Before there was grunge there were a host of bands that would eventually be lumped together as “alternative” who displayed significant metal influences, even if they blended them with funk, modern rock, industrial or other sounds. I cut my teeth as a teenager in the early 90s on a lot of this stuff, so it’s near and dear to my heart:
Jane’s Addiction, “Ocean Size”
Helmet, “Unsung”
Ministry, “N.W.O.”
Therapy? “Teethgrinder”
This was published a while ago, but the Guardian asks: Why Is Metal Still Ignored by the Mainstream?
Mastodon, “Sleeping Giant”
In just under the wire (at least for me) as one of the best metal albums of 2007 is Colors by the band Between the Buried and Me. This was a Christmas present from Josh and his wife, and I’ve been listening to it pretty much nonstop since we got back from Indy. It’s heavily prog and death influenced epic metal: and in parts reminiscent of Mr. Bungle.
You can listen to songs from the album on their MySpace page.
I wasn’t able to find any video from the latest album on YouTube, but here’s the title track of their last release, Alaska:
Decibel magazine, sort of the Pitchfork of heavy music, has released its list of the top 40 metal albums of the year. There’s a lot on here I haven’t heard, but here are some of the albums I’ve enjoyed, a few of which didn’t make Decibel’s list:
Baroness, The Red Album: This is the first full-length album from this Savannah band. Imagine (if you can) a mix of Mastodon and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Southern, doomy, sludgy, thrashy. Good stuff.
“Wanderlust”
Machine Head, The Blackening: This is old school metal-metal. Long, epic, angry songs that recall early-to-mid-career Metallica. Machine Head was the great hope of Bay Area-style thrash when they hit the scene in the 90s, but took an unfortunate detour into nu-metal territory. They staged a partial comeback with 2003’s Through the Ashes of Empire, but The Blackening takes it to another level. Oh, and they’re really pissed off at George Bush.
“Aesthetics of Hate”
Darkest Hour, Deliver Us: DC-area melodic death/metalcore. Also pissed off at George Bush.
“Demon(s)”
Shadows Fall, Threads of Life: One of the “big three” of Massachusetts metalcore (along with Killswitch Engage and Unearth) makes their bid for major-label success on their 2007 Atlantic release. Proving they can write catchy songs without compromising heaviness, this was one of the most accessible heavy releases of 2007.
“Redemption”
As I Lay Dying, An Ocean Between Us: Hey, Christians can shred too! This album hooked me right away, with blistering riffs and crazy blast beat drumming. And it actually hangs together really well as a coherent album, not just a collection of songs.
“Nothing Left”
‘Nuff said.
“War Pigs” (live in Paris, 1970):
“Paranoid” (from British TV, 1970; song starts about 2 minutes in):
“Die Young” (with Ronnie James Dio on vocals):
I know it’s Wednesday, but with the holiday coming up, I can’t promise there’ll be much blogging over the next couple of days.
And I know I posted an In Flames video a couple of weeks back, but this is an insanely catchy song and I’ve had it stuck in my head all week. The video comes from the DVD that goes with the CD Come Clarity:
Of the “big four” thrash bands of the 80s (Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeth), Anthrax never seemed to quite find their niche. The mainstream success of Metallica eluded them, but they were never content to remain firmly in the underground like Slayer. They were one of the few metal bands to take rap seriously (and humorously!), they wore their punk influences on their sleeves a bit more than some of their contemporaries, and their clowning antics sometimes bordered on those of a novelty act.
Still, if I had to pick a personal favorite of that era, I’d go with the ‘Thrax. I am extremely catholic in my Anthrax love – I can groove with the earlier Joey Belladonna stuff, but I also really dig the heavier later stuff with former Armored Saint singer John Bush.
Unfortunately, Anthrax recently lost a lot of credibility with fans by staging a reunion tour with Belladonna not long after releasing what many felt to be one of their best albums (2003’s We’ve Come for You All) with John Bush. Still, their back catalogue is chock-full of thrash gems, a few of which I offer for your consideration.
“Madhouse”
“Among the Living” (live 1987)
“Antisocial”
“Got the Time”
“In My World”
“Bring the Noise” (with Public Enemy!)
“Only”
“Taking the Music Back”
Interesting Slate article on the evolution of the black metal ethos from misanthropic Satanism to a more romantic, melancholy pre-Christian paganism. This ends up having a certain affinity with deep ecology themes, and the article offers a profile of a black metal group in Sanat Cruz that is simultaneously trying to live off the grid and cultivate a kind of environmental spirituality.
Whew – that black metal stuff gives me the creeps! How ’bout something a little more lighthearted?
Anyone remember the 1990s Suicidal Tendencies side project Infectious Grooves? The lineup: Mike Muir (ST frontman), Adam Siegel (former guitarist for defunct metal/punk fusion band Excel), Robert Trujillo (ex-ST, ex-Ozzy and current Metallica bassist) and Stephen Perkins (former Jane’s Addiction Drummer).
IG took a lot from the ST sound but with a generous dollop of funk-influenced rock and a sense of humor.
“Punk It Up”
“Therapy” (featuring Ozzy!)
A Thinking Reed