Investigando información para un programa que quiero hacer de los mejores solos de guitarra para mi, me encontré que uno de estos guitarristas tendrá un tributo y me refiero al fallecido guitarrista Dimebag Darrell durante el festival Ozzfest, en Dallas Texas, el próximo 9 de agosto; participarán Kirk Hammett de Metallica, Kerry King de Slayer, Jerry Cantrell de Alice In Chains y Scott Ian de Anthrax. Los legendarios metaleros honrarán al fallecido guitarrista de Pantera y Damage Plan.

Organizado por Rita Haney [que fue pareja de Dimebag], el tributo abarcará canciones principalmente del material que hizo con Pantera. Todo un gran guitarrista si me lo preguntan pero me gustaba mas su trabajo en los primeros discos de Pantera, lamentablemente fue asesinado por un "fan" durante un concierto en 2004.

//[Lars]//

Fuente: Æguirre

Eu ouço tanta música que eu resolvi me cadastrar em um site que mantém o registro de tudo que eu ouço. Aqui, sinta-se a vontade para fuçar. Gosto bastante desse last.fm. Lá eu posso procurar artistas relacionados e ficar horas e horas ouvindo as recomendações deveras pertinentes que o site propõe.

Voltando ao assunto, eu e a música, mais especificamente o fuckin' rock n' roll, tivemos um começo tardio. Eu considero alguns marcos na minha vida musical:

Por volta dos 10 anos de idade, fui obrigado por minha mãe a entrar nas aulas de piano que ela tanto adorava. Aulas de canto e coral e aquela professora que parecia ter saido de um calabouço sujo de uma produção secundária da Disney não me apeteciam, acreditem. Larguei, na verdade bombei, fui mal de propósito e, provavelmente, destruí toda a chance de me tornar um músico de verdade. Perceba que, neste momento, eu não me interessava em ouvir música. O que passava nas rádios? Alguma música muito tosca do Michael Jackson.

O termo pré-adolescência ainda existe? Pois é, nessa época, eu aprendi a escutar rádio. Eu viva ouvindo Jovem Pan e Transamérica em casa. Por algum motivo indeterminado, o rock internacional me agradava muito mais do que qualquer coisa nacional que passasse na época. Comecei a ouvir os meus primeiros compact discs. Até hoje, eu tenho, em algum lugar escondido da minha casa, o primeiro volume de uma série chamada Planet Hits. Só clássicos.

A MTV me encontrou poucos anos depois e com ela Raimundos, a banda era de Brasília, a letra era suja e as guitarras pela primeira vez fizeram algum sentido na minha pobre cabeça juvenil. O Disk MTV com a gostosa da Sabrina bombava nessa época, assim como meus hormônios e esse programa me apresentou uma quantidade enorme de boas bandas em fases ridículas. Exemplo? Metallica tinha lançado o Load e os clipes de Until it Sleeps e Unforgiven II eram apresentados todos os dias no Disk pela gostoooosa da Sabrina. Hormônios...

Aerosmith e Guns n' Roses eram a trilha sonora do início do meu 2º grau. Eu ouvia sem parar. Nessa época, eu começei a aprender a tocar violão na marra. Autodidata com uma porção de amigos, dicas eram trocadas e músicas diferentes eram tocadas todas as vezes que nos encontrávamos.

Tudo mudou quando eu entrei numa loja para quebrar um tabu. Eu ia comprar um cd do diabólico Iron Maiden para ver no que ia dar. Entrei e saí com o Brave New World na mão e, em casa, mostrei ao meu pai com aquela cara de eu-não-quero-saber-o-que-você-acha e ele me deu um tapinha nas costas pouco ligando para o meu feito. Quase furei aquela porra de tanto ouvir. Iron Maiden é uma das minhas bandas preferidas até hoje, sem clichês aqui por favor.

Com os meus 16 anos, frequentava os showzinhos aqui em Brasília e já gostava da "cena" candanga das bandas de Metal. Ouvia Blind Guardian, Helloween, Stratovarius, Gamma Ray, Angra, Hammerfall e Edguy. Obviamente, eu era zoado pelos meus amigos que já curtiam a praia do death e thrash metal. Eu merecia, os caras deviam usar mais produtos capilares que a minha mãe e cantavam como donzelas. Paralelamente, escondido de todos meus amigos metaleiros, eu nutri uma verdadeira paixão enrustida por clássicos como o Deep Purple e Eric Clapton.

