Welcome to my column, The Random Ten, where I hit shuffle on my entire iTunes music library (close to 50 GB of music), listen to the first 10 songs that come up, and write about them as they play. As you'll notice, a majority of my collection consists of heavy metal or hard rock, in general, but you will find the occasional early-90s rap song, as well as an assortment of more eclectic bands. I know this is nothing fancy or new -- The A.V. Club has celebrity guests do this with their iPods all the time -- but John wanted me to continue doing it for the sake of this here wonderful blog, so I am willing to oblige. As Hyman Roth said in The Godfather, Part II, "I want you to enjoy your cake, so, enjoy!"
And yes, I did write that introduction after I wrote the following. You'll see why I'm clarifying that now later on.
1. Iron Maiden - "Where Eagles Dare" Piece of Mind - 1983
The leadoff track from Maiden's seminal Piece of Mind album, "Where Eagles Dare" also served as the introduction to drum god Nicko McBrain, and what an introduction it is. The song's opening drum triplets get you prepared for a song that, quite simply, kicks you in the face. This was the heaviest song Iron Maiden had recorded to that point, and remains maybe the heaviest thing they've ever done (except maybe "Aces High"). The soaring guitars in the solo section aren't the typical Maiden guitar solo, but rather a tradeoff between airy, almost psychedelic guitar lines that eventually converge into that ever-familiar Maiden twin harmonizing attack. I haven't even mentioned how great Bruce Dickinson sounds on this song. This was arguably his vocal peak, as he never really nailed this song on any live recording I've ever heard, but this studio version is an absolute masterpiece of ballsy-yet-operatic metal singing. Absolutely recommended for anyone who even pretends to listen to heavy metal -- this is the real deal.
2. Cave In - "Innuendo and Out the Other" Live Airwaves EP - 2004
Cave In's Jupiter is one of my all-time favorite albums, and this song originates from that LP. The band dropped their previous sound of Slayer-influenced psychedelic metalcore and went straight-out space rock on Jupiter (think Radiohead/Foo Fighters/Rush/Pink Floyd mixed together). "Innuendo and Out the Other" here is from the Live Airwaves EP that they sold on their Antenna tour. This version of the song does not have the full Bonham-is-God drum sound that the album version had, but the song is adequately performed, although it sounds a little slow and lifeless on this version. I can see why they picked up the tempos on the Antenna album again, because some of this Jupiter material sounds sleep-inducing in its live state. Also, the "whoa-oh-oh-oh" vocals in the middle of the song were left out in this version, something I wasn't too happy about. The only part of the song that sounds better on this live version is the end where the drums and guitars pick up the volume, and Caleb Scolfield's distorted bass tone comes in to drive it home. Still a great song, just not the best version I've heard. A little too "space-y," not enough rock.
3. Mastodon - "Welcoming War" Lifesblood EP - 2000
Mastodon's earlier material is some of the most ferocious, innovative metal I've ever heard, and this song shows why. The drums were basically one long drum fill by Brann Dailor, and that's not a bad thing, because they enhance the heavy grooves provided by the band's front 3 that much further. Their vocals were much more unintelligible back in the Lifesblood-era, but the music only showed what potential this band really possessed. It's hard to listen to a song like "Colony of Birchmen" from 2006's Blood Mountain and think that this is the same band that recorded "Welcoming War," but the similarities in the guitar tone and style are still there. Highly recommended for fans of really crushing metal, with a drummer who sounds like he's beating the sticks over your head for 3 minutes.
4.Alice in Chains - "Man in the Box" Facelift - 1990
If you've never heard this song, then you're too young to be reading this blog, or you're simply ignorant. Either way, stop reading. For those who have heard this song, what the hell can I say about it that hasn't already been said? Probably AiC's most overplayed song, but for good reason, as this song catapaulted them into the spotlight of the early Seattle "grunge" scene. Not my favorite AiC song by any means, but I still love the guitar sound, and Layne's voice was undeniably more powerful in the old days when he didn't have to record 7 harmonies to hide how frail he had become. The songwriting might not be as great as it was on later releases (Dirt being maybe my favorite album of all-time), but this is still a great hard rock song no matter how you slice it. Again, if you haven't heard it, do yourself a favor and listen to Alice in Chains. And if you don't like them, I can't help you.
5. Spiral Architect - "Insect" A Sceptic's Universe - 1999
This band recorded one album in 1999, and although they never officially broke up, it would be easy to see why they might. This album is absolutely mind-boggling, and I don't know if they could ever have topped it (although I'd love to see them try). "Insect" is one of their heavier songs, although it's just as progressive and technical as everything else on A Sceptic's Universe. You would think a band named after a Black Sabbath song would be stoner rock or doom metal -- WRONG. This band mixes the technical prowess of bands like Dream Theater and Cynic and combines them with an almost power-metal like flair for the dramatic (but not nearly as cheesy), and every instrument's performance is a highlight. I could only dream of playing riffs like this. People would try to label them as prog-metal or jazz-metal, but you really just have to hear this band and be blown away by the sheer musicality. And don't think that it's all show-off music with no substance; this band writes SONGS, and what great songs they are. This album definitely went over my head the first 3 or 4 times I heard it, but I couldn't just put it away. The more you become familiar with the songs, the more that is revealed to the listener. Obviously not for everybody, but if you like to simply be blown away by brilliant musicianship, check this band out.
