Anthrax, Testament, and Death Angel at Best Buy Theater 2/8/12

This Wednesday was thrash metal night in NYC as the Best Buy Theater had three killer thrash bands play one of the best shows, ever. This was the last night of the Anthrax, Testament, Death Angel tour, and the following is documented proof of the awesomeness of it.

The mighty Death Angel opened the show with a killer set. Sadly, it was too fucking short. Six songs only? Damn. I wanted more. Still, they kicked ass despite the short amount of time onstage.
The last song they played was "Claws in so Deep" from their most recent release, last year's killer Relentless Retribution. If you don't own this one yet, you need to get it!!

Next up were the amazing Testament. Now, I been a fan of them since I was in high school. I got into them with Souls of Black and have loved them ever since. To me, Chuck Billy has one of THE best voices in all of thrash metal. And, it sounded just as good live! In fact, the band fucking killed it. They played many of their classics, like "Souls of Black", "Practice What You Preach", "Into the Pit", "Disciples of the Watch" and more. Plus, they also played tracks off their last album, the truly amazing Formation of Damnation, including the title track and the killer "More than Meets the Eyes".
It should be noted that drumming god Gene Hoglan, he of Dark Angel, Death, and Dethklok, was drumming for Testament. Let me tell you, he is a monster on the drums!! I fucking bow down to this man's talent. Now, on this tour, he was pulling double-duty also drumming for Anthrax. But, he only needed to play for Testament, as Charlie Benate was back drums tonight.

Now, it was time for the hometown band to play. Anthrax is, of course, one of the big 4 and is one of my four favorite bands of all time (the other top three are the rest of the Big 4). Anyway, I had always wanted to see them live, and tonight was the perfect night to do just that. Now, I have already declared their last album, Worship Music, as THE best album of last year. I am going to on the record and say this could be concert of the year!

As I said before Charlie made his return playing with the band, and he fucking killed it(!), as did bassist Frank Bello. They had a loss in their lives, but this being NYC meant they had to come back. And, the band just played a killer set! Not only did they play songs of their aforementioned perfect new album, but also classics like "Antisocial", "Medusa", and "Among the Living". One song that surprised me, pleasantly, was the classic "Deathrider" from their debut Fistful of Metal. They said it had been years since they played. Nice!

The pit was insane, in particular for "Caught in a Mosh" and then it got even crazier for "Indians". Scott Ian requested that everyone move, even the non-moshers. And, move we did. I was right in there, jumping and going crazy. The Wardance part of the song was THE fucking highlight for me!! I mean I was fucking pumped!!The encore consisted of a quick version of "I'm the Man" and full versions of "Madhouse", "Metal Thrashing Mad", and "I Am the Law". In all, just an awesome show, and if you missed, well at least you got my words and pics to make you feel a little better! Thrash metal for life!!!

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The 10 Best Metal Albums of 2011

Another year has passed us headbangers by and, man, have we seen the release of some killer albums! As has been the case, for a long time this is not an easy list to make by any stretch of the word. It takes a lot of thinking and fidgeting. But, in the end this list is what I came up with. As always, I do hope that this list is indicative of my varied taste in hard rock and metal, and will cause some discussion among you guys and gals. Your opinion is always welcome.

10. Deicide- To Hell with God- I have loved the last few Deicide albums, but this album marks the band at their decidedly most evil best. Heavy, brutal, and as anti-God and Satanic as ever. The title track has a great pounding opening and the whole song will just pummel you, straight to hell!!





9. The Pretty Reckless- Light Me Up- Gorgeous Taylor Momsen ranked in at number 40 of my top 70 Hottest Babes of 2011, and with good reason. But, the leggy bad girl also put out one hell of a hard rock album. With a voice far beyond her young age Momsen shines in the vocal department. I know Europe got this album last year, but we here in the states didn't get till this year. And, I honestly listen to this one a lot, so there was no way it wasn't gonna make the list. Plus, "Zombie" is one of my personal favorite tracks of the year.



8. Children of Bodom- Relentless, Reckless, Forever- CoB have long been one of the my favorite melodic death metal acts, and their lead signer one of my fav front men in all of metal. Their latest offering is fast, technically savvy, and instantly recognizable as another great work from them. As always few bands can shred like these motherfuckers!!





7. Warbringer- Worlds Torn Asunder- It never ceases to surprise me just how good these guys are. I always call these guys the American answer to Kreator and Sodom, because that's what best describes them. This album is finely crafted, fast, angry, and super-heavy thrash metal that will make you feel as if your getting the ass whooping of a lifetime.




