So, I’ve been playing this recently and I really like it. There’s a particular level of noise and industry to it. This is an album well worth getting [if you like industrial metal and hate Bush Jr].
Ride The Lightning – Metallica
Writing this in the middle of a spell of self-isolation is strange. I’m not sure if I’m going to write a communication covering what I think of the current Covid-19 nightmare we seem to be in. I’ve started writing something, not sure it’ll be coherent at all. Anyway, back to what I think about Ride The Lightning.
This album is a MONSTER. It’s raw and powerful.
- Fight Fire With Fire – amazing opening track Lovely.
- Ride The Lightning – possibly about being electrocuted in the chair. I don’t know, I don’t listen to lyrics.
- For Whom The Bell Tolls – look, it has a bass guitar melody. What more do you need. Brilliant song.
- Fade To Black – what all the latter Metallica songs are based on and they can fuck off. This is an amazing song.
- Trapped Under Ice – freezing. Dying. Horror.
- Escape – Possibly the least interesting song on here. But it’s still good.
- Creeping Death – Jesus, this is an amazing song. One of the times I saw Metallica they opened with this and it is a stunning song. Die, Die, Die, Die, Die.
- The Call Of Ktulu – an instrumental. Still great. SR was playing this once on the balcony of her holiday apartment in the Canary’s and it got strange looks. I don’t know why it’s genius.
This is an amazing album and it has that power to keep being great all this time later. I won’t pass on any of these songs when they crop up.
Revelations – Audioslave
This is the third album by supergroup Audioslave that I have reviewed here. The other two can be found by searching but they cover Audioslave and Out Of Exile. This is another excellent album. I don’t know how they do it but Audioslave have managed to write three excellent albums.
I do consider these albums good dinner music. I think they would be suitable to play while having dinner with a group of friends. Now, I do suspect that I’m wrong about this because I know that my tastes don’t really match up to normal. For instance, yesterday, I was at one of those large indoor play parks and they were playing music, probably to cover up the sound of the screaming. I will admit that the music was all quite fun, disco hits from the 70s and a few modern hits but mostly it was unoffensive and quite boring. Everyone should be pushing the boundaries. I do feel sorry for my kids sometimes; who else has a dad who plays Grausame Töchter regularly in the car rather than Heart and similar bullshit.
P-Orridge
Genesis Breyer P-Orridge has died. I don’t often write about particular deaths on here because when you read those pieces it’s more of a shout by the writer about themselves rather than the person. This is going to be like that. I pretend it’s about Genesis Breyer P-Orridge but in reality I write about me.
I first came across Throbbing Gristle in the early 2000s. A friend talked about them and I was curious. So, I have some of their music. I listened to it. It hurt. But I liked just how different it was. Then I heard about COUM Transmissions and the ICA installation called Prostitution. When I read descriptions of that show I was fascinated and amazed at the same time. The undercurrents of sedition were real and the establishment didn’t like any of it. I do believe we can thank those early artists who “rebelled” for our liberties today. They planted the seed. The mold breakers have been there in most ages and they push the boundaries allowing people to feel more normal.
The ninety eight percent of you out there who fit the norm of our current society never have anything to fear except your normality being threatened. What you don’t realise is that the other two percent don’t share your views and want to be different and want to feel comfortable in their own skin. Those people with different feelings and needs should be listened to. They should be allowed to exist and feel normal because that is a basic human right.
Genesis Breyer P-Orridge kept pushing those boundaries to the end. I am sad they have died. I am also sad that as I grow older more of those who influenced me die. It’s inevitable and a reminder that one day I too will cease to exist.
Long live the boundary pushers, for the sake of all of us.
Reunion – Black Sabbath
There’s something about buying up classic artists and music by those bands who influenced you. Black Sabbath are, really obviously, such a major influence on everything that it’s important to know the history.
I saw a Black Sabbath cover band at a venue in Gillingham, the name of which escapes me and I will enter it here [] once I remember. I wasn’t really expecting much other than an enjoyable evening, this was likely somewhere around 2004. I had too much beer and might have felt a little rough but the main memory of that evening was just how heavy Black Sabbath’s music was. It was slow and hard with excellent grinding riffs. Far better than listening to them on tapes from the mid eighties.
