A Definitive Ranking of Every KISS Album

A legendary career has seen its share of iconic LPs along with a few stinkers

A Definitive Ranking of Every KISS Album

Read the full article at the above link. My entries are below

20. Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions (1997)

Licking It Up (Analysis): Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions, the band’s 17th studio LP, represents a striking departure from the classic KISS sound as they attempted to jump on the grunge bandwagon. It was released in 1997, which was a weird time for music in general. Earlier in the decade, grunge had unceremoniously bumped glam rock out of the spotlight. Apparently, it was as good a time as any for KISS to get experimental again (let’s not forget about 1979’s Dynasty). While KISS definitely has a signature sound, they were always a little more eager to try the genres of the day on for size than other rock artists like AC/DC… for better or worse.

From the very first notes of “Hate,” it’s evident that Carnival of Souls treads on unfamiliar ground. It awkwardly lands somewhere between Helmet and ’90s Anthrax in style exuding a gritty, dirge-like sound — in stark contrast to the glam and hard rock that had defined KISS in the past. Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley’s vocals are darker and angrier, and Bruce Kulick’s guitar work delves into more dissonant and aggressive tones. Lyrically, the album expresses themes of inner turmoil and anger, reflecting a more introspective approach. KISS without makeup or a sense of humor begs the question: Is it really even KISS?

Loving It Loud (Best Song): “Hate” features a brooding atmosphere with chugging guitar work by Kulick while Simmons’ grainy vocals and deep bass lines as “The Demon” blend with the darker sound. Simmons conveys a sense of inner conflict and anger as the lyrics expound about hate at the heart of man, and saints and sinners. It’s a little reminiscent of “Unholy” both lyrically and musically, which makes it more familiar territory for the band.

Skippin’ Time (Worst Song): Maybe it’s because Kulick is singing, maybe it’s the weird effects, but “I Walk Alone” just doesn’t feel anything like a KISS song. It’s true, most of this album comes out of left field, but this track is the worst offender. It’s a slow, mediocre, and cheesy pseudo-grunge song. Kulick certainly lends his expert lead guitar skills to the mix, which is the only thing keeping it going at all. – Colette Claire

15. Sonic Boom (2009)

Licking It Up: The first KISS album in 11 years at the time, the band’s 19th effort Sonic Boom proved that the band still had some firepower left in its arsenal. The LP features straight-ahead rock tunes that blend memorable melodies with solid riffage from lead guitarist Tommy Thayer, not to mention the driving rhythm section courtesy of Eric Singer and Gene Simmons. The album’s hard-hitting and energetic sound harkened back to the band’s ’70s heyday with tracks like “Russian Roulette,” “I’m an Animal,” and “Say Yeah.”

Sonic Boom didn’t reinvent the wheel, but after 18 albums, it really shouldn’t have to. The apparent power, energy, and unapologetic attitude made it clear that KISS could still deliver the goods. Indeed, fans were hungry after 10-plus years for a return to form. Thus, Sonic Boom stands as a testament to the enduring legacy of one of rock n’ roll’s most iconic bands and a reminder that KISS were very much alive and well even in 2009, when pop, indie rock, and hip-hop ruled the day.

Loving It Loud: “Modern Day Delilah” serves as the opening statement of the album, and it’s a powerful one. It could have just as easily been written in 1989 rather than 2009, and this only lends to its credibility as a true KISS song that should appear on any quintessential KISS playlist. It features Stanley’s signature smooth but raspy vocals and a catchy, hard-rocking riff at the opening, not to mention a killer lead guitar solo by Thayer.

Skippin’ Time: In keeping with the ’80s vibe of this record, KISS felt the need to throw in a cheesy, uplifting, mid-paced power ballad — in this case, the song “Stand.” While the positive vibe is nice and the guitar solo is just as killer as all the rest on this album, the chorus is kinda weak both musically and lyrically. This part of the ’80s very much should’ve stayed in that decade. – C. Claire

10. Revenge (1992)

Licking It Up: KISS showed no signs of slowing down and growing old gracefully on Revenge, which marked the debut of drummer Eric Singer following Eric Carr’s death in November 1991.

While it wasn’t the return of the old-school KISS in full makeup, Revenge was still a welcome change for fans. A thunderous sonic storm, the album embraced a heavier, more aggressive sound than some of their previous efforts. Simmons’ snarling vocals on “Unholy” and Stanley’s soaring melodies on songs like “Take It Off” set the tone for an album that’s equally fierce and melodic. On “Take It Off,” Stanley’s charismatic delivery drives the song’s chorus along with an energetic rhythm, making it a standout on the album. Hard-rocking gem “Domino” is also notable with its infectious riffs and hooky chorus, exemplifying KISS’ ability to craft straightforward, no-frills rockers.

It is KISS, so of course there also had to be a hit ballad among all this heaviness. Their cover of the 1971 Argent song “God Gave Rock ‘n’ Roll to You” — or “God Gave Rock ‘n’ Roll to You II” as KISS dubbed it — was originally recorded for the soundtrack to Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey but, luckily, it also made it onto Revenge. The band made this track their own while adding it to their stable of live hits.

