Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Everything Evil by Coheed and Cambria

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Coheed and Cambria off of their 2002 debut album The Second Stage Turbine Blade. Although it was their first album, it is the second album in chronological order of the story line of the Amory Wars

In this song, Coheed kills 3 of his 4 children because he has been convinced that they have been infected with a virus that will lead to the destruction of the universe (which is a lie). Claudio is the only child to survive and he finds Josephine at the house just before she passes away. When Claudio has to run for safety Josie screams to him "We'll make it if you believe" meaning that Mankind can survive if he believes in himself.

Scott's Instrumental Metal Track of the Day - Soothsayer by Buckethead

Today's Instrumental Metal Track is brought to you by Buckethead. This song is outstanding from about the 2:47 mark through the end. Such an awesome solo with a great feel to it.

This track comes of of his 2006 album Crime Slunk Scene. I didn't realize it but Buckethead has released 71 studio albums since 1992. SEVENTY ONE. That is absurd. Those 71 albums add up to 45.5 hours of running time.

Easy Like Sunday Morning Track - Wind of Change by Scorpions

Today's Easy Like Sunday Morning Track is brought to you by Scorpions. This is off of the German band's 1990 album Crazy World.

This song is a celebration of the end of the Cold War and a new policy of openness and transparency in the Soviet Union government (known as Glasnost). The band was inspired to write the song on a visit to Russia and is evident in the following lyrics which include Russian landmarks:

I follow the Moskva 
Down to Gorky Park 
Listening to the wind of change

This single is one of the greatest selling singles of all time. In Germany, it is remembered as the song of German reunification and a message of hope.

Weekend Wildcard - Moving in Stereo by The Cars

This Weekend's Wildcard is brought to you by The Cars off of their self-titled, debut album in 1978. The song is famous for its use in the 1982 movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High. It is used in the scene where Judge Reinhold's character is fantasizing about his sister's friend, played by Phoebe Cates, getting out of the pool and walking towards him. It's one of the most famous scenes from the 80s and has been parodied plenty of times through the years including Family Guy.

Since there isn't an official video for this song, I give you a fan made video dedicated to Phoebe Cates. It features scenes from Fast Times and Private School. The scene that made it famous is included around the 2 minute mark. Enjoy!

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - The Outsider by A Perfect Circle

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by A Perfect Circle off of their 2003 album Thirteenth Step. This song is told from the perspective of an "outsider" who is trying to connect with a drug addict who is basically killing their self by giving "in to all these reckless dark desires".

"What'll it take to get it through to you precious
Over this. Why do you wanna throw it away like this
Such a mess. I don't want to watch you."

Finally he tells them that if they are going to continue down this path to "do it somewhere far away from here."

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Twilight of the Thunder God by Amon Amarth

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by the Swedish heavy metal band Amon Amarth. This is the title track of their 2008 album Twilight of the Thunder God. This song features a guest solo by Roope Latvala from Children of Bodom and Stone.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Merry Christmas! Today's Christmas Metal Track is brought to you by Alice Cooper. This song was released on the 2008 compilation album We Wish You A Metal Xmas... And A Headbanging New Year.

Christmas Rocks and so should we! \m/

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Birthday Dethday by Dethklok

I couldn't think of any better song than this on my birthday. Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Dethklok. This song was featured in Metalocalypse's 3rd episode "Birthdayface". This episode was about the guys throwing a birthday party for Murderface.

They can't figure out what to get him so they finally decide to get him the most brutal thing they can think of; a box of Nothing. When he isn't satisfied with that gift, they give him the car that Kennedy was in when he was assassinated, the chair Lincoln was in when he was assassinated, and enter him into a demolition derby so he can literally destroy U.S. history.

This is where Dr. Rockso makes his first appearance although it is a very short one.

Scott's Instrumental Metal Track of the Day - Transylvania by Iron Maiden

Today's Instrumental Metal Track is brought to you by Iron Maiden. This is off of their 1980 debut self-titled album which was before Bruce Dickinson joined the band. But obviously you can't tell in the song since there are no lyrics. This song has an awesome solo in it. But hey, it's Maiden so that is a given.

Easy Like Sunday Morning Track - Changes by Black Sabbath

Today's Easy Like Sunday Morning Track is brought to you by Black Sabbath. This is off of their 1972 album Black Sabbath Vol. 4. This is a heartbreaking song inspired by Bill Ward's ongoing break up with his first wife. Geezer Butler wrote the lyrics and Tony Iommi composed the piano medley.

Weekend Wildcard - Popular by Nada Surf

This Weekend's Wildcard is brought to you by Nada Surf. This one hit wonder came out in 1996 on their debut album High/Low. It is a fun song that makes fun of the popular kids in high school. Apparently they have continued to release albums throughout the years and still tour. I haven't heard anything else from them though.

The whole song, except for the chorus, are parts made up from the 1964 teen advice book Penny's Guide to Teen-Age Charm and Popularity, written by television actress Gloria Winters. Remember ladies, wash your hair at least every two weeks! For some reason when I was younger I always heard the lyric as "My Mom sits on the couch" instead of "My Mom thinks I'm a catch". That makes way more sense.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - The Beginning and the End by Isis

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Isis. This is the opening track off of their 2002 album Oceanic. Isis is one of those bands that are great to put on and chill out to. As I have mentioned before, it is like metal mood music. This song is about a man at the brink of emotional numbness who finds a female counterpart who completes him.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Home by Dream Theater

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Dream Theater. This is another one from their 1999 concept album Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory. In 2012, this album was voted as the number one all-time progressive album in a poll conducted by Rolling Stone.

This song is told from multiple points of view and revolve around a couple in 1928 who have split due to the man's battle with demons (Alcohol, drugs, and gambling). It is told from the perspective of the man with the demons, the man that comforted and seduced the woman when she came to him, and the man who has been hypnotized in present time who is trying to solve the mystery of the woman's death. The hypnotized man previously realized that he was the woman in a past life and that they share the same soul. Whew, I think I got that right. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Fear of a Blank Planet by Porcupine Tree

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Porcupine Tree. This was Steven Wilson's band before he went solo in recent years. This is the title track off of their 2007 album Fear of a Blank Planet. This song has such an awesome feel and groove to it.

The album's title is a direct reference to the 1990 Public Enemy album, Fear of a Black Planet; while the former was about race issues, the latter is about coming to terms with 21st century technology.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Thunder Kiss '65 by White Zombie

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by White Zombie. I'm sure, like me, this was the first White Zombie you ever heard even though they had previously released two albums. The song was released as a single three times beginning in 1992 but didn't gain popularity until it was featured on Beavis and Butthead in 1993 in the episode "Yogurt's Cool".

The audio samples "You're all shook up, aren't you baby?" and "I never try anything I just do it. Wanna try me?" are taken from the 1965 movie Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!



Here are the White Zombie videos featured on Beavis and Butthead:

Scott's Instrumental Track of the Day - Far Beyond the Sun by Yngwie Malmsteen

Today's Instrumental Metal Track is brought to you by one of the original speed metal guitarists Yngwie Malmsteen. This song is off of his 1984 debut album Rising Force. Throughout his career, he has been very successful in Europe and Asia but after the 80s, his success in the U.S. faded away as his neoclassical metal style became old fashion.

Easy Like Sunday Morning - Credence by Opeth

Today's Easy Like Sunday Morning Track is brought to you by Opeth. This comes off of their 1998 album My Arms, Your Hearse. This is such a beautiful song. I get it stuck in my head all of the time.

