Scuzz Sundays: White Zombie – “More Human Than Human”

December 6, 2020 — Leave a comment

In your head, In your head – is gonna be White Zombie… Zombie… It’s Scuzz Sunday!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Astro-Creep: 2000 – Songs Of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head” (Album/LP) (Released in 1995) (via Geffen Records)

Good Evening to you – I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s finally time for me to get typing up about your new entry in our weekly Scuzz Sundays series, where I take you back to the Emo-Rock and Pop-Punk movements of the late 1990’s, up through to the mid-2000’s, with an ancient gem that I’ve dug out from that era of rock, named in tribute to the now-defunct Scuzz TV channel from my childhood years. It’s almost time to cap off 2020 – and this is going to be our last regular installment of the ongoing series until the new year of 2021, because we are getting more festive with the theme from next week onwards. Last, but not least, we have White Zombie – the trailblazing NYC-based Alternative Metal group most famously comprised of the rock goddess Sean Yseult, the lead guitarist Jay Yuenger, the drummer John Tempesta, and – of course – their frontman, Rob Zombie – who has since gone on to direct a wealth of B-movie horror flicks. Although disbanding in 1998, the band were still ranked highly at #56 of VH1’s “100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock” list that was published in 2006. “More Human Than Human” was one of their signature tracks – and it was included on the group’s fourth and, what proved to be, their final album – with the shortened title of “Astro-Creep 2000”, which was released in 1995 by Geffen Records. It landed the 4-piece group their most commercially successful album – reaching #6 on the US Billboard Top 200 albums chart, which was a really successful feat for an Alternative Heavy Metal record at the time. A few interesting facts about the track is that it features a repeated Slide Guitar figure, which is more commonly used in Blues music. Moreover, Zombie sampled the moaning vocal effects in the intro from “Cafe Flesh”, a Post-Apocalyptic pornography movie, of all items. Let’s hear the results of this below.

“More Human Than Human” quickly became White Zombie’s most recognizable single in their storied career, earning the band their second Grammy Award nomination for Best Metal Performance, and being ranked on PopMatters’ list of “The 10 Best Alternative Metal Singles Of The 1990’s” list. The title of the track, as well as the lyrics themselves, also derive from the Phillip K. Dick poem “Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep”, as Zombie wanted to infuse more elements of Sci-Fi Horror and Industrial rock themes into the band’s output for the LP. It was the single that tipped Rob Zombie over the edge to the mainstream of American radio, built around the toe-tapping Funk guitar rhythm that evokes qualities of Groove Metal. After the electronic intro with the witty sample, we get into the consistent Sliding guitar riff that forms the melodic basis of the track. Rob Zombie has a distorted vocal style, and he sings; “More Human Than Human” repeatedly over the top of the steady guitar instrumentation, with bass guitar riffs that are chugging along to the delayed pedal effects and the undertones of Post-Grunge. Zombie also proclaims the likes of “I am the Jigsaw man” and “I am the ripper man” above the crushing drum patterns and the Whammy-accentuated guitar work with a snarling vocal delivery that makes it a good fit for every over-the-top action flick that came out in the late-90’s. The vocals are pretty difficult to decipher and there’s not really a great deal of substance to them, but it’s the laidback Funk sensibilities and the Hip Hop-inspired placement of the quick samples that made the track stand out amongst the pack since there’s a decent amount of varied influences going into the composition. This lives up to it’s status as an, albeit cheesy, 90’s classic. It’s great to end our feature on a high this year.

Pictured: Rob Zombie (Lead Vocals/Producer/Writer), Jay Yuenger (Lead Vocals), Sean Yseult (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals) and John Tempesta (Drums) (1995) (Photo by Mick Hutson/Redferns)

Thank you for reading my latest blog post! As usual – I’ll be back tomorrow – although it will be a pre-written one since I’m making the travels back to my non-university home for the festive period tomorrow. There are only ever so many hours in a day, after all! I’m going to continue to shout about a certain Kansas-based singer and songwriter who describes herself as a “Girl who makes music in her living room”. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: System Of A Down – “Protect The Land”

November 9, 2020 — Leave a comment

Get your Chop Suey ready at the double – IT has finally happened! It’s new post time!

