Album Review (Obscurus Metalus): Alcatrazz's Dangerous Games

Welcome to the end of Alcatrazz Month fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

Over a week ago, we took a look at the Steve Vai incarnation of the band with their 2nd release, Disturbing The Peace. Gone is the ego of Yngwie, and in his stead is the weirdness & artistic genius of Vai. With this second version of Alcatrazz it seemed like things might finally go their way, but it sadly wasn’t meant to be. So let’s take a look at the final release of this unknown band, and see what people missed back then....and now.

Background
Despite the acquisition of Steve Vai, and not to mention the release of a great record, success continued to elude Alcatrazz. God Blessed Video was the first single & music video off of Disturbing The Peace, but MTV barely played it. Things only got more difficult when they had to cut a tour short (Funding issue), and they hardly were able to get out of their cult status & become a more popular band. Finally, the nail in Alcatrazz 2.0 would be Steve Vai leaving the group for the David Lee Roth Band. No bad blood this time: Steve Vai & Graham Bonnet got along just fine, and Vai continues to praise and complement his time in the band to this day (He even put Disturbing The Peace in a cd collection of his work). His replacement would come in the form of Danny Johnson, who played in Rod Stewart & Alice Cooper (Along with a couple other groups) beforehand. Once Danny got comfortable, Alcatrazz 3.0 gelled, and would get to work on their next musical venture. In September of 1986, they would release Dangerous Games to the public.

Dangerous Games is the only Alcatrazz album to never have been on the Billboard 200. Either it sold next to nothing when it first came out, or nobody cared to notice it. It’s a crying shame, as the record might very well be the most unique thing that the band put out. Sadly it would be the last album that they ever produced, as Graham Bonnet was disheartened by guitarists coming & going (Danny Johnson would eventually leave for the band Private Life) and dwindling album sales. Ultimately, Alcatrazz would break up and go their separate ways in 1987.

Basic Description
Very Heavy & Very Japanese.

When I said that the first 2 albums weren’t quite metal & this one was in my overview, I confess that was only because I had listened to all of Alcatrazz’s albums once at the time. Upon listening to everything a few more times, I’ve changed my mind. That being said, Dangerous Games is still the heaviest album of the 3. Despite my issues with one musical element, the band seems to be going for something a bit more harder this time around, while at the same time keeping the Prog element that was present since 1983, but pushing more in a melodic direction as well. It sounds strange at first, but it somehow works when you sit down & listen to it.

The very Japanese vibe is odd....until you find out why: while Alcatrazz wasn’t massively popular over in the U.S., they were huge over in the land of the rising sun. Whether it was at the behest of the studio, or because the band wanted to, they gave the music on Dangerous Games a Japanese flavor. You could put this on any 80s anime soundtrack (Possibly even some 90s shows), and it would somehow fit. This aspect of the album is what has it circulating in many singing clubs & bars to this day, and I’m impressed by this.

Best Track
Blue Boar is just an odd song to me. Like I said in the overview on these guys, I don’t know why I like this track so much. It’s not as keyboard & bass heavy as just about every other song on Dangerous Games, but it’s just so cheesy it might as well be. Graham Bonnet is at the top of his game on this track, shifting between high & low and never slipping up in the process. It can’t be explained....you just have to listen to this!

Blue Boar

A second best song has to go to the ode to Japan that is Ohayo Tokyo. When I talked about it in the overview, I said that this was the dishonorable mention off of Dangerous Games. Upon listening to it a few more times, it’s not quite as heinous as I previously believed. It’s still one of the biggest weeaboo songs out there, but it’s obvious that Graham Bonnet & the rest of Alcatrazz are showing their love to one of their biggest fanbases in their career. If there was ever a song to end a Kung Fu movie in Glorious Nippon on, it’s this one.

Ohayo Tokyo

Though it doesn’t have to do with the music, another plus for Dangerous Games is it’s cover art. The music is already goofy enough as it is, but to have a panther in a penthouse room, with a zebra-printed couch on the right, red high heels on the floor, a window to the terrace open (With a gentle breeze moving the curtains), and a table with a Martini that’s about to fall over on the left.....you can’t get much more 80s than this!

(Odd Fact: The re-release of Dangerous Games came with a new but inferior album cover. Hence the difference between the original posted at the top, and the one you see in the links.)

Worst Track
Like I stated in my Alcatrazz overview, Only One Woman is the only song on the album that’s bad. Though their cover of It’s My Life by The Animals seems forced, at least it was still fun to listen to. This cover on the other hand seems like it was just done to fill up space on an otherwise great album. Graham is trying really hard to sound like his old self throughout the whole thing, and he just can’t. The instrumentation isn’t terrible, but they’re trying way too hard as well. I can only say to avoid it, but listen to it if you’re curious.

Only One Woman (Marbles Version)

Only One Woman (Alcatrazz Version)

Apart from that, Dangerous Games’s only fault is the heavy usage of keyboard/synthesizers & bass. There’s definitely standard guitars being played, and there’s definitely some drumming, but everything else seems somewhat artificial. Metalhead & egotistical jackass Razorfist called this album the single most 1980s thing every release, and I place this sentiment squarely on the keyboard & bass guitar. If you’re a fan of 80s music this isn’t necessarily a bad thing (Such as myself), but it covers so much of the music it can be theoretically tiring.

