Powerlifting Training Update, Musical Inspirations

Posted on April 5, 2016April 14, 2016 by Mike

Been a little bit since I last wrote in here. Haven’t had the chance due to the grind of my shit job and training for my upcoming powerlifting meet for Revolution Powerlifting Syndicate on Saturday, May 21st. I began preparing for the meet yesterday morning. For this training I completely got rid of shoulder day, focusing just on the big three moves with a bit of assistance work and some conditioning. When I get to the point that I have three weeks left I’m removing the assistance work completely to focus JUST on the big moves…maybe some conditioning. I even started ordering some equipment including Rehband Knee Sleeves, which were delivered today, liquid chalk, which I should be getting tomorrow as well as a black singlet, which I’m supposed to be getting in a few weeks. So far the knee sleeves fit perfectly and feel very comfortable.

Yesterday’s Deadlift workout:

Deadlift:

125lbs – 1 x 5

155lbs – 1 x 5

185lbs – 1 x 5

215lbs – 1 x 5

245lbs – 1 x 5

275lbs – 1 x 5

Leg Curls

50lbs – 1 x 10

75lbs 1 x 10

100lbs – 1 x 10

This was all followed by ten minutes on a stationary bike which saw my heart rate go up to 170. The average HR for this time was 143.

I’d like to thank Nails and their 2010 album Unsilent Death for totally filling me with the rage needed to hit the gym yesterday. Ever heard Nails before? Holy shit they are fucking BRUTAL!

Final Thoughts

So I saw this the other day while looking at upcoming shows since the weather’s getting better and because the school year’s almost over, enabling me to go to lots of shows. I had to laugh! Speed Metal Dating? The description should read: “Come to Saint Vitus to find that special someone with so many daddy issues that you’ll never hate yourself again!” Tell me I’m wrong!

The End: Black Sabbath live and SOLD OUT at Madison Square Garden February 25th, 2016

Posted on February 27, 2016August 17, 2016 by Mike

I tried to see Black Sabbath with Ozzy Osbourne on vocals on two different occasions. Now, I intended on writing about this in other blogs as I went through all the concerts I went to, but I feel that would take forever and it would make sense to write about it now since I’m about to discuss the show I just went to. When I went to see them at Ozzfest 2004 in Camden, NJ, drummer Bill Ward came out before the band was to play and announced that Ozzy was too sick to play and Rob Halford of Judas Priest was going to sing in his place. You couldn’t be there and complain much after that! The next year, before we even got in inside the PNC Bank Arts Center, the girl checking our tickets told my ex-guitarist Chad and I “No Black Sabbath tonight”. Why this time? “Because Ozzy’s sick.” Sure, Iron Maiden played an extended set that night but I was convinced that night that I’d never see Sabbath with Ozzy…and that Ozzy’s voice is just toast.

So when I got wind, a few weeks ago, that Sabbath had to cancel gigs in Canada because Ozzy lost his voice, the only thing I could assume was that my friend Frank was going to have to get a refund. Little did I know how wrong I would be…and some more. But I’ll get to that in a bit.

I arrived last night at Madison Square Garden with high expectations for the band and incredibly low expectations for Ozzy. Fuck, I really just wanted to see Tony Iommi anyway. But I was also looking very much forward to reuniting with my buddy Frank, who got us the tickets, as well as seeing the opening bands, Rival Sons. Rival Sons got on stage and goddamn they sound even more like Led Zeppelin live than on record! The most obvious sign of it on their albums is the John Bonham-like drum sound. But live, Jay Buchanan did some loud ass wailing while barefoot – that he at least had me convinced that Robert Plant found a way to defy age and join Rival Sons. At one point Frank and I were jokingly singing Zep song titles into two of their songs because they sounds THAT MUCH like Zep songs. I think the last time I heard anyone sound like Zep to the T was Billy Squier when he recorded “Lonely Is The Night”.

To our surprise we didn’t have to wait long for Sabbath to come on. The lights in the Garden went out at 8:45pm, definitely earlier than expected. As the sold out crowd was ROARING in excitement a video came up on the screen. We saw burning buildings that represented the artwork from their most recent album, 13. Then it got really weird, like something out of a fucking Final Fantasy game. But you can see part of it here:

So, as you can see and hear, they opened up with the title track to their self-titled debut. And from their the broke into the classic “Fairies Wear Boots”. Say what you want about Ozzy’s solo drummer, Tommy Clufetos, taking Bill Ward’s place for the last few years as well as the fact that his style is not as jazzy or loose as Bill’s. But he did a really good job emulating Bill’s parts and making him his own. Do I wish Bill was there? Hell fuck yeah I do! But I have to give Tommy respect for making it clear that he was paying his respects. His DW drum kit even looks like Bill’s Tama set to the T!

Geezer Butler, as usual, was on FIRE last night! He bass tone, even from where I was sitting in the nosebleed section, was so strong and crystal clear. HIs fingers were moving so fast on those strings. His playing, both wild with abandon yet perfectly arranged. There really is no one like him. No one.

Which brings me to Lita Ford’s favorite Superhero…as well as the main reason I even wanted to go: Tony Iommi. This is it for him. He’s sick, tired, stressed. No matter what the other guys want to do after this all ends I wouldn’t expect to see him out on the road again. The lymphoma treatments are clearly taking their toll on him. But he still put on probably the most amazing show I’ve ever seen from him and this was the fourth time I’ve seen Tony live overall. His playing was so fluid, so smooth yet so BRUTAL. His riffs – so horrifying, so scary, so BRUTAL. This motherfucker CREATED the style of music I love so much as is the primary reason I play guitar. There will NEVER be anyone like Tony Iommi ever again. Ever.