I just learned that this song was actually sampled by some rapper named TKO Capone a few years ago. Never heard of him. Never thought that would happen with an Opeth song, lol.

Weekend Wildcard - Hard to Handle by Otis Redding

This Weekend's Wildcard is brought to you by Otis Redding. I hate to admit it but up until a couple of years ago I had no idea that this was not a Black Crowes original song. It blew my mind. He also recorded other great songs such as Sitting on the Dock of the Bay and Respect (Yes, that Respect).

Sadly, Otis died in a plane crash at the age of 26. This song was not released until after his death. He recorded Sitting on the Dock of the Bay just days before the crash. There is no telling what he would have gone on to accomplish. RIP Otis.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Explosia by Gojira

Today's Metal Track comes from the French metal band Gojira. This is the opening track off of their 2012 album L'Enfant Sauvage which is French for "The Wild Child". The album was inspired by a fake documentary by the same name that was about a child who was found in the woods and behaved more like a wild animal than a civilized human.

Scott's Metal TRack of the Day - Rose of Sharyn

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Killswitch Engage. This is off of their 2004 breakthrough album The End of Heartache. This was the first album that featured Howard Jones on vocals. This has always been one of my favorites of the band's.

Rose of Sharon is a common name that applies to several different species of flowering plants that are highly valued throughout the world. The name's colloquial application has been used as an example of the lack of precision of common names, which potentially causes confusion.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Send Me Your Money by Suicidal Tendencies

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Suicidal Tendencies. This is a funny song that also throws down. If it is not obvious, the song is ripping on the crooked televangelists who prey on gullible believers. This isn't the actual video, it is a fan video but I like it better than the original.

My favorite line is "We'll take your Mama's dentures if they've got gold in them"

Sorry about the audio. About 40 seconds in you will need to turn it up.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Be All, End All by Anthrax

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Anthrax. This is the opening track off of their 1988 album State of Euphoria. I got this album on cassette as present from Mike Thompson this past weekend so I decided to post something from it. This may not be the best Anthrax album but it is my favorite because it is the Anthrax album that I grew up on. It's definitely got one of the best covers along with Fistful of Metal.

Instrumental Track of the Day - Fives by Guthrie Govan

Today's Instrumental Track is brought to you by Guthrie Govan. He is an extremely talented English guitarist and instructor. He has been been great for many years but it wasn't until his exposure on YouTube that he was considered to be one of the world's best contemporary electric guitar players, and one of the most flexible players in musical scope.

This song is off of his lone solo album Erotic Cakes which was released in 2006. I first heard of him when he was a guest guitarist on Periphery's 2nd album released last year and Steven Wilson's album from this year. Go out and check out some of his instructional videos on YouTube. His knowledge about the guitar and music are humbling.

Easy Like Sunday Morning Track - River of Deceit by Mad Season

Today's Easy Like Sunday Morning Track is brought to you by Mad Season. This was a supergroup that included members of Alice in Chains (Layne Staley), Pearl Jam (Mike McCready), and Screaming Trees (Barrett Martin). I'm sure many people thought this was an Alice in Chains song when it came out on the radio due to Layne's vocals. They only released one album, Above, in 1995 which included this song.

Their bassist, John Baker Saunders, died in 1999 and Layne died only three years later in 2002. Both died from an overdose of heroin. Again, remember kids, drugs are bad mkay!

Weekend Wildcard - Use Me by Bill Withers

This Weekend's Wildcard is brought to you by Bill Withers. This funky little tune was released in 1972 on the album Still Bill. The song is about the singer's friends trying to talk him out of a relationship because they say he is being used. But the singer feels that it is worth it and even pleasurable to be used in that manner. This song was featured on the Anchorman soundtrack.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - The Dream Calls for Blood by Death Angel

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Death Angel. This is the title track off of their latest album The Dream Calls for Blood which was released just two months ago. These guys were active from 1982 -1991 and then went on hiatus until 2001. I'm not familiar with a lot of their stuff but I heard this on the radio the other day and really dug it.

Scott's Instrumental Metal Track of the Day - Weightless by Animals as Leaders

Today's Instrumental Metal Track is brought to you by Animals as Leaders. This is another great song by the amazing Tosin Abasi and his 8 string guitar. This is the title track off of their 2011 album Weightless.

The name "Animals as Leaders" was inspired by Daniel Quinn's 1992 novel Ishmael, which addresses anthropocentrism. Abasi coined the name as a reminder "that we're all essentially animals."

Easy Like Sunday Morning Track - February Stars by Foo Fighters

Today's Easy Like Sunday Morning Track is brought to you by Foo Fighters. This is off of their 2nd album The Colour and the Shape which was released in 1997. This album is loaded with hits including Monkey Wrench, My Hero, and probably their best song Everlong.

Weekend Wildcard - Loser by Beck

This Weekend's Wildcard is brought to you by Beck. This was his breakout hit back in 1993. It was first released as a single and it ended up getting him on a major label. Then he re-released it on the 1994 album Mellow Gold. This song has some great lines. What are your favorites?

"Got a couple of couches, sleep on the love seat"
"Gettin' crazy with the Cheese Whiz"

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Henchmen Ride by Testament

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Testament. These guys were fairly popular in the late 80s and early 90s. They made a comeback in 2008 when they released The Formation of Damnation which included this song. This song has a killer opening riff that repeats throughout the song. Glad these guys are back. I still need to get their album from last year.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - In Shadow of Our Pale Companion by Agalloch

Of the many things that I am thankful for, one of those things is music. While minor compared to things like family, friends, health and freedom, it is something very important to us as humans. It fuels our creativity, evokes emotions, and brings people together.

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Agalloch off of their 2002 album The Mantle. I am thankful for music as wonderful and thoughtful as this. When I listen to songs like this it gives me chills and almost seems to freeze time. I'm sure many of you have similar feelings with your favorite songs as well. All these feels!

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - March to the Sea by Baroness

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Baroness. This is off of their double album from last year Yellow & Green. Less than a month after this album was released, the band was in a horrible bus accident in England where the bus feel 30 feet from a bridge. Two members suffered fractured vertebrae and one suffered a broken arm and leg. The two that suffered fractured vertebrae decided not to remain in the band after the accident.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - The Faded Line by Lamb of God

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Lamb of God. This comes off of their 2004 album Ashes of the Wake. This has always been one of my favorites by these guys. I really love the galloping drum sections and the use of the high hats (Or whatever Chris Adler is using at the :42 mark. Drummers help me out). The outro to this one is outstanding as well.

Scott's Instrumental Track of the Day - Speed Metal Symphony by Cacophony

Today's Instrumental Metal Track comes from Cacophony. This short-lived dynamic duo of Marty Friedman and Jason Becker only released two albums in the 80's. Afterwards, the two released solo work and went on to join other bands. This is the title track off of their 1987 album Speed Metal Symphony. Cacophony is defined as "a harsh, discordant mixture of sounds". I'd say their mixture of sounds come together quite nicely.

Easy Like Sunday Morning Track - Ride On by AC/DC

Today's Easy Like Sunday Morning Track comes from AC/DC. This song originally appeared on the 1977 album Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap and was later released on the Who Made Who album in 1986 which was the sound track to the Stephen King movie Maximum Overdrive.

This is a great fan video with tons of great band footage with Bon Scott. He passed away in 1980 after a long night of drinking. The band went on to record Back in Black the same year in his honor. Ride on Bon, Ride on!

