It Could Be True…

I’m sure some of you remember the Slayer song “Raining Blood” from Guitar Hero III and how ridiculously hard it was to play. The breakneck speed of Slayer songs and the complexity of the riffs have endeared them to legions of near-fanatical fans for over 25 years now. Raining Blood itself was from what is now considered a classic thrash-metal album, 1986′s Reign In Blood. It holds as high a place in metalheads’ hearts as Metallica’s Master of Puppets and Megadeth’s Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying?

Now for guitarist Kerry King to go on and say this is simply stunning:

One funny thing about that album is if it came out today, no one would give a s**t. They’d say, “That’s cool.” But at the time it came out it made such a difference. People still reflect on that as a poignant time, where s**t changed.

The fact of the matter is that Reign In Blood influenced numerous bands around today – some who simply channel the rage and ferocity of Slayer while others who blatantly rip them off.

Reign In Blood did change a lot indeed – it single-handedly influenced many Black and Death metal bands around the world. But the philosophical question as to whether it would matter as much today – in an era of the cheapening to music to people who can download it for free – I don’t know.

Apologies In Advance

I know, I know. I love Metallica and anyone reading this blog can see how I shamelessly wear my bias on my sleeve with all these stories on the band. But this is important.

I’m just done watching what I didn’t consider as a big deal…but now I know better. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame ceremony isn’t much more respected than the Grammy’s (yeah they aren’t) because of the board’s tendencies to screw over deserving bands in favor of popular ones in the yearly inductions. Metallica, who are eligible because their first album Kill ‘Em All came out in 1983 – over 25 years ago as the requirements state, were one class act.

Over the years there has been a tendency for bands to fight onstage and for age old dinosaur rock bands to meet eachother once for an award before going their seperate ways again…but Metallica is still a raging machine which is flying back to Europe to continue their massive world tour on monday. As for who they wanted onstage with them – they finalized that anyone who played on an album is deserving. Former bassist Jason Newsted, who quit the band in early 2001, played alongside current bassist Rob Trujillo in a 5-piece Metallica which blistered through two songs and did their fans proud. The final touch was the families in the audience and Cliff Burton’s, who died in 1986, father onstage with the band and not to mention Flea’s brutally honest and touching induction speech.

Being a fanboy never felt this good before.

Here they are playing Master of Puppets.

Enter Sandman.

The New Face of Mujicks

I thought things in the music industry were indeed desperate…but wow.

According to The Pulse of Radio, former NINE INCH NAILS, A PERFECT CIRCLE and GUNS N’ ROSES drummer Josh Freese has announced through his publicist that he has sold out of the $20,000 limited edition of his new solo album, “Since 1972″, along with the $250 limited edition. The $20,000 edition, restricted to one copy, includes as bonus features a miniature golfing trip with members of TOOL and DEVO, a night aboard the Queen Mary, two songs written about the buyer that will be posted on iTunes, a drum lesson or foot and back massage, any three items out of Freese‘s closet and more.

The $250 version, limited to 25 copies, includes lunch with Freese at P.F. Chang’s or the Cheesecake Factory.

Freese has also sold one of the three $5,000 editions, which features Freese writing one song about the buyer and posting it on iTunes, co-directing a video for the track and putting it on YouTube, a private tour of Disneyland, a letter from PEARL JAM guitarist Stone Gossard and a drinking session.

The unlimited $50 version, which includes a thank-you phone call from Freese, is also selling briskly, according to his publicist.

Freese made “Since 1972″ available digitally on March 24, with the physical CD arriving on April 14. All editions can be ordered at JoshFreese.com.

This is so funny.

Damn Josh. Those are quite some “bonuses” you’re giving out.

Let this be a lesson to everyone – if you want to do well in the music industry – be a good massage giver.

Harr.

Great drummer though. I loved his work in Nine Inch Nails.

Maiden Maiden Maiden

The mighty Iron Maiden, who have ruled your face since 1980, are currently what could possibly be their billionth world tour. They touched down in Brazil the other day and South America’s reputation for bonafide metal loving came through once again.

