Showing posts with label Dave Mustaine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dave Mustaine. Show all posts

Short Cuts: Primal Fear, Megadeth, Pagan's Mind

CD Review: Megadeth – Dystopia
T-Boy Records/UMe
All Access Rating: A

Megadeth - Dystopia 2016
Incendiary socio-political commentary comes with the territory with thrash-metal titans Megadeth. So do gnarly, complex guitar riffs and leads that defy the onset of arthritis, explosive displays of technical instrumental brilliance and a pervasive sense of impending menace, as well as the occasional lineup change. Newcomers Kiko Loureiro (guitars) and Chris Adler, still the drummer for Lamb Of God, hopped aboard after the departures of Chris Broderick and Shawn Drover, and the jaw-dropping results of this personnel reshuffling can be found on the breathtaking Dystopia, a buzzing hive of insanely ambitious and meticulously orchestrated, yet absolutely furious, activity that reminds us why Megadeth still matters ... a lot, especially to guitar aficionados. Aside from the dizzying array of squealing, careening solos found all over this record and the frenzied overlapping guitars that close the title track's wild ride, there are tastefully executed classical acoustic intros that begin the otherwise seething and hard-hitting "Look Who's Talking" and "Conquer Or Die." Tight hooks crop up in "The Emperor" and the fast, punk-infused "Foreign Policy" opens up the throttle. The heavy thrum, thundering drive and darting movements of "The Threat Is Real" make it an instant Megadeth classic, while the ominous and dense "Poisonous Shadows" is beautifully wrapped in melancholic strings, before bleeding out with a delicate and darkly stylish piano outro. This is elevated thrash, capable of precise, surgical guitar strikes executed with such fluency that they feel almost futuristic, yet Megadeth still possesses a mean streak a mile wide, as the punishing malevolence of "Post American World" and "Lying In State" so brutally declares. Dystopia charts a course for thrash-metal's brave new world.

CD Review: Primal Fear – Rulebreaker
Frontiers Music srl
All Access Rating: A-

Primal Fear - Rulebreaker 2016
That old saw about life being all about balance has a lot of truth to it. Primal Fear likes to apply that same philosophy in making records, as their sonic rampages often grow into snarling beasts soon soothed by stretches of melodic wonder and magic. Such is the tradeoff on the well-produced Rulebreaker, album No. 11 and the dynamic, crushing follow-up to 2014's Delivering The Black. Offering a little bit of everything, as some hard-charging, high-voltage thrash ("Angels Of Mercy") gets mixed in with hammering bursts of power-metal glory, a grand, orchestral prog epic ("We Walk Without Fear") and more traditional metal grit (see the NWOBHM throwback that is the title track), Rulebreaker finds the German metal machine – led by ex-Gamma Ray singer Ralf Scheppers and bassist/vocalist Mat Sinner – administering a good, satisfyingly heavy bashing a rugged "The End Is Near," with its full-bodied, sneering vocals, and getting downright nasty on "Bullets & Tears," both songs flexing thick, muscular grooves. And when an opportunity arises for Primal Fear to hit the accelerator, they floor it on the slamming anthem "In Metal We Trust," long before the ascending magnificence of power ballad "The Sky Is Burning" is realized with a jaw-dropping chorus. Rulebreaker is classic Primal Fear, sometimes a bit too straightforward, but also full of vitality and blazing energy.

2 CD/DVD Review: Pagan's Mind – Full Circle: Live At Center Stage
Steamhammer/SPV
All Access Rating: A-


Pagan's Mind - Full Circle:
Live at Center Stage 2015
Pagan's Mind has become a fixture at the ProgPower USA festival, the 2003 edition of the event serving as the band's coming-out party. On Sept. 11, 2014, the progressive-metal powerhouse made history there, performing its sophomore album Celestial Entrance in its entirety, along with an additional set of what they call "True Norwegian Hard-Hitting In-Your-Face Space Metal" centered around the sweeping, epic instrumental "Full Circle" – its watery passages and wide-ranging emotions making for a gripping listen. All of it is included in a new live release, out in various formats, including a spectacular 2 CD/DVD set. Intricate metallic riffing abounds, as Pagan's Mind comes off as a Scandinavian version of Dream Theater on the crunching, yet gracefully melodic, "Entrance Stargate," " ... Of Epic Questions" and "Dimensions of Fire," with dramatic keyboards swirling about or taking on a vaporous quality. The gorgeous piano waterfall of "Back to the Magic of Childhood I: Conception" gives way to a maze of riffs and tempo changes in its companion piece "Back to the Magic of Childhood II: Exploring Life," and the stirring gallop of "Dreamscape Lucidity" rouses the masses, later sent into paroxysms of delight at the lightning-fast soloing and grumbling riffs of "Eyes Of Fire." Meanwhile, the dramatic surges and quicksilver tempo changes of "Intermission" are carried out with aplomb, and "Live Your Life Like a Dream" rides a lovely current of melody. With a theatrical singer that, at times, emotes like Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, Pagan's Mind offers enchantment and wonderfully expansive journeys, even if they occasionally take all-too-similar paths. Still, this Pagan's Mind release would be a terrible thing to waste.
– Peter Lindblad


