Today's Metal Tune

A killer metal song every day, something to start your day on a purely metallic note, or an afternoon pick-me-up. Heavy Metal is the Law

[metalsongoftheday]

Monday, July 27: Skyclad, "Civil War Dance"

Prince of the Poverty Line was the moment Skyclad became far more intentional about integrating violins and folk textures into their thrash metal template, in the process firmly establishing folk metal as a thing as tracks like “Civil War Dance” balanced between the two disparate threads.  The track initially skewed more towards metal, with nice tribal drumming from Keith Baxter and great riffing (one of the band’s more underrated qualities), and Martin Walkyier’s snarl likewise came into its own.  But then Cath Howell’s violin jumped into the mix and all bets were off- it was hard to determine whether the fiddles and jigs were meant to be part of the narrative or just a novelty, more likely this was Skyclad trying to stand out and find their own sound.  And stand out they did, for there was nothing like “Civil War Dance” either before or since, since most folk metal (including Skyclad’s later releases) would lean more heavily on one side of the coin versus the relatively even split achieved here.

[metalsongoftheday]

Friday, July 24: U.D.O., "The Punisher"

Hardly anyone was expecting or hoping for a new U.D.O. album after Udo Dirkschneider spent 4 or so years gargling through an increasingly half-hearted Accept reunion, but Solid was a shockingly purposeful slammer that built on Timebomb and for a brief moment made the prospect of new material from Dirkschneider seem exciting.  To be sure, “The Punisher” was more than a little basic lyrically and the music was straightforward Accept-style heavy metal, but the track also found this incarnation of U.D.O. fully in their zone: Stefan Schwarzmann was the lone holdover from U.D.O.’s previous run and while he didn’t do a Scott Travis impression like on Timebomb his drumming was between-the-eyes propulsive and didn’t let up, while Stefan Kaufmann’s guitar and production updated Restless and Wild for the ‘90s and did a much better job of conjuring prime Accept than the previous years when he, Dirkschneider and Schwarzmann were actually in Accept.  And Udo’s chainsaw screeching was in top form, sounding more powerful and irascible than ever and making his comical threats maybe not menacing but certainly entertaining.  “The Punisher” was a straight-up ass kicker delivered with a distinctly U.D.O. form of violence, defying trends and laying waste to the notion that Udo Dirkschneider was a spent force.

[metalsongoftheday]

Thursday, July 23: Nuclear Blast Allstars, "My Name is Fate"

Mark Osegueda might be the only thrash singer who got better with age: the Death Angel frontman has sounded far more agile and purposeful in the past 20ish years than during his teenage run with the band.  Peter Wichers caught Osegueda at exactly the right time when he was putting together the second Nuclear Blast Allstars record, as “My Name is Fate” came alive thanks to the singer’s controlled volatility- to be sure, Wichers did a great job coming up with a track and arrangement that fit the frontman without copying Death Angel or even being all that thrashy.  Even as Wichers’ production was almost Roger Glover in its balance of heaviness, clarity and smoothness the track was still a fun metal ripper and Osegueda sounded right at home.

[metalsongoftheday]

Wednesday, July 22: Machine Head, "Blood for Blood"

Burn My Eyes was almost immediately hailed as the first great post-Pantera thrash album, and insofar as Machine Head were standing on principle and preserving the Bay Area template even while adding a ton of ‘90s to the mix their first record rung loud, proud and defiant in the underground.  And “Blood for Blood” did thread the needle between late ‘80s Combat and Pantera bouncing power groove, banging intently and with little of the fussiness or defensiveness that would come to define much of Machine Head’s output.  But Robb Flynn hadn’t found his voice and was a little too Anselmo in his barking and the track felt a little aimless in spots, making the track less immediately compelling.

[metalsongoftheday]

Tuesday, July 21: No Quarter, "Power and the Key"

As charmed an era as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal was, somewhat faceless real-time compilations like Heavy Metal Heroes 2 came closest to capturing the true guts of the moment: No Quarter’s “Power and the Key” closed the 1982 collection of NWOBHM also-rans with all of the fun and energy of the movement, and while it was a very fun and swaggering hard rocker it was also more than a little generic.  By the same token, so many bands would love to sound exactly like this right now.

[metalsongoftheday]

Monday, July 20: The Gathering, "Shot to Pieces"

If_then_else may have been intended as a scaling back from the overly atmospheric and somewhat formless How to Measure a Planet?, but the Gathering’s sixth album was ultimately the most straightforward and hard rocking record they ever made- “Shot to Pieces” was certainly much more swaggering than usual even as it maintained the band’s aura of spaciness and airiness.  Anneke Van Giersbergen went at it a bit harder but also remained uniquely herself, and the whole band sounded like they were having more fun rocking out which made it a bit of a shame that the track and If_then_else were outliers in their discography.

