The Random Ten #9

Alice in Chains - "Rotten Apple" - Jar of Flies (1994)

Opening with one of the great bass intros in rock history, “Rotten Apple” is Alice in Chains at their most subdued. This song is very laid back, with some odd Layne Staley vocals that sing of lost innocence and desperation (there’s a shock). Much different than anything AiC had ever done before (Sap was much more bare-bones, this is layered with guitars and vocals), this set the tone for the Jar of Flies EP, which took Alice in Chains to another level, popularity-wise. Another absolute classic from Alice in Chains.

Marilyn Manson - "Shitty Chicken Gang Bang" - Smells Like Children (1995)

An absolute joke of a song-title for an absolute joke of a song. This was written by former Manson keyboardist Pogo, a.k.a. Madonna Wayne Gacy, and it’s literally the same quasi-demonic, quasi-childish, all-stupid keyboard riff over and over for a minute and a half. On an EP full of throwaway trash like “Fuck Frankie” and “Sympathy for the Parents,” this fits in as pure filler. The Smells Like Children EP was pretty much only worth purchase for a few of the Portrait… remixes, and the covers of “Sweet Dreams” and “Rock & Roll N***er”. Avoid this track at all costs.

Black Sabbath - "Fairies Wear Boots/Jack the Stripper" - Paranoid (1971)

As I’ve said before, people might only know this album for “Paranoid”, “War Pigs” and “Iron Man”, but “Fairies Wear Boots” is one of the moodier, groovier tracks that is oft-overlooked from their second masterpiece Paranoid. Tony Iommi absolutely dominates the first minute of the track, from the delay-soaked intro to the mini-solo/melody riff that carries it into the verse. The lyrics seem to vaguely be about gays in the military, which, in 1970, was a ridiculous idea to be writing songs about, but Geezer Butler was always ahead of his time, lyrics-wise. If you want to look deeper into the Sabbath catalog from the early Ozzy days, look here.

Lamb of God - "O.D.H.G.A.B.F.E." - New American Gospel (2000)

I had to look up what the acronym stood for -- Officer Dick Head Gets A Black Fucking Eye – and it’s about the police brutality suffered at the hands of frontman Randy Blythe when he was in San Diego. You can’t really understand the lyrics, like most of LoG’s earlier material, but at the end when he starts naming off places like Kent State and Waco, you can guess Mr. Blythe’s not too big on authority figures. The song comes from LoG’s overrated (in my opinion) “debut” (they had released an album as Burn the Priest before changing their name), but it’s a decent heavy, thrashing metal track, a little too reminiscent of Pantera at times. If you’re a fan, check it out, but if not, worth a skip.

Iced Earth - "A Question of Heaven" - Alive in Athens (1999)

This song was probably Iced Earth’s first attempt at a “power ballad” of sorts, originally ending their Spawn-based concept album The Dark Saga. Coupled with the crowd participation of a sold-out soccer stadium in Athens, Greece, this live version is more stripped-down than the layered studio version, but the song doesn’t lose any of its power. Matt Barlow’s emotional screams at the song’s end are arguably more powerful on this live version, and it’s a good way to close out disc 1 of the 3 disc Alive in Athens. If you’re a fan of oldschool, epic metal a la Priest or Maiden, this song is worth investigating.

Testament - "Burnt Offerings" - First Strike Still Deadly (2001)

A re-recording of a classic from their debut The Legacy, this version of “Burnt Offerings” is tighter and heavier than the original, but not necessarily better. Having tuned their guitars down a full step since the original recording, this changes the vocal dynamic brought forth by Chuck Billy. It doesn’t make the song worse, per se, just different. Instead of the hyena-like howling found on the original version, he opts for a death metal-like bellow in certain areas. One thing I always loved about this album of re-recorded tunes is Alex Skolnick’s almost jazzy lead guitar tone, a far cry from the abrasive, screeching tone he possessed on The Legacy. If you’re into classic thrash metal, this song is an absolute staple of the genre.

Dropkick Murphys - "Road of the Righteous" - Live on St. Patrick's Day (2002)

One of the punkier, more straight-ahead numbers from the older Dropick Murphys catalog, “Road of the Righteous” is even better in the live setting, having the benefit of a sold-out crowd on St. Patrick’s Day handling the backup vocals. You can smell the beer and the sweat from the moshpit when you listen to this live album, and this is one of the better tracks performed. If you’ve heard any punky DM song, you’ve heard them all, but this is a great one.

Enslaved - "Blodhemn" - Blodhemn (1999)

Enslaved’s mix of black metal ferocity and Viking-influenced epic tales was always what set them apart, and they really explored the psychedelic aspects of their music following the release of Blodhemn, more specifically, beginning with Mardraum. In my opinion, that’s when the band really came into their own, but on older albums like Blodhemn, they still displayed a knack for writing fast, blazing riffs that kept the cold, black metal aesthetic, with the grandeur of power metal (not unlike later-era Bathory). Like much of their material pre-Mardraum, “Blodhem” is sung in Norwegian, although you wouldn’t really be able to understand the lyrics had they been in English in the first place. If you want to hear some balls-out, blazing, thrash-y black-y metal, it doesn’t get much better than early Enslaved.

Failure - "Undone" - Magnified (1994)

Why this band was so overlooked, I will never know. It’s a shame that this band only had one semi-hit, “Stuck on You,” before the band imploded and broke up following the release of Fantastic Planet. While Planet was a great rock record, Magnified is a masterpiece. “Undone” helps to showcase why. Using normal pop-rock song structures, combined with riffs and melodies that were anything but, Failure were able to maintain an incredible layer of catchiness and also innovation with everything they recorded. The distorted bass hinted at a power and angst that betrayed the smooth vocals, while the guitars were noisy enough that they felt like they would erupt at any time, yet they almost never do. An incredible track from an amazing, terribly underrated album.

Paradise Lost - "How Soon Is Now?" - Draconian Times (1995)

Yes, this is that “How Soon Is Now?”, the song most will remember as The Smiths’ only US hit. This is a bonus track on the re-issue of PL’s Draconian Times, and it’s pretty faithful to the original version. I would have preferred if Nick Holmes took some of the distortion off of the vocals, as it makes him sound like he’s compensating for Morrissey’s soulfulness. Musically, you could probably play this over the original version and not notice a lot of difference aside from the distortion of the guitars. A decent cover, but it adds almost nothing to the original. Worth checking out if you want another version of a song you already like, but you’ll probably just be disappointed.

Matt Steele