
IRON MAIDEN Patches To Be Released This Month
Heavy metal legends and Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame nominees IRON MAIDEN have teamed up with Pull The Plug Patches to bring you a series of exclusive woven patches, backpatches, and enamel pins arriving this spring.
Starting with a backpatch for their acclaimed album “The Number Of The Beast”, which will be available from March 15, standard-size patches for the eponymous debut album “Iron Maiden” and enamel pins for “Powerslave” will follow in early April. New patch designs featuring IRON MAIDEN’s iconic album art will be introduced throughout the coming year.
Founded in 2018 in Newcastle, Australia, Pull The Plug Patches has taken battle vest culture by storm. By introducing unique shapes and colorways into the global patch community, Pull The Plug Patches have given battle vests in every nook and cranny of the planet a shot of adrenaline. With sales extending to all of the word’s inhabited continents, a worldwide community of metalheads have been called to arms!
Dedicated to bringing the highest-quality and most unique woven patches to market, over 300 artists have joined the Pull The Plug Patches roster to date, including ARCH ENEMY, ATHEIST, BLOOD INCANTATION, BELPHEGOR, CARCASS, CRADLE OF FILTH, CRYPTOPSY, DEMILICH, DISMEMBER, ENSLAVED, ENTOMBED A.D., EXODUS, GORGUTS, GRAVE, GRUESOME, HAIL OF BULLETS, HATE ETERNAL, INCANTATION, KATATONIA, MASSACRE, MEGADETH, MESHUGGAH, NAPALM DEATH, NECROPHAGIA, NEVERMORE, NUCLEAR ASSAULT, SANCTUARY, SLAYER, SPIRITUAL BEGGARS, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, UNDERGANG, UNLEASHED and many, many more.
Pull The Plug Patches is featured prominently in Banger TV’s new series “The Fabric Of Metal”, which takes viewers on a cultural tour of the mainstays of metal style — from battle vests to bullet belts.
For more information, visit the Pull The Plug Patches web site at www.pulltheplugpatches.com.
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MÖTLEY CRÜE's MICK MARS Receives First Dose Of COVID-19 Vaccine
MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars has just received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The 69-year-old rocker took to his Instagram to share a photo of him getting the shot, and he wrote in an accompanying message: “One down one to go!!! F**k covid”.
A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll showed almost a third of U.S. adults are undecided on whether they’ll get the COVID-19 vaccine.
The poll, released last month, found that 31 percent of adults are going to “wait until it has been available for a while to see how it is working for other people” before receiving the coronavirus vaccine.
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.
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Ex-GUNS N' ROSES Drummer MATT SORUM's Autobiography, 'Double Talkin' Jive', Is Now Scheduled To Arrive In September
Former GUNS N’ ROSES drummer Matt Sorum’s long-awaited autobiography, “Double Talkin’ Jive: True Rock ‘N’ Roll Stories From The Drummer Of Guns N’ Roses, The Cult, And Velvet Revolver”, will now arrive on September 7, 2021 via Rare Bird Books after being delayed several times due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In “Double Talkin’ Jive”, Sorum takes music lovers behind the scenes of a remarkable life in rock. Sorum, whose albums have sold tens of millions of copies around the world, provides an honest, engaging account of the highs and lows of superstardom. Sorum recounts his childhood years idolizing Ringo Starr and surviving an abusive stepfather. After leaving high school, Sorum sold pot to get by. Over time, his drug dealing escalated to smuggling large quantities of cocaine, a career that came to a halt following a dramatic shoot-out. Sorum fled his old life and settled in Hollywood, where he’d enjoy a rapid ascension to rock ‘n’ roll immortality. He caught his big break drumming for THE CULT, and only a year later was invited to join GUNS N’ ROSES, with whom he’d record two of rock’s most iconic albums: “Use Your Illusion I” and “Use Your Illusion II”.
Sorum opens up with forthright honesty, sharing anecdotes from his time touring the globe, battling drug and alcohol addiction, and navigating volatile relationships with Axl Rose, Slash and the rest of the GN’R team. His career with THE CULT, GUNS N’ ROSES, VELVET REVOLVER, MOTÖRHEAD, the HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES and KINGS OF CHAOS co-stars an ensemble of rock royalty, from Gene Simmons and Billy Idol to Steven Tyler and Alice Cooper.
