Hook of the Day - Blacklisted "I Am Weighing Me Down"

I've been listening to Blacklisted's Kurt Ballou-produced Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God ALOT lately. You should do the same. I have no problem naming it one of my favorite releases of the past 6 months.





Blacklisted - I Am Weighing Me Down from Deathwish Inc. on Vimeo.

Hook of the Day - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers with Eddie Vedder "The Waiting"

by Wayne

A little somethin' for Leslie.....

Nine Inch Nails Rehearsal Footage

by Wayne Graham

Ooooh, boy. Trent's got the touring band in fightin' shape!!!! Bring on Lolla!

NIN > Kanye (BTW, Ye, I typed that so fucking hard I may have broken my ThinkPad laptop!!!!!!)


1,000,000



Letting You



Echoplex

Hook of the Day - Grinderman "Grinderman"

Nick Cave rules.

In Rotation

WAYNE

Made Out of Babies - The Ruiner
Blacklisted - Heavier Than Heaven, Lonlier Than God
Clouds - We Are Above You
Nachtmystium - Assassins: Black Meddle Part 1
My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
Clutch - Whatever I can get my hands on

MARK

Rihanna-- Good Girl Gone Bad
Genesis -- Ababcab
Death Cab for Cutie -- Narrow Stairs
SlipKnot -- Various
Prince -- Various
Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell -- The Complete Duets

MP3 Randomization: 6-25-2008

WAYNE

Motorhead - "Jailbait"
Heart - "Barracuda"
Black Sabbath - Under the Sun/Every Day Comes & Goes"
Booker T. & The MG's - "Booker-Loo"
Pantera - "Death Rattle"
Metallica - "Seek & Destroy"

MARK

Queensryche -- "Before the Storm" (Original Demo Version)
Prince -- "We March"
Neurosis -- "Enclosure in Flame"
Death Cab For Cutie -- "Line of Best Fit"
Pedro the Lion -- "Slow and Steady Wins the Race"
Iron Maiden -- "Two Minutes to Midnight" (live)

Hook of the Day - Clutch "The Dragonfly"

by Wayne

Helllll yeah. Blabbermouth sez that "Full Fathom Five", the new Clutch live CD/DVD will be out on August 12. Book it, I'm there.

The artwork rules. As does this clip of "The Dragonfly." Different strokes for different folks is all well and good, but if you don't like Clutch, you're a damned fool.

Hook of the Day - Queens of the Stone Age "Go With the Flow"

Hook of the Day - George Carlin "Seven Dirty Words"

by Wayne Graham

A bit of a deviation from the norm, but the passing of one of comedy's greatest giants warrants it.

RIP George.

Hook of the day -- SlipKnot "All Hope is Gone"

So this leaked out and got released by someone this week. In order for us, the true slipKnot fans to have a decent copy, They nice guys of the 9, allowed a good digital copy of this to be released instead of the shitty one that was floating around. This isn't the first single off the (personally) highly anticipated album due out Aug 26th, but a taste of what they boys have been up to. I think it sounds great, and can't wait to hear it a few hundred more times!

This is only available as a free download until Midnight tonight!

Get your copy here!!

MP3 Randomization: 6-19-2008

WAYNE

At the Gates "Under a Serpent Sun"
Strapping Young Lad "Spirituality"
Iron Maiden "The Duellists"
Grinderman "Electric Alice"
Neurosis "Shadow"
Metallica "Nothing Else Matters"

MARK

YOB "Grasping Air"
Sloan "Ready for You"
Madonna "Impressive Instant"
Barry Manilow "The Old Songs"
Hedwig and the Angry Inch "Midnight Radio"
Styx "Come Sail Away"

Hook of the day -- GOJIRA "the Heaviest Matter in the Universe

To be honest, I chose this also because the running time was 4:20.

These guys are in the studio right now. THANK GOD!!!

