photo & text by nacrowe
seemingly all metalheads have their own favorite BLACK SABBATH album that they will endlessly advocate on behalf of and for me such is undoubtedly their third release MASTER OF REALITY (WARNER BROS, 1971). more than their debut BLACK SABBATH (review linked HERE) or their universally CELEBRATED follow-up PARANOID (WARNER BROS, 1970), MASTER OF REALITY is the record that cemented their reputation for being UNGODLY HEAVY and provided the template for EXTREME DOOM, STONER and SLUDGE METAL sub-genres that followed in its wake. HERALDED songs like "CHILDREN OF THE GRAVE," "AFTER FOREVER," "SWEET LEAF," "LORD OF THIS WORLD" and my all-time favorite BLACK SABBATH song "INTO THE VOID" are all QUINTESSENTIAL TONY IOMMI with PRODDING riffs that still SNARL and hold their weight more than half a century later. yes i said a half century, those SIGNATURE riffs that are as RELEVANT today as they were 50+ years ago which is beyond RIDICULOUS and showcases why their legacy endures.
OZZY OSBOURNE is likewise firing on all cylinders through this album, celebrating both the potential for EXPANSIVE CONSCIOUSNESS provided by MARIJUANA as well as warning HUMANITY against the SURGING drumbeat of a NUCLEAR APOCALYPSE spurred by competition between rival nations. his voice never sounded more POWERFUL and his lyrics more COHESIVE and PENETRATING. its just a VALIANT, INCREDIBLE effort on all fronts and presciently addresses on cultural touchstones related to INDIVIDUAL FREEDOMS and STATE-SANCTIONED VIOLENCE that have only festered and further DIVIDED DEMOCRATIC NATIONS in the decades since. in retrospect, his fears and INSECURITIES a few generations before were WELL-FOUNDED and there is a sense of DREAD and LACK OF HOPE at a potential solution being salvaged from this wreckage. MASTER OF REALITY is both an exercise in ESCAPISM from the HARSH REALITIES of the period (i.e. VIETNAM CONFLICT) as well as a DAMNING indictment at the forces that seek to divide us and allow for us to stare deep into the VOID of our own DESTRUCTION. as long as their are TYRANTS, foreign and domestic, that seek to subjugate and enslave us, the MASTER OF REALITY will be the soundtrack to both the rise of such DESTRUCTIVE POLITICAL, ECONOMIC and GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEMS and the popular revolution that seeks its eventual DOWNFALL. in other words, this record will only prove to be more RELEVANT as the new century continues and competition for dwindling resources in an altered INHOSPITABLE CLIMATE carries on unabated. MASTER OF REALITY is required listening. end stop.
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photo & text by nacrowe
it is arguable that OZZY OSBOURNE will be CELEBRATED inasmuch for his years of the traveling OZZFEST summer METAL concerts as for his involvement with BLACK SABBATH in establishing the genre outright. this is because by the 1990s and the ALTERNATIVE ROCK movement basically killed METAL in general, which quite honestly was necessary given the fact that it became a parody of itself in the 1980s. famously OSBOURNE advocated for a slot on one of the LOLLAPALOOZA tours in the mid-1990s and was turned down, such was his CULTURAL IRRELEVANCY and that of METAL from the zeitgeist in general. OZZFEST was his METAL version of the same concept and went on, along with the PUNK-themed WARPED TOUR, to be among the most SUCCESSFUL annual traveling summer music festivals in history.
so fast forward a few years when this OZZFEST 2001: THE SECOND MILLENNIUM (SONY, 2001) live compilation came out the SCENE had changed immeasurably. in that time OSBOURNE, or more precisely has wife/manager SHARON, had provided countless emerging and established METAL bands of varying sub-genres with a NATIONAL PLATFORM to springboard their careers from: groups like SYSTEM OF A DOWN, NEUROSIS, INCUBUS, SLIPKNOT, TYPE O NEGATIVE, LINKIN PARK, P.O.D., MUDVAYNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, DISTURBED, TOOL, SOULFLY, PANTERA, NONPOINT, FEAR FACTORY, TAPROOT, COAL CHAMBER, PAPA ROACH, DEFTONES, STATIC-X, LIMP BIZKIT, GODSMACK and ROB ZOMBIE among many others. the result was that METAL became a part of the national conversation again and basically single-handedly REVITALIZED the SCENE. many still view this as OSBOURNE's crowning cultural achievement, which is saying something given how INFLUENTIAL both BLACK SABBATH and his solo career have been. by 2001 the festival was in full swing and well-established, and the line-up that year of BLACK SABBATH, MARILYN MANSON, SLIPKNOT, LINKIN PARK, PAPA ROACH, DISTURBED, MUDVAYNE, HATEBREED and BLACK LABEL SOCIETY showcased on the live compilation highlights such. i was at OZZFEST 2001 at the NYC-area stop in HOLMDEL, NEW JERSEY and my recollection was how different the acts were from one another. the polish and professional songwriting prowess of LINKIN PARK (who were blowing up at the time) and how they contrasted with the INTENSITY of the more METALCORE influenced bands like HATEBREED and the high-concept PERFORMATIVE theatrics of MARILYN MANSON. there really was something for everyone. OZZFEST that year presented the SCENE to a national audience as being in a particularly STRONG, DIVERSE position with acts of varying styles and levels of heaviness. its difficult to look back and think about the fact that METAL today is a bit more listless with a KALEIDOSCOPIC variety of BRUTAL sub-genres competing for attention. there is no more tentpole event for the COMMUNITY to rally behind and celebrate each year, as the tribes have spread out and work on a much more local and DIY level outside of national acts that largely derive their notoriety back from the time of OZZFEST. its hard not to think about how promising bands on an upward trajectory like BRING ME THE HORIZON or ARCHITECTS are going to make that jump to SLIPKNOT-level exposure in this day and age without such a PLATFORM. its interesting. maybe they should bring OZZFEST back. here is hoping. photo & text by nacrowe
i recently came across this rare promotional cassette release by the MULTI-FACETED NYC DANCE-INDUSTRIAL-PUNK-JUNGLE-METAL-ELECTRONIC band MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE that was meant as a bridge between their upcoming FRANKENSTEIN GIRLS WILL SEEM STRANGELY SEXY (ELEKTRA, 2000) album and their previously self-released INDEPENDENT TIGHT (UPPITY CRACKER, 199) release. as such, the BITCHES (ELEKTRA, 1999) sampler has three songs from each release, namely "BITCHES," "CLARISSA" and "SEVEN ELEVEN" from FRANKENSTEIN GIRLS and "TIGHT," "PUSSY ALL NIGHT" and the METHOD MAN cover "BRING THE PAIN" from TIGHT.
