What happens when "The King of Metal Riffs" meets "The Voice of Rock"? Spoiler alert !!! Contrary to the mixed reviews this "summit meeting" won, we really liked this unique collaboration. On January 28, 1986, "Seventh Star", "Black Sabbath" 12th album, was released. This album was intended as guitarist Tony Iommi 's solo album, after bassist Geezer Butler left "Black Sabbath" and left Iommi as the only original band member. In 1985, "Black Sabbath" appeared at " Live Aid " with its original lineup, including Ozzy Osbourne . Iommi believes that this mini-union would lead to a full collaboration with Ozzy. He decided to take advantage of the time until Ozzy finishes his solo career commitments and began writing material for his first solo album. However, the band's manager Don Arden (Sharon Osborne's father) persuaded Iommi to release the album under the "Black Sabbath" brand, thinking that this way he would be more successful. The album was eventually released under the title "Black Sabbath Featuring Tony Iommi", but in later releases, the tribute to Tony Iommi was dropped and it became a "Black Sabbath" album. This album introduces us to Iommi's first collaboration with "The Voice Of Rock" - bassist, and singer Glenn Hughes , known from "Trapeze" and the MKIII lineup of "Deep Purple" ". (Photo: Chris Walter) The album also features keyboardist Jeff Nichols who for the first time got the credit as a band member, having been featured only as a session player on the band's previous albums. In an unfortunate and creepy way, Geoff Nicholls will die exactly 31 years after the album's release date, i.e. on January 28, 2017. Another interesting reinforcement player who participates in this album, is the drummer Eric Singer, who will later become the "Cat Man" of "Kiss" featuring on seven of the band's albums starting in the early 90s. Due to the significant changes in "Black Sabbath's" lineup, it was only natural that there would be also a drastic change in music style on this album. In did, on this album the band away from classic Heavy Metal towards Hard Rock and Blues-Rock. Songs like “ In For The Kill ” which opens up the album by storm with Eric Singer's pounding drums chasing Tony Iommi 's guitar riff and " Turn To Stone " also corresponds with the opening song, taking "Black Sabbath" to new districts, on the border of Power Metal. Songs like " Heart Like A Wheel " are already going in the direction of Blues-Rock in which Iommi' is going back to the band's blues roots. And we even have Sabbath's first Power Ballads: The first, the excellent " No Stranger To Love ", which was also the first and successful single released about two months before the album release. The Second, is the closing track of the album " In Memory ..." featuring Iommi on an acoustic guitar. It is interesting to note that even though Glenn Hughes is an excellent bass player, Iommi took Dave "The Beast" Spitz, as the album bass player. Dave Spitz is the brother of guitarist Dan Spitz, known from "Anthrax' which celebrates his birthday today. Dave plays bass on all of the album songs except " No Stranger To Love ", where his replacement is Gordon Copley. Dave will later join "Great White" and be part of the supergroup "McBrain Damage". He will be the one to introduce singer Ray Gillen to Iommi as Glenn Hughes 's replacement after he leaves the band. " Angry Heart " is a classic Hard Rock song that sounds to us like a "Rainbow" outtake from the Joe Lynn Turner era, even in terms of Hughes' singing. And it is impossible to end the review without mentioning the two excellent songs " Danger Zone " and the theme song " Seventh Star ", which develops from the intro " Sphinx (The Guardian) ", both of which are without a doubt the highlight of the album. It is interesting to note, that most of the critics just "killed" the album with an average score of 5/10 stars, except "Kerrang" magazine which gave it a perfect score of 5/5. Although we think Kerrang magazine went too far with their sympathetic critique, our opinion is still closer to it than to the other bad reviews. True, for those who expected a classic "Black Sabbath" album, this may be a disappointment, but "Seventh Star" was never planned or claimed to be one. We think the blame for the cold reviews is on Sabbath's management. If they would have released an album as Iommi's solo project, there's no doubt it would have received better reviews. It's a classic Hard Rock album that does not fall short of albums released by bands like "Rainbow" and "Whitesnake" several years earlier. After the release of the album, the band went on a tour to promote it. Unfortunately due to Hughes' health problems (some say he injured his neck in a brawl and lost his voice for a long time) and following a conflict with the band manager, he will retire from the tour and be replaced after only 6 shows. However, this collaboration left a good taste for Iommi and Hughes, who will return to collaborate on Iommi's solo albums " Fused " and "The 1996" DEP Sessions", which was also titled "Eighth Star" as if it was a sequel to the reviewed album. To listen to the album: Spotify , Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook  / Instagram  or Subscribe to our website

Is it a chameleon? Is it an armadillo? Or maybe it's an octopus? No no no... this is Mike Patton !!! A factory of non-stop creation, some say that still in his mother's womb... So in order to identify with the eclecticism, the variety of talents, the variety of styles, the variety of ensembles, the variety of collaborations, and the absolute musical craziness that surrounds him, we bring you the facts in the style of Mike Patton, so let's start the party! (Photo: Jay Blakesberg) = In 1998 he formed the "Fantômas" supergroup along with "Slayer" drummer Dave Lombardo , "Melvin's" guitarist Buzz Osborne and "Tomahawk" and "Mr. Bungle" bassist Trevor Dunn. = The ensemble started its way around when "Faith No More" had already ceased to exist. They released 4 albums, all on Mike's label called Ipecac and each album has a different concept. The album "Fantômas" 1999 is based on a fictional comic book story, "The Director's Cut" 2001 is an album consisting of remade film soundtrack songs, "Delìrium Còrdia" 2004 is an album of one long and continuous song that resembles surgery without anesthesia and "Suspended Animation" 2005 which consists from distorted cartoon music. = We inform you in advance that there is no need to ask us in which genre all of Mike's groups fall into because most of the music created by Mike's groups is one big mix that cannot be embedded in any genre. (Photo: Jan Frode Haugseth) = They also released two live albums: "Millennium Monsterwork 2000" 2002 and "The Director's Cut Live: A New Year's Revolution" 2011 = At the beginning of their journey many record companies became interested in their band because of the "stars" in it but very quickly realized that the style was not suitable for the mainstream and ran away. = In 2015, bassist Justin Pearson and drummer Dave Lombardo formed the band "Dead Cross". They added guitarist Michael Crain and singer Gabe Serbian and after a number of performances, they came in with producer Ross Robinson and started recording their