Tag: “Heavy Metal”

Megadeth – Megadeth

Posted on by Mike

https://metalheadconfessions.com/?p=3428

This won’t be fun. I will not enjoy making this review. It’s sad that I came out of retirement for this.

It was announced a few months back that Megadeth’s next album would be their last. I didn’t buy that and I somewhat still don’t, even after listening to the final track, with its strongly worded message. Dave Mustaine has been diagnosed an arthritic condition in his left hand known as Dupuytren’s Contracture, in which his hand stiffen up, as if he’s holding an axe. That apparently is why it’s also known as Viking Disease. Imagine writing some of THE most insanely technical riffs in ALL of Heavy Metal, and then your hand is essentially crippled. That’d kill me if I were in his shoes.

We also have yet another new lineup. Back in the fold for his second jaunt with Megadeth is none other than legendary Brooklyn bassist James LoMenzo. James joined Megadeth in time for 2007’s United Abominations and left shortly after 2009’s Endgame as original Megadeth bassist David Ellefson was being brought back in. When David was fired a few years ago for what I at least describe as religious hypocrisy, his bass parts in the yet to be released The Sick, The Dying, And The Dead were erased and replaced by fretless bass GOD Steve DiGiorgio. But Steve didn’t tour with the band for that album, and that’s when James was brought back. Finnish guitarist Teemu Mantysaari was previously in Symphonic Metal band Wintersun. He joined in time to replace Kiko Loureiro, who left after The Sick, The Dying and The Dead to be home in Brazil with his family.

Symphonic Metal: GAY.

So, with some younger blood in Megadeth, it would be interesting to hear how this supposed sendoff would sound. For those who don’t know, Dave Mustaine left his own band in 2002 after an arm injury. But he came back a little over a year later and his hand was working just fine. And when he initially said that the inaugural 2005 Gigantour would be the last Megadeth tour, he chose to continue on. That’s why I’m pessimistic. Even David Ellefson knows to be pessimistic!

Let’s look at the artwork first. We see band mascot Vic Rattlehead in a three piece suit. As he’s adjusting his tie, we see that he’s slowly being engulfed in flames. It may be symbolic of one going out bravely, going out on his own terms. To me it’s reminiscent of Gus Fring adjusting his tie after barely making it out of the nursing home room that was just blown up by Hector Salamanca by way of Walter White in Season 4 of Breaking Bad. Half his face is blown off, but maybe he knows he’s about to die because once that shock kicks in he immediately drops to the floor.

This supposed final album begins with “Tipping Point”, which was also the first single off the album. It starts off with a pretty good mid-tempo, Iron Maiden-esque harmony riff, featuring quite an impressive solo from Dave. It then picks up speed. Then comes Dave’s vocals and rather shitty lyrics. “Today I may bleed, but tonight you will die”? Yeah, ok bud. Thank fuck for Teemu, who really does sound like a modern-day Marty Friedman at times. And man, it’s only one track in and I can hear how shot Dave’s voice is. A lot of this has to do with his 2010 neck fusion. That fucked up a lot of things for him.

Unfortunately, his voice is going to sound pretty raspy and frail for most, if not all of this album.

The lyrics to “I Don’t Care” are absolutely childish and retarded in plain English. RETARDED. Is this supposed to be Dave’s attempt at writing a Punk Rock song at 64 years old?? Once again, thank you Teemu for saving the day, and for not being a Temu Marty Friedman. See what I did there? Otherwise, “You gotta know gotta know gotta know” that this song is absolute ass!

“Hey, God?!” is more mid-tempo. The sound of Dirk Verbeuren’s drums, and the punchiness of his snare, make this sound like it maybe could’ve fit on Countdown to Extinction. I’m trying to figure out what Dave’s talking about. Is he trying to speak from someone else’s point of view since he himself is a Born Again? Is he channeling his younger self who attempted suicide more than a few times (see “Skin ‘O My Teeth”)? What I do know is that I love Dirk’s drum breaks immediately preceding the solo section.

“Let There Be Shred” contains the album’s most technical riffing so far. And, true to the title, solos galore between both Dave and Teemu. But goddamn, these lyrics – especially the chorus! And how about the line, “the guitars are screaming , they scream with delight”?

GAY.

Before I continue, I need to make this abundantly clear: I get that Dave Mustaine is now 64. Fuck, this September he officially becomes a fucking senior citizen – a milestone he NEVER thought he’d reach! So, I get that at this point not everything he writes will necessarily hit the mark. But I do expect that if this album is to be his final curtain call, that he puts just a little bit more effort into his lyrics. Just a little. It shouldn’t be that hard.

Left to Right: James LoMenzo (bass), Dirk Verbeuren (drums), Dave Mustaine (vocals and guitar), Teemu Mantysaari (guitar)

Is Dave even trying to sing on “Puppet Parade”. In the chorus alone it sounds like his just trying to get through it, and not even because he’s straining his voice. It sounds like that amateur musician that’s so anxious that he’s just trying to get the take over with and doesn’t care if it’s QUALITY or not. I’ve dealt with that a few times when I was stupid enough to play in bands. The music here reminds me of something that could’ve been on United Abominations. Go figure; that’s Megadeth’s last really good album for me and that was released nearly nineteen years ago now.

In fact, I’d say that this final album as whole musically is a combination of both Countdown and United. It’s technical to a point, yet melodic, and there are more mid-tempo tracks than fast tracks, most likely as a result of Dave’s unfortunate diagnosis. I sense that it was the only way he could feasibly record at least one more album without being in too much pain and I cannot hold that against him.

Damn if “Another Bad Day” doesn’t sound like “This Was My Life” at points. It’s actually one of the better arrangements on the record, that’s for sure. But the lyrics sound like a real bad attempt at Springsteen minus the part where he worked that 50 hour shift over at the factory in (insert the edge of random New Jersey town here) and didn’t get paid for it the next week.

I think it’s odd that I don’t really hear much of James LoMenzo’s bass in the mix. I wish I knew why, because he’s an INCREDIBLE bassist. We’re talking so good that I actually forgive him for being in White Lion in the 80’s!

Why do the opening tom fills for “Made to Kill” remind me slightly of “13 Steps to Nowehere” by Pantera? The shuffle otherwise is a classic signature of Megadeth and I actually can’t help but bop my head. The speed picks up and I appear to FINALLY hear James’ bass. Thank fuck! It’s not up there in the mix the way David Ellefson’s bass used to be, but that could also be because Ellefson uses a pick and James uses his fingers. Those vocals again. I almost feel sorry for him. The arrangement seems a bit anti-climactic. It picks up speed, hits a Dave solo, a few more lyrics and it just stops abruptly.

“Obey the Call” is giving me mixed feelings. The mid-tempo groove allows the guitars to breathe a bit more. Teemu’s solos kill it. Thank fuck he helped Dave with some of these arrangements because you can tell he needed the help more than ever. It picks up momentum, a few trade off solos between Teemu and Dave, and then it ends abruptly. Again.

“I know me, I know myself. I do not fear countless battles ahead. I will win when I go to war. Swifter than the wind, I attack fire.” Between this music and your shaky voice, I’m not convinced, Dave. Maybe this’ll work in the nearest nursing home.

And by the way this is killing me to write this.

“One more spotlight start to fade to black. One more winding road, and I won’t come. The roar I lived for, it starts to die. And now it’s time for me to say the long goodbye”. That’s what kicks off “The Last Note”. This is actually moving to me as someone whose own guitar playing was influenced by Dave Mustaine. The deepness in his gravely, shaky voice, appears to be legitimately genuine, as if he knows it’s truly over for him.

The arrangement is very different from the rest of the album, as the lyrical message is far more important than the music. And the music is just fitting. It’s not as dramatic a musical number as I was hoping for with crescendos and drops. But the emotion is there, I was just hoping for a little more to match the lyrics.

“They gave me gold. They gave me a name. But every deal was signed in blood and flames. So here’s my last will and testament, my sneer. I came, I ruled, and now, I disappear…” That’s the way he said goodbye to a calming, gentle twelve string guitar.

If that isn’t an emotional way to go, then I don’t know what is. It did hit me. His riffs, despite what his previous band said about him, ran circles around those guys. His songs were amazingly intelligent, his riffs made you dizzy, his arrangements otherworldly – and most of those happened while under the influence! He made his own path and has his own legacy.

Well, that’s the way he SHOULD HAVE said goodbye.

Now For The Problem!

A Metallica cover, huh?

Let’s discuss something else first. It’s a bit peculiar that he chose to record “Ride the Lightning”. Yes, girls, he does in fact have a songwriting credit for that track before you scream at me for no reason. But of all SIX songs he has credit for, I’m very surprised he didn’t record anything from Kill ‘Em All, the album where he sees the most songwriting credits. I’m even more surprised that he didn’t choose “Jump In The Fire”, as he wrote that before he even joined Metallica. Megadeth already performed “Phantom Lord” live during their 2013 Gigantour shows with Jason Newsted joining the band on stage for that number.