Weekend Wildcard - Axel F by Harold Faltermeyer

This weekend's wildcard is brought to you by Harold Faltermeyer. This song song is best known as the theme song for the Beverly Hills Cop Movies. It also makes a great appearance on Family Guy in the epsisode Meet the Quagmires.

Scott's Heavy Metal Track of the Day - Room 24 by Volbeat

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Volbeat. This track is off of their latest album from earlier this year Outlaw Gentlemen and Shady Ladies. The song features guest vocals from the legendary King Diamond.

It was during the recording of this album that former Anthrax lead guitarist, Rob Caggiano, joined the band. He was producing the album and providing guest solo work and by the time it was completed they decided to make him an official member of the band.

Scott's Heavy Metal Track of the Day - Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath

Today's Metal Track is another from the band and the album that started it all, Black Sabbath. This self-titled track is the opener on the band's self-titled album which came out on Friday the 13th February 1970. I love the way this song opens. It is so haunting and eerie.

Can you imagine what it was like hear this for the first time in 1970? It was the beginning of a new genre of music. Interestingly, the album received negative reviews when it was first released because the mainstream critics were idiots and they just didn't know what to think of this style of music.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - The Light That Blinds by Shadows Fall

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Shadows Fall. This was the band's breakthrough hit that is popular for its outstanding intro and guitar work. It is the opening track off of their 4th album The War Within which is still their most successful album. This song was featured as a bonus track on Guitar Hero II.

Brian Flair (vocalist) stated that "This song is about how people, TV, and other influences can convince you to be something you are not, and you stay that way because you think it makes you better or more popular, but inside you do not really feel that way and it disguises your true identity"

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - We Will Rise by Arch Enemy

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by another Swedish metal band Arch Enemy. This comes off of their 2003 album Anthems of Rebellion. The band is made up of former members of bands such as Carcass, Carnage, and Mercyful Fate. This video got heavy play on Headbangers Ball when it came out and was featured on one of the show's albums. I wonder if the little metal girl on America's Got Talent looks up to this female vocalist.

Scott's Instrumental Metal Track of the Day - Dauntless by Delorean

Today's Instrumental Metal Track is brought to you by my friends Johnathon Stone, Adam Satterwhite, Dan Cummings, and Jeremy Clark of Delorean. This is one of the band's earlier tracks. You can't see Adam in the video but he is on drums. This was a live performance at Cat's Cradle  in Carrboro back in 2008.

Easy Like Sunday Morning - Two Steps Behind by Def Leppard

This week's Easy Like Sunday Morning Track comes from Def Leppard. This awesome ballad is off of their 1993 Retro Active album and was also featured on the Last Action Hero Soundtrack. Retro Active was a compilation of B-sides and previously unreleased recordings. I was more familiar with it because of the Last Action Hero soundtrack which I still have on cassette. It's probably my favorite soundtrack. It includes other great songs by Alice in Chains, Megadeth, AC/DC, Anthrax, Queensryche, Aerosmith, and more.

Weekend Wildcards - I Keep Forgetting by Michael McDonald and Regulate by Warren G

This Weekend's Wildcard is a two for one. First, is the original. Michael McDonald released I Keep Forgettin' back in 1982 on his debut solo album If That's What it Takes. Prior to this album, McDonald was a part of the Doobie Brothers which began with him filling in for singer Tom Johnston who became ill in 1976.

This hit has been sampled numerous times by artists such as Warren G (Today's 2nd track), Jadakiss, Madvillain, and Solomun. You can see why too. That music is just too smooth.



Second, is one of the songs that sampled the original McDonald hit. Warren G and Nate Dogg released this major hit back in 1994 for the Above the Rim soundtrack and it also later appeared on his album Regulate... G Funk Era. The song was a major breakout hit for both artist and is one of the biggest hip hop songs ever and one of the biggest songs of the 90s. Whenever I hear this song I think of Randy Allen singing Nate Dogg's part in art class back in high school.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Two Weeks by All That Remains

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by All That Remains out of Springfield, Massachusetts. This is off of their 2008 album Overcome. Their lead singer, Philip Labonte, was the original singer for Shadows Fall but was only on the band's debut album Somber Eyes to the Sky. I got to see these guys once back in 2006 with Killswitch Engage at Tremont Music Hall in Charlotte. They were filling in for Shadows Fall who couldn't make the show for some reason that I can't remember.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Heavy Metal by Sammy Hagar

Today's Metal Track is a classic from Sammy Hagar. This song is off of his 1981 album Standing Hampton and was featured on the classic 1981 animated film Heavy Metal. The movie is an anthology of various science fiction and fantasy stories adapted from Heavy Metal magazine and original stories in the same spirit. If you have never seen it, it is a must watch for any comic or metal fan. The movie was also parodied by South Park a few seasons ago.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Angel of Death by Slayer

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Slayer. If you haven't seen this video yet, you are missing out. Someone took Slayer's Angel of Death song and synched it with video clips of people going crazy at church. It is absolutely fantastic.

Angel of Death is based on Nazi physician Josef Mengele, who conducted human experiments at the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. It sparked controversy when it was released because the song was viewed as sympathizing with Nazis. The band has denied this saying that it is merely a documentary of what took place. Jeff Hanneman, who wrote it stated "When they read the lyrics, there's nothing I put in the lyrics that says necessarily he was a bad man, because to me – well, isn't that obvious? I shouldn't have to tell you that."

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Omnipresent Perception by Beyond Creation

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Beyond Creation. I stumbled upon this band a few weeks ago on YouTube. They are a Progressive Death Metal Band from Montreal and have released only one album so far, The Aura, back in 2011.

Their vocals may be a little harsh for some listeners but the music is impressive. The most impressive of the group is the bass player. His 6 string fretless bass along with the 7 and 8 string guitars produce some interesting sounds.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Don't Tread on Me by Metallica

In honor of Veterans Day, today's Metal Track is Don't Tread on Me by Metallica. "Don't Tread on Me" is the motto of the Gadsden Flag which is one of the earliest American flags. It is named after the flags designer, Christopher Gadsden, and was used by the Continental Marines in the American Revolutionary Way. The rattlesnake on the flag appears on the cover of Metallica's 1991 self-titled album commonly referred to as the Black Album.

Happy Veterans Day! Also, while less important, Happy National Metal Day! \m/

Easy Like Sunday Morning Track - She's Gone by Hall & Oates

Today's Easy Like Sunday Morning Track is brought to you by Hall & Oates. This major hit was originally released on their 1973 album Abandoned Luncheonette. It was later remixed in 1976  into this more pop-radio-friendly version that we all know today. Never knew that.

Weekend Wildcard - Junkhead by Alice in Chains

This Weekend's Wildcard is brought to you by Alice in Chains. This is tied with Rain When I Die for my favorite AiC song. Both are off their 1992 album Dirt (Holy cow! 21 years ago). As with all AiC songs this one has great vocals that are filled with emotion and feeling. Layne stated that when he and Jerry wrote the lyrics, it was a pro-drug song but when they added the music, it became an anti-drug song.

However you interpret it, it is obviously about the mind of a junkie and more specifically a reflection of their personal experiences with drug use as evident in the line "I don't go broke, and I do it a lot". My favorite version of the song is the version that is on their live album. In the last verse the lyrics after "What's my drug of choice?" transition from "Well, what have you got?" to "Whatever you got". Layne lost his battle with drug addiction in 2002 (RIP). So the ultimate message kids is "Drugs are bad, mmmkay".

