This Metal Century: 2001

Ross in 2001

2001 was an important year for me.  It was the year I first got a driver’s license, it was the year I broke my arm within a month of getting my driver’s license (while playing paintball, which is probably a story in itself), and it was probably the year I really  began to come out of my shell and transform into the social butterfly I am today.

The driving part, though, that really influence how I listen to music.  My first truck (’95 F-150 single cab longbed) had a great soundsystem in it.  Amp powered Clarion door speakers and 2 12” JL Audio subs behind the seat.  That thing was loud.  And naturally, I liked when it was playing loud music.  It saw a lot of nu-metalish  playlists, as was the style of the day.  Do the heavy rotations of Powerman 5000 and Godsmack?  Nah, that shit will be funny forever. I still feel like I owe that system an apology for skimping out on rap music as a whole, though.

Metal in 2001

Album                                                                   2001 Exposue

Chimaira – Pass out of Existence                        Listened, but I didn’t love it
Converge – Jane Doe                                          Did not listen
Opeth – Blackwater Park                                     Listened, but pretty much stuck with “Bleak”
Pig Destroyer – Prowler in the Yard                     Had no idea what a pig destroyer was
Slayer – God Hates Us All                                    Scrupulously avoided due to anti-god-sounding title
Slipknot – Iowa                                                     Listened, but never really got into it like their first album
Static X – Machine                                               Probably listened to this more than any of the others
Tool – Lateralus                                                   Listened, but mainly stuck with “Schism” and “Parabola” (I could play them on guitar it was sweet)

Pass out of Existence – Nu Metal Index: 2

I’ve listened to a fair amount of Chimaira in the years between 2001 and now, but the thing that stuck out to me about this album in retrospect is how unapologetically aggressive the music is.  2001 was nu-metal’s heyday and the New Wave of American Heavy Metal was still a few years out.  There weren’t many great riffs, there were too many “melodic” choruses, and no one even knew what a double-bass pedal was.  Chimaira fixed ALL that.  This album was a breath of fresh air released in the middle of a somewhat subdued metal scene.  Though it doesn’t much new ground, this is a very solid album which influenced lots of people to listen to and play metal.

Favorite tracks: Dead Inside, Severed, Lumps

Jane Doe

If “Pass out of Existence” ran against music trends of 2001, Converge shattered them.  “Jane Doe” is a very harsh listen.  The vocals are incomprehensible, the guitars are grating, and the drums are spastic.  But in the midst of the chaos there is sort of a central theme of the mourning of a relationship gone wrong.  The tone of the music in a way reflects the emotions of the central character: humiliation, anger, regret, and eventually reflection.  At times it can be brooding, but mostly “Jane Doe” functions as an eruption of anger for half an hour followed by the towering, excellent title track, which clocks in at 11:30, roughly a quarter of the entire album’s runtime.  “Jane Doe” helped establish that noisy music can in fact have merit beyond its noise, which I think really influenced a lot of great mid 2000s bands.  Having already more or less created the metalcore genre a few years prior with “Petitioning the Empty Sky”, Converge cemented themselves as the best, and most unique, band the genre has produced with “Jane Doe”.

Favorite tracks: Concubine, Fault and Fracture, Jane Doe

Blackwater Park

At the time they released “Blackwater Park”, Opeth had been a band for about a decade and had already released four albums.  Admittedly, I’m not exactly a scholar of their early work, but based on what I’ve heard it’s very good progressive Swedish death metal.  The musicianship is great, the songs are super long, and they stick with pretty standard “dark” themes, for instance their album “My Arms, Your Hearse” is a concept album about the central character becoming a ghost and following the love of his previous life around.  Turns out, being a ghost makes him feel sad.  So, on to “Blackwater Park”, I can’t get over the epic scale of the songs.  It feels like a classic rock album in the vein of Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd.  There is a symphonic quality to the album.  Opeth effortlessly shifts from death metal growls, double bass, and crushing riffs to acoustic interludes coupled with gentle singing.  This great album is stands the 15 year test of time very well and almost certainly is going to go down as a cornerstone of the genre.

Favorite tracks:  Bleak, The Drapery Falls, Blackwater Park

Prowler in the Yard

This album is a fucking trainwreck.  It’s brutal just for the sake of being brutal, grotesque and horrific.  It’s so over the top that it’s borderline cartoonish.  Some of the tracks aren’t even leveled correctly from one to the next, so you have to adjust the volume constantly.  This is made worse because the average track length is something like 47 seconds.  They do not have a bassist.  In terms of tone, I’d almost describe it as a horrorcore album, kind of the same way you’d describe the Insane Clown Posse as horrorcore, though their musical styles couldn’t be more different.  Pig Destroyer is what I would expect to have happened if, say, Eminem had decided to play guitar instead of learning to rap.  The main goal of everyone in the associated acts of Pig Destroyer seems to be to offend; senses and sensibilities.

