Megadeth: Rust in Peace
1990
Capitol Records
Format I Own it on: Compact Disc
Track Listing: 1. Holy Wars... The Punishment Due 2. Hangar 18 3. Take No Prisoners 4. Five Magics 5. Poison Was the Cure 6. Lucretia 7. Tornado of Souls 8. Dawn Patrol 9. Rust in Peace... Polaris
*****Once again we're going to jump ahead to cover Megadeth...I'm covering this as a tribute to my good friend and fine drummer Matt Beaudry. Zippity Gahhh!******
This was probably one of the biggest albums in my life...I can't convey to you how much I loved this album when it was first released...
I think my obsession started one wintery night in 1990... There was a huge blizzard going on and the radio had just announced that school was going to be cancelled. When you're a 14 year old kid there's no greater news you could possibly get! A reprieve! So I was as psyched as I thought I could possibly be!
Then in the midst of the snowstorm my brother Troy stopped by, and he had with him a dubbed copy of the newly released "Rust in Peace" album...Which he told me I could keep since he had an actual copy...Ohh hooo my God...I find out school is closed and I get a copy of the new Megadeth album?
I can remember going back to my room, firing up the Sega...
...and putting the tape in the deck and hearing "Holy Wars...The Punishment Due" for the first time and being blown away by the intricate, technical thrash...And they kept it up for the entire album (excepting perhaps the bizarre "Dawn Patrol" which I'm still not sure what it is...Some approximation of post-punk?). As soon as "Rust in Peace...Polaris" ended I flipped the tape over and started right in again...and kept up this ritual for the next couple of years...I can't even begin to approximate how many times I've heard this...
I loved the mix of fantasy and real-life lyrics...They could go from talking about war in "Take No Prisoners" to the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons lyrics of "Five Magics."
Actually now that I think of it those were the only two subjects Heavy Metal had...until self-loathing and wrestler-level threats became the new subject du joir...BTW I'm including Satanic subject matter under the Fantasy heading...Most of the "Satanic" subject matter seemed to be based on "Paradise Lost" or the "Inferno" section of Dante's "The Divine Comedy" than any sort of biblical theology. Am I calling King Diamond the new John Milton? Yes I am...
(Man, I wanna go to the Paradife Loft!)
This record was released in 1990, which I consider the last stand for Thrash Metal...It seems like this was the year when all the Metal bands just so happened to put out a classic album and the genre seemed to reach its peak..Here's just a partial list of my favorite metal albums released in 1990...
Megadeth: Rust in Peace
Anthrax: Persistence of Time
Judas Priest: Painkiller
Slayer: Seasons in the Abyss
Iron Maiden: No Prayer for the Dying
King Diamond: The Eye
Testament: Souls of Black
Suicidal Tendencies: Lights...Camera...Revolution!
Pantera: Cowboys From Hell
Flotsam & Jetsam: When the Storm Comes Down...
Wait...How did Slaughter's "Stick it to Ya" get in there?!
Alright...I'm tired of listing metal albums from 1990...Needless to say, there were plenty more notable releases...Oh wait...I'm going to include this one...
Celtic Frost: Vanity/Nemesis...Just because it has a song on it called "Phallic Tantrum."
By the way, if you're into metal, you should check this Baby Metal video out...This is the greatest metal song released since, ohhh...Celtic Frost's 1990 masterpiece "Phallic Tantrum..."
Oh boy...Have I got a treat for you...In 1991, my friend Josh and I decided to form a band, despite neither of us having any idea at all how to play instruments...We literally had no idea that you were even supposed to put your fingers on the frets of the guitar...We thought the neck of the guitar was just a big handle! Eventually we all learned how to play and ended up being competent, which is really surprising, since we used to just randomly assign instruments to new members...
"Hey, can I join your band?"
"Yes. You can be our drummer!
...and then the next step would be to buy the drums and that person would learn...
The thing is though, we didn't want to learn how to play before we recorded albums...We wanted to put out an album right now! So we rechristened ourselves "Rotgut" and "Gangrene" and we used the only method of recording we had (which was a clock radio that also for some reason, fortuitously had a single tape deck and a condenser mic attached to it.) So the second we decide to form a band we pressed the record button and recorded our first album that night...
The only instruments we had were a couple of old acoustic guitars that Josh's dad owned, and we improvised songs on the spot or did "covers." The word "covers" is in quotations because, remember, we had zero idea how to actually play the songs, so we just sang the words and strummed acoustic guitar... Well, anyway...Here's a recording of our first day as a band, we decided to cover "Hangar 18" by Megadeth, of all things! Cripes, I can't even play that song on Guitar Hero now! How was I supposed to pull it off without pushing down on a single fret?!
Oh yea...neither of us wanted to be the singer cos we both hated the way our voices sounded (we were 14 year-old kids so our voices weren't exactly pleasant to listen to...) To remedy this, we pressed the fast forward button when we recorded our songs so it would alter our voices, because of the effect this had, we ended up calling ourselves the "Deranged Chimpmunks." Mis-spelling intentional, cos we were afraid we were going to be sued by the real Chipmunks.. Well, it turns out we didn't have much to worry about because the tapes didn't make it too far outside of Hale, Michigan...But anyway...here it is...Deranged Chimpmunk's cover of "Hangar 18..."
