Decibel Geek Podcast

With Halloween fast approaching, we felt this week was the best time to go ahead and take a look into the history of Shock Rock. It's time for Shock Rocktober!

In this hour-plus episode, Aaron and Chris Go back to the earliest days of Shock Rock with Screamin' Jay Hawkins all the way through Lordi today and along with some acts you may have missed the first time.

Before we get to the music, we're proud to announce a special prize giveaway brought to you by the Decibel Geek Podcast and Michael Wagener. We're giving away a free slot to Michael Wagener's upcoming 7-Day Production Workshop at Wireworld Studio near Nashville, TN. The week-long workshop begins on December 1st. The normal cost of this 7-day workshop is $2450.00. In this workshop, you'll learn hands-on technique in the birth of a song all the way through recording, mixing, and mastering. It's a unique chance to work with a music production legend in an intimate setting. To enter the contest, simply e-mail a letter to us along with an mp3 sample of your work (if available). The letter should state why you think you are the best candidate for this workshop and what you hope to get out of it. E-mail us at [email protected]. Deadline for submissions is midnight on 11/9/2013. Winner will be chosen and notified within 1 week. Good luck to all!

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Screamin Jay Hawkins

The Crazy World of Arthur Brown

Iggy Pop & The Stooges

Alice Cooper

KISS

Wendy O. Williams

GG Allin

Ozzy Osbourne

WASP

King Diamond

Lizzy Borden

GWAR

Rob Zombie

Marilyn Manson

Slipknot

Murderdolls - Wednesday 13

Lordi

Also-rans:

Screaming Lord Sutch, The Doors, Frank Zappa, Black Sabbath, Sex Pistols, Twisted Sister, Motley Crue, Green Jelly, Rammstein, TOOL, Mushroomhead, Mindless Self Indulgence, Lady Gaga.

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Whether you know the name Michael Wagener or not chances are, if you're a fan of this show, he's had a major impact on your life. A cursory glance at the discography of this German-born music production legend will leave you stunned due to the number of pivotal hard rock and heavy metal moments he helped create and shape. 

This week Aaron and Chris head to Wireworld Studios for a long-form discussion of some of the many highlights of Michael's career. In this discussion, you'll hear about his early roots in Germany as he helped form Accept and then made the jump across the pond to begin his storied career on a ready-to-explode Sunset Strip. One project led to another and within just a few years Michael had worked with acts such as Dokken, Motley Crue, Metallica, Poison, Stryper, White Lion, and Skid Row just to name a few. 

In this talk, Michael also shares his take on the evolution of the recording industry and the changes that have taken place due to the digital divide. It's a solid hour of insight on many of your favorite albums and artists and it's right here for you this week on the Decibel Geek Podcast. 

Michael Wagener Official Website: www.michaelwagener.com

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One of the nicest people that we've interviewed over the past 2+ years was Jan Kuehnemund, founder of all-female hard rock band Vixen. While Jan's guitar skills and physical beauty provided her with a powerful 1-2 punch in the music industry, those things were overshadowed when you actually talked to her. Jan's dedication, integrity, and drive helped propel her and Vixen to stardom in the late 1980's. Those qualities also served her well through the many lean years that followed. All of this is what makes this week's episode so difficult for us. 

Jan Kuehnemund passed away last Friday October 10th, 2013 after a long battle with cancer. 

We interviewed Jan in late February of 2012 and uploaded the episode on March 2nd, 2012. The process of interviewing Jan was a true pleasure. She was forthcoming, funny, intriguing, and patient in giving us knuckleheads in Nashville an hour of her time to yack about rock music and her life in it.

We could have just gone ahead and dedicated this week's episode to Jan and proceeded with a new theme. But, Jan really left an impression on us and Aaron and I still have good memories of talking to her. The Decibel Geek podcast has really grown since April of 2012 (83 episodes ago!) and we couldn't think of a more fitting tribute to Jan than to give you all a replay of our conversation. In this talk, she talks about the early days of bringing Vixen from Minnesota to Los Angeles, their struggles to be taken seriously, and their rise to fame. She also details the difficult days of the 1990's, acrimony among band members and the beginning of reconciliation with the girls for VH1's Bands Reunited series. She also shares touring memories of working with such acts and Deep Purple and KISS.

While the war stories are interesting and entertaining, we hope you will take from this talk what we did; Jan Kuehnemund was a thoughtful, caring, and beautiful spirit that will most definitely be missed. Rock in Peace Jan. Your music lives on.

