Anthrax & Phil Anselmo "Killing Box" (1998) VS. Megadeth "Die Dead Enough" (2004) VS. Metallica, Jerry Cantrell, Pepper Keenan, Les Claypool, John Popper & Gary Rossington "Tuesday's Gone" (1997) VS. Slayer "Living Just To Die" (Pap Smear Demo) (1984)
"Killing Box" keeps up the tradition of songs from "Volume 8" killing at will and kicking the ass of the competition. It slams heads into the concrete and takes no prisoners.
"Die Dead Enough" is the lead single from "The System Has Failed", and has a somber tone, with melodramatic leads, synthesized strings, and a B minor chorus when the rest is all E and trying to be tough. It's an odd song in that respect, almost reflecting the uncertainty of the intervening few years for the band and especially its creator, Dave Mustaine. It's like the song is a musical representation of the rebuilding of his determination to conquer the world, and its uniqueness is definitely a plus.
Going to the opposite extreme, "Tuesday's Gone" is a group jam that, in spite of being a Lynyrd Skynyrd cover, becomes a bloated cousin to "Mama Said" and "Low Man's Lyric". I've always associated the three due to the count off at the beginning of each. (That, and they're slower songs that run counter to Metallica's character, even in the "Load" era that happen to be on or near track 11 of their respective albums.) It's not a bad little ditty, but it does go on too long for what it has to offer. (I'd a pulled the plug before six minutes, but it goes a full nine.)
"Living Just To Die" wouldn't even be on here if not for Megadeth dumping "Super Collider" on us before the end of this shit. It's not even a Slayer song; it's straight from the 1984 Pap Smear demo that brought us "Ddamm" and "Can't Stand You" from "Undisputed Attitude". But hey, scramble scramble because I'd rather put this on here than do "The Antichrist" for a fourth time, or "Reign In Blood" for a third, no matter how good those joints are. It's a cool little 4-tracked crossover ditty (the whole demo is 4:12). Pretty much in the same vein as "Can't Stand You" and "Ddamm". If you like those, track this shit down on Youtube. It's kinda neat.
That being said:
"Killing Box": 4
"Die Dead Enough": 3
"Living Just To Die": 2
"Tuesday's Gone": 1
Totals so far:
Anthrax: 289
Metallica: 281
Slayer: 260
Megadeth: 257
The distance between first and last place is a measly 32 points. If any one of these bands goes on a run, there'll be DRA-MAAAAAA!!!! So stick around.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Monday, May 20, 2013
MONDAY MIXTASTIC: Comin' Atchu Octangular
[A NOTE BEFORE I BEGIN: The original mix is 26 tracks long, but a full ten of them I was able to find hide nor hair of on the entire internet, so we're left with a svelt, lean mean 16. It still works, but that's what you get when you have such obscure tastes. It took me two hours just to find the links I did come up with.]
The title of this mix refers to the inadequacy of human expression. Writers still have a job because if someone could just NAIL it, I mean really nail it all, the length, breadth and depth of the human condition in one sentence and have it make sense to everyone, then there would be no more writing. We can't really feel what other people feel, what that feeling does to that particular person, because we are not that person, we're not feeling that precise feeling in that moment, and we are not capable of knowing exactly what that entails. (Or maybe even what "that" is.) Sure, we may be able to comprehend based on our own past experiences, we may even be able to relate, but we will never KNOW how another person feels. We have to take their word for it.
So here's to the inadequacy of human expression: Long may you run.
1. "No Beat" Tsuneo Imahori
2. "Fuck Tha Police" N.W.A.
