Metallica
Oh yeah! It’s Friday. Now read that again in James Hetfield’s voice – “Oh yeah!”
Here we go…
Like any good celebrity memoir, Lita Ford’s new book ‘Living Like a Runaway’ has its share of surprising all-star revelations — like her memories of the night Robert Plant asked her if she wanted to join Led Zeppelin. Their encounter, as recalled in an excerpt published by the New York Post, took place in 1975 after the Runaways’ first headlining gig in Los Angeles. After posing for photos with the band, Plant took Ford aside and asked if she could play bass. When she wondered who she’d be playing bass for, Plant retorted, “Led Zep.” “He might have been drinking or pulling my leg,” wrote Ford, “but he seemed to be dead serious in the moment.”
The IRON MAIDEN ‘The Book of Souls Tour’ resumes tonight (Feb. 26) in Tulsa, Oklahoma after opening in Florida this week. Maiden will be in Vegas on Sunday and then off to Mexico. Kind of a strange tour route in North America, but maybe pilot Bruce Dickinson is not interested in short flights 🙂 Checkout the IRON MAIDEN facebook page to view photos from Wednesday’s tour kickoff show in Florida.
Whitesnake has announced a Greatest Hits tour for this summer. The group’s release last year, ‘The Purple Album’ was meant to be singer David Coverdale’s last work, but he admitted it gave him a new lease of life. “I have no desire to hang up my rock’n’roll sneakers just yet,” he said.
Today in 1981, JUDAS PRIEST released their 7th album “Point of Entry.” Following the instant classic “British Steel,” Priest wasn’t content to simply fast-track a quick carbon copy for their next effort. The problem was, they couldn’t agree on their next step, according to frontman Rob Halford. “The band wanted to do something different, but the record company had seen we could deliver hit singles and wanted more of the same. We were not so sure, so I think Point of Entry suffers from too many people pulling in too many directions.” Can you believe their record label rejected the vaguely futuristic album cover design chosen overseas and replaced it with an arguably more abstract interpretation of the title?
ANTHRAX’s long-awaited new album, “For All Kings”, is out today (Feb. 26). A review in The Guardian calls the new record “crowd-pleasing destruction from the thrash masters.” Listen for the single “Breathing Lightning” now playing on METAL SHOP.
Happy Friday and let’s raise a toast to 80’s metal this weekend. Cheers!
Hello, you! Time to crank up METAL SHOP on a Wednesday.
IRON MAIDEN kicks off ‘The Book of Souls World Tour’ tonight in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They are the rulers of my 80’s metal world and seem to be for many others as well… check out this great comment on the Maiden Facebook page, “Iron Maiden is everything that is right about metal. Iron Maiden was my childhood. Iron Maiden is my present. And now I can give this astounding gift to my son as we are going to the show together. \m/”
AC/DC currently tops ‘Billboard’s Hot Tours’ chart. For their last three shows in the midwestern U.S., they were seen by nearly 50,000 fans. The lads from down under will next be in Houston, Texas on Friday (2/26).
Have you heard of the ‘Hair Metal Awards’? I hadn’t either, but this is a thing and the first annual will take place May 15th in Las Vegas. SCORPIONS will make an appearance to receive the “Classic Rock Outstanding Lifetime Achievement” award and German metal queen Doro Pesch will be presented with the “Metal Goddess” award. The first part of the show will be artists from the Sunset Strip era and the second half will feature more of the metal genre of national artists. QUIET RIOT and TWISTED SISTER will perform and there will be a tribute to MOTÖRHEAD’s Lemmy Kilmister, which will include a performance by major metal stars.
LITA FORD has a new tell-all book out, where she describes an abusive relationship with BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi. In a recent interview though, she says “Tony Iommi was my idol, him and Ritchie Blackmore. When I was growing up, the first concert I ever saw was BLACK SABBATH, when I was 13, and Tony Iommi was just like a God in my eyes; he was a hero to me, and still is. Even though… You have to read the book, but he was abusive, and that almost killed me — literally. And I didn’t expect that from my superhero.”