- Chris Czynszak

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We're back this week with another edition of the Radio Sucks Radio Show. We love doing this version of the show because it allows us to focus on the most important thing....the music!

This week Aaron and Christ return with volume 14 of our popular Radio Sucks Radio Show. In this episode you'll deep cuts from artists such as Tom Keifer, Tora Tora, Peter Criss, and Brides of Destruction. You'll also get a heaping helping of newer stuff from bands like Stryper, Brand New Machine, and Teenage Casket Company. It's over an hour of solid, rock-filled goodness that's just waiting to ooze into your ears so crank it up and check it out!

Geek of the Week is Jamie McNicol from Krazy Knights: The Australian KISS Podcast. Jamie and his co-host produce a weekly show about the Hottest Band in the Land from Down Under. Lots of interesting guests and interesting discussion. We here at the Decibel Geek podcast encourage our listeners to check out this great show!

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Song List (Click to Purchase on Amazon!)

Honky Toast - Shakin and a Bakin from Whatcha Gonna Do Honky

Tom Keifer - Ain't That a Bitch from The Way Life Goes

Tora Tora - Amnesia from Wild America

Bruce Dickinson - Tattooed Millionaire from Tattooed Millionaire

Brides of Destruction - Brace Yourself from Here Come the Brides

Teenage Casket Company - Takes a Little Time from Still Standing

Peter Criss - Bad Attitude from Criss Cat #1

Brand New Machine - Blackout Overdose from The Devil Made Me Do It

Hair of the Dog - The Party Ain't Over from Hair of the Dog

Stryper - Revelation from No More Hell to Pay

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The average music fan these days tends to enjoy a band while they are "in fashion" and on the charts. Unfortunately, that's a passing thing and what goes up, must come down. It seems that the instant that a band falls out of favor with the general crowd, it becomes the majority's modus operandi to mock said artist for a short while and then, worse, ignore them completely. This usually leads to the artist working twice as hard to put out quality material (sometimes too hard in the case of trend following) and typically continued to be ignored by the mainstream listening audience. It's a sad state of affairs where nobody wins. The artist doesn't win due to their hard work not getting recognized and the music fans don't win due to not being aware of the material being released by the artist due to flavor-of-the-week favoritism.

This week, Aaron and Chris set out to introduce your ears to some gems that were lost on overlooked and ignored albums by bands/artists that had already seen their "better days." Tracks by artists such as David Lee Roth, Enuff Z'nuff, Hanoi Rocks, The Doors, Alice Cooper, Hanoi Rocks and more highlight this episode as we unearth "Buried Treasures."

Enuff Z'Nuff - Tweaked, "Life is Strange" (1995)

Poison – Crack a Smile – “Shut Up, Make Love” (2000)

The Doors - L.A. Woman, "The Changeling" (1971)

Badlands – Voodoo Highway – “The Last Time” (1991)

Black Label Society - 1919 Eternal, "Demise of Sanity" (2002)

Hanoi Rocks – Street Poetry – “This One’s for Rock and Roll” (2007)

Pearl Jam - Riot Act, "Get Right" (2002)

David Lee Roth – Your Filthy Little Mouth – “She’s My Machine” (1994)

Warrant - Ultraphobic - "Undertow" (1995)

Alice Cooper – DaDa – “Pass the Gun Around” (1983)

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Enuff Z'nuff - Tweaked

Poison - Crack A Smile...And More

The Doors - L.A. Woman

Badlands - Voodoo Highway

Black Label Society - 1919 Eternal

Hanoi Rocks - Street Poetry

Pearl Jam - Riot Act

David Lee Roth - Your Filthy Little Mouth

Warrant - Ultraphobic

Alice Cooper - Dada

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This week’s episode is the result of some it’s-a-small-world moments coming together. As you may remember, during our 2012 KISSMAS in July, we featured an episode on KISS Kover songs. One of the songs played was by a band named Hair of the Dog. This band achieved some strong popularity in the upper Midwest; most notably in central Wisconsin, home to Aaron Camaro. We couldn’t find a whole lot of information on Hair of the Dog or the current-day status of their members online and went on to work on other episodes about other artists.

