Early Song Saturday: Dokken's Mr. Scary

 

How's it going lurkers? If you read my previously published Song Saturday blog about Dokken on February 18, 2017, you may recall the significance of last Thursday.

What was so significant about last Thursday?

November 2, 1987 was the day that Dokken's 4th album, Back For The Attack released in stores; Last Thursday was the 30th anniversary of their Back For The Attack album. I cannot believe it has been 30 years!

Realizing that I was ONLY going on 5 years old, when Dokken's theme song for the 3rd A Nightmare On Elm Street film ("Dream Warriors") released and was in K5, when Back For The Attack released, makes me feel old.

3 decades?! Wow! Where has the time gone?! Shouldn't I be older than 35? Honestly, it feels that way. 

My love for music had influence over me wanting to host my own radio show and becoming a disk jockey. By 20 years old, it actually came to fruition.

Looking back, I really should've aired some of Dokken's songs on my radio show. Then again, I don't think their songs would've attracted many college students, during the early 21st Century. However, my audience was male-dominated, 15 years ago.

Years later, my gender demographic is STILL is male-dominated. Therefore, I could've aired Dokken and other bands from the 1980's and '90s. Listeners would've listened to my show, regardless.

After digging up the previous Song Saturday blog about Dokken's Back For The Attack album, I made some minor changes. Music videos for "Dream Warriors," "Burning Like A Flame," and "Heaven Sent" are still in the previous blog. 

Nevertheless, Dokken's "Mr. Scary" from Back For The Attack was originally featured as a bonus song for that particular Song Saturday blog.  Last night, I transferred it for today's early Song Saturday blog. 

Earlier this year, it was mentioned in the preceding Song Saturday blog that "Mr. Scary" was a guitar solo by George Lynch and Jeff Pilson. 

On the band's Back For The Attack album, "Mr. Scary" is the 6th song, which happens to be the song after "Heaven Sent." 

You may be wondering, "Anna, why didn't you share 'Mr. Scary' in a Song Saturday blog last month?"

There are only so many Saturdays in a month. If I could've, I would've re-shared the song.

Although, re-sharing it today is more fitting, since Dokken's Back For The Attack recently turned 30. "Mr. Scary" has Classic '80s Guitar Solo written all over it. Without a doubt, they are by far 1 of the most highly UNDERRATED Metal bands from the 1980's.

Even though Dokken's Back For The Attack was heavily promoted 30 years ago for A Nightmare On Elm Street: Dream Warriors, it's sad that they NEVER received the same amount of praise as other '80s Metal bands.

In the meantime, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Dokken's Back For The Attack, let's revisit "Mr. Scary" for not only an early Song Saturday, but also as a throwback!

Dokken "Mr. Scary" Back For The Attack (1987)

Song Saturday: Dokken's Back For The Attack {Horror Triple Dose}

How's it going lurkers? I originally planned to publish this blog last Saturday. February 10th was the 30th anniversary for Dokken's release of their single "Dream Warriors." 

"Dream Warriors" was not only written and used as A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors' theme song, but can also be found on Dokken's 4th album, Back For The Attack.

"Dream Warriors" brings back childhood memories. So does A Nightmare On Elm Street. Dokken released their single 3 weeks before the Slasher Horror film released in theaters; A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors released on February 27, 1987. 

At the time, I was only 4 going on 5 years old. I remember the band's music video for "Dream Warriors" being heavily played on MTV. My mother would usually change the channel so that I wouldn't get scared of Freddy Krueger in the music video.

Most people don't know, that some of today's Hollywood "A-List actors and actresses" made their film debuts in Slasher Horror films. Johnny Depp made his film debut in the original A Nightmare On Elm Street, for example. 

Watching Freddy Krueger pull the character, Glen through the bed only to slash and spit Glen into pieces saddens me, until this day. Poor Glen.

Another A-Lister, who debuted in a Slasher Horror film was Patricia Arquette. Patricia debuted in A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.

A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors Trailer (1987)

She also made her cameo appearance in Dokken's music video for "Dream Warriors." Dokken used movie clips for their music video, along with filming their own original video scenes. 

The actress' character, Kristen ends up being "rescued" by Dokken from Freddy by the band performing the sequel's theme song, "Dream Warriors."

At the end of their music video, Freddy wakes up from his "nightmare" about Dokken. When you watch the music video, you have to laugh at how silly it looks. Luckily, the music video was MUCH better than the actual movie. Dokken was heavily advertised for A Nghtmare On Elm Street 3.

About 10 minutes into the movie, the character Taryn was shown in the hallway wearing a Dokken T-shirt.

Even though A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors heavily advertised Dokken and gave the band more commercial success, this Slasher was a joke. Giving mentally disturbed teenagers "special powers" to fight Freddy Krueger in their dreams felt TOO contrived. 

