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....

In Rotation

WAYNE

Down - NOLA
Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power & Official Live: 101 Proof
Kylesa - Time Will Fuse Its Worth
My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
The Ocean - Precambrian
Tomahawk - Mit Gas
Boris - Smile ( Southern Lord version)
the collected works of Torche
Nachtmystium - Instinct : Decay
Pelican - City of Echoes

MYCHE

Mostly a lot of random on my mp3 player these days
Fish - 13th Star (as well as all his other albums!)
Opeth - Still Life
Opeth - Watershed
Imagika - Feast For The Hated
Al Green - Lay It Down
Motorhead (I'm currently reading Lemmy's autobiography, which reminded me that I really should listen to Motorhead more often)


MARK
New Weezer (especially The greatest man who ever lived)
Van Halen- Van Halen II
Van Halen _- Fair Warning
SlipKnot- VOl 3 The Subliminal Verses
Peral Jam - Yield
Rihanna- Good Girl Gone Bad

Hook of the Day - Van Halen "Eruption"

by Myche J

So I finally gave in and got tickets to see Van Halen - the rescheduled show is tonight at Allstate Arena. I'm still dismayed that they didn't include Michael Anthony on this reunion tour, but oh well. I suppose none of us know what is really going on with all those guys and their big rock star egoes. I hope they sufficiently rock me tonight and make me forget about all of the drama surrounding this.

Here's "Eruption" live - all 11 minutes of it. See if you can sit through the whole thing.

Hit it, Ed.

Bad Ass Cover Art of the Day - A Storm of Light "And We Wept the Black Ocean Within"

by Wayne

I'm mightily enjoying the latest effort from Neurosis visual guru/ex-Red Sparowes member/Battle of Mice participant Josh Graham, A Storm of Light. If you like any of the previously mentioned outfits, you'll most likely dig ASofL's debut And We Wept the Black Ocean Within.

I'm especially loving the cover artwork. GORGEOUS.

Hook of the Day - Stevie Nicks & Tom Petty "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"

by Wayne Graham


Hot damn this has got to be one of the greatest duets in rock history. I was extremely bummed that Stevie didn't join Petty onstage to do this when he came to Chicago on this tour in 2006, but at least THESE people got to see it.

Great live version of a classic. They both still sound terrific together.

MP3 Randomization: 5-28-2008

WAYNE

Devin Townsend "Storm"
Red Hot Chili Peppers "Californication"
Kings of Leon "Knocked Up"
Queens of the Stone Age "Hangin' Tree"
Sleep "Jerusalem (pt 1)"
Queens of the Stone Age "Make It Wit Chu"

MARK

Devin Townsend Band "Material"
Prince "The Slaughterhouse"
Ben Folds Five "Lullabye"
Radiohead "In Limbo"
George Clinton & The P-Funk Allstars "Somethin' Stank"
Pelican "City of Echoes"

MYCHE

Radiohead "Motion Picture Soundtrack"
Scorpions "In Your Park"
Mastodon "Where Strides The Behemoth"
The Kinks "Creepin' Jean"
John Waite "Missing You"
Allman Brothers Band "Whipping Post"

Hook of the Day - Kylesa "Where the Horizon Unfolds"

by Wayne

FINALLY--tonight is the big Ocean Collective show at Reggie's in Chicago! Also on the bill---Lair of the Minotaur, Withered ,and the excellent, riff-heavy, two drummered beast that is Kylesa.

Here's "Where the Horizon Unfolds"

Hooks So Big Poll Winner - Best Band on Prog Nation Tour

The winner is....


Well, of course it's Opeth, with 60% of the votes.

Dream Theatre and Between the Buried and Me each received 20% of the votes.

Here's fan footage of 'Peth blasting through Watershed's "Heir Apparent" from the May 13th Rosemont Theatre show that we reviewed last week.

Hook of the Day - Dio "Holy Diver"

by Wayne

Thanks to Invisible Oranges for reminding us that Sunday marked the 25th Anniversary of Dio's classic Holy Diver album.

Killswitch Engage, of course, has had some success lately with their cover of that album's title track, with mixed results, if you ask me. Overall, it's a noble effort ,and the video is fantastic. The riffs are there, and the clean vocals sound pretty good, but the screams just don't work for me. (Someone needs to tell these guys that they're not obligated to do both clean and screams in each song) Plus, I'm not entirely on the same page with drummer Justin Foley's work on this. There's something about his playing that destroys any momentum the rest of the band is able to build up.

So, yeah, Dio can't be touched, is what I'm getting at here.

