Scuzz Sundays: Slipknot – “Duality”

October 3, 2021 — Leave a comment

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) & Sid Wilson (Turntables) (2019) (via PR)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it is time for us to listen to some quite un-church like music before we head to church for ‘Scuzz Sundays’, the part of the week where we revisit some of the ghosts of Pop-Punk and Nu-Metal’s past. This is Spooky Season – after all. One band from the late-90’s to mid-00’s who fits that bill is Slipknot, the Iowa-based Alternative Metal band fronted by Corey Taylor, who once appeared on an episode of BBC Two’s ‘QI’ on UK television and seemed like a likeable guy all-around, to be fair. Slipknot still seem to be immensely popular, scoring a UK number one album with ‘We Are Not Your Kind’ as recently as 2019. One of the most interesting albums to come from the crossover stars is ‘Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses’, a record that deals with “the healing process” of the band’s themes of decay and decapitation from the previous record. To meet these ends, Slipknot changed their style very discreetly by incorporating more traditional, melodic song structures as well as brooding guitar solo’s and a splattering of acoustic instrumentals. The album was a large success, despite the band’s initial unproductive struggles over the record, where Taylor was found drinking heavily to comfort some very personal issues. The record was praised by AllMusic for its “dedication to making it a Slipknot album” and Kerrang’s readers rated it as 31st in a poll of ‘The 50 Best Albums Of The 21st Century” taken in 2009. One of the best-received singles was ‘Duality’, which peaked at #5 on the US Rock Chart and Slipknot’s record label, Roadrunner Records, listed the music video for the single as the best one in their history in 2010. Refresh your mind below.

Slipknot have now found pretty staggering crossover success with combined sales of reportedly up to 30 million records globally, but these metrics didn’t always seem to be within their mask-wearing grasp. Until ‘Vol 3: The Subliminal Verses’ was issued in 2004, Slipknot’s future seemed bleak. Taylor’s battles with alcoholism worsened over the years, and the other members of Slipknot decided to work on a few side projects – like Stone Sour, Murderdolls and To My Surprise – but the band eventually decided to enlist Rick Rubin as the producer of their album and cracked down to work in the studio together, before releasing ‘Duality’ as the comeback single. ‘Duality’ felt like a volatile soft-reboot for Slipknot at the time, giving them a harsher edge and a more catchy sound, while appreciating the raw style of their prior work. The guitar riffs are sharp and disjointed enough without feeling clunky, and the Spoken Word style of the verses is quite intriguing since it gives refrains like “I have screamed until my veins collapsed/I’ve waited as my time’s elapsed” and “Tell me the reality is better than the dream/But I found out the hard way, nothing is what it seems” a vibe of toxicity and a feel of cinematic dark poetry that does stick out a little more compared to their contemporary peers of the era. Taylor uses a grumbling, dark croaking vocal delivery to complement the down-tuned, screeching guitar riffs and emphasize the horror atmosphere of the percussion. I think that it is easy to find their costumes and masks to take things a little too far for some audiences, but I don’t mind that aspect of their live performances and general visuals too much since it shows me they can simply be bothered to create a compelling visual companion piece to the art they create, and that is enough for me. On the whole, while I can’t say that I’ve ever really cared for Slipknot by a great amount, I really enjoyed my time with ‘Duality’, and not really in a ‘guilty pleasure’ way that plagues some releases. I felt there was plenty of genuinely well-crafted material here. The chorus was sharp and filled with some very punchy hooks that feel melodic enough, but fits the terrifying and gory imagery of Slipknot overall. There’s a couple of well-written lyrics here that match poetry with pain, and the extra layers of tension are paced decently, with the more subdued vocal style of the verses being counteracted with a more patented style later on with some solid guitar work that creates a surge of tense rhythms for the chorus. A spiked thumbs up!

Pictured: Slipknot in an official photoshoot for ‘We Are Not Your Kind’ (2019) (Photo via PR/NME.com)

As one of the more popular US heavy metal bands of our time, Slipknot have been worthy of a mention on ‘Scuzz Sundays’ before, albeit over a year and a half ago. Still, if you want more content, you can find out what I thought of ‘Before I Forget’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/02/23/scuzz-sundays-slipknot-before-i-forget/

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Vol. 3 The Subliminal Verses’ (LP) (May 2004) (via Roadrunner Records)

That’s all for now! Thank you for your continued support regarding the blog, and I’ll be back tomorrow to kick off another week’s worth of daily music picks. Join me for an in-depth look at a British Columbia-born singer-songwriter who, after working as a restaurant line chef in his teens, turned to a life of music where he played with Jason Corbett in Speed To Kill. He is now known for his bob wig and androgynous make-up.