Loving It Loud: “Unholy” immediately grabs you by the throat with Simmons’ menacing lead vocals and thundering bass lines, punctuated by the chugging guitar riffs and a dark, aggressive overall vibe, make “Unholy” one of the heaviest of the entire KISS catalog. This may seem like blasphemy, pun completely intended, to some KISS fans to not put “God Gave Rock ‘n’ Roll to You II” as the best song, but, technically, it is not a KISS song and fans of KISS’ heavier side will agree that “Unholy” is the superior track.

Skippin’ Time: While a sweet, acoustic driven ballad isn’t much of a deviation for KISS, “Every time I Look at You” feels out of place on this album especially with “God Gave Rock ‘n’ Roll to You II” being the clearly superior ballad. It’s an obvious attempt to garner a chart topper power ballad and it is reminiscent of a lot of similar songs that were popular at the time. Taken by itself, or maybe even released by another artist, it is an okay song, but it just doesn’t fit into the overall vibe of Revenge. – C. Claire

05. Dressed to Kill (1975)

Licking It Up: Released in 1975, KISS’ third studio album Dressed to Kill is probably best known for spawning one of the band’s signature songs, “Rock and Roll All Nite,” which helped launch KISS to superstardom.

While Dressed to Kill didn’t exactly light the charts on fire, KISS’ live shows did, and it was during the tour for Dressed to Kill that KISS were propelled from cult status to full-blown rock icons. Shows began selling out as buzz circulated about blood spitting, smoking guitars, and fire breathing during their performances.

Musically, Dressed to Kill saw KISS coming into their own. The album features crisp guitar riffs courtesy of Ace Frehley, thunderous rhythms from Gene Simmons and Peter Criss, and hooks that instantly get stuck in your head. Aside from “Rock and Roll All Nite,” tracks like “C’mon and Love Me,” “She,’ and “Two Timer” are the perfect vehicle for KISS’ catchy, hard-rock swagger.

There was also a marked improvement production-wise on Dressed to Kill, emphasizing the band’s inherent pop inclinations while adding just the slightest metallic edge to the instrumentation. The hooks sound sharper, and the riffs and performances are far tighter than those found on Hotter Than Hell.

Loving It Loud: Hands down, “Rock and Roll All Nite” is the best song on Dressed to Kill. Not only is it catchy as hell, but it is iconic to KISS as a band. They play it as their closing song at nearly every show. However, it didn’t become the hit that we know today until it was recorded live during the Dressed to Kill tour, and released on the live album Alive! later that year.

Skippin’ Time: “Getaway”

To be fair, “Getaway” has decent guitar work, but on what is already a relatively short record, it feels like filler. The song honestly could’ve been released by any number of different bands from the same era ranging from Alice Cooper to Foghat with a stock, souped-up ’50s rock sound that was popular at the time and would eventually come to spawn an entire generation of glam rock. It’s also reminiscent of other better KISS songs. – C. Claire

Johnny Kelly Talks New Supergroup Eye Am, Debut Single, and Type O Negative Reissues

Colette Claire

Johnny Kelly Talks New Supergroup Eye Am, Debut Single, and Type O Negative Reissues

June 5, 2023 | 2:48pm ET

Johnny Kelly will not sit still, but he has a very good reason. In 2010, when Type O Negative frontman Peter Steele passed away, Kelly was confronted with both the loss of his best friend and possibly his career. It was a shock to the system that has kept the drummer moving ever since. As Kelly puts it, at the time of Steele’s death, he had spent most of his adult life playing in Type O Negative, so he set out to find out where else his musical talents would lead him.

Turns out, Kelly has been quite prolific, having played with numerous bands throughout his now storied career, including Danzig, Quiet Riot, Silvertomb, A Pale Horse Named Death, and Kill Devil Hill.Kelly’s latest endeavor, Eye Am, is a supergroup featuring members of Type O Negative and Crowbar. Along with Kelly, Eye Am consists of fellow Type O alumnus Kenny Hickey, Crowbar frontman Kirk Windstein, and former Crowbar bassist Todd Strange.

The band’s just-released first single, “Dreams Always Die with the Sun” (listen below) sounds like Black Sabbath meets the Beatles if they were opening for KISS in the 1970s.

Kelly checked in with Heavy Consequence via Zoom from his home in Texas on a rare break in his schedule to discuss the formation and future of Eye Am, as well as some interesting tidbits surrounding Type O Negative’s recent reissues.

With both bands known for their heavy down-tuned riffs, Crowbar and Type O Negative seem like such a natural pairing. How did Eye Am come about?

It was great to finally have the opportunity to work with Todd and Kirk. I’ve known them for years. All of us have been friends for, Jesus, like, 30 years now. Our paths have crossed many times throughout the years, but we never had the opportunity to play together. We kept up on social media, but it was [a mutual friend of ours] Andrew Spaulding, who came up with this idea to have us play together and record a song. He’s putting it out on his indie label Corpse Paint Records.

