It’s been ten years since Scott Weiland passed away; here’s what I had to say about it:
I used to have a friend called ‘Ewok’, I no longer remember his real name, if I ever actually knew it, but I, and well, pretty much everyone, knew him as such – he really, and I mean really looked like an Ewok! Anyway, I’d dropped round his house one day and he would not shut the fuck up about the new Stone Temple Pilots album, ‘Purple`. I knew about STP but had never given them much love; I’d been into grunge since the ground floor – having seen Alice in Chains back when they supported Megadeth; Pearl Jam‘s first UK appearance; Nirvana at Reading? Yep. I was there. So for me STP were imposters riding the wave, a kinda commercial grunge lite.
Then I heard ‘Purple’.
Damn, what a fine album that was and still is – it stands the test of time, every track a killer. Then I got hold of a twelve inch single of ‘Plush’ one day when I was out hunting vinyl. When I flipped it over to play the b-side – unplugged versions of ‘Plush’ and ‘Sex Type Thing’ – I had one of those beautiful music moments when you uncover a real treasure.
I’d like to say I went on to become a mega Stone Temple Pilots fan and that Velvet Revolver were a dream come true, but I didn’t and they weren’t. I don’t really know why, I guess there was just too much else going on and maybe VR just didn’t have the songs, whatever, it doesn’t really matter.
A man has died. A talented man with rock star charisma and one of the most incredible voices in rock. I cannot and will not pass judgement on the man, just as I won’t put him up as a hero. What I will do is give thanks for the incredible pieces of music that affected me so profoundly all those years ago and that are still a part of my life until today. Now, I guess I’ll go find that MTV Unplugged set in full on YouTube.
I wrote this piece back in 2015 when one of my favourite writers passed away. It was originally on an obscure, now defunct, Tumblr blog that I had. However, although the people are less current than they were and the movie has long passed into memory, something about this article still seemed relevant, hence the share.
One of my oldest friends has died and, although we never actually met or spoke, I can’t help but feel wistfully sad at his passing.
It brings home to me how powerful art can be; we form a relationship with the purveyor, and I don’t mean the stalky type of relationship where we delude ourselves of reciprocity, he or she is with us during so many moments of our lives that we come to develop that easy familiarity that we have with our very best friends.
Terry Pratchett accompanied me through a large section of my life, over twenty years I guess. He was a constant companion during the rollercoaster of University as I found my way in the real Ankh Morpork (Terry’s capital city in the Discworld books) and whenever we hadn’t been in touch for a while he was always there when I needed him.
In his books Terry created a parallel universe we could all feel at home in, despite its apparent unreality, Comic Fantasy not being the most obvious choice of genre for most readers. Terry managed to captivate, enchant and most importantly include us all in his clever brand of observational humour, providing the kind of insight into human nature we could all relate to. The phrase “complex simplicity” springs to mind as the most appropriate way to describe the genius with which Terry wielded his pen, and probably sword; the use of capital letters to indicate that Death was talking being the most obvious example – kinda simple way to mark the character but genius in the fact that it gave Terry’s Grim Reaper an identity and voice off the pages.
This kind of humour united fans of the books, we were all in on the jokes even if we were at times on the receiving end of some gentle mockery; so far removed from the self righteous nastiness often present in satirical humour. Terry was all about self deprecation. I will miss him. But then again I still have about 25 of the 70 books he wrote, I can revisit them like I might an old friend and there are a whole host of characters and stories that I still don’t know. I loved Terry’s art, I don’t confuse it with the person, but I appreciate the impact this man had on my life and how he had been a friend to me for so long.
It was somewhat coincidental then, that another renowned artist was brought to my conscience on the day of Terry’s death. I happened to see the trailer for Montage of Heck, the upcoming documentary into the life of Kurt Cobain. The trailer features a number of home video scenes of Kurt and his daughter Frances Bean, as well as the much maligned Courtney Love, and is stark contrast to the exposé that is Soaked in Bleach.
I liked Nirvana, I saw them live, I rode the grunge train for a while during my aforementioned University years, but was never sucked into the idolatry of Cobain that the t-shirt tribes still hold on to. Nevertheless, I recognize Kurt’s talent and impact on the music industry; his songs stand up, the formulaic meanderings of In Utero notwithstanding, and I believe that on Unplugged in NYC we can get a sense of whatever it was that set him apart. My “problem” with Kurt was more personal I suppose, in that I have never been sure how I feel about the man behind the art, like, was he that good? Was he that different? Was he really that tortured? Then I saw the trailer.
Oh my.
How human.
