TESLA – FULL THROTTLE LIVE

 

Full Throttle Live was recorded live at the Full Throttle Saloon at the Sturgis Bike Rally in South Dakota. However, the back cover of the CD states July 2022, and Tesla’s official website indicates that the concert took place on August 8, 2022. Let’s call it Summer 2022 on the “Let’s Get Real!” Tour. Interestingly enough, this is the first release from Tesla to feature drummer Steve Brown, and he’s the first to be heard as the leadoff track, “Miles Away”, begins with Steve smacking the skins.

Produced by bassist Brian Wheat and guitarist Frank Hannon, and mixed by Wheat, Full Throttle Live is Tesla sounding absolutely terrific! The nine songs on offer span the band’s entire career from “Changes”, originally released in 1986, to “Cold Blue Steel” from 2021 and “Time To Rock” unleashed in 2022. In fact, 1991’s Psychotic Supper is the only album from which two songs are pulled – “Call It What You Want” and “Edison’s Medicine”.



Opting for deeper tracks “Breakin’ Free” and “Lazy Days Crazy Nights” as opposed to the expected “Signs” or “Love Song” is greatly appreciated. Throughout each and every one of these songs, Tesla are completely invigorated, commanding the stage with vocalist Jeff Keith coming across as timeless. The bonus track is a very cool cover of Aerosmith’s “S.O.S. (Too Bad)”. Compared to the original, from 1974’s Get Your Wings, Tesla beef up the bottom end, while maintaining the intrinsic blooze groove. Crank it up!   

NASGUN AVE SATAN

True black metal from norway is back, nasgun, buried 13 cds in the graves of Dead dead(mayhen)euronymous(mayhen) and in the tomb of jon nödtveidt,the satanist promises to bring chaos and cosmic order m.l.o ,a new black circle cycle is starting now and you are prepared to die..or are you a black metal poser....



https://nasgun.bandcamp.com/track/welcome-to-darkness

DevilDriver: Beyond The Vei

How often do we as fans get to lift the veil on how a band’s album is recorded? To really know the process and see it all unfold before our very eyes. Sure there are documentaries such as METALLICA’s Some Kind Of Monster (2004) and various Behind The Scenes…series on YouTube, but there is something very telling about having a band member sit in front of you and really explain things. Even the most mundane things become fascinating because you’re learning about how another creative mind works. You may not delve into the themes and meanings behind certain things but still come away saturated with knowledge.



This brings DEVILDRIVER’s Mike Spreitzer to a Distorted Sound Zoom meeting. Chatting the night before the release of Dealing With Demons Vol. II, Mike joins us from his home studio, or shall we say his second home? The guitarist-cum-sound engineer takes a moment to settle in his chair as he contemplates the multifaceted topic of what fans can expect from a new DEVILDRIVER album. “It’s been a bit of a cliffhanger for the band in terms of sitting on this record for so long,” Mike explains. The original plan was to release this record with its counterpart, 2020’s Dealing With Demons Vol. I either at the same time or up to a year afterwards. That was until our ol’ pal COVID made an appearance and broke up the party. “It’s not a good idea to release a record when you can’t go out and tour it,” Mike laughs, “but the new way of thinking was to just release this one [Vol. I] now and everyone’s just going to have to wait until things open up again and we can actually tour.”

A simple enough plan right? For a multitude of other bands, this is exactly how it panned out. However this wasn’t to be the case for DEVILDRIVER. Vocalist Dez Fafara would end up battling with long-COVID, leading the band to pull out of international appearances such as this year’s Bloodstock Festival. “I’m kinda happy we had to wait until a lot of the COVID protocols had been put to rest,” Mike quips as he tells us the story of when the band were readying themselves for the US tour just passed and encountering the “COVID-box” in amongst DEVILDRIVER and JINJER’s touring equipment in their lock up. “I remember looking at the tests and masks and being so happy we never had to deal with that shit on the road.” He muses.

