WOLFSBANE – “After Midnight” (1991 Def American CD single)
It was 1991, and though Wolfsbane were on Def American records, their second single from their second album Down Fall the Good Guys failed to chart. Though the critics were consistently positive about the UK quartet featuring one Blaze Bayley on vocals, it was not translating into sales. “After Midnight” is the name of the track, but its lack of chart performance is not a reflection upon the song. Brendan O’Brien was the producer, which boggles the mind that Wolfsbane didn’t have more success in 1991.
“After Midnight” has a slight country & western feel, which comes unexpected. This was a style that was becoming popular for American rock bands to throw into their tunes for some radio play. “After Midnight” would fit in with any of those better known tracks: acoustic-based with electric guitars for soloing and accent. The easiest comparison is another Def American act, the Four Horsemen, but with a baritone.
This CD single is valuable for the inclusion of three non-album tracks. “Idol” has a tricky little guitar part, but with a punk-like energy and thumping bass. The chorus has potential. “Win Or Lose” is a high-speed rock and roll blast, but without any significant hooks. Good for headbanging or air guitar, but not for singing along. The best track of the B-sides is an acoustic (self-produced) rendition of “Hey Babe” from their prior EP. It was always a pretty good ballad, and this version is stripped back to the basics. Hand-played percussion replaces the big drums, and it has the feeling of a campfire singalong.
Nothing particularly outstanding on this single, but a good collectible nonetheless.
Harrison and I would like to thank our new guests Ashley Geisler, Melissa Nee, and Sidney from Slogan’s Rock & Metal Extravaganza, as well as returning guests Johnny Clauser and Todd Evans, for a rollicking good time on New Year’s Eve.
The concept was simple. Each of us took turns going round, showing off an item we got recently over the holidays.
Sidney had a massive haul of Rock Candy CDs, and used metal bargains from The Beat Goes On. He had a strong showing of Budgie remasters, and a diverse collection of bands. Melissa had some cool Iron Maiden stuff, while Ash is collecting bootlegs and had several to show us. Johnny Clauser brought some recent purchases, and Todd Evans scored well in the Neal Morse department. As for Harrison and I, he had a cool Trust tin and something call ONXRT. I decided to unveil my Van Halen For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge deluxe edition, with a short discussion.
We also started the show with the traditional Ask Harrison featuring Jex Russell.
It’s very possible the winner of the year 2024 was Judas Priest with the recent Rocka Rolla reissue. Have a watch and see.
Because we did the live show mid-week this time, Friday’s show is a pre-recorded special episode. Don’t miss it January 3!
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man Episode 83:Â New Year’s Eve Drop-In Show
It has been a while since I’ve attempted a show like this, but it’s time to do something random and chaotic to end the year with a party.
Disclaimer #1:Â I never make it to midnight.
Disclaimer #2:Â I have no idea what will actually happen tonight.
Harrison and I need a break like this to blow off steam. We’ve both been active on other channels, plus we have been preparing our massive Iron Maiden project for 2025. We are ready to launch it in January. But first, let’s have a party.
Tonight Harrison and I will be hosting some brand new guests: Ash Geisler from Australia, plus Logan and Sidney from Slogan’s music channel. There will be some returning guests and some random drop-ins.
If there is a theme tonight, it’s just showing off music we acquired over the holidays. It should be a fun discussion on that front.
Bottoms up. It’s gonna be a rock and roll party tonight…with a 52 year old host who will require a nap mid-day.
Message me if you need a link to join tonight.
Tuesday December 31 at 9:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 10:00 P.M. Atlantic. Â Enjoy on YouTube or onFacebook!
RECORD STORE TALES #1171: The Best and Worst of 2024
‘Twas another interesting year here at Grab A Stack of Rock HQ! Remember that old curse? “May you have interesting times.” We sure did in 2024.
Jen’s health started the year on a low note, but she bounced back. With the right help, she’s had her best year in a long while. There’s a lot of work still to be done, but has been a year of leaps and bounds for her health!
On Grab A Stack of Rock, we had a strong start to the year, but in February, Harrison got sick. Sometimes you don’t how much you need someone until they’re fighting their own battles. Fortunately Harrison fought hard and has made a recovery, but the timing for me wasn’t ideal. I was trying to increase my YouTube presence by doing two shows a week, but without the Mad Metal Man, I found myself despondent. I tried out a couple new co-hosts to fill in for him while he recovered, but struggled. I almost cancelled the show. Twice.
