Archive for the ‘Music’ Category

Posted on February 8, 2010 - by jono

Master Of The Situation

I had a crack at creating some electronic music. I know, not metal. I figured I would share this, and I have never done this before, so be gentle.

Check out Master Of The Situation in MP3 and Ogg format.

Created in Cubase with Halion One, a KeyRig and Drumkit From Hell.

Posted on December 8, 2009 - by jono

Dimebag: Still Remembered, Still Missed

Five years ago today, one of my heroes was murdered. Dimebag Darrell, guitarist from Pantera, Damageplan and Rebel Meets Rebel was shot while performing in Columbus, Ohio by Nathan Gale, a crazed fan disgruntled with the split of Pantera. The metal world and beyond was devastated by the news. In such a tight-knit and almost-tribal community, the passing of one of it’s most loved and well respected members was awful.

In my parents generation, everyone remembers where they were when Kennedy was shot: for metal fans, we remember where we were when Dimebag’s passing was announced. I was sat in a meeting room at OpenAdvantage in Birmingham, suited and booted, about to have the most important meeting of my career with a large Open Source deployment. Literally minutes before the meeting started, I got a text from my then-girlfriend with the news. I was devastated. Not only was Dimebag a huge inspiration in my own playing, but part of the reason why the news was so hard to swallow is that a significant reason why Dimebag was so loved was that he seemed like such a nice guy.

I studied every one of their audio and video releases. I would listen to their CDs, play along as I learned guitar, headbang to Pantera at my local rock club, and I used Pantera’s 3: Watch It Go video as an inspiration for living life to the full. Dimebag was not only a musical inspiration, but a role model for one such passionate metal fan and musician in his formative years. And then, just like that, my role model was taken away from me.

I used to sneer at people who became attached to musicians, actors and the like, but today I mourn Dimebag’s passing. That may make me silly and naive, but that is tiny price to pay for everything he has given me. Rest well, buddy.

Posted on January 9, 2009 - by jono

You Don’t See This Very Often…

Something I discovered while looking at the Bolt Thrower website a little while back. I had to share it:

All I can say is “Wow”.

Posted on December 30, 2008 - by jono

The Macy’s Gipsy King

I just wanted to share with you an interesting little story that happened to us the other day.

A few days back my wife and I were in Macy’s in Union Square shopping. We were lined up to pay for a jacket when nature came knock knock knocking on my door. When I returned she was chatting to another guy (called David) who was also lined up. Apparently the guy asked her about me being English and they got chatting. When I returned he said “are you a rock star?“. Somewhat amused I jokingly said yes and laughed it off. He then told us that he was one of the managers for the Gipsy Kings and pointed to the lead guitarist who was buying a stack of clothes at the checkout.

We carried on chatting about music and he told us that the Gipsy Kings were playing the following night in San Francisco. He then asked me to call him the next day and he would try to hook us up with some free tickets. The following day, not expecting anything, I called him and told him that I was “the english guy from Macy’s“. It turned out he had managed to bag us some free tickets and to pick them up at the box office before the show.

We headed into the city, parked and went to pick up the tickets. Lo and behold there were were two tickets for us, complete with passes to the aftershow party. Not only that, he had got us reserved seats at a table in the venue. We were stunned. I saw some other folks buying the tickets on the door and the cheapest ticket was $70. Wow x 2.

We got into the venue and sat down. A little later David walked over to say hi and we shook his hand and thanked him for the tickets. The show kicked off and we had a great time. Although, I was little surprised at one point when he come over and asked if I wanted to get up and play bass on a tune. I smiled and said that it would probably not be such a good idea. I am pretty sure that the Gipsy Kings are not familiar with Angel Of Death by Slayer.

Towards the end of the show we were chatting with him and a few other guests of his from The Four Seasons hotel (where the band was staying). We went backstage to chat some more.

What a strange and bizarre evening. David, if you somehow manage to stumble over this: thanks for your incredible generosity. And the moral of this story? Shop at Macy’s!!

