High Intensity Discharge CD

Travelling into the realm of obscure heavy metal can be a real bargain at times.  Several years ago the local pawn shop decided to liquidate their entire audio CD collection.  AT 10 CDS FOR A DOLLAR.  I promptly bought every single hard rock and metal-related disc in the place, which resulted in quite an eclectic stack of stuff running the gamut from a cut-out of Torch's Fireraiser to a Skatenigs CD with water-damaged inserts.  While there, I picked up this little number--the High Intensity Discharge compilation on the Creative Sounds label:

I was already acquainted with Creative Sounds due to their ubiquitous cheapo CD versions of early Black Sabbath and pre-Gillan Deep Purple releases.  I had always assumed they were some weird little UK label who were exploiting licensing loopholes.

Speaking of cheap, no date information is given anywhere, but according to online sources the compilation was released in 1988.  It's a bit hard to tell from the cover scan, but the album title is actually hot foil stamped onto the insert.  They chose to emboss a metallic red logo on an insert that is not only one-sided, but uses an upside-down stock photo as a background.  What an odd way to splurge on a layout that looks terribly generic and cheap otherwise.  Maybe one of the label guys moonlighted at a print shop or something, even though I would have thought pressing Black Sabbath CDs intended for the budget-minded consumer would be enough by itself to keep the lights on.   

Okay, so we've got two Deep Purple tunes (both cover songs from the Mk. I lineup with Rod Evans), two Sabbath tunes, and two Alice Cooper tunes (since these are live and "No Longer Umpire" is mistitled as "Painting a Picture," I assume these are from the 1969 Toronto Rock and Roll Revival fest--recordings of which have been released as Alice Cooper live CDs in a slew of various unauthorized incarnations). 

BUT WHO THE HELL ARE LEGGESY AND TRYAX?

Well, both were Albuquerque, New Mexico bands active in the mid-late '80s.  At first I was confused as to why they would be on such a compilation, but as it turns out, Creative Sounds were also located in New Mexico.  I'm not sure of the exact circumstances, but it seems they were given compilation slots by virtue of being relatively popular local acts at the time.  This also appears to be the only time Creative Sounds ever worked with local bands.  And remember that licensing loopholes comment I made earlier?  The most recent info I could find about Creative Sounds was that they were sued in the early '90s by MCA over music rights issues.

New Mexico has never really been known as a hotbed of heavy metal, '80s or otherwise.  As a state with a pretty healthy history of demo-level bands, I'm not going to mock them, but let's face it--their biggest claims to fame are a Christian thrash band and a 1984 Judas Priest concert.  On to the bands in question though:

Leggesy

Much like the logo on the cover, Leggesy are shiny and metallic (since they are in New Mexico, some of them may very well qualify as red too).  As is obvious from the band name and songtitles, they definitely sway towards the more commercial side of '80s metal.  "Custom Made Lover" is typical of the L.A. metal style--mid-paced stuff with a hard-driving guitar providing most of the heaviness.  Their second tune "Lace by Name" is a bit heavier and comes off better, despite the odd maracas-style percussion throughout most of the song.  Nothing on the level of "Be My Wench," mind you, but for songs about chicks these aren't bad.

Here's a video for "Custom Made Lover" shot on the roof of a Holiday Inn.  Yes, you read that correctly.

Tryax

Tryax also have somewhat of a commercial sheen to their metal, although it manifests itself differently and their two songs are more varied.  "Lost Time" is a ballad that evokes somewhat of a Crimson Glory/Queensrÿche feel (though with a singer nowhere near that caliber).  Then "Bring It On" brings in some real muscle with a mean main riff that wouldn't appear out of place in a NWoBHM stomper (for the Spanish metal enthusiasts in the room, it's quite reminiscent of Obús' "Va a estallar el obús").  However, the bouncy, rocking nature of the song and some of the vocal crooning do detract from its bite. 

Just a final warning--I don't know if they're pressings that came earlier or later, but be aware that some versions of High Intensity Discharge substitute Spooky Tooth and Soft Machine tracks for the Leggesy and Tryax stuff, rendering the compilation completely worthless in my opinion. 

Metal liner notes of the day

Females Are Clueless About Metal, Vol. 3 (Or: Paul Di'Anno Will Kick Your Face Off, Bitch)

First, let me present for your perusal the following:


This isn't the first time Paul has had to quell a heavily-accented heckler (though, to be fair, I can excuse this BROOSE DIEK-IN-SON guy--communicating in English isn't his strong point, and Di'Anno just acts dramatically antagonistic).

