1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,560 Welcome to the Album Nerds podcast with your hosts, Andy, Don, and Dude. 2 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:16,320 We're going off the rails on a crazy train. 3 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:17,800 It's the Album Nerds podcast. 4 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:18,800 I'm Dude. 5 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:20,680 I got Andy and Don with me. 6 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:23,720 Andy, how's it going on this fine, fine day? 7 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:25,720 It's going pretty well, buddy. 8 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:30,200 You know what my favorite kind of metal shredding is? 9 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:35,280 I don't really care, but please share anyway. 10 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:37,280 I mean, yes, please. 11 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:42,520 It involves a cheese and a cheese grater and a quesadilla. 12 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:43,520 Nice. 13 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:44,520 Thank you. 14 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:49,520 Don, how's the life of an academic? 15 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:52,520 I don't even know. 16 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:57,040 Never mind. 17 00:00:57,040 --> 00:00:59,920 You've proven that higher education is a sham. 18 00:00:59,920 --> 00:01:01,520 How you doing, man? 19 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:02,520 I'm good. 20 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:03,520 I'm good. 21 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:04,520 Ready to shred. 22 00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:05,520 Shredder. 23 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:06,520 It's Shredder. 24 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:08,880 Remember the guy from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? 25 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:09,880 Of course. 26 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:10,880 All right. 27 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:13,320 So this is the Album Nerds podcast. 28 00:01:13,320 --> 00:01:19,200 We love albums and the album format and talking about them just brings us such joy. 29 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:23,520 Today we're going to be focusing on some heavy metal shredders. 30 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:27,440 On today's show, we're going to be going over our listening week. 31 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:31,280 What albums were we combing through to make this important decision? 32 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:33,840 Then we'll go over our individual album selections. 33 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:37,520 We're going to answer a question loosely related to today's topic, and then we're going to 34 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:41,040 find out what we're going to talk about on the next episode. 35 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:42,680 This week, let's get shredding. 36 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:43,680 Excellent. 37 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:48,800 That's what I'm talking about. 38 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:54,760 Heavy metal guitar style is rooted in 1960s era blues rock and psychedelic rock. 39 00:01:54,760 --> 00:02:00,480 Metal guitar playing uses a massive sound characterized by highly amplified distortion, 40 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:03,900 extended guitar solos, and overall loudness. 41 00:02:03,900 --> 00:02:08,520 The electric guitar and the sonic power that it projects through amplification has historically 42 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:10,760 been the key element in heavy metal. 43 00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:15,200 Heavy metal bands often have two electric guitarists with one guitarist playing rhythm 44 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:17,080 and the other playing lead guitar. 45 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:21,840 Today each of us will present an album featuring a great heavy metal shredder. 46 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:24,380 How did we fare gentlemen, listening wise? 47 00:02:24,380 --> 00:02:25,380 Find a lot of good stuff? 48 00:02:25,380 --> 00:02:26,380 Discuss. 49 00:02:26,380 --> 00:02:32,080 Yeah, I mean, I was trying to focus more on some later albums, but I did go back a little 50 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:37,800 bit until the 90s, Pantera, Annihilator, Dream Theater, but then some later stuff, Dillinger 51 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:44,600 Escape Plan, Liturgy, Gorguts, all pretty extreme stuff. 52 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:51,040 This is about tenders to gravitate more towards the sort of tech and death metal side of things. 53 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:52,040 Yes you do. 54 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:53,040 My personal flavor. 55 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:55,680 I know you guys love it so much. 56 00:02:55,680 --> 00:03:01,400 I think we're just older enough than you that whatever it is in people when they get old 57 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:05,400 that makes them hate that noise, what is that noise? 58 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:06,400 That is there. 59 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:11,040 What do you want to do with your life? 60 00:03:11,040 --> 00:03:12,040 And vice versa too. 61 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:13,040 Yeah, I know. 62 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:18,320 Yeah, we're talking about classics and you're like, oh, the 80s production is so, it's like, 63 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:19,320 okay, okay. 64 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:24,280 Yeah, so I would have loved to have gone with Metallica, but we've talked a lot about them. 65 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:26,200 The shreddiness is quite choice. 66 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:27,920 It is such choice. 67 00:03:27,920 --> 00:03:34,320 Van Halen 1, not quite metal, but in that area and Eruption, that song alone would have 68 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:35,960 been good for discussion. 69 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:38,480 Megadeth would have been fun, but we just did them. 70 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:39,640 And I tried to go more modern. 71 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:40,800 I looked at Trivium. 72 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:45,460 I think it was a Sedentary, Power Trip, Nightmare Logic from 2017. 73 00:03:45,460 --> 00:03:52,600 But I also did try to focus on the classic heavy metal shred guitarists like Joe Satriani, 74 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:54,540 Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen. 75 00:03:54,540 --> 00:04:01,340 The albums, although super interesting shred wise, didn't have a lot going on. 76 00:04:01,340 --> 00:04:05,540 They had guest vocalists and stuff, but it wasn't wrought for nice conversation. 77 00:04:05,540 --> 00:04:08,280 I tried to look at something somewhat modern. 78 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:12,560 I checked out Avenged Sevenfold, who I've never spent a lot of time with, but their 79 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:14,440 guitarist Sinister Gates was pretty good. 80 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:17,880 I listened to that City of Evil album, which I didn't hate. 81 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:20,880 Went back to Pandera. 82 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:23,200 The Red Bull Special. 83 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:28,960 That sounds good. 84 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:34,760 I went back to Pantera and Dimebag Darrell, that Vulgar Display of Power is a good album. 85 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:39,480 And then I actually thought about doing Richie Blackmore, a Deep Purple album machine head. 86 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:44,960 But I think similar to Van Halen, I wasn't sure if it really was metal. 87 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:46,760 I mean, it predates metal. 88 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:48,360 It's metal's dad for sure. 89 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:49,360 Yeah. 90 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:52,560 But yeah, I picked, I think I made a pretty obvious choice. 