Ok, I have already talked about Nevermore's new album, The Obsidian Conspiracy, coming out. Yesterday, they released a teaser trailer for it. All I can say is that this is definitely looking like it will be my first big album of the year. Enjoy.
Friday, April 09, 2010
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Venting the Anger: Teacher Tenure
Education Week had an article (via Joanne Jacobs) on teacher tenure and how it is changing around the nation. Some states are extending it to 7 years, while others are tying tenure to test scores. One of those states being Delaware who just won the first round of the Race to the Top funds. Here is a map from Education Week looking at the time to receive tenure at every state.
This idea of extending tenure or tying it to test scores is going to push more people away from education, not bring it in like Obama wants. My job shouldn't rely on some high school kids ability on a test. I don't see these students more than 55 minutes a day. What are they doing the rest of the 23 hours? I don't know.
I have had students tell me they blow off the test because they want the extra hours to sleep. They know that it has zero affect on their college applications or high school grades. So where is the buy in for them?
Yet we want to have their scores determine if I have a job? Does that make sense to anyone? I hate it when people try to run schools like a business...you can't! When I was at UPS, I could fire the employee. Hell, I could fire someone in the first 60 days for being late. Can we "fire" a student? Can we have them removed from our class because they aren't doing the work? Nope. What about special ed students? We have no ability to pick our students, whoever we get is who we get. What about PE teachers or art teachers that don't have state tests? How will they be evaluated?
It would be like telling a rookie police officer, look if they crime rates jump during the first 7 years of you being on duty, we will have to let you go. Or how about a fire fighter having to make sure no major fires break out. Are doctors fired when their patients blow off the information the doctors are trying to tell them? If they aren't maybe they should be, we still have people smoking and eating unhealthy foods. Maybe doctors should have to make sure all of their patients are living healthy lives 24/7 if not fire them.
Those sound ridiculous to a logical thinking person. So where is the logic, when they want to tie student test scores to teacher tenure or pay?
By the way, I doubt that we will see any change at all from these states. Anyone in education knows that student success starts at the homes. And once the government starts to see that, maybe it will put pressure where it belongs first...at the home.
This idea of extending tenure or tying it to test scores is going to push more people away from education, not bring it in like Obama wants. My job shouldn't rely on some high school kids ability on a test. I don't see these students more than 55 minutes a day. What are they doing the rest of the 23 hours? I don't know.I have had students tell me they blow off the test because they want the extra hours to sleep. They know that it has zero affect on their college applications or high school grades. So where is the buy in for them?
Yet we want to have their scores determine if I have a job? Does that make sense to anyone? I hate it when people try to run schools like a business...you can't! When I was at UPS, I could fire the employee. Hell, I could fire someone in the first 60 days for being late. Can we "fire" a student? Can we have them removed from our class because they aren't doing the work? Nope. What about special ed students? We have no ability to pick our students, whoever we get is who we get. What about PE teachers or art teachers that don't have state tests? How will they be evaluated?
It would be like telling a rookie police officer, look if they crime rates jump during the first 7 years of you being on duty, we will have to let you go. Or how about a fire fighter having to make sure no major fires break out. Are doctors fired when their patients blow off the information the doctors are trying to tell them? If they aren't maybe they should be, we still have people smoking and eating unhealthy foods. Maybe doctors should have to make sure all of their patients are living healthy lives 24/7 if not fire them.
Those sound ridiculous to a logical thinking person. So where is the logic, when they want to tie student test scores to teacher tenure or pay?
By the way, I doubt that we will see any change at all from these states. Anyone in education knows that student success starts at the homes. And once the government starts to see that, maybe it will put pressure where it belongs first...at the home.
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Free Speech for the Dumb: Paul Volcker
So now that Obamacare has passed, we get to see just what the ramifications are going to be. We already knew we would be paying for something that won't even start for 4 more years, but a national sales tax, or the better sounding value added tax? According to one of Obama's advisors, Paul Volcker, we should have one (from Reuters);
Volcker, answering a question from the audience at a New York Historical Society event, said the value-added tax "was not as toxic an idea" as it has been in the past and also said a carbon or other energy-related tax may become necessary.
Though he acknowledged that both were still unpopular ideas, he said getting entitlement costs and the U.S. budget deficit under control may require such moves. "If at the end of the day we need to raise taxes, we should raise taxes," he said.
That last line just pisses me off. Here we are struggling and instead of cutting back, we just want to spend more. I know that when I am running out of cash, I cut back, I don't spend more to get out of debt.
