Music

During a radio interview in 1961, James Baldwin famously said that to be Black living in America, “and to be relatively conscious is to be in a state of rage almost, almost all of the time.” Nearly six decades later, that “rage” has yet to be quelled, from Civil Rights to Black Lives Matter. From Birmingham to Minneapolis to Kenosha. From Emmett Till to George Floyd to Breonna Taylor, and a countless list of black and brown names, eulogized and immortalized only by the senseless violence waged against them, not by the promise of their lives fulfilled. Thankfully, the ineradicable ache of Odetta and Nina Simone’s powerful and resonant calls has given rise to a newer generation of artists like Georgia Anne Muldrow, whose ever-expanding canvas of soul and jazz continues to reimagine, and even...

In a new interview with NME, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich was asked if he and his bandmates have found the coronavirus lockdown period creatively productive. He responded: “I’m not sure — it’s not easy, but we’ve been doing what we can. We’ve been exchanging ideas back and forth. “The hardest thing about being in four different spaces is that there’s no software that can have us all play in real time to reach other. So I can play something and send it to the next guy and then he can play on it and he can send it to the next guy, or vice versa, but we can’t play at the same time so it takes the impulsivity and the momentary energy out of the occasion. “I’ve talked to some people in technology about how close we are to being able to all ...

RATING: 4/10 As THE DAMNED memorably put it back in 1979: “religion doesn’t mean a thing/it’s just another way to be right-wing”. Not that the STRYPER album is full of paeans to Mike Pence, of course. Always a much better band than their vexed reputation would suggest, the Orange County crew made a handful of great records in the ’80s and generally avoided being laughed out of town by being a reliably over-the-top live band, and, if we’re honest, a bit of a novelty. Unfortunately, even several decades later, nothing quite takes the edge off a heavy metal record like constant references to God’s love and the power of prayer. At least with STRYPER, you know it’s coming, but it’s still a bit like biting into a delicious cheeseburger and be...

George Lynch has confirmed to KNAC.COM that there are plans for another album from THE END MACHINE, his collaborative project with his ex-DOKKEN bandmate Jeff Pilson (bass) and former LYNCH MOB and current WARRANT singer Robert Mason. “We are working on the second THE END MACHINE record,” the guitarist said. “Jeff and I just finished writing the songs for the record. Robert will be working on vocals, melodies and lyrics. We’re bringing in ‘Mild’ Steve Brown [laughs] who is the brother of ‘Wild’ Mick Brown [ex-DOKKEN drummer, who played on the first THE END MACHINE album], who, as you know, is retired. Steve is wonderful. He’s younger and he has that same ‘Wild’ Mick personality and he plays in the same style. He plays just l...

STAIND frontman Aaron Lewis has put his Massachusetts home up for sale for $3.5 million. Lewis bought he 14,000-square-foot Worthington home for for $475,000 in 2001, around the time STAIND‘s “Break The Cycle” spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The LP went on to shift four million copies in the U.S. alone. According to the listing, the “unique four bedroom, five full bath/ three half bath main house includes an in-law apartment and an Olympic sized indoor/heated, salt water pool. Other special features include a Vantage Lighting System, an indoor/outdoor intercom system, a security system, a large game room and home office, a steam shower and overflow tub in the master bath, a humidification system, and a full house commercial generator. The hors...