James Hetfield: Heavy Metal 107's 1st President.

Post #45 [Poll winner: Heavy Metal Election '08- Favorite lead-singer.]

James Hetfield's inauguration:

James would first like to thank all those who voted for him. Democracy is a wonderful privelage, and in the presence of so many deserving candidates, is humbled to be the choice of the people. Heavy metal will never die. Hetfield will try to represent this music with dignity & respect in the years ahead. Remeber that the empty can rattles the most, so he will lead by example and let the music do most of the talking.

His theme song for his 1st term as president shall be...

"...And Justice for All"

Cliff & Flea: A Tie for Favorite Bassist Poll!

Post #44
Since they tied for most votes in the "Favorite Bassist" poll, I'll review both Cliff Burton and Flea's contributions to the art of bass guitar.

Cliff Burton: Cliff is a true tragic hero for bass guitar in heavy metal. Having lost his life in a bus accident while on tour at such a young age, it is hard to speculate how much more he could have brought to the world of heavy metal with his bass guitar. Even in his short career with Metallica, he contributed significantly as a song-writer and made his unique bass-playing style prominent on many tracks. To hear some of the best work of this master of bass listen to:
-Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth) This instrumental from Metallica's first album, recorded in one take, showcases Burton at his best!
-For Whom the Bell Tolls
-Orion

Flea: Flea has made the tonality and technical playing of his bass guitar a signature trademark of the music of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. From funky, slapping bass techniques, to melodic strings of notes, Flea can play bass as good as the rest. For some Chili Peppers songs that highlight Flea's bass try:
-Higher Ground
-Soul to Squeeze
-Animal Bar

Heavy Metal 107: Quotes of the Month (Feb-Oct '08)

Post #43
Below is a summary up to this point of the monthly lyric quotes of the month that I started in February of this year. They are meant to be entertaining, thought provoking, funny, or just cool. No offense is meant to anyone who reads this blog. If you have a favorite lyric you'd like me to feature as a lyric-of-the-month, just post a comment on any post and suggest it.

October '08: "I walk the corner to the rubble that used to be a library. Line-up to the mind cemetery now. What we don't know keeps the contracts alive and movin'. They don't gotta burn the books, they just remove 'em." from"Bulls On Parade", by Rage Against the Machine

September '08: "Bury your anger and bury your dead or you'll be left with nothing and no one." from "The Ultimate Sin", by Ozzy Osbourne

August '08: "I've got to stop living at a pace that kills before I wake up dead." from "Life Loves a Tragedy", by Poison

July '08: "You and me we'll all go down in history with a sad Statue of Libery and a generation that didn't agree." from "Sad Statue", by System of a Down

June '08: "I'd rather be a free man in my grave than living as a puppet or a slave." from "The Harder They Come", by Joe Jackson

May '08: "I don't mind stealing bread from the mouths of decadence. But I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled." from "Hunger Strike", by Temple of the Dog

April '08: "It brings upon us more of famine, death and war. You know religion has a lot to answer for." from "For the Greater Good of God", by Iron Maiden

March '08: "Find a little evil perpetrator and feed him to the hungry alligator." from "Beethoven's C***", by Serj Tankian

February '08: "It's always funny until someone gets hurt, and then it's just hilarious!" from "Ricochet", by Faith No More

A Quick Look at Alice Cooper.

Post #42 [Poll winner: Vincent Furnier is the real name of which heavy metal icon?]
Alice Cooper: the original Shock-Rocker, was once a regular guy by the name of Vincent Furnier. After he started a rock band in the late 60's he wanted to give it a name that sounded nice, but contrasted with the band's "shock-the-people" approach to their stage show. "Alice Cooper" could be the lady who lives down the street, but this band made a new image for that name. Vincent actually took the name for himself (or at least his character in the band). When the band broke up in the early 80's, Alice continued seamlessly on with a solo career.

