A Band Called Death

Faithful readers here have probably seen quite a bit about Death, the Floridian death metal pioneers lead by the late Chuck Schuldiner. But before Scream Bloody Gore, and more impressively before the Ramones, there was another band called Death.



The earlier Death, a Detroit garage band from the '70s, star in the stellar documentary A Band Called Death, which is now streaming on Netflix Instant. The film has been getting positive comparisons to the Oscar-winning hit Searching for Sugar Man, but unlike Sixto Rodriguez, interest in Death had been noticeably picking up before the film's release. Seven songs from the band's unfinished first album were released on Drag City as ...For the Whole World to See, and Jack White cited Death as a influence in a New York Times article. The surviving members have even reunited for a few performances.

The fact is, as Henry Rollins, Alice Cooper, Questlove and Kid Rock all testify in A Band Called Death, that this is a band that deserves your ears. Songs like "Keep on Knocking," "Let the World Turn" and "Politicians in My Eyes" hint that the band could have found a place in history alongside fellow Motor City protopunks as Cooper, the Stooges and the MC5 had they just been able to stick around. In one scene of A Band Called Death, the musicians remember being offered a deal with Clive Davis at Columbia Records, on the condition that they change their name. The band turned it down, and we're left to wonder what could have been.

Judas Priest, "Painkiller"

The sharpest point that I ever heard in the Priest vs. Maiden debate is that Judas Priest are more of a guitarist's band, whereas Iron Maiden are more of a bassist's band. Regardless of which side you fall on, this makes perfect sense. For all of their bombast, Maiden's solos are relatively succinct, and songwriter Steve Harris's basslines are right up there with Bruce Dickinson in the mix. Judas Priest practically founded metal's now-ubiquitous twin axe attack. It's no surprise that Lemmy prefers Iron Maiden, or that Kerry King champions Priest.



Nowhere are those lightning guitars better heard than in the title track to Painkiller. "Painkiller" doesn't just sound heavy for 1990, or for guys pushing 40. Listening today, in 2013, "Painkiller" is downright brutal, far nastier than any of the power metal it supposedly inspired. Drummer Scott Travis, making his first-ever appearance on a Priest record, wastes no time in implementing blast beats into the Priest formula, and it works shockingly well. Tipton and Downing's solos are so frenetic that even guitar wizard Chuck Schuldiner tried something completely different when he covered "Painkiller" on Death's final album. Rob Halford's frequency-pushing vocals are at an all-time high, perhaps acknowledging that he can go further now to complement his band's flourishing energy. Your parents might have even tolerated "Living After Midnight," but there was no way that they were getting down to this.

You'll hear about how Painkiller was Judas Priest's comeback, a response to two lackluster albums (Turbo and Ram it Down) and a sharply-delivered boot to a world of Poisons and Warrants.
But 1990 was an incredible year for metal. Painkiller was up against Rust in Peace, Seasons in the Abyss and Cowboys from Hell, all Album of the Decade candidates. More than a nail in the glam metal coffin, Painkiller was a gauntlet to the thrash and death metal legions, and an example of how Judas Priest could make a melody sound even meaner than a death growl. Listen to what Amon Amarth did with a similar main riff 18 years later--it completely rocks, but it still doesn't sting the same way.



To paraphrase Ornette Coleman, this is the shape of metal to come.

Summer Slaughter at Irving Plaza

Five reasons why Summer Slaughter is the best metal festival of the summer.



1. It's not really a festival.

You're not getting baked by the sun all day, paying $6 for water or waiting 15 minutes to use the porta-loo. The bands that you want to see are all playing on the same stage, at separate times, all under a club roof for less than $40. You can see everyone you came to see and leave without heatstroke, dehydration and/or a hole in your wallet.

2. An embarrassment of riches.

Cannibal Corpse, Between the Buried and Me, The Faceless, Periphery, Veil Of Maya and Goatwhore may not be the kind of names you'd usually get at Mayhem Fest, but band-for-band this is a more consistent lineup and more bang for your buck than any tour that would impose Avenged Sevenfold or Asking Alexandria.

3. Periphery, the Faceless and Between the Buried and Me are playing new songs.

Don't pretend that you'll get a preview of Periphery II, Autotheism or The Parallax II: Future Sequence via some guy's cell phone footage on YouTube. It's the equivalent of downloading The Dark Knight Rises opening weekend and watching it on your laptop. You'll have to catch the tour or wait for the release date to tell if the new songs are better than those album titles.

4. Goatwhore.

See above.

5. You can leave any time.

Want to get back in time for dinner? Leave after Between the Buried and Me. Don't want to miss happy hour? Show up in time for Periphery. Even if you're sick of Cannibal Corpse, bored with tech-death or believe that death metal died with Chuck Schuldiner, you'll find something to enjoy here.

Death to All at Irving Plaza

Gary Rossington, this is how you do it. Over ten years after Chuck Schuldiner's death from brain cancer, some of his bandmates, friends and admirers have joined forces to tour as Death to All, a Death tribute act donating 20% of their tickets to the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund.



Coincidentally performing on the day that the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare, Death to All played a two-and-a-half hour show dedicated to one of the first and best discographies in death metal. Obscura's Steffen Kummerer and Abysmal Dawn's Charles Elliott took vocals and guitarist duties, with varying degrees of talent and stage banter, but the draw was seeing Schuldiner's old bandmates, one of whom has gone on to be Gene Hoglan, play songs like "Crystal Mountain" and "Lack of Comprehension." Alex Skolnick and Richard Christy made Last Waltz-esque cameos. Reunited Canadian tech death act Gorguts played a smashing opening set. Other than a broken AC that had a few attendees literally passing out, it was a perfect tribute.