ive never come across any MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE release on cassette out in the wild so this was quite a find (i.e. good luck finding either TIGHT or FRANKENSTEIN GIRLS), so i will use this review as my opportunity to speak on what made the band so SPECIAL on those early pair of releases. my introduction was the band's debut TIGHT that i was exposed to shortly after moving to KUWAIT my junior year of high school via an AMERICAN classmate who had seen them open the previous summer for SOULFLY. a tape of his copy made its way around to everyone in my circle of friends and that winter my family took a trip to GREECE where i found the follow-up FRANKENSTEIN GIRLS at a record store in ATHENS. also on that trip my record haul included the first few DEVO albums just to give you an idea of where my head was at during that period. once relocating to NEW JERSEY in the early 2000s, my brother and i saw MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE somewhere around twenty times in and around the tri-state area over a three-to-four year period. they were like our GRATEFUL DEAD of sorts. basically MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE sounded like nobody else sonically or lyrically. their music would seemingly spontaneously shift dramatically in start stop spurts and trigger SAMPLES, BLAST BEATS, ARPEGGIATED KEYBOARD RUNS, FUNKY BASS LINES, etc. it was music for the ADD set and those with absolutely no attention span as the hooks would just keep coming nonstop. lyrically singer and main songwriter JIMMY URINE painted a world that enveloped everything from NERD CULTURE (i.e. COMICS, DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS, VIDEO GAMES) to GANGSTER RAP to BLACK METAL and everything in between. his persona was one of arch MOCKERY at all forms of authority, concepts of COOLNESS or INDUSTRY GATEKEEPING. he represented very much an UNDEGROUND of DISAFFECTED and UNAPPRECIATED masses and chances are if you were unable to appreciate his HUMOR, then it was likely pointed at you in the first place. enter FRED DURST who wanted to sign them to FLIP RECORDS way back in the day and at a LOS ANGELES showcase performance in front of record executives the band did a rendition of "I HATE JIMMY PAGE" that instead became "I HATE FRED DURST." point taken. its not that the band didnt have its supporters. their sound was so uniquely UNPREDICTABLE and REVOLUTIONARY that, in my opinion at the time, made everyone else sound conventional by comparison. this during the height of NU METAL with its emphasis on HYBRID sonic TEXTURES and supposed EXPERIMENTATION. thus despite never enjoying a hit record to their name, MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE were championed by a diverse set of peers over the years, some they collaborated with and others repeatedly toured with, including everyone from LINKIN PARK, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, LORDS OF ACID, TAKING BACK SUNDAY and MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE to THE DRESDEN DOLLS, COMBICHRIST, KORN, THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE and EINSTURZENDE NEUBAUTENEN among many others. because their sound was so MULTI-FACETED it in essence became GENRE-LESS (which still seems to the modern definition by today's standards more than two decades later), it seems such was their downfall commercially. they didnt fit neatly anywhere on the highly formatted radio playlists, irrespective of the push by a major label or highly successful peers. subsequent releases seemed to be either attempts at pairing back and streamlining the formula, ie. YOU WILL REBEL TO ANYTHING (METROPOLIS, 2005) and IF (THE END, 2008), or revisiting and full-tilt revitalizing it, i.e. HOW I LEARNED TO STOP GIVING A SHIT AND LOVE MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE (UPPITY CRACKER, 2013). its a shame that such an EXHAUSTIVELY CREATIVE band never got their commercial due by a lame public that didnt understand them. what makes matters worse is that URINE is still in the midst of lawsuit regarding the sexual assault of a minor back in the late 1990s. as a fan its impossible to know what to believe. obviously if such accusations are true then URINE deserves his reputation to be sullied and his sentence appropriate to the crime. but its been a waiting game for a few years now as such plays out in court and its hard to know whats north or south on the subject. but, yeah back in the day MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE was it. a truly INNOVATIVE band that have only come tom arguably sound more RELEVANT today than back in their heyday. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
there is a special pride you feel when you learn a GREAT band or artist is from NEW JERSEY (DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, PARLIAMENT, YO LA TENGO, SARAH VAUGHAN, THE MISFITS, PATTI SMITH, THE SHIRELLES), and such is definitely the case with NEXT-LEVEL BLACKENED DEATHCORE band LORNA SHORE.
this band is so mind-meltingly BRUTAL with technical tempo shifts that range from PULVERIZING to EVISCERATING and a singer in WILL RAMOS that needs to be heard to be understood. he is absolutely UNREAL. i dont even think hes human, he must be half bear, half megalodon or something. not to mention that the drummer AUSTIN ARCHEY is absolutely relentless with those precision blast beats. no room to catch your breath at all. definitely the most INTENSE band ive heard since PIG DESTROYER over a decade ago. LORNA SHORE is well worth checking out.
parodies by nacrowe
not sure whats been going on in the DEFTONES camp post-COVID with their unceremonious firing of bassist SERGIO VEGA (QUICKSAND) after years of service following the untimely passing of original bassist CHI CHENG, not to mention founding guitarist STEPHEN CARPENTER's outing himself publicly and repeatedly as a VACCINE DENIER and CONSPIRACY THEORIST to the point that he wont tour in EUROPE(?). its getting a little RIDICULOUS. having lived in the CULTURAL BACKWATER of SACRAMENTO briefly my senior year of high school, im all too aware that sometimes with some people you can take the person out of SACRAMENTO, but you can't take the SACRAMENTO out of the person.
