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!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
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!
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!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
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
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
Monday, August 18, 2008
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
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
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Poison: Live, Raw & Uncut- with Sebastian Bach!
Post #32
The following is my concert review for Poison on tour with Sebastian Bach, Summer 2008.
It was a perfect summer afternoon in July when my brother & I hit the road for Peoria, IL to catch Poison live in concert with Sebastian Bach, from Skid Row, as the opening act. With a 3+ hour drive ahead of us, we stocked up our relevant CDs for music for the road, and set out on our journey...
Between the 2 of us, I was more of a Skid Row fan back in the early 90's, while my bro was the big Poison fan. That being said we spent much of the drive down there listening to albums from both artists, and mixing in a few others for good measure (we're also seeing the Metal Masters tour later this summer, so we threw some Judas Priest & Black Sabbath into the mix).
I knew that Bach had a new CD released recently, and I had one song from it on a recent sampler CD from a heavy metal magazine. My brother & I both enjoyed that one, and we were both familiar with Skid Row's oldie-but-goodie hits from their hey-day: Youth Gone Wild, 18 & Life, etc... Alternately, when we switched to Poison's material, we focused mostly on their later and more obscure material. Turns out that Poison have had a few CDs come out more recently that I never got around to ever hearing (Crack a Smile, Power to the People, Hollyweird). We also listened to a couple alternate, acoustic versions of Stand and Something To Believe In (with alternate lyrics) from the "Best of Ballads & Blues" compilation.
It was a perfect summer afternoon in July when my brother & I hit the road for Peoria, IL to catch Poison live in concert with Sebastian Bach, from Skid Row, as the opening act. With a 3+ hour drive ahead of us, we stocked up our relevant CDs for music for the road, and set out on our journey...
Between the 2 of us, I was more of a Skid Row fan back in the early 90's, while my bro was the big Poison fan. That being said we spent much of the drive down there listening to albums from both artists, and mixing in a few others for good measure (we're also seeing the Metal Masters tour later this summer, so we threw some Judas Priest & Black Sabbath into the mix).
I knew that Bach had a new CD released recently, and I had one song from it on a recent sampler CD from a heavy metal magazine. My brother & I both enjoyed that one, and we were both familiar with Skid Row's oldie-but-goodie hits from their hey-day: Youth Gone Wild, 18 & Life, etc... Alternately, when we switched to Poison's material, we focused mostly on their later and more obscure material. Turns out that Poison have had a few CDs come out more recently that I never got around to ever hearing (Crack a Smile, Power to the People, Hollyweird). We also listened to a couple alternate, acoustic versions of Stand and Something To Believe In (with alternate lyrics) from the "Best of Ballads & Blues" compilation.
We arrived in plenty of time to find our seats and browse the memorabilia before the show kicked off. It was nice to take in the wide variety of fans that showed up for this show: teenagers, college kids, parents and their kids. Generally speaking I'd say the majority of the crowd were middle-age women; in other words, the same majority of fans Poison had in the 80's. There were still enough guys at the show that we didn't feel out of place. It was a little funny seeing hip-looking, teenage tough-guys sporting tee-shirts with the logo of one of the biggest hair-metal bands there ever was, but it goes to show a little of the staying power of simple rock-n-roll music.
We were sitting in our seats conversing about some random topic, and then the lights went down...
A guitar riff rings out loudly from the amplifiers, accompanied by a steady snare & bass drum beat. The rhythm builds, the volume steadily increases... My brother looks my way with a quizzical look on his face, and says, "Is this 'Back In The Saddle'?" And sure enough, it was "Back in the Saddle", a cover of the classic Aerosmith song we had just heard in the Guitar Hero: Aerosmith game. We would later find out that Sebastian has a recording of this song included on his new CD, "Angel Down".
Sebastian continued his opening set with a healthy mix of his new material and Skid Row classics. I was really enjoying this part of the concert. I had actually seen Sebastian in concert at this same venue 10 years earlier, when he opened for Anthrax & Pantera; and I've also seen Skid Row without Sebastian when they opened for Kiss on their "farewell" tour in 2000. Sebastian's current band played all the old songs as well, or better, than both of those previous acts. Most importantly, his unmistakable voice sounded as good as ever! And his band sounded very heavy, like "Slave to the Grind"-era Skid Row.
As his band closed their set with the unforgettable hair-metal anthem, "Youth Gone Wild", he reminded us to get ready for Poison. And so we did, our anticipation began to build again...
