"Wonder had gone away, and he had forgotten that all life is only a set of pictures in the brain, among which there is no difference betwixt those born of real things and those born of inward dreamings, and no cause to value the one above the other." --H.P. Lovecraft, The Silver Key
Saturday, December 23, 2023
The Silver Key: 2023 in review
Monday, October 9, 2023
October reading update
Friday, July 28, 2023
Remembering Manilla Road's Mark Shelton, heavy metal bard of sword-and-sorcery
Sunday, July 2, 2023
A very metal 50th birthday
I celebrated a milestone birthday this past week at the Outer Banks, Corolla NC. This was not conceived as a "Murph's 50th"; we and three other families had been planning a summer trip as a “farewell to all that” sendoff for four daughters headed off to college in the fall. Four families about to become empty-nesters, and we wanted to give us and the kids something to remember. After many planning meetings and hard scheduling sessions we finally landed on the week of June 24, which happens to coincide with the day I turned 50 (b. June 26, 1973).
Which worked out beautifully. Geddy Lee fruitlessly prayed for time to stand still, recognizing that children inevitably grow up, and old friends have a tendency to grow older. Still, there was no better way to celebrate getting old than together.
16 people. One enormous (10K square feet, 3 floors, 8 bedrooms) rented house just a short walk to the beach. Imagine a seven-day party among great friends with whom you’ve watched your children grow. Folks with whom I’ve spent many memorable weekends, but never something like this.
We saw wild horses, ascended a lighthouse, jet skied, played mini-golf with buckets of beer, went bar-hopping to the Sunset Grill in Duck, and beyond. Walked the beach, saw sunrises and sunsets.
And I was treated to a surprise birthday party for the ages.
On Monday us six dudes (Steve, Rob, Brian, buddies all about my age, plus two sons) hit a local taproom, a pay by the ounce joint (amazing concept BTW). Which was awesome in its own right, but proved to be a ruse to get me out of the house. While we were out, the 10 gals back home went to town decorating and getting dressed up for a metal party.
As we pulled into the driveway I noticed odd decor on the front door. Skulls, devil horns, you know the rest. My metal senses were tingling. The door opened and I could hear KISS’ “Rock and Roll All Nite” blasting on the third floor.
And walked up to this.
It was bedlam. Metal karaoke. We sang Whitesnake, Judas Priest, KISS, Poison, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Twisted Sister, you name it, we queued it up. I was treated to a 10-minute pre-recorded video with wonderful tributes from friends, my wife, and, apropos to the occasion, KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer. Since my daughter uploaded it to YouTube I’m including it here; feel free to watch even though its personal (mother, brother, sister, wife, daughters, others, referencing stuff from my childhood and you will miss many of the references). I may or may not have dabbed a tear. Must have been the hairspray.
My wife Susanne, master planner and organizer, knocked this out of the park.
The party continued on the outside decks. At this point our neighbors couldn’t help but take notice and they crowded their decks to watch the nonsense. A couple party goers jumped up on a picnic table and we had everyone singing “Rock You Like a Hurricane” and “Cum on Feel the Noize.”
As dark descended we walked to the beach rolling the karaoke speaker with us, blasting “Turbo Lover” and illuminating the boardwalk with strobe lights. Sang Whitesnake and Bon Jovi with the waves crashing behind us. Then came back home.
Later that night I started a conga line that ended up in the swimming pool. One of the ladies forgot her phone in her back pocket. We stuffed a hot tub and kept the tunes and booze flowing. It ended with the cops coming out (noise complaint, justified) that finally ended things just short of midnight. Probably for the best since the celebrations started at 9 a.m.
We might be getting older but we still rock.
I’m officially an old fart, but also officially the luckiest man on the planet.
The wife and I... married 26 years, still metal. |
Saturday, January 21, 2023
Top 5 Manowar Songs
Metal Friday is a day late this week but coming in hot, ready to smash your face in with the death tone of amplified guitars and massive hammers of war.