[metalsongoftheday]

Friday, July 17: Motörhead, "Deaf Forever"

R.I.P. Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister (1945-2015), Michael “Würzel” Burston (1949-2011), Phil Campbell (1961-2026)

“Deaf Forever” was something of a new beginning for Motörhead as well as a slight attempt at leveling up: although the Kilmister/Burston/Campbell/Gill lineup quickly recorded 4 tracks for the No Remorse compilation and constantly turned up on British television (to say nothing of Lemmy popping up while Frankie Goes to Hollywood appeared on Top of the Pops), Orgasmatron was Motörhead’s first proper album in 3 years and hiring Bill Laswell to produce was a signal that they were making some attempt to both recalibrate and stay in the game.  To that end, Laswell brought more character and dimension to “Deaf Forever” than was heard on any Motörhead record before or since: from the cavernous drum echo to the puncturing guitar sound to the hellhound backing vocals this was the closest Lemmy and crew came to sounding like art rock.  Of course this was still Motörhead so the tune still managed to knock you flat on your ass: Lemmy’s bark was even more intense than usual and made the streetwise cynicism of his lyrics weightier, the buildup to the chorus was absolutely massive and the entire brand was in full freight train mode.  The rest of Orgasmatron couldn’t quite live up to the power of “Deaf Forever” (though it somehow became Motörhead’s biggest seller in America despite coming out on a tiny label), but the urgency of the track was a reminder that there was nobody else on the planet like this bunch of miscreants.

[metalsongoftheday]

Thursday, July 16: Radakka, "Masquerade"

“Masquerade” started with a fairly lame intro, but the first track on Radakka’s debut album gave way to pretty massive heaviness and picked up steam from there.  John Dobbs’ vocals were a bit dramatic, as were the lyrics which were very ‘90s relationship angst stuff, but the music and especially the drums were on point.  One could tell what Radakka was aiming for, and the chops were there.  But the band also felt a bit stuck and forced into the ethos of their time, which somewhat hamstrung “Masquerade” and their overall potential.

[metalsongoftheday]

Wednesday, July 15: Tokyo Blade, "Burning Rain"

The reunion of most of Tokyo Blade’s original lineup has lasted far longer than their first go, and albums like Dark Revolution offered some measure of continuity by presenting an only slightly modernized version of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.  “Burning Rain” had great riffs, solos and drumming that recalled the band’s early material, and Alan Marsh’s vocals worked with the track though he sounded a bit whiny in spots.  Unfortunately, the backing vocals circled back to Tokyo Blade’s sad attempts at hair metal, and Andy Boulton’s biggest problem as a writer was that the songs were usually a minute or two longer than necessary and this track was no exception at almost 6 minutes when 4 and a half would’ve sufficed.  “Burning Rain” was still far better than anything bearing the Tokyo Blade name in 2020 had any right being, though it captured the band at both their best and worst.

[metalsongoftheday]

Tuesday, July 14: Pretty Maids, "Night Danger"

“Night Danger”, like most of Red, Hot and Heavy, was just straight-up kickass and saw Pretty Maids at their most unpretentiously heavy (and most fun).  Ronnie Atkins’ growl was perfect for the time even if his gesticulating was a bit ridiculous, and Ken Hammer’s riffing was right between the eyes and bluntly effective.  This was another instance of northern Europe absorbing the sound and feel of the NWOBHM and pushing heavy music into the ‘80s, and “Night Danger” captured the excitement of the era well.

[metalsongoftheday]

Monday, July 13: Fear Factory, "Disassemble"

The Industrialist found the Fear Factory concept growing stale: Dino Cazares’ jackhammer riffing began feeling boilerplate, and he didn’t appreciate just how much was lost by using a drum machine.  But Burton C. Bell still sounded good on tracks like “Disassemble”, adding new layers to his growl so that even though he didn’t break out his sonorous croon until the track’s final moments he remained compelling throughout.  Bell and Cazares sounded revitalized just one album earlier, but the combination of resorting to another concept album (and one that rehashed all of the same themes) and recording more or less as a trio with Rhys Fulber to save money gave the impression that Fear Factory had nothing left to say.

[metalsongoftheday]

Friday, July 10: Anthrax, "Lone Justice"

“Lone Justice” was simultaneously one of Anthrax’s most beloved and most disparaged tunes: Spreading the Disease’s second track stepped back from the thrash of “A.I.R.” in favor of an energetic but largely traditional metal rendering of the Wild West, and while a sizable portion of the band’s fanbase loved the hooks, soaring choruses and goofy charm just as many (especially the guys in the band) just found it goofy.  To be sure, it was a bit simplistic musically and what business did these yokels from Queens (and a singer from Oswego) have singing about gunslingers- had Scott Ian not discovered Stephen King yet?  But “Lone Justice” was also one of Anthrax’s most fun songs, one of their more loose-limbed chargers and one of their last straight-up headbangers before they went all-in on thrash and started getting a little too stuffy for their own good: Joey Belladonna was maybe flexing a bit too hard on the verses, but he parted the clouds on that massive chorus and Charlie Benante’s drums were effortlessly rolling and tumbling.  It just sounded like everyone was having a good time without thinking too much about it, and that such a notion would soon run counter to Anthrax’s operating philosophy (even as the smiles got wider) might’ve made the track an outlier in their songbook but it didn’t make it any less entertaining.