Then there was that big shocker of the night that I eluded to earlier. Ozzy Osbourne, not known to have had a great singing voice since the mid 9o’s…actually sounded good! I shit you not! I’m pretty sure the key was that the band played songs that Ozzy could handle, which meant not straying far from their first three albums much if at all. If you knew anything about how the guy destroyed his voice over the years you knew there was no way he was pulling out “Sabbath Blood Sabbath” or even “Megalomania” for that matter. Although I was surprised to hear them play “Snowblind” and even more surprised to hear Ozzy hit the high notes without struggle! He was shockingly on point last night…I guess the third time was the charm after all, eh?

THE SETLIST:

Intro video/Black Sabbath

Jack The Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots

After Forever

Into The Void (\m/\m/\m/\m/!!!!!!)

Snowblind

Wars Pigs

Behind The Wall Of Sleep/Bass Solo/NIB

Hand Of Doom

Rat Salad/Drum Solo

Iron Man

Dirty Women

Children Of The Grave

Encore: Paranoid (well, duh!)

Like I said, the band pretty much hovered around the first three albums which the exceptions of “Snowblind” and especially “Dirty Women”. Not that Ozzy sang high in that song; but I doubt anyone expected them to pull out something off Technical Ecstacy, which was not their best album during the Ozzy years. Either way, it was incredibly effective. My head hurt so much from headbanging yet I refused to stop. After the show ended we witnessed some guy who was so drunk he nearly fell down the stairs and that would have been a fucking long way down. He instead fell on his ass and as he when to get his cigarette, which was already lit up, he mistakenly put the lit side in his mouth!

The show was in-fucking-credible, what a fitting way to say goodbye to the band that started it all. In fact, they are playing another show at the Garden tomorrow night and will be touring through September. Without them, and especially without Tony Iommi, there would be no heavy metal as we know it now. For that I’ll always be thankful.

Powerlifting Meet Progression and Musical Inspiration/The IPF Guys Need A Life

Posted on February 15, 2016April 12, 2016 by Mike

Had a damn good leg day this past Thursday. It was very energetic, I feel myself getting stronger all the time. 5/3/1 is the shit!

2/11/16 Training Log:

Squat

95lbs – 1 x 5

115lbs – 1 x 5

140lbs – 1 x 5

180lbs – 1 x 3

205lbs – 1 x 3

225lbs – 1 x 6

Leg Press

190lbs – 3 x 10, 10, 10

Dumbbell Side Bends

8lbs – 3 x 10, 10, 10

This was all followed by six Prowler Sprints using 90lbs. I’m looking to slowly increase up to fifteen sprints on Squat and Deadlift days.

I owe part of my energy to this!

I’d also like to thank the site of the red headed FAGGOT piece of shit that trains at my gym for getting on my nerves just by being there. Long story short, this asshole decided to be rude with me all because I didn’t realize last week that the dumbbell section was no longer crowded and I could move my duffel bag. “It’s just…common knowledge”, he blurted out like a jerkoff. If you’ve got nothing nice to say to a guy you don’t know from a hole in the wall then don’t say shit because that guy might just kick your ass. I decided to be the better man because I wanted to get my work in but the next time he opens his dumb fucking mouth I might just fuck him up or at least give him a nice warning. Although I’d love to see someone just shoot him is his face repeatedly – now THAT would be awesome!

The International Powerlifting Federation…you guys seriously need to get over yourselves, leave your office and go get some air, go meet a girl, buy a plastic doll that you all can share, something. Is attending the seminar of a guy who’s banned from the IPF for life really considered a form of association with the guy?

Quick back story: Ed Coan, considered the greatest powerlifter of all time, failed three drug tests with the IPF, the most prestigious powerlifting federation in the world, between 1985 and 1996 before finally being banned for life from the fed. So when Ed was getting ready to host a series of seminars in Sweden the IPF issued a really pathetic statement reminding both IPF lifters as well as their own staff members that they were not to attend Ed’s seminar or they would be banned for life/fired.

I don’t care what anyone says – that’s the dumbest fucking statement the IPF could give. So, as someone on YouTube said, should Silent Mike from Super Training Gym be banned from USAPL, which is affiliated with the IPF, because he and Mark Bell interviewed Ed for Power Magazine? Hey how about Stronglifts creator Mehdi Hadim? There’s a video of him training squats with Ed – should he not be allowed to lift in the IPF should he ever choose to compete? He’s banned because he fucked up – he wasn’t some junkie pro wrestler who killed his wife and kid, and then hung himself on his lat pulldown machine in his basement. Oops.

Practicing Riffs

Posted on January 30, 2016January 30, 2016 by Mike

So I just uploaded two videos of myself practicing some riffs including my own original riffs. I plan on recording some music in the next few weeks if all goes right. I’ve said in the past that I’m retired for band life. I don’t miss it AT ALL but I imagine that if I ever did go into that again then I’d start a raw metal band, kind of crusty and VERY offensive.

The pickups on the Destroyer sound way better than I figured they would have. I had a wiring issue when I first played it; turned out it the top pot needed to be replaced, which was great because I really didn’t want to replace the pickups if I didn’t have to.