“Double Talkin’ Jive” goes beyond the clichés of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll, telling the very human story of what it takes to make it in music, and the toll stardom exacts from those who achieve success. Sorum invites fans to revel in the debauchery of the good times, but also paints a stark portrait of life after the party. Music fans of any generation will find value in the pages of this evocative, thoughtful, and candid autobiography.
Sorum’s co-authors Leif Erickson and Martin Svensson previously co-wrote Samantha Fox’s “Forever”.
During a recent appearance on the “Stop! Drop & Talk” podcast, Sorum stated about “Double Talkin’ Jive”: “I named it after a GUNS N’ ROSES song, ‘Double Talkin’ Jive’. [Then-GUNS N’ ROSES guitarist] Izzy Stradlin wrote that song. We played it together — on the [‘Use Your Illusion I’] album, me and Izzy tracked that in one take. And the premise of the lyric was based around the kind of pitfalls of the music business and success. There’s this undercurrent that’s not pretty. And I talk very truthfully about things that I went through, from my perspective.
“I didn’t wanna come off jaded,” Matt continued. “I have to tell the story the way it went for me, and I hope that people don’t take it as I sound jaded or something. I just wanted to be as truthful and honest as possible, from my perspective, if that makes sense.
“I think there’s a misconception that maybe, as musicians, we’re a bit elitist or privileged, or things are handed to us, and we just automatically appear, and now, all of a sudden, we’re famous. So I just look at it, I’m, like, well, yeah, I have a great job. I’ve got a great life. I’m super grateful for all the things I’ve been able to do. But in the book, you can see that it was a lot of hard work. It was a lot of bruises along the way. And then, as the career goes and you get successful, stuff happens. There’s, of course, the famous drug-and-alcohol shit that is kind of like ‘Behind The Music’ VH1 — I mean, that all happened to me. You know, the pitfalls of rock and roll stardom and all that shit.
“For me, when I was doing it,” referring to the rock-star lifestyle, “and when I was at the height [of GUNS N’ ROSES’ success], I’m, like, ‘If I don’t do this now, I’ll regret it later.’ So I just tried to live my life as I thought I would wanna live it as a kid dreaming to be in a rock and roll band.”
Sorum, who replaced Steven Adler in GUNS N’ ROSES, recorded “Use Your Illusion I” and “Use Your Illusion II” (both 1991) and “The Spaghetti Incident” (1994). He also supported the group on the “Use Your Illusion” tour and can be heard on GUNS N’ ROSES’ “Live Era: ’87-’93” (1999) and “Greatest Hits” (2004).
Photo credit: Michael Segal
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VINCE NEIL Mourns Death Of His Father: 'We Lost A Beautiful Man Last Night'
Clois Odell Wharton, father of MÖTLEY CRÜE singer Vince Neil, died on Friday, March 5 at the age of 83.
Neil announced his father’s passing in an Instagram post earlier today (Saturday, March 6). He wrote: “With a broken heart I’m sad to say, we lost a beautiful man last night, my Father Clois Odell Wharton, our beloved ‘Odie’. He died peacefully surrounded by loved ones. He was 83 years young.
“We are going to miss you, Dad. Have fun with Mom and Cali in heaven, RIP 3-5-2021”.
Wharton’s death comes two and a half years after the passing of Vince’s mother. A month before her death, the singer revealed that she was in the hospital “battling stage four cancer.”
Last June, Vince said that his five-year-old Yorkshire terrier California Wolf Neil was “brutally murdered” on his front door by “two evil neighbor dogs.”
MÖTLEY CRÜE’s “The Stadium Tour” with DEF LEPPARD, POISON and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS was originally scheduled to take place last summer but ended up being pushed back to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic which is sweeping the globe.
