The race is over and I survived!

Today I reached an unbelievable personal goal, completing a half-marathon after about two months of training. I started on this project as both a personal challenge, and as a way to inspire people through the American College of Endocrinology Power of Prevention program. Along the way, I have heard from so many of you who are following my progress, have been inspired yourselves, or who are just rooting me on to success. On this Thanksgiving Day, I have to tell you all how grateful I am for all of your support.  What started out as a project to inspire others has certainly changed my life, and a significant part of that comes from all of you.

Now, on to race day.

First, a brief note.  I did not run with my iPhone, so I did not take any pictures.  Sarah took some, and I will work to add them later in the day.

So, I guess the story begins with dinner last night. My good friend Britt has been following my progress in this training regimen, and was sorry to tell me that he would not be able to come out to the run and see me finish, due to the fact he is out of town today. But he did offer to help me carbo load the night before. So last night our two families went out and enjoyed a delicious Italian dinner. In fact, I had to stop loading because I was too full. (I had an awesome shrimp alfredo Sicilian style pizza. Pictures forthcoming as well. I promise you will be jealous).

I got home and had a good night’s sleep.  This morning when I woke up, my number one priority was my pre-race preparations. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go here to get up to speed, but suffice it to say, I was very nervous about making sure this was not a problem today.

Not joking, I resorted to jumping jacks in the living room, but it all came out fine in the end (did I really just type that?)

Sarah and I headed out to the run at about 6:45.  Race time was 8:00, but we wanted to get a decent parking spot and I also wanted to do a mile pre-run before the race to get loosened up.

People up north can complain about this next sentence, but it was cold this morning.  It was probably only 50 degrees when we got to the race site. I was not concerned about the race, because I know how much I heat up when I am running, but I was definitely freezing waiting for the race to start.

Sarah and our friend Melissa were running the 6k at the same time.  The starting line and starting time were the same, so we got “in the blocks” together and waited for the run to begin. After a pre-recorded National Anthem from Lee Ann Rhimes, the race was set to begin.

We had positioned ourselves towards the middle of the group.  We knew we were not fast enough to be in the front, but did not want to get stuck behind the walkers in the back, either. The gun sounded and we were off.  It took about a minute or so to cross the starting line. I’m glad this was a chip race, because I’m interested to see how off my chip time is from the race time. The first mile was the typical jockeying for position that you see at any race. I tried to keep my pace slow and steady, but it is definitely hard with the adrenaline of all the other runners around you.

Around mile one, the course split for the 1/2 marathoners and the 6k, so the crowds thinned considerably at that point. It was about this time that I realized I had forgotten to start the timer on my watch. This is a dual problem, because I had no way to track my time, and because it was not recording my heart rate (long time readers know that I have a history of overheating when not monitoring my heart rate closely). So I started the timer and hoped that at some point there would be a timer on the course that would allow me to get some idea of how I was doing.

The first course clock did not come until mile two.  The race time at that point was 19 minutes. That meant that even if I had been at the front of the pack, I was pacing at sub-ten minute miles. This was both exciting and troubling. Exciting, because I did not feel like I was moving at that pace and felt fairly good. Troubling because I was not sure I could maintain this pace for eleven more miles.

The next few miles were relatively uneventful. I was able to maintain that 9:30ish pace and was not feeling tired. One thing I did not do was take water at the water stations. I have learned from experience that I get bad cramping if I drink anything while running. I had tried to hydrate myself well before the race, and was banking on that being good enough.

The race was actually quite uneventful in general until about mile eight. Right about that time my feet began to really hurt, especially on the instep. I know that I am due for new shoes, but did not want to get them so close to race time. Many runners have told me that’s a recipe for disaster with blisters and real problems on race day. But what was a mild nuisance at mile eight had become a real pain by mile nine.

The mile nine refreshment center had something I can only refer to as runner’s goo. It came in a foil packet, and had the consistency of Vaseline.  But it tasted good, was packed with sugars and caffeine, and really gave me a bit of a boost when I really needed it.

By mile ten, I was in uncharted waters. Ten miles is the previous longest run I had ever done, and I still had a full 5k to go to finish. I resorted to counting miles, not in distance, but in songs. At my pace (I had slowed to about an even ten minute mile pace, by now) I knew it was about two and a half songs between miles. So I just focused on the music and plowed ahead.

At mile eleven, the pain in my feet moved to my calves. This was a new experience for me. Whenever I run, the only true obstacle is breathing. I never have physical pain in my legs that prohibits me from going forward. So this really caught me off-guard. I knew that I only had two miles to go, however, and was determined to power through it, no matter what.

At mile twelve, I could smell the finish line, and so could the rest of the group running at my pace. Everyone kicked it up a notch at that point. I did the same, despite what my legs were screaming to me (R-rated, can’t repeat here). That lasted maybe a quarter of a mile. That’s when I thought I was going to collapse. Despite the fact that I had made it more than twelve miles without stopping once, I had to stop and stretch out my legs, then walk for about 30 seconds. I regret this terribly, but really don’t think there was anything else I could do at that point.

Once I started back up again, I decided to keep the pace slower and just get to the finish line. Two songs later, I was crossing the thirteen mile marker. At this point I knew that I had a 1/10 mile sprint in me, so I kicked it in and raced to the finish line, passing up a couple of guys down the stretch!

Final time: 2:07:18! Official results here: http://www.1stplacesports.com/obdc09halfres.htm

I looked around for Sarah, who had finished the 6k about and hour and 20 minutes earlier, but could not see her anywhere. So I got some water and tried to work out my legs a little bit. About 7-8 minutes later Sarah spotted me in the crowd and came over. I had anticipated finishing between 2:15 and 2:30, so she had gone home and got the turkey and stuffing in the oven, then was going to come back and watch me finish and take some pictures. Since I beat my goal time by about eight minutes, she missed the finish.

She’s more upset about that than I am. I’m glad she came back at all, and I appreciated the support in any case.

So we met up with some friends and compared times, then headed over to get a banana… AND THEY WERE OUT! So I settled for some orange slices and a couple of Michelob Ultras. Sarah also grabbed an Ultra, that she was actually getting for me.

As we walked to the van, I saw a sign for a “Brazilian Honey Bakery”. Having no idea what in the world that is, we headed inside and asked the question “What in the world is a Brazilian Honey Bakery?” The proprietor proceeded to give me a sample of a cheese bread pastry, which was so good, I immediately ordered a dozen.

And with that, we packed into the van, and headed for home. I received all of your well wishes on email, Facebook, and Twitter. You really have no idea how much that means to me. I am thankful today for all of you who have supported me through this training, and I look forward to sharing with you my next plan…

Until then, you know the drill…

Vital Statistics:

Workout: 13.1 Miles

Time: 2:07:18

Pace: 9:43

Playlist:

Neither Can I – Slash’s Snakepit

Estranged – Guns N Roses

Believe – Disturbed

Always On The Run – Lenny Kravitz

Sure Shot – The Beastie Boys

The Battle of Evermore – Led Zeppelin

I.R.S. – Guns N Roses

Brain Stew – Green Day

Miss Independent – Ne-Yo

Rusty Cage – Johnny Cash

The Way You Make Me Feel – Michael Jackson

Best I Can – Queensryche

All Along The Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix

Get It Together – The Beastie Boys

Strength Beyond Strength – Pantera

Hella Good – No Doubt

Hanger 18 – Megadeth

Used To Love Her – Guns N Roses

One – Creed

Razor – Foo Fighters

After The World – Disciple

Hollaback Girl – Gwen Stefani

Elvis Is Dead – Living Colour

Jane Says – Jane’s Addiction

Territorial Pissings – Nirvana

Madagascar – Guns N Roses

No Rain – Blind Melon

Monkey Wrench – Foo Fighters

It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over – Lenny Kravitz

There Is No God – Extreme

Does emotion hold the key?

Listen

All alone now
Except for the memories
Of what we had and what we knew
Everytime I try to leave it behind me
I see something that reminds me of you
Every night the dreams return to haunt me
Your rosary wrapped around your throat
I lie awake and sweat, afraid to fall asleep
I see your face looking back at me

And I raise my head and stare
Into the eyes of a stranger
I’ve always known that the mirror never lies
People always turn away
From the eyes of a stranger
Afraid to know what
Lies behind the stare

Is this all that’s left
Of my life before me
Straight jacket memories, sedative highs  (  Straight jacket = Tvångströja)
No happy ending like they’ve always promised
There’s got to be something left for me
And I raise my head and stare
Into the eyes of a stranger
I’ve always known that the mirror never lies
People always turn away
From the eyes of a stranger
Afraid to know what
Lies behind the stare [Lies behind my stare]

How many times must I live this tragedy
How many more lies will they tell me
All I want is the same as everyone
Why am I here, and for how long

And I raise my head and stare
Into the eyes of a stranger
I’ve always known that the mirror never lies
People always turn away
From the eyes of a stranger
Afraid to know what
Lies behind the stare
Eyes of a Stranger midi

…

revolution!

