Update on that Pedophile/animal-porn-fiend from Lostprophets

It was just a few short weeks ago that it was released that Ian Watkins, that shitty emo singer from  Lostprophets, was accused of of sexual misconduct with children UNDER THE AGE OF 13, among other VILE charges, such as a ridiculously large collection of extreme animal porn.    Well, the plot thickens and as the reports are being released Watkins grows more repulsive by the minute.   His charges now include conspiracy to RAPE A 1-year old baby girl, with the help of 2 female accomplices.  It's not like I am some huge fan of Lostprophets (or even a fan at all), and trying to defend Watkins, but the charges seem so ridiculous that it's hard to believe.  Why would these female accomplices (who's names cannot be released as it seems they have immunity & identity protection) come forward with this info if they were involved?  Seems like they are framing Watkins.  

**Then again, there are MANY other charges also against him, including involvement with other girls under 13, and of course, there was also a huge amount of bestiality found on his computer.  I'd love to believe this is all false, but there is so much being released that it seems this guy is in fact a pedo and awful human in general, who needs to be locked up.

HOW DID I NEVER NOTICE THIS BEFORE????

Either Guy Pearce is secretly a murdering Norwegian black metal drummer, or Faust has an alternate life as an Aussie fancy pants actor..........

Update on what "might be" from Slayer's Dave Lombardo, Exodus's Gary Holt, and Amen's Casey Chaos

Are word's even necessary?   This photo is from just a few hours ago today!   From left to right (although I doubt anyone who reads this site doesnt know who these guys are...) is Gary Holt of Exodus fame, Casey Chaos of Amen, and of course Slayer's very own Dave Lombardo.

OK guys.... we get it...... you're in a studio.     Now how about a a listen to some tunes?   Dave.... I know you're reading this?   Help a metalhead out.

AMAZING Photo Alert!!

This is a party I would LOVE to be invited to:

Tommy Lee, Slash, Scott Ian, Rob Zombie, Ace Frehley, and Gilby Clarke. DAMN, I wanna be there. One person doesn't belong, who do you think?

RIP..... Nightvision's bassist Dean Hocking in fatal car accident

Today I shall be the bearer of bad news.   Nightvision's bassist, Dean Hocking, was killed late last Thursday night in a car accident.  Nightvision may not be the world's best band, but 23 is far to young to go, and news like this always sucks.

According to the Sleaford Standard, Dean Hocking, bassist for U.K. heavy rockers Nightvision, was killed in a car crash early Thursday morning (December 27) in Sleaford, England. The 23-year-old musician and an as-yet-unnamed 37-year-old fellow passenger were both pronounced dead at the scene.

The incident happened at around 2:50 a.m. when a Vauxhall Astra left the road. No other vehicles are thought to have been involved and a 27-year-old local woman has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving. She is currently helping police with their enquiries.

Formed in 2003, NIGHTVISION's definitive lineup took shape three years later when singer Dave McKee joined the group. Since that time, NIGHTVISION has primarily released music and toured in the U.K. Their sophomore album, "Consequence Of Sin", was released in 2011 and the band spent most of 2012 playing shows in support of it.

In a joint statement on Facebook on Thursday night, the remaining band members said: "There is nothing we can say that hasn't been said already other than to confirm the devastating and crushing loss of our incredible bass player Dean Hocking — tragically taken from us as a passenger in a road accident during the early hours.

"Needless to say, he was an incredible bass player — one of the best — and an incredible bloke.  We obviously need the time to get this round our heads but in the meantime.....wherever you are... get a drink and raise it high as a toast to a fine, young, talented guy gone too soon. (I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I TRULY hope alcohol was not involved in this accident... otherwise, this statement will definitely be one these guys regret.)  "Turn it up to 11 and rumble the heavens, our brother. We love you, dude, and we are gonna miss you like you'll never know."

Bill Aucoin turns 66(6)

I'd like to wish a very happy birthday to the man that contributed to making Gene Simmons a very wealthy man, Mr. Bill Aucoin.   Aucoin managed KISS from 1973-82.... arguably KEY years for making KISS who they are.

Oh, and now he manages Lordi.  I guess he has a thing for ridiculous stage costumes.

New Release of Old Music from TAAKE!

I LOVE me some old school Taake, and at the risk of sounding too cool for school, when it comes to this guy, his older music is just better.  What can I say, his more recent stuff started to sound run of the mill.   But I digress, because overall I a a big fan and I still play his self-titled album often.

Well, for us super cool black metal snobs, it seems that Hoest will being taking Taake back to their roots in celebration of  "20 years of staying true to his musical identity" by releasing a 20-song, 2 CD collection of Taake rarities.  The anniversary album will be released on Dark Essence Records on March 4th and will coincide with a planned European tour which "will herald the start of a year celebrating Taake's unique contribution to Norwegian black metal." (as you can see he is very modest).

Titled Gravkamre, Kroner Og Troner (AKA Burial Chambers, Crowns And Thrones), the release will not only feature exclusive new tracks, but also rare and previously unreleased material as well as alternative versions and recordings that have, until now, only been available on vinyl.

Check out "Et Pust Av Oeyne", a track from the album below.


Full track listing after the jump......

Members of Exodus, Amen, and Slayer to form new band??

Nothing has been been said yet.... but check out this photo of Ross Robinson (producer), Gary Holt (Exodus), Dave Lombardo (Slayer), and Casey Chaos (Amen) in studio (located somewhere in Venice)....... hmmmmm.....

