Welcome to the first edition of "The Devil's Advocate". Basically this column is going to stir shit up, more or less. We'll propose some stupid, overdone and/or even thought intriguing subjects for you to mull over and see what happens.
I was on my way to work this morning and was stuck in the 'M's on my iPod. Instead of taking my eyes off of the road for a few minutes to scroll through, I went from Mastodon to Megadeth and for whatever reason, I picked 1992's Countdown To Extinction. It doesn't take me very long to get to work, so I only got through the first three songs, but while heading home from work, I continued to listen and started thinking that this album is so much better than The Black Album in so many ways.
Jimmy Kimmel's comedic foible, Guillermo Diaz, was on the red carpet for the Grammys and apparently Dave didn't take to kindly to the joke that was being played. Apparently Guillermo was there to give out red roses to everyone that walked by and hopefully to talk to him. Check it out.
Come on Dave. It's the Grammys. Nothing about that lolfest should be taken seriously. Though it is pretty metal to grab the rose and fling it at the camera.
Hello again shredders, welcome to Sawyer's Shred Spotlight. This week's post is the second part of the mini-series on shred compilations! Last week I showed you a classic shred compilation, and this week I'm going to bring you a more modern compilation with some of the best guitar players up & coming in metal today. This album is appropriately entitled: Guitars That Ate My Brain!! We dive into this compilation, right after the jump. As mentioned above, this album features original compositions from some big name guitar players, of (or formerly of) bands like Between the Buried & Me, Death, Darkest Hour, and even Hevy Devy himself. Its really about as good of a shred album as you could possibly want. I'll get us started with a track by Dave Martone (of solo fame) , "Hybrid Angels". If the first few riffs in the song don't kick you in the nuts, then I don't know what the hell you want. Throw in some unique Eastern tonalities and a handful of spaced-out solos (2:30 always blows my mind), and you've got a great shred song.
Next up is a really interesting track from Devin Townsend (Devin Townsend Project, Strapping Young Lad), called "Nerd Alert". The song weaves through smooth, dreamy, "left brain" melodies and then to spastic, some times violent "right brain" carnage. Plus, you get a good dose of Townsend's trade mark humor, with little bits of narration like: "You can't stop me, I was born to rock!" (Sometimes I use the "Greetings fellow guitar nerds" to start off my radio show.)
And my last expose from this compilation is a more straight forward heavy rocker, "L.D.E." from ex-Megadeth guitar player Chris Poland. I really dig the bluesy/sabbath-esque riffs in the song, mixed with the wahed-out leads. Poland actually does a great job of making his lines feel like vocals.
Here is the full track listing for the album, as well as what band each dude is from:
1. Paul Waggoner (Between the Buried & Me) - "Boot Dagger Boogie" 2. Kris Norris (Ex-Darkest Hour) - "The Life and Times of Sir Walter Sickert 3. Dave Martone (Solo) - "Hybrid Angels" 4. Bumblefoot (Solo, G'N'R) - "Disengaged" 5. Eyal Levi/Emil Werstler (Dååth) - "The Unwavering Collapse" 6. Shane Gibson (Solo, Korn) - "Artichoke Samurai" 7. Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad) - "Nerd Alert" 8. Chris Poland (Ex-Megadeth, Ohm, Solo) - "L.D.E." 9. Ola Frenning (Ex-Soilwork)/Chris Mälmstrom (Darkane) - "Hydra" 10. Mike Orlando (Solo) - "Stomped" 11. James Murphy (Death, Testament) - "Maiden Voyage" 12. Hugues Lefebvre/Yann Mouhad (Anthropia) - "Schrodinger's Cat Paradox"
Try pronouncing those last two. Damn. Anyway, that's all for this week's SSS! Thanks for reading, and be sure to check out next week's post where I get to a pretty obscure compilation!!! And as always, I'll be on air tonight at 9 Central/10 Eastern so check it out at WSUM.org!
