3-31-2012: Bonfire - Day 11

I was shocked when I learned these guys were still around!  BrettRox said they put on a great show at Rocklahoma a few years back too, so fuckin A to that.  This song to me is a case and point of what a lot of those old metal bands COULD do, but often don't.  Keep the melodies, add some better production, double kick drums sometimes and some heaviness, and you get what melodic metal is meant to be in the 2000s and beyond.

3-30-2012: Black N Blue - I'm the King

I'm the king of the concrete jungle, BIIITCCCHHH!

3-29-2012: Steeler - Undercover Animal

No, not the Steeler featuring Yngwie Malmsteen and Ron Keel, it's a different Steeler from Europe featuring Axel Rudi Pell.  This is from a very early album of the same name.  I found these guys by accident years ago thinking I was buying another "Yngwie" Steeler album.  Luckily, it was not in vain, because this album kicks ass!

3-28-2012: Running Wild - Final Gates

I seriously think this might be my favorite instrumental of all time.  Yes, there's some great ones out there, Orion and Into the Lungs of Hell come to mind immediately.  This is one by a band you just really need to check out right now if you have not.  This song sounds like it should end a movie!  Indeed, it does end the Running Wild video the Critic got a hold of years ago.

3-27-2012: Triumph - Troublemaker

Triumph, the makers of such wimp ass songs as "Magic Power" and "Hold On", and known also for their killer hard rock anthems "Lay it on the Line" and "Fight the Good Fight".  Few people know that this band lasted all the way into the early 90s and make a little known album called "Edge of Excess" in 1992.  This song was featured on that album and the Hellraiser 3 soundtrack alongside Armored Saint!  I heard this song in the middle of the movie and didn't even recognize it as Triumph because it was so damn metal!  That's right, Triumph, metal!

3-26-2012: Diamond Head - Sucking My Love

If not for Metallica, we know Diamond Head would have fallen into oblivion.  But some of US would still be hunting down there shit even without Metallica.  Their first album is pure classic NWoBHM, their second is almost as great, then they kind of fell to shit with Canterbury.  They came back in the 90s and put out a stellar album called Death and Progress.  After that, their stuff is pretty much mediocre.  Any true metal fan needs to hear Diamond Head's first 2 albums though, and here's another from their first one.

3-25-2012: Adrenaline Mob - Psychosane

I haven't really been into Dream Theatre since 2005's Octavarium, so I really could have given 2 shits when Mike Portnoy left a year or 2 ago.  Then Dream Theatre goes and puts out more mediocre music with "A Dramatic Turn of Events" and I just figured Mike would fall off the radar.  But instead, he announces a project with John Sykes that had me pretty damn excited until it fell apart.  So Mike put together Adrenaline Mob.  Holy shit.  I just can't really describe these guys.  They're different from most stuff out there right now, so it's damn refreshing.  Not a ton of replay value, but still awesome.  Give these guys a shot!

3-24-2012: Enforcer - Running in Menace

Enforcer is a big part of what's called the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal that's boomed in recent years.  These guys are true to the classic sound through and through.  And they're quite a bit younger than even I am!  I consider myself a younger metal fan at 31.

3-23-2012: LA Guns - Electric Gypsy

I've never been a big fan of these guys, but they crank out the occasional tune that gets jammed up in your head for days on end.  This is one of those songs!

3-22-2012: Iron Maiden - Run to the Hills

My 2 year old daughter enjoys the shit out of this song in my car!  The minute she gets in she asks for "The Hills" and sings it!  This is surely one of my crowning achievements as a father!  Wouldn't you agree?

UNISONIC

When I say Kai Hansen and Michael Kiske automatically you should think Helloween Keeper of the Seven Keys... They reunited to form Unisonic with Mandy Meyer (ex Asia, Krokus and Gotthard), Dennis Ward (Pink Cream 69) and Kosta Zafiriou (Pink Cream 69). I forever lost faith in Kiske as a metal singer and most high pitched singers in the metal world. I eat those words cause this song is awesome. Kiske is spot on, Hansen and Meyers make a very formidable dueling guitar demonstration in this song, I mean come on harmonized arpeggios!! Ridiculous!

3-21-2012: Saxon - Mists of Avalon

From the 2011 masterpiece that made #2 on my 2011 Metal Lists, I give you one of the best songs from that album.  Yes, its a bit cheesy, but that's what makes shit stick in your head!  Who the fuck decided "melodic = cheesy" anyway?!

3-20-2012: Savatage - Power of the Night

This is probably my favorite Savatage song.  What a great fucking riff to start the song off!  We lost Criss Oliva a bit too soon, that's for sure.

Skyharbor - Celestial

I'm almost sure this is from their debut album, "Blinding White Noise." Fucking Brilliant Prog Metal! This song features Marty Friedman (ex-Megadeth...duh) and Dan Tompkins (ex-Tesseract). I can't wait to get my hands on the full length album!

3-19-2012: Voltax - Unmerciful Reign

Real, old school metal IS still out there, but it's hard to find.  These guys hail from Mexico somewhere, and were lucky enough to grab a Wacken spot last year.  Check out them jamming the first track from their 2010 album "Fugitive State of Mind"!

3-18-2012: Steel Panther - Just Like Tiger Woods

Leave it to these guys to come up with a song about Tiger being a man whore.  From their latest album, this song is about as raunchy as everything they've ever done.  Funny shit.