…

I remember now

Eyes Of A Stranger – Queensryche 1988

Comment: A powerful and beautiful ending of a classical album. For the best effect it is recommended that you listen to the whole album Operation Mindrcrime and read the texts. It is about a desperate and maybe a bit confused guy that gets involved in a conspiracy in America, a conspiracy aiming for a revolution. there is love, there is betrayal and there is this desperate sad but yet mighty ending of the story.

I awoke on impact
Under surveillance from the camera eye
Searching high and low
The criminal mind found at the scene of the crime
Handcuffed and blind, I didn’t do it
She said she loved me
I guess I never knew
But do we ever, ever really know?
She said she’d meet me on the other side
But I knew right then, I’d never find her

I don’t believe in love
I never have, I never will
I don’t believe in love
It’s never worth the pain that you feel

No more nightmares, I’ve seen them all
From the day I was born, they’ve haunted my every move
Every open hand’s there to push and shove
No time for love it doesn’t matter
She made a difference
I guess she had a way
Of making every night seem bright as day
Now I walk in shadows, never see the light
She must have lied ’cause she never said goodbye

I don’t believe in love
I never have, I never will
I don’t believe in love
I’ll just pretend she never was real
I don’t believe in lovev I need to forget her face, I see
it still
I don’t believe in love
It’s never worth the pain that you feel

No chance for contact
There’s no raison d’etre
My only hope is one day I’ll forget
The pain of knowing what can never be
With or without love it’s all the same to me

I don’t believe in love
I never have, I never will
I don’t believe in love
I’ll just pretend she never was real
I don’t believe in love
I need to forget her face, I see it still
I don’t believe in love
It’s never worth the pain that you feel

I Don’t Believe In Love – Queensryche 1988

Comment: Could be enjoyed either as a part of the story on the album Operation Mindcrime, one of the first and most famous progressive metal albums,  or just a song about sad love and loss. It works both ways.

Este fin de semana pasado vinieron a visitarme un par de buenos cuates, mismos que ya tenía un rato que no veía y por consiguiente, las chelotas y el pomote no se hicieron esperar, así que el viernes me encontré disfrutando de una buena dosis de cerveza Nochebuena (es la única época del año en que se fabrica acá en México) y unos tragos de Absolut con quina, todo muy bien y al final me puse hasta la madre, para no variarle con estos campeones.

La cosa es que, mientras estábamos libando, escuchamos música de la buena, y entre las rolas y demás, se dejaron oir algunas melodías más clásicas, de antaño, de aquellas que escuchabas cuando ibas en la secundaria o la preparatoria, algunos años ya de eso, y me propuse postear, esta semana, algunos discos de estos, que hicieron mucho sentido cuando yo estaba más chavo y que, además, son excelentes materiales ampliamente reconocidos por su calidad y entereza metalera.

El primero que me encontré: Empire de los progresivos Queensrÿche. Este disco de principio de los años 90 fue un suceso comercial y musical cuando salió, si mal no recuerdo, por aquellos años el metal alcanzaba niveles de popularidad más elevados que de costumbre, la inminente entrada de Guns N’ Roses y posteriormente de Metallica y otras bandas a MTV y las programaciones regulares de radio comercial dieron al subgénero un repunte rápido y efectivo, mismo que significaría su posterior decadencia a manos del grunge y el “alternativo”.

Pero en medio de todo ese desmadre, los amigos de Queensrÿche, que ya no eran ningunos amateurs, pues un par de años antes habían sacado al mercado Operation: Mindcrime, un disco conceptual posicionado a la par de obras como Tommy de The Who o The Wall de Pink Floyd, y regresaban por todas las canicas que les faltaban.

Es decir, si ya habían conquistado el mundo progresivo under con Operation: Mindcrime, ahora debían apoderarse del lado comercial del rock y metal, y que mejor forma de hacerlo con un discazo como Empire, que muchos de ustedes tal vez no conocen pero ubican, estoy seguro, una gran canción estandarte de la época: Silent Lucidity.

Empire es un gran disco que combina lo mejor de Queensrÿche con melodías más accesibles, con una temática político social más fuerte y con muchas ideas que le generaron a la banda el periodo más fructífero de su longeva carrera: después de este disco se embarcaron en el tour Building Empires, uno de los más exitosos de la primera mitad de los 90, tocaron al lado de la otra gran banda metalera en éxito de la época, Metallica, durante muchas fechas, y dieron a conocer su música por todo el mundo de forma masiva.

De este disco sólo tengo buenas referencias y excelentes memorias, todas las canciones se me hacen de llamar la atención, así que sin más, les digo van, bájenselo de acá, y si lo encuentran por ahí cómprenlo sin pensar, vale la pena un buen.

Carpe diem.

Hablamos de la década de los 80, cuando todo era excesivo , y el Hard Rock no iba a ser menos. En aquella época Van Halen reinaba en lo más alto, un nuevo subestilo comenzó a nacer, el Thrash Metal , Journey llenaba estadios, y el soplapollas de  Bon Jovi era número 1 en todas las listas de éxitos. Guns n Roses dominarían el mundo y los fabricantes de laca para el pelo hicieron fortunas millonarias , si no revisar cualquir vídeo de la época de cualquier grupo, donde cada componente gastaba el solo del orden de 2 botes. La lista de grandes grupos es interminable y los clásicos que facturaron perduraran en el tiempo como obras maestras, desde el Hysteria de Def Leppard al 1987 de Whitsnake, desde el Appetite de Guns n Roses hasta el Master Of Puppets de Metallica, del under Lock and Key de Dokken al Operation Mindcrime de queensryche, la lista es demasiado extensa como para enumerarla … Pero algo estaba surgiendo en una ciudad de Estados Unidos, Seattle,  y todo esta maravillosa época se fué al traste , aunque estaba a punto de comenzar otra no menos excitante…los maravillosos años 90 y toda la escena Alternativa

GUNS N ROSES

VAN HALEN

DEF LEPPARD

METALLICA

WHITESNAKE

Thursday I was 235.

Today I am 245.

That, my friends, is what a weekend of eating garbage and drinking will do for you.  10 pound weight gain in 5 days.

It eclipses the fact that I ran 9 miles for only the second time ever on Sunday.  It makes no difference that I used to weigh 308 pounds.  It makes no difference that I am training to run in the Outback Steakhouse Distance Classic on Thanksgiving Day in Jacksonville, FL.

No amount of exercise will compensate for overeating junk food.

START NOW!

That’s been my motto through this process as detailed here.

I need to refocus on food.  The running has become, dare I say, too easy.  Every run is hard, but it’s not as hard to DO them… to get myself out the door… as it used to be.  I’ve taken for granted the fact that if I eat normally and run daily, my weight stays the same.  The problem is that normal is still probably not that healthy.  And when I get off the wagon like I did this weekend, things can go wrong really quickly.

So I am committing to  focus very closely on my food intake over the next few months.  I will do my best to document it here.  If any of you know a good food diary program, perhaps even one with an output I could link to this journal, please let me know.  I am going to do my best to get under 230 by the time of the race.  Not only is that good for my health, but it should be good for my time as well.

As for today’s run, no major problems or issues.  Cooler weather is here, which made the run a little more enjoyable.  I ran it at my typical 10:20 pace.  The mid-week runs bump up from 4 miles to 5 miles tomorrow.  I’m ready.

Vital Statistics:

Date: Tuesday, November 3

Workout: 3.1 Miles

Time: 32:22

Pace: 10:22

Weight: 245

Playlist:

Pump It – Black Eyed Peas

Silent Lucidity – Queensryche

E-Pro – Beck

All Along The Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix

American Idiot – Green Day

One Step Closer – Linkin Park

It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye – Boyz II Men

I Stay Away – Alice In Chains

Parents Just Don’t understand – DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince

Clint Eastwood – Gorillaz

Originarios de Seattle…y a años luz del puto Grunge por suerte, Queensryche fueron los creadores de una trilogia de discos impecable, el monumental Rage For Order, la inconmensarurable obra maestra Operation Mindcrime , un disco perfecto de principio a fin y el elegante Empire.  Después sacarian el bastante bueno The Promise Land y a partir de ahí comenzaron a sacar discos más para su satisfacción que para la de sus fans, algo loable pero perdieron la magia que les hizo grandes.  Tenían y siguen teniendo porque en directo siguen siendo magníficos a un cantante que no es de este mundo Geoff Tate, sin duda uno de los mejores cantantes que te puedas echar a la cara  un par de guitarristas tan sobrios como efectivos y una sección rítmica precisa y contundente con un bateria arrollador . En mi opinión fueron el mejor grupo de Metal de aquellos años y como muestra  ahí tienes Operation Mindcrime para comprobarlo

Better.