Today in 2003, bassist Robert Trujillo joined METALLICA, replacing Jason Newsted. Trujillo first gained prominence as the bassist for California thrash band Suicidal Tendencies. He was also a member of OZZY OSBOURNE’s band for a number of years starting in the late 1990s.
Lee Aaron released the album “Metal Queen” today in 1984. Two years earlier, she posed topless for the men’s magazine OUI, but later concluded in an interview that it damaged her musical credibility; she regretted the decision and assigned blame for it to pressure from her manager.
RONNIE JAMES DIO released the album “Inferno:Last In Live” today in 1998.
That’s your morning 80’s metal menu. Off to the radio factory now; see you there, and here. Thanks for being part of this!
Hope it was a good weekend for you. Maybe you live near Dallas, Texas and got to see MEGADETH kick off off their North American ‘Dystopia’ Tour on Saturday. They opened with “Hangar 18” and the encore was “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due.” Dave Mustaine recently said about the setlist that people say, “You gotta do this, you gotta do that. I ain’t gotta do nothing. And listening to the fans, what they like, and listening to what I like. Between the two of us, one of us is going to be right. And I know that when it comes down to playing stuff that makes me feel good, I like playing the heavy stuff.”
Maybe you live near Aberdeen, Washington and got to see METAL CHURCH play their first show with singer Mike Howe in more than 20 years on Friday. Howe fronted the band from 1988 until 1994, and is featured on the new album, “XI”, which will be released on March 25. Check out fan footage – Click Here
Great read on DOKKEN this weekend and how their MTV success and the approval of Freddy Krueger couldn’t stop the most fractious band of the 80s from tearing itself apart. Despite the success the band had, singer Don Dokken and guitarist George Lynch had never much liked each other. In 1988, Dokken played on the ‘Monsters of Rock’ tour with Van Halen, Scorpions, Metallica and Kingdom Come. Don Dokken says they had to follow Metallica and “didn’t stand a chance. After Metallica went out and played ‘Master Of Puppets,’ we sounded like the fucking Partridge Family.” (Free registration required for full article).
OZZY OSBOURNE released his fourth solo album, “The Ultimate Sin” 30 years ago today after finishing a stint in rehab at the Betty Ford Clinic the year before. Ozzy considers it his worst album, calling it “The Ultimate Din” and guitarist Jake E. Lee would be unceremoniously terminated the following year after the Ultimate Sin tour ended. Of course, the fans didn’t experience this record the way Ozzy and his band did. While not his best, it stands up on it’s own and sounds better with time.
In 1989, a category for Heavy Metal was included at the Grammy Awards for the first time. Metallica performed on stage, but the award went to Jethro Tull. 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.” When Metallica later won a Grammy for 1991’s Metallica, they thanked Jethro Tull for not release a competing album.
Have a fantastic Monday and thanks for listening to METAL SHOP.
Oh so close to the weekend and if you are like me, you have a lot of extra money laying around 🙂
METALLICA announced yesterday they will reissue their first two albums, 1983’s “Kill ‘Em All” and 1984’s “Ride The Lightning”, on April 15th for $150… each.
Okay, so both albums have been remastered for the most advanced sound quality and will be available in three formats — CD, vinyl, and deluxe box set. Both deluxe box sets include original source material from the band’s personal collection with many never-before-heard-or-seen recordings, along with a book including rare photos and essays from those who were there.
