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PowerPod - 2 - Germany (1985-1997)
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It's finally back! Part 2 of the historical deep dive into Rob's second musical passion: Power Metal! He welcomes back co-host Maz and first timer Engineer Joey to break down the early German scene built around the Big 4, Noise Records and a whole lot of schtick. They go through three major parts from the formative late 80s to the prolific early 90s before ending in the mid-90s when the second wave was just about to come. Keep it true!
Spotify Playlist
Make sure to check out Celine and Maz's ska/punk band Femmes Voyous
Madness March predictions are open! Vote your bracket here
Hosts: Rob and Maz Engineer: Joey Editor: Cutman Theme Song by Martin Davies Skassociate Producer: Chris Reeves of Ska Punk International Special Thanks: Mega Michi and Adam the Ska Mailman
Merch: www.checkeredpast.ca/merch Patreon: www.patreon.com/checkeredpast
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Transcript
Post-WWII Economic Impacts in Europe
00:00:00
Speaker
In the aftermath of World War II, the economic impacts of Europe were varied and vast. In English working-class cities, economic depression was widespread. In Germany, the collapse of the Nazi party and the development of the West and East meant an influx of money and the rebuilding of destroyed regions such as Dresden and Hamburg.
The Beatles' Formative Years in Liverpool and Hamburg
00:00:16
Speaker
Liverpool and Hamburg could not have been more different in the impact, but they share one thing in common, music. It was in Liverpool that John, Paul, George, Stuart, and Pete got together to make a pop-rock R&B combination, but it was in Hamburg that they got their start.
00:00:29
Speaker
The Beatles, as they were called, cut their teeth, playing hours and hours in dingy, sweaty West German clubs to gangsters, criminals, and hedonists.
Hamburg's Influence on Heavy Metal Genres
00:00:36
Speaker
By 1962, they recorded their first single, Far Away From Home, got together with Ringo Starr, and trimmed to a lean four-piece.
00:00:44
Speaker
While they are known today as Liverpudlians, they can just as easily call themselves Hamburglars. Hamburg was not just at the but birthplace of the Beatles, but of a new genre of heavy metal music. Fast forward to 1987 and a combination of speed metal, traditional heavy metal and thrash with far spanning influences such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, except Queens Reich and Queen had coalesced into the band Halloween and what would eventually be known as power metal.
00:01:09
Speaker
And it all kicked off with this song.
00:01:36
Speaker
You've got so much fun inside, so play it up my way.
Introduction to PowerPod and Hosts
00:01:58
Speaker
So today we are continuing our discussion on the history of power metal covering the years 1987 to 1995 in Germany where the first European wave peaked on part two of PowerPod.
00:02:28
Speaker
you
00:02:31
Speaker
What up, metalheads? Welcome to PowerPod, the podcast that explores the history of metal's third biggest punching bag, power metal.
Meet the Hosts: Rob and Naz
00:02:37
Speaker
I'm Rob, and you may know me as the host of our parent podcast, Checkered Pass. I've always been a big power metal fan and wanted to create a podcast where I could talk about it and show that it's pomp and cheese that has a fascinating history just waiting to be explored.
00:02:50
Speaker
And here is my co-host with the most toast, Engineer Joey. Put some pomp and cheese on that toast. Yeah! Right? Right! What does pomp taste like to you? ah Honestly, I don't know. Mustard.
00:03:03
Speaker
Mayonnaise. Gray pom-pon. Gray poo-pong, first of all. It's like you never watched any commercials in the 90s. But I wouldn't dare do it alone. My co-host is a musician and songwriter for numerous Edmonton bands, including Rat Poison, Wreck Bettys, and Femboy.
00:03:20
Speaker
Naz is here. Hi. Hey.
Podcasting Conveniences and Anecdotes
00:03:23
Speaker
Welcome back. Thank you. More metal. More metal. No, metal talk. So you're you're back for the second time on Checkered Pass in a month.
00:03:32
Speaker
yeah Yeah. I love it. Thanks for having You guys must like me. I love it. ah You live really close. I do. We all live so close together. this is like convenient for all of us to get together.
00:03:45
Speaker
but Way more different than like trying to get somebody from England when I have to wake up at eight o'clock in the morning. He always makes us drink. yeah Yeah. They all, they all make us drink.
00:03:56
Speaker
They always make us drink early. No, he makes us drink. i mean, we're having some drinks now. I every time I've been here, we're also drinking. we're drinking. But it's a reasonable time of day. True. It's a day that's not embarrassing to help people. And can all stumble home, so it's fine. Yeah. I drove.
00:04:09
Speaker
Don't be mistaken. Yeah.
00:04:13
Speaker
I had that calculation playing pinball the other day where I was like, I could have one more beer and leave my car here in Shorewood Park. Or I can stop drinking. I made the right choice. Yeah. yeah that's it That's always the worst.
00:04:25
Speaker
When you're like... ah Now I have to have six more beers to really make it worth leaving my vehicle. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Guess I got a rage
Metalheads' Drink Preferences
00:04:35
Speaker
now. got a blackout now. yeah Otherwise, why bother?
00:04:38
Speaker
Why be just four drinks in and just be like, wow, I'm too drunk to go home. Yeah. Anyway. Yeah. so This is not metal related. 100% or is it? know I don't know. it's very metal related. yeah I i id more play this game every time I'm at a show.
00:04:55
Speaker
yeah like Is beer the metal drink? Is that like the metal drink? Yeah, think so. Or whiskey. Vodka? Vodka! yeah or whiskey i guess ah genre fuck god Depends on the genre.
00:05:07
Speaker
It depends on your genre of metal. Are we at a Corpaclone show? are we Right. Like,
Nerd Appeal in Power Metal
00:05:12
Speaker
where are we? Like, if you're at a Motorhead show, it has be whiskey, right? death Okay. yeah now there There aren't a lot of Motorhead shows these days. yeah but You know what mean.
00:05:24
Speaker
It's a very awkward one-man show. Thrash's beer has to be. Has has to be. like shitty, cheap, the cheapest Municipal Waste is not going to fuck you up unless you're drinking PBR. Yeah, Olympia. yeah yeah let' sure you Keep going there. yeah What's the power metal drink?
00:05:49
Speaker
What is it? mead? Some sort of elixir? mead. Is it a mead? A potion? Grog? Yeah. I think mead is solid.
00:06:00
Speaker
yeah oh Yeah. Or potion. potion. Let's drink. Like craft beer. like a craft beer like a You think, like, i don't know. Maybe. You know what?
Eclectic Metal Tastes and Broad Appeal
00:06:10
Speaker
I think... Maybe it's no drinking. When I think power metal nerds, I think, like, actual nerds.
00:06:16
Speaker
And when I think, what do actual nerds drink? It's craft beer. That's true. Or nothing. Or nothing. Or nothing. the Pretty edge. But, I don't know. There are a lot of nerds out there that, like, fucking tie in, like, six double chocolate IPAs on or something.
00:06:32
Speaker
You know what i mean? Stop looking at me. Stop seeing me from way over there, Joey. yeah know I He just like side-eyed me. I've seen you a bit. I've been in there. Joey's baby blues just shot over at me.
00:06:44
Speaker
Getting wasted on double chocolate IPAs over there, Rob. Is that you? Tall cans made six or eight blocks from this very house.
00:06:57
Speaker
Last episode, we talked about Maz's history with Power Metal, and we had Engineer Selin here that day. Joey, you were not here. That's right. I think I set it up. You set it up, and then you played Tetris or something.
00:07:09
Speaker
Or something. Yeah, you you literally were sitting behind us. It was a real throwback. Shout out to the listeners who have been here since day one, but I would sit on the couch and play Tetris.
00:07:22
Speaker
That is a day one thing, eh? Jeez. um So what is your history with power metal, Engineer Joey? um With power metal specifically, eh?
00:07:34
Speaker
um and My older stepbrother listened to a fairly wide range of kinds of metal. Like, he was into Danzig. Sure. And i remember him having, like, I want to say a Man of War tape in his car at one point. Okay. Yeah, there you go. So something to that. He just, like, I mean, it was the mid-90s in, like, a remote small city, right? So it was kind of whatever metal.
00:08:00
Speaker
Like, he was also listening to, like, House of Pain and stuff at the time, right? Yeah. like Body count. but yes Yeah, absolutely body count. that That type of shit, for sure. I'm seeing it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:08:10
Speaker
So, like, I think I had a little bit of an idea
Mental Health Challenges in Metal
00:08:13
Speaker
of, like, what power metal was, but I didn't know that it was... such a rich, extensive history. and and now And now that I'm ah several years on and I've been playing guitar for a long time and whatnot, I'm fairly familiar with power metal.
00:08:31
Speaker
um i'm not like I wouldn't say I'm a huge power metal fan. like I couldn't name a hundred power metal bands I like. But it's one of the sub-genres I'm into. A hundred bands you like in any genre. very hard yeah but You know what I mean. like it just like like i'm i'm kind of ah Most power metal, I kind of just have like a cheese level that I dislike.
00:08:53
Speaker
And if if if the band does not exceed the cheese threshold, then I'm kind of into it.
Themes and Fantasies in Power Metal
00:08:58
Speaker
um I watch a YouTube guy called Bradley Hall and he joined Twilight Force. and Yeah, which is maximum cheese. Yeah, the ultimate cheese.
