Deep Cuts

DREAM TOUR/SETLIST: MASTODON, FAILURE & CAVE IN

We all have made lists of bands we’d love to see tour together. The endless possibilities that are out there make for some pretty amazing ideas. There’s one idea I’ve had for quite a while now that I’ve finally put together. I’ve long had this idea in my mind for years, that a Mastodon tour with Failure would be absolutely mind blowing. What a compelling one / two punch. To completely put this tour over the top would be to add Cave In as the opening act.

Each band is phenomenal on their own. Then you combine all three under one venue and you’ve got a recipe for a sonic experience your mind will never forget. Each bands set is full of songs you love and choice deep cuts that you’d not expect.

Here’s how it would all play out.

Venue: Long Beach Arena

Cave In Set List:

01) Blood Spiller

02) Jupiter

03) Halo Of Flies

04) Trepanning

05) Floating Skulls

06) Droned

07) Juggernaut

08) Big Riff

09) New Moon

Failure Set List:

01) Submarines

02) Let It Drip

03) Distorted Fields

04) Halo and Grain

05) A.M. Amnesia

06) Sergeant Politeness

07) Counterfeit Sky

08) The Air’s On Fire

09) Stuck On You

10) Another Space Song

11) Daylight

12) Hot Traveler

13) Heliotropic

Mastodon Set List:

01) March Of The Fire Ants

02) Pushing The Tides

03) Naked Burn

04) Sleeping Giant

05) Oblivion

06) Dagger

07) Thickening

08) Asleep In The Deep

09) The Czar

10) The Crux

11) Hunters Of The Sky

12) Ember City

13) Steambreather

Encore:

14) Blood And Thunder

15) Ghost Of Karelia

16) Jaguar God

And Here’s The Whole Thing In Playlist Form:

DEEP CUTS: KILLSWITCH ENGAGE- WE CARRY ON

During my album deep dive into Killswitch Engage, I was quickly reminded of a song of theirs that is truly one of the best in their entire repertoire. For this one we go back to the band’s 2016 album, Incarnate, and find it at track eleven, “We Carry On.”

“We Carry On” what a song! There’s a deeply impassioned vocal performance by singer/lyricist, Jesse Leach throughout the album but, when you get to this song in the course of listening, there’s just something truly remarkable. The weight of the lyrics bellow out of Jesse’s heart into direct hit of optimism and hope. Guiding this vocal is music that hits the right melancholic notes with just the right amount of heaviness to push through the wall and make it past it all.

Songs like this are magnetic and beautiful. I distinctly recall when I bought this CD back in 2016 (Happy Ten Year Anniversary!! By the way), I put it on my stereo at home, grabbed my headphones, went to my favorite spot, pressed play and read the lyrics as I listened. When I got to “We Carry On” there was an instant connection to the song. One of those gems that deep in the track listing.

As great as this song is, it’s only been played live four times. And all in 2023. You lucky 4 shows! Just going to put this out in the universe to put “We Carry On” in the setlist going forward!! It’s too damn good not to play it!

Killswitch Engage- We Carry On:

DEEP CUTS: NINE INCH NAILS- IN TWO

Nine Inch Nails are one of those bands that truly have masterful deep cuts. You can go through each album and find premium choice cuts all throughout. Hesitation Marks is a great example of a Nine Inch Nails album with amazing deep cuts. I’ve recently been diving deeper into this record and it’s been quite the trip. The latter half of the album contains my favorite song off the record in “Various Methods Of Escape” but, that’s not the song that has been compelled to write this. The song that peaked my thought process on this was “In Two.” What a song! The way the quiet synth layers open the song, then sway into the drum loops and pulsating bass mixed with the delicate piano is slightly hypnotic. Then you add in the vocals which compliment all the dynamic parts so perfectly. The lyrics match the music in the best way possible. It’s also noteworthy to mention that Adrien Belew of King Crimson and Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac play guitar on this song. One other stupendous aspect of “In Two” is how the ending flows so well into “While I’m Still Here.” Seriously, you can’t go wrong with Hesitation Marks!

