Archive for April 2012
RIP Greg Ham
I’m a huge Men at Work fan and have been since their first album. Read about it here and of my encounter with Greg in 1999.
Some upcoming shows
Paco de Lucia – I’m overly excited to see this legend up close
Arch/Matheos – flying to Connecticut for this one. I still need to sell my Overkill ticket since the Arch show takes precedence
Bible of the Devil/Broken Teeth – 2 of my favorite live bands together!
Scorpions/Tesla – Don’t really care about Tesla, but the Scorpios always rock
Megadeth/Warlock/Sanctuary April 9, 1988
I’ve mentioned this show a few times on this site. It was a pretty important show for me; not just because Megadeth was on the 
bill but it also included Warlock and Sanctuary. Both bands were two of my favorites at the time (and now too!). I was in my senior year of high school and if it wasn’t for playing drums and listening to metal, not sure how things would have turned out. Both of those things kept me grounded and focused…well, as focused as most 18 year olds I guess. Megadeth was supporting So Far…So Good, Warlock supporting Triumph and Agony and Sanctuary supporting Refuge Denied. Oh my!
Check out my 2 previous related posts:
This show was awesome, too bad the openers didn’t play longer. See the setlists below.
Megadeth/Overkill May 23, 1987
One of the greatest concerts I have ever seen. Megadeth on the Peace Sells tour and Overkill on the Taking Over tour. Holy crap. This actual date was the night of my junior prom. I had a date set up and was set to take her to the prom…then this show got announced and I had to cancel. I mean c’mon. Megadeth & Overkill! I hope she wasn’t too disappointed. Probably not.
When I met Mustaine in the summer of 2006, I told him that above story. His reply was classic. “Don’t use my concert as an excuse for you not being able to get a date, dude!” haha. Nice one, Dave.
The concert was incredible. Period. Awesome setlists!
Ignitor – Year of the Metal Tiger (2012) Review
Ignitor is a traditional US metal band fronted by the legendary Jason McMaster and has Stuart “Batlord” Laurence from Agony Column 
as its main songwriter and guitarist. They’ve been around since 2003 and Jason’s been with them since about 2008 and recorded their Spider Queen album.
Just recently they’ve released Year of the Metal Tiger (YOTMT). I like this album far better than Spider Queen which was a little too dramatic for my tastes, even though the music fit the storyline perfectly. YOTMT is heavy, the way it should be. Other than the track We Are Ignitor, I think the album is quite enjoyable, especially the tracks Shadow of the Needle, The Kaiser and Island of the Damned.
McMaster is using a lot of his mid-range vocal style and it sounds great, really makes the album for me.
I can easily give this album 7.5/10. The production is crisp and the bass is very prominent. You’ll likely have to adjust the EQ to accommodate it.
Recommended.
Militia – Strength and Honor (2012) Review
Militia just released an album of all new material a few weeks ago. Yes. Militia. You know, Militia from Austin, Texas that’s been around since forever.
Before moving here I didn’t know who they were although I had heard their singer on the track Dangerous Toy by Watchtower as Mike 
Soliz was the interim singer between Jason McMaster and Alan Tecchio. It wasn’t until I moved here that I ended up meeting Mike and subsequently the rest of the band as they were doing some reunion shows. The original pressing of their EP The Sybling has fetch a few thousand dollars on eBay. Cult classic to say the least.
I was excited a year or so ago when they decided to start writing for a new album. I love all of the old Militia stuff and the other stuff that Mike has been involved in (Assalant and Oblivion Knight) so I was surely excited to hear some new product.
Strength and Honor is a self-engineered and self-produced record by he boys and because of logistics, Mike also played the drums. I got my copy on Monday and on my drive to Dallas yesterday I gave it several good listens. It’s fantastic. Really. Front to back the album flows well and I think the track order is perfect. Mike’s vocals are still superb. He’s taken good care of it over the years. Mike is also an underrated drummer. I was pleasantly surprised by his drum work on the album. The riffs and solos by Tony and Jesse are really quality and as always, Robert’s bass work is top-notch.
The songs that really stand out for me are Before The Fall, We Need A New Enemy, And The Gods Made War and The Judas Dream.
Now, I only have one complaint and that’s in the production. It’s a bit rough but it’s not un-listenable. To be honest, it almost gives it more of an 80s metal feel to it. The production value doesn’t detract from the quality songwriting, though. This album has it all and I highly recommend it to any who is a fan of 80s underground power thrash. You can get the CD directly from the band HERE.
9.5/10
Thrash to destroy!
