Tag: heavy metal

Picking Five Songs From 1991

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year3 Comments

This was supposed to be last Friday’s post. Go figure that a holiday and an extra day off would cause me to miss a post. But I digress.

Here we are. This is my weekly series where I pick five of my favorite songs from a given year. This time around, that given year is 1991.

It’s safe to say that 1991 is the most important music year of my life. I have all the love in the world for 1984, as I put on display a lot of last year. But nothing was as earth shattering and life altering as everything that happened in 1991.

It wasn’t just everything that happened in music, either – I turned 14 and started my freshman year of high school in 1991. In fact, my birthday was about a week after Metallica released their megalithic self-titled album. Everything was changing fast and I honestly wasn’t even on top of it all – both in life and in music. It would all come together eventually (in music, not in life…)

But today’s exercise is pretty simple – I will select five of my favorite songs from the year. Five is barely a drop in the bucket in terms of the music of 1991, but I’m going to keep this series on the rails and just handle it like any other year. If/when this site gets to 2031 I will dedicate the bulk of that year’s posts to reminiscing about 1991, and probably in a big blowout way that dwarfs even what I did for 1984. Something to look forward to in 5.5 years, I guess.

Sepultura – Dead Embryonic Cells

We kick off with this slice of obliteration from the album Arise, often regarded as the Brazilians’ magnum opus. It is equal parts thrash precision and a savage beating, with Sepultura crafting a sound that would serve as a bridge into extreme metal. The song is about being born in a world that is essentially dead and the brutality of the music captures the sentiment perfectly.

Skid Row – Wasted Time

The closing track from the seminal Slave To The Grind album is a ballad by which the bulk of other ballads can be judged. This haunting tale captures someone in the throes of drug addiction, the song was written about former Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler. Sebastian Bach’s vocals soar here and everything comes together for a song that is simply beautiful.

Ozzy Osbourne – No More Tears

The tides of music were shifting in grand fashion in 1991, but the Prince of Darkness could still be counted on to deliver a worthy tune. Ozzy had a bit of a renaissance year in ’91 with the No More Tears album being a huge hit and this title track becoming one of his several signature tracks. This song is the twisted tale of a serial killer, but not told in open terms. Still it’s ominous and creepy.

Mötley Crüe – Primal Scream

Hair metal was being cast out by the second half of 1991, but no one gave Crüe the memo. They put out a greatest hits set with a handful of new songs on it, and this new track was electric. This was heavy, gritty and pounding, seeing the band move up a weight class in the heavy department. It foretold a massive new decade for Crüe, which did not pan out at all, but this kick ass song was a welcome drop in the minefield of ’91.

Carcass – Corporal Jigsore Quandary

By ’91 Carcass were on their third album and had shifted their sound from grindcore to death metal. This prime cut saw the band incorporate a bit of technicality into a very smooth death metal vehicle. And while the title and lyrics are overly wrought, as usual for earlier Carcass, the song is essentially about someone putting a human body back together. It is likely that the person doing the re-assembly is the same person responsible for the body’s dismembered state.

And that does it for five songs from the crazy year of 1991. I had originally thought picking a further five songs as I did for 1984, but in the end I decided against it as I want my focus to be on pushing on with the series.

Next week – I was originally going to restart album posts, but last week’s historic gigs have given us a handful of songs to go over so I will spend a few posts looking at stuff from both the final Ozzy show and the Oasis reunion instead. And I’ll press on with this, jumping in to 1992 where rock and metal were off to the races in many different directions.

Back To The Beginning

On By bigbadburchIn live music6 Comments

Last Saturday on July 5th, Ozzy Osbourne hosted a special event in his hometown of Birmingham, England. This concert, dubbed “Back To The Beginning,” was a huge, star-studded affair that marks Ozzy’s final live performance.

This massive show was staged at Villa Park, the home of Aston Villa Football Club. Given attendance was 40,000. The event was also streamed, though it was a two-hour delay. This stream was how I took the show in. The event raised a considerable amount of money for a handful of Birmingham area charities.