Most metal album cover ever? Probably. |
Manowar is everything I love about sword-and-sorcery and heavy metal, in one glorious Ken Kelly infused package. Badass. Ridiculous. In your face. Muscular. Offensive. Fun. So over the top you’re not sure if it’s all tongue-in-cheek… then realizing it’s not, and then going “holy shit, OK” and leaning into it. Embracing the fact that life need not be cynical, or subtle. That it’s OK to like loud and obnoxious and even dumb things.
Yes Manowar has a few ridiculous songs … and I love those too.
Here are five guaranteed to raise my testosterone levels to the level of the occupants of a Viking longship circa 9th century AD, and get me ready to fight the world. Whilst eating beef and drinking ale.
Warriors of the World. The first comment on Youtube is I just played this song for my 4 week old son. He’s now 40 and a navy seal. Manowar has this effect, I've seen it. Probably their ultimate anthem.
Hail and Kill. By Divine Right, this one rips.
Fighting the World. I’ve been fighting the world every fucking day for nigh 50 years and will keep doing so… stripes on a tiger don’t wash away.
Master of the Wind. Manowar can do wistful ballads too … infused with mighty power. Manly tears. Might be played at my funeral.
The Sons of Odin. Love the groove in this one, hits you in the face from the opening beat and never lets up. Sword and axe sound effects. Valhalla I am coming, open the door.
Honorable mentions: "Mountains," "Carry On"
Sunday, November 6, 2022
An observation about heavy metal and sword-and-sorcery
Friday, October 28, 2022
Iron Maiden: No compromises
Me and Scott... and 24 oz. Miller Lite |
It strikes me that I haven’t reviewed nor mentioned the recent Iron Maiden show I attended last Friday at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. I went with an old buddy of mine, Scott, a dude I brought to his first Maiden show back in 2008.
I first saw Maiden back in 1991 on the No Prayer for the Dying tour, so I was an old hand when I broke Scott’s Maiden cherry 14 years ago. It was great to see Maiden with him again. We may be getting older but we’re still rocking.
What can I properly say about Iron Maiden that hasn’t been already said? Very little. They’re probably the greatest heavy metal band of all time. They are to metal what the Beatles are to pop rock, or Johnny Cash is to country. Fucking legends, full stop.
But I have to say something. So here's a statement.
What makes Maiden special to me is that they don’t compromise. They have integrity. They do what they want, they don’t change with the times, or blow with the winds of fashion. If you don’t like it, tough shit.
Not everyone likes their current direction. Yes, they are writing long songs, and perhaps deserve some criticism for too much repetition.
But I’ve come to accept that it’s what they want to do. They’ve earned the right to do what they want, after 40 years of entertaining us. And frankly, I still like what they are putting out. Not unreservedly, but some of it.
Maiden opened up with three songs off their new album, Senjutsu. That’s probably the kiss of death for many bands. But not these dudes. The crowd was into it. And the third song, “Writing on the Wall,” was met with a roaring reception. “Writing on the Wall” was written pre-COVID-19, but it has an apocalyptic feel, apocalyptic lyrics, and the timing of its release makes it feel like a commentary on the state of the world circa March 2020. It still feels like we’re on the brink of disaster every day, between climate catastrophe, looming nuclear war with Russia, saber-rattling with China, and the general savage in-fighting between Republicans and Democrats, and everyone else on Twitter and Facebook. We’re living in a shit-show and this song captures the Four Horsemen quite well. I love it. Listen below.
I also liked that Maiden played “Sign of the Cross” and “The Clansman,” despite the fact that both of these songs are from the Blaze Bayley era, a time when Maiden was at its lowest ebb. It doesn’t matter; they’re great tunes, and are just awesome in concert. Kudos to Bruce for swallowing his pride and playing songs from an era where he voluntarily left the band. He knows they kick ass.
Again, integrity.
