1. “The Red and the Black” by Blue Oyster Cult
2. “The Seeker” by The Who
3. “The Lemon Song” by Led Zeppelin
4. “Fleet Street” by Ice Age
5. “Battalions” by Metal Church
6. “Break Down the Walls” by Exciter
7. “Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t” by Anthrax
8. “Skull and Bones” by Overkill (featuring Randy Blythe)
9. “D.O.A.” by Havok

Finally back again with a new bootleg! This week’s Bi-Weekly Bootleg is a recording of an early Megadeth show in San Francisco, California that is thought to be the band’s third show ever. Here’s the setlist:

1. “Hook in Mouth”
2. “Burnt Offerings”
3. “Chosen Ones”
4. “Skull Beneath the Skin”
5. “Looking Down the Cross”
6. “Loved to Deth”
7. Guitar Solo
8. “Next Victim”
9. “Quicksand”
10. “Bad Omen”
11. “Devil’s Island”
12. “Mechanix”
13. “Rattlehead”

This week’s Bi-Weekly Bootleg is also a tribute to the late, great Ronnie James Dio. This week’s featured concert is Heaven and Hell at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Here’s the setlist:

1. “After All (The Dead)”
2. “Mob Rules”
3. “Children Of The Sea”
4. “Lady Evil”
5. “Ear in the Wall”
6. “I”
7. “Sign of the Southern Cross”
8. “Voodoo”
9. “The Devil Cried”
10. Drum Solo
11. “Computer God”
12. “Falling off the Edge of the World”
13. “Shadow of the Wind”
14. “Die Young”
15. “Heaven and Hell”
16. “Neon Knights”

NOTE: “E5150″ started the show, but is not included in this recording. Also, the recording begins partially through “After All”.

For further information on the show, click here.

For last year’s tribute to Ronnie James Dio, click here.

The Bi-Weekly Bootleg continues, and this week the featured concert is Led Zeppelin at The Royal Albert Hall in London, England. Here’s the setlist:

1. “We’re Gonna Groove”
2. “I Can’t Quit You Baby”
3. “Dazed and Confused”
4. “White Summer”
5. “What Is And What Should Never Be”
6. “How Many More Times”
7. “Moby Dick”
8. “Whole Lotta Love”
9. “Communication Breakdown”
10. “C’mom Everybody”
11. “Something Else”
12. “Bring It On Home”

So, what better way to do that than a tribute show for The Big Four? You know who they are. Metallica. Slayer. Megadeth. Anthrax. They defined thrash metal in the 1980s. The bands are still around too. All four bands decided to get together for some European shows, one of which was broadcast in theaters all over the world, and just a few days ago they ended up in Indio, California for the very first show together in the United States. I don’t believe that it’s the only show, but it is the first and the only one that I will have the pleasure of seeing.

As such, I have put together a little podcast with my personal favorite three songs from each band’s set, plus a little hidden bonus at the end of the show. Between each song, there’s little tidbits from the concert itself and my own little rants as usual. What can I say? I love thrash metal. I love heavy metal. I love each band from The Big Four. I fucking loved being at the first United States show they all did together. There is no way I could go wrong with this podcast. Go ahead and listen and enjoy because that’s what it’s all about.

1. “Paranoid”
2. “Hand of Doom”
3. “Iron Man”
4. “Black Sabbath”
5. “N.I.B”
6. “Behind the Wall of Sleep”
7. “War Pigs”
8. “Fairies Wear Boots”

Time is Up starts out furiously with “Prepare for Attack,” a title which basically says everything it needed to say about the song itself. They didn’t fuck around with the first track, that’s for sure. The song literally bleeds thrash metal with gang shouts, killer riffage, and pounding drums. The pace settles down for a moment in the beginning of “Fatal Intervention,” but not for too long. The melodic guitar portions of the song give off the vibe of an Eastern influence of sorts, and remind me of why I fell in love with heavy metal in the first place. Even in something so ballsy and aggressive, there is still true beauty and musicianship.

The third track, “No Amnesty,” is truly a fucking balls out thrashing good time, in my opinion that is. The soloing on this piece really grabbed me as well. The intro to “D.O.A.” is wonderful and, once again, what I would describe as beautiful. This song easily intertwines speed with elegance, and the wail towards the end is one of my favorite portions of the piece. It is easily my favorite album on the song so far, but I’m not even close to done yet. Another wail of sorts leads the way into “Covering Fire,” another tune that gets the blood pumping and the head banging. The middle of song slows down and leads way into another great solo. The solos on this album so far have really impressed me, but I didn’t expect anything less from Havok given what I’ve previously heard from them.

The pace slows done for “Killing Tendencies,” which features some pretty clean singing parts that go along perfectly with the rhythm of the guitar work in a nice harmony. Once again, another wicked solo ensues about halfway through the song. Even though it would be considered the slow song, it doesn’t lose any balls, so to speak. “Scumbag in Disguise” is a song I’ve already heard, and enjoyed. The drumming in this song is almost like galloping thunder in certain parts. The riffing in the middle of the song is tight, and carries a groove with it. An intro that sounded pretty trippy in my headphones carried me into “The Cleric,” another song featuring some very lovely guitar work intertwined with machine gun drumming. Towards the end of the song, the rhythm changes up in a brief moment in one of the more unique riffs of the album until it fades out.