Pictured: Serj Tankian (Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Keyboard), Daron Malakian (Lead Guitar. Backing Vocals), Shavo Odadijian (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals) & John Dolmayan (Drums) (2020) (Photo via PR)

Good Morning to you, I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to type up about your daily track on the blog, because it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! WELL! This took 15 years, and a war between Azerbaijan and Armenia to happen, but… IT HAS! SYSTEM OF A DOWN ARE BACK! The Alternative Metal icons played a major role in my upbringing – as with countless others – in getting me into the Alternative music scene for the rest of my life, and after the band fell out 15 years ago due to ideological and artistic creative conflict, they have bonded together in the studio once again in an effort to raise awareness of the war going down in their native country, as every member of the group is of an Armenian descent. The Nu Metal icons had crossover hits with the likes of “Chop Suey”, “Toxicity” and “B.Y.O.B.” back in their heyday, and it’s easy to argue that they are one of the most influential groups, not just of the metal genres, but of Rock music in general. As mentioned, the band have released their first new output, after years of rumors and speculation that seemingly was false. “Protect The Land” and “Genocidal Humanoidz”, both of which are available to purchase now on their Bandcamp page, with the proceeds from sales going towards the Armenia Fund, and it was recorded to raise awareness of the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict that started in September. “Protect The Land” has it’s own full music video. Let’s check it out below.

Shavo Odadijian, the band’s bassist, said the new music was “bigger than our ego’s” in relation to the band re-uniting after creative difficulties caused their original split in support of their country’s armed forces amidst a “dire and serious war being perpetrated upon [their] cultural homelands”, as the 4-piece dropped the two new tracks onto the unsuspecting public on Friday. Whereas “Genocidal Humanoidz” wouldn’t feel very out of place on their “Toxicity” output back in the day, “Protect The Land” feels more alike to the Prog-Metal style the Nu Metal icons explored on “Mezmerize”, back in 2005. Built on a towering bass guitar riff and a propulsive drum timing signature, “Protect The Land” sees the outspoken, Political Alternative Metal musicians go back to what they know, and seemingly reveling in that experience. Serj Tankian plays off a swaying lead guitar riff from Daron Malakian, as he sets big lyrical hooks like “The enemy of man is his own decay” and “Would you stay, and take a stand?” over the top of a concise bass guitar rhythm and a well-delivered, straightforward lead guitar riff that permeates through the track at a quick, sharp pace that doesn’t let up. The chorus is very anthemic, as Tankian chants: “Our history and victory and legacy we send” and “From scavengers and invaders, Those who protect the land” above a fragmented, but melodic, lead guitar riff and a climactic drum part. The instrumentation is heavy, but the vocals and the interplay between the members of the band manage to convey an emphatic sense of warmth – one that we haven’t quite heard in Metal for quite a while, I think. This just emphasizes what a great moment this really is for Metal and for Music in 2020, with vocals that feel expressive and political, just as we’re used to hearing from the band. There are some nice vocal harmonies throughout, and the switch-up of tone, with a more somber pace and a larger focus on the messages of the vocals, in the bridge are a good touch. The track is perhaps a bit reliant on repetition, but it mostly feels well-written and old-school. Does it represent their best ever work? Probably not – but it works really well overall because of the element of the suprise and the underlying warmth which expands the Heavy melodies well. For a first go in 15 years – The results are essential!

PIctured: System Of A Down at an awards ceremony (2014) (Photo Credit: Lester Cohen/Getty Images)

Thank you for reading my latest post! Please feel free to join me tomorrow, once again, where we’ll be taking an in-depth look at the brand new single from an emerging independent Dallas-based Dream-Pop singer-songwriter which REALLY made me think “Wow” – You will not forgive yourself if you decide to miss this next one out tomorrow! All will be revealed, then! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Scuzz Sundays: Hole – “Celebrity Skin”

July 5, 2020 — Leave a comment

With her new film career, Love spotted the “Hole” in the world of Fame for this record!

Pictured: Courtney Love (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Eric Erlandson (Lead Guitar/Unclean Vocals), Melissa Auf De Maur (Bass Guitar/Co-Producer) and Samantha Maloney (Drums/Percussion) (in 2012) (Photo Credit: Luke Letourneau)

Good Morning, it’s time for another weekly edition of Scuzz Sundays! I’m Jacob Braybrooke and this is the time of the week where we take a look back at an emo-rock or pop-punk classic from between the late-1990’s to the mid-2000’s, to see if it can live up to modern standards! On the chopping block this week is Hole’s “Celebrity Skin”, which became a popular chart hit back in September 1998. The title track from the group’s third studio album, the Californian rock band being famously fronted by Courtney Love, is still Hole’s most commercially successful single to date, and it reached #1 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and it was placed at #126 of NME’s “150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years” list in late 2011. The style of “Celebrity Skin” is a departure from Hole’s work on their previous two albums, “Pretty On The Inside” (1991) and “Live Through This” (1994), with less emphasis on the Punk and Noise-Grunge of the band’s early work and a higher emphasis on hiring Michael Beinhorn, a new producer, to create a definitive, desert rock-alike “Californian Rock” sound that was more viable for commercial success, particularly in the mainstream rock circuit. The album was very successful, gaining positive reviews and selling over 1.4bn copies in the US alone, as of 2013. Let’s take a listen back to the track “Celebrity Skin” below!