Hook of the Day - Y&T "This Time"

by Myche J

Thanks for endulging me on the last three Hooks. To round out the all-Y&T weekend, we're going to brings things down a bit. Here's the monster ballad "This Time". This song should have been a huge hit for them. We've never seen them do this live, but here's a clip of them doing it in March, 2007 at the CD release party in San Francisco of the remastered In Rock We Trust. They did the whole album in its entirety, and I would have been there if I didn't have a wedding to attend. Where were my priorities?

There's a lot of chatter - but it is a nice rendition, and I'm glad someone caught it. Anyway, "This Time"...

Hook of the Day - Y&T Twofer of Oddities

by Myche J

Here are two Y&T-related videos - and not of the normal live or promotional variety. Both are dedicated to our very own Hannerconda...

First, here's a close-up of some guy's fretwork playing along to "Lucy". Works for me...



Next, a video someone made of footage from the Donkey Kong Country video game, with Y&T's "Contagious" as a soundtrack. Not sure why this game to this song, but he must love both an awful lot! As ridiculous as it is, I've watched it three times so far...



God, I love You Tube.

Hook of the Day - Y&T "Open Fire"

By Myche J

I'll be damned if we haven't had a Y&T Hook of the Day thus far! Well, we're going to rectify that. How about an all-Y&T weekend!

I can't think of a better way to kick things off than with "From The Moon" into "Open Fire" circa 1987.

Alright, you rockers!

Hook of the Day - Dillinger Escape Plan "Black Bubblegum"

by Wayne Graham

Okay, okay, last time you'll have to hear about DEP this week....I SWEAR.

Here's the brand spankin' new video for "Black Bubblegum."

But you forget that in your fairy tale, bitch, I'M THE WOOOOOOLF!


THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN - Black Bubblegum

MP3 Randomization: 5-21-2008

WAYNE:

Don Caballero "For Respect"
Coliseum "The Fate of Men"
Morbid Angel "Damnation"
Pearl Jam "Alive" (live from Chicago, 5-16-2006)
Meshuggah "Dancers to a Discordant System"
Melvins "At the Stake"

MARK:

High On Fire "Fury Whip"
Bob Mould "Wishing Well"
Skeletonwitch "Upon Wings of Black"
Chuck Coleman "Good Luck in LA"
REO Speedwagon "Don't Let him Go" (That's for you, Myche)
Y & T "New Kid in Town" (That's for all of us, really....)

MYCHE:

Dwight Yoakam "A Long Way Home"
Opeth "Ghost Of Perdition"
CCR "Proud Mary"
High On Fire "To Cross The Bridge"
George Jones "The Door"
Y&T "Crazy Make Love"

Hook of the Day - Sleep "Dragonaut"

by Wayne Graham



The 90's get a bit of a bad rap when it comes to hard rock and metal. The widely held opinion is that everything was hair bands and nothing but hair bands until Nirvana came along and saved us all, and then the entire genre (save GNR, Pantera, and Metallica) went away until nu-metal reared its ugly head. This is a gross (and pretty much inaccurate) oversimplification on the level of the Everything In American Film Was Good Until Star Wars and Jaws Ruined It All debate.



That's a discussion for another time, but til then......Look harder. Kyuss, Entombed, At the Gates, Melvins, Meshuggah. Perhaps metal wasn't quite selling like it used to, but there are tons of classic releases from that period.



Any decade where a fine slab of molten metal like Sleep's Holy Mountain is released is NOT a bad decade for metal at all.

Curiosity of the Day - Alice Cooper on the Muppet Show

by Wayne

RollingStone has posted the following clip of Alice Cooper on the Muppet Show in celebration of the release of The Muppet Show: The Complete Third Season on DVD.

Weird.

Progressive Nation Concert Review - Rosemont Theatre, Rosemont, IL - 5-13-2008

Last week, we all took in the Progressive Nation show at the Rosemont Theatre in Rosemont, IL (just outside Chicago), and here are our brief thoughts about the bands that played.

Wayne:

Dream Theater - Dream Theater is accurate...these guys are beyond boring. Sure, they can all play their instruments something fierce, but who gives a damn when these are the songs they've got? All the technical prowess in the world doesn't make up for the fact that watching Dream Theater live is like watching 5 people masturbate, but waaaay nerdier.

Opeth - Best of the fest. Great set list. Amazing musicianship (without being dull show-offs, taking notes Dream Theater?). Mikael Akerfeldt has some of the most hilarious stage banter I've ever heard. Great, great, great. Don't miss Opeth for any reason.

Between the Buried and Me - The little twerps behind us, and the old Richard Lewis-looking hesher in front of us were dead wrong....BTBAM does NOT suck. Crushing, triumphant, mind-bogglingly complex, often quite beautiful, and just flat-out EXCITING is more accurate.

