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parodies by nacrowe
check out HERE this recent streaming video episode of DEER GOD RADIO celebrating the iconic independent EXTREME METAL label METAL BLADE RECORDS!
past episodes of DEER GOD RADIO are available here at the DEER GOD website as well as in the MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC archives. and if you haven't done so already get the FREE PHONE APP for IOS/ANDROID and enjoy listening to MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC 24/7 at your convenience! 
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photo & text by nacrowe
sometimes ROCK N ROLL bands overthink things. they try to get clever write songs that overly complicated and conceptually dubious for no reason other than because they can.
not TWISTED SISTER. sonically id argue they are a back-to-basics TRADITIONAL band in the long GLAM ROCK-inspired bands like the NEW YORK DOLLS, THE RAMONES and even KISS. its no frills, meat-and-potatoes ROCK N ROLL but even under such limitations TWISTED SISTER went for maximum impact. look no further than their third record STAY HUNGRY (ATLANTIC, 1984) and their two MEMORABLE singles "WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT" and "I WANNA ROCK." those two songs are the very poster children of bumper sticker song titles and instantly convey a sense of reckless abandon and directionless REBELLION. "WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT" has been used at sporting and political events for decades now to the point that it is a fangless parody of itself. but in my estimation thats fine because it is such an ENJOYABLE and SUCCINCT hit of WARPED POP PERFECTION. its impossible to hear and not smile. "I WANNA ROCK" is my personal favorite TWISTED SISTER song because it just cuts right to the chase and never lets up. its a HARD-CHARGING track about the TRANSCENDENT JOY of anticipating and being a part of ROCK N ROLL. there is almost something TRIBAL and COMMUNAL about it. it definitely brings people together with its INCLUSIVE sentiment even if it is more than a bit GOOFY and CARTOONISH. and that is where i respect DEE SNIDER, who wrote those two songs, as well as his primary collaborator (and TWISTED SISTER founder) JAY JAY FRENCH. they are unafraid to lean in with absolute abandon into the RIDICULOUS theatrics and crushingly SIMPLE song concepts and structures. to me it feels unquestionably RAMONES-y, almost like TWISTED SISTER are the intentionally forgotten LONG ISLAND step children of JOEY and JOHNNY RAMONE. the rest of STAY HUNGRY is UNINSPIRED and INCONSEQUENTIAL, but those two singles are well worth the price of admission. just leave any semblance of good taste and rock snobbery at the door. you wont be impressing anyone with that here. 
parodies by nacrowe
join us TONIGHT at 8PM EST for an all new episode of DEER GOD RADIO on MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC with a playlist celebrating SHEFFIELD METALCORE / AMBIENT / POP chameleons BRING ME THE HORIZON!
past episodes of DEER GOD RADIO are available here at the DEER GOD website as well as in the MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC archives. and if you haven't done so already, make sure and download the FREE PHONE APP for IOS/ANDROID and enjoy listening to MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC 24/7 at your convenience! 
photo & text by nacrowe
following up the REIGN IN BLOOD (DEF JAM, 1986) proved to be a pretty difficult artistic dilemma for celebrated THRASH METAL titans SLAYER. how does one even go about topping one of the most celebrated BRUTAL records of all-time? do you make the next record faster, more concise, more extreme? its very interesting that SOUTH OF HEAVEN (DEF JAM, 1988) instead took the opposite tack, it went SLOWER.
aside from taking the tempo down more than a few BPMs is that fact that they experimented with lower tunings, the end result being a more plodding effort that put more emphasis on the INTRICATE mostly JEFF HANNEMAN-penned riffs, TOM ARAYA's powerful voice and quite frankly, the songwriting. with celebrated tracks like "MANDATORY SUICIDE" and the title track "SOUTH OF HEAVEN" these adjustments created a more ATMOSPHERIC but no less SAVAGE sonic experience for the listener. it very much feels like the remainder of SLAYER's career was a ping-ponging between the relative extremes of REIGN IN BLOOD and SOUTH OF HEAVEN, especially when you consider the next record SEASONS IN THE ABYSS (DEF AMERICAN, 1990) and the relative variety of tracks like "DEAD SKIN MASK" and "WAR ENSEMBLE." like most METAL fans, i heard SOUTH OF HEAVEN after experiencing REIGN IN BLOOD. i dont believe im alone in explicitly linking those two albums together. originally i was taken aback by the style shift, but then quickly realized that the slower-paced tempos allowed for a deeper appreciation for a wider palette of sonic textures that netted a more BROODING, DELIBERATE and INTROSPECTIVE experience. if REIGN IN BLOOD is just full-bore AGGRESSION, RAGE and MANIC BRUTALITY i.e. the mind of a SOCIOPATHETIC killer in all-out MELEE mode, then SOUTH OF HEAVEN is more akin to the internal machinations and dialogue of a WARPED mind in the process of meticulously planning such. one is an unstoppable force of nature and the other feels all too human. for me personally, the idea of WANTON, RANDOM VIOLENCE (like a volcano, tsunami or hurricane) is ironically less threatening than what goes on in the mind of a MISGUIDED person seeking DELIBERATE action against the world. for me, that is the appeal of SOUTH OF HEAVEN as an artistic statement both sonically and lyrically, as the the two mutually reinforce the other. definitely check out SOUTH OF HEAVEN, preferably in conjunction with its universally heralded predecessor. 