Hook of the Day SWERVEDRIVER "Son Of Mustang Ford"

http://www.youtube.com/v/DMQA2JbIA2Y&hl=en">

I saw these guys on Saturday at a show I thought would never happen. Well, because they broke up. If you look back at the posts, they were number two on my list of bands I wanna see live before I die. And I've now seen three of the five. Guess I"m just that one step closer to death then!!!!


Enjoy the guitars....

Hook of the Day - 3 New Mastodon songs!

by Wayne

Okay, I do believe that we're all well rested after Maiden now. (we'll try and have some thoughts up very soon. Needless to say, they blew our minds)

To make up for lack of Hooks of the Day over the past little bit, we're throwing THREE (3) your way today.

HSB faves Mastodon played Bonnaroo over the weekend, and debuted three new songs from their upcoming, Brendan O'Brien-produced, Rasputin themed, Tool-Yes-Frank Zappa-King Crimson-influenced follow up to 2006's masterpiece Blood Mountain.

The names of these songs are "Divinations", "Ghost of Karillah", and "Oblivion", although I'm not entirely sure which title goes with which song.

Enjoy!

UPDATE: Blarg! The clips have been yanked. YouTube giveth, YouTube taketh away

Hook of the Day - Myche's Pilgramage to see Fish in Milwaukee

by Myche

So I'm back from the Fish show at Shank Hall in Milwaukee. What can I say, it was an unbelievable experience. I met Fish, took a picture with him, and the show was a top 10 of all time for me. I'm still reeling. He really seems to appreciate his fans. I was about 2nd - 3rd row, which of course added to the evening.

One of my favorite concert moments of all time was when he came out and did "Sugar Mice" after the crowd was chanting for it (the song makes reference to Milwaukee). It's one of my favorite Fish/Marillion songs, and I've always hoped to see it live. To see it in Milwaukee made it extra special. A truly moving experience. This is why I go to concerts...

Here's a clip that I shot before getting in trouble by security. It shows Fish's great stage presence as he gets the crowd pumped up. I was very happy with what I got. None of the song, but I loved when he steps right in front of me a yells "in the fucking air!"

Gone Fishin'

Hi all,

Iron Maiden kicked our asses up one side and down the other last night, so we've got a pretty bad case of the stupids today. No updates from us today.

See ya tomorrow!

Bad Ass Cover Art of the Day - Iced Earth "The Crucible of Man (Something Wicked Part II)"

by Wayne

Ummmmm...yeah, this is a kick-ass album cover.

Good News, Bad News

by Wayne

Okay, let's go with bad news first. As expected, Disturbed's new album, Indestructable, topped the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart. Ugh. It's not as if these guys are bad, per se, it's just that they're really, REALLY boring, which is worse. At least there's some sort of distinction in being godawful.

But, here's the good, no, GREAT news.

The mighty Opeth came in at #23 with their spectacular Watershed album. It's nice to see that all the positive notices and the killer live set on the Progressive Nation Tour paid off for them.

Hook of the Day - A Whole Shitload of Iron Maiden

by Wayne

MAIDENNNNN!!!!!!!

Judas Priest's "Nostradaumus" Streaming Now

by Wayne

Judas Priest's new 2 disc concept album Nostradamus is now streaming for free over at VH1.com's The Leak.

Check it out here.

Hook of the Day - Foo Fighters w/ Jimmy Page & John Paul Jones - "Rock and Roll" and "Ramble On"

by Wayne

Goddammit, I want Dave Grohl's job.

In case you haven't heard, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones joined the Foos onstage at their Wembley Stadium gig in London over the weekend.

Lucky bastards. The Foos, the audience....all of 'em.