Using a bold range of literary influences including poets T.S. Eliot and Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s for songwriting purposes, as well as using a main guitar riff recorded by Billy Corgan, of The Smashing Pumpkins, at a live session, Love released the track in the middle of her uprising film career to convey the track’s lyrical themes of maintaining a public image in the eyes of the media, and the wider observations of an idealized Hollywood. Love opens: “Oh, make me over/I’m all I wanna be/A walking study, in demonology”, in a seamless harmony with the pop-oriented sequences of groove-metal riffs. It transpires to slightly heavier material in the chorus, as Love exclaims: “Hey, I’m so glad you could make it/Yeah, now you’ve really made it/Hey, so glad you could make it now” over the top of an explosive drum part, noisy guitar riffs and dissolved bass guitar hooks. The bridge explores idyllic fashion: “When I wake up in my make-up/It’s too early for that dress/Writed and faded in Hollywood” and the clean post-bridge mocks sexualised modelling: “You better watch out/Oh, what you wish for/It better be worth it/So much to die for” with a polished, fiery emo-punk touch. The track feels slickened by the obvious Smashing Pumpkins-esque guitar framework, and the wider contextual themes of pretty poison, dirty glam and reassured self-loathing feel effective under the very Vegas-like, Desert Rock-inflicted punk sheen. It feels a little overstuffed with backtalk, quotation and the well-documented messiness on the part of Hole’s key collaborators in some parts to work more naturally, but Love’s vocal performance is very strong and I don’t mind the cheesy feel of the angsty guitar riffs too much, as the style meshes with the album’s exploration of themes suitably. It’s a very radio-friendly track that I’m sure you recognize, but it at least has some thought-provoking themes soaked into there. Although I feel the instrumentation choices let it down a little, feeling stiff in places, the songwriting is stronger and it feels polished in the approach of it’s denser context.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Celebrity Skin” (Album) (Released on September 8th, 1998) (via Geffen/DGC Records)

Thank you for reading this post! In regards to #BlackLivesMatter, we endorse the peaceful protests on One Track At A Time. Please go and check your local area for good charity causes that help those directly affected by racism and injustice. I’ll be back to business as usual tomorrow, with an in-depth look at an emerging post-punk dance Synths/Drums duo from the UK indie rock circuit who have been active since 2008, and they recently earned a spot on John Kennedy’s X-Posure weekend evening show playlist on Radio X. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime

Scuzz Sundays: Slipknot – “Before I Forget”

February 23, 2020 — Leave a comment

Forget about tying the knot, this group have slipped the knot! It’s Scuzz Sunday time!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses” (Released in May 2004) (Roadrunner Records)

Good evening to you, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and it’s time for your weekly throwback to the emo, punk and rock scene of old, as Scuzz Sunday is here! Slipknot’s “Before I Forget” is a landmark Heavy Metal track that I still often hear in bars and clubs, even sometimes on the radio, to the present day! It was originally released as a single off their third studio album – titled “Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses)”, released in 2004. The album was released after a long period of writer’s block between the members of the band, who later decided to incorporate a more traditional style of songwriting, with melodic song structures and heavy guitar riffs, along with the experimentation of using acoustic guitars. Wouldn’t you know it, the album was a massive hit! It received multiple awards, including several awards for “Before I Forget” as a single from the likes of the Grammy’s, where it won “Best Metal Performance”. The band are still highly popular to this day, with their latest LP release “We Are Not Your Kind” reaching #1 in the UK Albums Chart. I saw frontman Corey Taylor appear on an episode of BBC 2’s “QI” as well and he’s actually a very charming and articulate guy. Enough of my natter, let’s revisit “Before I Forget” in all it’s glory with the video below.

1 second in, a thumping guitar line threads along a melodic bass riff before Taylor shouts “Go” and we officially have lift-off on the mosh-pit activating, definitively masculine vocal sensibilities and fierce drumming chords, all of which are performed at a brisk pace, to a hard rock tune that sounds oddly accessible to people who have maybe never heard anything from the band before. The signature vocal line goes: “I am a world before I am a man/I was a creature before I could stand/I will remember before I forget”, which has been produced over a revved-up tempo and a chorus that shifts along with the ethereal tone of the no-nonsense lyricism, which – in turn, gels with the Halloween Monster aesthetics of the band’s masked (and numbered band member) imagery. There’s a little bit of artistry to their costumes and I feel their art work has been produced with a nice helping of attention to detail, even if it’s not very far off the Viking aesthetics of Eurovision legends Lordi, functioning as a somewhat “Polar Opposite” to the symphonic ballad style of the Finnish icons. Overall, I think the quality of the track still holds up, it was never really my style in all honesty, but I can appreciate the impact it had on re-positioning the Metal genre to a hungry audience thirsted of it. I think it’s just like Pop, but with heavy chords – as a chanting chorus line and the accessibility of the track lends itself well to the culture that it’s catering for. I like the band for what they were doing and although I wouldn’t choose to listen to a whole album from them, it’s a perfectly acceptable track which holds up.