When it happens, “The Stadium Tour” will mark the CRÜE’s first live dates since wrapping its 2014/2015 farewell tour. CRÜE toured with POISON back in 2011 and DEF LEPPARD teamed up with POISON for a string of road dates in 2017 — but the upcoming jaunt marks the first time all four acts have hit the road together for an extended tour.
MÖTLEY CRÜE’s 2019 biopic “The Dirt” depicts his 1984 drunk-driving accident that killed HANOI ROCKS drummer Nicholas “Razzle” Dingley and seriously injured two others. It also shows Neil’s firing from MÖTLEY CRÜE in 1992, only for his bandmates to rally behind him in 1995 when his four-year-old daughter, Skylar, died of cancer. (He rejoined the group in 1997.)
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MORGAN LANDER Doesn't Rule Out KITTIE Return But Says Now 'May Not Be The Right Time'
Morgan Lander says that it “may not be the right time” for KITTIE to return with new music.
After the London, Ontario, Canada-based metallers completed the touring cycle for 2011’s “I’ve Failed You” album, KITTIE entered a long period of inactivity during which the guitarist/vocalist focused on a marketing job for a chain of fitness clubs, while her sister, drummer Mercedes Lander, worked in real estate and more recently at a software company. The group also began work on a career-spanning documentary, “Origins/Evolutions”, which finally saw the light of day in 2018 via Lightyear Entertainment in North America.
Asked in a new interview with Consequence Of Sound if there are any plans for KITTIE to make new music, Morgan said: “Our bass player and great friend of ours, Trish Doan, passed away a couple of years ago, and so that’s made it really difficult to try to feel like it’s right to do more when she would have wanted to be the one to be there. So, that’s also a tough thing that we grapple with. But, individually, we’re all working on new music. Mercedes is in THE WHITE SWAN, which is a band that she actually fronts. She sings and plays guitar. Tara McLeod is playing full-time in an awesome country band. So, that’s really cool. I’m fronting a kind of melodic death metal band called KARKAOS. So, we’re still all very close as friends and musicians, but it may not be the right time. But we’ve always said, never say never.”
Regarding what kind of legacy she hopes KITTIE leaves behind, Morgan said: “To start off with, the word ‘KITTIE’ and ‘legacy’ in the same sentence is mindblowing. It’s vindicating, in a way, because after all that people said back in the day, there are so many people that love the band and look back and say, ‘Wow. You might’ve paved the way,’ or, ‘You guys have a legacy,’ or, ‘You guys were a legendary band.’ These are all things that I’ve heard recently that I don’t think we would have ever equated to KITTIE 15 or 20 years ago. So, I think our legacy is that we were the underdogs, and as a band, we didn’t think that there were any rules that were made that weren’t meant to be broken. There were things that we decided we wanted to accomplish, and just because we were young and women didn’t mean that we weren’t allowed to do things that people didn’t think that young women should do. And, the music still resonates with people today, 21 years later. I think it’s a testament to the true heart and soul behind the band.”
Last October, Mercedes told the “Thunder Underground” podcast that there were no plans for KITTIE to reunite anytime soon. “I know that we’re lucky to have the experiences that we have had,” she said. And we had a really amazing time when we did that ‘Live In London’ show a couple of years, where we brought everybody back that wanted to come back. And we did like a ‘travel through time’ with all the different members and stuff like that. So that was really cool. We had a lot of fun doing that. But at this point, unless we got a really good offer… I don’t think we would do anything unless it was a really great offer and we could include everyone, in one fashion or another. And I think because at this point, we’re kind of one of those legacy bands, I feel like it would probably really help, or it would be really cool, if we could something with some of the past members as well. ‘Cause right now, we don’t necessarily have… I mean, besides my sister, myself and Tara, it’s just the three of us, technically, in the band.
“It’s kind of hard for us to continue on without Trish, because it would feel kind of weird not to have her there,” she continued. “So there’s a lot of stuff going on with that. But you never know what might happen. If somebody decides that they wanna give us a good offer, and it works out for us, and it’s feasible for us and we’re able to do it, I don’t see why not. But at the same time, we wanna make sure that things are good for the fans as well. We wanna make sure that the people that are coming to the show are getting a good experience, ’cause it might be the last time. [Laughs] We don’t wanna shortchange anybody and have a ‘lesser than’ experience, if that makes sense — we wanna make sure that everybody that comes to a show gets blown away. So we kind of have to outdo ourselves. But we’ll see what happens. You never know.”