Volcker, answering a question from the audience at a New York Historical Society event, said the value-added tax "was not as toxic an idea" as it has been in the past and also said a carbon or other energy-related tax may become necessary.
Though he acknowledged that both were still unpopular ideas, he said getting entitlement costs and the U.S. budget deficit under control may require such moves. "If at the end of the day we need to raise taxes, we should raise taxes," he said.
That last line just pisses me off. Here we are struggling and instead of cutting back, we just want to spend more. I know that when I am running out of cash, I cut back, I don't spend more to get out of debt.
Remember the Time: Century Media Identity sampler cds
New tag...this one will look back at some influential things in my childhood that I remember fondly.
Ironic though that the first one doesn't look at my childhood, but rather college. I am doing a Nevermore album list and remember the first time I heard them was on Century Media's sampler cd, Identity vol. 8.
Now keep in mind, the internet wasn't as big as it is now. There was no myspace or websites that streamed songs. Sure there was Napster, but even that didn't have some of the more unknown bands. I was in Virgin Records trying to find something that didn't cost $18...which is why they eventually went out of business. I saw this cool looking album.
I flipped it over and saw that it had 18 songs for $3. Now that's pretty impressive. I showed it to my wife (girlfriend at the time) and she told me that it probably was just samples of each song. I did say sampler on it, so maybe she was right. She also told me that it was just $3, so why not buy it and find out.
I was shocked that it was 18 complete songs. Not only that I was also surprised at how good the music was on it. I went back and picked up Volume 7 the next weekend and enjoyed a ton more of good music.
These are the bands I was introduced to and some of the songs on there that I discovered through this $3 cd;
Nevermore - one from Enemies of Reality and one from Dead Heart in a Dead World. Without these two Identity albums I would never have gotten into Nevermore.
Into Eternity - First time I heard Splintered Visions, and we all know how I feel about that intro.
Iced Earth - I had stayed away from Horror Show because I heard it was crap. Identity Vol. 7 had Jack, which is one of the best songs Iced Earth has ever written.
Shadows Fall - I had The Art of Balance by them, but they had an unreleased song on Vol. 8, Deadworld, which is still one of my favorite Shadows Fall songs.
Nightrage
Children of Bodom
Lacuna Coil
Watch Them Die
Arch Enemy
and a bunch more.
I can't believe they don't make these anymore, but I guess with the advent of Myspace and other media they aren't needed anymore.
Ironic though that the first one doesn't look at my childhood, but rather college. I am doing a Nevermore album list and remember the first time I heard them was on Century Media's sampler cd, Identity vol. 8.
Now keep in mind, the internet wasn't as big as it is now. There was no myspace or websites that streamed songs. Sure there was Napster, but even that didn't have some of the more unknown bands. I was in Virgin Records trying to find something that didn't cost $18...which is why they eventually went out of business. I saw this cool looking album.
I flipped it over and saw that it had 18 songs for $3. Now that's pretty impressive. I showed it to my wife (girlfriend at the time) and she told me that it probably was just samples of each song. I did say sampler on it, so maybe she was right. She also told me that it was just $3, so why not buy it and find out.I was shocked that it was 18 complete songs. Not only that I was also surprised at how good the music was on it. I went back and picked up Volume 7 the next weekend and enjoyed a ton more of good music.
These are the bands I was introduced to and some of the songs on there that I discovered through this $3 cd;
Nevermore - one from Enemies of Reality and one from Dead Heart in a Dead World. Without these two Identity albums I would never have gotten into Nevermore.
Into Eternity - First time I heard Splintered Visions, and we all know how I feel about that intro.
Iced Earth - I had stayed away from Horror Show because I heard it was crap. Identity Vol. 7 had Jack, which is one of the best songs Iced Earth has ever written.
Shadows Fall - I had The Art of Balance by them, but they had an unreleased song on Vol. 8, Deadworld, which is still one of my favorite Shadows Fall songs.
Nightrage
Children of Bodom
Lacuna Coil
Watch Them Die
Arch Enemy
and a bunch more.
I can't believe they don't make these anymore, but I guess with the advent of Myspace and other media they aren't needed anymore.
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
The Last Laugh: Glaciers Growing
So we all love the hype surrounding global warming and how we are going to be flooded when the glaciers melt. Well, that might not happen because apparently they are growing. Not only are they growing, but how about the first time in 250 years?
Now are you going to hear about this on the major news networks? Nope.
Now are you going to hear about this on the major news networks? Nope.
