I came home from work last Friday to find not one, not two, not three, not four, but FIVE parcels containing new music! Of course, if you unbox something these days, you have to do it on camera. All of this music will receive a closer look on our annual Good Friday Afternoon Show on Grab A Stack of Rock, tomorrow! However, nothing can top the first look at a musical surprise!
Catch my reaction as I look at:
Six versions of the Darkness’ Dreams On Toast album, which will be discussed in more detail on Friday.
A brand new EP of previously unreleased music by Mystique!
Killer metal from the UK.
A surprise gift of a Japanese import.
A very special gift from Blotto!
All here in this spontaneous and magical unboxing video! Tune in tomorrow for our Good Friday show and a deep dive into all this new music, and much more!
A topic from Martin this week: Album covers featuring eyes, but not the full face! This was a fun one to do, and I look forward to seeing what the other guys bring tonight. My list has a lot of obvious picks, but as usual, Tim beat me to some good ones. It feels like a race to get your list in every week!
Watch tonight and witness!
THE CONTRARIANS – Eyes Without A Face – Wednesday April 16 – 7:00 PM EST
Thanks to all who joined our special live episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden celebrating Live After Death. I always like to write up a little show summary every time we do a live episode. For Harrison and I, scheduling guests required pre-recording episodes for this series. However, we aim to do the live albums as live episodes, because why not? Most of them do not have special guests attached to them, but Live After Death had to be an exception, due to its importance in heavy metal. This week our special guest was show co-founder and viewer favourite Uncle Meat!
Together, the three of us broke down the album, side by side. Each side of this album has its own flavour. I had a favourite. We discuss the spectacular vocal acrobatics of Bruce Dickinson, some (perhaps) excessive crowd interactions, some nearly definitive versions of songs, and some interesting stage banter. We also go deep with the three B-sides: “Losfer Words”, “Run to the Hills” and “Running Free”.
Finally, we take a really good look at the original vinyl itself, the gatefold, the Easter eggs, and much more!
And speaking of Easter eggs, we’ll see you next week for our special live Good Friday afternoon show, and following that, our 100th episode celebration!
Recorded:
14–17 March 1985 (sides 1–3) Long Beach Arena
8–12 October 1984 (side 4) Hammersmith Odeon
Released 14 October 1985 (audio)
23 October 1985 (video)
The first release of Churchill’s speech added onto Aces High.
SIDE ONE
String of hits, five in a row. Easily the best first side of any live metal album.
Aces High – a lot of really really “clean” backing vocals – overdubs?
Revelations – “Nice to see ya, to see ya…nice.” “Written about religion, or about washing your car, actually it’s about hanging a pair of curtains.”
Lot of “extra singing” from Bruce. “yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah oh, oh yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah…” Also lots of variation from the album melody. Lots of extra power from Bruce vocally.
And then “Oh, oh, it is you…” “Motherfucker!” – Nicko?
SIDE TWO
“This is what NOT to do if a bird shits on ya!” One of the most famous song intros of all time?
Also lots of that “extra singing” – “Yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah…”
Followed by “Powerslave” as a serious 1-2 punch.
Ending with Beast is a great record closer. Intro is interesting as it’s pitch-changed with effects added. Also Bruce sings the complete choruses and not just “six”.
SIDE THREE
Another side of smash hits. “Hallowed” (funny twang in Bruce’s delivery)
“Iron Maiden”, “Run to the Hills”, and “Running Free” with the long audience participation section. Kind of the definitive version of this kind of concert activity.
“Hills” is the only song I like a lot less than the album version. Guitar opening sounds thin, Steve’s bass too plunky. Bruce doesn’t sound as enthused compared to Beast Over Hammersmith.
SIDE FOUR
“Wrathchild” is a brilliant addition from the Di’Anno days though “Killers” would have been great too. A definitive Bruce version of “Wrathchild”. Lots of that “extra singing” and you can hear Harris on the chorus clearly.
“Acacia” – “Speak to me, Hammersmith!” – I like Bruce’s echo – “I know a place where we can go go go go…” Great guitar solo work here.
“Damned” – “Let me see those hands, yeeeah!” Magnificent vocal performance by Bruce, top notch all the way! Lovely guitar harmonics after Bruce sings “If he had lived, he would have crucified us all!”
“Boots” – Very frantic vocal delivery with speed.
“Phantom” – an absolutely epic way to end the album. When I first got it, it was an unexpected track. It was my first time hearing it.
B-SIDES
“Losfer Words” – Feels faster and more intense than the album version. A great bonus track and the only live performance available to buy.
“Sanctuary” – Too much “extra singing” in this one!
“Murders in the Rue Morgue” – “Got a surprise for ya!”
