Clash of the album covers

Happy Halloween!

It's two versions of the same album.


Misfits-Walk among us (original)

vs.


Misfits-Walk among us (re-issue)

**Which do you prefer?

***Bonus question-What movie is the bat spider on this cover from? (no prize for getting it right, but you would get the self-satisfaction of knowing you watch too many movies)

What's coming up?

Lately I have been trying to watch horror movies when I can. Going to try and do some Halloween related activies with the kids on Friday and Saturday.
I still owe a review of the Blaze Bayley DVD and I hope to have that up on Halloween.
I also hope to have the following out in the coming week.
Reviews of...

Rammstein- Liebe ist für alle da

Greensleeves-The elephant truth

and maybe one other.


Clash of the album covers


Lesser of two evils-Funhouse against Cry of love


***Have a great week!

Top ten Misfits songs

Hallowen is the perfect time for old Misfits songs. Their whole image was suited for the holiday. The run of the original band was relatively short, but they knocked out a lot of songs. Of course when they are like a minute or so long and this simple I guess you can knock out a huge pile of songs. Here are my top ten favorite Misfits songs.

1-I turned into a martian
2-Horror Business
3-Horror Hotel
4-London Dungeon
5-Bullet
6-Vampira
7-Where eagles dare
8-20 eyes
9-Ghouls night out
10-Night of the living dead

Jethro Tull- Live at Madison Square Garden 1978

Virgin/EMI
2009

This live DVD/CD set contains the band's international TV broadcast from October 9th, 1978 plus an audio only segment on the DVD and the accompanying CD contains an edited version of the concert. First let's get at the DVD. The audio only section contained three songs and they sounded good, but I was impatient to get to the actual performance so a still picture with the audio playing didn't completely satisfy me. Soon enough the TV performance begins and Ian Anderson launch into a spectacular set. They come across true performers both in sound and sight. Anderson is all over the place and the sound is thick and often frantic as they bring together elements of folk, prog rock, hard rock and more into their own unique presentation. The picture quality is slightly fuzzy, but the sound is vibrant as a unit they certainly knew how to put on a show. Their talent shines through, but more than anything you can tell they are having a lot of fun and the audience just feeds off of their exuberance. The CD sounds fantastic too and it may have even impressed more if I hadn't watched the DVD first. By 1978 a lot of 70's prog rock was on the downhill side as musical trends were changing, but Jethro Tull were still cranking out the same brilliant sounds they had been doing for a decade. The booklet includes from Ian Anderson and band manager Terry Ellis about the performance. A fantastic set for fans of the band.

Heavy metal horror story

Gather around to hear this tale that will make your flesh crawl.

Once there was great metal band. They were pioneers of the sound. They became great and it seemed that they would always be putting out quality albums forever. Time went by and this band continued to produce solid music. Only one fateful year they were due to have a new album out. There was no reason to believe that it would not be as good as the previous releases. Yet it was released and the sounds that came out were truly terrifying to my poor unsuspecting ears. It was this album.





To add to my fears the band now looked like this.

Oh, the horror. My eyes! My ears!

One of the scariest times of my life.

Sister-Deadboys making noise

Self-produced
2009



The last time I heard Sister was probably almost two years ago when I checked out some of the songs on their Myspace page. I remember them sounding and looking somewhat like early Motley Crue. Flash forward to earlier this year and the band has changed their look and an EP was in the works. There were some delays in the release, but I opened my mail box the other day and there it was. I raced home and slapped it into the stereo and was abruptly kicked in the head by "Too bad for you". A real go for the throat kind of song. So then I figured they would tone down then because almost all glam bands feel the need to stick in the mandatory ballad or toss in a few mid-paced fillers. Didn't happen on track on two as "D.E.AD." blasted forward without hesitation. In fact track 3 "Crash, Boom, Bang" and track 4 "When you fall" follow in similar style as Sister make no attempt to hold back. In fact it wasn't until track five "Body blow" that the pace slows, don't presume that this meant that they were showing signs of weakness. If anything this one of the heaviest tracks on the disc. So they changed gears, but kept the force behind the music going strong and steady. The last two listed songs "Top of the line" and "I don't mind if you"have the band still pounding out driving beats and tearing it up. In fact the only slow entry is an unlisted track called “Chop the Top” that comes on at the end of the disc. It's a hazy sounding track that sounds more like half-hearted, drunken jam than anything. Still it works and fits in with their attitude. The overall sound of Sister's EP reminded me at times of Crashdiet particularly in the vocals, but these guys are heavier than that. Nothing totally original going on here, but the enthusiasm and the power behind these songs is what kept my attention. Easily one of the best hard rock releases of the year so far.