Yes, I know the movie is titled "Dream Warriors" for a reason. However, that movie is as God-awful as Sharknado and other movies, which are currently airing on Syfy. 

I tried watching Dream Warriors years ago and ended up turning it off because I couldn't take it seriously at all. It was LAME.

Have you ever noticed that the original A Nightmare On Elm Street (excluding the 2010 remake) still gets aired on cable whereas the sequels usually don't?

After watching MTV Classic, I realized a number of Dokken's music videos had Horror in them yet their songs consisted of topics regarding love, relationships, heartbreak, fear, etc.

Judging by this Metal band's music videos, album covers, and instruments, I assume they are fellow Horror fans. If not everyone from Dokken, at least a small percentage of them may be Horror fans. 

Throughout the years, guitarist George Lynch had skulls, bones, snakes, and demons designed on his guitars.

In addition to Lynch's guitars, Dokken has a song on Back For The Attack titled, "Mr Scary." George Lynch and Jeff Pilson wrote the song. 

Mr. Scary" is a guitar solo following "Heaven Sent" on the Back For The Attack album.

Also, I want to add that the success of Dokken's "Dream Warriors" for A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors led to the following sequels to include a Heavy Metal song on its soundtrack.

Those of you reading today's blog are probably wondering about my favorite songs from Dokken. Right now, I have their song "Breaking The Chains" stuck in my head, which is on their 1981 debut album, Breaking The Chains.

As for the Metal band's Back For The Attack album, my mother bought me that album, when I was a little girl and I have owned it on vinyl for nearly 30 years. Although, I haven't played the album on my turntable in 17 years. Decades later, "Heaven Sent" is still my favorite from Back For The Attack.

I believe Dokken is 1 of the most HIGHLY UNDERRATED Metal bands from the 1980's. Not that I hated listening to every Glam Metal band, during my early childhood in the '80s, but there were other Metal bands, that did NOT  get the amount of exposure and praise as they should've.

Dokken was NOT  the stereotypically flamboyant, '80s Glam Metal band that constantly wore Androgynous Fashion for female fans and groupies.

Anyway, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Back For The Attack album, here are 3 Horror themed music videos by Dokken for Song Saturday.

1) Dokken "Dream Warriors" Back For The Attack (1987); A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors Soundtrack (1987)

2) Dokken "Burning Like A Flame" Back For The Attack (1987)

3) Dokken "Heaven Sent" Back For The Attack (1987)

Song Saturday: Nightmare's The World

How's it going lurkers? If you have been subscribed to yours truly for at least the last 2 last years and happen to be a fellow Anime fan, you may recall that I published at least 2 blogs regarding the Shonen Supernatural Anime featuring Shinigami.

Death Note is 1 of the 2 examples of Shonen Supernatural Anime, which features Shinigami.

If you have ever watched the Anime for Death Note within the last decade via online streams in Japanese and/or possibly on Adult Swim in English, its theme songs should be familiar to you. At least the opening and ending theme songs from Season 1, anyway. 

Because of VAP Inc, you must click on the following buttons of each video, which reads "Watch on YouTube."

"The World" Featured As Death Note's Season 1 Opening Theme Song (2006)

"Alumina" Featured As Death Note's Season 1 Ending Theme Song (2006)

Both songs were performed by the Japanese Rock (J-Rock) band, Nightmare. The videos above are the creditless versions of the opening and ending theme songs from the Death Note Anime. 

"The World" and "Alumina" can both be found on the original Death Note Soundtrack and on Nightmare's 4th album, The World Ruler.

Nightmare has somewhat of an eclectic musical sound. This J-Rock band experiments with genres and sub-genres such as Alternative Rock, Progressive Rock, Hard Rock, Gothic Rock, Pop Rock, Heavy Metal, Jazz, and Electronica. Judging by the music sub-genres I listed, they are mostly a Rock band.

"Alumina" is still my favorite song by Nightmare, 10 years later. If I could, I would make this song my cell phone's ringtone. 

If memory serves me right, the character Misa Amane had "Alumina" as her ringtone in the Death Note Anime.

Nightmare originally formed in 2000 and over the last 13 years, the J-Rock band has released 10 albums and 30 singles. That's a LOT  of singles for a band that has not existed for 20-30 years.

Then again, I must remember that Japanese entertainers must always be involved in every little social event, in order to remain in the public eye.

There is so much more to learn about the band, Nightmare and J-Rock in general.

Since we are now in the month of October, I wanted to share more about Nightmare. Some of you have already been exposed to Nightmare and are vaguely familiar with the band because of Death Note.

Also, most people know very little, if anything about J-Rock, especially since K-Pop groups are currently "trending." If you want to learn more about J-Rock, you have to be open-minded and interested in listening to it.

Would you like to see more J-Rock and/or J-Pop featured for Song Saturday? If so, let me know.

