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.
Not the most memorable shuffle in the history of the feature, but still a few high points ...
"Something to Remember Me By," Alice Cooper. From the album Welcome 2 My Nightmare (2011). This ballad was not one of the high points of what was a surprisingly good sequel album by Alice. It's OK, but there are far better songs on the record.
These days, I approach a new Iced Earth record with both high hopes and a little trepidation.
Once upon a time, Iced Earth was pretty close to what I’d consider the perfect band. They struck that sweet spot for me in their blend of heaviness, speed and melody. Guitarist and founder Jon Schaffer could play with blazing speed and crunch, but vocalist Matt Barlow — and later, Tim Owens — were actually great singers that balanced that out and gave things a bit of a darker vibe.
Then something happened. After two albums with Owens, who many fans for some reason never embraced, he left the band in 2007 in favor of Barlow, who had come back to music after a stint in law enforcement inspired by Sept. 11.
Interesting shuffle this week in that it hit all newer material.
Doyle, “Mark of the Beast.” From the album Abominator
(2013). Doyle, former guitarist for The Misfits, has released a surprisingly
strong solo album that bears little resemblance to his former band beyond the
horror imagery of the tunes. The music here is far more driven by metal and
thrash than the punk of The Misfits. It’s good stuff, though.
Saliva, "Survival of the Sickest." From the album Survival of the Sickest (2004). I couldn't have cared less about Saliva until I saw them opening for Kiss in '04, and they ripped out this tune, which quite frankly, was the best performance of the night as Kiss kind of phoned it in. This is a fantastic, old-fashioned hard rocker, with a great hook of a chorus. If they had continued in this vein, I'd probably be a Saliva fan today. I'm not, but I still love this record and have to crank this song every time I hear it.
King Diamond and Volbeat are offering a free download of the track "Room 24" from the upcoming Volbeat album "Outlaw Gentlemen and Shady Ladies." Click here to get it it.
When Volbeat’s “Sad Man’s Tongue” comes blaring out of my speakers on a shuffle, I’m always happy, and I always hit repeat — usually a dozen times or so, at least. And I always think about how I nearly missed such a great song.
I was plugging along at work one day in 2007 when I got an e-mail from a publicist pushing Rock the Rebel/Metal the Devil, the upcoming record from Danish band Volbeat. In the e-mail was a picture of the band with singer Michael Poulsen boasting a greasy, black pompadour, and the publicist describing the music as “Elvis Metal ‘n’ Roll.” The album title seemed a little awkward (and I often cringe at clichéd connections between metal and the devil), I didn’t quite get the band name, and being the good Southern boy I am, I wondered what in the world a Danish band could know about Elvis. I may have rolled my eyes a little before moving on from the e-mail.
I love offbeat stuff, and when this record was pitched to me as “Elvis metal ‘n’ roll,” I just couldn’t resist taking a listen to it.
I’ll start with what could very possibly be my favorite song of the year so far, “Sad Man’s Tongue,” the band’s tribute to Johnny Cash. It opens with a country flair and that patented Cash beat. Vocalist Michael Poulson comes in with his Elvis vocals and a melody and lyric that owes more than a little to “Folsom Prison Blues.” After the first verse, it explodes into some hillbilly chainsaw rock, with a thrash interlude and a little bit of groove metal thrown in on the breakdown. It’s an absolutely perfect piece of redneck rock ‘n’ roll that’s right down my alley. I really wish there were more songs like this one on the record, where they just let go and rock.
The rest of the record is heavily influenced by Danzig, Black Sabbath and thrash. It’s good stuff, but, by and large, lacks the character of “Sad Man’s Tongue.” They’re at their best when they blend in the countrified sounds, like the slide guitar that opens “The Human Instrument,” or the blues-based riffs, as on “Soulweeper, Part 2.” The punkish, heavily Misfits-influenced “Devil or the Blue Cat’s Song” and the Sabbathian riffs of “River Queen” are other standout moments on the album, and it closes strong with the groove of “BOA (JDM).”
The only true miss on the record is “Radio Girl” which has a bubble-gum feel and seems a bit out of place with the darker material found elsewhere on the record.
For the most part, Poulson lives up to the Elvis comparisons, although there’s a lot of Glenn Danzig and at least a touch of Peter Steele and James Hetfield in his vocals. Poulson and Franz “Hellboss,” who has since left the band, provide some top notch riffing throughout the record.
How much you like Volbeat will probably depend on your tolerance for Poulson’s unconventional vocals. Admittedly, they don’t really seem to be the best fit with a few of the songs, but for others they’re perfect. It’s a solid record, but I still can’t help but wish the rest of it weren’t just a little more like “Sad Man’s Tongue.”
