& Phil Weller
Decades
Apart
The
idea of Decades Apart is pretty simple.
I’ll choose 5 different albums from 5 different decades and I’ll share a little
information about them and hopefully you’ll check them out if you haven’t
already. Today is 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000
and 2010. Whilst some these albums may not all be considered
classics, they’re certainly amazing records. So be sure to check it out.
Black Sabbath – “Black
Sabbath” (1970)
An argument may still remain whether Black Sabbath truly
invented heavy metal , however what is true to say, is that Black Sabbath
impact and influence on heavy metal music remains unequalled. Famously
recorded in one day, Sabbath’s debut
was released on Friday February 13, 1970. The foreboding title track and “N.I.B”
are perhaps the bands most potent examples of Sabbath’s
fundamental power. Indeed if you ask the question, what is doom? Well
you only have to refer to the title track and there you have your answer.
If satan had an anthem, “Black Sabbath” would be that song. Elsewhere on the
album are traces of blues and psychedelia. Early reviews of the album according
to Tony Iommi’s were “awful”. But in America UK
The
year proceeding would see the band develop further still morphing from the dark
masters of seemingly occult music to a respected hard rock band, who
would help create the emerging genre of heavy metal. Seemingly
doing the impossible by today’s standard, the four brummies recorded not one
but two classic albums in the 1970, with “Paranoid” following a mere 4
months later, an album that would cause further a tectonic shift in the rock
world. By the time “Paranoid” emerged, clearly Sabbath has
developed greater compositional range to their music and their performances on
their second album were further step up.
To
give some context to what Sabbath
would go onto achieve, in 1968, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy
Osbourne were in a band called Rare Breed
when a certain unknown guitarist Tony Iommi invited them to form a blues rock
group with drummer Bill Ward. This new band would settle on the name Earth, following the recording of some initial
demos and some subsequent positive feedback, the momentum of the band was
stunted slightly following Iommi’s brief dalliance with Jethro Tull. Iommi would soon return and the
group reunited in 1969, deciding upon the new name of Black Sabbath. In the Autumn 1969, the
group was signed to Philips Records
and entered the studio with producer Rodger Bain.
“Black
Sabbath”
was recorded live on the floor in the studio with very few overdubs added
ad if you don’t already know the story, due to the loss of a few fingertips,
Iommi down tuned his guitar for easier playing, with this new tone giving that
synonymous “doomy” effect.
Having
been turned on to Black Sabbath by my
own Father, listening to this self-titled 1970 is arguably the definitive debut
heavy metal record. In terms of a general concept “heavy metal” and it’s
development of the genre was moulded not only tone of the music, but because of
the band underlying lyrical themes, with Sabbath’s devotion to darker themes
that others perhaps had not dared undertake. The band’s
environment, in terms of living in poverty and career choices being limited to
factory worker or petty criminality, Black
Sabbath were far removed from hedonism hippie music that was popular
when the band formed in 1968, considering themselves a blues band. Instead it
is said that Tony Iommi observed the lines that formed at the local movie
theatre whenever it showed horror films and remarked that if people were so
willing to pay to be scared, perhaps they should try playing evil-sounding
music. So with that in mind, they took their name from a Boris Karloff film.
Indeed the title track to “Black Sabbath” capture the essence of horror,
with Iommi playing a slow, ominous riff based on the “devil’s tritone,”. The
sluggish pacing of the track is truly something to behold and perhaps
personifies what is indeed heavy, with the slow and ominous motif becoming the
primary influence of the doom metal genre. There is no filler on this
record, “The Wizard” with their inspired use of harmonica, ably backed
up by Geezer on bass and a masterful performance from drummer Bill Ward. “Behind
the Wall of Sleep,” inspired by psychological horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. “N.I.B.” a Sabbath song for bass-lovers, man that Butler
Sabbath’s cover of “Evil Woman” by Crow
was their first single from the album, a straightforward blues rocker and
arguably the most accessible song on the record, Sabbath truly but their
own stamp on it, particularly with Iommi’s riffs replacing the brass of the
original.
The
title of “Sleeping
Village
“Lightning
to the Nations” also
known as “The White Album” is the debut album by British heavy metal
band Diamond Head .
The album was recorded in 1979 and released on the 3rd October 1980
through their own label Happy Face Records.
The album stands in history as possibility one of the most influential heavy
metal records of all time. Speaking as a Metallica
fan, the band first came to my attention, due to their cover of “Am I Evil?”
which featured on the “Lighting to the Nations” album. One can not
be certain whether Diamond Head’s
would have remained in heavy metal shadows without their association with Metallica , however this union certainly
helped gain the band more widespread attention, given Metallica covered no fewer than 5 of the
7 songs from the album. To put it bluntly if Metallica
fans thought these tracks were cool, the same fans would check out Diamond Head .
Conversely and perhaps unfortunately so, Diamond
Head's were associated more as the inspiration to Metallica rather than composing one of the
best heavy metal records of all time. "Lightning to the Nations"
combines great guitar-driven elements with epic sounding vocals and a sound
unique to them and whilst Diamond Head
never reached the heady heights that Metallica
would achieve 10 years later, they deserve enormous praise from creating a
legendary record, one that would go on to inspire the biggest heavy metal band
of all time.