Aos poucos eu comecei a apreciar algumas coisas mais pesadas e parei de achar que o André Mattos tinha a voz mais bonita do metal. Voltei a ouvir coisas como Pantera, Megadeth e Metallica old school e comecei a procurar estilos alternativos dentro do rock e metal para ver se algo me agradava. Numa dessas madrugadas da vida (como as coisas eram mais difíceis com a conexão discada), eu baixei um cover de Rush feito pelo Dream Theater da música Red Barchetta e ela mudou minha vida. Meu repertório de música só foi aumentar com a popularização da banda larga, até então, meus arquivos de mp3 eram escassos e só fui descobrir mesmo que Dream Theater era minha banda preferida algum tempo depois, na faculdade, quando fui apresentado ao cd Scenes from a Memory.

A minha fixação por DT fez a minha curiosidade e a minha sede por coisas novas aumentarem exponencialmente. Buscava por referências nas músicas e descobri que eu gostava desde Beatles até Genesis, passando por Yes e Pink Floyd. Hoje, mesmo com muito menos tempo para me dedicar, eu continuo com a mesma sede por novidades e continuo renovando meu gosto musical a todo instante.

E você? Qual banda mudou sua vida?

Nome Gruppo : Pantera

Nome Album : Far Beyond Driven

Anno Di Pubblicazione :1994

TrackList :

1. Strength Beyond Strength
2. Becoming
3. 5 Minutes Alone
4. I'm Broken
5. Good Friends and a Bottle of Pills
6. Hard Lines, Sunken Cheeks
7. Slaughtered
8. 25 Years
9. Shedding Skin
10. Use My Third Arm
11. Throes of Rejection
12. Planet Caravan

Genere : Heavy metal / Groove metal / Thrash metal

Biografia : Tratta da Wikipedia

Il gruppo fu fondato nel 1981 dal batterista Vinnie Paul Abbott e da suo fratello, il chitarrista Darrell Abbott (diventato poi famoso con i soprannomi "Diamond Darrell" e "Dimebag Darrell"), in particolare grazie a quest'ultimo che, guadagnato un discreto patrimonio dovuto alle numerose vittorie conquistate in concorsi statunitensi per chitarristi, poté permettersi il costoso acquisto degli strumenti musicali per i futuri Pantera. Un ulteriore fondamentale aiuto per la creazione della band giunse dal padre degli Abbott, Jerry, che creò insieme ai figli l'etichetta discografica Metal Magic Records. Con questa poterono finanziare e produrre, grazie all'utilizzo degli studi discografici familiari Pantego Studios, i primi dischi del gruppo. La prima formazione ufficiale dei Pantera era composta dai fratelli Abbott, dal bassista Tommy Bradford, dal chitarrista Terry Glaze (conosciuto anche come Terrence Lee) e dal cantante Donnie Hart^[14]. La band esordì suonando cover dei KISS e di Van Halen all'interno dei nightclub texani o in piccoli concerti. Nel 1982 Hart e Bradford lasciarono però la band, provocando lo spostamento di Terry Glaze al ruolo di cantante e l'inserimento nel gruppo di un nuovo bassista, Rex Brown. I Pantera mostrarono fin da subito il loro talento e conquistarono il titolo di migliore band dei confini texani, potendo così partecipare ad alcuni tour esterni al loro stato giungendo fino all'Oklahoma e alla Louisiana. La partecipazione a queste esibizioni fece sì che il suono della band mutasse, avvicinandosi sempre più all'heavy metal. I Pantera si appropriarono anche di ulteriori stili dopo essersi esibiti al fianco di gruppi come gli Stryper, i Dokken e i Quiet Riot. Continua su Wikipedia

Formazione :

• Philip Anselmo (Philip Hansen Anselmo) - voce
• Dimebag Darrell (Darrell Lance Abbott) - chitarra
• Vinnie Paul (Vincent Paul Abbott) - batteria
• Rex Brown (Rex Robert Brown) - basso

Album :

• 1983 - Metal Magic
• 1984 - Projects in the Jungle
• 1985 - I Am the Night
• 1988 - Power Metal
• 1990 - Cowboys from Hell
• 1992 - Vulgar Display of Power
• 1994 - Far Beyond Driven
• 1996 - The Great Southern Trendkill
• 2000 - Reinventing the Steel

Collegamenti : Sito Ufficiale

Commento & Voto : I Pantera si sono sciolti nel 2003, che peccato.... Dopo nove album di pura cattiveria, e il tragico incidente capitato a Dimebag Darrell (un pazzo scatenato durante un concerto gli ha sparato) questa band tramonta dalle scene internazionali del metal. Torniamo a parlare di questo Far Beyond Driven, un successo mondiale e uno dei più pesanti album metal a toccare vendite da capogiro, "I'm Broken" ; "Becoming" e "Strength Beyond Strength" racchiudono al loro interno la vera essenza dei Pantera, Groove/Thrash metal allo stato puro. Ricordo di quando avevo solo 14 anni e ogni volta che potevo "prendevo in prestito" :D da mio fratello i suoi cd, e una sera fui attratto da questo strano cd con la copertina tutta blu e questo strano viso in sottofondo! Che scelta ragazzi! ho fatto il mio ingresso nel Metal con i Pantera :D DOVETE AVERE QUEST'ALBUM A TUTTI I COSTI

