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Friday Morning Metal – Dolly Parton and Halford – Bygones

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So Dolly Parton got inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, despite stating she felt she hadn’t earned the right to be inducted. As a result, she’s making a rock album featuring tons of guests like Stevie Nicks, Steve Perry, and Rob Halford.

And today she released Bygones, her song including Rob Halford. It sounds a bit like Halford’s solo work, which is great. Good driving drums, chuggy riffs, lotta back & forth vocals. I could dig a whole album of this.

It’s also notable that a lot of the songs on her upcoming album are covers, but this one is an original.

You can check out the song here if the embed below is still not working.

Friday Morning Metal – Spellcaster – I Live Again

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Hooray for power metal! Angry Metal Guy is a great source of kickass music. And also a pile of death/black metal that is also there. I had not heard of Spellcaster until I read AMG’s review of their upcoming album, Night Hides World. And if I Live Again is any indication, I’m going to be listening to this album a ton when it comes out.

The guitar work is crunchy and coordinated and awesome, all the things you want from a band, while there are great vocal harmonizing up on top of that. And he built a fortress to serve his insanity!

Hearing this song reminded me of the first time I heard Wolf’s Black Wings back in 2001. A big crazy throwback band that is putting their own stamp on metal, and doesn’t just sound “sorta like Priest” or “kinda like Maiden” or “a bit of Dio-era Sabbath.”

So listen to I Live Again. Then listen to it again. Then listen to it a third time.

Friday Morning Metal – Metal Church – No Tomorrow

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To be honest, I haven’t listened to a ton of Metal Church. Every once in a while a friend will kick a link over and I listen a bit, but for some reason it doesn’t stick. But I heard No Tomorrow the other day and was locked in.

The song has a kickass charge to it, from the solid drumwork involved, and the harmonizing on the choruses is great. I really do enjoy a solo that sticks to the greater framework of the song, fits in a lot better than wild noodling, and they’ve got that locked up. I guess that’s what happens when you’re a band for 35 years.

And check it out, they’re rocking out in a cooling tower. Maybe they’ll get super powers from it! They already have the shred super power, so maybe now they can like… shoot lasers out of their guitars or something.

Friday Morning Metal – Dragonheart – Far from Heaven… Close to Hell

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Dragonheart has a unique sound. The guitars & drums are tight and create a great framework to put vocals, but the guy doing the kinda growly vocals, it’s a little off. Initially I thought it was great, but there’s a couple phrases where he sounds like… off-key? I can’t tell what it is, like he’s trying to hard to sound brütal and ends up funking it up a little bit. The clean vocals leading into the chorus are solid, I don’t know if I’d want to hear a whole song with it, but it’s a great transition.

Anyway, if you dig on the vocals, you’ll love it. Otherwise it feels a little uneven to me. Here’s Far from Heaven… Close to Hell.

Party Metal!

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So the other day I popped up a Friday Morning Metal about Municipal Waste, it was a great song from an article I read about Party Metal. They claim it to be a subset of metal songs that can be played AT a party without people getting confused and wanting to leave. And that’s a great jumping off point to more songs about partying. Or drinking. Or having a hangover. Or anything else.

The article itself referenced some good alternative & punk songs, which are good gateway drugs to turning people to the dark side of metal. My list is by no means complete, but it seems to lend itself more toward metal than pop punk and other assorted music found in the list.

Andrew W.K.

He’s referenced in the article. He’s the king of partying. His music, especially on “I Get Wet,” is full of huge drums, layered guitars, and fantastic hooks. And then just amazing choruses that can get the whole party worked up. There’s a reason his songs are featured in party intros in movies like Old School and more than a few Bud Light ads. Because he wants fun. And he’s gonna party til he pukes.

It’s Time to Party:

Party Hard:

Party Party Party:

Turisas – Rasputin

It helps that Ra Ra Rasputine was a disco hit before Turisas got their Finnish hands all over it. Not everyone digs disco, but it’s at least something people can dance to. And Turisas’s version has a bigger feel to it, something you can bounce and fist pump to, or throw up on the cat. Whatever happens at your parties. Did you know Rasputin was Russia’s greatest love machine?

