Saturday Song To Walk With Me In Hell To

Willie Adler, Mark Morton, Randy Blythe, Chris Adler, & John Campbell AKA Heavy Metal Santa

"Walk With Me In Hell" by Lamb of God


I firmly believe that "Walk With Me In Hell" is one of the best songs written in the last ten years. Yeah, I'll admit that I am obscenely biased, but I also consider the song to be Lamb of God's magnum opus. In fifty years, when music critics wonder what metal sounded like at the beginning of the century, WWMIH will be one of the songs they listen to, if only because of the stature of the band that first recorded it.

I know I've hinted at this before, but Lamb of God is the most popular and respected metal band on the planet, and it has been ever since the release of 2004's Ashes of the Wake. That record, along with Mastodon's Leviathan and Killswitch's Alive or Just Breathing, effectively killed off the commercial viability of nu-metal (Limp Bizkit, anyone?) and helped usher in a modern metal renaissance. Everybody loves Mastodon, too, but people love them for their wholly unique prog/mosh factor; they've always been viewed as "the thinking man's metal band," and they definitely take the prize for Most Beloved Metal Band By People Who Don't Really Like To Listen To Metal. Everybody listens to Killswitch for the sing-a-long factor, but that attracts almost as many fans as anti-fans, if that's a word.

People listen to Lamb of God simply because they're metal as f***. Nowadays, it seems like every band can be categorized within a smorgasbord of metal subgenres: "Oh, well they're progressive death metal." or "Dude, that band is clearly stoner sludge metal." Well, Lamb of God is just metal. That's it. Sure, you can find traces of groove, thrash, punk, and death metal, but only as pieces of the greater picture. Their straightforward approach is one of the biggest reasons they are so loved by even the hardest old-school fans; when their contemporaries began to get more melodic and add singing, Lamb of God only got defiantly more brutal. Outside of Mastodon, you'd be hard pressed to find a metal band today that is so fiercely loved by such a large group of people. For comparison's sake, they are today's Metallica, which is weird to say because that band is actually still around (or so I'm told). The only difference is that they sound more like Pantera and we don't have to worry about Lamb of God going for the cash grab and putting out the next Black Album. 

I mean, could you see Randy Blythe singing a ballad on MTV? Didn't think so.

Still unsure of how popular these guys are? Then read closely: I have a few Lamb of God shirts, but one is a clear favorite of mine. It seems like every time I wear it to a show, at least one person there says something nice about the shirt and/or band. ("nice": weird, right? at a metal show?) Last summer, I took this shirt with me on a study abroad trip to Paris. The shirt has the words "PURE AMERICAN METAL" prominently displayed on the back, and I wanted to see if I could piss off some Frenchmen, you know, because of their apparent deep-seated hatred of anything American . Well, this little social experiment backfired in the most heartwarming way possible. I was standing outside of our hotel smoking a cigarette when the concierge from the front desk walked up to me and said: "Lamb of God? They're incredible! I f***ing love them!" Any lingering doubt I had about the band's popularity died before I finished my Lucky Strike. 

There isn't a weak link in the band. John Campbell holds down the bass and doubles as one of the chillest dudes ever. Chris Adler provides a unique, heavily percussive voice through his drum kit; there's little doubt as to why he is one of the more respected drummers in metal. Just look up "ruin fill" on YouTube. Guitarists Willie Adler and Mark Morton complement each other perfectly; Willie has a faster, thrashier style of playing while Mark plays with a touch of blues and provides most of the guitar solos. Vocalist Randy Blythe is the head of the beast, and his vocals have only gotten meaner and nastier over the years. Although he may sound like he gargles with broken glass, Randy is also an incredible lyricist, so the lines he vomits forth on record and onstage are far from meaningless. 

"Walk With Me In Hell" starts out with an epic-sounding guitar intro that draws heavily upon Iron Maiden. This part then explodes into a driving groove that you can't help but headbang to, ending with Randy's ominous first line. Both verses have a good rhythm, but Randy goes full-on beast mode in the second verse with a full guttural growl. Each verse is accentuated with little guitar pieces that hint at the explosion of notes that comes with the opening of the chorus. Randy's refrain of "Take hold of my hand / for you are no longer alone. / Walk with me in Hell" during the chorus is what really makes this song special to me. Of course, there is an incredible guitar solo towards the end, but the chorus is really what sets this song apart, in my opinion. 

