Grab a Stack of Rock / LeBrain Train

🅻🅸🆅🅴 100th Episode Celebration!

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

EPISODE 100

With Jex Russell and Johnny Metal

Back at the cottage for the first time in 2025, together we celebrate the 100th episode of Grab A Stack of Rock!  With Harrison Kopp back and better than ever, 2025 has been a landmark year for the show, featuring our big series 50 Years of Iron Maiden.  This episode celebrates every era of the show:  from its “random and chaotic” beginnings, to the “heels era”, and today.  To celebrate with us, we have three of the hardest working co-hosts a guy could ask for:  the Mad Metal Man, Johnny “Homework” Clauser, and Jex Russell himself.  Each of these guys played a critical role in keeping the show going steady since October 2022.

Since day one, Grab A Stack of Rock has been a fun and frivolous celebration of physical media and products.  CDs, DVDs, vinyl and more obscure formats have always been at the forefront, but we have showcased physical collections far and wide since our very first episode.  We struggled to find direction, but had fun getting lost along the way.  And here we are, ready to acknowledge it all!  The current Grab A Stack of Rock show intro is the first version to include every guest and co-host we ever had along the way.  To me, this show has always been just as much about the people, as the music.  Every collection of CDs, LPs and cassettes comes with a multitude of stories, often including great lengths we go to in order to acquire them.  Along the way, we met friends of varying temporal longevity, from brief sparks to deep connections.  It has been a hell of a lot of fun.

On the menu tonight:  Leaning into the “Mix Tape” format a little bit, we will play some clips and outtakes you’ve never seen before.  These include some of the key characters in the story of the show so far, and a sneak preview of a forthcoming episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden.  Of course, I will have something in terms of physical memorabilia that you have never seen before.  We may also have an Amazon delivery to unbox – stay tuned!

Please drop in and say hello!

Friday April 25 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on

List of everyone who has ever joined me on Grab A Stack of Rock to date:

  1. Harrison Kopp
  2. Eric “Uncle Meat” Litwiller
  3. Aaron KMA
  4. Tim Durling
  5. Rob Daniels
  6. John T Snow
  7. Grant Arthur
  8. Brian Richards
  9. MarriedandHeels
  10. Marco D’Auria
  11. Kevin Simister
  12. Dr. Kathryn
  13. Jen Ladano
  14. Grace Scheele
  15. Jex Russell
  16. Spencer “Spenny” Rice
  17. Nurse Kat
  18. Erik Woods
  19. Jason Drury
  20. Pierre-Luc Allard
  21. Peter Kerr
  22. John Clauser
  23. Len Labelle
  24. Reed Little
  25. Metal Roger
  26. John the Music Nut
  27. Mike Slayen
  28. Pete Jones
  29. Todd Evans
  30. James Kalyn
  31. Angie Moon
  32. Ryan Gavalier
  33. Chris Preston
  34. Dan Chartrand
  35. Glen “Archie” Gamble
  36. bicyclelegs
  37. Davey Cretin
  38. Melissa Nee
  39. Sidney Cini
  40. Ashley Geisler
  41. Martin Popoff
  42. Bert Blotto
  43. F Lee Harvey Blotto
  44. Bowtie Blotto
  45. Broadway Blotto
  46. and (briefly) Max the Axe

The Contrarians Live: Eyes Without A Face

RESCHEDULED!

A topic from Martin this week:  Album covers featuring eyes, but not the full face!  This was a fun one to do, and I look forward to seeing what the other guys bring tonight.  My list has a lot of obvious picks, but as usual, Tim beat me to some good ones.  It feels like a race to get your list in every week!

Watch tonight and witness!

THE CONTRARIANS – Eyes Without A Face – Wednesday April 23 –  7:00 PM EST

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

GREAT Friday with Ash Geisler and Johnny Metal

A record-setting Grab A Stack of Rock Good Friday afternoon was had yesterday afternoon!  With co-hosts Johnny Metal and Ash Geisler (awake at 4:00 AM just to do this show!), we had views exceeding the legendary 2023 Good Friday show that featured, as Jex’s mom put it, “a good view”.

