For the Top Whatever of No Pre-Determined Amount from two of Canada’s most knowledgeable rock gods, stay tuned right here. From Meaford Ontario, weighing in at XXX lbs, it’s Iron Tom Sharpe, who turns it up to 11.
Tom’s Top Eleven of 2014
11. Various Artists – RONNIE JAMES DIO: This Is Your Life
10. JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE – Single Mothers
9. MASTODON – Once More ‘Round the Sun
8. EARLY MAN – Thank God You’ve Got the Answers For Us All
7. OPETH – Pale Communion
6. JOHN GARCIA – John Garcia
5. ST. PAUL & the BROKEN BONES – Half the City
4. sHEAVY – The Best Of sHeavy – A Misleading Collection
3. DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS – English Oceans
2. BRANT BJORK and the LOW DESERT PUNK BAND – Black Power Flower 1.ORANGE GOBLIN – Back From The Abyss
Saving the best for last, here’s Uncle Meat. For added rocket sauce he’s also given me his top movies of 2014.
Meat’s Top Eight of 2014
8. MASTODON – Once More ‘Round the Sun
7. ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN – Meteorites
6. FOO FIGHTERS – Sonic Highways
5. “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC – Mandatory Fun
4. FLYING COLORS – Second Nature
3. BRANT BJORK and the LOW DESERT PUNK BAND – Black Power Flower
2. DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS – English Oceans 1.ORANGE GOBLIN – Back From the Abyss
Meat’s Top Twelve Movies of 2014
12. Lucy
11. X Men : Days of Future Past
10. St. Vincent
9. Interstellar
8. The Lego Movie
7. The Grand Budapest Hotel
6. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
5. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
4. Guardians of the Galaxy
3. Get On Up
2. Birdman 1.Whiplash
RECORD STORE TALES MkII: Getting More Tale #340: A Tribute to Jeff Woods
When you meet someone who has some sort of “celebrity” status, you almost expect them to be stand-off ish with you. A few years ago Tom and I won the chance as per a radio contest to see an intimate-type interview with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of Rush, which was conducted by Legends of Classic Rock/Q107 radio personality Jeff Woods. We met Geddy and Alex very briefly and had a quick picture taken. However the true joy of this experience was our meeting afterwards with Jeff Woods.
Alex, Tom, Meat, Geddy
He was extremely accommodating to our request of a sound byte for our Sausagefest recordings. He has continued to participate for a few years now and I thought I would post this to show just for appreciation to the man.
After a first try, he himself offers to “take it from the top”. He had known us for all of 30 seconds. He excused himself to leave to get a pen, and come back and record so he could get it right.
Important side note…became Facebook friends with Mr. Woods a week after this was done. Looking over his timeline, I noticed a post he put up days before we met him. It read, “Integrity is how you treat people that can do nothing for you”. Good to know someone out there practices what he preaches.
Today’s subect: Continuing our Nickelback discussion, Tyler and I turn to a controversial comparison: Do Nickelback and Monster Truck sound the same? Listen to what we have to say, and leave your thoughts in the comments. Enjoy.
*NOTE: I got the name of the Fu Manchu song and album wrong. It’s “Saturn III” from The Action Is Go.
ORANGE GOBLIN – Back From the Abyss (2014 Candlelight)
When the mighty Orange Goblin started their musical journey, they really were more of your typical “Stoner Rock” fare. Now to be fair, the word “typical” there refers to the overall sound and style of their music. Right from their 1997 debut album, Frequencies From Planet Ten, it became apparent that if Orange Goblin was to be labelled “Stoner Rock”, then they were rightfully placed on the top shelf with the elite bands of that genre. With their 2012 release, A Eulogy For The Damned, Orange Goblin dabbled sparingly with other forms of heavy rock. The title track being the best example of that, which I feel is one of the best pieces of hard rock ever released. But still, the album as a whole really was one big heavy metal punch to the head. Orange Goblin’s latest musical journey is more like a series of methodical jabs, as if the 12 songs were 12 different rounds of a barbaric boxing match, each round finding a different way of attacking your senses. The aforementioned title track from Eulogy of the Damned showed me that Orange Goblin were capable of becoming something very different than just a “Stoner Rock” band. Back From the Abyss sees the transformation completed. After a couple listens I truly believe that when Orange Goblin’s career is assessed in retrospect, Goblin’s latest album will go down as their quintessential release.
