Probot strikes back . . . twice!

[Nate The Great]

So you read my Probot review a while back . . .

Not only has Rollingstone declared nu-metal dead, cheesy, and cliched, the also gave Probot a 3.5/5 in a recent review:

Seattle grunge harbored a not-so-secret fetish for heavy metal, which made future Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl a perfect fit for Nirvana. Now Grohl has channeled his youthful obsession for Eighties underground metal into eleven tracks he hammered out on drums, bass, and guitar in his home studio; he then invited his favorite singers from the era to finish things off with lyrics and vocals. The result is Probot, a labor of love seething with spite.

Except for Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister, none of the vocalists is Grohl's equal as a rock celebrity. But they're heroes to a generation of bluejean-jacketed, wallet-chain-wearing headbangers, and justly so. Grohl zooms in on below-the-radar subcultures such as early thrash, doom, and stoner rock, with lyrics stripped of love-song sentiment and arrangements glutted with subterranean bass tones. Kilmister's whiskey howl suits the party libation "Shake Your Blood"; the Obsessed's Wino Weinrich lays down "The Eerald Law" with eerie conviction; Venom's Cronos roars and wretches over Grohl's cymbal barrage on "Centuries of Sin." Look no further for the year's first great metal album.

NOW . . . Probot will be appearing on Headbanger's Ball tonight. My Southern Lord PR people mentioned that Greg Anderson (owner of the label, member of Sunn 0))), Thorr's Hammer, Goatsnake, etc.) might be on the show as well. That's awesome for that label.

Probot truley is a great album. I hope some of you will put your "I'm too tr00 for Dave Grohl" attitude aside and check Probot out on February 10th (the release date). I especially think Papa Josh would really dig them. Because of the variety of singers and styles, I think there's at least one differnt song on the album that I KNOW everyone on this forum would enjoy.

 

[MadeInNewJersey]

I have to say, I was intrigued by Probot from the few press blurbs I've read about them. I just have a problem with someone who has no background in that kind of music all of a sudden up and deciding to make that kind of music. I'm sure it's good, because Dave's a good musician and has probably surrounded himself with good musicians, but doesn't music - I mean, really high quality music - require heart and passion?

 

[Nate The Great]

I have to say, I was intrigued by Probot from the few press blurbs I've read about them. I just have a problem with someone who has no background in that kind of music all of a sudden up and deciding to make that kind of music. I'm sure it's good, because Dave's a good musician and has probably surrounded himself with good musicians, but doesn't music - I mean, really high quality music - require heart and passion?

Yes. You're correct. Good music requires heart and passion. Probot is more of a celebration of music that Dave loves. I'm guessing he sort of fell into Nirvana out of circumstances. Nirvana was sort of a punk band at first, and Probot does show that Dave was a punk fan. Foo Fighters is just another style of music Dave enjoys to play.

I like jazz and metal, but that doesn't mean my passion is any less toward one or the other.

Garth Brooks grew up as a huge Kiss fan, but he somehow fell into country music. That doesn't make his passion for Kiss any less (he recorded a cover of Hard Luck Woman). He just doesn't play arena rock. I think Dave is in that same situation.

I'm not sticking up for Dave or anything. I think his intentions were pure and simple. He loved metal back in the eighties (and he still loves stuff like Queens of the Stone Age and Cave In), and he wanted to pay tribute to it.

Probot isn't exactly a "band", but it is a great set of songs with plenty of passion and a lot more excitement of the music Dave enjoyed as a youngster.

 

[MadeInNewJersey]

I do want to hear it, but I will break my own "do not download entire albums" rule before I shell out cash.

I'm much more interested in Place of Skulls after reading more about them! I know you love 'em...so are they worth it? I want to buy it today I think. Tell me now!

 

[Nate The Great]

I'm sure you will like Place of Skulls. It is one of the more "normal" albums I've really enjoyed for a long time. While you're at it, check out The Hidden Hand. That's Wino's new band.

 

[MadeInNewJersey]

Cool, I dig Wino and nearly everything he's done. I remember buying St. Vitus albums on vinyl from the old SST label. I don't even think I knew what I was listening to.

 

[Papa Josh]

Probot is super sweet!

Song with Trouble's Eric Wagner especially.

 

[JayKeeley]

Not only has Rollingstone declared nu-metal dead, cheesy, and cliched, the also gave Probot a 3.5/5 in a recent review:

How have they declared that demise of nu-metal by the way? I mean, is it safe to come out of our homes now and go back to the malls?

 

[Nate The Great]

NO!

They've only started to make comments about Linkin Park being a talentless buch of rip-offs and such. Every issue they bash nu-metal bands more and more. They have even declared Fred Durst old and a figment of a past culture (or something like that).

