traditional heavy metal; a sample selection

Thinking of doing a series of these, different genres with specific songs I love a lot and think exemplify what the shit's all about. I dunno if anyone cares, but I've probably devoted more of my life to digging for music than most other things, so I like to share my discoveries. Also, these will reflect my own tastes, so they won't be comprehensive or anything like that.

This one's heavy metal. That is, the stuff that kicked off in the '70s and is still being made, but not what a lot of people call heavy metal. It's Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, that sort of stuff. It's cheesy and over-the-top to a lot of people, but I prefer to think of it as completely unabashed and unapologetic, no holding back. And when it isn't serious, it's still serious.

ON TO IT!


Attacker - Zero Hour
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZzYB50IKho

Speedy riffs all over the place, and gotta love those crazy vocals.

Ballistic - Call Me Evil
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_300ShPYMg

Really fun band, not too serious but I love the guitarwork and the overall attitude.

Brocas Helm - Drink the Blood of the Priest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YO8qwKVuik

They're an '80s band, but they released this in 2004. It's a classic even though it's under a decade old.

Bruce Dickinson - King in Crimson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtgAynh-b3U

This is the Iron Maiden singer's solo band. Modern and really heavy but still great heavy metal.

Crimson Glory - Queen of the Masquerade
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaBcKfc3cH8

One of very few interesting heavy metal bands to flirt with glam "metal." They do it SO well though.

Dark Quarterer - Colossus of Argil
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8rmYH5Q8B0

Progressive, epic, sprawling and utterly insane Italian heavy metal.

Isen Torr - Mighty & Superior
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlNmID78QUw

AMAZING material, it's a huge shame the singer died and they didn't record more than this 2-song EP. Bracers and leather armor and axes and stuff.

Liege Lord - Kill the King
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiGVp-f-9uU

This is actually a Dio cover, but they do it complete justice. Great guitar riffs and vocals, pure metal.

Manilla Road - Necropolis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxVK6yJxnk8

Long been one of my favorite bands of any genre. They're very quirky and strange, but also entirely unique and they've been releasing quality music for over three decades.

Manowar - Blood of My Enemies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwlN1-0QJnk

Manowar are a massive joke to a lot of people, and I mean, the imagery is definitely ridiculous, but early on in their career they released some great heavy metal. This is one of my favorite songs from them.

Omen - Be My Wench
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cl2UVScMEQ

OMEN ARE SO MUCH FUN. This is basically a soundtrack to the Conan the Barbarian stories by Robert E. Howard.

Rainbow - Stargazer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJeBvNuYPMM

This is Dio's band before his solo career and stint in Black Sabbath. It's also his best material.

Riot - Sign of the Crimson Storm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Mlm8fkVZIE

Anthemic and catchy as hell.

Running Wild - Under Jolly Roger
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZUN6-JwwMA

No, Alestorm didn't invent pirate metal. Running Wild did, and they ruled at it.

Slough Feg - Heavy Metal Monk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGoAlPvTmmE

The lead singer/songwriter is a philosophy professor. That's impressive, right? No but Slough Feg are great, a sound all their own (with some nods to Brocas Helm and other classic bands).

Austin/Houston Epic Heavy Metal Band -- Eternal Champion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HN4uFLrDbc

https://www.facebook.com/eternalchampion

Seriously impressed by these guys and can't wait to see them open for Speedwolf/Manilla Road at Chaos in Tejas next month. EP is due out at some point.

The world never has too much well-written epic trad metal. I can see these guys standing up to names like Isen Torr, Cauldron Born, Holy Martyr et al. if they keep it up.

Playa de la Cruz

It's somewhere I've never been and wouldn't care to. Dream location. Dreams reflect the unfulfilled will. My beach is my bed. The sheets are waves and I am a ship. It storms and I rock, I toss. I dream of being chased. There's a stairwell I jump down, because the closer to the ground I get the closer to freedom, the further from the tidal front that chases, the hurricane that promises no moored, center eye. But it's an Escher stair and down is sideways. I find a landing and I wake, but there is no landing.

Glitch-hop and related genres; a sample selection

Big Gigantic - Sky High
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTwFXNOD8LY

interstellar crossroads between the Final Fantasy 7 soundtrack, bass-infused hip-hop beats, and a little flair of jazz funk. What?


Four Tet - My Angel Rocks Back and Forth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_POkOLy2rM

beautiful, glitchy, laid back trip-hop/Bonobo-sounding stuff with piano and strings, more minimalistic than most of the songs in this note but not any less affecting.


GRiZ - Smash the Funk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsSzq5h2-tc

killer hip-hop/glitch-hop/dubstep beats, laser melodies, and more jazz interluding.


Heyoka - Two Sea Blues

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PlVXfTqFac

an addictive main synth line complemented by nice, heavy undulating bass and lighter melodies. Dude has some dreads.

KOAN Sound - 80s Fitness
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nllm-XHQwIY

'80s fitness audio samples and big, catchy, glitchy beats, plus some great and sometimes hilarious retro-sounding melodies.

Minnesota - Breathe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROCOj7uTcY8

repeating, spacy, hypnotic main melody progresses and builds to a heavy, bassy synth line that continues underneath evolving melodies.

Opiuo - Bill Bro Baggins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=floj4GL3log

saw this guy live recently, ultra funky, love the organ-sounding melodies and the off-beat rhythms.


PANTyRAiD - Jail Bait
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewh0bZ0oV7Q

brilliant bass and synth lines, great use of the keyboard synth. Makes me want to use adjectives like 'sick' and 'dope', must be good.

Tipper - Higgins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2HRcqWX2uM

alien and unpredictable, swirls and thunks and I don't even know, the dude is crazy.

Vibesquad - Janitor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDAdIGfLwhk

saw him live with Opiuo, less funky but really inventive and original, and he was smiling hard the entire set.