“I like to compare this to Use Your Illusion I & II [GUNS N’ ROSES],” Mike comments on the project. “Sonically, they sound the same; they were recorded at the same time and we did things exactly the same. I don’t like the term ‘more of the same’ because it’s not.” From the ferocity of opening I Have No Pity from Vol. II, the sound may be your typical DEVILDRIVER but the vibe is most certainly not the same. There are no real flourishes within the guitar work. It’s a simple groove metal song. Whereas Mantra and Summoning will have DEVILDRIVER experiment with their sound and tempo, something Mike is very cautious of. “I like DEVILDRIVER records to have diversity,” he starts, motioning towards a whiteboard. “I’ll have this chart which has the working titles, tunings, and tempos right? Then I can see I have a lot of songs hovering around 130 BPM and some around 190 BPM – so I’ll set a click at 150 and write until I come up with something cool.” Having a creative process explained to us in ways which feel so simple is refreshing, as is hearing Mike will noodle on a seven string guitar while watching Star Wars.

Many creative types; whether that be artists, writers, musicians, designers etc, will agree with the sentiment that being interrupted when you’re mid-creative flow is one of the most frustrating things we have to deal with. “You’ll take care of whatever needs you, then you come back and that flow is just gone,” Mike ponders. “Sure, I could come back to it tomorrow but it wouldn’t be the same. It’s a fingerprint to that date and time where it’s the only instance that exact piece of art is going to come out of your brain.” So during the process of making Vol. II, Mike would lock himself away in the studio for up to 16 hours a day, creating the album’s snapshots. As previously mentioned, there are many moments of rage housed within the latest record. Which again brings comparison to its counterpart.

“We have some songs on Volume I that are a little less coming out swinging if that makes sense; like Keep Away From Me and Wishing, slower yet still heavy,” he says, “Not everything has to be super fast all the time, you need a dynamic to music. Take HYPOCRISY for example, I love their mellow songs far more than their brutal tracks, there’s something about them which pulls me in and I guess you’re one or the other.” he ponders before adding GOJIRA’s The Gift Of Guilt is another massive pleasure of his.

So what comes next within the DEVILDRIVER saga? Ballads? Collaborations with GOJIRA? No one really knows but one thing is for certain: there are no more Volumes on the way. “Now we’ve got Jon Miller [bass] back and I think that’s going to bring us back to the Pray For Villains (2009) type vibe,” Mike beams. Even a week previous to our conversation, Jon joined Mike in his home studio and set to writing after an impromptu jam session. While we can’t extract any more information than that from the guitarist, he’s certainly left us with a lot of anticipation for future DEVILDRIVER records.

Before those records can come however, there needs to be some reflection on the one which recently hit the shelves. Though it’s not the album Mike reflects on but the idea of touring after a three year hiatus from it. “I was concerned about how I was going to introduce touring into what my life had become,” he begins. “I’d gotten engaged, got used to sleeping in my own bed every night, could surf whenever I wanted to. I even got to spend time with my family which I’d never been able to before.” Functionality and logistics aside, there was another sticking point: was Mike even going to enjoy touring anymore? Answering our question before we could even ask he says, “the second I got on that bus, I was excited. I love being around my band – the camaraderie I have with my friends is my favourite thing about touring.”

Now saturated from DEVILDRIVER’s learning tree, there’s a new appreciation for Dealing With Demons Vol. II. While the record could fade as time passes with the promise of Pray For Villains like material on the horizon, it’s certainly a wonderful respite from all guns blazing DEVILDRIVER and one we should appreciate while we can.



Dealing With Demons Vol. II is out now via Napalm Records.

HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: St. Anger – Metallica

Well, well, well. If it isn’t the most marmite album in existence. The album everybody loves to hate, St. Anger, turns 20 years old this year and the legacy it’s left behind is anything but appealing. Its entire existence is a running joke for METALLICA fans and haters alike, with many citing that the snare drum is the worst thing to ever happen to the band. But why does everybody love to hate it so much?



