Hard Rock
Mysterious Woman from Black Sabbath’s Debut Album Gets Her Own Funko Pop! Figure
Funko’s popular line of collectible Pop! figures has expanded over the years to include a wide array of music, film, and television subjects. Even with the toy company’s vast roster, who would’ve thought that the mysterious woman from the cover of Black Sabbath’s debut album would get her own Funko Pop! figure? That’s the case with a new line of Funko Pop! figures based on classic albums. The first Funko “Pop! Albums” series features figures modeled after three iconic album covers. They include Sabbath’s self-titled debut, The Notorious B.I.G.’s Ready to Die, and AC/DC’s Back in Black. Upon its release in 1970, Sabbath’s debut album helped usher in what the world knows now as heavy metal. The woman on the ominous cover had remained a mystery until earlier this year, when she was locat...
Tommy Lee Swears He’ll Leave US If Trump Wins: “I’ll Go Back to My Motherland”
Tommy Lee has had enough of Donald Trump, so much so that he insists he’ll leave the United States if the incumbent wins the upcoming presidential election. As to where he’d move, the Mötley Crüe drummer has his eyes on his “motherland”, otherwise known as Greece. In an interview with the British newspaper The Big Issue, the veteran rocker was asked how he’d deal with four more years of Trump. “Dude, I swear to God if that happens then I’m coming over to visit the UK — I’m out of here,” Lee responded. “I’ll go back to my motherland, go back to Greece and get a house on one of the islands.” Lee was actually born in Greece to his father, U.S. Army Sergeant David Lee Thomas Bass, and mother, Vassiliki “Voula” Papadimitriou, a pageant contestant who represented Greece in the 1960 Miss World co...
John 5 Honors Eddie Van Halen with Unearthed “You Really Got Me” Cover Featuring Corey Taylor and Michael Anthony: Watch
Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 has paid tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen by unveiling a concert clip featuring himself, Slipknot singer Corey Taylor, and longtime Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony performing The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me”. The song was famously covered by Van Halen on their debut album. The video dates back to John 5’s Los Angeles show at The Whiskey A Go Go in 2019, when Taylor and Anthony joined the guitarist for the classic cover. As John 5 explained in an Instagram post, The Whiskey was an oft-played venue for Eddie Van Halen in Los Angeles. Along with the clip, John 5 wrote the following: “It’s difficult to put into words the impact that Eddie Van Halen had on my life. There’s no one that influenced me more than Eddie, he was an inventor an amazing songwriter and the ...
Puscifer to Stream Concert Event from Arizona Desert
Puscifer will celebrate the release of their upcoming album, Existential Reckoning, with a truly unique streaming concert event. The show will feature singer Maynard James Keenan and company performing in the middle of the Arizona desert. The concert, dubbed “Existential Reckoning: Live at Arcosanti”, streams on October 30th, the same day that the album arrives. The show will see the band performing the new LP in its entirety. As Keenan explained in a press release, the location makes for an unpredictable experience. “If you’re not familiar with Arcosanti, I highly recommend that you look it up,” said Keenan. “It’s one of a long list of examples of architects, artists, actors, musicians, writers, and poets. People who are not necessarily from Arizona but came here and found that creative t...
David Crosby Gets Backlash Over Dismissive Eddie Van Halen Tweet
Eddie Van Halen (photo by Philip Cosores), David Crosby (photo by Monica McGivern) Following the death of Eddie Van Halen on Tuesday (October 6th), the Van Halen guitarist received near universal acclaim in tributes from his musical peers. However, one fellow music icon didn’t see fit to sing the rock legend’s praises. David Crosby dismissed Van Halen with a “meh,” and it has fans and musicians fuming. Like Eddie Van Halen, Crosby is a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, thanks to his work in The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash. He was asked Saturday (October 11th) by a fan on Twitter about his opinion on the late guitarist, which he answered with a blunt “Meh.” When another fan responded, “Wow, that was rude, unkind, and totally lacking empathy,” Crosby continued to dig himself into m...
Street Artist Turns NYC Subway Station into “Van Halen Avenue”
A New York City street artist paid tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen in the most clever way, turning the Van Siclen Avenue stop in Brooklyn into “Van Halen Avenue”. The same artist pulled a similar stunt last month, turning the 50th St. station in Manhattan into “Ruth St.” in honor of late Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Adrian Wilson is the artist who conceived the subway tributes in honor of the guitar legend and the Supreme Court justice. After being featured on the news for his Ginsburg tribute, he figured someone else would have taken the initiative for the Van Halen guitarist, or at least taken credit for it. But, as he wrote on his Instagram, he ultimately took matters into his own hands. “Come on people,” he wrote on Instagram alongside a pic of his “Van Halen Avenue” sign. “I even explaine...
