Book Review: Billy Idol – Dancing With Myself Touchstone All Access Rating: A-
Billy Idol - Dancing With Myself 2014
Wearing their political idealism on their sleeves, the Clash had righteousness on their side. For the Sex Pistols, shock and savage nihilism made them the scourge of Old Blighty before burning out.
Knowing full well that both bands had the market cornered on railing against injustice with all the filth and fury they could muster, Billy Idol wanted to be different.
A lascivious sneer, chiseled features and spiky, dyed blonde hair would only get him so far, so Idol made a conscious decision to emphasize punk's life-affirming power, its positivity and what a blast it was to be nonconformist, to be part of a scene that rejected most societal norms. And Idol certainly had his fun, indulging in the "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll" ethos with reckless abandon and documenting it all in his engrossing and disarmingly candid autobiography "Dancing With Myself," out via the Simon & Schuster imprint Touchstone.
It reads as fast as Idol has lived, "Dancing With Myself" being a high-octane narrative that's surprisingly literate, recounting – often in graphic detail, including a rather amusing adventure in "fisting" that left Idol with a swollen hand – the all-night heroin and sex binges, tense and often violent confrontations in the nascent U.K. punk scene with conservative Teddy Boys or fascist skinheads, and close brushes with death. It all starts with a depiction of the gruesome 1990 motorcycle accident Idol miraculously survived, jeopardizing his life and career.
Unexpectedly vulnerable at times, especially when talking openly about his addictions, family relations and his love for girlfriend Perri Lister, Idol is a study in contradiction, wholly engaged in musical experimentation with Generation X and later a solo career that made him a global dance-rock icon while satisfying his more lurid appetites for mind-altering chemicals and sexual adventure. "Dancing With Myself" throws the reader back into the maelstrom of the early U.K. punk scene, not only detailing Idol's transition from the band Chelsea to Generation X and his move to America to go off on his own, but also painting a revolting picture of clubs and bathrooms covered in all sorts of bodily fluids while fully capturing the zeitgeist of youth culture and rebellion in late '70s Britain. His fraternizations with Steve Jones, Siouxsie Sioux and Mick Jones, among other architects of punk rock, certainly make for entertaining passages.
While regaling his audience with tales of utter depravity and uplifting recovery, Idol provides a full accounting of the creative process that birthed such smash hits as "White Wedding," "Dancing With Myself" and "Mony Mony" and behind-the-scenes music industry machinations. It's a wild ride, but one that also has a great deal of heart, romance and self-reflection. Let's dance.
– Peter Lindblad
Jim Wilson talks new super group By Peter Lindblad
Motor Sister is Jim Wilson, Scott Ian,
Pearl Aday, Joey Vera and
John Tempesta
Motor Sister is up and running, putting its own spin on the songs of versatile '90s groove-mongering rockers Mother Superior, a particular favorite of Anthrax's Scott Ian.
Jim Wilson is as amazed as anybody at how this project has taken shape in such a short time.
"To me, it’s a blessing," said Wilson, the frontman and main songwriter for Mother Superior, an L.A trio that smartly mixed '70s classic rock raunch and swagger with blues, early punk and metal. "A year ago, I didn’t know that I’d be doing this. I already started recording my second solo album, which I’m still working on, but I was just planning on doing more Daniel (Lanois) stuff and taking everything as it comes, but now I have this kick-ass band … crazy."
It was Ian's 50th birthday wish that started the ball rolling, as the Anthrax guitarist wanted nothing more than to get together with Wilson and some like-minded musicians, including his wife, Pearl Aday, and put on a small concert at his house playing a set list of Mother Superior songs. They were joined by bassist Joey Vera (Fates Warning, Armored Saint) and drummer John Tempesta (The Cult, White Zombie, Testament).
Aday has worked with Wilson for years on her own solo work, and she placed the call to Wilson to make her husband's dream a reality. The buzz from that performance spread, with Metal Blade Records A&R man Mike Faley seeing the project's limitless potential and arranging for a new record from the burgeoning super group. Working with producer Jay Ruston, the patchwork outfit cut an album in a matter of days, taking the schematics of old Mother Superior songs and redrawing them with a renewed sense of vigor and energy.
Motor Sister in the studio
Hitting the streets this week, Ride comes on like a powerful, addicting drug, with fiery anthems like "A Hole" and "Fork in the Road" mingling with the Southern-rock sunshine of "This Song Reminds Me of You" and the dark mystery of "Devil Wind" in a powerful concoction.
Since leaving Mother Superior, the band having once backed former Black Flag singer Henry Rollins, Wilson has worked with Lanois – the U2 producer – and Emmylou Harris, as well as Pearl, and he took time out recently to discuss the making of Ride and Motor Sister's creation in this exclusive interview. Wilson will give his views on a few of the songs on Ride in an upcoming post. And we'll have more from Ian and Pearl in a later interview.
The new album is great. Where are you at with promotion of it?
Jim Wilson:
Thanks so much. Well, we’re very excited about it. I mean, that’s the reason
I’m waking up late today is because there’s been lots of celebrations. There’s
just a lot of excitement in the air, and it’s been really cool. We shot two
videos last week, and we just got the first rough print of it yesterday of the
first video, and it looks so cool. We’re changing a couple of things. It’ll be
out in like a week or so, though, right when the album is ready.
Any hints on what the
videos involve? Are they performance videos?
JW: Yeah, they’re
performance videos … dark. They filmed us recording every song when we were
actually recording the album, so the idea that they had some videos coming from
that and that’s where that “Fork in the Road” video came from, and we liked it,
but it was just kind of … we were so concentrated on recording in the video
that we’re just kind of standing around, you know what I mean? We wanted a
video that shows more of what we’re actually like when we actually play, so
we’re thinking about those old Van Halen promo videos and KISS when they would
do those three promo videos and they’d be on a stage and it looks like they’re
in concert, but it’s just a well-lit performance stage, like a rehearsal stage,
is where we did it at, but it looks really cool. It’s dark, and it’s kind of a
scary effect. It’ll be cool. We’re a scary band, so … (laughs)
Motor Sister - Ride 2015
Tell me about jamming
with Scott for the first time. In what ways did it remind you of the Mother
Superior days and in what ways was it different?