Posted on December 4, 2008 - by jono

Leap Around Your Living Room

I have utter, unparalleled love and adulation for the song Braindead by Exodus. The intro that song makes me want to jump around the room. It is the pure, unfiltered essence of thrash metal.

The album version is stunning, but I really love the insane live version on Good Friendly Violent Fun. You can just hear the intensity of that performance coming through. Magic.

Any other recommendations for music to leap around your living room to?

Posted on October 15, 2008 - by jono

Terrible News

Blaze Bayley, former Iron Maiden singer and frontman of his own band Blaze recently had his wife Debbie pass away. While talking asbout this terrible news I found the following one of the saddest things I have ever read:

“Just as things really seemed to be going our way, Debbie suffered a second huge brain haemorrhage. She had brain scans and was taken into intensive care. After this, we think, she suffered another smaller bleed in her brain. However much reality I was faced with I refused to accept that there was no hope for recovery. But when reality is a top consultant doctor, spelling out bit by bit the true magnitude of Debbie’s condition, and when you are in his office with the people, who you have shared the hope, tears, and desperation of these days with you, and when you look at each other without needing words between you. Then it is no longer a case of fighting to keep hope alive, to stop the last shreds of hope being taken from you. But as the soft confident voice says the words that describe the condition of your loved one’s brain, then hope is given up. Hope melts away. It is something so precious but without worldly value and it is replaced silently and cruelly by a desperate fatalistic feeling, that feeling enters the soul that, now, has no hope”.

I don’t know Blaze other than meeting him a few times at gigs, and when I have met him he has been the nicest, most genuine guy I have met. Blaze, if you ever happen to stumble over this blog entry by random, or by someone else who knows someone, who knows someone else passing it on…hang in there brother, you are in our hearts.

Posted on September 9, 2008 - by jono

No, Malmsteen. No!

Wow, Yngwie Malmsteen, notable guitar virtuoso, who I have been a fan of for years has just announced the cover for his new album Perpetual Flame:

Oh dear. That is very bad indeed.

Notable reaction from the album-buying public includes

• “Wow that’s bad…the chest hair and all..wow…“
• “The Hoff called and wants his chest hair back.“
• “That’s gotta be fake…my 12 yr old niece could make a better cover than that in Photoshop.“
• “Big hairy chested playful bear seeks boy toy for long walks on the beach, cooking tofu, and long sensual massages; are you the one I’ve been looking for?“
• “Why not call it ‘Donut Magnetic’“
• “Do you really need your nipple on there, Yngwie?“

Posted on August 24, 2008 - by jono

Whoa Yeah-yeah! Oah!

Fellow horseman, Jorge, and I are both big Metallica fans. Although we largely agree on what constitutes a great Metallica album (Master Of Puppets and …And Justice For All), Metallica have seen such a diverse change in their style, that fans have many different views on what makes the perfect ‘tallica album. Metallica really started off as a balls to the wall thrash band, back when Kill ‘Em All came out, which was reminiscent of other Bay Area thrash metal bands such as Exodus and Testament and other bands such as Slayer, Annihilator and Overkill. They then refined their art with Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets, stepped into thrash-by-very-detailed-numbers with the super-technical and rhythmic …And Justice For All before heading in a more commercial chunky style of radio metal with their self-titled album, known as The Black Album to fans.

Then, it went downhill. After the stunning Black album, they toured like crazy and years later released their next full original album with Load which was about as exciting and metal as a toy soldier, wrapped in a roll of bubble wrap at a plastics convention. It was just booooring. Stock, very stock, predictable, not-all-that-heavy rock tunes – Metallica seemed to have really lost their way. But wait…we then received the good news that Load was actually only half of the songs that they recorded, and we would be treated to yet another bucket-of-dull with the rather imaginatively titled…Re-Load. Woo. Hoo. Ahem.

