So did you hear about Metallica? If you are slightly in the rock, there is a chance you heard of them. But as it happens, they are not as popular as I thought.

Now, I love some Metallica songs, either covers they did or their original. I don’t go to their concerts but my mp3 player has quite a few of their tracks. I grew up in the late 80s and 90s and probably belong to one of the last generations that express themselves with music. When I grew up, it was a shame not to know who Pearl Jam were or when Kurt Cobain died. It was cool to despise Courtney love and it was even cooler to love Guns N’ Roses. They would literally laugh in your face if you didn’t associate a certain type of metal with Metallica. Years passed by and there came a time when they were considered so mainstream… What happened? They did not fall off the face off the earth or stop filling stadiums or selling records…

James Hetfield, Metallica concert image — Didn't front man James Hetfield's hair burn during a fire stunt a couple of years ago? That's why he had it cut, right? Oh, well no objections here if James wants to set us on fire. Well, metophorically. Image from: http://www.cianw.co.uk/wp-content/uploads

Maybe this friend of mine should hang with different crowds or hang with some older people. Because he plays the electric guitar and it is fun and cool and necessary to play Metallica. I have a classic guitar. Just like most my peers around my age, it was bought with the hopes that I could one day upgrade to electric and play electric guitar solos. Oh, the dream! I most wanted to play Paradise City by Guns n’ Roses. Ah, the dreams of the youth. Kidding, I am still young and I still dream. It’s just that I am tone-deaf and far too busy launching a writing career. But I had taken a course years ago and one of the first things I learned was to play the main melody of Nothing Else Matters by Metallica. Oh and Come As You Are by Nirvana. Good old times.

Well, thanks for reading this nostalgic rant of a rock a chick. So why not list your favorite songs by them? No, wait! Individual Metallica best ofs should be the subject for another article!

But for all the other rock addicts out there, below are links to my other posts on rock(nroll):

10 Awesome Metallica Songs- Favorites of a Rock Addict

Seven Cover Songs That Rock

25+ Rocknroll Songs That You Can Dance to

Top Three Cover Songs: Alient Ant Farm, Warrant and Ugly Kid Joe

Fun Rock Poll for Rock FansFive Songs You Adore From Musicians You Don’t Normally Care About

Rock N Roll Mischief: 10 Dirty Rock Songs

Bon Jovi Were Born to be Followed

Album Review: Alice Cooper, Thrash (1989)

Year of The Black Rainbow by Coheed and Cambria

Year of The Black Rainbow by Coheed and Cambria. A modern progressive rock/metal album. Image from: http://www.israbox.com

Coheed and Cambria is an American progressive rock/metal band that recently released its 5^th album; Year of the Black Rainbow. It is not uncommon for progressive bands to have an album revolving around one big “theme”/story (Dream Theater, anyone? ) and Coheed and Cambria have made no exceptions here. Frontman Claudio Sanchez has been writing comic books series called The Amory Wars and the albums have always been related to the comics. This last album serves as prequel to the story.

Coheed and Cambria band members. Image from http://images.fanpop.com/

Don’t worry, even if you are not a loyal Coheed and Cambria fan or you’re not into the comic series, you can still enjoy the songs. The album consists of 12 solid songs -15 in the album’s deluxe edition. The first track one is a non-lyrical simple intro and is followed by the energetic The Broken. Labeling the album or the band as simply progressive will be over-simplifying things. Listening to the tracks, you will find elements from progressive rock/metal, hard rock and heavy metal. Some extra electronic touches are especially felt in the song Guns of Summer. Just like any decent metal album, you are offered a few slower tracks to let you catch your breath from all the head-banging, singing along and air-drumming you’re bound to do.

The slower songs are by no means entirely slow. Nor are they boring. These two are called Far and The Black Rainbow. And how slow can a metal song really get? Exactly. You’ll be finding outbursts and fine electric-guitar solos in these two as well.

Far is the 5^th track and after that the comic book theme is felt more heavily. While the lyrics make sense even if you don’t know the entire history and the comics, you will no doubt identify more if you have an idea about Sanchez’ The Amory Wars. The deluxe edition comes with the novel so you can catch up.

Fans of the progressive genre will probably appreciate the whole album. If you are more inclined towards hard rock or heavy metal, you might find the first half of the album more engaging and satisfactory. There are no brutal vocals and singer Sanchez knows how to adjust his voice according to the soul of the lyrics. It is overall a fine concept album.

It is also worth noting that the band’s official site has made a good job of engaging the fans with available concert tickets and polls about favorite songs.