Things were set up to be a third terrible run this morning.  When I awoke, I was stiff and sore like I have not been for a long time.  I looked out the windows and saw that to top the heat and humidity, Orange Park was smothered in a thick fog.  That is the definition of 100% humidity, isn’t it?

I started by doing a prolonged stretching routine before I even stepped outside.  I know that I should spend more time stretching in general.  My calves and hamstrings have definitely become stronger in the past few months, but they are also tighter.  I realized that a good stretching routine was actually harder now than it was a few months ago.

Also, my back has been hurting this week.  I spent extra time stretching my back and gluts this morning.  By the time I was done, i thought to myself, it’s foggy, I’m sore, and it’s probably too late to get a full run in this morning.

But, if there’s a single characteristic about this journey toward running my first half-marathon that distinguished these few months from the 35 years that preceded them, it’s the fact that I now can make myself do things when normally i would have quit.  It’s the START NOW philosophy, which must be applied to every decision, every day to be successful.  When I do it, I succeed.  When I forget to do it, I tend to fail.

So, I got out into our own little version of London with the fog keeping visibility to less than a quarter mile.  I decided to intentionally dial the pace way back.  All I wanted to do was to finished without walking this morning.  If I was slow, then so be it, as long as I finished without walking.

Mission accomplished.  I finished VERY slowly, coming in at 32:44, only 5 seconds faster than Tuesday when I walked three times.  But, I know that keeping myself going the entire time is the key to mastering this heat and humidity.  Does that mean that I welcome the challenge now?  Certainly not.  But, it does mean that I at least have a strategy for it.

Tomorrow is a rest day, Saturday is another 3 mile run, and then Sunday is the big 8 mile run.  I hope things are a little cooler by then, but if not, I know that I will still finish it.  Somehow.  I may have to walk, but I will get the full 8 miles in.

Wish me luck.

Vital Statistics:

Date: Thursday, October 29

Workout: 3.1 Miles

Time: 32:44

Pace: 10:30

Weight: 236

Playlist:

Hearbreaker – Led Zeppelin

In Bloom – Nirvana

Anybody Listening? – Queensryche

Cult of Personality – Living Color

Bad Medicine – Bon Jovi

Wherever I May Roam – Metallica

Headlong – Queen

Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin

So I guess this is called getting back in the saddle.

After missing several days posts while I was in New York City, I posted a summary of my workouts earlier today. But I am still not up to date, so in addition to that mega post, I’m also here with today’s regular update.

This morning was my first run in North Florida since returning from the Big Apple.  There are two major differences in running in The City and running at home.  The first is the heat.  New York was a pleasant 58 degrees every day.  I long ago discovered that I do much better in cooler weather than in hot weather.  that is fortunate for me because the Outback Steakhouse Distance Classic half-marathon I am running in takes place on Thanksgiving day.  I expect and hope that it will be nice and cool.

The second difference is the humidity.  This is what it looked like in New York.

And here is what it looks like on an average morning in North Florida:

So I believe that in many ways, my Sunday run was my best ever.  I maintained a sub-10 minute mile pace, while finishing 7 miles without stopping.  I felt very good about my progress.

That ended this morning.

I think this might have been my worst run in a month.  I was dead tired at the 1.5 mile turn, and had to stop twice on my way back in.  In fact, I walked a significant portion of the last half mile.  I don’t know if this is just the heat and humidity, or perhaps a recovery thing from the long Sunday run.  What I do know is that I feel like I am right back where I started.  Sunday, I knew I could do the 13.1 miles with no problem.  Today, I am not so sure.

Tomorrow is a four-mile run, so I need to pick it back up and be ready to go.  I’m hoping that the relatively short run today, plus the added incentive to get back on track will make this run no problem.

Until tomorrow, here are the vital statistics.

Vital Statistics:

Date: Tuesday, October 27

Workout: 3.12 Miles

Time: 33:40

Pace: 10:48

Weight: 237

Playlist:

Rusty Cage – Johnny Cash

Only If You Want It – Eazy-E

Bring the Noise – Anthrax/Public Enemy

Sad But True – Metallica

Empire – Queensryche

Symphony of Destruction – Megadeth

The Way You Make Me Feel – Michael Jackson

Demon Dayz – Gorillaz

Black Dog – Led Zeppelin

Dr. Feelgood – Motley Crue

Anmelder: Michael Meier

Intelligent, catchy og allround fedt – så verden er af lave, når Queensrÿches ‘Empire’ fra 1990 dukker op i musikforretningernes tilbudskasser. Efter det kritikerroste progressive konceptalbum Operation:Mindcrime, løsnede bandet op for koncepterne og udgav dette charmerende og lyttevenlige pop-metal album.

Empire er en lille perle. Queensrÿche skruede her ned for det progressive og og op for de svulstige kærlighedsballader, ørehængende rocknumre, synthflader og langhårede, maskuline vokaleskapader af en karakter man desværre ikke finder på P3 længere. Alt dette kunne være endt katastrofalt, som det også gjorde for rigtig meget lidt for partyparty 80′er rock, men Empire holder, fordi Queensrÿche vover at tage sig selv alvorligt, og fordi imellem alle kærlighedshymnerne finder man også flere fabelagtige og engagerede samfundskritiske numre (f.eks. titelnummeret).

Vil man smuglytte til albummet, er den sikre anbefaling den fine, fine ballade Silent Lucidity, som også var et hit ved albummets udgivelse. Personligt vil jeg dog helst anbefale min personlige albumfavorit Jet City Woman, som simpelthen er et sublimt slut-80′er mainstream rocknummer.

Musikken klæder vokalen i hvad der bedst kan betegnes som silkeblød vellyd, og melodierne sidder lige i øret. Især kan fremhæves forsanger Geoff Tate, som har en af de bedste stemmer indenfor rock nogensinde. Alene hans sang er grund nok til at give albummet et prøvelyt. Der er simpelthen kælet så meget for detaljen, og bandets intelligens, evner og personlighed skinner igennem, så det vinder dit hjerte og giver både moderne rock og pop baghjul.

Man kan ikke køre træt i Empire, og albummet holder stadig, fordi det er goddamn tidstranscenderende god kvalitet.

Ozzy Osbourne, the Heavy Metal Prince of Darkness. Ozzy Osbourne – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee with Black Sabbath. Honestly, I revere the living hell out of this Heavy Metal legend. I did get to see Ozzy Osbourne live in concert twice during my lifetime. For me, those two concerts were unbelievable, with Metallica opening up for Ozzy in New Haven Connecticut, (at the spooky New Haven Coliseum) – it was The Ultimate Sin Tour for Ozzy and Metallica was promoting their legendary Master of Puppets album. The other Ozzy concert I saw had Queensryche open for Ozzy in Springfield, Massachusetts, (at the Springfield Civic Center), on this same Ultimate Sin Tour. Alright, so it is obvious I think the Metal world of Ozzy Osbourne… fine. However, by process of elimination, there has to be my least favorite Ozzy Osbourne song out there and there is one. I do not think much of the song, uh, ballad So Tired from Ozzy’s Bark At The Moon album. This song, ugh, ballad is responsible for my distaste of most Heavy Metal ballads ever released since, by any band. This album was released on December 10, 1983. Don’t get me wrong here, the Bark At The Moon album as a whole, is unreal good. Three songs on this album are incredible for me… Rock ‘n’ Roll Rebel, You’re No Different and of course – Bark At The Moon. These three Ozzy songs I can hold up on a Metal pedestal forever. Plus, Jake E. Lee on guitar is a Metal bonus to listen to.