debut album. (Photo: Adam DeGross) = A year later, when the recordings of the album ended, singer Gabe decided to leave the band. Mike took his place and the band decided not to release the album with Gabe's vocals but to re-record the album with Mike's vocals. Mike decided to rewrite all the lyrics and recorded the entire album. The band's album was released in August 2017 through two record companies: Mike's Ipecac and Justin's Three One G. = In August 2017 all the band members were arrested in Texas and released immediately afterward, the reason for the arrest is unknown! = In 2006 after 6 years of birth Mike put together a "composition" called "Peeping Tom", which is actually Mike with a lot of foreign artists that he personally does not even know. The first and only album was released in 2006 and was named after the group. The entire album was written by Mike and contains 11 tracks each of which he collaborates with another artist, such as rapper Rahzel, Brazilian musician Amon Tobin, electronic ensemble Massive Attack, singer Norah Jones and more and more... (Photo: Ipecac Recordings) = Mike did not know most of the artists on the album personally and had never been with them in the same room or studio, everything was done remotely with Mike's step-by-step guidance. = The group has one video clip called "Mojo", look for it on YouTube... = Another supergroup ensemble formed by Mike, this time with guitarist Duane Denison in 1999, the "Tomahawk" band. The two got to know each other through the performances of Mike's band "Mr. Bungle" and started exchanging ideas and demos. (Photo: Ipecac Recordings) = At a later stage joined, John Stanier the drummer of "Helmet" and "Melvin's" bassist Kevin Rutmanis. = The band has released 4 albums: "Tomahawk" 2001, "Mit Gas" 2003, "Anonymous" 2007, and "Oddfellows" 2013. All the albums were of course released under the Mike Ipecac label. = In the years 2001 - 2007 the band went on a large number of tours around the world. = In April 1999, in California, two friends, Mike & Greg Werckman who was former employee of the record label Mercury, founded the independent record company Ipecac Recordings. = The origin of the company's name is based on the name of the Ipecac syrup whose function is to induce vomiting. The company's slogan is "Ipecac Recordings - Making People Sick Since 1999". = The record company was formed out of the need of the two to give support to non-mainstream groups, the groups that create hard-to-digest music. They were even different and more extreme than the indie companies. (Photo: Jon Attenborough) = Their principle was not to "purchase" the artist but his music in order to distribute it and so they did not sign the artists on long-term contracts with music videos, marketing plans, and the like but signed them to create one album and distribute it. = There are rumors that the label is profitable to this day... (Photo: Buzz Osborne) = Mike said that the band was formed after its members were kicked out of other bands that were really bad, drummer Jed Watts and guitarist Trey Spruance were thrown out of a metal goth band, and bassist Trevor Dunn and Mike were thrown out of a Metallica cover band. = The band style is so eclectic, so complex, and diverse that they had to use a lot of instruments, some conventional and some not. The use was so complex and different that it was very difficult for them to record the sounds in the studio and even more difficult to perform a live performance (in the photos of the live shows, the stage looks like a garage sale) but that, of course, did not stop the band. = They used to go up on stage in weird costumes with weird masks and change their behavior according to the same character in each show. The most popular costumes were clown costumes and carnival accessories. = The band that has undergone many changes has released three albums to date: "Mr. Bungle" in 1991, "Disco Volante" in 1995, and "California" in 1999. = Speaking about California... Mike has a very "complex" relationship with singer Anthony Kiedis . It started with Kiedis accusing him of imitating the movements and form of singing in performances and in addition, Mr. Bungle, "California"'s album was due out the same day the Peppers' "Californiacation" came out, which further annoyed Kiedis. = Unlike Mike's other bands (and since Mike's label did not exist then) the band's label was the giant Warner Bros. company. = The band existed from 1985 to 2004 when in August 2019 it announced that it would hold 3 performances during February 2020 which were of course shelved following the Coronavirus. = Mike has appeared in more than 17 films in various roles as an actor, producer, dubbed, and soundtrack creator. He has also participated in 7 video games as a dubbing and soundtrack creator. = In 1979 in San Francisco, California, a band called "Sharp Young Men" was formed when in 1982 it changed its name to "Faith No More". (Photo: Mick Hutson) = Of course we will not detail the history of the band here but we invite you to read the album reviews... = In 1988 the band's singer Chuck Mosley was fired and Mike took his place, this is Mike's breakthrough band that brought with it tremendous success and made this band one of the most important rock bands in history. = The band has released 7 albums (5 albums with Mike): "We Care a Lot" (1985), "Introduce Yourself" (1987), "The Real Thing" (1989), "Angel Dust" (1992), "King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime" (1995), "Album of the Year" (1997) ו- "Sol Invictus" (2015). = They were nominated 3 times for the Grammy Awards in 1990, 1991, and 1993. = The band disbanded in 1998 but came back to life in 2009 and since then they keep performing around the world. In September 2021 the band released a very alarming announcement in which it announces that its tour has been canceled due to mental health issues that Mike needs to deal with. = A year later, Mike posted on social media that he was able to take care of the health problems he had and that he was performing again. Since Faith's tour was canceled, Mike went on tour with "Mr. Bungle". = Mike's full name is Michael Allan Patton and he was born on January 27, 1968, in Eureka, California. = He is a multi-instrumentalist, actor, singer, lyricist, producer, filmmaker, and gifted musician. = As a producer he has worked with artists like: John Zorn, Sepultura, Melvins, Kool Keith, and many other good and weird ones. (Photo: Mark Metcalfe) = As a solo artist he has recorded three albums: "Adult Themes for Voice" (1996) an album consisting of 34 tracks recorded in hotel rooms during Faith's tour and not considered singing! "Pranzo Oltranzista" (1997) is an album based on the 1932 book "Futurist Cookbook". "Mondo Cane" (2010) is a cover album of Italian pop songs from the 50s and 60s and is performed by an orchestra of 40 musicians and a choir of 15 people. = Given Mike's prolific life there's a very good chance we've missed a few things, it's very difficult to keep up with this crap called Mike Patton. = He is the singer with the largest vocal range spanning 6 and a half octaves from Eb1 to E7. We have chosen something different for you, the Mondo Cane album released in 2010, listen on: Spotify , Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook  / Instagram  or Subscribe to our website

