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Manos Spanos

MOTÖRHEAD Manager On LEMMY’s Health: ‘He Has Great Days And Then He F**ks It Up’

Manos Spanos
Longtime MOTÖRHEAD manager Todd Singerman spoke to Decibel magazine about the band's decision to cancel a European tour at the end of last year due to frontman Lemmy's ongoing health problems. Since being diagnosed with diabetes in 2000, Lemmy's had to have a defibrillator installed in his heart, and more recently suffered from an "unspecified hematoma," which led to the cancellation of several European shows last summer. Factor in a daily intake of smokes, speed and Jack and Coke for the last 40-plus years, and it's a wonder he's alive at all. After decades of invincibility, the cracks are finally showing. Lemmy has had to make some difficult adjustments. "I had to give up the Jack and Coke because of the sugar," he tells Decibel. "I miss it. I gave up smoking, too. I gave up bread. It's been a bit of a job, you know?" "[Lemmy's] been up and down," says Singerman. "He's got a really bad diabetic problem, and it changes on a daily basis. A lot of it is just fighting the bad habits, the things that he's not supposed to do anymore. He's stopped smoking, but he probably sneaks Jack and Coke here and there. He'd be lying to you if he said he stopped. He's been trying to substitute it with wine, and I'm sure he's slowed down on the speed. He thinks wine's better than Jack, but it's still got tons of sugar, you know? He doesn't grasp that he's just trading one demon for the other. That was the compromise with the doctors, by the way — trade the Jack for the wine. But he doesn't tell them he's drinking two fucking bottles, either. These are the battles we're up against. Keep in mind, he's been doing all this stuff on a daily basis since Hendrix. And it's coming to roost. It's sad for him, because he's gotten away with this stuff for all this time. "I made them cancel [the European tour], because Lemmy's not ready," Singerman explains. "He didn't wanna cancel. But what was gonna go down is what happened in Europe over the summer. See, he fucked up in Europe. He was supposed to rest for three months, and he refused. He ended up doing that show [Wacken Open Air in August], which he wasn't supposed to do, and it ended up being 105 degrees "Out there. He's playing direct in the fucking sun. The only thing I'm proud of him for is stopping when it didn't feel good. That was smart of him. The bottom line is that he needs to find a balance and then live that balance for a few months. But we can't find the balance yet. He has great days and then he fucks it up. And when you fuck up, you go backwards." MOTÖRHEAD's European tour has been rescheduled for February, with a U.S. tour to follow in March. To purchase a copy of Decibel's February 2014 issue featuring Lemmy on the cover, go to this location.
03 min read

