Backstage Auctions’ Rock Gods and Metal Monsters 2015

By: Pat Prince, Editor of Goldmine Magazine

On June 20, Houston-based auction house Backstage Auctions will begin its annual Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction. Consisting of memorabilia from iconic rock ‘n’ roll artists and the heaviest bands on the planet, the Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction is as interesting and rock solid as any annual music auction there is.

Gene Simmons body armor from the KISS Psycho Circus tour.

Goldmine asked Backstage Auctions owner Jacques van Gool a few questions about the upcoming Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction, which runs June 20-28 (special VIP preview June 13-19) and will feature over 1,000 hard rock and heavy metal auction lots. 

GOLDMINE: Why and when did you decide to make the Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction an annual event?

JACQUES VAN GOOL: Well, let’s see, this is our fourth one in four years, so 2011 was the first time. The reason why is multiple; it’s a lot of fun, we’re very comfortable handling “all things” Hard-Rock and Heavy-Metal and most importantly, there is a growing number of collectors who wants Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer over Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead and the Beach Boys.

GM: In your opinion, what artist is a perfect example of a ‘Rock God,’ and then a ‘Metal Monster’?

VAN GOOL: Ha, that’s a interesting question. When I think of a Rock God, I’m visualizing a music icon with universal reach and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame level accomplishments. Actually, that might not be such a good answer because the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is hardly the yardstick for what’s relevant, but figure of speech…think KISS, Ted Nugent, Steven Tyler, Angus Young, Eddie Van Halen, Rob Halford, Lemmy etc.

Metal Monsters are the guys and girls who are the gorilla glue that keep this metal community together. They all are and have been carrying the metal torches and flags for decades and they are the ones who have written and performed the metal anthems that so many of us grew up with; Scott Ian, Dave Mustaine, Gary Holt, Alex Skolnick, Lita Ford, Mike Portnoy and so on. Not surprisingly, we have many Metal Monster consigners!

GM: How is heavy metal becoming the new genre to collect?

VAN GOOL: For starters, I think it’s an age thing. Right now the most active demographic that collects are people, mostly male, between the ages of 35 and 55, who grew up on music from the 1980s and 1990s. Setting aside a few big pop stars, those were the years of heavy metal, hair metal,

Paul Bostaph (Slayer) gloves, sticks and drum head.

thrash metal, industrial metal, grunge rock, as well as the early days of nu-metal. The other reason is that ‘anything’ rock and metal has always created a more fanatical crowd due to the whole counterculture element. The metal genre has created – and continues to create – a high level of loyalty. Once a metalhead, always a metalhead. Combine that with the graphic element of metal – something that is exceptionally strong and important, and you will find a community that expresses their love for ‘their kind of music’ through t-shirts, patches, buttons, fashion, posters, vinyl, etc. Even if you don’t care for metal, you simply can’t deny the cool factor. Do you want to hang a poster of a weepy dude with an acoustic guitar on your wall or would you like to see Manowar getting ready for battle? Next…!!!

GM: Are other ‘80s genres coming to the forefront of collectibility?

VAN GOOL: Not as strong but I certainly see potential for (British) New Wave and Synth-Pop (New Order, The Smiths, The Residents, Kraftwerk) and Post-Punk. Clearly 1980s Pop – or at least the A-list – has already been collectible for quite some time now, such as U2, Madonna and Prince. It would be nice to see those genres grow in collectibility, albeit that I don’t believe that it will happen in the same way and format as selling 1960s and 1970s collectibles.

Lita Ford (second from left) wearing her famous black cat suit from the early Runaways days (see on display below, left).

GM: Talk about some of the highlights of this year’s Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction, and why.

VAN GOOL: This is such a hard question, simply because I think that most of everything that we

Lita Ford's black cat suit.

have in the auction is special, no matter how large or small. There is Lita Ford’s famous black cat suit from the early Runaways days, or a fully-signed bass drumhead from the first ever American show of Venom in New York. Mike Portnoy and Charlie Benante both are offering a complete drum kit – which is a first for both of them, but then we also have a multitude of impressive guitars from various rock stars. You can bid on Marilyn Manson’s tour-used army hat, Tommy Lee’s drum sticks, Stephen Pearcy’s microphone grip or Gene Simmons body armor from the Psycho Circus tour. And speaking of KISS, we have the ‘oldest known to exist’ fully-signed promo photo which is a museum piece all by itself. There are hundreds of backstage passes, guitar picks, autographed items, record awards, tour shirts and jackets…the catalog is not for the faint of heart.

GM: There seems to be a growing amount of ‘gear’ at music memorabilia auctions nowadays. Do you find that collectors are usually musicians themselves when collecting musical gear?

VAN GOOL: No, not really. I mean, sure, a good number will buy amps, cabinets, road cases, microphone stands etc. to actually use and enjoy, but I know that there is an equally large number of people who simply buy gear for display purposes. I have seen people turn road cases into coffee tables, storage bins and even cabinets and book cases. These days an amp or cabinet makes for an equally attractive piece of decorative furniture than for example a birdcage or a fake bamboo plant. And it’s a better conversation piece too!

Lita Ford case, featured in the auction.

GM: You just had a distinct metal auction with Rex Brown of Pantera. Will there be more Pantera memorabilia available from this auction?

VAN GOOL: Yes, there will be a few more pieces. There are about 10 lots from Rex in this auction and another equal number of items coming from other consigners, such as some passes, picks, itineraries, record awards, etc.

GM:  Are the artists usually easy to work with? Do they ever go through separation anxiety after the commitment to auction off personal possessions?

VAN GOOL: I don’t know if ‘easy’ is the right word but I personally have been able to build very good relationship with all our metal consigners. Two things you have to know; metal artists are known to have to do a lot on their own and most had to build their band (and brand) from the ground

Rare Scott Ian (Anthrax) guitars, set to be auctioned. 

up. In other words, for the most part they are self-sufficient and generally knowledgeable about the business side of things. The other element is that metal artists generally have a very strong bond with their fans. They are very comfortable with exposure and don’t hide behind a bodyguard who will whisk them to a blacked-out limo. So, if you can speak their language, understand their drive and history and most importantly, be honest, you’ll end up doing just fine.

GM: What is next for Backstage Auctions after the Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction is over?

VAN GOOL: Vacation, R&R, trips to the reflexologist, kicking in a dent in the 100 or so saved shows on my DVR and maybe even a nap or two. After that we are getting ready for a ‘one-of-a-kind’ auction on behalf of a former British photo agency with tens of thousands of negatives from the 1960s and 1970s U.K. Rock & Pop scene, as well as a Classic Rock & Pop auction later in the year. Meanwhile, we’re also looking at a few ‘stand-alone’ auctions for some A-list clients…METAL clients that is!

