The Mosh Pit 2.22.08: All Metal All The Time
Posted by Dan Haggerty on 02.22.2008
This week we dig into the music: Whitesnake is your Forgotten Classic, but which album? Gamma Ray brings the old school speed metal back. Live After Death is awesome, we look at some new underground stoner doom inspired by 70’s Sabbath, and finally Demilich offers you technical death metal to download for free!
I don't know about the rest of you, but I am soooooo ready for spring it's not funny. Between the cold, constant lake affect snow, and ice I'm really getting sick of this crap. I usually look forward to spring simply because it normally kicks off concert season, but this year I'm dying for a day I don't freeze my ass of trying to chip the ice off of my car.
I've also come to the conclusion that I would blow a weeks vacation if I could spend one day sleeping as well as one of my cats. Little rugs got it better than me…
On with the show!
Tonight's Show: Metal 24/7
I promised that this week would be about music, and so it is. I think I've had my fill regarding editorials, plus it helps no one said anything terribly stupid this week. But if they did, it can wait. We're all music fans first and foremost so it's time to just spend a column digging into our favorite subject.
So…
The Set List The albums on my playlist this week; some new, some old, always good :
Gamma Ray - Land of the Free II
Last time around for this album, but goddamn I've been playing it a lot. Traditional speed/power metal from the hand of Hansen, the guitarist who invented the style with Helloween in the 80's, and it just fires non-stop from beginning to end. The group has sprawled into other styles as of late, but for the return to this concept album for round 2, they went back to old-school basics. Some people can easily confuse speed metal from thrash, and there is a bog difference. Speed metal is traditional power metal shredded at high energy levels. This does that, twin leads blazing at the speed of life with soaring vocals over traditional melodies. This is going to be a contender for the Top 10 list at the end of the year… Just awesome.
Kataklysm - Shadows & Dust
I'm sure I've discussed this death metal band before, but the "Set List" is about what's been in my player so to speak so now we get a repeat. Besides, can you promote good metal enough? Hardly. Besides, I've had a long week at work and nothing says anger-management like brutal death blasting your eardrums back into your head. The album features the quote from Plato – "Only the dead see the end of war". Such a good point to make… But Kataklysm then spends an album dragging you around the killing fields, face first through the dead to make that point. That is what metal does best. Make its point by showing it to you. The percussion attack sometimes overlays the guitar, but that's their style so if you want your issues pounded into submission – Here you go!
Iron Maiden - Live After Death
This was an absolute pleasure to watch again and review. I like live albums, but there are few that I would point to and say "This is one you have to own". Live After Death is one of those albums. I'm not going to repeat everything I said in my review, so I'll just recommend you just check it out HERE.
Intermission
Gamma Ray - Into The Storm
Kataklysm - Shadows And Dust
Iron Maiden - Churchill Speech/ Aces High (live After Death) It's recorded low, so crank it up baby!
Free Metal!
You can't beat the price, so check it out!
For various reasons, some bands will but albums up for free on the net. Smaller labels might do it to promote a new band. A group might do it to self promote, or to make a statement sometimes. But Demilich just up and put their entire catalog online for free.
That's right – All of their demos, EPs, and full length.
Evidently, they own the rights to their music, and did what they thought was right when they split... And you get the benefit, as Demilich is one of the most unique technical death metal bands I've ever heard. Actually, they're one of the most unique metal bands. This is going to be something you really like, or flat out hate – I guarantee it. Why? Because of the vocals - No shit here, the guy's voice is so deep and guttural that it sounds like he could be belching. I'm serious. But if you can appreciate (or at least get past) that, then it opens up to some very no-nonsense death metal that is the epitome of technical. Stripped down, low production, base technical riff mashing of surgical axe construction that is almost too subtle to show up on the radar; especially in light of what people think of death metal today. In fact, this is also the definition of an underground classic, and if what I've heard of the guys is on, that is a title they'd wear as a badge of honor.
Hey – It's free! The guys going against the establishment to the very end, so stop by their download page of the bands website and see if any of it grabs you.
You can download their catalog at their website HERE.
Important note, do not go to the Demilich myspace page - It's a fake, and the dude running it does so against the wishes of the band - the real one is HERE.
Prepared to have your pre-conceptions turned upside down.
From the Underground
A look at a band on small labels or unsigned.
It warms the heart to hear these four dudes from Sweden cranking out some 70's jams, a blend of that decades hard rock and Sabbath stoner doom. Simple guitar rock, nothing separating the space between you and the group save a riff, a jam, and a toke. A student of music and metal will recognize the "metalness" buried in those riffs, even if the whole thing sounds more like Jim Morrison stumbling stoned through a Black Sabbath medley (and I mean that in a very good way).
You, know I never though of that. Imagine Jim Morrison without the ballpark organ and backed by Sabbath. I think I just got a chill… That would rock. Then again, he and Ozzy would have just done LSD together until the same thing happened anyway.
