Hard Rock
Evanescence Unveil New Single “Better Without You”: Stream
Evanescence’s long-awaited new album, The Bitter Truth, is set to arrive in just a few short weeks. In advance of its March 26h release, the band has unveiled the LP’s latest single, “Better Without You”. The new single marks a bold statement for singer Amy Lee, with a press announcement describing the song as follows: “An f-you to the forces that have attempted to hold her back, ‘Better Without You’ is bandleader Amy Lee’s unapologetic declaration of independence.” Musically, “Better Without You” is hard-driving rocker, with Lee delivering her signature soaring vocals in the chorus. Fans have gotten a substantial preview of The Bitter Truth, as “Better Without You” follows previous singles “Wasted On You”, “The Game Is Over”, “Use My Voice”, and “Yeah Right”. Editors’ Picks The...
Gene Simmons on His New G² Gibson Collection, Restarting KISS’ Final Tour, and More
KISS singer-bassist Gene Simmons is not only a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame musician, but a merchandizing master. His band set the template for rock branding, and now he’s combining his knowledge of music and merch with a new line of Gibson guitars and basses, dubbed G² (pronounced “G-squared”). The G² collection sees Simmons partnering with Gibson on a new line of right-handed and left-handed guitars and basses, spanning across the company’s owned and operated brands Gibson, Epiphone, and Kramer. The partnership will launch with the G² Thunderbird bass, which Simmons debuted during KISS’ massive New Year’s Eve livestream show in Dubai. Also on tap are Flying V basses and guitars, among other instruments. We had the opportunity to speak with Simmons about the collection, the genesis of the...
Wolfgang Van Halen Hits No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Chart with Debut Single “Distance”
Wolfgang Van Halen’s debut single “Distance” has reached No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. The track was released under Wolfgang’s Mammoth WVH solo moniker as a tribute to his late father Eddie Van Halen, who personally loved the song and had a few No. 1 hits of his own with Van Halen. The single was accompanied by a touching music video featuring home movies of Eddie and Wolfgang. Since its release, the video has over 4 million views on YouTube. “The response to ‘Distance’ has been incredibly overwhelming,” Wolfgang said in a press release. “The immense support from everyone at radio who played the song and all of the fans who called requesting it has been more than I could have imagined. Thank you to everyone who helped me get my first #1 song. I wish Pop was here to ...
Robert Fripp, Toyah, and a Real-Live Snake Take on Foo Fighters’ “Everlong”: Watch
Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox are joined by a member of the animal kingdom in their latest “Sunday Lunch” performance video. The married couple tackle Foo Fighters’ “Everlong” as Toyah handles as real-live slithering snake. Fripp, the founding guitarist for prog pioneers King Crimson, and Toyah, a new wave singer with a series of UK hits in the ’80s, have taken on the role of rock’s most entertaining couple during the lockdown. Their “Sunday Lunch” series sees the pair offering quirky takes on rock classics. Their new performance features Fripp playing the unmistakable guitar riff from Foo Fighters’ “Everlong”, with Toyah singing the song with a good-sized snake slithering in her hands. At the very end, as if on cue, the snake turns around and makes face-to-face contact with Toyah. D...
Rammstein Recorded a New Album They “Hadn’t Planned On” During Lockdown
Rammstein did indeed record a new album during lockdown, affirms keyboardist Christian “Flake” Lorenz in a new interview. The confirmation comes after the German industrial metal band had shared images from the studio last year. Originally, Rammstein had intended to spend much of 2020 on the road, including their first-ever full-scale stadium tour of North America. Due to the pandemic, touring was put on hold, and the band found itself with a lot of time on its hands. Instead of sitting around waiting for concerts to resume, Rammstein hit the studio and recorded a very quick (especially by their standards) follow-up to their 2019 untitled album. “The fact that we couldn’t perform live increased our creativity,” Flake told the German website Motor Music. “We had more time to think of new th...
Song of the Week: Jay Som and Palehound Choose the Bachelor’s Life and Debut “Anything at All”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, two longtime friends form a new band and find a new sound. The past year of our lives has taught us that loneliness comes in several shades of blue. It can feel like total isolation, separation from dear friends, or even the tedium of seeing the same faces every single day. Those among us who have fared best have either found ways to beat the loneliness (a little Zoom went a long way there for a while, didn’t it?) or embrace it as a chance to remain in the moment and accomplish something. Jay Som (Melina Duterte) and Palehound voc...
