8-Bit Ratt

Still better than dubstep... Lay It Down, indeed.

Ratt & Roll

Knowing the volatile relationship Ratt has as a band, this is rather exciting news. And though he may have to tone down his style, I hear Dave Lombardo just found himself with some free time.
 

Warren and I start writing again 4 the new RATT record, lots of songs, riffs for dayz. We are ready 2 roll, RU kidz? twitter.com/StephenEPearcy…
— STEPHEN PEARCY (@StephenEPearcy) February 21, 2013

My Top 20 Albums of 2010 & Then Some

I totally missed the memo about Agalloch*. And Watain. Instead, I spent my year fixating on ragged gentlemen with vampire obsessions (#2 & #3), a hearty batch of comeback kids (#1, #4, #10), and one incredible guilty pleasure (#10). Without any further adieu, here are my Top 20 Albums of 2010 & Then Some.

[Important addendum HERE.]

*For the record, I don't dislike Agalloch. They just take too long getting to the point.

1. Deftones - Diamond Eyes 
Who would've thought the Deftones, now 20 years into their career, would create my favorite album of 2010? Yet Diamond Eyes is as perfectly familiar as it is tempered and refined. The album reels you in with the velvet fluidity of the eponymous track before moving onto "CMND/CTRL," a song as gritty as anything on Around the Fur. From there, songs like "Sextape" and "976-Evil" soothe the ear, while "Rocket Skates" and "Royal" sting with ferocity. Start to finish, this is it.

 


2. Dax Riggs - Say Goodnight to the World
On Say Goodnight to the World, the Louisiana native continues to perfect the art of deconstructing slow, bluesy rock tracks and enriching them with his take on Southern Gothic lore. Sultry, lo-fi numbers like "I Hear Satan," "Like Moonlight," plus his rapturous cover of Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" resonate with dark sex appeal. Meanwhile, rockers "Let Me Be Your Cigarette" and "Gravedirt on My Blue Suede Shoes" inspire a strut even Lestat would be proud of.

3. Grinderman - Grinderman 2
As if the idea of a stripped-down incarnation of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds wasn't appealing enough, try throwing in some of Cave's most raw & cheeky stream-of-consciousness narratives to date. Sound tempting? Just wait until "Worm Tamer" kicks in and carries you away with its cinematic grandeur. You won't come down 'til the final notes of Grinderman 2's most elevated number, "Palaces of Montezuma," subside.

4. Ratt - Infestation  
Somehow, despite years of animosity following their acrimonious split, Ratt regrouped and captured lightning in a bottle once more with Infestation. And though the harmony may have been short lived, the album remains a welcome addition to their bluesy LA glam rock canon. Superbly sleazy tracks like "Eat Me Alive," "Garden of Eden" and "Lost Weekend" almost negate any unpleasant "Way Cool Jr." aftertaste we may have from the first go around.

5. Integrity - The Blackest Curse
Still as misanthropic as ever, Integrity remains one of the most controversial, polarizing American hardcore bands around. Mastermind Dwid Hellion delivers his dark visions via guttural screams that are set to monstrous, under-produced chugging riffs, paced masterfully for crucial breakdowns. Shades of Haunting the Chapel-era Slayer in the guitar playing only heightens Integrity's already-harrowing sound, particularly on "Through the Shades of Forever" and "Secret Schadenfreude."

6. Black Keys - Brothers
Having built their career on gritty Delta Blues and fuzzy riffs, the most striking thing about the Black Keys' sixth album, Brothers, is just how accessible and poppy it is. There are still plenty of soulful moments to be found, including personal favorite "Next Girl," and the crowd pleaser "Howlin For You." Stompers like "Black Mud" and "Tighten Up" only cement the fact that the Black Keys have truly found their groove.

7. Demon Hunter - The World is a Thorn
I've always had a soft spot for Demon Hunter. The Seattle-based Christian metalcore act have consistently managed to create gloriously heavy music, with plenty of smart electronic flourishes and textured harmonies to keep things interesting. And this album is no different. Infused with new energy after a significant lineup change, The World is a Thorn might be their best work since 2004's Summer of Darkness.

