The Best Year In Metal Debate

I have found myself recently getting into Slayer more than I have in my life and it brought up a question in my head: What is the greatest year for Heavy Metal music?

Was it 1981, with the arrival of the NWOBHM and other new bands:
Mötley Crüe - Too Fast For Love
Ozzy Osbourne - Diary Of A Madman
Black Sabbath - Mob Rules
Def Leppard - High 'N' Dry
Iron Maiden - Killers
AC/DC - For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)

Kind of impressive but hardly earth shattering or plentiful enough to be considered the greatest. Maybe 1983:
Def Leppard - Pyromania
Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind
Metallica - Kill 'Em All
Mötley Crüe - Shout At The Devil
Dio - Holy Diver
Ozzy Osbourne - Bark At The Moon
Slayer - Show No Mercy
Motörhead - Another Perfect Day

Um, no. Especially with terrible records from Black Sabbath and AC/DC (the albums don't even deserve mention) that year and it being just the beginning for Slayer and Metallica. Most metal heads will point to 1986 and, with this list of classics and strong efforts, who can argue:
Metallica - Master Of Puppets
Slayer - Reign In Blood
Megadeth - Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?
Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time
Ozzy Osbourne - The Ultimate Sin
Samhain - November-Coming-Fire
Europe - The Final Countdown (!?!)

While that is a landmark year for metal, I contend that 1988 was actually better in terms of album quality and quanitity. Metallica came back with their commercial breakthrough (and arguably better album, though I don't believe so). Slayer returned with another thrash lesson, while Megadeth and Iron Maiden had better efforts than their '86 albums. Ministry is a bit of a stretch since all of their previous efforts were techno.

Danzig
Metallica - ...And Justice For All
Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
Megadeth - So Far, So Good, So What
Ministry - The Land Of Rape And Honey
Slayer - South Of Heaven
Ozzy Osbourne - No Rest For The Wicked
Anthrax - State Of Euphoria

So, while I do believe that Master Of Puppets is the finest masterpiece of any on all these lists, I think the output of 1988 is more impressive. Any submissions, comments, votes?

In The Spirit Of The Holidays...

I felt that taking shots at low-fidels was kind of jerky. As a result, I converted this very limited edition vinyl of the You Weren't There: A History Of Chicago Punk 1977-1984 to MP3 and posted it here for your listening pleasure. Personally, I recommend the tracks by Strike Under and Trial By Fire. Some of the tracks are of questionable quality but, I assure, you that is because of the source material. Almost none of these songs were done in proper studios but is an important historical recording nonetheless. Hopefully, these songs will make you want to see the very well-done documentary of the same name. There are plenty of Steve Albini gems in there. And yes, that is J. Yuenger from White Zombie in Rights Of The Accused. That was his first band. Enjoy.

1. "Wham Bam Son Of Sam," Tutu & The Pirates
2. "Gacy's Place," Mentally Ill
3. "Who Are The Boys?," Buzzards
4. "Surf Combat," The Way-Outs
5. "Reactor," Painterband
6. "Elephant's Graveyard," Strike Under
7. "Dark Rooms," Da
8. "Eyesore," Subverts
9. "Spy Guy," Toothpaste
10. "They Love War," End Result
11. "Tojo [Demo]," Naked Raygun
12. "Rocks Of Sweden," Trial By Fire
13. "I Got Mine," Articles Of Faith
14. "Anti-Pac Man," Negative Element
15. "Slump Shot," Verboten
16. "Fuckup," Rights Of The Accused
17. "Big Big Sky," Savage Beliefs
18. "Bounty," Nadsat Rebels
19. "Lipsynch To The Go-Go's," Seismic Waves
    

2009's Year In Re-Issues

When compiling this list, there are a few things to remember. There is the rarity factor (Was the source material readily available or was it out-of-print?) and, of course, the quality of the material.

1. 
   
   My Bloody Valentine - Before Loveless
2. Nirvana - Live At Reading
3. You Weren't There: A History Of Chicago Punk 1977-1984
4. The Beatles Remasters
5. Def Leppard - Pyromania: Deluxe Edition
6. Nirvana - Bleach: 20th Anniversary Edition
7. The Jesus Lizard - Head/Pure/Goat/Liar/Down
8. R.E.M. - Reckoning: Deluxe Edition
9. Iron & Wine - Around The Well
10. Pearl Jam - Ten Redux

