100 Metal Fridays + In My Darkest Hour

My 100th Metal Friday post!

A few observations.

Most featured band: Judas Priest (14 appearances). 

Others with multiple appearances: Iron Maiden (12), Black Sabbath (9), Bruce Dickinson (5), Manowar (5), Manilla Road (4), Blind Guardian (4), Queensryche (4), Metallica (3), Def Leppard (3), Rob Halford (2), Anthrax (2), Slayer (2), Sepultura (2), Eternal Champion (2), Ace Frehley (2), Thin Lizzy (2), Ronnie James Dio (2).

This gives you a pretty good indicator of my metal(ish) tastes. Note that there is a separate “heavy metal” category on the blog for general metal posts that fall on non-Fridays. So what you see above is not all-inclusive or all-indicative of my interests.

Metal Friday typically steers away from bands that are hard rock/borderline metal (AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, etc.) with some exceptions. Or when Gordon Lightfoot died or I felt like talking about 80s KISS.

Not every Metal Friday is a song; sometimes I covered the metal news of the day, concert reviews, etc. With that in mind, here is your Metal Friday 100 post setlist; pretty good listening here IMO.

How has Megadeth not made a Metal Friday? Let’s fix that now with what is probably their best song.

1. Valkyries, Blind Guardian

2. Light Comes Out of Black, Rob Halford

3. Jerusalem, Bruce Dickinson

4. Falling off the Edge of the World, Black Sabbath

5. NM156, Queensryche

6. Hail and Kill, Manowar

7. Welcome Home (Sanitarium), Metallica

8. Beyond the Realms of Death, Judas Priest

9. Raining Blood, Slayer

10. Left Hand Black, Danzig

11. The Evil That Men Do, Iron Maiden

12. The Clairvoyant, Iron Maiden

13. Night Winds, Parasite

14. Queen of the Black Coast, Manilla Road

15. Man of Sorrows, Bruce Dickinson

16. Satsuma covers Ratt's "Lay it Down" and Judas Priest's "Hellion/Electric Eye"

17. Take Hold of the Flame, Live in Tokyo 1984, Queensryche

18. Armageddon Clan, Battle Beast

19. The Hunt, Sepultura

20. Darkest Hour, Iron Maiden

21. Heart of a Lion, Judas Priest

22. Sing a Last Song of Valdese, Eternal Champion

23. Between the Hammer and the Anvil, Judas Priest

24. I, Black Sabbath (with incredible Conan imagery)

25. Judas Priest! … and Gordon Lightfoot?

26. British Steel on the docket tomorrow night

27. Defending 80s KISS (A Million to One)

28. Orgasmatron, Motorhead

29. Nativity in Black (Black Sabbath tribute album)

30. Master of the Wind, Manowar

31. Wild Child, WASP

32. Master of Puppets, Metallica

33. Necropolis, Manilla Road

34. The Crue, Poison, Def Leppard, Joan Jett

35. Emerald, Thin Lizzy

36. Ace Frehley lead guitar! (Fractured Mirror)

37. Blood Tears, Blind Guardian

38. Rockin’ Again, Saxon

39. Headless Cross, Black Sabbath

40. A very metal week: Judas Priest/Queensryche, Iron Maiden (Halls of Valhalla)

41. The Clansman, Iron Maiden

42. Sea of Red, Judas Priest

43. Thunder Road, Judas Priest

44. Flaming Metal Systems, Manilla Road

45. Theater of Salvation, Edguy

46. Bible Black, Black Sabbath

47. Top 5 Manowar Songs

48. Show Don’t Tell, Rush

49. Kill Devil Hill, Bruce Dickinson

50. Let it Go, Def Leppard

51. Beginning of the End, Meliah Rage

52. Stranger in a Strange Land, Iron Maiden

53. En Force, Queensryche

54. Caught in the Middle, Ronnie James Dio

55. Traitor’s Gate, Judas Priest

56. RIP to Canada’s finest singer-songwriter, Gordon Lightfoot

57. Edge of Thorns, Savatage

58. If Heaven is Hell, Tokyo Blade

59. Curse My Name, Blind Guardian