91 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:53,600 Yes, you did. 92 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:54,960 But it was the right choice. 93 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:55,960 All right. 94 00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:56,960 So speaking of choices. 95 00:04:56,960 --> 00:05:09,680 Anything to tell the fans right now about how you feel Chuck? 96 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:14,680 Yeah, I'm only in it for the money too Chuck. 97 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:20,120 Yes, I'm sure that the dollars were pouring in for this band. 98 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:21,120 Right. 99 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:22,120 Metal Shredding album. 100 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:24,200 We're talking about the artist Death. 101 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:26,520 Fourth studio album, Human. 102 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:30,680 This came out back in October of 1991. 103 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:37,960 Their debut record, Scream Bloody Gore is considered among the first death metal records 104 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:39,920 that came out a few years prior. 105 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:44,440 Yeah, actually my wedding song is on that album that we danced to. 106 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:47,480 Oh yes, a common choice for wedding receptions. 107 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:50,400 Well, I have a microphone and you don't. 108 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:56,080 So you will listen to every damn word I have to say. 109 00:05:56,080 --> 00:06:00,780 This album, their fourth studio album marked a shift towards a more progressive technical 110 00:06:00,780 --> 00:06:02,320 death metal sound. 111 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:07,720 We are going to play, I believe this was the lead single, maybe the only single. 112 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:09,360 I'm surprised there were any singles. 113 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:10,360 Yeah, I know. 114 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:13,040 There's actually a music video for this, believe it or not. 115 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:14,040 Played on MTV. 116 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:17,040 The track is called Lack of Comprehension. 117 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:26,040 Beautiful. 118 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:31,200 Isn't that just gorgeous? 119 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:34,280 He sounds like a walker from The Walking Dead. 120 00:06:34,280 --> 00:06:39,200 Well, they are called Deaths. 121 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:44,400 That is Chuck Schnulder, I believe is how you say his name. 122 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:47,320 Put your head on my Schnulder. 123 00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:54,440 He is the founding and only consistent member through Deaths many varying lineups over their 124 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:55,840 decade or so they were active. 125 00:06:55,840 --> 00:07:00,520 He's also the vocalist and contributes guitars to the mix here as well. 126 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:03,720 He's also the main creative force behind the band. 127 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:08,360 The three words I used to describe this album are death is complicated. 128 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:16,760 I'm a big fan of this progressive or tech or extreme metal sub-genres that have developed 129 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:19,640 from this early period in the 90s through today. 130 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:24,400 This is a pretty interesting record where you hear this progression actually happening 131 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:29,440 in real time between more straightforward death metal sound, which is very heavy and 132 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:35,240 guttural into this little bit more expansive and more intricate compositions they have 133 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:36,600 on these tracks here. 134 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:41,280 A lot of that comes down to the twin guitar attack, which a lot of these bands are talking 135 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:44,280 about today kind of have this style where you have like a lead guitar and then a rhythm 136 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:47,800 guitar and then bass and drums kind of doing a lot of work on the low end. 137 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:53,080 Yeah, there's some really interesting shifts not only to the pace but also just sonically 138 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:56,040 throughout these tracks here as you go along. 139 00:07:56,040 --> 00:08:00,560 Some kind of catchy riffs at times, occasional melody here, there creeps in. 140 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:01,560 Yeah, I was really impressed. 141 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:02,560 I'm new to this band. 142 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:04,160 I'm not really too familiar with them. 143 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:07,680 I'm new to the name but I didn't really know a lot of their material and I found a couple 144 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:11,320 other albums pretty enjoyable and this one I thought was particularly interesting. 145 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:13,720 Why don't we play another cut from the record? 146 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:27,120 This is a little bit of Cosmic Seed. 147 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:30,880 That makes me want to play some Guitar Hero. 148 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:32,120 Death had to be on there, right? 149 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:33,120 I'm sure. 150 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:34,120 Probably. 151 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:37,640 I think they had their own addition just like Metallica and Slash. 152 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:41,880 Yeah, so that track there is instrumental which I enjoy. 153 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:47,920 I guess it gives you a break from some of that death vocal delivery but I like that 154 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:48,920 track a lot. 155 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:53,960 Not only just because of the constant shredding but it is a bit adventurous. 156 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:55,400 It's kind of all over the place. 157 00:08:55,400 --> 00:09:01,680 I do like metal that kind of explores and gets a little progressive. 158 00:09:01,680 --> 00:09:05,360 The three words I chose to describe the album are just give me death. 159 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:10,160 I mean I'm not the biggest metalhead in the world although I've been warming up to it 160 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:16,040 over the years and death metal will probably be among the last things to really creep into 161 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:18,560 my whatever. 162 00:09:18,560 --> 00:09:24,700 But yeah, I actually found myself doing a lot of headbanging to this and kind of getting 163 00:09:24,700 --> 00:09:25,760 lost in it. 164 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:31,600 I guess death metal and thrash metal, it's very hypnotic and I enjoy that. 165 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:37,840 I think it's about time that you grow out your hair and get a denim vest with some patches 166 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:39,720 of these bands that you've learned to love. 167 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:41,720 That's a good idea. 168 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:44,320 You didn't get to do it as a teenager. 169 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:46,320 I think this is your time. 170 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:51,520 Stroll around the hallways of that college you teach at and show off your flair. 171 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:54,720 It's such a shame because I lived through the peak of death. 172 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:55,720 I know, me too. 173 00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:57,840 And I totally missed out on that opportunity. 