Mustaine and Ellefson Memorabilia Featured in Rock Gods & Metal Monsters Auction

Vics Garage Panel
Following last years' downright epic Megadeth auction, fans and collectors should get ready for an encore auction event in this years Rock Gods & Metal Monsters auction set to go live June 20 - 28th, 2015.

The historic December 2014 Megadeth auction offered a massive range and assortment of authentic touring and recording gear and equipment from the past two decades. Rather than collecting unnecessary dust, Dave Mustaine lead the initiative to put these trusted road warrior pieces in the hands of his loyal fans and followers. The result was that nearly 90% of the inventory found a new destination - to all four corners of the world!

After giving it a short break - and spending time in the studio to work on the next Megadeth album - Mustaine is putting the remainder lots back on the auction block in the coming week. And we're not talking about leftovers here - these are prime-time mementos that will elevate the prestige of any Megadeth collection.

Included are several impressive road cases, amps & cabinets, huge stage backdrops and even acoustic panels from Dave's legendary "Vic's Garage" studio. Adding a personal touch to the inventory, Dave has made a great selection of concert used guitar strings and guitar picks used throughout the years in virtually every continent.  Dave Mustaine's Megadeth memorabilia can be found in the Megadeth - Dave Mustaine category.

Dave Mustaine's Big 4 Guitar Strings


David Ellefson is also pitching in with two of his personal tour and studio signature bass guitars which are both absolute monsters! These Jackson custom shop guitars are not for the faint of heart. Ellefson's guitars can be found in the David Ellefson category.

David Ellefson Bass Guitar


The Rock Gods & Metal Monsters Auction will be live from June 20th – 28th with a special VIP Preview that starts June 13th. If you are not registered for your All Access Auction Pass, rock on over and sign up today – it takes just a minute and there is no fee to sign up.
Link: All Access Registration

Follow Backstage Auctions on Twitter and Facebook for auction highlights before, during and after the event. 




Decades of Music Memorabilia Takes Center Stage in the 2015 Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction

This year’s Rock Gods & Metal Monsters Auction is going to be one of “the” auction events of the year and if you haven’t signed up for your All Access Auction Pass you will definitely want to do so after reading about the artists and type of items featured in the auction.

We have an impressive group of notable hard rock and heavy metal artists who have cleaned out their storage lockers and personally selected each item that will be featured in the auction. 
 
The headliners include; Alex Skolnick (Testament), Paul Bostaph (Slayer), Dave Mustaine and David Ellefson (Megadeth), Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), Stephen Pearcy (Ratt), Scott Ian, Charlie Benante and Frank Bello (Antrax), Rex Brown (Pantera) and Lita Ford (Runaways).

Additionally, the auction will showcase memorabilia featuring AC/DC, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, The Cult, Cheap Trick, Def Leppard, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest, Kiss, Linkin Park, Marilyn Manson, Metallica, Motley Crue, Motorhead / Hawkwind, Ozzy, Poison, Slipknot, Van Halen Rob Zombie and loads more!

Whether you collect guitars, amps, pedals, gear, drums, record awards, stage worn attire, picks & sticks, signed memorabilia or vintage crew and tour t-shirts & jackets, tickets & passes, itineraries, photos, posters, promotional items – there is something for everyone’s taste and budget.

Of course we have a few special highlights including; an amazing collection of artist owned and used guitars, drum kits and gear, impressive array of rare and unique artist signed items, an absolute stunning collection of original RIAA Record Awards and a vast selection of tour memorabilia including itineraries, passes and apparel.