Back to the review, you get rolling guitar work, acoustic or electric. The drums fill the slots in between, and work with the bass for a traditional 70's doom riff backdrop, and just the greatest rolling rhythm, and the lyrical content is even old school. Witches and alchemists… Oh My. Man, wish more bands would just get out their and jam it up like this.
Check out the video below to get an idea of what the boys are about. Even this video has a dated feel!
Witchcraft - Chylde of Fire
Behold the classic rock goodness!
Forgotten Classic Time to pull a classic from the collection and give it the attention it deserves!
Whitesnake – Slide It In
Everyone remembers Whitesnake for their ‘87 self-titled release. Between such classic as "Still of the Night", and his girlfriends legs plastered all over MTV how could you not. That was their big release. But several years earlier Coverdale released this little gem, which was their first official U.S. release despite a number of previous albums being released in Europe. Personally, I end up pulling this album out more often, not that it is necessarily the better album – just more consistent - Whitesnake has some damn fine songs on it, but there are peaks and valleys on it, and I could go through life a happy man if I never heard those damned ballads again. Slide It In is more consistent to just drop in the deck and let it roll, which for me makes it the superior album.
You're not getting any reinvention of the wheel here. This is nothing more than classic blues infused hard rock. But it's well written (simple catchy rhythms, backed by blue's riffs and power chords), well produced (The guitars have a natural sounding energy to them), and just damn fun to listen to. Really nothing more than the soundtrack to a spring evening where you finally get to roll the car's windows down, speed down the road with the tape-deck blasting (I'm working off of memories here folks!), and singing along to a bunch of rock anthems. Sometimes that's all you need to have fun. Well, that and add the Big-Gulp disguised Crown Royal but those were different times – I'm not recommending people do that now.
The title track welcomes you to the show, and it is your typical sing-along party anthem. "Slide it in… Right to the top!" – I'll let you connect the dots. Simple, fun, and catchy. The production and aforementioned blues construction manages to keep this from going full hair band; more of a bar band you would love to get hammered to and sing along with.
Next is one of my favorite Whitesnake songs, "Slow An' Easy". Coverdale wales over a mysterious and moody intro, before the drums kick in march style and the band fires on all cylinders. Talk about the energy level, this just grabs you and shakes until you realize it's a classic. The multi-part solo is also the best thing the guys have ever recorded – it crackles with the energy of its own creation and momentum. I dare you to not sing along with this.
After this, the album slides into a comfortable rhythm of solid hard rock and fun toe-tapers. Sure, "Guilty for Love" and "Spit It Out" is your basic hook and repetitive lyrics, but the guilty pleasure level keeps it out of filler range. Other songs bring the hooks, riffs, and rhythms in more milling fashion; "Love Ain't No Stranger" keeps the party alive, "Give Me More Love" packs some nice power leads and solo, and "Standing InThe Shadow" and a solid closer.
Whitesnake - Slow An'Easy
Great song – But for some reason this version is slightly edited.
2008 Rankings The albums released for 2008.
Well, we have two albums now. Thank god the new releases are starting to roll in. Be sure to check in with your winners and losers also!
The Mosh Pit's 2008 Rankings
8.5
Gamma Ray - Land of the Free II
6
Bullet for my Valentine - Scream Aim Fire
Readers Choice 2008 Album Rankings
N/A
The Merchandise Stand Always support you local venue and favorite band, so get a drink from the bar and pick up some swag!
Finally, don't forget to stop in and check out the Music Zone's Fact or Fiction hosted by yours truly.
Tales from the Pit Reader Feedback, what's on your playlist, and the great gigs you've seen.
I received a lot of feedback regarding my take on downloading last week. Besides the few odd comments, the biggest comment was to the effect "Poor rich labels losing money – Boo Hoo!" sort of thing. And while I can appreciate people calling them out for whining, I think a general point was missed.
They are not losing money.
Sure, sales have dipped recently (but are still up from a decade and a half ago by the way), but the sales dip can be directly attributed to them intentionally cutting releases. They made their sales go down by design to control costs, just like the rest of the business world during the last recession. Their profits are way up because of it. So they are making plenty of money now that they have gotten smart about how they spend it.
Finally, the icing on the cake is Gene SimmonsTM and U2's manager Paul McGuinnessTM are running around literally crying about how they are losing money and it's the industry's fault. They say they can't make money and are even losing it, but the very CEO of the company that owns their labels (Universal) contradicted them saying business is fine and they have strong double-digit profits.
So screw both of them. They are either liars are shitty business men. If Britney Spears can round around and do nothing but give the paps crotch shots, and bring home $700,000 a month, then those two clowns need to explain how they can't out perform that.
Wait a minute; Gene's got a tape out showing him working the real family jewels – Never mind…
Final Thoughts
Keep it real and pay the music you love. If people bitch or make fun – Screw them. The music is the most personal of art forms as each person experiences it on his own terms. So play it loud and play it proud.
Gamma Ray - Land of the Free II
Kataklysm - Shadows & Dust 
Iron Maiden - Live After Death 
