Classic Album Review, Milla, The Divine Comedy

Milla, The Divine Comedy (SBK/EMI Records)

Where to start with this one. Sometimes an artist only gets the chance to do one album before something happens. Much of the time it is the band splitting, record company dropping them or unusually the artist becoming a Hollywood star. This time time it did happen.

Well not quite that fast but it did happen. I am sure you have heard of Milla Jovovich. Ukrainian born and star of films and magazine covers the world over due to a big modeling career.

She is a very good singer and in her early teens made a demo tape that was instantly picked up by EMI. Signing a record deal and starting work on her first album. Produced by Rupert Hine the record company were not messing about here.

She describes the album as a mix of Kate Bush, Sinéad O'Connor, This Mortal Coil, and the Cocteau Twins. And I do agree with that but she really did put something of her own into it. Don't get me wrong this is not the best album made that year or anything. It has its faults but listening to this debut and not many artists can make that good a first album. Add in she was in her early teens when she wrote the lyrics and still upon its release she was only 17. It is a remarkable achievement.

Album opener is a simple look into whats out there 'The Alien Song' has Milla in a real calm relaxed mood. Taking you on a small trip through space. Violin, mandolin, key fiddle and guitar are some of the intuments used on this album and in this song it really builds a nice wall of sound. Swooshing and big air noises make this small trip fun. Next song was a minor hit in America. "Gentleman Who Fell" had two videos made, Milla knows what she wants in her music and in her videos or video art as it turns out. Check out the vido on You tube as it really is amazing. Again watch it and remind yourself she is only 17, so many ideas and such a great understanding of what she wants in not only her music but the whole package. that is something only a handful of bands/artists ever get.

All the songs are heavily influenced by Ukranian folk music at times and this again adds to the albums unique atmosphere. Next single is a little more straight forward. "It's Your Life" is more of a produced song for the record company. It is good still and entertains you with her different ways of singing.

Milla has said she was signed as a dance chart act, expected to have 6 months of chart hits then be out of the music industry for good, it happens all the time. She fought the record company to do this her way. "Bang Your Head" could be a small tribute to the record company and what it must have felt like taking to the suits.

At the end of the day this is a pop album and this is evident on "Clock" a simple synth driven song with nice harmonies to help get her voice into the mind of the listener. Last song "In a Glade" is a classic Ukranian folk song. This lady is classy and knows how to pay her respects, she also nails the song well and can hold her head up high when ever she goes back home.

This album is considered a lost pop classic. And I see why, the record company really did not know what to do with it. Enya and Kate Bush have this side of the market taken. Or did they? This is way different and due to Milla being 17 when it was out a totally different market (Teenagers don't just like boybands).

One gig in the UK then a quick tour of America was the promotion here. But that alone did cause a spark and in America a minor hit single got her onto a support tour. But I think Hollywood was waiting and here film career took over. Milla still writes and records and releases songs on her website. Her latest film Bringing Up Bobby has her on the soundtrack.

Milla Jovovich now kicks the arse of zombies in international blockbuster films. But in her teens she was doing the same to conglomerate record companies. 

Classic Album Review, Reverend Bizarre, II Crush the Insects

Reverend Bizarre, II Crush the Insects (Spinefarm 2005)

And now for something completely different...
Well on paper it does look quite different. But in reality Doom Metal is very close to Black Sabbath and this band were one of the best doom bands about.

This is album number two and what a great album it is. Mixing classic funeral doom and metal while adding in little bits of  classic metal.
In Finland the band were getting a lot of attention, so much that the band had a number one single with "Slave of Satan" a 20 minute single at number one is just not heard of. But it happened and I see why.

The albums first track "Doom over the World" is a classic catchy metal song. A song that could be used to promote doom metal as it is like a small sample of what you can get with the style of music. Track two "The Devil Rides Out" and three "Cromwell" are like the first track. A little faster paced doom metal with more riffs than just all out noise. The first three tracks get you ready for "Slave of Satan".

Now we are talking, big crunching bass guitar that sounds like it has been played by a giant on a giant bass guitar. Big slow guitar chords and operatic vocals will make you look at the cd cover trying to figure out what drugs were taken for influencing this track. But that is what I like about it, the drumming and bass all sounds out of sync and while doing so add in the syncopated guitar you get a real odd feeling that something is going to happen. Like a horror film that builds to the part when the person turns into a victim after opening a door that had growls and screams behind it.

"Council of Ten" brings the album back to a more parallel sounding metal album, still slow and doom as can be. "By This Axe I Rule" contains some great lyrics with the vocalist Albert Witchfinder almost reading out aloud instead of singing. Add into this the down tuned bass and cymbal crashes that blast the speakers each time and you have another song that is over ten minutes long.

