It’s been quite a busy few years for ANTHRAX. Between the killer Worship Music album and non-stop touring the world; the band has maintained a hectic pace. Originally conceived as a second disc for a deluxe edition of Worship Music, Anthems is mostly made up of inspired 1970s classic rock covers and a couple of remixes. It’s actually the band’s first EP in almost 23 years, since Penikufesin in 1989. For an EP that was recorded all over the world in hotel rooms, backstage green rooms and tour buses; it sure sounds good. ANTHRAX has always done covers almost every album cycle, going back to the Fistful of Metal days. Even “Bring The Noise” was conceived of as a cover before featuring PUBLIC ENEMY on the ground breaking corroborative track and video. The reason the band has done well in past with covers, is their eclectic taste in bands. Anthems continues the trend.
Kicking things off with RUSH‘s “Anthem”, the entire band is heard sounding really inspired. It is no small feat to cover RUSH, let a lone do them justice, but they pull it off. CHARLIE BENANTE and FRANK BELLO in particular play with a lot of passion and respect for the original parts. Benante even slips in a few clever drum fills from “A Passage to Bangkok” a few times and I can’t help but smile every time I hear them. JOEY BELLADONNA, following up his Worship Music performance, sounds phenomenal. His range in line with GEDDY LEE‘s own unwieldy voice at times, but a lot smoother. “Anthem” is easily the best track on the EP.
This is one of the alternate covers that comes with the CD.
I am a huge THIN LIZZY fan and I’m always bummed when I meet people who only know the band from their considerable hits, and not the rest of their catalog. Having already covered the TL minor hit “Cowboy Song” in the 1990′s, I guess I can’t complain about a fairly standard cover of “Jailbreak”. More great vocals from Joey and strong solos from the now departed from the band ROB CAGGIANO (VOLBEAT). Lots of groups have covered AC/DC too, and done so badly I must say. If you are gonna cover a song by a hugely popular band you should a) recreate the song in your special way or b) do a version faithful to the original. ANTHRAX does a pretty standard version of “T.N.T”, but it is still a lot of fun. Belladonna will shock you at how much he sounds like BON SCOTT on the track. Caggiano kills it on the classic guitar solo. I also like Bello’s finger-style bass playing and tone here too. Then the band goes back to the more adventurous territory. BOSTON is always a fun band that you don’t hear covered a lot, because they were insanely accomplished players. “Smokin’” sounds great and the band brought in legendary keyboard player FRED MANDEL (ALICE COOPER/QUEEN/PINK FLOYD/ ELTON JOHN/SUPERTRAMP) who did a terrific job. CHEAP TRICK is another underrated band historically, who balanced pop music with great chops. “Big Eyes” is another atypical choice of song to cover. It is more gritty and less polished than a lot of that bands’ better known material and sounds really fresh here. Then there is the JOURNEY cover. Sigh. I know I am in the vast minority, but I hate JOURNEY and I always will. That being said, the cover of “Keep On Running” is another clever choice, instead of choosing a huge hit, which might have grated on my nerves. The EP closes with two remixes of the album track “Crawl”, the second one being really interesting for its re-casting of of the motifs and pastoral sounding backing vocals. The artwork sounds cool too, conceived by Benante and artist Steven Thomson which promises an ANTHRAX “take” on the artwork of the original bands that were covered. This will be worth buying for Joey’s performance alone, fans of the band, complete-ists, and collectors too.
For those of us in the industry that review albums regularly, you would have to say the first word that often comes to mind when discussing most bands and sub-genres is “retro”. New bands come a long in waves and mini-scenes, flooding our ears with styles that are all a throwback to some point in the distant past. There is a fine line between aping a few riffs and melodies in tribute, and letting an influence shine through in an original context. The problem with a lot of these new jack bands is they never rise above the imitation stage, providing the sonic nostalgia without the chops or the heart to make those sounds their own. I’m pleased to say that SISTER SIN is a band that graduated from the freshman class of a few years ago, and has come into their own as band of quality with something new to say.
In the ten years since forming in Gothenburg, Sweden and especially in the last few years since recording their last album, True Sound of The Underground (Victory), the band has grown a lot. Lots of bands are influenced by the glam rock and pomp of 80s bands like MÖTLEY CRÜE and RATT, but few take it to another level. What sets SISTER SIN apart is that they write honest, anthemic Rock songs that are not contrived sounding. After a first listen to the album they now have much more in common with a old-school JUDAS PRIEST and the NWOBHM than glam. Their album starts off with the sound track-esque “MMXI”, but quickly gives way to the raucous “End of the Line”. Sharp enough to headbang to during the verses, but then opens up with a fierce and catchy chorus. Obvious from the jump off, front woman Liv Jagrell continues her evolution as a powerhouse metal singer with this album. At just under four minutes, it is just about the perfect modern rock song with all of the old touches: shredding solo, gang vocals, cheering crowd and smashing drums. “Fight Song” has a bit of that old flavor of SISTER SIN collaborator and heroine of hard rock, DORO. Jimmy Hiltula’s guitars are strong throughout the record and rely a lot less on stock sounding riffs than before, showing off a maturity I think their fans will notice. “In It For Life” has a lot of character and roughness to it, similar to a late-era THIN LIZZY. Jagrell hold nothing back vocally and in spaces does a very nice job of showing off her improved melodic range. The solo is pure Phil Campbell style: sizzling! “Hearts of Cold” is another snarling rocker that I wish the legion of GUNS `N ROSES copycats would listen to. Liv comes out swinging like a young WENDY O WILLIAMS, and that is saying a lot! That’s how you do it folks. No b.s. Just Rock and Roll! Other top songs on the album are “The Chosen Few”, “Running Low” and “Shades of Black”. The surprising and well placed album closer is a lovely ballad. “Morning After” took me completely by surprise and shows of Jagrell in yet another interesting light, with her emotionally wrought performance as one of the best of the last year.