15-20 minutes later, the video screen lit-up with a Poison logo, and shortly later a disclaimer was projected on the big screen: "Caution: The show you are about to witness contains material of an adult nature. ...Would you expect anything less?"
A few minutes later Poison took the stage, opening their set with a brief instru-medley intro that quickly morphed into "Look What The Cat Dragged In". And just like that the whole stadium was rocking-out to Poison like it was 1988 and nothing had changed as they played almost every one of their big hits from the 80's & early 90's!
My brother commented that he was surprised when they played "Ride The Wind". This was one of his favorite songs, but it was never as big as many of their other hits. I, on the other hand, was impressed when they played "Cry Tough", their first song from their first album, and also their first-ever single. Accompanying this song, they also played the music video for it on the huge video screen behind the stage. It was an interesting, contrasting view to see the present-day band playing a perfect rendition of this song, while the 22-year-old music video displayed what was probably the peak of the Glam/Hair Metal scene as they played. At one point Bret Michaels walked up to the cat-walk and sang a verse essentially super-imposed over the biggest fashion statement his band ever made in the 80's. As the song's message filled the arena; "You gotta cry tough out in the streets to make your dreams happen. You gotta cry out, out to the world to make them all come true." We really got the impression that this band has truly come full-circle. They bought into (if not invented) one of the biggest fads from the 80's, lost a lot of ground when the music scene drastically changed course in the 90's, had break-ups, solo efforts that fell short, a revolving door of members for a few years, and finally a reunion, and have persevered by coming back to the sound they were first know for (but also leaving the dated Hair-metal image rightfully in the past!)
It wasn't until the last portion of the show when they finally brought out some hits from their second album, "Open Up and Say... Ah!" When they began to play "Every Rose Has Its Thorn", the crowd reacted enthusiastically. And when they closed the number, Bret told a little story about the only guitar lesson he ever took in his life, in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania for $12.00: the first 4 notes he ever learned to play on the guitar... are the same 4 notes as the grand finale of "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"-possibly their biggest hit... and then he strummed the final chord.
I was slightly disappointed when they were playing "Fallen Angel", my personal favorite, and CC's guitar pick-up gave out during the guitar solo. He quickly swapped guitars with a stage-hand, and finished the song in good fashion, except my favorite guitar solo, from my favorite Poison song was skipped in the process! I didn't let it bother me though, as the next song was the finale: "Talk Dirty To Me". For the whole 3 or 4 minute duration of this classic Poison anthem, the stage was bombarded with every variety of bra imaginable, and a few panties too. Well, you can't blame them, they did warn of "content of an adult nature". And besides, it's Rock N' Roll!
Last but not least, after 5-10 minutes of a roaring crowd, they came back on stage and played "Nothin' But a Good Time" as their final encore. I was a little surprised to see that they never played any of their own newer material. The newest song they played was a cover of "What I Like About You" originally by The Romantics, from their '07 cover album, "Poison'd". That being said, the show was still a great Rock N' Roll concert. Even if it was mostly to feel nostalgia for the music of the 80's, it was great fun!
The setlist for both artists was as follows:
Sebastian Bach
Back In The Saddle
Slave to the Grind
Stuck Inside
18 & Life
American Metalhead
(Life is a) Bitchslap
By Your Side
Monkey Business
You Don't Understand
I Remember You
Youth Gone Wild
POISON
Look What The Cat Dragged In
I Want Action
Ride The Wind
I Won't Forget You
What I Like About You
Cry Tough
Something To Believe In
Your Mama Don't Dance
Unskinny Bop
Every Rose Has Its Thorn
Fallen Angel
Talk Dirty To Me
~~~~~~~~~
Nothin' But A Good Time
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
State of the Blog Address
Post #31
It's been several months now that I've been writing on this blog, and I thought now is a good time to just say what's on my mind about it. I've greatly enjoyed putting my opinions of Heavy Metal music in writing, and hope you have found some entertainment in the reading of my posts. I plan to continue this trend of reviewing Heavy Metal music one artist or album at a time, but also expanding the style of the blog a bit.
The monthly poll is a great vehicle to keep a new topic on the horizon for me, as well as making sure it's music at least some of you are interested in. (You'll find that I always review the poll winner within a month of the closing of the poll, and label that post as a "poll winner"). The poll topics themselves may change in the coming months; as I begin run low on ideas, I might occasionally simply use a trivia question as a monthly poll. So polls of this nature would actually have a correct answer, and not be solely based on readers' opinions.
