Distortion Analysis
Two dudes talking about metal music. Each episode we'll cover a specific topic related to heavy music, we'll review an album, talk about music news, expose artists we haven't heard yet, cover live tours and include interviews with artists.
Distortion Analysis
Distortion Analysis - Episode 8
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
TOPIC - POLITICS AND METAL - DO THEY GO TOGETHER OR DO PEOPLE JUST WANT THE ESCAPE? Tom Morello called out Kristi Noem for using Nazi language, Drop Kick Murphy’s release a new anti ICE song and new Lamb of God album Into Oblivion about our country right now as examples. System of a Down drummer is MAGA. Recent controversy with Dead Kennedys and Punk in the Park event as that event was recently cancelled. Dogma unable to tour US due to Visa complications, other bands too.
NEWS - Update to the new Vinnie Vincent album - the prices have changed from our first report. Phil Campbell of Motorhead died joining Lemmy in the Rainbow room in the sky. and Controversy with Deicide as former guitarist Eric Hoffman is publicly lashing out at Glen Benton for not paying royalties and merch monies properly. This also happened not too along ago with Cradle of Filth and a number of their members coming after Dani Filth. Ghost are taking a hiatus from touring as Tobias Forge wants to spend time with his family. New Neurosis album “An Undying Love for a Burning World” with Aaron Turner (founder of Hydra Head records and part of the bands SUMAC and Isis) replacing Scott Kelly. Geoff Tate releasing Operation Mindcrime III without the rest of Queensryche.
ALBUM REVIEW - Suicidal Tendencies - How Can I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can’t Even Smile Today
MYSTERY BAND - Sean’s pick
LIVE SHOWS / TOURS -Bleed From Within on tour for Zenith, seeing them soon, Wolfmother on tour this summer. https://aftershockfestival.com - Coming up in October, Jinger on North American headlining tour with Crystal Lake and Entheos, Fire in the Mountains with the return of Neurosis: https://www.fitmfest.com
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.
unknownAll right.
SPEAKER_01We are here for episode eight of Distortion Analysis. We are at eight already. Eight. We're almost up to double digits. This is a milestone. It is. Actually, it kind of is. I don't know if you realize or realize this realize this or not, but um, the average podcast runs about seven episodes. What? Yeah. Uh when people start podcasts, they think they're gonna be rich and famous like after the first episode or whatever. And then when they're not, because you know that that rarely happens. Uh, when they're not, they're like, Oh, this is like work, and then I don't want to do this anymore because it's not easy, and I'm not rich and famous after the first two episodes, and then they so that's yeah, because they realize they don't like the editing and they don't have to deal with all the bullshit and then have to pay for the hosting and all that stuff. Yeah, and then they just bail. So, yeah, it's around seven episodes, is the average amount of podcasts. So we're already past wow, we made it over the hump. Already, yeah. How about that?
SPEAKER_00Cool. We still haven't even cursed all the curses. We're gonna curse.
SPEAKER_01I know. We have so much cursing left to do. Hey, what's that guitar in the background? The red one. I don't know if I've seen that one before. What the hell is that? That is a guild x79. Is that a guild? Oh, oh yeah, there it is in the headstock. I can't see it. Yeah, cool.
SPEAKER_00This is uh wow. I think this is an 82.
SPEAKER_01I was gonna say, what year is that? It's an 82.
SPEAKER_00They don't make them anymore. And it's a very polarizing shape. A lot of people don't like them. Is that right? Because of the shape. Yeah, they're just I like the shape. Too kind of too awkward, but yeah, man, this thing is great. I swapped out the pickups, so it's it's like butter, man. And it's like a six-pound guitar. Oh, wow, wow, no kidding, it looks heavier. Yeah, so I'm totally into it. And beautiful guitar plugged into one. Wow, look at that. This is my JCM900 master volume combo, which I just got back from my amp tech. What was wrong with it? It actually pots like volume pots, so you would try to turn a volume knob. Oh, and it would just be like Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And it was it wasn't just a little crackling, it was a lot. Oh, okay. So uh shout out to Did he replace them or what? Uh yeah, he replaced the pots. Okay. Um the amp came with two brand new tubes. Well, it was like new, new old stock that I guess he had a couple of extra tubes and he just put them in the back. So when I got it, I was like, oh wow. Uh I didn't, you know, know that I was getting tubes with this. So when I took it to the tech, I'm like, can you just replace the tubes? Because I mean this is like a 1991. And I'm like, I have no idea how old those tubes are. And he's like, let's just replace them. So the tubes got replaced, the filter caps, the pots got replaced, biased the tubes, and now it's just a fucking shred machine, man. I just can't believe how good it sounds. Who did you want to plug on that? But that who did you want to plug on that? Oh, oh, shout out to Ron Meersan in Philadelphia on Stanton Avenue, man. It's the amps shop, I think is the name of his place. Cool. Um, yeah, he he has been doing it for decades, and I just found him actually because I had a guy that was local by me here in Jersey, and he did an awful job with my JCM 2000. And I'm like, man, I gotta find somebody else to do this stuff. And I just happened to find him and he got good reviews, and he had the amp maybe two and a half weeks and came by right on picked it up, if excellent.
SPEAKER_01All right, plug, plug for the amp guy. All right, all right, so uh, I guess that will move us then into uh the topic of the podcast do it. All right, so this episode's topic is politics and metal. Do they go together or people or do people just want the escape? Now, I want to preface this uh for our listeners that are cringing right now, going, oh shit, they're gonna talk about politics. Uh, yes and no. We're not gonna get into the the politics in terms of policy and all that bullshit. We're not getting into that. Uh, what we are gonna talk about though is how politics affect metal and the music industry in general and that kind of stuff without getting into the actual political crap itself, because God knows nobody wants to listen to that right now. And there's plenty of it out there if they want to. There's plenty of it out there. Yeah, you guys don't need us for that shit. So there's plenty of that out there already. So, and uh, you know, we have our own opinions. But that's the deal. So here's some examples uh that I had here kind of listed. Uh like Tom Morello from uh Rage Against Machine called out Christy Gnome for using Nazi language. So that was one of the things he got involved with. Uh the Dropkick Murphys, of course, released a new anti-ICE song. Uh, the new Lamb of Gobb album, Into Oblivion, is largely about the country right now. Uh, and Randy Blythe has been very open and and uh you know honest about how he feels about you know things, yeah. Um, interestingly, of course, um uh surge from uh System of a Down, also political, but the drummer is MAGA, so you have the opposite ends of the spectrum there within the same. And then also the the thing that makes that extra awkward is that uh the drummer is married to Serge's sister. So he's his brother-in-law on top of that.
SPEAKER_00Imagine those Thanksgiving dinners.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I was gonna say the holiday, I'm sure the holidays conversations are very interesting, I'm sure. So you have all that mixed in, and then you also have more recent controversy with the dead Kennedys as they pulled out of the punk in the park event uh when that event was you know discovered to be run by some guy, uh another guy, MAGA guy. Yeah, and then the more uh another recent thing I read about was that the band Dogma was supposed to tour here in the US, but due to the recent kind of visa complications with you know immigration and all that, they couldn't come into the country. So they they couldn't come in here without complications, and there was fear, I guess, of what was gonna happen. And there's other bands that are kind of backing away from touring here for the same reasons. Yeah. So what are your thoughts? So there's just some of the topics I threw out there, but um, sorry to vomit the face.
SPEAKER_00Well, I mean, I think I already told you uh several back that I went to go see uh Master last summer, and they were supposed to co co-headline with Sinister.
SPEAKER_01Sinister, yeah.
SPEAKER_00And Sinister wasn't able to come into the country because of the visa issues that were going on at the time due to the administration's bungling of handling uh visa requests because they were overscrutinizing every little thing to you know investigate whether or not they had any ties to you know anti-American sentiments or anything. And anybody who was that was even a whisper of, you know, gee, America kind of sucks right now. Sorry. Yeah, come in.
