Heavy Metal jewelry

October 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I’ve finally discovered a shop that blends two of my favorite things - jewelry and metal music - The Great Frog (Homepage | Originators of skull ringsOriginators of skull rings) located near Carnaby Street in Soho, London. According to their website, the list of clients reads like a who’s who of rock music and includes members of Metallica, Motorhead, Aerosmith, and Iron Maiden.  Best known for skull rings, The Great Frog handcarves all items on site so you’re assured of a unique piece.  If interested, they’ll also create bespoke jewelry but I’m sure that doesn’t come cheap! In the meantime, here are some of my favorites, all available on their website for purchase. As you can see, most of the jewelry is made with sterling silver but some items are available in gold or with stones.

Filed Under: Jewelry Tagged With: , , , , ,

Top 10 Rock Anthems

April 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I was watching a countdown program on MTV last night (no, I’m not too old to do that!) about the 100 best rock anthems. For some reason, songs by Coldplay, The Killers and The Strokes featured highly in the rankings. Don’t get me wrong, while I intensely dislike Coldplay, the latter two bands have made some cool songs like Somebody Told Me. I don’t consider them anthem-like though which is the reason I’ve decided to do my own countdown. Warning: I like heavy metal so my choices tend to feature loud guitar riffs!

#10 Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes. This band has only two members on lead guitar and drums but sonically the tunes are as big as any band’s. They also put out amazing videos and the one for Seven Nation Army is no exception featuring kaleidoscopic images in red, white and black.

YouTube – The White Stripes

Elephant album cover

#9 Freak on a Leash by Korn. As with the White Stripes, Korn is well known for their interesting videos. The one for Freak on a Leash uses animation and live performance to tell the story but what sets the song apart is lead singer Jonathan Davis’ charisma and delivery of lyrics. Plus, it’s rather aggressive so good to turn up on bad days!

YouTube – Korn – Freak On A Leash

 

Follow the Leader

 

#8 Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance. This song is the ultimate arena anthem with its sweeping sound and references to death and destruction. MCR is known as an “emo” band but this particular song rocks hard.

YouTube – My Chemical Romance – “Welcome to the Black Parade”

 

The Black Parade

 

#7 Walk This Way by Aerosmith and Run DMC. Go ahead, tell me you don’t know all the lyrics to this song and may even occasionally sing along! This collaboration was revolutionary as it paved the way for future rap-rock releases, even spawning an entire sub-genre.

YouTube – [MusicVideo] Run DMC ft Aerosmith – Walk This Way

 

The American Idol judge in action!

 

#6 We Will Rock You / We Are the Champions by Queen. This band practically invented stadium anthems – I wish I could have seen them play live as Freddy Mercury had the most beautiful voice in rock music.

YouTube – Queen – We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions (Live Aid ’85)

#5 Duality by Slipknot. This is metal at its finest, managing to combine intense brutality with a catchy chorus. I can remember when Slipknot were considered outcasts, even among hard rock fans, but they’ve become huge with the release of their last album All Hope is Gone.  I’ve seen them live and their energy on-stage matches the recordings!

YouTube – Slipknot – Duality

 

Vol 3

 

#4 American Idiot by Green Day. There is nobody better at capturing angst than Green Day despite the fact they must be approaching middle age by now! This is a politically charged song that still manages to be so uptempo that you can’t help jamming along.

YouTube – green day – american idiot HD

 

American Idiot

 

#3 Paradise City by Guns N’ Roses. This song is from one of the greatest rock albums of all time, Appetite For Destruction, which had a huge influence on my musical taste. The music video for Paradise City features live performances at Giants Stadium and Donington Park, England – the song just begs to be played on a big stage.

YouTube – Guns N’ Roses – Paradise City

 

Appetite For Destruction

 

#2 Back in Black by AC/DC. The ultimate “live” band, there are so many songs to choose from (“You Shook Me All Night Long” is another favorite) but I love Back in Black for its swagger and bluesy quality.

YouTube – AC/DC – Back In Black

 

Back In Black

 

#1 Blackened by Metallica. As you may know, Metallica is my favorite band of all-time and I went back and forth with this song selection. However if you see them live, there is no feeling like the anticipation that comes when Ennio Morricone’s Ecstasy of Gold comes on because you know what’s next, the thundering riffs of Blackened!

YouTube – Metallica – Blackened (Seattle `89)

 

And Justice For All

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Music Tagged With: ,

Strange but True

January 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Ok, so in the spirit of the new year, I have a confession to make: I am a 35-year old woman who loves heavy metal. I feel that I should clarify this a bit further while you stop laughing (yes, it’s still me, the same person who blogged about the practicality of Real Simple). I’m not talking about the watered down, hair metal 80s’ bands like Motley Crue and – gasp! – Whitesnake. No, I mean the loudest, most ear-pounding music by Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold, Korn, Disturbed, Anthrax and my all-time favorite Metallica. In fact, although I would assuredly be one of the oldest and most sober people there, attending the Download Festival in Donington, England (previously known as the Monsters of Rock) is on my bucket list. In the meantime, I’ll have to settle for the memories of the last 2 Metallica concerts I dragged my husband to in recent years. Now for those of you curious, Antonio and I could not have more disparate musical taste if we tried. He likes classical music (yawn), opera (double yawn) and Elton John (I won’t even comment). So you can imagine his disgust at having to attend these gigs. I’m not sure if it’s because he’s accepted my eccentricities or possibly has grown to like some of Metallica’s more mainstream songs (Enter Sandman comes to mind) but the second concert in Milan was much better tolerated.

I must, however, share the story of the first because it still makes me laugh to this day. It was May 2004 in Dublin at an outdoor venue – Lost Prophets (a Welsh band worth checking out) and Slipknot were on the bill along with headliners Metallica. Before we get into the main event, I must state that it is an absolute necessity to wear black to a metal concert. Not only does Antonio not possess a single black item in his wardrobe (the coral Brooks Brothers cable-knit sweater wasn’t going to cut it!), he threatened to wear chinos!  I actually had to make an emergency run to the Gap to buy a black t-shirt. Anyway, he already wants to bolt after we’re all but strip-searched to get inside and then Slipknot comes on. Let’s just say that they’re an acquired taste…

(photo from the slipknot1.com website)

So clearly I’m in heaven while Antonio is just green (and not from drinking the disgusting beer on offer). Finally, after “skipshit” as Antonio not-so-fondly still calls them finishes, Metallica opens with the extremely loud riffs of “Blackened”. It was an awesome concert but afterwards, as Antonio staggers back to the hotel partially deafened from the experience of standing in a field for the previous 5 hours listening to heavy metal with 20,000 drunken teenagers and no working bathrooms, he says to me “You’re going to pay for this”. And, my friends, needless to say that almost 7 years later, I still haven’t heard the end of it!

Whether you sympathize with Antonio or I, here are links to some of my favorite songs…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WUm7JWh2Ag

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJIGC90liAE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEIy4Ja6s9M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph5fJWUG9jE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRNYp1IiUuE

Filed Under: Funny Story, Music Tagged With: ,
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