As the story goes, Ratt helped pioneer Hollywood’s legendary Sunset Strip sound and scene. After an 11 year wait, the band returned in April of 2010 sounding fired up and better than ever with Infestation, a heavy, riff driven CD reminiscent of their early days as a band. Ratt was able to reinvent their sound by rediscovering their strengths, shuttling listeners to a time when metal ruled the earth and real musicians wore spandex and make-up.
Marty Friedman is one of the finest shredders to come out of the ’80s, and one of the survivors from that age. The two albums he released with Cacophony (also featuring the great Jason Becker) are still influencial today. After Megadeth, he became very popular in Japan working on TV and in the local “J-pop” music scene as producer and musician.
The soaring and steady relevance of straight-up hard rock and heavy metal isn’t going anywhere. As a matter of fact, ask any hard rock or metal fan and you’ll get an earful about its longevity and importance. Music is universal, that’s a fact; take every genre out of the equation, dissecting them all one by one and you may find a bit of relentless “loyalty” in hard rock fanship – and the heavier the music, the better.
I came across Black Veil Brides surfing YouTube and at first glance thought it was Motley Crue! The hair, the make-up, and the attitude drew me in and I was hooked. They looked like where Crue left off in 1982/83 with Shout at the Devil. The video was for their new single “Fallen Angels,” didn’t just rock, they shredded.
IKILLYA is to the New York City metal scene as Lamb of God is to the Virginia metal scene. With endless grooves, and raw, undeniable emotion in their music, IKILLYA has not just taken a step in the right direction with the release of their debut record Recon, they’ve taken a giant leap forward to make themselves known.
George Lynch, lead guitarist for Dokken and leader of his own dual rock bands, Lynch Mob and Souls of We, has announced plans to release his eleventh solo album in nearly twenty years. Kill All Control is set for release this summer through Rocket Science, Inc.
One band that many veteran metal heads feel should have hit the big time was New York’s The Rods. Comprised of members David “Rock” Feinstein (guitar/lead vocals), Garry Bordonaro (bass/vocals), and Carl Canedy (drums/vocals), The Rods would go on to open arena shows for such renowned groups as Iron Maiden, Twisted Sister, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, the Scorpions, Rainbow and during the mid ’80s, even had a then-unknown Metallica opening a headlining tour for them.
Lemmy Kilmister may be the driving force of Motörhead, but Phil Campbell is the vehicle that they travel their music journey in. Phil has been Lemmy’s right hand man and lead guitarist for 27 years, performing 14 Motörhead LPs including such classics as Bastards, Inferno, and Hammered.
It’s early September. Wylde’s home from Ozzfest where he did double duty with Ozzy and Zakk’s own Black Label Society (BLS). Time to rest? Hardly. He’s up at 4 a.m. doing whatever it is he has to do as hard as he can do it. The BLS motto of Strength, Determination, Merciless, Forever is no marketing gimmick. The son of a now 87-year-old WW II D-Day Omaha Beach veteran, combat intensity is in Zakk’s blood.
HellYeah is a Supergroup comprised of Grammy nominated and chart topping musicians – drummer Vinnie Paul, vocalist Chad Gray, guitarists Greg Tribbett and Tom Maxwell as well and bassist Bob Zilla. As HellYeah they also have an impressive history. Their debut album has sold nearly 400,000 copies in the US and produced two Top 10 Active Rock singles “Alocohaulin Ass” and “You Wouldn’t Know.” Their second CD, Stampede debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200, making it their highest-charted album to date.
