All posts from 2010 compiled into a monthly virtual magazine: Music reviews: Ian Moore, Robert Plant, Alpha Rev, Godsmack, We Are the Fallen, Rolling Stones, Elton John/Leon Russell, Dwight Twilley, Sweet Psychosis and Plain white T's Features: 311, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Metallica Book Review: Full Metal Jackie
Various Rock Format Music Reviews - Godsmack, Alpha Rev, We Are The Fallen, Robert Plant, Ian Moore and the Lossy Coils
So you call yourself a pure rocker – you know the significance of Megadeth’s “Peace Sells”, well that was easy…what about the song who’s riff was developed because of the guitarist inability to mimic the singer; or the song – a description of a tropical storm, that helped re-launch a legendary band with a new singer? Music has always been about illusion and one’s interpretation of the lyrics. It is there that battle lines are drawn between fans that see a song one way or another, let alone where they rank in the hierarchy of metal-dome. Be careful, metal fans are a precarious bunch – referring to a song incorrectly could result in an extra shot to the dome! But, armed with a copy of Jackie Kajzer’s ‘Full Metal Jackie Certified – The 50 Most Influential Heavy Metal Songs of the 80’s and The True Stories Behind Their Lyrics and The True Stories Behind Their Lyrics in your musical arsenal can only help promote your sonic survival.
Quickly glancing at the dial to confirm his format choice, Dave proclaims, “What’s old is new again!” while fumbling for the volume knob on his car stereo. The cyclical nature of this axiom holds true for so much of our lives, especially the music we listen to. Long before the days when rock radio fragmented, album oriented rock (AOR) was the source for all things with loud screaming guitars and bands like AC/DC and Guns N’ Roses ruled the radio airwaves. The main factor with heritage artists, especially to a younger crowd, is cultural relevance. Some bands have it and others don’t. You can’t go into a mall anywhere in America and not see a black t-shirt with a hard rock band logo on it. Heritage artists such as Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC and Metallica help bolster a station’s gold library by bringing a connection between the old and the new. These records are over 10 years old and in most cases help to attract the higher male demographics, which are so important for the Alternative format.
The dream is always the same – a sleek sports car flying down the Pacific Coast Highway, the crashing surfing pounding the beach below. The music is pulsating out of the speakers; the searing guitars, the pounding drums, the thick rhythm of the bass and the unmistakable vocal roar. The songs may be interchangeable but one thing remains a constant – the band, Metallica! And for a quarter century, they have been just that, a constant! As my head begins to rock back and forth and my fingers tighten their grip on the steering wheel, I realize today is no dream. So, it’s off to the legendary Cow Palace in San Francisco for an intimate evening with Metallica and a few hundred of their closest friends and family. And the only thing between Los Angeles and the city by the bay was a lot of asphalt and several hours of rockin’, Metallica-style.
With much due respect and influence to Spinal Tap, here’s a list of some of the hottest new metal bands that might break through to the masses:
Bon Scott sang the immortal words, “Let there be sound, light, drums, guitars…let there be rock!” As simple as these words might be, I don’t think they were penned with the Internet in mind. In the beginning, back in 1986, a small Rock station in Long Beach, California, signed on the air, in an effort to satisfy the city’s insatiable hard rock appetite. Then it came to pass in 1995 that that little ol’ rock & roll show packed up its “Pure Rock” format and bid a fond farewell to the airwaves, leaving a hard rockin’ legacy that went far beyond its 3,000 watt reach.
After a brief hiatus and a one-off project, Mötley Crüe have returned with their original lineup and are ready to defy the odds. The LA natives have not only packed S.R.O. crowds into small clubs across the country for live listening parties of their new album, but are also receiving weekly sales orders for Generation Swine to the tune of over 120,000 copies in the first two weeks. From his home in Malibu, California, bassist Nikki Sixx spoke candidly about their live listening parties, the return of Vince Neil, a battle royal with Mancow, their fans and the new album.
Various Rock Formats Song Reviews - Boston, Rush, Slaughter, Pat Benatar, Glenn Tipton, Lynyrd Skynyrd
Various Rock Format Song Reviews - Mötley Crüe, Scorpions