Tuesday Six – 11/29/2011

One holiday down, two to go. Unseasonably warm weather and a road trip to NC made last week a fine one. Now we are back to reality, nose to the grindstone, all the while being bombarded with constant ads and commercials reminding us to spend, spend, spend this Christmas (I swear I want that insane Target lady shot). Lucky for us, we have our old friend music to help us through the day. On to the Six…

1. Tool – Ænima

The title track from my all-time favorite Tool album, I absolutely love this one. It’s funny, Tool’s music (to me) isn’t depressing at all, I just can’t listen to it if I’m in a chipper, happy mood. The more dour my mood is, the more I love and appreciate Tool’s music. I dunno. Great song though.

2. Dirty Rotten Imbeciles – Suit and Tie Guy

Ah, some good high school memories of this one (especially friends playing this one at our school’s battle of the bands). D.R.I. was one of the early innovators of the crossover thrash genre, mixing the thrash metal sound with punk and hardcore influences, a genre kept alive today by bands like Municipal Waste, Toxic Holocaust and Gama Bomb. Classic stuff right here.

3. The Exploited – I Never Changed

Speaking of crossover thrash, Scotland’s The Exploited have their roots in straightforward stripped down punk rock, but over the years have evolved into a furious, supercharged crossover thrash band, keeping the punk element intact while adding in a brutal metal assault in their music. This one’s off of 2003’s Fuck the System.

4. Danzig – Devil’s Plaything

A great tune from my top Danzig album, Danzig II – Lucifuge. The classic Danzig lineup at its best (Danzig, John Christ, Eerie Von and Chuck Biscuits), This whole album just kills from start to finish, and I especially love this song. Dark, sexy and powerful, huge vocals and music that works perfectly together with each other. Loved it since the day it came out, always will.

5. White Zombie – Blood, Milk and Sky

A fantastic song from the Astro-Creep 2000 album, this ended the album on a slightly different note than the rest of the album, with an eerie, heavy, churning groove, and low, subtle vocals, with a slight middle-eastern flavor at times, even taking a nod from Kashmir between verses. The vid I linked works perfectly as well, with clips of classic burlesque set to the song.

6. King Giant – Desert Run

KG’s ode to the open road and life on two wheels, I had this on on the iPod while riding through Calabash, NC and the Old Man’s HD Super Glide this past weekend. Sun beaming down on my face, wind in my hair, thunderous riffs in my ears…perfect.

“Fill the tank, grab a beer, I’m on my way.”