My one criticism? No songs off Somewhere in Time or Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, the two albums where I believe the band hit its creative peak. But, I can’t complain too much. Maiden has begun advertising a 2023 “The Future Past Tour,” which if you see the imagery will feature a heavy dose of SiT. So, I’m OK with it. They still cranked out “Revelations,” “Fear of the Dark,” “Aces High,” “The Trooper,” “Flight of Icarus,” and of course “Hallowed be thy Name” and “Run to the Hills,” among other hits. A great mix of classics and new material. “Blood Brothers” has become a classic from the modern/post Bruce reunion era of Maiden, a pean to the spirit of the brotherhood of men, and of boys and their fathers. Bruce sounded great.
So, there’s Maiden. No compromise. Still kicking ass in 2022. I’m so glad they’re still around when they could be enjoying their retirement years on a beach in Maui.
Friday, October 7, 2022
Blood Red Skies, Judas Priest
Can it really be I haven't put JP in the Metal Friday rotation since December of last year? Fixing that, stat.
Priest is on my mind a bit more these days because I'll be seeing the Metal Gods in just over a week's time. On Sunday Oct. 16 I'm heading into Boston with a friend of mine to see them at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway Park.
And get this, his 13-year-old son is coming too.
The kid LOVES Judas Priest, and was inspired to pick up a flying V guitar in large part due to their music. He's a damned good player.
This is his first ever concert. He just found out. How's that for a birthday present?
Today I'm going with Blood Red Skies. I can't believe I haven't featured this song yet.
Very, very bold claim coming--the studio version of Blood Red Skies MIGHT be Rob Halford's best vocal performance. Unfounded? Well, listen first, then decide. 1:15 on... yikes. 6:28--he surely shattered glass in the studio.
I don't think anyone else on the planet could sing this, like this. Halford's vocals are ethereal, transcendent, otherworldly on this one, which features lyrics straight out of the Terminator.
Apocalypse--wow.
Friday, June 10, 2022
Master of the Wind, Manowar
Fly away to a rainbow in the sky
Gold is at the end for each of us to find.
There the road begins where another one will end,
Here the four winds know who will break and who will bend
All to be the Master of the wind.
Saturday, June 4, 2022
RIP Ken Kelly
RIP Ken Kelly, the man who married hard rock and metal with sword-and-sorcery. Like this, for example:
Sunday, May 15, 2022
Everything about this is good (Iron Maidens at Wally's, Hampton Beach)
This is what we call a 10/10.
I had the pleasure of seeing the Iron Maidens last night at Wally's on Hampton Beach. Yes, this is an all-ladies tribute to the great Iron Maiden. Apparently they've been around in some form or fashion since 2001. I've heard good things about them since discovering them a few years back, and now after seeing the Maidens live I can confirm, they rock. Hard.
"Powerslave" contains either my favorite Maiden guitar solo, or second fave after "Stranger in a Strange Land." And Nikki Stringfield, aka, "Davina Murray," nailed it last night. I took this clip with my iphone and missed the tail end of "Adrian's" second solo, but you get the gist. Incredibly well-done.
Also good lord, Stringfield is something to look at on stage. That doesn't hurt. She is smoking and a smoking guitar player. That combo is my kryptonite.
This was my first time at Wally's, a bit of a rough biker bar a stone's throw from the Atlantic ocean. The bar was jammed, the whole beach scene was jammed. 85 degree weather, the first summer-like day of the year after a cold and shitty spring, brought out the crowds and traffic. I had a blast hanging out with a friend and former work colleague, and a buddy of his.
So yeah, Iron Maidens: If you get the chance, see them, highly recommended.
Sunday, April 17, 2022
Some scenes from Uncle Eddie's
We did not plan matching outfits... |
The dumpy charm of Uncle Eddie's... |
Ready to rock. |
Saturday, April 2, 2022
Judas Priest! ... and Gordon Lightfoot?
Wednesday, January 5, 2022
I, Black Sabbath (with incredible Conan imagery)
Metal Friday has come early this week because I just can't resist sharing this awesome video for Black Sabbath's "I," with the late, great Ronnie James Dio supplying the lyrics. This one is off the little regarded Dehumanizer (1992).