I’d forgotten how dehumanizing the media can be, they tend to objectify artists whilst at the same time promoting vampiric interest in their private lives, although writers like Terry tend not to be so celebritised and its their enduring humanness that is the appeal. So when a movie maker gains access to the truly intimate moments of someone so iconic, and not just the paycheck driven words and pictures of the paparazzi, it was enough to stop me in my tracks. I await the movie with relish, not voyeuristically, but with eager anticipation of seeing the child who would become the biggest star in the world so that I can contemplate the tragic humanity of it all.
If by some mysterious quirk of fate I were ever to find myself with my own radio show, I would have a section on Big Fours. Although the term was first coined for the big four thrash bands, Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax, it is a trend which seems to occur in other genres too; there are often four big players that tend to be at the vanguard of innovation within a given style and, more often than not, achieve the most commercial success.
As I don’t have a radio show, and it’s probably not among the most likely things to happen to me, I figured I could just write about (and rank!) Big 4s instead. So, to kick off the series, what better place to start than with the original big guns from the world of relentless riffing, blistering solos and fast fingered fury that is thrash metal.
Thrash was born in the early 1980s as the sound of traditional heavy metal was taken to a new extreme. There was a heavy influence from the likes of Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and New Wave of British Heavy Bands like Iron Maiden and Diamond Head, except thrash bands were playing harder, faster and heavier, besides moving in a more serious direction lyrically. It’s impossible to pinpoint an exact beginning to the movement, although albums from US punks Void and Newcastle’s Venom are often cited as being forerunners to the scene. Whatever the case may be, it was the emergence of bay area bands like Metallica and Exodus that really provided the impetus. However, of the big four that would emerge, it was in fact the only east coast band that probably played the most pivotal role.
4) Anthrax
Despite being the third of the four to release their debut Anthrax were actually formed first and as such were already getting established in New York by the time Metallica pitched up for their watershed visit in late 1982. They made the San Franciscans welcome and helped them out during the stay when Dave Mustaine would get fired prior to subsequently forming Megadeth. Moreover, the term “thrash metal” is said to have been coined in February 1984 in reference to their song “Metal Thrashing Mad”.
Even so, Scott Ian‘s band have always been slightly different; their early sound enjoying strong hardcore influences, besides having an interest in Skate culture and a more humorous approach to their image. Scott is also a lover of rap and their version of Public Enemy‘s ‘Bring The Noise’, featuring a rapped verse from the guitarist, is not only one of the earliest cross-overs, but one of their finest moments.
Like the other big guns in thrash, their output peaked between the mid eighties and early nineties, yet they’ve battled through line up changes and a myriad of record label problems to continue producing quality records. Their latest release, ‘For All Kings’ is another fine release and is as metal thrashing mad as anything from their peak.
Essential Albums: Among the Living & Persistence of Time
Personal Favourite: State of Euphoria
Random Classics: I am the Law, Got the Time, Bring the Noise, I’m the Man, Be All End All & Caught in a Mosh
3) Slayer
The heaviest and most uncompromising of the top thrash bands is far and away Slayer; you won’t find them straying into hard rock territory in search of a number one. It’s fair to say that Kerry King, Tom Araya and co are the darkest of the big four, regularly writing about serial killers, hell, war and suicide, whilst pushing the boundaries of thrash to go harder, heavier and faster.
Slayer‘s material has always stood up for its quality and influence, inspiring subsequent generations to go to even greater extremes – ‘Reign In Blood’ was mind blowing at the time of its release and without it, genres like Death Metal may never have happened. Last year’s ‘Repentless’ was the first to feature new guitarist Gary Holt (Exodus), following the tragic death of Jeff Hanneman, and continues their long line of quality, no holds barred, metal mayhem.
Essential Albums: Reign in Blood & Seasons in the Abyss
Personal Favourite: Seasons in the Abyss
Random Classics: Angel of Death, South of Heaven, Mandatory Suicide, Dead Skin Mask, War Ensemble & Raining Blood
2) Megadeth Dave Mustaine was pissed when he was unceremoniously dumped by Metallica, but he turned that fury into music, and Megadeth was born. He stayed pissed for a very long time and it’s kinda understandable given that his band has always been and will always be judged in comparison to James and Lars’ work. I mean, you gotta feel for Dave; as Scott Ian says:
“The guy is arguably the godfather of thrash metal. He wrote a lot of the riffs on Kill ’Em All and even some of Ride the Lightning. Without Dave Mustaine, maybe thrash metal never would have happened. At least in the beginning, he was the driving force, artistically.”
