Saying Goodbye to Bowie, Lemmy, and Angus

So, it's been a rough past few days hasn't it? Motorhead frontman/icon Lemmy Kilmister passed away at the age of 70 before New Year's. Then late Saturday night news of horror icon Angus Scrimm passing at the age of 89 had spread. Then, finally, I woke up this morning to the news that the living legend David Bowie had passed away as well.

Lemmy. Angus. Bowie.

If there's any silver lining to these three passing, it's that each of them made a hell of an impact in the film and music worlds (and surprisingly, all three had varying degrees of success in both industries), and lived long lives and have subsequently left unparalleled legacies.

Lemmy was first exposed to me in my teens through discovering Motorhead through the music of Metallica (yeah, I said that). His music was full of attitude and badassery that made little teenage Nick swoon. I wanted to be just like Lemmy, minus the warts. As the years would go by and I'd get into horror flicks, I'd discover Lemmy making appearances in various horror films like Richard Stanley's "Hardware" and various Troma movies. Plus, being a pro wrestling fan, I'd look forward to seeing Triple H make his way to the ring just so I could hear his Motorhead theme song.

Angus Scrimm was an imposing man. Before he became a horror icon for playing the Tall Man in Don Coscarelli's "Phantasm" franchise, he won a Grammy way back in the day for writing liner notes. After the original "Phantasm", Scrimm would make appearances in many horror flicks throughout the years, ranging from "Subspecies" to "Mindwarp". I had managed to meet the man once at a convention years back. He was very cordial and an overall nice man, and he seemed to genuinely love interacting with fans.

David Bowie. David. Fucking. Bowie. I can't say anything about him that would do the man justice. His legacy and impact is unparalleled. I was first exposed to him in my youth, like many others my age, by seeing him in Jim Henson's "Labyrinth". I'd later discover his other acting works including Tony Scott's "The Hunger" and "The Man Who Fell to Earth"; both of which had their fair share of impact on me. But more so than that, it was his music. I really didn't appreciate Bowie's music until I got older, mainly because I don't think my brain was developed enough at the time to fully appreciate his genius...or maybe because I didn't get my hands on hallucinogens until much later. Regardless, saying Bowie had an impact on me is saying it lightly.

The fact that all three of these guys are no longer among us makes the world a worse place to live in. Thankfully, their art will be eternal and forever beloved, and I can't thank the three of them enough for that.

Nine Years Without Dimebag Darrell

Nine years ago today we lost a modern day legend. Dimebag Darrell Abbot was senselessly taken from us far too soon in an event that shook the heavy metal community. I was 20 years old and had just come home from class at the local community college I was going to at the time when I logged on to the internet and the first thing I see is a front page news article that said the following:

"HEAVY METAL GUITARIST SHOT DEAD AT CONCERT"

The picture under the headline was of Dimebag, and before I could even click to read the rest of it, I felt my heart sink. I felt tears start to drop down my cheeks. I couldn't believe what the fuck I was reading...and I hadn't even clicked on the link yet to read the whole story.

We all know what happened to Dimebag. We all know how tragic and senseless it all was and all the ramifications that came from it as time went on. What I want to talk about here is what Dimebag Darrell meant to me.

In my youth, I was a devoted metal head. Most of the crowd I ran with were metal heads as well, although they were more into Korn and Limp Bizkit than Megadeth and Slayer like I was (granted I guess I indulged a bit in the "nu-metal" wave that was escalatingly popular back then, just to be a poser douche I guess in retrospect), but above nearly all the metal bands I loved, I loved none more than Pantera. There was so much to love about Pantera that really spoke to me personally: Phil Anselmo's angst-ridden lyrics, the ballsy and dark subject matter, and of course those shredding, extreme, cock fucking your ear guitar solos that helped set Pantera apart from most of the rest of the pack. Their music spoke to me, and I loved them so fucking much.

I had gotten to see Pantera five times in concert before their breakup. At one of those shows I got to meet Dimebag in person. I was a teenager. He gave me a beer. From that point forward he was my favorite in the whole world.

Besides that, it was Dimebag's manner and how he presented himself to the fans and to others. He never came off with that "rockstar" attitude where by the end of talking to him you thought that he was a total ass hole. He was just one of the guys. He never let success and all the admiration he had received over the years get to his head. Dimebag (and generally speaking most of Pantera) treated their fans wonderfully. Always happy to sign autographs. Always smiling. Always having the time of his life on stage like he was a kid all over again.

That was Dimebag Darrell.

The events that led to Dime's death make his untimely death all the more tragic. The heavy metal community has never been the same since, and in all honesty it never really will be ever again. That's how beloved and revered Dime was, and just how unforgettable he ended up proving to be, as an artist and a person.

Nine years gone Dime, and we all still miss you madly.

Metallica and Lou Reed...Make One Big Pile of Shit

What the fuck happened here?

That’s the real question that permeated throughout my brain, when the real question I should ask instead is just simply, “why?” Why did these two fuckholes decide to collaborate together? Why did Lou Reed and Metallica decide to make this fucking train wreck of an album called “Lulu”?

Let me start by saying that despite all the negativity surrounding Metallica over the years (most of it deserved), I remained a huge fan throughout my youth. There's no denying the impact the band has had on the metal genre, bringing it to mainstream audiences like no band ever could before, and in all honesty, no band has really been able to do since. Acts over the years like Korn, Disturbed, and countless others have achieved great deals of mainstream success, but didn't have either the staying power, or the mix of raw talent and songwriting ability that Metallica had all throughout the 1980s to the late 90s. Well, okay, it was the talent that these groups of assclowns were completely devoid of.

