Slaughter – Stick It To Ya is an album that has really stuck to me lately. I have been listening to Stick It To Ya each day this past week, these songs on this album just seem to have hit me the right way. Released in 1990, Stick It To Ya has at least four songs that were played quite steadily on FM radio back in the very early 90’s. Up All Night, Spend My Life, Fly To The Angels and Mad About You were the hits, if you will. I have always liked this band for certain, the vocals of Mark Slaughter and the straight up Heavy Metal sound of Slaughter never fails to put me in a cool mood. Labeling Slaughter as a Glam/Hair Metal Band just does not jive with me, their brand of Rock will always be Heavy Metal, in my Metal opinion. I saw Slaughter live back around 1990 or so, they were opening up for Poison. The other opening act that night was BulletBoys. Slaughter did an all acoustic set that evening… I was disappointed that they were not going to let it all Rock out, frankly I was stunned. Despite my initial feelings with Slaughter doing the acoustic versions of their songs, it turned out to be quite cool after all. I was able to see a different look of Slaughter that night, this band showed me they were damn good musicians. This concert took place at Lake Compounce Amusement Park, in Bristol, Connecticut.
I have owned for some time, the CD – The Best Of by Slaughter, the ten songs on this disc are great, only Fly To The Angels and Spend My Life are missing from the song selection. Not cool. So, I promised myself to add the real Slaughter albums to my CD collection over time, starting with Stick It To Ya. About one week ago, I found the used copy of Stick It To Ya at my local f.y.e., the astounding Metal price of $4.49 is all it took for me to claim this CD as my own. Man, I cannot get enough of this album… every single song too. Going back to 1990 for just a Metal second… Spend My Life was a song that reminded me of my girlfriend I was going steady with back then, it still does remind me of her for she is my incredible wife for the past fifteen years now. My wife, (girlfriend was her title back in 1990), gave me unconditional love and support when I needed it most back in the early 90’s. (Believe me, she still does). Spend My Life could not have been released at a better time than 1990, this song means a ton to me.
I just spoke about Stick It To Ya today, in a conversation with my best buddy Scott, (he digs Slaughter too)… telling him that I could not believe it has been 20 years since this album was released, (give or take a few months). He understood where I was coming from. I told Scott, it seems like it was just a couple of years ago, when Slaughter made their move onto the Heavy Metal scene. This is what happens as you get older I guess, albums and bands you really dig don’t age, they only get better with time and are there for you at the push of the play button. I will be pushing that play button for Slaughter and Stick It To Ya for a very long time to come.
Track Listing for the original release of Stick It To Ya:
- Eye to Eye – 3:57
- Burnin’ Bridges – 4:07
- Up All Night 4:16
- Spend My Life – 3:21
- Thinking of June (Instrumental) – 1:05
- She Wants More – 3:55
- Fly to the Angels – 5:05
- Mad About You – 4:05
- That’s Not Enough – 3:25
- You Are the One – 3:55
- Gave Me Your Heart – 3:51
- Desperately – 3:34
- Loaded Gun – 4:18
- Fly to the Angels (Acoustic Version) – 3:22
- Wingin’ It – 1:11
Some Extra Info on Slaughter’s Stick It To Ya… to better fulfill your Metal Soul:
* Stick It To Ya has gone double platinum, selling over 2 million albums – very cool.
* Stick It To Ya was nominated for best Heavy Metal album of the year, by the 1991 edition of the American Music Awards.
* Stick It To Ya was released on January 27, 1990, on Chrysalis Records.
Slaughter as they appeared on Stick It To Ya: Mark Slaughter – lead vocals and guitar, Tim Kelly – guitar, Dana Strum – bass guitar and Blas Elias – drums
The Heavy Metal genre and all of it’s mind bending sub genres can be quite the vast musical Universe to explore. There are countless bands that make these Heavy Music genres quake and explode with excitement at every turn. For me to say I have listened to every band out there would be an outright Metal lie… I have stated this before. Come forward please, Loudness and their 1986 album Shadows of War. Whoa. Whoa again. Why on Metal Earth, did it take me 23 years to finally listen to Loudness and Shadows of War? (See previous explanation within this paragraph for the Metal answer). Man, the outright powerful, Heavy Metal thunder of Loudness, is overwhelmingly great on Shadows of War. This album is the Japanese version with a different album/CD cover of it’s twin – American release Lightning Strikes. The only differences between Shadows of War and Lightning Strikes are: the order of the track listing, slight differences in the vocal melodies and Ashes In The Sky (from Lightning Strikes) and Shadows of War (from Shadows of War) are the same song. Buying one version over the other is basically an identical listen of Loudness Heavy Metal here. In this Metal situation, recommending either version is the way to go.
