Nobody listens to fucking tapes anymore. The best venue you can hope for is someone’s car; hope they have a disc-player, as old as that technology is. Almost everyone’s got an auxiliary jack, if not a designated iPod dock.
And yet, the car is probably THE best venue of all, isn’t it? The road should be your only other competitor for the listener’s attention. Lucky that the mixtape’s only remaining venue is the most powerful one; the only thing allowing them to even be a consideration anymore.
The rules? I don’t know about any rules. Certainly there’s no central list of provisions to which I adhere. Maybe contriving the impression of a loose narrative, but… It depends on who the mix is for and what point the mix is supposed to serve.
For this one, I’m just getting my dad caught up on what I’ve been listening to. What follows is the letter I wrote him giving some background on the artists, their work, and why I chose it. Two or three of the following paragraphs even kill off blogs I had planned; specifically the ones about Slipknot and Rob Zombie. (Ain’t got time to read all that shit about Charles Manson.)
FOREWARD / DEATH TO RIGHTS
WOVENWAR / WOVENWAR (2014)
I cheated a little. I was having a hard time finding a song to open this mixtape, which is ironic because I like to put a lot of first tracks into these collections. I knew I wanted to share as much Wovenwar as I could, though, because it’s one of the best albums I’ve listened to this year. From start to finish, this walks la frontera between rock and metal with the finesse of a seasoned gunslinger. It has a distinct instrumental intro and outro – both of which I used – and “Death to Rights” is actually the third track. I can’t say it’s my favorite on the album because it’s tied with four other songs for that position.
The musicians in this outfit used to belong to As I Lay Dying, a Christian metalcore band who called it quits after their lead singer, Tim Lambesis, was busted for attempting to take out a hit on his wife. They regrouped with Shane Blay (of lesser-known Christian metalcore band, Oh, Sleeper) on vocals. The result has been a sensation even among secular fans and critics. I was never an AILD fan, but Wovenwar is incredible.
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MECHANICAL ANIMALS
MARILYN MANSON / MECHANICAL ANIMALS (1998)
Never got into Manson except for this album, and only years after its release. It’s way tamer than all his hype had me believe, but it’s also more insightful and poetic than I expected. Major Bowie influence all over: Whimsical, melancholy science-fiction fantasy oscillating from remorseless hedonism to depressed existential nihilism. This is one of my Top 10 favorite albums ever.
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FEELS LIKE FOREVER
OF MICE AND MEN / RESTORING FORCE: FULL CIRCLE (2015)
Found this band because of another act on this collection; Dayshell is fronted by Of Mice and Men’s former clean-vocalist, Shayley Bourget. The freshest song on the mixtape, this is an example of how screamo post-hardcore bands can evolve after three albums. It’s more rock than metalcore, which is fine. More than fine.
Something I’ve noticed with this newer generation of metal is that Linkin Park has become a root influence, much like anything from the late nineties through 2009 was a descendent of Alice in Chains. I was wondering who would emerge as the next genre godfathers, because while AiC deserved every tributary nod, other bands forged their own legacies, too. Chester Bennington and company definitely achieved that status.
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COBWEBS
MOTIONLESS IN WHITE / CREATURES (2010)
This is the first of the most intense songs in the collection, with signature post-hardcore elements like relentless rhythm sections and harsh, growling vocals. Creatures was the leading edge of metal at the time of release, and by that I mean it was popular with the kids. As one friend put it when I saw him at a wedding this July, any band featured on Warped Tour these days is “kid’s stuff.” Indeed, I was introduced to MIW by Even Death May Die’s 19 year old rhythm guitarist. I love this album, though, and “Cobwebs” is one of my favorite tracks. It’s Misfits-flavored metalcore with top notes of Blink 182 and a tannic Cradle of Filth finish.
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JUST DRIVE
IN THIS MOMENT / A STAR-CROSSED WASTELAND (2010)
Yas kween! Get it, gurl! I love this album SO MUCH. Maria Brink kicks major ass as a vocalist and performer. She’s gorgeous, too, and some of my band mates were surprised that I like In This Moment because of Brink’s “sleaze appeal” (their words, not mine).
