Iron Boots: 10 (biased and subjective) thoughts

Iron Boots was the band who got Town of Hardcore's esteemed "Demo of the Issue" award with their tape. Maybe you downloaded their work on SLSK and have had to make sense of song titles like "Beachside Pain" and "NeedlesXXX." Maybe you've retroactively sought them out upon exposure to the incessant grooving of Fire & Ice, etc. Either way, here's 10 personal nuggs on my favorite band from Virginny Beach, ever. 

1) Warzone Ambassadors 2003-2008
They wore the sonic influence proudly on their collective sleeve, and if I can be honest for a second, helped me develop a taste for lesser hyped entries in the WZ catalog like Open Your Eyes. 

2) Fried Chicken and 40 oz's
In an ish of Town of Hardcore (that I can't access right now), a member of the boots camp negated edge talk with his declared love of "fried chicken and 40 oz's." The quote has always stuck with me. 

3) Nashville Tennessee
I saw them at a pizza place in Nashville, sharing a bill with Depression (from ATL), Bracewar and locals Discontent and Hollywood. The place was barely bigger than a broom closet, but quite well attended. Boots played heel and covered "Foreign Job Lot", and I procured a Shark Attack "Feeding Frenzy" era shirt from a guy selling off his collection. That's where the joy ended though. I ended up getting in a huge fight with my Mom (LOL) on the drive back because I forgot to tell her where I'd be and the night ended on a bum note for everyone who bore witness to that conversation....

4) Richmond Virginia
I saw them that same year in Richmond on a bill I'll forever compare shows to (Cold World, Righteous Jams, Justice, War Hungry, etc) and at some point during Iron Boots' set, a fight broke out in the crowd. I don't know what the beef was over, but without missing a beat, the bassist began plunking out the riff from "Clobberin' Time." The timing rocked and it killed the fight when everyone started laughing. 

5) Skinhead Art
While the Justice Look Alive EP introduced me to Spoiler's illustration, I think the Iron Boots Skinhead stuff is practically definitive of that era. Very coveted shirts at one point and still some of my favorite work by Spoiler. 

6) EZ Green
A perfect 7" that doesn't get enough credit for being such a spectacular riff record. Yeah, they sounded a lot like Warzone, but that guitar work? Nary a wasted riff in those 4 tracks. Also, "Steam" reminds me of a Pressure Release song.

7) Ocarina of Time
I swear I read that the name was initially conceived in relation to the item in Zelda. Confirm/deny?

8) Bbizarre
For years, I thought that their track on the Rev comp was stylistically supposed to be called "Bbizarre." Nope. Turns out some doofus just mis-tagged it before uploading it on Soulseek. That's what I get for not buying it I guess. Cool that Boots got 2 tracks on that comp.

9) Praying at the Alter [sic] of Raybeez
I found this quip on a blog while doing some research. I can't make this stuff up.

10) The fabled Iron Boots LP
On the aforementioned blog, I found a little nugget about what happened with the LP that was in the works. Apparently it was to be released on Parts Unknown in the US/Powered in Europe. They recorded it twice because they didn't like the first session's production, and the second go-around, all their drum equipment was in storage. The songs were supposed to be the next logical step from Easy Green, but never got to see that official release. D'oh. For the whole interview and to read this nugget in its original context, visit the Soul Craft blog here. 

War Hungry : The 10 Best Songs (A Biased and Subjective Discussion)

Illustration: Dylan Chadwick.  A failed War Hungry shirt design

Whether I knew it at the time or not, War Hungry blew onto the scene with everything I wanted in a band. Great riffs culled distinctly from legit heavy metal, without being all corny or self-referential like some dumb Southern Lord beard band. I'm remarkably easy to please.

 "Riffs is riffs" as they say, and whether hardcore, metal or some other shit, them's far more important than a band's mosh quotient. I hate quoting Stigma so much (do I?), but I'd say each one of these selections speaks for itself.

 Stay tuned for the forthcoming "biased and subjective anecdotes on War Hungry" blog feat:

•  The unfortunate time I bugged them (via snail mail) to let me do a shirt graphic for them
•  The claim that their name is a reference to Lord of the Rings
• Pics and recollections of the time I saw them cover Black Sabbath's "Into the Void" for 8 seconds
• My favorite War Hungry shirt ever

Here are my top 10 Wungy tracks ever. No particular order (except chronologically), these are all bangers. Feel free to write to me and tell me I'm wrong for not including _____. (You can't). 

2004 Demo Tape

1. Plain Pine Box
Here's some titular greatness with a death obsession, i.e., the hardest TITLE of any War Hungry track period. Many riff changes here, but this author's fav comes at 1:20. 

2. Concrete Jungle 
Check out 0:23 when the riff gets just a little spacey. Peace to any band that can work in this many time n' tempo changes and without to twitchy Level-Plane records bullshit. Was working a Guns n' Roses lyric into the chorus a good decision, or a great decision?    

War is In demo tape

3. Echoes 

The beatdown riff that just keeps giving. When the rhythm section drops in at 0:30, this cut jumps from "heavy AF" to "hold up, that bassline...." Try and listen just a-once bucky. You cain't.  

Divine/Demonic 7"

4. Labors of Hercules

I once read this was Hoodrack's favorite song to play live, but this was from a blog posted a few years before the LP. I only saw them twice, but they opened with it both times. "Double DEAL-ARR!" Peace to tracks that stay hard even as they're fading out.

5. Beg & Plead

Heavy as hell (but that's a good thing) but pretty standard HC meat n' taters rockin...til 1:30 that is. The track slows to a GD crawl, and the sinewy riffing that unfolds around it must be experienced aurally to be adequately comprehended. 

Return to Earth EP

6. Master of Mankind 

Return to Earth (and most 1917 releases) already seem to be overlooked by contemporary core history. Methinks it's because of Guns Up or because the vocals got awful "Weiland-y" here. Was this that era when hardcore dudes were trying to get into Velvet Revolver? Not sure, but I still dug every track. It even edged out "Tip Your Scale" for containing the lyric "my friends are wicked and worthless" and the riff that kicks in directly after. 

  

Cold World/War Hungry split

7. Final Hour

From the "good side of the Cold World split" comes the band's most satisfying song. "Send me all your horsemen, make me believe," "send me your wrath, I pity your weak" and that piano and that riff. Oh, that riff. (1:25 if u real). 

Bad Seed/War Hungry Split

8. Empire of Idols Though the song did appear on the S/T LP, my fav is the recording which appeared on the Bad Seed split. It showcased that cool Danzig approach to singing, but also that ultra freaky fade out sample which prompted a heated debate with my family. Is it the Mormon Tabernacle Choir? They say yes. I say maybe. 

S/T LP 

9. Broken on the Wheel Lordy, when this LP dropped I wouldn't shut up about it. I even begged the staff at the magazine who employed me to let me write about it. The song summed up everything I loved about the band, including their awesome new gee-tar lineup, in just under 3 minutes. Note that little bit of groove, otherworldly soloing and the most insane vocal reverb of 2011 IMO.  

10. Shift  Yes it's a hardass track. Let's talk about the keyboard/Stone Temple Pilots "Wicked Garden" groove that goes down at 1:30. No wimps, please.