TOP SHOCK ROCKERS OF HISTORY

Source: MSN/Sympatico

1.SCREAMIN JAY HAWKINS

In the 1950's Screamin' Jay was known for his crazy, theatrical performances and macabre imagery. Best known for scary tracks like ''I Put a Spell on You'' and ''Constipation Blues,'' Screamin' Jay was arguably the very first shock rocker. (credit: Frank Edwards/Hulton Archive) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kGPhpvqtOc

2.IGGY POP

In a class all his own, Iggy's 1970s psycho stage persona was scary, and not just because of the raw meat, puking and rolling around in broken glass, but because he had a little trouble keeping little Iggy in his pants, if you know what we're saying. (credit: Marty Temme/WireImage)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbLRf0j80wU

3.ALICE COOPER

He welcomed us into his nightmare in the 1970s. Alice Cooper's scary stage show featured guillotines, electric chairs, (fake) blood, and scary snakes. A metal pioneer and born entertainer, some would argue that pretty much every shock rocker since then owes something to Alice Cooper. (credit: Max Schneider/Hulton Archive)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeZxRYXZ154

4.KISS

Coming to prominence in the late 1970s, scary KISS wore face paint and costumes and their stage show featured smoking guitars, fire breathing, blood spitting, and pyrotechnics. Not to mention Gene ''The Demon'' Simmons has the scariest, longest tongue in bass player history. (credit: Chris Walter/WireImage)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgsoJrzplUI

5.OZZY OSBOURNE

Before he was the battered shell of a husband you see before you today, and after he was paranoid with Black Sabbath, Ozzy was scary! Every teenaged boy's mother's nightmare. He bit the heads off a dove and a bat. And word is that he was in cahoots with the devil. The DEVIL! (credit: Hulton Archive) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRbPWcLode0

6.W.A.S.P.

Nudity! Simulated torture! Raw meat! In the 1980s, metal band W.A.S.P. were such scary troublemakers they were a catalyst for the formation of Tipper Gore's PMRC. (credit: Paul Natkin/WireImage) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r3gVs6UG5Q

7.TWISTED SISTER

They were all about teenaged angst, like their 1984 hit ''We're Not Gonna Take It.'' But scary frontman Dee Snider didn't look like the sort of guy you'd want to meet in an alleyway. (credit: Chris Walter/WireImage)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyu7nN3kBnw

8.MARILYN MANSON

Marilyn Manson, who named himself for Marilyn Monroe and Charles Manson, considered himself something of an antichrist superstar at one point. In the 90s he was sort of the king of the scary macabre imagery. Boo. (credit: Patti Ouderkirk/WireImage)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mKlb8N6TqA

9.SLIPKNOT

Late nineties offering Slipknot relied on nu metal and scary masks. And guess what. It worked. These are the dudes you have nightmares about when you're away at summer camp. (credit: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1unzN2zsA4k

10.ROB ZOMBIE

A walking horror show with industrial, punk metal leanings, Rob Zombie has also made something of a scary name for himself as director of such films as ''House of 1000 Corpses'' and ''The Devils Rejects.'' (credit: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPdhVT9OfLQ

11.LORDI

Also apparently known as ''The Finnish Monsters'' and ''The Monsters of Finland,'' scary metal band Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with a record 292 points, which is scary enough on its own. (credit: MJ Kim/Getty Images)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6VzdtmrP6Y

WHO SHOULD HAVE MADE THE LIST

12. GORGOROTH

While not the best sounding band in the industry, these self proclaimed messengers of the devil have been banned from Poland for displaying decapitated sheep heads at one of their performances and current frontman Gaahl went to jail for assaulting a man who assaulted him. That's not the weird part, apparently Gaahl tortured the man for hours, including some acts inflicted upon the mans genitalia. In the same incident he supposedly drank the man's blood from a cup. For more about his weirdness check out the True Norwegian Black Metal documentary in the Forge-Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgdmrSxDN_4

13.VENOM

No Black Metal band worth its salt cannot say that they don't owe a certain amount of thanks to these pioneers of the aggressive, droning, dark, Black Metal sound. Proclaiming themselves Satanists, these British metalheads carved a path that later would be followed by the likes of Mayhem, Dimmu-Borgir, and countless other Black Metal bands.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYtVb48fvY0

METAL SHOWDOWN:IRAQ

Three Metal Bands that are coming out of the wartorn country of Iraq, true metalheads to the bone. See the personal struggle of Acrassicauda in the documentary Heavy Metal in Baghdad (available on the Forge-Tube).

WARNING: Some of these videos contain graphic images of war.