What was the writing process like for “Dreams Always Die With the Sun”?

Kenny and Kirk had been sending ideas back and forth to each other, and I hadn’t heard anything and in our group text I was like, “Hey, anybody got a song?” And I kept getting “no” answers. [And they explained] Kirk likes to write in the studio. So, when I got to Florida, we went right to the rehearsal studio. Kenny, Kirk and Todd were there, and they just started showing me what they had. Then we started putting the song together. So, by the end of the night, we had the song. And then the next morning, we went into the studio and recorded it.

What was the recording process like at Roger Lima’s studio The Moathouse?

That was fun. We were not really doing a lot of pre-production, so we were just going by the seat of our pants. The end result was really cool. So, I basically flew there, did the rehearsal, did the drum track. And then I was on a flight back. Then those guys stayed and finished the song the next day with the vocals and all the guitar parts and stuff. We’re really happy with the way that this song came out and the whole experience. That was the first thing that came from us getting together and I think it’s a great start.

Is there more Eye Am material in the works?

Yes, this was just the start to see how it would work. Kind of like a lab test or something. Lock yourselves in a room and don’t come out until you’ve got something. The challenge of that was cool. Now, the plan is we’re getting together at the end of June in New Orleans for another writing session but this time we’re gonna be there for like a week so we can work on a whole album. Kirk is in Europe right now with Crowbar. And I have some shows with Quiet Riot but then we’re all going to convene in New Orleans.

“Dreams Always Die with the Sun” has a very Black Sabbath meets the Beatles feel to it.

Maybe it’s because of our age but you’re not going to be able to get away from who you’ve been for so long. And I think it would just be straight up bull shit to try to do something that isn’t me, especially at this stage in my career. You’re not going to come out sounding like Avenged Sevenfold or like one of the newer bands. It’s not us. And then anyone that would know us would be like “these guys are full of shit.” Kirk and Todd are into the same stuff, so I think those parallels will be there which I’m totally fine with because I like both bands, so I was like OK. And most people that are familiar with those bands, and I was like, “wow, I like this.”

Will the sound of the entire album be similar to the single?

It’s definitely more of a throwback to the 70s, and the music that we used to listen to. I mean that first opening part [in “Dreams Always Die with the Sun”] with the drums and everything, I was referring to it as the “Sly and the Family Stone part.” They were like, “What are you talking about?” And I was like, “No, listen.” And then they said, “Oh shit, you’re right.” So, we’re more in that mindset so we’ll see what happens.

The single also has more of a Type O Negative feel than other projects you have worked with. Was that intentional?

People are gonna kind of have that expectation. These guys are from Type O so it’s going to kind of sound like Type O, but then it doesn’t always, which is kind of cool and refreshing. It doesn’t quite sound like Crowbar or Type O. It sounds a little different, a little abstract. But you could tell the ingredients are there. There are definitely things that are elements of both bands that are in the song and that’s alright.

Is Kenny Hickey going to be the main vocalist for Eye Am?

It’ll come down to the song itself and who would be a better singer for that song or that part. We do have two guys that can sing. They’re both very unique. Kirk is a very unique singer, and he has the versatility to do a lot of things with his voice. I prefer it when Kenny’s screaming his head off. Like, he’ll send me a track and I’ll be like, “It doesn’t sound like you’re suffering enough. You need to sound like you’re suffering.” And then you could utilize the range of both of them. That way they could trade off kind of like Sonny and Cher. So, it’s cool to have options like that.

I think the Type O Comparison is partly because Kenny does the lead vocals on the Eye Am single and he was the other recognizable voice in Type O.

Kenny is an exceptionally talented person. He’s a great guitar player, great singer, great lyricist. And so, I’m glad people get another opportunity to hear what Kenny’s capable of. At the end of “Dreams Always Die with the Sun,” I love the harmony that Kirk was doing with Kenny. So, I’m hoping that there’ll be more of that stuff. I’ll do whatever I can to get more of that stuff in there cause that’s one of the cool subtleties in the song

Speaking of Type O Negative, the AI video for “Halloween in Heaven” just came out. It depicts the lyrics of the song about a party in heaven with the likes of Dimebag Darrell, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison. Whose idea was the video?

It was not mine. A few weeks ago, I was told about it and then they sent us versions of it asking for edits. Like there’s a picture of Dime and he’s playing a Stratocaster in the picture. I was like, “Dime never played a Strat.” And our manager was like, “No, they can’t do that. These are the options that AI offers.” Another thing was a picture with Jimi Hendrix playing right-handed and a picture of Jim Morrison holding a guitar. So, they took those out at least. Then Josh [Silver] was like Tara [Vanflower from Lycia ] should be in the video since she sings in the song. So, then they put her in the video, but she wasn’t singing in the right part, so we were like “Can you move that over?” So, at first it was kind of weird, but then It kind of grew on me. It kind of reminds me of an old cartoon like Betty Boop, and it’s cool that we could bring some of those songs back with a different visual to go along with them and just keep the name Type O out there.

