Famous Underground - S/T

Do you remember Slik Toxik?  I do sort of.  They hit the scene, right as grunge was rearing it's ugly head, back in the early 90's.  The band had some moderate success, but soon disappeared, as most hard rock bands, did at the time.  Even though grunge killed the scene in the early 90's, vocalist Nick Walsh has persevered and has been flying the hard rock/metal flag.  His latest endeavor is Famous Underground, which is a nice mix of 80's tinged hard rock with a modern vibe.  The CD starts off strong with the opener Wasteland and does not let up from there.  The songs are well executed and catchy as hell.  There is a nice mix of rockers with a couple of ballads thrown in for good measure.  The songs have a heavy edge, but overflow with melody.  This is one of those CD's, that you catch yourself singing along to, after just a few spins.  Go get this one.

 

Bottom Line: 80's tinged melodic hard rock with an edge.  Welll crafted tunes that are memorable and that will stick with you.  Nick Walsh showing that you can't keep a good man down, and that he can rock as hard as he did 20 years ago.

Standout Tracks: Wasteland, Love Stands Still, Dead Weight and On Broken Wings

-Ragman likes a good comeback story.

Podcast #156: Maestro

We see you trying to hide behind your black guitar, Ethan! Now make with the shreddery!What's the state of the instrumental guitarist market these days? In an ever more challenging market can a guy make it on his own as an instrumentalist? Join Genghis and Ragman as they discuss these challenges making it as a solo artist. Speaking of which, the lads caught newcomer Ethan Brosh and his band opening for The Maestro, Yngwie Malmsteen live in H-town and give you the skinny on the show and more - including an interview with Ethan who discusses his latest solo effort, Live the Dream, and his 80s-tinged band project Burning Heat. The Bonus Plan: We briefly chatted with New York prog group Martyrd between sets as well. It's a 7th anniversary blow out!

DVD of the Show: Yngwie J. Malmsteen - Far Beyond the Sun

Beer of the Show: Yogi Spiced Amber (Rogness Brewing Company)
	Appearance: 3.5 Aroma: 3.0 Palate: 2.5 Taste: 2.5 Overall: 2.5	"If this beer tasted as good as it smells, it would be a solid four all the way. Unfortunately..."

Featured Tracks: Yngwie Malmsteen - I’ll See the Light Tonight and Crystal Ball; Alex Skolnick - Filet of Soul; Deadlands - She’s on Fire; Jeff Loomis - Requiem for the Living; Martyrd - The Keeper and Pain or Reason; Ethan Brosh - Silver Lining, Space Invaders, Knock on Wood, Suspicious Exchange and When Picks Fly

Ragman’s Classic of the Show: Lost Horizon - Perfect Warrior

Genghis’ Classic of the Show: Hanoi Rocks - Back to Mystery City

BY THE WAY: Happy 7th birthday to us! And thanks to all of our listeners. Horns Up!

- Ragman can't believe another year has passed by...

Podcast #156: Maestro

Podcast #155: Laurels

Hard rock versions of The Fab Four might just be crazy enough to work...Is it right for an artist to live off his past glory? So many artists leave the bands that made them a household name to become solo acts while relying on their former band's material when they play live - despite having good music on their own (e.g. Sebastian Bach, Vince Neil, David Lee Roth). Join Genghis and Ragman as they discuss the artists they wish would play more solo material and leave the past behind them. Next, the boys round up Grg III from Beatallica for a fireside chat, as Grg discusses the band's debut CD, Abbey Load as well as how the band came together.

DVD of the Show: Sebastian Bach - Abachalypse Now

Beer of the Show: Brainless on Cherries (Epic Brewing Company)
	Appearance: 4.0 Aroma: 2.5 Palate: 2.5 Taste: 2.5 Overall: 2.5	"What started out as an outstanding looking beer turned out to be a gorgeous disappointment."

Featured Music: Black Cowgirl - The Ride; Sebastian Bach - Kicking and Screaming; Halford - Resurrection; David Lee Roth - Drop in the Bucket; Vince Neil - Another Bad Day; Slaughter - All Fired Up; Ozzy Osbourne - My Little Man; Stratovarius - Castles in the Air; Beatallica - Come Together, Help!, Michelle, Please, Please Me, Her Majesty and The End

Ragman's Classic of the Show: Danger Danger - Crawl

Genghis' Classic of the Show: Giant - Innocent Days

Ragman Pick of the Show: Pretty Maids - I See Ghosts

Genghis Pick of the Show: In the Silence - Serenity

- Ragman is trying to make up for lost time...

Podcast #155: Laurels

Witches Mark - Witching Metal Ritual

Someone pinch me, because, I think I've been transported back to 1982.  That is the way I felt, when I put in the new CD from Witches Mark.  This band has a sound that hearkens back to the good ole days.  Taking inspiration from bands like, Slayer, Venom and Omen, these guys have a formula that will get you scurrying off, to find your denim jean jacket.  Witches Mark is rooted in that classic traditional metal sound, with a dark edge.  If someopne would have told me this came out in the early 80's I would have believed them, because the production and the style of the songs are very reminiscent of early 80's metal.

Witching Metal Ritual has a nice variety of rockers and thrashers, with a slew of guest appearances.  Most notably, Jason McMaster (Dangerous Toys and Broken Teeth) and Ross the Boss (Ex-Manowar) make contributions, but unfortunately that wasn't enough to make this one a stellar release.  Even though I liked the majority of the CD, I thought that it could have been better, had the prodcution been stronger.  The songs were there, but they sounded dated, due to the production.  As I stated earlier, this band's roots are in classic metal, but that doesn't mean that they have to sound, as dated as they do.  Don't get me wrong, there are some solid tunes on this record and it was a fun listen, but I just think, they could benefit more, by not sounding so dated.

Bottom Line:  A new band showing their colors, by honoring classic metal.  Tight songs that will get the blood pressure up.  A new band that sounds old.

Standout Tracks: We Die, Cauldron Born, Swarm and Glaves.

-Ragman is looking for his denim vest to model for wifey. 

Fear the Forest

Fear the Forest isn't the worst movie I have seen in awhile, but it wasn't the best either.  It is one of those movies, that after you see it, you say it was so/so.  As you might have guessed, it is a B-Movie with all of the attributes.  It has classic bad acting and poor special effects, but to add insult to injury, the monster in this flick, looks like something from Where the Wild Things Are or even worse, H.R. Puff N Stuff.  I have to admit, I was laughing out loud when they showed the monster, supposedly ripping people to shreds.  The monster looked ridiculous.

The story is about a monster like figure, that is supposed to be Big Foot, that occupies the mountains in up-state New York.  There have been many unsolved mysteries of deaths in the woods, which were blamed on Big Foot or some mysterious being.  The long and short of it, is that some 20 something's, decide to make a camping expedition in these very hills and slowly get knocked off 1 by 1.  The movie wasn't too bad, but it did drag in spots.  A little too long, if I must say.  Also, the gore factor was way too tame for me.  This was the unrated version too, so I expected more, but didn't get it.  It could have been PG-13, easy.  Other than that, it was a fun watch.

Bottom Line:  Even though the creature looked like a wild boar on steroids, this one still held my attention.  Although I was never startled, at least I got a good laugh.

-Ragman is still chuckling at the monster, in this one.  Gold, Jerry, Gold.....