One thing I’ve been trying to do is avoid buying really expensive music this year. Apparently the estate of Ronnie James Dio does not align with my financial concerns.
Just announced is the box set for Heaven And Hell, the outfit Dio formed with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice in the mid 00’s as a workaround to Sharon Osbourne’s absolute control of the Black Sabbath name. The group gigged on the three Dio-Sabbath records and also released their own original studio effort The Devil You Know. The band offered up two live albums in their time, before Dio succumbed to cancer in 2010.
This box set, entitled Breaking Out Of Heaven, holds reissues of the studio LP and two live albums – Live From Radio City Music Hall and Neon Nights: 30 Years Of Heaven & Hell. This set is 7 LPs and does run for a princely sum of $200. The studio record does also have the three new songs recorded for The Dio Years box set added as bonus tracks. The set is due to release on March 27th of 2026, just a month-plus down the road.
While this isn’t cheap, all a person has to do is have a gander at current Discogs prices for the original versions of these albums to see what a steal this actually is. It is a sorely needed reissue – my quick search through everything indicated I’d have to spend at least $500 to get the original records, so $200 is just fine with me.
So yes I am going to splurge yet again for another Dio piece for my collection, I’m also awaiting the Rainbow CD box I outlined awhile back that is now also due for release on the same day as this. In terms of Black Sabbath and related stuff this actually very nearly completes my collection. I only need two studio Sabbath albums and some live stuff to finish that off. While this isn’t actually Black Sabbath in name, it might as well be Sabbath. Given that key people are now dead and gone I don’t really want to hand wring too much over the arguments involved, but for my personal collection this will file right in with the other Sabbath releases.
So all there is left to do is wait until March 27, around then is when both this and the Rainbow box are supposed to hit. I hope my neighbors like Dio because they are going to hear plenty of him once these boxes hit my mailbox.
Let’s get back to the albums. Awhile back I wrote a post about the 90’s alternative rock band Sponge. When I was looking into what they had been up to since their heyday, I found out their most recent album was a very interesting collection of songs. Today I’ll have a look at that.
Sponge – 1994
Released October 18, 2024 via Cleopatra Records
Sponge made their mark starting in 1994 with their song Plowed, and 30 years later they decided to pay tribute to the music of that year with a covers album. Everything here is a song from the alt-rock heavy year and the vast majority of these were either hits or well-known cuts. A few are deeper cuts and there’s at least one that seems to be an unusual pick.
Finding Sponge’s line-up for this album was a bit of a chore, as 1994 does not have a Wikipedia entry and the liner notes from the album are psychotically hard to read. But I was able to ascertain that the line-up on the album mirrors the band’s currently listed roster, not a massive surprise since this album is only a year old. Vinne Dombroski is the group’s lone original member and the singer. Kyle Neely and Andy Patalan provide guitars, Tim Patalan is on bass and Dave Coughlin is on drums. The Patalan brothers also produced the album.
This is the first time I’ve ever handled a covers album on the site. They aren’t normally something I really get into, but this one did grab my attention. I will be grading on a bit of a curve, covers albums are kind of things for curiosity’s sake and need a different measuring stick than an album of originals. Though this album was obviously interesting enough for me to write about, so there has to be something here.
Savory – originally performed by Jawbox
We are out of the gate with a song I’m not familiar with. Jawbox is a vaguely familiar name but I don’t recall the song or the band at all. The original is a pretty heavy, noisy and interesting cut. Sponge always have had a heavier backbone to them so this isn’t some wild, out of pocket song for them to cover. Sponge goes at creating a pretty faithful version of this song. It is a lot smoother in what I guess passes for a chorus, though similarly harsh in the verses. It’s kind of hard to grade since I have no familiarity with the source material but this is a good listen.