Monday, April 05, 2010
Who Decides: Worst Intro Songs
A nice quick list for everyone today. Intro songs are "songs" that really bug the heck out of me. They are usually a minute or less and lead striaght into the next song. So you have to wonder, why not just make it apart of the regular song? It is a waste of a track on the album and when you listen to your cds or ipod on random it really ruins the flow of the music. How about this; you still have to pay $1 for these songs...man, you must be a hell of a fan to want these.
6. Signs of Chaos - Testament (The Ritual): just some guitar noise that leads into probably their "poppiest" metal song ever, Electric Crown. The same notes are played during Electric Crown as in Signs of Chaos. Now don't get me wrong, Testament can play a great intro. For the Glory Of... is a solid track, yeah most of the notes are brought up in More Than Meets the Eye, but it is over a minute long and there is something going on there that isn't background noise. Signs of Chaos isn't worth a track all by itself.
5. Prologue - The Autumn Offering (Embrace the Gutter): just as bad as Signs of Chaos, same notes played in Decay, the next song. What makes this one worse? The fact they called it Prologue, like it is some important part of the album. It is 20 seconds of noise with about 10 seconds of music that could have easily been added onto Decay.
4. Intro 1 through Intro 11 - Ayreon (The Human Equation): that's right 11 intro songs that are a combined total of 53 seconds. That's not a typo either. At least there is some reason behind it. The Human Equation is a 2 disc album that is spread out over the span of 20 days, each song is a day. So Day 1 is track one and so forth, kind of cool. So when you put in the second disc, it is on day 12, but the track on the cd is #1. So what does he do? Well put in 11 intro tracks that are just mainly keyboard noise, until Intro 6 and then you get a beat. Now of course all of these intros play right into Day 12. In fact if you listened to it without looking you would be hard pressed to realize you just listened to 11 songs.
But with the advent of iTunes, you don't get the 11 intros anymore. At least they didn't try to make you pay $11 dollars for 53 seconds.3. Demonic (Tonus Diabolus) - Deadlock (Earth.Revolt): an ochestral piece of work that is the same notes played over and over again until it leads into 10,000 Generations in Blood. Deadlock is notorious for intros, but this one is bland and unoriginal. Plus less than 15 seconds into the next song, you hear the exact same notes and instruments. At least the other two waited until about a minute into the song before you heard the intro again.
2 (TIE). Intro - Halford (Live Insurrection) & Jet - Megadeth (That One Night): a tie for these two. They are both live albums and they both have the fans cheering for the entire track. Let's look at them a bit closer. Halford's track is just the fans chanting "ole ole ole" over and over again for 15 seconds. Couldn't you edit that out or just throw it at the beginning of the next song?
As bad as that was, Megadeth's might be worse. You listen to crowd noise for about 25 seconds, that's it no chanting or anything. Then you hear a jet sound for 5 seconds. Worst part is that the jet noise is on the song Blackmail the Universe on the album. So why now did they decide to give it it's own track?
1. Unleash - My Own Grave (Unleash): possibly the worst intro song ever. Why? It's the title track of the album. Think of great title track songs, Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning, Among the Living, Slaughter of the Soul, Number of the Beast, Painkiller, even Buried in Oblivion was great despite being totally different from the rest of the album. But this is an embarrassment.
It's just background noise and then a lion roaring and some lady screaming. Huh? That's the title track? Really?
Honorable Mention
Untitled - The Absence (Riders of the Plague): Ok this isn't an intro song, but it is the worst track ever...ever. To find my list, I put my iTunes in order of track length. This was the shortest song on there at 4 seconds. Believe it or not it is in the middle of the album. It is just silence for 4 seconds. Worse than that? It is for sale on iTunes. A 4 second song of silence...shouldn't they give it away?
Now Soulfly had a silent track, but that was in memory of 9-11. So what is the point of this? I got nothing. Riders of the Plague is a great melodic death metal album, but this is just stupid.
Now there are a ton more that just bug the crap out of me and I can't really say why I chose these 7. Just remember if it doesn't add something to the album or go over a minute it's probably a waste of a track number.
6. Signs of Chaos - Testament (The Ritual): just some guitar noise that leads into probably their "poppiest" metal song ever, Electric Crown. The same notes are played during Electric Crown as in Signs of Chaos. Now don't get me wrong, Testament can play a great intro. For the Glory Of... is a solid track, yeah most of the notes are brought up in More Than Meets the Eye, but it is over a minute long and there is something going on there that isn't background noise. Signs of Chaos isn't worth a track all by itself.