Other
If you’re curious about this album, then check out the link below:

Dangerous Games

Overall Impression & Rating
Dangerous Games is a release that’s better than the first album, yet falls behind the second. This should not have happened! This record should have been high on the Heavy Metal mountain, standing alongside some of the greats of it’s day. Instead, it ends up being the death throes of a band that was never truly known by the larger public. This doesn’t mean that the album is bad, as it might be the catchiest thing Alcatrazz ever made! The heaviness of the metal, coupled with the hints of Japanese-style music, and slathered with 80s keyboard & bass sauce, creates something really original. Definitely a release to seek out!

Dangerous Games gets an 8.5 out of 10.

So with that rating done, we put the finishing touches on Alcatrazz Month. Though they only existed for 3 years & cranked out only 3 albums, they are one of the biggest sleeper bands in Heavy Metal to have created music. If you have never listened to these guys, now is your chance to give them a try! December is not that far away, and with the end of 2018 come my annual lists. See you in a few days!



***
Another Odd Fact: Dangerous Games is the shortest of Alcatrazz’s albums at 38 minutes & 48 seconds. The longest is Disturbing The Peace at 41 minutes & 40 seconds, while No Parole From Rock N Roll is the 2nd longest at 41 minutes & 20 seconds. Also, if you haven’t read the first 2 reviews of Alcatrazz Month, check out the links below.

No Parole From Rock N Roll (Review)

Disturbing The Peace (Review)

Album Review (Obscurus Metalus): Alcatrazz's Disturbing The Peace

Welcome back to Alcatrazz Month fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

At the 1st of this month, we took a look at No Parole From Rock N Roll, and last week I showed you my favorite Alcatrazz songs (Some of them anyway). Now we’re at the middle point of their career: we got one guitarist out, one guitarist coming in, and a transformation that would change their music. Would it be better? Would it be worse!? Well, let’s take a look at my review of Disturbing The Peace, and see what’s what.

Background
By the end of the No Parole From Rock N Roll tour, it was obvious that there was tension in Alcatrazz. Though the band was popular in some circles, tensions were rising within the band. Yngwie’s now famous ego really became front & center, as he was constantly stealing the spotlight from everybody else, and wound up in one of the biggest on-stage blowouts in the history of Heavy Metal. So, with plenty of bitter feelings towards his former bandmates, he left with a chip on his shoulder that seems to have stayed on said shoulder to this day. So without a guitarist to shred with them, the search was on for a replacement. Enter Steve Vai: formerly a guitarist from Frank Zappa’s camp, he was discovered by Jimmy Waldo, who brought him into the band. Once Steve was in, he had just 1 day to learn all of Alcatrazz’s music, and he did. Once the trial by fire was done, it was time to sit down and crank out another album, and on March the 22nd, 1985, Disturbing The Peace was released to the public.

Disturbing The Peace also managed to get onto the Billboard 200, although not quite as high. It was up there for 7 or 16 weeks (Again, Wikipedia is weird in this regard), and reached the No. 145 spot. Not as good as No Parole From Rock N Roll, but still pretty decent for a more obscure band.

Basic Description
Wild & Fun.

Despite his incredible talent, Yngwie was really weighing down the band with his immense ego & pride. Kicking him and bringing in Steve Vai really changed this. Vai is a weirder, odder kind of guitarist. Able to play traditional Heavy Metal & funkier beats and rhythms, he seemed like the perfect fit for Alcatrazz. With him in, it seemed like the band was able to go a bit more over the top, and proceed down a path that was heavier & more Prog infused than No Parole From Rock N Roll was. Songs across this entire albums are definitely Heavy Metal, but there’s an aura of an eccentric artist in every nook & crannie. Definitely an upgrade!

Best Track
Like I mentioned in my overview, God Blessed Video has to be the best thing off of this album. Everything right, wrong, hokey, goofy, cheesy & silly about the 80s can be found in this song. Wild guitars, keyboarding that’s equal parts impressive & over the top, drumming that sounds like a machine gun, Graham Bonnet is just going to town with the vocals, and coupled with the most ridiculous music video of the 1980s (Not to mention being the 1st song on this album), it’s easy to see why this is one of the few songs from Alcatrazz that people can remember.

God Blessed Video

Worst Track
Breaking The Heart Of The City is the lone bad song of the album. Upon listening it a couple times more since my overview, I don’t find it as bad as others might. There’s definitely potential in the instrumentation & vocals, but much like Suffer me off of their last album, it seems to let go much of it’s potential.....although this one I don’t think drops as much of said potential, and it definitely can be fun in spots.

Breaking The Heart Of The City

Other
If you’re curious about this album, then check out the link below:

Disturbing The Peace

Overall Impression & Rating
Disturbing The Peace definitely ups the ante for Alcatrazz. A new guitarist game the band a second chance at life, and it allowed for new things to be tried out. The end result, while not an absolute favorite of mine, still has me hooked with it’s Prog Metal & Hard Rock undertones. If you weren’t satisfied with their first album, then Disturbing The Peace might fulfill that desire.

Disturbing The Peace gets a 9 out of 10.

And that was my look at Disturbing The Peace. With Steve Vai by their side, it seems like Alcatrazz might have a chance to shine on a great stage, but trouble was coming their way, and they would have to change one last time. I’ll get to that review at the end of the month, but before then I’ve got 2 updates for some of my older overviews next week. See you then!

My 6 Favorite Alcatrazz Songs

Hi fellow Otaku & Metalheads! Enjoying Alcatrazz Month so far?

If the answer is yes, then good! There’s definitely a bit more content about this obscure band in the rest of this month, but today I wanted to talk about some of my favorite songs from this band. To shake things up, I won’t be talking about songs I’ve mentioned in my reviews this November, cause while those tunes are great (And by extension Alcatrazz’s discography), I want to give credit to tracks that might not be as popular as the others. Maybe by talking about these tunes, I can get a couple of you into the band. With that said, here are some (Going with 6 here) of my favorite Alcatrazz songs. Let’s begin.

