thrashinbiker

Yeah man I waffle about bikes a lot hehe. Sorry

Hope you feel better soon, TG. Pneumonia is a nasty little bugger, as you no doubt realise. I do hope you are enjoying your time in Hobart and that you had a good day witht he Mrs and the in-laws. Been a quiet day here, cooked a meal for me and the parents (I am their carer so all good) and took the lazy approach to most of it this year, as I, too, am not very well right now (seems like most of the forum/planet has some lurgy or another) so went with frozen roast potatoes and vegetables, but it turned out okay. I even - disgracefully to admit as a Brit - bought mince pies rather than making them, since I am so, so exhausted. Fortunately, enjoyment was had by all and I think I might take the lazy approach next year, since it was nice to be able to have an afternoon snooze without worry. Anyway, I am knackered and off to bed soon, but I promise to get to the album recommendations some of you so kindly provided (my head has been to fuzzy for either music or television at the moment and I like to be able to concentrate) but I wanted to wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas and to thank all of you who have interacted with me since I joined the forum as you have made this a very pleasant experience and sometimes much needed bolt-hole as a lift to my mental health. Have a good one, whatever you are doing

Hello HB, welcome to MF from the UK!

Hey @GoatmasterGeneral I am full of cold at the minute so not really in an eating mood but that looks DELICIOUS. I'm going to have a go at making it when I'm better, for sure! I could see me adding a bit of sriracha sauce on that for an extra bit of kick. Not too much too subdue the spices and other flavours but just a bit. Despite being a chef in a previous life, I have never heard of shakshuka before, but it's just sprung to the top of my "to cook" list!

Absolutely full of cold and mostly in bed listening to music and watching stuff on my phone. Listening to Mayhem as recommended by @FatherAlabaster And also, non-metal sie, but bloody good musicianship all the same, my favourite childhood album: This album came out in 1981, when I was three years old and I played the old vinyl (and recorded it on cassette to listen to on my Walkman) and I was made up when it was reissued on CD in 1997. Squeeze still remain one of the most underrated bands, in my opinion. The lyrics were so simplistic, yet amazingly put together (short and fat/with a fishnet hat/and a hungry cat/in a nice new flat) being among many of my favourites. This album is credited as taking influence from a variety of music - rockabilly, R&B and Merseybeat among others. Eminently listenable and great for adding a bit of cheer to your day. Notable picks - "Piccadilly", "Labelled With Love", "Heaven" and "Vanity Fair", though all of the songs are great. A rare non-metal album that I absolutely NEVER skip a track on. Hope you are all well guys and apologies for the lack of posting, hope to be back on board soon!

🎶So drink those mysteries, with one more whisky... there's no tomorrow...🎶

Bourbon is a good thing my man! I am on the beer (now finished) and the raspberry vodka. Fuck man, I am rather drunk, I admit.

Nah man I don't think it was missed, just that we are all good dudes and want to make sure we don't offend each other You guys are great and in comparison, if I ever thought I had accidentally offended any of you, I would be genuinely gutted, for sure.