So that AI video is meant to promote the Dead Again 15th Anniversary reissue that came out last year?

Yeah, and the vinyl reissues. I just got my copies of the vinyls. It’s very exciting to see some of these records that were never released on vinyl in that format. I grew up when going to the record store was like a religious experience. You could sit in there for hours trying to figure out what you were going to get. Hopefully, people that are buying our records kind of get that same feeling. But it was cool to see the covers so big, except for Origin of the Feces — that was a little tough.

Right! The original cover art for The Origin of the Feces was censored because it is a close up of Peter Steele’s behind …

Oh yes. At the time it was originally released, it was one of those things where, with that cover, places like Walmart weren’t going to carry it. So, we had to do something that was a little more toned down. So, the original cover on vinyl is the crown jewel in our career. We released [the 2022 reissue] as a scratch and sniff.

Whose idea was it to reissue it as a scratch and sniff?

We were like kids at Christmas. Some people get to get into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, we have Origin of the Feces as a scratch and sniff. We had been trying to do that for years and the label and our manager was just like, “No way. That’s never gonna happen.” Pete always joked about it when he was alive. It was an ongoing joke for years and I always thought that would be brilliant. It would be the funniest thing. So, I get a call from my manager, “we’re going to go with the scratch and sniff.” And it was like “Yes, yes, we win!” That’s the man. The guy that was in Playgirl with the scratch and sniff ass. And then Mark Abramson, our manager, keeps us up to date on everything in our group text, was like, “I’m testing samples for the scratch and sniff today. So, what do you want this to smell like?” And we’re like, “Think of the worst smell that you could think of.” And he’s like, “I think this smells more like shit.”

Have you actually scratched it?

I’m afraid to open it. But that’s how we cement our legacy. I mean it’s all in good fun. During the pandemic, we were planning the reissues, I wanted to put the Origin of the Feces cover on a face mask. We could do like a three pack and have normal ones and then kind of slip that one in there. I thought it was brilliant. But they basically told me, “Quit while you’re ahead.”

Our thanks to Johnny Kelly for taking the time to speak with Heavy Consequence. For a bonus story on Type O Negative getting kicked out of their studio, as well as more on the scratch-and-sniff edition of The Origin of the Feces, watch the video at the top of this article.

Mayhem Launch Their 2022 North American Tour in California: Recap + Photos

The Norwegian black metal legends are joined by Midnight on the one-month run

Colette ClaireMarch 10, 2022 | 11:30am ET

Link to original article https://consequence.net/2022/03/mayhem-launch-2022-tour-recap-photos/

Setting the Stage: Norwegian black metal legends Mayhem have been around for more than 35 years, which is pretty epic considering their tumultuous history that includes murder and suicide (as depicted in the 2018 film Lords of Chaos).

The extreme metal act’s “The Sanguine Sodomy of North America” tour kicked off March 7th in San Francisco as one leg of a massive world tour, and hit Los Angeles the next night on March 8th. (Heavy Consequence was present for both shows, with a photographer in San Francisco and a reporter in L.A.). The North American leg runs wraps April 3rd in Joliet, Illinois, with tickets available via Ticketmaster.

Mayhem originally set up the outing as a co-headliner with Swedish black metal veterans Watain. Unfortunately, just days before the tour was set to begin, Watain had to drop out due to visa issues.

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Taking the Stage: Mayhem’s set was essentially a retrospective of their long and storied career presented in three acts complete with costume and set changes. The band fully embraces the theatrics of black metal, which helps make the show such an immersive live experience.

The first act of Mayhem’s set consisted of newer material, opening with “Falsified and Hated” from their latest studio album, Daemon, which landed at No. 1 on Heavy Consequence‘s Top Metal & Hard Rock Albums of 2019. With its spastic opening riffs that veer into a churning atmospheric dirge, it was a great choice. The song embodies the band’s style, which hasn’t wavered much over the years. Act One wrapped up with “Voces Ab Alta,” a track off their recent Atavistic Black Disorder / Kommando EP.

Then the stage went dark and creepy music played as the band prepared for Act Two. The lights went up revealing a backdrop change from a disturbing depiction of Jesus to an ominous cathedral with upside-down crosses. Lead singer Attila Csihar changed from a red pope-like robe to a black ritual style one with the guitarists flanking him on either side in hoods like evil monks. Mayhem had very little banter between songs, as they let the music do the talking.

The band then went into one of their more famous (or possibly infamous) songs, “Freezing Moon,” from their iconic debut album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. One got a reverent feeling as the band continued to blast through the older material with audience favorites like “Pegan Fears.” Its intricately speed picked intensity was very well executed by current guitarists Charles “Ghul” Hedger and Teloch. Of course, they were accompanied by the thundering bass of founding member Necrobutcher, as a mosh pit broke out within the crowd.

