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.
This time around I loaded up Songza and put on the NWOBHM 101 playlist. This was a wild fucking ride because I only know a handful of the bands that came up during this hour. It was really cool to hear how this sound really did forge a whole generation of bands and changed the face of hard rock music forever. I really had a blast getting turned on to some great bands I never knew existed and also learning a few bands to avoid like the black plague. Enjoy this one and up the irons!
Tysondog – Eat the Rich
What is it with NWOBHM and other classic 80’s metal bands and wanting to eat the rich? Motorhead, Krokus, hell, even Aerosmith wanted to eat the rich? Are they that delicious? Oh, sorry, the song. First off, who the fuck is Tysondog? I never heard of this band but I have to say, this song fucking kicks ass but man what a terrible band name. Tysondog? OH well, whatevs. This shit was pretty rad. I dig it.
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Tobruk – Wild on the Run
I sense a theme here with NWOBHM bands. They wanna eat the rich, they’re always young and restless, and they’re always wild and on the run. Ok, but who the fuck is Tobruk? I’m starting to wonder if these bands are even real. This keyboard driven ditty was nice a fluffy but it did nothing for me. It almost reminded me of one of those 90’s bands like Hurricane or something where they were great players but with really bad songs. This song isn’t unlistenable but it’s corny and pretty goofy. I’d be willing to seek them out more though just to see if this was their “hit” and the other shit they have is any better.
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Fist – Name, Rank, & Serial Number
Fuck my brain man! FIST! How can you NOT kick fucking ass? This band is so fucking bad to the bone and this song just fucking kicks ass. I can’t even really describe this band other than they just rule and this song is so fucking heavy and reminds me that I need to go listen to some fucking FIST. Just saying that name makes me all pumped up. FIST!
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Diamondhead – It’s Electric
So I can see how this band was so fucking influential on a band like Metallica and all but man, this band was kind of weaksauce in the song department. “It’s electric. I’m gonna make it with my friends at the rock n’ roll show.” Uhhh, nah thanks man. I think I’ll pass on this one. Next.
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Night Wing – Sahara
Uh, what the fuck is this? I feel like I’m in Arabian Knights or something surrounded by belly dancers. Hm. This doesn’t sound like NWOBHM to me. Maybe they got confused and it’s New Wave of Bohemian Huzza Mariachi or something? I don’t know man. I’m not feeling this. Oh wait, here we go. Drums, guitar, ok, now it’s kicking in. Ok, I get it. Ironic opening. Well played Night Wing. Ok, this is actually kind of cool. It kind of reminds me of Scorpions but only cheesier. I don’t know that I’d go around crankin’ out some Night Wing but this didn’t full out suck.
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Venom – Black Metal
Every fucking time I hear that intro I just get all fucking excited and pumped. This is such a timeless fucking song and I never get tired of hearing it. Talk about a song that forged a whole genre of its own. This is just one of those songs that I could listen to over and over again. Pure, channeled aggression and brilliance. Fucking love this song.
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UFO – Doctor Doctor
Whoa. It’s so weird to hear this song and not be in an audience waiting for Iron Maiden to take the stage. This is a great track. Not really a whole lot to say about this one other than it’s really good. I hope by playing it I’m not opening up a cosmic door for Eddie Trunk to show up. Matter of fact, that would be awesome so I could slap him in his fat ugly face. Fuck that guy.
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Dark Star – Lady of Mars
I never heard of these guys and man, after this song I wish it would’ve stayed that way. This is really bad stuff. This shit makes Saxon sound like they had songs written by Shakespear (and I love Saxon). This just really bad. Horribly off key vocals, terrible lyrics, ugh. I bet these guys were janitors at Ruskin Arms and managed to get some studio time or something. Make it go away.
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Demon – One Helluva Night
I love it when bands spell “helluva” this way. This band totally doesn’t sound like their name (ie. The Devils Blood). This band sounds more like a southern, whiskey drinking metal band or something. This song kind of reminds me of something AC/DC would do. This isn’t bad at all but it’s just not memorable at all. I know The Oath covered one of their songs and fucking killed it so maybe I need to check out some of their other shit.
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Agony Bag – Venus Fly Trap
Whoa. This is some trippy fucking shit that starts out sounding like some crazy old school Alice Cooper or something. I dig the groove of this track and what’s this? A saxophone? Hm. Ok, then. This was pretty cool and I really dug this. Really cool sound and kind of out there. I need to check out more of this band.
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Cynic – Suicide
Uh, this kind of sucked. Haha. I can’t even really say much more than this but man. I don’t know. Kinda sounds like pre-cookie monster kinda stuff but, oh what am I trying to do here? It sucks. Next.
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Iron Maiden – Hallowed Be Thy Name
Goddamn epic! I mean, I know that this song is a lil more “later” in Maiden’s career but this is fucking proof that Maiden took this style of music, perfected it, put their brand on it and did it better than any fucking band on the planet. Maiden needed Bruce Dickinson in order to complete the sound and take things to stratospheric levels and once they talked him out of Samson they did just that. This song is a great reminder of how Maiden pretty much did the same thing everyone else was doing but they did it better and learned that they had to have amazing songs to truly rule the pack.
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Samson – Riding With the Angels
Holy shit. What are the chances? It’s so fun to hear Bruce’s pre-Maiden band after hearing him melting faces on “Hallowed Be Thy Name.” Much like with Maiden, you can hear how Samson was one of the bands that were on top of the heap. This is a really solid fucking song and a great band that plays their fucking asses off. Nowhere near as awesome as Maiden but this song is always a fucking kick ass time and I love hearing me some Samson. This band just never was meant to be but they sure as hell did leave behind some killer fucking songs.
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