He's part of "Iron Maiden's" mighty guitar trio, he played with Ian Gillan , Fish and was part of a supergroup that also included Paul Di'Anno and Clive Burr . Ladies and gentlemen, Here are some facts about Janick Gers: (Photo: NME) 1. He was born in the town of Hartlepool in the northeast of England, on 27 January 1957 and his full name is Janick Robert Gers. 2. He has relatives who live in Poland and he used to visit them in his youth, where he also purchased his first guitar. 3. Gers is left-handed but he plays guitar with his right hand. 4. He started his musical career in 1975 when he formed the band "White Spirit", with which he released an album in 1980. 5. The guitarists who influenced him the most, were Ritchie Blackmore, Jeff Beck , Tony Iommi , Jimmy Page and Rory Gallagher. 6. The bands that influenced him the most, were: "Deep Purple", "Black Sabbath", "Pink Floyd", "Free", "Led Zeppelin", "The Beatles". (Photo: www.ironmaiden666.com) 7. In 1981 he joined the band "Gillan". Ian Gillan 's solo band. Together with "Gillan" he will release two albums: "Double Trouble" from 1981 and "Magic" from 1982. Gers played and also co-wrote songs on both albums. 8. After Gillan's lineup disbanded and Gillan moved to "Black Sabbath", Janick took time-off and completed a degree in sociology. 9. In 1985, Gers joined the "Gogmagog" supergroup, which included singer Paul Di'Anno and drummer Clive Burr , both former "Iron Maiden" members, guitarist Pete Willis of "Def Leppard" and bassist Neil Murray previously of "Whitesnake". The band released one EP that included three songs and disbanded immediately after. 10. In 1989 Gers was asked by Bruce Dickinson to play in his song "Bring Your Daughter ... to the Slaughter", which Dickinson wrote for the soundtrack of the movie "A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child". 11. This collaboration between the two was later expanded to a full-length album - " Tattooed Millionaire " - Bruce Dickenson's first solo album released in 1990, in which Gers played guitar and participated in writing most of the songs. 12. The same year, Gers wrote and played on the song "View From The Hill", which was included in "Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors" - the excellent debut album of Fish . 13. During the recording of Bruce Dickinson 's first solo album, Gers was asked to join "Iron Maiden" as a replacement for guitarist Adrian Smith. 14. Gers released 10 albums with the "Iron Maiden" from " No Prayer for the Dying " in 1990 to " Senjutsu " in 2021 and co-wrote some of its songs, including: "Be Quick or Be Dead", "Wasting Love", "Lord of the Flies", "Man on the Edge", "Ghost of the Navigator", "Dance of Death", "The" Talisman", "The Legacy", "The Book Of Souls", "Stratego" and more... 15. Gers, whose theatrical performance breathed fresh air into the band in its less popular moments from the 1990s, has rightfully and not graciously earned his place as a full member to this day, even after Smith's return to the band in 1999. "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook  / Instagram  or Subscribe to our website

On January 27, 1980, singer Bon Scott made his last performance with "AC/DC". (Photo: Hulton Archive) This was the last show in the tour to promote the masterpiece album " Highway To Hell ". It was held at the "Gaumont Club" in Southampton, England. The performance was scheduled to take place on December 18, 1979, but for no apparent reason, it was delayed to January 27, 1980. Of course, no one knew this was going to be Bon Scott 's last show with the band. The stylist played that evening: 1) Live Wire 2) Shot Down in Flames 3) Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be 4) Sin City 5) Problem Child 6) Bad Boy Boogie 7) The Jack 8) Highway to Hell 9) Girls Got Rhythm 10) High Voltage 11) Whole Lotta Rosie 13) Rocker 14) TNT 15) Let There Be Rock On February 7, 1980, Scott will perform with the band in "Top of the Pops" TV show. On February 15, he will join the Young Brothers in the studio for an initial session on two new songs that will later be included on the album " Back In Black ". However, on February 19, 1980, Bon Scott would drink heavily and lose consciousness, and died in the vehicle of his friend, Alistair Keener, parked outside of Keener's house. Bon Scott's death was determined a day later on February 20, 1980, when the official cause of death was alcohol poisoning. "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook  / Instagram  or Subscribe to our website

He's the only member of "Pink Floyd" who appears on each and every one of the band's albums, he's a drummer, he's a songwriter, he's a talented producer, his name is Nick Mason and we want to tell you some facts about him: (Photo: Jorgen Angel) 1. He was born Nicholas Berkeley Mason on 27 January 1944, in Birmingham England. 2. As a child he took piano and violin lessons, but soon realized it was not for him and switched to drums. 3. In 1964, while studying architecture at Regent Street Polytechnic (now the University of the West Ministers), he met Roger Waters, Bob Klose, and Rick Wright, with whom he formed the band "Sigma 6." 4. After the breakup of "Sigma 6" in 1965, Mason, Waters and Rick Wright joined Syd Barrett and co-founded "Pink Floyd". 5. In "Pink Floyd" Mason co-wrote songs such as "Echoes", "Time", "Careful With That Ax, Eugene" and "One of These Days". 6. Mason wrote only two songs from Pink Floyd's huge repertoire by himself: "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party Parts 1-3" from "Ummagumma" and "Speak to Me" from "The Dark Side Of The Moon". 7. The only "Pink Floyd" song that Mason sings in, is "Corporal Clegg" from the album "A Saucerful of Secrets". There, too, he only sang during the verses. 8. Other songs in which Mason's voice can be heard talking are: "Signs of Life", "Learning to Fly" and "One of These Days" in which he is responsible for the iconic sentence: "One of these days, I'm gonna cut you into little pieces ". 9. An interesting detail about the song "Learning to Fly", is that Mason's voice there was recorded during his first solo flight. 10. Mason is also responsible for some of the recordings of the effects heard on the band's albums. 11. Mason is also a respected producer and has produced masterpieces such as Robert Wyatt's "Rock Bottom", Gong's "Shamal", Steve Hillage's "Green" and even The Damned's "Music for Pleasure". 12. In 1981 Mason released his first solo album - "Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports", featuring singer Robert Wyatt. 13. In 1985 he collaborated with Rick Fenn - "10CC" guitarist and released the album "Profiles". 14. Since then he has released with him four more soundtracks for movies. 15. Mason also collaborated with jazz artist Michael Mantler and since 1976 has participated in five of his albums. 16. Along with "Pink Floyd", Mason released 15 studio albums. 17. He owns a number of luxury cars with which he also competes in racing. (Photo: The Sunday Times Driving) 18. In 2004 he published his book "Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd", which presents the story of the band in a humorous way. 19. In 2018 he formed "Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets", in which he performs "Pink Floyd" songs from the Syd Barrett era. 20. As mentioned, Mason is the only member of "Pink Floyd" to appear on each and every one of the band's records. "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website

