The Most Amazing Left Turns In Metal
Tuesday, January 10, 2017 at 12:01AM Today's post is from our friend HIM.
Happy 2017 everybody. Let me begin by saying that I want to begin the year with a post that is open to endless speculation. That seems fitting. So please add to this post with your thoughts.
Thoughts about what? Simple. When has a band or an artist made such an amazingly puzzling decision to change their sound or image? For me, there are two that stand out:
First is the evolution of Celtic Frost. Yes, I know. Celtic Frost are not glam. But they were a band I couldn’t figure out and still liked to listen to, even as I was awash in the Crue and Dokken. Not sure why, even to this day. Something about the odd sounds on To Mega Therion caught me:
Yeah, the album had a blissfully obscene cover. But Thomas Gabriel Fischer, the mastermind behind all this, was onto something in 1985. This was vicious and operatic. It was fast and then slow, Wagner meets Venom meets Metallica. I was hooked for all the right reasons. But what the holy hell was Cold Lake?
That’s a poor attempt at being something you are not, Tom Warrior! Faster Pussycat is not your thing. Nor is it your place (or your space, it seems) to aim for a crossover sound. It is a good thing that he has reclaimed his footing in recent years, releasing albums with his band Triptykon that harken back to the time when Celtic Frost were something ominous and soul-crushing, while also being interesting and engaging.
Second is the history of Fastway. Well, actually, the history of the original singer in Fastway. Fastway began as a perfectly boozy dream combo: Fast Eddie Clark (formerly of the glory years Motorhead) and Pete Way (the slurry bassist most known for his stints in UFO, and not an actual player on their eponymous debut in 1983). My thinking here is more focused on the singer on that—and three subsequent—albums, Dave King. Here he is belting out a classic slab of hard rock sleaze-cheese:
Here he is now:
Again, what the holy hell? Sure, this Pogue-ish stab at his Irish roots sounds great. And, yes, it isn't the sell-out that Celtic Frost engaged in.
But he hides from his past (lest we forget the classic metal movie Trick or Treat). And I wonder why? He got a start in Fastway. He kicked ass. He must consider this an indiscretion of youth. If so, why dodge one that is so good?
I trust there are enough examples that you can think of to discuss. You know, Ron Keel? Or others that I haven’t considered. So share them and let’s get a two-page posting session going. Rock is littered with “Yeah!” and then “Huh?” moments.
Reader Comments (28)
Sorry, but for me, the biggest (though not as extreme as Dave King's flip) of the "YEAH!" then "HUH?" moments in Heavy Metal History is Nikki Sixx going from Metal Badass in Motley Crue to WTF Modern Power Pop Wuss in Sixx AM!
Another, though, again, not as extreme as Dave King's reinvention, is a classic and even more comical Metal Tale...
And that "YEAH!" then "HUH?" moment occurred when Mercyful Fate (as hardcore Thrash and Heavy as a Metal band can get) guitarist, Hank Sherman quit and formed FATE, turning thunder bolt throwing dark clouds into Skittle tossing Marshmallows, going from one of the HEAVIEST of Heavy Metal bands to Metal Lite in a flash!
Here's the proof... Just try to keep from laughing...
BEFORE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDMXylcacGE
AFTER:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgjZv0a0yZY
p.s. Hey, HIM, I actually think "Cold Lake" is Celtic Frost's best album, hahaha!!! "Mexican Radio"! Yeah!
The music was bleh, but the haircuts to me were worse crimes Shed a few tears, ripped down the posters from my bedroom wall. But then got over it.
Next album, Creatures of the Night, returned them to form, and the hair was back so I was happy.
Perhaps this wasn't as extreme an example, but it's the first that came to mind for me.
And Happy 2017. Hope its better than last year for all. Not me though, cat died a couple days ago so its already a turd year so far ha ha. If figures, right.
Warrant - Belly to Belly there was a big change in sound....
L.A. Guns - American Hardcore? After Phil left? I just remember seeing them at Brick by Brick and didn't care for that at all...
I think one common thread with anyone that changes their sound/image is an attempt to stay relevant and tweaking sound and image is acceptable to anyone's hardcore fan base if it is a natural evolution of musical/personal growth (Skid Row from debut to Slave to the Grind) but complete transformations like Nikki/Brett that don't seem genuine make them come across as shallow and pathetic, grasping to stay in the spotlight as it fades away into the darkness of reality that their time has come and gone.
