wolfmother & the sword

MC and I went to Lollapalooza '06 in Chicago's beautiful Grant Park, and were both taken by surprise by Australian "retro-metal" band Wolfmother. I had never heard of them before and was solely attracted to their set by their awesome moniker. Very quickly, it became clear that these guys were derivative - a combination of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, White Stripes, and Queens of the Stone Age. At times, like on "Joker & the Thief", it's hard to define their sound as anything but a blatant, excruciating rip-off. What they do has been done before, and by much crazier people (e.g. Ozzy claims to have taken acid every day for two years straight - beat that, Andrew Stockdale). But I don't really care. In between songs at Lolla, random people in the crowd would yell, "WOLFMOTHER!" at the top of their lungs. MC and I couldn't stop laughing. That shit it just too good.

Wolfmother's self-titled debut album kicks ass. I like it a lot. So fuck off. Here's the song-list:

1. Colossal
2. Woman
3. White Unicorn
4. Pyramid
5. Mind's Eye
6. Joker & The Thief
7. Dimension
8. Where Eagles Have Been
9. Apple Tree
10. Tales from the Forest of Gnomes
11. Witchcraft
12. Vagabond

By the way, are you checking out that album art? If I didn't know better, I'd think Wolfmother was trying to appeal to the D&D metalheads of the 80's. Those guys that watched Highlander over and over, bought nunchucks and throwing stars, and listened to Manowar.

Since I actually don't have much to say about Wolfmother except that I think you're a wus if you don't like them, I figured I would throw another album into this post. I have OM to thank for this one...

1. Celestial Crown
2. Barael's Blade
3. Freya
4. Winter's Wolves
5. Horned Goddess, The
6. Iron Swan
7. Lament For The Auroch
8. March of the Lor
9. Ebethron

Hailing from the music-mecca of Austin, Texas, retro-metalists The Sword are yet another example of a band that should annoy the music critic in you but instead kicks its pussy ass. Their 2006 release, Age of Winters, doesn't disappoint. Try on this lyric from "Winter's Wolves":

May the mountains rise against you
May the orests block your path
May your axes chip and shatter
And know it is my wrath
I would mount your head on bloody spears
Outside your palace gates
And watch as crows peck out your eyes
And your cities are laid to waste

I feel like I'm in 10th grade again. And the entire album is like that. Put in on at the gym and run for a thousand miles, or lift a heavy rock over your head, or pull your nunchucks out of the closet and practice in front of the mirror. You will instantly become much cooler than you are now.