Artist Feature: Metallica - Turn the Page

Echobrain - Brian Sagrafena, Dylan Donkin, Jason Newsted

The period following the release of S & M was to be a stark contradiction to the relatively trouble-free time Metallica had had riding the wave of their success. Jason Newsted formally announced his departure from Metallica on January 17^th 2001. In an interview with Playboy Magazine, Newsted stated his reasons for leaving as: “private and personal reasons, and the physical damage I have done to myself over the years while playing the music that I love.” At this stage Newsted was heavily involved with his side project Echobrain and was on the verge of releasing an album. Patriarch of Metallica, James Hetfield, was sided against the idea saying; “When someone does a side project, it takes away from the strength of Metallica" and a side project is "like cheating on your wife in a way". Hetfield made a compelling argument by posing questions such as, "Where would it end? Does he start touring with it? Does he sell shirts? Is it his band?”. The tiff between Hetfield and Newsted had started back in 1987 when Newsted joined the band to replace the late, great bassist Cliff Burton and the Echobrain project seemed to have poured fuel on the fire

It's not my fault... really!

Hey music lovers,

I address to you today with my head bowed in shame...

With Rocktober having come and having gone as well, I’m sure you’ve noticed that the massive Metallica feature is not yet entirely complete - and that sucks! Now I know you’ve all been salivating at the thought of consuming my latest ramblings on the ’Tallica boys, but since there is nothing for your greedy brains to feast on I’d like to offer up a brief explination for my incredible lack of discipline...

Being the “regular jack-off” that I am, my everyday 8 to 5 recently shifted up a gear [*sigh*] and has, due to no fault of my own, taken up more of my blog-time than usual. Now if I were a professional muso or journalist [nudge, nudge. hint, hint] that would not have been a problem - but since I do the corporate bully’s dirty work Monday to Friday, and have some responsibilities, I haven’t been able to pay as much attention to The Lounge Critic as usual...

Never fear though. Holidays are coming up pretty soon and that should leave me with some free time to get cracking on the blog again. This short ‘hiatus’ doesn’t mean there is nothing going on in the background though: KoRn is about to release a new album The Path of Totallity, one which has the band's front man, Jonathan Davis, saying “It’s gonna piss-off a lot of fans”. Since The Drummer and Goth Girl sent me the new single a few weeks ago, a review on this falls squarely in their laps.

Also, I’m waiting with baited breath on the Within Temptation feature from ~J~ as well as her findings on the Rocktober Challenge. I’ve also heard a rumour that there will be a spotlight shed on geriatric hard-rockers AC/DC.

The new Chevelle album, Hats off to the Bull, is due out on December 6th. And I have some opinions to bounce off you about one of my favourites, Godsmack. Slipknot and Stone Sour have both declared their intentions for new albums.

Serj Tankian (System of a Down) and Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave) have teamed up to form a political movement - Axis of Justice. Ozzy is on tour with his medical advice book. Slash’s new album is finished recording and undergoing post-production as we speak... And of course, the completion of the Metallica feature is already overdue.

So stay tuned Metalheads, there lots yet to come on The Lounge Critic

\m/

Artist Feature: Metallica - ...And Justice For Lars

Metallica posing for Garage Inc

Continuing on the path of self exploration and experimentation, Metallica once again returned to the studio. This time it would be to record the album Garage Inc. The double album would pay tribute to some New Wave of British Heavy Metal legends like Diamond Head and Motörhead, amongst others, who had influenced Metallica in their earlier careers. Garage Inc. contains newly recorded cover versions of these great bands and was met with great reviews by both, fans and critics alike. On a personal level, this album – or rather the concept of this album – warms my heart. For me the saying “imitation is the highest form of flattery” rings true, and I often find myself gravitating towards playing riffs from my favourite songs or bands. I am after all, a fan – and of Metallica, I am a super-fan! The most notable singles off the disk are Sabbra Cadabra originally by Black Sabbath, Die, Die, My Darling by Misfits, Am I Evil? by Diamond Head and the traditional Irish folk song, Whiskey in the Jar inspired by the Thin Lizzy version. The covers are great, and just like any good cover version the essence of the original stands proud while the unmistakeable Metallica signature sound rings out like a bell.

