Its almost time. One of the most elusive social gatherings over the last two years, a music festival, is about to happen in Louisville. Fingers crossed. But, before you head to Louder Than Life a four-day fest featuring hard rock, metal and hip-hop from Sept. 23-26 on Highland Festival Grounds at the Kentucky Exposition Center we have some homework for you. From classic albums from Metallica and Judas Priest to the brand new Turnstile record, heres what you need to listen to before you go. They are listed in chronological order, with festival set times at the end. For the full lineup and tickets, visit louderthanlifefestival.com.
Janes Addiction - Nothings Shocking (1988)
This album exemplified the pure might that was possible from Janes Addiction as a band, but also the mood of a generation. It was pissed off and took up an amazing amount of room whenever you listened to it. From the first notes of Up the Beach, it is more than apparent that this album is going to be a whole mood to put it plainly. It remains a beast, 34 years later. It was the kind of album that defined a period in your life. When you hear it, even now, youll return good or bad to the exact moment you heard it first, and immediately youll recall the cover art with the nude, flaming twins. This record was a thumbtack for anyone who heard it at the end of the 80s. It perfectly captured the end of the era of excess and, truly, for me, set the tone for the coming decade. Despite the L.A. roots, it shook off any connection to the 80s hair band music and dug deep into the grit and filth of life in a big place. It sat the listener firmly on the ground and teased you with the darkness. What is essentially the title track, Ted, Just Admit It, is the perfect example of this. With the guitar work of Dave Navarro, paired with singer Perry Farrell screaming Sex is violent, this song is a moment that truly sits opposite so much of the late 80s tits and spandex world: Show me everybody / naked and disfigured / nothing shocking. This song exemplifies the album and the rage the band feels at the lack of separation between media for entertainment and media for information. Generation X is a generation that questioned, quite loudly, why the status quo was the status quo and fought back against the free-love, daisies and buttercups of their parents hippie generation. This is the first generation to come of age during the HIV/AIDS crisis, so free love was never an option. Sex, in the way it was presented in media, was often irresponsible, and, for women in particular, it was violent. This album is a consciousness on its own. Other notable tracks: Ocean Size, Mountain Song, Idiots Rule and Pigs in Zen and, yes, obviously Jane Says. Erica RuckerJanes Addiction performs at 8:10 p.m. on Friday.
Judas Priest - Painkiller (1990)
Sure, just about anyone can name you at least one of Judas Priests cache of hits, but what they probably dont know is that none of the biggest ones were on their 1990 masterpiece, Painkiller. But it doesnt change the fact that, among true Priest fans, its one of their most lauded. If you cant tell what kind of badassery youre about to enter from the album cover alone a metallic, winged angel/daredevil jumping a pit of hell on a motorcycle made from a dragon with buzzsaw wheels youve got problems. Of course, Priest was considered a heavy metal act long before Painkiller (its their 12th studio album) but it became their stomping ground to prove how metal they truly were. The result: an album that is the absolute definition of a tour de force. Filled with uber-melodic, yet virtuoso level guitar technicality courtesy of K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton, drums that literally sound like anvil strikes and a never-ending smorgasbord of Rob Halford banshee squalls, and most importantly a no-holds barred headbanging ferocity, the record hits hard. Yet, despite this, Painkiller still delivers a pleasant melodic listening experience complete with monster-sized choruses as hook-y as any pop song although a wee bit scarier. From the squealing whiplash opening of the titular Painkiller, to the driving metal-pop of Between The Hammer & The Anvil to the frighteningly demonic A Touch Of Evil, Priest, thankfully, made zero effort to soften their mighty sonic blows. It is, after all, the only kind of tribute the metal gods acknowledge. Tyrel KessingerJudas Priest performs at 7:15 p.m. on Sunday.
Cypress Hill - Black Sunday (1993)
Seeing as how Kentucky is the historical motherland when it comes to the cultivation of cannabis in North America, it is rather fitting that a group of the crops most outspoken advocates (and earliest promoters of lifting the proscription against both industrial hemp and marijuana) will return to the area this weekend as part of the Louder Than Life festival. To be sure, Cypress Hill, which takes its name from a seedy street in an L.A. neighborhood, came on strong when it first appeared on the hip-hop landscape of the early 1990s. But even in its heyday, the enigmatic ensemble was something of a mixed bag, known largely for presenting an aggressive assortment of stoned beats and in-your-face lyrics to a crossover audience of predominantly white, MTV-watching college kids. That approach led to grumbling among rap purists that never really subsided, but it also ensured massive amounts of short-term success for the crew. While its 1991 debut release is super-solid, the Latin-flavored blunt-burning band would deliver what is arguably its peak performance in the studio on its sophomore album, Black Sunday. Replete with intentionally ominous-looking cover art (by 1993 standards, at least) and a selection of songs that includes such all-time fan favorites as, I Wanna Get High, I Aint Goin Out Like That, When the Shit Goes Down and Insane in the Brain, this LP is your best bet for sourcing a vintage record with enduring appeal from B-Real and the boys. Kevin M. WilsonCypress Hill performs at 6:45 p.m. on Thursday.
Metallica - Metallica (1991)
Like a lot of albums that sold more than 20 millions copies, two things hold true about Metallicas 1991 self-titled album, usually referred to as The Black Album: 1) Unless you live in that weird replica of Noahs Ark in rural Kentucky that the state government gave a bunch of tax breaks to, youve heard at least three songs from this album. 2) It pissed a lot of hardcore fans off. Instead of the bands visceral production and general headfirst studio style, The Black Album is significantly more measured, melodic and straightforward. Although its still soaked in darkness and explosive, the ambitious and enormous chest-beating radio juggernaut featured era-defining riffs and a newfound sense of controlled and poise, catapulting the band from greasy thrashers to pop culture overlords. Its hard for the cool kids to not cold shoulder their favorite band when the latest album becomes the soundtrack for middle-aged dads working on cars, but, retroactively, even though its hard to appoint it Metallicas best album, its almost impossible to throw the iconic metal album into the sometimes-assigned sell-out territory: Theres too much bite, substance and distinctiveness. Revisit it, front to back, something you probably havent done in years. Three decades later, it still hits Scott ReckerMetallica performs at 9:15 p.m. on Friday and at 8:20 p.m. on Sunday.
Turnstile - GLOW ON (2021)
The Louder Than Life limelight usually shines heavily on the established icons, the radio notables that define the soundtrack of the Cumulus highways, but look a little closer at the lineup, and dig a little deeper, and you can find contemporary bands on the cutting edge. And Turnstiles brand new record, GLOW ON, might be the most innovative, ambitious and important heavy record of the year, taking a hardcore base and morphing it into a genre-jumping adventure that never loses sight of the passion and intensity that defines the bands style and mission. They still got the prowess to make the kids go bat-shit, but, on GLOW ON, they finally have successfully achieved the full throttle crossover that theyve been aiming for over the past few years theres an unpredictable roller coaster of ideas, but its all glued together by charisma and intensity. Above all, even with a truly great record, Turnstile is a live band. And not one youll want to miss. Scott ReckerTurnstile performs at 5:55 p.m. on Friday.
Keep Louisville interesting and support LEO Weekly by subscribing to our newsletter here. In return, youll receive news with an edge and the latest on where to eat, drink and hang out in Derby City.