Yes Virginia, there is a Metal Santa Claus and his name is my best buddy Scott. You see, Scott gets quite giddy about sending CD’s of Metal through the mail to me… especially CD’s of Metal Bands that I have never delved into with unrestrained Metal abandon. Loudness Shadows of War came in the mail last week, courtesy of my buddy. This album is so damn cool, the songs on Shadows of War is yet another reminder to me, that 1986 was an incredible year, from an amazing decade for Heavy Metal album releases. Loudness could have easily named this album – psyche you out of your Heavy Metal mind – for all nine songs encompass a continuous and momentous listen in electrifying Heavy Metal power. Believe me, the last thing I want to come across as doing here is being rah, rah, rah, about Loudness and this album. I could never be more Metal serious by stating… Loudness and their 1986 album, Shadows of War, is one fine Heavy Metal blast from the past.
This is the Shadows of War cover! (Japanese version)
As a life long Metalhead, whenever you see a Heavy Metal Band crack the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart it is cause for Metal celebration. With that said, whenever I witness an Extreme Metal Band crack this same album chart, well, the world suddenly becomes a better place indeed. Step in The Black Dahlia Murder… please. Their newest album – Deflorate, (Metal Blade Records), debuted at #43 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart the week of September 15, 2009. (12,000 units were sold in the first week of this albums release). YEAH! In the midst of dozens of bubble gum – Pop Music new releases, there arises… The Black Dahlia Murder. Let this debut week showing of this incredible band and album, be a Metal reminder to the commercial Pop/Elevator Music world, that Extreme Music lurks around every corner, back road, corn field, city street and CD aisle. Earlier this year, Cannibal Corpse cracked this same Billboard Top 200 Album Chart as well, I see an Extreme Metal pattern of awareness starting to develop here in 2009. Metal Odyssey is Extreme Metal proud of The Black Dahlia Murder, (and still damn Metal proud of Cannibal Corpse too). Real music… Metal Music. All of us Metalheads and the Metal Bands we follow are not going away anytime soon… METAL RULES.
Edguy F***ing With Fire Live is entertaining as Metal hell. Released on July 28, 2009, on Nuclear Blast Records, this is the second album released by Edguy this year, (Tinnitus Sanctus was released on January 27, 2009). A huge Metal kudos to Edguy for releasing two albums within the same year, they are not the only band out there to do so, still it is cool for fans like me. In a Metal day and age where there are those select few prima donna – let’s take everything serious Metal Bands out there, Edguy seems to grasp hold of the positive and accentuates the (gasp) fun in Heavy Metal Music. The title of this live album alone, gives me the impression that Edguy has thrown caution to the Metal wind and could care less about those who don’t get it. In my Metal opinion, Tobias Sammet and his band Edguy have snickered at their antagonists since the late 90’s… and Edguy gets the last laugh every time. From my Metal research, it seems that Europe and Brazil really gets into Edguy big time, uh, I am just like Europe and Brazil with my Metal tastes then. It seems so obvious to me, by listening to Edguy’s catalog of albums, that they really dug the power and enthusiasm of 1980’s Heavy Metal Music. Thus they now turn around and record a live album that has that all encompassing, 1980’s Arena Heavy Metal thrill. By no means am I labeling Edguy as having a dated 1980’s sound about them, no way in Metal hell. I only want to point out that Edguy evokes a feel good emotion inside of me, rekindling some of the 1980’s Heavy Metal spirit that I so embraced. Tobias Sammet seems to write songs that are hook filled and melodically oozing from every crevice. F***ing With Fire Live is an Edguy album that I do give a F*** about.