However, I will warn you in advance that Babymetal will NOT  be on the list of J-Rock bands I will feature. With that being said, here is Nightmare's "The World" for today's Song Saturday.

Nightmare "The World" Death Note Original Soundtrack (2006); The World Ruler (2007)

Song Saturday: Lemmy Kilmister Tribute Block

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Airheads: "Trick Question" Scene (1994)

How's it going lurkers? Happy New Year! I hope you all are safe and warm for the beginning of 2016. Lately, it seems like more talented singers and musicians have been dropping like flies. 

As you already know, Scott Weiland recently died last month on December 4, 2015. Then, Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister died this past Monday on December 28th, when he JUST celebrated his birthday on December 24th (Christmas Eve)!

Within a matter of 24 hours or so, we have recently learned that Natalie Cole has died. She died at 65 from congestive heart failure. So many talented singers and musicians keep dying left and right.

As a fan, I am still grieving over the death of Scott Weiland. In a way, it feels a little strange for me because I have taken his death much harder than I ever expected; I'm taking his death much harder than Nirvana's Kurt Cobain and Alice In Chains' Layne Staley.

As I was saying earlier, Motorhead's vocalist, Lemmy Kilmister died on December 28th at the age of 70. I read earlier this week, that he just learned that he was dying from cancer within a matter of a few days. That's shocking as well as tragic. Nobody including Lemmy expected this to happen.

Throughout the DECADES, Lemmy Kilmister has collaborated with a variety of entertainers ranging from actors to iconic musicians. The preceding video is a scene from the 1994 movie, Airheads. I have owned Airheads on VHS and its soundtrack for over 20 years. It's amazing how time flies.

If you have never watched Airheads, I recommend checking it out. Lemmy Kilmister was featured in the movie as well as on the Airheads Soundtrack. As an entertainer, he had versatility, which cannot be said about most entertainers in music. This most definitely applies to Metal and entertainers in general.

There are iconic rappers like Missy Elliott for example, who are Motorhead fans. In her 2001 music video, "Get Ur Freak On," she was caught wearing a Motorhead T-shirt! 

Earlier, I also forgot to mention that rapper, Ice-T collaborated with Lemmy for Motorhead's song, "Born To Raise Hell" on the Airheads Soundtrack..

In addition, Lemmy mentioned during an interview in 2008 on Stay Thirsty Media that he wanted to work with Janet Jackson at some point. I can only imagine WHY  the man would want to collaborate with her. 

Janet Jackson is a talented Pop Music Icon and Lemmy Kilmister had a history of being a manwhore. Regardless, we still love that horny goat (Lemmy was a Capricorn) dead or alive.

Because it's Song Saturday, it's only fitting to have a block in tribute to Lemmy Kilmister. 

We're talking about songs from Motorhead and Lemmy's music collaborations with Ice-T, Whitfield Crane, and Dave Grohl's (Nirvana/Foo Fighters) side project, Probot. Enjoy!

1) Motorhead "Ace Of Spades" Ace Of Spades (1980)

2) Motorhead "Under The Knife" The Chase Is Better Than The Catch: The Singles A's & B's (1984) 

3) Motorhead [Featuring Ice-T & Whitfield Crane] "Born To Raise Hell" Airheads Soundtrack (1994)

 

4) Ugly Kid Joe [Featuring Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister] "Little Red Man" Motel California (1996)

5) Doro [Featuring Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister] "Love Me Forever" Calling The Wild (2000); Snaggletooth: A Tribute To Lemmy (2016)

6) Probot [Featuring Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister] "Shake Your Blood" Probot (2004)

7) Motorhead "Thunder & Lightning" Bad Magic (2015)

Song Saturday: Danzig's Cantspeak

How's it going lurkers? Hopefully all is well on your ends. This past week was a little better than the last 3 weeks. However, it wasn't fantastic. I'm still being more reclusive on and offline. Just the other day, I began brainstorming a list to publish in a new blog. It's something I plan on sharing here.

Luckily, I have been in a more "zen" mood before the start of this week. I didn't have a chance to listen to any more Enya. Although, listening to Tool's albums Undertow, Aenima, and Lateralus put me more at ease.

Before I forget, if you're in the mood to listen to bands fronted by Maynard James Keenan check out the link below:

Song Saturday: Maynard James Keenan (2014)

To be honest, I am more of A Perfect Cicle fan than I am of Tool. Regardless, listening to Tool put me at ease. This was partly because I was checking out something, that a Xangan friend and subscriber shared on her Facebook wall. Talk about '90s nostalgia.

Honestly, I don't care what people say. The '80s and '90s had much better music than these last 10 years. Every music genre was heard on local radio stations and everything in music wasn't about pushing a political agenda.

During the mid-90's, I liked listening to Green Day. That was until they suddenly became a self-righteous, politically divisive, sellout, Pop-Punk band in 2004.

