CD REVIEW: "Blood & Whiskey" by Beyond Perception

I was cruising in Northern Illinois scanning my radio dial and got a chance to catch some heavy metal on my dashboard thanks to local fav Rebel Radio. It’s one of my hobbies, since I always get to hear new voices in the world of metal on their airwaves. I caught some rippin’ vocals that reminded me of Phil Anselmo in his heyday, so I waited to hear the name of the band, and they said Beyond Perception.

I never heard of these guys, so I did a massive Google search and learned Beyond Perception was a new metal band out of Athens Greece, who’ve become quite popular in Europe. The tune I heard on the radio was called “Hydra”- so I checked out the music video on YouTube, it was awesome, totally awesome! These guys are like one of the best kept secrets of metal, makes me wish I was more in tune with the European metal scene.

Beyond Perception just put out their first international release “Blood & Whiskey” exported by DSN Music, with 12 smokin’ tracks! This is true in your face metal, a fresh sound that is closely related to Godsmack or Pantera, 2 of my favs! Besides “Hydra” my ears were blown by “Million Earning Whore”, “Thorn”, “Play With Bullets” and “Black of the Night”.

I would never have known these guys were from Greece, the vocals were solid English, the guitars just shred, and the drums are in your face! What we usually refer to as face removal rock n’ roll! Beyond Perception is touring the UK in Rocktober, I may have to book a flight and check out one of their shows in Ireland!

Lots of heritage metal gods are releasing tons on CDs this year, but for a serious new comer, Beyond Percepton is a must for your iPod collection! “Blood & Whiskey” is available on iTunes, so do it to it and get hooked up, these guys RAWWWWWK!

Kiss Back on Tour!

As the rock and roll biz struggles with top-name cancellations this summer, KISS hits the road in North America, betting that its spectacle of classic rock, pyrotechnics and fire-breathing will lure cash-strapped concert-goers looking for dependable entertainment.

The group is set to embark on its 32-date "Hottest Show on Earth" tour of the United States and Canada that starts on Friday in Cheyenne, Wyoming and ends in California in September to promote its "Sonic Boom" album.

The fact that KISS still plays 15,000-seat venues 37 years into its career comes from providing fans with what they want and touring with regularity, even when the band's popularity ebbed and flowed, Gene Simmons said.

"It's about the marathon," KISS co-founder Paul Stanley told Reuters. "It's more about who lasts the longest -- if you're depressed or lose your drive because of one tour or one show, then you're in the wrong business."

Stanley says fans are now "more discerning" and artists have to give them high-quality, high production entertainment if they hope to fill arenas and amphitheaters during this economic downturn. "They want bang for their buck," he said.

KISS has been riding a wave of renewed popularity since it put its trademark make-up back on in 1996, in contrast to the early 1980s when album and ticket sales plummeted and the band was regarded as hard rock has-beens.

Several artists have been finding this summer a tough slog. Earlier this month, concert industry publication Pollstar said that ticket sales from the top 100 tours in North America had slipped 17 percent in the first half of 2010, compared to a year ago.

Organizers of the all-female Lilith tour scrapped about a third of the shows, while Christina Aguilera shelved her tour altogether.

"It's fairly simple -- there are only so many dollars available," said Stanley, a guitarist who sings lead on classics like "Detroit Rock City".

While KISS has so far not had to cancel shows or co-headline with another major act to book its tour, it has not been entirely immune to the tough concert market.

A ticket search on promoter Live Nation's website found that top seats for next month's show in Long Island, New York were nearly sold out, and selling for several times their face value on reseller site StubHub. But thousands of cheaper seats for the Long Island gig were still available three weeks before the band was due to take the stage.

TRIED AND TRUE!

Fans have come to expect to hear certain songs in their original versions and see stunts like bassist and co-founder Gene Simmons breathing fire.

Stanley feels little sympathy for any superstar complaining about the drudgery of touring and playing songs the same way year after year.

