Black Sheep Albums: Judas Priest's Turbo

ay, way back in the day, before I really started to get into Judas Priest, Turbo was probably the most infamous metal album I had ever heard of. Various scary words were tossed about to describe it:

DRUM MACHINES

SYNTHESIZERS

POP MELODIES

DISCO BEATS

Shit, any metal band throwing those things on an album was pretty much suicide, I thought.

Nate JacobsMarch 30, 2015black sheep albums, judas priest, turbo, nate jacobs, metalComment

Black Sleep Albums: Black Sabbath's Never Say Die

Megadeth mainman Dave Mustaine once said that Never Say Die was his favourite Black Sabbath album. Dave's pretty nutty, and Never Say Die! is arguably the weakest of the seminal Black Sabbath output (with Ozzy, that is), but that's not to say this album is without merit.

I remember hearing the title track on an Ozzy's Speak of the Devil live album. My high school bud, Sam, had sold it to me for $5, and I just remember thinking, "this doesn't sound like Sabbath at all." Apart from the compelling chorus, the rest of the track sounds like an upbeat Thin Lizzy song, most particularly "the Boys are Back in Town," which never did much for me. So I bought almost all the other Sabbath albums but this, leaving my other friend, Max, to buy every single goddamn Sabbath album. I asked him about this one, and he said it wasn't too good. I stayed away. Let sleeping dogs lie, right?

Nate JacobsMarch 28, 2015black sheep albums, black sabbath, never say die, nate jacobs, metalComment

5 Awesome Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Autumn Albums

There's this whole concept of the "summer song," to which I was introduced while performing my first tour of duty as a line cook. Basically, it's some douchey, happy go-lucky song, accompanied with lyrics about summer, parties, and swimming in the lake. While almost everyone can and should enjoy the fruits of summer, summer songs are decidely not my cup of tea. And I'm not alone, if to judge by the reactions of my other fellow cooks of yore. Maybe, I've just got a bunch of negative jackass friends, but summer songs can really grate on one's nerves after about first few measures.

And you can always hear those things coming a mile away. Even in the beginning of May, we'd have the summer song pegged, before the temperature had even breached 70. I can remember working frantically while some of those tunes played over and over that first summer. Luckily, we soon had iPods and Pandora to replace the rickety old stereo and summer songs were soon gone from our lives.

But there's a counterpoint to those saccharine sweet jingles: the fall album. It's the antithesis of a summer song: it's meant for slow enjoyment, relaxation, and reflection. You listen to an autumn album all the way through. There must be a slight touch of melancholy to it, but not hopelessness. No, that's better for winter. And if it features lyrics about autumn or fall themed artwork, then it's a winner.

I can't speak for all genres, and I'm not going to go into extreme metal, so here are my top 5 in the hard rock/heavy metal category.

Taste testing the forbidden fruit.