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Today’s Track: Chubby and The Gang – “All Along The Uxbridge Road”

March 13, 2021 — Leave a comment

13 Tracks – crammed into a measly 28 minutes at a pummeling pace. New post time!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Speed KIlls” (Released on October 8th, 2020) (via Partisan Records)

Good Morning to you – My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time again for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, as per usual, because it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! The above tagline wouldn’t be the worst option for a campaign advertising ‘Speed Kills’ – the latest album from the UK Post-Hardcore rock band Chubby and The Gang, which did it’s rounds last autumn. Something of a super-group of the more successful early-2010’s British ‘Pub Rock’ bands, with a 5-piece collective made up of musicians from groups like Arms Race, Vile Spirit and Gutter Knife, ‘Speed Kills’ was the debut album offering from the group, which was originally released in 2019 by Static Shock Records. However, the group signed with Partisan Records (Known for acts like Laura Marling, Fontaines DC and Pottery) last year, who decided to digitally remaster and formally reissue the debut LP for a vinyl re-issue back in late November. Produced by Jonah Falco, the concept of the much talked-about record plays out like a pummeling pub crawl traversing through London’s capital thoroughfares, with influences dating back to the 50’s. Join me after the speed bump “All Along The Uxbridge Road” below.

The music from Chubby and The Gang is known to often make use of samples from dated children’s animated TV programmes like The Jimmy Rogers Show, which helps the collaborative project to mix up a fun concoction of Melodic Metalcore, Post-Hardcore, Blues and Doo-Wop that give the high tempo frequencies and their use of hooks an upbeat coat of polish, which gives their back catalog it’s heightened, animated style of qualities. ‘All Along The Uxbridge Road’ was the lead single from an album which subtly deals with the themes of trade unionism, police brutality and pride of the lower working class. That much is true in the case of ‘All Along The Uxbridge Road’, which doesn’t exactly boast a deep substance and a social conscience. However, it does show a precise sense of time and place in it’s broad strokes. Led by rhythmically charged guitar hooks and unrelentingly quick drum time signatures, the track channels a sense of fun, and dare I say, ‘brattiness’ in it’s power-pop influences and the channeling of it’s late-70’s aesthetics. The lyrics are basically inaudible with the chugging guitar lines making it tricky to keep up with, but there are splashes of blues Harp instrumentation and some swift vocals that, for me, take the mementos of the essence of early Motorhead or mid-00’s System Of A Down in their stride. It is a flawed experience, for me, however – my main concern being that this project may be a little bit of a ‘one-trick pony’ in the sense that the lyrics lack a more expansive character. Similarly to this, the several key changes and lack of moments in reflection render things lacking in variation a little for me. Although perhaps paced too quickly for it’s own good, the track manages to get some of it’s deeper themes across pretty nicely, as the fluidity sells the chaos of the current moment nicely. Overall, although it feels a bit lacking in substance, it’s hard to fault the uniqueness of the sound, and the playful character that the band brings. Anti-Pop and yet ‘anti-Cop’.

Pictured: Charlie “Chubby Charles” Manning-Walker (Lead Vocals/Harmonica), Ethan Stahl (Rhythm Guitar), Tom “Razor” Hardwick (Bass Guitar), Maegan Brooks (Bass Guitar/Occasional Backing Vocals) and Joe McMahon (Drums/Percussion) in a promotional shoot for “Speed Kills” (2020) (Photo via PR)

That’s all I’ve got for you today! I’ve got a train to catch – so, See Ya! Scuzz Sundays is back tomorrow, however, with an in-depth look back at a classic from the ‘Emo’ era of the late-90’s breaking into the mid-00’s. It has been quite a while since we really had a ‘big name’ on the feature, and I’ve been saving this one for quite some time. It comes from a guy who used to genuinely freak me out as a kid. Although controversial, he was still a staple of the era, winning four Grammy Awards and heading an Art exhibition at at Kunsthalle gallery in Vienna with film director David Lynch, in the process. 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: Saliva – “Click Click Boom”

March 7, 2021 — Leave a comment

When we finish the daily jobs – we’ll round them off with a BOOM! It’s Scuzz Sunday…

