Radioactive Metal

We here at RAM have always been vinyl conisseurs. But more and more people are discovering the joys of vinyl. It's really heartwarming when we see the youth of today (that was totally intentional lol) digging thru the racks. That means there's a lot of fertile minds that we feel, as veterans, should be doing our part to enlighten. Vinyl records have basic terminologies every collector should know....

The passing of ex-Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di'Anno was the major topic on the hearts and minds of Metal Heads the world over. Mr. Di'Anno wasn't just a great artist, he was a frontrunner and influence on an entire generation. So it's only appropriate we dedicate our discussion segment to this legend.   We go over how we first discovered The Man. Our fave tunes. And where we think he would be haun...

Happy Halloween! We love this time of year. But not only for all the spooky season goodness. Our annual Halloween episode is always a barnburner. For the festivities this year we test Aaron's horror film knowledge with an appropriate number of 13 trivia questions. We also pose the question "Would you buy any records from a serial killer's collection?" And of course, we discuss the Ozzy HOF inducti...

Love it or hate it, "Hair" Metal is always an interesting topic. Often the subject of ridicule from more modern fans, the impact the subgenre has had on music as a whole cannot be denied. So when Paramount+ dropped the new docuseries "Nothin' But A Good Time: The Uncensored Story of 80s Hair Metal", we jumped right on it.   We go over all three episodes. But not with a fine toothed comb, of course...

Halloween isn't just about collecting candy and cringy Wednesday costumes. Music plays a big part of the spooky season.   Whether it's awesome horror film soundtracks or horror related guitar rock n roll, music provides the perfect atmosphere sounds for your October. But over the years we've noticed some people's idea of "Halloween" music doesn't quite cut a drunken teenager at Summer camp. So thi...

Dec. 31, 1973, in the wilds of Australia, the legendary AC/DC played their very first gig. Effectively making 2024 their 50th (!!) anniversary.   So obviously this is a big f'n deal. So we decided to give Angus and the Boys some time in our "Spotlight" episode. We go over some of our fave songs and albums, how we discovered the band and the (non) controversies. And of course the age old question -...

We now return to our regular programming.   The legendary Iron Maiden are one of the greatest musical artists of all time. And the 80s is where they reigned supreme. Not just on the live front where they still do. But on the record racks as well.   "Powerslave" was the epitome of 80s Maiden. And it recently celebrated its 40th anniversary! So it's a great time to feature this awesome album in our...

We just lost one of the greats in one James Earl Jones.   It's true doing a deep dive about a legendary actor is a bit out of our format. But we figured "Why not? Let's embrace our geekhood and pay tribute to a man that has a large following in Metaldom."   Unfortunately, Aaron could not join us this week. So we brought in a couple ringers. Matt Copper is no stranger to the show. We've had him on...

Break out your poison of choice! Welcome to Episode 8 fn hundred! It's time to celebrate!!   When we first went "on the air", nobody really knew what a podcast was. And now we remain one of the longest podcasts, Metal or otherwise. So this time we decided to sit back and relax and shoot the shite'. And of course, crank a fistful of Metal.   We discuss Jason Newstead's reverb shop , some cool flix...

Our series on those amazing albums celebrating their 40th anniversary continues. Legendary hardcore/punks Black Flag had a productive '84, releasing three full lengthers. Probably the most renowned is "Slip It In". So we tapped this classic album for a deep dive. We go track by track and share as much info and opinions as possible. Particularly, "the bars" and tattoos. We learn that one of our coh...

As music connoisseurs, we all have those past gigs we wish we would've caught. We were either to young or the venue was on the other side of the globe. Either way we'd all like to jump into Doc Brown's DeLorean and live those magical moments.   How 'bout the Ramones at CBGBs? Or KISS in the 70s? Or how about a little band called Mantas during the demo days? Musical Nirvana for sure. Which gig did...

Our coverage of amazing albums celebrating their 40th anniversary continues.   70s glam rockers Slade were over big in the UK/Europe, but it wasn't until the "Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply" album that Noddy and the Boyz breakthrough on the side of the pond. It's been a favorite of ours since the get go. To celebrate we're giving the record a track -by-track going over, and throwing in a bit...