Actress Bianca Allaine Calls Marilyn Manson the “Most Terrifying Person I’ve Ever Met,” Sets Up Meeting with FBI
Bianca Allaine has joined the growing list of women who have accused Marilyn Manson of abuse. The actress claims that the shock rocker forcibly kissed her when she was 16 in 1995, and then engaged in a “terrifying” sexual relationship with her when she was 19. She plans to soon speak to the FBI about her experiences. Allaine, who has mostly acted in B-movies like Zombinatrix and Nightmare Next Door, told her story to The Sun, explicitly detailing a disturbing experience with the singer. “Marilyn Manson might be scary, but Brian Warner is the most terrifying person I’ve ever met in my life,” said Allaine, referencing the rocker’s real name. “He’s evil.” She added, “We were often never alone on the tour bus, and his fetish back then was to watch people have sex with me or do things to ...
Alice Cooper Releases New Album Detroit Stories: Stream
Legendary shock rocker Alice Cooper has released his latest studio album, Detroit Stories. The record’s 15 tracks act as a concept album about Cooper’s native city — a historic hotbed for rock and roll in the ’60s and ‘70s. Cooper was one of the most active members of the scene, fronting the band Alice Cooper before the group’s moniker took on a personality of its own, becoming the man Alice Cooper as he’s known today. “Detroit was Heavy Rock central then,” Cooper said in a press release. “You’d play the Eastown and it would be Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent, the Stooges and the Who, for $4! The next weekend at the Grande it was MC5, Brownsville Station and Fleetwood Mac, or Savoy Brown or the Small Faces. You couldn’t be a soft-rock band or you’d get your ass kicked.” Detroit would become ...
Tom Morello: Slash and I Nearly Got Blown Up Onstage at an Ozzy Osbourne Show
Tom Morello (photo by Amy Harris), Ozzy Osbourne (David Brendan Hall), Slash (Antonio Marino Jr.) Tom Morello and Slash almost jointly experienced the most heavy metal death that one can possibly imagine: getting blown up onstage at an Ozzy Osbourne concert. The Rage Against the Machine guitarist told the story during an appearance Wednesday (February 24th) on The Howard Stern Show. Morello and Slash were performing with the Prince of Darkness as part of his “Ozzy and Friends” shows that took the place of Black Sabbath’s planned tour after Tony Iommi was diagnosed with lymphoma. At one of the shows, a headlining Halloween performance at the 2015 Voodoo Experience festival in New Orleans, the two guitar gods almost met their maker. As Morello tells it, after he and Slash had taken turns pla...
Sammy Hagar on Covering David Bowie, The Who, and Van Halen
Kyle Meredith With… Sammy Hagar Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Sammy Hagar catches up with Kyle Meredith to talk about his new album, Lockdown 2020. The album was recorded in quarantine with his bandmates in The Circle that includes Michael Anthony, Jason Bonham, and Vic Johnson as they run through covers of their heroes, peers, and his own Van Halen catalogue. The Red Rocker talks about tackling the scream on The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and regretting writing such a high vocal part for Van Halen’s “Dreams”. He also discusses the way Van Halen’s “Right Now” still speaks to today’s environment and tells us about sharing music with Eddie Van Halen during the guitarist’s fina...
AC/DC’s Angus Young Conceived “Highway to Hell” While on the Toilet
A nasty bout with food poisoning can lead a poor soul on a highway to hell right to the toilet, but for Angus Young, a visit to the toilet led to one of AC/DC’s signature songs. That’s right, the legendary guitarist conceived “Highway to Hell” while sitting on the porcelain throne. The revelation came in a new interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, who had Angus and singer Brian Johnson share the stories behind a few of AC/DC’s best-known tunes. “We had started with the Highway to Hell album … we’d been in Miami, and we’d been in a rehearsal room and that’s what we were doing,” began Angus about the 1979 hit. “We were putting together new tracks. And we’d been there a couple of weeks and we were going a bit slow. And then I had come in one day with [my brother Malcolm] and just before we ...
Lzzy Hale’s Powerhouse Vocals Highlight Halestorm’s Cover of The Who’s “Long Live Rock”: Stream
Halestorm have covered The Who’s “Long Live Rock” in conjunction with the recently announced documentary of the same name. The rousing rendition is fueled by frontwoman Lzzy Hale’s powerful vocals. The new documentary Long Live Rock … Celebrate the Chaos focuses on the culture surrounding hard rock, with appearances by members of Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Rage Against the Machine, Slipknot, Halestorm, and many others. It was filmed at a number of U.S. rock festivals in recent years, and also spotlights fans of the music, as they “commune with their ‘rock families’.” In promotion of the movie, Halestorm have tackled “Long Live Rock”, which was released on The Who’s 1974 rarities collection, Odds & Sods, and also featured during the credits of the legendary UK band’s 1979 documentar...