60. As Heavy as I’ll go (Sepultura, Slayer)

61. Worms of the Earth, Eternal Champion

62. Force of a Storm, Sumerlands

63. Orion, Metallica

64. The Battle of Evermore and the timeless nature of fantasy

65. Resurrection, Rob Halford

66. Start the Fire, Metal Church

67. Season of the Witch, Grave Digger

68. Where Eagles Dare, Iron Maiden (for Nicko)

69. Cold Sweat, Thin Lizzy

70. Sign of the Southern Cross, Black Sabbath

71. The Rage, Judas Priest

72. Cauldron Born, Born of the Cauldron

73. Sixteenth Century Greensleeves, Rainbow (RIP Ronnie James Dio)

74. Gods of War, Def Leppard

75. Powerslave, Iron Maiden

76. War Pigs, Judas Priest

77. Goodbye to Romance: Reflections on Black Sabbath, Back to the Beginning, and the end of the road

78. Mystification, Manilla Road

79. Hell on Earth, Iron Maiden

80. Bruce Dickinson at the House of Blues, Boston MA Sept. 11, 2025

81. Atom and Evil, Black Sabbath

82. Strange Ways, Ace Frehley

83. Of Blind Guardian and the Quest for Tanelorn

84. The Sentinel, Judas Priest

85. Stonehenge, Spinal Tap

86. Computer God, Black Sabbath

87. Judas Be My Guide, Iron Maiden

88. Desert Plains, Judas Priest

89. Heavy metal, sword-and-sorcery, the Outsider ... and Iron Maiden's “Drifter”

90. Among the Living, Anthrax

91. Revelations, Judas Priest

92. The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune, Arkham Witch

93. Mountains, Manowar. RIP Ross the Boss

94. Defender, Manowar

95. Darkside of Aquarius, Bruce Dickinson

96. Don’t Break My Heart Again, Whitesnake

97. The Thin Line Between Love and Hate, Iron Maiden

98. Shake Me, Cinderella

99. Medusa, Anthrax

100. In My Darkest Hour, Megadeth

"Medusa," Anthrax

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 the 80s and the Spotify app continued to play like 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 it 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 you
Medusa, 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.

"Shake Me," Cinderella

This week's Metal Friday brings the hair... an awesome track from 1986's Night Songs. My favorite song and album from the mighty Cinderella.

I choose this track due to proximity. I just heard it live, about a week ago, at the Hampton Beach Ballroom Casino. Now let me tell you (to paraphrase a lyric), Tom Keifer still sounds awesome. He was playing solo, opening act Buckcherry, and he was great. Played all the Cinderella hits. My longtime buddy Wayne and I have seen Tom several times at this venue and were quite pleased. It's a beautiful 25 minute drive from my home, right to the ocean.

You can thank me in advance for this fan-cut video. Whoever made it deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for obvious reasons. Watch and enjoy over beer this Metal Friday.

The Thin Line Between Love and Hate, Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden's Brave New World came out 26 years ago.

Twenty-six years. I remember it very well ... I feel like it was just yesterday. But of course it was not. 

Only 20 years separate Brave New World (2000) from Iron Maiden (1980). It blows my mind that I've been listening to this album longer than Maiden had been in existence when it first appeared (!) WTF.

Brave New World is full of bangers and is integral to the heavy metal revival that put an overdue stake in grunge. Rock in Rio was recorded on the supporting tour and is up there with Live After Death as Maiden's finest live performance captured on film.

Anyway, enough old fogey-ness (fogginess?) and onto the song at hand.