MACHINE HEAD Sued By Former Bassist ADAM DUCE

Manos Spanos
According to Courthouse News, ex-MACHINE HEAD bassist Adam Duce has filed a lawsuit against his former bandmates alleging trademark infringement, breach of partnership agreement and defamation, among other things. Duce was fired from MACHINE HEAD on February 11, 2013, a few months prior to the band signing a new deal with Nuclear Blast Entertainment. According to Adam, he was expelled from the group "after he put 21 years of his life into it" so as to allow the other bandmembers to make a bigger profit. Although MACHINE HEAD formed a general partnership and a corporation under which each member owned 25 percent, the band's guitarist/vocalist, Robert Flynn, got a larger portion of the band's income, Duce claims. MACHINE HEAD's 2009 tour, which included dates with METALLICA, grossed more than $2 million. A 2012 Europe tour grossed more than $3 million, according to the complaint. "After receiving very little compensation despite the millions the band was bringing in, plaintiff requested and reviewed the records from the tours. Plaintiff found that [the band's manager, co-defendant Joseph W.] Huston, Flynn, and PFM [Provident Financial Management] had squandered money throughout the trip without consulting plaintiff for the vast majority of 'expenses,'" Duce says in the lawsuit. "Despite their increase in popularity and touring revenue, [Duce] became concerned with how little income he was receiving, despite the time and hard work put in to developing the band," the complaint states. "Though he expressed these concerns to Flynn, Huston, and PFM, [Duce] was never satisfied with the answers he received." The complaint adds: "Despite plaintiff's expressed concerns, he was unable to make enough money to live within his modest means. Because of this, when the band was not touring, plaintiff supplemented his income as a licensed real estate appraiser." The lawsuit goes on to say: "After [guitarist] Ahrue Luster left the band and was replaced by [Phil] Demmel, MACHINE HEAD continued as a partnership in which all four members — [Duce], Flynn, [drummer Dave] McClain, and now Demmel — held equal 25% shares in MH from approximately late 2002 until February 2013. "While early on, each of the partners had equal rights in the management and conduct of MH business, Flynn, with the help of Huston, began making unilateral decisions without involving the other partners, essentially usurping control of the partnership. "Despite the fact that Huston received 10% of the band's gross income, he failed to ensure that the members of the band made even close to his 10% cut." Duce alleges that Nuclear Blast, Flynn and Huston "wrongfully and intentionally conspired to expel and then did expel [Adam] from the band prior to signing the new record deal in an attempt to preclude [Duce] from enjoying the profits of the new record deal. As a direct, proximate result of these actions, [Duce] has been damaged in an amount to be proven at trial, but in any event in excess of $800,000," the complaint states. Flynn wrote about Duce's departure in a "diary entry" on MACHINE HEAD's web site by "directly attacking plaintiff's work ethic," Duce says in the complaint. "Therein, Flynn stated, inter alia, 'We may have fired Adam on 2-11-13, but Adam quit MACHINE HEAD well over a decade ago. He just never bothered to tell anyone ... but we all knew it.' Flynn went on further in the diary entry, continuing to say about plaintiff, 'No matter how un-happy [sic] or fed up he got, quitting the band would be seen as 'losing' or a 'failure.' Truth be told, he was sick of it. Sick of touring, sick of recording, sick of practicing, sick of looking at album artwork, sick of being-on-a-team-but-never-getting-the-ball, sick of yearning-for-the-honeymoon-to-resume when 20 years deep it never does. Sick of never quite hitting the big-time, sick of carving the niche ... sick of caring.'" (Ellipses in complaint.) Adam claims that Flynn's "diary entry was libelous per se in that in contained untrue statements made to third parties that tended to harm [Duce] in his reputation and occupation." Duce adds that "Flynn published this diary entry without making a reasonable effort to ascertain the truthfulness of its contents." In addition, "Flynn was not privileged to make such statements in the diary entry. As a direct, proximate result of this diary entry, [Duce] has been damaged in an amount to be proven at trial, but in any event in excess of $1,000,000."
05 min read

TESTAMENT Working On New Material

Manos Spanos
According to a new tweet from TESTAMENT guitarist Alex Skolnick, he is currently "holed up" in a San Francisco Bay Area motel with fellow TESTAMENT axeman Eric Peterson and their guitars and mini-amps writing tunes for the band's next studio album. Skolnick says: "[We have] great ideas so far!" TESTAMENT last week announced the departure of bassist Greg Christian. Metal fretless bass pioneer Steve DiGiorgio has rejoined TESTAMENT as Christian's replacement. Steve was previously a member of TESTAMENT on "The Gathering" (1999) and "First Strike Still Deadly" (2001) albums. Christian was forced to leave the band's North American tour with LAMB OF GOD and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE in November for "personal reasons." Filling in for him was EXODUS bassist Jack Gibson. "Dark Roots Of Thrash", a DVD/2CD release documenting TESTAMENT's sold-out headlining performance at the Paramount in Huntington, New York this past February, was made available on October 18, 2013 (Europe) and October 29, 2013 (North America) via Nuclear Blast Records. "Dark Roots Of Thrash" was produced by Get Hammered Productions, directed by Tommy Jones (DEATH ANGEL, KATAKLYSM, SOILWORK) and mixed by Juan Urteaga (VILE, EXODUS, SADUS, MACHINE HEAD). It captures a total of 19 live tracks with countless cams onstage and high above the audience, plus a special moshpit cam that makes you feel like you're a part of the show.
01 min read

