Metalblog

There are hundreds, probably thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands, of sites on the internet that will give you advice on job interview techniques. All of them give the same basic job interview tips: Don’t badmouth your past employers, dress nice, take a shower beforehand, etc.

Now the Metalblog is here with an exclusive job interview tip: Listen to Manowar on the way to the interview.

That’s right, not only are Manowar good for helping chase away burglars, they can help get you a job, too.

What qualifies the Metalblog to make such a claim? I’ve had three interviews in the past three years, including one yesterday afternoon - which gives me more recent interview experience than 90% of the jackasses writing these job interview tips websites. On the way to all three interviews I blasted Manowar on the car stereo.

I got all three jobs. Therefore: Manowar = Jobs

The problem with giving job interview advice is people can confuse things when they read the advice. So instead of “dress nice” and “listen to Manowar”, they might read “listen nice” and “dress like Manowar” and crank out Pat Boone on the car stereo on the way to the interview and dress like this:

The Metallbog does NOT recommend dressing like Manowar for job interviews and advises against listening to Pat Boone - ever!

Below is the video for one of the songs played in the Metalblogmobile on the way to yesterday’s interview: Manowar’s “Gloves of Metal”.

The Metalblog is loving the story of a construction firm manager returning from New Year’s Eve fancy dress party scaring off a burglar by charging at him dressed as the Norse god Thor.  

The burglar was so scared he jumped out of a first floor (that’s second floor for any Americans reading this) window and left his shoes behind (What a courteous burglar, not wanting to muddy the carpets).

The homeowner was dressed up in aluminium foil and wearing a red cape, just like the real Thor.

We’re guessing the burglar ran because he either thought he was going to be wrestled into the microwave with the homeowner and then electrocuted by the sparks flying off of the foil costume, or because he thought the homeowner would strip off the Thor costume to reveal he was wearing a Manowar costume underneath!

After all, who would be more likely to dress up as Thor than a Manowar fan?

Here’s Manowar performing “Thor (The Power Head)” live in Bulgaria in 2007. He held up his hammer hiiiiiiiiiighhh!

It was an OK year for the Metalblog and gigs. Family problems over the summer meant I wasn’t able to get to as many as hoped for, but the Metalblog still was able to catch some good concerts in 2008 (including Metallica’s Death Magnetic release party at the O2 Arena for only £5) and these were my favorites.

The runners up for Metalblog 2008 Concert of the Year…

Obituary/Holy Moses -  ULU, London 03/02/08

The all too rare UK appearance of Holy Moses as opening act for Obituary is what brings this gig into my top 3 for 2008. Sure, Obituary are legends of Florida death metal, but Holy Moses are also legends - of German thrash metal.I was on the barrier for the whole of Holy Moses’ set and it was one of the best sets I saw from any band in 2008. Obituary weren’t too shabby either.

Helloween/Gamma Ray - Shepherds Bush Empire, London 08/01/08

More German metal legends, but this time in the power metal genre. Gamma Ray started after guitarist, and original singer, Kai Hansen left Helloween. Nearly twenty years later he was sharing a stage with them once again. At the end of Helloween’s set Hansen and Gamma Ray joined Helloween for some classic Helloween numbers that sent everybody home in power metal heaven.

And the winner of Metalblog’s Best Concert for 2008 is….

Municipal Waste/Toxic Holocaust/Mutant/Seregon - Islington Academy, London 06/02/08

While no single band from this show could have made this list on their own, this was the most solid lineup of any show I saw in 2008. Four good young thrash metal bands taking no prisoners.

Things kicked off with two of the Metalblog’s favorite unsigned bands, Seregon and Mutant getting the crowd warmed up in style and getting the mosh pit readied for the American acts to follow.

Mutant was followed by Toxic Holocaust, who played a great set of blackened thrash and then Municipal Waste playing their party crossover thrash. Municipal Waste’s set was short for a headlining act, but with the allround great thrash show just witnesedthere were few complaints - not to mention most of the audience was probablly too drunk to notice or care.

