When director James Gunn took on the relatively obscure Guardians of the Galaxy for Marvel, he brought a chart-topping soundtrack of 1970s music that connected with audiences and became an integral part of the film’s success.
Now, Gunn has taken on an even more obscure property from DC in the HBO Max series Peacemaker, and he’s done something similar for a surprising genre. In this raunchy romp about a ridiculously goofy and often clueless anti-hero, James Gunn has injected a much-needed dose of humor and silliness into the previously mostly grim DC Comics Universe, and in the process, he’s also injected life back into the glam-metal sounds of the 1980s.
For a child of the ‘80s, the soundtrack for Peacemaker hits hard. But much of the real fun in it is that a great many of the featured bands and songs are not from that era of the glam scene, but from the more recent past. Look no further than the goofy yet endearing opening sequence which has turned Wig Wam’s 2010 track “Do Ya Wanna Taste It” into a bit of a sensation.
The year was 1997, and I had just logged on to the internet. After a few months of cruising around and checking things out, I came up with some big plans. I'd always wanted to be an entertainment writer and own a bookstore, and the internet put those possibilities in front of me.
On the World Wide Web, I could reach an audience that would appreciate my reviews of heavy metal music and fantasy books like the readers of the newspaper that I was writing for at the time never would. Associates programs gave me the opportunity to have a book and music store without a lot of the hassle of actually running a book and music store. It was the perfect storm, so I thought.
That led to the launch of two sites on the old members.aol.com servers, The Hall of the Mountain King (viewable via the Internet Archive), which served as landing page and music site, and The Bookwyrm (also viewable via the Internet Archive), which housed my book content. In my mind, these two sites would eventually become go-to hubs for content on fantasy fiction and heavy metal. As you can see, that didn't work out quite as I'd planned.
Been on a bit of a break again between holiday activities and work. I'll have some new reviews coming soon, but in the meantime, I'm sharing some of my favorite songs of the year on the Facebook page as I prepare to do my annual best list. Give the page a like or check out the feed below on the right to see my picks. Thanks.
It’s so rare for me these days to hear a song that blows me away out of the gate and makes me run out and pick up an album.
I guess it’s part of aging, having more experience with music and being more jaded. When you’re younger, everything sounds awesome. When you get older, you get much harder to impress. To be honest, I miss those days.
Initially, I didn’t like Down’s third record, Over the Under, as much as the first two, but it didn’t take long for me to come around.
The things that give Down so much appeal for me are there – that organic sound that blends all the various influences of their New Orleans home into an amazing stoner/doom sound.
Like all of their records, Over the Under is driven by those big, grooving guitar riffs of Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein, but this album is helped by some very personal lyrics from Phil Anselmo. “Mourn,” in particular, stand out. The song was written after Anselmo was barred from the funeral of “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, and the emotion is raw and gritty.
There was some serious competition in 2002, but it’s an easy choice for me. The Southern sludge of Down’s second release remains an all-time favorite record of mine. After beginning as a side project between Pantera’s Phil Anselmo, Corrosion of Conformity’s Pepper Keenan, Crowbar’s Kirk Windstein and Eyehategod’s Jimmy Bower – all from New Orleans – the band released its first record, NOLA, in 1995 and disappeared for seven years as the members returned to their respective bands.
In 2002, as Pantera was falling apart, the band unleashed Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow, now also featuring Pantera’s Rex Brown on bass. The album was a little groovier and a little more Southern than the band’s first outing.
The field of candidates for 2001 wasn’t the strongest, but the year did see original singer Jon Oliva return to the helm of Savatage on Poets and Madmen. The album is probably the band’s least publicized and, possibly, least known, which is a shame because it’s a great record.