There was a lot of buzz going in to the event – many wondered if Ozzy would be able to perform at all. The answer was a resounding yes. The concert’s somewhat unusual itinerary was also a source of concern – most bands were getting very short 15 minute sets with a bit more time afforded to a few marquee acts at the end. Many wondered how the show was going to go off with all the logistics involved, but a rotating stage and other accommodations made it run like clockwork.

A final source of controversy revolved around an act that Sharon Osbourne said was thrown off the show. This is a whole story unto its own so I won’t get into it here as it’s not relevant to the show itself. As of my writing in the afternoon of Sunday, July 6th, we do not yet know the identity of the jettisoned act. Sharon is supposed to reveal this information at some point soon.

Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine fame was the musical director for the event. The show also had a host – you could be forgiven if you thought you were supposed to acknowledge your tribal chief Roman Reigns as the host, but no that was his clone, actor Jason Momoa.

This massive concert lasted ten hours so it was a hell of a time commitment. For me I had to miss the first portion of the stream as I had stuff to do around the house, like mowing the lawn in 85 degree hell heat. I picked up on the first all-star jam and watched through to Metallica’s first song, when I had to split because I was due at the theater for a showing of This Is Spinal Tap. Thankfully there was a few days of replay time for the stream so I was able to catch everything I missed, especially the main event of Ozzy and Black Sabbath.

I won’t run down the entire show as that would just be wasting words for the sake of it. I thought all of the bands did fantastic. For such a huge logistical challenge, most everyone sounded fine and the few hiccups there were weren’t glaring or show-ruining.

The time between the brief set changes was filled with video clips of fans as well as some tributes from musicians. Those included Dolly Parton, Def Leppard, AC/DC, Elton John as well as Judas Priest, who were unable to play the show due to already being booked for the Scorpions’ 60th anniversary concert the same night. Jack Black and Fred Durst each sent in pre-recorded performances of Mr. Crowley and Changes, respectively.

For a complete rundown of who performed what, the Wikipedia article on the show is honestly the most concise and easiest to read of the lists out there.

Both of the all-star jams were of special interest. The first one was especially cool as Jake E. Lee took the stage after not having contact with Ozzy in decades and just eight months after being shot multiple times in a botched robbery attempt. It was also nice to hear two songs from The Ultimate Sin album, a record that Sharon especially has run down over the years. Lzzy Hale did a fantastic job singing the title track from that album, it was one of the highlight performances of the show. Later in that same set, Whitfield Crane of Ugly Kid Joe came out and did a stellar rendition of Ozzy’s Believer. And the first all-star set concluded with a somewhat unlikely figure, as Yungblud performed Changes in one of the most talked-about and pleasantly surprising moments of the show.

The second all-star jam opened with Billy Corgan, K.K. Downing and others offering up a Judas Priest song, then having at Sabbath’s Snowblind. Sammy Hagar then came out with Vernon Reid of Living Colour for Flying High Again and Montrose’s classic Rock Candy. Following a rendition of Bark At The Moon from Ghost’s singer Tobias Forge (I don’t know what he’s calling himself these days), we got what was, at least to me, a surprise guest as Steven Tyler took the stage. Tyler sounded great and while his guest shot was only three songs, it does give hope that he might be able to pilot Aerosmith through their own farewell show of some sort.

After several hours of bands and all-star jams, it was finally time for the show’s reason for being. There wasn’t a ton of build-up or anything – after the set change, Ozzy was on hand for his solo set. Ozzy came out from the stage floor in a huge throne from which he’d perform. He is left unable to walk after Parkinson’s disease and spinal injuries. His band included a cast of his former associates, including Zakk Wylde, Mike Inez, Tommy Clufetos and Adam Wakeman.

Ozzy’s set comprised five of his classic songs – I Don’t Know, Mr. Crowley, Suicide Solution, Mama I’m Coming Home and the ubiquitous Crazy Train. Everything went off without a hitch and Ozzy sounded really good despite his physical condition. While the affects of age and debilitation are there, he still sounded strong.

