HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

Post by vol.2 »

I didn't pay attention to Pantera long enough to realize they were like that; that's disappointing.
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

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Air Master Burst wrote:I mean, the stupid confederate shit is part of why I couldn't really get into Pantera much even back in the 90s; they were never exactly subtle about it. They did an entire album with David Allan Coe, which is a pretty good indication of the kind of dudes they are.
Wasn't this one was it :shock:

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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

Post by Air Master Burst »

I think it's actually pretty boring as far as lyrical content goes, although I haven't heard it in ages. I don't remember it being anything more than really bog-standard country nonsense with some good guitar work. Pretty sure it was the last thing Dimebag ever recorded, so there's that.

It does have a giant confederate flag for the album cover, though, which isn't exactly a subtle statement in the US.
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

Post by BIL »

DAC vexes me, because he's got (AFAIK) one genuinely hideous song, and a whole lot of hilarious and/or just plain good ones about the timeless literary pursuit of getting blind drunk and thrashing the pussy like a baby born addicted to crack. Even the song in question is quality music, and some of the lyrics are more ruefully self-deprecating than hateful.

And to think I licked the pusseh! / Where that big, black dick had been!
And kissed the lips, that sucked him off! / Time and time again!


A real southern lament. :lol: Incidentally, ol' DAC would find himself in hotter water round my yard for admitting to giving head, than anything he had to say about black people. You don't talk about bowcat! In polite society or otherwise! >_>

But yeah, holy fuck. My old racist redneck uncle in musical form. I suppose that's why I similarly like him quite a bit, but don't pop around that often. Besides the quintessentially dastardly "Three Biggest Lies" ("Good buddeh!"), I'm partial to the soulful "Cum Stains On The Pillow," and the straight-ahead bar band barrage of "Rock n' Roll Fever."

Oh Lord, it breaks my heart / You've been fuckin' all of my friends!

Well, I'm glad for this tangent at any rate, for getting me back into Pantera. Feelin' fine. Image

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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

Post by MOSQUITO FIGHTER »

It’s really amazing the lengthy list of musicians who make questionable choices in their life. I heard an interview with someone before can’t remember who? Maybe Tom Waits? Nick Cave? I don’t know. But he was talking about how music is inherently inappropriate at its core and how that probably has a effect on other aspects of their life and choices.
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

Post by vol.2 »

MOSQUITO FIGHTER wrote:It’s really amazing the lengthy list of musicians who make questionable choices in their life.
Yeah, I mean, that's the whole argument about separating the artist from the art and whatnot. Where should we draw the line, or should there even be a line?

I heard an interview with someone before can’t remember who? Maybe Tom Waits? Nick Cave? I don’t know. But he was talking about how music is inherently inappropriate at its core and how that probably has a effect on other aspects of their life and choices.
I don't really buy that. Music can come from a whole lot of different places. I've never felt anything whatever inappropriate about gamelan music.

Tom Waits is a guy who I'd expect to say something like that; he's a self-important prick that fetishizes taboo, validating himself through it.

And as long as we're in this thread, heavy metal rarely embraces the inappropriate at face value; it's more often framed as a warning.
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

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vol.2 wrote:And as long as we're in this thread, heavy metal rarely embraces the inappropriate at face value; it's more often framed as a warning.
Gahhh, classic. Image I always forget quite how ingeniously complex that record's songs are, especially Side B! So many twists and turns without leaving the floorboard-breaking blues/rock stomp-along.

Interesting thread, the history of heroin and popular music. Idolised by some (Mustaine has some great stories about Gar Samuelson turning him onto "the jazz tradition," nodding off at his drumkit with a cigarette butt burning into his fingertips), excoriated by others (Lemmy being probably the most prominent, photos of him with a then-healthy Phil Lynott being especially poignant).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9cDgchLxJg

Being a square dude who never ventured beyond the odd doobie, I tend to be in the latter camp by default. Lots of talented corpses left in Horse's wake. Johnny Ramone correctly predicted that, even if Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers were deadly rivals to his own outfit in terms of sheer chops, they wouldn't make it more than one LP with the studio looking like a heroin crypt.

