Mad Metal Man

VIDEO: Harrison’s “COMPLETE” Blaze Bayley solo CD collection!

BEHOLD! After much shopping and hunting, Harrison has acquired a “complete” Blaze Bayley solo CD collection. With two caveats:

1. A physical copy of every released song is included – not necessarily every CD that Blaze ever released.  There is one very rare and limited Blaze compilation that Harrison does not have, but has nothing on it that he needs.

2. Blaze has done many collaborations on others artists’ albums that are not a part of this solo CD collection.

To compensate, Mike brought in one Blaze collaboration on the new Absolva album Justice, which features the Appleton brothers from his current band.

Harrison breaks down his collection chronologically, beginning with the amazing Silicon Messiah album, right up to the present day.  Lots of signed CDs here including some very limited rarities.  Check it out!

VIDEO: Hello! My Name is LEGO Blotto! Artwork breakdown!

BEHOLD!  The inspiration and artwork of the Mad Metal Man, Harrison Kopp, knows no bounds.

In this incredible piece of art, Harrison has paid homage to Albany’s greatest band, BLOTTO, in Lego form! This is a first of its kind for the band.

In the artwork you can clearly see the five core members of the band, with their images paying tribute to the “Metal Head” music video (and the Combo Akimbo album in Bowtie Blotto’s case). Their backdrop is a reference to their Across & Down EP, with a crossword puzzle painstakingly made by Harrison. Even the audience members in the photo contain Easter eggs and references to Blotto songs, and maybe even the artist himself.

No AI was used in this image, and only minimal Photoshop was employed.  The lighting itself is made in a very creative and cool way, with physical lights.  Harrison breaks down all the details in the video below. Can you spot them all yourself?

As thanks for creating this art, Harrison has been honoured with the privilege of choosing his own Blotto name.  Watch the video to see what name he chose!

50 Years of Iron Maiden bonus episode: The Best of Blaze Bayley (edited for length)

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN bonus episode:
The Best of Blaze Bayley

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK bonus episode

In 1999, Iron Maiden reunited with Bruce Dickinson.  They have been going strong for a quarter of a century since.  Blaze, meanwhile, has had a solid solo career to celebrate.  Tonight we celebrate everything Blaze on 50 Years of Iron Maiden, to cap off his tenure in the band.

This episode from November of 2023 pre-dates our 50 Years of Iron Maiden series, but we felt now was a good time to edit it down to a reasonable length and give it a replay.  If you’ve seen this episode already, you can safely skip this bonus broadcast.  If you haven’t, we have edited this live show down to the Blaze basics and cut it to a digestible length.  All of Blaze’s career is included in this episode’s Top 11 song list.  Foregoing the traditional rules, Harrison didn’t just pick his 11 favourite Blaze tracks like Mike did.  No, Harrison technically picked 22 songs.  All Blaze solo, or Blaze Bayley-branded live versions.  Mike chose songs from all three eras of Blaze:  Wolfsbane, Iron Maiden, and solo.

Harrison and Mike only had one song in common.  That means combined we have given you 32 songs to check out.  Harrison and Mike also provided a lot of context and background to our picks, and we hope that this episode is in-depth enough for the Blaze diehards.  And we know there are Blaze diehards out there.  We see you in the comments!

We also took a look at some physical rarities:  Two Iron Maiden X Factor Japanese CDs, an X Factor singles box set, two lenticular Virtual XI CDs, a “Holy Grail” live album, one CD that Mike needs, one CD that Harrison needed but since acquired, and a Wolfsbane cassette.

We sincerely hope you take the time to watch this passionate, insightful episode about a singer that deserves more of your attention: Blaze Bayley.

 

Friday August 15 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T.  Enjoy on YouTube.

 

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist:

On This Day: June 16 2023 & 2024

On this day in 2023, June 16 fell on a Friday.  As usual, Grab A Stack of Rock was scheduled to go live that night with our very first Iron Maiden episode (which I shall re-edit and re-broadcast in 2025).  It was Iron Maiden rarities with Harrison, Aaron and a cameo by Jex Russell.