For those who are relatively new to this blog, I was going to write 2 simple posts in the near future just summarizing the previous "Lyric Quotes of the Month" up to the present, as well as the history of the monthly poll-winners (including my personal vote and my reason for that choice).
I was also considering writing concert reviews from concerts I have attended both past and present. I've given a bit of a taste of this when I've reviewed artists I've seen at Ozzfest (see the posts labeled with "Ozzfest"). Basically, I'll go one step further and review the entire show and highlights from the set list for a given concert, bringing more of a narrative to this blog.
Last but not least, I have a plan to write another "Music Mix" post that will be a "Best of Heavy Metal 107: Volume I". I plan to fill an 80-min CDR with one or two songs from each post on this blog in chronological order and see how far I get. Periodically I'll add a "Volume II" & "III" etc... as the posts on this blog continue to grow! In the end it should amount to a pretty unique mix of Heavy Metal music!
Another small point: you may find that I sometimes add artwork to a post several weeks after I post the text. This is simply a matter of me getting the free time to track down some artwork and uploading it to the blog. So if you go back and check out the same post at a later date, it may look different.
That's about all the thoughts I have for now. I'll update you again as I get new ideas. In the meantime you can always see the "Coming Soon" section to see the music I'm listening to & composing my thoughts on for future posts.
Later!
J.A.B.
It's been several months now that I've been writing on this blog, and I thought now is a good time to just say what's on my mind about it. I've greatly enjoyed putting my opinions of Heavy Metal music in writing, and hope you have found some entertainment in the reading of my posts. I plan to continue this trend of reviewing Heavy Metal music one artist or album at a time, but also expanding the style of the blog a bit.
The monthly poll is a great vehicle to keep a new topic on the horizon for me, as well as making sure it's music at least some of you are interested in. (You'll find that I always review the poll winner within a month of the closing of the poll, and label that post as a "poll winner"). The poll topics themselves may change in the coming months; as I begin run low on ideas, I might occasionally simply use a trivia question as a monthly poll. So polls of this nature would actually have a correct answer, and not be solely based on readers' opinions.
For those who are relatively new to this blog, I was going to write 2 simple posts in the near future just summarizing the previous "Lyric Quotes of the Month" up to the present, as well as the history of the monthly poll-winners (including my personal vote and my reason for that choice).
I was also considering writing concert reviews from concerts I have attended both past and present. I've given a bit of a taste of this when I've reviewed artists I've seen at Ozzfest (see the posts labeled with "Ozzfest"). Basically, I'll go one step further and review the entire show and highlights from the set list for a given concert, bringing more of a narrative to this blog.
Last but not least, I have a plan to write another "Music Mix" post that will be a "Best of Heavy Metal 107: Volume I". I plan to fill an 80-min CDR with one or two songs from each post on this blog in chronological order and see how far I get. Periodically I'll add a "Volume II" & "III" etc... as the posts on this blog continue to grow! In the end it should amount to a pretty unique mix of Heavy Metal music!
Another small point: you may find that I sometimes add artwork to a post several weeks after I post the text. This is simply a matter of me getting the free time to track down some artwork and uploading it to the blog. So if you go back and check out the same post at a later date, it may look different.
That's about all the thoughts I have for now. I'll update you again as I get new ideas. In the meantime you can always see the "Coming Soon" section to see the music I'm listening to & composing my thoughts on for future posts.
Later!
J.A.B.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
The Kings of Thrash Metal...
Post #30 Poll Winner: Favorite Thrash band
Well, I guess it was only a matter of time before I got around to writing about Metallica. In a way I'm glad they won the "thrash" poll, it forces me to work a Metallica review into my plans more quickly. Otherwise I might not have gotten around to it until their new CD is out.
It's no surprise that Metallica won the "Favorite Thrash Band" poll. One could even argue that the whole Thrash/Speed/Power Metal conglomerate would never have made it off the ground if it weren't for Metallica. Factor into the equation the fact that Dave Mustaine only formed Megadeth after being ousted from Metallica, and you might be looking at the history of Heavy Metal without 2 of the biggest titans in the Thrash genre. In short, we might owe more of metal's legacy to the existence of Metallica than we think!
During the early 80's the thrash metal bands formed in the wake of the influence of the (New) Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). [from this point on I'm dropping the "new"; I mean, come on, the late 70's & early 80's aren't "new" anymore, are they?] Thrash took many aspects of classic heavy metal to new heights. The speed, crunch, distortion, and overall intensity seemed to jump a couple notches each year from about 1982-1987. Metallica were at the forefront of this movement every step of the way. Their albums spread like wild-fire in the heavy metal underground. They stole the show repeatedly from Ozzy Osbourne when they opened for him on his '86 tour. And when they decided to film a music video for their song "One" to air on MTV, doors were blasted open for all of thrash metal.
