Hard Rock
Alice Cooper Writes and Performs Song for the Late Harry Nilsson’s Ailing Son Zak: Watch
Alice Cooper has once again shown his inspirational side, writing and performing an original song for late singer Harry Nilsson’s ailing son, Zak Nilsson, who’s battling end-stage colon cancer. Cooper sang the touching song in a surprise appearance on an episode of YouTube program Coffee Talk With ADIKA Live when Zak was a guest on the show to discuss his experience with cancer, chemotherapy, and end-of-life care. During the conversation, Cooper appears in his signature suit and top hat, singing the song in a piano / show-tune style, much like Harry Nilsson’s classic pop hits. “Your dad would write a song about you that everyone could sing,” Cooper lets out during the song’s a cappella bridge. Zak recently entered hospice rather than continue treatment, so “Coffee Talk” hosts Stefan Adika ...
KISS’ Gene Simmons Still Thinks “Rock Is Dead,” Paul Stanley Disagrees
A few years ago, Gene Simmons caused a stir when he boldly declared that “rock is dead.” In a new interview, the KISS singer-bassist doubled down on that statement, even as his longtime bandmate Paul Stanley strongly disagreed. Back in 2014, in an interview with his son, Nick Simmons, for Esquire magazine, Gene exclaimed, “Rock is finally dead.” He explained at the time, “When I was coming up, it was not an insurmountable mountain. Once you had a record company on your side, they would fund you, and that also meant when you toured they would give you tour support. … There are still record companies, and it does apply to pop, rap, and country to an extent. But for performers who are also songwriters — the creators — for rock music, for soul, for the blues — it’s finally dead.” KISS just pla...
Metallica Tally More Than 1 Billion Spotify Streams in 2020
As they enter their 40th year of existence, Metallica remain a metal powerhouse: the band tallied more than 1 billion streams on Spotify in 2020 alone. Metallica shared a graphic on their Instagram feed, which lists their 2020 Spotify statistics as 1.1 billion streams, 99.3 million hours, 53.3 million unique listeners, and 92 different countries. ‘We thought last year’s numbers were insane,” wrote the band. “You guys have outdone yourselves! 99.3M hours?! That’s like if someone started listening on October 27, 9318 B.C. and never stopped. Can anyone guess what this year’s most-played song was, clocking in at 128.6M streams?? You remain the most dedicated fans in the world – thank you for spending so much of your year with us!” The two most-played songs were likely “Nothing Else Matter...
Alice Cooper, Roger Daltrey, KISS, Judas Priest, and More Star in Rock Camp, The Movie: Watch Trailer
A new documentary feature film titled Rock Camp, The Movie features such music icons as Alice Cooper, The Who’s Roger Daltrey, KISS, Judas Priest, and more. The movie chronicles the journey of four everyday people as they attend Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp. Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp has been going on for 25 years, where aspiring musicians get to hang out and jam with legendary musicians. The movie takes viewers on a backstage pass of the camp, offering an inside look at what goes on during a typical experience. Among the rockers featured in the movie are Daltrey (who was a big part of getting Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp off the ground), Cooper, KISS’ Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, Judas Priest’s Rob Halford and Richie Faulkner, Sammy Hagar, Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, Heart’s Nancy Wilson, ...
Tommy Lee, Members of Papa Roach, Five Finger Death Punch, and More Star in Horror Film The Retaliators: Watch Trailer
Tommy Lee (photo by Myriam Santos) / Papa Roach’s Jacoby Shaddix (via Better Noise) An upcoming horror film, The Retaliators, is packed with scary scenes … and rock stars. The movie, due out in 2021, features Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, Papa Roach singer Jacoby Shaddix, members of Five Finger Death Punch, and more musicians in dramatic roles. Directed by Bridget Smith (Sno Babies, Finding Christmas), The Retaliators stars Michael Lombardi (Rescue Me, The Deuce), Marc Menchaca (Ozark, Black Mirror) and Joseph Gatt (Ray Donovan, Banshee). The horror thriller is being produced by Better Noise Films, the film production arm of record label Better Noise Music, thus the bevy of rock musicians who appear in the movie. In addition to Tommy Lee and Jacoby Shaddix, The Retali...
KISS Urge Everyone to “Do the Rest of Us a Favor” and “Mask Up”
The members of KISS traded their signature face makeup for protective face masks while traveling to their New Year’s Eve show in Dubai. As singer-bassist Gene Simmons put it, “Do the rest of us a favor — mask up!” Simmons shared a photo of himself, singer-guitarist Paul Stanley, drummer Eric Singer, and guitarist Tommy Thayer, as they all sported face masks at an airport. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band will be performing the worldwide “KISS 2020 Goodbye” livestream concert from the Atlantis in Dubai, promising “the biggest & baddest concert event and pyrotechnics show of the year.” Along with the photo, Simmons wrote, “Wear your masks. Even if it’s only as a courtesy. If you yawn, or sneeze, you don’t think twice about covering your mouth. Do the rest of us a favor! Mask Up! … B...