I'm sure some clever bastard's written a book or two on the subject. :o
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

Post by Rob »

Speaking of metal and heroin, watched a chunk of the documentary Last Days Here a few weeks back. Absolutely miserable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqkIbn3OQB4

If you guys like Sabbath and don't know Pentagram, do yourself a favor.
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

Post by BIL »

Uncannily perfect timing, was just shopping about for a documentary - will watch that tonight. :smile: Albeit with nothing harder than Guinness! We rawk sensibly in the Biruford household. :cool:
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

Post by Udderdude »

And now for something completely different: Really old MOD music. Yep, hard to believe this is all just samples, but it's actually really good. Same artist (Quasian) did some other stuff on here that's also pretty good.

https://modarchive.org/index.php?reques ... ery=155875

(Protip: Click "Play with Online Player" to play it)
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

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BIL wrote: Gahhh, classic. Image I always forget quite how ingeniously complex that record's songs are, especially Side B! So many twists and turns without leaving the floorboard-breaking blues/rock stomp-along.
It's truly amazing how classic Sabbath is. I can listen to listen to Paranoid today and I'm just as blown away as I was in high school. I feel that way about the first album and Vol.4 as well. Master of Reality has some great songs on it, but I'm less drawn to it for some reason.

Interesting thread, the history of heroin and popular music. Idolised by some (Mustaine has some great stories about Gar Samuelson turning him onto "the jazz tradition," nodding off at his drumkit with a cigarette butt burning into his fingertips), excoriated by others (Lemmy being probably the most prominent, photos of him with a then-healthy Phil Lynott being especially poignant).
Yeah, horse fucked up a good lot of 'em. It's really sad.
Being a square dude who never ventured beyond the odd doobie, I tend to be in the latter camp by default. Lots of talented corpses left in Horse's wake. Johnny Ramone correctly predicted that, even if Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers were deadly rivals to his own outfit in terms of sheer chops, they wouldn't make it more than one LP with the studio looking like a heroin crypt.
I stayed away because I had the chance to see what it does to people at an early age. I was a eager youth, going to hardcore shows and such in DC back when I was 13 y/o, running around all that mess on the streets. I met guys in their 20s that were so strung out they could barely function hanging around in the sidelines. And I was fortunate to have some good friends warn me away from that shit, and who could explain exactly why it was losing proposition.
Rob wrote: If you guys like Sabbath and don't know Pentagram, do yourself a favor.
Those guys are a bit older than me, but we hung out in the same metal scene in the DC area in the 90s. I have been to many, many farmhouse shows in Maryland with Pentagram in attendance, and I met Bobby and Victor before. Joe Hasselvander is a friend, though I haven't seen him for a long time since we both moved away. I'm actually thanked in the liner notes of a Pentagram album called "Sub Basement" as Hawk (my nickname).
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

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Sabbath is actually pretty good for geezer metal, although I really only care for the Dio stuff and the first few Tony Martin albums (not his 90s run). Ozzy's vocals have never done anything for me, and the less said about the Ian Gillan album and whatever the hell Seventh Star was supposed to be the better.

Heroin is pretty intense, I tried it twice (nose only, no needle) and I can see the appeal if you're rich enough to do it all the time. You feel really awesome for a bit, and then you really want more. Never struck me as a creative drug, but then the only art I've ever really done is painting minis, so what the hell would I know? Maybe it makes jamming some sick tunes extra fun.
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

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Air Master Burst wrote:Ozzy's vocals have never done anything for me
He's got a goofy quality that not everyone likes, but the quality of the material on the first four LPs can't be argued with. If you don't like them in spite of Ozzy, you might just not like "Heavy Metal" as an aesthetic per se. Especially if your jam is the Dio stuff, that's more "Metal" territory rather than the older "Heavy" vibe.

If any of them stands out, I would recommend giving Vol 4 another listen, it's more proto-metal than anything else they did, and Patrick Meehan's minimal futurist production makes the whole thing feel like it was recorded on the face of the moon. Ozzy's vocals are so treated on that album that his voice is practically unrecognizable.
Heroin is pretty intense, I tried it twice (nose only, no needle) and I can see the appeal if you're rich enough to do it all the time. You feel really awesome for a bit, and then you really want more. Never struck me as a creative drug, but then the only art I've ever really done is painting minis, so what the hell would I know? Maybe it makes jamming some sick tunes extra fun.
I mean, that's usually how ppl start. I had a few friends that did that a couple times and then never again. And then some who switched from that to a needle and never looked back. It's a steep precipice. And no, it's not something I've seen people do for creative reasons, it's more of an escape and a way to block out the pain of existence, and it becomes self-perpetuating. It's not especially a choice of the rich either. There are better choices if you have the money.
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

Post by Air Master Burst »

vol.2 wrote:He's got a goofy quality that not everyone likes, but the quality of the material on the first four LPs can't be argued with. If you don't like them in spite of Ozzy, you might just not like "Heavy Metal" as an aesthetic per se. Especially if your jam is the Dio stuff, that's more "Metal" territory rather than the older "Heavy" vibe.
Well, I always liked Rainbow and Deep Purple and the heavier prog stuff like King Crimson, but you're probably right. The Dio stuff is all really good, but I also really love the first few Tony Martin albums. Headless Cross especially is a fucking banger, it might be my second-favorite Sabbath album after Mob Rules.