Here is Keefy’s final Top Ten from his overall Top 40 Metal Albums of 2012 list! Enjoy!
#10. CRYPTOPSY- Cryptopsy (Self Released)
To paraphrase comedian Chris Rock, I’m tired of apologizing for CRYPTOPSY. I was in the minority among people when I loved The Unspoken King. I’m sure as people are reading this; they are scratching their heads again. No matter, CRYPTOPSY has silenced all their critics with an album that matches the best work of their career. A brutal slab of technical death metal on every level the album is great for all the reasons that made the band stellar in the first place. Obviously, people talk about the inhuman level of Drummer FLO MOUNIER. However, the real strength of the band is returning guitarist and writer JON LEVASSEUR and mainstay guitarist/uber producer CHRISITAN DONALDSON. The songs they wrote are superb. I was nervous about Oliver Pinard being able to replace ERIC LANGLOIS on bass, but even he was great too! Lastly, MATT MCGATCHY‘s performance provides the shut the fuck up moment of the year to all the haters. Well done sirs!
#9. PRONG- Carved Into Stone (Long Branch Records/SPV)
I thought my birthday came early this year when PRONG’s new album came out. PRONG has always been one of my favorite bands and all of their recorded output has been always been strong. Carved Into Stone is actually the bands best album since 1996′s Rude Awakening. Not only is the album full of sick tunes, but over the top, guitar playing in general is terrific. TOMMY VICTOR (DANZIG, MINISTRY) has been known for two things in his career: great songs and being a riff master general. The album displays an unexpected depth for any record in 2012. Packed with just the right touch of technical mastery and catchy songwriting to please and the hardcore soul, which hearkens back to Tommy’s NYC metal roots. The performances from TONY CAMPOS (SOULFLY/ MINISTRY/STATIC-X/ASESINO/POSSESSED/OTEP) and ALEXI RODRIGUEZ (ex-3 INCHES OF BLOOD) are matched perfectly too, making this one of the baddest power trio’s around.
#8. GOJIRA – L’Enfant Sauvage (Roadrunner)
GOJIRA albums, when they come out, are an event. The metal world waits with baited breath and the results are always stellar. Armed with a new deal from Roadrunner, the band put out L’Enfant Sauvage over the summer to roars of approval. Perhaps, even I was too cynical to believe that GOJIRA would continue to get increasingly popular as they stayed true to who they were? L’Enfant Sauvage is a great blend of theProgressive Rock/Metal, Tech Death, old-school Death Metal and Thrash influences they are known for. Then there is their subject matter: they are one of the most thoughtful and socially conscious bands around, lyrically. The album hits the right mood on every level, every time and has the musical confidence of a band much more senior in years. Songs like “Explosia”, “The Axe” and “Liquid Fire” are going to be talked about in metal head circles for years to come.
#7. CANNIBAL CORPSE- Torture (Metal Blade)
Like a beautifully marbled steak or a legendary work of art, CANNIBAL CORPSE truly does get better with age. It seems likely that much like SLAYER, the death metal godfathers will keep right on trucking on to oblivion, making skull splitting, gore filled albums for as long as they can. Torture is perfect in every way and all of the things you love about the band are in the mix. Perhaps due to being the most collaborative written album in the bands history, the sound from song to song is quite eclectic. Not like Dubstep, power-ballad eclectic, mind you, but the band has figured out how to blend different song styles seamlessly. Inventive new chord structures and riffs, hard to fathom bass lines and stupendous drumming are all topped off by GEORGE “CORPSEGRINDER” FISHER‘s impeccable voice from hell. Plus, don’t forget the grooves. Oh those crushing grooves! Nobody writes a grooving-ass, brutal riff better than ALEX WEBSTER. The band continues to be the yard stick by which all death metal music and consequently, all death metal bands are measured.
#6. C.O.C. – C.O.C. (Candlelight)
That C.O.C. was able to make a comeback as a trio at this point in their career is not a surprise. The fact that they reunited to make an amazing album is not even a question. What I am surprised by, is that it seems like the rest of the world has caught up to the sound of the band and the love from fans and the press is over flowing. When last we saw C.O.C. as a trio it was the 80s and they were mostly an underground phenomenon. Lots of bands like to say they were influenced by the Sludgy, Crossover Doom masters, but in this age of the Internet; flattery goes a long way to help a new bands rep.To hear WOODY WEATHERMAN tell it, the reunion circuit was totally un-interesting to the band, unless they were gonna make new music. C.O.C., the album has more quality and vitality than many of the upstarts of the genre they helped put on the map. MIKE DEAN‘s bass is full of fuzz and style; Woody‘s soloing is on fire and REED MULLEN, back for the first time in over decade, drums and sings like a man possessed. Let us not forget the poignant political lyrics, much welcomed in these troublesome times of a divided America. You might say the metal world needed C.O.C. to come back, as much as they needed to make a comeback themselves.
