Metallica
Welcome to a Monday. Maybe you’re recovering from the Super Bowl fun yesterday. Broncos fans can celebrate and Panthers fans can take out their aggression with a replay of the pre-Super Bowl Metallica concert. Click Here to watch. METAL SHOP’s Ralph Cartel attended the show in San Francisco Saturday night. He noted “Metallica was on point tonight!!!
Many of us would have loved to see Metallica play the halftime show yesterday or AC/DC or Black Sabbath, both touring the West Coast U.S.A. right now, but realistically, we know that will most likely never happen. Instead we got Coldplay, Beyonce and Bruno Mars.
One person who was not a fan of the halftime show was Motley Crue’s Vince Neil, who tweeted, “WOW!! #coldplay worst LIP SINK performance I’ve EVER seen!!!” Perhaps to Neil’s chagrin, many of his followers were only too willing to offer their own unvarnished opinions regarding his own prowess as a live performer. His tweet received no shortage of responses, many of which pointed out Neil’s tendency to rely on the audience for vocals during shows — as well as his unfortunate misspelling of “lip sync,” which he quickly and colorfully blamed on his phone’s spell check function.
Maybe Vince Neil will be in a better mood today as he celebrates his 55th birthday. Happy birthday to the (now retired) voice of the Crue.
On this day in 1980, IRON MAIDEN released their debut single “Running Free.” It was written by Steve Harris and Paul Di’Anno. In 1985, a live version of the song was released as the first single from ‘Live After Death.’ According to Di’Anno, who wrote the song’s lyrics, it is “a very autobiographical song, though of course I’ve never spent the night in an LA jail. It’s about being 16 and, like it says, just running wild and running free. It comes from my days as a skinhead.”
METAL SHOP experienced some technical issues over the weekend. Sorry for the inconvenience. But we are back full strength today with Kick Ass 80’s Metal for your listening pleasure.
Have a super week.
Who Are The Top 20 Metal Bands Of All Time?
Depends who you ask and how they define who is metal or just hard rock. For example, many agree that Metalica, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest are metal, but KISS, AC/DC and Guns N’ Roses are not metal.
That is how the authors of the new book ‘The Merciless Book of Metal Lists‘ see it in one of several indexes they compiled for this release set for April 9, 2013 by Abrams Image.
Howie Abrams and Sacha Jenkins’ book features numerous compilations of bests (songs, guitarists, album covers featuring goats) and worsts (embarrassing metal videos, metal fashion faux pas’).
80’s metal fans will also surely appreciate unconventional lists such as: ’10 Reasons Why EVERYONE Loves Slayer’s ‘Reign In Blood” and ’10 Accomplishments Iron Maiden Would Never Have Achieved had Paul Di’Anno Remained Their Singer’.
One of the lists sure to spark some debate is ’20 of the Greatest Metal Voices.’ They nailed the top three (my opinion) and Queensryche’s Geoff Tate certainly deserves a top five appearance:
1. Ronnie James Dio (Black Sabbath, Dio)
2. Rob Halford (Judas Priest)
3. Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden)
4. Eric Adams (Manowar)
5. Geoff Tate (Queensrÿche)
6. King Diamond (Mercyful Fate, King Diamond)
7. Tom Araya (Slayer)
8. John Bush (Armored Saint/Anthrax)
9. James Hetfield (Metallica)
10. Max Cavalera (Sepultura, Soulfly)
In an interview with the New York Times, Abrams said Dio was the unanimous choice for the top spot because he had a virtuosity that set him far apart from other top metal vocalists.
“If he needed to apply darkness, he could do it,” said Abrams. “If he needed to belt and go to a higher range, he could. He replaced Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath, and I’m not sure there was a taller task for a vocalist. He did it with ease and grace, and he may have improved on what Oz did in the first place.”
‘The Merciless Book of Metal Lists’ is a fun read. I especially enjoyed viewing the artwork from ‘200 Embarrassingly Bad Album Covers’… Anthrax took the top two spots with ‘State of Euphoria’ and number one ‘Fistful of Metal.’
