Alternative Music

In a new interview with “Heritage Musicians In Conversation With Joe Matera”, TWISTED SISTER guitarist Jay Jay French was asked how important veteran hard rock producer Tom Werman was to the commercial success of the band’s triple-platinum “Stay Hungry” album. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Boy, that’s a complicated answer. Because Tom Werman, as a symbol, represented success, because he had enormous, multi-platinum successful records and artists — Ted Nugent and MÖTLEY CRÜE and CHEAP TRICK; I mean, he had a track record. So when the record label said, ‘We’ll get you Werman,’ that was basically like telling Jimmy Stewart in 1940, ‘We’re getting you Frank Capra to direct your movie,’ or someon...

During an appearance on “Put Up Your Dukes”, the new podcast hosted by ex-EXODUS singer Rob Dukes, EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt was asked if original EXODUS guitarist Kirk Hammett, who has been a member of METALLICA for the past 39 years, was involved in the songwriting for any of the material that ended up on EXODUS‘s classic debut album, 1985’s “Bonded By Blood”. “There were riffs that I had written while Kirk was still in the band, and he tried to adapt them, tried to change ’em a little bit — the old, ‘I changed it a little bit. I’m a co-writer on this riff,'” Holt recalled (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “And that was, like, two riffs, I think. And the rest of ’em were written after he left. We never use...

Bruce Dickinson has revealed what he believes is IRON MAIDEN‘s most underrated song. Taking to the stage at in Tampa, Florida on Thursday night (January 20) during his North American spoken-word tour, the polymath regaled the crowd with tales from his life in and away from fronting one of the biggest bands in metal. As reported by Eonmusic‘s Eamon O’Neill, Dickinson was welcomed by a huge round of applause and wasted no time in delving straight into his life story, from his unconventional upbringing to his unlikely and oftentimes hilarious public school years. Recalling his time with NWOBHM contenders SAMSON — whom he fronted from 1979 to 1981 — he quipped: “We made every mistake it’s possible to make in the music industry — in a concentrated time.” Goin...

Last July, Lita Ford took time with Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame‘s director of education, Mandy Smith, for a question-and-answer session specifically intended for a story made available on Rock Hall EDU, home to tons of free online learning resources. Before performing an amazing set in “The Garage” and donating an artifact to the Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, Lita talked about how she set out to master that “electric sound” from an early age, who inspired her to play and learn complex riffs, and her take on the “individuality” of rock and roll. A video recap, which was recently uploaded to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame YouTube channel, can be seen below. Lita recently completed recording her long-awaited new solo album. The follow-up to 2012’s &...

Ted Nugent has railed against large social-media companies that block users from their platforms. The outspoken conservative rocker is an ardent supporter of former U.S. president Donald Trump who was famously suspended from his social accounts in January 2021 over public safety concerns in the wake of the Capitol riot. During his YouTube livestream on Thursday (January 20), Nugent once again upped his unsubstantiated accusations that tech companies are censoring his speech as Facebook and other tech companies have attempted to limit coronavirus vaccine misinformation. “Boy, does Big Tech crush the First Amendment, like some kind of devil grease gangbangers,” Nugent said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “Hey, Big Tech fact checkers, you’re lying scum. And they ...

Eastern European emotional metalcore upstarts DRAG ME OUT, led by Denis “Stoff” Shaforostov, the charismatic frontman and former singer for MAKE ME FAMOUS and ASKING ALEXANDRIA, have released their brand new single, “Bullets In My Teeth”. The track is taken from the band’s second album, “Demons Away”, which will be released on May 6 via their own label imprint Lödereih Music. “Bullets In My Teeth” is an anthem for the heartbroken and the insecure state of mind that many people find themselves in today. Denis comments on the new single: “‘Bullets In My Teeth’ not only marks our return to the heavy metal fray after splitting with our longtime label Sumerian Records but it is also a very personal song for me… Relationship...

In a brand new interview with Meltdown of Detroit radio station WRIF, former SKID ROW and SAIGON KICK drummer Phil Varone recalled a disastrous audition he had in 2000 to play in Ozzy Osbourne‘s solo band. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Rachel Bolan from SKID ROW, him and I had a band called PRUNELLA SCALES. So we did a record in ’97. And then in ’98, I decided that I’m just gonna call it a day and buy a restaurant, which was like… That was the worst damn decision ever. And [I] lost everything from that. I took every last penny I had and put it in this restaurant and that went under ’cause I didn’t know what I was doing. It’s like life lesson after life lesson. “In 2000, I moved out to L.A. ’cause I figured, ‘...

The Riff Crew has uploaded professionally filmed video footage of OBITUARY‘s January 18, 2020 concert at Max Watts in Melbourne, Australia. The band’s set included a performance of the classic OBITUARY album “Cause Of Death” in its entirety. Featured songs: 01:54 Redneck Stomp 05:51 Sentence Day 08:40 A Lesson In Vengeance 12:53 Straight To Hell “Cause Of Death” album 17:56 Infected 23:50 Body Bag 30:36 Chopped In Half 36:15 Circle Of The Tyrants 41:52 Dying 47:13 Find The Arise 50:31 Cause Of Death 56:55 Memories Remain 1:01:32 Turned Inside Out Encore: 1:09:52 I’m In Pain 1:14:35 Trevor Chugs! 1:15:13 A Dying World 1:18:33 Slowly We Rot Last March, OBITUARY frontman John Tardy told France’s United Rock Nations that the band has used some of...

MASTODON drummer Brann Dailor has revealed that he contracted COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, immediately after the band’s recently completed U.S. tour with OPETH. “Right when I got home from tour, I had COVID — like the day I got home,” he told Art Of Rock in a new interview (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “I tested positive. I got pretty sick, actually. I was sick for a couple of weeks. I was down and out. But I guess the good news of it was it didn’t happen while we were on tour and it happened when I got home. So I was, like, ‘Oh, I’m sick.’ And I had the opportunity to be sick and I didn’t have to get on stage and play and stuff, which I’ve done with the flu many times; it’s one of the ...