The Random Ten #6

Vital Remains - “Dechristianize” - Dechristianize (Olympic, 2003)

I consider myself a fan of death metal, but I tend to listen to bands on the more “mainstream” side of death metal (Entombed, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, etc.). I have never been a big fan of Deicide, although their first two albums are definitely ground-breaking and influential. I remember hearing an mp3 of this Vital Remains track, with Deicide’s Glen Benton on lead vocals, and being blown away. This is some of the fastest drumming I’ve ever heard, and Benton’s vocals seemed more powerful and inspired than anything he’d done on any Deicide album in a long, long time. The thing that really drew me in were some of the melodic guitar leads and melodies. This song (as well as most of the songs on this album) is too long for its own good, however. If they didn’t essentially repeat the entire song twice (Intro/Verse/Solo/Pre-Chorus/Chorus/Verse/Solo/Pre-Chorus/Chorus/Outro/Intro), they would have a concise death metal masterpiece. Instead, they have made a very good song that is just a bit too long at 8:56.

God Dethroned - “Swallow the Spikes” - Ravenous (Metal Blade, 2001)

I had heard a few God Dethroned songs from their first two Metal Blade albums and was never too impressed, but I heard they really kicked up the speed and intensity on their third album for the label, due in no small part to the acquisition of Nile drummer Tony Laureano. “Swallow the Spikes,” the album’s leadoff track, is a speedy, melodic death-thrash song that features some great dual guitar solos, and some awesome riffing. Tony Laureano is an animal on the drums, but in Nile he only really got to show off his speed. The solo breakdowns in this song show his ability to slow things down and get creative on the toms and cymbals. Not the most groundbreaking band by any means, but if you’re into solid, speedy death/thrash metal, this is the album I’d recommend by these Dutchmen.

Faith No More - “From Out of Nowhere” - The Real Thing (Slash, 1989)

One of the three “hits” from this album (along with “Epic” and “Falling to Pieces”), “From Out of Nowhere” is a mid-paced rocker with a pretty straight-ahead beat that’s not as funky as some of the other tracks from this album. I used to love this song, but the over-reliance on the keyboards and lack of any sort of clever riffing has turned me off of it recently. It’s not a bad song by any means, but the more I got into mid-period Faith No More (Angel Dust, King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime) the more I kind of soured on their earlier, gimmicky-sounding material. Still better than 90% of today’s modern rock, just not FNM at their best.

Stuck Mojo - “Back in the Saddle” - HVY 1 (Century Media, 1999)

This is a live performance of one of Stuck Mojo’s heaviest (and best) songs. Originally off their album Rising, this version slows things down just a bit, making Rich Ward’s main riff all the more heavy. The original chorus had Chuck Billy doing the backing vocal, but here Ward handles it himself, although he sounds not quite as demonic (pun!) as Billy. I’m not a fan of most rap-metal, but Stuck Mojo did it quite well because they had riffs and solos that were classic metal all the way, while Bonz was actually a pretty good MC and frontman, too. I haven’t heard any of their 2 latest albums with their new vocalist, but Decibel gave their latest album a ZERO, due in part to them making a rap-metal-country cover of a god damn John Denver song. I can still enjoy their earlier material like this, but I’m sure as shit glad that rap-metal died.

Ryan Adams - “Shakedown on 9th Street” - Heartbreaker (Bloodshot, 2000)

An up-tempo, bluesy shuffle from Ryan Adams’ debut solo album, “Shakedown” is a live staple that I’ve seen Ryan and the Cardinals perform 3 times, and it never disappoints. I tend to like the Cardinals’ backing vocals on the live performances a bit more than the stiff vocals we get on this version, but still, it doesn’t take away from the fact that this is a great song. It’s amazing how diverse Adams can be from song-to-song, and this was one of the first songs I heard from him that really rocked. Having become more of a fan of his in the past year, I still find this one of his best songs.

