There was only 1 rock band I listened to for about 5 years solid and that band was Thin Lizzy. Actually I listened to them so much I was pretty burnt on them up until a year ago. Luckily You Tube is lifting the moratorium and I can hear stuff besides the studio albums and crappy bootlegs.
I think it’s fairly well documented about Phil Lynott being a visionary and a musical genius in his genre. One of my favorite things about them is they were doing proto speed metal way back in the late 70’s. Of course Phil hung out with diverse people as Midge Ure, Lemmy and the Sex Pistols so its not like he was unaware of what was really going on at the time. He even was good friends with Huey Lewis(!?!)
Are You Ready shows such badass metal mastery that its one of my most favorite tunes by Thin Lizzy. I liked the sappy stuff as much as the next guy, but when they turned it up it was a wonder to hear.
Behold Thin Lizzy possessed by the spirit of Maiden… Or WERE THEY?
This song was written in 1975, a good 5 years before Maiden even put out a record…
And what a drum solo at the end pure badassery, pure unadulterated badassery!
For my money Slayer are one of the greatest heavy metal bands of all time. When I was young I thought they were the most extreme music I’d ever heard but as I grew up I came to appreciate the craft of their aggression and pick up on the melodies hidden beneath the chugging, and boy do Slayer chug! My favourite chugging being in the build up to “Raining blood… from the lacerated skys”. Awesome for a spot of headbanging.
I was super stoked to find this clip firstly as it’s got Slayer as the fresh young pups they were, amazing to think this is from SEVENTEEN years ago. And secondly the footage was recorded for a BBC documentary about metal and I vividly remember videoing the programme when I was 14 and flipping out to all the metal on it. Highlights of the programme were Black Sabbath touring their hometown and scenes from a metal disco of people moshing to Ace Of Spades at Nottingham’s Rock City. A metal disco!?!?!?! Being fourteen this was something of a revelation to me. Perhaps one day I’d be old enough and cool enough to find this “Rock City”. As it turns out I did but that’s another story…
As a young man of 13 the world of heavy metal was a strangely male place. At school all my heavy metal friend were male, scouts was still to admit girls and the delights of pubs and clubbing were a long way off still. That didn’t stop me from thinking about what metal songs would be awesome to seduce girls with (or more realistically force them to listen to). Crimson Glory’s Lonely was always pretty high amoungst such a list, hell it was a song about being lonely and in love! What girl could not fall for it’s charms especially as the band toned down there usual histronics for what is a classic rocking ballad(ish). As well as being perfect for the ladies this song also has a faint chugga-chugga in the verse and a kick ass solo for the boys. Needless to say I never had the opportuinity to woo ladies to this slice of melodic metal but I’m pretty sure if I had had the chance they would have been putty in my hands.
As for the video there are several points of interest
What the hell happens to the girl’s hair after she wakes up? From relaxed hair to full on 80s bouffant in 4 minutes
How much dry ice?
Awesome stance from the band with the drummer in the middle
Nice almost revealing what lies benath the masks at the end
How much hair? Surely the biggest hair to feature on 20th Greensleeves to date…
Here we have the mighty Coiners of the Phrase, Venom. Perfoming their massive genre defining song, Black Metal. Honestly, when I was a wee teenager, I got a rich new wave girl to buy me Redd Kross’ Teen Babies from Monsanto on the strength of the Deuce cover. It didn’t live up to the hype in my book tho so I summarily traded it for Black Metal. Excellent cover, and any band that sings an ode to Angel Dust cant be all good. All in all I did wish I didnt trade my Red Kross Record tho…
On a side note? Best record covers since Motorhead!
Annihilator were not only one of the first thrash(ish) bands that I got heavily into but they were definitely the first band who’s logo I could properly draw on a computer. Needless to say once I had everything I owned was covered in their classic angular logo.
Whilst many consider their first album their best I was never a big fan of Randy Rampage and his screeching high notes. I much prefer Coburn Pharr with his classic power metal style. Anyways this song is a prime example of Jeff Waters fitting in his trademark clasical sounding snippits between some prime chugging action. The lyrics warning of impending environmental seemed a little far fetched at the time but listened to nowadays you begin to wish if only the whole world had listened to this song years and years ago. The video strangely makes little reference to this instead having a girl in a nightdress wander around a lake. Of course.
I had the pleasure of seeing Annihilator at the mighty Hammersmith Odeon supporting Judas Priest on their Painkiller tour. We went mainly for Annihilator as me and my friend incorretly asssumed Judas Preist to be has been dinosaurs. Needless to say Annihilator rocked and as soon as we got over the hilarity of Rob Halford arriving on stage on a Harley Judas Preist rocked too. This concert happily coincided with me smoking weed for the first time in the park on the way home. I went white as a sheet and felt a wee bit sick. How fucking metal is that?
I’d never seen this video before but surely it must contain the finest display of sycronised rocking out ever.
I first came across Accept at a scout camp aged about 11. Starting out on a journey into metal I was eager to hear as much new metal as possible. When someone told me that there was a band that had recorded a song called Balls To The Wall I had to find out more. As an 11 year old anything with swearing in or even that alluded to rudeness was awesome with this song by Accept being a classic case in point. To this day I’m not really sure why having your balls to the wall is important but the way Udo’s veins on his throat bulge I’m pretty sure it’s essential.
Note for Abe: I tried in vain to find Fast As A Shark so you’ll have to settle for this.
So here’s an excerpt from the 80’s era Rainbow. Even their 2nd Singer, Graham Bonnet, dressed up like Bryan Ferry, can’t stop the Rock n Roll Juggernaut that is Ritchie Blackmore.
Witness as the massive sonic assalt of Blackmore’s solo is only interrupted by the ritual beheading of his guitar. And not only does he smash his guitar real good like … well I won’t spoil the rest. Yes it seems that Spinal Tap parodied Rainbow specifically but Blackmore’s guitar and songwriting are just so damn good that you can fuck with his far reaching effect on all of Rock music.
The best thing about Abe inviting me to contribute to this blog is that it has meant I’m excitedly revisiting some of my favourite music from many moons ago. And here’s classic case in point, the mighty Florida based Savatage! Of the many sub-genres of metal that I got heavily into power metal was the first and probably my favourite, and Savatage are probably one of the finest exponents of the genre. Hall Of The Mountain King is without a doubt my favourite of their albums and this song is the business, especially the bit 3′10″ in when Jon Oliva starts screeching. Unlike nowadays where the lyrics of songs are full of allegory when Savatage sing about the Hall Of The Mountain King they are singing about a hall that belongs to a mountain king. It’s not a subtle reference about a country’s foriegn policy or childhood traumas, its about a hall, in a mountain, owned by a king. Simple as that. And that is why I will always love metal.
And the video has a dwarf in it.
And a mountain king.
And a hall.
As a special bonus I found this great advert for a Savatage show which makes me want to go and see some heavy metal right now.
