#1239: The Black Widow

RECORD STORE TALES #1239: The Black Widow

From the very start of Record Store Tales, to the present day I have been quite emphatic about one fact: My parents did not place any conditions or prohibitions against any kind of music we listened to as kids. We had nosey Catholic neighbours who did on their kids, but my mom and dad were cool. My dad liked that Iron Maiden sang historically accurate songs about World War II, and other conflicts such as the Crimean War. My mom had a younger brother, my long-haired Uncle Don Don, who liked Led Zeppelin and Alice Cooper. What I was bringing home, Van Halen and Quiet Riot, wasn’t much noisier or frightening. We’re talking degrees of separation. I had it easy. I wouldn’t have the collection I have today if they didn’t give me free reign over my entertainment.

That doesn’t mean they weren’t paying attention.  They saw stuff on TV about “Knights in Satan’s Service”, and my mom did ask me if that’s what KISS stood for.  I remember getting really huffy and saying “NO, it’s just a word!”  She believed me and let me go.  I think my parents always knew that rock stars did well by generating their own controversy.  They witnessed the rise and fall of Elvis Presley, and the explosive career of the Beatles, all accompanied by screaming teens, shaking hips, and suggestive songs.  I think they knew I wasn’t going to die on a toilet like Elvis just because I saw David Lee Roth getting arrested wearing nothing but a towel in the “Panama” video.  I don’t think they believed in Satan, so much as thought I would go to hell because I saw Ozzy Osbourne dressed as a werewolf in a music video.  Maybe it would have mattered if I spent all my time watching videos, but I went to school and did my homework like every other kid.  They just preferred Tears For Fears to Tesla.

I can really only remember a handful of talks about music.  Once was the question about the meaning of KISS, and one was about the death of Randy Rhoads.  I was quick to correct my dad when he said he “probably died of drugs”.  “He wasn’t on drugs, but the pilot of the airplane was,” I said.  I never got in shit for playing any music.  Only the for the volume at which I played it.  I played “Big Balls” by AC/DC at the kitchen table one time.  Never a word!

There was only one instance in which my mother was simply not impressed with my music.  Not at all impressed.  It involved the aforementioned Alice Cooper.

I had this second cousin on my mom’s side, Danny.  He was a bit older and into all kinds of heavier rock.  He was into Alice Cooper, and played me “The Black Widow” in the Winnebago he arrived in.  Summer of 1986.  The bit with Vincent Price doing his Vincent Price thing really grabbed me.  I loved Vincent Price.  Alice had a big comeback in the 80’s, with Constrictor, Raise Your Fist and Yell, and Trash.  He was once again in the news, but this time for his remarkable return to the forefront of popular rock artists.  It was in this climate that I began collecting his music.  My mother knew who Alice Cooper was.  It was she that gave me Welcome to My Nightmare for Easter 1991.  It was weird, and some things were decidedly un-rock…but I loved it!  One thing I enjoyed about Alice Cooper’s music is that he constantly forced me to re-define my conceptions about what rock was.

I was still in highschool, and my mom was still doing my laundry for me.  One night I was in bed, lights out, with music rocking me to sleep as it did every night.  Welcome to My Nightmare was still fresh in my collection, and that’s what was playing when she entered my room that night with a basket of laundry.  “The Black Widow” was mid-song.  She missed all the cool Vincent Price stuff, which I’m sure she would have approved of.  No, this is what she walked in to:

“He stares with a gleam, with a laugh so obscene,

At the virgins and the children he’s deflowered.”

“DID HE JUST SAY VIRGINS AND CHILDREN ARE DEFLOWERED?” asked my mother with a volume in her voice you rarely heard.

I mumbled something about Vincent Price and didn’t attempt to defend the lyrics.  I said something about he’s singing about spiders and that’s all I could muster.

To her credit, nothing more was said, and when Alice Cooper came out with his new album Hey Stoopid that summer, she bought a copy for my birthday.  Today, she knows the Coop is a man of high character, and approves of my selection!

