in 2008 I was excited to see a show called That Metal Show hit the airwaves. While I felt the show was good, I always felt that there was room for improvements. I was ok with Eddie Trunk as the host but never was satisfied with co-hosts Don Jamieson and Jim Florentine. I always held the opinion that they should have featured a rotating musician co-host. One other thing I think that would have been cool was to randomly pick an audience member to come down and be a featured co-host. I also would have to have seen some up and coming or lesser known musical guests. There are plenty of talented musicians that could have benefited from this kind of exposure. While I also enjoyed the coverage of “classic” rock bands I feel there was plenty of room to give some newer and lesser known bands exposure as well. I did enjoy the “Stump the Trunk” and “Top 5” segments as well.
I watched every show from every season and will miss it although I felt it could have been so much more. I hope it does find a new home and maybe by some miracle I can tell them about my thoughts… Rest In Peace TMS, another casualty of the war on Rock N’ Roll.
I had the opportunity to assign an eager young man, Simon Arnet to cover a show for me and here is his coverage:
Simon Arnet, On Assignment for The Hellion Rocks!
Invoking the likes of Kamelot and progressive bands of old, Oblivious Signal is a sure winner.
Good Female Fronted Heavy Metal and simply good Heavy Metal is a unique find these days and for good bands you must look to Europe, no longer. When I first heard Oblivious Signal I was blown away by the technical competency and confidence of the band. A venue mix up is never an easy thing (two shows were combined into one), yet somehow Oblivious Signal managed to maintain the attention of Hardcore and Death Metal bands (all of them extremely fun) alike showing the breadth and depth their music can have on people.
Oblivious Signal is good, very good. They move around on stage, interact with the crowd and throw fists up in the air invoking the old days of hair metal with postmodern clarity and a sense of what really makes them special. The vocalist Cristina has an incredible range, her highs will shock you and lows confound you. This band will be big, and deserves attention along with the greats of Symphonic and Progressive Metal like Kamelot, Nightwish, Gamma Ray and Epica.
The Blu Phoenix Venue “The Compound 2” is a brand new venue in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They set this show up amongst great difficulty and confusion, managed to combine a hardcore crowd with a heavy metal crowd. A smoke machine glitch was fixed within reasonable time, given the situations of the event, all the staff were extremely helpful and kind. Blu Phoenix will be having much bigger crowds in the future and more bands. The Blu Phoenix is a wide open space with a nice motor pool in the back, lots of room and great sound and lighting. No food or beer is available at the venue as of yet. High Road Publicity made everything work like clockwork.
Oblivious Signal is well educated, most of them have master’s degrees, that probably has to do something with their sound. The way they work together, write material and perform on stage. This band has a sound that pulls you in, sweeping rifts, a bit of pop and Viking influence. You can tell they’re fans of Amon Amarth in their intros. What Oblivious Signal has is complexity towards their music. The guitarist Nick is an excellent soloist and worthy of any guitar endorsement. The bassist Greg is just wonderful, and will blow your mind, the drummer Jason maintains a steady rhythm throughout the set. Onstage and off Oblivious Signal was a joy to work with, Mike the Merchant was really passionate about supporting the band and everyone at the show. I look forward to seeing them grow and thrive.
Get Oblivious Signal’s latest CD Exordium today, available everywhere!
Prong has a great new record coming out on February 5th called “PRONG X – NO ABSOLUTES”. We had the chance to speak to Tommy Victor about this upcoming release and the tour to follow. We had a great conversation and it was a pleasure to speak with Tommy. You can enjoy it here:
I woke up to some tragic news this morning, David Bowie had passed away. Yet another iconic rock star has left us for the great beyond. I remember Bowie very very well. I grew up listening to his music and enjoying his myriad of personalities. I had always respected David for daring to be who he wanted and not afraid to express himself artistically. Throughout the years I have listened, and not always liked, to his music but continued to respect him and his work. And now, I am forced to say goodbye to the Thin White Duke. I will forever play his music and try to tell others about the legend of Ziggy Stardust.