Although less successful than his old band, Mustaine is probably the most technically proficient of the big four and the releases from the eighties and early nineties are as good, if not better, than those of his contemporaries – is there a more perfect thrash song than Holy Wars…the Punishment Due?
Despite constant line up changes and well publicised drugs problems, Megadeth‘s output has been pretty damn regular and of consistently high standard ever since -,even the hard rock debacle ‘Risk’ has its moments! This year’s furiously fast ‘Dystopia’ is actually Dave’s fifteenth studio album, so in terms of catalogue, none of the other bands can boast such an extensive collection of high quality original work.
Essential Albums: Rust in Peace, Countdown to Extinction & Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying
Personal Favourite: Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying
Random Classics: Holy Wars…the Punishment Due, Hangar 18, Darkest Hour, Hook in Mouth, Symphony of Destruction & Devil’s Island
1) Metallica
You have to respect a band that has sold over one hundred million records, I mean, you don’t get much bigger than that – Metallica are basically the undisputed heavyweight champions of the world.
As for their role in the thrash scene, would the others have done so well, if it weren’t for James and Lars? This is a band that carved out an enormous reputation and was well on the way to becoming a major force on the metal scene without releasing a single or even making a video until their fourth album, and even then, the video for ‘One’ wasn’t exactly made with MTV in mind.
It’s also testament to their stature that the self-titled record which turned them into global superstars, was released just six weeks before Nirvana‘s ‘Nevermind’ changed the face of rock music forever, practically destroying the metal scene in one fell swoop.
Sure, they’ve made all sorts of bad decisions and of all the big four, theirs is the most divisive back catalogue; but they have never stayed still and have always pushed forward on their own pioneering terms; sometimes as true visionaries and at other times misguided. Whatever way you look at it though, there’s no denying the importance of Metallica to Thrash, to Metal and to the music industry as a whole. The fact that they are releasing a new album is about the biggest thing that could happen in music right now, lets hope it delivers the goods, after all, the other three have all come up with killer records.
Essential Albums: Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets & Metallica (The Black Album)
Personal Favourite: …and Justice for All
Random Classics: Enter Sandman, Creeping Death, One, Damage Inc., Whiplash & The Unforgiven
Beyond the Big Four
Back in the mid to late eighties the thrash metal scene was well and truly thriving and a number of other bands were particularly important to the scene and even knocking on the door of mainstream success. Exodus in particular played a major role, supplying Kirk Hammett to Metallica and thirty years later Gary Holt to Slayer, besides recording some superb records like ‘Bonded by Blood and ‘Fabulous Disaster’.
Also from the Bay Area were the likes of Testament and Death Angel, both of which are still active; the former set to release new album ‘Brotherhood of the Snake’ in October, while DA released the superb ‘Evil Divide’ earlier this year. It’s fair to say that the thrash scene is enjoying something of a renaissance.
Of the many other great bands around back in the day, the one that really stood out and we went mad for in England was Sepultura. ‘Beneath the Remains’ and ‘Arise’ were two of the finest albums from the genre and were comparable to the best work of the big four.
Random Classics: Exodus – Bonded by Blood, Testament – The New Order, Death Angel – Act III, Sacred Reich – The American Way, Suicidal Tendencies – Lights Camera Revolution, Sepultura – Beneath the Remains, Death – Leprosy & Annihilator – Alice in Hell.
Ah yes, the difficult second album – there’s so much that can go wrong and it so frequently does, more often than not ending up in the shadow of the classic debut and the all important third album. The list of second albums that fall somewhere between the disappointing and the disastrous is immense. Bristol triphoppers Massive Attack are prime example of a band that falls into the former category, 1993’s ‘Protection’, despite being a nice enough album with some quality tracks, is positively lukewarm in comparison to their monumental debut ‘Blue Lines’. Florence and the Machine‘s ‘Ceremonials’ is another culprit; Iron Maiden get beyond the artwork on ‘Killers’, but it’s hardly a tour de force; ‘Van Halen II’ is but a shadow of the first album and despite positive criticism The Strokes sophomore effort, ‘Room on Fire’, was never going to live up to ‘Is This It’. As for categorical failure of a follow-up, look no further than Stone Roses’‘The Second Coming’ – can it get any worse than this?
Yes – Kula Shaker, ‘Peasants, Pigs and Astronauts’ – nailed that band’s coffin closed.