JW: Yeah, well …
I’ve met with Scott through the years on different projects, so we’ve played
guitars together a lot. Even when his wife, Pearl, who’s in the band also, when
she did some touring on her own through the years, I played guitars and Scott
played guitars, and once in a while we would play actually play a Mother
Superior song with Pearl singing. So we used to play “This Song Reminds Me of
You” with her and we’d play “Four,” that was on her album as well. So it didn’t
seem completely out of the ordinary, because we’re all friends and we hang out
and play KISS songs in the living room anyway, but the very first time we
played together, the day before Scott’s party, just in rehearsal, it definitely
reminded me of the beginning days of Mother Superior, where everybody just kind
of unleashed this animal in the music. And it hadn’t been that way for a long
time with Mother Superior.
I mean, we hadn’t played together since 2008, but
even in the last few years of the band … we grew up, so the music kind of grew
up, too. I’m not saying the music wasn’t good. It was just a little less
chaotic and John Tempesta, the drummer, was the only person in the new band
that I had never played with before. So, I knew that he was into it, and I knew
that he loved the music, and I knew that he wanted to play it, but I didn’t
know what it was going to sound like. He definitely brought the wild spirit
back to the music, and it felt so good. It had been a long time since I’d
looked at the other band members and kind of smiled when we finished, you know
what I mean? And obviously one of the main differences is Mother Superior and
this band is a five-piece with two guitars. I always wanted to be in a
two-guitar band. We just never found the second guitar player in Mother
Superior. One of the reasons that we remained a trio was because we had tried a
few other guitar players in the beginning, and it just didn’t worked out and we
always ended up with three guys just jamming together, so it just kind of stuck
that way, but it’s so nice to have all those extra meaty guitar parts taken
care of by Scott. It’s kind of like … I just got the reissues of the first
three Thin Lizzy albums on vinyl, and they were a trio. The first three albums
they were a trio, and then, when they got the two-guitar lineup with Scott
Gorham after that and Brian Robertson, it’s kind of like that. The trio is a
great thing, but it’s a little more open and everybody can kind of experiment a
little more, and with a full piece, with two guitars, bass and drums, it just
seems to … even though we might be louder, because there’s an extra guitar, it
still seems more together because everybody’s trying to balance. When you’re in
a trio, you can kind of overplay and everybody can play over the top of each
other, but when you’ve got four, it’s a better balance I think.
Talking about Pearl
and Scott, when did you first meet them and when did you become aware of their
Mother Superior fandom?
JW: The first
time I remember meeting Scott was I was staying at the Palladium for an old
radio station, KNAC, in L.A. that’s not there anymore, but they had an
anniversary or a birthday party kind of thing for the radio station, and
Anthrax played and Skid Row and Rollins Band, which I was playing in at the
time. And there might have been another band or so, and there were tons of
people there, like Paul Stanley was there, Wayne Kramer was there. It was a
real party situation, and I know we had just put out the Get Some, Go Again Rollins Band album, the first one that we did
with Henry, and I know Scott was talking to me and raving about the album, and
how much he loved it. And then I would see him coming to shows over the next
few years – local shows, I remember seeing him and Pearl come to Denver when we
were on tour once, and we would say, “Hey, the guy from Anthrax was at the show
again last night,” that kind of thing. And then eventually, somehow, we were
invited to a birthday party that Scott had for Pearl years and years ago, when
we still had our original drummer, Jason Mackenroth, who’s not in the band. And
we met Pearl that night.
We were introduced to Pearl for the first time and
talked about writing some songs together. And that was the very first night I
really talked to Scott and talked about … I always talk about KISS, because that
was something we all had in common and that we could all talk about. Anthrax
has always been kind of KISS related and covered KISS songs, and I knew they
toured with KISS before, so it’s kind of like, “Tell us about Paul Stanley?”
You know, that kind of thing. And from then on we just started hanging out and
going to bars and going to dinners, and me and Pearl have written – I don’t
know – probably 25 songs together for her projects over the years. And she has
a new album that’s almost ready now, too, that pulls the whole thing together.
So, we’re definitely no strangers. We go to rock concerts together, like we all
went to see Elton John and the Rolling Stones. And we’re just friends, so the
band thing just seemed like … that’s another way that it reminds me of the
early days of Mother Superior, because it’s just friends hanging out that
wanted to play music together, before all the frustrations and stuff that comes
along with being in a band for over 10 years. So it feels good to call your
bandmates your friends. (See a featurette on Motor Sister below)
Looking back on
Mother Superior, before all this started with Motor Sister, what did you see as
the band’s legacy and were you satisfied with the work you did and how the
band’s career progressed? Or is there a sense that there’s unfinished business
there, and that this fulfills that?
JW: Yeah, unfinished
business sounds good, and this is definitely something already more people are
responding to the music than it seemed like … we always had hardcore fans that
kept it going, and I’ve always been proud of the music. We put a lot of work
into the music. I would spend … I wrote all the lyrics, and all the guitar …
basically, I was the main songwriter for the band, who put everything together,
and as a singer, I always wanted to have complete control of the lyric part of
it, because if it was coming out of my mouth, I wanted to at least be able to
relate to it. So I’m proud of the songs in that way. When we had to go back and
recreate these songs, it was nice to know that they held up and that I could
remember all the words, and that at least they all rhymed and I could remember
them (laughed). And I don’t know … as for what happened with the band, I think
that we gave it everything that we had and it just kind of ran its course.
After eight to 10 albums, whichever way you look at it – there’s actually 10
albums of original material, one was kind of a demo CD and the final one was
somewhat of a compilation, but it had new material on it as well – but I think,
at that point, we all wanted to do something different, and to me, it didn’t
seem like doing something different should mean changing the band, or the sound
of the band or the image of the band just because of 10 years of starting to
repeat, which I’m glad it didn’t get to that point.
But I think as much as we
wanted to produce the music more and try some different things, it was kind of
like you don’t … people like the idea and sound of Mother Superior, so we don’t
want to change that or all of a sudden add keyboards or put a string section on
it. It’d be like if Motorhead said we’re going to have a string section from
now on. So it just seemed like the time was right to get some fresh air away
from it, and like I said, I mean, truth be told there was a lot of frustration
from the band members who couldn’t understand why we never got a break or, “What
should we do to try to …?” I mean, when there were quote-unquote band meetings,
we could all talk about what was wrong, but I think that it was more about the
industry and the way things were going, and I thought the band had went through
a lot and got to do a lot and had some great opportunities, and it’s just that
was the time. You can’t kind of fake it anymore. I mean, bands fake it all the
time, but it just felt the time was right to take a little breather. I really
had no idea I would play these songs again. I mean, I never say never, but I
didn’t know it would be this soon and with a different group of people.
You guys played the
party for Scott. How did it go and did you think at the time that this project
had a life beyond that day?