Final Thoughts

Speaking of offensive…so how about Phil Anselmo’s remarks at Dimebash, eh? I’m not going to jump on the bandwagon and throw my two cents in because believe me when I tell you I’d come off as a hypocrite – and no, I’m not a white supremacist. It’s funny that as soon as he said it was a joke made over white wine he was instantly called out because apparently he and Rita Haney were drinking alright – but not white wine. In fact there was no white wine there at all. But that’s not even the point because even though Phil gave a public apology as of this writing, chances are he’ll probably do it again. The point is, for all those bands calling him out like what he did was so controversial, you obviously are all clueless to the fact that he’s done that shit before. Hey here’s the proof for you’re viewing pleasure if you didn’t think it was bad enough that he said what he said during a show that was meant to honor his fallen bandmate – skip to the 1:57 mark for the fun parts because White Power! Right Phil??

Discovering True Anger In Metal; My First Powerlifting Meet

Posted on January 17, 2016 by Mike

Discovering True Anger In Metal

I bought my first Megadeth CD, Cryptic Writings, in 1998 when I was fourteen, almost a year after it was originally released. I tried so hard to like it, I really did. Fuck, I was anticipating a lot more from the guy who fired from Metallica AND named his band MEGADETH. Come on! But I couldn’t. It was way too fucking tame, even songs like “She-Wolf”, “The Disintegrators”, and even “FFF” were watered down compared to what I was expecting. So I wrote ’em off like I did Metallica…especially after Risk! That’ll just put you to fucking sleep! At that time THE bands everybody my age listened to were the bands of the day like most kids do anyway, the bands in this case being Marilyn Manson (when he actually had balls), Korn (this was months before they became dead to me), OLD Metallica, Shit-vana (because it was some unspoken requirement to put that dead, talentless sack of shit on a pedestal), maybe one or two more that I can’t remember right now.

But over time I eventually discovered FAR BETTER songs from Megadeth thanks to WSOU like “Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying?” and “Sweating Bullets”. Amazing. It was near the end of my junior year in high school in 2001 when VH1 premiered their Behind The Music on the band. Upon watching it my interest in the band was renewed before I even got to the fucking ten minute mark. The intensity of everything from the way Mustaine alone grew up to the music being more badass than any riff Hetfield EVER came up with for Metallica to their beyond fucked up life style. Then came the news that their next album, The World Needs A Hero, was to be heavier and a lot less radio friendly than the last two piles of shit. And it was. So over time I found myself buying most of the classics from their glory days.

Then near the end of 2001 I heard the news that Mustaine had remixed and remastered the band’s 1985 debut album, Killing Is My Business…And Business Is Good!, including a forward written by Scott Ian (because he’s only THE biggest metal fan on earth), as well as brand new artwork. Remember this?

So badass. Not! So, the weekend it was released I went over to Sam Goody (remember that place?) and bought it. After a funny ride home from a cab driver telling me about all the girls he’s fucked I wasted no time and popped that shit right in my radio. The piano intro to “Last Rites/Loved To Deth” was crystal clear thanks to this new mix. I loved how it seemed to tell a story before the main riff kicked in. Holy shit this is intense! Listen to those double bass drums!! The morbidity of the song as he says “If I can’t have you then no one will!”. That crazy, frenzied solo – is he using his Bill Lawrence pickups as frets to hit higher notes??? Someone call 911 – he just RAPED his B.C. Rich Bich…and it was good!

So this set the tone! The entire album from here on in was pure balls to the wall, heavy as FUCK, ridiculously technical, jazzy time changes thanks to Chris Poland, whose solos run circles around most metal guitarists. Kirk who?! This was pure drug-feuled ANGER!! Dave Mustaine was fired from what was to be THE biggest band in the world and he desperately had something to prove. He was out for BLOOD. The peak of the album? “Looking Down The Cross”. This song completely summarizes the album as a whole. It’s well arranged, twists and turns at the right spots, Mustaine’s shockingly intelligent lyrics, the second of his two solos on the song is so panic stricken that it perfectly painted the mood of the entire song! The final track was “Mechanix”. For those of you who are new to this shit or live under a rock this is basically “The Four Horsemen” with a faster tempo, no slow interlude, and alternate lyrics about a horny gas attendant. Mustaine wrote the song before he joined Metallica and gave it to them along with “Jump In The Fire”, but when they fired him James and Lar$ changed the lyrics and added the two slower parts and made it the song you know on Kill ‘Em All. It was fun hearing this version of it, way more straight forward, way more badass.

I don’t know if I should thank Dave Mustaine’s thirst for revenge, drummer Gar Samuelson for introducing Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson to speedballs or both. But I’ll tell you what…Killing Is My Business… was absolutely BRUTAL in the year predating Slayer’s Reign In Blood. And with Mustaine’s amazing remix technique the newfound clarity amplifies that brutality times ten. THIS was what I needed so bad in a time when everyone around me was listening to THE lamest, shittiest music you could find on radio in early 2002. I was truly alone in this aspect but I didn’t care. When my friends were listening to either Mudvayne or shitty emo bands like Weezer I was deafening my ears with Killing… for a long time.

My First Powerlifting Meet

So after lots of thinking I finally decided to sign up for my first ever powerlifting meet, figuring that if I don’t do it now I might not ever. So as of earlier this afternoon I will be competing in Revolution Powerlifting Syndicate’s Jersey Rumble at the Ramada Inn in Newark, NJ on Saturday, May 21st. I’ll be part of the Amateur Open in the 198lb weight class in the Raw Modern Division. The Open begins between 2:30 – 3:00 but I have to be there at noon to be given the rules, warm up, etc. I’m going to see how I like it, regardless of how I do – which won’t be great. If I like it I’ll do it again. I imagine that if so I’d do one more meet later in the year, either in New Jersey again or somewhere in New York, most likely upstate somewhere. If things go well maybe I’ll join USAPL, which is an affiliate of the International Powerlifting Federation. If you’re reading this and plan on going to this feel free to drop me a line.