I've been thinking a lot about thin lines, and the choices we make. Spinal Tap said there's a fine line between stupid and clever, which is fantastically funny. But there's also a world of grey that makes important choices difficult--yet we are free to make them, for good or ill. And these choices can make all the difference. Maiden weighs into that truth here:

There's a grey place between black and white

But everyone does have the right to choose the path that he takes

I never pass up an opportunity to talk about Bruce Dickinson and his voice soars in "Thin Line", especially this verse. I give huge credit to Blaze Bayley for stepping in manfully during Bruce's absence, and the two albums he participated on are quite good in hindsight, but this song is a reminder of what was missing. Bruce sings as though he's channeling a soul in flight to the other side:

I will hope

My soul will fly

So I will live forever

Heart will die

My soul will fly

And I will live

Forever

With the release of "Burning Ambition" and the creep of advancing age I feel like we're getting near the end of Iron Maiden as a recording and touring force. But they will live forever.

Don't Break My Heart Again, Whitesnake

This is a great fucking song. 

Let's get that out of the way first. If you only know Whitesnake from "Still of the Night" or "Here I Go Again," here's one to broaden your horizons. It's a deep-ish cut, very early 80s, with a bit of 70s keyboard hangover clinging on. 

Which is great.

I am tired of conversations about genre. I shouldn't be I suppose, considering I wrote a book about one ... but I am. I just can't wade into anymore conversations about what is or isn't sword-and-sorcery.

This song is something of the reason why.

Is Whitesnake heavy metal? I mean, maybe? Maybe not?

It doesn't matter. 

What matters is, is the song good. Does it rock? Does it get your head nodding? 

Answer--yes. David Coverdale is killing it.

What matters about a story is, is the story good? Does it move you and keep the pages turning? Get that down first, let geeks like me sort out where it falls. 

Genre is a vague signpost. If someone is a Bon Jovi fan or a Scorpions fan, Whitesnake is pretty dialed in to that. Very safe referral. 

But even for Maiden and Priest fans like me, this is awesome. Which means, don't write to genre spec. Because you never know what genre fans will fall in love with. Throw in some science. Take out the bruising barbarian. Be an artist, not a paint-by-numbers follower.

Happy Metal and Hard Rock Friday.

Darkside of Aquarius, Bruce Dickinson

Intelligence has become fetishized.

CEOs of major tech companies with a very high IQ… and zero sense, and zero empathy.  Sam Altman defending AI’s energy toll by saying it also takes a lot to ‘train a human.’ “It takes about 20 years of life – and all the food you consume during that time – before you become smart,” he says.

Chilling.

Being “smart” is the top of his hierarchy of values. And because of the theoretical unlimited computing power of a machine, we know where this leads.

Machine over man.

Intelligence ≠ wisdom.

Bruce Dickinson sang about this eloquently in “Darkside of Aquarius.” Powerfully too, but we expect that. It is Bruce, the human Air Raid Siren.

Peaceful existence and love of fellow man, as symbolized by the wheel of Dharma, is under assault from four apocalyptic hellriders. We've got 5 in the real world but close enough. I don’t put a lot of confidence in the soothsaying accuracy of astrological signs, but the Dark Side of Aquarius is a helpful heuristic here. It’s a psychological state characterized by extreme emotional detachment, stubbornness, and a tendency to be aloof or unpredictable. Intellect is prioritized over emotion.  It celebrates "progress" over human flourishing.

When unbalanced, Aquarians can act coldly and ruthlessly, frequently using their intelligence to justify any action. A God complex. 

The second hellrider came, from flaming seas and molten sands

Pipers playing Hell's commands

Poured out his poison, with his promises of promised lands

Blackened tongues of lying leaders

We need a silver surfer to save us from Galactus about now. This bit is in the song too. 

I’ve also heard that it is a reference to Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” but it’s too long since I’ve read that to comment. And I have to run to a brewery.

… ANYWAY, grim stuff but a great song. That transition at 4:38 … chills.

I have said before Bruce’s solo stuff is criminally underrated. Accident of Birth is an incredible album for which I need to do a deeper dive at some point. I've covered "Man of Sorrows" before and there is a lot more to mine from this album.

Happy Metal Friday.

Defender, Manowar

"More emphasis on 'ride' here, Ross?

This morning while working out under heavy-ish iron I found myself able to recite every line of Orson Welles dramatic lead-in to “Defender.” Before he said it, in my best Wells impression. 