5. Prologue - The Autumn Offering (Embrace the Gutter): just as bad as Signs of Chaos, same notes played in Decay, the next song. What makes this one worse? The fact they called it Prologue, like it is some important part of the album. It is 20 seconds of noise with about 10 seconds of music that could have easily been added onto Decay.
4. Intro 1 through Intro 11 - Ayreon (The Human Equation): that's right 11 intro songs that are a combined total of 53 seconds. That's not a typo either. At least there is some reason behind it. The Human Equation is a 2 disc album that is spread out over the span of 20 days, each song is a day. So Day 1 is track one and so forth, kind of cool. So when you put in the second disc, it is on day 12, but the track on the cd is #1. So what does he do? Well put in 11 intro tracks that are just mainly keyboard noise, until Intro 6 and then you get a beat. Now of course all of these intros play right into Day 12. In fact if you listened to it without looking you would be hard pressed to realize you just listened to 11 songs.
But with the advent of iTunes, you don't get the 11 intros anymore. At least they didn't try to make you pay $11 dollars for 53 seconds.3. Demonic (Tonus Diabolus) - Deadlock (Earth.Revolt): an ochestral piece of work that is the same notes played over and over again until it leads into 10,000 Generations in Blood. Deadlock is notorious for intros, but this one is bland and unoriginal. Plus less than 15 seconds into the next song, you hear the exact same notes and instruments. At least the other two waited until about a minute into the song before you heard the intro again.
2 (TIE). Intro - Halford (Live Insurrection) & Jet - Megadeth (That One Night): a tie for these two. They are both live albums and they both have the fans cheering for the entire track. Let's look at them a bit closer. Halford's track is just the fans chanting "ole ole ole" over and over again for 15 seconds. Couldn't you edit that out or just throw it at the beginning of the next song?
As bad as that was, Megadeth's might be worse. You listen to crowd noise for about 25 seconds, that's it no chanting or anything. Then you hear a jet sound for 5 seconds. Worst part is that the jet noise is on the song Blackmail the Universe on the album. So why now did they decide to give it it's own track?
1. Unleash - My Own Grave (Unleash): possibly the worst intro song ever. Why? It's the title track of the album. Think of great title track songs, Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning, Among the Living, Slaughter of the Soul, Number of the Beast, Painkiller, even Buried in Oblivion was great despite being totally different from the rest of the album. But this is an embarrassment.
It's just background noise and then a lion roaring and some lady screaming. Huh? That's the title track? Really?
Honorable Mention
Untitled - The Absence (Riders of the Plague): Ok this isn't an intro song, but it is the worst track ever...ever. To find my list, I put my iTunes in order of track length. This was the shortest song on there at 4 seconds. Believe it or not it is in the middle of the album. It is just silence for 4 seconds. Worse than that? It is for sale on iTunes. A 4 second song of silence...shouldn't they give it away?
Now Soulfly had a silent track, but that was in memory of 9-11. So what is the point of this? I got nothing. Riders of the Plague is a great melodic death metal album, but this is just stupid.
Now there are a ton more that just bug the crap out of me and I can't really say why I chose these 7. Just remember if it doesn't add something to the album or go over a minute it's probably a waste of a track number.
Sunday, April 04, 2010
What can Brown do for you?: "A dead rabbit just came down my belt"
So this story was coming up, but since it involves a rabbit and it's Easter...why not? This really doesn't take place out of order either. I was on Pen 6 still running along and we had a new building manager in Chuck.
The day was almost over and the flow from the sort aisle was slowing down when all of a sudden one of my employees calls me over to the front of the belt. Well, I am sure you all know what was there...a dead rabbit, not in a box or bag, just a dead rabbit. Turns out that the little guy was a laboratory rabbit that got out of his box somehow and ended up on my belt.
Anyway, I pick up the rabbit and put him in a tote box and call Chuck and tell him that a dead rabbit just came down my belt and that someone in the sort aisle should be written up for this. T take the rabbit in the tote to Chuck by Pen 4. I show him the rabbit and am visibly upset. I see the sort guys walking in the back and call them over. Adrian and P.J. are like "we don't know where it came from, we will ask." Anyone could plainly see they were lying. Chuck didn't do anything except laugh at it. I told him it's not funny and that he needs to do something. Chuck tells me he will look into it... of course we know what that means.
Nothing ever came of it and it just became a funny side note to the building. Years later I found out what happened. The sort aisle was upset with me for telling the rest of the building what they do and of course the Wednesday meetings. So a box carrying the lab rabbits opened up and Adrian pushed it to a sorter to re-box and made the comment "we should send it to Kevin's belt". When Adrian walked away, the sorter thought it was a good idea and did it. Nice huh?
