A while ago we had the chance to speak with Black Label Society/Cycle Of Pain bassist John “JD” DeServio (https://thehellionrocks.com/2013/11/29/cycle-of-pain-black-label-society-bass-legend-john-jd-deservio-on-the-hellion-rocks/). We now have the great fortune to speak with Cycle Of Pain vocalist Gregg LoCascio. We had a great chat and he’s a down to earth kind of guy. Enjoy our conversation right here:
it’s loud, it’s dirty, it’s CYCLE OF PAIN!!!
– the Hellion
ew RONNIE JAMES DIO Covers Album “This Is Your Life”
Celebrates the Life and Legacy of a Legend
Available April 1, 2014 via Rhino
This Is Your Life Pays Tribute To The Late Singer With Covers Of
His Greatest Songs From Rainbow, Black Sabbath, And Dio
Features Newly Recorded Tracks From Anthrax, Halestorm, Rob Halford, Metallica, Motörhead, Scorpions, Corey Taylor, And Tenacious D, Among Others
To Benefit The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund
Ronnie James Dio is one of the most beloved figures in rock history. His gifts, both as a singer and songwriter, are instantly recognizable, whether he was with Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, or leading Dio. Sadly, Dio lost his battle with stomach cancer in 2010, but his towering voice and legacy live on.
To celebrate one of rock’s most powerful voices, an all-star group of his friends and fans recorded 13 of their favorite tracks for a tribute album that will raise funds for the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund (diocancerfund.org). Produced by his longtime manager and wife Wendy Dio, the album includes contributions by such metal heavyweights as Metallica, Motörhead, Scorpions,Anthrax, and Rob Halford, as well as appearances by many of the musicians who performed with Dio over the years.
This Is Your Life will be available from Rhino on April 1, 2014 for a suggested list price of $18.98. A digital version will also be available.
Although the songs featured on the album touch on the different eras of Dio’s career, several spotlight his time with Rainbow, including Metallica’s epic, nine-minute “Ronnie Rising Medley,” which combines the Rainbow songs “A Light In The Black,” “Tarot Woman,” “Stargazer,” and “Kill The King.” Scorpions add a scorching take on “The Temple Of The King” while Motörhead is joined by Biff Byford from Saxon on “Starstruck.” Rob Halford teams with frequent Dio collaborators Vinny Appice, Doug Aldrich, Jeff Pilson, and Scott Warren for “The Man On The Silver Mountain.” The final line-up of Dio’s solo band – Simon Wright, Craig Goldy, Rudy Sarzo and Scott Warren – are joined by Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Black Sabbath) for “Catch The Rainbow,” a track from Rainbow’s 1975 debut.
Anthrax and Adrenaline Mob honor Dio’s memorable stint with Black Sabbath with their takes on “Neon Knights” and “The Mob Rules” respectively, as does a group, led by Oni Logan on vocals along with Jimmy Bain, Rowan Robertson, and Brian Tichy, which performs “I” from Dehumanizer.
This Is Your Life also includes songs from Dio’s back-to-back platinum albums Holy Diver (1983) and The Last In Line (1984), withDoro’s take on “Egypt (The Chains Are On)”, Halestorm tackling “Straight Through The Heart,” Corey Taylor (Stone Sour,Slipknot) covering the classic “Rainbow In The Dark” and Tenacious D (Jack Black and Kyle Glass) putting their signature spin on “The Last In Line.” Killswitch Engage’s cover of “Holy Diver,” a hit in its own right when released in 2006, is also included here.
Fittingly, Ronnie James Dio provides the finale (and the album’s title) with his moving performance of “This Is Your Life.” Originally released on Angry Machines (1996), the song’s lyrics explore mortality and are backed by a stark and beautiful arrangement that features Dio accompanied only by his longtime keyboardist Scott Warren on piano. The song serves as a poignant reminder that we will never hear a voice like Dio’s again.
The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund, co-founded by Wendy Dio, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable fund dedicated to supporting cancer-prevention research, raising awareness and educating the public about the vital importance of early detection and prevention when dealing with this deadly disease.
RONNIE JAMES DIO: This Is Your Life Track Listing:
* Previously unreleased
Join Gabe Gambino and myself as we discuss the recent loss of his beloved beard:
I have no words
-the Hellion
Photo by Clara Balzary
Having been a RHCP fan since their inception in the early 80’s this topic has my attention. I have found the Red Hot Chili Peppers to be an evolutionary band, constantly evolving and never becoming stale or stagnant. I have also been fortunate to have seen them live on several occasions. Their live performances are always top notch and high energy. The Red Hot Chili Peppers have never compromised who they are and what they represent, always making the music they wanted to make and having the image that they themselves were most comfortable with.
While the band itself has varied in members at times, they have never let it set them back, delivering poignant music time and again. They have never hid who they were even to the point of publicly talking about their personal situations.