Pictured: Wayne Swinny (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Paul Crosby (Drums/Percussion), Bobby Amaru (Lead Vocals/Keyboard) and Brad Stewart (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals) (2016) (Photo via PR)

Who doesn’t love a good use of Onomatopoeia? Hello, I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for our weekly throwback to the relics of Pop-Punk and Emo-style releases that you may vaguely remember from around the late-1990’s until the mid-2000’s, as we bring these Frankenstein’s monsters back to life and we find out if they can walk the walk to modern standards. Saliva were a Memphis-based US Hard Rock band who are still technically active, although they’ve had several different line-up’s over the years and they haven’t released anything new since 2018. Most famously known for tracks like “Always”, “Ladies and Gentlemen” – and, perhaps most notably, “Click Click Boom” – Saliva have had a few hits troubling the US Mainstream Rock Songs chart and the Alternative Airplay charts before. Saliva released their self-titled debut album through Mark Yoshida’s Rockingchair Records back in 1998, before signing with major label Atlantic Records, who heavily promoted their follow-up records, “Every Six Seconds”, which was released in 2001, and eventually went on to receive a Platinum certification via the RIAA, despite some lukewarm reviews. “Click Click Boom” was also the theme track for then-WWF (WWE)’s No Mercy 2001 PPV. Let’s stream it below.

Although “Click Click Boom” didn’t make much of an impact on the commercial charts, you may recognise the tune because it has somehow been ingrained into popular culture because it’s been featured in so many different film, TV and video game productions. The long list includes ‘Talladega Knights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby’ (2006), ‘The Fast and The Furious’ (2001), ‘UFC 2009 Undisputed’ (2009) and ‘Project Gotham Racing’ (2001), among other entertainment titles. It was also put on the 2001 Clear Channel memorandum, but no lyric edits were actually made. Encyclopedic knowledge aside, “Click Click Boom” is more-or-less still the Nu Metal-by-numbers track you may remember, with vocalist Wayne Swinny singing about his band causing commercial dominance globally. Lines like “I’m on the radio station, Touring the nation, Leaving the scene in devastation” and “I’m coming down with a new style, and you know it’s buck wild” making these meanings abundantly clear, recited over a Rap-Metal delivery. A heavy set of guitar chords boost the instrumentation forwards, with a propelling bass guitar melody and a loud set of drum notes conjuring up a Pop-oriented hook, followed by a slightly lighter bridge of similarly, but slowed, chugging guitar patterns. Themes of childhood are also touched on, with lines like “Just a kid with a pad and a pen, and a big imagination” which is ironic because the track doesn’t have anything that expressive to say, and so it feels rather contradictory. Lyrical gripes aside, the line of “Make it, break it, take it, Until i’m overrated” was enough to elicit a slight chuckle from me. Overall, the track feels like a watered-down Rage Against The Machine, with a croaking vocal delivery somewhat downplaying the otherwise decent delivery. However, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t entertained by it. While this track is pretty crap by all means, I think it has some charm in the fame-lusting themes that isn’t really heard in today’s Nu-Metal standards, and I could picture the track being good fun when it’s performed to a live crowd and a throbbing mosh-pit. So, in conclusion, although the track isn’t amazing by any stretch of the mind, I think it’s fine for what it is if you don’t take it so seriously.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Every Six Seconds” (LP) (Released in July, 2001) (via Island Records)

When the job is done, don’t forget to add a BOOM at the end, Just for good measure. I’ll leave you to enjoy the rest of your Sunday in peace for now, but please feel free to join me again tomorrow as I begin to curate another week’s worth of recommended music listening picks for you. We’re celebrating International Women’s Day with an archive track, released in 2014 to critical acclaim and commercial success, from an influential US songwriter and producer who was included twice in NPR’s list of the “200 Greatest Songs by 21st Century Women” in 2019, and she contributed backing vocals for Swans on their 2014 record, “To Be Kind”. Did you also know that she once dated supermodel and actress Cara Delevinge from 2014 to 2016 too? 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: Coal Chamber – “Loco”

February 7, 2021 — Leave a comment

A bizarre delight, or nothing but a lump of Coal in St. Nick’s sack? It’s Scuzz Sunday…

Pictured: Cover Art for “Coal Chamber” (Self-Titled LP) (Released in 1997) (via Roadrunner Records)