Canadian legends Rush are obviously huge around the RAM offices. And our own Aaron is a badass bassist as well. So of course we both got sucked right into the Paramount + mini series "Geddy Lee Asks 'Are Bass Players People Too' ". The bassist extraordinaire spends time with four major music movers and shakers that strum the four strings. The program sent our imaginations into overdrive. This week...

Pop culture figures venturing into the Music World is hit and miss. Legendary actor Christopher Lee hit it out of the park. While Bruce Willis and Eddie Murphy - not so much. Once again a casual point in conversation inspired this week's discussion. And we came up with our own athletes, actors, etc that we'd like to see take a shot at Metaldom. Elvira doing a Goth project? Or even Samuel L. Jackso...

It's no secret that we love music related documentaries. It's always interesting when the talking heads get their brains picked on an equally interesting subject. One particular doc that has gotten attention is the "Records Collecting Dust" and it's sequel. Being vinyl fanatics, it's so cool diving into some our fave artists record collections with them. These amazing docs have inspired us to do o...

On the live front, the front person has arguably the most important job. As the voice, they're basically running the show. Over the years, Metaldom has had so many awesome performers filling that position. And we all have our faves. Then week we gave ourselves the Herculean task of whittling down our choices to a mere ten. What are some of your faves?   In our "News, Views and  Tunes", we talk "Gh...

The classic album "Stay Hungry" from the legendary Twisted Sister is one of Metaldom's most celebrated efforts. The singles spoke to us. Some songs creeped us out. Most importantly, it scared the hell out of the non-believers that needed the fright. It also turns 40 this year! So we gave it the deep dive treatment in our continuing '84 Anniversary albums. We go over how we discovered this platter,...

We all love Metallica here in the RAM offices. But those first four 80s albums was when our fandom burned brightest. And depending on the day, Record #2 "Ride The Lightning" is one of our faves. The combination of brutal thrash, brilliant musicianship and songwriting and bombastic attitude also makes it one of the more influential underground albums of the day. And this amazing slab 'o wax turns 4...

Last episode during our conversation about Yngwie Malmsteen's ripping debut, we causally mentioned the classic G3 tour. The G3 was a triple threat attack feat. Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Eric Johnson. It's a concept that had musical affianiodoes all abuzz. So we figured we'd share some of our fantasy G3s. Not only more traditional, but multiple subgenres as well. Which three axeslingers would you...

'84 saw the solo effort from axe virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen. "Rising Force" is an appropriate moniker as the record took the Metal World by storm. Not to mention it was kind of a trailblazing release. The 80's was definitely the era of the flamboyant frontman. But Malmsteen chose to let the music do the talking...literally. So this week we go through this musician's musician album. And Unleash The...

The music world rejoiced with the announcement of the upcoming "This Is Spinal Tap" sequel. Over the years The Tap has amassed such a strong and loyal following that we sometimes forget that it's not a real band, per say. Matter of fact, over the years some of our fave songs have been produced by ficticous outfits from various movies and TV. As Metal Heads, we all love the The Lone Rangers, Sammi...

Our continuing look at the amazing albums of '84...well...continues. Celebrating its 40th (!!) anniversary is the classic self-titled W.A.S.P. debut. Gaining steam from the "controversial" Animal single, this full lengther hit the racks like a bat out of hell. And the mighty W.A.S.P. were off to a legendary career. We do a deep dive into the record going into how we discovered it, our fave tracks...

Rolling Stone magazine took their moniker from the obvious place. We recently learned that CREEM mag did indeed borrow their name from the legendary Cream. So we realized there were a lot of artist's names that would make magazine titles as well. So this week we compiled our own list whose names fit the description of a cool magazine. "Jimi" would be a great guitar mag. "Doro" would be a cool for...

Our beloved Heavy Metal has always illicited strong reactions. The strong is evident by the huge international fan base. While the negative, let's just say HM has a rich tradition of scaring the hell out of Joe and Jane Average. Not only by the imagery that frequently goes along the music. But the emotions and ideals that back it up. Artists like Iron Maiden, Ozzy, AC/DC and Punk rock have kept no...

Warning: This is going to be a unique episode. We had so much of our other pop culture interests going on this week. So we decided to let what's left of our hair down and discuss our "Geek Week". This past weekend saw "May The Fourth", for all the Star Wars enthusiasts. As well as "Free Comic Book Day". Think RSD but for comics. Finally we discussed the "GodzillxKong: The New Empire" flick. Not ve...