As mentioned earlier in this feature, the second disk of the double album contains the 1987 release Garage Days revisited in its entirety – since the rare album went out of print following its original release. Garage Inc. stands as testament to the cant-put-a-foot-wrong wave Metallica was riding throughout the 90’s in that the new, and quite novel, album entered the Billboard 200 chart at # 2.

Artist Feature: Metallica - Paradigm Shift

Legandary producer - Bob Rock

The recording of the new album, entitled Metallica, started on October 9, 1990. The 4 previous albums had an aggressive, even frantic edge about them with the main focus on playing fast, technical pieces of music laced with sharp, riot-enticing lyrics. The new album had Metallica exploring a new, more commercial, approach to heavy metal... and with change comes conflict. The producer the band had hired, Bob Rock, changed the format they were used to when recording. 

  

Artist feature: Metallica - The Struggle Within

Jason Newsted -  circa 1987

With the band in turmoil over losing a friend and fellow musician, the decision to carry on was taken on the basis “that is what Cliff would have wanted”, and with the blessing of the Burton family, Metallica held auditions to recruit a new bass player. Some 40-odd bass players auditioned for the chance to become part of the massive machine Metallica was quickly becoming, and after having impressed the band by learning their entire set-list, it was agreed that Jason Newsted would replace Burton on the bass. Metallica finished their tour in early 1987 and returned home to San Francisco. As a result of the new bass player (credited as Master J. Newkid in the liner notes), and a newly built studio, came the all-covers Extended Play (EP) release – Garage Days Re-Visited. The EP is considered a collector’s item as all 5 track were included in the 1998 double-album Garage Inc. [but more about that later...]

Artist Feature: Metallica - The Early Days

A very young Lars Ulrich

To tell the story of Metallica, one must start with the story of how the band came into being. And that story starts with Lars Ulrich.

Lars was born in Denmark, to an acclaimed tennis player. Lars’ father, Torben Ulrich, was also a musician who shared a stage with jazz-legend, Miles Davis. Lars moved to America in 1980 to pursue a career as tennis player, but this plan was to fall to the wayside when he met a young James Hetfield.

Rocktober Challenge (Amended)

Õla Rockers,

Since it is in fact \ROCKTOBER/, I would like to issue a huge challenge to you all:

For the duration of my favourite month of the year, I challenge you to listen to a couple of bands from ALL of the below heavy metal sub-genres; especially those you don’t usually listen to or sneer at thinking “that is not metal”…  I know what you’re thinking and trust me; it is going to be sooooo worth it.  Broaden your horizons fellow rockers, it is well worth it and honestly, there is no such thing as “too much metal…” right?!

So, have at it and once you have found yourself a new band / sub-genre that you actually like, post your findings as a comment below, so we can all benefit.

Rock on!

Heavy Metal Sub-genres (broadly defined)

Primary Sub-genres: Alternative metal Avant-garde metal Black metal Death metal Doom metal Drone metal Sludge metal Extreme metal Glam metal Gothic metal Groove metal Industrial metal Neo-classical metal Nu metal Power metal Speed metal Symphonic metal Thrash metal Traditional heavy metal Viking metal

Fusion Sub-genres: Crust punk Folk metal Funk metal Grindcore Metalcore Melodic death metal Nintendocore Post-metal Progressive metal Rap metal Stoner metal

P.S. Look out for my post on Within Temptation – coming soon….

P.P.S. A great big thank you to RifferBoy for the below flowchart - it is going to be so much easier for everyone to participate in the challenge.  So no more excuses!

Metal Genealogy

~J~

Rocktober

Hi Friends,

I am ashamed to admit that I have totally slipped-up. Today is the 5^th day of October, and as result I am now 5 days late in wishing you all a kick-ass Rocktober!

