Thursday 30th December
I've had my ups and downs with Sebastian Bach, but always
believed him to be a pretty genuine guy beneath the bluster,
brimstone and bullshit. Last night he went and proved it by
posting a heart-felt and extremely moving tribute to Dimebag.
It's quite long but worth the effort of reading (link here).
The mental image of the Pantera guys throwing a barbecue in
front of the stage during Skid Row's set is bloody hilarious,
but the bits that really choked me up the most were Dime teaching
Seb's young son guitar riffs, and Pantera taking Bach out on
the road a solo artist as payback for their own original big
break on the 'Slave To The Grind' tour. Nice one, Seb.
Amused at his November 9th namecheck in this section, Tim Bowness
sent a nice package of his CDs that I finally got around to
playing. Perhaps the best of the lot, No-Man's 'Speak' is an
incredible slice of art-rock, though the 2001 live album from
Porcupine Tree ('Warszawa') comes very close indeed. Somehow
manging to be claustrophobic and sensual, 'Hotel' by Mike Figgis
is also commendably diverse, even featuring a haunting guest
spot from ex-Skunk Anansie singer Skin. All are well worth raiding
the piggy bank for.
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Wednesday 29th December
Oh dear, got a sonofabitch of a hangover. Had to wade through
a kitchen full of empties and half-eaten sausage rolls to reach
the computer. My good pals Annick and Harj (godparents of our
two fine lads) came over for a holiday piss-up, along with Jerry
Ewing and his infinitely better half Rachel. My own party mood
had been kicked off a few hours earlier by Andy 'The Messiah'
Johnson's late equaliser for Palace away at Might Fart Lane
- a terrific point for Dowie's Super Eagles. I'm still so ecstatic,
it's highly tempting to just keep on drinking. Hic!!! Now, where
did I put that cherry brandy...?!
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Tuesday 28th December
Last night's Hammered At Christmas gig from co-headliners
In Flames and Lacuna Coil was hit and miss. A lively set from
Chimaira belied their lowly place on the bill. Still don't quite
understand the fuss about Lacuna Coil, an Italian goth-metal
band who display all the personality and flamboyance of Coronation
Street's Roy Cropper. All that synchronised headbanging?! Ugh,
you've gotta be kidding. Going on last, In Flames were far more
convincing than the last time I saw them, at the Astoria back
in April. With loads of pyro and a killer sound mix, not to
mention a neat version of Pantera's 'Fucking Hostile' (dedicated
to the many thousands of victims of the recent Indonesian tsunami
disaster as well as Dimebag Darrell), they at least finished
the show in rousing style.
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Monday 27th December
Have got nothing whatsoever to say about yesterday's Palace-Pompey
result, okay? Still fuming at my boys dominating the game, then
succumbing to a suckerpunch from such mediocre opposition.
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Monday 20th December
Hawkwind played a blinder at the Astoria last night, though
once again overlooked 'Silver Machine'. I've just returned from
a playback of the new Judas Priest album, 'Angel Of Retribution'
(due on 28th February). Glenn Tipton and KK Downing were on
hand as five songs were aired to a room full of excited writers
and deejays. What can possibly be said, except that what we
heard was staggering? If the whole album is this consistent,
the metal world should quake with fear. 'Judas Rising' is mid-paced
and absolutely crushing, utilising all the band's classic-era
trademarks, notably Rob Halford's banshee-on-heat wail. Faster
and a notch more commercial, 'Deal With The Devil' provides
the perfect platform for Glenn and KK's brutal twin-axe duelling.
'Revolution', the first single, is built around a merciless
grinding hook, and although 'Worth Fighting For' is a tad less
threatening it remains intensely headbangable for all its accessability.
Plaudits go to Scott Travis for some superhuman double-bass
drumming on 'Hellrider', a bowel-loosingly heavy number with
a Wagnerian-themed climax. The Priest is back - believe it!
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Sunday 19th November
The neighbours joined us last night for Palace's televised game
against Man Utd, and we broke out the cherry brandy. Being in
a suitably numbed state definitely helped to soak up the pain
of the result. Through a foggy alcoholic haze I recall James
from next door, who works at Rough Trade Records, ringing none
other than Mick Jones of The Clash to ask him - among other
things - how many goals his own beloved QPR (referred to in
this house as "QP-ha-ha-ha!") had lost by that afternoon.
Much respect to the man from Number 26! Shame I fell asleep
on the computer afterwards!
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Saturday 18th December
Awoke with the hangover from hell. Last night I caught one of
the best gigs of 2004 - Arch Enemy laying waste to Kentish Town's
Forum. Fortunately, multiple cameras were on hand to capture
for posterity the quintet's best display to date in the UK's
capital. On this form, they will be massive. The
Haunted also fulfilled expectations - the minute's silence for
Dime was cool - and Dark Tranquillity did their best to overcome
an unnecessarily quiet and tinny sound. To top it all, AA's
Mike Amott had a present for me at the after-show bash; a Japanese
bootleg of Rainbow that we'd discussed last time we met... top
fella!
