30 Years Of Metallica

Firstly, I want to say that it has been a while since I blogged, Mainly because I am just lazy and sometimes I just don't have time to blog. Lately, Metallica have just finished recording an album with Lou Reed which is called Lulu. Honestly, I'm not a fan of the album at all. I'm just glad that it is not a Metallica album. Put those things aside and let's celebrate 30 years of Metallica ! :D

Can you believe it ? Metallica has been around for 30 years now and there is no sign of them stopping yet. Yes , yes, yes there are few ups and downs lately for them but I guess that's life right. Metallica ,a heavy metal band from Los Angeles, CA, formed in 1981 has changed the metal music scene ever since. I'm not going to talk about their history and stuff here as most of you guys know who is Metallica. For those who doesn't, there's always Google. Seriously, who doesn't >:-( ?

Metallica have been playing few important parts in my life. Partly, James Hetfield was the main reason I started playing the guitar when I was 13. Yeah yeah 13 was quite late to start playing the guitar but fuck it ! Back on the topic, Metallica also change the music I listen to. Let's just say I don't really listen to metal and stuff when I was younger. Metallica's music has also changed the music world. They have been influencing other bands and musicians in making music. For example, John Petrucci's influence is James Hetfield. Other than that, the band Trivium is also influenced by Metallica's music style.

From long hair to short hair, from Dave Mustaine to Kirk Hammett, from Cliff Burton to Robert Trujillo, I will always love this band. They had few problems over the years. For example, the mixed response of St. Anger and Death Magnetic. Despite that, they are still going strong and still continuing to produce music.

So, some of you guys might be asking what did Metallica do to celebrate 30 years as a band? Well, they held a show at Fillmore , San Francisco. Amazing place but the venue only supports around 1200 people. This is the main reason it was incredibly hard to get the tickets. The tickets were only sold to club members . The show included few lesser-known songs and also rarities. If any of you guys want to see the show, you can download it through

Long Live Metallica !!! \m/ \m/

These are the videos I've found on YouTube on Metallica's history. They are pretty simple and sums up all about them. There are 10 parts to it. Hope you like it :)

Part1


Part2


Part3


Part4


Part5


Part6


Part7


Part8


Part9


Part10

Lester William Polsfuss

Lester William Polsfuss. Some of you wonder and maybe say "who the fuck is that?" Well, he is also known as Les Paul . Yeap, the famous Les Paul. The pioneer of solid body electric guitars, the man who actually revolutionized the whole music world. He is also known for his overdubbing multi-track recording in the early days.Personally thinking, I couldnt imagine the world now without him . Well, maybe somebody else would discover him but then it will still not be the same.

9th June

There's one thing that caught my eye today. No, no. It's not just Les Paul's birthday today. Google did a very significant thing on their homepage today. Google made a tribute to the man who created Rock & Roll. Google made a doodle and a pretty interesting stuff on their homepage. You can actually play guitar on the Google homepage. How creative and interesting is that. I actually spent hours on the homepage. Heh. Whattheheck, it's Les Paul's birthday, right ?

There's another thing that I realised today, it's also Matt Bellamy's birthday. To all those people who does not know who's that, he is in a band called Muse. Want to know more ? Google him yourself ! Hahah. Andddd today is also Johnny Depp's birthday. 3 artistic and talented man's birthday is coincidentally on the same date. How interesting ? :P

Final words from me are , HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LESTER WILLIAM POLSFUSS aka LES PAUL !!! The world will continue to rock on. Rock and roll = Power to the people !

Metallica To Produce New Album ?

*all the infos were taken from Ultimate-Guitar and UK's Metal Hammer magazine


In a UK's Metal Hammer magazine issue , Lars Ulrich was asked to comment on the band's recording plans. "Ooh, boy. Yeah, I... What would you like me to say?" he replied. "Obviously, I can't talk about it. If I could talk about it, I would - you know me. It's... We'll see... It's something... We'll see how it plays out. If there's something, you'll be among the first to know, trust me." Lars was also asked if it is something new and he responded with a little bit of hesitation and he said that they will share the "new stuff" when they are ready. Ulrich also said that James Hetfield has more than 700 new riffs. They are gonna sit down and choose the riffs properly. And hopefully that the riffs will be in the "new album"

Metallica is currently on the right track of returning to their 'metal roots'. Lars Ulrich told Metal Hammer that the key to this whole thing is to return to playing "Master Of Puppets" entirely. Revisiting Master Of Puppets clearly was not on their mind before but it is very vital in this process.Rick Rubin, producer, also have advised Metallica to revisits "Ride The Lightning". Lars also commented that , Metallica is harder, faster, more manic, more out-of-control stuff than stuffs on Load and Reload album.

It is very good to know that Metallica is getting back to its roots. Lars said that they played The Call Of Ktulu in Australia which brought up the feelings of comfort about that side of Metallica. In the end, we all hope that Metallica will improve and keep producing good music. As far as we all know, Metallica has regained and gained new fans ever since the Death Magnetic album. From some people's prospective, Death Magnetic is their stepping stone of Metallica's recovery from St Anger. Keep it comin guys.



thanks to Blabbermouth.net too !

