Author: "Munson the Destroyer"

Many years ago in a galaxy known as metal, some stuff happened that would change the course of the genre forever (but you probably knew that already). We’re here to ponder things like “what if that never happened” in regard to some of metal’s most momentous events and happenings—What might the metal world be like today?

Metal vocalist, professional pilot, author and even part-time actor—Bruce Dickinson is a man of huge talent and even larger personality. Anyone with a serious passion for metal probably already knows that Mr. Dickinson was not the original vocalist for legendary metal band Iron Maiden, but what if Bruce never joined the band at all, and the vocalist remained Paul Di’Anno, who performed on the first two Iron Maiden albums?
Continue reading ‘Metal Monday: What If Bruce Dickinson Never Joined Iron Maiden?’

Against Me! vocalist Tom Gabel has announced via Rolling Stone that he will begin the process of becoming a woman, starting with electrolysis treatments and hormone supplements. The singer will later change his name to Laura Jane Grace.

Rolling Stone reports that Gabel is “the first time a major rock star [to] come out as transgender.” Rock stardom aside, let’s not forget others such as Mina Caputo (of Life of Agony) and Dee Palmer (ex-Jethro Tull) announcing that they are transgender in 2011 and 2003, respectively.

You can read more about the story on Rolling Stone‘s website and in the May 11th issue of Rolling Stone, where the full interview with Gabel will be published.

Many years ago in a galaxy known as metal, some stuff happened that would change the course of the genre forever (but you probably knew that already). We’re here to ponder things like “what if that never happened” in regard to some of metal’s most momentous events and happenings—What might the metal world be like today?

Most people seem to know that there were a string of church burnings attributed to some members of Norway’s black metal scene in the early nineties (and if you’re reading this you probably have already seen my article that mentioned it from a few weeks prior). As you also likely know, the incidents were sort of a big deal for a lot of reasons. But, what if Varg and company had never gotten the itch to watch some churches burn?
Continue reading ‘Metal Monday: What If The Church Burnings In Norway Never Happened?’

Think of any nu metal or rap metal band from the late 90s or early 2000s. Limp Bizkit, Hed PE, Linkin Park, Crazy Town, P.O.D., just for examples. I would almost bet that each and every artist you could think of would list Rage Against The Machine as one of their main influences. What if, however, Rage Against The Machine never actually had any success as a band? Would the influence from bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Faith No More, Living Colour and Biohazard be enough to leave the rap metal and nu metal landscapes unchanged? Hard to imagine it would—RATM really had their own style that kicked it up a notch from their musical colleagues.

RATM really only lasted for about a decade, but their impact on the music world was pretty huge. Would the world be able to laugh at Limp Bizkit and Fred Durst year after year without RATM’s influence? Probably not. Would anyone have been Crazy Town’s butterfly, baby? Let’s hope not. Somewhat unfortunately, bands that followed RATM musically didn’t so much follow them lyrically, nor did they pick up on their fashion sense. Backwards caps, tripp pants, spiked hair, etc. would probably all still have existed—Rage Against The Machine didn’t roll with that.

Lyrically, however, there is a major disconnect between Rage Against The Machine and other bands who would be a logical musical descendants. These bands, like Korn for example, had a different approach. Instead of raging about the government and how messed up the world was (the United States especially), they mostly connected with family life, being an outcast, etc. Perhaps it was the lack of major political movements or the fact that life was pretty great for the US in the mid to late ’90s (comparatively). Maybe it was just another rebellion by the youth. After all, who wants to be just like their predecessors? Seems to be the way of the world, generation after generation.

Continue reading ‘Metal Monday: What If Rage Against The Machine Never Had A Hit?’

Many years ago in a galaxy known as metal, some stuff happened that would change the course of the genre forever (but you probably knew that already). We’re here to ponder things like “what if that never happened” in regard to some of metal’s most momentous events and happenings – What might the metal world be like today?

