Throwback Review: "Afterglow" by Funeral Mantra

Afterglow

Tonight, the family and I will be watching the returns. (This should let you know what day this is being written.)

Well, while we do that our kind of comfort food will be served. St. Louis Style Pizza, Cheese Garlic Bread, and Toasted Ravioli.

Comfort food is a wonderful thing because it's something that truly makes us feel better. If we're feeling uneasy about something, there it is.

Think about all of the times you've been around around the table with your family eating comfort food. It's a delightful feeling isn't it?

Food isn't the only thing that offers us comfort though. Think about three chord rock'n'roll, 12 bar blues (also three chords), and just straight up heavy metal. These sorts of music have all been around for a very long time.

Concert Photos: Avenged Sevenfold at Riverport Amphitheater in Maryland Heights October 11, 2013 -photos by Danny Nichols

Avenged Sevenfold rock Riverport in Maryland Heights, Missouri

Zacky Vengeance and Synester Gates

M. Shadows

Concert Review: Ghost at the Pageant in St. Louis, September 28, 2016 - Words and Pictures by Danny Nichols

My definition of a metal elitist is one who declares any band they do not like as being "not metal" and /or asserting any such band should not exist.  In the age of the internet it is a popular metal elitist activity to declare Ghost as being not metal.  I disagree.

LP Review: "Into The Catacomb Abyss" by Unearthed Elf

Into The Catacomb Abyss

Think back to 1995ish.

In many ways the world was very different back then, but one thing was similar.

There were solo artists coming out of the woodwork then. Ozzy, Ace Frehley, Dave Grohl had just released a solo album under the moniker of Foo Fighters.

Now, solo acts are most definitely a thing. Some people, myself included, will tell you that Ace Frehley and Ozzy Osbourne have yet to improve upon the body of work they created in their original bands.

As a solo musician, Ozzy succeeds on every possible level. In my critical opinion, it's because he only plays his part and barely writes honestly. The musicians write and play. Ace Frehley, these days, likes to have his fingers all over the tracks.

Double LP Review: "Beyond The Veil" by Dark Forest

Beyond The Veil

This year, there has been much travelling in my life. Chicago, Joliet, Buffalo, San Francisco, Honolulu, Birmingham, and more I'm sure.

What all of this consistently reminds me of is how small I am in comparison to the rest of the world.

Not even the world, but just the United States of America.

When people emigrate here, they're typically astounded by the size. The great expanse of our country is something to truly behold.

But take that one step further.

In terms of geographic size, we are a small part of the planet earth and we only have five percent of the world's population. There is a giant universe that we have not even scratched. The immensity of creation can be something terrifying if looked at in the wrong context.

LP Review: "Kingdom of Sand" by Myriad of Lights

Kingdom of Sand

There was a time when the ooze was still primordial.

In that time, the world was very old, but the living were young. In time, things began to change. Pangaea broke up into several smaller continents.

The air become breathable.

Life crawled out of the sea and onto the land. This is when things really started to hot up.

Eventually the world has become what we know it as, but try as we might to make our world into Coruscant, there are still pockets of what used to be.

We live in a world that contains places that man has yet to despoil or improve, depending upon your stance at the moment. What if humanity could return to the point of the primordial ooze?

Album Review: "Times of Pride and Peril" by Holy Grail

Time of Pride and Peril

Years ago, I was in a band.

Naturally I failed, but to call me a failed musician is like calling Philip J Fry a grad school drop out.

All those band practices were basically just a chance to hang out with one of my best friends who played bass and pretend that we had something.

We didn't, but we did get a song on the local college radio station where our "singer" was a DJ. So there's that.

We read all the musicians' magazines. Remember this was the mid 90's, so shredding was still popular.

I remember reading an article about translating what a musician says into what he really means. One in particular stuck out to me. "He plays fast, but with no emotion" translated to "I can't play fast." (If you hate highly skilled musicians and prefer more basic songs, check out King Mud from 1/28. It's more your speed.)

Album Review: "The Cycle Never Ends" by Ravensire

The Cycle Never Ends

Every year, for as long as I can remember, Thanksgiving has meant the following things:

Family, turkey, stuffing, and enough mashed potatoes to fill the lower floor of my house.

This is our tradition and how we celebrate the season. I think that most people have more traditions than they can even name.

Started by family members that we don't even remember and have never known. These kinds of traditions can be very comforting and remind of us our loved ones that we no longer see or who have left the physical realm for the ethereal one.

Traditions are more than just what we do, but they make up parts of who we are. It's just important to remember that "because we've always done it this way" is not an appropriate response when someone asks you if we can change it.

Album Review: "Heaven's Gate" by Eternal of Sweden

Heaven's Gate

Growing up, Scandinavia was this place very far away.

Taking Social Studies as a young lad, I remember hearing about the midnight sun and the northern lights.

I still desire to see the Aurora Borealis.

As I've gotten older, our friends of the fjords have grown more and more interesting. Their exportation of hockey players comes to mind.

Think of the first Euro NHL player, he's from Finland or Sweden isn't he? Russians don't count. They're Russian players.

Sweden, Finland, Norway, and maybe that little bit of Russia, are very, very metal. From black metal to power metal to thrash metal to the Gothenburg scene, they have given us many more great metal bands than great hockey players.

Album Review: "Living Like a Runaway" by Lita Ford

I read about this album in the where are they  now column of Guitar World. I confess that I was rather interested in this although I cannot honestly say why. I never really much enjoyed Lita Ford aside from the two really big tunes she had. I suppose the story of her husband turning her sons against her intrigued me.

Well, I didn't buy the album because of that article, but flash forward a few months and I was staring at Lita Ford and her band in the Chaiffetz Arena and they were just killing it, aside from the drums being too high up in the mix. The wife and I walked to the merch table right after her set was up and bought her CD. Now that I've gotten older and shirts more expensive, that's the kind of thing I want to take home with me. The album. So I did just that. I thought she had earned it.