Flash forward to July of 2013 and Chris heads out to the TomKeifer/John Corabi double-bill at local Nashville club 3rd and Lindsley. After running into some mutual friends, he’s introduced to legendary producer Michael Wagener. During the conversation, Chris hands Mr. Wagener a Decibel Geek business card. Overhearing the conversation, guitarist Jeremy Asbrock chimes in that he’s a listener of the show and was impressed by our Lydia Criss interview. After this, Jeremy introduces Chris to Ryan Cook, former singer for the aforementioned Hair of the Dog. Upon learning that Jeremy and Ryan were band mates and living in Nashville, the wheels were set into motion to get microphones in front of everyone and this week, schedules lined up and we dug into lots of discussion.

Hair of the Dog
Ryan Cook - 2nd from Left

While this week’s episode is called The Big Rock Show, its title is taken from our guests’ band. Ryan Cook and Jeremy Asbrock make up part of this group that started out as a fun way to jam on some cover songs that the members grew up on and has turned into a true gig for the guys with appearances all over the country as well as on the high seas for a number of rock-themed cruise ships.

Ryan Cook, while a member of Hair of the Dog, is not also a part-time player in Skid Row; replacing Dave “Snake” Sabo, when scheduling conflicts come up. Jeremy Asbrock, a Nashville native, was a member of longtime Music City favorites The Shazam.

The Shazam
Jeremy Asbrock - Far Left

We get into details of how The Big Rock Show came together, the relationship of the band members, and some memorable gigs that they’ve had over the years. 

Aaron and Chris truly met their match in the KISS fan department as Ryan and Jeremy are every bit as much KISS geeks as they are. This conversation is 90% KISS-related discussion and you must be warned, copious amounts of alcohol are consumed throughout the conversation, resulting in the silliness factor increasing over time. If you are uptight about certain issues with KISS, we may piss you off. If you aren’t, you’ll probably get a good laugh out of it.

The Big Rock Show will be performing in Nashville at 12thand Porter on Friday, October 17th. The show is being sponsored by local classic rock station WNRQ 105.9 The Rock. During this performance, 2 tickets will be given away to KISS KRUISE III, at which The Big Rock Show will also be performing. It promises to be a fun night of great music and lots of KISS fans (including Aaron and Chris) so come check it out if you are anywhere near Nashville.

The Decibel Geek Podcast thanks Ryan Cook and Jeremy Asbrock from The Big Rock Show for their time and the fun conversation. We look forward to having them on again.

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Hair of the Dog

The Shazam

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It was all the way back in April of 2012 when we put out an episode showcasing Aaron and Chris' Top 5 Brian Johnson-era AC/DC songs. With 30 years worth of material on 10 studio albums from the Johnson-fronted version of the band available, it was difficult to narrow down five picks for each host. They never thought picking songs from a 6 album/6 year period would be equally as difficult. The boys' goal this week was to chronicle Bon Scott's much-too-short history in music and with AC/DC while playing selections from their favorite tracks from the classic lineup of the band from the six album span of High Voltage in 1975 through 1979's Highway to Hell album.

Ronald Belford Scott was born on July 9th 1946 in Forfar, Scotland. In 1956 his family moved to Western Australia. It was there that he joined the Associated Fremantle Scots Pipe Band, learning to play the drums. He attended North Fremantle Primary School and later, John Curtin College of the Arts until he dropped out at the age of 15. 

He spent a short time in Fremantle Prison's assessment centre and nin months at the Riverbank Juvenile Institution relating to charges of giving a false name and address to the police, having escaped legal custody, having unlawful carnal knowledge and stealing twelve gallons of gas. He was, for all intents and purposes, a problem child.

He attempted to join the Australian Army but was rejected for being deemed "socially maladjusted." In a very real way, the entertainment industry was tailor-made for someone of Bon's mindset and personality as it allowed him to be himself.

In 1970, Bon Scott moves to Adelaide and joins progressive rock band Fraternity. They soon change their name to Fang. During this time they play support slots opening for Status Quo and Geordie; a band fronted by a gentleman named Brian Johnson who would go on to replace Bon after his death in 1980.

In 1974 Bon is introduced to the guys in AC/DC by friend and former band mate Vince Lovegrove. Vince later worked in journalism and television (including KISS' 1980 Inner Sanctum Special from Australia).

Bon replaced Dave Evans as the lead singer of AC/DC on October 24,1974, when it became obvious the band and Evans were heading in different directions, with Evans having personal clashes with band members and management.