Their Super Bowl performance has been called into question regarding the “prerecorded” music and “mimed” stage antics. Flea responded with an open letter regarding it yesterday ( https://thehellionrocks.com/2014/02/04/a-message-from-flea-regarding-the-red-hot-chili-peppers-super-bowl-performance/) and I applaud him for that.
We all know of “live” performance disasters and I don’t think this was one. I think the Red Hot Chili Peppers made the best of the situation and delivered a high energy “show”. If you doubt them go see them live, you’ll see.
Bruno Mars? Well, that’s a different story….
it’s loud, it’s funky, it’s the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS!
the Hellion Rocks
RAT PAK RECORDS SET TO RELEASE DEBUT ALBUM FROM THE NEW SUPERGROUP “KXM” FEATURING: GEORGE LYNCH, RAY LUZIER (KORN) AND dUg PINNICK (King’s X)
A new musical force to be reckoned with is about to turn the rock world upside down with the release of their self-titled debut, KXM. KXM is comprised of dUg Pinnick of King’s X on vocals/bass, George Lynch of Lynch Mob/Dokken on guitars and Korn’s drum maestro, Ray Luzier, rounds out the powerhouse trio. The band takes its name from the combination of the member’s other projects: K from Korn, X from King’s X and M from Lynch Mob.
The self-titled debut of KXM is something truly unique and special. The songs are powerful, precise, and transcend beyond the boundaries of the imagination. In today’s overpopulated music arena, true gems become harder and harder to find, but KXM‘s unified vision rises above the normal and creates its own space. From the opening drum riff of “Stars” to the final chord on “Human Friction,” KXM is an album that is sure to resonate with fans from the band’s original projects, while garnering new ones as well. Songs like “Gun Fight,” “Faith Is A Room” and the first single “Rescue Me” are sure to be instant favorites among fans. The band shows their softer side on the ballad “Never Stop” along with their dark side on the tale of domestic violence, “Sleep.”
KXM formed in early 2013 when dUg, George and Ray spoke about trying to jam together. At the time it wasn’t clear what would come from those jams. The only thing that was clear was that these 3 musicians, at the top of their game, wanted to play together. The self-titled debut, KXM, was born from those jam sessions and is now an important piece in each band member’s musical legacy. In a world that constantly searches for new and unique music, KXM delivers all the power and punch that one would expect from these high level players! Official release date is set for March 11, 2014
CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER YOUR EXCLUSIVE KXM FAN BUNDLES!
KXM “GUN FIGHT” ALBUM TRAILER
KXM “STARS” ALBUM TRAILER
CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER THE DEBUT ALBUM FROM KXM!
it’s loud, it’s dirty, it’s KXM!
– the Hellion Rocks
From http://redhotchilipeppers.com:
Dear everybody,
When we were asked by the NFL and Bruno to play our song Give It Away at the Super Bowl, it was made clear to us that the vocals would be live, but the bass, drums, and guitar would be pre-recorded. I understand the NFL’s stance on this, given they only have a few minutes to set up the stage, there a zillion things that could go wrong and ruin the sound for the folks watching in the stadium and the t.v. viewers. There was not any room for argument on this, the NFL does not want to risk their show being botched by bad sound, period.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers stance on any sort of miming has been that we will absolutely not do it. The last time we did it (or tried to) was in the late 80’s, we were thrown off of ‘The Top Of the Pops’ television program in the U.K. during rehearsals because we refused to mime properly, I played bass with my shoe, John played guitar atop Anthony’s shoulders, and we basically had a wrestling match onstage, making a mockery of the idea that it was a real live performance.
We mimed on one or two weird MTV shows before that and it always was a drag. We take our music playing seriously, it is a sacred thing for us, and anyone who has ever seen us in concert (like the night before the Super Bowl at the Barclays Center), knows that we play from our heart, we improvise spontaneously, take musical risks, and sweat blood at every show. We have been on the road for 31 years doing it.
So, when this Super Bowl gig concept came up, there was a lot of confusion amongst us as whether or not we should do it, but we eventually decided, it was a surreal-like, once in a life time crazy thing to do and we would just have fun and do it. We had given this a lot of thought before agreeing to do it, and besides many a long conversation amongst ourselves, I spoke with many musician friends for whom I have the utmost respect, and they all said they would do it if asked, that it was a wild trippy thing to do, what the hell. Plus, we the RHCP all love football too and that played a big part in our decision. We decided that, with Anthony singing live, that we could still bring the spirit and freedom of what we do into the performance, and of course we played every note in the recording specially for the gig. I met and spoke with Bruno, who was a beautiful dude, a real talented musician, and we worked out something that seemed like it would be fun.
We recorded a track for the day, just banged one out from our hearts that was very like in spirit to the versions we have been playing live the last few years with our beloved Josh on guitar.
For the actual performance, Josh, Chad, and I were playing along with the pre recorded track so there was no need to plug in our guitars, so we did not. Could we have plugged them in and avoided bumming people out who have expressed disappointment that the instrumental track was pre recorded? Of course easily we could have and this would be a non-issue. We thought it better to not pretend. It seemed like the realest thing to do in the circumstance. It was like making a music video in front of a gazillion people, except with live vocals, and only one chance to rock it. Our only thought was to bring the spirit of who we are to the people.