 

[MadeInNewJersey]

NO!

They've only started to make comments about Linkin Park being a talentless buch of rip-offs and such. Every issue they bash nu-metal bands more and more. They have even declared Fred Durst old and a figment of a past culture (or something like that).

I'm not sure who changes their mind and moves on quicker...Rolling Stone or Dreamlord.

 

[Demonspell]

NO!

They've only started to make comments about Linkin Park being a talentless buch of rip-offs and such. Every issue they bash nu-metal bands more and more.

They also used the words "art rock" in a review of said band's latest album...no amount of nu-metal bashing, which of course goes hand in hand with trend hopping, could ever make up for that offense...

 

[ProgMetalFan]

Look no further for the year's first great metal album.

The year's first great metal album is Into Eternity's "Buried In Oblivion", but I somehow doubt Rolling Stone is going to review that... maybe if Dave Grohl or Janet Jackson was guesting on a track...

 

[Evil C.]

Well, I agree with Papa. The track with Eric Wagner from Trouble, is godsend. In fact, Probot was indeed on Headbangers Ball last night, with Dave Grohl, Eric Wagner, Wino, Greg Anderson, and some dude who doesnt look like he fit in with that crowd. Oh yeah, and Snake from Voivod. At the end of the show, they jammed "My Tortured Soul" with Eric Wagner. Priceless. And that guy from Hatebreed, said the funniest thing he has ever said. When he went to shake their hands, he said afterwards, he was the heavy metal Jay Leno.

If anyone is really interested, I can actually record the show to DVD for any of my metal brethen that are interested in checking it out. Just let me know.

Cary

 

[NAD]

They've only started to make comments about Linkin Park being a talentless buch of rip-offs and such. Every issue they bash nu-metal bands more and more. They have even declared Fred Durst old and a figment of a past culture (or something like that).

Man, fuck Rolling Stone. That magazine is such a trend following rag it makes me sick. Oh well, my subscription ended over a year ago, why should I bother to care?

If anyone is really interested, I can actually record the show to DVD for any of my metal brethen that are interested in checking it out. Just let me know.

Actually if it's not too much trouble, I'd love to have a copy on DVD. That way I can finally check out Probot without breaking my two month CD / DVD / book purchasing hiatus.

There's very little appeal to the Foo Fighters for me, but I've always loved Grohl's drumming.

 

[Nate The Great]

That Probot Headbanger's Ball show was great. When they played live at the end, I was blown away. That song, "My Tortured Soul", is awesome on CD, but it was WAY heavy live.

 

[J.]

I'm too tr00 for Dave Grohl.

No seriously, the Foo Fighters aren't horrible. I especially enjoy their version of "Down in the Park". I've just never been a big Dave Grohl fan, or Nirvana fan, or Foo Fighters fan.

And I don't change my mind that much. But if I decide later on that something sucks, I'll get rid of it. Speaking of which, I'm getting together an extremely small trade list that includes the original Jester Race.

 

[JayKeeley]

And I don't change my mind that much. But if I decide later on that something sucks, I'll get rid of it. Speaking of which, I'm getting together an extremely small trade list that includes the original Jester Race.

How does that work? So it's actually possible for you to go from loving Jester Race to thinking that it sucks? I can totally see tastes changing / evolving etc, but how are you able to write-off something so completely after having liked it at the beginning? Even when I sit here to think about an example where I might have done the same, I can't. I don't think that's ever happened to me, heh.

 

[J.]

heh, I'm being sarcastic. I don't necessarily think Jester Race sucks, it just doesn't interest me anymore, just like the melo-death scene. I don't think it's a masterpiece in the genre (their first two are infinitely better) so why would I keep a second rate release from the band in a genre that holds no interest to me anymore?

 

[JayKeeley]

heh, I'm being sarcastic. I don't necessarily think Jester Race sucks, it just doesn't interest me anymore, just like the melo-death scene. I don't think it's a masterpiece in the genre (their first two are infinitely better) so why would I keep a second rate release from the band in a genre that holds no interest to me anymore?

I hear what you're saying, but it did interest you once upon a time, no? I guess I'm different in that if I liked an album once upon a time, that's enough for me to keep it in my collection. Granted, I may not listen to it on a regular basis (but then I hardly do that with albums that do garner current interest), but I'd like to keep it around for the day when my tastes feel like devolving.

Once in a while, I throw on old albums just to get that good ol' feeling again.

 

[NAD]

Yep. Unless a CD has never done a thing for me, like that Dimmu I gave you, I'll keep it. Stuff like Jester's Race has those times when I really want to listen to it, so I don't see myself ever getting rid of it.