Random Thoughts

Posted on January 11, 2016March 8, 2016 by Mike

See this guy? This guy is the man. Fuck that – he’s my hero. If you don’t know who he is Jim Wendler is the COO of Elite FTS, making him CEO Dave Tate’s right hand man. But what makes in more important than even that is his awesome training program he developed for all kinds of lifters from bodybuilders to athletes to powerlifters, 5/3/1.

On paper it seems as annoying to decode as any other powerlifting program with calculating percentages, etc. But what makes this program so unique, at least to me, is that Jim takes the guess work right out of everything. It’s real simple; in one 4-week cycle you will perform three sets of your main lift for 3 working sets of 5 reps during the first week, 3 sets of 3 reps the next week, and then for the last week you will perform 3 working sets of 5 reps, then 3 reps and then 1 rep or more if you can. After your main lift, you will perform two or three assistance lifts, followed by light or hard conditioning (he likes to push prowlers and run up hills a lot) depending on the day. After all that you will enjoy a deload week as your fourth week as a way to recover while still staying active before going back into the heavy stuff.

I like this a lot because in short the name of the game of long term gains. This isn’t some eight week program you read about in mainstream bodybuilding magazines. This is about making new gains and breaking new PR’s every cycle, regardless of what that PR is. If during a cycle you bench 155lbs for 5 reps during the third week and then in the next cycle your benching those same numbers for 8 reps, it’s still a PR. You’re still getting stronger.

I’m pretty sure this program has been real good to me since I began using it back in October because as of today I finally Deadlifted 305lbs for the first time. I’d like to thank Motorhead’s badass track “The Hammer” for giving me the energy to do this! I probably should’ve gotten there two cycles ago but instead of increasing the weights every cycle by ten pounds I increased them by five. Oops. I’m beyond grateful that my gym in Clifton, New York Sports Club, actually has a deadlift platform with bumper plates because I refuse to deadlift with those shitty octagonal plates EVER again. In fact, I hope who ever created those plates gets shot in the fucking throat repeatedly because they make TRUE strength training such a hindrance.

Week 3: Day 2 – Deadlift Day!

Deadlift

125lbs – 1 x 5

155lbs – 1 x 5

185lbs – 1 x 5

245lbs – 1 x 5

275lbs – 1 x 3

305lbs – 1 x3

Hyperextensions

35lbs – 3 x 12, 12 10

Ab Core machine

20lbs – 3 x 20, 20, 20

I wanted to use the ab crunch machine and do three sets with 105lbs but some middle aged bitch was occupying it, taking her sweet ass time. You know the ones, they sit on the machine for 10 minutes, while socializing, and they even stop DURING THEIR SETS to yap some more. Why are they even in the gym? Shouldn’t they be in the beauty parlor with their other middle aged friends gossiping about some worthless piece of shit reality show they probably rush home for every day because they have NOTHING ELSE to live for??

Oh! Speaking of Motorhead…

My girlfriend told me two days ago that Dingbatz was going to host the streaming of Lemmy’s memorial service in L.A. using Motorhead’s YouTube page, so of course we went. It’s awesome knowing I’m literally a driving distance of ten minutes from the place. There weren’t as many people there to watch it as we figured there would be, which was fine by me because we actually got seats at the bar giving us a great view of the brand new flat screens that the management just had installed, with the much older “tubes” now sitting outside of the bar.

It was held at a chapel, there was no way in fuck that this would be held at a church. Nope nope! Next to a podium was a table with a few souvenirs, if you will; Lemmy’s pirate hat which covered his urn – I had no idea he was cremated! – something from the WWE with their logo on it, always tacky guys, you never learn, do you? His cowboy boots were on it along with some speed…a parting gift from Motorhead guitarist Phil Campbell, who surprised all of us by NOT being there. I repeat: PHIL CAMPBELL was NOT at his own bandmate’s FUNERAL. Surrounding both sides of the chapel? Lemmy’s Marshall “MURDER ONE” Full Stacks. FUCK. YES.

Not many people there in suits, maybe one or two people. But the difference between those two people was all too clear: one guy probably wore a suit out of respect, like I would, and Triple H wore a suit because he has a corporate image to uphold. Yeah, I said it. There were a lot of people there to speak about Lemmy as well as one or two people I know I sure didn’t expect. Did any of you truly expect GENE SIMMONS to be there? Since when the fuck does GENE FUCKING SIMMONS care about anyone BUT himself?? Geezer Butler was also there, which was cool of him. Of course Ozzy and $haron were there, I mean $haron only screwed him out of potentially MILLIONS in royalties for writing classic songs on both No More Tears and Ozzmosis by giving him flat rates. Cunt.

Among the speakers were various people, from random friends from Germany, to Lemmy’s somn Paul, to the band’s management and road crew (You know what song came to my mind every time!), to celebrities we all know. Just like that the theme of this service was all too clear: friendship. As much of a modern day pirate as he was, Lemmy was everybody’s friend and those people who were invited to speak were obviously those he made the most impact on from a personal level. A surprisingly emotional Mike Inez of Alice In Chains spoke, as well as Slash, who spoke about the time he spent with Lemmy in the hospital after he was fitted with a pacemaker, being by his side everyday until he was released. I had no idea. I’ll never be a fan of Slash’s guitar playing and I LOATHE Guns N Roses but he always comes of like that guy you can hang out with for hours.

