I'm assuming these guys got their name from the Greek underworld's "River of Woe," and not from Outer Planes in D&D or from the land of dark wizards that predated Hyborea in the Conan stories of Robert E. Howard. Sadly, they never toured with Styx.
This is a death/black metal band from Florida, then Pittsburgh. I don't use that slash lightly. I understand that death and black metal are two different things, and I think I've got a good grasp on the differences: death metal refers to the musical style (super fast and brutal with CookieMonster-style vocals), but black metal refers to the subject matter (usually Satanic, or chaotic evil at best). This band gives us both in varying degrees.
The main guy from this band was originally in a Florida death metal band called Nocotumus. He has steered Acheron through many, many line-up changes, and he's also in the proliferate American death metal band, Incantatio. He's really a member of the Church of Satan, although he maybe actually broken up with them to do his own thing. He once said, "My hatred for religion and my Satanic lifestyle is[sic] the main influence of Acheron. The demented deeds of many religions are poisoning the world we live in." Hard to argue with that! So this guy's not fooling around, as his song lyrics and general imagery indicate. If you want to see them fight with a televangelist on the radio check out these 55 mins. Trying to find out what "The Enochian Key" referred to sent me down a google-rabbit-hole of 16th-century spiritualists and magic. They seems to have a millennialist, apocalyptic bent too, particularly on 2009's The Final Conflict: Last Days of God. Their imagery is simultaneously horrifying and cartoonish. The cover of Those Who Have Risen, for example,manages to be both absurdly amateurish and the stuff of nightmares:
Only four of their dozen or so album were available streaming online, but they seem to offer an appropriate sampling. At least their compilation of early demos that they put out in 2001 was available to give an idea of how the band started off sounding like. Can it be called a demo if the recording is so rough that it's impossible to understand the words or discern the different parts? I mean, I've put some raw stuff out into the word, but this stuff is ridiculously under-produced and messy. Then again maybe it sounds best like that. Although all dark and brutal, the early demos vary some in terms of both quality and style. Only very occasionally does the Satanic mask slip a little, and it seems like kids who really liked the first Nirvana album thrashing around in the garage...but they actually predate that, so whoever influenced Nirvana: like an evil Pixies? Maybe The Melvins? Such later-day influences seem to be confirmed when later in their long career the band ventures into sounds and styles reminiscent of Pantera or Hatebreed, although in actuality they probably eat bands like that for breakfast. Every now and then they drop in some organ or synths, maybe a gong or bells. They are occasional spoken word interludes too. All that helps break-up what might otherwise be unendurable brutality.
After a brief split-up they return in 2014 with Kult des Hasses. It's not less brutal, but somehow a bit more mainstream - or at least mainstream for underground metal. They remain consistently dark and aggressive. In some ways, the beefed up production makes it an even heavier album. Some call it their best, but undoubtedly others appreciated the rawer earlier stuff more. It still gets crazy fast at points.
While I can usually get into seeing any band like this live, I'm not really familiar with this particular niche of the diverse metal scene and can't identify any of the "Related Artists" associated with this band. The only song I knew before listening to their discography here and now was the great song "Evil Dead," which appears on the death and black metal compilation A Tribute To Hell: Satanic Rites. Despite the slow opening and lengthy guitar solo, this number chugs along at an excellent fast pace. Without the guttural grunting for vocals it probably could have appealed to a broader metal audience, but whatever - it works great. Turns out that's a Death cover song. Yea, they do sound like Death sometimes! Plus: Florida; that's apparently where this stuff comes from.
This pretty much sums it up:
It would appear they know what they are doing- and do it well. Recommended for any fans of extreme music. Explicitly anti-Christians to the front of the line.
I was surprised (and a little embarrassed) by how much I enjoyed listening to this 90s pop band! Comparisons to ABBA are inevitable, since they are both Swedish pop-rock bands with quirky song writing and pairs of blonde boys and girls. If having a song called "Angel Eyes" doesn't tip the hand a little then consider also "C'est la vie," for example. With their international success you might even think that Ace of Base is the second greatest selling Swedish band of all time; if you think that, however, you forgot about Roxette. These guys are #3. It's a sleazy producer guy and his two sisters, plus some other vaguely douchey guy. As always seems to be the case with such bands, when the guys sing a line it is usually unfortunate but somehow required; it's best when they stick to pure vocoder, but even then it occasionally drifts into some disturbing demon voice. Sometimes their songs sound like we got to play happy hardcore on the radio. Sometimes it's like they're playing a club song on the radio, except it was never actually played in the club, except now it is because it was on the radio. At least there is occasional keytar. The keyboards are great throughout. Of course they influenced fellow Swedish pop artist Robyn, but there are spoken highly of by American pop stars like Katy Perry and Lady Gaga, going for that pre-9/11 90s fun feel. Indie synth rockers Yeasayer have also cited them as an influence, which makes me feel a little better.