But what I’m not surprised at is that he chose to do this at all. According to David Ellefson, when Megadeth were getting ready to record The Sick, The Dying, and The Dead (in which David’s bass tracks were later erased), Dave wanted Megadeth to record the tracks he wrote for Kill ‘Em All as retaliation for Metallica releasing a special edition, 40th anniversary cassette replica of the No Life ‘Til Leather demo for Record Store Day in 2022, and that’s when David FINALLY put his foot down said no. He also thinks that was the beginning of the end of his relationship with Dave leading to the incident that justified Dave firing him in the end.

Now to discuss “Ride The Lightning”: The Megadeth Edition.

Ask Dave Mustaine and he’ll tell you this is his “full circle” moment where he pays tribute to his previous band as they were his roots. That’d make sense if he ever actually GOT OVER THE FACT THAT THEY FIRED HIM. I think this was more to show off the fact that from a musical standpoint he’s the one who invented the spider chord technique you here in the middle section, and he also most likely wrote the main riff. That sliding power chord is unquestionably a main staple of Dave Mustaine’s guitar/songwriting technique. That groaning sound that you hear in so many Megadeth songs.

But listening to this track over and over again I can’t help but ask myself “what the fuck are we doing here???”. I’m just going to get straight to the point here, it’s a modern-day produced, note-for-note rendition. And Dave’s vocals? Remember that Beavis and Butthead episode where Butthead told Beavis that he sounded like Mustaine? Well, here, Mustaine sounds like Beavis talking about trying to score. That’s not a compliment and Beavis and Butthead was my childhood!

I feel like he just did one take struggling to just get through this. It’s really bad karaoke. It’s as if he got smashed, stumbled into the nearest Karaoke bar in St. Marks Place in Manhattan and yelled badly into the worn out microphone, trying to emulate the vocals of a then-twenty one year old kid. To boot, his vocals in the mix are louder than the music. And let’s talk about the solo section. It’s clear that Dave arranged it where he and Teemu trade off solos. Teemu absolutely starts if off, followed by Dave. But that harmonized section near the end, I don’t know if it’s Dave, Teemu or the two of them harmonizing together. But it almost sounds like a harmonizer effect. Very clinical, much like Dirk’s drums.

And then there’s James’ bass, which I complained about once already. I’m not listening to this expecting Dave to mix James to sound remotely like the late Cliff Burton. I definitely didn’t expect Dave to fly Flemming Rasmussen in from Denmark to mix the tracks the way he did for Metallica in 1984. But on a track like “Ride The Lightning” where the bass was absolutely as important as the other instruments, James fucking LoMenzo needed to be a little more prominent in the mix.

Worse than all of what I just said is the idea that nearly 43 years and an entire legacy later, he chose to end his career by pointing to THEM. It’s not a full circle moment at all. It’s him still mourning the fact that he got kicked out of what became the biggest band on Earth even though it was HIS OWN FUCKING FAULT. I’m not as big a Metallica fan like I was a Megadeth fan; but you NEVER heard James or Lar$ bitch about Dave they way Dave still bitches about them.

It’s time to face the facts: Dave’s time in Metallica was a fucking blip. He, once again, has songwriting credit for only SIX SONGS. He never even made it to record Kill ‘Em All because he was unceremoniously fired just DAYS after the band arrived in Queens, NY. I can easily join the echo chamber in saying he needs to let it go. But if I’m pragmatic, I know that at this point it’s hopeless, so hopeless it’s pathetic. I swear his dying words are going to be “James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich”. And why not? The first two words in his autobiography actually are “James Hetfield” after all. I shit you not.

Abandonment issues my big, hairy ass!

THIS is how he chose to ride off into the sunset, by pretending he was still with them and seemingly forgetting about his own INCREDIBLE legacy. It also acts as a reminder that a LOT of his career was based on trying to one-up Metallica. That’s why he tried to go mainstream in 1992. That’s why he made an album as shitty as Risk in 1999 – because of something he heard Lar$ say!

I didn’t have high hopes for Megadeth’s self-titled farewell. The band’s take on “Ride the Lightning” solidified my fears. I hearby give Megadeth’s swan song two middle fingers.

My Own Final Will and Testament

I’m closing this by officially announcing my retirement from Confessions of An Angry Metalhead. I haven’t been inspired or motivated for over a year. That’s why I’ve done NOTHING since 2024, that’s why I’ve done NOTHING to celebrate the blog’s 10th anniversary last year. I just don’t care and you probably don’t either. The only way I’ll let anyone keep in touch with me if it’s a hot chick, or at least one with great big titties, who wants to send me nudes. Otherwise, I hope I pissed you off and triggered your asses to no end.

Good riddance and kill yourselves you fucking cunts!

Megadeth – Killing Is My Business…And Business Is Good! (2002 Remix and Remaster)

Posted on by Mike

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/SUZJL0rEd0b

Why?

Why the fuck am I writing another article after having not done so in well over a year? I was unofficially retired, having zero desire to write anything else. I was done. Then Dave Mustaine announced that the next Megadeth album would be the band’s last, and that he was going to retire. Then I started hearing some songs and I was absolutely mortified by the lyrics to some of these songs alone. And I feared that this final album, released just yesterday as of my writing this, is going to be absolute shit.

I’m very tempted to write an article just shitting all over this final album. But before I do, I figured I should talk about my reaction to listening to Mustaine’s 2002 remix of Killing Is My Business…And Business Is Good!, Megadeth’s 1985 debut.

It was my teenage years when I began to absolutely WORSHIP Megadeth far more than I ever could Metallica, the band Dave was kicked out of right before that band recorded their 1983 debut, Kill ‘Em All. My first Megadeth experience, unfortunately was 1997’s Crypitc Writings, which is where the band truly took a stab at mainstream success. It was…ok. Two years later they released Risk, which was even WORSE, and I questioned my my spending choices greatly.

But over time I’d hear classic songs such as “Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying?”, and “Sweating Bullets” on WSOU and wonder where THIS band had been! When the band started to go back to its thrashier roots in 2001, I was inspired and bought the remainder of their 90’s-era output starting with Countdown to Extinction, followed by Youthanasia, and then finally, the motherload itself, Rust in Peace.

I was fucking FLOORED. This was so intricate, so intense. “How the fuck does he sing AND play those guitar parts??”. Then in early 2002, it was announced that Dave remixed and remastered Megadeth’s debut album to be released in February to be released on Loud Records. When they approached him about merely remastering the record, Dave offered to remix it to bring out things that you couldn’t hear in the original recording. He wanted to give it the treatment that all the other albums would get. Also…

See this shit?

Yeah, he definitely wanted the opportunity to finally do justice to this shit show that Combat Records did, making Dave think to himself “Boy did we get cheated!”.

So, upon meeting up with a friend at the Staten Island Mall the Sunday after the remixed album was released, I picked it up at Sam Goody. While taking cab service home, the driver was starting at some of the girls, and beginning to tell me about some of his conquests, before an elderly woman came into the car, forcing him to switch personalities, so to speak.

The biggest mistake I recall making that afternoon was trying to do homework while this was blasting out of my then-new Phillips 5-disc CD player. The piano and ESPECIALLY the guitar was nice and clear for the intro to “Last Rites/Loved to Death”. Once the drums kicked in you could hear that the sounds was far more crisp, the flatulent snare drum sound replaced with something infinitely sharper. And all of this was going to make for Gar Samuelson’s drums to be easier to hear, and far more brutal than what’s heard on the original mix. Then was the way Dave just fucking RIPPED that solo using his Bill Lawrence pickup as an extra fret!

Next up was the badass title track, which according to Dave’s liner notes, was based on The Punisher. I was flabbergasted, thinking that at one point, he was actually trying to sing while playing that chaotically technical riff live in concert. And it was the fucking verse riff!! It was all too clear as the speed picked up: this truly was the brainchild of a guy who lost the opportunity of a lifetime and was now out for blood. He told that band when they fired him to not use his shit. They did anyway and it challenged him to do something he knew they couldn’t pull off.

After that was “Skull Beneath The Skin”, which I’m 99.5% positive is the story of Vic Rattlehead, Megadeth’s mascot. It’s an absolute beast of an exercise in dynamics and changes. There’s a reason Scott Ian of Anthrax once described Dave’s guitar style as being “sideways”, and that’s probably because it truly never was straightforward. Maybe it was because in Gar and guitarist Chris Poland, Dave had employed two jazz musicians who probably helped him in arranging the chaos.

The speedballs might’ve helped too.

This style continued for the next two tracks, “Rattlehead”, the albums Thrash anthem featuring some INCREDIBLE leads by Chris Poland, and “Chosen Ones”. Following these was “Looking Down the Cross”, the ultimate beneficiary of Dave Mustaine’s remix job as far as I’m concerned. You can hear the difference INSTANTLY which Dave’s tapping harmonics in the beginning of the song. In the original mix, the riff is very reverberated, sounding as if it was played in a cave. Within the confines of the remix, the harmonics have more feedback to them and sound far more in your face. And that was the whole point of him remixing this whole album anyway.