The auction will be live from June 20th – 28th with a special VIP Preview that starts June 13th. If you are not registered for your All Access Auction Pass, rock on over and sign up today – it takes just a minute and there is no fee to sign up. Link: All Access Registration

Follow Backstage Auctions on Twitter and Facebook for auction highlights before, during and after the event. 

#RGMM2015

BACKSTAGE AUCTIONS - A boutique online auction house specializing in authentic rock memorabilia and exclusively represents legendary musicians, entertainment professionals and entities. Every auction event is unique, reflecting the artist's legacy and chronicles their legendary career.





Megadeth Auctions Decades of Tour Memorabilia

The historical online auction event will feature 100s of pieces of Megadeth tour memorabilia, including 20 tour and studio guitars belonging to Dave Mustaine

Houston, TX - November 4th, 2014 - Backstage Auctions presents a one of kind, rock to the core, online auction event featuring decades of Megadeth tour memorabilia. "It simply doesn’t get any Megadeth – The Countdown To Extinction Auction,” is a not to miss opportunity for fans and collectors around the world to own an authentic piece of memorabilia from one of most highly successful and significant heavy metal bands in music history.

The event, aptly titled “Megadeth – The Countdown To Extinction Auction,” is a not to miss opportunity for fans and collectors around the world to own an authentic piece of memorabilia from one of most highly successful and significant heavy metal bands in music history.

The auction will feature flight and wardrobe cases, amps, cabinets, gear, guitars, picks and strings, apparel, set lists, lyrics, tour programs, ephemera, signed items and a whole lot more.
Vic Rattlehead's Combat Boots
There is a wide range of collectibles featured in the auction that will appeal to not only collectors but also to fans around the world who want to own a piece of Megadeth history. There is even a pair of tour used Vic Rattlehead combat boots, for hardcore fans it doesn't get any more unique than owning those boots.

Definitely a big highlight of the auction are the guitars, they are simply amazing – each one having its own history and story to tell. "The selection of guitars in this auction is what Dave Mustaine and Megadeth fans could have only hoped for and dreamed of," comments van Gool. "Dave has been very generous with the instruments that he has decided to make available to the fans and collectors. He wants to make sure that his personal items end up with his fans, who will treasure them as he has."  In addition to two breathtaking double-neck 12 & 6-string V guitars, there is a host of highly recognizable signature model guitars, including the 'Angel of Deth,'  'Fear' and 'Gears of War,' as well as the
Angel of Deth I Guitar
equally infamous black and silver V guitars. And to add even more prestige to these weapons of mass destruction, some of the guitars are truly the first ever build models.

Equally impressive are the original stage back drops from Megadeth tours dating back to the 90s, tons of guitar strings – packed with not only the guitar pick but also the date and location of the show is noted on each package, Big 4 t-shirts from various countries and custom made Megadeth road cases – complete with the Megadeth stamp, custom plaque and most have been personally signed by Mustaine.

The online auction starts December 1st and will run through December 7th. A special VIP All Access Preview of the entire auction catalog will be available online beginning Saturday, November 22nd and is open to fans and collectors worldwide. "This auction has no boundaries – everyone is welcome to participate, regardless of where they live. Our only recommendation is to register early, bid hard, bid to win and have fun," says van Gool.

For more information and to register for a VIP All Access Pass for The Countdown To Extinction Megadeth Auction event follow the links:

Auction Page: Auction Details and Information

Auction RegistrationVIP All Access Pass


BACKSTAGE AUCTIONS is a boutique online auction house specializing in authentic rock memorabilia and exclusively representing legendary musicians and entertainment professionals directly. Every auction event is unique, reflecting the artist's legacy and chronicles their legendary career. Backstage Auctions has represented dozens of notable and very talented musicians, producers and managers in the music industry.


MEGADETH has created metal masterpieces for nearly three decades, selling more than 38 million albums worldwide, earning 11 Grammy® nominations and scoring five consecutive platinum albums including 1992’s two-million-selling Countdown to Extinction.

The band continued to break new ground and earn new accolades with their 2013 release, Super Collider, reaching No. 6 on The Billboard 200 and No. 3 on the Top Hard Rock Albums and Top Rock Albums charts.

On November 11, 2014, Universal Enterprises (UMe) will issue the first five platinum-selling Capitol Records MEGADETH albums on limited edition picture disc vinyl for the first time in the U.S. Titles include 1986’s Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying?, 1988’s So Far, So Good…So What! and 1990’s Rust In Peace, as well as 1992’s Countdown To Extinction and 1994’s Youthanasia, both making their debut on picture disc. Each album is pressed on heavyweight vinyl and will feature the remastered mixes by Dave Mustaine with the original album track listings. 