Speaking of '90s music and radio stations, I always hated that radio stations contributed to making bands 1-Hit Wonders. Take Danzig, for example.

Within the last 2 decades, the man has released 9 albums YET all the Rock stations only want to play is "Mother!" Like seriously? C'mon! As much as I liked listening to "Mother," it's NOT  the only Danzig song in existence.

It was not until I started hosting my own radio show during college, that more local listeners began hearing other Danzig songs like "Wicked Pussycat" and "Angel Blake" from Glenn Dazig's 2002 album, I Luciferi. Both MTV and Fuse TV use to air Danzig's music videos. This cannot be said about local Rock stations here in WI.

During 1995, I used to stay up until midnight to see the music video for "Cantspeak" on MTV. Until this very day, "Cantspeak" is STILL my favorite song from Danzig. The music video was directed by Fred Stuhr. Stuhr is mostly known for directing Tool's music videos. 

Supposedly, when Fred Stuhr was in the process of shooting Danzig's music video for "Cantspeak," Stuhr"wanted to create a sense of someone being trapped, someone who can't speak. He's not alive or dead. He's just an ideal, a soul, an existence floating in and out of this time, this reality."

Anyway, here is Danzig's "Cantspeak" for today's Song Saturday.

Danzig "Cantspeak" Danzig 4 (1995)

Song Saturday: Wayne Static/Static-X Tribute Part 2

How's it going lurkers? Today is Part 2 of my Wayne Static/Static-X Tribute. In case you missed the previous blog, I learned on Monday, that Wayne Static from the Industrial Metal/"Evil Disco"/Metal band, Static-X died in his sleep on November 1st.

As I reiterate, he literally died 3 days, before his 49th birthday. I was only 16, when Static-X debuted.

When I originally heard Static-X's "Bled For Days," I assumed it was a NEW  White Zombie song, 16 years ago. A DJ at LAZER 103 also mentioned on the air that Static-X sounded somewhat similar to White Zombie. The moment the DJ played "Bled For Days," I instantly heard the similarities between Static-X and White Zombie. 

Wayne Static and Rob Zombie's vocals sounded similar to each others except Wayne's vocals were deeper.

Static-X debuted the same year that Rob Zombie launched as a soloist. White Zombie had already disbanded.

In 1998, Static-X's "Bled For Days" was featured on the Bride of Chucky Soundtrack. The band's debut album, Wisconsin Death Trip followed shortly after in 1999 and went platinum in 2001. 

Within a decade, the band was featured on plethora of soundtracks and compilations. Over the years, I noticed that Static-X was normally featured on Horror soundtracks. This especially applies to MOST  Vampire soundtracks.

Considering the popularity of Rap Metal a.k.a. "Nu Metal," throughout the late '90s and early 21st Century, the band was amazingly successful. 

Static-X was 1 of the heavier bands in heavy rotation on traditional radio stations and music television.

Wayne Static collaborated with Metal bands and rappers such as Fear Factory's Burton C. Bell, Dead Prez, The X-Ecutioners, Godhead, Mephisto Odyssey, KoRn's Jonathan Davis, Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda, Skinny Puppy, Soil, and Run DMC to only name a few.

It has been years, since I played Static-X's Wisconsin Death Trip, their other albums, and other songs, which were featured on various soundtracks and compilations. 

During 2002-2003, Static-X was 1 of the main Metal and Industrial Metal bands I played on my radio show at 101.7 WIPZ (Yes, I know. Me and my nostalgia).

I meant to share a Static-X block earlier this year, but was sidetracked. Well, better late than never. Today is a lengthy Static-X block.

This block contains songs from every Static-X album and a few songs from different soundtracks and collaborative compilations.

1) Static-X "Bled For Days" Bride of Chucky Soundtrack (1998); Wisconsin Death Trip (1999)

2) Static-X Featuring Fear Factory's Burton C. Bell "Burning Inside" [Ministry Cover] The Crow: Salvation Soundtrack (2000); Beneath... Between... Beyond Compilation (2004)

3) Dead Prez Featuring Static-X "Hip Hop" Loud Rocks Compilation (2000)

 

4) Wayne Static "Not Meant For Me" Queen Of The Damned Soundtrack (2002)

 

5) Static-X "So" Shadow Zone (2003)

6) Static-X "Destroyer" Cannibal (2007)

7) Static-X "Lunatic" Cult of Static (2009) 

R.I.P. Wayne Static/Static-X Tribute Part 1

 

 

Wayne Static's Interview With Artisan News (2009)

How's it going lurkers? On Monday, I learned some rather shocking yet TRAGIC news. Wayne Static from the Industrial Metal/"Evil Disco" band, Static-X died in his sleep on November 1st. 

Wayne literally died 3 days, BEFORE his 49th birthday. The thought of this had me reeling. 