Interrupting stage banter at a Di'Anno gig by chiming in with "excuse me, I don't like Iron Maiden"
in a dumb accent?  A comedy goldmine, but also utterly moronic--I'm not sure if this bitch fancies herself a metal fan or not, but her comment reeks of attention seeking and self-absorbedness (the typical hallmark of the female masquerading as a metalhead).  Di'Anno isn't in his prime in terms of athletic competition (or tax evasion...HURHUR) and is hardly worth defending, but this cunt's comment is inexcusable from any point of view:

Maybe it's not a heavy metal gig.
This Motala show was a Katana/Di'Anno bill.  Yes, yes, I know--I'll save slandering Katana's choice of bassist for another time.  This wasn't a fest or a gig with some rock bands.  Any non-metal fan is there for social reasons or profit.

Not liking Iron Maiden is valid, right?
No.

C'mon.
I've become quite biased against Iron Maiden, particularly with Bruce--I feel they get a lot of the accolades deserved by a certain Birmingham band anyone into heavy metal is forever indebted to, I largely prefer the material of their Soviet doppelgänger to actual Dickinson-era material, I wouldn't mind at all if Bruce was involved in some sort of fiery jetliner accident, I find it annoying that a large portion of their fanbase consists of folks who listen to them as a token heavy band among hair bands and normal hard rock (aka the optimal VH1 Classic target demographic), and nowadays I generally see them as a mediocre band who coasts by on promoting fan unity and a strong back catalog.  MANOWAR, YOU'RE ALSO GUILTY.  Even if it's not across the board, I would never dismiss the importance or greatness of a lot of their material.  IT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU CAN GENERALIZE ACCURATELY ABOUT, LIKE SAY, FEMALES PRETENDING TO LIKE METAL.

Maybe she only likes his solo/non-Maiden material?
Some of that stuff is okay, but seriously, who would care about any of it if Paul wasn't in Maiden?  Has anyone ever lamented the fact Battlezone didn't release enough albums?   How many people were excited to find the second Killers album in their Metal Blade grab bag?

Metal is all about challenging the status quo. \m/  She's got guts for giving her opinion to his face in public.  You go, girl!
The problem here is that the same dullards who want to abandon the etiquette of letting a guy pay tribute to a deceased former bandmate are precisely the same ones who want to keep the etiquette of not raping a mouthy cunt for verbal transgressions.  I was a bit disheartened that the crowd only cheered in regards to threats of violence, but no one seemed to act on it.  Hopefully that bitch was sexually assaulted (or, if she was fat, summarily executed) after the gig.

Even if you don't like Di'Anno's Maiden covers, notice she spoke up after Clive was mentioned.
Rather tactless to interrupt a tribute to a guy who played on Maiden's prime material but didn't stick around for their descent.

Maybe she's a prostitute.
Then what's with the talking?  Get to work, bitch!  To paraphrase Mr. Barbarud Hrom, your mouth is for other things!

Oh, and sorry, Paul.  AIDS is often quite funny.*

*Unless you are hastily removing homophobic comments from represses of Terrible Certainty to avoid a PR debacle.  Then, maybe not so much.

Force of Evil - "Black Empire" (special edition)

Even with Shermann and Denner here, this is much more like modern power metal than '80s Mercyful Fate.  Especially considering I haven't heard the first album, the title-track opener surprised me a bit, as the vocals start out low and there's a high scream before the vocals settle into a rather high-pitched delivery.  Nothing close to the falsettos of the King, though--think more a slightly over-the-top high-pitched German or Dutch '80s HM singer.  While the vocals don't sound like KD, I thought perhaps that being high like that, they were a tip of the top hat to him.  However, after the first track the main vocals sound more like standard power metal fare, and the only similarity to King is that vocalist Martin Steene uses a wide vocal range, employing both highs and lows.

 

The special edition version comes with an o-card slipcover for the case and with 2 live 2004 tracks as bonuses.  I thought the bonus live version of "Desecration of Souls" was the best thing about this whole thing, which is rather telling because it's not a particularly favorite MF song of mine in the first place.  The "not too bad, but I'd rather listen to their old band" nature of this album dredges up the oft-encountered musical question--is it unfair to hold musicians who have previously produced classic work to a higher standard?  It would be great to be able to objectively judge each work by its own merit, but of course it's impossible to be completely unbiased.  Should missteps be tolerated?  Should mediocrity be given a free pass if greatness preceded it?  I say...