JW: Definitely,
we … again, I didn’t know John Tempesta that well, and Joey Vera … Joey had
done some stuff for Mother Superior in the past as well. He had mixed and
mastered some of our records before, so Joey was always kind of involved and
around. I mean, I knew everybody were great players, but like I said, when we
first played together, it was kind of like, “Wow!” This sounds really great.
And then after the party, we definitely said, “Let’s do something. Let’s keep
playing together, because it sounds so good.” But, it was because of a friend’s
call to Metal Blade Records that got them aware of what happened, and then when
they stepped in and said, “Will you make a record the same way that you did the
party, with the same songs from the party?” From the day of the party, we knew
we were going to be playing together more, but I didn’t know it was going to be
that quick and that a record would be ready that quick.
When did the idea of
making a record with Motor Sister take shape? What was it about the project
that excited you the most?
JW: Well, Jay
Ruston, who produced the record, is another person from the past who used to
come to see Mother Superior all the time, and I remember after a show at the
Roxy, he said, “There’s only one way to record this band, and that’s to record
it live off the floor, with everybody playing together,” and we kind of said,
“Let’s make that happen one day.” And funnily enough, Jay had been working with
Anthrax, and he was around, and he’s also been doing a solo project that we’re
working on, and it just almost seemed like it was meant to be. Like, here’s
that time I’m going to get to work with Jay Ruston, so it’s going to be the
best sounding record I’ve ever done. And Scott chose all the songs himself for
his birthday party, so they were his choices, but I thought he had a great
mixed bag of songs. It wasn’t just all the super heavy stuff, and then we kept
the arrangements loose so we could … I told the guys play whatever you want.
Don’t try to feel like you have to play what the other guys played, and
everybody stuck to the blueprint of the original songs, but added their own
flavor to it. John Tempesta played some double-bass drum stuff that none of the
other drummers ever did, and Scott changed up some of the arrangements, like “Head
Hanging Low” has a part on it that he really liked that only happened once, so
we made that happen twice.
We changed some intros … things like that. So I knew
it was shaping up to be the best recordings that we had, but it wasn’t until
after we had actually recorded it – and when you’re recording, especially in
the situation that we did where we’re all playing live together and looking at
each other in a circle, you don’t know how it really sounds until you go back
in the other room and listen to it. And even that … until Jay started sending
rough mixes of the stuff did it really hit me like, “Wow, this sounds really
great.” And I don’t know if I ever really felt any pressure from the old
recordings or anything, but I definitely felt when I started getting those rough
mixes that this is like way more powerful than the original band. And again,
nothing against the original players, it’s just this is kind of like a
different level and this band is all adults that have been playing music for a
long time. Mother Superior’s energy was definitely a bit of punk rock youth,
and nobody was listening to us or giving us a chance, so we could be the
loudest, most raucous band, you know what I mean? So that was kind of the idea,
and we kind of got better as players just from gigging all the time. And now I
just feel that we’re all at a level where we’ve all been on the road for the
last decade or so, doing different projects and playing music.
You talked about not
knowing what it would sound like, and you only knew it was working until after
you heard it, but you made the record in only two days. Did you feel as it was
happening that you were only going to need two days to make this or …”
JW: Yeah, I did,
and I have to thank Jay Ruston for that, because he kept everything straight
because we knew we had two days, so to have that person kind of … a taskmaster
telling us we had to get this done and then keeping track of, “Oh, we need to
do a solo on this one,” or the
beginning of “Devil Wind” had acoustic guitar and stuff – he was always on top
of it. And we had a film crew there filming us recording, who were grabbing
each member into the other room to do interviews and our friends were there …
you know, it very chaotic and we had a lot of work to do. So then, me and Pearl
sang live with the band at the recording, but Jay said we could go to his
studio and do extra singing if there was anything that wasn’t 100 percent for
it. So we went to Jay’s home studio a week later, just me and Pearl, and I was
going to try and sing like half the songs in one day and just see if I could
top things or whatever. And it was such a good vocal day we ended up re-singing
all 12 songs in one day, so the album was actually recorded in three days, two
days for all the music and then one extra day for the vocals. But again, it was
pretty magical. That’s the place we’re at nowadays, that my body let my voice scream
out 12 songs and I didn’t lose it. I just feel like we’re that much more mature
as players and singers.
It seems like this
band came together really quickly, that it was just kind of a natural fit with
you guys. It seems like a natural chemistry developed.
JW: It is. It is.
It’s so funny. I’ve told this story, too, but it’s such a funny story. We played
our first show in New York two weeks ago, and I’ve been in so many situations
playing in bands and it’s very strange to be in the company of your band and
there’s no weird feeling. It just feels like we’re ready to go, it’s just us
five. I’ve said it to the guys before too, like when we’re all five together,
it feels like somebody’s missing, because it’s just too easy. What I was going
to say was, we played the show in New York and we played an encore song, and we
were completely done, and I turned around to put my guitar down and shut my amp
off, and I heard talking and I looked and John Tempesta had gotten up from the
drums and he went to the front of the stage and he introduced the band. He
said, “Thank you everyone for coming. Scott, Pearl, Joey, Jim and … “And he
came up to me backstage and said, “I hope you didn’t mind that. I don’t know
what came over me.” I said, “No, it felt great!” It was heartfelt, you know
what I mean? It wasn’t him trying to do anything. It was just like he felt the
need to say, “Thank you,” because it was such a warm reception. I can’t wait
till we play the Whisky A Go Go in two weeks. Two weeks from today, we’re playing our
next show, and I’m going on tour with Daniel Lanois tomorrow for a week with
him. His album came out last year, and we toured the States already, and now
we’re going to do some shows … we’ve got a few more shows in the States, but
then once we gear up … So I’m going out for a week with him, and then I come
back and we play the Whisky as Motor Sister and we have a few other Motor
Sister things before the end of March, and I’m going out again with Daniel for
April and the beginning of May, and Scott is going out with Anthrax at that
time, and then we all get back together in June and do some shows for the
summer. So we all have crazy schedules and we’re all in different bands, but
we’re all eager to play together as much as we can and keep it fun and easy.
I don’t know if
people will be talking about it as much as the band as a whole, but the vocals
you do with Pearl really add something to the record. You two have worked
together for a long time. Why does it work so well between the two of you?
JW: I don’t know.
I don’t know. It’s been that way for a while. We realized years ago that we
could sing really well together, and her older material from her first album
was more heavy rock, so I didn’t have as much place to be on it with her, but
on the new stuff we’ve been recording, it’s definitely more harmony music. It’s
definitely a little more … it’s more mellow, but it’s still rock. It’s more
like country and Rolling Stones or Eagles or Gram Parsons kind of stuff, and
it’s just some weird thing. There’s just certain people that your voice works
with. I’m kind of that way with Daniel Lanois, too. We’ve been singing together
now for a long time and people think we’re brothers. Like people will say to
me, “Are you Daniel’s brother?” because we learned how to blend our voices, and
it’s the same with Pearl.