Machine Head - “The Burning Red” - The Burning Red (Roadrunner, 1999)

Yuck. This is the attempt at a “power ballad” that Machine Head never should have done. Come to think of it, they shouldn’t have done about 90% of the material they recorded from The Burning Red through Supercharger, two absolutely horrendous, nu-metally albums. This song is just so slow, and tries so hard to be an atmospheric ballad. The melodies suck, Robb Flynn’s “singing” is so hollow and weak, it still amazes me that this band was able to record a near-masterpiece of modern thrash metal with The Blackening in 2007. Avoid at all costs.

Celtic Frost - “Into the Crypts of Rays” - Morbid Tales (Metal Blade, 1984)

The first proper track from their debut album Morbid Tales, “Crypts” is a fast, thrashy song that kicks all kinds of ass. Writing about notorious child murderer Gilles de Railles, Celtic Frost became quickly one of thrash/death/black metal’s most influential bands. Their guitar tone was thick, sludgy, and heavy-as-fuck. Tom G. Warrior’s vocals were just downright nasty and dirty, but still decipherable. Ryan Adams himself has listed this as one of his top 10 metal songs of all time, which I find hilarious but also awesome. A great leadoff track from an incredible debut album and a metal classic.

Metallica - “The Shortest Straw” - …And Justice for All (Elektra, 1988)

A heavy, staccato-infused number from Metallica’s fourth album, “The Shortest Straw” is one of the weaker songs on Justice, but there’s not really a bad song on the album. There are definitely some great riffs in this song, such as the pre-chorus riff, and the chorus is pretty damn catchy, but this song never really grabbed me that much when compared to classics like “Blackened,” “One” and the title track. The melodic break before the first solo is pure greatness, but the second guitar solo near the end of the song just sounds off, and not in a good way. Kirk Hammett sounds like he’s trying to squeeze out an on-key note and can’t quite do it, and not in that so-chaotic-it-sounds-good way that Slayer do for every fucking solo. I’ve noticed on live recordings that Hammett pretty much made up a more melodic, fitting solo on the outro, leading me to believe that he was too drunk or high on coke to really care what the last solo sounded like. Still, a decent thrash song from Metallica’s career heyday, but not really essential to their entire catalogue.

Metallica - “Thorn Within” - Load (Elektra, 1996)

I’ll admit it, I kind of like Load. I think there are some great songs on this album. However, “Thorn Within” is not one of them. It’s too slow, too simple, and doesn’t really contain anything captivating, aside from a main riff that sounds a lot like “Twist of Cain” by Danzig. The first 2 minutes of this song just seem a little all over the place. The lyrics and vocals are also near-embarrassing, with Hetfield trying to be soulful and almost country-ish, with some really lame harmonies in the verses, and it just doesn’t work at all. One good riff does not a good song make, and this song is full proof of that.

Pantera - “Cemetery Gates” - Official Live: 101 Proof (East/West, 1997)

This version of this song made me a full-on Pantera convert. I had been into Metallica and a little Slayer, but was under the impression that Pantera were “too heavy” because they screamed. I heard this song on WAAF when I was typing a paper for Miss Erickson’s class, and it honestly blew me away. Dimebag Darrell’s guitar playing was just out of this world, and the “ballad” formula of the song probably eased me into the heavy parts a little. The riffs were just great, but Phil Anselmo’s vocal delivery, much dirtier and sleazier than the crisp, clean perfection of the studio version, was really impressive to me. Parts of this song are melodic and beautiful, but that “chorus” riff is downright evil, with all the bending pinch-harmonics. The solo is also one of Dime’s best, and this was probably Pantera at their peak, career-wise. I had heard “Cowboys From Hell” before, and liked that song, but never thought the band was anything special until I listened to this song. I’m glad I did, because from there I only went on to listening to heavier (and better) metal bands, but I’ll never forget what Pantera did for me and my tastes in music. I still love this version of the song, and wish Dimebag Darrell was still around to shred like only he could.

Matt Steele