Month: March 2021

Former VAN HALEN singer Gary Cherone has blasted The Recording Academy for failing to come up with a more meaningful way to recognize Eddie Van Halen at this year’s Grammy Awards.

The legendary VAN HALEN axeman was included in Sunday night’s “In Memoriam” segment at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards, where The Recording Academy paid tribute to musicians who died in the past year. At one point in the segment, Eddie Van Halen’s name flashed across the screen over a clip of him shredding a guitar solo while a spotlight shone on his iconic red-white-and-black guitar.

A short time later, Cherone took to his Twitter to write: “Maybe an Artist that reimagined how one plays an instrument, who continues to influence generations of musicians and, literally changed the course of rock ‘n’ roll deserves more than fifteen second at the Grammys? #LongLiveTheKing”.

Cherone wasn’t the only person to criticize The Recording Academy for the way Eddie Van Halen was honored during the Grammy broadcast. SiriusXM radio personality Eddie Trunk shared a video of the tribute, and he included the following message: “So in a more than 3 hour show this is all the @recordingacademy #grammys could muster for an ICON?! I am beyond outraged and disgusted. New lows even by Grammy standards!! They had 5 months to do something! @wolfvanhalen had a # 1 rock song that he could have played. Could have had a guitarist do Eruption. Could have said his name in the open when you did mention artists who died. This is pathetic! But sadly expected with this organization who are nothing but a popularity contest. Lost for rock since they gave [JETHRO] TULL the Grammy over METALLICA. But truly a new low in disrespect tonight. Astonishing”.

Meanwhile, FOZZY singer and wrestling superstar Chris Jericho apparently missed the Eddie tribute entirely, tweeting: “Hey @RecordingAcad …no tribute to @eddievanhalen tonight? You and your bullshit awards can GO FUCK YOUR ASS!! And don’t ever try to give my band a nomination. I’d rather win a @RazzieAwards … #FuckOffGrammys #Grammys”.

The Recording Academy regularly comes under fire for failing to include musicians who died in the past year, largely due to the time limitations of the broadcast. More than 800 names were considered for inclusion this year, according to Variety. On its web site, The Recording Academy included all of those names on a more comprehensive list, noting that the televised “In Memoriam” segment is meant to only highlight some of the artists who died this year, not necessarily all.

Eddie passed away in October at the age of 65.

VAN HALEN was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked Eddie Van Halen No. 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.

VAN HALEN’s third frontman, Cherone took over when Sammy Hagar left the group (or was fired, depending on whom you ask) in 1996. Cherone’s sole release with the band, “Van Halen III”, was a commercial disappointment and he was dismissed from VAN HALEN soon after the tour ended.

Maybe an Artist that reimagined how one plays an instrument, who continues to influence generations of musicians and, literally changed the course of rock ‘n’ roll deserves more than fifteen second at the Grammys? #LongLiveTheKing
— Gary Cherone (@garycherone) March 15, 2021

Hey @RecordingAcad …no tribute to @eddievanhalen tonight? You and your bullshit awards can GO FUCK YOUR ASS!! And don’t ever try to give my band a nomination. I’d rather win a @RazzieAwards… #FuckOffGrammys #Grammys
— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) March 15, 2021

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Drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz of veteran Floridian death metallers CANNIBAL CORPSE has doubed down on his statement that he is in no rush to get the COVID-19 vaccine to help stop the novel coronavirus from spreading.

Earlier this month, Mazurkiewicz made headlines in the metal world when he told Finland’s Kaaos TV that “it kind of stinks” that he may be “forced” to take the vaccine in order to be able to tour internationally with CANNIBAL CORPSE.

“In a personal sense, I don’t know if I would [get the vaccine], per se,” he said. “It’s a good question. I’m not sure. The flu shot has been readily available, obviously, for years, and so many people always just got a flu shot, and I know a lot of them as well. But it wasn’t anything that I felt that I neeed to get. So, yeah, I’m just weird about being forced to take something. It’s a touchy subject, of course, so I don’t know if I will get one or not, unless I have to.”