Act Three began with the instrumental opener “Silvester Anfang” from the 1987 Deathcrush EP. Now bathed in red light with a red banner emblazoned with a giant Mayhem logo behind them, the band launched into some true Norwegian black metal from back in the day, including the title track from Deathcrush as well as “Chainsaw Gutsfuck.” By this time, Mayhem had taken off their robes and masks, allowing fans to finally see their full faces. They threw in the “Freezing Moon” split single “Carnage” and ended the set with the short but brutal “Pure F**king Armageddon,” the last track on Deathcrush. The song served as a proper closer, as that’s exactly what the audience experienced during Mayhem’s set — pure f**king armageddon.

Mayhem’s Necrobutcher: I wanted to kill Euronymous myself

Solid Support: Midnight, the one-man blackened speed metal band from Ohio formed by multi-instrumentalist Athenar, was an interesting choice for the opener. Of course, there was supposed to be Watain in between, which would have bridged the gap a bit more between Midnight’s black metal party music and the hypnotic and brutal reverence that was Mayhem. Both Midnight and Mayhem also played longer sets to make up for their absence.

Midnight is certainly fun as the three-piece they have become for live shows. They found a hell of a drummer and have some good chemistry on stage despite being born of a one-man project. Their faces were covered in masks somewhere between bondage and Leather Face as they plowed through their succinct brand of punk beats with thrashy guitars and shouted vocals.

“Hello Los Angeles, City of Evil Angels,” Athenar remarked as they kicked off their insanely loud set with “Black Rock’n’Roll” from the Complete and Total Hell compilation. They certainly make “music to start fights to,” as their record label Metal Blade puts it, as they had a very decent pit going.

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After some sound issues with the vocals and bass, Athenar quipped, “Can you hear the vocals because what I’m saying is very important.” With song titles like “Who Gives a F**k” and “Evil Like a Knife” it is clear they don’t take themselves too seriously.

Overall, despite the absence of Watain, fans were treated to a full evening of brutal in-your-face metal music.

Mayhem’s North American tour with Midnight runs through an April 3rd show in Joliet, Illinois. Pick up tickets here.

Rob Zombie’s The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy Offers Comfort in the Macabre: Review

Colette ClaireMarch 10, 2021 | 7:56am ET

The veteran rocker’s first album in five years is spooky, groovy, heavy, horror-inspired fun

Link to original article https://consequence.net/2021/03/rob-zombie-the-lunar-injection-kool-aid-eclipse-conspiracy-review/

The Lowdown: It has been five years since Rob Zombie’s last release, but The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy makes the wait worth it. With an impressive 17 tracks, Zombie decided not to mess with a winning formula. The new effort continues with the same lineup as the previous two albums (2013’s Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor and 2016’s The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser): Zombie on vocals, John 5 on guitar, Piggy D on bass, and Ginger Fish on drums. It also has the same producer as the previous album, the mysteriously named Zeuss (Queensrÿche, Hatebreed, Municipal Waste). The result is exactly what you would expect from Zombie: a well-produced and expertly written spooky, groovy, heavy, horror-inspired rock album with some added surprises.

The Good: In a world full of uncertainty, it really is comforting that Rob Zombie is still the man to see if you want to bang your head to songs about witches, graves, and monsters. Songs like “The Ballad of Sleezy Rider”, “The Satanic Rites of Blacula”, and “Shadow of the Cemetery Man” are catchy, heavy fun with a solid rhythm section and expert guitar work. “Boom-Boom-Boom” is a standout with its churning groove evocative of “Pussy Liquor” from the House of 1000 Corpses soundtrack. Another is the single “The Eternal Struggles of the Howling Man”, which features some sick metal guitar riffs from the talented John 5.

Something that is worth noting is the evolution of the instrumental tracks on The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy, like the hypnotic “The Serenity of Witches” and the beautiful “The Much Talked of Metamorphosis”. Zombie is known for his prominent use of samples and keyboards to add atmosphere to his songs, usually presented in the form of an intro to a track. However, on his recent albums, these experiments with sound have morphed into some genuinely intriguing stand-alone instrumental songs. Since John 5 has released eight solo albums as a virtuoso guitarist, one can surmise that this evolution of the instrumental pieces in Zombie’s work are partly the guitarist’s influence.

The Bad: One might say this is more weird than bad, but “18th Century Cannibals, Excitable Morlocks and a One-Way Ticket on the Ghost Train” has got to be the biggest deviation on the album from the Zombie norm (if there is such a thing). It has a country-ish sound reminiscent of Primus’ penchant for strange arrangements and old timey Americana. Zombie has proclaimed himself a “hellbilly” and it appears he is taking this moniker to the next level. This track raises the question: can industrial-country be considered a thing? Although it is not totally out of left field, as it does remind one a little bit of “Well, Everybody’s F**king in a U.F.O” from The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser.

The Verdict: While “The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition)” was the first single off of this album, the track that really encompasses the overall vibe has got to be “Shake Your Ass-Smoke Your Grass”. As with most of the LP, the instrumentation and lyrics are equal parts memorable and evil. Let’s face it, memorable and evil are two traits any fan would want from a Rob Zombie album.