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Three Little Pigs by Green Jellÿ

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Green Jellÿ. They were originally named Green Jellö but had to change it due Kraft filing for trademark infringement on their Jell-O brand flavor. They band still pronounces their name as Green Jello even after the spelling change.

Although this band was not very talented, this song still rocks and is good laugh. Maynard from Tool actually provides the vocals for the 3 little pigs line "Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin" while Danny Carey from Tool provides the drums. I didn't that know until today.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Freedom by Rage Against the Machine

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Rage Against the Machine. This song is the closing track on the funk metal band's self titled debut album in 1992. The breakdown at the end of this one is great. They normally close their shows with this song.

The video is focused on the case for Leonard Peltier, who was one of the leaders of the American Indian Movement (AIM).

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Revenga by System of a Down

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by System of a Down. See if you can keep up with these fast paced lyrics. They are included in the video to make it easier. This one comes off of their 2005 album Mezmerize. This album is considered to be the first half of the Mezmerize/Hypnotize double album even though the two albums were released 6 months apart.

These guys have been on a hiatus ever since these two albums were released. The band has had a difficult time starting on a new album mainly because Serj (singer) has said he is not yet ready to commit to another album and it would feel forced. Hope he feels that itch again soon.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Mother Puncher by Mastodon

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Mastodon. This is such a brutal song with an amazing intro that builds and builds and then finally dropkicks you in the stomach like Johnny Cage. This is the next to last song on their 2002 debut album Remission.

I don't know the exact meaning of the song since there are very few words but I wouldn't stand close to your mother while listening to it! I do think it has something to do with fighting back against those who bring you down and tell you that you will never amount to anything.

"Change, stand, grow. These things you'll never be.
Taste your fate. All that you'll ever be."

Scott's Instrumental Metal Track of the Day - Requiem for the Living by Jeff Loomis

Today's Instrumental Metal Track is brought to you by the incredible Jeff Loomis. Sometimes you just have to sit back and watch in awe out how good some players are. Jeff is definitely one of those players. This track comes off of his most recent album Plains of Oblivion.

Easy Like Sunday Morning - In the Arms of Sleep by Smashing Pumpkins

Today's Easy Like Sunday Morning Track is brought to you by Smashing Pumpkins. This is a beautiful song off of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. I have no idea who made this video but it is the only one I could find with the studio version of the song. Just listen to it and ignore the video.


The Smashing Pumpkins - In the Arms of Sleep (HQ) from Achy dice on Vimeo.

Weekend Wildcard - Mama's Fool by Tesla

This Weekend's Wildcard is brought to you by Tesla. I got on a Tesla kick this week and listened to their entire Greatest Hits album while traveling for work. I forgot how awesome they were. I remembered them more for their songs like Love Song and their cover of Signs. Those are great songs, but don't rock as hard many of their other songs. Expect to see them featured again at some point.

This song starts out slow. Just wait for it...

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Focus Shift by Dark Tranquillity

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Dark Tranquillity who is yet another metal band from Sweden. These guys have been around for 20+ years and are one of the longest standing bands from the original Gothenburg Metal Scene. This one comes off of their 2007 album Fiction.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Bullet Ride by In Flames

Today's Metal Track is a recommendation by Michael Thompson and comes from In Flames. This Swedish metal band has been around since 1990. This is the opening track off of their 2000 album Clayman.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Du Hast by Rammstein

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Rammstein. This is off of their 1997 album Sehnsucht. This is the track that shot those crazy Germans into fame. This song was also featured on the Matrix soundtrack.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Irradiant Dawn by Today I caught the Plague

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by the Canadian band Today I Caught the Plague. Earlier this year they actually changed their name to The Kindred. This is off of there 2011 album Lore. I got to see them with Periphery, Jeff Loomis, Protest the Hero, and The Safety Fire at Lincoln Theater last year.

Scott's Instrumental Metal Track of the Day - Odyssey by Scale the Summit

Today's Instrumental Metal Track is brought to you by Scale the Summit. I just heard of this band last week while listening to the Spiked channel on DTV. They are a instrumental progressive metal band out of Houston, Texas.This is the opening track off of their latest album The Migration which came out back in June.

Easy Like Sunday Morning - Runaway Train by Soul Asylum

Today's Easy Like Sunday Morning Track is brought to you by Soul Asylum. This song was an extremely big hit back in the 90s and is still a great song to this day. The band had been around for about 10 years with little success before hitting it big time with this track in 1992. The album, Grave Dancers Union, was certified triple platinum.

Weekend Wildcard - Will You Return by The Avett Brothers

This Weekend's Wildcard is brought to you by The Avett Brothers. This is a fun upbeat song off of their 2007 album Emotionalism. This is the album that launched the brothers into the spotlight.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Cult of Personality by Living Colour

Today's Metal Track is from Living Colour. I'm sure everyone remembers this mega hit from the late 80s. I love everything about this song. The music, the style, the vocals, the video, and dat solo. This song won a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1990.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Praise by Sevendust

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Sevendust. This song comes off of their 2001 album Animosity. These guys just put out their 9th studio album this past March.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Burning Beard by Clutch

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Clutch. These guys are more of a rock and funk metal band. They have been around since 1990. This one comes off of their 2005 album Robot Hive/Exodus which is their 7th studio album.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Hymn of a Broken Man by Times of Grace

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Times of Grace. If you think this sounds like Killswitch Engage, there is a reason for that. Adam Dutkiewicz (KSE guitarist) wrote and recorded all the music and he and Jesse Leach (Original and current singer for KSE) provide the vocals.

This is the title track off of their only album to date, Hymn of a Broken Man. Not long after this collaboration, Jesse rejoined KSE and they recorded a new album earlier this year.

Scott's Instrumental Metal Track of the Day - Bad Hobbits Die Hard by Wuthering Heights

Today's Instrumental Metal Track comes from Wuthering Heights. I just happened to stumble upon this band while looking up instrumental tracks so I decided to check them out. This Danish heavy metal band gets their name from the 1847 novel by Emily Bronte. Their style mixes together progressive, folk, and power metal. This comes off of their 2004 album Far from the Madding Crowd.

Easy Like Sunday Morning - Patience by Guns N' Roses

Today's Easy Like Sunday Morning Track is brought to you by Guns N' Roses. This classic acoustic number is off of their 1989 EP G N' R Lies which was a follow up to their groundbreaking debut album Appetite for Destruction.

This was the last video that Steven Adler (Drummer) was in even though he wasn't on the recorded version of the song. He was later replaced by Matt Sorum.

Weekend Wildcard - Poison by Alice Cooper

This Weekend's Wildcard is brought to you by the original shock rocker Alice Cooper. This song doesn't fit the shock rock category but it is one of the great '80s classics. This is off of his 1989 album Trash.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Into the Coven by Mercyful Fate

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Mercyful Fate. This is off of their 1983 album Melissa. Go ahead and laugh at King Diamond's vocals if you want. I know I have before. It grows on you. Still doesn't change the fact that this is a killer track.

Metallica thinks so too. That is why they chose to cover this song along with several other Mercyful Fate songs in their Mercyful Fate Medley on Garage Inc.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Ace of Spades by Motorhead

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Motorhead. This is the title track off of their 1980 album Ace of Spades. This is by far the most famous song by this legendary trio.

When this came out it was one of the fastest songs ever. Despite being considered a Metal band by most, the band has always stated that it is not a Metal band but a Rock N Roll band. I don't care what you classify it as; it's good!