The title of Orange Goblin’s 8th release refers to the gruelling two-year long tour that followed the release of Eulogy of the Damned. It was on this tour that I had the privilege to see them live in London, Ontario last year. They were outstanding live. It was literally a fucking metal party. The band seemed to enjoy the festivities as much as the crowd did. Vocalist Ben Ward towered over the crowd like Conan and had his fellow barbarians eating out of his huge palm. It should be noted as well, that as intimidating as Ben Ward is on stage, he was completely the opposite upon meeting him after the show. He was a true gentleman and his overall coolness was very impressive. Taking the experience of their first full North American tour to the studio produces Back From The Abyss. I personally was praying to the Metal Gods that Orange Goblin’s next album would continue to explore more musically diverse ways of punching you in the fucking head. This album delivers much more than that. This could very well be Orange Goblin’s finest hour.
“SABBATH HEX” – The album starts off as it should with reckless Goblin abandon. According to Ben Ward the song title came from an idea he once had to put a curse on anyone who doesn’t like Black Sabbath. This is a great chugging riffy opener. Starting from track one you start to realize Ben Ward is becoming more than just a growler.
“UBERMENSCH” – Get in the car with Orange Goblin. Fasten your seatbelts as they hit the gas pedal and tear it up. That pretty much describes this second track. Great riff during the verses are reminiscent of early QOTSA. Riff is king.
“THE DEVIL’S WHIP” – This song was released weeks ago, and a lot has been written already about this being a blatant Motorhead memorial. That is exactly what it is. I find the track reminds me of the song “Iron Fist”, but I am sure every Motorhead fan would be reminded of a different track themselves. From the beginning “Alright!” cue, this song is indeed a Kilmister-worthy tribute that speeds along at a break-neck pace.
“DEMON’S BLUES” – One of the greatest things about this album for me are the many different vocal approaches. While most of this song sees Ben Ward barking out the blues in his special way, “Demon’s Blues” begins with spoken word that has a very doom metal feel. I really like the melody-first approach on this song (which is even more apparent on the chorus), and it seems to foreshadow what is to come.
“HEAVY LIES THE CROWN” – It is official now. Orange Goblin has progressed from being a great heavy rock band to being true songwriters. This track is fucking awesome. I love the lyrics, the great guitar work and the anthemic vocals. In a recent interview, Ben Ward compared the ending chanting vocals to early Manowar and I can totally hear that. For me, the last couple minutes of this track sounds like if Thin Lizzy had written the Game of Thrones theme song. Best piece of music so far on the album.
“INTO THE ARMS OF MORPHEUS” – Well, I did say “so far”. “Into the Arms of Morpheus” starts off with a very “NIB”-like isolated bass line. As this song marches on, Goblin launches into the molten blues they do so very well. I love the ending of this song. This might be the best guitar work I have ever heard from guitarist Joe Hoare. It is becoming apparent that Orange Goblin are really challenging themselves as songwriters now. And that theme continues with the next track as well.
“MYTHICAL KNIVES” – This pirate-themed track shows Ben Ward experimenting even more with his vocal approach. More doom-esque tones and even parts that sound more like Gregorian monk chanting than rock vocals. “Mythical Knives” = Melodic Power. Nuff said.
“BLOODZILLA” – Orange Goblin warns you of what you are in store for as Ben Ward screams “Go!” And as “Bloodzilla” began, there I was, heavily cutting in tribute to the wondrous metal before me. I found myself wishing someone was with me while I was listening to this. This will be an instant live staple. I love the ending riff of this song, which repeats over and over again, and brought to mind for me a kind of heavy metal version of the ending to “Layla” by Derek and the Dominoes.