George Thorogood Premieres “Bad to the Bone” from Deluxe Reissue of Live in Boston, 1982: Stream
George Thorogood and The Destroyers have been going strong for more than 40 years. And they’re going back nearly that long for a new deluxe reissue of the album Live in Boston, 1982. In advance of the release, Thorogood is teaming up with Consequence of Sound to premiere a visualizer for the deluxe edition’s previously unreleased live version of his signature tune, “Bad to the Bone”. The deluxe edition, dubbed Live in Boston, 1982: The Complete Concert, adds 12 previously unreleased songs to the original 2010 release, for a total of 27 tracks. The reissue will be available as a 4-LP 180-gram vinyl set; a 2-CD edition; and digitally beginning December 4th via Craft Recordings. A red marble vinyl release will be made available exclusively for Record Store Day’s Black Friday event on November...
Alex Van Halen to His Late Brother Eddie: “See You on the Other Side”
Alex and Eddie Van Halen, via Warner Bros. Records Alex Van Halen has acknowledged the passing of his bandmate and brother, Eddie Van Halen, with a brief statement to media outlets. The drummer also shared a charming photo of the two of them as children. In keeping with the short tributes that have already been posted by Eddie’s other Van Halen bandmates, Alex simply wrote, “Hey Ed. Love you. See you on the other side. Your brother, Al.” The heartwarming photo depicts Alex standing up in overalls while a toddler-aged Eddie sits on a rocking horse and plays a toy drum. Thus far, there has not been an official band statement regarding Eddie’s death, but Alex’s message follows social media tributes from recent and former Van Halen members David Lee Roth, Michael Anthony, Sammy Hagar, Gary Che...
Tobias Forge: New Ghost Album Coming “This Winter”
Ghost will release their new album this winter, according to frontman Tobias Forge. The singer previously said he wanted to wait until after the U.S. presidential election before releasing the follow-up to 2018’s Prequelle. Forge told Swedish publication VK that Ghost will release the new album “this winter,” with the band’s touring plans pushed to fall 2021. The release plans fall in line with statements that Forge made last year, when he predicted an early 2021 release for the group’s fifth LP. If you wanted Forge’s take on the pandemic — and how it fits into his lyrics — the enigmatic singer said there won’t be any “doomsday” or “quarantine-confirming” records from Ghost anytime soon. However, he might reluctantly consider playing reduced capacity shows in smaller venues if the pandemic...
Tool’s Maynard James Keenan Had COVID-19 and Still Has Lung Damage Months Later
Tool singer Maynard James Keenan has revealed that he contracted COVID-19 back in February. Moreover, he is still feeling the effects months later, as he deals with lung damage and coughing fits. While speaking to the Arizona Republic about his band Puscifer’s upcoming album, Existential Reckoning, Keenan was asked about Tool having to shut down their tour plans due to the pandemic. He responded, “I was still recovering from having gotten COVID at the end of February. I’m still dealing with the residual effects. But it was ugly. I survived it, but it wasn’t pretty. So I definitely had to deal with that.” When the interviewer expressed surprise at the singer’s revelation, Keenan explained, “I kind of didn’t want to run around screaming it. But it’s real. And there’s after-effects. I had to ...
Duff McKagan and Jerry Cantrell Pay Tribute to Jimmy Carter with Acoustic Performance: Watch
Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan and Alice in Chains guitarist-singer Jerry Cantrell have teamed up for an acoustic performance in tribute to former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, who turned 96 on October 1st. The two rock legends played a cover of “A Satisfied Mind”, penned by Joe “Red” Hayes and Jack Rhodes, while sitting on the couch. It’s a peaceful and serene rendition of the song, and a worthy cover choice for the longest-living president. “We want to say happy birthday to Jimmy Carter,” McKagan said in the video’s introduction, going on to address Carter directly. “We’re here for a couple reasons … how strongly you fought for arts in school. We were exactly the right age.” “Beneficiaries for sure,” Cantrell added. “Almost half my classes were arts. When I graduated, they kind o...
Linkin Park Unveil Long-Lost Song “Pictureboard” as Part of Hybrid Theory 20th Anniversary Edition: Stream
Linkin Park have just released a 20th anniversary edition of their multiplatinum debut album, Hybrid Theory. Among the highlights on the extensive tracklist is the previously unreleased song “Pictureboard”. “Pictureboard” has some lore among Linkin Park fans, who’ve known it existed thanks to early live performances of the song — back when the band called itself Xero. As part of the Hybrid Theory: 20th Anniversary Edition super deluxe box set, the track appears on disc dubbed “Forgotten Demos”. While the song features the signature trade-off vocals between late singer Chester Bennington and rapper Mike Shinoda, it lacks the powerful punch of Hybrid Theory‘s multiple chart-toppers like “One Step Closer”, “Crawling”, and “In the End”. The recording is listed as a demo, and it’s evident that ...