Hail Spirit Noir
Οι Μάγοι

Manos Spanos
Back in 2012, I had the pleasure to find out Hail Spirit Noir and include their debut full-length record (‘Pneuma’) in the best of list of the specific year. The record made quite an impact to our music scene, clearly because of its originality. The band is described as a black metal or an avant-garde metal one, but none of the descriptions seem to fit in. Hail Spirit Noir performs some of the most original and unique music I’ve ever had the chance to hear. The years passed and here I am reviewing their comeback titled ‘ Οι Μάγοι’ (the mages). The second full-length record of the band continues the line in the band’s career within the same music pattern. The songs are based on black metal and are influenced by the seventies. The main structure of them is either based on beautiful guitar melodies with black metal growls above them or within ambient rhythms or organ’s melodies. However, just like the cells in our body, the instruments in the songs act as a whole as well as individuals, resulting a blast of ‘noises’ which fit together and create masterpieces. We can easily get addicted to the unique guitar melodies, the progressive drumming or on the theatrical vocals. Everything performs its role perfectly. Trying to choose my favorite moment off the record, I picked out the ending of ‘Blood Guru’ (what a chord’s alteration!), ‘Satan Is Time’ and the orgasmic eighteen minutes of perfection ( ‘The Mermaid’/ ‘ Hunters’). From the very beginning we came across the band’s mood for experiments in their sound and music; effects, organs, keyboards and progressive structures are the elements which leaded to the point where none of the songs sound the same but all together define Hail Spirit Noir. They define what the band stands out for and what the band is about, making easy to never forget how strongly they differ from any other band around. In ‘Satyriko Orgio’ for example, the band begins with a blasting and totally black metal opening, to rapidly progress into theatrical vocal parts along with a slow and edgy music background.
03 min read

Underground: 45Rats – Electric

Manos Spanos
Greece is well known about a few things. Some of them are its hot and sunny summers, as well as our simplicity. Those elements remind me of the US’ south. Southern USA is the home and land of the blues, the southern electric rock and why not stoner rock as well? As a result, beside the cold blooded but surprisingly explosive black and thrash metal scene, Greece is capable to produce some seriously delightful stoner rock. The record I keep my ears busy with, the second record of 45Rats, can prove me right. 45Rats is a new stoner rock band which contributed our stoner rock scene with their first EP ‘First Gear’, a few gigs and their latest release, titled ‘Electric’. The record includes eight sun-burned, warm, stoner rock anthems, mostly in instrumental form. The band smashes the universe with overdriven guitars, wah parts and a special southern rock vibe. There are plenty of unique guitar riffs to choose and every single song has its own memorable rhythm and pattern. There are also numerous guitar solos, totally proving the fact that the guitars always are the ‘main actors’, the stars in the play titled ‘Electric’. The drums are heavy and groovy, reminding me of the special goal the drummers have to succeed in; adding some serious heaviness in the stoner rock or heavy rock music. Just like the song ‘79’ may be referring to, the band made it possible for us to travel into the mighty seventies via this record. ‘Star 54’ or ‘Double Cut’ mark our journey to the glorious past, with some straight-edge guitar riffs, totally influenced by the blues, as if they originate from the Mississippi.
03 min read

Monkey3
The 5th Sun

Manos Spanos
It’s been a while since I last heard a song by Monkey3. I wasn’t a long time fan of the band and there’s not been a year since I have dug into the band’s music. The four men perform some instrumental music, totally influenced by post rock, as well as with heavier subgenres of metal and rock. Their previous record, ‘Beyond the Black Sky’, is claimed to be their career peak so far, and has been a favor record for the year 2011 by many. Two years after, the band returns with ‘The 5th Sun’, along with a desire to succeed again, proving that their ideas are flowing strong through their minds. For all those who are not familiar with Monkey3’s discography; the band’s music style cannot be described by any definitions. We could loosely describe it as instrumental-post rock or post-metal, with sludge and stoner elements. The keyboards play a major role to the song’s progression, creating ambient melodies. The lack of the vocals is covered with unique and significant melodies that could be easily memorized and tend to arouse the senses of the listener. This is the ultimate goal of monkey3’s music. Let’s get back to ‘The 5th Sun’ now. The record starts with a fifteen minute song and then continues with six more songs. The first one is titled ‘Icarus’. It is a great one, with beautiful melodies. The continuation of the song leads to points where the music is just ambient, slow and rhythmical and then we have outburst of melodic guitars, crafting a unique trip for our minds. ‘Icarus’ could be shorter in minutes but this is just my opinion for this song. Afterwards, ‘Suns’ comes upon. The second song of the record is a chilling and quite relaxing one. On the background, we can easily spot the groovy drums along with the groovy bass. Upon those, the band filled the song with plenty guitar riffs and keyboard’s touches, giving a unique sense to the plain bass n drum section. ‘Birth of Venus’ is the next song, and it is a loosely ambient one. There are a few heavy music outbursts, with the guitars leading in their primitive role. The keyboards’ parts remind me of choir vocals and fit quite well in the songs. Next, we have ‘Pintao’, a song where the bass lines and the keyboards shine and create the song’s continuation. The band created a quite interesting record this far, with mind-travelling songs, but besides ‘Icarus’, none of the other songs managed to shine out of the disc. The last three songs are faster and heavier than the previous ones. ‘Once We Were’, reminds me of stoner rock in the beginning. After some minutes the song progresses to mid-tempo riffs and ambient paths. ‘Circles’ begin with a haunting and inspiring blues-guitar solo, and the pentatonic guitar-orgasm continues throughout the song. The last song, ‘The Ship’, is another heavy one, just like the previous two. In overall, ‘The 5th Sun’ is a great record, another milestone for the band. I can’t decide if it is better than the previous record, which made such an impact, but I’m quite sure that the band continues in a pleasant and satisfying path.
03 min read