I’m all for remastering, but I also love the raw sound that formed our memories of this great music… hopefully it is not too polished. Two bonus tracks have been shared online, including this killer live version of “Phantom Lord” from 1984 – Click Here
MEGADETH’s Dave Mustaine has a theory about why he is so ‘hated.’ He says “I think a lot of it goes back to the breakup from METALLICA. There are people that have picked up that feud, and they don’t even know why they’re choosing sides. I have nothing against Metallica fans. I was in both bands. I like Lars and I like James and, contrary to what people say, I do think Kirk is a good guitar player. In the beginning, when I was bitter, yeah, there was shit going back and forth. They were justifying firing me, and I was telling them that they were wrong. That’s just been perpetuated over and over again. It’s been put to bed. I’ve got no beef with those dudes. We’re two totally different bands.”
The IRON MAIDEN tour starts next week in Florida. Check out photos of the new Ed Force One, once again being piloted by Bruce Dickinson – Click Here
Today in 1974, KISS released their debut album “Kiss.” For the album cover shot, three of the four band members applied their own makeup, as they usually did, but Peter Criss’ “Catman” makeup was applied by a professional, whose work came out looking quite a bit different from the look Criss had established, and to which he would return immediately afterward. Ace Frehley, wanting to impress the other members of Kiss, dyed his hair with silver spray paint. According to Criss, photographer Joel Brodsky thought Kiss were literally clowns, and wanted to place balloons behind the group for the shoot. Brodsky denied this, chalking it up to imagination.
Happy Birthday to Rony Gomez listening to METAL SHOP in Peru.
Have a kick ass Thursday!
Welcome to a Wednesday 80’s Metal Dogs! Sometimes I do miss my mullet. I started growing it around 1985 and now I can’t grow anything, but bald is beautiful too 🙂
The term “supergroup” gets thrown around on a regular basis these days, however, a new tour featuring some of the greatest guitarists of all time is about to truly give the term a whole new meaning. It’s called “Generation Axe” and features Steve Vai, Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt and Tosin Abasi. There will be 26 performances in North America, beginning April 5th in Seattle.
Next week, the new documentary, We Are Twisted F***ing Sister!, which focuses on the 10 years the group spent playing as a full-time bar band before finally making it big, will be released on DVD, VOD and digital download (Feb. 23). Dee Snider recently discussed the movie saying, “If you’re from the Northeast, there’s a reference and understanding of the importance of Twisted Sister. That’s why you’ll see bands like Cinderella and Bon Jovi, Kix and Poison, Anthrax and Overkill. When they talk about Twisted, it’s like they’re talking about somebody that’s in their band. People from the West Coast, and overseas and South America, they get confused — ‘this is the band with two songs?’ The bands I mentioned, growing up in the Northeast, they were aware of the Twisted presence and the Twisted influence over these bands. So many of them would get in line with thousands of others to see Twisted Sister in a bar or a club, packed to the rafters to see this band. It’s great for that story to finally be made available.”
AC/DC released their debut album (only in Australia) ‘High Voltage’ today in 1975. The album featured ‘She’s Got Balls’ which was written about singer Bon Scott’s ex-wife Irene. At some point, she had complained he had never written a song about her; lead guitarist Angus Young said: “So he wrote She’s Got Balls and she left him!”
KING DIAMOND also released their debut album “Fatal Portrait” in 1986 and today in 1984, MEGADETH played their first-ever show at Ruthie’s Inn in Berkeley, California. The line-up consisted of Dave Mustaine on guitar, David Ellefson on bass, Kerry King on guitar and Lee Rausch on drums. Check out the original flyer below.
At the peak of the hair band run, David Coverdale married actress Tawny Kitaen (known for her provocative appearances in Whitesnake’s music videos ‘Here I Go Again, ‘Is This Love’ and ‘Still of the Night’) today in 1989. The couple divorced in 1991.
Finally, here’s a fun time suck – 100 Metal Facts You Might Not Know, including Rob Halford worked at a porno movie theatre before he joined JUDAS PRIEST and early era IRON MAIDEN singer Dennis Wilcock quitting the band because the other members wouldn’t follow his lead and don KISS-inspired makeup, and this one… Between his stints in METALLICA and MEGADETH, Dave Mustaine worked as a telemarketer… “Hello me, meet the real me and will Tuesday at 4pm work for me to come by and demonstrate our new vacuum cleaner?” Click Here for more.