"They're great songs, and on top of that, you have to respect your audience. When somebody comes to a concert and pays hard-earned money, they don't deserve to hear a band turn 'Love Gun' into a reggae tune," Stanley said.

"If a band is bored with their own material, maybe they should stay home. We're proud of every song."

One novelty of the tour will be a contest to select local, unsigned bands to open the KISS show.

Acts such as AC/DC, Judas Priest and Bon Jovi opened shows for KISS early in their careers, and Stanley said new bands need all the breaks they can get.

Stanley said the band plans to have a new album out sometime next year, adding that there will be no 11-year gap as there was before "Sonic Boom."

"In our case, it's really for us to make a statement about who we are and what we'll be tomorrow," Stanley said of the plans for a new album.

Ozzy Osbourne looks for Unsigned Act!

The Prince of metal Darkness himself Ozzy Osbourne, is searching for an unsigned band to open for him at the iTunes festival.

The Prince Of Darkness has teamed up with MySpace to give one up-and-coming act the rock opportunity of a lifetime, supporting him at London's Roundhouse on July 3 as he returns with his superb new album Scream, out on June 21.

Ozzy said: "Throughout my career I've felt this obligation to give up-and-coming bands a leg up in the music business. I've taken out bands from Motley Crue to Metallica to System Of A Down and Slipknot on their first big tours. I'm looking to give a new band a huge f**"ing break by having them open the show."

The Oz' releases his 10th studio album this month "Scream" (Epic Records)... I love this CD!

Dio Dies at age 67

My heart dropped today after the official word came from the wife and manager of Ronnie James Dio, as she had confirmed the legendary metal god died of cancer at 67.

Wendy Dio, released the following statement to:

"Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45 a.m. 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private goodbyes before he peacefully passed away. Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all. We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us. Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever."

Dio was loved by millions worldwide for his tour of duty with legendary groups such as Black Sabbath, Rainbow, DIO, and most recently Heaven & Hell. He postponed his tour duties, as it was announced around the holidays he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He fought courageously and stayed in contact with fans via his wife during the terrible ordeal.

What a talented rocker! Another loss to the music world, he was involved in so much of the music we grew up with over the last 40 years, words can't say enough about how sad we are to hear about the loss of this legend!

Long Live Rock n' Roll Ronnie!

Ratt Goes Round and Round!

Can you dig it, Ratt is back! OK, you don't sound so pumped huh! New album is out and the band is back, well kinda. Ratt fans are well aware of the fragile relationship between singer Stephen Pearcy and guitarist Warren DeMartini.

For roughly the last decade and a half, the two have been off and on again more than Sammy Hagar and Van Halen, which says a lot.

And, as with the original Sunset Strip band, another Ratt reunion seemed inevitable.

“I think down deep I did think things would work themselves out,” said DeMartini, in a recent interview.

“We had talked about going the (band-therapy) route but never really seemed to find the time to do it. So we just kind of made it happen. We went through a very difficult and tumultuous period, and that definitely took some time to sort of smooth over.”

The most recent Ratt reconciliation came in 2007, with a busy touring schedule keeping the hard-rock act focused on its catalog.

This culminated last summer with a 25th-anniversary tour of the band’s 1984 debut, “Out of the Cellar,” which included its career-defining top-20 hit “Round and Round.” The group — Pearcy, DeMartini, Bobby Blotzer (drums), Robbie Crane (bass) and Carlos Cavazo (guitar) — played the album in its entirety.

Having seemingly raided its closet and used up all of its nostalgia currency of any worth, Ratt was at a crossroads. Either record new material or, again, call it quits.

While DeMartini had the desire to record a new project, the biggest question remaining was whether he could once again work with Pearcy. Ironically, the answer to how to move forward came in the form of the band’s past.