Chino Moreno’s ✞✞✞ (Crosses) Cover “The Beginning of the End”, First New Track in Six Years: Stream
Deftones singer Chino Moreno has resurrected ✞✞✞ (Crosses) and released the first new track from the project in six years. It comes in the form of a cover of Cause & Effect’s “The Beginning of the End”. Crosses unleashed their self-titled debut album in 2014, but hasn’t released any new music or performed any shows since that year. The band’s lineup is comprised of Moreno, guitarist Shaun Lopez, and bassist Chuck Doom, although a press release for the new single only mentions Moreno and Lopez. For Crosses’ return, Moreno turned to a song by fellow Sacramento act Cause & Effect, an electropop band who released their self-titled debut album in 1990. “The Beginning of the End” is a track from that first LP, and it gives off some very strong Depeche Mode vibes. Crosses’ version do...
Slash Eyes 2021 Release for New Guns N’ Roses Music
Slash, photo by Antonio Marino Jr. Slash is expecting that 2021 will be a fruitful year for Guns N’ Roses and his band with Myles Kennedy, with hopes to release new music from both acts. In a new interview, the guitarist said he’s recently been working with bassist Duff McKagan on the highly anticipated new GN’R album. He’s also got 20 songs ready to go for an upcoming LP from Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators. “We did a week of initial pre-production [on the new Conspirators album] and there’s 20 songs and we’re gonna start back up next year,” Slash told Cleveland.com. “I spent a lot of time writing and demoing that stuff. And prior to that, Duff [McKagan] and I did some jamming and we also worked on the Guns record, and I’ve had a couple of ancillary recordings and jams ...
10 Times Lemmy Was the Coolest Man on Earth
While the rock world will never forget the legendary Lemmy Kilmister, late December is an especially poignant time to commemorate his legacy. This year, December 24th marks what would have been the late Motörhead frontman’s 75th birthday, while December 28th marks five years since the passing of one of rock’s all-time great icons. Few rockers were as instantly memorable and recognizable as Lemmy. Whether it be his lifestyle (pushing life to the max via his party-hearty ways), his looks (long hair, facial hair, and signature facial moles), or his music (penning dozens of headbanging classics that have influenced countless other artists, and have only improved with age), there will never be another gentleman like Ian Fraser Kilmister. So, what better way to celebrate the life of the late, gr...
R.I.P. Leslie West, Legendary Mountain Frontman Dies at 75
Leslie West, the legendary singer-guitarist of pioneering hard-rock band Mountain, has passed away at the age of 75. His death was confirmed by Dean Guitars. “With a heavy heart, we are saddened to hear about the passing of #Dean Artist and part of the Dean family, Leslie West. Legendary and one of a kind. Rest In Peace,” read a tweet from the guitar company. According to Rolling Stone, West suffered a cardiac arrest at his home near Daytona, Florida, and never regained consciousness. West was born Leslie Weinstein in New York City on October 22nd, 1945. He originally formed Mountain in 1969, with the band breaking up and regrouping on various occasions over the past 50 years. Mountain released several albums throughout the decades, beginning with their 1970 debut, Climbing! That LP yielde...
King Crimson’s Robert Fripp and Wife Toyah Perform Eccentric Covers of Nirvana, Alice Cooper, GN’R, and Sex Pistols: Watch
King Crimson’s Robert Fripp and his singer wife, Toyah Willcox, have stayed busy in recent weeks with eccentric interpretations of classic heavy songs by Nirvana, Alice Cooper, Guns N’ Roses, and Sex Pistols. They’re the latest additions to the couple’s “Sunday Lunch” pandemic performance series. You may remember the couple’s utterly bizarre Halloween rendition of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid”, which saw Fripp playing the song on guitar while Willcox sang and danced in what appeared to be a prison cell. Although the new covers aren’t quite as unconventional as the Sabbath performance, they still showcase the idiosyncratic talents of each artist. Fripp tends to handle most of the music, while Willcox sings and supplies interpretative dances, including a one-person mosh for Nirvana’s “Smells Li...
Nickelback Hilariously Spoof Own “Photograph” Video for Google Photos Commercial: Watch
Nickelback have long been one of rock’s most parodied acts, but the latest mockery of the band comes courtesy of Nickelback themselves. The Canadian rockers have hilariously spoofed their own “Photograph” video in a new commercial for Google Photos. The multiplatinum group’s 2005 music video has been the inspiration for countless memes and even a Donald Trump tweet that was eventually blocked by the band over copyright issues. The image of frontman Chad Kroeger holding up a picture frame, with the words “Look at this photograph”, provides a blank slate for endless fun. In the Google commercial, Nickelback are poking fun at the original song and video with newly written lyrics that even dare make fun of Chad Kroeger’s signature curly locks: “Falling down the photo rabbit hole/ Is it my hair...
