Heavyness

Two Hundred Twenty -Seven

Artist - The Sword
Album - Age of Winters
Released - 2006
Label - Kemado
Genre - Heavy Metal

Tracks:
Side A
Celestial Crown
Barael's Blade
Freya
Winter's Wolves
The Horned Goddess
Side B
Iron Swan
Lament for the Aurochs
March of the Lor
Ebethron

The debut album by Austin rockers The Sword, Age of Winters is a heavy, yet fascinating record.  Heavy metal at it's best, this record, in its entirety is pretty hard.  I always admire my taste in music, not to sound full of myself, because my range is so broad.  I go from Hip-Hop to Pop to Heavy Metal and it just helps me appreciate all types of sounds.  When listening to this record, it reminded me a lot of Red Fang, another heavy metal band that I had the pleasure of seeing live at Fun Fun Fun Fest this past November.  I love the drums and guitar on this album the most.  I feels like I'm almost in a time warp when I used to listen to nothing by Heavy Metal.  Those were the days.

Enjoy!

Because I Always Think of You

When I heard my one hundred twentieth pick.

Artist - Black Sabbath
Album - Vol4
Released - 1972
Label - Vertigo
Genre - Heavy Metal

Tracks:
Wheels of Confusion/The Straightener
Tomorrow's Dream
Changes
FX
Supernaut
Snowblind
Cornucopia
Laguna Sunrise
St. Vitus Dance
Under The Sun/Every Day Comes and Goes

The fourth album by Black Sabbath, Vol4 is very low key in a sense that it's a little more on the easy listening side.  You still have your occasional rock songs, but with a twist. For some reason, every time I hear Black Sabbath, it will always remind me of Seattle, Washington.  My friend and I searched high and low for Black Sabbath's Black Sabbath with no luck so for some reason, when I listen to them, I think of that.  There is nothing wrong with thinking about Seattle when I listen to Black Sabbath because Seattle is one of the cities I love, so there is nothing wrong there.  Back to the album -- I do enjoy Black Sabbath and when listening to this record, I feel it's a lot different from their previous records.  A more reserved type album, you have songs like Changes that definitely categorizes it just as that.  Doing these posts makes me realize how much great music is out there and how many years great music has existed.

Enjoy!

Doubling Up Part 1

Today is the day I double up on my vinyl record post, since I haven't posted in a while due to my travels, but I want to make sure I get caught up.  So here is to my fifty-eighth pick!

Artist - Black Sabbath
Album - Paranoid
Released - 1970
Label - Vertigo
Genre - Heavy Metal


Tracks:
Side One
War Pigs
Paranoid
Planet Caravan
Iron Man
Side Two
Electric Funeral
Hand of Doom
Rat Salad
Fairies Wear Boots

The greatest are back on my list.  A young Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi shredding on guitar, Terry "Geezer" Butler and Bill Ward on drums present you with Paranoid, the second studio album by Black Sabbath.  It was said that the original title of this album was to be War Pigs, but the big wigs made him change it to Paranoid in fear of backlash of the Vietnam War.  All in all, this album is well put together and it also produced some amazing tracks such as War Pigs and Iron Man.  Definitely a record to have in your collection and listen to every so often, but the funny thing is as I post my second Black Sabbath record on this blog, I've been listening to them a lot more.  Funny how that works.  It's like almost a trigger in my mind that I have to listen to it and when I do it just makes me happy.  There are not too many albums/artists I can say that about, but Black Sabbath definitely is one of them.

Enjoy!

The Rock Gods Summon Me

Yes, yes yes and more of the word YES!!  Heavy hitting, hard sounding and guitarist extraordinaire.  For my thirty-sixth pick, I bow down at your merciless skills of the AXE!

Artist - Van Halen
Album - Van Halen
Released - 1978
Label - Warner Bros.
Genre - Hard Rock, Heavy Metal


Tracks:
Side One
Runnin' With The Devil
Eruption
You Really Got Me
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
I'm The One
Side Two
Jamie's Cryin'
Atomic Punk
Feel Your Love Tonight
Little Dreamer
Ice Cream Man
On Fire

The rock gods are summoning me to make sure this gets on the list.  I mean I have a whole 329 more picks to go, I'm sure I was bound to play some Van Halen.  Man, this record takes me back to when I was a kid watching MTV and I would think to myself, "Who is this guy wearing spandex jumping around on tables?"  Well, it was David Lee-Roth and I was watching the Hot For Teacher video.  How times have changed!!

Van Halen is Van Halen's debut album.  The guitar on this album is no doubt the most insane guitar playing I've heard.  I think their intention was to make sure that each song had the baddest and most difficult guitar riffs for it's time.

Enjoy!