Qwertyy's Journal of Music Reviews and Other Assorted Ramblings

Ol’ Qwerty Bastard · 02-22-2016, 07:24 PM

THE FORMATION

Who isn't familiar with Metallica? A band formed by lead vocalist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, they had been gaining quite the buzz for a fair amount of time prior to the release of their debut album Kill 'Em All. In fact, they had even managed to gain an opportunity to open for British heavy metal outfit Saxon, as well as securing an appearance on Metal Blade Records' compilation album Metal Massacre where their song Hit the Lights was featured as the closing track. Even though a misprint on the credits saw them labeled as Mettallica, it mattered not, as their momentum didn't slow one bit. Near the end of '82 the band began planning the release of their first full-length, but because of Metal Blade being unable to support them financially, they were forced to leave and join New York based label Megaforce Records. It wasn't long after signing that they began the writing process for their LP, however just one month before the recording could begin, guitarist Dave Mustaine was kicked out of the band for what the other members deemed to be an uncooperative attitude and more than a fair share of substance abuse issues. Fortunately, the band were able to recruit guitarist Kirk Hammett a short while later, and in May of 1983, the four piece hit the studio.

THE ALBUM

Kill 'Em All, Metallica's highly regarded debut album saw the group fuze together your uncle's favorite New Wave of Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) act with your favorite childhood hardcore punk band and create something you could both use to piss all of your neighbours off. Not only were Metallica the first of the big four to release a full length album, but their project also eclipsed the length of the debuts from their three peers by well over twenty minutes. With ambitious song lengths and plenty of wicked guitar riffs courtesy of Kirk Hammett, Metallica sure took the metal world by storm with this one.

The opener Hit The Lights sets the tables perfectly, as the track features impressive musicianship and the kind of finger-blazing guitar solo that proved Hammett was capable of much more than just playing punk inspired riffs for fifty plus minutes. While the lyrics throughout the album are akin to exactly what you'd expect a group of juvenile rockers to come up with, it's the delivery from fired-up frontman James Hetfield that force them to stick as he switches between the screams of a madman and the barking of a rabid dog to help propel his words of violence and warfare overtop of the booming drums and groovy bass lines on songs like Jump in the Fire and Whiplash, both of which were released as singles from the album.

With that being said, the heart of this album is of course Hammett's guitar play. This is the album that inspired many of your favorite 90's guitarist to pick up the instrument in the first place, and it's also the record that made thrash metal into what it ended up becoming. Still, some of the credit needs to go to the man who formed Megadeth just a short time later, as Dave Mustaine wrote four of the album's tracks, while his replacement Hammett performed them.

Hammett and Hetfield are not the only ones who impress on the album though. The instrumental track (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth is built purely off of Cliff Burton's bass groove, and is strictly that for the first few minutes before Lars Ulrich joins in on the drums. It's a fantastic showing from Burton, and not something you'd expect to see, but it makes for a great momentary break from the chaos of the other guitar and vocals.

The most well known track from this project is of course, Seek & Destroy which went on to become one of Metallica's most iconic songs. The riff is instantly recognizable among metal fans both young and old, and even with a near seven minute runtime, you never want it to come to a close. This single track encompasses everything that the band members had done previously on the album. You get another raw vocal showcase from Hetfield, a great solo from Hammett, and a fantastic rhythm job from both Ulrich and Burton. The music on this project truly speaks for itself, and this right here is the release that gave birth to one of the most legendary runs in metal music through Metallica's first four albums. If nothing else, it's a hard one to match.

Thrashterpieces:
Hit the Lights
The Four Horsemen
Motorbreath
Jump in the Fire
Whiplash
Seek & Destroy

During the time that this project first hit stores, a little Californian metal group known as Slayer were performing covers of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest songs throughout the So-Cal region. That was, until they discovered the sounds of thrash metal. By combining their Satanic imagery with the same loud, in your face style of Kill 'Em All, they became the band your parents warned you about. We'll save that one for next time though.

Ol’ Qwerty Bastard · 05-14-2016, 02:58 PM

Well, it's been a little while since I've posted in the ol' journal, and I figured now was as good as a time as any since I'm stuck in bed sick rather than outside enjoying the nice weather.