Grade: B
Supersonic – originally performed by Oasis
Up next is one I know extremely well, one of the many singles from the debut Oasis record. Sponge go a bit into a lower register here, the song isn’t as “bright and shiny” as the original, which is totally understandable. I can say that it does lack the swagger that Oasis had, but that’s not really a knock against Sponge since no one really had that. This cover is suitably hard and a fair bit noisy, it suits the song well and Sponge did a good job on this one.
Grade: B+
Girls And Boys – originally performed by Blur
And now we jump straight into the other darlings of 1994 Britpop. This song hails from Blur’s seminal album Parklife and is one of the more interesting cuts from the album. The original is a bright and poppy sort of almost dance track, which belies the snarky look at party life that the lyrics were examining. Here Sponge sound almost a hair out of tune but it’s in a way that’s honestly endearing. The cover is performed with more straightforward guitar and drums, though they do throw in a few of the noodly embellishments that made the original pop. I think this is a really good cover version and when I heard this it was the impetus to actually write this post.
Grade: A
Morrissey – The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get
We’ve arrived to another track totally unfamiliar to me. Before I looked up the original version of this song I had not heard a note of Morrissey’s solo career. While he can be kind of a clown at times, I haven’t purposely avoided him so much as I just haven’t given enough of a shit to try him out. I can say that the original sounds fine, I wouldn’t knock it at all but I also still don’t really give a shit about it.
Sponge pick up the beat a bit for their cover and honestly their version pleases my ears more than the original. This song kind of doesn’t really go anywhere but it’s pleasant and Sponge work very well with the source material. Also, Sponge chose this one for a music video.
Grade: B
Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon – originally performed by Urge Overkill, sort of
And now we’re in Cover Inception, as this song is a cover of a cover. It was originally recorded by Neil Diamond, not a name I ever intend to really feature on my pages. But in 1994 the song was performed by Urge Overkill for the soundtrack to Pulp Fiction. I spent a good part of my senior year in high school in a theater watching that movie, so I am quite familiar with this version. And now 30 years on we get Sponge’s cover of this 1994 cover of whatever Neil Diamond was doing in 1967.
Sponge’s cover is more brash and noisy than Urge Overkill’s and does lack the atmosphere that their version invoked, but this is still a quality cover tune. It’s perfectly acceptable and nice to listen to. I won’t compare it to the original because I’m not putting Neil Diamond into my algorithms.
Grade: B
Interstate Love Song – originally performed by Stone Temple Pilots
Up next is a song from Stone Temple Pilots, though that’s vastly understating things. This isn’t just a STP song, this is quite possibly the greatest song they ever wrote. For my money it is, though it’s an argument we can save for another day.
With cover songs, the covering act often doesn’t sound much, if anything, like the original performer. But that’s kind of out the window here. In this case the vocals are especially where things get looked at. No one is going to mistake Vinnie Dombroski for Liam Gallagher, or Morrissey or Damon Albarn, and certainly not Hope Sandoval who is coming up soon.
But, you know what? Vinnie is in the same general operating space as Scott Weiland. They aren’t clones of each other by any means, but Vinnie does work in that raspy grunge department. And STP was more grunge while Sponge was more alt-rock, though again the bands were not worlds apart.
And what we get here is a faithful, in-pocket rendition of the STP masterpiece. I can’t say there’s anything “added” to the song but this cover is an in-style cut of the original. This feels like one of two of Sponge’s most “at-home” song on the album, and I’m sure it will shock any reader to find that the next one is the other one. While often the best cover songs are far outside the scope of the covering artist, it doesn’t hurt to crank one out that is in the wheelhouse. And that is the case here.
Grade: A
No Excuses – originally performed by Alice In Chains
From one 1994 grunge titan to another, we go right into a cut from the seminal acoustic Alice In Chains EP Jar Of Flies. Very simply, Sponge are again operating in their element and do a bang-up job on another song in their wheelhouse. The original is an immortal AIC performance and Sponge do complete justice to it.