Thirteen appears to be a lucky number for Dave Mustaine

Written By:  Patrick Prince / Powerline


There’s quite a lot going on (or about to go on) in Megadethland. Of course, there’s the latest studio release of “Thirteen,” one of the finest metal albums in years, and then the December 10th jam of Dave Mustaine and Metallica, back on stage together again, playing old songs, for one of the 30th Anniversary Metallica shows at the Fillmore in San Francisco, California — a remarkable event that brought everyone from Jason Newsted, to Lloyd Grant and Ron McGovney out to celebrate.  And soon will be the launch of Gigantour on January 26 in Camden, NJ — the mega-Megadeth tour with Motorhead, Volbeat and Lacuna Coil (all bands hand-picked by Dave Mustaine, of course).
The following is an interview with Dave Mustaine on December 13, 2011.

This new album sounds fresh and exciting. Do you think the reappearance of David Ellefson had something to do with that?

Dave Mustaine:
Oh, he had everything to do with it. I sucked without him.

Well, I didn’t mean it that way, man (laughs).

Mustaine: (laughs) I know, I’m just playing with you. Yeah, Dave added an element of excitement and fun to the band. Every player who plays an instrument is gonna have their own way that they handle the neck and the strings and stuff like that. We could have had the last guy [James LoMenzo] who was playing before Dave do this record and play exactly what Dave played but it still wouldn’t have sounded the same.

Dave was in the studio while we were getting ready for the Rust In Peace tour and I said ‘Hey, you want to try and record on (the song) “Sudden Death”?’ And he did and we just knew it was gonna work out. So, yeah, I think he added a really great element but I think there are a couple other guys in the band [Chris Broderick on guitar and Shawn Drover on drums] that aren’t so bad either.

In all sincerity, I think Thirteen is one of the best metal albums in years. I’m a traditional metal guy and the thing about it is that it sounded a lot more like traditional metal … songs like “We the People” and “Deadly Nightshade” … Was it intentional to bring back some of that classic sound?

Mustaine: There was no intention of anything on this record. Honestly, we just went into it with the desire to make our last record for Roadrunner and to make a really great offering and who knows where this record goes because I hadn’t had my surgery yet [neck surgery] and I pretty much thought as soon as this record was turned in I was gonna crawl off into a retirement home somewhere because my neck and back were becoming such a problem. But the record turned out pretty well and the label’s done really good with it and I got the surgery and, man, everything is just going great right now.

And some of the songs were written years ago, right? “Black Swan,” “New World Order” …

Mustaine: “New World Order” was really, really old. We had never really officially recorded that and some people had said stuff about Nick [Menza, drummer 1989-1198, 2004] and, you know, yeah, he wasn’t a really busy writer but he did write a couple good things and “New World Order,” he had a hand in writing some of it, so it’s kind of cool. I don’t know what he’s doing right now but I do know that when he wrote that, it was very modern sounding. So when I came to do that song on this record, because we hadn’t done it officially, it was a no-brainer.

And it still seems to fit seamlessly on this new record, it’s hard to tell it was written way beforehand.

Mustaine: It was. (laughs)

Looking at the lyrics on Thirteen, you lay out your political and spiritual views and it doesn’t come off as preachy, at least not to me. Do you agree?

Mustaine: I’ve become more active in politics and more concerned in my fellow man because of my own discoveries and decision-making. I know if someone would have told me ‘You couldn’t do that,’ I would have said ‘Watch me.’ Because it’s just part of my nature. Not that I’m defiant just for the sake of being defiant because that would become kind of predictable, and there’s nothing cool about being predictable. It all just kind of goes back to what you want to do with your life.

And you still feel strongly that we’re headed towards a global government?

Mustaine: Yeah, I do. You hear China say that they are preparing to go to war with the U.S. — they said that on Fox yesterday — that’s not small potatoes, bro.

Don’t you think that the government sometimes seems like a puppet for banks and corporations?

