Zombies. Soviets. Spores. Oh yeah!
~The Damo
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Friday 12 December 2008
Saturday 15 November 2008
The Great Debate
After much consultation with a colleague, and by consultation I mean a brief chat and by colleague I mean Bren, I now find myself with the difficult task of deciding whether I want to get either Guitar Hero: World Tour or Rockband 2 this Christmas.
Before I get into the nitty gritty of both it’s important to know a few things. The people who originally made Guitar Hero are now the people making Rockband, and the crowd now making Guitar Hero are better known for making the Tony Hawk games. The latest installments include the full kit – guitar (with solo buttons), drums and mic. These were all standard in the original Rockband and are now included in Guitar Hero for the first time.
So down to the facts. As it currently stands, Rockband 2 sits with an average metascore of 92/100 compared to Guitar Hero’s 85/100. After watching and reading several reviews it is undoubtedly clear that the latest Rockband is the “better made” game. From what I’ve ascertained you can import songs from the original Rockband into its successor but this feature is not available on World Tour because of the new instruments included – which were standard in the original Rockband. It’s unfortunately very limiting, considering that Guitar Hero has had more games and the current iteration doesn’t support them.
However, Guitar Hero includes a feature to make your own songs – albeit highly complicated – which once people get to grips with will undoubtedly result in some great tracks to play, and techincally an infinite number of tracks so long as people continue to support the user created content. Also in Guitar Hero’s favour is the release of Guitar Hero: Metallica in February-March ’09. Naturally this release holds a special place for me and would be another reason to favour the Guitar Hero brand.
Having said that though, the team behind Rockband are the most experienced at this type of game and more likely to improve the brand with each new release. Also in Rockband’s favour is the option to make it impossible to fail a song, a VERY useful feature for the musically challenged such as myself – I are n00b.
Before I get into the nitty gritty of both it’s important to know a few things. The people who originally made Guitar Hero are now the people making Rockband, and the crowd now making Guitar Hero are better known for making the Tony Hawk games. The latest installments include the full kit – guitar (with solo buttons), drums and mic. These were all standard in the original Rockband and are now included in Guitar Hero for the first time.
So down to the facts. As it currently stands, Rockband 2 sits with an average metascore of 92/100 compared to Guitar Hero’s 85/100. After watching and reading several reviews it is undoubtedly clear that the latest Rockband is the “better made” game. From what I’ve ascertained you can import songs from the original Rockband into its successor but this feature is not available on World Tour because of the new instruments included – which were standard in the original Rockband. It’s unfortunately very limiting, considering that Guitar Hero has had more games and the current iteration doesn’t support them.
However, Guitar Hero includes a feature to make your own songs – albeit highly complicated – which once people get to grips with will undoubtedly result in some great tracks to play, and techincally an infinite number of tracks so long as people continue to support the user created content. Also in Guitar Hero’s favour is the release of Guitar Hero: Metallica in February-March ’09. Naturally this release holds a special place for me and would be another reason to favour the Guitar Hero brand.
Having said that though, the team behind Rockband are the most experienced at this type of game and more likely to improve the brand with each new release. Also in Rockband’s favour is the option to make it impossible to fail a song, a VERY useful feature for the musically challenged such as myself – I are n00b.
So what should I do??
~The Damo
Monday 15 September 2008
Death Magnetic Review
Some time back I wrote a piece about the Heavy Metal Renaissance and how the early indications of Metallica's forthcoming album were good due largely to the demo track "The New Song". I can now say "Yes", they have succeeded...
YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE WHOLE FREAKIN' ALBUM HERE!!!!!! FOR FREE!!!!!
http://metallica.com/index.asp?item=601231
Let's face it, St. Anger blew a lot out of its..ye know. And Load and Reload weren't all that great either. Finally, after so many years, I think they've got it right again. Death Magnetic is the first Metallica album I've listened to since the Black Album where I liked every single song upon its first listen. I couldn't do that with the other 3 mentioned above. I guess in part the anticipation leading up to Death Magnetic influenced how I would judge the album and God forbid I am no expert when it comes to music in any regard, but I know what I like - and I like Death Magnetic.
Rather than discuss each individual track (okay, I can't because I really know nothing about the technicalities of music) I'll instead just mention my experience of it. Metallica fans are familiar with the concept that Metallica can potentially sound very different from album to album. Part of what makes the first 5 albums so good and so successful is that...broadly speaking...they all had a similar sound/tone/whatever that people LIKED. All their work after that till now has had varying sounds, with a more mellow Load and a highly aggressive yet ultimately bland St. Anger. The first thing I thought after listening to Death Magnetic (in actual fact it's the second thing after saying to myself "That was freakin' savage" was that it was a return to form for the lads. Death Magnetic - to me - sounds like it could have slotted anywhere in the Metallica timeline between Ride the Lightning and the Black Album. In fact, The Judas Kiss feels to me like the closest thing Metallica have written to the song ...And Justice for All.
One flaw with the songs off St. Anger was that they never felt nor sounded like they would be suitable for a live performance. Metallica's first 5 albums all feel natural for a live performance, and Death Magnetic certainly feels like the whole album could be played live aswell. The line "Show you scars!!" in Broken, Beat and Scarred is just screaming to be played in front of an audience to let everyone sing, much like the low-key chants of "Luck....runs...out...." in All Nightmare Long. The chorus for Cyanide and The Judas Kiss feel like they could be sung much in the same way as the chorus for Master of Puppets and Creeping Death. That interaction between the live performance and the crowd is what helps the success of Metallica songs in the fan's eyes, yet another element to why St. Anger failed.
You will also notice that Metallica have reintroduced complex riffs and variations in sound throughout the songs, much like they did in their early work, again annexing themselves from the overly simplistic and repetitive nature of St. Anger. There is a sense of continutity between this album and the better previous ones with The Unforgiven III - a song I highly anticipated prior to the release - the only song on the album which could possibly be called a ballad. It doesn't necessarily sound like The Unforgiven and The Unforgiven II but it feels like them. My suggestion is that you listen to all 3 (probably on Youtube) to see what I mean. Suicide and Redemption is also the first instrumental Metallica have written since To Live is to Die from ...And Justice for All. It is as though the band listened to the cries of the fans for a return to glory and I personally feel they have answered those cries exceptionally.
I could continue to waffle on for longer but I personally recommend listening to the album at the link above. If I was to grade Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, ...And Justice for All and the Black Album with 5 out of 5 stars, St. Anger with one, and Load and Reload with 3 stars, then Death Magnetic would certainly garner 4 (if not 5) stars from me. Hopefully this is a harbinger for future albums to come from the boyz...and not have to wait 5 years for the next one!