To make up for this serious lapse in my self-assigned responsibilities, I am about to embark on an undertaking that I am not sure I can fully deliver on... That being said you can trust that I endeavour to make up for this faux pas in the posts that are to follow. I’ve been working on the upcoming article for a while now and, in the spirit of Rocktober, I believe it totally fitting to do a full artist feature on this band. Call it coincidence or call it luck, but I believe it is an effect of cosmic alignment that this feature has come together so nicely, and at this very fitting moment in time. I hope you accept my humble apology, and that the reading you are about to undertake will make up for my folly... Please enjoy. \m/

This post has been a daunting task. The problem is not that I have an inadequate grasp of the English language, or that my research is lacking, but simply that it is an impossible feat to capture the brobdingnagian contribution, immense presence and colossal influence that this band has had on the entire world as we know it.

This band has been described many times as “the Led Zeppelin of this generation”. Now please take a moment to ponder on the gravity of such a statement...

Led Zeppelin was, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the few bands that shaped the future of music the world over. They pioneered where others in their genre only followed. They gave birth to an entirely new culture that, to this day, remains very much alive. They cultivated some of the world’s most loyal followers, and even after the death of drummer, John Bonham in 1980 and the subsequent disbanding, Led Zeppelin remains the quintessential patriarch of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal.

With such a lofty introduction, the subject of this post must be something special. No, more than special, they are singular and stand head and shoulders above their peers. Where ‘Zeppelin [and Black Sabbath are also well worth a mention here] gave birth to Heavy Metal, this 4 piece took that infant, dressed it in a black T-Shirt and torn jeans, nurtured it through its toddler and teenage years, and made it the healthy, robust, kick-ass, stick-it-to-the-man adult that Metal is today.

Lest we forget...

On 22 June 2010 Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax (known as the Big 4 of thrash metal) performed in Sofia, Bulgaria. The concert was screened live at hundreds of cinema theatres across the world and, as to be expected, in South Africa nearly 4 weeks later.

Regardless of the fact that we were watching a ‘live’ broadcast weeks after the show, we saw this collaboration of rock gods as an opportunity that could not be missed. In a cinema packed with metalheads we watched the legends do what they do best and like a bucket of arctic water to the face, we were reminded of what metal was all about.

The current rock scene is flooded with new bands. There are so many to choose from that I find myself feeling a bit frustrated at times trying to keep up with the who’s who of the rock world.

R.I.P Cliff Burton (10 February 1962 - 27 September 1986)

Cliff Burton live on the Damage inc. tour

It was 25 years ago today that Metallica bassist, Cliff Burton passed away. And it is purely by coincidence that I have been busy researching and writing a full length post on the old-school masters of Metal [so check back soon for that...]

Album Review: Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You

Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You

Now I’m not the biggest RHCP fan but must admit I have spent many lazy afternoons listening to what’s probably my favourite album of theirs, Californication.

During the 2 year hiatus after touring for the award winning album, Stadium Arcadium, the band members took some time to do their own thing:

I'll get by with a little help from my friends

You must have noticed that there are 2 new opinionistas writing for The Lounge Critic. And as far as debut postings go, I could not have asked for any better...

That being said, I believe it pertinent to introduce the two new contributors - both to give you, the reader, some insight as to their credibility, and to welcome them to the blog.

Newsflash: My Chemical Romance sacks drummer

My Chemical Romance has kicked-out tour-drummer Michael Pedicone - for stealing from the band...

Not-so-scary emo/punk band, My Chemical Romance

Disturbing the Devil

"I've felt the hate rise up in me
Kneel down and clear the stone of leaves
I wander out where you can't see
Inside my shell, I wait and bleed"

As the drums kick in the sound is injected into my ears and received like a junkie taking a long awaited fix. 

The music flares up into what can only be called: nirvana

This is who I am. The fan, the music addict. I am the Goth Girl and I offer my opinion as a dedicated music fanatic.

I would like to kick off my contribution to this blog with an amusing bit of news in light of the recent Disturbed break-up.