If you are on twitter, be sure to follow METAL SHOP there for songs now playing and ALL the latest 80’s Metal/Hair Band News – Click Here.
Now go rock the day and thanks for listening!
Well, it’s Tuesday, but there are no bad days when 80’s metal is playing.
One great thing about the Internet is not having to sit through entire awards shows on television to watch the one thing you are interested in seeing. I only cared about the tribute to late MOTÖRHEAD frontman Lemmy Kilmister performed by the Hollywood Vampires (featuring actor Johnny Depp, Alice Cooper, AEROSMITH’s Joe Perry and GUNS N’ ROSES Duff McKagan). I loved Alice singing “Ace of Spades.” Check it out while you can at this location – Click Here
For some reason, certain metal fans get very upset seeing Justin Bieber wear a METALLICA shirt. He did it again at the Grammys and I am just wondering, why does it even matter? James Hetfield joked about it in his top 10 things of 2015 and it’s possible the band sent JB a care package of shirts, because he’s been rocking different Metallica shirts each time he’s photographed in one. If this bothers you, here’s another take to consider… Today’s artists wearing old metal shirts, regardless of what they perform, promotes the genre to an audience that may never be exposed to it.
Happy Birthday to former Slayer Drummer Dave Lombardo. He turns 51 today. Did you know Lombardo created the now iconic Slayer logo? At the age of 16, he met Kerry King, who introduced the drummer to another guitarist named Jeff Hanneman and singer/bass player, Tom Araya to form the original lineup.
Original Def Leppard Guitarist Pete Willis (56) is also celebrating a birthday today. Pete was fired during the recording of “Pyromania,” and replaced by guitarist Phil Collen. He co-wrote many tracks on the band’s first three albums… hopefully the royalties he gets from those records takes away some of the sting of missing out on Def Lepp’s meteoric rise to fame following his departure.
Just announced today, JUDAS PRIEST is set to unleash a new live CD and DVD titled ‘Battle Cry’ next month from the most recent “Redeemer Of Souls” tour.
Lots of Priest will spin on METAL SHOP today and everyday, along with MAIDEN, METALLICA, MÖTLEY CRÜE, SCORPIONS, W.A.S.P., SLAYER and more. Thanks for listening.
You know it’s Friday because the volume on your 80’s metal has gone up a little before you crank it to 11 at the end of the day.
30 years ago this year, METALLICA released their finest album “Master Of Puppets” and to celebrate will be releasing a book in the fall on the making of that classic 1986 record. The bands says they hit the storage lockers, attics and basements to fill the book with hundreds of never-before-seen images pulled from their personal archives. Highlights includes interviews with members of the bands who toured with Metallica, ANTHRAX and ARMORED SAINT and Cliff Burton’s dad Ray sat down for an extensive interview.
What a trip last weekend for METAL SHOP’s Ralph Cartel, who made the 400 mile drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco to see the Metallica Pre-Super Bowl Concert. His recap that includes a link to the entire concert in HD is on the METAL SHOP website.
Former Dio and Whitesnake guitarist Vivian Campbell (currently playing with Last In Line and Def Leppard), who has been battling cancer since 2013, was recently asked why he continues to tour and not simply stay at home given his health issues. He replied, “That to me would be the death sentence. My work is catharsis for me. There’s nothing that brings me greater happiness. All I ever wanted to do in my life was play guitar in a band. I couldn’t imagine anything worse than staying at home just me and my illness.” Catch more of the interview at this location – Click Here
On this date in 1982, IRON MAIDEN released the single “Run To The Hills” from the album “The Number Of The Beast” and MÖTLEY CRÜE began the first of a three night run at the world famous Whisky A Go Go in L.A. Were you there? We would love to hear your memories and see photos if you have any.