ROCK AND ROLL



RAMBLE ON

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)

WAYNE

The sea changes of 1986 had come to fruition by '88, so that year's hard rock choices were more or less hairspray and thrash. This is one reason why Seventh Son of a Seventh Son was a such a breath of fresh air when it came out at the time. Maiden never made the kinds of concessions that their influences and contemporaries made to keep up with newer bands, they just made the kind of records they could be proud of with the resources they had at the time. This is a record they should be very proud of. It takes everything good about Somewhere in Time and PERFECTS it. If you've been following along with our reviews of the previous records, or are familiar with them yourself, you know what to generally expect. The great musicianship, the soaring hooks, interesting lyrics, cool album artwork. All of that is here. This time out, they refined their use of keyboards, and finally went balls out and did an official concept album. And unlike other bands large and small who have tried this and failed, Maiden nailed it to the fucking wall. Maiden's lyrics were more often than not drawn with a very broad, epic brush, so the tale of a prophet whose warnings go un-heeded worked as a front-to-back experience, and yet each song can be taken and enjoyed on its own. I've analyzed which Maiden albums have the most individual songs that I listen to (vs. listening to the whole thing), and this record is way, way up there. As in, not as high as Number of the Beast, but on par with and often surpassing both Piece of Mind and Powerslave. Just a great group of tunes here, and it's both the last album that Adrian Smith played on during his first tenure with the band, and the last great album they made for a long while.

Somewhere in Time (1986)

WAYNE

Let's start with the cover. The one for Killers is the most iconic, and few would argue that Powerslave is probably the Overall Best. But my favorite is this Somewhere in Time. This is the first time I had laid an eye on a Maiden cover, so nostalgia certainly is a factor here. This was the second record in a row where the band was able to tie a general album-tour cycle imagery together with the release's artwork, and given that this is 1986 we're talking about here, it's wise that they went with Future Eddie. In the (relatively) huge amount of time between the release of Powerslave and this album, quite a bit happened in hard rock. Def Leppard, Motley Crue, and Ratt had gotten HUGE with their poppier, video friendly arena rock sound, and by 1986, the music world was about to gorge on Bon Jovi, Cinderella, Poison, and the boatload of similar poodle haired bands. On the other end of the spectrum, that year saw the release of both Master of Puppets and Reign in Blood, two landmark albums that blew the door wide open for groups with a much heavier sound to get some play as well. This left the (slightly) older guys to scramble and figure out how to stay relevant. Van Halen hit a huge peak with David Lee Roth in 83-84, and then Diamond Dave left and made room for Hagar. Ozzy released a really weak album (Ultimate Sin) with one really great single/video ("Shot in the Dark"). Judas Preist arena-fied their sound quite a bit and ended up with a really weak album (Turbo) and a REALLY great single ("Turbo Lover"). So it's no wonder that Maiden too wanted to experiment a little after their huge 84-85 success, and they did so by continuing their efforts in epic songwriting and by using synths and keyboards, a move that some fans initially balked at, but which overall really works pretty well. I'll admit that while you can easily call this a very solid record, it's probably the one from the 80's Maiden output that I listen to front-to-back the least. Granted, I probably listen to "Wasted Years", one of their greatest songs, more than most Maiden tracks, but there's some filler on this one and a few songs that go on just a shade too long. Overall, though, the keyboards really add some cool futuristic textures that play into their album design, and the lead guitar work on the entire record is pretty damn good. A lot of really beautiful, almost David Gilmore-esque axework here that contains some damn fine counterpoint to Dickinson's always-enjoyable vocals. Not as essential as some previous Maiden releases, but a really satisfying listen with some really great highs. ("Wasted Years", "Heaven Can Wait", "Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" etc)

Hook of the Day - AC/DC "Money Talks"

by Wayne

Dear AC/DC,

We at Hooks So Big read all about how you're only selling your upcoming album at Wal-Mart stores in the fall. Hey, it worked for The Eagles, why not for you, right? Plus, all those kiddies who are buying AC/DC t shirts there might actually want to hear music by you guys, so it's a possible win-win for everybody involved.