The Rock Gods & Metal Monsters Auction is set to go live on June 20th. A special VIP preview will start on June 13th. To get your All Access VIP Auction pass visit the registration section here: VIP Access

#RGMM2015

CD Review: Ruthless – They Rise

CD Review: Ruthless – They Rise
Pure Steel Records
All Access Rating: B+

Ruthless - They Rise 2015

Out of an unmarked grave dug deep in the dark recesses of the 1980s Los Angeles metal underground scene, the raging inferno known as Ruthless arises, releasing their first album in 29 years via Germany's Pure Steel Records label.

The long wait was worth it for the cult that grew up around the 1984 EP Metal Without Mercy and 1986's Discipline of Steel LP, two records of uncompromising, hard-bitten heavy metal that reek of death and decay.

Produced and engineered by Bill Metoyer (W.A.S.P., Slayer, Armored Saint), They Rise is the mean and rugged product of an unlikely reunion between vocalist Sammy D, guitarist/vocalist Kenny McGee, guitarist Dave Watson, bassist/vocalist Marc McGee and new drummer Jason Van Slyke – an old-school, blood-and-guts metal album that's vicious and fast and sounds as if it was recorded in dirty, abandoned factory and left there to die by Blackie Lawless.

As rabid and raw as ever, their tense, serrated guitar riffs cutting like a saw, Ruthless thrashes through the toxic waltz of the title track with tight energy, charges into "Defender" like a soldier full of blood lust and unleashes pent-up emotions in the stampeding "Frustration," with the heavy, thudding grooves of "Out of Ashes" infected with a delicious and gripping nastiness that's missing from today's well-manicured and overly fussy metal.

Solid, rugged and exciting from the electrifying opening power chords, They Rise isn't most imaginative offering to the metal gods, nor does it have the ambition to reach for grandiose heights. Nevertheless, it burns hot, although the chilly, darkly melodic intro to "Laceration" – a track that later explodes with thunderous sturm und drang – and the melodic "Circle of Trust" and "Time Waits" provide rare moments of rough, calmer beauty. Sammy D.'s screams are devilishly evil, and so is the bullish, radioactive riffage and the occasional interwoven dual-guitar leads, all of it reminiscent of early Iron Maiden. They're still Ruthless.
– Peter Lindblad

CD Review: Venom – From the Very Depths

CD Review: Venom – From the Very Depths
Spinefarm Records
All Access Rating: A

Venom - From the Very Depths 2015

An onslaught of blackened thrash-metal fury that leaves pretenders to Venom's dark throne in absolute ruins, From the Very Depths is album No. 14 from Cronos and his henchmen. Who would bet against him reaching No. 666?

The notorious architects of extreme metal, their 1982 album Black Metal basically responsible for starting a whole sub-genre all by itself, Venom burst forth from the northeast England city of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1979 like a vile horde of demons escaping the underworld.

Nobody else could have concocted such a dirty and devastating perfect storm of frenzied punk and metal and Satanic imagery, and legions have fallen under their spell – some acolytes winding up in some of the biggest bands in the world, like Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth. Due out soon on Spinefarm Records, From the Very Depths won't disappoint them.

Torn between a desire to methodically maul its victims with trudging menace, as they do in "Crucified" and "Evil Law" – the latter switching tactics midstream to build a massive swell of steely riffage, courtesy of guitarist Rage – and run like hell through a cloud of sonic, speed-metal toxins in "Grinding Teeth" and the all-out war that is "Mephistopheles," Venom is, as always, adept at switching gears. The smoldering "Smoke" surveys an ash-covered apocalypse as an evil grin spreads slowly across its face, while the hammering "Temptation" is like a film of car crash-test footage on continuous loop and "Long Haired Punks" toggles between going really, really fast and then gradually halting.

A sinister laugh is heard at the beginning of "Stigmata Satanas," as a ring of aural hellfire seems to surround wherever its coming from, and there's a reason for it. Delivered with such overwhelming force, its chugging riffs blowing steam, the track is a vicious mosh pit of energy, that infamous "bulldozer bass" of Cronos driving Venom hard through cursed landscapes.

Blistering guitar solos erupt throughout From the Very Depths, and the effect is dizzying on this swarming, violent, white-knuckle ride of a record, interrupted only for a brief respite by a grimly melodic acoustic interlude called "Ouverture" that reeks of death. Hard-hitting, intense and unremittingly hostile, with a touch of black humor, From the Very Depths is classic Venom. Gird your loins.
– Peter Lindblad

Prong: 'Ruining Lives' and 'Cleansing' souls

Tommy Victor talks new album, 'Cleansing' anniversary and more
By Peter Lindblad

Tommy Victor of Prong
Photo by Tim Tronckoe

Tommy Victor is beating his chest with pride over Prong's upcoming release, Ruining Lives. proclaiming its greatness to anyone who will listen.

Due out May 13 in the North America via Steamhammer/SPV, it's the aggressive, slammed-up-against-the-wall successor to 2012's bruising Carved Into Stone, a bone-on-bone record of white-hot intensity and rugged, jawbreaking brilliance that critics went gaga for two years ago. Victor believes Prong upped the ante on Ruining Lives.

"This is the fastest written and recorded Prong album ever, and it has more great songs than any previous Prong record," said Victor, the guitarist, singer and mastermind behind one of alternative-metal's most ambitious and punishing acts. "I am particularly proud of the vocal performance, and I think we captured some outstanding sounds on this album."

Especially adept at combining industrial and post-punk elements with a raging street-metal ferocity and thrash-metal explosiveness, the fiercely independent Prong has carved out its own niche since forming in the late 1980s, toying with electronics and different genres without ever sacrificing power or raw energy for the sake of trying something different.

Tommy Victor, master of the riff

It all started at the famed punk club CBGBs, where Victor worked as a sound man. Together with the venue's doorman, Mike Kirkland, and former Swans drummer Ted Parsons, Prong put out two indie records, the Primitive Origins EP in 1987 and Force Fed in 1988, before signing to Epic Records in 1989 – the result of a furious showcase performance at the old Ritz in their New York City home with local hardcore heavy-hitters the Cro-Mags and German trash heroes Destruction.

A year later, Prong let the classic Beg to Differ loose on the world, a powder keg of a record that helped bring about a sea change in heavy metal, as would contemporaries Helmet and Pantera. Prove You Wrong arrived in 1991, followed by 1994's landmark record, Cleansing, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.

Washing ashore in the wake of the Whose Fist is This Anyway? EP of remixes from the Prove Your Wrong album and recorded with former Killing Joke bassist Paul Raven and keyboardist John Bechdel, Cleansing had a muscular groove and a shocking amount of manic electronic edginess. And it had "Snap Your Fingers Snap Your Neck," often cited as having one of the greatest riffs in metal history.