SATYRICON’s FROST Forced To Sit Out 70000 TONS OF METAL Appearance

Manos Spanos
Norwegian black metallers SATYRICON have issued the following update: "The Department Of Homeland Security in the U.S. have changed their procedures and that means that without any warning, the processing time for someone like [SATYRICON drummer] Frost is six months. That means that he is forced to sit out on our appearances at 70000 Tons Of Metal [cruise]. "We have tried everything that we can try to make it happen, but we have no choice, but to wait 6 months for his application to go through. That is how the system works now. "The good news though is that we have found a worthy replacement for him for 70000 Tons Of Metal and it is someone handpicked by Frost and [SATYRICON frontman] Satyr, of course. This special guest who will help the band so we can get to do these shows have our blessing and our gratitude. "We hope everyone attending our shows at 70000 Tons Of Metal appreciate that we will after all be able to make it, and that we have found an extremely competent drummer to replace another." SATYRICON's new, self-titled album sold around 1,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release. This is roughly in line with the opening-week performance of the band's previous CD, "The Age of Nero", which premiered with 1,700 units back in November 2008. "Satyricon" debuted at position No. 1 on the official chart in the band's home country — the first time one of the group's releases topped the chart in Norway. "Satyricon" also saw success internationally, debuting at No. 6 in Finland, No. 23 in Germany and No. 26 in Austria. By comparison, SATYRICON's previous studio album, "2008'a "The Age Of Nero", entered the chart at No. 5 in Norway and No. 73 in Germany. "Satyricon" was recorded in Norway between January and May 2013 and was produced by SATYRICON frontman Sigurd "Satyr" Wongraven. Mixing took place in Seattle by Adam Kasper and Satyr. Speaking to Noisecreep at last year's Inferno festival, Satyr stated about SATYRICON's new album: "To me, it sounds very authentic, it's organic-sounding. And in this digital age where music is mostly played through computers, a lot of that analog vibe gets lost in translation when you play music through medias like that, but I still wanna do it because there's nothing quite like it. To me, it just makes everything sound the way it's supposed to sound — it's dynamical; the music is alive, it's not overly compressed, the levels are not pushed. So, musically speaking, it's a very atmospheric record… This record is full of life. There are a lot of surprises here, but I think it's gonna be a record that's gonna help the black metal movement perhaps find a new way for the future." Frost interview:
03 min read