Of course, I don't shop at Wal-Mart, and never will, so I'm downloading this puppy off the Interwebs when it leaks....for free. I'd be happy to purchase it if made available at a retailer that doesn't make my stomach churn, but since you won't do that.....tough shit. No worries, though...I'll pay top dollar to see you guys on tour, and I'll buy a t-shirt too.

No hard feelings?

Powerslave (1984)

WAYNE

There's probably an interesting debate to be had over what rock and metal albums open with the best 1-2 punch. I'd like to nominate Powerslave. This record comes blasting out of the gate with what I can easily consider as two of the most definitive Maiden songs, "Aces High" and "2 Minutes to Midnight." In fact, as I sat down with this one from front-to-back, it dawned on me that these two songs are such perfect specimens of metal at its best, that they could easily have coasted on the rest of the record and people would still have no problem saying that Powerslave-era Maiden is the best Maiden. Of course, we all know that's not what happened. After the huge hit blast at the top, Maiden dished out their most epic songwriting to date. For my money, this is easily the best sounding record the band has ever released. There's amazing production here, with lots of sonic space given to each member of the band, who all play like they're on fire, which they damn well are. Steve Harris' melodic gallop sounds richer than ever, the guitar work is an embarrassment of riches (the solo on "2 Minutes to Midnight" is a favorite of more than one Hooks contributor, myself included), Nicko McBrain has what may very well be his finest hour here, and Bruce sings his heart out. This is plainly and simply Iron Maiden at their biggest and boldest. The album artwork and the World Slavery live show(documented so perfectly on Live After Death) provided a perfect through-line that began with the epic cuts on the album. And, if we ever have a healthy debate on what rock and metal albums close with the best 1-2 punch, I'd like to nominate Powerslave. The title track and "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," for lack of a more eloquent turn of phrase, fucking ruuuuuule.


MARK

This album has RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER. It is perfect. Words fail me. It's what metal is to me. and what is was to me in 1984. The cover. The scale. The guitars. The literary prowess. Even my remastered copy of the CD that has the booklet completely stapled wrong with the liner notes of 'Number of the Beast' in it. It's perfect. Come on.

Piece of Mind (1983)

WAYNE

With Piece of Mind, we're introduced to Iron Maiden's "classic" line-up, the one that we'd see take the band to it's greatest peaks, and through all the albums for the remainder of the 80's. Following the band's Number of the Beast tour, drummer Clive Burr took his leave of the group, and Nicko McBrain took over the drum throne, one that he's occupied ever since. McBrain's arrival, combined with songwriting contributions by more band members than just Steve Harris and an increased literary lyrical focus make this an extremely dynamic release. While Burr was always a solid drummer, and got more impressive over the course of his 3 record stint with the band, McBrain's playing has a ton of personality, so while the band had gotten even better at locking in as a unit and melting faces with some amazing songs, this record also serves as a great showcase for each member of the group individually. Of particular note is the EXCELLENT guitar work. The riffs are typically exhilarating and some of the solos and dual lead guitar work on Piece of Mind are just.......amazing. You'll get a nice solo burnin' things up, and then the two guitarists will unite and take things into the stratosphere. Audio heaven. My only (small) gripe about this album is that it's a bit front-heavy. In the first half, you get stuff like "Flight of Icarus" and "Die With Your Boots On"....classic Maiden tunes. But after the middle section is over, where we get album highlight "The Trooper" and "Still Life", the songs aren't quite as good. There isn't a bad song on the album, but it seems like all the best stuff leads the release, so it comes off as just a shade uneven towards the back. Still.....kick ass record.