So Tired is a song that in my Metal opinion, is overwhelmingly dull and depressing and does absolutely nothing but annoy me beyond belief. Who exactly is supposed to be so tired in this song? Is it Ozzy himself? Someone that Ozzy knows? I really do not care in the darn least who is tired. I get tired too, yet I never whine about it like Ozzy did in this song. Sure, maybe the tired theme was about waiting around for a love lost… who cares. So Tired is a perfect example of what happens when a Heavy Metal icon decides to go the Pop and Bubble Gum Music route with a song. Sappy city is open for tourists with So Tired. Get out the kleenex, So Tired is now playing… sniffle, sniffle, I am so moved. The orchestration in this song only annoys me more.

To me, So Tired just never seemed to fit in with the Bark At The Moon album. So Tired is a downer in the midst of some riveting Heavy Metal songs, a huge let down, like the depressed dude at a party trying to bring everyone else down with him. The video for So Tired, (which was on MTV too often back in the day), was so ridiculous that even I felt embarrassed for Ozzy. When the Bark At The Moon album was reissued, So Tired should have been omitted from the track list… it is that lousy – for me. In my Metal opinion, So Tired is the lowest moment of Ozzy Osbournes unparalleled and ultra legendary Heavy Metal career.

What years of listening to Rush records in your mother's basement can do to your complexion.

Prog has always claimed that it was ‘music for musicians’. It’s a pretty attractive label, and much better than the alternative ‘music for geeks who aren’t getting laid’. Regardless of the tag-line, the point is that even if you don’t actively listen to progressive rock, chances are that the bands you DO listen to count progressive rock artists among their influences. When young bands (that don’t suck) are talking to the press and the reporter asks them who their influences are, if they’re brave enough to mention people outside their own genre 90% of the time the drummer will include Neil Peart and/or Mike Portnoy, bass players will mention Geddy Lee, Tony Levin, and/or Chris Squire, and keyboard…well…ok, if they have a keyboard player, chances are he isn’t being given any face time unless he’s also the front man and super duper pretty (guitarists gets more genre dependent, but I see Steve Vai’s, David Gilmour’s, Frank Zappa’s, and Steve Howe’s names thrown out a lot).

So what happened to all these progressive-rock-influenced artists? How come none of them ended up making progressive rock? The answer is that you are simply being a naive fool. Progressive rock has worked long and hard to covertly work its way into more mainstream genres, and the fruits of decades of labor are now beginning to ripen. Below you will find examples of some genres where artists are now becoming popular who show significant signs that they’ve been infected with the prog.

METAL

What, no corpsepaint for the baby?

Metal was one of the earliest and easiest genres for prog to branch into. For one, a lot of metal musicians are extremely talented. I realize that, to people who aren’t fans of metal, a lot of the music just sounds like loud noise and unintelligible lyrics, but under the growling and the corpsepaint you’ll find some of the most technically skilled musicians around. Good metal guitarists can play diminished augmented pentatonic chords using alternate sweep picking just as fast as the proggy-ist prog douche bag guitar player, they just chose not to so because it’s not brutal enough (note: metal people judge all things on a scale of 1-brutal). Metal drummers and prog drummers are in an eternal pissing contest over who can play double bass faster, and just like how metal singers and prog singers are always trying to see how high they can sing without causing a sonic boom. Also, they put equal emphasis on physical activity and hygiene in their personal lives. So prog and metal have been pushing each other’s buttons for a very very long time, and the results have been enjoyable for both fan bases:

Examples of prog/metal marriages:

Dream Theater – Basically the flag bearer for progressive rock. Train of Thought is their most metal album, but every album has significant metal overtones through out. Scenes from a Memory is widely considered to be one of the best prog album of the 1990’s if not of all time. (Dream Theater Example – “Painc Attack”)

Opeth – If Dream Theater is a prog band with metal overtones, Opeth is a death metal band with prog overtones. The band drifts between melodic haunting passages and crushing metal destruction almost too freely. If you can’t handle cookie monster-style vocals you’d best start with Damnation which is their ‘mellow’ album, but then quickly get Deliverance and give that a spin as well. (Opeth Example – Death Whispered a Lulaby, and then The Drapery Falls)

Other prog/metal bands (and their albums that you should check out):

Symphony X -  V (Example: “Inferno”)

Fates Warning – Inside Out (Example: “One“)

Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime (Example: “Spreading the Disease”)

Tool – Lateralus (Example: “Sober”)

Between the Buried and Me - Colors (Example: “White Walls”)

Scale the Summit - Carving Desert Canyons (Example: “Dunes”)

Pain of Salvation - One Hour by the Concrete Lake (Example: Inside)

Coheed and Cambria (Example: “Welcome Home”)

Jazz

Above him, Led Zeppelin was stealing his music

The other genre that prog was able to easily seduce was jazz. Jazz has been the most popular kid in school basically forever. Everyone wants to claim that they’re influenced by jazz, or that they have jazz tendencies, or that they once slept with jazz at a party but jazz wouldn’t remember it because jazz was really drunk that night. No matter how much jazz wants to deny it, jazz and prog did in fact hook up a few times in the 60s and 70s, resulting in the genre fusion. If you know jazz, think of Kind of Blue. Fusion is the exact opposite of that. It’s fast, complicated, crazy shit that most of the time sounds like a bad jam session made up of really good musicians (note: I love fusion). If someone tried to dance to fusion they’d be mistaken for a seizure victim and taken to a hospital. The people who play fusion are of course ridiculously talented to the point where they could probably have a full conversation with each other using only their instruments. One problem fusion inherited from jazz  is that any band that considers itself to have drawn from jazz and some other genre automatically considers itself to be ‘fusion’. What can I say, jazz was a whore:

Examples of prog/jazz marriages:

Mahavishnu Orchestra – If there was ever a band that sounded like an acid trip, I’d pick Mahavishnu Orchestra. Drawing from Indian, European, jazz, and classical music, as well as John McLaughlin’s own eccentricity, the music they produced was frantic, intensely complex, and mind blowing once you manage to wrap your brain around it. Birds of Fire and Apocalypse may be the best characterizations of the band’s sound, but if you don’t enjoy either album that’s fine, you’re probably still too sane. (Mahavishnu Orchestra Example: “Trilogy”)

Frank Zapppa – I’m not even going to try to explain Frank Zappa in three lines. I don’t even know if I can call the majority of what he did ‘fusion’ but he’s fucking important and he fits best here. Go listen to Hot Rats, Roxy and Elsewhere and Apostrophe, and if you don’t like those don’t worry about it, there’s about five billion other albums that sound totally different that you can get into. (Frank Zappa Example: “Waka/Jawaka”)

Other prog/jazz bands (and their albums that that you should check out):

The Mars Volta – Francis the Mute (Example: “Wax Simulacra”)

The Dixie Dregs – Night of the Living Dregs (Example: “Assembly Line”)

Liquid Tension Experiment - Liquid Tension Experiment 2 (Example: “Biaxadent“)

Jam Bands

There wasn't actually any mud. Hippies are just this dirty.

Unlike jazz and metal, prog hasn’t shared a lot of common ground with the jam scene. The Grateful Dead were thoroughly un-complicated and yet they became extremely popular by touring their asses off and playing a lot of simple country and blues covers in cool new ways  (making them…….progressive? MY BRAIN CAN’T HANDLE THAT). For a long time hippies were content bopping along to country and blues music, and probably would have been fine like this forever, until Phish came along and expanded the genre by writing songs that made as little sense as possible. Moving from the relatively comfortable confines of country and blues to the total nonsense that Phish produced (note: I love Phish) blew hippie’s minds. So hippie musicians, being totally incapable of rejecting any art form, started incorporating every possible genre of music into the covers they played, into their huge and totally awesome music festivals, and eventually into their own music. Alternative and bluegrass were some of the first genres to gain popularity with hippies, then some electronica and punk weaved its way in, and now metal and prog are starting to poke their heads in as well:

Examples of prog/jam band marriages:

Umphrey’s Mcgee – UM is the cream of the crop as far as blending technical skill and musicality. It’s really an amazing balancing act that they pull off, and they do it flawlessly. I also find their live improv stuff to be far less meandering and self indulgent than a lot of other jam bands. Anchor Drops is the place you start for their studio efforts, but after that I suggest downloading their eight billion podcasts, as a lot of their best songs haven’t ever been recorded in the studio. Honestly I’m not even going to bother discussing other prog/jam band marriages in depth, Umphrey’s is really the top of the line and an experience like no other. (Umphreys Mcgee Example: “Bridgeless”)

Other prog/jam bands (and their albums that you should check out):

The Disco Biscuits - Uncivilized Area (Example – “I-man”)

Keller Williams - Laugh (Example – “Freeker by the Speeker“)

moe. – Wormwood (Example – “Crab Eyes”)

Oysterhead - The Grand Pecking Order (Example – “Mr. Oysterhead”)

Bluegrass

A tradional bluegrass band. Guitar, upright bass, banjo, mandolin, and no black people.