I hadn’t heard this monologue in years. Yet I could speak it aloud without error. How? It was burned into my brain when I was 15 and ready to run through a brick wall for Manowar. I had to go to war against false metal, you see.

This has something to teach us about oral culture.

Imagine dudes hearing Njal’s Saga, or the Iliad, in some smoky Icelandic 14th century feasting hall on the eve of some great real battle, where on the morn they’d be standing in the shield-wall with spear and axe.

Imagine their emotional state, their focus, as they channeled the bard’s song. They’d remember every word. And pass it down to the next generation, without error.

Warrior stuff, that Welles channels here. Oral cultures remembered epic poetry through a system of formulaic phrasing, rhythmic structure, and thematic repetition rather than rote memorization. There is a rhythm to Welles’ phrasing that makes it stick, IMO.

Manowar isn’t known for subtlety, but it was a masterstroke to hire the legendary actor and filmmaker. Read more about how that unfolded here. I love this detail from Ross the Boss/Ross Friedman’s recounting of the story. Welles stepping out of his chariot and walking in the studio was like the coming of Odin:

“Let me tell you something, this man was a big man, Orson Welles, a huge guy in latter days,” Friedman recalled. “When he got out of the limousine … on 57th Street in Manhattan by the Carnegie – y’know, that neighborhood has some hot shit over there. When he stepped out into that neighborhood, women in mink coats were throwing themselves on him. It was just like ‘Oh, Orson, oh.’ It was like Frank Sinatra in the 40s. Seriously, I saw it with my own eyes. People were in awe of this man because he was so incredible.”

“He was a legendary guy, legendary maverick.”

“Defender” has likewise passed into metal legendry. 

If you can’t get fired up for this song you might need to have your pulse checked by a professional. At the 1:50 mark I’m ready for battle. And ready to fight again at 4:12, after Ross’ ripping guitar solo, when Welles comes back in to echo Eric Adams’ powerhouse chorus.

If you haven’t heard it, fix that now.

Defender

Ride like the wind

Fight proud, my son

You’re the defender, God has sent

Manowar is still on my mind after the loss of Ross the Boss (how’s that for rhyme)? This picture of these two men, no longer with us at least on this material plane, moves me on this Metal Friday.

Raise a goblet to Ross and Welles and heavy metal and Manowar and oral poetry.

This pic can get none more epic...

"Mountains," Manowar. RIP Ross the Boss

RIP Ross the Boss/Ross Friedman, co-founder and ex-guitarist of the mighty Manowar. Ross played on Manowar's classic first six albums, Battle Hymns through Kings of Metal.

The news hit today that he has passed into Valhalla, age 72. He was diagnosed with ALS last month.

In honor of his mighty legacy, "Mountains," from Sign of the Hammer.

The lyrics for this one are particularly on point.

Like a man is a mountainside

Greatness waits for those who try

None can teach you, it's all inside

Just climb

I am in the ground, I am in the air

I am all, I live in the hearts of men

I am the call to greatness, not all can hear

I awaken the creator in those who dare

And the day will come when we all must die

And enter the mountainside

Ross climbed the mountain and experienced life at its very peak.

He is where eagles fly, and will live on in the hearts of men.

The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune, Arkham Witch

There comes, even to kings, the time of great weariness. Then the gold of the throne is brass, the silk of the palace becomes drab. The gems in the diadem and upon the fingers of the women sparkle drearily like the ice of the white seas; the speech of men is as the empty rattle of a jester’s bell and the feel comes of things unreal; even the sun is copper in the sky and the breath of the green ocean is no longer fresh.

–Robert E. Howard, "The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune”

I love that quote (who doesn't?) from Robert E. Howard's Kull ... and I really dig this obscure but fun metal take from Arkham Witch.

Not exactly an artistic marvel of a song as the main riff overindulges in repetition ... but damn if I don't love it anyway. Great groove, gets the head banging. A boozy, dreamy, loose vibe to the whole thing that pairs well with the original hallucinogenic tale and its examination of philosophical questions regarding reality, identity, and existence.

