Invisible Oranges

This is an interesting artifact of Metallica’s history because it is the only Metallica recording which features both Dave Mustaine and Cliff Burton.  It also was the band’s first recording with Burton.

The demo includes the songs “Whiplash” and “No Remorse,” both of which ended up on the band’s debut LP Kill ‘Em All.

As expected, the quality of the demos is pretty sloppy, but it’s an interesting look at a band in its gestation period.  It also allows fans to compare the guitar work of Mustaine with that of his eventual replacement Kirk Hammett.  And in my opinion, Hammett was the much better choice (the only choice?) for Metallica.  He’s the perfect lead guitarist for them, and his solos on those two songs, as compared to Mustaine’s, show why.  Mustaine could play fast, sure; but the soloing felt lifeless.  Most people hail Mustaine as a technical wizard when it comes to soloing, but I’d rather have a guy like Hammett who can breathe new life into a song through his guitar work.

Of course, these are only demos, so it’s probably not fair to bash Mustaine too hard.  Still, count me as part of Team Kirk.

-Sam

Also, the former founding member and bassist of Megadeth, David Ellefson, is now back with the band after an 8-year hiatus!

Ellefson is responsible for a huge percentage of the original sound that Megadeth created over the years and it will be a treat for any true Megadeth fan to see him live in concert on the upcoming tours.

Megadeth is hitting the road before the American Carnage tour for a 20th Anniversary tour of their hit 1990 record, Rust In Peace.  Many Megadeth fans and metal fans worldwide claim that this is their best and most genre-changing album to date.  On this special tour, Megadeth will be playing the entire Rust In Peace track list from front to back.  David Ellefson is said to be rocking the bass guitar for these two upcoming tours.

Iced Earth

This album by Sons of Liberty is called “Brush-fires of the Mind” and is available for a free download on www.Sons-of-Liberty.net.  One could also listen to all the tracks right on the website, as well as read along with the lyrics of each track.

Schaffer states that this side project has nothing to do with Iced Earth.  Sons of Liberty represents his own views on where the world is heading and the music was written solely by him.

Jon Schaffer, whose previous musical themes and lyrics represent a true patriot of these United States of America, is attempting to awaken the nation and the world by spreading the word of the injustices that are committed by the most powerful people on the planet.

Schaffer urges all people to research the topics that are discussed on the website and the messages that are personified in the songs.  Jon has made the album free to everyone because he feels that every citizen of every country of the world has the right to know about the things mentioned on the album.

On the website, one can find links to documentaries that Jon has viewed and books that Jon has read in order to learn as much as possible about the subjects he speaks about in the nine songs of “Brush-fires of the Mind”. 

Home page: www.Sons-of-Liberty.net

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/sonsoflibertymusic

Twitter page: http://twitter.com/meettheshackles

As for other December 22nd songs that make me want to kill myself:  the song Escape (The Pina Colada Song) by Rupert Holmes topped the charts in 1979 and stayed there for 2 weeks.

Tomorrow is a better day, at the least — we’ll celebrate the birthday of Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder. Followed by Ricky Martin and Ryan Seacrest on the 24th.