The Bon Scott AC/DC Discography:

High Voltage:

Released 2/17/75 in Australia

3rd Young brother, George, was one of the albums producers and plays bass on a number of tracks.

Most of the songs on this version of High Voltage were not released outside Australia until 1984, when "Baby, Please Don't Go", "You Ain't Got a Hold on Me", "Soul Stripper", and "Show Business" were included on the '74 Jailbreak EP, released in the United States, Canada, and Japan in October 1984.

TNT:

Released 12/1/75 in Australia

School Days" is a cover version of a Chuck Berry song.

Only Australian AC/DC studio album for which there is no international counterpart. However, seven of its nine songs comprise the international version of High Voltage, released in May 1976. 

The other two, "Rocker" and "School Days", saw worldwide release as part of Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap's international version (1976/1981) and the Bonfire box set (1997) respectively.

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap:

Released 12/17/1976 internationally

Certified 6x platinum in the US, selling at least six million copies, becoming the third-highest selling album by AC/DC in the US after Highway to Hell (7x platinum) and Back in Black (22+).

A song titled "I'm a Rebel" was recorded during this album's sessions in 1976, with music and lyrics written by Angus and Malcolm Young's older brother, Alex Young. This song was never released by AC/DC and remains in Albert Productions' vaults. German band Accept later released it as a single and named their second album after the song.

AC/DC's record label at the time, Albert Productions, was not happy with the album's vocals and production. According to bassist Mark Evans, the band's manager Michael Browning told him he assumed Bon Scott would be fired as a result.

On the Live At Donington DVD, Angus and Malcolm explain that the concept of this album was to make it a Humphrey Bogart-esque mystery scenario.

Furthermore, the term "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" is an homage to the cartoon Beany and Cecil, which Angus watched when he was a child. One of the cartoon's characters was named Dishonest John, and carried a business card that read, "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. Holidays, Sundays and Special Rates.”

Let There Be Rock:

Released 6/23/77 internationally

Last AC/DC recording to feature bassist Mark Evans, who previously played on T.N.T. (1975) and Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

Music video for title track featured Scott as a priest and the rest of the band as altar boys.

For the original vinyl release, in all markets other than the USA and Japan, "Crabsody in Blue" was featured instead of "Problem Child".

 International version's cover also marked the debut of the band's logo, designed by Gerard Huerta. 

Double platinum in the U.S.

Powerage:

Released 5/25/1978

Originally released on Atlantic Records, and reached No. 133 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart in the US, eventually going platinum.

First AC/DC album to be released nearly simultaneously in both Australian and international markets, and the first to use just one cover image for both. 

Last Bon Scott-era studio release to feature production work by Harry Vanda and George Young.

Studio debut of bassist Cliff Williams. Former bassist Mark Evans says that the album also has bass by him, as the Powerage songs started being done during the recording of his last album Let There Be Rock, and producer George Young, while Williams was having trouble on getting his work visa.

Keith Richards has also stated that Powerage is his favorite AC/DC record.

"Riff Raff" is frequently played on Guns N' Roses/Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash's iheartradio channel, "Slash FM", citing it as one of his favorite AC/DC songs. "Riff Raff" is covered by Guns N' Roses on their current Chinese Democracy World Tour. This song was also covered by the Canadian heavy metal band Annihilator on their 1996 album Refresh the Demon. The main riff for "Riff Raff" is often used as a soundcheck for Melvins guitar player Buzz Osbourne before live Melvins performances, as heard on the DVD Salad of a Thousand Delights.

"Sin City" was covered by the '80s heavy metal band Twisted Sister, on their album Twisted Forever. The song has also been covered by the punk rock band The Offspring, Great White, Ugly Kid Joe and Bruce Dickinson. "Sin City" is Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry's favorite AC/DC song.

"Kicked in the Teeth" was covered by Nashville Pussy on their album Eat More Pussy and also available on the bonus CD of Let Them Eat Pussy.

Highway to Hell:

Released 8/3/1979

Certified 7x Platinum by the RIAA. In 2003, the album was ranked number 200 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

First to break the US Top 100, eventually reaching #17

The final words spoken by Scott on the album are "Shazbot, na-nu na-nu", phrases used on the then-popular American sitcom, Mork and Mindy, by lead character Mork (a visiting extraterrestrial played by Robin Williams). The phrase ended the song "Night Prowler" and closed the album.