Casey Chaos posted this picture to his facebook today, and said it was from the 22nd, but yet not a peep about a new side project in the works.   Something is definitely brewing here and I am looking forward to hearing it.

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Thin Lizzy, new name, new singer, new album...

As you may or may not know, the remaining members of Thin Lizzy got back together with vocalist Ricky Warwick (who did past work with the band), and added a new guy, Jimmy DeGrasso, to form the band.  No, they are not called Thin Lizzy Part 2, but instead 'Black Star Riders'.  The band name sounds like a  crappy biker gang, but heck, it's nice to see these guys back to making music. The bands full lineup is:

-Ricky Waywick (vocals)
-Scott Gorham (guitar)
-Damon Johnson (guitar)
-Marco Mendoza (bass)
-Jimmy DeGrasso (drums)

Black Star Riders are set to enter a Los Angeles studio next week with producer Kevin Shirley (who worked with Zeppelin, Maiden, Aerosmith and Rush) to begin recording their debut album.  The album is set for a May 2013 release via Nuclear Blast.  Nuclear Blast is definitely not the way I would have gone, considering when I think of the label I think of bands like Hammerfall, Dimmu Borgir, and Symphony X.... but I digress.

Back in October 2012, what was then Thin Lizzy announced that they would not be recording any new material under that name.  Despite this, the upcoming BSR album will feature material the band wrote while touring under the Thin Lizzy name.  Vocalist Ricky Warwick says:

"We are all very excited about the music that we have created for Black Star Riders. The synergy between the five of us has been phenomenal and I can't wait for the world to hear these songs."

The band was signed by Monte Conner - former A&R leader at Roadrunner now turned Nuclear Blast president.  It looks like Conners influence of at Nuclear may take take the label to a broader audience.  I'm looking forward to hear the new album.

Mike Scaccia Memorial Service Announced

It was just a few short days ago I had to report the unfortunate news of Mike Scaccia's sudden death on the 22nd.   Fans are all invited to pay their respect to the late Ministry/Revolting Cocks/Rigor Mortis guitarist at his official memorial service, being held this Sunday, December 30 at 3:00 p.m. at Aristide Event Center in Mansfield, Texas. Again, the event is open to the public, so friends, family and fans are all welcome.

The details-
Aristide Event Center
570 North Walnut Creek Drive
Mansfield, TX 76063

Scaccia died this past Saturday night (December 22) while performing with his current band, Rigor Mortis at The Rail Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

Some more details on the tragic event has been released and it is now official that the cause of death was a sudden heart attack brought on by a heart disease. According to the Tarrant County medical examiner's office the official report states 'atherosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease' as the culprit. Officials ruled it a natural death. He was 47 years old. No drugs involved here, folks. Just a solid guy who was robbed the privilege of growing old.

According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, police responded to a call from the club at 11:45 p.m. Saturday, and Sciacca was pronounced dead at 12:26 a.m. in the emergency room at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth.

His daughter Sarah posted a message on his Facebook page at 3 a.m. Dallas time on Sunday, saying, "I love you so much dad. I love you so much." Mike had two toddlers - Sarah and Taarna Scaccia Hopkins

Mike is survived by his wife Jenny Rowen Scaccia, with whom he has two toddlers, and daughters Sarah Scaccia and Taarna Scaccia Hopkins.

Bret Micheal's in FreeCreditScore.com Commercial

You know those really annoying FreeCreditScore.com commercials with that fabricated hipster band?  Well, starting today, that band is gone, and Bret Michaels is stepping in to take the spot.  Four brand new advertisements will hit the air, and the first one features the Poison frontman himself.  You can either waste all day surfing the tv to see the commercial, or just press play below:

Placing Bret in the ad seems completely random, and WHY WHY WHY did they make he sing "Every Rose", but hey, this wig and bandanna combo still brings in the bucks..  One thing I like about Bret is how he doesn't take himself too seriously.  The guy never claims to be a brilliant musician, and knows how to laugh at himself.  He says this about the ad:

"This would be a great time to remind everyone to have your credit report checked. With the holiday shopping excitement in the air, sometimes things could show up on your credit report that you didn't know were there. FreeCreditScore will keep you safe with accurate credit reporting data for you… personally."

Sounds like he got paid to say that, but hey, this guy is making a ton more money currently than the other Hair-God hasbeens, so more power to him.

Ozzy goes back in time to chat Vol. 4

First off, this is a great Ozzy Christmas photo:

Now, seeing as Black Sabbath's Vol. 4 is the best album to grace this fine earth, (in my humble opinion) what better gift to myself and every metalhead out there than a little behind the scenes action on the making of the album.  The Ozzman cameth to In The The Studio.net to chat with host Redbeard about the album that is widely considered Sabbath's last great album with the original lineup.  At the time, Sabbath had their own personal problems, not to mention the added complication of substantial substance abuse, but by his own admission, Ozzy admits what the real culprit of the band's eventual demise was- ego .

"What happened with me and Black Sabbath was that, in the beginning we all had a purpose, but as we went along that inevitable thing stepped in called ego. The fact is that success does change you.  It affected me. I was full of cocaine.  That stuff makes you talk the biggest load of horse crap.  There shouldn't be a problem (left) in the world, 'cause we solved them all in the bathroom of a hotel with a bag of that white powder."

Ozzy goes on to talk about his reasons for going solo- which don't include trouble with the band, but rather a desire to be able to voice his personal musical ideas, and his struggles with drugs and alcohol.  You can hear the full streaming interview with Ozzy here.

