Hard Rock
R.I.P. Jason Slater, Original Third Eye Blind Bassist and Queensrÿche Producer Dies at 49
Jason Slater, who was the original bassist in the band Third Eye Blind and a longtime producer for Queensrÿche, has died at the age of 49. His daughter Alyssa reported that Slater died from liver failure at a hospital in Maui, according to TMZ. While Slater was Third Eye Blind’s original bassist and backup vocalist, he did not appear on any of the pop-rock act’s albums. He was a member from 1993 to 1994, recording their first demo. He left the group before they scored huge success with their six-times platinum 1997 self-titled debut, which yielded the hits “Semi-Charmed Life”, “Jumper”, and “How’s It Gonna Be”. A rep for Third Eye Blind revealed to TMZ that the band hadn’t spoken with Slater since 1996, but added, “When a spirited member of the music scene is taken too soon, it is always a...
Slash: New Guns N’ Roses Pinball Machines Are “Way Beyond My Expectations”
A couple of months ago, Guns N’ Roses announced a series of “Not in This Lifetime” pinball machines, modeled after the band’s mega-successful reunion tour of the same name. The arcade games were co-designed by Slash, who caught up with us to discuss all things pinball and his involvement in the creation of the machines. The “Not in This Lifetime” machines are manufactured by Jersey Jack Pinball, and are available in three editions — Standard, Limited, and Collectors — each with a different design on its body. The machines feature a 21-song soundtrack that closely mirrors the setlists that Guns N’ Roses played on their “Not in This Lifetime” tour, which saw the return of classic members Slash and Duff McKagan. As we learned from Slash while speaking with him about the machines, his love of ...
Suspect208 (Sons of Weiland, Slash, Trujillo) Unveil Video for Second Single “All Black”: Watch
Suspect208, the new band featuring the sons of Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, and late Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland, have just unveiled their second single. The track, “All Black”, is accompanied by a music video that offers the first look at the young musicians performing onstage. The band — consisting of 20-year-old singer Noah Weiland, 16-year-old bassist Tye Trujillo, 18-year-old drummer London Hudson (Slash’s son), and 18-year-old guitarist Niko Tsangaris — went viral with their debut single, “Long Awaited”, which arrived last month. That track is already approaching a million hits on YouTube. While “Long Awaited” drew comparisons to Velvet Revolver, a band that featured both Slash and Scott Weiland, “All Black” has more of a rock-pop vib...
Top 30 Metal + Hard Rock Albums of 2020
Our Annual Report looks back upon the strange year that was 2020 and the music, film, and television that came with it. Here, we present our Top 30 Metal + Hard Rock Albums of 2020. In a year we’d mostly like to forget, the world of heavy music brought us many memorable releases. While we wait for concerts to return, we have a treasure trove of new metal and hard rock albums that amplify the anticipation of seeing our favorite bands return to stages. 2020 has been dominated by a worldwide pandemic, and if anything can provide us with a daily distraction from the suffering and uncertainty, it’s good music. Thankfully, dozens of bands decided to release new albums this year, despite not being able to tour in support of their latest studio efforts. As a reminder that life is filled with comeb...
Greta Van Fleet Announce New Album The Battle at Garden’s Gate, Unveil “Age of Machine”: Stream
Greta Van Fleet have announced a new album, The Battle at Garden’s Gate. In advance of its April 16th release, the young rockers have unleashed the LP’s latest single, “Age of Machine”. The Battle at Garden’s Gate marks Greta Van Fleet’s sophomore album, following their 2018 debut, Anthem of the Peaceful Army, and a whirlwind of success since exploding onto the scene with the single “Highway Tune” in 2017. The Michigan band’s experiences over the past three years have helped inform the new album, with bassist Sam Kiszka stating, “I suppose that everything has changed except what got us here in the first place. Everything — our perception of the world, perception of life itself, what it means to be an artist, what it means to be part of a beautiful, gorgeous society. We’ve gained a larger u...
Slash Unveils Gibson “Victoria” Les Paul Standard Goldtop Electric Guitar
Gibson and Slash have announced the “Victoria” Les Paul Standard Goldtop electric guitar, the latest instrument in the company’s expansive Slash Collection of signature models. The “Victoria” Les Paul Standard features a maple top, a solid mahogany body, a dark back finish and personal touches from Slash, including a C-shaped neck profile, uncovered Gibson Custom BurstBucker Alnico 2 pickups, color coordinated hardware appointments, hand-wired electronics with Orange Drop capacitors, and a vintage style brown hardshell case. Exclusive to the collection is Slash’s “Skully” drawing on the back of the headstock and the guitarist’s signature on the truss rod cover. Developed in tandem with Slash himself, if you want to play and sound like the guitar legend, look no further than this new Les Pa...