First off - I fucking LOVE the car, man! Haha, it's like seeing an 80's/early 90's US TV show here. If you saw a car like that in the UK (either today or in the 1980s) you would expect it to be being driven by some poshly dressed chauffeur, driving a visiting dignitary about rather than occupied by some metalheads headbanging to some heavy shit. Brilliant. Really interesting to hear about the scene in NY back then. Like always, London was seen as the hub for alternative music and lifestyles, and it is mostly London that is quoted as being at the centre of these revolutions, however, a lot of this "teenage disaffection" and rebellion also took place "oop North", as you would say. In my suburb of Merseyside/Liverpool, like I said, it was, and still is, mostly populated by pensioners/retirees, and being the long-haired, leather jacketed youth that I was from the tail end of the 80s and into the 90s, my particular brand of self-expression was very unusual for our town and, even now, it still not exactly usual, even though you see a few more of us metalheads around now. But, even back then, you would only have to venture into the city (some 12-13 miles away - a half hour car ride or 20 minutes on the train) and there were some venues cropping up that latched onto the rock/metal scene. A notable place was a metal club called The Krazyhouse, which, sadly, closed in 2018, though still holds the odd "nostalgia" event. Back in the early 90's, though, it was the place where, even if live bands weren't playing (I could look up some of the bands, probably, though I remember Korn playing there at some point) there was always metal playing. At the K (as we called it, for short) there was no shortage of our long-haired leather jacketed brethren, and, as the place stayed open until 5am (most other places closed at 2am) you could even find a brave non-rocker in there from time to time. The K got onto this and, later on, as well as the main floor (on the ground, or first floor for my US readers) they added an Indie floor on level 2 (K2) and then a current chart/old pop floor on the level 3 (K3). Of course, the metalheads generally contained themselves where the metal played, but occasionally, when those posh, middle-class folks from the other two floors decided to see how the rockers live, we would storm their floors (particularly the top one) and happily form a mosh pit to Alanis Morissette or Duran Duran. It was the sort of place where anything goes - I shudder to think how many children were conceived in that place because drunken fucking was highly prevalent - and this was never more so than on Thursday nights when ALL drinks were two for one, regardless. Of course, it was the sort of place where the food available ranged from pickled eggs, pot noodles and burgers and chips and was a firm favourite all round. It was also the sort of place that constantly smelled of cigarette/pot smoke, puke and had a floor that was so sticky that if you stood still for too long, the soles of your boots would melt into it. And, naturally, the toilets were always at least an inch deep in piss (and fuck knows what else) but did it stop us going? Did it fuck. Shame you lost touch with those Irish girls, man. I bet they have told endless stories of you and your friend, hehe. Of course, I had to add to the "bad guy" thing by also riding a motorbike - I was never allowed to be alone with girls such was my level of normie rebellion - but fuck'em then and fuck 'em now haha. Oh and to keep on topic, I am currently listening to (the final recommendation that wasn't meant to be a recommendation from @GoatmasterGeneral: \m/ FUCK YEAH \m/

Another recommendation by the @GoatmasterGeneral himself. @FatherAlabaster I am getting to yours once I've done the third and final recommendation by GG. I'm only ten minutes in so far and I absolutely love the music - though I am not entirely sold on the vocals. The screams are good but the deeper growls are a bit what I call "sore throat vocals", which I must admit, in this case, aren't really reaching me, but like I said, I am only halfway through. Give that man a Halls Soothers, a glass of hot honey and lemon, tuck him up in bobos and he should be fine in the morning

Do not fear, AS, in the short time i have been on this forum, my view of GG has been elevated already to the status of the older brother I never knew I had and certainly didn't want. But it's forever real. Joking aside, what exactly is a "goat sniffer"? Obviously I can picture the literal intent of such a phrase, however I am thinking there is more to it than meets my innocent, angelic eye...

Absolutely great story @GoatmasterGeneral and apologies for the delay in replying - I wanted to ensure I had a few minutes to consider and respond. I had to Google a Pontiac Grand Prix as I have never seen one in the flesh, as it were. The '66 and '77 models look awesome, though I didn't sit there and search through them all. If you read my entry in the "music that shivers me timbers" thread, you will know that my uncle introduced me to metal and as we grew to be friends, I was allowed use of his Pontiac Trans Am (his pride and joy and it was on land he rented, not public roads) and used to flay those fucking tyres to metal, which was class. Being a Brit, my knowledge of Pontiacs is largely limited to the Trans Am (my uncle and, of course, Smokey and the Bandit) and the Firebird (Knight Rider). Also, as you know, I am a biker rather than a car enthusiast, so I naturally don't really look at cars, however, due to the link to my uncle, and also your story, I will have to have a read into Pontiac's history. I will try to be as short as possible - the rest of your story is fucking quality. Did you ever keep in touch with the girls or was it one of those fleeting things that just dies off? It's funny how us longhairs, past and present, are seen as the bad ones, yet we are the best fucking dudes on earth for sure. Either way, it sounds like a great time you had, man. Finally, I am interested, as a lowlife Brit, what was it like being a metalhead in (I think?) New York in the eighties? Was there any kind of acceptance at all? I have read NY is a pretty chilled out/permissive state, however I have never been there (though I have been to the US several times) so I just wondered. I know you said the girls were seemingly wanting to not be seen by their employers with you, but that's the middle class for you. I am more interested in day-to-day stories. It's funny, as though I have lived in other parts of the UK as an older dude, I am back here where I grew up, and even some 7-8 years later than your story, me being a metalhead and having long hair was certainly the exception to the rule and, while I wasn't exactly popular anyway, parents used to drag (yes, DRAG) their children away from me as if I were some horrendous influence on their innocence, haha. I didn't give a shit then and less so now. Finally, yes, it is eejit if you are Irish. The names you have to contend with are pretty simple, fortunately. Try Saorise, Tadhg, Nimah, Siobahn and Aoife