MARK

This was it for me. This was the first Maiden album I got. I had seen the video of 'Flight of Icarus' on MTV when they still played videos each hour, and after the shrouded hooded figure presented the brain to me. I knew I was hooked. I loved this album and thought I was so devious by buying it due to all the evil-ness and symbols all over it. What did I know? I was 11! Then Nicko McBrain introduced himself with the rumbling drums of 'Where Eagles Dare.' I freaking love the imagery of Icarus and the story behind it. I think I listened to this album a few billion times in my life time. I freaking love 'Still Life', and I love 'To Tame a Land.' I think they should get over themselves and play those two in concert. That would make a true fan very happy. Anything to see Bruce sing all that Dune shit live. Because of this album I have also even read and seen the movie of "Where Eagles Dare" and the whole time I had the song going through my head as I was reading and watching. Oh, and i must say, I cant stand the song Revelations. I never really have. And I know they're going to play it on Wednesday, because they can, and they will. I will muscle my way through it, but oh well... That's the only song on here that I can say that I don't totally love. the rest all seem to get me. Death in life is your ideal. Life is like a wheel. And it's rolling still...

Number of the Beast (1982)

WAYNE

And here we have one of the cornerstones of any respectable rock record collection. Once Paul Di'Anno took his leave of the band at the end of their 1981 Killers tour, fans were understandably nervous. But once Bruce Dickinson took his place, the "10" efforts of the first two platters were cranked up to "11" in every way. Where Di'Anno came off as snottier and punkier, Dickinson was operatic and electrifying, a more appropriate vocalist for a band that had continued to not only improve songwriting- and performance-wise, but who were also gaining new fans by the truckload. And the songs on Number of the Beast were perfect for the big rooms full of hungry new metal fans. Naturally, after tons of touring and studio time under their studded belts, the Burr/Harris/Smith/Murray configuration had become a crack team of heavy metal riff masters, slashing and burning and laying waste to any lesser riff to come within spitting distance. Combine that with Dickinson's soaring vocals and a flawless list of triumphant anthems that make you want to throw up your horns and yell "Fuck yea!" in your own living room, and you've got an album that earns every single accolade it's received in the past 26 years. A legendary release for the time capsule.

MARK

Now we're getting there, and I must also applaud B'Wayne-o for having this album be the album of the day on 6-6-08. I always check the papers to see if "HE" was born at 6 am, but I guess either, he wasn't been, or they aren't going to publish that shit. Imagine if you're that kid that was born on 6-6 and you aren't evil? Sad. I smell a sitcom brewing!... Anywho-

I agree with everything B'Wayne-o just said....

This is the first of the Bruce albums, but still not the first album that I got by these masterful motherfuckers. I was still afraid of this album when I was a kid, plus it was , what, 82? I was probably listening to Journey's Escape. Not that I'm bothered by this since I still love that album too. I just hadn't embraced my "Dark" side yet. I still have a couple of tracks on here that I would maybe skip, but over all this album is what you NEED in a metal album from the 80's. The riffs on this are just transcendent."Hallowed be thy name?" Come ON. I dare you not to worship that song. DARE YOU. That album cover is also quite mighty. The little devil always kind of made me shiver, not that the Eddie isn't much better. Imagine if you saw THOSE two coming atcha that night. I'd be freaked out. And also riffing, I might add.

I think "the Prisoner" is such a strong song as well. I love how they just choose a topic and run with it. And how even something as silly as a TV show can be a song. Well done boys....

Hook of the Day - Genghis Tron "Things Don't Look Good"

CONGRATS!!!

This weekend marks the wedding of one of the three prongs of Hooks So Big!!!!!!

A HIGH AND MIGHTY SALUTE to Mike and Marisa on their marriage!!!!


A Big hook 'em horns goes out to you guys. I cant tell who's the luckier person. I think it might be us, since we have the privledge of knowing both of you!!

Much love, and happiness.

(and a continued thanks to Marisa for putting up with me....Love you so much!)

WAYNE ADDS...

Many congratulations to Mike and Marisa! I hope you have a wonderful ceremony and I wish nothing but the best for the both of you! Mike, it's been a unique pleasure getting to know you over the past year. Marisa, I'm sure I'll be saying the same thing about you once I get to know you better. If you're good enough for Queensryche Myche, you're good enough for me!

Cheers!