Korpiklaani

Korpiklaani usually play pagan folk metal, with songs about like I don’t know what because I don’t speak Finnish. However they have a couple songs that are great party anthems. “Bring us Pints of Beer” and “Vodka” are both in English and both have a solid hook. They might be better beer pong and depth charge type parties, but they’re loud and fun.

Bring us Pints of Beer:

Vodka:

Alestorm

It’s a good thing pirates were drunken louts, because that means Alestorm is a wealth of shout & response big crazy songs. There’s a reason my friends made shirts that say “WE ARE HERE TO DRINK YOUR BEER” for my birthday. And it wasn’t just because I was there to drink some beer.

Wenches & Mead:

Drink:

Hangover:

Demons & Wizards – Immigrant Song

This is a bit more on the edge of party songs, definitely a backing track to a beer pong tournament. Demons & Wizards cover the Led Zeppelin classic with aplomb, giving it a bigger, fuller sound than you hear from the greats of the early 70s.

Earthless – Flower Travelin’ Man

A buddy of mine loves putting these on the jukebox at his bar. He says it’s the cheapest way to keep crappy music from playing for an hour or so. Earthless has been on here before, they’re a proggy metal jam band out of San Diego, and they specialize in long form songs with big builds and assorted other great stuff. And there aren’t any lyrics, so it fits well in the background of a party night.

Clearly not all of these are going to work at every party. But if your party is getting wild, this might be able to kick it up a notch.

An Even Better Map of Music Popularity Over the Years

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Hey so remember how Google had that timeline of music popularity that was really just how their Google Music users identified varying bands? So Starland Vocal Band was doom metal from 2153? It looks like there’s a much better timeline called A.TRACK.TION that is pretty fun to scope out.

It has similar flows and distributions to the Google one, and you can delve into subgenres by double clicking major genres. From there you can double click a chunk and it’ll play some examples. It doesn’t dive into sub-sub-genres, so when you jump into Rock you’ll see Heavy Metal as one of the veins, but you won’t see Doom Metal, New Wave of British Heavy Metal, or Gothic Folk Metal or whatever.

I do like the additional sections, Serendipity and Influence. Serendipity will give you links to 20 of the 33,000-some songs they’ve currently identified, so you can scope out new stuff and see if maybe you really do like Florence and the Machine or Keith Sweat or something. Influence is a great web that shows which genres cross-pollinated or lead to others, with the same ability to drill down like the popularity chart.

This seems like a wicked interesting way to learn about music that might be new to you, in a much less judgmental manner than asking around. Because people are really opinionated about music, and this appears to not be. Opinionated.

Favorite Metal Albums – Iron Maiden – Seventh Son of a Seventh Son

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Iron_Maiden_-_Seventh_Son_Of_A_Seventh_Son I have a buddy. At one point, when I was first getting to know him, he told me he had grown out of Iron Maiden. This was in response to me listening to Number of the Beast on loop June 6th, 2006. Apparently he had moved on to industrial or something. I can understand when people’s tastes change, but I feel like that poor bastard is missing out on some of the most well put together music in the universe because apparently he decided he was too old to listen to metal.

That sad anecdote goes here because Seventh Son is not necessarily an album that people immediately associate with “great” Iron Maiden. As though Iron Maiden can make something that isn’t great (with Bruce on vocals). This album dives into the occult with a skill that turns lead into gold. That’s right. Iron Maiden are musical alchemists.
Bruce Dickinson starting the album singing about the seven deadly sins on the intro to Moonchild and it’s just great framing. Then the guitar intro kicks in and you know this album is going wail. Moonchild starts the album off with a fantastic interplay between bass and guitar, helping reinforce the foreboding feel of the song and album in whole. I am pretty sure I’ve spent more time scoping out the occult on Wikipedia while listening to this album than any other.