VOTO

SU

Video Pantera “I'm Broken″

Video Pantera "Strength Beyond Strength"

Metal is a musical derivative of the evil and dark orchestrations of the past.  This evil sound is what inspires metalheads to play and artistically express their angst, an effect of relieving their anger, unhappiness, or anxiety.  Knowing what makes metal evil can help explain where the imagery and iconology develops.  The concepts of evil are often associated with power, and this creates the "distinctive and often confrontational style of the genre” (Weinstein, 146).  This concept is what the imagery can be attributed to, and why the culture seems obsessed with the taboo.  Imagery of evil, the dead, and corruption of innocence creates a discomfort among mass culture.  “This kind of discomfort is by no means a universal human trait; indeed that is the dark and fertile subsoil out of which our individual identities spring” (Browne, 72).

This image is the cover to Black Sabbath’s fifth album, Heaven and Hell.  The angels become iconic in this imagery, but it must be understood what they are iconic of.  Through this understanding the reasoning behind condemnation of such images occurs.  The true problem, or rather, the cause of controversy and distaste for such a picture, stems from the mass culture’s view of the icons.  Angels are always portrayed as pure beings, absent of flaws, and inherently good.  This image takes that concept and turns it upside down.  Smoking and gambling are culturally seen as sinful and impure specifically to the religious.  It is the views of the mass culture that make this image dark and controversial in any way.  Metal music creates a culture of individuals that embrace the corrupt and taboo.  The imagery often exemplifies that which the masses choose to ignore or cast aside.  Imagery of smoking angels is a concept that would be ignored, but perhaps not taken offense to.  This is why metal art has evolved to such evil imagery.  The artwork strives to be darker and more evil than its predecessors.
The mass culture has created a monster out of this counter culture, and the metalheads are proud of what they are; hence the darker iconography.  A strong music develops strong characters, as well as evil icons coming from music that thrives on the devil’s note.  Images of early heavy metal, like that of Black Sabbath’s Heaven and Hell album cover, are often ignored, but the metal culture is not one to be passed over easily.
The metal culture has responded to the mass culture’s reference to metal being a lower form of music, and embraced the controversial.  This spawned artists such as Alice Cooper and Twisted Sister, and has further progressed to bands like Lamb of God and Slayer.  “Music has long been considered an important part of social life.  Its [Metal’s] symbolic and ritual powers are used to explain both social cohesion and cultural resistance” (Bryson, 885).  The concept of pride regardless of the ugliness that the stereotype creates only enhances what metal is not.  Metalheads are proud of what they are regardless of the social standard, and this lets the stereotype run wild.

Imagery such as this was created as a response to criticisms of metal and the evil sounds contemporary metal musicians were writing.  This imagery from Slayer was the beginning of the pentagram iconology, alongside bands such as Venom, in metal music.  This embraced metal’s most controversial subject, religion.  The fact that this music is a derivative of the “devil’s note” begs the need for exploration of religious iconography.  Black Sabbath, years earlier, was infamous for having upside down crosses burning on stage during their performances.  This icon, or rather deconstruction of an icon created a lot of controversy that the metal culture has come to embrace.  Imagery, such as this masochistic bones and swords pentagram, enhances some of the stereotype metal creates.  It presents a contradictory and hard personality, but there is no evidence of a lower form of musicality, or the favoring of a lower class.  In fact imagery far more sadistic and evil than this is present in the worlds famed museums, and viewed as high art.  The question is then why is an image such as this, relating to metal music, considered the lowest standard of controversial art while statues of Christ being tortured in the Vatican is considered high art?  It is this social construction of cultural standards that condemns the satanic imagery and condones the Christian icons.  It is obvious that this image looks evil, but the origin of the idea of evil is the real issue.  Alice Cooper says, “Very rarely do you ever find somebody that is truly scary.  The image is just that, an image.  Everyone needs a gimmick.  Let’s see how far you get without one.  We do it to get a rise out of people and the crowd embraces the power to ruffle some feathers.”  The skulls and pentagram images support a stereotype to the mass culture, while within the counter culture of metal there is no question that it is simply art.  The images are there to make audiences want to look, and act as propaganda and advertising for album purchase.