Doan passed away in February 2017. The KITTIE bassist was only 31 years old at the time of her death.
Born in Gwangju, South Korea (about 270 kilometers from the capital Seoul), Doan joined KITTIE in 2005 and was in the band for two years before leaving in 2007 and then rejoining in 2012. She can be heard on KITTIE’s 2006 EP “Never Again” and the 2007 full-length album “Funeral For Yesterday”.
In early 2008, it was reported that Doan originally left KITTIE due to the eating disorder anorexia-athletica-nervosa, which she had been struggling with for almost two years.
Doan relocated to Australia in 2009 to get a degree and try to surf before returning to Canada in 2011. She apparently moved back to Australia in 2013 and kept an active Twitter account and Facebook page where she frequently posted about her life struggles and battles with depression.
“I’ve Failed You” sold 3,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 178 on The Billboard 200 chart.
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ALICE COOPER Looks Back On METALLICA's GRAMMY Loss To JETHRO TULL: I Thought They Handed Me The Wrong Envelope
METALLICA was nominated for the very first “Hard Rock/Metal Performance” Grammy in 1989, but famously lost to JETHRO TULL, a band distinguished mainly by its heavy use of flute. Fans — and even some audience members — were rightly outraged, though TULL’s record label tried to make light of the faux pas by placing a Billboard ad that read, “The flute is a heavy, metal instrument.”
Award presenter Alice Cooper, who — along with Lita Ford — announced TULL’s win, recalled the experience in a new interview with Meltdown of Detroit’s WRIF radio station. He said (hear audio below): “Well, first of all, when we did the rehearsal, you opened up the thing and they just said, ‘Name any band’ — you were just practicing naming the band. And it was METALLICA and all these great heavy metal bands, and JETHRO TULL, who’s so far away from metal. And I opened up the thing and I went, ‘And the winner is JETHRO TULL.’ And everybody laughed. And I looked around. I was looking for somebody to say, ‘Did you hand me the wrong envelope?’ I thought they handed me the rehearsal envelope. And they said, ‘No.’ And then I realized what it was. In that day and age, at that time, the people that were voting, the judges, METALLICA was a brand new thing, metal was a brand new thing, and the only band they recognized was JETHRO TULL. And even JETHRO TULL went, ‘What?'”
JETHRO TULL did not attend the event, and Cooper ended up accepting the award on the band’s behalf. “I said, ‘I’m accept this for [JETHRO TULL], but I think they’re gonna probably send it back,'” Alice told WRIF.
After METALLICA lost the 1989 “Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Recording” Grammy to JETHRO TULL, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), parent company of the Grammys, separated the two genres in 1990 by creating categories for “Best Hard Rock Performance” and “Best Metal Performance”. METALLICA won the “Best Metal Performance” award the next year, for “One”, and has earned nearly a dozen so far.
When METALLICA’s “Black” album won another “Best Metal Performance” Grammy in 1992, drummer Lars Ulrich “thanked” JETHRO TULL for not releasing an album in that year.
In a 2012 interview with Powerline, JETHRO TULL vocalist Ian Anderson recounted that historic day when his band was given the award for best hard rock/metal performer.
“I probably get [the question] a lot more when I’m talking to American writers than I do [at home in England],” Anderson said. “It’s not really a big deal over here. It was in a year where it was a new category for ‘hard rock’ forward slash ‘metal’ and that category still exists today … and we were, for some strange reason, nominated. And at the time, no one paid any attention to the fact that we were nominated. There was not a peep out of anyone. Because they thought there’s no way JETHRO TULL are gonna win it. Nor IGGY POP, nor JANE’S ADDICTION. It’s going to be METALLICA because they were the huge, new, straight-out-of-the-box, enormous, hit talent that year and everybody took it for granted that METALLICA were gonna win the Grammy, including METALLICA themselves. And when it was ordered to JETHRO TULL, to a barrage of boos and hisses and gasps of disbelief, I’d like to think that it wasn’t that the six thousand voting members of the National Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences were voting for JETHRO TULL as a heavy rock band or a heavy metal band. They gave us the award because we were a bunch of nice guys who never won a Grammy before. And sad to relate, even after all these years, there is still no category for best one-legged flute player. Otherwise, I’d be winning it every year.”