00:09:06
Speaker
But also... We're the opposite. More cheese for me. Give me all the cheese. Okay, maybe I'm more into more modern cheese that is more self-conscious and not as into classic cheese. Because you like Glory Hammer and that kind of stuff. Yeah, but I don't know if I dig... Rhapsody is too self-serious maybe. Yes. yeah I think that's it I think like cheeses like any kind of like a mild cheese yeah or just like a self-aware cheese not a gorgonzola or something super aggressive yeah like a melted brie yeah or maybe a couple slices a Havarti perhaps yeah like a couple slices of American cheese
00:09:50
Speaker
That's Thrash, right? That's Muna's voice. Could be. yeah ah No, that's Manowar. Manowar is the American cheese. yeah That's true. ah Yeah, so I like it.
00:10:01
Speaker
yeah um I like Power Metal. older power metal that is too serious about itself does test me a bit. But but i do like I do like to learn about the history because it is such a silly genre.
00:10:15
Speaker
Yeah. like It's so fun and like and people are really serious about it and I love that people... I love that there's a balance of being serious about the music. Being serious about being silly.
00:10:28
Speaker
Yeah. and but and And knowing you're like singing about like elves and shit, like, and being muscular manly man conquering things. Yeah. Big, big into that while not being muscular at all.
00:10:40
Speaker
Yeah. Totally. It's a full power fantasy. Yeah. Absolutely. like When you see those guys who have like the big, like um who have like the true metal look with like the black leather yeah straps on them, look skinny as all
Theatrical Elements and Sub-genres in Power Metal
00:10:53
Speaker
hell. like They're just like so shrimpy and you're just like, yeah, i see you're trying to be Conan the Barbarian should put it in in and look alone. or they're the prettiest human being we've ever seen. yeah yeah Beautiful, beautiful long hairs.
00:11:07
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. There's a lot of like, um ah yeah, like, yeah. Beautiful long-hairs are your favorite. They are. They really are. Tenderonis? No, we will not go there.
00:11:17
Speaker
i um Is there a metal that you're, like, into? i don't hear you listening. Like, you listen to that Pulpryphia whatever band.
00:11:29
Speaker
You know what? I listen to quite a lot of metal, but I jump around. Like, a lot. Like, i the other day I was listening to, like, ah animosity and like despised icon so was in like a death core kind of mode on the train was listening that and I really like tech death type of stuff yep but sometimes I like some real stupid ass slam hardcore type of stuff and sometimes I like Twilight Force you know what I mean like i just i I kind of like it all um which is sort of like
00:12:04
Speaker
I don't know. I feel like that's an answer that someone who doesn't like any of it that much gives. But I'm like, I just sort of like, if it's heavy and it fucks, then I'm kind of into it. I think that's a fair answer.
00:12:15
Speaker
Right? You are wearing a suicidal hat. Yeah. I guess not. I'm possessed. It says right on my hat. i just flipped up the thing so you could read it. yeah You dress to impress,
German Power Metal's Early Days
00:12:27
Speaker
right? Yeah.
00:12:28
Speaker
Is working? Yeah, I'm impressed. Sweet. You look cool, man. You look cool. Thank you. Alright, let's get into the meat of this one. So the crux of this podcast, you haven't listened, I should go back and listen to PowerPod 1, which was all about the pre-Power Metal eras leading into it from like 1970 to 1985-ish. We're trying to do this in a show-and-tell style, a little bit different than Checkered Past.
00:12:53
Speaker
um So we're going to have a companion playlist. And you can kind of follow along and listen to what we're kind of talking about in this particular episode is going to be about 1987 to 1995 in Germany, where like the first European wave of power metal happened.
00:13:12
Speaker
And specifically, we're going to spend a lot of time talking about the big four. Big four are Halloween, Running Wild, Grave Digger, and Rage. Are we familiar with any or all of these? mean, i love Halloween. and with hallen I've seen you sing a Halloween song in a Korean karaoke bar one time.
00:13:31
Speaker
Please. What was i for that? I'm very upset. but This was like quite a few years ago. yeah Yeah, I'm passingly familiar with a couple of these. I have seen Gravedigger. I'm wearing a shirt that I got at the show when they did a Canadian tour. you're a big Gravedigger fan. I love Gravedigger. Big fan. They are an acquired taste. The guy's vocals are not great.
00:13:53
Speaker
I don't know if I'm familiar with Gravedigger. Now I need to hear. Their stuff's all about Scottish Civil Wars and stuff like that. Fun. They're like the Sabaton niche. Yeah. Cool. Big time.
00:14:03
Speaker
Education and metal. That's right. Love it. I'm sure we'll get into it, but is that like a power metal-like Do they they kind of pick a thing? Does each band kind of have like a... Yes.
00:14:16
Speaker
A schtick might say? Absolutely. Definitely. You need a schtick. All of them have schticks. And we'll get into each schtick as we go. Okay. But that is... I think that's what separates them from like a more serious... But I guess like all metal bands kind of do that, don't they?
00:14:32
Speaker
Maybe not Metallica, I guess. Yeah, I feel like when you get closer to quote-unquote mainstream metal, you get less of that. less sticky but like It's like an Austrian death machine. As soon as you start moving out to the peripherals of the metal genres, it's all shtick. <unk> falsetic It's all shtick. Theater. I love it. That's I'm talking about.
00:14:54
Speaker
like Black metal bands are all schtick. It's like a whole genre of schtick. Big schtick. Big schtick energy. Nice. BSE. Yeah.
00:15:05
Speaker
You always say that about black metal bands. They got real BSE. They sing softly and carry a big schtick.
00:15:16
Speaker
I'm sorry. This is gold. No, that was great. It's really funny, especially if you know anything about black metal bands where that would be the exact opposite. They'd be furious. They'd be so angry. They'd be so angry about how they're like the loudest speakers ever and they carry no stick.
00:15:34
Speaker
But let's be real. There are no black metal kids listening to this podcast. No. No. no Those are most diametrically opposed genres as his power metal and black metal. Probably.
00:15:48
Speaker
Like, probably. Well, and ska. Yeah. Which we're also known for. Yeah, yeah. I did say on the last episode, was like, there's a reason why I like ska and power metal. It's like, I just like the stuff that serious people don't like. Yeah. I mean, that's valid.
00:16:04
Speaker
Yeah. I need bombast in my life. That's what it is. Yeah. All right, here we go. Let's get into it. So this is part one of this episode. We're going to cover the late 80s.
00:16:16
Speaker
So we left off our last episode of Halloween's second album, Keeper of the Seven Keys Part One. Meant to be a double album, they were pressured by their label to split it into two parts. Their label was Noise Records. That is going to come up a lot.
00:16:29
Speaker
Part one was recorded over a two year period and was largely Kai Hansen affair with fellow guitarist Michael Wykath recovering from a nervous breakdown. That is a trend. A lot of mental health issues as I have gone through a lot of the research here. really So this is part one of a multi part series about mental health and the power metal scene.
00:16:49
Speaker
Is it from being such good singers or guitarists? They're always guitarists. yeah Yeah. All the mental health people are all mental. Like it's all guitarists. It's all guitarists. Yeah. A lot of mental being that at shredding is really bad for your... load carry. Yeah, totally. Metal is a heavy... So much shred.
00:17:08
Speaker
The positive response got them a tour in the U.S. s with Overkill. i love Overkill. Along with a video for MTV, but the hectic touring and pressure on Kai to lead the band created a rift. Wycath and singer Michael Kiske... Wow, I fucked up his name. Michael Kiske wanted to go mainstream while Hanson wanted to stay metal.
00:17:26
Speaker
So for Keepers Part 2, Hansen only wrote a few tracks and Wycath wrote many of them were chop toppers like Dr. Steen. Keepers 2 was released in 1988 and shot the band further into the German mainstream. Will be forever ingrained in power metal history for this classic.
00:17:43
Speaker
And this is the one that I sang at Carioke. Oh, okay. This is classic. Yeah, this is the one.
00:17:50
Speaker
This is a... I also like singing, though. Yeah, it's fun. This is a fun one sing. Did you hold that note as long as, what is it, eight bars or something? God, not even a little bit. I don't even think I got the note correct.
00:18:05
Speaker
It's a doozy. I mean...
00:18:10
Speaker
See, I can do this part. The part where he's like, kind of like, where he just saw the sing talking kind of. Yeah, I can do that part very well. This also, this music video lives rent free in my mind all the time. Storm Thorgerson directed that video. Really? yeah i that's a fun name yeah do you know who this guy is no he did all the pink floyd's album artwork oh okay all the like live or like the stuff that's not like drawn that's like pictures that look kind of weird yeah that's him oh he also did like dream theater yeah and he did a halloween record cover later sick this video is a masterpiece it's great yeah what does is the halloween guy have a name like eddie has a name Oh, the pumpkin? Yeah. ah Or the the monster from... No, the pumpkin. I think he does, actually. I don't know its name. Oh. Let's Google that. Yeah, that's worth Googling. want to know.
00:19:04
Speaker
The Halloween pumpkin. they all have names, right? All these metal mascots. Yeah, the Megadeth one has a name, too, and I don't know. Yeah, the Pinheader. Not Pinheader. Something like that, though. Something like that. Yeah. Eddie's the one I know.
00:19:16
Speaker
i mean, he's the only one you really to He's the king of kings. Yeah. yeah on My bias for Iron Maiden is going to come out a lot.
00:19:29
Speaker
On the last episode, you should go back and listen to Maz's story about meeting Bruce Dickinson. It's great. Oh, yeah. Oh, Captain, my Captain.
00:19:40
Speaker
So while you're looking that up, Hamburg had another band going through a change as well. Named after the Girl School album and headed by the flamboyant Rock and Rolf, the best metal name ever. ah Rock and Rolf? Rock and Rolf. Like the guy from The Muppets?