Emerging from the blues and psychedelic rock of the 1960s and ’70s, heavy metal has been a driving force in music for nearly 50 years — known for its massive sound, extended guitar solos, and unrelenting intensity.
Despite being critically reviled throughout its history, metal has stood the test of time with bands such as Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Mötley Crüe achieving legendary status, unfathomable wealth and exerting a profound influence on generations of musicians and fans. Unlike many forms of popular music, whose followers are fickle and transitory, metalheads tend to embrace their favorite bands and follow them over decades. Metal is not only a pastime — it’s a lifestyle.
Written by veteran rock journalists Jon Wiederhorn and Katherine Turman, “Louder Than Hell: The Definitive Oral History Of Metal” (It Books; May 14, 2013; Hardcover; $32.50) was assembled from more than 300 interviews with members of Metallica, Megadeth, Pantera, Van Halen and many others, conducted over a 25-year span. Turman and Wiederhorn dug deep into their extensive list of contacts to uncover never- before-heard stories, eye-opening admissions and the truth behind metal’s most explosive legends. With an introduction by Scott Ian of Anthrax and an afterword by Rob Halford of Judas Priest, this is the book metal fans have been waiting for.
Icons of the genre offer candid and confessional commentary, including: Ronnie James Dio, Ozzy Osbourne, Bruce Dickinson, Eddie Van Halen, Vince Neil, Tommy Lee, Lita Ford, Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Axl Rose, Slash, Dave Mustaine, King Diamond, Kerry King, Philip Anselmo and more. The many musicians interviewed offer their take on their influences, touring, the music business and songwriting, as well as their often-traumatic upbringings, battles with substance abuse and bizarre sexual exploits. Industry insiders (including managers, record label executives, family members, friends, scenesters, groupies, journalists and porn stars) provide additional insight.
“Louder Than Hell: The Definitive Oral History Of Metal” explores the transformation of metal culture, with stories and anecdotes straight from the mouths of the most infamous and successful bands. Filled with hundreds of revealing interviews representing every type and era of heavy metal — from metal progenitors such as Blue Cheer, Led Zeppelin, and the MC5 to current day innovators — “Louder Than Hell” is the ultimate look behind the curtain at one of our most dynamic, controversial and enduring musical genres.
Alice Cooper: “This is the book every metal fan should own. A fascinating high-octane chronicle of metal mayhem that takes readers on a wild ride, from metal’s earliest days to the headbanging present. I’m not saying this just because I’m in the book, but . . . if you love metal, great stories, and music history told by the people who made it, then ‘Louder Than Hell’ is a must-read.”
Blabbermouth.net: Bob Nalbandian, founder and publisher of the esteemed early ’80s heavy metal music fanzine The Headbanger, has struck a deal with Tokyo-based company Japanime Publishing to release all 11 issues of the Xeroxed ‘zine as ebooks. Never before has the fanzine — which featured early interviews of local and international heavy metal bands, including the very first profiles of then-unsigned Los Angeles bands METALLICA, SLAYER and MEGADETH — been available for mass distribution until now.
The first ebook will include an all-new introduction and reminiscence by Nalbandian, along with the entire contents of The Headbanger issue #1, which was released in May/June 1982. The issue features now-legendary all-female New Wave Of British Heavy Metal band GIRLSCHOOL on its cover and a review of the group’s debut U.S. show at the Whisky on April 25, 1982; colorful recaps of live performances by then-local L.A. bands RATT and STEELER; and no-holds-barred commentary on “new” albums by MOTÖRHEAD, IRON MAIDEN, RAINBOW, and the first “Metal Massacre” compilation. As a bonus, the ebook also includes the original full-page “Los Angeles Metal Report” that Nalbandian and his Huntington Beach metal comrade Pat Scott wrote for the March 1982 issue of Ron Quintana’s nationally distributed fanzine Metal Mania. It was through this “Report” that headbangers living beyond the smog of the Sunset Strip were to read the first words ever published about a then-unknown Orange County/L.A. garage band … named METALLICA!
Issue #1 of The Headbanger is now available worldwide in the Apple iBookstore and the Amazon Kindle store.