“THE ABYSS” – At times this track veers more towards Alice in Chains rather than the Sabbath-based approach that usually dominates their material. Rearing its not so ugly head again is the doom metal sound I mentioned earlier. In general, I am not a fan of the style of doom metal. However I find that the sprinklings of doom throughout this album are simply a great compliment to the songs. Once again another terrific Orange Goblin instant classic.
“TITAN” – The first of two instrumentals on the album, “Titan” may actually be my favorite piece of music on Back From The Abyss. Very reminiscent of Iron Maiden, as well as shades of Thin Lizzy once again. Even more surprising is that parts of this song actually remind me of Dream Theater or Queensryche. Just another example of Orange Goblin having a lot more up their tattooed sleeve than we thought they did.
“BLOOD OF THEM” – With lyrics inspired by H.P. Lovecraft, and even more diversity in the vocal approach, “Blood of Them” comes across as an extremely heavy track both lyrically and sonically. Love the spoken word at the beginning of the song. Simply another great track on this album.
“THE SHADOW OVER INNSMOUTH” – The second instrumental on Back From The Abyss ends the album in style. I found that this track reminds of “The Zoo” by the Scorpions, but with many more riffs and some off-beats. Just a great guitar-based track which again proves that melody is becoming king to Orange Goblin. In an interview, Ben Ward stated that they are thinking of using this track is their intro when playing live. That would be a great choice.
In closing, Back From The Abyss impressively proves that Orange Goblin are not just a band writing heavy songs anymore. Orange Goblin are songwriters that happen to play heavy rock and roll. What category do you put Orange Goblin in now? Who knows and who cares. All you need to know is that this album is Top Shelf Rock. Based on my previous experience seeing this band live, I can only imagine how good these songs will be to see live. If you get the chance to see Orange Goblin live, you must do so.
Thanks again Windows Movie Maker for not messing up this video. This is the last video I’ll be using Movie Maker to create. Thanks Seb for the new software.
Part II features the first ever live performance of “The Maiden Song” written by Seb, Dave and Meat. Yours truly on second vocals.
Preparation is key! I began picking up and packing supplies for this weekend: SAUSAGEFEST XIII, and hopefully the best one yet.
There will be the annual Countdown. There will be live bands. There will be meat. There will be Uncle Meat.
I was disappointed that nobody in town seems to carry Coleman Biowipes anymore. I had to settle for generic. Hopefully, they are up for the tasks at hand…
I got the hair cut, and I got a flash drive full of tunes. Got my cooler, got some Pop Tarts, my camera and a tripod. 4 days to go….
DREAM THEATER: The Number of the Beast (2002 Ytsejam Records, Covers Series)
For the most part, Dream Theater is a band you either love or you hate. Some Metal fans are put off by the keyboards perhaps, while many others find Dream Theater hard to listen to because of the effeminate tone to the voice of singer James LaBrie. On the other hand, music fans who are not into the sensibilities of progressive music would label Dream Theater as “pretentious,” or which have you. Most music fans though can appreciate the musical talent of everyone involved. They are also a very busy unit, often branching out into different projects between DT albums and tours.
While still in the band, and then after his departure from DT in 2010, Mike Portnoy has been the busiest of all the DT members. So much so, that while researching to do this review of Dream Theater’s Official Bootleg: The Number of the Beast, I was blown away with how many projects Portnoy has been a part of that I truly love. Simply said, Mike Portnoy comes off as the biggest music fan in the music business. On top of his resume of original music, his obsessively accurate tribute projects can only be pulled off by someone who is an authentic “music geek super fan”. Sound familiar, LeBrain? So yes, this review has morphed itself into a bit of a Mike Portnoy love fest. Check out this list of his accomplishments outside of Dream Theater.
LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT – The two studio albums with John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess and Tony Levin are fantastic albums. Their self-titled CD is one of my favorite progressive rock albums. With three subsequent live albums with that lineup and two albums with a name change to Liquid Trio Experiment, that makes seven albums with the great Tony Levin alone.
TRANSATLANTIC – Four studio albums and four live albums with this Prog super group along with Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings), Neal Morse(Spock’s Beard, Flying Colors) and the bassist from one of my favorite bands…Marillion…Pete Trewavas.