Actually, there’s a whole bunch of other records that were never really what you’d bought into on the debut, the list is endless; Portishead, Finlay Quaye, Terence Trent Darby, Duffy, Elastica and so on and so forth, and as we can see, failing to deliver the goods is irrespective of genre, although it has become a far more common phenomena in the days demanding instant success. It seems that the second album basically runs into trouble because of pressure resulting from the first record. Bands get caught up in the touring and the success and are too busy “making it” to get the next record written. Then there’s the inevitable come down when they find themselves in the studio under pressures of time and money to deliver a new product, but this time, barring a few leftover tracks not quite good enough for album number one, they’re starting from scratch, having spent the last few years playing to death that first batch of songs they so lovingly created. Bands get so focused on establishing themselves with the first album that they don’t have time to really think about there being a next one, let alone what to put on it. They almost need to fuck up the second album a bit to take the pressure off and get the hunger back for album number three – if there is one!
However, despite the all too common let down of a band’s second record, there are also plenty of killers. Once upon a time, artists were given the chance to develop; their record labels actually helped them progress. Bands were often signed to seven album deals, so labels were in it for the long haul – they wanted to see their artists improve and sell progressively more records. Also, it wasn’t unusual to sign a band based on potential rather than one that already had its bangers primed and ready. Blur is a great example of a band that had potential, but had yet to find its songwriting chops on debut album ‘Leisure’, it’s their second album ‘Modern Life is Rubbish’ where things start coming together. Then there’s the thrash metal scene; in the beginning it was all a bit rough and ready, but by their second albums Metallica, Megadeth and the like were coming on in leaps and bounds. So, here’s a bunch of second albums that not only progressed but blew away their predecessors and quite rightly became classics.
The ultimate second album is surely Nirvana‘s ‘Nevermind’, possibly the most game changing record in history. It’s predecessor, ‘Bleach’, had hinted at the band’s potential, but was miles short of what would follow. Cobain had long harboured the desire to harness the aggressive energy of punk and marry it to more accessible melodies and the final pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place whilst writing the songs for Nevermind. Kurt borrowed the Pixies loud – quiet – loud template and suddenly not only his fury, but also his talent had a vehicle; the rest, as they say, is history.
Radiohead‘s debut album, ‘Pablo Honey’ is a fairly unremarkable affair, save for the ubiquitous ‘Creep’, which the band grew to hate; its follow up, The Bends, however, is one of the finest albums of alternative rock ever to see the light of day. The entire album is all killer, ‘High and Dry’, ‘Fake Plastic Trees, ‘Just’, ‘Street Spirit’, I mean, it’s quality track after quality track that propelled the band towards the big time. They may have taken a more arty direction after the fairly conventional songwriting on display, but without The Bends and the bold statement that is ‘OK Computer’, Thom Yorke and co never would’ve gained the leverage to follow their chosen path.
If you go back and listen to the first Lenny Kravitz album, ‘Let Love Rule, you’ll here a soulful young man blending a kinda laid back hippy-like innocence into some funky folky rock n roll toons, and it’s a highly enjoyable record. The world’s one time highest paid session musician was breaking in slowly though, as on his second effort, ‘Mama Said’, he came back pimped up, jazzed up and funked up and knocked it out of the park. Fields of Joy is a ‘Stairway’ for the 90s, ‘Always on the Run with Slash is a sublime rocker; there’s quality rock pop a plenty, funky reverb on ‘Stop Draggin’ Around’; soul fueled crooning on ‘All I Ever Wanted’ and the whole album is peppered with bass groove and jazzy licks. Where did it all go wrong?
Led Zeppelin II. It’s Led Zeppelin, only more so – every song a winner. Nuff said really.
Björk shook off the Sugacubes on ‘Debut’, but it was on ‘Post’ that it all came together. This urban soundtrack remains as one of her finest albums and is jam packed with hard edged indie pop in the Icelander’s own inimitable style; from the sinister opening to ‘Army of Me’ you just know it’s going to be a winner. There’s the manic Hyperballad, the irrepressible ‘It’s Oh So Quiet’, ‘Isobel’, ‘The Modern Things’, ‘Enjoy’ and so on and etc not a dull moment to be found.
I will readily admit to not being the biggest Foo Fighters fan in the world, but you gotta love Dave Grohl for just being such a nice bloke, and on his/their second album, ‘The Colour and The Shape’ he delivered the goods. Besides the killer singles ‘Monkey Wrench’, ‘My Hero’ and ‘Everlong’, which are without doubt some of the most iconic alternative rock songs of the nineties, the album is imbued with a cathartic quality that runs surprisingly deep. Ok, so there’s plenty of upbeat snippets where Dave and co sound like their having a great time, but it’s the raw emotion on the ballads that really picks the scab on Dave’s then recent divorce. Besides, the emotional moving on, this record really exorcised the whole Nirvana thing and paved the way for Foo Fighters to be respected in its own right – respect. Check out this live version of ‘Hey Johnny Park’, Dave looks so young and it’s got such raw emotion.