#5. MESHUGGAH- Koloss (Nuclear Blast)
What can you say about MESHUGGAH that hasn’t been said already? It’s not hard to run out of superlatives when talking about the most influential metal band of the last fifteen years. Whether Koloss was going to be great or not was likely not debatable. What was up for grabs, was what direction these geniuses would take the iconic music we have all come to expect. The results were stunning. Can you change things up, and still be the same band? By definition no, but that is MESHUGGAH for you. Koloss is a collection of songs much like the rest of the bands’ storied catalog: brutal, and complex. Most of the songs feature a pulsing groove that has come to the fore in the bands work of late. Every beat and riff is a maelstrom of twisting delight, overlapping time signatures and finger-defying licks galore. Most of all, the album sets another technical high water-mark for guitarist FREDRICK THORDENDAL and drummer TOMAS HAAKE.
#4. TESTAMENT- Dark Roots Of Earth (Nuclear Blast)
The return of TESTAMENT to their former level of greatness is nothing short of a triumph for all of metal. 2008′s Formation of Damnation was an excellent comeback album, after almost a decade of no new music. In the interim years since getting back together, they have toured tirelessly around the world, reignited their chemistry and fulfilled the promise of their early career. Dark Roots of Earth takes the concept of the old-school Thrash style, added a modern sensibility and took it all one step further. Only EXODUS and ANTHRAX have been able to pull of the feat of making new music for modern ears, staying true to their past and begin able to add a level of panache. ERIC PETERSON finally got his dream come true by getting GENE HOGLAN to write and record drums for a TESTAMENT album. The unrelenting bottom end of the songs gives the band a new power they have never had. Every song is a gem. “Native Blood” is one of the catchiest, yet grooviest songs I’ve heard in ages. The chorus is also the best of 2012. CHUCK BILLY‘s ageless voice carries the day and ALEX SKOLNICK displays the chops that verify his legions of fans. Even GREG CHRISTIAN is heard from, with some excellent bass lines. Dark Roots of Earth is all killer and positively no filler.
#3. BARONESS- Yellow And Green (Relapse)
One of the most anticipated albums of 2012 did not disappoint when BARONESS dropped the latest in their color-themed recent discography. The band made no pretense that this album would be not be metal and frankly, that was OK by me. If you have been following the band, they have been less concerned with the trappings of fitting in, in their career up to this point. They instead stayed true to their artistic authenticity. What BARONESS delivered is a double-album of incredible songs, displaying great chops and the best dynamics overall of any album on this list. Some of the songs are quite heavy, but more often than not, that heaviness never came the expense of melodies or tones. “Take My Bones Away” was my out and out favorite song of the entire year. “March To The Sea” was another stone cold rocker, the likes that haven’t been heard since the heyday of QUEEN or THIN LIZZY. Some of the best moments are the most unexpected ones; like the freak-out synth work in “Cocanium”. All of the keyboard work is stellar as is the bass playing, which band leader John Baizley played all of too. “Back Where I Belong”, “Eula” and “Board Up The House” will also rank at the top of the bands’ song book for years to come. The “Green” side of the double set is equally tuneful and more mellow, but no less mint song-craft wise. Finally, tying it all together is the brilliant cover artwork, the years’ best; also by Baizley once again.
#2. DYING FETUS- Reign Supreme (Relapse)
DYING FETUS is such a great band in its current incarnation that one almost forgets there were entire years in their history marked by upheavals and departures. The present day lineup has been intact since 2007 and the comfort level they have together creating the most brutal Death Metal possibly known to man is sky high. Through it all, JOHN GALLAGHER has been the one constant: constantly growing as a guitarist and writer and constantly writing pissed the fuck off, baffling and sick lyrics. Reign Supreme might be remembered years from now as one of the top three releases of the bands’ career with its non-stop violence inspired songs. GALLAGHER and his p-i-c SEAN BEASLEY crush it out of the park on the guttural vocals. Beasley, who was always an underrated bassist for the genre, plays some of the best passages ever recorded for the instrument in the context of technical death metal. TREY WILLIAMS also one-ups his performance from Descend Into Depravity, being a might less technical, but still precise as fuck and bludgeoning as all hell. His blasts are far and away my favorite of any drummer on album this entire year. The album is a masterpiece of death metal brilliance, and that is really saying something considering how deep the sub-genre is these days.