parody by nacrowe
join us TONIGHT at 8PM EST for an all new episode of DEER GOD RADIO on MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC with a playlist celebrating the longtime independent EXTREME METAL label METAL BLADE RECORDS!
past episodes of DEER GOD RADIO are available here at the DEER GOD website as well as in the MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC archives. and if you haven't done so already, make sure and download the FREE PHONE APP for IOS/ANDROID and enjoy listening to MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC 24/7 at your convenience! 
photo & text by nacrowe
for me METALLICA's METALLICA (ELEKTRA, 1991) record, more commonly referred to as THE BLACK ALBUM, has always been an interesting topic. this is because on the face of it, the record is an incredibly SUCCESSFUL pop record. and i do not mean that disparagingly. in terms of PRODUCTION, song CONSTRUCTION and SONIC VERSATILITY it is quite a devastatingly POWERFUL record. when i was first introduced to METALLICA during the LOAD-period in the mid-1990s this was the record that caught my attention. it is in fact a great entry-level introduction to METAL end stop.
what makes the record interesting for fans of the genre is the context from which it came out. the previous three records, ...AND JUSTICE FOR ALL (review linked HERE), MASTER OF PUPPETS (review linked HERE) and RIDE THE LIGHTNING (review linked HERE) are a VERITABLE MURDERER'S ROW of classic THRASH METAL records, probably the GREATEST streak of records anyone from the genre has ever produced. now that i am thinking about what i just said, i'm still sticking to it. yeah, i'd put those three up against anything SLAYER or even BLACK SABBATH put out back-to-back-to-back. those three records are what their REPUTATION is built upon. its not that THE BLACK ALBUM is a bad record, its just that it is a victim to the band's discography, something the band has suffered from ever since in all honesty. i think what makes THE BLACK ALBUM so CONTROVERSIAL to some and interesting to me, is how INEVITABLE it was. eventually there was going to be a record that widened the appeal of the genre to a MASS AUDIENCE, if not METALLICA then someone else. at some point someone was going to create a record that softened the harder edges, constricted errant noodling, shortened the song lengths and focused more on TRADITIONAL song-craft to manufacture a product more PALATABLE to radio and global audiences. case in point are traditionally constructed tracks like the singles "WHEREVER I MAY ROAM," "THE UNFORGIVEN," "SAD BUT TRUE," and of course "ENTER SANDMAN." in essence its a victim to its own success. i am of the opinion that this was the record they wanted to make at the time and ultimately it is a great pop record. but as a listener aware of how far they transcended their peers beforehand in terms of TECHNICAL PROWESS, FEARLESS COMPOSITIONS unafraid of lengthy detours, POLITICAL LYRICS and just sheer BRUTALITY; it is in retrospect a letdown. i respect them for following their instincts, i just wish that such had led them down a different path. one that melted my face off like the first time i heard "DAMAGE INC" or "FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE" or even "DYER'S EVE." and im still waiting. 
photo & text by nacrowe
FLORIDA-based INDUSTRIAL METAL outfit MARILYN MANSON's TRENT REZNOR-produced second album ANTICHRIST SUPERSTAR (NOTHING, 1996) was undoubtedly a huge record for me back in middle school. the record is arty and heavy and absolutely wallows in NEGATIVITY, SELF-ANNIHILATION and all things DEBASED and DEBAUCHED. it pretty much hit the bullseye for how i felt as a seventh grader during my second year living in NIGERIA. as ive written about before at length, that first experience of living under a military dictatorship (yes, there have been more since) made me painfully aware of the INEQUITY, INJUSTICE, INHUMANITY and the unambiguous bald BRUTALITY that comes with living under such conditions.