ETA: I also like the Blayze Bayley Maiden albums, so my taste is probably pretty suspect. The Clansman made a dope fucking beat for Brandy on I Tried!
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

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vol.2 wrote:Those guys are a bit older than me, but we hung out in the same metal scene in the DC area in the 90s. I have been to many, many farmhouse shows in Maryland with Pentagram in attendance, and I met Bobby and Victor before. Joe Hasselvander is a friend, though I haven't seen him for a long time since we both moved away. I'm actually thanked in the liner notes of a Pentagram album called "Sub Basement" as Hawk (my nickname).
Damn, cool :o I used to dream of living somewhere with a heavy music scene, as a kid in the 90s. Pretty much all dub/dancehall, great for what it is but not remotely the same experience. Then again, a lot of the guys I wanted to see live were disbanded around then, haha.
vol.2 wrote:
Air Master Burst wrote:Ozzy's vocals have never done anything for me
If any of them stands out, I would recommend giving Vol 4 another listen, it's more proto-metal than anything else they did, and Patrick Meehan's minimal futurist production makes the whole thing feel like it was recorded on the face of the moon. Ozzy's vocals are so treated on that album that his voice is practically unrecognizable.
Vol.4 is my favourite of the first quartet, with the very small caveat of chopping the gimmick tracks. Well, calling "Laguna Sunrise" a gimmick is probably harsh, but it's just not what I want to hear. Ditch that and woodshop wanking snoozer "FX," and all that remains is state of the art blues-metal with glimpses of floor-shattering doom.

Wheels of Confusion
Tomorrow's Dream
Supernaut
Snowblind
Cornucopia
St. Vitus' Dance
Under The Sun


^ CANON TRACKLIST. (■`ω´■) The meat of the LP is somewhat lighter, less floorboard-stomping, yet still unmistakable bluesy proto-doom. Iommi's production and riffs add a certain insistent, mechanistic, metal as fuck drone, soldiering in commiseration with he and Ozzy's respective wails... see the verses of "Wheels of Confusion," would-be title track "Snowblind," and ranking metal relationship counseling tune "St. Vitus' Dance." "Supernaut's" verse riff sounds like a motherfucking angle grinder in a blast furnace. Funky grinder in a groovy furnace.

That said, even without "Snowblind's" tormented paean to cocaine, and the famous liner notes, "Supernaut" makes it beyond obvious they were doing snow angels on the studio floor at this point and losing their gloom. Piss-poor Brummies uprooted to LA and besieged by mountains of money, coke and pussy = less gloom, more vroom. :lol:
Air Master Burst wrote:the less said about the Ian Gillan album and whatever the hell Seventh Star was supposed to be the better.
Unironic Born Again fan checking in. :cool: I think it's got some alright filler ("Trashed," "Hot Line," "Digital Bitch"), and the title track is interestingly spare in its glumness. Ultimately all about "Zero The Hero" and especially "Disturbing The Priest" though. Former's a decent stadium effort with some interesting shades of pure ST/Paranoid gloaming, and I'm a big fan of the latter's sharp dynamics, how it explodes and recedes. Gillan's batshit ad-libs are a hoot, too - that very last one was my ringtone for a bit.

THE DEVIL AND THE PRIEST CAN'T EXIST IF ONE GOES AWAY
IT'S JUST LIKE THE BATTLE OF THE SUN AND THE MOON AND NIGHT AND DAY
Jesus. Image

Apparently the obscenely bassy production was a cockup, or something, with the demos sounding entirely cleaner... I used to have a fan-made copy of the latter, but at some point I just said fuck it and started considering the guttural retail mix the definitive. That demo tape also came with a bonus track "The Fallen" which I recall being rather shit, probably why I dumped it actually.