It almost got cancelled at the last minute.  Why?  See below.

I’m glad we re-ran the Adventures in Epilepsy episode last week so you can understand how it effects our lives every day of every week of every year since 2008.  She fell, and as you can see, she took a faceplant.  She insisted the show go on.  She never wants to be the reason a show gets cancelled.  And so the show went on.

On a brighter note, on this day in 2024, it was a completely different story.  Well, not completely:  Aaron was there with me once again, as we embarked to Toronto for our very best record shopping excursion to date!

Check out these episodes of Grab A Stack of Rock, and be sure to like and subscribe on YouTube!  WordPress is fun but it doesn’t keep the lights on.  If you could support us YouTube, it helps a lot!

 

 

VIDEO: Harrison Unboxes Some Metal CDs! (Ode to Jake Not From State Farm)

Readers may not be familiar with Jake Not From State Farm, so let me introduce you.  If you tune in to John Clauser’s channel My Music Corner, he’s done several great videos with Jake.  Additionally, Jake will be joining us later this year for some albums on 50 Years of Iron Maiden.  It turns out that both Jake and Harrison love Blaze Bayley.  And so, they became friends.

Jake had a batch of duplicate CDs that he donated to Harrison’s collection, two of which I want!  That damn Harrison keeps ending up with more and more CDs that I want for myself.

Joining us for this unboxing episode is the man who introduced us to Jake in the first place, Mr. Johnny Clauser.  Mostly, we let Harrison do the unboxing, and lots of show and tell.  Enjoy this short episode.

Three Australians vs. One Canadian! Lots of new rock at Grab A Stack of Rock!

Thank you to Harrison Kopp, Ashley Geisler, and Peter Kerr for joining me last night on a fun episode of Grab A Stack of Rock!

It didn’t start fun; a back injury has kept me in pain for the entire day, but some stronger painkillers kicked in mid-show and you can see the point at which I start feeling better!  What also made me feel good was spending time with three music scholars and gentlemen from the continent of Australia!

There was indeed plenty of Australian content.  I unboxed a CD by Buffalo Crows called Bovonic Empire, featuring Iron Maiden’s Paul Mario Day on lead vocals for three tracks.  We also looked at my new Rose Tattoo debut album, with eight bonus tracks.  Ash showed us some lesser known Australian bands, and Peter educated us on a few that I was unfamiliar with.   Harrison brought some Glenn Hughes, but Peter had some Trapeze without Glenn!  There was some Mel Galley education, and plenty of love for Prince.  We looked at Meat Loaf, Concrete Blonde, Elton John, Christopher Cross, Isaac Hayes, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and lots more.

For formats, we saw CDs, vinyl, DVDs, and one sealed 8-track tape!

Oh!  And of course, we finally unsealed my Queen I box set.  What a purple and gold majesty it is!

Speaking of Iron Maiden, we will be back next week with 50 Years of Iron Maiden.  See you then!

Grab A Stack of New Tunes! Ending 2024 in style with guests new and old

Harrison and I would like to thank our new guests Ashley Geisler, Melissa Nee, and Sidney from Slogan’s Rock & Metal Extravaganza, as well as returning guests Johnny Clauser and Todd Evans, for a rollicking good time on New Year’s Eve.

The concept was simple.  Each of us took turns going round, showing off an item we got recently over the holidays.

Sidney had a massive haul of Rock Candy CDs, and used metal bargains from The Beat Goes On.  He had a strong showing of Budgie remasters, and a diverse collection of bands.  Melissa had some cool Iron Maiden stuff, while Ash is collecting bootlegs and had several to show us.  Johnny Clauser brought some recent purchases, and Todd Evans scored well in the Neal Morse department.  As for Harrison and I, he had a cool Trust tin and something call ONXRT.  I decided to unveil my Van Halen For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge deluxe edition, with a short discussion.