Mustaine: Yeah, it is. It is the elite that are doing this. But I gotta tell you, the elite have been running the government and all this stuff for a long time. People with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and with the Fed and it’s all the Rockefellers and the Rothschilds, they’re the ones that call the shots. I just think right now that the American people are getting screwed so bad and they just don’t know it. They cannot see the forest for the trees. Actually I think there’s lot of stuff that’s going on right now — I read a lot, I study a lot, I watch the news a lot because I’m a political writer. Not by choice. I started off writing about cars — “Mechanix” — and jumping into the fire. That had nothing to do with peace selling. …

You do say it best in the song “We The People”: “The devil’s henchmen in suit and tie.” That sums it up a bit.

Mustaine: Yeah, yeah, I think so. This whole nonsense … if you watch what’s going down with the super committee [on deficit reduction]. I called that before it even started — that it’s a joke and it’s not gonna work. And it didn’t work.

Do you agree with the Occupy Wall Street movement?

Mustaine: I think that the intent was very misguided. I believe that people going out into the streets to demand change — they went to the wrong address. They needed to go to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. You don’t go out and tell a bunch of guys who are working on Wall Street that you want change. You go to the President.

Or Congress.

Mustaine: Well, Congress is pretty much completely gridlocked right now. And the President is insulting them every chance he gets. So, I think the Occupy Wall Street people, if they really really want to see this happen, they need to go (to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue), instead of going to the ports and shutting down commerce ,which is hurting people like the truck drivers and longshoremen and all the people on the boats. It’s just ultimately hurting us because that’s just gonna raise the price of food and stuff. And there’s that old saying: He who controls the water and controls the food, controls the people. Well, these guys are handing our control over to the elite by taking the food off of the shelves. If you’re gonna have anything to do with these guys, somebody smart has to tell them what to do.

Recently in an interview you called yourself a survivalist — and the song “13″ expresses that — but if this were a reality show like Survivor you’d probably be the finalist.

Mustaine: (laughs) Maybe.

And it looks like you’ve had a guardian angel over the years.

Mustaine: That I have. I still have it.

And good luck comes into play, too. And maybe 13 isn’t such an unlucky number after all.

Mustaine: Well, it wasn’t on the day I was born. The number 13 was bad for the Templar Knights — the knights who helped Solomon’s temple — those dudes were all rounded up on Friday the 13th and burned at the stake or something like that. I think people don’t know about that and they kind of just connotate the number 13 with marijuana and that it’s bad, you know. I was born on the 13th, I started playing guitar when I was 13 and this record’s my 13th record.

As far as spirituality in the lyrics, as a born again Christian, the less challenging creative road would have been to write songs like Stryper. But you do a pretty good job at being provocative.

Mustaine: Music is something that we listen to give us a change in our mood, to help us get out of a bad mood or continue to perpetuate a good mood. And I think if you put on music and someone’s condemning you and making you sad or making you cry … that ain’t my gig. Somebody else can give that. You know, I like listening to stuff that’s sentimental and emotional and stuff, too, but I don’t want to be the guy who does that. I’m good at beating my guitar until it throws up and I think people got a good look at that this weekend when I went up and played with Metallica again. That was really fun. I know a lot of people were really surprised because they never saw me play with the band.

It must have been a great feeling going up there onstage again with them.

Mustaine: I had some mood swings. There was some ups and downs and stuff. And, you know, got excited, and kind of got impatient, ‘Let’s go. I’m okay. Well, lets go!’ and this kind of thing and that’s just the artist in me. I’m just squirrely like that.

Playing some of those old Metallica songs — did you have favorites or are there still favorites now?

Mustaine: You know, it felt fun to play them. I wish I would have had a little bit more opportunity to get prepared with the band. You know, because I’m a perfectionist. I would have liked to have had my sound just so and make sure when I did the solos they would jump up the volume and stuff like that that I’m used to, but we were at a club and playing at a club and playing like a club band. It was fun to take off all the rules and regulations and stuff and kind of shoot from the hip.

I was surprised you didn’t play “The Four Horsemen.”

Mustaine: I think there’s a reason for that. I think I know why we didn’t play that song but I’m not going to go out on a limb on it. I think one of the things was because we recorded “Mechanix” and they recorded the other way, there’s not really a need to do that. There were several other songs that were really important — like “Jump in the Fire” was the first song I brought those guys. And “Phantom Lord” and “Metal Militia” were songs that I brought to them, too, and the only other song was “Mechanix” which later changed to “Four Horsemen.” And the rest of those songs were written by James (Hetfield) or by Hugh Tanner or Lloyd Grant and that’s why those guys were there .. and a little weird for me, too, you know, standing onstage. I thought it was cool to be just with Metallica but Ron McGovney’s up there and Lloyd Grant’s up there. I was kind of like ‘Alright, well, I’ll bite the bullet. I’ll be cool. This is not so terrible.’ I got up there and, you know what, I didn’t even notice them. I was having so much fun they weren’t even there.

