Stuck In My Head - 2.26.2015 - Only

 
Only 
by Anthrax

Everything is perfect
Everything is sick, that's it
You can't tell me to stop it
You can't tell me not to quit, that's it

Revolve around yourself
It's you and no one else
Hard for me to stay
Swinging moods that change
From calmness to deranged
Unpredictable, unpredictable

You would see if
Only
You hadn't taken things out of my hands
Only
You never wanted to understand

Classing ways to live here
Compromise for me
I'm at both ends of the spectrum
You're somewhere in the between
Ah, come clean

Crucified, terrified, sacrifice, my whole life
If only...
I can't contain myself
I can't contain myself
I just can't take myself

Stuck in My Head - Hy Pro Glo

Really feeling this today. REALLY feeling it.

Hy Pro Glo
By Anthrax

I...
Who, what, where, when, why,
How many ways can you lie
How many ways can you try
How many ways can you die

What am I gonna do
I can't look at you
What are you gonna do
You're no hypocrite

I bash my head against the wall everyday
You'd bash your head against the wall anyway
And then you'd turn around to see if I care
But I can't, and I never did
What'd you expect me to give
You never deserved my respect

How many ways can you try
It burns a hole inside my mind

What am I gonna do
I can't look at you
Can't look like you
I'm no hypocrite

What are you gonna do
You love to look at you
Don't have a clue
You're no hypocrite

You've hgot a hole inside that you have to feed
You've got a hole you'll use to get what you need
And then you look to see if I care
But I can't, and I never did
What'd you expect me to give
You never deserved my respect

You've got that look I wanna know
You've got that look, the hy pro glo

Stuck in My Head 9.25.2012

Ever since Sunday night.


I Am the Law
by Anthrax

Fifteen years
In the academy
He was like no cadet
They'd ever seen

A man so hard
His veins bleed ice
When he speaks
He never says it twice

They call him Judge
His last name is Dredd
So break the law
And you wind up dead

Truth and justice
Are what he's fighting for
Judge Dredd the man
He is the law

DROKK IT!

With gun and bike
He rules the streets
Every perp he meets
Will taste defeat

Not even Death
Will overcome his might
Dredd and Anderson
Won the fight

When the Sovs started
The Apocalypse war
Mega City was bombed
To the floor

Dredd resisted
And the judges fought back
Crushed the Sovs
With their counter-attack

DROKK IT!

Respect the badge
He earned it with his blood
Fear the gun
Your sentence may be death because...

I am THE LAW!
You won't fuck around no more
I am THE LAW!
I judge the rich, I judge the poor
I am THE LAW!
Commit a crime, I'll lock the door
I am THE LAW!
Because in Mega-City...
I am THE LAW!

In the cursed earth
Where mutants dwell
There is no law
Just a living hell

Anarchy and chaos
As the blood runs red
This would change
If it were up to Dredd

The book of law
Is the bible to him
Any crime committed
Is a sin

He keeps peace
With his law-giver
Judge, jury, and executioner

Respect the badge
He earned it with his blood
Fear the gun
Your sentence may be death because...

I am THE LAW!
You won't fuck around no more
I am THE LAW!
I judge the rich, I judge the poor
I am THE LAW!
Commit a crime I'll lock the door
I am THE LAW!
Because in Mega-City...
I am THE LAW!

CRIME!
The ultimate sin
Your iso-cube is waiting
When he brings you in

LAW!
It's what he stands for
Crime's the only enemy
He's going to war

(Solo)

Oh!

CRIME!
The ultimate sin
Your iso-cube is waiting
When he brings you in

LAW!
It's what he stands for
Crime's the only enemy
He's going to war

Ha ha ha!

Respect the badge
He earned it with his blood
Fear the gun
Your sentence may be death because...

I am THE LAW!
You won't fuck around no more
I am THE LAW!
I judge the rich, I judge the poor
I am THE LAW!
Commit a crime, I'll lock the door
I am THE LAW!
Because in Mega-City...
I am THE LAW!

You won't fuck around no more
I am THE LAW!
I judge the rich, I judge the poor
I am THE LAW!
Commit a crime, I'll lock the door
I am THE LAW!
Because in Mega-City...

I...
AM...
THE...
LAW!

New Music From Anthrax and Dream Theater

Last week had the release of two new albums that I was curious about, Anthrax's long-gestating Worship Music, marking the return of vocalist Joey Belladonna, and Dream Theater's A Dramatic Turn of Events, the first album without drummer and founding member Mike Portnoy, which has even, apparently, sparked a lawsuit. Or maybe it didn't. Who knows anymore?