Alright...Just in case you need a comparison...I'll post the actual Hangar 18...God, this video is awesomely hilarious.. The aliens in it kind of remind me of the classic 1993 film "Freaked."
"Hangar 18" by Megadeth...Enjoy...
The video is fantastic! Wasn't the guy's name Vic Rattlehead? Love the DC cover of Hangar 18. I can't believe you still have that! Love the pic too! You remember when we went to that concert at Pine Knob with them, White Zombie and Pantera? Remember we had grass seats and when Megadeth played everybody started throwing grass and sod? Dave Mustaine got super pisssed and stopped playing and threatened to leave if it kept up? Then when Pantera played one of us were watching the big screen and saw Phil hitting a joint? Man as i'm writing these things just keep coming back! Didn't someone by an iron cross and I can't remember if it was you or Josh pressed it against someone's head and it instantly broke? I can't stop laughing! One more thing. As I was reading through this review I noticed King Diamond. All I can say is 'No Presents For Christmas'! I remember you had that tape and we listened to the shit out of that and laughed like hell! I hope you still have that cause there is one on amazon for like 80 bucks! Also with Judas Priest you had a concert video and remember When they played 'No Life Till Leather' Rob Halford was in all leather and rode a Harley out on stage? Anyway this is probably my favorite Megadeth album.
ReplyDeleteI'm seriously laughing so hard I can't even stand it...It was worth starting this blog just for your comment...I totally forgot about the iron cross thing...I think Jim Sasser bought it and we were pressing it against someone's forehead to do an indentation and it crumbled apart...My favorite memory of you and Jim was when we were at Aaron's birthday party and Jim threw a Star Crunch at you and when he left the room you were waiting by the door with a piece of firewood that you were going to hit him in the head with...I'm laughing so hard I'm crying...Man, I wish I still had that tape if it's worth 80 bucks! I accidentally left all my tapes in Michigan and when I went back someone had taken them all...Oh my God...That Judas Priest video was hilarious...I saw an even funnier one recently though...Where they're all working out and showering together and then Rob Halford angrily throws water on the hot rocks in a sauna... wish I could remember what song it was for...Remember when I had everyone I know draw a picture of Vic Rattlehead? I still have those in a box down in Tucson...Hopefully I can get down there soon so I can bring them back and scan them in...I looked at them a couple years ago and they super hilarious...
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ReplyDeleteMan I found that Judas Priest video. It's called "Hot Rockin'". I have to agree that is funnier! I also like the part where his boots are on fire and he lights the mic on fire from them! I remember now when you had everyone draw those pictures of Vic Rattledhead. That'll be great to see them. Wasn't there a boot involved at that party too? To funny!!
ReplyDeleteI'm happy you found the name. I'm going to watch it again...I'm trying to remember what the boot at the p[arty was all about...I'm stumped..
ReplyDeleteI thought either I hit Jim with a work boot or he hit me with it. Maybe that was a different time. Have you ever listened to The Darkness? I think they are pretty good. Check out some of their videos if you want a good laugh!
ReplyDeleteYes. The Darkness are hilarious. I used to work with a guy who was really into hair metal and he was super happy when he heard the Darkness songs on the radio. He used to say, "Finally! Someone's making good music again!" Then he saw the video and got all pissed off because he thought they were making fun of his kind of music...
ReplyDeleteCheck out their version of 'Street Spirt (Fade Out)' if you haven't yet. It's off of their latest album 'Hot Cakes'. I think its a great cover song! The album is really good; probably their best one.
DeleteI was admiring the title "Hotcakes," the other day, but I didn't look at the back cover...I didn't know they covered Radiohead. There is a 100% chance I'll check that out...Oh, I listened to the Pelican album "The Fire in our Throats will Beckon the Thaw." I threw on the headphones, had a beer and enjoyed it a lot."
ReplyDeleteAwesome! That was the first Pelican album I heard. You'll be proud of of me cause I ordered Guided By Voices Greatest Hits. I wish there was a record store around here to go to. But its still the same. You'd have to go to Lansing or Detroit to find a good one so I order used stuff off of amazon all the time. I got 5 cds this week for 25 bucks so its not to bad. Rather spend my time in a store rather than behind the computer but what do you do.
ReplyDeleteI am proud of you! Guided by Voices Greatest hits is the greatest thing ever made...You should also check out the Boston Spaceships Greatest hits disc they just put out...I can't stop listening to that one. "You Satisfy Me" and "How Wrong You Are" are the best songs ever...Yea, I remember having to go to Lansing to get vinyl...I used to love "Flat, Black and Circular" or whatever it was called...Amazon has some great deals...I still order stuff from there too...I love going out and searching the shops cos it's fun, but there's usually always something I'm looking for and can't find and after awhile I'll just give up and get it on amazon...
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