Hard Rock
Dee Snider Slams “Moronic” Anti-Maskers Who Shouted Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It”
Dee Snider has blasted a group of anti-maskers who stormed into a Target store in Florida while shouting along to the Twisted Sister classic “We’re Not Gonna Take It”. The band’s legendary frontman dubbed them “selfish assholes”. Snider recently voiced his disdain for Donald Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic while speaking with us over Zoom. “The president’s response [and] the White House response has been to politicize [the pandemic] and to separate us more, and make it about politics, instead of joining together and helping each other,” the singer told us. On Tuesday night, Snider shared a video of a bunch of people who marched into a Target and urged shoppers to take off their masks, all while blasting and shouting along to “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” In his Twitter post, Snider ...
Marilyn Manson on Ozzy Osbourne: “He Had This Strange Mystique That He’s Never Really Escaped From”
Marilyn Manson was set to support Ozzy Osbourne on tour this year, but those dates were canceled as Ozzy sought treatment for various health issues. Just as fans were excited to see the Antichrist Superstar and the Prince of Darkness on tour together, Manson himself was looking forward to hitting the road with Ozzy again. This past Friday (September 11th), Manson unleashed his 11th album, WE ARE CHAOS, but it was originally set to be released in time for his planned spring/summer tour with Ozzy. As Manson told us, not only was he concerned for Ozzy’s health, he had to rethink his own plans for 2020. “It was very upsetting when I found out that Ozzy couldn’t do the tour and that he [had health issues], and that was before the pandemic hit,” Manson remarked. “At the time for me, it complicat...
Ozzy Osbourne Announces 40th Anniversary Expanded Edition of Blizzard of Ozz
Ozzy Osbourne is celebrating the 40th anniversary of his legendary debut album, Blizzard of Ozz, with a new expanded edition of his legendary solo debut. Osbourne’s also dusting off two live concert videos, 1993’s Live & Loud and 2002’s Live at Budokan, which are both receiving new digital releases. The expanded Blizzard of Ozz arrives this Friday (September 18th) on digital platforms. In addition to the original album and previously available bonus tracks (1980 B-side “You Looking at Me, Looking at You”, the 2010 guitar/vocal mix of “Goodbye to Romance”, and Randy Rhoads instrumental outtake “RR”), the expanded edition includes seven live tracks from the Blizzard of Ozz tour that were previously unavailable digitally. Six of the live cuts hail from the scarce Ozzy Live vinyl release f...
Staind and Godsmack Singers Team Up for US Drive-In Tour
Staind frontman Aaron Lewis and Godsmack singer Sully Erna are joining forces for a tour of drive-in venues across the United States. “The American Drive-In Tour”, as it is dubbed, will be one of the first rock excursions of its kind during the pandemic. The intimate outing will see Lewis and Erna performing side-by-side acoustically, playing their hits and cover songs, while also engaging in conversations. The tour is being produced by Danny Wimmer Presents, known for putting on some of the biggest U.S. rock festivals, including Sonic Temple, Louder Than Life, and Aftershock, among others. The month-long tour kicks off October 1st in Wichita, Kansas, and runs through a November 1st show in Del Mar, California. Certain venues will have concertgoers remain in their cars; others will set up ...
Donald Trump Thinks Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain” Is the “Greatest Music Video of All Time”
Donald Trump loves him some Guns N’ Roses. In fact, not only does Trump think “November Rain” is the “greatest music video of all time,” he’s made his staffers watch the video to prove his point. As Newsweek reports, Trump’s love of GNR’s “November Rain” video was revealed by Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The former White House Press Secretary mentioned the tidbit in her new book, Speaking for Myself, recounting the time Trump made her and White House Communications Director Hope Hicks watch the video in the Oval Office: “The president told Hope and me in the Oval he wanted the classic Guns N’ Roses song ‘November Rain’ added to his rally playlist. He told us it was the ‘greatest music video of all time,’ and made us watch it to prove his point, even though neither of us had disagreed.” Eventual...
Marilyn Manson Masterfully Embraces His Influences on WE ARE CHAOS: Review
The Lowdown: While Marilyn Manson has developed a signature sound over the past 30 years, it never manages to get stale. One reason for this is the revolving door of musicians and producers with whom he has worked throughout his career. Manson is back with his 11th album, WE ARE CHAOS, and he recruited Shooter Jennings — son of legendary country artists Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter — as his new musical compatriot. The two met when Manson was working on the TV show Sons of Anarchy and, according to Manson, have wanted to work together for a while. With Tyler Bates at the production helm on Manson’s critically acclaimed albums The Pale Emperor (2015) and Heaven Upside Down (2017), one might be concerned about this change in the ranks. Have no fear, though, as the resulting collaboration ...