In one of their live albums, I think it’s Death on the Road or something, the intro to Can I Play with Madness sounds like Bruce yelling “CAN I PLAY WITH AGNES” which I cannot unhear now. I’m okay with that, because Can I Play with Madness is rife with the greatness you expect from an Iron Maiden track. The drum work between each vocal phrase acts as a fantastic break and smacks of the kind of work you see in their later, proggier work. There’s even some cowbell during the verses!

In terms of general rhythm and feel, The Evil That Men Do is the most “Iron Maiden” track on the album. There’s a slow burn on the intro that drops into a gallop rhythm that Bruce rides like a vocal genie. And during the choruses, you can hear the chord shifts to match his changes in pitch. I think that’s what really helps Iron Maiden stand out among many other metal bands. It’s not just that everyone in the band is a phenomenal musician, but they are great at composing music. Every part fits together in a greater whole that creates an ambiance that many bands struggle to achieve.

Only one song can make me think of Perry Como and Lew Dawson at the same time. I don’t think of Lew Dawson too much though. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son pairs with Moonchild phenomenally as a foreboding song about mystical and mythical occurrences. And it really lets Bruce Dickinson’s vocal abilities shine during the bridges between phrases. The first time I heard this song I kind of wished I was a seventh son, so I could maybe have a seventh son. I bet he’d be magic as shit.

There’s a reason Iron Maiden has been melting faces and selling out stadiums for over thirty years. These guys are some of the most talented musicians touring, and they have fun doing it. Their music pulls from multiple sources, including historical record, poetry, and the occult, and they do it in a way that is readily accessible to those who are interested. CAN I PLAY WITH AGNES?

Key Tracks: Moonchild, Can I Play with Madness, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son

Favorite Metal Albums – Dethklok – The Dethalbum

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The_Dethalbum_Cover    I enjoyed Brendon Small way back when Home Movies was on the then nascent Adult Swim. The guitar work he provided for the character Duane reminded me of a couple guys I knew in high school, really shy guys who’d try out for bands and blow them away because he could take their song and add fills while the rest of the band was waiting for the metronome to kick up. And so when I heard he was working on a cartoon about the greatest heavy metal band in the universe, I was set.

Dethklok is probably the closest to death metal I’ll travel in the world of metal, and I’m really only here because I enjoy cartoons. The guitar work is phenomenal, merging various harmonies to create a driving, dancing arc to every track. And it better be, given that Skwisgaar Skwiggelf, fastest guitarist on the earth, is leading the charge.

There is a deliberate motion within many of the tracks, implied by the drumwork, almost a march to it. And given the water theme within many of the songs over their body of work, my guess is I need to march into the ocean. Once they break free from that ominous trajectory, you hit songs like Awaken, where Nathan Explosion is awakening a Finish lake troll. The song drives hard, with crazy double kick and fantastically harmonized guitars. And then I just imagine Murderface throwing his phone at the troll and killing it.

Thunderhorse was featured in Guitar Hero 2, if that gives any indication on the age of the album. A fast driving song with minimal lyrics, this is a great track to throw like midway through a run or bike ride or whatever. You try to match the pace of the song and you’ll be home before you know it. The guitar work is noodly and amazing, harmonizing between Skwisgar & Toki in a great way.

The Dethalbum comprises the songs from the first season of the show (lacking Crush My Battle Opponents’ Balls unfortunately) and is a non stop romp through noodly guitar riffs, songs about birthdays, and the grandspas guitars involved in the blues. The drum work beats you over the head and whips you into a frenzy, while Small’s vocals as Nathan Explosion can be best described as “broooooooootal.”

Key tracks: Birthday Dethday, Awaken, Thunderhorse, Duncan Hills Jingle

Favorite Metal Albums – Hibria – The Skull Collectors

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HIBRIA-SKULL COLLECTORS-01 In college, my friends were listening to equal parts operatic goofball metal and slightly less operatic goofball metal. 3 Inches of Blood were in the mix because, face it, those guys are amazing. But most of our trips to Taco Bell or Costco were punctuated by Dragonforce, Dream Evil, and Falconer. These bands are great, but they can slip into ballads and then my brain shuts off.