12 Metal Days Of Christmas (DAY 1!)

Merry Christmas, headbangers!!   Today, is day 1, obviously, seeing as it's Xmas Day. Your final song for the 12 Metal Days Of Christmas is.......drum roll, please.....Spinal Tap's "Christmas With The Devil"!!  The song is pretty hard to hear because it's a somewhat crappy video, but I still guarantee that it goes to 11! ENJOY and Merry AXEmas! [wow, I'm corny]

Day 1: Spinal Tap - "Christmas with The Devil"
Past songs/videos after the jump....

Paul Di'Anno Tour Postponed

Before I get into the nitty gritty of why Paul Di'anno's tour is postponed I had to share the flyer below for his Whiskey show.  I think this flyer is fabulous, and believe it or not, I did NO photoshopping on this.  This is what the actual flyer looks like!  Hilarious and amazing.

So now for the details:  As announced earlier, Paul Di'Anno's winter tour had to be put on hold while his work visa for the US was sorted out.   Nobody (Di'Anno included) seemed to think it would drag on this long.  I think Di'Anno fans can survive going Christmas without their dose of the overlooked Iron Maiden frontman, but Di'Anno himself is PISSED and he took to his facebook page to voice his frusterations.  I friggin' love when musicians bitch out other musicians or music industry people.   I am not being sarcastic, I really love it.  So merry Xmas to me.  I highlighted the best parts for your reading pleasure, enjoy:

"My personal and sincere apologies go out to all of my fans and friends (and my band LONERO) and indeed all individual show promoters and everyone involved in this supposed USA December 2012-January 2013 tour cancelation as I am deeply saddened at the total mismanagement of this whole thing. As I’m sure you can imagine, I cannot actually play the tour without first having a USA work visa.

"I would also like to point out that I have not had any news whatsoever in the past couple of weeks (despite my constant requests) on the USA work visa that I have been waiting and waiting on. Plus I was not provided with an air ticket and indeed I have not received any deposits either — just for the record.

"In brief, the only news I have ever had of this tour were the dates of the shows themselves.

"I am very sorry indeed for any fans that have not managed to get the cancelation tour information at an earlier time than this last-minute blog. This is, and has been, ALL totally out of my control, and as you can imagine, I am more than pissed off at this whole situation.
"No doubt (as usual) some (so-called) rock journalists (and their websites and blogs) will slag me off without even having any clues whatsoever as to the reasons behind this cancelation, but I guess that is what some of 'em are best at.

"The main culprit behind this mess is the arsebag guy (he'll remain nameless just for now) who was supposed to get the visa... This total tosser did 'f**k-all' and did not even tell us that he had done nothing whilst he just pissed off for Christmas and left this nightmare behind him..... He was NOT arranged by me but he WAS arranged by someone in the USA who should know better, and so I left it up to these capable people. I was supposed to be onstage tonight and thereafter with my band LONERO, and through trusting these people, it's me (as usual) who bares the brunt of all this. 

"The tour is supposed to now be resheduled to next June 2013. However, this time, if these f**kers do not bother getting my U.S. visa finalised during this coming January, then (as i have pointed out to them), there won't be no tour. So watch this space and let's see if some people get their act together whilst I await the statutory slagging."

Thank you for that!!  Gotta love a bit of metalhead drama.

12 Metal Days Of Christmas (day 2)

Merry Xmas Ever!!!  For the 2nd Metal Day Of Christmas I bring to you Enuff Z'Nuff's "Happy Holiday".   Enuff Z'Nuff arent metal, but they are rock, and this song indeed does rock.   Originally the song was intended for the Home Alone 2 soundtrack, but it didnt make the cut.  Enuff Z'nuff fans weren't having that, so "Happy Holiday" ended up on the 1996 Enuff Z'Nuff release Peach Fuzz. The song proved so popular with Enuff Z'Nuff fans, it was aslo included on the album Monster Ballads Xmas. Whaddaya think?

Day 2: Enuff Z'Nuff - "Happy Holiday"

Past songs/videos after the jump.....

Happy Birthday, Jesus, God , the TRUE Savior, LEMMY

Today this wonderful man turns 66.  Lemmy bless.

Just Because the Photo Is Awesome

Ozzy, Motley Crue, and Pete Way's Waysted.   This looks very fun.

12 Metal Days of Christmas (Day 3)

After the last post, it's time for something positive to brighten things up.   Another metal holiday song to add to the 12 Metal Days of Christmas is in order.  Today's song is "Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer" by an allstar lineup of some of my favorite mid-late 80's rockers- Greg Bissonette, Stephen Pearcy, Tracii Guns, Billy Sheehan, and  Bob Kulick.   I know Pearcy is singing, but it doesn't sound like him to me.  What is this new voice he is playing around with?  Either way, it doesn't get much more fun than this:  (PS.  Love the guitar work by Tracii Guns on this!!)

Day 3: Greg Bissonette, Stephen Pearcy, Tracii Guns, Billy Sheehan, and  Bob Kulick - "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer"

Past songs after the jump....

Ministry/Rigor Mortis Guitar, RIP

Man, I hate posting updates like this.  In fact I'd even rather post about the brilliance of bands like Attack Attack or how real Bret Micheal's wig looks than do another RIP post.  But alas, I must take a moment to say RIP to Ministry and Rigor Mortis guitarist Mike Scaccia who died after collapsing onstage during a performance.  The news is still very fresh, as the show was only last night (Dec. 22).  I am sure more details will be released, but as for now not too much is known as the cause.   I can't imagine seeing a musician collapse on stay like that.  I send my best to those around him.

