Happy Thanksgiving to all from Metal Odyssey. Yes, I will eat whatever the heck I feel like eating today, plus the quantity of food I eat is my own personal business too. To all the people who watch what other people eat and tell others how and what to eat… go eat rice cakes today and stare at yourselves in the mirror, you artificial and pompous fools.
I am thankful for:
My incredible wife and beautiful twin daughters… and our new cat toby.
My courageous and strong father.
My Mother and Father In-Law
Nonny
My sister and brother in-law and their two daughters. (And their dog too).
My Best Metal Buddy Scott and his fine family.
My sister is in Heaven and I am thankful for her son and daughter.
My mother is in Heaven too… I am thankful for all the love and memories.
My faith, God and all of the guardian angels who have worked overtime for me and my family.
For all my cousins, aunts and uncles who are the good ones. In other words, the ones who are not self absorbed in their own minds, non materialistic and know I still exist.
Good friends and helpful neighbors.
My country – The United States of America, The Land of the Free… I hope and pray it stays this way.
Armed Forces of The United States of America – these men and women in uniform protect us all every minute of every day.
Rock and Roll – especially Heavy Metal and all of it’s genres.
Punk Rock
Motorhead, Misfits, W.A.S.P. and Slayer… my top four.
Lynyrd Skynyrd and their 2009 album – God & Guns
Cheap Trick and ELO
Anthony Bourdain and No Reservations
Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures
World Champion New York Yankees and the New York Giants
Planet Earth… the best and only planet we can all live on. If only we all could get along…
I’m very thankful for being introduced to this album by The Everly Brothers, (Don and Phil Everly), as a child. My mother had this album and it was my first introduction to the amazing world of Rock and Roll. This 1958 album was a true enjoyment and will forever be an unreal lifetime memory.
I’m extra thankful for being alive to be thankful for all of the above.
Ah, the weekend is here. Time to clean up the house, tidy the garage, finish some yard work and maybe wash and vacuum the car. Watch some College and/or NFL Football this weekend too. What are some music listening suggestions I may have for the weekend? Thank you for asking. Heavy Metal and/or all the other Metal Music genres that exist is first and foremost. Oh, may I also suggest some Punk Rock as well? Thank you for allowing me to do so. What was that? Did someone just ask me to name specifically which bands and/or albums to delve into this weekend? Gee, I feel rather honored to be suggesting to the entire world , a tidy list of great heavy bands and/or albums to choose from… uh, here it is:
I am listening to Rancid today, all day. In my house, in my car, it does not matter. Rancid is my band of choice due to the slick and groove saturated Punk Rock style they bestow. They are Street Punk at many turns, yet they are so much from the Old School Punk Rock mold of the Ramones too. Kickin’ and fun, (gasp), did I just use the F word there? In my area today, the weather is miserable – rainy, semi-cold, of course cloudy and dank. What better band for me, than Rancid… to get my energy level back on high and to kick start my day and attitude. I am actually going to settle on one Rancid CD to crank today – …And Out Come The Wolves. The richness and foundation of Rock and Roll 101 is so evident in the Punk Rock of Rancid, especially on this album. My adoration for Rancid grows each and every time I listen to their Punk Rock. Out of the nineteen songs on this album, there is not one to skip over. I apologize to no one for being a rabid Rancid fan. Life is too short, I love the music I listen to – end of Metal story. Uh, not really… Rancid rules.
I just can’t explain it though, there are those certain bands that just make you feel like everything is cool and alright. Rancid is just that band for me. Over the weekend, I just hung up the very large Rancid poster that comes inside their new CD – let the dominoes fall. The front of the poster is the front cover group photo on that CD, (pictured to the left of this paragraph). On the back of the poster are all of the songs lyrics – real cool. I put this poster inside a very large, thick plastic sleeve for protection too. It is hanging up in my Rocked out basement. It serves me right. Plus, my daughters dig Rancid like there is no tomorrow and this poster being hung makes the basement that much more homey for us all. Rancid is a Punk Rock Band that you should give a try, especially those who are sitting on the fence about wanting some Punk Music in their life. The social commentary and relevance of Rancid’s lyrics are entertaining as they are legitimate. In my most honest of Metal opinions, I just cannot resist the damn credibility of Rancid. The overall realness of …And Out Come The Wolves and any of the other Rancid albums overflows. I can’t ever jump onto that dreaded word – Pop, and attach it to this band… never. Rancid is not Pop Punk – period.