Still, I carried on, until the great shelf disaster of 2024. That almost broke me. I told people I was going to sell my collection and quit this hobby for good. Because, ultimately, that’s what this is: a hobby. I don’t get paid enough to motivate me to produce content. Advertising and T-shirt sales help fund my WordPress and Streamyard fees, but I don’t make a profit. I don’t break even. I’m about $10 in the hole every month. I almost replaced Grab A Stack of Rock with a food show, after a review of a Chef Ramsay microwavable meal got some hits. Grab A Stack of Eats?
But I didn’t quit. I kept going. Why? The power of friendship. They kept me going. They know who they are.
Thanks to fellow music fans like Grant Arthur, Johnny Clauser, Marco D’Auria, Rob Daniels, Tim Durling, Peter Kerr, Harrison Kopp, Jex Russell, John Snow, Aaron Stewart, Metal Roger and many more, I pushed onwards. I feel like we are now part of a larger, less insulated world. I owe these folks a debt of gratitude for including me in that world. All I have ever wanted, for better or for worse, was to be a part of something, with people who wanted me there equally as much. I feel like I’m in a healthier space again. We have built a bigger, more metallic and welcoming Community.  Long live the Community!
I think the thing that brought me the most happiness in 2024 was simply making videos. I’ve been making videos for 35 years, and there have been peaks and valleys. In 2024, drones were incorporated into some. Jex Russell encouraged me to utilise more angles and edits. In one of the 2024 videos, I used six cameras, a record for me!
Since we already did our Top 5 Albums of 2024 on Grab A Stack of Rock, this year I thought I would pat myself on the back and pick my Top 5 Videos from my own channel! I called it the 2024 Narcissus Award!
NARCICCUS AWARDS 2024
FAVOURITE VIDEOS OF THE YEAR
In no particular order.
1. The Battle of ’84:Â Defenders of the Faith vs. Powerslave with Pete Jones
To have the Professor himself join me for the this epic battle was quite the honour. We tore these albums inside and out, and ultimately picked a favourite. Harrison even joined us at the end, which was a delight. It was hard to pick just one episode of Grab A Stack of Rock for this list, but I think this was the deepest dive of the year.
2. Our Journey Collections on Six Formats with Tim Durling
From the brief period where I was trying to do two episodes a week. I woke up one Saturday morning with the idea to do my entire Journey collection, but realized I didn’t have the historic knowledge of the band to do it justice. Tim Durling happened to be online, and so we did this episode with zero preparation. I think it turned out pretty cool.
3. Mike and Aaron Return to Toronto 2024.
Long overdue. Of all our Toronto videos, this one is the best. I think I just went into it with a clearer idea of the end product, and everything turned out as great as I’d hoped. Plus, the Toronto trip was a total success as you’ll see with the scores we brought home with us. A very special video to me personally. Also, look for the drone shot!
2. An 8-Track Holy Grail discussion with Aaron and Tim Durling
Aaron texted me one day from Harriston, Ontario with photos of 8-track tapes he found. One of them happened to be a very rare “Holy Grail” that Tim Durling needed for his collection. Aaron sent it to me with some other cool scores, and then I sent the Grail to Tim. We made this video in two sessions separated by several weeks, but with the magic of editing, it’s all seamless. This is a very special video for anyone interested in 8-track tapes.
5. 30 Years After the Beat Goes On with Robert Daniels from Visions In Sound
I think this is my proudest achievement in 2024. I had an idea. It had been 30 years since I was hired at The Beat Goes On in Kitchener Ontario. It would be cool to go back to the mall and see how much it has changed in those three decades. Rob Daniels was the perfect guy to join me, since we reconnected at the front counter at The Beat Goes On. We hadn’t seen each other since highschool. He was an avid soundtrack buyer, and I was the new employee. Together, with Jen on camera, we toured the mall landmarks and shared memories of the way it used to be.
I would have had better audio if I used external microphones, but never having done this before, I am incredibly proud of the way it turned out.
Bonus:Â Mike’s Birthday Video by Jex Russell
I can’t really count this for the Narcissus award, because I didn’t make it. However, my favourite video of 2024 was this kind gift. Jex assembled a cavalcade of surprise birthday greetings from many of my friends, family, and a few special rock stars. Jex put a lot of work into this video, not only with getting the guests, but editing it together with his own theatrics. Probably the greatest birthday gift I’ve ever been given. If I ever feel down in the dumps, I just need to watch Martin Popoff call me a “Canadian legend”.
I can’t say how grateful I am for this thoughtful gift.
I am excited for what 2025 has in store. Buckle up. If 2023 and 2024 couldn’t kick me down, then I still have a lot of gas left in the tanks.