I am grateful to the NFL for having us. And I am grateful to Bruno, who is a super talented young man for inviting us to be a part of his gig. I would do it all the same way again.
We, as a band, aspire to grow as musicians and songwriters, and to continue to play our guts out live onstage for anyone who wants to get their brains blown out.
Sincerely,
Flea
Photo by Clara Balzary
Great live band, I have seen them several times. Thanks Flea!
the Hellion
MASTODON ANNOUNCE SPRING HEADLINING TOUR
TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7TH
BAND COMPLETING WORK ON UPCOMING NEW ALBUM IN NASHVILLE WITH PRODUCER NICK RASKULINECZ
Mastodon have been in the studio in Nashville with Grammy Award-winning producer Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Deftones) working on the follow-up to their critically acclaimed album The Hunter, which entered the Billboard Top 200 Album chart in the Top 10 and found its way onto several Year End/Best Of critics’ lists, including those compiled by Rolling Stone, Spin, Revolver, Decibel and many more. More details about the new album will be announced soon. Until then, stay tuned to www.mastodonrocks.com. Details on the release of Mastodon’s anticipated 6th studio effort will be revealed soon.
Mastodon’s upcoming spring U.S. tour dates are as follows:
04/29 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
05/01 Oakland, CA Fox Theater
05/02 Los Angeles, CA Nokia Theater
05/03 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues
05/07 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
05/08 Chicago, IL The Riviera Theater
05/09 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE
05/12 Buffalo, NY The Town Ballroom
05/13 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
05/15 New York, NY Terminal 5
05/16 Boston, MA The Palladium
05/17 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory
05/18 Columbus, OH Rock On The Range
The recently released Mastodon Live At Brixton is available now. This live concert experience is available as an audio-only version and a live digital video version directed by Ryan Mackfall (Crashburn Media) (both featuring the full 97-minute performance) and is available from all digital retailers, including iTunes and Amazon. The full set-list is as follows:
Dry Bone Valley
Black Tongue
Crystal Skull
I Am Ahab
Capillarian Crest
Colony of Birchmen
Megalodon
Thickening
Blasteroid
Sleeping Giant
Ghost of Karelia
All The Heavy Lifting
Spectrelight
Curl of the Burl
Bedazzled Fingernails
Circle of Cysquatch
Aqua Dementia
Crack The Skye
Where Strides The Behemoth
Iron Tusk
March of the Fireants
Blood and Thunder
Creature Lives
Click here to order Mastodon Live At Brixton.
Ok, so I have had this track for a few days now and can’t get enough of it. Jeff and Mike will be releasing the lyric video to the world tonight 01/31/14 at 6pm mst right here: Jeff Sandoval & Mike Araiza on their Facebook page.
Let’s talk a bit about the track and the video. While it is an acoustic track it does not come off that way at all, in fact, it’s pretty damn heavy. Let’s talk about the bass first. Kurt Arft lays down a heavy, dirty bassline that, by itself, does not seem like it belongs in this song but it fits like a puzzle piece into it. Kurt gives it that groove that this song so rightly deserves. Chris Collier, who not played drums on this but produced it as well, put all of those puzzle pieces together into one solid track.
What can I say about Mike Araiza? The guitars on here are clean, and I mean CLEAN. Mike is so full of melody and it truly shows in his playing and style. I keep forgetting that this is an acoustic track.
Ahhh the vocal stylings of Jeff Sandoval. There are not to many vocalists out there that can still give me the chills, Jeff is one of them. You feel ALL of the emotion that Jeff is imparting into his vocals.
The video for “It’s All I Need” is an incredible piece of work as well. While it is a “lyric”video it leaves you with the images playing over and over in your head. You will find these images replaying in your mind every time you listen to this song.
Don’t miss out on the premier on 01/31/14 at 6pm mst right here: Jeff Sandoval & Mike Araiza on their Facebook page!
It’s always great to talk to Justin Manning. We had a great discussion about the new deal Crowned By Fire signed with the newly formed Chrome Mountain Records.
Make sure you go to Facebook and show Crowned By Fire and Chrome Mountain Records some love:
https://www.facebook.com/CrownedByFire
https://www.facebook.com/ChromeMountainRecords
This conversation went for about an hour so I’ll keep it short here and let you get to it:
it’s loud, it’s dirty, it’s CROWNED BY FIRE!
the Hellion
Frontiers Records has just released a video of Red Dragon Cartel members Jake E. Lee, Ronnie Mancuso, Darren James Smith, Jonas Fairley telling the tale of how Red Dragon Cartel came to be. Check it out it’s pretty cool:
it’s loud, it’s dirty, it’s RED DRAGON CARTEL!
the Hellion
the Hellion Rocks 