"Eternal Forest" would scare you from ever going into the woods again. This track really gives an eerie sound using the guitar to hit really high notes and king of shakes you a bit. To make such a great album with all the emotions and not use keyboards is really amazing. And this is evident in the last track "Fucking Wizard" has so much linking it to Black Sabbath and more so the bands first album. Close your eyes and you can feel Ozzy in the room. There is nothing wrong with paying tribute to another band but when it is done as well as this you have to give the band credit. Every note is perfect as is each hit of the drum. Guitarist Peter Vicar must be the most patient guitarist in the world. It is easy for a guitarist to simply want to shred all the time but his cool calm playing gives this album such a great sound.

Again another album passes much of the music world by and this time the band could be blamed. Albert Witchfinder during recording was having a lot of trouble with depression and the band was just not getting on. This is something you can kind of hear in the album as if each band member is playing while having there backs to each other.

Also the big amount of interest in the bands own country seem to have a negative effect on the band. Three more albums were planed but scrapped and the 3rd and last album was a double LP. The band played some shows in 2006 and split. The style of music is for the very few but I feel they had a little extra to give us. This is the sort of metal album that gets none metal fans interested as well. If the band could have done more touring and more so supporting bigger bands I think they could have done so much more.

 II Crush the Insects is available on Amazon.

Classic Album Review, The Hellacopters, High Visibility

The Hellacopters, High Visibility(Universal 2000)

This is an odd one for me to review as this blog is about albums that were missed and/or did not sell as much as they should. In my eyes this sold well and influenced many people to form a band and play rock n roll music. Just about any rock fan should know of the Hellacopters as many of the bands that were influenced by them would go on to have success. To me this album achived everything it could have done but in the eyes of the music work it did not sell as much.

This band was formed as a side project for Entombed drummer Nicke Andersson. First album was a noisy all out punk rock album, a great one at that 'Suppershitty to the Max' was recorded in what sounds like a minute on a personal stereo and comes out all the better for it. Fast forward to this album (Number four) the band have a deal with Universal and teaming up with producer Chips Kiesbye the sound changed. Not so much commercial rock and nothing like AOR it was a stripped down cleaner sound.

The record company needs something they can sell and I think the band produced a great balanced album that is radio friendly and rocks just as much as AC DC does. Album opener "Hopeless Case of a Kid in Denial" has one of the best intro riffs this writer has ever heard. Simple arpeggiated chords are used and make the album sound £1 million better. Throwing in a little bit of acoustic guitar helps build on the sound and with lyrics as catchy as these you have to sing along no matter what you are doing.

If you like solos you will love this album. It was kind of uncool to have solos back in 2000. and "Baby Borderline" consists of singing "Baby Borderline" and soloing. But that is all you need right?  Chips Kiesbye production is simple but effective, making the band sound tight and clear. All the riffs hit you in the right place and backed up with some nice drumming the band keep the foot taping no matter what they do.

"Toys and Flavors" is so good it should have a video, oh they did make one but like me most people never seemed to see it. Some nice added in piano parts gives that 70s feel and the nod that its OK to wear flairs again. "Truckloads of Nothin'"  shows off how good this band is at using the old six stringer. The riffs are that fast you may have to duck for cover. "A Heart Without Home" adds in what the drummer can do, Robert Eriksson directs the band and shows how to riff.

"I Wanna Touch" sounds like the CD player has been set of fast forward, more made for dancing than air guitar it gives the album that nice all round feel revisiting dance halls of the 50s. Album ends with "Envious" the band seem to know its the last song and jam away for the first 40 seconds and give you the feeling the band have more energy to have done a double album.

To me this is not even the best Hellacopters album but as album number four and at the time limited success outside Scandinavian this album should have taken them to the big festivals and big tours in America. For some reason it didn't happen, even in the UK the band only played London as demand was low. This album did go gold in Sweden and rightfully got them much more exposure there. But everywhere else nothing.

During the albums tour of America the band filmed and released a video Goodnight Cleveland that shows the band playing very small clubs across the USA. Those at the shows get it, but why do so many other people not know of the band? With many artists recommending this band in the press and three great albums before this one this should have been a no- brainer. Again I blame the public here, buying an AC DC album every so often does not mean you like rock music. And there was room for the Hellacopters just look at the joke rock band The Darkness a few years later selling 1.5 million albums in the UK and touring the biggest arenas while pretty much playing the same song over and over. The Hellacopters made two more albums before disbanding in 2007.

Again this band and this album to me achieved so much, influencing countless bands and kids to play and enjoy other rock bands. When I am old and in my rocking chair with my slippers on hand me a guitar and I will play the intro to  "Hopeless Case of a Kid in Denial" just doing that alone means there job is done. 

This band were that good I WANT people to rip them off.

High Visibility is easily available on Amazon.