Saturday Shuffle: Danzig, Alice Cooper, Sentenced, Slayer, Doctor Butcher

Time to shuffle again: 

“Brand New God,” Danzig. From the album IV (1994). IV is definitely not my favorite Danzig album, but this is one of the songs I do like. I love those sparse power chords of the beginning as Glenn Danzig wails out the first line. Then we get into more of a bashing metal-type song, then there’s that bendy guitar riff and slower part in the middle that reminds me of something off the first record. It’s definitely one of the high points of this record.

“Between High School and Old School,” Alice Cooper. From the album The Eyes of Alice Cooper (2003). Alice went back to a garage rock sound after a few really heavy albums, and it was a really good record. This is one of my favorite songs from it. I can relate.

“Vengeance is Mine,” Sentenced. From the album The Funeral Album (2005). Some fans weren’t crazy about the final album from the depressed Finnish boys, but I liked it. Despite some lyrical difficulties, “Vengeance is Mine” is a great, angry metal song.

“Dead Skin Mask,” Slayer. From the album Seasons in the Abyss (1990). Another Slayer song about necrophilia, but a really good one. (Man, what does that say about me, that I think there’s such thing as a good song about necrophilia.) At any rate, it’s one of those mid-paced numbers, in the vein of “South of Heaven” that I think is where Slayer really shines.

“Don’t Talk to Me,” Doctor Butcher. From the album Doctor Butcher (1994). Jon Oliva’s first project outside of Savatage had me all excited, and it was a good record, but it wasn’t Savatage. This is one of the heavier numbers on the album, an angry “fuck you” type song. Great vocals, as usual, from Oliva, but lacking the artistry that he’d previously shown with Savatage.