Distortion Analysis

Distortion Analysis - Episode 5

• Sean McKnight and William Rizzo • Season 1 • Episode 5

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0:00 | 53:59

TOPIC - Why is it cool to shit on Metallica (the Taylor Swift of Metal)? 


NEWS - Dave Mustaine Wants Megadeth to Tour With Metallica: Dave Mustaine thinks Megadeth touring with Metallica would 'make everything right' between him, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. Also Megadeth covers “Ride the Lightning”, Alice In Chains changes their name temporarily for a good cause. 


ALBUM REVIEW - Alice In Chains: Dirt


MYSTERY BAND - William’s pick


LIVE SHOWS / TOURS - Rob Zombie touring with Marylin Manson - August, https://www.milwaukeemetalfestival.com (John Bush, etc.) - May,  https://summerof99festival.com - July

SPEAKER_02

Welcome to Distortion Analysis. For each episode, we discuss various topics, music news, bands on tour, and share album reviews all focused on heavy metal. Here are your hosts, Sean McKnight and William Rizzo. All right, and we are back here for episode five of the Distortion Analysis.

SPEAKER_01

Numero 5.

SPEAKER_02

Here with my co-host William Rizzo. And uh welcome back for that. And uh have you have you uh had a chance to listen to Zealand Arder at all?

SPEAKER_01

I haven't. Oh I've been checking out your your um the other stuff that you sent that was gonna be the subject of a future or next episode, okay, which is was quite astonishing to listen to. Yeah, we'll talk about that.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, we have that coming up here. Okay, so all right, well, when you get a chance. Yep, I got it written down. Brief or or also the the self-titled is really good too. So you can't go wrong with either album in case whatever you come across. Okay, yeah. Let me know that let me know what you think when you come across that, okay?

SPEAKER_01

I will. We had a crazy uh couple of weeks where we had a pipe bust because of how cold it was. Oh no. So we had a mess in the basement, and then we had to take our cat to the vet, and uh that's right. There was a lot of things that we had to totally understand that, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Well, I just got back from a trip to you know from Utah and I was working with the Air Force for a week, so you know, so yeah, we're we're all just kind of scattered around. So yeah, we'll make we'll make up for lost time here. Uh all right, so I guess we'll then move on to our subject of this podcast. Which this week is why is it cool to shit on Metallica, who are considered who are considered the Taylor Swift of Metal. So um uh now I have my reasons for you know shitting on Metallica. So, but I was curious about because when when you and I talked about the subject, you seem to get really excited about this, and I thought you were getting ready to like write an essay on this whole thing. Oh, when we first talked about it. So, can you give me like insight on why you feel you know what what you know, why do you feel like um like it's cool to shit on Metallica? Or maybe you don't think it's cool to shit on Metallica. How do you feel about this?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it's it's it's interesting because I I think a lot of it has to do with people um just wanting to have something negative to say, like that's the metalhead way, yeah, right? Oh, this fucking sucks, that fucking sucks. Um I had this one friend in high school, this guy was a metalhead, and and he nothing was good except like uh you know, a few records uh here and there, but but every I mean I don't know, you know, it just seemed like to be like you had to ha have that aspect of the personality where you just said that fucking sucks. I think that kind of partly drives it, but you know, you you can't have this discussion without acknowledging the elephant in the room, which is how much their style changed when Bob Rock took over for the black album.

SPEAKER_02

Right, yeah, that was a big shift.

SPEAKER_01

So, what I'll say is this uh I went to um my buddy's funeral, the guy who was our vocalist in sarcophagy back in like 2013. And the morning after that, uh while I was out there in Indiana, we just a bunch of us met up at this like little podunk little cafe to have breakfast. And we had breakfast, and and it was uh, you know, like one of these local places where you could get like grits and sausages and gravy and all this, and we just like came out of this place, everyone's stomach was like fucking apple. And there was a bench I remember in the front, and a couple of us sat down, a couple people were standing. There was like six or seven of us, and all of a sudden this discussion broke out. And I don't remember how it started. And I said, How interesting. Now you're gonna hear some real fucking talk by some real metal heads. And it was Tony was there, the bass player, Ryan Saylor was there, who was uh the other guitar player, one of the other guitar players on the on the Sarkovagy album, but he was also in Gorgasm with Tony for a period of time. Oh wow, and um I think I think Aaron was there who was our other original guitarist, and I think I don't know if our Chris our drummer was there or not, but um Kyle Christman was there who was uh so and he was the newer drummer. Um so we had this like 20-minute long conversation about Metallica and the direction that they ended up going in and how it alienated so many OG fans.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, interesting, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And it was just it was just like cool to listen to how everybody had their own frame of reference to how it affected them to see that change.

SPEAKER_02

Were they were they supportive or not, or was it sort of divided?

SPEAKER_01

It was kind of a mixed bag. I didn't nobody came straight out and said, Oh, I really like what they've been doing lately. It's you know, you because you can't keep making the same music for years and years. There was an acknowledgement of that. You know, how could you expect a band to be the same uh uh for every album style, the same level of aggressiveness and speed, right? Album after album after album, and people change and their views on life change so that when you have a Metallica album coming out in 2005, you're not gonna have the same frame of reference about life. So you can't literally can't write the same kind of songs, right? You know, I mean you could you kind of force it and make it happen, you know, but it's not where your heart's at anymore, which is like the emotion is a big ingredient of it.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, 100%. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

But I mean everybody had pretty much the same consensus that once once the black album came out, those were like really the last good riffs that they made.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Um, and then you know, that I there's a there's an album of theirs. Um it's not it's not load, it's uh reload. It's not St.

SPEAKER_02

Anger, it's oh not Saint Anger, okay.