And Ozzy was ever the showman – as he has always done, he implored the crowd to get into it by yelling, showing their hands and the like. The Prince of Darkness is clearly able to still command an audience. The power and energy of an Ozzy Osbourne performance was present and accounted for, any concerns about his ability to make it through the set vanished as he ruled over his domain.

After the solo set there was one more set change, and it was time for the final event – Black Sabbath, with all four original members present. While Black Sabbath bowed out on a farewell tour in 2017, drummer Bill Ward was controversially not included in that tour. Everyone had expressed regret for that decision in the years since, and for this final bow, Bill Ward was on hand alongside Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Ozzy Osbourne.

Sabbath performed four songs – War Pigs, N.I.B., Iron Man and Paranoid. Before going into Paranoid, Ozzy mentioned that it would be Sabbath’s final song ever and thanked the fans for everything over the years. With the stone cold classic knocked out, it was all over.

The film crew chose to focus on fireworks over the stadium rather than what was going on with Ozzy. Apparently the other members of Sabbath gave him a cake to commemorate the occasion. It was kind of odd not to show any real interaction with the rest of the band, but I guess those fireworks weren’t cheap.

And with that, Ozzy Osbourne’s live performance career is now over. He has mentioned still being able to record so we’ll see if the book’s shut or not on his studio output yet. Sharon Osbourne did relay that she is now happy to leave the music industry, so we’ll see if Ozzy will get to recording or not.

I will admit I was a bit concerned at how this event would go off, but after watching it I have to so it went off great. It was a fitting tribute to a man and band that have been the influence to several generations of heavy metal, rock and beyond. It is sad to think that the Prince of Darkness won’t be electrifying stages and terrorizing the populace, but this man definitely earned his rest at this point. Cheers to you Ozzy, may your retirement suit you well.

This Is Spinal Tap gets limited holiday weekend theater showing

On By bigbadburchIn Movies4 Comments

Super quick one today – kind of pointless post but I figured I’d take a moment to discuss this.

We are a few months away from the release of Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. This flick will be the sequel to the much-loved 1984 masterpiece This Is Spinal Tap, the great mockumentary that put rock and metal under a hilarious and critical lens.

While Spinal Tap II isn’t coming until September, there is a treat coming this weekend for fans. The first film This Is Spinal Tap will get a limited theatrical run over the July 4th holiday. This will only be for the few days following the holiday as far as I know – one local place is showing it on the 5th, 6th and 7th.

There are a few bonus features tossed our way, in case the thought of watching a 41 year old film you’ve seen dozens of times isn’t that appealing. First, Rob Reiner will reprise his role as Marty Di Bergi to offer up a new introduction. And we will also get a sneak preview of the new film. I’m sure the new bonus footage is brief, but it’s a fair little bit of a draw to go hang out in a movie theater and be treated to the fantastic film again.

Obviously since I’m talking about this I have my tickets for the Saturday showing and will be there. I won’t bother doing a report on it, the new snippets don’t really warrant their own post and I’ve already talked about the original film. I never need an excuse to put the movie on so watching it again is no problem for me. And this will make a busy Saturday for me, as Ozzy Osbourne’s final show is also happening that day and I’ll take that in via streaming as well. I’m glad I have an extra day off to process all of this heavy metal madness.

And that is about all I have to say on it. I’ll be at the theater this coming weekend to enjoy one of my favorite films, and I’ll be there again in September to enjoy the sequel. I know some people are cynical about the new film, but I’m old and tired and I’m ready to just enjoy something. I trust the people involved with the film to deliver something that entertains me for the film’s runtime. I doubt it will be as good as the original, but few things are. I’m sure there will be plenty in the new film to enjoy.

Ozzy Osbourne – Bark At The Moon

On By bigbadburchIn Song Of The Week7 Comments

This coming weekend will feature the final performance of Ozzy Osbourne, an event I intend to cover next week. With that I figured I’d get into a song of his as a taster for the weekend.