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Friday 17th December
It's official - I'm a c**t. I must be, 'cos last night Sebastian
Bach stated from the Mean Fiddler stage that everyone at Classic
Rock is, I quote, "a useless, piece of shit c**t".
Ah well, it's nice to be loved. Skid Row's fiery ex-mouthpiece
put on a good show that included songs from all three of that
band's albums and even some unreleased new songs (one of which
was called 'You Bring Me Down'), though some around me expressed
frustration that Bach and backing musos - including former members
of Sadus and Iced Earth - played the songs way too fast. Seb's
always believed himself to be a secret thrasher, but I've gotta
admit there was cause for complaint.
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Thursday 16th December
A promo of the new Glenn Hughes album arrived this morning.
Forgive the pun, but Glenn has been going through a purple patch
(ouch!) of late, and 'Soul Mover' is the masterpiece he's been
working towards making for quite some while. With Chad Smith
on drums throughout and Dave Navarro guesting on the single
and video, it's been stuck to my player all afternoon. In a
word - sensational!
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Wednesday 15th December
The sound at the Scala is dreadful. Having already seen
King's X, Silver Ginger 5, the Black Crowes and others do battle
with its high ceiling and naff acoustics, last night Dissection
emerged with more credit than most. Jon Nödtveidt, who'd
spent the previous eight years in prison for being accomplice
to murder, at least seemed to be having fun. But the Swedes'
mixture of black metal and death metal deserved far more clarity
and power.
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Tuesday 14th December
It's exceedingly rare that I agree with anything Gene $immons
has to say, but when the Kiss man comments of Dimebag: "He
was a great guy. He's going to be sorely missed", and verbalises
of "justice" that his murderer was mercilessly taken
out by the cops, the bassist is a hundred per cent on his specialist
subject - the money. $immons and Paul Stanley have donated one
of their Kiss Kaskets for Dime to be buried in, as per the guitarist's
final wish. A very nice touch.
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Monday 13th December
Here's an extract from a song intro at yesterday's gig at
the Underworld: see if you can guess the band. "Any Darkness
fans here tonight?" enquires the frontman. A thunderous,
deafening silence ensues, finally shattered by a monosyllabic
shout from an audience member... "Cunts". "So
you like bands that sing like men, then?" Indeed, we do. Chariot are men, and they specialise in terrific meat and potatoes metal.
No excruciating falsetto vocals; just one super-hooked, lager-soaked,
enormo-riff after another. I sincerely doubt Chariot'll ever
headline multiple nights at Wembley Arena or have a budget for
elaborate stage props inspired by their name, but they entertain
like few other groups.
It's nice to see that Ted Nugent has added his own words of
praise to the tributes expressed to Dimebag by so many others.
The Loudman has been quoted as saying: "It was horrible.
Darrell was a big fan of mine. He expressed that every time
we ever saw each other." Like, hello? HELLO?!
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Sunday 12th December
Like many rock fans, I'm still finding it hard to ratlionalise
the death of Dimebag Darrell. I've spent quite some time pondering
the insanity and sheer needlessness of this tragedy. Aren't
we all supposed to be brothers and sisters in something special
and unique; a genre that's misunderstood by outsiders? If any
of this is true, why have we done something so unforgiveable
to one of our own? Life is just too short - especially for Dime.
I see that Dave Mustaine of Megadeth is apparently attempting
to channel the disaster in a positive way, wiping the slate
clean by apologising to Metallica, other former band-mates,
managers and associates and trying to be "more friendly"
in future. "I need to quit holding grudges," admits
Dave. That's commendable... if he can stick to it. So why don't
we all give it a go?
Starting with me. I was disappointed that Crystal Palace dropped
two more points at home yesterday, against fellow relegation
candidates Blackburn of all teams. However, in this new spirit
of turning the other cheek I hereby forgive the cheating, diving,
play-acting Paul Dickov (as Dee Snider would say, that's heavy
on the 'Dick') for his unsporting behaviour and all round obnoxiousness.
Okay? And I hereby retract all the insults that I hurled at
the the short-arsed little wankbag Jock - also, of course, just
hoping that my seven-year-old lad doesn't repeat any of them
at school tomorrow. And I really don't think Dickov should have
been sent off by the most biased and inept match official I've
seen this season, alright?
Okay... I admit it - I typed most of that last part through
gritted teeth. Hmmmm.... this charitability lark ain't gonna
be quite as simple as it seems.
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Saturday 11th December
Well, what a cool week of concerts that last one was. Checked
out Lamb Of God at the Mean Fiddler yesterday evening. Full
of rippling power but kinda tuneful with it, hearing them felt
a bit like being assaulted by someone in a pair of mink-lined,
feather-filled boxing gloves. It was amazing, too, how many
Pantera and Damageplan shirts there were in the crowd.
