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Banging the head that does not bang

Curt McGirt

By Curt McGirt
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NikoBaltimore

NikoBaltimore

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 4/11/2023 at 12:23 PM, The Natural said:

Very rare I go this part of the board. Metallica's 72 Seasons Album is out this Friday. Let's rank the ten from worst to best:

10. St. Anger (2003).

9. Hardwired...to Self-Destruct (2016).

8. Reload (1997).

7. Load (1996).

6. Death Magnetic (2008).

5. Kill 'Em All (1983).

4. ...And Justice for All (1988).

3. Metallica (1991).

2. Ride the Lightning (1984).

1. Master of Puppets (1986).

So close between Master of Puppets and Ride the Lightning for top spot. St. Anger is the only one I don't like.

I used to rank albums but honestly I enjoyed them all even if they were ones that hit at various stages of my life.  St. Anger is not the best but damn if I didn't like a few of the songs on there.  I think if the drums weren't tin cans it would have made for a much better listen.  And considering they did "Some kind of monster" on the documentary that sounded a lot better that confirmed my belief.  The lyrics though were a bit suspect on some.  As for 72 Seasons first two songs sound pretty good.  Can't wait to check out the rest.

As for non-Metallica metal my friends brought to my attention the band Rotting Christ.  They're from Athens and there's a big Greek vibe with their songs.  They were great when I saw them in Philly and I need to do a deeper dive considering I'll be heading to Greece in June.  I think @Nice Guy Eddie might like this too.  There's another Greek band called Septicflesh but I haven't heard anything from them yet.

 

 

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Zakk_Sabbath

Zakk_Sabbath

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I did the uber-nerdy thing and stayed up past midnight to hear the new Metallica (as has been tradition since I was a teenager). Track by track review below 

Spoiler

1) Second best of the singles, meanders in places but good execution. Way, way too long, 6.5/10

2) Excellent, top-shelf riffage with a bit of a Sabbath groove, but Lord, was this solo butt. 6/10

3) Worst of the singles, I hated most everything about this, but it did oddly get stuck in my head for a bit so 2/10

4) Started pretty awesome with them trying something actually kinda different and cool, but I spaced out around the 5 min mark. This song is loooooong. 7/10 that could have easily been an 8.5 if they knocked off 3 mins of this shit

5) Oh SHIT. Nice heavy start. Solo is once again not great, but this one is saved by kicking ass in most other ways. 8/10

6) First and best single. In and out, 3 min, Kill 'Em All-but-with-forgivable-and-understandable-Autotune.Big thumbs up. 9.5/10

7) hate every single thing about this song including, but not limited to, the horrid title and lyrics. 0/10

😎 Great riffs and a cool gang vocal part, but leaves a lot to be desired overall - 5/10

9) This is the other single. It has lyrics from a song rejected from St. Anger. 3/10.

10) This one's an extremely pleasant surprise and I really, really like it. They should make more songs like this. Very NWOBHM like Lux - I very clearly hear some Blitzkrieg and Angel Witch in this one, along with a bit of 'No Remorse' from the first album. 10/10. You will get tired of me playing this around you.

11) I like this one a shitload too. The good stuff's down here. Fucking excellent piece of business. 9/10

12) No one else will like this one at all, but I fucking loved it - very long, but does not bore (I have to check but I believe this is now their longest song outside of the Lou Reed collab). Slightly self-derivative, but will 100% be using alcohol privately to this one. 10/10.

