classic metal

Thrashback Thursday: Mercyful Fate- “Curse of the Pharaohs”

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In honor of King Diamond’s first U.S. tour in nearly a decade, and the fact that I just acquired my ticket for the L.A. show on Halloween, here he is with his genre defining band, Mercyful Fate. From their 1983 debut album, Melissa, this is “Curse of the Pharaohs.”

Black (metal) Friday: Sarcafago- “Screeches from the Silence”

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Led by original Sepultura singer, Wagner “Antichrist” Lamounier, Sarcafago were one of the first wave of black metal bands. Hailing from Brazil, they were, perhaps, the first black metal band in the Americas. Their debut album, INRI, is hailed as a defining moment in the genre. The cover art for the record helped to establish the visual aesthetics of the genre, including the use of corpse-paint, leather jackets and bullet belts. The band existed from 1985-2000 and reunion rumors persist, despite Lamounier’s insistence that the band is over for good. From their second studio album, The Laws of Scourge (1991), here is “Screeches from the Silence.”

Massive Metal Monday: Saxon- “Denim and Leather

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With the title track of their fourth album, Denim and Leather released in 1981, here is England’s Saxon.

When I was growing up in rural Indiana in the early 80′s, there was very limited access to heavy music. These were the days before MTV blew up with the whole hair metal, Headbangers Ball phenomenon. But on Sunday nights, there was a two hour radio show that came from WOXY, the radio station of Miami University, just across the state line in Oxford Ohio. It was called “Massive Metal for the Masses” and I would wait all week for it to air. It was through this show that I was introduced to bands like Venom, Bathory, WASP, Michael Schenker Group, Slayer and countless others. This is my tip of the hat to that show. I call it “Massive Metal Mondays.” Every week, I pay tribute to defining moments by the artists that laid the groundwork for heavy metal to become the worldwide cultural bond for all of us metalheads.

Thrashback Thursday: Megadeth- “Tornado of Souls” live 1992

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Every thursday we salute the founding fathers of thrash metal. This week it’s Megadeth with a live performance of “Tornado of Souls from 1992. The song originally appears on their amazing album “Rust In Peace (1990). Check out how young they all look! Marty Friedman is one of my favorite guitar players of all time. Check out his solo here and I think you’ll see why…

New Metal Tuesday: Which one are you most excited about?

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Today (Tuesday, June 10th) is a big day for new metal with a lot of highly anticipated recordings hitting the street. Here are just a few tasty new morsels for your metal palate …

Tombs- “Savage Gold”

Arch Enemy- “War eternal”

Atlas Moth- “The Old Believer”

Equilibrium- “Erdentempel”

Anathema- “Distant Satellites”

Body Count- “Manslaughter”

Falconer- “Black Moon Rising”

Mayhem- “Esoteric Warfare”

Wolves At The Gate- “VxV”

Personally, I’ve only gotten around to Arch Enemy, Body Count, Tombs and Mayhem, so far. I’m digging them all, but torn between “War Eternal” and “Savage Gold” in regards to a favorite. Leave me a comment below and let me know which one you’re giving the “horns up” to today.