I’ve probably only listened to this album twice or so. I can’t remember much about it. It’s probably really good.
Resident Evil – Various Artists
I’m not sure which came first. Did I see the film and then decide that the music was pretty good or did I take a punt on the album anyway? Given the film was 2002 and I haven’t looked around a record store since the mid nineties I suspect I went to see the film and decided the music had earned the chance of my attention. I can still remember one part of the film where I said to LB that the dead person’s eyes were about to open but she still shouted “fuck me” in the cinema. Forewarned isn’t always forearmed.
This album reinforced my liking of quite a few bands including Slipknot, Marilyn Manson, Fear Factory, Rammstein, and Coal Chamber are on there but the rest of their stuff doesn’t do it for me.
If you want dirty metal and an excellent collection of songs to make your head hurt then get this album. It gets a full recommendation from me.
You’re all going to die down here.
Data.
Reise, Reise – Rammstein
Looking through all the “R” albums I can see some amazing things in there. Reise, Reise is one of those good ones. It must be because it’s by Rammstein and they haven’t written a thing I don’t like. They are proper music gods. There’s a gorgeous sound with Rammstein that works so well. It’s an excellent mix of ragingly heavy guitars with rolling bass lines and keyboard work that just fits. Go and buy anything by them.
- Reise, Reise – sends shivers down my spine and is beautifully written.
- Mein Teil – A good one to shout out.
- Dalai Lama – A nice slow heavy riff with a bouncy beat. It might be about that dude, it might not. I’m not really into ly
- Keine Lust – Oh gosh. Go and see the video for this one. It’s fantastic. There’s a brilliance associated with Rammstein songs that blow me away. This is a great song.
- Los – A nice and gentle song with a rolling bass riff and gorgeous high pitched melody thing.
- Amerika – A cash cow.
- Moskau – I think this has some Russian people on it. Maybe from Pussy Riot. I don’t know what it’s about but I don’t think you can sing about Moscow and be praising of the regime. Maybe it’s positive about the population there. It’s an OK song.
- Morgenstern – Choral opening. A great start-stop riff to beat you up. Once the beat and riff goes continuous it’s glorious.
- Stein Um Stein – starts quietly but will blat you in the face.
- Ohne Dich – get those lighters in the air. It’s a lovely song.
- Amour – Deep voiced love story??
I love Rammstein and all their music is beautiful. Everyone should get these albums.
It’s Just Like Exercise
I wrote recently about a damn good gig that I went to, Aesthetic Perfection, at the Lounge 666 or whatever it’s called. Because technology is so wonderful and lovely I can now show you a graph of my heart rate throughout that day.
There are three main aspects to this graph to chat about. The first is that low bit at the beginning. It’s me asleep. I’d have to compare it to my REM patterns to know what the little blips are in that section. Then, there’s me waking up at the little alarm clock symbol. The running man symbol is where I went for a run and the break in the graph is where I took my watch off for a shower. The low level preceding the first grey man is me driving my car into London for the show. The peak at the first grey man is me walking from where I parked the car to the venue. The next big dip is me eating food and so sitting down. Then, the bouncy bit is me bouncing at the concert.
The second grey man is me walking back to the car from the concert and then my watch thought I had fallen asleep because there’s a “Zzz” symbol. In reality that we me driving home from London and my heartrate stabilised because I wasn’t doing much. You can see that this resting heart rate is still higher than my normal sleeping rate. Finally the small peak just before the end is me walking from where I had to park the car in my village to my house.
This level of detail is pretty cool but I do wonder if it’s worth knowing? All that extra data I have about everything I do but does it change my life? I don’t know.
Reign In Blood – Slayer
So, I bought this album quite a while after getting Decade Of Aggression which is possibly the only Slayer album you need. I can imagine how, back in the eighties, this album would’ve scared the shit out of adults. It’s heavy, gross, disgusting and amazing.
- Angel Of Death – a song about Mengele and the shit he did during the second world war. Look, the whole point of metal is to shock and make you think. This song is gross but amazing at the same time. It doesn’t celebrate gore it brings that knowledge to a wider world. This song creates pacifists.