I don't know how much time went into the creation of this video, but Crom, is it awesome. A flood of great, classic Conan comics images, perfectly matched with the lyrical content and timed to the music. Well done, anonymous internet dude.
This might be the most sword-and-sorcery video I've encountered. Check it out, and be prepared to headbang, or behead someone with an axe.
Friday, December 17, 2021
Between the Hammer and the Anvil
Go on, listen to this one. And then name me a song that is more metal.
I'll wait.
Judas Priest was firing on all cylinders--10 out of 10 for fans of the V-10 powered Dodge Viper--when it released Painkiller (1990). The title track is a MONSTER, and deserves all the accolades it gets. As do songs like Nightcrawler, and Touch of Evil.
But this one... Between the Hammer and the Anvil? Oh boy. If you don't like this, I don't like you. Listen and you'll agree. It's steel. 100% distilled heavy metal.
Storm warning, but there's no fear.
Tuesday, July 27, 2021
Heavy metal summer
It’s going to be a metal summer and fall, and man am I excited for what's to come.
The great Iron Maiden (my favorite heavy metal band ever, sometimes Judas Priest ekes out the no. 1 spot) has released a new single, The Writing on the Wall. I was on vacation when this hit and experiencing it first over shitty iPhone speakers was a mistake. I made myself wait until we got home and had proper sound/headsets before the next attempt. I haven’t given it enough listens to make up my mind, but with each spin it gets better. Love the opening hook and the Celtic feel. No, Bruce is not the same singer, but damn, he’s 60. Who is at that age? Regardless of what the album holds, new Iron Maiden is always a cause for celebration, as is the prospect of seeing the boys from Britain live on their inevitable support tour. The fun I’ve had at these shows over the years is off the charts. I suspect “The Writing on the Wall” will kick ass in concert. I CAN’T WAIT.
Concerts galore. I’ve got three shows lined up for the summer and fall:
- KISS, Mansfield MA, August 18. Save for the fact that this falls on a Wednesday (blech) and getting out of Mansfield after a concert is like trying to escape from the Hanoi Hilton, I’m always glad to see KISS. My buddy Wayne is an even bigger KISS fan than I.
- Alice Cooper, with opening act Ace Frehley, Gilford NH, Sept. 18. The best thing about this show is its on a Saturday night. Tied for second is the great double-bill of Alice and Ace. Another show with Wayne. Afterwards we plan to crash at my family’s lake house, a short drive from Gilford, to avoid a long trek back to MA. I’ve seen Ace several times and he’s always good. Alice of course is wonderful (trivia: My first ever concert was Alice on his Trash tour, March 1990).
- Judas Priest, Lowell MA, Oct. 31. Are you kidding me? The Gods of Metal on Halloween night, at a venue about 30 minutes from my home? Like Maiden, Priest is no mere nostalgia act. I was blown away with their last album Firepower, in particular “No Surrender” and “Traitor’s Gate.” You get new material, but of course with a catalog stretching back 50 years (!) most of what Priest plays are the classics.
Let’s hope this new Delta variant of COVID-19 cooperates and
I can get all these in.
Also wanted to mention the passing of Mike Howe, lead singer of Metal Church, dead at 56. A
reminder of our mortality. This is why going to shows and enjoying life today is
so important because damn, once it’s over it’s over. Apparently he was a family man and in great shape and no cause of death has yet been released. I was not the biggest
Metal Church fan but loved a few of their songs, in particular “Badlands,” “Fake
Healer,” and “Date with Poverty,” among others. I’m pretty sure I still own the
cassette of The Dark. Time to crank some Badlands
and remember Mike. RIP.
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Confess, Rob Halford (2020), a review
The Metal God tells all... |
So I was pleased to be able to buy and finally read lead
singer Rob Halford’s “tell all” Confess.
This highly anticipated autobiography came out in September 2020 and a couple of my
friends were like “you’re just reading that now?” But hey, what can I say, my
TBR pile is towering and ridiculous.