Triple H (most boring wrestler EVER) told some funny stories about Lemmy. Remember, before he became a corporate sellout he was a metalhead who would often do interview segments in a battle jacket with either one of his own shirts or the Motorhead England shirt. In that regard he was for real. He had the honor of having Motorhead play him to the ring for two Wrestlemanias. Luckily for me he lost both times. He mentioned that when that happened Lemmy said to him: “You can’t win a match to save your life, can you? That’s why you’re good for us!” But after talking of Lemmy the ballbuster he spoke of Lemmy the gentleman.

He and his wife went to see Motorhead backstage at a festival show. He went backstage and he found Lemmy with two towels on, topless girls and coke on the table. He was about to come in until Lemmy noticed Stephanie. “Whoop! Close the door!”, he yelled as Trips waited outside. When Lemmy reopened the door he was now dressed, the girls were dressed and the coke was gone, which Trips could only assume Lemmy snorted all of – and all because Stephanie was there. Sure sounds like a gentleman to me, even though not too long ago Steph actually had double implants.

All of us in the bar were VERY surprised when Rob Halford came up to speak. I had no idea he’d be there but it shouldn’t be too much of a shocker. Like Lemmy, this world is Rob’s life and even after all the decades he’s been doing this he’s still a fan. He told everyone: “When I was in the presence of Lord Lemmy, I was a bit overwhelmed …” Yeah? Well, so were the rest of us bud. Points for calling him “Lord Lemmy”, by the way. After Rob left Lemmy’s girlfriend came up. She was clearly drunk, slurring her words the entire time. No denying she’s in a major panic right now, trying to figure out what to do next.

Lars Ulrich and Robert Trujillo of Metallica came up and that’s when I got interested. Upon walking up to the podium, Lars looked…different. I don’t mean the homeless guy beard he had but his vibe was different. He was clearly shaken up there…even vulnerable. Metallica are dead to me after …And Justice For All, but there would be no Metallica without Motorhead and Lars made it painfully obvious in every interview he’s ever done. You knew it when he spoke of opening for Motorhead in 1982, the year before Metallica were even signed to Megaforce Records, and Lemmy recognized him from their meeting in Denmark not too long before that. The theme of his speech was that Lemmy always treated him as an equal. I’m sure Lars could’ve said much more…if he wasn’t still shaken. It must’ve finally hit him that his idol is gone. That has to really suck for Lars, knowing that the reason he is the drummer for biggest band in the world is no longer here.

Dave Grohl was the last person to speak, which is what everyone was waiting for. You know his general history: drummer for extremely overrated grunge band turned frontman/guitarist for middle of the road rock band. But those who REALLY know ANYTHING about the guy know too well that he’s nearly as big a Motorhead fan as even Lars! He occupation as guitarist for his middle of the road rock band basically finances his love of all things hardcore, crust and metal. If you know ANYTHING about Dave Grohl you heard his metal side project Probot, which featured several different metal vocalist, including Lemmy, with whom he recorded the only good track on that CD, “Shake Your Blood:, in which Lemmy also played bass.

Over the years Dave and Lemmy truly developed a bond with a each other. The two of them got together many times and were clearly the best of friends for years. Watching him up there you can tell he was truly humbled to be friend with the guy. What sucked was when the mic got cut off and we couldn’t hear shit for about ten minutes, and went right back on before he finished. He mentioned their love of Little Richard, which plays and important part here. Right before Lemmy died Dave got Little Richard to autograph a bible pamphlet for him to give to Lemmy, but Lemmy died right before he could give it to him. So right before he let the podium Dave recited a few lines from Little Richard’s song “Precious Lord Take My Hand”, before raising a toast to Lemmy.

After it was done Lemmy’s tech plugged in his Rickenbacker signature “Rickenbastard” bass, leaned it against his full stack and let that shit feed back forever. THAT is how you hold a memorial service. Let’s celebrate the guys life – I think he’d make fun of all of us for mourning him, I know he wouldn’t want us to, although the woman sitting across from us was in tears the entire time. The world is still a shittier place without you though pal.

Corrosion of Conformity live at Gramercy Theatre 12/4/15

Posted on December 13, 2015June 11, 2016 by Mike

This was a last minute thing for me. I totally wasn’t expecting to go to this because I had somewhere to be the next day but all I can tell you was it was so fucking worth it. I was amazed I was even able to get tickets because according to my girlfriend the show was very close to selling out, which did surprise me just a bit. I mean, Pepper Keenan hasn’t done shit with Corrosion of Conformity in a decade and the band went on without him for a few years as a three piece hardcore band for the first time since their 1985 album Animosity.

When I think of Corrosion as a band I can’t help but think of that swinger couple that lets it get out hand for far longer than usual. Mike Dean left the band after 1987’s Technocracy EP and didn’t come back until the year before the band made 1994’s Deliverance. Reed Mullin left after 2000’s America’s Volume Dealer, only to come back in 2010, just in time for him, Woody Weatherman and Mike to go back out as a three piece. And then there’s Pepper. Oh, Pepper…this guy is without a doubt THE biggest WHORE in this relationship. After the band’s last studio album with him, 2005’s In The Arms of God, he basically ditched his jilted lovers for Down along with ex-Pantera singer and childhood friend Phil Anselmo so he could jerk off to slugde metal on record. Together they made one GREAT comeback album, followed by two not so great EPs.