The only details as of now are that the musician was performing with thrashers, Rigor Mortis, at the Rail Club in Fort Worth, Texas, when he suddenly fell to the ground from a seizure.  Classic Rock magazine reports "that one of the band’s members returned to the address the crowd, stating only, 'It doesn’t look good.' Scaccia was rushed to the hospital, but passed away soon after."   That's horrible, I can't imagine what everyone was thinking.

And it gets worse- the band's singer, Bruce Corbitt, had scheduled this specific show to celebrate his 50th birthday.  Obviously he was very close with Scaccia, and he posted the following on his Facebook:

“My brother is gone! The only reason I am who I am is because of this man. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t even be in a band. RIP Mike — the greatest guitar player I ever knew. I’m proud to say that I was always Mike Scaccia’s biggest fan, and always will be.”

This is such sad news right before Christmas (and any time for that matter).  I won't lie and act like I even knew this guys name before hearing this awful news, but I do of course know Ministry and Rigor Mortis, and have been to a enough shows to know this is NOT what is supposed to happen.  Scaccia helped form Rigor Mortis in 1983 and by 1988, had the band signed to Capitol Records with their self-titled debut being released shortly after.  Scaccia's time in Ministry can be heard on the band's ‘Psalm 69′ (1992) and ’Filth Pig’ (1996) albums.   RIP, Mike.

Time for a Tony Iommi Update!

My personal favorite guitarist and human, Tony Iommi, hopped on his computer last night and posted an update to his website.   And it's a very positive update at that, which makes me a very happy girl.  Check out what 'ole chopped fingers had to say:

“What a year! Certainly not the one I was expecting.  Thanks to you all for your massive help and support; it was very encouraging.  I’m still working on the [new Black Sabbath] album and managed to play three shows. Not bad given the news a year ago.

"I’m looking forward to next year, seeing what you think of the record and touring as much as we’re able.  My best wishes to you all. I hope you have a great Christmas and New Year, most of all, stay positive.”

It's great to hear an update from Tony and even better to see that it's such an upbeat one.  It was around this time last year (the end of 2011) that Iommi was diagnosed with Lymphoma.  Since then he's had to go through chemotherapy, which is brutal on the body and makes even a Yngwie Malmsteen solo seem easy.  Best of luck to him!!

Band Of The Week - ThE PhysicistS

Introducing this week's Band of the week - ThE PhysicistS (and, yes, that is the correct was to type it).  All members of the group are Finnish and all members are former scientists who decided to turn in their lab coats for leather jackets and form a metal band.  Think: Rob Zombie-ish, NIN meets Megadeth and makes the keyboards a bit more badass.   However you put it (I'm think "alt metal"), these guys are pretty great.

Just last week on the 14th, ThE PhysicistS released a new song titled “Wayne Newton Hulabaloo”.  From what I could gather up on their website, this is the band's first song since they released an EP in 2008 titled The Old Religion.  Check out the video below:

Pretty kickass, eh?   Below is some of their older stuff.   Tell me that "Oppenheimer" doesn't remind you of Megadeth's "Symphony of Destruction".   I dare ya.

The band's hilarious and clever bio can be read in full after the jump.......  (I'd put it here but it's longer than an organic polymer chain molecule.    Wacka Wacka Wacka!!)

12 Metal Days Of Christmas (day 4)

The clock is ticking folks, and you have only 3 days to shop before its the big X-mas.  Today's song, which clocks in as the 4th Metal Day Of Christmas is............:::drum roll:::............Korn's "Kid The Sandy Claws".  The song is from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas and it kicks ass.  What makes it even better is that someone out there (who has too much free time on their hands), synced the song up to the movie, giving us this awesome video:

Day 4: Korn - "Kidnap The Sandy Claus"

Past songs/videos after the jump.....

Brilliant Swedish Man Gets Government Money for "Heavy Metal Addiction"

This is one of the most genius things I have heard in a long time.

Swedish man, Roger Tullgren, has been awarded state disability benefits for his "addiction to heavy metal."  First off - WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THIS??  Secondly, Roger- you are my new personal hero. 

Here's how he pulled it off:  The 42-year-old self-diagnosed metalhead said he consulted three psychologists to confirm his uncontrollable addiction to guitar solos and headbanging, which led him to over 300 concerts last year.  Attending this many shows made him useless as an employee, leaving him unable to hold down a job.  Roger says: 

"I have been trying for 10 years to get this classified as a handicap.  I spoke to three psychologists and they finally agreed that I needed this to avoid being discriminated against." 

 According to a report by the Global Post, he now has a part-time job as a dishwasher at a restaurant in Hassleholm, which will be supplemented by disability benefits ::cough, free money, cough::.  Not only is he getting Sweden's handouts, but his new boss has agreed to let him rock out to Slayer as loud as he wants while scrubbing dishes, so long as it doesn't disturb guests.  Swedish-headbanger-Roger has got this all figured out!!  If that wasn't enough, his boss also agreed to grant Tullgren time off to go to gigs!  Roger boasts:  

"I signed a form saying: 'Roger feels compelled to show his heavy metal style. This puts him in a difficult situation on the labor market. Therefore he needs extra financial help'.  So now I can turn up at a job interview dressed in my normal clothes and just hand the interviewers this piece of paper."  

Wow.  Roger also claims his addiction started when his brother played him a Black Sabbath album when he was a toddler.  Yea, me too, buddy.

The aROCKalypse is here....

I woke up this morning, so it seems that I am not one of the chosen people who will float up to heaven.  Damn it.   But hell, the Mayans still may be right, since they did predict three days of darkness before we all get checked out and I woke up this morning to wind and darkness from the storm that hit the NY area.  What I hope the Mayans really meant was that we get three days of The Darkness before we croak.  I could live (three days) with that.