List of everyone who has ever joined me on Grab A Stack of Rock to date:
Wanna see what I got for Christmas in video form? Check that out and a whole bunch of Tim’s Vinyl Confessions viewers’ gifts too. The TVC episode below features the gift of music in the year 2024. My segment is roughly 3:00 long. Have a great new year everyone! Here is what Tim has to say below.
Whether it’s a fun and easy episode, or a challenging deep dive, I always enjoy sitting in with Peter Kerr on Rock Daydream Nation. Peter has been on a roll lately with a great viral interview with former Motley Crue singer John Corabi. Congrats Peter on that great chat!
In this episode, we break down the best song and worst song from every Motley Crue album. Joining us were Joe B. and Melissa Nee, with whom we also tackled Theater of Pain. They found this episode a challenge, as they were forced to listen to a lot of albums that might have been a big of a slog. However we all did our duties! As we go through the songs, you also get a sense of our album ranking too, though we didn’t do an official tally. There was some consensus, a little disagreement, and overall a sense of relief to be finished this exercise!
And yes…once again, I sing on another person’s channel. How long before I’m blacklisted for singing? And swearing? And quoting bad lyrics?
I also go on a massive rant regarding the Generation Swine album that makes for good TV.
JUDAS PRIEST – Rocka Rolla (1974 Gull, 2024 Exciter Records Remixed and Remastered)
How did he do it?! Somehow, by some digital miracle of the master tape gods, producer Tom Allom has remixed Rocka Rolla, and transformed it from one of my least favourite Priest albums of all time, to one of my favourites.
Generally I can’t get into the remixed versions of albums. Even if the remix is objectively a better release, such as Rush’s Vapor Trails or Marillion’s Radiat10n, I always find myself coming back to the flawed originals.
Not this time.
For context, Tom Allom didn’t originally produce Rocka Rolla, and this is not the first remix of it.  Rodger Bain produced, but his name appears smaller than Allom’s on the new back cover. The Rocka Rolla (full album) remix that appeared on Hero, Hero (1981) was helmed by Bain, less effectively. Tom Allom is best known for producing the run of Judas Priest albums from Unleashed in the East (1979) to Ram It Down (1988). What he has done with Rocka Rolla is somehow give it a makeover to sound more like a real 1970’s Priest album. Sonically, it now has thickness. There’s a real beefiness to the mix, but not in the sense that you immediate say “oh yeah, this is different.” It just sounds like the album always sounded that way, and you just got your stereo system upgraded.
The track listing is unchanged. “One For the Road” still opens with a groove, but now that groove hits different. You can better appreciate the guitar fills at the end, and the songs goes well past its old fade-out. This is a trick that remixed album should do more often.
“Rocka Rolla” remains a metal delight, but there is new shimmer to Rob’s vocals and the song chugs with more edge. It’s all very objective and subtle, but once again Tom Allom took a Priest classic and made it sound like it was always this weighty.
The “Winter” suite is the most altered of any of the tracks. Notably, Allom chose to separate the tracks from the suite format, and leave them as individual songs.
John Hinch’s drums sound crushingly Bonham-like on “Winter” itself, and the backing riff far more weighty. The biggest change is that it no longer fades into KK’s guitar showcase “Deep Freeze”. You can hear more of KK at the end, with some experimental playing that was inaudible before. The track fades out past its previous point, and “Winter Retreat” stands on its own as a song. In the 70s, Priest were experimenting with acoustics and psychedelic sounds from time to time. “Winter Retreat” can now join those songs as something that sonically fits in better. Finally, “Cheater” always was its own song really, and now it’s just heavier. Rob’s harmonica is more prominent, which of course recalls the heaviness of Black Sabbath.
Moving on to side two, “Never Satisfied” finally has the punch it always felt like it had inside: A little more echo on this this vocal line, a lot more weight behind the drums, more texture on the guitars, and a few things made audible for the first time.  We now have the definitive version of this song. With the impressive soloing mixed in just right, this becomes a long, jammy Priest thumper as it always should have been. If Rocka Rolla sounded like this when I was a kid, I would have got it immediately.
“Run of the Mill” takes time to build as it always has. It has a long instrumental section, with some mindblowing guitar playing, and now it’s all finally hitting right. The bass isn’t just sitting there. It’s picking you up and taking you along with the groove. The keyboards in the background are more ominous. Everything about this is just so much better than the original.
Perhaps the only song that still bores, for the first half anyway, “Dying to Meet You” is similarly upgraded but benefits less from the treatment. That is until it picks up midway in the “Hero, Hero” section. This part of the song still cooks, but has a different, more spare feel.  Finally, the light instrumental “Caviar and Meths” really benefits from the remix treatment. The drums, once again, really add atmosphere to it.