its all very confusing for what has to be one of modern AGGRESSIVE music's most BELOVED and INFLUENTIAL groups who have long outlasted the shelf life of their peers in the 1990s, influencing 2000s METALCORE and POST-HARDCORE for starters. they are one of the few groups whose albums get ever more WEIRD and EXPERIMENTAL as they push forward with each new release (only other example i could thing of in modern ALTERNATIVE ROCK / INDIE ROCK was THE FLAMING LIPS). maybe that is the growing influence and maturing songwriting arc of frontman CHINO MORENO over the past 30 years, but it is something to behold. the band has long been a balance of seemingly opposing forces with a singer that channels HARDCORE, POST PUNK, NEW WAVE and ALTERNATIVE ROCK influences ranging from THE SMITHS, DURAN DURAN, FAITH NO MORE and the BAD BRAINS to a guitarist that straight up cosplays on his instrument like he is the sixth member of the IMPOSSIBLY HEAVY SWEDISH PROGRESSIVE METAL outfit MESHUGGAH. but it works. and has for decades. my hope as a fan is that with all the seemingly ERRATIC activity coming from their camp as of late, that there isnt something deeper, more FOREBODING going on. if anything they have been the model of CONSISTENCY and QUALITY CONTROL throughout ever step of their career and discography. not one bad or subpar album. DEFTONES have spoiled us as fans and for that i am GRATEFUL. i just want the gravy train to remain in motion unabated, but im concerned. it feels like something is up. embedded below is a DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that originally aired around the 20th anniversary of 9/11 during the pandemic. the playlist includes music from throughout DEFTONES' revered catalogue. enjoy! photo & text by nacrowe
its readily apparent that INDUSTRIAL METAL pioneers FEAR FACTORY were on a creative roll when they created OBSOLETE (ROADRUNNER, 1998) in the late 1990s. they always had next-level CRUSHING METAL staccato riffage a la DINO CAZARES as well as VOIVOD-inspired lyrical fever dreams of a FUTURE DYSTOPIAN STATE controlled by ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE through the creative mind of singer BURTON C. BELL, especially on the much CELEBRATED previous DEMANUFACTURE (ROADRUNNER, 1995) album. but OBSOLETE took these sci-fi themes and punishing sonic BRUTALITY, not to mention the songwriting, to an entirely new plateau on tracks like "EDGECRUSHER," "FREEDOM OR FIRE," "SMASHER / DEVOURER," "HI-TECH HATE" and most memorably throughout the EPIC centerpiece "RESURRECTION." this was music believably written by a FUTURE SINGULAR CONSCIOUSNESS somewhere between MAN and ROBOTS lamenting the loss of HUMANITY. there is a leve of thematic and musical COHESION on this record that arguably was never matched again in their discography, despite other SEMINAL efforts like their follow-up release DIGIMORTAL (ROADRUNNER, 2001).
i came to be aware of FEAR FACTORY when i saw their BLISTERING set at OZZFEST 99 in support of OBSOLETE from the previous year. what caught my attention was the RIDICULOUS precision of their live set. this was the era of NU-METAL and guitars that were positioned in the frequency range of basses and employed simple guitar riffs that were meant to establish a GROOVE. the result was a muddled sonic affair. in contrast, FEAR FACTORY was almost a throwback in terms of aural heroics to the right-hand PERCUSSIVE tightness and GALLOPING, rhythmic dexterity of RENOWNED THRASH guitarists like JAMES HETFIELD (METALLICA), SCOTT IAN (ANTHRAX) and JEFF HANNEMAN (SLAYER). CAZARES takes that level of precision and melds it with PROGRESSIVE INDUSTRIAL elements that opens a new world of staccato rhythms and counterintuitively, deep GROOVE. to my ears it outdid similar achievements by the likes of MINISTRY or MACHINE HEAD. i was a fan on the spot. its funny that with the currently rolled out advancements in online ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE chatbots like CHATGPT and GOOGLE BARD, that this PHILIP K. DICK / ISAAC ASIMOV / WILLIAM GIBSON / ARTHUR C. CLARKE / H. G. WELLS future is seemingly at our doorstep and the themes of FEAR FACTORY and OBSOLETE in particular are as RELEVANT as ever. makes me wonder what an actual METAL album by a COMPUTER would sound like. i highly doubt itd be as unrelentingly BRUTAL or creatively COHESIVE as OBSOLETE. but who really knows? photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
in less than two short years itll be three decades since my family permanently left SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA for whats been an INSANE journey that has led me to live in several countries across five continents before resettling on the east coast of the UNITED STATES in recent years. ive been back out west a few times, enough to know that whatever ties i had to ORANGE COUNTY and the greater LOS ANGELES area are now pretty DISTANT and MINUSCULE, but one thing i still hold on to is the EXPERIENCE of listening to the radio while in early elementary school. specifically the nationally INFLUENTIAL ALTERNATIVE ROCK powerhouse that is 106.7FM KROQ.
i have a DISTINCT MEMORY of listening to KROQ and hearing bands like SOUNDGARDEN, LIVING COLOUR, MORRISSEY, THE B-52's, PEARL JAM, JANE'S ADDICTION, U2, TEARS FOR FEARS, NIRVANA, THE CURE, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, ELECTRONIC, 4 NON BLONDES, DURAN DURAN, R.E.M. and ALICE IN CHAINS on car trips to and from school and regional sporting events with my dad as a kid. at this point that MEMORY is like a security blanket and one reason i probably view radio as an almost SACROSANCT institution. embedded below are live performances of bands that have played the WEENIE ROAST, ALMOST ACOUSTIC CHRISTMAS or their recent SOUND SPACE events. all of it was recorded well after my time in LOS ANGELES but squarely showcases the continued influence of that station. it is all definitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
the BRIGHTON-based METALCORE band ARCHITECTS has been around for more than a decade and are a leading force in the genre utilizing both EXTREME DYNAMICS and expertly precise CHUNKY RHYTHMS that are INFECTIOUS, KINETIC and nearly impossible to not enjoy. this is a band that by no means needs any additional publicity, but like GOJIRA before, i wanted to just put it out there that this is a band worth checking out regardless of your affinity for all things METAL.
ARCHITECTS is just well-produced AGGRESSIVE music that is both INTELLIGENT and BRUTAL. again, definitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
the modern FRENCH METAL band GOJIRA is an absolutely MASSIVE band that are basically as universally celebrated as PANTERA, SLAYER, MASTODON and LAMB OF GOD at this point. i am under no preconceived notion that they are in any need of promotion by anyone these days, much less me and this blog. my reason for writing about them is their UNIQUENESS in the history of modern METAL and ROCK N ROLL in general.