In other arockolypse (corny, I know) news after thinking about Tool's "Aenima" I came to the conclusion that they also don't seem to mind that the end is near.....

12 Metal Days of Christmas (day 5)

The countdown continues with it being 5 days till Christmas!   ENJOY this cheesy as all hell version of "Silent Night" by Manowar.   I'm a Manowar fan (and an admittedly cheesy person myself), and I am proud to say I love this song, which manages to be both silly and amazing.  Don't shut the song off too quick though- you have to make it to at least 1:50 in.

Day 5: Manowar - "Silent Night"

Past songs/videos after the jump.....

NYC area Concert Listings!!

Some new shows have been posted since the last concert calender update.  Some good news includes Neurosis, who released a NY date for their 2013 tour!  On January 19th the band will be hitting up the Brooklyn Masonic Temple, which is the perfect venue for them.  Other added shows include two shows in early March by Today Is The Day, Cradle of Filth, Fu*cked Up, Papa Roach, Shrine and a few others.....  OH AND DEFTONES!

DECEMBER

-12/20 - Eluveitie and Wintersun w/ Varg @ The Gramercy (Manhattan)
-12/20 - The Slackers w/ The Hard Times, The Ready Henchmen, The Pandemic and Survey Says @ Ollies Point (Amityville, Long Island)
-12/21 - Fu*ked Up, Lumeria, Night Birds and Parquet Courts @ The Warsaw (Brooklyn)
-12/21 - Black Anvil, EVOKEN, Teloch Vovin, Penetration, Leech @ Saint Vitus (Greenpoint, Brooklyn)
-12/22 - Trans-Siberian Orchestra (NOTE: 2 shows- one at 3:00pm, the second at 8:00pm) @ The Prudential Center (Newark, NJ)
-12/07 - He Is Legend w/ The Offer, Call Them Liars, Shepards, Nobody Takes Vegas, and Wargrave @ Ollies Point (Amityville, Long Island)
-12/29 - Jane's Addiction @ Terminal 5 (Manhattan)
-12/29 - Halestorm @ The Wellmont Theater (Montclair, NJ)
-12/30 - Cro-Mags w/ Sheer Terror, Rude Awakening, Brain Slug and Born Annoying @ Highland Ballroom (Manhattan)
-12/30 - Andrew WK w/ Big D and the Kids Table, Exes Of Evil, The Convictions, Three Legged Fox, The Blazing Beaverducks, Gangway, and Listen Close (Christmas show!) @ Ollies Point (Amityville, Long Island)
-12/31 - Paul Di'Anno w/Panzie, Fear The Dawn, and Terror Garden @ Ollies Point (Amityville, Long Island)
-12/30 - Dark Star Orchestra @ The Paramount (Huntington, Long Island)
-12/31 - Dark Star Orchestra @ The Paramount (Huntington, Long Island)
-12/31 - Voltaire (NYE Party show with open bar, champaigne toast, and free buffet)  (the inner Hot Topic-wearing goth in me wants to go!) @ Club Revolution (Amityville, Long Island)

Future listings after the jump.....

Heavy Metal Xmas Songs from Christopher LEE!

I have some awesome and interesting news on the man best known as Count Dracula.  Horror movie legend Sir Christopher Lee is releasing a a collection of Christmas songs- that are heavy metal.   Hell yes, Dracula!!

The 90-year-old actor has dabbled in heavy metal over the last few years, recording several of his own albums and working with bands including Rhapsody of Fire and Manowar, as well as Judas Priest star Richie Faulkner.
Lee, who is both a vampire and a classically-trained singer, is now offering up a collection of holiday songs, including heavy metal covers of Little Drummer Boy and Silent Night.  Seeing as metal and horror are two of my favorite things, I would like to think of this as a personal Christmas gift to mwah from Mr. Lee.
The festive tracks, titled A Heavy Metal Christmas, are available through iTunes.

GNR member (not AXL!!!) Storms off stage

Wow, first a Guns 'N Roses concert is delayed and it's not Axl's fault, and now a GNR band member storms off stage..... and it's not Axl!  Since when did Mr. Rose become the group's goody-two-shoes?

What happened was as follows:

The band was playing the final stop on their first tour of India last Wednesday in Gurgaon, just outside New Delhi.  The concert went off well, according to a New York Times review by Kabir Taneja, with Axl Rose taking the stage on time and the band playing a 3 hour set.

But the show apparently didn't end well. Taneja said that after the band returned to the stage for an encore, Rose thanked fans and told them that playing India "has been a longtime dream."  He then dedicated the concert to the memory of sitar legend Ravi Shanker who had died the previous day. The band then took their final bow.

At this point, Axl decided to play another song and called the group back on the stage but Tommy Stinson apparently did not want to. Taneja reports, "he was visible from where I sat nearly throwing his bass backstage, as a roadie tried to stop him."  The band began performing Rose Tattoo's "Nice Boys" without Stinson, when Axl left the stage only to return moments later followed by Stinson.  At this point, Stinson, " threw his bass onto a pile of equipment, flipped the middle finger at some crew members and left. The band finished the last song without a bassist."

You can read the full review of the concert here.  Thanks to Anti Music for the Axl update.

12 Metal Days of Christmas (day 6)

In only 6 days it will be Christmas.   Last night I decided to do some last minute online Christmas shopping, and bought a present for my favorite person (myself).   Unfortunately  I wasn't able to get the Slayer Christmas sweater, but what I got is equally amazing.  Introducing:

Iron Maiden.  Number of The Beast. On your feet.  Jealous?