#1. IHSAHN- Eremita (Candlelight)
In what was a high quality year at the top of the heap of metal music, IHSAHN‘s fourth solo outing is my choice for the album of the year. It’s not the sexy choice compared with typical years past, but it is the best choice, by far. Eremita is a sprawling, ambitious album full of musical twists and turns, yet perfectly coalescing into a sensible piece of art. In an interview I conducted with him for Metal Army he talked about the creative process as a continual evolution, a death followed by a rebirth. That would just begin to cover the emotional and lyrical depth in the music. In many ways, this is the album that IHSAHN, famously known as the legendary front man of EMPEROR, has been building up to for his entire career. His mastery as a composer, guitarist, vocalist and lyricist is without equal at this point in his career. Musically the songs cover the gamut of emotions and styles and reveal a complexity that mirrors the artist himself. Songs like “Arrival”, “The Paranoid”, “Something Out There”, “The Eagle And The Snake” and “Departure” are among the best of the year. Topping off the package are the guest performances by the likes of DEVIN TOWNSEND, JEFF LOOMIS, EINAR SOLBERG (LEPROUS), JEFF MUNKENBY on sax and IHSAHN’s wife HEIDI S. TVEITEN‘s enchanting vocal turns, which sends the quality of the album into the stratosphere.
Throwback. It’s a word not often enough associated with modern hard rock music for my taste. Most bands struggle to properly represent an amalgam of their influences and pour out anything original, let alone inspired sounding. There is just a lack of great, unrepentant, kick-ass rock `n roll bands these days and that makes me sad. Sometimes a band comes along that not only does the history of the style justice, but also has something new to give us too, we the masses that are hungry to rock. That is why the new EP by THE BLACKFIRES has me so pumped up. It definitely answers the question of “what is the future of rock music” with a resounding hail of riffs and cymbal crashes that scream yes!
Recorded live at The Cutting Room in New York City, it is not quite a live show recording in the traditional sense. All the same, true live albums are hard to pull off these days, but the band definitely sounds lively and tight. From the opening snarl of the guitar licks in “Rocker Child” you hear the blend and balance of ZEPPELIN, SABBATH, GUNS, LIZZY, DEEP PURPLE and more along with a modern, rough hewn charm. Aggressive and slick, the track is a great intro to the band for the indoctrinated and would make a terrific set-list starter too based on how vital is sounds. Singer Cheggi channels his inner Plant, Freddy throughout the song and he’s not afraid to back up that front man bravado with his range and delivery. “Gambit” continues the charge with some killer guitar chops on display and more out of this world singing. The song goes through several tempo shifts and dramatic swells that will recall the best of a bygone era in music. Not only is axe-slinging tight, but bassist Ryan Egan holds is down all the time with his colorful playing and thick tone. “Livewire Babies” is a song that will take you by surprise and could be a potential single-type track, in spite of its impressive running time. There is a definitely a lot of AC/DC influence happening there, but I also hear remnants of early SOUNDGARDEN with Cheggi displaying his confidence in his ability. This song also has the best lead guitar work on the album and great lyrics. The key change in the final coda of the song is pure rock royalty in my book. “Just A Thrill” is the dark horse of the album. In addition to its grit and heaviness as a song, it benefits from a killer beat supplied by the bands’ drummer and secret weapon, Ilan Harel. It is such a raw and passion filled song that you almost get sideswiped by the earthy breakdown and eventual rave up to the finale. “Primal Love” closes out the affair. A sprawling, power-ballad with a lot of soul, I think this is a good track to end things with. Fans will have tear in their eye and their lighters out when this one comes on.
THE BLACKFIRES are definitely gunning for the big time with this release and putting a lot of bands in their scene on notice. For more information check out their website here.
THE BLACKFIRES: Bringing the SOUL back to Rock ‘N Roll.
Another stunning masterpiece album cover by John Baizley.
Another of the most anticipated albums of 2012 dropping this summer is by BARONESS. I have been a huge fan of the band since before they were popular so I will admit I have been excited for this album like a little girl getting a pony on her fifth birthday. After 2009′s Blue Album blew up and catapulted them to the top of every taste makers lists (it ranked #2 for me that year, by a nose behind MASTODON’s Crack The Skye), I didn’t have to rave about this band that few knew about anymore. Usually two things happen when a band reaches this level: they plateau and disappoint or they rise to the occasion and deliver a masterpiece. Rest assured, BARONESS has done the latter and then some.
With a sweeping double album, Yellow and Green has continued the journey the band has been on for several albums. Although the songs are still full of spirit and vitriol and packed with Olympian guitar work, musically the band has moved away from metal and potatoes Sludge influenced Prog-rock. What they have done is transform their sound, without constraints and wrote flat-out brilliant songs. They may lose some long time fans in the process, but similar to MASTODON and OPETH, this has been a long time coming. Some songs rage and others ebb and flow gently. All of them have a character and a soulfulness lacking in a lot of today’s music. Tiny details, amazing little bits of genius carefully put into the tracks that make each listen more rewarding. It is the sound of a band fully gelling, although defined and led by John Baizley’s creative fire
Yellow… is the more uptempo and rocking side of the two, but not in strict terms. After “Yellow Theme” sets the table as many BARONESS records have done before you have the rollicking singles like “Take My Bones Away” and “March To the Sea”. Without the use of metals’ clichés of over-driven amps and palm-muted chords, these songs stand on their own, and still damn heavy. Still, the beauty of the album is in mellower, but deeper cuts like “Little Things” and “Twinkler” that will be a treat for your ears and heart. Heady and emotive like all the greats: QUEEN, THIN LIZZY, late-era LED ZEPPELIN or early psychedelic-era PINK FLOYD, these albums took you on a mental journey into mystery the first time you heard them. “Cocanium” is a straight out 70′s Pop-Rock delight that could have been at home on a JOE WALSH or STEVE MILLER album. Gritty, mature and possessing dynamite bass lines and keyboard parts. Baizley actually played all of the bass on the album too since new bassist Matt Maggioni hadn’t joined until late in the writing process. Whether it’s the catchy “Back Where I Belong” or the transcendent “Eula”, every song has goose-bump inducing moments from both Baizley and Peter Adams in the guitar work.
