In Flames - “Jotun” - Whoracle (1997)
The opening track from what is my all-time favorite In Flames album (depending on the day, other times it’s Colony or The Jester Race), “Jotun” is a mid-paced, melodic metal masterpiece. This song deviated from their faster, more death metal-oriented material on previous albums, yet it’s no less crushing or intense. This is also Anders’ first attempt at “singing” during the verses (even though it’s more like talking), which may or may not have set the band downhill, depending on who you ask. The riffs and guitar melodies in this song are, like most early IF-material, flat-out great, and this is definitely one of the best album openers in metal history. This is the epitome of “Gothenburg Metal,” which is not quite Swedish Death Metal (i.e. Dismember, Entombed) but distinctly Swedish in its melody and riffing style.
Testament - “Over the Wall (Live)” - Return to the Apocalyptic City (1993)
A live version of a thrash classic from their debut album The Legacy, this “Over the Wall” was recorded on the tour for Testament’s 1992 The Ritual album. Recorded in front of what sounds like a pretty massive Hollywood, CA crowd, this performance is tight and full of energy, like any Testament live show. The production and mastering are a bit lacking, as it’s not quite full of volume or intensity like their Live at the Fillmore album, released in 1995. This was also back when Chuck Billy would still attempt his high screams like he did on the earlier albums, so that’s an added bonus for old-school Testament fans. When I saw Testament back in September of ’08, they actually opened with this song that night too. Great live version of a Testament classic. If you want to see another great version of this song, I suggest typing Testament and Alcatraz in YouTube, to find a clip of the band playing this song acoustically in Alcatraz, filmed for a series of MTV vignettes that aired last year.
The Year of Our Lord - “Nightlark” - The Year of Our Lord (2002)
The Year of Our Lord was a MA-based black/death metal band that emerged from the hardcore/metal scene of the late 1990s. They released a stellar EP, The Frozen Divide, in 1999, and followed up with a full-length, self-titled album in 2000, that was not quite as stellar. Produced by Today is the Day’s Steve Austin, The Year of Our Lord had some songs that were run-of-the-mill, European-influenced blackened death metal, and others that really stood out above the bunch. “Nightlark” is one of the stand-outs. Opening with a fantastic keyboard intro that is accompanied by Maiden-ish twin guitars, the song keeps things interesting with tempo changes, melodic refrains, and great riffing all around. I saw a MySpace had been created for this band late last year, and they have even announced plans to record material that they never completed back when the band first split up in 2002. I’m not holding my breath for it, but I hope they can release something different and have fun doing it. Good song from a decent, forgotten band.
Nirvana - “Been a Son” - From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah (1996)
A pop-punky number from Incesticide, “Been a Son” is a short, catchy rock song that definitely shows Kurt Cobain’s fascination with all things Beatles. The live version sounds pretty much exactly like the studio version, with a little more energy. Just a good little rock song from Nirvana, nothing more, nothing less.
Blur - “Coffee & TV” - 13 (1999)
I discovered this song my freshman year of college, and it has to be my favorite Blur song by far. Sung by guitarist Graham Coxon, “Coffee & TV” is a low-key, melodic rock song that has an inherent sadness to it. Featuring some loud, noisy lead guitar work, this was a combination of the pop-sensibilities that Blur had always shown, paired with the angst that always seemed to lurk under the surface in their earlier material. This song also was accompanied by one of the greatest music videos of the late 1990s (you know, the one with the walking milk carton looking for his long lost love, only to find Blur jamming in a loft, before eventually being stepped on and crushed by the clip’s end). Coxon left the band after this album, and I have no idea what he’s been up to since, because I’m not that big of a Blur fan, but I absolutely love this song.
Kiss - “I Want You” - Rock and Roll Over (1976)
From the title and artist alone, you’d expect this to be a cheesy-as-fuck ballad, but it’s surprisingly one of Kiss’ darkest, heaviest songs. Basically Paul Stanley sings like he’s going to hunt you down and have sex with you, whether you like it or not… especially if you’re a man. Okay, that’s a joke; supposedly Paul Stanley has had sex with many, many women. I still don’t buy it. Anyways, what was I saying? Oh yeah, this song actually kicks ass, and it’s from a criminally underrated album, Rock and Roll Over, which blows the shit out of Love Gun and is just as good as Destroyer, if you ask me.