Despite what the title may suggest, there is no religious connotation for the song. After Google sleuthing for quite some time, all I could find is that the song is supposedly about the "destruction of codependency" and was written by Mark as a sort of love song for his wife. This fits in with the lyrical content for the rest of the Sacrament record. Whereas earlier Lamb of God albums were vitriolic proclamations against government and the war in Iraq, Sacrament covered the more personal topics of addiction, religion, and failed relationships. Personally, I take the lyrics of WWMIH to mean that we live in what can be a dark, messed up world, but no matter what, I'll be here with you. 

Watch the videos and read the lyrics. Gain an appreciation for what many believe to be the last great true metal band. 

Other than Mastodon, of course!

Music Video:

Live:

Lyrics:

Pray for blood,
Pray for the cleansing,
Pray for the flood,
Pray for the end of this nightmare.
This lie of a life can as quickly as it came dissolve.
We seek only reprieve and welcome the darkness.
The myth of a meaning so lost and forgotten.

Take hold of my hand,
For you are no longer alone.
Walk with me in hell.

Pray for solace,
Pray for resolve,
Pray for a savior,
Pray for deliverance, some kind of purpose.
A glimpse of a light in this void of existence.
Now witness the end of an age.
Hope dies in hands of believers.
Who seek the truth in the liar's eye.

Take hold of my hand,
For you are no longer alone.
Walk with me in hell.

You're never alone.

Music To Quit Smoking To

"Weak and Powerless" by A Perfect Circle & "11th Hour" by Lamb of God

Regrettably, smoking has become a problem for me. Over the past year or so, I've taken comfort in cigarettes because they offered an immediate release from the stresses and nuances of being a twenty-two-year-old stuck between the end of his college experience (sort of) and the beginning of his career. I'm not ashamed or apologetic about smoking, but I'm certainly not proud of it, either. By the way, this is the closest I will ever come to writing about "my feelings" on this blog, so if that's your thing, then read this post closely. Mercifully, I've yet to advance to chain smoking, so I figured it's as good a time as any to kick the habit. I'm almost done with a memorably long and uneventful summer, but somehow I'm smoking about half as much as I did back in May. Keeping this in mind, as well as the fact that I start school next week, it only makes sense that I take the next logical step: quitting completely. 

It also doesn't hurt that I finally got to smoke Lucky Strikes one more time.

It's August. The Summer doldrums are coming to a close and the Fall, with offerings of graduate accounting courses, football games and new Mastodon music, will be closer at the end of this post than it is right now. Any stress that comes my way will be easier to manage with the strict regimen of a full schedule (Trust me, this makes more sense than you think.) and the comfort of being able to watch Tom Brady & Co. win games and Arian Foster do "namaste" bows and rack up those fantasy points for the South Georgia 229ers.

Anyone who gives interviews in an imaginary pterodactyl language
will always have a place on my fantasy team.

Just like anything else that happens in my life, the quest to conquer the nicotine bug will be accompanied by the appropriate soundtrack. "Weak and Powerless" is a softer song built around a driving bass line and Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan's moody voice. The song is about drug addiction, and a cursory glance at the lyrics will suggest as much; also, the weird music video plays into that theme.

"11th Hour" is a haunting song about the lonely perils of alcoholism. The brooding lyrics and creepy guitar harmonics have made this song one of my favorites; only "Walk With Me In Hell" has more plays on my iTunes. It's one of several standout tracks from the seminal As The Palaces Burn, the album on which Lamb of God became Lamb of God. 

Before I post the videos and incredible lyrics, (Read the f***ing lyrics. They're probably better than anything else you or I will come across, save for tomorrow's Saturday Song and a few Jesse Leach tracks.) I'd like to reaffirm the fact that I'm serious about quitting cigarettes and that I will succeed. I honestly hope that you enjoy these songs and take them to heart (srs). Oh, and by the way, there's a reason that Lamb of God is the most popular and respected metal band out there today. More on that tomorrow. Enjoy.

Weak and Powerless Music Video:

Weak and Powerless Live (2010):

Lyrics:

Tilling my own grave to keep me level
Jam another dragon down a hole
Digging to the rhythm and the echo of a solitary siren
One that pushes me along and leaves me so

Desperate and Ravenous
I'm so weak and powerless over you

Someone feed the monkey while I dig in search of China
White as Dracula as I approach the bottom

Little angel go away
Come again some other day
The devil has my ear today
I'll never hear a word you say
He promised I would find a little solace
And some piece of mind
Whatever just as long as I don't feel so

Desperate and Ravenous
I'm so weak and powerless
over you 

11th Hour Music Video:

11th Hour Live (2004):

11th Hour Live (2007):