New Ibanez Shapes!!

Ibanez has released new,unconventional and radical guitar shape last week. Despite the recent tragedy in Japan, Ibanez managed to released their new line of guitars. The new guitars are added into the X-series line. As most people know,Ibanez Xiphos stays alone in the X-series house. Now, 3 model have been added into the X-series line. That three model is Halberd, Falchion and Glaive. Yes, weird names given there. These guitars are made for metal music.

First we're gonna take a look at the first shape. That is the Halberd.



My first impression towards this guitar is the shape. It is somehow familiar and it kinda reminds me of ESP or maybe LTD's F shape. Anyways,it looks different though. It has more curve than the F-series. It is more.... beautiful? Hmm.The headstock design is based on the legendary Ibanez Iceman with an additional cut to sharpen it up. This guitar is available only in two colours. That is “LUNA SHADOW (LSH)” and “MARS SHADOW (MSH)”.

Next, we have the Falchion.



I believe that this guitar shape derived from the Xiphos. Ibanez made some alteration to it and made quite different. It is said by Ibanez that this guitar is comfortable to play despite its extreme looks/shape. It is recommended that Falchion is destined to be owned by extreme Metal players that defines their awesomeness in their shreddings and people who wants to be at the 'center of the stage'. The colours of this model is “BLACK FLAT (BKF)” for the classic metal vibe, and “Red Iron Oxide (RIX)”.

Finally, we have the Glaive. Weird name with a weird shape.What a couple. Heh.



Yes, this guitar somehow looks like BC Rich's design. It has that demonic looks and appearance. So so so "BC Rich" . I think Ibanez made this guitar slightly different from BC Rich's to avoid any lawsuit. Smart? I'll go with that. Hehh. Back to the guitar. It is equipped with 2 active pickups by Ibanez.String-thru body construction. And iitt's only available in two most simple paintjobs ever. It's “DARK NIGHT BLACK (DNK)” and the pure “SNOW WHITE (SWW)”.


All I could say for now is, Ibanez producing these guitars are quite weird. Isn't it? I think it's too much. I cant really say anything much right now because I have yet to hear the sounds of these guitars. I just hope that these guitars will a phenomenal guitars in the metal scene. Ibanez is failing that task? I highly doubt it :)

Collaboration

This is a video formed by Gitarist Nusantara that I found on Facebook. This jam or shall I say collaboration is quite interesting. In another way, it kinda show that Malaysians shreds too. I was told that this is just part one of the collaboration. There's another part that they're gonna post in the near future. This collaboration would be perfect if the camera/video is in high quality. For now, just sit back and enjoy this video.

Rest In Peace Robert William Gary Moore [Gary Moore]

A former Thin Lizzy and Skid Row's guitarist has passed away at the age of 58. He was found dead at a hotel on Spain's Costa Del Sol, where he was on holiday. The cause of his death is still unknown. My deepest condolences to the Gary Moore family. May you Rest In Peace , Gary.





Gary Moore, RIP

1952-2011

ESP Guitars Enters The 2011 Year With A Bang

A Bang? Well yeah. The Japanese guitar company,ESP, produced new and exciting guitar models. Brace yourself..





First, this is the new James Hetfield signature guitar. The model is called ESP/LTD Snakebyte. Just look at the design of the body. This is totally new from ESP guitars. Nice "snake" logo or inlay on the 12th fret. This guitar is available in 2 colours. It's the 'Snow White' and the Black. It's loaded with EMG81 on the bridge,EMG60 on the neck.

Next, we have a very exclusive guitar. It is the ESP/LTD KH-2 SE. Only 100 and 300 units are available around the world respectively.

What really catch my eyes about this Kirk Hammett signature series is the colour. It's not totally black, it's Metallic Greenburst. Kirk Hammett usually produce his signature series in black colour. This colour gives you the exclusiveness and maybe the coolness of owning this unit. It's also loaded with EMG81 on the bridge, EMG60 on the neck.

This next guitar will make you scream FUKIN SLAYERRRR!!!...if you're a Slayer fan. Sadly, however LTD only produce this guitar for only 250 units. This is the Slayer-2011. With that really small number of production, it must be really expensive and I'll be one of the person who will not own it.

Equipped with EMG 81 (bridge) and EMG 85 (neck), Slayer logo inlaid around the 12th fret and the pentagram as the inlays. The finish of this guitar is the album artwork of the Reign In Blood album. This guitar will be one heck of a collector's item.

The fun doesnt end there. DevilDriver gets their own signature. Most of the DevilDriver fans know that Mike Speitzer and Jeff Kendrick of DevilDriver have been using ESP guitars for a long time, now, ESP offer them to have their own signature guitar models. This is the LTD MS-1 (Spreitzer) and LTD JK-1 (Kendrick).

The MS model is based on a V-shaped guitar and the JK is based on the ESP Eclipse model. Both of the guitars have the same pickups for it, EMG 80 for neck and bridge pickups. Both of the guitars also have DevilDriver logo on the 12th fret.