3. "Crucial Velocity" Clutch
4. "Put The Gun Down" ZZ Ward
5. "Fair" Ben Folds Five
6. "Rise Anew" A. Wolf & Her Claws
7. "Confetti" The Lemonheads
8. "Rollo" Helmet
9. "Umbabarauma" Soulfly
10. "Less Talk More Rokk" Freezepop
11. "FUBAR" The GV Crew
12. "Jabuticaba" (Stuhr Remix) Bebel Gilberto
13. "Go It Alone" Beck
14. "Everything In Moderation (Especially Moderation)" NOFX
15. "Get Ya Head Buss Niguh" Spaceghostpurp
16. "Metal Militia" Metallica
The title of this mix refers to the inadequacy of human expression. Writers still have a job because if someone could just NAIL it, I mean really nail it all, the length, breadth and depth of the human condition in one sentence and have it make sense to everyone, then there would be no more writing. We can't really feel what other people feel, what that feeling does to that particular person, because we are not that person, we're not feeling that precise feeling in that moment, and we are not capable of knowing exactly what that entails. (Or maybe even what "that" is.) Sure, we may be able to comprehend based on our own past experiences, we may even be able to relate, but we will never KNOW how another person feels. We have to take their word for it.
So here's to the inadequacy of human expression: Long may you run.
1. "No Beat" Tsuneo Imahori
2. "Fuck Tha Police" N.W.A.
3. "Crucial Velocity" Clutch
4. "Put The Gun Down" ZZ Ward
5. "Fair" Ben Folds Five
6. "Rise Anew" A. Wolf & Her Claws
7. "Confetti" The Lemonheads
8. "Rollo" Helmet
9. "Umbabarauma" Soulfly
10. "Less Talk More Rokk" Freezepop
11. "FUBAR" The GV Crew
12. "Jabuticaba" (Stuhr Remix) Bebel Gilberto
13. "Go It Alone" Beck
14. "Everything In Moderation (Especially Moderation)" NOFX
15. "Get Ya Head Buss Niguh" Spaceghostpurp
16. "Metal Militia" Metallica
The Big Four Song Challenge Series: Match 109
Anthrax "Born Again Idiot" (1998) VS. Megadeth "Blackmail The Universe" (2004) VS. Metallica "Whiskey In The Jar" (1998) VS. Slayer "Memories Of Tomorrow" (1996)
"Born Again Idiot" burns with a white hot intensity, an anger that can only be matched by suns. Its railing against the ignorant, which is done with the straight face of an outlaw who just rode into town with a minigun on the back of his horse and a glare in his eye more effective than any Colt .45. You do not fuck with this song unless you want it to fuck you up. And boy is it fun getting pummeled to shit by this song.
A lot can happen in three years. Between "The World Needs A Hero" and "The System Has Failed", Dave Mustaine had gall bladder surgery, fell off the wagon because of the pain meds, fell asleep with his arm across a chair and pinched a nerve so severely he was told by doctors he might never play guitar again, and certainly not at the level he needed to to continue Megadeth. So in 2002, the band broke up (right around the time of Fear Factory's first such disintegration, and the literal disintegration of Layne Staley; what a shit month that was). Mustaine rehabbed like a sonovabitch, and by 2004 was ready to go again. Originally, he was going to release this as a Dave Mustaine solo project, especially since by this point the band was Dave Mustaine and friends (and would remain so until Dave Ellefson rejoined in 2010), but the label insisted, and because the record was received decently enough, Megadeth continued. Though to Mustaine's credit, Chris Poland from "Killing Is My Business" and "Peace Sells" tracked this record, so I guess we can give him the benefit of the doubt and call it a Megadeth record. There was something else that happened inbetween...what was it? A big bomb? No, not "St. Anger"...what could it have....?
Oh yeah. 9/11.
I only bring it up because a) A lot can happen in three years, and b) the opening track begins with the president's plane going down in a terrorist attack. Wonder what inspired that? The song is a steadfast answer to any critics who say Megadeth was done before the breakup, that they were incapable of writing heavy shit anymore. It's got a "Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?" vibe to it, though of course not quite equal to that legacy. It's pretty close, though. If you liked Megadeth's output from their first five albums, this shit is what you've been missing. (Also, on the first Gigantour in '05 (with the also reunited Fear Factory), they opened with this one and literally came out of a solid wall of white smoke, playing the shit out of this jam. Good times.