The first thing they ever really did was try to push this song and ridiculous video, featuring fake trumpet playing and the lead singer's signature expressive hand moves. Their debut album from 1993, actually an amalgamation of their earlier work repackaged for the non-European market, is one of the greatest selling debuts of all time; in America it's called The Sign, but at home it was Happy Nation. Despite being hastily recorded in response to the success of "Wheel of Fortune" and their other pre-album single, "All That She Wants," apparently it is the first debut album to produce three #1 hit songs. So it was pretty huge at the time, although they haven't really demonstrated the staying power that such mammoth success might indicate. I'm not sure about that ridiculous, honking saxophone sample, but otherwise their opening track and first single "All That She Wants (Is Another Baby)," besides raising everyone's eyebrows thinking she was talking about breeding rather than coupling (a little bit lost in translation there, depending on who you ask), contains all their signature elements that they would continue to mine effectively over the course of four albums: interesting transitions between minor and major chords, clear and catchy melodies, great keyboards lines, and--somehow--a reggae beat. In re-listening to the album, I was struck by how many of these Swedish pop songs are built over a breezy islands rhythm. According to an interview, this came about simply because a reggae band practiced in the rehearsal studio next to theirs, and ideas (and sounds) would bleed over due to everybody practicing at high volumes. But, dammit it works! (The same interview reveals their name comes from Motorhead's "Ace of Spades" sounding cool and being easing to pronounce; they blame their hometown's predilection for heavy metal over techno on their early inability to break through.). Their whole first album is pop solid gold. I knew going into this that super-hit "The Sign" is one of my favorite pop songs ever, but I was impressed by how good the lesser known tracks are here. If you love the hits, also "Don't Turn Around" (originally recorded by Tina Turner), the rest of the album will not disappoint. I don't recall fourth single "Living in Danger" getting much airplay, but it's not any worse or better than the big hits. Despite never having heard most of these not-on-the-radio songs before (my younger brother owned the CD back in the day, but I never did), the album is virtually free of fluff and filler. That's confirmed by the fact that the last thing they put out in 2015 is a b-sides and demos collection that conveniently collects all the lesser tracks that were wisely kept off the original albums, keeping those brief four albums all consistently tight and solid. The hints of primitive early techno give it an air of authenticity, but things get cleaned up significantly by the later albums, which shimmer and shine with crystalline production, perhaps reflecting rave culture's move out of the warehouses and into swanky clubs. I like to think of these guys as influenced by underground music rather than exploiting it, even as they dominate the pop charts, although that might be wishful thinking. It is reminiscent of when Madonna first starting to get deep into electronic music on Ray of Light: trendy and opportunistic, yes, but satisfyingly executed.
The second album The Bridge is good, but just not as stellar as the first one. Like the debut, it is a rushed response to unexpected stardom, but that's fine. Even the most mundane deep cuts are made more listenable by interesting little electronic sounds peppered liberally throughout. The complete abandonment of the reggae sound was a bit of a disappointment. On this album they went for more of the ballads and bedroom rockers, though they might call it more sophisticated song-writing. I guess "Lucky Love" is a cute single, but a little too cute. The real killer track is "Beautiful Life." The batshit crazy video has just enough sexiness to keep everyone's attention, but the record label sure didn't like it. As with "The Sign," "Beautiful Life" is seriously one of my favorite songs ever. Instead of reggae they are throwing some gospel vocals at us. I had heard about how they wrote the song after a friend committed suicide, and I thought it was such a beautiful and effective response - and the mix of positive imagery and haunting chords is great, even as dance-club pop candy. The somewhat harrowing song "Ravine" speaks to the time a deranged fan broke into one of the singer's homes, holding her and her parents at knife-point; there's a happy ending. Despite the later singles failing to chart (some blame bad promoting), this is the one album of theirs on which all four members contribute song writing, so that's nice. I missed the reggae; it seems crazy to do a whole album without a single song in your own previous signature style.
They headlined with 2 Unlimited in Chile in 1996 because of course they did! Makes perfect sense.
Then, after finally taking a breather, their third album is practically an oldies pastiche through a pop prism. Their apt cover of Bananarama's "Cruel Summer" gets them back on the pop charts again. "Always Have, Always Will" is delightful but jarring as it foreshadows The Pippettes almost a decade away. Somehow that's the (again, slightly ridiculous) video that feature some keytar action. It's also a bit weird that at this point one of the the sisters takes over lead vocals from the other sister, who literally has her face blurred out on the album cover as she takes on a more background role. There she is lurking in the shadows
De Capo (2002) represents a return to form, as the title suggests. Sadly, it didn't perform well on the charts, but I loved all these largely nameless, forgotten songs. The production is better than on the debut album, but the song writing was not strong enough to match its success, at least in terms of popular singles. The album is good overall though. "Wonderful Life" is a wonderful song - the airy space in the drawn-out vocal delivery on the chorus is dreamy. "The Juvenile" is a weird and awesome pseudo-epic with lush strings- originally it was going to be a James Bond movie theme.
Then they go on hiatus for awhile. They get to together as a trio to perform a full concert for the first time in 10 years in 2007. Then the other sister leaves too for a solo career and such. It admittedly looks unseemly, but then in 2010 the two guys re-launch the band with two new (ahem- younger) singing ladies. That band is different though; it is "Ace.of.Base." OK?