Written By: Moti Kupfer Release date - 27.1.1970 By the end of the 1960s, Van Morrison  felt completely stuck. He saw no real money from his biggest hit "Brown Eyed Girl" , and became entangled with manager and producer Bert Berns, a figure with ties to the criminal underworld who even sent mobsters to threaten him. Berns eventually passed away, but in order to escape his draconian contract with "Bang Records" , Morrison needed outside intervention. That intervention came from "Warner Bros." , who bought out his contract in a deal worth $20,000. Morrison released his second album " Astral Weeks ", which was warmly received by critics, but the wider audience remained indifferent. Commercially, it failed. Morrison stated that to the people around him he looked like a successful artist, but his bank manager thought otherwise, but he said that he had to keep going, even if it meant cleaning windows. "Warner" executives gently hinted to Morrison that he had one more chance to justify their faith in him. He had no intention of letting them down. Especially not with another mouth soon to feed. His wife, Janet Planet, was pregnant with their first and only son. Under the very real pressure surrounding him, Morrison did what he knew how to do best: deliver the goods, while remaining fiercely eccentric. Following in the footsteps of Bob Dylan  and "The Band", whom he deeply admired, Morrison and his wife moved to the town of Woodstock in upstate New York. There, amid the quiet and pastoral landscapes, his third album "Moondance" was born, released on January 27, 1970. This is an album bursting with mystical love songs, hymns to life and nature, songs about dreams and visions. Morrison said that “No one knew what he was looking for except him, so he just did it. Here he blends jazz, folk rock, country, R&B, and soul, with strong melodies and pristine arrangements, all coming together into a cohesive album that still sounds remarkably fresh. Morrison dictated the course of events. He fired everyone who had helped him create " Astral Weeks ", deliberately cultivating an atmosphere of artistic autonomy during the sessions. He claimed that when he went into the studio, he is a magician. He make things happen. Whatever works in that particular space at that particular time, he use it. he exploit it. The album finds Morrison channeling his abilities through more traditional melodic forms, giving the songs a rustic, earthy quality. The opening track "And It Stoned Me"  is based on a kind of mystical experience Morrison had as a 12 year old while fishing in the countryside. He asked an old man for water, who gave him some drawn from a stream. Morrison shared his feelings: “We drank a bit and it seemed like everything stopped for me. Time stood still. For about five minutes everything was completely quiet and I was in this ‘other dimension’. That’s what the song is about.” The jazzy title track "Moondance"  is a tribute to the autumn season and to romance itself. The song features piano, guitar, saxophone, electric bass, and a wonderful flute performance by Colin Tilton. Toward the end of the track, Morrison can be heard vocally imitating the saxophone. "Crazy Love"  features gospel styled backing vocals with Motown influence, achieved by Morrison positioning himself extremely close to the microphone. The music itself is very restrained, built around acoustic drums, bass, and brushed percussion. On "Caravan"  and "Into the Mystic" , Morrison focuses on the mysterious power of music itself. Singing about music, gypsy life, and his youthful days on the water in Belfast, these songs function as symbols of harmony. His spiritual redemption arrives with the gospel infused "Brand New Day" . Morrison said he was inspired to write the song after hearing "The Band" on the radio performing "The Weight" and "I Shall Be Released". The album cover was photographed by Elliott Landy, who was also responsible for the photography on Dylan’s "Nashville Skyline" . She recalled that when she arrived at his house on the day of the shoot, Van had a huge pimple right in the middle of his forehead, so she had to photograph him up close, cropping the top of his forehead. In July 1970, Morrison, wearing sunglasses, appeared on the cover of "Rolling Stone" magazine. Van Morrison was on the verge of fame. “If you want dreams to happen, make them real,” he sang on the album’s penultimate track "Everyone" . And there is no doubt that the singer from Belfast fulfilled his own dream, finally locking into perfect alignment with "Moondance" . For Listening : Spotify , Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook  / Instagram  or Subscribe to our website

On January 12, 1973, "Deep Purple" released its seventh studio album "Who Do We Think We Are". The album's title came from an interview given by drummer Ian Paice to Melody Maker in 1972, in which he referred to angry letters received by band members or bad reviews, that usually begin with sentences like: "Who do Deep Purple think they are ..." This is the fourth and final album released by the classic MKII lineup - the band's all-star lineup that included Ritchie Blackmore , Jon Lord , Ian Paice , Roger Glover , and Ian Gillan . Although this amazing lineup would reunite in 1984 to release the excellent album "Perfect Strangers", at the time of the recordings of "Who Do We Think We Are", such a reunion would not have seemed as something possible at all. As much as this lineup of "Purple" was immortal and released masterpieces albums at a crazy pace, it was never really a stable lineup. The tensions between the band members were always there and they got worse after the band released " Machine Head " in March 1972. Immediately after the release of the album, the band went on a world tour where the masterful live album "Made In Japan" was recorded, during three performances in Japan - from 15 to 17 August 1972. The band was then at its peak, both in terms of global success and musically, and this can be heard in the tremendous talent and incredible precision in the performance of all five members on this tremendous live album. But, by the time the band returned to the studio to record their next album, things were already different. The band was tired of touring that lasted 18 months, but instead of letting them rest, their management wanted to continue with the momentum and pushed them to complete their next album. Fatigue and burnout served as fertile ground for arguments and friction between the band members, especially between Gillan and Blackmore. The two were so conflicted that they did not even want to be in the same space together. And so it happened that Ian Gillan 's vocals and Ritchie Blackmore 's guitars were recorded without any joint involvement of the two in the creative process. For example, the lyrics to the song " Smooth Dancer " were written by Ian Gillan about