- Altar Of Sacrifice – Amazing and heavy.
- Jesus Saves – that opening riff is heavy as hell.
- Criminally Insane – more heavy stuff and a great opening.
- Postmortem – amazing. Such a heavy riff and masterfully blends into the next song.
- Raining Blood – awesome. Can you see what they did with the title of the album and the name of this song? Clever eh?
If you want to seriously damage all your body then get this album playing at full volume and let it assault you.
Aesthetic Perfection – The Lounge, Archway
Took my lovely niece and Smith to see Aesthetic Perfection last night at The Lounge 666 or whatever it’s called near Archway tube in London. Before the show we were just about to go to get food when I checked where the venue was and spotted Daniel Graves on his way out of the venue. I, very politely, asked if he would meet my niece because she loves him. I think I even used the phrase “I don’t mean to impose but would you mind . . . .”, jesus, what a british twat I can be. Anyway, he came over and met my niece and they had a photo taken. She was very happy.
The first band we saw, but second on the bill, was Jadu. Biomechanimal were on first but we missed them. That’s not a bad thing, we’ve seen them before a few times. Jadu are a German band who I quite enjoyed. There were four of them, a female singer and a drummer, guitarist and keyboard person. It was quite slow stuff but perfectly good. I quite enjoyed it. I did note that the sound of the kick drum was pretty good and didn’t over power the rest of the sound. I’m probably going to get a Jadu album, it was good enough for that.
Shortly after that Aesthetic Perfection came on stage and this is now the about 9th time I have seen Joe Letz. This makes him the artist I have seen most. I don’t mind. His on stage persona is brilliant and I enjoy his antics.
Aesthetic Perfection put on an amazing show. It was probably the best I have seen them and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The crowd was nice and pleasant. Even the six foot six female pair allowed those of us shorted than them in front. I spent the whole gig about three rows back from the front, which didn’t even have a barrier.
The band played for a decent length of time and I have to say I enjoyed it all. There was a moment when Joe Letz tapped Daniel in the penis and it was pretty funny. There’s a good camaraderie between them all. It’s nice to see a theremin being used at a concert, they’ve probably used them before I just didn’t notice it.
This was a bloody good gig. Probably the best I have seen them and I really enjoyed it. My niece managed to sweet talk one of the roadies and got a Joe Letz drum stick at the end of the gig. This will now go with her stick from a Combichrist gig a few years back. I am a little jealous.
Well done AP and I look forward to seeing you again sometime soon.
Ready For This – Tim Minchin
This is a live album by the Australian musician Tim Minchin. I remember first seeing him on Channel 4 when I thought I was about to watch a stand up show and it turned out to be some guy not wearing shoes and playing music. It was funny and skeptical, I loved it. Tim Minchin is one of those people on the right side of stuff. He’s a science based comedian who speaks the truth about boobs. You definitely need to listen to any of his stuff.
I would recommend this album as it’s a good introduction to his music. The album does contain the song “White Wine In The Sun” which is guaranteed to make me cry. I have bought it as a single but I haven’t played. Minchin releases this song every christmas and the money raised goes to charity. Not only is he a brilliant song writer he is also an actor.
STORM
You need to listen to Minchin’s song called Storm. It might be nine minutes long but it is also brilliant. A discussion of evidence based science, relationships, and dinner etiquette. There’s a YouTube version that I show all my leaving classes in their last lesson. I’m trying to change the world a small bit at a time. Getting people to realise that humans are subject to so many biases. We need to work to overcome those biases and science is the best way to do that.
Cardinal Pell
Tim Minchin has also written a song called Come Home (Cardinal Pell). It’s not on this album but deserves a mention anyway. It concerns the terrible story of child rape in the catholic church and their systematic attempts to cover it up and protect those who are guilty of child sexual abuse. Cardinal Pell had claimed that he was too unwell to fly home to Australia to face criminal charges concerning child abuse. He has since faced trial and he is now in jail after being found guilty.