MYCHE ADDS:

Thank you guys very much, and looking forward to kicking off my married life by going to the Iron Maiden concert with both of you on Wednesday! It will be good for us to miss each other a bit, right!

The video below is hilarious. We were properly advised to bend our knees so no passing out occured (at the ceremony)!

Killers (1981)

MARK

First of all, this is easily one of the coolest iconic covers of all rock time! He sort of has Tina Turner hair, but god damn, if he doesn't look tough. (plus who, at that time DIDN'T have Tina Turner hair?) Like if you bought this tape, you WERE one of the cool kids. I totally have grown to love this album. For it is the album that has the JAM, "Murders in the Rue Morgue" Also my friend Kent's favorite song. This expands on the bratty British rock band thing that I felt they hands down pat on the first album, so yay. And the song writing got tighter and righter. Although honestly, I will still pull out Piece of Mind or Powerslave before I pull this out, but I tell ya I am never disappointed with this album. I think I like the first one better though for my Dianno dollar.

WAYNE

I agree that if you had to pick just one Maiden cover to put in the time capsule, it's this one. I've always loved watching the different environments and concepts we find good old Eddie in from album to album, but this is the one to beat. (Love those frantic hands pulling desperately on his shirt!) As far as the music goes, this record comes up more often than you'd think when people talk about their favorite Maiden records, and for good reason. Like Mark outlined above, it's the same template as the first album, but "tighter and righter." This album welcomes Adrian Smith to the band, and his presence definitely raises everyone else's game, especially co-shredder Dave Murray. The riffs and leads are better even than those on the debut. In Clive Burr's short time as Maiden's drummer, he got better and better with each record he played on, so his performance on this one is just great. Overall, it's the kind of record that great bands make when they make a big splash with a debut and need to get around a sophomore slump.....a record that takes the energy and spirit of the debut, and adds increased virtuosity, volume, and attitude.

MP3 Randomization: 6-5-2008

WAYNE

Sam Cooke "Having A Party"
The Hidden Hand "Someday Soon"
Black Sabbath "Fairies Wear Boots"
George Carlin "Heavy Mysteries"
Iced Earth "Burning Times"
Sun O))) "Mocking Solemnity"


MARK

Chic "I want your love"
Janet Jackson "2Nite"
Devin Townsend Band "Traveller"
Goo Goo Dolls "Long Way Down"
Peter Gabriel "Washing of the Water"
Exodus "Shudder to Think"

MYCHE (late, but wanted to get mine in)

The Band "The Genetic Method"
The Band "Lonesome Suzie"
The Dillinger Escape Plan "When Acting As a Wave"
Exodus "Fabulous Disaster"
The Sword "Celestial Crown"
Dave Meniketti "Take My Time"

Hook of the Day - A Perfect Circle "Judith"

by Wayne

I'm beyond excited about Josh "I've Played For Every Band on Earth" Freese returning to the drumseat for Nine Inch Nails' summer tour. As we wait for that jaunt to get rolling and for YouTube clips to roll in, let's sit back and enjoy Freese's work on A Perfect Circle's "Judith."

He did it all for yooooooooou!!!!!!

Iron Maiden

MARK

First off, I had most of the Bruce albums before I got these. I always was wary of another singer that I wasn't used to. But the BMG was running a whole, buy one get 7 free or some shit, and I got the first two Maiden albums. Plus I was working on my remasters and the spines of the Cd's , when put together, makes a big Eddie face peering out of my CD collection, and I had to have the whole thing, yo. Anyway...

This album is great. I can totally see why these guys became a phenomenon. And I am amazed as to how "not" threatening this album is. By today's standards, for sure, but I guess I'm a little too young to understand what the day was like when this came out and what a departure this must have been to the pallet of the world's ears. The thing I like the best about this album, is that here in it's pure form, these guys are just a bratty rock band. Paul's voice is so perfectly Bratty British Rock-guy. And I felt this way on the first listen of Prowler. Even the opening riff is kind of Nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah. Which I think is perfect. I also love that you can actually sense how good these guys were going to get. And they just keep getting better with these albums. I would love to be a fly on the wall....oh wait, I am talking about Killers. I'll finish that statement tomorrow.....

