The Future Of Heavy Metal... One That Maybe Starting To Brighten Up

Hybrid Circle, a great example of modern metal that rocks... They are just one example this can give us metal heads hope!

 You know I will be honest and say that when dumb bass boy bands, Britney Spears and their ilk kind of became what is popular in music back in the late 90s, I got pretty depressed with the turn that music was taking...

What I mean by this is that I was not a fan of the reduction of such an awesome sound like what heavy metal had been offering for decades in to this lame boy band style non-sense that has been dominant in our culture now for so long... (And is still popular with such morons as, 'Justin Bieber' being a major player on the scene... I don't know if you can tell, but that type of music... To say the least, I am not a fan of!)

With all of that in mind I have recently come to a very important discovery... That the future of heavy metal may actually still be intact!

Battle Beast... A recent discovery for me, but still... An amazing band that just released a new album!

What I mean by this is the fact that there are still a lot of the old guard that are still kicking as much ass in there music today, as they did back when they first got started! Such bands as, 'Metallica', or even, 'Megathdeth'... And that is just to name a few!

And if that wasn't a major plus point in favor of the continuing success of heavy metal music... Well then try this, now before I go on, let me say this, I am well aware of the fact that the bands I am just about to mention aren't at this point, 'new', but I do have a point, so bare with me...

Anyway, with that said, I thought that I should give bands like, 'Linkin Park'... Now it is true that they are no longer the newest kids on the playground, but they are an examples of an amazing mega superpower band, that is more recent then those that I just mentioned, and as a matter of fact, I would venture to say that there are more coming out every year!

Linkin Park... Newerish... And still kicking ass!

And speaking of these newer indie bands, I recently was contacted by a band, 'Hybrid Circle'... Now these guys truly rock, they have a sound that is there own, but you can definitely tell also had it's inspiration with the heavy metal music of yesterday that made heavy metal the amazing music that it is to this day and has remained insanely popular!

For more information on what I am talking about, enjoy!

Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax And Megadeth In A Nintendo Game... To Cool

Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax & Slayer get an 8-bit revamp!

If you're a metal head like me... Well I think you will find this news to be not only exciting, but also being a fan of retro video games (like Nintendo games...) I have to say that not only did I love the video, but I suspect the game would have been amazing if it had been real!

That's right folks,  this 83 second 8 bit clip that we found courtesy of: Geeks Of Doom, it turns out was the bad-ass creation of Loudwire.com, in collaboration with Filthy Frackers... Here is what the folks at Loudwire had to say:

"If there was a NES video game made in the late ’80s about the Big Four of thrash metal, this is what we dreamed up the game intro would be. Since this game doesn’t really exist, we broke all rules and put in cameos of some of our favorite retro game characters in as well! Can you identify them all? Which 8-bit music video was your favorite: Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer or Anthrax?"

- Loudwire.com (talking about the video they made for an 8-bit video game about 4 of the biggest names in Heavy Metal, (Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth & Slayer,) that doesn't actually exist...)

Now this video has to do with what the title screen would have looked like had it been made... But let's be honest here, how cool would it have been had it been made?

While you are checking it out,  don't forget to check out the classic video game characters in the background!

Elvis Presley... The King Of Rock N Roll Now And Forever

Elvis Presley... Now unto forever!

That's right folks, decades after the man passed away, Elvis Presley can be said to be one of the greatest musicians of all time, what with still producing albums long after his death, as well getting awards for the work that he did long after he past on!

Why is this guy so great? Well besides  the fact that his music will always be truly amazing music, that has not just adequately done well through out the decades, his music has found new audiences generation after generation, (including myself)... But the truth is, is that the reason why this guy is still considered to be one of the most famous musicians of all time, at least for me is the era in which he represents!

Now I can go in to the whole (It was a simpler time) routine... The truth is, is that Elvis Presley's era was the last gasp of a world that majorly intolerant, was a time in which there was a lot of strife in the country and the rest of the world (it was threatening to tear the world apart...)

The 1960s saw the need for great change, with the tensions in the social fabric of the United States beginning to unravel.