My favorite Edguy song of all-time, Tears Of A Mandrake takes the Metal prize on this album, as well as Superheroes, Lavatory Love Machine and King Of Fools. The live versions of these Edguy songs only adds fuel to the intense Power Metal energy that they bestow. Tobias Sammet gets Avantasia into this set of songs as well, (from his side project Avantasia), it fits right into the Metal mix of this Edguy set list. The main theme I stress with F***ing With Fire Live is the consistent energy and emotion that Tobias Sammet seems to summon up within himself and his band. I don’t think you need to be an Edguy fan to actually hear and feel the excitement on this live album, then again, this Edguy album will have it’s detractors… so F***ing Metal be it. Tobias Sammet does become quite the talker during this concert. He takes his Metal time to introduce each band member, requests the crowd of Edguy fans to turn on their cell phone’s (and not their lighters), during the Power Metal ballad Save Me and thanks/compliments the fans of Sao Paulo, Brazil quite eloquently. Hey, this is a recorded – live concert for Metal sakes, these type of moments do occur during Heavy Metal shows, so F***ing Metal be it. At the end of the Metal day, I cannot listen to F***ing With Fire Live as a once through, nope, instead, each time I slap this double CD on I need to hear it a second time through too… so F***ing Metal be it.
King Diamond, the legendary Metal front man for Mercyful Fate and Horror Metal/Heavy Metal icon. King Diamond and his band have left more than a mark on Heavy Metal history, a chunk of Heavy Metal history is King Diamond. On October 13, 2009, the infamous Metal Blade Records will reissue two King Diamond Classics… The Graveyard and The Spider’s Lullabye. Very cool. Just in time for Halloween… very cool again. Both albums have been re-mastered by King Diamond guitarist Andy LaRocque. The Spider’s Lullabye was originally released in 1995, with The Graveyard originally released in 1996. Bonus live bootleg footage will be available for download, for those who purchase either of these two reissues. The bonus footage for download will be these three King Diamond songs: The Spider’s Lullabye, Trick Or Treat and Up From The Grave. Reissue’s are always great, especially when they include new songs and/or videos – downloading the bonus content for these albums is fine with me, especially when King Diamond is looking at giving the fans the highest quality in sound and video. Man, I better start saving up some spare change or my Christmas want list is going to be very long with all of the new Metal CD’s that are coming out next month! Metal rules. King Diamond is a big reason why. King Diamond is delivering a Happy Halloween to his fans and all fans of Metal on October 13, 2009.
Back in October of 1991, Ugly Kid Joe released their debut EP – As Ugly As They Wanna Be. 1991 was a year smack in the middle of the Grunge Music invasion… Ugly Kid Joe didn’t seem to care in the least. The mix of Hard Rock, Funk Metal and Heavy Metal had me more than interested in Ugly Kid Joe, I bought As Ugly As They Wanna Be and it served me right – back in 1991. Parodies aside, I could care less about what the titles of Ugly Kid Joe’s albums were making fun of… it was the funky heavy grooves of their songs that mattered most to me. Everything About You was a song that sounded unlike anything I was into back then, (Thrash, Death, Speed and mainstream Heavy Metal was what I was used to). When I first heard Everything About You, the first bands that came to mind that I was familiar with, in the Funk Metal genre, was Living Colour and Anthrax when they did I‘m The Man. White Zombie for certain had some Funk happening in their Metal back then too, yet this Ugly Kid Joe was not the dark side of heavy Funk either. This band was not as flamboyant as Faith No More, there seemed to be more of a street level accessibility to Ugly Kid Joe back in 1991-92.
Obviously the freshness of Ugly Kid Joe caught on with MTV and FM radio, it had to. Ugly As They Wanna Be and America’s Least Wanted 
Highly recommended to all Metal fans all over the globe! That is just how unreal good Retribution from Shadows Fall is… that I start off by just bluntly recommending this new album. Seriously, Retribution is one solid chunk of Thrash Metal Music for me. On this new release, (released September 15, 2009), Shadows Fall sounds as if they are not holding back the hard and heavy for no one. I am not taking the easy way out by saying all ten songs are damn incredible. The all encompassing barrage of Metal fury, that highlights each turn and corner on Retribution, is like a Metal power rush to my brain that I do not want to end. In my Metal opinion, it very much seems as if Shadows Fall took a long and hard listen to the once in a millennium, Metal masterpiece from Slipknot called All Hope Is Gone… and decided they too wanted to raise their own Metal bar. The All Hope Is Gone influence I hear on Retribution, is deserving of a raucous Metal applause for Shadows Fall, for if this influence is to be true… Shadows Fall surely knows real Metal when they hear it. The unrelenting surge of Metal power both musically and vocally, (both lead and backing/gang vocals), found within Retribution, are the best ways I can describe my All Hope Is Gone comparison. 
