Archive for old school metal music

SHOTGUN CURE – METAL BAND LOOKING TO RISE AND CONQUER WITH “DEPRAVITY UNLEASHED” EP

Posted in hard rock music, Heavy Metal, heavy metal albums, heavy metal bands, heavy metal music, heavy metal news, heavy metal videos, metal music, metal odyssey, Music, rock music with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 9, 2010 by Metal Odyssey

SHOTGUN CURE – It’s always a great Metal feeling, to come across a young band of Thrashers that feed off their Old School Thrash and Metal influences and put it to good Metal use. Shotgun Cure is a Metal Band that does just this and they are doing it damn well too. Originating from Toronto, Canada, Shotgun Cure is not out trying to reinvent any Metal historic genres, instead they are grabbing the Metal torch and running with it… and I only hope they don’t stop for ‘nuthin or nobody. Sure, their five song EP – Depravity Unleashed is raw… however, isn’t that how all the legends of Metal Music used to sound like in the beginning? Plus, how often are we now hearing the veteran Thrash Metal Bands wanting to return to their roots and rediscover their raw energy they once captured and assaulted our Metal senses with?

Having a raw sound is not a negative, it’s being real and blue collar. That’s Metal. There is plenty of time ahead for Shotgun Cure to polish their outer crust a bit… just about every veteran Metal Band has done so eventually. It’s what I hear within the inner core of Shotgun Cure’s Metal that counts. A sound and feel of talent that hits me with a brick load of credibility. With influences that range from Iron Maiden to Opeth, with Pantera, Slayer and Kreator inbetween, Shotgun Cure knows about which bands to learn a thing or two from.

These guys are not looking to be hobby musicians anytime soon. Shotgun Cure brings an energy that comes across as genuine, no pretensions, with aspirations of success spilling out from the vocals and guitar of Harut Savchenko, the thunderous bass playing of James Tulloch and the furious drumming of Kyle Lecourt.

Sustainment has the riff… one that opens up this song with an uncanny reminder that all is well for the future of Metal Music, thanks to rising bands like Shotgun Cure. Add the speed guitar solo from Harut, with a pummeling bass and drums and Sustainment shall sustain any Metalhead’s attention – no questions asked. Unswayed is the 7:35 Metal epic on Depravity Unleashed, forging it’s power and Metal might upon my ears without any remorse. The guitar play of Harut swelters with Thrash enormity of Old School days gone by on Unswayed, just a fine example of how tight Shotgun Cure can play on this song.

Shotgun Cure is a song that elevates this EP to a higher level, with it’s melodic guitar leads and ever memorable riffs. It is only fitting that a standout song on Depravity Unleashed is also the name of the band. Iron Shadow is an all-out Thrash blitz that distinguishes Harut as a natural when it comes to having Thrash Metal vocals… nothing is forced or contrived, it’s all authentic to these ears. Kyle on drums makes his presence quite heard on Iron Shadow, as ballistic as he is on time. Exercise This is an exercise in raw and force driven energy that is channeled through the Metal from Shotgun Cure with no compromises… no slacking on the speed here. If one is to headbang to Exercise This, they might as well order their neck brace in advance. This song is a welcomed punishment to my senses.

The reality heard in Depravity Unleashed, is that of a band giving their all. The unreal cool thought is what the future holds for Shotgun Cure… a future that should find this Canadian Metal Band making headway not only across North America but across the Atlantic as well. Only Metal time will tell, however, as I will be rooting for Shotgun Cure all the way.

* Metal Odyssey gives Shotgun Cure – Depravity Unleashed EP 4 out of 5 Metal Fists!

It’s the younger generation of Metal Bands like Shotgun Cure, that will ensure the music we Old School Metalheads cherish, will continue to reign for decades to come.

Track Listing For Depravity Unleashed EP:

Sustainment

Exercise This

Unswayed

Shotgun Cure

Iron Shadow

* Check out Shotgun CureSustainment – Live by clicking the cool box below… oh yeah… don’t forget to crank this Metal up LOUD too!

* You can check out more cool info on Shotgun Cure and also purchase the Depravity Unleashed EP, plus more merch by clicking the link below:

SHOTGUN CURE – MySpace Music Page

Left to right: James Tulloch (bass), Harut Savchenko (vocals & guitar), Kyle Lecourt (drums).

Stone.