She just has the exact range that goes right above
mine, and it really helps with Motor Sister, too, because we had some
background vocals in Mother Superior, but it was more like dudes trying to sing
high and do that, but she’s the real deal. She’s a great, powerful singer, and
I’m glad that not only does she get to do the harmony kind of stuff on her
record, but I’m glad that people will get to hear her kicking some ass, too,
with this stuff. And you know, for me it’s a … like in New York, we did our
show in Brooklyn and then the next morning we had to do some acoustic songs for
a web site there, so we got to bed at 2 in the morning after the gig and then
we had to get up and be at the place at 10:30 in the morning, so my voice was
still waking up. Thankfully, Pearl can help me get through some of those
mornings, too. So it all goes together, and she’s great. And she doesn’t want
to sing more. I tried to get her to sing more, and she said, “I just wanted to
be in the background in Motor Sister. You’re the singer in the band.” And we’ll
do some new songs for our second album next time and get her to have some
sections that she can sing on some songs. I’m looking forward to that.
CD Review: Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith: Special 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition Columbia/Legacy All Access Rating: A-
Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith:
Special 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
Defenders of the Faith never really escaped the long shadow cast by its predecessor, 1982's more revered Screaming For Vengeance.
Burdened with impossibly high expectations, Judas Priest's ninth album certainly has its detractors, many of whom swear the metal gods were simply repeating themselves and unable to recreate the incendiary magic of an enduring song such as "You've Got Another Thing Coming," among other Priest classics.
It did go platinum, though, and it wasn't just because it rode Screaming For Vengeance's coattails for all they were worth. Reissued by Columbia/Legacy, the three-CD Defenders of the Faith: Special 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition presents a golden opportunity for reassessment, the remastering job clearly defining the sterling metal craftsmanship and subtle accessibility of the smoldering smash hit "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll," as well as the rich, complex circuitry of "The Sentinel," the aggressive, rough-trade erotica of "Eat Me Alive" and Priest's oddly stylish and infectiously robotic sex toy "Love Bites." Some of the edgiest and most sinister stuff in Priest's catalog is found on Defenders, practically baiting the PMRC into giving the record some titillating publicity, but it's also perhaps one of their most sophisticated efforts, as this release so reverently articulates.
Not that it needed much of a push, what with the hit-and-run energy of "Freewheel Burning" and "Jawbreaker" setting pulses racing, thanks to the thrilling guitar interplay of Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing. Delve a little further and rediscoveries of "Rock Hard Ride Free," a fist-pumping. mid-tempo anthem with a gripping groove, and the shadowy, slow-burning "Night Comes Down" beg for renewed appreciation, all of this setting the stage for a dynamic and warmly recorded live outing, included in its entirety, from the "Defenders" tour that completes this package.
Storming into the Long Beach Arena in California on May 5, 1984, Priest eagerly and with relish attacks the new material, injecting more tension into "Love Bites," adding heft to the swinging wrecking ball that is "Heavy Duty" and charging into "Freewheel Burning" and "Jawbreaker" with blood lust. Along with rigorous workouts of Priest favorites like "Electric Eye," "Living After Midnight," "Hell Bent for Leather" and "Breaking The Law," this set rips through lesser known classics, such as "Sinner," "Grinder" and "Desert Plains," with controlled violence, Rob Halford singing them with as much conviction, vicious intent and operatic expression a he gives to the classics, like the venomous jams "Victim of Changes" or "The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)."
Maybe some additional demo material or unreleased songs from that era would have enhanced this collection, but as it is, it certainly gives listeners reason to revisit the cloaked brilliance of Defenders of the Faith, an album that not only still holds up, but also deserves more respect.
– Peter Lindblad
CD Review: Motor Sister – Ride Metal Blade Records All Access Rating: A
Motor Sister - Ride 2015
Motor Sister is sort of a reincarnation of Mother Superior, a trio from Los Angeles that unabashedly glorified ballsy '70s American hard rock, fiery proto-punk and bluesy soul in the '90s before calling it quits in the early 2000s after a run of eight strong, and sadly under-appreciated, albums.
Mother Superior could never break through the flannel-clad ceiling of the grunge era, but they did catch the ear of Anthrax's Scott Ian, as well as punk icon Henry Rollins. In fact, the Jim Wilson-led outfit once served as Rollins' backup band, with session work for the likes of Alice Cooper, U2 producer Daniel Lanois, Meat Loaf, Iggy Pop and many others also on their lengthy list of credits.
Now comes Motor Sister, a quickly thrown together project that grew out of Ian's burning desire to reunite Mother Superior for his recent 50th birthday party, where the groundwork for the Metal Blade Records release of heady, straightforward rock 'n' roll that is Ride was laid. First, there was a quick rehearsal, and then a blazing performance of Mother Superior material from Ian, drummer John Tempesta (The Cult, White Zombie), bassist Joey Vera (Fates Warning, Armored Saint) and Ian's wife Pearl Aday – a frequent collaborator with Wilson on her own solo work – that left the 25 or so people who witnessed it, including some industry types, gobsmacked.
Wasting no time whatsoever, Motor Sister – still basking in the afterglow of that momentous occasion – went into the studio with producer Jay Ruston and knocked out Ride in a couple of days, the organic spontaneity of those sessions emanating from earthy, soulful rockers like "This Song Reminds Me of You" and the sunny Zeppelin-meets-Sly and The Family Stone funk workout "Pretty in the Morning," as well as the swaggering, meaty riff bonanza "Get That Girl."
Reminiscent of the wild, frenzied punk fury stoked by the MC5 in their heyday, "A Hole" and "Fork in the Road" are conflagrations that burn hot and fast, while the hormonal urges of "Beg Borrow Steal" and "Little Motor Sister" – from which the new band's name was taken – have the crunchy, stomping appeal of early KISS or UFO. These old Mother Superior songs didn't need a kick in the ass, but Motor Sister gives it to them anyway, Tempesta's drumming breaking rocks in the hot sun, the sharply defined tones of the guitars rich and powerful, and the trailer-park desperation in the vocalizing of Pearl and Wilson recalling that of X's John Doe and Exene Cervenka, especially in a catchy little slice of up-tempo, Americana-inspired jangle called "Head Hanging Low." And then there's "Devil Wind," where strummed acoustic guitar lends a sense of mystery before giving way to grinding, rumbling metallic riffs, its dual personality, so vulnerable and angry, a vague harbinger of trouble on the horizon.