Unfortunately Jex Russell was heading out of town for his Easter weekend, and was unable to attend (though Johnny Metal had him on a shirt).  Ash showed off some cool Australian finds, from pop punk to harder edged tunes.  Johnny Metal’s new arrivals included the complete CD catalogue of Dr. Kathryn Ladano, so we spent a little time talking about brain injuries and the album Anatomy of the Recovering Brain.  Of course, Johnny Metal also brought plenty of metal, including one LP that tied into 50 Years of Iron Maiden.

As for me, I had three main things to focus on:

  1. A brand new record sent to me by Dan Chartrand, from OfftheCharts…and some bonus music, of his own band Dead Culture Society!
  2. A batch of new music that arrived this week.  My thoughts on Epitaph by April 16th, Dreams On Toast by the Darkness, and Rock N Roll Party Tonite by Mystique.
  3. An absolutely epic purchase of rock CDs from old friend Len Labelle.  More to come on this in a future video showcasing even more CDs from the bulk purchase.

If you liked this episode, then join us next week for our 100th.  We’re going to have a party!

 

Good Fridays Past:

Good Friday Afternoon April 7 2023:  @MarriedandHeels and Jex Russell began the tradition for a special episode celebrating California music, Easter manicures, and shiny silver boots!  Our first Good Friday afternoon episode, we did it at this time slot to enable @MarriedandHeels to join us from California.  It was a fun afternoon, and look how shiny those boots are!

Good Friday Afternoon March 29 2024: Top 5 Albums From Our Birth Years with Jex Russell and Uncle Meat.  This was a special episode!  Jex and I wanted to continue the Good Friday tradition, but this was a special reunion for Meat and I, who had not done a show together in a year and a half.  Jex surprised me – and my surprise is in the thumbnail image!  A blessed good show!

NEXT WEEK:  OUR 100TH EPISODE!  A LIVE MIX TAPE WITH JEX, HARRISON AND JOHNNY METAL!

 

🅻🅸🆅🅴 GOOD FRIDAY AFTERNOON! New Music Mania with Ash Geisler and Johnny Metal

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 99:  Good Friday Afternoon – New Music Mania with Ash Geisler and Johnny Metal

A Good Friday tradition:  For the third time, Grab A Stack of Rock goes LIVE this afternoon with special guests and special music!  We have a ton of new music here to discuss at Grab A Stack of Rock HQ.  You’ve heard all about the new Darkness album Dreams On Toast?  Well now it’s my turn.  I have SEVEN COPIES (six physical and one digital) to get all the tracks, and I will be discussing my impressions.  I also have the new Rock N Roll Party Tonite EP by Mystique, and some vinyl from Dan Chartrand from OfftheCharts to unbox!  What could be inside?  You’ll be electrified.  Time permitting, I may also show off my massive haul from a forthcoming video on a big, BIG purchase.

We’ll see how much we can get through, because joining me will be Ash Geisler and Johnny Metal, with their own new musical scores to show off.  What could be new in southern Australia and the state of Alabama?  We’ll find out this afternoon!

The Good Friday afternoon episode is a tradition now in its third year (see below).  Sadly, Jex Russell could not be with us this time, but Ash and Johnny should be up to the task, even if the time zones make it tricky.  Remember, this episode is LIVE so join us for the fun and let us know in the comments that you’re with us!  See you this afternoon to Grab LOTS of Stacks of Rock!

Friday April 18 at 3:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 4:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or Facebook.

Good Fridays Past:

Good Friday Afternoon April 7 2023:  @MarriedandHeels and Jex Russell began the tradition for a special episode celebrating California music, Easter manicures, and shiny silver boots!  Our first Good Friday afternoon episode, we did it at this time slot to enable @MarriedandHeels to join us from California.  It was a fun afternoon, and look how shiny those boots are!