Bark At The Moon was the title track from Ozzy’s third album, released in 1983. It was also the album’s lead single. The song hit number 21 in the UK and 12 on the US Album Rock Tracks chart. The album would go on to sell over 3 million copies in the US.

The road to Bark At The Moon was not smooth. In 1982, beloved guitarist Randy Rhodes tragically died in a small plane accident with Ozzy looking on. Ozzy would cycle through a few guitarists to replace Rhodes on tour, but later decided on Jake E. Lee for the album. There are some crazy stories from this time, one being how George Lynch was initially hired for the role and was then unceremoniously cast aside in favor of Lee. Another is Jake Lee’s royalty situation – he and Bob Daisley were forced to take buyouts on the album to hand all songwriting credits over to Ozzy. There is of course more to those stories but those are for another time.

Though the loss of Randy Rhodes is immeasurable, Ozzy would be off to the races with Jake E. Lee. Bark At The Moon features plenty of kinetic guitar work, keeping it in line with the guitar god legacy established on the first two Ozzy solo albums. Lee was certainly able to put his stamp on things, even if he didn’t receive songwriting credit for the work he did.

The music video features Ozzy committed to an asylum and being pursued by a werewolf. It’s goofy for sure but pretty fitting of the song and of MTV in those early years. One funny bit of trivia – Carmine Appice appears in the video as the drummer, though it was Tommy Aldridge who played on the album. Appice did not have a long stint in Ozzy’s band – he was dismissed and Aldridge returned for the rest of the tour.

One final bit of lore – Bark At The Moon features in a video game I bring up a lot, it being my favorite of all time – Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Well, at least it did feature for awhile. It was on the original Playstation 2 release of the game. After some time Sony Records had a series of disputes about licensing, and Bark At The Moon was removed from the game’s many re-releases over the years. It was a nice addition to the V-Rock metal station and I do miss driving around Vice City with it blaring on the car stereo.

So all these years later we come to the end of Ozzy’s career, at least in live performances. Jake E. Lee is slated to perform at the event – the specifics of his performance are unknown and it’s very unlikely he’ll play alongside Ozzy. Whatever the case, we should get a fitting final rendition to close out one of rock and metal’s craziest careers.

Picking Five Songs From 1990

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year6 Comments

All right, it’s time to continue on with my long-running series where I pick five of my favorite songs from a year. Not necessarily my five definitive favorites, but five of my favorites. As always.

This year is 1990. We have left the golden decade of the 1980’s in the dust and music was shaping up to be a hell of a lot different. Even though the symbolic marker of the change was 1991, there was plenty of evidence that things were getting really different just a year before. Music was moving into other territories and a lot of the 80’s standards were about to be left behind. I was entering my teenage years just as the decade kicked off so I was in prime position to take in these changes, even if I didn’t quite know what all was going on right off the bat.

That’s about enough of the lead-in, this isn’t a comprehensive analysis of what happened in the early ’90’s, this is just a list of five songs I really like from 1990. Let’s have at it.

Megadeth – Tornado Of Souls

By 1990 I was moving way more into heavy metal as a whole, it was becoming my favorite form of music and that hasn’t changed 35 years later. Megadeth released their magnum opus Rust In Peace this year and it is in my top five of favorite albums of all time. A lot of the album if full of nuclear war and the government sucks kind of stuff that Dave Mustaine is very fond of, but this song is more personal and involves past relationships and rebounding from them. And of course it’s chock full of guitars, the kind of stuff only Mustaine and Marty Friedman could get up to. One of metal’s greatest songs.

Kreator – People Of The Lie

We’ll stay with thrash and this time visit the German titans on their fifth album, the excellent Coma Of Souls. Here Kreator aimed their sights at Nazis, the scourge of their own country. The song is a powerful rant against the shallow stances of Nazi believers. Sadly the song has become much more relevant today, but this was an excellent thrasher with a great message back in the day.

