The Random Ten #2

Hello folks, time for another Random Ten with Matt Steele, where I go through my entire iTunes library, hit "shuffle," listen to the first 10 songs that pop up, and write about them as I listen.

Iron Maiden "2 Minutes to Midnight" - Powerslave 1984

From their second album that featured their "classic" line-up (Harris, Murray, Smith, Dickinson, McBrain), "2 Minutes to Midnight" was one of the first "hits" for Iron Maiden, actually gaining a good amount of play on MTV upon its release in 1984. The video was about some weird arab-terrorist conspiracy from what I could gather, and it featured footage of the band playing the song on stage, I believe. Maiden were never known for their videos, but this one wasn't all that cheesy when compared to stinkers like "Can I Play with Madness?" and "Holy Smoke." Anyways, back to the song: this song isn't particularly heavy, but it's one of Maiden's catchiest riffs and choruses, and it remains a live favorite to this day. The mid-paced bridge and solo sections of the song are highlights, and the simplicity of the guitar riffs gives Steve Harris a lot of room for great, fancy basswork. The production is clean-yet-heavy, and they didn't have an album sound this good until 2000's Brave New World; that says something about the quality of albums released after Powerslave. Some say it's their last great album, but I disagree. Either way, "2 Minutes..." is a classic.

Judas Priest "Rock Hard, Ride Free" - Defenders of the Faith 1984

The verses and chorus of this song (with different lyrics) were demoed for a track on Hell Bent for Leather, but Priest must have been running out of ideas in '85, because they took those ideas and made them into another attempt at a singalong rock anthem, "Rock Hard, Ride Free." I must admit, I love this song's intro, and the dual guitar harmony runs throughout are definitely rocking and uplifting. While this song hasn't been played live too much until recently by Priest, I'd say it's one of their better "anthems," and blows away turds like "Heavy Metal" and "United." Halford's vocals are harsh and high-pitched, but in a good way, and the riffs are solid throughout. Back in '84, Priest were getting a little stale, as the faster, hungrier Iron Maiden were gaining popularity around this point in time, yet Priest were still mainstream icons in the American metal scene, whereas Maiden pretty much took over the world.

Agoraphobic Nosebleed "Strong Stench of Balance" - Pcp Tornado 1998

Industrial-influenced noise/grindcore that lasted about 45 seconds. By the time I looked up the title and the year the album came out the next song had already started. If you're into this sort of thing, ANb are the kings of it; if you're not, don't bother.

Kiss "Strutter" - Kiss 1974

Due to their image-and-cash-obssessed legacy, people tend to forget that Kiss were, at one time, an amazing hard rock band. "Strutter" is a great, catchy, hard rock song. Their songwriting would undoubtedly go downhill following their late-70s peak in popularity, but even on their debut they were polished and powerful in the studio, something they didn't necessarily have to be -- let's face it; they could have relied on their image and still been huge, but back before the money dominated their minds, Kiss were a hungry, solid rock band, and "Strutter" rules. I won't even argue if you disagree that "Strutter" is amazing.

White Zombie "I Am Legend" - La Sexorcisto 1992

This song is as close to doom metal as White Zombie ever got. I hear a lot of Sabbath in this song, particularly Sabbath Bloody Sabbath-era -- the beautiful clean guitar intro, the heavy, plodding riffs, exploding cymbal crashes. It's also refreshing to hear Rob Zombie's voice not so filtered and processed as it is nowadays, back when he actually sang from the gut and used his natural ability (not that he had much to begin with, but he sounds great on this). La Sexorcisto features a lot of samples and shenanigans that White and Rob Zombie have been long known for, but "I Am Legend" is stripped-down and raw, and probably the best song on the album, aside from all-time classic "Thunderkiss '65." J. Yeunger was a criminally underrated guitar hero of the 90s, and I wonder what the hell he's been up to since Rob Zombie went solo. This song proves that White Zombie the band was far greater than Rob Zombie the solo artist.

Pantera "Rise" - Vulgar Display of Power 1992

Starting as an all-out thrash assault before settling into the famous mid-paced Pantera "power groove," "Rise" is one of Pantera's heaviest and greatest contributions to the metal lexicon. I've seen Pantera live two times and never have I heard this song in concert, which is a shame, as I doubt I'll ever get that chance, due to the untimely on-stage murder of guitarist Dimebag Darrell Abbott in December of 2004 (side note: I cannot believe it's already been 4 years since Darrell's murder. I remember reading the news as it unfolded on sites like Blabbermouth.net back in '04 as it was happening, and it was simply unbelievable, and still is to this day). Darrell's inventive riffing and inversions of minor chords used throughout the verse riff were a Pantera staple, and Phil Anselmo's clear-yet-tough-as-nails vocal delivery shows us how much he could actually sing and scream with power before becoming a washed-up junkie. A metal classic, "Rise" is Pantera at their best.