Then the Metallica hype machine started to roll again and we heard they were working on a new, angrier album, and Hetfield (their singer) had been a little too frisky with the ‘ol sauce and was in rehab for alcohol addiction, but was out and raring to channel his new-founded life experience and world-view into their music, with an undertone of anger…which would naturally translate well to metal. What resulted was St Anger, a pretty desperate attempt at sounding modern and heavy, complete with a snare drum that is reminiscent of the sound of a nun riding into a steel bin on a push-bike. Although it was heavier in places, it felt unimaginative and a bit of a reach – not like their previous works in which they knew how to push every button in your brain that makes you move to their music. It was just unnatural and desperate, and once again Metallica felt like they were losing their way.

So, Metallica have not released a decent album since The Black Album, and they have not released a decent thrash album (the reason why most of us love Metallica), since …And Justice For All – that is 16 years since a good album. Good grief.

Some of you may be wondering why on earth I have decided to blather on about Metallica today. Well, right now we Metallica fans, who have been treated to the audio equivalent of a train bacon sandwich for the last 16 years are once again getting our hopes up for the next Metallica album, named Death Magnetic, and due for release on the 12th September. Metallica have been treating the world to sneak peeks for the last few weeks and for the last half year or so we have heard the usual highly trumpeted reports that Metallica are back to their roots and once again the fans are hoping for a Puppets or at least a Black Album. So far, Metallica released a live recording of a song called Cyanide and their latest airing of a single called The Day That Never Comes as well as a bunch of 30 second or so snippets. So, are they any good?

So far it is a bit early to tell. I always like to let music sink in for a while before passing a firm opinion, but thus far I have to be honest that I am not exactly grabbed by the material. While I consider it a really great trait of a metal band to grab your attention within minutes (something which bands such as Hatebreed, The Acacia Strain, Heaven Shall Burn, Slipknot and All Shall Perish are great at), some bands need a good listening (such as King Diamond, Blind Guardian, Cannibal Corpse and Anata).

The main thing I am taking away from the situation with Metallica is that I am beginning to lose a little patience with them as a band. I totally agree that bands change styles, thats fine – I understand they don’t want to be playing speed metal any more, but I also listen to a bunch of bands that play the kind of music that Metallica seem to be going for (Black Label Society, Megadeth, Blaze etc), but I just don’t know if Metallica’s version of it is my cup of tea. Don’t get me wrong, they are a stunningly talented band, but I feel that the complexities in the band and the comfort they have carved out (as can be seen in Some Kind Of Monster) has mean’t that they have lost the hunger somewhat. It has long been known that more deprived surroundings have formed some of the greatest metal bands (as well as other artists such as Hip Hop and Rap). Of course, everyone wants to live a nice, lavishly comfortable lifestyle – I am no exception – but I get the impression that these comforts have overtaken their hunger for the music. This is not an endemic problem – there are plenty of bands who live great, comfortable lifestyles (just look at Iron Maiden for example) and still release rocking music, but Metallica feel distracted by it.

In my mind, Music is evolutionary, and we see different generations coming in, taking what went before and stepping up the plate. Metallica will always hold a place in my heart for releasing some of my most loved albums (in fact, I wore out my Master Of Puppets cassette from over-playing when I was a yoof), but I think these days I am more interested in checking out the amazing new talent with bands like *The Acacia Strain, Job For a Cowboy, All Shall Perish, Divine Heresy, The Red Chord, Blood Red Throne, Hatebreed, Arsis, Aborted, A Perfect Murder, Lamb Of God, Made Of Hate, Necrophagist, Nonpoint, Hatesphere etc.

Posted on August 16, 2008 - by jono

Overkill. London. Monday.

I am planning to go and see Overkill on Monday night in at Islington Academy in London, but…alas…all on my lonesome. Anyone heading down to the gig?

would be fun to meet any Ubuntu / LugRadio / Free Software or otherwise people there for a night of thrash metal.

Posted on July 1, 2008 - by jono

Yes! Maiden! This Saturday!

Mucho, mucho, mucho thanks to NickG for informing me that new tickets went on sale for Iron Maiden at Twickenham on Saturday. I consequently went and snapped up two tickets for Aq and I. This Saturday, we will be watching Iron Maiden re-creating songs that I have been listening to since I was 10 years old.

Anyone going along?