there was also just the realities of being an INSECURE teenager. ANTICHRIST SUPERSTAR just felt like the crystallization of that despondent feeling of having no hope bordering on outright NIHILISM that i felt as a teenager. unrepentantly blistering tracks like "IRRESPONSIBLE HATE ANTHEM," "1996," "THE REFLECTING GOD" and "ANTICHRIST SUPERSTAR" had a sense of psychic catharsis, as if all this pent-up PAIN, SELF-HATRED and INSECURITY could be somehow projected outward and burned onto a CALLOUS, UNFORGIVING world. those songs just felt empowering to me. other tracks like "WORMBOY," "ANGEL WITH SCABBED WINGS," "CRYPTORCHID," "MAN THAT YOU FEAR" and "TOURNIQUET" were very much pointed inward, showcasing an evolved inner UGLINESS as if viewing one's SCARRED, HOLLOWED-OUT PSYCHE through a carnival mirror. going through puberty and just generally feeling physically INSECURE and VULNERABLE about myself (in a foreign country to boot) was very much coming to terms with an evolving IDENTITY. in so many ways, my sense of IDENTITY is shaped by my interactions overseas as a perennial foreigner and OUTSIDER to the point that coming home stateside was equally ALIENATING. in fact, being on foreign soil became my default setting after a few iterations of this cycle of picking up and relocating, sometimes planned and sometimes sporadically. it goes without saying that "THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE" is a highlight of the ANTICHRIST SUPERSTAR album as it perfectly distills that odd sense SUPERIORITY and ALIENATION that comes with not being part of a CROWD. in fact, that crowd may be a DISTORTED, self-generating NEGATIVE influence in and of itself. think of RELIGIOUS GROUPS and POLITICAL PARTIES that purport to promote COMMUNITY but instead lay the foundations of DIVISION and FEAR in our body politic. that song just feels like a celebration of the INDIVIDUAL, flawed and all, standing up to the mass forces that wish to SUBJUGATE and COERCE. feels as relevant now, or even more so, then when it came out in the 1990s. i am painfully aware of the charges made against MANSON at the moment and i want to stress my support for the victims of crime. its hard to reconcile the fact that the same person that empowered me as a teenager is the same MONSTER that potentially groomed young women for decades. i dont know how to make sense of that information. i even tried on a very early episode of DEER GOD RADIO entitled GOOD MUSIC BY BAD PEOPLE to address that conflict of attempting to celebrate music by morally and criminally stained people. i dont know what to believe regarding the case against MANSON but my default is to support the victims. the situation feels like a TOXIC cycle that needs to be broken and hopefully his example will affect the choices of men moving forward. or at the very least serve as a cautionary example. ANTICHRIST SUPERSTAR is a major achievement and i definitely think it is still worth checking out. MANSON himself is another matter entirely. 
parodies by nacrowe
check out HERE this recent streaming video episode of DEER GOD RADIO celebrating the criminally underrated musician WES BORLAND!
past episodes of DEER GOD RADIO are available here at the DEER GOD website as well as in the MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC archives. and if you haven't done so already get the FREE PHONE APP for IOS/ANDROID and enjoy listening to MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC 24/7 at your convenience! 
photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
i really enjoyed this film.
not because of its subject necessarily since i have nothing against TWISTED SISTER, their music, their fans or their legacy. what i appreciate about THIS IS F***ING TWISTED SISTER! (ANDREW HORN FILMPRODUKTION, 2014) is that it is two-hour long documentary focused entirely on the tireless struggle to make it in the entertainment industry despite nearly overwhelming odds against the band. the band spent more than 10 years relentlessly playing and replaying the TRI-STATE bar circuit, building up a rabid following based on SHOCK TACTICS that seemingly glossed over their accomplished MUSICIANSHIP, PRESENCE and STAGECRAFT. their narrative is a populous one since their success was not manufactured over night, but rather organically built up one fan at a time over the crucible of repeat live performances. i thought it was quite refreshing to hear DEE SNIDER and JAY JAY FRENCH speak about the lengths they went to differentiate themselves from the pack and just the general daunting work ethic that they maintained despite years of diminishing returns. it must have felt quite hopeless and downright QUIXOTIC to be in the band throughout the 1970s playing bars in small-town LONG ISLAND, upstate NEW YORK, CONNECTICUT and the JERSEY SHORE. usually bands in documentaries highlight the glorified heights and record sales of years gone by, but here the band is focused on their salad days when the unspoken connection between band and audience was at its zenith. and looking back that is not to say there arent some CRINGE-INDUCING admissions, such as the DISCO SUCKS shtick that led them to hang an effigy of BARRY WHITE on stage, which went over real well in RACIST parts of upstate NEW YORK where it was confused with a promotion of lynching. yikes! just the idea that the band jumped on the DISCO SUCKS movement at all is a bit DISAPPOINTING given the HOMOPHOBIC and XENOPHOBIC overtones of that popular movement by a largely white heterosexual male audience. there is also a bit of lazy CHAUVINISM and lame attempts at MACHISMO on stage and off throughout THIS IS F***ING TWISTED SISTER! which grew a bit tired. one would think that the band would have been somewhat open to GENDER FLUIDITY or at least the concept of not being outright hostile to other sexual preferences given their stage presence but NO. such was definitely not the case at the time. like KISS, they aped the image of the NEW YORK DOLLS without every coming to terms with its broader meanings and ramifications. but maybe such RETROGRADE attitudes was all just indicative of a time and place forty years ago. in a sense, i respect them for being open about their past and the choices they dont repeat now. i give them that. i was similarly impressed by how in depth they went back into their years of STRUGGLE, when they were aspirational wannabes living on a dream. doesnt get more AMERICAN than that. it is also a testament to their singular FOCUS, DRIVE and downright STUBBORNNESS that they ultimately succeeded. this documentary is definitely worth checking out and investigating on account of that alone. i will probably rewatch it again within the year. 