Grade: A+
Fade Into You, originally performed by Mazzy Star
This is one of the more interesting cuts from the album and it appears listeners agree with me, as it’s the third most-streamed track (behind Supersonic and Interstate Love Song). Mazzy Star had an unlikely hit with this atmospheric dream-pop ballad back in the day and Sponge have provided a rendition of it here. Sponge tackle the song very faithfully, with the only difference being the obvious one in vocals between Vinnie and Hope Sandoval’s original performance. But Vinnie does a deceptively good job of fitting his voice with the song and this is another outstanding cover.
Grade: A
Bull In The Heather, originally performed by Sonic Youth
This is the second to last song and also the final song that I’m not familiar with. I honestly never really checked out Sonic Youth, I had other stuff to do I guess. I definitely wouldn’t have liked this song in 1994 but I think it sounds fine today. Sponge’s cover goes a bit more conventional and driving than the original and it’s a version I can appreciate. And I can say I probably would have liked this cover more than the original back then.
Grade: B+
Cantspeak, originally performed by Danzig
While the other picks here do align with the same circles Sponge ran in through 1994, this last choice is a true curveball. This track hails from the fourth Danzig album, cleverly titled 4. This was the final shot from the classic Danzig line-up, things got way different after this.
Cantspeak is a quieter but not quiet song. It was one of the highlights of the Danzig album and is a very interesting and welcome choice here. Sponge handle the song largely like the original. The cover is more clear, Sponge did not use the distorted effects Danzig did. But it’s a very nice cover version, one that seems outside the box but Spong worked with very well.
Grade: A
1994 was a fun romp through the sounds of the day that came along just as Sponge were breaking out. The premise of covering songs from a specific year is way more interesting to me than a band simply offering up a series of covers that inspired them, sound fun or whatever. And Sponge picked a whale of a year with all of the alt-rock floating around, a scene they themselves were part of. This was all nicely chosen and well executed, nothing felt like it was there as a gag or a waste of time. It was fun to revisit these songs through the lens of Sponge, or in a few cases hear them for the first time.
Album Grade: B+
1994 is a great look back at one of music’s more significant years. Sponge do a fantastic job curating and playing these cuts from the time period they also helped shape. Covers albums do not have to be idle curiosities or one-listen throwaways when someone thinks a bit outside the box, and Sponge did that here.
2025 is almost in the books and it’s finally time for me to cap off the year with the obligatory “best of” list. This year I’ve trimmed the list from 10 to 5 albums, as I haven’t had the time or inclination to visit a whole ton of newer release stuff. Also there were several new albums that didn’t really land with me so 5 it is. Nothing much more to say so let’s have at it.
5: Sodom – The Arsonist
The German thrash legends have been around forever now. Their 17th album goes into another gear and is far from a band resting on their laurels, well-earned as that may be. It’s hard to say how many more Sodom albums will come down the pipe, so it’s nice to have this excellent slab on what is the later years of their career.
4: Coroner – Dissonance Theory
It was 32 years between releases for the Swiss prog-thrashers. Their return album kept things a bit more straightforward than the the group was previously known for, but it was done in a very welcome fashion. It took a literal lifetime to get this record but it was totally worth it.
3: Die Spitz – Something To Consume
Every year there is a “who the hell is this band, oh shit this album rules” entry and we have arrived to that point. This group hails from Austin, Texas and offered up their full-length debut in September. And they’ve captured notice with a sound that operates in punk and grunge while also adding a heavy slab of doom metal. This is as if L7 and High On Fire collided with each other and an album was the result of the crash.
2: Turnpike Troubadours – The Price Of Admission
I haven’t kept up much with country music like I used to 12 or more years ago, but it was impossible to ignore the buzz around this album. Kind of funny that it generated so much talk since it was pretty much a surprise release in April. This is country in its purest form – sad and beautiful. This is a career album for the group who has been running nearly 20 years now.
