Christopher Thelen – The Daily Vault

18 Sep

Dio: Dreamers Never Die

Christopher ThelenFeature

A documentary film, obviously, is meant to tell a story. A good documentary keeps the viewer locked into every moment, and leaves them disappointed when it finally ends. Dio: Dreamers Never Die is not a good documentary. It is a great one. Anyone who has read Ronnie James Dio’s autobiography will probably not find many surprises in this film, but that won’t stop them from taking in every detail, from his birth as Ronnie Padavona and his musical start on the trumpet to his days with Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath and his own band. Dio’s voice from numerous interviews interspersed…

13 Jan

Silver Highlights

Christopher ThelenEssay

Jason recently asked me if I had any favorite reviews from the 25-year history of The Daily Vault. The funny thing about writing music reviews—for me, at least—is that they are all very much in-the-moment events. As soon as the review was written, it was on to the next disc, the words I just wrote all but forgotten. It's rare that something I wrote will stick with me for years to come, so that when I'm old and decrepit, I'll sit in my rocking chair and think to myself, "Yeah, that review I wrote in 1998? Now THAT was a…

29 Jun

Tied To The Whippin’ Post

Christopher ThelenFeature

When you think “Southern rock” or “’70s rock,” many bands may come to mind, but there was one who led the charge directly out of Macon, Georgia: The Allman Brothers Band. Founded by guitarist Duane Allman and his brother Gregg on keyboards and vocals, their two-guitar, two-drum sonic attack rewrote the rules for rock music, and despite numerous tragedies afflicting the band, they somehow managed to keep the music going up until Gregg Allman’s death in 2017. The Allman Brothers Band’s discography is vast, having provided listeners with nearly 50 years of music. But, unlike many other “worst to first”…

15 Jun

Invisible Guests

Christopher ThelenFeature

After plowing through eleven Mercyful Fate albums in the course of four days, you might think that your faithful scribe would have had enough of material featuring King Diamond. But with the reissues of Diamond’s first albums recorded for Roadrunner being released, as well as the earliest Mercyful Fate albums, as well as the promise of a new album (The Institute), it seemed like the right time to tackle Diamond’s vast discography and attempt to rank them, worst to best. Please note: I started writing this prior to the reissues coming out, so the opinions are based on the releases…

01 Jun

A Dangerous Meeting

Christopher ThelenFeature

With the suggestion of a new King Diamond album forthcoming, as well as a reissue of all King Diamond and Mercyful Fate albums which used to be on Roadrunner (and which have been long out of print), it seems to be the right time for a “worst to first” list for both. For this particular list, I’m only focusing on Mercyful Fate; King Diamond will follow soon after. Since there are precious few albums in Mercyful Fate’s discography, I am choosing to include EPs, as well as select compilation albums, as long as they include a significant amount of material…

18 May

Rock And Roll All Nite

Christopher ThelenFeature

They have been opening their concerts for over 40 years now with the line, “You wanted the best, you got the best!” But, how many studio albums from the legendary hard rock group Kiss can actually live up to that bold statement? There is no denying that the recorded output from Kiss has been cyclical over the years; some albums are met with near universal acclaim, while others are almost completely reviled. But what albums truly contain the best work of this band? That's where I come in; presented for your perusal (as well as certain disdain I'll get from…

13 Jan

It Was Twenty Years Ago Today

Christopher ThelenFeature

Have you ever left a job that you really liked, and occasionally gone back to where you worked? Chances are, you felt a mixture of happiness to be back, sadness that you're no longer part of it, and confusion as to why you left in the first place. Every time I type in the URL of this little website that I founded and launched 20 years ago, I have some of those feelings myself. Over a decade ago, when I was married and my twins were babies, I made the decision that I had to refocus my time towards my…

02 Jan

A Dream Goes On Forever

Christopher ThelenEssay

There is a line in Josh Groban’s heart-wrenching song “Home To Stay” which says “Look how far your dreaming’s gone.” I kind of feel that way as I write this, approximately two weeks away from the tenth anniversary of this site.It’s kind of awkward, as I gave up ownership and full control to Jason and his team over a year ago – a decision I do not regret, as Jason has taken the site into areas I never could have dreamed of. But it’s weird looking in on something that was literally a part of one’s daily life for so long.…

30 Sep

House Lights… The Concert’s Over

Christopher ThelenEssayctfarewell

It's only appropriate that I choose the headline I did -- a quote from Frank Zappa to cut short a disastrous concert in 1982, when idiots were pelting the stage with all sorts of stuff -- to take a final look around the offices, a la Barney Miller, and share with you some of my thoughts before I hand over the keys.You see, nearly nine years after starting this website and reviewing hundreds (if not thousands) of discs, this will be my final scheduled piece for "The Daily Vault." A few months ago, I made the decision to give up…

02 May

Anthrax Stumble Out Of The Gate, But Return To Be ‘Among The Living’

Christopher ThelenFeature

Any time a band reunites with core members, it's not unusual for the group to do a few "warmup" shows prior to launching a major tour in order to work out the bugs in the set. In the case of the speed-metal band Anthrax - which was performing with its classic line-up for the first time in 13 years - their second night at the House Of Blues (and third show prior to leaving for a major European tour) proved there still were many bugs left to be squashed.Following a roughly 20-minute movie covering the band's history and the reunion,…