I have found another Punk Rock Band to jump up and down about and raise my fist in the air to. The Heartaches and their Lunacy & devastation CD, (released in 2003). I needed some music on Sunday to get me out of the funk I was in, The Heartaches was the remedy… a Punk Rock remedy at that. While Rancid and The Casualties have landed on much larger record labels, The Heartaches are on one bona fide underground label at that, are you ready for this one? Here is the record label – “I Used To Fuck People Like You In Prison” Records. Now that is a Punk label if there ever was one. I take it, from the record label logo of the red devil that is on the liner notes of this CD, that the abbreviation for this record label is – People Like You. From what the liner notes state, this record label is out of Germany. People Like You Records has a really cool website, Punk Rock and Horror Punk are their forte. Their website is packed with their current signed bands and info. My whole life, I have always been intrigued and keenly interested in any underground band that I come across while shopping around for music. The Heartaches are an underground Punk Rock Band for sure, their style of Punk is a blend of Old School meets modern day social angst. Now, that does not sound so unique for a Punk Rock band, yet those are the two main characters in The Heartaches style of Punk. The Heartaches brand of Old School Rockabilly has been recharged with slick speed and extremely contagious riffs that meld within the frenetic stomp of their rhythm section.
The Heartaches deliver 13 genuine Punk Rock songs on Lunacy & devastation, each song carries it’s own Punk weight, no one song sounds like the other. My favorite song on this CD is Safe and Sound, it just has a cool groove happening from the opening note. If a Punk Rock song can be harmonious, Safe and Sound proves it. A continuous pissed off theme does not let up throughout these songs lyrics, a Punk Rock staple that can work as long as the music itself has legs to stand on. In my Metal opinion, the songs on Lunacy & devastation have legs… Punk strong at that. Lead vocalist Leroy has everything I look for from a Punk Rock front man. Leroy’s vocals exude extreme Punk credibility, as do each member of The Heartaches, from what my ears tell me. Sammy on vocals and guitar, does not impede with his backup duties with Leroy, this guy adds greatly to the total Punk essence of The Heartaches. After my third listen through with this CD, I shake my head and wonder why The Heartaches were never signed to a major label, (I’m not talking Atlantic Records here), a label like SideOneDummy? Yeah, I think The Heartaches sound that cool. Heartattack Radio is the last song on Lunacy & devastation, the Punk fervor of the vocals alongside the rhythmic enthusiasm of The Heartaches makes it a Punk exclamation point of an ending.
I first stumbled across Hallowmas – The Road To Hallow’s Eve on the Century Media Records online store – CM Distro.com. The CD cover artwork took my Metal breath away, I am a huge Metal sucker for the scary and horrific album covers… this goes back decades for me. You cannot always judge a book, uh, album by it’s cover. In the case of my purchasing The Road To Hallow’s Eve based on the artwork and song titles, well, I proclaim a Horror Punk victory! This album is on Coffin Records, a recognized label notorious for underground talent. Hallowmas released this album back in 2005, I bought it about one year ago, during one of my Halloween spirited moods. Cutting to the Metal chase here, this is one dandy of a Horror Punk Band, a terrorizing thrill a second is The Road To Hallow’s Eve. It’s all good… Horror Punk style. I have numerous times, since buying this CD, have tried to read and/or find out more about this cool Hallowmas band… all in vain however. The only trail I find on the world wide web about them are the basics I found in the liner notes of this very album. Hallowmas is without question an underground Horror Punk band. I sincerely hope they resurface and continue their Horror Punk path… The Road To Hallow’s Eve makes for an intense foundation for them to build upon.
A couple of years ago, I purchased All Hallow’s E.P. by AFI… man, this is a cool Horror Punk gem. Released on November 3, 1999, on Nitro Records, this is AFI when they were creating Horror Punk and it is worth every penny I spent on it. A tidy E.P. it is, with four songs that are lathered with quality Horror Punk attitude and speed. Davey Havok on lead vocals sounds vintage, even though it has only been about a decade since this E.P.’s release. Every time I listen to All Hallow’s E.P., I walk away believing Davey Havok was born to sing this style of Punk Rock. I could listen all day to this Horror Punk style of AFI. I have been currently rummaging through my Metal and Punk Music collection, sifting through the spooky titles of both albums and songs and putting them on my daily rotation of music listening. Horror Punk will always stand out when searching for the creepy tunes, All Hallow’s E.P. is an obvious choice. With the Halloween season knocking at my Metal doorstep, rounding up the scary stuff to listen to has become an annual right of Horror passage for me.
Osaka Popstar and the American Legends of Punk are a band I can’t get enough of. Punk Rock that is cool, fun and of course… Rocks, is Osaka Popstar. I bought this self titled CD a while back at a flea market in Berks County, Pennsylvania… for around thirty three cents. Thirty three cents this Osaka Popstar cost me!!! Plus, as a Metal bonus, this CD was still factory sealed!!! How was this CD only thirty three cents you might wonder? The dealer I came across selling CD’s had a “three for a dollar deal” going down at his booth! Not too shabby and quite the find. So, with Autumn upon us, the insects are getting a tad crazy right now… especially those damn yellow jackets. I cannot stand yellow jackets, they either are buzzing around spoiled picnic food, outdoor garbage pails or looking to sting you. By definition alone, the yellow jacket is a predatory wasp!! I had one of these evil yellow jackets sting me in the right arm two weekends ago – for no reason at all. I was sitting down in my backyard, taking a break from some yard clean-up, sipping on a cold beer, then the burning sting sensation hit me! A yellow jacket chose me for it’s sting of the day. That is why I have decided once and for all, to choose Insects to be the Punk Rock song of the day. This song is just plain good Punk Rock fun. My daughters get the biggest kick out of listening to Insects… I do too. The way in which the bugs outside are acting up right now… Insects could very easily be the Punk Rock song of September!