Three - They were fun. Sort of Dave Matthews Band meets the non-irritating parts of Dream Theater meets Rusted Root. Energetic, jubilant stuff. I found the overjoyed crowd reaction to them a bit over the top....they're good, but not "the sickest thing ever" to quote one guy we heard. Honestly, they're one concept album away from being Blue Man Group, but I enjoyed them.

Myche:

I don't have a ton to add as Wayne pretty much nailed it.

Opeth blew me away. It was an effortless hour for an audience member. I was entranced. It made me order a remastered 2-disc version of Still Life. Can't wait to buy the new Watershed (more like Watershred...) CD (which also has a 2-disc version that I will likely opt for. Also need to get that 2-disc version of Ghost Reveries. So, yea, I enjoyed it! I think it was a brilliant move from a promtional basis to go out as a supporting act on the Prog Nation bill before the album comes out, then likely come around as a headliner later. Good call. They make me proud to be part Swedish. Hats off to the guy in front of us that was banging his head so hard at one point that he lost his balance and stumbled forward. Thanks to his friend who caught him a bit and steadied him so that it didn't get really ugly...

Dream Theater pretty much met my expectations, which were admittedly low. I was most impressed with some of their instrumental cuts, at times I thought they were jamming pretty well. I am just not a fan of lead vocalist James LaBrie. I see his name pop on lists of best metal vocalists, and I just don't get it. But then again, looking around the arena, there are people that love him and the band. Like, a lot. So, Dream Theater, you don't need any advice from me. People like you, and you seem to be doing well. You didn't win me over, but I'm guessing you won't lose much sleep over that...

Hook of the Day - Dillinger Escape Plan with Mike Patton "When Good Dogs Do Bad Things" & "Like I Love You"

by Wayne Graham

All of the Hooks So Big contributors are, to one degree or another, fans of the mighty Dillinger Escape Plan. When they released Ire Works last fall, many were quick to label the band as "The Next Faith No More." For those that agree with this assessment, I strongly urge you to check out DEP's excellent Irony is a Dead Scene EP if you haven't already. In fact, check this one out if you DON'T agree with that assessment. At one point during DEP's early days, they opened for Mr. Bungle and Mike Patton became a fan. When DEP found themselves in between lead singers, Patton temporarily filled in and they documented the collabo with said EP.

It's an amazing 20 or so minutes of madness. The best track is probably "When Good Dogs Do Bad Things", a song the band still performs. Here's Patton + DEP blasting through that number at a New Year's Eve 2002 gig.



And, what the hell, here's the guys doing their cover of Justin Timberlake's "Like I Love You" at the same gig. Say what you want about JT, but this is one hell of a catchy-ass song. Patton + DEP hardly do anything to alter it, and it goes over huge.

Much thanks to "HolgerregloH" for posting these fantastic clips.

Hook of the Day - Battle of Mice "Sleep and Dream"

by Wayne Graham

Julie Christmas is easily one of the most electric vocalists in contemporary heavy music. She's got a voice that can veer from a baby doll to a banshee without a moment's notice. Many compare her to PJ Harvey, which is pretty apt, but I'd throw in Bjork and Mike Patton as a couple of others she reminds me of as well.

Battle of Mice is a supergroup of sorts, combining Christmas, Josh Graham of Neurosis/Red Sparowes/A Storm of Light, and members of Book of Knots and Peeping Tom. I've heard conflicting reports of the likelihood of any new Battle of Mice material, but any of you wanting to hear more of Ms. Christmas should be sure to check out her "main" band, Made Out of Babies, who have a new record called The Ruiner coming out this summer. (check out their MySpace to hear a new track from that album called "Cooker", and cook it damn well does)

Here's Battle of Mice with "Sleep and Dream" from their excellent 2006 album Day of Nights.

Poll Results: Best Mugging By a Bass Player

by Wayne Graham

The results of our very first Hooks So Big poll are in, and the Best Mugging By a Bass Player according to you, our readers, goes to.....

Rudy Sarzo of Whitesnake, Quiet Riot, and Ozzy with a whopping 80% of the votes. We'll have a post about rampant bass player mugging sometime hopefully this weekend. 20% of the votes went to "Bass player not listed here", so if you selected that one, leave your choice in the comments.

Poor Juan "Crab Walk" Croucier and Jeff "I'm in Foreigner Now" Pilson got big fat goose eggs. Better work on those pouts, boys!

Heavy Metal Logo Wars: Judas Priest vs. Metallica

This week, last week's champion, Judas Priest, goes head to head against Metallica on the road to logo supremacy.


Wayne

Last week, we all commented on the metallic sheen, the sharp corners, and the jagged teeth of Priest's logo. (We neglected to mention the bad ass cross making the T in Priest, though). But, honestly....that Metallica logo is iconic. You could ask people on the street what Priest's logo looks like, and you'd get a lot of shrugged shoulders. Ask the same person to sketch Metallica's logo, and there's a good chance you'll get the clean and simple "etallic" and the lightning bolt M and A. When you see someone other than Metallica using this style, most will recognize it as a play on their logo. It's a classic.