SCORPIONS: ‘Holiday’ Unplugged Performance Clip

Manos Spanos
SCORPIONS fans worldwide can click here to check out the exclusive worldwide premiere of the brand new live performance video for "Holiday" on USAToday.com. The never-before-seen (or heard) video is taken from the beautifully orchestrated stripped-down concerts that became the SCORPIONS' forthcoming CD/DVD and Blu-ray release, "MTV Unplugged", but does not appear on any configuration of the releases. Due in North America on January 21, 2014 via Sony International, material for SCORPIONS' "MTV Unplugged" is taken from the band's first-ever "MTV Unplugged" show and features new acoustic versions of best-loved classic hits, as well as five brand new songs. "MTV Unplugged" will be available in two formats — a standard CD and a deluxe version featuring CD + DVD. "MTV Unplugged" will be released in 50 countries, a testament to the German band's iconic status worldwide. Recorded and filmed just a few months ago on September 11 and September 12 of last year, "MTV Unplugged" was culled from two dynamic acoustic sets at the Lycabettus Theatre in Athens, Greece. The spectacular open-air theatre, situated 300 meters above the city, was an impressive backdrop for the first-ever open-air show in the history of "MTV Unplugged" (the theatre also shares a birth year with the SCORPIONS themselves, having been built in 1965, the same year the SCORPIONS formed). Of the choice to film/record "MTV Unplugged" at the Lycabettus Theatre, SCORPIONS' singer/guitarist Klaus Meine commented, "We have fabulous fans all over the world, but the Greeks are absolute die-hards fans." SCORPIONS is Klaus Meine (vocals/guitar), Rudolf Schenker (guitars/vocals), Matthias Jabs (guitars), Pawel Maciwoda (bass) and James Kottak (drums); additional musical support on "MTV Unplugged" includes contributions from Swedish musicians and producers Mikael Nord Andersson (guitars, mandolin, lap steel, vocals) and Martin Hansen (guitars, harmonica, vocals). The duo is also responsible for the arrangements on "MTV Unplugged". "MTV Unplugged" track listing: CD 01. Sting In The Tail 02. Can't Live Without You 03. The Best Is Yet To Come 04. Dancing With The Moonlight (new song) 05. Delicate Dance - new song 06. Love Is The Answer (new song) 07. Follow Your Heart (new song) 08. Send Me An Angel 09. Where The River Flows 10. Rock You Like A Hurricane 11. Blackout 12. Still Loving You 13. Big City Nights 14. Wind Of Change 15. No One Like You DVD 01. Sting In The Tail 02. Can't Live Without You 03. Pictured Life 04. Speedy's Coming 05. Born To Touch Your Feelings 06. The Best Is Yet To Come 07. Dancing With The Moonlight (new song) 08. In Trance 09. When You Came Into My Life 10. Delicate Dance - new song 11. Love Is The Answer (new song) 12. Follow Your Heart (new song) 13. Send Me An Angel 14. Where The River Flows 15. Passion Rules The Game 16. Rock You Like A Hurricane 17. Hit Between The Eyes 18. Drum-Athenica 19. Rock N' Roll Band (new song) 20. Blackout 21. Still Loving You 22. Big City Nights 23. Wind Of Change 24. No One Like You 25. When The Smoke Is Going Down SCORPIONS are still in the midst of their epic farewell world tour; the tour has been going on for more than three years now. To the delight of their fans there is no end in sight, as to date the band has only played 23 out of the 38 countries planned on the itinerary. SCORPIONS is one of the most successful international hard rock bands of all time, selling upwards of 75 million records worldwide and playing more than 5,000 concerts in 80+ countries globally. Formed in Germany in 1965, the band has come to be known for its colossal radio and MTV hits "Rock You Like A Hurricane", "No One Like You" and "Wind Of Change", as well as their status as international rock ambassadors. VH1 ranked the SCORPIONS as the #46 Artist on the "Greatest Artists Of Hard Rock" special, while "Rock You Like A Hurricane" came in at #18 on VH1's "Greatest Hard Rock Songs". The band recently received a star on the Hollywood RockWalk in Los Angeles. To date, SCORPIONS have released 18 studio albums and 5 live records.
04 min read