No Parole From Rock N Roll
General Hospital (Link)
- Remember a little earlier when I said when I’d be talking about obscurer Alcatrazz songs? Well, I kind lied about that. More specifically, I kinda lied about that in terms of stuff off of this album. The band did a damn good job with their live performances, and one of the big stand outs is the album’s opener. The guitar work is nice & rhythmic throughout the whole piece, and there’s plenty of moments where Yngwie lets his talent fly. Graham Bonnet has great vocal work here, and the keyboarding from Jimmy Waldo complements everything. Definitely a great song!

Jet To Jet (Link)
- Another standout in their live shows is the fun & energetic Jet To Jet. Compared to General Hospital, this is a considerably speedier track. Chronicling there adventures of going from city to city, Jet To Jet almost comes across like Speed Metal in a lot of ways: fast-paced guitar & drums, speedy keyboarding, and higher pitched vocals. It never lets up, but doesn’t get overwhelming at the same time. Definitely a song that gets you pumped!

Disturbing The Peace
Desert Diamond (Link)
- I’ll get into more detail about the music off of this album next week, so I’ll be a little brief here., but suffice it to say things are different on Alcatrazz’s 2nd album. Thanks to the changeup in guitarists, the music underwent a transformation at the same time. In the case of Desert Diamond, we get a slower paced dream-like track, filled with imagery of an age gone by. It’s really something special, so I won’t spoil much more here.

Stripper (Link)
- There are times where I like smart, intelligent metal music.....and then there’s songs like this. This is one of those tunes that’s right in the vein of equally goofy tracks like Girls Girls Girls from Motley Crue & Who Wants To Be Lonely from Kiss: an over-the-top & sexy nature, fast paced guitars & drums, keyboarding that’s cheesy, and vocal works that’s fast and powerful. Not every song like Stripper has keyboards, but they can help. I used to not like this song, but after an extra listening or two, it’s become something of a new favorite of mine.

Dangerous Games
Undercover (Link)
- This sounds like the opening to a 1980s cop show.....but in all the right ways! Heavy synthisizer usage, light guitar & drums, and some of the hokiest lyrics ever penned to paper, Heavy Metal or otherwise. Hell, this doesn’t even need to be a cop show opening! You can use this for just about any 80s TV series or movie, and it would be a natural fit. Hell, this song might find it’s place in a lot of classic 80s anime, and it would somehow make sense. I really can’t explain this song any further, other than you need it in your life!

Ohayo Tokyo (Link)
- I’ll talk about this song a little more when I get to my Dangerous Games review, so I’ll be a bit brief here again. This is hands down the goofiest, weebiest, Glorious Nippon of a track. The band are really showing their love for Japan in each & every note, and Graham Bonnet is just waxing nostalgia with every lyrics he sings. Again, I’ll take a bit more at the end of the month about this, but suffice it to say my opinions have changed about this song quite a bit.

So those were my favorite Alcatrazz songs. Again, some of these aren’t quite as popular as the rest, but sometimes the more unknown songs are the best out of any band’s discography. Next week we’ll take a look at what their second album has in store, so see you then!

WWE Evolution & WWE Crown Jewel Review

I Make No Regrets With This

Well this is going to be interesting fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

I had no intention of covering both of these events. I just wanted to watch WWE’s first ever female-oriented event...not to mention their rather controversial second show in Saudi Arabia. However, with interesting new things cropping up in regards to either event, I figured I’d give them a review. Not wanting to take up space on my blog with 2 posts, I’m covering both events in 1 instead. Evolution & Crown Jewel are 2 peas in a pod weirdly enough, so there’s that as well. Final rule: I’m strictly going to be talking about the matches, as I’m far more interested in them, although I’ll cover a segment or two if it’s interesting enough.

Evolution
Trish Stratus & Lita vs Alicia Fox & Mickie James (Tag Team Match)
Prediction: Trish Stratus & Lita
Winner: Trish Stratus & Lita
- The show starts off with a blast from the past, as we get Trish Stratus & Lita go up against Alicia Fox & Mickie James. Originally a pair of matches, it was mashed up into this tag-team match. Trish & Lita come out first, and the crowd goes absolutely nuts over the two of them. Once settled down, Alexa Bliss appears (She was going to be in it, but something happened & Alicia took her place) to heel it up, and then introduces Alicia Fox & Mickie James. The two had some pretty wicked Alice In Wonderland outfits, with Alexa having the “Alice” outfit. The nostalgia factor as incredibly high, as Trish & Lita pretty much dominated a majority of the match, although Bliss got involved a little with some distractions. Trish & Mickie managed to have some time together, which echoed their feud from over a decade ago. In the end, the old-school women got the pin, and in the end created something surprisingly good.