the murky relationship he had with Blackmore. The words: "Black suede, do not mean you're good to me ..." refer to the "man in black" and describe Ian Gillan 's feelings towards Blackmore's temperament. Gillan spared no words and noted in the lyrics that he tried to get along with Blackmore, but without success: "I tried to go along with you". Gillan even hinted at his near departure and that he was about to go free with the words: "Do not you look at me because I'm gonna shake free ". Blackmore who as mentioned was so preoccupied with the conflict with Gillan, did not even notice that the song was talking about him and when he had already discovered this it was too late. Another example of the murky atmosphere during the recordings, is also related to Blackmore and the fact that when a guitar riff sounded brilliant to him or the others, he just stopped playing it. When asked why, he simply replied that he was keeping it for his own solo project. Indeed, excerpts from these sessions will eventually find their way to the album " Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow ". These two examples seem to explain why this album is considered by many to be the least good of the MKII lineup and why it was the least perfect, compared to the three masterpieces that came before it. When the band is worn out, torn, and engaged in constant friction, when two of its members are not even able to be in the same space together, this must affect the creative process and the musical level, as indeed happened in this case. This difficult atmosphere will cause Gillan to leave the band, during the album recordings, due to his ongoing frustration. However, the band's management pressured him to go on a tour to support the album, and Gillan was convinced. Glover who was the closest to Gillan and actually joined the band with him also decided to retire after hearing from the band manager about the ultimatum Blackmore gave Ian Paice and Jon Lord . He told them it was either him or Glover. The two of course realized that Ritchie Blackmore 's contribution to the band was much greater and decided they preferred him over Roger Glover . Blackmore also made sure that this was not told to Glover, to avoid a situation where Glover would leave the band in the middle of the planned tour. When poor Glover found out about the intent, he simply retired so he would not give Blackmore the satisfaction of his dismissal. Rumor has it that later Blackmore even told him: "it's not personal it's just business". Despite this sad ending of the MKII lineup and even though the creative process was flawed from the beginning, it is still a great album of the "Purples". If that's what a wounded and bleeding band can do, just think what else they would have been able to give us, had it not been for all the quarrels and frictions they had. The album opens up with " Woman from Tokyo ", which was the biggest hit from it. The song was written ahead of the band's first visit to Japan and it tells the story of an imaginary Japanese girl. It includes one of Blackmore's beautiful riffs on the album and in general. It is interesting to note that the album version of the song is different from the version released for radio. While the album version includes the trippy and dreamy section in the middle of the song, this beautiful section is not present in the single version. This song is the only one from the album that the band recorded in Rome, while all the other songs will be recorded in Frankfurt, Germany. Admittedly, during those sessions in Rome, the band recorded another song - " Painted Horse ", but it will not appear on the album and will only be released later as part of a compilation album with rare excerpts. For those unfamiliar with it, this is a recommended song that presents a slightly different style of the band. The second track " Mary Long ", was written in protest of British censorship. Those of you who have read the review we wrote on "Pink Floyd's" " Animals " album, will surely remember the name, Mary Whitehouse. Mary was a public activist who was the founder of the " National Viewers' and Listeners' Association " in the UK. A censorship body whose job was to "cleanse" television and culture of what she perceived as moral corruption. Well, Mary was also the subject of the song " Pigs (Three Different Ones) ", by "Pink Floyd" - where she served as one of the three "pigs" that Waters wrote about. For the review, we wrote on the album " Animals " click on the link. " Super Trouper " was written by Ian Gillan about the way he feels when he stands on stage. "Super Trooper" was a nickname for a powerful spotlight that was used in performances at the time. This is not the only song with the same title, written on this unique spotlight, "ABBA" will use it as the name of the album and theme song from 1980. It is interesting to note that this song was released as the second single from the album and its b-side was " Blood Sucker " from the album " In Rock ", which really reminds it. The track that seals the first side of the vinyl, is " Smooth Dancer ", which Ian Gillan wrote about his relationship with Blackmore, as we wrote above. (Photo: Deep Purple - Udiscover Music) The other side of the vinyl opens up with " Rat Bat Blue ", one of the best songs on the album, with the amazing keyboard work of Jon Lord . It's also Glover's favorite song from the album. It talks about "picking up girls" and its title refers to the drum rolls and transitions. The second song on the other side " Place in Line ", is a blues song that might hint at the direction Blackmore would like to take the band later down the line. It's probably also one of the "weakest" songs on the album, but still, Blackmore's solo here proves once again how huge this guitarist is .. The album ends up with " Our Lady " a song different from the musical landscape we are used to getting from "Deep Purple" and shows the musical direction that Gillan will follow on his solo career. In this sense, it's a kind of counterbalance to the previous song and actually sums up the relationship between Blackmore and Gillan and the different directions they wanted the band to follow. Do not ask us why but at times, this song reminds us of fragments from the song "The Nile" Song by "Pink Floyd" from the album " More ". As mentioned, after the release of the album, the process of disintegration of this huge lineup was completed and culminated in the band's last performance, held on July 29, 1973. The show was held in Osaka, Japan and it was a kind of closure for the iconic shows that took place there just a year earlier, as documented in the album "Made In Japan", only this time the atmosphere was completely different. For Listening: Spotify , Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook  / Instagram  or Subscribe to our website