I'm dedicating this post to Dean Blunt, an artist who I've just recently discovered through his last full-length solo project Black Metal, which despite the name, is very very far from being even the slightest bit comparable to the extreme metal genre that originated in the 1980's and 90's.

In fact, the album is, really unlike anything I've heard before it. From the intro track, titled Lush,that overflows with baroque pop influence, to the third track Blow that takes a much more folky approach, and see's Blunt using his voice in very intriguing fashion. That becomes a running trend on the album, as it's clear from the start that he isn't the strongest vocalist. It's the way he uses his voice, however, that makes him stand out. With his delivery, that at times feels almost hip-hop like with the way he mumbles over the words as he spouts them out rather nonchalantly, as well as lyrically, as he ponders a wide range of topics on the project. He doesn't shy away from his hip-hop influence with his lyricism either, as he rambles on with lines like "molly water flowing in my dome" and "ridin' through these streets, I'm strapped with my nina."

There's one rather huge, ambitious cut with Forever, which runs 13 minutes long and remains almost exclusively an instrumental track throughout that time frame, and when it's followed up with the ambient, drone filled intro of X, it really shows the diversity Blunt is capable of. It's really hard for me to put a finger on exactly what goes on throughout the rest of the album, as his blend of hypnotizing art-pop is quite frankly too diverse to put a finger on. I think at the end of the day, it's an album you need to experience for yourself in order to get a grasp of exactly what's going on, and I would highly recommend to those who enjoy weird, left field pop music that isn't going to shy away from some more experimental influences. So, what are you waiting for? Give it a listen.

Ol’ Qwerty Bastard · 05-27-2016, 06:25 PM

You know, it's kind of funny to think about when you look at the grand scheme of things. Here I am, about to finish high school and pursue a career in journalism, with dreams of diving into the pool of music journalists head-first, holding onto the hope that I'll be able to swim and not sink despite my inexperience; and yet, lately I've struggled with consistency and often times, I just lack the effort required to do any sort of writing.

Instead, I sit at my desk, eyes fixed on the brightly lit screen of the MacBook Pro that will be my co-pilot on my journey for the foreseeable future. I want to write, scratch that, I need to write, and yet I can't. The scholarship applications are stacked thick on top of the black Canon printer to my right, and the deadlines, ranging from next week, all the way to next month, taunt me. They can't speak obviously, I mean, they're all just flimsy pieces of paper after all, right? In spite of that, I can still hear them talking.

"Come on, you don't have much time left."

"You really think you can afford to let this money just slip through your fingers?"

"You know, you probably wouldn't get this one anyway."

At this point, I just want the world to stop spinning. I want to stay where I'm at with life until I'm ready to move on. I want my biggest worry to be which friends' house I'll be crashing at after the next party, not how and if I will be able to micromanage my spending for the next four years in a reasonable fashion. Unfortunately, the Earth will be continuing it's rotation for the time being, and despite my urge to do the complete opposite; I have no choice but choosing to grow up. And so the routine starts again:

Open Microsoft Word.

Stare at the cursor, it flashes slowly before my eyes, pleading to me, begging me to just start typing.

I'll check my phone, maybe something new is happening on one of the various social media sites I browse. I mean, it has been almost 15 minutes now since the last time I checked it.

Back to my computer screen, and it's still just a big blank canvas, waiting to be painted by sentence after sentence of qualifications, past experiences, and any other achievement I can use to persuade the reader that I'm the best choice for the grant, even though I'm not. I mean, surely the other applicants aren't procrastinating like me, are they?

Jennifer from Ontario is probably a straight A student, planning to major in political sciences before pursuing her law degree so that she can follow in her father's footsteps and become a lawyer herself. I'm sure her ambition to succeed is the reason why she's writing right now.

And Alex from Montreal, well, Alex he comes from a storied background to say the least. His mother died when he was still crawling around in diapers, and the only other relationship his father has held since has been with the neck of a beer bottle. He has no choice but to write, whether he wants to or not, he needs to, his future depends on it.

I can't relate to Jennifer or Alex. I've never faced that kind of adversity, and I've never had a real drive to succeed. I've just kind of, well, lived, I suppose. No real end goal for me, no way folks, I'm just doing whatever it takes to ensure that I keep floating on by and living to see another day. Now that I think about it, maybe that is my talent. Is simply "existing" enough of a challenge that I should be proud of achieving 18 years of it? If only just existing was the recipe for happiness, and held the answer to my problems.