Green… is very interesting by itself. I listened to the entire album together many times already, but Green has its own merits alone too. It’s not a case of one side being rockers and the other a chill out. Quite the opposite. Both albums have their different tones and timbres. “Green Theme” is actually a little less somber and more up beat than the earlier side intro song. Drummer Allen Blickle might have had to hold back a little more overall than his usual ferocious attack, but it may very well be his best playing of his career. “Board Up The House” has wonderful dynamic range as does “Mtns. (The Crown &Anchor)”. Baizley’s philosophical story telling gets an additional boost from some harmonized vocal lines that will make you think of THE BEATLES. “Collapse” is another gem of song craft also. “Stretchmarker” is soft and introspective while “The Line Between” is one of the hardest songs of the set. “If I Forget Thee, Lowcountry” puts a dreamy end to the opus. Yellow and Green is not only the perfect soundtrack to summer, it is the best album of this mighty bands’ career.
BARONESS sheds the typical trappings of metal for something more.
I have a lot of respect for what Heavy Artillery is doing for the old school, traditional and heritage metal scenes, releasing such stellar power/thrash gems as Sign of the Jackal whilst remaining unerringly true to their metallic cause. All too often, however, I see new releases from bands like Midnight Chaser and just shake my head. Arriving with faux ironic 80s cover art-which is bright, ironic and laughably terrible-Rough and Tough claims 70s inspired hard rock roots, but the depth of execution really leaves a bit to be desired, despite the points earned for taking their name from a White Spirit song.
Yikes.
Musically speaking, the guitar abilities of Stephen Lauck are workmanlike and effective-if a bit simplistic-evoking positive memories of Saxon, Thin Lizzy and Diamond Head at times, while the vocals of Scott Attwood are a bit nasal, but succeed in a manner which is half Bob Mayo (Wargasm) and half Kevin Heybourne (Angel Witch). In more recent news, it seems as if ex-Mordred/Laaz Rockit axeman Sven Soderlund has joined the band’s ranks on second guitar, so perhaps the sophomore effort will pack a bit stronger punch.
For as it stands now, it’s the silly songs like “Cougar’d” which really bring Midnight Chaser down, sounding more like Steel Panther/Darkness styled cheese than anything forged in fire or baptized in steel. Missteps like this-combined with the one-dimensional, unimaginative direction of the songwriting-make Rough and Tough a difficult album to recommend to anyone other than those with low standards for their 70s/80s retro rock.
David White is one of the most identifiable and consistent lead singers in all of American Thrash metal. As the front man for the majority HEATHEN’s history, he was part of the birth and rise of Bay Area Thrash and watch as it grew into a phenomenon. On the comeback trail of late with a re-energized lineup, they dropped The Evolution of Chaos (Nuclear Blast) last year and are on their first full North American tour since 1998. Directly after getting off the stage in Boston, David graciously sat down with me to talk about the present tour, their past history and the future.
MAA: You just played your first show ever in Boston. How is the tour going?
DW: It’s been good. This is actually our third tour in the last year. We’ve done two tours of Europe and this is our first American run since 1988. Touring with DESTRUCTION has been great. We toured Europe with them and shared a bus with them a couple of months ago on the tour with OVERKILL. We’ve known them for a long time. They are great friends of ours and we get along with them really well. We had some different things happen at the beginning of the tour. We have a new road manager, trying to whip him into shape. He’s a really young guy, a little bit green and of course he thinks he knows it all. But he doesn’t really know it all yet. He’s getting better. We had a shit bus to start off the tour, all kinds of crazy problems, popping tires, breaking down. Then our driver didn’t have a passport so he couldn’t get into Vancouver, so we had to get another driver. But we got a new bus after a breakdown in Barstow, right after playing San Diego. We waited all day at the repair station in the middle of nowhere and then we got a new bus at 12:30 AM. We had to make a bee-line straight to Denver. The driver only stopped to use the bathroom a few times. We arrived at 10:30 and both bands played on WARBEAST’s gear just so we could do the show. Ever since then it’s picked up and been better.
MAA: What’s the crowd reaction been like since you guys are back after a long layoff?
