Pantera - By Demons Be Driven

     Just a quick Throwback Thursday post tonight to keep things on time (such as they are), and when I need to throw it back, metal-wise, you know that means it's time to draw from my Old School band quiver. And no, I'm not doing another Nothingface song quite so soon.

     Much more universally loved than Nothingface is Pantera, making them a consistently solid choice for a Throwback Thursday song. Tonight we're going to keep things simple with a selection from what is arguably the band's masterpiece.

     "By Demons Be Driven" may come near the end of the running time of 1992's classic Vulgar Display of Power, but it is far from the back of the pack. Cutting guitar, punchy drums, Phil's snarl -- it's all here, and it's all Pantera at their finest. Sit down and study up one this lesson in metal history 101, because it most definitely will be on the final.

    

Thursday: Pantera - Cemetery Gates

     I've just posted an interesting blog article on the Loud Noises Facebook page (yes, there's a Loud Noises facebook page...) written by God Forbid's Doc Doyle and asking the question of whether or not Pantera had an adverse if unintended effect on the sound and production of modern metal. No matter where you fall on that argument, it's an interesting read, and all the reason I need to do a Pantera song for your way-late Throwback Thursday.

     And it's not going to be just any Pantera song. No, today I'm going with "Cemetery Gates", one of the band's most famous numbers and one of the best pieces of evidence for the fact that Phil could fucking sing when he wanted to. The call and return at the end of the song between Phil and Dime is still, twenty-five years on, absolutely epic. Throw this one back loud.

Sam Westphalen - Lateralus

     It's Saturday once again (I know it's actually Sunday, but only just!), meaning that another Under the Covers of Darkness week is drawing to a close. But I've got one last cover for you, and it happens to be a pretty sweet one. It's not as different from the original as, say, yesterday's Sioux version of "Closer", but it's also not quite a straight-forward as perhaps some of my other choices this week have been.

     Australian Sam Westphalen's name is one you're probably already familiar with. In addition to being an accomplished guitarist and songwriter in his own right, he's only garner some internet fame by recording a whole bunch of fingerstyle/percussive acoustic guitar covers, a number of which are metal songs. Megadeath, Rammstein, Slayer, Pantera -- Sam's got a pretty impressive list of covers under his belt.

     But tonight we're capping off the week with one of my favourites, Sam's version of Tool's "Lateralus", from the 2001 masterpiece of the same name. In this live video, Sam encapsulates the entire song, guitar, bass, drums, and vocals, using just his acoustic guitar and his two hands. This one should appeal to both Tool fans and fans of this kind of inspired guitar goodness.

Pantera - Yesterday Don't Mean Shit

     Today wasn't a bad day for me or anything, and neither was yesterday, but this evening I find myself thinking, like the Bard, of tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. If I've learned anything from writing this blog, it's that you've always got to be moving forward. Writing a daily post, even a brief one recommending a song, means that you're always thinking about today, and tomorrow if possible, and you can't get hung up on yesterday.

     As a bit of a perfectionist who can dwell on things, especially when it comes to my written work, this is an important lesson for me to learn. There's a lot to be said for the idea that you're only as good as your last whatever, but it's also good to keep in mind that maybe you're only as good as your next whatever. Today's song is a good reminder to keep your head down and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

     Before you hit the hay tonight, jam Pantera's "Yesterday Don't Mean Shit" from 2000's Reinventing the Steel and get ready to face tomorrow.

Saturday: Pantera - Floods

     All the ice and snow we've had here in the past couple of weeks have now combined with a weekend of mild weather to produce a great deal of water, on the roads, in the ditches... just about everywhere, really. So far it's just kinda wet out, nothing serious, but that doesn't mean the subject of today's song is super far from anyone's mind.

     One of the most badass solos Dimebag ever recorded was "Floods" from 1996's The Great Southern Trendkill, and it's part of the reason "Floods" is one of my favourite Pantera songs. The sludgy verses with Phil's watery vocals over top, the punishing choruses crashing like relentless waves -- the whole thing really does have an aquatic feel to it. If you know "Floods" you know what I mean, and if you don't, you should get to know it right now. Even if you're not a fan of the song, you can't deny it's classic Dime.

Pantera - 5 Minutes Alone

     The shit weather over the weekend seemed to inspire a lot of questionable driving around here today, and sometimes when that happens once too often you just wish you could have five minutes along with the asshat driving that van that just did whatever.

     Your song today is Pantera's "5 Minutes Alone" from 1994's Far Beyond Driven because everybody occasionally needs to blow off a little steam, even if it is just cranking some metal and cursing the asshat out instead of beating the everloving fuck out of them.

Twenty Questions - Salt of the Chief Cornerstone

Hey everybody, as you may or may not have noticed, it's been a long time since I've posted a Twenty Questions interview, and I think it's high time I fixed that. What's that? You agree that I should rectify this situation? You want to read another e-mail interview as soon as possible? Well then today's your lucky day!

     Today's Twenty Questions were answered by the boys from Salt of the Chief Cornerstone, an instrumental guitar-and-drums duo I saw open for Protest the Hero back at the start of November. I dug their sound so much that I picked up a copy of their demo EP and subsequently singled them out as my next victims for interrogation. Read on for the results of my questioning.

Song of the Day: Pantera - Cowboys From Hell

     Nothing new or groundbreaking about today's song, just a tasty classic metal track because I'm tired and don't have anything else prepared for you. So even though it's Thursday you should probably raise a brew like it's Friday because it's Pantera time.

Song of the Day: System of a Down - Chop Suey!

     Thinking about good time metal as I was after yesterday's Pantera song, it occurred to me that of all the heavyish music I can think of, a few bands stand out as ones that can unite a group behind a rousing chorus without fail. System of a Down is one of those bands.

Song of the Day: Pantera - Revolution Is My Name

     I'm sure you're aware of this by now, but it's Saturday, which hopefully means at least a little rest and relaxation for you, dear reader. As I sit and ponder what song I should feature today, it occurs to me that some good hanging out, party time music is in order after what has been, at least for me, a bit of a long week. But rather than do what I've done in the past, and gone for less metal, more chill weekend hang out tunes, I'm going to keep things firmly Loud Noises while stepping back from punishing brutality and towards a rocking good time.

Song of the Day: Haji's Kitchen - Nocturnus

     Today's band is one I've been very remiss in not sharing with you before now. I've known about them at least since the summer, having learned of them because I'm a bit of a Dan Tompkins fanboy (as you may already know) and prolific chap that his is, he does some vocal work on their latest album. But I've just never gotten around to picking a song for you to listen to... until now...

Song of the Day: Pantera - Walk

     By some strange bit of serendipity, Pantera's totally fucking awesome Vulgar Display of Power has been presenting itself to me a fair amount lately, like the shuffle gods of the universe are trying to tell me something. I've seen it referred to online this week, I'm re-reading an old article in Revolver about its recording, and it's come up on my mp3 player's random album setting, so perhaps it's best to placate said gods already.

     Today's song is "Walk" by Pantera. Put it on and bask in the vulgar display of power. We miss ya, Dime.