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Darkness Within by Machine Head

Today's Metal Track comes from Machine Head. This one comes off of their most recent album Unto the Locust which came out in 2011. This song is a little different from the rest of their songs. It's is a little more melodic which is a good change of pace in the middle of a really heavy album.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - My Own Summer by Deftones

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Deftones. This was the first song I remember hearing from them and it was a huge hit when I was in middle school. This comes off of their 1997 sophomore album Around the Fur.

RIP Chi!

Scott's Instrumental Track of the Day - YYZ by Rush

This week's Instrumental Track is brought to you by the magnificent trio Rush. This is off of their 1981 album Moving Pictures.

YYZ is the IATA airport identification code near Rush's hometown. The song's introduction, played in a time signature of 5/4, repeatedly renders "Y-Y-Z" in Morse Code using various musical arrangements. The More You Know...

Easy Like Sunday Morning Track - Something to Believe In by Poison

This week's Easy Like Sunday Morning Track is brought to you by Poison. This is the second single off of their 1990 album Flesh & Blood. I still have this single on cassette tape.

Weekend Wildcard - Feather Pluckn by The Presidents of the United Stated of America

This Weekend's Wildcard is brought to you by The Presidents of the United States of America. This is the second track off of their self titled debut album which came out in 1995. This is a classic album that included other hits like Lump, Peaches, Kitty, and Dune Buggy.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Right in Two by Tool

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Tool. This is off of their most recent album 10,000 Days although that was 7 years ago. Maybe they are waiting 10,000 days to put out another album. Let's hope not.

This is song is about human nature and the tendency to fight over land and material things even though there is enough for everyone. The songs starts out slow but definitely makes up for it later on.

Silly monkeys give them thumbs,
They forge a blade, and where there's one they're bound to divide it
Right in two.
Right in two.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Go Into the Water by Dethklok

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by the almighty Dethklok. This is another one from the first season.

We reject our earthly fires
Gone are days of land empires
Lungs transform to take in water
Cloaked in scales we swim and swim on

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Envy Life by Testament

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Testament. This is another one off of their 1989 album Practice What You Preach.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - The Sentinel by Judas Priest

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Judas Priest. This song comes off of their 1984 album Defenders of the Faith. This track was not as popular as most of their hits and didn't receive much airplay but it is definitely one of their best.

Scott's Instrumental Metal Track of the Day - Ripped by Marty Friedman

Today's Instrumental Metal Track is brought to you by Marty Friedman off of his 2003 solo album Music for Speeding. Marty is most famous for his work with Megadeth. He was the guitarist alongside Dave for Megadeth's best albums and that lineup is traditionally considered as THE Megadeth lineup.

Marty also did a lot of solo and instrumental work prior to Megadeth. He and Jason Becker formed the short-lived band Cacophony that broke up in 1989 shortly before Marty joined Megadeth.

Easy Like Sunday Morning Track - Daniel by Brett Scallions (Elton John cover)

This week's Easy Like Sunday Morning Track is brought to you by Brett Scallions of Fuel. This is one of my favorite Elton John songs and I love the original but I actually like this version on acoustic guitar better. I think his voice is perfect for it as well.




Here is the original for comparison (Again, both are great)

Weekend Wildcard - Paranoid Android by Radiohead

This Weekend's Wildcard comes from Radiohead off of their breakthrough 1997 album OK Computer. I remember watching this video on MTV when it came out and I'm sure if you ever saw it you will remember it too. Very strange. The video version that was released in the US on TV was censored. This song's structure was influenced by the Beatles' song Happiness is a Warm Gun.

Video is semi-NSFW:

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Bloodmeat by Protest the Hero

Today's Metal Track comes from the progressive metal band from Canada, Protest the Hero. This comes off of their 2008 album Fortress. If you like metal with clean vocals, this is for you.

They have a new album coming out this month which features Chris Adler (Lamb of God) on the drums.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Africa by Robot Zombie Army (Cover)

Well, I had another Metal Track ready to go but it got trumped thanks to Christy Griffith sharing this awesome cover of Africa by Robot Zombie Army with me this morning.

I had never heard of this guy before so I checked out his website. On the site he says "I'm a dude who likes metal. I'm weird. You should be too."

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Fire it Up by Black Label Society

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Black Label Society. This is the opening track off of their 2005 album Mafia.

One of my favorite concert moments was crowd surfing at a BLS show. When I got back down after reaching the front barricade Zakk Wylde pointed at me and gave me an attaboy head nod \m/

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Torn Between Scylla and Charybdis by Trivium

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Trivium off of their 4th album Shogun which came out in 2008. This album brought back some of the screaming that was absent from the previous album The Crusade. It was good move that brought back some of the edge that that album was missing.

Scott's Instrumental Metal Track of the Day - Vampires by Godsmack

Today's Instrumental Metal Track is brought to you by Godsmack. I don't listen to these guys much anymore but I still think this is a good track. This comes off of their 2nd album Awake which came out in 2000.

The song was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental although Sully downplayed it stating "I don't even know why we were nominated, because we were in a category with Joe Satriani and these other guys for best instrumental performance."

Easy Like Sunday Morning Track - Easy by the Commodores

Today's Easy Like Sunday Morning Track is the inspiration behind this weekly posting; Easy by Commodores. This classic comes off of their 1977 self-titled album. Lionel Ritchie, who wrote this song, began his career with the Commodores.

This song has been covered numerous times. The version that I hear the most is Faith No More's version from 1992.

Weekend Wildcard - Keep Ya Head Up by Tupac

This Weekend's Wildcard is brought to you by Tupac. This song is from his second album that came out 20 years ago in 1993. I don't like a lot of rap but this is good stuff.

RIP Tupac

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Waiting for the Turning Point by Superjoint Ritual

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Superjoint Ritual. This is definitely the shortest song to make the cut so far and is one of the shortest metal songs that I know excluding intros and interludes.

This band formed in the early 90s but didn't record and album until a decade later after Pantera split up. The band includes Phil Anselmo of Pantera on vocals and Hank III on bass (Yes, Hank Williams Jr.'s son).

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Elimination by Overkill

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Overkill off of their 1989 album The Years of Decay which I still have on cassette. I remember watching this on MTV when it first came out. This song has some great lines from Blitz just like all Overkill songs.


"Laughing in a wind storm blowing all the cornstalks down"

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - We're in This Together by Nine Inch Nails

Today's Metal Track is brought to by Nine Inch Nails off of their 1999 album The Fragile. This video is an homage to the 1927 film Metropolis by Fritz Lang in Germany. The film is regarded as a pioneer work of science fiction movies and it was the first feature length film of the genre. When researching that film, I found that it has been used in many other songs and videos over past couple of decades.



Also here is a funny photo of Trent with Marilyn Manson in some magazine shoot years ago

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Brother by Dark New Day

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by the supergroup Dark New Day. I'll be honest, I had to search around on Google for a bit to find this song. I remembered the song but could not remember the band. I don't know any other songs by them. This song was a surprise hit when it came out in 2005. The band was comprised of members from various bands including Sevendust and Stuck Mojo.

Scott's Instrumental Metal Track of the Day - Epilogue by Opeth

Today's Instrumental Metal Track is brought to you by Opeth. This song is the closing track on their 1998 album My Arms, Your Hearse. Mikael Åkerfeldt stated that the band recorded this album while he was suffering from the flu.

The last word of each song on the album is the name of the name of the following song. Even the 3 instrumental tracks have short stories written for them in the form of "silent lyrics" to complete this.