Since Nirvana’s game changing mega stardom redefined alternative as the mainstream, most guitar based music has become somewhat stylised and, even in its most intense forms, there’s often more than the vaguest whiff of formula following. So, it is disconcertingly uncomfortable, but a welcome challenge, to happen across such an imperfect listen as the bruising So Pitted.
This quirky three piece from Seattle, who bonded over a love of mainstream alternative, are a loose combination of self taught musicians who swap instruments, take turns singing, play guitars through bass amps and basically flout all conventions to cook up an invigorating slice of sludgy rage. There’s an air of paranoia and disquiet to the band’s aesthetic that is captured in the angular rhythms and fuzzy guitars; ‘Neo’ boasting eleven powerful bursts of feedback fueled slop in the finest traditions of Sub Pop.
Album opener ‘Cat Scratch’ is all dirty disjointed riffing, clattering rhythms and drawled vocals, kinda like a hyper raw Mudhoney. ‘Pay Attention To Me’ is more urgent and is one of the more instant tracks, with just the vaguest hint of a hook, as the rudimentary bass line hurries along beneath the guitar slaughter. The jarring close to the track leads perfectly into the alarming riff of ‘Woe’ whose feedback tinged guitar lines are cutting and stark in compliment to the simplistic insistence of the vocal pattern, it’s horribly brilliant. This mechanical vocal technique appears on a few tracks, like the disjointed ‘Get Out of My Room’, which turns the intensity up to eleven, and the sinister ‘Feed Me’ with its waves of feedback tinged guitar bashing that wash over the listener.
‘Holding the Void’ has an angry urgency about it and a more indie feel to the guitars, though once again there’s some melody fighting for room in the ripping vocal. This is actually quite a versatile band and there are a number of influences on display, for instance, ‘No Nuke Country’ has a slight punky feel to its swirling rhythms and pounding riffage, while ‘The Sickness’ is very college radio with its the drawled vocal over the uptempo grungy thrashing.
To be honest, there’s not a bad track on Neo, everything works within the context, but it’s an intense listen with plenty of anger on display; ‘I’m Not Over It’ boasting heavy repetitive riffing and offering a rage filled vocal battering. ‘Rot In Hell’ is similarly upset as the throbbing hypnotic bass underscores the histrionic guitar lines. ‘Chop Down That Tree’ brings the album to a fitting end with two minutes of attacking riffs, attacking drums and attacking vocals that combine everything the band has to offer in a resounding finale.
Ok, So Pitted won’t be winning any awards for intricate technique or refined musicianship, but that is so not the point; what you get here is an intense display of noise filled abandon on these eleven cuts of raw emotion, which is precisely what good art should be about. Killer.
9/10
I used to have a friend called ‘Ewok’, I no longer remember his real name, if I ever actually knew it, but I, and well, pretty much everyone, knew him as such – he really, and I mean really looked like an Ewok! Anyway, I’d dropped round his house one day and he would not shut the fuck up about the new Stone Temple Pilots album, ‘Purple`. I knew about STP but had never given them much love; I’d been into grunge since the ground floor – having seen Alice in Chains back when they supported Megadeth; Pearl Jam‘s first UK appearance; Nirvana at Reading? Yep. I was there. So for me STP were imposters riding the wave, a kinda commercial grunge lite.
Then I heard ‘Purple’.
Damn, what a fine album that was and still is – it stands the test of time, every track a killer. Then I got hold of a twelve inch single of ‘Plush’ one day when I was out hunting vinyl. When I flipped it over to play the b-side – unplugged versions of ‘Plush’ and ‘Sex Type Thing’ – I had one of those beautiful music moments when you uncover a real treasure.
I’d like to say I went on to become a mega Stone Temple Pilots fan and that Velvet Revolver were a dream come true, but I didn’t and they weren’t. I don’t really know why, I guess there was just too much else going on and maybe VR just didn’t have the songs, whatever, it doesn’t really matter.
A man has died. A talented man with rock star charisma and one of the most incredible voices in rock. I cannot and will not pass judgement on the man, just as I won’t put him up as a hero. What I will do is give thanks for the incredible pieces of music that affected me so profoundly all those years ago and that are still a part of my life until today. Now, I guess I’ll go find that MTV Unplugged set in full on YouTube.
Hard Pressed 