Alternative Music
Why We’ll Never Stop Talking About NBC’s Smash
An important thing to remember about Smash is that when it premiered, 10 years ago today, the NBC musical drama was supposed to be capital-G Good. We’re talking “awards contender” Good. “All star cast” Good. “Executive produced by Steven Spielberg” Good. Sadly, that didn’t ultimately align with what we got, which was two seasons of the messiest yet ultimately most fascinating broadcast drama of the 2010s — maybe even the 21st century so far. The thing about Smash is, if it had been a total failure, it wouldn’t still occupy space in our mental real estate. But there were just enough glimmers of good TV, aligned with some moments of pure brilliant camp and what is legitimately a top-tier original soundtrack, to ensure its place in television history. Perhaps you missed Smash when it original...
HAMMERFALL Guitarist Explains How KING DIAMOND’s Guest Appearance On ‘Venerate Me’ Came About
Last month, Swedish metallers HAMMERFALL released a new single, “Venerate Me”, featuring a special guest appearance by legendary Danish heavy metal singer King Diamond. The track is taken from the band’s twelfth studio album, “Hammer Of Dawn”, which is due on February 25 via Napalm Records. In a new interview with Chris Akin, HAMMERFALL guitarist Oscar Dronjak stated about how King Diamond‘s contribution came about (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I’m a huge KING DIAMOND and MERCYFUL FATE fan — we all are, from our teenage years; we’ve listened to them since the ’80s. And King Diamond is one of those [artists] — if you like King Diamond, you don’t just like him; you love him [and] you love everything about it. ThatR...
SCOTT GORHAM Explains Decision To Leave BLACK STAR RIDERS
Scott Gorham says that he left BLACK STAR RIDERS in order to “put a hundred percent concentration and effort” into getting THIN LIZZY back on the road. Gorham was in BLACK STAR RIDERS for nearly a decade, having formed the band in 2013 with other THIN LIZZY members after deciding to write and record new music under a new moniker. BLACK STAR RIDERS‘ original lineup was completed by vocalist Ricky Warwick, guitarist Damon Johnson, bassist Marco Mendoza and drummer Jimmy DeGrasso. BLACK STAR RIDERS announced Gorham‘s departure last September, with Warwick saying in a statement: “We are very sad to see Scott go, but we discussed a very heavy world touring commitment on the new record and Scott decided he wanted to concentrate just on THIN LIZZY — and being the leg...
MÖTLEY CRÜE’s NIKKI SIXX Fires Back At EDDIE VEDDER, Calls PEARL JAM ‘One Of The Most Boring Bands In History’
MÖTLEY CRÜE‘s Nikki Sixx has blasted PEARL JAM as “one of the most boring bands in history” after Eddie Vedder revealed that he “despised” the glam-metal scene of the late 1980s. In an in-depth interview with The New York Times to promote his upcoming solo album, Vedder discussed a variety of topics, including what “ripples” of change he believes the Generation X / alternative rock culture of the early ’90s may have been responsible for. “You know, I used to work in San Diego loading gear at a club,” Vedder said. “I’d end up being at shows that I wouldn’t have chosen to go to — bands that monopolized late-’80s MTV. The metal bands that — I’m trying to be nice — I despised. ‘Girls, Girls, Girls&#...
AGNOSTIC FRONT’s ROGER MIRET Opens Up About His Cancer Battle: ‘I Was Not In A Good Place’
AGNOSTIC FRONT vocalist Roger Miret, who revealed last September that his cancer was in remission, offered an update on his health during a new appearance on the “Smokin Word” podcast, hosted by Hoya Roc from MADBALL. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I’m good now. But I was in a place [early last year] where I just needed to be in my own head — just wrap around everything. Between everything that’s going on in life, and then throw this shit at it, I was not in a good place. But, man, I sit back and think about it now, I’ve been through a lot of shit — I’ve been through a lot of hard shit — and I’m, like, man, I keep going through all this fucking crazy hard shit, but my head’s pretty together. Don’t get me wrong — th...
W.A.S.P.’s BLACKIE LAWLESS Wishes CHRIS HOLMES ‘The Very Best’ In His Battle With Cancer
W.A.S.P. leader Blackie Lawless says that he wishes his former bandmate Chris Holmes “the very best” in his battle with cancer. It was announced earlier today that Holmes has been diagnosed with a cancer in throat and neck. As a result, the 63-year-old ex-W.A.S.P. guitarist canceled his appearance aboard this year’s Monsters Of Rock cruise. However, Holmes still expects to be able to complete his previously announced Canadian tour, which is scheduled to launch in Quebec City on May 5 and wrap up in Vancouver on May 28. A few hours after Chris‘s diagnosis was made public, Lawless released the following statement via W.A.S.P.‘s social media: “The entire W.A.S.P. family are all optimistic of a positive outcome concerning the diagnosis for Chris. I certainly...