My feminist philosophy doesn’t begrudge Brink’s hypersexual presentation, but I do think there are more creative ways to express female power than catering to straight guys’ libidos. While she’s gotten more into that on the band’s last two releases (Blood and Black Widow, which aren’t as fun as Wasteland) it wasn’t central to this album’s theme. As one can guess from the title, it’s a romantic post-apocalyptic adventure. This song is an energetic tribute to “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)” by the Deftones.
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SHARE WITH ME
DAYSHELL / DAYSHELL (2013)
I discovered these guys when they opened for Chevelle in September of 2014. I liked their presence; their melodiousness. I had no idea they were a spin-off of post-hardcore outfit Of Mice and Men, but what a pleasant surprise to discover that band as a bonus later.
I get a little smug when I see Chevelle listed as an influence to newer generation metal acts. From the start, they helped develop the style of conflating delicate beauty and stony brutality into accessible tunage. It’s no wonder later generations have been inspired to follow suit.
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EL MARIACHI / DESPERADO
UPON A BURNING BODY / RED. WHITE. GREEN. (2012)
Oh, this is fun! I found these guys while researching an article for Metal News Online and I get such a kick out of the first half of this album. The rest is good, but tracks 1-6 (including the above) are chingon. You’ll notice they named the album for the colors of the Mexican flag. Also, every song is named after a Roberto Rodriguez or Guillermo del Toro film. I figure it’s because like Rodriguez, this band is a bunch of Tejanos. Danny Leal, for what it’s worth, is the most articulate deathmetal vocalist I’ve ever heard. He’s extremely clear for being so feral, which is great because I love the shit out of these lyrics.
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BE UP ON IT
VISION OF DISORDER / THE CURSED REMAIN CURSED (2012)
You might recognize this voice – I’m not sure. I love Tim Williams so much I had to’ve recorded something by him before. It was really hard picking a song because I think I’ve already chosen some good ones: anything from earlier VOD to Bloodsimple to the Roadrunner All Stars that Williams did with Rob Flynn from Machinehead.
This is my favorite track off their comeback album: it would be a mosh thrasher were it not for the achingly beautiful chorus. One could still do some damage to it in the pit, though.
VOD is an oddball even in their native New York Hardcore scene because of their strong Seattle influence. Hardcore has become my favorite genre of music since I discovered that the grunge genome has been flourishing there for years and continues to do so. That’s thanks in no small part to Vision Of Disorder.
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SLEEPWALKING
KITTIE / IN THE BLACK (2009)
Took me a while to get into Kittie, but once I powered through this album a few times, gems such as this started to shine. Kittie is one of the heavy-hitters of this mixtape but this song was chosen for how pretty it is. No harsh vocals; just shiny black goth style and imagery. Morgan Lander and team are experts at throwing grind under harmony, which they demonstrated beautifully on In The Black.
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GEHENNA
SLIPKNOT / ALL HOPE IS GONE (2008)
What was that I said about Alice in Chains earlier? I have not heard a better homage to their legacy than this dreamy, Dirt-inspired tune from a band I ignored until they were four albums in and on hiatus.
Slipknot started out as thrash; their self-titled debut and Iowa are frenetic, chaotic bliss to my ravenous metal heart and I regret not getting into them sooner. Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses and All Hope is Gone took it down just a few notches, leaving a lot of fans polarized about the direction the band was headed. Despite doubts regarding their capacity for musical brutality, this is a group of extremely talented performers. Their affinity for and execution of AiC’s iconic style on this track proves it.
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NO MISTAKE
SONICULT / SONICULT (2009)
Does this vocalist sound familiar? He should. In fact, the whole band used to be called pete. That was a CD I played a lot when I was in high school, being extremely proud of this hard rock outfit I discovered and that no one else in Ruidoso seemed to know about. I do recall it going for a few spins in the truck’s disc-changer. I hope you liked it well enough to enjoy this still-obscure sophomore effort. Damn shame this band never took off, but they did put out some quality work while they were at it.