Hitch a Ride with Motor Sister, and let them take you to a place and time you thought had disappeared, an era when good, honest, simple songwriting and stacks of amplifiers delivered messages of sexual healing, lusty adventure and hard-earned life lessons.
– Peter Lindblad
In stores on March 11, 2015.
Metal Blade Records: Motor Sister
Slowing
the Supremes' hit "You Keep Me Hangin' On" to an agonized, lysergic
crawl was a stroke of genius for Vanilla Fudge, as it dragged their
eponymous debut collection of heavy, acid-rock covers of Beatles' classics and
'60s R&B remakes up the charts in 1967.
All
these years later, a reinvigorated Vanilla Fudge seeks to recapture the Spirit
of '67 with a similar approach on a lively and refreshingly reverent album
of reworked versions of some of that year's most popular and enduring classics.
Sounding rich and vibrant, Spirit of '67– out via Cleopatra Records – serves up the strong, signature vocal
harmonies, thick Hammond organ swirls, altered arrangements and thundering
drums of Carmine Appice Vanilla Fudge is known for, as the Who's "I Can
See For Miles" morphs into a dynamic, psychedelic funk workout, the Doors'
"Break On Through (To The Other Side)" is perfumed with the exotic,
Middle Eastern tones of Zeppelin's "Kashmir" and "Gimme Some
Lovin'" becomes a bluesy stomp. And yet, what's missing is that sense of originality and innovation that made that first Vanilla Fudge LP such a breath of fresh air, the gloomy temperament of the band's work of yesteryear having mostly dissipated. Fudge's moods on Spirit of '67 are as varied as the uniquely different passages they carve into these well-loved songs.
Still
sunny and radiant, though less joyful and buoyant, the Monkees' "I'm a
Believer" brakes to more of a mid-tempo groove, while "Ruby
Tuesday" And "Whiter Shade of Pale" assume different shapes,
trading haunting atmospherics for more powerful, fleshed-out instrumentation.
In "The Letter," lush piano parts give way to a more raucous
mid-section, channeling the raw emotions of its lyrics. The spirit is still
willing with Vanilla Fudge.
CD Review: Revolution Saints – Revolution Saints Frontiers Records All Access Rating: A-
Revolution Saints - S/T 2015
A star is born, in this case the particularly luminous ball of gas being Deen Castronovo, drummer and backing singer for arena-rock stalwarts Journey.
Playing matchmaker again, Frontiers Records President Serafino Perugino sought to find an appropriate vehicle for Castronovo to display his talents as a lead vocalist, ultimately surrounding him with former Whitesnake guitarist Doug Aldrich and Night Ranger bassist/vocalist Jack Blades in a trio called Revolution Saints.
With a slight rasp in his powerful throat, Castronovo is a poor man's Steve Perry, his soaring, expressive vocals carrying the band's uplifting motivational messages and yearning romanticism skyward. Revolution Saints is the album Journey fans have been waiting for since Escape, its bold, high-energy rushes of melodic hard rock as infectious and galvanizing as its power ballads are heartfelt and impassioned.
Tightly constructed, with generous hooks and big choruses planted throughout fertile ground, "Back On My Trail," "Turn Back Time" and "Dream On" are bright, punchy pieces of guitar-driven pop-rock, the kind that would have been surefire hits back in the '80s. So would the softer stuff, like "Don't Walk Away," "Way to the Sun" – with Neal Schon helping out on guitar – and "You're Not Alone," featuring some backup vocals from Arnel Pineda. Here, gentle piano and acoustic guitar intros lead into big, sweeping, slow-moving waves of guitars and yearning emotions, eventually yielding once again to dramatic, tension-building rockers like "Strangers to the World" and "Better World" reminiscent of Survivor.
Some might take Revolution Saints to task for its formulaic songwriting, predictability and saccharine, banal sentimentality, but to do so would needlessly throw a dark cloud over something that exudes a great deal of light and would undoubtedly resonate with the masses if this was a different, less cynical age. Aldrich's guitar solos are fiery, compelling and a good fit for the songs. There is unabashed joy and exuberance coursing through its veins, they know what their audience wants, it's not arty for the sake of being arty and Castronovo rises to the challenge, smartly avoiding tricks and modulations and just letting his natural ability shine through. People get ready, these Saints are marching in.
– Peter Lindblad
In the 1970s Capricorn Records became well known for representing Southern rock bands like the Allman Brothers Band and Marshall Tucker Band.
Located in Macon, Georgia it was started by Phil Walden, Alan Walden and Frank Fenter in 1969 and by the mid 70s had quite an impressive list of artists including; The James Montgomery Band, Elvin Bishop, Wet Willie, Sea Level, Jonathan Edwards, Kingfish, Captain Beyond, White Witch, Grinderswitch, Cowboy, Hydra, Kitty Wells, Dobie Gray, Alex and Livingston Taylor, Travis Wammack and Stillwater.
In addition to ABB and MTB, Capricorn also managed the solo efforts of Duane Allman, Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts, Chuck Leavell and Butch Trucks. In the late 70s and seemingly overnight, Capricorn went bankrupt and closed it’s doors.
The influence that the label, the Walden brothers and it’s artists had on the industry and specifically Southern rock is quite amazing for an independent music label.
Phil Walden
Phil Walden grew up in Macon, Georgia and started his forays into the music business while attending Mercer College where he booked bands for local high schools and fraternity parties. Walden opened his first office as a sophomore and started expanding his services all over the southeast. One of his first clients and relatively unknown at the time was Otis Redding. It was at Redding’s suggestion that he establish himself as a manager and before too long his client list read like a who’s who of some of the country’s finest rhythm and blues performers including Percy Sledge, Sam and Dave, Clarence Carter and Joe Simon. As his client roster grew, it looked as though Walden’s focus would be firmly planted in the R&B industry – until Otis Redding’s untimely death in 1967.
With his experience in R&B along with his passion for music and the south, he approached Atlantic Records vice president Jerry Wexler with the idea of building a studio in Macon. After several ideas were presented and scrubbed, it was agreed that Atlantic Records would fund a record label to be based in Macon, Georgia. Walden and Wexler named the label Capricorn. So with a $70,000.00 advance from Atlantic, Walden set out to recruit rock and roll bands and build his Macon empire.