Seventh Star I can take or leave, but I do think "No Stranger To Love" is very decent as far as hair metal cheese-ballads go (although, the chorus... "Living on the street / I'm no stranger to love" You what, mate? :shock: :lol:), and the title track's entrancing stomp is, like BA's aforementioned duo, worth seeking out.
Headless Cross especially is a fucking banger, it might be my second-favorite Sabbath album after Mob Rules.
Truth, utterly killer record. The only track I think lags behind slightly is "Call Of The Wild" - other than that, blazing quality from start to finish. Martin is totally underrated... there's this live in Germany performance of "Die Young" from (I think) the HC tour, where he genuinely outdoes Dio himself.

Very fond of TYR and to a slightly lesser extent his version of The Eternal Idol, too. "The Sabbath Stones" is a rousing epic, and TEI's title track is legitimately monstrously heavy doom. I tried but could never really get a grip with Cross Purposes, and I'm not sure if I've ever even tried Forbidden.
ETA: I also like the Blayze Bayley Maiden albums, so my taste is probably pretty suspect. The Clansman made a dope fucking beat for Brandy on I Tried!
No shame in The X-Factor, that one's got some sturdy material in its doomier bent. Fond of "Blood On The World's Hands" and "The Edge of Darkness" in particular.

I'm much less fond of Virtual XI, even having picked it up on release BITD, but you're not wrong - Brandy track justifies its existence. :mrgreen:

These days the only Maiden I get really fired up for is ST/Killers, and to a slightly lesser degree Somewhere in Time/Seventh Son. The former are low-flab, punk-streamlined delights; audibly burning with ambition, but never held down by even their headiest compositions. "Phantom Of The Opera" is an early high watermark they only rarely surpassed, imo.

The latter two... when SIT is good, it's startlingly so, as in the opening track's explosive, filmic space-metal gallop, "Sea Of Madness"'s bizarrely pistoning off-kilter riff, darkly evocative bridges and radiant chorus, and the heartfelt panoramic stomp of "Stranger In A Strange Land." "Deja Vu" is some quality spicy filler, too, reminiscent of "Purgatory" with its simple, punky insistence and addictive chorus. Adrian Smith is my favourite of the golden age crew, so it always figured I'd dig the LP he was probably the most involved in the writing of.

Much less into the remainder, it's quality but not stuff I feel nearly as compelled to revisit. As for "Seventh Son," when I'm in the mood for its conspicuously melodic/prog leaning, it's a record I can happily play end-to-end. When I'm not in the mood, I won't go near it and will whack on "Phantom Of The Opera" and "Innocent Exile" instead. :lol:

Actually, there is one other "Maiden" effort I'll still blast loud, that being Bruce, Adrian, Roy Z and company's "The Chemical Wedding."

"ARISE! AWAKE!"

That opening riff, man, like being hit by a ton of chocolate bricks. Image

Blasted the doors off of Virtual XI in 1998, and beats the vast majority of post-reunion Maiden material, imo. Heavy, finessed, ornate without getting up its own ass; gorgeous in spots.

This world in which we live...
I hurl it back!
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

Post by Air Master Burst »

Cross Purposes and especially Forbidden are pretty bad. Cross Purposes was never meant to be a Sabbath album, they just recorded it for fun and then were pressured by the label into making it an official Sabbath release. Forbidden was just shat out to clear up contract obligations in preparation for the big OG reunion that took like 3 decades to actually happen.

As far as I'm concerned, Dehumanizer was the last time Sabbath was worth listening to.

ETA: As far as Maiden goes, I mostly agree with your sentiments (I prefer Paul Di'Anno's vocals to Bruce), although Fear of the Dark is also really fucking great.
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

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Aha, I remember hearing that now, about Cross Purposes/ Forbidden... that was when I gave up on those records. No matter the medium or art-form, I never feel compelled to try too hard with rebadge efforts, if I'm struggling. Sometimes, they've something to offer (I'll go to bat for Silent Hill 4 any time, with a few caveats) - but ultimately, why torment yourself for the sake of a brand name?

IIRC, "Seventh Star" was meant to be an Iommi solo record, before getting rebadged similarly, for that clunking "Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi" cover, oof! The fuck is next, "Motorhead featuring Lemmy?"

This reminds me that he and Glenn Hughes' second go-around Fused is supposed to be really damn good, now there's a record I've been sleeping on for a good couple decades. Guy who raved most memorably was a big "Dehumaniser" fan, which is probably why I remember the recommendation.