Album of the Year 2025
Deafheaven – Lonely People With Power
Speaking of career albums, the defining act of what is known as “blackgaze” most likely released their pinnacle album in 2025. While they basically formed the subgenre with their 2012 masterpiece Sunbather, on this album they have actually surpassed that earlier record. This is a collection of soundscapes that eclipses any real genre tags and can only possess the catch-all term “post-rock.” It has the familiar “shoegaze music with black metal vocals” vibes but also is so much more in composition and arrangement. Every song on this album is basically its own masterpiece, it’s tough to pinpoint one triumphant moment from the record. I will say the songs Magnolia, Winona and the album-closing The Marvelous Orange Tree are all prime offerings. But this record functions so well as a whole that picking singles is a fool’s errand. Just play the whole thing.
That does it for 2025. We will see what next year has in store.
A quick one today to recap some news that hit yesterday about a massive new box set chronicling the earliest part of Ritche Blackmore’s career in Rainbow. A set called Temple Of The King will release on March 6, 2026 and features an insane NINE cd’s of music.
Now -this set is not a deluxe album collection, something even some casual collectors might jump all over. This is the first of several sets intended to cover Blackmore’s career, which I’ll presume will cover all of Rainbow’s long run and possibly also his other projects. Though do note that this format likely won’t extend to Deep Purple, which Blackmore would not have sole control of.
What we get across these nine discs are the first two Rainbow albums – Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow and Rising. The remaining discs are loaded with live shows and the final disc offers up a series of rough mix and alternate rarities.
Given that the crux of the content is live stuff, I decided to go ahead and pre-order this monstrosity. I do have these first two albums hanging out in my cd collection but I saw this and said “what the hell, why not.” I haven’t often been one for the deluxe box set covering just an album or so kind of thing, but this one seemed fine at nine discs for a $100 price point. Add in the fact that this set covers the years 1975 and ’76, which means Ronnie James Dio would feature as the singer on all of the content and I was sold.
The layman might view the tracklists with skepticism, as the live concerts only feature three or four songs per CD. Rest assured that when Blackmore and Rainbow played live in the ’70’s, Blackmore showed up to play his damn guitar. Many songs from the live shows of this era run over ten minutes. And while I don’t know the exact run times of the offerings here, there were some jams that went on for over twenty minutes back in the early Rainbow days. While each disc might only feature roughly thirty minutes or so of music, the sets might have been too long to fit on one CD, with a generally given run time of 80 minutes. Or maybe they could have each fit on a single CD and this presentation is a bit excessive. I don’t know, I guess I’ll find out in March.
Time will speak to the exact worthiness of this set, but overall I think it’s in good shape with two albums, three live shows and a rarities disc. It also clearly opens the door to future installments that would run past Dio’s time in Rainbow and cover the more commercial rock era that featured Graham Bonnet and later Joe Lynn Turner. And the list of other players who were in and out of Rainbow over the years could honestly fill a book. We’ll see how the overseers of this material, assuming Blackmore is among them, choose to present future offerings. But we are off to a running start with two mega classic albums, the immortal tones of Ronnie James Dio, and enough Ritchie Blackmore guitar to fill a planet with soundwaves.
Tragic and terrible news from over the weekend, as renowned director, producer and actor Rob Reiner has passed away. He and his wife Michele were found dead in their Los Angeles home. The further details of this case are grim so I’ll just leave them alone other than to say that it was an apparent homicide. Rob was 78 years old, Michele was 68.
Reiner was born to legendary comic actor Carl Reiner and actress/singer Estelle Reiner. Rob got his start in acting during the 1960’s, landing bit parts in many well-known series of the time. He would land what many consider his signature role as Michael “Meathead” Stivic on the beloved sitcom All In The Family, playing foil to Carroll O’Connor’s famous Archie Bunker.
Reiner began his long-running directing career in 1984 with the film that lands his obituary on these pages with the cult classic This Is Spinal Tap. Reiner would go on a run of massive success that kicked off with 1986’s Stand By Me and ran through to 1992’s A Few Good Men, and he would continue to find success through the remainder of his career. He would also be found in several acting roles, including Throw Momma From The Train and The Wolf Of Wall Street.