Pre-production of the album began in January 1979 with demos cut at Albert Studios in Sydney, Australia, where they met the intended producer, Eddie Kramer. Kramer was fired before a single track had been completed, and Robert John "Mutt" Lange was brought in to replace him. 

Recorded during sessions in February 1979 at Criteria Studios inMiami, Florida, and March–April at Roundhouse Studios in London, England.

Bon Scott died February 19, 1980.  After passing out in a car after a night of drinking in a London club, he was found dead the next afternoon in the car by a friend. Initially his death was as pulmonary aspiration from choking on his own vomit but later confirmed as due to acute alcohol poisoning, classified as “Death by misadventure.”

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AC/DC

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September is the gateway to autumn; leaves changing, kids in school, football on the weekends.....and a ton of strange holidays. America continues its downward spiral into over-thinking everything and Chris and Aaron use it to their advantage this week as their song choices are inspired but some of the nutty holidays that take place in September. 

September 5th is Cheese Pizza Day in the United States. Chris' choice of a track from Motley Crue's 1989 Dr. Feelgood album hits the spot.

September 2nd is Labor Day. While this one isn't wacky at all, it was too good to resist using as inspiration for Aaron's pick from Motorhead's Snake Bite Love album.

September 16th is Working Parents Day in America. While there were lots of choices that could have been made, Chris throws a curve ball with his mother-ly choice of a song from Dope's Life album.

September 6th is Fight Procrastination Day. Putting things off is a common trait for many people and this holiday surely hits home for lots of people. Aaron's choice of a pick about the hope of love on the near future from KISS' 1980 Unmasked album is an interesting one.

September 17th is Constitution Day. While laws and rights are all about what make up America's number one document, Chris goes across the ocean for a pick from Hardcore Superstar's 2013 C'mon Take on Me album.

No look at important dates in the month of September hold more weight than September 11th. This date is burned into the minds of all that witnessed it and the guys had to address it in this episode. Aaron's choice of a track from LA Guns' Waking the Dead album is a fitting tribute to some of the heroes from that fateful day.

Continuing on a serious note is Chris choice of a song to celebrate September 13th; Fortune Cookie Day. Just kidding. It's actually quite a stretch but well worth it to spin a track from Thin Lizzy's legendary Bad Reputation album from 1977.

September 13th is Blame Someone Else Day. This day is probably popular in Washington. Either way, Aaron picka a track from Poison's debut album Look What the Cat Dragged In.

September 23rd is Dog in Politics Day. What does this mean? We have no idea but it was enough impetus for Chris to pick a track from Krokus' new album Dirty Dynamite. The video is a must-see.

We close out the show with Aaron's pick of a track from Ugly Kid Joe's America's Least Wanted album that helps celebrate September 28th; Good Neighbor Day.

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Motley Crue

Motorhead

Dope

KISS

Hardcore Superstar

LA Guns

Thin Lizzy

Poison

Krokus

Ugly Kid Joe

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Aaron and Chris return this week to talk about their favorite subject...themselves!

This is the official self-congratulatory episode of the Decibel Geek podcast. The reason for this? The guys have finally reached triple digits!

In this week's episode, Chris and Aaron take a look back at the past 100 episodes and discuss some of the highlights, lowlights, and technical problems that have been a part of everything that makes up the Decibel Geek podcast.

In this episode, you'll hear Chris recount the circumstances that led him to start a podcast, the producer that was here one minute and gone the next, and Aaron Camaro's introduction to the show.

The guys also recount some of their favorite moments including favorite interviews, guests, and topic discussion of the past 100 episodes.

Aaron and Chris also play numerous voice mail recordings left by listeners, past guests, rock legends, and fellow rock/metal podcasters.

Closing out this 100th episode celebration is Chris and Aaron listening and commenting on Episode Zero - An Introduction that Chris recorded by himself back in April of 2011. Lots of comedy here at Chris' expense. 

For those of you that have been with us along for the ride as well as those of you that are new to the show, we'd like to extend a huge THANK YOU to all of you. This show doesn't exist without the support and passion of great people like you. We look forward to invading your ears every week to bring you more rock/metal talk and music to make your week brighter.

We hope you'll stick with us for the next 100. Thanks again!

Chris & Aaron

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Okay, we've been threatening it for a long time and the day has finally arrived. We're going into the thrash genre this week. Aside from the M&M episode that focused on favorite Metallica and Megadeth songs, we've shied away from the harder-edged stuff. Why? Well, we learned early on that a large amount of our listeners are not big on thrash metal. That said, there have been a number of requests for us to delve into the genre and we think we've come up with an interesting way to do this that will, hopefully, be entertaining to everyone (including the non-thrash lovers). If not, we'll see you next week for episode 100 (please leave us a voicemail HERE to help us celebrate 100 episodes).