Amargi-Wrath of Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuQOLQ636Lw
Mesopotamica-Black Hole
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH0TO6_oGHI
Acrassicauda- Between the Ashes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU6iIQtEj0w

Pick your favourite send your feedback to theforgeofheavymetal@gmail.com and I will make your favourite a nice warm place to roost in the Forge-Tube.

EMPOWERMENT AND INCREASE IN SELF ESTEEM: The side of Metal the moral majority doesn't want you to know about.

Heavy Metal since its inception in the 60's and mainstream breakout in the 70's, has been viewed as a negative influence, driving young people to feel depressed, lonely, suicidal, and suffering from low esteem.

Where does this opinion come from? What makes people think that a genre of music is solely responsible for these tragedies amongst young people?

The answer, lack of education.

From an outside perspective, Heavy Metal music has all the appearance of being quite evil, especially in the Black Metal/Death Metal circles. Even seemingly tame musically by today's standards, Motley Crue, adorned their album cover with a an upside-down pentagram, a pagan inspired mark used by Christianity to symbolize Satan. For the most part, these are all symbols of rebellion, a common theme in music listened to by angst driven hormone fuelled young people, mere flash and stage antics, no more realistic than the characters played out in professional wrestling.

There are exceptions to the rule, but there always are, with the thousands of bands in existence you are bound to find some individuals who are a little left of centre (ie: Gaahl, frontman of Gorgoroth). This however, still should not affect the listener in a negative way, no matter the age, unless that person has other problems psychologically outside the music that make them succeptable to depression, suicide or unchecked violent tendencies. If it truly was a question of music influencing actions, "Helter Skelter" by the Beatles should have been the scapegoat when Charles Manson did his dirty deeds in the Tate/Bianca murders.

In the case of a troubled individual, absolutely nothing will ever replace a good support structure like parents, friends, or a counselor of some kind. In spite of all those things, metal unlike some other musical genres that choose to sugarcoat the problems facing someone, confronts these same problems head on unabashedly slapping these metaphorical demons across the face and saying "So what!" It is this aggressive and direct approach that give metal its capability to empower, uplift and drive a person to rise above strife and pain affecting their lives.

Some great examples of this direct confrontation with our fears, forcing us to look inward and gather the strength to overcome these obstacles. "Enter Sandman" by Metallica, "Fear of the Dark" by Iron Maiden, and "Get Up Again" by Flaw are great examples of overcoming nightmarish distress and soaring above it. To use a choral excerpt from the song written by Flaw previously mentioned as an examplar of what I mean,

Reach out your hands

Out for the ones who, aid when the going gets rough

Until the end.

These are the ones who, help when the times get tough

And times will get tough.

Get up again.

Times will get tough.

Get up again.

There is a host of other artists that could be added to this list but to simplify the matter and not cloud the issue with too much trivia, the resounding message of Metal is this, be happy with who you are, however you look, whatever your upbringing, you are not alone and you will get through this.

For a great look at being confident and sure of oneself in a counterculture check out the cover story for the Edmonton Journal today. Its worth checking out.

Public Service Announcement

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Public Service Announcement

This Blog is not only dedicated to established Metal superstars and their bands but also the Metal scene in general, particularily in Canada. So if you're reading this Blog and you have some friend, cousin, friend of a friend, in-law, goat, anyone you know in your life that has a Metal band send me some info. I find that one of the great things about Metal is its underground, but it can also be one of its greatest downfalls as well, especially for bands who want to build their audience and get themselves heard. So please, if you know someone who raises their horns high and is bringing something to the Metal table, drop their info into The Forge! Send it to theforgeofheavymetal@gmail.com and like the message at Marathon got to its final destination, I will get yours. In the meantime, keep feeding the fire and bringing down the hammer! \m/

Oh Lordi Lordi, Finnish Metal goes to the movies!

Finnish Extreme Metal Band Lordi, have a movie that came out called Dark Floors, it released on this side of the pond Oct 14,2008. The band play monsters (big stretch there) that of course terrify wide-eyed young adults. Just what the doctor ordered for this Halloween!

For more info check out:
http://www.solarfilms.com/elokuvat/kaikki/darkfloors/en_GB/darkfloors/

The Attraction of Metallica's Death Magnetic (Sep 16, 2008)

The tumultuous career of one of the worlds most iconic metal bands can be summed up nicely by the opening lyrics to one of their new songs on Death Magnetic, 'Broken, Beat and Scarred' which begins with signature frontman James Hetfield's lyrical eruption of "Rise. Fall. You're down then you rise again. What don't kill ya make ya more strong."