Lastly, I've entered the blogosphere, so if you'd like to get more shred throughout the week visit Night of the Living Shred!
I couldn't wait to next month to post this because this is just too awesome to wait for.
Dean Guitars, who sponsors some of the best musicians in metal and rock like Eric Peterson of Testament and The late, great Dimebag Darrell Abbott of Pantera had recently released pictures and stats for Megadeth front-man Dave Mustsaine. These new guitars are pretty amazing looking with two V's, a Double-Necked V and an Explorer body with probably the most amazing graphic I've seen a on a guitar yet.
Like with just about all of the musical instrument manufacturers, these deadly weapons were unleashed at NAMM in early January.
So here you are kiddies; feast your eyes on these beauties:
DCR DAVE MUSTAINE VMNT FLOYD TRANS RED
DAVE MUSTAINE VMNT FEAR
DAVE MUSTAINE VMNT DOUBLE NECK
DAVE MUSTAINE ZERO ANGEL OF DETH II
Here's Dave having a talk with and about Dean Guitars.
Funny how things shape up over a period of time. I wrote an article back in 2009 on the rumor of the Big Four touring together. You can check that out here. So based on that it looks like i would indeed pay to see this if it came to the states. The bottom line is this, as much shit as we give these guys now, tell me after seeing this video and you're above the age of 30 that this would not be an awesome sight in person.
Blabbermouth and just about every other major metal site are plotzing themselves over the news that Dave Ellefson is back with Megadeth.
Last year I posted about meeting Dave at a Con and that I wished Ellefson would get back with the band. Well there ya go, I guess some wishes do get granted. Though it's to be seen how long this is going to last with so much bad blood over recent years but man...talk about what the hell moments from Dave Mustaine. First he started playing gigs with one of his nemeses in Kerry King, then agreeing to play with Metallica at the Sonisphere shows and now bringing Ellefson back into the fold. This Christian bug is making him even more batshit crazy but in a good way.
I really can't way for the Carnage tour now.
*Deth Update* Jeez they wasted no time in doing a promo pic did they?
So it's game on for this tour again. Things happen for a reason because I'd rather go to this show on these dates then right about now. Anybody who purchased their tickets for the postponed show can still use these. Check Blabbermouth to see if your venue is still valid. If it's not you can get a refund for your tickets.
Well this bites. I was looking forward to seeing this show on the 21st but it appears I might have to wait until after April. Seems Tom Araya's back problems that plagued him for months overseas and in Canada needs surgery to get fixed.
Unless it gets scrapped altogether. Dave Mustaine is fickle and the Testament guys are looking to finish up their new album between now and then so who knows if this tour is even going to happen though Blabbermouth reports that people are encouraged to hold onto their tickets.
Basically I wanted to go to see Slayer which I have yet to see in concert. I've seen Megadeth when they opened for Heaven and Hell but missed part of the set because the times got bumped up. I was still in line waiting to get patted down and in when they started playing and any time I can show Testament support I will. But yeah, I guess I'll have to wait again to see Slayer.
Anyways the procedure is supposed to be routine and all so here's to Tom Araya's speedy recovery.
Go to Blabbermouth and check out Rob Trujillo spilling the beans about a tour being in the works involving the Big 4 of thrash. The initial reaction we can safely say would be " Fuck yeah!". But now that I'm older,would this be as kick ass as say.....20 years ago? Only if all of the bands play stuff up to 1990. Allow me to analyze in the order they should appear.
Anthrax: Most of the key members are still there however Anthrax can not seem to settle on a long term singer and in fact are dipping back in the well to finish their tour by asking John Bush to finish it out. The only way this would work in my mind is by asking Belladonna to come back.