Thrash metal was, and continues to be, a non-mainstream form of music. The only exception, of course, would be what's referred to as, The Big 4. This elite club is, typically, filled out by metal gargantuans Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax. While the mainstream music listener would almost certainly agree that these bands deserve their spot in this exclusive club, there are a ton of great thrash metal bands out there that go under the radar due to the Big 4 taking up so much of the spotlight.

Our goal this week is to pose the hypothetical question: "What if the Big 4 became the Big 5?" What bands would be considered for elevation to such lofty status? Aaron and, most certainly, Chris' picks are going to surprise some and enrage others. Thrash fans are a lot of things and "passionate" would be at the top of that list. So, before we get into the meat of the episode, a quick disclaimer:

The following episode of the Decibel Geek podcast is being done with tongue planted firmly in cheek. While some of these songs and bands definitely could be considered for Big 5 status, certain choices by the hosts of this episode are being made and hypothetically elevated to Big 5 status in good-natured fun. The Decibel Geek podcast, it's staff, and their wives do not claim to be experts and/or authorities on thrash metal. Before threats of castration and the carving of the Slayer logo across our foreheads take place, remember this episode is being produced in a lighthearted manner and is only intended for entertainment purposes and to turn you on to some thrash metal that you may not know about. Thank you for your time and attention.....and put that knife away. - Editor

We kick things off a band that has been nominated by many thrash fans for Big 4 status, so Aaron's pick of Testament is definitely warranted. With a rich history of metal music, Testament is still one of the tightest bands in thrash today. We take a listen to a track from their 1992 album The Ritual.

Chris' first pick is, undoubtably, not what comes to most thrash fans minds when you think of the top of the heap of thrash. With that said, Onslaught, an English thrash metal band from the 1980's, released a real gem back in 1989 with their In Search of Sanity album. This was their only album to feature the vocal stylings of former Grim Reaper front man Steve Grimmett (many will remember him from Beavis and Butthead). While Grimmett's look caused a rather comedic reaction in many, there's no doubt that the guy had some serious pipes.

Aaron's next pick of a track from Suicidal Tendencies' 1990 album Lights....Camera....Revolution! shows that thrash metal doesn't have to always abide by a strict set of guidelines. S.T. were always pushing the genre envelope and this track shows that they could really pack a punch when it was called for but still maintain a swagger within the song to keep things interesting.

When you think of the upper echelon of thrash metal you think of Artillery.......right? Well, maybe not but Chris' choice of a track from this Danish-born technical thrash band's third studio album has this talented group showing off many twists and turns in their sounds complimented by some powerful Dio-esque vocals. 

While Scott Ian and Charlie Benante are members of Big 4 act Anthrax, they are a part of another awesome New York-born thrash band from the 1980's. The Stormtroopers of Death featured Ian and Benante along with bassist Dan Lilker and vocalist Billy Milano. Aaron's track choice from their 1985 debut album Speak English or Die is a relentless number that will leave your ears pummeled with enjoyment.

Whle Kirk Hammett is the longtime lead guitarist for Big 4 member Metallica, he helped form Bay-Area thrashers Exodus back the early 1980's. Never getting their just-due, Exodus has released 9 albums since 1985's Bonded by Blood release. Chris' choice of track from that first album features some solid riffing by guitarist Gary Holt. 

While we're rarely focused on thrash metal on the show, one band that transcends that and has been played a number of times is Overkill. One of Aaron's all-time favorite bands, it would be impossible to not include them on this list; especially considering how overlooked they've been by the mainstream music-buying public. His choice of a track from their 1991 Horrorscope release explains the band's sense of gratitude towards that lack of support.

We close out the show with Chris' choice of a band that is credited with helping develop the genre of thrash music in the first place. Originally from San Francisco and then via Aberdeen Washington, Metal Church formed in 1980 and took their influences from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and added some speed and precision to help solidify the thrash metal genre with their eponymous release in 1984 and have been putting out quality material ever since. The band is still going strong to this day. 

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Testament

Onslaught

Suicidal Tendencies

Artillery

S.O.D.

Exodus

Overkill

Metal Church

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