Now That's What 411 Calls Music Volume 2: The One That Was Almost Late

Posted by Brandon Ratliff on 02.27.2006

Man I am slow about this stuff.

The Beginning Thing

Welcome to my mixtape column. I'm your host and local editor, Brandon Ratliff. Today we are going to look at the sixteen tracks I would like to have with me in the event the whole desert island thing were to happen. As I said in my essentials list last year I'd probably just drown myself were I stuck on an island with so little music to listen to, but these little lists are always fun for theory's sake.

Now, I know this list isn't extremely ecletic, but if you want variety go read another list. This is what I want, and it's my list damnit. I do listen to far more than what this indicates however, but sometimes you just have to pick your battles, so to speak.

Is that even the right phrase?

Ah whatever. Just read the damn list already. Album artwork is included along with why I chose these tracks over other songs by the respective artists among other things. Enjoy. Or don't. I don't really care either way.

Also, I did initially include the little Myspace flash players so you could hear some of the songs, but they kept being screwy when I was testing it, so I removed them. The tracks are easy enough to find though, so if you want to hear them you can do it yourself.

The Songs

1. Staind - Open Your Eyes

From the album Break The Cycle

I wasn't that big of a Staind fan initially, though they were one of the bands that I was subjected to when my brother-in-law and sister were getting me into rock music in 2000. At the time, Dysfunction was their only album out, and I thought it was good, but I wasn't really feeling it all that much. Go to May 22, 2001, which was the day this album saw release. From the very first time I heard that intro to this song, Staind became one of my favorite bands. They've been somewhat up and down with songs off of their two subsequent releases, but for me, this song will always be a favorite, and from that very beginning part to the heavy riff, I honestly feel it is the best opening song for an album in all hard rock music.

2. Allele - Fake

From the album Point Of Origin

If you've not noticed, I've been singing this band's praises a lot recently, especially with my show review I did recently. This is the track that they played live just because I had mentioned I liked it, and like with Rikets' Anything For The Devil (which is also on this list), I have a newfound respect for the song and band after seeing it played live. Not enough can be said about that intro guitar riff (which can be heard on my Myspace page if you are interested), even though I've said all I can think to say about it. Crazy, I know. The song is recent, sure, but even still, I would consider it an essential for it's pure power and emotion, and the sheer amount of kickassness. Yeah, that is so totally a word.

3. Soil - Halo

From the album Scars

I remember I had first heard of Soil back in early 2004 when Redefine first came out. I had read a review of it right here on 41Mania and was intrigued, so I decided to check them out. I actually have done that for a lot of bands (read a review on 411 and checked them out because of it that is), but that is a story for another day. I heard the clips from the new album which were cool, but one song immediately caught my attention, which was Halo. I kid you not, I heard the song, listened to it five times in a row, and got in the car, drove to Best Buy, and bought the album Scars. The song has stood the test of time and repeated listens for me, and though Soil may be a completely different entity today, this song will always be right up there for me.

4. Slipknot - Everything Ends

From the album Iowa

What to say about this one? Iowa came out on August 28, 2001, which was the first day of school during my junior year. Right after football practice, I went straight to Best Buy to pick this album up. I remember sitting in the car with my brother-in-law listening to it when my sister was in a clothing store, and this song came on. From the very opening riff along with the lines "You are wrong, fucked, and overrated, I think I'm gonna be sick and it's your fault. This is the end of everything, you are the end of everything...I haven't slept since I woke out and found my whole life was a lie motherfucker...this is the end of everything...you are the end of everything!", this song just kind of did it for me, whatever it is. It's kind of catchy, in its own twisted stab-you-in-the-eyes sort of way. While I'll admit that I kind of like Before I Forget a bit more (as I have from the day Volume 3 came out, so don't call me a fucking bandwagon jumper), but as far as their overall catalog goes, I feel this is the Slipknot song that I would want to keep the most if I had to get rid of their rest of their songs.