The record has a loose concept based around the work of journalist Kevin Carter, whose Pulitzer Prize-winning photo from the Sudan was featured on the tray card of the CD, but covered by a black-backed jewel case because of record company financial ills. It wasn’t until I interviewed producer Paul O’Neill just a few years ago and he told me the story that I even discovered the photo was there. Like all Savatage records, this one has great variety from big metal mashers like “I Seek Power” to tender piano-driven ballads like “Back to a Reason” to the more symphonic sounds of “Commissar.”
Annihilator’s debut record Alice in Hell blew me away in 1989. The blend of technical thrash, cool melodies and extreme metal style aggression was a kick in the pants. I also enjoyed the follow up, Never, Neverland with Omen vocalist Coburn Pharr on the mic. Then came the third record, Set the World on Fire, with yet another vocalist. It had a lighter sound, and I just was not at all impressed with the voice of Aaron Randall. I wandered away from the band and missed a few records.
Then, in 1999, I heard that founder Jeff Waters was putting the Alice in Hell lineup back together, and I was intrigued. The result was Criteria for a Black Widow, featuring three-fourths of the band responsible for their classic debut (bassist Wayne Darley didn’t return). Though my reaction to this record wasn’t quite as profound as the one to Alice in Hell, I was still impressed. This album brought the power back to the band and gave us some great new Annihilator tunes in the style of their first two records.
It’s the first year in the series, and already there’s a three-way battle for my favorite record between Bruce Dickinson’s comeback album Accident of Birth, Aerosmith’s underrated Nine Lives and Judas Priest’s debut with Tim “Ripper” Owens, Jugulator. In the end, though, Dickinson’s reunion with Adrian Smith and return to a more familiar brand of metal won out.
I quite enjoyed Dickinson’s solo debut, Tattooed Millionaire, even though it was more of a brand of 1970s hard rock than what I was familiar with from his days in Iron Maiden. His second outing, Balls To Picasso, left me a little cold. I loved “Tears of the Dragon” and a few other songs, but didn’t care for most of the record. By the time the strange Skunkworks arrived, I had pretty much written him off.
In finally getting around to setting up a Facebook page for this site, it dawned on me that, in some shape or form, Hall of the Mountain King has been up and running for 15 years. Since not a lot of sites can boast 15 years, even one as small as this, I thought it was cause for a little celebration.
Back in 1997, I was a fresh-faced kid who had just discovered the Internet, and I had a big plan. I launched Hall of the Mountain King on the old members.aol.com server, and I envisioned it as eventually being a destination site for all things hard rock and heavy metal as well as all things speculative fiction.
The concept album, over the years, has become a staple of the metal genre. Though there are claims to the origin of the concept album stretching back to the 1930s (or I suppose you could argue that operas were the first concept albums), the form probably reached the public consciousness in the 1960s with bands like The Beatles and The Who. In the 1970s, the concept album became the provenance of prog rock. The hard rock and metal bands of the late 1970s and the 1980s soon jumped on board, and since then, just about every metal band that wanted to seem “epic” has given it a shot, and many of them have been dreadful. It’s a tricky proposition, the balance between story and music, the thin line between the almost necessary bombast of a concept album and pretentious self-indulgement. Proven, and even legendary bands (*cough,cough*Judas Priest*coughcough*), have failed in the attempt.
Hopefully, you’ll forgive me for a little sappiness on Christmas. Since I’ve done the metal Christmas song bit a couple of times, I thought I’d try something a little different this year. Instead, I’m going for inspirational hard rock and metal tunes. I’m not talking about religious tunes (as some of the choices will clearly show) or, necessarily, songs that will inspire others. These are simply songs that have inspired or moved me for some particular reason over the years. Feel free to discuss your own in the comments section, if you wish.
“Believe,” Savatage. In my mind, this is one of the finest rock songs ever written – period. It’s amazing. It’s moving. And no matter my mood, it’s a song that always makes me feel better and more hopeful. It’s far from the only Savatage song that I find inspiring (at least half this list could have been from the band), but it’s far and away the most inspiring.