~The Damo
YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE WHOLE FREAKIN' ALBUM HERE!!!!!! FOR FREE!!!!!
http://metallica.com/index.asp?item=601231
- That Was Just Your Life
- The End of the Line
- Broken, Beat and Scarred
- The Day That Never Comes
- All Nightmare Long
- Cyanide
- The Unforgiven III
- The Judas Kiss
- Suicide and Redemption
- My Apocalypse
Let's face it, St. Anger blew a lot out of its..ye know. And Load and Reload weren't all that great either. Finally, after so many years, I think they've got it right again. Death Magnetic is the first Metallica album I've listened to since the Black Album where I liked every single song upon its first listen. I couldn't do that with the other 3 mentioned above. I guess in part the anticipation leading up to Death Magnetic influenced how I would judge the album and God forbid I am no expert when it comes to music in any regard, but I know what I like - and I like Death Magnetic.
Rather than discuss each individual track (okay, I can't because I really know nothing about the technicalities of music) I'll instead just mention my experience of it. Metallica fans are familiar with the concept that Metallica can potentially sound very different from album to album. Part of what makes the first 5 albums so good and so successful is that...broadly speaking...they all had a similar sound/tone/whatever that people LIKED. All their work after that till now has had varying sounds, with a more mellow Load and a highly aggressive yet ultimately bland St. Anger. The first thing I thought after listening to Death Magnetic (in actual fact it's the second thing after saying to myself "That was freakin' savage" was that it was a return to form for the lads. Death Magnetic - to me - sounds like it could have slotted anywhere in the Metallica timeline between Ride the Lightning and the Black Album. In fact, The Judas Kiss feels to me like the closest thing Metallica have written to the song ...And Justice for All.
One flaw with the songs off St. Anger was that they never felt nor sounded like they would be suitable for a live performance. Metallica's first 5 albums all feel natural for a live performance, and Death Magnetic certainly feels like the whole album could be played live aswell. The line "Show you scars!!" in Broken, Beat and Scarred is just screaming to be played in front of an audience to let everyone sing, much like the low-key chants of "Luck....runs...out...." in All Nightmare Long. The chorus for Cyanide and The Judas Kiss feel like they could be sung much in the same way as the chorus for Master of Puppets and Creeping Death. That interaction between the live performance and the crowd is what helps the success of Metallica songs in the fan's eyes, yet another element to why St. Anger failed.
You will also notice that Metallica have reintroduced complex riffs and variations in sound throughout the songs, much like they did in their early work, again annexing themselves from the overly simplistic and repetitive nature of St. Anger. There is a sense of continutity between this album and the better previous ones with The Unforgiven III - a song I highly anticipated prior to the release - the only song on the album which could possibly be called a ballad. It doesn't necessarily sound like The Unforgiven and The Unforgiven II but it feels like them. My suggestion is that you listen to all 3 (probably on Youtube) to see what I mean. Suicide and Redemption is also the first instrumental Metallica have written since To Live is to Die from ...And Justice for All. It is as though the band listened to the cries of the fans for a return to glory and I personally feel they have answered those cries exceptionally.
I could continue to waffle on for longer but I personally recommend listening to the album at the link above. If I was to grade Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, ...And Justice for All and the Black Album with 5 out of 5 stars, St. Anger with one, and Load and Reload with 3 stars, then Death Magnetic would certainly garner 4 (if not 5) stars from me. Hopefully this is a harbinger for future albums to come from the boyz...and not have to wait 5 years for the next one!
~The Damo
Wednesday 3 September 2008
Metallicaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!
Three more music pieces, the first here is the VIDEO for The Day That Never Comes which I posted a while back...looking good!!
Next is studio quality My Apocalypse. It's a more thrash metal sound and could argue that it is a return to form for the lads.
Lastly is studio quality Cyanide
NINE DAYS TO GO!!!!
~The Damo
THeY're c0ming, wE toLd yOu aLL alONG.....
Next is studio quality My Apocalypse. It's a more thrash metal sound and could argue that it is a return to form for the lads.
Lastly is studio quality Cyanide
NINE DAYS TO GO!!!!
~The Damo
THeY're c0ming, wE toLd yOu aLL alONG.....
Friday 22 August 2008
The Day That Came
First single from new album and it freakin' RAWWWKKSSSSS!!!!!!!!
The Day That Never Comes:
September 12th ALMOST HERE!!!!
~The Damo
The Day That Never Comes:
September 12th ALMOST HERE!!!!
~The Damo
Saturday 16 August 2008
Final Piece of the Puzzle!!
That’s it ladies and gentlemen, first we had the album title, followed by the track list and now the release date – can’t freakin’ wait!! What we also know now is that the first single from the new album will be The Day That Never Comes. But I now also have for you from metontour a look at the song Cyanide from the album.Played at Ozzfest in Dallas, Texas:
Suicide, I’ve already died, it’s just the funeral I’ve been waiting for….
Cyanide, feeling dead inside, break this empty shell forever more!
~The Damo
Monday 28 July 2008
Death Magnetic It Is.....
Finally...after months of waiting Metallica's newest album is almost here!!!!
Death Magnetic. For a few days a while back they slowly revealed the album title in a series of image extensions. Personally I thought when the letters spelt out "Deagnetic" I thought that was pretty good but hey. Hetfield recently gave an interview explaining the album title:
"Death Magnetic, at least the title, to me [...] started out as kind of a tribute to people that have fallen in our business, like Layne Staley and a lot of the people that have died, basically — rock and roll martyrs of sorts. And then it kind of grew from there. Thinking about death… some people are drawn towards it, and just like a magnet, [and] other people are afraid of it and push away. And the concept that we're all gonna die sometimes is over-talked about and then a lot of times never talked about — no one wants to bring it up; it's the big white elephant in the living room. But we all have to deal with it at some point."
Can't wait for August 20th, Marlay Park baby!!!
~The Damo
Death Magnetic. For a few days a while back they slowly revealed the album title in a series of image extensions. Personally I thought when the letters spelt out "Deagnetic" I thought that was pretty good but hey. Hetfield recently gave an interview explaining the album title:
"Death Magnetic, at least the title, to me [...] started out as kind of a tribute to people that have fallen in our business, like Layne Staley and a lot of the people that have died, basically — rock and roll martyrs of sorts. And then it kind of grew from there. Thinking about death… some people are drawn towards it, and just like a magnet, [and] other people are afraid of it and push away. And the concept that we're all gonna die sometimes is over-talked about and then a lot of times never talked about — no one wants to bring it up; it's the big white elephant in the living room. But we all have to deal with it at some point."
Also, the track list - in order - was posted on Metallica.com shortly after the cover art was revealed:
That Was Just Your Life
The End Of The Line Broken,
Beat & Scarred
The Day That Never Comes
All Nightmare Long
Cyanide
The Unforgiven III
The Judas Kiss
Suicide & Redemption
My Apocalypse
That looks grand and all till WOAH...... The Unforgiven III???????? Like The Unforgiven on the Black Album was awesome, then The Unforgiven II on Reload was awesome-er so does that mean by default that Part 3 will awesome-est?? That track title alone has be buzzin' over the new album. Below is a piece I got off Youtube which is like a short medley of all the samples currently available on the album.Can't wait for August 20th, Marlay Park baby!!!