00:19:54
Speaker
The dog? yeah yeah but it's good But it's a man in a metal band or an old German person name I found the Halloween mascot. It's really disappointing. His name is Jack O'Lantern. Oh, no.
00:20:09
Speaker
Waste. Wasted time. Lost points for failure of creativity. Halloween. Lost points. Heard it here first. Basically invented the whole fucking genre. Yeah.
00:20:24
Speaker
But I mean, they could have tried a little harder on Jack O'Lantern. Anyway, Rockin' Rolf was in a first wave black metal band, ooh, we got there, who ah called Running Wild.
00:20:36
Speaker
and they And he decided he's going to do something a little bit different with the new record, and he's going to sing about pirates. i Judging by this song title, I could have guessed. So...
00:20:48
Speaker
They were released in 1987 under Jolly Roger on Noise Records and featured a mix of Pirate Adventure songs and old school black metal, but the pirate stuff is what stayed. but Let's listen to this one. Oh yeah, schtick baby.
00:21:01
Speaker
the The schtick is big with Running Wild. More than band in the era. Pirate schtick is still strong. She's never gonna die. People love it.
00:21:14
Speaker
pirate I mean, a pirate is like, uh, timelessly cool. I was myself in a pirate band at one point, so I can't talk. Right. That's amazing. We are called the scurbies. Everyone from Sylvan Lake being pirates on the lake.
00:21:31
Speaker
That's the best thing I've ever heard. it was hilarious. We were so fun. but Yes. Yes, you were. This is like... Oh, okay. I was going to say doesn't sound super piratey. It's just like power gun. Then you heard the cannons unleashed. Yeah.
00:21:56
Speaker
But they were a big like Venom fans. So yeah that's early on they sound... I feel some Venomy vibes. Big time. You know, i i will say and that I...
00:22:08
Speaker
I'm a little bit biased towards a certain pirate-themed metal album that came out in my early 20s by Three Inches of Blood. Advance and events and Vanquish is incredible. Aren't they touring that fucking bad boy right now? Are they?
00:22:22
Speaker
I think so. That's sick. I love that album. That specific album? Yeah. Oh, I didn't know it was so specific. Oh, maybe it's maybe it's the anniversary. maybe it's the 20-year anniversary. Anyways, I...
00:22:33
Speaker
It's difficult for me to love pirate metal as much as I love that album because it just came out in a really formative time yeah for me. Destroy the Orcs is a top 10 power metal song of all time. Hell i don p he yeah. Incredible. yeah that album Canada. Oh, Canada.
00:22:49
Speaker
Oh, Canada. I feel good about it. but You know what? Power metal sucks usually. We're not getting real real political, but we're at a time when praising Canadian things is appreciated.
00:23:01
Speaker
And Three Inches of Blood is definitely one of those things. Three Inches of Blood and Unleash the Archers is the only time we got it right up here. Protest the Hero. They're not a power metal band. that's but They do shred. but yeah and they have some power parts, but not... They're wacky. They're fun.
00:23:18
Speaker
Uh, so this band tripled down on the pirates. They issued. Okay. So this was an 87 was under Jolly Roger port Royal, 88 death or glory, 89 blazing stone, 1991. Oh shit. Just basically almost every year releasing the same basic thing, a pirate power metal ah record. If it ain't broke.
00:23:40
Speaker
Honestly, like every fucking Hell and helton Ween goes down, that we'll talk about it, they they go down a really weird route ro after their first couple records, but they're just going to keep going with the pirate thing.
00:23:52
Speaker
So, okay, we listen to Jolly Roger, now we'll listen to Riding the Storm from Death or Glory, which is a phenomenal record. My favorite Running Wild record.
00:24:04
Speaker
You know the record pressing company Pirates Press? I wonder if they ever pressed any of these pirate records. All of them. that It was founded for this band to start putting up Pirate Battle Records. was founded by Rock and Raw.
00:24:21
Speaker
ah yeah I'll say his name over and over again. It's amazing. It is pretty damn good. It sounds like ah like an FM DJ's name, but like way in out cooler. Way cooler.
00:24:36
Speaker
So this is 89? Yeah, 89. Oh yeah. Hell yeah.
00:24:42
Speaker
oh yeah hell yeah I feel like I'm on a ship. I feel like... It's going more pirate-y, right? yeah This is my jam. I feel the theater. feel the salty wind whipping my face. yeah
00:25:01
Speaker
I'm just biting into a lemon stave serving. Stave off serving.
00:25:10
Speaker
Just relentless double kick. Fuck yeah, buddy. That's the shit. Complete. to ticket ticket take ticket du ticket ticket ticket For like four minutes straight.
00:25:22
Speaker
Especially in the 80s and then in the early 90s, that was what you did. yeah yeah Hell yeah. The gallop of many hooves riding into battle. it's It's good music to listen to when you're drinking like a Red Bull or a coffee.
00:25:38
Speaker
It's good music to simulate drinking a Red Bull or a coffee. Yeah.
00:25:44
Speaker
Musical cocaine. Yeah, I was just going to say. While all this was happening four hours south in Gladbeck, a band by the name of Grave Digger was also going through a change.
00:25:55
Speaker
Having started as a traditional heavy metal band with some speed metal tendencies, they decided to go completely pop in 1987, changed their to Digger, change their name to digger And it was a strange move considering everybody else was getting more metal and they just said, we're going to be a pop band.
00:26:11
Speaker
And the song, the album's called stronger than ever. dagger is is really funny It sucks so bad. It is the shittiest goddamn thing I've ever heard on. It might be just as, or as, or,
00:26:25
Speaker
but slightly better than the Reason by Hoobastank, but i don't know. So I'm absolutely not playing it. Aw, I was excited. You can go and listen to the shitty Digger record.
00:26:39
Speaker
it's Probably on streaming stuff. I'm sure. or they just have wiped it out. But basically, they it was so shitty, it broke the band up. so Rough. What kind of rock was it? It was synthesizer-like stuff. Like 80s synth rock? Yeah. Wow. 87 synth rock. They really went for it. That is a departure.
00:26:57
Speaker
Yeah. yeah From the heavy metal breakdown Witch Hunter band. Yeah. did not did not just decided that they were not happy not being famous and then fucked up and didn't become famous.
00:27:10
Speaker
But not far from Gladbeck and oh, I'm gonna mess this up, Gelson Kirchen, the old school speed metal was not dead and a new band came about that wanted to fuse that with the new power metal tropes popping up in Hamburg.
00:27:22
Speaker
The group was called Scanner. They have a they have shtick. ah Is it like space or technology? No. Are they a big printer yeah or scanner?
00:27:34
Speaker
Sci-fi concept records. With the one-two punch of 1988's Hypertrace and 1989's Terminal Earth. Both of those sound cool. They're both on, guess what? Noise records. Noise records. They unfortunately would go on a hiatus shortly after, but would return in the late 90s in a different iteration. Let's listen to Warp 7. That's a fast speed if I've ever seen Star Trek.
00:27:56
Speaker
Yeah, why wouldn't you just go to nine? Yeah. Or ten. Yeah. that matter. Ludicrous speed. Go flat. Just go flat.
00:28:06
Speaker
This is fun. Yeah, this is pretty sick. They're more speed medley. Yeah, this has like Enforcer vibes. Yes. Big time. Agent Steel. With a voice like this. Yeah, and and the dude's doing the falsetto thing, but he's also kind of got a little bit of a punk rock-y kind of rasp when he's not doing the falsetto.
00:28:23
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah.
00:28:26
Speaker
This is not very enforcery, which I love. And I like the sci-fi thing. Yeah. that That's a good shtick. Yeah, that is good shtick. love a space shtick. Outfits, yeah like videos, everything. Laser guns and stuff. Hell yeah. yeah And if you're going to play fast and you're talking about how fast your ship is, it works really well. And also, it's the next logical step forward from singing about how fast your race car is.
00:28:52
Speaker
or your hot rod right right i mean like in the future we're not gonna have hot rods we're gonna have space ships and you'll have to sing about how fast that is oh yeah
00:29:11
Speaker
this is sweet oh love some lows too yeah
00:29:26
Speaker
it's because they didn't do more than the two records for the longest time that they're not like a big four band. But man, those two records are so fucking good. Yeah, if the rest of those records is doing that song, that's fucking good. They all sound like that. It's just fast.
00:29:38
Speaker
Fast and catchy. but yeah What else do you want? What else do you need? Nothing. Like, fuck. You're coming to listen an Power Metal, man. That'd be fast and catchy. It's the only thing you need. All right, so just down the road in Hearn, a speed metal band, a different one, was getting its taste of the power metal life.
00:29:53
Speaker
Rage! They're one of the big four, and they had just come off a spat of well-regarded rippers in Reign of Fear and Execution Guarantee, which is great name for records. sounding more like agent steel than halloween however the bug that bit them released 1987's perfect man and they shifted to a more muscular three-piece uh to do a lot more sort of ah heavy stuff they're kind of the heaviest of the power metal ones and okay and this was a bit of a hit it's called don't fear the winter by rage Not don't fear the reader. Yeah, I was going say I'm um confused now. who Who don't I fear? No, you don't fear all of them.
00:30:30
Speaker
Don't fear either. The only person you fear is... I don't know anybody from man's fear. Mind killer? No, that that's what is fear. Yeah, fear is the mind killer.