Reiner’s career spanned a long time and incorporated several elements of movie and TV making, but of course I’m going to use a few more words to expound on the subject I’ve already covered in great detail – the film that both created the “mockumentary” genre and also hit a bullseye in portraying the hard rock and heavy metal scene of the early 1980’s. Spinal Tap was the concoction of Reiner as well as the principal actors – Harry Shearer, Michael McKean and Christopher Guest. Invented originally for comedy tv skits, Reiner would secure financing from his old pal Norman Lear (creator of All In The Family) and film in an ad-lib style to let the film essentially write itself. Reiner directed the effort and also portrayed Martin “Marty” Di Bergi, the documentary maker chronicling the hi-jinx of Spinal Tap.
This Is Spinal Tap did not light the world on fire when it was released, but as the years wore on it became a cult classic. Nostalgia only brought the film more fondness and the band became an institution beyond the scope of the initial film. It took 41 years but we did get a sequel in the form of Spinal Tap II – The End Continues, which hit theaters earlier this year and appears to be Reiner’s final film project. He did have one more thing in the can and it does involve Spinal Tap – the band filmed a farewell concert that is set to release sometime in 2026.
It was a senseless, tragic act that took away Rob and Michele. But there is a lot of Rob Reiner to fondly remember. He has any number of classic films to his credit, and his role as “Meathead” was an all-time performance. For me I’ll obviously most remember Spinal Tap, though many of his other films are classic works of art. Rest easy Rob and Michele, and thanks for all the memories.
It is Thanksgiving here in the United States and today I’d like to give thanks for having a few days off of my damn job and also for this new Megadeth song to dig into.
I Don’t Care was thrust upon the world a few weeks back on November 14th. Thanks to the aforementioned job, I am just now getting to making a post about it. The song hails from the self-titled album due to arrive on January 23rd, 2026. This is slated to be the final Megadeth record.
This song is the upcoming album’s second single and this one caused quite a stir when it hit. The song is a snarling, punk-based track that recalls the early influences of thrash while still very much being a 2025 Megadeth song. It is an interesting combination of styles, with the punk-rooted ethos combining with the clinical precision that typically defines Megadeth. The production strays clearly on the side of Megadeth’s typical sound, which might detract a bit from the punk edge but I do think it works well enough for a Megapunk song 40 years into the band’s career. And, regardless of the song’s tone and style, we do get a fair few guitar solos even in this fairly brief jaunt that just touches 3 minutes.
The lyrics here are extremely simple, it’s basically just a chorus of “I don’t care” about various things as well as a short, quietly almost-rapped verse that says quite a few bad things about someone. While the target of Dave Mustaine’s diatribe is unknown, many speculate that it might be a prominent ex-member of Megadeth. I don’t know and I’ll leave it at that until or unless more information becomes known later.
This song caused a fair bit of chatter when it was released. Some enjoyed it and others found things to dislike, whether it was the Megadeth style clashing with the more raw punk theme or the lyrics that aren’t the most mature that Mustaine has ever offered up. I personally enjoyed the song, I don’t have a problem with the slight stylistic departure from typical Megadeth. While the band’s stock in trade has usually been clockwork precision and massive amounts of guitar solos, I think it’s fair for Dave and company to branch out a bit, especially this far in and on the swansong album.
I also very much don’t care if the lyrics aren’t profound existential statements. While I enjoy plenty of metal that does have a more intellectual sheen to it and Megadeth has been a band to offer that up at times, I am also quite fine with heavy riffs and caveman bullshit coming out of someone’s mouth. A song called I Don’t Care doesn’t need to usher in a philosophical thesis, it’s allowed to be dumb. This to me isn’t so bad that it needs to be sneered upon, it’s simply fitting a theme and some songs can be fun and dumb.