No, what I mean here is that Elvis Presley and his music, represented an era that had stuff like, 'The Rat Pack', 'The Mob' (I mention this, but the truth is, is I don't advocate the mob...) An era that in which our country was tearing itself apart between the traditional conformists, and the more out there, 'rebels'...

And speaking of that, another thing that Elvis and his music represent (in this case, 'the music') was almost representative of that sort of thing!

What I mean by this is the fact that when Elvis was just starting out as a musician, most of the time people were still in to Jazz, (and at this time, even, 'Jazz' had it's under ground quality.) But besides all of that, Rock 'N Roll really was in it's infancy, with Jazz and, 'Big  Band Music' as well as older types of music still being the mainstay for, 'pop music' back then!

Elvis doing his signature dance moves... These moves back when they first came out were considered (scandalous for their supposed racey intentions...)

As a matter of fact, I would say that Elvis and his music destroyed what could be the traditional, 'values' of music back the, and helped  to reconstruct them in such a way that has made it acceptable for bands like, 'AC/DC, Megadeth, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne' and the like to come to life!

And so I say folks, that with the continued popularity of Elvis Presley and his music, that Elvis from now unto forever, should and currently still is know as, 'The King Of Rock', and hopefully he always will be!

Elvis Presley: One Of The Ancestors Of The Modern Metal Musicians

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="350"] The King of Rock doing one of his more hard core ballads![/caption]

That's right folks, you might not think it, but it is true... You see, in a lot of respects, in the past Heavy Metal music has tended to be offensive to those who would prefer, 'Disco' or other forms of more easier listening music...

A great example of this is there was a TV series that I was watching a few years back that had been based in the 1970s, and during the episode there is a major fight that breaks out between people that were very clearly fans of Disco, (all the way to those strange looking suits and their overly large hairdos on guys...) And the metal heads of the time (they were more defined by the more sloppy look...)

And so you might be wondering why I have added Elvis Presley songs in to the reviews for music that I have done for music since I expanded the site... Well the simple truth is that in a lot of respects you can say that the music of, 'Elvis Presley' is a direct ancestor of heavy metal music, and that a lot of the building blocks that made him the, 'King of Rock' is what helped make Heavy Metal and keeps it being so great!

[caption id="attachment_2385" align="aligncenter" width="200"] One of Elvis's controversial songs.[/caption]

A great example of this is, that with Elvis Presley when he was around and was still a sex symbol, he was regularly producing music that the older generation, (those who were almost certainly more a fan of stuff like, 'Big Band' music) just did not like it and found offensive!

Now for me it was a little bit different (Believe it or not, my mother is a metal head from way back, and my father is more of a fan of the soft rock stuff that I enjoy as well!) But to this day I have heard that a lot of the, 'Disco Generation', that are starting to head toward senior citizen life, just really don't like it!

Another great example of that the instrumentals used in Elvis Presley's more famous (yet harder), music could be said to be lighter but similar in tone to what the more darker Heavy Metal music would be!

[caption id="attachment_2386" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Elvis Presley doing, 'Jailhouse Rock' & Megadeth playing live... To different generations of music that are indirectly connected in basic style and attitude![/caption]

And one last thing that I thought that I would mention here is the themes in which Elvis would use for his more heavier songs, and the ones that are used in more modern day metal songs... Now the truth is, is Elvis's music is lighter then say, 'Disturbed's' music, but the one thing that they use a lot is alternative themes... A great example of this is Disturbed's song, 'Asylum'... A song that has to do with the problems of insanity and being forcibly institutionalized, and Elvis's 'Heartbreak Hotel' (which as I understand it, is actually based on a suicide case that the King had read about...)

In the end, if you have ever wondered where Heavy Metal music comes from... Well I can't say that Elvis is exclusively responsible, but I will say that the work that he did, was definitely an ancestor of the music that all of us metal heads have grown to love!

http://youtu.be/1K9jBL2syJ8

http://youtu.be/gj0Rz-uP4Mk