And today's gift to you...... AC/DC's "Mistress For Christmas", which is both hilarious and kickass.

Day 6: AC/DC - "Mistress For Christmas"

Past songs and videos after the jump....

What do Steel Panther, Dane Cook, and Jeff Pilson have in common?

....that they all were at West Hollywoods House Of Blues on Monday (the 17th) performing Van Halen's "Running With the Devil".

I like it.

Christmas wishes from Mike Portnoy!

Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, Adrenaline Mob, Avenged Sevenfold., etc...) posted this amazingly adorable Christmas photo, and I feel the need to post it- especially after my earlier post about wonderful Christmas sweaters.

12 Metal Days Of Christmas (day7)

Also comes is black and red!

A week from today will be Christmas!!  If you are still looking for gifts to give you favorite rockers, I have another good one for ya.  Turns out Slayer isn't the only one with a FANTASTIC Christmas Sweater.   The Decedents have one, too.   Love it!
But back to the 12 Metal Days of Christmas.  Today I present to you: bumbum buuuummm..... Alice Coopers's "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town":

Day 7: Alice Cooper - "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town"

Past songs after the jump....

BARF!!! Pedo-alert.

Very few things are more vile than pedophiles, and I am very sad/disturbed/grossed-out to announce that Ian Watkins, the singer from Lostprophets, is one of them.   I am hoping this news is untrue since the world doesn't need another pedo out there, but according to the BBC Watkins has been charged with 'sex offences against children'.  GROSS.  In my early high school days I remember thinking this freak was attractive- I guess I was too old for him.
The only details released so far are that Watkins is being charged with "conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a female under 13, as well as possession/distribution of indecent images of children."   Honestly, his fanbase is so young, that this just gets more disgusting by the minute.  Apparently two women is their 20s are also being questioned about this case, and may have somehow been involved, but no details have been released on that.   If this is true, lock this freak up with a huge rapist named Bubba ASAP.

New Music from Toxic Holocaust's Joel Grind

If you ever read this blog, you probably know how much I love Toxic Holocaust.  The metal side of me loves Toxic Holocaust the way the gay-male side of me loves Liza Minelli, but I digress.

Anyway, the news is that Toxic Holocaust main man, Joel Grind, is set to release "The Yellowgoat Sessions" on January 15th.  Toxic Holocaust is basically just Joel, but this album isn't a Toxic album.  It's a Joel solo album.  Honestly, I don't *really* see the difference, but Joel makes a good point:

“I decided to not call this a Toxic Holocaust record for a few reasons. The main one being that Toxic has sort of morphed from being a solo project to now being a full band. That's not saying you won’t see other ‘solo’ Toxic material, but for right now it's definitely a solid band. Also, this record is definitely less thrash and more dirty rock ‘n’ roll. Finally, I didn't want to just slap the Toxic name on it to sell it. I recorded this because I was anxious to record something like this again without over thinking things.”

Fair enough, and also strangely noble.  "The Yellowgoat Sessions" sound like a return to the "Critical Mass" demo-era Toxic.  You can give a listen to the album's single "Cross Damnnation" here, and also check out a preview of the entire album below.

Tuesday's Album Releases

Ok, Frank Zappa is well known, but besides that, we got another week of releases that 99.9999999999% of the world hasn't heard of.   Enjoy!

• Angels and Airwaves - "Stomping the Phantom Break Pedal" Double EP (To The Stars Records) (that band with Tom DeLonge from Blink182 on vocals)  Attic - "The Invocation" (Van)
• Biters - "Last Of A Dying Dream" (Pipeline Records)
• Capture The Crown - "Til Death" (Sumerian)
• Desolate Shrine - "The Sanctum of Human Darkness" (Dark Descent)
• Frank Zappa - "Lost Episodes" (Zappa Records)
• Imbroglio - "Declared Self-Hated" (The Path Less Traveled)
• Like Bridges We Burn - "Fresh Out The Kitchen" (unsigned)
• Maveth - "Coils of the Black Earth" (Dark Descent)
• Mystery Blue - "Conquer The World" (Road Show)
• Picture Me Broken - "Mannequins" EP (Standby)
• Saxon - "Heavy Metal Thunder" - The Movie DVD (EMI)
• Xanthochroid - "Blessed He With Boils" (Erthe and Axen)

12 Metal Days Of Christmas (day 8)

The Christmas countdown goes on with only 8 days till the little baby Jesus' birthday.  Today's day of metal brings to you: "Run Run Rudolph" by Lemmy Kilmister (w/ Billy Gibbons & Dave Grohl):

Day 8: Lemmy Kilmister (w/ Billy Gibbons & Dave Grohl) - "Run Run Rudolph"

Past songs after the jump....

Blood Tsunami working on third album

There are a few ways you might know Bård Eithun.  For one thing, he's better known as "Faust".   He also played drums in Emperor.  Still don't know him?  Well, he's also that Norwegian guy who stabbed a man to death in a forest, which of course was labeled as another black metal killing.  [Sidenote:  The murder had nothing to do with black metal, satanism, fascism.... any of that].

Anyway, he's been free since 2003 after serving 9 years in prison, and has been working with the band Blood Tsunami, who are definitely more thrash than black metal.  Bard's released the following statement via Facebook about their upcoming third album:

  Well, it seems we actually managed to get down a proper mix for the third Blood Tsunami-album this weekend. After having spent some 20 hours with Peter Michael Kolstad Vegem and Sverre Dælhi it looks like we landed on a mix that does the material justice. The drums were recorded during two days in July and the plan was to finish everything by early September to see a 2012 release but due to Pete having to undergo throat surgery everything was postponed. Anyhow, problems aside, please see the album released sometime during the new year via a significant metal-label. Now time to chill with some Vangelis before hitting the bed. Alllright! Thrash!