The Black Crowes – She Talks To Angels

Rock was by no means dead in 1990, but it sure was changing. One face of that change was the sudden ascent of the Black Crowes, a blues-based/jam band sort of prospect armed with a cache of catchy, infectious and effective songs. My favorite of the bunch is this somber ballad about a gal who is caught up in a drug addiction. While the song is not based in much reality, it is a haunting and touching affair that rings true no matter what the calendar says.

AC/DC – Thunderstruck

Ok, so not everything changed in rock in 1990. The good old standard AC/DC arrived on the scene yet again, this time armed with the stellar Razor’s Edge album. The opening track and lead single became one of the band’s hallmark songs, yet another addition to their playlist on classic rock radio that is played to no end. It’s easy to hear why – this is one massive slab of rock badassery. It’s guitars upon guitars, pounding drums and screeching, which is just how I like it.

Judas Priest – Painkiller

So Priest didn’t have the best latter half of the ’80’s – Turbo and Ram It Down aren’t “bad” albums per se, but they aren’t highlights of the Priest catalog either. The band reconvened as the decade changed and HOLY SHIT did they find the heavy metal again. Painkiller is a blast of molten hot metal unlike that which the band had even done to this point, despite being one of the signposts of the genre. This song and whole album will rip your face off, and that’s exactly how we like it around here. And by we I mean me, as I’m the only one typing bullshit on this site.

That wraps up 1990. Suffice to say, next week’s post will be somewhat important, as 1991 will be upon us. It was such an important year to music as a whole and my own musical fandom that it might require something a bit special. We shall see next week.

Picking Five Songs From 1989

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year6 Comments

Welcome back to the “five songs from a year” series. Simple premise, as always – I choose five of my favorite songs from a particular year (not necessarily my five favorite, just five favorites). I started at 1967 and will run all the way through 2025.

Today is bittersweet as I’m now 22 entries into the series, which is really good. But it’s also sad since this is the final entry from the 1980’s. I grew up in that decade and it was a wonderland of entertainment of all avenues. It’s an era that hasn’t been, and probably can’t be, replicated.

All things must come to an end though, and here we are at the end of the ’80’s. Let’s get into my five picks from the end of the line.

Mötley Crüe – Kickstart My Heart

The Crüe had themselves a banner year in 1989. Their album Dr. Feelgood was a well-produced and written affair that saw them ride the end of the hair metal wave on top. The album contained this song, which ranks among the band’s very best. This is a total ass kicking burst of adrenaline that celebrates the band’s triumph of adversity and Nikki Sixx’s cheating death a few years prior. It doesn’t get much better.

Neil Young – Rockin’ In The Free World

Neil Young did NOT have a good decade in the 1980’s. He recorded some off the wall stuff and literally got sued for not sounding like himself. He spent the latter part of the ’80’s righting the ship and then lightning struck at the ass end of the decade with what has become one of his most well-known songs. Neil wrapped up criticism of the first George Bush administration in both poignant and noisy form. The political ramifications of the song have lived on for nearly 40 years since and the track is one of Young’s most beloved cuts from a discography that has roughly 9,000 albums in it.

Nine Inch Nails – Sin

The times they were a changin’, and the proof was in the pudding even before the decade turned. One signpost of the change was the advent of industrial and electronic music, and Nine Inch Nails would lead the charge into the next decade. This one has a bit of a dance beat to it, which isn’t really my thing in general but I’m cool with what Trent Reznor gets up to here. The song is about power struggle, control, lust and other cool stuff like masochism. It’s a twisted good time.

Aerosmith – What It Takes

When that gal who you had that crazy fling with in the last song is done with you, you can lean on this somber ballad from Steven Tyler and company to pull you through the tough times. This isn’t just a breakup song, it’s a lament of the most painful kind of loss, the end of that deep relationship that was supposed to be “the one.” The band did work with Desmond Child to craft this one but wanted to capture a different essence than the “big-time” ballad they went for on the album prior. I’d say they hit a home run.

Faith No More – Epic

Another sign that things were about to get a lot different was Faith No More’s 1989 hit album The Real Thing. It was their first with new singer Mike Patton and the band would become one of the harbingers of the coming weirdness of the next decade. This one would combine hard rock and a rapping vocal style, so feel free to direct the blame for nü-metal right here.