I’m going to be upfront about this. I hate country music more than any other genre of music on the planet. Most of the performers are talentless and I think the stereotypes it generates are more damaging to rednecks than gangster rap is to urban youth. That being said, I also think the slide guitar/dobro, mandolin, and banjo are some of the coolest instruments ever. So I compromise and enjoy bluegrass. Bluegrass to me, is what happened to all the talented southern musicians. They sing about all the same topics the crappy country artists do, but their songs are ten million times more interesting and their lyrics are ten million times more creative. To be honest I don’t know if bluegrass is actually even aware of progressive rock, but both genres are fast, technical, and full of energy, so if they haven’t met maybe I can help.

Examples of prog/bluegrass marriages:

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones – This band probably only gets lumped in with bluegrass because it features a banjo. It’s also probably one of the few, if not only bluegrass band to include sax and electronic drums (note: electronic drums that are actually awesome, unlike most electronic kits which sound horrible). All of that being said, Bela Fleck might be the most well known and universally respected banjo player ever (even more than Steve Martin!), and Victor Wooten is part of the pantheon of modern bass gods. Kind of bluegrass, kind of fusion, whatever, it’s extremely creative and fun to listen to. Little Worlds is a 3-disc set that’s probably less bluegrass-y than their past efforts, but it’s a great introduction to their sound. (Bela Fleck and the Flecktones Example: “Next”)

Yonder Mountain String Band – The shining symbol of ‘new grass‘, YMSB is talented and technically proficient and blah blah blah, but that’s probably the least attended to part of their music. What makes them such an incredible band is how they’ve taken bluegrass out of the realm of genres like polka (i.e. dance music that’s a joke to most people) and made it emotional and joyful. I’ve never seen so many universally happy people in my entire life as I’ve seen at YMSB shows. The crowd just emits rainbows and sunshine and good emotions. They make 80 year old men act like 10 year olds on their birthday, and the coolest hipster turns into a Appalachian mountain dweller before their onslaught of elation. Mountain Tracks: Volume 5 is a great selection of live tracks to check out, and their new album The Show is pretty solid. (Yonder Mountain String Band Example: Sideshow Blues)

Other prog/bluegrass bands (and their albums that you should check out)

Railroad Earth – Amen Corner (Example: “Seven Story Mountain”)

Hopefully this has given you a decent idea of how prog isn’t actually as alien a genre as one might think. There’s a lot of common ground between prog and genres that are far more popular, and there has been and will continue to be bleeding between groups as new bands find their own unique sounds.

P.S. – I do want to mention one band that I left out, that being Muse. Muse has a totally absurd amount of popularity for a band that prog fans consider to be ‘one of us’. It’s not super duper technical, but it at least creates the illusion of being super duper technical, and sometimes that’s good enough. It is high energy and features a guy who sings high enough to make the guy from The Darkness jealous so I guess the leap in prog-faith isn’t too absurd.  I can’t really explain why the rest of the world loves them, not that I’m complaining either. So I guess if a band like Muse can be touring with U2 and performing on the VMAs then I can still hope that prog will take over all of music one day. A man can dream can’t he…a man can dream…

http://www.queensryche.com/

Super impegnati i Queensryche! tutti i membri della band stanno attualmente lavorando ad un album solista ed al nuovo album degli stessi Queensryche. Inoltre hanno in progetto un programma televisivo che ancora rimane segreto.

HOME AGAIN (ultimo video ufficiale)

Formazione

Attuale

• Geoff Tate – voce (1983-)
• Michael Wilton – chitarra (1983-)
• Eddie Jackson – basso elettrico, voce (1983-)
• Scott Rockenfield – batteria (1983-)

Ex-componenti [modifica]

• Mike Stone – chitarra, voce (2003-2009)
• Kelly Gray – chitarra (1998-2001)
• Chris DeGarmo – chitarra (1983-1997; 2003)

A semente do Queensrÿche foi plantada na banda Joker, da qual faziam parte Michael Wilton e Chris DeGarmo. Em 1979 o Joker tocou em um concurso de bandas onde Wilton e DeGarmo tiveram a oportunidade de conhecer o talentoso e promissor vocalista Geoff Tate (da Tyrant), que foi o destaque do festival.

Pouco tempo depois, DeGarmo sai do Joker e vai para o Tempest, que após a entrada do baterista Mark Welling, muda seu nome para DEGARMO-HOVLAND-WELLING (D-H-W).

Mas Welling acaba deixando a banda para tocar no Babylon, nova banda de rock progressivo de Geoff Tate (!).

Enquanto isso, o Joker acaba e Michael Wilton monta uma nova banda, o Cross + Fire, ao lado do baterista Scott Rockenfield, que na época tinha a mesma paixão de Wilton: O Iron Maiden. Completando o time, estavam o já conhecido Chris DeGarmo e Mark Hovland, ambos da extinta D-H-W.

Sendo assim, o Cross + Fire partia para tocar no circuito local de clubes, onde tocavam covers do Iron Maiden e do Krokus, até que Hovland (que não estava tão entusiasmado em relação ao Maiden) decide sair e a banda fica sem o seu baixista e vocalista.

O problema foi em parte resolvido com a entrada do baixista Eddie Jackson, amigo de Rockenfield, e ainda em 1981 a banda muda o seu nome para The Mob.

Ainda sem um vocalista fixo, o The Mob havia sido convidado para, junto com o TKO e o Babylon de Geoff Tate, tocar no festival local Metalfest ’81. A banda convidou Geoff Tate para ocupar o posto, a princípio somente naquela noite. Tate obviamente aceitou, cantando com o The Mob e fechando a noite à frente do Babylon e sua linha progressiva.

Tate continuaria cantando com o The Mob, mas sua paixão pelo prog rock não lhe permitia um compromisso maior, e ele acabou se juntando ao progressivo Myth.

Os integrantes do The Mob deram início ao trabalho que depois seria conhecido como Queensrÿche EP. Mais uma vez, Geoff Tate se juntava ao The Mob e, dessa vez, a união de forças não repercutiria bem na banda principal de Tate.

Geoff, Chris, Michael, Scott e Eddie entraram no estúdio pra gravar apenas quatro músicas: “Queen of the Reich”, “Nightrider”, “Blinded” e uma última composta por Chris, mas que não tinha letra e título, “’The Lady Wore Black”, terminada em estúdio por Tate.

Com a gravação na mão e novamente sem Tate, o The Mob partiu pra divulgar a demo tape que após ter as suas músicas tocadas em uma rádio local, fez relativo sucesso, e a banda acaba assinando com o empresário Kim Harris.

Geoff não largava o Myth, mas foi convencido por Harris a tirar fotos como integrante do The Mob, que, assim, poderia ter sua demo comercializada. Para tanto, o vocalista assinou um contrato que garantia uma compensação monetária pelo uso de sua imagem e voz. Nessa mesma época mudaram o nome para Queensrÿche.

Estando tudo pronto, Harris enviou uma cópia da fita para um amigo que trabalhava na revista de Heavy Metal Kerrang! A revista acabou fazendo uma ótima resenha da banda, e o sucesso fez com que a demo virasse um disco pelo selo independente 206, de propriedade de Kim Harris e sua esposa, Diana. Lançado em maio de 1983, o EP acabou superando todas as expectativas, Tate deixou o Myth para se juntar permanentemente ao Queensryche, e a banda foi convidada pra abrir os shows do Zebra nos teatros Paramount, de Portland e Seattle, nos dias 29 e 30 de junho de 1983. Resultado: uma semana após os shows, o Queensrÿche assinava com a gigante EMI America um contrato para sete discos, que imediatamente após contratá-los relançou o EP.

Logo, é esse EP que com muito prazer eu vou resenhar.