The systematic covering up and protection of child rapists by the catholic church is a heinous crime for which they deserve to crash into nothingness. I don’t care overly that they are wrong about god. But the whole system has been protecting child rapists for the last very many years and they need to fall. No, I’m not exaggerating. If you want to know why all the churches are closing and there are money worries in the church it’s because of the fucking money they are paying out [quite rightly] to all the victims of paedophiles that they are sheltering.
Just one US state, Pennsylvania, held a grand jury investigation of child abuse by the catholic church. IN THAT ONE STATE they found that 301 priests were sexually abusing 1000 children and were shuffled around in that area to save them being caught. It’s likely still going on and isn’t history. Fuck that organisation.
It’s not just the catholic church. Every organisation that runs has issues with sexual abuse. Every organisation that works with children has issues with child abuse. Those other organisations have done what they can to prevent it. It’s probably impossible to eliminate it but you don’t want to protect those fuckers. You have to have security procedures in place to minimise the risk. The catholic church has ACTIVELY covered up all the abuse. That church needs to die. Don’t ever give them any money.
Addendum
Last night I remembered a thing about this album that I love. It’s hidden within the lyrics to Prejudice, a song about prejudice. It’ll make you laugh, go and listen to it. Do you ever remember that saying your mum used: “sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me”? It’s a funny saying isn’t it. It’s pretty much telling you it’s OK for anyone to call you names because they don’t hurt. But here’s the rub: words hurt like hell. Tim Minchin updated the saying to a more realistic version:
Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can break hearts.
Minchin, T
Randy Rhoads Tribute (Live) – Ozzy Osbourne
Here’s the thing. There are some bands and singers who are like classic movies or books. Everyone should listen to them / read them / watch them. Yes, some are shit. Yes, it is society telling you watch to appreciate and sometimes you can strongly disagree with society, but maybe you secretly understand why. Why is it that this film / book makes it into the list of greats or must-reads? Also, to be honest, I do think you should accept what you like and what you enjoy without the need to be shamed by society into thinking you are wrong. You are as you are.
Having said that, Ozzy is a national hero and it’s quite a surprise that the guy lasted as long as he has. Given the drugs, bats and alcohol it is unusual for someone to be as old as him. But, you see, we are now trying to understand survivorship bias. Just because Ozzy made it this far there are plenty of drug addicts that didn’t. They are dead. Just because Ozzy did those things doesn’t mean anyone can. Just because Ozzy with his horrific voice made millions and thrilled the fans doesn’t mean anyone can. We remember the hits but not those thousands of misses.
I don’t think this album will make you cry but you will appreciate that these rock stars are just humans and the note inside the album from Randy Rhoads’ wife is really touching. Zakk Wylde joined Ozzy after Randy died and if there’s one thing we now know it’s that you have to spell your name badly to be a rock guitarist. Start with that and then worry about the guitar thing afterwards.
This is like a greatest hits for Ozzy and it’s a great album. Worth playing many times.
Rammstein – Rammstein
I do love Rammstein. I know I didn’t really rave about Mutter but this particular album is great. They really are master craftsmen of new German metal. I have no idea what they are singing and to me that doesn’t really matter. The music does enough for me.
- DEUTSCHLAND – great opener. Lovely song. [probably about killing or something – I don’t do lyrics at the best of times].
- Radio – these chaps are the best at writing brilliant melodies along with a special beat that makes you move.
- ZEIG DICH – I’m not sure how this band do it. They make an up-tempo song that you think is going to roll along and then the bridge hits you in the face.
- Auslander – This is one of those songs where I start thinking it should be a club track. I can imagine dirty nightclubs with all their dance beats playing and then someone puts this shit on and all of a sudden the whole club becomes metal fans. I think it’s also about immigration – but in a good way.
- SEX – not sure if this is about the joys or the horrors of sex but it’s a bouncy song with superb riffs. Plus, everyone gets to shout out SEX which is fun.
- PUPPE – Gosh this song starts out all lovely and gentle and you believe it’s going to be sweet and then BOSH it hits you straight in the face. Brilliant.
- WAS ICH LIEBE – it’s perfectly good.
- DIAMANT – Lovely and smooth. Could be about death and murder, I wouldn’t know.