Megadeth: Only Dave remains from the 80's bands and even then it was a revolving door with guitarists and drummers. Ask Dave Ellefson to come back at least and you'd have something there. James Lomenzo might cry but he could go reunite with White Lion in the meantime. Also strategically this is good because it'll put another band on after them to avoid any hard feelings about directly preempting Metallica. Though after 25 years get over it.
Slayer: Probably the most stable lineup of the four throughout the years. All the pieces are already in place and they can just let loose. Get the by now tired crowd pumped back up.
Metallica: Of course these guys are going to headline. I would say bring back Newsted for this but it's really not that important by now. Trujillo can jam the old stuff just as well. What's going to suck is listening to Hetfield mangle the classic killer tunes with his current vocals.
I'm seeing alot of people cry that they want Testament and Overkill and Exodus and Nuclear Assault on the bill too. That in of itself would be a killer tour with just them, but they were not a part of the big 4. They did not break real ground until towards the end of the 80's and by then the Big 4 almost all had released their masterpiece or damn close.
Would I pay to see this tour? If it was set up like I mentioned yes. But if it's patched together with current lineups and set lists from more recent material, probably not. I'd guess the tickets would be between 50 and 200 bucks and for that I'm pretty damn picky about what I want to see.
So Megadeth has been streaming the new album Endgame on Myspace and it would just not be right if I didn't at least listen to it.And I did but it was in the background at work so I didn't really focus on it. What I did catch of it remind me of the older speed metal songs from yore but the songs tended to run together. So now I will do like my previous review and take you on my journey on really listening to it and giving it a chance. Here we go.Don't suck Mustaine.
1. Dialetic Chaos: I don't even know what that word means. Oh well. Starts pretty heavy. Reminicient of some Rust in Peace action. Now some shredding from Chris Broderick the new guitarist. Or wait. Maybe it's like dueling banjos.Think Mustaine is trying to compete. This apparently is a instrumental. Interesting choice to do to kick off an album.Yep a short 2 minute noodlefest but it was cool. 7 out of 10.
2. This Day we Fight!: No let up and goes right into Mustaine singing here. Corny song title by the way. Independance Day or Braveheart anyone? Alright time to focus.Hard to make out what Dave is saying half of the time. Muddy production on the vocals.Pretty rippin tune though. Again alot like Rust in Peace. Fast tempo.Alot of solos so far. Like after every vocal passage. Pretty kick ass song.8 out of 10. Probably higher if I could make out half of what Dave's saying.
3. 44 Minutes: Slow intro.Some voiceover like a cop calling out that a 211 is in progress.Officer Down. Oh...Dave's telling us a story.Mid tempo song. Lyrics are kind of bad. I think this might be a song about those guys that were armed to the teeth in L.A. years ago with automatic weapons and were up against a ton of cops after robbing a bank with full body armor. The tradeoff soloing is alot like the old days between Chris Poland and Mustaine.6 out of 10. Some bright spots but the lyrics are kind of lame. The noodling on the guitars is taking away from the impact the song should have.
4. 1320: Song starts off with the sound of a top fuel dragster taking off. If this song ends up being like Fuel by Metallica or Kickstart my Heart by the Crue,I'm goin to have to hurt someone. A bit like Motopsycho with the riff. Very repetitive. Yeah it's a song about driving a dragster. Good lord with the extended solos.5 out of 10. That was lame.
5.Bite the Hand: Kind of a cool riff to start with. Very bass heavy.In fact the muddy vocals are back where the bass is almost drowning out Mustaines vocals.The chorus is cheesy. "Like a mad dog that bites the hand that feeds". That's a bit silly.I'm kind of getting bored at this point. That's not right. Umm...6 out of 10.
6.Bodies: Is this going to be a cover of the Drowning Pool song? I hope not.Hold on a sec. Getting a cool drink coz it's hot in this house.Ok I'm back. Track starts off with Mustaine and bass. Oh and a riff. So far I'm just not impressed with these riffs. None of them have really stood out. You know how Wake up Dead or Hangar 18 or Symphony had distinctive riffs? None of that so far on this album. Now back to more noodling....er soloing.By now these solos are starting to sound the same as well. We get it. Broderick shreds. 6 out of 10.
