As mentioned a couple of months ago, I maxed out on my 160 GB iPod Classic and decided to split the ROCK and the METAL across two iPods (one a new iPod touch that one of my sons got me for Christmas back in 2019). I’ve already done one post on the Rock iPod… now the first for the METAL!

“Back To The People”, Infectious Grooves The Plague That Makes Your Booty Move… It’s The Infectious Grooves

AHHHHHHAHAHA! How funny… the first song coming up on shuffle is about as far away from metal as can be and certainly leans more to the funky side of Mike Muir’s band of merry men. A bit of a showcase for Robert Trujillo whose popping and slapping bass style is the highlight (although not showcased in his gig with the big boys in Metallica), but there’s also enough skanky guitar from Dean Pleasants and drum ‘n percussive groove from Jane’s Addiction’s Stephen Perkins to make this cut a bit of funky fun. Throw in the odd asides from Muir and you’ve got a bit o’ entertainment akin to stuff like the Red Hot Chili Peppers (OLD RHCP, not new).

“These Boots Are Made For Walkin'” Megadeth, Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good

Oh, it’s one of THOSE blog posts this week eh? A bit of the tomfoolery here on the shuffle, this being a metalized version of the Nancy Sinatra classic (the non-censored one to boot!) and also our second album in a row with an ellipsis in it (what’s an ellipsis? Google it!) At any rate, this is an absolutely KILLER version done in true early Megadeth piss ‘n vinegar style with snotty vocals, slippery guitar runs, and thunderous Gar Samuelson drums. Supposedly songwriter Lee Hazelwood was not happy with this version and has forced the band to censor much of the vocal on Killing rereleases, which in an odd way is funny in its own way as much of it is bleeped out (some REALLY long bleeps too). Love the “walking bass” intro and nasty Chris Poland solo at the beginning.

“Off The Edge” Megadeth, Super Collider

Well, TWO ‘Deth songs in a row… guess the tomfoolery continues! At any rate “Off The Edge” comes from the somewhat lamented Super Collider and in all honesty is a pretty rockin’ cut, not the thrashy stuff from the early days but a decent, galloping riff and a pretty good snarly Mustaine vocal. One of the reasons I run in shuffle mode is that I’ll often miss songs like this when listening to the original albums in full and don’t really catch how good they are unless it’s out of context and I’m not expecting it. A bit of a similar vibe and groove to what’s on Symphony Of Destruction with some decent leadwork but not the over the top speed and relentless headbanging found on Peace Sells.

“Moon” Leprous, The Congregation

Oh I forgot to mention… the metal iPod has quite the mix from the genre with Leprous representing the more progressive side of things, maybe a bit more from an avant garde and experimental front. “Moon” move along on a pretty tricky drum groove from Baard Kolstad (who happens to be making his band debut here) and atmospheric keyboard work from vocalist Elinar Solberg, whose singing style is pretty dramatic and touches the full throated near falsetto range. About midway through comes the guitar, which is content to just ride a muted, distorted rhythm until the last minute of the song as it blends more heavier riffs and pull offs with more dramatic keyswork. A bit “out there” overall but it all works to dramatic effect. Quite the interesting band.

“Sleeping On The Job” Gillan, Glory Road

So what does Ian Gillan do after leaving the mighty Deep Purple machine in 1973 before making his triumphant return to that vocal throne in 1984? Outside of a few years running a studio and experimenting with a dern near rock/metal/fusion (?) band, our favorite yelper leads a crack band under the Gillan moniker that brings him near full circle to the hard rock he was quite famous for. “Sleeping On The Job” has a killer main riff with great guitar/keyboard interplay between Bernie Torme and Colin Townes that comes darn near the work of the aforementioned Purple but leans a little more towards bluesy, bouncy fun. Gillan in great voice, content to sing more rather than scream his hearty head off.