Well, here’s another addition to the Lunacy series. It’s Scuzz Sunday – and that means it’s the time of the week where I – Jacob Braybrooke – dig out an ancient relic from the Emo-Rock and Pop-Punk genres between the late 1990’s to the mid 2000’s, to see if they can hold up to quality and value in the current climate – because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! We’ve been riding up a stream of surprisingly decent old Nu-Metal singles over the past few weeks – and Coal Chamber were another group of that same ilk. Formed by Dez Fafara in Los Angeles, California during 1993, the band have had a very on-and-off creative relationship, with the band active from 1993 – 2003, and reuniting from 2011 to 2016, and disbanding again in 2018. Although I wouldn’t say they became a household name like Korn, Evanescence or Nightwish did – their first album still performed very well. Despite some brutal reviews, their self-titled debut LP – released in 1997 via Roadrunner Records – has been certified as Gold in US sales by the RIAA with figures above 500,000 units sold. It was also numbered at #15 on Kerrang’s list of “The 21 Greatest Nu-Metal Albums Of All-Time”, and each of the singles were compiled onto a Greatest Hits album that was issued in 2004. The co-founders, Fafara and Meegs Rascón, would also find moderate success in side projects. Strangely, Ozzy Osbourne used the music video for “Loco” as a starring vehicle. Take a gander below.

Just to clear a few things up, I can inform you that I’m writing this post just before I got to Church like I do on a Sunday morning and, when you come to think of it, I can’t say this is a very appropriate type of art form to be consuming just before that scenario, but, you know, when there’s a job – it needs doing. The band’s primary influences included The Cure, Metallica and Jane’s Addiction. “Loco” shows a few spades of these ideas – both visually and lyrically – but it’s mostly known for it’s two-note guitar riff. A sweeping and dramatic opening riff leads to the mosh-pit drawing refrain of “Pull” as the bass guitars start to chug along. Lines like “Steamroller rollin’ through my haid said/Attached to Loco, Power up Coal” are delivered in a low-pitch grumble, that sells qualities of rage and darkness. The chorus is relatively basic, with “Mi Loco” being repeated over the top of a brooding and whammy-assisted lead guitar melody. A slight breakdown comes near the two-thirds mark, as a hazing line of washing riffs and a slowed vocal delivery, before the dark riffs settle back into their mid-tempo focus again. The chorus can get a little annoying and it lacks substance, but there’s a doofy and not-so serious feeling to the tune that are charmingly endearing. All of the usual tropes of the Nu-Metal genre are here, with slight rap inflictions being created by the slightly melodic nature of the growling, and some guitar riffs that just chug along at a rhythmic pace, as you would expect. The guitar riffs, while not inherently bad, come across as rather dull and uninteresting to me, however. While Nu-Metal music often thrived on the very slight melodicism to the dark toned instrumentation, they weren’t exactly energetic – and “Loco” sadly didn’t manage to pull any of those moves while doing anything interesting. Although I’ve heard worse, ” Loco” fails because of it’s lack of substance, and much of the track just felt “off” to me – with attempts of humor that don’t spark an effortless feeling. In other words, it’s just trying a little too hard, and it felt too abstract. It’s more of an awareness from a band whose music they knew were only filling a gap in the market.

Pictured: Dez Fafara (Lead Vocals), Miguel Rascon (Keyboard/Rhythm Guitar/Backing Vocals), Nadja Peulen (Bass Guitar) and Mike Cox (Drums/Percussion) (2015) (Photo via Dom Lawson/Metal Hammer)

They can’t all be good! Scuzz Sundays is scheduled to be back at roughly the same time, but on the same day, next week. Until then, we’re going to be kicking off another week of new posts tomorrow. The week stars off with relatively fresh Hip-Hop from a British-Gambian producer who gained exposure from BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra and 6Music for his debut album, “Take Me To Coventry”, which got to the Top 40 of the UK Albums Chart. He is known for his use of Afrobeat and Drill elements in his Grime music, and his debut single “Frontline” was the most-played track on 1Xtra in 2020. 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: Korn – “Freak On A Leash”

January 31, 2021 — Leave a comment

All I have got to say to you is: Da-boom-na-da-noom-na-na-me-na. It’s Scuzz Sunday!