Just in time for the holidays, Metallica will release a new double DVD & Blu-ray called “Quebec Magnetic” through the band’s newly launched Blackened Recordings label (12/10/12). The video was shot by renowned director Wayne Isham during a two-night stand in October of 2009 in Quebec City, Canada. Check out performance clips of ‘Master of Puppets’, ‘The Four Horseman’ and ‘Damage, Inc’ below.
“Quebec Magnetic” features over 3 hours of concert footage and a bonus disc that includes exciting behind the scenes interviews with the band and their fans. “We just played two really phenomenal shows. They were outrageously great and the audience was great and we had a bunch of people filming it,” METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett told Billboard.com. “We felt like we’re really doing a disservice just sitting on this great live footage, so we decided to put it out.”
“Quebec Magnetic” track listing:
- That Was Just Your Life
- The End Of The Line
- The Four Horsemen
- The Shortest Straw
- One
- Broken, Beat & Scarred
- My Apocalypse
- Sad But True
- Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
- The Judas Kiss
- The Day That Never Comes
- Master Of Puppets
- Battery
- Nothing Else Matters
- Enter Sandman
- Killing Time
- Whiplash
- Seek & Destroy
- For Whom The Bell Tolls (Bonus)
- Holier Than Thou (Bonus)
- Cyanide (Bonus)
- Turn The Page (Bonus)
- All Nightmare Long (Bonus)
- Damage, Inc. (Bonus)
Noisecreep: Among the many mighty metal milestones of 2012, the 30th birthday of Metal Blade Records stands as an amazing testament to the strength of metal devotion. Label founder Brian Slagel became a businessman almost by accident. He was a die-hard fan first, and editor of the fanzine New Heavy Metal Revue. Scraping together funding from money he saved while working at Sears, and a loan from his aunt, Slagel in 1982 created Metal Massacre, a Southern California-centered compilation to answer the countless label showcase collections of Britain’s NWOBHM.
From that first release, which introduced the world to Metallica and Ratt, Metal Blade Records was born. Over most of the next decade, the next installments of the Metal Massacre compilation series unveiled some of the greatest names in metal, including Slayer, Trouble, Voivod, Fates Warning, and Hellhammer.
METALLICA: The band that had the least going for it at the time of this record’s release has gone onto become the biggest rock band in the world. When Mötley Crüe bailed on Slagel’s compilation project, he offered his tape trader pal Lars Ulrich the slot if he could scrape together a band in time. Ulrich persuaded James Hetfield to join him, and for the initial release, Jamaican guitarist Lloyd Grant appeared as a guest soloist patched into the mix to play the leads. Future pressings included a different recording of the song with Dave Mustaine handling the trademark over-the-top trills.
RATT: A much more typical Southern California metal act than Metallica, Ratt were San Diego transplants to the Sunset Strip. Awestruck by Van Halen but chained down with a lean and relentlessly melodic double-guitar sound, Ratt cruised through a string of multi-platinum, platinum, and gold records and remain a musical and commercial highlight of the glam metal era.
ARMORED SAINT: Like many bands on the L.A. club circuit, Armored Saint relied heavily on image, but their studded leather armor was a far cry from the spandex and mascara of Mötley Crüe. Singer John Bush was openly courted by young Metallica, but he refused to leave his boyhood pals in this band. After Armored Saint’s early record deal with Chrysalis Records went South, Bush joined Anthrax for over a decade, and has since returned to his original armored homies.
This is a fascinating read. Check out more reviews of those auspicious debuts, in honor of three decades of Metal Blade, plus hear audio from these early recordings at Noisecreep.com.
You can take the man away from the metal, but you can’t take the metal out of the man.
Former Metallica Bassist Jason Newsted sustained neck and back injuries from banging his head every night onstage which contributed to his decision to leave the band.
