NYexaminer


New York's Year In Review 2008

2008: Five new albums from the masters of metal
December 25
by Elliot Levin, NY Hard Rock Examiner


This past year has no doubt been one of the most significant in recent history. It has seen the election of the first African American president, a Russian invasion of a neighboring country, and the possible collapse of the global economic system. While these events will no doubt get the headlining chapters in history textbooks, it is also worth noting that 2008 gave us new albums from five of the most important bands in heavy metal, proving once again that world powers may fall but rock n’ roll will never die.

Guns N’ Roses – Chinese Democracy

By far the most anticipated album of the year, decade, new millenium, Chinese Democracy attained a mythical status years before its actual release, the date of which had been forever predicted, delayed, and repredicted. However, on November 23, 2008, Axl Rose’s long awaited masterpiece finally arrived in stores (technically just in Best Buy, due to an ill-advised marketing strategy). The 14 song album has very little in common with the raw, vicious appetite for destruction that five drugged up musicians first debuted in 1987, but examined outside of the context of G n’ R’s complex history, Chinese Democracy is a solid dose of hard rock and Axl pathos. Songs such as Better and IRS are instantly likable fist pumpers, and tracks such as Madagascar and This I Love reinvent Guns’ history of strong power ballads in the vein of November Rain and Estranged. The song Sorry is arguably the strongest song on the record, with slow but crushing guitars powering Axl’s much-missed spiteful, vitrol-filled singing. Purists will argue that this is really just a solo Axl record, due to the absence of Slash, Duff, and Izzy, and the fact that is sounds little to nothing like previous Guns N’ Roses albums, but whatever you want to call it, Chinese Democracy is a landmark record from a true master of his art.

Metallica – Death Magnetic

Metallica have been the traditional gods of heavy metal for over 20 years now, and their new Rick Rubin-produced album shot straight to the top of the charts when it debuted in September. Coming off 2003’s poorly received (and poorly produced) St. Anger, expectations were high but cautious for Metallica’s new record, and by and large the group practically synonymous with heavy metal delivered as promised. Pummeling riffs, violent lyrics, and frenetic soloing make up the bulk of Death Magnetic in songs like All Nightmare Long and Cyanide, and the album is rounded out by the ballady Unforgiven III. The instrumental Suicide & Redemption is a nod back to ‘Tallica’s earlier instrumental masterpieces such as The Call of Ktulu and Orion, and lead single The Day That Never Comes dominated rock radio in its first weeks. However, while the return of solos and dark imagery was a relief to fans who still begrudge St. Anger and Load and ReLoad, Death Magnetic still doesn’t match up to the band’s classic 1980’s thrash masterpieces, nor to 1991’s radio friendly ‘Black’ album. Frontman James Hetfield’s vocal rage feels almost as forced as it did on St. Anger, and the song structures tend to meander without the tight focus demonstrated on albums past. But realistically, no one could truly expect another Kill ‘Em All ’from a bunch of 40 year old millionaire family men, and most fans seem reasonably pleased with the group’s most recent efforts. More exciting is the worldwide Metallica tour, already in progress, which will be hitting the New York City area for three sold out shows in the end of January.

AC/DC – Black Ice

AC/DC is a band that can do no wrong. They have never felt the need to “experiment,” “change direction,” or “be more melodic.” They write straightforward hard rock anthems with catchy riffs, suggestive lyrics, and shred-happy solos, and leave everyone happy. Despite their advancing age, Black Ice was one of the surprise hit albums of 2008, showing that the Austrian band can still rock as hard as groups half their age. Striking a unique marketing deal, AC/DC’s first album in eight years was sold exclusively at Walmart, with dedicated floor displays in America’s most popular store, which likely contributed to the record’s impressive sales. The lead single, Rock N’ Roll Train, is classic AC/DC fare, with a strong beat, catchy chorus, and classic Angus Young solo. Big Jack is another guitar driven song with memorable lines and a genuinely fun vibe, something that is all too rare in the death n’ violence attitude that prevails among modern metal songwriting. Several new songs have been played on the band’s current North American tour, and the fan response has been enthusiastic, to say the least. AC/DC is not a particularly innovative band, and frankly, most of the songs on Black Ice sound the same, just like almost every other song in the band’s 16 album repertoire. But when that sound is a hard rocking, heavy metal beat with enthusiastic singing and unmatchable guitar prowess, the 15 tracks of Black Ice are a welcome addition to AC/DC’s formidable arsenal of rock.