7. Endgame: Whoa! Mustaine senses my lethargy and starts this track with some dude on a bullhorn yelling for attention and directing citizens to go to detention centers. I sense a political song. Something about new world order and United states. Initiating eyeroll.Stack on more I hate the government cliches please.More soloing. I think they're trying to mix Hangar 18 with United Abominations.Oh goody the longest track on the album at just under 6 minutes. So 3 more minutes of chorus repeat and hammer ons and pulloffs. Come on Dave...give me something that kicks ass and is unique. Damn. 6 out of 10.
8. The Hardest Part of Letting Go:By now I just want to skim but I can't. I must pay attention and really listen. Song title almost fits my current mood. I guess this is going to be the ballad? Some strings in the background. That's cool.Ugh. Ok. this song is more suited to Kamelot then Megadeth. Mustaine trying to be romantic is like nails on a chalkboard.Oooo what do we have here. Now the song kicks in all heavy like with strings in the background.I think the song is about killing his love. I think this is the most interested I've been since the opening noodlefest...er..track.Yeah Dave's pretty evil here. It's cool. Too bad it's ruined by the slow part at the beginning.Now we're being let out with a slow passage. I'll give it a 7 out of 10.
9.Head Crusher: The single so far from the cd. Song title is stupid like a bunch of Priest songs. Hellrider anyone? Speed thrash song.The fucking vocal mix is getting on my nerves by now. I can't hear or focus on what he's saying because everything else around is so in your face. Now he's doing that wierd voice over stuff. 6 out of 10.
10. How the story ends: Decent intro but seriously Dave's vocals are the same as most of the other songs on this album. It's like he's not really trying to change it up. Another uninspiring tune. 6 out of 10.
11. The Right to go Insane: Bass intro. Interesting opening intro. I think this song is about the economy and being a poor shlub trying to make ends meet and going insane while doing it. Cut out the economy shit and this could be a cool song along with Spitting Bullets. 7 out of 10.
Finally done. That was almost excruciating. Alright. I did it. I truly listened to it.
Pro's: Megadeth style thrash from start to finish. Top notch soloing.Some mixing in of strings and other elements. Con's: Uninspring and sometimes lame lyrics. Vocal mix is pretty bad most of the time. Which is surprising because Andy Sneap is pretty well respected for his work however I think he is more suited for bands like Nevermore then Megadeth as seen here. I said Megadeth style thrash but none of the creativity. Top notch soloing but almost too much of it.
There are going to be Megadeth fans that want the old days and this might suffice. The music snobs will dismiss it outright. I think a 'Deth fan should get it for the collection but don't be surprised if you actually become bored with speed thrash.It's like Dave is making up for lack of ideas with soloing and heavy riffs. And that's too bad because this could have been a homerun for Megadeth for the first time in 15 years.
I want to get this over with so I'm mustering the energy and finishing this out.
25. METALLICA - "...And Justice for All" One of the good ones by them. Suffered from crap production with the bass being replaced with some low end distortion that rattled speakers and gave a muffled sound. Definatly a prog/thrash masterpiece though otherwise.
24. JUDAS PRIEST - "British Steel" More Priest for Greece. Ha! I'm a poet. Catchy but not particularly heavy. I consider this one of the top 3 favorites.
23. PARADISE LOST - "Draconian Times" Considered to be their masterpiece. Interesting that it's so high up on this poll.It doesn't suck but left me bored.
22. DEEP PURPLE - "Machine Head" Ok so Greeks consider influential metal. I'll stop harping on that.
21. AC/DC - "Highway to Hell" I won't stop harping about this though. AC/DC is not metal and never have been. Stop it world.