The easy answer is that it’s different. Moving away from the thrashy style that made die-hard fans fall in love with METALLICA, St. Anger instead chose to reject their signature approach. Forgoing guitar solos and opting for a raw production style and metallic drum sound, it was extremely experimental, especially for a band that had already had seven hugely successful albums and reaped success from them. When asked about the absence of guitar solos, Kirk Hammett (guitar) simply told Blabbermouth, “We wanted to preserve the sound of all four of us in a room just jamming. We tried to put guitar solos on, but we kept on running into this problem; it really sounded like an afterthought​.”

It’s time to address the gigantic divisive elephant in the room; the snare. Ask anyone about the album and you will most definitely be met with a statement about it and how awful it is – only the minority believe it’s not actually that bad. Just for those among us who have no idea just how Lars Ulrich (drums) managed to get his snare sound, here is a brief explanation: the cracking snare sound comes from the springs that rest at the bottom of the drum and Ulrich decided against using them, resulting in a drum tone with more of a dull ring that usual. Ulrich stated to Blabbermouth; “One day I forgot to turn the snare on because I wasn’t thinking about this stuff. At the playbacks, I decided I was really liking what I was hearing – it had a different ambience. It sang back to me in a beautiful way.”​

Beautiful is an interesting word to use to describe it, but it doesn’t explain why the vast majority can’t let it go after 20 years. Simply, they used an experimental sound and it just didn’t work as they had hoped. But ultimately, this is METALLICA we’re talking about – they are one of the few bands that can get away with trying it because they know that they will still have their loyal listeners waiting at every turn for their redemption.

The raw unpolished production adds to the depths of the emotions that the band felt during the two years they recorded St. Anger, shaking up the way the industry looked at production values and how they sound themselves. It has the raw sound of a garage band getting together to write groovy speed metal, not the polished sound that the industry and audiences are so used to. Instead, we are presented with anger and aggression that is conveyed through each track with a frantic nature and violent attacking.







To fully understand St. Anger and the decisions made during its production, you must understand that it is an album born of hardship. The album was already doomed before it could even begin, with Jason Newstead (bass) leaving the band and citing a range of private and personal issues for his departure. While they found a temporary replacement in the form of producer Bob Rock, the band still chose to pursue a new bassist during their time in the studio – why not make an already stressful and busy situation even more so, right? Thankfully, we were all blessed with the introduction of Rob Trujillo (bass) to the fold – a true blessing in disguise.

The writing process for St. Anger was anything but easy. The now infamous documentary Some Kind Of Monster (2004) gives us an insight into what it was like to be at such a pivotal moment in the band’s career that could make or break them. As much as it feels a little more This Is Spinal Tap (1984) at times, it gives us an insight into the world of METALLICA. Tensions were evidently at an all-time high as documented between the constant clashing of heads between James Hetfield (guitar/vocals) and Ulrich, the pair seeming to disagree over each small detail.

Possibly the most influential event to impact the recording process came in July 2001, when Hetfield entered rehab for alcoholism and other undisclosed addictions. When returning to the band in December of that year, he would only be allowed to work on the album from noon to 4PM. This paired with the ongoing struggles within the band forced the band to hire personal enhancement coach, Phil Towle. This event had a clear influence on the album’s content, with Hetfield himself stating that the turmoil and passion surrounding those two years and his rehabilitation had an influence on subject matter and lyricism. “There’s two years of condensed emotion in this. We’ve gone through a lot of personal changes, struggles, epiphanies, it’s deep. It’s so deep lyrically and musically.”​ he would tell Blabbermouth.

St. Anger is not a perfect album by any means, dividing critics across the board with extremely polarising views. It continues to do the same, with so many professionals and fans alike questioning its place in rock history. It’s one of those albums which will always stir up a conversation among metal fans and it’s usually all down to that snare that has become the summoning call to so many. The best words to describe the choices made during St. Anger’s production come from Hetfield himself as he told Guitar World: “There are things I would like to change on some of the records, but it gives them so much character that you can’t change them… St. Anger could use a little less tin snare drum, but those things are what make those records part of our history.”​

HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Kill ‘Em All – Metallica

With METALLICA so influential in music; being the stadium and festival headlining behemoths they are today, it’s hard to imagine a time when they were just getting started and bringing out their debut album Kill ‘Em All. Of course there was and forty years ago now.