00:30:41
Speaker
There you go. Yeah, don't think you're supposed to fear anything. Flee. According to those shirts in the 90s, there is some fear. All these bands were just predating No Fear. Right. They're saying, don't fear the Reaper, don't fear the Winter. People like, you know what? Just don't. Just don't. Too specific. No fear at all. no
00:31:06
Speaker
It does sound more punk rock as it like a three-piece. Very much so.
00:31:13
Speaker
And Peavey plays the bass and sings, which is always fun. Man, that guy's going do-ga-do-ga-do-ga-do-ga-do with his fingies and singing. That's wild. That is wild.
00:31:24
Speaker
That's a lot. lot all at once. Because that doesn't sound like he's playing with a pick. No. That's crazy. He is probably the best. power metal bass player like one of at least like top five crazy we just listened like 20 seconds of that song and already sold that's crazy i'll say you've mentioned it a couple times that there's a real punk rock energy that went through a lot of this that is a thing i think in the early german power metal scene is that it was there was a big punk rock energy to lot it like it really i think
00:31:58
Speaker
You may have brought it up when you talked about Iron Maiden a little bit before, ah but how Iron Maiden is kind of a band that like punks and metalheads both could like. to yeah And I feel like it this very much seems like a genre that kind of had that vibe as it was coming up, especially in this iteration of in Germany.
00:32:17
Speaker
Like this really seems like a music that, and I don't know if they had the same to division of metalheads and punks that other places had or whatever. Yeah, they would have had a lot more oy Germany in the 80s. like i mean I guess it's pretty impressive that all these bands sound like bands that could kind of span the punk rock and metal divide at the time.
00:32:40
Speaker
yeah That was one of the reasons why Kai Hansen didn't get along with a lot of the guys in Halloween is because they always they thought of him as too much of a punk. Really? yeah See, I always thought punks and metalheads were the bestest of friends.
00:32:52
Speaker
yeah Because of bands like this. you know yeah Bridge the gap. and Also in Edmonton because there's so few of both. True. We like have to band together as one. yeah yeah totally We have to fight the country.
00:33:04
Speaker
That's right. yeah yeah hundred so If we don't do it who will. Nobody even really hacks on Ska in Edmonton. Not really. not really i get more what is that yeah 100% than anything else for sure everybody like has an issue with it they're just like what is that yeah we just have to we're we just all caddies work working together against country and yeah and but and to go a rock yeah yeah yeah there's more of them more of us than there are of them right that's what we got to keep telling ourselves as long as we stay together
00:33:39
Speaker
which We can't, of course, talk about 80s German power metal without talking about Blind Guardian. it was years before they would become the one we know of today, but in the 80s, they just played fast.
00:33:49
Speaker
Like, really fast. They took a lot of their influence from the German thrash scene and were anchored by the outrageous drumming of Thoman Staunch, ah the leads of Andre Oblick, and then the fantastical lyrics of Hansi Kirsch. He's the he's the dungeons or the Lord of the Rings guy.
00:34:04
Speaker
<unk>re Wondering why all of a sudden Lord of the Rings became such a huge thing in power metal. Because this dude. He's the guy. They weren't really doing that anywhere else. And it's probably because he loved Led Zeppelin or something stupid like that. No, just everything's about books. Yeah, or yeah the books. Blind Guardian, every song is about a book he read.
00:34:23
Speaker
Really? Yeah, there's there's a fucking song about Bridge Four on the last Blind Guardian record. yeah Sick. Dude reads a lot of you lead a ah of books. Shout out to the Brando Santa head. Yeah.
00:34:35
Speaker
Slammed out three records in three years. eighty eighth Battalions of Fear, 1989's Follow the Blind, and 1990's Tales from the Twilight World. All on No Remorse records. Whoa! They had more than one? Crazy.
00:34:49
Speaker
But Kai Hansen was one that looked over the whole thing, and this is one of the tracks from one of those records. This is Welcome to Dying. It's about dragons. Yeah.
00:35:01
Speaker
I've seen Blind Guardian twice. I'm so jealous. I've never seen them. Really good show. But i love them. Fucking good show. My friends just went to Germany to see them like last year and I was so fucking jealous.
00:35:14
Speaker
Hansi cutting his hair was weird. Yeah. it's always It always breaks my fucking heart when they cut their hair. Don't. Stop cutting your hair. Yeah. Stop it. But eventually they get old and they can't.
00:35:26
Speaker
I suppose. They can't maintain. I suppose. You know what I mean? I suppose. I mean, they could, but... it is He has been playing power metal for like 40 years. guess you've got to think about that.
00:35:38
Speaker
Fair. What is he, like 58? That's a lot of power. What does he think about his buddy in Demons and Wizards getting ah arrested at the January 6th riot?
00:35:51
Speaker
I don't know. I know if he's said anything about it. It makes me worried. That he hasn't said hasnt' anything about Yeah, about it. Yeah.
00:36:01
Speaker
Where did you see Blind Guardian? Here? When they came here? Twice, yeah. Where the fuck was I? What was I doing? Probably playing a cover band. Playing a good show.
00:36:13
Speaker
Playing a casino somewhere. Singing Titanium. Singing to a bunch of blue-haired retirees eating their dinner. Titanium! That was you while Rob was watching Blind Guardian. And I was singing the Bard song. yeah With like 500 other people.
00:36:29
Speaker
That sounds so much better. it was good uh they might probably come back i hope sabaton keeps coming back i power wolf keeps coming back true i do like power wolf too yeah yeah how's that how's power wolf on the stick cheese uh for you uh don't know if i'm familiar oh they're high levels of cheese and stick and very you might hate it that's fun yeah Well, they're very that I'm into it. Very self-aware. Okay, great. The guy's name's like Attila or something. He's got a crazy name. Oh, okay. Yeah. And they have songs like Sanctified by Dynamite.
00:37:01
Speaker
They're sweet. Yeah, I'm into that. lot of organ. Yeah. A lot of werewolves. It's just so many lot of werewolves. So many priests. So many werewolves. Sounds like that's their shtick.
00:37:12
Speaker
It's a great deal of shtick. Sounds like wolves are their shtick. Yeah. That's a great shtick. That's a great shtick. I feel like we've only talked about like one band so far that had no shtick. Can you imagine how embarrassing it would be in the early 80s or mid 80s to go fully in on your shtick and then realize a band four hours away has the same shtick as you? That'd be sad. You know how like and then you'd have to pivot or force them to pivot.
00:37:41
Speaker
Yeah. Play a show together and see if see who's better at your stick and then make a like a gentleman's decision on who's going to pivot. A gentleman's decision. that dawn It would be a gentleman's decision. We know. we know haven't heard very many ladies talk about that. Listen, going to say this.
00:38:01
Speaker
Not a lot yet not a lot of ladies. Not right now. There'll be ladies later. The ladies come much later. Yeah, Power Battle is very welcoming to the ladies now. Currently, there's piles of ladies out there. Piles. In the late eighty s there's just no women that was the problem they just there was we were just busy being oppressed there were ready and that was keeping you so they're keeping you so busy oppressing you like that's 24-hour job man constant non-stop oppression all right we're being facetious i don't know if you can tell um
00:38:39
Speaker
I Want Out was no accident. Written by Kai Hanson, was a statement of wanting to quit the band, and so he did. Two months after Keepers 2, he was replaced by Roland Grappow, and he was able to go to his protege's Blind Guardian to get them off the ground.
00:38:52
Speaker
But that wanted him to get his own band again, so he hired singer Ralph Shapers to help him out. They started as a two-piece with hired guns and issued 1990's Heading for Tomorrow on...
00:39:03
Speaker
noise Noise. Noise records, yeah. With a bit of a mixed bag of styles, peaking with the single, Heaven Can Wait. The band is called a Gamma Ray. i like Gamma Ray.
00:39:15
Speaker
I fucking love Gamma Ray. yeah I love Gamma Ray. That's one of my all-time favorites. Big fan. Especially the mid-90s stuff that's like, oh so good. This is basically Ramones intro.
00:39:27
Speaker
He's a punk guy, that's what I'm saying. Yeah, yeah it's ah he put weird keyboards in there.
00:39:34
Speaker
But even just... do do do do do No, I do thought of that exactly when I listened to it. It's happy. Yeah. These are major chords. Totally. Major chords.
00:39:48
Speaker
I think he's a corporal now, actually. Major chords. Ah. He's moved up in the world. Field promotion. Yeah. A lot of good jokes today. I
00:40:04
Speaker
i mean, good is subjective. fo Bordering on great. I'm impressed.
00:40:15
Speaker
That's a hook.
00:40:18
Speaker
Yes. I love me some choir. Yeah. Chorus. That's That becomes, i think Gamma Ray was the first to really go for it with that kind of stuff to make it sound like church choirs or like sea shanties. Yeah. Right. Yeah. yeah Which became like the standard. Totally.
00:40:40
Speaker
Not just saying the name of the song really, really high pitched, which is what everybody else was doing. I mean, which also works. It does work. It does. both Both can be true. And no one can forget it.
00:40:50
Speaker
Yeah. So this takes us to the end of the 80s, but this point, power metal was a true thing in Germany, with the earliest iteration mostly in place, anchored by noise records, and varied enough stylistically to not be too samey.
00:41:03
Speaker
Speed metal and Wabum were the backbone still, so there was still a rawness to the sound. For many other groups around this time, including Accept, who are still going... A band called Axis. ah That's the band that got me fired from my writing job.
00:41:16
Speaker
a Sinner. Heaven's Gate. I need to hear it. That'll be in the I'll put that in the break. Heaven's Gate. And of course, the almighty warlock headed by the inimitable metal queen Doro.