Easy Like Sunday Morning Track - Drive Home by Steven Wilson

This week's Easy Like Sunday Morning Track is another one by the extremely talented Steven Wilson off of his outstanding album The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories) that came out earlier this year.

This is a beautiful and emotional song and video. The animation is outstanding and unique and the solo at the end is just fantastic. The world needs more Steven Wilsons and less Justin Biebers.

Weekend Wild Card - Falling To Pieces by Faith No More

This weekend's wild card is brought to you by Faith No More. This is song if off of their first album with Mike Patton at vocals, The Real Thing. This album also featured the major hit Epic which has received heavy airplay over the years and continues to be popular today.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Immortal Corrupter by Gwar

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Beavis and Butthead's favorite band Gwar. In the old B&B video game the goal of the game was to get to the Gwar concert. This song is off of their 2001 album Violence Has Arrived.

This video contains comically bad gore and special effects. But if you were not expecting that already you must have never heard of Gwar.


Here is the ending of the Beavis and Butthead game:

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Progenies of a Great Apocalypse by Dimmu Borgir

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Dimmu Borgir out of Norway. This song comes off of their 2003 album Death Cult Armageddon. This song includes a great combination of metal and orchestra. I chose this video over the official video because it includes the orchestra.

Light up the Dance Floor Part 4, Punch Punch Punch Dance

For the last time, these dudes will be rocking faces at Cat's Cradle in a week. Today's track may confuse you if you're not comfortable with your sexuality as multiple sexy Abe Lincoln's lift weights and invite you to hang out. There's enough punk angst built up here to get you on your feet and it has that drive that should encourage you to dance fight a bit.

Want more dancin' fightin' and what not?
SUPER SET:

Death From Above 1979: Romantic Rights

The Death Set: Negative Thinking

The Faint: I Disappear

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - 13 Steps To Nowhere

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Pantera off of their 1996 album The Great Southern Trendkill. This is an awesomely brutal track with great work by the brothers, Dime and Vinnie, on guitar and drums.

Light up the Dance Floor Part 3, More Dancin', More Fightin'

Listen up dummies, Electric Six is coming to melt your dancing shoes! Are you ready to dance? Can you command the dance? Today's track answers that question and that answer is no, no you cannot command the dance, but there is a Dance Commander that gives the orders. "Dance Commander" proposes that "it would be awesome, if we could dance" and also the title character "went to store to get more fire for the war" what an awesome lyric.

Enjoy, thrash a bit, and throw something why don't you!

Need more punk infused dance music in your life? How about this track from Death From Above 1979 titled "Blood on our Hands". It's not too shabby.

'Djent'le Wednesdays: Benea Reach - Awakening

Benea Reach is from Oslo, Norway.  They have released three albums thus far.  This track is the opening track from the album "Alleviat" called Awakening.  Definitely a band worth checking out further if you're into the Djent genre or are fans of Periphery, Monuments, Tesseract etc.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) by Marilyn Manson

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Marilyn Manson. This Eurythmics cover was Marilyn's first hit and was featured on his 1995 EP Smells Like Children. He has been unfairly targeted and blamed for many acts of violence through the years. Despite what many think about Marilyn, he is a pretty intelligent and thoughtful guy.

When this video came out, it scared the pants off of every parent in America even though it was a cover of a song they probably sang along with hundreds of times. There were many other songs I thought about choosing from Marilyn but I decided to go with this one first because of how big of an impact it had when it came out.

Light up the Dance Floor Part 2

Let me remind you that Electric Six will be playing at Cat's Cradle in a couple of weeks and I'm going, you can too!

Part 2 of Light up the Dance Floor takes us into Electric Six's less metal, more hypnotic dance track "Synthesizer". There are so many things to say about this track that it necessitates the use of a top list.

1. It's all about the synthesizer, a literal ode to that magical instrument that defined the 80's. 
2. It makes me dance a little, not a lot, but just enough. 
3. That hook, thanks now that will be in my head all day. 
4. My new favorite quote is: "you can't ignore my techno"
5. Seriously, this video: 

Want another dose of dance-punk? How about a fun little track by The Death Set. A nice group of lads from Australia that don't really fit any genre, but dance-punk is close enough. Slap Slap Slap Pound Up Down Snap will make you want to dance fight, good luck with getting that aggression out. 

Scott's Instrumental Metal Track of the Day - Satch Boogie by Joe Satriani

Today's Instrumental Metal Track is brought to you by Joe Satriani off of his 1987 album Surfing with the Alien. Satch is rocking the hair in this video but I think the bald look works much better for him.

Joe was an instructor early in his career with students such as Kirk Hammett (Metallica), Steve Vai, and Alex Skolnick (Testament).

Light up the Dance Floor

My heroic return to the blog is marked by a few persuasive arguments. First, dance punk is a great genre. Second, you should go see Electric Six with me at Cat's Cradle on Monday, October 14th. It's gonna be fun, trust me.

So who is Electric Six? They're a dance-punk, garage-metal-disco band from Detroit. Front man Dick Valentine commands the audience to dance, set fires, and start wars while his band channels the 70's in all of the best ways. Their first album "Fire" included today's hit single and includes vocals by Jack White, who was also just starting out in Detroit back in the early 2000's. I challenge you not to dance a little while listening to "Danger! High Voltage".

This week I'm going to feature a little more of Electric Six's catalog and throw in some other likely suspects that fit that genre defying sound that they make up. Bands that have a lot of energy, a lot of aggression, and a lot of funk that urge you to dance, riot, and then have some tacos.

For a little more exposure to dance-punk, how about these guys? I'll feature them a little more this week as well but for now, enjoy this little number by The Death Set.

Instrumental Mondays: Chimp Spanner - Dark Age of Technology

Chimp Spanner is the stage name for one, Paul Antonio Ortiz.  He writes, records, produces all of his music and recently has started touring under the Chimp Spanner name picking up some great musicians along the way.  This is a great track from his All Roads Lead Here EP.

Easy Like Sunday Morning Track - Love Interruption by Jack White

This week's Easy Like Sunday Morning Track is brought to you by Jack White off of last year's album Blunderbuss. Jack is best known for his work in The White Stripes. They disbanded in 2011 and this album was his first solo album. The backup vocalist is Ruby Amanfu who was originally from Ghana but grew up in Nashville.

Weekend Wildcard - Sussudio by Phil Collins

This Weekend's  Wildcard is brought to you by Phil Collins. This is a catchy little tune off his No Jacket Required album in 1985.

The title and the main lyric came about as Phil was improvising lyrics to the drum machine for this song. After he couldn't find any better lyrics to fit the song he stuck with Sussudio.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Silent Flight Parliament by Between the Buried and Me

Today's Metal Track is honor of tonight's Between the Buried and Me concert in Winston Salem. This is my favorite BTBAM song and one of my favorite all-time songs. This is the next to last song on the 2012 album Parallax II: Future Sequence. It would take me too long to explain the full story behind this song and the album so go here for the long version.

In short, this song is about the Night Owls who are a seemingly all-knowing order of creatures, built by unknown alien gods, that guide humanity’s existence. Owls are know for their silent flight and a collection of owls is known as a Parliament of Owls.

The Night Owls have been playing a sick game with 2 prospects that live in two totally different planes of existence and are separated by billions of light-years and planets. The Owls guide them to destroy their own planets and humanity as a whole. The 2 prospects choose different paths and this song tells the end of that chapter.