Am I Kull?

This awesome little band wears its Weird Tales influences proudly. With songs like "The Lord of R'lyeh," "Dagon's Bell," "Crom's Mountain," and "Kult of Kutulu" you know what you're getting here. 

Are these guys still a band? Last album, Demos from the Deep, seems to be from 2014 but let's hope so.

Happy Metal Friday.

What the phantom that stands before

A formless substance I claim no more

O shadowed soul, O ghost of me

I repent this philosophy

Am I Kull? Or his reflection dim

A shadow cast of that distant king

A strange whim of lesser form

A far flung dream on moonbeams born

Revelations, Judas Priest

I've got to give Nostradamus a proper go one of these days. Proper go as in, listening dozens of times to the album in full, locked in a room by myself with naught but beer, notepad and pen, and my thoughts.

Admittedly I was ... skeptical when Judas Priest announced it was putting out a concept album based on the life and works of the famous 16th century French astrologer and seer. It just didn't seem to align with the talents of a band that wrote "Living After Midnight" and "Painkiller." 

And "Johnny B Goode" but we don't talk about that around here.

Lately though I've been paying closer attention to some of the songs from the album, and am discovering they're quite good. Check that... more than a few are epic, powerful, awesome.

In fact I'm starting to think they just might have pulled the damned thing off.

See for example "Revelations." This song kicks my ass. Crank it up this Metal Friday and it will kick yours, too.

I have the power

I have the choice

They'll hear my voice

For centuries

Yes, we will Rob.

In his biography Confess (highly recommended BTW, my review is here) Halford expressed a deep belief that the band knocked it out of the park with Nostradamus, though he acknowledges it's also the most divisive album in the band's oeuvre. Here's what he had to say:

I absolutely loved making it. It ended up as a double album and I am proud of every fucking word and note.... I think it contains some of the most accomplished lyrics I have ever written. I also believe it's one of the greatest suites of music in metal history. So there! I stand behind it 100 percent.

Listen and decide for yourself. 

Among the Living, Anthrax

Not nearly enough Anthrax on the blog. Let's change that this Metal Friday.

I don't listen to a whole lot of this band these days, but back in the late 80s/early 90s they were very heavy in my rotation. "Among the Living" hit a sweet spot. Right in the midst of the thrash era Stephen King released the uncut The Stand. Which we all read, and discussed. And wondered if we'd survive the apocalypse. Not likely with the Walking Dude to contend with.

Pair The Stand with "Among the Living" and you've got a great time on your hands. This song gave Randall Flagg his due.

Anthrax had a knack for writing choruses with riffs that begged for a mosh pit to erupt. You get that here.

I'm the walking dude

I can see all the world

Twist your minds with fear

I'm the man with the power

Among the living

Follow me or die 

Heavy metal, sword-and-sorcery, the Outsider ... and Iron Maiden's “Drifter”

Anecdotally, readers of S&S listen to heavy metal in higher proportion than country or rap music. There are reasons for this.

The sound of S&S is heavy, and of battle. James Taylor cannot be the soundtrack of “Black Colossus.” 

Another is the appropriation of sword-and-sorcery imagery by metal bands. Dangle Kings of Metal in front of a Robert E. Howard reader and you’ll get a grunt of recognition, if not appreciation, even though they might have never heard of Manowar. Some will go on to sample the music, discover that “Heart of Steel” is really fucking awesome song, and become a metalhead.

Ken Kelly and Manowar can be none more metal.

That’s partially what happened to me. Fantasy imagery—along with the influence of high school friends and what was going on in the broader popular culture circa 1987--led me to sample metal bands. The sound and fury hooked me. And the rest is history.

Metal and sword-and-sorcery also share some deeper DNA …. a thematic attraction to the Outsider. Some examples fired off over a beer:

Judas Priest with “The Sentinel”

Whitesnake and “Here I Go Again.” Like a drifter I was born to walk alone.

