Archive for September 2009
I’m just waiting on a friend…
It’s no secret that my older brother, Robert, was a big influence on my musical development, especially between 1975 
and about 1981/82. One of the bands that he introduced me to is The Rolling Stones. To date they are still my 2nd favorite band of all time behind Iron Maiden. He loved the Stones and subsequently so did I. He played them a lot and they became ingrained into my musical repertoire. After Wyman left I was done with them, but I love just about every album they did with him save one or 2 in the 80s.
I can remember coming home from school and listening to Tattoo You on vinyl. Typically mom and dad were at work and who knows where my brothers were. I seemed to have time to spin records before they all came home. Very influential and time well spent. Homework? Pfffft!
This album was always special to me though. It’s one of those albums that brings me back to a certain time in my life, actually to 2 different times in my life. I guess I have a lot of those types of albums and I am glad for it. Without music I don’t know how I would have ended up.
Tattoo You wasn’t a perfect album for the Stones although it had one of their biggest gits on it…Start Me Up. Sure it’s a fun tune but not one of their finest moments in my opinion. I really loved their slower tunes and this one has some great ones on it, pretty much all of side 2. Worried About You, Tops, Heaven, No Use In Crying and Waiting On A Friend. Such a smooth album side.
Side one’s highlight for me is Little T&A. When I was 19 I briefly dated a girl that this song seemed to fit so well. Typically when we went out I would play it sometime during the evening. Hang Fire is pretty good too. Pretty cool cover art as well. But all in all, side 2 rules this album.
There are many other Stones album that I like better, but this one does have that special place.
“Ain’t no use…”
Tiamat – Wildhoney – CD Review
Tiamat first caught my attention with their debut album Astral Sleep. It was raw, simple, dark…almost run of the mill 
death metal. Typically mid-paced but it didn’t suck by any means. Daniel and I went tape shopping (yes, I was still buying them in 1991!). He picked up Solitude Aeturnus’ debut and I picked up the Tiamat. Great picks by both of us.
I certainly picked up Clouds in 1992 and I believe it was in one of the first 100 CDs I ever owned. I liked it a lot even though they slowed down a bit more. It was a little more atmospheric. Cool album for sure.
But then came 1994.
Wildhoney.
WILDHONEY.
I remember the first time I popped it in. I was doing some stuff in the house…probably playing TecmoSuperBowl or something. I just remember that the album felt like it was over soon after it began. It’s 42 minutes long but it flows. The way they tied all of the songs in together was simply brilliant. Wildhoney got even more mellow than Clouds. They added a certain sense of Pink Floyd to their sound…imagine the song Fearless by Pink Floyd with distortion and better production. It was awesome. It still is. There is not a bad song on it and I think it should be in every metalhead’s collection.
This album gets regular play, at least once a month. It’s a great one to drive to. Very smooth. They use death metal vocals, but not in a cookie monster sort of way. You can understand everything that Johan sings.
Even though it is very much still in print, I think it needs to be shared. So here ya go. Listen to it in order. Many times.
I don’t get high but sometimes I have thought about what it would be like to listen to this one on mushrooms. Let me know, ok?
Damien Thorne – Sign of the Jackal – CD Review
Damien Thorne hit the scene in 1986 with their debut release Sign of the Jackal on Roadrunner Records. At that time 
Roadrunner had decent distribution and their tapes and records were in most stores. I am pretty sure a former friend from high school and I were out and about when this one got discovered. Sometimes it gets hard to remember. Doesn’t matter. This was a good discovery.
Damien Thorne fit the category for what I considered speed metal with a hint of NWOBHM in them. Justin Fates vocals were definitely the high point for me with these guys. He reminded me a lot of Glen May from Tyrant (LA)…good normal singing voice and great high notes heavily laden with reverb/delay/chorus. Good times!
Since I was listening to this on cassette for many years, side 2 would be considered my favorite side. Hell’s Reign, Escape or Die, Siren’s Call and Damien’s Procession (March of the Undead). Side 1 wasn’t shabby by any means, but the album got better as it went along.