Historic Women’s Battle Royal
Prediction: None At First/Ember Moon Later.
Winner: Nia Jax
- I had no personal connection to this match. To me, it seemed like another “Everyone gets a trophy” match, formed just to dump women into a match they’re not using. To give them credit, the 20 women in the match were actually pretty varied between skill & age, so there is that. Naomi came out first, followed by Michell McCool, Sonya Deville, Alundra Blaze, Carmella, Zelina Vega, Kelly Kelly, Tamina, Ember Moon, Lana, Maria Kinellis, Mandi Rose, Molly Holly, Dana Brooke, Nia Jax, Ivory, Asuka, Torrie Wilson, and finally The Iconics.
- Right away The Iconics are taken out, after they have a stupid little skit. From there, the newer women surround the older women in a show of age & defiance to the old-schoolers. From there Molly Holly & Kelly Kelly get taken out, followed by Torrie Wilson, and Sonya Deville not long after. Nia Jax manages to get taken out Alundra Blaze, and headbutts Maria Kinellis not long after. We get a moment when most of the women are beating each other up, we get a pretty intense staredown between Tamina & Nia, which gets broken up momentarily when the other try to break them up and they team up, then they get back to sizing each other up.
- Lana then tries to break them up in a goofy angle, which got her thrown over the top. Then there was a gangup on the two by a bunch of the combatants, which turned into a quad suplex (Best spot in my opinion). After that spot, Carmella got into the middle of the ring, and did her little dance break with Ivory who joined her a little after. Once the dance break was done, Ember Moon began tearing it up, and she became the one I wanted to win. She took out Dana Brooke, Michell McCool, Carmella, Ivory, Asuka, and then Tamina. From there, Ember & Nia got into their own staredown. They start fighting, but Zelina Vega interrupted the two, but that got her thrown out. Sadly, the girl I was rooting for got eliminated a little bit afterwards, and thus Nia Jax is the winner. Meh.

Toni Storm vs Io Shirai (Final Match Of 2018 Mae Young Classic Tournament)
Prediction: ?
Winner: Toni Storm
- Next up we have the final match of the 2018 Mae Young Classic Tournament between Toni Storm & the Pirate Princess Io Shirai. I wasn’t involved with this match either, as I never watched any of the Mae Young Classic. The crowd was actually kinda quiet at the beginning for both girls, and I pretty much was also. This was a match were both sides were playing mind games, and they were grappling a lot also. Eventually, Io gets thrown outside the ring, and the crowd begins to pickup here. Toni gets her back in the ring, and the two fight a bit more, and then manages to pin Io for the win. Afterwards, the two women got up, and had a moment of good sportsmanship. Then we get Triple H & Stephanie McMahon, and they award her with the trophy for winning the tournament & a bouquet of roses. Over the top, but I can kinda understand why they did it.

Sasha Banks, Bayley and Natalya vs. The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan)(6 Women Tag Team Match)
Prediction: Riott Squad
Winner: Sasha Banks, Bayley and Natalya
- Right smack dab in the middle of Evolution we get the 6 women tag match. On one side we got Sasha Banks, Bayley, & Natalya, and on the other is the Riott Squad. I didn’t have much of a personal connection to this match either (It felt a lot like their bouts on RAW), but I was at least a little more invested here since it didn’t necessarily feel like a “Everybody Gets A Trophy” match.
- Liv Morgan & Natalya are the first to fight, and Liv manages to toy with her opponent. Natalya gets knocked down, and then Liv try to do a “Cute Girl” stare routine to get into her head. Then it goes to Sasha & Sarah for a bit, Bayley manages to tag in for her time with Ms Logan. Eventually, Bayley gets backed into a corner, and one of the most merciless beating of a babyface I’ve seen this year begins. She manages to take out Liv and Ruby Riott by accident, but those two come back in to pound on her some more. Sasha manages to get back in, and things turn around a little. At one point Bayley gets tagged back into the ring and almost gets the pin, but Liv Morgan manages to break it up.
- It comes back to Sasha Banks a little later on, and she almost knocks the Riott Squad taken out with a jump, but her foot snags on the top rope & the squad grab her, but a little bit afterwards she does manage to do a successful jump. The squad regroup and almost get a pin, but Natalya makes the save. At one point Sasha is tagged in and is almost pinned, if not for the actions of Bayley, who got on top of her in an effort to save her friend. This got her taken out, but the save was successful. Natalya tags back in, and almost gets a doubt sharpshooter win, but Liv breaks it up & almost gets the pin in the process. In the end, Sashak Banks, Bayley, and Natalya get the win.

Kairi Sane vs Shayna Basler (Singles Match For NXT Women’s Championship)
Prediction: Kairi Sane
Winner: Shayna Basler
- 5th on the card is the NXT Women’s Championship between the Pirate Princess Kairi Sane, and asskicker Shayna Basler. This marked the first time I’ve actually seen these two, and I thought they were fun. Basler came across like a sadistic brawler who’s only concern was beating who was in front of her, while Kairi was flexible and just having a fun time. A bit into the match, Kairi manages to get Shayna into a submission, but her foe managed to break out of it. Further down, Kairi is on the top rope for a jump onto Basler, but Basler rolled out of the ring, and the Pirate Princess changed her course for her jump. We get towards the end, as it looks like Shayna might win over Kairi, as some of her friend were ringside. It looks like Kairi might get it for a second, but Shayna gets the win in the end because of the interference.

Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair (Last Man Standing Match For WWE Smackdown Women’s Title)
Prediction: Becky Lynch
Winner: Becky Lynch
- This here was match of the night for me. For the weeks leading up to it, they were telling the story of these two women, and the fallout of Becky winning & her transformation into a top women’s heel. It all culminated in this last man standing match for the Smackdown Women’s title, and it was just as dirty, nasty, and brutal as it needed to be.
- Charlottle comes out first, and she gets some cheers, but not as much as Becky did. When beck came out, the entire crowd seemed to immediately erupt into loud applause, and it lasted for a bit. After that, the match happens, and it’s an ugly fight. They’re beating the crap out of each other, weapons come into play (chairs, ladders, a table or two, and even a kendo stick at one point), and they even manage to go into the crowd, and the fighting is pretty messy there also. They get back ringside, and there’s many near pinfalls. By this point they’re super tired, and the biggest nearfall came from Becky, where she had buried Charlotte underneath a pile of chairs & scrap. Shortly after, Becky did a dive on Charlotte, who was on a 2nd table, and managed to get the rightful win. Best match of Evolution!