A Sneak Peek on a great album... "Bridge over Troubled Water" The fifth album by the duo Simon & Garfunkel, was released on January 26, 1970. Despite its huge success, "Bridge over Troubled Water" is the last album the duo released. It included hits like " The Boxer " written by Paul Simon in response to bad reviews he got from music critics and included lyrics from the Bible, " Cecilia " about love and heartache between a man and a woman, " El Cóndor Pasa (If I Could " which Paul Simon based on a Peruvian folk melody and was the subject of a lawsuit, " Bye Bye Love " which is a cover version of a song by "The Everly Brothers", the theme song " Bridge over Troubled Water ", and more. This time we chose to focus mainly on the theme song. So here are some interesting facts about it and the on the album: 1. The song was written by Paul Simon but is sung by Art Garfunkel. 2. This is the theme song from the album "Bridge over Troubled Water", which is the best selling album of the record company "Columbia". 3. The song was written in 1969 in the summer house "Blue Jay Way" where George Harrison wrote the song "Blue Jay Way" by "The Beatles". 4. Paul Simon originally wrote two verses but Garfunkel and producer Roy Halee persuaded him to add a third verse, which indeed Simon did in the studio. during the recording of the song. 5. The song was originally written on guitar, it took Simon a while to change the production to fit a piano. 6. The one playing the piano in the song is Larry Knechtel who has also played on the albums of "The Byrds", "The Beach Boys", "The Doors", Elvis Presley and later will form the band "Bread". 7. The line "Sail on, silver girl" from the song refers to Simon's girlfriend at the time - Peggy Harper, who found a white hair on her head. Later Simon will marry Peggy. 8. The song and album won five Grammy Awards in 1971, including Album of the Year and Song of the Year. 9. This is one of the songs that have the most cover versions. One of the cover versions is by none other than Elvis Presley. 10. The song is ranked 48th on the "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. 11. " The Boxer " also entered the list of the 500 greatest songs of all time by "Rolling Stone" magazine, a tremendous achievement considering the fact that two songs from one album enter the honorable mention list. 11. The album "Bridge over Troubled Water" is one of the best selling albums in the world with sales of over 25 million copies worldwide !! 12. The album reached number one in 10 different countries around the globe. 14. It stayed on the first place in the U.S. Billboard 200 for 10 weeks and a total of 85 weeks in the chart. 15. The album stayed at number one on the UK charts for 35 weeks and in total 285 weeks on the charts. 16. The album entered the list of the 500 greatest albums of all time by "Rolling Stone" magazine. For Listening: Spotify , Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook  / Instagram  or Subscribe to our website

Written By: Moti Kupfer Release date - 26.01.1973 One of the simplest musical styles on the surface, yet one under whose banner immensely talented musicians and melodies have flourished, is folk rock. It is a genre that combines direct, melodic songwriting with the basic rhythms of rock and roll. In the early 1960s, folk rock began to take shape in the United States with artists such as "The Byrds", Bob Dylan , Janis Ian, and Joni Mitchell. By the late 1960s, folk rock had also developed in Britain. This British variation blended ancient traditional folk with rock music, and unlike the guitar driven harmonies favored by American artists, its British counterpart leaned toward richer arrangements of acoustic instruments, at times hinting at what would later be identified as progressive rock. Among the first artists to create British folk rock were bands such as "Pentangle", "Steeleye Span", and "Fairport Convention", led by the London born singer Sandy Denny. An exception during those years was the band "Strawbs", whose songs were fronted by a male vocalist rather than a female one. Their fifth album, "Bursting at the Seams", was released on January 26, 1973. "Strawbs" were formed in 1964 under the name "Strawberry Hill Boys", as the founding members Dave Cousins, Tony Hooper, Arthur Phillips, and John Berry were students at St Mary’s College, a teacher training college located in Strawberry Hill, London. In their early days, they played bluegrass, a style combining musical traditions brought by immigrants from the British Isles with elements of jazz and blues. As the years progressed, the band’s lineup changed frequently. Even Sandy Denny and Rick Wakeman, later famously associated with Yes, were members of "Strawbs" for a short time. Still, every serious band needs at least one anchor, and for "Strawbs" that figure was Dave Cousins, one of the group’s founders who endured through the many lineup changes across the band’s long career. From their bluegrass beginnings, the music of "Strawbs" gradually evolved toward prog folk and folk rock, and eventually into the inevitable connection with progressive rock. After a live album and a third studio release, Rick Wakeman exhausted his partnership with "Strawbs", citing what he described as “artistic differences”. He was replaced by Derek “Blue” Weaver, formerly of the Welsh rock band Amen Corner. Weaver contributed keyboards and mellotron, beginning with the band’s fourth album "Grave New World", an album that pushed "Strawbs" step by step away from folk and closer toward rock. Another move in that direction came with the band’s fifth album, "Bursting at the Seams", where guitarist Dave Lambert joined the group, replacing founding member Tony Hooper. Lambert brought electric guitar into the mix, but if you expect him to come in swinging hard, not quite. This is still very much Dave Cousins’ band, driven by his songwriting, although there remains space for compositions by Weaver, Richard Hudson, and John Ford across the album. The single intended to promote the album and target chart success was "Lay Down" , but it was the second single, "Part of the Union" , that achieved major impact. Fueled by the line “You don’t get me, I’m part of the union, till the day I die”, the song later became a working class anthem worldwide. These two tracks remain the band’s most successful singles. The album opens with "Flying" , featuring a beautiful electric guitar picking pattern, and continues with a blend of banjo, mellotron, and vocal harmonies that lift the listener on wings of imagination right from the outset. That sense of flight continues with "Lady Fuschia" , a masterful folk song written by Richard Hudson and bassist John Ford, before landing abruptly with "Stormy Down" , carried by Cousins’ trembling vocal delivery that vividly mirrors the storm itself. After "The River" , which functions as a brief intro, comes what is perhaps the album’s most impressive and darkest composition, "Down By The Sea" . It opens with a guitar riff that feels strikingly ahead of its time, one that would sit comfortably within mid 1980s rock. The music itself is ominous, but the lyrics are even more unsettling, telling the story of a massive northern wind tearing an entire building apart, followed by vivid imagery of a violent sea storm, a swirling maelstrom, and lifeboats sinking beneath the waves. After such darkness comes "Soup For Lunch" , a song that always brings to mind early English lessons on educational television. Despite its relatively upbeat mood, the lyrics stand firm in their message. An anthem, perhaps we already said that. The album closes with "Thank You" , carried by piano and a children’s choir, serving as a reflective ending. Its lyrics express gratitude for the simple things in life, offering a thoughtful and gentle conclusion to the album. For Listening : Spotify , Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook  / Instagram  or Subscribe to our website