the whole notion of being an 'outsider' and holding some type of personal grudge against society at large, or specific groups therein, is an essential element of modern AGGRESSIVE music going back to BLACK SABBATH or even further to DELTA BLUES. its just an ingrained part of the DNA of music. with GOJIRA, that anger and vitriol is redirected as most of their songs deal with the UNSPEAKABLE RAVAGES against the NATURAL WORLD through CLIMATE CHANGE. they write, by and large, from the perspective of the PLANET which is incredibly interesting when one considers how such redefines notions of in-group/out-group dynamics. as humans we are the root of all planet DEGRADATION and INSTABILITY like a CANCER on the natural cycles and established balances that have served WILDLIFE and the seasons for literally millions of years. we are war with the NATURAL WORLD in essence, they are the out-group. when i listen to GOJIRA, it is essentially the figurative PRIMAL SCREAM of a world in TURMOIL. like ELIZABETH KOLBERT's THE SIXTH EXTINCTION: AN UNNATURAL HISTORY (book review linked HERE) come to fruition. interestingly, the music videos from their most recent album FORTITUDE (ROADRUNNER, 2001) has seen them expand such to include minority societies like the TIBETANS and AMAZONIANS that live in harmony with NATURE but are victimized and put in incredible PERIL by those same INDOMITABLE forces of modern GLOBAL CAPITALISM and STATE POLITICS, whose influence have similarly DOOMED the PLANET and us all in its wake. GOJIRA is basically merited FRUSTRATION and ANGER on an ELEVATED PLANETARY level. its an INTRIGUING redeclaration of a conservative genre not known or celebrated for its INTELLECTUAL conceits. in my opinion this perspective along with their preternaturally next-level technical rhythmic gifts has made them one of the most DYNAMIC and emotionally INTENSE METAL bands of all-time. it also makes them well-worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
when i discovered MARILYN MANSON and the ANTICHRIST SUPERSTAR (review linked HERE) album in seventh grade, it felt at the time like the perfect expression of my tortured teenage existence living amongst a bunch of AMERICAN SOUTHERNERS abroad in NIGERIA. that record showcased a distilled and unadulterated NIHILISTIC viewpoint that was CAUSTIC as much as it was RIGHTEOUS about the HYPOCRISY of the AMERICAN way of life and its DUPLICITY regarding matters of RELIGION, SEX and POLITICS. MANSON had his finger on a pulse that i would come to understand all too well living abroad and the returning stateside yearly to hear about DILUTED, PHONY and downright QUIXOTIC notions of AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM and our supposed CULTURAL and MORAL DOMINANCE on GLOBAL AFFAIRS. it remains to date an IMPORTANT and CONSEQUENTIAL album for me.
funny enough, i cam across the debut PORTRAIT OF AN AMERICAN FAMILY (NOTHING, 1994) album a few months later while in FLORIDA (MARILYN MANSON was formed in FORT LAUDERDALE) of all places on a school trip centered around marine biology. it was a completely INCONGROUS experience listening to the EXTREME imagery and NIHILISTIC takedown of AMERICAN LIFE in tracks like "GET YOUR GUNN," "LUNCHBOX," "DOPE HAT" and "CAKE AND SODOMY" while in a scenic science camp in the FLORIDA KEYS, but that was how it went down. i remember noticing immediately how sonically and lyrically PORTRAIT OF AN AMERICAN FAMILY felt more CARTOONISH, less polished and more ABRASIVE than ANTICHRIST SUPERSTAR (both produced by TRENT REZNOR of NINE INCH NAILS fame). arguably this record is the CREATIVE high point of founding guitarist DAISY BERKOWITZ, whose slinky and economic riffage are a signature of this era of the band, more angular POST PUNK than grooved-out METAL that the band would later evolve into on subsequent releases. bassist TWIGGY RAMIREZ serves as a fitting counterpoint to BERKOWITZ with his propulsive sense of groove that is further reinforced by drummer GINGER FISH's off-kilter sense of meter. lastly keyboardist MADONNA WAYNE GACY is in SINGULAR form on this album, with probably more freedom on record than anytime since, as he introduces INDUSTRIAL-inflected haunting loops and vintage horror film samples that basically established the shtick for countless bands since (i'm looking right at you INSANE CLOWN POSSE). you can see the potential the band had with PORTRAIT OF AN AMERICAN FAMILY, which feels like a less conceptually fleshed out and sonically more SPARE version of the later ANTICHRIST SUPERSTAR. in my mind those releases are spiritually and thematically connected. as a teenager both of these records were completely EMPOWERING and served as a springboard into discovering other like-minded INDUSTRIAL acts in high school such as FRONT 242, THROBBING GRISTLE, MY LIFE WITH THE THRILL KILL KULT, SKINNY PUPPY, FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY, MINISTRY, ATARI TEENAGE RIOT, GODFLESH, CABARET VOLTAIRE, VNV NATION and KMFDM among others. PORTRAIT OF AN AMERICAN FAMILY is not an INDUSTRIAL record per se, but it utilizes aspects of its sound to showcase a vision of an AMERICAN CULTURE in decline by the weight of its own ARROGANCE. its almost like it foresaw the TRUMP ADMINISTRATION a decade and a half in advance. of course i have to mention that the DISTURBING sexual predatory allegations against MARILYN MANSON the individual (as well as TWIGGY RAMIREZ) have been very DISAPPOINTING and DISILLUSIONING. MARILYN MANSON felt like an avatar for the collective id of UNBRIDLED teenage ALIENATION and INSECURITY. it felt like he was authentically channeling something DEEP and possibly TRAUMATIC through his ART, which despite its NIHILISTIC and BITING delivery was nothing if not POSITIVE and AMELIORATIVE on balance. the fact that he could have deliberately hurt so many women through his elevated status due to his ART is beyond UNCONSCIONABLE. and SAD. and i stand with his victims. i hope he gets whats coming to him. photo & text by nacrowe
its not a big secret that PANTERA frontman PHIL ANSELMO joined that TEXAN group with a bevy of influences that veered well past the NWOBHM, THRASH and GLAM-inspired 80s METAL that the band had been rehashing up until that point. this included a pronounced HARDCORE AESTHETIC, not to mention a penchant for BLACK METAL, DEATH METAL and what would become SLUDGE METAL out of his hometown in NEW ORLEANS.