photo & text by nacrowe
major label debut's dont come much cooler and more fun than WHITE ZOMBIE's LA SEXORCISTO: DEVIL MUSIC VOL. 1 (GEFFEN, 1992) with all of its gloriously and unapologetically SATANIC, PHANTASMAGORICAL IMAGERY via frontman ROB ZOMBIE and the absolutely crushing musicianship via newly recruited guitarist JAY YEUNGER. well, technically this was WHITE ZOMBIE's third record for GEFFEN, as the previous two were released via subsidiary label CAROLINE RECORDS, but in terms of overall cultural impact and popular awareness of the band, this record really is the introductory salvo in a legendary one-two punch that was closed by the celebrated follow-up ASTRO-CREEP 2000 (GEFFEN, 1995).
it was probably either through listening to 106.7 KROQ in LOS ANGELES or watching BEAVIS & BUTTHEAD on MTV at a friend's house that i first became aware of WHITE ZOMBIE via the INFECTIOUS track "THUNDER KISS '65" with its absolutely KILLER opening riff. that song and its day-glo, EXPLOITATION FILM-themed video was instantly MEMORABLE and effortlessly cool. like NIRVANA's "SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT" before it, the track just hooks you in for life immediately upon your first listen. just a DEVASTATING sonic experience with a highly referential yet OPAQUE set of lyrics that dont get in the way. other standout tracks like "WELCOM TO PLANET MOTHERFUCKER" and the IGGY POP-assisted, muscle car themed "BLACK SUNSHINE" are celebrations of EXTREME experiences, which basically summarize the band's aesthetic in general. ROB ZOMBIE once said in an early interview that his objective in making music was to create something that he himself would be willing to pay for as a fan and that ethos seems all over this record. there is a sense on LA SEXORCISTO that MORE IN FACT IS MORE. MORE ART, MORE GUITARS, MORE DRUMS, MORE SATAN. it all just adds up to a DENSE, EXTREME experience that is almost overwhelming on the initial listen. two decades later i still find myself listening to this record routinely and i have to be careful, because if i am driving i may fine myself 10-15 miles per hour faster by song's end. if you are a fan of artistic METAL or ALTERNATIVE ROCK from the 1990s, you really cant go wrong with either WHITE ZOMBIE's LA SEXORCISTO or ASTRO-CREEP: 2000 (review linked HERE). along with PANTERA, those records serve as the high water-mark for what has since been deemed GROOVE METAL. could not recommend either much more emphatically. this is required listening in my opinion. 
photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
years ago when i was a PEACE CORPS volunteer in ALBANIA, i used to take public transportation around the country. these overstuffed buses that doubled as the mail and delivery system for regular people transporting goods and foodstuffs from village to village. because of these stops, rides would almost certainly extend to double the time it would take to get anywhere in a straight shot.
what i loved doing on these long bus rides (anywhere from 4-10 hours depending on where i was going) was listen to DRONE METAL pioneers SUNN O))) records. their sound is an EXPERIMENTAL, mostly extended mix of INSTRUMENTALS set at a GLACIAL pace with long RINGING open chords and MINIMAL percussion in a something akin to a slow paced DIRGE that provides a psychic space to consider the big questions in life. i can recall leaving a beachside city (VLORE) and watch the hills gradually recede and make way to a series of open plains (TIRANA) that would abruptly become interceded by jagged mountains (KUKES) as i careened my way up to the lush fields of KOSOVO. i very much identify the sound of SUNN O))) with the gradual, impartial variations of the nature world. great band well worth checking out. highly recommended. 
photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
with the revelation in recent years of his diagnosis with PARKINSON'S DISEASE, the cable documentary THE NINE LIVES OF OZZY OSBOURNE (A+E, 2020) has the feeling of a long-form EULOGY about the beloved and celebrated singer. PARKINSON'S is a long-term auto-degenerative disease (much like life itself) that attacks the nervous system and is highly debilitating. so stands to reason that now is the best time speak with the man and have him reflect on his life in depth.