He's had his share of ups and downs, but over the years Alice Cooper has made a fair amount of memorable rock and metal music. Weather he was protesting war or domestic violence in the 70's, providing songs to 80's horror movie soundtracks, or in more recent years embracing the influence of nu-metal, there will always be a few good tunes by Alice Copper to bang your head to.

If you're new to Alice Cooper you might want to look for one of these hit collections (also my specific recommendations):
Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits
-I'm Eighteen
-School's Out
-Billion Dollar Babies
-No More Mr. Nice Guy


Alice Cooper-Classicks
-Poison
-Hey Stoopid
-Feed My Frankenstein
-Stolen Prayer


And a couple spooky songs just in time for Halloween from the Constrictor album...
-Teenage Frankenstein
-He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)

Heavy Metal Campaign '08!

Post #41
Feeling anxious about the '08 Presidential Election? Relieve some of that stress by casting your vote for your favorite Heavy Metal vocalist right here on this blog! This election is purely for the fun of it, and has no consequences. The winner of this "election" will serve a 2-year term (December '08-November '10) as a symbolic "President" of this blog. Now, here are your candidates and their reasons they want your vote:

Ozzy Osbourne (Birmingham, England) Often referred to as the Godfather of modern Heavy Metal, other times called "The Prince of F***ing Darkness", Ozzy has always been at the top of the list of true Heavy Metal Icons. From his days in Black Sabbath, to his solo career, to consistently holding his own with all of metal's new bands at Ozzfest, to entertaining reality-show viewers with "The Osbournes"; Ozzy has always made the entertainment of his fans a top priority. Though he may owe a great deal of his success to the top-notch management by his wife Sharon, perhaps not enough of us ask where Sharon might be if there were no Ozzy? Ozzy asks for your vote because without him, where would heavy metal be?

James Hetfield of Metallica (San Francisco, California) James has been the leader of Metallica since its inception in the early 80's. In their prime, Hetfield's voice & Metallica's sound became almost synonymous with Heavy Metal itself. When the 90's came around, Metallica were brave enough to experiment with new styles of metal. After perservering through line-up changes and rehab, Hetfield & Metallica have re-emerged with a new album that harkens to their thrash metal roots, and are once again on top in the world of metal music. James asks for your vote, because right now there is no heavy metal band as big as Metallica!


Rob Halford of Judas Priest (Birmingham, England) With his band, Judas Priest, Halford has endured much controversay in his Heavy Metal career. In their early years Priest followed in the footsteps of Black Sabbath and quietly forged a unique Heavy Metal sound for themselves that has proven to be among the most classic of Heavy Metal. In the mid 90's, Halford left Judas Priest after going public about his homosexuality. He launched many solo projects (Fight, Two, and Halford) before at last returning to Priest in '04. Halford is know as "The Metal God" to his die-hard fans. He asks for your vote to support the enduring metal style of both Judas Priest and his solo efforts. He also has perhaps the widest vocal range in Heavy Metal.


Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden (Nottinghamshire, England) Bruce joined the ranks of British metal titan Iron Maiden for their 3rd album, The Number of the Beast. He quickly won over the band's fans and helped Maiden achieve major international success. You can argue there was no Heavy Metal band as consistent throughout the 80's than Iron Maiden. In the early 90's Bruce left the band over creative differences and started a solo career. After some success in this vein, Bruce eventually reunited with Maiden in 2000 (and brought one of his guitarists with him). Bruce is asking for your vote because Iron Maiden still write some of the most significant Heavy Metal music after nearly 30 years.

James LaBrie of Dream Theater (Ontario, Canada) Dream Theater was started by a group of students at Berkley College of Music. They had an ambitious musical vision, and after their first album, began looking for a new lead singer. James LaBrie answered the call and has proven ever since that he has the pipes these guys were looking for. Often composing progressive-metal songs in excess of 10, 20, or even 40 minutes in length, Dream Theater endeavor to prove they are the best at what they do; blending thrash metal with progressive rock. James wants your vote to prove this band's ambition is worth your while.