in-between the cycles for FAR BEYOND DRIVEN (EASTWEST, 1994) and THE GREAT SOUTHERN TRENDKILL (EASTWEST, 1996), ANSELMO pursued a NOTABLE side-project in DOWN that was a veritable ALL-STAR lineup of the burgeoning NEW ORLEANS SLUDGE METAL scene that included PEPPER KEENAN of CROSSOVER HARDCORE band CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, KIRK WINDSTEIN of CROWBAR and JIMMY BOWER of EYEHATEGOD. their debut NOLA (EASTWEST, 1995) is a watershed moment in METAL history as it is a SEAMLESS CONFLUENCE of influences from SOUTHERN ROCK to STONER ROCK and of course, SLUDGE METAL. their sound is in a lot of ways the antithesis of PANTERA, whose records were METICULOUSLY PRODUCED with a sense of unmatched GROOVE, INTENSITY and TECHNICALITY. DOWN had a UNIQUE SOUND and SONGWRITING AESTHETIC that was more laid back (and even loose) that really seemed to revel in the EMOTIVE power of a DISTORTED guitar through a BLOWN-OUT speaker in a manner later mined by POST METAL bands like SUN O))) and ISIS. tracks like "BURY ME IN SMOKE," "LIFER," "STONE THE CROW," "REHAB," and "TEMPTATION'S WINGS" find ANSELMO singing in a manner somewhat devoid of the HYPER-MASCULINE posturing of his other famous outfit. i remember in 2001 when PANTERA broke up and ANSELMO pursued a string of perceived side projects like SUPERJOINT RITUAL, VIKING CROWN, CHRIST INVERSION and so on that played up his passion for various METAL sub-genres. the understanding by fans was that such was a temporary DISTRACTION before the next PANTERA record when inevitably come. obviously that never happened and the communication between ANSELMO, bassist REX BROWN and the ABBOTT BROTHERS deteriorated to NOTHING. it was a real pity because if anything NOLA provided an INTERESTING calming aside from the CAUSTIC BRUTALITY that was THE GREAT SOUTHERN TRENDKILL. felt like that debut DOWN record was a worthwhile pursuit and something he had to get out of his system, as well as shed light on a much CELEBRATED adjacent scene in LOUISIANA. it should also be said that DIMEBAG and VINNIE PAUL were friends with all these dudes as well and understood the benefit of giving each other space. that was hack when the band communicated. 1996 saw ANSELMO overdose on heroin after a DALLAS PANTERA show and that pretty much was the beginning of the end of that open correspondence. when i listen to DOWN i hear an artist on a white hot streak at the pinnacle of their powers and i see a potential that never came to pass, at least with PANTERA. DOWN would continue to make absolutely SICK SLUDGE METAL records to date, but they are cursed to being perceived publicly as a PANTERA side project even decades after that former bands IMPLOSION. NOLA is required listening for any METAL fan. its a VERITABLE MASTERCLASS of how much POWER there is in taking the TEMPO and pulling it way way back in the name of GROOVE. photo & text by nacrowe
SMALL VICTORIES: THE TRUE STORY OF FAITH NO MORE (JAWBONE PRESS, 2018) is an exhaustively RESEARCHED and adroitly CRAFTED biography of the expansive GENRE-DEFYING creative unit that is FAITH NO MORE. since discovering the band via a BRITISH classmate's taped copy of ANGEL DUST (SLASH, 1992) back in middle school shortly after arriving in NIGERIA in 1996, the band has continued to be one of my all-time FAVORITE groups (along with DEVO, THE SMITHS, MASSIVE ATTACK and JANE'S ADDICTION) through all of its iterations. reading this book was a bit of REVELATION, as it truly ENLIGHTENED and EDUCATED the reader to the inner personal dynamics of the group and the INSPIRATIONS and ALLUSIONS present in much of their EXTENSIVE catalogue. reading this book is not necessary to properly appreciate the music of FAITH NO MORE, but it brought their CAREER and LEGACY into a proper focus that i had hitherto not fully appreciated.
like most fans, i am obsessed with the work of MIKE PATTON, in and of his involvement with FAITH NO MORE. he's been on a CREATIVE STREAK for years with his myriad of COMPELLING yet DISPARATE projects like the seminal MR BUNGLE as well as FANTOMAS, TOMAHAWK, LOVAGE, PEEPING TOM and COLLABORATIONS with the likes of ZU, HANDSOME BOY MODELING SCHOOL, THE DUB TRIO and composer JOHN ZORN among many others. PATTON is very much a singular entity in modern music well beyond the confines of ALTERNATIVE ROCK and is UNIVERSALLY CELEBRATED by most modern rock musicians, end stop. SMALL VICTORIES makes the INTRIGUING CONNECTION between the CHARACTER STUDIES he inhabits in his lyrics and his formal pre-band STUDIES as an ENGLISH major in college, which i was most definitely not aware of. but it makes total sense since his FEARLESSNESS as a VOCALIST and writer come from a PERFORMATIVE need to due the MATERIAL justice (regardless of its author), not of SELF-EXPRESSION per se. case in point, PATTON's abundant ENTHUSIASM to sing "BE AGGRESSIVE" on ANGEL DUST, a song about the pleasure of homosexual oral sex as written by bandmate RODNEY BOTTUM about his own experience with the subject. for PATTON, this was a SINGULAR professional OPPORTUNITY and CHALLENGE presented to him that he did hesitate from, instead throwing himself into the track. something arguably most IMAGE-CONSCIOUS frontmen from the period would have second thoughts regarding, not wanting to associate themselves with what was then still very much a TABOO subject that would raise questions about their MASCULINITY (which we all know is bullshit). it is a FASCINATING dynamic that the singer, usually the focal point of a band, within the context of FAITH NO MORE, is just ANOTHER INSTRUMENT. in fact, the core of the creative unit is essentially BASSIST BILLY GOULD and KEYBOARDIST BOTTUM (who were childhood friends) and DRUMMER MIKE BORDIN. this means that one of the truly INNOVATIVE and INVENTIVE modern rock bands was steered in general not by the GUITARIST or lead SINGER, but rather by the RHYTHM SECTION. its a wholly UNIQUE situation in that regard and a sign of each members' ability to control their ego for the sake of the whole, especially the VOCALIST. that being the case, the band was blessed with two entirely DIFFERENT yet highly EFFECTIVE generationally TALENTED frontmen in CHUCK MOSELY and MIKE PATTON. this was after years of a rotating cast of stand-ins that even famously included COURTNEY LOVE at one point. for GOULD, BOTTUM and BORDIN the focus was on the quality of the INSTRUMENTALS and the VOCALS was an ancillary necessity in order to secure live gigs. same with GUITARISTS. if you listen to ANGEL DUST the CRUSHING guitars fo not take center stage but act as a rhythmic bed for the EXTENSIVE PRODUCTION elements like the PROMINENT SAMPLES and KEYBOARDS and processed VOCALS. that immersive aural landscape is what provided contextual COMPLEXITY for the more traditional DISSONANT guitar tones of JIM MARTIN, and is what made that record such a MIND-MELTING experience for the listener. FAITH NO MORE were not a straight METAL band, or arguably a METAL band at all, but their SOUND transformed sonic expectations for the genre through such EXPERIMENTATION, as well as their SPECIALIZED sense of HUMOR and CONTRARIAN penchant for ABSURDISM that bucked audience and industry expectations. ultimately it is that STUBBORNNESS that has led them to be such a BELOVED cult(?) band. SMALL VICTORIES shines in its attention to important details and its fondness for SESQUIEDALIAN passages that immerse the reader into the MINDSET of individual band-members through time. i recommend this book to anyone interested in FAITH NO MORE or the cultural underpinnings and history of the pre-NIRVANA ALTERNATIVE ROCK movement of the late 80s and early 1990s. i am most definitely going to seek out more publications by the author ADRIAN HARTE. SMALL VICTORIES is quite an achievement and one of the better biographies i have read since beginning this blog. RIP CHUCK MOSLEY photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
inspired by everything from MAHAYANA BUDDHISM, TRADITIONAL JAPANESE FOLKLORE and LITERATURE, the MODERN YAKUZA and MEIJI-era feudal culture, as well as musical genres ranging from CLASSIC ROCK and PROGRESSIVE ROCK to NEW WAVE OF BRITISH HEAVY METAL, the JAPANESE METAL band NINGEN ISU is a UNIQUE outfit with a particularly wide-focus perspective on the world. in fact all three members, much like KISS before them, assumes a DISTINCT character based on various deep-seated archetypes in JAPANESE culture, such as the GANGSTER, SAMURAI and a MEIJI-era POET. performing in TRADITIONAL YUKATAS and KIMONOS (depending on the season), its FUN to see such a musical form blended so seamlessly with other global cultures on their terms, not ours.