For #FBF, check out the photo below posted by KROKUS on their Facebook page of the Single/45 record release of 1984’s “The Blitz”. Did you know Krokus was the first musical act from Switzerland to hit the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. with “Midnite Maniac” from that same “Blitz” album?
Don’t forget Valentine’s Day is Sunday and METAL SHOP’s sister station HAIR BAND RADIO is celebrating with all Power Ballads, Love Songs & Breakup Songs all day. Give your sweetie a squeeze and tune in here
Have a great weekend.
Here we go Thursday and the 80’s metal and hard rock is flowing like a frothy cold one 24/7 on METAL SHOP. Hear it with your favorite media player (iTunes, Windows Media, etc.) with this link – http://listen.radionomy.com/metalshop.m3u
Former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley is releasing a covers album in April that includes a reunion with former Kiss bandmate Paul Stanley, who contributes vocals to a cover of Free‘s 1970 classic “Fire and Water.” This will mark the first time Stanley and Frehley have collaborated since Kiss’ 1998 original lineup “reunion” album Psycho Circus. Ace tells Rolling Stone that “Paul did a fabulous vocal on it … He jumped at the chance to do this because it’s something that’s outside of Kiss and his character in Kiss, and it gave him a chance to, you know, sing. With Paul, you usually think of him singing in a slightly higher register and on ‘Fire and Water,’ he’s singing deep from his diaphragm, and it’s a real cool vocal.”
Despite the barbs that were traded between Frehley and Kiss a couple of years ago around the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Frehley insists the two have always been friends: “The press seems to amplify negativity. I guess it makes good copy.” Last summer, Frehley mentioned the possibility of approaching another founding Kiss star, Gene Simmons, to appear on the album, but that doesn’t seem to have happened. Frehley will also be reclaiming a bit of his Kiss legacy with Origins, covering a pair of songs (“Cold Gin,” “Parasite”) that he wrote but didn’t sing due to nervousness about his vocal ability during the band’s early days. Somewhat surprisingly, he also covers the group’s Creatures of the Night song “Rock and Roll Hell.” Despite his face being on the cover, Frehley reportedly did not play on that 1982 Kiss album, and is not officially credited as a songwriter on that track. Other guest stars include Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, Pearl Jam‘s Mike McCready, and Lita Ford.
Ex-MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman made headlines yesterday when he called METALLICA’s ‘Black’ LP the ‘Single Most Important Album In Metal.’ That statement right there might border on metal blasphemy, but he went on to say the ‘Black’ album was a defining release which helped introduce this brand of music to a whole new audience, saying “the sound of metal could have been long gone, but that album helped metal find its place in the mainstream.” He added: “Metal is not the easiest music to play, and its even more difficult to make sound good. Metallica was able to combine all that was good about metal without compromising who they were. There are some of the best metal songs on that album like ‘Enter Sandman’, and it really opened the door for so many bands.”
On this date in 1992, MÖTLEY CRÜE fired their singer Vince Neil when he turned up for rehearsals claiming that he had lost his passion for the band and was now more involved with racing cars.
GUNS N’ ROSES has added a second Mexico City show for April 20th and the BLACK SABBATH tour rolls into Southern California tonight with a stop at The Forum in Inglewood. They will be in Vegas on Saturday. Check out the great multi-camera footage from Capital Chaos TV of Sabbath performing the song “Into The Void” on Feb. 9th in San Jose, California.
Have a good one all and never stop rockin’!
Welcome to a Wednesday Metal Rats.
Just one day after Alice Cooper weighed in on the GUNS N’ ROSES reunion wondering why founding guitarist Izzy Stradlin wasn’t a part of it, there is a rumor he will participate in a limited role. Cooper said yesterday, “I don’t know about drums, but certainly Izzy is viable. You’d think if Slash and Axl are working together — and Duff is one of those guys that gets along with everybody — then at least Izzy would be one of the guys who would be a shoo-in. And maybe he is, I don’t know.”