MOTÖRHEAD: 15-Minute ‘Aftershock’ EPK Available

Manos Spanos
A 15-minute EPK (Electronic Press Kit) for MOTÖRHEAD's 21st studio album, "Aftershock", is available below. "Aftershock" sold 11,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 22 on The Billboard 200 chart. MOTÖRHEAD's previous CD, 2011's "The Wörld Is Yours", opened with 7,000 units to enter the chart at No. 94. The band's 2008 effort, "Motörizer", premiered with 6,400 copies to debut at No. 82, while 2006's "Kiss Of Death" registered a first-week tally of 3,500. "Aftershock" was recorded at NRG Studios in North Hollywood, California and is described in a press release as "a true leveler, a crushing confirmation of everything MOTÖRHEAD stands for, marching from the dust storm to deliver 14 belting statements which see MOTÖRHEAD in perhaps their best writing form for years. There's swagger, there's punch, there's speed and there's dirty filthy grooves, Lemmy Kilmister, Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee showing clearly that MOTÖRHEAD is not simply a band, it's a genre!" "Aftershock" track listing: 01. Heartbreaker 02. Coup De Grace 03. Lost Woman Blues 04. End Of Time 05. Do You Believe 06. Death Machine 07. Dust And Glass 08. Going To Mexico 09. Silence When You Speak To Me 10. Crying Shame 11. Queen Of The Damned 12. Knife 13. Keep Your Powder Dry 14. Paralyzed The "Heartbreaker" video can be seen below (courtesy of RollingStone.com). The clip incorporates concert footage from this year's Metal Hammer Golden Gods awards ceremony in the U.K., a 2010 Manchester gig and several 2011 shows (including Rock In Rio, Germany's Wacken Open Air Festival and Teatro Caupolicán in Santiago, Chile). Fans who hang on for the credits at the end of "Heartbreaker" may be surprised to learn that the video's sketch art was created by frontman Lemmy Kilmister. MOTÖRHEAD canceled a handful of shows on its European festival tour in August 2013 after Lemmy suffered a haematoma (where blood collects outside of a blood vessel). The news of Lemmy's latest medical issue followed reports that he was also fitted with a defibrillator because of heart problems. The band has since also postponed a European headlining tour which was scheduled to kick off in November.
03 min read

SAXON: Lyric Video For Orchestral Version Of ‘The Eagle Has Landed’

Manos Spanos
The official lyric video for the orchestral version of the song "The Eagle Has Landed" from British heavy metal legends SAXON can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's new album, "Unplugged And Strung Up", which sold around 500 copies in the United States in its first week of release. Issued on on November 18, 2013, "Unplugged And Strung Up" reveals layers and pieces previously dormant in many of the 14 classic SAXON songs chosen for this makeover, thanks to some ear-catching new arrangements and mixes. Recorded, mixed and mastered with Andy Sneap in Derbyshire, U.K. last year, "Unplugged And Strung Up" contains re-evaluated, re-worked and re-energized versions of "The Eagle Has Landed" and "Crusader" by introducing orchestral dynamics to offer added dimension. "Frozen Rainbow", from the band's 1979 debut, gets a stunning acoustic reprisal which transports it into a power ballad to be proud of, while "Red Star Falling" soars and sweeps the emotions with its orchestrally arranged dovetail. As if this reinvention wasn't enough, SAXON superfans and collectors can purchase a digipak version of the release which includes 2002's storming set of full-volume, pedal-to-the-metal re-recorded hits "Heavy Metal Thunder". Featuring staple SAXON stormers such as "Motorcycle Man", "Strong Arm Of The Law" and "Dallas 1pm", it is a quintessential part of any collection. The standard single CD of "Unplugged And Strung Up" comes in a jewel case, and a double-vinyl gatefold sleeve version of the release is also available. The digipack is a two-disc version of the release featuring the bonus disc "Heavy Metal Thunder", and there was a digital release of the same. "Unplugged and Strung Up" track listing: 01. Stallions Of The Highway (remix) 02. Crusader (orchestral version) 03. Battle Cry 04. The Eagle Has Landed (orchestral version) 05. Red Star Falling (orchestral version) 06. Broken Heroes (orchestral version) 07. Call To Arms (orchestral version) 08. Militia Guard 09. Forever Free (re-recorded version) 10. Just Let Me Rock (re-recorded version) 11. Frozen Rainbow (acoustic version) 12. Iron Wheels (live acoustic version) 13. Requiem (acoustic version) 14. Coming Home (acoustic version) "Heavy Metal Thunder" track listing: 01. Heavy Metal Thunder 02. Strong Arm Of The Law 03. Power & The Glory 04. And The Bands Played On 05. Crusader 06. Dallas 1pm 07. Princess Of The Night 08. Wheels Of Steel 09. 747 (Strangers In The Night) 10. Motorcycle Man 11. Never Surrender 12. Denim & Leather 13. Backs To The Wall
03 min read

Manos Spanos

Manos Spanos (Metalpaths' co-editor-in-chief), eight years in this site but still can't be characterised as a metalhead.