I may not be rolling around on the floor, while crying convulsively over Wayne Static's death, however I was and still am shocked as a Static-X fan. When the band debuted, I was only 16 years old.

"Bled For Days" was featured on the Bride of Chucky Soundtrack in 1998. Static-X's debut album, Wisconsin Death Trip, followed 1 year after.

Before Wayne formed Static-X, he and The Smashing Pumpkins vocalist (Billy Corgan) were in a band called, Deep Blue Dream.

Static-X was very popular, during the late 1990's and early 2000's. In fact, the band reached its pinnacle in 2000. 

Static-X was featured on numerous soundtracks and music compilations throughout the decade.

The Hard +The Heavy Volume 1, Dracula 2000 Soundtrack, Loud Rocks, Queen Of The Damned Soundtrack, and The Crow: Salvation Soundtrack are ONLY naming a few. 

Static-X made 6 studio albums, 1 live album, 1 compilation, 1 video album, 2 extended plays, 14 singles, 2 promotional singles, and 13 music videos.

Wayne Static collaborated with a number of Metal bands and rappers. When you have the opportunity to do so, read the listing of Wayne Static and Static-X's discographies and collaborations on Wikipedia.

There are WAY too many soundtracks, compilations, and collaborations for me to list. Wayne Static's death shocked a handful of his Metal and so-called "Nu Metal" friends. Some of them responded:

Jacoby Shaddix (Papa Roach vocalist): “RIP Wayne. This is so sad. Too many musicians are dying from overdoses... I know drugs and partying are part of the ‘rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle,’ but damn, how many more gotta die??? Fuck the lifestyle, I want life!!!! See you on the other side, Wayne.”

Billy Corgan (Deep Blue Dream/The Smashing Pumpkins): “I am shocked to hear that Wayne Wells has passed away... He was a real gentleman, and loved music (and Kiss, Ace in particular). Even had his the hood of his car painted with the Kiss logo.”

Corey Taylor (Slipknot/Stone Sour): “I am absolutely devastated to hear about Wayne Static’s death. A good man and a good friend. My thoughts are with his family and friends.”

Aaron Lewis (Staind): “My heart goes out to Wayne’s family. He was my friend. Many shows and tours together. I’m stunned and shocked. RIP my dear friend #speechless”

Jonathan Davis (KoRn): “Rest in peace, Wayne. I’m speechless right now. I’m losing too many of my friends. I’ll see you on the other side, brother.”

John 5 (Rob Zombie's current guitarist): “Very saddened to hear that Wayne Static has passed away in his sleep.... My thoughts are with his wife and family and friends.”

Cristina Scabbia (Lacuna Coil): “Shocked. Waking up with the horrific news someone you knew died is the worst feeling in the world… R.I.P. Wayne.”

Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit): “RIP Wayne Richard Wells. His contributions are timeless.”

Jeremy Spencer (Five Finger Death Punch): “What a shame. R.I.P. Wayne Static.”

Morgan Rose (Sevendust drummer): “Crushed to hear the news of Wayne Static passing away. We played many shows together. Horrible news. RIP Wayne.”

David Draiman (Disturbed): “Goodbye old friend.”

Pete Loeffler (Chevelle): “Just heard about Wayne Static passing away. Sad news indeed. We played with Static-X a hell of a lot over the years. RIP bro.”

Koichi Fukuda (Former Static-X guitarist): “I am still trying to process the sad fact that I’ve lost my dear old friend, Wayne Richard Wells. He was an extraordinary, one-of-a-kind, very special person and also a very gifted artist with a clear vision. On a personal level, he was a smart, kind, caring sweetheart and soft-spoken gentleman. I really loved his dark, biting and sharp sense of humor. We all shared so many great times and also some tough times together like we are ‘family.’...It makes me so sad and angry at the same time that I’ll never have a chance to reconcile with him. I thought the time is the only thing needed for all of us to realize what we had is something so special.”

Tony Campos (Former Static-X bassist): “I knew Wayne for 15 years. Some of the best times of my life were with him. I considered him a good friend. It’s sad the way our friendship ended, but even more sad that we never got to settle things between us.... Even though we were no longer friends the last five years, I held on to a sliver of hope that my old friend would come back."

There appears to be some animosity among Wayne Static's wife (Tera Wray), mostly Papa Roach's vocalist and former Static-X band members. 

The former Static-X band members sent their condolences to Wayne Static's family except Wray.

Meanwhile, she is mostly upset because Papa Roach's Jacoby Shaddix (a.k.a. "Coby Dick") implied, along with other musicians suspecting, that Wayne died from a drug overdose.

According to Wayne's widow and his publicist, he died in his sleep. You can read more about it in the link below.