EVERYday is THRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH dayyyy! \m/ \m/

Well, I have just given this a listen, as posted in the "What Are You Listening To?" thread and fuck, man, I am impressed, seriously. Absolutely LOVED Alcoholic Triumphator and Whisky Time, though that isn't to say I didn't enjoy the other two immensely. That drumming on Whisky Time, jeez that guy has epic timing and focus. Side note - Both my dad and I like a whisky but I will have to remember to restrain myself from snarling "IT'S FUCKING... WHISKY TIIIIIIIIIIIMEEEEEEEEEEEE!" the next time I reach for the bottle. It's funny, because you look at the band name and the EP name and it conjures up images of some wannabe musicians arsing about with guitars and a drum set, but any kind of assumption that this is some joke band are quickly dispelled upon hearing the opening bars of the first track - these are serious musicians and the whole production is professional and totally listenable. Yes, I would pay money for this EP. And on a note of pure aesthetics, who doesn't like a rather friendly looking goat with a bullet belt, spikes and brandishing an automatic weapon? I'll be listening to the others later and also the ones @FatherAlabaster kindly recommended. Sorry, @AlSymerz it looks like they might be converting me! Now, if I can just order that corpse paint and book myself in for a baphomet tattoo I might be all BM'd up in time for Christmas!

On recommendation from the man, the myth, the goat-herder himself, @GoatmasterGeneral, my morning cup of coffee is currently being quaffed to:

Thanks GG! I am off to bed shortly but will definitely give these a try tomorrow! Really appreciate you taking time to give some recommendations 🤘

Haha you guys proper crack me up To be honest at my age and at my height, and considering I live in a town with a large elderly population, I think if I were to dress the full on BM thing I would be responsible for more deaths than even my conscience could handle! I enjoyed Bathory, I really did. If you would be kind enough to provide any recommendations, FA, I will promise to give them a try. It's an area of metal I know zilch about, really. I can always post my thoughts, too, if they would be welcome.

Does this mean I will suddenly feel the overwhelming urge to wear corpse paint, spiky things and change my name to something like DemonGoatVomitDestroyer, or something??