DW: San Diego, there were some people there and the people that were there were really into it. But it wasn’t a big crowd because it was a Monday night or something. But it started to pick up and we’ve had some really good shows. Ottawa and Montreal were amazing! Chicago and Cleveland were really good. Detroit we didn’t get to play since there was a double booking with THE CAVALERA CONSPIRACY and the promoter didn’t want to pay all of the guarantees. So that sucked. We still had a nice little day off. Then we came down to Baltimore. Good show, but a small crowd which was a bummer since we had two good ones, maybe three in a row so that was a bit of a lull. Then last night we made it to New York and it was a crazy good show at a big venue. Coming into Boston for the first time was a big deal for me because I’m a big baseball fan, football fan and hockey fan. So I tried to trip around the city a little bit, checked out Fenway Park just up the block and took the tour which was cool. Unfortunately, the Sox are out of town. What was really cool was in Baltimore a few of us took a cab to Camden Yards, bought cheap tickets and saw the Orioles play the Seattle Mariners. Nice ballpark. As for Boston, the kids tonight…. it was just a different intensity coming off from the crowd which was nice. It’s a nice, intimate little club (Church). There was good crowd in the front and a nice pit there in the middle with a bunch of people in the back too. I could just see that everyone was into it. I just felt the vibe from them. When we feel that from the crowd then there is just no stopping us and we just plow right through the set. I would have loved to keep playing, but we had some time constraints. The kids are great here! We loved it!
HEATHEN, led by David White is back and better than ever!
MAA: With several classic albums to choose from, how do you come up with the set list for the tour?
DW: For this tour our drummer Darren Minter couldn’t make the tour so we hired a replacement drummer in Jon Dette (SLAYER/TESTAMENT). He only had so much time to learn the songs. A lot of them are long and complicated. So we gave him a list of songs and we really wanted to push the new album because it’s still fresh. And then the older songs we do play feel fresh too, because we have played them for so long. But we only had so much time and Jon didn’t have enough time to learn all of those. We predicated the set on what he could learn in a short amount of time and have tightened some things up along the way as we go.
MAA: Do you almost have to play “Death By Hanging” every night?
DW: (Laughs) We’ll you know we just played the Europe tour with OVERKILL and DESTURCTION and we had only thirty minutes to play every night. We only played new songs. We did “Dying Season”, “Controlled By Chaos”, “Arrows (in Agony)” and “No Stone Unturned” and that’s how it ended. You know the kids were like “whaaaat”, but that’s all we could do constrained by that amount of time. And you know Schmeir was like (imitates Schmeir’s thick German accent) “Why you don’t play “Death By Hanging”? You have to play that, you have to play that!”. So we made sure to pull that out of the hat on this tour for sure.
MAA: The Evolution of Chaos album is really strong all the way through. What was the writing process like for the album and how did you ratchet the HEATHEN machine back up again?
DW: It was kind of a slow process. There were some riffs that we had that Lee actually came up with before we ever split going back to 1992-93. Stuff we’d been hashing around for a while. I remember that time frame from when we decided were gonna put the band back together right before the “Thrash of the Titans” show (2001) and before we did Wacken. After Wacken we decided “let’s fucking do this!”. I remember Lee calling me on the phone and shouting “I got it, I’ve got my Emerald”. See THIN LIZZY is one of mine and Lee’s favorite bands and Lee had come up with the part to “A Hero’s Welcome”. He played it to me on an acoustic over the phone and I heard it and went okay! We had something there! Sort of like an evolutionary process. We did a shoe-string tour of Europe in 2005 with NUCLEAR ASSAULT, but when Lee joined EXODUS things slowed down, a lot. But we kept shopping the demo and forging ahead. I had done some session work with Kragen’s (Lum) band PROTOYPE and Terry had left so Kragen came into audition. He was so well prepared we didn’t even try out the guys scheduled after him. Kragen wrote a new song and then another one and another one. Our bassist Jon Torres wrote some, one of which made the album. While Lee was away and busy I spent a lot more time on my own and actually wrote a few songs on pro tools with Jon. I had to throw down some ideas and then show them to Lee later on. So we could have been a little better prepared at the start of the recording. And there was a lot of arguing and fighting and agreeing and disagreeing, but what you have is a pretty crushing record. I am very proud of it. I’m proud of the guys for what they put down musically, but I feel it is my best vocal set I’ve ever done. Lyrically I think came across as much more personal from me. It talks more about my life experiences and our life experiences as a band, so it’s much more grounded in who we are as people.
MAA: “Bay Area Thrash” is going to be thirty years old soon. What does that mean to you?
DW: It’s funny because I played in a band called BLIND ILLUSION and we weren’t thrash at all. EXODUS had their own scene and they were first to go in a more metal direction. I went to high school with all of those guys. We used to have EXODUS come play with us because we played halls and parties and parks before doing clubs. They were more influenced by The New Wave of British Heavy Metal like IRON MAIDEN AND JUDAS PRIEST, while we were more into RUSH, KING CRIMSON, BLACK SABBATH, DEEP PURPLE and LED ZEPPELIN. They were more on the cutting edge and they really were the ones that started it in the Bay. METALLICA had started doing it in LA too, because Lars was very in tune with the British heavy metal trip. When they first came up they did some shows with EXODUS. And a lot of people were affected by those two bands and started doing a similar style. METALLICA decided to stay when they got Cliff Burton in the band. This is before Kirk Hammett even joined. Different bands started to pop up like DEATH ANGEL and MORDRED. I left BLIND ILLUSION and Lee had started HEATHEN with Sam Kress on vocals. And actually I was going to jam with and audition for RUFFIAN which was more like, not posers but more of a rocking type metal band and not thrash. Good band though. And I ran into Leah Schecter, who was Lee’s girlfriend at the time and she was like what are you doing here? I said I’m here to audition for RUFFIAN. And she was like no, my boyfriend’s band is looking for a singer you should call him. And I’m sitting here now. I joined in 1986. HEATHEN then entered the fray at that point too. Then VIO-LENCE popped up and FORBIDDEN. A lot of new bands formed around that time.