Well, you mentioned mood swings. You should have had flashbacks with McGovney ….

Mustaine: Actually, you know what. I didn’t even see him the whole time I was up there. It was cool that he was there. He was pretty nervous, too. Ron’s a good guy. I was locked into Lars’ playing and James’ playing. Me and James, we were like the the Toxic Twins back when we played together and we were a very very dangerous duo. And for a moment I think I stirred some of those old feelings up. I saw one of the videos and it looked like he was having fun. I know I was having fun. I had a smile that I went to bed with.

Do you remember the very first Metallica gig? I think it was in Anaheim, 1982.

Mustaine: You know, I remember a lot of those shows but not which one was the first one. One of them, when we played there .. this is funny, I was just saying this to somebody the other day, and I don’t even know if James will remember this. He used to go partying with me and we used to go out drinking all the time and we found out that when we were up there, there was a contest, a battle of the bands and the winner got to open up for this new band from Ireland — a band that had just come on MTV and had this song “I Will Follow.” I told James: ‘These guys are gonna be huge, dude. You watch.’ It was U2, when they came over and if we had entered the battle of the bands we probably would have gotten to open up for them which would have been pretty interesting. You know, there’s been a lot of firsts for Metallica but I don’t think that they’ve opened up for U2 yet.

Lastly, Gigantour. Are you glad you picked bands like Lacuna Coil for Gigantour?

Mustaine: Yeah, I ‘m glad I picked Motorhead and Volbeat, too. I think that all the bands that are on Gigantour this year are gonna be great. They all have a certain type of cool factor. Motorhead has that straight-forward, ‘I’m gonna kill you’ kind of music, and Volbeat is that kind of dangerous kind of music — kind of like Elvis metal — and listening to Lacuna Coil with the two singers, it’s very dynamic and they’ve got good guitar players in there. It’s also cool that at one point we had Christina (Scabbia) sing a song with us. We haven’t discussed having her come up and sing “À Tout le Monde” with us each night. We probably should but we haven’t talked about that yet.

Megadeth Official Site

Vintage Megadeth Posters

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About Powerline: Founded in 1985, Powerline began as an underground hard rock/heavy metal mag, distributed mostly in record stores worldwide. As it evolved a few years later, it embraced more commercial hard rock (the popular genre at the time was classified as “hair bands”) and the mag was distributed as a high-gloss publication on American newsstands with a circulation of over 100K.
By 1992 the party was over. The magazine became defunct (for various reasons). The staff went onto other jobs. And the name gathered dust. Until now.

Resurrected online, Powerline covers hard rock/heavy metal music in general (truly From Glam to Slam!), as well as reminisce about the old days in the form of time-capsuled articles and experiences.
Spread the word and enjoy.

Metal Evolution - "Thrash"