Helloween: I Want Out

Metallica: Escape (Life’s for my own, to live my own way)

Etc.

Metal does not have a patent on the outsider concept; rock has always contained its seeds. See Dion’s “Runaway” and Rolling Stones “Tumbling Dice.” But the combination of imagery+heaviness+outsider makes metal music a substantial overlap in the venn diagram of S&S.

Iron Maiden’s “Drifter” is another fine example. As Paul DiAnno sings:

Gotta keep on roaming, gotta sing my song… ‘cause I’m a drifter, drifting on.

I hope you drift into a fine weekend on this Metal Friday.

Desert Plains, Judas Priest

It's July, 7 o'clock in the evening. The New England night is warm. I'm sitting in my car, windows rolled down. The moon and stars are glittering above … and I’ve got an evening ahead of Judas Priest style heavy metal.

The Priest* is playing Uncle Eddie's Oceanside Tavern in Salisbury. A dive bar teetering on shithole, but one I happen to love.

I drive out of the garage, press play on my curated Judas Priest playlist, and hear this:

This song takes me to some desert plain, the stars wheeling overhead on a trip to nowhere and everywhere all at once. Nowhere to go and no responsibilities ...  and everything ahead. I've got a life to live.

But tonight is the next best thing. Route 110, a straight line to the New England coast, toward the salt tang and deep roar of the Atlantic ocean. Sour black leather and cold beer and dude companionship, with good-looking chicks and a dumpy bar as the backdrop. 

Heavy metal until midnight. 

I've done this. Have you? I hope so. There's still time.

"Desert Plains" is the ultimate driving song. You heard this guitar tone in the mid-80s but you don't hear it anymore. This is it in its full glory. "Heading Out to the Highway" is comparable but it lacks the slow, stoned, ethereal vibe of "Desert Plains." Listening to it puts me on an Arizona highway, one of those flat, level, straight to the horizon stretches where you press down on the gas pedal and roar past 80 ... 90 ... and just keep going.

With Judas Priest as the soundtrack.

* The Priest is a New England based tribute band to Judas Priest.

Judas Be My Guide, Iron Maiden

I'm old enough to have bought Iron Maiden's Fear of the Dark on tape, very close to the day of its release  in May 1992. If I'm correct my buddy Pete and I bought a copy at a long defunct Strawberries (RIP). Popped it in the car stereo on the drive home and listened all the way to the end, even after arriving at our destination. Our ears were alert to every note. This was Maiden! They deserved our full attention.

We were blown away by "Fear of the Dark," the last song on side 2. Which has since become a classic and concert staple.

... and unfortunately underwhelmed by the rest, and the album as a whole. A rare miss by Maiden.

Except for one other track on side 2. 

Take a listen and I think you'll agree about "Judas Be My Guide." 

Nothing is sacred

Back then or now

Everyone's wasted

Is that all there is?

Is that it now?

Short, barely makes it past 3 minutes. Powerful, almost no foreplay save for a bit of atmospheric guitar work, then straight in. I love Dave Murray's guitar work after the bridge between the second and third chorus. Bruce is singing at a high level here. 

It rips. A great little overlooked song that deserves more attention in Maiden's catalog.

In hindsight "Afraid to Shoot Strangers" is pretty good too.

Computer God, Black Sabbath

I suspect Paul Kingsnorth isn’t a metal fan but he has an ally in the late Ronnie James Dio. 

“Computer God” opens up the vastly underrated Dehumanizer with a bang. Dio saw what was coming, back in 1992, when he penned these prophetic lyrics:

Computerized God, it's the new religion

Program the brain, not the heartbeat

Onward, all you crystal soldiers

Touch tomorrow energize

Digital dreams and you're the next correction

Man's a mistake, so we'll fix it, yeah

My inconsequential machine rebellion has begun. I picked up this rig on Tuesday. A Yamaha RX-595 receiver with a pair of Boston Acoustics speakers and a DVD/CD measure for good measure. The price was right (zero). It sounds fantastic. I can now play my old CDs again. Remember what it was like to hear an entire album without commercials, comments, and digital distraction?