As the spider in the corner of my room stares back at me, I contemplate talking to him. I just want someone to hear me out. I don't need to talk to a friend who will just agree back, and tell me whatever it is they think I need to hear. I don't want to talk to a family member either, they'll tell me to grow up and stop whining about the things that need to be done. I want someone who won't talk back, someone who will sit and listen, or, hang I suppose. But not even the spider who spends his day upside down in a room cluttered with dirty clothes and assorted collectibles would want to hear what it is I have to say. I don't even think I want to hear what I have to say, honestly.

The sad truth is, I could talk for minutes, hours, days even, and still, I would be saying nothing in the end.

The Batlord · 05-27-2016, 06:40 PM

Congratulations. You've made it to adulthood. Never again will anyone outside of your family ever pretend to give a flying **** about you or anything you care about. All you can do is bull**** your way through and hope that you don't get the **** bombed out of you by a corporate psychopath bent on making his way up the ladder by any means possible.

Good luck!

Tristan_Geoff · 05-27-2016, 07:19 PM

Just finished my last day of high school today; for better or worse I have two more years at home while going to community college, so I have a chance to make up for not doing anything of note over these last four years. Good luck to you with journalism, I love your writing so that has to count for something, right? I'm sure youll make it places bro.

Ol’ Qwerty Bastard · 05-27-2016, 07:27 PM

I appreciate it Tristian, best of luck to you as well! We still have a month to go before the school year is officially finished here, but this last month is essentially just a cluster of grad events and school activities. I'm hoping to make this summer a memorable one, since I suppose it will be my last as a young, naive, high school student, but I see a lot of time spent at work in my near future.

What is it you're taking at college?

Tristan_Geoff · 05-27-2016, 07:42 PM

This summer definitely has potential, planning on going busking a bunch with the other half of my two-peice.

I'm majoring in Film Studies after I get my associates in arts. I wanna be an indie film producer and be poor and without responsibility. Honest career path. I feel like the point where you're not having fun with life, being more focused on getting up in the career ladder instead of hanging out and living is when you're already dead. Like in American Beauty I guess, lol.

Ol’ Qwerty Bastard · 05-28-2016, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tristan Geoff

This summer definitely has potential, planning on going busking a bunch with the other half of my two-peice.

I'm majoring in Film Studies after I get my associates in arts. I wanna be an indie film producer and be poor and without responsibility. Honest career path. I feel like the point where you're not having fun with life, being more focused on getting up in the career ladder instead of hanging out and living is when you're already dead. Like in American Beauty I guess, lol.

That's awesome man, I have a friend who is going to the same school as me and looking to major in Film as well. The school actually has a course dedicated to studying David Lynch so I'm safe to say I'll be taking that one my second year if I get the chance.

As far as the money thing goes, I feel the same way. I've come to terms with the fact that I may never see a lot of money in the career I chose, but writing makes me happy, and I feel that alone is reason enough to pursue it.

Tristan_Geoff · 05-28-2016, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qwertyy

That's awesome man, I have a friend who is going to the same school as me and looking to major in Film as well. The school actually has a course dedicated to studying David Lynch so I'm safe to say I'll be taking that one my second year if I get the chance.

As far as the money thing goes, I feel the same way. I've come to terms with the fact that I may never see a lot of money in the career I chose, but writing makes me happy, and I feel that alone is reason enough to pursue it.

Aww I wish my school had a David Lynch class. It still has a pretty extensive program in one of America's film capitals so I'll be getting enough experience anyways. I can always teach myself more Lynch.

Ol’ Qwerty Bastard · 07-15-2016, 12:06 PM

I'm in a total musical rut at the moment, and in an effort to hopefully allow me to break out of it, I'm going to ask for you all to come through and flood me with some recommendations. Yeah, I'm jumping on the ol' TH Love or Hate band wagon, so what?

If you want a good look at my tastes you can check my RYM, but honestly I'm willing to listen to just about anything once. I'll be giving the albums a pass/fail grade, and I'll be keeping a tab on this post of who has the best recs (most passes) and who has the ****tiest taste or is the biggest troll (most fails.) So with that, go ahead and hit me with some good stuff, but please just rec per person at a time.

Spoiler for Pass/Fail Results: