In a recent article in Guitar World Magazine they referred to an interview with Kirk in Total Guitar Magazine where he made some, frankly idiotic statements regarding the place of guitar solos in modern music and the importance of any given solo’s content.

This is really up there with his most embarrassing fails and blunders if you ask me….

Here’s my thoughts and reaction to the news from the band that after 40 years, they’re planning to call it a day.

Roger Waters, the ex Pink Floyd primadonna whose marbles have been truly lost to the sands of time has, apparently spat his dummy out at fans in London as they walked out of his snooz fest, poetry sessions.

You can’t make this stuff up.

Bob Rock is undoubtedly one of the finest producers and mix engineers to have graced the faders in any given studio with his musical presence.

However, that doesn’t stop a horde of Metallica fans, or ex Metallica fans from blaming him for changing the sound of the band. So, in this video I take a look at whether or not Bob Rock really did change the sound of Metallica on the Black Album.

Leave me a comment and let me know if you loved or hated the Black Album and why.

An audience member at a recent Pantera show has claimed that he thinks Zakk Wylde is playing to some sort of backing track on the track “Becoming” which features a quick punch in and out of a whammy pedal to deliver the Dimebag signature squeel effect in the main verse riff.

I know Grady Champion has and reportedly still does control the whammy pedal from backstage. This video is meant to be a take on playing devil’s advocate with respect to entertaining the claim that the person who was at the show alleged. Which is that Zakk was not actually playing the parts or specifically the whammy squeels.

It’s hard to judge conclusively from the video but what I can see and hear looks and sounds live to my ears. (I didn’t really make it clear in the video that I actually don’t think he’s not playing the squeel itself) , only that I think he’s playing the chord progression live 100 percent live)

What do you think? Are backing tracks bad? Does it depend on how they’re used and to what extent, or are Backing Tracks just flat out bad? What about assistance from your tech? How far should this extend?

I recently reached 100 subs on my channel. It’s by no means a large number, but you’ve got to start somewhere.

As a little thank you to those who’ve Subscribed I recorded this playthrough of The Virtuous State from Reshaping The Human Condition. Since a great many subscribers came to me off the back of my Till Lindemann cancel culture video a little while back, this track seemed fitting for the occasion. The sentiment of that video definitely resinated with quite a few people with the video gathering well over four thousand views and a 93.8 percent like to dislike ratio.

I’ll probably do a series of these videos. They don’t get clicks and views because I’m still a nobody really , but I love playing the tracks and it’s a good way to share the lyrics for those who are interested.

If you’re one of the hundred odd Subscribers, thank you. Truly.

Till Lindemann from the German metal band Rammstein has become entangled in a controversy related to sexual assault charges following a gig in Lithuania.

Charges have only just been raised against him, and yet his book publisher has already seen fit to drop him.

There are also details surrounding the use of his book in relation to a pornograghic film production of some sort…

Check out my reaction and review of Immortal War Against All. The latest record from the Norwegian Black Metal legends here:

I also recently posted a video of my top ten favourite lead guitar players that includes some of the top virtuosos from the last few decades as well as an often neglected Blues master.

Check out my video below where I break down and discuss 72 Seasons, the title track from Metallica’s forthcoming album of the same name.

The band still takes pot shots from many metal music consumers with accusations of sounding slow and like a pop rock outfit. I have to say honestly, such arguments are completely lacking in any logical foundation. While they haven’t showed some of the grand and epic musical tension that they built their sound on much in the first three teasers for this new record (which I’ve been very critical of), you certainly can’t call it anything but metal. It certainly slips easily into the basic thrash descriptions based on chord voicings, tempo and beat structures.

This latest offering though has some key indicators that there is potentially a half decent record here, provided they can deliver more of some key classic Metallica ingredients that I talk about in this reaction video. My expectations are still not that high though as I feel they’d have used what they felt were the strongest tunes for the teasers. So this track could, rather worryingly be the high water mark for this album. At this point, I’m really not sure they have another one in them. Time will tell…

Regardless of how this band writes and performs I think there will always be a legion of fans that simply will not accept them in a metal context. They do this with any band that breaks out from their niche into an ultra successful act. It’s a strange phenomenon where some Metal Heads just want metal to stay below the mainstream radar.They need it to be an underdog by definition.

My personal view is that a band’s success shouldn’t be a factor. Only the quality of their art and they’re craft. Metallica have made many mistakes over the years. One thing they never did was set an expectation that they’d play a certain speed or stick to a particular production style. Let’s not forget, they first “rocked the metal boat” with Fade To Black. So they’re no strangers to being labelled as “Sell outs”. That’s right, Metallica were already sell outs all the way back in ’84…

At the age these guys are, I think they’re still doing a decent job and I honestly think they’re being true to themselves. I think they’ve also earned at least a basic level of respect, and it’s simply in bad taste not to acknowledge the touring mileage and staying power these guys have achieved. It’s just bad manners not to. In that, they maintain a certain level of fundamental credibility in my eyes. Despite the errors and sometimes down right laziness a couple of the members have displayed over the years.

Some artists make music for they’re fans. Some do it for themselves. Metallica are the latter. If you only had bands like the former group, things would be pretty predictable and boring. Yeah, you get blunders,but you also get absolute gems. While 72 Seasons doesn’t stand out as a top example of the band’s work, it’s definitely not far from the mark. Certainly not as far as some of its critics will try to convince you of.

It has some elaborate arrangements. The Tik Tok generation however may have rotten their brains too much to have the attention span for. Too much instant gratification you see…. Bloody Wankers. 😂 It has killer vocals, with a really well delivered set of vocal harmonies. A nice concise solo that serves the song and shows some actual effort from Kirk and it’s at a nice lively pace as well as some cool dual guitar harmonies . All kicked off with a killer bass driven intro at speed from Rob.

Honestly, what’s not to like? The verse riff is a little plain and the pre-chorus riff itself sounds a tad recycled but other than that, this song is pretty edgy, has a great chorus hook and I think sits in the discography pretty well alongside the likes of Battery, Creeping Death or any other up tempo classic you want to hold against them in an argument about how they’ve just never been the same since the Black Album.

But alas, there’s just no pleasing some folk..

So that’s all folks… Thats all ten tracks up on my YouTube channel.

The Reason Amidst The Noise

I really wanted one of these songs to have some positivity. Lest I come across as simply whining and moaning about the current political climate. I’ve been inspired by Dr Jordan Peterson’s pod casts, lectures and interviews. I find him to be a very astute intellectual with sound advice on how you can begin to manage your own affairs and navigate this cluster fuck we call modern living. It’s been especially helpful as I’ve become a father of two during and immediately following the pandemic. A trying time for all no doubt.

So clean up your room and be the best you can be because we only get one shot at this miraculous set of circumstances that allow life to thrive on this planet.

Blindfolded Reason

Well, this track concludes my “Go woke, Go broke” lock down and Pandemic aftermath rant that is “Reshaping The Human Condition” . I hope you’ve enjoyed listening to the music. Perhaps you’ve even paused for thought as a result of it. We really need to knock this tribalism on the head now. Cancel culture can go with it if you ask me.