Ronda Rousey vs Nikki Bella (Singles Match For WWE Women’s Title)
Prediction: Ronda Rousey
Winner: Ronda Rousey
- I’ll talk about it in a bit, but I was not looking forward to this match. Not because of Ronda, cause she’s been adapting to the WWE system well. Her promo work needs some improvement, but she’s a hell of a lot better than Brock Lesnar! The Bella?.....not so much. They are ghastly on the mic, and in the ring they’re worse....but I’m getting ahead of myself.
- We get a video package of the buildup between both sides, and god is it Bella centric. It’s worse when they actually come out, as you can tell that somebody is messing with the crowd noise, as there seems to be a little more cheering than normal (Despite hearing some booing come through). Rousey comes out after, and it’s obvious from the get go who the people like. Between the 2, Nikki seems to do a better job, but again the Bells are garbage. It was obvious from the beginning that shenanigans was going to occur, and they did. Luckily the twins were wearing different clothes, so they couldn’t switch spots, but they did do other stuff. Rousey pretty much had control most of the time, until the Bellas decided to do something, in which case they had some time to shine. Eventually, Ronda pinned Nikki, and managed to keep the women’s title.

Segments
- 1st segment I wanna talk about was the interview with the Bellas after the tag match. Right away I got the nasty vibe that they’re gonna screw up the last match, but I couldn’t put my finger on why. Was it what they were saying? Was it their attitude? I’m not sure. The point was that it didn’t reassure me that the main event was gonna be good, but I was glad to be proven wrong
- There’s a Crown Jewel advert right after the May Young Classic match, and a quick talk about it after Becky & Charlottle. Wow WWE, you might not have wanted to do that. Given how tainted the name of that event is now, you might not want to say anything about it. Especially when Evolution is put on only to placate the women, and to try to appear progressive.

Final Conclusion:
- I was genuinely surprised by how good this whole show was. Yes there was a botch here & there, and some of the matches I wasn’t as invested into as others, but it’s amazing in how good Evolution was. It was definitely done for bullshit reasons, but if WWE manages to put events like this at least once or twice a year (Along with this level of quality), then maybe it’s worth seeing again.

Evolution gets an 8 out of 10.

Crown Jewel
1st Smackdown World Cup Match (Rey Mysterio vs Randy Orton)
Prediction: Rey Mysterio
Winner: Rey Mysterio
- First up on the card is the 1st Raw World Cup Match, pitting a returning Rey Mysterio vs Randy Orton. Rey is the first to come out, and he gets a surprising amount of cheers from the crowd, then Orton makes his way out. Things go underway, and Rey is just flying all over the ring, but Orton manages to knock him out with a jumpkick (Looked pretty brutal actually). Rey manages to recover and almost lands a 619, but Orton manages to recover from an earlier blow, and gets back to beating up Rey. Right at the end, Mysterio trips up Randy & get the pin, but gets a beating for a few moments, which carries over story wise a little later into the card.

2nd Smackdown World Cup Match (The Miz vs Jeff Hardy)
Prediction: Jess Hardy
Winner: The Miz
- And here’s one of the first matches I hate....and it’s only the 2nd match of the card. I don’t deny the fact that I hate The Miz. I really do. For everybody that complains about John Cena being the same thing over & over, they never seem to have issues with Miz basically being the same thing over & over. I digress.....
- Jeff Hardy comes out first, and the crowd definitely makes some noise. The Miz is 2nd to the ring, and in comparison to the last match, these two seem more compatible than Rey & Randy. Both had similar builds, and both had moves that can be compared to one another. The crowd was really into both guys weirdly enough, with both wrestlers seemingly have an equal amount of people cheer for them. Miz has control for a while, but Jeff manages to get some offense back in this bout, as both guys start to just fly all over the place. In the end Miz manages to win the match......weeeeeee (Sarcasm intended).

1st Raw World Cup Match (Seth Rollins vs Bobby Lashley)
Prediction: Seth Rollins
Winner: Seth Rollins
- Next up is the 1st World Cup Match on the Raw side, pitting Seth Rollins & Bobby Lashley together in the ring. Seth comes out first, followed by Bobby Lashley & his manager/hypeman Lio Rush. I want to punch him so hard in the face, even his breathing sounds funny, and coupled with how lackluster Bobby has been since his return, it just makes the whole thing worse. It’s even more lackluster when you find out that he was John Cena’s replacement, and he’s flatout bland. Kinda like Rey & Randy, Seth & Bobby seems strangely mismatched when in the same ring. All throughout this match, Bobby pretty much has control throughout the entire thing, although Seth does get a little bit of time in, only for Bobby to take that offense back into his court. In a move I think nobody saw coming, Seth goes for a curbstomp (Couldn’t tell if it was watered down) on Bobby, and manages to get the pin.

2nd Raw World Cup Match (Kurt Angle vs Dolph Ziggler)
Prediction: Kurt Angle
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
- The 2nd Raw World Cup Match came after Seth & Bobby, with the Olympic Gold Medalist taking on Dolph Ziggler. Kurt Angle comes out first, and the crowd is really behind him oddly enough. Ziggler comes out second, and he has his buddy Drew McIntyre follow him out. Kurt is pretty much keeping his feet on the ground the whole time the match is going on, while Ziggler used a high-flyer style in an effort to trip up his opponent. At one point in the match Kurt almost suplexs Dolph off the ropes, but Dolph is holding on as tight as he can, and somehow pulls himself & Angle back into the ring. Angle almost manages to get a pin, but Drew interferes, and then Dolph gets a nearpin as well. Kurt manages to get an ankle lock on Dolph for a little bit, but Ziggler manages to get out of it, and lands the Zigzag for the win. 