 

SHOW NO MERCY.  Actually, I've overlooked Mr. Shermann's choice of pants color before, and I can do the same with this (especially seeing as it was snatched off a clearance rack for under three bucks).  In all seriousness, there's nothing here that really sullies the reputation of our favorite Danish guitar duo.  But make no mistake--I found the Zoser Mez album a lot more enjoyable... 

Service for a vacant CD store: labels from used CDs I bought years ago

One of the areas where I previously lived used to be graced with a really great franchise of used CD stores scattered all over town; I've bought music at many places--some arguably better--before and since then, but I did appreciate that I found good metal consistently at all their locations.  Sadly, they all closed a while ago.  So long ago, in fact, that one of the stores had become a unrelated indie music store that was around for several years, and even THAT closed down some time ago.

These stores all kept their discs behind the counter, so each case got a white Avery-or-comparable-style label on the tray, dot-matrix printed with title, pricing, and location information.  AND FOR SOME REASON, I STUCK SOME OF THESE TO PAPER AND SAVED THEM.

Unfortunately, slowly they rot--many of them are yellowing, fading, and curling at the edges (with the exposed adhesive side serving as a lint magnet).  Looking over the titles I bought is nostalgic, but it's time to toss them, which is what happened to their associated old timey dot-matrix printed store receipts long ago.  However, I have scanned them for posterity, and present them now with anecdotes.  Let us return to the glorious days of '90s compact disc retail:

Picked this up on my very first visit to this particular store.  Even at 99 cents, I remember having to contemplate whether to get this or not.  Had no clue who the band were at that time.  The logo looked decidedly metal, which prompted me to look at the CD more closely, but I remember being confused by Freddy Krueger's picture on the cover.  The band pictures were also inconclusive due to the prescence of a rather baby-faced blonde member, a blue (non-denim) jacket, and the lack of any deadly weapons, metal gear.  The cincher ended up being the song "Antikrist," since I could at least understand that among all the Czech songtitles.  Of course, after getting home and listening to this, I realized buying it was a wise decision.

Bought these together, same store as above.  The Abomination debut was in the bins from the very first time I went to the store, but it took a while before I finally bought it (since the store tended to mark down metal, I think I was waiting to see if they'd lower the price).  So fast forward to a few months later, when Rrröööaaarrr shows up.  Keep in mind I had never seen the album before, SO THE KILLER LOOK OF THE AWAYTANK TOTALLY MESMERIZES ME.  OF COURSE I HAVE TO BUY IT.  Well, the act of buying the Voivod CD just so happened to fill up my frequent buyer card, so since I was due a free CD, I finally snagged the Abomination disc.



This is not one of the singles, it's the promotional-only CD that I believe was intended as a sampler for Best of the Beast.  It has "Virus," "Man on the Edge," a live Blaze version of "Afraid to Shoot Strangers," and then 6 tracks of Dickinson/Di'Anno-era material.

I think this may have been the first time I saw a copy of Reign in Blood used, presumably because used copies didn't sit unsold for too long.  When I first saw this, I didn't buy it, and I was sort of surprised it was still there when I went back on my next visit.  Looked at it again, and upon closer inspection realized it was the Japanese press.  I didn't repeat the mistake of not buying it.

In fact, this was only $2.99 or $3.99, but I don't have the second label that amended the price.  This was the Metal Blade press--I was happy with the purchase at the time, not realizing that they cut "Bells of Acheron"--my favorite song from Ancient Dreams--for the U.S. version.

Didn't get these at the same time.  Initially I only knew of the band from their appearance as the opening act on the 3-Way Thrash video.  Remember guitarist John Bury's killer thrashafro?  Human Wreckage can be counted as one of the better UK thrash albums; the follow-up is not terrible but quite generic.

Also picked up Belial - Wisdom of Darkness (with the nicer landscape cover), Sadistic Intent - Resurrection, and Usurper - Diabolosis in the same trip.  Ironic how only the label for the worst CD of the bunch remains.



This was the old uncensored cover pressing with most of Reek... as bonustracks.  The guy at the counter jokingly asked if I had looked at the cover, saying it would give him nightmares. 

I'm glad I found this, but I've always thought everything Destroyer 666 have done pales in comparison to the debut.  Most of their EP tracks are better than the album stuff, and Phoenix Rising fares a little better with the new version of "Eternal Glory of War," but I'll take Violence is the Prince... over the rest any day. 