 

🅻🅸🆅🅴: Feel Good Friday Afternoon! 1:00 PM EST – Top Five Albums that Make Us Feel Good! With Dan @OffTheCharts

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man

Special 🅻🅸🆅🅴 Episode at a Special Time – Good Friday Afternoon! 1:00 PM EST 

Episode 141: Top Five Albums that Make Us Feel Good! With Dan @OffTheCharts

We’re back!  It’s the Fourth Annual Good Friday Afternoon show on Grab a Stack of Rock!   We have done this every year since 2023, and this one is a special one for us!  It is a little different from past Good Friday episodes.  This time it’s less a hangout, and more a list show with lots of physical music!

Episode 141 trailer – Top Five Albums that Make Us Feel Good

We decided to bring the sunshine by talking about music that makes us feel good.  Top Five Albums.  Some of the greatest music we’ve ever heard in our lives.  We’ll also be playing a song from each our lists:  music videos of great songs that make us feel great!

Special guest Dan Chartrand will be joining to discuss our Top Five lists.  As always you can count on physical product on all three major physical formats:  Cassette, CD and LP.  These formats are the tangible versions of the music that brought smiles to our faces so many times over the years.   We’re talking music that goes back with us for decades in some cases.  Other music is newer.  What you will get from us this afternoon is going to be pure love for the albums that always bring us joy.

This is a show about physical music!  We will also be doing a MASSIVE, $550 unboxing – stay tuned!

Please join us 🅻🅸🆅🅴 for this annual tradition.  There will be music, videos, and surprises in store!

Click here for the link to the live show

Friday April 3 at  1:00 PM EST, 2:00 PM Atlantic.  Enjoy on YouTube or Facebook.

NEWS: 50 Years of Iron Maiden announce 50 more years of 50 Years of Iron Maiden

BREAKING:  April 1, 2026 – Canada/Australia.  Mike and Harrison, co-hosts of the YouTube channel “Grab A Stack of Rock”, have announced that their popular programme, 50 Years of Iron Maiden, will take them at least 50 more years to complete.  This works out to approximately 51 years of Maiden-related programming once completed.  We reached out to both of them, to ask about this inconceivable task.

“Yes, it’s true,” confirmed Mike.  “We keep acquiring more and more Maiden stuff, meaning we have to keep adding more and more bonus episodes.”

Harrison added, “As the pedantic one, I don’t like the idea of a show called 50 Years of Iron Maiden taking 51 years to complete, but I do understand the necessity to document every nook and cranny of Maiden.  They really are one of the bands that deserves to have their discography looked at so thoroughly and completely.”

We asked the duo if 50 Years of Iron Maiden had turned out to be a blessing, or an albatross around their necks?

“A bit of both!” laughed Harrison.  “This is far more than I signed up for, but at least it means I have to do fewer ‘contractual obligation’ episodes.  I really wanted to wrap it all up in just 16 months, but here we are at month 16…”

Mike added, “I’m just waiting until the albatross does finally fall from my aching neck.  But, according to the math, I’ll be 104 years old when we do our final episode in 2076.”

“We’d better get working on the next bonus episode, Mike,” concluded Harrison as he pulled his co-host out of his chair.

“No rest for the wicked,” said Mike as a farewell.  “Oh wait, no that’s Ozzy.  Or Helix.  Or both.  I haven’t slept in two days.”

And with that, we look forward to the next 50 years of 50 Years of Iron Maiden!  Coming soon in 2076.

 

Preview:  Look for a bonus episode soon…

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN bonus episode: From Fear To Eternity – The Best Of 1990-2010

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN bonus episode: From Fear To Eternity – The Best Of 1990-2010

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK bonus episode

Iron Maiden have certainly done many compilations since the reunion era began.  Last time we looked at Somewhere Back In Time, which covered the 1980s.  Leaving no loose ends, the followup album From Fear To Eternity covers 1990 to 2000.  It is Maiden’s sixth compilation album, and fourth 2 CD set of that kind.  It follows a blueprint set by Somewhere Back In Time, but with some notable inclusions and exclusions.

The cover art on this album is given a special inspection in this episode, as Mike and Harrison point out every Easter egg and reference to prior albums.  We also take a good look at the inside cover, a nice piece of art in itself.  This episode is a feast for the eyes!

