So I more or less started this thing because I love not just listening to music, but also talking about music. I also wanted an outlet that I could call the shots for 100%, which I'm not always able to do with some of my other activities (I'll leave it to you to find out what those are). I started off listening to a ton of classic rock, and my tastes slowly became more inclined to faster, more aggressive and plain heavier music. Over the years my interests expanded in a sideways direction too; nowadays I'm just as likely to put on a Mos Def album as much as the latest Kreator record. This blog will probably start off with a ton of heavy metal and hard rock, but it'll hopefully expand to more blues, classic rock, and some hip-hop as well if time permits.
The name "Heavier Than Time" comes from a phrase that Exodus' late original singer, Paul Baloff, said on the band's live album Another Lesson in Violence- "This song is older than shit, heavier than time!" Exodus put the phrase on the back of a bunch of t-shirts they sold at a memorial concert for Baloff. I thought the phrase was cool, so I went ahead and jacked it.
Why should I listen to you or take your opinions seriously? Honestly you shouldn't. As a writer, I'm kind of a hack. I have interests in other activities as well, and I'm much better at those other activities than I am at writing. If anything though, I hope that this blog puts some cool bands and albums into your consciousness and that you check them out and form your own opinions. Sadly, this crap tends to be pretty subjective, so take what I have to say with a few spoons of salt. I'm still going to write as if I'm actually an authority on the material though, so deal with it.
I'm a pretty mediocre writer in comparison to most of the other guys out there, so here are a few of my favorites when it comes to those other guys.
Scott's Rock and Soul Reviews - This guy's a brilliant and fair reviewer, and shares a lot of my same musical tastes too. He injects a bit of his personal ties to the music where appropriate as well, which is always pretty cool as well. Probably my biggest inspiration for wanting to do this blog.
No Life Til Metal - Scott Waters is the very definition of a true heavy metal lifer. He loves this music, and it absolutely shows in his conversational and passionate writing. He has an amazing knowledge of the music, and he comes off as a super nice and chill guy as well.
Mark's Record Reviews - If you don't laugh your ass off repeatedly while perusing Mark Prindle's site, you're basically doing it wrong. Mark's off beat, schizophrenic writing is hilarious, as are the reader comments that he posts. He does have the ability to accurately articulate his thoughts on the music, but like a ton of other writers, he probably realized how monotonous writing "like a professional" could get. His ratings also brazenly reflect a contemporary and honest view, as he isn't afraid to blast albums that haven't aged well, but are critical darlings. Sadly he retired from writing, but his reviews are still consistently amazing.
umlaut - Brian Lew's writing brings so much character to the Bay Area music scene that it makes you really fall in love with the place and the people. His nicknames for his friends (some of whom are legendary in their own right) are often pretty fun and cute, and his love for local food, venues and bands really adds a hometown vibe to the posts, and make you want to investigate your local scene too. Brian was there for the thrash scene back in the day, and nobly documented it on his camera with his buddy Harald O. You can see their photos in the amazing book Murder in the Front Row.
The name "Heavier Than Time" comes from a phrase that Exodus' late original singer, Paul Baloff, said on the band's live album Another Lesson in Violence- "This song is older than shit, heavier than time!" Exodus put the phrase on the back of a bunch of t-shirts they sold at a memorial concert for Baloff. I thought the phrase was cool, so I went ahead and jacked it.
Why should I listen to you or take your opinions seriously? Honestly you shouldn't. As a writer, I'm kind of a hack. I have interests in other activities as well, and I'm much better at those other activities than I am at writing. If anything though, I hope that this blog puts some cool bands and albums into your consciousness and that you check them out and form your own opinions. Sadly, this crap tends to be pretty subjective, so take what I have to say with a few spoons of salt. I'm still going to write as if I'm actually an authority on the material though, so deal with it.
I'm a pretty mediocre writer in comparison to most of the other guys out there, so here are a few of my favorites when it comes to those other guys.
Scott's Rock and Soul Reviews - This guy's a brilliant and fair reviewer, and shares a lot of my same musical tastes too. He injects a bit of his personal ties to the music where appropriate as well, which is always pretty cool as well. Probably my biggest inspiration for wanting to do this blog.
No Life Til Metal - Scott Waters is the very definition of a true heavy metal lifer. He loves this music, and it absolutely shows in his conversational and passionate writing. He has an amazing knowledge of the music, and he comes off as a super nice and chill guy as well.
Mark's Record Reviews - If you don't laugh your ass off repeatedly while perusing Mark Prindle's site, you're basically doing it wrong. Mark's off beat, schizophrenic writing is hilarious, as are the reader comments that he posts. He does have the ability to accurately articulate his thoughts on the music, but like a ton of other writers, he probably realized how monotonous writing "like a professional" could get. His ratings also brazenly reflect a contemporary and honest view, as he isn't afraid to blast albums that haven't aged well, but are critical darlings. Sadly he retired from writing, but his reviews are still consistently amazing.
umlaut - Brian Lew's writing brings so much character to the Bay Area music scene that it makes you really fall in love with the place and the people. His nicknames for his friends (some of whom are legendary in their own right) are often pretty fun and cute, and his love for local food, venues and bands really adds a hometown vibe to the posts, and make you want to investigate your local scene too. Brian was there for the thrash scene back in the day, and nobly documented it on his camera with his buddy Harald O. You can see their photos in the amazing book Murder in the Front Row.
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