But after a 12-year hiatus, Newsted plans to release new music. He was interviewed last week on Eddie Trunk’s “Friday Night Rocks” on New York’s Q104.3 FM:
“If you go back and look at those videos, like any of the live videos and stuff, oh my God — there’s no wonder that it’s the way it is; there’s definitely some serious degeneration that’s taken place in my vertebrae. I don’t know how many people spun their head like that that early in the progress of all this. I’m not gonna take the blame or the credit for anybody doing it anymore these days, but I know I did my share. I’ve had three shoulder surgeries and going back and forth with them, kind of to fix everything up, so I’ve been in rehab for many, many years trying to get everything back together. So I’m a lot better than I was for the last, probably six or seven years, I’m a lot stronger. I’ve always retained my same fighting weight, I’ve kept myself fit in that way, so that’s all cool. And I’m pretty close to the monster, and I think if I work on it a little bit, I can be the monster again.”
Rolling Stone: Metal fans are a very passionate bunch. They’re also very opinionated, so when we asked them to vote for their favorite metal albums we expected a huge response. We also expected a big debate about the very definition of “heavy metal.” Some metal fans say that groups like Led Zeppelin and Guns N’ Roses are metal. Others think that’s completely insane. We aren’t here to settle these debates. We’re merely here to count the votes.
- Metallica – ‘Master of Puppets’
- Black Sabbath – ‘Paranoid’
- Black Sabbath – ‘Black Sabbath’
- Iron Maiden – ‘The Number of the Beast’
- Metallica – ‘. . . And Justice for All’
- Slayer – ‘Reign In Blood’
- Guns N’ Roses – ‘Appetite for Destruction’
- Metallica – ‘Metallica’ (The Black Album)
- Led Zeppelin – ‘Led Zeppelin II’
- Metallica – ‘Ride the Lightning’
October, 1981: James Hetfield responds to a classified ad in Los Angeles placed by drummer Lars Ulrich and METALLICA is officially formed. There was a beginning and the first 10 years featured some of the greatest rock music ever recorded.
As the band starts their fourth decade, there isn’t one person on planet Earth who hasn’t heard of METALLICA as they have become the 7th biggest selling musical act in American history.
With their accomplishments noted, the accolades are rightfully coming their way, but in the end all that matters is the music. In honor of METALLICA turning 30, Guitar World Magazine polled their readers for the ’30 Greatest Metallica Songs of All Time.’
It is certainly no surprise that the top 10 on this list and 23 of 30 tracks were all created and released in the 80’s on METALLICA’s first four albums. However, it is amazing when you consider these songs were exposed primarily through word-of-mouth, receiving zero radio airplay until the 90’s after the release of the Black Album.
- 30. Leper Messiah
- 29. Dyers Eve
- 28. Motorbreath
- 27. The Thing That Should Not Be
- 26. Orion
- 25. King Nothing
- 24. Am I Evil?
- 23. Hit the Lights
- 22. All Nightmare Long
- 21. Damage, Inc.
- 20. Whiskey in the Jar
- 19. Fight Fire with Fire
- 18. The Unforgiven
- 17. Sad but True
- 16. Harvester of Sorrow
- 15. …And Justice for All
- 14. Disposable Heroes
- 13. Ride the Lightning
- 12. The Four Horsemen
- 11. Enter Sandman
- 10. Blackened
- 09. Nothing Else Matters
- 08. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
- 07. Battery
- 06. For Whom the Bell Tolls
- 05. Seek & Destroy
- 04. Creeping Death
- 03. One
- 02. Fade to Black
- 01. Master of Puppets
Season 8 of ‘That Metal Show’ started taping this week in Los Angeles, California and METAL SHOP Rocks was invited to attend the opener by our friends at VH1 Classic.
On July 26th, we made our way to the studio to see Lars Ulrich (Metallica) and Sammy Hagar (Chicken Foot/Van Halen) discuss many topics with host Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jameson. Special guest guitar master was none other than Alex Skolnick (Testament).
As the show was being recorded, a few other surprise guests showed up to play ‘Stump the Trunk.’ The questions were asked by Chris Jericho (Fozzy), Chip Znuff (Enuff Z’Nuff) and Steven Adler (Guns N’ Roses).
METAL SHOP will also be attending the final taping of the season. Scheduled guests are Scott Ian and Charlie Benante from Anthrax, so stay tuned… here are a few photos I was able to snap of the show.
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