~The Damo
Monday 9 June 2008
Metal Gear Solid 4: Official Soundtrack - Review
THREE DAYS TO GO!!!!!
So it begins.... the flooding of my blog of MGS4 related stuff. Some might argue that has already happened but now I'm making it official!! First up is the soundtrack. I don't really do this kind of review, in fact the last music related reviem I did was Rammstein's Volkerball some time back. Anyway, to this review.
What's important to remember about Metal Gear games is that they are more than just games. I've mentioned countless times that Metal Gear is more an experience than anything else. Since cut-scenes became viable - circa the beginnings of the Playstation - each Metal Gear game has offered an incredible cinematic experience. Each game is up there with Hollywood blockbusters, with Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty earning the unofficial title "The Hollywood Game". As such, it is only appropriate that these games have a soundtrack to match. For MGS2, Kojima and his team brought Harry Gregson Williams on board, famous for scores for films like the Shrek Trilogy, The Chronicles of Narnia, Veronica Guerin, Kingdom of Heaven amongst others. Since then he is now famous for his three Metal Gear tracks aswell!
The addition of such an accomplished composer brought the Metal Gear games to a level beyond anything else. So much so that he was brought in to work on the Game of the Year Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
Below is the track list:
Disc 1
01 Old Snake 3:52
02 Love Theme 7:07
03 Gekko 2:53
04 Haven Troopers 3:40
05 BB Corps 3:43
06 Drebin 893 3:29
07 Vista Mansion 1:32
08 Laughing Octopus 2:19
09 Breakthrough 3:09
10 Endless Pain 2:46
11 White Blood 2:49
12 Call Me Hal 3:01
13 Midnight Shadow 2:58
14 Paradise Lost 4:13
15 Great Escape 2:14
16 Desperate Chase 2:57
17 Raging Raven 2:34
18 Confrontation 3:10
19 Mobs Alive 3:24
20 Violent Ceasefire 2:08
Disc 2
01 Next-Gen Control 4:40
02 Crying Wolf 2:10
03 One More Reboot 1:41
04 Sin 1:44
05 Atonement 4:48
06 Infinite Loop 3:35
07 Everything Ends 2:30
08 At Dawn 3:30
09 Screaming Mantis 2:38
10 Guns of the Patriots 4:05
11 No Place to Hide 2:36
12 Sorrow 3:50
13 Full Circle 1:38
14 Everything Begins 4:25
15 Father & Son 2:29
16 Metal Gear Saga 4:19
17 Here's To You 5:48
18 War Zone 1:28
19 A Rebellion Rests 2:44
20 The Hunter 2:05
21 The Hunted 2:00
22 Forced Hand 2:08
23 Under Curfew 1:49
24 Unmanned Army 1:28
25 Cold Memories 1:35
26 For Liberty 1:58
27 Surrounded 1:59
I guess it's hard to say what it sounds like in words, but if it means anything it will please any fan. The first thing that's striking is a lack of a song titled "Metal Gear Solid 4 Theme" - which featured in all its predecessors. It has been argued that "Love Theme" is the official theme song, as it has been the one most prominently featured in all the trailers. "Metal Gear Saga" is the more familiar Metal Gear song, which in this instance seems to be a culmination of each Metal Gear theme song from the last three games.
We can take a lot from it though. For instance, the list (if chronological) would suggest that you fight the Beauty and the Beast unit in the order of: Laughing Octopus, Raging Raven, Crying Wolf and Screaming Mantis. The "Father and Son" track is also interesting, could that be Snake and Big Boss, or perhaps Raiden and his son? Who knows! The "Gekko" track is already one of my favourites. If that music plays everytime a Gekko leaps onto the scream I think I might just be biting my nails in terror!
I guess that's all I can say really other than to recommend that if you can, go to Youtube and input the track title. In all likelihood someone will have made a video for them all. I know a good few of them are there already.
Stay blogged for more MGS4 related news, coming soon to a Master Engineer of Sigmar's Realm space near you!
~The Damo
So it begins.... the flooding of my blog of MGS4 related stuff. Some might argue that has already happened but now I'm making it official!! First up is the soundtrack. I don't really do this kind of review, in fact the last music related reviem I did was Rammstein's Volkerball some time back. Anyway, to this review.
What's important to remember about Metal Gear games is that they are more than just games. I've mentioned countless times that Metal Gear is more an experience than anything else. Since cut-scenes became viable - circa the beginnings of the Playstation - each Metal Gear game has offered an incredible cinematic experience. Each game is up there with Hollywood blockbusters, with Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty earning the unofficial title "The Hollywood Game". As such, it is only appropriate that these games have a soundtrack to match. For MGS2, Kojima and his team brought Harry Gregson Williams on board, famous for scores for films like the Shrek Trilogy, The Chronicles of Narnia, Veronica Guerin, Kingdom of Heaven amongst others. Since then he is now famous for his three Metal Gear tracks aswell!
The addition of such an accomplished composer brought the Metal Gear games to a level beyond anything else. So much so that he was brought in to work on the Game of the Year Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
Below is the track list:
Disc 1
01 Old Snake 3:52
02 Love Theme 7:07
03 Gekko 2:53
04 Haven Troopers 3:40
05 BB Corps 3:43
06 Drebin 893 3:29
07 Vista Mansion 1:32
08 Laughing Octopus 2:19
09 Breakthrough 3:09
10 Endless Pain 2:46
11 White Blood 2:49
12 Call Me Hal 3:01
13 Midnight Shadow 2:58
14 Paradise Lost 4:13
15 Great Escape 2:14
16 Desperate Chase 2:57
17 Raging Raven 2:34
18 Confrontation 3:10
19 Mobs Alive 3:24
20 Violent Ceasefire 2:08
Disc 2
01 Next-Gen Control 4:40
02 Crying Wolf 2:10
03 One More Reboot 1:41
04 Sin 1:44
05 Atonement 4:48
06 Infinite Loop 3:35
07 Everything Ends 2:30
08 At Dawn 3:30
09 Screaming Mantis 2:38
10 Guns of the Patriots 4:05
11 No Place to Hide 2:36
12 Sorrow 3:50
13 Full Circle 1:38
14 Everything Begins 4:25
15 Father & Son 2:29
16 Metal Gear Saga 4:19
17 Here's To You 5:48
18 War Zone 1:28
19 A Rebellion Rests 2:44
20 The Hunter 2:05
21 The Hunted 2:00
22 Forced Hand 2:08
23 Under Curfew 1:49
24 Unmanned Army 1:28
25 Cold Memories 1:35
26 For Liberty 1:58
27 Surrounded 1:59
I guess it's hard to say what it sounds like in words, but if it means anything it will please any fan. The first thing that's striking is a lack of a song titled "Metal Gear Solid 4 Theme" - which featured in all its predecessors. It has been argued that "Love Theme" is the official theme song, as it has been the one most prominently featured in all the trailers. "Metal Gear Saga" is the more familiar Metal Gear song, which in this instance seems to be a culmination of each Metal Gear theme song from the last three games.