Blood Tsunami's last album "Grand Feast For Vultures" was released in 2009.

12 Metal Days Of Christmas (day 9)

We are down to single digits until Christmas -9 more days to go. Today's song is both ridiculous and amazing all in one Metal God package.  Enjoy Rob Halford's "Oh Come All Ye Faithful":

Day 9: Rob Halford - "Oh Come All Ye Faithful"

Past videos/songs after the jump....

Randy Blythe is "Disgusted"!

Lamb of God's friendly frontman Randy Blythe recently released a statement declaring that he has "never been more disgusted with an audience" in his life more than he was this past Friday (the 14th) when his band performed in Medford, Oregon.
Apparently what happened was that Randy asked the crowd to give 60 seconds of silence during their set to pay respects to all victims of the Connecticut school shooting.  I am sure you can get what happened next- the crowd failed to comply.   Well, actually it was only a small handful of people who couldn't seem to shut up, but it was enough to piss Randy off.  He responded by hitting up Instagram  and writing the following message:    (after the jump...)

12 Metal Days of Christmas (day 10)

Only 10 more days till Christmas.   It's a Sunday so get all your last minute online shopping done today so it will be sent first thing Monday morning.  Don't forget to buy me this amazing Slayer Christmas sweater.

Today I present to you one of my personal favorites  The Darkness's "Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End)".    (ps. if you dont know what a 'bells end' is, some humor may be lost on you.)

Past videos/songs after the jump....

Hired Guns N' Roses show postponed, and its not Axls fault!

Normally I wouldn't bother posting about a postponed/canceled/failed Guns N Roses concert, since it's nothing new.  BUT, in this case the reason for the postponement of GNR's show in Jakarta, Indonesia isn't Axl's fault!  And, yes, that is shocking news.  I'll give the details on that in a second, but first I need to share this wonderful find on facebook I got:

That's a photo of Axl's boarding ticket receipt.  PLEASE NOTE THAT HE IS CHECKING 18 BAGS!!!   I know that you need a shit ton of stuff while touring, but that all would get checked separately by the roadies with the tour gear.  SO, that means this is all Axl's personal items.   Pretty different from his days entering the jungle:

Back to his show in show in Jakarta, Indonesia after the jump...

England Embraces Heavy Metal

First England reveals that 'Heavy Metal' is a more commonly practiced religion than Scientology, Druidism and Satanism and now tonight it's been announced that Grimsby Minster in North Yorkshire, UK will host a 'heavy metal Christmas' carol service to raise money for homeless charities.   I think it's time to move to the UK.   Either that or us Yanks need to raise the metal volume to 11.  I am seriously impressed with the tea-drinking headbangers across the pond right now.

The "Very Heavy Christmas Carol Service" was first held last year and proved to be a success with more than 300 metalheads in attendance.   This year they are hoping for even more.  The service isn't just metal Christmas carols, either.  There will also be specially written "Punk Poetry" lessons for those who prefer Black Flag over Black Sabbath.

Event organizer Simon Cross talked about 2011's 'Very Heavy Christmas':

"After the event we were inundated with requests for another heavy metal carol service.  People love to get together for carols at Christmas, and it seems they particularly love something like this, where we take the traditional format and give it a bit of an imaginative twist.
We had all kinds of people along, teenagers, pensioners, families, bikers, punks, and vicars.  We're looking forward to even more this year, and to raising lots of cash for the homeless at Christmas time."

This sounds amazing.  I think it's time NY held something similar    The service will also feature a Christmas message read by local vicar (AND HEAVY METAL FAN) Reverend George Smith.

My Declaration of love to Slayer Bob.

This is Slayer Bob, and I love him.

Slayer Bob is a wonderful man.   Slayer Bob created the phenomena below.   Prepare to be in awe.

I really love whats happening around 3:08.  For more information about this beautiful man and his creations visit Slayer Bobs official YouTube account for all his amazing light shows.

Steel Panther beat me to it!

I know metal-folk have been doing Christmas shit forever, but I thought I had something special going on with my 12 Metal Days Of Christmas thingy.   Well, Metal Shop Metal Skool Steel Panther beat me to it by one day!!  While I began my 12 Days last night, they posted theirs yesterday morning.  And yes, it is hilarious and better than my idea.  Damn them.

12 Metal Days of Christmas (day 11)

11 days till Christmas, and today's present is "No Presents For Christmas".  But trust me, it is a present.  It's just a song called "No Presents".  But the song itself is a present.  A present called "No Presents."  And it's from King Diamond.  And it's beautiful and will bring a tear of Christmas love to your eye.

Yesterdays song after the jump...

12 Metal Days of Christmas (day 12)

Beginning as of this second, I present to you the 12 Metal Days of Christmas. In 12 days it will be Christmas, and each day you will get a lovely Christmas song to get you just a bit more into the holiday spirit. By Christmas day you'll have a full dozen songs to rock out to, which is roughly the length of your average album. So, I am basically giving you all a full length album. You're welcome.

Today I present Day 12: Twisted Sister's "Heavy Metal Christmas"

For those who still care about Vince Neil

Some news on Vince Neil has been popping up.  You probably know him as the man who just looooooves his booze, cars, and women.  Well, that is EXACTLY what the latest news on him is about.  (Oh, and you may also know him as the singer of Motley Crue, but of course there is no news there.)