Since my XM subscription expired, I’ve been listening to regular radio in my truck off and on, and after hearing many of the same songs over and over, I started thinking about songs by bands I like that I’d probably be perfectly happy if I never had to hear again. In many cases, these are songs that I really enjoyed at one time or another, but I’ve heard them so often they bring a groan every time I hear the opening notes. So, while I realize no one will listen to me, I nominate these songs for a long break. Feel free to argue the point.
A couple of weeks ago, there was a thread going around Facebook asking people to name 15 albums that were important in their lives in 15 minutes or less. I wanted to add my own, but I couldn’t do it. Rather than list the first 15 records that I really liked off the top of my head, I wanted to take some time to really think about it and get it right. Yeah, I know the spontaneity was kind of the point, but it’s just how I’m built when it comes to talking about music.
Note that this list does not represent my 15 “favorite” records. While a few of these would certainly make that list, there are a few here that I haven’t listened to in their entirety for years. These are records that, in some way, shaped my musical tastes and led me to being the hack music writer that I am today.
So, like I said in my post on The Formative 15, I started out with about 100 records on my list, but when I had pared it down to 15, there were still some that I really wanted to mention. Since I can never do what I set out to do and just leave it be, I’ll leave those that care with a few more that were close, but didn’t quite make the cut. Amazon links also provided, where possible.
Charlie Daniels Band, “Fire on the Mountain” (1974). Released before the peak of his popularity, this record contains some true classic CDB tunes, including my favorite “Long-Haired Country Boy.” I immediately latched on to the message of that song, and took it on as a kind of personal anthem. Though my long hair has been gone for a while, the idea behind the song still rings true.
I always like to take a minute at the halfway point of the year to look back at the top moments so far. To be honest, sometimes it’s hard to put together a top 10 list after six months, but it’s not a problem at all this year. It’s been a year of fantastic records, with hopefully many more to come.
The flood of good records, unfortunately, has been overshadowed by the loss of legend Ronnie James Dio, and a great deal of my music listening time has been devoted to the various stages of Dio’s superb career. Still, I’ve found plenty of time for new music, too, and here are my favorites so far.
I'm running a couple of weeks late on my roundup for the first six months of the year. In these days, of course, that's not the only thing I'm running late on. At any rate, here's a look at my top 10 so far:
1. Heaven and Hell, "The Devil You Know." I'll be very surprised if anything unseats this in the next six months. It's the band's best work since "Heaven and Hell."
3. Amorphis, "Skyforger." This one's fairly fresh, but I think it's their best since "Elegy." It hasn't left my CD player in weeks.
4. Lazarus A.D., "The Onslaught." This is one of the best records that I've heard from the new thrash movement. There's an energy that's lacking in many of the others in the genre.
Album I'm reserving judgment on for now:
Dream Theater, "Black Clouds and Silver Linings." I wrote a quick, negative review of their last record and ended up liking it after more listens. I'm going to give it some more time before reviewing it.
Disappointments so far: Queensryche, "American Soldier." At this point, I don't know if I can call a Queensryche album a disappointment since my expectations are low. Still, it was a good concept, and I'd hoped for a better record.
Tim Owens, "Play My Game." (review coming soon) Fairly solid musical outing brought down by weak lyrics and a lack of hooks. Not a horrible record, but not what I was hoping for.
What I'm looking forward to:
Trans-Siberian Orchestra, "Night Castle." Years in the coming, the most recent update was that it should arrive in October. We'll see.
Anthrax, "Worship Music." I'm a fan of John Bush, and I thought "We've Come For You All" ranked among the band's best. They'll have to really impress me with new singer Dan Morgan.
Megadeth, "Endgame." I like what I hear from "Head Crusher" and hope Mustaine and Co. continue the momentum from "United Abominations."
Slayer, "World Painted Blood." It's Slayer, what else is there to say?
Machines of Grace, "Machines of Grace." As a Savatage fan, I've got to check out this project of Zachary Stevens and Jeff Plate. Look for a review soon.