6. Black Sabbath - "Heaven and Hell" Heaven and Hell - 1980
If you've always thought of Ronnie James Dio as a sword-wielding, medeival times, dragonslaying joke, you wouldn't be alone; I always thought he was a miniature caricature of heavy metal itself... until I actually listened to him. Now, I'm not the biggest fan of Dio - The Band, but Dio the singer is simply incredible. His work before starting Dio -- singing with Elf, Rainbow and, of course, Black Sabbath -- is nearly flawless. This title track from Sabbath's first post-Ozzy album Heaven and Hell is one of Tony Iommi's best riffs, and maybe Dio's best vocal performance ever. Geezer Butler plays the bassline that Dio himself wrote when first jamming with Tony Iommi during Black Sabbath's hiatus, and it's easy to see why he convinced Tony to carry on with the Black Sabbath name. This song absolutely kicks ass in that slow, menacing, purely-Sabbathian way, and when it picks up the pace for the song's climax, you're left thinking, "Ozzy who?" I know most mainstream rock fans laugh at that sort of sentiment, but it seems nowadays with Heaven and Hell - The Band (long story, don't ask) touring the country and selling out shows at Radio City Music Hall, amongst other famed theaters, that maybe Dio-fronted Sabbath has just as much longevity as Ozzy-era Sabbath.
7. Audioslave - "Shape of Things to Come" Revelations - 2006
Talk about a band that started off with the potential for greatness but ended up disappointing in the end, we here have Audioslave, a.k.a. Rage Against the Machine fronted by Chris Cornell. I was a fan of both Rage and Soundgarden, and I like almost all of Audioslave's self-titled debut, and about half of their second album Out of Exile, but their third and final album, Revelations, was a major disappointment upon release. I've grown to appreciate "The Original Fire" as a tribute to 70's funk bands, but aside from that song and the title track, this album just reeked of mediocrity, and songs like "The Shape of Things to Come" showcase why. Boring, mid-paced rock made by musicians too comfortable to care any more. No surprise, as they broke up months later. The band would reunite with Rage Against the Machine and do occasional shows, while Cornell released a second, more rock-oriented solo album, before deciding to write songs for David Cook (why not for Archuleta, too, while you're at it?) and release a third, pop-oriented solo album produced by none other than Timbaland. Great job, Chris.
8. Judas Priest - "Ram It Down" Ram It Down - 1988
People always cite Painkiller as the album that brought Priest into the then-newer, faster days of heavy metal, but the title track from Ram It Down was pretty much the fastest and heaviest thing the band had done, up until the cheesy-as-all-hell singalong bridge section. As an album, Ram It Down basically sucks (don't even start me on the "Johnny B. Goode" cover), but as a song, "Ram It Down" is fast, heavy Priest with great vocals and great duelling guitar solos. The drums sound like a drum machine, true, but this song does not get nearly as much credit as being a Priest classic as it should. Of course, by the time Painkiller was released this album was completely forgotten about (as was its predecessor, the unfairly panned Turbo, which at least tried new things for a group who had made the same album three times in a row), and Priest regained their status as metal gods... until Rob Halford left the band following the touring cycle for Painkiller. At least they're back together now. This song rules, and if you don't think so, you're not a Priest fan.
9. Megadeth - "Symphony of Destruction" That One Night - Live in Buenos Aires - 2007
This is one of the more popular metal anthems of all time, and for good reason. Megadeth had outgrown their thrash metal roots and made solid, mid-paced riff-fests, and Countdown to Extinction is a masterpiece of metal songwriting. This version from last year's live album That One Night sounds like it was tweaked with in the studio. Why do I say that? Because Dave Mustaine actually sounds good singing, and he SUCKS live. Also interesting is the crowd's participation in singing along with the main riff(!), not the verse vocals, and singing "MEG-A-DETH! MEG-A-DETH! FU-CKING MEG-A-DETH!" along in unison. That's kind of awesome, but also a little cult-ish. I think I'd be afraid to go to a metal show in South America; these people are INSANE. In all seriousness, though, this is a great performance of an all-time classic song.
10. Cake - "Nugget" Fashion Nugget - 1996
(Get the quote now? Yeah, neither do I...) I'm glad the random 10 actually has something somewhat RANDOM in it. I'm not a huge Cake fanatic -- I mean, don't get me wrong, I can tolerate "The Distance," "I Will Survive," "Never There" and a few other hits -- but I absolutely love this song. Rarely do you hear a funky band with a trumpet player sound as spiteful as Cake does in the song "Nugget." This song is funny, fun, and yet pissed-off at the same time, and I love it. If you've never heard Cake, this song gives a pretty good idea of what they sound like, but with more profanity than usual. Highly recommended.
Matt Steele
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