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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
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│ + Newsted - Heavy Metal Music + │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Sep-26-2014 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2013 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........11 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.newstaedheavymetal.com ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Newsted Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Heavy Metal Music Label : Chophouse ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Because titling his previous EP Metal just ║ │
│║ wasn't enough, ex-Metallica bassist Jason ║ │
│║ Newsted confirms his faux-poignant, post ║ │
│║ midlife-crisis with Heavy Metal Music, the first ║ │
│║ full-length from his eponymous new career ║ │
│║ revival. I admit, the title is irritating as ║ │
│║ shit. I realize it's suppose to be this life- ║ │
│║ affirming, back-to-basics, obvious ║ │
│║ pronouncement, but really this has been done ║ │
│║ dozens of times before, and if you're not ║ │
│║ fucking doing this in the 80s, or your name is ║ │
│║ not Metalucifer, it just doesn't feel effective. ║ │
│║ Black Metal was cool in 1982, because it hinted ║ │
│║ at some dark and unknown possibilities. Heavy ║ │
│║ Metal Breakdown? Acceptable for when it was ║ │
│║ released. But Heavy Metal Music in 2013? Or that ║ │
│║ last, sorry 3 Inches of Blood record Long Live ║ │
│║ Heavy Metal? Enough already! We get it, Jason ║ │
│║ Newsted hasn't gone disco on us. This isn't ║ │
│║ Calypso Music. Thanks for making that ║ │
│║ distinction, now if you're through with the ║ │
│║ clever twaddle, how about writing some proper ║ │
│║ good songs? You were on ...And Justice for All ║ │
│║ and Voivod, for fuck's sake! ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Now, one can probably deduce that I wasn't the ║ │
│║ biggest proponent for the Metal EP, which was ║ │
│║ forgotten about as quickly as it was listened ║ │
│║ to, but that's not to say I wasn't satisfied to ║ │
│║ hear Jason Newsted continue what he's good at. ║ │
│║ So often do these ex-members of leviathan rock ║ │
│║ acts peter off into a succession of silly, no- ║ │
│║ one-gives-a-damn solo outlets or collaborations ║ │
│║ with other sideliners, and despite his positive ║ │
│║ presence in Voivod (who have admittedly been ║ │
│║ writing better music than his alma mater ║ │
│║ Metallica since 1987), Jason Newsted hadn't ║ │
│║ really made much of a name for himself. I think ║ │
│║ with Heavy Metal Music this is likely to change, ║ │
│║ and Jasonic is likely to cultivate some hard- ║ │
│║ fought respect, because despite all odds, this ║ │
│║ is actually a solid, pumping set of tunes, a ║ │
│║ reconciliation for the lame duck title which is ║ │
│║ fully cognizant of Newsted's own history with ║ │
│║ the genre. Okay, there's not a lot of Flotsam & ║ │
│║ Jetsam influence here, but the best way to ║ │
│║ describe the tunes would be as the natural ║ │
│║ offspring of The Black Album and Voivod. ║ │
│║ Bangin', simple riffs supported by muscular bass ║ │
│║ lines, a mashup of traditional heavy metal and ║ │
│║ 80s thrash with a penchant for mammoth groove ║ │
│║ hooks redolent of Metallica's 'dumbing down' ║ │
│║ through the 90s. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Riffs this fat taste like a barely digested ║ │
│║ steak straining all of your bodily functions, ║ │
│║ but they'd only get the record so far if the ║ │
│║ vocals didn't also lend some character, and ║ │
│║ would you fuckin' know it, Jason sounds like a ║ │
│║ mix of James Hetfield and Alice Cooper, with a ║ │
│║ few hints of Snake's angrier inflections! He's a ║ │
│║ little monotonous, sure, and his lines are often ║ │
│║ hard to distinguish between various verses and ║ │
│║ songs, but he certainly earns the position; the ║ │
│║ marriage of stripped down riffs, bluesy Black ║ │
│║ Album leads and angry-assed vocals make this an ║ │
│║ excellent record for idealized bar room brawling ║ │
│║ in some backwater, while the grooves cultivate ║ │
│║ just enough of a stoner edge that fans of Black ║ │
│║ Label Society and Down might dig it, or anyone ║ │
│║ lamenting the fact that Corrosion of Conformity ║ │
│║ have partly ditched the stoner schtick to return ║ │
│║ to their (admittedly superior) hardcore roots. ║ │