Essential Tracks: “Boom-Boom-Boom”, “Shake Your Ass-Smoke Your Grass”, “The Ballad of Sleezy Rider”, “The Eternal Struggles of the Howling Man”

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The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy Artwork:

The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy Tracklist:
01. Expanding the Head of Zed
02. The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition)
03. The Ballad of Sleazy Rider
04. Hovering Over the Dull Earth
05. Shadow of the Cemetery Man
06. A Brief Static Hum and Then the Radio Blared
07. 18th Century Cannibals, Excitable Morlocks and a One-Way Ticket On the Ghost Train
08. The Eternal Struggles of the Howling Man
09. The Much Talked of Metamorphosis
10. The Satanic Rites of Blacula
11. Shower of Stones
12. Shake Your Ass-Smoke Your Grass
13. Boom-Boom-Boom
14. What You Gonna Do with That Gun Mama
15. Get Loose
16. The Serenity of Witches
17. Crow Killer Blues

GWAR’s Livestream Concert Turns Scumdogs of the Universe into a Virtual Bloodbath: Review

Link to Orginal Article https://consequence.net/2020/11/gwar-streaming-scumdogs-concert-review/

Colette Claire

November 2, 2020 | 2:32pm ET

Setting the Stage: Not even a global pandemic can stop the band, the myth, the legend that is GWAR. The intergalactic barbarians just released a remastered 30th anniversary edition of their seminal Scumdogs of the Universe album, and what better way to commemorate this momentous event than a streaming concert on Halloween eve?

For those not keeping up with the GWAR universe, following the tragic death of Oderus Urungus (Dave Brockie) in 2014, Blöthar the Berserker (Michael Bishop) took over lead vocals. Many fans originally know Bishop as the man behind bassist Beefcake the Mighty from 1988-1994 but this time around he returned from Scumdoggia as Blöthar to keep the GWAR machine ticking. While there’s no denying Oderus’ iconic status as GWAR’s frontman, the metal act has always had a rotating cast of characters since its inception in Richmond, Virginia, in 1984.

GWAR’s current lineup consists of Blöthar (Bishop) on vocals, Balsac the Jaws of Death (Mike Derks) on rhythm guitar, Jizmak Da Gusha (Brad Roberts) on drums, Pustulus Maximus (Brent Purgason) on lead guitar, and Beefcake the Mighty (Casey Orr) on bass.

Taking the Stage: After a pre-show that featured interviews with band members, sketches, and other tidbits, GWAR kicked off the eventful “Scumdogs XXX Live” concert. The band delivered as promised, playing Scumdogs of the Universe in its entirety — albeit out of order and with some interesting additions. The band played with full force and in full costume with some decent camera and lighting work, which made this a nice consolation for anyone looking forward to a GWAR”s annual Halloween show before COVID put a stop to most live events.

A definite highlight was the encore, which included “Cool Place to Park”, originally sung by Bishop on Scumdogs. As Blöthar, Bishop does have a more operatic, heavy metal vocal style than Brockie, who came from a punk-rock background. On classics like “Sick of You”, Bishop’s version did take some getting used to, but he does bring an interesting flavor to it. In a chatroom, a fan commented “that scatting was pretty tight” referring to the extra flourishes Bishop was adding during “Sick of You”.

One of the cool non-Scumdogs performances in the setlist was “The Private Pain of Techno Destructo” from 1997’s Carnival of Chaos. Techno Destructo (Hunter Jackson) is GWAR’s longtime arch nemesis sent to destroy the band. Joined by the other Destructos, Jackson intruded on the performance to try to kill the band and sing his lament. This led to a flurry of comedic violence as only GWAR can present, not to mention a great rendition of the song.

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Another surprise was the presence of Slymenstra Hymen (Danielle Stampe), who is not considered a current member of the GWAR lineup. Stampe came out during the performance and ran around the stage whipping and humping on random slave pit lackies as she has a tendency to do. The one female member of GWAR, Stampe was prominently featured in the 1990 performance of Scumdogs included during the pre-show footage, so she was a welcome addition to the live performance dressed in her spiky Viking attire.

For the final song of the evening, the band’s “manager” Sleazy P. Martini (Don Drakulich) provided lead vocals on “Slaughterama”, the mock gameshow where the only prize the contestants win is death at the hands of GWAR. This song is a crowd favorite due to the copious amounts of fake blood sprayed by the puppet victims onto the crowd. The blood was certainly spraying, but since this was the quarantine version of GWAR, viewers had to provide their own fake blood if they really wanted to get into the spirt of things.

Some may argue that there are no original members in GWAR, but Derks, Roberts, and Bishop all played on the original recording of Scumdogs of the Universe. The album was GWAR’s first release for Metal Blade Records and is considered by many to be the LP that cemented their place in heavy metal history. Thus, the presence of Derks, Roberts, and Bishop, along with Drakulich, Stampe and Jackson (who founded GWAR along with Brockie) definitely gave an authenticity to the performance of the songs.

