See how these thrash revivalists keep it simple and savage.
Thrash metal has seen a resurgence since its ’80s heyday. Megadeth earned a Grammy for their 2016 album Dystopia, and very recently Stranger Things’ brave headbanger Eddie Munson brandished a B.C. Rich Warlock for a literally death-defying performance of Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” that catapulted the song into widespread pop-culture consciousness. But for metal purists, Municipal Waste and their cofounding guitarist Ryan Waste, plus their track record of seven mosh-motivating albums over the past 21 years, prove the genre’s brand of battle-axe riffery wasn’t a fad. Sure, the band’s sound has diversified the artform with the subtle incorporation of hardcore breakdowns and punk-rock-like choruses—but everything is still in fifth-gear, baby!
Ahead of their headlining show at Nashville’s Basement East on August 10, PG’s Perry Bean jumped onstage to talk gear. Guitarists Waste and Nick “Nikropolis” Poulos prove they can travel light but stay lethal with a few riff-makers, gassed-up Marshalls, and some green and yellow Japanese drives.
Brought to you by D’Addario Nexxus 360 Tuner.
The Flying M
Ryan Waste is a left-handed shredder and has been plagued his entire career with the limited availability of southpaw speed machines—especially in traditional “metal” models. (He states in the Rundown that Municipal Waste’s early work was recorded on a Strat.) So, what’s the best workaround? Collaborate with a company to build your signature model.
This MW-AX from RIP Custom Guitars is the fifth iteration of his sig. Specs include a mahogany body, a mahogany set neck with a C-shape profile that’s paired with an ebony fretboard that has a 12"-16" compound-radius and 24 Dunlop 6100 jumbo frets. It has a roomier 25.5" scale length, the band’s logo sits at the 12th fret, there are Gotoh tuners up top, a Kahler 2300 Tremolo that unlocks dive bombs, a MEC kill switch for muting, and it screams thanks to a Seymour Duncan JB Trembucker. There’s no volume or tone knobs because, as Waste puts it in the Rundown: “It’s all or nothing, man. That’s me.”
Tower of Terror
“It’s over the top,” admits Waste. “We keep it OTT [laughs].” This slice-n-dice 6-string stays laced up with Ernie Ball Slinkys (.10–.46) and the band exclusively plays in standard tuning. It leans against Waste’s altar of tone. The cabs with the band’s logo are empty and light up, but the other Marshall 4x12s are loaded with Celestion Vintage 30s. Scroll down to learn about the JCM800.
A Marshall with More
Waste has plugged into plenty of heads throughout his career, but he’s never felt more at home than when this 100W 1986 Marshall JCM800 2203 is roaring behind him. The classic head has been supercharged with the V2 preamp socket mod (with the bass setting), giving the 800 a lot more gas and gain.
Green Means Go
Ryan doesn’t waste time with an actual board. As you can see, he’s got an Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer (that’s always on) and a Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner—keeping it simple and savage.
A Shred Plank
“These guitars are great for this kind of music,” states Municipal Waste lead stringer Nick Poulos. “They’re shred planks.” Poulos pieced this custom ride together using the base ingredients of an Ibanez RG model, upgraded with DiMarzio pickups and Ibanez’s Edge Zero II tremolo. He rocks Ernie Ball Slinkys (.10–.046) just like Waste.
Master Marshall
Poulos plugs into this 50W 1988 Marshall JCM800 2205 dual-channel head with master controls for presence, volume, and reverb.
Stacks Are Back!
And here’s an impressive look at Poulos powerful riff station, showcasing a similar setup to Waste’s—with two cabs ready to sting and the other two ready to bling.
Nick Poulos’ Pedalboard
Poulos is Municipal Waste’s “pedal guy,” having a proper board and three stompboxes. He runs his guitar into a Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner before it hits an Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer for rhythm tones, and a Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive gets engaged for solos.
“I am thrilled to announce the launch of The Collection: Kirk Hammett. I’ve worked diligently on this curated collection of vintage and modern guitars for the book. I feel the book captures the rich history and artistry behind each of these unique and rare instruments. Every picture tells a story and thanks to Ross Halfin and his exceptional photography, every picture in this book is worth a million words! This book could not be possible without the help of Gibson, so I’d like to thank them for making my passion for Greeny, and guitars a reality. I hope all of you enjoy this journey as much as I did.”