One of my never-fails-to-bring-a-smile-to-my-face memories is going to see Metallica's Big Day Out in July 1999, when I was twenty-one. It took place at the Milton Keynes Bowl, which, for those of you from outside the UK, is roughly 70 miles outside of London and some 180 miles from where I live. It was a scorching hot day, and, if I remember, when the heat reached its zenith, the mercury was around 30 degrees Celsius. Pretty hot for the UK back then, though we have much hotter days now (just for trivia, the UK had its first recorded temperature of 40oC last year, so things are definitely heating up). My brother, D, unusually for him, as we are not super close, gifted me a ticket because one of his friends had dropped out at the last minute. He lived in London at the time, so I was being given a lift down by another friend of his, M, who was also attending. M and I weren't friends, in the same way you don't tend to be with the friends of your older siblings, but I was just out of college and didn't have much money and a free ride there and back (I did pay something towards petrol) was too good to refuse. D & M weren't really metalheads, though they did like Metallica, so fair enough. We got there around 11am and the place was already pretty crowded, though thankfully, The Bowl is huge and can more than accommodate a large crowd. Unfortunately, there is nowhere to shelter from the sun so it was steaming already by the time the bands started up at midday. There were two stages set up - the main stage and the Kerrang! stage, with bands alternating between the two. Fortunately, though we said we would have the odd beer, the queue and the prices kept us away from alcohol and for once even I resolved to be "dry" that day as mixing alcohol, blazing sun and a day long festival would not have worked out well. I wanted my energy for Metallica! D & M were wearing Metallica t-shirts (I have never seen either of them wear band t-shirts before or since) and I was dressed in my usual jeans and a Puppets tee - my normal wardrobe for many years, including the present. I also had my jacket with me but that didn't remain on for long (though it later served as a useful pillow for a light snooze and for shielding my head from the sun). We had also brought a cooler and packed it with ice and LOTS of bottled water. Security were a bit funny about the cooler (they checked it for alcohol) but I explained I had a medical condition that required constant hydration (admittedly a porkie, but there we are) and I was in! It's the first and last time I have - either successfully or not - sneaked water into a venue. This post is already getting a bit long (perhaps I should change my username to TL;DR?) and I want to focus on Metallica but just to give you a few highlights: Sepultura - They were fucking excellent. M & D had never heard Sepultura before, but, to their credit, they gave it some beans and happily bounced away to the music. The crowd went wild over Roots, Bloody Roots (Roots) and while I can't remember their whole setlist (it is getting on for a quarter of a century ago!) I remember being awed by those guys. It was during Sepultura's set that I encountered a young pup (no more than seventeen) who was looking a bit woozy and unsteady on his feet. I accompanied/led him to the medics and it turns out he was just dehydrated and I saw him later on and he was fine. Marilyn Manson - I'm not a Manson fan (sorry if there are any Manson fans reading this), but I have to say his set was well received, that is, until someone threw a water bottle at him, which hit him on the head. He stormed off stage, demolishing the drum kit as he did so and, despite the band hanging around looking a bit what-do-we-do-now? eventually left the stage when it was clear Manson was not to return. Looking back with a, well, I won't say more mature mindset, since I am still as big a fucking kid as ever, even at forty-five, shall I perhaps say the perspective of an older thrashinbiker, I feel sorry for the Manson fans - there was much disappointment with the set being cut short and judging by the crowd there was a strong contingent who had come to see their hero. Just before I get to the main event - the crowd were excellent. I had numerous chats with fellow metalheads and the atmosphere was friendly with that metal camaraderie and bonhomie flowing freely. Various people rocked out to Pitchshifter, Creed, Monster Magnet and Queens of The Stone Age, among others and while it was scorching, the presence of the sun just gave everyone that feel-good factor. In fact, if you discount the pit, where anything goes, the only animosity I saw was a couple, (slightly older than I was at the time, I'd say mid-twenties) when I was on my way for a potty break, who were quite softly but fiercely bickering over what time they would be leaving (he wanted to stay, she clearly didn't.) I managed a light snooze while on cooler guarding duty while M & D went off to explore. Metallica - Love them or loathe them (or be indifferent if you so wish), it can't be denied that the Metallica men know how to put on a show and, by 1999, they certainly had advanced their prowess and showmanship to a comfortable arena level slickness. They emerged onstage to the expected roars of approval from the crowd. They opened their set with a cover of Budgies' Breadfan (featured on the B-side to Harvester of Sorrow, (1988) and also Garage Inc.(1998)), closely followed by Master of Puppets (Master of Puppets, 1986), which had me surging forward as much as I could do get down and mosh. I have to say, the pit was pretty tame compared to many others, though I would put this down to the heat, fatigue and, in some cases at least, alcohol consumption which had tired out a few of our metal family. While I decried it on another thread, the performance of Fuel (Reload, 1997) was better live than it was on the album, I rocked and yelled along to the words with everyone else. I have to say, despite my lack of closeness to M & D, in that moment, while Metallica were onstage, the metal brought us temporarily together and any hostilities and differences were forgotten. As the sun went down (I remember it getting darker as the pyrotechnics kicked in) the crowd - me included - absolutely rocked along to Seek and Destroy (Kill 'Em All, 1983) and James totally tuned in with the crowd's vibe and played chorus after chorus snarling "Searching..." so the crowd could then finish off with "seek and destroy!" about 80 million times. NOTE - It NEVER got old and the band tired of it way before we did I was kind of gutted that they didn't play Harvester of Sorrow (one of my favourites) but Wherever I May Roam (Metallica, 1991) and Fight Fire With Fire (Ride the Lightning, 1984) were both amazing. All of the songs were great, in all honesty, and perhaps it is the haze of the passage of time that is responsible for my enthusiasm but I don't remember being disappointed at all in any of the performance of the Metallica men. Of course, Metallica love nothing more than a crowd braying for an encore, and when they had finished their main set and walked off, the crowd started up demanding for more, the sunset and subsequent drop in temperature (though it was still bloody warm!) seeming to re-energise the crowd. Back on they came and churned out Nothing Else Matters (well, I suppose they had to) and Sad But True (Metallica, 1991) and Creeping Death (Ride the Lightning, 1984), before buggering off yet again. Of course, back on they came and did an excellent rendition of The Misfits' Die, Die My Darling (released as a Misfits single in 1984, also featuring on the later reissued CD and Cassette versions of their album Earth A.D.) Metallica also featured a cover of this song on Garage Inc., in 1998. A real treat with James, Jason and Kirk all giving it loads on the vocals, the crowd went ape at this performance and, despite my largely limiting my experience of Metallica to their first four albums, these days, I do give this a sly listen now and then. There are also some great live performances of it available. I have pasted one below for you, which is also from 1999. Finally, after another I'm-going-to-pretend-to-walk-offstage-again moment, James returned to his mic and the thrashing clan launched into Battery (Master of Puppets, 1986) and oh, what a finish. I remember the crowd being almost silent during that melodic introduction and me excitedly whispering to M & D "It's 'Battery'!!" Of course, they had fuck-all clue what I was talking about, but as James, Jason and Kirk launched into that scything guitar mash up, Lars flailed away behind his drum kit and was absolutely dripping with sweat, unsurprisingly. All credit to him for still managing to brandish a drumstick as he - if not all of them - must have been soaking. Sadly, the dying notes signalled the end of the day and, after waiting a few minutes to make sure the band were finally done, we started making our way to the car park, ready to head to London. There was a bit of a wait while we were able to move the car from it's spot and the three of us sat and talked about what a great day it was. All of us were drenched (but fortunately hydrated, thanks to the water!) and we headed back to London where I would sleep on the floor of my brother's rented house for the night. Ears ringing, heart-pounding, I laid my head on my trusty leather jacket and settled down to sleep, massacring ten hours without waking, before the journey home the next day. Fond, fond memories. And fuck, I wish I was twenty-one again.