SPEAKER_01Yep, yep.
SPEAKER_00So they were a victim of that, and you know, it has real world effects. We you know, I paid for a ticket for a band that I never got to see.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, see, there it is. So I mean, like, no matter how much we want to avoid it, and we don't want to talk about it, which is you know understandable, um, but at the same time though, you can't avoid it because right there's an example where it affected you going to a show because you couldn't go to the show because of course the band couldn't make it, you know, through the you know, through the whole piece of process. Yeah. So no matter what, I think it impacts us in different ways. I guess one of the things I was thinking about with it was because I see different uh fans falling on different sides of the fence on this, and one of the things I saw recently was that a lot of people were giving Randy Bly's shit for talking out about like the stuff he recently. So, and uh and he's like, Well, grow a pair and like you should say something, you should be political, you should you know jump in here and pay attention. So, um, you know, uh I'm I'm kind of curious what your thoughts are on that. Do you think bands should push that kind of thing, or is it more like should bands just provide the escape from that kind of thing, or should it be a mixture of both? I mean, you know what I mean? Like, I guess it depends on the person and what they want to get out of the music, but I don't I don't know. I'm just kind of curious, I guess, what what as a as somebody who's been in bands yourself, what you feel the responsibility of the band is.
SPEAKER_00It's it's a tough call, but it's also not not a tough call because if that is what is in your heart as an artist, then it's gonna come out. And you wouldn't be true to yourself as the artist if you were blocking major emotions that would be drivers for your your work product, you know. So if that's what you're feeling and going through at the time, put something out there. You know, the this whole environment is very different than it was 30, 40 years ago, obviously, where you now have a back and forth with your fan base that you didn't have largely before. Yeah, that's a good point. Your only fan feedback was at the shows.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_00So if there was enough of a consensus that you sucked, you found out at the show. Right. But there was no there was no yeah, there was no online backlash uh where people were you know dogging your politics, your political stance, and all that shit. So I I've how many times have I mentioned Napon Death in this podcast already, right?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I I keep bringing them up because it's they're relevant on multiple different levels. They've always been political.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00You know, I don't think that everybody at their shows is driven by their political interests and views uh as much as they are like music. I know because I'm one of them, right? So I didn't go to their show to make a political statement. I went because I enjoyed their music.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_00You know, and then yeah, I dig some of the messages, uh, you know, the anti-authoritarianism, um the anti-fascism, I I mean that just like naturally uh uh gels with who I am as a person. But you never had that kind of back and forth like you do where every everybody uh uh outline now has uh uh a pulpit, right? And and that goes for me and you on this show. Totally. Yeah, I mean, if we wanted to uh talk about all kinds of like political ideologies, we we could. I mean, there's a million different channels out there, it's just like there's a million different metal shows.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00But they didn't have that before. You had magazines. So really the only people that were engaged in a correspondence with bands, uh, and I'm not counting like fan clubs, because fan clubs were full of people saying, Oh, you're so great, can I have a sticker? You know, I'm talking about people who people who are not bootlickers and they're like, Your last album sucked.
SPEAKER_02What do you have to think about that?
SPEAKER_00You know, uh, so that's that was how they got their fee. But that that was a totally different world. Now everything is not only is it online, it's instantaneous. And people say things without checking their emotions first.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Putting pen to pad used to require advanced thought, thought, yeah, composing a letter, you know, but now you just hop on X and just be like, I hate this shit, it sucks. And you get you know, 20,000 people that give it a like, and just it's it's like a very brainless activity. So some of the criticism that's being lobbied against these bands for the politics is mindless sheep activity. I hate to use a cliche term, but it's just people just not thinking for themselves.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's true. No, it's true. I know I completely agree with that. I also find it interesting when there's people like uh and I've I I just heard this a couple different times for a couple different bands where where uh I saw people say, like, I didn't know Rage Against the Machine was political, or I didn't know Randy Blythe was political. I'm like, how can you not know that? Especially if it's rage against especially with Rage Against the Machine. But they were like, we didn't know that. I'm like, so you obviously have never listened to the lyrics or paid attention to the lyrics at all, right? Which is you know, whatever, maybe music's the thing for you, but but it's just kind of like weird that that that just went right over their heads. They for years, it's not like these bands suddenly did a political album, they've been doing albums like that, so for a long time. And Blythe said the same thing where he's like, I've been like this forever. What do you think? I've been singing about all this time. So it's just so funny that some of the fans are only coming to that realization now that some of their favorite bands are actually indeed political without them, you know, without without them realizing in the beginning. So I thought that was interesting.
SPEAKER_00I have a theory about what you're saying, which is that I think that um we've spoken before about how music has become a product that gets consumed. It's a consumable now. Yeah, you know, it's almost like not even an art anymore. Um I'm I'm overgeneralizing, obviously, but that's how it's been since especially the advent of the streaming platforms like Spotify, right? Where music is is turned into a commodity. So I don't think people put themselves look at how people listen to music. And this is going off the beaten path, but you know, the the ex extremely casual ways of people listening to music where they just have it on in the background or like they're you know, kind of very competitive, yeah, passive.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Uh yeah, it's it's not like you know, when you used to actually sit down and listen to it and lyrics and not have outside distractions. Now, you know, the buzzword of the 21st century is multitasking. Right. So everybody's doing a bunch of shit and listening to music. That's true. I mean, unless you were born with ADHD, I don't see how you could pay attention to it all.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00But but what the reason I'm saying that is because I think people don't um they're not coming from the same listening space that they were in the past. And so I, you know, I think they just there's less value, I think, attributed to music as the end product of someone's like blood, sweat, and tears.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, I think it's like 100%.
SPEAKER_00Now, I mean, you know, if if AI is making fucking music that people are listening to, then that kind of proves that a little bit.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. Well, and you you bring up a really good point. You're right, there's a lot of passive listening because people will be on their phones like this, and and I'm like, I'm like the I'm like the opposite where I want to just hear that music all by itself as loud as I can fucking make it. Yeah. Now I might be doing like cooking or doing something where I'm like, because I told you I bake and whatever, or when I'm driving or something, but I'm doing something that I I'm not, I don't have to think so that way I can listen to the music. So that's you know, that's kind of what you know, that's how I that's like that's how I zone into it. But that's a really strong point you bring up. But then also something else you mentioned about like if the artist is political by their nature, then that should be they shouldn't ignore that, right? And I also think just to kind of follow up on that point, that I don't think that also bands should suddenly necessarily become political if they're not if that's not in their heart, just because that's kind of a a topic of the time. Because a band like ACDC is that kind of escape band where you don't want to you don't want to deal with politics, you don't want to deal with maybe the the news of the world. Now they still talk about death and uh and life and things like that, but not in the sense of like politics or it's not so heavy, right? Yes. So a band like that, if they did a political album, everybody'd be like, you know, I think I think there'd be a lot of like what the fuck are they doing kind of a thing. It's that's right. You know, I don't know what that would translate and what that would sound like. I'd be kind of curious about that, but that would be a big left turn that I think the core their fans would be like taken aback and be like, that's not ACDC, right? That's right. So I mean, what do you so I mean do you feel like uh uh that would be sort of disingenuous, wouldn't it?
SPEAKER_00I think ACDC is an excellent example of a band that really shouldn't switch tracks to start spouting political ideology at this point. Yeah, number one, they're too old and they've never never done anything like that before, so it'd be easily ferreted out as a gimmick.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_00You know, and then all of a sudden that cheapens the brand.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, there you go.