Megadeth – “Rust in Peace” (1990)
“Rust
In Peace” is the fourth album by Megadeth,
released on September 24th 1990. It feels poignant and only
fitting to be discussing this album, given the tragic loss of drummer Nick
Menza earlier this year, appropriate then that he be remembered for playing a
pivotal role in the creation of perhaps the greatest thrash metal album
of them all. It is safe to say, Megadeth
was never the most stable band, disgruntlement of an ousted guitarist from Metallica, which perhaps Mustaine would never
recover from, coupled with drug addiction, tragedy and a revolving line up, Megadeth were always on the cusp of creating
something huge, but up until this point, the band never quite reached their
peak. Following the release of their 1988 album, “So Far, So Good, So
What” drummer Chuck Behler and guitarist Jeff Young would leave the band,
to be replaced by Nick Menza and an emerging guitar virtuoso, Marty Friedman,
who was known as one half of the speed metal band Cacophony,
who also featured Jason Becker, indeed it was the release of Friedman’s debut
solo album “Dragon’s Kiss” that piqued Mustaine’s attention, remarking
in his biography and I paraphrase that Mustaine was so intimidated by Friedman,
it created some anxiety, that he was hiring someone technically superior to him.
Irrespective of this apparent tension, “Rust In Peace” is
one of the most technically brilliant thrash albums, indeed it is the sheer
technical complexity of the album that would truly define Megadeth and perhaps set a new benchmark for
thrash metal standards.
“Hangar
18” and “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due”, with their continuous tempo changes, elegant neo
classical inspired solos, along with Mustaine at his magnificent songwriting
peak, these two songs would set the tone for the album and inspire it to go
down in history as Megadeth’s apex in
terms of album output. Thematically “Rust In Peace” is
centered around politics, nuclear warfare, religion, UFOs, and personal issues
such as drug and alcohol addiction. “Rust In Peace” is a) an album
written by Mustaine at his creative, b) it was performed by members with the
technical capabilities of Menza and Freidman members, it is
little surprise then that “Rust In Peace” is one of the greatest heavy metal
album of all time and the best Megadeth
album ever.
The
year 2000 was a turning point for the stoner rock genre and this had a lot to
do with Josh Homme’s band Queens of the Stone Age.
Referred too as trance robot music for ladies, the conception of the band was
to make the desert sound more widely known and to make something that women
could dance to. If you take these two goals and prop them up against QOTSA’s 2000 sophomore album “Rated R,”
then there’s no denying that even this early in the band’s career, Homme could
already mark this as his second greatest musical accomplishment, the first of
course being Kyuss.
Homme
was able to turn heads and grab attention. At the time, “Rated R” was
something new for the mainstream, while for the heavy underground, those
involved felt like they were finally getting recognition. That’s not to say the
underground wanted this recognition, but QOTSA
was arguably the catalyst for many bands like Red
Fang, Mastodon, and Truckfighters to spread the stoner rock gospel
and influence a generation of their own.
It’s
interesting to note that the year 2000 also saw the release of Limp Bizkit’s “Chocolate Starfish and the
Hot Dog Flavored Water,” a record that went on to sell millions and was at
the time regarded as a would-be classic. In the meantime, that album has faded
from our memory, but “Rated R” continues to mature like a fine wine. So
what was it that made QOTSA a band to
notice?
The
album is 11 songs long and ranges from stoned riffing to catchy grooving. “Rated
R” leaned in the direction of experimental rock music without neglecting
the need for a strong hook. Different instruments were used and the songs were
structured in such a way that they could stand alone as a hit single while
simultaneously being an integral part of the album as a whole. The album’s
lyrical content was for mature audiences, but that didn’t stop radio stations
from playing “Feel Good Hit of the Summer,” regardless of the season.
And to top it all off, Homme invited several friends from the desert – amongst
which Dave Catching, Chris Goss, Mark Lanegan, and Pete Stahl – to contribute
to this masterpiece. With all of these creative minds who came from the same
scene, it’s no wonder “Rated R” turned out to be a template for the
burgeoning stoner scene which has since then exploded.
Ghost – ‘Opus Eponymous’ (2010)
First
impressions are pivotal and from the moment the eerie, mysterious swelling
organ chimes of ‘Opus Eponymous’, Ghost
have had thousands captivated. Their anonymity, a driving factor in their
success, is pure theatre, the cold, occultish feel of Black Sabbath and the horror loving, hip
swinging charisma and humour of Alice Cooper
potent flavours on this hors d'oeuvre. Yet, where dark, 70s rock whetted the
appetite of so many, they juxtaposed all that with the kind of melodies that
made ABBA so irresistible. From the
human sacrificing stadium rock of ‘Ritual’ to the poetically haunting ‘Elizabeth’
and the beguiling, lofty sounds of ‘Satan Prayer’, while it may not
stand as a classic album – especially when compared to the ever increasing quality
of their later releases – ‘Opus Eponymous’ provides us with a thrilling
first encounter. With the gift of retrospect we can hear their naivety in some
ways, this is a band still developing, still laying down the building blocks
for a sound that has, today, become truly irresistible.