EDIT: Gawwwd dayum, "Book Of Thel" just hit. Head-stomping evil, incendiary theatre. Image

The snake and priestess they are one
The veil of flesh is ripped undone


TCW's bookends "Accident of Birth" and "Tyranny of Souls" have some isolated killers, too (particularly the former's tastefully mechanised title track, and the latter's vicious one-two opening of "Abduction" and "Soul Intruders"), but neither hang together with TCW's Seventh Son-calibre continuity.

Now the harlot womb of death
Spits out its rotten core
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

Post by Air Master Burst »

BIL wrote: No matter the medium or art-form, I never feel compelled to try too hard with rebadge efforts, if I'm struggling. Sometimes, they've something to offer (I'll go to bat for Silent Hill 4 any time, with a few caveats) - but ultimately, why torment yourself for the sake of a brand name?
Interestingly enough, the Silent Hill light gun game actually turned out really good too.
BIL wrote:This reminds me that he and Glenn Hughes' second go-around Fused is supposed to be really damn good, now there's a record I've been sleeping on for a good couple decades. Guy who raved most memorably was a big "Dehumaniser" fan, which is probably why I remember the recommendation.
Fused is an album you will probably love. It's not nearly focused enough for my personal preferences, and I still hate Glenn Hughes' vocals, but the guitar work is great.

Also, I need to amend my earlier statement slightly, because technically that Sabbath-with-Halford set happened after Dehumanizer. THAT was the last time Sabbath was worth listening to.
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

Post by vol.2 »

Air Master Burst wrote:
Well, I always liked Rainbow and Deep Purple and the heavier prog stuff like King Crimson, but you're probably right. The Dio stuff is all really good, but I also really love the first few Tony Martin albums. Headless Cross especially is a fucking banger, it might be my second-favorite Sabbath album after Mob Rules.

ETA: I also like the Blayze Bayley Maiden albums, so my taste is probably pretty suspect. The Clansman made a dope fucking beat for Brandy on I Tried!
King Crimson is a whole different animal; they play a clear role in the development of metal, but they aren't it. If anything, their influence is far more obvious in later metal like Mastodon et al. Deep Purple is weird band too, definitely a lot faster and closer to a version of metal that would become a lot more popular in the 80s. These things you are listing are clearly more on the "proto metal" side of the sliding scale, with an emphasis on the proggy stuff which became extremely popular with the youth in the 2000s through all kinds of contemporary bands adopting the aesthetic.

I absolutely HATE Fear of the Dark lol. I liked Maiden up until that album, and then there's been some other later stuff I liked a lot.
BIL wrote: Vol.4 is my favourite of the first quartet, with the very small caveat of chopping the gimmick tracks. Well, calling "Laguna Sunrise" a gimmick is probably harsh, but it's just not what I want to hear. Ditch that and woodshop wanking snoozer "FX," and all that remains is state of the art blues-metal with glimpses of floor-shattering doom.

Wheels of Confusion
Tomorrow's Dream
Supernaut
Snowblind
Cornucopia
St. Vitus' Dance
Under The Sun


^ CANON TRACKLIST. (■`ω´■) The meat of the LP is somewhat lighter, less floorboard-stomping, yet still unmistakable bluesy proto-doom. Iommi's production and riffs add a certain insistent, mechanistic, metal as fuck drone, soldiering in commiseration with he and Ozzy's respective wails... see the verses of "Wheels of Confusion," would-be title track "Snowblind," and ranking metal relationship counseling tune "St. Vitus' Dance." "Supernaut's" verse riff sounds like a motherfucking angle grinder in a blast furnace. Funky grinder in a groovy furnace.

That said, even without "Snowblind's" tormented paean to cocaine, and the famous liner notes, "Supernaut" makes it beyond obvious they were doing snow angels on the studio floor at this point and losing their gloom. Piss-poor Brummies uprooted to LA and besieged by mountains of money, coke and pussy = less gloom, more vroom. :lol:
It's my favorite too; actually one of my top 5 favorite albums of all time. Back before the internet provided anything you could think to type, I made myself a t-shirt of the Vol.4 LP cover by hand. I still have it somewhere...

