101 Rules for… NWOBHM

1. The more obscure the better.
2. Hearing Metallica‘s cover of “Am I Evil?” does not make you a NWOBHM fan.
3. Without Diamond Head, there would be no Metallica.
4. Without NWOBHM, there would be no Thrash.
5. Constantly complain that Thrash “killed off” NWOBHM; while secretly liking Thrash.
6. When someone asks you what NWOBHM stands for, tell them something like “the best genre of music, ever.” Make sure they still don’t understand what it means.
7. Iron Maiden after “Killers” is not NWOBHM.
8. Complain that Iron Maiden “stole” Bruce Dickinson from Samson, while praising him for his work in Iron Maiden.
9. Dress like you’re from the ’80s, this includes long unkempt hair, ripped jeans, ripped denim jackets with obscure band patches and an even more obscure band t-shirt.
10. Pagan Altar are gods amongst men, this is unarguable.

Courteous Driving: Hazards

You’re driving along in the center lane (where you should be if you’re cruising with traffic — we’ll talk in more detail at a later date) and there’s someone ahead of you with their hazard lights blinking away… in the center lane as well.

Coverdale/Page – Coverdale/Page (1993)

Artist: Coverdale/Page Album: Coverdale/Page Year: 1993 Type: Full-Length Label: Geffen Records Genre: Blues Rock/Heavy Metal

101 Rules for… Power Metal

1. You have one goal: be epic.
2. Let no sound be lonely. If there’s a guitar solo, harmonize it. If there’s singing, make it a choir.
3. Keyboards offer a way to add thousands of different textures to a song. Find two of those that you like and use them on every song you write.
4. In a power metal world, everything steel is good, and anything good must be compared to steel.
5. You are not bound to sing about Satan, evil, and/or darkness.
6. You are bound to sing about dragons, freedom, and/or power metal.
7. Remember how no sound should be alone? Same goes for albums. Everything can have a sequel!
8. You are allowed to be blonde.
9. Swords enhance your credibility and your performance. Be sure to carry one regardless of whether or not you know anything about using one.
10. Pick a theme and stick to it. Manowar are warriors of true metal, and they don’t get to sing about anything else. Rhapsody has their Algalord chronicles. HammerFall has their steel, hammers, and Templar. Running Wild has pirates. Blind Guardian has Tolkien. None of them are allowed to sing about anything else.

Video Game Soundtrack – Diablo III (2011)

Artist: Video Game Soundtrack Album: Diablo III Year: 2011 Type: Soundtrack Label: Azeroth Music Genre: Video Game Music, Soundtrack