6. Amon Amarth- Surter Rising- While I liked the last album they put out, Twilight of the Thunder God, this is a much better album and a more solid return to form. While, it still is not on the level of the classic With Odin on Our Side, this is still heavy and pounding viking melodic death metal at it's best, crafted by the kings of it. The cover is also one of the year's coolest!




5. A Pale Horse Named Death- And Hell Shall Follow Me
- This late addition (I only heard it this week!), is dark, brooding, and heavy. Featuring Sal Abrucasto, former drummer of Type O Negative and Life of Agony, on vocals and guitar, it has to be one of the most exciting debuts I have heard in many a moon. Fellow fans of Type O take heed this is the real deal. And, let me say this, had I heard this earlier in the year, it may have ranked even higher as, the more I hear/ think about it, the more I like it!


4. Machine Head- Into the Locust- Machine Head continue to produce some of the best albums of their career. After, the mighty The Blackening, I and many others wondered where could they go from there? After all, that album was called their Master of Puppets. And, then comes this one, with songs that even longer and more complex. Mixing the groove and thrash metal sounds Machine Head are carrying the flag for real metal high. And, that horror movie style cover is fucking cool as hell!!!



3. The Black Dahlia Murder- Ritual- Unquestionably one of my favorite death metal acts, these guys are fucking heavy but are also incredibly fun to listen to. There horror and geek love are forever. Pummeling fast riffs, super killer blastbeats, and some of my favorite cookie monster vocals manage to seal the awesomeness of this band and this album.




2. Chthonic- Takasago Army- My favorite black metal act release what is unquestionably my favorite black metal album of the year. This is a band just continues to get better with each and every album. I mean think about how much I loved their album, Mirror of Retribution, which ranked in at number 4 in 2009, well this one is even better than that one!!!!




1. Anthrax- Worship Music- While, I said picking the order and albums to appear this list was not easy, one pick was: this one. No album I heard this year was on the level of near perfection that this one was. It is not the best album of the year, but also the comeback of the year. And, the band's very best since Persistence of Time. It's heavy as fuck and proves that these members of the big four have not lost a step despite the years it has been since making an album, let alone one with Joey Belladonna. And, let me tell you this, Belladonna sounds better than ever! Everything in this album works and kills it. There are so many amazing, close to perfect, and perfect songs. And, "I'm Alive" is unquestionably my favorite song of the year. Raise those fucking horns, cause one of my all time favorite bands are back better than ever!!!

Honorable mentions:
Five Finger Death Punch- American Capitalist
Skeletonwitch- Forever Abomination
Evanescence- Evanescence

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Now playing: Anthrax - I'm Alive
via FoxyTunes

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Songs With the Band's Own Name In the Title

This is one of those blogs, that came birthed out of pure boredom, but I think it's a fun one, nonetheless.

I was listening to some song, truthfully, I forget what it was. When, I asked what other bands have their name in the song title. I asked this some time back on my Twitter, but got no reaction. It was when I asked again last week, that I got some answers, and so here we go! The songs are in no particular order whatsoever. They are followed by my random thoughts on them. Enjoy!



Actually this is one of my fav Deicide songs. And, it comes form their self-titled debut album. Which is too say Deicide Deicide, Deicide!



Here Joey signs the Neil Turbin era song Anthrax. It's a cool song, but it's sadly no longer part of their set, at least not to my knowledge. The original version can be found on Fistful of Metal, the debut by Anthrax.



I fucking LOVE this Exodus song!!! Which is why I can't believe I forgot about this one! Thankfully one of my friend's reminded me over on Twitter. It's from their classic debut (hmm, noticing a trend here?) Bonded by Blood. That's still their best album, me thinks. Oh, yeah the lyrics on this one, might be the best of this batch of songs!



A friend/ follower on Twitter reminded me about this one. It's from, yep you guessed it, their debut album, entitled... wait for it... Kiss!!! A decent and catchy little track.



One of the most controversial bands on this list, this kick ass song is from their, yep, debut album. The title of that one? Body Count, of course!!! Yes kiddies, another triple namer (is that even word?) Great song, by the way, from one of my fav albums of the 90s.



Another song from the first Body Count album. I like this one even more. Great vid too, with footage from one of my fav Van Damme movies the ultra-violent, sci-fi/ actioner Universal Solider.



