Sunday Sesh: Metal Hangover Cures
MORNING FLUSHERS! YOUR OLD PAL RUSTY…oh, sorry. Am I yelling? I guess you had a late night, huh? Well, I’ll use my indoor voice. It’s your old pal Rusty here to bring you today’s Sunday Sesh. We’re talking about metal hangovers, and the bands and albums you jam when you feel the need to get back on top of the all the heavy riffs you’ve been neglecting.
Look, we’re all here because we love metal. We’re true warriors who live and die for THE RIFF! However, we’d be lying to ourselves if we didn’t admit that, sometimes, our ears can get a little exhausted. I, for one, call it the “metal hangover.” It’s no coincidence that I’m writing this as spring has finally arrived in my corner of the Northeastern U.S. and I’m finally sticking my head outside, dusting off the doom and gloom from a relentless winter and allowing myself to enjoy some nature before we Coal Roll the planet to hell. With the weather warm and my spirits lifted, I tend to gravitate towards some groovier tunes. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve been exploring a lot of new hip hop, like Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, and the latest from Run The Jewels, some of which inspired me to jam some old favorites, Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, and even some funk from Parliament-Funkadelic . It’s been a suitable substitute for times I’ve simply felt too tired to get all worked up on some heavy riffs.
Which leads us to what I think is a worthwhile discussion among us seasoned poop fetishist heavy metal listeners. When you do face one of these “metal hangovers,” whether you woke up with an actually terrible hangover that doesn’t take too kindly to you jamming the latest from Artificial Brain or a plethora of new releases has you simply exhausted, what do you do? Do you jam a classic band, one that can do no wrong and is worthy of a spot on heavy metal’s version of Mount Rushmore? Slayer or Iron Maiden perhaps? Or do you go for something new that piques your interests and inspires you to discover even more unique bands?
Personally, I like to land somewhere in the middle. The legendary Metal Gods can do no wrong, but a lot of those bands are ones I have overplayed to hell. I prefer to pick a more modern band, but one that initially sparked my interests in weirder and heavier metal acts. Mastodon is almost always a perfect choice for me. Specifically, Blood Mountain, which is in my opinion their best album, and I look forward to everyone telling me how wrong I am in the comments. Lamb of God, Clutch, and Gojira are bands I use for this also, but the DON never fails. Blood Mountain is a heavy as hell album, but it has a lot of melody and really approachable tracks that are not only enjoyable for me when I’m facing a metal hangover but also make me want to jam some heavier tunes. In my opinion, that’s a win-win.
Everyone, enjoy your lovely Sunday and let me know what your Metal Hangover Cures are. Here’s one more Mastodon track, albeit from a different album, that does the whole nice-and-groovy-but-also-makes-me-want-more-heavy-riffage. Please whine and tell me why newer Mastodon is terrible so I can laugh at you. YEP!
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