We can take a lot from it though. For instance, the list (if chronological) would suggest that you fight the Beauty and the Beast unit in the order of: Laughing Octopus, Raging Raven, Crying Wolf and Screaming Mantis. The "Father and Son" track is also interesting, could that be Snake and Big Boss, or perhaps Raiden and his son? Who knows! The "Gekko" track is already one of my favourites. If that music plays everytime a Gekko leaps onto the scream I think I might just be biting my nails in terror!
I guess that's all I can say really other than to recommend that if you can, go to Youtube and input the track title. In all likelihood someone will have made a video for them all. I know a good few of them are there already.
Stay blogged for more MGS4 related news, coming soon to a Master Engineer of Sigmar's Realm space near you!
~The Damo
Tuesday 27 May 2008
Top Ten - Stephen Lynch!!
I should warn you before you watch these - if you even bother to watch these yokes at all - that they can be offensive. In fact, it's fair to say that in a collection of Stephen Lynch songs you will be insulted at least once, if not multiple times! In a way that's what makes Stephen Lynch acceptable. By insulting a more wider audience, the stuff he sings therefore becomes less insulting...if you know what I mean.
My first experience of Stephen Lynch was "Special Olympics", which then prompted getting hold of ALL his songs. He does a mix of albums and songs he records on the radio, though his live performances are the ones you really want to hear - aka, no censorship!
10. Best Friends Song
9. If I Were Gay
8. Lullabye (also known as The Divorce Song)
7. Special Fred (also known as Special Ed)
6. Special Olympics
5. Craig Christ
4. Talk to Me (also known as You Caught Me Spanking It)
3. Superhero
2. Altar Boy (also known as Priest)
1. Dungeons & Dragons (D&D)
Try to see the fun in it!
~The Damo
My first experience of Stephen Lynch was "Special Olympics", which then prompted getting hold of ALL his songs. He does a mix of albums and songs he records on the radio, though his live performances are the ones you really want to hear - aka, no censorship!
10. Best Friends Song
9. If I Were Gay
8. Lullabye (also known as The Divorce Song)
7. Special Fred (also known as Special Ed)
6. Special Olympics
5. Craig Christ
4. Talk to Me (also known as You Caught Me Spanking It)
3. Superhero
2. Altar Boy (also known as Priest)
1. Dungeons & Dragons (D&D)
Try to see the fun in it!
~The Damo
Monday 19 May 2008
"Mission: Metallica"
Some time ago I wrote a blog about the Renaissance of heavy metal. In it I was discussing how two of leaders in modern metal - Megadeth and Metallica - had gone through similar phases of huge fame, lower standard albums to new beginnings. Megadeth have pulled through it with flying colours following the albums The System Has Failed and United Abominations. This year (finally) sees the release of Metallica's ninth studio album. Five years after 2003's St. Anger, expectations are high, especially given the teaser of The New Song in 06 and 07. To help with the hype build up for the Autumn release date - which will hopefully be before they perform in Marlay Park on August 20th - they have released a sister site to metallica.com called Mission Metallica - http://www.missionmetallica.com/ . They will be releasing details about the new album and showing us footage from the studio and so on. Below is the trailer for the website. At 2.23 onwards features new riffs, which sound promising. Interviews with Rick Rubin have revealed that there are 8-9 songs all of which are 8 minutes long, including new solos which were sadly absent in St. Anger. If this and The New Song are anything to go by, Metallica are sure to pull through their own renaissance too...
Bow down! Sell your soul to me....I will set you free...
It also seems they may have gone back to their old logo... :D
~The Damo
Bow down! Sell your soul to me....I will set you free...
It also seems they may have gone back to their old logo... :D
~The Damo
Top Ten - Rammstein!!
I first got into Rammstein back in 2001. I was a young teen, riding along the bus (better known as the Wacky Shack) in the Gaeltacht when a young David McGuiness was listening to Rammstein's Mutter on his cd player. Yes, I actually did say CD player, it's THAT long ago! An even younger Brendan Kelly expressed his knowledge on the band and how good they were and my accomplice Daithi O'Cinneide also knew of them. Needless to say I had to have a listen and I instantly fell in love. Well not literally, but you know, in a way a man can love his car or his farts or his johnson. So anyway, my first taste of Rammstein was their 3rd studio album Mutter which was FANTASTIC, and still is in my opinion. I of course had no idea that they had two previous albums Herzeleid and Sehnsucht. This fact only came to my knowledge through a DVD. In 2004 I duely purchased the brilliant Reise,Reise and most recently (2006 recently) bought Rosenrot. While I personally feel that Rosenrot was slightly weaker than its immediate two predecessors, it does have one or two nice songs. At present, Rammstein are currently working on their next album set for release this year under the working title Punk. I only invested in their first two albums last year and I love them as much as the others. In fact, I think Sehnsucht is slowly coming into second place behind Mutter. I would also highly recommend getting their two live albums, Live Aus Berlin and Volkerball, both equally good and express excellently Rammstein's incredible raw power and flare when performing live.
Anyway, so back to the purpose of this blog. Firstly, I haven't done a Top Ten in AGES! Secondly, I wanted to share Rammstein with everyone. It is an acquired taste, much like Guinness, so it doesn't appeal to everyone, but I can safely say I know more people who like them than dislike them, and in actual fact I've been surprised countless times by the amount of people that actually know of them.
So here goes MY Top Ten, not everyone will agree but there ya go! The song title in Italics is its English translation. Where possible I've tried to get the original music video for the songs, not all have them and not all are available.
10. Mann Gegen Mann - Man Against Man (from Rosenrot)
*PARENTAL SUPERVISION REQUIRED!*
9. Du Riecht So Gut - You Smell So Nice (from Herzeleid)
8. Feuer Frei! - Fire at Will! (from Mutter)
7. Wollt ihr das Bett in Flammen sehen? - Do You Want to See the Bed in Flames? (from Herzeleid)
6. Du Hast - You Hate (from Sehnsucht)
5. Sehnsucht - Longing (from Sehnsucht)
4. Amerika (from Reise, Reise)
3. Ich Will - I want (from Mutter)
2. Engel - Angel (from Sehsucht)
1. Sonne - Sun (from Mutter)
Again, no brownie points for guessing what my favourite album is. Oh, and if you speak German, you might be able to see how.... *strange*....some of their lyrics are...especially Mann Gegen Mann and Du Hast... Nevertheless, I highly recommend Rammstein for everyone!
