Tag: Metallica Kill ‘Em All

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Foo Fighters Release a Socially Conscious Anthem

Early last year, Foo Fighters — Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear, and Rami Jaffee — finished work on what would eventually become their tenth full-length album, the Greg Kurstin and Foo Fighters co-produced Medicine at Midnight. At the time, Grohl and company intended for the album’s release to coincide with a massive world tour that the applauded act was about to embark on to celebrate the band’s 25th anniversary. But like countless other acts around the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic threw a monkey wrench into their plans.

Because of the uncertainty of the situation, the members of the band waited for a while, trying to figure out what their next steps were, but eventually they all came to the realization that music is meant to be heard, no matter“whether it’s in a festival field with 50,000 of our coolest friends or alone in your living room or on a Saturday night with a stiff cocktail,” the band’s Dave Grohl wrote in an letter accompanying press notes.

Now, as you may recall, Foo Fighters’ tenth album Medicine at Midnight is slated for a February 5, 2021 release through Roswell Records/RCA Records — and they managed to start off the New Year with the enormous arena rock friendly ripper “No Son of Mine,” a track that nods at Ace of Spades-era Mötorhead, Kill ’em All-era Metallica and Queen‘s “Stone Cold Crazy, complete with anthemic, raise-your-beer-in-the-air and shout along worthy hooks.

Medicine at Midnight’s third and latest single “Waiting On A War” continues a remarkable run of arena rock anthems — but in this case, the new single manages to pull from several different Foo Fighters eras — The Colour and the Shape, There Is Nothing Left to Lose and One By One in particular come to mind as a result of its song structure: Beginning with acoustic guitar and string arrangement driven verses and an enormous, rousingly anthemic hook, the song slowly builds up in intensity until the 3:15 mark or so, when the song turns into a cathartic explosion of power chords and thunderous drumming. Lyrically, the song manages to recall ’80s anthems like Nena’s “99 Luftballons,” Sting’s “Russians” and others, and it seems to suggest, much like the old saying, “the more things change, the more things remain the same.” Decades have changed, and we still seem to be on brink of our own annihilation . . .

Interestingly, as Dave Grohl explains in press notes, the song is inspired by personal events — and may be among the more personal songs in the band’s extensive catalog:

“Last fall, as I was driving my daughter to school, she turned to me and asked, ‘Daddy, is there going to be a war?’ My heart sank as I realized that she was now living under the same dark cloud that I had felt 40 years ago,” Grohl recalls.

I wrote ‘Waiting on a War’ that day.

Everyday waiting for the sky to fall. Is there more to this than that? Is there more to this than just waiting on a war? Because I need more. We all do.

This song was written for my daughter, Harper, who deserves a future, just as every child does. “

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Foo Fighters Release an Enormous, Arena Rock Ripper

Early last year, Foo Fighters — Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear, and Rami Jaffee — finished work on what would eventually become their tenth full-length album, the Greg Kurstin and Foo Fighters co-produced Medicine at Midnight. Grohl and company originally intended for the album’s release to coincide with a massive world tour that the applauded act was about to embark on to celebrate the band’s 25th anniversary. Of course, much like countless acts and artists around the world, their plans were put on hold as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The members of the band waited for a while before coming to the realization that music is mean to be heard, no matter what the environment actually was, “whether it’s in a festival field with 50,000 of our coolest friends or alone in your living room or on a Saturday night with a stiff cocktail,” the band’s Dave Grohl writes in a statement. So, they start off the New Year with the the explosive ripper “No Son of Mine.” Centered around chugging arena rock friendly riffs that nod at Ace of Spades-era Mötorhead, Kill ’em All-era Metallica and Queen’s “Stone Cold Crazy,” a propulsive rhythm section with thunderous drumming and mosh pit friendly hooks, “No Son of Mine” is the sort of song meant to be played at ear-splitting volumes, while dreaming of the day that we can be in arena or festival ground chugging beers and rocking out with each other.