Metal Injection: WAYNE STATIC's Widow Tera Way Indirectly Calls Out PAPA ROACH Frontman For Spreading Overdose Rumors

Aside from the drama, I have a recorderd interview, that Wayne Static did with The Five Count from this past June. In the interview, he discussed working with Static-X, his solo album, creating the "Evil Disco" music genre, Tripp Eisen's (Static-X/Dope/Murderdolls) statutory rape charges, touring, etc.

Below The Five Count interview is a song from Wayne Static's solo album, Pighammer.

Wayne Static's Interview With The Five Count (2014)

Wayne Static "Thunder Invader" Pighammer (2011)

Tomorrow, I'll have a Static-X Song Satuday block. R.I.P. Wayne Static!

Song Saturday: 3 Growling Metal Frontwomen Block

How's it going lurkers? That picture in the left hand corner is a picture of Alissa White-Gluz. 

Sometimes I forget that Arch Enemy was originally fronted by a male vocalist (Johan Liiva).  

Angela Gossow was the band's first replacement vocalist for almost 14 years. 

Recently, Angela "handed the torch" to Alissa White-Gluz from The Agonist. Scott (my friend and subscriber from Blogster) recently informed me about this surprising news. 

I probably would've known much sooner, but I've been living under a rock for quite some years regarding most of today's music. 

So, Angela Gossow no longer fronts Arch Enemy. Alissa White-Gluz from the Canadian Death Metal band, The Agonist, is her replacement.

Angela purposely chose Alissa because Alissa is a longtime friend and Angela felt she deserved a chance to join Arch Enemy.

Gossow retired from the band on March 17th and is now their business manager.

After watching some of Arch Enemy's latest music videos featuring Alissa, I feel Angela picked the perfect vocalist as her replacement. Meanwhile...

I have been trying to save some of the heavier music for later this year, but I think I will squeeze in some today. On YouTube 2 years ago, I watched this performance by Rachel Aspe and found it to be hilarious.

Rachel Aspe Covers Sybreed's "Emma-0" (2012)

She deceived everyone with her physical appearance and courteous demeanor. They assumed Rachel was going to chirp like a bird rather than growl like a lioness. Gotta love it!

Over the last decade or so, there has been an increase in female vocalist fronting Metal bands. Some of them sing, some of them growl, and some do BOTH. 

Surely, these female vocalists endured their fair share of discrimination. The music industry has always been male-dominated, especially the Metal industry.

It can usually be very challenging for females to love Metal bands, if not belong to them. Women must work MUCH harder to prove we are Metal fans, in order to gain men's respect.

Even though I was never in a Metal band, I battled a lot of discrimination. This was especially since I listened to and aired mostly Metal on my radio show, All Things Frightening.

Over 12 years ago, I was the only so-called "ethnically ambiguous" Radio DJ/Hostess at UW-Parkside's 101.7 WIPZ to air mostly Metal.

Considering that I'm open-minded to most music genres and sub-genres, I bonded with a few male and female co-workers. At WIPZ, I played both mainstream and undiscovered music. This cannot be said for everybody.

Some male co-workers at WIPZ asked each other, "What's the difference between your show and hers?" 

A female co-worker replied, "Anna plays more Death Metal on her show."

When hosting All Things Frightening, I always said my radio show consisted of mostly Metal, including Industrial Metal, and Electronica.  

Sometimes, I exposed my other co-workers to bands they never knew existed. They either loved those bands, or hated them.

Some of my female co-workers didn't air as much Metal. Whenever I co-hosted some female co-workers' shows as a guest, they expected to hear certain bands.  

Otep was 1 of the Metal "artists" I FREQUENTLY played.

In 2002, Otep Shamaya debuted. She was highly influenced by KoRn (circa 1994-'96) and Slipknot (circa 1999-2001), along with strong Death Metal elements for her debut album, Sevas Tra.

Male co-workers mocked me for playing Otep's "Battle Ready" on my show because her growling vocals sounded furious and "masculine."

Otep "Battle Ready" Sevas Tra (2002)

"Battle Ready" was the main song I played by Otep. Sometimes I played "Blood Pigs," "My Confession," and "Possession." I really enjoyed her Jihad EP and Sevas Tra. By '04, I lost interest in Otep's albums.

Otep Shamaya became too politically divisive and hateful. Like almost every other musician by 2004, she jumped on the bandwagon of demonizing President George W. Bush. It was already bad enough that Otep ruined Nirvana's song, "Breed," a few years ago.

Last year, I listened to "Apex Predator" from her Hydra album and hated it. I still like Otep Shamaya's work from 2002 and was quick to embrace and expose her work locally in Kenosha, WI and air online for my listeners.

Much like Otep has a tolerance level, everyone including her fans have tolerance levels and already lost interest in her because her extreme bitterness is overkill. Personally, I prefer Arch Enemy over Otep.

Don't be fooled by their beauty. These women are the embodiment of "I am woman, hear me ROARRRR!!!"