00:41:29
Speaker
Fucking legend. Enter the ladies. Yes. The one that will show. This is I Rule the Ruins.
00:41:39
Speaker
Warlock is incredible. yeah I love Warlock so much. And Doro is the best. She's a fucking boss. like And she's the realist. like Serious business.
00:41:52
Speaker
She was just on the... Not this 7,000 tons of metal cruise, but the last one. I was like, fuck I looked into getting tickets to that. I looked into it this year too, because my friends were playing.
00:42:08
Speaker
It's fucking expensive. It's so expensive. i yeah It's so expensive to get shoved into a room with three strangers. Yeah. yeah like yeah And just like for, it's only like four days or five days and you're like, or I could go to Jamaica for two weeks. And the shows go to like four in the morning. yeah Oh yeah cause like like Don't get me wrong, it would be fun. But I would like need vacation to recover. No.
00:42:33
Speaker
You want to get every penny worth. Every single penny worth. PRB is like almost too much. like Like with an all day festival and then the nighttime shows that go till two or three in the morning, yeah that's almost too much.
00:42:48
Speaker
To have that like then start at like 10 a.m. every day and go even later into the morning every morning, that's crazy. And to just be trapped there. Trapped on the ocean. Yeah, trapped on the ocean. 100%.
00:43:04
Speaker
Vibrato watch. ah Doro has crazy vibrato. My favorite. Just does not stop. yeah yeah That's what I live for, baby. i And that takes us to the break.
00:43:15
Speaker
So when we come back, we got more PowerPod.
00:43:34
Speaker
What up, Checkerheads? Checkered Rob here to remind you that our annual Madness March bracket kicks off March 4th. This year, it's the Trojan War, ah classic Jamaican Ska bracket to determine once and for all the greatest Ska standard of all time.
00:43:48
Speaker
You can post your predictions and follow along at challenge.com slash the Trojan War. That's C-H-A-L-L-O-N-G-E dot com slash the Trojan War.
00:44:00
Speaker
And in the immortal words of Toots Hibbert, the pressure is going to drop on us. Welcome back to PowerPod. We're talking about German power metal in part two here. And so now we're going to talk about the early 90s.
00:44:13
Speaker
So while on the surface it would seem Halloween was perched to go bigger than ever, they signed with EMI. But this caused their metal label Noise to sue them, which subsequently caused their major label debut Pink Bubbles Go Ape, that's what it's called, to be delayed until 1992.
00:44:30
Speaker
Pink Bubbles Go Ape. So metal. This is the very storm. harry So sounding. This is the storm. the the This is the record he did, which has this like lady holding. you got to have to look it up. but he's Lady holding a fish over her mouth.
00:44:44
Speaker
yeah It's the worst album cover ever. Yeah. So now you got to check it. It's really stupid. Pink Bubbles Go Ape. So here's the thing about Halloween is we talked about like the you know being self-aware or whatever. Yeah.
00:44:57
Speaker
They sometimes overdid it. Like a little too much. Like when Halloween was just being fun guys, it's great. When they're like, we're funny, then it's not good. And Pink Bubbles Go Ape was them pretending to be funny.
00:45:13
Speaker
You're looking at the cover now, aren't you? like the Yeah. What is happening here? It's stupid. It's pretty bad. and Yeah. It's not great. And it's not a good record. They were trying to be pop metal. Why did they put their little logo?
00:45:27
Speaker
Jack O'Lantron, mean? In little tab. and No, like that little Halloween logo is in like a little black tab that's not... What terrible graphic design. Holy smokes.
00:45:41
Speaker
By the legendary Pink Floyd maker, the Adam Hart mother himself. When you say that and I look at the photograph... Yeah. Yes. It's a weird photograph. That makes sense.
00:45:53
Speaker
But the rest of it looks like... They took it to their buddy to put the text on it. It's a sticker.
00:46:04
Speaker
Yeah. Anyway, this this is a song here. This is The Chance. This is a relatively famous song.
00:46:13
Speaker
One of my all-time favorite power metal tropes is the guitar line matching the chorus. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
00:46:23
Speaker
Sorry, you'll get me every single time. Every time.
00:46:32
Speaker
some crazy bass too. Marcus Grossbaum? Is that his name? That's good bass player.
00:46:48
Speaker
That's a fun little riff.
00:46:51
Speaker
Isn't that punkiness yeah that Kai would have brought?
00:47:03
Speaker
This came off of that album yeah with that cover. yeah That's... Damn shame. It's probably the only good song on it, to be fair.
00:47:16
Speaker
And the Celeste cover that's on the Keepers of Jericho compilation is very good. But overall, it's a skippable record. So they decided to not wait around for the follow-up and completely abandoned metal for a strictly pop rock approach for 1993's Chameleon, which was a bomb.
00:47:35
Speaker
And have no interest in playing more crappy songs from that either. It sounds like people wanted me to play the shitty stuff. Maybe I'll post it somewhere. Yeah, we need a sub-playlist. The good and the bad. I'm just playing the hits right now.
00:47:48
Speaker
Maybe I should put in like shit the shits. The hits? The shits. the hits those shits Then the band fully imploded. We'll come back to that.
00:47:59
Speaker
So let's go back to Gravedigger. By 1991, they had fully reformed with heavy hitters such as Uwe Lewis, Chris Botendahl, and Jorg Michael, were ready to show that things had changed and that they're not the poppy digger band anymore.
00:48:12
Speaker
The comeback record was nineteen ninety three s The Reaper, eliminated all their pop attempts and fully embraced the speed and power metal that the old Halloween was known for. So Halloween was doing that pop crap.
00:48:25
Speaker
And then Gravedigger basically was like, yeah, we're metal guys. So like they just like flipped. Yeah. And that that was followed by the dark and brooding heart of darkness in 1995. But let's play the Reaper.
00:48:41
Speaker
Yeah. Love this song. Pretty fucking heavy. Fuck yeah. This is a sick intro.
00:48:52
Speaker
I was really hoping there'd be a haaaah or something. I'm ready for that. You gotta have that or you have to have like the cannon fire. That's another thing. Or a lightning strike. Yeah. Some sort of like explosion.
00:49:04
Speaker
Yeah. Welcome the Eveless Nightmare on
00:49:13
Speaker
That's fun. His voice is real love it or hate it. Yeah. not Not for everybody. I do like that he's, he's kind of down here, but then he's going on. Like, I do like that. That's fun.
00:49:25
Speaker
I like it, yeah. i like it when there's power down low and power up top. Plus, he's kind of doing like a... Like a not as bonkers King Diamond thing. Yeah. i know Kind of.
00:49:38
Speaker
They all love King Diamond. Who doesn't? Yeah. diamond The maximum theater. Yeah. True that. Yeah, no one does it quite like that guy. um But Gravedigger, this is the all we're going play for them. but Because like it was when they did Toons of War in 97 that they like got their whole shtick together where everything was about like historical stuff.
00:50:01
Speaker
And that's when they are all their big hits would start happening. So they're just like getting into it right now still. It does make me a little sad that their whole shtick isn't just the monster truck.
00:50:13
Speaker
because It makes you sad. How far can a monster truck shtick take you? don't know. That one banded pirate. I take it back. As soon as I said it, I was like, never mind.
00:50:25
Speaker
Anything is possible it power metal. That's what we're learning here. That's the lesson. Anything is possible. Just pick a shtick and stick to it. It's when you fuck away from the shtick that you get punished. That's true. You've got to lock into a shtick and stay there.
00:50:40
Speaker
If Running Wild made a ninja album, people like, is the worst fucking shit I've ever heard. And it could sound exactly the same. And people would be like, no, ninjas don't sound like this. Pirates do. What is that? Some sort of black powder explosion? I need a cannon explosion. All right?
00:50:57
Speaker
Which is funny. There is that Finnish power metal band that ah that only sings about samurai. Oh, yeah? Mm-hmm. So this is not too far.
00:51:08
Speaker
This is not too It's got to be tough to start a new power metal band. And have the internet and be able to find a shtick. There's a lot of shticks be taken.
00:51:18
Speaker
Like, to have solid SEO and also an original shtick, that's tough. You're talking about Twilight Force. Like, I feel like we're going keep talking about them because they keep getting bigger.
00:51:30
Speaker
That's true. But I think, like... They're an example of when you're just like, we take the Rhapsody thing and then they just like went five steps up. And just like they have like the ninja costume on the one guy. Well, I feel like raps and Rhapsody is like is like, what if we sang about D&D?
00:51:48
Speaker
Whereas Twilight Force what if our band is literally a D&D party? Then there's even like more specific, like those Italian dwarfs. Windrose. Windrose. Windrose only sings about dwarves. They're just dwarves. That's real niche. Not just D&D.
00:52:06
Speaker
Not only by accident. and those so this is this is not This is not the Windrose episode, but that was an accident because they did that cover. right The Diggy Diggy Hole song.
00:52:17
Speaker
And then it just got so big that they're just like, like this is who we are now. you bad right is what we do That band Victorious did that too when they say made that weird EP that was about like laser dinosaurs.
00:52:30
Speaker
And so now that's all they do. i mean, that's a sweet stick. When you find your stick, you find your stick. The shtick finds you. The shtick finds you. Maybe that's what it is. You're just trying a bunch of shit until the shtick sticks and then like, that's it. That's thing we And it sounds like these are all more modern examples and these shticks are very specific. Maybe when you start your band, you just have to start with a general shtick. And then narrow it down. And then narrow it down until you finally hit that original just slice of the shtick.