I am on board the I Don’t Care train, and I’m looking forward to this album’s arrival in the dead of winter early next year. And even if I wasn’t, I am quite sure that Dave doesn’t care.
Last week David Coverdale made the announcement that many of us knew was coming – he has retired from music. He posted a short video with the announcement as well as a remixed version of the song Fare Thee Well, from Whitesnake’s 2011 album Forevermore.
David did not offer up a long-winded list of reasons for stepping away, nor did he need to. He has been visited with several health issues over the years which prevented Whitesnake from offering a proper farewell tour. The band’s final show wound up being a performance at France’s Hellfest in 2022, a show that featured a guest shot from former guitarist Steve Vai on the final song.
The writing was on the wall for this retirement for several years now, but does cap the end of a five decade career in rock. Coverdale played in UK bands for a few years before landing with Deep Purple for three albums in the mid-70’s. He would then embark on a solo venture after Purple disbanded. His solo efforts would morph into the band Whitesnake, which became Coverdale’s main vehicle for the remainder of his career. He also had a well-received collaboration with Jimmy Page in the early ’90’s.
I personally came into Whitesnake in their rising heyday in the mid-80’s. Slide It In had stuff in rotation in my area, which had a prominent rock station. Then in 1987 the self-titled album blew up and Whitesnake was off to the races. I would then backtrack to the earlier blues-based Whitesnake and the Deep Purple albums. I never got to see them live but I’ve been along for the ride with the albums over the years and I have really enjoyed the 2000’s Whitesnake output.
We do often joke about musician retirements because of, well, the mountain of evidence that retirements aren’t often worth the paper they’re printed on. But in David’s case this one is likely rock solid. He is sadly not up to the rigors of performing his music at 74 years old and with a host of health issues he has faced over the years. It is unfortunate that Whitesnake didn’t get to go out with a final tour or even a planned final show, but Coverdale still gets to bow out and enjoy his years. He has remained active with Whitesnake’s back catalog reissues so I’m sure more is coming from that and hopefully the Covedale-Page album gets its much-needed revisit at some point.
The curtain call has arrived for David Coverdale, but there is a half-century’s worth of great rock music to look back on and celebrate. And with any luck, David will be in a position to look back along with us and share more insights on his illustrious career.
Ace Frehley died yesterday at 74 years old. He was famous most obviously for his two stints in Kiss, being a part of their legendary ascent in the 1970’s as well as the mega-hyped reunion tour of the late 1990’s. Ace also had a prolific solo career in his times away from Kiss.
Ace was a guitar hero to generations of fans as well as many rock and metal musicians. He was a primary influence on a lot of the music I listen to, even some of the heaviest metal guitarists celebrate Ace as the reason they wanted to pick up guitars.
I don’t have much more to say for now. Oddly and sadly enough, this post is pre-empting another tribute post to a recently-deceased musician. But it’s impossible not to note the passing of a rock legend. Rest in peace, Spaceman, and enjoy your travels in the great beyond.
Today is a special occasion as we have been granted a new Megadeth song. This isn’t just any song, this is the lead single from what is billed as Megadeth’s final album. We now have this new song to get into as well as more specific info about the album to go over, and we also have a few, uh, curious points that have come up the past week or so to also swing with.
This is obviously, BY FAR the biggest thing going on in music today so let’s get into all of this.
First up we have the new song called Tipping Point. The song has been on streaming services since midnight in various regions, but the music video dropped just a few minutes before I wrote this. This one opens up ferociously and plows on for the first few minutes before the requisite Megadeth guitar solos and then a breakdown section before a more mid-paced finale. While any reactions of mine are very quick at this point, I will say I do very much enjoy this song. It does sound in keeping with the better parts of Megadeth since their 2004 renaissance.