Anyway, Mr. Neil has announced the opening of his very own saloon(booze, check) in Las Vegas.  Vince signed a deal with the Hooters(women, check) Casino Hotel to open a wing inside simply called the "Wildside Saloon", which will be a "rock and roll sports bar".   Vince tweets “Hooters, Rock and Sports! What more do you want!!!!”  

Well, I can think of one thing his ex-wife, Sharise Neil, wants.   In a recent interview Sharise - who currently stars in Fuse's "Ex-Wives Of Rock", talks about how Vince blew a shit ton of his money up his nose at automobile auctions (cars, check).   Sharise says that Vince "made millions of dollars but he spent it as fast as he got it. I won’t tell you the exact amount of the settlement [from their divorce] because that would be a teeny bit tacky, but it was less than $100,000."

Girl needs to get some money from this new saloon, stat.  Come on, less than $100,000???   She must have been out of her damn mind to settle for that after years and years of marriage. Gene Simmons would praise Vince as genius for being able to pull that off.

But where could all that money have gone? Sharise explains that "He had 12 cars. He would go to a car auction to buy a car, and he would come home with two. With his driving record, it cost $8,000 to insure each car, and we had 12. I would tell him to please not buy any more cars. But instead he installed an hydrolic lift in the garage to stack them on top of each other.  I have pictures of it."   And I would love to see them.

Awful.

I joke about a lot on here, but murder isn't one of them, and especially not murder of innocent adults AND little children.   By now everyone knows about the horrible shooting that occurred this morning at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut (about 65 miles northeast of New York City).  All the details haven't been sorted out yet, but it has been released that 28 people - including 20 children - are dead as the result of the shooting spree that took place this morning.  Unbelievably the shooter shot over 100 rounds before he was shot down himself by police.   This is so horrible.  I feel terribly for all those involved.  It's impossible to imagine what can make someone do something so awful.

The metal community has been reaching out.  Check out what they say after the jump.

New music from Ghost

I love Ghost.   In fact, Ghost are scheduled to be next week's Band Of The Week.   But as for now though, I gotta let you in on a listen of their newest song "Secular Haze" (amazing name).   The song was just released, and it would be cruel to not share this till next week, so here you go.  Amazing, eh?!

In other Ghostly news, just yesterday these bad boys announced that they were in the studio finishing up their second studio album.   No set date of release has been given, but we do have a few facts:
-The album is due out in 2013 (thats a shocker)
-It will be released on Loma Vista Recordings (who dat?)
-Loma Vista is a new label (oh, ok)
-Loma Vista was founded by Tom Whalley (who dat?)
-Tom Whalley is from the Universal Music Group (oh, ok)
-The album will be produced by Nick Raskulinecz ( who worked with Foo Fighters, Marilyn Manson, Deftones, Stone Sour, Trivium, Duff McKagan, Danzig, The Exies, Velvet Revolver, Rush, Shadows.........)

Enjoy!

Metal is my religion and Judas is my Priest...

....and apparently I am not the only one that feels that way.   According to a new poll in the UK, the number of fundamentalists is on the decline, but the a number of us fun demented metalists is on the incline.   Well done, fellow headbangers!  I am very proud.

The Guardian states that 6,242 people listed "heavy metal" as their religion when asked in the 2011 census.  The number was only released this week, so it's coming to us a bit late, but the news still brings a tear to my bloodshot eye.   What's even more beautiful is that this number is a few thousand higher than those who identified as "Scientologists".   I feel like the mother of a spelling bee champion.

In remembrance of HIDE

Whether you know him as 'HIDE' (his X Japan years), 'hide' (his solo years), or don't know him at all- today seems like the right day to remember this Japanese guitar playin' and songwriting genius.  Born 49 years ago today, Hide only made it to 33 after committing suicide post a night out drinking.  But Hide shouldn't be remembered for the booze/drugs - although he certainly had his issues - just watch the live footage below and you will see how truly awesome this guy was.  Incredible stage performance.   Hell, I can't even understand a word he's saying (minus the small bits of English), and I can tell the lyrics are brilliant.  And that's why I have no choice but to make him this weeks Band Of The Week.
  

Hide is most closely associated with his 10 year career as lead guitarist in X Japan, but his fame went much greater.  His solo career was massive, and his following was beyond cult-like.  The video below shows him with X (amazing solo/guitar-work here).  Don't miss Yoshiki kickin' ass behind the kit, too.

RIP, HIDE.

Ted Nugent's birthday wishes- the poor cant vote.

Uncle Ted turns the big 65 today.   I bet he's psyched to buy shotguns and steak with a senior discount.   But seriously what the Nuge wants is to not just simply poke, but to slaughter Social Security, Medicare and Medicare.

In the birthday mans words himself: "The three sacred entitlement cows in the room that no politician wants to poke are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.  A blinding statement of the obvious is that we are never going to get our financial house in order until these sacred entitlement cows are not only poked, but slaughtered."

Uncle Ted also went on to argue that instead of raising taxes on only the wealthiest Americans ::cough:: Barack Obama ::cough:: Congress should hike taxes on everybody... especially the poorest 50 percent of Americans.  Afterall, they are just getting an "insane free ride."   And, heck, if that doesn't work we can always suspend the right to vote of any American who is on welfare.  "Once they get off welfare and are self-sustaining, they get their right to vote restored."   Hmmm, interesting thoughts, Ted.   Gotta love him, but what are your thoughts?