1979. What a year, right? Metal was really starting to gain some traction with breakout bands like Judas Priest, Motörhead, etc. and all seemed well, except over in the Black Sabbath camp. For lack of a better description, the Sabbath camp was a drunken, dysfunctional mess by 1979, and that atmosphere ultimately led to Ozzy Osbourne being kicked out of the band. Ten years into the band’s legendary career, they cut ties with their vocalist. End of the road, right? WRONG. Instead, Sabbath hooked up with equally legendary voice Ronnie James Dio, and cranked out one of the most legendary metal albums of all time: Heaven & Hell.

The rest, as they say, is history. But what if Ozzy never left? Just imagine how different things from 1979 through 1980 could have been!
Continue reading ‘Metal Monday: What If Ozzy Never Left Sabbath?’

The metal world, historically, has been known mostly as an insiders-only club. People on the outside don’t usually get metal, and people on the inside can rarely communicate what exactly it is about metal that is so compelling. As Sam Dunn says in Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey, “Ever since I was twelve years old I had to defend my love for heavy metal against those who say it’s a less valid form of music. My answer now is that you either feel it or you don’t. If metal doesn’t give that overwhelming surge of power that make the hair stand up at the back of your neck, you might never get it, and you know what? That’s okay, because judging by the 40,000 metalheads around me we’re doing just fine without you.”

Just because you don’t “feel it,” though, doesn’t mean that you have to go on misunderstanding things about the genre, the people who make metal music or the people who enjoy it. I’m here to dispel some pretty common rumors and misconceptions around the metal world. Perhaps you’re someone who might think some of these sentiments are true, or maybe you know someone who does; whatever the case, it’s time to learn a thing or two.

Continue reading ‘Metal Monday: Metal Urban Legends’

It’s 2012, and you know what that means: it won’t be long until either the world ends or a whole bunch of people freak out for no reason in particular—sort of like Y2K, only more widespread/insane. I don’t know about you, but I can’t really think of anything more fitting than listening to a handful of emphatic metal songs about our (potential) impending doom to count down the time until the apocalypse. No matter how you look at the (again, potential) apocalypse, let this playlist lead you into it. You’ll either be going out on the most metal note, or just be listening to great metal for no real reason—that’s about as close to a win-win situation as you can have at the end, right?

Just shy of two years past the release of Diamond Eyes, Deftones have announced that they’ve finished writing their next album and will begin recording it on July 9. The band has also confirmed that they’re sticking with producer Nick Raskulinecz for the album. Receiving generally positive reviews across the board, Diamond Eyes was the band’s first record since the 2008 accident that left bassist Chi Cheng in a coma. For that album, Deftones recruited former Quicksand bassist Sergio Vega to play tour dates and record, and he’s been working with them since. Though it hasn’t been explicitly confirmed, it would appear that Vega will be recording the new record with the rest of the Deftones crew, with vocalist Chino stating that Vega “has been working very well” in the band during an interview with Chilean publication La Tercera.

Photo and scoop courtesy of NME.

As mentioned a few weeks ago in my “OurStage Metal Veterans” post, Sioum are a band that are definitely deserving of a much deeper look. Born from “northern wastes of Illinois,” Sioum have crafted a blend of sounds all their own, based mostly in progressive, ambient and metal styles. Think of the most soundscape-based metal you can. Perhaps some obscure black metal, or some post metal in the vein of Isis. Now imagine taking that a step further, and you might be in Sioum’s ballpark. But, before you race to any conclusions, that’s not all Sioum does (if that were the case, why would they be featured in a Metal Monday post?).

Get the full details on what makes Sioum so great after the jump

Inspired a bit by Rami’s Soundtrax column, this week’s Metal Monday focuses on the most metal movie soundtracks Hollywood has to offer. You might be wondering “Are there even enough metal movie soundtracks to make a list?” The answer is yes, absolutely. Admittedly, however, some of these albums are much better than others. While not totally metal, the idea of a metal soundtrack started with movies like This Is Spinal Tap and similar films. So, where should we start? How about with the most “Extreme” soundtrack on the list?

Continue reading ‘Metal Monday: Metal Soundtracks’