Corey Taylor of Slipknot and Stone Sour (Des Moines, Iowa) Whether he's fronting the shockingly horrific Slipknot, or the more down-to-earth but still hard & heavy Stone Sour, Corey Taylor takes being a Heavy Metal singer very seriously. By listening to the 2 extremes of his vocal style in each of his respective bands, you can easily hear the versatility of his voice. Corey has also proven to be open-minded and helpful to several other acts in metal music, having appeared as a guest vocalist on Apocalyptica's "I'm Not Jesus", as well as working closely with Anthrax on their up-coming album. Corey asks for your vote as he carries ever-onward in the world of Heavy Metal.

(British candidates in red, North American candidates in blue)

King Diamond- The Graveyard

Post #40
Every year around Halloween, I like to dig out the spookiest, creepiest heavy metal music in my vast collection and really get into the Halloween spirit. Being a long-time fan of bands like Kiss & Alice Cooper gives me much to choose from in this category. This year I'm going to review one of my favorite albums from King Diamond; Denmark's evil, dark lord of Heavy Metal.

King Diamond's work outside of his original band, Mercyful Fate, has become a creative outlet for the singer's concept-themed musical projects over the years. In many of the albums under the "King Diamond" moniker a very detailed plot of some sinister subject matter or other is developed in the style of a heavy metal rock-opera. King Diamond uses the many pitches of his unique voice to sing several different characters' parts throughout.

On "The Graveyard", King Diamond tells a dark tale of a madman who exercises revenge against a pedophile. Told from the madman's perspective, this eye-for-an-eye tale follows his plot of revenge as he kidnaps mayor MacKenzie's daughter and holds her hostage... in a graveyard. MacKenzie was the true abuser of his daughter; a crime he framed the narrator for. By the end of the album it's clear that nobody wins, and suffering abounds. If you're feeling like a metal album that tells a haunting tale along the lines of Kiss the Girls, then give The Graveyard a listen.

recommended:
-Black Hill Sanitarium
-Trick or Treat
-Up From The Grave

One Year and Counting...

Post #39
I can hardly believe it's already been a full year I've been writing this blog; there's so much great Heavy Metal music I haven't gotten to yet! I'll continue to write posts about both current favorites of mine, as well as many of my favorite bands from years past. As always, I'll use the monthly reader's polls to gauge the interest of my regular readers (thank you for reading this blog!) I'm always keeping my ear open for a thought provoking, funny, or otherwise interesting lyric for the monthly quote... however let me take a moment to remind you all that I'm open to suggestions on the Lyric-of-the-Month if you have one in mind.

Besides my "Coming Soon" topics, I'm plotting out the next month's poll to imitate an election format (it will involve your favorite lead singer). After that I was thinking to have a series of polls about Aerosmith albums (favorites from each decade...) After that I'm sure I'll come up with more ideas.

I will get to a summary of polls & quotes very soon. After one year of blogging seems a good time to summarize!
Read on everyone! Halloween-themed post coming very soon!

later for now...

Serj Tankian-Elect the Dead

Post #38
After headlining Ozzfest '06, System Of A Down went on an indefinite hiatus. Free from the burden of obligations and egos involved with a band, the creative minds of Tankian & Malakian were given free reign to launch their own solo-projects and escape the inundating expectations that System's success had begun to bring upon them. Serj's self-titled project was the first to release an album: Elect the Dead.

As a huge System of a Down fan, I wasn't sure what to expect from Serj without Daron. Should I expect it to sound just like a System album? Would it be so far removed from the band that I'd be disappointed? My apprehension was lessened upon hearing "Empty Walls", the debut single. I had a gift card to Best Buy handy, and decided to use it to pick up Elect the Dead. After hearing the whole album, I was glad I did.

Serj's songwriting style is mostly on par with the work of System of a Down. The main difference I find is that Serj incorporates a lot of piano & keyboard instrumentation, and the electric guitars, although still present, are pushed to the background a bit. When the lyrics come around, however, you can tell this is still the Serj from "System". Serj Tankian, as always, pulls no punches with political or social issues he feels strongly about, and there is plenty of commentary throughout "Elect the Dead". Don't worry though, the quirky, strange, out-of-left-field lyrics that at first make you scratch your head are still present too.