to its credit, THE NINE LIVES OF OZZY OSBOURNE is as much concerned with the narrative surrounding the iconic and massively influential career of OZZY OSBOURNE as it is with his private relationship with his family, with special attention to his wife/manager/business partner SHARON. notable participants in this documentary include three of his adult children (AIMEE, KELLY and JACK) as well as former bandmates RUDY SARZO, TONY IOMMI and GEEZER BUTLER and industry peers like ROB ZOMBIE (WHITE ZOMBIE), JONATHAN DAVIS (KORN), MARILYN MANSON, POST MALONE, ICE-T (BODY COUNT) and record producer RICK RUBIN. i will not try to hide my adoration of OZZY. suffice to say i have dedicated not one but two radio show episodes to him and his massive influence (DEER GOD RADIO 12: OZZY OSBOURNE and DEER GOD RADIO 133: OZZFEST). i have also written in the past about watching him perform at OZZFEST JAPAN in 2015 (linked HERE), which in my opinion didnt go well (note: i was not aware of his condition at the time i wrote it). in my opinion the allure of OZZY is his ability to be an everyman. he's not a MYTHOLOGICAL figure like ROBERT PLANT, phenomenal poet like BOB DYLAN or JOHN LENNON or have a preternaturally stellar vocal range / stage presence like RONNIE JAMES DIO or ROB HALFORD. to me he has something more valuable, he makes great music seem TANGIBLE and within reach of his audience. his lyrics are immediate and direct with little need for fancy decorations to show off his cleverness. there is a reason that his work in BLACK SABBATH has influenced every generation of modern rock music since (NEW WAVE OF BRITIS HEAVY METAL, PUNK ROCK, THRASH METAL, ALTERNATIVE ROCK, DEATH METAL, HARDCORE, SLUDGE METAL, METALCORE, POST HARDCORE, BLACK METAL, etc.). and a lot of that has to do with the unique PERSONAL relationship OZZY has with his audience. so all that being said, i thought it was particularly interesting that THE NINE LIVES OF OZZY OSBOURNE moves past the more tabloid-bating aspects of his career (biting the heads off doves and bats, pissing on THE ALAMO, snorting ants on tour with MOTLEY CRUE) and delves into his failings as a father with his first marriage and the time he was so out of his mind on drugs that he attempting to strangle his second wife SHARON. to me that relationship with SHARON is the crux of this film and the central node on which his life and career hinged. the daughter of OZZY's former manager DON ARDEN, it was SHARON that basically willed OZZY to move on with his career after being dismissed from BLACK SABBATH in the late 1970s. her PATIENCE with his ADDICTIVE PERSONALITY which included drugs and infidelity is almost saint-like in some aspects, even as recently as a few years ago. interestingly the very recent public shaming of OZZY for his dalliance with a longtime hairdresser was completely omitted from discussion in the film. that was an interesting decision since here most of his poor behavior is limited to the 1980s. with that one omission in mind, the film does a pretty good job of providing a portrait of a legendary musician that doesnt delve into HAGIOGRAPHY as is often the case. by his own admission OZZY is flawed human just like the rest of us. maybe his extremes are further out then us mortals will ever go (example: attempting to strangle your wife while intoxicated) but it is precisely his FALLIBILITY that makes him one of the most beloved frontman of all time. and perhaps one of the greatest as well. 
parodies by nacrowe
one of the highlights of my run of DEER GOD RADIO shows on nonprofit MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC has undoubtedly been the GRINDCORE episode. ive been back stateside now for about five years after being overseas for nearly a decade. and it has been brutal.
its been extreme in the sense that AMERICA has been bifurcated along economic, religious and (absurdly) partisan lines to the point that i dont speak with once-close relatives. since my return DOMESTIC WHITE ETHNIC NATIONALIST TERRORISM sanctioned by one the two prominent parties has found a foothold in the AMERICAN consciousness thanks to former PRESIDENT TRUMP that has reared its head in CHARLOTTESVILLE, THE JANUARY 6TH INSURRECTION and several mass murders in PITTSBURGH, BOULDER, ORLANDO, LAS VEGAS, PARKLAND, EL PASO and BUFFALO. not to mention the hate crimes and lynchings at the hands of cops against the likes of BREONNA TAYLOR, PHILANDO CASTILE, AHMAUD ARBERY and of course GEORGE FLOYD among too many others before and since. coupled with crises like CLIMATE CHANGE, the war in UKRAINE, the impending reversal of ROE VS. WADE and the creeping slow dismantling of our national voting apparatus; it very much feels like nothing is progressing in this country. we are backsliding. we are becoming like some of the broken nations i lived in abroad where dogma and political affiliation are more important than universal jurisprudence or any sense of moral code. when i think of GRINDCORE what i hear is a PRIMAL SCREAM. its EXTREMITY and BRUTALITY matches the deep FRUSTRATION i feel about my home at this historical, cultural and political moment. as AMERICAN abroad i wore my nationality every day in public, sometimes in inhospitable locations. and i cant help but feel anger at what we have become. its beyond embarrassment at this point. its just PATHETIC how little we care for each other. when i hear GRINDCORE bands it helps me channel that UNBRIDLED RAGE at this stupidity and those institutions (politicians, talking heads, etc.) that enable and profit from it. GRINDCORE is mainlined ANGER in its purest form. enjoy. 
photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
i sought out the documentary AS THE PALACES BURN (9.14 PICTURES, 2014) after reading LAMB OF GOD frontman RANDY BLYTHE's memoir DARK DAYS (link to review HERE). its an interesting film in that it was originally intended to focus on the metal community and specifically fans of the band living in difficult situations (cartel violence in MEDELLIN and rigid gender prescriptions upon women in MUMBAI specifically) and using music as an outlet. what ended up happening is roughly halfway through filming BLYTHE was charged with manslaughter in the CZECH REPUBLIC for the death of a fan that happened two years before. rather than focusing on the fans, the film instead transitions into a compelling real-life drama revolving around concepts of personal RESPONSIBILITY and EMPATHY.
the fact that BLYTHE returned to stand trial after a few months after spending 38 days in the notorious PANKRAC PRISON is a testament to his character and his sense of honor and obligation to the family of the departed. it also served as a focal point for the wider global metal community to rally behind, as noted with interviews with the likes of SLASH and COREY TAYLOR. bassist JOHN CAMPBELL mentions that the album they were touring on during this whole debacle, RESOLUTION (EPIC, 2012), was named in honor of BLYTHE's mindset regarding maintaining his sobriety (the downside of which are made famously apparent in the previous band documentary KILLADELPHIA). each band member individually corroborate how the experience made them as a unit stronger as BLYTHE had absolutely "walked the talk." what started as a documentary about FANDOM and the healing and rejuvenating power of music instead became one about the band's sense of duty to their community. this documentary is well worth seeking out or rewatching, irregardless of whether or not you have read BLYTHE's equally impressive memoir of his insane prison experience. 
parodies by nacrowe
join us TONIGHT at 6PM EST for an all new episode of DEER GOD RADIO on MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC with a playlist celebrating SLUDGE METAL icons MELVINS!
past episodes of DEER GOD RADIO are available here at the DEER GOD website as well as in the MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC archives. and if you haven't done so already, make sure and download the FREE PHONE APP for IOS/ANDROID and enjoy listening to MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC 24/7 at your convenience! 
photo & text by nacrowe
out of their entire catalogue, ...AND JUSTICE FOR ALL (ELEKTRA, 1988) is unique in that it showcases METALLICA, for better or worse, in a moment of transition. you can definitely see the first three records (KILL EM ALL, RIDE THE LIGHTNING and MASTER OF PUPPETS) as an early version of the band made up of a triumvirate of talented songwriters and composers in that of JAMES HETFIELD, LARS ULRICH and CLIFF BURTON. with BURTON out of the picture due to his tragic untimely passing, essentially the rest of their career has been heralded by HETFIELD and ULRICH, with ...AND JUSTICE FOR ALL their first foray.
and it shows. BURTON arguably was the most versatile musician within METALLICA and the most open to outside influences including CLASSICAL MUSIC. this is pretty much gone and what is left is a epically brutal album filled with complex time signatures that are constantly shifting, lyrics dealing with retribution, pain and suffering, as well as (famously) little to no bass guitar. this is an album that is pretty much all about HETFIELD and ULRICH and thus primarily guitars and drums. it is almost impossible to listen to this record and not think of how BURTON would have made these collections of riffs and song ideas more cohesive and impactful to the listener. taht is not to say that this record does not have standout tracks. "BLACKENED," "DYER'S EVE," "HARVESTER OF SORROW," "...AND JUSTICE FOR ALL" and of course "ONE" absolutely crush and are fan favorites to this day. me included. in fact i wouldnt even say that this record is a disappointment since it shows METALLICA at the their most uninhibited and least restrained peak. where it falls is only in comparison to their stellar previous two records, which arguably (in my opinion) are two of the best METAL albums ever bar none. it is a record only made more interesting given the follow-up a few years later that largely abandoned its complexity and ambition in favor of a more streamlined sound. i agree with those that add this record with the BURTON-era albums as the essential METALLICA records, and its been interesting see the risk-taking and artistic risks the band has made since. its just that the post ...AND JUSTICE FOR ALL output has been not as convincing for fans of their 1980s output. i couldn't recommend ...AND JUSTICE FOR ALL any more strongly. an essential THRASH METAL record that is absolutely required listening. 
photo & text by nacrowe
LIMP BIZKIT gets a bad name, which is probably more than well deserved. the dull-witted MISOGYNY and general WHITE PRIVILEDGE frat-boy behavior and incessant whining by frontman FRED DURST has not aged well in the least, not to say it was that welcome back when their debut THREE DOLLAR BILL, Y'ALL$ (INTERSCOPE, 1997) came out in the late 1990s.