Slayer. Thrash Metal legends. The Webster Dictionary gives the definition of Slayer, it goes like this: to kill violently, wantonly, or in great numbers; to strike down – Suffice to say, in my Metal opinion, Slayer has struck down many a professionally paid Rock Music critic with their multiple Grammy Awards, album sales, relentless years of touring and a catalog of Thrash Metal albums that has never bent over for commercial appeal. 
Slayer has never written a ballad. Nope, Slayer never created a messed up song like, uh, One. Slayer has never put themselves into a predicament where they are telling their fans… just wait, our next album will be heavy again… we promise… just like we made our 1980’s albums. Slayer never covered a Bob Seger Rock Classic and ruined it. Slayer has always kept the Thrash Metal constant, they never needed to Load or Re-Load. Since December of 1983, when Show No Mercy was unleashed onto the world of Heavy Metal, there is no other Thrash Metal Band that I can think of, (with the exception of Over Kill), that has maintained the level of integrity and consistency such as Slayer. Slayer never revisited any damn garage days.
Slayer does not need a Guitar Hero game named after them. Slayer has never been jealous of Jethro Tull for winning a Grammy Award. (Or at least Slayer has never bad mouthed this legendary Classic Rock band in the press like another band constantly does to this day). Hint: the current Thrash Metal Band that has a Jethro Tull phobia, just recently had a Guitar Hero game named after them… plus they are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Shame. Jethro Tull never hurt no one… I defend them every Metal step of the way. Slayer does not whine or make excuses – they just make straight up Thrash Metal for themselves and their fans. Uncompromising to the Thrash Metal genre… Slayer.
Alright, I am more than thrilled at this new Obituary album, “Darkest Day”, I am enthralled with Metal jubilation. Death Metal jubilation. I am also reminded as to why I am lured into the heaviest, most Metal bludgeoning genre there is… it is Obituary. These guys are not about making nice with the trend setters… forget about it. Obituary is Old School Death Metal lathered with extreme. Understand, however, that Obituary delivers grooves by the Death Metal bushels. From it’s deadly beginning track – “List of Dead” to it’s deadly ending “Left To Die”, I am going out on a Metal limb here by stating… “Darkest Day” is one of 2009’s best Metal albums period. Being one of the true forefathers of the Death Metal genre, Obituary lays their Death Metal cards out on the table here, you either are with them or with them. This is not a Death Metal band that you just want to try out, if you buy an Obituary album, you are either a fan or your about to become one. 
I am Metal psyched about another great Metal album coming out in this month of September of 2009, Children of Bodom – Skeletons In The Closet
I cannot wait to get my hands on this new album and crank it up extremely loud, on September 23, 2009, I will. I am just very curious as to how the Britney Spears cover of Oooops! I Did It Again… is going to sound like. What about the Kenny Rogers song? Man, that should be a Metal hoot. Knowing the way Children of Bodom play their Metal, I am confident they will rage these songs into Extreme Metal bliss. Still, I cannot believe I am writing about Britney Spears, Kenny Rogers and Children of Bodom in the same post. One thing is for sure here, Children of Bodom can never be accused of not being diversified. The cover songs represent a darn cool list of bands here… Slayer, W.A.S.P., Iron Maiden, Alice Cooper, Scorpions, Ramones – these are legendary bands without question. Thank you, Finland, for the fine Metal export they call Children of Bodom.