After Mazurkiewicz’s comments were first published on BLABBERMOUTH.NET and later picked up by other metal web sites, he was accused by some fans on social media of being an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist. He has since addressed the controversy in a new interview with Pierre Gutierrez of Rock Talks, saying that he was aware that his original comments had generated heated comments from both sides of the vaccination debate.

“I saw it on Blabbermouth, and I didn’t even read any of the replies or the comments,” Paul said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “I was just, like, people are gonna talk no matter what; they’re gonna have opinions. So I’m, like, I’m not even gonna bother. So I don’t even really know what was said other than… Who the heck am I to even cause controversy, kind of a thing. So I don’t know, man. It’s just silly, I think, that it would cause any stir, I guess. But it is what it is… I said what I said, I guess. I guess that’s what I believe, because I said it, right?!

“Everyone’s got different views and everything,” he continued. “And I’m not sitting here going, ‘My God, I can’t wait to get the shot.’ I’m not — that’s the truth. Will I get it? Maybe. I don’t know. If I have to get it, I guess I have to get it. But I’m not sitting here going, ‘Right, I’m going to get it,’ or I’m thinking about it, like, ‘Oh, as soon as it’s available, I’m going tomorrow to get it.’ I just don’t think that way. So, who knows?”

A new poll from the Pew Research Center showed that more than two-thirds of U.S. adults plan on getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

The poll, released on March 5, found that 69 percent of adults say they are going to receive the coronavirus vaccine.

The Pew poll showed that 19% of adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine, 32% say they will definitely get the vaccine and 17% say they will probably get it.

The nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has estimated that about 70-85% of Americans would need to be vaccinated to reach herd immunity.

America’s two main vaccines have shown 95% efficacy against the coronavirus.

As of late January, the CDC discovered that only 11 per 1 million people experienced severe reactions from the Pfizer vaccine, and only 2.5 per 1 million people who received the Moderna dose.

Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, which became available in the United States earlier this month after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave it emergency use authorization, was tested with new variants of COVID-19, and has shown to be effective against them; Pfizer and Moderna were tested prior to the emergence of these variants.

In a new interview with Christina Rowatt of The Void With Christina, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE frontman Jesse Leach was asked if he and his bandmates are working on new music during the coronavirus pandemic. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “No, we’re not. There’s a couple of factors. One I can’t really speak of, ’cause health had something to do with one of the bandmembers. We had a little hairy situation there. But we’re doing better now. We are not writing, and there’s a couple of reasons for that,” he repeated. “Number one is we’ve all just been through the wringer this year mentally and physically for some. So that has been the last thing on our mind.”

Leach continued: “We’ve recently regrouped via Zoom and talked and hung out and have started to talk about the potential of a concert online, like all these bands have done already. We may eventually do that. And we’ve come up with creative ideas on how to make it different, and interesting songs to play and concepts. So that conversation started. It’s something that’ll be in the future. But another reason why there’s not a ton of incentive to write new music right now — number one, we’re not together; number two, TIMES OF GRACE is getting ready to roll out [a new] record,” he said, referring to his side project with KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz. “So in order for that to breathe and have its time, and then KILLSWITCH will have its time after, they very, very graciously understood that when TIMES OF GRACE comes out, we’re gonna allow TIMES OF GRACE to breathe. Adam and I are focusing on putting visuals together. And we’ve got the first single and visual done. So we’re very much gonna cater this record to an online experience, allowing TIMES OF GRACE to have their time in the press and the media. So that’s another reason why KILLSWITCH is not working on anything right now.”

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE’s latest album, “Atonement”, was released in August 2019 via Metal Blade Records in the U.S. and Sony Music Entertainment in the rest of the world. The disc features guest appearances by the band’s former lead singer Howard Jones and TESTAMENT frontman Chuck Billy. It marks the band’s third full-length release since the return of Leach, who rejoined the group in 2012.