Pictured: Cover Art for “Follow The Leader” (LP) (Released on August 18th, 1998) (via Epic Records)

Good Morning to you – my name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for another entry into our weekly Scuzz Sundays feature on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! The last seven days have really flown by, and it’s already time for us to revisit a classic from the Emo-Rock and Pop-Punk genres from the late-90’s to the mid 00’s to see how they hold up, named in honor of the long-lost Scuzz TV channel. Korn’s “Freak On A Leash” was released over 20 years ago, and the track had got to #24 in the UK Singles Chart. Released from the California-bred Nu Metal band Korn, this was the lead single from their third studio LP, “Follow The Leader”, which has been certified as 5X Platinum by the RIAA of the US. Although the album was their first not to be produced by Ross Robinson, with that mantle being taken up by the duo of Steve Thompson and Toby Wright instead, it peaked at the #1 spot on four charts, and it sold over 14 million units worldwide, thus remaining to be Korn’s most commercially-oriented album. In fact, this single is most notable for it’s music video in particular, where the lines between computer animation and live performance were blurred. The video itself garnered wins and nominations for both the Grammy Awards and the MTV Video Music Awards, and it’s twinned to the ‘Family Values Tour’ of the LP. Let’s mosh to “Freak On A Leash” below.

One fact that you might not know about Korn’s “Freak On A Leash” is that Korn once included an instrumental section of the track which they used to call the “noisy guitar break”, but this interlude had been edited out by Korn, as per their fans request of removal, yet it had still managed to hit #6 on the Billboard Alternative Songs Chart and #10 on the Mainstream Rock Songs chart in the US. With a simple “Boom-na-da-noom-na-na-ne-ma”, a crossover hit was born. Don’t get them wrong, “Freak On A Leash” is still a distorted and aggressive track, as dissonant guitar breaks mesh with rapid drum beats to craft the heavy, angry tone. The lyrics are opened by a grunge-driven Synth line and a delayed pedal effect to the bass guitar, as “Something takes a part of me” and “Every time I start to believe/Something’s raped and taken from me” are crooned in a low pitched delivery by vocalist Jonathan Davies. The harsh distortion of his voice, later on, leads to a more anthemic guitar riff and a line of static noise, which is submerged under heavy reverb effects. The structure is quite well-narrated, with the distortion effects signaling for stadium-sized rock instrumentation, and the lighter verses implying a more internalized quality. The iconic refrain is screeched by Williamson, and it is met by an unusual mix of scatting and psychedelia. The breakdown has a more darker and melodic feel to it, and the chorus is your typical state of Nu-Metal affairs, as the high guitar notes in the build-up lead to an explosive lead guitar hook that pays off nicely. The vocals are pretty nonsensical and the experimentation is daft, but the backing track is creative and the unusual vocal breakdown is still memorable – whether that is for better or worse. To conclude, although the track is undeniably dated, you could get a lot worse. The vocals break the immersion for me a little too much for me, but the instrumentation is well-paced. Silly – but it is heavy, it’s crazy, and it’s a bit catchy. Boom-na-da-noom-na-na-ne-ma!

Pictured: Jonathan Davis (Lead Vocals/Bagpipes/Programming), James Schaffer (Lead Guitar), Reginald Arvizu (Bass Guitar), Brian Welch (Rhythm Guitar/Backing Vocals) and Ray Luzier (Drums) (2015) (Photo Credit: Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

That’s all I have got for your Alternative Metal wrap-up for this week! Scuzz Sundays will be back at the usual time again next week. Before we get to that point – we need to ring in the new month. Join me again tomorrow as we turn to a familiar face – who we have previously covered on the blog – to review a piece of his work from his latest EP, which was released back in September via Friends Of Jagjaguwar. This electronic producer has been played on 168 episodes of programmes on NTS Radio, where he used to host a weekly radio show. 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: Sum 41 vs. Tenacious D – “Things I Want”

December 27, 2020 — Leave a comment

Like the Justice League – here is another collaboration for the ages! It’s Scuzz Sunday!

Pictured: Deryck Whibley (Lead Vocals/Multi-Instrumentalist), Dave Baksh (Lead Guitar), Jason McCaslin (Bass Guitar/Occasional Backing Vocals), Tom Thacker (Keyboard/Rhythm Guitar) and Frank Zummo (Drums/Synths/Percussion) (in Oct. 2016) (Photo Credit: Jonathan Weiner/Rolling Stone)