When they recorded their self-titled "Black" album in 1991 they exhibited a significant phase-shift in their songwriting, as a few songs on the album were notably softer than most of their previous material. After years of touring in support of the "Black" album, Metallica took a thuroughly deserved hiatus, and wouldn't release a new recording until 1996. Thrash-metal as we knew it from Metallica had come to an end. The band has gone on to ever greater success since, but has continued to experiment and expand upon their sound over the years, leaving an ever-growing legacy that few heavy metal bands may ever equal.
Here's a very brief list of recommended songs by Metallica. Eventually I'll write a more in-depth review of their music and highlight my favorite songs album-by-album, so watch for that in the future. For now, try...
-One
-(Welcome Home) Sanitarium
-Holier Than Thou
-King Nothing
-Frantic
-Phantom Lord
-Fight Fire With Fire
-Fade To Black
-No Leaf Clover
-Am I Evil?
-The Unforgiven
-The Unforgiven
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Patriotic Rock for the 4th!
Post #29
Every 4th of July when we celebrate our national independence, I can't help but to make a point to listen to a few hard rockin' renditions of patriotic songs. Here are some of my favorites to listen to this time of year:
-Light Up The Sky by Van Halen (this one isn't really about patriotism, but I like it because it makes me think of fireworks displays!)
-In America by Britny Fox
-Star Spangled Banner by Kiss
-Star Spangled Banner & Declaration Day by Iced Earth
-Rockin' In The USA by Kiss
-American Girl by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
-Pink Houses by John Mellencamp
Every 4th of July when we celebrate our national independence, I can't help but to make a point to listen to a few hard rockin' renditions of patriotic songs. Here are some of my favorites to listen to this time of year:
-Star Spangled Banner by Jimi Hendrix
-4th of July by Soundgarden-Light Up The Sky by Van Halen (this one isn't really about patriotism, but I like it because it makes me think of fireworks displays!)
-In America by Britny Fox
-Star Spangled Banner by Kiss
-Star Spangled Banner & Declaration Day by Iced Earth
-Rockin' In The USA by Kiss
-American Girl by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
-Pink Houses by John Mellencamp
Friday, June 20, 2008
HappyHeadbanger online radio premiers!
Post #28
Hey there readers, tired of browsing through my endless babble of heavy metal in dull, boring silence? Well, now those days are over! To hear free, online radio, with a play-list modeled after my own suggestions, simply click the link at the bottom of this blog and click "play this station". You may need to create a free account with Pandora.com in order to hear the music, but at least now you can all bang your heads while you read.
I plan to continue to add all my suggested artists, albums, and songs to the play-list over the next few weeks. Keep listening as HappyHeadbanger Radio evolves! Enjoy!
Hey there readers, tired of browsing through my endless babble of heavy metal in dull, boring silence? Well, now those days are over! To hear free, online radio, with a play-list modeled after my own suggestions, simply click the link at the bottom of this blog and click "play this station". You may need to create a free account with Pandora.com in order to hear the music, but at least now you can all bang your heads while you read.
I plan to continue to add all my suggested artists, albums, and songs to the play-list over the next few weeks. Keep listening as HappyHeadbanger Radio evolves! Enjoy!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
1976: The Greatest Year in Rock!
Post #27
I'll admit I'm a bit biased about the year 1976 (being that it's the year I was born), but the more I consider the lasting power of much of the rock music that came out that year, I find it harder and harder to argue there was any other year that produced as many great rock songs. Whether you grew up in the 70's or discovered the music of that era as you tracked down the influential artists of many of today's rock bands, you may be surprised at how many essential rock songs were first heard in the year 1976.
Consider for a second a world of rock music without some of these songs; Hotel California (Eagles), Don't Fear the Reaper (Blue Oyster Cult), Detroit Rock City (Kiss), Hurricane (Dylan)... all from 1976. And there's more where those came from, not to mention several other great songs from the albums those songs came from.
I'll let this post serve as foreshadowing of an upcoming poll question. It's certain to be the toughest poll yet! So study-up on your music collection form '76- it'll help you decide which album to vote for next month...