Not wanting to repeat themselves, 1996's Rude Awakening was a departure, exploring the post-punk terrain charted by Killing Joke and welding industrial textures to its already potent sonic machinery. That run of albums was not only prolific, but it also represented an astonishing burst of creativity for Victor and Prong.

Prong: Tommy Victor, Tony Campos
and Alexei Rodriguez (in no particular order)
Photo by Tim Tronckoe

Now comes Ruining Lives, produced by Victor with help from Steve Evetts and featuring the rhythm section of Tony Campos and Alexei Rodriguez. As much a throwback to Prong's Beg to Differ era as it is a step forward in a bold new direction for a band that is constantly pushing the envelope, Ruining Lives takes everything Prong has done in the past and forms fresh, modern sonic art of it all. Victor talks about Prong's past and the new album in this exclusive interview.

Why do you think this record came together so fast?

Tommy Victor: It had to. I was presented with a strict deadline, and I agreed to it. It was important for me to honor that.

Prong- Ruining Lives 2014

Where Carved in Stone was really lean and maybe somewhat more minimalist in its approach, and just a relentless attack from the word go, Ruining Lives seems like a more diverse record, one you can immerse yourself, while still being heavy and crushing, especially on the title track and "Absence of Light." Do you see it that way as well?

TV: Not particularly. I think Ruining Lives is relentless as well, if not more so. There are songs that cross into a post-punk and diverse vibe on both records. Like "Put Myself To Sleep," "Path of Least Resistance," "Reinvestigate," "Subtract" maybe on Carved. Ruining has "Windows Shut," "Self Will Run Riot," and "Absence Of Light," and all have a lot going on in them.

"Come to Realize" is a different animal for Prong. Talk about how that song was created, how it evolved and about the unusual time signature you used. Did that make it a difficult song to record?

TV: It was fairly easy to lay down. Once you memorize the riff, it's a no-brainer. Prong started doing some odd timing back in the Beg To Differ years. I wasn't afraid to build a song out of that riff, so that wasn't an issue neither.

"Turnover" and "The Book of Change" are full of really powerful riffs and hard-hitting drumming. To you, what goes into making a great riff, and who do you think comes up with the best of them?

TV: Thanks. In the case of those songs, there wasn't a lot of thought put in. I usually jam to a certain BPM, to a metronome. I mix it up, and something seems to come out of it. There are so many great riff masters out there. I'm a little weird that way, though. I think Geordie Walker from Killing Joke writes some of the catchiest riffs of all time, and consistently, for instance. Obviously Dime [Pantera's Dimebag Darrell] had an amazing knack for riffs. [Slayer's] Kerry [King] and Jeff  [Hanneman], R.I.P. You have to admit, Jack White  is a genius at that too.

Tommy Victor performing
live with Prong

Lyrically, has your world view changed at all since the early days? Are you reacting to the world and its problems differently than you used to, or do the same things anger and provoke you to write the way you do?

TV: I had a lot of undisciplined anger in the old days – self pitying, too. There were some good messages, though, back then. "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck" has a good "live for the moment attitude," which is still cool to me. "Broken Peace" has a positive message, too, out of general frustration, and that's topically something I continue to focus on. There's just more of it now – believe it or not nowadays. The world is what it is, we all have to adapt to reality.

In what ways does this album hearken back to Prong classics like Beg to Differ and Cleansing, and in what ways has Prong evolved since then?

TV: Well, I've always had to sit in a room, maybe even a bathroom or a closet, and come up with lyrics and song ideas, like any writer. That doesn't change. Modern technology and budgets dictate the actual recording process, and that has changed things drastically. There are  lot of things you don't have to do now. And because of that you have to be more careful. I dislike auto-tuned vocals, for instance. All my vocals are performed and doubled. Fortunately, I have experience with that and can do it in a fair amount of time. The vocals have matured considerably I believe. I've learned by doing and they've progressed – same with guitar. I can blast through guitar tracks a lot faster than in the old days. That's all technical stuff. I've been blessed with getting Steve Evetts to work with. He's a godsend. also finding [producer/engineer/mixer] Chris Collier has been amazing. He's one of the most talented guys I've ever been involved with. 

You produced Ruining Lives, and you've said that you're especially proud of the vocals on the record. Did you record them differently this time around to enhance them, or was it just a matter of the performance being stronger?

TV: Well, I answered most of that in the last question. There is a progression of the same attitude on Carved Into Stone. Evetts knows how to coach singers. He produced the vocals on Ruining Lives. It's great to have him in the control room while I'm cutting vocals. Years ago, I was on my own. It was always, "Tommy go in the booth and scream, " and I've realized I don't need to do that, through Steve's guidance.

You worked as the sound man at CBGBs. How did that prepare you for what you experienced with Prong?

TV: It was a boot camp for me. I was forced to be part of the scene. I saw all the bands. And I could see what not to do. I had a firsthand glance of what was going on, so Prong could make decisions based on that knowledge.

What do you remember most about that show at The Ritz with the Cro-Mags and Destruction that helped you get signed by Epic? 

TV: I remember the amazing response we got. We had been fighting for a Rock Hotel show for a couple of years. Finally, [original Prong bassist] Mike Kirkland got [Rock Hotel promoter] Chris Williamson to agree on putting us on that show. It was an epic show that got us signed to Epic.

Talk about the progression or the evolution of Prong from Beg to Differ on through Rude Awakening. Those albums are so innovative and have elements of post-punk, industrial and metal, among others. Where did that desire to combine these different genres come from?

TV: There was beginning to be hoards of thrash-metal bands, noise/ industrial bands, hardcore and crossover bands. So what would be different? How would Prong stand out? I couldn't rely on my playing totally nor my singing. I was okay and got by. I had to rely on smart riffs and stylistic maneuvering. We also had to look to the future a lot in order to maybe break new ground. And back then there was a high ceiling for that. A focus on "songs" inevitably became a priority as well, with less emphasis on strict riffing.

Prong - Cleansing 1994

Cleansing turns 20 years old this year. What are your impressions of it all these years later, and why do you think it remains such an influential record?

TV: It's a classic, and I have no qualms about proclaiming that. It's a signature rock record, not just metal. It opened a lot of doors for a lot of new artists. It's a killer sounding record. [Producer] Terry Date was on top of his game. We made a lot of great studio decisions together. It was a fantastic experience. And it was at a time when Epic records were scratching their heads wondering what the hell we were doing.

You had the EP Whose Fist Is This Anyway?, which came out prior to Cleansing. How did that work influence Cleansing? 