Vou começar contando uma pequena história que aconteceu comigo:

Assim que eu ouvi falar do Queensrÿche, fui a uma loja comprar a recém lançada coletânea “Greatest Hits”, e ao colocar a mesma pra tocar na loja (não ia comprar o álbum sem escutar antes), a música de abertura era “Queen of the Reich”, e após ouvir os 30 segundos iniciais, eu falei: “não vou mais escutar o resto do disco, pode embalar”. Sem exageros, mas a abertura dessa música é uma das mais emblemáticas da história do Heavy Metal. Pode aumentar no volume máximo, pois aqui é a síntese do Heavy Metal Tradicional. O baixo instigante acompanhado das guitarras dobradas e a contagem da bateria, coroados pelo grito majestoso de Geoff Tate, são a epígrafe para esse clássico eterno. As guitarras são tipicamente Heavy Tradicional Oitentista, com bases para Iron ou Judas nenhum colocarem defeito. Os vocais de Tate beiram a perfeição, seja nos agudos certeiros, ou na tremenda autoridade que ele rege essa música, que me parece uma verdadeira orquestra, tamanho a perfeição do entrosamento dos instrumentos, onde tudo é monstruosamente bem encaixado. Também não podemos esquecer o curto solo, direto, forte, meloso e marcante.
Tudo nessa música fez história, e tudo que veio depois dela é apenas uma cópia da original. Hoje em dia, uma parte considerável das músicas de Heavy Metal tradicional que são feitas leva um pedacinho de “Queen of the Reich”.
Essa música poderia ter passado batido, ela reúne todos os clichês do gênero de forma absurda, ela segue a linha de muita coisa que veio antes e depois dela, mas por um motivo ou outro, e vejam só a beleza da humanidade, essa música é única.
Aqui a mensagem foi bem clara: A figura misteriosa apresentada como Rainha, não poupou vítimas e era irresistível, e qualquer semelhança com outra banda que também teve uma música na sua primeira gravação associada com o seu nome é apenas coincidência.
Um conselho: Se um dia você se cansar de “Queen of the Reich”, saia do Heavy Metal imediatamente, afinal, o seu tesão acabou.

A letra de “Nightrider” segue a linha de várias composições da época referentes ao estilo: um ser misterioso e maléfico. Eu não sei se isso é alguma espécie de alegoria, mas a letra em si é meio bobinha. Com uma levada Maideniana, “Nightrider” é mais uma das faixas com uma veia puramente Heavy Tradicional da banda. Ela começa de forma arrastada e vai ganhando velocidade, com quebras aqui e ali, mas não muito diferente de várias músicas de metal da época, e pra mim o único e real destaque é o solo, que eu acho muito bacana, mas nada de outro mundo.

“Blinded” da continuidade a veia Heavy. Sua letra que me parece uma continuação de “Nightrider”, mas é outra composição que nos deixa “perdidos”. O que eu acho mais interessante nessa música é o contrapondo entre o instrumental nervoso e os classudos vocais de Tate.

Hora de abrir um parêntese. A música escolhida para fechar o EP é um divisor de águas na história da banda, e porque não, do próprio Heavy Metal. Não por causa da sua bonita e melancólica letra, que fala sobre mais um ser fantástico (dessa vez uma mulher), mas sim pela conjuntura da obra. Um clima místico com o som do vento acompanhado dos assobios ao fundo dão início para “The Lady Wore Black”.Os vocais iniciais de Tate são capazes de tocar até mesmo os mais incrédulos.Pra mim, esse início, que é quebrado com a entrada dos fulminantes riffs de guitarra, constituem o início da “revolução” que o Queensrÿche faria na musicalidade do Heavy Metal Tradicional.
Eu não sei nem se nós podemos descrever essa música como sendo uma balada, tamanha a singularidade da mesma.
Se em “Blinded” nós vimos um choque entre instrumental e vocal, aqui a coisa tomou proporções inimagináveis. O instrumental de “The Lady Wore Black” são bem Heavy mesmo, mas os melancólicos vocais são um caso a parte, belíssimos em todos os sentidos.O Equilíbrio só é refeito, e a estranha química acaba, quando após o bonito solo, a calmaria reina, e agora não só pelas linhas de baixo, mas também pela guitarra, fato esse que momentos depois é desfeito, e os riffs voltam com tudo, acompanhados da mais uma vez firme pegada da bateria. Essa alternância se da até o final da música.
Eu considero “The Lady Wore Black”  como a primeira música do estilo que o Queensrÿche iria criar depois da li, que muitos ainda insistem em rotular como Prog Metal, mas que eu prefiro chamar de “Metal Refinado”.

Esse maravilhos EP acabaria aqui, mas eu ainda irei comentar “Prophecy”, que foi escrita durante as sessões de The Warnig, gravada durante as sessões de Rage for Order, e lançada em re-lançamentos desse EP em 1988 e 2003. A letra trata de uma temática com perspectiva negativa, e o seu solo é bem mais extenso que os outros do EP. Me lembra o Iron Maiden em alguns momentos,  e sinceramente, eu não sei porque acabou se tornando parte desse EP, apesar deu gostar dessa faixa.

Faixas:

1.Queen of the Reich 10***
2.Nightrider 8,0
3.Blinded 7,75
4.The Lady Wore Black 10**
5. Prophecy 8,0

Nota: 8.75
Nota Re-avaliada: 10*****

Formação:

Geoff Tate: vocal
Chris DeGarmo: guitarra
Michael Wilton: guitarra
Eddie Jackson: baixo
Scott Rockenfield: bateria

“Queen of the Reich” foi escrita por Degarmo, “Nightrider” e “Blinded” por Degarmo e Michael Wilton, e “The Lady Wore Black” por Degarmo e Geoff Tate.

Curiosidades:

Relançamentos

- Relançado em 1988 com a música bônus “Prophecy” , que foi escrita durante as sessões de The Warnig, e gravada durante as sessões de Rage for Order.Re-apareceu no re-lançamento de 2003:

1.Queen of the Reich
2.Nightrider
3.Blinded
4.The Lady Wore Black
5. Prophecy

- Relançado em uma versão com 2 CDs leather digibook pelo selo francês Axe Killer Records em 1999 contendo esse EP e o album Operation:Mindcrime.

- Oficialmente relançado em 2003. Relançado e remasterizado, e contendo as músicas do VHS lançado em 1985, “Live In Tokyo”:

1.Queen of the Reich 10***
2.Nightrider
3.Blinded
4.The Lady Wore Black

Bonus tracks ao vivo:

5: Nightrider (4:32)
6: Prophecy (3:59)
7: Deliverance (3:30)
8: Child of Fire (4:36)
9: En Force (5:47)
10: Blinded (3:26)
11: The Lady Wore Black (7:01)
12: Warning (4:56)
13: Take Hold of the Flame (5:12)
14: Queen of the Reich (5:19)

1, 6, 9, 14: (DeGarmo)
2, 3, 5, 10, 12: (DeGarmo/Wilton)
4, 11, 13: (Tate/DeGarmo)
7: (Wilton)
8: (Wilton/Tate)

Gravado no Ni-Hon Seinen.kan, Tokyo, Japão, em 03/08/1984

Sobre a escolha do nome

- Visando o trabalho de mercado, o empresário Harris sugeriu que não mais se chamassem The Mob, e depois de pensarem em vários nomes diferentes, a banda acabou optando pela escolha mais óbvia e que traria uma maior identificação: Queensryche, nome tirado da canção “Queen of the Reiche”, do review de mesmo nome que foi resenhado aqui no H2R. Para evitar conotações nazistas, colocaram Queensrÿche.

Sobre o primeiro lançamento

- A Kerrang! , revista inglesa de Heavy metal campeã de vendas na época, ao receber a demo tape da banda, surpreendentemente deu aos desconhecidos de Bellevue, WA, uma das melhores avaliações que uma banda já havia recebido. Literalmente, a Kerrang! proclamava o Queensryche como o futuro do Heavy metal!. Após os elogios, a Easy Street Records foi invadida com milhares de pedidos vindos de toda Europa. Eram bangers e lojas que queriam obter o trabalho promissor.

O sucesso se tornou mundial. Ninguém se lembrava de um lançamento independente que vendesse tanto e fosse tão executado nas rádios. Com tudo isso, Geoff percebeu finalmente que não havia outra saída, a não ser sair do Myth e ficar permanentemente como vocalista do Queensryche. Foi o que ele fez.

O EP original da “206 Records” é atualmente um item de colecionador.

Sobre as bandas antigas

- A banda de nome Spectrum se transformou em Rage, e em seguida mudaram o seu nome para Tyrant.A banda precisava de um vocalista novo, e Geoff Tate conquistou a vaga em uma audição onde ele cantou músicas do Judas Priest e UFO.

O Tyrant era uma sensação entre os Metalheads locais, pois tinham um visual e um som sofisticadamente polidos.Tate tinha trejeitos similares a Rob Halford, e o guitarrista Adam Brenner, na época com 16 anos, que tinha uma família rica (o que lhe possibilitou comprar equipamentos top de linha e praticar todo dia), era um clone de  Eddie Van Halen.