musically the band is a POWERFUL three piece and has a distinct sense of GROOVE and loud/soft dynamics in their song-craft. at the very least for the uninitiated, NINGEN ISU is most definitely worth checking out. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
the SWEDISH DEATH METAL band BLOODBATH is a bit of a supergroup, currently featuring members of OPETH, KATATONIA and PARADISE LOST, but what i appreciate about them is their UNRELENTING BRUTALITY. over their six studio albums, they have produced countless tracks that scratch that itch that only the PUNISHING TECHNICAL WIZARDRY and DEMENTED ideations of DEATH METAL can provide. by the time you catch your breath, the song is over and the next wave has already begun.
if you are into CLASSIC NAPALM DEATH, GORGUTS, IMMOLATION, CANNIBAL CORPSE, OBITUARY, AT THE GATES or DEATH, then definitely check out BLOODBATH.
parodies by nacrowe
the thing ive always appreciated about ROB ZOMBIE is how he takes all these DISPARATE elements (KUSTOM KULTURE, GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM, HORROR FILMS, COMIC BOOKS, MONSTER MOVIES, EXPLOITATION FILMS) and synthesizes them into an AESTHETIC that is identifiably his own. in fact when i was in college and learning about FILM MOVEMENTS and directors it was always fun to learn about the ESOTERIC source material for much of his songs and promotional videos, i.e. auteurs like RUSS MEYER, JACK HILL, ROGER CORMAN, JAMES WHALE, GEORGE A. ROMERO, WILLIAM CASTLE, ROBERT WIENE, KUCHAR BROTHERS, HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS and ED WOOD JR.
it has always struck me how CONSERVATIVE METAL, as with PUNK ROCK, actually is with audience expectations that are often MYOPIC and ANTAGONISTIC towards any sense of progression or INDIVIDUALITY. they want the cheap thrills and will tolerate deviation only to a certain point. with WHITE ZOMBIE, ROB was on a different level both in their nascent EXPERIMENTAL, noise-rock phase as well as the later full TECHNICOLOR, PHANTASMAGORICAL, all-or-nothing GROOVE METAL phase for which they are famous and of which setup and informed ROB's solo career to date. the fact that his professional trajectory inevitably pointed towards a film directing career, and that such actually panned out is INCREDIBLE. their is a definite sense of continuity no matter the era of his CREATIVE OUTPUT you dive into and when i feel jaded like ive heard or watched everything, i take not of what OBSCURE film or artist he's referenced in a song or video and start exploring again. its fun and a CULTURAL EDUCATION in and of itself of which i am thankful for. im glad he's still doing his thing. embedded below is a DEER GOD RADIO episode from HALLOWEEN week 2021 on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC dedicated to the music of WHITE ZOMBIE / ROB ZOMBIE from throughout his extensive catalogue. enjoy! photo & text by nacrowe
LOS ANGELES in the late 1980s was a hot bed of activity with the rise of the homegrown ALTERNATIVE ROCK scene with bands like FISHBONE, THELONIOUS MONSTER and JANE'S ADDICTION leading the way. GREEN JELLY was a UNIQUE band with an "anything-goes" aesthetic and had concerts that verged perilously closely towards PERFORMANCE ART. in fact they proved to be a breeding grown for other bands, most famously TOOL, as drummer DANNY CAREY and singer MAYNARD JAMES KEENAN were members of this BILL MANSPEAKER-led creative collective in the early 1990s when CEREAL KILLER SOUNDTRACK (ZOO, 1993) was being recorded. in fact, this release was a rerelease of sorts since the band had previously put out the CEREAL KILLER (ZOO, 1992) video-only album the previous year but had to shelve it due to a copyright infringement lawsuit from KRAFT FOODS for their original moniker GREEN JELLÖ. talk about stupid.
what i love about the CEREAL KILLER SOUNDTRACK is how INSANE it is. tracks like "THREE LITTLE PIGS," "OBEY THE COWGOD," "ELECTRIC HARLEY HOUSE (OF LOVE)" and especially "CEREAL KILLER" are all absolutely slammin' METAL numbers played by GIFTED musicians, but with tongue-firmly-in-cheek COMEDIC conceits that absolutely kill. my personal favorite is the "toucan son of sam" line on "CEREAL KILLER" which takes the conceit of a song about children's beloved cereal mascots being serial killers to LUDICROUS heights hitherto unexplored or even imagined. in retrospect its difficult to listen to GREEN JELLY and not think of other high concept COMEDIC and CARTOONISH like-minded acts such as GWAR, DREAD ZEPPELIN, STEEL PANTHER, DETHKLOK, "WEIRD AL" YANKOVIC, INSANE CLOWN POSSE or even GORILLAZ, not to mention fore-bearers like THE ARCHIES or JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS. my sense is that what differentiates GREEN JELLY from most of the pack (exceptions being DETHKLOK, DREAD ZEPPELIN and STEEL PANTHER) is their capacity to laugh at the true RIDICULOUSNESS and outright ABSURDITY that is themselves. i dont know if GWAR or the INSANE CLOWN POSSE ever really were self-reflective enough to truly laugh at themselves, since from an outside perspective they seemed to take themselves far too seriously. with GREEN JELLY and their breakout CEREAL KILLER SOUNDTRACK album the joke is seemingly on everyone, themselves included, and was a breath of fresh air in what became all to fast a STULTIFYINGLY SERIOUS and CLAUSTROPHOBIC ALTERNATIVE ROCK scene that seemingly imploded have a decade later from its own seriousness and worshipping outmoded beliefs surrounding PUNK ROCK authenticity. whatever that is. GREEN JELLY was its own support system and its own community and in many ways TOOL has continued that legacy moving forward. they're likewise deadly serious about their craft yet fully acknowledge the ABSURDITY of their profession in the press and in their lyrics. kinda wish more bands were like that come to think of it. photo & text by nacrowe
in the elite pantheon of all-time SUPER HUMAN METAL singers, there really are only three names: RONNIE JAMES DIO, ROB HALFORD and KING DIAMOND. no disrespect to OZZY OSBOURNE (i adore him), but his appeal is not necessarily based solely on his voice but rather his unique PERSONALITY, PERSONA and WORLDVIEW that positions as a sort of EVERYMAN. his power is in his ability to have his audience project themselves onto him and thus it makes sense that generations of musicians have his example and started a band. counter that with DIO, HALFORD and KING DIAMOND and there is absolutely no hope of us mere mortals matching or even approaching their SINGULAR vocal gifts. to me they are almost FANTISTICAL and UNAPPROACHABLE comic book characters in that regard.