DT had pretty decent riffs and good drumming with some good straightforward double bass stuff in it. Most of the songs are good mid-paced US metal.
While Damien Thorne weren’t any sort of groundbreaking act, the debut is certainly worth tracking down. The CD version was available for a few years but seems to be out of print now.
Tonight was the first time I have spun this in a few years and it really brought back good memories of my high school years (there weren’t many) of hanging out in Churchland with the old crew…
Man, looking back it’s a wonder that some of us are still alive. Well, sadly, some of us aren’t. It’s interesting to see who ended up where doing what.
Going back and listening to some of these old albums really sets off some stuff in the brain. It’s a good stroll down memory lane with some music that always takes me back. I definitely wore out a few cassette copies of Sign of the Jackal. Riding around in my 66 Nova II 4dr. While I generally don’t miss those days, there were enough good times intertwined with friends and music that will never be forgotten. Luckily I talk to friends that remind me of an album or I listen to an album that reminds me of some old friends.
Download it here. Buy it if you can find it.
Motorhead – Concert Review 092009
Motorhead! I’m always excited when they come to town. Last night was my 6th time seeing them since 1993. They 
never let me down with the live show.
Until last night.
So let’s backtrack and put some story along with this. If you don’t know this already, I have the Another Perfect Day album cover tattooed on my back…my whole back. 88 hours worth of tattoo work. No regrets! I’ve met Lemmy a few times but not since getting my backpiece done. I was hoping last night would be the night. Just wanted a picture of him with my tattoo. Didn’t happen. No big deal, I can live with that. Like I said, met him a few times and always a good experience.
So my guitar player, Doug Morrison, (Turbin, Waysted) and the drummer of Reverend Horton Heat have been close friends since the late 70s and with the Rev on this tour, we got the hookup. Doug and I get there early and have dinner with Paul Simmons (drummer for the Rev) and some of the roadcrew guys from Rev Heat and Motorhead. The guy sitting next to me was pretty special though. It was Hobbs! Hobbs has been with the band for almost 30 years and is mentioned in the song Going to Brazil. I think he may even be the one who screams on We Are The Roadcrew from No Sleep Till Hammersmith. Not important. Hobbs! Talk about a weathered old British soul. He was extremely polite in a typical British sort of way yet as foul mouthed as an old Greek sea captain. He was awesome! Hobbs!
After dinner we headed backstage. Nashville Pussy was setting up their gear and there it was…Lemmy’s bass rack. From a distance I snap a picture and Paul says, “Come on, man. Step over here and get a real look at them.” His beautiful Rickenbacker 4004LK and one of his old Rics with the original hand-carved oak leaves. I got to hold history in my hands! And I couldn’t believe how high the action was on those. Seemingly about 3/8″ off of the fretboard.
So after hyperventilating over that a bit, we all just hung out backstage while Nashville Pussy played. I’ve never been a fan so I had no interest in seeing them. Paul was telling the Motorhead roadcrew guys about my backpiece and they flipped out over it. “Lemmy needs to see this!” Yes sir, I agree!
NP finishes their set and Paul had to get prepared for the Reverend Horton Heat set. Doug and I stayed backstage a little longer. Matt Sorum, (GnR, The Cult, Velvet Revolver) came in and said hi. I mentioned that I had just seen his episode of the Dog Whisperer. “Did Ace and I look like total idiots?” No man, you guys were fine, no worries. Apparently he hadn’t seen it yet. The dude is a class act even if I never cared for his other bands.
So after that, Doug and I just went out in to the crowd to watch the Rev’s set. As always, they were tight. The Rev works the crowd very well. I opened for them back in like 93 or 94 and he’s still the same old cool laid back guy.
The gig was at Stubb’s in Austin, TX. It’s an amphitheater type set up. I’ve never really cared for it all that much. Too narrow and when it gets packed it’s difficult to get around. So we hung out towards the back. Run into several friends, of course. Ran into my other guitarist, Jason McMaster (Broken Teeth, Watchtower, Dangerous Toys) and he says, “Hey man! You need to meet an old friend of mine, Craig Behrhorst.” I said, “From Ruffians?” Craig said, “How did you know that?” Sir, I am an 80s metal nerd. Plain and simple. Turned out that Doug knew him as well. I guess Craig’s sister used to hang out with Doug and his friends back in the old Sunset Strip days. I also ran into Art Villareal and Bob Catlin, both of SA SLayer/Juggernaut fame. They are both in Martyhead, a Motorhead tribute from San Antonio. Of course I have a Motorhead tribute here in town called Capricorn USA. That’s the band with Doug and Jason.