AVENGED SEVENFOLD – After the death of their drummer, Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan, during the writing of a new album, Mike Portnoy stepped in and played drums on their 2010 CD titled Nightmare. He also joined them for a few shows over in Iran and Kuwait for American troops overseas.
ADRENALINE MOB – Two albums with this band consisting of members from Symphony X and Fozzy. I honestly do not think I have heard it so can’t say much really.
FLYING COLORS – One studio album and one live album playing with my favorite musician of all time… Steve Morse. Consisting of Neal Morse again and others, including the incredible Steve Morse Band bassist Dave LaRue. Maybe you should just read LeBrain’s review of this band right “here”.
WINERY DOGS – With a more straight ahead rock and roll approach, the Winery Dogs is his current gig with bassist Billy Sheehan and guitarist Richie Kotzen. [Check out Jon Wilmenius’ excellent review here — LeBrain]
And that’s just the original music he has been a part of. He has gone to great lengths to put together live shows recreating the concerts of, and playing the music of, his favorite drummers. He has arranged one for Led Zeppelin called Hammer of the Gods. He has also done one for Rush called Cygnus & the Sea Monsters. I actually learned about these while researching the review that I haven’t even got around to yet (yes this has become a much larger project than initially thought), so I am curious to search these out. You should be as well. The one I can comment on is his Beatles tribute called Yellow Matter Custard, named from a lyric within the song “I Am the Walrus”.
Consisting of Matt Bissonette, Paul Gilbert and Neal Morse and himself, this unit recreates what it would have been like to see The Beatles live. A lot of the songs were never played by the Beatles live. I listened to this with a good friend of mine who himself is a great musician and huge Beatles fan. Listening to it brought the Beatles super-fan out of him, most especially loving the somewhat obscure tracks performed live by the band. I highly recommend checking this out if you are a Beatles fan. So that pretty much means everyone.
I can’t believe I am now just starting the intended review, but here goes. In 2002, while touring for the album Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, Dream Theater went on a short club tour in Europe where they played a different album in its entirety, track for track. Among the albums covered in this tour were Master of Puppets – Metallica, Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd and Made in Japan – Deep Purple. (Who covers a live album? And one of my favorite live albums of all time? Dream Theater does, that’s who).
On October 24, 2002 DT played a small club called La Mutualite in Paris, France. The album on the menu that night was The Number of the Beast by Iron Maiden. From the sound of the enthusiastic crowd you can clearly hear throughout the album, this was a well-appreciated re-creation of one of the greatest Metal albums of all time.
The show starts off with album opener “Invaders”. My first impression was how great it sounded. Lively version and a thick guitar sound. Another thing I quickly realized is this: say what you want about James LaBrie and his effeminate style. Not many singers, including Bruce Dickinson himself can sing these songs live. I have seen Iron Maiden play several of these songs live, and even in a reduced key it is a struggle for Dickinson to sing the songs how they are recorded on the album. The opening track just left me looking forward to the rest of the set.
“Children of the Damned” was a joy to listen to, again mostly because of the vocals. This is probably his best singing on the album. Bruce Dickinson would have to get himself on a Lance Armstrong-like drug program to ever have a chance of singing this song in this key again. This song is also where I first really noted one of the truly great and original things about this album. Iron Maiden is a classic two-guitar fueled machine. DT is doing this with one guitar and a keyboard. Check out the twin guitar/keyboard solo in this song and hear throughout as the guitar and keyboard trade solos. A magnificent treat for the ears and surprisingly seamlessly done.
The crowd revs up as the classic Patrick McGoohan intro to “The Prisoner” plays as it is on the album. Chanting along with the intro just before Portnoy launches into the classic Clive Burr drum beat, this makes for a great listen, hearing the energy of the crowd and their appreciation of this show. Awesome version as well I must say.
“22 Acacia Avenue” is another track that is a treat to hear live. Live favorites “The Number of the Beast” and “Run to the Hills” follow. These two Heavy Metal anthems go over with the crowd extremely well as you would think they would. A case could be made that these back to back songs are the two most popular Iron Maiden songs of all time. Agreed? Discuss….