http://profile.myspace.com/sisteronline
www.sisteronline.net/

The few against many-SOT

Pulverized
2009


The band includes a number of people who have been members of Incapacity and/ or Torchbearer. This is melodic death metal that is fortunately done the correct way. Which means rather than toning down the death metal elements they instead promote them proudly, but toss in enough melodies to compliment the overall sound. The guitars are thick and the rhythm section is very much in your face as well. The stellar production is a large part of this, but this certainly helps to establish the bands credibility right away. They quickly create just the right balance between being catchy and being heavy. The keyboards are well done as they actually sound like a 70's prog-rock style which fit sin nicely with the guitar style. There were times where I wished they would have opened up the bursts of speed a little more. I think if they had it would actually expanded their music. What is here was easy to enjoy, but there were moments where I felt like they were sticking too tightly to one pace and some variation would have helped. Still it's a great start.

Clash of the album covers

It is...


Danzig-s/t

vs.


Slayer-Haunting the chapel

***Which cover do you prefer?

What's coming up?

Well, Halloween is coming up this week which is always a good thing. That means horror movie watching for me as time permits and some kind of activities for the kids.
This week I hope to have these topics out.

Reviews of...
The few against many -SOT
Blaze Bayley-The night that will not die DVD
Jethro Tull-Live at Madison Square Garden 1978 DVD

Clash of the album covers or two
Some kind of Halloween topic, but I have no idea what it will be. Feel free to submit suggestions.

Have a great week!

Skate Rock vol.1

DC Jam
2009

Back in the 80's I wasn't always that big on compilation albums for some reason. I guess the whole album by one artist just appealed to me more. However over the years I have become more receptive to compilations and realize that good ones can be like a smorgasbord of bands and sounds if done properly. What we have here is 52 tracks from 30 bands on 2 discs. The roster includes: JFA, Dwarves, Swingin' Utters, Government Issue, McRad, Trusty, Minus-One and many more. The sounds are slightly varied as there are noisy bands, some funky acts, a few pop-punk bands too, but most fall closer to old style hardcore or simple punk rock. Not every song is a winner, but at 90% were likable. One of the good things about punk rock compilations is how short the songs so if you don't one well it will be over so and on to another one. There is certainly a lot to offer here including the Misfits-inspired Plan 9 and the solid, but self indulgent ramblings of the Naked Lady Wrestlers. The production is better than compilations from twenty-some years, but the energy is just as abundant. Certainly a collection with a lot to offer for fans.

Pestilential Shadows-In memoriam, Ill Omen

Pulverized
2009

This Australian act play a style of melodic black metal. The first thing I noticed about this album was that I really couldn't stomach the production. There is a slick finish to it, but most of the attempted heavier parts are fuzzier than needed and hidden below the surface. I am assuming this was intentional, but as the listener it just caused me to have to strain my ears more which was annoying. As far the music itself, they are certainly doing nothing new. It's coherent enough and the pace moves along alright. Yet I really felt my attention drifting off rather quickly in almost every song. They rarely grabbed my attention and if they did they rarely it. Despite the volume they just didn't possess anything that made an impression on me. I spent more time adjusting the sound on my stereo trying to get a solid grasp on their sound than I should have. It didn't make much difference anyhow as Pestilential Shadows fell flat and once it was over I struggled to remember much of what went on except that they made me very sleepy. Which is of course never a good sign for any style of metal.