My vote...definitely Metallica.

Mark

Ummm, Priest. I'm gonna go for it. I think as much as everybody on the planet likes Metallica more than I do, I still think that Priest's logo is super tough. The simplicity of Metallica's logo is impressive. But I'm going old school....

My vote....Priest

Myche

Once again, I come in late but must cast the deciding vote. What pressure. Next time let me know and I will cast my vote first and one of you guys can make the tough decisions! It's so hard to separate your feelings for the band and your feelings for their logo. Anyway, I'm going to have to go with Judas Priest again. There's just more going on in the logo, but none of it excessive. Do we have brackets for this, or do we just go until we've thought of everyone and the last man is standing? I'm sure Wayne has it all figured out...

My vote: Judas Priest

Winner: Judas Priest

Hook of the Day - Children of Bodom "Blooddrunk"

In Rotation

Wayne

Mastodon - Blood Mountain & Leviathan
Jesu - Conqueror
the Ocean - Precambrian
Sleep - Sleep's Holy Mountain
Cult of Luna - Eternal Kingdom
My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
A Storm of Light - And We Wept the Black Ocean Within
Battle of Mice - A Day of Nights
Meshuggah - "Bleed" (over and over and over again)


Mark

Idina Menzel -I Stand
Meshuggah - obZen
Pearl Jam - Yield
Opeth - Watershed and Ghost Reveries
Iron and Wine - The Shepherd's dog
Prince - The Rainbow Children
John Williams - Star Wars III - The Revenge of the Sith
Linda Ronstadt - Greatest Hits Vol 1 and 2

Hook of the Day - KISS Gets Rick Rolled

by Wayne Graham

So, this isn't traditionally the kind of thing we'd post as a Hook of the Day, but it's absolutely mesmerizing, all the same. It's the only thing this week that I've watched more than that new Meshuggah video.

Congratulations to YouTube poster FuntToob for a fantastic mash-up.

Early Contender for Hook of the Year--- Meshuggah "Bleed"

by Wayne Graham

Think Meshuggah's "Bleed" is one of the year's best songs so far? Just wait til you get a load of the video.

Holy shit.


Meshuggah - Bleed

MP3 Randomization: 5-14-2008

Wayne:

Wilco "You Are My Face"
Radiohead "Lucky"
Probot "Ice Cold Man"
Sam Cooke "Bring It On Home To Me"
AC/DC "Shoot to Thrill"
Lair of the Minotaur "Enemy of Gods"


Mark:

Mike Jackson "Burn this Disco Out"
Weezer "Photograph"
Iron Maiden "Tailgunner"
Mercenary "Times Without Changes"
Iron & Wine "Flightless Bird, American Mouth"
Integrity "Release the Fiend"

Myche:

Dillinger Escape Plan "Horse Hunter"
The Band "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"
Randy Newman "Short People"
Drive-By Truckers "The Three Great Alabama Icons"
Bruce Dickinson "Gates of Urizen"
Mastodon "I Am Ahab"

Hook of the Day - Between the Buried and Me "Ants of the Sky"

by Wayne Graham

Mark, Myche, and I caught the Progressive Nation show last night, and we'll try and have our thoughts up soon.

But I'll just say for now that Between the Buried and Me were amazing. Here's a clip of them playing "Ants of the Sky" in Atlanta last fall. (check back here periodically, as we'll post this song from last night's show once something shows up on YouTube)

A List

Stones

Nuts

Nads

Sags

Cowbells

Eggs

Goolies

Man Tonsils

Gonads

Coin Purse

Tackle

Junk

Chebs

Baddacles

Chin rests

Chuckles

50 cents

Acorns

Gents

Knackers

Klackers

Marbles

T-bag

Family Jewels

Cojones

Taters

Plums

Yams

Jaja

Eier

Testes

Yumbag

Applesack

Lollybag

Boys

Bangers



and, yes....



Balls



All of these things...Def Leppard no longer have.



Sorry boys.

Who wants to do something really pointless?

by Wayne Graham

Skipknot have released the following--ahem--teaser trailer for their forthcoming album. There's no music or views of the band---Bobbleheaded or otherwise--but, apparently, there are all sorts of riddles within. Great....Tree, rock, barn. Okay, now what?

Hook of the Day - Pelican "Dead Between the Walls"

by Wayne Graham

Headbanger's Blog has posted Pelican's new video "Dead Between the Walls" and will play the clip this Saturday on Headbanger's Ball on MTV2. Good for them, I say. A little more of this type of thing and a lot less of...well, you know.