174 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:03,920 But yeah, I mean the guitar is really amazing and I couldn't pick out which guitarist was 175 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:07,800 which but the guitar work is fantastic. 176 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:10,660 Face melting guitar solos. 177 00:10:10,660 --> 00:10:15,840 Maybe another reason I didn't find the record too off putting is just the length of it. 178 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:21,040 I think 34 minutes is like the right amount of time for death metal. 179 00:10:21,040 --> 00:10:25,040 Yeah, I definitely get too much of it for sure. 180 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:30,040 There's a little more versatility to the guy's voice than some other death metal that I've 181 00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:31,040 heard. 182 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:34,400 But yeah, overall, I think it's a solid album. 183 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:40,060 I enjoyed the experience and it certainly, I mean if we're celebrating metal shredders, 184 00:10:40,060 --> 00:10:41,060 this is a good album for it. 185 00:10:41,060 --> 00:10:45,000 Yeah, I would say Chuck has, he almost sings at a couple of points on this record. 186 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:47,480 I wouldn't say he has a great singing voice. 187 00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:51,540 Lyrically though, I think he gets into some interesting places on this record and dealing 188 00:10:51,540 --> 00:10:57,600 with dark topics like euthanasia, loneliness, there's some science fiction themes that come 189 00:10:57,600 --> 00:10:58,600 up. 190 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:04,540 Yeah, I mean I guess I'm also concerned about the young people of Asia but there's kids 191 00:11:04,540 --> 00:11:06,040 everywhere that need help. 192 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:12,600 Yes, good to think of the kids everywhere in Manchester, Manchester, Asia. 193 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:13,600 That's right. 194 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:14,600 Good point. 195 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:15,600 All children matter. 196 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:19,440 I believe the children are our future to be honest but we don't need to get into that. 197 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:21,880 I mean if we learned anything from the last episode. 198 00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:27,800 All right, while we play, well, this cut has a fairly memorable refrain on it, I would 199 00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:28,800 say. 200 00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:40,440 This is a little bit of Secret Face. 201 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:41,920 I love the way that track opens. 202 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:46,760 It's the right kind of riffage and then I don't like, we've talked about the vocals, 203 00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:52,400 it's usually not my style for it to be constant barking but it works really well with the 204 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:54,640 playfulness of the riffs. 205 00:11:54,640 --> 00:12:02,480 So the song reflects on people wearing masks, hiding their true intentions, often for personal 206 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:04,200 gain manipulation. 207 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:08,760 Kind of don't trust anyone was kind of what I got from it. 208 00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:13,320 Pretty typical lyrical theme in this genre but delivered in a way that forces you to 209 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:19,320 consider the ugliness of humanity and I think once in a while it's important to think about 210 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:24,040 that, the people that are in your lives and don't get paranoid but what do they want? 211 00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:25,040 Real motivation. 212 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:26,040 Yeah. 213 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:30,840 I mean, what are you guys really doing talking to me about albums? 214 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:34,760 Obviously it's to ride my coattails and become hugely famous in the podcast world. 215 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:37,520 It's a very long plan. 216 00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:38,760 Yes. 217 00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:41,080 It's the long grift here. 218 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:47,760 To describe this album in three words, I went with Zombie Death Metal or Slipknot's Dads. 219 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:54,880 I didn't see this band listed in Slipknot's list of influences but it definitely has that 220 00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:59,640 feel to it, that vibe, some of the vocal delivery, the way they interplay between the guitars 221 00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:05,200 and the barking vocals and I did consider Slipknot for this as well but the albums are 222 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:10,120 so dang long that I just didn't have time to dig in. 223 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:15,760 But it's a drum and guitar assault like Slayer but with less structure. 224 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:22,120 It was Slayer-esque to me in its themes and the delivery but it was, I don't know, it's 225 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:28,160 hard to say Slayer is clean sounding but Slayer is much cleaner sounding than this anyway. 226 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:29,160 It is. 227 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:30,160 Yeah, you're right. 228 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:33,560 So that's what I came away with from this experience. 229 00:13:33,560 --> 00:13:35,800 I hadn't listened to this particular album. 230 00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:40,240 It's raw but as you said, it's also polished in the places that matter. 231 00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:45,320 Yeah, it's a very raw sounding record, very kind of brutal so we're coming back to. 232 00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:50,000 There's not a lot of like studio wizardry or effects or I don't think they even use 233 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:52,400 any pedals on the guitars from what I read. 234 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:57,640 There's a little bit of reverb sometimes but pretty straightforward for this period, a 235 00:13:57,640 --> 00:14:01,080 lot of excess in the 80s and 90s. 236 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:02,720 Not too much here. 237 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:05,720 Well, there's a punk aesthetic to it as well. 238 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:06,720 Yeah, yeah, definitely. 239 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:12,040 All right, well definitely an influential record and I think it holds up pretty well 240 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:13,040 by today's standards. 241 00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:17,920 So if you're familiar with Death and their record Human, definitely worth a listen. 242 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:22,000 I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and doggone it, people like me. 243 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:29,640 If you're enjoying the show and we hope you are, do us a solid and leave a review on Apple 244 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:32,200 Podcasts or your favorite podcast app. 245 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:36,200 Either we made you laugh or you discovered an album you enjoy, leaving a review keeps 246 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:39,680 the show going and helps other music fans find us. 247 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:42,680 I'm fucking zoned. 248 00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:46,080 I just play any fucking thing. 249 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:50,600 And he played this fucking solo and I was like. 250 00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:57,520 Okay, well my pick for a heavy metal shredder is a fella named Randy Rhodes, born Randall 251 00:14:57,520 --> 00:15:01,600 William Rhodes in Santa Monica, California in 1956. 252 00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:05,520 He is best known for playing with Mr. Ozzy Osbourne. 253 00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:10,800 And so the album I'm presenting today is Ozzy's solo debut, Blizzard of Oz. 254 00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:17,440 So here's the famous cut, Crazy Trade. 