All that being said, there is some really good stuff to be found here, culminating in the final track, “Piss Angel”.  It shows signs of real songwriting and musical potential, and sounds GREAT turned way up.  Be warned though, the computer voice usually attached to the end of the track is terrifying.  Probably be sure to edit that out if you plan on adding it to a playlist.

Favorite tracks: Piss Angel

Note: Nu Metal Index is defined as follows

(Number of days between album release date and Flaw’s “Through the Eyes” – Number of days between album release date and Linkin Park’s “Meteora”) / number of days between “Through the Eyes” and “Meteora”

This Metal Century

This post will not be about basketball.

This post is about other stuff.  Heavy stuff.  It’s about the best metal albums of this century.  And no, I’m not going to make a huge list of THE BEST METAL ALBUMS: FINALLY RANKED.  I’m going to choose some albums I think are the best and I’m going to write a lot of words about what I think makes them good.  I’m also going to choose some albums I feel like I should have paid more attention to and write about why I think they worked.

Starting with the list of albums from 2001-2005.  Articles about the albums to follow.

2001

Aerosmith – Just Push Play

Chimaira – Pass  Out of Existence

Converge – Jane Doe

Opeth – Blackwater Park

Pig Destroyer – Prowler in the Yard

Slayer – God Hates Us All

Slipknot – Iowa

Static X – Machine

Tool – Lateralus

2002

The Dillinger Escape Plan – Irony is a Dead Scene

Down –  Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow

Dream Theater – Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

In Flames – Reroute to Remain

ISIS – Oceanic

Killswitch Engage – Alive or Just Breathing

Mastodon – Remission

Norma Jean – Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child

Opeth – Deliverance

Shadows Fall – The Art of Balance

2003

As I Lay Dying – Frail Words Collapse

Between the Buried and Me – Silent Circus

Chimaira – The Impossibility of Reason

Deftones – Deftones

Dimmu Borgir – Death Cult Armageddon

Every Time I Die – Hot Damn!

Lamb of God – As the Palaces Burn

Metallica – St. Anger (has to be discussed)

Opeth – Damnation

Throwdown – Haymaker

2004

The Chariot – Everything Is Alive, Everything Is Breathing

Damageplan – New Found Power

The Dillinger Escape Plan – Miss Machine

Fear Factory – Archetype

In Flames – Soundtrack to Your Escape

ISIS – Panopticon

Killswitch Engage – The End of Heartache

Lamb of God – Ashes of the Wake

Mastodon – Leviathan

Slipknot – Vol. 3

Unearth – The Oncoming Storm

2005

Black Dahlia Murder – Miasma

Chimaira – Chimaira

Clutch – Robot Hive/Exodus

Every Time I Die – Gutter Phenomenon

Fear Factory – Transgression

Gojira – From Mars to Sirius

Job for a Cowboy – Doom

Limp Bizkit – The Unquestionable Truth (part 1)

Norma Jean – O God the Aftermath

Opeth – Ghost Reveries

Roadrunner United – The All Star Sessions

System of a Down – Hypnotize & Mezmerize

Through the Eyes of the Dead – Bloodlust

Trivium – Ascendancy

More to come!

P.s. – goddaaaaaaaamn 2004 was a good year

Wrapping up 2015: College Basketball Edition

It was a down year in college basketball for me. It speaks to the direction of the game that I have to force myself to watch college ball over the NBA. Perhaps it’s just me, but it seems like the basketball crowd is swinging towards the NBA more each year. I’m hearing fewer and fewer people throw out the blanket statement, “The NBA sucks. I like college.” Regardless, NCAA hoops will always have one of the 4 greatest sporting events, and it has the benefit of occurring annually. (My other 3: Super Bowl, Ryder Cup and World Cup.) 2015 was no exception to the rule, so let’s wrap up the NCAA tourney and peer into our glass ball for the future of college basketball.

The Final

Duke deserved the title. Their game plan was solid, subtle adjustments worked for them, and the players executed down the stretch. With Tyus Jones’ huge shots, their defense might get lost in the mix. But defense won the game for the Dukies. The Blue Devils knew what Wisconsin wanted to do and tailored their defensive game plan accordingly. Wisconsin needed more Kaminsky, but Duke made that extremely difficult, if not impossible. The number of times Tank had to start moves with a dribble drive had to be at least double the average. Frank can do it, but he IS still a slow footed 7 footer. Enough hands and bodies forced him to give it up more times than not. Combine that with the guard pressure challenging all passes, and getting Frank Kaminsky the ball on the block was quite the task.