DURST is a terrible frontman. i believe that is common knowledge at this point. so i want to go beyond him and discuss what i like about this album and LIMP BIZKIT in general, which are the actual musicians in the band. i feel wholeheartedly that LIMP BIZKIT has one of the most talented (and criminally underrated) rhythm sections of their era. starting with WES BORLAND who is an absolute wizard at guitar. his highly IDIOSYNCRATIC style has an IMPRESSIONISTIC and layered PAINTERLY vibe that feels like a hybrid between PRIMUS, WEEN, SLAYER and THE CURE. the dude is incredibly talented (just check out his superior side projects BLACK LIGHT BURNS and BIG DUMB FACE as well as moonlighting gigs with everyone from MARILYN MANSON and FROM FIRST TO LAST to JONATHAN DAVIS and COMBICHRIST). his LES CLAYPOOL-inspired double-hand tapping technique is all over this record, most prominently on tracks like "STALEMATE," "INDIGO FLOW" and "SOUR." in terms of big riffs, there is a certain angular POST PUNK flair, which are absolutely scorching despite the fact that they are usually in odd time signatures. BORLAND is treasure that modern guitarists respect despite the mind-bending stupidity of DURST in much the same way people separate the bigoted views of PHIL ANSELMO from the stellar musicianship of DIMEBAG DARRELL. JOHN OTTO has a FORCEFUL, hard-pounding snap to his drumming that is pretty iconic to their sound, especially on heavier tracks like "COUNTERFEIT," "POLLUTION" and "CLUNK." in later albums he would develop and integrate modern double-bass into his arsenal, but this record seems to be a bit more hands-centric in how forcefully he hits the toms and snare, and with speed and precision. not to be forgotten are the memorable SLINKY bass-lines of SAM RIVERS which provide a sense of grounding, but also much needed FUNK to the festivities. tracks like "STUCK," "EVERYTHING" and even the GEORGE MICHAEL cover "FAITH" showcase keen sense of DYNAMICS and an artistic freedom to float in-between the guitar heroics of BORLAND and the hard-hitting groundwork of OTTO. taken as a whole, the rhythm section is UNRESTRAINED, UNPREDICTABLE and UNRELENTING. just too bad about that singer situation. we're talking MIKE LOVE / DAVID DRAIMAN / BONO / CHRIS MARTIN / IVAN MOODY / SCOTT STAPP level terrible. although id love to hear BONO front LIMP BIZKIT. that might work. 
photo & text by nacrowe
i really believe that the capacity to appreciate and enjoy music is intertwined with the ability to have one's CONSCIOUSNESS expanded and altered. and not in some trivial psychedelic sense, but rather as a permanent EMOTIONAL marker in one's progression through life. case in point for me is the seminal NINE INCH NAILS' record THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL (NOTHING/INTERSCOPE, 1994), which honestly i did not get on any level the first ten or fifteen times i heard it as a young teenager. at that point i was not familiar with INDUSTRIAL or ELECTRONIC MUSIC and was still very much expecting traditional song structures and familiar sonic textures from rock music in general. this record was something entirely different.
its funny to me now but the track that really clicked for me is arguably the most EXPERIMENTAL and DEHUMANIZED on the record, that being "REPTILE" which is still arguably my favorite NINE INCH NAILS song period. with its repetitive, future robotic percussion and ABRASIVE and UNRELENTING slashing guitar-work, the song very much forwards the lyrical conceit of a ROMANTIC LOVE that both DEVOURS and ultimately CONTAMINATES the narrator of the song. it is a brutal song and the centerpiece of THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL record, which itself seems obsessed with calling into question the IMPURE motivations involved in ROMANTIC LOVE and HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS in general. although before it in the track-listing, i often felt that the antidote to NIHILISM of "REPTILE" was the relative SERENITY of "A WARM PLACE" which sonically attempts to mimic the emotions surrounding the hard-fought REHABILITATION of one's diminished sense of HUMANITY. it was those two songs that spoke to me as a teenager living in NIGERIA listening to it on tape as i experienced the DEPRAVITY and indiscriminate wonton PAIN on daily walking display living in a military dictatorship. this record was the soundtrack to my time seeing markets on fire (which happened when the police didnt get their regular bribes) and dead bodies on the side of the road. i really feel that TRENT REZNOR was relaying something personally deeply DECAYED within his TORTURED PSYCHE when he wrote THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL, but for me attempting to make sense of the blatant CORRUPTION and heroic SURVIVALISM that i saw on a daily basis, this record in particular felt like an apt sonic projection of what i lived in real-time. it is definitely an emotional marker for me of not only a time in my life, but of what the concept of struggle itself feels like. whether that be UNREQUITED LOVE, DRUG ABUSE, living under a DESPOTIC GOVERNMENT or stinging personal MORAL FAILINGS. this record really gets to the heart of that feeling and wallows in it through tracks like "HURT," "MR. SELF DESTRUCT," "CLOSER," "PIGGY," "RUINER," "MARCH OF THE PIGS" and "I DO NOT WANT THIS." for me though, the emotional poles of this record show that somewhere between the INHUMANITY of "REPTILE" and the struggle for PURIFICATION of "A WARM PLACE" is the scope of human lived experience. THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL is a seminal record that very much lives up to the hype. one of my favorite all-time records that is worth of further investigation. definitely worth checking out again. 