"Whiskey In The Jar" is a song you've heard if you've been a rock radio listener at any point in the last 15 years. This shit went together like PB&J. It's a band known on the road as Alchoholica covering an Irish drinking song made famous by Thin Lizzy, with a music video featuring out a shit ton of blurred out and whip cream covered tits. I shudder to think how much alcohol's gone missing if there's still whiskey left in the jar by then. And on top of it all, Metallica has more melodic vocal arrangements they could've never done themselves to make it that much sweeter.
"Memories Of Tomorrow" is another song I'd've gladly banged in lieu of "Richard Hung Himself" and/or "I'm Gonna Be Your God". Fast, to the point, kick ass. End of discussion. (Well, if there wasn't stiff ass competition, that'd be end of discussion, but instead...)
This is the end of the discussion:
"Born Again Idiot": 4
"Whiskey In The Jar": 3
"Blackmail The Universe": 2
"Memories Of Tomorrow": 1
Totals so far:
Anthrax: 292
Metallica: 287
Slayer: 261
Megadeth: 257
Why do I explain myself when everyone's an idiot but me?
"Born Again Idiot" burns with a white hot intensity, an anger that can only be matched by suns. Its railing against the ignorant, which is done with the straight face of an outlaw who just rode into town with a minigun on the back of his horse and a glare in his eye more effective than any Colt .45. You do not fuck with this song unless you want it to fuck you up. And boy is it fun getting pummeled to shit by this song.
A lot can happen in three years. Between "The World Needs A Hero" and "The System Has Failed", Dave Mustaine had gall bladder surgery, fell off the wagon because of the pain meds, fell asleep with his arm across a chair and pinched a nerve so severely he was told by doctors he might never play guitar again, and certainly not at the level he needed to to continue Megadeth. So in 2002, the band broke up (right around the time of Fear Factory's first such disintegration, and the literal disintegration of Layne Staley; what a shit month that was). Mustaine rehabbed like a sonovabitch, and by 2004 was ready to go again. Originally, he was going to release this as a Dave Mustaine solo project, especially since by this point the band was Dave Mustaine and friends (and would remain so until Dave Ellefson rejoined in 2010), but the label insisted, and because the record was received decently enough, Megadeth continued. Though to Mustaine's credit, Chris Poland from "Killing Is My Business" and "Peace Sells" tracked this record, so I guess we can give him the benefit of the doubt and call it a Megadeth record. There was something else that happened inbetween...what was it? A big bomb? No, not "St. Anger"...what could it have....?
Oh yeah. 9/11.
I only bring it up because a) A lot can happen in three years, and b) the opening track begins with the president's plane going down in a terrorist attack. Wonder what inspired that? The song is a steadfast answer to any critics who say Megadeth was done before the breakup, that they were incapable of writing heavy shit anymore. It's got a "Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?" vibe to it, though of course not quite equal to that legacy. It's pretty close, though. If you liked Megadeth's output from their first five albums, this shit is what you've been missing. (Also, on the first Gigantour in '05 (with the also reunited Fear Factory), they opened with this one and literally came out of a solid wall of white smoke, playing the shit out of this jam. Good times.
"Whiskey In The Jar" is a song you've heard if you've been a rock radio listener at any point in the last 15 years. This shit went together like PB&J. It's a band known on the road as Alchoholica covering an Irish drinking song made famous by Thin Lizzy, with a music video featuring out a shit ton of blurred out and whip cream covered tits. I shudder to think how much alcohol's gone missing if there's still whiskey left in the jar by then. And on top of it all, Metallica has more melodic vocal arrangements they could've never done themselves to make it that much sweeter.
"Memories Of Tomorrow" is another song I'd've gladly banged in lieu of "Richard Hung Himself" and/or "I'm Gonna Be Your God". Fast, to the point, kick ass. End of discussion. (Well, if there wasn't stiff ass competition, that'd be end of discussion, but instead...)
This is the end of the discussion:
"Born Again Idiot": 4
"Whiskey In The Jar": 3
"Blackmail The Universe": 2
"Memories Of Tomorrow": 1
Totals so far:
Anthrax: 292
Metallica: 287
Slayer: 261
Megadeth: 257
Why do I explain myself when everyone's an idiot but me?
