God Forbid – IV: Constitution of Treason

God Forbid’s fourth full-length album IV: Constitution of Treason was released on September 20, 2005 by Century Media and peaked at #118 on the Billboard 200 music chart. Three music videos were made to support the album and many fans still point to this album as being their favorite within the GF discography. In 2008, a DVD titled Beneath the Scars of Glory and Progression was released that featured a live concert filmed in their home state of New Jersey full of songs from the Constitution album cycle as well as a documentary chronicling the history of the band to that point. The vinyl release for this album was a German/European limited edition picture disc released by Bastardized Recordings.

Personally, I love this album. It isn’t my favorite album the band released (Earthsblood holds that slot) but it is definitely up there with the best they have to offer. Filled to the brim with “classic” metalcore sounds and riffs, this album holds it’s own with any of the more established releases from that time period. It’s a concept album that doesn’t sound like a concept album and the story is about a future society that destroys itself, builds back up again, and then destroys itself again because it couldn’t learn from it’s own history. Written during the Bush political era, perhaps this album could be more relevant now than when it was released.

God Forbid – Gone Forever

God Forbid released their third full-length album Gone Forever in February of 2004. This was their second album (of four) for Century Media. God Forbid used a mix of Thrash, traditional Heavy Metal and Metalcore styles to bring their voice to the masses. Although the band never reached the heights of some of their contemporaries such as Chimaira, Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage and Lamb of God, but they plowed through the world of heavy metal all the same and left their own distinct mark in their wake.

Mushroomhead – Superbuick

Dude, these dudes are on acid… Everything’s like subliminal and all mixed-tunes and shit. It’s weird, man. 

Mushroomhead’s second full-length album Superbuick was released in 1996 and is commonly referred to as being the band’s greatest work. Featuring familiar elements that carry over from the first album along with some new twists and turns, Superbuick is another trip down the dark, cracked and bleary streets of Cleveland, Ohio. Utilizing biting guitars, crisp piano playing, various TV & movie snippets and the unmistakable growl and shriek of co-singers J Mann and Jeffrey Nothing, Mushroomhead spend 46-minutes in the odd world of avant garde metal music that they know all too well.

If Mushroomhead’s first album was the kind-of-fun, hillbilly-house-party rave, then Superbuick is the post-date-rape, wake up feeling groggy not knowing where you are, trapped in a box in a cellar, soundtrack to a murder scene. This album definitely has a sinister overtone to it all. Somebody is having fun but it definitely isn’t the victim.

Mushroomhead – Mushroomhead

We are about to take you into world of the LSD user.

The opening line of this album sets the tone for the whole crazy, fucked-up ride to come. Full of avant-garde, artistic, heavy music; this album is the combination of many different styles and many different local, musical personalities. Cleveland, Ohio’s Mushroomhead released their self-titled album in 1995, initially on their own label Filthy Hands Records. I didn’t hear this album until 2003 but when I finally sat down with it, the songs would never fully leave my rotating playlist again. This album is an odd mashing together of songs with various TV/movie/talking clips that truly sets a unique tone for this band that they would follow into the new millennium. Many people point to their second album, Superbuick, as their “best” work but for me, they will never top this album.

The vinyl release for this album was something I wanted for a very long time and in 2016 they finally obliged. Available only at their concerts (or local Cleveland shops if you are lucky), this album is on blue vinyl and features revised front/back artwork. The original CD artwork in 1995 was very similar but it lacked the vintage, beat-up look around the edges of the jacket. MRH also reissued the album in 2002 with an altogether different look.

Vinyl Wednesday: Acid – Acid

Acid is a band I know nothing about but it didn’t stop me from liking their tunes. I received this record in a batch of 80s heavy metal albums that I purchased over a year ago and once I had sorted them all alphabetically, it stood out like a sore thumb right at the front. I had never heard of them and I’ve not seen too much about them since. Maybe just a random album pops up in vinyl collecting groups here and there online. This is no fault of theirs because they kick some serious ass. After listening to every record in that big bunch of records (100+) I kept the ones that really stuck out to me and this was definitely one of them. The artwork is awesome, the logo is cool as hell, the band name is simple and amazing. They also wrote some tasty riffs on top of all that cool imagery. The band has all the makings of a decent 80s metal band. If you want to hear something new (old) that just might knock your socks off then I’d say give this group a shot.

Vinyl Wednesday: Joe Satriani – Surfing With The Alien

Surfing With The Alien! This is one album that any guitar-nerd will be familiar with. In 1987, Joe Satriani released an album that is as noticeable today as it was when first found on store shelves. The music is fantastic on this release but honestly it’s the artwork that is the most desirable for me. I LOVE this record jacket. Big, bold and colorful with the added element of Marvel comic book characters. What’s not to like?

Vinyl Wednesday: Steel Panther – Balls Out

Just like herpes, Steel Panther never truly goes away and here it is again, ready for round 2 with y’all!

This week’s release is 2011’s Balls Out and this is most definitely my favorite record by them. The sound, the songs and the whole attitude was untouchable. This album was the one that really made me a fan of this band.