Disturbed Cover Sting’s “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You”: Stream
Disturbed have had unquestionable success with cover songs in the past, and now the metal act is trying their hand at the classic Sting song “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You”. While Disturbed were already established as one of heavy music’s biggest bands, their 2015 cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence” took them to a new stratosphere. An accompanying video for the song has racked up more than 600 million views on YouTube. On their Sting cover, Disturbed keep things fairly mellow for the first half of the track, with frontman David Draiman delivering clean vocals to start. At the 2:23 mark, Disturbed turn things up, with Draiman switching over to his powerful rasp and the band kicking in with heavy guitars and drums. “We have loved this song for a long time, and even ...
Amigo the Devil Premieres Bare-Bones Version of “Stronger Than Dead”: Stream
Amigo the Devil has been making waves as a unique troubadour who appeals to fans of both folk and metal. While his music is acoustic-based, his lyrics are decidedly macabre. In the midst of a new “living” album project titled Covers, Demos, Live Versions, B-Sides, Amigo teams up with Heavy Consequence to premiere a stripped-down version of his song “Stronger Than Dead”. As he continues work on a proper follow up to Everything Is Fine, which made our list of the Top Hard Rock + Metal Albums of 2018, Amigo is rolling out rarities and alternate song renditions to create the ever-growing collection Covers, Demos, Live Versions, B-Sides. “Stronger Than Dead”, which originally appeared on Everything Is Fine, is stripped down to its bare bones in this version, simply featuring Amigo and his acous...
Ace Frehley: “Trump Is the Strongest Leader That We’ve Got on the Table”
Ace Frehley insists he doesn’t like to talk about politics, but the former KISS guitarist has gone ahead and talked about politics. In a new interview, he declared President Trump “the strongest leader that we’ve got on the table.” While speaking on The Cassius Morris Show, the guitar legend remarked, “I don’t think politics and rock ‘n’ roll mix — in my opinion. And I try to stay away from that as much as I can. I mean, once in a while, I’ll make a crack. I will say I’m a Trump supporter.” He added, “All the politicians have had skeletons in the closet. But I think Trump is the strongest leader that we’ve got on the table.” Frehley’s comments don’t come as a major surprise. He previously said during a 2018 appearance on the Juliet: Unexpected podcast, “Let me say this about Trump. Whether...
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea Discovers Cannibal Corpse, Declares Them “F**king Insane”
Flea (photo by Philip Cosores) / Ex-Cannibal Corpse singer Chris Barnes (publicity) Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea found himself on a death metal kick this week, seeking out recommendations on Cannibal Corpse. Randomly, the veteran funk-rock musician asked his Twitter followers on Monday (September 7th), “What’s the best Cannibal Corpse album?” Roughly 20 minutes later, after perusing the responses, he declared, “OK, I’m going with Tomb of the Mutilated.” Then, after giving the 1992 metal classic a spin, Flea exclaimed, “THIS SHIT IS F**KING INSANE!!!!!!! WHOOOOO!!!!! WHAAAAAAAA!” Tomb of the Mutilated featured original Cannibal Corpse singer Chris Barnes, who would later be replaced by George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher. The LP, which includes iconic tracks like “Hammer Smashed Face” and “...
Rush’s Geddy Lee Confirms He’s Alive After Trending on Twitter
The year 2020 has been so rough that anytime a celebrity trends on Twitter, people assume the worst. So, when Geddy Lee’s name went viral over the past 24 hours, some fans assumed something tragic had happened to the Rush legend. Thankfully, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer reports that he is alive and well. Rush’s official Twitter account had to assure fans that the beloved prog-rock icon is okay, issuing a statement from Lee that read, “Even I gulped when I saw I was trending on Twitter, but I asked my dogs and apparently I’m a bit boring but otherwise fine.” As for why Geddy Lee was trending in the first place, all signs point to a cardboard cutout of the singer-bassist placed in the stands behind home plate at Toronto Blue Jays games this season. The team has been playing home games i...
Judas Priest Announce 50th Anniversary Photo Book
Judas Priest are commemorating their 50th anniversary in style with a 648-page coffee table photo book. Titled Judas Priest – 50 Heavy Metal Years, the title is available in four editions and available for pre-order starting September 11th. The book is a true testament to Judas Priests’ half-century run as one of the most influential and visually captivating metal bands of all-time. The photography was curated by David Silver, Ross Halfin, and Jayne Andrews and features “unseen, unpublished photographs” by Ross Halfin, Neil Zlozower, Mark Weiss, Fin Costello, Oliver Halfin, and more. The photographs will be linked by an accompanying history of the band written by Mark Blake, allowing the book to work as a photo documentary of sorts. “I’ve photographed Judas Priest from 1978 until now and o...