50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 10: Live After Death
A special 🅻🅸🆅🅴 episode
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #98
Some call it the greatest metal live album of all time. It was certainly of an unusually high quality when it was released in 1985, for Iron Maiden’s Live After Death was over 100 minutes of masterful classics, accompanied by a generous booklet with liner notes and hundreds of tour photos. It had no equal in heavy metal.
Tonight on 50 Years of Iron Maiden, Harrison and I will be live! It’s a gimmick we want to try for live albums: live episodes to celebrate the live experience! Joining us is show co-founder Uncle Meat, returning to the channel for this special deep dive. Not only is 2025 the 50th anniversary of Iron Maiden, but it is the 40th anniversary of this legendary live album. Meat and I were there in 1985, relishing every note when it was brand new.
Together we will break down all four sides of vinyl (the original CD only featured the first three sides, and the cassette had an edited version of side two, so vinyl used to be the only way to get the whole album). We will also go deep on the rarely heard live B-sides “Sanctuary”, “Murders in the Rue Morgue” and “Losfer Words”. For physical media, we will look at the 1995 2 CD reissue, the remastered 2 CD reissue, the original vinyl, and the singles…one of which didn’t even have Eddie on the cover!
Since this is a live episode, we’ll also be able to take your comments live! Don’t miss this special episode of Grab A Stack of Rock.
LIVE on Friday April 11 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube or Facebook.
Tim Durling came up with this topic, a nice simple one! Album covers with reflections on them. Could be mirrors, could be polished metal, or water! Whatever the cover may be, if it has a reflection, it’s fair game for tonight.
Tune in live!
THE CONTRARIANS – Done With Mirrors – Wednesday April 9 – 7:00 PM EST
I think one of the greatest reasons that my seasonal affective disorder (S.A.D.) has been non-existent this year is the revelation that I can work from home, and when I do it’s not as bad as I feared it would be. This means if I can avoid driving due to weather, I don’t have to drive. My work has a good policy on working from home that would give me this flexibility. After all, when it comes down to brass tacks, the worst part of winter isn’t the weather. It’s driving in it. Looking at it from inside is actually kind of fun.
Our spring has been warm/cold off and on, but spring is definitely here. That means that a few drivers have prematurely taken off their snow tires. Canadians seem to forget that April can get angry, just when you think it’s all over. I don’t know why they forget this, year after year. Perhaps it’s wishful thinking. Regardless, when that last angry storm hit us on April 3 2025, the lack of snow tires on cars that should know better by now, created an actual perfect storm of traffic chaos.
I was at work that morning, and watched as a wet mix of snow and rain suddenly pelted my car from outside. Although I should have gone home immediately, I ate my lunch and emailed my bosses that I’d be working from home that afternoon. I wish I had left 30 minutes earlier, but if wishes were horses…I’d probably still got stuck in traffic.
I watched as a pickup truck in front of me, on only the slightest incline, began to skid backwards. He veered off to the left, and made a U-turn, unable to go up the slightest hill. Once I crested the hill, I was met with three transport trucks that were completely stuck in the snow and ice. I had to carefully navigate the space between them in order to proceed. The hill got steeper, but I had no problem with my snow tires.
It was nerve wracking and I had my dad on the phone the whole time, keeping him up to date with my progress home; he was so worried.
I saw cars pull over to the side of the road just to brush the accumulating snow off their rear and side windows. I was luckier. With my dad’s help the day before, we just finished installing new windshield wipers on my car. They were more than up to the task.
Lessons learned in the winter of 2025:
Working from home alleviates the anxiety aspect of Seasonal Affective Disorder.
‘Twas an honour to sit with Rush scholars Tim Durling, Chez Cetra, and Ryan Murphy and talk about this wonderful Rush 50 box set! You’ve already read my review, but what did these other fine folks have to say about this immersive Rush anthology box set?
Perhaps the most interesting testimony came from Ryan, who initially wasn’t all that psyched about the box set. His attitude changed when he started digging in. Why? You’ll just have to watch and see. Tim’s words are below.
To celebrate five decades of basically the best music ever, Rush recently released a career-spanning box set: 4 CDs or 7 LPs with a beautiful outer protective box, a stunning book full of information and amazing new Hugh Syme artwork for almost every song included. Ryan from @Rushfans, Mike from @GrabAStackofRocK and frequent TVC co-host Chez give our thoughts on the value of owning the RUSH 50 BOXSET.
It is my honour to sit in with Peter Kerr to discuss this thrash metal classic that is outside my comfort zone. We have had some success with similar shows before, such as the one where I became a Prince fan. With Slayer’s Reign In Blood, I was faced with an album with unprecedented speed and intensity. How did I fare? As always, I immersed myself in the album with repeated plays in different settings.
Check out the show below, and face the Angel of Death on Rock Daydream Nation with Peter Kerr and I!
mikeladano.com 