Hook of the Day - Faith No More "Last Cup of Sorrow"

by Wayne Graham

I've been obsessed with this song lately. I love the Vertigo-quoting video, where Jennifer Jason Leigh manages to give a non-irritating performance, for a change.

I've never looked forward to a video more in my life....

Um. Hell yeah.

Scorpions - World Wide Live

by Wayne Graham

So when you talk about great metal live albums, the obvious Citizen Kane-level one is (few would argue) Live After Death. No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith is up there. Ozzy's Randy Rhoads Tribute album is a contender. As often as they release best-of compilations, KISS opus Alive is the best reference point for what's good about them.

I submit World Wide Live as an applicant. This is really the best destination for a lot of good songs in the Scorpions catalog, played with vigor and met with thunderous applause. I prefer a ton of the live versions of these songs to their studio album versions. And Klaus Meine's stage banter is fucking HILARRRRIOUS. And it does the trick....he just screams the city name, and begins some sort of inquiry into how they're enjoying the performance so far,or are they ready for ____(nasally loud screaming of big hit title, sometimes along with some sort of reference to the album where it can be found)_____ !!!!??!!! and the crowd is ready and starts screaming and then the band will start the riff, which is of course instantly recognizable, and will get more people yelling and the ones already yelling, yelling louder. It's effective Banterwerk.

He really shines at :30 of this clip. This also has some pretty bad-ass Framptone noodling. And then some banter about the song coming up...

Heavy Metal Logo Wars: Scorpions v. Judas Priest

Wayne:
The Priest logo is classic. The steel font lets you know just what you're going to listen to, and that's the work of a good logo. But Scorps Font cannot be beat. It's quite distinctive and I love the way each letter curves into the one next to it. Scorpions



Myche:
Well, it's shimmering metal vs. shimmering metal. Those are two very good logos. I'd have to give the edge to Judas Priest due to the incorporation of the buzzcutt sawlike feature at the bottom. If it were a an actually piece of metal, you could get hurt handling it. Judas Priest



Mark:
While I am a huge Scorpions fan, and their logo is certainly one of the more original of fonts. I do not feel the rounded edges of the font is sharp enough, While the edges of the Priest logo is sharp tight and right. I like how metal it looks just by using the letters. That's the one for me. My vote Priest



And the winner is......

Judas Priest

Hook of the Day - The Clash "London Calling"

by Wayne Graham

We haven't said word one about The Clash in our time together. I'm deeply, deeply sorry for that.

London Calling is seriously one of the greatest albums ever recorded. If you don't have it in your album collection you don't truly have an album collection.

We miss you, Joe.

Well said, Dave!

Dave Grohl has sent out the following open letter to Metallica. Couldn't have said it better myself.

Dear METALLICA,

Hey, it's Dave! Remember me? Yeah, I'm the guy that's been listening to
your band faithfully since 1983. I bought your first album 'Kill 'Em All' from a
mailorder catalogue called Under The Rainbow, I think. Actually I can't
remember. It was 1983 for Christsakes! But that album changed my life and I've
been listening to your albums ever since (even 'St Anger'!).

I can't wait to hear the new shit, and no matter what you guys do I'll
always be first one at the shop waiting to hear it. I'm sure you'll come out and
blow everybody's fuckin' minds, because you're fuckin' METALLICA!

Good luck. And don't release it until it's kick-ass.

Yours, Dave Grohl.

P.S. Are you finished recording the drums yet?

Another 666 topic...

This is a list I am starting that consists of your TOP 6 Albums (or bands that you were into) that you bought (or downloaded, or whatevs) that you loved for about 5 minutes and then got over them. Bring it on folks. Admit them!!!

Mark

Dave Matthews Band-- Whichever one had "Ant marching."
Barenaked Ladies-- Gordon (no explanation needed. It's awful)
Killswitch Engage -- The End of Heartache (all I had to do was see how lazy and obnoxious they were in concert and that did it for me...)
Hootie and the Blowfish-- Fairweather Johnson. (what was wrong with me? I don't even like Golf!!!)
Dream Theatre-- Any (I think I like, maybe, two songs total...)
Beyond Evil-- I love the Ripper, but this album is AWFUL

Myche

The first six that came to mind...

Dione Farris Wild Seed – Wild Flower
Montel Jordan This Is How We Do It
Virgin Prunes [I don’t recall the album title]
Pete Townshend Iron Man
Demons & Wizards Touched By The Crimson King
Todd Rundgren Nearly Human

Wayne

Off the top of my head....

Dave Matthews Band - [generally anything they did from 1995-1997]
Jewel - Pieces of You
The Killers - Hot Fuss
Basement Jaxx - Remedy (that album cover still rules, though)
Extreme - III Sides to Every Story
Slaughter- Stick It To Ya!