00:53:04
Speaker
The sweet spot. Yeah. All right. Rage. Let's go back to them. The heavy one. and They had been going strong releasing record after record of heavy tinge power metal in 1989. Secrets in a weird world. 1992 is trapped in 1993 is missing link.
00:53:19
Speaker
All issued on noise records. Okay. Let's listen. I was trying to remember what the other one was.
00:53:34
Speaker
Well, they got the riffs. right Off the bat, they got the riffs. They got the riffs. I need riffs. I'm a riff guy. There has been a real solid foundation of riffs.
00:53:46
Speaker
Very few bands lacking riffs on this episode.
00:53:51
Speaker
On Power Pod episode? Yeah. What is the least riffy metal genre? Which one doesn't riff? oh yeah Probably some sort of atmospheric something. Oh, yeah, like Pelican.
00:54:06
Speaker
Pelican doesn't riff. Pelican's even got riffs. I'm talking like that. you' Like the real, like the synthy black metal-y kind of like. That stuff doesn't even have instruments mostly. It's just
00:54:22
Speaker
yeah, even a band like Pelican's got their kind of like heavy, kind of sludgy, riffy parts and every now and then. Yeah, power metal is inherently pretty riffy. I think sometimes it can be very like guitar solo-y but yeah yeah when it goes the other direction. i think the gallop, like I think you can't have power metal without the gallopy type of drum.
00:54:45
Speaker
And I feel like the gallopy drum, you gotta have a a riff it it begs it begs for a riff yeah you can't you can't just be strumming over it the whole time or it gets real boring gotta have like a riff on that shit you know what you're talking about i ah you know what i was thinking about while you're talking about that storm warrior because they have crazy good riffs they got ribs and like every time you're talking about i'm just like thinking about like man what if we listen to storm warrior they're really good but Are we going to get there?
00:55:13
Speaker
No. They're much later. so They're more modern. They're good. they and Another band with their stick. Only Vikings. I mean, a lot of them do the Vikings. yes That's a common one. It's a good stick, huh? Running Wild was also just as prolific as ever, and by the 90s, they had cemented their reputation as a consistent, if not mainstream, power metal outfit. They decided to get ambitious and refocused concept albums. This is going to be a big deal with all these other future records. Mm-hmm.
00:55:39
Speaker
1992's Pile of Skulls, 1994's Black Hand Inn, and 1995's Masquerade. Yeah, Pirates. Pirates. Their sound got bigger, bolder, and cleaner, which wasn't to everyone's liking as their grittiness was getting lost in the shuffle, but they were still something offering something that Halloween wasn't.
00:55:54
Speaker
So let's listen to The Privateer. That's a pirate-sounding ass band. Nerd song title for sure. They do it. They do the thing. And that thing is pirates. Pirates, yeah.
00:56:06
Speaker
Until Aelstorm came along. Aren't we going to a pirate metal show soon? Yes, we are. Visions of Atlantis. I love the... I'm very excited because Visions of Atlantis, when they first came out, were just like...
00:56:19
Speaker
dunked on so hard. People were like, this band, they don't know what the fuck they're doing. and then it took them like, i swear, like 10 years before they landed on something that they were good at.
00:56:30
Speaker
And now they release really good music. Is it mer-metal? Mermetal. I love that. don't know. They're like an Atlantis band. so I'm guessing what their shtick is. so Their shtick is pirates now. Pirates.
00:56:44
Speaker
The Mermetal is a great shtick. I like that. I'm kind of surprised. Yeah, just like stone looked at Joey because I was like, what is he doing here? Why did he say Mermetal? Did I just invent a subgenre? Let's start band. Well, you found a shtick. Hey, in this SEO turn, Google it. Find out.
00:57:03
Speaker
I'm on it. Is there mermetal? Is there mermaid metal? Mermetal. Other than like me Mermaider by the what's his? Deathclaw.
00:57:18
Speaker
Again, shtick. That man's got shtick.
00:57:25
Speaker
Not metals.
00:57:29
Speaker
This one sounds like pirate music.
00:57:33
Speaker
Like, just, like, the, the like, cord structures they're using. Like, now it's definitely sea shanty. Yeah, they're going they keep going in that direction. They're moving away from the metal.
00:57:44
Speaker
ah Not the metal, but, like, the more, like, old metal that they were kind of doing. Yeah. The thing that they do that's still like the black metal thing that's cool is that the the leads are played like um like multiple notes at a time. instead of Yeah, they're like all tread picking. Yeah, which is really rad. Like nobody else really does that. Only Running Wild does that. And it is very much a black metal thing. Yeah, that's true sure super black metal.
00:58:08
Speaker
yeah Any luck? I'm not finding anything, Joey. You may have struck gold. All I'm finding is a lot of covers, heavy metal covers of Under the Sea from The Little Married.
00:58:19
Speaker
Which I'm interested in. Honestly, didnt that's where you start. If Diggy Diggy Hole taught us anything. You do Under the Sea. yeah yeah Yeah, put that out as the first one. it not even.
00:58:31
Speaker
Put it forth in the record. Who cares? Put it out as the first video. Oh yeah, for sure. gotta smash that subscribe.
00:58:40
Speaker
Then who hit up the hit up the pod if you want to join my Mermetal band. I want to join your Mermetal band. i Stop trying to like push Maz out of this project. Fuck you, Joey.
00:58:57
Speaker
Blind Guardian, we're back to them, had taken a much-needed break after their trio of speed metal affairs and decided to reshape their sound with more textures, keyboards, progressive elements, and they issued 1992's Somewhere Far Beyond.
00:59:08
Speaker
To say the least, was ahead of its time, signaling the direction of power metal five years ahead. It also contained their biggest song, which is a ballad, the only ballad I'm playing today and maybe ever. This is ah the Bard Songs.
00:59:21
Speaker
And if you go to a Blind Guardian show, this one tears the fucking house down. yeah. It's crazy. I bet. That's so sweet. Everybody sings the song. And it has a lot of words, which is fun. It's fun when a lot of words are sang by everybody. And I mean, it's like a bard song and it's a ballad. So it makes sense that there's a lot of words.
00:59:44
Speaker
I would hope so. Or I'd be has a tail to ripped off. Yeah.
00:59:50
Speaker
Yeah, this would be sweet to see live. Yeah, yeah this is some real, like, toss a coin to your witch or energy for sure. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:00:04
Speaker
One time when I saw Blind Guardian the first time, they were like, oh, what song should we play? And they asked you specifically. Hey, Rob, what song should we play? Hey, Rob, I see you over there. song should we play?
01:00:17
Speaker
They're just like like, play a different band song. um But then somebody was like, ah i can't remember which song. It was from the first record.
01:00:28
Speaker
And the guitarist said, no, I'm not playing it. Straight up. Just said, no, not playing it. Sorry. And then Hansi like, use this like wait a sec. I got to convince Mr. Slow Hands over here to play this song. Mr. Slow Hands. Ooh.
01:00:45
Speaker
Mr. Slow Hands is like biggest dig to a metal guitarist. Like, holy crap. That's amazing.
01:00:55
Speaker
Anyway, the Bard song rules. It's great song. I don't like ballads usually, but man. Gamma Ray was busy during this time too, but was turbulent in its lineup with each record record having a different shift in personnel with Ralph and Cotty being the steadies.
01:01:09
Speaker
They continued by releasing 1991's Psy No More, 1993's Insanity and Genius, evolving their sound to be a little bit more elaborate, a little bit more fast-paced, more high-energy, and put the emphasis on bombast of above all else, so this is Tribute to the Past.
01:01:33
Speaker
Pretty tight intro. Yeah. Just love Gamma Race so much. Mm-hmm.
01:01:43
Speaker
And I know I've said it before, but he plays a sick flying bee and it's very metal and it's very cool. That is very cool. fucking love flying bees. They're cool. I do too. i just, I have to shred to play one and yeah I have no business owning one.
01:02:03
Speaker
My four power chords just won't cut it. Although, um, what's her name plays a flying bee and she only plays rhythm on it. Um, Oh god, they're a sweet power metal band. I can't think their name and I love them.
01:02:17
Speaker
Burning Witches?
01:02:19
Speaker
Give me a minute. I must confer with my one about dragon?
01:02:33
Speaker
No? No. Gamma Ray is all about like, uh, like the Illuminati and stuff. Okay. All right. Like one of the records is called no, no world order. yeah ah Six. so They're woke.
01:02:47
Speaker
No. So I will say this about, so I have to always, I have to preface this. I'm a big Kai Hansen fan because I just love Gamma Ray and I think he's a great guitar player. yeah He's an anti-vaxxer and he's kind of a weird guy. He's kind of a weird guy.
01:03:02
Speaker
so Crystal Viper. Crystal Viper is sick. Yeah. They're deadly and she plays a flying bee, but she only plays rhythm. So there you go. Fuck yes, queen. Hell yeah. he yeah Yeah, get them. Make it accessible for us yeah people who can't tread solos. Pointy guitars are for rhythm players, too. Yeah. All right. We're getting to the end.
01:03:24
Speaker
This is part three. We're going to head into the mid 90s. So let's go back to Halloween. Ingo, the drummer, was fired for his drug problem as well as his words sitting schizophrenia. You couldn't find any?
01:03:36
Speaker
Huh? That was his problem. Probably conflicting by drugs. That's the second time this episode that Joey said something that I like doe-eyed him at. I was like, what is he talking about? Not fast on the uptake today.
