Some people love him, some people hate him. Me, I don’t care much about the man one way or the other, but I do like the music. Plus, you can’t deny Glenn Danzig’s place in music history from The Misfits to Samhain to his solo work in Danzig.
What always drew me to Danzig was not just the heaviness of the riffs, the darker overtones of the music, and Glenn’s powerful voice, but the blues influence throughout. Take a listen to the song “Bodies”
Is it me? Or does that bass line sound like Led Zeppelin’s “How Many More Times”? The song is still its own thing, and it’s a pretty good jam.
“Twist of Cain” perfectly manifests that vocal styling, the heavy but bluesy and slightly evil sounding riffage. Yes, I’m a fan of John Christ‘s guitar work. I even bought his solo album, “Flesh Caffeine” which had some good moments on it (wonder where he is now). I like that he’s not all about power chords; not that there’s anything wrong with power chords, but John has some great riffs.
And of course, the song that put Danzig on the map, “Mother”
A friend of mine back in high school used to love shouting that all the time. Of course, you must do it in Klaus Meine’s thick German accent for maximum effect.
I also remember back in grade school, there was a kid that was always going on about how “Scorps rule.” Then one day they no longer ruled, it was now Iron Maiden.
A benefit of being the Metal Director at my college radio station was all the guest listing and other fun fringe benefits. Scorpions were going on a big arena tour and once again I went with my friend Tori to see the show. Scorpions were headliners, Great White was also playing, and openers were Trixter. Got to see Trixter play (not the biggest fan of theirs, but Steve Brown’s a pretty good guitar player), then we went backstage for the meet and greet. Got to meet all the Trixter guys, and they were pretty down-to-earth and nice guys. Tori was nuts over them, if I remember correctly. In fact, I still have pictures of both of us with the Trixter guys at that concert. Then we got to meet the Scorpions. They exuded road veteran status, big rock stars (not snobby, but certainly distant tho friendly). Tori and I also found it quite funny how drummer Herman Rarebell was hitting on Tori and asking her to come back to their hotel after the show to party. Tori was a bit embarassed and no we didn’t go, but it was funny how a guy who was old enough to be her Dad was hitting on her. But hey, such is being a rock star… in any other context it’d just be creepy, but somehow this was acceptable. Go figure.
We missed most of Great White’s set, but were able to catch a bit of it from the floor in front of the stage (whoo… benefits). Scorpions came on and blew the roof off the house. Just an amazing show. I recall watching Rudolf Schenker running all around the stage, end to end, riser to riser, just an amazing amount of energy. Fantastic show. Again, this is what you get for and from being a veteran.
While Scorpions of course has fantastic faster songs, I always thought they wrote great ballads. That said, I always thought “Wind of Change” was a bit cheesy. I don’t think the song is timeless in and of itself (i.e. lyrics aren’t about some concept that can transcend time), but that’s actually what makes the song timeless. It captured and became somewhat of a theme-song representing a specific moment in the history of the world. For that, it makes it a classic and memorable song. Still, one of my favorite ballads from Scorpions is “Still Loving You”:
I admit it. I didn’t like Skid Row at first. I thought they were a bunch of pretty boy hairspray rockers, “I Remember You” and other wussy stuff like that. OK, “Youth Gone Wild” was pretty cool, but I pretty much blew off the band based upon their first album.
Guns N’ Roses were on tour for their “Use Your Illusion” albums and Skid Row was opening up. Skid Row was promoting their “Slave To the Grind” album. I remember it pretty clearly. Sitting at the arena, lights go out, crowd goes nuts because the show is starting. A lone spotlight shines down, perfectly vertical above the drummer’s seat. Rob Affuso is standing there, hand and drumstick held high in the air, foot beating on the bass drum… getting the crowd going with an “are you ready?” sort of vibe. After building the crowd for a few moments, 4 hits to the high-hat and the stage just exploded. The band opened with “Slave to the Grind” and I was floored. This was Skid Row? This was the same band playing that pussy “I Remember You” shit? Holy crap! And they proceeded to blow away the crowd for 30-45 minutes… don’t remember exactly how long the set was, I was just amazed.
I was a convert.
I still think their debut album is a little glossy and glam, but it’s really not too bad. But “Slave To The Grind” is awesome. “Subhuman Race” was heavy. Total ass-kicking metal. Skid Row even took Pantera on tour with them; how cool is that?
Another little story.
Early ’90’s and I’m working in college radio. Kix was playing The Bayou in Washington DC (awesome show). I got guest listed and took my friend Tori. As a bit of pre-show entertainment the local rock radio station, DC 101, was doing an air guitar contest. Tori talked me into doing it. You chose one of two songs, then got up on stage for a couple minutes to rock out to it. I chose “Monkey Business” and proceeded to jump about the stage being the best rocker I could be. I didn’t win (some dude being all sexy for the ladies did), but I certainly put on the most entertaining show… I remember the emcee (DJ from the station) being a bit taken aback by my energy level on stage. It was pretty cool and a lot of fun. 🙂  Sure I made an ass out of myself, but life’s too short to take it too seriously and not have a little fun now and then.
I may refer to “Uncle Ted” in other contexts on this blog, but today it’s all about the music (and not just because this is opening weekend for white-tailed deer hunting in Texas).
Say whatever you want about Ted and his politics, the man’s a great guitar player. A lot of hard rock and heavy metal bands and guitarists wouldn’t be what they are if not for Ted Nugent.
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.
Stuff From Hsoi 