If you're a "System" fan and for some reason haven't picked up "Elect the Dead" yet, then you're missing out. If you need more convincing, check out these songs:
-Empty Walls
-Money
-Sky Is Over
-Honking Antelope
-Lie, Lie, Lie
-Beethoven's C***

Rush-2112, a True Rock Gem from 1976...

Post #37
In 1976, many rock bands seemed to be inspired to create some of their best work of the times. As I mentioned a few posts ago, there were numerous rock albums notable for having some of the best work of many bands' careers. I thought it the ideal topic for a truly challenging reader's poll, and it was a tight race down to the finish. That being said I was still a bit surprised to see that Rush's 2112 came out on top.

2112 didn't particularly have any of Rush's biggest hits from the 70's, but it did carry the most cohesive concept of any other music released that year. On this album, Rush tell a story set in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic, Star-Trek-ish setting, where a "Solar Federation" has supreme control over all knowledge and has humanity living an extremely sheltered existence. If it were told in a novel format it would fit right in with similar stories by the likes of Ray Bradbury, Margaret Atwood, and Orson Scott Card.

2112 chronicles the story of a person who discovers an ancient, mysterious thing- a guitar. Compelled to share this wondrous thing with the rest of humanity, he brings it before the high priests, who promptly discourage the idea, saying it was a part of what led to the destruction of the "ancient race". The ensuing struggle between authority and the inherent belief that the music is right is told through the music of "2112". The main plot of the concept is mainly told in the multi-part title-track, and the remaining songs seem to connect to the theme in vague, generic terms.

All-in-all this a well-executed musical project, and even in the thick of grandiose concepts told through rock music, this album ranks up with some of the best.

From "2112" I recommend:
-2112 (specifically parts I, II, & III)
-The Twilight Zone
-Something for Nothing

All Things Unforgiven

Post #36
As the release of Metallica's Death Magnetic approaches, I can't help but to reflect on my history of being a Metallica fan, as well as the role Metallica's music has played in my life. I've shared many memorable moments with friends and family while listening to Metallica, or discussing their music. One such conversation is actually how I met my wife.

It was my senior year at college, 1998. Another friend and I had just gotten our food trays and were looking for a place to sit in the cafeteria. We saw a large table that had a mix of familiar and new faces and decided to join them. This was in the first couple weeks of a new school year, and as is habit this time of year, we introduced each other to all the new people. I recall I actually shook the hand of a girl behind the back of my friend sitting on my right-and that girl is now my wife.

The topic of conversation at the table in question happened to be Metallica, and their newest single (then, The Unforgiven II). Many at the table were fans of Metallica's Reload album, and interested in how the rest of those at the table compared the new song to the original Unforgiven from Metallica's land-mark "black" album. "Which version of The Unforgiven do you like best?" was the question going around the table in between bites of tator-tot casserole (or some similar cafeteria entree/staple). The young lady whom I would soon take a keen interest in said she liked the lyrics of the new version, and that they seemed an appropriate continuation of the theme of the original.

I felt I had the perfect curve-ball comment to throw into this conversation, so at the next lull in the dialog, I spoke up, "Well, personally I prefer the strings version of "The Unforgiven".

"There's a strings version?" someone asked.

"Yeah", I said, "It's done by Apocalyptica. They have an album where they cover Metallica songs on four cellos."

"Metallica played on cellos? Sounds cool!", said the beautiful young lady.

"If you like, I could bring it over for you to borrow later tonight?"

"Sure, sounds great." she said.

And so began our friendship, that quickly grew into a romantic, long term relationship; and later, our engagement and marriage. That time was approximately ten years ago this month. We've been happily married the last six of those years, and remain fans of both Metallica's and Apocalyptica's music. Very soon, we'll be able to renew that old argument again, as Metallica have a song titled, "The Unforgiven III" on their newest album. Check back later to see what we think!

