OFF: decent US Metal bands

[Ben Fagin]

What about those Union Pacific Railroads? that was top notch US Metal imo, can
someone tell me about those or is this off on a tangent too far?


On Friday 24 Jan 2003 12:59 am, you wrote:
> I have to say that after 1990, I began to really question Metallica. When I
> started seeing them on the covers of teeny bopper mags and "Enter Sandman"
> was played to death, it was the beginning of the end of my liking them. The
> mellow songs on the black album are pretty good, but there were no heavy
> tunes at all. Wherever I May Room was the only good rocker. Never bought
> it. Then they covered Bob Segar's "Turn The Page"-- YUCK!!
> Growing up in central Ohio, I grew to hate Bob Segar. That clinched it for
> me.... Then they pulled the "We're artists" thang and went after Napster.
> Some of you may remember my BOC-L response to that by posting the article
> w/ "Metallica Sucks" as the subject.
>
> I saw them in February 1984 in Detroit w/ Armored Saint and WASP opening.
> That was killer. I maintain that from their earliest daze until the black
> album, they were a GREAT metal band. But no longer.
>
> And now to your question about decent U.S. metal bands......
>
> First: what is heavy metal music?
>
> Lemmy has been quoted as saying Motorhead's music is the natural
> progression of Eddie Cochran - an American.
>
> The core of most hard rock and heavy metal is The BLUES - an American music
> form.
>
> Was Jimi Hendrix heavy metal?
>
> Some may say no, while others may say yes. One thing is for sure, any heavy
> metal or hard rock guitarist that's worth a crap cites Hendrix as a major
> influence. Hendrix was an American!
>
> Calling Ratt heavy metal, as you did before is a fucking joke!
>
> They sucked as a band, let alone as a heavy metal group.
>
> Motley Crue - not the greatest bunch of musicians either. Yeah, they have a
> couple decent tunes on Too Fast For Love and Shout at the Devil. I dig the
> tune Dr. Feelgood. Tommy is a pretty good drummer, but they were better at
> partying than anything else. I just don't see them as a serious group of
> musicians and not worthy.
>
> Kiss - come on dude! Yeah, they are not the best bunch of musicians, but
> once again - are they truly heavy metal?? Their outfits are heavy metal.
> Their stage show is heavy metal. But their songs are simplistic 3 chord
> riffs. They may be responsible for many folks becoming metal heads - fans
> and musicians alike. The song Parasite was thrash for 1975. Creatures of
> the Night is a great record and so is Kiss Alive. They even went prog on
> the Elder. They also put on one of the best shows of anybody out there.
> Period. I guess they might be my guilty pleasure. Who cares?!
>
> What about Alice Cooper?? Was his original band heavy metal? Killer is dark
> and full of guitar crunch. So is School's Out. I Love The Dead - now,
> there's a heavy metal topic for ya. Billion Dollar Babies - they even
> rip-off Hendrix on one of the tunes on that record. See if you can figure
> out which one..... Find some old video from the early 1970's and watch Glen
> Buxton and Michael Bruce shred!
> Then Welcome to my Nightmare - Cold Ethyl - another heavy metal topic.
> Alice Cooper Goes To Hell - simply kickass! After the Coop went through the
> new wave phase in the early 1980's, he went full-on metal w/ the release of
> Constrictor. His stage show is pure heavy metal!
>
> But this does not even get into the realm of what many would consider U.S.
> Metal.
>
> What about Ministry?
>
> I saw them live on January 5, 1990 at the Phantasy Theater in Cleveland,
> Ohio. The most brutal onslaught of guitars and drums I have EVER witnessed.
> They could chew up many bands all over the world and spit them out!! That's
> metal, right? Lookout for their upcoming relaes and subsequent tour!!
>
> The Mind Truly IS A Terrible Thing To Taste. But I need Just One Fix!!
>
> Have you ever heard the release by Cleveland's own Destructor: Maximum
> Destruction??
>
> My friends Pat Rabid and Dave Overkill had a kickass metal band!! If some
> fuck would not have stabbed their bassist to death on New Years Eve 1987 at
> their very own practice spot, they would have been huge. They never could
> find a good bassist and only did a handful of gigs w/ a new bassist before
> they called a quits.
> A total shame really :(
> Still, we had fun w/ their punk band later and some list members know of
> their collaboration w/ Paul Resnik in Spacecore, who opened for Hawkwind at
> the Empire.
>
> If you are a true metal fan and you don't have Maximum Destruction in your
> collection, you better hit the streets!
>
> Then theirs the metal seen that erupted in Tampa, Florida. The most notable
> band being Savatage. Power of The Night, Sirens and The Hall of The
> Mountain King are quintessential metal albums. Unfortunately, the tragic
> death of their guitarist in a car accident proved to be something they just
> could not rebound from.....
>
> Sure.... Ozzy is not an American by birth, but his first band was an
> American band. Tommy Aldridge on drums - awesome and Randy Rhodes. Tell me
> he was not a great American metal guitarist!
>
> There was another California band called Warlord that was also great.
>
> In 1978 Hell Razor was formed in Ottawa, Canada. The band consisted of John
> Ricci (guitars), Dan Beehler (drums) and Allan Johnson (bass). In 1980,
> they changed their name to Exciter and recorded a demo. This demo was sent
> to Mike Varney of Shrapnel Records, who included one song from it, "World
> War III", on the compilation album US Metal Volume II in 1982. Shortly
> after that  Exciter was signed to Shrapel Records and in 1983 they released
> their debut LP, Heavy Metal Maniac. Later that year  signed a 3-record-deal
> with John Zazula's Mega Force Records and 1984 they released their second
> album, Violence & Force. This album was recorded in New York and produced
> by Carl Canedy (The Rods - another good metal band).
>
> So Exciter might not be a U.S. Metal band per se. But they buttered their
> bread right here and released records on U.S. metal record labels that
> started the resurgence of metal across the globe. Exciter is STILL going to
> this day! Long Live The Loud!!!
>
> There were plenty of other U.S. metal bands represented on the Shrapnel and
> Megaforce labels.
>
> Then there's the bands mentioned earlier.....
>
> Megadeth - Rust In Peace - killer
> Anthrax - Fistful of Metal, Spreading The Disease, The Sound of White Noise
> Exodus
> Nuclear Assault
> Death Angel
> Manowar - first release, Sign of the Hammer, Into Glory Ride
> Corrosion of Conformity
> Slayer - the name says it all!!
> Queensryche - Operation Mind Crime - a masterpiece!
> Alice in Chains - fuck grunge - these guys were metal
> Blue Cheer - early metal
> Bloodrock
> Trouble - their first 3 releases were great!
> Monster Magnet - yeah, they ARE metal!
> WASP
> Armored Saint
> Ted Nugent
> Primus
> Great White
> Dream Theater
> Riot - Fire Down Under!!
> Guns & Roses - despise them, but many disagree
> Soundgarden
> Biohazard
>
> How many guys in Halford's band are Americans?
>
> Come on man.....
>
> Let's get.....
>
> INTO THE PIT!!!
>
> Dragon Rider
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Original Message-----
> From: Ben Fagin [mailto:vulcanfoundry at BLUEYONDER.CO.UK]
> Sent: Wednesday, January 22, 2003 3:16 AM
> Subject: Re: OFF: Other bands
>
>
> Can you name any decent US Metal bands?
>
> I think Metallica are the only one really, we met them in 1984 at Shades,
> (Metal shop in soho, London W1)  remember that? Anyway, I thought they were
> a
> bunch of c***ts apart from Cliff Burton who was terrific, RIP.