Free for All Fridays: Mutemath - Armistice (live)

Mutemath are an interesting group.  They started off as a long distance collaboration between the lead vocalist/keyboardist and the drummer.  One being from New Orleans and the other from Nashville.  Eventually they got together and picked up a couple other members and here you have one of the more unique sounding bands in the industry today.

This is just one of the more entertaining live tracks they have, however if you get the opportunity, use Spotify to listen to Armistice Live.

Thrash Thursdays: Battlecross - Push Pull Destroy/Force Fed Lies

Giving everyone a two for one today!  Battlecross is a newer band on the scene, but they are pushing thrash metal to new heights.

This track is the first song I ever heard from these guys.  I was hooked and picked up the album Pursuit of Honor.  Great album from top to bottom.  This is Push, Pull, Destroy!




This next track is from their latest release, War of Will.  This is Force Fed Lies!

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - How Heavy This Axe by The Sword

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by The Sword. This Stoner Metal band sound like they are straight from the '70s. They sure do their best to look the part in this video. However, this is song is actually off of their 2008 album Gods of the Earth.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Clean My Wounds by Corrosion of Conformity

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Corrosion of Conformity from Raleigh. This is off of their 1994 album Deliverance and was one of there most popular songs. This album was the first to feature Pepper Keenan on lead vocals for all songs. He also covered the lead vocals on Vote With a Bullet on the previous album but that was the only song.

Pepper is good friends with James Hetfield and auditioned to replace Jason Newstead on bass even though he normally plays guitar. He ultimately lost out to Rob.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Lock Up the Wolves by Dio

Today's Metal Track is brought you by the legendary Dio! My brother actually got me into this song recently. It is a slower paced song but still packs a punch. This is the title track off of the 1990 album Lock Up the Wolves.

Scott's Instrumental Metal Track of the Day - (Anesthesis) Pulling Teeth by Cliff Burton (Metallica)

Today's Instrumental Metal Track is a bass solo by Cliff Burton which eventually made it onto Metallica's 1983 debut album Kill 'Em All. It's hard to believe that he is actually playing this on bass.

This song is actually how he got the gig with Metallica. James and Lars heard him playing this live at the Whisky a Go Go in LA and went searching for this great guitarist only to find out he was playing a bass.

Tragically, Cliff died in a bus accident in Sweden in 1986. He was 24 years old. You ever think about being able to go back and save one musician who went before their time? There are plenty to choose from but mine, with out a doubt, would be Cliff. He was creative genious behind Metallica's early albums and there's no telling what he would have went on to accomplish with the band.

RIP Cliff!!

Easy Like Sunday Morning Track - Home by Foo Fighters

This week's Easy Like Sunday Morning Track is brought to you by Foo Fighters. It is the closing track off of their 2007 album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace and features Dave Grohl on the piano.

Dave Grohl  stated that this was the best song he has ever written.

Weekend Wildcard - Short Skirt/Long Jacket by Cake

Today's Weekend Wildcard is brought to you by Cake off of their 2001 album Comfort Eagle. I've always loved this song but had never seen the video before. I love it, especially the first guy in the Nike hat. His reactions are priceless.

Great beat, funny lyrics, and great use of the horns! How can you not like this?

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Deadly Sinners by 3 Inches of Blood

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by 3 Inches of Blood off of their 2004 album Advance and Vanquish. I bet you never expected these vocals out of this singer. He kills it in this song.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Self Bias Resistor by Fear Factory

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Fear Factory off of their 1995 album, Demanufacture.

Biasing in electronics has to do with designing circuits to have certain voltages and particular points in the circuit in order to have proper operating conditions. However, this song and this album are inspired by the movie, The Terminator. It revolves around a man vs. machine battle in a machine controlled world. Both are pretty cool/nerdy!

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - My Tortured Soul by Probot

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Probot. This was a side project by Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters and Nirvana). He invited many of his favorite underground metal singers from the 80's to sing on the album including Lemmy, Max Cavalera, and King Diamond.

Dave recorded all of the music himself on the album with a few exceptions. He is a pretty talented guy. On this song, Eric Wagner of the band Trouble provides the vocals.

'Djent'le Wednesdays: Sybreed - Emma-O

Sybreed doesn't meet the typical requirements of what one might call a Djent band, however if you go back to my first post on djent, you'll see that the term is rather controversial and somewhat ambiguous as to what bands fall into that category.

I'm including Sybreed because they state Meshuggah as a primary influence in their music, and being that Meshuggah coined the term, I'd say guilty by association.

Sybreed is from Switzerland and have released four albums to date.  This track is the opening track from their album Antares called Emma-O.

Best Artist You've Never Heard Of - J. Roddy Walston & The Business

Soul Powered Tuesdays: Blood, Sweat and Tears - Lucretia McEvil

This song is from Blood, Sweat and Tears.  I was first introduced to this band from college marching band.  We did a full show of their music and this song was excellent.

Enjoy my second post of the day!!

Instrumental Mondays: Bulb - Not Enough Mana

This track comes from an artist called Bulb.  He's better known as Misha Mansoor, the guitarist from the increasingly popular band Periphery.

This track is very cool and one of the first tracks I heard from this guy.  He recorded all the intstruments himself.  He is actually a great drummer in addition to being an excellent guitar player as well.  He played a couple of the first shows Periphery had behind the kit.



I've linked Misha's Soundclick page (click Bulb).  Please head over there and check out many of his other tracks, some of which made it onto the Periphery albums.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Hangar 18 by Megadeth

Today's Metal Track is another in honor of tonight's Iron Maiden and Megadeth show. This song and Holy Wars were the first songs I remember hearing from Megadeth; both of them off of the classic Rust in Peace album in 1990.

This video has some pretty funny special effects in it. Keep in mind that it is 23 years old though.



Also, check out this performance on the Arsenio Hall Show.

Stone's Earworm of the Week - Do I Wanna Know by Arctic Monkeys

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Working Man by Rush

In honor of Labor Day, today's Metal Track is Working Man by Rush. This is the closing track off of their 1974 self titled debut album.

This song has a classic opening riff, great solos, and great lyrics. Great motivator for a hard day's work.

Easy Like Sunday Morning Track - Silent Lucidity by Queensryche

This week's Easy Like Sunday Morning Track is brought to you by Queensryche. This power ballad comes off of their 1990 album Empire which was at the height of the band's success.

This is a great song that continues to build and gets more and more powerful through the end.

Weekend Wildcard - Slam by Onyx

This Weekend's Wildcard is brought to you by Onyx. This is a hip-hop classic from back in 1993. Beavis was a big fan of this song too. I tried to find a video where they watched it on the show but couldn't. While this is hip-hop, it is a pretty rocking track. I wish there were more stuff like this getting airplay these days.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Iron Maiden

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Iron Maiden and is in honor of next Tuesday's concert with Megadeth which I will be attending with several friends. This will be my first Maiden concert so I finally get to mark that one off the list.

This song comes off of their 1984 album Powerslave but I first heard it when my brother bought their Live After Death Album along with Metallica's Kill 'Em All album when I was 5 years old. That day was the day I became a Metalhead for life! \m/

Fridays with Freddie: The Birth of Thrash Metal

Alright, let's play one that the audience will enjoy. Today I'm reminding you that it's not subjective that Queen is rock legend, it's documented and corroborated. Today's track, Stone Cold Crazy, is a precursor to speed metal. It has been described as "thrash metal before the term was invented" by music magazine "Q". It's been covered by Metallica, remixed by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, and has made Guitar Hero that much more entertaining.