That's the thing about Vol.4, it's right on the precipice of their decent into money and drugs; it captures the band inadvertently creating something entirely new, just before they found new focus with Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Actually, Bloody Sabbath is probably their most fully realized proggy affair, that one might be a better rec' than Vol. 4 to a prog fan...
Air Master Burst wrote:the less said about the Ian Gillan album and whatever the hell Seventh Star was supposed to be the better.
Unironic Born Again fan checking in. :cool: I think it's got some alright filler ("Trashed," "Hot Line," "Digital Bitch"), and the title track is interestingly spare in its glumness.
Love Born Again. It's a really, really fun album, no irony needed.
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

Post by BIL »

You my homie vol.2 :cool: Apparently Born Again is really popular in Brazil for some reason, I always wondered what was up with that... then again, Sepultura took their name from Motorhead's similarly hated Another Perfect Day ("Dancing On Your Grave"), another record I'll go to bat for any day - maybe there's some unknown ancestral frequency at work. :mrgreen:

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is catchier than a motherfucker, gotta give it that. I think Sabotage has some unimpeachable rockers on it too, most notably the headstomping "Hole In The Sky," bonafide protometallic "Symptom of the Universe," and (pardoning the long warm-up) "Megalomania," with its towering monster riff and final release.

As a typically pigheaded, contrarian preteen, I insisted on ignoring the aforementioned two on one of my rare trips to family in the states, instead picking up fucking Technical Ecstasy. :lol: Genuinely love a few cuts off that one, notably "You Won't Change Me" (Ozzy at his most frustrated-hippy endearing; "But I'd like to talk things over with you~") and the rare return to First Four gloom, DIRTEH WOMEN.

Those dir-tay women!
They don't mess arooound!


I have to say, for albums that landed at #1, Far Beyond Driven is sonically fascinating. Full of bizarre vocal tics and guitar squeaks from Phil and Dime. The brutally processed "I" on the chorus of "Shedding Skin" sounds almost chiptune-ish. Trendkill remains my favourite with its borderline-nihilistic fury - I find Cowboys a bit poppy, and Vulgar a frustrating notch below the unbridled rage of Driven/Trendkill - but I'm warming up a lot to this.

And the anger, of course. :lol:

I'M FUCKIN' YOU BACK! I'M FUCKIN' YOU BACK!

It's a shame the new Pantera shows (feat Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante) are being advertised as such... "A Tribute To" would be more apropos. Dime, what a godforsaken tragedy. One of the true rock n' roll casualties. I'm glad the cunt who murdered him got dropped the same night. Taking a hostage makes it sound like he intended to escape. Good fucking riddance, and good on the cop that took him out.

Ah, fuck, anyway. I hope Phil and Rex make good money off the shows, they're as integral to these records as the Abbot brothers. I love a healthy swathe of Zakk and Charlie's works with Ozzy/Anthrax too, not meaning to sound down on them.
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bottino
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

Post by bottino »

BIL wrote:You my homie vol.2 :cool: Apparently Born Again is really popular in Brazil for some reason, I always wondered what was up with that...
Well, fans really liked how aggressive and heavy it sounded (indeed, it hits like a ton of bricks) and being mostly oblivious to all the drama surrounding it made them appreciate the album for what it is.
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MOSQUITO FIGHTER
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

Post by MOSQUITO FIGHTER »

Just found out about Grim Reaper. The lead sing just died in August. Bummer

A few other I’ve been listening to

Municipal Waste
Picture
Avenger
Ghoul
Tankard

Municipal Waste is so tight. Guitarist is so good. Really appreciate metal in standard tuning way more these days. Picture does that slowed down rock thing. I’d imagine Kiss fans would like them. Ghoul rips. Tankard has some awesome lyrics. Definitely has their finger on the pulse of modern day living.
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BIL
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

Post by BIL »

bottino wrote:
BIL wrote:You my homie vol.2 :cool: Apparently Born Again is really popular in Brazil for some reason, I always wondered what was up with that...
Well, fans really liked how aggressive and heavy it sounded (indeed, it hits like a ton of bricks) and being mostly oblivious to all the drama surrounding it made them appreciate the album for what it is.
Makes total sense on both counts, cheers for the insight! I feel a lot less lonesome in my love of that record now. :mrgreen:
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Rob
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

Post by Rob »

