Saturday Shuffle: Faster Pussycat, Dangerous Toys, Nightwish, Armored Saint, Ozzy

Where else are you going to find Faster Pussycat and Walt Whitman within a few paragraphs of each other? Only in the shuffle ...

Faster Pussycat, “Cryin’ Shame.” From the album Wake Me When It’s Over (1989). So I’ve already confessed my weakness for Faster Pussycat, but this particular song takes a bit of a turn from their usual sleaze-filled fare. It’s a bit more of a blues rock piece and tells the story of Ricky Kasso, “The Acid King,” who killed a teenager in Long Island in 1986, claiming that Satan commanded him to do it. Despite the serious nature of the song, it’s still a very 1980s piece, but it’s still a great tune.

Something Borrowed: "In the Navy," Alestorm/The Village People

Alestorm has a long and sordid history of strange cover songs — well at least as long as the band's brief history can provide.

Scotland’s premier purveyors of pirate metal have, after all, done rousing good covers of “Wolves of the Sea” (originally done by Latvian pop act Pirates of the Sea), “You Are a Pirate” (from the Icelandic children’s show Lazy Town) and “I Am a Cider Drinker” (originally done by the scrumpy and western band — whatever that is — The Wurzels).

Saturday Shuffle: Living Colour, Ozzy, Crue, Hank III, Powerwolf

A bit hard to sum this week's shuffle up. Newer stuff from an old band, a couple of metal classics, something completely new, and a little neotraditional country for good measure ...

Living Colour, “The Chair.” From the album The Chair in the Doorway (2009). I quite liked this album from Living Colour. I hadn’t listened to the band in years when I picked it up, and I really loved the heavier vibe. That’s on display in this semi-title track. It’s a bashing, gritty tune. Not the best on the album, but certainly reflective of the rest.

Saturday Shuffle: Ashes of Ares, Soil, Alice in Chains, Savatage, Damn Yankees

This week, we start out with some new stuff and end with a couple of old favorites, including one all-time favorite ...

Ashes of Ares, “Move the Chains.” From the album Ashes of Ares (2013). Made up of fomer members of Iced Earth (vocalist Matt Barlow and guitarist Freddie Vidales) and Nevermore (drummer Van Williams), Ashes of Ares sounds pretty much like what you’d expect. That’s not a bad thing at all, though. “Move the Chains” is one of the better tracks on a very good album, very reminiscent of Barlow’s early work with Iced Earth.

Saturday Shuffle: Down, Alestorm, Jon Oliva's Pain, Pantera, Philip Anselmo

A very Phil-centric shuffle this week ...

Down, “The Seed.” From the album Down II (2002). The power of the riff compels me. Down II, despite what some think, may just be my favorite album from the band. This tune is a great groover with the usual Sabbath and stoner rock overtones that you get from the band. Good stuff that’s as sludgy as the south Louisiana swamps it was born from.

Review: Soil, "Whole"

I was a big fan of Soil’s breakthrough 2001 album Scars, with its infectious hit “Halo.”

As much as I liked that record, though, the band seemed to fade quickly for me. I picked up the follow-up Redefine, but don’t remember much about it, and I haven’t given the band much thought since.

When I heard that original singer Ryan McCombs was returning after a stint in Drowning Pool, the first thing that ran through my head was the chorus from “Halo,” and that pretty much sealed the fact that Whole was going to at least get a chance with me.

Musical times have changed, naturally, and much of what sounded fresh in 2001 has become a stale staple of rock radio. While there’s not much different about the Soil’s sound on Whole than there was on Scars, they’ve still delivered a pretty solid hard rock record with their reunion.

Saturday Shuffle: Amorphis, Pinnick Gales Pridgen, Annihilator, Dangerous Toys, Bob Wayne

A little bit of heavy, a little bit of funky and a little bit of country with a metal flavor ...

Amorphis, “Three Words.” From the album The Beginning of Times (2011). I’ve enjoyed pretty much everything Amorphis has done since vocalist Tomi Joutsen joined in 2005. This song hits what the band does best. It’s beautiful, melancholic and dark, and Joutsen is one of those rare vocalists that impresses both with his clean vocals, which are primarily on display in this song, and his growls.