Lyrics:

The hour of reckoning draws near
Judgment day is here and gone
Sweetly she draws me into her arms
A liquid embrace to chase the day way.
Sedate Numb Deaf and Dumb
Stumbling into solitude.
A clouded judgment day is fueled.
Take me under your black wings
Mark my words and remember me.
So sweetly she shucks away at my time
So sweetly she draws me nigh
Closer and closer towards never ending sleep
Spin the bottle
Kiss only the bottle.
The dark mistress of many, beholden to none
Slips a ring of needles around your arm in an engagement
Eternal engagement
Never consummated.
Take me under your black wings
Mark my words and remember me.
Destroyer of senses.
So take as needed for the pain
Another gray morning dawns across an ashen sky.
My sweet demoness beckons me
Ever again and again and again and again.
The dark mistress of many, beholden to none
My sweet demoness beckons me
Ever again and again and again and again and again.
Take me under your black wings.
Jacked up on the taste of self-destruction.

Saturday Songs To Jam To

"Firmament" and "She Was The Universe" by The Ocean


Based out of Berlin, The Ocean has consistently put out albums steeped in post-metal soundscapes, progressive lyrical arrangements, and touches of classical music. The band has described its sound as being "ambient soundtrack doom rock." The band was founded as "The Ocean Collective" in 2000, and nearly 40 different members joined and left before a stable lineup took hold, with guitarist and primary songwriter Robin Staps being the only constant. The band's earlier work was entirely instrumental, but vocals were introduced on later works Aeolian and Fluxion. Guest artists performed the vocals for both albums, with Nate Newton (from Finch) being arguably the most prominent among them.

In 2010, the band released two records, Heliocentric and Anthropocentric, which collectively represented a scholarly critique of Christianity. With the former being more "experimental and atmospheric" and the latter being "more straightforward," The Ocean's two 2010 releases have been viewed as legitimate contenders for "Album of the Year" honors by the greater metal community. Regardless of your religious leanings, the records' content is compelling, and the arguments set forth and sung/screamed compellingly by new vocalist Loïc Rossetti invite criticism and debate about some of the hallmarks of Christianity. In all honesty, it's a refreshing take on religious commentary by a metal band; Rossetti largely eschews the abrasive and sometimes violent rhetoric of bands like Whitechapel and Any Norwegian Black Metal Band.

Lyrical content aside, The Ocean's music is dense and intricate, requiring repeat listens with headphones. Heliocentric opener "Firmament" is arguably one of the better metal songs released in 2010, and several tracks from Anthropocentric follow suit. With the exception of the final line, "Firmament" is entirely taken from Genesis. "She Was The Universe" is a more dramatic song about a man reflecting on whether or not to turn away from his Christian faith. 

Both records boast impressive album artwork and packaging, and before I leave you with the aforementioned songs, I'd like to include a John Mill quote from Anthropocentric that is as provocative as it is appropriate:

Christian morality has all the characters of a reaction; it is, in great part, a protest against Paganism. Its ideal is negative rather than positive; passive rather than action; innocence rather than Nobleness; Abstinence from Evil, rather than energetic Pursuit of Good: in its precepts (as has been well said) "thou shalt not" predominates unduly over "thou shalt."

Firmament

Lyrics:

And God said,

Let there be light

In the firmament of the heaven.

Let there be lights in heaven to divide the day from the night;

And let them be for signs, for seasons and for days, and years;

And let them be for lights in the firmament to give light upon the earth.

And it was so, and God made two great lights;

The greater light to rule the day,

And the lesser light to rule the night; the stars as well.

And God set them in the firmament to give light upon the earth,

And to rule over the day and over the night

And to divide the darkness from the light.

Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters

And God said,

Let the waters bring forth, abundantly, the moving creature that hath life,

And foul that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

...Or so do some people believe.

She Was The Universe:

Lyrics:

I had a dream which was not all a dream
The sun was extinguished
And the stars wandered darkling in space
Rayless, and pathless
And the icy Earth swung blind and blackened in the moonless air
And men forgot their passions in the dread
Of this their desolation; And all hearts were chilled into a selfish prayer for light: They did live by watchfires
And the thrones of crowned kings
Habitations of all things which dwell
Were burnt for beacons
Oh Lord, I lack the strength
To turn and leave you
There's no confidence
In my hesitation
Happy were those who dwelt in the eye of the volcanoes
Their mountain-torch: A fearful hope was all the world contained
Forests were set on fire
But hour by hour they fell and faded
The crackling trunks extinguished with a crash - And all was black
The brows of men by the despairing light wore an unearthly aspect
The flashes fell upon them; Some lay down and hid their eyes
And some did rest
Their chins upon their clenched hands, and smiled
And vipers crawled
And twined themselves among the multitude
Hissing, but stingless
They were slain for food
A meal was bought with blood
And each sate apart
Gorging himself in gloom: No love was left