01:03:50
Speaker
He would tragically take his own life in 1995. Oh, feel bad now, to go. ah um The shows were far worse, tended due to the poor reception of their last two records. Yeah, so basically what was happening, and this is in my writing, is that they kept playing the last two records exclusively. they do that? And so they kept bombing really hard.
01:04:15
Speaker
Who would have thought? So Michael Kieske, you know, but but apparently towards the end, he would just like stand still on stage while he was singing. And like, they would go to him like, hey, buddy, you should probably move around a little bit more. He's like, meh.
01:04:29
Speaker
oh So fully just the nine to five for him at that point. like like showed up to the bare minimum and went home. So he he got fired.
01:04:40
Speaker
And then he became this like super... Like he hates power metal. He hates metal. He's like not a metal guy. He wasn't a metal guy when they hired him. And then he ended up doing these like ah weird solo records for Frontier that were like like basically prog rock.
01:04:57
Speaker
okay Or like AOR rock. Like it's fine. It's whatever. That makes makes sense for the kind of person he sounds like. Yeah, I was going say. I feel like standing there not doing much. Yeah.
01:05:08
Speaker
AOR is perfect. So that left Whitecalf, Grappo, and Basis Marcus to pick up the pieces and rethink their direction. um They also got fired by EMI, so the timing was pretty good.
01:05:21
Speaker
So they brought in Gamma Ray drummer Uli Kusch and Pink Cream 69 singer Andy Daris to Pink Cream 69. They're a German like pub rock band. Sexy. right Yeah.
01:05:33
Speaker
Quite popular night in the German. Nice. pink Cream Not Nice.
01:05:42
Speaker
So they reset with 1994's Master of the Rings, a a noted nod to Keeper's Era and a signal defense that they were returning to their roots. This Soul Survivor. I think I got the the names wrong again. That's the one.
01:06:00
Speaker
And Andy Darius would be their singer for, like, forever. From 95 until today. Oh, wow. yeah That's a long run.
01:06:13
Speaker
It's got a little bit of a rougher quality than Michael Kieske did. It's pretty sweet though.
01:06:26
Speaker
Oh, the Chuggies. They got the Chuggies. The Chuggies.
01:06:35
Speaker
I like these vocals. Yeah, I liked his quality of vocals too. It's cool. Yeah. And the records would get better after this one. This one's pretty good, but like, like Time of the Oath is amazing. And a couple of the other later ones even are really good. Did you say one was called Master of the Rings? Master of the Rings, That's dancing so close to trademark issues. Yeah. Yeah,
01:07:06
Speaker
this is sweet. Yeah.
01:07:12
Speaker
Halloween's where you go to to get the most pure power metal experience. It's at its most core element. You know what mean? There's not a lot of frills. Not a lot of extra stuff. They don't use keyboards.
01:07:26
Speaker
It's just guitar, s singing, talking about rings and keys and shit. Jack's there hanging out. Jack O'Lantern is there. But then they'll also do like on this record, I think is where Mr. Ego was, which is a weird name for a song, but it's about the old singer.
01:07:46
Speaker
That's a slam. i Yeah. like that And they'll have like songs like, like, I feel like on on the rabbit don't come easy record, there's a song about jizz. Like they'll just like once in a aware of it Don't come easy. Yeah.
01:08:02
Speaker
Like, it's just one one what or two songs here and there. It's just like, this is a metal song. Like, what are you guys doing? Like, you're not funny, but you definitely want me to think you're funny. They're just like, like, ah continuing the tradition of songs like My Ding-A-Ling.
01:08:27
Speaker
you know
01:08:31
Speaker
like like Sorry, that really got me. but and it's Continuing the tradition of my ding-a-ling. Halloween. That's the natural progression from my ding-a-ling.
01:08:43
Speaker
as You get to the jizz song on Rabbit Don't Come Easy. hundred percent 100%. My ding-a-ling walked so the jizz song could run.
01:08:57
Speaker
Alright, let's go back to Rage. They had decided to make a shift in the mid-90s and made the, at the time, strange decision to add a fourth member to their lineup. They moved to Gunn and began making concept albums.
01:09:08
Speaker
Another one's doing it. This time with 1995's Black in Mind based on H.P. Lovecraft. And so this is Crawling Chaos. Noted cool dude.
01:09:19
Speaker
Lovecraft. More books. More songs about books. No. Cool, chill dude Definitely didn't have any terrible opinions at all.
01:09:32
Speaker
Why is Lovecraftian horror sweet and H.P. Lovecraft so terrible? like Why does that have to be the thing? Artist-artist separation thing. Gotta keep them separated. Gotta separated. That's what kind keep that what the offspring was singing most. That's what they were saying that about.
01:09:51
Speaker
Do people say that about this podcast? Say I gotta separate the art from the artist? Like, a checker past is sweet, but Rob's a piece of shit. I hope so. I hope someone out there thinks that. Honestly, be I mean... Just because I hope someone's engaging with what we put in into the world so intensely that they could have that sort of opinion.
01:10:15
Speaker
up
01:10:23
Speaker
Oh, yeah. This is so much more mid-90s. Yeah. they really They really went mid-90s rage.
01:10:31
Speaker
I'm not mad at it. It's not my go-to.
Humorous Critiques of Metal Bands
01:10:35
Speaker
It's kind of like style. Like there's like Nightmare a band from France that kind of sounds like this.
01:10:42
Speaker
It's little slow for me. wish I'd go faster. It's a little slow for me as well. But I get it, though. yeah I think i pull in some of the pop metal people. It's really chanty. Yeah. change Chanty.
01:10:55
Speaker
I guess when you're playing like an hour and ten minute set and all of the songs are like 300 BPM. You need break. You gotta have a couple of songs that are like that speed. You want a ballad or two? Yeah. Yeah, totally, right? Rage is the band you go to, especially like from the mid-90s forward, that's gonna make the mid-paced songs.
01:11:11
Speaker
So if you're like, I like power metal, but I don't like it when it goes fast. Get the fuck out of here. First of all, it was great. You said it all. I made a face for those listening and not watching. Um,
01:11:24
Speaker
But, like, there's a band that does that for you, I guess. You know what I mean? Like, you've got a band. There's a band that plays a pretty mid-pace. If there's one thing I've learned about metal since you've been recording, it's that if you have a really specific interest, there is a metal band that covers it, probably, unless it's Mermaid City. Apparently no. No more. We'll get there.
01:11:49
Speaker
We'll get there. It's coming. It's coming. It's not that there's We have to jam first. Yeah.
01:11:57
Speaker
We got the song ideas that are all ready to go. A concept album. mean, they're all just about mermaids. We're all the best easy part. We're going to have big fins when you come to see us. We're going to be in a tank. We're going to be in a tank.
01:12:13
Speaker
Watch me swim. We all them scuba licenses. Oh, shit. I have my scuba license. We're there, by the way. What is happening? I can't believe I was here for this. You know what I mean? I can tell my friends. can tell my son 10 years from now. I was there
Gamma Ray and Judas Priest Connections
01:12:30
Speaker
when mermetal was born. favorite genre. It's recorded on tape.
01:12:36
Speaker
Gamma Ray, let's go back to them. Finally got their shit together in 1995. Ralph Sheepers would leave the band to try out for... Judas Priest. Was he successful?
01:12:48
Speaker
He was not. and yeah Who was successful? Do we know took over for Rob Halford after he left the first time? oh no Tim Ripper Owens. He's a killer singer. who By the way.
01:13:04
Speaker
Yeah, so I want to cycle that back. He ended up singing for fucking Iced Earth, if we're going to keep talking about that piece of shit. Oh, Iced Earth. No. No, yikes. If you didn't know, the guitarist <unk> riot songwriter for Iced Earth that was arrested at January 6th, Capitol riots. and Not a cruel guy at all. know Not cruel. But Ripper Owens sang for them. But the movie Rockstar is about Ripper Owens.
01:13:28
Speaker
Yes, yes. Yes, it is. Yeah, like true story. Yeah, really? Basically, kind of. Yeah, with Mark Wahlberg as Rip Rowlands. That's super weird. Or whatever his name was. I only, or I mostly know him from his post-Judas Priest stuff ah because at one point they did like a...
01:13:47
Speaker
ah like a Roadrunner anniversary compilation. Sick. That had like... Nickelback. it Yeah. Probably. it had It had songs with like classic, like first handful of years Roadrunner bands. Oh, that's cool. Working with more modern Roadrunner artists. Like Kill Switch and Gage or whatever. Yeah, or something like that. I know exactly what you're talking about. I remember And there was a DVD that went with it and they did a live show of it. And the DVD is really cool too.
01:14:17
Speaker
But... fucking ripper owens does like two or three songs he shows up a few times yeah and every time as i was listening that compilation i was like who is this guy and it kept being him he's such like he's really good really good voice yeah and like that that i those two iced earth records he's on are awesome and like 10 000 strong is probably the best iced earth song ever and ripper just fucking kills it those judas priest record i think it was one that he was on maybe two Not that great.
01:14:46
Speaker
yeah But I mean, like, without like I think he broke him. But it broke him out. yeah Yeah. And also that was like, arguably not Judas Priest's best era just in general. well Like, whether they were having singer issues or not.
01:15:01
Speaker
No, but and that would have been just after Painkiller. it would have been just shortly after pay Painkiller 91. Weird. okay yeah weird So, like, arguably they were in a renaissance, potentially. Yeah. think there may
Dynamic Qualities of Power Metal
01:15:16
Speaker
another movie. But also at that time, that would have been right before Metal died, too. Oh, yeah.