TV: Well it got Paul Raven interested in taking up the bass role in Prong. We had him do a remix. Then we became friends and eventually led to him playing in the band. To those who don't know, that was the first remix record ever done by a metal band. Ted Parsons and I fought hard to get that sold to Epic records management.

Is "Snap Your Fingers Snap Your Neck" a song you feel represents what Prong is all about, or is there another that you feel is under-appreciated and deserves more acclaim?

TV: It's a magical track. We actually started playing that song while Troy Gregory was still in the band. People loved it from the beginning. Some songs are just like that. I'm noticing "Turnover" having that kind of response now.

Next up for Prong? Lots
of touring
Photo by Tim Tronckoe

Ruining Lives seems to revive so much of what makes Prong so interesting and still relevant these days. Does it seem to bridge the old and the new for Prong?

TV: I wouldn't disagree with that. It's got the riffs, it has the hooks, it has the grooves, it's got some of the New York hardcore vibe, it's got the post-punk undertones. It's a solid Prong record.

What's next for Prong?

TV: Touring. There's a lot coming up. Then writing for a new record. Maybe I'll do the next one in two months time, not three.

CD Review: Hatriot – Dawn of the New Centurion

CD Review: Hatriot – Dawn of the New Centurion

Massacre Records

All Access Rating: B+

Hatriot - Dawn of the New Centurion 2014

Charlton Heston wasn't going to give up his guns, not while he was alive anyway. Those enemies of freedom that dared try would have to kill him first.

Before God and country, and members of the National Rifle Association, this steely-eyed "cowboy" once held a rifle above his head and warned that the only way they'd take it was "from my cold, dead hands."

Michael Moore made a big deal about it in "Bowling for Columbine," his scathing indictment of the pro-gun lobby. And now, Steve "Zetro" Souza, the former Exodus front man who now heads up the unstoppable thrash-metal throwback Hatriot, is offering a counterpoint, unearthing audio of Heston's quote to introduce "My Cold Dead Hands," an intense and vicious defense of the Second Amendment and gun rights that opens the band's ferocious sophomore effort Dawn of the New Centurion.

Souza is just as passionate about preserving the basic tenets of thrash, as Dawn of the New Centurion provides the kind of visceral thrills, relentless sonic violence and startling energy that started the wildfire that engulfed metal in the early days of Metallica, Souza's own Legacy – which would morph into Testament – and, not to be outdone, Exodus. A seething cauldron of frenzied thrash, Dawn of the New Centurion is barely harnessed thrash-metal fury, comprised of indestructible song structures, hammering drums, a bewildering variety of raging, high-velocity guitar riffs – courtesy of the mysteriously named Kosta "V" – and Souza's demonic, almost reptilian vocals.

Gnashing his teeth in the midst of dizzying cyclones of sound, Souza loads lethal doses of venom into murderous, vengeful lyrics, his hell-spawned screeds coming through loud and clear in the chugging, surging monolith "Superkillafragadisticactsaresoatrocious," and its earthquake of a successor, the dangerously seismic, hard-charging "Silence in the House of the Lord." Even more brutal and punishing is the rampaging "World Funeral," a Slayer-like blitzkrieg of death and destruction with an explosive solo from Kosta "V" that is pure hell fire.

And that's not the only example of his electrifying speed and brilliant tonality, as Hatriot displays an innate ability to vary tempos, with the blistering "Your Worst Enemy" running smack dab into the heavy wrecking ball that is "The Fear Within," its building drama, stampeding blast beats and melodic guitars erupting into a riot that keeps escalating. The aggression is amplified, and so is the excitement, as Hatriot races toward the heart-stopping closer "Consolation for the Insane," bringing this crazed carnival ride to a blazing end.

At times, the sonic carnage not only threatens to overwhelm any semblance of melody, it burns the evidence, and because of this, Dawn of the New Centurion might be a powerhouse record with classy production that hits like a brick to the face, but its songs are far from memorable. Not quite as raw as its predecessor, Dawn of the New Centurion is, nevertheless, a shot of adrenaline to the heart, scary and bestial, moving with instrumental agility, a fast pace that would kill anybody with a heart condition and slashing sharpness. The family affair that is Hatriot – Souza's sons Cody, on bass, and Nick, on drums, round out the lineup – is not at all dysfunctional, at least not musically speaking.
http://www.massacre-records.de/
– Peter Lindblad

Thoughts on the Grammys, Pete Seeger and Motley Crue

A look at a tumultuous week in music

By Peter Lindblad

Pete Seeger died this week at 94

Pete Seeger died, Motley Crue submitted their retirement papers and the Grammys spit on hard rock and heavy metal once again, incurring the wrath of Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor. It's been a hell of a week in music. 

And let me just start off by saying that I really hemmed and hawed about writing this, mostly because to do so would give the Grammys credence they don't deserve. I didn't watch it. I haven't watched since probably high school, and I don't plan on watching them in the near future. They have so little to do with music I enjoy that I'm just not interested in them in any way, shape or form.

But then, Seeger passed away, and not long after, Motley Crue finally said what they've been hinting at for a long time, that they'd decided to call it a day. Finding a way to connect all three huge news stories seemed like a good way to kill an afternoon.

So, the world mourns the death of the banjo-playing Seeger, who could someday qualify for sainthood. A folk singer and political activist who stood up for the working man, he was willing to go to prison rather than kowtow to the tyrannical witch hunt of Sen. Joe McCarthy and his House Committee on Un-American Activities. Into his nineties, Seeger railed against injustice at every turn, was a man of principles and sang simple, unadorned songs of rare, rustic beauty, always with an eye toward a better future for the country he loved and its people, especially the downtrodden. 

Motley Crue officially retires

And then there's Motley Crue, who never really cared about the downtrodden as they were partying past sun up and sleeping with anything with a pulse. Terrors of the Sunset Strip in their salad days, these glam-metal hellions lived the "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll" ethos to the fullest extent possible, and almost didn't actually live to tell about it. They've shouted at the devil, extolled the virtues of their favorite strip clubs and indulged in just about every vice known to man. And their music is loud, rebellious, dirty and played with a street-fighting swagger that, from the very beginning, tapped into suburban teenage longing for danger and excitement. 

It didn't hurt sales that they surrounded themselves with scantily clad women in videos and onstage, set off a scary amount of pyrotechnics in concert and rode fast motorcycles and cars. Boys on the cusp of manhood tend to go in for that sort of thing.

The wreckage resulting from their misdeeds being common knowledge, Motley Crue wanted to put on a show. Seeger aimed to change the world. Both never wanted to be told what to do, and when institutions and authorities tried, they balked at attempts to shut them up. Musicians and artists, at least the good ones, are like that. 

