Metallica. Just the word means so much to so many people. Has any other metal band had as much of an influence on the genre?

The band, originally from Los Angeles, formed in 1981. Their early releases put them right in the spotlight along with Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax, during the genre’s development to a more popular style. Their album Master of Puppets is described as one of the most influential and “heavy” thrash metal albums out there, and a few albums later, The Black Album came out.. The album was remixed three times, cost $1,000,000 to make, and ended three marriages, but the band had reached unprecedented fame  for a band of the genre.

Many band members came and left through the years, but none as tragically as their bassist in 1986, Clifford Burton, who died in a car accident on tour. Remaining members decided Burton would want them to carry on. And thank goodness they did.

                  Turn the Page is a cover of the original Bob Seger song of the same name. It was the first single release of the Garage Inc. album, and its video’s controversial nature resulted in a lot of attention to both the song and video. To be honest, I’ve probably listened to this song more than 1,000 times, but in keeping with my usual habit,  today was the first time I’ve actually watched the music video, and I have to say I think I mistook this song’s meaning. When I heard the lyrics ”Smoked the day’s last cigarette, remembering what she said” I pictured in a titanic-esque way, perhaps a Jack Dawson/Leonardo Di Caprio lookalike, starring off into the starry sky, thinking about his one true love. The lyric however, has a very different meaning in the video, when the one smoking that cigarette is a conflicted prostitute with a young daughter. Fan interpretations around the internet have different opinions, the most common of these being that the song refers to the life of band members on tour: the silence after the audience leaves, the loneliness of hotel rooms, the stares in restaurants …the list goes on. How much can we argue with the band’s interpretation of their own song?

              But wait! The band seems to have something to say on the subject as well: “I heard a song on the radio singing about the road life, a kind of somber, gruff, honest lyric in there” says front- man James Hetfield….so did they just purposely misinterpret the song for the video? The movie definitely came out long after the song was originally released, so when was the decision to change the apparent meaning of the song made?

            Personally, I find the movie interpretation to be far better than the “life-on-the-road” idea, which, interesting as it may be, I have heard repeated by many, many artists. The movie theme brings up a lot of hard questions, which is arguably what a movie is supposed to do.

Listen to the lyrics carefully – what do YOU think this song is about?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOibtqWo6z4

I was so disappointed when I found out that Buckethead had switched his bucket: it’s all white now.

Ahh, Buckethead, how long I have been waiting to write about you.

Buckethead, also known as Death Cube K, The Big B, or just The Boy, was born in 1969, and began playing guitar at the age of twelve. Recognition of his now legendary talent grew as Buckethead (who at the time was still Brian Patrick Carroll) began to make demo tapes of his own creations. He released his first official record in 1992, and though expensive and not widely available, it did well. No one’s quite sure about exactly when the bucket came into the picture…surely he wasn’t born wearing a white mask and KFC bucket on his head, but now it’s just accepted as part of the package, which Buckethead is never seen without. But why? Why would he change the colour of his bucket?  Did he get a nasty waiter at KFC last time he went? I found the KFC bucket to be much funnier…it was ironic and original. Alas, Buckethead is changing along with the rest of the world. We just have to figure out why.

 Personally, I find the bucket/mask combo intriguing: when so many people would do anything for fame and glory, the man behind Buckethead wants his stage character to receive all of the attention, not him. There are potentially many reasons for this – he could just be shy, and find comfort in the fact that on stage, he is a mystery. But for those romantics among us, there might be a better story out there.

 Of course, the concept of having a stage persona isn’t original to Buckethead – in fact, in rock and metal music a persona is probably more common than a real name or personality: does the name Reginald Dwight ring a bell to you? If not, I bet “Elton John” does. Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello … even Greenday’s members have taken on pseudonyms. And sorry, is it really Marshal Mathers?  Obviously not all of these artists go as far as Buckehead in disguising their true identity, but even then, Buckethead is not alone in his antics: all of Slipknot wear masks, and Kiss wears so much stage make-up you’ve got to wonder…I’m sure that there are plenty of fairly boring, quite obvious reasons why people may choose to do this – and don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great – but I think that the concept itself is interesting. Is it really because they’re shy or self-conscious? Not likely…the guys in Kiss don’t seem the type to go too far in worrying about appearances. But maybe that’s just it - that’s exactly what they want us to believe. That whole rock star image is so attractive when we have no idea about the amount of work and effort put into it. But remember people, cool as he may be, Gene Simmons probably spends more time in front of a mirror than Brittany.

Maybe it is because he is predominantly a soloist that Buckethead needs his bucket; without it he is just a guitarist – an incredibly skilled guitarist at that – no one’s denying it, but human none the less. The bucket and mask however, adds another dimension to his character – he is no longer just a musician: he is a symbol, or an icon. By creating a new identity, he is creating an original vehicle for his music – maybe he doesn’t think his own identity should be considered the same as his music’s. 