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GWAR, being GWAR, had no problem addressing Brockie’s death during the performance. One of the victims in the “Slaughterama” performance was wearing a RIP David Brockie shirt. Likewise, in a short sketch during the pre-show, Techno Destructo, bent on his mission to kill GWAR, is informed that Oderus is already dead. If it wasn’t GWAR we were talking about, one might call this bad taste, but what do you expect from a bunch of intergalactic barbarians?

If you missed the bloodshed, you’re in luck. The “Scumdogs XXX Live” concert stream is available through November 15th, with tickets available here. You can also pick up the 30th anniversary edition of Scumdogs of the Universe here.

Setlist:
The Salaminizer
The Years Without Light
Sexecutioner
Black and Huge
Vlad the Impaler
Death Pod
Maggots
Love Surgery
Horror of Yig
King Queen
Sick of You
The Private Pain of Techno Destructo
U Ain’t Shit

Ranking Every Megadeth Album From Worst to Best (my sections only)

Link to original article here https://consequence.net/2020/01/ranking-every-megadeth-album/

by Jon Hadusek, Colette Claire, Langdon Hickman and Greg Prato
January 30, 2020 | 9:19am ET

Welcome to Dissected, where we disassemble a band’s catalog, based on the exact science of personal opinion, late-night debates, and the love of music. In this installment, we rank Megadeth’s discography thus far.

The origin of Megadeth is a tale of redemption for its central figure, Dave Mustaine. After being fired from Metallica for his erratic behavior and substance abuse, Mustaine was left to his own devices. He formed Megadeth as his new songwriting outlet, filling out the lineup with choice musicians who could execute his songs and ideas.

Throughout the band’s career, Mustaine has been the central force behind a revolving-door cast of guitarists, drummers, and bassists — with longtime bassist David Ellefson being the closest thing to Mustaine’s musical accomplice. He surrounds himself with those who can achieve his vision for the band. As Mustaine goes, Megadeth goes.

15. Super Collider (2013)

Symphony of Dissection (Analysis): Super Collider feels like a band that normally has a very strong identity suddenly struggling to find itself. The album starts off promising (although a bit like a Judas Priest album rather than Megadeth) with the blistering intro guitar riff to “Kingmaker”. However, the LP then meanders into a mid-tempo mess of thrash metal tropes played way too slowly, and this happens before “Kingmaker” even ends.

The title track “Supercollider” that comes up next certainly doesn’t help matters with its oddly ’70s rock influenced chorus. Releasing material as long as Megadeth had been by this point, it’s difficult not to repeat yourself or go off in strange directions and many criticized the album as a rehash of their previous material.

It seems like what really upset people was the band’s heading in a commercial direction again as they had done once before in their career. Fans felt they had been promised a heavier direction with Th1rt3en and then faced the same digression as they had in the 1990s with Countdown to Extinction — but with much less promising results.

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Holy Worth (Best Song): Although it starts slow and shows a band that is unsure of what direction it is going, with introspective verses, a catchy chorus, and then a randomly heavy thrash ending, “Dance in the Rain” is one of the strongest songs on the album with interesting lyrics and blazing guitar work. It also sounds the most like a Megadeth song with Mustaine’s patented political rants about debt and the working man. It also has some great bass riffs by David Ellefson.

Tornado of Slop (Worst Song): “Beginning of Sorrow” is not a bad song really, if it were released by Disturbed or even In Flames, but not Megadeth. Even the amazing guitar solo work and tight song writing cannot mask the fact that it just doesn’t resonate as one would expects from the band and feels a little like pandering to the masses. The chorus is slow and plodding, albeit catchy. — Colette Claire

11. Endgame (2009)

Symphony of Dissection: Many critics and fans lauded Endgame as a return to form that was their best since Rust in Peace. While this might not be entirely the case, it is a very strong album that combines the melodic elements of Megadeth and the heavier thrash elements very well. It doesn’t feel uneven in either direction. Endgame was also the first album they released with guitarist Chris Broderick, after Glen Drover left in 2008, but was the band’s last album with bassist James LoMenzo.

Clearly, by this point in their career, Megadeth had juggled musicians (as well as record companies) several times. Mustaine had disbanded Megadeth in 2002 due to nerve issues in his arm, and so he had to rebuild it once he recovered in 2004. Despite all this upheaval, Megadeth released some solid material upon their return, and this included Endgame. Songs like “This Day We Fight!” reminded fans and critics of albums like So Far, So Good… So What!

Endgame did fairly well commercially, hitting the Billboard 200 at No. 9, which is solid for a metal band with so many years under their belt. The guitar work on this album is really noteworthy especially the solo on “How the Story Ends”. The song “Head Crusher” is also a notable stand out which was also nominated for “Best Metal Performance” at the 52nd annual Grammy Awards. Not Megadeth’s first nomination, but their first in over ten years.