Happy Easter everyone.
The day was almost over and the flow from the sort aisle was slowing down when all of a sudden one of my employees calls me over to the front of the belt. Well, I am sure you all know what was there...a dead rabbit, not in a box or bag, just a dead rabbit. Turns out that the little guy was a laboratory rabbit that got out of his box somehow and ended up on my belt.
Anyway, I pick up the rabbit and put him in a tote box and call Chuck and tell him that a dead rabbit just came down my belt and that someone in the sort aisle should be written up for this. T take the rabbit in the tote to Chuck by Pen 4. I show him the rabbit and am visibly upset. I see the sort guys walking in the back and call them over. Adrian and P.J. are like "we don't know where it came from, we will ask." Anyone could plainly see they were lying. Chuck didn't do anything except laugh at it. I told him it's not funny and that he needs to do something. Chuck tells me he will look into it... of course we know what that means.
Nothing ever came of it and it just became a funny side note to the building. Years later I found out what happened. The sort aisle was upset with me for telling the rest of the building what they do and of course the Wednesday meetings. So a box carrying the lab rabbits opened up and Adrian pushed it to a sorter to re-box and made the comment "we should send it to Kevin's belt". When Adrian walked away, the sorter thought it was a good idea and did it. Nice huh?
Happy Easter everyone.
Saturday, April 03, 2010
The Last Laugh: Offshore Drilling
Offshore drilling is a no-no for liberals and environmentalists. So I guess they were a little mad about it when their hero President Obama announced plans to start offshore drilling this past week.
"Given our energy needs, in order to sustain economic growth and produce jobs and keep our businesses competitive, we're going to need to harness traditional sources of fuel even as we ramp up production of new sources of renewable, homegrown energy," Obama said. "So today we're announcing the expansion of offshore oil and gas exploration--but in ways that balance the need to harness domestic energy resources and the need to protect America's natural resources."
Now I personally don't think it will happen. But I do find it funny how the same people that just cheered him for health care reform are now blasting him.
"Given our energy needs, in order to sustain economic growth and produce jobs and keep our businesses competitive, we're going to need to harness traditional sources of fuel even as we ramp up production of new sources of renewable, homegrown energy," Obama said. "So today we're announcing the expansion of offshore oil and gas exploration--but in ways that balance the need to harness domestic energy resources and the need to protect America's natural resources."
Now I personally don't think it will happen. But I do find it funny how the same people that just cheered him for health care reform are now blasting him.
Friday, April 02, 2010
What can Brown do for you?: Downtime
Now a few words to set up this story. Every day at break the unload would tell us the percentage of trailers left to unload. So normally we would be around 500-700% and that would take an hour or so (about 7 AM is when we were supposed to finish). Now as a math guy it took me awhile to grasp that something could be more than a 100%, but whatever.
The other thing was that we were still without a building manager. So it wasn't out of the ordinary for the division manager to show up. He would be consider a building manager's boss. He was in charge of more than one building.
Well one day our division manager, Rich, was in the building. Rich was a great guy. I can't say one negative thing about him. He was always kind, positive, and always remembered my name. On top of that, when things got bad he wouldn't yell or scream he would just mentor you. He was definitely an anomaly at UPS.
So at break time that day, Shon (who was running the back cause Tom was gone) decided to have a building meeting to discuss downtime and percentages left. Everyone is there, part time supervisors, full time supervisors, and Rich. Shon asks Rob for the amount left and Rob tells him something like 600%, which is higher than Shon had said. Then when he asks Rob for a downtime Rob says 7:30. Shon without missing a beat says "you're on crack." Rob chuckles and says "you can say whatever you want, but we will be done at 7:30." It was funny to see Rich's and Shon's face when Rob said it. I was standing next to Jordan and we just laughed because we knew Rob pretty well and he didn't sugar coat stuff.
Want to know what time they got down? 7:30
The other thing was that we were still without a building manager. So it wasn't out of the ordinary for the division manager to show up. He would be consider a building manager's boss. He was in charge of more than one building.
Well one day our division manager, Rich, was in the building. Rich was a great guy. I can't say one negative thing about him. He was always kind, positive, and always remembered my name. On top of that, when things got bad he wouldn't yell or scream he would just mentor you. He was definitely an anomaly at UPS.