Seasons Lost-After the storm

Fireworks
2009

Hailing from Ft Lauderdale, Florida Seasons Lost have opened for Trivium, Days of the new, The Showdown and others. My thought after listening to their debut "After the storm" was this all just one band playing? It's like they are shooting for appealing to wide audience. They have ballads, they get close to thrash pace plus they have lots clean vocals and some vicious growls. However the bulk of the album is one one sound per song. Only a couple of songs contain diverse sounds within on songs. A shame because that last approach is the one that stands out the most for this band. I found their more straight forward hard rock songs to be tight and decent enough, but nothing that special. However the other tracks where really went at it and altered styles really worked. Not perfect because they are a little rough around the edges, but still they were interesting and engaging. Even though this band tried for a broad appeal the album comes across as hit and miss overall, but closer to the hit side.

Transform store bought costumes into metal Halloween costumes

A few years ago I did a post on do it yourself Halloween metal costumes.
http://metalmark.blogspot.com/2006/10/do-it-yourself-heavy-metal-halloween.html
Well, in these tough economic times it's always good to save money when you can. Now it's time to look how to convert your old non-metal costume into heavy metal masterpiece that you can be proud of this Halloween.



Take that old bumble bee costume and remove the wings and stinger and ta-da you have an old-style Stryper outfit. Since they have a new album out maybe this look is back in style. Okay, it was never in style and never really will be.


Take your old shoulder pads and other sports equipment and put it on over your clothes and now you can go as a member of Raven circa 1986.



Do you have some biker leathers? Well just slap on cheap tiger stripe cloth and cut the butt cheek parts out of the pants and you can go as a member of WASP from back in 1984. Of course if you cut the backs out of your pants you may want to check the weather report for Halloween night before you go out trick or treating.

If you don't have any old costume to transform there is still one other idea you could try. Get some tape you can write on and tear off a lot of pieces. Then write KISS and put a high price next to it. Then start putting the pieces of tape on everything and everyone will know that you are Gene Simmons because he is the only one who would put a KISS logo and a high price tag on anything he thought he could sell. Of course just make sure the real Gene Simmons doesn't hear about this or someone dressed as one of his lawyers may be paying you a visit.

There you are. Feel free to add your own ideas.

Clash of the album covers

This time I think it's actually two bands that have not been in this feature before. It is...


Helstar-Burning Star
vs.


Madmax-Stormchild

***Which cover do you prefer?

Top band logos

Someone decides the logos of bands. You know how the letters are shaped, colored, the position, shading and all that. We notice that for good or for worse. So which ones do I like?



Iron Maiden's letters just draw the eyes in. I love the pointed edges, the angles and the slightly uneven flow. One of the most influential metal logos too and I think it looks best in red.


Judas Priest's original logo was good too, but I prefer this. It's got a nice flow to it.



Motorhead's logo may have had some influence on Maiden's and it' also a classic. Looks awesome with their mascot, but can stand alone too.


Van Halen's VH logo has been drawn upon many a book cover by kids over the years. It's simple and easily recognizable.


Slayer's old sword pentagram thing takes up a lot of room, but I have always liked it and thought it worked for them.

For ones I don't like the main type that comes to mind are death metal logos that you cannot read. Maybe they are ashamed to put their names on the cover. I could understand that in some cases.

What do you like or don't like?

What's coming up?

I have been watching a lot of 50's horror films this week mostly with my son. It is a busy week at work with an odd schedule this coming week so I don't know if I will get to much this week. I'll shoot for 2-3 reviews, a Clash of the album covers or two and maybe another Halloween related topic if I can think of one.

For what it's worth here are my top ten horror/monster films of the 1950's.
1-Creature from the black lagoon
2-The House on haunted hill
3-Curse of Frankenstein
4-I married a mosnter from outer space
5-Them
6-Horror of Dracula
7-It! The terror from beyond space
8-The Thing
9-Tarantula
10-The Tingler

