As the ’80’s were ending and the 90’s starting, we thought rock and roll was dead… but along came Guns N’ Roses to kick everyone in the ass.

It’s a shame that a band that made such great music was overshadowed by so much drama. I saw them when they toured with Metallica… or more like I saw Faith No More open, saw Metallica play, then waited for 2 hours for Axel to “ready himself”. What a pain. I also saw the band when they were working on the “Use Your Illusion” albums. They hadn’t finished the albums but opted to go on tour anyway. Skid Row opened up for them (that’s another story for another day). In the end, still a great band, great music…. but all the drama and what GNR has become… eh. I stopped caring a long time ago. Still, got a few good albums to continue to listen to.

You can’t beat the ugly grit of “Welcome to the Jungle”.

Brother Cane was a short-lived band during the early 1990’s. While perhaps not metal in some respects, they were certainly a band with hard rock roots. Bluesly, hard-driving, foot stomping music. Songs were well-written, with their debut album providing a great deal of good music. It’s a shame you can only find their debut album still for sale; great album end-to-end, just wish the others hadn’t disappeared.

I always thought “And Fools Shine On” was hauntingly cool.

Soldiering on for almost 30 years, Overkill never achieved the level of success many of their 80’s thrash contemporaries did. But they’re still around, still making music (15 albums to date), still touring, and still flying the flag for metal. Staying power often means more.

A band whose name you may not be able to utter in polite company, but then there’s nothing polite about the band.

Heavy southern stoner rock at its finest, you have Alabama Thunderpussy.

I like their older stuff:

I like their newer stuff. I think Kyle Thomas’ vocals were great.

It’s a shame the band wasn’t able to hold it together long term (tho 12 years is a great run), always rotating vocalists and other troubles. But they ended things on good terms and we’ve still got a lot of good albums and music to go on.

I forget how I first discovered Dark Angel, but I know their “Leaves Scars” album was one of my favorite albums during my teenage years.

A band so fast, they were dubbed “caffeine metal,” their “Time Does Not Heal” album promoted by the record company as containing 246 riffs. The band grew fast and more complex, and it was always joked that you needed a dictionary to understand their lyrics because Gene Hoglan used some “rather big words” in his writing. First time I heard the word “lachrymation” was in their song “The Promise of Agony.” 🙂

When working college radio, I got to do an interview with Gene during promotions of “Time Does Not Heal.” I remember him being a soft-spoken and gentle sounding man. Nice guy, friendly.

Three videos today. This is Dark Angel from the “Ultimate Revenge 2” video set (I’ve got this on VHS tape somewhere). I bought that tape precisely because of Dark Angel.

I always loved White Zombie because it was larger than just “straight music.” Rob Zombie created artwork, added sound clips and interludes that made for a total immersive experience. It was like watching a classic “B” movie.

I’ve seen White Zombie live a few times. The first time I think it was on tour with Pantera, I can’t recall exactly when… but I do recall 2 things from the show. First, Sean Yseult (bassist) walked by me and I was amazed at how tiny she was. Second, I picked up a favorite concert t-shirt, with a La Sexorcisto devil artwork on the front and on the back “I went to Hell and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.” A fun play on the cliché. 🙂