In Rotation

What we're listening to today:

Wayne

Clouds - Legendary Demo
Iron Maiden - Killers
Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance
Melvins - Stoner Witch
Dillinger Escape Plan with Mike Patton - Irony Is A Dead Scene [EP]
Opeth - Watershed
Allman Brothers - Idlewild South
Nine Inch Nails - The Slip
Scorpions - World Wide Live
Ozzy Osbourne - Randy Rhoads: Tribute

Myche

Y&T - In Rock We Trust
Scorpions - Virgin Killers
Exodus - Tempo Of The Damned
Allman Brothers - Eat A Peach

Mark
Nine Inch Nails The Slip
Pedro the Lion Control
Idina Menzel I Stand (I'm gay and in theatre!! What do you want from me!?!?!)
Urge Overkill Saturation

Hook of the Day - Arsis "We Are The Nightmare"

by Wayne Graham


Yeah, of course the song is great and the animation is cool, but the washed-out window cinematography has gone sadly unremarked-upon by most bloggers discussing this fine video.

So let's discuss it.

The lighting in this video? It's awesome.

MP3 Randomization 5-7-2008

Wayne

Devin Townsend "Tall Latte"
This Will Destroy You "They move on tracks of never ending light"
Deftones "Kimdracula"
Kings of Leon "Arizona"
Tears for Fears "Head Over Heels" (hahahahahahaha)
Beastie Boys "High Plains Drifter"

Mark

Pelican "Lost in the Headlights"
Dinosaur Jr "Get Me"
Mercenary "Times Without Changes"
Shadows Fall "Dread Uprising"
Sloan "Suppose They Close The Door"
Pig Destroyer "Loathsome"

Myche

Prince "Uptown"
Allman Brothers "Done Somebody Wrong"
Fish "The Field"
Mavericks "In My Dreams"
Ian Gillan "Trouble"
Funkadelic "Maggot Brain"

You Might Be A Whitesnake Fan…

by Myche J

Whitesnake is one of those bands that are right on the fence in the world of metal. Some folks have a hard time taking them seriously, most likely due to the over-saturation of the iconic 80’s video for “Here I Go Again”. They pretty much get lumped into the worst of hair metal. I think there are people out there that are very careful when they are in groups and are confronted with the question: “Do you like Whitesnake?”

Well, I’m here to tell you it’s okay to like Whitesnake. They are more than that one video. They were around way before the hair metal thing, and are still doing a nice job of kicking ass today.

But I’m sensing that there are still people out there that might be in denial. In the spirit of comedian Jeff Foxworthy (and it will be a lot funnier if you mimic him while reading these), here’s a list of a few things that could help you get off the fence and just admit that you are indeed a Whitesnake fan:


If every time you hear “Here I Go Again” you tell everyone around you that you prefer the earlier version from 1982’s Saints & Sinners album…you might be a Whitesnake fan.

If you have David Coverdale’s birthday (September 22nd) noted on your calendar next to the words “Take Day Off”…you might be a Whitesnake fan.

If you own, and prefer, the European release of Whitesnake’s self-titled 1987 album simply for the fact that the lead-off track is “Still Of The Night”…you might be a Whitesnake fan.

If you’ve ever used the phrases “Slide It In” or “Slow ‘An Easy” with a straight face during a sexual encounter…you might be a Whitesnake fan.

If you write “Vivian” in front of the name of all of your cans of soup…you might be a Whitesnake fan.

If your favorite album with Jimmy Page playing guitar on it is “Coverdale-Page”…you might be a Whitesnake fan.

If you abbreviate the word “and” (like the boys did on no less than ten songs and two album titles) on grocery lists (milk ‘an butter), legal documents (cease ‘an desist), and invitations (Mr. and Mrs. Tommy Aldridge ‘an Family – and have actually sent one to them!)…you might be a Whitesnake fan.

If your car’s license plate is any of the following: “WHTSNK 1”, “LUVHNTR”, “SLO AN EZ”, “R SARZO”, “GUD 2 B BAD”…you might be a Whitesnake fan.

If you have three different Whitesnake shirts, all of them depicting an album that is pre-Slide It In…you might be a Whitesnake fan.

If you have three of the same Whitesnake shirts, two tucked away for backup…you might be a Whitesnake fan.

If you’ve had backyard barbeques where you only played Whitesnake CD’s and served “Vandenburgers”…you might be a Whitesnake fan.

Gigantour Review 5/6/2008 Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL - The Good, The Bad, & the Ugly

by Wayne Graham

Last night, Gigantour rolled through Chicago's Aragon Ballroom, and I was there to take it all in. Well, almost all of it. I had to leave halfway through Megadeth's set due to a number of factors, a few of which I'll get into in a bit.