Harley's War-Hardcore All-stars

MVD
2009



Former Cro-Mag bass player and some time vocalist Harley Flanagan's band includes members and former members of Agnostic Front, Suicidal Tendencies, Warzone and others on this set. The CD includes a whopping 32 tracks. It has a dozen studio tracks, four songs from a solo demo in 1982 and the rest are various live tracks. The dozen studio songs are straight forward metal tinged hardcore with a mid-late 80's flavor. The better songs reminded me of a cross between New York hardcore, crossover and Chicago's Zoetrope. Flanagan's vocals are good enough and not far off from when he sang on "Best Wishes" over twenty years ago. Certainly the material here is not as strong as the first two Cro-mags' albums, but the approach is simple and easy to get into. Having been done in 1982 means the four songs from that demo were done a yea after the Cro-mags formed and Harley was only 14 or 15 years old at the time. It's severely raw and brief bursts of hardcore. Nothing spectacular, but energetic for sure and you hear hints of the energy that would be harnessed in later projects. The live tracks include a number of Cro-mags classics. The sound quality varies and Flanagan's voice doesn't always hit like it should, but they move ahead at a steady pace and there is enough fire to keep it going. As if this wasn't enough their is also a 29 song DVD with plenty of live performances included as well. We get to see a number of the same songs that were on the live tracks on the CD. Overall more quantity than all quality I guess, but still far more than enough here to please Cro-mags and old style hardcore fans.

Heavy Metal musicians in horror movies

One rainy Saturday when I was in college the idea entered my mind to walk a mile in the rain to rent Monster Dog at one of the many video stores that was in this small town. I had been tempted on several occasions to rent this film. Only one store had it and I was sure that no one else would rent it. Sure enough it was there so I rented it and picked up a pack of Whoppers and a bottle of strawberry milk and was back to my dorm to watch this movie. Of course it was a very bad film, painfully so. Poor acting, cheap monster and rotten dialog highlighted this movie. Was I surprised? No I expected it to be rotten. So why then did I rent it in the first place? Was it because I love bad horror movies? Not exactly and besides there are much more enjoyable bad horror movies out there. Was I wanting to torture myself? Nope. Was it because Alice Cooper was in it? Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner. Yes, I rented it just to see Alice Cooper star in a horror movie. He had small parts in other films, but for some reason I had the desire to see him in this movie. After seeing it I am glad he would soon spend more time concentrating on music again.
I remember seeing the 1986 film Trick or Treat for the first time. I liked it and still do. Gene Simmons was actually quite good as a DJ. Ozzy was more silly than anything as a TV evangelist.
Unlike Monster Dog this movie had more of a focus on metal music.

**Are there any horror movies with metal musicians in them that you like?

Lita Ford-Wicked wonderland

JLRG
2009




Almost every hard rock/metal artist from the 80's seems to have made a return of some sorts . When it was first announced that Lita Ford was going to play at this year's Rocklahoma I figured she would be doing an album soon enough. It's been 15 years since since "Black" her last album. Plus the albums she recorded during the 11 years of her solo career were varied in style and quality so I really didn't have any idea of what she would sound like now. My expectations were not that high, because I liked her in the Runaways and enjoyed her first two solo albums, but after that my interest began to fade. About the time she started doing formula hard rock I lost interest. Enough on the past let's take a look at what we get after a long absence. Well, surprisingly enough the majority of this album is light industrial music with subdued vocals from Lita and growling vocals from her hubbie Jim Gillette. Yes, the same Jim Gillette of Nitro fame who was once known for high hair and even higher vocals. Plus most of the songs have some kind of semi-kinky lyrics that didn't really work for me. The sound is heavier than I was expecting, but it's more loud and generic as opposed to having actual heavy hooks. It wasn't exactly annoying, but it was certainly dull and too often the songs began to blend together because they lacked personality. Even in the late 80's and early 90's when Lita was knocking sugary radio friendly rock at least her voice was decent. I always felt she was a good enough vocalist and that at least warranted giving her music a chance. That doesn't happen this time around as there is only a song or two where there are not layers of effects muting any power that may have been in the vocal tracks. I guess she is doing what she wants and that might be important if this was a better album, but unfortunately it's not. I am also not sure who this will appeal to. I doubt her older fans will be impressed and it's not real heavy or memorable enough for fans of that kind of metal. This is an album that will likely soon be forgotten.

Clash of the album covers

Here are the choices.