Good Friday Afternoon March 29 2024: Top 5 Albums From Our Birth Years with Jex Russell and Uncle Meat.  This was a special episode!  Jex and I wanted to continue the Good Friday tradition, but this was a special reunion for Meat and I, who had not done a show together in a year and a half.  Jex surprised me – and my surprise is in the thumbnail image!  A blessed good show!

NEXT WEEK:  OUR 100TH EPISODE!  A LIVE MIX TAPE WITH JEX, HARRISON AND JOHNNY METAL!

 

Friday Preview! A Massive Music Haul!

I came home from work last Friday to find not one, not two, not three, not four, but FIVE parcels containing new music!  Of course, if you unbox something these days, you have to do it on camera.  All of this music will receive a closer look on our annual Good Friday Afternoon Show on Grab A Stack of Rock, tomorrow!  However, nothing can top the first look at a musical surprise!

Catch my reaction as I look at:

  • Six versions of the Darkness’ Dreams On Toast album, which will be discussed in more detail on Friday.
  • A brand new EP of previously unreleased music by Mystique!
  • Killer metal from the UK.
  • A surprise gift of a Japanese import.
  • A very special gift from Blotto!

All here in this spontaneous and magical unboxing video!  Tune in tomorrow for our Good Friday show and a deep dive into all this new music, and much more!

The Contrarians Live: Eyes Without A Face

UPDATE:  Show is cancelled

 

A topic from Martin this week:  Album covers featuring eyes, but not the full face!  This was a fun one to do, and I look forward to seeing what the other guys bring tonight.  My list has a lot of obvious picks, but as usual, Tim beat me to some good ones.  It feels like a race to get your list in every week!

Watch tonight and witness!

THE CONTRARIANS – Eyes Without A Face – Wednesday April 16 –  7:00 PM EST

 

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

Sea of Tranquility: The Review Crew – New Album Reviews April 12, 2025

It is a point of pride for me that I made my debut on Sea of Tranquility with a Bon Jovi album and still got invited back!

It was my pleasure last week to join Jamie, Ryan and Rick for the Review Crew:  new album reviews!  I chose two for my appearance this time:

  1. Thomas Polychuck – new self-titled CD (to be reviewed here soon)
  2. Rush – Rush 50 

This was actually my third time reviewing the new massive Rush box set.  Practice makes perfect?

Show highlight for me:  Ryan Skow’s friend’s description of the music he likes:  “Nuclear Fuck Metal”.

Please check out the show and let me know how I did on my most recent visit to the Sea of Tranquility!

Scream For Me, YouTube! Live After Death with Uncle Meat and Harrison

Thanks to all who joined our special live episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden celebrating Live After Death.  I always like to write up a little show summary every time we do a live episode.  For Harrison and I, scheduling guests required pre-recording episodes for this series.  However, we aim to do the live albums as live episodes, because why not?  Most of them do not have special guests attached to them, but Live After Death had to be an exception, due to its importance in heavy metal.  This week our special guest was show co-founder and viewer favourite Uncle Meat!

Together, the three of us broke down the album, side by side.  Each side of this album has its own flavour.  I had a favourite.  We discuss the spectacular vocal acrobatics of Bruce Dickinson, some (perhaps) excessive crowd interactions, some nearly definitive versions of songs, and some interesting stage banter.  We also go deep with the three B-sides:  “Losfer Words”, “Run to the Hills” and “Running Free”.

Finally, we take a really good look at the original vinyl itself, the gatefold, the Easter eggs, and much more!

And speaking of Easter eggs, we’ll see you next week for our special live Good Friday afternoon show, and following that, our 100th episode celebration!

Thanks for watching!

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist:

 

 

 

 

 

Show Notes:

Words for Joelle and Roger.

 

SCREAM FOR ME, YOUTUBE!

Recorded:
14–17 March 1985 (sides 1–3) Long Beach Arena
8–12 October 1984 (side 4) Hammersmith Odeon

Released 14 October 1985 (audio)
23 October 1985 (video)

 

The first release of Churchill’s speech added onto Aces High.

 

SIDE ONE

String of hits, five in a row.  Easily the best first side of any live metal album.

