Glenn Tipton - Baptizm Of Fire Review
General Information
Original Author: The Uncreator
Artist: Warrel Dane
Album: Praises To The War Machine
Genre: Heavy Metal
Artist: Tipton
Album: Baptizm Of Fire
Genre: Heavy Metal
Tracklist:
01. Hard Core
02. Paint It Black
03. Enter The Storm
04. Fuel Me Up
05. Extinct
06. Baptizm Of Fire
07. The Healer
08. Curse Control
09. Kill Or Be Killed
10. Voodoo Brother
11. Left For Dead
12. Himalaya
13. New Breed
Sound: 9 Glenn Tipton, lead guitarist for one of the greatest music acts of all time, Judas Priest, unleashes a fury of heavy, punishing riffs, super fast solo's, personal, dark, and ominous lyrics coupled with one of the freshest guitar sounds in ages, Fan of Priest? Fan of Metal? Fan of virtuoso guitar work? Keep reading.
Guitar: 10 Well Glenn already holds his place in the list of my favorite guitarists, and this is only supported by his godly performance on this album. Songs like the opener "Hard Core", "Fuel Me Up", "Baptizm Of Fire", and "Himalaya" show us how much creativity lies inside the head of sir Glenn Tipton. The riffs are heavy, crushing, powerful, and are some of the catchiest ive heard. They are the ideal riffs to headbang to with a couple of your pals. And the solos, Good lord the solos!!! Every solo is an adventure through guitar virtuosity, Sweeping, legato, tapping, insane AP, and creative melody work shower this album in beauty. The trade-offs Glenn does with bassist Billy Sheehan on "Baptizm Of Fire" are simply genious!! This album is without a doubt a shredders album, but also a riff lovers album as well.
Bass: 8 I have but one name to mention, Billy Sheehan. While not the bass player on all the songs, the sheer fact that his fingers play a note on this album make it worthy of an eight. His solos trade-offs, like i mention before on a few songs are just mind blowing, the overall bass is very impressive, extremely groove oriented. Other bass players on here are Robert Trujillo, and CJ De Villar, who all add there unique style an approaches to this record.
Drums: 7 The drummer for this album is Cozy Powell, he is a great drummer, but i guess this album wasnt his best work, Dont get me wrong though, there are some awesome fills, grooves and beats, but it seems to get a bit stale near the end. Certainly no bad by any means, maybe just not the best is all i can say.
Vocals: 8 I was not aware at the time i bought this album, 2005, that Glenn possessed such a deep, rich, classic rock n roll voice. He can even hit some VERY VERY high notes, maybe something Halford showed him? His performance on here puts many career vocalists to shame, i think that this proves this man is truly and ever growing musicians, his art is growing more diverse with every album he releases, solo wise and with priest, maybe we will see some vocal work on the new priest album. Either way his vocals are just amazing.
Lyrics: 8 They seem to get very personal with songs like "Fuel Me Up", and very story teller like with songs like "Enter The Storm". they are very interesting and continue to intrigue me to this day
From "Fuel Me Up" Don't pass me by Without a drop Just step across And fill my cup
Gimme more It's not enough Rejuvenate me Fuel me up
Running drier Every day Low on gas High on octane
See the needle Running hot Once you start It's hard to stop
Galvanise me To the spot Immunise me with Everything you've got
Don't pass me by And never stop Step across and Fill my cup
Gimme more It's not enough Rejuvenate me Fuel me up
From "Enter The Storm" Enter the storm You probably won't survive But if you do You'll be much stronger cos you tried
The mighty fall A world gone mad beneath it all Nothing to loose Step through and watch all hell break loose
Rip away the rotten wood You've been reborn End the lies and face the truth The blackness comes
The risk no greater than the gain But if you stay Your soul evaporates away Cyclonic winds Will blow away the sins you gained A tidal wave
From "Himalaya" Cities in the sky Secrets locked inside great minds Hold answers to all the mysteries of time Walk amongst the clouds
Listen to the mountain sounds Speak gigantically And tell me how it ought to be Awake inside
Learn that you can find Every single thing You ever left behind you Look into the sun
Raise your voice and say Oh! Oh! You gave me strength And Killed me fear
You answered my prayer Himalaya We who know it all Simply decided to ignore For a million years
All wisdom leaving here On Tibetan nights If you reach up you can touch the sky As the changing light
Overall Impression: 8 A Fantastic album with awesome riffs, even betters solos, incredible bass work, and a fresh new voice to grace the metal scene, Without a doubt a diamond in the rough, a diamond amongst a sea of dirt, this album is just AWESOME.