I actually thought of Aerosmith, too, Darktown, actually, last night. In fact, they've flipped a few times, though in some of those instances more dramatically than others.
Example 1: Going from "Rocks" to "Draw The Line" (though the latter was saved by the title track).
Example 2: Going from "Done With Mirrors", which SHOULD have been "Rocks II", as demonstrated by "Let The Music Do The Talking", with it's overall rawer and frankly, largely unlistenable, to their ultimate "sellout" moment with the release of "Premanent Vacation" with it's calculating mediocritization of the band's sound ensured by one Mr. John Kolodner, a move that may have made them hundreds of millions but ruined their Rock Cred for life, IMHO!
Of course, the "BEFORE" and "AFTER" contrasts are even more stark if you compare the albums which most define Aerosmith's two distinct eras, "ROCKS", before the break-up and "Permanent Vacation" or anything thereafter, as the output has just gotten worse and worse from that album on!
Another example of "SELLOUT", though hardly Metal, is the tale of PUNK icon turned Popstar, Billy Idol. His first band, Generation X was one of THE Greatest Punk Bands of All Time. Their first two albums are incredible testaments to their art, where as his solo stuff is dumbed down and sanitized. Even his voice sounds different and not in a good way.
Just YouTube Generation X's cover version of John Lennon's "Gimme Some Truth", as it appeared on the first album (not the demo version). It's teeth make "White Wedding" sound like dentures!
Terry Glaze went on to sing for Lord Tracy. Great video for Out With the Boys if you haven't seen it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t89I-JHb7FE
Maiden almost went there with Somewhere In Time but Harris ever the marketer put on the brakes on just in time and didn't glam up on us. Hell, even Motörhead felt but never caved into the PR douches from the label. The '80's did crazy things to otherwise sane individuals!!
And, though, some may disagree and others may view it with glaring obviousness as it's a topic we've touched on many times here:
Van Halen vs. Van Hagar. Though the differences are stark -- basically Rock & Roll (Roth era) vs. AOR (Hagar era) -- the scenario screams of "SELLOUT!"
However, there's a point in time when Van Halen more subtly changed (hardly, really) for the worse, though they quickly recovered following it, and that was the moment Eddie Van Halen plugged in a keyboard and the band released the song, "Jump".
However, I don't so much say, ":Huh?" As I try (oh do I try) to understand where he's at these days, and after Artie Lange's suicide attempt (read his book- it was a very real attempt, and he almost died), I can understand, somewhat, as to the direction his show has taken-mostly safe, non-edgy. However, with FCC standards and regulations off the table, thanks to satellite radio, his show has become more "raunchy" than "funny". Nowadays, I really just listen to his interviews and Sternthology (back shows).
Side note: After I 'caught' my son and his friends listening to the segment about Ronnie's cock ring, I looked up youtube videos of Stuttering John and other phony interviews interviews with celebrities that would air on the E! channel, back when E! was somewhat edgy for the time and before it turned into the Kardashian borefest that it is now. I cued the videos as, 'This is when Howard was good".
Also, he self-admits that he hurt a lot of people over the years with his humor, or rather, personal attacks and perhaps he doesn't want to end his career on that legacy, even though it will always be a huge part of his shtick and what I grew up listening to on the radio- heck, I even sometimes kept the radio in my bedroom on with a little tape recorder on, to continue recording the show when it was time to leave for school. So old school.
I agree that first Vince Neil album ROCKS and that is primarily due to Stevens playing all over it! Which brings me to a question of been yearning to ask Neil. Why not play that whole album or the majority of it as part of his set?
My buddy is best friends (since childhood) with Neil's current guitarist, Jeff Blando, who told him they used to play a great deal of that album when he, Dana Strum and Zoltan Chaney first became his band but they dropped all the songs from the set several years ago. Blando lamented to him he really liked the songs and think they're actually better than some of Crüe's songs.
Which brings me to this... I think times have changed and now fans would be psyched to hear Neil do several if not all of those great tracks from his first solo album. I wish I was going on The Monsters of Rock Cruise in February to broach the subject with him. I believe he might actually consider it.