How METALLICA got to this point is a story in itself. The band formed in 1981 with core members Lars Ulrich (drums) and James Hetfield (vocals/rhythm guitar). They were eventually joined by guitarist Kirk Hammett, formerly of fellow Bay Area thrashers EXODUS, who would replace the fired and fiery Dave Mustaine, who, following this firing would go onto form MEGADETH. Though Hammet played on Kill ‘Em All, Mustaine‘s contributions were still present. The line up would be rounded off by the legend in loon pants, Cliff Burton (bass), who replaced Ron McGovney and was known for his own inimitable bass style and vibe.

These four horsemen of the metal apocalypse had joined together to kickstart a revolution in heavy music. They began the Thrash Metal boom and it started with Kill ‘Em All. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say it changed metal and extreme music in general.




METALLICA were first out of the gate with this album and cultivated a sound which blended New Wave Of British Heavy Metal influences with the buzzsaw punk of GBH and DISCHARGE. This fusion was simply electric personified. The album starts as it means to go on with opening track Hit The Lights (which namechecks the band’s legendary demo No Life Til’ Leather which preceded Kill ‘Em All) and flies by all the way through to closing track Metal Militia with a frenetic pace that still sounds vital today in just under an hour.

There are songs on the record that have been live staples ever since such as The Four Horsemen, formally known The Mechanix and played at early shows under this title. Interestingly, Mustaine recorded this track for MEGADETH‘s Killing Is My Business….And Business Is Good (1985). Mustaine aside, live tracks included the perfectly titled blur of Whiplash and the brilliant call and response Seek And Destroy. Tracks like Burton‘s instrumental (Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth, Phantom Lord, and No Remorse showed the band weren’t afraid of experimenting with music this early on and the results were mindblowing. The tracks flow with that youthful raw power but crackles with a certain rough around the edges energy that adds to its charm.



Kill ‘Em All‘s cover artwork also deserves a special mention and was just as stark as the music contained within with the shadow of a hand letting go of a bloodied hammer acting as a violent visualisation of not only the music of METALLICA but Thrash Metal in general

METALLICA immediately made their mark with Kill ‘Em All and it was a constant upward trajectory for the band from there. The raw and youthful energy is still influencing a whole host of bands today. Kill ‘Em All demonstrated the hunger and drive that METALLICA had could start a whole new scene worldwide. The amount of bands that started as a result of this ground zero moment simply cannot be overstated.

The band hit the road in support of the album with the likes of RAVEN, EXODUS and ANTHRAX, also supporting VENOM on the Seven Dates Of Hell tour. It was clear from the start there was something special going on and a changing of the guard that spread like wildfire.



Simply put, Kill ‘Em All is an extremely important album in heavy music. Arguably, it is one of the most influential albums of all time. Everything has to start somewhere and, for a new form of extreme music, it undoubtedly started right here. So in celebration of its four decade history, crank up Kill ‘Em All very loud and revel in its exhilarating and exuberant raw thrashing brilliance.

BETWEEN A ROCK AND A PROG PLACE: AVKRVST’S SIMON BERGSETH – “THE PROG COMMUNITY IN NORWAY IS REALLY STRONG”

What truly is progressive music? Each month BraveWords will aim to dissect that answer with a thorough overview of the current musical climate that is the prog world. Old and new, borrowed and blue. A musical community without borders. So watch for a steady and spaced-out array of features, current news and a buyer’s guide checklist to enhance the forward-thinking musical mind. So, welcome to BraveWords’ monthly column appropriately titled, Between A Rock In A Prog Place.