5. In Flames - Take This Life

From the album Come Clarity

Ironically, as I type this I am listening to the Soundtrack To Your Escape album (which I just bought tonight). This song is the first single from the recently released Come Clarityalbum, and already it is one of my favorite songs. I think the song does well in kind of working as a retrospective on the band's career in a single track. The very first riff/verse riff covers the faster stuff, the second intro riff covers that skull crushing heaviness they've always been known for, and then the chorus covers their melodic stuff. It, in my opinion, is just an all around great and well written song. Not to mention...have you seen the video for it? That shirt vocalist Anders Friden is wearing is flat out bitchin'.

6. Sinch - Power Of Suggestion

From the album Clearing The Channel

This track was originally released by the band as a demo track they put together in 2003 basically to let people know that they weren't, you know, completely dead yet. Not much had been heard from them for a while due to their release from Roadrunner Records, but after signing with Rock Ridge Music, they finally returned with their album Clearing The Channel last March. I remember sitting in my apartment listening to this album. I had completely forgotten about the song, but then I heard that drum intro. I instantly perked up and said aloud "Oh hell no..." Sure enough, they slightly rewrote (oh, I still have the original version which I called Broken Record) and re-recorded the song, and man does it kick all sorts of ass. It remains by far my favorite song by the band, and to this day I still believe that simply with its inclusion, made the album better as a whole. Maybe that's just me though.

7. 36 Crazyfists - The Heart And The Shape

From the album A Snow Capped Romance

I remember this song being leaked on the Roadrunner Records website way back when...a couple of months before the album came out or so. I liked their first album Bitterness The Star, but I wasn't a huge fan of it. I downloaded the song not expecting much, but I was completely blown away by it. The album came our, ruled as expected, and now they are expecting a new one sometime soon. Such is the story for any working band. Hopefully their new album will be as good as A Snow Capped Romance was, but we'll soon see. As it is though, this song remains to be all sorts of awesome.

8. Rikets - Anything For The Devil

From the album Anything For The Devil

Another band I've been really into lately, this was only cemeted the first time I saw them. The second time, I drove four hours to Springfield, MO to see them. Was it worth it? Absolutely. They somehow got better, though three of the members were playing their first sow with the band that night. Sadly they didn't play this track the second time due to not having the vocal samples with them to do it, but it was still really good. After seeing them play it live the first time, I just found a new respect for the record, song, and band as a whole. It just sounds better on record after hearing it live. Why? I don't know, but as vocalist Scott Rose said when I interviewed him last September, the song just has a feel to it that you can't really describe. It's just fun, and that's what counts.

9. Sevendust - Denial

From the album Home

Sevendust is one of the bands I got into back in my induction into rock music six years ago. I didn't quite take to them at first, but some quality time with Home courtesy of the fact that I had no other CDs to listen to for a couple of days turned me on (stop thinking that you freak) to this band, which showcases hard rock at its finest. Over the years their output has been fairly steady (oh fucking stop it), but this song will probably always remain my favorite by them, simply for its pure power on every end of the spectrum. I'm not really sure what the lyrics mean, but they sound good damnit.

10. Taproot - Poem

From the album Welcome

Another song, another similar story. Can I just say I wasn't into the band until I heard this song, then I really got into them (ALL of their stuff, not just the newer albums). I think a pattern is emerging here in that a lot of these songs were by bands that I was slow to really feel, but when it came, it came hard (I'm not going to tell you again). I remember the first time hearing this one too...my brother-in-law was a big fan of their first album, and we heard the end of the song, and we both asked if it was new Taproot. Of course we found out later it was, and that was when we were on our way to Wendy's because they said it a couple of songs later, and we were hungry, and I'm making no sense. Maybe good sense though. Or good cents? Who knows; I obviously don't. Plus, how can you not love those lyrics?

11. Devildriver - Hold Back The Day

From the album The Fury Of Our Maker's Hand

From the trippy assed video to the aggressive delivery of vocalist Dez Farfara, this song is an all around good metal song. It's like...umm...heavy and like...screamy...and...uhh...it makes me want to like break stuff...kind of like that one Limp Bizkit song said a long time ago. But that one doesn't make me want to break stuff...only this one. I've never actually broken stuff while listening to it, so maybe it just gives me the urge to break stuff, but not like, actually do it you know? Eh whatever.

