Back to Back Records: Afterburner by ZZ Top

I've got very strong feelings about ZZ Top's Eliminator. Along with Dire Straits' Brothers In Arms, I heard it played constantly at Digger's and the Bayside way back in the day. Just opening bars of "Legs" or "Sharp Dressed Man" can bring back the taste of those kick ass turkey sandwiches, or the seafood chowder. Eliminator is also bar none the perfect music for getting jiggy with it: it's never too fast, heavy, or sappy. The ladies can really shake it to the computerized beats, and the guys aren't forced to embrace their feminine side as the riffs reek of stale beer and exhaust. It is my firm conviction that Eliminator has been responsible for many, many pregnancies, and I'm absolutely sure that one of my friends back home was conceived to it.

Having said that, I prefer the 1985 follow-up album, Afterburner. While it is true that the Texan trio stepped further away from their blues roots and incorporated more drum machines and synthesizers into their formula, I find Afterburner to be the superior album. As a child of the 80's, I'm always going to be drawn to cheesy, overproduced music, as long as it's got big drums, vintage 80's space age technology, and at least one mandatory slow song, so this should come as no surprise.

This album is like a gritty Texas strip club dropped into Mad Max and Maximum Overdrive. Machines are threatening to take over, and humanity hangs in the balance, but then along comes the bearded posse that is ZZ Top to impregnate as many remaining females as possible. Not surprisingly, you'll find a lot of not-so-thinly-veiled sexual innuendos and a song that would have been perfect for a middle school dance all mixed with driving beats and killer riffs.

Nate JacobsJanuary 18, 2015nate jacobs, zz top, back to back records, rock, afterburner Comment

Back to Back Records: Elizium by Fields of Nephilim

Though being morbidly attracted to nearly anything bizarre and even creepy, I cannot call myself a goth by any stretch of the imagination. Nor can I say that I'm a big fan of "gothic" culture. It was for this very reason that I missed out on quite a bit of good music for a long time, and the two excellent bands which are Sisters of Mercy and the truely amazing Fields of the Nephilim. It took two of my favourite bands, Behemoth and Watain, to convince me to check out their work, namely their 1990 album, Elizium.

Enjoying the same production team and a similar to sound to Pink Floyd's Momentary Lapse of Reason (an unusual, but wonderful Floyd album in its own right), Fields of the Nephilim's third album brings their atmospheric approach to rock to new heights, and I dare say to the heavens themselves. To call this "goth rock" would be a real misnomer; though there are echoey vocals and murky atmosphere's everywhere, there's more than enough light to go around. It's the equivalent of a foggy day where the sun is always just on the verge of breaking through. It really makes me yearn for the day when I can get a good turntable, nice speakers, and a free night all to myself (and possibly likeminded individuals) to properly savour this masterpiece.

Nate JacobsDecember 14, 2014elizium, fields of nephilim, goth, rock, tunes, nate jacobs, back to back recordsComment

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.