We could also possibly see new records from Ozzy (hope it's better than the last one) and Black Label Society before the year is up.
On the eve of Metallica's induction into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, I've rediscovered this gem from Black Sabbath's induction. Just wanted to share it.
In honor of April Fool's Day, I thought I'd take a look at some of those goofy songs that bands often throw on a CD just for giggles. Maybe you love them, maybe you hate them or maybe they're a guilty pleasure that you really don't want people to know you like. Here's a look at a few of my favorites. This list is by no stretch of the imagination comprehensive. It's done completely off the top of my head, and I'm sure I've missed even a few that I enjoy. Please feel free to add your own.
AC/DC, "Big Balls" (Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, 1976). This one's become such a classic that it hardly belongs on this list. I've never known anyone who didn't laugh at this (barely) double entendre goof.
Aerosmith, "Big Ten-Inch Record" (Toys in the Attic, 1975). As with the first one on the list, this tune that draws its humor from the pregnant pause is a classic. But I still love it, and I've got to get Aerosmith on here.
Annihilator, "Kraf Dinners" (Never, Neverland, 1990). Sandwiched between heavy subject matter like environmental responsibility and dark tunes about insanity is this fun ode to mac and cheese. Somehow, it works.
Anthrax, "Startin' Up a Posse" (Attack of the Killer Bs, 1991). Anthrax has a few tunes that could fit on this list, but none quite as good as this ditty about Tipper Gore and the PMRC that manages to work in a thrash version of the "Bonanza" theme.
Body Count, "KKK Bitch" (Body Count, 1992). Body Count often used humor to make serious points, but this tune poking fun at racists is way over the top.
Bruce Dickinson, "Dive, Dive, Dive" (Tattooed Millionaire, 1990). I'd always thought of Bruce Dickinson as very proper and dignified until this song, filled with bad maritime sex puns, and it's companion piece "Zulu Lulu" arrived on his first solo record.
Guns 'n' Roses, "I Used to Love Her" (G'n'R Lies, 1990). You can't go wrong with Guns 'n' Roses' three-chord tongue-in-cheek ballad about a relationship gone wrong.
Infectious Grooves, "You Lie and Yo Breath Stank" (The Plague that Makes Your Booty Move, 1991). I'm not sure that Infectious Grooves belongs here because so many of their songs were tongue-in-cheek. Lyrically, this one is pretty bad, but for some reason I still love it.
Nuclear Assault, "Poetic Justice" (Something Wicked, 1993). While the killer title track was the centerpiece of this record, the band's take on a famous song from "The Sound of Music" has certainly given me my share of snickers over the years.
Pride & Glory, "I Hate Your Guts" (Pride & Glory, 1994). Basically Zakk Wylde's answer to GnR's "I Used to Love You," it covers similar ground with a southern twang.
Scatterbrain, "Don't Call Me Dude" (Here Comes Trouble, 1990). Like Infectious Grooves, I'm not sure if Scatterbrain belongs here because humor was their norm. But I can't resist this ode to a guy down on his luck with some serious thrash licks to back up the humor.
Suicidal Tendencies, "Institutionalized" (Suicidal Tendencies, 1983). "All I wanted was a Pepsi."
Tesla, "Tommy's Down Home" (Five Man Acoustical Jam, 1990). Having grown up around people like the one portrayed in the song, this tune always brings a smile to my face.
Van Halen, "Happy Trails" (Diver Down, 1982). Van Halen has a few tunes to choose from as well, including "Big Bad Bill" from this same record, but for some reason I've always had a special connection with their cover of "Happy Trails." ... bombadida, bombadida ...
Wrathchild America, "I Ain't Drunk" (3-D, 1991). I spent many nights tipping a glass to this cover of Albert Collins' classic drinking song.