Nine Inch Nails- In Two (Album Version):

Nine Inch Nails- In Two (Live Version):

NEW RELEASE: KILLED BY DEAF- A PUNK TRIBUTE TO MOTORHEAD

Motörhead! That’s the article! Just kidding! In celebration of the legendary Motörhead’s 50th anniversary in 2025, a new compilation/tribute album has been released featuring 14 punk rock greats to honor the loudest band on Earth with a new tribute album: Killed By Deaf: A Punk Tribute to Motörhead. Motörhead was always one of those bands that could crossover with the punk and metal crowds. So it’s quite fun to hear all these bands pay tribute to one of the bands that really started it all. Classic and newer punk bands like Rancid, Pennywise, The Bronx, Lagwagon, Fear, GBH, The Damned, and Slaughterhouse rightfully put their spin on these seminal tracks. Yes, there are classic songs like “Ace Of Spades” and “Born To Raise Hell” but, the really cool part of this record is the deeper cut song choices. I really have to say Rancid’s version of “Sex & Death” is absolutely superb. Lars Frederickson of Rancid is a giant Motörhead fan and it shows through in a great fashion! Closing out the record is a collaboration between Motörhead and The Damned on the song “Neat Neat Neat.” Take a few minutes and celebrate the awesomeness of Motörhead and dig into these tracks and discover something you might have missed along the way!

Track Listing:

1. Ace of Spades (Pennywise)

2. Sex & Death (Rancid)

3. Over the Top (The Bronx)

4. Rock ‘n’ Roll (Lagwagon)

5. The Chase Is Better Than The Catch (Fear)

6. Bomber (GBH)

7. Stay Clean (Murphy’s Law)

8. Love Me Like a Reptile (Slaughterhouse)

9. The Hammer (The Casualties)

10. Born to Raise Hell (Anti-Nowhere League)

11. No Voices in the Sky (Love Canal)

12. Overkill (Soldiers of Destruction)

13. Iron Fist (Wisdom in Chains)

14. Neat Neat Neat (Motörhead & The Damned)

Killed By Deaf- A Punk Tribute To Motörhead:

TITLE TRACKS: TOOL- UNDERTOW

I have an interesting theory on title tracks. More often than not, the title track on an album is a deeper cut, towards the end of the album. My theory is that the “title track” is a bit of a summation of what the album encompasses. It could be musically, lyrically, thematic or the all around tonality of what the album is about. There are quite a few bands that do this on a consistent basis and I quite enjoy it. One of those bands is Tool. They have successfully done this three times (Undertow, Aenima and Lateralus). As much as I love “Lateralus” I really have to say “Undertow” might just be the best of the three. The song itself has a lot of different vibes to it. You have the heavy aspects, the syncopated rhythms, but the more progressive elements mixed with a bit of psychedelia puts this one over. “Undertow” is a song you can get lost in and it’s placement in the album sequence really lets the song become its own entity. I’m glad to see that “Undertow” made it back into the set list the past few years. More songs off of the album itself need to be played live. Less Fear Inoculum and more of the songs not played enough!!

Tool- Undertow:

DEEP CUTS: HIGH ON FIRE- KING FOR DAYS

My friend and podcast co-host Justin, recently went to Sacramento to the Aftershock festival (Check out his recap HERE). While he was there and we were chatting he mentioned he was going to check out High On Fire. Both of us haven’t seen them in a long time and Justin said they were fantastic. So naturally, while chatting about the band, I had a song pop in my head and it’s been playing on repeat and it’s a perfect deep cut! High On Fire if you don’t know are one hell of a band. They are one of the best at Stoner/Sludge Metal while at the same time having elements of Thrash and Doom. The song I’m focusing on comes from their 2012 album De Vermis Mysteriis, and it’s an epic track too, “King For Days.” Clocking in at a little over seven minutes, “King For Days” gives you quite the spectrum of awesomeness. Enjoy this track and check out more of High On Fire.