But Hibria. Oh man Hibria. I can’t even remember how I heard about these guys. I think someone just said “hey listen to this fast Brazilian metal” and I said okay.

And then I heard the opening bass solo to Tiger Punch. They opened an album with a bass solo. One of those solos where I’m learning bass, I hear it, and I put my bass away for a few months. And then the song jumps into a full-speed power metal attack to your face. Kind of speed metal but cleaner. Oh there’s also a lightning attack in the song, which fits, given how crazy the song is. The verses feature minimal guitars, mostly there to punctuate breaks between phrases, but they fill the choruses and solos so well; they’re like the guy in the kung fu movie who’s just sitting there not doing anything so when he does do something you know it’s going to be awesome.

Reborn from the Ashes pulls a slight left turn, going from the more general frenetic speed metal that is great into a more general power metal, with vocal and guitar harmonies that fill out the song in such a spectacular fashion. The drum work drives the entire production, speeding or slowing the work while still somehow being almost all double kick.

This entire album is like a love letter to what’s great in heavy metal. The drum work is the kind of stuff where you imagine the guy is like just quads and calf muscles, the guitars are in a type of synchronicity that only happens after a Vulcan mind meld, and the vocals scream along like a jet fighter in formation. I often relate songs to how they affect my speed when riding a bike. I’m easily persuaded I guess. The Skull Collectors, much like Advance and Vanquish, can spike my RPMs and get me pacing traffic with aplomb.

Key Tracks: Tiger Punch, Screaming Ghost, The Skull Collectors

Favorite Metal Albums – Metallica – Kill Em All

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Metallica_-_Kill_'Em_All_coverThis was the first metal album I ever got, back in like 9th grade. Seems pretty fitting, since it’s slightly older than me. I hadn’t listened to a lot of metal by then, mostly the stuff that made it onto like KISW or random industrial songs friends would play. So going from a vision of Metallica that was mostly Sad But True and Enter Sandman to this amazing thrash was a shock to my core.

Hit the Lights starts like a true thrash song, almost like an orchestra tuning up before a performance. Except they were probably drunk and angry. And Kirk Hammet (could’ve been Dave Mustaine I’m not sure) dropping that slide after the initial crescendo just lets you know that you’re in for 52 minutes of great. This song is the prototypical thrash song upon which other bands ape. And that is a great thing. The guitar solos have the same balls-out fury that matches the rest of the song, the noodly progressions that some say are cliche but are very needed.

The Four Horsemen is a great exercise in how dueling guitars can be amazing in stereo (see also: Guns N’ Roses Apetite for Destruction.) You can also hear Cliff Burton’s bass line wander throughout the melody, reinforcing the structure of the song. I have a conspiracy theory that he and Dave Mustaine wrote most of the music. And the Black Album is what happens when they’re not around to help. Back to the track, biblical reference in heavy metal is great, and Metallica does a great job of tying scripture into various songs. I’ve said that Creeping Death is my favorite Passover song, and for good reason.

Kill Em All has a frenetic pace to every song that keeps you wanting more. The transitions between key phrases and verses have a kind of raw feel to them, but these guys were like 17 at the time and trying something that few other bands had at the time. It’s unfortunate how much the band gets shit on with regard to their later albums (Black album and on), especially with how they came out of the gate with such a strong offering in this album.

Hey you know Anesthesia – Pulling Teeth? That’s a bass solo. Because Cliff Burton was a bass phenom. And then it drops into Whiplash, a great song. In all, this album is a fantastic primer for growing an appreciation of thrash metal and the frenetic joy they bring to so many guys with mullets.

Key Tracks: Hit the Lights, Seek & Destroy, Whiplash (protip: don’t watch the current versions of these songs. They are sad)