SPEAKER_01

It's a it's a uh after that. It's a one of the most Oh Death Magnetic. Death Magnetic. Yeah. And a buddy of mine gave me a copy of it, and I said, damn, this is pretty damn good.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it's like uh I think that was their uh there was if you listen to it, it sounds like a return to justice. If you listen to like the riffs and stuff and like the draw, it sounds like that that same kind of vibe.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, no, it's very it's a solid record.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So I it would have been cool if that would have came out right after the black album.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Where they started messing with like orchestral arrangements and playing, you know, with with uh a whole different class of musicians. Um, I thought that was very courageous of them to do that, by the way.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01

Was it the San Francisco uh Symphony Orchestra?

SPEAKER_02

Oh yeah, no, that was cool. That was that was a cool performance, actually. The the symphonic the symphony, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I mean they'll they'll always have uh uh a huge place in my heart because I'm I mentioned in a previous episode that the first real heavy song I heard was disposable heroes.

SPEAKER_02

Right on, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So if you write a song like that, you can you can do no wrong in my mind, you can do shit that I don't really care for, but you know, you'll always be always have that, yeah. Fucking true, you know, you're you're always gonna be Metallica.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01

What do you think about it?

SPEAKER_02

Well, I don't know. I go back and forth on them a little bit. Um, like I have my same I have the my same sort of uh uh conclusions I've drawn. I've been there with them you know since the beginning, really. I saw them with Cliff. So that was yeah, I saw them on um Monsters of Rock tour, and they were part of that tour, and they were touring for uh uh puppets at the time. So he I saw them I saw them just I saw them just before he died. Oh so I just caught that just that moment. He was at his peak.

SPEAKER_01

He was at his prime, totally, yeah, he we were all robbed, yeah, totally 100%.

SPEAKER_02

Stupid fucking accident. That's stupid bus, yeah. So so I had that I had that uh that that you know pleasure of seeing them, and then I see I had seen them on Justice and like a couple a couple times in the black album tour. So I I've seen them like five or six times now. So I do love the band, but uh I'm more I am I guess I'm a little bit more OG. I I like the black album a lot, and you're right, it was this departure and this move over to more of like a mainstream thing. Because if you look at the phases of their their career, uh when I saw them, they were just kind of starting to get big, but then justice took it up here because the black album took it up there to like the stratosphere, you know?

SPEAKER_00

Yep.

SPEAKER_02

So and they became that's where they kind of crossed over and they became more mainstream and things like that. And this is where I had a problem with them because when I started seeing interviews, it was like it was mainly Lars, and I think a lot of it was going to his head because he was doing stuff like they were doing like the um uh they did one of their songs was on like a Mission Impossible soundtrack, and he was like hanging out with Tom Cruise and shit like that. And one of the things that somebody said to them about about you know just them being a metal uh a metal band, one of the things that really bummed me out was that Lars said, Well, we were never a metal band. And I'm like, Whoa, he said that, yeah, he said that. I saw the interview with when he said that, and he was like, We were never a metal band. I was like, What the hell are you talking about? Your name's Metallica. So, I mean, that was one of those things where his personality was kind of getting in the way, his ego was kind of getting in the way, and that was one of the things that kind of started to sour me on the band. So, and then I saw some kind of monster, and I thought that was just like I don't know if you saw that or not, but that was like it just really shined through in terms of his personality. But then James was kind of a dick in that too.

SPEAKER_01

Is that the one where they were like in therapy?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it's just it the whole thing's kind of a mess, and they were making Sate Anger at the time, and that album was horrible. And so it was just one of those things that between all that, I just was starting to get the sour taste in my mouth, and I didn't like like load and reload were okay, but that's where I felt they were kind of crossing and we're getting too mainstream-y. I did like the idea of them experimenting. I don't think there's anything wrong with the change in style, yeah. But when you're sitting there going, well, we're not a metal band, and we never were, and then you're trying to like do all these like more commercial covers and stuff, I'm like, eh, it's kind of sell out y to me. And that's kind of where it started to cross the line that I couldn't like get past. But then I thought Death Magnetic was interesting, but one of the things I thought I thought about when I listened to that album, it reminded me a lot of Justice, and I was wondering if they were trying to recapture an integrity that they thought they had lost. Because if you think about Justice, that I mean that really elevated them, but the musicianship on there. Now the mix is shit. Now we know because you know Lars pulled back pulled back on the bass on it, but I mean it's a it's a you know, it's a classic album, it's like one of those albums that you know you you study as far as if you're gonna study metal history, yeah, it's one of the albums you study for sure, right? So, and all the songs on there are amazing, but at the same time though, there was like they had a lot of integrity then, and I think it started to slip on them a little bit with the black album just because of the commercial crossover, but then it really slipped when they got the load and reload, and then it seemed like they were trying to recapture something to me when they went back to Death Magnetic. Now, I don't know if that's true or there's any truth to that or not, just felt my like my interpretation of it, and it made me question about like, well, why are they doing this? Are they doing just just to show off, just show us that they can do it anymore, or do they really mean it? So that's what I couldn't that's when I was listening to that album. It just kind of felt like it felt kind of like formulaic in a way, like they were writing because they thought that that's what they had to write, not because that's what they wanted to write. Because those guys aren't that angry anymore, they're rich, they got you know, they they got everything that they want, they can do whatever they want. So they don't have that same hunger that they had when they're you know 30 years ago. So I'm I was just wondering if they were trying to recapture that. Now, I didn't I can't say I've heard the new album at all, I just haven't cared to listen to it, which is sad for me to say because it's like I kind of don't give a shit. But that's kind of where I'm at with them in in terms of like there's a lot of other stuff I want to listen to. I only have so much time to during the day, so I so I'll probably listen to it at some point, but I can't say I was particularly compelled to listen to the new album. Not because I wanted to shit on Metallica, because you know, there is this thing about you're right, I think there is something about people trying to find the negative in things, and you know, they're rich and famous, and you know, we want to tear people down or whatever, uh, especially when they act like assholes, but that wasn't really the point. I was just kind of like um bored with them, I guess, or just uninterested. Yeah, I don't know how else to describe it. It's not some like I have some sort of loathing for them, but I just wasn't that interested. Yep. So I guess, I guess it is. Yeah, I guess that's what it is. Because I'd rather go check out the new Megadeth because I'm more interested in that right now, and then of course all the stuff we've been talking about. And there's like a you know list of albums like this long that I want to go buy and you know go explore, and that's where that's where one that's where I'm at right now.