Not quite long enough to make into an officially numbered episode, but informative and interesting nonetheless, From Fear To Eternity is a good solid look at an era of Maiden that snobs often ignore:  the underrated 1990s, the glory of the reunion era, and some of the best epic long-bombers of Maiden’s career.  Don’t believe us?  Join tonight for the fun.  It’s all for the love of Maiden.  Up the Irons!

 

Friday March 27 at  7:00 PM EST, 8:00 PM Atlantic.  Enjoy on YouTube.

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist:

 

 

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN bonus episode: Hot Metal

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN bonus episode: ‘Hot Metal’

Featuring Tim Durling from Tim’s Vinyl Confessions

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK bonus episode

 

This special bonus episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden would not be possible without the efforts of Tim Durling of Tim’s Vinyl Confessions, who years ago informed us of a long-forgotten Iron Maiden cassette release from 1986.  On TVC episode 351 (“Rare CDs”), during a portion where I was showing of my Iron Maiden First Ten Years box set, Tim told us of a cassette release exclusive to the A&A Records and Tapes chain in Canada.  Mike has a long history with A&A, being something of a home base for him during his highschool years.  Tim acquired and sent Mike the cassette of this odd release:  Iron Maiden – Hot Metal, an A&A three track “sampler” exclusive, on Capitol Records.

In this episode we take a good look at this release, which featured a nice three-page foldout with lots to look at.  The tape is clearly geared to new fans who are still buying Iron Maiden catalogue releases, as you’ll see when we dive deep into the innards of the tape.  Priced at just 99 cents, the cassette is essentially a “cassingle” of the “Wasted Years” 12″, but with a twist.  Join Mike and Harrison for a mini-episode suited to this mini-cassette!

Join us for some memories of A&A Records and Tapes (and Compact Discs!), and a close look at a really nice cassette release with quality music and content inside.  Special thanks to Tim’s Vinyl Confessions for providing the video content from his episode providing background on the tape, and actually sending us a copy!

This special episode will run at a special time, see below and hope to see you in the comments.

 

SPECIAL TIME

Wednesday March 25 at  7:00 AM EST, 8:00 AM Atlantic.  Enjoy on YouTube.

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist:

 

 

#1238: WTF Emails!? “Help Me Get My CD!”

RECORD STORE “WTF” TALES #1238:   “Help Me Get My CD!”

I do not “share” files.  If a random person emails and asks me to send them some music files, I will always say “no”.  Except in this case.  I didn’t know what else I could do to help this one angry customer.

The reasons I will not “share” files are many.  For one, I have good relations to many of the artists and labels that you read about here.  I enjoy being sent CDs for free.  I don’t want that to end, so I do not “share” what I have.  Besides, it’s not “sharing”, is it?  I don’t own the songs.  I don’t own the copyrights.  They are not mine to give away.  You can ask, but don’t expect anything from me except a lecture about “sharing”.  In most cases, I paid good money for those songs.  Why should I give away copies of what I bought?  Just because I have managed to acquire a song or an album doesn’t entitle someone else to a copy.  If you ask, I’ll say no.

Except in this one case.

A few years ago, I reviewed a new CD by a band I liked.  I got it directly from the band’s lead singer.   It was good; I gave it a positive review.  The singer appreciated it and I moved on to another project.

About three months after reviewing the album, I received the lengthy email below from a loyal reader.  I didn’t know this reader at all, and while I appreciated their patronage over the years, I found the email below rather baffling.