But in this swinging relationship, man do things swing in both directions because this year Pepper finally returned, seemingly getting it all out of his system and here we are. They recently signed a new deal with Nuclear Blast Records and they plan to make a new record next year. And judging by the assault on my ears a few nights ago I’m convinced the wait will be worth it.

After I bought my tickets I went out for a bit, but upon going back to the building I found Mike Dean outside the building having a cigarette. Drugs are bad, mmmkay? Because this motherfucker, as amazing a bassist as he is, looks like Doc Brown on meth. I went up to him to introduce myself. He shook my hand and even said hi but, with his looking around at everything but me, I figured he just wanted to be left alone so I let him be.

I sat on the ground for a few minutes when Pepper came out for a cigarette. He had cowboy boots on with his worn leather jacket. His face? Aged like a motherfucker, but then again, if I was childhood friends with someone like Phil Anselmo I’d age badly myself! I said “what’s up bro?” to him and he was about to shake my hand before we were rudely interrupted by these two tramps who bragged to Pepper that “we came ALL the way from New Jersey just to see you!”. Oooh wow, you came from across the fucking Hudson River??!!?!?! WOW!!!! Did you swim across the river? Because THAT would’ve been impressive!

While these two fuckheads where doing their thing Pepper quickly turned to shake my hand before something else happened. We shared some small talk, nothing major, nothing long. I asked him if bitches annoy you like that often, “Sometimes…”, he said in his Louisiana drawl. I then asked him if he was enjoying playing out with the guys again. “Yeah man, I’m having a blast.”, he said before being warned by this drunken Brooklyn buffoon waiting on line to hide his beer in his jacket because the NYPD are hardasses with nothing better to do. As much as I thought the buffoon was annoying with his drunken bellowing about seeing Savatage while high I couldn’t help but echo back his warning to Pepper.

After my girlfriend arrived we went on line and were able to grab a seat to the right of the mixing board. On tonight’s bill alongside Corrosion were Mothership, Saviours and Brent Bjork and The Low Desert Punk Band. I also declared this night the Orange Amplifiers Apocalypse. What’s with stoner bands and their fixation on Orange Amps? Did they not get the memo that the only reason Tony Iommi used an Orange Amp in that televised German performance on Beat-Club was because it belonged to the TV studio? Not too long after I noticed Jimmy and Peter Pallis of Anaka up front we were taken by surprise by this sudden fucking screeching amp feedback. As my ears were getting fucked up the projection screen on stage went up and there was Mothership.

Now…I’m still not sure a week later how I feel about this band. There is no doubt in mind of their musical direction: not too heavy, aggressive enough. There’s no question in my mind that Kelley Juett played his fucking ass off throughout Mothership’s entire set. Very good guitar player with a very good amp tone as well. I wasn’t too surprised to hear them play Led Zeppelin’s “heartbreaker”. I felt like something was missing though. What exactly? Not sure…maybe it’s sounded to early 70’s hard rockfish for my tastes. I don’t hate Mothership…just not sure what to think.

Next up was Saviours.

Geez…Austin Barber and Kelley Juett sure do look alike! The guy sitting next me and I were sure that it was the same guy in two bands. Aside for that this band to me are what Mothership maybe should’ve been. They were definitely edgier, heavier, more badass solos, more badass riffing, more badass everything while keeping it in a sludge/stoner context. Imagine a mix of High on Fire if Matt Pike hired a second guitarist and they played Iron Maiden style harmonies.

Brent Bjork and The Low Desert Punk Band should go into a room with the surviving members of The Grateful Dead, suck each other off and then go kill themselves in a suicide pact with all of them shooting themselves in the fucking mouth.

This is exactly why I HATE jam bands so fucking much. Stupid name: check. Unnecessarily long jams: check. Shitty songs to be jamming out to: check. But forget all that for a second. What the fuck are they doing on a bill with bands they sound nothing like??

They finally showed us mercy but getting the fuck off the stage around 10pm. The real fun began a half an hour later:

The last time I saw Corrosion of Conformity over ten years ago opening up for Motorhead they sounded damn good; but on this night they sounded absolutely fucking brutal. They all came off as completely re-energized – especially Pepper. His voice was real strong here, full of energy, as if he really was happy to be back with the guys. I was so pumped! After “Broken Man” they went right into “Paranoid Opioid” and I dare say this time around it sounded better than the album version. They broke into a lot of tracks spanning their entire Pepper-era run between 1991 and 2005, including “Vote With A Bullet”, my girlfriend’s personal favorite, as well as “Albatross”, which Pepper personally dedicated to Mothership. Why? “Because they owe me a lot of money.”, he declared on the mic.

Before the show ended for good Pepper said he was dedicating the last song to the Eagles of Death Metal as a result of the Paris attacks where a few of their own crew members were killed in the Bataclan while the band was on stage. Scary shit. The song? “Clean My Wounds”. Gee Pepper, thanks for showing me that I’ve been playing the riff wrong all these years. Fucker. After the guitar solo the band broke it down into a reggae groove that lasted nearly ten minutes and showed off how great a bassist Mike Dean really is. Reed Mullin? Absolutely underrated as a drummer, he truly has come such a long way in thirty years. After nearly ten minutes the band jumped right back into the song’s original groove before calling it a night.