Cannibal Corpse has become infamous for their cover art and the controversy it draws.  It is obvious why these images are considered taboo and are often censored from the public eye, but the idea is that it is art.  An image such as this drives the common citizen to a conclusion about metal and its fans that is unrealistic and stereotypical.  The lower class, masochist becomes a poster child for the metal culture through these images.  This stereotype has been pushed so hard by the music industry and throughout the mass media that during most of the 90’s, bands that were clearly heavy metal refused to refer to themselves as such.  When 2000 hit, a revolution occurred and metal artists, like Cannibal Corpse, used their vivid and masochistic art to shatter the stereotype by embracing it. An image such as this becomes attractive to a metal fan, not because of the disgusting and perverse nature of the image, but rather the reaction the image creates outside of the metal counter culture.  Alex Webster of Cannibal Corpse states in Dunn’s documentary, “the first time somebody who knows nothing about the death metal scene sees one of our album covers, or something like that, it is going to shock them.  If it doesn’t then we didn’t make a very good album cover.  It’s art, just look at is as art.  Yeah, it can be disgusting, but there are lots of things… look at church art, that’s something that can happen, that’s real.  Whoa, now that’s perverse.  I don’t think monsters are going to rip out of people’s bodies anytime soon.”  Art like this has caused Cannibal Corpse to be banned from performing or distributing any of their songs off this album, as well as three other albums, anywhere in Germany, Korea, and Italy.  The censors never heard the album; they simply banned the music based on the stereotype and imagery of the album.  There is a desire in metal to explore that which is dangerous; that which is scary.  The mass culture, then, inadvertently causes art from bands like Cannibal Corpse to develop.  It is our cultural censorship of life through death that drives the desire to find this kind of imagery.  “In the past we knew that death was a part of the very essence of life, and as our culture forgets that, we seem to desire more vivid images of death,” says Keith Kahn-Harris, a sociologist from Dunn’s documentary, “this is why we see forms of mortality in all of our art through the ages.”   Metal isn’t the imagery, it is the concept behind the imagery and the iconology which the art creates that Heavy Metal and its culture embraces.

These images are the darkest and perhaps the most frightening of metal’s icons.  The band Slipknot wears masks for every photo shoot, every performance, and any public appearance.  All of these images were taken for promotional posters to spread the word about one of the band’s albums, The Subliminal Verses.  Again, the iconology of these characters creates a rise in the media and mass culture.  The use of masking, both literally and metaphorically creates icons out of these band members.  Masking allows metal fans to relate to these characters, while alienating the mass culture.  Bryson talks about “High-Status Exclusiveness” which is exemplified as, “knowledge of the fine arts, literature, and upper-class etiquette signals wealth and prestige” (885).  Iconology such as this is a response to these stereotypes.  The mentality is that if mass culture is going to call us low class for what we do and enjoy, then we are going to embrace that, and become the lowest form of any class imaginable.  This explains the crude, and ever changing masks of the band.  The group shot even portrays the band standing in a gritty, impoverished area.  The background and coloring cause the dark image to get even darker.

The image of the singer, again, creates a very gritty and disturbing background.  In this image the lack of objects in the backdrop creates a feeling of intimidation.  This feeling is not welcomed by the mass culture and therefore becomes denoted and dark and evil.  This image portraying their minority of evil overpowering the majority of self-proclaimed morality is a triumph that all metal imagery strives for.  The images that enhance the stereotypes are pushing to overcome them through force.

The image of the clown denotes many concepts of evil.  This portrays corruption of innocence with the contorted smile of a childhood entertainer that appears even more disturbing with the lighting.  The pentagram carved into the face creates both a satanic and masochistic image.  The horns and the number 6 complete the satanic image.  The images of evil and darkness are synonymous with power as shown in The Satanic Bible.  The nine satanic statements say, “4. Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it, instead of love wasted on ingrates! / 5. Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek!” (LaVey, 25).  Embracing these inner evils creates power and allows for cultural resistance.  The mask creates a stylistic pictorial symbol that is relatable, identifiable, and most of all, powerful.  It is this very power that the imagery of metal tries to portray.

Heavy metal has a vast array of imagery and iconography associated with it.  The images created are related to metal’s evil and blues ridden origins, dating as far back as the dark ages and the devil’s note, or the tritone.  This is where the imagery of evil originates and develops into the masochistic and dark images that many people associate with heavy metal music today.  The products, specifically visual art, that develop from a culture dictate the social class that group is associated with.  The dismissal and condemnation of metal art by both mass culture and upper-class scholars leaves only a small counter culture of individuals.  Due to the opposition, this anti-culture becomes stereotyped as lower class and ignorant.  The art and imagery of Heavy Metal is responsible for creating this stereotype, but has also succeeded in tearing it down through over indulgence of the iconography.   Bryson says, “musical taste provides a good test for questions about symbolic boundaries” (885), and Heavy Metal tears down every boundary laid down.  The many misinterpretations of metal art by the mass culture and creations of skewed stereotypes pushes the metal culture to indulge in their evil icons.  Metalheads take on the evil and darkness that surrounds their culture.  Metal icons and images embrace their stereotype and allow the misconceptions to fuel the power of their ever growing and changing counter culture.

"Your trust is is whiskey, and weed, and Slayer, it's goddamn electric!"