Straight off, if you’re a gay-hater, you’ll hate this book (and
you may also wish to engage in some self-introspection, there is no choice in
the matter for a man like Rob Halford, who simply knew he was gay from a very
young age). In places Rob went a bit overboard on his descriptions of his
various and often sordid sexual encounters. I couldn’t believe the lead singer
of such a hugely popular band had to resort to trolling in truck stops, for
example. So if you’re squeamish about these things or a prude you should probably
skip the book. But, these passages serve to underscore the double life Halford
was forced to lead, and the separate identities—bad ass metal god, sensitive closeted
gay man—he had to maintain and (attempt) to balance.
Not always well as it turned out.
Friday, February 19, 2021
Up the Irons and eff the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Boys from Britain don't need no stinking HOF! |
Iron Maiden has been nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
My reaction? Who gives a shit.
Evidently I’m supposed to be excited by this news… I find
myself feeling rather apathetic, with a smattering of bemusement and a (slight)
bit of anger. I do recognize the considerable
irony in stating “who gives a shit” and then spending my time writing a post
about the news. Evidently I have some level of investment. But I’m writing this
as much for as my own amusement as anything else.
A little history on my relationship with the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame. In the past I have kept tabs on the list of inductees. I was
happy to see the likes of Black Sabbath and KISS eventually get in, though both
are kind of no-brainers. I didn’t get too wrapped up in either nomination, because
I figured it was a done deal. And it was (an aside: it took KISS, eligible for
induction since 1999, FIFTEEN YEARS to get in, which it finally did in 2014).
My typical level of detached minor interest ratcheted up in
2018 when stupidly, I got wrapped up in the fan vote for Judas Priest. The Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame includes a fan vote, with the top five acts in the
popular vote earning what amounts to a single “vote.” These five bands then get
that one vote added to the couple hundred votes cast by the real power-holders,
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Committee, a shadowy cabal of unknowns who hold
all the power of who gets in and who gets left “Out in the Cold” (pun
intended).
As should be obvious by the formula, one fan vote stacked against
a couple hundred “educated” votes by the “critics,” counts for next to nothing.
I spent time--too much, as you can vote over and over again, though only once
per day--voting on the HOF platform, only to see Priest—which did get in the
top five in the fan vote—get croaked by the committee.
So, in 2018 Judas Priest—a band who revolutionized heavy
metal by adding an iconic sound (the twin guitar attack) and establishing its iconic
look (leather and studs), immortal songs like “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming”
and “Breaking the Law,” and a 50+ year legacy of influencing countless bands—lost
to the likes of Nina Simone.
Since then Priest has failed to make it any further, to the
Hall’s eternal shame.
That brings me to Iron Maiden, another personal favorite band
of mine about
whom I’ve made my love abundantly clear here on the blog.
Maiden has had a career that would turn 90% of the
previously inducted acts’ faces green with envy. I don’t think people outside
of heavy metal circles understand how massively popular and influential these
guys are. They’ve been selling out sports arenas (pre-COVID of course) for 40
years. They’ve sold more than 100 million copies of their albums worldwide, all
without any commercial airplay or support. At one point VH1 ranked them No. 24
in their “100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.”
It’s utterly absurd to think that they need to add a Hall of
Fame credential to justify whether or not they are great, or influential on the
development of rock-and-roll. But frankly, it’s the “hard” part of “hard rock” that
makes Maiden an unlikely candidate for Hall of Fame acceptance.
The fact is, the voting on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is
calculatedly political, and archly snobbish, and therefore actively hostile to brash,
loud, metal acts. Heavy metal can never get its just due in this stifling,
narrow-minded environment. Even relatively safe, mainstream party rock acts like
KISS only get a look when their case is so overwhelmingly obvious that to leave
them out would compromise any shred of validity the enterprise still holds.
Bruce Dickinson has voiced his opinions very clearly on the Hall
of Fame, calling the Hall "an
utter and complete load of bollocks" that is "run by a bunch of
sanctimonious bloody Americans who wouldn’t know rock ’n’ roll if it hit them
in the face." Go Bruce.
