Radical Research Podcast

Liverpool, England’s Anathema are one of the bedrocks of the Radical Research musical adventure. It’s why we’ve chosen to commemorate our 150th episode with a two-part dive into their entire catalog, from the harrowing wretchedness of their early demo work to the graceful final statement of 2017’s The Optimist. We rejoice and weep, praise and cry, as we explore all of their 1990s output in episode 1 of this 2-part indulgence.

Note I:
As explained in this episode, we aren’t giving short shrift (whatever shrift is!) to the Eternity album. It’s just that we covered it in great detail on episode 125, which you can find right here: https://www.radicalresearch.org/episode-125-do-you-think-were-forever-anathemas-eternity/

Note II:
We’ve been doing this for years now, and after 150 episodes, Jeff still can’t get it right: the lack of fidelity on his voice in the first half of this episode is because he had the microphone backwards. He finally corrects this around minute 59. C’mon, Wagner, get with the program already!

Note III:
Jeff’s Voivod book, ‘Always Moving: The Strange Multiverse of Voivod,’ is now available. You can purchase a copy of the 540-page, 3-pound behemoth HERE: radicalresearch.org/voivod

Note IV:
The Radical Research Patreon page is now set up and ready for your patronage. We are offering tiered subscription levels for those who want a set-it-and-forget-it donation option. As ever, if you choose to support us, we are humbled and grateful! patreon.com/RadicalResearchPodcast

Music cited in order of appearance:
“The Lord of Mortal Pestilence” (An Iliad of Woes demo, 1990)
“At One With the Earth” (All Faith is Lost demo, 1991)
“…And I Lust” (The Crestfallen EP, 1992)
“Crestfallen” (The Crestfallen EP, 1992)
“Sweet Tears” (Serenades, 1993)
“Sleepless” (Serenades, 1993)
“We, the Gods” (Pentecost III, 1994)
“Memento Mori” (Pentecost III, 1994)
“Shroud of Frost” (The Silent Enigma, 1995)
“Cerulean Twilight” (The Silent Enigma, 1995)
“The Beloved” (Eternity, 1996)
“Re-Connect” (Alternative 4, 1998)
“Inner Silence” (Alternative 4, 1998)
“Pitiless” (Judgement, 1999)
“Judgement” (Judgement, 1999)
“Wings of God” (Judgement, 1999)

Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

It's back to Norway for Radical Research, although this time, it's not about weirdness, unless you consider us covering an album like this a little weird. But we adore this band, especially this 30-minute masterpiece. And for years, we’d talked of spotlighting Tell No Tales with none other than Bryon Dudley and Aaron Alcott of the excellent Hair Metal Memories podcast. We finally got down to business and in this episode, we dissect all the beauty, joy, audacity and high, higher, highest of this great band’s greatest album. This collaboration felt really natural, and we might do another one with these guys, dudes who aren’t quite at opposite poles as much as one might assume. As Aaron says here, Tell No Tales is “something that should be known beyond the borders of its genre.”

Note I:
Led by two gentlemen well-versed in a wide variety of music genres, we encourage our listeners to check out Hair Metal Memories, which explores the genre with nerdy passion and a fresh, informed perspective it rarely receives.
Find them here: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/hair-metal-memories/

Note II:
Jeff’s Voivod book, ‘Always Moving: The Strange Multiverse of Voivod,’ is now available. You can purchase a copy of the 540-page, 3-pound behemoth HERE: radicalresearch.org/voivod

Note III:
The Radical Research Patreon page is now set up and ready for your patronage. We are offering tiered subscription levels for those who want a set-it-and-forget-it donation option. As ever, if you choose to support us, we are humbled and grateful! patreon.com/RadicalResearchPodcast

Music cited in order of appearance:
[all snippets from TNT, Tell No Tales (1987)]
“Everyone’s a Star”
“10,000 Lovers (in One)”
“As Far As the Eye Can See”
“Sapphire”
“Child’s Play”
“Listen to Your Heart”
“Desperate Night”
“Northern Lights”
“Tell No Tales”

Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

What exactly constitutes "Radical Research material?" We're gonna test that question with this and the next episode. With episode 148, we answer with more questions: "Is it weird?" "Is it heavy?" "Is it something we enjoy?" "Would most of the music-listening world hate it?" Yes, yes, yes and yes! And lord, do we love us some Cathedral. Especially the early era, which is the 5-year chunk of time investigated here. Herein, we hail Dorrian, Gaz, Griffiths, Lehan and the three drummers that comprise this most potent, powerful era of the UK's legendary lords of doom.

Note I:
Something we knew about but failed to mention on this episode: even though the roots of Cathedral are partly based on the fateful meeting of doom-heads Lee Dorrian and Mark Griffiths, it is also rooted in a project that guitarist Gary “Gaz” Griffiths did after leaving Acid Reign. The following is from the mighty Metal Archives, to help fill in the gap here: “Morbid Doom recorded a demo entitled ‘Sorrow's Epitaph’ in late 1989 or early '90, which contained about 9 songs. Two of the tracks on it would later become Cathedral songs: ‘Sorrows End’ became ‘Jaded Entity", and ‘Suffocation of Mankind’ became ‘Phantasmagoria.’ The reworked/re-recorded versions of both ended up on 1993's The Ethereal Mirror album.”