with KING DIAMOND in particular, on what is considered his magnum opus ABIGAIL (ROADRUNNER, 1987), that CARTOONISH persona takes on a QUASI-LITERARY form with his concept record centered around the extended narrative of the ghost of a stillborn baby in a HAUNTED mansion during VICTORIAN-ERA ENGLAND. high concept indeed. i wont get into the actual story itself, but standout tracks include "THE FAMILY GHOST," "ARRIVAL," "THE 7TH DAY OF JULY 1777," "FUNERAL," "THE POSSESSION" and of course the EPIC title track "ABIGAIL." sonically these songs are buttressed by PUMMELING double-bass drum assault by MIKKEY DEE (later of MOTORHEAD) a dual lead guitar assault led by ANDY LAROCQUE and MICHAEL DENNER that acts as a fitting counterpoint to the ICONIC FOUR OCTAVE COUNTERTENOR FALSETTO screams of KING DIAMOND. equally important are the GALLOPING rhythm guitar parts that propel and roll the momentum of the album forward without becoming stagnant. it makes total sense that the SYNCOPATED twin lead and rhythm guitar work associated with KING DIAMOND records, and especially his previous NWOBHM-adjacent band MERCYFUL FATE, have influenced THRASH royalty like SLAYER and METALLICA and most of the extreme METAL that followed thereafter. speaking of which i was fortunate enough to see KING DIAMOND take out ABIGAIL on the road a few years back in PITTSBURGH when the opened for SLAYER on their extended farewell tour. the GARISH and often SATANIC imagery and set pieces were completely over the top but in keeping with a CREEPY victorian aesthetic (i.e. candelabras, creaky grand staircase, stained glass windows) that was pure KING DIAMOND. and i have to say, witnessing his voice in person is another matter entirely. it absolutely cut through the mix and was a sight to behold. youd think that those PIERCING HIGH FALSETTOS would grow tiresome throughout a set but they didnt, which is a largely a testament to his band and the original compositions themselves. whats INCREDIBLE is that i went to the show at the behest of my dad, whod seen them with my brother a few months earlier while i was still at a teaching gig abroad. for him, a baby boomer raised on BRITISH INVASION and CLASSIC ROCK, to find enjoyment in the musicality of someone as extreme as KING DIAMOND is the highest compliment i can think of. the POWER of his voice and the INTENTION of the music far outreached the schtick of it all. not that i dont love the satanic imagery. who doesnt? ABIGAIL in my opinion is required listening for any METAL head interested in any of the myriad of subgenres, from NWOBHM, DEATH METAL, BLACK METAL and THRASH to METALCORE, GRINDCORE, DOOM, PROGRESSIVE, SLUDGE, POST METAL and beyond. photo & text by nacrowe
ever since i first discovered them at OZZFEST in 1999, i was all about SYSTEM OF A DOWN. especially their eponymous debut record SYSTEM OF A DOWN (AMERICAN, 1998), which had the same FRENETIC bordering on MANIC ENERGY and CRAZY TECHNICAL PROFICIENCY of what i heard live that summer. and that lineup was absolutely loaded with MEMORABLE sets by DEFTONES, SLAYER, PRIMUS, FEAR FACTORY, BLACK SABBATH, ROB ZOMBIE and the emergence of not just SYSTEM OF A DOWN, but also STATIC-X and SLIPKNOT. but they stood out not just for the reasons described, but they seemed to be playing out of a completely different PLAYBOOK. it was later i learned that they were a LOS ANGELES band being of ARMENIAN descent and that their music proudly incorporated the TRADITIONAL SCALES, POLYRHYTHMS and compositional influences of the FOLK MUSIC of their ancestral homeland. for me that debut record was a TRANSFORMATIVE experience on par with discovering RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE abroad as a middle schooler because it brought to bear a fresh UNIQUE perspective and approach to METAL in general. it was ORIGINAL.
thats why when the follow-up and commercial breakthrough TOXICITY (AMERICAN, 2001) was released two years later during my senior year of high school, it felt a bit UNDERWHELMING in comparison to their debut. yes the singles from this record were STELLAR, tracks like the BROODING "AERIALS," the stop-go FRANTIC CRAZINESS of "CHOP SUEY!" and the multipart epic "TOXICITY." but other tracks like "PSYCHO," "DEER DANCE," "NEEDLES," "ATWA," "FOREST" and "PRISON SONG" all felt like paint-by-numbers retreads of the first record. maybe its unfair in retrospect but my expectations for the record were pretty sky high at the time. it felt to me like a slightly reigned-in version of their debut to market better at powerful national ALTERNATIVE ROCK radio stations like 106.7 FM KROQ in LOS ANGELES. the SYSTEM OF A DOWN sound was there but was not DISSONANT or CHAOTIC enough to stand out relative to old standbys like the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS or PEARL JAM. it reminded me that there is a reason that MR. BUNGLE and FISHBONE never got played on those stations, namely how much such confrontationally IDIOSYNCRATIC and COMPLEX songs would inevitably stood out in a playlist which is probably a no-no when selling listenership ratings to potential advertisers. TOXICITY at the time seemed ECCENTRIC, but not to the extent that it would stand out from the crowd like their debut did. i assumed such was by design. plus in 2001 i moved from KUWAIT to SACRAMENTO and the CLUELESSLY PRIVILEGED kids at this white flight suburban high school were all into SYSTEM OF A DOWN . they thought it was pretty out there stuff and sadly that association with those losers made me instantly rethink SYSTEM OF A DOWN on the spot and especially their recently released second album at the time. that was the period that i got into POST PUNK, SHOEGAZE and INDUSTRIAL MUSIC for the first time which i cant help but believe that such outside investigation was somewhat influenced by being at a school full of NICKELBACK and GODSMACK fans. even in retrospect, that whole scene at my high school in SACRAMENTO was beyond LAME. hard to believe that incredible local musicians like CHELSEA WOLFE and NICK REINHARDT, who are roughly my age, where right next door in ROSEVILLE at the time. time has proven that TOXICITY is one of the better albums of that era that i would put favorably in terms of songwriting INVENTIVENESS and sonic EXPERIMENTATION with the likes of peers like INCUBUS, MUSE, DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, MASTODON, DEFTONES, MODEST MOUSE and TOOL. i think it was ridiculously unfair of me to originally see them on the level of knuckle-dragging outfits like DISTURBED, P.O.D., DROWNING POOL or STAIND. my bad.
parodies by nacrowe
for me the experience of listening to anything MAX CAVALERA has been involved in over the years (i.e. SOULFLY, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, NAILBOMB, KILLER BE KILLED, PROBOT and of course SEPULTURA) is akin to snuggling in a warm familiar blanket. the minute i hear that POWERFUL SNARLING, SNEERING, VICIOUS beast of a voice, i am instantaneously transported to being a GLEEFULLY nodding-in-approval twelve year-old, when i first heard CHAOS A.D. () off a tape an older middle school friend had at the time. CAVALERA's presence and PASSION for music was also an interesting primer for BRAZILIAN culture writ large, which interestingly is not far removed from that of the WEST AFRICAN culture i was immersed in when i first became aware of his music.
and i think it is that ENTHUSIASM and unadulterated JOY in getting lost in the music that separates him from most in his peer group, i.e. classic 80s THRASH METAL bands like SLAYER, TESTAMENT, MEGADETH, EXODUS, ANTHRAX, DEATH ANGEL and METALLICA, DEATH METAL bands like OBITUARY, DEATH and MORBID ANGEL, BOLT THROWER and NAPALM DEATH as well as GROOVE METAL bands like PANTERA, WHITE ZOMBIE and their later acolytes in MASTODON, LAMB OF GOD, GOJIRA and the like. with the exception of maybe DIMEBAG DARRELL, CAVALERA in my opinion singularly personified the transcendent escapist ABANDON that only great METAL provided. and did i mention that the dude is still a DIEHARD fan of the genre and, like ROB HALFORD of JUDAS PRIEST, seemingly loves paying it forward to the next generation of musicians. CAVALERA is a veritable METAL ambassador and elder statesman at this stage in his career nearly four decades in and has yet to loose his footing in the least. here's hoping he keeps the streak going as undoubtedly the man has given so much HAPPINESS to my life and that of my brother who is also a huge fan. embedded below is a DEER GOD RADIO episode from late 2020 (during the pandemic) on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC dedicated to the vast catalogue of MAX CAVALERA. enjoy! photo & text by nacrowe
as ive' written about before concerning RUST IN PEACE (review linked HERE), my introduction to MEGADETH was during my middle school years when my family lived in NIGERIA. for whatever reason, METALLICA, SEPULTURA, PANTERA, WHITE ZOMBIE and MEGADETH were the groups the kids a few years older than me listened to and not THRASH METAL peer bands like ANTHRAX, TESTAMENT or SLAYER (which in retrospect is quite odd). i am almost positive i first heard YOUTHANASIA (CAPITOL, 1994) from my older friends at the time.
i consider this album to be last of the three CLASSIC records put out by the definitive MEGADETH lineup of DAVE MUSTAINE, MARTY FRIEDMAN, DAVE ELLEFSON and NICK MENZA. the other two being the aforementioned RUST IN PEACE (CAPITOL, 1992) and COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION (CAPITOL, 1992). once you get into CRYPTIC WRITINGS (CAPITOL, 1997) things get a bit screwy and MUSTAINE really bit hard on his longstanding personal obsession with mimicking the formula paved by his perceived nemesis in his former band METALLICA. the cool thing about these three CLASSIC lineup albums is that the their song-craft and TECHNICAL PROFICIENCY hold up rather well to other peer bands from the same period. i'll be generous and diplomatic by saying that MUSTAINE's singing voice is an acquired taste (one that i can tolerate in small portions). standout tracks include "ADDICTED TO CHAOS," "TRAIN OF CONSEQUENCES," "A TOUT LE MONDE" and "RECKONING DAY." all of them have a more STREAM-LINED aesthetic without sacrificing AGGRESSION or technical VIRTUOSITY. its a pretty solid effort whose formula was unfortunately abandoned on subsequent releases. at my school in NIGERIA there was a dearth of substitute teachers, so my mom would sometimes sit in for the high school math teacher. she's a former university math professor. i remember hearing from her how the kids would try to get her to let them play "A TOUT LE MONDE" in the class because somehow it would help them with their FRENCH class next period. pretty funny. i never really understood why the chorus of that song was in a foreign language anyway. MUSTAINE is a rather CONSERVATIVE dude with pretty REGRESSIVE views on immigration and foreign policy in general, which makes a song written and sung partly in FRENCH a CURIOUS choice to say the least. all that being said, do i recommend YOUTHANASIA? i dont know, maybe. its a SOLID MEGADETH album and MARTY FRIEDMAN's solos are generally COMPELLING and TASTEFUL. that said, a DECENT MEGADETH album still probably fails in comparison next to a SUB-PAR METALLICA or SLAYER record, which was the case at the time (i.e. LOAD / RELOAD and DIVINE INTERVENTION). so... yeah, check it out if you are really into THRASH METAL, otherwise i'd advise any number of other more COMPELLING METAL records from the same era that are more worth your time by the likes of PANTERA, NAILBOMB, TOOL, DARKTRHONE, KORN, FEAR FACORY, SEPULTURA, HELMET, DEFTONES, AT THE GATES, KYUSS, TYPE O NEGATIVE, ENSLAVED, NAPALM DEATH, KILLING JOKE, SOUNDGARDEN, BOLT THROWER, EMPEROR, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, ALICE IN CHAINS, MACHINEHEAD, TESTAMENT and WHITE ZOMBIE among many others. |
NICHOLAS ARCHIVES
April 2024
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