Blabbermouth is reporting that Izzy Stradlin will participate “for sure” in what has been described as a “limited” capacity. Stradlin seems like he will at least perform with the group at its two early April shows in Las Vegas. There was “still discussion” about original drummer Steven Adler participating in the reunion at some level, while the name of his replacement, Matt Sorum, did not come up in the conversation.
Happy Posthumous Birthday to METALLICA Bassist Cliff Burton. He would have been 54 today. In his teenage years, Burton had an interest in rock, classical and eventually heavy metal. He began playing the bass at age 13, after the death of his brother. His parents quoted him as saying, “I’m going to be the best bassist for my brother.” He practiced up to six hours per day (even after he joined Metallica). Cliff died in 1986. R.I.P.
On this date in 1978, VAN HALEN released their debut album. Eventually, it would become regarded by fans and critics as one of rock and roll’s greatest debut albums. However, its initial critical reception was mostly negative, with one music critic writing, “This music belongs on an aircraft carrier” and a Rolling Stone critic who predicted, “In three years, Van Halen is going to be fat and self-indulgent and disgusting … follow[ing] Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin right into the toilet. In the meantime, they are likely to be a big deal.”
In other Van Halen news, former singer Sammy Hagar was asked what he would do if the group called him to come back. He responded, “no comment,” but also said, “We’ll see what happens when it happens — if it happens.” Oh boy.
Today in 1978, JUDAS PRIEST released “Stained Class.” It gained notoriety for its dark lyrics and themes, as well as a 1990 civil action trial where the band were accused of backmasking that led to the suicide attempts of two teenagers.
Also on this date in 1987, DOKKEN released the single “Dream Warriors,” written by guitarist George Lynch and bassist Jeff Pilson for the movie “A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.”
Finaly, the heavy metal community was virtually celebrating in the streets on Feb. 10, 1999, when it learned that British legends IRON MAIDEN would be welcoming fan-favored vocalist Bruce Dickinson back into the fold after a six-year absence, and guitarist Adrian Smith after a decade.
That was a good day indeed and it’s always a great day for 80’s metal and hard rock. Rock on brothers and sisters and thanks for listening to METAL SHOP!
Time to kick Tuesday’s ass with 80’s metal and hard rock… Maiden, Priest, Metallica, DIO, Crue, Scorps, RATT, Megadeth, W.A.S.P., Dokken and more spin 24/7 on METAL SHOP.
Happy Birthday to SKID ROW founder and bassist Rachel Bolan (real name: James Richard Southworth). His stage name ‘Bolan’ is a tribute to one of his childhood idols, T. Rex frontman, Marc Bolan. Did you know Rachel Bolan sang back-up vocals on Mötley Crüe’s Dr. Feelgood album?
Late MOTÖRHEAD frontman, Lemmy Kilmister was a regular at The Rainbow Bar & Grill on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, CA. A memorial was held there on the day of Lemmy’s funeral on January 9th and a mural was painted on the bar’s wall as a mark of respect. Now, a life-size bronze statue of Lemmy will be erected outside the venue.
From the WTF file, former QUEENSRŸCHE Singer Geoff Tate Is Working On Jazz Album.
Dave Mustaine has discussed the possibility of re-recording MEGADETH’s debut ‘Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good!’ with the band’s current lineup, saying “If I did go back and record any old songs, it would probably be like a brand new interpretation of our greatest hits, because I think that focusing on any one record and showing an interpretation of all of our great songs by a new lineup would be more exciting. You never know. We might do that.”
Really excited for IRON MAIDEN’s return to the states in two weeks. The Book Of Souls World Tour starts Feb. 24th in Sunrise, FL. Maiden posted the photo below on the band’s Facebook page yesterday with the caption “We’re still packing!! Glad it’s a big plane…”
Have a rockin’ day!