It’s now time for the Metalblog to reveal its favorite heavy metal album of 2008. The criteria is simple enough. The album has to have been released in 2008 and has to be metal. Albums are judged on one thing - how often I listened to the album in 2008 and how often I’m likely to listen to it in 2009 and beyond. Originality, artistic merit, or level of brutality count for nothing if I don’t want to listen to the album over and over.

First the runners up for the Metalblog 2008 Album of the Year…

Testament - The Formation of Damnation

It was a long wait between albums from Testament, who reformed with its classic 80s lineup in 2005. This past year they finally released an album with returned guitarist Alex Skolnick and bassist Greg Christian joining ever presents Chuck Billy and Eric Peterson, with former Forbidden, Slayer, and Exodus drummer Paul Bostaph  rounding out the current Testament lineup. It may not be the best Testament album ever, but it sure beats some of the latest releases from other classic bay area thrash bands.

Gama Bomb - Citizen Brain

Part of the so-called new breed of thrash metal, Gama Bomb thrash like the 90s never happened. Citizen Brain is a fun, catchy thrash metal album filled with songs about zombies, drinking, zombies drinking, thrashing, and all other sorts of general mayhem. Gama Bomb will be touring Europe with fellow thrashers Overkill and Exodus in early 2009 and the Metalblog can’t wait.

And the winner of Best Album for 2008 is…

Ross the Boss - New Metal Leader

I have to admit, I loved Ross the Boss when he was in Manowar and I love him even more in the Dictators. Now I can say I love him in his own band.

New Metal Leader has been called “The best ‘Manowar’ album since Kings of Metal“. I’d have to disagree with that statement.

Sure, there are some Manowar leanings on the album, but you don’t have to be a Manowar fan to like this record.Anybody who remembers heavy metal in the days before every release had to be one dimensional to make sure it fit comfortably into some sub- or sub-sub-genre of metal should enjoy New Metal Leader.

“God of Dying” sounds like it could have come straight from the Manowar song book, but the very next song on the album, “May the Gods Be With You”, sounds like it owes just as much to Ross’ days in the Dictators as it does to Manowar. There’s even a song with a flamenco guitar section (”Matador”).

Even with these stylistic excursions, New Metal Leader never forgets what it is - a well rounded kick ass heavy metal album and the Metalblog’s favorite of 2008.

Edguy singer Tobias Sammet has had to issue a statement regarding comments he made about the USA in an interview that have been blown way out of proportion by people who obviously are unable to comprehend what they read.

During the interview conducted by rushonrock.com, Tobias was asked if Edguy would ever hit it big outside of mainland Europe.

Tobias answered:  ”It’s getting better for us in the UK. Slowly but surely we’re starting to make an impression on British audiences. If you want to be big in the USA you have to go there and stay there. I wouldn’t want to live in the USA in a million years! It’s a different planet and I don’t want to go there. That means we’re never going to be a big, big act over there but that’s OK. I just don’t want to make the sacrifices we’d have to make to break that market in a big way.”

Maybe I’m smarter than the average bear, but what I read from Tobias Sammet’s comments is he doesn’t want to root up himself and the other members of Edguy to move half way around the world from their homes in Germany to try and “make it big”.  More specifically, it can be assumed Tobias does not want to move to LA or New York. After all, Edguy relocating to Idaho is not going to greatly improve their chances of breaking the American market.

But when an excerpt of the interview was posted on blabbermouth.net, a number of readers took his comments as meaning Edguy, and Tobias Sammet in particular, hate the USA. 

The comments became so bad that Tobias had to issue the following statement on the Edguy website:

“I’ve just been told that I might have said something that pissed some people off, some comment about the USA that I made in an interview. I don’t get it at all: I never said that I hate the USA, it’s a great country and I have a lot of friends in the USA and I feel it is disrespectful to them to say that I hate the whole fucking country and the great people I’ve met there. Don’t misuse my statements!!! Like in every country I think a lot of things go wrong there, I just said that I don’t wanna live over there. So, what’s the point??? I just wanna live at home, in good old Germany. I don’t know why people are so aggressive when it comes to honest statements, I was asked questions in an interview and I replied honestly.