So at break time that day, Shon (who was running the back cause Tom was gone) decided to have a building meeting to discuss downtime and percentages left. Everyone is there, part time supervisors, full time supervisors, and Rich. Shon asks Rob for the amount left and Rob tells him something like 600%, which is higher than Shon had said. Then when he asks Rob for a downtime Rob says 7:30. Shon without missing a beat says "you're on crack." Rob chuckles and says "you can say whatever you want, but we will be done at 7:30." It was funny to see Rich's and Shon's face when Rob said it. I was standing next to Jordan and we just laughed because we knew Rob pretty well and he didn't sugar coat stuff.
Want to know what time they got down? 7:30
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Who Decides: Metallica lead off tracks
Ok by now you should know I am into metal. Then it should really be no surprise that I am a fan of Metallica. In fact, in my class this month I play nothing but Metallica as the students come in. I don't know why I chose April, but I have for the past couple of years now.
Being the fan that I am, I can't really pick a favorite album. To me, they are each unique in their own special way. I remember when the two Load albums came out how much they were blasted by the "fans" as being sell-out albums and now they are highly regarded by those same fans.
So while I can't choose a favorite album, I can choose a favorite lead off track. It's a simple list and it's only one song from each album. I would also like to add, that just because one song is number one, doesn't mean it's my favorite album. So onto the list;
9. Ain't My Bitch (Load) - ok, well something had to be at the bottom of this list. Seriously though, Ain't My Bitch is an average song. It's nothing special. It doesn't really set the tempo for the rest of the album either, like the rest of the songs on this list. Plus, this was the first impression made from Load. Now, there are a couple of other songs that could have taken the lead position, but they went with this one. I guess it is one of the "heavier" songs on Load and maybe that's why it was put there. It is probably the only song on here that doesn't leave an impression.
8. Fuel (Re-Load) - honestly, the Loads aren't bad albums. This one leaves a bad taste in my mouth with the opening lines "gimmie fuel, gimmie fire, gimmie that which I desire." When I am listening to Metallica, I'm not expecting Shakespeare, although there are plenty of deep reflecting lyrics in their music, this isn't one of them. Once again, it's a solid song, but nothing great. I might have gone with Devil's Dance or The Memory Remains, but whatever. I think it is a better song than Ain't My Bitch, but it still doesn't "set the tone".
7. That Was Just Your Life (Death Magnetic) - I am sensing a pattern here. Anyway, this is more like it in terms of "setting the tone". A nice long intro (more to come later) and some pretty fast playing. This album came out after the Loads and St. Anger and people were saying Metallica couldn't play thrash anymore. This song came out and said "oh yeah?". It clocks in at a little over 7 minutes long, like most of the songs on the album. And like most of the songs, it gives you a peek at the long choruses and great soloing. I can't say one bad thing about this song. It's not any higher because the other songs are more memorable.
6. Hit the Lights (Kill 'Em All) - This was the song that introduced the world to Metallica (minus the demos). It had the intro that would be built upon over the next 3 albums and again with Death Magnetic. It really gives you a sense of how great the music is. A nice little solo in between the first verses grabs the listener's attention that this isn't a regular album. One of the faster songs on the album, but for me it is actually one of my least favorite Metallica songs. So why is it so high up? Because it defined the band. You never get a second chance to make a first impression and Metallica didn't let down. The speed, solos, it was truly genre defining. How many songs ended on a guitar solo back then? Not many, but that was Metallica's first impression to the world.
5. Enter Sandman (Metallica) - how I hated this song after about 1997. Some of you might remember how big this song was in the 90's when it came out, other maybe not. When this hit the airwaves & MTV it was huge. I don't even think huge can describe it. Let's face it, this is probably Metallica's most popular song. I can listen to it now and realize it is near perfection for a metal song. Great tempo, sing a long chorus and verses, nice chord progressions, and a radio friendly solo. When you talk about a lead track setting the tempo for things to come, this pretty much nailed it. When I play this song, every year, it gets the biggest reaction of "I know this song". With Guitar Hero it only made this song bigger. I know some claimed this was the beginning of the end for Metallica, but I think of it as the second coming of Metallica.
4. Frantic (St. Anger) - Well the Loads left a bad taste in people's mouths and by now people also said The Black Album (Metallica) was a sell out album. So enter St. Anger. The band was in utter turmoil at the time. Jason Newsted had quit the band and James Hetfield was in rehab. When he came out, they said Metallica was reborn. Things were going to change and they were "going back to their roots." People actually said this album would sound like And Justice for All, because there was no official bass player and on AJFA the bass was turned down so much it was like there was no bass at all. It's only after I typed that do I realize how strange some Metallica fans are.