MAA: Is there a time table yet for another album?
DW: We are definitely going to be doing a new record. We have material already that was not on “Evolution..”. Not that they weren’t good enough for “Evolution”. Certain songs that were ready were focused on for that record. But songs that weren’t fully developed will be finished off for another record. Kragen’s got new stuff already. We’re already 30-40% done with material. But since (the tour) has been going on we haven’t got in a room and said let’s do this! We’ve been focused on pushing this record as far as we can and getting the band in the right position before making the next one. We’ve made some lineup changes, management changes, um there could be some other changes in the future too like booking agents, who knows. We want to be in the right position with HEATHEN so we can keep doing it as much as possible. I would say we should have a new album out within the next year.
MAA: That’s awesome- thanks for taking the time to chat!
DW: No problem.
(Special thanks to Dave White, Kragen Lum and Lee Altus of EXODUS, Liz Civarella-Brenner of Earsplit PR, and Aaron from Return to the Pit).
Taking their name from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings saga years before countless Norwegian black metal acts felt required to follow suit, California’s Cirith Ungol remain one of traditional heavy metal’s more obscure and cult names.
Yet, the band has received reverential treatment amongst modern day practitioners of the metal art, widely regarded as an influence to bands as diverse as Finnish doomsters Reverend Bizarre and the equally legendary Darkthrone, whose songwriter/drummer Fenriz holds the band in particular regard.
Bursting out from the late 70s heavy rock boom, Cirith Ungol possessed a warm, analog sound which sounded vintage even in the early 80s. This was due primarily to sadly departed guitarist Jerry Fogle wild-eyed, demonic lead playing; the sort which was rife with melodic abandon, and an unapologetic, emotional assault. Anchored by drummer Rob Garven, bassist Flint and guitarist Greg Lindstrom-who continues the fight to this day with his old school act Falcon-Fogle and Cirith Ungol cut a swath as a truly original act of the day, despite the fact that most fans and critics didn’t seem to quite ‘get’ the band’s approach.
One element of Cirith Ungol which fans particularly found frustrating were the love it-or-hate it tone of singer Tim Baker, whose piercing, almost whining wail served as both integral and detrimental to the band’s collective sound. Baker’s voice lead the charge, however, inimitably sounding the call on the band’s blower 1980 debut, Frost and Fire.
Steeped in old school sword and sorcery artwork and lyrical themes, Frost and Fire spoke of the band’s youth; of an obsession with pulp fiction and mythical tales, cut from the cloth of such authors as Conan’s Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock’s Elric series. This Eternal Champion selection of stories would prove particularly important for Cirith Ungol, with Michael Whelan’s iconic Elric artwork arguably proving as important as Tolkien to the band’s overall oeuvre.
While yours truly holds Frost and Fire as his particular Ungol favorite-due primarily to the album’s frantic bass lines and killer, Thin Lizzy inspired guitar work-most hold 1984′s King of the Dead as the band’s true masterpiece. It was on this album where Cirith Ungol’s style began to cohesively formulate into a controlled, palpable legacy; where Fogle, Lindstrom, Garven and crew would cement the neo-doom metal style which would be their calling card.
Although still very much in the fantasy metal realm, King of the Dead was far more menacing in structure and scope, sounding almost progressive when compared to the classic rock stylings of the debut. These were longer, more involved songs; menacing epics which led the listener down darkened paths of magic and monsters, where any shadow might hide a glinting, shimmering swing of steel…and ultimate death.
Such standout tracks from King of the Dead as “Atom Smasher” and “Black Machine” would prove to be the band’s calling card, not to mention the blower, eponymously-titled closing number “Cirith Ungol,” which reiterated Tim Baker’s howl: “CIRITH UNGOL! TOWER OF FIRE!!”
1986 would usher in One Foot in Hell, a sleeker effort which, although a bit quicker and more stripped down, still possessed all of the requisite Ungol elements which had served them well to that day. “100 MPH” and the anthemic, Elric anthem “Nadsokor” would prove to be standouts from the record; a third solid strike for Cirith Ungol, who sadly still remained a cult phenomenon for most metal fans at the time.
It wasn’t until 1991′s Paradise Lost where things started to catch up to Cirith Ungol. Perceived as ‘too outdated’ by Restless Records and their Roadrunner distributors, the album received nil as far as touring and promotion, sadly falling into obscurity, and essentially dooming the band. Although the weakest of Cirith Ungol’s studio output, the commercial rock approach of Paradise Lost isn’t exactly bad as it is unfocused; a stark change of pace from the band’s stately, magical metal beginnings. Still, the album-if you can find it-is worth a listen, even as a curiosity piece.
