The Light Comes After Rain

           

         

      The light comes after rain

      To soothe sadness and pain

      The clouds start to disperse

       Your ship is back on course.

       Your plight lasted for long

       But you stayed bold and strong

       In times where hope seemed gone

       You still searched for the sun.

      Even in pitch black night

      You never ceased to fight

      Until you changed your fate 

      So smile, your life is great!

      

Ranking Rock/Metal Albums: #5. Judas Priest- British Steel(1980)

Legendary British heavy metal act Judas Priest makes its debut in my ranking series with 'British Steel', the album which marks a shift towards a more commercial sound and achieved chart success, so here is my ranking of the tracks:

9. Metal Gods- 7.5(good)

8. Living After Midnight- 7.5

7. United- 8(solid)

6.You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise- 8.5(very good)

5. The Rage- 8.5

4. Steeler- 9.5(fantastic)

3. Grinder- 9.5

2. Rapid Fire- 9.5

1. Breaking The Law- 9.5

OVERALL RATING: 8.66

'Breaking the Law', one of the major hits of the album, wins a very tight race for the first place thanks to its iconic riff and simple but efective chorus which stick to my mind for a long time after hearing it. It's one of those overplayed hard rock/metal tunes I rarele skip, unlike the other major hit, 'Living After Midnight', another simple song with a catchy chorus, but which, as you can see from my rating, doesn't have the same appeal to me(probably because living after midnight and rockin' till the dawn is not recommended for our health if we do it frequently!).

The next three tracks with a high rating of 9.5, 'Rapid Fire', 'Grinder' and 'Steeler', are also eloquent examples of heavy greatness with sharp riffs, fast pace and the unmistakeable voice of Rob Halford sending listeners to the stratosfera, so ranking them was really tough and the order can change after more auditions.

The second half of my ranking includes mostly mid tempo tracks, which doesn't mean that I don't enjoy listening to them, I just do it to a Lester extent than those from the top 4. Even the often maligned 'United' is quite a likeable tune in my opinion, as I often find myself singing în my mind its chorus.

To summarise, I consider 'British Steel' to be a remarkable album, whose more commercial approach played an important part in raising heavy metal popularity and showing younger bands of that time that you can achieve access by playing fast, loud, energetic music as long as it has enough melody and hooks to attract a wider audience. Rock on wherever you are!

Ranking Rock/Metal Albums: #4. Metallica- Kill'em All(1983)

My rock/metal album ranking/rating series continues with the debut of no other than the biggest band of the planet, Metallica, so here comes my track ranking and rating:

 10. (Anesthesia)- Pulling Teeth- 8(solid)

    9. Phantom Lord- 8

    8. Hit The Lights- 8.5(very good)

    7. Metal Militia- 9(great)

    6. Jump in the Fire- 9

    5. Motorbreath- 9

    4. Seek & Destroy- 9.5(fantastic)

    3. The Four Horsemen- 9.5

    2. No Remorse- 10(stellar)

    1. Whiplash- 10

    OVERALL RATING: 9.05

    The fourth album in my series is also the first one with no song whose rating goes lower than 8, which says a lot about how much I love this album.

    The breakneck pace and crushing inensity of 'Whiplash' have made it my favorite track, although 'No Remorse', with its incredible riffs, outstanding soros and great chorus is also a strong candidate for the first place, and the epicness of 'The Four Horsemen', another absolute banger, has installed it in third position, ahead if mid tempo, anthemic rockers like 'Seek & Destroy' and 'Jump in the Fire'. Anyway, no weak track whatsoever, so my ranking can change at any time, and lower placed tunes can also advance in my hierarchy in the future.

'Kill'em All', with its raw, fierce sound and sheer, youthful energy, remains an essential  album, whose influence on the growth of speed and thrash metal is massive. It will always have its place in my playlists and my heart!

World of Green

          

    I'm searching for a world of green

    Where life is great and air is clean

    Where nature rules over the land

    And all its treasures are at hand.

    A world so strange, so full of fun

    Where stress and worries are all gone

    With thick woods, rivers and vast plains

    Where all creatures are free from chains.

    But sadly my quest's an illusion

    So far there's only one conclusion:

    The green gets thinner every day

    Instead our planet turns to gray!

    We still have time to help the Earth

    To generate the green's rebirth

    So let us act for our own sake

    Cause the world's future is at stake!

   

  

Ranking Rock/Metal Albums: #3. Iron Maiden- The Number of the Beast(1982)

The mighty Iron Maiden makes its debut in Episode 3 of my series dedicated to rock and metal albums with 'The Number of the Beast', Bruce Dickinson's introduction to the band, so here is my ranking of the songs:

8. Invaders- 7(OK)

7. Gangland- 7

6. Run To The Hills- 8.5(very good)

5. The Number of the Beast- 9(great)

4. The Prisoner- 9

3. Children of the Damned- 9

2. 22 Acacia Avenue- 9.5(fantastic)

1. Hallowed Be Thy Name- 10(stellar)

OVERALL RATING: 8.62

'Hallowed Be Thy Name', a 7-minute long masterpiece with mind-blowing guitarwork and the fabulous voice of Bruce Dickinson impersonating a man who is meditating on his life as he  is about to be sent to the gallows, is simply Maiden at its finest hour and one of my favorite tunes of all time. 

'22 Acacia Avenue' occupies the second place maybe because it's more complex and interesting than the two well-known singles of the album, the title track and 'Run To The Hills', while ' Children of the Damned', a slower, ballady, beautiful track, also managed to reach of my top 3 ahead of the aforementioned hits, which, along with 'The Prisoner', are obviously not bad either. On the contrary, they are catchy tunes with singalong choruses that also got high ratings from me.