SPEAKER_00Fuck that. Leave ACDC alone.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_00They did a great job. Thanks, boys. Yeah, we'll listen to the records for you know, hopefully you know, forever. Um in researching this topic, one of the things that I um came across um is that people are now when they get into the bands, I didn't know that this was a thing. This is very interesting. People when they listen, one of the things uh that's part of the listening uh uh like when you learn about a new band that you're psyched about is I I guess younger people are like scanning everything, like researching everything they can find to find out what the band's political stance is. Oh, really? Okay is there any kind of like hints that are in not just the lyrics, but like uh in the imagery? Um do they have any uh members that have side projects that are like racist, have racist undertones? Oh shit, really. Yeah, I mean, this is something that apparently people do. Um I that's not something that I did. I you know I've never done that. Well, we never had the tools, and it goes back to what I was saying earlier. Now with the internet, everything is at your fingertips. You can just type out a search command, and within 30 seconds, you have more information at your disposal than if you were to go to all of the libraries in your county and look up and and just rated the Dewey fucking decimal system, get all of the books you could, you know, and then even then you might not know everything that you know. Um so, but you know, when all of the metal shows that I've ever been at, we never talked about politics. Whether it was inside at the bar or out in the parking lot, the topics that were being discussed was how drunk the person got last before, and how much vomit had to be cleaned up, and whose ass got kicked last week. And add infinitum overnover, right? And then you had like guys like me that would just stand there like that was it. There wasn't anything about like homophobia, racism, sexism. So we really live in a different age of metal now, and and some of it's very refreshing. Like, I think people should be intelligent about it. I think that metal has suffered from a negative uh impression for far too long.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I agree. Yeah, yeah. You know, I think that's totally true as far as like uh, you know, I think now you can be engaged, and maybe when I was younger, if I'd had access to the internet and and all the resources we have now, maybe I would have done that. But without yeah, I mean without now, the only thing I was interested in was like who were their influences and you know where what other albums did they do, and it's always always about the musical back history. I never really thought about politics until I was old enough, I guess, to get a little bit more you know interested in it. But it was something initially like I didn't give a shit about I didn't give a shit about Kiss's politics. Now I do. Now you see. But uh but before I didn't. So when I was a kid when Destroyer came out, all I cared about was Ace Freely's guitar solos. That's all I gave. That was it. I just want to be you and everybody else. I just want to be Ace Freely, that's all I cared about. I just want to be Ace Feeling. I even yeah, so so it was one of those things there, you know, when you're a kid like that, that's the focus. And yeah, so but then as you get older and you get more refined, I guess, and more educated, then you start to dive dive into it. But I find I find that really interesting. I didn't know that they were doing this scanning thing where they're looking up the sort of the more the backstory of the band. So, but I kinda but I get it. I I do understand that, yeah. And I probably would do that too. Well, I have to say, with a new band, if I had any suspicions about because I well, I have done that, because there's been some bands that come up that I kind of looked up a little bit more about them. I was like, oh shit, and then I found out some you know sketchy things about whoever, and then I and then I shied away from that band for that reason because they they were like racist or whatever their problem was. So uh so that so yeah, I guess I am doing that now. So to do I don't know if I go hardcore in every new band I come across, uh, but I know if I have any suspicions, I'll look stuff up. So do you do that too? As far as if you have any kind of like if they're oh, they might be a white power band. So I'm gonna kind of make sure they're not.
SPEAKER_00Yes, well, something would have to tip me off. Um one of the articles I read was a guy who was uh had become very adept at identifying uh symbol uh symbols and imagery of uh uh white power. Oh, okay, gotcha. And uh so he was writing about the black metal movement, and I guess there's a little subbranch of it called uh National Socialist Black Metal. Yes, I know what you're doing. It's a big deal now, right? Because they're in inherently racist, xenophobic, yep, yep, so forth and so on. And he basically was saying, I now know what like some of these bands use very arcane imagery that a lot of people don't recognize, but I do.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00That's what you know, tips me off.
SPEAKER_01So okay. Well, I think that was actually those are some of the bands I was thinking of, actually, some of the black metal bands that did go in that. direction. So there was some music, oh, okay. Uh yeah.
SPEAKER_00Speaking of different um for different kinds of music, you know, we talked at the outset of our show about how you know distortion can refer to a lot of different within, you know, not just metal, but it can include, you know, hard rock and it can include punk and hardcore, right? And speed metal and all that. And one thing I also noticed about regarding this topic is that punk's a very uh entirely different in that respect because I think it the punk crowds do give a big shit about the public. Yes. And you better not be going to uh like a Murphy's Law show if you have certain inclinations. Yeah. Yeah. You know, because you're going to get your ass kicked. And so it it's it's interesting because at those shows you would hear those types of comments conversations. That's true. Even though they like the aggression level is similar but it's a different approach.
SPEAKER_01It's yeah it's very adjacent to metal that way. But you're right though that is kind of more of an ex an expected thing. Yeah. So they kind of expect you to care about something. So yeah and that's usually political that's that's absolutely true. Yeah you're right that's a whole different that's a whole different environment um all right do you have anything else to add to the conversation? No sir all right so I guess we will move on then uh to music news all right well where's the news ticker sound don't you thank you I can't keep doing that I know I know I know I know all right so all right so I saw I think you saw my uh news update that uh the price for Vinnie Vincent's album went up a notch did you see that I I decided to watch some Vinnie Vincent videos.
SPEAKER_00Did you really yeah why because I just wanted to you know like I I I had only heard a few clips of his and I'm like you know what before I judge this guy let me okay fair enough you know and uh and I'd already seen these that's why I'm like why but go ahead go ahead he's first of all he's a fucking phenomenal guitar player he's a million times better than I am I have no problem saying that um it's just his attitude that just pulls the shit out of me and it's just it's so it just reeks of self-righteousness and um I I just he he he seems like he's a real pain in the ass to be around I don't know maybe it's just me. I mean I saw a couple clips of him with fans and he was nice to the fans but I mean to be that kind of like demanding um I I think he's just wanting you know his last 15 minutes of fame with this price increase because who the hell is going to do that? No it's an interesting arrangement that he's proposing because he's saying I want to you know if you buy this album you also buy the rights to distribute it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah yeah and yeah you know but but I don't know the obviously the exact terms of that like how much does the person who buys it get to uh pocket right right or how much goes back to him or whatever yeah exactly exactly so um it almost it reminds me of the Wu Tang album the oh yeah the last uh uh temple of shaolin or something yeah yeah yeah that was uh purchased by I think it was like I think it was like two million bucks yeah it was the tech bro that bought it and then I think he had to sell Shrekley Shrek yeah that's it yep got the pharma guy yeah the pharma guy yeah yeah not the tech guy yeah the pharma guy that's what I meant yeah pharma guy yep yeah and that now he's the only one with the copy of that album uh you know yeah we'd like to hear it but I don't know it's a weird arrangement that's a weird yeah it is a weird arrangement well uh yeah and it goes back to his ego being like I saw two million dollars then for this thing so because he was doing those singles at first for like 225 bucks and then now the whole album's for like two million yeah yeah and yeah I don't know who's gonna buy I I'm waiting to hear the news about who bought this thing if there's anyone that's gonna buy this thing. So and you know and some of the titles don't really I I don't know what a two million dollar album sounds like but with with titles like heavy metal poontang cock teaser uh ride the serpent I mean he's got a he's got a phallic thing going on here uh so you know what I mean that doesn't which is funny coming from such an androgynous guy right he looks like yeah he looks like the aunt of Ace Freely so he looks like his really I I kind of thought he looked like Linda Richmond. Oh well that too I mean there's a lot of yeah you can go on to start coffee talk and shit yeah but yeah I don't know I don't know where he's going with this or what he's expecting to get out of it but it's gonna be interesting to see if anybody buys this thing and of course there's no refunds no returns or anything so he's got a policy for that too so so I'm just like okay well so we'll see how this goes you know I'm certain I'm guessing there's some like crazy rich asshole out there that just has money to burn that maybe will just do it for shits and go kiss freak or something that will maybe per you up the money or something but uh yeah I guess we'll just have to wait and see how that goes. So keep an eye we'll keep our ears to the ground on that one. Right on all right so uh all right now some sad news of course Phil Campbell of Motorhead died uh of course that's the he was the last one of the last original members to go yeah Lemmy and uh you know uh of course the original drummer so uh so yeah he's he's gone now too I checked out a couple of songs from his latest album which is I think they're called the Bastard Sons. Oh yeah yeah that he did he I think a couple of his kids were in the band with him. Yeah yeah um they're pretty good yeah yeah I enjoyed it enjoy singing or what is he singing or what I don't think I don't think so I didn't I didn't look up the lineup I just pulled it up did