Do you have something to say about Prog...
...and would you like to submit it as material for this blog, apply for membership at the ProgRockin blog planning Google group.
Recent Comments

Friday, January 25, 2008

What is Progressive anyway? 2/5 - Thrash

Part: 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1

Thrash

I am at my friend's house. He pulls out a new vinyl disc that apparently is Metallica's latest “...And Justice for All”. My immediate response is METALLICA! Are you crazy.... that is just pure trash”. He answers “Yes, but this record is so much fun... just listen to this”.

A slow and quite nice electric guitar plays without being accompanied by bass, drums or keyboard. After a while you notice the drums. At first they can hardly be heard, but slowly they build getting louder and louder dadadadadadadaDaDaDaDaDADADADA”. The first picture in my head is that of a nice picnic in the park being surprised by a motor cycle gang (anyone recognize what tune I am talking about?). The song is completely taken over and the funny part of it is that the rest has absolutely no resemblance to the first part. How cool was that?

So cool that during the next couple of years we were completely immersed in the local Thrash scene. The local band that caught most of the attention was called Invocator. They had a very nice demo (so we thought) and eventually recorded an album called “Excursion Demise”. Some of you may even have heard of it. Anyways the singer of the band much later moved on to “Anubis Gate”, of which I know many of you have heard.

One day my friend surprised me again... Of all the bands to check he had with recommendations borrowed a video tape of a live concert with band called “Yes”. I thought, he had gotten completely bonkers. Who in his right mind would listen to soft rock, yeah almost pop, like that? I completely dismissed it....I thought.

4 comments :

Anonymous said...

Hahahahaha!!! I LOVE your discription of the "Picnic". Actually, I wanted to depict the same analogy on an album cover for my band, (if it ever happens)-front cover is like the famous painting of a girl in the tall grass, but with a boy, having a picnic all rosey cheeked and enjoying the warm breeze . . .the back of the album were Anime styled Robots/Mech looking very weird, wicked and MEAN "landing"-SMASHING down, tearing the soil as they fire off various weapons (this Idea is copyrighted 1990 to present, cant be too careful ;).

"Blackened" is the song you heard, for me it was . . . The intro to "Fight Fire with Fire", the beautiful pleasant 12 string acoustic with bass, ...into The Staccato Chugging Trains from HELL into the same staccato voice of Hetfield chopping like a giant blade slicing through Tiger Tanks!

. . . Thrash (the good stuff anyway) influenced my music forever. While everyone made their "cliche's" about it, I knew this music was beyond their intelligents. From Yes to Forbidden, my odyssey would continue :)

I look forward to each chapter BG,
keep at it.
-MAVIII

More of my story at:
http://mavearworx.blogspot.com/2007
_08_01_archive.html

BG said...

Didn't remember the guitar to be acoustic...will change the text.

Anonymous said...

nonono! YOU are right sir, its Electric Guitars backwards looped and Electric Guitars played atop the loop, as the guitars get louder into "Blackened". You remembered it right.

I was talking about the "Ride the Lightning" album and the song "Fight Fire with Fire". Sorry about that ;)

-MAVIII

BG said...

No problem MAVIII. Its easy to change the text. Would have been easier if I actually owned a copy of the album...