“Riding On The Wind” Judas Priest, Live In Memphis

Basically the boot version of Priest DVD Live Vengeance, this period was likely the height of my Priest fandom as the band had just come out with the searing Screaming For Vengeance and this actual video was being shown periodically on MTV back in the good ol’ days. And boy does this version smoke; Halford really letting ‘er rip vocally and hitting a range that’s crossed between flat out singing and mid-tier scream with some strong upper register as well. For those of you that want to know why I love metal, this is a great reason. This has always been one of my favorite unheralded Priest songs- such a great, great riff, fantastic tag team guitar work, propulsive drive, but most of all… THAT VOCAL. Just when you think he’s about to lose it he pushes his voice even further. Fantastic stuff.

“Riddles Are Abound Tonight” Sausage, Riddles Are Abound Tonight

Shhhhh… don’t tell anyone… but Sausage is Primus…. well, not really but one listen to the unmistakable voice, weirdoramaness, and bass fwapping from the one and only Les Claypool and it would be hard to argue about that there fact, BUT… it’s NOT Primus. But… kinda? So whatcha got here is ol’ Les with a couple of dudes who were part of the original Primus BEFORE they became the Primus that we all know and love today. Said couple of dudes left the band in the pre-fame days but in 1994 all three got together and put together this truly frizzle fried release. “Riddles Are Abound Tonight” has EVERYTHING you love about Primus: world class and wacky bass, weird vocals and lyrics, noisy guitar, and kickin’ drum beats. In a word… fun!

“Dance Of The Dead” Iron Maiden, En Vivo!

I think most of you know that I’m a HUGE Iron Maiden fan. HUUUUUUUUUGE. That said, I’ve always been kinda lukewarm on this song and I don’t really know why- it pains me to say that it’s almost a bit of a “paint by numbers” Maiden tale, a bit of “Fear Of The Dark” crossed with “Hallowed Be Thy Name” and “Afraid To Shoot Strangers” but with a Celtic jig. Maybe it’s the LOOOOONG intro (three minutes?!) but eventually we get into yer typical Maiden romp; this version maybe a tad bit rushed (thanks Mr McBrain) but it does feature some absolutely stonking solos from the Three Amigos with Janick winning this round. As always, Bruce does one helluva job singing and is in proper thespian mode for the spooky lyrical content. Ahh… I’m too hard on this one.

“Genocya” Overkill, From The Underground And Below

In the 90s it seemed as if Overkill were the only thrash band (I know, I know… there WERE others, but it SEEMED that way) still flying the metal flag with the onset of grunge. This era of the band still hung on to their thrashy roots but often injected a bit more groove and doom into their sound, with “Genocya” being a decent taster of what they were doing at the time with a shade more darker and demented menace on display here. As always Blitz is on fire, his raging, almost punkish delivery often pushing Overkill songs on to even greater headbanging heights. I love how the song builds from an atonal yet crunchy riff, DD’s doomy bass, and Blitz’s controlled snarl until it pushes into overdrive. Slow, fast, slower, then even faster… very cool.

“Death Alley Driver” Rainbow, Straight Between The Eyes

Like that Gillan cat above, what did the great Ritchie Blackmore do in his time away from Deep Purple? Why he formed his own fab band in Rainbow, initially fronted by Ronnie James Dio before moving on to more commercial heights with the smoother belt of Joe Lynn Turner. “Death Alley Driver” leans very close to “Highway Star” territory with its speedy riff, fleet fingered noodling, and mesmerizing organ solo but in the end is really its own thing in the hands of the measured pace and bluesier tones of Turner and a mix focused more on the Man In Black’s searing guitar work. Maybe a bit of a cleaner and safer take in comparison but it’s still tons of fun and the song rocks hard with Ritchie’s slight of hand always a thing of beauty.

First place this blog post goes to the mighty “Riding On The Wind” with spot number two going to “These Boots” and the third goes to “Dance Of Death” (yeah, I know I’m the contrarian… but it’s IRON MAIDEN!)