SPEAKER_01

But Metallica is not on that list, so it's it's interesting theory that you have because essentially what you're speaking to is like they're coming full circle, potentially. That's right. More of a roots-based approach to writing metal music.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Um and uh the the point that you brought up about Lars is actually one of the points that came up in that conversation so many years ago with uh you know, me and those guys out in Indiana, that uh he is a primary reason why uh there's so much angst about you know, I can I wish I wish they were still cool so I could still listen to them, but because they suck now, I have to, you know, I have to trash on them. Um and it's because it's because of Lars. Yeah, he I I just I don't know, his drumming is just like be there's been people like that have joked they should have he should have been the one that died. Oh right, or at least at least replaced.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01

You know, like like what I've read so many people say the same thing. How uh if only we could have held on to Cliff so they could have let go of Lars. Because the other thing that the other thing that these guys, these buddies of mine said, and this is a very cogent point, that uh if Cliff was still alive, they never would have gone in the direction they ended up going.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, I yeah, I can't imagine. I can imagine.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah. 100% they would have they would have stayed true to much closer to the to the hardcore metal roots. Yeah, you know, Cliff was a huge punk fan.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, totally, yeah, 100%.

SPEAKER_01

So uh, you know, if anything, if they were gonna make a change, maybe they would have made uh a change towards a more uh punk-based yeah, more radical style, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Something like that. Yeah, you know, I'm not saying it would have been interesting. That would have been really interesting to hear that direction.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, uh I don't think it would have been Green Day, I think it would have been something else. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Misfits or something like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Something like that. Yeah, I can hear that. Punkier, yeah, totally. Oh my god, his base like whiplash and stuff, when he plays, he's just like a monster on that bass, man. Dude's incredible. Yeah, so all right. Well, you know, I guess uh there's there's a lot of opinions about shitting on Metallica, so let's have to see where that goes. Uh all right, so um now I guess we'll move on to metal news.

SPEAKER_01

Bring it okay.

SPEAKER_02

So speaking of Metallica, uh, I was reading that uh Dave Mustaine, of course, the new Megadeth, the last Megadeth, is out now. And I was reading that Dave Mustaine wants Megadeth to tour with Metallica as a way to kind of bring this whole full again. You talked about full circle. Um, it's kind of like he said that, and I read that uh he said that Dave Mustain thinks that touring with Metallica would make everything right between him and James and and Lars. So, what do you think about what do you think about that? Do you think they should tour together? What do you think of that? It's too late for that shit.

SPEAKER_01

It's too late, too late, Dave. Sorry, you spent too many years bitching and moaning, turning a lot of people off with your constant harangues about oh, I've got James and then lost it and you know, I mean, I I if by some crazy fucking chance Dave were to see this, he would understand. I don't I wouldn't regret saying it because you know I love him to death, but God, you have to be such a douchebag. Well, I mean, really, man.

SPEAKER_02

No, no, true. I mean, totally true. He's been bitching about this for what 30 years or whatever the hell it is now, and he's still talking about it. I mean, which is crazy to me that he at this point still hasn't let it go when they are clearly their own. Now they're not like Metallica big or whatever, but I mean they've done stadiums and they they're you know a big working band and they you know made millions of dollars or whatever. He's fine. So so you know, for him to be so bitter about this, still, I mean, that says a lot about him, I think.

SPEAKER_01

It does, and and the wording that you used in describing, I guess, his his motivation to to do this is uh so that everything could you know be smoothed out.

SPEAKER_02

Is that what the way that you I get well he said make everything right, which I make everything right?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I don't know what that means though. It I don't trust the reason why I don't think it should happen is because of that specific wording.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

If he really was all about like you know, let's bury bury the hatchet, let's just go out and have good fucking time together.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

That's how it would come out in a press release. Totally. I want to tour my friends that you know. I'm glad we rekindled our friendship, and we're gonna go out and just slay every audience we can. That's what you fucking say. You don't say, Well, I'm gonna make it things will be uh made right.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I don't know if that's yeah, I don't know if that if they think they he if they if he thinks Metallica owes him something or what now. Interestingly, the kind of piggyback on that, of course, Megadeth also covered Ride the Lightning.

SPEAKER_01

Very well, I might add.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, so they did. I thought so too. Uh so yeah, I really liked it because when I listened to it, I was like, Oh, yeah, that's that's pretty awesome.

SPEAKER_01

It was tight, it was heavy.

SPEAKER_02

The only thing I didn't like about it is his vocals on the on the chorus, totally vocals on the chorus a week, a little, yeah. Yeah, but the guitar is ripping, man. I thought it was really good. But that was and of course, he he's credited as writing that riff in the first place, which is why they covered it. So it's one of those things where um he's still like even with their songs now, it's kind of like now he's doing like Metallica song on top of all this, right? So he's really, I don't know, really leaning into this like ownership of like them owning uh them owning him thing, owing him something, yeah, or something from the past, which I'm kind of like, yeah, I don't know, man. I think he needs to let that shit go.

SPEAKER_01

It feels kind of like he almost wants to be saying, You guys know that I have ownership in this, right?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, right, right.

SPEAKER_01

You know, I still have some ownership with you guys, right?

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_01

And it feels like sleazy.

SPEAKER_02

It does. It's a little, it's a little um uh yeah, it's definitely a a little like bitter feeling, and yeah, you know what I mean? So like a yeah, it's just not a good it's a kind of I could see him throwing a fit.

SPEAKER_01

If it doesn't go according to plan, I could easily see him being like, Well, fuck those guys. I had a great idea and they went it all and fucked it all up.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, so yeah, I don't know. It just feels a little bitter and desperate in some ways. I agree. You know, I agree.

SPEAKER_01

I and you know what?