This one was bought up by another one of my friends on Twitter. Cool song from my fav power metal act.



Yes, another song from a debut album! And, another one where the name can be said thrice! Metal Church Metal Church, Metal Church! Whatever the case might be this is very cool song by a great thrash band, that also had some power metal mixed in, for good measure.



From their first album Iron Maiden, this classic was original sang, of course, by Paul DiAnno. In this live footage it's sung by Dickinson. Regardless, it's always part of their setg. And, it's a fun song to hear and sign. By the way, if your looking for a cool cover of this song check out the one done by Trivium.



Definitely my fav song from this band, this song makes me wanna shake my booty. But, I would prefer said booty shaking was done by a hot girl, extra points if said girl is Asian!



This most recent of these songs, and the one of the few ones with an actual video. Plus, I think it's the only that does NOT come from a debut album! I am not a big fan of this album, but this is song is OK I suppose. Still, Dimmu Borgir is one of my fav bands, so...

P.S. I was thinking of including Suicidal Maniac by Suicidal Tendencies, but not sure that counts, really, as only part of the name is in the title. So, let's give it an honorable mention.

Any other songs that I am missing? If so let me know!

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Now playing: Satyricon - K.I.N.G.
via FoxyTunes

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The Big Four- Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax: Live from Sofia, Bulgaria (blu-ray)

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The Big Four

Last night in Chelsea I had the chance to see The Big Four (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax) on the big screen from a concert shot in Sofia, Bulgaria. I won't mince any words here, this is my dream tour, as these are my four all time favorite bands. And, I have to say that just seeing in the theatres, blew me the fuck away!

The first band to play was Anthrax. They opened with the blistering classic Caught in a Mosh. It's great to see Joey Belladonna back. He is a fun and awesome front-man. As a whole, Anthrax were definitely the fun/ party band of the bunch. They kept the audience going, and I love the way that Joey interacts with them. They even threw in a cover of the Dio era Black Sabbath classic Heaven and Hell to the mix. That fucking ruled in my book! It was a great cover! Hope they release this somehow in the future.

Next up was my personal fav of the batch, Megadeth. They were the most jaw-dropping as from a technical aspect, there are just no words to describe their talent or do them justice. If anyone asks why they are my fav band, they need to watch this, I think it makes it all clear! They opened with one of my personal favorite songs Holy Wars and just tore shit up! Mustaine is a guitar god! All fucking hail!

Next up was the most brutal performance of the night, SLAYER!!! Even the movie theater, people were standing, as they got ready to hear these lords of thrash metal. In fact, some of them even got to playing air guitar in the aisles, which continued into the Metallica set! They opened up with the modern classic that is World Painted Blood. They didn't miss a beat and the combo of King and Hanneman on dual lead guitars never fails to impress. And, Dave Lombardo remains one of the greatest drummers in all of metal. A fucking killer, Earth shaking, head ripping performance all the fucking way!

The bands dedicated this concert movie/ performance to Ronnie James Dio. And, Kerry King, Lars Ulrich, Scott Ian, and Dave Mustaine, all told great stories about him. An awesome segment and move that got me smiling and pleased all those watching.

Then the mega-stars took the stage, the mighty Metallica!!!!!!!!!!!!! They opened with my absolute all time favorite song, ever, in the form of Creeping Death!!!!!! And, even in the theater, itself, the fans chanted the infamous, "DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!" chant. It was fucking killer! They played classics from the albums of theirs that matter (IE: the first five albums and Death Magnetic). The movie audience was so into it, that two even pulled out lighters during And Nothing Else Matters! Thank God, that they played nothing from the Bob Suck (er, I mean Rock) era of shit albums (Load, Re-Load, and St. Anger). Fuck him. I hope he never produces another album in his whole entire life! Anyways, they fucking killed and this went a long way in making Metallica cool again and reaffirming their place in metal/ thrash. Their cred is back, motherfuckers! So awesome was it that they bought the other three bands, for a blistering version of Am I Evil?

I must say that it was very surreal to see Mustiane hug Lars but also cool! I'm glad that the feud is over between them, cause we got this! Metallica then closed off with two classics (Hit the Lights and Seek and Destroy) off of Kill 'Em All.

This was just amazing! And, I am still pumped because of it! Can't wait till this hits DVD. The US NEEDS this tour! If you are a true metal fan, I know you feel the same. If that is the case, then you need to join this on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/WE-WANT-AN-AMERICAN-BIG-4-STADIUM-TOUR-IN-SUMMER-2011/123843190990099?ref=mf) and make them see that you agree.