He continued: “And as we said at the time, METALLICA were an exciting new band. and they will be sure to win the Grammy next year and indeed they did. And to prove the point that heavy metal bands do have a sense of humor, they took out a full page ad in Billboard when they won the Grammy, thanking their record producer, their record company, their mums, their dads, their brothers, the family dog and JETHRO TULL for not bringing out a new album that year.”
Two years ago, on the 30th anniversary of that fateful day, Ulrich took to his Instagram to reflect on his band’s first Grammy loss, writing: “Today 30 years ago, February 22 ’89, we played the Grammys for the first time and that was quite a mindfuck!! First time we were in front of a mainstream TV audience. First time mainstream America was exposed to whatever the hell it is we do. First time they had a hard rock/metal category on the Grammys. First time we were Grammy losers, since JETHRO TULL, somewhat unexpectedly to most people, walked away with the win.
“But all was not lost. The expressions of disgust from most members of the audience (other than Iggy!) is something I will treasure for the rest of my life. And I was rocking some pretty crazy hair that was edging dangerously close to a mullet! Happy days indeed!!”
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MEGADETH's DAVID ELLEFSON Is Hopeful Summer 2021 Tour With LAMB OF GOD Will Happen
During a March 4 Twitch live chat with “Talkulture”, MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson discussed the band’s plans for the coming months. He said: “There’s a new MEGADETH album being finished up. We have a big tour this summer — MEGADETH, LAMB OF GOD, TRIVIUM and IN FLAMES. Live Nation just put out an announcement, I think [on] Tuesday, saying all concerts are a go, ‘We’re gonna stay open,’ ‘Everything’s gonna be great.’ So, per that, hopefully we’ll see everybody on tour this summer. So let’s hope that happens. [We’re staying] optimistic, and hopefully it keeps things going. It was rescheduled from last summer, so it’d be great if we could just get out and get rocking. So, [I’m] looking forward to seeing everybody out there.”
MEGADETH’s North American tour with LAMB OF GOD, TRIVIUM and IN FLAMES, dubbed “The Metal Tour Of The Year”, is now scheduled to kick off on July 9 in Detroit, Michigan and end on September 10 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
MEGADETH’s follow-up to 2016’s “Dystopia” album is likely to arrive in late 2021 or early 2022.
The early sessions for the LP took place in 2019 with co-producer Chris Rakestraw, who previously worked on “Dystopia”.
In addition to Ellefson, MEGADETH’s current lineup includes founding guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, former SOILWORK drummer Dirk Verbeuren and Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro, who was previously best known for his work with ANGRA.
Ellefson was in MEGADETH from the band’s inception in 1983 to 2002, when the group briefly broke up because Mustaine suffered severe nerve damage that left him unable to play. After Mustaine reformed MEGADETH with an all-new lineup in 2004, Ellefson sued his former bandmate for $18.5 million, alleging that Mustaine still owed him substantial merchandise and publishing royalties. In January 2005, the case was dismissed in court, and five years later, Ellefson rejoined MEGADETH.
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Abyssal Trip – SPELLJAMMER
Rising to the top of the modern pantheon of doom, sludge and stoner rock with the ease of champions, SPELLJAMMER are plainly not fucking around. “Abyssal Trip” makes no attempt to subvert a classic formula: within these blitzed-out jams’ treacly, floor-splitting levels of heaviness, the sound of pure SABBATH-ian magma ebbing and flowing can be clearly heard, and fans of SLEEP, CONAN and BONGRIPPER will already have plunged in without hesitation.