SPEAKER_02

It's if they could pull it off, God's that would be oh my god, that would be a hell of a tour. That would be a great tour. Yeah, yeah, that'd be huge, man. That would be amazing if they could pull that off. So uh yeah, but I don't know, we'll see. I don't we'll see. I don't know. Well, I haven't heard anything back from Metallica about that, so I don't know. I don't know if the response has been there. Stay tuned. Okay, so now another piece of news I saw was Alice and Chains temporarily changed their name for the sake of uh Pita to help out with a dis uh disabled elephant, which I thought was pretty cool. That was an interesting uh so they changed the name to Betty in Chains for a month. So for a month, so they did that to of course turn up the volume uh they say here on the plight of the elderly elephant, yes who spent her life in chains. So I thought that was cool.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I mean look at all these it's crazy that we've lived through time where there's been a recognition that uh circuses, things that I don't know if have you been? Have you ever been as a kid?

SPEAKER_02

Uh I think it was as a kid, yeah. I don't really remember it too well, but I kind of remember something.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I'm a couple times back in the 70s, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Something like that.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, Coliseum, it stunk because of all the animals, right?

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_01

But you know, and of course, as a kid you're you're entertained, but like I can't believe we've actually come to the point where we acknowledge, hey, it's really not cool to have all of these exotic animals frolicking around for our delight.

SPEAKER_02

Caged up and yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah. So I think it's for a good I'm not a PETA person. I'm not, I'm an animal rights person.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, I gotcha. Yeah, PETA gets a little yeah, extreme for sure.

SPEAKER_01

So I think it's a good idea. I'm yeah, so did they actually do it?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, they actually. Did it so they actually did it for about a month. Uh they were promoting on social media and things like that. It drew a lot of attention. Uh so that was you know, that was kind of nice. And it was, and of course, it was also uh like sort of a uh a PSA to stay away from like animal abusing circuses, right?

SPEAKER_01

Right, right, right. So yeah, so I thought what's that? I'm totally behind that.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, me too, 100%. So I just thought that was kind of a cool, and they just kind of like you know, they just did that for about a month. So that was you know, I thought that was a cool idea.

SPEAKER_01

There's no harm, no foul with doing that.

SPEAKER_02

Uh-oh, I don't think so. I mean, you know, sometimes bands get wrapped up in causes and sometimes they get preachy about it. Like I I get you two kind of gets on my nerves with that a little bit sometimes. So, but I I like the band, but they get a little on their they get up their own ass a little bit, I think, sometimes. Uh, and then you know, but that but but with this, I thought it was a cool way to kind of like put their egos aside with their name for a minute and then you know, and then bring attention to this element. So I sure I thought that was a cool article.

SPEAKER_01

If I was in that band, I would have had no problem with doing it. Uh the only potential issue I foresee is if PETA comes back to them again in the future for some uh a similarly related issue. Oh, yeah, for their support on it, and then they're gonna have to draw a line and be like, now look, there's only so many times we change the name, and yeah. Yeah, you know, this we don't we're not into the co-branding idea.

SPEAKER_02

Well now it's gonna be uh yeah, that can you can you change your name? It's gonna be uh Alex in Chains, and then it's gonna be Buddy in Chains, and then it's like somewhere. So yeah. So uh did you have anything else in music news?

SPEAKER_01

Um nope, that's it.

SPEAKER_02

That's it. Okay, all right, which means that it is time to move on to our album review. Which is a course you picked it this uh this uh for this episode, and it is. Go ahead and tell us what it is and why you picked it.

SPEAKER_01

So there is uh the curse of the sophomore album that is often discussed. Where it when you have such a good initial album, uh there's a lot of concern at record labels are uh are they gonna be able to pull that same feet off a second time? So hot off the heels of touring uh for the album Facelift, Allison Chains comes out with dirt in 1992, cementing its place in the pantheon of early 90s Seattle-oriented grunge, right on, and they knocked it out of the fucking park with this record.

SPEAKER_02

So Allison Chains Dirt is the album we're reviewing this episode. Yeah, yeah. Uh again, you picked one that um I saw them with with Lane in like '92. Yep, I had the honor of seeing them with uh they were co-headlining uh Lala Palooze with Primus. That's where I saw them. So okay, well, we were at the same show, so there it is. Uh Deer Creek. Oh no, I was in Philly.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, okay, right. Right.

SPEAKER_02

I was at the Philly show. Okay, so yeah, I was at the Philly show where Rage Against the Machine got naked. Did you hear about that? No. Um, I was pissed because I was so pissed. Um, uh, because I was there. Part of the big reason why I wanted that show was Rage Against the Machine. I they just come out, killing the name of was crushing it. Yeah, they were everywhere, and I was so psyched to see them. That now I wanted to see Allison Chains, I want to see Primus. There was a great it was a great lineup, right? Yeah, so I went so I want to see other bands, but they were like my top, they were like the band. I was there, I was couldn't wait to see them. So they played like second or third or something, they were because they were such a young band at that point, yes. So, but what they were told before because because other bands had been swearing apparently, like before they started their thing. So they were told that they could not swear. They said, Look, you guys can't swear when you go on stage, which is you know absurd to tell to anybody, but but what they did.

SPEAKER_01

I think that's that's that's gotta be staged given the chorus of well.

SPEAKER_02

What happened was in response to them telling them being told that they can't swear, they all came out raging against the machine, they all came out naked, standing there with their hands over their over their privates, and they had PMRC written across their chests and taped across their mouths. Oh wow, which I thought was awesome. The part that I didn't think was awesome was they stood there for about 15 minutes with like feedback coming through the speakers and then they just left. They didn't play at all. Oh you're serious at all. I was so pissed because I was like, Cool, make your political statement, but don't shit on the fans and not play anything, they didn't play one song, they just left, and then the rest of the band spent all day swearing anyway, so it didn't it made zero difference. So it's one of those things that they were told to do that, but anyway, so yeah, oh man, I know I was so pissed. So anyway, but I saw them naked, so I don't know if that means anything or not. But if I ever see if I ever run into Tom Morello, I'm telling him he owes me a show. I'm gonna say, dude, you owe me a show, man. I'm sorry. I drove two fucking hours to see you guys, and you stood there naked, and all that's all you did, and then you fucking left, and that's all I got out of it. So I'm pissed because I spent the most time and got now. I wanted to see all these other bands too, but I'm just saying there was I was really there, they were one of my top bands to see, and I was so pissed.