01:15:20
Speaker
Yeah. Because, like, 92, 93 hit and Metal was dead. As we witnessed in Rockstar. Yeah. Grunge killed it. Yeah, exactly. Grunge killed the Metal Star, right?
01:15:31
Speaker
Yeah. That's what the Buggles were singing about, right? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. um um What was I talking about? Oh yeah, i was talking about Ralph Sheeper's leaving for Judas Priest. Okay, so Kai Hansen is now the singer for Gamma Ray. The first time since the ah Walls of Jericho ah record by Halloween.
01:15:51
Speaker
ah We talked about that in the last episode. So it wasn't quite the classic lineup, but Gamma Ray of Legend was finally starting to be formed on the record Land of the Free. So this is the song, Land of the Free.
01:16:07
Speaker
So good. Yeah. Just like, i love this is life. I love some harmonizing guitar riffs too. about That to me, is my that that's my chef's kiss. Ooh. Ooh. Need the double guitar? to Two guitar sound? Yeah. Guitar harmonies? Guitar harmonies.
01:16:23
Speaker
Hondo P. Love it. Love it.
01:16:32
Speaker
This is the quiet part, but also I'm still keeping the double kick going all the way. So this is the record before their next drummer, ah dan Zimmerman, would join. and he is the best power metal drummer, in my opinion.
01:16:48
Speaker
And he does more, like, mix-ups. Okay. He's the one that does, like, the double kicks, and then he'll do, like, the da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da, and then, like, go back and stuff. Right. And that becomes sort of the... So he switches it up little bit. Yeah.
01:17:03
Speaker
This song is so dynamic. theater he has he has rediscovered queen yeah
01:17:24
Speaker
definitely moving into that like adventure metal kind of space for sure still talking about the illuminati though yeah
Blind Guardian's Pivotal Era
01:17:31
Speaker
but it's like less like being on a pirate ship or just metal. It's like hero quest metal. For sure. Yeah.
01:17:39
Speaker
That's why they call it power metal strato Halloween or strato gamma ween. That's what it's called. That makes sense.
01:17:47
Speaker
All right. So we'll close off this episode. That's right. We got to the end. By checking in on Blind Guardian, who took even longer between records. By 1995, they decided to get even more progressive, dark, and bringing in elements of classical folk and was finally meshed with their power and speed metal styles.
01:18:03
Speaker
The record is Imaginations from the Other Side and is considered one of the greatest metal records ever made, period. um It is also considered the big point between the first era of power metal and then what would come around in 1997. So this is like the hinge point.
01:18:19
Speaker
So we'll listen to that song. The title track, Imaginations from the Other Side.
01:18:31
Speaker
Fuck, that snare drum sounds like a goddamn drum shot. Gunshot. It's crazy. Yeah, Thoman Stotch is also an incredible drummer. He's wild.
01:18:57
Speaker
Okay. Unexpected. Okay. Alright. That's the choir. Yeah. The choir. This is where they first start really discovering multi-tracking. yeah Which, depending on who you talk to, is the death of Blind Guardian is the multi-tracking. Or, if you're Rob.
01:19:20
Speaker
This is where shit gets real. Yeah. Right. Because Nightfall on Middle Earth is what comes next, and
01:19:29
Speaker
I love a choir. It's just epic on epic. More is more. More is more. More is more in there. Get a symphony in there. gotta Get it all in there. That's what I'm saying.
01:19:42
Speaker
And those records that have like live symphonies and live yeah choirs, they're so good. Yeah, splooge.
Germany's Role in Power Metal's Evolution
01:19:50
Speaker
Yeah, splooge indeed. Splooge indeed.
01:19:53
Speaker
Speaking of jizz. Yeah.
01:19:57
Speaker
And then the multi-tracked guitar solo also because they only have one guitar player, but they decided to just put seven guitar things over. for it yeah yeah I think in ah if we ever get to talk about Night of the Opera, the the main song and then there was silence is like 12 minutes long.
01:20:13
Speaker
It took as long to write and record as the rest of the record did. because it had i think over a hundred multi-tracks on it oh wow yeah it's a crazy song and it's about the odyssey again books books but more but books and funny thing is night nightfall in middle earth the next record is about the silmarillion so it's not even about like main tolkien book right it's about the one besides two definitely already covered that yeah that's right don't need to be going back they got to go back in time yeah So that takes us to the end of 95 in Germany. The German style is all but set in stone. Guitar bass, riff oriented, lots of gallops, double bass runs. Vocals are clean but rough and the production and songwriting has an almost punk edge to it.
01:20:56
Speaker
Other regions will take a different style but Germany is where it was basically invented and has the most straightforward approach. 1997 is a huge year with gigantic releases in Sweden, Italy and yes, even more in Germany. But we'll talk about that on another episode.
01:21:10
Speaker
We did it. PowerPod 2. Heck yeah. Yay! what our What is our last minute thoughts? What do you think of first wave European power metal, however you want to call it?
01:21:21
Speaker
Maz. Oh my god, I love it. I love it. I don't know. and It's just, and like I said, more is more And i feel like and just grew so much from the beginning to to our hinge point in 97. Yeah, and it's sweet to see everybody like experimenting and changing it. and You know?
01:21:42
Speaker
and don I love it. I love everything about it. Yeah, this was a fun ah portion of the story to kind of see. Because it was... much like a lot of these kind of very small genres when they start out, was a little incestuous at the beginning because it was a lot of just the same people in like four bands.
01:22:02
Speaker
Right. Just noise, noise, noise. over you know it yeah But over like 20 years, the 10 years or so that we covered here, like it's crazy to see those, you know, same dozen people or 15 or 20 people that were all kind of doing essentially the same thing at the beginning are now doing so many variations of still the same thing But it's so different. But finding the shtick.
01:22:24
Speaker
Yeah. They found their shticks. It's shtick journey. And Germany is still like probably the biggest country for this genre, even today.
01:22:35
Speaker
Like we didn't even get into bands like Ordinogin is probably like one of the biggest bands out of that ah out of that country right now. Or like, i don't know. Just there's freedom call, I guess, would come in a little bit later. And they're huge, too.
01:22:48
Speaker
um And ah yeah, but it all kind of stems from this one place. I have a big soft spot for this era. It's a lot of fun. um i do think like the mid 90s is where a lot of these bands really peak.
01:23:01
Speaker
The one band we didn't really get to talk to because they only just kind of start about a year or two later is Iron Savior. We're from around here. yeah yeah um They're all friends with the Halloween guys, and they're all about spaceships.
01:23:13
Speaker
So I feel bad for Joey because we had another spaceship band that we couldn't talk about. You can't talk about every spaceship band. You can't. you can't we We're trying. I got one. I got the one spaceship band. Maybe that'll be the next spinoff. It'll be checkered past the spaceship band cast. There's some good ones. There's some good power metal sci-fi guys out there. Yeah, mean, that'd be...
01:23:35
Speaker
cross-genre. I'm sure there's lots of spaceship bands of all genres out there. And that takes us to the end
Episode Wrap-up and Future Teasers
01:23:42
Speaker
of the episode. PowerPod is a spinoff of Checkered Pass, this podcast. It is hosted by Robin Maz, and the episode is engineered by Engineer Joey. That's me.
01:23:49
Speaker
This podcast is written, researched, and edited by Rob. The theme song was written, recorded, and performed by Martin Davies. Our socials for Twitter, Blue Sky, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok are at CheckeredPassPod, and our website is CheckeredPass.ca.
01:24:03
Speaker
Check out our parent podcast, Check Your Past, for a comedic dive into ska music or other spinoffs, Getting Witchy with Michi and Gear in Your Bedroom, which can all be found on the Check Your Past podcast feed. Maz, would you like to plug
Promotions and Upcoming Projects
01:24:15
Speaker
anything? do you have stuff coming up?
01:24:17
Speaker
Do I have stuff? We got Fembo U shows. Yeah, we do. We have shows. Our second and third show happening mid-March. First show is March 14th? 15th. Whatever the Friday I think it's the 14th.
01:24:33
Speaker
think it's the fourteenth At Dive Bar. So if you're in Edmonton, come and check us out. We'll be playing with um some other fucking sweet friends of ours, ah Streetlight Gin and the Rubber Bullies.
01:24:45
Speaker
And I might hop up on stage and sing an Iron Maiden song with and love our band. So there's a little power. That's fun. Power nod. Might be fun. And then we're playing a super sweet fundraiser for Decimate Metal Festival, which happens June 13th and 14th in Millet, Alberta, which is super rad because it is a heavy metal festival put on all by women.
01:25:07
Speaker
And the fundraiser is all bands fronted by women. So that's super fucking boss. And there's going to be going to be a drag performance like it's going to be sweet. And yeah, so that's sort of in line with International Women's Day, which I think is super cool. And that's on the Saturday after. That's on the Saturday. Yeah. So I'll find the actual date. It is the 14th is dive bar. 15th is at rendezvous.
01:25:31
Speaker
And yeah, we're playing with some sick metal bands. Siren out of Calgary. i don't know if you guys have ever listened to them. They're deadly. Sloan is an amazing vocalist. Super rad band. So it'll be really fun.
01:25:43
Speaker
And where can you find Femme Voyeur? um We have a couple songs on Spotify. ah More to come. But our YouTube is chock full of songs and hilarious videos. So check that out.
01:25:57
Speaker
And stay tuned. New video dropping pretty soon. Yeah. Pretty soon. Really soon. And it's a sweet one. The acting is top notch. Oscar noms galore.
01:26:10
Speaker
So until next time, keep it true, Metalheads.
01:27:34
Speaker
Look into my eyes open