One Hour of Metal

One Hour of Metal is where I either put my iTunes on shuffle or tune into a metal internet radio station and for one hour I document what I hear. The good, the bad and the downright awful are always represented with honesty in this segment. Some hours are better than others as you will see in this series. So let’s get started shall we?

Heaven & Hell – Atom and Evil.
Heaven & Hell is way more than Black Sabbath by another name. When the Dio era Black Sabbath reunited in 2006, they chose to totally reinvent themselves and do something totally risky. They changed their name to Heaven and Hell and played only Dio era material. It was a risk that not only paid off but spawned the jaw dropping The Devil You Know album. This opening track shows just why these guys are the eternal legends and forefathers of metal. This song just reminded me of how great an album this was. Not a bad way to start off.

Cinderella – Love Gone Bad
Cinderella is always one of my all time favorites and this is a great example of why I love this One Hour of Metal thing. I would never list this song off the top of my head as one of my favorites but damn what a great fucking song. It’s so gritty and full of stank and that groove at the end of the song just kills my face every time.

Airbourne – It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over
If Airbourne had come out, say 20 years ago, they would’ve been slammed to the wall for being AC/DC clones much like the Van Nuys, CA band Rhino Bucket. I think the reason a band like Airbourne can get away with this today is that most modern music is so crappy. A whole new generation of bands are dipping into the classic hard rock/metal catalog and resurrecting and preserving a sound that was sadly in danger of being buried by mediocre mall metal. It’s nothing groundbreaking but damn I dig the hell out of Airbourne and this song should be on the mix tape of every high school party.

KISS – Black Diamond (Live)
Alive I (I don’t care how doctored it was) is one of my favorite fucking live albums ever. This version of Black Diamond is probably my all time favorite version of this song. Peter Criss tears some serious shit up on the vocals and that awesome intro by Paul Stanley just kills. I can’t even put into many more words as to how much I love this fucking song. Just plainly awesome and timeless.

Gorky Park – Action
Back in 1989, the big thing was all these American bands (Skid Row, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Ozzy, Scorpions, and Cinderella) going over to Russia to play the Moscow Music Peace festival. A Russian band by the name of Gorky Park was also on the bill and released their debut album in the US with a ton of hype and very little reception. I always thought this album was a cool album and this song was pretty fucking awesome. They get a lot of hate but fuck the haters. I loved this album. I never heard their other stuff so I have no idea if it’s any good but this was a really solid and unique song from a debut album that was also solid and unique.

Scorpions – Restless Nights
Eh, not much to say here. Just another fluffy Scorpions song that is very forgettable. Hell, it’s so forgettable that I forgot they even had this song.

King Diamond – The 7th Day Of July 1777 (Live)
There isn’t a damn thing that sucks about King Diamond. I mean, some things he’s done are better than others but In Concert 1987 – Abigail is hands down one of my favorite releases by KD. It shows just what a juggernaut this band was live and this song, until hearing it on this album, was never one of my favorites. For some reason, this version just packs such a punch and it just quickly became one of my favorite KD songs. Love this one!

Tangier – Good Lovin’
Yet another band that was here today and gone later today. Their debut album Four Winds is still one of my favorite albums. They were more like Cinderella in that they played this blues infused, southern tinged hard rock and this song just always kicks my ass. It’s a fun song with a killer riff and it’s just one of those songs that make me smile and remember a specific period in my life. It’s just mindless, easy to grasp hard rock.

Testament – Leave Me Forever
Testament is the band that Metallica SHOULD HAVE been. While Metallica lost all their focus and caved into the might dollar sign, Testament managed to be a band that just got better with each passing album. The Formation of Damnation was their best album to date in my opinion and “Leave Me Forever” just melts my damn face off. They play with all the drive and enthusiasm of a band ½ their age yet they sound like the seasoned veterans they are. It’s a shame that Testament doesn’t get as recognized for their achievements as they should but that seems to change the older they get.

Whitesnake – Cheap An’ Nasty
Um, I’m completely embarrassed to even admit that this is in my library. Move on. There’s nothing to see here.

Gwar – The Insidious Soliloquy of Skulhed Face
This is without a doubt one of my favorite GWAR songs from probably their last truly interesting albums. This Toilet Earth had some really amazing moments and this song is just like a fucking LSD trip of the senses. I love everything about this song from it’s insane intro, to the heavy groove of the verses, and into their little Broadway musical center part. This is just another example of what a genius bunch of motherfuckers GWAR is and honestly, this album has grown to be my favorite Gwar album. What an awesome way to close out this One Hour of Music.