In their long history since their formation in October of 1981, Metallica has had a colourful past to say the least. They've played a major role in creating the 'Thrash Metal' sound, won Grammys, played alongside the San Francisco Symphony, and led the charge against Napster and its music piracy. Surviving pitfalls, rehab, and members coming and going over the years, not to mention, the less than satisfying predecessor to Magnetic, 2003's St. Anger, it seemed that the end of the road was fast approaching for Metallica.

If Death Magnetic has done anything, it has shown the world that this oncoming demise couldn't be further from the truth. One surefire example is Hetfield's pre-St.Anger style of solo lyric writing returning or as he iterates quite well about writing the new lyrics in this months Revolver magazine, "I really wanted to crawl back into 'the cave' and kind of get scared, dark, and scared." True to his word, he has tapped into some dark places in this newborn album, showcased in heavily radio played hit 'The Day That Never Comes', a tale of abuse between a father and son. In this latest album, the band has released a third installment into the 'Unforgiven saga' not surprisingly title 'The Unforgiven III', which stacks up comparitively with its previous incarnations.

Lyrics and rekindlings of older installments aside, this album very much has the feel, taste and smell of the Master of Puppets/Black Album days, and is almost a fusion between the two whilst still having a modern edge with tracks like 'The End of the Line', 'All Nightmare Long' and 'That Was Just Your Life'. Kirk Hammett's machine gun fast guitar playing and numerous solos will make any metal fan bang their head, and curl their lip, all the while pounding on their chest to Lars Ulrich's, pulse quickening drum beats and Rob Trujillo's bass riffs.

Death Magnetic, with its biblical commandment-like ten songs, is an angry cornucopia of deep seeded pain, anguish and nightmares. For the most part, these tales have needed to be conveyed for a long time in the over twenty six year history of the band.

Metallica has come down from the mountain with these ten 'commandments' after many years, and it has one clear message, they shall not go quietly into the mists of antiquity, they will, as 'Broken, Beat, and Scarred' reiterates in its second line,

"Rise, Fall, Down, Rise again, What don't kill ya make ya more strong!"

Concert Review: Amon Amarth featuring the Absence, Belphegor, and Ensiferum (Oct 8 2008)

Cold gripped our city Wednesday night, chilling Edmonton to the bone. This cold became something of a harbinger for what would coincidentally take place at the Starlite Room, the arrival of true Viking Heavy Metal.

Led by relatively unknown melodic Death Metal band The Absence, following subsequently by Death Metallers Belphegor, and self described Heroic Folk Metal from Finland, Enisferum.

Despite some initial sound problems that occurred mostly due to the setup in this relatively small venue, by the time the headliners Viking Metal band Amon Amarth (means Mt. Doom in one of the Lord of the Rings languages.) took the stage everything was in line as though the Norse Gods came down and fixed it themselves.

Amon Amarth’s flair for storytelling in the true ancient Nordic fashion is prevalent throughout their lengthy sixteen year career as musicians, and their new material showcased on this tour is no different. With a crack of thunderous drums and lightning quick guitar playing, old songs and new came together nicely, never dampening the momentum they had from one song to the next. One couldn’t help but be thoroughly enthralled while these gigantic Swedes took us on epic adventures with them through songs like “Guardians of Asgaard”, “Runes to my Memory”, and “Victory March”.

All in all, the night delivered a healthy dose of Heavy Metal that can be appreciated as what it truly is, a sophisticated, intellectually charged art form, which can not only inspire and entertain but bring about an understanding about another cultures ancient customs and mythology.

CD REVIEW (Oct 9 2008)

Band: The Absence

Album: Riders of the Plague

Florida based Melodic Death Metal five piece, the Absence; relative newcomers to the heavy metal scene (formed in 2002) have released a second full length album entitled “The Riders of Plague”. In contrast to its predecessor, the album “From Your Grave”, this latest incarnation shows a greater technical skill level, whilst still holding firm to their original style. Were it not for research on the band itself, one almost would be convinced they were from Scandinavia and not the southern United States based on the sound of their vocals and vibrant mix of acoustic and electric guitar styles. An excellent example being the song titled “The Murder” which begins with a rugged, medieval, acoustic buildup which quickly transitions into rapid-fire electric guitars and growling, dirty vocals. Whilst their lyrics are poetic in their own right, their sound bears some stark similarity to Dark Tranquility, Arch Enemy, and even at times Opeth. For a fledgling band to sound like such long time veterans could mean big things for this group.