Some notable releases from 1976 that might be included in the poll:
Eagles-Hotel California
Boston
Kiss-Destroyer
Rush-2112
Bob Dylan-Desire
Ramones
And don't worry, there's more where those came from! Good luck and happy listening
I'll admit I'm a bit biased about the year 1976 (being that it's the year I was born), but the more I consider the lasting power of much of the rock music that came out that year, I find it harder and harder to argue there was any other year that produced as many great rock songs. Whether you grew up in the 70's or discovered the music of that era as you tracked down the influential artists of many of today's rock bands, you may be surprised at how many essential rock songs were first heard in the year 1976.
Consider for a second a world of rock music without some of these songs; Hotel California (Eagles), Don't Fear the Reaper (Blue Oyster Cult), Detroit Rock City (Kiss), Hurricane (Dylan)... all from 1976. And there's more where those came from, not to mention several other great songs from the albums those songs came from.
I'll let this post serve as foreshadowing of an upcoming poll question. It's certain to be the toughest poll yet! So study-up on your music collection form '76- it'll help you decide which album to vote for next month...
Some notable releases from 1976 that might be included in the poll:
Eagles-Hotel California
Boston
Kiss-Destroyer
Rush-2112
Bob Dylan-Desire
Ramones
And don't worry, there's more where those came from! Good luck and happy listening
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
KISS Unplugged-The KISS Reunion Captured Live!
Post #26 Poll Winner-Favorite 'Unplugged' album
As far as "Unplugged" albums go, I love how they almost always provide a thurough glimpse of a different side of an artist we don't usually see. When you add to this an unexpected reunion with former or original band members, it becomes even more special. With KISS' Unplugged album, you get both sides of this experience.
More than at any other point of their career, MTV Unplugged is a crossroads in KISS' history. It is a one-time performance where their past met their present, and re-routed their future. For much of the performance, it was a simple setlist performed by the KISS line-up that had been intact since '92, although many of the songs were old, rare tunes that were scarcely (if at all) performed live before. Then, just when the show seemed to be winding down, Paul announces that they "Have some members of the family here tonight... and I'm not talking about Mom & Dad."
For however many of the faithful followers of KISS who happened to be watching this performance, what happened next was the shock of any rock-music fan's life... Ace Frehley & Peter Criss, the original members of KISS, strolled onto the stage and finished the rest of the show along side Gene, Paul, Bruce Kulick, & Eric Singer.
This unique 6-member line-up performed the final four songs of the show and added a new twist to each one. I'll never forget seeing that show, and how it set the stage for the reunion of the original KISS, and their return to their trade-make make-up & stage show. It was only after the KISS reunion that I ever got to see them in concert, and I've managed to see them 3 times.
My picks for this one-of-a-kind Unplugged album...
-Comin' Home
-Goin' Blind
-Rock Bottom
-2,000 Man
-Nothin' to Lose (This one is really special. Taken from their 1st album, the original 4 members belt it out like never before!)
-Got to Choose (DVD only, or else you can find it on the KISS Box Set.)
-Beth (This arrangement & performance is the best recording of this classic ballad. Having 3 guitars to interpret parts of the song originally played by an orchestra brings the song to new heights)
As far as "Unplugged" albums go, I love how they almost always provide a thurough glimpse of a different side of an artist we don't usually see. When you add to this an unexpected reunion with former or original band members, it becomes even more special. With KISS' Unplugged album, you get both sides of this experience.More than at any other point of their career, MTV Unplugged is a crossroads in KISS' history. It is a one-time performance where their past met their present, and re-routed their future. For much of the performance, it was a simple setlist performed by the KISS line-up that had been intact since '92, although many of the songs were old, rare tunes that were scarcely (if at all) performed live before. Then, just when the show seemed to be winding down, Paul announces that they "Have some members of the family here tonight... and I'm not talking about Mom & Dad."
For however many of the faithful followers of KISS who happened to be watching this performance, what happened next was the shock of any rock-music fan's life... Ace Frehley & Peter Criss, the original members of KISS, strolled onto the stage and finished the rest of the show along side Gene, Paul, Bruce Kulick, & Eric Singer.
This unique 6-member line-up performed the final four songs of the show and added a new twist to each one. I'll never forget seeing that show, and how it set the stage for the reunion of the original KISS, and their return to their trade-make make-up & stage show. It was only after the KISS reunion that I ever got to see them in concert, and I've managed to see them 3 times.
My picks for this one-of-a-kind Unplugged album...
-Comin' Home
-Goin' Blind
-Rock Bottom
-2,000 Man
-Nothin' to Lose (This one is really special. Taken from their 1st album, the original 4 members belt it out like never before!)
