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. 🙂

Theatrics have always been a part of music, especially metal. Alice Cooper, KISS, GWAR, amongst others. Then there is King Diamond, known not just for putting on a show but also his frequent use of falsetto and penning concept albums sometimes having the story span multiple albums (e.g. “Them” and “Conspiracy”).

I’ve always wanted to see King Diamond live and almost had a chance to, but then King injured his back and has been on the shelf for a while. I hope he heals up and is able to be back on the road in full capacity soon.

I wouldn’t say Aerosmith is a true metal band, but I would say that you cannot deny the foundational influence that Aerosmith had upon the bands that followed them. From the hard rockin’ blues style, to the legendary escapades of the Toxic Twins and crew backstage, they certainly helped to shape what was to become metal.

Updated: Ugh. Seems the video I had queued up was removed from YouTube.

But, here’s footage from The Midnight Special in 1974, performing “Train Kept a Rollin'”.

I guess it was 8th grade? or maybe 9th… either way, I just remember riding on the school bus and always seeing this one kid with a proper 80’s metal hesher look, and without question his favorite t-shirt to wear was his Loudness “Thunder In The East” t-shirt. He wore that thing constantly. That was how I was introduced to the Japanese metal band, Loudness.

Akira Takasaki is an awesome guitar player.

Before there was Type O Negative, there was Carnivore.

Three men, dressed up as if they were out of a Mad Max movie, in a post-nuclear apocalyptic New York City, and singing songs about the same. Brutal, unforgiving, unapologetic.

I remember when a friend of mine back in high school first played a tape for me. We had no idea who the band was, but we thought the songs were hilarious (no, we didn’t take it seriously, and neither should you) and the music was good. Later we came to learn it was Carnivore. While the band was short-lived, they left the mark, reforming now and again to play shows. Apparently there will be a new album in 2009.

Their name was a play on another band’s name, Pretty Boy Floyd. Ugly Kid Joe was also quite the opposite to PBF in every other way. While most people knew Ugly Kid Joe for songs such as “Everything About You” and their cover of Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s In The Cradle”, Ugly Kid Joe had rather a good metal sound. Tracks such as “Goddamn Devil”, “So Damn Cool“, “Don’t Go”, “Jesus Rode A Harley”, much of their later albums (especially “Menace To Sobriety”), quite heavy with just a hint of funky.

On the album recording of “Goddamn Devil”, Rob Halford provides guest vocals… hearing The Metal God screaching “I’m the Goddamn Devil!” is just awesome. 🙂

We got that PMA (Postive Mental Attitude)!

Bad Brains, born in Washington D.C. then subsequently banned in D.C. What made them stand out? Not just the fact it was four black guys playing punk music (later with a more metal edge, e.g. “Quickness”), not just the fact they mixed in Rastafarian belief and reggae music with their aggressive punk style, not just their high-engergy live shows that did things like convert Henry Rollins. It was the sum of all these parts that made Bad Brains and their place in music history.

I got to see Great White live one year during undergrad (benefits of working college radio). Scorpions were headlining, followed by Great White, and Trixter was the opening act. I didn’t get to see all of Great White’s set as I was backstage doing meet & greets with both Trixter and Great White (my friend Tori was big fans of both). But I did get to wander out near the end of Great White’s set… down on the floor, from backstage. Great location. I recall watching singer Jack Russell and how well he worked the crowd. Of course, there was guitarist Mark Kendall wearing his signature hat. I was never the biggest fan of Great White, but I always dug their bluesy, stripped-down, “good old rock and roll” sound.

I also loved their Led Zeppelin covers. I recall the first time I heard them doing “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You” I was struck by how well they covered it.

Of course, Great White’s bread and butter was there own original rockers, like “Rock Me”