Planet of the Wolves

Planet of the Wolves

1. Mastodon, "The Wolf is Loose"
2. Guitar Wolf, "Planet of the Wolves"
3. Ozzy Osbourne, "Bark at the Moon"
4. X, "Hungry Wolf"
5. The Cramps, "I Was a Teenage Werewolf"
6. High on Fire, "Speedwolf"
7. Motörhead featuring Michael Palin, "The Wolf"
8. Misery Index, "Fed to the Wolves"
9. Metallica, "Of Wolf and Man"
10. Converge, "Lonewolves"
11. The Dillinger Escape Plan, "Sunshine the Werewolf"
12. Hole, "Hungry Like the Wolf"
13. Ramones, "Howling At The Moon (Sha-La-La)"
14. Local H, "Wolf Like Me"
15. Amon Amarth, "Father of the Wolf"
16. Rancid, "The Wolf"
17. The Hu Band, "Wolf Totem"
18. Megadeth, "She-Wolf"
19.  Queens of the Stone Age, "Someone's in the Wolf"
20. Danzig, "Killer Wolf"

For KIP.

Revocation, "Fracked"

I was glad to see Governor Cuomo move to ban fracking in New York today, with state health commissioner Howard Zucker noting that the health risks wouldn't be worth the gas and jobs. However, I was disappointed that the announcement didn't contain a single quote from Revocation's "Fracked."



Death metal lyrics are often useless, and usually incomprehensible even when they're good (see Misery Index and Pig Destroyer.) But "Fracked" ranks with Metallica's "Blackened," Testament's "Greenhouse Effect" and the entire Gojira discography as one of metal's sharpest odes to environmentalism. The lyrics are blunt but avoid the self-importance that undermines too many environmental crusaders' arguments. And even the less direct stanzas ("unearthing the crypts"--perhaps a Suffocation reference?) sound killer laid over Dave Davidson's progressions.

The Theme Song Will Not Be Written by Jim Webb or Francis Scott Key

The Theme Song Will Not Be Written by Jim Webb or Francis Scott Key 

1. Metallica, "Blackened"
2. System Of A Down, "B.Y.O.B."
3. Faith No More, "We Care A Lot"
4. Black Sabbath, "War Pigs"
5. Anthrax, "Bring the Noise"
6. Gojira, "Ocean Planet"
7. Testament, "Practice What You Preach"
8.  Living Colour, "Cult of Personality"
9. Suicidal Tendencies, "Send Me Your Money"
10. Lamb of God, "Now You've Got Something to Die For"
11. Revocation, "Pestilence Reigns"
12. Megadeth, "Peace Sells"
13. Ministry, "Thieves"
14. Sepultura, "Refuse/Resist"
15. Rage Against the Machine, "Killing in the Name"
16. Slayer and Ice-T, "Disorder"
17. Misery Index, "Traitors"

A post-elections gift for some of my fellow campaigners, culled from a few of my past political metal mixes.

Dissidents

How does one make a political metal mix for someone who already has "War Pigs," "Peace Sells," "Cult of Personality" and "Bring the Noise?"



Dissidents

1. Metallica, "Blackened"
2. System of a Down, "B.Y.O.B."
3. Faith No More, "We Care a Lot"
4. Living Colour, "Pride"
5. Guns N' Roses, "Civil War"
6. Suicidal Tendencies, "Send Me Your Money"
7. Marilyn Manson, "The Love Song"
8. Saul Williams, "List of Demands (Reparations)"
9. Lamb of God, "As the Palaces Burn"
10. Revocation, "Pestilence Reigns"
11. Megadeth, "Symphony of Destruction"
12. Ministry, "Thieves"
13. Gojira, "Vacuity"
14. Motörhead, "God Save the Queen"
15. Sepultura, "Kaiowas"
16. Rage Against the Machine, "Wake Up"
17. Body Count, "Cop Killer"
18. Misery Index, "Traitors"

Answer: It's hard, but not for lack of songs. How to pick just one selection from Rage Against the Machine or System of a Down? Is Tool's "Ænima" political enough? Is Saul Williams' "List of Demands (Reparations)" metal enough? There are already enough political metal mixes, with names like Psalm 69 and As the Palaces Burn. How can anything compete with those?

I ended up pulling up a little from everything. This is for someone who probably agrees with Cattle Decapitation philosophically if not melodically, so I'm throwing down the biggest metal trump cards. I picked "Blackened" over the other ...And Justice for All contenders by virtue of the fact that it rocks the hardest, and "Symphony of Destruction" for not having a verse about the Punisher, plus being still sadly relevant in an era of Morsis and Putins. Sepultura's "Kaiowas" landed here for proving that a metal band didn't need amps, or even lyrics, to send a message about forced evictions of natives in Brazil. I also dug up "We Care a Lot" from Faith No More's pre-Mike Patton days, a gleefully incisive takedown of the Live Aid and "We Are the World" celebrities which I'd still pit against anything Bono and Bob Geldof are doing today. I'll add that "We Care a Lot" predated The Book of Mormon ("I am Africa") and Get Him to the Greek ("African Child (Trapped in Me)") by at least 20 years.

More recently, the Political Metal flag has been raised by French progressive environmetalists (sic) Gojira and relentlessly confrontational deathgrinders Misery Index, the latter of whom earn the Thomas Paine and John Brown references on "Traitors" by being one of the only metal bands to put as much care into their lyrics as their music. But my favorite is Revocation, whom match their politically-charged lyrics (they recently debuted a song called "Fracked") with the most sophisticated metal that these ears have found over the past few years. "Pestilence Reigns," a chilling depiction of air raids, solves all of my problems with neo-thrash and technical death metal, giving the former a death metal makeover and the later a sense of songwriting direction.

Finally, I couldn't put together a political metal mix without including the most controversial metal single of all time. If you haven't heard it, that's because it's been banned from CD release since 1992.

Iron Maiden Memorial Day Playlist

Anti-war rallies would be more effective if they played more metal. Why is it always "Get Up, Stand Up" and never "War Pigs," "One" or "Civil War?" Few arts can depict the brutality of the battlefield as unnervingly as metal.

Bands have built careers on protesting war (Rage Against the Machine, System of a Down, Misery Index), even when the songs don't reflect their creator's own beliefs (Megadeth). Every time Lamb of God decry the government for mistreating its military, they are stepping into a pool with Slayer's "War Ensemble" and Sepultura's "Territory."

But before we get to an anti-war metal mix CD, remember that today is not about chickenhawk politicians who sacrifice the working class and stigmatize anti-war sentiments as being anti-troops. Today is about the brave men and women who risked and gave their lives in wars that, to paraphrase Trotsky, were interested in them, even if the fighters weren't interested in war. In modern music, no great band has honored these heroes more than Iron Maiden. Here's a playlist for today.

1. "Aces High" (from Powerslave, 1984)

Maiden's best show-opener starts with a history lesson (Churchill's "We Shall Fight on the Beaches" speech) and peaks with a chorus that soars as high as a Battle for Britain pilot. Watch out.



2. "The Trooper" (from Piece of Mind, 1983)

Inspired by Lord Tennyson's The Charge of the Light Brigade, "The Trooper" memorializes the British soldiers who died in the failed Crimean War charge. History books aren't as kind as they should be, so thank Steve Harris for taking it into his hands.



3. "Women in Uniform" (single, 1980)

Maiden hadn't found their best voice yet--they were still employing singer Paul Di'Anno and covering bands like Skyhooks, who wrote this well-meaning but stupid ode to a group that never gets enough credit. Some day women in combat will get the anthem that they deserve, but until then the least someone can do is Maidenize it.



4. "Where Eagles Dare" (from Piece of Mind, 1983)

"The world is grown so bad, that wrens make prey where eagles dare not perch," quoth the Bard in Richard III. Centuries later, the Shakespeare of Metal sung of those who are boldest when the world is at its worst.



5. "Die With Your Boots On" (from Piece of Mind, 1983)

A modern twist on the "With your shield or on it" adage? A tribute to a comically inaccurate Errol Flynn movie? This fan favorite is up for interpretation, but hear it today as a salute to the fearless armed forces.




Download here: Iron Maiden Memorial Day Playlist