20. METALLICA - "Kill 'em All" Hello world...we're Metallica and we're going to be the most successful metal band in the world until we go soft in the 90's only to attempt to return to form in 2008.
19. HELLOWEEN - "Keeper of the Seven Keys Part I" Really...these guys in the top 20. Ok.
18. METALLICA - "Ride the Lightning" Close second as my favorite album. They mastered their thrash sound here and then expanded later. Personally I think it should be higher.
17. DIO - "Holy Diver" My favorite solo Dio effort. The Greeks love their sword and sorcery, no doubt.
16. MEGADETH - "Rust in Peace" Megadeth's best all around album. Interesting that it's ahead of some of Metallica's greatest albums.
15. GUNS N' ROSES - "Appetite for Destruction" Borderline metal. But yeah I can see it being on this list. Would be a top 5 in the States. G n' R should have stuck with this sound.
13. BLACK SABBATH - "Black Sabbath" Damn...thought this would be in the top 10. All things metal sprung from this.
12. IRON MAIDEN - "Powerslave" This is getting wierd how this is shaping up. I'd rank this lower though a very good album. One of their best.
11. MOTÖRHEAD - "Ace of Spades" More genres sprung from this. Classic stuff.
10. IRON MAIDEN - "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" Top 10 land. And no shit. The most underrated album in the states gets a top 10 in Greece. Wild.I love this album though.
09. BLACK SABBATH - "Paranoid" More Sabbath high up. I guess this ranks higher due to more popular songs then the debut?
08. BLACK SABBATH - "Heaven and Hell" Whoa a Dio fronted Sabbath beats the original and scores of other albums. This would be ranked waaaay lower in the States. Like I said Sword and sorcery ftw in Greece.
07. SLAYER - "Reign in Blood" Slayer ahead of Megadeth and Metallica. I feel like I'm in some alternate dimension. Slayers "we're maturing album".
06. QUEENSRŸCHE - "Operation: Mindcrime" Probably their best but 6th best of all time? Crazy.
05. METALLICA - "Metallica" (a.k.a. Black Album) No no no. Best selling is not the best. Oh well it's not my country.
04. AC/DC - "Back in Black" Moving on now.
03. Judas Priest - "Painkiller" Why do I have this compulsion to call these Greek voters idiots. Are you fucking kidding me? This as the 3rd greatest album of all time? Alright I want to get this done so I'm moving on. What a crock.
02. Iron Maiden - "The Number of the Beast" This doesn't make up for number 3 but yeah a solid choice.
01. METALLICA - "Master of Puppets" Interesting. I wonder what made the Greeks like this album more then any other on the list.It's going to add to my headache so there you go I'm done.
I will never do this again unless it's an American publication. then I can go all out and really lay into people there because I'm familiar with the culture here. And by the way ,Greece a little suggestion. Go listen to some Testament and replace at least Painkiller with that. How could you have everybody on their but Testament? Or more Overkill, listen to more Opeth, and check out Kataonia. Entries from those would have replaced the glaring non metal shit you have on this list.
Oh well at least that country has topless beaches with hot chicks. We don't so what do I know?
So this weekend is Wondercon. Northern California's big comic book and fantasy geek convention. I used to be a huge collector many moons ago but hadn't been to a real convention since '93. The amazing thing about these places is even though the content is not what you would think deemed metal, rock stars seem to pop up at them regardless.
In '93 in San Diego I got to meet Lita Ford and she signed some 8x10's for me and while I was talking to her none other then Geezer Butler(Black Sabbath)came up next to me and started rapping with her. I couldn't believe it and in fact I had to ask Lita if that was him and she confirmed it. Then later my friend Draeden hung out for a long ass time with the guys from Green Jelly in their booth. As we were getting ready to leave we happened to spot Glenn Danzig in his own booth selling some of his art work. So we rushed back and got some 8x10's and he graciously signed them.