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Thursday 9th December
Was gonna waffle about a great Wildhearts gig last night
till hearing of the murder of Damageplan's Dimebag Darrell.
Omi-friggin'God, that's so senseless and quite, quite unbelievable.
Reports are still somewhat sketchy, but some idiot got up onto
the stage and apparently pumped multiple bullets into the guitarist,
also apparently killing a tour manager and three others. I won't
pretend to know Dime personally, though I did speak to him and
the rest of Pantera in their days together (will post the best
of those interviews as a tribute as soon as I'm able) and am
full of respect for his playing.
Whatever your thoughts on the Damageplan vs Pantera debate,
one thing is 100% certain: Dimebag loved life and seemed to
live every day as though it was his last. Now his talent and
joie de vivre has been taken from him - and us. I'm sickened
and appalled.
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Wednesday 8th December
Drewe, who promotes shows at the Underworld, was utterly
ludicrous last night. "What's got six legs, comes from
Wales and plays fucking brilliant heavy metal?" he asked
us while introducing the headline act. "Is it a parakeet?
No! Is it Lady Amhurst's pheasant? No! Is it the Outer Mongolian
Oooga-Looga-Booga Bird?" Wrong again. In fact, it was Budgie,
whose robust 90-minute set of old favourites even included a
rendition of 'Parents'. To top a spiffing evening, their manager
gave me a set of re-issued Budgie classics - the first five
albums, including 'Never Turn Your Back On A Friend' and 'Bandolier'
(all available with bonus tracks from www.budgie.uk.com).
Christmas came early this year, huh?!
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Tuesday 7th December
The Tubes were at Shepherd's Bush Empire last night. Had
never seen them before and had my doubts about the tour's Wild
West show theme. Sure enough, it didn't quite hang together
as a concept, but there were more than enough pearls in the
more than two-hour set. 'White Punks On Dope', with Fee Waybill
tottering on unfeasibly high heels, a salami jutting from his
spandex strides and looking frighteningly like Dee Snider, was
worth the price of admission alone.
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Monday 6th December
Palace losing again in injury time was hard to stomach,
so I trotted down to Brixton Academy to see Machine Head and
swig a few consoling vats of dry white wine. Robb Flynn and
company played well, though he had a bee in his bonnet about
Led Zeppelin, promising inexplicably that there would be no
covers included in the evening's set and sarcastically crooning
the final lines of 'Stairway To Heaven' before throwing the
mic to the floor and exiting. Stop press: Jimmy Page is enrolling
for grief counselling sessions as I type.
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Saturday 4th December
Had Creed ever requested to play a gig in my back garden,
I'd have closed the windows, drawn the curtains and maybe even
bought triple glazing. So it's shocking that Alter Bridge -
who feature three former members of that hugely overrated group
- performed one of the best gigs of 2004 at the Mean Fiddler
last night. What a band! What a singer! What a set of songs!
Two great cover versions - Zep's 'Rock And Roll' and 'Highway
Star' by Deep Purple. Wembley awaits!!
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Friday 3rd December
Last night was God Forbid and special guests Caliban at
the Underworld. A German band produced by Anders Fridén
of In Flames, Caliban went down very well, though the singer's
inistence that people get involved in the mosh pit was sometimes
a little too Teutonic (I was waiting for the words "Or
you vill be shot", though fortunately they never came).
God Forbid were in a different class altogether, the scorching
twin guitar parts of Dallas Coyle and Doc Coyle refreshing the
parts that few these days rarely reach. Amusingly, Byron Davis
introduced the song 'Anti-Hero' with a tirade against George
Bush, telling us: "He's a douchebag, but we're stuck with
him for another four years. Why don't you cats go over there
and kill his ass?" Why not indeed?
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Thursday 2nd December
Last night there was a choice between Therapy? (seen 'em
loadsa times) at the Astoria or Skinny Molly (featuring ex-Molly
Hatchet guitarist Dave Hlubeck and former Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist
Mike Estes) at the Underworld - I went for the latter. Seeing
as they're a relatively new band with no album to promote, I
had no idea what to expect. Arrived early to do a quick Classic
Rock news story, and what a nice bunch of guys - Hlubeck signed
all my old Hatchet vinyl and they even invited me to hang out
and smoke a few illicit cigarettes (don't worry, mum, in true
investigative journalist style I made my excuses and left).
The crowd was small, but the set-list was excellent. From the
Hatchet days we got 'Whiskey Man', 'Dreams I'll Never See' (okay,
I know it's originally by the Allmans!), 'Bounty Hunter', 'Beatin'
The Odds', 'Bloody Reunion' and 'Flirtin' With Disaster'. And
Skynyrd classics included 'What's Your Name', 'Gimme Three Steps',
'Call Me The Breeze', 'Simple Man', 'I Know A Little' and 'Sweet
Home Alabama'. The night's one original tune sounded good, but
Skinny Molly's future obviously hangs upon their albility to
develop a repertoire of their own. Here's one that'll be rooting
- and indeed tooting! - for 'em.
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