255 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:30,400 So today, you know, I mean that guitar might not stand out, but I think at the time, you 256 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:34,040 know, it was pretty innovative and pretty impressive. 257 00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:40,800 Of course, you know, Crazy Train is a stadium anthem, you know, if you ever attend a sporting 258 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:41,800 event. 259 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:46,200 But the lyrics actually deal with the Cold War and the fear of annihilation. 260 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:47,200 Really? 261 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:48,200 Yeah. 262 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:49,200 Wow. 263 00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:50,800 I always just assumed it was about Ozzy being crazy. 264 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:51,800 I did too. 265 00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:54,800 I'm impressed at the depth. 266 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:55,800 Oh yeah. 267 00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:59,320 Ozzy got a lot of help with lyrics though, right? 268 00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:00,320 Just writing them out. 269 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:04,800 That was uncalled for. 270 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:09,720 He had one of those like Fisher Price devices where you push them. 271 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:14,840 Yeah, I believe the, you know, the other band members, you know, contributed to lyric writing. 272 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:19,320 I think a lot of the Sabbath lyrics were done by what's his, the bass player there? 273 00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:20,320 Is it? 274 00:16:20,320 --> 00:16:21,320 Geezer? 275 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:22,320 Geezer. 276 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:23,320 Geezer Butler. 277 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:27,720 So the three words I chose to describe this album, Blizzard of Oz, released in September 278 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:31,120 1980 is Reigniting the Flame, right? 279 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:35,320 So this is again, Ozzy Osbourne's debut solo album. 280 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:41,800 I think his approach with Sabbath, you know, eventually got stale and it just wasn't working 281 00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:42,800 in the end. 282 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:47,400 But so then, you know, he assembles this new band, you know, and they're all, I guess, 283 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:48,680 contributing to the songwriting. 284 00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:53,280 But of course, you know, Randy Rhoades, I think is maybe the most vital part of that. 285 00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:56,680 And you know, Ozzy just sounds like a new person here, you know? 286 00:16:56,680 --> 00:17:01,200 So it is like you're recapturing that magic from early Sabbath. 287 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:03,880 Yeah, it's, you know, he sounds vibrant. 288 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:09,960 He sounds, I don't know, I mean, he is like the Prince of Darkness and it's back. 289 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:12,200 I mean, overall, it's a great album, I think. 290 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:14,140 I mean, there's so many good moments on it. 291 00:17:14,140 --> 00:17:19,120 It's maybe not the most consistent album, but really, you know, I think it's Randy Rhoades 292 00:17:19,120 --> 00:17:22,120 is the star of the show. 293 00:17:22,120 --> 00:17:29,000 You know, growing up during that period, he was the, like, this was metal, this was evil, 294 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:33,300 but it's so tame sounding by today's standards. 295 00:17:33,300 --> 00:17:39,200 It's funny how things like that change where it just seems so PG, you know? 296 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:43,080 And at the time it was like the free wits of the devil, you know? 297 00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:44,080 That's true. 298 00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:48,520 Yeah, yeah, quite melodic, you know, especially, you know, compared to the last record we just 299 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:49,520 talked about. 300 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:50,520 Yeah. 301 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:52,840 So let's hear another cut from the album. 302 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:57,520 This is the infamous Suicide Solution. 303 00:17:57,520 --> 00:18:12,120 Alright, so that song was famously known for a few things. 304 00:18:12,120 --> 00:18:18,640 I think it's part of what spawned the 80s satanic panic in the music world, as well 305 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:25,000 as the lawsuit filed against Ozzy Osbourne and CBS Records by the parents of John Daniel 306 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:26,000 McCollum. 307 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:28,000 This was in November of 85. 308 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:33,760 This was a 19 year old that tragically took his own life in 1984, and his parents alleged 309 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:37,040 that their son's suicide was linked to listening to the song. 310 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:38,960 That was a big deal at the time. 311 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:47,020 Him, you know, Ozzy biting the bat's head off and the bad behavior, peeing on the Alamo. 312 00:18:47,020 --> 00:18:52,840 This controversy, the backmasking talk that there was stuff in the songs. 313 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:56,960 And then in the lyrics, you know, there's like, get the plans out Satan, Satan, Satan. 314 00:18:56,960 --> 00:19:01,620 Like, I think playing to the evil thing, just like in Black Sabbath, but I don't think it's 315 00:19:01,620 --> 00:19:02,620 really connected. 316 00:19:02,620 --> 00:19:06,080 I think it was more of a theatrical thing. 317 00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:08,700 But essentially the lawsuit went away. 318 00:19:08,700 --> 00:19:13,360 It didn't establish a direct connection, but it helped Ozzy sell records, which I think 319 00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:16,760 is the opposite of what those people probably were looking to do. 320 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:18,880 Yeah, drew more attention to him, unfortunately. 321 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:23,960 So the three words I used to describe the album are Prince of Darkness. 322 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:28,880 That's one of the things he used to be referenced as, and God, as a kid, so many discussions 323 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:33,880 about like people who were into Ozzy, probably were devil worshipers. 324 00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:38,960 And I remember once in eighth grade, I think, me and this kid were having an argument about 325 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:46,440 who would win in a fight, Ozzy Osbourne or LL Cool J. Obviously it's LL Cool J, but... 326 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:48,720 That was my side of the argument. 327 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:52,240 Oh my gosh, I'd love to see that fight. 328 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:58,560 Well, Ozzy had the powers of evil on his side. 329 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:04,480 So Randy Rhoads carried this project and managed to not only create his own sound, but he wove 330 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:08,880 in enough of the Sabbathiness to make it work for Ozzy. 331 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:11,800 I mean, Ozzy is vocally a one trick pony. 332 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:16,800 He does the one thing and he needs a good band around him to support that and elevate 333 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:20,360 it and they all did a great job of doing that as a unit. 334 00:20:20,360 --> 00:20:26,640 And his early solo records are great, but they sound like modern by 1980 standards, 335 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:28,200 modern black Sabbath records. 336 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:30,600 Yeah, I think that's a really good point. 