Sunday, May 19, 2013
The Big Four Song Challenge Series: Match 108
Anthrax "Toast To The Extras" (1998) VS. Megadeth "Coming Home" (2001) VS. Metallica "Astronomy" (1998) VS. Slayer "Sick Boy" (1996)
"Toast To The Extras" might freak some people out on first listen, but that's because by 1998, people have probably forgotten Anthrax were always quirky, just not so much when John Bush was singing. This is the band regaining their sense of humor and doing a country sounding song that has enough life to it to avoid sinking into the "Oh woe is me" bullshit that "The Unforgiven II" or even "Tuesday's Gone" were for Metallica. It's got a decent shuffle, it's fun...just crack a brew and have a good time. Don't think too hard about it and you'll be all right.
"Coming Home" is an odd bird, as I cannot find hide nor hair of the studio version on YouTube or MySpace. Though iTunes proved to be good for something for once, and I was able to catch enough of the song through the minute and a half preview (the song's only two and a half minutes total) to make a judgment. My opinion is: Thank God this was a Japanese-only song, because this is total kum-ba-ya bullshit. NEXT!
"Astronomy" is a pretty damn well done cover of Blue Oyster Cult. I'd still take the original by a slim margin, but this is pretty close. It's a little heavier, which is a plus, but of course it's in Eb, which makes the clean tone parts sound too much like every other "Load" era ballad that starts out with those same chords. It's a minor inconvenience, however, as the hard parts and vocals actually make up for it. It's kind of telling that Metallica's best vocal harmonies are all on songs they didn't write. Is what it is.
"Sick Boy" is a foreign bonus track from "Undisputed Attitude", and comes to us by way of a little outfit called G.B.H., a.k.a.: Grievous Bodily Harm. And frankly, I'd have rather had this on the state-side release than "I'm Gonna Be Your God" or "Richard Hung Himself". It's not much to speak of; it's just a punk rock song with not much else to it, but hey, it's a punk rock album. Let's roll with it.
They all add up to zero in my life:
"Astronomy": 4
"Toast To The Extras": 3
"Sick Boy": 2
"Coming Home": 1
Totals so far:
Anthrax: 288
Metallica: 284
Slayer: 260
Megadeth: 255
Like acid and oil on a madman's face, his reasons tend to fly away...
"Toast To The Extras" might freak some people out on first listen, but that's because by 1998, people have probably forgotten Anthrax were always quirky, just not so much when John Bush was singing. This is the band regaining their sense of humor and doing a country sounding song that has enough life to it to avoid sinking into the "Oh woe is me" bullshit that "The Unforgiven II" or even "Tuesday's Gone" were for Metallica. It's got a decent shuffle, it's fun...just crack a brew and have a good time. Don't think too hard about it and you'll be all right.
"Coming Home" is an odd bird, as I cannot find hide nor hair of the studio version on YouTube or MySpace. Though iTunes proved to be good for something for once, and I was able to catch enough of the song through the minute and a half preview (the song's only two and a half minutes total) to make a judgment. My opinion is: Thank God this was a Japanese-only song, because this is total kum-ba-ya bullshit. NEXT!
"Astronomy" is a pretty damn well done cover of Blue Oyster Cult. I'd still take the original by a slim margin, but this is pretty close. It's a little heavier, which is a plus, but of course it's in Eb, which makes the clean tone parts sound too much like every other "Load" era ballad that starts out with those same chords. It's a minor inconvenience, however, as the hard parts and vocals actually make up for it. It's kind of telling that Metallica's best vocal harmonies are all on songs they didn't write. Is what it is.
"Sick Boy" is a foreign bonus track from "Undisputed Attitude", and comes to us by way of a little outfit called G.B.H., a.k.a.: Grievous Bodily Harm. And frankly, I'd have rather had this on the state-side release than "I'm Gonna Be Your God" or "Richard Hung Himself". It's not much to speak of; it's just a punk rock song with not much else to it, but hey, it's a punk rock album. Let's roll with it.