│║ Another album I kept mentally referencing ║ │
│║ through this was Testament's very underrated ║ │
│║ 1992 effort The Ritual, which thrived off a ║ │
│║ similar sense of regression to the base ║ │
│║ principles of its genre, and wound up my ║ │
│║ favorite in their entire catalog. Heavy Metal ║ │
│║ Music makes damn sure that it's as uncomplicated ║ │
│║ as possible, relying on the layman hooks and ║ │
│║ vitriol-spun vocals to soak themselves into the ║ │
│║ Neanderthal shards of the brain. Want technical ║ │
│║ riffing? Extreme metal drumming? Seek them ║ │
│║ elsewhere. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Now, granted, there are a few middling tracks ║ │
│║ here (like the handful drafted over from the ║ │
│║ EP), and more than a few riffs that pass in one ║ │
│║ ear and straight out the other, but on the whole ║ │
│║ there's no question that Newsted rocks more ║ │
│║ often than it doesn't. Surprisingly, this is not ║ │
│║ album that relies on guest celebrities to ║ │
│║ promote itself, but sticks very closely to its ║ │
│║ knuckle-dusting, whiskey-drowned personality. ║ │
│║ Mike Mushok is an exception, having joined the ║ │
│║ project after the Metal EP, but anyone familiar ║ │
│║ with Staind, one of those deplorable heavy rock ║ │
│║ acts my state shat forth in the 90s alongside ║ │
│║ Godsmack, the gift that keeps on giving (I ║ │
│║ apologize on behalf of all Massholes), will be ║ │
│║ relieved that he cocks absolutely nothing up ║ │
│║ here, but lays into the big rhythms with ║ │
│║ enthusiasm and fits seamlessly into the Newsted ║ │
│║ master plan. Jason's bass lines, while thick as ║ │
│║ sin, are also unexpected in that they don't seem ║ │
│║ to 'take over' the compositions, something they ║ │
│║ came dangerously close to doing on Voivod. As ║ │
│║ for the drums, they're versatile and well ║ │
│║ performed, but as I mentioned earlier, this is ║ │
│║ not the province of much extremity or ║ │
│║ experimentation. Standard rock beats and fills, ║ │
│║ but Mendez hits hard and nothing else really ║ │
│║ would have worked on these tunes. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Heavy Metal Music does live up to its name in ║ │
│║ that its a celebration of the form, cross- ║ │
│║ pollinating riffing schematics from 70s metal ║ │
│║ (Sabbath, Priest, Purple) to 80s hard hair rock ║ │
│║ (Crue, Ratt), NWOBHM and just that hint of ║ │
│║ something thrashier (Metallica, Metal Church). ║ │
│║ So as much as I dislike the title, I gladly chew ║ │
│║ my own foot this time; but don't be misled into ║ │
│║ thinking that this is necessarily 'amazing', or ║ │
│║ by any mean's a year's end contender. It's got ║ │
│║ problems: the vocals need more range. The leads ║ │
│║ are a little banal. It wouldn't kill the writing ║ │
│║ if the rhythm guitar riffs were a hint busier, ║ │
│║ or the bass lines more interesting. 2-3 of the ║ │
│║ weaker tunes could be slashed ("King of the ║ │
│║ Underdogs" and "Soldierhead", at least). But at ║ │
│║ the end of the day, Heavy Metal Music is fairly ║ │
│║ fun to listen through, especially for the long- ║ │
│║ term metal aficionado whose tastes bleed across ║ │
│║ numerous sub-genre borders, and it at least ║ │
│║ shows some effort in defining this band's ║ │
│║ trajectory for the future. If I had to compare ║ │
│║ it to Death Magnetic, I might give the latter a ║ │
│║ slight edge, but sure as shit this is better ║ │
│║ than fuckin' Lulu. I just hope the next one's ║ │
│║ not called Angry Music or Rock Music or Heavy ║ │
│║ Metal Hornblowers or Captain Fucking Obvious. ║ │
│║ ║ │
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│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - Heroic Dose [05:25] │
│ 02 - Soldierhead [04:17] │
│ 03 - ...As The Crow Flies [05:59] │
│ 04 - Ampossible [04:01] │
│ 05 - Long Time Dead [04:32] │
│ 06 - Above All [04:36] │
│ 07 - King Of The Underdogs [05:58] │
│ 08 - Nocturnus [06:13] │
│ 09 - Twisted Tail Of The Comet [05:14] │
│ 10 - Kindevillusion [05:20] │
│ 11 - Futureality [05:25] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [57:00 minn │
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│ ╔═════════════════════╗ │
│ ║ Greetings To: ║ │
│ ╚═════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ Too all people who contributes to make this │
│ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │
│ │
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│ │
│■ ■│
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