337 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:35,280 I was surprised to find out that Randy Rhoads is not related to Nick Rhoads of Duran Duran. 338 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:38,280 Yes, it's shocking. 339 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:41,920 All right, well, let's hear another cut. 340 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:44,920 This is Mr. Crowley. 341 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:59,960 Yeah, I think Ozzy is really at his best when he is feeding that sort of dark satanic persona, 342 00:20:59,960 --> 00:21:04,160 even though it seems like he had no real background in the occult or anything. 343 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:09,040 Yeah, my words for this album are anxiously clicking my heels together. 344 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:12,920 I did not enjoy my time in the Blizzard of Oz. 345 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:14,520 Oh, I get it now. 346 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:18,000 That's my ruby red slippers getting the fuck out of here. 347 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:23,880 Yeah, there are definitely some classics on this album and we've played most of them. 348 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:29,000 I think that is in large part due to the excellent guitar work, which I think is a great pick 349 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:32,440 down and it really does hold the album together here. 350 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:37,240 I think it's as integral as Eddie's guitar and Van Halen. 351 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:39,600 It's the sound here to come for. 352 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:43,760 Unfortunately, I just cannot get down with what Ozzy is doing on the majority of this 353 00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:44,760 record. 354 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:50,760 I think the tracks where the guitar takes a step back, such as Goodbye to Romance or 355 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:55,080 Revelation Mother Earth, where Ozzy kind of takes over. 356 00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:58,760 Goodbye to romance. 357 00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:02,680 Like wow, you sound like you're really into this Oz. 358 00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:04,480 Yeah, emo Ozzy. 359 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:07,480 He was zonked. 360 00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:13,400 Yeah, I wish I was zonked to say I listen to those tracks personally. 361 00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:19,720 Yeah, but the moments it works on here, like the opening I don't know and Crazy Train, 362 00:22:19,720 --> 00:22:20,720 it works really well. 363 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:21,720 It's a great formula. 364 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:26,320 Other than that, there's not a lot here for me to really latch onto, but I don't know. 365 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:32,000 Ozzy was probably my first metal artist that I really got into growing up. 366 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:36,400 I used to really jam out to a lot of these songs, but coming back to him now, it just 367 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:37,960 sounds silly to me. 368 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:39,080 I don't know. 369 00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:41,040 The Oz man goeth. 370 00:22:41,040 --> 00:22:42,040 Yeah. 371 00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:47,200 I also wanted to mention that Randy Rhoads was a founding member of Quiet Riot. 372 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:54,280 Of course, he left Quiet Riot to join Ozzy's band and that was before Quiet Riot really 373 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:55,920 hit the big time. 374 00:22:55,920 --> 00:23:02,960 Then he only made one more album with Ozzy and then his life tragically ended early. 375 00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:09,720 Anyway, if you want to enjoy the amazing guitar work of Randy Rhoads, you can check out Blizzard 376 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:19,880 of Oz, Ozzy Osbourne's debut solo record from September 1980. 377 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:20,880 Excuse me. 378 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:24,040 I'd like to ask you a few questions. 379 00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:31,560 Now, it's time for Deep Questions by Don. 380 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:34,280 Guitar shredding is an integral part of metal. 381 00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:38,380 Of course, there are other famous elements associated with the genre. 382 00:23:38,380 --> 00:23:42,220 What other aspects of metal culture do you guys appreciate? 383 00:23:42,220 --> 00:23:47,680 I think the thing that I liked most about it growing up or even today resonates with 384 00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:53,760 me the most is just the outsider-ness of it. 385 00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:57,920 Getting yourself from the mainstream and being a little bit off the beaten path as I feel 386 00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:00,960 like most metal fans are looked at strangely generally. 387 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:02,840 It's like Goth in a way. 388 00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:03,840 It's tangentially related. 389 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:04,840 I mean, I like that. 390 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:06,840 I've always felt a little bit of an outsider. 391 00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:08,840 I also appreciate that they... 392 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:15,440 We talked about Ozzy having this Satanistic or devil worship side of him. 393 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:21,560 I always found that just interesting and goofy in a way, just poking fun at religion in a 394 00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:22,560 backhanded way. 395 00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:27,160 I guess I appreciate that sort of lack of self-seriousness in the music. 396 00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:29,720 Yeah, I mean, plus headbanging is kind of fun. 397 00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:30,720 Sure. 398 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:32,960 Not as much fun in my 40s as I used to be. 399 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:34,320 Yeah, it's a young man's game. 400 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:36,760 It's a little dangerous at this point. 401 00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:37,760 Yeah. 402 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:44,280 So I grew up in the era where kind of the height of metal as a cultural phenomenon. 403 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:49,080 And I was always kind of jealous of the metal kids because they had a community. 404 00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:55,680 Like if all you had to do is wear your T-shirt or your jacket with some flair on it and you 405 00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:58,440 knew that guy was in your tribe. 406 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:02,080 And us preppy kids or whatever, we don't really have that. 407 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:09,200 I mean, a popped collar and a swooshy haircut was pretty much all we had. 408 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:11,680 Metal has great iconography, I would say. 409 00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:16,080 All the logos look so badass and you can recognize them right away if it's being metal. 410 00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:17,600 It's really theatrical. 411 00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:22,040 I mean, especially during that era, the hair, of course, is cool. 412 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:24,640 I was never able to pull that off. 413 00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:31,240 But yeah, I mean, it's that fantasy world and all of that fun stuff. 414 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:37,840 It's just so open to just shred on a guitar and it can be about real life. 415 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:39,520 It can be about dragons. 416 00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:43,160 It can be about devils, ghosts, whatever. 417 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:45,800 And it's just a really cool world. 