They all add up to zero in my life:
"Astronomy": 4
"Toast To The Extras": 3
"Sick Boy": 2
"Coming Home": 1
Totals so far:
Anthrax: 288
Metallica: 284
Slayer: 260
Megadeth: 255
Like acid and oil on a madman's face, his reasons tend to fly away...
Saturday, May 18, 2013
The Big Four Song Challenge Series: Match 107
Anthrax "604" (1998) VS. Megadeth "When" (2001) VS. Metallica "Mercyful Fate" (1998) VS. Slayer "Gemini" (1996)
With "When" clocking in at 9:14, "Mercyful Fate" topping 11 minutes, and "Gemini" being long for Slayer (and especially that album) at damn near five, Anthrax wind up going the opposite route, with "604" clocking in at a measly 35 seconds. It's effective for the thrash metal quickie it is. Take it or leave it.
"When" is about retribution on an apocalyptic level. When you rage so hard all you can see is the blood-stained corpse of the one you hate. Now keep that rage up for nine goddam minutes and you might get an approximation of how the narrator in "When" feels. I've never listened to this song much, but when you just let the album play, it comes through. You hear the pain, the frustration, the rage built up inside of Dave Mustaine since 1983 for fucking up the one thing he wishes he could take back the most. And he does it with an extended, somewhat cut-rate version of "Am I Evil?". Although, it may be blasphemy to say this, but metal is all about that shit anyway so fuck it: I kinda like this better than "Am I Evil?" because it's not about witches. It's about legit emotions of seething anger and the desperate need for retribution in the absence of the possibility of absolution. Is the song spectacular? Not really, it sorta plods. But it's not terrible. Megadeth has done and will do far worse.
"Marcyful Fate", for the uninitiated, is a medely of Mercyful Fate songs. And yes, this shit has lyrics all about witches and Satan and shit. It's why I've never really given it a fair shake until now. There's some cool harmony leads the likes of which hadn't been heard from Metallica in the 90's, and wouldn't be peeped again 'til "Death Magnetic". Lars is noticeably behind in spots though, which is just embarrassing. The vocals are nice, son. The harmony/melody whatsits they put through are pretty boss, and since I never cared for King Diamond's voice, this is a nice alternative for a band that obviously had some songwriting chops but had a vocalist that hit high notes like he was having his nuts stepped on by a pregnant tiger. The only problem is that the medley starts to feel too long around the halfway mark. Bummerz.
I've always loved "Gemini". It's just so perfectly evil. Not in a Satanic sense, but in a serial killer sense. It's that focused, murderous stare turned into music. The slight upturn of a smirk from the killer who knows his prey has no out and no idea about what they've walked into. It's not about pleasure, that would be far too exuberant. This killing is about making oneself whole in the blood of the victim. But no, it always falls short. It's just never enough, is it?
Wait, what were we talking about? Oh yeah. The back end of the song is fucking incredible. The thrash build out of the silence, slowly bubbling as the adrenaline reaches its climax, as the prey begins to flee, oblivious to the oh wow, I'm doing it again. Anyway, the lyric "I'm here for the soul purpose of your death" drives the chilling point home relentlessly. The narrator thinks that he was put here on this Earth for the sole reason of killing these particular victims; that the egomania would throttle someone's common sense so thoroughly that they thought they were an instrument of God...Now THAT'S how you write evil. Not this "I worship Satan" garbage. And Slayer knows what's up (they also know that devil shit sells more records, so...it's a wash).
Come come, into my Coven:
"Gemini": 4
"When": 3
"Mercyful Fate": 2
"604": 1
Totals so far:
Anthrax: 285
Metallica: 280
Slayer: 258
Megadeth: 254
Who the fuck would've called this a month ago? Slayer 22 points behind Metallica for second place, with Anthrax pulling away and Megadeth starting to sink? Damn sucka. Just goes to show that anything can happen, and we've got 63 more matches to go. Stay tuned!
With "When" clocking in at 9:14, "Mercyful Fate" topping 11 minutes, and "Gemini" being long for Slayer (and especially that album) at damn near five, Anthrax wind up going the opposite route, with "604" clocking in at a measly 35 seconds. It's effective for the thrash metal quickie it is. Take it or leave it.