Name the CD for bonus points...

No internet, no algorithms, no copyright strikes, just metal. Dio would have approved.

Virtual existence with a superhuman mind

The ultimate creation, destroyer of mankind

Stonehenge, Spinal Tap

Fuck... 2025 has been brutal. Rob Reiner deserved a much longer life. Horrible, tragic.

In honor of the man who brought us the finest rockumentary ever made, ladies and gentlemen, I present on this Metal Friday "Stonehenge." The ultimate heavy metal lampoon. Dwarves trampling what should be massive 18' stones (not 18") will never not be funny.

I do recommend A Fine Line Between Stupid and Clever. I'm particularly happy I have a copy with Reiner's signature, a little piece of a man who brought me so much joy with his celluloid visions.

RIP brother.

The Sentinel, Judas Priest

If I were commanded by an extraterrestrial visitor to planet Earth, "Give me one song that best exemplifies this thing you call heavy metal, and I shall decide if thou speaketh true" with the fate of civilization and all we hold dear hanging in the balance, I might have to pick "The Sentinel."

This fucking song man. It's ridiculous. I'll take any singer you've got, and put him or her against Rob Halford in his peak, as we see in this video, and I'm coming out on top.

And the guitars! The tone! The way Rob orchestrates KK Downing and Glenn Tipton like a maestro, playing one off the other and drawing them out to ever greater heights of intensity.

The subject matter of the lyrics, combined with the feel of the music, transports you to some far-flung Blade Runner-esque postapocalyptic future. Where I don't want to be ... unless Judas Priest is the soundtrack.

It's an absolutely 10/10 performance.

Crank this one up on this Metal Friday, and glory in it, Defenders of the Faith.

Of Blind Guardian and The Quest for Tanelorn

The City of Rest... Tanelorn.

Michael Moorcock’s stories are populated with characters ill-fitted to their world, outsiders in lands where betrayal and cruelty and sadism are woven into the very fabric of existence.

There is no truth, no golden age, but only the eternal struggle. All that we love—our creations, our friends, and ultimately, ourselves—cannot avoid immolation. We are doomed to die, and this doom is stronger than the will.

What do you seek in such savage worlds? The rest of equilibrium, a place which Moorcock gives tangible form in the elusive city of Tanelorn. Also known as “The City of Rest” or “The Eternal City,” Tanelorn is a sanctuary for Eternal Champions and their constant stuggles against the opposed forces of Law and Chaos.

Tanelorn is everywhere (and nowhere) in Moorcock’s multiverse.  In The Quest for Tanelorn (which I admittedly have not read) Dorian Hawkmoon has been reunited with his true love Yisselda, but his two children are still missing. To finally reunite his family he must first find his way to the fabled city.

I described it in Flame and Crimson as an “El Dorado-like city” because it’s half legend if not fully so. It might only exist within. It’s a powerful and enduring symbol, influencing a generation of readers …  including the German power metal band Blind Guardian, whom I got to see playing the Worcester Palladium on Wednesday. The Somewhere Far Beyond tour features the band playing the entirety of the 1992 album, including “The Quest for Tanelorn,” a song that packs a big chorus. 

Sings Hansi Kursch:

On a quest for Tanelorn, we lose our way

We lose our way could mean physically lost, but that’s not how I read this. We lose our way because we cannot find an internal equilibrium. We fall short due to our own weakness.

But we keep looking. The Quest for Tanelorn continues.

“Tanelorn will always exist while men exist,” says the hermit at the conclusion of The Bane of the Black Sword. “It was not a city you defended today. It was an ideal. That is Tanelorn.”

As songs go I actually prefer Blind Guardian’s other song about the mystic city, “Tanelorn (Into the Void)” off At the Edge of Time (2011). That 20 years separate the songs speaks to its enduring power as a symbol and source of inspiration.

