Playlist 2017 Week 5: Power Trip, Tyler Childers, BLS

The final installment of the Playlist is going to be a short one. It was a holiday week, and I didn't feel like logging in on those days. Plus, we're getting to the point of the program where we're just going to have a lot of repeat appearances from Alestorm, Hellbound Glory and a couple of others. So here are the final three to round out my 2017 playlist.


Power Trip, "Excutioner's Tax (Swing of the Axe)" from Nightmare Logic. One of the problems I've had with the new crop of thrash bands is that they often seem content to repeat what's come before instead of innovating the style. I already have all of the classic thrash albums, so I don't need a remake. Power Trip doesn't completely avoid that pitfall either, but there's some good stuff on this record. Some nice grooves and memorable melodies.

Playlist 2017 Week 4: Locust Grove, Body Count, Hellbound Glory, Alex Williams, White Wizzard

For the fourth week of favorite tunes from 2017, I look at a surprising cover, a repeat offender and a promising start to 2018, among others.


Locust Grove, "Monster" from the Monster EP. One of my favorite finds in recent years, and one of my greatest disappointments when they broke up less than a year after I discovered them was Oklahoma hard rockers Anti-Mortem. Guitarist Zain Smith is back on the hard rock scene now, though, with Locust Grove (where he also handles vocal duties). It's not quite Anti-Mortem, but definitely enjoyable and in the same vein.

Playlist 2017 Week 3: Firewind, Bob Wayne, Living Colour, Iced Earth, Alestorm

For week 3 of the playlist, we've got hard rock sounds, country, a little funkiness and a late pirate attack.


Firewind, "Back on the Throne" from Immortals. Guitarist Gus G may not have gotten to record an album with Ozzy Osbourne, but he was clearly writing for it. There's some great classic rock riffage that will certainly remind listeners of both Jake E. Lee and Zakk Wylde. This tune's a little different from the rest of the record, but very cool.

Playlist 2017 Week 2: Hellbound Glory, Alice Cooper, Danzig, Manson, Savage Messiah

Week two of my 2017 playlist includes my favorite track from a great comeback album, a high-powered rock 'n' roll team and a couple of solid tracks from lackluster records.


Hellbound Glory, "Hellbound Blues" from Pinball. One of the few musical high points of 2017 for me was the triumphant return of Hellbound Glory. This gritty, dark rocker from the record is easily my favorite song. While I in no way condone the use of cocaine, I love the first verse of the song, particularly the interesting description of his coke as "whiter than the Alabama Ku Klux Klan."

Playlist 2017 Week 1: Alestorm, White Light Cemetery, Cellar Darling, Fozzy

I'm still trying to decide whether it's worth doing an end-of-year list for 2017. You'll note that I didn't write much this year, and while it's true that I was busier than normal, it's also because there wasn't a whole lot that excited me musically this year. That said, there were a couple of great records and a handful of really good songs. So I'll start with my playlist and see where it goes.


Alestorm - "Fucked with an Anchor" from No Grave but the Sea. Let's go ahead and get this one out of the way, since everyone knows it's coming. I called it as my song of the year when I reviewed the album, and that hasn't changed. This silly profane song was the most fun that I had this year musically, and you'll be seeing Alestorm again in this playlist.

Review: Alestorm, "No Grave but the Sea"

I haven’t written much on music this year and, frankly, it’s because not a lot has excited me through the first half of the year. There are a couple of records I’ve liked that I need to catch up on, but nothing has really blown me away. Until, of course, Alestorm’s No Grave But the Sea arrived.

Let’s start at the obvious starting point, the title that probably caught most fans’ attention when the song list was released a while back: “Fucked with an Anchor.” And, yes, it’s even more epic than you imagined. It’s easily the band’s most profane song, and also one of the catchiest in Alestorm’s catalog. It tells the story of a man cursed at birth with an unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on how you look at it) speech impediment and his quest for revenge against the witch doctor that put the curse on him.

Review: Alice Cooper Live at Shreveport Municipal Auditorium (May 11, 2017, Shreveport, La.)

When rockers begin to get older, you expect to see it in their performance. But there was absolutely no evidence of a near 70-year-old man when Alice Cooper took the stage at the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium. There was only Alice Cooper — just as powerful and in command of the crowd as he’s ever been.

I’m not sure that the hallowed halls that once housed the famed Louisiana Hayride have ever seen a spectacle quite like they witnessed on this night.

Alice stormed out of the gate with the punishing title track from his 2000 record Brutal Planet, arguably his heaviest album and one of my favorites. He then proceeded to run through a series of fan favorite tunes – “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” “Under My Wheels,” “Lost in America” – without giving the audience room for so much as a breath.

Celebrating 20 Years: The Top 10 Posts

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.

Remembering Paul O'Neill (1956-2017)

It’s not often that the passing of someone famous really affects me. When I hear about it, I may think, “Man, that’s a shame,” but I quickly move on. Every now and then, though, someone makes enough of an impact on my life to really hit home. Paul O’Neill is one of those people.

I was incredibly saddened Wednesday night to see a Facebook post from Trans-Siberian Orchestra announcing that Paul had succumbed to a battle with a chronic illness at the too-young age of 61.

I didn’t really know Paul O’Neill personally, but I felt like I did. Not only was he responsible for some of my favorite music ever with both Savatage and TSO, I knew him as a warm and friendly man in several interactions I had with him over the years.