 

Hi Mike Ladano,

I’m a huge fan of your site and your influences on the sleaze/glam metal genre for years and years! Please don’t get offended, it’s not about you. It’s about the lead goof singer at [BAND]. I saw your review of his “attempt” to release all his band’s songs on [A CD]. And others’ reviews as well. I loved their music in the past. I was anxious to buy it period. One problem, [SINGER]. He’s a timewasting unreliable goof who will send you back random incoherent messages on Facebook (when you ask him over and over and over again to buy his CD), and actually try to discourage you from buying it! He then tells you he needs your home address to send an “invoice”. Then what happens? He continues to send random Facebook messages, trying to discourage your purchase and tells you “I find you asking me for my autograph on the item bizarre”. And then you never hear from this guy again. I tried to buy his CD for months now. I honestly don’t know how you and others who reviewed it were able to get the actual CD in your hands. Because this guy [SINGER] refuses to sell the fucking CD to you. He never sent me any “invoice” and he just disappeared forever. His “company” [DELETED] is a joke, just like his so called business acumen obviously.  I am very disappointed in him and the [BAND], as I have no way to buy this CD. I can see why there are none available anywhere on Earth. This guy refuses to actually sell the CD to anyone. I even tried to login to Facebook with another account and the goof did the same thing to me again. Again, I am disappointed in [BAND] and I can now see why they never got signed to any major label deals. If [SINGER] was in charge of business for the band, they would (and did) go absolutely nowhere commercially.  If you can help me get my [CD] compilation I would be very appreciative. Again, this is no attack on your awesome site and your own awesome personal reviews of amazing bands over the years.  Thanks.

 

There have been CDs that have been difficult and annoying to acquire over the years (see:  Scrap Metal, Helix).  I don’t know of any singer from any bands who outright refused to sell a CD.  There must be more to this story!  Was the singer somehow offended by the request to have the CD signed?  Many artists coordinate their sales via Facebook.  I have bought discs from Evil Elvis and Mitch Lafon on Facebook.  It’s usually a matter of payment, and making sure they have your mailing address.  Never an issue!

I’m not sure how this customer wanted me to intervene.  Did they want me to talk to the singer and say, “Hey, so-and-so wants you to send a CD, can you do that?”  I’d rather not get involved, especially since this story probably has more details that I am not privy to.  There has to be a reason why the singer was dismissive of the customer, if the story is indeed true.  Was the customer talking to a scam artist on Facebook?  Possibly.

So, I broke my own rule.  Not knowing how to help this reader, I offered to send them the files.

They never replied.

What a WTF situation!

REVIEW: Helix – Scrap Metal (2026)

HELIX – Scrap Metal (2026 Perris)

I don’t know what changed, but buying the new Helix album in 2026 was a headache.  For a Canadian fan of a Canadian band, all I wanted to do was hop on my Amazon and buy it with Prime.  Even though it was reportedly charting on Amazon in Canada, I could not find the CD for sale.  Not wanting to deal with the problems I had with Helix 50, I was determined to get it through one of my usual channels.  Our local store didn’t have it.  I saw a reviewer in New York received a review copy, but I discovered that physical review copies were not available to Canadians.   (I was offered the files to review, but we only review physical product, and you’ll see why this is important as we go through the songs.)  In the end, Jake (Not From State Farm) gifted me a copy that he bought himself, and sent it to me free of charge.  The album is finally available on Amazon, but only about six weeks after I had been trying to buy one.   Why is it so hard for Canadian fans of a Canadian band to just buy the album through their usual channels?  At least it didn’t hinder sales, as the new Helix album Scrap Metal reportedly did very well.

What exactly is the Scrap Metal album anyway?  Think of it as a new mini-album, with bonus tracks!  Eight songs, plus four tracks that were previously released on the albums below:

  • “Jaws of the Tiger” (re-recorded version):  On B-Sides, Best Of 1983-2012, and Never Trust Anyone Over 30.  Original version on Over 60 Minutes With…
  • “Danger Zone”:  On B-Sides, and Best Of 1983-2012.
  • “The Same Room”:  This is the full-length track, not the rarer CD single edit version.  On half-ALIVE and Best Of 1983-2012.
  • “The Pusher” (Steppenwolf cover):  On half-ALIVE.

The other eight songs on the album are either new ones written with Sean Kelly, or unfinished old songs, re-worked for release in 2026.  This is similar to the tactic used on the excellent Old School album.  Some of these tracks feature the late Greg “Fritz” Hinz.  Many were co-written by the beloved and much missed Paul Hackman.