We’re nearing the end now, with “Out of My Way” starting off the final stretch. A lot of the tone in this song is pretty ominous, and a quick burst of “Fuck Off!” brings us into a wailing mini-solo of sorts. The gang shouts on the song were pretty perfect for me as this was just a straight-up thrash tune (Side note: I’m glad they didn’t abuse the gang shouts through the album either. They were sprinkled in perfectly). Ending the album, the title song “Time is Up,” begins with something I was waiting for – a bit of bass work, which is something that is sorely missing from a lot of newer rock ‘n roll songs, but Havok has showcased in the past. This song perfectly wraps up what the album has been about for me, which is one energetic, thrashtastic  ride with blistering solo work, vicious vocals, and a pounding rhythm that does not disappoint. It’s aggressive and technical with great riffs and rhythms ranging from groovy to melodic to straight-up hammering. I really could not find anything on this album I could ever want to hate, and I already want to know what they’re going to come out with next. Even if you’re not huge on any of the New Wave of Thrash Metal, there is something in here for any fan of metal to enjoy.

Favorite Songs:

• “D.O.A”
• “Scumbag in Disguise”
• “Time is Up”

Final Word: Royalty.

Pick up the album at the following:

• Candlelight Records
  

Sit back. Relax. Have fun. And, if you feel like it later, tell me what your favorite cover song on this thing was.

It’s an off-shoot of heavy metal that came to life by bands like Metallica and Megadeth back in the 80s. Of course, Metallica and Megadeth are not the only bands from back then, but there are too many to name considering how it went from being a California thing to a genre that was churned out and celebrated all over the world, but for example there’s East Coast bands like Overkill or German bands like Destruction.

A lot of thrash bands ended up getting progressive and changing their sound, and pure thrash metal faded for awhile. However, there are bands today that are also churning out the classic thrash metal sound with their own kick. This is where Joe Coleman apparently found his inspiration for a documentary and we have it with Thrash: A Living Legacy.

In all honesty, the documentary does life up to the title it was given. It’s about thrash, the legacy, and how it is still living. I love how honest all these younger bands were when it came to the topic of the revival. Yes, thrash metal was done before, but the new movement isn’t about recreating what happened back then. It’s about taking thrash metal forward from where it left off and taking it to the next level. Thrash metal had to come back. Metal got boring, plain and simple.

If you know anything about the movement back in the 80s, however, listening to the younger generation of thrash metal bands are doing it almost the same way, but obviously with differences due to the time that everything is happening. Tape trading has been replaced with the internet and social networking such as Myspace and Facebook. Record sales are no longer relevant due to downloading. Even though technology has changed things, let’s talk about what still remains.

No matter what, there is always going to be word of mouth when it comes to building a fan base. Touring is relentless. These guys don’t make money other than to pay for their expenses, their artwork, their merchandise, and maybe some perks like food and beer. They tour in vans and it is very far from glamorous. Do you know what is good to hear though? These guys are all about it. Although making more money would be nice, it’s not what is on their mind. These guys go out there for the music, and the revival itself means that it is worth it. There are people out there that want straight up thrash metal.

I can watch this documentary and relate to all these guys. I was the teenager that got into metal with the classics. I remember getting …And Justice for All and being blown away. I remember picking up Reign in Blood and just being overtaken by the intensity. I could never get into death metal or black metal or any of those different fucking “cores” or whatever is out there. Just like I heard in this documentary, thrash metal is truly the purest form of metal. No gimmick. Just balls and aggression. It’s about solos and riffs and drums. I want to go to a show and have a good time. If I get hit in the face, who cares? I want to go headbang and scream at the top of my lungs.

The documentary itself wasn’t all that revealing because I figured as much about these bands, but I did definitely enjoy listening to the band members talking about the past, the present, and the future. I loved the cameo by members of the German band Exumer too since they are old school. It’s not very long either, clocking in at just under an hour, but it didn’t need to be long. It was just bands talking about the music. They were honest and they talked about what they do and why they do it.

I can look at these guys and know that they have an even stronger love of the music than even I do because they have the guts to go out there and create it. They don’t care about the money or the fame. They don’t want to sell out. They are just going with it and they will make some kind of mark. None of these guys have false dreams or ideas in their heads. They know they aren’t making a new genre, but they are giving thrash a new life. They’re taking what they like and their own influences.

They write about different subjects like war, partying, evil, horror, and anything they like, and they use this to create that beautifully aggressive music that so many of us just fucking love. They have the attitude and the energy to do it, and this is something I truly respect. Good job to all of you thrashers and keep doing what you love. Those that get it do appreciate it. They are giving the legacy of thrash the opportunity to live on outside of the 80s. Thank you for the hard work and determination for bringing back the best sound since metal these days honestly just sucks.

Final Word: Real.

Pick up the documentary by going here!