it sound motorheadish or just oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah okay yeah um even some of like the vocal lines were um Lennyish Lemmyish okay cool that's okay I mean yeah you are who you are and if you do it well keep doing it he's one of the architects of their sound so you know it makes sense that he would that's kind of I was kind of curious if it's still sounded motorheaders or not so yeah which would yeah that makes sense you know sad another another member to go um so and did you see the controversy with Dia's side where the former guitarist Eric Hoffman is uh lashing out at Glenn Benton about not getting paid royalties and merch monies and stuff yeah I I mean they are gonna be at each other's throats until they both descend into the pits of hell how much do you know about their their kind of history there oh it's it I mean it's been going on since they the Hoffman brothers uh exited the band or were kicked out oh is that right oh I didn't know that I wasn't oh yeah um you know of course it's it's two sides to every story the Hoffman brothers have their own side about Glenn being a dictator Glenn has his own stories and his own side about how they uh didn't cut it uh you know in terms of like practicing um having a professional attitude so you know they wouldn't be the first ones but what are you gonna do you know that shit when they were in the band that was 30 years ago yeah you should have raised it by I mean there's got to be like a statute of limitations yeah yeah yeah why not have this settled by now yeah why not have this settled like a long time ago that's a good point yeah so I don't know good luck to them but um truth is usually somewhere in the middle so I guess oh oh definitely and most people don't have a fucking clue about how to communicate effectively and you know and I I witnessed that firsthand when I was you know jamming in the band the like the the just the complete lack of social skills with some people oh yeah putting the people in in the band with me I mean like some of the the secondary and tertiary people that would associate with us I'd be like man how did you how did you misunderstand oh yeah you know like where did you get that I mean I know a lot of it I knew when I was in there was I was in a band called red for a while and um we had our you know we we we went we got along really well and we did really well but then um we had we had our you know spinal tap moments and whatever and then the singer I guess did we controversy between me and him and we fought whatever but then we did this thing where an a friend of ours had died and he was in the band at one point too and we decided to do a little tribute to him so we reunited the original members back together and then when the singer and I saw each other again we hadn't talked for like I don't I think it was like 14 years or something. Oh then as soon as we saw each other we both just started apologizing. He was like hey man I'm so sorry that it went down like this and I'm like I'm sorry I reacted like that and we kind of came together and then we had this great show and everything but it was one of those things that in hindsight I realized that a lot of it was our immaturity and our egos that really were getting in the way at that time because God knows I know my ego was part of the problem. And that was one of the my in my response to what what was going on with him and uh it was one of those things where the maturity and the age I think was one of those things that really just made us kind of go hey we fucked up and you know right let's fix this and and we did and it was fine. So you know so so it it's nice when bands can kind of do that too and I think there's other bands that go through that where they kind of had that realization of like you know the youth and you know we had our heads up our asses and whatever. So oh yeah you know uh and there's another similar dynamic going on with Cradle of Filth right now because uh a couple of their members split like their guitarist and his wife who is like this uh the keyboard the keyboardist and the singer I believe uh they they're going after Danny Filth so that same thing so I hadn't heard that yeah so there's some members of Cradle Filth and they there's other members that have exited the band that have had the same kind of dynamic with him. So I don't know how much truth there is to that but they're saying like they weren't paid well and you know the whole thing they were held back money and so I don't know. Uh it's so tough to make a living with you know with these bands but I think when you have a central figure like that they see themselves as like the band yeah and everybody else is kind of just supporting the band. So I think there's times when they kind of like well I'm kind of doing a lot of the work here so I should be getting the lion's share of the profits. Right. But but not but they don't necessarily talk about that with the band right so right right so you know so I think there's some of that that goes on too but you know a lot of stuff gets on uh goes unsaid yeah especially at the formation of a band because everybody's high on yeah we're gonna kick ass we're gonna do great and nobody's thinking about the money yeah you know well they are but they're thinking like everything will work out yeah no having a band where you're making money is a business yes so it needs to be run like a business there needs to be kind of like employment contracts and communications and yeah yeah everybody's got to be on the same page about every aspect of the band's functioning how often are we going to practice what kind of behaviors are allowed or not allowed to practice what kinds of shows we're gonna play um you know how how money's divided who gets credit for what yeah absolutely how much a t-shirt's gonna be yeah exact and the big thing like you just mentioned is how's the money going to be divided that should be one of the very first conversations that that takes yeah it's a tough conversation but like one of the most important conversations to have up front because there can also be a lot of misunderstandings about that as far as what people think they should be getting paid and you know who should be getting what so yeah there's a lot of that definitely if I ever went into another band situation that would be one of the first discussions I'd have if I if it was going to be any more than just like a casual jam situation where shows were involved right right let's get this out of the way let's talk about it now and just figure it out yeah yeah I didn't do that with sarcophagy I'm so well we didn't do that right away either yeah the bands I was in the same deal no we didn't do it either no not until it was like cool let's just hang out yeah and then after you're into it you're like uh how are we gonna divide this and it was like then then shit got real I know well the good thing for us is that we didn't make hardly any money that's right so there's nothing to really fight about hey man we're gonna divide this five dollars of you know so everybody gets a dollar get a buck fifty that's right so all right so yeah nothing pissed off about there uh so ghost is taking a hiatus for touring uh Tobias forge wants to spend time with his family so I think there's uh that's happened with a lot of bands now where they're kind of pulling back a little bit and kind of going look I'm um you know especially as they get older I think they're you know I think that's happening more and more and I think that they've done a lot of work ghost yeah I mean one of the premier metal acts in the world right now absolutely but one of the biggest names in metal right now so yeah it's a very smart move because it allows him time to recharge spend time with his family with his kids whatever and then a year two years from now it'll be like the big comeback. Absolutely and it also gives yeah well gives the fans a break like you said because they've been releasing albums in Turn a lot and then when there's that little bit of a gap in there it creates that like oh when when are they gonna release a new album kind of a thing right right right right right you don't want to burn people out yeah yeah good point uh so yeah cool uh now uh speaking of uh like uh of uh albums and and new uh and bands coming out and stuff uh big surprise was neurosis so uh because we talked about them a little bit and of course the issue was Scott Kelly and you know and everybody thought the band was done and then out of fucking nowhere they come out with a new album uh an undying love for a burning for a burning world which is such an appropriate title right now and of course the new singer and guitarist with Aaron Turner from uh ISIS so which everybody's going to use like the perfect replacement so and then of course they have a single out and the whole you know the this whole thing and now they're they're coming back with a new show um they're gonna be playing uh we're gonna be talking about the live shows a little bit later and they're doing the fire in the mountains so uh so huge comeback for neurosis here so were you always were you a neurosis fan or no no no I know next to nothing about them is the single any good uh yes it's incredible it's really punishing and just kind of like it's all neuro it sounds like them for sure all right uh and if you ever get a chance to see them live they are probably maybe like the most intense band I've ever seen live like ever. And I've seen you know black metal all kinds you know anything kind of really and I've yeah I saw them I've seen them four or five times now and it's one of the most intense experiences I've ever had. They do visuals and just their presence and they're just like relentless. They just are they and they don't stop. It's just like this onslaught of of what they do. And it's like and they and when you see them it's like they grab you by the throat and they just don't let go and they just beat the shit out of you for an hour and a half and then they let you they let you go and they feel like it. So that's the way to do it. I mean that's the way it feels when you go see them so uh I highly recommend uh seeing them live because you'll you'll see but it's an experience which is better yeah it's better when they're not like in a festival or opening up for a big band because I've seen them at like Maryland Death Fest and I've seen them open from Pantera and when they're in those kind of circumstances they can't do the stage show that they normally do with visuals and stuff. So it's better when they're headlining on their own and just doing their own tour because they get to see all these visuals and stuff that they do which is part of what makes the experience so intense. Right right yeah it's just incredible so just if you get a chance you know just a huge fan of them and uh they've got a new album out now and go replace Scott Kelly with uh Aaron Turner and then another uh other new release I see coming up and I don't know how I feel about this is Jeff Tate is releasing Operation MindCime 3 yeah with without Queensreich so you I don't know man how do you feel about that I got a a pre-sale notification about that from Ticketmaster um and I was like Minecrime 3 yeah yeah are you are you a Queen's Reich guy?