Nikki Sixx Calls Pearl Jam “One of the Most Boring Bands” Following Eddie Vedder’s Mötley Crüe Diss
Nikki Sixx has fired back at Eddie Vedder after the Pearl Jam singer recently described Mötley Crüe as “vacuous.” The Crüe bassist responded by labeling Pearl Jam “one of the most boring bands in history.” It was roughly 30 years ago when grunge knocked hair metal off the rock pedestal, but now Vedder’s comments have renewed the rivalry. In an interview with the New York Times Magazine, the singer recalled a pre-Pearl Jam job in which he loaded gear at a San Diego venue. “I’d end up being at shows that I wouldn’t have chosen to go to — bands that monopolized late-’80s MTV,” remembered Vedder. “The metal bands that — I’m trying to be nice — I despised. ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ and Mötley Crüe: F**k you. I hated it. I hated how it made the fellas look. I hated how it made the women look. It fel...
New DEICIDE Guitarist Explains How He Landed The Gig, Says There Is ‘Killer’ New Material In The Works
Guitarist Taylor Nordberg (THE ABSENCE, INHUMAN CONDITION), who recently joined Florida death metal veterans DEICIDE, spoke about how he landed the gig in a new interview with “The Zach Moonshine Show”. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “In 2019, my band THE ABSENCE toured with DEICIDE in the U.S. And we got to know the guys and got along really well. And I actually found out that Glen [Benton, DEICIDE frontman] lives, like, two streets over from Jeramie [Kling, THE ABSENCE drummer] and I, where we live. So Jeramie and Glen became good buddies and they ride bikes all the times. It’s a funny little thing, thinking about that. But long story short, [previous DEICIDE guitarist] Chris [Cannella], I believe he’s the head of A&R at Dean Guitars so he...
COREY TAYLOR To Release Collection Of Covers And Acoustic Recordings; First Single Due On Friday
SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor has revealed that he will release a solo album of covers and acoustic recordings at the end of this month. “CMFT is putting out a B-sides album which has all the covers that we’ve done and some acoustic versions of some of the songs that are on ‘CMFT’,” he said during an appearance this past Wednesday (February 2) on SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET), referencing his debut solo LP, “CMFT”, an acronym for “Corey Mother Fucking Taylor”, which arrived in October 2020. “The first single will actually be February 11th, and people will be able to download that. It’s our cover of ‘On The Dark Side’ by JOHN CAFFE...
Watch DAVE MUSTAINE Perform MEGADETH’s ‘Holy Wars’ At Last Month’s ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp’
Video footage of Dave Mustaine performing the MEGADETH classic “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due” with several campers at last month’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp in Deerfield Beach, Florida can be seen below. Toby Guidry, who uploaded the video to YouTube, wrote in a message accompanying the clip: “My RRFC band jamming with Dave Mustaine on Holy Wars. This was the second take since some of us were a little too excited on the first run, so he wasn’t happy with it. He graciously asked to do it again.” Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp was created 26 years ago to provide real people the once-in-a-lifetime experience of connecting and jamming with their musical heroes. The Camp has provided unforgettable memories, advice and feedback for ...
New WHITESNAKE Bassist TANYA O’CALLAGHAN Says DAVID COVERDALE Called Her Directly To Ask Her To Join
Tanya O’Callaghan says that David Coverdale reached out to her directly to ask her if she would like to join WHITESNAKE as the band’s new bass player. In November, Tanya was named the latest member of the long-running hard rock outfit as the replacement for longtime bassist Michael Devin whose departure was revealed a few days earlier. When asked in a new interview with Mark Dean of Antihero if it has fully sunk in what she is going to be a part of, Tanya said: “Probably not, to be honest. But it’s also, it’s funny because it feels normal, in a way, already, just because it’s such a welcoming camp. And I knew some of those guys already. We toured the same circles. So, there’s that feeling of it’s just a giant welcome party, which has been won...
Donald Trump Announces Debut DJ Sets at Mar-A-Lago
With his Twitter account permanently suspended, Donald Trump has had to branch out in order to fulfill his unwavering need for self-indulgence. The former president has, apparently, pivoted to DJing, and his first audience is his fellow members of the Mar-a-Lago Club. According to the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, members of the Palm Beach, Florida resort received a notice advertising that “great music” would be played during dinner the weekend of Friday, February 4th, with “President Trump playing the role of disc jockey.” (Note the use of the word “president.”) See the full statement signed by No. 45 himself below. It’s unclear if this weekend marks a special event at Mar-a-Lago, or if Trump is just itching to spin some vinyl. Either way, we have a few guesses as to who migh...