~The Damo
Anyway, so back to the purpose of this blog. Firstly, I haven't done a Top Ten in AGES! Secondly, I wanted to share Rammstein with everyone. It is an acquired taste, much like Guinness, so it doesn't appeal to everyone, but I can safely say I know more people who like them than dislike them, and in actual fact I've been surprised countless times by the amount of people that actually know of them.
So here goes MY Top Ten, not everyone will agree but there ya go! The song title in Italics is its English translation. Where possible I've tried to get the original music video for the songs, not all have them and not all are available.
10. Mann Gegen Mann - Man Against Man (from Rosenrot)
*PARENTAL SUPERVISION REQUIRED!*
9. Du Riecht So Gut - You Smell So Nice (from Herzeleid)
8. Feuer Frei! - Fire at Will! (from Mutter)
7. Wollt ihr das Bett in Flammen sehen? - Do You Want to See the Bed in Flames? (from Herzeleid)
6. Du Hast - You Hate (from Sehnsucht)
5. Sehnsucht - Longing (from Sehnsucht)
4. Amerika (from Reise, Reise)
3. Ich Will - I want (from Mutter)
2. Engel - Angel (from Sehsucht)
1. Sonne - Sun (from Mutter)
Again, no brownie points for guessing what my favourite album is. Oh, and if you speak German, you might be able to see how.... *strange*....some of their lyrics are...especially Mann Gegen Mann and Du Hast... Nevertheless, I highly recommend Rammstein for everyone!
~The Damo
Introducing......"Stockade"
Stockade are a new 5 piece vocal harmony band taking the world by storm. With their amazing covers and solid physical presence their going straight to the top.
The members are (Left to Right):
Lorcan Keller (Ginger Stock)
Maurice Price (Baby Stock)
Brendan Byrne (Sporty Stock)
Damien Kelly (Posh Stock)
Alan ''Wolfman'' Byrne (Scary Stock)
Look for them soon in a town near you!!
We are currently recording our debut single Well Stock'd and have begun work on our first studio album Built Like A House (working title). The single Well Stock'd will likely include a bonus track of the WIP We Work Hard, We Play Hard.
Oh yeah, let the money flow!
~The Damo (aka Posh Stock)
Tuesday 11 December 2007
The Arsenal of Megadeth
Just recently, I found out that Megadeth have released a massively huge new 4CD 1 DVD boxset entitled "Warchest" which is pretty much a compilation of all their best stuff (over 6 hours in fact, including 33 previously unreleased songs) aswell as a live CD and full live DVD. The boxset comes housed in unique "vac-u-form" package with a 36 page booklet containing photos, liner notes and full discography.
Though its a little unfortunate that I pretty much already have all their stuff and won't fork out €60+ to have it shipped over from America, it is regardless a very impressive compilation which would be the ideal purchase for anyone wanting to get into them. Rather cleverly they haven't included anything from United Abominations and very little from The System Has Failed, which I guess is a ploy to make you buy them both, which are arguably their best albums to date (and most recent).
Disc: 1
1. Killing Is My Business...And Business Is Good!
2. The Skull Beneath The Skin
3. Peace Sells
4. Wake Up Dead
5. Devils Island
6. Set The World Afire
7. Into The Lungs Of Hell
8. Anarchy/Problems [session take]
9. Hook In Mouth
10. Liar
11. In My Darkest Hour
12. No More Mr. Nice Guy
1. Killing Is My Business...And Business Is Good!
2. The Skull Beneath The Skin
3. Peace Sells
4. Wake Up Dead
5. Devils Island
6. Set The World Afire
7. Into The Lungs Of Hell
8. Anarchy/Problems [session take]
9. Hook In Mouth
10. Liar
11. In My Darkest Hour
12. No More Mr. Nice Guy
13. “dark themes…”
14. Holy Wars…The Punishment Due [Casey McMackin demo]
15. Tornado Of Souls [demo]
16. Five Magics [demo]
17. Hangar 18
14. Holy Wars…The Punishment Due [Casey McMackin demo]
15. Tornado Of Souls [demo]
16. Five Magics [demo]
17. Hangar 18
Disc: 2
1. “keeping score…”
2. Symphony Of Destruction
3. Go To Hell - "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" Soundtrack
4. Foreclosure Of A Dream
5. Architecture Of Aggression [demo]
6. Skin O’ My Teeth [live at Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI 5/23/92]
7. High Speed Dirt [live at Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI 5/23/92]
8. Ashes In Your Mouth [live at the Cow Palace, S.F., CA 12/4/92]
9. Sweating Bullets [live at the Cow Palace, S.F., CA 12/4/92]
10. Breakpoint [session take]
11. Angry Again
12. Train Of Consequences
13. Reckoning Day
14. New World Order
15. The Killing Road
16. Strange Ways
17. Paranoid
18. Diadems
19. A Tout Le Monde
1. “keeping score…”