3-17-2012: Astral Doors - Operation Freedom

Apparently I messed up and posted my post for today a few days ago.  So today, I get to share a song from my favorite new album, Astral Doors - Jerusalem!  This is my personal favorite track because it's catchy and a good ass kicker!  Check out the whole album on spotify!  Enjoy.

03-16-2012: Badlands - The Last Time

Haven't seen these guys represented yet on here. I was totally blown away when I heard the first Badlands album back when it came out. Jake E Lee's guitar and Ray Gillen's voice (RIP) were totally meant for each other. Too bad we didn't get a few more years out of Ray to see what else he could do after the 2 fine albums they made. They were a brightly burning but quickly fading star in the rock n' roll galaxy. Jake needs to come out of hiding and treat us to some new riffs!

3-17-2012: Body Count - Body Count's in the House

Yes!  Ice T was once in a metal band!  And a damn good metal band they were!  He's Ice Mother Fucking T, BITTTCCCHHHH!

3-16-2012: Black Tide - Shockwave

These guys came out kicking the ass a few years back and I was just blown away.  The whole damn album was great front to back.  I am currently listening to the single "That Fire" from their newer album that I didn't know existed until just now.  Apparently their total retro metal sound has given way to sounding a bit more alternative.  It's not as bad as some modern alternacrap, but still, a giant step down from what these guys could have been.  Shame.

Angel Witch - Dead Sea Scrolls

This band has been around since the inception of the NWOBHM. I remember taking a trip to the vintage vinyl in Granite City with my good buddy Steven looking for some obscure metal CD's in the late 90's. I bought my first Angel Witch Cd, Resurrection, it was a compilation of their previous recordings from the late 70's and early 80's. Now that I have mentioned three decades the video I have chosen is from another decade, this one fact. From their brand new album entitled "As Above, So Below" this is Dead Sea Scrolls.

3-15-2012: The Sword - How Heavy this Axe

These guys made some waves in the middle of the 2000s probably because they toured with Metallica.  They are average at best, but we're running out of first timers for the blog!  This is one of their better songs IMO.

3-14-2012: Tesla - Forever More

MOST Tesla is killer hard rock.  They had a little time there in the 90s where they kind of choked, but hey we'll forgive them for that, just like we'll forgive Megadeth, Slayer, etc. for their 90s output.  This is from their latest album and a killer track it is!

3-13-2012: Tool - Prison Sex

Somewhere along the lines of metal, rock, alternative and psychedelic weirdness is Tool.  I have liked their shit since I first heard Sober on MTV back when I was in middle school.  I don't know too many people who don't really.  Enough said.

3-12-2012: Danzig - Twist of Cain

When Danzig wants to sound good, he sounds like this.  When he wants to sound shitty, he makes Danzig 4-8 or whatever.  John Christ is a ripping guitar player.  Don't know what happened to him though.

3-11-2012: Firewind - Dreamchaser

Because it gets stuck in your fucking head and there's no getting it out!  Gus G rules.

03-10-2012: Wildside - Hair Of The Dog

Sadly, this first CD was their only good one but what a killer it was. I think they used up all the good song in them for this one. From Under The Influence 1992.

3-10-2012: Black Sabbath - The Headless Cross

I've been doing a lot of posts on shit that gets overlooked here lately and this is one of the best examples of overlooked metal greatness that I can think of:  Tony Martin - era Sabbath!  I heard this song on XM's Boneyard right after Dio died and the dumb ass DJ said it was her tribute to Dio!  WTF!!  I hope she has since found a different job.

3-9-2012: Chastain - For Those Who Dare

This is another favorite on DirecTV's Sonic Tap!  I love this song, but the rest of their stuff is just so-so.

3-8-2012: W.A.S.P - Let it Roar

The first song from the album that really put WASP back where they needed to be IMO.  "Unholy Terror" remains their finest album to me even to this day.  Strange as most the bands whose heyday was in the 80s can't pull that off, but there are a few out there and WASP is one of them!  Check out their later catalog if you want some good ass-kicking WASP!

3-7-2012: Running Wild - Under Jolly Roger

Running Wild is one of those pure metal bands that kind of remains underground to this day.  As the Critic pointed out, they're getting back together with a new album in the next few months, so I'm stoked.  These guys invented the submetal genre "Pirate Metal".  Why?  Because they sing about pirates.  It's as good a topic as any!

Xandria - Valentine

From their new album Neverworld's End. Good alternative to old school Nightwish. A close second for February's album of the month.

03-06-2012: Raven - Break The Chain

I've been waving the Raven flag since I first heard them in the early 80's. One of those under-the-radar bands from the NWOBHM. If you don't have the All For One CD from these guys you owe it to yourself to check it out. The singer's vocals can be an aquired taste but I love'em. Should have been bigger but they made some bad directional choices after the 3rd album to go more commercial. Check out their first 3 albums and their latest couple. These guys are riff masters.

3-6-2012: Testament - Souls of Black

The often overlooked album by one of the kings of thrash!   I think it's a damn solid album and is really the last album of theirs that I think has their classic sound.  Check it out if you haven't!

Album of the Month: February 2012

Rage has been around for 28 years and have been through 8 guitarists and 4 drummers.  21 has taken a bit longer to grow on me then the last few albums but hey February didn't bring much competition unless you count the new Van Halen (two thumbs down and a fart IMO).  With that said I have been a huge fan ever since Rage acquired the great Victor Smolski on guitar.  Peavy a little strong with the growls on this album, the song Serial Killer in particular.  The title track is a classic Rage tune check it out below!