For “Iron Maiden: Flight 666″ — the upcoming feature-length documentary film which follows the IRON MAIDEN bandmembers on the first leg of their “Somewhere Back In Time World Tour” in February and March of 2008 — the band was accompanied everywhere by award-winning documentary makers Banger Productions from Toronto in Canada, who have received international critical acclaim for their previous movies “Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey” and recently “Global Metal”. Producer/presenter Sam Dunn and his team bring an intimate, behind-the-scenes view of this remarkable journey, with a close look at the logistics involved and following Team Maiden in the cockpit, on the plane and on and offstage, getting to the heart of this global adventure of a band that has very rarely even let cameras backstage before.

Shot in high definition and with superb 5.1 surround sound, mixed by the band’s producer Kevin “Caveman” Shirley, “Flight 666″ brings to the screen all the drama, excitement and hysteria that followed the band around the world every time Ed Force One (the band’s plane) touched down in a new country. The film documents the intensity of the punishing show schedules, the struggle with the time zones, the pressures of ensuring that every performance matched the energy of the many thousands of ecstatic and expectant fans from many cultural backgrounds, unusual angles from the spectacular shows… and, of course, the fun had on the way!

A special international “Iron Maiden Day” is being planned for April 21 with simultaneous showings of “Iron Maiden: Flight 666″ in selected digital cinemas around the world.

Now how awesome is that?

South America sure do love their metal. It’s one of the few places on earth where metal bands top the charts and have good record sales. The dedication of the fans is awesome and it shows in recent live DVD’s released by Iron Maiden, Megadeth and other big names.

Here’s the report on Brazillian television – look at those faces.

BB&S

 

So Metallica just released the video for their latest single of 2008′s Death Magnetic. This groovy tune is titled “Broken, Beat & Scarred” and it’s one of the better songs on the album.

I don’t much like the video though. Wayne Isham, the director, has done some great stuff with them in the past but this one just feels rushed…and fastpaced enough to even give a kid from the attention deficit disorder enhanced MTV generation a seizure.

Also, they used a soundboard recording from a live show…which I suppose is all well and good considering the footage is excerpts from a concert – not only BB&S but of all the songs and their pyrotechnics.

Check it out.

Do Not Want…Again

Gene $immon$ never ceases to impress me with his level of total-sellout. He’s the new face of Dr. Pepper’s new Cherry brand and…goddamn.

KI$$ have always been the band that was always out there to be, and I quote a well spread line here, the Coca Cola (irony) of music while most bands have set out to be the Beatles. They’ve never had a motive other than crass commercialism and they absolutely flooded the market with cheap merchandise as soon as they made it big.

Now, 35 years later, things haven’t changed at all. Gene $immon$ is:

Dr Pepper has searched the rock legends to find its latest pop culture doc, KISS frontman Gene Simmons, to introduce new Dr Pepper Cherry. Simmons, who founded the legendary rock band KISS more than 35 years ago, will star in a new commercial, letting fans know that Dr Pepper Cherry has just a KISS of cherry flavor, making it amazingly smooth. Simmons‘ “Dr. Love” will be the third Dr in the “Trust Me, I’m a Dr” advertising campaign, joining the ranks of basketball legend Dr. J (Julius Erving) and Dr. Frasier Crane (award-winning actor Kelsey Grammer). The TV spot will feature Simmons in full KISS “Demon” regalia. Nick Simmons, Gene‘s son, will also star in the commercial.

Nice way to kill time (yeah right) before KI$$ makes their new album huh Gene?

Sigh.

Here’s some further indication of why I hate the guy.

He butchered the classic “Firestarter” by the Prodigy.

NIN + JA + SS

So Nine Inch Nails’ last tour in a while is going to be a triple threat with them, Jane’s Addiction and Street Sweeper. To promote the tour, they’ve created a site – aptly named NIN|JA 2009.

I’ll let Trent promote it in his own words:

Check out the NIN/JA tour site, now live. Here you’ll find various tour info, media from each band, streaming music, a downloadable tour sampler AND new multi-tracks for you to create your own remixes. We will probably be giving some physical things as well as “opportunities” away as the tour approaches (we’re making this up as we go) so check back from time to time.
See you out there!

TR

So there you have it folks. They’ll be stopping by at Wantagh, NY if you want to see them.