Note II:
Jeff’s Voivod book, ‘Always Moving: The Strange Multiverse of Voivod,’ is now available. You can purchase a copy of the 540-page, 3-pound behemoth HERE: radicalresearch.org/voivod

Note III:
The Radical Research Patreon page is now set up and ready for your patronage. We are offering tiered subscription levels for those who want a set-it-and-forget-it donation option. As ever, if you choose to support us, we are humbled and grateful! patreon.com/RadicalResearchPodcast

Music cited in order of appearance:
“Mourning of a New Day” (In Memorium demo, 1990)
“Commiserating the Celebration” (Forest of Equilibrium, 1991)
“Equilibrium” (Forest of Equilibrium, 1991)
“Reaching Happiness, Touching Pain” (Forest of Equilibrium, 1991)
“Soul Sacrifice” (Soul Sacrifice, 1992)
“Autumn Twilight” (Soul Sacrifice, 1992)
“Enter the Worms” (The Ethereal Mirror, 1993)
“Fountain of Innocence” (The Ethereal Mirror, 1993)
“Phantasmagoria” ” (The Ethereal Mirror, 1993)
“Hypnos 164” (Statik Majik, 1994)
“Cosmic Funeral” (Statik Majik, 1994)
“Voyage of the Homeless Sapien” (Statik Majik, 1994)

Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

The scope of Kevin Moore’s genius begins with Dream Theater’s “Space-Dye Vest” and concludes with OSI’s Fire Make Thunder. We try to use the g-word sparingly around here, but truly, Moore’s singular artistic vision is something we attempt to hail and dissect here, for our 147th episode. Join us in celebrating this specific, singular talent.

Note I:
Hunter mentions “library music” in response to Chroma Key’s music on the Graveyard Mountain Home album. You can learn more about library music here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_music

Note II:
The story we relate from Chris Warunki, at this end of this episode, about his very lucrative sale of Kevin Moore’s pre-Chroma Key release, This is a Recording: Demos 1994-97, is given evidence here:
https://www.discogs.com/release/4238872-Kevin-Moore-This-Is-A-Recording-Demos-1994-97

Note III:
Jeff’s Voivod book, ‘Always Moving: The Strange Multiverse of Voivod,’ is now available. You can purchase a copy of the 540-page, 3-pound behemoth HERE: radicalresearch.org/voivod

Note IV:
The Radical Research Patreon page is now set up and ready for your patronage. We are offering tiered subscription levels for those who want a set-it-and-forget-it donation option. As ever, if you choose to support us, we are humbled and grateful! patreon.com/RadicalResearchPodcast

Music cited in order of appearance:
Dream Theater, “Ytse Jam” (When Dream and Day Unite, 1989)
Dream Theater, “Wait for Sleep” (Images and Words, 1992)
Dream Theater, “Space-Dye Vest” (Awake, 1994)
Kevin Moore, “Space-Dye Vest” (demo, 1994)
Fates Warning, “A Pleasant Shade of Gray, Part VIII” (A Pleasant Shade of Gray, 1997)
Chroma Key, “Colorblind” (Dead Air for Radios, 1998)
Chroma Key, “On the Page” (Dead Air for Radios, 1998)
Chroma Key, “Astronaut Down” (You Go Now, 2000)
Chroma Key, “Come In, Over” (Graveyard Mountain Home, 2004)
OSI, “Hello, Helicopter” (Office of Strategic Influence, 2003)
OSI, “Go” (Free, 2006)
OSI, “Terminal” (Blood, 2009)
OSI, “Radiologue” (Blood, 2009)

Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

Our friends Marty and Alan at the Heavy Metallurgy podcast challenged us to a duel, and we fire back. The idea was simple: Offer five different albums, any genre, to cover on an episode. Of their five, we chose the only non-metal album, the stunning, beloved 1983 debut Script of the Bridge by English band, The Chameleons. How did Heavy Metallurgy handle our challenge? Find out here: https://www.youtube.com/live/BnrwkIqJ7OU?si=GHex4X8mqILUSQXn

Note I:
Jeff’s Voivod book, ‘Always Moving: The Strange Multiverse of Voivod,’ is now available. You can purchase a copy of the 540-page, 3-pound behemoth HERE: radicalresearch.org/voivod

Note II:
The Radical Research Patreon page is now set up and ready for your patronage. We are offering tiered subscription levels for those who want a set-it-and-forget-it donation option. As ever, if you choose to support us, we are humbled and grateful! patreon.com/RadicalResearchPodcast

Music cited in order of appearance:
all snippets from The Chameleons, Script of the Bridge (1983)
“Don’t Fall”
“Here Today”
“Monkeyland”
“Second Skin”
“Up the Down Escalator”
“Less Than Human”
“Thursday’s Child”
“A Person Isn’t Safe Anywhere These Days”
“Paper Tigers”
“View From a Hill”

Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.