This was an absolutely brutal, incredible show and I’m happy to say that it did in fact sell out half way into the night. I’ll be first in line to buy their new CD when it comes out. This is my last concert for the year until Black Sabbath in February unless I get tickets to see Lamb of God in January with support from Power Trip and Anthrax.

Abigail Lives! King Diamond live at Playstation Theater 11/20/15

Posted on November 27, 2015November 30, 2015 by Mike

It was an eerie night on that 7th day of July in 1777…alright it was more like last Friday in Manhattan and I was actually going to see King Diamond. On this tour he’ll play a few classics before playing in its entirety Abigail, the album that made King a metal GOD. Thanks again Courtenay! So I went to pick her up at her job and off we went to PlayStation Theater in Times Square, where we were searched twice, including being patted down because of the ISIS attacks on Paris…as well as ISIS claiming Times Square was next. Oh, and if you live in NYC and really thought they’d do it you’re dumb. It’s too big and too obvious. I think they’d hit a much more low key area.

We got there long before the doors even opened and sat because she hurt her calf just walking to meet me and my knees were in exquisite pain from squatting 210 for 6 reps without my compression gear on. So more than an hour passed before people stared coming in and man, this show got stereotypical real quick. I saw a lot of Mexicans walking in and you just knew they were there to see Exodus, the opening band. There’s always been a connection between Mexicans and thrash or even some death metal. I can’t explain but if you’ve ever gone to a thrash show you know what I’m talking about. I saw dudes coming in with bandanas on with unbent baseball caps over them and 2nd generation Exodus and Slayer t-shirts. It never fails…ever.

Sitting a few seats next to us were the stereotypical awkward/not so good looking couples who are bonded by that one little thing…their love for metal. Awww. Then someone said something to me that had me looking. “You notice how many morbidly obese guys are here?” Oh yeah, it was real bad. I’m totally convinced that it’s the result of years of devotion to Dungeons and Dragons, staying indoors all day and playing online video games with thirteen year old boys and eating like shit their entire lives. You know these motherfuckers came out of the woodwork just for this and then ran back home to their video games. I’m not the best looking guy out there but I’m sure I was maybe one of the most in shape guys in the whole fucking building at that moment. Ladies and gents – another metal concert stereotype. Don’t ever be that guy.

So around 8pm Exodus were getting ready to hit the stage. Their entrance music? “Piano Man” by Billy Joel. Once Exodus came on they opened with a track off their new album Blood In Blood Out. My biggest problem with this band forever will always be Sousa’s vocals. I said it in my last blog but canning Rob Dukes was THE dumbest thing they could’ve done. Dukes gave Exodus much needed new life with his intense screams and barks. I even bought an Exodus album for the first time! Forget that they way the canned him was pretty scummy it was just a bad artistic call. The are so fucking heavy that Sousa’s nasal delivery just sounds so fucking dated.

Aside from that they played great. But why did Gary Holt look so different here? What a sec…..that’s not Gary! Where is he?? I texted my friend Maureen, who was waiting in line to get searched, if she knew anything. I had no idea that he was not going to be there because of Slayer commitments. It seems crazy at first, Exodus hit a goldmine, opening for King Diamond and having three additional dates added in New York City alone because the initial date sold out so fast. But then again, Gary’s now in Slayer as well as Exodus and probably making much more money in one show alone. Good for him. So who was his replacement on this tour with King? It’s Heathen guitarist Kragen Lum, who did a damn good job playing Gary’s parts.

Exodus played for not even an hour. Zetro did his expected nod to L’Amour’s to get the older fans to jizz all over themselves, and they did. The hit their signature tune, “Toxic Waltz”, right in the middle of the set. The dudes in the pit went apeshit. It was a decent show. I don’t hate Exodus and I never really did. But Zetro just annoys me to no end. He is to the west coast what Blitz from Overkill is to the east coast – really annoying!

After a little waiting period, the curtain opened. Then…this happened….

I have to admit, I was a bit worried. Over the last several years he suffered a herniated disc and most recently heart surgery. I saw a clip of him with members of Mercyful Fate playing with Metallica on their 30th anniversary show in 2011 and he wasn’t that good. But that was then, because as soon as he wailed out “GRANDMAAAAAAAA!!!!” all my fears were gone. Holy shit he was amazing. His band were spot on. Andy LaRocque’s solos? Total. Fucking. Jizzfest. He can solo all day and I’ll never get bored. The stage? Two staircases with a balcony with two inverted crucifixes and a pentagram behind it. So eighties, so amazing.

After “Welcome Home” the band kicked right into “Sleepless Nights”, my personal favorite from King. It’s so different from the rest of his material up to that particular album for me, I guess because of the chord structuring and the emotion that’s actually in that song. Yeah I know that Conspiracy is a concept album like everything else from Abigail on; but every time he shrieks out that line “Killing The PAAAAIIIINNNN!!!!!” it always hits me and now here I was hearing it live and my response was no different here. They broke into “Halloween” after that and then two Mercyful Fate tunes, “Evil” and “Melissa”.

I have to admit I’m one of the many people would’ve never known “Evil” or ANYTHING related to Mercyful Fate or King Diamond if I never bought Metallica’s Garage Inc. So when King shrieked “I was born in a cemetery….” I immediately heard Hetfield singing it in my head. At the end of “Melissa” King says in a raspy voice “I think Melissa’s still with us…”, before slowly walking up the steps, them limping. Then, as he reached the top, the pentagram, crucifixes and band logo on the side of the stage descended. Then shit went DOWN!!!!!

