Welcome to another edition of Staff Infections, friends. Unfortunately, it’s still 2020, and 2020 is still piling on the bullshit. If an ongoing global pandemic wasn’t enough to deal with, there was a recent devastating explosion in Beirut, and a derecho—something akin to a land hurricane, I’m told—ripped through the Midwest causing large-scale destruction, particularly in Iowa. If the pandemic doesn’t already have you in dire financial straits and you’d like to help out Beirut and / or Iowa, the following articles have suggestions as to where you might donate.
https://www.bustle.com/life/where-to-donate-to-help-beirut
https://cbs2iowa.com/news/local/how-to-help-those-affected-by-the-iowa-derecho
In addition to these disasters, the past month has seen us lose some important names in rock music. Fleetwood Mac’s founder, Peter Green, died July 25th at age 73. Peter wasn’t a metal player by any means, but he was quite a prominent and influential musician in his day, before drug abuse and schizophrenia side-lined him for many years. I wrote a little bit about Peter Green in a Riffology article comparing Fleetwood Mac’s and Judas Priest’s versions of “The Green Manalishi”. Sadly, “The Green Manalishi” brings up another recent death, as Fleetwood Mac’s version of the song was produced by Martin Birch. Birch passed away last week at age 71. Many metal fans will be familiar with Birch’s work, as he produced most of the best albums from Iron Maiden, Deep Purple and Rainbow, as well as Black Sabbath’s Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules. Birch also worked as producer and / or engineer with a slew of other big-name rock acts, including Whitesnake, Jeff Beck, Wishbone Ash, Gary Moore and Blue Öyster Cult, to name a few. Finally, Pete Way, founding bassist of UFO, Fastway and Waysted died just days ago at 69. Pete might not have been a household name, but he was a hero to many a budding hard rock and metal bassist for his powerful playing and powerful stage presence. Steve Harris’s early penchant for tight-fitting vertically striped pants was directly inspired by Pete Way, and, to my knowledge, UFO’s “Doctor Doctor” is still played over the PA at every Iron Maiden Concert just before the band takes the stage. Enjoy a clip of Pete tearing it up with UFO below.
Now that we’ve finished the death and destruction portions of our program, let’s get to what the staff has been listening to over the past month or so. Captain and Megan made a hard push for Boris and Death, respectively, but they only had enough help to get each band into a tie for second place: Boris with its fifth album, 2003’s Akuma No Uta, and Death with 1993’s Individual Thought Patterns. First Place, however, belongs to High Spirits’ latest album, Hard to Stop. If there was ever a time when some uplifting hard rock would be welcome, I reckon 2020 is that time. Ryan Tysinger has the dirt on Hard to Stop here.
Be sure to share your own playlist in the comments. And while your at it, check out the staff-curated Spotify playlist embedded below. Until next month… Well, let’s just hope better days are ahead.
- Andrew Edmunds
King Crimson – Starless And Bible Black (Steven Wilson Remix)
Riot – Thundersteel
Fates Warning – Parallels
Queensryche – Operation: Mindcrime
Iron Maiden – Somewhere In Time
Dropdead – Dropdead (but which one?) - Zach Duvall
The Cult – Hidden City
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Ghosteen
Cult of Luna & Julie Christmas – Mariner
Mystras – Castles Conquered and Reclaimed
Boris – Akuma No Uta
Ningen Isu – Rashoumon - Danhammer Obstkrieg
Guns N’ Roses – Appetite for Destruction
Septic Flesh – Revolution DNA
Incantation – Sect of Vile Divinities
Life – Ossification of Coral
Covenant – Nexus Polaris
The Field – From Here We Go Sublime - Ryan Tysinger
Havukruunu – Uinuos Syömein Sota
Death – Individual Thought Patterns
Siege Column – Darkside Legions
High Spirits – Hard to Stop
Uriah Heep – Demons & Wizards
King Diamond – The Eye - Manny-O-War
Dropdead – Dropdead (2020)
Westside Gunn – Pray for Paris
Choir Boy – Gathering Swans
Necrot – Mortal