Bad Religion Announce Four-Part “Decades” Streaming Performance Series
Bad Religion were hoping to tour in celebration of their 40th anniversary this year. Instead, the punk-rock veterans will mark the milestone with a four-part streaming performance series dubbed “Decades”. “Decades” will be divided into four episodes, one for each decade of the band’s existence: “The ’80s”, “The ’90s, “The ’00s”, “The ’10s”. Each episode will feature footage from a new set filmed at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles. In addition to the new performances of songs from each era, the episodes will include exclusive interviews, archival footage from each decade, and more. The band will also participate in a live chat as each episode premieres. “I can speak for the whole band when I say that we were so disappointed to not be able to tour this year,” said singer Greg Graffin in a pr...
David Lee Roth Creates Morbid Artwork Referencing Sammy Hagar
The rivalry between erstwhile Van Halen singers David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar has taken on a new art form … and a morbid one, at that. Diamond Dave has created a new piece of artwork that makes several references to the Red Rocker’s future passing and afterlife. Roth’s art piece comes just a few days after Hagar said he would have loved to take part in an all-inclusive Van Halen farewell tour featuring all three of the band’s singers (including Gary Cherone), despite a “not user friendly” DLR. The “kitchen-sink” tour, as Wolfgang Van Halen referred to it, was being planned by Eddie Van Halen before his passing in October. While the timing of Roth’s artwork seems to be in direct response to Hagar’s harsh words, the subject matter apparently references quotes that Hagar made back in June. A...
Limp Bizkit’s Wes Borland: Deftones Made “Right Move” by Renouncing Nu Metal
Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland achieved massive success amidst the nu metal craze of the late ’90s and early 2000s. That said, he thinks fellow nu metal pioneers Deftones made the “right move” for their longterm career by renouncing the genre. While appearing on Dean Delray’s Let There Be Talk podcast, Borland was asked about where Bizkit fit in during the rise of nu metal. “A lot of it sort of all developed at once — Korn, and the Deftones … The Deftones really tried to separate themselves from everything, which was the right move, for sure. Because they were able to maintain longevity.” Deftones consciously made the decision to not tour with bands like Limp Bizkit and Korn, and abandoned the nu metal genre in terms of both scene and sound. In the process, Deftones have earned critical...
Marilyn Manson’s Role Cut from Stephen King’s The Stand Miniseries
More than a year ago, Marilyn Manson announced that he would be acting in CBS All Access’ miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand. With just a few weeks to go before its December 17th premiere, the show’s director, Josh Boone, has revealed that the shock rocker’s role has been cut from the limited TV series. While Manson’s particular role was never formally unveiled by the series’ creators, it was assumed by many that he would play the pyromaniac Trashcan Man from the 1978 novel. However, it was recently revealed that actor Ezra Miller would play that role, leading to speculation that Manson had been cut from the series. As it turns out, Manson was set to play The Kid, a character who appeared in an extended version of King’s novel, but not in the original story. As dir...
Creed’s Scott Stapp: Even My Kids Mock My “Over-the-Top” Singing
During their heyday, Creed were a multiplatinum success, but critics and many music fans have jeered at frontman Scott Stapp’s vocals over the years. Apparently, things aren’t much different among his family members, with his own children poking fun at his “over-the-top” singing. Stapp and Creed rose to fame in the late ’90s with inspirational rock hits like “Higher” and “With Arms Wide Open”. While they were ruling the charts, they were also getting ridiculed, with Stapp’s singing style bearing the brunt of the mockery. Not only did people says that Stapp was trying too hard to sound like Eddie Vedder, they also chided him for the way he over-enunciated his lyrics. In a new interview with The Ringer’s “10 Questions With Kyle Brandt”, Stapp admits that his singing on Creed’s first couple o...
Ozzy Osbourne on COVID-19: “If I Get This Virus, I’m F**ked”
Ozzy Osbourne has suffered through a number of health issues over the past few years, and the last thing he needs right now is to contract COVID-19. As the metal legend puts it, “If I get this virus, I’m f**ked”. Over the past two years, Osbourne has had a series of health setbacks, including a serious staph infection in late 2018, followed by pneumonia in early 2019. While he was recovering from pneumonia, he fell at home, dislodging metal rods that had been inserted into his body after an ATV accident in 2003. He then disclosed at the beginning of this year that he has been battling Parkinson’s disease for a long time. Had it not been for his various health problems and the pandemic, he likely would have completed his farewell tour by now. But he had to cancel all of his dates for the pa...