Here's a recap:

The GOOD

Megadeth - Don't let my hasty retreat fool you, they were GREAT! Mustaine was badass and whoever the guys that make up the rest of Megadeth are kept up wonderfully. Due to some factors I'll soon discuss, it was hard for me to enjoy the material I wasn't as familiar with, but that's not on the band. I've seen 'Deth twice in the span of a year, and they rocked both times. "Wake Up Dead" ruled last night. Wish I had gotten to see the rest of the set.

High on Fire - I was eavesdropping on some guys who were talking about "what's up first", and when asked who High on Fire is, one young man flippantly replied, whilst rolling his eyes, "It's stoner rock." Halfway through HonF's first song, this chode was throwing horns like the rest of us. Matt Pike and company had a tough job...going up first at 4:30 in the afternoon as everyone is just trickling into the building and getting settled, but they tore it the fuck up. Just like they always do. 30 perfect minutes. Pike played like a man possessed. Jeff Metz' bass and Des Kensel's tribal thunderdrums were the rare examples of when the cavernous acoustics of the Aragon worked in everyone's favor. HUUUUGE.

In Flames - They were one of the biggest casualties of the crappy Aragon sound, but they were still absolutely fantastic. This was a very In Flames friendly crowd, and the band gave it back to us 1,000 fold. They played quite a bit of stuff off their newer album, which I'm not 100% crazy about, but they selected the better ones from that platter. Great live band.

Alexi Laiho - Not to say that Children of Bodom on the whole weren't good, they very much were. But they had some slight tempo issues here and there, and were sloppy in spots. Frontman Alexi, though, gave one of the evening's best rockstar performances. The guy was great at getting an already riled up crowd pumped up. His vocals, while not his strongest feature, sounded great, and his guitar work was damn impressive. The reason for the ever-growing popularity of Bodom begins and ends with this guy.

THE BAD

Job for a Cowboy - These guys are to progressive death metal what Black Tide and Trivium are to thrash......little boys playing with big toys. Big congrats to them for being as young as they are and pulling off a good following, especially for this type of music. And they definitely know how to play their instruments and be br00tal and what not. But the songs....are not there. Very dull, repetitious set.

Janne Warman - I'm already reluctant to listen to bands that feature cheeseball-sounding keyboards as it is, Children of Bodom's keyboardist Warman really made it hard for anyone to make much of a convincing case to the contrary. When he played solos and doubled Alexi Laiho's runs, he sounded great, but when he didn't have anything to play, he just......STOOD THERE. Staring off into space. Waiting for his turn to play. Buddy, DO SOMETHING. Double the bass line. Act like you're playing but keep the volume off. No one would notice, I swear. We do notice when you're on the nod. Ask Alexi to give you more to do. If he says "no" then just concentrate on staying awake.

The "Fuck Metallica" Guy - At one point during Megadeth's set, this older guy who appears to only come out of the crypt when Ozzy, Slayer, or 'Deth comes to town, blurts out at the top of lungs "Fuck Metallica! The bitches!" Groan. I imagine this is a show of solidarity for Mustaine, who, as we all know by now, was ousted from Metallica way back when. Nice show of loyalty, guy, but that happened DECADES ago. I'm sure Dave is over by now. If he's not, I don't imagine he wants reminders of it, particularly in the middle of a barnburning Megadeth set. Oh, also, he can't hear you! Shut the fuck up! And while you're at it, stop getting down on bended knee and putting a triumphant fist in the air. That takes up way more space than you think it does.

Fat Pit Guys Who Decide They Want to Take a Breather Right Next to Me, Rubbing Their Sweaty Bare Arms Against My Mastodon T-Shirt - Oh no you don't, tubby. Back into the pit with you.

THE UGLY

The Aragon Ballroom - For a venue that LOOKS like it would be a great place for a rock show, it sure is a terrible place for a rock show. Where to begin......well, for starters, not sure if I've made this clear, but the sound in this place SUUUUUUCKS. Bass and drums ring through the place, but guitar work is often hard to hear. Not a good thing when we're talking about so many guitar-centric bands, huh? It was hard enough to properly recognize songs that I KNOW, much less enjoy songs that I wasn't familiar with yet. On top of that, crowd control sucks there, the staff includes some of the biggest bunch of retards I've ever had the displeasure of wishing I had never met, and a big reason why I left early is because I know all too well how long it takes to shuffle out of that place once a show is over. (Don't plan any meetings immediately outside the venue for at least an hour has been my experience)

So, anyway, all in all. A good time at a somewhat reasonable price. It was my first Gigantour excursion, and, provided it's not at the Aragon, I intend to make it a yearly thing.

Smart Move of the Day - Sebastian Bach will not join Velvet Revolver

by Wayne

Say what you want about Sebastian Bach, but his loyalty to Axl Rose saved him from joining a shitty band, one that could have been really cool......if they had hired Bas in the first place when they had a chance.