As an added attention to detail, the front cover of Rocka Rolla is now as three dimension as the music. The water drops are now tactile. You can feel the bumps with your fingers. A perfect topper.
What did Tom Allom do with these master tapes? Did he conjure some kind of heavy metal spell and make a two dimensional album sound big and beefy? Only Allom knows, but now I do believe in magic.
40 years ago today was one of the most pivotal in my life. It was the day I discovered Iron Maiden. It was the day my life changed forever, and I found my new identity. Star Wars was over a long time, and I was 12. Time to grow up. Heavy Metal was around the corner. On this day, December 26, 1984.
RECORD STORE TALES PART 1: Â The Beginning – “Run To The Hills”
I still remember the first time I heard Iron Maiden.
Maybe it’s this way for some when they remember the first time they heard the Beatles, or the Stones. Or for those younger, maybe it’s like the first time they heard “Smells Like Teen Spirit” or “Fake Plastic Trees”. The first time I heard “Run To The Hills” was monumental to me, but I didn’t realize yet what the massive impact would be.
It was Christmas of 1984. I was a mere 12 year old looking for musical direction. I hadn’t been much interested in music prior to that. I had albums by Quiet Riot and Styx, but my majority of my collection was John Williams’ movie soundtracks.
I really wasn’t interested in music yet. I had yet to dedicate myself to any particular style. At the same time that I would listen to Quiet Riot, I somehow also thought Billy Ocean was cool.
Well, the video for “Loverboy” was nifty….
I had always been kinda afraid of heavy metal bands. Guys that wore spikes, like Judas Priest or Iron Maiden. Kiss literally scared me when I was buying my first comics (there were always ads for Kiss posters inside comic books), and I know I wasn’t the only one. The neighbor kid was scared to death of Gene Simmons spitting up blood. Bands like Maiden and Priest looked like a bunch of hooligans, definitely up to no good, definitely out to hurt people, including kids.
Boxing Day, Bob came over. It was tradition, every Boxing Day, Bob and I would get together and compare our Christmas scores. Bob scored a cassette tape called Masters Of Metal Volume 2 and I was given an Atari game called Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron.
In my basement, we sat down to play the video game. Our goal was to take the game as far as humanly possible, to see what happened when you shot down so many planes that the Atari didn’t have enough characters to display it anymore. (Incidentally, disappointingly, like most Atari games, it just starts counting up from zero again.) We sat there playing that game so long that Bob had to go home and eat lunch, then come back. But what he left behind while eating was Masters Of Metal.
“Run To The Hills” came on. Some people speak of moments of clarity: That was my moment. The music was fast, powerful, dramatic and melodic. The lyrics were cool and you could mostly sing along. Most importantly, the music and lyrics seemed to combine with the game experience. When Dickinson was singing “Run to the hills, run for your lives!” it meshed perfectly! Too bad Aces High wasn’t out yet!
A moment like that could quickly pass into history and be forgotten for most people.  As the day wore on, I realized that I had found something. This music kicked ass! I was brought up on movie soundtracks. This stuff had the same drama, but with guitars!  This was even better than Quiet Riot and AC/DC, so I said at the time.
It didn’t end there of course. We played through Masters Of Metal, finding a few more diamonds. “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming” By Judas Priest was definitely a close second to “Run To The Hills”. We were fixated on Accept’s “Balls To The Wall”. We’d play it over and over again laughing hysterically at the lyrics. But the song still rocked! I can still remember when MuchMusic started the Power Hour, and they played that video. There’s little Udo Dirkscheider, in his camo pants, and crew cut, rocking with these skinny German guys with long hair. It was fucking hilarious!
We skipped (what we then thought was) the crap…Lee Aaron, Anvil, Triumph. I grew into them later, particularly Triumph. Something to do with double guitars, maybe. I digress.  We always came back to Iron Maiden. Always.
Bob would bring other tapes over as the months and years went by. W.A.S.P., Motley Crue, Black Sabbath. Now Bob’s a father of four who doesn’t listen to rock music anymore, which makes me sad in a way. I’m not sad for him, because he’s got a great family and always has.  I’m more sad because I don’t think he can ever appreciate what impact our shared experiece of rocking out had on me. Listening to Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and the rest. The was it, the beginning.
RECORD STORE TALES #1170: The Smaller the Better – Christmas 2024
2024 was one of our smallest Christmas gatherings, both in budget and in population, but it was certainly one of my happiest.
