Scott's Metal Track of the Day - From the Cradle to the Grave by Havok

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Havok. If you like thrash, you should check these guys out. I heard them on the radio awhile back and plan to do a little more research myself. This song is off of their 2012 EP Point of No Return.

These guys are from Denver Colorado and have been around since 2004. But it wasn't until after their two self released albums that they found a label from England, Candlelight Records.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation by Trivium

Today's Metal Track comes from Trivium. This one is off of their second album Ascendancy which was released in 2005. This was the first album of theirs I ever listened to after I saw them on Headbangers Ball.

This song features an epic solo and great riffs. I included  the official video as well but I chose not to use it as the main video because it cuts out parts of the song.



Official Video:

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Torn Apart by Valient Thorr

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by North Carolina natives Valient Thorr. This is off of their most recent album Our Own Masters which was released last year.

This is a pretty funny video. When I look at people over the cubicles at work and start headbanging they look at me funny too.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - The Beautiful People by Marilyn Manson

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Marilyn Manson. This was the band's first major original hit following on the heels off of their cover of the Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams. It was the first single and video released of their second album in 1996.

The title of the song comes from Marilyn Bender's 1967 book The Beautiful People, which exposed the world of scandal within the "jet-set" lifestyle of the 1960s, and the culture of beauty as it pertained to fashion and politics. The phrase itself was popularized by Vogue magazine in the early 1960s and was particularly used to describe the Kennedy family, a frequent source of inspiration in Marilyn Manson's work.

Scott's Metal Cover of the Day - Frankenstein by Overkill (Edgar Winter)

Let's do one more cover to wrap it up. Today's Instrumental Metal Cover is brought to you by Overkill. This is a cover of The Edgar Winter Group's song Frankenstein. This is another one where I didn't realize it was a cover until later on. But I was 8 when this came out so I think I get a pass.

Both the original and cover are great songs. I personally prefer Overkill's version because it is heavier and uses guitars instead of a keyboard and saxophone. Which do you prefer? The original has a drum solo that is left out of the cover for some reason.



Original

Easy Like Sunday Morning Cover Track - Planet Caravan by Pantera (Black Sabbath)

Today's Easy Like Sunday Morning Cover Track is brought to you by Pantera. This is a cover of the 1970 psychedelic song Planet Caravan by Black Sabbath. It first appeared on their breakthrough album Paranoid.

Geezer Butler has stated that the song's meaning is floating through the universe with one's lover. This cover by Pantera was featured on their 1994 album Far Beyond Driven. Both versions are excellent. Such a relaxing song.



Original:

Weekend Wildcard Cover - Blinded by the Light by Manfred Mann's Earth Band (Bruce Springsteen)

This Weekend's Wildcard is a cover of Bruce Springsteen's Blinded by the Light by Manfred Mann's Earth Band. This version, released in 1976, was a #1 hit and was so popular that most people probably assumed it was the original. I actually had never heard the original until making this post and I see now why the cover was more popular. I'm not a Springsteen fan to start with though.

When I listened to this when I was younger I always thought it was Elton John because it sounded like his voice. My favorite use of the song was in the movie Blow with Johnny Depp.



Original by Springsteen

Scott's Metal Cover of the Day - Helter Skelter by Motley Crue (Beatles)

Today's Metal Cover is brought to you by Motley Crue. This Beatles cover comes off of their sophomore album Shout at the Devil which came out the year I was born, 1983.

The original was released in 1968 on the Beatles' famous White Album. It is just as throw down as this cover minus the heavy distortion. It is considered by music historians as a key influence in the early development of heavy metal.

This song was also famous because Charles Manson referenced the Beatles White Album as a prophecy of an apocalyptic war. A war between racist and non-racist whites over the treatment of black people where the whites would ultimately exterminate themselves and allow Manson and his followers to come out of hiding and rule America. He named this process "Helter Skelter".



Original

Scott's Metal Cover of the Day - No More Mr. Nice Guy by Megadeth (Alice Cooper)

Today's Metal Cover is brought to you by Megadeth. This is a cover of Alice Cooper's No More Mr. Nice Guy which was originally released in 1973 on the album Billion Dollar Babies. The original was famously featured in the movie Dazed and Confused.

This cover version by Megdeth was recorded for the 1989 film Shocker. You can see clips from the film in the music video. The song was also released on the 1995 Hidden Treasures album which features previously unreleased songs by the band.



Original:

Scott's Metal Cover of the Day - Mercyful Fate by Metallica (Mercyful Fate)

Today's Metal Cover is brought to you by Metallica and comes off of their 1998 Double CD cover album Garage Inc. This particular track is a medley of Mercyful Fate songs including "Satan's Fall", "Curse of the Pharaohs", "A Corpse Without Soul", "Into the Coven", and "Evil".

These are all great Mercyful Fate songs but I think Metallica's versions are better. My favorite of the group is Into the Coven. The original version of that one was feature as a metal track in the past.

Scott's Metal Cover of the Day Antisocial by Anthrax

Today's Metal Cover is brought to you by Anthrax and comes off of their 1988 album State of Euphoria. This is the first song I remember hearing by Anthrax, when I was 5, and I didn't know until about 7 years ago that it was actually a cover song. The original song was actually in French and recorded by the French hard rock band Trust in 1980.


Here is the original:

Scott's Instrumental Metal Cover of the Day - Master of Puppets by Apocalyptica (Metallica)

This week's theme will be cover songs. To get us started off, today's instrumental metal cover is brought to you by Apocalyptica. This cello wielding metal band comes from Helsinki, Finland. "I say GENEVA, and you hear HELSINKI? /Freddy Got Fingered

This one comes off of the band's debut album which was fittingly titled Plays Metallica by Four Cellos. The album features the band playing 8 Metallica covers. The went on to write their own songs and have released numerous albums since then.

Easy Like Sunday Morning Track - Acoustic Medley by In Flames

Today's Easy Like Sunday Morning Track is an instrumental track brought to you by the Swedish metal band In Flames. This song is a bonus track on a re-released version of their 1995 album The Jester Race.

Weekend Wildcard - Cowboy Song by Thin Lizzy

This Weekend's Wild Card is brought to you by Thin Lizzy and was a suggestion by Johnathon Stone. This 1976 song was on the Irish band's Jailbreak album which was their 6th album but the first to break through on the US scene. Other hit songs on the album included Jailbreak and The Boys are Back in Town.

Scott's Metal Track of the Day - Selkies: The Endless Obsession by Between the Buried and Me

Today's Metal Track is brought to you by Between the Buried and Me. As I have mentioned before, these guys were formed in Raleigh and their drummer, Blake, went to NC State (Go Pack!). This song is off of their third studio album Alaska which was released in 2005.

This song became a fan favorite mostly due to instrumental section at the end and the sweeps used in the guitar solo at the 6:28 mark.