Anyway, St. Anger was released and this was the first impression of the new Metallica. And what an impression it was; tin drums, no solo, James' off key singing. Through all that though it was a return to form so to speak. It wasn't AJFA or anything close to it, but it did give hope that there was still some thrash in there somewhere. On a side note, if St. Anger had a "normal" snare sound and solos it would be Death Magnetic. Listen to both of them and then think about those two things. Songs are both long and the choruses are also long, not to mention some of the intros.
3. Blackened (And Justice for All) - it shouldn't surprise metal fans to see the top 3 lead off tracks come from these albums. These albums (Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and And Justice for All) are seen as the holy grail of thrash metal.
Blackened was the last of the three and like the others they start off with a calm intro, sort of like the calm before the storm. This one was played with electric guitars unlike the others and it doesn't go on as long, but like the others it is simply the only rest for the first song. Blackened is a little more complex than the others with multiple tempo changes, once again setting the tone for the more complex AJFA album. In fact the middle seems like it could be a totally different song. The solo is classic though. You go from this NWOBHM type solo into the classic thrash solo that Metallica was known for and then into something that really just makes you go "WOW! what was that?!?!" And then when you hear the solo going into the chorus, it goes back for more. Amazing. It might be my favorite solo on the list.
2. Battery (Master of Puppets) - nothing much to say, but a classic. The acoustic guitar intro into the drums and electric guitar was pretty awesome back then, and still is to this day. Then into this thrash metal song that only Metallica could write. Battery is one of my favorite songs to listen to and sing along with. The choruses and verses are so great to sing along to. The chord progressions are basic, like Enter Sandman but's that's the only similarities.
Like the other songs in the top three there is a middle part that sort of takes you away. This one isn't as long as Blackened and leads straight into one of Kirk Hammett's best solos. I think my favorite part is the riffs in this song. If you aren't head banging during this song, something might be wrong with you.
1. Fight Fire With Fire (Ride the Lightning) - Kill 'Em All was the birth of thrash, this album saw thrash grow up into something more than we thought it could become; complex, moving, and more than one dimensional.
This is the song that started off the whole "slow intro"-thing that would be present the next 2 albums. The difference is that it was never heard of before. It really sounds like a classical song being played. The riffs are constantly being pounded into your head. The middle section is pretty much nonexistent compared to the other 2 songs. But the solo here might be the best of the three. There are two different "solos" and then onto this part where all you get is about 10 seconds of drumming then the riffs are back. It is the shortest song of the three, probably due to the lack of a drawn out middle section. Of all the songs this is the only one that has the instant transition to the title track. All 3 of the albums were set up similar in terms of types of songs for each spot in the track numbering. I might discuss those later.
So that's the list. Here's to a great month of Metallica.
Being the fan that I am, I can't really pick a favorite album. To me, they are each unique in their own special way. I remember when the two Load albums came out how much they were blasted by the "fans" as being sell-out albums and now they are highly regarded by those same fans.
So while I can't choose a favorite album, I can choose a favorite lead off track. It's a simple list and it's only one song from each album. I would also like to add, that just because one song is number one, doesn't mean it's my favorite album. So onto the list;
9. Ain't My Bitch (Load) - ok, well something had to be at the bottom of this list. Seriously though, Ain't My Bitch is an average song. It's nothing special. It doesn't really set the tempo for the rest of the album either, like the rest of the songs on this list. Plus, this was the first impression made from Load. Now, there are a couple of other songs that could have taken the lead position, but they went with this one. I guess it is one of the "heavier" songs on Load and maybe that's why it was put there. It is probably the only song on here that doesn't leave an impression.
8. Fuel (Re-Load) - honestly, the Loads aren't bad albums. This one leaves a bad taste in my mouth with the opening lines "gimmie fuel, gimmie fire, gimmie that which I desire." When I am listening to Metallica, I'm not expecting Shakespeare, although there are plenty of deep reflecting lyrics in their music, this isn't one of them. Once again, it's a solid song, but nothing great. I might have gone with Devil's Dance or The Memory Remains, but whatever. I think it is a better song than Ain't My Bitch, but it still doesn't "set the tone".
7. That Was Just Your Life (Death Magnetic) - I am sensing a pattern here. Anyway, this is more like it in terms of "setting the tone". A nice long intro (more to come later) and some pretty fast playing. This album came out after the Loads and St. Anger and people were saying Metallica couldn't play thrash anymore. This song came out and said "oh yeah?". It clocks in at a little over 7 minutes long, like most of the songs on the album. And like most of the songs, it gives you a peek at the long choruses and great soloing. I can't say one bad thing about this song. It's not any higher because the other songs are more memorable.