We were willing to give everything just to be a fly on the wall in the recordings of this wonderful album, we are sure that magic happened during the recordings... This album was issued on the 25th of January 1994. It seems to happen a lot... especially in the world of music, when you do not intend or plan, when things are done spontaneously and without pressure, amazing things are created. This is exactly the story of this album, which in the band's history is defined as an EP but it exceeds the 25-minute rule set for EPs. If we mention the definition of EP then we should just mention that in 1994 this album was the first EP in history to reach number 1 on the Billboard 200. How "lovely" it is to return from a long, crazy, and exhausting tour when you have incredible momentum in terms of success just to discover that you have no home. Some technical failure in the system caused the band, if until now we did not write its name... "Alice in Chains", to forgot to pay rent, and when they returned from the tour they had nowhere to live. Since they booked in advance the London Bridge Studio they decided to stay there until they reset themselves and find a place to live. (Photo: Chris Caroll) Internally for the band, it was not so easy period, despite the success of the album "Dirt" . During the tour, they lost their bassist Mike Starr to drugs and added Ozzy 's bassist Mike Inez . He fitted in amazingly with the band and even recorded with them two songs for the soundtrack to Arnold Schwarzenegger's film "The Last Action Hero", but they have not yet worked with him on the creation of an album. On top of that, the intense and powerful tour took a piece of them and they came to the studio pretty worn out and fed up with distortions and drum beats. Turns out that, that was exactly what they needed at that moment and it was an important moment in the band's history. The test of Mike's dynamics with the band members and the test of everyone's ability to create something new now after the masterful album "Dirt". Before the end of the tour, the band members planned to record an EP and they asked Jerry Cantrell not to write anything, they wanted it to be everyone's joint work. Although there was no plan to release these materials on an album, but only to record them as demos for future material. So without a place to sleep, bored, worn out from the tour and with a new bassist they added producer Toby Wright just to help a bit, they went into the recording studio and... ...Boom !!! After a week, this exemplary album was done !! The album opens with the song "Rotten Apple" when already in his first note Mike gives the stamp that he belongs to this amazing band and integrates into it wonderfully. Cantrell with the "wow wow" feels like he is crying before the harmony of the two enters and the atmosphere becomes gloomy and melancholy. These were 7 minutes. The opening song of the EP just proves they did what they wanted and what makes them feel good. So you had a full 7 minutes to prepare for one of the band's most beloved and moving songs "Nutshell" . The opening of the guitar causes a kind of irrational sense of happiness and sadness mixed together as if neither of them is willing to leave and leave the other alone. We've had a lot of discussions about which song is the most moving, whether it's Pearl Jam's "Black" or "Nutshell" but we'll leave that for another post. Layne Staley as always puts his soul and sincerity into the lyrics, if in the first song, we learned how the guy becomes addicted to drugs and becomes a rotten apple, here he discovers how superficial his new reality is and everything is artificial when he is left alone trying to fight his demons. Here in "Stay Away" our hero has already won and cleaned himself of all the drugs but he tries to keep fighting and avoid those drugs and demons that haunt him and do not give him rest. The combination of Cantrell with the touches of the electric guitar and the extra violins creates a very dramatic atmosphere here that seems to have been taken from a Hollywood movie scene. Layne's amazing opening in "No Excuses" puts us in a slightly more encouraging and less gloomy atmosphere but the meaning is still difficult and it relates to Layne's return to drugs and the deal he's had most of his life. By the way, this is the only song of the band with Layne that took first place in the charts. The next section "Whale & Wasp" is a beautiful instrumental section, Cantrell's talent as a guitarist rises above and beyond and sweeps us without words. The song "Don't Follow" gets a slightly folky southern vibe with David Atkinson's collaboration on the harmonica and is calm and slow, apparently here our drugged hero no longer returns home and asks not to be followed physically as well as mentally. The song that closes the album "Swing On This" is very different in its blues style from the other songs, finding its distant protagonist asking to be left alone even though his family and friends are calling him back home. (Photo: Frank Micelotta) Layne said it was a very exciting and nurturing experience to create this album, he said that he sat on the top floor of the studio waiting nervously to get the song structure from the rest of the band. After the band members assembled the structure they brought him the demo, he wrote the lyrics and melody and with that, he went down to the other members to record the song in full. This is how they worked for a whole week for more than 15 hours a day. The album was recorded on the famous Neve console in a completely analog manner without the use of Pro Tools, Layne specifically demanded that no software be used during the recording of the album. The name of the album was taken from an experiment that Cantrell performed as part of a third-grade school project, where he compared two jars of flies each under different conditions. Layne said the experiment left a great impression on Cantrell so he asked to use it as if some message was hidden in it. The album earned the band two Grammy nominations in 1995, Best Recording Package and Best Hard Rock Performance. Listen to the album on: Spotify , Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook  / Instagram  or Subscribe to our website

