I’ve been reading Metal Mark’s countdown of the best metal albums of 1986 lately and it has me thinking about crossover. During the mid 80s, speed metal was the result of hardcore’s influence on a group of young metal bands looking for something new on one side and young hardcore bands looking to tighten up their sound on the other…. Read more »
It’s probably cheating to write this, but I’m trying to get back into the swing of posting, so I thought I’d try something easy and accessible. There’s no question that Zeppelin is one of the greatest rock bands of all time. Standing alone, with no thought given to influence, these records stand up today. On top of that their influence… Read more »
November 8, 2006, The Ottobar, Baltimore, MD I caught this show the other night with a friend. I’d heard of the last three bands and heard random tracks, but I wasn’t particularly familiar with anyone on the bill that night. The theme of the night was formula, which bands used one and who did it well and who did it… Read more »
Label: Dischord Released: October 10, 2006 Joe Lally’s first solo release is largely an album of rhythms. Although there is occasionally other instrumentation, most of the songs are bass, percussion and vocals (and even the vocals are more rhythmic than melodic). In most cases, this would make for a pretty dull album of self-indulgent fluff, but not so on There… Read more »
Label: Important RecordsReleased: August 3, 2004 Listening to Barbez is like sitting in a smokey French cafe in the middle of…the Twilight Zone. They play a strange mix of styles that draws primarily on indie rock and cabaret with subtle hints of non-Western styles (a little Asian influence hear and a touch of Middle Eastern there). They’ve mastered the great… Read more »
In the hopes of reinvigorationg my blogging efforts, I’m going to try something new. I’m going to do a review of a band’s entire (studio) discography. I recently spent a few days listening to the Talking Heads albums from first to last, so I’m going to start with them. Perhaps no other band from that mid-70s NYC/CBGB scene had a… Read more »
Most of my generation probably best remembers this song as Club Nouveau’s 1986 synth-laden hit, but it was original recorded 15 years earlier by it’s writer, Bill Withers, who also sent it to #1. I’ll admit that the sentiment has a lot to do with why I like it, but before you jump on me for it, check this out… Read more »
Back in 2002, Dolly Parton covered (gasp) “Stairway to Heaven.” I’m sure most people’s first reaction was to be horrified that the singer who brought us “9 to 5” would dare to touch Zeppelin’s crown jewel, but if you excuse Parton’s pop country days and focus on her early and late periods, the idea should be at least compelling. I… Read more »
During the show, a friend remarked that Charlie Benante was among the best speed metal drummers, up there with Lars Ulrich. Another guy remarked that he prefered Pantera’s Vinnie Paul (which of course discredits his opinion entirely). But both forgot about Slayer’s Dave Lombardo who I’ve long considered the genre’s best and most definitive drummer. He was simply brutal. Charlie… Read more »
January 6, 2006, Ram’s Head Live, Baltimore, MD Twenty years ago, Spreading the Disease was perhaps my favorite speed metal album. It wasn’t as dark as Reign in Blood or as self-consciously serious as Master of Puppets. It was positive and fun. So when I was offered a ticket to see Anthrax, I agreed without a second thought. Anthrax might… Read more »