[metalsongoftheday]

Thursday, July 9: Rain Fell Within, "Torn Apart"

Refuge came out in 2002, but “Torn Apart” was straight out of 1995 with its dank production, Therion-esque sense of low-budget drama and almost laughably over the top operatic vocals.  Rain Fell Within fit within the Therion mold though they leaned far more into the goth and opera side rather than the doomdeath that was the latter’s foundation, and Dawn Smith was essentially an American Tarja Turunen right as Nightwish was gaining serious traction outside Europe, so the track was somewhat well placed for its moment.

[metalsongoftheday]

Wednesday, July 8: Fight, "Kill It"

Rob Halford deserved some credit for trying to broaden his scope a bit, and by all accounts Fight was supposed to be brief diversion for the Metal God in between Judas Priest album/tour cycles.  On that level, something like “Kill It” could’ve been appreciated for what it was, which was a street-level slammer that allowed Halford to try different vocal approaches, engage with newer strains of metal and hang with the kids.  But then Fight inadvertently became the singer’s main band and his personal mission statement, and the track sounded inane bordering on idiotic: Halford’s intonations and attempts at commentary were extremely ‘90s and quickly became even more dated than his earlier proclamations about robots taking over the world, while the stuttering riff aimed for Pantera but just sounded basic.  There was a certain troglodyte charm to the whole thing and Halford’s charisma and enthusiasm for the material went a ways towards making the tune a simplistically fun headbang and something of a guilty pleasure- Rob was so clearly excited and inspired by metal’s next wave that one wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt even if it felt like he was playing catchup and inadvertently looking more long in the tooth as a result.

[metalsongoftheday]

Tuesday, July 7: Suicidal Tendencies, "Don't Give a Fuck"

As album titles went, Suicidal for Life was both a mission statement and easy joke, and so it went for a good portion of the tunes on Suicidal Tendencies’ last shot at major label glory.  Speaking of titles, “Don’t Give a Fuck” made Mike Muir’s intentions crystal clear as he and the 1994 iteration of the band (which somehow included a completely out of place Jimmy DeGrasso alongside Robert Trujillo and Rocky George) flailed about in defiance of getting too popular but also annoyance over not selling more records.  It certainly played like a mix of contractual obligation, mid ‘90s absurdity and a schlocky attempt at provocation only made more ridiculous by Paul Northfield’s pristine production.  But in a way all of that made complete sense for the time- a crossover group called Suicidal Tendencies on Epic Records at a time when supposed authenticity was valuable currency, and what better way to show street cred than putting a cussword in your song titles?

[metalsongoftheday]

Monday, July 6: Metal Mirror, "Hard Life"

The first Heavy Metal Heroes compilation didn’t have the same cachet as the first Metal for Muthas since it came out on much smaller label and didn’t have two tracks from the fast-rising Iron Maiden.  But it was arguably the better record overall since it was a truer encapsulation of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal in all its energy and naïve glory: there was no chance of a group calling themselves Metal Mirror going anywhere, but “Hard Life” was a good a banger as anything by Angel Witch or Holocaust at the time.  The tune had all the bushleague charm that powered the NWOBHM, from the frenetic but not overly complicated riffing to the ramshackle drums and endearingly cheap vocals, and played like a great time at the bar.  Calling “Hard Life” working class metal wouldn’t entirely be fair, but the track was only ambitious insofar as so much NWOBHM was about bringing metal back to the ground floor and Metal Mirror accomplished that with their one moment.

[metalsongoftheday]

Friday, July 3: Soundgarden, "Gun"

R.I.P. Chris Cornell (1964-2017)

Louder than Love was appreciated more for what it suggested than what it actually was, for all of the bits that made Soundgarden one of the greats were there but it didn’t quite come together and even the best moments had a slightly tentative feel right down to Terry Date’s strangely anemic production.  “Gun” felt like a slammer just waiting to be let out: it was heavy and massive and Matt Cameron’s drumming basically invented Mastodon, but Chris Cornell was a bit too laidback even if he showed his singularity when he let out that earthquake howl.  Soundgarden was still the coolest band in metal at the time and “Gun” showed a ton of promise, they just needed to shake off the nerves and let loose.