- WEIT WEG – It’s that little melody at the beginning isn’t it? I know a band are good song writers when they do something I wasn’t expecting but it fits the song and makes you think – wow, I’d never have thought to do that. Maybe my imagination is rubbish but there are only a few bands that surprise me.
- TATTOO – The melody in the chorus is lovely.
- HALLOMANN – This song rounds off a lovely album. I don’t think that any Rammstein album has disappointed me.
To tell you how good this album is can be summed up with the fact that their key changes don’t annoy me. I thoroughly enjoy this band. Their music is delightful. The live shows are stunning, full of theatre and sound perfect. I probably couldn’t rave enough about them.
Quadrophenia – The Who
This is one of those albums that everyone goes on about. They also go on about the film. The problem is that I never really got the mods and rockers thing. It was slightly before my time and it all seemed rather silly to me. I can take or leave The Who. I’m just not fussed by them.
There are a couple of good songs on here. But other than that most concept albums always leave me a little cold.
Rage Against The Machine – Rage Against The Machine
This might be a shocking admission but I’m not really bothered by this album. Something about it doesn’t quite work for me. I bought it after being amazed with the song “Killing In The Name Of”, which I first heard in its entirety on Radio 1 if you can believe that! There’s a couple of good songs on this one but largely I’m left feeling rather “meh”.
Pyromania – Def Leppard
Def Leppard was one of my gateway bands into metal. If you read my Descent communication I expect they’ll be mentioned there. Def Leppard along with Bon Jovi and Guns ‘n’ Roses got me into guitar based music and this album was one of the special ones. The band had just hit it big with the Hysteria album and so I was seeking out whatever else they had done. The sounds of this album, its production, the guitar riffs, the drumming, all these things can make me feel a teenager again, fortunately without the emotional bullshit that goes with that period of time.
This is a great album. It is what it is. Very commercial rock. It turned this band into a massive hit across the pond. I don’t think it’s quite dinner party background music but it’s close. Non offensive rock. This band got lumbered with the NWOBHM label but they aren’t. The vocals are more haunting and the riffage doesn’t follow that BHM style. Def Leppard just happened to emerge at the same time.
- Rock Rock (Till You Drop) – great upbeat song.
- Photograph – remember those lonely times when all you had was a picture to look at and the knowledge that you’d speak in a couple of days at 6pm once the phone calls got cheap.
- Stagefright – meant to start live, think it’s studio. Good rolling riff.
- Too Late For Love – a ballad, still it is pretty good.
- Die Hard The Hunter – not the best on this album.
- Foolin’ – starts gentle. Gets better. Great cow bell use, that instrument always makes me laugh.
- Rock Of Ages – starts with something backwards?? Proper radio rock. Has a good rolling bass with melodic vocals creating a great rhythm. Worth listening to.
- Comin’ Under Fire – not the greatest on here either. Vocals well aligned but a little boring for me.
- Action Not Words – formulaic rock. A good song but not top ranking.
- Billy’s Got A Gun – good triples on the bass, song could do with being a little faster for my liking. Love the outro, when I first heard it I wondered about the effort that goes into creating a new melody or sound and how bands use that for just a couple of bars.
The singing in this album is great. The riffage is great. It’s a bloody good representation of that era of music. It also sold masses in the USA and made this band huge. I probably still prefer their first album though!
Slipknot – The O2
Given how close The O2 is to where I live this was the first time I had been there to see a concert. I went there a long time ago to see some tennis but this was the first music event. The “Millennium Dome” as it was known a long time ago was considered a GBP1 Billion white elephant in the early days of the Blair government. The display area was shit. I know, I went there. I never saw the “show” in the arena it was meant to be a bit like a circus – I guess there’s video of it but I care not. I’d also been a couple of other times most notably to see a Star Wars exhibition.
Anyway. Dave from work drove and we met up with Smith and Son. We ate. I drank. We entered the arena just after Behemoth had started.
I didn’t find them particularly good. They were quite boring. There wasn’t much dynamic shift to their songs and it was rather – meh. But still it was an opportunity to study the stage construction and layout of the arena. I noticed plenty of structural high beams, they were interesting, and the cable work holding up the PA system was impressive. Yep, that’s the sort of stuff I find interesting. I think it comes from having and engineering degree and thinking about how stuff works a lot.