The New Mutants. The Young Avengers. Take up your pick as we get obscurer and obscurer – but Tenacious D vs. Sum 41 are shaping up to be the superhero team for trashy Emo-Punk. I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and it is time for a festive edition of Scuzz Sundays, the weekly feature where we get in touch with one of the ghosts of Pop-Punk Christmas past, to see whether the sounds from the late-90’s until the mid-00’s can hold up to quality and value today – in 2020! “Things I Want” is a rare find for either fanbase of the Rap-Rock heavyweights Sum 41 or the Hollywood-famous Alt-Metal duo Tenacious D, because it’s tricky to find on any album these days. It was once shared on MySpace (Remember that? No… neither do I…) by both groups back in the 00’s, but it was originally included on “Kevin & Bean Present: Swallow My Eggnogg”, a Def Jam Records compilation of festive-themed Skate-Punk singles and other Hard Rock/Pop-Grunge rarities. The true release date of this LP is pretty unclear to me – as I have three sources of research saying different years to me. However, the most reliable of these sources is Discogs.com, which lists the CD package as a 2001 release. Thankfully, the rare single has been lifted and restored by some lucky users on the video sharing platforms YouTube and DailyMotion. According to the Fandom wiki of Tenacious D, Epic Records once produced a few not-for-public-sales release promos for this track, before it was recorded in 1999. Let’s hear the results of it below.

When you come to think of it – it’s odd that “Things I Want” was doomed to be published on an obscure festive Pop-Punk compilation album, since both parties of Tenacious D and Sum 41 had gained fame and star power within the genre at the time, and they would have had the pushing power of A&R and label representatives to score a quick hit with the novelty of the track, but perhaps it was more of a passion project than an interest in easy commerce which drove the project forward for the two tribes. In whatever case, “Things I Want” still saw the light of day. It is quite surprising, given the circumstances – if not totally unexpected – “Things I Want” does still sound much like you would expect a Sum 41 and Tenacious D collaboration to sound like. Teenage humor and brash guitar lines mix with the quirky Jack Black vocals and the festive intro to create an alternative to your bog-standard Christmas music fare, one which sounds more rooted in classic Metal from Black’s part and the quick, shredding bass guitar lines are produced by Sum 41’s line-up. Lines like: “I wanna see-through jump suit that fits me tight/I want all of the Beatles copyrights” and “I wanna chop Florida off the map/I want Pamela Anderson’s speedo top” bring the Emo-Rock subculture to the forefront, with Black declaring: “There’s a lot of cool s**t I want” over the top of soaring electric guitar solos and melodic, quick Drum time signatures. The lyrics don’t go beyond the basic humorous list of items shtick a great deal, but the fast-paced guitar chords and the generally fast instrumentation keeps the flowing pace going. Overall, I didn’t expect to like this much – just because it was dumped onto a random compilation LP that I had not heard of prior to this, but it certainly exceeded my predictions for it. While I think the jokes ware thinner a little towards the end and it’s not the most Chrismassy festive track out there, it’s still some good fun and it doesn’t take itself very seriously at all – and that’s for it’s own benefits. The instrumentation is also quite entertaining, and that frantic pacing takes a bit of skill. It’s pretty decent, although it’s all about the giving and not the receiving.

Pictured: Jack Black & Kyle Gass of Tenacious D (in 2018) (Photo by Ricardo DeAratanha/LA Times)

Thank you for checking out my latest Festive post! I have got more tricks from up my sleeve of my Christmas jumper tomorrow – where we’re going to be taking an in-depth look at a festive track that was released brand new for this year. It comes from a popular English singer-songwriter and theater performer who has released eight studio albums to date, and she has been commonly known as one of Britain’s greatest soul singers. She’s recently celebrated 25 years of her career in music. 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: Twisted Sister – “Heavy Metal Christmas”

December 13, 2020 — Leave a comment

A season as warped as the ever-shifting shape of a Twister ice lolly. It’s Scuzz Sunday!

Pictured: Cover Art for “A Twisted Christmas” (LP) (Released on October 17th. 2006) (via Razor & Tie)

Season’s Greetings – or, should I say, in this case, Season’s Beatings – to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for a Festive edition of our weekly Scuzz Sundays feature, where we take a look back at the Pop-Punk and the Emo-Rock classics from Christmas Past, released between the late-1990’s and the mid-2000’s, to see if they can hold up to quality and value in the modern times! Twisted Sister were a US Heavy Metal band who really challenged the gender politics of their era, which saw rise to numerous acts like Judas Priest and AC/DC in gaining some mainstream attention, by often wearing elaborate make-up and gender-blurring costumes that infused a sheen of Glam-Rock into their music, which really set them apart from their contemporaries. It goes without saying that 2006’s “A Twisted Christmas” was the weirdest full-length album in their discography. However, it also proved to be the famous group’s last album, too. Talk about neatly tying a ribbon on top of a lengthy career like a tightly wrapped present, right? The album, distributed by Razor & Tie Entertainment, is a mixture of Metal-themed reworkings of classic Christmas carols and Christmas-themed versions of the band’s classic material. “Heavy Metal Christmas”, the track in question on the blog today, is the 5-piece’s own Metal-themed version of “The Twelve Days Of Christmas”, with obviously modified lyrics. Let’s watch the music video below.