Last summer, three singles from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE reached new sales milestones in the U.S. “My Curse” was certified platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America) on September 10 for accumulating a million certified units. That same day, “The End Of Heartache” and KILLSWITCH’s cover of the DIO classic “Holy Diver” were both certified gold for accumulating half a million units.

According to the RIAA, one equivalent song unit is equal to a single digital song sale, or 150 on-demand audio and/or video streams.

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE recently celebrated two decades as a band with a comprehensive and in-depth 20-year timeline that documented so many of the band’s memorable career milestones and storied history with plenty of captivating images. The clickable, scroll-through timeline boasts flyers from early shows, live shots from festival appearances, and fan tattoos. It also traces major tours, video shoots, album releases, Grammy nominations, lineup changes, and beyond. The timeline functions as a digital museum that effectively tells the complete KILLSWITCH ENGAGE story. The timeline was created specifically for KILLSWITCH ENGAGE fans to enjoy and to reminisce.

In a new interview with Metal From The Inside, ex-QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate was asked if ever gets bothered by the fact that all of his current musical output is always compared to his previous works with his former band. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I suppose it would probably bother me if I really paid attention. I don’t, so… [Laughs] Music is something that I need to do — it’s something that I need to be part of. So I feel just very blessed that I’m given these opportunities to work with different musicians and to be part of creating an interesting musical presentation. And I’m equally grateful for anybody’s interest in it. ‘Cause there’s a lot to choose from, there’s a lot to listen to. And years go by, and people change their tastes in music, and they grow up, or they go look for new things. And I’m just very happy that people are interested in what I’m doing.”

Tate went on to say that he never had any reservations about continuing to perform music that he wrote and recorded with QUEENSRŸCHE. “I’ve always embraced playing my music,” he said. “I can’t imagine not playing those songs in a live situation. And I don’t really have resentment or negative feelings about QUEENSRŸCHE. To me, it was an amazing time. We accomplished a lot of things. We wrote some incredible music and had some amazing tours. I think we’ve definitely left our mark in the metal world. But then again, times change and people move on and do different things. And that’s what I’m doing.”

Geoff has gone back and forth on the subject of a possible reunion with QUEENSRŸCHE, telling The Rock Vault in November 2019 about the prospect of rejoining his former bandmates: “I think that would be something that makes sense, and I think it would be an interesting thing to do, if everybody could get in the same room and actually talk to each other.” However, just eight months earlier, he dismissed the possibility of a QUEENSRŸCHE reunion, telling Greece’s “TV War” that he had “no interest in that. No. Not at all. [I have] absolutely no reason to,” he said. “I don’t need the money. That’d be the only reason to do it. Maybe if they paid me, like, 10 million dollars or something like that. [Laughs]”

He continued: “It was a good thing for a long time, and then it went really bad. And I just don’t want that kind of negativity in my life. My life is so good, and I have such great friends and family. I travel the world and sing songs for a living. I mean, it’s lovely. I have wonderful, positive people in my life, and to go back and be in that negative land again… aargh, I just couldn’t do it. It’s not worth it.”

Tate previously described his time in QUEENSRŸCHE as “a strange, strange sort of relationship.” He told The Metal Gods Meltdown: “We weren’t really friends, you know — we were business associates. We had a wonderful entity that we shared called QUEENSRŸCHE, but it wasn’t an equal sort of partnership as far as involvement goes. You know, so there wasn’t a real camaraderie amongst everybody in the band… From my perspective and my involvement, it wasn’t an emotional sort of brotherhood kind of thing that some people might think existed. That wasn’t my reality with them.”

Last month, Tate announced around a dozen U.S. dates in late summer and fall as part of a tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of QUEENSRŸCHE’s “Empire” and “Rage For Order” albums.

For more information, including ticket links and links for meet-and-greet passes for purchase to meet Geoff and his band after the live shows, visit www.geofftate.com.

Early last year, Tate was forced to postone a number of his tour dates due to the coronavirus pandemic that is spreading across the globe.