This is the controversial album "AMO" by the British band "Bring Me The Horizon" so lets open with a quote from Oliver Sykes, the singer of the band: “Everything boils down to love in the end" In accordance with this controversial sentence, the album is also like this, Oliver and keyboardist Jordan Fish take the experimental and electronic line that began in 2013 with the album "Sempiternal" which was strengthened in 2015 with the album "That's the Spirit" to new territories and give it a much larger volume and variety than before. The two guys here take the concept of "love" and break it down between the songs, as it moves on the line between pure romance and toxic passion and what happens between them. Oliver said that the source of this is his divorce in 2016 and his second marriage in 2017. He said that he felt as if he had lived an entire life in one year and everything was centered around love. He had many difficult and stressful moments and also many good and happy moments and this is what brought him to write about love (it does sound a bit tacky on paper but less so on the album). If in the two previous albums, the electronic elements were present to serve the power of the drums and guitars and were incorporated in a dose that did not give it excessive dominance, here the situation is the opposite and the direction is different. There are songs such as the opening "I Apologise If You Feel Something", "Nihilist Blues", "Ouch", "Why You Gotta Kick Me When I'm Down?", "Fresh Bruises" in which the electronic element clearly dominates and is the one that leads The song itself. (Photo: Pretty Puke) It's not for nothing that the first single released from the album was "Mantra" which is without a doubt the definitive metal on the album, the band wanted to show its fans that it is still faithful to the original, but it completely does not give a glimpse of everything the album contains. It was also accompanied by the singles "Wonderful Life" with guest star Dani Filth, "Sugar Honey Ice & Tea", "In the Dark", "Medicine" and more. There might be an excuse for fans to be angry or upset because what started as a predatory lion, today takes more the form of a Dalmatian dog! Sounds bad, but this is our perspective and this is despite or actually in accordance with the fact that the album went straight to first place in the British charts. In every album that the band released, it underwent a certain transformation, one of the beautiful things about this band (beyond the fact that they are extremely talented and brave) is that each of their albums is different from the previous one. If you take "Count Your Blessings", which was released in 2006 and fits the deathcore genre, and compare it to "Amo", you won't believe it's the same band. Let's just say that even its DNA has undergone a bit of a transformation itself. It cannot be denied that these talented members are brave and do not give a damn about anyone and their creative freedom is most important to them. They push and challenge themselves in everything related to the creation and you can clearly see this in their performances, which until a year ago looked like a completely normal rock show and today it looks like a colorful combination of "Slipknot" mixed with Justin Bieber, without a doubt it should be an experience. It's not for nothing that Oliver sings in the song "Heavy Metal": "I'm afraid you don't love me anymore 'Cause a kid on the 'gram in a Black Dahlia tank Says it ain't heavy metal" So don't listen to a word from anyone. Listen to the album and judge for yourself, by listening on: Spotify , Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook  / Instagram  or Subscribe to our website

On January 25, 1975, a brawl was held between members of "AC/DC" and members of "Deep Purple" crew. How and where did it all happen? Stay tuned and find out. (Photo: Violet Hamilton Collection) This quarrel took place at the "Sunbury Pop Festival" - an annual agricultural festival held northwest of Melbourne, Australia. This was the third year in a row of the festival, which has been held since 1972 in the so-called "Long Weekend", during Australia's independence celebrations. The guest of honor at the festival that year was "Deep Purple"ת who came especially to Australia for a one-and-only performance. "Deep Purple" has just released their "Stormbringer" album, which was released about two months before the show. No one imagined that the name of the album would be a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy, as far as what went on that show. Let's start with the fact that January in Australia is a summer month, but on the day "Deep Purple" was supposed to go on stage, there was a huge rainstorm that turned the farmland into one big mud bath. This affected the number of tickets sold that day to only 16,000, compared to the many tens of thousands, at festivals held in the past three years. Now add the fact that tickets price were $ 20, twice as much as they charged in the past year. The high price was set to cover the high costs of the "Deep Purple" show - a total of $ 60,000 which is equivalent to a sum of about half a million dollars in today's terms. It was the highest payment by large, any of the bands in the festival got, with the band management demanding that this sum will be paid regardless of the number of tickets sold for the festival. In the end, due to the poor sales of the tickets, the festival organizers had to pay the entire profits to "Deep Purple", while the other artists and stage workers were paid nothing. But the weather and the small number of tickets that were sold, were not the only things that will be badly remembered from that festival. During the festival, a brawl broke out on stage between members of "AC/DC" and "Deep Purple" crew. Opinions are divided as to why the brawl broke out, but everyone agrees unanimously that it actually happened. The prevailing version in the "Deep Purple" camp, as quoted by David Coverdale , was that after "Deep Purple" finished their show, an "Australian band" took to the stage and used Deep Purple's equipment without permission, which led to the brawl between Deep Purple's crew members and "AC/DC". Compared to Coverdale's memory from the event, drummer Ian Paice gave a completely different version, according to which "AC/DC" appeared before "Deep Purple", but substantially exceeded the time allotted to them and thus not leaving "Deep Purple" enough time for a full performance, as they were scheduled to leave to the airport, immediately at the end of their show. Paice said that the band manager simply turned off the "AC/DC" amplification system to get them to end the show, and as a result the brawl broke out. (Photo: Guitar Interactive Magazine) On the other hand, in the "AC/DC" camp the versions were much different. It was alleged that "Deep Purple" was the one that substantially exceeded the time allotted to their performance, only to prevent "AC/DC" from performing after them and as a result, a brawl broke out between the two parties. Another version says that the members of "Deep Purple" did not want to take the stage, whether due to the extreme weather or they did not want to perform before "AC/DC". Under these circumstances, the members of "AC/DC" took the stage and played with the amplification equipment of "Deep Purple", which eventually caused the quarrel. Whatever the reason for the brawl, what's certain is that the big winner among the two hard rock giants was actually "AC/DC", a band only in its infancy back then, that took the stage about a month before the release of their debut album "High Voltage". This incident gave of the young band good publicity, at least in the eyes of the Australian audience, who greatly appreciated its daring and the fact that they were not intimidated by the “purple” giants. "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook  / Instagram  or Subscribe to our website