This to me is the centerpiece of Killing… It’s technical, it changes tempos at the drop of a fucking dime, the lyrics are insanely intelligent for a guy that had a MAJOR drug problem long before Chris and Gar ever introduced him and bassist David Ellefson to speedballs. Considering that James and Lar$ initially didn’t have the most flattering things to say about Dave’s guitar abilities, especially in the lead department, this was the track that should have shut them both up. The second solo on “Looking…” is the most intense solo Dave ever played. It’s chaotic, it’s panic stricken courtesy of the multiple diminished trills he hits, AND it actually tells a story within the confines of the chaos!

“Mechanix” hits and here we go. Metallica fans know this one w]as “The Four Horsemen”. The primary differences are “Mechanix” lacks the mid-tempo section and the apocalyptic lyrics. In its stead are a slightly faster tempo that doesn’t relent and lyrics about a horny gas station attendant. Hearing James sing “Mechanix” on the No Life ‘Til Leather demo is hilarious when you realize those are Dave’s lyrics, and James’ vocal style still wasn’t fully developed yet.

Closing the album is a cover of “These Boots”, the Nancy Sinatra song. I hate this song with all my heart and soul. I’ll NEVER understand what possessed the band to cover this song. But I do know that it’s quite funny. Lee Hazelwood, the writer of the song, waited ten years before he decided to complain about the band’s cover version, prompting Dave to bleep out random lyrics for the sake of comedic effect more than anything else.

In the next two months leading to the news that Megadeth would have broken up (albeit temporarily), this album kicked my ass so hard. I listened to it RELIGIOUSLY for the next little while as I traveled to school and work every day. It wasn’t perfect, it was nothing like the succeeding album, which found Megadeth on a major label. But the songs were fucking RAW and the new remix job accentuated that rawness. It was very much needed. Not bad for guys who needed an extra $4,000 to finish the album because they blew half of their $8,000 budget on drugs! I give the remix of Killing Is My Business…And Business Is Good four middle fingers!

Track List

Last Rites/Loved to Deth

Killing Is My Business…And Business Is Good!

The Skull Beneath the Skin

Rattlehead

Chosen Ones

Looking Down the Cross

Mechanix

These Boots (Nancy Sinatra)

Bonus Tracks from the Last Rites demo (1984):

Last Rites/Loved to Deth

Mechanix

The Skull Beneath the Skin

Welcome Home, Boys! Shadows Fall – “In the Grey”

Posted on by Mike

Twelve years, twelve long years. That’s how long it’s been since Shadows Fall, one of the most important Heavy Metal bands to come out of the late 90’s-mid 2000’s New Wave of American Heavy Metal released the last album, Fire from the Sky before ultimately going on an indefinite hiatus three years later. In the years that followed, drummer Jason Bittner had gone on to play for Flotsam and Jetsam before leaving them for Overkill, which he had just left recently. More notably, lead guitar GOD Jonathan Donais replaced Rob Caggiano as the lead guitarist for Anthrax. He made his recording debut with them with their 2016 album, For All Kings.

However, in recent years, Shadows Fall began to sporadically – and I DO mean sporadically! – play shows, primarily festival dates. I assume this was to maximize the worth of their time after being away for so long. But the demand for more grew and when the band performed The War Within in its entirety this past March, Brian Fair announced that they were in the middle of recording new material. Well, it was announced that “In the Grey”, their first new single in twelve long, agonizing years, would be released on Friday, December 6th.

Well, December 6th arrived and there’s only one thing to say after listening to the first new Shadows Fall single in twelve years:

Welcome home, boys!

“In The Grey” is EVERYTHING we ever knew and loved about Shadows Fall, all wrapped into one hard-hitting, 3:38 package. It hits you in the face instantly with Jason Bittner’s sledgehammer-esque, lightning-fast drums, before transitioning into a frantic drop-C thrash riff and Brian Fair screaming his head off. It drops the tempo for the chorus and sounds a bit like “Still I Rise” off 2009’s Retribution before making way for a pinch harmonic drenched breakdown riff. Jon, Zakk so would’ve been proud. At the 2:16 mark, you’ll hear one last syncopated riff right before Jon’s solo. There’s a subtle change there that you’d have to really pay attention to. Without getting nerdy about it, it definitely adds color and dynamics to the riff. If you play music, you’ll hear it instantly. I fucking love it.

Jon’s solo….oh that solo. It’s everything we all loved about his playing. Technical, aggressive, intense, dripping with emotion. I said he was the bastard child of Randy Rhoads and Zakk Wylde, and he demonstrated it here. And it’s short enough to leave us wanting more. After one more repeated chorus, it’s all over. At least for now. The production on “In the Grey” is fantastic. You can hear every nuance of every instrument. If Zeuss produced this (I’m betting he did) then score one for the band because NO ONE knows how Shadows Fall is supposed to sound like Zeuss does.

Let’s dissect these lyrics. If there was one thing I was looking forward to, this was it, because Brian has written some thought-provoking lyrics over the years.

“Impermanence breeds pain
All hope and light will drain
You think it’s all on you
But they feel it too…

The pressure building
The bones will crack
Relentless waves in which you drown
The heart rings hollow
And thoughts collapse
Ruthless obsession there’s no turning back”

According to Brian, the lyrics are rooted in experiencing crippling depression. And as someone who might or might not be dealing with that as I type this review up, this hits a little too hard. Let’s continue to the chorus to avoid dissecting everything.

“Hey! another day in the grey
This can’t be the only way
The light seems so far away
Hey! another day in the grey
I’m not giving up today
The light seems so far away”

What Brian also mentioned is that the song is ultimately about slowly overcoming said depression or at least making the commitment to not let it drown you. That’s not easy to do.

I love “In the Grey” and I am left with hope that whatever Shadows Fall drops next will also be as true to the legacy of this once untouchable band as this track is. Sad as I was to hear they were going on indefinite hiatus all those years ago, I dare say this was actually worth the wait. Most bands that reunite after a long absence tend to not have that fire in them. But with “In the Grey”, I sense what I sensed when I saw them in March. That’s a band fully rejuvenated. I give “In the Grey” five out of five middle fingers.

A New Era, A New Hope: The Black Dahlia Murder – Servitude

Posted on by Mike

It finally happened. We’ve waited four long, questionable years. In fact, what we have here is an album so highly anticipated, so in-demand, that the pre-orders were distributed days before it’s official release. Then again, there was so much riding on Servitude, the first new album by The Black Dahlia Murder in over four years. I don’t need to remind anyone reading this that it’s also the first record released from the band since the tragic passing of founding lead singer Trevor Strnad. And with founding rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Brian Eschbach abandoning his post to take on lead vocals, along with the monumental return of guitarist Ryan Knight, we now have a whole new band, with TWO lead guitarists, and with Brian being the sole original member of the band left.

So, how does Version 2.0 of the Black Dahlia Murder hold up on their first album?

The sounds of waves crashing on the shore open up “Evening Ephemeral” before we hear the ominous notes of a hammer dulcimer, which really does sound a lot like a piano. It’s a rather dramatic, yet sensible way to open up a record as high stakes as Servitude. Perhaps it’s a quiet tribute to Trevor before the storm? A sinister introduction to Version 2.0 of the most important Death Metal band of the last two decades? Who really knows?

What I do know is that the band kicks right through that fucking door with Brian letting out such a fucking scream. The fun in the album as a whole has been trying to figure out which guitarist in the band wrote what, since the songs are all credited the band as a whole, even though we do know that each guitarist – Brian included – wrote three songs for Servitude. I heard a power chord with a whammy dive during this intro riff and I can only assume that this song had to be something Brandon Ellis wrote, because I never heard that trick until “As Good as Dead” off Nightbringers, his debut with the band in 2017.

After an epic introduction, Alan Cassidy loses his shit with some gloriously chaotic blastbeats, while bassist Max Lavelle, Ryan and Brandon play their instruments like they have too much to prove and even more to lose. In regard to solo spots, it sounds to me as if Ryan and Brandon as trading off licks here, and I fucking love that. It’s difficult at times to discern who’s playing since their styles are so similar. And you’d have to imagine that because their roots are in a Tech Metal band such as Arsis, some of that flavor will prevail at times. Only it’ll be done better because James Malone isn’t the one writing the music.

I can tell Brian wrote “Panic Hysteric” which also now has a music video for it. His style is far too recognizable. I’m grateful he’s still writing music and didn’t just leave the writing to Brandon and Ryan. Brian Eschbach with or without Trevor IS the Black Dahlia Murder. I already reviewed “Aftermath” individually and later retracted my interpretation of the lyrics. More on that part later! But what I will add is Brian DEFINITELY wrote this one, and it was a fantastic way to reintroduce the band in its current form.

