Anti-Seminal by Useless Info Inc

The Michael Palin cameo on the band’s eighth album is a story in itself and one of the many points we touch on in our exploration of this under-rated release. The return of Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor on drums is only one of its many strengths.

After Al Jourgensen decided that synth pop just wasn’t a good look for him, Ministry produced a savage trilogy of albums that together constitute one of the definitive statements in industrial metal. They followed with this effort, less approachable and un-radio-friendly but well worth a listen for immersion in grating sonic textures of pure doom.

Episode Notes

Yes, it’s a challenge finding an anti-seminal album by one of the most seminal hard rock bands ever, and yet we have the curious case of their seventh album, a low performer that was dismissed by critics at the time. We’re here to give this guitar-driven Plant-Page effort its proper due.

The album that dragged the jagged, guitar-based distortion of post punk into the new frontier of the tribal, synth-inflected rhythms of industrial music ended up being remarkably influential on several genres of hard-edged music.

The fifth album by one of the most influential icons of ‘80s metal screams out of the skies with its first track and doesn’t let up until its epic finale.

What do you do when a band refuses to fulfill any expectations and does what they want and only what they want over the span of an entire album? If that band is Faith No More, you may as well go along for the ride because the ride may be bumpy and downright weird at times, but you’ll always be entertained.

Ronnie James Dio’s first major band (apologies to Ronnie and the Redcaps fans) is too often relegated to the position of precursor to the more successful outfit Rainbow, but we find a lot to appreciate in the blues rock grooves of Elf’s final album.

For the first installment of our Out of Pocket supplemental series we take on one of the iconic bands of the ‘80s new wave synth scene and the album that saw them transition from teen pop to introspective maturity.

The reputation of Ronnie James Dio’s namesake band rests primarily on the first two albums, but we find much to admire in the solid ‘80s metal stylings of their fourth effort.