Some recommended listening (click to listen):

“Riders of the Plague”

“The Murder”

“Merciless”

‘Queen of Death Metal’ Screams Above Average (July 18, 2008)

With: FireWind, Divine Heresy, and Dark Tranquility

Where: The Starlite Room

When: Saturday Night

It’s Saturday night in Edmonton, and dark, ominous clouds loom over the city. A storm is blowing in and a collective shiver runs through the crowd waiting for shelter in The Starlite Room.

The tempest on the horizon is wrought by veteran death metal band Arch Enemy on their latest tour, Tyranny and Bloodshed.
Arch Enemy, like many death metal bands, has not much exposure in North America. Even devout followers of metal could be forgiven for not knowing the dark, heavy, melodic sound that shakes the stage, blending melody with brutality.

In We Will Rise, the haunting song from their 2003 Anthems of Rebellion album, Arch Enemy vows to Tear down the walls / Wake up the World/ Ignorance is not bliss / So fed up with second best / Our time is here and now.
Since their change in vocalist in 2001 from former founding member Johan Liva to German wunderkind, journalist-turned-lead singer Angela Gossow, the band has seized every opportunity for larger exposure and successfully cemented themselves on the scene as a powerful metal band.

Fans are thoroughly enraptured when the tiny, unimposing singer takes the stage. The earth starts to rumble / World powers fall / A’warring for the heavens / A peaceful man stands tall, as the lyrics from Symphony of Destruction describe. But it’s not a man standing tall when Gossow takes the stage and delivers deep, powerful roars of vocal power that would be unlikely to come from a fellow twice her size.

Dwarfed by her six-foot-something Swedish band mates, what she lacks in size and Y chromosomes, she makes up for in sheer talent and riveting on-stage charisma.

Fans may not care that the attractive singer unwillingly graced the front cover of Revolver magazine last year as one of “the hottest chicks in metal.” (“I didn’t want to be in that because I thought it was the wrong idea for me. And they put a picture of me in there anyway with some quote,” she later said in an interview.) Most of the die-hard metal fans are more interested in her exceptional skills in the male-dominated art of guttural vocal-screaming, complimented by technically-accomplished guitarists Michael Amott and his younger brother Chris, with Sharlee D’Angelo on bass and the bone rattling drumming of Daniel Erlandsson.

Fellow veteran Swedish death metallers Dark Tranquility, Greek power metal band FireWind and the fledgling Divine Heresy delivered such an inspiring, interactive and ultimately entertaining performance, that by the time Angela and her Swedes took the stage, the crowd was a sea of raised ‘devil horns,’ brewing with a hurricane of energy and anxious anticipation.
Not to be outdone by their tour mates, Arch Enemy decisively delivered a steel-toed heel-kick to the senses. The intensity that built up before they took the stage, inciting whiplash-causing head-banging en masse and a swirling moshpit torrent, never let up.
With interludes featuring awe-inspiring solos from every instrumental member of the group, in spite of the slightly smaller venue, Arch Enemy and comrades pulled no studded-leather glove punches. The evening celebrated what true heavy metal is all about.

After the show Dino Cazares, guitarist of Divine Heresy and well-known metal band Fear Factory, said, “Not just Edmonton, but Canada as a whole is a good country for metal, there is always a big turn out and the people are good to us.”
During a chance meeting with Sharlee D’Angelo, bassist for Arch Enemy, he commented that perhaps being more in the mainstream consciousness, death metal bands would get more exposure, and consequently, a larger venue. He’d like to see fewer fans turned away due to capacity issues. But don’t expect to see Cazares and his music to go more mainstream anytime soon.

“Actually I like the aspect of keeping it underground,” he says.

Russian ban creates EMO-tional response (Sep 5 2008)

If you haven't heard by now, the Russian government has deemed it necessary to work on putting into action a nationwide legislation, which upon completion would heavily regulate Emo and Gothic style music, and their websites. In addition, the government's regulation would ban the wearing of any and all Emo/Goth garb such as black or gothic style clothing, facial piercings, long hair that drapes down the front of the face and paraphernalia of regulated bands, inside schools and government buildings. Although not fully put into action in the whole of Russia, the ban has already been put into effect in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia and, as expected, has been met with protest by Russian fans and musicians alike.

So, the question remains, why, is this former cold war communist superpower turned democratic republic restricting the freedoms and rights of one specific group and the artform that they all share? The answer, the government believes that this type of music, exalts suicide, creates national instability, and incites violent behaviour.

Some of these presumably insurrection inciting bands considered to be on their regulation list are, My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Dashboard Confessional, Weezer, Jimmy Eat World, Billy Talent and countless others.