Posteriormente, Adam conseguiu certa fama:

- Assim que acabou o Tyrant (após a tentativa fracassada de vencer a batalha de bandas), ele conseguiu entrar no mesmo hotel que Eddie Van Halen, seu ídolo, fez uma Jam com ele, ouviu da boca do próprio Eddie que o Jovem Adam era melhor que Mick Ralphs (Bad Company), e presenciou uma cena tipicamente rockstar: Garotas com o nome de Eddie escrito nos seus corpos, e um Eddie que sem cerimônias, cheirou cocaína em cima da guitarra na frente do garoto, mas não ofereceu nada para o mesmo. Desde então, todos os show Adam toca “Eruption”.

Ele ainda fez uma audição para entrar no Kiss, morou com Izzy do Guns, substituiu Malmsteen no Steeler em 2 shows, gravou alguns solos no álbum “Without Love” do Black and Blue, e por sugestão do seu amigo Thayer(Black and Blue e Kiss), mudou seu nome para Adam Bomb, e então assinou com a Geffen.O seu primeiro álbum foi finalizado com a ajuda do baterista Chuck Ruff, do Montrose, e o baixista Clifford Williams, do AC/DC, que estava no estúdio com a banda Australiana e gravou a música “I Want My Heavy Metal” (ambos não entraram nos créditos finais), e em 2005, depois de uma longa carreira e de ter conhecido muita gente famosa, a Adam Bomb Band lança o 12º álbum na sua carreira.

- A banda Myth (que era a abreviação de Mythology) tinha em sua line-up o tecladista Randy Gane, que tocou com o Queensrche na tour do Rage for Order e Kelly Gray (famoso produtor musical de Seatle) na guitarra.

Kelly Gray conhecia os caras da Tyrant, e assim ele chegou até Geoff Tate, o Myth foi uma banda fantástica para a época, e sem eles o Queensryche não existiria.

(Da esquerda pra direita: Kelly Gray, Richard Gibson, “Jeff” Tate, Jimmy Parsons, e Randy Gane)

- A escolha do nome The Mob se deu por causa do álbum do Black Sabbath com Dio nos Vocais.

Sobre os shows da época

- No importantíssimo concurso de bandas que ocorreu em Lake Hills Roller Rink, onde Wilton e DeGarmo tiveram a oportunidade de conhecer Geoff Tate, o Joker sequer passou da 1ª fase, enquanto Geoff Tate e sua banda Tyrant empolgaram a platéia na final com Man on the Silver Mountain, do Rainbow, mas tiveram que se contentar com o 2º lugar, pois a banda campeã foi o Ridge (tocando covers pops), que depois mudaria seu nome para “Fifth Angel”, e assinaria um contrato com a Epic.O baterista da banda, Ken Mary se juntaria a banda de Alice Cooper em 1985.

- Já o show no Metalfest ’81, foi mais lendário ainda. Naquela noite, alguma das músicas que o The Mob tocou foram: “Murders in the Rue Morgue”, “Running Free” e “Wrathchild” do Iron Maiden, “Animal Magnetism” e “Sails of Charon” dos Scorpions.

Geoff, que estava desinteressado no trabalho, e sequer se arrumou para o show, acabou ficando impressionado com a reação da platéia diante da química da banda.

Posteriormente ele tocou em algumas festas com o The Mob, mas o seu coração não estava nos covers de Heavy Metal. Ele era um fã de Peter Gabriel e estava interessado em escrever música progressiva.

(Acima, festa onde o The Mob tocou, e abaixo, foto do Babylon)

- Assim que o EP foi re-lançado pela EMI, a banda caiu na estrada abrindo shows da banda Dio em outubro, e Twisted Sister e Quiet Riot.

Na turnê de abertura para o Quiet Riot, o vocalista Kevin Dubrow protagonizou cenas de ciúme e despeito pelo sucesso da banda de abertura, o Queensryche, e inclusive não falava e ignorava os jovens músicos nos bastidores. Enquanto isso, na turnê com o Dio, que foi o “encontro com o primeiro herói”, foi dito na época que “o homem com a voz do tamanho do mundo” foi um verdadeiro cavalheiro com a banda, tratando todos os membros muito bem, e sendo bastante cordial e atencioso com todos.

Sobre as gravações

- Ao mesmo tempo em que os integrantes do The Mob ensaiavam exaustivamente, às vezes com dois empregos ao mesmo tempo, juntavam dinheiro para gravar o primeiro trabalho. E com esse dinheiro montaram um estúdio caseiro no porão dos pais do baterista Scott Rockenfield, e em junho de 1982 começaram a compor e gravar as músicas ‘Queen Of The Reich’, ‘Blinded’,'Nightrider’, e uma música sem letra, que depois viria a ser ‘The Lady Wore Black’. Posteriormente alugaram o Triad Studios, onde deram início ao trabalho que seria conhecido como Queensrche EP.

- The Lady Wore Black foi terminada em estúdio por Tate e foi gravada de forma peculiar. Em primeiro lugar, o vocalista criou um verdadeiro clima no estúdio, gravando a música com todas as luzes apagadas, sobrando apenas uma única vela para iluminar todo o ambiente. Em segundo lugar, aqueles assobios no início não foram intencionais! Enquanto esperava a primeira estrofe, Tate começou a assobiar junto com a introdução da guitarra sem saber que estava sendo gravado. E de nada adiantou falar que tinha sido um engano, pois o resultado ficou tão bom que resolveram manter a “improvisação”.

Sobre o sucesso do EP

- Em 1983, o relançamento do EP pela America Records vendeu mais de 350,000 cópias, e posteriormente esse número superou a casa das 500,000, se tornando disco de ouro.

- Ainda em 1983, o bem sucedido EP alcançou a 81ª posição nos seguintes charts da Billboard: Pop Albums e The Billboard 200.

Outros Fatos

- No famoso jogo do Playstation 2, GTA Vice City Stories, a banda ataca com Queen of the Reich na rádio V-Rock.

- O Tri Ryche veio do artista Wes Grizwold (Queensryche EP), é o modo ele sempre assina na sua arte.Ele começou fazendo na escola, e na época era uma espécie de Falcão Peregrino, e em seguida acabou virando a famosa tribal do Queensrÿche.

- “Queen of the Reich” gerou um clipe que fez relativo sucesso nos anos 80, e começava com uma inscrição em letreiros a lá Star Wars: “No milênio, depois da 4ª guerra mundial, o mundo estava um caos. Uma aventureira do mal descobriu um antigo computador energizado por um cristal tão poderoso, que a possibilitou escravizar o mundo e se tornar rainha, “The Queen of the Reich”. Muitos tentaram destruí-la, mas falharam absorvidos pelo computador, e as últimas esperanças eram os cinco guerreiros da liberdade”. O clipe é tão tosco quanto essa frase, mas vale à pena a conferida.

Por Victor Kataóka. Colaboraram: M. Carreiro e D.Dutra na tradução de fatos do original de B.Miller.

Download: Nos comentários.

Do you remember a few weeks ago when I mentioned you need to START NOW!?

Well, I hope I remember those words as well, because it has been a rough 24 hours, and it’s not looking to get any better for the next few hours.

It started yesterday when I got an invitation to go to lunch with a friend.  We had been playing phone tag or schedule tag on lunch for a few weeks so I jumped at the opportunity.  I even chose to go to European Street where they have an awesome Raspberry Almond Chicken Salad.  Things were going great until I saw my nemesis, the Blue Max on the menu.  It’s basically a Reuben, and if you remember, I love my Reubens.

A Reuben at Carnegie Deli

This was the last Reuben I ate, and it was not a pretty site.  So my willpower caved and I ordered the Blue Max.  Delicious?  Yes!  Worth it?  Probably not.

So I committed myself to getting back on track for dinner last night.  But one thing led to another and I didn’t end up leaving work until about 5:30.  Since we all have to be at church by 6:30, I knew there would be no time to make dinner when I got home, so I pulled into Taco Bell.

I could have easily ordered food for the kids and had a protein shake at home, but they have the Fresca menu at Taco Bell.  150 calories for a taco?  I can handle that!  So the order is placed and I’m almost safe… when I notice that the Loaded Nachos are back for a limited time.  They are so good.  Have you seen these things?

1000 Calories of Delicious Guilt

What to do?  I can START NOW, or cave in to my basic instincts.

So when I got home and dug into my nachos, I immediately felt the guilt.  I knew right away that I would pay for this indiscretion on the scale Thursday morning.  Nonetheless, I finished my 1000 calorie gut bomb and decided to put one bad day behind me.

