This is a topic for which I’m no expert, but others on the panel will be. Martin sure knows his NWOBHM! Guaranteed, we will see some cool heavy metal album covers tonight on the Contrarians. Looking forward to it.
We’re back! We had a couple weeks off for Christmas and New Year’s, but we’re back LIVE tonight to talk about some more album covers.
Today’s challenge comes again from the mind of Martin Popoff. Pick 10 great album covers from bands we despise. This was challenging in two respects. First, do we really want to say we “despise” a band? That’s a strong word, so we had to choose carefully. Just because I don’t listen to a band doesn’t mean I despise them. Second, I hate to say it, but many bands I hate have terrible covers. It was hard finding 10 good ones. But I did, so tune in tonight for some Contrarians fun with Martin, Grant, Peter, Jamie and myself.
This will be a controversial one. It is already. One of the covers I said was too crappy to include, was picked by Jamie. (At least we both despise the same band.) So we’ll see!
Today’s challenge comes again from the mind of Martin Popoff. Pick two bands – and swap their album covers! For example, Martin went with Uriah Heep and XTC. I chose two bands that are a little more similar. This was by far the most challenging list to date. We could do one way swaps, or two way swaps – I chose two ways, all the way. I like a challenge. It seemed do-able, so I went for it.
For those keeping track, this is my tenth week in a row on the Contrarians. The subjects thus far have been:
Tune in tonight and comment! Martin always tries to address the comment section.
THE CONTRARIANS – They Swapped Covers! – Wed. December 18 – 7:00 PM EST
Sad Wings of Destiny for Cross Purposes
Fairly obvious – the wings of the angel works for Sad Wings, and the angel on Sad Wings is holding the Judas Priest cross.
Black Sabbath for Angel of Retribution
The haunting woman on the Sabbath cover could be our “angel of retribution”. Meanwhile, if that Priest angel had been on an album called Black Sabbath, I sure would think my doom was at hand. His cross gesture with his arms works with the religious connotations of the word “Sabbath”.
Never Say Die for Hell Bent For Leather
The pilots outfits must have leather in them. Meanwhile, the mask/face/helmet concept on Leather evokes a Never Say Die attitude.
Jugulator for Dehumanizer
Two robotic characters, who cares which is which? The robotic reaper could be a Jugulator, and the Jugulator could be a Dehumanizer. Who knows!
Paranoid for Stained Class
The sword in the head sure works for Paranoid! Meanwhile, the sword guy is abstract enough that it could go with Stained Class just as well as a chrome head.
Technical Ecstasy for Turbo
Look at the turbo cover and tell me that’s not some technical ecstasy. Meanwhile, the robots on the Sabbath cover could be turbo charged in a very 1970s way.
Hero Hero for Tyr
The barbarian on Hero Hero can surely represent The Battle of Tyr, from the Tyr album. He’s not a Viking, but close enough for heavy metal, right? Meanwhile the Tyr cover is astract enough to be called Hero Hero, I guess.
Heaven and Hell for Point of Entry
Point of Entry – the sky is heaven, and that eternal strip of printer paper surely is hell! Meanwhile, the angels are smoking – their point of entry to bad behaviour!
Forbidden for Ram It Down
The reaper on the cover of Forbidden needs to ram all those ghosts back down that hole! Meanwhile, the fist pounding the Earth just screams the word FORBIDDEN to me!
Born Again for Redeemer of Souls
I’m really really stretching it here. That baby definitely needs its soul redeemed. And that redeemer of souls…if he’s redeeming souls, doesn’t that make them Born Again?
Tonight’s topic comes from the mind of Martin Popoff. The rock and roll wordsmith has plenty of good ideas, but 10 Worst Album Covers by 10 Favourite Bands is kind of a double whammy. Not only does it give us a chance to showcase some bad album art, but it also allows us to list our 10 favourite bands. This will be a fun, fun night.
For those keeping track, this is my eighth week in a row on the Contrarians. The subjects thus far have been:
Merry Christmas from Marillion! A happy Christmas present: all the way from New Yawk City, Mr. Davey Cretin joins Grab A Stack of Rock as surprise guest! Davey comes aboard with an already epic cast: bicyclelegs, also in his debut, and the returning Todd Evans. Together we broke down our favourites from a large pool of seasonal Christmas songs by Marillion.
Bicyclelegs has 26 Marillion Christmas releases, dwarfing my 19. More Christmas albums than studio albums. Though there was a little bit of repeat on some favourite tracks, there was also one clear winner. You’ll have to watch to see which one. There was also a bit of a discussion on a certain Christmas song made famous by Mariah Carey. Who did it better: Carey, or Marillion? I’m sure you can guess my preference.
From carols dating back to the 1600s, to drunken covers and originals, we ran the gamut of styles. Though there was levity, there was also clear passion for this band, their musicianship, and what they mean to each of us.
Next week, there will be a special live presentation of three older Grab A Stack of Rock shorts, with new intro and outro by me. I hope you will check it out. I even included an easter egg for you to find. Meanwhile, I’ll be busy recording a super-fun episode with Peter Kerr at Rock Daydream Nation.
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man Episode 81: Top Five Marillion Christmas Songs with Todd Evans & bicyclelegs
Todd Evans is back to talk Marillion once again! He brings with him Australia’s own bicyclelegs, with whom I’m covering favourite tracks from each studio album on his channel. These two progressive rock professors will be joining me to discuss our favourite Christmas songs performed by Marillion. The band have recorded both covers and originals, and tonight we’ll brief you on what we think are the cream of the crop.
I have 19 Marillion Christmas albums in my collection; for the physical media buffs, I will show you each one. For simplicity’s sake, one could also use the compilation A Collection of Recycled Gifts, which in its extended format has 15 songs to choose from.
Please join us live in the comments section tonight for some progressive rock Christmas fun. There may even be surprises.
Friday December 6 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube or onFacebook!
Doing the live Contrarian chats on Wednesday nights has been great fun. I will keep going with these as long as I’m welcome and as long as I don’t burn out. For those keeping track, this is my seventh week in a row on the Contrarians. The subjects thus far have been:
For this week, Toys and Games, I’m not taking the easy way out. My list will have unexpected picks (because I let Tim have the good ones). Check out the show tonight, live at 7:00 PM.
THE CONTRARIANS – Album covers featuring Toys and Games – Wed. November 27 – 7:00 PM EST
Doing the live Contrarian chats on Wednesday nights has been great fun. I will keep going with these as long as I’m welcome and as long as I don’t burn out. For those keeping track, this is my sixth week in a row on the Contrarians. The subjects thus far have been:
For this week, Hell and the Underworld, I am going straight metal. No deviations. We’ll see what the other guys bring. Check out the show tonight, live at 7:00 PM.
THE CONTRARIANS – Album covers featuring Hell and the Underworld – Wed. Novermber 20 – 7:00 PM EST
This time I’m not going too far off the beaten track. Nothing Canadian, nothing too far outside the rock genre, and all artists who have been featured on the Contrarians before. Sometimes you have to play it straight. Check out the show tonight, live at 7:00 PM.
THE CONTRARIANS – Album Covers with Robots, Aliens and Spaceships – Wed. Novermber 13 – 7:00 PM EST
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