The segregation of a musical subculture is not a new practice, and similar legislations have been implemented in dozens of countries some successful, some not. In 1975, the South Korean government saw fit to ban all Heavy Metal music from airplay on its radio stations and police were gathering up metalheads and giving them haircuts to rid them of their anti-social long hair. In modern day Iraq, fans of music genres such as Rock, Emo, Punk and Heavy Metal are usually arrested and/or beaten by the religious police usually having contraband like band t-shirts and their long locks confiscated and destroyed. Although Russia will more than likely not go to these extremes, the situation currently ongoing is very reminiscent of a ban that was trying to get off the ground in the mid 80's in the United States by the Parents Music Resource Center political-advocacy group (PMRC), headed up by former Vice President and "An Incovenient Truth" author Al Gore's wife, Tipper Gore. The PMRC, like the Russian goverment was trying to ban certain types of music and musicians that they claimed the "moral majority" deemed harmful to the youth of the country. Unlike Russia, however, the PMRC in conjunction with the Senate Commerce Committee was willing to hear from select members of the musical community they were raising allegations against. Two of the key speakers called before the committee, were Dee Snider of Twisted Sister and Frank Zappa. Snider and Zappa, both suggested to the committee that parents should be responsible for the music that enters their house via their kids not the government. With this testimony given by these two men and others, an effective compromise was reached. An all out ban would violate the Constitution, so some five years later in 1990, the now commonplace Parental Advisory Warning Labels were required on all music media with certain types of "subversive" content.

Russia could extrapolate a solution to their own moral plight from the events that transpired in the U.S. with the PMRC in the mid 80's, however, as the situation continues to develop it appears that the goverment remains steadfast in their opinions and remain unconvinced despite an outcry from nationals and foreigners alike. Inevitably, in any Democracy, the elected officials will have the final say, I hope that they accept the input of the people and reach a peaceful and non civil rights restricting compromise.

Here in Canada, these events do not directly affect us, as fellow children of freedom we should take an interest in the goings on in the world around us, allowing us to appreciate what we have and not take our freedoms for granted and if necessary, like Russian Emo fans, fight for our right to free expression. It certainly crosses my mind everytime I pick up my electric guitar, listen to my vast Metal playlist on my iPod, watch a re-run of Metalocalypse on cable late at night, or go see Iron Maiden play at Rexall Place.

OPETH CONCERT REVIEW (October 1, 2008)

Amidst the usual goings on at a metal concert, an underlying anticipation even, some might say, a longing seems to take hold of the crowd gathered at the Edmonton Event Centre this past Wednesday night. The bated response of the group is well founded, Swedish progressive metal veterans, Opeth have returned to town, their latest album, Watershed, functioning as their “standard”.

The majority of people in attendance, although not familiar with the opening act, High on Fire and their work, did not hesitate to bang their heads and raise their “horns” when this aggressive three piece band took the stage. Like a medieval bellows, fuelling the fires of an ancient forge, High on Fire’s performance surprised and thrilled those whom had never heard them before and caused fervor amongst the forest of raised hands at their feet. Riding this wave of excitement, Opeth took the stage to a roar of applause, drowned out almost immediately by the sound of their first song of the evening.

For the whole of the two hour set, you get exactly what you’d expect from Opeth, progressive riffs and melodies, complimented by thunderous drumming, clean, almost whispering ballads fluidly moving into harsh guttural vocals just to remind you that they firmly still have their roots in the Swedish Death Metal scene.

Despite a technical problem with lead singer Mikael Akerfeldt’s guitar early on, (which was simply played off with impish humor, and some choice four letter words) the set went well, taking you through all the band had to offer, from their older albums with song selections like “Deliverance” all the way up to several of the newer tracks from Watershed.

Opeth’s performance, while musically spot on, was also complimented by the unique and often times humorous commentary made between songs, everything from an semi-improvised quiz game of where they played other bands guitar riffs and the audience had to guess correct before they would play their next song, to an admittance of their own personal guilty pleasures (Mikael’s is “Take On Me” by A-Ha) and an introduction of each band member along with a comparison of what foul smell they are most akin to on stage.

This humorous display sets apart Opeth from most of what we see in the Swedish Metal scene with their jests, candor, and childlike enthusiasm as they play, you cannot help but share in the celebration. Metal has always been about pushing boundaries and exploring new territory some other musical genres won’t dare explore.
As their album title suggests, Opeth continues to create “Watershed” moments in metals vast and sordid history, and if you are up for a change of pace or just want more to stuff onto your iPod, gives these Stockholm natives a try, you won’t be disappointed.