I fucking LOVE “Cursed Creator”! It’s probably my favorite of the entire album. I cannot pinpoint who wrote it, but I’m wondering if it was Ryan. The double-timed riff is drenched in harmonies and the song itself is filled with changes in tempo along with dynamics. That solo is unmistakably Ryan’s, and I really missed hearing him tear it up. It’s great to have him back, even with the shitty circumstances behind his return. Ok let’s talk about “An Intermission”. Fuck this!!! Yes, the music is gorgeous. But I fucking HATE when ANY band – sorry guys, you aren’t safe here! – takes a short piece of music and labels it “intermission” or will tack it on to the beginning of a record and title it “The End”, or “End of the Beginning”, or “End of Your Mother’s Ass” or some shit. Just tack it onto the next track and call it a day, or don’t use it at all! Less albums than you realize need that stupid shit.

“Asserting Dominion” has that mid-90’s, At The Gates style shuffle that adorns many Black Dahlia tunes. Brian’s voice grows on me the more I hear him. His style is unsurprisingly similar to Trevor’s, but it sounds far more Black Metal in tone than Trevor’s. Trevor was essentially Jeff Walker in steroids to me. I’m also almost positive Brandon wrote this one. There’s a shit ton of melody to it and he’s an absolute disciple of 80’s lead guitar, which at times could be equally as melodic as it was chaotic depending on the guitarist and style of music. The album’s title track takes no prisoners from the start and sounds like a Brian Eschbach tour de force, not just because I’m all but positive the music is his, but because this to me is where he reminds me of Trevor the most in his vocal performance. I don’t believe he’s blatantly trying to sound like Trevor and I certainly wouldn’t want that.

I’ve already reviewed “Mammoth’s Hand” when it was released as a single. It’s already been made clear that Ryan absolutely wrote this one and therefore plays the main solo. It’s probably my other favorite track on the record, since Brian was lyrically inspired by a really bad 80’s cult movie. “Transcosmic Blueprint” is an even more badass version of “Asserting Dominion”. It starts off with the mid-90’s Swedish-style shuffle but with a tad more attitude, before changing styles and tempos midway through. I’m positive Ryan and Brandon were trading licks again. This is a simply amazing song that essentially showcases everything The Balck Dahlia Murder has done since their 2003 debut.

“Utopia Black” is a fucking statement. It starts with another loud ass scream from Brian. This reminds me of a few other album closers from the band over time. The minor keys set it off and Brandon’s virtuosic solos abound paint an epic picture. The lyrics “devotion shall be rewarded/a Black Utopia washing over one and all” perfectly preface the end of the song, along with the reprise of the waves crashing down and the return of the earlier heard hammer dulcimer, indicating some semblance of a theme.

Now let’s discuss lyrical themes, because there is something that needs to be addressed. I already admitted recently that looked too deeply into the lyrics to “Aftermath”. I interpreted it as crawling back from tragedy the likes of which theoretically should’ve instantly killed the band. But no, it was literally just about surviving zombies in a post-Armageddon world. In that same vein, “Mammoth’s Hand” was literally using the plot to the movie Beastmaster to guide the lyrical content. With that in mind Brian made it clear that the lyrics to all of the songs on Servitude are not necessarily serious. He just took topics and wrote about them.

It’s a far cry from the death and horror themes Trevor wrote about. Sure, Brian did write some fantasy, occult, horror laden lyrics on Servitude. But for now, anyway, he wasn’t as serious in tone as Trevor was. He wasn’t going to be, and I’m honestly ok with that, knowing Brian has plenty of time now to explore and improve upon what he’s accomplished already.

So, what do I think of Servitude? Considering most of us thought the band were cooked two years ago, this is far better than I imagined. The Black Dahlia Murder knew they had something to prove in their new state and they killed it. They lose points, however, for “An Intermission”. I give Servitude four out of 5 middle fingers.

Recommended Tracks

Evening Ephemeral, Panic Hysteric, Aftermath, Cursed Creator, Mammoth’s Hand, Utopia Black

The Black Dahlia Murder – Mammoth’s Hand

Posted on by Mike

I didn’t even have to look for this new track from The Black Dahlia Murder, since one of my Instagram followers chose to send it to me early Tuesday morning. “Mammoth’s Hand” is the second single off of Servitude, the group’s first album in over four years and their first without the late Trevor Strnad. And as you can see above, it even has a fucking sick animated video to accompany it. So, let’s get right to it!

“Mammoth’s Hand” is a slower paced track, unlike “Aftermath”, the first single from the upcoming album…or 99.8% of the band’s entire two decades-long catalogue. The song sounds so much like something from Nightbringers that I was immediately under the impression the Brandon Ellis wrote the music, especially with his short intro solo before Brain Eschbach begins singing. Turns out I was wrong, and Ryan actually wrote this one. And that very much excites me because it’s partially what I’ve been waiting for.

The song’s slower tempo allows the guitars to breathe, allowing you to hear every note being played. The arrangement is perfection. There’s a short section where the tempo is double timed (that means the tempo is faster for you non-musos). The syncopated break in the middle makes it so much more badass. The solo kicks in at the 2:22 mark and it’s played by non-other than Ryan Motherfucking Knight! It’s dripping with emotion, aggression, feel, harmonies, everything I loved about his solos during his initial run with the band. His and Brandon’s styles are very similar. Think the primary difference is Brandon’s sound is a little more razor sharp than Ryan’s, and his bends are just a tad more extreme than even Ryan’s. I did recently compare Ryan to a modern-day Andy LaRoque after all!

Ok, now for the lyrics. I need to start this off by admitting that I apparently dug way too deep for my own good when dissecting the lyrics to “Aftermath”. I took it as a statement on crawling back after tragedy. Nope. It really was just about Zombies and the end of the Earth after it was hit by a meteor. Turns out that as a lyricist, Brian is nowhere near as dark as Trevor was. Either that or since this was his first go around as the primary lyricist, he decided to just have fun with it. I can’t say I blame Brian at all. So, where in the past the lyrics were as dark and deranged as you’d expect from any Death Metal band, yet the videos were fun, the lyrics won’t be serious at all in this new era of The Black Dahlia Murder.

Take the lyrics to “Mammoth’s Hand”. Brian revealed that they were literally inspired by the early 1980’s cult flick, The Beastmaster. Did you click on the link to see the trailer for that? Is it not gloriously schlocky? Although like many schlocky movies, this one had one hot ass chick. RIP Tanya Roberts.

Yeah, she was hot. The titties are smaller than what I’d usually prefer, but she sure was easy on the eyes. I’d fuck her.

Anyway, the lyrics to “Mammoth’s Hand’s”, according to Brian, were inspired by one particular scene in the movie. As for Brian own performance, I actually liked it better than even his performance on “Aftermath”. The slower tempo allows him to play around with nuances and explore more of his own dynamics. He actually sounded more like a Black Metal vocalist here, as far as I can tell.

Again, this isn’t the first time we’ve ever heard the Black Dahlia Murder slow it down, and I really like this one. I’m leaving here the link to pre-order Servitude, which comes out next month. I already pre-ordered it, and you should too. If there was ever a time to support The Black Dahlia Murder, THIS is that time. BUY THE FUCKING RECORD!

I absolutely give “Mammoth’s Hand” 5 out of 5 middle fingers.

WSOU Presents: Shadows Fall Live at Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, March 16th, 2024

Posted on by Mike
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/angrymetalhead/episodes/WSOU-Presents-Shadows-Fall-Live-at-Starland-Ballroom–Saryrville–NJ–March-16th–2024-e2hgnkq

I knew I needed to go to this as soon as I heard that Shadows Fall, who had regrouped in 2021 after an indefinite hiatus that lasted seven years and saw drummer Jason Bittner join Flotsam and Jetsam and eventually Overkill, and lead guitar GOD Jonathan Donais join Anthrax, intended on performing their 2004 CLASSIC, The War Within in its entirety. That was fucking huge news! But for those of you who might be clueless, let’s discuss why!

The Importance of The War Within

The War Within, the band’s fourth album and third with vocalist Brian Fair, is the most important album in the band’s entire catalog. It was released on the heels of their previous album, 2002’s The Art of Balance, which went on to sell over 100,000 copies in a time when album sales were steadily declining. You bet your ass I was one of those 100,000 people who actually bought the fucking record! I even saw Shadows Fall live for the first time a year later during an Ozzfest off-date.

Having come from the New Wave of American Heavy Metal scene that was largely based in the Northeast and spawned bands such as Aftershock and Overcast – those two bands being the roots of Shadows Fall and especially Killswitch Engage – alongside All That Remains (Phil Labonte was actually the vocalist on Shadows Fall’s 1997 debut, Somber Eyes to The Sky), God Forbid (more on that band later!), Mastodon and Lamb of God, the sound was largely a mix of Hardcore breakdowns and Metallic intensity. Unfortunately, this became Metalcore. But Shadows Fall were different. Via Brain Fair’s roots in Overcast, especially after he joined Shadows Fall for their second album, 2000’s Of One Blood, the hardcore influence could be heard. But thanks to those riffs that scream Iron Maiden AND Morbid Angel, along with Jon Donais’ Randy Rhoads meets Zakk Wylde lead guitar style, they were far more Metal than Hardcore.