Tate spent the first two months of 2020 performing the QUEENSRŸCHE albums “Rage For Order” and “Empire” in their entirety on the “Empire 30th Anniversary Tour”, which kicked off in January 2020 in Norway. Prior to that, Geoff celebrated the 30th anniversary of QUEENSRŸCHE’s “Operation: Mindcrime” album on European and U.S. tours.

Tate’s post-QUEENSRŸCHE band OPERATION: MINDCRIME released three albums over three years as part of a trilogy: “The Key” (September 2015), “Resurrection” (September 2016) and “The New Reality” (December 2017).

In April 2014, Tate and QUEENSRŸCHE announced that a settlement had been reached after a nearly two-year legal battle where the singer sued over the rights to the QUEENSRŸCHE name after being fired in 2012.

Tate was replaced in QUEENSRŸCHE by former CRIMSON GLORY singer Todd La Torre.

BODY COUNT was honored with a Grammy in the “Best Metal Performance” category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards, which is being held tonight (Sunday, March 14) at an undisclosed building in Los Angeles. BODY COUNT was nominated for “Bum-Rush”, a track from its 2020 album “Carnivore”.

The nominees in the “Best Metal Performance” category were as follows:

* BODY COUNT – “Bum-Rush”
* CODE ORANGE – “Underneath”
* IN THIS MOMENT – “The In-Between”
* POPPY – “Bloodmoney”
* POWER TRIP – “Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe) – Live”

Last December, BODY COUNT frontman Ice-T told Consequence Of Sound about being nominated for a Grammy: “Well, I think my first reaction was more insane when we got nominated for the album before this [‘Bloodlust’], when we got nominated for ‘Black Hoodie’. I thought it was a joke. I couldn’t believe it. Now, for us to get a nomination on our next album after that, I was, like, ‘Really?!’ I guess somebody over there at the Grammys really enjoys what I’m doing. So, it’s a very exciting moment. We lost last time. I think just to be nominated, it sounds corny, with all the thousands and thousands of records that come out every year, is a great accomplishment and we’ll take that. Of course, we want to win but it’s mind-blowing.”

As with other award shows held during the pandemic, there will be no audience for the Grammys this year.

The majority of the awards are being handed out in a non-televised event, the Premiere Ceremony, this afternoon. The televised portion of the Grammys will begin on CBS at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET.

Artists will perform at audience-free venues across the United States, including Los Angeles’s Troubadour and Hotel Café, New York City’s Apollo and Nashville’s Station Inn.

The awards are selected by The Recording Academy’s voting membership which is made up of music artists, producers, songwriters, and engineers all across the country.

Last year, TOOL was honored with a Grammy in the “Best Metal Performance” category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards, which was held on January 26, 2020 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. TOOL was nominated for “7empest”, a track from its 2019 album “Fear Inoculum”.

THE OFFSPRING singer Bryan “Dexter” Holland and guitarist Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman spoke to Lou Brutus of HardDrive Radio about the band’s upcoming tenth studio album, “Let The Bad Times Roll”, which will arrive on April 16 via Concord Records. The follow-up to 2012’s “Days Go By” was produced by Bob Rock, who also worked on the band’s last two LPs.

Speaking about the inspiration for the “Let The Bad Times Roll” album title, Dexter said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “We had a song two albums ago [on 2008’s ‘Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace’] called ‘Shit Is Fucked Up’. We wrote that ’cause we thought how terrible things were in the world back then. But it actually got worse. So we had to come up with a new title, ‘Let The Bad Times Roll’.

“You can apply it to a lot of things,” he explained. “I mean, we’re not a political band. Some people would apply it to the last administration. Some people would apply it to things that are going on today, or just how messed up everything is, trying to fix our pandemic and all that kind of stuff.”

Added Noodles: “But really, it’s not just an American-centric thing either, cause you’re seeing stuff happening around the world. There’s unrest happening literally everywhere — on all continents. You’re seeing unrest, and then you’re also seeing anti-democratic forces kind of taking power in some places, in which case causes more unrest. So, yeah, the whole world is a little bit of a scary place right now.”