SPEAKER_01

Make sure you slip in that he needs to get that mole checked.

SPEAKER_02

All right, so I got a little off the side there. But let's head back to the album here. So, yeah, now I now I was taking notes here, uh notes now too, because I wanted I want to be professional like you when I grow up. So uh I got my got my notes here.

SPEAKER_01

So great.

SPEAKER_02

So excellent. All right, so uh I uh uh do you want to go first with your notes or should I go through or do you want to just go back and forth?

SPEAKER_01

Oh no, please take it away.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, all right. So um, yeah, this album was one of my like really important albums at that time that it came out. So this I'd listen to this thing constantly. So uh when you said this album, I was like, I know it already. I didn't have to listen to it. I could have reviewed it without even listening to it. That's how much I've listened to it. So um uh just breaking down some of the songs, uh, then bones, of course, is how it starts. Um, I like how that song starts, it's really sludgy when it starts, and you feel like it's gonna be heavy, which it is, but then when his vocals come in, he's got this kind of like soaring harmony thing that he does over top of that kind of sludgy guitar stuff. So it's got this really interesting contrast between sort of soaring and being sort of down in the sludgy end of it. Yeah, and I wrote down the word sloring, which is a combination of sludgy and soaring, so sloring, sloring. So so so yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I don't know if that's anybody could have that label, it's him.

SPEAKER_02

So yeah. Uh, and then of course it goes into damn the river, damn that river, which is this really cool dirty blues riff. I love that just and it's just like that whole, you know, just the way they just lean into it. It's just that song's heavy as fuck. Oh my god, so good. Such a heavy, dirty blues riff. And then um Rain When I Die, um, I like the way it starts, it's got this slow, dark, sort of menacing vibe to it, right? And it kind of builds from there. Yep. So I really love that a lot. Um, Down in the Hole is probably my favorite song of this album. I know every word to this album to this song. I I could just sing it straight up without even having to look at the lyrics, and it's because at the time it came out, I was going through I was manic depressive, I was dealing a lot with depression at the time, and I could just completely work to relate to everything and every word in that song. Now he was going through like this whole heroin trip, and he had a lot of problems with you know depression and heroin. Uh, but I didn't have the heroin part, but I had the depression part. So that whole thing, I was like, I was completely self-identifying with that whole song from beginning to end. I know every word in that song. Um, Rooster, I thought, was uh a really powerful, beautiful song dedicated to you know Vietnam soldiers, which I don't know if a lot of people know about that. Yes, so just love that part. The lyrics are really just powerful and interesting, and you know, uh, you know, uh when he talks about Gloria, sent me pictures of my, you know, sent me pictures of my boy, you know, just shit like that. Then he talks about the relationship of a soldier coming back from Vietnam, which you know super powerful.

SPEAKER_01

It's crazy to me because like you wouldn't expect him to be able to speak to that perspective. Totally. He did so beautifully.

SPEAKER_02

Oh my god, it was just yeah. So I don't know if his father was a Vietnam soldier or whatever that was, where the connection was, but yeah, he's got that tie-in with that, and it seems like it's very personal. Now, you know, he obviously wasn't old enough to be in Vietnam, but uh because he's around our he was around our age, but it was something that you know, just obviously he's got a tight, you know, understanding of that. So I thought that was really interesting. Um, junk head feels like a bad heroin experience, so it just kind of it feels like you're right in the middle of just like shooting a shitty heroin load and then kind of like dealing with it, you know what I mean? So it's like it's just kind of like it's got that really droning, kind of like, oh my god, this feels like laborious to listen to, but it's still a good song. It just feels like you have to put in some work to listen to it, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so you do have to work at the listening, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

I like how dirt starts with that middle eastern kind of twang that he does. It's not like a sitar, but it sounds like he's playing like a sitar, it's very snaky, you know, with how that's hypnotic opening riff. Totally. So I love that, and then of course, what is the classic, you know, uh just like that that whole tribal drumming thing and the way he's kind of layers his vocals on top of it, just like you know, one of the best songs ever.

SPEAKER_01

So, but uh it goes from the crazy intro to like open metal territory.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, totally, yeah. And it's that that slow dun dun dun dun dun dun, and then it kind of keeps building, then all of a sudden it's just got this like giant thing that unleashes on you after you're just kind of like building up to it, and you're becomes a monster, yeah. It's just kind of this punch in the face after you're kind of just settling into it. You're like, Oh, this is kind of this cool groove, then all of a sudden, bam! You know, when he breaks into the chorus, so yeah, it's just huge song. So uh I'm gonna shut up and now it's your turn.

SPEAKER_01

Oh uh well, um my the overall uh comment I have on here is like a dirtier, meaner version of Guns N' Roses with first great production, and a much better singer. Oh, yeah, yeah. Right, right, right. You know, um it's just it's totally it's in a different class.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, totally 100%.

SPEAKER_01

Uh them bones, a brutal opening, smacked me up by the vocals. Uh the solo is mean as fuck. It fucks me up. Damn that river. I have America, fuck yeah. That song, again, you know, I mean, uh, we're both we're both on the same page about that. Uh it picks up where Skinner left off.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, interesting. And by the way, I have to uh I have to say I appreciate your team America reference. Oh, cool. So just throw that out there. America, you know, fuck yeah. So I'm just saying.

SPEAKER_01

It was the like the first thing I thought of. America fuck yeah. Yeah. Uh the song. Oh, here's this. This is the song you ask your wife to strip to. Which song was that? Dan that river. Yeah. I speak the truth. Maybe in a little while.