I wanted to hate the album they made, but it's so slick and good. The production is better than ever and the sounds are all good fun. Another song I left this experience loving is "Vision in Blue." It's a true hidden gem - apparently so much so that it got its own sub-par fan-made video. I had to google the lyrics because although the title is "Vision in Blue" the refrain of the chorus is "My Koh Phangan x6," which I also had to google to discover is an island off the coast of Thailand renowned for its Full Moon Party. Why am I just learning about this now?! I guess it would be like saying, "You're my Coney Island." The song is great and helps carry an album with no real discernible highlights, but white people partying at exclusive resorts in Asia is the perfect image for the album's vibe. Lead single "All For You" is good enough, and the video does what it is supposed to do, though I'm not sure people care as much anymore. The album reminds me a bit of Cher's foray into electronica, although this album came out 10 years later. There are a bunch of random good songs on the album, but they abandon the whole revamp idea and instead settle for releasing Hidden Gems in 2012 as their swan song. To be honest, a lot of those songs are pretty good too. The band seemed to dissolve after that, while still teasing reunion possibilities.
But what a minute....blonde haired, blue eyed Europeans...singing about their Happy Nation....I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but....
Yep - (some of their interpretations are way off and take the source with a big grain of salt, but) they're probably actually freaking Nazis!
** EDIT ** OK, a lot of that stuff was crazy theories...except for the part where the one guy definitely really was in an actual Nazi hardcore band.
I knew very little about this band going into this listening. Of course I vaguely knew "Balls to the Wall," but that's about it. I recall Beavis and Butthead had some legit criticisms of that song. And in the context of their full catalog I found that song, and the album it appears on, not particularly impressive. That was a bad sign, when a band's most famous song fails to make an impression. Their first few early albums are actually incredibly diverse and somewhat interesting, ping-ponging back and forth between proto-metal reminiscent of Motorhead and more poppy and accessible stuff, even venturing into disco territory at times.
Comparisons to the previous band are inevitably. The have about half as many albums as AC/DC, but share some values. In fact. "I'm a Rebel," the title track from their second album, was actually written for and possibly even recorded by AC/DC. The differences between the two bands effectively illustrate the differences between hard rock and heavy metal, with AC/DC rocking more often in blues progressions while Accept is more likely to rely on minor power chords and riffs. They opened for AC/DC during a 2010 revival.
They can also sound like Judas Priest at times, and in fact toured with them after 1981's Breaker. The albums is notable for being featured in the 1982 movie Nacht der Wolfe. My German's a little rusty, but I think that means Night of the Wolf.
On 1982's Restless and Wild it finally starts to sound like fast thrash metal. "Fast as a Shark" is not even that fast by today's thrash standards, but it was speedy for 1982. Cannibal Corpse covers a song from this album, so that's a good sign. I agree with the assessments that this album is important for the development of speed metal, and I see it as more groundbreaking than its more successful and popular follow up, 1983's Balls to the Wall.
Another band we can't help but compare them to is The Scorpions - another heavy German band singing in English. In fact they borrowed a producer from The Scorpions for 1985's Metal Heart, which is a VERY 1985 sounding album. It's another of their vaguely conceptual album, this one about the techno-dystopian future of 1999, but seems too calculated with greater emphasis on melodies and hooks. That continued with the next few albums, including Eat The Heat, which confirms their desire to crack into the American pop music charts with the inclusion of a new American singer, essentially their Sammy Hagar. I realize it's kinda like listening to the Judas Priest discography and really digging those Ripper albums, but these three weird albums in the middle of the career with different singers were actually a welcome respite from music that was starting to get tedious. They still do heavier numbers, and the switch between completely different vocal and musical styles can be jarring at times. If "Stand 4 What U R" isn't the soundtrack to an 80s movie's training montage than I don't know what it is, but it immediately precedes the far angrier "Hellhammer" on the album.
They go though various significant line-up changes through their career, but apparently many of the departures are amicable. Around 1984 a bunch of guys that used to be in Accept form the band Bad Steve...and open for Accept on a world tour. Then the former lead singer leaves for a solo project, and the band helps him write it. Then his band contributes backing vocals on the next Accept album.
They have a couple comeback albums with the old singer starting in 1993, they break-up in 1997, but then they have a weird thing where they reform in 2009 with a new singer, and somewhat updated--more distinctly metal--sound. It is then that they release three of their most popular albums ever, all these just since 2009. And this is some potentially fascist bullshit, though I must begrudgingly admit it is more consistently decent and brutal metal - though they still aren't above the occasional power ballad that peppered their earlier albums. Their fifteenth studio album The Rise of Chaos will be released this summer (2017). It was made by the same producer as those last three successful albums, but now the drummer and one of the guitar players have changed out too. In a recent interview band guitar stalwart Wolf Hoffmann connected the title to their paranoid, trigger-happy world view, with specific references to both climate change and Europe's refugee crisis. I had suspected as much after listening to their recent albums, especially on the aptly titled Blood of the Nations, with it's racial paranoia ("Teutonic Terror" and the title track) and explicit calls for radical violence ("Beat the Bastards"). It's too much for me. These guys might be connected to the birth of trash in some ways, but they are missing out on the fun parts. I get that their politics are complex and layered (what with their conscious environmentalism and distrust of authority), but it's too much of the ole' ultra-violence- and I see too much of a contradiction in their extreme nationalism mixed with calls for revolution against our oppressors. In their defense, they are not really out front espousing these xenophobic totalitarian political views that permeate their most recent albums, other than to defend their use of militaristic imagery, but you'll find plenty of praise for them in the dark Nazi-tinged corners of the internet.