 

Final grade: As predicted, this is Hardwired II. Kirk Hammett can no longer write solos and James Hetfield is overtherapized. Not as good as DM, but not embarrassingly bad, either, like some of their post-Black output. The biggest indictment I can make on this record is that it's more unmemorable than bad - the highs were high (and like HW, frustratingly enjoyable - just make the whole record like this!!) but I don't see the lows becoming growers, at least not for a bit. Finished really strong though. Ironic I spent most of this complaining about the length of the songs, when my favorite was probably the 11 minute closer (continuing another tradition from HW). Solid C+

 

Edited by Zakk_Sabbath
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Nice Guy Eddie

Nice Guy Eddie

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On 4/14/2023 at 8:32 AM, NikoBaltimore said:

I used to rank albums but honestly I enjoyed them all even if they were ones that hit at various stages of my life.  St. Anger is not the best but damn if I didn't like a few of the songs on there.  I think if the drums weren't tin cans it would have made for a much better listen.  And considering they did "Some kind of monster" on the documentary that sounded a lot better that confirmed my belief.  The lyrics though were a bit suspect on some.  As for 72 Seasons first two songs sound pretty good.  Can't wait to check out the rest.

As for non-Metallica metal my friends brought to my attention the band Rotting Christ.  They're from Athens and there's a big Greek vibe with their songs.  They were great when I saw them in Philly and I need to do a deeper dive considering I'll be heading to Greece in June.  I think @Nice Guy Eddie might like this too.  There's another Greek band called Septicflesh but I haven't heard anything from them yet.

 

 

I'm familiar with Rotting Christ. Liquid Metal on Sirius XM has a show called Bloody Roots hosted by Ian Christie. The theme of one of their recent shows was Greek metal. Both Rotting Christ and Septicflesh were played on there.

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NikoBaltimore

NikoBaltimore

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My man, I knew you would know the good stuff!  Thanks!  Now to do a dive before heading to Greece in a couple months.

Fun fact:  If you go to a music store on my dad's island and say you like metal they'll suggest something that sounds like RHCP.  Learned that the hard way when I bought it and didn't open until I got home.  So I'm making sure I don't make that same mistake this time around.  Though a couple days in Athens might be more fruitful on what they have.

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Curt McGirt

Curt McGirt

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Greek stuff is very specific mostly with a languid and melodic sound. One of my absolute faves is the Necromantia/Varathron split. Necro's first has the incredible 8-string bass solo "Last Song for Valdezie" from the late Baron Blood.

Hey, the photo posted! 

You also of course can't go wrong with Rotting Christ up to and including (far as I know) Triarchy of the Lost Lovers. The earlier EPs can be real rough sounding but all the albums are clean as can be. They also started as a grind band. Thy Mighty Contract is still my fave. 

Oh man, I almost forgot the Zemial brother band, Agatus. THE WEAVING FATES~!

 

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NikoBaltimore

NikoBaltimore

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My friends are metalheads and they actually were the ones to mention Rotting and Septicflesh to me.  I mostly listen to podcasts so I'm definitely not familiar with modern stuff.  But since they mentioned those to me I'll in turn mention the other bands you mentioned to them.  I'm sure they'll appreciate it.  it's just too bad I don't know of any relatives that are metalheads.  They're of the basic pop/rock variety but my friends are like a second family to me anyway.

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FireThunder

FireThunder

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For the 20th anniversary of Meteora, the surviving members of Linkin Park released a bunch of material that hadn't seen the light of day. You can tell some of them never advanced past demo stage but others definitely deserved a place in their discography. Lost is particularly heart wrenching with the horrible gift of hindsight.

 

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Curt McGirt

Curt McGirt

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Oh, and since Queens got posted: Me and a bunch of friends when I was barely old enough to get into the club drove all the way down to Memphis from Illinois to see Turbonegro and Queens play. 

We left about a quarter way through Queens. Nice light show, though. 

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Curt McGirt

Curt McGirt

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This probably doesn't come out much from me, but I'm an enormous fan of '80s metal of ALL stripes (cock rock does not count however -- unless it's Van Halen), and it's hard for me to be surprised by a record. This one did me today. I'm into the most obscure shit possible and this has never ever crossed my radar. (Link is one of those damn Youtube "every song in a separate link in a row" deals) 

3545.jpg

Go Down Fighting - YouTube

EDIT: Oh shit!!! I forgot they were on The Wild Bunch comp that I bought when I was a kid (first time I heard Possessed... and a lot of other bands that I love) The Wild Bunch (18 Metal Masters) (1985, Red Shell, Cassette) - Discogs

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Zakk_Sabbath

Zakk_Sabbath

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Caught Metallica/nu-Pantera at nu-Giants Stadium last night - stuck in traffic for Wolfie Van Halen, so we missed them, but the rest of the show was tremendous. As my username implies, I grew up as a huge Zakk Wylde fan (even though I'm not huge on his newer BLS output at all) and he was incredible - I think he plays Dime's material probably just as well as he's done all of the past guys' stuff with Ozzy. I was torn about it until I saw it, but the final verdict is definitely a thumbs way up. YMMV on it morally, calling it 'Pantera,' etc. but it was really special to hear those songs live for the first time (having been sliiiiiiightly too young to catch the original) - and I honestly cannot think of a single guy out there who has the necessary mix of shredding, groove, and gravitas besides Zakk.

Metallica was pretty good, a couple of hiccups, but they've been off since June so it was to be expected - nice and varied setlist with at least one song from every album except St Anger and Hardwired. 'No Repeat Weekend' so some of the missing staples will be played on Sunday. They played three new songs from 72 Seasons (including 'Shadows Follow' for the first time live) and three I hadn't seen them play yet the first four times I saw them, so I was good with that. Sad But True and Nothing Else Matters gotta go, but I was happy to hear Holier Than Thou. Probably the 2nd best I've heard them sound live (2012 in Atlantic City with Ride The Lightning in full cannot be topped).

Highly recommend if you can

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Brian Fowler

Brian Fowler

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I've been considering trying to scrape up the money to go to the Pantera night of the M72 tour in Detroit in November, but... Pantera live is the best show I ever saw, and it's become almost a mythic thing from my late teens that I almost don't want to step on. Also, Phil has been a real dick real often over the last twenty some years...

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Zakk_Sabbath

Zakk_Sabbath

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On 8/11/2023 at 1:48 AM, Brian Fowler said:

I've been considering trying to scrape up the money to go to the Pantera night of the M72 tour in Detroit in November, but... Pantera live is the best show I ever saw, and it's become almost a mythic thing from my late teens that I almost don't want to step on. Also, Phil has been a real dick real often over the last twenty some years...

Ah yeah, man, that's a tough one - I completely understand the 'leave the memories alone' move if you got to see PANTERA-Pantera. I was just slightly too young - and I mean just, I missed em by a year - plus (this may come as a surprise) I grew up in a huge Zakk Wylde household. So that's the closest I'm gonna get, and I was pretty damn pleased. (Re: Phil is a dick - I was HARD on the 'Fuck that guy' train in the immediate aftermath of the Dimebag assassination, but I've recently softened my stance for a couple of reasons: 1) Ive learned more about addiction since then, and 2) I watched footage of him shutting down a racist with a rebel flag, telling him he fully disavows - YMMV on the sincerity but it went a long way with me).

On Metallica: this was my sixth time seeing them, and I got to see them play 7 songs I never saw before (my count was off the other day) - so if you're into that kind of setlist nerd-ery I think you'll be pleased there. We're talking about going up to where the Pats play to see them again next year.

Edit: just to keep this bad boy moving, thought I'd mention CROWBAR is coming to town this fall! Another first timer for me (though between Down, Eyehategod, Superjoint, Kingdom of Sorrow, etc. I'm pretty sure I've seen them all individually)

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FireThunder

FireThunder

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OOMPH! enters their post-Dero Goi era. Their original frontman left the band a while back to focus on his solo work (and also because he turned out to be a QANON nutjob). Replacing him is Der Schulz, the vocalist for Unzucht. In the first few singles off the upcoming album, he seems to be a great fit so far.

 

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