“This is the kind of song that just resides in all of us and if it makes sense at the time, we let it out,” Dave Grohl explains, adding, “Lyrically it’s meant to poke at the hypocrisy of self righteous leaders, people that are guilty of committing the crimes they’re supposedly against…”

Just imagine how cathartic, how joyous, how fucking urgent that moment will be when the lights come on and your favorite artist/band gets on that stage, and it’s felt like you’ve waited a lifetime to be in that room or on the festival ground, Although I know that day won’t be for a while, I’ve been dreaming of a moment that I’ve missed and longed for with a mad desperation. But it’s getting me through. And I can’t wait to be there with all of y’all.

In the meantime, Medicine at Midnight is slated for a February 5, 2021 release through Roswell Records/RCA Records.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstays R.I.P. Releases a Mosh Pit Friendly Ripper

Over the past handful of years, I’ve spilled quite a bit of virtual ink covering Portland, OR-based doom metal act and JOVM mainstays R.I.P. And as you may recall, with the release of their first two albums, 2016’s In The Wind and 2017 ‘s Street Reaper, the Portland-based doom metal act quickly established a grimy, punishing and depraved take on metal that they dubbed Street Doom.

The Portland-based JOVM’s long-awaited, third album Dead End is slated for an October 9, 2020 release through RidingEasy Records, and the album’s sound is the result of the band going through a massive lineup change that involved the addition of a much more aggressive rhythm section. while also drawing from a broader and more diverse array of influences, including John Carpenter films, grungy professional wrestling and lo-fi hip-hop among others. In many ways, the album’s material is a decided move away from their earliest influences — i.e., Pentagram and Saint Vitus — and yet it may arguably be the most hook-driven batch of songs of their growing catalog. However, despite all of the other changes, R.I.P.’s thematic concerns have remained the same as always: death, insanity — and leather.

So far I’ve written about two of Dead End’s previously released singles — the Black Sabbath-like “Out of Time,” and the Headbanger’s Ball/Kill ‘Em All Metallica-like album title track “Dead End.” Dead End’s third and latest single “Moment of Silence” is another Headbanger’s Ball-inspired ripper, centered around enormous power chords, howled vocals and a mosh pit friendly hook — but with a cinematic quality that belies the scuzz and grime. d

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstays Zig Zags Release a Blistering Headbanger from Fourth Album

Over the years, I’ve written quite a bit about the  Los Angeles-based thrash punk/metal trio and JOVM mainstays  Zig Zags. And as you may recall, the act, which is currently comprised of founding member Jed Maheu (guitar, vocals), Dane Andrews (drums) and longtime sound engineer, multi-instrumentalist Sean Hoffman (bass) over the course of their eight-plus year have gone through a series of lineup changes while releasing seven singles and three full-length albums. During that time, the band has also managed to subtly yet continually evolve their sound, songwriting approach and overall aesthetic.

Slated for a May 10, 2019 release through RidingEasy Records, the band’s fourth, full-length album They’ll Never Take Us Alive reportedly finds the band paying homage to some of their earliest influences — in particular, their mutual love of  Dead Moon and Wipers, while remaining decidedly heavy metal. “Fallout,” the Kill ‘Em All and Ride the Lightning-era Metallica-like album single further cemented the band’s reputation for specializing in headbanging, power chord-based riffs and rousingly anthemic hooks paired with a blistering urgency. The album’s latest single “Killer of Killers” continues in a similar vein as its immediate predecessor, power chord-centered riffs, rousingly anthemic hooks, blistering and dexterous solos — paired with an urgent and frenzied production and performance.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Zig Zags Release an Urgent Headbanger

Currently comprised of founding member Jed Maheu (guitar, vocals), Dane Andrews (drums) and longtime sound engineer, multi-instrumentalist Sean Hoffman (bass), the Los Angeles-based thrash punk/metal trio Zig Zags over the course of their eight year history have released seven singles, three albums and a number of lineup changes — and throughout that time he band has managed to continually evolve their sound, their songwriting approach and their overall aesthetic.  Interestingly, the band’s fourth full-length album They’ll Never Take Us Alive is slated for a May 10, 2019 release through RidingEasy Records, and the album finds the band upping the stakes while revealing their earliest influences — in particular, their love of Dead Moon and Wipers, while remaining decidedly heavy metal. 