418 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:50,960 And that's what's fun to me about metal is it's just wide open to letting your imagination 419 00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:51,960 go wild. 420 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:57,680 I just picture all of the sketches on notebooks and stuff that my metalhead friends would 421 00:25:57,680 --> 00:25:58,680 be drawing. 422 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:05,120 Yeah, I think, I mean, all of us seem to be talking about the fans. 423 00:26:05,120 --> 00:26:10,800 And I guess what I admire about what we'll call the metalheads is just the passion. 424 00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:13,820 Like I get excited, even though I'm not a metalhead myself. 425 00:26:13,820 --> 00:26:19,440 Like I can always have a serious music conversation with metalheads because they're just so into 426 00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:20,440 it. 427 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:26,120 Their knowledge isn't always very wide, but they know a lot about that genre. 428 00:26:26,120 --> 00:26:30,120 And I think as I get older, people go to fewer and fewer shows and stuff like that. 429 00:26:30,120 --> 00:26:34,280 I think the people my age and older who are still going to shows religiously, they're 430 00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:35,280 all metalheads. 431 00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:40,080 And so there's just something about that genre that just invokes a lot of passion, which 432 00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:41,080 I admire. 433 00:26:41,080 --> 00:26:43,320 Okay, what do you like about metalheads? 434 00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:44,320 Let us know. 435 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:48,560 Join us on the socials, Facebook, Instagram and threads. 436 00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:51,920 Also on Discord, AlbumNerds.com slash Discord. 437 00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:55,040 I got that anthrax and it's the bomb baby. 438 00:26:55,040 --> 00:26:59,320 So was that Dave Chappelle? 439 00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:00,320 Yes. 440 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:05,000 So yeah, I went with another kind of, I think we're all hovering in the eighties here. 441 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:11,200 I went with the band Anthrax and their third studio album, Among the Living. 442 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:15,520 The album is considered one of Anthrax's most iconic and influential releases. 443 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:19,120 It's kind of a classic now in the thrash genre. 444 00:27:19,120 --> 00:27:20,120 Lots of great tracks. 445 00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:21,760 We'll talk about those. 446 00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:27,840 The lyrics are inspired by various works of literature, pop culture, and the cast of characters 447 00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:33,760 here is Joey Belladonna on lead vocals, Dan Spitz on lead guitar, Scott Ian on rhythm 448 00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:39,000 guitar, backing vocals, Frank Bello on bass and Charlie Benante on drums. 449 00:27:39,000 --> 00:28:00,440 All right, so why don't we get into it with the title track, Among the Living. 450 00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:03,560 So that was a little bit of Dan Spitz. 451 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:07,560 Since we're covering the shredders, I figured we should listen to a little bit of his guitar 452 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:08,560 work. 453 00:28:08,560 --> 00:28:23,280 I could swallow that all day. 454 00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:28,880 The worst part is I feel like you've been holding on to that. 455 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:33,560 I didn't have that, but I wanted to get swallow in there somewhere. 456 00:28:33,560 --> 00:28:36,160 Okay. 457 00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:41,280 So the song Among the Living was inspired by Stephen King's novel, The Stand, particularly 458 00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:43,320 the character Randall Flagg. 459 00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:47,040 The lyrics describe the character's actions throughout the book. 460 00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:54,360 It mentions Captain Tripp's, that was the virus in the book, and lines like divided, 461 00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:55,360 they can't stand. 462 00:28:55,360 --> 00:28:56,920 It's just, I just love that. 463 00:28:56,920 --> 00:29:04,320 I love that there was this goofy, thrashy band with its contemporaries, Metallica and 464 00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:09,800 Megadeth and Slayer and all that, that just had their own personalities. 465 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:13,960 The three words I used to describe the album are heavy metal hooligans. 466 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:20,420 There's a punk sensibility, comic book references, sci-fi, American history, lyrically unlike 467 00:29:20,420 --> 00:29:21,420 their contemporaries. 468 00:29:21,420 --> 00:29:26,440 I mean, Metallica got a little bit into like Kulukatulu and all that stuff. 469 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:27,440 Kthulu. 470 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:28,440 Whatever. 471 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:33,100 And Slayer, of course, all devil-y and whatnot, but there's just these New York City kids 472 00:29:33,100 --> 00:29:36,800 that came up in the 70s and it feels tough. 473 00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:39,560 All that chorus, yelling stuff. 474 00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:43,600 It's kind of hip hop-ish in a way. 475 00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:49,760 The way that those back and forth deliveries, which kind of plays along with them collaborating 476 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:50,760 with Public Enemy. 477 00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:52,400 Yeah, just cool. 478 00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:57,320 So a little bit about Dan Spitz, the lead guitarist here, recognized for his technical 479 00:29:57,320 --> 00:30:00,360 proficiency, taught himself to play. 480 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:06,520 Very intricate lead guitar work, but then that really aggressive rhythm guitar of Scott 481 00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:08,600 Ian, they play off of each other. 482 00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:12,680 And Scott Ian's kind of the character of the band, writes a lot of the lyrics and plays 483 00:30:12,680 --> 00:30:14,020 the rhythm guitar. 484 00:30:14,020 --> 00:30:17,120 But together, I think that they worked really well. 485 00:30:17,120 --> 00:30:21,960 And Scott Ian is credited with creating that chugging, Paul muted guitar style that came 486 00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:23,880 a signature element of thrash metal. 487 00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:29,640 So yeah, I think they really played off of each other well to make this a thrashy, shreddy 488 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:35,000 affair with a lot of fun lyrics and songs to enjoy. 489 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:37,960 So why don't we get into the next track. 490 00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:38,960 It's Medley, A.D.I. 491 00:30:38,960 --> 00:30:39,960 Horror of it all. 492 00:30:39,960 --> 00:30:54,200 Yeah, I really enjoyed that track in particular. 493 00:30:54,200 --> 00:30:58,320 Second half is about the death of Metallica bassist Cliff Burton, who was killed while 494 00:30:58,320 --> 00:30:59,760 the bands were on tour together. 495 00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:02,960 I believe that was in Europe, a year or two prior. 496 00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:06,360 Three words I used to describe this album are shred the lyrics. 497 00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:10,920 I really did enjoy the instrumental portions of this record quite a bit. 498 00:31:10,920 --> 00:31:13,400 I think that's why I like that Medley track specifically. 499 00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:15,160 It should be a metley. 500 00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:17,200 A metley, like metal. 501 00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:18,200 Yeah. 502 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:19,200 Clever. 503 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:20,200 Thank you. 504 00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:22,120 Yeah, I think that the riffs are great. 