"When" is about retribution on an apocalyptic level. When you rage so hard all you can see is the blood-stained corpse of the one you hate. Now keep that rage up for nine goddam minutes and you might get an approximation of how the narrator in "When" feels. I've never listened to this song much, but when you just let the album play, it comes through. You hear the pain, the frustration, the rage built up inside of Dave Mustaine since 1983 for fucking up the one thing he wishes he could take back the most. And he does it with an extended, somewhat cut-rate version of "Am I Evil?". Although, it may be blasphemy to say this, but metal is all about that shit anyway so fuck it: I kinda like this better than "Am I Evil?" because it's not about witches. It's about legit emotions of seething anger and the desperate need for retribution in the absence of the possibility of absolution. Is the song spectacular? Not really, it sorta plods. But it's not terrible. Megadeth has done and will do far worse.
"Marcyful Fate", for the uninitiated, is a medely of Mercyful Fate songs. And yes, this shit has lyrics all about witches and Satan and shit. It's why I've never really given it a fair shake until now. There's some cool harmony leads the likes of which hadn't been heard from Metallica in the 90's, and wouldn't be peeped again 'til "Death Magnetic". Lars is noticeably behind in spots though, which is just embarrassing. The vocals are nice, son. The harmony/melody whatsits they put through are pretty boss, and since I never cared for King Diamond's voice, this is a nice alternative for a band that obviously had some songwriting chops but had a vocalist that hit high notes like he was having his nuts stepped on by a pregnant tiger. The only problem is that the medley starts to feel too long around the halfway mark. Bummerz.
I've always loved "Gemini". It's just so perfectly evil. Not in a Satanic sense, but in a serial killer sense. It's that focused, murderous stare turned into music. The slight upturn of a smirk from the killer who knows his prey has no out and no idea about what they've walked into. It's not about pleasure, that would be far too exuberant. This killing is about making oneself whole in the blood of the victim. But no, it always falls short. It's just never enough, is it?
Wait, what were we talking about? Oh yeah. The back end of the song is fucking incredible. The thrash build out of the silence, slowly bubbling as the adrenaline reaches its climax, as the prey begins to flee, oblivious to the oh wow, I'm doing it again. Anyway, the lyric "I'm here for the soul purpose of your death" drives the chilling point home relentlessly. The narrator thinks that he was put here on this Earth for the sole reason of killing these particular victims; that the egomania would throttle someone's common sense so thoroughly that they thought they were an instrument of God...Now THAT'S how you write evil. Not this "I worship Satan" garbage. And Slayer knows what's up (they also know that devil shit sells more records, so...it's a wash).
Come come, into my Coven:
"Gemini": 4
"When": 3
"Mercyful Fate": 2
"604": 1
Totals so far:
Anthrax: 285
Metallica: 280
Slayer: 258
Megadeth: 254
Who the fuck would've called this a month ago? Slayer 22 points behind Metallica for second place, with Anthrax pulling away and Megadeth starting to sink? Damn sucka. Just goes to show that anything can happen, and we've got 63 more matches to go. Stay tuned!
Friday, May 17, 2013
The Big Four Song Challenge Series: Match 106
Anthrax "P & V" (1998) VS. Megadeth "Silent Scorn/Return To Hangar" (2001) VS. Metallica "Loverman" (1998) VS. Slayer "I'm Gonna Be Your God" (1996)
"P & V" lives up to its name. If more of "Stomp 442" had been this angry, it might have rated higher in this experiment. Just tightly clenched fist shit, pumping endlessly in your face until well after you get the point. Grrrr....
"Silent Scorn/Return To Hangar" is an intro/sequel to "Hangar 18" from "Rust In Peace". The critics may be right: You can't deny that a self-avowed sequel is a sequel, but to say it's "Megadeth Lite" is just being a hater. "Return To Hangar" may not be as fast or as complex, but it's still plenty heavy. It just happens to be more straightforward. Instead of a complex build for the back half of the song, it just gets all thrashy. Y'know, to the point. Yeah, it can't touch the original, but what the fuck can at this point? Just enjoy "Return To Hangar" for what it is.