Velvet Revolver blows. Do the right thing, Slash.....call Axl and make it happen.

By the way....Slave to the Grind is totally underrated.

Hook of the Day - Def Leppard "Photograph"

by Wayne Graham

Okay, not to be One of Those Guys that always claims an older band's older stuff is better than their newer stuff.....but Def Leppard's older stuff is better than their newer stuff.

Probably.

Lep scored a #5 debut on the charts with their latest album Songs From the Sparkle Lounge. As much as I think that Def Leppard is a genuinely great band overall, I get hives when I think of devoting 45 minutes to an hour of my life listening to something called Songs from the Sparkle Lounge, especially when the first single is a collabo with, um, TIM MCGRAW?? (look it up yourself. I want nothing to do with you being subjected to it) Look, I get it, there's not much difference between hair metal and contemporary country. Bon Jovi is proving it. Carrie Underwood proved it when she covered Skid Row to the approval of Sebastian Bach.

But that doesn't make it okay. And, frankly, the song is bunk, with or without McGraw. I'm going ahead and chalking Sparkle Lounge up as a creative failure based on this alone.

THIS is the Def Leppard I like!

Reasons why I can't stand "Remission" by Straight Line Stitch

by Wayne Graham



1. It takes the band 1 minute and 25 seconds (of a 4 minute 30 second song) to get to some actual vocals. This would be okay, if it weren't for the fact that this 1:25 is spent with the band just playing 1/8 notes over and over, likely for the purpose of building some kind of mood, which it doesn't achieve. All this padding really does it give all the band members time to preen and pose, which leads me to the fact that....

2.....this has got to be one of the phoniest bands I've ever laid eyes on. Take a look at these chodes.....they reek of a bunch of people who were playing Bloc Party/Bravery rock, and then they saw that metal was back on the rise, and decided to grow their hair out and learn how to do windmills. Such a huge effort is made in this video to let you SEE just how "metal" Straight Line Stitch is, which is fine, were it not for the fact that....

3.....this song is AWFUL. It's just dreck. It starts with the previously discussed 1:25 worth of glorified instrument tuning/warm-ups, then launches into the most tired-ass metalcore cliches you've ever heard. Wow! Listen to that pretty girl scream! Except it's not a very interesting scream. It's the same one you've heard for years, out of the mouths of both males and females. And the riffs, such as they are, are completely unispired. So, then we get to the chorus, and surprise surprise....here come the....

4......clean vocals. Groan. Really? This shitty band tortures us with every play in the book, and the hook comes around, and instead of giving us a twist, like making the screams more menacing or powerful, we fall back on clean vocals. And, frankly, they're not very good, either. This woman has a very wispy, nasally nosevoice. So, she can't scream, she can't deliver any heat with the clean vox. Fine. But do they have to do the classic "scream the verse, sing the chorus" thing that everyone had done for the past decade? Can't you just sing? Or just scream? Hell, why can't you find a better, more original way of mixing the two vocal styles? I'll tell you why..it's because this band knows that this is all they've got, and I can see it in their beady little eyes. They set their fancy home-studio equipment random music generator mode to "Hot Topic" and the machine shat this out, and all the band had to do was take a week to learn how to mug to it. Speaking of mugging.....

6.....their drummer is unsightly to behold. I realize it's hard to find drummers, and that every band has to have their signature Ugmo, but this guy has got to go. First of all, Tubby, STOP LOOKING RIGHT INTO THE CAMERA! Even the vocalist doesn't do it THAT much! Plus, not that SLS isn't fooling anyone with their tough metal act, but this guy specifically looks like the classic dude who's only in the band because he owns the van that they so sorely needed to cart their gear to whatever frat parties they played at before Headbanger's Ball started shoving this crap video down my throat. Which reminds me....

7. .....Headbanger's Ball won't play ISIS videos, but they have no problem playing videos by bands who wear ISIS t-shirts as some sort of desperate cry for credibility? Laaaame.

Hook of the Day - Gigantour Sampler

by Wayne Graham

Myche and Mark have decided to pass on this year's Gigantour show, but I will be there with bells on. We're going with an all-Gigantour Hookfest today.

First up, my favorite band on the bill....High on Fire. Here's "Rumors of War."



Next, a band who has their moments, but is ultimately my least favorite at Gigantour...Job for a Cowboy. Maybe they'll win me over with their live show. Here's "Altered From Catechization"



Next up, Finland's Children of Bodom. Please enjoy "Blooddrunk."



I'm excited to finally see a proper In Flames set. I was only able to catch the last two songs of their set at Ozzfest in 2005, and am excited to see a full set. Here's "The Mirror's Truth."



And, of course.......MEGADETH!!!