ALIVE & WELL Take Over WRUV

Prior to the release of their debut The Rot of the World, the live ‘Mind Over Metal’ broadcast is invaded by Kevin Savage, TJ Maynard, and Matt St. Gelais of Alive & Well. Not only do we have in-depth interview action, but also special tracks chosen from At the Gates, Carcass, Amon Amarth, Hope Conspiracy, Crowbar, Living Sacrifice, Alice in Chains, Meshuggah, Danzig, Pantera, and Shai Hulud. Be sure to listen for preview tracks of Alive & Well, which you can also hear at iamaliveandwell.bandcamp.com!

[buzzsprout episode=’40588′ player=’true’]

~MindOverMetal

What Stays on MetalMattLongo's iPod

As Metal Director/DJ at WRUV, plus owner of this website, I get sent a metric shit ton of new music every year. I was once able to house my entire MP3 collection on a 160 GB iPod Classic, but as the inevitable digital shift progressed, my virtual library grew exponentially. For a time,  just all of my Metal (including new stuff) lived on the 160 gig …but then it died. The 64 GB iPod Touch became the most attractive option as a better overall tool for my needs, albeit at the sacrifice of ~100 GB in potential storage. So I had a decision to make:  what would now live on this iPod?

My inbox influx only expands. And in the Metal world these days (especially with radio) the average promotion cycle of a new album is 3-4 months—if not less. So my ‘Recent Adds’ and ‘Recenter Adds’ playlists would obviously make the cut during the albums’ “new” periods for review purposes, but I wanted some perennial favorites in there, too; a man cannot live on new music alone. So here is the initial list of 85 artists who never leave my iPod. It may be amended in the future.

~MetalMattLongo

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A.L. Lloyd & Ewan MacColl
Alice in Chains
Alive & Well
Anaal Nathrakh
Arsis
Baroness
Bathory (added 2012Feb23)
The Beatles
Black Sabbath
Blind Melon
Carcass
Carnival in Coal
Clutch
Cormorant
Crooked Still
Cynic
The Damned Things
Death
Deftones
Dethklok
Elysian Fields
Faith No More
Fall of Efrafa
Fantômas
Frank Zappa
The Fucking Champs
George Carlin
Ghost
Glyder
Hammers of Misfortune
Hank Williams
Isis
Johnny Cash
Junius
Karl Sanders
Killing Joke
The Kinks
Kylesa
Kyuss
Led Zeppelin
Lesbian
Lovage
Mad Season
Made Out of Babies
Mastodon
Megadeth
Melvins
Mercyful Fate
Meshuggah
Metallica
Michael Jackson
Minibosses
Motörhead
Mr. Bungle
Necrophagist
Neurosis
Nile
Nirvana
Om
Opeth
Pearl Jam
Peeping Tom
Pin Up Went Down
Queens of the Stone Age
Rasputina
Regina Spektor
Slayer
Sleep
Sly and The Family Stone
Strapping Young Lad
The Sword
Syd Barrett
T.Rex
TesseracT
Testament
Thin Lizzy
Tom Waits
Tomahawk
Tool
uneXpect
Voivod
Volbeat
Ween
Yat-Kha
YOB
ZZ Top

VIKA YERMOLYEVA Piano Decimation Live at Nectar's

If VIKA is not yet in your vocabulary, allow me to etch her into your brain. She plays innovative, catchy covers of classic rock and metal tunes—by herself, without vocals, using only a keyboard. Her incredible setlist includes: “Battery”, “Master of Puppets” and “Nothing Else Matters” (Metallica); “Stairway to Heaven” (Led Zeppelin); “Nutshell” (Alice in Chains); “Toxicity” (System of a Down); “Raining Blood” (Slayer); “Ace of Spades” (Motorhead); plus more!

[buzzsprout episode=”28566″ player=”true”]

http://www.vkgoeswild.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/vkgoeswild

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Viktoriya-Yermolyeva-vkgoeswild/134411767159

Editorial : Mike Starr Remembered

I remember when Layne Staley died.

I awoke to the earth moving, in a bed that was not my own. Some girl I met at work… details are fuzzy about her (I recall a birthday). But what got me up was, literally, an earthquake—a 5.1 in Au Sable Forks, NY, to be precise. I was motivated to return home and celebrate April 20 for its many lovely reasons (like Hitler’s birthday and the anniversary of Columbine). Well after no more than one exhale, Kurt Loder told me Staley was found dead, and my wind was fully knocked out.

Mike Starr is believed to be the last person to communicate with Layne, one of the things revealed on Celebrity Rehab, the last place most people saw Starr, back in 2009. Not me—I avoid that shit like the plague, but I heard he got clean through the program, and I share the sentiment of his former bandmates. I was bummed to hear of his recent arrest, then crushed about his death.

I had not heard from Mike Starr in years and I never knew about his next project, Sun Red Sun (the band was basically a no-starter), but I can barely quantify my love for Alice in Chains. Forgive us the Seattle adoration at MindOverMetal.org, but they’ve been a planned inductee in our ‘Archetypes’ for some time. Mike’s writing credits over the years included “It Ain’t Like That”, “Confusion” and “Rain When I Die” (skipping all segue attempts there)—but I actually have his heavy-lidded bedroom eyes burned in my memory above all else. They were strangely calming in the photo to the right, and for some reason, the place my 12-year-old eyes fell first (note: the vinyl back is displayed here, not the j-card from the tape to which I refer).

The cause of death for the 44-year-old Starr is still unknown; autopsy reports can take months sometimes. But I don’t wanna think about that right now. I just grabbed Facelift, Sap and Dirt off the racks… time to reacquaint. Hopefully he and Layne have both found peace. Rest easy, brothers.

Review : ALICE IN CHAINS – "Black Gives Way To Blue"

Alice In Chains – Black Gives Way To Blue
released September 28, 2009 on Virgin

If you only listen to one man’s trials and tribulations in the rock world, choose Jerry Cantrell. No other artist composes harrowing autobiographies quite as beautiful, with brevity drenched in deeper meaning. True, he’s an emotional gut puncher, yet you can’t help but masochistically return for more. Some 14 years removed from AIC’s last output–and half as long since Jerry’s last solo effort–an unlikely reunion has spawned one of the year’s most welcome surprises.

Replacing the dearly departed Layne Stayley is William Duvall, an excellent counterpoint who offers a smoother performance, and is occasionally reminiscent of Ann Wilson’s work on Sap (listen to 3 & 5 for good examples of this…they’re also the two tracks where Cantrell shares writing duties).

They immediately acknowledge potential detractors on the opening slow dirge of “All Secrets Known”, with a great riff, tasteful solo, and those signature haunting harmonized wails. It wouldn’t be an AIC album without some acoustically-driven mellowness, which we get on both 6 and the tribute title track (feat. Sir Elton John!). Nor would it feel complete if it were missing bass-heavy sludge, like that which runs unsettlingly through 7 (and expect the ‘intent obsolescence’ hook to be burned into your memory). Trust me, it’s all here and more. Critics that omit this from their Best of 2009 lists need to check their brains!

FCC: 3
Try *1*, 5, *7*, 8, 9, 10

01. All Secrets Known
02. Check My Brain
03. Last Of My Kind
04. Your Decision
05. A Looking In View
06. When The Sun Rose Again
07. Acid Bubble
08. Lesson Learned
09. Take Her Out
10. Private Hell
11. Black Gives Way To Blue

[xrr rating=4/5]