Coming next is their amazing version of “Gangland”. This is easily the most ambitious moment of the show. Kind of making the song their own, they begin the song off as a piano ballad and then make a left turn and turn it into a progressive, almost jazz fusion-ish groove as the song closes out. Absolutely brilliant and is probably my favorite track on the album. The show ends with a perfect version of “Hallowed Be Thy Name”, and the performance is over.
This is not just re-hashing of a great album. This was a well thought out and rehearsed celebration of this album, allowing true Maiden fans to hear what these songs may have sounded like when the album was toured in the 80’s. A friend of mine scoffed at the idea of DT covering this album and I may have shared some of his trepidation before I heard this recording. After listening to it now several times it has become obvious that this is not only a very relevant capturing of Number of the Beast, but it makes a very simple statement. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the players in Dream Theater have a higher level of musicianship than really any of their peers in popular music. And as listed earlier, it seems that everything Mike Portnoy does comes from the heart of just another music fan like you and I. So who is gonna come along and play one of Dream Theater’s albums track for track? Well Dream Theater of course. Who else possibly could? Good luck with that, Three Days Grace.
Uncle Meat is former co-worker, now friend. He worked at one of the other record store locations for about a year. Back inPart 78, he told his side of the story, but I thought I should return the love.
RECORD STORE TALES Part 258: Uncle Meat
My first encounter with the man known as Uncle Meat (his parents still call him Eric) happened in 1987. I didn’t meet Meat in 1987; I met Meat officially in the 1990’s when he was hired at one of our stores. As we chatted about people we both knew, we pieced it together: Both of us were friends with a talented local singer/songwriter named Rob Szabo. Way back in the 80’s, Rob was in a band then called Under 550, and they won the Battle of the Bands at Grand River Collegiate Institute in ’87. I remember they knocked out a version of Rush’s “YYZ”. They were sent to the next round, to battle it out regionally at the Center In the Square.
They added a lead vocalist for the big competition, and temporarily changed their name to Over 550. 550 lbs was the total combined body weight of the band. They were just under 550 lbs, until they added the singer. Get it? They were up against a neighbor of ours, George, who was playing bass in a band called Zephyr. Also in the running were such luminaries as Stomach Acid, and F.U.H.Q.
It was when discussing this gig that Uncle Meat and I realized we were both in the same place at the same time — except he was on the stage and I was in the crowd! I have a distinct memory of watching a very heavy thrash metal band. They were just too heavy for most in attendance, but they had chops and a good singer. That singer was Meat. One thing I’ll never forget about his set is this: a whole row of long-hairs ran down in front of the stage during the first song, and banged their heads through it all. When Meat had played his two songs, they went back to their seats. I’d never seen anything like it before, at that tender age of 15.
Spring 1991 – Uncle Meat singing “Fairies Wear Boots” with Heavy Cutting
Many years later, I worked a shift at the store with Uncle Meat, and that was our first “official” meeting. I remember that it was a pre-Christmas shift, and I was helping out another store. It was the two of us and Meat’s arch-nemesis, a girl who did not get along with him at all. (The story of why was recounted in Top Five Discs That Got Us In Shit.) It was a fun shift, busy as hell, and I remember stopping at an HMV store on my way home and picking up a Savatage CD (their then-latest, Wake Of Magellan).
Here I am, almost three decades later, remembering that night in ’87 like it was yesterday. I could tell you details like what jacket I was wearing (a dark blue leather one). I could tell you who I went with: Bob, Scott, and Todd Meyer. I couldn’t tell you who won anymore, but I do know this: It was fate. It was fate that Meat and I should meet. When we work together on a project, it’s peanut butter and jam. Thanks for friendship Uncle Meat, and thanks for contributing so much to mikeladano.com.
Same night, same gig: Szabo on axe shreds some Judas Priest.
Listen to that fucking singer!
11. Various Artists – RONNIE JAMES DIO: This Is Your Life
8. MASTODON – Once More ‘Round the Sun
12. Lucy
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