Nonetheless, it’s worth stating exactly how brilliant SPELLJAMMER are at this particular strain of bruising but wildly psychedelic, slow-motion doom. With a gift for generating the kind of hideous bottom end that routinely sets ELECTRIC WIZARD apart from their peers, this Swedish trio sound simultaneously brutal and otherworldly; analogue ghouls, battling with the elements and an ever-shifting reality. Plus, of course, this is the perfect soundtrack for smoking ill-advised quantities of weed and tapping into whichever cosmic mainframe pops up in your febrile imagination. All bases covered, if you will.
In truth, there is really only so much that one can say about an album that worships The Riff and demonstrates that love from within a swirling vortex of acid rock atmospherics. Opener “Bellwether” is a startling entry point and hurls down the stoner sludge gauntlet with haughty glee. You may find yourself uttering ungrammatical phrases like, “The fucking riffs on this thing!” or simply reaching for the bong, but either way there’s no missing the fact that SPELLJAMMER have absolutely nailed the tricky balance between all-out sonic war and psychedelic verité. With vocals that hover somewhere in the sonic mid-ground, as disembodied mantras floating aboard an unstoppable river of riffs, songs like “Lake” and the murderous, ten-minute meanderings of the title track are gently but deliciously unhinged, the mischief of psychedelia coursing through doom’s viscous depths.
And just like any trip worth the potential psychological aftermath, “Abyssal Trip” sustains its intensity until the end. “Silent Rift” is the most jaw-dropping piece of music SPELLJAMMER have produced to date, with an off-kilter climactic riff, nominally in 11/8 time, that is as hypnotic and undeniable as it gets. As the song slithers and smashes through its ten, immersive minutes, it sounds wholly in thrall to TONY IOMMI’s extraordinary blueprint, while instinctively wringing fresh and ever-so-slightly twisted magic from it. Or, to put it more simply: the fucking riffs on this thing!
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New FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH Guitarist ANDY JAMES Explains How He Landed The Gig
British musician Andy James, who joined FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH last year as the replacement for the band’s longtime guitarist Jason Hook, spoke about how he landed the gig during a recent video chat with Greek guitar virtuoso Gus G. (FIREWIND, ex-OZZY OSBOURNE).
“I knew Charlie [Engen], the [current FIVE FINGER] drummer, ’cause we’d toured before with Angel Vivaldi, and he was the drummer for Angel and SCALE THE SUMMIT,” Andy recalled (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “We had that one song that we did that we all kind of jammed together at the end, so we got to play together and got to know each other on that. I was really stoked when he was announced as the new drummer for FIVE FINGER. And I guess they just kind of got talking.
“Zoltan [Bathory, FIVE FINGER guitarist and founder] is a big fan of guitar players in general — going on Instagram and seeing what’s new and who’s about,” he continued. “I think he’s always interested in seeing who’s around and what things are out there. And I think I came up in conversation at one point, and Charlie had told him that we knew each other. I think [Zoltan] was working with BUTCHER BABIES, trying to help them to further their career a little bit, and was thinking that maybe they could do with another guitar player. So he contacted me via Instagram, and we got chatting for a bit. I think it was really only a couple of weeks later after that I ended up in Hollywood anyway, in L.A. And then I met the [BUTCHER BABIES] guys and stuff, and then we went in the studio. And at that point, Zoltan came out to the studio and we hung out and stuff like that. So that’s pretty much how we met.
“I was about to embark on doing some bits and pieces with the BUTCHER BABIES, having done ‘Dimebash’, and that was kind of our first gig — ‘here’s our new bass player and new guitar player,’ ’cause they got a new bass player at the same time as well,” James added. “And then, right before going and actually doing a music video shoot for one of their songs, Zoltan contacted and was just, like, ‘Yeah, we might need you to come out and finish up the rest of our tour, ’cause we’ve had a bit of a kind of issue with Jason Hook’ — I think a health issue, stuff like that. So, yeah, ‘stand by’ kind of thing. And then literally the following day, there was like a fucking ticket waiting for me at LAX [Los Angeles International Airport]. So I was literally playing guitar in first class the whole flight back, because I was still learning the shit on the way to England — 17 songs, something like that. Obviously, I’d been a fan of the band, so I knew the music and everything, so it wasn’t a case of having to learn the arrangements — assuming that none of the stuff had ben changed that much for live, that part of it was kind of already in my head. But I had to just sit down and work out the physical aspect of doing some of their stuff.”