Dokken-Beast from the east

vs.

Don Dokken-Up from the ashes

**Which cover do you prefer?

Dusted Angel-The Thorn

Corruption
2009

Dusted Angel are a doom/stoner trio who hail from Santa Cruz. This 7 inch single is their debut. On these three songs they sound like a combination of other bands including Eletric Wizard, High on Fire and Ancestors. The riffs are huge and this band isn't content to just in one gear because they change it up fairly often. The overall sound is a little more upbeat than some other bands playing this style, but it works to their benefit.The approach is actually subtle at times as they slowly wind their way through, but then they will increase the intensity and then bring it back again. This isn't the most involved slab of stoner/doom metal to come down the pike. However they have a fantastic sense of control and that goes a long ways particularly when they wield so many tones and force at their disposal. This year has already been a fine year for this slow and heavy music and now we can add Dusted Angel to that list.

What's coming up?

It's October which means I have been trying to watch some horror movies. My son has been watching Kink Kong with me all week. I also got to squeeze in a few Tales from the crypt episodes as well. I still owe a Lita Ford review so I will that out tomorrow at the latest. This week I hope to have out the following.

Reviews of...
Dusted Angel-7"
Lucid Wake-demo
Harley's War-Hardcore All-stars

Clash of the album covers
and maybe some Halloween topic if I get time.

Clash of the album covers

Two covers from this year. It is...


Kylesa-Static Tensions

Vs.


Mastodon-Crack the skye

***Which cover do you prefer?

Top ten albums to listen to for Halloween

Once upon a time I used to listen to albums on Halloween and that was probably all I could do at the time. I remember being in college or high school being excited about setting aside time to just kick back and listen to a King Diamond or Maiden album in it's entirety around Halloween. Now that I have kids things have changed for my Halloween activities. However if my week was more open and I could pick ten albums to listen leading up to and during Halloween then I would choose these. They are listed in no real order.

Black Sabbath-s/t
Cirith Ungol-King of the dead
Alice Cooper-Love it to death
Iron Maiden-The number of the beast
Grim Reaper-Fear no evil
Halloween-Don't metal with evil
Trick or treat soundtrack (Fastway)
Ozzy-Diary of a madman
Misfits-Walk among us
King Diamond-Abigail

Maybe I will listen to some of these this year if I get time.

Halloween, horror and heavy metal

So do all metal fans enjoy horror movies and Halloween? Perhaps not, but some do and a number of bands have had horror mixed in with their lyrics, themes and stage shows over the years. Halloween always lent itself well to metal as well with a number of bands playing show on Halloween or recording songs about it. A whole book could possibly be written about this topic, but I don't really have time for that so here is a really brief overview of part of the topic at least.
Horror in metal has been around almost as long as metal itself. Black Sabbath have horror elements in their lyrics and album covers since they began in the early 70's. Alice Cooper was using horror elements in early songs like "The Ballad of Dwight Frye and "I love the dead". Of course he incorporated even more horrific elements into stage show as the 70's went on. Blood, pythons and the guillotine became fixtures of his stage show.
KISS were a bit more glitter and glam, but hey Gene Simmons spit blood and he sure tried to look scary. Plus dressing as KISS soon became a Halloween costume favorite.


The 1980's saw more horror elements in lyrics here and there. Iron Maiden of course had a monster as their mascot. They had some horror lyrics here and there too. Other acts like Grim Reaper, Hallow's Eve, Halloween, Impaler and lots of others drew on horror influences as well to varying degrees. WASP started out very much relying on stage theatrics like skulls, blood and the rack. Blackie Lawless wearing chaps and letting his butt hang out was terrifying as well, but I guess that wasn't his original intention.



Mercyful Fate were using some stage theatrics and talking about some dark topics. They soon split and King Diamond went solo. He also begin churning more horror tinged lyrics often in the concept album format. Okay, some of his albums came across as having the same themes as some cheesey horror movies. He also took to increasing the use of props and stage theatrics as well. Many of these bands broke up, dropped or decreased the use of horror elements.