Not surprisingly, critics have differing opinions about the bodies of work left they've accumulated. Not that Vince Neil cared one jot about what they had to say about Crue's music. Rightly, after the announcement was made that Crue was going to dissolve their long-lasting partnership after one last tour, Neil declared that Crue is, and always was, a "fan band," that they didn't make music for critics or to garner awards. Of course, every band the critics hate has to say that. 

Still, there's more than just a kernel of truth in that statement. Crue's fashion sense was something out of the movie "The Warriors" or Adam Ant's nightmares, but their songwriting, especially those bad-boy ballads, certainly had an audience, and a big one at that. In that way, Crue was a band of the people, and the salt-of-the-earth Seeger was nothing if not a man of the people, critics be damned.

As for the Grammys, there are some people they just don't care for. And Sunday night's telecast of the awards proved that they would rather not have anything to do with hard rock and heavy metal. Sure, Black Sabbath won the award for "Best Metal Performance," and it's hard to gripe about the nominees in that category, but wouldn't it have been nice to see Sabbath perform or even simply just accept their award? The point's been made by many that Metallica and Lang Lang doing "One" was an inspired pairing, even if it didn't come off all that well, and as others have also remarked, Metallica didn't put out any new music this year. 

So, what were they doing there? Did somebody with some pull say, "Hey, Metallica … that's a band I've heard of. Let's get them on." Isn't that why Foo Fighters are always the default setting when the Grammys want somebody to represent hard rock, but they also want a band that's sort of non-threatening and that everybody kind of likes? 

And then there are the "in memoriam" snubs of Slayer's Jeff Hanneman and Iron Maiden's Clive Burr. In Hanneman's case, the oversight is unforgivable, considering Slayer's five Grammy nominations and wins in 2007 and 2008, and Hanneman's songwriting contributions to Slayer. Burr is also more than deserving of recognition as well. Jesus, he was in Iron Maiden for God's sake. Both bands have racked up millions in record sales, and really, that's all the Grammys care about, isn't it? Just to be fair here, I heard they also forgot about The Dyvinyls' Chrissy Amphlett, which makes you wonder, who didn't they leave out?

Trent Reznor had a few choice words
for Grammy organizers

Anyway, seeing as how they cut to an ad and rolled credits while Trent Reznor and members of the Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age performed the finale, Reznor, in no uncertain terms, let them have it in an angry tweet, as is customary these days. Grammy Executive Producer Ken Ehrlich apologized … sort of, noting that the show was going long and they did manage to run all but 1:20 of it. Okay, but what about all the other stuff you didn't do?

Eddie Trunk gives the Grammys a bit of pass when arguing who's more disrespectful of hard rock and heavy metal, the Grammys or the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It's not that the people behind the Grammys are doddering old fools who don't know any better. I just simply don't believe that. After being the butt of so many jokes about Jethro Tull getting the heavy metal Grammy Metallica should have won, they had to have learned from that mistake. 

If it is ignorance on their part, it's willful ignorance. They don't want to present the award for "Heavy Metal Performance" during the actual telecast because they never wanted to include such a category in the first place. The circumstantial evidence of that is overwhelming.

At the end of the day, it's pointless to get all worked up about the Grammys. I realize that. Most right-thinking people do, too. Style has always trumped substance with that show, and in all likelihood, it always will, and who needs an awards show for music anyway? On the other hand, why not speak out about it? Why not try to get them to change their ways? What's that saying about all evil needs to triumph is for good men to do nothing? 

All right, maybe that doesn't exactly apply here, but then again, perhaps it's long past time for the Grammys to get it right. With the state the music industry is in right now, it can't afford to shun a rather large segment of consumers. Pete Seeger wouldn't do it on principle, and Motley Crue wouldn't do it because it just doesn't make sense from a business perspective. 

Sodom dreams of a 'Big Teutonic 4' tour

Kreator, Destruction and Tankard would round out such a lineup

By Peter Lindblad

Sodom's Tom Angelripper (photo by
Robert Schmidt)

America wants desperately to see more of the Big Four together, but Anthrax, Slayer, Metallica and Megadeth haven’t been able – or willing, perhaps, despite comments to the contrary – to bring their epic thrash-metal spectacle to the States.

Meanwhile, the States are, for all intents and purposes, virgin territory for Sodom, one of the most ferocious and rugged speed-metal outfits Germany has ever produced. Bassist/vocalist Tom Angelripper, the driving force behind Sodom and the only founding member left, wants to change that. And he’d like nothing better than to put together a “Big Teutonic 4” tour of Germanic thrash titans with Kreator, Destruction, and Tankard to conquer North America.

“I know that we have to talk about the U.S./North American tour, you know, but one of my dreams is to get … we have to talk about the Big Four and bring it up on the stage,” says Angelripper. “There’s a festival next month, Beastival [in Gieselwind, Germany], where all four bands play in a block, you know. And I get so many fans that want it on other stages in Germany or worldwide. It’s what I talk about. The next step is [to make it] real – whenever I talk to Mille [Petrozza] from Kreator, maybe we can do something between Christmastime, or the New Year. I also want to bring it to the U.S. and North America.”

Sodom, who will unleash their latest thrash-metal epistle, Epitome of Torture, on May 7 in the U.S. and Canada on Steamhammer/SPV, has always run into bad luck trying to organize U.S. jaunts.

“We never had a chance to do a big tour in America,” admits Angelripper. “We always had problems, you know. We never found very good serious promoters. We always had problems on the border. The last time we were supposed to play the Maryland Deathfest. The promoter said you have to go as tourists, but a band like Sodom, we can’t go as tourists. We have all our guitars, you know. And to do that, we have to go as a band; they know that we are Sodom and going to play there, you know. We need papers or a visa? I don’t know what it’s called, but [we need] working papers and all the stuff you need to go over.”

Other places are more accommodating, like metal-crazed South America for example.

“We never had any problems going to South America,” explains Angelripper. “We get our visa, we get our stuff, and we get a good deal, so we go. That is the thing. We are sitting at home waiting for offers. I think that would be a really good idea to get the four bands on a couple of stages in the U.S. and the Americas – that would be a dream, you know. To get all the four bands together, that’s what I’m working for and that’s my dream. The problem is different companies and agencies, they follow their own interests. They want to make money. All it takes is for the bands to say, ‘Yes, we’ll do it.’”

It would seem that a gathering of this magnitude would be a cash cow for all involved. Angelripper has no illusions, however, of drawing the kinds of massive crowds the Big Four saw during their Sonisphere Festival series run of 2010.

“It’s not like the Big Four, with Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer or whatever,” says Angelripper. “But it’s good for 2,000 or 3,000 people, you know. And if there’s any promoter that would help us do it, we will do it. I have a different booking agency than Kreator, you know. So we have to get at one table and talk about this shit. We want to go. We want to go to South America, to North America … anywhere.”

