Loudini Rock and Roll Circus Podcast

Thursday, August 30, 2018

15 Times Led Zeppelin Went Metal Heavy Metal On Your Ass

Do your part to keep guitar driven rock ALIVE... join Loudini LIVE! Go to http://LouLombardiMusic.com/InnerCircle to find out how you can be a part of our LIVE online audience and get access to exclusive music and video!

I know what you are thinking... Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, have both denied that Led Zeppelin was heavy metal. When you mention metal in the same sentence as Zeppelin in front of Page or Plant they get this look on their faces like you just cut the rudest fart ever.

Riddle me this; If it's true that Led Zeppelin in not metal, then why is it that SO many metal bands, especially those from the 1980's not only site them as a major influence but out right were trying to BE Led Zeppelin.

So much has happened in music since Zeppelin retired in 1980. Heavy metal grew into multiple sub-genres but when most people talk about the beginings of metal there are usually 3 bands Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin.

Zeppelin does seem like the odd man here. They are the most "hippie" of the three and the most overtly blues based of the three, yet they definitely had their metal moments. As much as they sang about squeezing the lemon they also sang about vikings and wizards...which is very metal and while they always seemed to keep one foot in the blues, they laid serious metal ground work with tracks like Achillies Last Stand and The Immigrant Song.

This week on The Loudini Hard Rock and Metal Circus we uncover Zeppelin's most metal moments. Let us know if we missed any... what are your favorite Zeppelin metal moments?

What Makes Heavy Metal and Heavy Rock ...Heavy?

What makes music actually sound HEAVY? Pounding Drums? De-tuned Guitars? Screaming Vocals? What makes something sound heavy TO YOU? Find out once and for all on this episode of The Loudini Hard Rock and Metal Circus! Featured Loudini Artists: Cane Hill Voodoo Six Butcher Babies

Is Ten Years Gone Led Zeppelin’s Greatest Riff?

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Voted number 9 in a Rolling Stone readers poll of the best Led Zeppelin songs, "Ten Years Gone" is definitely one of the band's most epic tracks from it's most epic album, Physical Graffitti. Clocking in at 6 minutes and 55 seconds and comprised of 14 layered guitar tracks, the song was a beast for the band to play live. It required bass player and multi-instrumentalist John Paul Jones to play a 3 necked guitar while covering the bass parts with bass pedals.

Jimmy Page had written the different sections of the song and put it together thinking that it would be an instrumental but Robert Plant came up thoughtful lyrics about a relationship that ended before Led Zeppelin began

From SongFacts.com:

Robert Plant wrote the lyrics about a girlfriend who made him choose between her and his music 10 years earlier. She got the boot. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine (March 13, 1975) the interviewer, Cameron Crowe, asked Robert Plant what gambles he had taken. Plant replied: "Let me tell you a little story behind the song 'Ten Years Gone' on our new album. I was working my ass off before joining Zeppelin. A lady I really dearly loved said, 'Right. It's me or your fans.' Not that I had fans, but I said, 'I can't stop, I've got to keep going.' She's quite content these days, I imagine. She's got a washing machine that works by itself and a little sports-car. We wouldn't have anything to say anymore. I could probably relate to her, but she couldn't relate to me. I'd be smiling too much. Ten years gone, I'm afraid. Anyway, there's a gamble for you."

Since it was such a chore to perform live the band dropped it from it's set list in 1977 but revisited it for the Knebworth Festival in 1979.

On this week's Wicked Riff Wednesday we pay homage to one of Led Zeppelin's most amazing compositions and fan favorite "Ten Years Gone".

Zakk Wylde Closet blues man! Bluesy Tuesday Episode 7

Zakk Wylde is a legendary hard rock and metal guitarist. From his work with Ozzy and Black Label Society to his current band, "Zakk Sabbath" he's worshiped as a metal god by many.