One of the first musicians to catch Walden’s attention was Duane Allman, who at the time was a session guitarist at Muscle Shoals Studios, but by 1969 Walden had worked his magic and The Allman Brothers Band was formed and would later become the cornerstone of Capricorn Records. While Phil was managing the Allman Brothers Band, Marshall Tucker Band, Wet Willie and Elvin Bishop, his brother Alan was managing ZZ Top, The Charlie Daniels Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd. It’s not surprising at all that each of these bands’ influenced each other with the deep rooted southern rock sound.
Walden’s pioneering spirit and determination to be all things to all artists led to the formation of various music business related ventures including; Phil Walden & Associates, The Paragon Agency, No Exit Music, Rear Exit Music and numerous other non-music related businesses. He was building his empire, fast and steady – some say too fast but it was the 70s and it was rock and roll.
As amazing as Capricorn’s rise had been, it’s demise in 1979 was fast and furious ending in bankruptcy and sent Walden into a personal downward spiral as well. He rose from the ashes and a decade later made a fresh start after several attempts to get things going again; in the early 90s resurrected Capricorn but this time in Nashville. Walden was back, albeit with a humble start but with newly forged relationships, a new location and a growing client list including; Widespread Panic, Cake and 311. And like a broken record, it happened again and Walden was forced to sell off most of Capricorn’s assets – including the classic back catalog.
Phil Walden died in his Macon home in 2006, but his legacy and the history of Capricorn label is still very much alive and present.
"Phil was one of the preeminent producers of great music in America," former president Jimmy Carter said in a statement at the time of Walden’s death. Walden's work with Redding, the Allmans and others, Carter said, "helped to put Macon and Georgia on the musical map of the world.” Walden was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1986.
In March Backstage Auctions will host ahistorical event showcasing memorabilia featuring the artists that defined the Southern Rock and Soul sound of the 1960s and 1970s. The auction will be live and open for bidding from March 14 - 22, 2015.
For more information on the auction and to register for a VIP All Access Pass click here: Auction
CD Review: Ruthless – They Rise Pure Steel Records All Access Rating: B+
Ruthless - They Rise 2015
Out of an unmarked grave dug deep in the dark recesses of the 1980s Los Angeles metal underground scene, the raging inferno known as Ruthless arises, releasing their first album in 29 years via Germany's Pure Steel Records label.
The long wait was worth it for the cult that grew up around the 1984 EP Metal Without Mercy and 1986's Discipline of Steel LP, two records of uncompromising, hard-bitten heavy metal that reek of death and decay.
Produced and engineered by Bill Metoyer (W.A.S.P., Slayer, Armored Saint), They Rise is the mean and rugged product of an unlikely reunion between vocalist Sammy D, guitarist/vocalist Kenny McGee, guitarist Dave Watson, bassist/vocalist Marc McGee and new drummer Jason Van Slyke – an old-school, blood-and-guts metal album that's vicious and fast and sounds as if it was recorded in dirty, abandoned factory and left there to die by Blackie Lawless.
As rabid and raw as ever, their tense, serrated guitar riffs cutting like a saw, Ruthless thrashes through the toxic waltz of the title track with tight energy, charges into "Defender" like a soldier full of blood lust and unleashes pent-up emotions in the stampeding "Frustration," with the heavy, thudding grooves of "Out of Ashes" infected with a delicious and gripping nastiness that's missing from today's well-manicured and overly fussy metal.
Solid, rugged and exciting from the electrifying opening power chords, They Rise isn't most imaginative offering to the metal gods, nor does it have the ambition to reach for grandiose heights. Nevertheless, it burns hot, although the chilly, darkly melodic intro to "Laceration" – a track that later explodes with thunderous sturm und drang – and the melodic "Circle of Trust" and "Time Waits" provide rare moments of rough, calmer beauty. Sammy D.'s screams are devilishly evil, and so is the bullish, radioactive riffage and the occasional interwoven dual-guitar leads, all of it reminiscent of early Iron Maiden. They're still Ruthless.
– Peter Lindblad
German power/speed metal outfit has something to say By Peter Lindblad
The German power/speed metal
group Scanner
Nobody can accuse Scanner of shying away from controversy. Serious subjects are addressed on The Judgement, the blazing new thrill ride of a record from the veteran German power/speed metal juggernaut that raises heart rates to dangerous levels.
From ecological devastation to genocide, corruption and greed in the financial markets and political arenas and the continued erosion of ethics and morality, Scanner has much to say about the deteriorating state of the world and they do it without sermonizing.
Opting instead for rich, imaginative storytelling, Scanner – its love of science fiction imagery splashed all over the record's attention-grabbing cover art – couches its political passions in intelligently designed, fast-paced, charging metal that's incredibly taut, sleek and arranged with ever-evolving complexity and interesting dynamics. And yet, it feels like a return to Scanner's intense late '80s and early '90s work, its explosive, overdriven guitars and punishing rhythms creating a wildly exciting and aggressive listen.
Once known as Lions Breed, releasing a 1985 album under that banner called Damn The Night on the Earthshaker label, the group soon took the name Scanner and released Hypertrace in 1988, followed by 1991's Terminal Earth, 1995's Mental Reservation, 1997's adventurous Ball of the Damned and 2002's experimental Scrantopolis. Despite having toured with the likes of Fates Warning and Omen and a show-stopping performance at Wacken Open Air Festival in 1997, label problems and personnel turnover at various points in the band's history undoubtedly slowed their momentum, but with The Judgement – out on Massacre Records – and some stability at lead vocalist with Efthimios Ioannidis, Scanner sounds more powerful than ever.
Guitarist Axel A.J. Julius took some time recently to talk about the making of the band's new LP.
If you were to compare The Judgement to any past Scanner albums, which one would it most closely resemble and why?
Axel A.J. Julius: I think The Judgement definitely is the next door neighbor of our first four albums. That is what we intended also. After the experiment of Scantropolis we wanted to make clear again where our roots lie. We attempted to receive and revive the sound and the spirit of our '80s and '90s releases and we were guided by our old stuff from this time. And therefore the album sounds old school metal by default. If somebody likes Hypertrace he won’t hate The Judgement, that’s for sure. But you should never expect a copy of another Scanner album from us; I mean we would be bored by doing that.
Scanner - The Judgement 2015
Describe the creative process that led to the birth of The Judgement. Were there more difficulties than usual? Did obstacles crop up? Or did it go smoothly?