Any of those places would welcome Sodom with open arms upon hearing Epitome of Torture, an intense, punishing attack from start to finish that couches themes of war and peace in raging guitar riffs, slamming drums – from new drummer Markus “Makka” Freiwald – and bass that could cause a seismic event. And that’s exactly what Angelripper wanted to hear in this latest record.

“We did a kind of pre-production before, you know, and [producer] Waldemar [Sorychta] was also important in the songwriting and the arrangements you know,” reveals Angelripper. “And yes, we did talk about what we did with In War and Pieces, what we can change now, and when we started writing new songs actually, the most important thing was that we get a new drummer. It’s ‘Makka’ [Markus Friewald] on the drums nowadays, and we were able to do more heavier songs and more faster songs than on In War and Pieces.”

Angelripper also was displeased with the public reaction to In War and Pieces.

“We also talked about the sound,” he says. “There are some fans who told me that In War and Pieces sounds like a new metalcore band, which I hate. So we talked about how to get more Sodom spirit into the songs, more dirt … to pick up hate sounds, you know, we did a ton of re-editing with hate sounds, like Venom, you know. I thought [it should be] like when you listen to old Venom stuff, you know. I know we recorded [digitally], which is usual and also [cheaper] nowadays, but when I had the production sound, I wanted it to sound more on the low end, like in the ‘80s, you know. I wanted to get the Sodom spirit and the Sodom sound out, you know. But it was Waldemar who could help us. He’s a wonderful producer. It was important for me to spend the money not for a high-priced studio; it was better to spend the money for a producer who is going to help us from the beginning to the end.”

Waldemar’ influence is felt on Epitome of Torture, which will come out in three versions – a standard jewel case CD, a two colored LP plus three bonus tracks – double gatefold with printed innersleeves – and a limited-edition digipak, with two bonus tracks and a poster. For more information, visit http://www.sodomized.info/?l=en. 

Public Enemy ready to bum rush the show

Hip-hop legends about to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

By Peter Lindblad

Chuck D. and Public Enemy were itching to unleash Yo! Bum Rush the Show on a world that wasn’t at all

Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of
Millions to Hold us Back

prepared for its incendiary political and social commentary or its revolutionary sound collages. In 1986, however, their record company had different priorities.

While working at the radio station WBAU, the emcee with the powerful, hard-hitting delivery and a keen intellect had already rapped on the Public Enemy #1 tape put together by PE’s sonic mastermind Hank Shocklee.  

As Chuck D. recalls, “It actually was a demo for radio promo in 1984 that created a lot of havoc,” and it was passed around from “Yo! MTV Raps” host Doctor Dre and then “… to [Run DMC’s] Jam Master Jay and then [Def Jam Recordings founder/record producer] Rick Rubin and the Beastie Boys as well. It was my first record, and it was actually supposed to come out in ‘86, but because it was in the CBS system … [Bruce] Springsteen pushed back the Beastie Boys and pushed back us, so we got caught up into releasing our first record in ’87 instead of ’86. By that time, a lot of the terrain of hip-hop and rap music had changed, and [Public Enemy #1] would have been groundbreaking if it had come out in ’86, but it’s interesting at least.” 

Coming off the massive success of Born in the U.S.A., Springsteen was about to unveil the five-CD box set Live/1975-85, and the music industry was abuzz with anticipation. Hip-hop wasn’t the proven cash cow it would become, and Public Enemy was put on the back burner.

However, their time would come, and when Public Enemy arrived, emcee Chuck D., hype man Flava Flav, the Bomb Squad production team, DJ Terminator X and the Professor Grif-led, fake Uzi-toting Security of the First World dance team turned hip-pop – and popular music, as well – on its collective ear. Touted as the “Black CNN,” Public Enemy addressed subjects important to African-Americans that white America was too scared, too apathetic or too bigoted to confront.

Against a backdrop of sirens, a crazy mix of samples, hard funk rhythms and minimalist beats, Chuck D. voiced his truth with all the subtlety of a howitzer, while Flava Flav – sporting his trademark big clocks – played the court jester. What they had to say was vitally important, as was how the 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees said it.

Born Carlton Ridenhour, Chuck D. attended Adelphi University on Long Island in the early ‘80s. While studying graphic design, Chuck D. worked as a DJ at the school’s radio station, WBAU, where he met Shocklee and Bill Stephney. Sharing an interest in politics and hip-hop, the three bonded, and Ridenhour began appearing on Stephney’s radio show as Chuck D.

As for Flav, he grew up as a self-trained musical prodigy in Roosevelt, N.Y., playing multiple instruments. His teenage years were troubled ones, however, as he found himself in hot water with the law on numerous occasions and eventually dropped out of high school. Around that time, Flav and Chuck D. began hosting their own college radio show, while also working for Chuck D.’s father’s delivery service.

Soon, the various components that made up Public Enemy coalesced, with Chuck D. and Flava Flav out in front. Featuring Hank and Keith Shocklee, Eric “Vietnam” Sadler, Gary G-Wiz and Kerwin Young, the Bomb Squad was assembled, stacking a wide-ranging variety of samples on top of one another in a single track with an innovative cut-and-paste approach and avant-garde sensibilities. Whipping up a frenzied racket, with the noisy scratchings of Terminator X adding to the sonic mix, Public Enemy drew the attention of Rubin, who wanted them for his Def Jam label.

Though known for his production work with the likes of thrash-metal titans Slayer, Rubin took a hands-off approach with Public Enemy.

“Truthfully speaking, we never really worked hand-in-hand with Rick,” says Chuck D. “It was probably the first time he let something be autonomous, and we wanted to be autonomous. But at the same time, we welcomed Rick to add in whatever he wanted to add in. And I think he’s proud of that fact.”

Still, with Rubin around, the Run DMC-influenced Public Enemy assimilated elements of heavy rock, pushing guitars to the fore on their raw debut Yo! Bum Rush the Show in startlingly original fashion. Further on down the road, they would take it to another level. “I should say the first time we went into a rock-rap was Vernon Reid [Living Color guitarist] playing on ‘Sophisticated Bitch’ on Yo, Bum Rush the Show, and then on the second album, we had that Slayer sample [‘Angel of Death’] on ‘She Watches Channel Zero,’” recalls Chuck D., who says that Rubin did the mix for “She Watches Channel Zero” and loved the results.

While Yo! Bum Rush the Show finds Public Enemy in its developmental phase, 1988’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back was a fully realized vision of radical sociopolitical diatribes set to the Bomb Squad’s game-changing, wildly original aural murals of stomping funk, free-jazz insanity and slamming hard rock. Doors didn’t just open for them. They kicked them down and rushed in, demanding everyone’s attention with irrepressible singles “Don’t Believe the Hype” and “Bring the Noise.”

