Alternative Music

For the past 128 years, Gibson — the iconic American instrument brand — has been synonymous with creating and shaping sound across genres of music and generations of players. Today, Gibson has announced the release of the Jerry Cantrell “Atone” and “Fire Devil” Songwriter acoustic guitars with the legendary singer, songwriter, guitarist and ALICE IN CHAINS co-founder Jerry Cantrell. The Jerry Cantrell “Atone” and “Fire Devil” Songwriter acoustic guitars are available worldwide through authorized Gibson dealers and via www.gibson.com. Jerry Cantrell‘s guitar collection will continue across Gibson Brands including an Epiphone release coming in May of this year. Whether you’re writing a song at home, laying it down in the studio, or ...

The remaining members of EXHORDER have issued a statement regarding the departure of guitarist Marzi Montazeri. The Houston-based musician, who joined EXHORDER in 2017, announced his exit from the band on Monday (February 14), explaining he “decided to no longer be a part of it.” Earlier today, EXHORDER vocalist Kyle Thomas, bassist Jason VieBrooks and drummer Sasha Horn shared the following collective message via the group’s social media: “Some of you may have seen Marzi Montazeri‘s announcement yesterday that he no longer wants to be a part of EXHORDER. “First and foremost, we want to thank Marzi for his time and wish him well moving forward. Secondly, we want to clarify that somewhere between the process of writing the new album began and the touring ...

K.K. Downing says that he feels very strongly about making sure the Tim “Ripper” Owens-era JUDAS PRIEST albums are available to the public. The Ohio-based singer created two studio albums with the British heavy metal legends — 1997’s “Jugulator” and 2001’s “Demolition” — before the band reunited with Rob Halford. Asked by Jamey Jasta of “The Jasta Show” who owns the rights to LPs Owens made with PRIEST, Downing said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “It’s a good question. CMC [International Records, which released ‘Jugulator’ in the USA] and the guys that were the labels are defunct now, so the rights to the albums reverted back to us, JUDAS PRIEST.” When Jasta pressed Downing about the fact that ...

In a brand new interview with Canada’s The Metal Voice, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner once again spoke about the band’s recent announcement that it would embark on the next leg of its 50th-anniversary tour as a quartet. Addressing the fan backlash which led the band to reverse its decision to tour as a four-piece, Richie said: (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I think it’s a really powerful indication of how much PRIEST still means, really. I don’t think we expected that much [pushback from the fans]. [Laughs] ‘Cause we all thought — for good or bad — we made a decision because we thought it would be a good idea; that’s the real crux of the matter. Otherwise we wouldn’t have made the decision. We knew there would be some voices ...

In a new interview with Meltdown of Detroit’s WRIF radio station, Mike Mangini was asked if he was friends with the members of DREAM THEATER before joining the band in late 2010 through a widely publicized audition following the departure of Mike Portnoy. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I was not friends but was an acquaintance. Let me backtrack. I recorded with [DREAM THEATER singer] James LaBrie [years before I joined the band]. ‘Cause what happened was EXTREME and DREAM THEATER did a show together in ’95 in Europe and we became friends. James actually approached me in ’95, saying, ‘Man, I’d like to work with you in the future.’ And I’m, like, ‘Yeah.’ And so he got a solo album deal and, sure enough, he...

Former MEGADETH guitarist Chris Poland has confirmed to Sofa King Cool that the song “Liar” from the band’s 1988 album “So Far, So Good… So What?” was written by Dave Mustaine about him. He said: “Oh, yeah. Obviously, Dave was very upset with me when I left the band — when he fired me, basically.”< Asked if he was angry when he first heard he was the lyrical inspiration for the song, Poland said: “No, man. It’s like the pot calling the kettle black, man. When you point your finger, man, there’s three pointing back at you. I just rolled my eyes and was, like, ‘Really?'” Poland was a member of MEGADETH from 1984 to 1987, during which time he performed on the band’s classic albums “Killing Is My Busin...

RATING: 8/10 At best, familiarity breeds indifference, which may be why ANNIHILATOR remain such a perennially underrated force for metallic good. Guitarist and founder Jeff Waters has made a virtue of sticking to his own, ferociously focused script, and while the Canadians have traversed plenty of diverse territory over the decades, it’s albums like 2007’s all-star cameo-fest “Metal” that most accurately sum up their wildly entertaining blend of utmost precision and giant, grin-inducing metal tunes. Given the opportunity to re-work one of his less celebrated records, Waters has turned it into an even bigger and more explosive celebration of the ANNIHILATOR sound. All the original guest soloists and vocalists remain intact, but this is more than just a cautiously twe...