AJ: After a few years playing live primarily and having fun on the road, the record industry could not get us into the mood to record a new album. But we wanted to write new songs and build our own sound studio. Then when everything felt good for us it was the first time that we could pre-produce, record and mix the entire album in our brand new studio and you can say this was a more direct approach than with the other albums. You can determine all the schedules by yourself and you are independent. This has advantages. However, it can also tempt you to stretch the periods, which you must counteract with discipline then. So the process itself was smooth. Let's put it this way: For The Judgement we have cut off from the outside world and did exactly our thing. And we did not mind what was modern today. This was our main intention for this album: 100 percent Scanner. And I tried to let the album breath and sound more direct and raw by using again our own drum sound, for example, instead of using triggered samples for the album as done and heard on thousands of productions nowadays. It did not take us 12 years to make the album, but the motivation to do it just rose initially in 2012.
The riffs on this album are striking, especially on the title track and “Warlord,” a song that’s really heavy in parts and thrashing, but the mood and pace changes so frequently it’s dizzying. Talk about the writing and recording of that song in particular. Was it a complicated process?
AJ: Oh dizzying? Ok, but for me it is not dizzying. It’s exactly my style of composing and I like the counterparts in a song, like fast and slow, loud and quit, etc.. Since Heavy Metal is hardly compressed music you often miss the dynamic expression a classical orchestra always has, for example. That’s one reason why rhythm changes are a part of my expression I use in a song. And "Warlord" is special because of its idea behind it. The song is about Africa and especially the genocides in Rwanda and Nigeria, Boko Haram and the Warlords and our ignorance about the coherences of our western governments and their world trade partners and beneficiaries in this area. So the theme does not really fit to a steady groovy, and sing-along track, I thought. So "Warlord" is a more sophisticated song. But the recording process of this song was not complicated because I’ve had a plan.
Listening to “Eutopia,” the first thing I think of is Queensryche. It’s another multi-part song with melodic shifts and thought-provoking lyrics. Tell us what the song is about, what inspired it and how it came together.
AJ: Actually this song was planned to be our first video of the album, but because of our small budget we had to scrap this idea. The song is about a time-traveling guy with visions of a land called Eutopia. The idea came up after the financial crisis brought major problems to some countries here in Europe and the idea of a United Europe has threatened to fail more and more. So a United Europe is kind of a Utopia. This brought me to EUTOPIA. This dude in the song is not a time voyager really; finally, the story reveals he is on drugs. So his stories were a flight of fancy, like some ideas of our politicians here in Europe are as well.
What song on The Judgement affects you the most from a lyrical perspective? Is it the title track?
AJ: Yes, it is the title track. Somehow it is the most emotional and summing track. It is about our moral values; our personal ones and those of our whole society. And it provokes questions about where we are heading to when we have blown off all the “angels.” I think our ethical and moral orientation should not follow the dictation of Wall Street. I'm not a fan of religion either, but I think that our society should come to an anthroposophical approach beside all religions and adjust our ethic values right again. There is something wrong with us when we allow for example the Kyoto Protocol to be ignored by important states, although it is dealing with our air we are breathing. Meanwhile multinational companies are increasing their profit and ruining our environment. My guitar used to be from mahogany, but that was never the reason for the cleared woodland and for the diminishing rainforest, if you know what I mean.
After all this time, what drives you to keep Scanner going?
AJ: Well, for sure our fans all over the world and their feedback and faith and my resulting deep feeling of owing them something since our first releases. Honestly spoken the band was a bit unlucky from that moment on when we signed with the wrong company at the beginning of our career. This company made us lose two singers in a row in principle. And it was the reason we lost so much time researching for new vocalists. But our fans did not forget us even when there were longer breaks, nor when the bigger magazines did not give a dime on us anymore. The business is hard, but I do not want to complain. I’d rather have fun against all odds with people who adhere to us on our long time journey. And now we are back again… although we had never gone in objectivity. Let’s have some fun, mates.
CD Review: UFO – A Conspiracy of Stars Steamhammer/SPV All Access Rating: B+
U.F.O. - A Conspiracy of Stars 2015
Phil Mogg's toughness is legendary. He's never been accused of being soft as a lyricist either, as the pugnacious piece of work "Ballad of the Left Hand Gun," from the new UFO album A Conspiracy of Stars, so perfectly illustrates.
As Mogg sings about stepping over the prone body of a champ "past his prime," he still sounds as if he's ready to take on all comers and knock them flat on their sorry asses with sturdy, gritty tales about hardship, survival and the dark side of romantic attachment and emotion.
His lyrics are as sharp and pointed as ever, his economy of language and astute, if somewhat cynical, observations of human relations still jarringly poetic, as he talks of love and possession in the violent, well-structured opener "The Killing Kind," a song covered in melodic ivy hiding a rhythmic brick wall. The weatherbeaten "Devils in the Details" is similarly constructed, with A Conspiracy of Stars – out soon via Steamhammer/SPV and produced by Chris Tsangarides, once a 14-year-old studio trainee on the band's 1970 debut UFO 1– coming off as a series of bare-knuckled, bluesy hard-rock combination punches, the meanest being "Run Boy Run" and "Messiah Of Love," with their nasty grooves plowed into hard ground.
Nothing else on the occasionally generic A Conspiracy of Stars has the confident swagger and rough swing of "Ballad of the Left Hand Gun," although "Sugar Cane" comes awfully close, as UFO flexes its muscle with Paul Raymond's simmering, smoggy keyboards and Vinnie Moore's tastefully executed guitar leads menacing the rugged work of drummer Andy Parker and bassist Rob DeLuca. The hooks of A Conspiracy of Stars grab for a sure foothold, and more often than not, their grip is strong, as with "The Real Deal," which sounds a bit like the Rolling Stones of more recent vintage. Often, the record, so full of good, solid rock songs that consistently hit that sweet spot, has all the rush of a cocaine binge, and although it was recorded in Britain, it feels American, rough and ornery but also full of heart and the wisdom that comes with age.
– Peter Lindblad
CD Review: Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth – Brother Of The Sonic Cloth Neurot Recordings All Access Rating: A-
Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth -
Brother Of The Sonic Cloth 2015
A fraternal order even stranger and more mysterious than the Masons, Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth are spearheaded by Tad Doyle, former leader of the demented, star-crossed grunge/metal woodsmen Tad – the same outfit doomed by an infamous trademark tussle with corporate soda giant Pepsi that, for intents and purposes. spelled the end of the band.
Doyle's latest doom-metal project, featuring veteran bassist Peggy Doyle and drummer Dave French (The Anunnaki), is about to unveil Brother of the Sonic Cloth, the first recordings released by Tad Doyle in 15 years, and what a welcome return from exile this Neurot Recordings offering is.