In this month’s column, we speak to Avkrvst singer/multi-instrumentalist Simon Bergseth (whose band has just issued their debut full-length, The Approbation), about the album, their mysterious name, and the state of prog in their home country of Norway.

Discografias Comentadas: Destruction [Parte II]

Já nos anos 2000 e animados com a ótima recepção de All Hell Breaks Loose [2000], o Destruction agora entra em uma fase quase industrial de lançar vários discos com poucos anos entre eles (em média de 1 a 3 anos) seguidas de turnês para promovê-los. Schmier volta a assumir a liderança principal em termos de composições, com eventuais colaborações de Sifringer e dos outros vários integrantes (principalmente bateristas) que passaram pela banda em todos esses anos. E já nessa virada de milênio eles soltam um álbum que seria um dos mais elogiados da sua discografia!

The Antichrist [2001]

Com a produção e participação de Peter Tatgren (do Hypocrisy), o Destruction não só voltou à sua melhor forma como lançou esse petardo que conseguiu uma rara façanha na música: ser considerado por muitos fãs o melhor de sua discografia isso sendo o sétimo disco de estúdio e sem exatamente estar em sua “formação clássica”. Com temáticas heréticas (como o próprio nome do álbum sugere), a banda mete o pé no acelerador e produz faixas pesadas, velozes e furiosas tais como “Thrash till Death” e “Nailed to the Cross” e algumas mais cadenciadas mas tão boas quanto como “Meet your Destiny”. Embora até um tempo atrás eu ainda gostasse mais de D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N. [2008], este disco galgou algumas posições em minhas preferências pessoais sendo agora meu segundo favorito (com o de 2008 caindo para um quarto lugar). Não dá para negar que Mike Sifringer reuniu seus melhores riffs de guitarra para juntá-los todos neste álbum. Todo mundo que curte thrash ama as guitarras deste álbum. E com toda razão. Excelente e memorável, ouça este disco e curta todo o seu peso. Curiosamente, ele saiu apenas duas semanas antes dos ataques aos Estados Unidos de 11 de setembro. Embora o cristianismo seja o alvo principal, dá de se considerar que todas as religiões em si receberam críticas fortes nas letras aqui. Parece até que estavam prevendo o ataque.

Após o término das gravações. o baterista Sven Vormann anuncia a sua saída da banda. Ele publicou uma nota dizendo que a vida na estrada em volta de longas turnês não era para ele e que saiu do Destruction amigavelmente. Sem perder muito tempo, a banda chama Marc Reign para as baquetas.

Metal Discharge [2003]

Sempre difícil para o álbum seguinte se destacar após um grande clássico ter sido lançado. Metal Discharge cai nesta categoria. Apesar de eu considerá-lo um bom disco, nota-se claramente uma queda em termos de arranjos, riffs e criatividade. Há muitas coisas boas por aqui, canções como “The Ravenous Beast” e “Desecrators (of the New Age)” são muito boas, mas há outras que considero pobres ou repetitivas tais como “Mortal Remains” e “Vendetta”. A primeira parece que foi produzida por uma banda nanica noventista com poucos recursos (a produção inteira do disco sofre, mas aqui foi pior) e a segunda tem uma cara de filler descartado dos primeiros discos. Sifringer parecia preguiçoso e não inspirado quando criou ou tocou os riffs dessas músicas. Ainda que com defeitos, o disco me agrada por ser um thrash interessante e que me anima a ouvir se considerarmos o disco por inteiro. O próprio trio decidiu se autoproduzir, o que não foi a melhor das ideias. Melhorariam nos álbuns seguintes, mas por aqui ainda estavam crus. Prefira outros álbuns já citados nesses meus textos para conhecer a banda e ouça esse aqui depois de conhecer os principais.