This next one is also for another long user of ESP. Max Cavalera. We have seen a lot of his signature models in the past. The V-shaped, AX shaped. but one thing is certain is the colour. It's available in Urban Camo and Snow White colour. This time, Max came out with an Explorer shape signature series.

ESP said that the LTD(Max-200) model would be one of the most affordable signature model they've ever produced. I wonder if it's true. Hmmh. Back to the guitar, For the ESP Max Cavalera EX,it's in mahogany body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, Gotoh tuners, Schaller straplocks, and Seymour Duncan Distortion pickups.




Good news for the people who are on the tight budget! ESP also produced new products of LTD guitars. A long user of ESP, George Lynch, has a new signature series, LTD GL-200K. There's also a new model for the Bullet For My Valentine's guitarist Michael Paget. The model is LTD MP-200.

Moving on, we have new LTD standard and Deluxe series too. Based on last year models, I find it quite dull and nothing special. However, this year, ESP made it better.





New and facelifted models ,LTD EX-401FM (See-Thru Black) and LTD V-401FM (See-Thru Black and See-Thru Black Cherry). If you're not the kind of person who likes the V or the EX shape,there's a classic single cutaway mahogany body,LTD Deluxe EC-1000T/CTM. With it's classy finish and nice body shape you'll love this. I think most ESP mans has always been in love with EC or Eclipse models. Right? Finally, a decent sharped shaped 7 stringed guitars for you. It's the LTD H-1007 and LTD H-1007FR. Recently ESP has been receiving a lot of demand for a 7 stings to be produced and here you are.

Dont just sit there and do nothing!!! Go break your piggy banks or whatever you call 'em and hit any ESP/LTD dealers and get any guitar of your choice now. Yeah, I'm not kidding, it'll be worth it if you're buying the limited/ exclusives models. Trust me or maybe not....




*all info and pictures in this post is taken from ESPguitars.com

Bullet For My Valentine's Fever album

The artwork of this album is very interesting. As well as the songs in this album. Bullet For My Valentine is well known for amazing catchy riffs and solos. Well, this time they've made it quite different. This is the third Bullet For My Valentine's album and they made very different compared to their previous albums. The songs became more Metalcore,less hevay metal influences, It's quite interesting though. Metalcore scene is trending nowadays and I think it's a bold move. Maybe it disappoints some Metal fans out there. But whattheheck, as long as they dont change totally. One of the great tracks are "Fever","The Last Fight" and "Your Betrayal". Matt Tuck, BFMV's guitarist once said that the main objective of this album is to please themselve rather than other people and critics. For me this album is good. Getting this album wont disappoint you and you'll have fun listening to their new songs.

Here is the tracklist:

1. "Your Betrayal" 4:51
2. "Fever" 3:57
3. "The Last Fight" 4:19
4. "A Place Where You Belong" 5:06
5. "Pleasure and Pain" 3:53
6. "Alone" 5:56
7. "Breaking Out, Breaking Down" 4:04
8. "Bittersweet Memories" 5:09
9. "Dignity" 4:29
10. "Begging for Mercy" 3:56
11. "Pretty on the Outside" 3:56
Total length:
49:33

Ibanez Xiphos XP300FX review

Dark And Bold. The design itself defines the guitar. Whenever you look at it, aggression or heavy sounding is definitely will be on your mind. Indeed it is. The Ibanez Xiphos XP300FX is the lowest or shall I say the cheapest from the Xiphos series. However, being the cheapest isn't an obstacle to match with other metal guitar brands.



Besides the shape of this guitar, nothing is ..fancy. Its bridge is a non-attractive looking fixed bridge. The pickups on these guitars are made by Ibanez which I found it quite okay. The sound of this thing is certainly heavy. You can get great tones with this guitar. I played metal riffs for this guitar and I'm happy with it. It gives you that crunchy heavy rhythm tone. Moreover, it totally stands out in crowd. Nice quick neck that allows me to play fast riffs is amazing. I have nothing to complain about the frets. Large frets ease the action.

There are a few concerns about this guitar for me though. First, the shape. Yeah, I know it seems ridiculous to complain about the shape now since most of you guys out there and I like the shape very much. That shape would cost you extra money to yourself a guitar case that can fit it. Another one is, the positioning of your right hand is quite different when you play this guitar. You will find your right hand slightly in front as the bridge of this guitar is positioned. It will take a while to
get used to it. Think again,these problems are also found on the Explorer shaped guitars or "X" - shaped guitars. Please note, the Gibson/Epiphone Explorers are quite different in every term.

Final say from me is, if you like it, just get it. If you dont, just dont think about getting one because you'll get sick of it in the end. For a guitar that is below RM1500 it's great. Just great.

the specs:

neck type 3pc Wizard Il Maple neck
body Mahogany body
fret Jumbo frets
bridge Fixed bridge
neck pu INF3 (H) neck pu
bridge pu INF4 (H) bridge pu
hardware color Cosmo Black