I was ready to dismiss the band outright after all that vaguely racist stuff, but their most recent live album (the last thing I heard) offers a glimmer of redemption, at least musically. As the title suggests Restless and Live revisits some of the key tracks from their seminal Restless and Wild album, although it predominately offers songs from their most recent albums.Hearing this most recent incarnation of the band rip through "Fast as a Shark" was impressive, and skipping over their clunkier numbers for the tight set-list helped enormously. When it's just the highlights it sounds more like good solid thrash. I was reminded that their occasional allusions to classical pieces show they aren't talentless heathens; he gets the crowd to sing "Fur Elise" at one point! Whatever faults this band may have, musically or politically, they are no more cheesy than Judas Priest or Iron Maiden. They are less complex than Megadeth but more epic than Motorhead. To be very generous, it's like Slayer at their slowest, perhaps closer to Anthrax, but far more serious and less fun. They are more yelling at me than with me, so I imagine Exodus (or their fans) like this band. It's good enough music to play in the background while cleaning out the garage or something. Ultimately, I must admit that the musicianship and fans' enthusiasm on display in their live performances got me to tick the needle up a bit for them from "Hard Pass" to "Acceptable."
I could talk about AC/DC all day. They aren't my favorite band in the world, maybe not even top 10, but I find them very likable, fun, and consistent. They ARE Hard rock. They virtually define that genre, and I'm not sure I'd want to categorize them otherwise as heavy metal, as some have. Perhaps they said it best themselves: high-voltage rock and roll. I enjoy listening to them greatly, if not absolutely. They might be slightly faulted for continuing to produce material with mixed results after their prime. They are not exactly in sing-along territory; I can sing along with AC/DC for about five seconds before my throat starts bleeding and I nearly pass out. Yet I never grew weary of hearing their ~300 discreet songs in a row, chronologically. And I don't think I ever will get tired of hearing them.
I'm not trying to pimp my own musical projects in every blog post, but we (Perverse Osmosis) did cover "TNT," with the words changed to be about "D&D." When the rhythm sections holds it down for Angus to play his solo in "TNT" it's nothing less than a Perfect Rock Moment. Is this the most consistent rhythm section in rock (despite the occasional line-up change)? They also deserve every bit of fame for their legendary double-guitar assault. My band also toyed with playing "Rocker," which is probably my favorite AC/DC song and would have made a lot of sense for us. Live versions seem to differ from the album version, but it's one of their catchiest and fastest. It frequently ended their shows toward the end of the earlier Bonn Scott era of AC/DC (before he dies and is replaced with Brian Johnson), so it's nice when a band recognize that your favorite song is one of their best. "Let There be Rock" is just about the only other one that fast, but it drives me crazy when he says, "Let there be drums" and the drums don't do anything, and he says, "Let there be guitar" and there is literally no guitar. Madness. Still - it's another fast one, and it is featured in the video game Rock Band 2! The only other time I heard them play that fast was on an excellent live cover of Them's "Baby, Please Don't Go" on their 74 Jalibreak EP.
The first AC/DC song I ever heard was definitely "Big Balls."
I probably heard it on Dr. Demento or some other silly radio show when I was young. It would be many years later before I even realized it was an AC/DC song. It was hilarious to met at the time, of course, but the music itself didn't make much of an impression. It's a novelty song after all, and AC/DC is not afraid of stooping to some crassness. Still, it is hardly representative of their overall sound. It sticks out a bit, actually.
The first AC/DC album I ever owned was The Razor's Edge. That only partially explains my fondness for the album, which is generally heralded as a return to form after some missteps in the mid-80s. It wasn't the first CD I ever got and it wasn't the second. However, I'm pretty sure it was my 3rd, right after The Wall and the Twin Peaks Soundtrack. I remember wanting to go see them that year (1990, so I was 14 - wow) and being disallowed because of some incidents with "festival seating." (And in defense of my parents' prohibition, there was a well-publicized incident with multiple fatalities at an AC/DC concert in 1991). At the time, I knew they'd been around for awhile, but I could hardly comprehend that it was their 11th studio album; ultimately they recorded 15. I next got the subsequent live album (1992's simply titled Live), and I was first introduced to classic stand-out tracks like "Highway to Hell," "High Voltage," and "The Jack,"
It was still some time before I acquired my beloved vinyl copy of Highway to Hell, their big breakthrough album produced by king-maker Mutt Lange, later of Shania Twain fame! Besides the incomparable title track there's a bunch of good ones, including underappreciated favorite "Shot Down in Flames" and the controversial "Night Prowler."
