Podcast #191: Tarakian

Somebody's gotta keep things solid on the low-end in UFO. That man, ladies and gentlemen, is Rob De Luca.Fans of the legendary 1981 animated masterpiece, Heavy Metal, no doubt remember the classic rock tunes from the soundtrack. Well, it's on and poppin' as Genghis & Ragman put together their musical picks for the impending Heavy Metal reboot. Join the lads as they play Hollywood producers, offering their ideas for stories, voice actors and, most importantly of all, killer tunes.

Then the lads chew the rag with journeyman bassist Rob De Luca (UFO) as he talks about his time in the legendary hard rock band as well as his work in his own notable band Spread Eagle and his work with Sebastian Bach. It's gonna be good, so grab a cold one, settle in, and get those horns up!

Video Of The Show: Thin Lizzy - Live In Concert 1983

Beer of the Show: Ivan The Terrible Imperial Stout (Big Sky Brewing)
	Appearance: 3.5 Aroma: 3.0 Palate: 3.5 Taste: 3.5 Overall: 3.5	"A pretty straightforward - but delicious - imperial stout (read: strong) with smoky, bitter chocolate notes. Na sdarovie!"

Featured Tracks: Frankenstein Rooster - Walking Shred; Thin Lizzy - Bad Reputation; Don Felder - Takin' A Ride (Heavy Metal); Dare - Runaway; Riggs - Radar Rider; Cheap Trick - Reach Out And Take It; Metallica - Trapped Under Ice

Ragman's Classic Of The Show: Diving For Pearls - Gimme Your Good Lovin'

Genghis' Classic Of The Show: Queensrÿche - I Don't Believe In Love

Ragman's Pick Of The Show: Eclipse - Stand On Your Feet

Genghis' Pick Of The Show: Cyrax - Cockroach

- Genghis does realize he's had the same pick of the show twice in a row...

Podcast #191: Tarakian

Update on Monday, July 20, 2015 at 5:53PM by Genghis

Some aural weirdness apparently happened during Rob's interview, but the file's been reworked. You can re-download now for a corrected version.

Opul - Levels

Man, Matt Lupo (East Of The Wall) writes some tasty stoner metal. Let's hope he keeps up with this.As impressive as the music of East Of The Wall is, it's beginning to impress me more how fertile a training ground it seems to be for new talent. In fact, names from acclaimed outfit's roster seem to be popping up all over the place these days, like El Drugstore and now Opul, and its solo EP Levels, from guitarist/vocalist Matt Lupo.

Now this is some grade A stoner jams with a nice crunch that I could leave on repeat all weekend. This record is plain bad-ass, kids. The sound's reminiscient of the off-kilter, meaty, rhythymically progressive jams of a band like the criminally underrated Eniac Requiem crossed with the melodic sensibility of King's X. Indeed From the mellow jam of opener Presence, through Velocity & Saturation's hypnotic drone, to closer Clarity's chimey shimmer and glassy strumming, the melodic glue that holds it together is enhanced by the ethereal vocals of mastermind Lupo himself. While this effort doesn't sound like East Of The Wall or El Drugstore, the connection between these bands may be the incredible diversity and creativity amongst its shared members.

The Bottom Line: Whether you're a stoner metal fan or just looking for something new that sounds fresh-but-different than most of the music on the heavier side of 21st century rock and roll spectrum, this is your jam.

- Genghis will be cranking this album quite a bit in his new car...

The Inspector Cluzo - Gasconha Rocks

"At that time I engaged in my sworn duty as an officer of the law." I love that scene.You gotta love those plucky DIY duos like One-Eyed Doll where virtually every aspect of the band's product is done by its members, as it is with energetic French rockers, The Inspector Cluzo.

This is classic grassroots rock and roll; raucous, hungry, energetic, unapologetic - and, ultimately, fun as hell. It's rather interesting to hear these cats pound out raw jams without a bass player in sight (though with the occasional co-hort) on the album. But what I really dig is the funk edge that tunes like Lo Camin de la Hesta display, complete with horn section. Especially where the aforementioned song is followed up with the dirty slide work of The Duck Guit Blues. I'm telling you, this is a band that knows what moves your feet and they seem to be having an utter blast the whole time, which is totally infectious - I mean Better Off In Afghanistan has a fucking mouth harp playing in it! Genius.

The Bottom Line: Down and dirty rock and roll, with a little funk edge, is alive and kicking in France of all places. DIYers The Inspector Cluzo know how to rock a joint with a genuine esprit de corps. It's that kind of energy and love of music that keeps the genre evergreen. Vive l'esprit de l'homme ordinaire!

- Genghis kinda wishes he could've seen these cats play SXSW...

It's that time again.

"So long, suckers!"Yup, it's that time of year when The Right To Rock staff goes on summer sabbatical. We could say we're recharging our batteries, but who are we kidding? We'll likely come back worse than ever.

In all seriousness, the lads want to wish everyone out there in metal land a happy and safe summer vacation wherever you roam, and they look forward to returning with some new podcasts as soon as they can. So until then...

Horns up!

Mörglbl - Tea Time For Punks

M. Godin et ses amis font un excellent musique ensemble. Écoutez et vous serez surpris.I never tire of instrumental guitar music, you guys know that. And when I reviewed Mörglbl's album Brutal Romance three years ago, I marvelled at French guitar wizard Christophe Godin's fretboard mastery. And to be sure, bassist Ivan Rougny and drummer Aurelian Ouzoulias are also well-respected, endorsed clinicians who deliver in spades.

Tea Time For Punks is as unclassifiable an album from an unclassifiable band as you will enjoy, if you're a fan of bands like Freak Kitchen, Steve Vai, or their guitar primogenitor, Frank Zappa. Basically what I call space rock in that its practitioners sound like they come from fucking outer space in terms of their insane skills. They're just on a whole other level above us mortals in their preternatural mastery of music, plain and simple.

That said, all of the expected playful genre-hopping is here for your enjoyment, with the kind of awe-inspiring synchronicity that great trios are made of. Knee-jerk time signature changes and exotic scales abound in a heavy raucous atmosphere where anything can and does happen, all played with tongue in cheek - which is part of the appeal, as I can never get into anyone who takes themselves too seriously no matter how talented they are. Mörglbl may be musical demi-gods amongst us, but you always feel like you could sit down and shoot the shit with them in some little diner after the show.

The Bottom Line: You pretty much can't go wrong when a trio of seasoned master musicians get together for uninhibited jamming. And Mörglbl's metal fusion style is just the ticket for guitarheads waiting for a new fix during the summer lethargy.

- Genghis aimerait rencontrer ces gens un jour...