I've realized why it's such a rabbit punch to my heart every time Kierstedt states that Black Sabbath is classic rock only, not metal, or some related sass. Even if he likes Black Sabbath's (very imitative but majestic & invaluable) stoner metal progeny, like Sleep & Electric Wizard and all them godsends, rejecting actual Sabbath means that at a fundamental level he rejects the to me obvious truth that metal gets heavier the more you slow it down. In some unions you've got Democrat v. Republican at permanent unamiable loggerheads; in this one you've got Doom v. Thrash, and it's no less foundation-threatening. How SILly, Lord. And yet I will not ever renounce endless bickering about subgenres*, not ever, hear?

*and sub-sub, easy, and sub-sub-sub not at all out of reach

Additionally: Even after accounting for my pathetically damp-eyed (and -elsewhered) Battleship fandom, surely even a nonfan might agree that this photo is seriously exceptional and would belong in a coffeetable book of punk rock photography were such books not a bunch of bullshit:



I saved this photo, creepily stolen from Battleship's MySpace page, to my desktop as oh Aleks SERIOUSLY.jpg, and I think that understates it.