8. Black Mountain - Wilderness Kingdom  
Decidedly more mellow than 2008's In the Future, Black Mountain's latest offering still embodies everything I love about the Canadian psychedelic rockers. The entwined vocals of Amber Webber and Stephen McBean remain, as do the band's trademark grooves and symphonic harmonies; and their Sabbath influence continues to shine on songs like "Let Spirits Ride."

9. Girl Talk -  All Day
While I do admit to having some issues with obvious song choices (both "Single Ladies" and Fugazi's "Waiting Room," really?), All Day is still endearing in so many ways. How can you eff up something that starts off with Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" and manages to work Dorrough's "Ice Cream Paint Job" into the opening track? And while there were certainly ebbs and flows of interesting moments, Gregg Gillis's latest remains a whimsical musical capture for X- and Y-gen'ers.

10. Lil Jon - Crunk Rock
At this point, it's not even accurate to refer to Lil Jon as a rapper. Why bother writing verses when you've developed the leading formula for crunk hits? Balancing Euro-baiting thumping beats, convoluted chants about drinking, dancing and pussy popping, plus random guest appearances by the likes of R. Kelly, Ice Cube and Ying Yang Twins, Lil Jon created a whimsical dance album that's impossible not to shake your ass to. Once you check your brain at the door, that is. Fuck lyrics, get paid.



11. Dead Weather - Sea of Cowards
12. Karma to Burn - Appalachian Incantation 
13. The Bled - Heat Fetish
14. Sade - Soldier of Love 
15. Intronaut - Valley of Smoke
16. Envy - Recitation
17. Titus Andronicus - The Monitor
18. Torche - Songs for Singles
19. Off! - The First Four EPs
20. Mark Ronson & The Business Intl - Record Collection

Honorable Mentions (in no particular order):
Early Graves - Goner
Daughters - s/t
The Sword - Warp Riders
Miniature Tigers - Fortress
Monster Magnet - Mastermind
High on Fire - Snakes for the Divine
Coliseum - House With a Curse
Murder Construct - s/t EP 
Death Angel - Relentless Retribution
My Chemical Romance - Danger Days
The Binary Code - Priest EP
Melvins - The Bride Screamed Murder 
Various Artists - Metal Swim  (Adult Swim compilation)
Brett Detar - Bird in a Tangle 
Cee Lo Green - The Lady Killer
Chiodos - Illuminaudio
Black Cruel Dove - The Myth and the Sum EP
Jamey Johnson - The Guitar Song
Murder by Death - Good Morning, Magpie

Meh:
H.I.M. - Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice, Chapters 1-13
Nachtmystium - Addicts: Black Mettle Pt II
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Beat the Devil's Tattoo
Yeasayer - Odd Blood 
Christina Aguilera - Bionic

Never Got Around to Listening To... (Yet):
Sleigh Bells - Treats
The Body - All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood
Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Interpol - s/t
Dungen - Skit I Allt

Please, PJ, Don't Hurt 'Em
What are you doing, lady?

Written On The Forehead by pjharvey

It's Been A While..

Where did March go? It dawned on me that it's been almost a month since I posted on here. Coincidentally, it's almost been as long since my last gym visit, but Lost is on soon, so I figured this was the way to go.

Work's been busy with all sorts of fun stuff, but somehow I found the time to interview Ratt's Stephen Pearcy for Metal Sucks and got a preview of their stellar forthcoming album, Infestation. I got to tell Pearcy all about Ratturday, averted a "Way Cool Jr." pun, and please believe I melted a little in my seat when the elder statesman of thigh bruisers referred to me as "girlie." Look for that write-up shortly.

Besides swooning over a 50-yr-old man, I managed to avoid lots of other aging rockers by not attending South by Southwest this year. While it would have been awesome to hang out in a beer- and BBQ sauce-basted city surrounded by 95 percent of my favorite people on Earf, the lineup seemed way more like a '90s revival than a new music festival (Stone Temple Pilots and Hole were leading headliners). I could have done without it all except for the Sword/ Year Long Disaster/ Motorhead show at Stubb's. THAT would have been cool to see. Did anyone out there besides Henry Owings witness the alleged Shellac gig?