Anthrax "Lone Justice" - Spreading the Disease 1985

Spreading the Disease started to cement Anthrax as one of the "Big Four" of Thrash Metal (alongside Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer), but the band had one element that the other 3 didn't really have at the time -- a singer who could truly belt it out, in Joey Belladonna. Some thought Anthrax were a little too "happy" or lighthearted as a thrash band, but musically they were as heavy and intense as it got in the thrash game. They made their share of missteps in their career, but Spreading the Disease and Among the Living were back-to-back thrash classics. This was the first album with their "classic" 80s line-up, and they sound as fine-tuned as any long-running band of veterans, held together nicely, no doubt, by Scott Ian's frantic riffing and Charlie Benante's speedy-yet-incredibly-tight double-bass drumming. One of the more mid-paced songs on the album, "Lone Justice" is like a mix of Metallica and Iron Maiden, and you can't really beat that. Not the best song on Spreading, but a great song.

Cream "Spoonful" - The Very Best of Cream 1995

A slow, bluesy number from Cream, Eric Clapton's guitar work on this song is phenomenal (come to think of it, what Cream song can't you say that about?). Jack Bruce sounds as soulful as ever on this song, both on the vocals and the bass. I love the harmonica vibrato and note bending, it compliments Clapton's similar runs on the guitar nicely. It's really amazing that this band always sounded so powerful with just 3 members. Ginger Baker's ride cymbal work on this song is also fantastic, as he lays back a swinging beat, but also experiments on the toms like he was famous for. Clapton's solo is raw and powerful, and his tone is out of this world. He had to have been playing a Gibson on this recording, because his Fender sound was never as loud or distorted as he is on this gem. Great band, great song.

Shadows Fall "Revel in My Loss" - Somber Eyes to the Sky 1998

The opening track from their debut album, "Revel in My Loss" showed that you didn't have to be from Sweden to make melodic, powerful death metal. Now, Shadows Fall sound pretty much nothing like they did on this recording, but at the time their mixture of melodic, European-tinged death metal and the ferocity and intensity of Massachusetts hardcore was groundbreaking. One of their darkest, heaviest songs ever, "Revel" was re-recorded on their first "real" album (I HATE when people say that), Of One Blood, but I prefer the version from the debut, due to then-vocalist Phil Labonte's (of All That Remains currently) incredibly death metal growling. It was clear, yet had that Phil Anselmo-ish clarity and emotion that Brian Fair never really achieved in Shadows Fall (but certainly did in his previous outfit, Overcast. Also, I'm not knocking Fair, I think the albums they've done with him since Of One Blood have been modern-thrash classics, it's just not the same sound or band, really, as the older stuff). I would recommend this whole album, but it's blatantly obvious that it was recorded piecemeal, as this song has the loudest, clearest production on the record, and some of the other songs' levels are way out of whack. They recently re-issued Of One Blood with remastered production; I wish they would re-release Somber Eyes..., as this would sound monstrous with clean, boosted production. Either way, this song rules, and it's no wonder that Shadows Fall are one of the biggest "mainstream" metal bands around today. The hardcore-ish breakdown at the end still gets my blood boiling, and used to send mosh pits into an absolute frenzy.

Cryptopsy "Crown of Horns" - None So Vile 1996

Cryptopsy are undoubtedly a death metal band through-and-through (well, they were until this year's debacle of a metalcore album that I won't even dignify by looking up the title), though it's easy to see why many labeled them grindcore in the early days. The sheer speed of songs like "Crown of Horns" and the unintelligible musings of vocalist Lord Worm definitely had grindcore-like tendencies, but the riffing and song structures are true death metal any way you slice it. This album is still one of the heaviest, most intense recordings I've ever heard, and this, the opening track (featuring a great Exorcist III sample -- "I do that rather well, don't you think?") really sets the tone for what amounts to a death metal classic. Flo Mournier has long been one of metal's most revered drummers, and "Crown of Horns" definitely shows why. I was always a fan of second vocalist Mike DiSalvo over Lord Worm, but his intense barking/yelping fits in better with the raw, chaotic style of None So Vile, I have to say. If you're not a death metal fan, you will hate this song and this band. If you are not a metal fan, you won't even call this band "music" because of the sheer speed and ferocity, but believe me, it takes a LOT of skill to sound so "un-musical," and Cryptopsy were masters at that. It's too bad they now try to be very "musical," and instead, are very "sucky."

Another metal-heavy entry in the Random Ten, but I assure you, that's not all I listen to. Not the most random selection this week, but it was most certainly 100% authentic and random. Of course, now that I'm done with listening to the Random Ten, I've heard a Wu Tang song followed by Death Cab for Cutie. Isn't that always the way?

Matt Steele