2015 is over but it brought us some great new music. Here are my top 10 in no particular order, enjoy:
Stryper – Fallen
Stryper’s new release, Fallen, is a supercharged release to say the least. For a band that has been around for 32 years they have continued to impress. This record is full of killer riffs and powerhouse vocals. I am totally impressed by the production quality of this record. I was even surprised to see a Black Sabbath cover on here “After Forever” is done very well by Stryper. The track that grabs hold and will not let go is “Fallen” :
Ahhh Ugly Kid Joe, 19 years after Motel California UKJ is back with a full album. These hold a very special place in my heart and always will. This record shows that UKJ has not lost a bit of the attitude that made them so great. This is rock n’ roll pure and undistilled. The stand out here is “Hell Ain’t Hard To Find”:
Throw The Temple is a hard working band that takes itself serious without being serious about it. Believe me, every move they make is calculated and planned. After seeing them perform for several years they have finally put out and album to be proud of. Full of deep lyrics and catchy tunes ( I even persuaded them to provide the theme song for the Hellion Rocks) this is an album which should be garnering national attention. Enjoy the video for “We Got It Goin'” right here:
This record was a complete surprise to me. While technically a “supergroup” it sounds nothing like one. I was ina bad mood the first time I played this record, by the end not so much. This is just a feel good record that you can tell was fun to make. Comprised of the legendary Tracii Guns, Rudy Sarzo, Rikki Rockett, and Brandon Gibbs, this is a DO NOT MISS record. Here’s the video for “Boneyard”:
Motörhead has always been a guilty pleasure for me. I have always listened to them and probably always will. I have seen the fairweather fans come and go as the trends change. I was extremely saddened to hear of the deaths of Lemmy and Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor. This final album from Motörhead is to savor and enjoy. Take a listen to “Electricity” and pay your respects:
Skulldron rocks, plain and simple. I have known these guys for years and years and enjoyed them immensely. Skulldron falls into the Stoner/Doom metal category and they do it so very well. This is a band that NEEDS some worldwide acclaim. This is another record that SHOULD be in your collection. Well crafted and put together Through The Smoke takes you on a trip to a very cool place in your head. Take a peek at G.O.A.T. :
Clutch is band that, to me, everyone should be running to the store and buying all of their records. Firing on all cylinders and then some, Clutch simply rules. This album continues Clutch’s streak of aggressive, hard charging rock. I have one thing to say about Clutch, if you don’t like them, you haven’t listened to them. Psychic Warfare is a great record to introduce you to the awesomeness that is Clutch. “X-Ray Visions” will whet your appetite:
Dellacoma Rio, vocalist for Dellacoma is one of the hardest working men in rock n’ roll. Hailing from Australia, Del continually works on world domination. Putting together an outstanding band of three world class musicians: Art Struck, Matt Cook, and Rick Reynolds, Dellacoma wrote and recorded a well crafted piece of art. No frill, no filler, just straight up feel good music. This is my pick for road music of the year. Put this on, roll down the windows, and hit the road. Let me show you what I mean:
Red Sky Mary was an accidental find for me. I was completely taken aback by the soul in this young band. It was as if someone jumped into a time machine and collected the DNA from several 70’s bands and somehow fused them into Red Sky Mary. I find so much depth and beauty in this record it amazes me that their are bands still making music that you can truly feel. Here is the latest from Red Sky Mary:
Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators – Live at the Roxy 9.25.14
Slash and crew deliver on this live recording from the Roxy. I f you have never had the chance to catch them live this is the next best thing. Relaxed and fun this record showcases Slash’s and Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators talent. With songs that span throughout Slash’s career from GNR, Velvet Revolver, through today this one is a winner. My favorite track from this record:
So, I have been sitting some info for a while. As most of have heard, some form of Guns N’ Roses will be performing at Coachella and a possible tour. Keep in mind this is some form of a reunited GNR. Stay tuned right here for more information to come….
I am sad to report to you of the death of the legendary man known as LEMMY. I had the great fortune to meet and shake his hand once, he was a VERY cool guy. I hope the afterlife is bracing itself for his arrival…
Wait, what? You’ve never heard of Babyjane? Don’t worry, you soon will. Imagine if you will a band steeped in Guns N’ Roses, Motley Crue, AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, Skid Row, Sex Pistols, Van Halen, Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, The Cult, Faith No More, Megadeth, Pantera, KISS, Aerosmith and you will begin to understand the music of Babyjane.