Smackdown Tag Team Championship (New Day vs The Bar)
Prediction: New Day
Winner: The Bar
- With the first part of the World Cup out of the way, we now get to one of the 3 championship matches of Crown Jewel, with the New Day trying to reclaim the Tag Team titles from the current champions The Bar. The New Day are the first to come out, and I couldn’t believe my eyes when they went with a “Magic Carpet” gimmick for part of their entrance. Points for over-the-top & not giving a crap WWE! The Bar’s entrance was considerably plainer, and they had the Big Show follow them out (Guess he couldn’t be in the World Cup Tournament).
- Big E & Shaemus start things off, and the two go at it. Kofi tags in a little afterwards, then Cesaro comes in and they fight for a bit. Kofi gets backed into The Bar’s corner, and then Cesaro & Big Show manage to get a couple lowblows on Kingston while the ref has his back turned. Shaemus tages in, and gets some low blows on Kofi also. Kofi manages to get out of the beating for a second and almost gets Big E back in the ring, but gets stopped by Shaemus. The Irishman gets tagged out by Cesaro, who goes right back to working on Kofi. Kofi then manages to fight back for a bit, then Cesaro regains control and beats him up some more. Eventually Big E gets tagged back in, and goes right for Cesaro. Shaemus gets back in for some more offense, but Bie E manages to get a near pin in the process. Ultimately, The Bar (Unfortunately, in my opinion) retain the tag titles due to Big Show’s interference.

3rd Smackdown World Cup Match (Rey Mysterio vs The Miz)
Prediction: Rey Mysterio
Winner: The Miz
- Now we get to the 1st of the semi-final World Cup matches, with Rey Mysterio & The Miz fighting each other despite how much pain both guys were feeling. Things start out fast & flexible, but transitions into both wrestlers just toying with one another. Miz manages to escape the ring, but Rey does this weird dive onto him through the bottom rope. Miz gains control of the match while Rey is out of it, as he tries a few submissions out on the luchadore. The two eventually go out of the ring to brawl, then get back into the ring to brawl. Rey tries to get a pin, but Miz kicks out. Miz tries to get a pin, but Rey kicks out. Rey tries for another pin, but Miz kicks out again. Rey goes for a 619 as sort of a Hell Mary move, but Miz uses a little bit of trickery to get the pin......oh boy.

3rd Raw World Cup Match (Seth Rollins vs Dolph Ziggler)
Prediction: Seth Rollins
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
- Next up is the 2nd semi-final World Cup Match, with Seth Rollins taking on Dolph Ziggler. Seth comes out first, and just like last time, Dolph has Drew come out with him. Kinda like Rey & Randy, both guys were showing some wear & tear from their last fights. Drew definitely played more of a role in this match, as he interfered much more here than in the last match he was at ringside for. Due to his early interference, Dolph almost manages to get a pin, but luckily Seth kicks out. Dolph manages to get control again, and just gets Seth down to the ground. Seth manages to get a moment, but Ziggler just gets back in control, continuing to try to get his opponent to submit. At this point, the crowd really begins to get behind Seth, and regains a bit of strength. The two proceed to trade some near falls, and with a distraction from Drew, almost manages to get a pin. It fails, so Ziggler tries to get a pin again, and Seth manages to kick out twice. McIntyre manages to interfere twice, and in the end Dolph Ziggler is your winner unfortunately. From there, we get a quick interview from Byron Saxton with him, and Dolph proceeds to go into a small tirade about how nobody ever believed in him for the 10th time. Why is he still in the company?

WWE Championship Match (AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe)
Prediction: AJ Styles
Winner: AJ Styles
- Now we’re at the 2nd Championship match of Crown Jewel, with the current WWE Championship holder AJ Styles going up against Samoa Joe once again. This match is interesting in that Daniel Bryan was obviously stated for this, but had backed out, and actually wanted to not be in Saudi Arabia again for a while. There’s a lot of reasons why, but the one that is most often sited is that his friend Sami Zayn was left home from the Greatest Royal Rumble for his beliefs, and that really irked Bryan a lot, so in protest he decided that Crown Jewel wasn’t worth it. Good on you Daniel Bryan!
- Joe is first to the ring, but as he makes his way there, the whole arena is just chanting for AJ. Things get louder when AJ actually shows up, and it’s obvious that he’s the fan favorite. Right away, Styles proceeds to go for Joe’s knees, and they weren’t doing so good (Forgot why), but somehow the Samoan manages to keep standing. The two give each other a nasty beating, but Joe somehow stays his ground. Eventually Joe goes for a pin, but AJ puts his leg on the rope before he’s successful. Mad, Joe proceed to maul AJ mercilessly, but in his rage Styles manages to trip up Joe for a moment, and almost gets a pin on him. Joe tries for the pin, but AJ manages to kick out twice. Seeing an opportunity, AJ tries out a submission, but it fails. Seeing that Joe is hurt pretty good, he decides to do one last move, and manages to land a Phenomenal Forearm for the win. I kinda liked this match!