I am an Anthrax fan, but, if the truth be known, I'm far more drawn to the albums they did with former Armored Saint vocalist John Bush. While I appreciate the albums of what's widely considered the classic line-up, with Joey Belladonna fronting the band, I always found his delivery somewhat grating. Belladonna can obviously sing, that's not the issue, he's likely a better technical singer than 99% of thrash metal vocalists, but there were certain "look how high I can sing!" moments on every album that just knocked me out of the song. Bush was earthy, guttural, without entering "Cookie Monster zone," and his voice, to me, fit the music the band was making.

Worship Music is Anthrax's first in...6 years, I think? They had recorded it once with yet another vocalist by the name of Dan Nelson. That pairing, for whatever reason (and the internet is filled with gross suppositions), didn't fly, and the band, after trying to recruit Bush (which is a long story, in itself), brought Belladonna back to the fold. I had little hope, after all the strife, that the album would feel like a coherent whole, let alone be much good. To my surprise, Anthrax has managed to put out an album that I quite like.

Perhaps it's that Belladonna is older, his voice more "seasoned," and less flexible. There's very little vocal histrionics here. He's not all over the place with high notes for their own sake. Joey falls into the pocket and sings, and this merges with the music in a very similar way to how I felt Bush did. The riffs are catchy, as are the chorus hooks. Some of the lyrics are dumb, I mean, I could do without any media, of any sort, playing out a zombie apocalypse ever again, but I was very pleasantly surprised.

Best Tracks: "The Devil You Know," "I'm Alive"

Dream Theater has always been a tough nut for me. As a bit of a musician myself, I admire the skill and talent on display, but many of their songs tend to go on too long, and get bogged down in overbaked noodling. Their reputation as a band for musicians is not unearned.

In my opinion, their best album was 1997's Falling Into Infinity, where the band embraced shorter, less musically sprawling tracks. The result was an album with much more drive and power. As well as outright listenability.

A Dramatic Turn of Events is very much not in that vein.

Which should not be construed as my saying it's bad. It's Prog Rock, and Dream Theater are monster players. However, they do not bring the warmth and quirky humor to the genre that Rush always does. Music is serious business for this band, and it shows in the results. However, it's not something you can just put on and tap your foot to, it requires attention. There are times when I'm into that, and times when I am not. Your mileage may vary.

This is a good Dream Theater album. It's got everything the band's fans will want, the band is playing superbly, as always, and the song construction is complex and adventurous. Frankly, Portnoy's absence is a non-issue, replacement Mike Mangini is a monster player in his own right, and I'd wager that, if I didn't know there had been a change behind the drum kit, I'd never have noticed. Drummers and hard-core fans are likely scoffing at me for that, but it's my honest opinion.

I'm glad I own it, but if you're not a fan, and looking for a hard rock/metal album, I'd probably steer you to the Anthrax release.

Best Tracks:  "Build Me Up, Break Me Down," "This Is the Life"

Looking forward to Mastodon's The Hunter and Chickenfoot III next week. It's a busy Fall for hard rock...

I used to be an INTENSE headbanger

I mean a total heshian. (At least that was the term in my day, now, apparently, it's some sort of skateboarder.) Gave myself whiplash many times. Hair down to my ass, and the whole bit. Loved Metallica, Megadeth, etc...

Not saying I don't still like those bands, I do. A lot. I've just also really connected with a more, um...lyrical form of rock and roll. Springsteen is the king for me, as he plays as hard as any of those bands mentioned, but also writes true poetry. I've also gotten really into the "prog" area, Rush, King's X, etc...

In the old days I was very taken with an act you might have heard of, Anthrax. Specifically, when they picked up a new lead singer, a guy named John Bush, for their 1993 album The Sound of White Noise. LOVED that record.

I'd been a fan of John Bush with his original band, Armored Saint. Symbol of Salvation is, for my money, one of the best metal albums ever. The guy has a fantastic voice, and was even asked to join Metallica, at one point, early in their carreer. (James Hetfield just wanted to play guitar) Armored Saint was a great band, but they never really "made it." Plus, one of their founding members succumed to cancer, so I guess Bush was ready for a change when Anthrax came calling.

The pairing was fruitful. I consider every one of the Anthrax albums with Bush, Sound of White Noise, Stomp 442 (1995), Volume 8: The Threat is Real (1998), and We've Come For You All (2003), to be top-notch metal records. I also like them much better than any of the earlier albums with Neil Turbin (1 album) or Joey Belladonna (5 full-length albums).