They’ll Never Take Us Alive’s latest single, the Kill ‘Em All and Ride the Lightning-era Metallica-like “Fallout” will further cement their long-held reputation for crafting headbanging, power chord-based riffs and rousingly anthemic “raise-your-beer-in-the-air-and-shout-along-lustily” hooks but the song is centered by a blistering urgency that hasn’t been heard on their previously released material. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstays R.I.P. Return with an Epic, Mind-Altering Bit of Thrash Metal

Now, over the past year or so, Portland, OR-based doom metal quartet, R.I.P has added themselves to a lengthy and eclectic list of mainstay artists I’ve written about throughout the history of this site. And as you may recall, the quartet’s highly-anticipated sophomore effort is slated for an October 13, 2017 release through RidingEasy Records, and the album is reportedly inspired by Rick Rubin’s legendary and influential 80’s productions — think Beastie Boys, Run DMC and LL Cool J among others — and Murder Dog Magazine, and as a result, the members of the band have crafted material with a streamlined and punishingly,  raw ferocity,  specifically meant to evoke the days when metal and hip-hop were reviled by the mainstream as the work of thugs intent on destroying the very fabric of America and its youth. Unlike their debut, Street Reaper reveals a subtly expanded songwriting approach, rooted in their belief that doom metal shouldn’t be pigeonholed into a particular tuning or time signature but rather, a particular mood that inspires doom — in this case, terror, uncertainty, chaos, war, etc.

Unsurprisingly, the material on Street Reaper is influenced not by doom metal’s typical sci-fi, fantasy or mysticism but within an inescapable, horrible and fearful present, full of what seems to be the impending collapse of democracy as we know it in the US, of economic failure, dwindling resources, increasing inequity and inequality, nuclear war, civil war, and a primal fight for survival. Album single “The Other Side” may arguably be the Portland-based band’s most blistering and impassioned playing — and while it may be a desperate howl into a growing void, there’s a feral urgency within the material that sets them apart from their contemporaries. The album’s follow-up single, “Unmarked Grave,” continues in a similar vein as its predecessor as it features  blistering, impassioned, face-melting power chords, a motorik groove, forceful drumming, an arena friendly hook and howled vocals, and while being equally urgent, the material manages to sound as though it were indebted to Badmotorfinger-era Soundgarden, Queens of the Stone Age and Ozzy Osbourne, complete with a sweaty, whiskey and hallucinogen-fueled frenzy.

“The Casket,” Street Reaper’s latest single (and album opening track) is a blistering bit of thrash metal, reminiscent of Ride the Lightning and Kill ‘Em All-era Metallica and Iron Maiden, thanks in part to layers upon layers of chugging power chords, forceful drumming and howled vocals and it may be among the most explosive songs they’ve released to date, but pay close attention to the expansive and ambitious song structure that features shifting time signature changes and chord progressions, as well as some incredibly dexterous guitar work. Simply put, it’s pretty fucking epic!

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The 80s Horror Movie-Inspired Visuals for Zig Zags’ “Giving Up The Ghost”

With the release of their debut effort In The Red, Los Angeles, CA-based thrash punk trio Zig Zags –-comprised of Jed Maheu (guitar/vocals), Caleb Miller (bass/vocals), and Dane Arnold (drums) — quickly received attention for a blistering, face-melting, no-bullshit thrash metal/thrash punk aesthetic that sounds as though it owes a massive debt to early 80s Metallica, Slayer,Iron Maiden and others. Last month, I wrote about album single “The Sadist,”a single off the trio’s recently released Running Out of Red that helped to further cement the trio’s reputation for pairing scuzzy, face-melting, mosh-pit friendly power chords guitar pyrotechnics, propulsive drumming and shouted vocals. Unsurprisingly, the album’s latest single “Giving Up The Ghost” continues on the exact same vein as “The Sadist” — although the latest single manages to directly channel Kill ‘Em All and Ride the Lightning-era Metallica in such an uncanny way that the songs manages to sound as though it could have been released in 1983.

The recently released music video is deeply indebted to cheap 80s horror flicks as a denim vest wearing zombie stalks an adorable, little skateboarding badass, who narrowly escapes him — in true horror movie fashion.