Metal On My Mind Monday

For this theme day, I've decided on the oh-so-fabulous title of "Metal on my Mind Mondays". What exactly do I mean by this? I am going to discuss whatever metal music I've been listening to recently or talk about the song that I just can't seem to get out of my head no matter how hard I try. This week, it's a band that I've known about for a while, but haven't listened to in a long time. The band I'm talking about is Anthrax.

Anthrax is a thrash metal band that's been around since the early 1980s. Along with Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer, they became one of the most popular metal bands at the time and still maintain quite a following of fans today. I believe the first song I heard by them was "Bring the Noise", a crossover of metal and rap recorded with Public Enemy, on the video game Tony Hawk Pro Skater.

I later listened to several of their older albums including Among the Living and Spreading the Disease and heard some of their biggest hits like "Madhouse" and "I am the Law". They later added a new singer named John Bush to the lineup after firing Joey Belladonna who originally held the spot. Their newer albums with Bush had more of a modern rock sound than previous albums, but I still enjoy them all the same.

This leads me to where I am now. A few weeks ago I saw Anthrax during their tour to promote their newest album, Worship Music, in Ft. Wayne, Indiana with the bands Testament and Death Angel. I hadn't really listened to much of their music lately so I guess hearing them in concert rekindled an old flame. I made the effort to start listening to them again and let me tell you, it's been worth it.

This has led me to rediscovering one of the albums with one of my favorite songs on it. During the John Bush years, Anthrax released an album titled Volume 8: The Threat Is Real. It's a hard album to find due to the album's record label, Ignition, going out of business soon after its release. I had heard a few songs from the album before, but never actually owned it since it is so rare (I just checked. It's going for 80 bucks on Amazon).

With the advances in computer technology, however, there's no need to buy the physical copy since digital copies are widely available. I've been listening to this album for the past few weeks and I can't get enough of it--particularly my favorite song, "Inside Out". The song offers a constant mix up of slower, softer verse sections only to be followed by a much heavier and very dynamic chorus. Not only does the song sound amazing, Anthrax even made an excellent music video for it reminiscent of an old Twilight Zone episode called "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (The music video is at the top of this post. See the Twilight Zone episode here...and yes, that is William Shatner).

Anthrax is a great band and helped to pioneer a subgenre of metal and have been putting out music for the past thirty years. They have gained countless fans throughout these years and have helped inspire many people in their love of music. They are also one of the few bands that were able to breach the genre line between rap and metal which is something you don't normally see from artists of any genre. The members of Anthrax are doing what they love and they have found many ways to continue having fun with it. As long as they continue to produce good music I'll continue to listen to it. I invite you all to do the same!

Only Human bringing you beyond human music

From left to right: Doug, Ryan, Shane, Russell

It's shameless band plug time! Today, we're talking about Only Human, a band which originated from Frankfort, Indiana. My friend, Shane Reed, is the lead man of the group.

I've been friends with Shane since about 8th grade or so. We both share a lot of similar interests including our love of music. I caught up with him to get some more information about his band. Here's what he had to say...

Who are the members of Only Human?

I'm on guitar and vocals. Russell Garrett is our other guitarist, Ryan Lewis is on bass, and Doug Wooten handles the drums.

What type of music would you say Only Human plays?

We're a mix of a few different styles. We have progressive, alternative, and metal elements in our songs so I'd say that a fair assessment.

How did your band get started?

I have known Russell for a few years and known he was in a band, but I had never heard them. So in November of '10, I think, their vocalist and second guitarist quit. When they posted on Facebook that they needed a singer I replied and here we are.

What are your goals/plans for the band?

Our biggest goal is really to just make a living doing what we love. But we have some smaller more immediate goals too. We have some ideas floating around for EPs and music videos and we want to realize these ideas and hopefully find some people that will enjoy them.

What makes your band worth listening to?

I think the way we do things is pretty unique. We like to have it heavy, but aren't afraid to have some soft melodic parts. Our songs are really different from one to the next, so you won't get bored half way through our set when you come see us live. Speaking of playing live, we are working on some neat stuff to do on stage, so watch for it if you come see us.

I've had the pleasure of hearing Only Human in Frankfort several months ago when I went there for a visit and it was a blast. Their band has a lot of energy and tries to keep the crowd involved in the music. If you want to hear some of their songs, just head on over to their official Facebook page. Help support local bands and give them a listen!

Picture of the Day

A picture is worth a thousand words as they say and this picture is probably worth much more. After looking through several different pictures trying to decide on one to pick for discussion, I found myself being drawn back to this one constantly.  I think it embodies the metal genre as a whole. Metal is often viewed as harsh, hard, or brutal. This picture definitely has the harsh part of that. Being out on that mountain would be cold and brutal for sure. I feel that being on that mountain would be like disconnecting from the rest of the world; it is just you and the mountain. Sometimes this is how I feel when I'm listening to music. I often find myself just completely absorbed into the song and separated from everything else that is occurring.

I feel this picture reminds me more of the black and power metal subgenres than any others. One band in particular that this picture reminds me of is the band Immortal. I feel as if they wrote their songs while looking at pictures like this. It's not hard to imagine though, being they have songs with titles such as "Antarctica" and "At the Heart of Winter". Both of these songs and many others by Immortal seem to capture the immensity of a giant snow covered mountain and the vast emptiness that surrounds it. The songs just make you look at the mountain in a sense of awe.

These are just some of the things I love about this type of music. I don't think you'd find a song in any other genre that would allow you to picture something like this when you listen to it.

Jesse Leach returns to Killswitch Engage

Jesse Leach

After leaving Killswitch Engage for ten years, Jesse Leach returns to claim his original vocalist spot in the band's lineup. After Howard Jones, the singer who replaced Leach, decided to take his leave, KsE found themselves on the hunt for a new frontman. After meeting some people and having a few auditions, the band finally decided it was best if they brought back Leach.

Read more about what the band said about this awesome news here: http://www.noisecreep.com/2012/02/08/killswitch-engage-jesse-leach-interview/

I am really excited to hear this news. Killswitch Engage's second album, Alive or Just Breathing, which came out in 2002 right before Leach left the band, is among my favorite albums to listen to. I have also enjoyed listening to Times of Grace, a side project of Leach and the band's guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz. From the sounds of it, Killswitch Engage is already back in the studio working on a new album to follow up their second self titled release from 2009. With any luck it will be a triumphant return to a familiar and amazing sound.

How did it end up like this?

Metal music. It's not something I'd say everyone is into these days. I started my descent into this genre back during my junior high/high school days when my friends and I first started listening to radio rock and discovered the band Metallica. My friends tended to stay near the more mainstream music while I began to venture out in search of music in a similar variety to Metallica. I didn't know at the time that my first steps into exploring thrash metal would lead to me listening to all kinds of subgenres such as death, black, progressive and more as time passed.

I try to keep an open mind when listening to a metal band for the first time, but everyone has their likes and dislikes. With my love of music in general and this genre specifically, why not start a blog about it? I hope to try and update this with current news regarding metal such as new album information, concert and tour dates, what is going on with band members' lives, breakups and new members, publicity stunts, and all sorts of other things regarding what's happening in the metal world. I may even update on new bands I am listening to and try to introduce them to new listeners who may enjoy their style.

Blogging is still relatively new to me so we will just have to see how all of this progresses as I get a feel for what I want to post.