By the time The War Within was released, the press at large had been calling them the next Metallica for two years, thanks to The Art of Balance. With TWW, the guitars were even stronger than on the last album, the drums were harder hitting, the production was clearer, and the song writing was even stronger. The album had debuted at #28 on the Billboard charts. I was a first day buyer, taking to bus to Sam Goody right after I finished with class for the day. It’d earned them sales of almost 400,000 copies – a FIRST for Century Media Records! – their first main stage slot on the next year’s Ozzfest (the last time I saw them live), and eventually, a major label deal with Atlantic Records.

I still remember driving from Staten Island to Starland Ballroom to see Mastodon in May of 2005. I was on Rt 9, driving over the water, WSOU (more on them momentarily) on the radio, when the DJ announced that The War Within had sold 200,000 copies. The was incredible to hear; it meant a lot to the fans, I’m sure, and it meant a lot to the underground Metal scene, especially with Lamb of God releasing their major label debut nine months prior, and Mastodon very close to signing their own major label deal.

The Show

The show, I’m pretty sure was organized by WSOU, the top college station in terms of playing underground Heavy Metal for DECADES. My first exposure to WSOU in the early months of 1997 happened by mistake. I was looking for another station when I came across this one station that happened to be blasting Death Metal, the likes of which my 7th grade, dumbass self had never heard before and I’d assumed that this had to be the station. It wasn’t, but I clearly still listened up until they were forced to change their format right at the beginning of 2002. They eventually were able to revert back to their prior format; but they had to fight hard to make it happen.

It’s been my first show at Starland since I saw Zakk Sabbath in 2017. And before that, the last time I’d been there was most likely the 2008 Summer Slaughter tour, with such a shitty lineup that I totally forgot that it was the last time I saw The Black Dahlia Murder! But I spent a good three years going to shows in Starland Ballroom between 2005 and 2008.

I’m hoping that WSOU were the ones who organized this show’s lineup, because I’d hate to once again put the blame on Shadows Fall for playing with bands that sound NOTHING like them. That sadly was their biggest problem as fame was heading their way. The band might’ve been influenced by hardcore, and they might’ve been friends with the bands they played with. But what’ll make more money? Going on tour with your buddies and having no one go to the show to see you because you sound nothing like the other bands on the bill, or do you play with the bands that sound more like you and actually have people come there to see YOU? Very few bands can get away with having such a devoted following that they’ll attend a show STRICTLY to see you and then leave without watching any of the other bands. Killswitch Engage comes to mind.

I will not discuss the opening bands because as predicted, they all sucked ass. Deathcore: GAY. Hey Crazy Greg, who I was supposed to reconnect with at this show: yes, Nora sucked. The lineup preceding Shadows Fall were All in All, Nora and Fit for An Autopsy. And they all (minus Nora to some extent) sounded exactly the same. Technical brilliance on their instruments (I’ll never take that away from them) and Death Metal growls abound before the middle of the song transitions into another breakdown were the lead singer yells out in some fake Brooklyn-sounding accent some variation of: “Yo open up dis pit! Lemme see what u got Nu Jerzee!”, while bopping across the stage like a rapper, with the floor opening up for people to either mosh or pretend to be Bruce Lee. You all looked like fucking homos twenty years ago, and you all still do today.

Somewhere during this time, I spotted Brain Fair in the crowd, against a wall talking to somebody. His dreadlocks as so fucking grey these days. The last time I’d spoken to him was in Brooklyn in 2003. I went up to him to tell him that I’d been waiting to see him again and shook his hand. I then wondered if I hurt his hand because man, he has such a limp handshake!

The funniest part of the night leading to Shadows Fall going on stage was the fact that every time the ad for an IHOP that’s open 24/7 popped up on the projector screen, everyone there started to cheer. Look here for yourself! This what happens when you have a bunch of drunks who no longer are able to go down the street to the Peter Pank Diner off Rt 9 N because it’s now a fucking Wawa. Now THAT place had good food!

Just before the Shadows Fall went on stage, some chick from WSOU began to talk…before the projector screen was even elevated. That’s a little stupid, no? I also could barely hear a fucking word she was saying. She spoke so low, and the mic was under her chin. It literally sounded like I was listening to WSOU! Every DJ I’ve ever heard on that station since I discovered them in 1997 is so soft spoken and lacking in personality! My college station wasn’t anywhere near as huge as WSOU is, but we had DJ’s with PERSONALITY. Crazy Greg, Ali, the late Dr. Avi (RIP), Stevie Rich, DJ Universal (that was also his belt size!), Emilio Sparks, Bryan Ahl, myself, we all had character and we all brought something different to our shows! Compared to us, listening to DJ’s on WSOU is comparable to octogenarians fucking in a nursing home!

The band finally came on and wasted ZERO time kicking ass with “Thought Without Words” off The Art of Balance. They had so much energy. Jon and rhythm guitarist Matt Bachand circle headbanging, bassist Paul Romanko slamming his bass, Bittner in the back showing why he’s actually one of THE best drummers in Metal in the last two decades, Brian Fair fucking crowd swimming WHILE singing! You would’ve never known that collectively, they’re all closing in on 50! Who the fuck circle headbangs at nearly 50?! I had no choice but to forgive Jon Donais for wearing a Bon Jovi t-shirt. I get exactly why he wore it but…no. Just, no. After performing two more songs, they began performing The War Within.

The Set List

The First Three Songs

Thought Without Words (The Art of Balance)

Destroyer Of Senses (The Art of Balance)

Of One Blood (Of One Blood)

The War Within

The Light That Blinds

Enlightened By the Cold

Act of Contrition

What Drives the Weak

Stillness

Inspiration On Demand

The Power of I and I

Ghost of Past Failures

Eternity Is Within

Those Who Cannot Speak

The Final Songs

Fleshold – featuring Corey Pierce of God Forbid on drums! (Somber Eyes to the Sky and Of One Blood)

Fire From the Sky (Fire from The Sky)

King Of Nothing (Retribution)

Redemption (Threads of Life)

I would have loved to have filmed the entire set; but for whatever reason, my phone’s battery was low. It barely charged while I was driving to Starland. So, I made that I was going to film anything, that it counted.

There are no words to adequately express how intense The War Within sounded live. The energy was indescribable. Everything appeared to be performed even faster than on the album. This was a band with a LOT to prove, having not released any new material since 2012. Brian did remind everyone that the band are in fact recording a new album but couldn’t offer any insight as to when anything would be released. That’s when for a deep cut, he brought out Corey Pierce of God Forbid to play drums on “Fleshold”! The significance of him being brought out? Not only did WSOU play God Forbid as much as they played Shadows Fall on their station (although they were forced to refer to them on the air as “G Forbid” since the station is housed in a catholic school), but God Forbid actually are from New Jersey. So, I’d say it made plenty of sense. And the performance fucking ruled.

Look at the setlist and you’ll see that outside of their performing TWW in its entirety, the band played tracks covering each era of their career. You’ll notice that “Fleshold” is apparently on two albums. It’s true! It was originally on Somber Eyes to the Sky and sung by Phil Labonte. That track along with “Revel in My Loss” and “To Ashes” were reworked for Of One Blood. I’m not too sure how many more shows I’ll be going to this year but for my money, and minus the shit Metalcore/Deathcore opening bands, this is the show of the year for me.

How Jeff Got His Balls Back

Posted on by Mike

I was supposed to be finished with blogs/podcasts for the year after the most recent shit I released just two nights ago. But seeing the news post on Metal Injection’s Instagram account this morning excited me so much that before I even read the fucking story on their proper website, I went ahead and posted it on my Instagram story and wrote: “Way to go, Jeff! Congratulations, your balls and dignity are back!!!!!”

If you’ve yet to read the article or even hear the news, Guitar GOD Jeff Loomis has left Arch Enemy after nine years. That’s a lot longer than I would’ve ever imagined someone like Jeff being a part of that shitshow! Because that’s what Arch Enemy has been for well over a decade. Jeff has already been replaced by Joey Concepcion, formerly of The Absence, who I was a fan of at the time, and Sanctuary.

Is it just me, or isn’t it ironic that Jeff was replaced by the guy from Warrell Dane’s first band?

Here’s Arch Enemy’s statement:

“It’s been a joy having Jeff play with Arch Enemy for close to a decade, we truly had a blast touring around the world together! We were friends long before we played music together and we remain even closer buddies now, which feels great. We respect that he’s in a place and time in life where he needs to step out of Arch Enemy and we all wish him nothing but the best moving forward.

The only constant is change, and this is one of those moments where things had to change a little to move forward in a satisfactory way for everyone involved. With all that said, we are extremely pleased to announce that we have recruited Joey Concepcion as our new guitarist! Joey’s a phenomenal talent and has been a friend of the band for a long time, he even filled in for Jeff on a couple of European festival shows back in 2018.