I believe this had just been released so it was kind of surprising to find it used.  Luck of the Corpse and The 13 Frightened Souls are some of my favorite death metal of all time--I still liked them here with the thrashier sound, but I'm indifferent about later stuff aside from the cover tunes.

Got these at the same time, and coincidentally, they're both fine '95 black metal debuts.  I won't say any more as I need to conserve Maniac Butcher content for the inevitable post about bands who superimpose themselves onto horsies in pictures.

This was in excellent condition, quite surprising for a Slayer CD.  I think the store manager may have even made a remark about that to me when ringing me up, but it's been so long I don't remember.

Didn't quite buy these at the same time--consecutive trips, I believe.  Close enough.  Both of these were the European Geffen presses with the helpful stickered reminders that they were DIGITALLY REMASTERED and indeed NO FUCKIN' BOOTLEGS.  I think Into Glory Ride was marked down from the price on the label but I honestly can't remember.    

Yes, you are reading that correctly.

And the rest:

As a bonus, some additional labels from other stores that I happened to save:

This particular place put CDs into those individual anti-theft frame things, so they used jumbo-size labels placed on the back of the case.  I was happy to have Bonded by Blood on CD, but there was also a slight twinge of disappointment since it was the red cover reissue.  I don't even particularly like the original artwork, but nevertheless, it's iconic, and still better than a colorized crowd shot. 

Same store as above.  Bought these together, brand new.  Despite the price tags, I only paid $13.99 total since they both had colored stickers on the front indicating they were half-off.

This was for Indestructible Noise Command's The Visitor.  Getting it for $2.99 was a steal already, but they let me have it free since the booklet had a tear in it.

Metal liner notes of the day



Metal liner notes of the day

TEN NÁŠ BLACK METAL

AS A TRIBUTE TO ROOT'S GREATEST TUNE, WE WILL NOW HAVE A CONTINUATION OF SORTS OF THE PREVIOUS POST.

First, a keyboard version.  Note the tongue at the end--this will be thematically important later.

Obviously not anywhere near as good as the original, but it's pretty catchy, and there's no denying the talent here.

 

Now---well, there's nothing descriptive I can write to do this justice.  See for yourself: 

The weirdness factor here exceeds that of the original video.  To be fair, I probably look similar when listening to the song, except I don't cut out templates of Big Boss' corpsepaint and apply them to my face.

 

Finally, some performances with old friends:

 



I find the slow section here (especially the evillaughter) to be astonishingly good for such a later live version. 

Videos of the unholy trinity of Czech black metal

Sadly, if you were to mention "Czech black metal videos," what comes to mind first would likely be Maniac Butcher's "Co Dobré Pro Mne, Dobrým Jest," or perhaps that Trollech video where the members start off playing guitar calf-deep in a creek.  Something akin to the atrocious "Call of the Wintermoon" video and its much deserved parodies--budgetless stuff full of silly in-the-forest posturing.  But long before Barbarud and Vlad Blasphemer were headbanging in the great outdoors or storming bridges with woodcutting implements in jerky slow motion, there were Czech black metal videos.

In fact, all three pioneering Czechoslovakian black metal bands had professional videoclips made roughly around the times of their debut albums.  Think about that--at a time when most of the infamous Norwegian black metal musicians were still playing death metal, these bands had REAL VIDEOS.  Although it wasn't uncommon for old East-European heavy metal bands to have videos, with the exception of Venom, these are probably the earliest black metal production videos ever made.

Yes, yes, I know the black mass-themed video for "Geniové" is better known.  That clip is a fine one too, but there's something I like about this video better.  The seizure-inducing speed of the cuts during the playback parts?  The dramatic hand movements?  Franta and co.'s struggle with the bars of the gate reminding me of the "Breaking the Law" video?

This is the most professional of the three videos.  I'm curious where the interspersed footage is from--I've seen claims that it's from the 1969 eponymous film Kladivo Na Čarodějnice (alternate title: Don't Steal the Communion Wafer, You Old Fucking Hag), which is incorrect, as firstly, that was a black and white movie, and secondly, there's way too much action in the footage here.

We finish with what may well be the greatest extreme metal vid ever made.  I don't mean that in a smug or belittling way, either.  This could have been a disastrously silly video if made under other conditions.  CONDITIONS THAT DON'T INCLUDE BIG BOSS.  The man is a legend, but that doesn't mean we can't be honest about his unconventional age and look, even back then--his slightly maniacal, child molester-esque demeanor lends a genuinely creepy feel to the proceedings here, which is perfect for the theme.