I had to get the first two songs recorded. “Arrival” is such a dark and ominous song, foreshadowing the rest of this creepy ass story about a pregnant woman whose baby is possessed by the spirit of Abigail, the illegitimate, stillborn child who was mummified by Count La’Fey. Hearing every single track was intense. The band were spot on. King’s voice was much better than I would’ve ever expected. I should also note that while most aging bands will tune lower so the singer can handle the songs, King played EVERYTHING in their proper tunings. Not bad for a guy who’s sixty years old. And there’s one more thing I need to point out. My girlfriend pointed out King’s makeup, which looked NOTHING like his usual look, inverted crucifixes all over his face. This time it actually looked a lot more like his classic look from the 80’s, you know, the one Gene Simmons tried to sue him over in the late nineties like an asshole. Hey Gene, fuck you!

As the show came to an end with “The Black Horsemen” King yelled out to the crowd “Thank you so, so much New York!”, and rightfully so. Only in New York City could one show turn into four and it was easy to tell he was moved by it all. He’s lucky to be alive and I’m sure he knows it. After the band finished up “Insanity” from King’s album The Eye, could be heard through the PA speakers. It served to me as one last reminder of how talented a songwriter King really is. He’s extremely underrated and deserves much more credit than he gets, even after Metallica exposed him to the world seventeen years ago. I’m pretty sure King stayed on stage for five extra minutes even after the rest of the band walked off just to high five the fans, soaking it all in. This type of thing doesn’t happen to him in the states often and I know it had to have felt amazing at that moment. He’d go on to play two more shows in the next two nights and I’m sure the results were the same.

Upcoming Show’s I’ll Be Attending

Posted on November 15, 2015November 17, 2015 by Mike

So here’s a short list of the next few show’s I’m going to in either New Jersey or Manhattan within the next week and again in February.

King Diamond w/ Exodus live at PlayStation Theater, New York, NY – Friday, November 20, 2015

This was very last minute. I wasn’t counting on seeing this show because this date in particular is sold out but a co-worker of my girlfriend offered her his tickets. Sucker! This is going to be amazing. I love King. She can’t stand him but is willing to go see him out of respect, knowing that there’d probably never be bands like Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax or Slayer had it not been for Mercyful Fate, King’s pre-solo band. Being that this will be my first time seeing King, it’ll also be interesting to hear how he sounds after years away, having recovered from back AND heart surgeries. I also know I’m absolutely going to jizz myself silly when I finally hear Andy LaRoque solo his brains out for the first time ever! Not looking too forward to Exodus. I’m probably one of the few would cannot stand Souza’s voice…at all. What the fuck was Gary Holt thinking when he got rid of Rob Dukes? Was he even thinking at all?!?! You dumb fuck.

Angel Vivaldi live at Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ – Sunday, November 22, 2015

Since I last wrote about Angel Vivaldi this YouTube sensation has been on the road for the last two months, promoting his most recent album, Away With Words, Pt.1. This show will be his homecoming show, bringing that tour to an end. If you haven’t heard him yet I suggest you go to Dingbatz on the 22nd to see why he gets namedropped by peers such as Alice Cooper guitarist Nita Strauss.

Black Sabbath live at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY – Thursday, February 25, 2016

Well, here it is. And more important than that, it’s for real this time. Tony Iommi himself has gone on record saying that he finally cannot handle it anymore. It’s incredible he was able to hang on for as long as he has, all things considered. But it was going to happen eventually – I’m just grateful that their last show wasn’t an Ozzfest gig in Japan! What really got me mad was finding out after I bought the tickets that they’re playing another show at the Garden two days later – on a Saturday. But I honestly don’t mind taking a day off from work the next day – especially with the jackasses I deal with on a day to day basis! They’ll also be playing throughout the summer including dates at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ.

I just hope that Ozzy doesn’t fuck this up. The two times I tried to see Sabbath he was sick, but I’ll definitely get into those times in future blogs, trust me. I know for a fucking fact that I’m not the only one who’d LOVE for Bill Ward to be a part of this last tour. But I guess it’s up to Bill in the end; but hell, he should be a part of this, if not even for us at least for himself! I’d love to see the classic line up that started it all just once. C’mon Bill! Ozzy fucked it up for me twice – don’t you be the one to fuck it up this time!

In Memory Of Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor

Posted on November 13, 2015April 12, 2016 by Mike

My dear friend and brother passed away last night. He had been ill for sometime but that does not make it any easier when the time finally comes.

I have known Phil since he was 21 and he was one hell of a character. Fortunately, we made some fantastic music together and I have many many fond memories of our time together.

Rest in peace, Phil!

“Fast” Eddie Clark

Well….there’s no other way to put it…this sucks. I had no idea he was sick and of course there’s no cause of death yet, or least as I’m typing this. For those of you who somehow have no idea who “Philthy Animal” is he played drums in Motorhead’s classic lineup, which included Lemmy and “Fast” Eddie Clark, and can be heard on Motorhead’s classic and most important albums in the late 70’s and early 80’s, including their breakout 1980 album Ace Of Spades. As part of the classic lineup Phil’s drumming style along with Lemmy’s thunderous bass from hell would prove to be one of THE biggest influences on future thrash metal musicians…everywhere. Here’s a nice example of how right now. Most people are going to be blasting the title track to Ace Of Spades and that’s ok but THIS is how I’ll always remember Phil. Rest in Peace brother.

Confessions of an Angry Metalhead

Tag: Aggression