-Pantera

Sources:

Bryson, Bethany. “Anything But Heavy Metal”: Symbolic Exclusion and Musical Dislikes. American Sociology Review 61.5 (1996).

LaVey, Anton S. The Satanic Bible. New York: Avon Books, 1969.

Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey.  Dir. Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen. DVD. Banger Productions Inc. 2006

Weinstein, Deena. Heavy Metal: The Music and Its Culture. Da Capo Press, 2000.

- Te devoraré -dijo la pantera-

- Peor para tí -dijo la espada-

Lightyear Entertainment will release of the award-winning and critically acclaimed music documentary "Get Thrashed: The Story of Thrash Metal" on September 16, 2008. The film covers the evolution, cultural impact, and musical influence of thrash metal , an extreme form of heavy metal which burst on to the scene in the early-to-mid-1980s. The documentary features interviews with over 50 artists, including past and current members of METALLICA, MEGADETH, ANTHRAX, SLAYER, PANTERA and more! Click here for the scoop.

Check the trailer below:

For the last time, techno should not make you want to dance. Techno is painful. Borderline torturous. Hell, our government should be utilizing it to ward off potential terrorists. As for disco…well, Motown’s coloured folks discovered it. Later, George Clinton and James Brown put it on the radio. Hell, even Tom Jones caught a glimpse or two of it. As for Whomadewho…well, this Denmark-based band whacks it right in the disco balls.

Jose Gonzalez

After hearing Damien Rice’s version of When Doves Cry, I decided to give ‘the hollow acoustic sound’ another go. A few days later, I stumbled upon Jose Gonzalez on YouTube. His rendition of Massive Attack’s Teardrop is awesome. Er…at least good enough to drown memories of post-grunge rockers sitting on barstools, strumming on acoustic guitars and singing about how their dads had too many bills to pay and not enough hugs to give. Forget them. Try this chap.

Dinosaur Jr

During the mid-Eighties, Dinosaur Jr unleashed the alternative rock genre upon unsuspecting masses. In essence, this genre was the next step in the evolution of college rock. Some even took it to be the unholy matrimony between hard rock and punk. Whatever the hell it was, these guys managed to make it sound more intriguing and viscerally edgier than anything else that dared to broadcast itself on MTV. Fiction: Nirvana gave birth to the sonic blueprint that made modern rock music a better alternative to popular music. Fact: Dinosaur Jr’s album You're Living All Over Me packs more punch than the shotgun that blew Cobain’s head off.

Opeth

What’s life without a little metal to whip one’s earlobes into frenzy? For nearly five years, I watched as my Panasonic music system got continuously assaulted by the likes of Sepultura, Pantera, Six Feet Under, Sabbath and Crowbar. By the summer of 2000, Radiohead’s OK Computer launched an attack so intensely alarming upon my aural inclinations that I could no longer appreciate bands that preferred ferocity to subtlety. It’s difficult to lug Opeth into the metal category even though they sometimes consciously channel the spirits of black metal legends. But their calmer and more introspective side lets them escape any such classification. Let me just say that Opeth is what heavy metal should hope to evolve into by the next millennium.

There was a time a few years ago when all anybody could ask for in metal was a good breakdown, but it seems like there are some who have turned on the very breakdowns that brought metal back from the dead.  There seems to be this attitude these days that breakdowns are bad and that any band that does them is inferior to bands that don't.  I am pretty sick of this attitude and I gotta say something about it. 

It seems now a days that any band that does a breakdown, no matter what genre of metal, gets "-core" tagged on to whatever they do.  It's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.  Metallica, Pantera, Meshuggah, Lamb of God, Shadows Fall, Cannibal Corpse, Children of Bodom etc there are tons of "respected" metal bands that do plenty of breakdowns and nobody ever accuses them of being unoriginal, uncreative or hard-core!  There is no place where this is more prevalent than in the death metal.  Death metal has come back in a big way, and part of that is breakdowns and people just need to accept that the days of Cannibal Corpse type Thrashy death metal (which had breakdowns) is over and it's never coming back.  The turn of the century has brought about a new wave of metal from all over the world and many of these bands love breakdowns in varying degrees and thats the way it is.  If you don't like it then accept that metal as a genre has moved on without you.  Unless you'd rather have a Nu-metal come back.  In addition, thrash, the most popular of metal styles is by definition the mixing of metal and punk.  Sounds pretty familiar to a trend going on today.

Put up or shut up.

[dailymotion id=xjcwf]

Video Clip : Rise

Singer : Pantera

[dailymotion id=x378bd]

Video Clip : I'm Broken

Singer : Pantera

[dailymotion id=xulst]

Video Clip : The Great Southern Trendkill

Singer : Pantera

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Video Clip : Cemetery Gates

Singer : Pantera

Stronger Than All
Keep It Metal

I leave you with one of my favorite Pantera songs - Domination

Poi, che dire? Grazie, a chi è diretto, spero che arrivi.. Fanculo, a qualcunaltro.