I may have gotten Back in Black, another powerhouse produced by Lange, for a penny via BMG. Every song on that album is good, so it well-deserves the honor of being the second-highest-selling album in history. It fits in nicely well-behind Thriller and just ahead of Dark Side of the Moon, making it THE best selling rock album of all time To put the massive success of that album in perspective: Not only did it go to No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart, as a result of the ensuing hysteria AC/DC was the first band since The Beatles to have four albums in the British Top 100 simultaneously, since three previous albums all re-entered the charts right after Back in Black was released! That includes If You Want Blood You've Got It, their first live album released in 1978, right after Powerage, in-lieu of a greatest hits package; it bucks the double-album trend of the 70s and gives just 10 straight-forward tracks. I appreciate that it's an actual concert in order, as opposed to the random collection we get on their later live albums. It's worth noting that while they put out a couple live albums and two box sets, a true hits collection has never materialized to this day. There have been multiple video collections. I'm sure a newly packaged music collection is in the works now that the band has finally wound down.
I didn't get really get seeped in the band until some time after 1994, when I got a nicely packaged, digitally remastered version of Dirty Deeds Done Dirty Cheap, originally released in 1981 as they start to peek. Then I was sold. EVERY song on the album is great. It's still stunning to realize that this was only their second album, at the start of a long run. (It might be the third album if we are counting from Australia; the two box sets they released later in their career do a fine job of filling in gaps that exists between American, Australian, and other versions of their albums and singles.) It's a 5-star, perfectly constructed album with a clear beginning, middle, and end - much more than the first couple collections of songs they offered the world. The rarely seen contemplation of "Ride On" seems like the album's final track, but they don't let you get away that easily; they come back for one more: "Squealer." It's not about a pig. I'm not really OK with "Squealer," but let's start over at the beginning.
They release High Voltage way back in 1975, and it's a testament to their songwriting that many of those songs end up classics that still get played live (despite originally mixed reviews). It was recorded in only 10 days - and that raw urgency is palpable. Still, that first album has a bit more of a warm 70s feel on the production. It's great. Before this they were apparently a bit of a glam band; Angus Young's ubiquitous school-girl uniform is a holdover from this earlier period when everyone was in costume. Their first international releases combines their first and second albums, leaning more on the hard-rock stuff than the earlier glammier stuff. It's also weird that there is pretty much only one AC/DC song with anything other than drums, guitar, bass, and vocals- and it is their opening salvo into the word. Their first song "It's a Long Way to the Top" has got bagpipes (the Young brothers came to Australia from Scotland). Still a great song. Singer Bonn Scott is the one playing the bagpipes and he did so live too, but begrudgingly. The song works so well as a clear opening statement - and it has aged well too.
After the mammoth success of Back in Black and it's accessible singles like "You Shook Me All Night Long," the band parts ways with their pop producer in order to regain some of the rawness of their early albums- but something goes horribly awry. The decline begins ever so slightly with 1981's For Those About To Rock We Salute You. I'm not going to argue with the awesomeness of the title track, and listening to it again for this project got my six year old daughter into it (because: cannons). However, there's not much else on the album to sink your teeth into, and 1983's self-produced Flick of the Switch is even more forgettable. There were inevitably band tensions and substance abuse problems during this era leading to some line-up changes, but they do soldier on. Again: this stellar rhythm section somehow remains one of the most steady and consistent in rock, even when the players change. And while Flick is known for it's striped-down and dry production, their next album, Fly on the Wall might be the worst, particularly because of the irritating shimmer and other bad effects on the vocals that make it hard to discern the words. The drums also sound 80s shitty. AllMusic says it "continue's AC/DC's descent into cookie-cutter mediocrity, with the leering humor of past glories seeming forced and uninspired, and the the music remaining somewhat underdeveloped and directionless." Ouch! Harsh, but not inaccurate. The album cover is awful too, but People magazine selecting it as the best album of 1985 is all you really need to know to confirm that is is a shitty album from a great band. The only two good tracks "Shake Your Foundations" and the infamous "Sink the Pink" reemerge on the weird little album Who Made Who. It's simply the soundtrack to Steven King's Maximum Override, with the notable title tracks and the addition of a couple of appreciable instrumental numbers.This was also the period when Richard Ramirez killed some people while he was wearing an AC/DC shirt and allegedly inspired by "Night Prowler." Despite the bad press and accusations of devil worshiping, the song is clearly about a guy sneaking into his girlfriend's bedroom at night for some play. 1988's Blow Up Your Video is a little better, and shows them adapting well in the music video era.
Everything got better again on The Razor's Edge, when they regained their, um, edge, and with it international success. There might be some light effects still on drums and vocals, but the guitars sound better than ever. Are they talking about the Somerset Maugham book? It's probably a mutual reference to the same concept of imposing doom on the horizon. Then there's that live album where they seem to play to massive, enthralled crowds. For example:
Here's 60,000 people in Argentina dancing and singing "Highway to Hell" even more recently; Live at River Plate is their other official live album 20 years later.