SPEAKER_00Yeah I I'm not like the uh a huge Queen's right fan but yeah you know enough of one to care. Okay. Um I know that they don't get along yeah and um it just like so so there'll never be like an actual Queen's Reich reunion.
SPEAKER_01No's out too I mean he's not coming back oh yeah yeah yeah um I don't know I I don't know that I would pay money to see that I mean he's he's gonna do the whole Mine Crime alb first of all I didn't know that this was the final record in a trilogy yeah I didn't know either I mean that was I yeah I didn't know they were doing it yeah I I think even when the second one came out everybody was like there's a second one so you know they didn't they didn't expect a sequel to it and then the third one was like completely by surprise because I was like he's doing a third one but without Queensrike it makes no sense you know uh did you hear this the there's a new single out called Power that he released did you listen to it yet no I'm gonna check it out though because apparently these these efforts are uh kind of from the point of view of Dr. X yeah it's it's that's the story that's different the other two albums were about uh Nikki and and uh uh and um the nun uh so but this one's about yeah this one's from the perspective of Professor X it's like how he became and then yeah yeah yeah so that's kind of his origin story I guess um I did hear the first signal uh single um it it's it sounds to me like Jeff Tate in a Queen's right cover band and the reason but no cigar well the reason it's yeah because if you listen to the guitars it's like they're trying to capture the guitar work from the first album especially but it's not them so it sounds like they're forcing it to sound kind of like that. That was just me and my impression of that and I don't know and I loved I am such a huge fan of that first album. I wore out my cassette when I got it second cassette I bought it on CD I have it on digital I've listened to that album more times than I can count. I wrote I wrote a screenplay based on that album no shit that I presented to them. Yes to them to them yeah like I met them because I was doing a documentary uh about WMMR in Philly uh uh it's about the the Preston and Steve show so I did a documentary about that radio show yeah and one of the days I shot there at the station Queensreich was there they were touring it was still Jeff Tate was still in the band they were doing uh they were touring for American Soldier and they were playing in Delaware at the uh the the theater there oh yeah yeah yeah yeah so and I shot them that there that morning when they were playing at the station so I got to talk to them and I told them that I wrote this script because I had written the script by that time and I said can I send this to you guys and they were like sure and then uh and then I also had to get permission to use the footage that I shot and this is where my Jeff Tate story comes in because I don't like it. He's an asshole. He's an asshole he is oh yeah so I had to get approval from them to get to use the footage and when I when I reached out because I had to go through him uh he put me in touch with their lawyer and they're like okay send the footage over so I sent the footage over and then I heard nothing and then I said hey can I get you know can you guys tell me what's up with the footage and they were like uh we never looked at it can you send it again they did that to me five times five times that I had to send that footage and they kept jerking me around and then and then he finally just said no I'm like why didn't you just say no I mean you guys kept asking me I was I was FedExing this shit overnight it was costing me like a hundred bucks to shut to ship it out there every time and then and then he just screwed me and acted like an asshole about it. I'm like just said no just say no don't don't jerk me around like that when we're it's like they were just trying to push me away and get me to kind of give up but I was like I really wanted that really want to put that interview in there I still have the footage but I can never show yeah I haven't I can never show it because they I don't have the permission to show it. But but but that's my kind of story with him so I'm like yeah I'm not a big fan so yeah so so sorry side story about Jeff Tate. No that's very interesting I mean it's it's uh grist for the mill well a little bit as far as understanding the current day uh thing that he's got going on i d I didn't even know that that was happening oh I didn't either I couldn't believe that when they released it I kind of felt a little bit uh uh insulted's not the right word but almost in a way because I mean it's I don't have any skin in the game but but it's just kind of as a fan I was kind of like eh like without without at least without Michael Wilton and and right you know and Eddie Jackson being involved they're still in the band so I mean I know Dugarmo retired or whatever he's doing uh and Scott Rockinfield's doing other things but but it was just kind of like well maybe talk to at least do something with the band you know at least get the Michael Wilton in there or something. So I think part of the legacy of mind crime well yeah so it's just to do it without them is kind of I don't know. Yeah I'm kind of curious how they feel about that.
SPEAKER_00I don't know what goes on in a person's mind to to s to to say I don't care how monumentally important this is to so many people but I just think they're a prick.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I can't I can't stomach uh dealing with that. I mean, it's possible, you know. Yeah, I don't I'm not a fly on the wall, so I can't pretend to know exactly what those dynamics were. Maybe they got to the point where they literally couldn't stand each other anymore. And then you don't want to have people uh you know clashing like that.
SPEAKER_01Well, it's the same thing with Skid Row and Sebastian Bach. They don't want anything to do with him. There you go. So, you know, same deal. Uh all right. So, any other music news? Did you have anything else?
SPEAKER_00Uh I did. Um I want to plug one more thing here.
SPEAKER_01Oh, please do.
SPEAKER_00Uh a week and a half ago on Friday the 13th, we saw the release of Protrusions The Last Separation. Now, Protrusion is a death metal band from Indiana. And the drum the the guy who plays guitar, Kyle Chrisman, was our drummer on the sarcophague record. Oh. And he's teamed up with these four other dudes, and well, I think it's no, it's a four-man band, but um, it's brutal as fuck. I ordered it on cassette and I got it, and it's badass.
SPEAKER_01But here's hold on, you ordered it on cassette?
SPEAKER_00Yes, sir, I did. Why was it only available on cassette? Oh no, no. Why did you order a cassette? Because I haven't gotten a new cassette in about 25 years. Do you have a cassette player? I have a cassette deck, bruh.
SPEAKER_01What a dual cassette deck. Get out. You still have a dull cassette deck? No way. Attached to my hi-fi. What made you want to buy a cassette? What was the just because you hadn't bought one for a while? That's all?
SPEAKER_00Um it's nostalgia. Okay. Because that's what you did back then was you got, you know, you traded tapes and shit. I just want to hold a tape. And and honestly, one of the things one of the aspects of it was like when I what I I just I used to love opening a cassette and then smelling it. The fucking chemical smell from the the J card.
SPEAKER_01Like I know exactly the smell you're talking about. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And like every time I would smell it, I would just think of the word purple. I'd be like, purple. It made me think of the color purple. It was nuts. It must be using a different ink now, though, because I didn't smell the purple this time.
SPEAKER_01So but so you bought it because that because you used to trip on the on the smell of the tape.
SPEAKER_00I wanted to see if it still smelled the same. But uh no, no, seriously, and you know, and also it's uh it forces me to listen to it in a controlled environment, like we were talking about. Interesting, where I could, you know, it's not something I'm streaming and then I'm like standing in line at 7-Eleven, like, yeah, I'll take that crumpet over there, and I'll take that donut, and then the music is going at the same time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, um, but I would like to call all of your attentions to the final song on the album. It's called Anthropophilic, Anthropophilic Anomaly.
SPEAKER_01Oh, killer, and it fucking rips. Dude, yay, awesome. Uh, plug the album again and then and the band.