But there’s a lot more here than the primordial ooze that Korn and Limp Bizkit would crawl out of. This has pounding verses and a soaring chorus that will get wedged into any listener’s head. It’s full of musical movements and switches, including a moving piano outro that really flips things on its head. Faith No More were out in left field even for the coming alt-rock revolution, and the next decade would have their stamp all over it.

That does it for 1989 and the golden decade of the 1980’s. Next week I press on into the sea of changes that turned popular music on its head.

Castle Rat – Wizard

On By bigbadburchIn Song Of The Week4 Comments

Today we have something brand spanking new on offer. Castle Rat are a newer band on the scene and have made a bit of a name for themselves with their fantasy imagery and theatrical live shows. Today’s song Wizard is the first offering from their upcoming album The Bestiary, which is due on September 19th. This is the group’s second record, following last year’s Into The Realm.

Now, the thing about writing this is that I don’t know much of anything about Castle Rat. I hadn’t heard of them until this video popped up in my YouTube feed the other day. I have found out that the band is from New York and that they formed in 2019. The band uses pseudonyms for their credits but their real names are also out there, the stage names are apparently for added flair and not an identity concealment device. And that is about all I know, beyond the album information in the first paragraph. But we do have a song and video to dig into, so let’s do that.

Castle Rat are employing the tried and true doom metal/stoner rock formula here. It isn’t purely doom, though – there’s a fair bit of NWOBHM influence thrown in here. This is definitely a sound straight from the old times, not something merely built upon that. The production grants a decidedly retro feel as well. I’m not a knob geek by any means but I am curious what methods were implemented to achieve the old school feel on this.

The vibes from yesteryear don’t stop with the music. The video is a throwback to days of yore as well. Castle Rat stick with fantasy themes and the song’s battle with a wizard plays out in vintage fashion here. Sure it’s cheesy and goofy, but it’s done in a tone that can also be taken seriously. I’m sure Castle Rat, as an emerging band, do no t have unlimited access to money. But it’s plain to see that the video was filmed intentionally, it is not an old-school metal video that looks the way it does because the band’s budget was a six pack of Old Milwaukee.

So here we have Castle Rat in all their glory, openly wielding their swords and fantasy influence and playing metal so old-school that even old people think it’s old. While the band do have some detractors, it seems a fair few are enjoying what they see and hear. There’s nothing “original” or innovative here, but if that’s all anyone listened to we’d all only listen to the same six albums. Sounding good and being entertaining is quite enough, as entertainment is the point of all this, and Castle Rat have that down.

I know I will have my Dungeons and Dragons books and dice ready for the new album later this year, and hopefully I’ll be able to catch their signature live act at some point down the line. Wizard is a promising offering from Castle Rat, who seem poised to gain a fair bit of buzz in 2025.

Picking Five Songs From 1988

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year3 Comments

We are now to 1988 on this long-running series where I pick five of my favorite songs from a year. Yes, this will run all the way through this year. I imagine this will bleed into next year at this point since I took a good chunk of the early year off, so I’ll go ahead and pick five from ’25 as well.

But we’re a long damn ways away from that. Today we head to 1988. Rock was still running strong in its hair phase, though time was running out on the art form. Things were getting heavier and heavier on the metal end of things, as what we now know as extreme metal saw regular releases in ’88 and beyond. While I do love some 1980’s pop, I had kind of moved away from it by this point and was far more entrenched in the rock and metal end of things. By the time we get to the 2000’s, many of you may not recognize anything I post. But, again, we’re not there yet.

It is 1988, at least for a few minutes around here. Here are five of my favorite songs from the year (as always, not necessarily my five favorite, just five of my favorites). Enjoy.