-Got to Choose (DVD only, or else you can find it on the KISS Box Set.)
-Beth (This arrangement & performance is the best recording of this classic ballad. Having 3 guitars to interpret parts of the song originally played by an orchestra brings the song to new heights)
Friday, May 23, 2008
A Bargain Hunter's Finds (More Iced Earth!)
Post #25
My music collection is always growing. I occasionally sell back some titles at used CD stores, but it's a rare occurance. Mostly, I find the used music market is always the best place to find those elusive recordings that I missed out on when they were 1st released. Truthfully it's only a handful of times a year that I even buy a music title new from a retailer (and often I redeem either coupons or gift cards to do so!) The used market is much easier on the pocketbook too! Aside from that I also utilize the Audio-visual section of my local library to keep up on hot, new rock music artists.
One of my favorite used CD stores places to frequent is Half Price Books. HPB is a chain in the midwest. You can find their nearest location to you at their website: http://www.halfpricebooks.com/. I recently found some great deals on heavy metal CDs there...
First, by random luck, while browsing through the "I"'s I ran across Iced Earth's "Days of Purgatory" 2-CD set... for $7.98!!! I couldn't pass this up. A collection of their early material re-recorded with Matt Barlow on vocals. A really great find.
Later that same week, I was out visiting family and we decided to go out shopping and we checked out another HPB location. At this one I restricted myself to the clearance section for music. I still couldn't escape without a great find as I ran across Iced Earth's 4th album, "The Dark Saga" for a mere $2.00!!!!!!!!!
Needless to say I was quite satisfied with these finds for the week, and managed to fill in a big chunck of my Iced Earth collection for under $10.00. I've given them a fair amount of listening already, and can give you some recommended tracks:
From "The Dark Saga"
-Dark Saga
-Violate
-The Hunter
-Slave to the Dark
From "Days of Purgatory"
-Angels Holocaust
-Stormrider
-When The Night Falls
-Desert Rain
-Travel in Stygian
My music collection is always growing. I occasionally sell back some titles at used CD stores, but it's a rare occurance. Mostly, I find the used music market is always the best place to find those elusive recordings that I missed out on when they were 1st released. Truthfully it's only a handful of times a year that I even buy a music title new from a retailer (and often I redeem either coupons or gift cards to do so!) The used market is much easier on the pocketbook too! Aside from that I also utilize the Audio-visual section of my local library to keep up on hot, new rock music artists.
One of my favorite used CD stores places to frequent is Half Price Books. HPB is a chain in the midwest. You can find their nearest location to you at their website: http://www.halfpricebooks.com/. I recently found some great deals on heavy metal CDs there...
First, by random luck, while browsing through the "I"'s I ran across Iced Earth's "Days of Purgatory" 2-CD set... for $7.98!!! I couldn't pass this up. A collection of their early material re-recorded with Matt Barlow on vocals. A really great find.
Later that same week, I was out visiting family and we decided to go out shopping and we checked out another HPB location. At this one I restricted myself to the clearance section for music. I still couldn't escape without a great find as I ran across Iced Earth's 4th album, "The Dark Saga" for a mere $2.00!!!!!!!!!Needless to say I was quite satisfied with these finds for the week, and managed to fill in a big chunck of my Iced Earth collection for under $10.00. I've given them a fair amount of listening already, and can give you some recommended tracks:
From "The Dark Saga"
-Dark Saga
-Violate
-The Hunter
-Slave to the Dark
From "Days of Purgatory"
-Angels Holocaust
-Stormrider
-When The Night Falls
-Desert Rain
-Travel in Stygian
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Music Mix Mania! (pt. 2) Metallic Catastrophe
Post #24
Sometimes I find that I've collected a vast amount of excellent, shredding metal music in a relatively short period of time that I have difficulty thoroughly enjoying each title. Sometimes it's moments like these that drive me to burn another good mix CD, allowing a balanced sampling of newly acquired music. This was the case when I compiled "Metallic Catastrophe!"- A really rippin' mix of some excellent (mostly) new heavy metal tunes.
Here's an annotated list of the songs I chose for this mix:
1-Bruce Dickinson-"Abduction" This is from Bruce's most recent solo album, "Tyranny of Souls". I have this song on a sampler CD I got in Classic Rock magazine. I've yet to collect the whole album, but if "Abduction" is any indication of the rest of the CD, then I'm missing out on some good metal!