Dexter continued: “That’s right. Climate change, climate deniers, vaccine, anti-vaxxers — whatever you want, it’s out there.”

Holland, Wasserman, drummer Pete Parada and new bassist Todd Morse wrote and recorded “Let The Bad Times Roll” in the last few years at various locations, including the band’s studio in Huntington Beach, California.

In December, THE OFFSPRING released the official music video for its Rock-produced cover version of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”, a rock song originally sung by Darlene Love and included on the 1963 seasonal compilation album “A Christmas Gift For You” from Phil Spector.

Last April, THE OFFSPRING jumped on the “Tiger King” bandwagon by recording a cover version of THE CLINTON JOHNSON BAND’s “Here Kitty Kitty”, a song made popular by Joe Schreibvogel — better known as Joe Exotic, the “Tiger King” — through the Netflix docuseries.

Two years ago, bassist Gregory “Greg K.” Kriesel, who hasn’t performed with THE OFFSPRING since 2018, filed a federal lawsuit against Noodles and Dexter alleging trademark infringement and breach of partnership agreement over the rights to THE OFFSPRING name. In response, Holland and Wasserman filed a cross-complaint, denying basically everything Kriesel alleged and asking the court to appoint “three disinterested appraisers to appraise the fair value” of Kriesel’s shares of THE OFFSPRING.

THE OFFSPRING has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide, won countless awards, and has toured consistently, playing more than 500 shows in the last decade alone. Their music has had a lasting impact across film, television, and video games.

During a recent Radio.com roundtable in connection with the newly released film “Long Live Rock…Celebrate The Chaos”, SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor once again confirmed that he is planning to embark on a “socially distanced” solo club tour this spring. He said: “[It will be] 25 percent to 50 percent capacity, depending on restrictions. Full masks, in pods, temp checks at the door. Nobody’s allowed in without a negative COVID test on paper, regardless if you have a ticket or not, or proof of vaccine. We’re looking to do that in May to June… [It will be my solo band] CMFT, and my wife’s dance troupe [CHERRY BOMBS] is gonna open. [It will be a] full band, full electric, [and] we’re gonna play for, like, two hours. We’re just going for it. I’m coming for Bruce — I’m coming for Bruce Springsteen. I wanna do a five-hour show and make everyone hate me for the rest of my life.”

Last month, Corey told the Arizona radio station 98 KUPD that his solo tour will “probably [run for] about three weeks. Some of the places we’ll be doing two nights in one city,” he said.

According to Taylor, the tour will kick off in his adopted hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada. “The bulk of [the dates are] in the Midwest and then kind of working our way back to Vegas,” he told 98 KUPD.

Corey also stressed the importance of finding ways to return to live performances while also prioritizing safety for everyone involved. “The only way this happens is if we learn to do it,” he said. “We have to get on with it. President Biden was talking about the fact that it’s a national emergency that there’s been no school — real school — and a real plan in place, because there was really nobody running the boat for God knows how long, and that’s been a national emergency. And a lot of people feel like that about what they do for a living. I’m not gonna put what I do as important as education. However, what I do is responsible for a lot of people’s livelihoods. And the faster I can find a way to get us all back doing that in a way that doesn’t endanger people, the better. Instead of just kind of using it as a crutch and waiting for it to go away… Guess what? This may never go away. We need to learn to adapt — we need to adapt and move on and find ways to do this. Like I said, once the vaccine’s had a chance to really kind of do its thing, we will really start to have those tentative steps back towards normalcy as best we can.”

Taylor went on to express his optimism that large gatherings as we knew them will most likely return in the not-too-distant future.

