the greatest bands of all time: Excuse All the Blood

TOP BANDS

of Seamus from the metal music show Excuse All the Blood

Excuse All the Blood is on air Fridays at 11pm Seattle time. Below you will find the relevant information.

Hi, Seamus. I have noticed that you are metal list maker. I don't know if you have actual lists or whether they are mental lists, but you often say interesting things about your lists. Can you name your top bands of all time and can you say a bit about why they are top bands for you? --MMB

Seamus: I love answering these so thanks for the opportunity!

My top 5 bands:

1.KISS

The greatest band of all time. Far from a metal band (although Revenge and Carnival of Souls get somewhat close) but the band that has meant the most to me since 1992. I love the music and the impact they made on music and pop culture. I tend to like things over the top and KISS certainly does that. Favorite KISS songs-'Love Gun', 'I Just Wanna' and 'Black Diamond.' I've seen them 57 times and counting.

2.Alice Cooper

For some of the reasons I like KISS so much. I enjoy his music a lot and the macabre imagery (not the band Macabre, although 'Dahmer' is a masterpiece). I'm not a fan of the hits so much but think he is an underrated lyricist. Favorite Alice songs-'Hes Back', 'Roses On White Lace' and 'Dwight Fry'. I love every era of Alice but prefer the Kane Roberts/metal years of 'Constrictor' and 'Raise Your Fist and Yell', my two favorite albums of his.

3.Judas Priest

The final metal band of all time. I'd rather listen to the worst Priest album ('Rocka Rolla') over the best Maiden album (the debut) any day. Rob is the finest metal vocalist ever. Part of this is nostalgia for me since I got into them at the same time as I got into KISS and Alice but every time I hear 'Painkiller' I'm pumped up. They can do fast ('Painkiller'), slow ('Out In the Cold'), poppy ('Turbo Lover'), anthemic ('Take On The World'), gothy ('The Ripper'), etc. They touch all bases and touch them well. I consider them the true originators of the genre and the best the genre has to offer. Favorite Songs: 'The Green Manalishi', 'Jawbreaker' and 'Hell Patrol'.

4.Mercyful Fate

It's interesting since I don't like King's solo material much at all. 'Dont Break The Oath' is the finest metal record ever recorded, while 'A Dangerous Meeting' is the finest metal song ever recorded ('Princess of the Dawn' is probably the second best ever). I like all the Fate albums but the first two are perfect. They have the perfect mix of technicality, macabre (again, not the band), occult and King's vocals (in Fate at least) are incredible. I'm in my 30's and 'Satans Fall' still creeps me out but in a good way. Favorite songs: 'A Dangerous Meeting', 'Desecration of Souls', 'Is That You, Melissa?'

5.Dokken

They're not a metal band (pretty close sometimes) but I love, love, love Dokken harmonies. As with many of these bands there is an element of nostalgia here. I got into them in third grade with 'Dream Warriors' but still really enjoy most of their music. I like Don's voice and how easy the songs are to sing a long to. They're the best band to drive to. Favorite songs: 'Breaking the Chains', 'Kiss of Death', 'Into the Fire.'

As for Dokken on the show-I don't play them much because most of their material isn't particularly fast ('KISS of Death', 'Tooth and Nail' etc aside) nor heavy. The Blood tends to focus on newer, heavier bands, or at least newer releases. I don't consider Dokken metal, but do consider Lizzy and WASP metal bands. Lizzy is favorite band number 6. Although he/they certainly got glammed up they didn't resort to love ballads so much like Dokken. That era of music, the mid 80's metal scene, is my favorite. I love Lizzy, Cirith Ungol, Cloven Hoof, Tyrant, etc. I wasn't into them then but sure appreciate them now. The first WASP album is in my top 5 albums ever and I love it every time I listen to it. Blackie has an amazing voice, is a hell of a lyricist and I like that they can get somewhat horror ('Tormentor') and violent ('The Headless Children'). There are some bad WASP albums but the debut, 'The Headless Children', 'The Crimson Idol' and 'Still Not Black Enough' are all gems. I own every thing Blackie has ever released-albums, 7 Inches, etc. Although KISS isn't metal they're my favorite band and it bothers me when people simply dismiss them as schlock or poppy. 'Strange Ways' is a heavy fucking song. 'Creatures' has the vibe of a metal album. 'I Stole Your Love' was really fast for the time and Lick It Up/Animalize/Asylum all feature some fast 80's style songs. 'I'm Alive' is a metal song as is 'Exciter' and 'Ive Had Enough'. My favorite KISS album is 'Revenge'-'Unholy is a metal song. 'Thou Shalt Not' is pretty heavy, for KISS anyways. On Carnival of Souls'-'Hate' and 'In My Head' are metal. Overall I prefer the Paul songs but Gene's songs tends to be the heavier/more metal ones.

I hope that works! Thanks, I had fun and keep them coming'!

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