After listening to Otep's, Angela's, and Alissa's growling vocals, I triple dog dare some ignorami (both men and women) to ask these Metal frontwomen if they're on their rags. 

As those ignorami get brutally knocked out, rip to shreds, and devoured, I'll be cheering from the sidelines.

Anyway, here's some Otep circa 2002, Arch Enemy featuring Angela Gossow, and Alissa White-Gluz from both The Agonist and currently Arch Enemy. Get ready to shit bricks! \,,/ \,,/

1) Otep "Blood Pigs" Sevas Tra (2002)

2) Arch Enemy [With Angela Gossow] "My Apocalypse" Doomsday Machine (2005)

3) The Agonist [With Alissa White-Gluz] "Panophobia" Prisoners (2012)

4) Arch Enemy [With Alissa White-Gluz] "You Will Know My Name" War Eternal (2014)

Big shout out to Scott from Blogster! I hope you're enjoying the Wacken Festival!

Song Saturday: Black Light Burns

How's it going lurkers? Remember the '90s Rap-Metal band, Limp Bizkit? Guitarist Wes Borland quit the Rap-Metal band for a while by 2001 for his own side projects. 

Once Limp Bizkit gained popularity during the late '90s, Wes and his brother Scott Borland, formed a Country/New Wave/Thrash/Death Metal band called Big Dumb Face in 1998.

Big Dumb Face released its debut album, Duke Lion Fights The Terror!!! in March 2001.  

According to Wes Borland, Big Dumb Face's music was "really silly and idiotic and bizarre. ... It's nothing but stupid... just all these retarded songs."

The band has been on hiatus, since 2003. Borland also formed the band, Eat The Day with his brother, Scott Borland. However, Wes eventually abandoned the band because he was unable to find a vocalist. Therefore, Eat The Day disbanded.

The Alternative/Industrial Metal supergroup, The Damning Well was then formed after another failed "side project" in 2003. It was comprised of Wes Borland on guitars (obviously), Nine Inch Nails' Danny Lohner on bass, A Perfect Circle's Josh Freese on drums, and Filter's Richard Patrick as the vocalist. 

With Richard Patrick being in The Damning Well at the time, they only recorded 2 songs together. "Awakening" was featured on the Underworld Soundtrack in 2003 and "Power" was an unreleased track, which featured Amy Lee from Evanescence. 

"Power" never released because of Amy Lee's manager. Her manager was determined to be difficult, which led to The Damning Well discarding "Power." 

Shortly after, Richard Patrick left The Damning Well and the band evolved into Black Light Burns in 2005. 

Since Limp Bizkit still existed during 2003-2005, I don't know exactly everything that happened between that time frame. 

Although, what I do know is that before quitting, fights supposedly broke out on MySpace between Wes Borland and Fred Durst. This on and off feud caused Borland to make Black Light Burns top priority over Limp Bizkit.

Wes actually formed Black Light Burns by 2004 after rejoining Limp Bizkit. Even though Borland rejoined Limp Bizkit in '04, they went on hiatus after releasing Limp Bizkit's Greatest Hitz album.

Wes considered Limp Bizkit to be a "side project" and intended to go on tour with Black Light Burns in 2006. Unfortunately, this never happened simply because Black Light Burns had to search for another record label, since Borland left Geffen Records.

Well, at least Wes Borland DID already have a history of touring and performing with Nine Inch Nails, followed by him forming several side projects over the last decade.

During the early stages of Black Light Burns, the band was comprised of Wes Borland, Josh Freese, Danny Lohner, and Josh Eustis. On their debut album Cruel Melody, Borland was on vocals, guitars, bass, programming, percussion, synthesizers, piano, rhodes, violin, cello, and drums. 

Josh Freese helped with drums and live percussion. All the while, Josh Eustis was on additional synthesizers, sound design, and engineering. 

Last but not least, Danny Lohner was on additional guitars, bass, programming, and sound design, as well as being the band's producer.

Overall, I enjoyed Black Light Burns' debut album, Cruel Melody from 7 years ago. I used to watch their music videos on The International Music Feed Channel (IMF), too. Oh, how I miss that channel. 

For those, who didn't already know, IMF was the international version of MTV (when MTV used to air music videos 24/7). The network only lasted for 3 years (2005-2008).

Well, I digress. So far, the only song I disliked from Black Light Burns' debut album was "4 Walls." The song sounded really cheesy. Now, "Animal" should've had its own music video. 

So far, I have yet to listen to Black Light Burns' more recent albums, The Moment You Realize You're Going To Fail (2012) and Lotus Island (2013).

Since the time of being a teenager in the 1990's, I have known that most Limp Bizkit fans loved and respected Wes Borland compared to everyone else in the band. 

Even with the man's spooky-looking face paint and contact lenses, most Limp Bizkit fans loved Wes. He UPSTAGED Fred Durst and Wes wasn't the frontman of Limp Bizkit (That is probably why those 2 always fought with each other).

