Saturday Shuffle: Sevendust, Megadeth, Firewind, Crue, Body Count

All heavy rock, all the time in this week's shuffle.


Sevendust, “Bitch.” From the album Sevendust (1997). The mid- to late-1990s were kind of a barren time in hard rock and metal for me, but in the waning years of the decade, a few albums came along that excited me. One of those was Sevendust’s debut. Though many copied the sound in the years that followed, it was something different at the time. I still can’t listen to a song like “Bitch” without cranking it up and screaming along.



Megadeth, “No More Mr. Nice Guy.” From the Shocker soundtrack (1989). “Shocker” was an absolutely awful movie, but I have to admit to a soft spot for the soundtrack, despite it being largely a Desmond Child production. It, after all, gave us this Megadeth cover of an Alice Cooper classic.


Firewind, “Mercenary Man.” From the album The Premonition (2008). This remains one of my favorite Gus G guitar licks. You can’t listen to the song and not be humming that main guitar lick for days to come. The video annoys me, though, because I hate videos where they put sound effects in that cover up the music.


Motley Crue, “Come On and Dance.” From the album Too Fast for Love (1982). I’m in the camp that believes Shout at the Devil is the definitive Motley Crue album, but you can’t discount the youthful energy of their debut, either. It’s the band’s roughest and most unpolished record, but that also gives it kind of a raw energy. And this is a great song when you just need more cowbell.


Body Count, “C Note.” From the album Body Count (1992). I said in my recent review of Body Count’s latest album that Ernie C is probably underrated as a guitarist. This instrumental from their debut doesn’t have much flash, but it has a nice tone and composition.