Interactive poll #21: No bards allowed

George:  Great idea for October, btw.  Goblin “Zombi”  Fast moving, rapid attack sort of piece, kind of a jungle feel.  Organ is so perfect for scary music, in this one, it seems to be more sudden scares, rather than building suspense.  I tend to think of zombies moving slowly, but there probably are fast ones amongst them.  Maybe this was an escape from them part of the film?  Hadn’t seen it, so I don’t know.  Pell Mell “Nothing Lies Still Long”  This one feels scarier from the get-go, with the wobbly guitars and driving bass and drums.  I like this one a lot, more atmospheric than the Goblin piece.  Interesting that they’re from Portland.  John 5 & the Creatures “Zoinks”  Before hearing it, makes me think of Scooby Doo (and now I’ve read your notes below, haha).  😊  Another fast moving piece.  Driving drums and snappy guitar and keys, followed by some more driving drums and snappy guitar and keys, revisiting the first melody, but playing a bit with it.  Us, Today “Greetings from the Master”  Love that here is a band utilizing vibes, they can be very haunting when played in just this kind of way.  Nice bass and drums underneath.  Adding in some pretty cool guitar riffs, interesting band.  Still like Pell Mell the best, they seem scarier because it’s a more subtle build rather than immediate headlong dashing (despite the name of Pell Mell). 

I Prophesy Disaster Edgar Winter Group “Frankenstein”  This was a smash hit when I saw them open for ELP at the Hollywood Bowl in 1971.  Too familiar for my vote, but Humble Pie also played and of course, ELP were wonderful.  Fred Frith “The Boy Beats The Rams” Begins with some laughter, then some rhythmic sounds and embellishments.  Then some far-off violins and bass notes enter, lots of fuzzy sound, then some more vagueness with vocalisations and washy sounds.  Too disorganized for my ear palate, although I know he has his adherents.

Scott:  Nice to see you back!  😊  Europe “Aphasia”  I am afraid I suffer from this sometimes! Now on to the music.  Metal sound here, or at least hard rock.  Nice lead guitar, some pretty fast leads there, to put it mildly.  I remember the band name, but never heard anything by them that I remember.  Good heavy selection. IZZ “The Mists of Dalriada”  I like this band a lot, from what I’ve heard, haven’t heard this one before, they are fairly new to me.  Begins with some nice rhythm guitar, moving on into a well done piece with crunchy electric lead, precisely played.  Sounds a little fantasy/Renaissance/Medieval. Glad you brought it to the table here. I have a feeling this will be my favourite of yours. Lillian Axe “Deep Red Shadows”  Begins with acoustic guitar with some harmonics, like the feeling of it, sounds like a finger-picked 12 string.  Adds some nice embellishments, in a kind of Spanish style with percussion well behind the delicate guitar work.  I liked this one.  Ronnie Montrose “Rocky Road” I do remember him and band, Montrose, but not this song.  So what one would expect from him, a quality rock piece.  I’ll see if the melody comes back to haunt me, but I think I do like IZZ the best here.