“This isn’t forever,” he said. “I know a lot of doomsayers out there who are, like, ‘Oh, this is it.’ I’m, like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ You can’t even keep people from storming into the Super Bowl. You’re telling me that people are gonna stay behind closed doors forever? We can’t, as a species, do that. We cannot do that; we are not built for that. And people are going to encourage each other to find ways to get together and have fun. It’s just a matter of time. And the more positive we can be about it, the better it’s gonna be, man. Especially now that we have people who are actually looking around, going, ‘Okay, we’re not ignoring this. We’re not denying this. This isn’t a political thing. This is a safety thing. Let’s just get rid of that. And now, this is how we’re gonna reopen things. But we’re gonna get this going.’ And that should be encouraging people.”

Taylor’s debut solo album, “CMFT”, was released in October. Corey recorded the effort with his band consisting of Jason Christopher on bass, Dustin Schoenhofer on drums, and Zach Throne and Christian Martucci (STONE SOUR) on guitar. The LP was completed at Kevin Churko’s The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas with producer Jay Ruston, who has previously worked with ANTHRAX, STEEL PANTHER and STONE SOUR, among others.

Taylor recently made history as he reached No. 1 at Active Rock Radio with his powerful single “Black Eyes Blue”. The achievement put Taylor in a class all his own, making him the first artist in the history of the format to reach No. 1 with three separate projects, following chart-topping efforts from SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR.

“CMFT” made impressive debuts on charts around the world in October, entering at No. 1 on Billboard’s Current Hard Rock Albums chart, while claiming No. 2 on Current Rock Albums, No. 6 on Vinyl Albums, and No. 9 on the Top Albums charts. Furthermore, “CMFT” landed Top 10 on the official album charts in Australia, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, with Top 20 debuts in the United Kingdom, Finland and Japan (international chart).

Jeremy Spencer, former drummer and co-founding member of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, discussed his late 2018 decision to exit the band during a recent appearance on “That Jamieson Show”. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I had some back issues, and I had to get a couple of surgeries. And the second one was brutal — I had to get disc replacement and fusion. I had deteriorating discs, so it was really painful to play, and I wasn’t playing very good. So it was, like, ‘I’m not enjoying this. And I don’t feel like I’m doing it like I used to be able to.’ It’s kind of like an athlete when they’re aging, and they can’t just quite do it like they used to. I mean, the brain’s working, but it’s just not connecting with the limbs. And I was, like, ‘Fuck, man. All right. It might be time to recognize that I need to step off.’ So I did.”

Spencer, who now fronts his own group called PSYCHOSEXUAL, said that he never intended to completely walk away from writing music and performing live. “I love music, and I was making my own music forever,” he explained. “So I’ve always done that. It’s just, as far as that touring lifestyle and that machine, doing what I had to do physically for so long, I had to step off the train, and I had to address the surgeries. And it was really depressing — it was a hard surgery. It was a big setback. I was depressed for a while. It hurts. It’s painful. It sucks. I didn’t get hooked on pain meds or anything; I would take, like, Advil and shit. But it sucked. And they had to go in through the front and the back, so they took my guts out on the table and everything. It was a brutal surgery.”

Spencer recently removed all the previously released music and videos from PSYCHOSEXUAL ahead of the arrival of the band’s new single, “Devil From Hell”, at the end of the month.

PSYCHOSEXUAL released its debut album, “Torch The Faith”, last July. It was co-produced by Spencer and Shawn McGhee (DROWNING POOL) and released via Spencer’s 6eX Records. The debut premiered at No. 150 on the Billboard 200 chart, reaching No. 5 on the Hard Music Albums, No. 12 on Top New Artist Albums and No. 30 on Current Rock Albums.

PSYCHOSEXUAL’s last release was the covers EP “Songs To Stalk You By”, which came out last November. The EP reunited Spencer with former FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Jason Hook, who contributed solos on the KISS classic “Watchin’ You” and QUEENSRŸCHE’s “Gonna Get Close To You”. The recordings marked the first time the pair had worked together since both parted ways with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH.

Spencer, who sports a Mephistophelian mask as Devil Daddy, is joined in PSYCHOSEXUAL by guitarist Crucifer, bassist Astaroth and drummer Volac.