Megadeth. Just the name alone sounds like true Metal. Thrash Metal. The name Megadeth alone, reaches out and stuns the uninformed as to the fact, that this band is seriously heavy about all things Metal. One of the kings of Thrash Metal. Dave Mustaine… a founding father of Thrash Metal and unreal good guitarist, a Metal legend. (Gee, did I leave out any other important accolades here?). Really, any Metal fan has to agree that Dave Mustaine has the Megadeth Metal machine running full tilt… for quite a long time too. I am Metal giddy that “Endgame” is coming out on September 15th… the month of September looks better already, for me. If you do not count today, (September 2nd), there are just 13 days left until the Megadeth Thrash Metal onslaught of new material becomes heard in it’s entirety. That is less than two weeks away. I am Metal psyched. I was fortunate enough to see back in the late 80’s, a Metal triple bill of Savatage, Megadeth and DIO. The New Haven Coliseum was never the same after that show… that structure no longer exists. What a night of Metal it was… Megadeth blew me away, Dave Mustaine earned a fan for life. Dave Mustaine… Thrash Metal Champion. Megadeth shall return… Endgame.
Gene Simmons, The Demon, bass guitarist for KISS, music producer and actor. (The many hats this legend has worn are numerous, quite the achiever is Gene Simmons, in my Metal opinion). Gene Simmons always seems to stay in the public eye, the limelight follows this Heavy Metal icon everywhere he goes… with “Celebrity Apprentice” and his very own family reality series “The Family Jewels” making his presence seen and known while KISS is idle. A short while back, I started writing about my favorite KISS solo albums, in preferential order, no less. Why am I doing this? First, I am celebrating the four original members of KISS, their solo albums being what I consider to be quite a historical achievement in Heavy Metal and Rock history. The quality across the board is apparent in the music that Gene, Paul, Ace and Peter created with their solo albums… my reminding and/or informing anyone who is interested in these great KISS solo albums makes for a fine Metal deed. For me to list in order, my favorite KISS solo albums, (it is not etched in Metal stone here), deciding the sequence of which album ranks 1 thru 4, is based on which album has given me the biggest Metal listening thrill over the decades.
If I had to choose one of my favorite Rock instrumental songs of all time, there is no doubt “Frankenstein” comes to mind. The Edgar Winter Group released “They Only Come Out At Night” in November of 1972, this is the album you will find this original song on. Written by Edgar Winter, how ahead of it’s time was this song? Realistically, this now Classic Rock masterpiece of an instrumental song was as diversified as it was heavy. The multi talented musicianship of Edgar Winter is standout on “Frankenstein”, with the keyboards creating enough spookiness to validate the song’s title. The saxophone, in my Metal opinion, has always had a macabre sounding affect on me, only adding to the overall eerie coolness that “Frankenstein” erupts. I fell Metal head over heels for this song decades ago… I still slap this song on very frequently, especially around Halloween. Seriously, this song just goes perfect when Autumn arrives… once October hits, I have plenty of scary and heavy songs to bust out and revel in their dark side glory, “Frankenstein” leads the pack. No Halloween season can ever get by me, without listening to this song on a consistent basis. The Edgar Winter Group released a mammoth of a Rock album with “They Only Come Out At Night”, “Frankenstein” just made this release immensely complete, with it’s inclusion.
Manowar plays Heavy Metal, their name screams Heavy Metal and they are Heavy Metal with a hundred exclamation points. “Battle Hymns” (released in 1982), was the first album from this prolific and what I consider historic Heavy Metal band. Why historic? Well, the last time I checked, Manowar held the Guinness Book of World Records title for having the loudest live performance. (I always disliked the word performance, especially when it relates to Heavy Metal). Besides being extremely loud, Manowar presented upon the world of Heavy Metal a gloriously lean, mean and heavy album with “Battle Hymns.” All eight songs on this album are laced with forcefully driven guitar leads, riffs and all things sacred to Heavy Metal. The first two song titles say it all – “Death Tone” and “Metal Daze”. What I like most about this album is that there is absolutely not one second of waste to be heard… from start to finish this is muscular, Old School, 500% – Heavy Metal. Of course, this Metal adulation I have for Manowar and “Battle Hymns” is all my Metal opinion, however, this is an album that needs to be heard by todays younger generation of Heavy Metal fans.
