzy Osbourne's "Under Cover"

 

When this album came out, I thought it was a bad idea. Jerry Cantrell lent his guitar skills to this session to make it a better idea. The opening track is a cover of Joe Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Way," which Ozzy's voice is suited for, and feels pretty effective. I am not sure I need him to cover the Beatles' "In My Life". I get that the Beatles were a huge influence on him, so he felt he needed to do this. In all fairness, he exceeds my expectations here, but I am sure this is a song he has been singing along to his entire career. 

"Mississippi Queen" makes more sense. Leslie West plays the guitar solo on this, which makes even more sense. His cover of "Go Now" is a take on the Moody Blues version. It has more movement. The more metallic guitar helps to give it its own identity, and Ozzy is not changing his vocal approach for any of these songs. John Lennon's "Woman" sounds like "So Tired" from "Bark at the Moon" in Ozzy's hand. The first song from a band whose original I am really invested in would be King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man," which I think Voivod did a better version of, and I expected them to at least nail the staccato verses, but the original is heavier. 

If you need proof of who is a better singer between Ozzy and Bowie, just um give this a listen. Bowie's vocal is ballsier and I think better than the Mott the Hoople original, sure Ian Hunter shows up too here. He does rock out to "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield, which is an odd choice, though most of these songs are odd choices. He sounds like Fozzy Bear on "Good Times" by the Animals, which does not really click for me. "Sunshine of Your Love' makes sense on paper. The guitar tones could be better, and Ozzy sounds fine; most of the problems feel production-related, as the guitar is lower in the mix than Ozzy. Arthur Brown's "Fire" works better than expected. 

John Lennon is obviously Ozzy's favorite Beatle, as he also covers "Working Class Hero". This one is darker and works better for what Ozzy does. "Sympathy For the Devil " feels a little too upbeat, as coming from Ozzy it should be darker than the Rolling Stones version, but that is not what is happening here. I will round this one down to a 9, not the best song choice, but Ozzy's voice is his personality that he brings to the songs, to make them his more often than not.

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December's Top 10 Albums

 It's time for December's top 10 albums. Staying abreast of the month's highlights might help casual readers see what they missed and check these artists out. I am not writing little blurbs on them and just linking the reviews. Inclusion here does not mean that these albums have been released this month, but it is a list of new or upcoming albums I have enjoyed the most, I have albums in my in-box that are not coming out til next year so I am normally way ahead of the curve in this regard. They are ranked in order of what I have listened to the most. This month there is a wide variety from pop to black metal so you may find your new favorite among them. Here are the Top 10 albums of December.  

10-Justice - "Hyperdrama" 

Electronic / Pop / Dance

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/12/justice-hyperdrama.html

9- Lauren Mayberry - "Vicious Creature" 

Pop

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/12/lauren-mayberry-vicious-creature.html

8-Panzerfaust -'" Suns of Perdition IV :  To Shadow Zion" 

Black Metal- 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/panzerfaust-suns-of-perdition-iv-to.html

7-LEAVS - "Natura Universal" 

Shoe-gaze 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/12/leavs-natura-universal.html

6-Trelldom-"...By the Shadows..." 

Progressive Black Metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/12/trelldom-by-shadows.html

5- Hidden Mothers  - "Erosion / Avulsion" 

post-hardcore 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/hidden-mothers-erosion-avulsion.html

4-Boston Manor- "Sundiver"  

Rock

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/boston-manor-sundiver.html

3-Jerry Cantrell -"I Want Blood" 

Grunge 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/jerry-cantrell-i-want-blood.html

2-Pale Waves - "Smitten" 

Pop 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/12/pale-waves-smitten.html

1-Dax Riggs - "7 Songs For Spiders" 

Rock 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/12/dax-riggs-7-songs-for-spiders.html

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The Top 10 Hard Rock Albums of 2024

Hard Rock is defined here as being, more aggressive than rock n roll,, but not dark or mean enough to be considered by Metal, by anyone who knows anything about metal.  These are not the coolest albums, but the best, fuck what other blogs say,   After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of 2024. 

 The very fact these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all, we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list; and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out the audio on these guys. Anyway here are the top 10 Hard Rock albums of 2024.

10-Bokassa - "All out of Dreams" 

This Norweigan band occupies a similar place as Kvelertak. But are more stoner rock and not black metal at all, They have a healthy love of punk rock, so much so that Lou Koller from Sick of it All joins in on the second song. The riffing at times has a hint of 80s metal which works for me. Think Judas Priest or Accept here.  The raspy vocals prove capable of holding melodies down. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/november-is-doom-bokassa-all-out-of.html

9-Silly Goose - "Bad Behavior" 

At first listen, it might be easy to write this Atlanta band off as a Limp Bizkit tribute act, but there is more under the surface. The zany rapped delivery of Jackson Foster, does lend Fred Durst comparisons to his suburban white boy approach. But these kids are hard-working and that extends to their songwriting which is pretty hooky, while they might not be skinning your ass raw like a chainsaw, they do bring enough of themselves into the mix. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/silly-goose-bad-behavior.html

 

8-Abrams-"Blue City" 