I'm actually quite excited about a bunch of shows going on around NYC in May, including Karma to Burn with Year Long Disaster at Knitting Factory, the Yuppicide reunion at the Black N Blue Ball, plus two nights of HIM (don't judge me) at Irving Plaza.

Cannot wait to sink my teeth into the forthcoming Deftones record, Daughters' latest, and someone needs to tell me if the new Black Rebel Motorcycle Club album is any good. As for stuff I've been listening to: Dax Riggs. Lots and lots of Dax Riggs. Also, the four-disc deluxe edition of Iggy & The Stooges' Raw Power is pretty effin dope, its greatest revelation being Georgia Peaches - Live at Richard's Atlanta, 1973. Last good show was Black Dahlia Murder at a packed Santos Party House.

Until next time... play them out, Dax:

Ratt Attack On "That Metal Show"

The first time I ever heard Ratt’s “Round and Round,” I was 9 years old and spending my summer vacation in a TV-free dacha in upstate New York with my grandmother. It was the summer of '84, and the local Top 40 radio station supplied my only entertainment. I went on to discover a ton of amazing singles that year: Prince's "Let Go Crazy," Depeche Mode's "People are People," and, of course, "Round and Round." After hearing the latter, though, nothing would ever be the same again. Something about Warren DeMartini’s wailing guitar affected me in a way I didn't understand yet. It was a pleasing noise that complemented Stephen Pearcy's acrid vocals and mesmerized my still-developing psyche.

In many ways, hearing "Round and Round" set me on my heavy metal path, doomed forever to chase the feedback/power chord dragon. It was perhaps the salient moment that affirmed my interest in music—at least that's how I tried to explain it to DeMartini after watching him and Pearcy film this past Saturday's episode of VH1 Classic's That Metal Show. I say tried, because what really came out of my mouth was probably far less eloquent. But standing before my childhood idol, words failed me.

Seeing the founders of Ratt on That Metal Show was the latest event to renew my interest in the '80s LA glam metal phenoms. This past July, I FINALLY got to see them play live—and perform Out of the Cellar in its entirety—as if they never skipped a beat. After more than 10 years spent as adversaries, Pearcy had only recently rejoined the remaining band members to tour, sign with Roadrunner and begin working on new material.

Then came the advent of Ratturday. True, the weekend tradition's origin might be a bit dubious, but surely even the Blotz would approve of disciples blasting Ratt's greatest hits every Saturday afternoon in his honor. Think of Ratturday as the cock rock equivalent of Peter Griffin's Church of the Fonz and come up with your own sacraments. Go with G-d and lay it down.

Finally, there was my meet & greet moment with the toxic twins after the That Metal Show taping. Forgetting that there was an eager queue of folks behind me waiting to give their regards, I sandwiched myself between DeMartini and Pearcy demanding a photo-op, then opened up a flurry of verbal run-off the guys were surely not expecting. While the guitarist listened patiently as I tried to unsuccessfully express my reverence, the tattered frontman acted his usual aloof rock star self, the elder statesman of thigh bruisers—and an object of my lust even at the age of 50.

Everything went so much better than I'd imagined. Guess it goes to show that you're never too old—or too jaded—to get starstruck. With love we'll find a way, just give it time. And "Way Cool Jr." still kind of sucks. Amen.

Here's a sampler of their appearance on That Metal Show.

VH1 TV Shows | Music Videos | Celebrity Photos | News & Gossip

To see more Ratt on That Metal Show, click here.

That Metal Show, starring Eddie Trunk, Don Jamieson and Jim Florentine, airs every Ratturday at 11pm EST on Vh1 Classic. Special thanks to Nyle Washington.

CMJ 2009 - Day One

New York's CMJ Music Marathon has been an institution for nearly 30 years, originally conceived to help introduce new artists to both the industry and the college radio world. At its height, it was a prestigious event that featured top indie acts like PJ Harvey, Mars Volta, and Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs. But then a few years back, the industry's focus really began shifting to Austin's SxSW megafest, forcing CMJ to go back to its roots of presenting raw talent rather than showpiece big names.