So in the end, it does not matter whether Maiden gets in. Their career
speaks for itself. When Maiden is finally retired and gone, the echoes of “Hallowed
be thy Name” and “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” will ring through the ages, long
after most of the acts in the Hall of Fame have been forgotten.
Unlike 2018 I will not waste a moment voting for Maiden. Not
because I don’t love the band, but because the institution itself is corrupt. No
Maiden, Priest, or Motorhead renders the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame utterly irrelevant.
Saturday, November 14, 2020
Love it or hate it (I have done both)—a re-examination of Judas Priest’s Turbo
Better run for cover... |
This division was best articulated in the lyrics of the
loinclothed and sword-wielding American heavy metal band Manowar, which sang
loud and proud that the War was On, man, and it was time to choose a side:
Every one of us has
heard the call
Brothers of True Metal proud and standing tall
We know the power within us has brought us to this hall
there's magic in the metal there's magic is us all
Heavy metal or no
metal at all whimps and posers leave the hall
Heavy metal or no metal at all whimps and posers go on get out
Leave the hall
Now the world must
listen to our decree
We don't turn down for anyone we do just what we please
got to make it louder, all men play on ten
If you're not into metal, you are not my friend
(Manowar, “Metal Warriors”)
As an impressionable teenager and fan whose identity was
tied to heavy metal music, I can tell you that I was in fact swept up in this
faux conflict, and was a real man who played his boom box on ten. I knew with
certainty which side I was on, and so I joined the ranks of those who mocked
Judas Priest’s Turbo (1986). OK, so I
did not actually outwardly mock the album, but I viewed it with a definite feeling
of disappointment. It was hard to swallow that the same metal gods who gave us
songs like “Beyond the Realms of Death” and “Victim of Changes” were in fact
all too human, and could succumb to the forces of commercialism with an album
that so obviously sought to capitalize on the popularity of the likes of Motley
Crue and Def Leppard.
In short, Turbo felt
a little like Priest had left the ranks of true metal and joined the false. There
is nothing worse than a Benedict Arnold. I felt betrayed.
Sunday, September 27, 2020
Heavy metal party and The Priest, part 3
(This is a story about
how from 2011-2018 I hosted the ultimate heavy metal party and survived to tell
the tale. Read parts 1 and 2 here and here).
Are you ready for some Judas Priest-style heavy metal? |
Despite the metal party to end all metal parties in 2016, my house was not destroyed, my neighbors did not unite to force the sale of my home, and so the metal party would return in 2017. As always it was a blast. We upped the costuming. I went with Gene Simmons face paint and an Iron Maiden T-shirt. Others showed up with big hair, leather pants, and denim jackets with back patches. We sang karaoke. Late night featured a bucket of ice cold Zima, that semi-nasty clear malted beverage which made a reappearance after disappearing from the shelves for more than a decade (after drinking one, I quickly came to the realization that it was probably better off staying retired). I suppose I didn’t need those Fireball shots at the bar but we did them anyway. KISS or Fiction made another appearance.
Later we voted on which videos had the hottest chick: “Kiss
me Deadly” with Lita Ford, a recut version of Cinderella’s “Shake Me” featuring
a gorgeous stripper, or “Here I Go Again” with Tawny Kitaen (if I recall, the
latter won). We also cast our votes for worst heavy metal video ever, with
Manowar’s “Gloves of Steel,” Thor’s “Anger is my Middle Name”, and King Kobra’s
“Iron Eagle (Never Say Die)” competing for the dubious title. Thor was a
runaway winner, for the record this video is bad beyond belief and I don’t recommend
subjecting yourself to it, unless you’ve imbibed 6-8 Zimas to numb the pain.
But despite the fun I couldn’t help but compare the party to
the year prior, when we had nearly blown the roof off the house with a live
band. In hindsight it seemed rather anticlimactic.
For 2018, I once again put in a call for The Priest.
They responded, Screaming for Vengeance.