Andy went on to say that he was pleased things worked out the way they did. “I’m happy that it happened, but, obviously, it’s to the detriment of somebody else’s life and career,” he said, referring to Hook’s dismissal from FIVE FINGER. “But I think things just naturally move on, and this is just one of those things.”
James made his recording debut with FIVE FINGER on the song “Broken World”, which is featured on the second installment of the band’s greatest-hits collection, “A Decade Of Destruction – Volume 2”.
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH’s latest album, “F8”, was released in February 2020. The follow-up to 2018’s “And Justice For None” capped a turbulent period for FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH in which singer Ivan Moody finally got sober after a near-fatal struggle with addiction, while co-founding drummer Jeremy Spencer bowed out of the band due to physical issues.
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH’s new disc was once again helmed by Kevin Churko, the Canadian record producer/engineer and songwriter who currently lives in Las Vegas, where he works out of his private studio, The Hideout Recording Studio.
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DEF LEPPARD's PHIL COLLEN: Why THE POLICE Is 'My Favorite All-Time Band'
During an appearance on the “No Sleep ‘Til Sudbury” podcast, DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen revealed that his “favorite all-time band” is THE POLICE, the English rock group formed in London in 1977 by primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums). He said (hear audio below): “I think Sting was, and sometimes is, my favorite songwriter. He can walk the line of, actually, great songwriting and pop silliness. He can get a little blasé — he can do anything he wants from a songwriting point of view… ‘Every Breath You Take’ is one of the classic songs of all time. ‘Walking On The Moon’ had actually done something to me as well; it was a goosebump thing. As much as I wish I wrote ‘Every Breath You Take’, it’s ‘Walking On The Moon’ that sends shivers down my spine. And I think it was the sound of the band — the vibe of the whole thing. Everything about it. They were a true hybrid — they took the reggae thing and the rock thing and it came out in the punk era. It just had a bit more venom in it as well; it had a lot more fire than guys who normally… These guys were jazz guys — they all played in jazz bands before — but there was an absolute fire in the playing. Stewart Copeland is one of my favorite drummers of all time. When you put those three in together, magical things [happen]. Whenever I hear the band, it’s — again — goosebump time. I know I keep saying that, but THE POLICE do that every time I hear them play. I got to see them when they reformed, and, again, I thought it was magical. It’s my favorite band, so I would say that. But I do think Sting’s the most amazing songwriter. He can write a classic or he can write a silly pop song — or both.”
Back in 2012, Collen released a demo version of his cover of THE POLICE’s “Roxanne”, originally recorded during sessions for DEF LEPPARD’s covers album “Yeah!” The demo was recorded in early 2004 and was one of 24 songs DEF LEPPARD laid down for “Yeah!” The original version by THE POLICE (written by Sting) was released as a single in April 1978 and included on the band’s debut album, “Outlandos D’Amour”.
In a 2015 interview with Music Radar, Collen named 1981’s “Ghost In The Machine” as his favorite THE POLICE album, describing is as “a bit quirky, a bit weird and a bit reggae. It was a perfect moment in time. Like Prince, they were true artists — a hybrid of different styles, not stuck to just one thing… really open-minded.
“I find the more music you let in, the more you have to let out. THE POLICE were like that, and Sting’s definitely one of my favourite songwriters. Okay, he can get a bit ponce-y, especially these days. But he wrote these classic rock songs that were melodically superior.
“The rest of the band were great, too; they had this amazing chemistry. ‘Synchronicity’, their last one, was great, too, but I think ‘Ghost In The Machine’ is perfect… I loved the hybrid element, introducing reggae into it was killer.”
DEF LEPPARD’s “The Stadium Tour” with MÖTLEY CRÜE, POISON and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS was originally scheduled to take place last summer but has been pushed back to this year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“The Stadium Tour” is now scheduled to kick off on June 19, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee and conclude on September 12, 2021 in San Diego, California.
The last DEF LEPPARD studio album, a self-titled affair, came out in 2015.
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