Wes Borland had the opportunity to not only work with Nine Inch Nails, but also work with Marilyn Manson. Everyone else in Limp Bizkit were and still are too much of wannabe hood rats, which was the main reason people didn't have any respect for most of the band. 

Reasons Why Most Hated Fred Durst & Had No Respect For Limp Bizkit:

* Fred Durst throwing toddler tantrums whenever rejected, especially whenever actresses and female singers rejected him

* His divisiveness by instigating unnecessary fights, then backpedalling and crying victim the moment he knew he was in deep shit

* Burning bridges both inside and outside of his own band, Limp Bizkit,

* His massively overblown ego (Need I say more?)

Anyway, here is a triple dose of 3 Black Light Burns for this Song Saturday.

1) Black Light Burns "Coward" [AKA The Damning Well's Unreleased Track "Power"] Cruel Melody (2003) (2007)

2) Black Light Burns "Mesopotamia" Cruel Melody (2007)

3) Black Light Burns "Lie" Cruel Melody (2007)

Early Song Saturday: Drain STH {Double Dose}

How's it going lurkers? Since I will be really busy this weekend, I've put a rush on Song Saturday and Cartoon Sunday. I'm sure it's already Saturday in other countries. It just turned Friday in America, several hours ago. 

I must shop for both my mother's and youngest aunt's birthday presents. Their birthdays are next week. On Easter, we are going to dinner with family. Therefore, I'm sharing Song Saturday and Cartoon Sunday early.

Earlier this week, I debated whether or not to publish a Song Saturday blog about Type O Negative (since Monday was the 4th anniversary of Peter Steele's death), or Drain STH. 

Because most people have never heard of Drain STH in America and overseas, this Song Saturday will be focused more on them. 

Drain STH was a female Swedish Grunge/Metal band that formed in the 1990's. 

In fact, the band performed at Ozzfest in 1997 and 1999 with Type O Negative and other bands. Both of Drain STH's albums, Horror Wrestling and Freaks of Nature, were released those same years and I own both of them. 

On 101.7 WIPZ, I mostly played songs from the Swedish Grunge/Metal band's debut album (Horror Wrestling), 11-12 years ago. I especially got someone, who I was "sorta seeing," 10 years ago, to love Drain STH. 

As soon as he heard their debut single, "I Don't Mind," he put Horror Wrestling into his CD burner. Wow! It's amazing how time flew!

Maria Sjoholm, who happens to be married to Black Sabbath's guitarist, Tony Iommi, was the vocalist of Drain STH. They met, while working on Drain STH in 1996 and married in 2005. 

Hmm, this makes me wonder if they're still married. Some of us consider Drain STH to be the female, Swedish version of Alice in Chains. Whenever I hear Drain STH's song, "Mind Over Body," I cannot help thinking about Alice in Chains, since Drain STH was highly influenced by them. This does not surprise me in the slightest.

It's like I said last Song Saturday, Alice in Chains heavily influenced many bands of the past and present.

Drain STH disbanded in 2000. It's a shame they never completely mainstreamed. I don't recall of MTV ever airing their music videos. However, I sometimes heard Drain STH's single's "I Don't Mind," "Crack the Liar's Smile," "Enter My Mind," and "Simon Says," as a teenager on Rock stations. 

From both albums, it seems like "Crack the Liar's Smile" and "Simon Says" were played the most. 

Years ago, I read that Drain STH were dropped from their record label and never became mainstream simply because the chauvinistic Metal masses said they were "too pretty" to be taken seriously. 

Talk about some chauvinistic, superficial, Boys Club Only, bullshit!

According to the Metal Edge Magazine's 1999 Readers' Choice Awards, Drain STH was voted "Female Performers of the Year" and "Most Underrated Band."

So... Where is Drain STH, Now?

Maria Sjoholm completely retired from music. Meanwhile, drummer/backup vocalist Martina Axen sang in Snake River Conspiracy and is currently recording a solo album. 

Guitarist Flavia Canel currently manages Sonic Syndicate and stopped professionally playing guitar. 

Lastly, bassist Anna K. joined Hanzel Und Gretyl, Revolting Cocks, and Opiate for the Masses. 

Now, Anna is working on a Stockholm, Sweden based project, which involves the members of Clawfinger and Skintrade.

This Song Saturday, I present the only 2 music videos that I have ever seen from Drain STH. "I Don't Mind" and "Crack the Liar's Smile" are both from the band's debut album, Horror Wrestling.

Watching "I Don't Mind" automatically reminds me of their Horror Wrestling album cover. Well, enough about the band. Here's Drain STH's "I Don't Mind" and "Crack the Liar's Smile."

1) Drain STH "I Don't Mind" Horror Wrestling (1997)

 

2) Drain STH "Crack The Liar's Smile" Horror Wrestling (1997)