Huntsman Hill: A Music Retrospective

Most people would identify "Ace of Spades" as Motörhead's classic LP and they're not wrong.  In fact, the band released six classics in a row starting with their self-titled 1977 debut but it's really "Overkill" that honed the sound that would unite Metalheads and Punks and influence thousands of bands from every possible subgenre.  From Discharge to Metallica, extreme music would simply not sound...

X always had elements of Americana and Country on the edges of their music but never as straight forward or overt as when they swapped their legendary guitar player Billy Zoom for another LA legend (Dave Alvin of the Blasters) and changed their name to the Knitters.  Half of the songs on their debut are covers but they fit so neatly alongside the John Doe / Exene Cervenka originals that it's hard...

With a battle cry go forth, which is "Give the people what they want"; and what the people want could only be the senseless slaughter of the gutter-slime that litters this nation for cash and prizes. Yes, this is the show where people bet their lives to win something big. Cause when your life is shit, then you haven't got much to lose on: The Huntsman Hill Polanco Podcast!      RIP Dave Brockie  R...

Dark Angel's second LP was released in 1986, the zenith of Thrash Metal and the same year as "Master of Puppets," "Reign in Blood," "Peace Sells.." and dozens of other classics of the genre.  It didn't leave the same scars that many of those other LPs did at the time but how does this cacophony of Slayer inspired riffage hold up in 2023?  Pretty damn well actually.    RIP Jim Durkin RIP Donald Run...

Despite its party vibe, "1965" was the Afghan Whigs breakup album.  The move to a new record label (Columbia), lackluster sales and a less than spectacular tour with Aerosmith that would culminate in a coma inducing 2x4 to the head in an Austin Texas bar bathroom would prove too much for the band.  Though they would emerge triumphant to reunite in in 2006, "1965" for a time was their final salvo a...

Is the sum greater than (or ever equal to) the parts?  In this case, Fake Names is the sum and the parts are Refused, Minor Threat, Dag Nasty, Embrace, One Last Wish, Soulside, Girls Against Boys and Fugazi.  It's a tall order to be sure and the supergroup pulls from some varied influences, some more expected than others.  How close do they get to their lineage.  We discuss (without surprisingly l...

Part two of our Reevaluation Series where we review an album that we loved in our youth and turned violently against as we became mature music snobs to ask:  Is This Album Actually Great?  This time its Ratt's 1984 debut "Out of the Cellar."  The answer might surprise you, unless of course you've heard this album before (then the answer is obvious).    RIP Bob Nalbandian   Recommended Listening  ...

Agnostic Front's second album divided their Hardcore following due to its obvious Metal leanings but these inclinations brought in the Metal kids as the two crowds increasingly began to blend.  Before long "Cause For Alarm" would be heralded as a classic in their catalog and along with releases by SOD, DRI, COC and Suicidal Tendencies would come to define the Crossover genre.  Today it sounds dist...

We spent last episode Shoegazing and this week we're tripping in our bucket hats all the way to Madchester to talk about The Charlatans 1990 debut.   Known in the States for the bands lone radio hit,  "The Only One I Know," the band was a smash in their native England where a full blown scene of drug taking, baggy clothes wearing, dancing to the break of dawn Brits was sweeping the nation.  The Ch...

It's 1990 in the UK for a couple of weeks on the HHPP starting with Ride's stellar debut.  The Oxford quartet  along with My Bloody Valentine were the stalwarts for the then gestating Shoegaze scene,  but while MBV leaned more heavily into the sonic chaos of Sonic Youth, Ride drew on the psychedelia of The Stones Roses.  Regardless of shared of specific influences, each would release masterpieces...

Never  Mind the Bullocks, Rocket to Russia,  Animals , Low, My Aim is True, Heroes, Rumours and yes, Aja all came out in 1977 and Television's Marquee Moon might be the best of all of them.  It's punk but atmospheric, arty but accessible, full of attitude but emotional, catchy but virtuosic.  It's the masterpiece that hides in the shadows, sneaks up on you and then stays with you for the rest of y...

Rodney was a punk rocker, Michael was a punk rocker, Glenn was a punk rocker, Rancid are punk rockers as they will repeatedly remind you throughout the 42 tracks that make up their second and third LPs.  Results may vary as do our opinions of the bands commercial breakthroughs.  Let's fight!    Recommended Listening     EP52:  Operation Ivy "Energy" https://huntsmanhill.com/2018/02/11/ep52-operati...

