Hey guys, tomorrow afternoon in the Book Club section we’ll be discussing “The Open Boat,” Steven Crane’s classic short story. If you aren’t subscribed to the Book Club section this email won’t arrive in your inbox, so click on over there if you want to participate. There’s still plenty of time to read the story beforehand.
Interested to know if you have ever listened to early Genesis, in particular Selling England by the Pound. English prog rock at its absolute finest in my view.
One of my pet peeves is crusty old metalheads constantly shitting on nu metal. I've spent my whole life gritting my teeth and ignoring it, but I'm old enough not to care. I've seen the Deftones live at least 5 times, and whole bunch of other acts (Slipknot twice, for example). I say all this as big fan of the bulk of the acts the author references. They'd die before they'd admit it now, but there were racial undertones to the backlash against rap metal, the intrusion of hip hop into an overwhelmingly white music genre.
I always thought there'd come a day when they'd stop complaining about nu metal, but a lot of hair metal guys never forgave grunge either.
I used to go to a lot of metal shows, but the heaviest show I ever saw was Government Mule at Bonnaroo in the middle of the night while on acid.
John Paul Jones even came on stage! Some drunk guy kept accidentally hitting me with a chair he was inexplicably holding! They played War Pigs! Also, just look at these guys! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHnWVy4Xpec
Its funny, I was just reminded of Megadeath this morning. Countdown to Extinction was the first metal album I owned. I've been listening to it all day. Got it before I got into punk, which totally took over my early teen years. I realize that I must have listened to it a lot when I was 12, because as I'm listening to it today, I can totally sing along to every song, and I haven't heard it in 30 years. Music journalists are fucking losers by and large, just professional scolds and gate keepers. My opinion here is very anecdotal, but I'll stand by it.
Looking forward to reading this book. A UK author is definitely going to focus on Black Sabbath. It wouldn't surprise me if Moores is from Northern England where Sabbath is from, kind of the industrial manufacturing center of England. I wonder if he has anything kind to say about Def Leppard and other Sheffield metal bands. To me, they inherited what Sabbath and Tony Iommi developed.
Interesting review. You genuinely seem to like it and think we should read it, yet you managed to convince me not to read it by making it seem boring, conventional, and arbitrary in its judgments all at once.
Sounds like it might be a little tedious for experts. I for one didn't know what Nu-Metal was before reading this. I do agree the Deftones had a good sound, and AIC stood the test of time better than their confederates. Did MBV make the 'heavy' cut?
I consider Hendrix to be the real breakpoint from the 3-minute radio format, directing humanity toward 'real rock'. The guitar became the center.
Great review Freddie. Like you I can't fathom the omission of Pantera. WTF? As for Krautrock, I suppose Tago Mago by Can has some "heavy" riffs on it. But what I was wondering is: does the writer actually include anything on Electric Wizard? I mean, "Satanic Rites of Drugula" is forever!
I was on board with your contrasting of punk ("expressly political lyrics, higher-pitched instrumentals and vocals, and speed") to heaviness right up until you mentioned Motörhead and appeared to put them on the heavy side of the binary (am I wrong?). I don't want to digress into Lemmy's politics but they are certainly higher-pitched and fast.
On my way into work this morning, just before I saw this, I was listening to Public Enemy’s Apocalypse 91. I wonder if they would be considered “heavy” under Moore’s definition. Partly, at least? Abrasive sound, check, big guitars, check, portentous lyrics (literally invokes apocalypse), check. I guess they also have some of the stuff you mentioned that differentiates punk—political lyrics, as well occasional bouts of speed. (But then you get something like “By the Time I Get to Arizona,” which is as slow and ponderous as they come.). Anyway, I’m pretty sure they were influenced by P-Funk, so.
No Pantera = no bueno
I also have an obsessive interest in Black Sabbath, so I'll be sure to check it out.
I also completely agree with the take that Dio was their best singer. He turned Black Sabbath into the band it was always meant to be, in my opinion.
Interested to know if you have ever listened to early Genesis, in particular Selling England by the Pound. English prog rock at its absolute finest in my view.
One of my pet peeves is crusty old metalheads constantly shitting on nu metal. I've spent my whole life gritting my teeth and ignoring it, but I'm old enough not to care. I've seen the Deftones live at least 5 times, and whole bunch of other acts (Slipknot twice, for example). I say all this as big fan of the bulk of the acts the author references. They'd die before they'd admit it now, but there were racial undertones to the backlash against rap metal, the intrusion of hip hop into an overwhelmingly white music genre.
I always thought there'd come a day when they'd stop complaining about nu metal, but a lot of hair metal guys never forgave grunge either.
I used to go to a lot of metal shows, but the heaviest show I ever saw was Government Mule at Bonnaroo in the middle of the night while on acid.
John Paul Jones even came on stage! Some drunk guy kept accidentally hitting me with a chair he was inexplicably holding! They played War Pigs! Also, just look at these guys! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHnWVy4Xpec
I'm curious if Killdozer is mentioned at all.
Its funny, I was just reminded of Megadeath this morning. Countdown to Extinction was the first metal album I owned. I've been listening to it all day. Got it before I got into punk, which totally took over my early teen years. I realize that I must have listened to it a lot when I was 12, because as I'm listening to it today, I can totally sing along to every song, and I haven't heard it in 30 years. Music journalists are fucking losers by and large, just professional scolds and gate keepers. My opinion here is very anecdotal, but I'll stand by it.
Is anyone else in the heavy music space doing anything remotely similar to Soundtracks for the Blind? I must know, and this seems like a space to ask.
Looking forward to reading this book. A UK author is definitely going to focus on Black Sabbath. It wouldn't surprise me if Moores is from Northern England where Sabbath is from, kind of the industrial manufacturing center of England. I wonder if he has anything kind to say about Def Leppard and other Sheffield metal bands. To me, they inherited what Sabbath and Tony Iommi developed.
Interesting review. You genuinely seem to like it and think we should read it, yet you managed to convince me not to read it by making it seem boring, conventional, and arbitrary in its judgments all at once.
I can't take a book about heavy music seriously that fails to mention Pantera.
Sounds like it might be a little tedious for experts. I for one didn't know what Nu-Metal was before reading this. I do agree the Deftones had a good sound, and AIC stood the test of time better than their confederates. Did MBV make the 'heavy' cut?
I consider Hendrix to be the real breakpoint from the 3-minute radio format, directing humanity toward 'real rock'. The guitar became the center.
Great review Freddie. Like you I can't fathom the omission of Pantera. WTF? As for Krautrock, I suppose Tago Mago by Can has some "heavy" riffs on it. But what I was wondering is: does the writer actually include anything on Electric Wizard? I mean, "Satanic Rites of Drugula" is forever!
I was on board with your contrasting of punk ("expressly political lyrics, higher-pitched instrumentals and vocals, and speed") to heaviness right up until you mentioned Motörhead and appeared to put them on the heavy side of the binary (am I wrong?). I don't want to digress into Lemmy's politics but they are certainly higher-pitched and fast.
On my way into work this morning, just before I saw this, I was listening to Public Enemy’s Apocalypse 91. I wonder if they would be considered “heavy” under Moore’s definition. Partly, at least? Abrasive sound, check, big guitars, check, portentous lyrics (literally invokes apocalypse), check. I guess they also have some of the stuff you mentioned that differentiates punk—political lyrics, as well occasional bouts of speed. (But then you get something like “By the Time I Get to Arizona,” which is as slow and ponderous as they come.). Anyway, I’m pretty sure they were influenced by P-Funk, so.