Bootblacks – Thin Skies
Eric B & Rakim – Don’t Sweat the Technique - Captain
Boris – Amplifier Worship
Boris – Pink
Boris – Akuma No Uta
Boris – Flood
Boris – LOVE & EVOL
Boris – Feedbacker - Fetusghost
Ixian – The Reasonablist
Vous Autres – Champ du Sang
King Buffalo – Dead Star
Judicator – Let There Be Nothing
sunnata – Outlands
Fluisteraars – Bloem - Lone Watie
High Spirits – Hard to Stop
Opus V – Universe of Truths
Black Thunder – La Fine Creata
Tiger Moth Tales – Still Alive/A Visit to Rockfield
Logos – Sadako e le Mille Gru di Carta
Mulatu Astatke + Black Jesus Experience – To Know Without Knowing - Dave Pirtle
High Spirits – Hard to Stop
Primal Fear – Metal Commando
Huey Lewis and the News – Hard at Play
Clawfinger – Use Your Brain
Rats Will Feast – Songs of a Racehorse
Warkings – Revenge - Spencer Hotz
Imperial Triumphant – Alphaville
Faceless Burial – Speciation
Incantation – Mortal Throne of Nazarene
Incantation – Primordial Domination
Meshuggah – Koloss
Meshuggah – Chaosphere - Megan Astrael
Death – The Sound of Perseverance
Death – Symbolic
Death – Individual Thought Patterns
Death – Human
Death – Leprosy
Death – Scream Bloody Gore - Jeremy Morse
Defeated Sanity – The Sanguinary Impetus
Van Halen – Fair Warning
UFO – Strangers in the Night
Nile – Black Seeds of Vengeance
Exhumed – Death Revenge
Sam Black Church – Sam Black Church
Why list all Boris in your entry and not include their latest? NO ist a great record! And why list two Incantation records and not their latest? Gah!
Anyways, here’s some bois that I’ve been spinning lately:
Imperial Triumphant – Alphaville
Flame (Finland) – Ignis Spiritus
Jesus Wept – Apartheid Redux
Recorruptor – The Funeral Corridor
Xythlia – Immortality through Quantum Suicide
Bible Basher – Loud Wailing
Pure Wrath – The Forlorn Soldier
Car Bomb – Everything, every month, every year
Teitanblood – Death
Havukruunu – Uinuos Syömein Sota
Hammers of Misfortune – The August Engine
Nagelfar – Srontgorrth
Question – Reflections of the Void
Marrasmieli – Between Land and Sky
That Question album really delivered!
Descend – The Deviant
Hum – Inlet
Gorgoroth – Antichrist
Pale Divine – The Consequence of Time
Rebel Wizard – Magickal Mystical Indifference
Melvins – Houdini
Kalisia – Cybion
High on Fire – Death is This Communion
Drain – California Cursed (possible hyperbole – but I honestly can’t remember the last time I heard a hardcore debut that was this good.)
Rebel Wizard – Magickal Mystical Indifference
Ulthar – Providence
Black Viper – Hellions of Fire
Midnight Prey – Uncertain Times
A Tribe Called Quest – The Low End Theory
I will never not be happy to see that Black Viper album in these lists
UFO!
Live Burial – Unending Futility
Xenobiotic – Mordrake
Hegemone – We Disappear
Cognitive – Matricide
Behexen – Poisonous Path
Dying Fetus – Reign Supreme
Dying Fetus – Wrong One to Fuck With
Aepoch – The Scryer
Necronautical – Apotheosis
Hideous Divinity – Cobra Verde
Merzbow – EXD
Heisenberg – E.P. Yo
Oneiric Celephais – The Obscure Sibyl
Gorepot – School Girl Sashimi…
Biohazard – Urban Discipline
Iron Maiden – “Powerslave”
Iron Maiden – “The Number of the Beast”
Iron Maiden – “Somewhere In Time”
Dawnbringer – “Nucleus”
Holly Herndon – “PROTO”
Chelsea Wolfe – “Abyss”
Emma Ruth Rundle – “On Dark Horses”
Tribulation – “Down Below”
Tribulation – “The Formulas of Death”
Blood Incantation – “Hidden History of the Human Race”
Loudness – “The Law of Devil’s Land”
YOB – “Clearing the Path to Ascend”
Vampire – “Rex”
Weyes Blood – “Titanic Rising”
High Spirits – “Hard to Stop”
Vhöl – “Deeper than Sky”
Hanson Brothers – Gross Misconduct
Life – Ossification of Coral
Rancid – Let’s Go
Ozzy Osbourne – Diary of a Madman
High Command – Beyond the Wall of Desolation
Peter Tosh – Legalize It
Absu – Absu
Re: LR Aug. Playlist- Funny how, as time passes, you can appreciate music you once scuffed at. Huey Lewis and the News for example. 1984 High School me would have walked away from LR (sorry, I was shallow in the 80’s). But, now at 50 I can bob my head to it just as I am with everything else on the list. Than for putting the list together each month.