This morning, I got up with resolve and hammered out my 5k in just over 32 minutes, feeling good about the run, and happy that I didn’t let one bad day get me off track.  I was cruising and ready to get a few solid days in before the weekend.

Then I walked into the house and saw my son.

He was dressed and ready to go, as he is every morning, but he had not had breakfast, because today was Dads and Donuts day at his school.  He has been making sure I would be coming to this event all week long.  All of a sudden, the next meal put in front of me is destined to be a bad one.

So we headed off to school for Dads and Donuts, which to be clear, is exactly what it sounds like.

Nate at Dads and Donuts

As you can see, Nate was having a great time.  I, on the other hand…

My partially eaten Boston Creme Donut

…had at least this brief moment of doubt before completing my donut.  This was beginning to spiral out of control!

So I arrived at work, already dreading the scale.  I put on my best brave face and climbed on that digital purveyor of truth and guilt… 243 pounds.  I can not be any more plain to anyone who is looking to lose weight.  Food is everything. In 24 hours, I had gained back the three pounds I had lost with two good days.  When would this end?

You’re probably waiting for the dramatic finish or moment of clarity that gets me back on the right track.  Wrong.  Today I had a lunch with my local chapter of PRSA, and the lunch was at Maggiano’s Restaurant.  From the blue cheese crumble salad to the ravioli and right down to the amazing strawberry cheesecake, I blew it yet again.  At the end of the meeting I lamented the fact I had not taken a picture of my overflowing plate.  In reality, there was probably a bit of self editing there as I was a little afraid to actually show you what I was eating.

But the sad thing is that I did not have a grasp on just how severe the problem was until I started writing this and putting everything down chronologically.  One bad decision leads to another, which leads to doubt and insecurity.  You often don’t even realize that you are making yet another bad decision, until you put them in a row like this.

The only thing I can advise myself and any of you who have suffered from the same situation is this: START NOW! I will make my dinner tonight, and it will be a healthy one. (detailed in this earlier post).  I did my run today, and I will definitely do my weekend runs.  I have already plotted my course for my 6 mile run on Sunday, and I think I will have no major problems with it.

Thank you to all of you who read this and send me notes of inspiration.  I may share some of them tomorrow as it is a rest day.  your thoughts and comments really do make a difference.  Thank you!

Vital Statistics:

Workout: 3.1 Miles

Time: 32:26

Pace: 10:24

Weight: 243

Playlist:

Nobody Wins in the End – Nelson

Trash – Korn

I Stay Away – Alice In Chains

Don’t Drink That Wine – N.W.A.

21st Century Breakdown – Green Day

Prayer – Disturbed

Man in the Box – Alice In Chains

Good Friends and a Bottle of Pills – Pantera

Silent Lucidity – Queensrÿche

Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd

Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) – The Offspring

Voodoo Child (Slight Return) – Jimi Hendrix

My name is Christopher Scott I am 24 and currently am hard at work on an human resource degree and a few years back read a great science fiction book called, “Who will watch the watchers”. Think that concept really applies more then ever to the situation in the world today

My biggest passion is writing a mix of stories and poetry, movies wise i love a whole mix of different movies my favorite being Casablanca with Humphrey Bogart, music wise i also love a whole mix of music and my favorite band is Queensryche (for those of you who are thinking huh who the fuck? www.queensryche.com) my favorite song hands down by them is Silent Lucidity

My next biggest passion though is talking politics and i consider myself a very strong conservative and an avid republican as well with that in mind though i welcome people from all sides of the spectrum to join in a good debate on the issues…mind you sometimes you will get the occasional blah rant but i will try to avoid that though but i am not perfect

With all that in mind i am out! Take it easy everyone

-The Watcher aka Chris

Notícia do site Whiplash:

O guitarrista do QUEENSRŸCHE, Michael Wilton concedeu uma entrevista ao site Ultimate Guitar e abaixo podem ser conferidos alguns trechos da conversa:

Esta turnê do “American Soldier” é um empreendimento, um show multi-mídia e você está se concentrando somente em três álbuns: “Rage for Order”, “Empire” e “American Soldier”?

Wilton: “Sim, tiramos isso de uma enquete que fizemos em nosso website para saber o que os fãs queriam ouvir. E como eles foram bombardeados com o ‘Operation: Mindcrime’, eles queriam voltar um pouco mais para o álbum ‘Rage For Order’ e ouvi-lo novamente ao vivo. E como o ‘Empire’ foi nosso álbum que mais vendeu, todos queriam ouvi-lo também. E como também queríamos promover o novo álbum, nós meio que unimos isso e os dois outros álbuns e tem funcionado muito bem”.

Você também está escrevendo um álbum solo, enquanto está na estrada?

Wilton: “Sim, estou. Fiquei alguns dias em casa antes de iniciar esta parte da turnê e eu consegui três ou quatro melodias. Vou procurar por um vocalista e quando eu for pra casa conseguirei outros músicos. Assim que terminarmos a turnê australiana, voltarei pra casa e continuarei trabalhando nessas faixas. Também tenho minha outra banda, SOULBENDER na qual estou trabalhando em algumas coisas e também estou trabalhando com o ‘Ripper’ Owens [YNGWIE MALMSTEEN/ex-JUDAS PRIEST]. Então, tenho vários projetos rolando, cara”.

Quando o assunto é excursionar, qual a comparação que você faz com excursionar há vinte anos atrás?

Wilton: “É muito diferente excursionar hoje do que era há vinte anos, como hoje fazemos um show atrás do outro. E há vinte anos atrás era um pouco mais descontraído, fazíamos dois shows e tirávamos um dia de folga, fazíamos três shows e tirávamos um dia de folga, então haviam vários dias de folga. Agora é como ‘bang, bang, bang’. Não tem parada. Excursionar exige muita disciplina e você tem que estar comprometido com a turnê e tudo depende de que cada indivíduo não deixe os outros caras pra baixo. É tudo sobre ‘Ei, estamos aqui por causa da música e estamos tocando como uma banda’. E é isso que o faz seguir, de outra forma a viagem ficaria entediante”.

O que mais você gostaria de alcançar musicalmente na sua carreira?

Wilton: “Com certeza quero gravar vários álbuns, e quero gravar com alguns outros músicos. Já gravei com o Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens e quero gravar com o Ronny Munroe, do METAL CHURCH, já toquei alguns solos no álbum dele. E estou conseguindo um número grande de pessoas interessadas então é isso o que eu quero. Eu quero colaborar, um pouco mais. E com certeza quero continuar ‘bangeando’ com o QUEENSRŸCHE”.

Voltando ao começo da banda, você esperava que ela fosse ter a longevidade que tem hoje?

Wilton: “Isso me surpreende. Mas nós somos apenas um processo que continua em evolução. Quando eu dou um passo atrás e penso sobre isso, é bastante surpreendente. Mas para mim é tudo, ‘Vamos cara, vamos começar a trabalhar e vamos dar as pessoas o que elas querem’”.

O que eu acho: que bom que os fãs do Queensryche têm bom gosto, hehehe…Se eles se concentrarem daqui para a frente e não se perderem produzindo porcarias como Q2K e Tribe, já está de bom tamanho para o futuro da banda.

Ahh! Não há nada como um show durante o dia com uma arena lotada!

Quase me esqueci que hoje era Quinta-Feira, ou seja, dia de exibir as melhores performances de todos os tempos.

Hoje eu vou mostrar o vídeo de uma banda que é simplesmente perfeita ao vivo, o Queensrÿche! E digo isso com propriedade, porque já os vi em 2008. Geoff Tate é o vocalista mais incrível que já vi na minha frente. Para quem não está acostumado, nesse show os integrantes usam umas roupas meio esquesitas, principalmente Tate, além dos Britney mics!

Enfim, esse show foi durante a turnê do álbum Empire (o maior sucesso da carreira da banda que conta com o grande hit Silent Lucidity), a mesma turnê que passou pelo Brasil durante o Rock In Rio II. Como podemos ver é uma banda que prima pelos detalhes e pela perfeição, quase que uma reprodução perfeita do disco, mas ao mesmo tempo sem perder o feeling da coisa. O sempre teatral Geoff Tate, o solo perfeito de Crhis DeGarmo (o que mais senti falta no show de 2008) e um relógio lá atrás chamado Scott Rockenfield são os destaques dessa performance. A música em questão é “Jet City Woman”, uma das mais lindas canções de amor que já vi, e que foi escrita por Tate para sua esposa, que é aeromoça. So, enjoy the video!