Modern Life Is War caught my attention this past Summer of ’09, as I was perusing the clearance rack at my local Hot Topic. I was stunned, to say the least, to see a quality Hardcore Punk Band like this, on a clearance rack, of all places. It is a shame Modern Life Is War disbanded back in 2008… this was one loud, rowdy, Hardcore Punk Band that created some cool albums in less than a decade, (4 albums and 1 debut EP). From looking around the internet, Modern Life Is War certainly have a ton of fans hoping for a reunion of any kind. Going back to my clearance rack experience at Hot Topic… uncovered was a limited edition 7″ colored vinyl of the single Stagger Lee and the b side The Motorcycle Boy Reigns
The Casualties are a smack to the head reminder that Punk Rock is not dead… one listen to we are all we have and I listened again. The Casualties new album, (released August 25, 2009 on SIDEONEDUMMY Records), comes across fast, heavy and embracingly aggressive. Standing amidst what I consider, an enduring crowd of veteran and rising Punk Rock and Hardcore Punk bands that are all current and real, The Casualties approach is take no damn crap or prisoners, in my Metal opinion. The Casualties have never been bashful about making a social statement lyrically, we are all we have gives more than a nod to what is pissing off this band. I cannot resist the Old School backing/gang vocals that makes this album so darned Punk infused. If we are all we have was a book, an appropriate title very well could be Real Punk Rock and The System Sucks. Integrity heard and felt in music is open for interpretation, a personal opinion, if you will… I hear and feel the upmost integrity from The Casualties, always have, there is no saran wrap shrouding this band from their convictions.
Throughout my travels to antique stores and thrift shops, more often than not, I come across albums and/or CD’s that grab my attention in milliseconds. I usually find the Metal, Punk Rock or Extreme Music that is not in stock at your local Walmart, Best Buy or f.y.e., therefore my journey’s to these eclectic shops are never in vain. Sure, the vast majority of underground and obscure music titles can be had online just about anywhere you look, I am an avid consumer of online purchases this way. However, it is just a tad more cool to actually hunt down or stumble upon a CD of a band that is not on any mainstream or commercial charts… not in the limelight whatsoever… and this band is unique, a definite qualifier for existing in the world of Extreme Music. Please excuse me, if I say that the three dollars I paid to bring home Violent Femmes “Why Do Birds Sing?”, (released in 1991), was a smart move. Three dollars versus the eleven dollars (or more) it would have cost me to buy this CD brand new online… not counting the shipping and tax costs. Used CD? Is there such a thing? Man, a CD really has to be scratched up and bent out of shape for me to consider it used. Besides, I am not that naive to purchase a used CD without inspecting the surface wear of the actual disc itself. Crap, I better get on with the actual music found here, on “Why Do Birds Sing?” and stop this ranting about the science of used CD hunting and purchasing.
Motorhead and Anthrax. Each band is a prominent member in the Metal Music world. Motorhead and Anthrax have always hinted, albeit with Metal stylings, their musical taste for Punk Rock Music. Both of these legendary Metal bands covered the Sex Pistols classic “God Save The Queen” from the “Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols” album, (released in October of 1977). This song was written of course, by Paul Cook, Steve Jones, John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) and Glen Matlock. Both cover versions are really cool and heavy, with Motorhead having their unmistakable, heavy coated vocals and bass guitar of Lemmy Kilmister leading the way. You know it’s Motorhead when you hear their cover of this prolific song… no pretensions, no frills, no sugar coating. The Motorhead cover version of “God Save The Queen” can be found on the “We Are Motorhead” album, (released on May 16, 2000). The Anthrax cover version is found on the EP – “Armed And Dangerous”, (released in February of 1985). In my Metal opinion, Anthrax covers “God Save The Queen” with convincing Punk Rock attitude, the reasons for this lays in the lead vocals of Joey Belladonna as well as the backing vocals. Musically, Anthrax is right on the Punk Rock bulls eye, which always led me to believe this particular lineup could have experimented even more with Punk Rock songs.
Rancid – “let the dominoes fall” took me by surprise as I walked the CD aisles at Target today. Why is this? Well, for one, it was actually there, in stock. Secondly, the humane price of $7.98 was screaming out at me to – buy now! $7.98… that is cheaper than buying two happy meals for my daughters. Talk about value… there are also 19 songs on the new Rancid CD as well. It is a cool treat to finally not get ripped off by the retail CD prices… when I find a great deal, I tell people. The liner notes in this Rancid CD are a bonus – it is a very large Rancid poster (depicting the CD cover of band and logo). This poster is so large, it is suitable for hanging on your wall of choice. (Sorry, I did not take an actual measurement of this poster, take my word for it, it is large). On the backside of the poster you will find all the lyrics to the songs. 
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