Spencer’s replacement in FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH is Charlie “The Engine” Engen. Engen made his recording debut with the band on the “F8” album, which came out in February 2020.

MR. BIG guitarist Paul Gilbert will release his 16th solo studio album, “Werewolves Of Portland”, on June 4 via The Players Club. The video for the disc’s first single, “Argument About Pie”, can be seen below.

With the international lockdown putting the world on hold, Gilbert decided to, rather than wait, he got on with playing all the instruments on the album himself. “It took me about six months to think of it, but it finally occurred to me that I could play all the instruments myself. I’ve always loved playing drums, and I can play bass and keyboards well enough to get the job done,” he says.

Talking about the first song released from the album, he explains: “Most of my titles come from the lyrics that I write in order to get a melody going. I’ve even printed the lyrics in the liner notes of the album, so you can ‘read along’ as you listen to the music.

“‘Argument About Pie’ is one of my favorites. This lyric came from my pre-lockdown experiences of stopping by my local pie shop for a slice of strawberry rhubarb. Amidst all the brewing angst in Portland, the pie shop was a place where everyone was happy and at peace. Eating pie seemed to be something that everyone could agree on. Since my mind has the habit of searching for contrasts, I started to wonder what people might be against eating pie.”

Recorded at Opal Studio in Portland with co-producer and engineer Kevin Hahn, “Werewolves Of Portland” saw Gilbert pulling out some of his current favorite guitars for the job. “I mostly used my Ibanez Fireman guitars,” he says. “I’ve been collecting vintage Ibanez guitars lately, too. I brought some models from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s like the Ibanez Artist, Roadstar II and Ghostrider. I also brought and modified a ’60s Epiphone Olympic. I used to play those in the early days of RACER X, so it was fun to have a guitar that reminded me of my early shredder style.”

The album title’s inspiration partly comes from the Warren Zevon song “Werewolves Of London”. “I live in Portland and thought it would be funny to substitute the name of my much lesser-known city,” Paul says. “My original idea for the ‘Werewolves’ was just the guys in my band and me. When we play music, it is our version of ‘howling at the moon’. Unfortunately, Portland has become more ‘known’ in the last year for events that are pretty sad to watch. And ‘Werewolves’ could take on other meanings that I certainly hadn’t anticipated. But the title, to me, still has a musical meaning.”

Gilbert is a formidable force. From his time in Los Angeles metallers RACER X to helping form MR. BIG, one of the era’s most revered names, his distinguished solo career has seen him putting out 15 acclaimed records and guesting on albums from such diverse names as Todd Rundgren, BOWLING FOR SOUP, Glenn Hughes and MC Lars. He also toured with Joe Satriani and John Petrucci in 2007 (“G3”) and two years later with Richie Kotzen and George Lynch (“Guitar Generation”). This is not to mention a lengthy tenure as a much-in-demand teacher and instructor. This began when he was still a teenager, being hired in 1985 by the prestigious Guitar Institute Of Technology (GIT) in Los Angeles.

“I didn’t become a musician to shout my ideas, complaints, or philosophies at anyone,” Paul says. “I love music because of the music. So I love my method of using my inner rants as scaffolding to build melodies. This scaffolding can then be pulled away to unveil some pure emotional music. This works perfectly for me and hopefully for my listeners.

“I need to be able to visualize the look and sound of my fretboard well enough to play accurately in my mind,” he explains. “It’s almost like real air guitar! Then when I actually go to play the music, I’ve got a good chance of having my melodic intentions come true. And that’s about the best feeling in the world.”

“Werewolves Of Portland” track listing:

01. Hello North Dakota!
02. My Goodness
03. Werewolves Of Portland
04. Professorship At The Leningrad Conservatory
05. Argument About Pie
06. Meaningful
07. I Wanna Cry (Even Though I Ain’t Sad)
08. A Thunderous Ovation Shook The Columns
09. Problem-Solving People
10. (You Would Not Be Able To Handle) What I Handle Every Day

Photo by Jason Quigley