Dweezil Zappa, "I Want a Yacht" (Havin' a Bad Day, 1986). While I love his cover of his dad's "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama," this tune featuring the screams of comedian Bobcat Godthwait is just too bizarre to not make the list.
I've been strumming my acoustic guitar a bit more than usual the last few days, and it's gotten me thinking about some of the really good acoustic records by normally hard-rocking artists. When people decide to unplug, it's not always great. If you're a child of the 1980s like me, you probably remember MTV's "Unplugged," which featured a lot of bands that should have stayed plugged in. For every brilliant performance like Aerosmith's, there were plenty of painful performances, like, say, Poison. But some bands can do both just as well. Read on for my five favorite (mostly) acoustic records by otherwise hard-rocking bands.
1. Alice in Chains, "Jar of Flies." This, to me, is the epitome of a great acoustic hard rock record. It's not some phony, staged unplugging for a TV show. The seven tracks here are all raw and honest. It's an emotional, often dark journey from start to finish, and despite being perhaps the band's softest moment, it's just as heavy as anything they did plugged in. Jerry Cantrell's sometimes simple and sometimes intricate guitar work provides the base, and the moody drone of the late Layne Staley brings it all home. My only complaint is that it's far too short. An acoustic metal masterpiece.
2. Tesla, "Five Man Acoustical Jam." Laugh if you want, but I think Tesla got a bad rap in the 1980s by being lumped in with the Poisons, Warrants and Wingers. They were a great blue jean, roots hard rock band, and they prove it with this set that mixes acoustic versions of their own songs, a number of covers and some just for fun stuff. It's one of those rare live albums that makes you feel as though you were there and having a great time, and the performances are top notch as well. You know their cover of "Signs," of course, but also check out the acoustic version of "Gettin' Better" and their cover of CCR's "Lodi."
3. Black Label Society, "Hangover Music, Vol. 6." Like Alice in Chains' "Jar of Flies," there's an honesty here that doesn't often come across in acoustic records by hard rockers. Admittedly, there are a few snoozers here, but it's hard to deny the power of songs like "Once More" and "No Other." Zakk Wylde's gravelly voice is perfect for these moody acoustic numbers, and this record is a powerful testament to what he can do when he turns the Les Paul down a little. (I don't want him to do that often, mind you.)
(Sorry, for some crazy reason, there's no widget available for "Hangover Music.")
4. Nirvana, "Unplugged in New York." It's no secret that I think Nirvana is the most overrated band in the history of recorded music. Sure, they ushered in a new style of music, but there were far superior bands in that style -- Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, even Pearl Jam. Still, I agree with the Nirvana worshippers on one point: this record is brilliant. From the gritty opener "About a Girl" to a cool cover of Bowie's "The Man Who Sold the World" to a rocking cover of the Meat Puppets' "Lake of Fire," there aren't many skips on this record. It showed an artistry that I didn't believe Nirvana capable of prior to this record.
5. Opeth, "Damnation." Perhaps it's a daring move for a progressive death metal band to take a break from the distortion and growls, but I'm glad they did. The result is a very haunting set of 1970s-influenced rock that continues to set the band apart from their contemporaries in the metal genre. While I certainly wouldn't want Opeth to turn to this full time, it's a welcome diversion.
Godsmack, "The Other Side." I was actually quite surprised with this record. I couldn't really see Godsmack as an acoustic act, until I saw them do their live acoustic set. The performance really put me in mind of Alice in Chains, as does this record. It's perhaps not a comparison that the band would want, seeing as it's one they've gotten their whole career, but in this case it's a high compliment.
Alice in Chains, "Unplugged." Not as strong as "Jar of Flies," but a solid set of songs and a very powerful performance just the same.
Zakk Wylde, "Book of Shadows." This record was very jarring for me when it came out, and I still haven't come fully around to it, but I do have a great appreciation for it. And "Sold My Soul" is just an incredible song, maybe one of his best.
Disagree with me, or think I missed one? Let me know about it.