What’s remarkable is how cohesive Scrap Metal sounds.  Regardless of the differing origins of the songs, it plays like an album.  You can hear some stylistic differences over time, particularly with the addition of shredder Sean Kelly on guitar, but it feels like an album.  You can’t necessarily tell that 30 or 40 years have elapsed between some songs.  Let’s run through them track by track.

The lead track “Stuck in the 80’s” has been well received by fans.  Musically it is sharp, riff-oriented mid-tempo rock.  Impeccable backing vocals on the verses, with trademark Helix shouts on the chorus.  The lyrics will resonate with many, though on a personal level I can’t relate.  I enjoyed the music of the 80s, but I would not want my tastes or style to be stuck in that decade.  Helix actually did some of their best stuff in the 70s, 90s, and 2000s!

“Fast & Furious” is far better than any movie with that name.  Fritz Hinz on drums, written with the late Paul Hackman.  This thrashy winner has singer Brian Vollmer singer in a distorted 90s voice, which is an interesting choice that the first three songs all feature to some degree.  The guitar solos have a Judas Priest dual solo vibe, very impressive and very much a welcome sound.  After all, Paul Hackman and Brent Doerner were a formidable guitar duo in the 80s.  That same vibe continues here, in shred town!  Stuck in the 80s indeed?  This kind of guitar work puts Helix in the world-class category.  Absolutely incredible.

“Pretty Poison”, written by Hackman and Vollmer with Sean Kelly coming in to help finish it, is a dirty mid-tempo rocker.  Once again the riffing is intact.  The chorus has excellent atmosphere.  Aaron Murray plays drums on this (and the previous “Stuck in the 80’s”.  The backing vocals on this have the traditional Helix vibe, and the guitar solo is melodic greatness.

The entire classic lineup (plus Sean Kelly) receive writing credits on “Hot Heavy & Wild” which sounds like a Judas Priest title circa Turbo.  Great chorus on this slower, grinding rocker.  The backing vocals stand out once again.

Helix have a penchant for typos and misprints (see:  Helix 50 and Gimme An R!) and I’m not sure what the next song is called.  If you look at the back cover and CD, it’s called “Money (Goes With Everything)”.  If you look at the lyric sheet, it’s just “Money!” with an exclamation point.  This is a Vollmer/Hackman song, resurrected with Sean Kelly shred.  It absolutely has the classic Helix vibe.

“Jaws of the Tiger” falls here, the version from the B-Sides album.  Much like “Fast & Furious”, this has a fast thrash-like tempo.  This helps keep the album cohesive.  The lineup here is in question.  The liner notes credit Brent Doerner on lead guitar.  He was not credited on B-Sides.

Up next, “Coming Back With Bigger Guns”.  Once again the classic Helix sound is present, especially with the backing vocal arrangements.  Pristine and perfect.  This album is exceptionally well recorded.  This is a Hackman/Vollmer co-write, the same team that produced so many Helix classics of the past.

Moving on to “Danger Zone”, this has always been one of the best songs from B-Sides.  It too is a Hackman/Vollmer co-write.  It grooves.  The groove is infectious.

A change of pace is due;  Helix have never “just” been a rock band.  The ballad “Tie Me Down”, recorded in 2019, features Fritz Hinz on drums.  This nice song could easily have been included on an album like Back For Another Taste.  If it had, MuchMusic airplay would have been guaranteed!  Brian is singing great on this one, but the “Ooh, ooh” backing vocals are sublime.

Hackman/Vollmer return for “Closer”, the last of the new songs.  Also recorded in 2019, bassist Daryl Gray sounds great on this, and all the tracks he appears on.  He also plays guitar, along with once-and-present Helix guitarist Kaleb Duck, and current guitarist Chris Julke.  “Closer” has the quality we’ve come to expect from this band’s music.

The album closes with two more tracks from the studio side of half-ALIVE:  single “The Same Room” and Steppenwolf cover “The Pusher”.  It’s amazing how good “The Pusher” sounds, something that may have slipped between the cracks before.  Interestingly, new Helix drummer Jamie Constant is credited on “The Same Room” .  He played on this Helix track three decades ago.