2-Black Tide-"Shockwave" I've said plenty about Black Tide already on this blog, the reason I've included this song on this mix CD should be obvious... this song kicks ass!!!
3-Trivium-"Anthem (We Are The Fire)" I'm still listening to The Crusade 3-4 times a week. I had to put a song from this album on this mix. "Anthem" is true to it's name; an anthem for heavy metal. You feel an urge to scream along, "We are the Fire!" when you're hearing this song!
4-Avenged Sevenfold-"Chapter Four" This is one of the older songs on this mostly brand-new song collection. From Waking the Fallen, this is probably my favorite song.
5-Megadeth-"Gears of War" From their newest album. I could have easily chosen "Washington Is Next!" or "Sleepwalker", but I think I chose "Gears of War" because I had a lyric from this song in my head while I was making this mix. The lyric... "Smart bombs, precision guided armaments. A more sophisticated way to end up dead!"
6-Serj Tankian-"Sky Is Over" I got Serj's Elect The Dead CD as a gift this past Christmas. This song jumped out at me after my first listen. I still think it's one of the best songs on this solo project from the System of a Down front-man.
7-Iced Earth-"The Clouding" I mentioned this song in my Iced Earth post. I include it on this mix for the same reasons; it's a great epic song that transforms from melodic to thrashy about halfway through. I placed it in the middle of this mix because of its length (if not, I fear I'd run out of room on the CD!)
8-Trivium-"Becoming the Dragon" Another Trivium song. I'm still very into this CD! I couldn't help but to put another selection from "The Crusade" on this mix. I chose this particular song for the intentional play-on-words I utilized with the following song...
9-DragonForce-"Through the Fire and Flames" Wow! How can I describe DragonForce? I'll have to figure it out before I complete my upcoming post on them. I chose this song to put on this mix because it's not only their best know song (with their performing & promoting it on their Ozzfest appearance, as well as its appearance in the game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock), it is also a great example of Herman Li & Sam Totman's unfathomable lead soloing skills. You'll find about 2 minutes worth of non-stop guitar soloing in this song!
10-Lordi-"The Kids Who Wanna Play With The Dead" It's almost unfair to any song I would have follow a DragonForce song. However, since I elected not to have DragonForce as the closing song, someone had to follow. I really dig Lordi. Their horrific visions depicted in their lyrics are very entertaining. Again, you have to keep a horror-movie frame of mind while listening to Lordi. "Kids" is also a great rocking-metallic song.
11-Dokken-"Drown" Of all the songs on this mix, this one is the curve-ball. "Dokken?" you may ask? But trust me, this one is worth a listen. It comes from one of the better of their many come-back efforts throughout the late 90's- "Erase the Slate". This also features the great Reb Beach on lead guitar, replacing George Lynch. Reb brought his intense ripping lead guitar style into the Dokken sound quite smoothly. And Don's songwriting wasn't so bad either. "Drown" features a dark and haunting riff that really stuck in my head...
12-Dream Theater-"Constant Motion" Dream Theater are such a great band. They're quite heavy but also are top-notch musicians, and it's apparent in their ambitious music. The only downside is probably that they almost put out albums faster that I can keep up with. I put a selection from their newest album, "Systematic Chaos" on this mix so that I can get some more exposure to their music. I can't wait to write a full post about them. It might take me awhile though...
13-Demons & Wizards-"Crimson King" A Stephen King inspired song (from The Dark Tower series!). This band is a side project from members of Iced Earth & Blind Guardian. This heavy and fast song comes from an album highly influenced by King's Dark Tower series. If you're a Dark Tower reader & enjoy this song, check out the album "Touched by the Crimson King"
14-Lordi-"They Only Come Out at Night" Another Lordi song. Again, it's filled with great haunting imagery backed by heavy rock guitar riffage!
15-Iron Maiden-"The Longest Day" I had to have at least one song from Maiden's "A Matter Of Life And Death" album, and this was my favorite at the time. Listening to this song always makes me feel like I'm watching the opening sequence of the film, "Saving Private Ryan"- where they're storming the beaches under heavy fire. I also like having Bruce Dickinson singing on the last song here; it book-ends this collection well.
Sometimes I find that I've collected a vast amount of excellent, shredding metal music in a relatively short period of time that I have difficulty thoroughly enjoying each title. Sometimes it's moments like these that drive me to burn another good mix CD, allowing a balanced sampling of newly acquired music. This was the case when I compiled "Metallic Catastrophe!"- A really rippin' mix of some excellent (mostly) new heavy metal tunes.