It's funny, for those of us who listen/listened to Metallica, we all have those "Metallica Moments" (as I call them) and can recall times in our lives when we played al album or song like crazy, only for, years later, us to have set them aside in favour of something else. Puppets was the first Metallica album I heard and I adored it, particularly the title track itself (it still remains a favourite to this day) and I can remember vividly the times I snuck into the metal club (I was underage but fortunately enough of a hairy bastard at 15/16 to get in) with a couple of hip flasks in my jacket and would mosh the night away - even if I was having a smoke or just chilling if MoP came on I always got right back in the pit and gave it everything. I think the thing we often forget when we cite the "golden era" of a band, or hark back to "these two or three albums were the best" is that members of these bands, like us, grow and mature and are influenced by what happens in their lives, so there's no chance they will ever stay completely the same as either people or as musicians and their output. I wonder with big bands like Metallica, if the fight to get on top and become a worldwide recognised band, which naturally brings with it riches and fame - is sometimes the cause of that "fight" going out of them. Where do you go once you are one of, if not THE most successful thrash band? I look at myself (not rich or famous in the slightest) and while I still have that metal attitude and love the aggression, the passion and the honesty of metal (still got that fuck you, fuck yeah! attitude even now), I don't have that same fire in my belly I had when I was, say, 15 or 17. I don't listen to any of Metallica's stuff beyond those first four albums, in the main. I remember when a friend of mine played me "Fuel" and was really excited about it and absolutely LOVED the song, it left me cold. I explained to him that I felt it sounded like melodic rock with a deliberate attempt to "make heavy" and that I just didn't feel it. I've picked on that one song because of that memory, but compare it to say MoP which is a haunting, terrific, horrifying narration of the grip of drug addiction, or "Harvester of Sorrow" detailing torment, misery and murder, well... a song about a speed-loving adrenaline junkie just didn't cut it with me, even though, as you know, I am a keen biker and love nothing more than a bit of throttle. It just wasn't the essence of Metallica, to me. Anyway, thank you for the discussion

Thanks RO! It's genuinely great to be here and the welcome I have received and the interactions so far are a true reminder of why the metal community are a bloody great bunch of people.