Whatever, you don’t care. You want to know about the Motorhead show!
Light’s go down and they open with Iron Fist. Sweet! I love that song. But I swear it sounded a little slower than album speed. Stay Clean was next. Same thing. The band was tight. Sorum held his own pretty well for the whole night but they really seemed lifeless to me. Everything seemed slow. To be honest I was bored until mid-set when they played a few tracks from Another Perfect Day. Matt’s drumming on everything was pretty good. Who knew the guy could play double bass? But then, they played Ace of Spades. Of course everyone knows that songs and the drunks in the crowd and the kids who only know it from Guitar Hero were freaking out. Matt’s drumming killed it. His bass drum pattern was all wrong. It put the song in a weird dynamic. I recently saw a vid from one of the shows a few weeks ago with him and it was the same thing. I hate to say it (again), but I was so bored for most of their show. They were missing a key element to their modern sound…MIKKEY DEE.
Mikkey’s a phenomenal drummer. I’ve known it since I first heard King Diamond’s Abigail and got to experience his playing live on the Them tour. Mikkey was the main reason why I ever went to see Motorhead the very first time in 1993. I wasn’t into them at all at that point and oddly enough I don’t like but a handful of songs from his era. But the live show with him is intense. If you’ve seen him play, you get it. He’s a monster. And with Motorhead, he certainly tightened them up. They were always fast, vicious. “We may not be the best band in the world, but we’re certainly the fastest” Lemmy said years and years ago on their famous No Sleep TIll Hammersmith album.
Last night they weren’t fast. There was just no electricity. Sometimes I think I am just getting old and crotchety. I do tend to get hyper-critical when it comes to live shows, but I’ve always been that way. I can never just sit back and enjoy it, I always have to dissect it. Oh well. My problem, not yours, eh?
The setlist was pretty good overall, it was just the feel and the pace of the songs that got to me. Most people I know loved it and I am glad they had a good time. I did too, actually. I got to see some people I hadn’t seen in a while and got to meet a few new folks.
Setlist:
Iron Fist
Stay Clean
Be My Baby
Rock Out
Metropolis
Over the Top
One Night Stand
I Got Mine
The Thousand Names of God
Another Perfect Day
In the Name of Tragedy
Just ‘Cos You Got the Power
Going to Brazil
Killed by Death
Bomber
Whorehouse Blues
Ace of Spades
Overkill
Sure Lem’s in his 60s now and not everyone can do it like they used to. No matter the performance from last night, I’ll always go see them. It’s Motorhead!
He said something last night that I heard him say the previous 2 times I saw them, “Don’t forget us.”
That line saddens me.
After all, who ever could?
The Big 4 Tour? Blech!
Seriously? There’s all this talk about Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax doing a tour together. I wouldn’t go no 
matter how “legendary” it might be. Let’s just face facts here (my facts!): Metallica hasn’t put out anything worth listening to since maybe And Justice for all. Slayer hasn’t released anything decent since Seasons in the Abyss. Anthrax was lifeless after State of Euphoria. Megadeth has made a good run of it in the last 5 years, but they wouldn’t be enough for me to want to see the other bands. I believe they are coming near here with Slayer in a few months. I’ll likely go and leave before Slayer comes on, just like I did last year when Judas Priest came on, I was out of there.
Now on the marketing side of this, it would be ideal if all of the egos could work it out. Every band would stand to make a lot of money…mainly by having Metallica on the bill. They sell out everywhere they play (insert easy joke here!). Money wise it’s a no brainer as long as these bands don’t actually have to speak to each other.
There are certainly other thrash bands I’d much rather see than these.
Sometimes I really miss the old days.
The Metal Files 
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