Here's an annotated list of the songs I chose for this mix:
1-Bruce Dickinson-"Abduction" This is from Bruce's most recent solo album, "Tyranny of Souls". I have this song on a sampler CD I got in Classic Rock magazine. I've yet to collect the whole album, but if "Abduction" is any indication of the rest of the CD, then I'm missing out on some good metal!
2-Black Tide-"Shockwave" I've said plenty about Black Tide already on this blog, the reason I've included this song on this mix CD should be obvious... this song kicks ass!!!
3-Trivium-"Anthem (We Are The Fire)" I'm still listening to The Crusade 3-4 times a week. I had to put a song from this album on this mix. "Anthem" is true to it's name; an anthem for heavy metal. You feel an urge to scream along, "We are the Fire!" when you're hearing this song!
4-Avenged Sevenfold-"Chapter Four" This is one of the older songs on this mostly brand-new song collection. From Waking the Fallen, this is probably my favorite song.
5-Megadeth-"Gears of War" From their newest album. I could have easily chosen "Washington Is Next!" or "Sleepwalker", but I think I chose "Gears of War" because I had a lyric from this song in my head while I was making this mix. The lyric... "Smart bombs, precision guided armaments. A more sophisticated way to end up dead!"
6-Serj Tankian-"Sky Is Over" I got Serj's Elect The Dead CD as a gift this past Christmas. This song jumped out at me after my first listen. I still think it's one of the best songs on this solo project from the System of a Down front-man.
7-Iced Earth-"The Clouding" I mentioned this song in my Iced Earth post. I include it on this mix for the same reasons; it's a great epic song that transforms from melodic to thrashy about halfway through. I placed it in the middle of this mix because of its length (if not, I fear I'd run out of room on the CD!)
8-Trivium-"Becoming the Dragon" Another Trivium song. I'm still very into this CD! I couldn't help but to put another selection from "The Crusade" on this mix. I chose this particular song for the intentional play-on-words I utilized with the following song...
9-DragonForce-"Through the Fire and Flames" Wow! How can I describe DragonForce? I'll have to figure it out before I complete my upcoming post on them. I chose this song to put on this mix because it's not only their best know song (with their performing & promoting it on their Ozzfest appearance, as well as its appearance in the game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock), it is also a great example of Herman Li & Sam Totman's unfathomable lead soloing skills. You'll find about 2 minutes worth of non-stop guitar soloing in this song!
10-Lordi-"The Kids Who Wanna Play With The Dead" It's almost unfair to any song I would have follow a DragonForce song. However, since I elected not to have DragonForce as the closing song, someone had to follow. I really dig Lordi. Their horrific visions depicted in their lyrics are very entertaining. Again, you have to keep a horror-movie frame of mind while listening to Lordi. "Kids" is also a great rocking-metallic song.
11-Dokken-"Drown" Of all the songs on this mix, this one is the curve-ball. "Dokken?" you may ask? But trust me, this one is worth a listen. It comes from one of the better of their many come-back efforts throughout the late 90's- "Erase the Slate". This also features the great Reb Beach on lead guitar, replacing George Lynch. Reb brought his intense ripping lead guitar style into the Dokken sound quite smoothly. And Don's songwriting wasn't so bad either. "Drown" features a dark and haunting riff that really stuck in my head...
12-Dream Theater-"Constant Motion" Dream Theater are such a great band. They're quite heavy but also are top-notch musicians, and it's apparent in their ambitious music. The only downside is probably that they almost put out albums faster that I can keep up with. I put a selection from their newest album, "Systematic Chaos" on this mix so that I can get some more exposure to their music. I can't wait to write a full post about them. It might take me awhile though...
13-Demons & Wizards-"Crimson King" A Stephen King inspired song (from The Dark Tower series!). This band is a side project from members of Iced Earth & Blind Guardian. This heavy and fast song comes from an album highly influenced by King's Dark Tower series. If you're a Dark Tower reader & enjoy this song, check out the album "Touched by the Crimson King"
14-Lordi-"They Only Come Out at Night" Another Lordi song. Again, it's filled with great haunting imagery backed by heavy rock guitar riffage!
15-Iron Maiden-"The Longest Day" I had to have at least one song from Maiden's "A Matter Of Life And Death" album, and this was my favorite at the time. Listening to this song always makes me feel like I'm watching the opening sequence of the film, "Saving Private Ryan"- where they're storming the beaches under heavy fire. I also like having Bruce Dickinson singing on the last song here; it book-ends this collection well.
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