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Holy Worth: “44 Minutes” is an epic opus dedicated to the events of February 28, 1997, when two bank robbers armed to the teeth attempted to take over a Bank of America in North Hollywood, California. Mustaine uses his sometimes overly articulate lyrical skill to describe the event perfectly. This coupled with a memorable chorus and guitar riffs makes this song a standout track on the album.

Tornado of Slop: “Bodies”, with its radio-friendly chorus, leaves something to be be desired. Although its hard to call it radio-friendly given the subject matter. The lyrics read “All the bodies left behind/ May all have been good friends.” Despite a killer solo, the song is a little slower than the rest on the more thrashy album. — Colette Claire

07. Youthanasia (1994)

Symphony of Dissection: With the success of Countdown to Extinction, expectations were high for Youthanasia — and fans were not disappointed. Youthanasia was almost the continuation of Countdown to Extinction and followed in the same radio-friendly but still heavy direction. What was most refreshing is that Megadeth was undeterred by the onset of grunge and kept doing what they did best, which by this point was a mix of hard rock and metal sometimes dubbed “thrash n’ roll.”

Yes, Megadeth continued to experiment with more commercial melodies, but they were one of the rare exceptions among their peers who didn’t attempt to acquiesce to the new sound from Seattle. As hard hitting as it is emotional and melodic, songs like the heavy but accessible “Train of Consequences”, the crunchy “I Thought I Knew It All”, the engaging “Reckoning Day”, and the cleaver “Victory” (where Mustaine works a bunch of past Megadeth song titles into the lyrics) showed that Youthanasia was the logical progression of the band’s sound.

Again produced by Max Norman and featuring the same lineup as Countdown to Extinction, Youthanasia peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart, and was certified platinum. And, despite its slower and more accessible qualities, the album still features thrashy elements that had become synonymous with Megadeth since Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying, including heavy bass lines, palm-muted guitar chugging, blistering guitar solos, and booming beats.

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Holy Worth: “A Tout le Monde,” (which is French for “To all the world”) is as beautiful as it is heavy. This song will always prompt a room full of metalheads to sing along with their lighters in the air. The songwriting and guitar work on this track is stellar, especially the solo. The song is about death and saying goodbye, but Mustaine claims it is not about suicide as it was mistakenly labeled. This caused quite a controversy upon its release, and what is metal without controversy?

Tornado of Slop: Though “Elysian Fields” has some interesting subject matter (the Elysian Fields are an ancient Greek conception of the afterlife), this song is mediocre at best. It is a bit slow and plodding and fails to find its footing among so many other stronger songs like the title track or “Addicted to Chaos”, making “Elysian Fields” feel a bit like filler. The “ahhhs” of the backing vocals also throw the track off. — Colette Claire

03. Countdown to Extinction (1992)

Symphony of Dissection: Taking a broader approach to the genre of thrash metal, the band’s fifth studio album, Countdown to Extinction, was their biggest commercial success. It features songs that are now Megadeth classics like the epic title track, the ode to insanity “Sweating Bullets”, and the intense “Skin O’ My Teeth”. It debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 2 and has been certified double platinum.

After the precision thrash metal of their previous albums, the more radio-friendly nature of Countdown to Extinction caused some die-hard fans to cry of “sell out”, but the fact remains that it’s a damn good album. In his 2010 autobiography, Mustaine called Countdown “a turning point” for Megadeth and said that he “knew we had a record that could alter the landscape of heavy metal.” It is true that they added more melody and slowed things down a bit from the speed/thrash metal they were known for playing. The band went in a chunkier, groovier and more approachable direction, but the creepy intros, minor-key rhythms, and soundbites help round out the new era of Megadeth.

The album featured Megadeth’s “classic” 1990s lineup of Mustaine, Ellefson, guitarist Marty Friedman and drummer Nick Menza. Mustaine, Friedman, and producer Max Norman also brought their perfectionism to the table while crafting the LP, making it as technical as it is catchy. The lyrics on Countdown to Extinction also proved that Megadeth was a little more intellectual than some of their thrash counterparts with songs like dark and relentless “Foreclosure of a Dream,” which was inspired by the foreclosure Ellefson parent’s family farm and addressed Reagan-era economics in its lyrics.

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Holy Worth: “Symphony of Destruction” is definitely one of the most memorable tracks as it was also a huge single. However, it was difficult to decide on a best song on this album as every track stands out. “Symphony of Destruction”, though, is heavy, chugging and iconic. The verse riff is so iconic that it is one of those riffs you hear when people are testing out guitars at Guitar Center. The chorus is melodic and memorable but still dark and heavy. The lyrics speak to the overall themes of the entire album of loss and betrayal on a political level.

Tornado of Slop: “This Was My Life” is probably the least attention-grabbing song on this album. Although it is just as difficult to pick a worst song on this album as it is to pick a best one, if one has to choose, it would be “This Was My Life.” This is simply because it is not as heavy and brooding as the rest of the album and stands out as a low point for this reason. It is more reminiscent of what was to come on Youthanasia. — Colette Claire