SPEAKER_02

Interesting thought. I'm gonna have to talk to my wife about that.

SPEAKER_01

There you go. Uh Rain When I Die. Oh, yeah. With with the appropriate grunge introduction, killer verse riff, melodic chorus riff, six, eight time. Mmm. Was bizarre.

SPEAKER_02

There's a lot of interesting, odd time signatures on this record. In there, yeah, totally, 100%.

SPEAKER_01

Look look at the the the opening riff to the album. What is that? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 10, was it 11, 12? I don't know. Yeah, yeah, totally. Maybe, maybe some of our uh theory-oriented listeners can chime in with what you know with what that is. Yeah, identify what that is. Uh down in a hole, sad, of course, an undeniable groove, uh, a veritable orgy of guitar tone in the verse riff, and powerful vocals of sadness. Ooh, I mean, it's it's he gets deep on that. He does, really pulls a lot of emotion into it. Uh, sick man, a weird song like a worm that digs into your brain. Uh, these guys were leading the pack of rock in '92. Fight me. Uh Jerry Cantrell and Jerry uh his solo. Yeah. Heads up, BB King.

SPEAKER_02

100%.

SPEAKER_01

Uh the rooster is iconic, timeless, priceless in the modern era. Sick tone bro.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Holds up.

SPEAKER_01

Um yeah, I mean, it's just let's see. Um Godsmack, the verse riff not too far from death metal, is it? If you listen to the verse riff, the verse riff, and you just you know ignore the vocals, yeah. Almost like a death metal riff. Interesting, interesting. Uh ugly chorus that I don't care for is it trying to be funk. Oh. Which song was that? That was on Godsmack. Oh, okay, gotcha. To me, that's the low point of the album, if there even is one. If there is one, yeah. Yeah. I can see that. Um, I mean, the last two songs I think do deserve to be mentioned. Angry Chair represents this album and makes you think of the year 1992. Oh, I think that's fair. Yeah. When I when I listen to that song, I feel like I'm transported back. It's like of that era for sure. Oh, totally. Yeah, yeah, 100%. It has a very eerie cult-like summoning in the verse riff.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

It's really cool. And then we move to the closer, which is wood, right? Yeah. Holy fucking shit. It's an anthem of singles.

SPEAKER_02

Ooh, that's a good way to describe it. An anthem of yeah, I like that a lot.

SPEAKER_01

That's I remember going to see that movie. Singles when it first came out.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Totally. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

At a movie theater that closed, I don't know, within a year afterwards. But it was on it was uh it was the only movie theater we had on campus at Purdue, and the movie theater was packed with people. Right because I mean it was such a it was a fucking movement back then. Like a whole lifestyle that had taken everything. Oh, flannel was everywhere.

SPEAKER_02

I was gonna say there's flannel everywhere, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Uh the absolute pinnacle of songwriting, of rock music songwriting, and absolutely murderous vocals.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Good description.

SPEAKER_01

Mic drop for that.

SPEAKER_02

Nice.

SPEAKER_01

That's a that uh really it's uh I could see that we both listened to that record quite a lot.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, yeah, more times than I can count. That's when it's what albums after this. Oh, oh yeah. Like I do like I like the new singer a lot. I really like him a lot. Um yeah, and and and the the uh The Devil Put Dinosaurs here is one of my top ten albums, like of all time. It's such a good album. Oh my god. Yeah, you have to have you listened to the new to albums with the new singer? Uh only one. Okay. Uh black gives way to blue. Oh, yeah, that's actually the first. I think the first one with him. That's a good album. Yeah, that's a good album. Um, but when you get a chance, try to listen to The Devil Put the Dinosaurs here. That's like that album is just like every song on there. It reminds me of Dirt with the way it's just like every song is good. Yeah. Um, the one after that was not quite as good, but uh, it's still a solid album. But yeah, the singers, the new singer's really good. I just wish that they'd get back in the damn studio and you know do something, you know, do another album now. Yeah, yeah, because they're they're both out. Like, I think Jerry's doing some touring and the singer's touring on his own a little bit. Um, so I don't know what they're doing right now musically. Um, so but I guess we'll see. But uh yeah, good choice, man. Can that Allison Chains Dirt. Check that out if you have not done so. It's uh one of those albums you have to add to the collection, it's just part of the collection, just the way it goes. All right. So that means we are on to the mystery band, and it was your pick this week to uh now what we do, of course, just to remind everybody, is we each um when we do the mystery band uh of the week, uh one of us picks a band to turn on the other person to that they hope have hopefully not heard yet. And uh yeah, that's what we're doing. And and you had the you had the pick this week uh of the mystery band. So who are you turning me on to this week?

SPEAKER_01

Um I'll be shocked if you know this one. Um it's called uh uh In This Life, and the band's name is Mordred.

SPEAKER_02

I think I've heard of the band, uh, but I definitely do not know them at all. Hold on, let me write this down. Okay, now Mordred and what was the what was the name of the album? In This Life. In This Life, okay. I believe it was 91. Okay. In this life. Now, what is making you pick them?

SPEAKER_01

They were interesting in that they had a turntableist. Oh, back in the day. Really? Yeah, they were like they were like one of the first, if not the first, funk metal. Was it were they like scratching and stuff, or what were they doing?

SPEAKER_02

Oh, is that right? No shit. Like I was sure they were playing like playing backtracks or something, or but no, no, there's other stuff, an actual instrumentalist doing the scratching.

SPEAKER_01

No shit.

SPEAKER_02

What's this music? What's the style of uh how would you label the music then? Oh, it's it's definitely metal. Okay, but it's like rap metal kind of stuff, like uh like Raging's machine style, or is it fine? Yeah, it okay.

SPEAKER_01

I I would say like rage is probably an evolution of this. Oh, it's got it's got great fantastic guitar playing. Oh, interesting. Yeah, and and it's and there is some uh spots on it that are that are quite heavy.

