Another Video of the Moment or Several Germans

The first is Scanner, a German power metal band who liked the science fiction. "Warp 7" is probably the best song on their album Hypertrace.

How about a recent rendition of Kreator's "People of the Lie."

Or Rage's ode to the misfit werewolf?

Okay, just three this time.

The Canadians Are Coming -- More Videos

Sure, Canada has produced abominations like Celine Dion, Alanis Morisette, and Shania Twain. But they've also given us Rush and Triumph. And some middle-of-the-road artists like Sebastian Bach*, Bryan Adams, and Barenaked Ladies, who are hard to revile but haven't produced more than a decent song or two. I mean look at Bryan Adams. He had a couple of hits in the eighties with some passable pop songs and then completely shit the bed with everything starting with his contributions to the soundtrack to the Kevin Costner Robin Hood Parody.

Here are some Canucks who flew under the radar.

Killer Dwarfs - We Stand Alone
These guys are goofy, but it works.

Exciter - Violence and Force
Part of the thrash explosion of 1983, but never got any attention. Because they were from the land of the ice and snow. Eh.

Anvil - Metal on Metal
Apparently whoever posted this video couldn't find a clip that was performed in English. Even though the audio is in English, the band is clearly singing in Canadian, and that's why it's not synched up.

Annihilator - Syn. Kill 1
Much like Exciter, these guys had the chops but never got much publicity. Of the four bands this is the only one that's still going (as opposed to reunited). I think Jeff Waters kills and eats his band members after every tour, though.

*UPDATE: Dave rightfully pointed out that Jewel is, in fact, American, and therefore had to be replaced. So I had to find a different not-so-offensive artist from Canada. In reality, I like a lot of what Bach did with Skid Row (their Slave to the Grind album kicked serious ass), but then he did Gilmore Girls, so he gets demoted. That show sucked like Roseanne singing the national anthem sucked.

Some Videos

This time I decided to do a batch of heavy covers of 80s songs. They're sure to disgust the original artists, and most of the songs' fans, but I like them better.

Mandy Lion - Kiss
This is a cover of Prince's little mincing song. I like this better. Mr. Lion has a pretty wicked growl to him, and this song goes from mincing to menacing in about a second.

Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal
This was all over the radio a decade ago. Takes Michael Jackson and gives it some testosterone. Still surprisingly faithful to the original, though. Love it.

Dope - You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)
Originally recorded by Dead or Alive in 1985, this was one of the only dance songs I didn't feel uncomfortable liking. I like the new version by Dope better, though. Plus, for additional geekiness, the video is performed by World of Warcraft characters.

Realm - Eleanor Rigby
I've loved this cover since I bought Realm's debut, Endless War, on cassette in 1989. I like the Beatles' version too, but this one always charges me up. I can see Sly and Dave getting sick to their stomachs listening to it, though.

Even More Videos

I posted a few more. I didn't mention the last time I did this, so I should at least introduce those:

Finntroll - Finnish polka metal. How do you lose?

Dokken - A brilliantly talented band who suffered from the hair-metal label. Too bad they hated each other.

Masi - This his the only song (that I've heard) that's worth a shit. It's great, but dated now.

Disturbed - I like some nu-metal, and this it probably among the best.

And for today's new links:

Metal Church - Badlands
This is a seriously cool song. And the guitarist, Jim Marshall (not the Viking defensive lineman) is about seven feet tall.

Fifth Angel - Time Will Tell
Sure, this isn't their most aggressive song and, sure, they're a Christian metal band, but damn. They kick ass. Or did, back in 1989, before Ken Mary joined House of Lords and the rest of them fell off the planet.

Lewis Black - Sacrilege
Since my current theme is Christian fluff, here's the master of snark to poke holes in it.

KISS - Heaven's on Fire
Let's face it--these guys have had little to brag about for about 30 years, but the Animalize album was one of them. Kicking ass!

More Videos for Your Consumption

Just a few more, since I haven't done this in a week or so:

Tyketto - "Forever Young"
This is what Journey might have sounded like if Journey had been men instead of--whatever they were. Wait--Journey's still touring? Without Steve Perry? Can't wait to miss it.

Robert Randolph and the Family Band - "Ain't Nothin' Wrong with That"
Sly turned me on to these guys a while back. This song's a lot of fun.

Fishbone - "Sunless Saturday"
And I haven't thought of these guys in years. Great band almost nobody ever heard of. Much better than the better-known Living Colour*. Probably not a fair association, since about all they have in common is skin color, but that's the only way these guys came up back in 1991.

Living Colour - "Type"
Not their most popular song, but one I like better than "Cult of Personality"--if only because it hasn't had the hell played out of it for twenty years. Listen to that groove. Damn, that's a solid rhythm section.

*I wrote this and then watched the "Type" Video. On further review, I think it's an unnecessary comparison. I forgot how good LC really was. I like them both a lot. How's that?

More New Videos

Posted a '90s video extravaganza!

Ned's Atomic Dustbin - "Grey Cell Green"
Hey, it's a band with two bass players. They have to be cool.

Therapy? - "Screamager"
The only Scottish band I know of whose name is a question. The song rocks.

Screaming Trees - "Nearly Lost You"
Kinda grunge, kinda pop. The singer went on to be involved in Queens of the Stone Age.

Spin Doctors - "How Could You Want Him (When You Know You Could Have Me)"
One of the sweetest songs of the nineties. (Don't laugh. I'm still a cynic.)

And HOLY SHIT--DEAD END!
These guys are a Japanese rock band I first heard in the late eighties. They never recorded a bad song as far as I could tell. I never heard this one ("Serafine") before just now, but it's as great as the rest. I thought these guys were lost forever. I haven't heard anything from them since their Shambara album in about 1990. This makes me happy.

I promise to post something more substantial in the next couple days. Honest.

More Videos

I posted four more videos:

Mark Knopfler - "What It Is"
I was reminded of this song when reading Jess's last post. It's a beautiful song. Subtle, understated, and the guitar just kills me.

White Spirit - "Watch Out" and Persian Risk - "50,000 Stallions"
Two songs I first heard on a compilation of obscure NWOBHM bands. I bought it on cassette in about 1989, and I'd love to find it on CD. These two songs are among my favorite, and a good idea of what heavy metal was in 1980.

Trouble - "At the End of My Daze"
Somewhat late in the heavy metal heyday, this song is deep into Trouble's doom-metal career, when they started going psychedelic (inventing stoner metal in the process). Great stuff, though. Enough bottom end to satisfy Sir Mix-a-lot.