We have touring and a myriad of other exciting things coming up on the horizon with Arch Enemy for 2024 and beyond and are thrilled to move forward, creating the next chapter and keeping the metal flowing!”

Jeff’s statement:

“My time in Arch Enemy has come to an end. I have had a great time (9 years!) of playing and touring with them, but now it’s time to enter a new chapter in my life. I wish Alissa, Michael, Sharlee and Daniel the very best and consider them all lifelong friends. I’d also like to thank the crew that have always been nothing but kind to me. Their hard work and dedication towards the band is incredible, and we wouldn’t be able to put on the great shows without them. Thank you again for all your support over the years and Happy New Year.”

Both of these statements sound very polished, very edited. Arch Enemy’s statement has me laughing inside a little, especially the part where they state that “this is one of those moments where things had to change a little to move forward in a satisfactory way for everyone involved“. I can only imagine this was everyone gritting their teeth as one party really wanted to exclaim, “thank fuck he’s gone so I continue writing songs in the same corny, stale formula I’ve been attached to since the late 2000’s”, while the other party is responding, “thank fuck I’m out of there, and I never have to wear those fucktarded outfits and play boring stale formulaic shit ever again!”. 

I wonder which party is which here!

If you’re reading this and somehow haven’t the faintest idea of who the fuck Jeff Loomis is outside of Bland Enemy, the Dad Rock of Metal bands (I said it!), go on Spotify, or YouTube, or Apple Music, or raid your older brother’s CD collection, and just listen to the entire Nevermore catalogue. To say that Jeff Loomis is a PHENOM would be a GROSS understatement. He has it all: his own signature playing style, his own signature sound, attitude, his own distinct songwriting style. Jeff Loomis is literally the total package. It’s easy to see upon listening to Nevermore or either of his two solo albums, 2008’s Zero Order Phase, or 2012’s Plains of Oblivion (I can almost hear Warrell Dane howling that out in my head, or even snarling it in his sinister speaking voice!) why people have commented that Jeff is comparable to an underground Dimebag Darrell. He has ALL the tools, much like Dime had, only he never met his true potential and made it to the top of the heap as Dime had just a few years before Nevermore even released their 1995 self-titled debut.

On the other side of the coin, we have the Michael Amott-led Arch Enemy. Michael also has his own signature playing style along with his own distinct songwriting style. That style was initially introduced to Carcass when he joined the band in the early 90’s, as it dictated a change in the band’s Grindcore sound into something a little different on 1991’s Necroticism – Descanting The Insalubrious. That sound was further leaned on with Carcass’s landmark 1994 album, Heartwork, which is essentially the birth of what we know today as Melodic Death Metal. There were more guitar solos, and the riffs sounded far more like Iron Maiden due to an increase in harmonized riffs than ANYTHING before 1991.

Michael took a chance and left Carcass to start Arch Enemy, which would be used to further expand on this style that Michael brought to Carcass, which in retrospect did to Carcass what Michael McDonald did to The Doobie Brothers. After two albums they hit gold when, in 2000, Arch Enemy brought in German hottie Angela Gossow on lead vocals. I first read about her as well as Arch Enemy in Terrorizer Magazine upon the release of their landmark 2001 album, Wages of Sin. She was hot. But then I heard her growl. Then I just seriously was concurrently horny and feared that, if I made her cum she’d breathe fire or some shit.

Wages was groundbreaking for its time. The riffs were equally as catchy as they were heavy, the choruses were anthems in themselves, and the contrasting lead guitar styles of Michael’s wah pedal-drenched Michael Schenker-esque technique and his brother Christopher’s far more shredder-like style put Arch Enemy in a class of its own in the Heavy Metal Underground. But that was 2002.

As time went on, Arch Enemy’s sound turned into a blatant formula, one which staled out at a steady pace. And THAT’S where the problems come in for Jeff Loomis. 

Jeff may have his own playing style that differs from the sound of Arch Enemy; but Jeff’s style is far more dynamic, intense, and diverse. I can only imagine that Jeff joining the band was an objectively great move for both parties: Michael had an EXTRAORDINARY, once-in-a-generation talent in Jeff now, and Jeff had a stable income, which he rightfully deserved. Between the break-up of Nevermore, who never saw their potential met, and releasing two solo albums that were probably just popular to the diehard Nevermore fans, I can only imagine that he might’ve been struggling a bit. There are zero guarantees in underground music, especially since the dawn of downloading.

But talk about a WASTED opportunity? Jeff didn’t have any true creative input at all. He wrote nothing, meaning that Michael is his own worst enemy. And Michael even stated at the time that he was putting a muzzle on Jeff because the band had a formula he wanted to stick to and didn’t want Jeff to potentially steer the band too far away from that formula. If that wasn’t an omen for what Jeff’s time in Arch Enemy might’ve been like, I don’t know what is. Just imagine what Jeff’s input, even if just a little per album, would have done for Arch Enemy in terms of revitalizing the band with a potentially fresher, far more exciting and intense sound. All Michael had to do was be brave enough to step away from his comfort zone just a little and that little bit would’ve made all the difference in the world. 

Michael Amott: The Undisputed King of Stepping On Your Own Dick.

Because that’s what this was. I doubt there was any true behind the scenes drama; but while Jeff had a guaranteed paycheck from a well-established band, he was legitimately being wasted. I actually heard a new Arch Enemy song featuring their current female singer (Angela left years ago and is the band’s manager, but the band sure knows how to stick to a formula!) and it was an absolute chore to listen to. If you’re a musician like me, or at least familiar with both Michael’s and Jeff’s songwriting styles, then you’d know without being told that there’s no way Jeff could’ve written that dribble. 

After CM Punk was fired from AEW earlier this year, the Young Bucks went into the ring after a taping of AEW Collision and like two children, did a victory lap around the ring in celebration of Punk’s firing, in a relatively empty area. Pretty pathetic, as Punk pointed out a year earlier that the Bucks were also stepping on their own dicks, which is currently destroying their own company from the inside. So, was Arch Enemy’s press statement addressing Jeff’s departure Michael’s own proverbial victory lap? Because while Arch Enemy continues to have a built-in fan base, who really gives a shit anymore? I sure don’t, and it’s all because Michael Amott would rather get in his own way than try to make even more money.

Much like the Young Bucks were intimidated by CM Punk and his star power, I have to wonder if Michael Amott was intimidated by Jeff Loomis and his abilities. Even though Arch Enemy CLEARLY outlived Nevermore, who broke up in 2011, could Michael have been nervous that Jeff would’ve stolen the show, challenging Michael to up his own game. Michael is clearly talented in his own right considering he literally invented a subgenre that’s copied ad nauseum to this day; but he’s not the guitarist Jeff is. Not by a longshot! 

Sadly, this is truly the better deal for Jeff as well as Bland Enemy. Bland Enemy can continue making more bland, boring Dad Metal while Michael Amott continues to step on his own dick, and Jeff Loomis can be alive again.

Recommended Listening:

Nevermore – Dreaming Neon Black (1999)

Nevermore – Dead Heart in A Dead World (2000)

Nevermore – Enemies of Reality (2003)

Nevermore – This Godless Endeavor (2005)

Jeff Loomis – Plains of Oblivion (2012)

Last Gig with Vanguard live at Dock St. Bar and Grill, Staten Island, NY, March 25th, 2005

Posted on by Mike

Within a month after my first ever metal band fired me after five more gigs including a Dimebag Darrell tribute show at the now-defunct Don Hills in Manhattan (this was actually our second show a good week after our debut gig), we all managed to stay friends…at least for a few more years. I even tagged along with two of those guys to see Black Label Society, which I just wrote about not too long ago. I even saw their first (and only) gig without me, in which Jon had switched over to my now-former spot as guitarist, and a friend of theirs took over Jon’s position as bassist for a Randy Rhoads tribute show at Dock St (Cock St). I even recall that the band chose “Over the Mountain”, the opener to Diary of a Madman, my favorite Randy-era Ozzy album as their tribute song of choice.

That situation didn’t work out for long, and for reasons I cannot remember. But I do know that while on the phone with Idrees one night, he told me the band had another Dock St show lined up but were potentially going to cancel. Why? All because they didn’t have a second guitarist.

Fucking seriously?

That to me sounded more retarded than when Idrees said he wasn’t going to introduce the songs because he wanted us to sound like we’ve been around for five years. So, that, along with my knowing that it’d be a while before I’d play another gig again while I was putting my own band together, prompted me to volunteer my services for one last gig. The deal was the band would call me ONLY if they exhausted all of their options. Idrees agreed and said the band would talk about it.

I guess they “exhausted” all of their options, because within two days I received a voicemail from Idrees: (Cheesy metal voice) “Vanguard, live at Dock St, one last time, with Mike Alexander! (Back to normal voice) Yeah man, we need you.” So just like that, I was to meet up with them at Fenix Studios for rehearsals. I’d no objections, as Fenix, which is still open today, was far closer to my house than Future Star Studios. But I’d eventually change my mind regarding my opinion on this studio within a year.

