I’m not a music afficianado (like Aaron Friday) and I don’t confess to having a particularly wide knowledge of the heavy metal genre but I do enjoy listening to it while lifting.  In fact, if you know the genre well (like Mike T Nelson) then please feel free to leave me some suggestions in the comments! 

These are my random thoughts on music that I have enjoyed in the past and songs I hope to enjoy in the future…

Songs I have enjoyed in the past

Rage Against the Machine (RATM): Killing in the Name.  I grew up with this music so it feels comfortable to me.  Most of the RATM albums are great because they don’t take long for people to get into.  So they make a good compromise if there are people squabbling over the CD-player in the gym.  Obviously that doesn’t work if you’re into techno, like Tony Gentilcore, however…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkuOAY-S6OY

Disturbed: Shout.  This is possibly my favourite track for squatting to.  It has a unique, driving beat to it that really focuses my mind in the right place and psychs me up.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTPFlwZ6gmI

Slayer: Reign in blood.  This has to be the best track to turn on when you walk into the gym and need to switch from “work mode” to “lifting mode”.  The monster riff at the beginning really draws you into the right mindset and then the drums kick off and it’s all in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyBIkEeogq4

Metallica: Enter sandman.  Another track famous for its opening riff.  As a guitarist, I have to confess that I do have a preference for riff-based songs.  Anyway, it’s a great track to get you in the mood while you’re setting up or doing assistance work.  I find it a bit tame for really hammering out big lifts, though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY3LAFJbKyY

Audioslave: Shadow on the Sun.  Audioslave combines the frontman from Soundgarden with the instrumentalists from Rage Against the Machine (RATM).  It’s not as angry and in-your-face as RATM but there is more attention to melody and how the songs develop.  I have to confess I don’t listen to it all that much.  I suppose Audioslave is my back up option, if someone objects to RATM.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL678Ci3gOI

Evanescence: Going under.  This is far and away my favourite track for deadlifting to (and the rest of the album would be runner-up).  It captures that moment of quiet before the storm.  That moment where everything is still and you take a moment of calm before unleashing everything you’ve got to rip the weight off the floor and grind it up to waist height.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdhqVtpR2ts

Motorhead: Ace of spades.  If I haven’t got my trusty Slayer album to hand then Motorhead does as a secondary choice for getting me in the right mood after I’ve been “polite” to people all day.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4y2nzXNjP4

Rammstein: Du hast (or du hasst?).  I was in two minds about whether to confess to listening to Rammstein. as they tend to get quite a mixed reception.  The beat in this song really flicks a switch for me, though, when I’ve got a big lift coming up.  Having some German helps, too…   

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyNi56YqiS4

Songs I hope to enjoy in the future

Disturbed: Asylum.  I can’t wait until the new Disturbed album comes out later this year.  Then I can fill up my three-CD changer in the garage just with Disturbed CDs and that will really wind Anna up…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV1WRHYAgEE

KoRn: III Remember who you are.  I blow hot and cold with KoRn.  Sometimes I really gel with it and sometimes I get bored quite quickly.  If this track is representative of the album and represents a movement back to their earlier stuff then I will be happy.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AS7R866Lf0

Parkway Drive: Deep blue. This isn’t a band that I know at all well but having listened to some of the demos of this upcoming album, it sounds like it could be a great training album!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaxRQdWYSNE 

And if you’re interested in keeping up to date with similar music as it comes out, check out Metal Hammer (and in particular this review of ten great albums coming  this summer).