Vabbè buonanotte a tutti, vi lascio una canzone tanto famosa quanto bella.

Questa.

Tanto dolce, quanto tremendamente pesante!

Buonanotte di nuovo!

The orchestrated musings of bands like Opeth and Iced Earth (who became the famed Transiberian Orchestra) bring about the first basis of metal’s musical roots. Drawing, again, on the ideas from Sam Dunn in his documentary, Mozart, Bach, and Vivaldi were known as improvisers much like revolutionaries of metal such as Edward Van Halen and “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott. Complex layering and creating a wall of sound was standard for Beethoven and Wagner as well as Megadeth and Metallica. Metal is infamous for creating progressions, chords, and solos based in the Minor Pentatonic, Hungarian Minor, Enigmatic Minor, and Melodic Minor scales. These same scales were created and used in some of the darkest music of the romantic and middle ages. These great composers also had a tendency to push the allowable standard in music. The flat fifth, or the tritone was known, then, as the devil’s note, and was actually banned in several countries. The superstitious believed that this interval was used to summon the devil as it made the hairs on their arms rise. Metal heavily relies upon this interval to create the dark music and arousing sound that hits fans in the chest. In this sense, heavy metal is the next progression in lasting classical music.
To understand the musical basis of heavy metal the earliest stages of this music must be explored, and the roots of the earliest versions revealed. I look to three major contributors as the first: Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Led Zeppelin. Many may argue with me as to the very beginning of the “heavy metal sound,” but these three will be MY reference point. Black Sabbath began as a blues band called Earth before they developed something darker and heavier in Sabbath. Early Deep Purple songs are littered with blues licks and common blues guitar sounds of the 60’s. Zeppelin was known for using harmonica, twelve-string guitars, classical guitars, and various percussion that are all related to early blues music. “When the Levee Breaks” is a premier example of the blues sound that Zeppelin became so famous for. The roots of metal clearly lie heavily in the realm of the great American south, and the traditional blues sound.
Not only is the blues “sound” clear in much of heavy metal, but so is the message that the music presents. Hold on tight because this may get complicated and even a bit philosophical. The roots of the blues lie in slave chants from the cotton plantations and ideas of salvation from oppression. The blues developed from the working class, blue-collar workers of the south. Great guitarists like Robert Johnson were said to have sold their soul to the devil at the crossroads, hence the legend surrounding the blues. As most of us know, heavy metal as the demonic and masochistic imagery surrounding it as well. It is the message of nonconformity and resistance to that which we don’t agree with that makes both of these kinds of music so abrasive. The happy coincidence is the similar sound that the blues and metal share. The shout of resistance and the call for freedom comes from the gospel fields as well as the screaming guitar.
The musically elite that disband metal as a mindless form of music disregard all of these roots and influences. They base their judgments on the sound that they dislike, often a distorted string instrument or screaming vocalist. Discrediting heavy metal as a musical force then becomes a simple matter of opinion. I personally hate the screech of a solo violin playing long drawn out notes, and a symphony is amazing, but I don’t discredit the talent or musicality of either. The true irony is when you take the distortion and screams from metal and put it onto a more traditional instrument the music has a very classical sound with a blues twist. Groups like Apocalyptica are breaking down these barriers as they play heavy metal on a quartet of cellos. They have been so successful playing covers that they have now started writing heavy metal pieces only for a cello quartet, seen in the first video. The following video exemplifies what happens when you take away the distortion to a great metal song. I could play this piano video of “Cemetery Gates” for my grandmother (a polka fan that’s 90 years of age) and she would love it, but playing the original Pantera version (below) she would scoff and walk away. I leave you with these three incredible works of music…

Keep it Metal

Chris Fox

Every once in a while you come across album covers (or any cover art) that are just so horrible that they absolutely rule; then again, however, some of them just make you scratch your head and wonder what the hell they were thinking. "So bad it's good" might not apply to some of the worst of the worst.

In this article I will shine some light on some of the worst and most horribly hilarious and awful album covers that I know of. You just might feel every single emotion from "lol" to "facepalm."

I Am the Night by Pantera (1985)

Honestly, any of the Pantera album covers from the pre-Phil Anselmo days can be used, but out of all of them, this one makes me wonder what the hell it is the most. Got any ideas? I'm just glad this happened in the '80s, where it is at least somewhat acceptable. No way they could go from the cover of "Cowboys from Hell" to this shit.

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Ultra Beatdown by DragonForce (2008)

Are you freaking kidding me? One of the only good things about DragonForce was their ability to at least have pretty epic album covers, but what is this shit?! A futuristic women with a lancer? And what the hell is up with the name of the album? They go from stuff like "Valley of the Damned," "Sonic Firestorm," "Inhuman Rampage" to... Ultra Beatdown? It's like a stereotypical cliche gone wrong.

