Music from a Lifetime

While the American markets in the late 1990’s found their way transcending into what became industrial and alternative metal, with downtuned guitars and gruff vocals becoming the norm, across Europe the opposite was happening. The songs were becoming faster, the melodic guitars more plentiful, and the soaring vocals something to behold. The growth of power metal in the European market was being accessed by a plethora of new bands coming to the fore and creating the dominant wave.

The leaders of this uprising included Gamma Ray, who had created the perfect prototype with their previous album, 1994’s “Land of the Free”. 25 years ago they released their follow up, the space and science fiction flavoured “Somewhere Out in Space”, and for those of you who have not partaken of its brilliance, you can discover it all here on today’s episode, of the podcast that has come from so far away, from the sunlight of my home, Music from a Lifetime.

There are people out there that believe that punk was born in 1976 and died in 1977. It’s a fallacy of course, though what form of music you believe punk takes on is probably also open to question. If you want the crazy drama-filled remains of the Sex Pistols and the Buzzcocks. If you want the reggae-infused stuff that comes out in different eras of bands such as The Clash and Stiff Little Fingers. Or do you come to a band such as the Misfits, who could be either punk or could be hard core or could be a mixture, depending on whether you really want to try and box them into a stereotype. Whatever the genre or reason or cause, what is essentially labelled as the ‘debut album’ of the Misfits is a combination that does justice to the massed variety that punk can claim to be. Released 40 years ago, “Walk Among Us” is that album, and it will be today’s discussion point on this episode of Music from a Lifetime.

No one, not even Kai Hansen himself, would have been sure just how successful his new venture Gamma Ray would have been after his exit from Helloween at the very peak of their career. And yet his new band’s debut album “Heading for Tomorrow” was a success, proving that he wasn’t just a one-trick pony. Looking to strike while the iron was hot, Gamma Ray followed up this album with their sophomore effort just a year later, titled “Sigh No More”, and on today’s episode of Music From a Lifetime, 30 years to the day from its release, you get to hear all about it and how it became the next step along the path to greatness for Gamma Ray the band.

After years of gigging around and fighting to get that mystical recording contract, Iron Maiden flew out of the blocks, releasing the fantabulous eponymous debut album in 1980, and followed it up with the equally wonderful sophomore effort “Killers” less than a year later. All of this meant more touring, and to wider places than they had gone to before. During the tour promoting the “Killers” album it was decided to do some live recording, and in order to keep the fans happy and still in their buying focus, they released a live EP from these recordings that were made on their tour of Japan. This of course made it an easy decision to title the EP, “Maiden Japan”, an album that proved to be the final sojourn for Paul Di’Anno, and the start of a new story.