We did two rehearsals. At my request, we would cover “South Of Heaven” by Slayer, which would be how we opened our set at the show. Rehearsals were strange, not just because I was nagged into doing a second practice either. Joe Ryder was brought back as the band’s bassist, which was a welcome return, as things had apparently gone very south with Jon. Joe was not a good bassist, but he was significantly easier to be around. “Aren’t things a lot less tense now?”, commented Chad in the middle of that first night. And he was right.

That’s why I found it weird when Jon showed up for the second rehearsal two nights later. If I’m not mistaken, he’d manipulated Joe to believing the band kicked him out, which wasn’t the case at all. I imagine Chad, Idrees and Chris must’ve realized that it was way too close to the night of the show to do anything about it right there, and that the situation would have to be handled after the show. What was more amusing because of this was that Jon wanted to talk to me after the rehearsal. I’d agreed, thinking he was going to make plans to get drunk, as he had this fake ID that was perfectly counterfeited – there was NO WAY anyone could have figured out that this “21 year old” was actually 17! We were going to make plans to do that one night, but I was fired from the band before that could ever happen.

Jon didn’t want to talk about getting drunk, but he sure wanted to try to convince me to rejoin the band. He knew I was trying to put my own thing together, but he was going to try anyway. Chris, who’d previously tried to get me to come back a month earlier, heard the conversation and immediately jumped in, even though he and I both knew he had other plans for Jon. I just stood there, looking at Jon, thinking “if this kid only knew…”.

I don’t remember too much about the night of the show, expect Dock St was hot as balls. As per usual, very few people were there for me. But I did have support via Mike Spennato, aka 80’s Mike, a sucker for all things gay ass hair metal, and Florian, or just “Flo” for short, two colleagues from my college radio station. Mike would actually take the pictures you see on this blog post, and some of them came out pretty cool. Here’s a quick story about 80’s Mike:

As I’ve mentioned in the past, Chris at this point in time was dating the sister of my radio station’s music director, Marissa…who had fantastic titties. I guess there was a bit of a miscommunication between Chris and Marissa, and I’m assuming Chris might’ve heard beforehand that a member of the band he was going to audition for happened to work for the station, prompting Marrisa to tell Chris that the guitar player in question was 80’s Mike – who also happened to be her assistant director of her department, not I. Therefore, Chris, at least for a very short time, was probably waiting for me to break out Poison or some shit. Of course, he then heard me play, causing him to second guess that conversation.

Sometime before our first show Chris finally asked me if I was into hair metal, which was baffling. But as he talked more, I realized what the confusion was, prompting me to laugh as I set the record straight. He had said that as soon as he heard my playing style, he told himself “There’s no way this guy listens to Ratt!” And he’s right. Chris would actually meet 80s Mike a few weeks before I was fired during a gig and he told Mike this story while we were waiting to go on stage.

Because fuck Ratt.

On stage, our first song, as mentioned earlier, was “South of Heaven”. Chad played the intro a little too fast, something I talked to him about during rehearsals. I know he wasn’t a fan of the song, and he looked like he couldn’t wait to get it over with. I took it as a bit of inconsideration for me since I’d volunteered my services that night. The set otherwise was all the usual shit. I’m also pretty sure I went straight home afterwards.

Unless I’m greatly mistaken, the woman seen here taking pictures was Chad’s girlfriend at the time. I completely forgot her name.

Now THIS is a fucking awesome picture. I always made doubles of all my pictures, and this one was so badass that 80’s Mike wanted the double to keep. This reminds me a lot of the very first picture I ever saw of Chuck Schuldiner in the same issue of Guitar World Magazine that announced his tragic death.

Mike Spennato aka 80’s Mike on the right. I have zero recollection of who this fucking guy on the left is.

Left to right: Florian Uchitel (I think that’s how his last name is spelled), 80’s Mike, and that guy whose name I don’t remember.

The Night After

I’m pretty sure I worked that morning. I hung out with Chris and Idrees that night, I at least think Idrees was with us. Chris had fired Jon that morning on AIM, as a result of him driving Joe away before this gig and according to either Chris or Idrees, Jon complained a lot about mistakes everyone made at the show including myself. I found that weird, not just because I was gone for good now, but because mistakes happen all the time when you’re live…unless you’re in some technical Death Metal band where your feet are planted in the same spot for two hours and the only movements you make revolve around circle headbanging. Or the homos from Dream Theater.

Because fuck Dream Theater

The band itself broke up not too long after this, and most likely over the aforementioned second guitarist bullshit. They’d regroup shortly after, only to break up again just as quickly.

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Random Memories of Trevor

Posted on by Mike

It had to be sometime in early 2003. I was on a bus heading home, and, while I still had probably fifteen more minutes before I reached my destination, I pulled out the latest issue of Revolver Magazine from my backpack. If memory serves me correctly, the magazine included a one-page section highlighting recommended up-and-coming bands. There were three bands, one definitely was Himsa (fucking absolute vomit!), and the only other band I remembered was some band called The Black Dahlia Murder, whose music the magazine categorized as “Megadeth Metal”.

That’s not a joke.

Time would go on and a whole year and a half would pass before I finally came across Unhallowed, The Black Dahlia Murder’s 2003 debut album, probably in Sam Goody. I remember that this was also the same day that I bought the very denim jacket that I’d cut the sleeves off of to make a vest out of.

Unrelated note: Don’t ever use the term “Battle Jacket” to describe your denim vest with patches and buttons and spikes on it. Or go ahead and do so and be as retarded as everyone else that uses the fucking stupid term.

Anyway, my dad drove me home, as I still didn’t have a car yet. I opened up Unhallowed and looked at the cover. What’s in a name? What’s in a cover image? In the early days of mp3 downloading and, with a whole decade to go before Spotify existed, I still bought CDs, and still do so to this day. Therefore, the only way to find out what any band sounded like, was to either download a track or two, or to simply BUY the album. I popped the album into my five-disc changer and the following two tracks fucked me up.

The music in this video is actually the opening instrumental title track to the record and it breaks right into “Funeral Thirst”, so it made sense to just post the video instead of two separate links of any kind.

Either way, upon hearing those two tracks now I remember EXACTLY what stood out to me those most. The music alone was not just balls-out heavy, but those minor chord harmonies happened to make me feel every single negative emotion I ever knew or felt in my entire life. I wanted to cry, I wanted to die, I wanted to choke anyone I could get my hands on. It was hopeless. It was beautiful.

Then I heard that fucking voice. It was like nothing I had heard at the time. It was a hell of a lot more screetchy than most Death Metal bands I’d heard, with the sole exception of Chuck’s vocals on The Sound of Perseverance, Death’s last record. He hit the traditional guttural style as well and I realized that he was using the two styles for the sake of a dynamic that was not there at the time. It changed things up in all the songs and it fucking made things far more exciting.

Clearly whoever described this band as “Megadeth Metal” in Revolver Magazine a year earlier must’ve been either high or just absolutely clueless. The Black Dahlia Murder, especially as made evident in their latter-day releases were more like the greatest Carcass disciples you’ve ever heard!

This was just the beginning of a long ride for the band for the better part of two decades, two decades that would especially see Trevor Strnad standout among the traditional Death Metal frontman stereotype. As serious as he was in the video posted above, his sense of fun and humor would become FAR more prevalent not just in the videos the band would make in the coming years, but in his persona onstage. The best thing about it all was Trevor manage to balance this act out to the point that his goofiness NEVER took away from the band’s or his onstage intensity. He never took himself seriously and that connected with all of us because we knew it was genuine.

But to be clear, his lyrics were as Death Metal, and as brutal as it got. He’s a line or two from “Christ Deformed”, one of my ALL TIME favorite TBDM tracks:

Diabolic ritual open the portal to damnation
Dark legions gathering for virtuous insemination
Molest and sodomize deride the seed of god’s creation
Impale the Nazarene succumb to a spiritual inversion

In our unholy father’s disgusting house of shame
We revel in endless hatred burning so absolute
Corrupting all who’d enter here surrender to darkness
We kneel to those no more who’d burden and beguilt

Within these wretched walls a summoning proceeds
What form will manifest of this abysmal devilry
The children now are bleeding, we eunuchate his sons
To evil blood and fire this earth will soon succumb
With hell reborn
Your Christ be scorned
Dead faith now torn
His love deformed

That’s why I intentionally waited before I wrote this piece. It was hard to let sink in, that not only is Trevor gone, but to think about how it just might’ve happened. But much like with my tribute to Chris Cornell, I will NOT discuss what happened. Enough people have written about that, and we still haven’t a clue as to the whole story. But I, like most fans of The Black Dahlia Murder, have memories of meeting Trevor and even talking with him at length. Things like this, along with his ability to ACTUALLY HAVE FUN are truly why he’s the single most important Death Metal frontman in DECADES. While my memories aren’t as amazing as others, they meant something to me then, and they without question mean something to me now. So, I’ll share them.