Frustratingly though, even though this album includes songs written and performed with Sean Kelly, other newer tracks like “Not My Circus, Not My Clowns” and “Brother From A Different Mother” remain physically unavailable.  This would have been the perfect CD to release them on, even as bonus tracks.

Scrap Metal is a solid Helix “mini-album with bonus tracks”.  I would have chosen different material from albums past, but as an album this plays consistently well.

4/5 stars

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rock Daydream Nation: Who are our Favourite Guitar Duos of all Time?

Joining Peter and I are a special Rock Daydream Nation YouTube panel featuring Reed Little, bicyclelegs, John the Music Nut, Parish of Rock and Brandon Battick (Disturbing the Priest).  It’s a seven-person panel and the topic is epic enough to warrant it.  It’s our favourite guitar duos of all time!

With seven people, and two picks each, that’s 14 amazing guitar duos.  Plus another 14 runners-up.  28 guitar duos for you to check out, including some obscure ones from Australia, and one from Canada.  This is a show you do not want to miss.

Saturday March 21 at 9 AM EST!  Join us!

 

Top Five Album Closers: Re-edited for length

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man

Special Re-Run

Top Five Album Closers – LeBrain Train Re-edited

This was a great episode!  Originally run on October 15, 2021, the live stream was roughly two and a half hours long.  Far too lengthy to watch in 2026, we have brought this episode down to a perfect hour.  Where was Harrison that night?  Active in the comments, and watch out for a memorable “Bleep!” comment from Uncle Meat to the Mad Metal Man!

On hand that night were Tim Durling from Tim’s Vinyl Confessions, and his fellow Contrarian, Marco D’Auria, along with original cast member Uncle Meat.  The show was a sequel to Top Five Album Openers, two weeks prior.  We decided to follow up with the Top Five Album Closers of All Time, and with the input of these fine panel members, this was an entertaining show that we are very proud of.  The chat was brisk and informative.  The lists (at bottom, if you don’t feel like watching, although you should!) were diverse and full of great closing songs that you may not have heard.  It was a more challenging set of lists than Album Openers was, and there was very little crossover.  Many excellent selections from the mainstream to the obscure.  We also included a number of “bonus tracks” at the end:  the runners-up that were just as exciting as the songs that made our lists.

Thanks Tim, Marco and Meat for helping to create a must-watch episode.  Enjoy!

Friday March 20 at  7:00 PM EST, 8:00 PM Atlantic.  Enjoy on YouTube or Facebook.

 

The Contrarians: Top 5 Wild Encounters Working at the Record Store

Thank you to Marco D’Auria for inviting me for this special episode of the Contrarians!  What are my Top Five Encounters when I was working at the Record Store?  I mulled it over and told some stories.   (I did mess up a couple minor details but nothing major.)  This fun 35 minute video highlights some of the funniest highs and lows of working at a Record Store for 12 years!  Many of these stories involve “live wire” customers!  Some are about some really rare CDs that I scored back in the day.

Working in used CDs during the Golden Age of the CD was an experience not many people get to have.  I am grateful that I am one of the few.  I will never forget it.  Please enjoy the show!

 

All my Contrarians appearances to date:

  1. Nicknamed Album Covers
  2. Minimalist cover art
  3. Brown album covers
  4. Yellow album covers
  5. Albums with Fire and Explosions
  6. Spaceships! Aliens! Robots!
  7. This Album Cover is Hell!
  8. Toys & Games
  9. Dreaming in Stereo:  Beds & Sleep on album covers
  10. Favourite Bands…WORST Album Covers
  11. They Swapped Covers!
  12. Great Album Covers From Bands We Despise
  13. Top 10 NWOBHM Covers
  14. It’s A Piece of Art!
  15. Compilation Kaos!
  16. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Hipgnosis!
  17. Amped Up!
  18. Packaging Fails
  19. Where’s the Band?
  20. Slippery When Wet
  21. Greetings From New York
  22. Done With Mirrors
  23. Eyes Without A Face
  24. Rock Out With Your Clock Out!
  25. Album Covers You Can Hear
  26. Album Covers You Can Smell
  27. Huh?!? Album Covers that Send the Wrong Message