That idea could also be taken further: perhaps people feel that their own faces wouldn’t suffice in portraying the depth of the image they are trying to convey. The concept of a “better someone” to do the job isn’t just found in high stakes band personas though: in my World Issues class, we made videos for this one project, and I heard at least five people say they didn’t use their own voices to narrate, because they wouldn’t be able to convey “the right, like…feeling”. Not to say that I used mine – not all of us are James Earl Jones – but again, it’s the concept that interests me: that we would willingly use the voice of another to convey our own message, because we think they could do a better job. Even superheroes are an example of this: without his costume, batman is just a rich guy with too many gadgets, but with a costume, he represents something. Is that not the same idea as taking on a stage persona to make a band member seem more mysterious, or intimidating?  Think about it – how different would rock and metal be without our beloved persona transformations? 

Either way though, Buckethead’s music is phenomenal.  Buckethead doesn’t just play to impress: his songs have a rare depth to them, even with a total lack of lyrics. Though they may seem technically impossible to play, they are not definitley not impossible to love.

Give him a listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Et6BSDMNLY&feature=related

In these days of computer generated music, it seems that musical themes and ideas are being re-used and recycled more and more, to the point that original music is often hard to come by. There is however, a band that goes above and beyond the general musical expectations and originality of modern music:

Apocalyptica, the Finnish metal band.

Three young cellists at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki joined a band that specialized in playing all genres of music.  All three of these friends shared a love of heavy metal, and decided to form their own band. The group played at student dances, performing unique arangements of songs that were, for the most part, by the ledgendary metal band Metallica.

The band that would become Apocalyptica made their first big debut playing Metallica covers at a metal club. As luck would have it, a record company businessman was in this very audience, and was so astonished by the band’s new takes on classic metal songs that he instantly offered them a contract.

Though the band had low expectations of themselves, the record was an “overnight success” in Finland. Metal-heads and classical music fans alike appreciated the seemingly awkward combination, and as one band member later reflects “People in both worlds love good musicians”.

Apocalyptica spent the rest of the 90′s earning a reputation as a “jaw-dropping” live act, and released their second album in 1998, with their three first original songs. By the time 2000′s album ‘Cult’ came around, the band decided to move away from cover songs and produce nearly a whole album’s worth of original material, setting the band’s great reputation in stone.A successful collaboration in 2003 with the drummer from Slayer (Dave Lombardo) brought a new angle to the band – a rhythm section – and they soon hired their own full-time drummer.

The band’s latest release – 2007’s “Worlds Collide”-   is a good mix of this band’s older styles, and introduces many unexpected new ideas. World’s Collide includes collaborations with Stone Sour/Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor, Lacuna Coil’s Cristina Scabbia, 3 Days Grace vocalist Adam Gontier and again their long time friend and collaborator Dave Lombardo.

When it comes to I’m not Jesus though, I think that the song’s meaning is quite profound, though it might not seem that way the first time you listen to it. In my opinion, the song’s religious affiliations are not specific to Christianity (or Jesus), but to belief in a god in general. I believe (and bare with me here) that believing in God can be quite misleading, and that people don’t need to have good intentions to pray. People will attach themselves to the notion of “God” because it is constant and unchanging, and many people spend their lives searching for stability. The song is interesting as it addresses the issue, as well as bringing in several others.

I highly suggest looking up the lyrics when listening to this song – I believe it makes it quite a bit more interesting. And, as far as Apocalyptica goes, give them a chance! They’ve made some pretty incredible accomplishments musically on instruments never-before-seen taking the stage in metal.

To Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k491GjjFr7A

  As a die-hard fan of Avenged Sevenfold, (or A7x, their achronime) Icouldn’t resist reviewing one of their songs in my first five blog entries. Be warned – many people find their music offensive or just painful to listen to, but I thought I would attempt to shine some positive light on a few of their more appealing songs throughout this blog, beginning of course, with Afterlife.

Afterlife is probably the most well-known song by A7x, which is interesting as it includes a musical style that is not present in any other songs by the band: a full string orchestra. The song was written for the most part by the band’s drummer (The Rev) and came out at the top of many rock/metal countdowns.

But what is this song actually about? How many of the thousands of fans pounding the words ”I dont belong here, it’s time to move on dear”, through their skulls have actually stopped to think about what they are listening to? People think that even metalheads themselves can’t make out the words to the music they listen to, but it would appear that these people are wrong - hundreds of interpretations of this song alone can be found all over the web. 