Queensrÿche – Eyes Of A Stranger

Starting off with the final track of what is my favorite album of all time. Operation: Mindcrime is a metal “opera” with a ton of political intrigue, murder and suspense, and Eyes Of A Stranger wraps up the album better than pretty much any ending to anything in history. The main charcter Nikki is locked up in a prison mental institution, left to recall the sordid events of the album in a drugged-up haze. The production on this song and album is absolutely perfect, and the song’s drive and melody are otherworldly, as is of course the vocal performance of Geoff Tate. There are few finer examples of a song around.

Death – Pull The Plug

Death metal had been on the scene for a few years, and by ’88 it was really getting into gear. Leave it to the namesake band to deliver an all-time classic. This “thrash on steroids” delivered a savage beating to the eardrums of metalheads brave enough to move beyond the mainstream. While Death would go on to become a technical powerhouse, Pull The Plug is some good meat and potatoes, basic death metal.

Bathory – A Fine Day To Die

From Bathory’s fourth album Blood Fire Death, this saw Quorthon blend his now patented black metal with more melodic influences, eventually coining the term Viking metal. This song is an epic journey told through a group who are facing their likely end in battle. It’s a massive song that inspires even my sedentary ass to get up and strive for Valhalla.

Candlemass – Mirror Mirror

And now time for a little doom. Candlemass of Sweden had cut their third album by this point and were in the middle of an arc that is now considered hallowed in the pantheon of doom metal. While doom is traditionally slower, this is one of several Candlemass songs that runs at a faster clip at times. It’s an enchanting track about a cursed mirror that swallows the souls of whoever peers into it. The song is aided immensely by the power and range of the “mad monk” Messiah Marcolin, a true treasure of metal vocals.

Iron Maiden – The Evil That Men Do

And we wrap up with another Iron Maiden song. This one hails from Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, which as I’ve relayed in the past is my favorite Maiden album. The song itself has a few complexities musically but is honestly one of the “simpler” tracks from the album. It is a forward, speedy driver and doesn’t let up throughout. Lyrically it is quite complex, as it deals with the album’s story of a child born of the Devil who gets up to some shit. This song is just before the child’s birth, if I’m recalling the story correctly.

That covers 1988. We are only one year away from putting a bow on the grand decade of the 1980’s. Things really do switch up after we enter the next decade.

And before I go, another quick programming note – I will continue this weekly posting format for what seems to be another four weeks, if I’m counting right. It’ll be a song and also this post, and perhaps another post in the middle of the week. I will run like this up until July 5, which is slated to be Ozzy Osbourne’s final concert. I do intend to livestream that event and I will provide a recap of it that following Monday. The week after that I will return to posting albums on Mondays, and I actually have a backlog going at this point so I should be able to keep up. ‘Till then.

Bolt Thrower – When Cannons Fade

On By bigbadburchIn Song Of The Week1 Comment

Today I’ll actually look at something from the 21st Century for once and also have a look at what, in general, stands as the final recorded track of one of death metal’s most legendary acts.

Bolt Thrower got their start in England in 1986. From then to 2015 the band cut a blistering course through extreme metal with eight albums entirely centered around the concept of war. In 2005 the band released Those Once Loyal, which stands as Bolt Thrower’s final album, though at the time the band’s demise was not at all known.

Many extreme metal acts don’t sell enough to be concerned about charts and certifications. But this album did crack the German 100, coming it at 76.

When Cannons Fade is the final track on Those Once Loyal. There are some versions of the album with a bonus track, but in most cases this standard edition would be considered the definitive tracklisting, so we’ll just go ahead and call this Bolt Thrower’s final song. That’s of course purely a matter of sequencing and may not reflect how the album was recorded at all, but it is our listening experience when the album is played in order so it’s fair to go with this concept.

Today’s song is mid-paced though perhaps on the quicker end, with a consistent and grinding rhythm throughout. We get some flashy guitar work in spots, as is common with death metal. Lyrically the song is very much about its title – the artillery rains down and then is done, leaving a scorched earth behind. The memories of the insane shell pounding remain long after the battle’s close, as is narrated in the final verse.