It’s Frost and Fire and King of the Dead which remain the true cornerstones of Cirith Ungol’s history, however; their legacy carved in stone, required listening for all metal fans whose interests lean towards the mystical and fantastic.
Many rock and heavy metal fans know Eddie Trunk today from his television shows on VH1 Classic and from SiriusXM radio shows. However, most people don’t know that the knowledgeable and affable personality was a key figure in helping make heavy music popular in America. He has mined his career and his memories with his newly released compendium of bands he feels are indispensable.
Before Eddie Trunk became the host of That Metal Showhe had a career in radio and the music business, promoting underground bands on his radio shows and later as an integral member of Megaforce/Atlantic Records. It was there that he helped launch the careers of ANTHRAX, OVERKILL, RAVEN, KING’S X and MANOWAR. He also helped start and rejuvenate the solo career of ACE FREHLEY of KISS and promoted countless bands of the classic hard rock, glam rock, New Wave of British Heavy metal and thrash genres. Later on he appeared on the short lived, but amazing Q104.3 Pure Rock and Metal station in New York in the mid 90′s and that catapulted him to further success in radio that ultimately led to him hosting several nationally syndicated and satellite rock shows currently. His website is actually a good source of news and insights into the industry. Not only is he an in-demand MC for metal and rock shows, he organized the classic NY Steel show after 9/11 and was also the host of RONNIE JAMES DIO’s funeral.
Trunk is extremely thorough with the biography of each group, listing classic lineups and albums and often making keen observations about their impact on music. All of the entries are lovingly written with the seriousness of a journalist and the heart of fanboy in some cases. He makes no bones about justifying his many opinions and he tries to always back them up with strong facts. Most of the major bands from the seventies, eighties and nineties are covered in full detail such as BLACK SABBATH, LED ZEPPELIN, THIN LIZZY, JUDAS PRIEST, ALICE COOPER, KISS, IRON MAIDEN, MOTORHEAD, VAN HALEN, AC/DC, RUSH, WHITESNAKE, OZZY, METALLICA, MEGADEATH, SLAYER, ANTHRAX, PANTERA, GUNS `N ROSES, MOTELY CRUE, POISON, BON JOVI and more. I recognize typing this that some of those names are no brainers that anyone would have and some of those names have never appeared before on Metal Army America at all! Critics bash some of the favorites he champions like his man-crush on UFO (historically important to some, others tire of hearing about them). He also didn’t play favorites with OVERKILL whom he is friends with personally, but only has a token entry. In addition the book is full of great lists, and trivia answers that are great conversation starters for your metal friends. There is also the phenomenal photography of bands and memorabilia by Ron Akiyama that is worth the price of the book alone. None other than the Metal God ROB HALFORD wrote the forward for the book and sang Eddie’s praises as a colleague and a friend.
If you are looking for modern era bands or any current underground genres you’ll need to go elsewhere as the newest band that came out and is featured is BLACK LABEL SOCIETY (whose entry to me is a bit suspect over some others). As Eddie often says about his TV and radio shows he loves many modern bands, but there are enough people covering other genres and the younger generation so he doesn’t need to. In fairness to him Eddie’s strength is he knows his territory, blankets it really well and scores points for not trying to be something he isn’t. If you have a friend, kid brother or sister discovering heavy music for the first time now, or your parents love rock and metal from 1968 to 2000 this is book would be the perfect gift for them.
Primordial-Redemption at the Puritan’s Hand (Metal Blade)
Given that this is Primordial’s seventh studio outing, not much should be expected when it comes to change or progression.
This has been both a blessing and a curse for these Irish black/pagan metallers; a semi-albatross which has followed Primordial throughout their career. Although vocalist Alan Nemtheanga and crew have remained remarkably consistent in terms of quality control since their 1995 debut, Imrama, the fact remains that Primordial inhabits a very niche corner of the extreme metal realm; a place where-despite possessing their fair share of fans-the band has languished within a predictable songwriting pattern for many years.
Redemption at the Puritan’s Hand, for better or worse, doesn’t do anything to extradite itself from this fact, utilizing the same, churning chords and mid pace, martial drumming which has thus far been the band’s stylistic trademark. Nemtheanga, of course, is as passionate as ever on the vocal charge; one of Primordial’s strongest assets and most iconic elements. Unfortunately, even Alan’s delivery has become predictable when placed upon his bandmates’ one eyed vision of composition; it’s as if we’ve heard all this before, and it’s starting to become old.
Of course, some fans feel safe, knowing they can expect a measurable amount of delivery and quality from their favorite bands. Yet, I’ve always felt that Primordial was both capable of better and DESERVED more than they’ve achieved. There simply needs to be more of an exciting dynamic within the guitars of Ciaran MacUliam and Micheal O’Floinn in order to breathe life into these songs, however passionate.
Honesty just isn’t enough these days for Primordial, particularly when Nemtheanga has so expertly spread his wings with the Blood Revolt project recently. Maybe it’s time for some fresh blood, and a new approach, but Redemption At the Puritan’s Hand sounds like every Primordial effort before it…whether or not this appeals to you, the listener, is the real question.