"Lover Man" is a Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds cover, and is kind of a sonic departure for Metallica, in the regards that a) Jason Newstead is allowed to play a note lower than Db, and b) It has bells in it (presumably played by keyboard). Other than that, anything else that's unique about this song gets 'Tallica-fied by James Hetfield doing his "Yey-ah!" and "Ba-bay!" and his faux-southern shit. The tune has atmosphere and sounds epic, but jeez, eight minutes? Kinda bloated. The song is basically western sounding quiet part, thundering metallic chorus, spoken word part that makes Hetfield sound like a douche, rinse repeat incessantly. No solo, no breakdown, no nothing. Coulda been good if it topped out just shy of 5 minutes if you didn't want to add a new part or something.
For some reason, the YouTube vid I clicked on for "I'm Gonna Be Your God" has a trailer for "Marley & Me" as the video portion. I suppose that's a clever double-entendre, seeing as the original was called "I Wanna Be Your Dog" when Iggy & The Stooges did it, but it also works with the new lyric: "With my tongue in that special place". The result is just surreal. I couldn't even concentrate on the damn song that much. Though on second listen, there's not much to concentrate on; it's pretty basic. But still, far FAR more entertaining than "Lover Man".
And then I charge like a bull with its balls tied:
"P & V": 4
"Silent Scorn/Return To Hangar": 3
"I'm Gonna Be Your God": 2
"Lover Man": 1
Totals so far:
Anthrax: 284
Metallica: 278
Slayer: 254
Megadeth: 251
"R is for Render unto my bay-bah!" (Shut up, Hetfield. God I hope that wasn't the original lyric.)
"P & V" lives up to its name. If more of "Stomp 442" had been this angry, it might have rated higher in this experiment. Just tightly clenched fist shit, pumping endlessly in your face until well after you get the point. Grrrr....
"Silent Scorn/Return To Hangar" is an intro/sequel to "Hangar 18" from "Rust In Peace". The critics may be right: You can't deny that a self-avowed sequel is a sequel, but to say it's "Megadeth Lite" is just being a hater. "Return To Hangar" may not be as fast or as complex, but it's still plenty heavy. It just happens to be more straightforward. Instead of a complex build for the back half of the song, it just gets all thrashy. Y'know, to the point. Yeah, it can't touch the original, but what the fuck can at this point? Just enjoy "Return To Hangar" for what it is.
"Lover Man" is a Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds cover, and is kind of a sonic departure for Metallica, in the regards that a) Jason Newstead is allowed to play a note lower than Db, and b) It has bells in it (presumably played by keyboard). Other than that, anything else that's unique about this song gets 'Tallica-fied by James Hetfield doing his "Yey-ah!" and "Ba-bay!" and his faux-southern shit. The tune has atmosphere and sounds epic, but jeez, eight minutes? Kinda bloated. The song is basically western sounding quiet part, thundering metallic chorus, spoken word part that makes Hetfield sound like a douche, rinse repeat incessantly. No solo, no breakdown, no nothing. Coulda been good if it topped out just shy of 5 minutes if you didn't want to add a new part or something.
For some reason, the YouTube vid I clicked on for "I'm Gonna Be Your God" has a trailer for "Marley & Me" as the video portion. I suppose that's a clever double-entendre, seeing as the original was called "I Wanna Be Your Dog" when Iggy & The Stooges did it, but it also works with the new lyric: "With my tongue in that special place". The result is just surreal. I couldn't even concentrate on the damn song that much. Though on second listen, there's not much to concentrate on; it's pretty basic. But still, far FAR more entertaining than "Lover Man".
And then I charge like a bull with its balls tied:
"P & V": 4
"Silent Scorn/Return To Hangar": 3
"I'm Gonna Be Your God": 2
"Lover Man": 1
Totals so far:
Anthrax: 284
Metallica: 278
Slayer: 254
Megadeth: 251
"R is for Render unto my bay-bah!" (Shut up, Hetfield. God I hope that wasn't the original lyric.)
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