505 00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:23,120 Everything is super loud. 506 00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:29,280 It kind of has like a grimy sort of like punk rock edge to the band, which I guess is kind 507 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:31,600 of similar, you know, common in thrash metal. 508 00:31:31,600 --> 00:31:35,960 Yeah, I think they're at their best when they're going as fast as humanly possible, which, 509 00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:38,680 you know, they do get some pretty good speeds up on this record. 510 00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:39,680 Yeah, they're tight. 511 00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:41,920 The low end is also really good in addition to the guitars. 512 00:31:41,920 --> 00:31:43,960 I think the drums are pretty great. 513 00:31:43,960 --> 00:31:45,840 But the big stumbling block for me was the lyrics, man. 514 00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:49,820 I felt like they were super overly simplistic and kind of cringy. 515 00:31:49,820 --> 00:31:50,820 It's metal, dude. 516 00:31:50,820 --> 00:31:53,720 I mean, the fact that it's about anything is huge. 517 00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:57,960 You can still be poetic or, you know, a little bit of illusion. 518 00:31:57,960 --> 00:31:59,120 I think they're awesome. 519 00:31:59,120 --> 00:32:00,120 I love the lyrics. 520 00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:03,040 I love the way they're written and delivered. 521 00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:05,640 It's cry, cry, cry for the Indians. 522 00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:08,480 Yeah, terrible things happen to the Indians, Andy. 523 00:32:08,480 --> 00:32:11,880 So shedding a tear might be appropriate, I'm just saying. 524 00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:17,800 I'm not disagreeing with that, but maybe think of some other words besides cry, cry, cry. 525 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:19,600 What if he did, craw, craw, craw? 526 00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:21,200 Yeah, would that be better? 527 00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:23,480 I'll come up with some other words. 528 00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:28,520 Because of Joey's wailing, banshee-like vocals that I freaking love? 529 00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:29,520 That's what Andy does. 530 00:32:29,520 --> 00:32:32,560 I thought the vocals were very good. 531 00:32:32,560 --> 00:32:34,600 I did not get caught up on that. 532 00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:38,440 It's kind of like an interesting mix between like the 80s and 90s metal sounds, I would 533 00:32:38,440 --> 00:32:39,440 say. 534 00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:42,080 He has a low end, but he also does get to the high end at times too. 535 00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:45,320 But I don't know, the lyrics are like Russians, only people like us. 536 00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:49,160 I just was like, I'll roll so hard for that. 537 00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:52,560 Well, it's important to understand that they're not these faceless enemy. 538 00:32:52,560 --> 00:32:53,960 They're just people like us. 539 00:32:53,960 --> 00:32:56,560 Come on, Andy, dig in, connect. 540 00:32:56,560 --> 00:32:58,120 I'm trying, man. 541 00:32:58,120 --> 00:32:59,800 There's not much to grab onto. 542 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:05,440 I mean, if I can change and you can change, everybody can change. 543 00:33:05,440 --> 00:33:08,040 That's from Rocky IV when he's addressing the Russians. 544 00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:13,040 If I can change and you can change, everybody can change. 545 00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:14,040 I think it's a good record. 546 00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:15,760 I just, I can't get past the lyrics. 547 00:33:15,760 --> 00:33:16,760 Yeah. 548 00:33:16,760 --> 00:33:17,760 Wow. 549 00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:19,560 I think we should do a little bit of imitation of life. 550 00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:21,920 I haven't made my Floyd reference yet, so we got to get to that. 551 00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:22,920 Yeah, we got a good take. 552 00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:38,800 See, those thought provoking lyrics are about seemingly the music business and how phony 553 00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:42,560 people are looking to take advantage of young artists. 554 00:33:42,560 --> 00:33:44,760 Reminds me of Pink Floyd's Have a Cigar. 555 00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:46,800 Of course it does. 556 00:33:46,800 --> 00:33:52,360 So the three words I chose to describe the album are lighter shade of thrash. 557 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:55,720 And I think dude already got to this point. 558 00:33:55,720 --> 00:34:00,800 Yeah, I think the difference between anthrax and the other, what do we call it? 559 00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:02,480 It's not a trinity because there's four bands. 560 00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:05,000 Is there like a magic word for the four thrash groups? 561 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:06,680 They call them the big four. 562 00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:07,680 The big four. 563 00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:12,720 So I mean, anthrax just seems to have a sense of humor. 564 00:34:12,720 --> 00:34:14,080 It sounds fun. 565 00:34:14,080 --> 00:34:18,000 And I think maybe it's because it seems to be more informed by that, even though they're 566 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:23,000 from New York, it reminds me of that kind of like California black flag. 567 00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:25,240 Is that hardcore? 568 00:34:25,240 --> 00:34:28,360 Whatever that California punk sound is. 569 00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:33,680 Even though some of the lyrics were serious, it still, it feels maybe a bit more juvenile 570 00:34:33,680 --> 00:34:34,680 and fun. 571 00:34:34,680 --> 00:34:39,580 Yeah, kind of Beastie Boys-ish in a way as well, which also came from punk. 572 00:34:39,580 --> 00:34:44,640 And I think that lyrically, this is very punk of that era too, where it's simple stuff. 573 00:34:44,640 --> 00:34:49,840 Yeah, I mean, one of the, I think most fun aspects of joining the show is actually exploring 574 00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:51,280 all four of those groups. 575 00:34:51,280 --> 00:34:56,600 So we've gone through, we've done Slayer and Megadeth and just noticing the subtle differences 576 00:34:56,600 --> 00:34:58,320 in each of them. 577 00:34:58,320 --> 00:35:04,240 And so I mean, anthrax is very much a unique entity, even though that thrash sound is all 578 00:35:04,240 --> 00:35:06,440 sort of, I guess, homogenous. 579 00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:10,480 But yeah, I am becoming a thrash metal fan. 580 00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:11,480 Yeah. 581 00:35:11,480 --> 00:35:15,320 That's for some reason the part of metal I most connect to. 582 00:35:15,320 --> 00:35:22,020 I most enjoy the thrash type bands or that kind of were spawned from New Wave of British 583 00:35:22,020 --> 00:35:26,800 Heavy Metal, that they kind of grew out of that, Power Metal and all that. 584 00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:30,300 I just wanted to mention the artwork, the album cover. 585 00:35:30,300 --> 00:35:37,880 So it's basically, it shows all the same faces and then amongst them is this evil figure 586 00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:39,800 that it's among us. 587 00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:40,800 Yeah. 588 00:35:40,800 --> 00:35:43,920 He looks like the preacher from Poltergeist movies a little bit. 589 00:35:43,920 --> 00:35:44,920 Yeah. 590 00:35:44,920 --> 00:35:50,480 So that's kind of, drummer Charlie Benante had the idea for the album cover and that 591 00:35:50,480 --> 00:35:54,360 was at the time, like the most evil person he could think of. 592 00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:56,300 So it kind of looks like that. 593 00:35:56,300 --> 00:36:02,680 There's also others that think that it's depicting Randall Flagg from Stephen King's The Stand. 594 00:36:02,680 --> 00:36:07,680 But yeah, it's just about how there's evil amongst us and it's an iconic cover. 595 00:36:07,680 --> 00:36:12,200 It's creepy, but also something you kind of stare at a lot, which I love about a good 596 00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:13,320 record cover. 597 00:36:13,320 --> 00:36:18,440 But we were talking about Shredders and I just think I wanted to mention one more time, 598 00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:21,720 Dan Spitz, he left the band in 95. 