But then things start to slow down a bit. Ballbreaker is the album on which they undeniably take their foot off the gas a bit. It's a rare misstep for super-star producer Rick Rubin, who does no favors for the band here and apparently did not get along with them. (Yes, Slayer, the Beastie Boys, Tom Pettty, and others were done wonders by Rubin, but people forget that he ruined The Dixie Chicks.) Then Stiff Upper Lift (2000) is better, but begins to teeter on the edge of self-parody. Eight years later, their largest gap ever between albums, Black Ice (2008) is not bad at all. The title track and "Rock n Roll Train" captures some of the fun of their earlier tracks, but despite effective production from alt-rock legend Brendan O'Brien, the album is inconsistent, crammed with filler, and good but just no longer impressive. And we shouldn't forget that hard copies were available exclusively at WalMart; WalMart and random trucks that drove around NYC and LA blaring AC/DC and setting up pop-up shops. It sold very well both here and abroad. After that the Iron Man 2 soundtrack comes up, and like their other soundtrack album is all previously released tracks. And then in 2014, after founder Malcolm Young's retirement and during drummer Phil Rudd's serious legal problems, they record their final album, Rock or Bust. It's the only one without Malcolm and it's their shortest album (35 mins.). As I listened to "Emission Control" I was ready to dub it their worst song ever- even as it turns out to be the last on the album and of their career. In fairness, it is again produced by Brendan O'Brien, Angus and Malcolm still did all the songwriting, and it was generally received well by critics, particularly after the unusually long wait after the previous album. However, in one interview before the album Johnson said "We're going to pick up guitars, have a plonk and see if anybody has got any tunes or ideas. If anything happens we'll record it." OK. But in another interview Angus claims it is largely constructed of previous albums' leavings. That's what it sounds like. I find it decent enough rock, but uninspired. "Play Ball" gets played by MLB, but it's not enough to save the album. The drummer just didn't make the video shoot for "Rock or Bust." Angus does this thing where, as an early innovator of the wireless guitar (and the subsequently possible stage antics), he would use the wireless device in the studio(!) because of an appreciation for that sound tone. Weird enough, but by this album they don't make that device from the 70s anymore, so some techy fan recreates him one- and he uses it on the album. They do try to tour for their 40th Anniversary, an impressive feat, but first they replaced Malcolm with his nephew, then get a new drummer, and then finally Johnson has to bow out as singer due to impending hearing loss; Axl Roses finishes the tour off as the guest vocalist. Longtime bassist Cliff Williams called the band "a changed animal" and then retired himself, leaving essentially just Angus still standing. And I bet he will continue to drag this beast around as long as he can. I never saw them live; and I never will.
The penultimate thing I listened to was their second box set, Backtracks (still no greatest hits collection though). From a strictly chronological perspective it might have made more sense to listen to this first as a sort of foreshadowing, but it worked well as a review. And it helped clear the slightly bitter taste of the last few albums from my musical palette.
The very last thing I listened to was a semi-legitimate live album called The Very Best Of AC/DC - Hot as Hell- Broadcasting Live, Vol 1. I've never seen a hard copy, but it seems to be available via lots of different streaming services. One of the shows recorded and presented unadulterated in its entirety is Live at the local "Towson State College" - date unknown. But it is with Bonn and Towson became a university in 1976, so it is from right around then. It's a great set that captures the raw energy of their live performances, all the more so because of the lack of editing, rearranging of song orders, or any kinda of effect or filter on the recording. It's loud and trebley, but it seems to capture really being there even more aptly then their official releases. It was great to hear them rip through the same set twice, and teasing the security for hassling people. It's easy to see how the band went on to be rock legends.
A few bonus take-aways:
* The band is apparently known colloquially as "Acca Dacca" in Australia. Really? I'm going to need that confirmed by a real Australian.
* The bell heard on "Hells Bells" is the same custom job played at concerts and produced upon request by a foundry when the band couldn't get the sound they wanted from any church bells.
* When they toured with Black Sabbath in 1977 Geezer Butler (ie. the gentle hippie in the metal band) pulled a knife on Malcolm Young amidst rising tensions between the bands, although apparently Bonn and Ozzy got on just fine.
* According to the band themselves, in 1990 "Mistress for Christmas" was written about Donald Trump and his well-publicized holiday-time philandering. Hard stop.
Information on this mysterious band is scant- at least current information. We're talking MySpace here. Blog interviews from 2008. I used to read the Aural State blog regularly for local music; his review of the same album I listened to shows we are pretty much on the same page with this crazy/awesome experimental band. In case you were wondering, an Abiku is a spirit of a child that dies.
They often performed covered from head to toe in shimmering blankets, so that sorta adds to the mystery. The only thing I could find streaming to listen to was a single album that I know I uploaded myself to the digital library. It is called Novelty, and it is labelled "Industrial," which I guess is close enough. I know they have other albums because a friend got a CD of theirs at a show that was a homemade live tour CD with Oregon Trail imagery; the last song is ALL the songs played at once. That's a pretty great trick, and let's you know what you're in for here. Thanks again to Aural States I know that Novelty is actually a compilation of demos and singles from 2002 through 2005, when the band was most active. (Also read that blog review for an insight into some of this band's intense lyrics.)