Universal Title Match (Braun Stroman vs Brock Lesnar)
Prediction: Braun Stroman
Winner: Brock Lesnar
- Go away Brock Lesnar! Just go the fuck away! Why do you need the title for a 3rd damn time, and through bullshit interference by Barron Corbin no less! I’m so glad I didn’t watch this fucking match! Get rid of the fucking Universal Title! It is fucking cursed!

Final World Cup Match (The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler)
Prediction: ?
Winner: Shane McMahon (More below)
- As if the Universal Title Match wasn’t a big enough slap to the face, we have the final World Cup Match, with the A-lister going up against the Whine-Ass. I was dreading having either of these guy win the whole thing, and given how heels seemed to win many of the matches throughout the whole show (Echoes of WM32 were kicking in....the horror), I wasn’t looking forward to what was going to happen. I’ll give them credit......I wasn’t expecting this!
- The Miz comes out first, and Dolph & Drew are next to the ring. Perhaps the only good thing I could say about this match is that Drew was almost immediately sent to the back by the ref, and a bizarre glimmer of hope came through. Then Miz & Ziggler are beating each other up, and I don’t know what the hell happened, but it looked like Miz got some kind of knee injury (If it’s real, it looked pretty bad). And out of nowhere, Shane McMahon takes Miz’s place (Shane & Barron Corbin were ringside during this) after saying to the ref & the announcer that “This isn’t how it’s supposed to end”. After a few minutes, Shane McMahon wins the world cup. Rendering the entire thing completely pointless, and spitting in the face of the potential that the world cup actually had. Makes me wish that Miz or Ziggler won.

DX vs Brothers of Destruction
Prediction: Brothers of Destruction
Winner: DX
- So with the two worst matches out of the way, it’s time for the match that somehow managed to get people to talk. The Brother of Destruction, taking on the reunited Degeneration X. I’ll give Shawn credit: he managed to stay away for 8-ish years. The paycheck for this must have been good, or the itch to wrestle one last time was scratching him hard. Either way, kinda nice to see him weirdly enough. DX comes out first, and it’s a giant nostalgia blast to the face. The crowd was really into the entrance, as a lot of people were wearing DX shirts, holding the glowsticks, or both. Kane is out next, and he’s got some pretty good pyro behind him. Undertaker is last to the ring, and his pyro & effects are also pretty good. In fact, it’s probably one of the most elaborate setups of the whole show.
- So Triple H & Kane are the first to square off, and they take a bit of time before they actually fight each other. Michaels & Taker tag in not long after, and they start fighting a bunch as well. It goes right back to Kane & Triple H, then DX is outside of the ring not long after. Taker & Shawn fight again, and Michaels actually manages to do an elbow off the top rope (At least that’s what I thought happened).  Triple H & Kane come back in, then Shawn rejoins Hunter to unleash a double suplex on the Big Red Machine. From there Shawn gets an elbow on him, then when Undertaker got back in, he got a big dose of Sweet Chin Music to the face.
- It goes on a little more, until both teams manage to get outside the ring to just beat the crap out of each other, then it’s brought back into the ring to continue there. Kane almost manages to pin Shawn for the win, but fails. Taker is tagged in, but Michaels does a jump on the both of them. Triple H comes in a little bit, and after some more fighting, everybody is down for the count. I’ve forgotten how, but DX manages to get the pin to win, and end Crown Jewel with them on top.

Other
- Turns out the Hulk Hogan host rumors were true. I’m strangely pleased by seeing him once again, as the nostalgia for him was surprisingly high, and the fireworks display was pretty nice. Given how much of a turd he’s been the past few years, I don’t hold my breath until he does something stupid.
- Seeing Renee Young on the announce team, and without a hijab no less, is genuinely shocking. It seems like it’s really done just for brownie points & propaganda, but it’s still quite the sight.
- They went all out with the pyro displays & set. Wish Raw & Smackdown got some of this back.
- Weirdly enough, the first 4 World Cup matches seemed to last about 20 minutes.
- No pro Saudi Arabia propaganda. Guess there’s a sliver of a soul in WWE.....however small it is.

Final Conclusion:
- I was coming into this show absolutely dreading it. Given the political & social bullshit going on beforehand, not to mention WWE pushing the event hard (Apart from the period of silence when it was on shaky ground), I was expecting Crown Jewel to absolutely bomb, and...it was better than I thought. There’s plenty of bullshit to go around, whether because of politics or some of the match results (Mainly the match results), but Crown Jewel was far better than the company’s first Saudi Arabia show back in April. If you weren’t fond of the Greatest Royal Rumble, then maybe Crown Jewel will be for you.

Crown Jewel gets a 7 out of 10.

And this was my review for both Evolution & Crown Jewel. Both were fascinating shows for a variety of reasons, and both weirdly enough have something for everybody. With this out of the way, Alcatrazz Month continues onward, so see you tomorrow for some of my favorite songs from the band. Until then, have a nice rest of the day!

Album Review (Obscurus Metalus): Alcatrazz's No Parole From Rock N Roll

Hello fellow Otaku & Metalheads, and welcome.....to Alcatrazz Month!

Way back in March in my Still Not Black Enough review, I made a promise to cover a few more obscure metal albums in 2018, and lo & behold.......I failed in that promise. Looking throughout all of my posts this year, I hadn’t covered a single other obscure record. Since there’s not that much time left in 2018, I decided to buckle down & think about what to do. Luckily, I had some inspiration hit me in the head a few weeks back, and decided to have an entire month dedicated to obscure releases, and not just obscure releases......but a look at Alcatrazz no less!

