Writer & Editor
Whether Ozzy will ever be able to top Tribute as his best live album is questionable, but Live at Budokan is a solid entry in the history of Oz.
Unlike some “live” albums of recent memory, this is no mishmash of past performances strung together (Note: by this I meant Mötley Crüe’s disappointing and only technically accurate Live. — DJF), but numbers from one concert, which gives the album a much more organic feel. The Japanese fans sing along on classics like “I Don’t Know” with gusto.
Maybe there’s somthing in the Northern character that grasps the grandeur in metal (no longer “heavy,” thereby losing some of its sense of humour) — an example being Finland’s Apocalyptica surprising listeners with cello renditions of Metallica and Faith No More. Remarkably, Sweden’s Opeth have followed up last year’s fairly (sonically) dense Deliverance with an album that can be legitimately called “sublime.”
One of the few eighties metal acts to enjoy success without resorting to a reunion tour, Metallica became the top cover band in the world, whether covering others (as on Garage Inc.) or themselves, with orchestral backup (as on S&M).
Battles with Napster notwithstanding, it almost sounded as if James Hetfield et. al. were starting to have fun with their music. Whence, then, St. Anger?
The Killer Dwarfs always scored high on self-awareness, never taking themselves or their genre too seriously—something that comes through on their album Reunion of Scribes — Live 2001.
Full of energy, Russ “Dwarf” lets loose his Geddy Lee-esque voice over the heavy three-chord rock. The original lineup is reassembled, though you could be forgiven for asking “when did it change?” (Probably some time after you last heard of them.)
Again, Ozzy demonstrates why he has outlasted most of his ’80s-era metal peers, as well as more recent initiates of the heavy rock genre.
Teaming up with guitarist Zakk Wylde, who first added his pyrotechnics to Ozzy’s on 1988’s No Rest For the Wicked, the collaboration proves as fertile as ever on Down to Earth.
Note: I don’t think anyone’s asking anymore why we need another Iron Maiden album, given their output and touring since this review of Rock in Rio was originally published — but given the band’s high standard for live albums set with Live After Death, you might wonder whether Rock in Rio is worth it. Short answer: yes.
You could be excused for asking, “Why do we need another Iron Maiden album?” If you’re actually interested in an answer, listen to Rock in Rio.