Horror movies were huge throughout much of the 80's and metal musicians such as Ozzy, Alice Cooper and Gene Simmons even found their way into parts in horror films.

Of course many other bands grew up seeing and hearing the above bands so they drew some influence from them as well. So it's no surprise that some metal fans like myself and other get very excited when Halloween rolls around because there is something about the holiday that lends itself to metal.

***What are some of your favorite metal albums to listen to around Halloween?

Sanctification-Black Reign

Pulverised

2009

Swedish death metal outfit Sanctification formed back in 2001 and gone through numerous line-up changes between then and now. There are former and current members that have been in AEON, In Battle and Dark Funeral. "Black Reign" is relentless onslaught of old style death metal similar to Morbid Angel, Hate Eternal and others. The production helps greatly because despite being fairly basic they hit with an unrelenting force. The rhythm section is insane as they just stay on top and right in there for the duration. That's something that doesn't happen enough in this style as we often hear rhythm sections who get swallowed by the guitars and vocals. Not the case here though. I hear the attempt at melodies and that helps add some needed depth to the sound. However there were times where the songs blended together due to a lack of changing the pace or approach. Santicification certainly don't lack in power or intensity, but they fall into the trap of droning on and not all of the songs have as much personality as I would have liked. Still they do enough to partially melt my ears off so that's always a plus.

My own grave-Necrology

Pulverised
2009

First thing I did with this disc was to twist it all around and look at it from every angle in attempt to figure out the name of the band. Those death metl don't always make easy to read logos. Once I figured out they were My own grave I put it in for a listen. I can normally tell if I will like a death metal after a couple of minutes. Right away I knew that this was an album I could single my teeth into. They are brutal and hit like a ton of bricks, but they have some thick grooves plugged into their sound too. They are from Sweden, but the sound is not unlike early 90's Florida death acts like Deicide and Obituary only even a little more challenging. This band has a tight, layered sound that was engaging and kept my guessing what was coming next. All too often I put in a death metal disc and it's like one, long growling song. My own grave know how to pull so much out of every tone they create and every action that they make. Most of the tracks stay under the three and half minute mark. So it a fairly brief, but energetic ride. Not terribly new, but they are very good at what they do and fans of old style death metal will love it.

Clash of the album covers

It is...

Fu Manchu-King of the road

vs.

Roadsaw-Nationwide

***Which cover do you prefer?

Chuck Mosley and VUA-will rap over hard rock for food

2009

Singer Mosley left Faith no more back in 1988 and shortly thereafter he band hired Mike Patton as a replacement. Rather quickly they went from cult band to MTV and radio darlings. Mosley had a short stint with the Bad Brains in the early 90's. Then he got to watch as a number of other acts picked up on the metal/rap approach. Whether or not you think Mosley deserves credit or blame for his cotribution to that style depends on how much you like that sound. Mosley admits that he learned how to sing in tune since being ousted from Faith no more over two decades ago. That certainly shows on this album, but not so much that it takes away form the personality that he always been able to bring to his sound. Mosley does a decent job of mixing up the styles here with far more variety than I was expecting. There are some heavier tracks and several much more mellow songs as well. I don't think the slow songs work nearly as well as the heavier tracks. Joining him for this outing are such guest artists as Jonathan Davis (lead singer of Korn), John 5 (formerly of Marilyn Manson and currently of Rob Zombie), Michael Cartellone (current drummer for what’s left of Lynyrd Skynyrd), and even former Faith no more alumnus Roddy Bottum. This is not an album that is not going to appeal to everyone. Chuck Mosley aims for a wider a range than he had ever done before and it's more hit than miss, but it probably would have turned out better if he had stuck to the heavier songs that are his strength.

What's coming up?

I still hope to review the new Chuck Mosley disc in the next or two. In addition to that I hope to have these out next week.

Lita Ford-Wicked wonderland
and probably some of the releases from Pulverized records that I need to review.

Plus Clash of the album covers and maybe top five best album lists for crossover and hardcore albums of the 1980's.

***Have a great week!

Clash of the album covers

It is...


Broken Bones-Bonecrusher

vs.

The Exploited-The massacre

***Which cover do you prefer?