The band produced the full-length album release themselves, and they filmed the studio performance above for GameTap, and the LP record became something of a viral hit, with the band’s metal-themed version of “O Come All Ye Faithful” becoming arguably one of their more well-known releases since the 1990’s. Meanwhile, “Heavy Metal Christmas”, the track in question, looks at the traditional children’s carol through a different set of guitar riffs, and a different polish of make-up, for that measure. Replacing “Partridge In A Pear Tree” with a “Tattoo Of Ozzy”, the track continually builds up it’s vocal layers with a gradual showering of goofy heavy gifts and self-ironic jokes related to the stereotypes of Glam metal and vintage Metal stereotypes, which play out in the same rhythmic fashion as the well-known carol. “Spandex Pants” and “Leather Jackets” are included in the equation, along with “Cans Of Hairspray” and “Silver Crosses” later on. Of course, the instrumentation is quite different to the old Carol – with a loud set of powerful Drum beats, scattered Guitar licks and brief bass guitar replacing the more Choral sound of the original version. The tune of the ancient carol remains however, and it gradually adds new layers of instrumental guitar riffs and joyous backing vocals while the track runs along a fairly lengthy five minute duration. The self-referential lyrics come across as fun and catchy, even if the joke gets a little tired towards the end. There is mostly enough to keep things fresh though, and the actual gifts used in the lyrics don’t feel too forced on, or majorly obvious. Overall, this is Christmas – through a different amp.

Pictured: Dee Snider (Lead Vocals), Eddie “Fingers” Ojeda (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Jay Jay French (Rhythm Guitar), Mark Mendoza (Bass Guitar) and AJ Pero (Drums) (in 2006) (via NorthJersey.com)

Thank you for checking out my latest blog post! More Christmas-themed music comes tomorrow in the form of a late-90’s track that was later re-worked in the late-00’s by a classic British pop duo who currently hold the distinction of being the most commercially successful duo in the history of British music. At the BRIT Awards in 2009, in London, they were given the honour of the “Lifetime Achievement Award”. 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: Drowning Pool – “Bodies”

August 9, 2020 — Leave a comment

Let the bodies hit the floor. Let the bodies hit the FL-OOOOOOOOR! It’s Scuzz Sunday!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Sinner” (Released on June 5th, 2001) (via Wind-Up Entertainment Ltd.)

You know what time it is! Good Morning to you, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! It is Scuzz Sunday, which means it’s time for us to dig out an Emo-Rock or Pop-Punk relic from between the late-1990’s to the mid-2000’s to see if it can live up to modern standards, named in tribute to the defunct Scuzz TV channel. “Bodies” was an absolute staple of the “Scuzz” rock era. The track was credited to Drowning Pool, an American Heavy Metal band from Texas, and the track was the lead single from their debut album, “Sinner”, released in 2001. “Bodies” is the track that Drowning Pool are primarily known for, and bizarrely, it has been featured in plenty of TV shows, commercials and films. An interesting, fun fact about “Bodies” is that despite it’s growing popularity in the mainstream at the time of it’s release, the track was banned from radio airplay, being taken off radio stations, in light of the 9/11 attacks because it was considered to be “Inappropriate” in the wake of the terrorist events – Let the bodies hit the floor below.

If you hit play, then you can expect a significant amount of screaming. This track was considered to be “Drowning Pool’s finest moment” on “Sinner” by Rolling Stone, and the lyrics are often misinterpreted as being linked to the 2011 Arizona shooting of congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, but it’s really just about the brotherhood of a ‘Mosh-Pit’, as the band issued in a statement. “Let the bodies hit the floor” is obviously the main hook, and it’s vocal delivery gradually increases in aggression with key changes which get telegraphed by vocalist Dave Williams as he counts up from one to four, as it reaches a dramatic conclusion. The guitar riffs feel rickety in the verses, at a high energy with an exciting tension. The vocals in the verses are fairly more clean, as Williams recites filler lines like: “Beaten why for?, Can’t take much more” and “Push me again/This is the end” over a whispered delivery above a screeching bass guitar riff and a static drum pattern, as we build up to the chorus. Speaking of the chorus, it’s loud and brash in equal measure. Williams feels broken in his lyricism, shouting “Let The Bodies Hit The Floor” to mark a contrast to the softer vocals in the verses. There’s a delayed use of a “Wah Pedal” and a harsh, rumbling drum signature, to make up the melodic structure of the heavy, unadulterated sound of the chorus. If we’re being honest, it’s incessantly cheesy and it’s inherently stupid, but, I think it’s a relatively fun song. The problem is there’s a time and a place for this kind of music, and 9:53am (at time of writing) on a Sunday Morning is not really the intended time and setting for the listening of a track like this. At least, the guitar work is energetic and Williams puts in a fun vocal performance for what it is, but the sound wares rather thin as we reach the ending stages of the piece. Sadly, it’s been relegated to silly memes in the decades since. Now, I’m off to Church – odd as that likely seems!