However, Joey is considered their "classic" singer. Among the Living (1987) and Persistance of Time (1990) are probably the two best with Joey. Where the impression of "classic" exists, there's money to be made, and from 2005 to 2007 Anthrax toured with the "classic" lineup (also with original lead guitarist Dan Spitz). Apparently, the original idea was to tour with BOTH Belladonna and Bush singing.

They had tried this before, after releasing the Attack of the Killer A's Greatest hits package in 1999, covering both the Belladonna and Bush eras. They even recorded a cover of "Ball of Confusion" with Joey and John dueting on vocals. The idea was to put both signers on stage. Belladonna apparently balked at this, and opted out. The tour went on with just Bush.

This time, Bush went home. The reunion tour with Joey was pretty successful (saw it myself), but I always felt that Bush was the best singer for the band. The fan community felt that Bush had gotten the run-around. As Bush said later:

"No. Bitter is not the way I wanna be about anything. I'm not bitter at all. There was probably not a perfect way to do that, what they did. It was like, how are they gonna say...? I mean, they asked me to do it—the tour with Joey—and it just wasn't right for me, I couldn't do it. So, whatever...if they felt they had to do that, I understand. It wasn't like I was going, 'Yeah, do it. That's great.' But once it happened, I was like, 'okay.' It was like a book ended. It's okay. I mean, it's much better to look at it that way than to be angry or frustrated, 'cause I really don't feel that way."

But the tour went on, and was successful enough that the band started thinking, "hey, new album with Belladonna." Surely it would sell well.

It probably would've, but Joey ultimately opted out. Was this beacuse the band wanted to treat him like a hired gun, and pay much less, or because Joey was an egomaniac, and wanted more than his fair share? Who knows? The fact is, Joey left, again, and apparently, the band went back to John Bush, who also said, "no."

"I was asked to write, and it just wasn't right for me. I couldn't go back and say, 'Here I am...' It would be like coming in with my tail between my legs, and that's not right for me. I just couldn't do that. It just didn't feel right to do that. It was about soul, your gut. How does that feel? Does it feel right? Good enough. Sold. Answer."

So, now what does Anthrax do? As any good aging metal band, they go looking for a new singer. Who do they find? Some dude no one's heard of named Dan Nelson. The band starts working on a disk called Worship Music, and plays a few gigs. Introducing Nelson to the fans with a show at The Double Door here in Chicago, which was apparently well received.

So, all is well, right? Nelson's in, they're touring Europe, including a date at the Sonisphere Festival on August 1st, Worship Music is set for release in September, with a US tour supporting Slipknot. The band is on it's way back....

Then, SOMETHING happened.

On July 17th, 2009, via a press release, Anthrax cancelled all European dates, indicating it was because Dan Nelson was ill. On July 21st, again via press release, that Nelson was out of the band, the tours were cancelled, and Worship Music was pushed back. Also added; the Sonisphere date was NOT cancelled, and John Bush was returning for a "one-off" date with the band.

Nelson's reaction to all this?

"I was never seriously ill or sick at all, as reported in Anthrax’s 7/17/09 press release. This extremely inflammatory statement hurt me tremendously. This statement misled fans, friends and family members into believing that I was seriously ill when I was not. I was not aware such a statement was being issued and it came as a total shock to me, as I’m sure it did to all of you. It was the other band members’ decision to cancel the tour dates, not mine. I was ready, willing and able to do my job. After issuing the press release the other band members decided, on their own accord, that I had 'resigned' from the band. I never resigned from the band."

What the HELL is going on here? I mean, I'm happy as a clam that footage such as this:



Is available, even if this is Bush's last fling with Anthrax.

I can't even say I really care anymore. I was planning to buy Worship Music, give Nelson a shot, but in the back of my head, I knew it was all wrong. They sorta pushed John aside to tour with Joey in what was a naked cash grab. Then came back when they needed him, and Bush (Rightly!) told 'em to take a hike. They find some nobody, and they can't get along with him. (though the rumors of what exactly happened are NASTY, and paint Nelson in a very bad light.) This seems to be a whole mess of crap they brought on themselves.

I LOVE this band with John Bush, but even if this one-off leads to a full reunion (and Anthrax members have flat out stated this is "right at the front of their minds"), I don't know that I can follow them again. The well seems poisoned.

Bush had been working on some new music with a reunited Armored Saint, which I KNOW I'll buy. I think I'd rather he stuck with that.

What's really become clear here is that John Bush is a class act, in every way. The video makes it clear he came, he saw, and he kicked ass. He brought his A-Game, no matter what the backstage situation. These guys he'd spent a ton of time working with called and needed a solid, and he delivered.

That's the kind of person I strive to be.