Lamb of God - “In the Absence of the Sacred” - New American Gospel (2000)
From Lamb of God’s “debut” album (they released a self-titled album when the band was still named Burn the Priest), I first heard this song 3 years after it was released. Lamb of God were just about to release their second album, As the Palaces Burn, when I decided to investigate some of their earlier material. I didn’t like their “hit” song “Black Label” all that much, as it just sounded like Pantera-light. “In the Absence…” seemed a lot more inventive with the riffing, and also it was a lot darker and heavier. I bought Palaces shortly after hearing this song, and was blown away. I don’t think Gospel is as good as Palaces, but it’s still a solid album, and this is probably the best song on it, aside from “Terror and Hubris in the House of Frank Pollard”. I could never have predicted that Lamb of God would become the biggest metal band in America within 6 years, but they did that with the release of 2006’s Sacrament, and have held onto that momentum with this year’s Wrath.
AC/DC - “Givin’ the Dog a Bone” - Back in Black (1980)
I’ve listened to this song countless times, and I can only gather from the song’s lyrics that it’s about a young woman and her beloved canine companion. Brian Johnson sings of the young woman “goin’ down to her knees” and “using her head again,” while “givin’ the dog a bone.” Immediately, one pictures a purely innocent, sweet young girl getting on her knees to be at eye-level with her pet, while feeding the dog his treat by perhaps balancing it on her nose or even her upper lip, and therefore she is giving the dog his treat. I really can’t imagine what else this song would be about. AC/DC have never been big on innuendos, at least I’ve never picked up on them, so I think it’s really touching that Brian Johnson would write lyrics innocently depicting the pet/owner relationship with a dog and a young girl. This song is so not about oral sex, which is what I’ve read in countless lewd, inappropriate reviews of the album. Some people just have dirty minds, I suppose.
Public Enemy - “Welcome to the Terrordome” - 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection (2001)
“I got so much trouble on my mind, refuse to lose, here’s your ticket, hear the drummer get wicked…” opens Chuck D on this P.E. classic. Public Enemy’s inventive beats, supplied by Terminator X, and the incredible flow of Chuck D. are hard to beat, especially on their early material. Flavor Flav pretty much perfected the role of the “hype man,” and while most hype men since have sucked, but he always was that added mixture of humor and variety that set P.E. apart. Sometimes their songs were dense – after all, most of their beats just repeated over and over again throughout the entire song, usually with no choruses or hooks – but Chuck D’s lyrics were always captivating and thought-provoking. This song epitomizes early Public Enemy. “Fight the Power” might get more recognition because of Do the Right Thing, but this is the superior track.
Down - “On March the Saints” - III: Over the Under (2007)
Following the death of Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell, former Pantera vocalist Phil Anselmo went on a downhill slide, and that’s an understatement. Anyone who saw the band’s Behind the Music special could have predicted death by OD for the frontman at any moment. He looked so out of it during that special, slurring his speech, on the verge of tears nearly the entire time, it was painful to watch as a die-hard Pantera and Down fan. I did not expect Phil to be able to pull out of such a slump, and thankfully, he proved me very, very wrong. I saw Down in NYC in March of 2007, while they were putting the finishing touches on what would be their 3rd album, III: Over the Under. Down’s first two albums are all-time favorites of mine, and I did not think the band would be able to top those two masterpieces. Well, they didn’t top them, but they lived up to the Down standard, for sure. Their performance that night in NYC was a revelation, as Phil spoke with strength and confidence from the stage, and seemed 100% clean and sober, something I’d never seen him on stage, whether with Pantera or Down. “On March the Saints” was the first single from III, and it’s a mid-paced, melodic hard rock song, with Anselmo sounding as clear and powerful as he’d sounded in years. This is one of my favorite tracks from III, as Kirk Windstein and Pepper Keenan’s riffs are just crushing and melodic all at once, and Rex Brown and Jimmy Bower lay down that typical Down groove as only they can. Awesome song from the best side-project band in metal history.
Matt Steele
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