But did you know that Zakk is also hugely influenced by the blues. He sites Hendrix as one of his earliest influences and you can hear it in his playing. Lurking just below the high gain and high speed licks. there is a deeply soulful, blues loving guitar player behind it all.

Here's how much the blues have influenced Zakk; in 1995 he was invited to audition for one of the hardes rocking blues based bands of all time... Guns 'n Roses. Axel and company knew that Zakk had the soul of a blues man back then!

Listen closely to tracks like, "No More Tears", "Fire it Up" and "Losin' Your Mind" and you will hear some of the HEAVIEST blues playing ...EVER!

This week we dig a little deeper and discover the heart and soul of one of metal's greatest legends

What Are The Top 10 Greatest Album Covers in Rock and Metal

Album covers are as iconic as the great artists who's music they represent. In the history of rock the visual aspect has always been very important and depending on the era and genre, the visual has been even more important than the music. But that's a subject for another podcast.

A great album cover will make you feel like you are taking home your very own piece of art. In the case of cover art from 70's era Molly Hatchet, and Yes, the artwork could completely stand alone. Some covers are very simple like The Beatles "White Album" and Metallica's "Black Album". They leave a lot to the imagination and get out of the way and let the music speak. There are sexy album covers, political album covers, funny album covers and even interactive album covers. Sticky Fingers, is an interactive album cover, with a working zipper!

Some covers are so iconic that even when people don't know the artist or the music they know the cover. The Clash's London Calling and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon are examples of cover art that even kids recognize whether or not they know the music.

This week on the Loudini Hard Rock and Metal Circus, Lou and Keith discuss the greatest album covers of all time and do their best to pick the top ten. Featured Loudini Artists:

Dark Entries

Wicked Riff Wednesday Episode 6: Back in Black and why AC/DC ISN'T Heavy Metal

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There is something infectious about AC/DC's music. Songs like You Shook Me All Night Long, Girl's Got Rhythm, T-N-T and Back in Black, make the young and the old alike want to get up and rock out. Their music is heavy enough to be confused with heavy metal but fun enough that wedding bands cover it.

While the guitars, bass, drums and vocals (and some lyrics too) are definitely heavy enough to be metal, AC/DC's swaggering rhythm's, bluesy guitar playing and penchant for "American thighs" puts them firmly in the hard rock realm. Sorry metal heads. I know that you love AC/DC too. It's nothing to be ashamed of.

In many ways AC/DC like their predecessors Black Sabbath, are a bit of a conundrum in the heavy rock world. They are embraced by music fans with allegiances too various styles, including punk and classic rock but claim no official affiliation. They simply play the music that comes naturally to them.

In 1981 they changed the rock world when they released Back in Black. It became an almost instant classic. Every track is great, and you can still hear most of them today on any classic rock station.

The title track is an homage to their fallen front man Bon Scott and is as powerful today as it was almost when it was released nearly 40 years ago!

BluesyTuesday Episode 6: Celebrating Led Zeppelin's Black Dog

In this week's episode of Bluesy Tuesday we discuss and disect Led Zeppelin's Black Dog.

The main riff was composed by Led Zeppelin Bassist John Paul Jones and is organized around a call and response pattern. The song begins with Robert Plant singing accapella followed by the band "answering" him with Jones' riff. The song got it's name from a black labradore retreiver that the band found wandering around their Headley Grange studio.

The main riff is derived directly out of the blues scale and is often mistakenly thought to be "polyrhythmic". The confusion comes in because the way that Jones phrases the riff. Instead of hard resolutions on the predicatable downbeat, Jones creates a looping feel with the phrases that circle back on themselves in less predictable places giving Black Dog it's signature feel.

Surprisingly, Black Dog wasn't always a staple of Zepplen's live show. They played it off and on through out the 1970's. By contrast, it's become a signature song of Robert Plant's solo bands and he has performed many wildly different versions of the classic over the years, including a blue grass flavored version with country singer Alison Krauss.