Wisconsin did not deserve the title. The best players were outperformed down the stretch. Dekker’s shot looked tired. The pressure bothered the guards, and Bo Ryan played the same way he had all year, which means high screens absolutely killed them. Coach K knew he could get Tyus Jones a shot at any time because there was not going to be a show from the big. The offense looked pathetic against the zone Duke employed, negating any foul trouble advantages. Wisconsin would never change their offensive game plan, but the Badger’s offense would have benefitted from a few set plays in the vein of an NBA offense. Spread shooters out and set some high pick and rolls. Koenig could beat his man, but there was too much trash at the top of the key and lane any time he did. Spreading Duke out and working a two man game would have produced some better looks, especially in crunch time.

The refs need to be relegated. Can we do that? Those three should be officiating junior high girls next year. In the NBA, rarely are refs labeled this dependably bad. Consistency was the issue. Consistency from the first half to the second half, consistency from outside the lane to at the basket. Duke’s guards were handsy and bodying Wisconsin guards up and down the court. That was fine in the first half, as I felt that was happening on both sides, all over the court. The refs must have looked at the foul total, or heard Coach K talk at halftime. Duke was given the benefit of the doubt with every collision at the rim. There were 4 calls that were just not fouls and if anything, should have been praised as good defense. Duke’s guards have a bad (is it bad if it works?) habit of using their off arm to clear out space. When the defender tries to recover, the offensive player throws his body forward to create contact. What are NBA refs taught that college refs aren’t? Why are NBA refs so much better at simply not blowing their whistle?

And why the hell do we even have reviews? 5 minutes were wasted to get it wrong. From this tournament, college basketball has to revamp the review system, or just scratch it, because the NCAA is obviously clueless. The MLB and NFL have implemented some sort of off the field crew. Why could this not be done for the Final Four??? The ball was clearly off Winslow, from every angle.  I understand how the ball was rewarded to Duke initially, but every replay angle indicated otherwise. I do not enjoy watching three grown men make fools of themselves.

NBA Potential

Frank Kaminsky: Best Case – Poor man’s Gasol, Worst Case – Chris Kaman

Frank is soft on defense. I’m not sure if he was trying to avoid foul trouble, or if he just is that movable on the block. He will have to be able to stand his ground in the NBA. He uses his body very intelligently, and I think he will be able to rebound at the NBA level. His offense is more than NBA ready, so teams will have to judge where he fits into their defensive schemes. Barring injury, he’ll make money playing basketball for a while.

Sam Dekker: Best Case – Matt Barnes, Worst Case – Chase Budinger

Dekker has to work on his outside shooting and defense. I see him as a slasher that can hold his own on defense. He’ll never be a stopper but should defend well in a scheme. The jumper will be the key. If he develops a midrange that is at least a threat and can shoot 40% from three, then that will help set up the strengths we all saw in the Final Four.

Jahlil Okafor: Best Case – DeMarcus Cousins, Worst Case – Brook Lopez

Freshmen are always difficult to project, which is why the range is wider. At worst case, Jahlil will be a force to be reckoned with on the offensive end, as he already possesses a solid offensive infrastructure for a big. If he stays in shape, works on 16’ jumpers and is ready to work on defense at least 75% of the time, then he’s a slightly less athletic Boogie without the baggage. If he doesn’t, he’ll be getting 30 touches a night for a 30 win team as opposing bigs make him their son. No offense Brook.

Justise Winslow: Best Case – James Harden, Worse Case – Michael Kidd-Gilchrist

Athleticism is not difficult to project. Winslow could never improve his jumper, forget how to get to the basket, insult Dorothy Mantooth and still be a force in the NBA with his athleticism. USA today  compared him to Jimmy Butler or Kawhi. Those two did not have the aggression or ball handling that Justise has coming out of college. Now, Winslow is still raw. He has moments where he predetermines he’s going to the basket, which will not work at the next level. However, he’s got the Eurostep and left handedness going for him already…

Going forward

It was a fairly typical regular season. The Big Ten beat each other up. The ACC was strong and showed it in the tourney. The Big 12 was strong and took a crap at center court because some things never change. Whatever the Big East is now had a couple good teams, then failed to meet expectations. West coast basketball, as we used to know it, doesn’t exist anymore.