2. Symphony Of Destruction
3. Go To Hell - "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" Soundtrack
4. Foreclosure Of A Dream
5. Architecture Of Aggression [demo]
6. Skin O’ My Teeth [live at Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI 5/23/92]
7. High Speed Dirt [live at Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI 5/23/92]
8. Ashes In Your Mouth [live at the Cow Palace, S.F., CA 12/4/92]
9. Sweating Bullets [live at the Cow Palace, S.F., CA 12/4/92]
10. Breakpoint [session take]
11. Angry Again
12. Train Of Consequences
13. Reckoning Day
14. New World Order
15. The Killing Road
16. Strange Ways
17. Paranoid
18. Diadems
19. A Tout Le Monde
Disc: 3
1. Trust
2. Almost Honest
3. Use The Man
4. She-Wolf
5. A Secret Place [live at Woodstock, NY 7/25/99]
6. One Thing
7. Duke Nukem
8. Insomnia
9. Crush ‘Em
10. Kill The King
11. Dread And The Fugitive Mind
12. Never Say Die
13. Moto Psycho
14. 1000 Times Goodbye
15. Coming Home
1. Trust
2. Almost Honest
3. Use The Man
4. She-Wolf
5. A Secret Place [live at Woodstock, NY 7/25/99]
6. One Thing
7. Duke Nukem
8. Insomnia
9. Crush ‘Em
10. Kill The King
11. Dread And The Fugitive Mind
12. Never Say Die
13. Moto Psycho
14. 1000 Times Goodbye
15. Coming Home
16. Kick The Chair
17. Of Mice And Men
Disc: 4
1. intro/Rattlehead
2. Wake Up Dead
3. Hangar 18
4. Hook In Mouth
5. The Skull Beneath The Skin
6. The Conjuring
17. Of Mice And Men
Disc: 4
1. intro/Rattlehead
2. Wake Up Dead
3. Hangar 18
4. Hook In Mouth
5. The Skull Beneath The Skin
6. The Conjuring
7. In My Darkest Hour
8. Lucretia
9. Devils Island
10. Take No Prisoners
11. Peace Sells
12. Black Friday
13. It's Electric
14. Anarchy In The U.K.
15. Holy Wars… The Punishment
Disc: 5
1. Intro/Holy Wars…The Punishment Due
2. Wake Up Dead
3. Hangar 18
4. Lucretia
5. Sweating Bullets
6. In My Darkest Hour
7. Tornado Of Souls
8. Ashes In Your Mouth
9. Peace Sells
8. Lucretia
9. Devils Island
10. Take No Prisoners
11. Peace Sells
12. Black Friday
13. It's Electric
14. Anarchy In The U.K.
15. Holy Wars… The Punishment
Disc: 5
1. Intro/Holy Wars…The Punishment Due
2. Wake Up Dead
3. Hangar 18
4. Lucretia
5. Sweating Bullets
6. In My Darkest Hour
7. Tornado Of Souls
8. Ashes In Your Mouth
9. Peace Sells
10. Anarchy In The U.K.
Hopefully they'll play the Ambassador again next year.....
~The Damo
Tuesday 18 September 2007
Völkerball
Völkerball is Rammstein's newest live album after 1998's Live Aus Berlin. By new I do of course mean that it was released this time last year, but I only saw it recently and managed to get my hands on it.
Völkerball's set list comprises of all their best hits, literally. Normally on any live album there tends to be one or two songs that don't quite make the mark, but Rammstein's unique style and furious live performance fuels their studio songs into the echelons of heavy metal heaven.
The package itself has DVD live performances and a CD with the track list below:
Völkerball's set list comprises of all their best hits, literally. Normally on any live album there tends to be one or two songs that don't quite make the mark, but Rammstein's unique style and furious live performance fuels their studio songs into the echelons of heavy metal heaven.
The package itself has DVD live performances and a CD with the track list below:
1. Intro
2. Reise, Reise (Arise, Arise)
3. Links 2 3 4 (Left 2, 3, 4)
4. Keine Lust (Don't Feel Like It)
5. Feuer frei! (Fire at Will! or Open Fire!)
6. Asche zu Asche (Ashes to Ashes)
7. Morgenstern (Morningstar)
8. Mein Teil (My Part)
9. Los (-Less)
10. Du Riechst so Gut (You Smell so Nice)
11. Benzin (Petrol)
12. Du Hast (You Have)
13. Sehnsucht (Longing)
14. Amerika (America)
15. Sonne (Sun)
16. Ich will (I want)
This was the first live album that I listened to right throughout without skipping a song (as I said earlier all their hits are here) and conveniently the running time is approximately the amount of time it takes me to get to UCD each morning!
Rather than waste time trying to explain why I enjoy it so much, I'll let you take a gander at the vids below!
Feuer Frei!
Amerika
Sonne
Now if only they had Mann Gegan Mann.....
~The Damo
Friday 31 August 2007
What it Does and Doesn't Do
This debate has accelerated in prominence over the last three or four years and can only increase in the years to come. "What it Does and Doesn't Do". I'm talking about all the gadgets and gizmos, the nicks and nacks that we cherish in our modern society. Everything is affected, from TV's to cuddly toys, all the way to the humble home telephone.
Let's take a trip back to the age of the mobile phone. In the beginning, as Saved By the Bell fans will remember, mobile phones were as far from mobile as I am getting up for college at 6am. They were huge, brick-like demons, which ran on single cell battery power and had an antenna as long as a Pepperami. Then, the device was cut down, to just larger than todays modern phones, still keeping in touch with the basic funtionality of the phone, which was to make phone calls. This was fine. It was simply improving the functionality and robustness of a device to make it more convenient for the user. Great. Text messages were introduced. Still great. Why? As text messages were (and still are) a form of communication, and it seemed appropriate that such a communication add-on was related to the mobile phone.
The years past and the basic premise of phone calls and text messaging remained the same. So what changed? The thing that changed, and is still the forerunner in deciding on a mobile phone today is what my phone does that the other ones don't do. Whether its taking a 5 million pixel photo, or being able to hold 100 songs is now the prominent decision in phone shopping. How is it that those things, which aren't related to the premise of making a phone call, decide how one should buy a mobile phone? As I see it presently, Apple are the main criminals on this front, thanks to the introduction of the iPhone.
Let's move on to music. We all had either a Walkman or a Discman back in the day. Hell it was great, we could go for a walk and listen to music at the same time....music that we didn't have to make up or try to remember in our heads!! Then came a revelation! The mp3, or at the time, the iPod. As many of you will know, I don't like Apple, but nevertheless, the iPod was a mastercraft in music playing technology. Now we could hold thousands of songs on this pocket-sized device, as opposed to a single cd's worth on a cd player as large as my hand. Things changed soon after. Apple decided: "Why don't we let people put photos on our iPod, so they can have something to look at?". Why oh why would someone incorporate photos to a music playing device. MY own mp3, a Creative Zen, plays only music, and that's all I ever wanted it to do, I've had it for 2 years now and not once have I considered to replace it.
Apple didn't stop there though. Then they decided to introduce videos to a music playing device. Nice isn't it. Instead of listening to your favourite band, you can now not only look at photos of last nights party, but you can also watch music videos of the band you used to just listen to. Move over music player, now I can watch, listen and reminisce. What's next, a vibrate function when the battery is low, or when its time to change songs?
For me, things like the Camera and Video Camera have managed to hold true to their purpose. They both still do what they're supposed to, and all the recent technological breakthroughs have only improved this functionality, changing tapes to flash cards or discs etc. TV's are a funny one, on one hand they've improved thanks to LCD, HD and all that, but why then do Philips advertise a TV with back lights, that change at the touch of a button? When did TV's become responsible for room lighting effects in such a way?
The gaming industry is also guilty of this 'What it Does and Doesn't Do' disaster, though it's more hidden and secret than the others. For me, this starts right after the release of the PS2. With the PS2, for the first time ever, people could watch DVD's on a gaming system. This wasn't so bad at the time, because DVD players were quite expensive, and in the PS2 there was a convenitent alternative to forking out big money for a DVD player which didn't also play games. Then the Xbox and its successor the Xbox 360 hit the shelves, and things changed. The premise behind the hype over the 360 was what it could do more than the PS2 could, namely a very impressive online gaming function and the ability for wireless controllers. Sony's response with the PS3 was equally as bad as the 360. With the PS3 you now had up to 7 wireless players at once as standard, the ability to browse the net, play DVDs and BRDVDs, not to mention the ability to hook up your camera and upload photos to the PS3 browser and set security settings. Even look at the Wii! Nintendo figured they'd go all out and throw a whole online community into their console, not to mention deciding they'd be totally different than everyone else and make controllers that you can juggle, throw over your head, swing like skipping ropes, all so you can play the damn thing!!