ALL HAIL THE BIG FOUR OF THRASH METAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Now playing: Megadeth - Wake Up Dead
via FoxyTunes

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The Top 10 Thrash Metal bands Ever

Like I said over on my myspace, thrash metal is my absolute fav type of metal. So, here then is my comprehensive list of the Top Ten thrash Metal bands of all Time:

1. When, Dave Mustaine was fired from Metallica it was the best thing that could happen to metal. Because, Megadeth is not just the best thrash metal band, ever, but my personal fav band in the whole world. Mustaine is one of the greatest guitarists the world has ever seen. And, Megadeth have made some many classic albums and songs; as well being one of the most technically sounding bands, ever. Plus, they have some of the coolest covers, ever! Their best album remains Rust in Peace, a technically ferocious godlike work that leaves your jaw dropping and your headbanging away till it falls off.
2. They sign about Satan, hell, the occult, evil, Nazis, war, atrocities, death, murder, serial killers, horror, and other unsavory subject matter, with amazing power and viciousness. Their mosh pits are legendary in their brutality. Their music controversial, but loved by both fans and critics. No list of great metal bands would be complete without them. Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman play the twins guitars with amazing speed and quality. While, Lomabardo is one of the finest drummers, ever, in any genre. Many will swear by Reign in Blood, but I prefer Season in the Abyss. Why? Because that is one of the albums that truly changed my life. Slayer has amongst the most ardent fan following anywhere, and rightfully so.
3. Listening to filth like St. Anger, Load, and Reload, it is many times hard to believe that, in the first four Metallica albums lie four of the greatest thrash metal albums ever. Kirk Hammet has said that Metallica invented thrash metal. While, this is debatable, what is not debatable is the magnificence of their early work. One of the first thrash metal bands to not be afraid to slow things down in masterpieces like Fade to Black and yet play blistering music like Creeping Death, Damage Inc, The Four Horsemen, etc, Metallica were metal gods. Master of Puppets remains their best work, as well as the best metal album, ever, thrash or otherwise.
4. Mixing heaviness without right fun Anthrax rounds the big four of thrash metal, with the aforementioned three other bands. Yeah, they were one of the first bands to bring rap to metal, and their work with John Bush had a different feel that the Joey era stuff. But, the real point is that when it came down to it they made some killer music. And, they help bring moshing to metal. So, now you did not just bang your head, but you thrash around and got busted up. Fuck yeah! I actually prefer John Bush signing and Sound of White Noise is one of my fav albums, but the Joey era is more in tune with classic sounding thrash metal, and some purists will say that is all that matters. For them, I pick Persistence of Time, the best album of that era. And, by the way, is Charlie Bennatte an amazing drummer or what?
5. Often underrated, and unjustly so, the best damn band to ever come out of Jersey (it sure as hell ain’t Bon Jovi!), Overkill are fucking heavy as hell and, when the song fits it, fast as fuck. With songs filled with badass attitude Overkill destroy much of the competition. Horrorscope is their best work, being immensely heavy and utterly and completely awesome.
6. What can be said about the band that made THE definitive song about mosh in the form of The Toxic Waltz? Yeah, they have had three different signers, but guess what? The quality of the music has never, ever suffered. Their debut Bonded by Blood is one of the greatest and most influential thrash metal albums ever put on this Earth. Exodus, at their best, make you wanna beat the crap out of someone. All hail!
7. Chuck Billy truly has one of the best voices in all of thrash metal. He can sign a ballad (The Legacy) or rip your fucking head off with his ferocity (Dog-Faced Gods). The same can be said of the band. Souls of Black remains my fav album, a great mix of melody and brutality, but arguments can be made for the viciousness of The New Order.
8. Germany proved they can thrash with the best of them. In fact, Kreator’s heaviness would be influential in the creation of death metal. Coma of Souls is one fucker you can hear a million times and never tire. And, guess what? They still have it. See the amazing Enemy of God for proof.
9. by mixing hardcore punk and thrash Suicidal set themselves apart from the rest of the thrash metal heap. Their later day work incorporated more melody and more metal, and me thinks, their best work, as evident by Lights, Camera, Revolution.
10. Much like the rest of the supposed second tier thrash metal bands like Exodus and Testament, Nuclear Assault don’t get the respect they deserve, but if you listened to stuff like Something Wicked, you would know they deserve to get much more respect.

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