“This was not meant to be a political statement. If some asshole wants to misuse my statements for some racist purpose, I get fucking mad. I’ve been told that people started to discuss about the second world war, about immigrants, about black people… People: This is Rock N Roll!!!! There is no place for racism in my life! We are one fucking world!!! America, Russia, Australia, Europe… I love aspects of Amercia and I love aspects of Brazil, Germany, any country… We are one fucking world. If you misuse my statement for a racists issue: FUCK YOU!!! Now go hug each other! This music is meant to make people come together, not the opposite!!!”

Edguy will be on tour early next year in support of their latest album Tinnitus Sanctus. Scheduled Edguy tour dates:

Thu    08.01.2009    Dessel (B) Biebob
Fri    09.01.2009    Dudley (U.K.)   JB´s
Sat    10.01.2009    London (U.K.)  Carling Academy Islington
Mon    12.01.2009    Paris (F)    Elysee Montmatre
Tue    13.01.2009    Bordeaux (F)    Theatre Barbey
Thu    15.01.2009    Granada (E)    La Coper
Fri    16.01.2009    Madrid (E)    La Riviera
Sat    17.01.2009    Bilbao (E)    Rock Star Live
Sun    18.01.2009    Barcelona (E)    Razzmatazz
Tue    20.01.2009    Lyon (F)    Transbordeur
Wed    21.01.2009    Mailand (I)    Rolling Stone
Fri    23.01.2009    Filderstadt (DE)   Filharmonie
Sat    24.01.2009    Kaufbeuren (DE)   All Kart Halle
Sun    25.01.2009    Pratteln (CH)     Z7
Tue    27.01.2009    Oberhausen  (DE)  Turbinenhalle
Wed    28.01.2009    Köln (DE)   Live Music Hall
Fri    30.01.2009    Osnabrück (DE)  Halle Gartlage
Sat    31.01.2009    Bamberg (DE)  JaKo Arena
Sun    01.02.2009    Hamburg (DE)  Docks
Mon    02.02.2009    Gothenborg (S)    Lisberghallen
Wed    04.02.2009    Stockholm (S)    Arenan
Thu    05.02.2009    Malmö (S)    KB
Sat    07.02.2009    Fulda (DE) Wartenberg Oval

There’s one thing I notice missing from those Edguy tour dates - no USA dates! Could the rumours be true??? Not a chance.

Somali pirates have been making the headlines with the capture of a Saudi oil tanker this week. The problem has been going on for ages, but has worsened as of late with 9 vessels seized in the Gulf of Aden by pirates over the last twelve days.

You would think it would be easy enough to stop. Send out the navies and look for the ships flying the Jolly Roger.

Which brings me to the point of this post. I’ve seen photos of some of these Somali pirates in the newspapers. They don’t look like any pirates I know. No eye patches, no bottles of rum, no red beards, and no parrots on their shoulders. I bet none of them even say “Argh”.

And what does the modern day pirate listen to? If it’s not traditional sea shanties, it damn well better be some pirate metal. If they’re not listening to Running Wild , Alestorm , Verbal Deception , Swashbuckle , Scuurvy, or Murdered at Sea, they deserve to go down in a hail of cannonballs.

So Somali pirates, if you’re reading this, could you please comment to this post and let me know that even though you may not look the part, you’re keeping up traditional pirate values by listening to pirate metal. I need my faith in piratehood restored.

Until then, I’ll sit back and watch the original pirate metal band, Running Wild, performing Under Jolly Roger and reminisce of a bygone era when pirates were cool.

Founding Manowar guitarist Ross the Boss starts a European tour this week with his new band on a double headlining tour with German heavy metal band Sinner.

The tour dates for the Ross the Boss/Sinner tour are:

Ross the Boss released their debut album, New Metal Leader, in Europe in September (USA release date is November 25 on Candlelight Records). Dubbed “The best “Manowar” album  since Kings of Metal“, New Metal Leader is easily one of my top three metal releases of the year.

My only complaint is there are no dates in the United Kingdom. Ross, sort it out. The UK needs to see your new band.