I was driving my John Deere around my lawn last weekend... cutting the grass of course, not just driving it around, though just driving around on a John Deere is a perfectly valid activity. I had queued up some old thrash song from 80s and the app continued to play songs from its omniscient algorithm. Which led me to this wonderful little rediscovery. "Medusa," off of 1985's Spreading the Disease. I hadn't heard this song in years, and had been missing it.
Spreading the Disease is Anthrax's sophomore effort but the first appearance by vocalist Joey Belladonna. He's kind of an odd fit for a thrash band with his traditional metal/high octave/operatic style of singing, but it works with the band--especially on this song. He sounds fantastic. And the main riff is absolutely killer.
Interestingly, executive producer Jon Zazula has songwriting credit for "Medusa," his only such contribution for Anthrax. The lyrics are fun if very much on the nose, not sure how Medusa would stare at you were it not with her eyes, but there you go:
Medusa, she's staring at youMedusa, with her eyes
Medusa
In addition to the thrill of nostalgia from the song itself, my search for an accompanying visual led to this horrific, fantastically rendered scene from Clash of the Titans (1981).
This sequence genuinely creeped me out as a kid, and I still find it effective today. The unnatural jerkiness of Harryhausen's stop-motion animation only adds to the medusa's horrible otherness. Her eyes are particularly well-done, and I love the addition of the Naga-like tail.
Enjoy life on this Metal Friday.
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