I feel bad that this mix only covers 5 of their albums, but there are all top-notch tracks.
I was reading the Wikipedia article about Slayer's Divine Intervention album a few days back, and stumbled across this gem:
"Halfway through recording drums, the band moved to a studio with a new producer—Tom Petty—who had no experience with heavy metal."
Umm, what? I followed the link to make sure that it was indeed the Tom Petty to whom the article was referring. Now, I was then and am still pretty sure this is not true. The only connection I know of between Slayer and Tom Petty is that they have both worked with Rick Rubin. Some quick Googling revealed nothing about Tom Petty collaborating with Slayer as a producer or in any other capacity.
And this of course, is the problem with Wikipedia: virtually anyone can make edits to articles. Which is unfortunate, because I'm a huge fan of randomly browsing through Wikipedia to read about whatever catches my fancy at the moment. Just have to remember that some "facts" must be taken with a grain of salt.
Not for the easily offended:
Chinese OBGYN Wil C U Next TuesdayI've decided to make a list of all the free software I like to install whenever I am presented with a new computer. I primarily use Windows, so most of the software on this list is for Windows. Some, like Firefox and Pidgin, run on multiple platforms however.
That's all for now. There are probably some that I've left out, but this is a good selection of the software that I like to have on all my boxes.
Later I will post a list of my essential Firefox extensions.
Yes, I have previously posted my top 5 metal albums, but it seemed like a good time to post them again. And so , here they are, in no particular order:
Ok, I was not completely honest when I said "in no particular order". As far as I'm concerned this is the greatest metal album that has ever graced the earth with its existence. It successfully melds thrash metal speed and aggression with complex and dynamic arrangements. I'm still unable to reconcile that this is the same band who would go on to record Load and Re-Load, and, *shudder*, St. Anger.
This was the pinnacle of Queensryche as a progressive metal band; a concept album revolving around the story of a man who is turned into an assassin through mind control. Much like Metallica with Master of Puppets, QR has not reached this height since. While 2006's Operation: Mindcrime II was an improvement over the albums released since Empire, it did not live up to its predecessor.
This is simply a masterpiece of fast, brutal thrash metal. Reign In Blood is always cited as the seminal thrash album, but I much prefer Seasons. Its tempos may not be quite as break-neck as Reign In Blood, but the songs are stronger and more refined.
Another concept album of sorts, with epic, fantasy-inspired songs. After this album Maiden started a slump that they didn't climb out of until 2000's Brave New World (and the return of Bruce Dickinson).
This is a new addition to the top 5. I'm too lazy to go back and check my previous Top 5 post, but I believe it is replacing Megadeth's Rush In Peace. Anyway, most of the songs on this album are inspired by Stephen King's epic The Dark Tower. Demons & Wizards combine modern thrash metal speed with old school Maiden-style power metal. Very good stuff; especially appealing to the D&D nerd set, I'm sure.
Well there you have it. YMMV, of course. But if you disagree with any of my choices, you are probably wrong!
...my Iron Maiden CDs, which unfortunately are still in America. Sadly I ripped only a small portion of my CD collection to my laptop before we left the country. Recently I've been in the mood to listen to metal a lot, and I picked up the Live After Death DVD, so I'm itching for more Maiden! The only albums of theirs I have with me are A Matter of Life and Death and Maiden Japan. both good albums, but I'd really like a wider variety, like The Number of the Beast, or Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, or maybe Piece of Mind.
Normally I would just download whatever I want from some torrent site, but with Optus's 15GB/month bandwidth cap, I need to be careful. I may just upgrade our plan to a higher data transfer limit so I can download media with impunity like I did back home.
Up the irons!