BIL wrote:I have to say, for albums that landed at #1, Far Beyond Driven is sonically fascinating. Full of bizarre vocal tics and guitar squeaks from Phil and Dime. The brutally processed "I" on the chorus of "Shedding Skin" sounds almost chiptune-ish. Trendkill remains my favourite with its borderline-nihilistic fury - I find Cowboys a bit poppy, and Vulgar a frustrating notch below the unbridled rage of Driven/Trendkill - but I'm warming up a lot to this.
Since the topic of Pantera is still kicking, check this beast found at a yard sale this summer (was somehow still swaying in the breeze at 3PM - my eyes seriously bugged out when I saw it). After talking to the woman in charge (asking about the metal-related stuff), I got the sense that she and her husband had an acrimonious split. Stay married fellas. :shock:

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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

Post by Herr Schatten »

MOSQUITO FIGHTER wrote:Tankard has some awesome lyrics. Definitely has their finger on the pulse of modern day living.
Which albums did you listen to? I used to like their early stuff due to the refreshingly punk-y attitude on show, which wasn’t all too common in the metal scene of the late eighties. I feel they peaked when they matured a bit, though, with 1992’s Stone Cold Sober and 1994’s Two-Faced being my personal favourites. If you get those two and their early best-of album Hair of the Dog, you basically have all the essential Tankard you’ll ever need.

Personally, I do love their experimental 1995 album The Tankard, but I understand if that’s an acquired taste to some. After that, from Disco Destroyer onward, I feel they rely too much on rehashing stuff they’ve done before, and better. It’s still fun, but it adds nothing of significance to their discography.
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

Post by MOSQUITO FIGHTER »

Herr Schatten wrote:Which albums did you listen to? I used to like their early stuff due to the refreshingly punk-y attitude on show, which wasn’t all too common in the metal scene of the late eighties.
I honestly haven’t delved into the back Tankard’s back catalogue at all yet. Really enjoying the new stuff for sure so far. Will definitely check out your recommendations. To be honest most of the time these days I just pick the artist on Spotify and let whatever play out without picking the albums so I end up being unfamiliar with what’s on which albums.

Metal songs about the lockdown really hit the sweet spot for me personally.

https://youtu.be/eNJQ4Hnjp0I
https://youtu.be/WcnEaQIbdY4
https://youtu.be/zTOCoQwKXdc
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BIL
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

Post by BIL »

Rob wrote:Speaking of metal and heroin, watched a chunk of the documentary Last Days Here a few weeks back. Absolutely miserable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqkIbn3OQB4
God fuckin damn. Image Now there's a rockumentary. Joy and sorrow and near-miss farce. I hopped online wondering if he was still alive, seems to be clinging on.
If you guys like Sabbath and don't know Pentagram, do yourself a favor.
Damn good music, will enjoy investigating further!
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

Post by Rob »

I hopped online wondering if he was still alive, seems to be clinging on.
That was also a surprise to me, seeing how far gone he seemed to be in the doc. Relentless is so good, as is Be Forewarned. The early demos are also impressively heavy considering the time they were released. They should've been big (the story about their potential big break that went bust explains a bit).
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

Post by Herr Schatten »

Last night I went to see Blind Guardian on their anniversary tour celebrating the release of Somewhere Far Beyond thirty years ago.

I don’t know why they chose that particular album for this kind of tour, as I think both the predecessor and the follow-up are much stronger albums, but I’m glad they did, because when I went to see them back then, on the tour promoting the original release, it was, in fact, the very first time in my life I went to a rock show.

So when they announced that they would play at the same small venues as they did on the original tour, I teamed up with the same three old friends with whom I went to the show thirty years ago, and we decided to go see them again at the same venue, despite all living elsewhere today and having much more convenient ways to see the tour. The show got canceled and rescheduled twice due to Covid, but eventually it did happen after all.

What can I say? The show was absolutely awesome. They played the Somewhere Far Beyond album in its entirety, and it made me appreciate the album in a whole new way, especially the songs they usually never play live. They then followed that up with a fine selection of tracks from various other releases. The whole event reminded me why they used to be my favourite band back when I was still at school. (I grew estranged from the band from the noughties onward, as their new releases failed to grab me in the same way the older albums did. As a result, I haven’t been to any of their shows for twenty years, but I’m very glad I went this time.)

Incidentally, their new album, released just a couple of weeks ago, is easily their best since 2002’s A Night at the Opera. Their songs haven’t been as speedy, thrashy and straight to the point for at least twenty years.
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Re: HARD ROCK SOLDIER x HEAVY METAL KILLER: Rawk Thread

Post by Blinge »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxqlb1--uKc

just gonna go ahead and post this up cuz i got the no pussy blues

i must laugh or i'll cry
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1cc List - Youtube - You emptylock my heart
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