That name might be familiar to some of you, as I actually took a look at these guys already back in 2016 (Link here). However, in that case I looked at all 3 of their albums collectively. This time around, I’ll be looking at each record individually, and assessing what makes them work on their own merit. To get things started, let’s examine the first release from Alcatrazz, No Parole From Rock N Roll (Which coincidentally had it’s 35th birthday on the 15th last month), and see what potential the band had. Let’s begin!

Background
Upon his exit from Rainbow, former lead singer Graham Bonnet came to the conclusion that, if he couldn’t go back to his old band, he’d attempt to make a band in the vein of Rainbow, and thus Alcatrazz was born. Consisting of himself as Lead Vocalist, Jimmy Waldo on Keyboard & Backup Vocalist, and Gary Shea on Bass & Backup Vocalist (Both Gary & Jimmy were in the band New England prior to joining). The band did manage to snag Clive Burr of Iron Maiden fame as the Drummer, but he was only with the group for a week before he left, and was replaced by former Alice Cooper drummer Jan Uvena. However, the band was in need of a guitarist, and they managed to find one in the form of Swedish guitar master Yngwie Malmsteen (The very same guy I took a look at last year, which you can see here). With the acquisition of Yngwie, the formation of Alcatrazz 1.0 was finalized!

Upon this, the band settled out to rock the world with their music, and No Parole From Rock N Roll was the first thing they made. Released on the 15th of October, 1983, No Parole From Rock N Roll had a lot of promise & quality in it’s music, but lost of people just didn’t seem to notice it (It’s lead single was rarely played on radio, but weirdly it’s music video got a lot of screentime on MTV). None the less, it managed to get onto the Billboard 200 in the states, where it would spend 7 or 18 weeks (Wikipedia is weird with this) at the no. 128 spot. Not exactly the greatest place to be, but still they were noticed by at least some individuals.

Basic Description
Simple but awesome.

Sometimes when you’re looking for metal, you want something loud & bombastic. Perhaps something over the top & wild in some case. No Parole From Rock N Roll doesn’t do any of that: It might have plenty of moments where the guitar gets nice & screechy, the drumming is thunderous, the keyboard is an electronic playground, and Graham Bonnet’s voice is so powerful it might blow out a high-grade speaker system. However, the purpose of this album is to deliver a stripped down meal of fine Hard/Prog Rock & Prog Metal, and it easily succeeds in it’s task. It’s energetic without being overwhelming, over-the-top without actually going down that route, and is really just a fun record to get into.

Best Track
Like I said in my overview, the best track of No Parole For Rock N Roll has to go to the anti-nuclear themed Hiroshima Mon Amour. Dealing with the subject of the Hiroshima bombing that helped win the war in the Pacific, it’s the most serious thing in a sea of considerably more lighthearted music. It’s obvious that the subject matter means a lot to Graham Bonnet, as he treats it with a great deal of respect. The rest of the band has this same level of respect as well, and it’s this respect that makes it the best song of the album!

Hiroshima Mon Amour

The next best track has to go to the album’s opener, Island In The Sun. Even if you’re not an Alcatrazz fan, this is probably one of the two songs from the band you might be familiar with (Especially with metalheads from the 1980s). For starters, it’s an incredibly catchy song. Yngwie really shows his stuff on the guitar, Graham Bonnet lets his voice fly, and the rest of the band put in some good effort as well. Secondly, it has to have one of the goofiest music video ever released. Getting locked up in jail, but having the guards be nothing but women in sexy uniforms (Apart from 1, who I think is the head guard), and getting locked up because of Rock ‘n’ Roll is absolutely absurd.......which is why it’s awesome! 

Island In The Sun

Worst Track
Suffer Me is about the only thing on No Parole From Rock N Roll that could be considered bad, but even then it’s not exactly terrible. In reality it’s more uninspired than anything else: the band & Graham Bonnet certainly are going through the motions, but maybe they’re not putting their all into it. Not a time waster necessarily, but it’s not exactly a song to seek out either.

Suffer Me

A dishonorable mention would have to go to the lone instrumental track, Incubus. It’s not bad by any stretch, as it shows off how versatile Yngwie is on the guitar. The problem is that it’s way too short at a minute & 24 seconds, and it really feels like he’s taking up a spot on the album from the rest of the band, showing off his immense ego in the process.

Incubus

After that, the album’s biggest issues are it’s age & it’s ego. Although it has received a 2011 & 2015 reissue, it still sounds & feels pretty old. I personally don’t have an issue with this, as 80s metal nostalgia is always welcome in my book & many others, but some music sticklers will have an issue with this. The ego is the only other issue, but that doesn’t land on Graham Bonnet’s shoulders or just about the rest of the band’s shoulders either. It really boils down to Yngwie, who tries his damn hardest to be the center of attention constantly. In fact, towards the end of the tour for No Parole From Rock N Roll, it felt like Alcatrazz was nothing more than a backup band for his over-the-top pretentious personality. Thank god he left!

Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, check out the link below:

No Parole From Rock N Roll (Includes Bonus Instrumental Tracks)

Overall Impression & Rating
No Parole From Rock N Roll is a fantastic way to start out a career. Sure there may have been a bit of ego involved, and it might show it’s age here & there nowadays, but it has stood the test of time for just over 35 years for a reason. It’s a shame that not enough people managed to jump on the Alcatrazz bandwagon, cause if they did, they would see No Parole From Rock N Roll holding it’s arms out to greet them.

No Parole From Rock N Roll gets an 8 out of 10.

Alcatrazz Month has only just begun everybody! We got the rest of their discography to look at all throughout November, so see you next week for a look at my favorite songs from Alcatrazz, then a week after for their second release. Until then, be nice to the warden will ya?