SPEAKER_02

Um not every song like a US band?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah. I I think they might be from California. Okay, I don't remember where they're from, but I bought the tape and I was I forgot to bring the tape the cassette down here, so you're gonna have to throw up uh uh we'll throw we'll plug something up cover. Yeah, uh covers the covers weird. It's weird, and it's got this weird shit on the one side, which like should have been the whole cover, but then the second half of the is some guy just going and it looks like a five-dollar foot long moment right there.

SPEAKER_02

So what what compelled you to pick them? Was there something special about them or just in general their style, or or what was it?

SPEAKER_01

Well, we talk about a lot of you know, um you know, uh any anything that has distortion here. So yeah, of course. Um I I had heard I I found them because they played one of the songs on uh WSOU.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, okay. So you heard them on SOU first.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and it's it's the first song on side B, which is called Falling Away, and it has this it's the best song in the album, basically, and it's got this beautiful 12-string acoustic guitar introduction. And uh I said, wow, this is really groovy, and then like all of a sudden the music kicks in, the the drums kick in, and it and it's it gets really fucking heavy. And I'm like, oh, this is cool.

SPEAKER_02

Does he do the does the vocalist rap or does he sing or both or what?

SPEAKER_01

Uh no, it's it's there the vocals are actually sung. Uh there are parts where it's like more spoken than it's sung.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, so back and forth a little bit.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, they go back and forth with that. But what the vocals are actually quite good when he does sing. Okay. Uh just one album, or do they have other albums out? I don't know. Um I bought the album and on I I mean this this I don't love every song on the record, but it's just like it's an interesting thing to listen to when uh you consider the fact that it it kind of spawned this whole genre 10 years later of all of this record scratching behind heavy guitars. Oh, sure. Um, you know, this goes back to like '91 before Limp Biscuit and all that stuff. Uh sure. So I don't know. I just I just and they had the look of a metal band too. Okay.

SPEAKER_02

So they were like one of the first like rap metal bands, really, then.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah. And and I know there were other, you know, the uh stuck mojo and yeah, yeah, like funk metal. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That that guy was a couple years after that. So, but this was just like it was revolutionary to me at the time to hear, you know, because all I was listening to is Metallica Magnet Slayer.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, yeah, that would stand out as a bit of nowhere. Yeah, yeah. So some hip hop influence in there.

SPEAKER_01

Definitely, you know, check it out. Okay.

SPEAKER_02

All right, Mordred in this life. Okay, so I would check that out. All right, that moves us over to uh talking about live shows and tours that are coming up. Um I saw there's some controversy to this one. Uh, but Rob Zombie is gonna be touring with Marilyn Manson, and apparently some of the fans are kind of pissed about that because well, because of Marilyn Manson's uh recent uh issues with like uh some of his accusers, the whole sexual stuff.

SPEAKER_01

Oh my god, I forgot about that.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah. So um would that prevent you from going to see them? No, no, yeah, I don't know. He was kind of acquitted of that, so I don't know what how much truth there was to it, but uh I don't know, man. If you're gonna date Marilyn Manson, you're kind of signed up for something weird in the first place, I think. Not to just don't know the women's stuff or anything, I'm just anything the women said, but hello, you know.

SPEAKER_01

Don't you know what who what you're getting involved with with him?

SPEAKER_02

Oh, I know, right? I don't know how anybody could date him really. So yeah, I mean, I wouldn't go to see it.

SPEAKER_01

I wouldn't go to see it because I'm not a fan of his music, yeah. But uh I am a f uh white zombie fan.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, okay. Yeah, me too.

SPEAKER_01

I've seen them before, so I didn't even know they were still around.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, that sounds like it's a really good tour. Well, it's actually Rob Zombie, it's not white zombie. Oh, right. It's right, it's his solo thing. So I keep forgetting about that. Yeah, so but that sounds like a pretty solid tour, Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson. I mean, for what they seem like that's a good match, that'd be a good yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I wouldn't kick it out of bed.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah. Um, did you see that also? Uh the Milwaukee Metal Fest is coming up in August. I did. Uh, and then also the or I'm sorry, no, May. And then the summer and the summer of 99 festival is also coming up in July. Yeah. And uh the Milwaukee Metal Fest has a pretty good lineup here. Uh, like Acid Bath, uh Kill Switch Engage, Ministry, Napalm Death, uh, John Bush. I mean, the list goes on Suicidal Tendencies, Machine Head, uh, Death Angels in there. Uh, they have a lot of classical or classic metal bands in here, and then also some newbies, too. But it's a it's a it's it's a pretty eclectic lineup. Yeah. So between like and napalm death is playing twice, so they're playing twice, they're playing Saturday and Sunday the way it looks. Uh really. Yeah, yeah. And then also uh they have some newer death metal bands like Wada and also uh uh uh but then they also have prong in there, yeah, Hyrax going old school thrash here, yeah. Wow, stuff like that, which is crazy, and then uh and then of course some newer bands uh in there too, but then but then I also see green jelly in the lineup. Green jelly. Oh my god. So that goes back 35 years, totally. But masters in there, nunslaughter. So I mean it's a pretty big it it looks like it's a pretty decent lineup here overall. Yeah. So did you have a chance? Did you have a chance to look at it?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and I recognized a couple of the acts that I've seen before. One of them is uh uh what are they called? Um uh oh uh visceral discourse. Oh, right on. I don't know that much. What are they like? They're they're they're brutal as fuck death metal.

SPEAKER_02

Right on.

SPEAKER_01

It's it's it's basically slam death in its highest form. Okay, cool. And I got to see them uh about 12, 13 years ago, and they just destroyed the crowd.

SPEAKER_02

Right on, very cool.

SPEAKER_01

I mean, it's it's rare that I actually after a concert go right out and buy uh someone's album. Yeah, and I did that for them.

SPEAKER_02

Right on.

SPEAKER_01

So uh, but the other one that I recognize that that I actually haven't seen is uh Castrator.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, yeah, I don't know them either.

SPEAKER_01

Kestrator, they are an all-female death metal band. No shit.