Australia has given the world some great bands and now we can include Babyjane into that fold. I was excited to learn that Babyjane was doing a little bit of work with one of my favorite artists and one hell of a nice guy, Gilby Clarke. Paul Judge – Bass / Vocals recently related the story of how they came to work with Gilby:
” the song basically came to be through testing the waters to see who was out there in the States that would just record one song with us, so we could get a feel of who we wanted to do the next album with. we recorded twice with Michael Wagener so we’ve been there and done that – we didn’t want things to start getting stale by recording with him over and over again. plus, he’s all the way over in Nashville. we love it there, but it’s so far away – we wanted to spend more time on the coast. it’s a better environment for recording, at least for us.
asking Gilby to record us was a punt we took that we never thought he’d say yes to, but he jumped at the chance when he heard our demos. we sent him demo’s for 4 songs we’d been working on – You Know That Bitch Better Than Me, 23 Sins, No Enemies and Do Ya Know Who I Am. he chose Do Ya as the song – we ended up trimming the title because it sounded catchier.
recording with him was great because he was in our favourite band from our teenage years. we had to rush it – we only had a day in LA before catching 2 flights to Oklahoma to play Rocklahoma. he was supportive and really guided us into a groove when laying the song down. other producers haven’t been quite so nice in the past. being positive and patient with musicians goes a long way. but, while recording with him, Keith Olsen reared his head up again – and we were scheduled to record with him two years ago, but the funding fell through. he made us an offer which was too good to refuse this time, and since he was always our original choice, we left the Gilby things as a fun one-off experiment and went back to our original plan, which was to have Keith record the next album. we met up with him in hollywood, he bought us dinner, then came down to watch us play at the whiskey.
when we got offstage he said “absolutely fantastic – I HAVE to record you guys now… we’re gonna make this happen.” so, all we need to do now is line up WHEN we’re gonna record with him in 2016.
as for recording with Gilby, he’s so busy with Slash and Duff and all the rest of them in Kings of Chaos that we wouldn’t have had time to do any more songs with him than the one we did. but when you hear it, you’ll see it was worth it. it’s a song about not really having any relationship with yourself at times. feeling alienated from yourself, having no idea who the fuck you are. it’s the first track we’ve recorded to feature our more recent guitar player, Sav Hatzi.
we’ve been very lucky in the 7 years we’ve been a band – we haven’t taken over the world but we’ve worked with amazing people in the industry. all without having to get loads of commercial airplay too. we’ve had an idol of ours, John Corabi, sing the opening song on our second album, we’ve had Michael Wagener mix and record us from top to bottom, we’ve opened for Sebastian Bach and Paul DiAnno, we’ve been given attention on blabbermouth.net six times, we’ve been invited to play Rocklahoma, no one can ever tell us we haven’t reached some milestones. if it all ended tomorrow we’d be over the moon with what we’ve done. most importantly, we’ve made some amazing music.
but the next album is really gonna blow heads off. Whitesnake 1987 is a milestone in rock, and Ozzy’s No rest For the Wicked was one of my favourite albums growing up – Keith’s done them both, as well as Jesse’s Girl, Winds of Change by the Scorpions… he’s got an ear and sensibility for great melodies. that’s just what Babyjane need. so we’ve had the big, snappy sound of Michael Wagener leading the way on a Babyjane album, we’ve had a racy, get-it-all-done-in-one-day thrash of working with Gilby – which was great for the feel of the song – and next we’re going to have a big, planned, soundscape of rock n roll love that only Keith can accomplish at the mixing desk. in fact, when I hear him talk about the Neve console on the Sound City documentary he did, I get excited at what he’s going to bring to the album.” -Paul Judge
Andy Smith (vocals and guitar); Sav Hatzi (lead guitar); Paul Judge (bass and vocals) and Nik ‘Animal’ Kats (drums)
Babyjane, not content with just hanging around Australia, has kicked in the door to the outside world and wedged it open. With their impending new release and the people involved they will have no problem knocking it off its hinges.
yet again we hear of mans inhumanity towards man. I am sickened and saddened at the reports of the wanton destruction in Paris. It’s ok to have different beliefs than others, just let others have their beliefs as well. I have never ever imposed my beliefs on any one else, I have also never faulted or told someone they were wrong for not believing as I do.
People out of their houses and enjoying themselves were cut down for doing so. People out and enjoying a sporting event were targeted. People who enjoy music and put aside their differences and come together to enjoy live music were executed enjoying what they love.
It is a another sad day in this world that is rapidly losing touch with its sanity…..
the Hellion Rocks 