It looks like they are trying to be a concept for a game by ripping off a hybrid of sorts between Gears of War and Unreal Tournament!

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Anthology by Manowar (1997)

Is there really anything that is needed to be said?

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Dance of Death by Iron Maiden (2003)

If there was a poll on the biggest album mindfuck -- this one takes the cake. Through the years of Maiden's epic covers with their mascot Eddie on the front, they come out with this shit? I really am speechless. It isn't that I don't have a lot to say, its the fact that it I can't even get it out! It looks like the band broke up and then the janitor of the studio somehow got the the rights to use the name and logo. Just what is going on in that art?!

To be fair, the "history" of this cover can be summarized as follows: artist David Patchett designed the art, but wasn't completely satisfied with the results in the incomplete form and was going to finish it to be better, but the band ended up using the prototype art as the final art for some reason unbeknownst to anybody in existence, despite the quality and errors in the art itself. Patchett even asked for his name to be removed from the credits of his own art!

Well, there we go! Thank you, Iron Maiden, for going with one of, if not the worst album art in the history of mankind. If I had a medal, I'd give it to you. Maybe it would have floating, CGI masked babies on it, maybe not.

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"The Spaghetti Incident?" by Guns N' Roses (1993)

First off, I love how they put the title in quotations and have a question mark at the end. I think it really shows that they knew people would be asking it in their mind, so they just went with the ironic thing to do. Then they put a picture of disgusting-looking spaghetti on the front to symbolize the bad taste that the music will leave if you listen to it, apparently.

They accomplished all of that with this album and its cover. No wonder Chinese Democracy is taking so long to be released. Axl is trying to figure out a way to fuck it up!

Next up are some miscellaneous ones that didn't quite make the cut. Or simply, I couldn't find much to write about them, or much history about them at all. Some honorable mentions:

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It looks like it could be turned into a Disney movie.

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This idiot fails on so many levels. The artist's name is horrible. His 'nickname' is horrible. His album name is horrible. His album pose is horrible.

10. Angels & Airwaves (The War) - C'mon, Tom Delonge already stated that he wrote the songs for "We Don't Need to Whisper" while surrounded by images of war. So really these songs are ready made for fireworks. Just imagine the rockets shooting up everytime that snair hits in the beginning.

9. Audioslave (Set it Off) - I can see it now...Morrello has all kinds of political stuff set up before the show. The chorus for this song really sets the stage for a good sky fire show. Other acceptable songs Tom could play would be "Bombtrack" or "Calm Like a Bomb" just for added affect.

8. Saliva (Ladies and Gentlemen) - Seriously, did they just write this song for pyrotechnics? They say "boom" well over 20 times in this song. Oh yeah, real explosions would work great with that.

7. Green Day (The Saints are Coming [w/ U2]) - First off, don't use "American Idiot" that would be very untimely. But this little collaboration worked great as an anthem for New Orleans, and I know the shot off fireworks during football games.

6. Guns-N-Roses (Cival War) - Now this would be a good one if you're a protestor or you're starting a rally and you're not quite sure what music is appropriate, but you still want to be patriotic.

5. Nickelback & Kidrock (Saturday Night) - What? Its not like we can use that BRITISH guy's version! Again think cocky america...only one night a week. Think of the added bonus you get on the years that the 4th falls on a Saturday.

4. Megadeth (Crush 'Em) - This is another song that seems to have the perfect drums to be in sync with some sky rockets. Definitly makes for a cocky-America fireworks show.

3. Foo Fighters (There Goes My Hero) - With a drum intro like that, its a perfect set up for some intro fireworks. And the great part about this song, it can be used to honor somebody. Really make it seem like the song was played just for them. But remember, the fireworks are where everyone should stay focused. So honor the person right before Dave plays that song.

2. Creedence Clearwater Revival (Fortunate Son) - How could this song not go on a list of all-american songs? Think of the finale getting more and more intense with every "It ain't me".  

1. Pantera (Cowboys From Hell) - Badass does not describe enough how cool this is as a patriotic song. The guitar riff is one of the greatest sounds of all time. Add one all-American fireworks show - and you've got yourself a great country.