Currently, both the 360 and the PS3 share these features. What was once a gaming system is now a DVD player, a music player, a photo album, a video collection, an internet browser, a text messager and god knows what else I haven't found on it yet.
With all these extra functionalities being introduced, as well as more and more devices being subject to these add-ons...in time, how will we distinguish one thing from the other. At present, both the 360 and the PS3 can do almost everything a PC can do, at much faster speeds. The only thing that we recognise as a PC is the classic tower CPU and large monitor with keyboard and mouse. Consoles have replaced all these with the X button and an analog. Where will we draw the line between mobile phones and music devices? Will my TV eventually be able to make me a cup of tea or a bag of popcorn so I don't even have to leave the room? Will the toilet wipe us clean for us? Or how long will it be until my watch can make video phone calls like in Thunderbirds???
Your thoughts?
~The Damo
Let's take a trip back to the age of the mobile phone. In the beginning, as Saved By the Bell fans will remember, mobile phones were as far from mobile as I am getting up for college at 6am. They were huge, brick-like demons, which ran on single cell battery power and had an antenna as long as a Pepperami. Then, the device was cut down, to just larger than todays modern phones, still keeping in touch with the basic funtionality of the phone, which was to make phone calls. This was fine. It was simply improving the functionality and robustness of a device to make it more convenient for the user. Great. Text messages were introduced. Still great. Why? As text messages were (and still are) a form of communication, and it seemed appropriate that such a communication add-on was related to the mobile phone.
The years past and the basic premise of phone calls and text messaging remained the same. So what changed? The thing that changed, and is still the forerunner in deciding on a mobile phone today is what my phone does that the other ones don't do. Whether its taking a 5 million pixel photo, or being able to hold 100 songs is now the prominent decision in phone shopping. How is it that those things, which aren't related to the premise of making a phone call, decide how one should buy a mobile phone? As I see it presently, Apple are the main criminals on this front, thanks to the introduction of the iPhone.
Let's move on to music. We all had either a Walkman or a Discman back in the day. Hell it was great, we could go for a walk and listen to music at the same time....music that we didn't have to make up or try to remember in our heads!! Then came a revelation! The mp3, or at the time, the iPod. As many of you will know, I don't like Apple, but nevertheless, the iPod was a mastercraft in music playing technology. Now we could hold thousands of songs on this pocket-sized device, as opposed to a single cd's worth on a cd player as large as my hand. Things changed soon after. Apple decided: "Why don't we let people put photos on our iPod, so they can have something to look at?". Why oh why would someone incorporate photos to a music playing device. MY own mp3, a Creative Zen, plays only music, and that's all I ever wanted it to do, I've had it for 2 years now and not once have I considered to replace it.
Apple didn't stop there though. Then they decided to introduce videos to a music playing device. Nice isn't it. Instead of listening to your favourite band, you can now not only look at photos of last nights party, but you can also watch music videos of the band you used to just listen to. Move over music player, now I can watch, listen and reminisce. What's next, a vibrate function when the battery is low, or when its time to change songs?
For me, things like the Camera and Video Camera have managed to hold true to their purpose. They both still do what they're supposed to, and all the recent technological breakthroughs have only improved this functionality, changing tapes to flash cards or discs etc. TV's are a funny one, on one hand they've improved thanks to LCD, HD and all that, but why then do Philips advertise a TV with back lights, that change at the touch of a button? When did TV's become responsible for room lighting effects in such a way?
The gaming industry is also guilty of this 'What it Does and Doesn't Do' disaster, though it's more hidden and secret than the others. For me, this starts right after the release of the PS2. With the PS2, for the first time ever, people could watch DVD's on a gaming system. This wasn't so bad at the time, because DVD players were quite expensive, and in the PS2 there was a convenitent alternative to forking out big money for a DVD player which didn't also play games. Then the Xbox and its successor the Xbox 360 hit the shelves, and things changed. The premise behind the hype over the 360 was what it could do more than the PS2 could, namely a very impressive online gaming function and the ability for wireless controllers. Sony's response with the PS3 was equally as bad as the 360. With the PS3 you now had up to 7 wireless players at once as standard, the ability to browse the net, play DVDs and BRDVDs, not to mention the ability to hook up your camera and upload photos to the PS3 browser and set security settings. Even look at the Wii! Nintendo figured they'd go all out and throw a whole online community into their console, not to mention deciding they'd be totally different than everyone else and make controllers that you can juggle, throw over your head, swing like skipping ropes, all so you can play the damn thing!!
Currently, both the 360 and the PS3 share these features. What was once a gaming system is now a DVD player, a music player, a photo album, a video collection, an internet browser, a text messager and god knows what else I haven't found on it yet.
With all these extra functionalities being introduced, as well as more and more devices being subject to these add-ons...in time, how will we distinguish one thing from the other. At present, both the 360 and the PS3 can do almost everything a PC can do, at much faster speeds. The only thing that we recognise as a PC is the classic tower CPU and large monitor with keyboard and mouse. Consoles have replaced all these with the X button and an analog. Where will we draw the line between mobile phones and music devices? Will my TV eventually be able to make me a cup of tea or a bag of popcorn so I don't even have to leave the room? Will the toilet wipe us clean for us? Or how long will it be until my watch can make video phone calls like in Thunderbirds???
Your thoughts?
~The Damo
Friday 11 May 2007
The Renaissance of Heavy Metal
This year sees the release of two albums from the two Gods of heavy metal; Metallica and Megadeth. Now this has happened before, but this year has added significance as both bands head out to redefine heavy metal music.
Let's take you back to when both these bands were at their beginnings (and their best!). The 1980's and (very) early 90's. In this time Metallica released Kill 'em All (1983), Ride the Lightning (1984), Master of Puppets (1986), ...And Justice for All (1988) and Metallica (1991). During this time there was no comparison to their dominance and style. Every song on these albums was a masterpiece, any of them could be played at any live performance today and the fans would go home happy. Last year they played the entire Master of Puppets album at every stop on the tour in recognition of the albums' 20th anniversary.
Now after that things went slightly downhill. The next album we had was Load (1996) five years after the Black Album. Fans expected it to be the equivilent of "Black Album 2". Not the case. While the album had its hits such as "Until It Sleeps" and "King Nothing", the general feel from the album was a disappointment. The same can be said for Reload (1997) which contained the remaining songs from the same recording sessions as Load. Though slightly better, including songs like "Fuel", "Memory Remains" and "Unforgiven II", the songs still failed to reach the summit that had been conquered and flagged by the albums from the 80's.