599 00:36:21,720 --> 00:36:28,540 So he ended up going to Switzerland and studying under the masters and is this super talented 600 00:36:28,540 --> 00:36:31,680 mechanical watchmaker, repairer guy. 601 00:36:31,680 --> 00:36:34,440 That's why his timing is so good. 602 00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:39,800 That's not usually the story of rock and roll excess that you hear from someone in a band 603 00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:42,400 like Anthrax, so it's pretty cool. 604 00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:45,280 He's at the back of the tour bus. 605 00:36:45,280 --> 00:36:50,240 Yeah, before each gig he's like, synchronize watches gentlemen. 606 00:36:50,240 --> 00:36:52,080 We've all been built precisely. 607 00:36:52,080 --> 00:36:56,080 So yeah, I mean, this is one of my favorite Anthrax records. 608 00:36:56,080 --> 00:37:02,200 It's so much fun and I enjoy the lyrics and Among the Living, of course, Caught in a Mosh. 609 00:37:02,200 --> 00:37:06,560 It's a great track just about not only getting caught in a mosh pit, but getting caught in 610 00:37:06,560 --> 00:37:10,320 life and how life can sometimes feel like a mosh. 611 00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:14,440 I am the law, which is about Judge Dredd, the comic book. 612 00:37:14,440 --> 00:37:16,160 I didn't know that when I was a kid. 613 00:37:16,160 --> 00:37:22,400 I just thought they were saying they were the law and of course, and F and F and Kuf, 614 00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:27,080 Kuf, Kuf, and NFL, which is it's it's backwards. 615 00:37:27,080 --> 00:37:28,080 Nice fucking life. 616 00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:30,440 It's about addiction and self destruction. 617 00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:36,120 They tried to get into serious subjects, but they did it in a very Anthrax way. 618 00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:39,800 So I appreciated that and I hope you all will as well. 619 00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:43,440 So go check out Anthrax Among the Living. 620 00:37:43,440 --> 00:37:50,600 Okay, so the three of us took a trip through the world of metal shredders. 621 00:37:50,600 --> 00:37:51,600 What did we learn? 622 00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:52,600 Sounds painful. 623 00:37:52,600 --> 00:37:53,600 I'm exfoliated. 624 00:37:53,600 --> 00:37:54,600 You're very smooth now. 625 00:37:54,600 --> 00:38:04,840 The thing that stuck out to me most, it sounded like when the topic was announced on last 626 00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:09,680 week's show, like something I would really have so many choices to go from because I 627 00:38:09,680 --> 00:38:11,240 love metal and love guitars. 628 00:38:11,240 --> 00:38:15,920 But I found out why I like most about metal or what most of the metal bands I listen to 629 00:38:15,920 --> 00:38:20,000 closely are really more about the low end, more about the rhythm section, but the drums 630 00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:23,160 in particular and the bass a little bit too. 631 00:38:23,160 --> 00:38:27,200 So I think it was a real challenge for me to find something that focused on like guitar 632 00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:29,160 soloing and shredding and riffage. 633 00:38:29,160 --> 00:38:31,840 It's not as prevalent in metal I listen to at least. 634 00:38:31,840 --> 00:38:36,160 So it's a little bit of work, but I did find it pretty interesting to really try and focus 635 00:38:36,160 --> 00:38:37,160 on that guitar part. 636 00:38:37,160 --> 00:38:42,160 And maybe sometime we can do drums of metal or whatever that show title would be. 637 00:38:42,160 --> 00:38:43,640 Or double kicksters. 638 00:38:43,640 --> 00:38:45,680 Yeah, there you go. 639 00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:51,480 I had a similar revelation, a little bit different though, where I thought metal guitar shredders 640 00:38:51,480 --> 00:38:56,120 were going to be easy that I'd pick up a Malmsteen record or whatever and just have a guy go 641 00:38:56,120 --> 00:38:59,360 bleh-le-le-le-le for 40 minutes. 642 00:38:59,360 --> 00:39:06,240 But what I realized was how it's so integral to the fabric of at least certain genres of 643 00:39:06,240 --> 00:39:13,840 heavy metal, but kind of all of it is those guitar solos, but how alone it's kind of boring. 644 00:39:13,840 --> 00:39:17,360 So it must exist and it is an awesome part of it. 645 00:39:17,360 --> 00:39:21,040 And those guys, those shredders are necessary to make these bands great and these records 646 00:39:21,040 --> 00:39:22,800 great and this music sound great. 647 00:39:22,800 --> 00:39:29,560 But I was just surprised at how hard it was to just focus on that when I like the whole 648 00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:30,840 picture better. 649 00:39:30,840 --> 00:39:34,920 I was just thinking about how amazing these guys are. 650 00:39:34,920 --> 00:39:40,360 I think sometimes maybe some metal playing could be dismissed just because it's so loud. 651 00:39:40,360 --> 00:39:41,920 Oh, it's so loud. 652 00:39:41,920 --> 00:39:43,360 Anything is going to sound good. 653 00:39:43,360 --> 00:39:46,840 I assume we've all played with an electric guitar before. 654 00:39:46,840 --> 00:39:47,840 I don't know. 655 00:39:47,840 --> 00:39:54,360 If you turn the gain all the way up on a pickup, you know every little thing you do with the 656 00:39:54,360 --> 00:39:58,240 pick, every movement of your finger, it's all amplified. 657 00:39:58,240 --> 00:40:02,840 So you have to be really tight to not make it sound like a disaster. 658 00:40:02,840 --> 00:40:09,600 And I just think it's so impressive that these guys can make something out of that, make 659 00:40:09,600 --> 00:40:11,220 it sound so clean. 660 00:40:11,220 --> 00:40:14,360 And it looks, as they're doing it, it looks easy. 661 00:40:14,360 --> 00:40:19,960 You see their fingers going, and they're looking around and you're like, how the hell? 662 00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:34,480 That's one to grow on. 663 00:40:34,480 --> 00:40:39,240 All right, boys and girls, our destiny next week is in our own hands. 664 00:40:39,240 --> 00:40:44,720 We are going to be listening to new releases from the year 2023. 665 00:40:44,720 --> 00:40:48,760 It's our last chance to take a look back on the year before we get to our year-end 666 00:40:48,760 --> 00:40:51,200 wrap-up in just a couple months, believe it or not. 667 00:40:51,200 --> 00:40:52,200 Oy, oy, oy. 668 00:40:52,200 --> 00:40:53,200 Been a great year for death metal. 669 00:40:53,200 --> 00:40:54,200 It sure has. 670 00:40:54,200 --> 00:40:56,200 Can't wait to feature that next week. 671 00:40:56,200 --> 00:40:58,040 Now we'll do something a little different, I think. 672 00:40:58,040 --> 00:40:59,960 I'm going to start a thing called Life Metal. 673 00:40:59,960 --> 00:41:00,960 There you go. 674 00:41:00,960 --> 00:41:05,840 It's going to be a mix of Thrash and Mr. Rogers songs. 675 00:41:05,840 --> 00:41:08,200 You are my friend, you are special. 676 00:41:08,200 --> 00:41:11,040 You are my friend, you are special. 677 00:41:11,040 --> 00:41:12,040 There you go. 678 00:41:12,040 --> 00:41:13,040 Beautiful. 679 00:41:13,040 --> 00:41:16,720 Mr. Rogers and Cookie Monster there. 680 00:41:16,720 --> 00:41:17,720 Together at last. 681 00:41:17,720 --> 00:41:21,400 So yeah, I'm sure you'll tune in next week for some new release selections from the three 682 00:41:21,400 --> 00:41:22,400 of us. 683 00:41:22,400 --> 00:41:28,080 Just a reminder, go to our website, albumnerds.com and our Discord, albumnerds.com slash Discord 684 00:41:28,080 --> 00:41:34,040 to enter your topic suggestions for the Wheel of Musical Destiny and vote on any ongoing 685 00:41:34,040 --> 00:41:36,920 Album Nerds Hall of Fame nomination. 686 00:41:36,920 --> 00:41:38,960 Who's your favorite metal guitarist? 687 00:41:38,960 --> 00:41:41,880 What's your favorite album from 2023? 688 00:41:41,880 --> 00:41:42,880 What else are you listening to? 689 00:41:42,880 --> 00:41:43,880 Let us know. 690 00:41:43,880 --> 00:41:47,480 Join fellow Album Nerds on Discord at albumnerds.com slash Discord. 691 00:41:47,480 --> 00:41:50,680 You can email us at podcast at albumnerds.com. 692 00:41:50,680 --> 00:41:54,400 Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and threads at Album Nerds. 693 00:41:54,400 --> 00:41:57,160 Please subscribe, rate and review on your favorite podcast app. 694 00:41:57,160 --> 00:42:01,960 And if you'd like to support the show, you can do so via PayPal at albumnerds.com slash 695 00:42:01,960 --> 00:42:02,960 support. 696 00:42:02,960 --> 00:42:05,040 Thank you so much for joining us on the Album Nerds podcast. 697 00:42:05,040 --> 00:42:07,160 We'll catch you next time with new releases. 698 00:42:07,160 --> 00:42:08,160 Thanks for listening everybody. 699 00:42:08,160 --> 00:42:09,160 See you next week. 700 00:42:09,160 --> 00:42:10,160 Don't ask me. 701 00:42:10,160 --> 00:42:11,160 I don't know. 702 00:42:11,160 --> 00:42:18,160 That's good. 703 00:42:18,160 --> 00:42:41,800 That's an appropriate Aussie quote.