MYTH No. 2: Nirvana Killed Hair Metal
REALITY: It was already dead. Blame Queensrÿche.
By Chuck Eddy 11.10.09 1:49 PM
The legend of Nirvana has always demanded that the band be viewed as a sea change in popular taste -- the meaningless but oft-rehashed factoid that Nevermind knocked Michael Jackson's Dangerous off the top spot on the album chart, as if sales turnover didn't exist until Kurt Cobain came along.
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MYTH No. 3: Lady Gaga Is All Style, No Substance
REALITY: Lady Gaga's bizarre getups only distract from the fact that she's a brilliant songwriter.
By Chuck Eddy 11.09.09 4:53 PM
Lady Gaga's purportedly transgressive persona -- wearing doilies over her head in lieu of pants, possibly having a secret penis -- relentlessly dares you to despise her, and it's no surprise so many have taken the bait.
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Slayer, 'World Painted Blood' (American/Columbia)
The godfathers of thrash bleed for you again.
By Chuck Eddy 10.28.09 4:55 PM
Their horrific onslaught has been passed on the extreme left by myriad black-death grind upstarts, and these thrash originators mostly spin their mosh-pitstuck wheels on this tenth studio album -- anticipating Armageddon, reveling in torture, protesting oil war.
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Miranda Lambert, 'Revolution' (Columbia Nashville)
Vengeance is hers, sayeth saucy blonde shitkicker.
By Chuck Eddy 09.15.09 1:40 PM
The revolution this 25-year-old attempts on her sprawling third album is mainly sonic -- guitar noise and booming drums out of garage and grunge, alternating with patches of soft-focus atmosphere that would slot her as alt-country if she wasn't blessed with a vivacious, platinum-selling voice.
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Rodrigo y Gabriela, '11:11' (ATO)
Heady metal shtick gets too dubiously proggy.
By Chuck Eddy 09.01.09 2:07 PM
These Mexico-born, Dublin-based acoustic buskers made their name by flamenco-fying Metallica and Zeppelin songs, and their latest set was mixed by old thrash hand Colin Richardson. So it’s no shock that 11:11’s most affecting moments -- the title track and “Logos” -- come when the duo’s time signatures slither into a stalagmite-strewn prog-metal cave.
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The Datsuns, 'HeadStunts' (Cooking Vinyl)
Time to discontinue the brand? (See auto.)
By Chuck Eddy 03.19.09 11:21 AM
As fourth albums by Down Under betwixt- garage-and-metal bands who've never lived up to their initial hype go, the Datsuns' HeadStunts is not without charms -- "Eye of the Needle" rides some adequate space-guitar swirl atop its Gary Glitter rumble, and the more concise and gang-shouty "Highschool Hoodlums" could've halfway passed as Antmusic in 1981.
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