1998 saw the release of Garage Inc. a cover/compilations al
bum. This album was of shear quality. By far the best thing released since The Black Album, but also because it included songs from the semi-unreleased album Garage Days Re-visited which was recorded in 1987. So obviously the calibre of songs from this time was good. In 1999, we were treated to S&M, which was a live performance recorded with San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Michael Kamen. The songs played were from a mix of their albums, but the singing and playing was by far at the best it had been for a long time. We also heard for the first time 2 other songs, written especially for the occasion, namely; "No Leaf Clover" and "-Human". Would these two songs appear on the next studio album? Following that Metallica performed the song "I Disappear" for the film MI2. Would this song also appear on the next album?
The answer was no. Instead, in 2003, we were plagued by the god-awful St. Anger. There are too many problems to name here. Some of the issues were: no guitar solos, grunge sound to the music, repetitive lyrics, too many filler tracks. The only tracks worth mentioning are the ones that had a video; "Frantic", "St. Anger" and "The Unnamed Feeling". Strangely enough this album appealed to more non-heavy metal fans than anything else. Something had to be done!
The band toured in 2003, 2004 and 2006. They took a break out in 2005. In 2006 we learned that a new album was in the works, and we were assured by the band themselves that the music would go back to their roots. They fired their producer Bob Rock and instead brought in Rick Rubin, who has worked with the RHCP, System of a Down and Rage Against the Machines. During the 2006 tour, certain stops (not including Dublin unfortunately) were treated to "The New Song" (see above) which will appear on the new album. After hearing it only once, we knew it was an incredible step up from St. Anger. We had the return of Kirk's solos, a return to 8 and a half minute tracks and decent drumming on Lars' part. The Asian leg of the tour were treated to "The Other New Song", a shorter song which was reminiscent of Garage Inc.. Later on, Metallica's guitar interpretation of "The Ecstasy of Gold" (see below) was leaked to youtube, a further indication of good things to come.
It is quite evident that Metallica have managed to bring about a renaissance in their style of playing, a feat which was achieved by Megadeth in 2004.
Let's take you back to when both these bands were at their beginnings (and their best!). The 1980's and (very) early 90's. In this time Metallica released Kill 'em All (1983), Ride the Lightning (1984), Master of Puppets (1986), ...And Justice for All (1988) and Metallica (1991). During this time there was no comparison to their dominance and style. Every song on these albums was a masterpiece, any of them could be played at any live performance today and the fans would go home happy. Last year they played the entire Master of Puppets album at every stop on the tour in recognition of the albums' 20th anniversary.
Now after that things went slightly downhill. The next album we had was Load (1996) five years after the Black Album. Fans expected it to be the equivilent of "Black Album 2". Not the case. While the album had its hits such as "Until It Sleeps" and "King Nothing", the general feel from the album was a disappointment. The same can be said for Reload (1997) which contained the remaining songs from the same recording sessions as Load. Though slightly better, including songs like "Fuel", "Memory Remains" and "Unforgiven II", the songs still failed to reach the summit that had been conquered and flagged by the albums from the 80's.
1998 saw the release of Garage Inc. a cover/compilations al
bum. This album was of shear quality. By far the best thing released since The Black Album, but also because it included songs from the semi-unreleased album Garage Days Re-visited which was recorded in 1987. So obviously the calibre of songs from this time was good. In 1999, we were treated to S&M, which was a live performance recorded with San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Michael Kamen. The songs played were from a mix of their albums, but the singing and playing was by far at the best it had been for a long time. We also heard for the first time 2 other songs, written especially for the occasion, namely; "No Leaf Clover" and "-Human". Would these two songs appear on the next studio album? Following that Metallica performed the song "I Disappear" for the film MI2. Would this song also appear on the next album?The answer was no. Instead, in 2003, we were plagued by the god-awful St. Anger. There are too many problems to name here. Some of the issues were: no guitar solos, grunge sound to the music, repetitive lyrics, too many filler tracks. The only tracks worth mentioning are the ones that had a video; "Frantic", "St. Anger" and "The Unnamed Feeling". Strangely enough this album appealed to more non-heavy metal fans than anything else. Something had to be done!
The band toured in 2003, 2004 and 2006. They took a break out in 2005. In 2006 we learned that a new album was in the works, and we were assured by the band themselves that the music would go back to their roots. They fired their producer Bob Rock and instead brought in Rick Rubin, who has worked with the RHCP, System of a Down and Rage Against the Machines. During the 2006 tour, certain stops (not including Dublin unfortunately) were treated to "The New Song" (see above) which will appear on the new album. After hearing it only once, we knew it was an incredible step up from St. Anger. We had the return of Kirk's solos, a return to 8 and a half minute tracks and decent drumming on Lars' part. The Asian leg of the tour were treated to "The Other New Song", a shorter song which was reminiscent of Garage Inc.. Later on, Metallica's guitar interpretation of "The Ecstasy of Gold" (see below) was leaked to youtube, a further indication of good things to come.
It is quite evident that Metallica have managed to bring about a renaissance in their style of playing, a feat which was achieved by Megadeth in 2004.
In the early 80's, Megadeth were formed after Dave Mustaine, the then lead guitarist in Metallica was fired. It is no wonder then that Megadeth are up there with Metallica at the forefront of heavy metal. In 1985, they released their first album Killing Is My Business...And Business Is Good!, followed by Peace Sells..But Who's Buying? (1986), So Far, So Good....So What! (1988), Rust in Peace (1990), Countdown to Extinction (1992) and Youthanasia (1994). I'll stop there. Arguably the last three albums mentioned are the best. With Countdown to Extinction being the Megadeth equivilent of Metallica's Master of Puppets and Youthanasia the equivilent of the Black Album.
After than, Megadeth went through a bad phase like Metallica. Their albums really failing to produce anything special, with Risk (1999) and The World Needs a Hero (2001) being the bottom rung of the way things were going. Unfortunately things got worse, when Mustaine was told he could never play guitar again after injuring his arm by sleeping with it over a chair. As a result, Megadeth released Back to the Start, a greatest hits album.
However, shock horror, we learned around 2003 that Megadeth were beginning work on a new album, released as The System Has Failed in 2004, which in my opinion rivals Countdown and Youth for shear masterpieces. Everything is right, sound, voice clarity, everything. Then in late 2006, we learned that Megadeth were once again hitting the studio for the album United Abominations out today. Unfortunately I haven't bought it yet, but Mr Conway tells me that it's absolutely brilliant, better than System. I've only heard one song off it which is a new version of 'A Tout le Monde', which originally appeared on Youthanasia. This one is also better thanks to the wonderful singing of the ever so foxy Cristina Scabbia of Laguna Coil.
Bring on Metallica's 9th studio album this summer!!! Complete the Renaissance!
~The Damo
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