This one's for Bob.   Recommended Listening     HHPP EP192 (featuring Bob Nalbandian)  https://open.spotify.com/episode/6LLWiEga88ZAenA3u9AZMA?si=d446d9b934624566   Movies   Inside Metal (Directed by Bob Nalbandian)   https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Metal-Pioneers-L/dp/B0797LG6FB/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2CZGSCQG1147A&keywords=inside+metal&qid=1675006630&sprefix=inside+metal%2Caps%2C131&sr=8-1   The Rainbow...

On July 3, 1969 Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones drown to death.  Two years later to the day on July 3, 1971 Jim Morrison was found dead in a Paris hotel room and in between both Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin would also meet tragic fates.  The four were each only 27 years old and their deaths would unwittingly form an infamous club whose membership, primarily among musicians  would mysteriously g...

Scowl are one of a handful of up and coming hardcore bands poised to follow Turnstile into mainstream success.  Charismatic singer Kat Moss is the perfect front person for the moment and is kicking the doors open for thousands of young women to join a scene that long excluded them.   Their debut LP is all the buzz and their live shows are becoming can't miss events.  But is their music any good?  ...

When Metallica's "Black Album" was released in 1991 Glenn and I looked at each other with confusion and exclaimed "There's no Metallica in my Metallica!"  Gone were the screaming vocals, the long overly complicated song structures and pissed off aggression.  I had this same feeling again in 2021 with the release of Deafheaven's "Infinite Granite."  It was a far cry from their 2013 masterpiece "Sun...

Now two years removed from the height of the COVD-19 pandemic, 2022 finally saw a return to normalcy and that included an abundant year in music.  Live shows were back in full swing, records were recorded with band members actually in the same room together and acoustic bedroom performances on Instagram slowed down considerably.  Our seventh annual Year End episode reflects all of this and indicat...

It's a Peter Murphy Christmas!  Timing is everything and it could be argued that we screwed the pooch on our holiday episode selection. On the other hand, what could be better than sitting around the fire with a little rum spiked eggnog and the Godfather of Goth at his most joyful?  The boys get a little tipsy themselves while they contemplate how Murphy's 1987 sophomore effort has stood the test...

Walter Schreifels had Gorilla Biscuits in the '80s, Quicksand in the '90s and then Rival Schools in the early aughts.  Their debut album United by Fate is a record that Mike has obsessed over for twenty years, Glenn came to late but has gown to appreciate more and more and Rod had never heard before preparing for this podcast.  They come to the album from three different perspective but there's li...

If you could only listen to 10 artists for the rest of your life who would they be?  Slayer?  Miles Davis?  Freaking Beethoven?!?  Lots to consider:  breadth of catalog, a variety of moods, songs you'll never tire of.  It takes us over two and a half hours to compile our lists and it's a journey of contemplation, joy and agony.  Episode 200 is exactly the wild ride we hoped it would be.       hunt...

Bob Mould is an under appreciated genius.    RIP Christine McVie RIP Keith Levene    Recommended Listening :   Beaster  https://open.spotify.com/album/1Lj1hDF4hcyKGUiw0k7iC3?si=cafC_z4cQGaI1Tc4GWgXFQ   Bob Mould Workbook https://open.spotify.com/album/3VhSB8ozURez6qOSptLb15?si=WuoPoZdtRRS0ugB-fAB0Ig   Black Sheets of Rain https://open.spotify.com/album/6X7wrpHgbgBB3u2eMBFNuN?si=GtSFSJepTNev5HhRoRB...

Excel's debut is rarely mentioned along with the classic Crossover albums, a list that includes Suicidal Tendencies' "Join the Army," COC's "Animosity," DRI's "Dealing With It" and Agnostic Front's "Cause For Alarm" and it's hard to understand why.   It's a perfect blend of Metal guitars and Punk vocals with personal lyrics about how fucked up the world is an how helpless we are to fix it.  Venice...

It's hammer time in DC!  After fronting a trio of legendary Dishord bands, The Untouchables, The Faith and Ignition Alec MacKaye had more than earned his status as American Punk Rock royalty and could have certainly rested on his laurels.  Instead, he's back with a new project, Hammered Hulls that is more than worthy of his legacy.  Their debut LP sounds like classic Discord in all the best ways a...

How much of our love of Mercyful Fate is based on nostalgia versus the fact that they were an incredibly innovative, talented band with great songs?  As a relative newbie to the band Rod helps us answer the question as we dive deep into their classic first LP while touching on their equally great follow up Don't Break the Oath , discuss the conviction in the bands approach and debate how many riff...

Keith Morris and Dimitri Coats are back and this time with a brand new rhythm section.  Now four LPs in, the newly constructed quartet sounds completely revitalized.  The familiar OFF! punch is still there but now with new layers, textures and moods thrown into the mix.   Free LSD might not be the bands best album but it's pretty damn great right now.     Recommended Listening :   HHPP EP151:  OFF...