Inventor of Evil [2005]

Mantendo a formação anterior e sem inventar muito, este disco soa como o anterior mas muito melhor trabalhado. As faixas são mais fortes, os riffs e solos melhores e o baterista Marc mandando ver com velocidade e viradas alucinantes. Não há surpresas aqui (exceto talvez uma extensa lista de convidados famosos fazendo backing vocals em “The Alliance of Hellhoundz”), você terá um ótimo disco thrash para curtir e banguear bastante. É como aquele restaurante de sua confiança quase sempre com as mesmas receitas mas que você bate lá com frequência atrás de uma comida de boa qualidade a um preço em conta. As faixas de destaque para mim são a já citada “The Alliance of Hellhoundz”, o peso de “The Chosen Ones”, os ótimos riffs de “Under Surveillance” e de Schmier se esgoelando nos refrãos de “Twist of Fate”.

Thrash Anthems [2007]

Não costumo olhar com bons olhos estes esquemas de regravar material antigo ou de novas versões de clássicos, mas aqui eu dou o braço a torcer. Nada de incrível, mas curti as boas versões mais modernizadas de velhas faixas conhecidas dos fãs do Destruction. O foco foi regravar as suas melhores músicas dos discos oitentistas da banda junto a mais duas inéditas que são “Profanity” e “Deposition (Your Heads will Roll)”. As canções do primeiro disco Infernal Overkill [1985] foram as que ganharam mais com a produção nova. “Invincible Force” por exemplo ganhou nova vida. “Curse the Gods” do segundo álbum ficou muito melhor que a original em minha opinião. Várias outras melhoraram, embora algumas como “Sign of Fear” ainda gosto mais da crueza da original. É digamos que um “best of” para aqueles fãs que compram tudo de uma determinada banda que amam e que, se você amar o Destruction, vale a pena. Do contrário, vale como uma ótima curiosidade.

D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N [2008]

Este sim é um dos meus discos favoritos desta década dos alemães. Depois de um bom tempo, finalmente senti que a banda tentou ousar mais em seu thrash e o fez corretamente! Peso e velocidade são muito legais, mas as vezes um riff mais cadenciado e lento aqui, uma harmonia fora do comum acolá caem bem aos ouvidos. Você percebe guitarras e baixos tocando de forma diferenciada e se destacando (principalmente este último) e a banda também pegando algumas influências mais extremas do death e do black metal de forma mais clara. O disco inteiro é muito bom, mas as cinco primeiras faixas fazem parte dos melhores momentos em toda a discografia do Destruction. Eu recomendo muito que ouça este álbum que demonstra que os velhos thrashers ainda tem muitas ideias para canções pesadas e lenha para queimar!

Infelizmente, em 2010 logo após a gravação do DVD A Savage Symphony – The History of Annihilation [2010], o melhor baterista que a banda já teve, Marc Reign, os deixou alegando que o stress e o excesso de trabalho prejudicaram as relações pessoais e profissionais junto a Schmier e Sifringer. Empilhando discos um atrás do outro junto a turnês mundiais, era de se esperar. Os caras nesta década de 2000 tocaram em tudo o que foi canto e praticamente viveram na estrada quase sem descanso.

A banda chamou então o polonês Wawrzyniec Dramowicz, ou Vaaver para os íntimos. Mal sentou no banco e, como de costume, veio disco novo já no ano seguinte à sua entrada.

Day of Reckoning [2011]

Diferente do anterior, aqui temos o Destruction sendo aquele Destruction padrão como no disco Metal Discharge [2003]. Ótimos riffs, ótimos vocais de Schmier, mas infelizmente sem o carisma e as boas composições presentes em álbuns anteriores. Nenhuma novidade, nenhuma ousadia, nada. É um disco bem feito como bons álbuns do Destruction normalmente são, mas sem qualquer destaque na discografia dos alemães. Somente “Devil’s Advocate” me agradou um pouco mais e achei o cover para “Stand up and Shout” do Dio bem sem graça. É um disco que acaba entrando por um ouvido e saindo pelo outro sem deixar muitas lembranças. Tem muitos outros melhores que você pode ouvir antes de tentar este.

E chegamos ao final da segunda parte da discografia do Destruction. Restam ainda cinco álbuns aos quais irei comentar em cerca de 20 dias. Até lá!