After carefully studying the lyrics, and reading into some of the better-looking interpretations I’ve seen via internet, I have a couple of theories that combine a few I’ve heard. Listen to the song and think what you will, but I believe that the lyrics are describing something like this:

At the height of a romantic relationship, the wife/girlfriend dies, and thinking he has nothing left to live for, her husband/boyfriend attempts suicide afterwords. This is where the lyrics to the song begin: “Like walking into a dream, so unlike what you’ve seen, so unsure but it seems ’cause we’ve been waiting for you”. Even in the first 10 seconds of lyrics, we have a lot to work with.

 In my opinion, the man has now semi-entered the world of the afterlife, suspended between life and death, and is beginning to regret his decision of attempting  suicide. 

“Fallen into this place, giving you a small taste, of your afterlife here so stay, you’ll be back soon anyway”, comes a seconds later. Here, I think the words beg the question of who is actually speaking? Is the song suggesting that you hear these voices as you die? Anyways, in response to his hesitance, the voices basically remind the man that he will obviously die eventually, so why not just get it over with while he’s already so close? What does he have to live for anyways?

A new voice (presumably the voice of the man) then says “I see a distant light” -  a common idea of what you see as you die, followed by “My girl this can’t be right” – he knows that its not his time to die.

“Such a surreal place to see, so how did this come to be, arrived too early” – basically summarizes what I said before, as we enter into the first part of the chorus:  “And when I think of all the places I just don’t belong, I come to grips with life and realize this is going to far”.

So it is at this point we know that the guy is seriously regretting his decision. He realizes that no matter where he is, he’ll have to face the truth, and realizes that ending his life won’t change the fact that he is leaving behind a ton of problems.

After this great buildup, the first chorus begins:

“I don’t belong here, we gotta move on dear, escape from this afterlife, cause this time I’m right, to move on and on, far away from here”

The combination of the energy of the song, the meaning behind the words and the amazing voice of the lead singer M. Shadows (arguably the best current voice in rock and metal) gets me every time.

Personally, I think this is one of the best lines of music ever written.

But that’s just me.

To Listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_UKfsWBWSE

8O’s anthem Here I Go Again is just one of those songs: it should have remained a classic. It remained a popular tune for many years later, (Taking the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, and #9 on the UK Singles Chart, back in 1987), but just didn’t seem to bridge the gap into the 2000′s. I find this surprising as the lyrics could lend themselves to potentially any audience. 

I have only recently become a fan of Whitesnake, but they are quickly becoming a favorite, especially when this song is taken into consideration. As far as music videos go, Here I Go Again is possibly the epitome of cheesy 80′s/90′s music videos, comprising of all the elements: big hair, disco lights, and girls atop of cars (though they did wear a little more clothing back in the day).

The song is definitely worth a listen to those of us with a taste for classic rock, (if that’s the case you probably already know it) but would probably be appreciated by more mainstream listeners.   

To Listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKTiwCez6Zs

As a “post-hardcore” band, Alexisonfire has brought a new level of attention to a less popular branch of music, and have remained proudly Canadian through it all. It was within ten minutes of the discovery of 102.1 FM that  I first heard this song, and I was hooked.  As one of the more popular tunes from their newest album, “Old Crows, Young Cardinals”, Alexisonfire provides some fairly original material with “Born and Raised”.
In my opinion, this song is quite interesting because it combines many elements of different musical genres: Rock, Metal, Screamo and even some Pop. Each genre is given some time to shine in this new addition to the bands’ repertoire. Though not recommended to listeners with more conventional tastes, I do believe this song is easier on the ears than many others of the genre.

To Listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dOvUcDfi_M

I thought it would be fitting that I begin this blog with what is quite possibly my favorite song of all time: When You Were Young.
This song was the hit single of The Killer’s 2006 album release “Sam’s Town”, and remains a concert favourite. 
I first discovered this song (and The Killers as a band) one fateful night almost three years to today, playing guitar hero with a couple friends. It was the only song I was able to play on the “expert” level, and quickly became a favourite.
As the years went by, I became more attached to the song than might be strictly considered “normal”: along with an incredibly catchy tune, certain lyrics seemed to creep into my personal life, creating almost unnerving parallels.   
Since then, the phrase “he doesn’t look a thing like Jesus” has echoed through my house on an almost daily basis, and I am happy to say (though I’m sure my parents would heartily disagree) the novelty of the music has not worn off.

To Listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVCkSMwaGGc

Hi!
So in brief the purpose of this blog is to inform as many people as possible about music, be it good or bad.
In my short life, I have met far too many people who are unfamiliar with some of the most well known musical legends of all time. Additionally, I would like to put the spotlight on some of the lesser known bands/songs  that deserve to be heard.
To do this, I plan to review as many songs as possible, and give readers as much info/feedback as I can on a particular song, band or artist.
Enjoy!

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