The Vines - Ride
System Of A Down - Angels Deserve To Die
Story of the Year - Until the Day I Die
Puddle Of Mud - She Hates Me
Godsmack - I Stand Alone
Forthrite - Substituting_The_Silence
Ember_Sky - Silence_Breaks
Blur- Song 2
Trapt - Headstrong
Westside Connection - Gangsta Nation
White Zombie - Feed The Gods
Wild Cherry - Play That Funky Music
Yellow Card - Breathing
Aaliyah -_Miss You
Thrice - Silhouette
Three Days Grace - I Hate Everything About You
Super Troopers - Shenanigans
Stone Temple Pilots - Dead and Bloated
Scotty Doesnt Know - Lustra
Queens Of The Stone Age - No One Knows
Ra - Do You Call My Name
Rage Against The Machine - Guerilla Radio
Ramstein - Du Hast
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Suck My Kiss
Rob Zombie - Living Dead Girl
Saliva - Always
Sheryl Crow - Soak Up The Sun
Slayer - Bloodline
Slipknot - Duality
Smashing Pumkins - Zero
Soft Cell - Tainted Love
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
Power Man 5000 - BombShell
Puddle Of Mudd - Away From Me
Pantera - Walk
Papa Roach - Last Resort
Ozzy Osbourne - Ironman
Nirvana - Lake Of Fire
Metallica - Enter Sandman
Marilyn Manson - The Beautiful People
Megadeth - Shadow Of Deth
Limp Bizkit - Faith
Lost Prophets - Last Train Home
Korn - Got The Life
Kansas - Carry On My Wayward Son
Kid Rock - Cowboy
Jet - Are You Gonna Be My Girl
Godsmack - Voodoo
Green Day - American Idiot
Godsmack - Bad Religion
Devo - Whip It
Disturbed - Dropping Plates
Dope - Debonaire
Dropbox - Wishbone
Daniel Lioneye - King Of Rock And Roll
Dark Lotus - Pass The Ax
Blink 182 - I Miss You
Alice In Chains - We Die Young
Alternative Switchfoot - Meant To Live
American Hi-Fi - Flavor Of The Week
AFI - Total Immortal
AC/DC - TNT

Hoje acrescento que este é um dos temas mais magníficos que conheço, inserido que está num dos álbuns referência da minha vida.

"If ever words were spoken
Painful and untrue
I said I loved but I lied
In my life
All I wanted
Was the keeping
Of someone like you
As it turns out
Deeper within me
Love was twisted and pointed at you

Never ending pain, quickly ending life --

(Chorus)

You keep this love, thing, child, toy
You keep this love, fist, scar, break
You keep this love

I'd been the tempting one
Stole her from herself
This gift in pain
Her pain was life
And sometimes I feel so sorry
I regret this the hurting of you
But you make me so unhappy
I'd take my life and leave love with you

I'd kill myself for you, I'd kill you for myself --

(Chorus)

No more head trips"

Pantera. This love. Vulgar display of power.

Pantera es un grupo que me gustaba bastante, pero nunca había escuchado la música anterior al disco Cowboys From Hell y me ha sorprendido ver como cambiaron a principios de los 90 hasta que se disolvió el grupo.
La verdad es que todo esto es una excusa para poneros las canciones que más me gustan de Pantera, es algo que hice en mi anterior blog y me gustaría hacerlo en este, así de tanto en tanto las escucho.

• Cowboys From Hell
  [audio="http://www.goear.com/files/sst/9630f7a5e2a64bbede5f55e698056eb2.mp3"]
• Cementery Gates
  [audio="http://www.goear.com/files/sst3/3beb879e08baf5e0f5ed9081fba530bd.mp3"]
• Heresy
  [audio="http://www.goear.com/files/sst3/c200b7c5d70b9753c931c80b5f4dcea4.mp3"]
• Fucking Hostile
  [audio="http://www.goear.com/files/sst3/99e7b3fc707f3d00d95abe3e5ec38296.mp3"]
• Walk
  [audio="http://www.goear.com/files/sst/ca3d8a11e1f56dd3cf988f45b48f22f2.mp3"]
• This Love
  [audio="http://www.goear.com/files/sst3/f8220789a56e934e6c0861a64c4092b0.mp3"]
• Hollow
  [audio="http://www.goear.com/files/sst3/805ff5de327f45416af5caa5f028e640.mp3"]
• 5 Minutes Along
  [audio="http://www.goear.com/files/sst2/bc126246787df99cc3d8b103f4f06553.mp3"]
• I'm Broken
  [audio="http://www.goear.com/files/sst3/16dfb01f844840ac44d755b877cd7d93.mp3"]
• 25 Years
  [audio="http://www.goear.com/files/sst3/0e48276dfb45047824f8965c6624f83c.mp3"]
• Floods
  [audio="http://www.goear.com/files/sst4/4e0f98a75777ec4d24fcf117d2d0a9ef.mp3"]
• Planet Caravan
  [audio="http://www.goear.com/files/sst3/63d68a37d4ee07a22d514b88a2cda4b7.mp3"]

[Imagen de Bob-Rz]

Si os ha gustado, os recomiendo echar un vistazo a esta web:

• Pantera (Taringa)

un tenebroso bikini a fascia nero, molto piu' da serata estiva che da spiaggia mattutina. Dedicato alle donne feline.