It was the summer of 2006, and I traveled with two friends (one of which eventually got what was coming to him via a heart attack) to the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ for the Sounds of The Underground Tour, which included The Black Dahlia Murder, GWAR, Behemoth (and you bet your ass I met Nergal on this day!) and several others. I walked by TBDM’s merch table when I noticed a tall, flabby looking guy with a tattoo that read “HEARTBURN” across his belly. It was Trevor. I walked up to him and introduced myself when he replied, “talk a walk with me for a second”.

“Do me a favor, will ya?”, he asked me, as we walked. “We’re shooting a video for “Statutory Ape” today, and I need you and everybody else in that crowd to go fuckin’ crazy. Can you do that for me?” “Fuck yeah!” I immediately said. Hours later, the band walked on stage and Trevor immediately called out the entire crowd “C’MON YOU PUSSIES!!!!”, as they grinded out “I’m Charming” off Miasma, the same record that includes “Statutory Ape”. Sorry to say that no, I wasn’t crazy enough to be a part of that pit, but once Trevor called them out all bets were off.

My last memory didn’t involve a request to sacrifice myself in the pit, no. I traveled to the now defunct B.B. King’s in Times Square, New York Shitty (I said what I said), to see TBDM along with Hate Eternal and 3 inches Of Blood in January 2008. There might have been one other band on the bill, but I forgot who it was. Anyway, my friends and I arrived at B.B.’s and almost immediately I spotted Trevor at the bar. He looked a lot like he did two years prior, funny looking shorts, topless, hair all disheveled. I walked up to him again and he laughed as we reminisced over our previous meeting.

We parted ways after that, and he eventually found his way backstage. But what I always remembered about both those times was that he made himself accessible. It’s a story we’d ALL go on to hear about him over the years. He always hung out with the fans. Upon moving to Brooklyn (and I’ve to this day no idea why he’d do that to himself!), he apparently hung out at St. Vitus on the regular and would support the local bands and talk with everybody there. He even wrote a column for Metal Injection where he’d recommend underground Extreme Metal bands.

I don’t know many other frontmen of legend status like Trevor’s who’d do all those things. We might not ever completely know what happened to the charismatic (that word doesn’t even do it justice!) frontman of THE single most important Death Metal band of this century so far. But he left an UNDENIABLE mark that can never be removed. There will never be another frontman as genuine as Trevor Strnad.

RIP Trevor Strnad 1981 – 2022

My Take On Metallica’s Being A Band.

Posted on by Mike

https://open.spotify.com/show/4Adxscmvu0LeAWt2xA734l

They’ve got to be kidding…right?

Upon hearing a week ago that Metallica were hosting their own Masterclass series titled Being A Band, I quickly saw just as many eyebrows raised throughout the internet. Nice to know I wasn’t the only one with a brain. Let’s be real: the idea of Metallica teaching ANYONE how to be a band is absolutely laughable. I could give two shits about their legacy, it’s absolutely moot to the purpose of this article.

I just wonder if anyone reading this has actually paid to watch that shit. I can only imagine they’d have no choice but to dwell on their dark past (OTHER than Cliff Burton’s gruesome death in 1986 and James Hetfield entering rehab in 2001) that NO ONE really brings up. So that begs the question: how much of their “advice” is based on the truth? How much more of it is based on a fabricated history? Fuck, Jason Newsted had recently alluded to the fact that there are a “lot of secrets” within Metallica.

That aside, I know better than to watch this shitshow. But I’m here today to bring you my own, homespun, brutally honest interpretation of Being A Band, all for free and all for your displeasure. Let’s go with number 1, shall we??

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  1. Labor For Far Longer Than Necessary Over Song Arrangements

That’s right. Go find a band that’s a major influence on you the way Saxon influenced Lars, watch them beat a song arrangement to death when it probably sounded good after just a few tries, assume that it’s the only way to write songs and prepare for a career chock full of infighting within your band. Do you happen to have a musician in your band that’s a songwriting genius that can just shit out song after song on his own while keeping shit basic? Does your band have the ability to make a QUALITY album in a relatively short amount of time?

Fuck that! Make sure that you ALWAYS have to have a say in EVERYTHING the band does. Make sure you oversee every minute detail of the simplest, four minute single. Makes sure your band practices that song over and over again to the point that, once you finally hit that record button, your deadline for the album is just around the corner. How the fuck could first take magic possibly mean shit when you can take years to write all of ten songs and totally piss of your loyal fan base, as they wait possibly close to a decade before you release that next album? Duh!

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2. Make Sure Your Producer Doubles As A Yoko

You’re inching closer and closer to success with each passing album. You’ve finally hit Platinum status in sales AND you’re even a home owner now. Imagine you and your band jamming away on a fast, probably badass new track as the big name producer your label brought in arrives and hears what you’re playing. His hello to the band is to tell you to stop and play it slower.

Absolutely listen to him and let him know right away that he has control over you and that your balls are safe…in his grip! It won’t seem like that at first, especially since your initial record under his supervision becomes your biggest selling album of ALL TIME, even if it unquestionably divides fans, and leaving some questioning your integrity. Keep that producer for the next several years, as he influences you to explore sonic territory that not only is unnecessary, but alienates whatever ever “back in the day” fans you have left.

Go ahead and let him be considered by the public to be your band’s fifth member (or sixth if your band’s a five piece already). Take him everywhere you go like the little lapdog he is, and he’ll know he doesn’t need to worry about the source of his next pay check. If you lose a band member, let him PLAY on your next album, thus giving him hope that he might even join your band that he helped to completely alter the course of. Let him dominate you like you’re his BDSM dungeon bitch so bad that the stench is strong for decades to…cum.

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3. Overuse Your Wah Wah Pedal To The Point Of Sexual Abuse

Are you the lead guitarist in your band? Did you idolize guitarists that made decent use of their wah pedals the way Kirk Hammett says Michael Schenker is one of the reasons he himself started relying on the wah pedal? Well what the fuck are you waiting for? Stomp that pedal and rock it back and forth uncontrollably and far more often than your idols ever did!

You can’t stand out if your wah pedal use has control and intentional limitations. You need to use your wah pedal on practically EVERY SINGLE SOLO YOU EVER PLAY. Your tone with the wah MUST be insufferable, and you have to sound like you have absolutely no right hand at all.

At all.

Ever.

Not even to jerk off.

4. Grant A Film Crew Unlimited Access To All Of Your Band’s Drama

Did you decide to have a little fun and let the whole world see your band in the middle of recording an album? Did shit not go as planned? Did a band member quit? Did someone go to rehab after years of unchecked abuse that’s still nothing compared to another ex member, whose trips to rehabs surpassed double digits long before your first go at sobriety? Is this person you?

Pay that film crew for the rights to that footage and continue to film away!

Expose your personal business to the entire world. Hire a “performance enhancement” coach known for working with NFL teams, because it doesn’t matter how many business deals you’ve gone through as a band – you can’t handle someone quitting. This coach CANNOT be a licensed psychologist or even a licensed psychotherapist. Treat him like your own, personal security blanket and keep him on your payroll for far longer than any other band in history. Much like your producer (see #2), make HIM so comfortable that he starts trying to write lyrics for your band in the middle of a recording session. The more leeches in your life the better, of course!

Speaking of band members leaving, I saved the most important bit of advice for last.

5. Drive Your Most Loyal Bandmate To Quit

This is the last thing I’ve ever wish on any band. But imagine you lost a band member in a horrific accident ala Cliff Burton. Instead of taking time off to grieve the loss of your comrade in arms, throw yourselves immediately into replacing him before you head overseas to tour. Find yourself your band’s biggest fan.

  • He worships the very bandmember he’s replacing
  • He knows your entire catalog inside and out
  • He’s willing to do anything you want because he doesn’t want to take this chance for granted
  • He’ll sign autographs backstage while your lazy ass is already back at the hotel getting shitfaced

Haze the shit out of him. You want to remind him that he didn’t just waltz into a happy situation; but because neither you or your band ever gave yourselves the time needed to grieve, you can just take out all of your anger on that loyal, new replacement. Prank him backstage, embarrass him onstage. Dictate what and how he plays when recording an album.

Completely shatter his spirit by being the one guy to still haze him even years after everybody else grows up and accepts reality. Condemn him during an interview with a national publication for daring to express his desires to record an album with a decidedly different sounding side band because you’re afraid to lose him, even if you’re still treating him the new kid years after his arrival into your life. And when he requests to hold a meeting with the band to further express his desires for a break because he physically ran himself to the ground for you and your band, show up drunk at 10 in the morning and tell him no, ultimately strengthening his resolve to tell you to he’s gone.

Follow these five easy steps and YOU just might be on your way to a highly successful career in music!

4/28/22 – look below to see the most hilarious fangirl comment I’ve ever seen. It’s dopes, like this who forget that I’m basically speaking opinion here, whose over the top reactions let me know I’m doing my job. Thanks bud!