Metal liner notes of the day

Metal liner notes of the day

Dead Conspiracy - "As You Would Have Them Do" CD-single

Originally I had the idea of doing oddball reviews under the title of Weird Tales of Metal, which was honestly just a catchy title for what should have been Common and Recurring Themes in Metal.  Most bands inevitably turn to shit, mediocrity abounds everywhere, there's the whole dichotomy of unfaltering traditionalism vs. throwing in all sorts of avant-garde nonsense (for the sake of pushing "boundaries" which are usually self-imposed), there are lots of hidden gems buried by time and obscurity, etc.  Nothing particularly weird about any of those things.  It's how heavy metal is.

Remember what I just said about bands turning to shit?  Well, here you go:


Lemon yellow inserts and a polka-dot logo.  You know this is going to be good.

Dead Conspiracy's As You Would Have Them Do CD-single was released by New Renaissance in 1991, during the very end of the label's original run.  As such, it abandons the classic New Renaissance castle logo in favor of their later-but-decidedly-heavy-metal-looking logo of a bloody chopping block.  It was also (until the label's resurrection), along with the Terrahsphere CD, one of the last releases done wholly under the New Renaissance moniker.  Ann would shortly team up with Colossal and go on to release towering thrash classics such as Dead & Bloated You Don't and Denial Antichrist President.

As noted on the cover, this lone track was released as a preview for a full length album which never came.  Probably fortunately so.  This is pretty much New Renaissance's WORST RELEASE EVER.  Not because Tuff Luck or Intense Mutilation are so great, but there's only one silly and ill-conceived song here, with nothing else to temper it:



Lewis Livermore?  Heh heh heh...

As you can see from the band member names and yellow background color, I have not sneakily posted the lineup from a ska band.  YES--DEAD CONSPIRACY HAVE A HORN SECTION.

The song opens with an audio snippet of Marin Luther King Jr., so we're clearly in for pro-social lyrics; indeed, lyrically it's an anti-hate/anti-persecution tune.  For all the trepidation I had about them, the horns are used in an oddly superfluous way.  They kick in right at the start, last about a minute, and then reappear at the end after a short funk bass section.  They provide an extra flourish but don't really follow the theme of the song.  The horn players were clearly not regular members of the band--if you look up Tim Bryson and Lewis Livermore (bwahaha...), this is the only semblance of anything remotely rock-like in their musical careers.  I'm not sure how they knew the band, but it's entirely believable they didn't--I wouldn't be surprised if everyone just happened to be at the studio at the same time, and someone thought it would be cute and novel to throw trumpets and a sax into the proceedings.

Initially, it seems things are going in a funky-music-with-heavy-guitars direction ala Mindfunk/Last Crack (there are some similarities to Mordred, to be sure, but things get nowhere near as thrashy) and all the Red Hot Chili Peppers/Jane's Addiction influenced tripe that was prevalent in the late '80s/early '90s.  Eventually the main riff begins to build speed; broken free from all the funk influence, it may have been the basis for a decent progressive thrash song.  But let's not get too ahead of ourselves with what might have been, because the cherry that tops this shit sundae comes in the form of the ridiculous vocals.  I sense they are an attempt at "schizophrenic" crossover-style vocals.  Trembly talk-singing and occasional bursts of more aggressive punkish singing are involved.  I'm not sure of the correct technical term (well, other than annoying), but some of the vocal phrasings are purposefully drawn out, to comedic effect.  Perhaps the vocalist realized he was resigned to the terrible fate of singing over this shit, and that resulted in his strained wails.  Ultimately, with only one song here, it's hard to tell whether the band was moving towards this style or whether it's just a fluke tune where they were trying to be quirky.

As silly as I find this release, it unfairly colored my perception of the band for a long time--for almost 2 decades this CD-single was all I knew of them.  They were off in the Pacific Northwest, placing me far away from any local word of mouth, and I never encountered their '80s demos through tape trading.  I was quite content with my ignorance until a few years ago, when the Gore Drenched Legacy CD compilation came out.  It was touted as actually being good.  Could this really be the same band?  Sure enough, it was, and I was pleasantly surprised that they started out as raging deaththrash.  Whatever their later transgressions, their earlier stuff should have at least merited a track on one of the Satan's Revenge comps. or something similar.

Metal liner notes of the day

Mandatory Suicidal Tendencies