There are, however, two tracks, 'Invaders' and 'Gangland', which I don't find bad, but which don't excite me either. It was quite hard for me to decide which one of these two tracks should take the last spot, but I finally chose 'Invaders' because I think it was a weaker chorus than 'Gangland'.

To summarise, 'The Number of the Beast' is definitely a classic Iron Maiden album, just like basically all their works from the 80s, and even if it has a couple of less impressive songs, I still enjoy it a lot and I frequently listen to it with great pleasure!

Ranking Rock/Metal Albums: #2. AC/DC- Back in Black(1980)

The second episode of my rock/metal albums  exploration is dedicated to the classical 'Back in Black', the first AC/DC album after the premature death of Bon Scott and the introduction of Brian Johson as the new lead singer, so here is ranking and rating of the 10 tracks:

10. Givin the Dog a Bone- 7.5(good)

   9. Shake a Leg- 8(solid)

   8. Have a Drink on Me- 8.5(very good)

   7. Shoot to Thrill- 8.5

   6. You Shook Me All Night Long- 8.5

   5. What Do You Do For Money Honey- 9(great)

   4. Let Me Put My Love Into You- 9

   3. Rock'n'Roll Ain't Noise Pollution- 9

   2. Back In Black- 9.5(fantastic)

   1. Hells Bells- 10(stellar)   

    OVERALL RATING: 8.75

 I don't think there's anything left to say about the greatness of 'Hells Bells' and ' Back in Black', two touching tributes to the late Bon Scott, and undoubtedly some of the most memorable songs in the AC/DC catalogue. ' Rock'n'Roll Ain't Noise Pollution', a slower anthem whose message is as relevant as it was in 1980, gets the bronze medal from me, and as for the big hit 'You Shook Me All Night Long', I generally skip it when it appears in my playlists because of the overplayed factor, but if I listen to it once in a while I enjoy its feel good vibe.

As a conclusion, 'Back in Black' is undoubtedly one of the greatest hard rock albums ever made, a fantastic tribute to the one and only Bon Scott and at the same time of the Brian Johnson era, which continues to this day. Rock on wherever you are!

Time

 

                        

        

   Time flows like a river

    Carving its own path

    Each day can deliver

    Peace, joy, doom or wrath.

    Past is gone forever

    There's no turning back

     On its tough endeavour

     Time stays on its track.

     It's a long and arduous trip

     In which we are all involved

     Passengers on a large ship

     Full of problems to be solved.

    

    Sometimes there are gruelling hours

    Full of pain, hardships and fright

    When we gather all our powers

    To maintain the boat's course right.

    Once the obstacles removed

    And the river's calm and cool

    Our lives may be improved

    Yet we're still slaves of time's rule!

   #SebastianOnciu #poetry #creativewriting  #time #river #flow

The Arrival of the Spring Makes Me Smile

Today, the 1st of March, marks the beginning of the spring in my country, and even if it's dark and rainy outside, I can't stop smiling and feeling a surge of optimism taking over my soul.

There's a big smile on my face, just as in the picture above showing a happy face on a bench in the park of my hometown, at the thought that the dreaded winter is slowly giving way to the lovely spring, and within a few weeks everything will be green once again, the sun will shine and the combination of views, sounds and smells associated with the spring will make me feel again more alive than in the past few gruelling months of winter.

Every year the arrival of the spring symbolises the rebirth of nature and a restart, a new vave of hope and lust for life that makes me feel great again. May this spring be a wonderful season for everyone!

Ranking Rock/Metal Albums: #1. Black Sabbath- Black Sabbath(1970)

I'm starting a new exciting and hopefully long blogging adventure today, one dedicated to rock and metal albums I listen to, since this has been the music I love for a long time. I'm not going to write long reviews since I'm not a music specialist, I'll just rank and rate from 1 to 10 songs from rock and metal albums and  I will  also calculate the overall rating of the albums based on my preferences at that moment. It's all for fun, eventually.

To start this fascinating journey into the world and metal I picked up the album which basically started the heavy metal genre back in February 1970, "Black Sabbath" from the legendary Birmingham outfit by the same name, so here is my ranking and rating of the songs from the least favourite(not the worst, since there isn't a bad song here) to the one I love the most:

8. Wicked World- 7.5(good)

7. Sleeping Village- 8(solid)

6. Behind the Wall of Sleep- 8

5. Evil Woman- 8.5(very good)

4. Warning- 8.5

3. The Wizard- 9(great)

2. N.I.B.- 9.5(fantastic)

1. Black Sabbath- 10(stellar)

OVERALL RATING: 8.62

I have to mention that, in the case of songs with the same rating I ranked them solely on what I feel at the time of writing this post, so the positions are interchangeable based on my mood.

The title track, with its chilling intro and riff and Ozzy's haunting voice, a perfect horror tale, always sends shivers down my spine when I hear it, and N.l.B. almost has the same effect on me. They are easily the most memorable tracks for me, but this doesn't mean that the rest of the album isn't great as well. It's full of hooks and memorable moments that obviously left a profound mark on people and its huge influence on the development of heavy  metal turns it into

 an essential listening for any fan of heavy metal. It is also the start of a great string of albums from Black Sabbath's classic line-up(Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward) and I'm going to rate and rank those albums too in time. Long live heavy metal!

 BONUS: The album cover, with that creepy-looking house and mysterious lady in black, also deserves a 10!