A trudging, mesmerizing journey through ruinous, dense soundscapes similar to those mapped out by label mates Neurosis, where a multitude of strange, tortured vocal manipulations are piled atop massive funeral pyres of thick, lugubrious riffs, Brother of the Sonic Cloth is texturally interesting and darkly atmospheric. Here, the icy, haunting post-rock world of Mogwai merges with corrosive, brutally heavy and occasionally crusty guitars in "Unnamed" and an astonishingly epic uprising titled "The Immutable Path" – a bonus track available on the CD version.
Where the punishing opener "Lava" insistently pounds on its wall of sound, like a prisoner who's reached his breaking point and cannot take incarceration one minute longer, what follows with "Empires of Dust" is a malignant, down-tuned force stirring in the bowels of the earth and birthed holding on to a slim rope of slowly evolving melody. Comprised of mediations on loneliness and existence, with the inevitability of mortality always on the horizon, Brother Of The Sonic Cloth is monstrous and fearsome, often going from quiet intros to mountainous power surges, although the fertile, bluesy crawl of "La Mano Poderosa" finds the trio mining more earthy territory with its heavy machinery. Join the Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth on this membership drive before the bandwagon is full up.
– Peter Lindblad
Awards show gets it wrong ... again By Peter Lindblad
AC/DC gave a commanding
performance at this year's Grammys
For just a second, let's forget about Kanye West and his weird obsession with getting Beyonce a Grammy. Can we talk about the Grammys and their "heavy metal problem?"
Why can't they ever seem to get metal right? Smartly, the Grammys kicked off their soul-sucking awards show with AC/DC doing "Rock Or Bust" and then following it up with a galvanizing performance of "Highway to Hell."
Katy Perry – yes, that Katy Perry – had plastic devil horns on her pretty little head and was flashing signs. Lady Gaga was losing her mind over it. Everybody was on their feet, from clueless industry executives to Dave Grohl, celebrating the survival of battle-scarred veterans rocked by a founding member's debilitating health problems and another's bizarre legal battles.
Oh, Grammys ... we knew you cared. This was a magnanimous gesture, one that would surely lead to peace between an institution that either had no clue about metal or was intentionally dismissive.
Metallica's ... And Justice for All
lost the Grammy to Jethro Tull
And then came the award for Best Metal Performance. The National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences first recognized metal in 1989 with a category known as Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental. A lot of people forget that "Best Hard Rock" part, because that year, the Grammy inexplicably went to Jethro Tull's Crest of a Knave. over Metallica's ... And Justice For All.
The metal community has never forgiven the Grammys for that disaster. Still, there is that nagging feeling that at least they were taking into consideration the "Best Hard Rock" part of the equation in making the decision. Still, hardly anybody mentions Crest of a Knave anymore, except when people want to talk about how out to lunch the Grammys are when it comes to heavy metal.
Over the years, the title of the category has changed, and Metallica has ended up with their fair share of Grammys. Controversy has dogged this area, with Soundgarden's Chris Cornell wondering why Dokken was nominated in the heavy metal category a year later. Many, including yours truly, had a beef with Soundgarden winning a Grammy for "Spoonman" in 1995.
Here's the rest of the entrants that year: Rollins Band's "Liar"; Pantera's "I'm Broken"; Megadeth's "99 Ways to Die"; and Anthrax's groundbreaking collaboration with Public Enemy on "Bring the Noise." Little did Cornell know that he'd be living in a newly furnished glass house five years later when he made his remarks about Dokken.
Anyway, the point is, there have been good choices and not-so-good picks in the past 15 years, but surprisingly, the Grammys had generally avoided making complete fools of themselves in that time. That is until last year, when the show cut off a performance from Queens of the Stone Age, Trent Reznor, Dave Grohl and Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham before it was finished – a sort of musical coitus interruptus, if you will.
Reznor declared a self-imposed exile from the event forever. They were insulted, and it stands to reason that aside from Grohl, who always seems to want to play peacemaker, none of them will ever do the Grammys again. Black Sabbath's win aside, this was not a good moment for the Grammys and metal. This was Vladimir Putin defecating in Obama's corn flakes. And that doesn't even take into the Grammys' In Memoriam snub to Slayer's Jeff Hanneman, repeated again this year with its overlooking Gwar's Dave Brockie.
So, we come to this Sunday's event, filled with the usual ridiculous drama and lame thrown-together collaborations it's always had and awards handed out to the undeserving – Beyonce, I'm looking at you!
But here comes Best Metal Performance. In this category are Anthrax's "Neon Knights," Mastodon's "High Road," Motorhead's "Heartbreaker" and Slipknot's "The Negative One" – all worthy candidates. But, when that envelope was opened, the award somehow went to ... Tenacious D's remake of Dio's "The Last in Line."
Okay, Tenacious D are great at what they do, and Jack Black and Kyle Gass came up with an amazing version of "Last in Line," doing Ronnie James Dio proud. But choosing a slap-sticky acoustic comedy duo over four incredible bands like that? It's a, pardon the pun, joke ... and it smacks of the Grammys consciously and with malice of forethought again spitting on metal. What it comes down to is this: whatever you think of the Grammys, at the very least, they are supposed to recognize sublime artistry in music. By that yardstick, it's hard to even fathom why Tenacious D was nominated in the first place.
And lest you believe this is rampant paranoia or an oversensitivity as to how metal specifically is mistreated by the Grammys, do you think for a moment they'd ever choose somebody like Tenacious D over their precious Taylor Swift or Sam Smith in any other category? Not in this lifetime. This was a decision made carelessly and deliberately so, and because of that, it's a slap in metal's corpse-painted face.
I don't buy the notion that the Grammys are simply lorded over by old geezers who somehow just don't get metal and make decisions based on a lack of awareness. That argument didn't hold water then and it doesn't now. They've had all this time since the Jethro Tull debacle to figure out how to give metal the respect it deserves. And time and time again, they prove they just don't give a shit about it. This is the Grammys saying, "Hey, I've seen those guys in the movies. Forget all the rest of those clowns. Let's give it to them. I liked 'The Pick of Destiny.' Hell, 'Nacho Libre' was a work of cinematic genius!"
And if the Grammys really and truly were paying attention to metal, wouldn't they stop trotting out the same old acts to reward retroactively for sins of the past? Wouldn't they include newer acts in the Best Metal Performance category, like Revocation, Periphery, Animals As Leaders, etc., etc.?
Trashing the Grammys is dumb. It's like a vegan trying to get McDonalds to give up beef for tofu. They'll never change. I hate talking about them. And yet, here we are. Damn it, Grammys ... you've won again. Visit http://www.grammy.com/ and tell 'em what you think. At least Brann Dailor got to show off that cool suit.
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