Need more proof? I know you've heard the song, but watch these videos and enjoy watching metal take its first steps in Queen's 1974 live performance; and then witness metal's high school reunion where it realizes that it turned out okay and is actually pretty awesome as James Hetfield performs the song live with Queen and Tony Iommi at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.

Do you need another reason to love this song? Fine. It was also on the Encino Man soundtrack. Why is that CD $21.99? Oh Snap! There's only one left in stock!

It's a great example of why I love Queen so much. You can get speed metal, pop, epic ballads, love

songs, arena rock and more. I can't name a current band that is currently doing what Queen did, and don't bother correcting me because the fact that I don't immediately think of the band you're about to counter with proves my point. Everyone knows Queen, when I was in kindergarten I remember a school assembly where everyone stomp-clapped "We Will Rock You". I was 5, 5 year-olds don't know anything but I knew "We Will Rock You" and I knew it was awesome. 

Long live Queen. 

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Vermillion by Slipknot

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by the guys from Iowa. Slipknot is a 9 piece band well known for their costumes and stage performances. This song comes off of what I think is their best album, Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses) which came out in 2004.

Sadly, in 2010 their bassist, Paul Gray, passed away. So far they have not replaced him in the band. It is yet to be determined if they will finish writing and recording a 5th album.


Funny story about Slipknot. I got married on June 21st in 2008 and Slipknot's last album was released in August of 2008. Check out a pic from my wedding compared to the album cover.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Mile Zero by Periphery

Today's Metal Track comes from Periphery off of their most recent album, Periphery II: This Time it's Personal. This song features a solo by Wes Hauch from the band The Faceless.

I love the opening of this song. The riffs and the vocals flow together very well.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Lovely by Suicidal Tendencies

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Suicidal Tendencies. This is another one off of their 1990 album, Lights, Camera, Revolution. You can see that Rob Trujillo (Now in Metallica) has a little captain in him on the album cover. These guys were one of the best at blending metal and funk/hip-hop and this song exemplifies that.

Scott's Instrumental Metal Track of the Day - Sibylline Origin by Jeff Loomis

Today's Instrumental Metal Track is brought to you by Jeff Loomis off of his 2012 album, Plains of Oblivion. This is a special demo of the song he did for EMG TV because Jeff uses EMG pickups.

Jeff was in the band Nevermore for 20 years alongside Chris Broderick (Now in Megadeth) and now focuses on solo work.

Easy Like Sunday Morning - Without You by Motley Crue

This week's Easy Like Sunday Morning Track brought to you by Motley Crue and is dedicated to my wife, Jessica, on her birthday.

I totally stole these lyrics and used them in letters to mac on her back in high school. All I can say is, it worked!

Weekend Wildcard - Porcelina of the Vast Oceans by The Smashing Pumpkins

This Weekend's Wildcard is brought to you by The Smashing Pumpkins. This is an absolutely beautiful song off of one of the greatest albums ever, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. This double disc masterpiece was on constant rotation in my CD player while I was in high school.

This is my favorite song off of the double album which is saying a lot when the album contains the songs 1979, Bullet with Butterfly Wings, Zero, and Tonight, Tonight.

Free for All Fridays: Justin Timberlake does Metal

This video comes from Andy Rehfeldt.  He takes a variety of songs and changes the genre around.  In this video he takes Suit and Tie from Justin Timberlake and makes it a metal song.  I happen to like the new JT cd, but this version of Suit and Tie is pretty awesome.

When you get a chance check out a couple of his other videos, like the Radio Disney version of Hammer Smashed Face by Cannibal Corpse.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Sleeper Awakes by Valient Thorr

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Valient Thorr. These guys call NC home and originated out of Greenville, NC. This is off of their 2010 album, Stranger.

This is a hilarious video. You can see that it was filmed in Raleigh by all of the shots of Downtown including one at the corner of Salisbury Street and Martin Street with the construction in the background.

Interesting cover song...

As much as I love Tears For Fears, I had no idea these guys were still playing music.  Not only that, but they covered another of my favorite band's favorite track.  I'm not saying I'm "head over heels" for this, but it is interesting and worth the listen nonetheless.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Hangman's Body Count by Volbeat

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by the boys from Denmark, Volbeat. This is off of their latest album from earlier this year, Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies.

The song is about someone who is about to be hung for the crimes they have committed. Now they are part of the Hangman's body count.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Miasma by The Black Dahlia Murder

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by The Black Dahlia Murder. This is a pretty brutal one. This is the title track off of their 2005 album, Miasma.

Miasma, refers to noxious exhalations from putrescent organic matter; poisonous effluvia or germs polluting the atmosphere.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Panic Attack by Dream Theater

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Dream Theater off their 2005 album, Octavarium.

This album was based on the concept of an octave which consists of 8 naturals and 5 accidentals. This was their 8th album to go along with their 5 live albums. Each of the 8 tracks on the album were written in a different key.

Scott's Instrumental Metal Track of the Day - Call of Ktulu by Metallica

Today's Instrumental Metal Track is brought to you by Metallica. This is the closing track on their 1984 album, Ride the Lightning. Hard to believe this album will be 30 years old next year.

The title is based upon H. P. Lovecraft's book The Shadow Over Innsmouth. Cliff Burton was a big fan of Lovecraft and introduced it to the rest of the band. "Ktulu" was originally spelled "Cthulhu".

RIP Cliff

Easy Like Sunday Morning Track - Murder in the City by The Avett Brothers

Today's Easy Like Sunday Morning Track is brought to you by the The Avett Brothers. This comes off of their 2008 EP, The Second Gleam. The brothers are from Concord, NC.

"Always remember there was nothing worth sharing, like the love that let us share our name."

Weekend Wildcard - L'via L'Viaquez by The Mars Volta

This Weekend's Wildcard comes from The Mars Volta. This is a funky little jam off of their second album, Frances the Mute. Unfortunately, the band broke up last year and have moved on to other projects.

This song makes me want to brush up on my High School Spanish.

Stone's Mood Music Tour! FINALE!

This is such a good song that I ended up purchasing the whole album and am not disappointed one bit!

Beach House - Myth

Stone's Mood Music Tour! Day 5 Part 2

Passion Pit - Sleepyhead

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Falling Snow by Agalloch

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by the guys from Portland, Agalloch. This comes off of their 2006 album Ashes Against the Grain.

"This song is basically about the cycle of life, death and decay. The mountain is built of red birds (former living things) that have died and fallen as snow to form the mountain. The 'character' in the song is now embracing the same fate, to be frozen in time forever in the mountain."

Fridays with Freddie: Epic Crowd Control Edition

I'm back! Scott sucks! In other news, it's Friday, and that means (most of the time) I've got your weekly dose of Queen. And what a dose it is. You can digest this post in two ways:

1. Skip to 22:38 and watch Freddie Mercury prove that he's one of the greatest frontmen in music history.

2. Watch the full 2 hour 1986 concert Live At Wembley Stadium and watch Freddie Mercury prove that he's one of the greatest frontmen in music history.

Let me focus on timestamp 22:38 While the last few editions have been slightly more obscure and maybe even new to some, this one is a standard in any Queen playlist. Set the scene, it's July 12th, 1986, you're in a massive sea of people at Wembley Stadium holding a ticket to one of Queen's greatest and final tours, the "A Kind of Magic" tour. At the 22:38 mark Mercury interacts with the crowd before launching into "Under Pressure".

Seriously, just watch and then tell me that you're not at all sad that you'll never get to experience that live. When Scott builds a time machine, this is one of the first points in history that I'm going to make him take me. Long Live Queen!