In addition to the new single, we also now have more information about the upcoming album. The album will release on January 23, 2026 and is simply titled Megadeth. The image we got of Vic Rattlehead in flames from the prior retirement announcement is the album’s cover. There was no new press information released when pre-orders went live, the press is mostly reusing the statement Dave Mustaine made in August when announcing the band’s final album and farewell tour.
Now, as I said there are a few things to discuss beyond the song and album info. Tipping Point has actually been in circulation for over a week now. The song was leaked and very briefly uploaded to official streaming platforms. It seemed to hit Spotify in a few international territories but I don’t recall it making the US list. I caught a snippet of the leak but I did not pursue the full song leak, I figured like many that the leak was a mishap and I just waited for the official drop today. Music leaks are a very early 2000’s thing that really hold no true bearing in the modern streaming marketplace.
In addition to the song leak, we actually were also “treated” to an early info drop of the album name and cover. The music retailer Rough Trade had posted pre-order info for the new album a few days ago and their listing did accurately portray the cover and title. Rough Trade did pull the listing and re-list just a bit ago along with the wider retail offerings. Also, having nothing really to do with this post, Rough Trade’s website is so slow that I was waiting for the nostalgic dial-up Internet noise while things were loading. Anyway…
It does seem as if there’s some ill coordination in Camp Megadeth. Music does leak, sure, but like I said earlier, music leaks aren’t a massive deal like they used to be in the download and piracy era. But it does look either like a “planted” leak or some unintentional screw up. I’d personally bet on the latter. The album pre-order going live on one site early is probably a mess up on the part of the retailer and isn’t a massive issue but again, we’ve now had two screw-ups regarding this hotly anticipated final album and it has caused a bit of a buzz in die-hard Megadeth circles. It all probably doesn’t mean much of anything in the end but it’s a semi-interesting side note of this press push into this farewell cycle.
And that pretty well does it for the new Megadeth news. It will be interesting to see how the farewell tour plays out, but the early focus will be on the final record and if it fits well within the Megadeth pantheon. Early returns are promising and we have something to look forward to just a hair into 2026.
A bit of a quick one today to pay futher tribute to Tomas Lindberg. Today’s song is a cut from At The Gates’ debut album The Red In The Sky Is Ours, released in 1992.
Windows is the album’s fifth song. Nothing was released as a single, this was the band’s very early days and everyone was running on shoestring budgets. Band members have retroactively lamented the album’s production due to those financial constraints and having a producer that was not familiar with heavy metal. While I do agree that production here does leave something to be desired, it’s an album I can still get through and enjoy. Many of the underground metal albums of the early 90’s did not have the best in sonic technology.
The music of Windows was composed by guitarist Anders Björler. The lyrics were penned by vocalist Tomas Lindberg and are, at their simplest, about someone going insane. There is possibly more to it, as the song might be a eulogy for Per Yngve Ohlin, aka Dead, the singer of black metal band Mayhem until his suicide in 1991. Dead’s suicide brought a ton of attention to Mayhem and many were on hand for the wild and infamous ride that the second wave of black metal would go on during the early 1990’s.
I do not know if Lindberg was singing about Dead here, the lyrics do indicate it could be so, but I can’t readily find any actual sources corroborating this. It has been a widespread rumor for years and perhaps there’s some long lost interview with Lindberg that confirms this theory. But for the purposes of this brief post I’ll have to leave it as a loose thread.
Windows is a very heavy, crushing track that fits its disturbing subject matter. The song became an early favorite of fans and endured as one of the band’s signature tracks, even after the career and genre-defining Slaughter Of The Soul was released in 1995. Windows does have placements on a few live sets both audio and video, and is also a live bonus track on the band’s 1994 album Terminal Spirit Disease.
While we wait rather sadly for the final At The Gates album to feature Tomas Lindberg, it is nice to go back to the beginning and hear At The Gates crushing it right out of the, uh, gate. From very humble beginnings, At The Gates shaped the blueprint for metal that would come for decades afterward.
The Crooked Wanderer 