Metal Evolution: "Thrash" - Episode 106 
Sam Dunn
VH1 Classic

All Access Review:  A-
Squaring off against everything that ‘80s glam metal represented, the soldiers of thrash – glam’s uglier, angrier cousin – wanted to eradicate every trace of makeup, lipstick and hairspray from heavy metal’s dark underworld. Or, as Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine puts it in the “Thrash” installment of Sam Dunn’s “Metal Evolution” documentary series, the androgynous purveyors of glam metal, many of whom looked almost as pretty as the girls they were bedding, were “fleas on the balls of a camel” and thrash “was a flea bomb.”
The strongest of pesticides, thrash almost killed glam metal dead. Grunge would finish the job in the ‘90s. Obviously a fan of one of metal’s most extreme sub-genres, Dunn, author of the acclaimed “Metal A Headbanger’s Journey” documentary, explores the fiery origins and virus-like developments of thrash metal in the latest chapter of “Metal Evolution,” which appeared over New Year’s Eve weekend on VH-1 Classic. Up to this point, Dunn has done a fine job detailing with great care the genealogy of heavy metal. Every piece is rife with riveting interview material, classic live footage and historical fact. With the exuberant enthusiasm of a fan and the intellectual curiosity of an anthropologist, which is what he is, Dunn has dissected the body of and probed into every nook and cranny of that most reviled of all musical forms.
So far, “Metal Evolution” has taken viewers on a loud, crazed journey through all the mayhem and madness metal has produced over the years. Yes, it’s a history lesson, but the scope of Dunn’s work is wide-ranging, studying the influence of classical and jazz on metal, while also investigating the connection between the gritty, early ‘70s Detroit proto-punk sound of The Stooges and the MC5 and confronting the strained relations between English punk and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. And that’s just a small sampling of Dunn’s exhaustive, but never tedious, testimony.
“Thrash” is another winner. Starting off at its birthplace, Soundwave Studios in California’s Bay Area, where Testament is running through a fiery rehearsal, Dunn, through content-rich talks with Mustaine, Slayer’s Dave Lombardo, Testament’s Alex Skolnick and Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, finds the merging streams of hardcore punk and NWOBHM flowing electricity into thrash’s roiling sea. Taking the energy and spirit of punk and the melodic aggression of bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, thrash’s innovators, like Slayer and Exodus, upped the ante.
As Skolnick relates in “Thrash,” musicians like him loved punk’s songs and its undeniable vitality; however, what was missing was musicianship, and they wanted desperately to create something that would challenge their chops. Thrash was it. Heavy and punishing, the riffs raged, flying at unheard-of speeds. And the guttural vocals screamed and growled, spitting out graphically violent lyrical imagery that occasionally touched on war and social issues but more often told stories of serial killers and gruesome deaths. Using this symbiotic relationship as a jumping-off point, Dunn segues into how thundering, high-velocity double-kick drums became the driving force behind Trash. Ulrich and Testament’s Paul Bostaph give all the credit to Motorhead’s Phil Taylor for bringing the double-kick drums into fashion, and Thrash’s young vanguard of drummers took Taylor’s style and gave it a shot of adrenaline. Taylor is one of the surprising stars of Dunn’s “Thrash,” a metal veteran telling his war stories and explaining his absolutely vital contribution to metal, with Dunn hanging on every word.
When the conversation turns to Metallica, Jon Zazula, founder of Megaforce Records, and his wife reveal how their mom-and-pop metal label served as the launching pad for the band that would become Thrash’s version of The Beatles. Metallica’s tale serves as the lynchpin for “Thrash,” as Dunn follows the band from its lowly beginnings on through the explosion of San Francisco’s underground metal scene and into the controversial, MTV-courting “Black” album, which some in the Thrash community saw a betrayal of its values. Dunn and Lombardo make no bones about how they felt. It was treason, but to Dunn’s credit, he shares his feelings with Ulrich, who offers Metallica’s side of things. Ulrich feels that “betrayal” is such an ugly word and that if Metallica had done a rehashing of … And Justice for All, that would have been Metallica selling out. They needed to do the “Black” album to expand their horizons and grow artistically, as Ulrich explains. His reasoning makes perfect sense.
So does Nunn’s storytelling. In less capable hands, “Thrash” could have been a jumbled mess, but he sticks to the philosophy of “Metal Evolution,” and that is to follow each stage of metal’s growth and development to the wherever the story leads. Slayer’s Reign in Blood is treated with awe and respect, and the story behind landmark show at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City that led to major-label deals for Raven, Metallica and, eventually, Anthrax is told with an insider’s perspective.  By the end of “Thrash,” Nunn has traversed Sweden to investigate Thrash’s unlikely revival in the land of ice, snow and Lutherans – the Gothenburg sound, which, after Thrash’s mid-‘90s swoon, which married melody and harmonies with blinding speed and crushing heaviness in bands like In Flames – and Richmond, Va.’s burgeoning scene, which roared to life because of Lamb of God. Though previous segments of “Metal Evolution” – including a surprisingly sincere look at “Glam,” strategically shown the week before “Thrash,” the juxtaposition probably being no accident – were strong statements of purpose, “Thrash” is the best of the lot. Next week, it’s “Grunge,” as Dunn goes to Seattle to take on the movement that many say destroyed the careers of bands like Warrant and Ratt, among others. Let’s hope Dunn treats the subject matter with just as much care as he does with Thrash.
- Peter Lindblad
Metal Evolution Thrash
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Episode Summary - Arguably metal's most popular and passionate genre, Sam journeys to Northern California to trace the roots of Thrash by interviewing the architects of this hugely popular genre. Sam interviews Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer, Testament, Exodus, and many more Thrash Metal legends.
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