As for the show itself, it was awesome. If you’re a metal fan you simply must see Blind Guardian and sing along to “The Bard’s Song.” “Nightfall” is one of the all-time great concert songs. It’s not unlike “Fear of the Dark,” a terrific song that’s even better played live. Along with “Time Stands Still (at the Iron Hill)” these were the highlights of an overall excellent show. We had great seats, first row in the balcony with a fine sight line to the band and a bird's eye view of a wildly entertaining mosh pit.

Here's a bit of "Nightfall."

Full setlist here.

Strange Ways, Ace Frehley

Easy choice this week ... in honor of the eternal memory of Ace Frehley, buried this week in Brooklyn. "Strange Ways" appeared on KISS' second album Hotter Than Hell. 

Ace wrote it, and I love it.

I've heard him play this one many times in concert, including as it turns out his second to last ever performance (Tupelo Theater, Derry NH, Sept. 4, 2025) which I was proud to have attended. 

Moral of the story: Don't ever skip the opportunity to see your aging rock heroes when they come around, because it may be your last chance.

I have not heard this particular recording prior, live with Peter Criss 1995, post first KISS breakup. Cool.

Seems impromptu. A bit rough around the edges.

Definitely awesome. Especially his solo starting around 3:15.

RIP Spaceman.

Addendum: Seems you have to click through to Youtube to watch this. Which I recommend. But in case you're feeling lazy I'm also posting the fine studio recording.

Atom and Evil, Black Sabbath*

A day late on Metal Friday but today a close look at Ronnie James Dio’s lyrics for “Atom and Evil,” the opening track off The Devil You Know (2009). These are sufficiently abstract that interpretation is required.

Blue skies, once upon a dream

All eyes, never in between

We all once looked to heaven for answers, not to this middle earth.

Then into the garden came the spider

“I’m here for you,” said the spider to the fly

And when I’m through, you can open up your eyes to see

Eden corrupted by the spider/serpent, offering honeyed poison as “truth.” We’ll be masters of the world if we just follow him.

Your world on fire, and the liar won’t let go

Atom and Evil

Atom is an allusion to the biblical Adam but also atomic energy, the development of weapons of Armageddon. And perhaps technology more broadly. The world is on fire as technofascist overlords develop AI Agents to unburden us from grocery lists.

One more promise

We can tame the sun

And then we’ll shine forever

The old promise, of Marx and Ray Kurzweil, that technology will fix all our problems, and we’ll have utopia. Also a reference to the scientists (many of whom were pacifists) who built the bomb, whose release was described as brighter than a thousand suns.

Someday you can cry for everyone

We’ll burn when you were clever

The technologists build bunkers; they’ll shed crocodile tears and count their money as we burn.

Expand your mind, we’ve got a place for you

Just make believe that one and one are always two

Science has all the answers, just “expand your mind bro” and listen to its words. The physical world is all there is, technology doesn’t require governance, or principle.

When into the parlor comes the spider

Just say no!

Atom and Evil

Don’t fall for the sale, the deadly pitch.

Falling’s easy

Rising will never be

So we must rise together

Here are the changes

Powerful harmony

But then there’s no forever

Atom and Evil.

It’s much easier to bend and accept “progress” (which leads to the fall) than to reject it, stand for principle, preserve and protect what is good, live by values. “But then there’s no forever” is a hard lyric to come to grips with; does rejecting atomic technology mean we reject the possibility of man-made utopia/singularity? Is there no way out? Unless…

Maybe if we cry together

Maybe if we cry as one

The tears will fall to chill the fire

And keep everyone from 

Atom and Evil

… we unify.

Dio’s vocals are awesome BTW and I love the heavy doom of this track.

A fun aside; surely Dio must have been aware of the presence of another “Atom and Evil,” a gospel song performed by Golden Gate Quartet in 1946. It too is about the dangers of atomic war. “We’re sitting on the edge of doom” never sounded so harmonious and be-bop friendly: 

I'm talkin' 'bout Atom, and Evil

Atom and Evil

If you don't break up that romance soon

We'll all fall down and go boom, boom, boom!

*Yes, Black Sabbath, not Heaven & Hell, because that’s what this band is.