Before Loveless is a vinyl-only (sorry, infidels) collection containing four extremely rare EPs (Strawberry Wine, Ecstasy, Feed Me With Your Kiss, and You Made Me Realize) re-mastered and fantastic. They sound nearly as great as the Isn't Anything and Loveless vinyl re-masters (another dig at American CD and MP3 shoppers). The previous difficulty to find this material makes this tops.
Live At Reading is the best live album of the year and a long overdue addition to the Nirvana catalog.
You Weren't There (available as a limited edition LP/DVD set) is a fine collection and initiation for anyone interested in the underappreciated Chicago Punk Scene of the '80s. With all rare tracks, like The Way-Outs' "Surf Combat," (later recorded by Naked Raygun, who also appear) and "Elephant's Graveyard," by the mighty Strike Under, it's a must.
Do I really need to explain The Beatles?
Def Leppard's Pyromania is a landmark album where the band perfected their blend of heavier aspects with pop savviness. The live performance from the L.A. Forum that accompanies the deluxe edition is top notch.
Bleach is merely the prelude of things to come from Nirvana. There are some gems but the newly released live tracks are great. The same goes for R.E.M. 's Reckoning. It is not an album the caliber of most of their '80s catalog but the live CD from Chicago's Aragon Ballroom makes this special.
The re-mastering of The Jesus Lizard's Touch And Go Records output is at the same time unnecessary and wonderful. The albums sound fantastic but the additional tracks have already been issued on the Bang compilation (except "Pop Song," which is a nice rarity) and the albums were still in print. What would be more helpful is for Capitol Records to muster up the balls to re-issue Shot and Blue, which were way underrated.
Iron & Wine has been most prolific in their career when it comes to non-album tracks which makes the Around The Well compilation worth having. There are fantastic covers of songs that you would never consider them doing (Flaming Lips' "Waitin' For A Superman," and New Order's "Love Vigilantes,") as well as the great original b-sides ("Call Your Boys," and "Kingdom Of The Animals,"). And yes, included is their amazingly somber rendition of The Postal Service's "Such Great Heights,". Sam Beam and company can make even the peppiest tune break your heart.
As if this list wasn't grunge-heavy enough, Pearl Jam's Ten Redux came out this year. the re-mastering was all well and good but an audio recording of the Unplugged performance would be hanve been better.

Review Round-Up

I had some technical difficulties in the past couple of months (computer died) that kept me from posting. So, here are some grades I had missed:

Alice In Chains

Black Gives Way To Blue

Virgin/EMI

LP/CD

7.29

Ghostface Killah

Ghostdini: Wizard Of Poetry

Def Jam

LP/CD

6.66

Monsters Of Folk

Monsters Of Folk

Shangri-La/Rough Trade

LP/CD

7.12

Them Crooked Vultures

Them Crooked Vultures

DGC/Interscope

LP/CD

7.25

Reviews: Metal Edition

Megadeth
Endgame
Roadrunner
CD

I know that I'm a bit late on this one but in a year where two thrash metal giants release albums as strong as these and with a supergroup making (good) noise, it seemed best to wrap them together. Everyone knows the story by now about the genesis of Megadeth and how it roots in founder Dave Mustaine's jealousy and anger towards wiping Metallica off the planet. For the better part of this millenium, Mr. Mustaine should have rested easy, as his former bandmates experimented themselves into near irrelevence. With Risk closing out the '90s and The World Needs A Hero starting this decade, it seemed as though the mighty 'Deth had lost its way. But despite being "born again", Mustaine has proven to be reinvigorated since his sleeping accident that almost took away his ability to play guitar. He has followed those "efforts" with now 3 strong, politically charged albums: The System Has Failed, United Abominations, and Endgame. While the band most likely will never reach the heights of Countdown To Extinction again, there is certainly nothing to be ashamed of in this present incarnation. The musicianship is as tight as in the Rust In Peace era and the material is nearly as strong. This is a relentless assault that you don't mind being hit with. And speaking of relentless...


Slayer
World Painted Blood
American
LP/CD

Admittedly, I have never been much of a Slayer fan. I have seen them perform and it is quite an experience but being put on record seems to bottle up their fury. This album, somehow, pulverizes me just the right way. Slayer has zero pop sensibilities. Their idea of a chorus is to slow down enough so that the listener can maybe catch a few of Tom Araya's yells so that they know the song title. Dave Lombardo is easily the best drummer in metal and the guitars of Hanneman and King serve their purpose. Their strength as a band is their unrelenting beating upon the eardrums almost forcing a listener to submit, maybe, rather than enjoy. Well, I give. I give. And I enjoy.


Shrinebuilder
Shrinebuilder
Neurot
LP/CD

I know I said "supergroup" but bear with me. The lineup is Scott "Wino" Weinrich from Saint Vitus, Dale Crover of the Melvins, Scott Kelly of Neurosis, and Al Cisneros of OM. I realize this is hardly a who's who of metal but, believe me, the combo shows a lot of promise. Crover has been a solid drummer for over 20 years and Weinrich was a fixture at SST Records in the glory years, so there's definitely some cred here. While definitely slowing it down from the thrash legends reviewed above, there is a dirge quality to the tracks reminiscent of Black Sabbath along with growling that is far more overtly evil than the wailings of Osbourne or Dio. A solid debut from grizzled vets that doesn't outdue any of the bands mentioned here but will make them sleep with one eye open.


The Grades:

Megadeth

1. Dialectic Chaos – 7.7
2. This Day We Fight! - 8.0
3. 44 Minutes – 6.7
4. 1320' – 8.4
5. Bite The Hand – 7.2
6. Bodies – 7.4
7. Endgame – 7.5
8. The Hardest Part Of Letting Go...Sealed With A Kiss – 8.3
9. Head Crusher – 8.6
10. How The Story Ends – 8.8
11. The Right To Go Insane – 8.2

Overall=7.89

Slayer

1. World Painted Blood – 8.5
2. Unit 731 – 7.3
3. Snuff – 7.1
4. Beauty Through Order – 7.4
5. Hate Worldwide – 8.1
6. Public Display Of Dismemberment – 7.8
7. Human Strain – 6.7
8. Americon – 8.4
9. Psychopathy Red – 8.0
10. Playing With Dolls – 7.6
11. Not Of This God – 8.3

Overall=7.75

Shrinebuilder

1. Solar Benediction – 7.8
2. Pyramid Of The Moon – 7.1
3. Blind For All To See – 6.7
4. The Architect – 8.0
5. Science Of Anger – 8.6

Overall=7.64