Metal Riot

SO today is the birthday of Black Sabbath’s self-titled masterpiece, remarkable for too many reasons to count. Many have spent much of their lives trying. I was going to say “a lifetime” but the average lifespan now is longer than the 49 years since Earth (see what I did there?) first heard the rumble of these titans. Actually, that’s only a semi-clever/accurate pun because while Sabbath was called Earth prior to re-naming themselves , before that they were called Polka Tulk Blues Band even earlier in ’68 in a rough form. I think we can agree it’s fucking great that they achieved iconic status in no small part to settling on their final moniker (which is more PTBB “shade” and not a dis to a certain awesome modern band called Earth we also know and love). Anyway, in 1970 Black Sabbath’s debut was born and the deal with the devil that birthed the End Times music of Heavy Metal was struck.

Human longevity is not guaranteed so much these days for us as a species, but it is pretty awe-inspiring that Sabbath have had such an impact on so many levels in culture that film, festivals and society as a whole have all been graced by the long shadow cast by “The Wizard” and friends. The fact that Ozzy is still as recognizable as any flavor of the month newfound celebrity who is zombie-cannibalized by the scrutiny of fame’s hungry eyes in our culture of inhospitable impermanence is a sheer miracle (and in no small part also thanks to Sharon, as well as his own talent). BUT I am not here today to talk about individual members of the band over the years and their place in pop culture – though Sabbath is Iommi’s more than anyone’s for sticking it out the entire time as the sole constant – as much as discuss how the first Sabbath album creeping up on 50 years old is something to marvel at.

We’ve come so far together, heavy metal. For better and for worse. You looked so cool and casual and I tried to look the same, but now I’ve got to know ya…tell me who am I to blame?

We have a choice now to take serious stock and make metal more inclusive, as potent a force as ever but even more capable of traversing barriers and resonating beyond the narrow CisHet white male bandwidth than it ever has before (which is nothing against the lads who started the band at all). I was dismayed as heck by the morons in the comments section of a recent article about the power of current female vocalists in metal. Heck, the best cover of the definitive metal title track and first doom metal song has Beth Gibbons singing instead of Ozzy (hear below) and King Woman’s Kristina Esfandiari is arguably the best singer in the melodic yet drony/sludgy side of the genre we know and love currently, IMO. People of all types, genders, races, religions, etc. love rock n roll. Let’s continue to expand that. Remember practically every concert ever Ozzy says ,”I love you all.” It is fitting the band’s final album was called 13 since the album that started it all was born on Feb. 13th, 1970. I mean, could it have been on any other day of the month?

I clean a bar every morning and was playing “The Warning” on the bar speakers today. A different guy than usual delivered the lemons and limes for the cocktails and he was an older dude. The guy’s face lit right up at the music and he said he had seen them years ago for ten bucks and proceeded to tell me all about the gig. We went from being strangers with generational divides to having something we both loved to talk about in common, and while small talk is wack I would gladly talk about Sabbath with anyone any day. That’s a life giving bridge just as much as Sabbath’s music itself has helped so many of us who have ever danced through shadows or struggled with depression.

Anyway, fucking crank this shit today, give thanks to the metal ancestors and remind them that we basically never regretted following them and will be forever metal til the end of time.

'Black Sabbath'
Released: Feb 13, 1970 https://t.co/ucCzW9QsE0

— BlackSabbath (@BlackSabbath) February 13, 2019

Party rocking optimism enthusiast Andrew W.K. picks us up during the best and worst of times. Dude is just always on his own frequency and it is usually infectious and inspiring. If you need proof he still has it, check out the recent material from latest party rock record “You’re Not Alone’.

“They made me think I was crazy/that the pain was here to say, but now that I’ve found the answers/I’m never ever gonna lose my way…ever again!”

Andrew W.K. embraces overcoming struggles with the kind of insistence that we can still have good outcomes we could surely use these days. It is refreshing again to hear his new stuff in a time when it is so fucking easy to get discouraged, and the new songs rock! “Music Is Worth Living For” was anthem as fuck! And the new song “Ever Again” also rages with the utmost joy of being alive. It can be heard below. Crack one open (or not) and hug your homies.

Alive and Burning is everything a Black Veil fan could want in a DVD
experience. Great audio, an extensive booklet and pro footage of BVB ripping
through a lengthy set in November of 2014 at Los Angeles’ Wiltern Theatre. The
band have come a long way since vocalist Andy Biersack used to sleep in his
car. Right from the opener “Heart Of Fire”, you know why Avenged Sevenfold
need to watch their backs. This band right now could blow them off the stage,
and I’m not even an Avenged hater.

The hard working, hard rock tradition loving band that people either love or
hate threaten snobs who just don’t get where these dudes are coming from or
like the aesthetic, but in reality Black Veil are right up there with some of
the best 80’s bands. They are certainly light years better than a plethora of
compressed emo vocal bands all trying to grasp at pubescence with high pitched
vocals while also trying to sound tough and screamo-core or the distended anus
of most deathcore mouth fart vocals and floppy breakdowns these days.

Watching this DVD is exciting, fans are stoked, rock n roll is alive, the band
have sick gear and Andy is using his real, God given voice to kick ass. The
band have on stage fortitude and a killer energy exhange with fans many
numbskulls could learn from if they could stop automatically associating glam
or death rock with Mall metal trends. Personally I love when I see some
younger kid with a Heartogram or a Black Veil T Shirt, because it isn’t fake
music.

Click HERE for more.