SPEAKER_00This is um protrusion is the band. Okay, and the album is called The Last Separation. And the song you're and the song you're soloing on? It's anthropo prophylic anomaly. I I just keep having trouble uh anthroprophilic, yeah. Anomaly.
SPEAKER_01Okay, that's very cool, man. And uh, can people find it anywhere else? Like it's on Bandcamp or uh I you know it's on yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00It's on that's on YouTube, Bandcamp. Um uh and if you want to score a copy of it, uh there's um not just cassettes, obviously, there's CDs. Yeah, um, I got it from uh Iron Fortress Records.
SPEAKER_01There you go. Okay.
SPEAKER_00So support Iron Fortress Records because they are a legit uh uh you know uh extreme music distributor. Cool. And they have a tremendous selection. Awesome.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00I was Iron Fortress.
SPEAKER_01Iron Fortress Records. Iron Fortress Records, okay, cool. All right, thank you for the plug. Anything else in music news?
SPEAKER_00Um let's see. Oh, yes, this week, WSOU, the radio station up in uh South Orange. South Orange, yep. Uh they began a celebration of 40 years of metal this week. Whoa, cool. Every week for the next 40 weeks, they are going to play the top metal hits of each year. Wow, that's 89.5 FM. But you can also listen online too. Like if you want to pull them up, so that's for our audience here.
SPEAKER_01WSOU.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, check it out. I think I don't know if it's WSOU.com or not. I haven't been on the website.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you can find it. Yeah, I'm sure they'll find it. Oh, that's really cool. They're doing that for 40 weeks. Oh, that's killer. That's a really cool that's gonna be fun to listen to. Oh, hell yeah. A lot of fun to listen to. Hell yeah. So they're doing it chronologically from 86. From 86. Oh, from 86 up till now. That's really cool, man. Right. I gotta go back and check that out myself. I'm gonna listen to that. There you go. Oh, that's cool. Uh you heard? Yeah, very nice. Very nice. All right. Uh, anything else on music news? That's it. That's it. Okay, awesome. All right, that means we're over to our album review of the episode. Which was your pick? It was, and you went with the classic, another classic, William. Suicidal tendencies. How can I? Oh, there it is. Nice. Excellent.
SPEAKER_02Fuck you, there's the shirt.
SPEAKER_01Hold on for our audience. Oh, check that out, dude. Excellent. How can I, yes, okay.
SPEAKER_00And the album is, of course, how can I laugh tomorrow when I can't even smile today?
SPEAKER_01There you have it. Okay, so uh this was when you brought this up, you're you're hitting me with all this nostalgia, like when you did with the Megadeth album. And when I saw this, I was like, oh, killing because I had I had I hadn't really thought about this album for a while. Yeah, so but then all of a sudden you brought it back in my radar, and I was like, holy shit. So I had to go back and you know, so it was bringing back I had a lot of flooded memories and I came back with this one. Why did you pick this one? What made you go with this one?
SPEAKER_00Same exactly what you just said. I hadn't heard it in forever. Okay, and it absolutely rocked my world when I first heard it, and and and on SOU, uh-huh, yep, um, they played a medley of the title track, and that led into the second song that they played, which was not on this album, but it's on um it's on another record. It's uh controlled by hatred.
SPEAKER_02Yep.
SPEAKER_00And I just remember when they played those two songs together, I just went, I gotta fucking learn how to play that. And I just I recorded the the whole sequence of it, and I would just rewind, play, rewind, play until I could fucking play all the riffs. And uh it was also what got me into like really getting precise with my my triplets. Oh, okay. Right on.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um, Mike Clark is a fucking genius on the rhythm guitar.
SPEAKER_01Big time. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00And he's he's one of my biggest influences. So I said, you know, this album has gotta, it's gotta get on the show.
SPEAKER_01Going back to the album here, so you said you kind of chose it because you just hadn't it hadn't been on your radar for a while, and it was something that inspired you from the past, right? And it's still good. Oh, I know it's one of those albums that when I kind of went back to it, I was like, this thing still holds up.
SPEAKER_00So I was like, Yeah, this is really cool. Well, I mean, it does sound old, it does sound like old threshold.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah, it's got a dated sound to it to be sure, but but the the songwriting and the songs themselves are something that you know is still kind of like genre-defined to this day, yeah. At least I think because they they were always one of those bands that it was kind of hard to put your thumb on them in some ways because they had such a combination of like rap and punk and metal and even like blues and you know, with with um uh with uh Rocky with the guitars. Oh my god, so good. I mean, you know, you had this kind of like virtuoso kind of guitarist in there too. Yeah, mixed also with the monster Robert Trujillo on bass, who's now playing bass with you know, who's also the bass who's the bass player for Midallica now, and his son is now the the bass player for for suicide for suicidal, yeah, which is really cool. I love the way that kind of happened with his son in the band now, and then he's a monster on the bass too. So he's like there, you know. So you have these so you have these excellent musicians, yeah, and then you have this this kind of this crazy singer with uh Mike Mirror. Michael Mike! Oh my god, where he's just like he's just like in your face, and he's got this attitude, and like you he's unavoidable, and like between all these dynamics in the band, it's just kind of like this such an eclectic mix of stuff smashed together, yeah, but at the same time it works.
SPEAKER_00It's a great chemistry of all of them together.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah, and the attitude that they bring to the table is just kind of like you know, is just like one of those things that makes them so such such a unique band, I think. Because there's nobody that sounds like them. No, it's a very unique sound. Yeah, I mean, well, there's other bands that are kind of in the same neighborhood. I would I would put fishbone in kind of the same neighborhood as them. Yeah, they do have the same kind of approach, yeah. Yeah, something like that, or maybe you know, just like bands that are kind of little maybe a little more ska influenced and that kind of thing. But overall, though, I mean, just between punk and metal and like all the other stuff that they have mixed together, there's just they're just them, there's nobody likes them.
SPEAKER_00So, but I got I I saw them open for Megadeth uh about 10 years ago. Okay, and I I saw his son you know playing. Oh wow, I've never seen them live. How were they how were they live? They were fucking amazing. Yeah, they have you know the you know, the new people, and Mike Clark is not in the band anymore, and I don't think I don't think Rocky George was there.
SPEAKER_01Oh, is that right? Okay, he's not in the okay.
SPEAKER_00I I don't think he was. Um they were really good. I remember standing there holding a guitar pick in my fingers and just fucking playing along. Um but the first time I saw them was in '91 uh for the the uh uh um lights camera revolution tour.
SPEAKER_01Yep, yep.
SPEAKER_00And uh I remember telling the people I was going with, I said, uh because at that time Suicidal Day were opening up for uh Queensrike.
SPEAKER_01Oh wow, that's an interesting goal.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, and it was the the Queensrike, we were just talking about Queen's Rike, it wasn't uh Mine Crime, it was the one after that. Uh with Jets and moving on it.
SPEAKER_01Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yep.
SPEAKER_00Um Empire, Empire, yeah. And uh oh man, that was a fucking great show.
SPEAKER_01Uh yes, I saw them on the tour too. That's when they did Mine Crime in its entirety.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, they did. That's right. Um, I told the people that I was going with, I said, you cannot be late. Because the one night I remember this, I had a fucking nightmare that we showed up to the concert late and suicidal had finished already. Oh no, and I was a much bigger suicidal fan than a Queens Rock fan. And I said, if you cause me to miss suicidal tendencies, we're gonna have a fucking problem. And and sure enough, I you know, I'm honking the horn, picking people up. Come on, motherfucker, come on. I'm fucking it because we were already late. And I fucking burst through the door, here's take my fucking ticket. Running up the stairs, and I can hear them playing, and sure enough, I fucking go into the uh the arena, and they had we're maybe about a minute into um You Can't Break Me Down. Oh, yeah, yeah. Cool. And I would that was the song I wanted to see, you know. At least I didn't miss the whole fucking song, you know. Okay, that's good. That's good.