BLACK SABBATH – 1983 “BORN AGAIN” ALBUM IS METAL OF PROFOUND IMPORTANCE

Posted in 1980's heavy metal albums, 1980's heavy metal bands, 1980's heavy metal music, 1980's metal bands, 1980's metal music, Album Review, black metal roots, classic heavy metal, classic metal, collecting metal music, cool album covers, creepy album covers, doom metal music, essential heavy metal albums, essential metal music albums, guitar legends, heavy metal album covers, heavy metal albums, heavy metal albums 1983, heavy metal music, heavy metal vocalists, Metal, metal album review, metal music, metal music albums, metal odyssey, Music, old school heavy metal, old school metal bands, rock music, scary album covers, spooky album covers, vintage heavy metal albums, vintage heavy metal bands with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 7, 2009 by Metal Odyssey

Black Sabbath "Born Again"Back on October 4, 1983, Black Sabbath released their eleventh studio album – Born Again. I was serving time in high school as a senior in 1983, I also became a born again Metalhead that same year, thanks to this most underrated Black Sabbath album. I am not kidding or trying to sound like a yahoo by stating that. Born Again was a match made in Metal heaven for me… the prolific vocals of Ian Gillan uniting with the ultra legendary Black Sabbath. I have to admit, with Ozzy Osbourne and Ronnie James Dio not fronting Black Sabbath, it was common place for professionally paid Rock Music critics to easily overlook the other lead singers this Rock And Roll Hall of Fame band has bestowed over the decades. I never overlooked a damned thing Black Sabbath had done, especially when they joined forces with Ian Gillan. From the front album cover artwork of the demon baby, to the down right eerie and chilling Metal Music heard on Born Again, this album is a must listen and own in Metal Music 101.

When I first listened to Born Again, back in good ol’ 1983, the synthetic instrumentals of Stonehenge and The Dark left a Metal imprint on my subconscious like none other… all I could think back then and now is this is the soundtrack of doom… all hail Black Sabbath. The guitar riffs, leads and solo on Zero The Hero sound as if I am listening to a descent to the darkest depths of inner Earth… I love that descent. Trashed is not just an amazing song lyrically, this is an early introduction of Heavy Metal making the transition to pure… Metal. Comparing Born Again to other Heavy Metal albums of that time is what separates the Heavy Metal label from Black Sabbath, thus anointing this iconic band to true masters of Metal Music.

The Metal of Born Again is not Thrash, yet it is not Accept, Quiet Riot or Saxon of that time period either. With Born Again, a black album was unintentionally or intentionally created, (both with album artwork and the Metal Music within), while Black Metal itself was simultaneously being born into a genre, courtesy of Venom, Bathory and Hellhammer . I can’t compare this Black Sabbath album to their earlier albums with Ozzy. Nor can I make a comparison of Born Again to the Dio led Black Sabbath either. The song Born Again alone is a study in just how far Tony Iommi would go in making a unique Black Sabbath album, one that would stand apart from the entire Black Sabbath catalog… forever. Listening to Ian Gillan’s vocals on this song honestly takes my Metal breathe away. Ian Gillan is beyond unreal great on Born Again – all one needs to do is open their Metal mind to the song Hot Line and thou shall understand and realize why. Seriously, the vocals of Ian Gillan on Hot Line makes me imagine what life would have been like for this Metalhead, if more Black Sabbath albums were created with his legendary voice. I guess it is obvious by now, that I revere Ian Gillan.

Digital Bitch may have been the most popular song from Born Again, the song that advertised their Born Again Tour on FM Radio back in 1983-84. Despite the fondness that commercial FM radio had for this song, it blazed with Metal fury like no other song back then. Disturbing The Priest, this song title alone made for my own personal battle cry for serving eight long years of time – in a parochial school. Trust me on that one. In Metal hindsight, maybe the professionally paid Rock Music critics of the world were never ready for the dark Metal Music that Born Again was about. This was not the Deep Purple version of Ian Gillan, nor was this the Children of the Sea version of Black Sabbath. Keep It Warm actually grounded this Born Again album, keeping it from being a non-stop onslaught of apocalyptic, melancholy and dark sided themes.

In a Metal nutshell, this Born Again album was forged by the union of Ian Gillan joining the legends of Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill ward. This version of Black Sabbath has suffered through too many years of comparisons to the Ozzy and Dio fronted bands of the same name. All too often, the ignorance of professionally paid Rock Music critics can water down the integrity of a great album from an elite band. Such is the case here with this incredible Born Again album from Black Sabbath. I never saw this Black Sabbath lineup as anything other than Black Sabbath, only with a different lead singer in Ian Gillan who rose to the Metal occasion with unparalleled pipes.

Over the years it has been amusing to me, to even read that Ian Gillan himself was never satisfied, actually displeased, with the music and demon baby artwork of Born Again. (The liner notes of this Born Again CD detail this, as written by writer Hugh Gilmour). If only Ian Gillan knew, just how much this Born Again album has meant to me, as a lifetime fan of his prominent vocals. Black Sabbath fans who appreciate the music created by Tony Iommi, (guitar), Geezer Butler, (bass) and Bill Ward, (drums), know that the Ozzy, Dio and Ian Gillan versions of this band carry their own Metal identity that captivates with it’s own powerful mystique. Born Again by Black Sabbath is more than a vintage Metal album that I recommend, it is a vintage Metal necessity, that should be embraced and heralded as an important contribution and moment – to the history of Metal Music.

To my best Metal buddy Scott… thank you for buying me this hard to find CD. Having owned a copy of Born Again on cassette, spanning three decades, deserved a righteous Metal upgrade. I truly wish I kept the vinyl album of Born Again that once was in my collection.

Black Sabbath "Born Again"

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