12. Trust Company - Downfall

From the album The Lonely Position Of Neutral

This song is cool. The end. Actually, not really. Maybe I'm a little partial to the band because the vocalist was best friends with my cousin throughout high school, but, well, this song is just great. I think Palmer's vocal style really added a lot to the band, and was probably a lot of what kept them from getting lost in the shuffle back in 2002. They are broken up now, but I got to see them live before they split so I'm happy. Their second album wasn't quite as good as this one, but you can't put out stuff this good with every attempt, especially as a rock band on Geffen Records.

13. Dream Theater - As I Am

From the album Train Of Thought

Have you seen John Petrucci play the solo to this song live? It looks like ants crawling on his fucking guitar strings and shit man. The lyrics kind of suck though.

14. Korn - Thoughtless

From the album The Untouchables

This song was the only one I liked on the Untouchables record the first time I heard it. The second time I heard it, it ruled and shit. The album, not the song. I mean the song ruled too, but the album increased in rulage the second I heard it a little more than the song did. Of course the song had a much higher amount of initial rulage, it was like King Arthur with all its mad amounts of rulage. Uther didn't have quite as much rulage as Arther, but still lots o' rulage, so the album ruled like Uther, and the song like Arthur, except that, unlike the album, Uther's rulage never really increased all that much. It was just pretty good to begin with. The album's rulage did, in fact, increase though with repeated listens. In all seriousness though, I like the song Counting On Me from Take A Look In The Mirror a little better, but I think this is just a better overall song, hence its inclusion over that one. That song rules too though. But not like...

15. Stereomud - Show Me

From the album Every Given Moment

When I did my essentials list last year, this album was on there. For the longest time I was unaware of the amount of awesome contained on it, but alas, I would eventually learn and enjoy. I don't listen to the album much anymore, but this song, while it took a while to become my favorite, still just completely rocks. It is a solid opener, and the chorus to it is catchy as all hell. The lyrics are also deceptively complex...just read them and think about the message being portrayed. Stereomud may not be a band anymore, but with songs like this on their second and probably final album (though with the dissolution of Life Of Agony, who knows...), they went out in a great way. Rest In Peace Stereomud...you will be missed, but your (pseudo-) legacy lives on. Okay, that was my teary moment for this column.

16. No One - Leech

Unreleased demo track

Well, I've recently learned that the band is more than likely done (though vocalist Murk told me personally that they are really considering getting back together to do another album), this song was recorded as a demo cut after they left Immortal Records. Yeah, this was ONLY ever recorded as a demo track, probably something they were shopping to new labels for a second album. The sound quality isn't great, but even so, is this song was a sign of things to come, the band would have become a serious threat in the current metal community dominated by a lot of "hey, let's sound like Hatebreed, but be nowhere near as good as them" hardcore bands. Seriously...have you seen Headbanger's Ball recently? 80% of the shit on there sounds like the same fucking band, which was all toss aways by the aforementioned Hatebreed (whom I like very much might I add...that's how bad it is). Anyhow, were No One to put out a full album of material of the quality of this track (songwriting, not sound obviously), the album would, if heard, blow away most of the new bands out there today. I think it's a good closing track as it ends the disc on a heavy note. I've never been a huge fan of using the slowest or acoustic tracks as closers because I feel as if it leaves a bad impression of an album as a whole most of the time, unless done extremely well, which doesn't happen too often.

The Ending Thing

Well, there you have it. Sorry about me getting really goofy for a couple of tracks there, but I guess it's because just going "this track is good because..." gets kind of redundant, and it's just boring as hell to write. Nonetheless, I thought long and hard about all of these songs, especially the order they went in, and while it may not be the most ecletic list, this is what I would choose were I put in the desert island situation. Of course I do listen to a much broader range of stuff, but my main love is hard rock and metal, and for as long as I can see, that probably won't change. Hopefully my tastes will increase as there is a lot of good music in existence, but either way, this is the present, and this is my disc. I hope you enjoyed reading this because it took me forever to write it.

By the way, I feel it worth mentioning that it is 5:35 CST on Sunday, February 26th, and this is set to post in about six hours. Man I procrastinate like crazy...

...with columns anyways. Not to say I'm lazy, although I really am. So...yeah.