Sometimes everything just feels right, and this year’s Christmas Eve was held back at the old family home once again. It was the first Christmas Eve there in over a decade, but that’s my happy place at Christmas. A place I can feel comfortable. After all, it was my home for 29 years. I settled in with my dad and watched Superman the Movie while Jen made cookies. We awaited the arrival of my mom, Dr. Kathryn, and a few dogs.
Jen knit custom gifts for the dogs (shawls, mittens and hats). She also knit custom shawls for the ladies, and toques for the men. I love mine.
As an introvert, I do well in small groups. Dinner was the traditional beef fondue (or chicken or schnitzel), with bonus vegan options. I brought over some special flavoured salts and hot sauces to sample.
We did that Christmas “white elephant” game, or whatever you want to call it. The “$10 gift game” is another name for it. Initially, I won this cool set of chocolate “coffee bombs”. I made it very clear how happy I was with it, and that I intended to make myself a coffee as soon as I got home. I spotted one with little marshmallows and relished the idea of it. Then my mom went next and stole it. I stole it back when I had the chance, and then she stole it again at first opportunity. The funny coda to this story is that after Jen and I got home, we put on a “Best of Saturday Night Live” show and there was a sketch featuring the exact same game. One character was complaining that it was a mean-spirited game, because he had received the perfect gift for himself, and someone stole it. I called my mom to laugh about that. The story doesn’t end there.
Christmas day featured some sleeping in and some Marvel What If? on Disney+. SPOILER this episode featured a Kiss song as an integral part of the story, and even had a line of dialogue from Howard the Duck explaining that the song was written by Kiss in 1979.
I won the $25 Amazon gift card at the “Christmas pickle” game. I wasn’t even going to participate, but after seeing Jen and Dr. Kathryn getting nowhere, I entered the fray. I quickly boxed Dr. Kathryn into a corner, where she was unable to see the front of the tree, where my mom had announced the pickle to be. Once spotted, I used the pickle to order the new Van Halen For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge box set. It’ll be here Saturday.
There were some really cool items in my grab bag this Christmas.
I had hoped someone would get me Brothers by Alex Van Halen, and Dr. Kathryn came to the rescue there. It’s a beautiful looking book, and emotional too from what I have read while skipping through.
Bubbles from the Trailer Park Boys has a new album out with standards new and old: Longhauler: The Best of Bubbles and the Shitrockers. If you need to ask, don’t. I was surprised that the album was produced and engineered by Eddie Kramer!
Queen’s A Night at the Odeon (1975) is another album that came highly recommended. I wishlisted it and it magically appeared in my stocking thanks to my parents. It looks like a winner.
Finally, some anniversary editions from Jen: Judas Priest’s Rocka Rolla, and Twisted Sister’s Stay Hungry. Rocka Rolla is probably the best album remix I have heard in my life. Tom Allom pretty much just made the album sound like itself, but beefier. As if you had always heard it distant and muffled, and now you can hear it fully for the first time. As if you just got a new stereo and are hearing this music properly for the first time. As for Twisted, I find it funny that I already own the 30th anniversary edition, with a very different set of bonus music.
Of interest: this is probably the 3rd time I have received Rocka Rolla for Christmas. It is my 2nd for Stay Hungry at Christmas time.
As usual, I received some treats and games, including two more editions of Uno to play at the cottage this summer. My mom got me some Trailer Park Boys pickle flavoured chips, and who knew that such a thing existed?
As for my mom, she used to do this thing when we were kids, where she would take a larger box of candy and split it up into smaller gifts that could fit into stockings. She did that for me this year…with her chocolate coffee bombs that she got the night before. She gave me one of each flavour, since I had called about the Saturday Night Live sketch. Thanks mom. You win this time.
Merry Christmas! Here is a special set of 24 videos, one for each day on Lego’s Spiderman Advent Calendar.
MARVEL LEGO SPIDERMAN ADVENT CALENDAR 2024
I used to enjoy candy Advent calendars as a kid, since they helped us pass the boring December days a bit. As an adult, I enjoy them as something to look forward to during a December at the office. Regardless of motive, I didn’t enjoy the Lego Star Wars calendars as much. Too many fragile mini-ship builds.
I thought I’d give Spiderman a try in 2024, and I enjoyed this one a lot more. There were a lot of parts and settings that might work well in future customs. It could work as a “Christmas village” of sorts. There were come cool minifigs and accessories. Lots of webbing to play with, and a lot of spare parts.
As for value? These packages are not cheap, so don’t expect a lot of parts for your money. What you will get are some rarer minifig parts like an ugly Christmas sweater and a neat Spider-Gwen, not to mention her drum kit.
WOLFSBANE – “After Midnight” (1991 Def American CD single)
mikeladano.com 