MYCHE

Like a good majority of Maiden fans, I would rank all Dickinson albums first, then Dianno, then Blaze. I know, not very creative. I will be the first to admit that I don't play the first two enough. They are on my mp3 player, but I always pick a Dickinson-era album. That being said, I love thinking of their debut in the context of what it must have sounded like in 1980. Pretty heavy stuff, but not completely foreign - Motorhead had released three albums before 1980. It does have that left-over punk feel to it as well, which makes sense. Three huge songs on this: "Running Free", "Iron Maiden", and "Phantom". Also one of the songs I know the least in their catalog (Blaze stuff excluded): "Strange World". I'm listening to it right now, and it doesn't really make me want to add it to my rotation. What I love about music is that there's a strong possiblity that there's some IM fan out there that lists the song as their fave. Speak up if you are that person!

WAYNE

If you're one of the many who came to this record retroactively, working backwards from Dickinson-era, the initial impression you may have is how raw and unpolished it is in comparison. Not to say later Maiden was ever polished in a Bon Jovi or Def Leppard way, of course, but as they toured and recorded more and more (getting better at songwriting and performing in the process) they were able to add more finesse and arena-ready choruses and hooks to the heaviness. Where later Maiden efforts display a hugeness and a belt-it-to-the-backwall-of-the-Superdome projection, their debut is notable for both it's youthful exuberance as well as it's street level sound. This is one of the few moments of Maiden's history where you just know that the best place to hear these numbers played is in a small, dark, dingy club at 11:58pm, instead of Long Beach Arena at 8:50 . Which brings me to the second impression a Di'Anno-era newbie might have....the blueprint is already present. Granted, Paul's vocals are grittier than Dickinson's, Clive Burr has less flourish than Nicko McBrain, and even Adrian Smith isn't even in the group yet, but that IM gallop is already there from track 1. This is proof positive that Steve Harris has been, is now, and ever shall be the engine that keeps this engine purring. The propulsive momentum of Harris' bass..it's here. Twisting dual guitar leads...check. Post second chorus guitar-guitar-bass riffs-in-unison blowouts before the guitar solos....all here. Given their youth on this one, you can more readily pick out the influence of Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, and a bit of punk attitude as well. But they dropped the anchor right out of the gate, laying a very very solid mission statement/foundation that they would continue to build upon with each new release.

Seven Deadly Sins, Seven Ways to Win, Seven Holy Paths to Hell, and Your Trip Begins

by Wayne

Seven more days til Iron Maiden at Allstate Arena in Chicago, people!! The whole Hooks gang and a few of our nearest and dearest are going to be there, and to fill the week in between now and then, we'll be taking a look at each of the studio albums that the band will touch on with their Somewhere Back in Time Tour setlist.

One album a day until the day of the big show.

Sometime today - Iron Maiden
Tomorrow - Killers
Friday - Number of the Beast
Saturday - Piece of Mind
Sunday - Powerslave
Monday - Somewhere in Time
Tuesday - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son

Hook of the Day - MGMT "Electric Feel"

by Wayne Graham

Dear God this is a catchy song. MGMT has a buoyant, almost Flaming Lips-ish sound that sounds reallll good to me. Admittedly, it's hard to say if they're the kind of group that will be around for the long haul or if a year from now we'll all be denying that we liked them out of embarrassment, but, for now, queue it up and dance, sucka.

Hook of the Day - Cave In "Big Riff"

by Wayne Graham

And Cave In didn't sell millions of copies of Jupiter.......how??

Hook of the Day - Machine Head "Halo"

by Wayne

Ouch. Not the easiest Monday morning I've had. Today's Hook calls for a real barnburner.

Machine Head, do your thing....