Pictured: Corey Taylor (Lead Vocals), Mick Thomson (Lead Guitar), Shawn Crahan (Percussion/Art Director/Photographer), Craig Jones (Keyboard), Jim Root (Bass Guitar), Chris Fehn (Backing Vocals), Paul Gray (Backing Vocals), Joey Jordison (Drums/Mixing) and Sid Wilson (Turntables) (via PR)

Thank you for reading this post! I hope you enjoyed it and don’t forget that I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with an in-depth look at a track from a fresh singer-songwriter from South London whose video for tomorrow’s track was directed by critically-acclaimed British rapper Loyle Carner (I really dig him) and his brother, Ryan Carner! She was also considered for the BBC’s Sound Of 2020 award! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime

Scuzz Sundays: Nightwish – “Wish I Had An Angel”

February 2, 2020 — Leave a comment

An angel would be nice, but I wish I had a clear plan for what I’m going to do after I graduate from my university course in summer! It’s time for your Scuzz Sundays post!

Pictured: Tarja Turunen (Lead Vocals), Marco Hietela (Lead Vocals/Bass Guitar), Tuomas Holopainen (Keyboard/Piano/Synths), Emppu Vuorinen (Lead Guitar) and Jukka Nevalainen (Drums) (2004 Band lineup – taken from the official Nightwish website)

It’s the end of Dry January and another cold working week here in the UK, which also means that it’s time for your weekly emo/rock/punk 90’s or 00’s throwback track as part of the aptly titled Scuzz Sundays theme on the blog. I’m Jacob Braybrooke, as always, taking you back to the simpler times of Scuzz TV as I revisit some of the tracks that I used to listen to during the days of Scuzz TV’s existence. “Wish I Had An Angel”, by the Finnish Symphonic Metal band Nightwish, is this week’s Scuzz Sunday track. It was the second single taken from their fifth studio album, “Once”, released back in September 2004 via the Spinefarm label. The eleventh single for the band, “Wish I Had An Angel” reached #60 on the UK Singles Chart upon it’s original release, becoming the band’s most commercially successful single to date, a title which it still holds to this very day. It gained popularity in the mainstream after it was featured on the soundtrack for the 2005 film, “Alone In The Dark”, loosely based on a video game series which I’m not personally familiar with at all. Let’s revisit the music video below.

Interestingly, the video above is an alternate cut of the official music video, as the original version featured scenes taken from the “Alone In The Dark” film, which were later edited out from the video – reportedly due to the overwhelmingly negative critical response to the film. In any case, it’s still a fantastic video full of all the Gothic coats, black smeared mascara and close-up angles that you could muster. Then-vocalist Tarja Turunen and bassist Marco Hietala provide duelling vocals, extravagantly chiming: “I wish I had your angel for one moment of love/I wish I had your angel tonight” over a frantic line of heavy guitar riffs and a rough pre-orchestra instrumentation. They contemplate the pain of beauty: “Last dance, first kiss/Your touch my bliss/Beauty always comes with dark thoughts”, crooned as an operatic hook by Turnunen, along with Hietela’s sighing: “I wish I had your angel/Your Virgin Mary undone/I’m in love with my lust/Burning angel wings to dust” over a symphonic composition of techno-groove metal. The instrumentation is also very orchestral, with minimal keyboard riffs, as the sound heavily features violin strings and cello arrangements, with a choral vocal hook in the background. The overall result is a progressive dark rock anthem which functions as an operatic ballad, with the male vocals and the female vocals constantly going back and forth to tell the story of taking your lust to a very dark place in your mind and how it’s easy to fall victim to this mentality as a rival. The guitar chords are punchy and the drums sound a little bit processed, which gives off slight vibes of Evanescence, who were enjoying the peak of their popularity within the same era. Overall, the sound may be a little bit Eurovision, perhaps, with a hint of cheese overfest. However, the duet vocal performance is very engaging and the instrumentation is heavy enough to justify the heightened sense of the pacing, format, composition and songwriting. As cold as ice but as solid as a rock!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Once” (June 2004) (Spinefarm Records) (Nuclear Blast Records)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with an in-depth look at the brand new track from an animated British band, led by a former Blur member, who notably won the “Best British Group” award at the BRIT Awards in 2018! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/