And that's not neccessarily a bad thing. Sure, it might be fun to have bragging rights to some exclusive over-the-top event (A Night of Nothing featuring NIN at Irving Plaza, anyone?), but the lack of big names has really forced CMJ attendees to sift through and actually discover new music. My first finds? White Denim and the Happy Hollows.

I'd heard lots of good buzz about White Denim before I found out they were on the bill for The Syndicate's annual Conflict of Interest party. And while I expected them to be some indie rock flavor of the month, I was instead blown away by their Led Zeppelin-influenced white man's blues which was levereged by an obvious love of indie punk, a la Jay Reatard. Simply amazing.

Then last night, after already being elated from meeting Ratt's Stephen Pearcy and Warren DiMartini at a filming of Vh1 Classic's That Metal Show (more on that later), I went to Lit to catch the Happy Hollows. The CA-based trio, led by coffeehouse crush Sarah Negahdari, put on a frenetic performance of poppy indie rock—dare I say, power pop—and brought a smile to the face of every emaciated hipster in the house. Negahdari's demeanor, not to mention her near-fall into the door adjacent to Lit's stage was adorably endearing, and for some reason, reminded me of the late Gilda Radner. And, of course, their name seems to be a Cursive reference, so I'm sold.

Below are videos from both bands, and I've started a Flickr set of my CMJ exploits. Look for more posts as the festival continues!

Music Of My Youth: Rancid & Ratt

Unlike most people, it's actually more of an anomaly when I don't spend at least one night a week inside some dank venue, watching loud music and slowly chipping away at my hearing. Yet during the month of July, I've almost taken an involuntary sabbatical, choosing instead to focus on finding a full-time job and more writing.

Well, guess what, kids? I'm baaaaack. And as my nature often dictates by overindulging, I'm attending no less than four shows this week. The first two shows of the week were Ratt at Nokia Theatre and Rancid at Roseland, and while the combo may sound like an odd one, both were monumental bands of my youth. In fact, I attribute my conversion to rock/metal music to first hearing Ratt's "Round and Round" as a 9-year-old, spending the summer with my Grandma in a TV-free dacha in Upstate New York.

My love for Rancid, on the other hand, grew out of my admiration of Operation Ivy, but flourished with the gripping hooks on their 1994 watershed album, Let's Go.



Happily, both bands were fantastic. Rancid—in town with headliners Rise Against this past Sunday—ran through all their hits, including "Olympia," which features the chorus: "Hanging on the corner of 52nd and Broadway/Cars passing by, but none of them seem to be goin' my way..." For all of you non-New Yorkers, the reason this line resonates so much is because of Roseland's location—on 52nd, off Broadway. Needless to say, the audience went apeshit singing along, completing the set.

Ratt, on the other hand, were a whole other animal (terrible pun, sorry). Since I was nine when their debut album, Out of the Cellar, came out in 1984, I never got a chance to see them in their heyday—or ever, for that matter, until last night. Disappointingly, the audience was not filled with 40-year-old Jersey chicks in spandex. Rather, the show was an utter sausage fest full of middle-aged dudes in various states of fashion faux pas.

Not that any of that really mattered, because Ratt played just about every song on Out of the Cellar, with singer Stephen Pearcy announcing—almost bemused—that the record was celebrating its 25th anniversary. And though I could have lived without ever hearing "Way Cool Jr." in concert, I will definitely die happier with the experience of seeing them perform the holy trinity of "Wanted Man," "Lay It Down," and the holy grail, "Round and Round."

And being the amateur photo enthusiast that I am, I had to take some photos with my ghetto little point-and-shoot. For more pics, click here.

Also, for those of you wondering: my next two shows are Saviours/Children tonight at Union Pool and the Decibel Magazine book release party for Precious Metal, featuring Brutal Truth at the Masonic Temple. If you see me, buy me a drank.

PS: Here's a bonus video of Ratt performing "Wanted Man."