Hollywood Metal Episode 64 (audio)

Saturday May 2nd 2009: PHLEGETHON was back on the show today to premier “Norloxious THE BLOODSMOKER” and to play my new favorite drinking game, wizard staff. The theme of the show was Totally Awesome Super Epic Hero Metal and we stuck pretty close to it with some great epic tracks. MANOWAR “Power of Thy Sword” led things off. As with all MANOWAR songs, the vocal hooks are incredibly catchy. I’ve been singing it all weekend. Especially the final vocal loop at the end. And then it was time for “NORLOXIOUS THE BLOODSMOKER” from PHLEGETHON. A highly anticipated track in the tight-knit Hollywood metal scene. The track is great, all parts rule.. the vocals from Lane and Tyler provided a depth to the song… Tyler shreds the guitar with tremolo picking and Lane’s base provides a super thick heavy base line and thunderous vocals for the song. Confirmation the kick-assness of this song came the following night as the guys played live at the Key Club in Hollywood. The crowd was nuts, videos from the show can be seen on my youtube page www.youtube.com/hollywoodmetalradio . RHAPSODY OF FIRE “Rain of a Thousand Flames” is a great song. The namesake Hollywood Metal can partially be attributed to this band as they were probably the first to coin the term in reference to their “movie score” metal sound. Their songs are larger than life and worthy of that title. In much the same way, songs played on my show have that epic, larger than life, quality across many metal genres. Moving on… DRAGONLAND is in my top 10 band list, “Holy War” is an excellent display of musicianship and song construction. The guitars are smooth as always and the vocals are perfect. IRON FIRE from Denmark is another band that really can’t be faulted on their technical ability to rock faces. You either like power metal or you don’t the song “Kill for Metal” is a MANOWAR type song about the glory of metal (usually I shy away from songs about metal but for the Totally Awesome Super Epic Power Metal Show I will make an exception). Catchy guitar riffs, strong vocals and good drum cadences make this one easy to rock to. Norloxious was my favorite song of the day but on par with that was “Surreality” from HIGHLAND GLORY. I have to headbang the hell out of this one because it is like a hammer of epic power pounding away at your eardrums. I’ve very upset that the lead singer Jan has since left the band but Tracey just found his new band so I will check that out and report back. MERCYFUL FATE is a classic foundation band for any metalhead. While I didn’t build my metal prowess off them from the beginning like many others, they have solidified a place in my collection as a go to band for haunting screams and heavy riffs. PHLEGETHON covered “Come to the Sabbath” at Pagan Knights tour and it ruled! FALCONER is another favorite Swedish band of mine. I recently played their latest album heavily on the show and did an article for them in my Buzzbin Magazine column. “Quest for the Crown” is off their debut self titled album and it is no less impressive. Props to Tyler for picking this one out. It’s always a good time to play more MANOWAR.. enjoy “Battle Hymm” and remember to KILL! KILL! The aforementioned MERCYFUL FATE is fronted by KING DIAMOND. His side project, which bears the same name, has also become a mainstay for metaldom. Nocrolord did a few album cover art pieces for him and that is was introduced me to this band a few years ago. “At the Graves” is off the Conspiracy album from way back in 1989 and it is as awesome today as is way back then. The final track of the show was from BAL-SAGOTH the track that picked was “The Splendour Of A Thousand Swords Gleaming Beneath The Blazon Of The Hyperborean Empire (Part: III)” and I’ll let Tracey explain why this song rules….Tracey: “As with all Bal-Sagoth songs, each song tells a story, this song is basically about the battle between the Angsaar and the Hyperborean king. This is a top song by Bal-Sagoth for me because it’s what they’re all about, epic battle metal! The majority of the song is dialogue between the two, and then the king rallies his men and has them prepare for the final battle, where the king then slays Angsaar. Key parts to listen to in this song 0:43 that epic laughter! as well as 3:38 – 3:53 completely heroic. Beyond amazing job with keys in this song I might also add.”

update: LOST HORIZON “Sworn in the Metal Wind” was originally left off this recap by mistake. (Feb 22, 2010)