High On Fire- King For Days:

DEEP CUTS: NINE INCH NAILS- PLEASE

Those that know me know I’m a GIANT Nine Inch Nails fan. I could write pages about why they are my favorite band but, I’ll save that for another day or even for a future podcast episode. The Fragile is my all time favorite album. Ever since it came out in 1999 it has yet to leave my constant rotation and it’s one of those albums I find is a warm blanket record. There are so many great songs found throughout the album. There is maybe one song that I skip (Star Fuckers Inc.) but, for the most part I don’t. The other day while listening to the full album, I found myself stuck on one song in particular and that would be the song “Please.” This song is so damn good and one of those that I wish would be played live a lot more. One of the other cool things about “Please” is the layers and textures of the instrumentation found throughout. And for those of you like me that are rabid NIN fans, depending on what version you have (CD or Vinyl) part of the song “10 Miles High” can be found at the beginning or the end of the song. Since Nine Inch Nails are touring again and I will be at both Los Angeles shows in Sepetember, lets put this out in the universe and see if we can make it happen “PLEASE!!!!!”

Nine Inch Nails- Please:

Deep Cuts: Stone Temple Pilots- Adhesive

There are certain albums in a bands catalog that often times get over looked. One such album that I’ve found has gone overlooked and is quite underrated is Stone Temple Pilots third album, Tiny Music… From The Vatican Gift Shop. If you were to ask me my favorite STP album, I’d immediately say Purple would be it with Core being a close second. Though the more I delve into Tiny Music, the more it keeps moving up the ladder and is fast becoming my second favorite STP album. There are a plethora of great songs on the album with one in particular that always seems to grab me, and that song would be “Adhesive.” Each time I listen to this song I get swept away by it. The vocals and melody of Scott is otherworldly. Musically, Robert, Dean and Eric created a whole vibe with this song. It’s one of those songs that you can listen to at any time and it just feels right.

Stone Temple Pilots- Adhesive:

Deep Cuts: Nine Inch Nails- La Mer

My all time favorite album is The Fragile by Nine Inch Nails. It’s an absolute masterpiece and then some. Truly, it’s one of those albums that the more you listen, it always sounds impeccable. There are a batch of song I could focus on for this topic but, I thought I’d pin point one song that I’ve always had a deep admiration for and that song would be “La Mer” which can be found as Track 11 on Disc 1. “La Mer” is a really poignant song within the whole of The Fragile. The song itself was conceived during a very dark period in Trent’s life. While on stage in 2009 he disclosed that he had rented a house at the time of the making of The Fragile, on an ocean with the external intent to write some music, but in reality had contemplated suicide there. This song was the only song to come out of that time and place. He still feels strange playing it live because it serves as a reminder of this period. And each time it’s played live there is a feeling that sails from the stage to the audience that gives you chills when you least expect it. There are a few different versions of the song with each one giving you a bit of a different listening experience and vibe. I highly recommend checking the other ones out.

Nine Inch Nails- La Mer (Album Version):

La Mer (Alternate Version found on Deviations I):

La Mer (Jerome Dillon & Keith Hillebrandt Mix):

Deep Cuts: Deftones- When Girls Telephone Boys

The other day I saw that it’s the 20th anniversary of Deftones 2003 self titled album. I remember the day it came out, it was also the same day as Metallica’s St. Anger! When I went to listen to the album, it’s been quite a minute since I have, I quickly remembered an old favorite song and went straight for it and that song would be “When Girls Telephone Boys.” This song is one hell of a gem. It’s got everything I like about the band in one and live?! Oh, it’s a beast that goes off! I’m just gonna keep it short and simple, enjoy this song!

Deftones- When Girls Telephone Boys: