5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #181

5 Songs to Get You Through the Week is a feature I run on Young Ears, Fresh Perspective on Sundays/early hours of Monday morning where I pick out 5 tunes that I think are notable and tell you a bit about them. The point is to give you some rocking music to help you deal with your weekday blues. You can either listen to one each day, listen to them all at once, or any other combination that you feel. As long as you can get through the week without the man getting you down, that's all I care about. Without further ado, here are the 5 tracks I've picked out for this week:

1. Watching Over, by Greta Van Fleet

This is the new single that came out last week from the upcoming debut album of Greta Van Fleet. It's a little more interesting than some of the other stuff I have heard them do, but at the end of the day they still sound and look as though they are just trying to be Led Zeppelin. Personally I find the vocals on this to be a bit screechy for my taste, but I'll let you be the judge. That said, you had best believe that when that album does drop next month I will be doing a serious in depth review on it.

2. Good Thing Gone, by Elle King

Pop/soul/rock/country/whatever she wants I guess sensation Elle King also has a new album coming out in the not too distant future. This is another single from it, and honestly I like it better than all of the other songs I have heard her put out lately. It's a laid back, softer blues guitar driven ballad. It's like a 60's pop ballad, but with a bit more soul in the vocals and instrumental flavor. I like that there is still someone like Elle King around there who brings this kind of old school soul, passion, and authenticity to her music.

3. South of Heaven, by Slayer

And now for something completely different. A little bit of thrash metal is always good to get your blood pumping and your head banging. This song is one of their hallmarked classics, and for good reason. It is chocked full of dark, foreboding atmosphere all throughout and you feel like if you look over your shoulder you will see fire and brimstone. I put it on whenever I want to feel spooked or need to get myself pumped up. Also, if you are one of those older folks who get scared of Satan, Slayer is NOT a Satanic band and they do not condone worshiping him. The bassist and singer Tom Araya is actually a devout Catholic.

4. The Ghoul, by Pentagram

If you want a dark heavy metal song with atmosphere though, this is one of the best ones you could possibly go with. No, it's not about Satan worship. None of Pentagram's songs are. With that out of the way, this song is brimming with spooky atmosphere. It is big, heavy, dark doom metal, but played in a way that I have never quite heard before. The riffs are so tasty and intriguing. They are so grinding and crusty that it makes me shiver in delight.

5. Gotten, by Slash feat. Adam Levine

This is a rather chilled out modern Beatles-esque ballad of sorts. Adam's voice is smooth, colorful, yet passionate nonetheless and Slash plays some of the best clean guitar I've ever heard him play. I have a very specific memory attached to this song, though. It was maybe 2 or 3 in the morning and I had just gotten out from a really bad date with a girl I'd had a crush on for a year and a half. I put this song on in my car and somehow everything just clicked. It was one of those perfect moments, even though it was a sad one.