photo & text by nacrowe
internal band dynamics are always a tricky thing. there are tons of examples of bands that from the outside looking in seem like a consolidated front made of co-equal partners yet such is far from the case. probably no modern METAL musician is more defined by this in the popular consciousness than former METALLICA guitarist and MEGADETH frontman DAVE MUSTAINE.
his memoir MUSTAINE (IT BOOKS, 2010) written with veteran scribe JOE LAYDEN is very much defined the the shifting internal dynamics of not one, but two iconic THRASH METAL bands and provides a much-needed counterpoint to the popular narrative of this influential yet highly CONTROVERSIAL musician. i'll admit right at the beginning that i am not the biggest fan of MUSTAINE. in interviews he always comes across as a condescending BRAGGART and an unrepentant EGOIST, and that was before his conversion to CHRISTIANITY and conservative politics. his voice and his attitude towards his peers has always been GRATING, but i will say that the dude is supremely gifted as a guitarist and a songwriter. it was no doubt his sense of abandon on his instrument and his reckless behavior that initially lifted METALLICA from obscurity and helped establish the nascent THRASH METAL scene in the 1980s. MUSTAINE as a historical figure is absolutely instrumental in the evolution of METAL music. period. its interesting how much ink in this memoir is dedicated to the internal strifes of both bands. METALLICA was a band of alcoholics that discarded one of their members, MUSTAINE, in essence for being a mean drunk. that is popular story, but its interesting that MUSTAINE points to his substantial songwriting credits during his period with the band to suggest that it may have been more about artistic control. in essence METALLICA had three main songwriters in JAMES HETFIELD, LARS ULRICH and MUSTAINE. one theme that is carried throughout this memoir is MUSTAINE's sense of being an underdog, which is rooted in his growing up very POOR, without a father figure and with a mother whose identity got taken over by the JEHOVAH's WITNESS community. HETFIELD had similar circumstances with his deadbeat father and a mother that passed on after being taken advantage of by the beliefs of her CHRISTIAN SCIENTIST community. he is portrayed as being psychologically WEAK, UNASSERTIVE and essentially a patsy to ULRICH, who in turn is portrayed as privileged, wealthy son of a bohemian DANISH TENNIS professional. ULRICH is effectively presented as being a duplicitous MACHIAVELLIAN figure (which is probably pretty accurate). METALLICA was very much a surrogate family for MUSTAINE and his dismissal echoed the rejection of his father towards his family. no doubt it was a traumatic effect and was a primal event in his career and personal relationship trajectory thereafter. but what i found more interesting was his reaction to this dismissal, fair or not. he created a new family in MEGADETH of which he was the sole leader, whose only other longtime member (absent two breaks of which we are now living in the second) is DAVID ELLEFSON whom he deems as dismissively as "junior." the rest of the band throughout is made of a revolving cast of opportunists, scabs, legends and METAL lifers. what struck me in particular is how MUSTAINE never questions his own motives, paving over bad decisions during his many drug-addled years as MISGUIDED or MISINFORMED but not ill-intentioned. he comes across as incredibly naive and largely absent-minded or uninterested in the financial and emotional needs of his bandmates. throughout the memoir he is his absentee father. he wants the leadership and the acclaim but none of the responsibility that comes with it. its interesting that he, more than any other METAL figure, should have been aware of the trauma that comes with bad leadership in a band setting. yet he just kept the cycle going. the biggest bummer is the whole born again CHRISTIAN nonsense at the conclusion of the book in which he considers whether it is ethical or not to play with "satanic" bands. that is just so beyond LAME. he is an artistic leader who can tour with whomever he wants, but it just feels antithetical to ROCK N ROLL in some basic core manner. it also presumes his own purity as a CHRISTIAN which is beyond DISAPPOINTING and, again, just LAME. thats my reaction to this memoir basically. MUSTAINE is a supremely gifted musician who deserves credit for his achievements and contributions to THRASH METAL, but as a person he just comes across as an ass. even in his own memoir in which he is trying to counteract the popular opinion of him being an ass. its beyond CONFOUNDING. go figure. 
parody by nacrowe
check out HERE this recent streaming video episode of DEER GOD RADIO celebrating the experimental and expansive brutal soundscapes of POST METAL!
past episodes of DEER GOD RADIO are available here at the DEER GOD website as well as in the MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC archives. and if you haven't done so already get the FREE PHONE APP for IOS/ANDROID and enjoy listening to MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC 24/7 at your convenience! 
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October 2022
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