6. Hit the Lights (Kill 'Em All) - This was the song that introduced the world to Metallica (minus the demos). It had the intro that would be built upon over the next 3 albums and again with Death Magnetic. It really gives you a sense of how great the music is. A nice little solo in between the first verses grabs the listener's attention that this isn't a regular album. One of the faster songs on the album, but for me it is actually one of my least favorite Metallica songs. So why is it so high up? Because it defined the band. You never get a second chance to make a first impression and Metallica didn't let down. The speed, solos, it was truly genre defining. How many songs ended on a guitar solo back then? Not many, but that was Metallica's first impression to the world.
5. Enter Sandman (Metallica) - how I hated this song after about 1997. Some of you might remember how big this song was in the 90's when it came out, other maybe not. When this hit the airwaves & MTV it was huge. I don't even think huge can describe it. Let's face it, this is probably Metallica's most popular song. I can listen to it now and realize it is near perfection for a metal song. Great tempo, sing a long chorus and verses, nice chord progressions, and a radio friendly solo. When you talk about a lead track setting the tempo for things to come, this pretty much nailed it. When I play this song, every year, it gets the biggest reaction of "I know this song". With Guitar Hero it only made this song bigger. I know some claimed this was the beginning of the end for Metallica, but I think of it as the second coming of Metallica.
4. Frantic (St. Anger) - Well the Loads left a bad taste in people's mouths and by now people also said The Black Album (Metallica) was a sell out album. So enter St. Anger. The band was in utter turmoil at the time. Jason Newsted had quit the band and James Hetfield was in rehab. When he came out, they said Metallica was reborn. Things were going to change and they were "going back to their roots." People actually said this album would sound like And Justice for All, because there was no official bass player and on AJFA the bass was turned down so much it was like there was no bass at all. It's only after I typed that do I realize how strange some Metallica fans are.
Anyway, St. Anger was released and this was the first impression of the new Metallica. And what an impression it was; tin drums, no solo, James' off key singing. Through all that though it was a return to form so to speak. It wasn't AJFA or anything close to it, but it did give hope that there was still some thrash in there somewhere. On a side note, if St. Anger had a "normal" snare sound and solos it would be Death Magnetic. Listen to both of them and then think about those two things. Songs are both long and the choruses are also long, not to mention some of the intros.
3. Blackened (And Justice for All) - it shouldn't surprise metal fans to see the top 3 lead off tracks come from these albums. These albums (Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and And Justice for All) are seen as the holy grail of thrash metal.
Blackened was the last of the three and like the others they start off with a calm intro, sort of like the calm before the storm. This one was played with electric guitars unlike the others and it doesn't go on as long, but like the others it is simply the only rest for the first song. Blackened is a little more complex than the others with multiple tempo changes, once again setting the tone for the more complex AJFA album. In fact the middle seems like it could be a totally different song. The solo is classic though. You go from this NWOBHM type solo into the classic thrash solo that Metallica was known for and then into something that really just makes you go "WOW! what was that?!?!" And then when you hear the solo going into the chorus, it goes back for more. Amazing. It might be my favorite solo on the list.
2. Battery (Master of Puppets) - nothing much to say, but a classic. The acoustic guitar intro into the drums and electric guitar was pretty awesome back then, and still is to this day. Then into this thrash metal song that only Metallica could write. Battery is one of my favorite songs to listen to and sing along with. The choruses and verses are so great to sing along to. The chord progressions are basic, like Enter Sandman but's that's the only similarities.
Like the other songs in the top three there is a middle part that sort of takes you away. This one isn't as long as Blackened and leads straight into one of Kirk Hammett's best solos. I think my favorite part is the riffs in this song. If you aren't head banging during this song, something might be wrong with you.
1. Fight Fire With Fire (Ride the Lightning) - Kill 'Em All was the birth of thrash, this album saw thrash grow up into something more than we thought it could become; complex, moving, and more than one dimensional.
This is the song that started off the whole "slow intro"-thing that would be present the next 2 albums. The difference is that it was never heard of before. It really sounds like a classical song being played. The riffs are constantly being pounded into your head. The middle section is pretty much nonexistent compared to the other 2 songs. But the solo here might be the best of the three. There are two different "solos" and then onto this part where all you get is about 10 seconds of drumming then the riffs are back. It is the shortest song of the three, probably due to the lack of a drawn out middle section. Of all the songs this is the only one that has the instant transition to the title track. All 3 of the albums were set up similar in terms of types of songs for each spot in the track numbering. I might discuss those later.
So that's the list. Here's to a great month of Metallica.
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