This time around there is a heavier more grunge-tinged aggression that sometimes reminds me of Filter and makes me think of Soundgarden. The big guitar sound swirls around the songs. They are big and anthemic in their attack with nuanced verses that groove while leaving enough room for the vocals to howl and croon around . It's when they reach the balance of melody, groove, and dynamics that the band really shine

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/abrams-blue-city.html

 

7-Falling in Reverse- 'Popular Monster'

This album is obviously nu-metal for the post-Myspace generation. Not sure why Radke gets under people's skin, his rap skills are on par with his singing voice, and while this does not ever hit like metal it does have more balls than most rock music earning it's place here. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/falling-in-reverse-popular-monster.html

 

6-Modern Witchcraft -"S/T"

 These guys play an ethereal style of atmospheric doom that owes more to The Cure than Black Sabbath. At times this puts them closer to Deftones. The melody is given more emphasis. The emotion of the song washes over you. Sounds swirl around you. It is heavier in feel than it is heavy metal.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/modern-witchcraft-st.html

5-Hidden Mothers  - "Erosion  / Avulsion" 

This band combines elements of sludge with the hard-hitting post-hard core that is balanced out by melodic passages that create a somber dreaminess. The arrangements are almost progressive. It all falls together in a very organic fashion to find a happy middle ground. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/hidden-mothers-erosion-avulsion.html

 

4-Boston Manor- "Sundiver" 

This band can switch things up from emo-tinged pop punk to a moody melodic nu-metal explosion that should appeal to fans of Deftones. They write catchy songs that stick to you which at the end of the day is what matters. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/boston-manor-sundiver.html

                      

3- Fatima -'Eerie" 

This French band made the year's most haunting grunge album with urgent vocals and an ominous ambiance, all works perfectly. The guitar carries the needed metallic punch to drive the point home as the bass anchors this down, with a unique songwriting approach. Some 90s elements are lurking under the surface here, and perhaps this is the icing on the cake for me. They bring plenty of power to the overdriven wall of fuzz

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/november-is-doom-fatima-eerie.html

2-Jerry Cantrell- "I Want Blood"  

I've heard some of his solo work before, but it's this album that makes it clear he is Alice in Chains, and Layne was just part of the window-dressing to give their early work added darkness thanks to his junkie charm.  This should have been the album that came out after "Black Give Way to Blue" as it's way better than "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here". His guitar playing remains iconic, as his solo is in every note.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/jerry-cantrell-i-want-blood.html

 

1-O Zorn !- "Vermillion Haze" 

On the darker side of 90s grunge reviving, these guys kept the anthemic slant minimal, and instead cut themselves and allowed the songs to bleed from it. It is heavy with mood rather than hammering at you. This album took me by surprise and exceeded any hopes I had for it, It grew on me more than any other album becoming a staple of my weekly listening due to the honest melancholy that seeps from its pores. If you like grunge, but not the kind for jocks then this will be up your alley. Really can not sing its praises enough. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/o-zorn-vermillion-haze.html

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Jerry Cantrell : "I Want Blood'

I owned "Boggy Depot", but haven't checked out his solo stuff since. I love his guitar playing but often feel with most artists' solo work, it is energy that would have been better invested in their main band. The first song sounds like Alice In Chains so it's hard to complain. There is a who's who of rock royalty on the album Robert Trujillo plays on the second song. The riff to this song sounds like it should be on a solo Ozzy album, making me surprised Ozzy has not tapped Cantrell for solo stuff. If this was all supposed to be on the next Alice In Chains album I would not be surprised. 

Duff Mckagan also joins him on "Afterglow", which feels like an Ozzy solo ballad run through the filter of Alice In Chains. The way the chords ring out could have been found in the band's later work. However, the chorus is not as strong as the previous songs. Duff is also back on the more rock n roll title track that feels more in line with Queens of the Stoneage, though I guess on "Facelift" there is some of this on the b-side. Marilyn Manson's drummer Gil Sharone, plays on this album though Mike Bordin plays on the title track. Still, it does not feel like the best use of his talents. It's basic rock n roll. 

Greg Puciato lends backing vocals to "Echoes of Laughter". It's a darker song, that tempers the brooding with soulful melody. The vocals on this album are really well produced. This might be the album's best guitar solo. "Throw Me a Line" is rock but with a slithering groove that works really well. It goes to show his songwriting ability has not faded since Alice in Chains. "Let it Lie" oddly has Bordin just playing the drum parts on the chorus, which I'm not sure they cut it that way, maybe he just got the best take. I like that it is darker which does give it more of the classic Alice In Chains feel, it could have been an outtake from 'Dirt". 

"Held Your Tongue" is more rock n roll, though is still doused in the nostalgia for Alice in Chains. At this point, it's clear, that Cantrell was carrying Alice in Chains, as he proves by making an Alice in Chains record by himself. It's weird because if this was an Alice In Chains album I would have been less hesitant to check it, going to show you how powerful the branding of a band is. "It Comes' is another Alice in Chains-like ballad, but I enjoy the mood it creates. I'll give this a 9.5, as it is the best Alice In Chains album that they did not make as a band. 

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