So you may be asking, “Harry, why are telling us
this?” It’s because I’m a second release
man. I get chastised all the time for
it, but I don’t care. This is who I
am. Let me explain through examples:
Example 1:
Exodus
If you ask any metalhead, he will tell you that the
best Exodus album of all time is Bonded By Blood. As a second release man, I
have to disagree. While I find Bonded By Blood an absolutely incredible
album, it’s not my favorite album. I
personally find Zetro a better front man than Paul Baloff. I know this will piss off many of you, but I
ask you to settle down, put down the baseball bat, and hear me out. Then you can stone me to death or whatever
else you plan to do.
Paul Baloff’s presence cannot be matched by anyone;
there’s no denying that, but Zetro was better able to remain composed and took
the band to a maturity level that Paul Baloff was not capable of
achieving. Zetro has a better vocal
range than Paul ever did, and while Paul’s over-the-top antics were unmatched,
Zetro still had (and has) a wild side he carried over from his days with
Legacy. He fit the role and I,
personally, like Exodus’ material with Zetro more than Bonded By Blood.
With that being said, most metalheads would agree
that Fabulous Disaster is the best
Exodus album with Zetro at the helm.
Again, I disagree. Pleasures of the Flesh is better. Pleasures of the Flesh, Exodus’ second release, is a pure onslaught of thrash metal
that is unmatched by any of Exodus’ other works. Please don’t get me wrong. I love Fabulous Disaster. It is heavy, it has
catchy tracks, and I can see why people hold it in such high regards, but I
cannot justify saying it’s any better than Pleasures of the Flesh. To me, Pleasures of the Flesh was the
definition of thrash metal, especially the first side of the record. I love Impact is Imminent, Bonded By Blood, and Shovel Headed Kill Machine. Hell, I love Exodus’ entire collection of
music, but Pleasures of the Flesh is
my favorite Exodus Album. Like I said,
I’m a second release man.
Example 2:
Overkill
With that being said, I also have to admit that my second favorite Overkill album is Under the Influence, and my third favorite is Feel the Fire. Coming in fourth is The Years of Decay. Maybe I get too caught up in the origins, but I feel the band was better when Bobby Gustafson was the guitarist. I also tend to prefer Rat Skates on drums.
Truth be told, Overkill has been incredible
throughout their history. I’m pretty
sure you could put Bobby Blitz and D.D. Verni with any group of musicians, and
they would put out excellent music. You
could put them with a seventh grade group of clarinets and they would manage to
put together an album that the average metal head would say, “I love it. I know I shouldn’t love it, but I do.”
Example 3:Sepultura
I'm a thrasher. I've never enjoyed Death Metal that much. The growls of Death Metal, to me, take away from some pretty amazing music. Sepultura pushes the line between Thrash and Death Metal. It is because of this that I find Schizophrenia, Sepultura's second release, to be my favorite of their albums. It might be my favorite because Schizophrenia has less of a Death Metal feel than their later albums, or it might just be because I'm a Second Release Man.
It still amazes me to this day how many articles I read and websites I visit that show Sepultura's masterpiece as either Beneath the Rmaines or Arise. I think both albums have stunning musicianship, but they are both much closer to the Death Metal genre than I prefer. Schizophrenia, on the other hand, seems to swim in the aura of Thrash Metal. Yes, Max Cavalera's vocals take Schizophrenia to the line between Thrash and Death Metal, but the guitar work, the bass and drums, and the tempo of the album are absolute Thrash Metal at it's best.
Schizophrenia also has a massive weapon in it's arsenal that makes it one of the greatest Thrash Metal albums of all time: Inquisition Symphony. In my opinion, it is the single greatest Thrash instrumental piece ever recorded. I know many Metallica fans will chastise me for this, but I stand by my statement, Inquisition Symphony buries the competition when it comes to Thrash Metal instrumentals.
Example 4:
Metallica
Metallica is one of the examples that will get people's blood boiling. Early fans, and I mean Thrash Metal fans of Metallica, will tell you that the band only made four true albums: Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and ...and Justice For All. Some of those Thrash Metal gurus will tell you that only the first three really count, and that the loss of Cliff Burton on the bass was the end to the Metallica they love. Later fans, and I mean the poser crowd who actually like Metallica's later albums, will tell you that Metallica's first great record was Metallica (aka The Black Album). These poser fans don't even like Metallica's first three albums.
Now that I've described the different type of Metallica fans there are, now I will go on to explain. For the metalheads who worship Metallica's early work, there is no album in the entire world better than Master of Puppets. For the posers who claim they worship Metallica, but are actually closet Britney Spears fans, the greatest Metallica album of all time is Metallica.