Aces High – a lot of really really “clean” backing vocals – overdubs?

Revelations – “Nice to see ya, to see ya…nice.”  “Written about religion, or about washing your car, actually it’s about hanging a pair of curtains.”

Lot of “extra singing” from Bruce.  “yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah oh, oh yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah…”  Also lots of variation from the album melody.  Lots of extra power from Bruce vocally.

And then “Oh, oh, it is you…”  “Motherfucker!” – Nicko?

 

 

SIDE TWO

“This is what NOT to do if a bird shits on ya!”  One of the most famous song intros of all time?

Also lots of that “extra singing”  – “Yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah…”

Followed by “Powerslave” as a serious 1-2 punch.

Ending with Beast is a great record closer.  Intro is interesting as it’s pitch-changed with effects added.  Also Bruce sings the complete choruses and not just “six”.

 

 

SIDE THREE

Another side of smash hits.  “Hallowed” (funny twang in Bruce’s delivery)

“Iron Maiden”, “Run to the Hills”, and “Running Free” with the long audience participation section.  Kind of the definitive version of this kind of concert activity.

“Hills” is the only song I like a lot less than the album version.  Guitar opening sounds thin, Steve’s bass too plunky.  Bruce doesn’t sound as enthused compared to Beast Over Hammersmith.

 

 

SIDE FOUR

“Wrathchild” is a brilliant addition from the Di’Anno days though “Killers” would have been great too.  A definitive Bruce version of “Wrathchild”.  Lots of that “extra singing” and you can hear Harris on the chorus clearly.

“Acacia” – “Speak to me, Hammersmith!”  – I like Bruce’s echo – “I know a place where we can go go go go…”  Great guitar solo work here.

“Damned” – “Let me see those hands, yeeeah!”  Magnificent vocal performance by Bruce, top notch all the way!  Lovely guitar harmonics after Bruce sings “If he had lived, he would have crucified us all!”

“Boots” – Very frantic vocal delivery with speed.

“Phantom” – an absolutely epic way to end the album.  When I first got it, it was an unexpected track.  It was my first time hearing it.

 

B-SIDES

“Losfer Words” – Feels faster and more intense than the album version.  A great bonus track and the only live performance available to buy.

“Sanctuary” – Too much “extra singing” in this one!

“Murders in the Rue Morgue” – “Got a surprise for ya!”

🅻🅸🆅🅴 50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 10: Live After Death

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 10:  Live After Death

A special 🅻🅸🆅🅴 episode

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #98

Some call it the greatest metal live album of all time.  It was certainly of an unusually high quality when it was released in 1985, for Iron Maiden’s Live After Death was over 100 minutes of masterful classics, accompanied by a generous booklet with liner notes and hundreds of tour photos.  It had no equal in heavy metal.

Tonight on 50 Years of Iron Maiden, Harrison and I will be live!  It’s a gimmick we want to try for live albums:  live episodes to celebrate the live experience!  Joining us is show co-founder Uncle Meat, returning to the channel for this special deep dive.  Not only is 2025 the 50th anniversary of Iron Maiden, but it is the 40th anniversary of this legendary live album.  Meat and I were there in 1985, relishing every note when it was brand new.

Together we will break down all four sides of vinyl (the original CD only featured the first three sides, and the cassette had an edited version of side two, so vinyl used to be the only way to get the whole album).  We will also go deep on the rarely heard live B-sides “Sanctuary”, “Murders in the Rue Morgue” and “Losfer Words”.  For physical media, we will look at the 1995 2 CD reissue, the remastered 2 CD reissue, the original vinyl, and the singles…one of which didn’t even have Eddie on the cover!

Since this is a live episode, we’ll also be able to take your comments live!  Don’t miss this special episode of Grab A Stack of Rock.

LIVE on Friday April 11 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or Facebook.

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist:

 

50 Years of Iron Maiden: Updated Playlist

Playlist below has been updated.  All episode dates subject to change.  Tomorrow is our 10th episode, not including bonus shorts!