SPEAKER_02

That's a hell of a name.

SPEAKER_01

I think they're from New York, yeah. And are they good? Right on, yeah. So I mean I wouldn't mind watching them. Cool. Um, but yeah, I think it's I think it's the first weekend of June.

SPEAKER_02

It is June 5th, 6th, uh 5th, 6th, and 7th. Have you ever been to the Milwaukee Metal Fest? We played it. Oh, you played it, that's right. Yeah, that's right. What do you know do you remember when year you guys played it? 96. Oh, okay, okay. Because I've been to that festival a couple times. I was just wondering if we crossed paths.

SPEAKER_01

Um, we walked around in '93, '94, '95. We we were there just you know, hanging out.

SPEAKER_02

Well, you and I were probably at that at thing at the same time at some point.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I'm sure we were. I'm sure we were.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, right on. Okay, so that's going on. And then the summer of 99 festival is coming up in July. Um, this one's a little bit more mainstreamy. It's got like for the headliners, it's got Limp Biscuit, which I still can't believe is a headliner right now, but uh, but for whatever reason, they're having some crazy resurgence. Um, them in Cypress Hill are headlining on the 18th, but then they're also playing with like Seven Dust and Kitty, so there's some good bands on that day. The 19th, uh, it's got Creed headlining. Yeah. Oh, I'm not a I hate Creed. I hate him. I can't stand. I can't stand Scott Stamp as goddamn Jesus Christ poses. He's gotta come out like this for every fucking song, you know, shirtless, wearing a big cross and shit. Oh, he does that? Oh, dude, he does that all the time. I didn't know that. Oh man, he's just waiting to be resurrected like Christ or something. I don't know what his deal is, but um, yeah, I can't. I'm not a big Krieg guy.

SPEAKER_01

How funny would it be if the uh what's that that phenomenon that led to the the the whole series of books about how people just disappeared because they were elevated?

SPEAKER_02

Uh yeah, like the um taken away or yeah, yeah, yeah. Shit, uh the rapture.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So how funny would it be if that happened and he was still here? Yeah, he's like he's going like this way to be raptured. Everybody else is being moved around. But every show like this, every show like this.

SPEAKER_02

But then they all he's like stuffed on a stage like this all by himself. Everybody else is raptured, and there he is.

SPEAKER_01

It's like, wait a minute, I've been waiting for this my whole life. Sorry, sir, for all that cocaine you did. You missed out.

SPEAKER_02

So it's uh that day's gonna be Creed Bush, uh, Mammoth. Uh so that's of course um uh uh Wolfgang Eddie's son. Yep, Wolfgang Vlenhalen. Uh which I gotta say, I love that band. He's good. I love that. I mean, I can't believe like if you listen to them, I have you listened to the mammoth albums at all? I look I've heard whatever they played on the radio. I've heard you know, he does everything, everything. Yeah, all the instruments he writes, he does everything, just him, and then he gets a he put together a band of tour and stuff. But yeah, it's incredible. Yeah, he's so good.

SPEAKER_01

And I'm so glad he's not a carbon copy of his dad.

SPEAKER_02

Well, and what I like about him is if you hear interviews with him, he's definitely his own guy, and he's not trying to be his dad at all. And yes, it comes through and he's also very humble. He he kind of realizes he's had pretty much everything handed to him, so he pretty much understands that. And he of course he had his dad and his uncle uh to teach him how to play drums and guitar, and ironically, ironically, he prefers drums. Oh, no kidding. Yeah, he actually prefers to play drums over guitar, which I thought was really interesting. But uh, yeah, so he's he so they're touring too. Uh so yeah, so some big so some big stuff going on there.

SPEAKER_01

I would go to see Cypress Hill.

SPEAKER_02

I would too. I would actually go and I've seen Seven Seven Dust more times than I can count, uh, and they're awesome live.

SPEAKER_01

Uh is uh is Send Dog back with Cypress Hill?

SPEAKER_02

I don't know. I'd have to look that up.

SPEAKER_01

I don't know if he's back with them or not, but I went to uh we went to see them back in like 95 and the girl who uh told me about the show uh was saying uh send dog is not gonna be there because he's no longer with the group. Right. So it was just the two of them.

SPEAKER_02

Okay. I don't know. I'd have to look up to see if he's back in the mix or not. Um do you have any tickets for anything yourself coming up?

SPEAKER_01

Just the Triumph show that's coming up in May.

SPEAKER_02

Okay. And uh Sun. Oh, that's right. Sun is coming up. What April. Yeah, they're they're playing here in Portland too. I might go to that show. Um, but I just got tickets uh for another band that's coming up in May called they're from Iceland. Um, I don't know how to describe them. I would describe them as like uh techno-industrial black metal, really avant-garde, very experimental. They're called, um, I don't know if I'm gonna get the name right wrong here, but uh they're called Aransi Pazuzu.

SPEAKER_01

You mentioned them last time.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, and actually another manager, um Aaron Lynch is uh is somebody I know from back in the day. Um and she's gonna be on tour with them, so hopefully I'll get to talk to her. But uh yeah, they're really super interesting band from Iceland. So if you get a chance, uh check them out. Super avant-garde. Uh not for the week of hearts for sure. So yeah, because they will just scare the shit out of you with their music. It's very soundtracky and very dark, and you know, just something you would hear like in a probably in like a uh uh like a horror movie made by uh um you know Dario Argento or something. Oh, okay. All right, well, it's kind of creepy. Yeah, for sure. So but uh yeah, so we're gonna I'm gonna go check them out in May. And um, I think that's it. So did you have anything else you want to add to the mix? No, sir. All right. That wraps us up for another episode of uh the distortion analysis. Uh coming up, we do have an interview with uh buddy of mine named Jimmy Mitchell. Uh so we'll be talking about that in one of the upcoming episodes, and uh, we'll see you soon. So thank you for joining us. Please share our podcast with anyone who appreciates that we need to do that. Be sure to visit our source of Facebook, drop in the comments.