“It’s exciting the time has come to release The Collection: Kirk Hammett by Gibson,” adds Cesar Gueikian, President and CEO of Gibson. “We have been working on this project with Kirk for years now, and I had the opportunity to work closely with Kirk on the composition of the collection for the book. It was a thrill to put this together and it took a village to get it done! I hope everyone appreciates the work that went into this book and enjoys every story behind the guitars.”
The Collection: Kirk Hammett, Custom Edition is limited to just 300 numbered copies signed by KIRK HAMMETT and comes in a huge 19 x 14.5” (490 x 370mm) presentation box featuring custom artwork and an outstanding case candy package. In addition to the large-format 17 x 12” (432 x 310mm) hardcover version of the book with a stunning lenticular cover, the boxset includes a frameable 16 x 11.6” (407 x 295mm) art print of a Ross Halfin portrait of KIRK HAMMETT signed by both Halfin and the Metallica guitarist. Other case candy includes an Axe Heaven miniature replica of Hammett’s 1979 Gibson Flying V with case and stand, an exclusive pick tin complete with six Dunlop® Kirk Hammett signature Jazz III guitar picks, and a Gibson Publishing Certificate of Authenticity.
Explore The Collection: Kirk Hammett book HERE.
Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst have been making music as Shovels & Rope since 2008. The husband-and-wife duo from South Carolina specialize in rootsy, bluesy rock, Americana, and alt-country, but they don’t confine themselves to traditional two-piece arrangements. They switch off on vocal, guitar, percussion, and synth duty throughout their shows, orchestrating a full-band ruckus with all available limbs.
Their seventh full-length, Something Is Working Up Above My Head, released in September last year, and while touring in support of it, they stopped at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl in late February. PG’s John Bohlinger caught up with Trent before the gig to see what tools he and Hearst use to maintain their musical juggling act.
Brought to you by D’Addario.Black Bird
Trent’s not a guitar snob: Generally speaking, he plays whatever he can get his hands on. While playing Eddie Vedder’s Ohana Fest, someone loaned him this Gretsch Black Falcon, and he fell in love with it. He likes its size compared to the broader White Falcon. It’s also the band’s only electric, so if it goes down, it’s back to acoustic. Hearst takes turns on it, too.
Trent loads the heaviest strings he can onto it, which is a set of .013s. It lives in standard tuning.
Ol' Faithful
As Trent explains, he and Hearst have done some DIY decorating on this beautiful Gibson J-45—it’s adorned with sweat droplets, stains, and fingernail dust. It runs direct to the venue’s front-of-house system with an LR Baggs pickup. This one is strung with Martin heavy or medium gauge strings; lighter ones are too prone to snapping under Trent’s heavy picking hand (which holds a Dunlop Max-Grip .88 mm pick). And it rolls around in an Enki tour case.
On Call
These second-stringers—a Loar archtop and an LR Baggs-equipped Recording King—are on hand in case of broken strings or other malfunctions.
Need for Tweed
Trent doesn’t trust amps with too many knobs, so this tweed Fender Blues Junior does the trick. It can get fairly loud, so there’s a Universal Audio OX Amp Top Box on hand to tame it for some stages.
Shovels & Rope's Pedalboard
Because Trent and Hearst trade off bass, guitar, keys, and percussion duties, all four of their limbs are active through the set. Whoever is on guitars works this board, with an MXR Blue Box, Electro-Harmonix Nano Big Muff, EarthQuaker Devices Hummingbird, and Boss OC-5, plus a pair of Walrus Canvas Tuners for the electric and acoustic. Utility boxes on the board include a Walrus Canvas Passive Re-Amp, Radial J48, Livewire ABY1, and a Mesa Stowaway input buffer.
A Roland PK-5 MIDI controller, operated by foot, sits on the lower edge of the board. It controls the board for “Thing 2,” one of two MicroKORG synths onstage.
Thing 1 and Thing 2
There’s no one backstage helping Hearst and Trent cook up all their racket; they handle every sound themselves, manually. During the first few sets of a tour, you’re liable to see some headaches, like forgetting to switch synth patches during a song, but eventually they hit a rhythm.
Affectionately given Seuss-ian nicknames, this pair of microKORGs handles bass notes through the set, among other things, via the foot-controlled PK5. “Thing 1” is set up at the drum station, and runs through a board with an EHX Nano Big Muff, EHX Bass9, EHX Nano Holy Grail, and a Radial Pro DI. A Walrus Aetos keeps them all powered up.
The board for “Thing 2,” beside the guitar amps, includes an EHX Mel9 and Bass9 powered by a Truetone 1 SPOT Pro, plus a Radial ProD2.