I want to look at the bigger picture moving forward in college basketball. The toothpaste, as the saying goes, is out of the tube. Coach K is now recruiting freshmen that will, in all likelihood, leave after a year. This year you saw what a good coach can do with a couple of those players. Duke was up and down all season, but that’s because Krzyzewski had to speed his process up. He had one season to fit pieces together instead of 2 or 3. While this resulted in some bad losses early, the skipper found out what he needed to know about his 18 and 19 year old kids. We saw how that came together in the tournament.

This is not saying Calipari is a bad coach; he just isn’t a great one. He’s an amazing recruiter and a solid coach. He’s just not transcendent, for whatever reason, with the X’s and O’s,and it cost them against Wisconsin. You can bet Coach K will always put his kids in a position to win, which is scary for all the rest.

So who is the next one to give in to the reality of college basketball? Bo Ryan will be the last. Tom Crean probably doesn’t know who won the national championship. Does Izzo jump next? Look out for Shaka down in Texas. Within 2 years that program will be formidable. Eventually, UCLA will hit on a prospect and jumpstart their program. Arizona has already started down that road.

Other programs will start selling out for these guys yearly. Previously, I think programs wanted the Kentucky players, but coaches were afraid they were just wasting time, and wondered if they could even win that way. Duke just proved you can, even without an Anthony Davis type superstar. If the rules regarding NBA eligibility don’t change, college basketball is drifting towards 6 or so elite teams that get the majority of these recruits and duel it out at the end of the year. There will be a few programs here and there that compete with a traditional approach, but even those team require running into NBA talent (see Wisconsin). Do we really want to see Kentucky, Texas and Duke battle it out each year? It’s good for the programs, but how good is it for the sport? How good is it for the players?

Thoughts on the 2015 Tournament

2015’s tournament ended up being the most entertaining one I’ve seen in nine or ten years.  Unfortunately, the brackets broke down in a way that forced me to confront a lot of my subsurface, unsorted views on the college basketball system as a whole.  My favorite part of the tournament was the entire second weekend: great games and personalities all around (Stainbrook 4 lyfe).

My biggest disappointment from the tournament ended up being the country-wide disdain for Kentucky’s players.  I watched just about all their tourney games (I think I missed their first and maybe second rounders) and several during the season.  Yeah, they were disproportionately good and yeah, I understand it gets old watching the same team be good year after year.  I know Calipari comes off slimy and tends to give (at best) semi-pompous interviews, but, I definitely was a convert.  That team was really fun.  I don’t mean that in the sense that they won, but it was how they won.  They flew around the court with three or four players playing above the rim against teams who were lucky if they had two guys who could even dunk.  Their starting five were usually faster, taller, and much more talented than anyone on the other team: there were players on Kentucky’s bench who likely would have started for every team they played this season.  I don’t ever remember seeing a team (granted, I didn’t watch 2012 Kentucky nearly as much as 2015 Kentucky) dominate the way this group did.

After looking back on their incredible run: I really don’t think those kids ever came off as jerks (I’m not counting the Aaron Harrison press conference because he’d just finished what was probably the hardest game of his life).  They played hard and they weren’t afraid to embarrass teams on the court, but for the most part they expressed themselves through their play.  Love or hate the Fab Five, this Kentucky team was not them (though the results were similar).

Following Kentucky’s loss to Wisconsin over the weekend, I sensed a Notre Dame over Miami-ish level of excitement from the sports narrative nebula.  I understand the thrill of seeing an underdog win, but the fervor that accompanied this particular upset made me uncomfortable.  So, why the hate?  Was it because every one of their players may leave UK to take their talents to the NBA?  Was it because no one likes Coach Calipari?  Bringing this back to Coach K doing things the Right Way: this morning the front page of ESPN ran an article with the lede, “Maybe it wasn’t the easiest adjustment, but Duke and coach Mike Krzyzewski adjusted to a one-and-done era.  And this young team won it all in this new world.”

I’m never excited when Duke wins anything because I get so sick of the persisting “Coach K does it the right way” narrative.  But, last night was particularly confounding because it’s become clear the “right way” has become “the Coach K Way” rather than being based on an idyllic set of rules that govern how college basketball should be.  It shuns the idea of self above the program, as long as convenient while maintaining elite level talent.  Coach K has spent the last six years aligning himself with the NBA’s megastars, thereby setting himself up to be a desirable destination for college players of any type: one-and-dones and 4 year starters alike.  Given how much time and resources Duke and Coach K have put into obtaining the highest level recruits, why is Duke given a pass for the one-and-done while Kentucky is the villain?