Saturday Song To Celebrate Covers To

"Reckoner" covered by Gnarls Barkley
The cover song has been a mainstay of the contemporary music scene for as long as music critics can remember. Just like anything in popular music, it can have a polarizing effect; plenty of careers and lawsuits have been launched from the performance of cover songs. However, for the most part, covers are a valuable experience that helps keep music fresh.


A cover song is a tangible demonstration of an artist's appreciation for music. It's easy to forget that our favorite singers and bands are fans of music too. When a band performs a cover song, it should be viewed as a tribute to the artist they're covering. It can be a unique, refreshing take on a classic song. Marilyn Manson's cover of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" helped launch the shock rocker into the mainstream because it did what any good cover song should do: highlight what made the original such a great song while also showcasing the talents and uniqueness of the covering artist. 

He still freaks me out, though.

In some cases, a cover is so well done that it becomes more popular than the original. Johnny Cash's stirring rendition of "Hurt" was a smash hit when it was released, but many people have forgotten that it was actually a cover of a Nine Inch Nails song. Trent Reznor's reaction to Johnny Cash's version is further proof of how powerful and poignant a cover song can be: "I pop the video in, and wow... Tears welling, silence, goose-bumps... Wow. [I felt like] I just lost my girlfriend, because that song isn't mine anymore... It really made me think about how powerful music is as a medium and art form. I wrote some words and music in my bedroom as a way of staying sane, about a bleak and desperate place I was in, totally isolated and alone. [Somehow] that winds up reinterpreted by a music legend from a radically different era/genre and still retains sincerity and meaning — different, but every bit as pure."

Covers can also be a fickle beast, though. Fans of the original artist occasionally get angry that someone else "attempted to play the song" or "failed to do it justice." Unfortunately, many people get locked into their dogmatic, defensive view that nothing can be as good as the original, and it's a shame that they equate "different" to "inferior." I enjoy covers because they're different; if I wanted to hear a straight copy of the original, I would just listen to the original. This is why I enjoy listening to Limp Bizkit's tongue-in-cheek butchering of George Michael's "Faith" and Killswitch Engage's cover of Dio's "Holy Diver" (R.I.P. Ronnie James Dio). Killswitch even took it a step further by spoofing the original music video with a hilarious knights-and-wizards video of their own, starring Mike D'Antonio as the knight, Justin Foley as the king, Joel Stretzel as the wizard, Adam D as the princess, and Howard Jones as the self-proclaimed "African-Americansmith."

However, I will begrudgingly admit that there have been a few horrible covers that even I can't find the heart to love.

Pfffffffft

Many of my favorite bands have performed covers that caught me by surprise; I guess it's just proof of how artists aren't  pigeonholed into listening to only the type of music that they make. I was shocked to learn that, for the most part, the members of Lamb of God (the preeminent, dominant patriarch of the modern metal tree) don't really listen to metal that often. Deftones recently put out an album of only cover songs, many of them from artists that greatly influenced the band; the record features covers of bands like The Smiths, Duran Duran, The Cure.... and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Don't be confused though; cover songs are no gimmick. If they were, then bands wouldn't regularly perform them live. Aaron Lewis, the legendary frontman of Staind, goes on a solo tour and does acoustic covers of songs by his band and others like Bob Seger, Pink Floyd, Smashing Pumpkins, and Alice in Chains. "Holy Diver" became so popular among Killswitch fans that the song is now a staple of their live show, usually as the closing song. Mastodon regularly covers Melvins' "The Bit" to close out their shows. 

An Aaron Lewis solo show is still the
elusive white whale of my concert resume.

I recently stumbled upon YouTube videos of Gnarls Barkley performing Radiohead's "Reckoner." I was admittedly skeptical at first. Don't get me wrong, I loved their first record, St. Elswhere, but I was doubtful that the pairing of Gnarls Barkley and Radiohead would work. Well, I was wrong. Cee Lo Green's incredible voice does wonders in replicating Thom Yorke's haunting tone, and the backing band also does a fantastic job. I'm pretty sure that this is my favorite cover of any song by any band. Check out the video and decide for yourself. Enjoy.

"Reckoner" by Gnarls Barkley