Slipknot – All Hope Is Gone

Unlike the aforementioned bands, Slipknot is a relative newcomer to the top of the charts. Their uniform jumpsuits and masks, ultra-violent sound, and notoriously vicious mosh pits initially typecast them as another generic Ozzfest second stage band, but their die-hard fans and radio-friendly singles have pushed them to the top of the metal world. 2004’s Rick Rubin produced release contained the smash radio hit Duality, and their heavy world touring established their reputation as a must-see live band. This year’s new album showed that the 9 members of Slipknot have continued to refine their sound and expand their range, with brutally threatening songs such as Butcher’s Hook, medium paced grinders such as Sulfer, and a gut wrenching cry from a broken heart in the quasi-ballad Snuff. The band’s three percussionists bring a frenzied, nonstop impact to every song, and vocalist Corey Tayor seamlessly transitions from howling anger to harmonious singing in almost every song. The varying tones of the album means that it doesn’t have the same brutally violent impact as 2001’s rage-filled Iowa, and even the heaviest songs barely match up to the viciousness demonstrated on any of Slipknot’s previous albums. That said, All Hope Is Gone has a broad appeal to fans who might not have appreciated Slipknot’s earlier records, and even long-time Slipknot fans seemed to be pleased with the nonet’s latest musical take on all that is dark and hated. Proving just how far Slipknot has risen, they will be playing at Madison Square Garden this coming February, an unprecedented honor for a band considered an underground act just a few years ago.

Disturbed - Indestructible

In the year 2000, traditional metal bands such as Metallica and Iron Maiden were being cast aside in favor of the newest trend, “nu-metal.” Bereft of solos or musical innovation, and often featuring a rap-based vocal style, bands such as Linkin Park, Papa Roach, and Limp Bizkit ruled the heavy metal world and stages of Ozzfest with the help of MTV and rock radio, much to the distress of long-time metal fans. While nu-metal died out within a few years, with bands either dissolving or turning ‘emo,’ Chicago-based Disturbed stood strong as one of the sole surviving groups of the era. Disturbed’s debut album, The Sickness, introduced a group and frontman angry enough for even the most rebellious of teenagers, with violent threats and paranoid rants over crushing guitar riffs and blasting beats. As the band matured, guitar solos started appearing in songs, and singer David Draiman’s distinctive rasping gave way to more traditional singing. 2008 saw the release of the band’s fourth album, a formulaic yet formidable offering of Disturbed’s traditional aggressive, pummeling music. Songs such as Inside the Fire and Criminal are straightforward heavy metal classics, with catchy hooks and strong, intimidating lyrics, and the end of the song Perfect Insanity gives a tantalizing taste of the nu-metal era, with Draiman reviving his rapping style just long enough to make you remember why rap-metal became popular in the first place. While Disturbed are not quite in the league of metal greats such as Pantera and Metallica, Indestructible proves that this is a band that is truly dedicated to heavy metal.



As 2008 draws to a close, it is not too early to anticipate next year’s upcoming releases. Dave Mustaine and the newest incarnation of Megadeth are hard at work in their Phoenix, AZ studio. Slayer have already debuted a new song on their European tour, and expect to release their 10th studio album soon. Ronnie James Dio and his former Black Sabbath bandmates are recording new music as Heaven & Hell, in what looks to be a long-term band. Anthrax has reportedly written an album’s worth of material, and the re-activated Alice In Chains have promised to have new music and a tour for fans in ’09. And according to an interview with Sebastian Bach, Axl and his new Guns N’ Roses actually recorded four full albums worth of music during the Chinese Democracy sessions, so a new G n’ R album is within the realm of possibility as well. Be sure to get excited for that sometime between now, and the next 14 years.