The headliners were Slipknot. I was quite excited as I’d been listening to their stuff all week and I have to admit it’s pretty good stuff. It had also been quite a while since we had seen a metal headline act in an arena. Smith and I normally see either small bands in small venues or the classic M’era Luna festival in Germany.
Slipknot were pretty darn good. They kept the crowd going and all their songs were great. I really enjoyed it. At some points the mosh pit extended two thirds of the way back on the standing area and I don’t think I’ve ever really seen that before.
It was curious to see adverts for Slipknot stuff on the large screens before the band. They were advertising Knotfest which is an open air concert to take place at the National Bowl in Milton Keynes. Then, there was Slipknot whiskey made in Iowa. I mean, sure, you can buy it if you want but are you into a band that much that you want all your kit branded that way? In my experience it’s best to like the music, enjoy the shows and then not worry too much about the other stuff. Buying into a band completely always leaves you exposed to being failed when they turn out to be cunts. Not saying Slipknot are, just saying some bands are.
There was also an advert for some cruise thing from Barcelona to Naples with Slipknot appearing on board playing two shows. You can pay to be stuck on a cruise [honestly sounds quite nice] and then in the evening there will be some gigs. That’s not so bad I reckon. The Norwegian Jade will be a floating music festival and decked out like a museum to this Iowan band.
I don’t have this sort of money. The largest venue holds 2500 which is a reasonable size. It would be a pretty special time, but it is an outdoor venue and if the weather is shit you are screwed. Maybe the other bands would make it worthwhile? I don’t know. Maybe I’ll do this kind of thing once I’m retired.
Slipknot were pretty good on stage. There was the expected crowd interaction and I enjoyed it all. I don’t think I’m that fussed about seeing them again though. I think I am slowly seeking new things, new sounds or shows. My limit seems to be two times for seeing bands at the moment. I say this when I’m soon to see Aesthetic Perfection for the seventh time!
Good show. Good time. Enjoyed it. What more do you want?
Purple Rain – Prince
I’m not sure when I got this album. I’m not a massive Prince fan but I can definitely see that the guy was a genius. I mostly remember the albums: Diamonds and Pearls, Batman and Love Symbol. This one is a classic, I know that much, but I’ve just not really listened to it along with Love Sexy. I do feel slightly ashamed that I don’t know this album well. When Doves Cry and Purple Rain I am aware of and would recognise. Oh well. Such an interesting communication for number 1600 [the address of the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue].
Psalm 69: The Way To Succeed & The Way To Suck Eggs – Ministry
This album is really called ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ but Psalm 69 is much easier.
Holy Maloly. This album is a biggie. When you discover a new sound you want to keep buying and listening to it, get the most out of it. This was probably my first encounter with industrial metal.
JESUS BUILT MY HOTROD
Soon I discovered that this rock thing was true, Jerry Lee Lewis was the devil, Jesus was an architect previous to his career as a prophet. All of a sudden, I found myself in love with the world, so there was only one thing that I could do: Was ding a ding dang my dang a long ling long.
If Hotrod doesn’t get you rocking then there’s something wrong with you. You listen to that first because of the speed and the power and then you settle into the other songs and they hit you, slowly at first. It’s like a punch that starts a mile away and comes at you slowly over hours.
N.W.O. – Bloody amazing. The extended edition is better with about a minute of feedback before the main riff blasts in.
Just One Fix – I’ve got the extended edition of this and I just love the structure of the song. This is a nightmare song about drugs [probably].
TV II – Shouty and powerful.
Hero – Manic riffs and beats to bang your head.
Jesus Built My Hotrod – genius.
Scare Crow – a slow beat song to wake up the neighbours and bounce to.
Psalm 69 – Praise Jesus. An Epic.
Corrosion – Crazy sounds and drums, unique.
Grace – It’s noise, man.
This whole album is what happens when you have musical geniuses out of their heads on drugs and arguing. It’s great. Bloody marvellous.
Pretty Hate Machine – Nine Inch Nails
I bought this on CD thinking I would listen to it lots because I really like NIN. I haven’t listened to it.