We also started the show with the traditional Ask Harrison featuring Jex Russell.

It’s very possible the winner of the year 2024 was Judas Priest with the recent Rocka Rolla reissue.  Have a watch and see.

Because we did the live show mid-week this time, Friday’s show is a pre-recorded special episode.  Don’t miss it January 3!

New Year’s Eve Drop-In Show on Grab A Stack of Rock

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 83:  New Year’s Eve Drop-In Show

It has been a while since I’ve attempted a show like this, but it’s time to do something random and chaotic to end the year with a party.

  • Disclaimer #1:  I never make it to midnight.
  • Disclaimer #2:  I have no idea what will actually happen tonight.

Harrison and I need a break like this to blow off steam.  We’ve both been active on other channels, plus we have been preparing our massive Iron Maiden project for 2025.  We are ready to launch it in January.  But first, let’s have a party.

Tonight Harrison and I will be hosting some brand new guests:  Ash Geisler from Australia, plus Logan and Sidney from Slogan’s music channel.  There will be some returning guests and some random drop-ins.

If there is a theme tonight, it’s just showing off music we acquired over the holidays.  It should be a fun discussion on that front.

Bottoms up.  It’s gonna be a rock and roll party tonight…with a 52 year old host who will require a nap mid-day.

Message me if you need a link to join tonight.

Tuesday December 31 at 9:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 10:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!

A Fun and Frivolous Top Five Albums of 2024 with Harrison, Tim Durling and surprise guest Uncle Meat

The best of 2024 in rock and pop was on showcase this week on Grab A Stack of Rock.  Tim Durling, Harrison Kopp and special surprise guest Uncle Meat brought their Top Fives and runners-up in this fun and action packed show.

What did you miss?  Well, shirtless Jex for one.  That one even scared off Peter Kerr, but did result in some pretty hilarious comments.

The comments section was lively, and if you want to catch Johnny Metal’s Top Five of 2024, his were in the comments section which I put on screen.  Meanwhile, there was some minimal repetition, and actually less than I expected.  Mr. Big, Deep Purple, Jon Anderson and Bruce Dickinson were among the artists who scored two hits on tonight’s lists.  There was plenty of love for other artists’ new albums such of Opeth, Paul Di’Anno, Blaze Bayley (of course) and Arkells.

We also took a look at three books that I enjoyed in 2024 – two of them by Mr. Durling!

A fun, passionate and laugh-filled 90 minutes of music appreciation awaits you below.

See you December 31 at 9:00 PM EST for a drop in New Years Eve party!

My list:

 

MR BIG – TEN

THE ARKELLS – Disco Loadout Vol 1

BRUCE DICKINSON – The Mandrake Project

JUDAS PRIEST – Invincible Shield

DEEP PURPLE – =1

 

Ranked: Top Five Albums of 2024 with Harrison and Tim Durling

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 82:  Ranked: Top Five Albums of 2024 with Harrison and Tim Durling

2024 was another fantastic year in music.  From new music from legacy bands, to great reissues and live albums, to new music by newer bands, we saw it and heard it all in 2024.

What were your Top Five Albums of 2024?  Leave them in the comments, or drop them in the live chat tonight, as Harrison, Tim and I talk Top Five Albums of 2024.  I am always personally limited by what I was able to buy and what I had to miss in a given year.  For example, last year I didn’t get Blame My Ex by the Beaches in time to make my list.  This year, unfortunately Blaze Bayley didn’t make it into my inventory in time, nor did the new live Ghost.  However, they may appear on other lists.

Join Tim, Harrison and myself tonight live at 7:00 PM EST to take part in the fun.  Spirits will be high, and I may be drinking alcohol.  We’ll just have to see what happens!  Remember to let us know your own Top Five in the comments section.

Let the fun begin!

Friday December 20 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!