Megadeth vs. Metallica??? (a shift in the tide)

Post #35
Up until now, at least on this blog, I've been relatively pro-Megadeth, while practically ignoring Metallica until they won the recent poll. This is by no means to imply that I'm anti-Metallica (or anti-any Heavy Metal band for that matter). I've simply been more captivated by Megadeth's strong return-to-form album, United Abominations. Over the years, as a fan of Metal music, I've always been indecisive over who I like more between these two thrash-metal titans. I believe I've mentioned previously that I tend to side with whoever has the newer album at any given time. For that reason, you may expect to see alot more of Metallica talk on this blog and a bit less Megadeth, as Metallica's new album, Death Magnetic, comes out in a matter of days. Keep in mind if I hang on the Metallica bandwagon for awhile, it is simply because I dig the new album. Everything that goes around, comes around on this blog. I'll always try to keep up with the new material of all my favorite bands, but also get back to the history of heavy metal as well.
Enjoy!

Judas Priest: Nostradamus

Post #34
When Judas Priest decided to record the follow-up to their reunion album, Angel of Retribution, they chose to record a type of album that was altogether a new thing for them-a concept album. The subject of this album: the life of the great seer, Nostradamus. Following many of the controversial moments of his life, and interpreting many of his prophecies, the Nostradamus album spans 2 CDs, and provides about 140 minutes of metal music to become immersed in. One really must immerse themselves in this album too; there's so much to take in that a single listen doesn't do the album, or its namesake inspiration, any justice.

The seemingly intimidating amount of music there is on this album is probably its only down-side. I have listened to it all the way through several times now, and I find it continues to grow on me. There is a strong presence of synthesized guitars on this album, more so than on any previous Judas Priest album, but they are present to bring the concept into an appropriate musical and emotional context. Fans of previous Judas Priest music will find that Downing & Tipton's dueling guitar solos & riffs retain enough of the classic Priest sound that the album will not disappoint. The killer guitar solos on "Revelations" are a prime example.

As a point of stylistic reference, I might say the Nostradamus album follows in the wake of songs like "Angel", "Eulogy" & "Lochness" from their previous Angel of Retribution album. Although the 1st single from Nostradamus is the heavy, thrashing title-track, I caution you not to expect too many songs like it on the rest of the album. Though there are many heavy passages, only "Persecution" matches the tempo of "Nostradamus". This is somewhat the opposite reaction I had when Angel of Retribution was first released; the 1st single from that album, "Revolution", was a low-key, moderate tempo anthem, while much of the rest of the album approached Painkiller-esque speed and intensity.

Overall, I find Nostradamus satisfies the long-time Priest fan in me, and if you've been a fan of them yourself, then you should enjoy this album as well. Just be sure to give it a chance to grab you. You may find your favorite songs on your first journey through the life of Nostradamus are replaced by others when you hear them a second time. My current recommended songs:
-Dawn of Creation
-Prophecy
-Revelations
-War
-Death
-Persecution
-Visions
-Nostradamus
-Future of Mankind

Evanescence/Amy Lee

Post #33
Evanescence hit the music scene in 2003 with a huge debut hit, "Bring Me To Life". The mainstream American radio audience was taken aback by the blend of heavy riffs, dark melody, and soaring female lead voice- provided by Amy Lee. Many new fans (myself included), were totally unaware that they basically followed the same formula of some European bands- most notably Lacuna Coil, who had already been playing this style of metal since the late 90's. Nevertheless, Evanescence have taken advantage of their new found niche, and remain a popular artist on most hard-rock radio stations, in spite of some line-up changes in their young career. No matter what difficulties the band has had, no one can argue that Amy Lee has an excellent voice, and with it, makes heavy metal music all the better.

My recommended tracks from Evanescence's "Fallen":
-Going Under
-Bring Me To Life
-Haunted
-Tourniquet