That's something I have been told on many an occasion and I don't care either I'll say something like "oh that's thrashy but sounds as if it has hints of BM" or whatever only to be snappily told "It's doom-funk-punk-dunk-trash-trunk-anarchic-dump metal!!!" and I'm like, "Well, I still quite like it, so...." I must be honest, in the short time I have been active on this forum, I have had cheeky listens to some stuff I have never heard before, both bands referenced in the forum chats and from the "What are you listening to?" thread. It's been really great to broaden my horizons and that the passion for metal is still thriving across the generations.

I go through phases with Metallica - I'll binge the first four albums for a little while and then not listen to any for a long time, but whenever I would ride and listen to "Justice", it always seemed to be raining (it probably wasn't every time, but it's how I remember it) and somehow, it always seemed fitting. There is a stretch of country lanes around farmland some thirty minutes or so from here that I always seemed to reach when "Harvester of Sorrow" would come on. The road was always quiet and only sparsely dotted with residential dwellings, so you could cane the throttle a bit on the straight and there were enough twisties to make the ride fun. Followed, of course, by "The Frayed Ends of Sanity", that used to be an especially memorable (and thoroughly enjoyable) 13 or so minutes of riding. Makes me want to do it right now! Metallica - ...And Justice For All (1988) - 2018 re-master

Supposed to be on a Teams Call right now (well, I am, but totally ignoring it) and listening to this instead, on recommendation: Bathory - Bathory (1984)

Glad you took a breath there, NC, cos I nearly ran out reading it hehe. Seriously, though, you are on the money with your assessment of RDR2. The visuals are amazing, but combined with the fantastic story-telling and characterisation - this was, for me, what elevated the game to classic status. The depth of story and the fleshed-out characters made it a real treat for me and compared to GTAV which, at the time, was only five years older, truly made RDR2 stand out from what I felt was a lacklustre at best story in GTA. Don't get me wrong, I have spent countless hours in GTA and had a LOT of fun, but when it came to story mode, I found I just didn't really care about the characters. Trevor was funny, at times, but one-dimensional, and Franklin and Michael were just a wannabe thug and a has-been, respectively. To me, the whole story in GTA revolved around Michael's deception in letting Trevor think Brad was still alive and that was pretty much it. The whole game then splintered into silliness like yoga, rescuing Michael's (frankly annoying) kids from their various scrapes so that by the time the story was starting to knit together and draw to a conclusion, I didn't really care how it played out. It was almost a relief to finish it and it would be a long time before I found the energy and enthusiasm to play through the GTA story once more, which contrasted heavily with RDR2, whereby, upon finishing, I immediately wanted to experience the whole thing again. Finally (sorry for waffling) I absolutely loved the way the game turned from, through Arthur's eyes, being a close-knit gang of friends and gunslingers, to a much darker and sinister entity by the time Chapter VI begins and progresses. As Arthur becomes more introspective, and the scales fall from his eyes, he realises that loyalty, friendship and everything he thought made him a man was nothing more than a sham, and that he only realises, all too late, what is important in life. Understood ME, it can be an overload when you have messages/invites pinging up all over the place. You can definitely turn posse invites off and I think you can also disable invites to free-roam events, which will help your experience be more immersive and relaxed. Gaming is, of course, a wholly personal experience and trust me man, I would never, ever tell someone what I think they should do, but if I may make a suggestion, perhaps try playing the online in small, bite-sized chunks at first. Familiarise yourself with what the game has to offer and just focus on one or two things at a time. Personally, I find hunting good fun (and you can sell hides/meat to make some in game dollar) and if you really just want to chill, fishing is a great way to pass the time - I often put some music on and just chill out fishing at Flat Iron Lake or O'Creaghs Run, which is a great source of sockeye salmon Happy gaming!