Tradewinds, Sea Bright, NJ..... Catherine Wheel exploded onto the music world in 1992 with a 7-minute rock opus called "Black Metallic." This song synthesized the dance-rock of the Stone Roses, the moody riffing of Sisters of Mercy, and the simplified indie coarseness of the Jesus & Mary Chain into one epic expression of loosely-opaque lyrics. Its effect was anthemic on the alt-rock crowd, still reeling in the months after "Smells Like Teen Spirit" has dashed previous anthems to splinters. The band recognized the power of returning to full volume after its 90-second breakdown section, which stripped everything down to drums plus a little lead guitar and vocal noodling. The crashing conclusion of this breakdown was the song's secret weapon, the stunning amendment to the dance-rock Constitution put forth by the Stone Roses and ultimately the missing ingredient to "Fools Gold." I never had a chance to see the band live during the years immediately fol...
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