SPEAKER_01That's awesome. How far into the set were they? How far what? How far into the set were they? Like, did you miss oh it's the first song? Oh, perfect. Okay, good. But I we just about a time. Just about a time. That's good. We cut it too close. What what what made you pick this album? This is their third album from 1988. What made you pick this one? It's the most cohesive. Oh, I think that's true. You know, I get I get that. Yeah, it's most them.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, yeah. Light's camera is a great record, but it's just I don't know. There's just it, it almost seems like they got a little poppier.
SPEAKER_01Oh, interesting.
SPEAKER_00Okay, you know, yeah, a little more mainstream, a little more mainstreamy, a little more, yeah, and well, especially for the one after that, and I don't remember what the name of it is, but I bought it and I'm like, this is the same band. Yeah, yeah, um, and controlled by hatred, I really like, but uh you know, there it doesn't have as many sublime songs on it as How Will I Laugh Tomorrow? Yeah, it's almost feels like it has more of an underground feel, like before they really really reached full X maturity, yeah, yeah. You know, and then the the first uh join the army. It was I don't know. I'm not a huge fan of that because I was never like a skater.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. Well, that that was I think this one uh you make a good point about it's kind of like really solidly them as far as like the songwriting, they kind of matured into their style more here, right? Uh and they've more defined their style, I think, here too, where they really kind of nailed down what they were and what they were representing themselves as. Exactly. So, yeah, so just because like I know Trip of the Brain and like Sorry were two of my favorite songs off of here. Yep. And and and and those all uh and those songs though are very definitive of them. I mean, like that's one of those things when you hear it's like, oh yeah, that's them. It's obvious it's it's you know, it's obviously them. Yeah, so so but yeah, that that but but then also like at the same time though, they do jump around a little stylistically, um, but it's still stay them the whole time. Like, How Will I Laugh Tomorrow is kind of a nice longer song, it gets a little bit more you know built out. So there's stuff like that that they're doing that they're they're capable of writing longer, more thoughtful stuff, and then they write something just you know with the attitude like just punching you in the gut with like surf and slam like that, where it's just kind of like you know, total attitude.
SPEAKER_00Yes, you know, yes. Uh I one of the standouts for me is the is Pledge Your Allegiance.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's cool, yeah.
SPEAKER_00And it's because of the chorus, and and it's just like that chant. They played it when I saw them 10 years ago, and I just remember screaming, ST just going on. And then at the end, everybody's going suicidal, suicidal, it's badass.
SPEAKER_01Right on.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, I really dug the album, man. I mean, it just it it w when I listened to it, it brought it literally brought me back into my childhood bedroom with all my bedroom furniture and my first guitar and my first amp, and I'm sitting there like, it was a joyous moment.
SPEAKER_01I I love those, I do love those kind of nostalgic albums to be sure. And this is yeah, this was definitely a pick a great pick. I yeah, I love their mix of just like punk and thrash, and you know, just and all those sort of early influences, but yeah, it's it's uh it's uh unique and it's all them. So all right, it's a good choice, man. That was a yeah, thanks.
SPEAKER_00One of one of the um one of the things I kept thinking is like the the guitar tone. Like, and I and I I've noticed that one of the the main out of all the notes of all the albums we've been discussing, the one comment that keeps getting made over and over again is supreme fucking guitar tone.
SPEAKER_01Amazing, yeah, yeah, yeah. Totally.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, all these albums that we've been discussing, like they really did a nice job just tweaking the guitar tone just perfect, and so it's not harsh, yet it's not too mellow, it's fucking right in the pocket, it's also distinctive.
unknownUh-huh.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. Like you can hear the guitarist and know almost who's playing it sometimes with that. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, but that's the signature of a band like this where they have that uniqueness to them, so they don't sound generic like where they just blend in like so everybody else. But turn the guitar tone, and that that's part of it, though. Is that because you talked about uh uh Carl from Nile, how he has such a distinctive guitar tone because of the string gauges and all that good stuff. Yeah, that's that kind of stuff that does stand, that's why they stand out. So that's just they're not sound like just like everybody else on the planet because they they have those kind of more intricate details about what they sound like and how they play.
SPEAKER_00That's right, you know, you know exactly who you're listening to when you hear it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, 100%. So, all right, so very cool. Anything else to say about uh Suicidal? Oh, it's it ST motherfuckers, baby suicidal for life. So uh, so check out uh yeah, so check out well, pretty much anything from their first, like I don't know, five, ten albums really, or five classic albums. So, but yeah, but this is definitely one, uh, you know, how will I laugh tomorrow when I can't even smile today? So classic album. Right on. All right, moving on to the mystery band. All right, my turn. So this is my turn, and the band I'm turning you on to this week is a black metal band. I don't know how how are you how how are you on black metal? Do you are you into it, not into it right now?
SPEAKER_00A little bit.
SPEAKER_01Okay, all right. I dig I dig some of the riffs. Okay, I want to challenge you a little bit with this one. Uh it's a band called Blackbraid. Have you ever heard of them? Oh, yeah. Oh, okay. I've heard of them, but I don't know if I've heard about it from you or okay. Uh, not from me because I haven't mentioned them yet. So this is my first time mentioning them here in the show. All right, I think anyway. So, but yeah, I believe this is the first time. Duto. The third album is the one I would start with, Blackbraid 3. It's actually uh a solo project. Uh it started off as a solo project, uh, a guy named uh uh John Krieger, who goes by now that's his his sort of name name, but then his stage name is Sagagawa. Uh hold on. I'm gonna hold on, let me get this right. Um, it's Skagasawa. Skagasawa. There we go. Skagasawa. That's his stage because he is uh this is uh what makes them unique is this is based on Native American lore. So he's a Native American. Uh so he uh uh uh his name comes from a Mohawk meaning uh the witch hawk. That's what Oh my god, that's so cool. That's what his name means, yep. And then he has he is it's his it's his solo thing, and he does kind of everything in the band, but then of course he tours with like you know musicians and stuff like that. But he's singing, he's playing guitar. Uh, I believe he does all the other musicians. Oh, hell yeah. Yeah, so check it out. And what makes them interesting is that they're black metal to be sure, and there's there is the the distinctive black metalness to to what to what he does, right? But it there's definitely a unique aspect to the music, and there's a lot of Native American influence within it, which makes really fucking interesting.
SPEAKER_00Oh, that's awesome!
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so you mix that lore and the the old kind of the musical influences of Native Americans, and you throw it that in with black metal. It's kind of that same eclectic mix that Zealand Arter had, but just on the Native American side instead of like gospel and stuff like that. So, but but yeah, it's this crazy cool mix, and and it's really unique, I thought, as far as like uh it's gonna be familiar to you because it sounds like black metal, but then when you start to listen to it, you're like, Oh, wait a minute, this is there's different stuff in here. Okay, so and he's not like particularly overt about it, and it and the way he blends it in sounds natural to like it belongs there. It's not like he just kind of shoehorned, like you know, uh some Native American stuff in there and feels like it doesn't, it feels like out of place, like it's like he's doing for the sake of doing it. It makes sense within the context of the rest of the music. That's hard to do. It is so so check that out. Black blade uh black braid three is the album. Okay, so I will.
SPEAKER_00I dig Native American uh folklore, oh chants and things like that. I dig that stuff.
SPEAKER_01Then you I think you're gonna like this. Cool. So so yeah, so check that out. Uh uh third album, Blackbraid Three, would be the one I would start with, uh, and then yeah, take it from there. Okay. It's really interesting. Yeah, and then we'll see what you think of it, you know, in the next episode if you get a chance to listen.
SPEAKER_00While we're talking about um uh mystery bands, yeah, I checked out the uh LSD that you referred me to. Oh, what'd you think? I thought they were very good. Did you like it? I was I was tripped up by that singer man. Stanley. Stanley. I thought his name was Jimmy, but yeah, it just like you weren't lying, dude. He walked and walked up there like he just stepped out of the Port Authority bus terminal.
SPEAKER_01Probably smell like it too. Oh, he did smell like it. I I've seen them, I saw them live like four times, and I could tell you from first hand experience, I know what that man smelled like, and yes, that's what he smelled like.
SPEAKER_00Well, more like beneath the station, but yeah, he channeled some major fucking um uh Scott Whalen uh good singing, totally and the music the music was good, and I I I I could see why it got criticized as kind of like uh sh uh like shlocky a little bit, yeah, for sure. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean shit if a band. Like that came out now. Oh. So maybe their maybe their lack of of of uh success beyond the first album was short-lived because they were in the wrong time. I don't I don't know.
SPEAKER_01It might have been the wrong time for them.
SPEAKER_00But that was a good pick too.
SPEAKER_01All right, I'll check out Black Braid. Blackbraid, and then the album is Blackbraid 3. Right on. Okay. All right. Moving on to the last topic, and that would be live shows and tours. I have tickets to go see Bleed from Within. They're doing the tour behind their album Zenith. So I'm seeing their I'm seeing them here. So I'm seeing them here soon. When's this? What's that? When's this in April? Uh April, yeah. So they're coming up. Uh let me see who else is on tour. Wolf Mother is on tour this summer. Oh wow. I have tickets for that too. Uh then there's also the Aftershock Festival, which is coming up in October, which has a pretty crazy lineup. I looked at it. Yeah, did you take a look at that? What'd you think?
SPEAKER_00Well, Wolf Mother is on it. Oh, are they? I didn't realize that. I think it's Wolf Mother. Or it's either that or some other festival that I looked up. But uh Aftershock is was interesting when I looked it up because it's billed as a rock and metal festival.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So a couple of like I'm not into um what what who's the headliners?
SPEAKER_01Uh uh, yeah, it's like Limp Biscuits, one of the headliners. Uh yeah. Uh yeah. So so yeah, uh I'm not sure who else is on there, but I know they're one of the headliners. Uh who else was who else did I see in there? Um, yeah, well, Tool, Pierce the Veil, My Chemical Romance.
SPEAKER_00My chemical romance, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Queen of the Stone Age, Wu-Tang can Wu Tang clan is playing it. Yeah. So yeah, it's kind of Danny Elfman for some reason is playing it.
SPEAKER_00There's a lot of interesting, like Melvin's. Yeah. Helmet. Yeah. Municipal waste. Right. Buckethead. Down. Fucking Chromegs are playing it. Yeah, Chromegs. That was a big that was a big surprise. And how could you put Chrome's on the same bill as fucking Pentagram? Holy shit. Then there's also Brujeria. Right.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00And then there's also Cradle of Filth.
SPEAKER_01Yep.
SPEAKER_00Suicidal Tendencies.
SPEAKER_01Yep.
SPEAKER_00And kill switch engage. This is this is fucking crazy. Body count. Seven dust. Ice tease body count. Seven dust. Queens of the stone age.
SPEAKER_01Cold chamber. Um, let's see who else is on. Yeah, I mean, this lineup is insane. Like, and then they have old school like threat, like a trayo's in there, like out of nowhere. Corrosion of conformity is on there. Soul fly. So, yeah. So I think Max Cavallari's gonna be, you know, pulling off you know double duty there with you know, I think he's playing like three different bands there. But uh yeah, so I mean, like uh it's the Toadies for some reason is in there too. So then so yeah, such a weird like out of left field, they have some really weird bands in there, but I don't get it, and that's what I was gonna ask you when you thought about that.
SPEAKER_00Because, like I said, it's billed as a rock and metal festival, yet they have Wu Tang, yeah, Cypress Hill, and uh Public Enemy.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, what the fuck? I know so so and then mixed rix with mixed with like death metal, and I mean it's kind of like a a crazy Lollapalooza in some ways, so it's like kind of eclectic eclectic mix in a way. But if you look at the lineups, all the bands kind of go together though. There is kind of a stack there where it kind of like all the punk bands are together and all that, yeah, you know, so they're kind of at least grouping it that way, so that kind of makes sense. But yeah, what a what an eclectic mix. So aftershockfestival.com is the website coming up in October. It's Sacramento, isn't it? I believe so, yeah. Um, we have uh Ginger is going on a North American headlining tour with Crystal Lake, uh, and then that's coming up too. Uh, like I said, Wolf Mother is on tour this summer. Uh, I have tickets for that in I think July here in Portland. Nice. And then um uh did you look at the lineup for Fire in the Mountains, which is the festival in Montana. I did not. Oh, dude. This like this festival looks super freaking cool. Like uh this this is gonna mark the return of Neurosis, so this is the show they're coming back to play. Uh huh. But then they have all these other big like bands on there, like Enslaved is on there. Uh let me see who else is on the lineup. Um, let me think. Uh Sai, uh, there's Yab. Uh you know, big Oh wow. Yeah. So so bands like that are on here. Uh so uh Baroness. So they have these weird, this kind of really again, you know, kind of crazy lineup. But the thing I that I find interesting about Fire in the Mountains is that it's in uh it's on like I believe it's on a uh nation uh uh uh um Native American reservation. Uh because it's on the it's on the Blackfeet Nation. That's where it's kind of listed as far as location. So this is on like a Native American site, which is super interesting. So uh uh that that uh because that show would be super cool to see like in the mountains in Montana, and then you know you got this environment that's just beautiful out there, and then you're seeing all these crazy bands that I know. So, I mean, what a crazy, uh, crazy show that is.
SPEAKER_00Those people are gonna have the wildest group of motherfuckers show up for this thing and then go crazy, and then all of them are gonna leave. Like, did you did you did you see that happened over there? She was crazy.
SPEAKER_01That's true. That you're right. Like, I wonder how many people they must get a lot of people coming in from out of states to out of state to see that. They have to. Because there's like there's like 30 people that live in Montana, so I mean, you know, it's not like there's like a big metalhead community, and like, you know, right. So so I mean, they must be coming from neighboring states and stuff. That's the only thing I can think of.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah. I'm sure it's like it's a mostly Midwest phenomenon. Yeah. Um there's a death metal festival in the Dakotas called Slam Dakota.
SPEAKER_01Oh, I didn't hear about that.
SPEAKER_00And you wouldn't think that that would have, you know, uh a lot of people, but a lot of people road trip to a location like that.
SPEAKER_01No shit. Okay, cool. That's a South Dakota you said.
SPEAKER_00I think it's South Dakota, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Okay, cool.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I just hope that with what they're gonna do there, that uh some of the money uh goes towards the reservation.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, me too. I hope so too. Yeah, so well, I know that there's other shows being booked in reservations. I actually worked with a guy who was one of the bookers, uh, he was a Native American uh uh uh gentleman, and he was arranging some metal shows in, I believe, in a uh a reservation in Arizona, if I'm not mistaken. So he was getting all these punk bands in there and like black metal and other metal bands and stuff. And so he and I talked a lot, so he was really doing a lot of cool stuff there. So they're they're doing they're doing shows like that on Native American reservations, which is freaking amazing. So I think it's that's cool, yeah. Yeah. Uh any other shows to mention, any other tours to mention? Uh no, that's it for this week. That's it. Okay. All right. Well, that I believe, unless you have anything else to add, that will be the end of our episode. I think we did a good job. I think we did do a good job. Yeah. I think we talked about the metal, don't you? We talked about all the metal and all the metal. All the metal is out there now. Thanks to us. We're doing we're doing the we're doing the Lord's work. But the metal out to everybody. All right.
SPEAKER_00Bring the light.
SPEAKER_01All right, and that will wrap us up. Thank you for joining us. Please share our podcast with anyone who appreciates every video. Be sure to visit our social feeds and drop us a comment with your thoughts on the podcast.