In the song’s final minutes the rhythm switches up as we outro to a very fitting fade out. This is a long one and the final thing that can be heard is the drumming of Martin Kearns. It would prove to be tragically fitting that Kearns would ring out Bolt Thrower’s recorded career.

Again, the end of Bolt Thrower was not right after this album or planned at all. The band made the call in 2008 to hold of on recording music but did continue to tour in occasional fashion. The band were rehearsing for an Australian tour in September 2015 when Martin Kearns died unexpectedly at age 38. This would be the end of Bolt Thrower, as a year later the remaining members announced they would lay the band to rest. The group did consider doing something in terms of a reunion show or release in tribute to Kearns but nothing has ever come about.

In the years since Kearns’ death and Bolt Thrower’s demise, the band has remained at the forefront of death metal. A new generation of bands and fans have come into the scene, and a renaissance of “old-school” death metal modeled on the early 1990’s heyday has emerged in the 2020’s. Bolt Thrower has remained a prime influence among both new fans and old heads, often the subject of discussion, memes and the like. It’s possible that their status has even improved since the end of their playing days, though of course such things are difficult to rate.

No matter the specifics, Bolt Thrower remain one of death metal’s biggest forces, even a decade past their end. When Cannons Fade serves as a fitting and perhaps eerie end to their run.

Picking Five Songs From 1987

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year12 Comments

And now we’re on to 1987. This was a massive year at the top end of rock. It’s pretty crazy – the albums Hysteria, Appetite For Destruction and The Joshua Tree sold a combined 75 million copies worldwide. Two of those albums didn’t really gain steam until a year later, but that’s a different story.

Things were moving on musically in the later 1980’s. A lot of bands seemed to be chasing the brass ring and not quite grabbing it. Acts that had vital, fresh albums a few years back were now stagnating. There’s still plenty of good music to be found, but in retrospect, the signs of the coming nuclear assault of 1991 were already there by ’87.

But there’s no need for massive analysis of everything. All I really need to do is pick five songs I really like from 1987. Not necessarily my five definitive favorites, simply five of my favorites. This is a fast and loose exercise so let’s get into it.

Mötley Crüe – Wild Side

The Crüe got back to form after a bit of a letdown a few years prior. Wild Side is a heavy, pounding track that outlines the sleazier part of life. Not everything was fast women and good times in the ’80’s, there was a seedy side to things and Wild Side captured the grit and grime of the streets at night. This is one of my very favorite Crüe songs.

Guns N’ Roses – Welcome To The Jungle

1987 was the year GnR were thrust into the wider world. It would take them a bit to break, but break they did, to the tune of selling 30 million copies of Appetite For Destruction. The tune that really gets me going is the album’s opening track. It is a monster song, and much like the one from their bitter rivals above, relays how the big, bad city can swallow you whole. This threw a whole new level of intensity into the rock scene and made titans out of Guns N’ Roses.

Whitesnake – Still Of The Night

David Coverdale was not to be left out of the big winnings of 1987. Gambling his whole fortune on the album he’d just crafted, he would be paid back in spades as his album sold 10 million copies. While honestly just a song about a romp between the sheets, this is laid out with great care, featuring movements and interludes and the dynamite guitar of John Sykes. This song could be considered Whitesnake’s greatest triumph, though that’s not a question I’m here to discuss today.

U2 – Where The Streets Have No Name

U2 were big winners from 1987, bringing in a haul from their 25 million plus selling The Joshua Tree record. I’m not the band’s biggest fan but there’s no doubt that the album is a piece of work and that this song is absolutely stunning. This is simply a massive rock song packed with emotion and imagery that is too vivid to escape.

Dio – All The Fools Sailed Away

By 1987, Ronnie James Dio was operating without his wunderkid guitarist Vivian Campbell, who departed the band in acrimonious fashion. Though Dio’s “golden era” would be over, he was still capable of striking gold, as he did on this magnificent track. It’s a splendid quasi-ballad that stands alongside his prime cuts as one of his best works.

That wraps it up for 1987. Just two more years of the golden 1980’s to go, then things get really, really different – both in music and in my tastes.