Now, here we are.

The most legendary metal band other than Black Sabbath uniting with legendary singer/songwriter Lou Reed to bring us "Lulu"; a collaboration of two distinctly different acts that could either be a smashing success or a complete and utter train wreck. Well folks, "Lulu" is possibly the biggest train wreck of music I think I've ever heard. With the Metallica boys in the background and Lou on vocals, "Lulu" is an unimaginative mess. Every single track on this album sounds so disjointed and just plain ugly that you'll be plugging your ears from the get-go. I'm not exaggerating here or kidding either, "Lulu" isn’t just plain horrible, it’s a musical abortion.

The real tragedy about this is these two legendary acts combining to make this. It wasn't a match that made sense to begin with, which is kind of what honestly made me look kind of forward to it in the first place: it was something different. Well, it is something different alright, it's just plain garbage. It's a shame too; "Lulu" could have been something that at least warranted a listen for fans of either, or any, music genre just for the sake of curiosity alone. Instead, this is what we're left with: a gaping black hole of an album that makes me want to shit my pants in utter amazement and overall sadness. Sadness because Lou Reed is a legend in his own right, and Metallica was the pioneering thrash band that came out of the Bay Area and took the world by storm.

No matter what these acts do from this day forward, their legendary status cannot ever really be questioned by anyone but their respective haters.

But no matter how legendary their status is and possibly always will be, they can’t ever deny that they crafted “Lulu”, which is the equivalent of that red-headed kid you conceived that night when you cheated on your husband with the bartender and tried to abort it with a wire hanger, only to fail miserably, scar its face, and eventually give birth in the office basement and keep it hidden with a steady diet of peanut shavings and Robitussin.

In other words, it’s a mistake that was known upon its conception, went through with anyway, and now is hated and despised by all that encounter it.

The Big 4: Do a Fucking American Tour!

Metallica

Slayer

Megadeth

Anthrax



These four acts birthed the thrash music genre in the 80s, forever being linked together as being “The Big 4”. All more or less hailing from the southern California area, The Big 4 took inspiration from such classic acts as Black Sabbath and KISS before them, and crafted some of the most unbelievably memorable metal music in the history of the music industry. Flash forward to today, and the impact that these four bands have had on the genre still resonates, maybe now more than ever.

That’s why when news that all four groups were getting together for a European festival tour sent shockwaves throughout the metal community. Then, just a day or two ago, it was hinted that there would be a major announcement coming about re-uniting here in the States. Immediately upon hearing this, I nearly shit my pants in excitement. The thought that maybe they’d be going out on a full-blown American tour would be too good to pass up to say it lightly, and then the news came…

They’re playing one show in Indio, California at Empire Polo Field.

What the fuck?

Let’s get a few things straight first of all. There may be more shows on the horizon that spread throughout the rest of the country. Also, even if there is only one show, I can understand performing it in California, based on the fact that all four bands call the state their home and that’s where they first achieved some fame and really got noticed. That being said, I can understand these guys playing there, maybe kind of going back to their roots, to where it all began. Then again, if The Big 4 doesn’t kick off a full-blown American tour, I’ll instead be shitting my pants in disappointment.

Say what you will about Metallica, it’s all been said plenty of times before. They sold out. They sued Napster. They’re only in it for the money any more. All of that is fairly true, but the reality of the situation is this: Metallica made metal music mainstream, which is nothing short of an amazing feat. I’ve seen them twice in my life, and no matter what I or anyone else may think of them, I dare anyone to tell me that they don’t get chills driven down their spines when they belt out “Fade to Black”. These guys still have the talent and the will to deliver powerful, head-banging music that still puts any recent metal band to hit the big time to shame.

Slayer is a band that people either love or hate, simple as that. Superstar producer Rick Rubin helped the band perfect their brutality and talent for album treatments, perfectly reconstructing the energy and power of their live performances for audio listeners. Though Slayer has seemingly suffered moments of self-parody with their last few albums, the impact that they have had cannot be denied.

Megadeth, fronted and founded by ex-Metallica guitarist Dave Mustaine as a giant middle finger to his former bandmates, is thrash metal at its near finest to this day. Disregard their late 90s releases, and nearly everything this band has put out has been hard, heavy, and features some of the most pure and brilliant songwriting to see the light of day. That, and the fact that Mustaine was told some years ago that he’d never play guitar again and has since defied that diagnosis to fucking infinity, just illustrates how undying Megadeth is.

Anthrax has never had as much mainstream success as the other three bands that make up The Big 4, but their contributions are incredible regardless. These guys have stuck by their roots, even in the midst of different singers in different eras, but no matter what, Anthrax delivers powerful thrash music, and are one of the few bands I’ve seen live that actually manage to have fun on stage doing what they do. That, and the fact that guitarist/co-founder Scott Ian is a fucking madman helps make Anthrax as entertaining today as they have been throughout their whole existence.

As you can tell, I have a lot of love for The Big 4, even though I'm not nearly the metal head that I was in my youth. Despite that,my love for them is so much that if these guys do decide to do a full-blown American tour and snub the Philadelphia area, I’m willing to catch them in another city and/or state. This really is a once-in-a-lifetime deal to see these guys together and live. Ticket prices will no doubt be ridiculous, but it’s a price I’m willing to pay just to say that I was there. I’ve seen all four of them by themselves throughout the years, and Jesus Christ I even find myself debating internally about making a trip to California in April to be there first hand, so maybe you can understand my excitement about all this.

And oh yeah, if they do end up dicking over the rest of the States, well…you can bet on finding an eventual angry blog down the road written by yours truly.

As soon as I’m done shitting myself that is.