The Wheel Keeps Spinning

           

          

          The mighty wheel is spinning

          At a relentless pace

          And as the clock is ticking

          It's laughing in your face.

         With every passing second

         The end is getting near

          And all that you have reckoned

         Gives in to pain and fear.

        Your big dreams and ideals

        Are crushed by wheel's sheer power

        So you know how it feels

        To suffer day and hour.

        And yet, in times of sorrow

        When all hope appears lost

        You still wait for tomorrow

        And fight the past's ghost.

       The battle may be long

        And hanging by a thread

        But if your spirit's strong

        You'll beat the grief and dread!

       

7. Megadeth- Rust in Peace(1990)- Rock/Metal Album Track Ranking Series

One of the big four of thrash metal, the unmistakable Megadeth, makes its debut in my series with its 4th studio album, 'Rust in Peace', so let's see how I ranked and rated its 9 tracks:

9. Dawn Patrol- 7.5(good)

8. Poison Was the Cure- 8(solid)

7. Lucretia- 9.5(fantastic)

6. Take No Prisoners- 9.5

5. Hangar 18- 9.5

4. Five Magics- 9.5

3. Rust in Peace... Polaris- 9.5

2. Tornado of Souls- 10(stellar)

1. Holy Wars... the Punishment Due-10

OVERALL RATING- 9.22

Religios, nuclear threat, warfare, alien conspiracies, and Dave Mustaine's personal struggles create the picture of an album loaded with excepțional tracks, so ranking them was no walk in the park for me.

"Holy Wars... the Punisment Due" with its monster riff, challenging lyrics about religious conflict and technical wizardry takes the winning spot followed very closely by "Tornado of Souls", another outstanding work of art with a remarkable riff, incredible guitar solo and great melody and chorus. Actually, these two songs are my favourite of the entire Megadeth catalogue, and the fact that they are both from "Rust in Peace" says almost all you need to know about how much I love this album.

Ranking most of the other tracks was also a daunting task as I could use a lot of epithetes about them as well, so positions 3-7 are interchangeable. "Rust in Peace...Polaris", with its powerful riffing and lyrics about nuclear warfare that are as relevant today as they were in 1990, takes the 3rd place by an extremely narrow margin, but the fast and furious pace of "Take No Prisoners", the fantastic twin guitarwork of "Hangar 18", the sonic assault of "Five Magics", and the slightly playfully, but equally great banger"Lucretia"  are also serious contenders for that position.

"Dawn Patrol", although not bad, is somewhat weird compared with the rest of the album, but I can accept it as a way for the listener to slow down a bit before finishing the album in great style with "Rust in Peace...Polaris." Because of this track the album's overall rating dropsuri down a little to 9.22, which is still the highest rating of the seven albums analize so far, and I dare predict that it will stay in that honorable leading position for quite a while, as this is undoubtedly one of my favourite albums of all time. 

"Rust in Peace" can definitely be chara terized as a staple of thrash metal. It is Megadeth at its finest, showing its classical line-up(Dave Mustaine, David Ellefson, Marty Friedman and Nick Menza) at the peak of its creativity as it invites the listeners to embark on a thrilling journey full of musical prowess and thought-provoking lyrics. It's a thrash metal masterpiece that you could listen to again and again and still find something new to enjoy!

6. Deep Purple- In Rock(1970)- Rock/Metal Album Track Ranking Series

For the sixth episode of my rating/ranking series I go back in time to the year 1970 when, in addition to Black Sabbath's debut, another huge name from the world of hard rock released a special album, so here's my ranking of the tracks from Deep Purple's fourth studio album, 'In Rock':

7. Livin' Wreck- 8(solid)

6. Hard Lovin' Man- 8.5(very good)

5. Flight of the Rat- 9(great)

4. Into the Fire- 9.5(fantastic)

3. Bloodsucker- 9.5

2. Speed King- 9.5

1. Child in Time- 10(stellar)

OVERALL RATING- 9.14

Only seven songs on this album, but a strong tracklist! The Number 1 spot could only belong to 'Child in Time', a truly timeless masterpiece, one of the most beautiful, dramatic and touching Rock songs ever made! It's a 10-minute ride on a rollercoaster of emotions culminating with the final  fast section and Ian Gillan's haunting screams towards the end.

The next positions on my list belong to hard, dynamic, energetic bangers 'Speed King', 'Bloodsucker' and 'Into the Fire.' They all rock hard and may be seen as early heavy metal tunes, although the band doesn't want to be included in that category, but the influence of a track like 'Speed King' on the birth and evolution of 

genres like speed and thrash metal is undeniable.

The rest of the songs are also quite remarkable, so obviously there is no skippable track, and the album's overall rating- a very high 9.14- places it in the first position among the 6 records I analyzed so far, but a lot more will follow and it's interesting to see how long will Deep Purple manage to keep its leading spot.

Deep Purple's 'In Rock' is a breakthrough album, and a perfect illustration of this legendary British band's influence on the growth of hard rock and heavy metal. The  members of the band at that time- Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice- should have their faces carved forever on the Pantheon of rock music. They definitely earned their place in the hearts of millions of fans with this masterpiece, among other great works!

Train of Fate

    Here we are at the life station

    Ready for a new destination

    Waiting for the train of fate

    To take us to another state.

    No one knows what is inside

    It might be a hellish ride

    Or it could be a delight

    Full of joy, devoid of fright.

    There's one way to know for sure

    Whether it's a curse or a cure:

    Once the train opens its gate

    Step inside, don't hesitate!