Metal Odyssey > Heavy Metal Music Blog 
Why I feel KISS gave Rock n’ Roll back to America and other KISS points too
Posted in 1970's classic rock albums, 1970's classic rock bands, 1970's classic rock songs, 1970's hard rock bands, 1970's hard rock, 1970's heavy metal, 1970's heavy metal albums, 1970's heavy metal music, 1970's Rock, 1970's rock music, 1980's classic rock bands, 1980's heavy metal albums, 1980's classic rock, 1980's heavy metal bands, 1980's heavy metal music, 1990's heavy metal bands, classic hard rock, classic hard rock bands, classic hard rock music, classic heavy metal albums, classic rock, classic rock albums, classic rock bands, classic rock music, classic rock songs, current heavy metal music, essential classic rock albums, essential heavy metal albums, Gene Simmons, glam metal music, Heavy Metal, heavy metal albums, heavy metal bands this decade, heavy metal memorabilia, heavy metal music, heavy metal this decade, Metal, metal music, metal music today, metal odyssey, Music, old school heavy metal, Rock, rock & roll, rock and roll, rock and roll hall of fame complaints, rock music, rock music commentary, vintage hard rock albums, vintage heavy metal albums, vintage heavy metal bands with tags 1970's classic rock music, 1970's hard rock music, 1970's heavy metal music, 1970's rock music, 1980's heavy metal bands, ace frehley guitarist, american rock and roll bands, bruce kulick guitarist, classic heavy metal music, classic rock, classic rock music, eric carr drummer, eric singer drummer, gene simmons bass guitarist, Heavy Metal, heavy metal music, history of rock and roll, kiss albums, kiss army, kiss hard rock band, kiss heavy metal band, kiss rock band, mark st. john guitarist, metal music, metal odyssey, Music, paul stanley guitarist, peter criss drummer, rock and roll hall of fame, rock and roll history, rock and roll music roots, rock music, rock n' roll music, roots of rock and roll, the british invasion of rock and roll, tommy thayer guitarist, vinnie vincent guitarist on August 28, 2009 by Metal OdysseyKiss being introduced to the world in 1974 may have had more of an impact than some Rock historians think… The Grateful Dead, with their extremely loyal and abundant following with unmatched touring was American – I will never disagree with this bands unique impact on Rock Music history. However, Kiss was not about peace and love… this was the loudest band in the land Dressed To kill, singing about girls that are Hotter Than Hell, partying, Makin’ Love, God of Thunder, a Love Gun and all things against the norm in ways that were not quite presented before in Rock Music history. What Rock Band from the 1960’s used Pyrotechnics like Kiss? How many Rock musicians could spit up blood and still play the bass and sing? Who used such an elaborate and eye defying stage show before Kiss? Kiss not only made Rock n’ Roll powerful, they (gasp) made it fun and entertaining too. The marketing blitz of items that portrayed the Kiss logo and band were everywhere during the 1970’s… if you look around today, these same items plus new products bearing Kiss are around us. Any Kiss tour during the 1970’s was nothing to ignore, the Kiss Army was never just a fictitious entity… it was and still is real.
After Kiss broke all the Rock n’ Roll rules, more Rock bands than I could ever mention here took their lead and emulated Kiss either musically, with make-up, through stage shows and/or marketing. When I stop to think about it, what other Rock or Heavy Metal Band garnered more media attention during the 1970’s than Kiss? With their all around power of Rock, Kiss let it be known, through their albums, that they were not fooling themselves or the fans all along. Kiss is setting the stage again, ready to unleash their brand new album Sonic Boom onto the masses… October of 2009 should be quite the month in the life of this middle aged Metalhead, for Kiss shall return… giving back their brand of Rock n’ Roll to us all again. That is why, in my Metal opinion, Kiss gave back Rock n’ Roll to America back in 1974, they are now only going to remind us as to why their music lives on.
It is high time for the so called Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, to stop playing nonsensical games and induct an American Rock Band that redefined American Rock n’ Roll history through their music and pop culture impact, Kiss over the decades has become an American institution. Since I am on the topic, I could care less about the voting process or who votes at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, all I know is that the ignorance is growing by leaps and bounds over there in each passing year of it’s existence. I do have one word of advice for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, (if you can consider this an actual word), DUH? I would guarantee this… more fans will go to this Hall of Fame to see Kiss than than anyone could ever imagine. Once again, this is my Metal opinion and I am steadfast about it.
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