I have to disagree with both the metalheads and the posers. Metallica's greatest album is Ride the Lightning. You see, I'm a second release man, and Ride the Lightning is one of the main reasons I am. Don't get me wrong, I think Master of Puppets is a masterpiece, and I don't think Metallica has ever achieved a higher level of song writing than that of masterpiece, Seek & Destroy off of Kill 'Em All, but Ride the Lightning is my de facto Metallica album. No matter what mood I'm in, I can always listen to Ride the Lightning, from beginning to end. The other albums require a certain mindset to listen all the way through. I go through spells where I will listen to nothing but Master of Puppets, but those spells are few and far between.
For the record, I really like ...and Justice For All and Metallica, and I've also come to really appreciate Death Magnetic, but Metallica was at their best when Cliff Burton was still alive. When he died, the Metallica that I loved and worshiped died too. Long live Cliff!
Example 5:
Anthrax
This was a very tough one for me to determine, because I love Among the Living so much, but after listening to both Among the Living and Spreading the Disease about twelve times each over the past three days, I'm going with my second release man gut and saying that my favorite Anthrax album is Spreading the Disease. Most die hard Anthrax fans will choose Among the Living. It contains fan favorites like Caught in a Mosh, Indians, and I am the Law, but Spreading the Disease, to me, has just more songs that I love.
Madhouse was my first true exposure to Anthrax. The video, before MTV decided to ban it, was amazing, and I love Scott Ian's rhythm guitar in the song. I also have always had a soft spot in my heart for Lone Justice. It was the first song I could truly relate to, mainly because I was a huge fan of Clint Eastwood's Spaghetti Westerns. Other classic tracks that bring my head into an instant state of banging are Medusa, A.I.R., S.S.C./ Stand or Fall, and Aftershock.
While Among the Living is heavier than Spreading the Disease, I still feel that Spreading the Disease set the stage for who Anthrax is, and it is the best representation of their style. I don't need to explain this to you. I'm a second release man, and that's all there is to it.
Obvious Examples:
1. Testament - I've heard arguments that Testament's best album is The Legacy, and I've also heard arguments for Low, Practice What You Preach, and The Gathering, but most Testament fans will tell you that their second release, The New Order, is their masterpiece. I'm not going to argue with them. The New Order is not only Testament's best album, but it ranks as one of the greatest Thrash Metal albums of all time.
2. Megadeth - Maybe this isn't as obvious as I initially thought. Most of the 80's and 90's MTV generation (You know, the era when MTV actually played videos) remember the opening bass line of Peace Sells as the intro to MTV News, but it goes further than that. To me, Peace Sells... but Who's Buying is one of the greatest Thrash Metal albums of all time. Many lists and reviews put it second in Megadeth's catalogue to Rust in Peace, let alone one of the greatest albums of all time. I love both albums, but my all-time favorite Megadeth album is Peace Sells... but Who's Buying. I'm a Second Release Man, what can I say? Plus there is nothing quite like Wake Up Dead, Good Mourning/Black Friday, and the title track, Peace Sells. I love anything Megadeth from 1984 to 1992, but Peace Sells... but Who's Buying is their masterpiece.
Exceptions to the Rule:
1. Slayer – I
love Hell Awaits, but it’s not my
favorite Slayer album. The intro to the
title track of Hell Awaits is epic,
but the rest of the album lacks the caliber of thrash power Slayer’s other
albums have. If I had to rank my top
four Slayer albums, this is what we’d have:
1. Reign in Blood 2. South of Heaven 3. Show No Mercy 4. Seasons in the Abyss
2. Vio-Lence –
When I first heard Eternal Nightmare,
I fell in love with Vio-Lence. Phil
Demmel and Rob Flynn were a masterful duo on the guitars, while Sean Killian’s
voice gets stuck in my head for days. I
had such high hopes for Oppressing the Masses, because after all, I’m a second release man. While Oppressing the Masses is good, it isn’t even in the same league as Eternal Nightmare.
3. Forbidden –
Twisted Into Form is amazing. I’m actually having a tough time with this
portion of my blog. I keep going back
and forth. My first thought was that Forbidden Evil is my favorite Forbidden
album, but then I listened to both albums again to get my writer’s mind working
and I forgot how much I love Twisted Into Form. Fuck it. I’m a second release man. Put Forbidden on the list. Twisted Into Form is my favorite Forbidden Album.
I guess my progressive side is coming out.