Which leaves me to today. A few weeks back it was reported by Blabbermouth that Dave Ellefson(formerly of Megadeth) was to be at Wondercon doing some signings. Well I had to go. Comics and Star Wars peeps and rock stars, oh my. So with my kids in tow we headed there and after talking to the voice of Jimmy Neutron I turn around and there he is. So I struck up a convo and told him he was the reason I was there. Brought up the fact the last time I had seen him was when I used to work for a casino he was playing there with Ronnie Montrose and he was surprised by that. Well to cut back on the star struck stuff, Dave is really cool and waived the stupid photo fee he was supposed to charge to get a snap shot though I did pay the 20 for the autograph. I think he was genuinely pleased that someone came up that knew who he was and appreciated his work outside of Megadeth. And he was really really cool to me in the process. I do regret forgetting to tell him that I saw Megadeth in concert a couple of years ago and it wasn't the same without him up there. I couldn't get past the idea that the former bassist of White Lion was up there instead. I hope the Daves get back together soon. Here is Dave's current project F5.
So anyway to celebrate some of the cool meetings I've had at these things here is a string of vids of everybody I've run across at these shows.Enjoy.
I was tossing around some ideas for some posts and I figured I'd post some clips of movies involving metal artists that I've either seen or heard of. Most of these are good for a Halloween theme because lets face it, what's more metal then monsters and evil wizards, right......right? No? Whatever, enjoy these clips.
First up is the classic "Kiss meets the Phantom of the Park". A cult classic of the cheesiest kind, I remember seeing this a long time ago on the late night Creature Features show(yes I'm dating myself). If I remember right Kiss' acting was so bad they had to do voice overs for these guys in here. It didn't help.
Next up is The Dungeon Master starring Bull from Night Court and featuring W.A.S.P. as the evil band of choice. I vaguely remember seeing this crap on late night cable and the only reson I watched it was for W.A.S.P. I was actually able to find a clip from it, Youtube rules.
Here we have Alice Cooper killing some dude with a bicycle in John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness. This movie was supposed to be good but turned into a boring mess at the end. Satan as a tube of green liquid huh? Sure. Why not.
Want the perfect movie to go with this months theme? Try 1986's Trick or Treat on for size. I think I saw this at the theaters when it first came out. Seemed like a good idea at the time because 16 year olds are easier to please but yeah.....it sucked. Ozzy as a bible thumping preacher was kind of cool though to counterbalance Skippy from Family Ties. This pretty much killed the band Fastways career which was a shame though.
Let's flash forward a bit to 1998. Dee Snider decided to bring his character from the song "Captain Howdy/Horrorteria" to life and produced a movie called Strangeland. I have never seen this movie but I guess I should. I loved the Stay Hungry album and this song was really good and creepy but even moreso now apparently with this flick. Here is a clip someone put together combining the song with the vid. Yes thats Dee Snider looking even worse then he did in Twisted Sister's glory days.
Caution graphic scenes of nudity and violence.I like boobies but this is sick and you may not be old enough.
Here's Dokken's video for Dream Warriors for the Nightmare on Elm Street 3 soundtrack. They weren't in the movie but heres the crappy tie in just the same. Deal with it.
Well that's all I could think of for now so if anyone has some suggestions let me know. I'll close with a little number I like to call.....the Timewarp.
*Update* Apparently Ozzy was in Little Nicky, which goes good with the theme of this site. Too bad I didn't see it because 9 out of 10 people recommend this movie be forgotten in Adam Sandlers career.
And here is Dexter from the Offspring getting scalped in Idle Hands. Another movie I neglected to see but this time I don't know why. Yes I know they're not metal but it's close enough, you elitist snobs.
*Update of a Update*
Anybody remember Wes Craven's Shocker? About the guy who was sentenced to death and became electricity or something and killed people? Anybody? Well no matter...here is Megadeth doing a cover of No More Mr. Nice Guy from that soundtrack. And yes the video is just about as memorable.