Anthrax was among those who were already listening. Drummer Charlie Benante and guitarist Scott Ian were Public Enemy’s biggest ambassadors among the thrash-metal community, and in 1991, they asked Chuck D. about doing a thrash-metal remake “Bring the Noise,” who wasn’t interested initially.

“Scottie Ian was a fan from the jump, man,” says Chuck D. “Charlie and him thought it was cool to wear our t-shirts in front of a hundred thousand people at the Monsters of Rock gig. People were asking, ‘Ooooh, who’s Public Enemy?’ So, he was our first guy, man (laughs).”

With Ian in their corner, Public Enemy suddenly had crossover potential, and to show how much he thought of Anthrax, Chuck D. invoked the name of New York City’s most aggressive thrash-metal street gang in the fiery original version of “Bring the Noise.”

“That was what made me name check them in the song, ‘Bring the Noise,’” says Chuck D. “I was telling ‘em that music is all the same – ‘Wax is for Anthrax.’ And so I’m name checking everybody from Eric B. to Sonny Bono and Yoko Ono and Anthrax – imagine (laughs)? So Charlie and Scott came back and said, ‘Look, we want to do a thrash version, Chuck. Let’s get on it.’ And I was like, at that time, ‘Well, I mean, I already did the song. You guys cover it.’ They said, ‘But we want you on it.’ And they just went ahead and did it, and I got on and we did the video, and we did the tour and Charlie and Scott made history.”

So did Public Enemy, releasing a series of powerful and oftentimes controversial records like 1990’s Fear

Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet

of a Black Planet – their most successful album, with singles such as “911 is a Joke” and the blazing anthem “Fight the Power,” a track which figured prominently in the Spike Lee film “Do the Right Thing” – and Apocalypse ’91 … The Enemy Strikes Black. Even as they endured Flav’s drug problems and a media firestorm over Grif’s alleged anti-Semitic remarks in the press, with each LP, Public Enemy pushed the envelope.

“The whole key was to make them totally different,” explains Chuck D. “The whole thing about rock is to never repeat yourself … over the course of a catalog, you should be able to say, ‘Okay, wow! Now there’s something different,’ but you’re not going to not sound like yourself. But you can actually say that we went over here, and we knew that people wanted this particular sound, and we went the opposite way.”

Eventually, Public Enemy, hugely influential in bringing about a golden age of rap during the 1980s and 1990s, left Def Jam to go independent. In the years since, Public Enemy has resurfaced numerous times to challenge the status quo, experiencing a surprise revival in England with the hit “Harder Than You Think” off 2007’s 20^th anniversary LP How Do You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul? It was their highest-charting single ever in the country. They even returned to tour in 2012 and 2013 on the strength of two 2012 albums – Most of My Heroes Don’t Appear on No Stamp and Evil Empire of Everything, made with full instrumental bands and Terminator X’s late ‘90s replacement, DJ Lord. Tech savvy, Chuck D. was all in early on in embracing the possibilities of digitization and the Internet, and he’s been instrumental in establishing the first-ever HipHopGods.com Classic Tourfest Revue, featuring Public Enemy and a revolving lineup of rap artists from the golden age of hip-hop.

“I was really impressed with what they did, over the years, with classic rock, how they separated classic rock from the mainstream – I guess [I wanted to do the same for] the pioneering, golden era and spirit of rap and what was happening in the mainstream, contemporary, major record industry. We need to take care of it,” says Chuck D.

Chuck D. brings the noise with Anthrax

Public Enemy's MC discusses groundbreaking thrash-rap collaboration

By Peter Lindblad

Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions
to Hold Us Back 1988

At first, doing a thrash-metal remake of his own group’s utterly explosive diatribe “Bring the Noise” with Anthrax made little sense to Public Enemy’s Chuck D.

Though he certainly appreciated Anthrax’s enthusiasm for the idea, as well as their feverish support for all that Public Enemy stood for, this political firebrand of an MC had no interest in doing it over again – especially since this wasn’t exactly virgin territory for Public Enemy. They’d already combined hip-hop and rock before in startlingly original fashion. Still, this collaboration with Anthrax was different.

“I should say the first time we went into a rock-rap was Vernon Reid [Living Color] playing on ‘Sophisticated Bitch’ on Yo, Bum Rush the Show, and then on the second album, we had that Slayer sample [‘Angel of Death’] on ‘She Watches Channel Zero,’” recalls Chuck D.

That got the attention of Anthrax’s Charlie Benante and Scott Ian, who were already fans of the band and Public Enemy’s biggest ambassadors among the thrash-metal community.

“This actually got across to the Anthrax guys, Charlie Benante and Scott Ian,” remembers Chuck D. “And Scottie Ian was a fan from the jump, man. Charlie and him thought it was cool to wear our t-shirts in front of a hundred thousand people at the Monsters of Rock gig. People were asking, ‘Ooooh, who’s Public Enemy?’ So, he was our first guy, man (laughs).”

With Ian in their corner, Public Enemy suddenly had crossover potential, as the heavy metal market was, however slowly, opening its collective mind to rap. To show how much he thought of Anthrax, Chuck D. invoked the name of New York City’s most aggressive thrash-metal street gang in the hard-hitting, fiery original version “Bring the Noise” that appeared on PE’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.

Anthrax - Attack of the Killer B's 1991

“That was what made me name check them in the song, ‘Bring the Noise,’” says Chuck D. “I was telling ‘em that music is all the same – ‘Wax is for Anthrax.’ And so I’m name checking everybody from Eric B. to Sonny Bono and Yoko Ono and Anthrax – imagine (laughs)? So Charlie and Scott came back and said, ‘Look, we want to do a thrash version, Chuck. Let’s get on it.’ And I was like, at that time, ‘Well, I mean, I already did the song. You guys cover it.’ They said, “But we want you on it.” And they just went ahead and did it, and I got on and we did the video, and we did the tour and Charlie and Scott made history.”

This past fall, Chuck D. participated in another kind of tour, the first-ever HipHopGods.com Classic Tourfest Revue. The concerts featured Public Enemy and a revolving lineup of rap artists from the golden age of hip-hop. Among the participants: X Clan, Schoolly D, Leaders of the New School, Monie Love, Son of Bazerk, Wise Intelligent (of Poor Righteous Teachers), Awesome Dre and Davy DMX.

Working with HipHopGods.com is a labor of love for Chuck D., who feels it’s important for hip-hop fans to maintain a connection with those artists who fought to establish rap as a respected art form.

