Classic Spins with Black Sites

Black Sites

Have gotten in with Black Sites?

Just last month they dropped their first album together, Exile.

As my man MC Lars would say, you can sample that flavor over there on the BANDCAMP. 

The band has been around for sometime, but never together. After working and scraping, they dropped that record.

They've committed the tracks to wax and plastic. So, CD, LP, or digital, pick your poison, but in the meantime, what about this other stuff?

1. My favorite kind of album is the concept album. The Wall is my absolute favorite. Beyond the amazing songs, it has spectacular nostalgia for me. What's your favorite one and why?

I don't like to play favorites, but I happen to be listening to Queensryche's Operation: Mindcrime at this very moment. 

What makes this one brilliant is that each song can stand on its own, without being dependent on the larger narrative (although there's the occasional lyric about evil doctors or sexy nuns that might seem odd when heard out of context). 

The storyline's not half bad if you're into that, but if you're not, there's still a pile of top-notch progressive metal songs waiting for you.

2. My very first album was Live Evil by Black Sabbath. Since then I've had a strong affinity for the live record, even if they're a bit fake. KISS set the bar with Alive!. Surely, it was fake, but it's got the best concert feel of any one. Tell me about your favorite live record?

Hard to choose just one, but I'll go with Scorpions' Tokyo Tapes. Pretty much every great 1970s-era Scorpions song is here, with performances and sound quality that far surpass the studio versions. 

It's a document of a band at the absolute peak of their performing abilities, and a very enthusiastic audience as well.  

3. There are a great number of records I've turned to for my moods. What do you listen to when you're angry? Sad?

For some reason, I tend to put on old-school death metal if I'm angry, particularly Death and Massacre. The "sad" soundtrack is usually progressive rock/metal, like Fates Warning, Pain of Salvation, or (if things are really depressing) Steven Wilson. 

If I somehow find myself in a good mood, it's gotta be either 1980s thrash metal or '70s rock like Deep Purple and ZZ Top.

4. One of my friends laughs at me, routinely, for loving the Misfit Toys of albums by major bands. Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed, Carnival of Souls by Kiss, Diabolous En Musica by Slayer, etc. What's the strange one that you love?

It's gotta be Motley Crue's self-titled 1994 album, with John Corabi on vocals. It's easily their heaviest and most musically intricate album, although those might not be terms one would normally associate with the Crue. 

There's also the added bonus of not having to hear Vince Neil sing, which I'll always be grateful for. Honorable mentions: Body Count's Born Dead and Paradise Lost's One Second.

5. It's almost fashionable to release live versions of albums or re-record the old ones. King Diamond is releasing a concert with Abigail front to back. Roger Waters has done The Wall twice. Which ones do you have in your collection?

I'm not a big fan of re-recordings, although I'm sure I own a few. I can see why bands might want to revise history and correct poor performances or crappy production, but to me, those things are an equal part of the experience and the overall vibe. 

Sometimes the "play the entire album live" thing can be fun though. I was recently checking out Overkill's live record where they performed Horrorscope in its entirety, and you'd have to be some kind of robot to not enjoy that.