Disturbed

David Draiman of Disturbed made the mistake last month of touching on a subject that has been picked on more times than a freckly ginger kid with some lunch money. In an interview with Billboard.com about Disturbed’s hiatus he quoted that “there is a demise of hard rock and metal right now”

Metal fans from all the corners of the earth flooded Draiman’s Twitter account with insults and accusations. When one fan got somewhat personal with his comments, David responded with:

“FUCK OFF. GO BACK TO YOUR BASEMENT; WHERE YOU’LL NEVER KNOW THE WARMTH OF A WOMAN, AND LISTEN TO YOUR COOKIE MONSTER METAL”

You can imagine that the above statement stepped on more than just a few toes. Devil Driver's Dez Fafara, who's cookie monster voice we all know and love from Coal Chamber days still,  posted on Twitter: “Draiman was addressing almost every heavy band on the planet! If I had a white glove I would slap you!".

Devil Driver

David later then defended his statement by saying that he was referring to the fact that the genre was relatively ignored by the mass media and that it is a very difficult time to function as a musician within the music industry.

Well, the overwhelming response that followed Dramain’s slip-up is enough to prove that even if he meant his initial ‘demise of hard rock’ statement, this is definitely not the case and even if the media is giving metal the cold shoulder, the fans are well aware of what is going on.

David has since resolved the issue with Dez and thus avoided a glove-slapping.

Perhaps he has forgotten that the metal genre has always been the underdog. Rockers are often criticized and find themselves in a position where they have to defend their taste in music as discussed so brilliantly in post: Standing in Defence of that Which I Love

Just read now that Sevendust started a rumour about breaking up as well.  Drummer Morgan Rose recently Tweeted: “So guys — the whole farewell thing is bein ‘talked’ about,“We love each other, there’s no issue with us. We just miss our families. No decision yet.”

Just to be followed by: “We’re not goin away. Not for years. Were 4 sure doin another record n 2 years of touring. We knew the rumors would go nuts.”

You started the rumours with your first tweet, Dipshit.

Battle of the Bands

If you live anywhere near Johannesburg’s East Rand, you will already be familiar with the battle of the bands contest held at The Keg and Lion, Kempton Park.

It’s been a while since I’ve attended this festival of new and yet undiscovered music, but I dully performed my duties and attended the 1st leg of the Kempton regional battle this past Sunday. Whilst enjoying lunch, and a man-size ale, and just before the speakers were cranked-up for the first band; I had the pleasure of sitting around a table with Elbie Raats, the event promoter.

Since this was my first visit to this event, in more years that I care to mention, I asked for some background...

The battle of the bands has been hosted at The Keg for around 6 years now, this year though, they’ve changed the format ever so slightly. The logistical and time implications of having the entire battle hosted at one venue have been eliminated by having regional battles at different venues.

One of these venues is Woody’s Bar in Edenvale. The Edenvale regionals drew to a close on July 2nd, and Twi Shi emerged as winners for the region. 

Twi Shi - proudly displaying their awards after emerging as victors.

The competition is well organised in that the promoters provide a complete front of house, as well as on-stage sound and lighting system, including engineers behind the desk. Bands that enter are vetted before the time and there exists a stringent score sheet. The competition is open for bands of all genres, acoustic and plugged-in alike.

The goal of the battle is solely to promote new talent in the local music scene and with a non-profit promoter running the event, there should be no reason for new and unsigned bands alike to get much needed exposure.

The competition on Sunday featured great (and not so great) performances from unsigned and newly formed bands. Some of the bands on stage were:

2nd Life – a 4 piece band (sadly, bass was provided by an iPod) that, honestly, quite impressed me. The lead guitarist is technically fantastic and the drums are solid, but the frontman / vocalist of the band was a pleasure to watch and listen to. A good mix of powerful vocals with great usage of falsetto and vocal effects.

City Monks – A grunge / punk triplet out of their era. This fresh-out-of-the-garage, garage band is nothing much to write home about, but then neither was The Clash, Ramones or Nirvana – clearly City Monks’ influences - in their early days.

The last band participating in the battle of the bands was by far the highlight of the competition. Use Your Words is a screamo rock/metal band with a fresh twist - they have a girl as alternate vocalist. The band is solid musically, with a decent stage presence.

Although Use Your Words should (in my humble opinion) be the clear winners of this, the 1st stage of the competition, the guest appearance by Because of Betrayal blew the roof off that mother. Their energetic stage performance planted a seed in me that continues to grow. And therefore, there will soon be an in-depth interview and opinion piece on them right here on The Lounge Critic. Stay tuned...

For more info around entry, rules and prizes for the Battle of the Bands, contact Elbie Raats at elbie@alwin.co.za

The Kempton leg of the competition takes place at The Keg and Lion, every Sunday afternoon from around 2 pm. So go out there and have a good time while support the bands.

\m/

Passion, Defined

Let me start off by saying that I am not a writer or a reporter, and not quite yet a musician – I am merely a fan. 

Freddie, Brian, Roger & John need no introduction

“A fan of what?” you may ask.  Well, I am a fan of great music.  Now this is always a subject of extreme contention, so I am not going to get on my soapbox and launch into a debate, because in my opinion the only “good music” is music that speaks to you, moves you and touches your soul.  If a piece of music does not do that for you in some way, it is merely a bunch of notes strung together by someone with no imagination or inspiration.  You may be thinking that I am overly harsh in my opinion – so be it, but consider this honestly: Which piece of music inspires and moves you more? Britney Spears – Baby One More Time or Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody…  Ok, that wasn’t entirely fair of me, because you just do not compare anyone with Queen – but, that just made my point….

Great music is a balm for the soul, a band-aid for your hurt, an outlet for your exuberance; your “motivational speaker” even an anger management class. The right tune at the appropriate time can be wielded like a magic wand to make the impossible or unthinkable happen.  Music is force of nature and it has been rampaging through the ages, defining generations.

A proper education

Music has always been in my life.  Growing up, I remember sitting on the floor in the living room in front of my father’s Blaupunkt stereo playing records and singing to all the songs; everything from The Bee Gees and Boney M to The Kinks and Creedence Clearwater Revival.  My musical education was diverse and in depth and it sparked a passion in me that would very possibly have lain dormant in me otherwise.  Music is part of me, part of who I am and at (most) times an extension of my personality. 

Washburn WIN14

Earlier I told you that I was not a musician – the only instrument I can play is a stereo – and I have always felt that was just wrong, so over the years I kept promising myself that I would one day learn to play an instrument to further enhance my enjoyment of music. So two weeks ago I finally went and bought the thing I have wanted for an extremely long time: my first electric guitar! 

Now regular readers of this blog will know that RifferBoy is a musician, and he very graciously offered to help me learn to play the guitar and for this I am more grateful than he will ever know.  Since starting my lessons I have come to a conclusion: it is not as easy as the rock gods make it look!  My fingers hurt all the time from the strings and until now, they stubbornly refuse to do what my brain tells them.  I have a new found deep seated respect for the musician – good or mediocre…

Let me leave you with these parting words on my favourite music genre – in the immortal lyrics of Manowar – The Gods Made Heavy Metal

The Gods Made Heavy Metal off the Louder Than Hell Album

In The Beginning There Was Silence And Darkness
All Across The Earth
Then Came The Wind And A Hole In The Sky
Thunder And Lightning Came Crashing Down
Hit The Earth And Split The Ground
Fire Burned High In The Sky

From Down Below Fire Melted The Stone
The Ground Shook And Started To Pound

The Gods Made Heavy Metal And They Saw That It Was Good
They Said To Play It Louder Than Hell
We Promised That We Would
When Losers Say It's Over With You Know That It's A Lie
The Gods Made Heavy Metal And It's Never Gonna Die

We Are The True Believers
It's Our Turn To Show The World
In The Fire Of Heavy Metal We Were Burned
It's More Than Our Religion It's The Only Way To Live
But The Enemies Of Metal We Can't Forgive

Cause We Believe In The Power And The Might
And The Gods Who Made Metal Are With Us Tonight

The Gods Made Heavy Metal And They Saw That It Was Good
They Said To Play It Louder Than Hell
We Promised That We Would
When Losers Say It's Over With You Know That It's A Lie
The Gods Made Heavy Metal And It's Never Gonna Die

We Believe In The Power And The Might
And The Gods Who Made Metal Are With Us Tonight

We're Here Tonight For Heavy Metal Are You Ready In The Hall
They Have Chosen Us And We Have Heard The Call
Gonna Tear The Roof Off With Out Sound

Crack The Walls And Shake The Ground
Fight Tonight For Metal One And All
Cause We Believe In The Power And The Might
And The Gods Who Made Metal Are With Us Tonight

The Gods Made Heavy Metal And They Saw That It Was Good
They Said To Play It Louder Than Hell
We Promised That We Would
When Losers Say It's Over With You Know That It's A Lie
The Gods Made Heavy Metal And It's Never Gonna Die

For me, that makes all the pain and frustration worth it…

Keep rocking

~J~

The Parlotones: Radio Controlled Robots

I mentioned in "A sick state" that I will be doing a post on one of the biggest names in SA music at the moment, The Parlotones. Having taken the country (and world) by storm since their formation in 1998, the “biggest rock band in SA” has fallen under my magnifying glass and I will report my findings here.

From the word go I want to ensure that there are no misunderstandings with regards to this post. I despise The Parlotones, and let us be honest, you can hardly call the sounds emitted by this megaphone yielding group as “rock”. ‘So why then do a post on them?’ you may ask. The method behind my madness is this: The Parlotones enjoy the acclaim they have purely because of their excellent, never failing, can’t-put-a-foot-wrong marketing and public relations team at Sovereign Entertainment and not, by any stretch of the imagination, because of their music. And from there my gripe with them has its roots...

 

What a Caracter

Hi Guys,

Rifferboy is truly blessed as far as friends are concerned. I mentioned a few of these in an earlier post called "An Eclectic bunch..."

Now I would very much like to introduce you to another of my eclectic counterparts. Having remained friends throughout our schooldays, (both primary and High school) I have always been quite aware of his exceptional talents. He has a degree in engineering, and is currently studying Law, but despite his stellar education, my fondest memories are of early Saturday mornings spent watching the X-Men animated series on TV with a close friend. In amongst his many talents, he has an uncanny ability to draw Caricatures that capture the essence of the subject without being to overbearing.

I offered to post this drawing on my blog, to which he agreed, but with one request: That I give him a suitable pseudonym. Being the multi faceted individual that he is, I can think of no better alias than “X-Man”.

So with no further ado, I present the first (of hopefully many) drawings by X-Man for The Lounge Critic:

Caricature of Tom Morello - guitarist extraordinaire. By X-Man - Artist extraordinaire

Flavour of the Week: Chevelle

I’ve been chewing on an idea to add a regular band / artist feature to the blog. Now, if you have been following this blog from the start, you may remember the 4 piece feature I did on Slipknot in January / February of this year. The idea is to condense that into a shorter, more pertinent post, featuring an artist of my choosing. This will be my first such post, and I will call it... “Flavour of the Week”

I must disclose in advance that I only recently discovered Chevelle. I knew one or two of their singles, but for some reason, never had the time or inclination to thoroughly get to know them. This was a mistake, because since having listened to their repertoire, they are now placed firmly amongst my own personal Top 5 favourites.

R.I.P Ronnie James Dio

In the spirit of keeping Legends alive... Pay some respect to the man credited as 'inventing' the Devil-Horns sign and most definitely the Patriarch of Heavy Metal!!! 

Ronnie James Dio (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010)

Thought I'd share a joke, courtesy of The Monger:

1945, Adolf Hilter died and went to Hell. Satan asked: "Why are you in Hell?" He replied, "I am responsible for the massacre of millions"

Satan said: "Well done, sit to the right of my throne." 

1953, Joseph Stalin died and went to Hell. Satan asked: "Why are you in Hell?" He replied "I killed millions to stay in power" Satan said "Good, sit to my left" 

2010, Ronnie James Dio died and went to Hell, Satan asked, "why are you in Hell?" Dio replied, "Bitch, get the fuck off my throne!"

Thanks Monger...

\m/