It is difficult listening at times, but damn it is good. The lady vocalist in the band, who alternates between creepy whispering and horrifying screams, also plays a Korg keytar - so I'm seriously asking: what could be better? There's only one other guy in the band (her partner?) and no drums- mostly keys, some thrashy guitar blasts, and delightfully sub-par drum machines. Plus they always seemed to have a live visualist- which helps enormously. OK, I guess it is Industrial. Some of the songs on Novelty are mere brief soundscapes, others are brutal rave-ups. It keeps you guessing - and I appreciate that. It reminds me of Suicide at times in that it pushes the boundaries of listenability in intriguing ways. I suppose it invites comparison to Jucifer too; they also seemed to have toured restlessly. When I saw them at the Wind-Up Space in Baltimore they covered NIN's "March of the Pigs," which is probably as mainstream as their influences get. I should mention that this was at a "NerdFest" show that my "band" Perverse Osmosis was playing and that our "production company" was curating. Abiku was at the top of our wish list to play, and through a mutual friend the connection got made. They didn't respond to any of our emails or promote the show in any way, but they showed up, blew everyone's minds, then disappeared.
I know other people have heard this band! They were part of the still(?) active MT6 noise scene in Baltimore. In fact, MT6 put out Novelty in a limited pressing of 1000 CDs. And they put out that live album in an extremely limited run of only 120!
Glorious.
I also went to their "tiny rave" on the Charles Street midway at Artscape in 2010. And then this wonderful moment happened. That's what it's all about! There was also a chillout room.
Where are they now? Still playing? In other bands? Hopefully somewhere shooting something dark into the cosmos...
* Update: I think she is in this band and currently touring. But of course there are multiple bands named Curse.
* Update 2: my friend uploaded pics of the out-of-print live album- it's real!
Update #3: OMFG they have influences way more mainstream than NIN.
Picture it: New Orleans. Mardi Gras. 2002. Some friends and I stumble into notorious late-night metal bar The Saint, but it's early (only 10 or 11pm) and the place is empty. The jukebox is legendary for all the punk and metal, but nothing is playing. And the woman who would become my wife doesn't like punk or metal. So she finds ABBA and plays "Dancing Queen." She loves that song. Then, because it's Mardi Gras and we've all been up late and messed up for days on end, she climbs on top of the table and starts twirling her dress and dancing to ABBA. This scene is great in its own right, but then a group of hardened punk rock-types enter the bar. This group of people may or may not have included the bar owner, who just happens to be the former bassist from White Zombie. If the group did include her, then she was definitely the one who took one look at the girl dancing on the table and one listen to the decidedly non-metal music and screamed, "What the FUCK?!" [End Scene]
I like ABBA. I had Gold like everyone else (and maybe the soundtrack to Muriel's Wedding), but that's about it. So it was fun to listen to all of these albums in a row and hear many interesting songs that I had never heard before. The popular thinking is that their albums getting darker and weirder as they go. That may be true, but it's only barely noticeable. The shift is almost completely invisible if you only listen to the pop hit singles, which are scattered throughout all the albums (except the last one). The songs surrounding the known hits are weirder, cheesier, and campier, with some ill-advised delving into more rocking songs, more songs where the guys sing, and even some reggae-tinged numbers. But that awkwardness is part of the appeal, right? We were all listening a little ironically in the 90s, right? The fact that founder Bjorn Ulvaeus started his career in a folk-skiffle group is not easily forgotten while listening to some of these tunes. So they weren't all great, but they were quirky and fun to hear. I might even happily label some of it "glam" for a bit, but they abandon that for more direct pop; sometimes the ballads get a bit dreary, even irritating. Still - there are often interesting keyboards (What is that- harpsichord?) and some clever studio-work. "Dancing Queen" and "Take a Chance on Me" are timeless pop classics. Their greatest hits collections always charted far more than any individual album. They really are a pop hit band.
Besides the obvious influences from The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Bee Gees, and a bunch of Swedish pop, they interestingly claim to have been unfluenced most by Dr. John! They only have eight proper albums plus a live album. They are great at making a perfect pop song. But you know what they are not great at? Naming albums. I've never understood the massive appeal of "Waterloo" as a hit, but it was the most famous song/band ever to win the Eurovision song contest (where one of the ABBA couples originally met). Still, it hardly seems to capture any sort of thematic unity that would justify it being that 2nd album's title. The first album is also named merely after the single, their first as ABBA, "Ring Ring." Their third, not first(!), album is called ABBA, which make no sense; it's not like they reinvent themselves or their sound on it. Their fifth album is called The Album, which is again super-weak because it's just another collection of songs not unlike any of their other albums. Give your work a title, people!
One of my favorite songs in their whole catalog is "Gimme Gimme Gimme." It's a great disco number but just electronic enough to vaguely foreshadow today's pop. Interestingly, just like "Fernando," it was the new song included on one of their many compilations, but it hit big. It sounds like Britney or Madonna or whatever passes for that today. Madonna actually substantially sampled it, and it has been covered numerous times, perhaps most notably by total ABBA-rip-offs the A-Teens, but also by some metal bands like Therapy? It might not have instant familiarity of "Dancing Queen" or "Take a Chance on Me," but it has aged very well. It's on Vvoulez-Vous, which is their most disco album. It's also the album where they finally get some THUMP, so that is appreciated; I tried to listen to the best versions available, but the early records seem poorly mixed by today's standards, with too much treble and everything blending together. I get that they're going for the Wall of Sound; sometimes it works, but other times not so much.
