The Hunt: Back On The Hunt (1980)

What a weird, strange trip it’s been for Canada’s The Hunt. Born out of the ashes of progressive hard rock outfit Dillinger, they seemingly got everything together for some streamlined AOR on their self titled debut, but founders Jacques Harrison and Paul Cockburn left shortly after, leaving new lead singer Brian Gagnon and drummer Paul Kersey to forge ahead. Three years later the band, now a trio completed by guitarist Paul Dickinson (these guys know ALL the Pauls), came back with Back On The Hunt, featuring killer album art and a set of songs that rely too much on cowbell and a soft production that almost but not completely leaves the songs defanged of any real attack.

ChrisJanuary 7, 2025January 6, 2025Leave a comment

The Hunt: The Hunt (1977)

Okay, so Canada begat Montreal, who begat the Harrison brothers Jacques and Robert, who moved to Toronto and with Paul Cockburn and Terry Bramhall begat Dillinger, who put out two albums that were a kind of pumped up proggy Grand Funk Railroad and Chicago that had their moments but failed to make an impact. So Robert Harrison and Terry Bramhall left, and Jacques and Bruce – under the guidance of their manager Cliff Hunt – formed the not-so-coincidentally named The Hunt, moving further away from the weird prog elements and getting a little more Led Zeppelin in their sounds thanks to the pipes of new vocalist Brian Gagnon. With a new drummer and bassist also in tow, The Hunt definitely feels of a moment, that moment being late 70s AOR hard rock. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, just a different thing.

ChrisJanuary 5, 2025January 4, 20251 Comment

Playlists

(Un)Focused Definition Ep. 31: Best of 2024: The Metal List

~~Last~~ First playlist of the year is all metal. On ~~Thursday~~ Friday I released my Nine Circles ~~Honorable Mentions~~ Best Of List, and it’s a beast: 25 albums that moved and rocked me in some way. So similar to last week’s (Un)Focused Definition this is going to focus on those albums ~~with the final, “official” best of metal list coming in the first year of January~~, and then my “all-in” playlist accompanying the year-end round up post here, sometime in mid-January. Okay, enough strikethroughs: even though we all know the tune by now about rankings as I listened back to this year’s playlist I was really, really happy. I love these albums. We’re already back to the 70s and prog/rock in the main albums reviews, but for one more week, let’s get heavy. Grab that denim vest, don those spikes, and let’s listen to some killer metal that came out in 2024.

ChrisJanuary 4, 2025January 4, 20251 Comment

Dillinger: Don’t Lie To The Band (1976)

The sophomore effort from Canadian hard rock band with extra ambition (thanks, ProgArchives!) Dillinger doubles down on everything from the debut: double the songs, double the…covers? There’s certainly more to enjoy with Don’t Lie To The Band, in many ways a step up for the band. The originals are more tightly arranged yet maintain a broad reach, extending beyond jazzy hard rock to encompass funk and a more modern, slick backed rock sound. There are some tradeoffs: the hard rock edge is largely abandoned for a more pop-inflected production that despite having some assistance from future mega producer Terry Brown (Rush) leaves the guitars thin and the sound of the kick drum abysmal, but the stronger songwriting wins out. Soon Dillinger would implode and turn into something called The Hunt (we’ll get to them) but for now let’s feel the weirdness one more time.

ChrisJanuary 3, 2025January 3, 20251 Comment

Dillinger: Dillinger (1974)

Oh, look: I’m reviewing a progressive/classic rock album from the 70s. New year, same old shit, in other words. But I have zero problem with that: it feels a little like coming home after a long trip. And because it’s brief (only two albums) we’re kicking off with the self-titled debut from Dillinger, a Canadian hard rock outfit with some progressive proclivities. Think Grand Funk Railroad with more keyboards and a bit more of a chip on their shoulder, especially considering this is a debut album. What do I mean by that? You’ll have to read the rest below the jump.

ChrisJanuary 2, 2025Leave a comment

Consuming the Tangible

We are what we consume

Month: January 2025