Pictured: Dave Williams (Lead Vocals), C.J. Pierce (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Stevie Benton (Bass Guitar/Rhythm Guitar/Occasional Backing Vocals) and Mike Luce (Drums/Percussion) (in 2001) (via The PRP/MetalSucks.net)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with an in-depth look at the brand new single from an English Indie Rock 3-piece who are making their highly-anticipated return from an 11-year hiatus! The trio began their reunion period with a charity concert in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust at The Royal Albert Hall in London on 29th March, 2019. 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: AFI – “Miss Murder”

January 19, 2020 — Leave a comment

I think AFI are going to need Miss Marple to solve this murder! It’s time for a new post!

Pictured: AFI (Davey Havock, Jade Puget, Hunte Burgen and Adam Carson) at the MTV Awards (2006) (Zimbio.com)

Happy Scuzz Sunday to you! As usual, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and it’s the day of the week where I take you on a leisurely stroll down memory lane of the late 1990’s-mid 2000’s punk/emo/rock genre, as I revisit some of the artists and tracks which I used to listen to in my childhood, as part of THAT phase. “Miss Murder” by AFI is this week’s special track, a tune which achieved good commercial success, having reached the #44 spot in the UK Singles Chart upon it’s original release in 2006. I vividly remember the dark/gothic music video and I can also remember getting a perfect score of the track on Guitar Hero 3: Legends Of Rock on the Xbox 360. Those were the days, right? It’s taken from AFI’s seventh LP, “DecemberUnderground”, a landmark record in the development of new punk and progressive metal as a genre beyond the commercial emo status. AFI are still popular, having released the “Blood Album” in January 2017.

I still get a real kick from the vocal breakdown in the middle. It’s still deeply satisfying to jam out to! The bass guitar riff, conjoined throughout the track, also comes off as an iconic guitar riff for me, with it’s distinctive three-note structure and it’s large punk-hardcore influence, which echoes throughout the track at a steady, yet confidently upbeat, pace. The track is unashamedly over-the-top and it reminds me of the gothic and operatic style which was being popularized by My Chemical Romance at the time, although the track is produced with even darker qualities which dips into influences from the Glam-Rock bands of the 70’s, such as Black Sabbath. Davey Havock, in his vocal performance, croons: “with just a look/they shook/and heavens bowed before him/simply a look can break you heart, later followed up by “Dreams of his crash won’t pass/Oh, how they all adored him/Beauty will last when spiraled down”, two verses which have a very gloomy and anthemic context to them, although they’re delivered in a slightly tongue-in-cheek, or should I say, smeared black mascara, way. This builds up to a crescendo of chanting vocals and a melodic breakdown of frantic drum beats and precarious bass guitar lines. Havock collapses in fright and leads a choral, shouting bridge. This is finished off with some synthesized beat jitters. The track got a mixed critical reception when it was originally released, although it’s become a cult favourite since. I don’t really understand the reason for the former, as it’s a rare example of an over-the-top, 00’s goth-punk anthem that stands the test of time. Fun fact: the video is directed by Marc Webb, who went on to direct The Amazing Spider-Man films and 500 Days Of Summer. He also directed videos for Jimmy Eat World, Evanescence and Weezer around the same time!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “DecemberUnderground” (June 2006) (Interscope Records)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, with a holiday plan to whisk you away to sunny Jamaica (audibly, not literally, of course!), as we warm up our hearts on a cold January day with a look at a classic Jamaican Rocksteady track from 1967 from a small vocal choir led by Winston Riley, who briefly reformed in 1982 with a re-recorded version of one of their hit singles and a brand new album! 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/