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MADE OF SCARS
STONE SOUR / COME WHAT(EVER) MAY (2006)
Corey Taylor’s other band. As long as it took me to get into Slipknot, it took longer to give Stone Sour a chance because of that overkilled “Bother” song from the Spiderman soundtrack. Yuck! I always figured Stone Sour was Slipknot-lite, but the former has a few songs that would take out some of the latter’s tracks in a cage match. Taylor’s a smart, prolific songwriter and because of his audaciousness, he’s one of my artistic heroes. “Made of Scars” is among many other solid, dark and grungy rock jams in his repertoire.
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GOOD MORNING, AMERIKA
SIMON BOSWELL + IGGY POP / HARDWARE (1990)
Just a goofy-ass interlude from a soundtrack for a raunchy, dystopian science fiction horror film. I have a few playlists that are themed around dystopian/wasteland adventure, and I always listen eagerly to this track not so much for its own sake, but to see how well it works as an introduction to the next song chosen at random. I think it fits pretty well with the following track.
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WE’RE AN AMERICAN BAND
ROB ZOMBIE / VENOMOUS RAT REGENERATION VENDOR (2013)
This is the only Rob Zombie album I own, and to be honest, I didn’t like more than four songs until that 19 year old guitarist from earlier explained that secretly, Zombie had made Venomous Rat as a concept album about the Manson family. Once he pointed out some evidence for this theory, it increased my appreciation dramatically.
As a soundtrack for the shit-show that was the Manson reign of terror, every song becomes a scene in a grindhouse film. This is not a tribute; this is a sardonic salute – one where the hand flies away from the forehead to flip a middle finger. Charles Manson – a babbling idiot with a swastika carved into his face – had delusions of becoming a rock star while Rob Zombie is THE rock star. Venomous Rat takes Manson’s epic failure as a human being and mocks him with it. It dazzles, entertains, and has its revenge as Rob Zombie’s artistic triumph. Of this Grand Funk Railroad cover, Rob said it was just like, “Yeah we’re rock stars. Fuck you, it’s awesome.”
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ADIOS
RAMMSTEIN / MUTTER (2001)
One of my favorite songs of all time! Rammstein turned out to be one of those bands I ignored for years, only to find myself in love with almost all their work once I gave it a chance. I listened to Herzeleid, Sehnsucht, Mutter, and Reise, Reise all at once. I even started learning Deutsch completely by accident. Singer Till Lindemann is a clever lyricist, and there’s a lot of cheeky wordplay in his writing.
This drag-race-in-Hell song is about a guy caught in a cycle of addiction, but what’s really cool about it is the lyrics describe the music of “Heroin” by The Velvet Underground: Er nimmt die Nadel von der Ader / die Melodie fährt aus der Haut / Geigen brennen mit Gekreisch / Harfen schneiden sich ins Fleisch. “He removes the needle from the vein / the melody travels out of the skin / violins burn with shrieking / harps cut the flesh.” The lyrics I put on this CD’s cover follow, and translate as: “He has opened his eyes, but he is not awake.”
Rammstein, because of this song and many others, owns three hundred shares of my immortal soul.
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PROPHETS / ONWARD
WOVENWAR / WOVENWAR (2014)
Oh man, the refrain in this song is sublime. If I had to choose only one song from this album as my favorite, “Prophets” would be it because of the way those lines are sung: “Maybe I was better naïve; maybe I was better when I couldn’t see.” Stunningly beautiful.
* * *
I regret there was not more thematic cohesion on this mixtape. A few motifs are hinted at, though, so here’s the narrative it provokes in my imagination: It’s a lone wanderer’s ride through a more haunted wasteland than Mad Max has ever seen, flying on fumes through the monstrous night until sunrise.
Anyway, I just wanted to share my favorite tracks and albums in the years since the last mixtape. Hope you enjoyed most of it. Do let me know what you think.
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