“Well, somebody has to do it,” says Chuck D. “I was really impressed with what they did, over the years, with classic rock, how they separated classic rock from the mainstream – I guess [I wanted to do the same for] the pioneering, golden era and spirit of rap and what was happening in the mainstream, contemporary, major record industry. And I looked at all of this and I wanted to make sure that this happens, and then after a while, you say, ‘Look, I guess we might as well do this … we wanted to be able to say, this is our old crew, this what we do and for Lynyrd Skynyrd and all the brothers who are still touring and doing their thing and still draw big crowds. We need to take care of it.’”

It’s a sure bet that nobody will ever forget about Public Enemy. Controversial, innovative and powerful – Public Enemy started a revolution, both sonically and lyrically. Not surprisingly, they were named as a 2013 inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an honor Chuck D. is sincerely awed by.

“I take all halls of fame seriously,” he says. “It’s respect from your peers.”

And for Chuck D. respect is serious business. Stay tuned for more from the Public Enemy MC in the coming weeks.

Metal Evolution - "Thrash"

Metal Evolution: "Thrash" - Episode 106 
Sam Dunn
VH1 Classic

All Access Review:  A-

Squaring off against everything that ‘80s glam metal represented, the soldiers of thrash – glam’s uglier, angrier cousin – wanted to eradicate every trace of makeup, lipstick and hairspray from heavy metal’s dark underworld. Or, as Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine puts it in the “Thrash” installment of Sam Dunn’s “Metal Evolution” documentary series, the androgynous purveyors of glam metal, many of whom looked almost as pretty as the girls they were bedding, were “fleas on the balls of a camel” and thrash “was a flea bomb.”

The strongest of pesticides, thrash almost killed glam metal dead. Grunge would finish the job in the ‘90s. Obviously a fan of one of metal’s most extreme sub-genres, Dunn, author of the acclaimed “Metal A Headbanger’s Journey” documentary, explores the fiery origins and virus-like developments of thrash metal in the latest chapter of “Metal Evolution,” which appeared over New Year’s Eve weekend on VH-1 Classic. Up to this point, Dunn has done a fine job detailing with great care the genealogy of heavy metal. Every piece is rife with riveting interview material, classic live footage and historical fact. With the exuberant enthusiasm of a fan and the intellectual curiosity of an anthropologist, which is what he is, Dunn has dissected the body of and probed into every nook and cranny of that most reviled of all musical forms.

So far, “Metal Evolution” has taken viewers on a loud, crazed journey through all the mayhem and madness metal has produced over the years. Yes, it’s a history lesson, but the scope of Dunn’s work is wide-ranging, studying the influence of classical and jazz on metal, while also investigating the connection between the gritty, early ‘70s Detroit proto-punk sound of The Stooges and the MC5 and confronting the strained relations between English punk and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. And that’s just a small sampling of Dunn’s exhaustive, but never tedious, testimony.

“Thrash” is another winner. Starting off at its birthplace, Soundwave Studios in California’s Bay Area, where Testament is running through a fiery rehearsal, Dunn, through content-rich talks with Mustaine, Slayer’s Dave Lombardo, Testament’s Alex Skolnick and Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, finds the merging streams of hardcore punk and NWOBHM flowing electricity into thrash’s roiling sea. Taking the energy and spirit of punk and the melodic aggression of bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, thrash’s innovators, like Slayer and Exodus, upped the ante.

As Skolnick relates in “Thrash,” musicians like him loved punk’s songs and its undeniable vitality; however, what was missing was musicianship, and they wanted desperately to create something that would challenge their chops. Thrash was it. Heavy and punishing, the riffs raged, flying at unheard-of speeds. And the guttural vocals screamed and growled, spitting out graphically violent lyrical imagery that occasionally touched on war and social issues but more often told stories of serial killers and gruesome deaths. Using this symbiotic relationship as a jumping-off point, Dunn segues into how thundering, high-velocity double-kick drums became the driving force behind Trash. Ulrich and Testament’s Paul Bostaph give all the credit to Motorhead’s Phil Taylor for bringing the double-kick drums into fashion, and Thrash’s young vanguard of drummers took Taylor’s style and gave it a shot of adrenaline. Taylor is one of the surprising stars of Dunn’s “Thrash,” a metal veteran telling his war stories and explaining his absolutely vital contribution to metal, with Dunn hanging on every word.

When the conversation turns to Metallica, Jon Zazula, founder of Megaforce Records, and his wife reveal how their mom-and-pop metal label served as the launching pad for the band that would become Thrash’s version of The Beatles. Metallica’s tale serves as the lynchpin for “Thrash,” as Dunn follows the band from its lowly beginnings on through the explosion of San Francisco’s underground metal scene and into the controversial, MTV-courting “Black” album, which some in the Thrash community saw a betrayal of its values. Dunn and Lombardo make no bones about how they felt. It was treason, but to Dunn’s credit, he shares his feelings with Ulrich, who offers Metallica’s side of things. Ulrich feels that “betrayal” is such an ugly word and that if Metallica had done a rehashing of … And Justice for All, that would have been Metallica selling out. They needed to do the “Black” album to expand their horizons and grow artistically, as Ulrich explains. His reasoning makes perfect sense.

So does Nunn’s storytelling. In less capable hands, “Thrash” could have been a jumbled mess, but he sticks to the philosophy of “Metal Evolution,” and that is to follow each stage of metal’s growth and development to the wherever the story leads. Slayer’s Reign in Blood is treated with awe and respect, and the story behind landmark show at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City that led to major-label deals for Raven, Metallica and, eventually, Anthrax is told with an insider’s perspective.  By the end of “Thrash,” Nunn has traversed Sweden to investigate Thrash’s unlikely revival in the land of ice, snow and Lutherans – the Gothenburg sound, which, after Thrash’s mid-‘90s swoon, which married melody and harmonies with blinding speed and crushing heaviness in bands like In Flames – and Richmond, Va.’s burgeoning scene, which roared to life because of Lamb of God. Though previous segments of “Metal Evolution” – including a surprisingly sincere look at “Glam,” strategically shown the week before “Thrash,” the juxtaposition probably being no accident – were strong statements of purpose, “Thrash” is the best of the lot. Next week, it’s “Grunge,” as Dunn goes to Seattle to take on the movement that many say destroyed the careers of bands like Warrant and Ratt, among others. Let’s hope Dunn treats the subject matter with just as much care as he does with Thrash.

- Peter Lindblad

Metal Evolution Thrash

View the Full Episode - Right Here, Right Now!

Episode Summary - Arguably metal's most popular and passionate genre, Sam journeys to Northern California to trace the roots of Thrash by interviewing the architects of this hugely popular genre. Sam interviews Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer, Testament, Exodus, and many more Thrash Metal legends.

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Collectible Heavy Metal Posters:
  
Anthrax
Megadeth
Metallica
Slayer