The heavily-disco period is also the era when they release their one live album, which is interesting but not superb. The audience seems small and not very into it, although they do warm up eventually. I'm not sure why the crowd chose "Money Money Money" to start clapping along, when that's a song that slows down, starts back up, then slows down again! They also try to clap along to "I Have Dream," which is not easy either because there's one measure with 5 beats- and a children's choir. I couldn't believe it when the guy says, "Do you want to hear that song again?!" and then, yes, they play the song again. (Interesting side note: in the UK, "I Have a Dream" was held off from the No. 1 spot by Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall - Part II," which also features a children's choir.) It's also awkward to hear them sing songs about their own divorces in front of everyone. "Knowing Me, Knowing You" is brutal in context, but maybe that's part of what makes them an international spectacle. That and their jumpsuits. And the stage banter is stilted and weird. Sample lines: "I want to introduce you to someone...The blonde one!" and "Do you like our band?" The final songs and encores are well-selected and prove they know what they are doing.
Oddly, they seem to pull back a bit on their subsequent album Super Troupers, which might be their weakest (thematically and musically), except that it has the sorely underappreciated "Happy New Year." Add it to your NYE list now.
The final album The Visitors gets interesting. It sounds a bit prog-rocky. This spaceyness was hinted at earlier, such as in the instrumental bit that opens the non-single mix of "Gimme Gimme Gimme." Indeed, at points the last album sounds like (good) Genesis. It is far more political and personal than anything they had done before. It could have been an intriguing album by another band, but it was not well received by ABBA fans (and understandably so). There's no real hit on it, though "One of Us" is the forgettable single.
The influence of this band looms large in the pop vocal world of the 80s, 90s, and even through today. Even bands like the Foo Fighters like them, with Dave Grohol once telling NME, "I like loads of crazy-ass, dissonant, distorted rock ‘n’ roll, but I also love The Bee Gees and Abba, bands whose pop choruses get bigger and bigger. I love anthemic choruses, that overwhelming feeling of release that you can connect with.” He added: “So whenever I thought I had a big enough chorus for a song, I would use that as the pre-chorus and then I would try and write something even bigger, like they did." There's also a band called GABBA that plays ABBA songs as though they were covered by The Ramones! ABBA certainly left their mark on Puffy Ami Yummi, as just one other example. Both bands are multilingual too; ABBA did well in Latin America and recorded a number of songs in Spanish, in addition to English and their native Swedish. With their global success, they are rightfully one of the best-selling artists of all time. They seem to be much bigger everywhere besides America, Australia and Scandinavia for example. I don't even want to talk about Mamma Mia!,but it happened. What I do want to hear about, is their rumored comeback in the next year with a new "digital entertainment experience." They are in their late 60s now. Bring it on. And I say, Thank you for the music.
P.S. I'm not sure if "Dancing Queen" ever made it on our wedding playlist, but "I Do I Do I Do" certainly did.
You can not argue with that voice! That range. That tone. He's amazing. However, what you can argue with is a solo career that's made up almost entirely of various collections of standards. The best of these might be 2005's Bring it On Home...The Soul Classics, which is exactly what it sounds like. The worst may be Nature Boy, subtitled The Standards Album, none of which are necessary; it sounds like a band of nobodies playing nothing, but maybe I just don't want to hear such a great voice wasted on watered down cocktail-hour music. The doo-wop theme on My True Story is better; the album is produced by Don Was and Keith Richards, and features Benmont Tench on some nice organ. Although the repetition of some of the same songs gets tedious, his various Christmas and gospel collections are actually a welcome pep-up from the rest of the mercilessly mellow catalog. Grandmothers in New Orleans need something to listen to after all; he did perform on The Young and The Restless to promote his soul covers album. It all starts way back with his debut single from 1966; "Over You" is spooky and fun-rockin' R&B hit. It's largely unlike most anything else that he does as a solo performer. His second single "Tell It Like It is" is more like the smoothness that defines his career - it hits big, topping the R&B charts for five weeks in 1967 with some crossover pop success too. (Heart covered it in 1981). Then he's in The Neville Brothers... Apparently he and some brothers back up Jimmy Buffett on an album, but we won't hold that against them (having not heard it yet). Many of the Aaron Neville songs that have seeped into the collective pop culture conscious are likely to come from his 1989 duet album with Linda Ronstadt. Although he co-sings every song, it's her album not his, which is why I didn't even listen to it. A few years later he's riding his peak and releases the album with "Everybody Plays the Fool" - one of the many covers on that album. His most recent album, 2016's Apache, is actually fantastic - arguably his best! And the man is 75! It's all original songs, and that helps. Good songs too. Working with younger jammy bands Lettuce and Soulive, probably helped. The band sounds much fuller, deeper, and somehow even more authentic than some of his standards work. Great horn arrangements throughout too. It's a really diverse and fulfilling album, especially in the context of an already impressive long career. But don't take my word for it. Take NPR's word ("less like a memoir and more like a manifesto — a declaration of self by an artist who's had time to figure it out").