“When Stephen had returned to the band and we were rehearsing for the tour, we got to a song called ‘Lack of Communication’ on ‘Out of the Cellar,’ ” DeMartini said. “It’s a fade-out on the album, so we have to write a way to get out of it live. I wrote this outro. After we got done playing the song, they were like, ‘What was that? Where did that come from?’ And then Stephen said, ‘We should make a song out of that.’ So that was a real pivotal moment for me — that I realized that Stephen Pearcy and I could get back to writing, try to put everything behind us and get back to sort of a creative situation.”

The result was the song “Take a Big Bite,” which can be found on Ratt’s recently released seventh studio effort, “Infestation.” The group is touring the album and plays Wednesday at the House of Blues in Cleveland. Perhaps the last question remaining for Ratt’s small but loyal audience is whether this latest reunion will stick?

“Yeah, I hope so,” DeMartini laughed. “Look, rock ’n’ roll bands are a fragile thing. I think part of what makes it exciting is it can implode at any moment. But, having said that, we’re in a very good mood and very good spirits. So we’re looking forward to hitting the road.”

I'm looking forward to going round and round!

CD REVIEW: "The Oracle" by Godsmack

Sully Erna and the boys from Godsmack are back with their 5th release "The Oracle" (on Universal/Republic Records) originally to be titled "Saints & Sinners." Godsmack fans were already served an earlier taste of the CD, with the single "Whiskey Hangover"- only available on the deluxe version of the album. That's 10 new tracks off the regular release and 13 on the deluxe version, hope I didn't lose you on that.

After taking a break for two years, Sully announced in 2009 that writing was underway for the band's next studio record, which was produced by Dave Fortman.

According to Sully, he was looking for a producer who is known for producing great albums. When Sully talked about some producers he is interested in working with, Shannon Larkin suggested Dave Fortman, "Got the mighty Dave Fortman producing who had made it before in a band called Ugly Kid Joe. I played with him for five years, toured the world with him. Love the guy, he's one of the funniest dudes ever. After Sully met Dave it was pretty much over because Dave is such a real pleasant guy to be around and real funny, makes you feel comfortable in all ways," Shannon said.

I've been into Godsmack for over 10 years and "The Oracle" is right in line with everything they have released, die-hards will be in love with this CD! It appears the word is out, as the Billboard digital charts already show the release breaking out after huge sales off of iTunes.

The first single "Cryin' Like a Bitch" defines Godsmack, and appears to be their biggest radio hit since "Vampires" and "I Stand Alone." Track# 2 on the CD "Saints & Sinners" smokes! Sully was going to use it as the album title, but things changed. "I decided to change the name from Saints & Sinners to The Oracle and the reason being because I started doing a lot of research on Saints & Sinners, and although I liked what it represented, it's been done before. I think Whitesnake had a record in 1982 or some like that, before which I wasn't that worried about because that's almost 30 years ago, but there has been some other artists, even Spanish albums that I found called Saints & Sinners in Spanish. With all that put together, I started rethinking the name, and then with the name Godsmack, and then the title being called Saints & Sinners, it was all feeling a little bit religious to me, and that really wasn't what this record represented..." Sully said.

"The Oracle" will not disappoint hardcore "Smack" fans or hard rockers of any persuasion. This album flat out rocks and holds up the band's signature sound over the past decade, a must buy for sure dudes!

Peter Steele... We Loved Him to Death!

Peter Steele, the lead singer and bass player of gothic/metal band Type O Negative, a ground breaking group known for its dramatic lyrical emphasis on the themes of romance, depression, and death, died suddenly April 14th. He was 48.

"Peter Steele passed away of what appears to be heart failure,” according to a message written to fans on the band’s Web site. "We are truly saddened to lose our friend and appreciate the tremendous outpouring today from around the world."

Steele had a reported history of substance abuse, but his band mates say he “had been enjoying a long period of sobriety and improved health.”

Steele was most known for his deep, rich, natural baritone voice. At 6'7" he towered over the rest of the members of his band and would often roll his eyes into the back of his head while singing in videos and in live concerts.

“He often talked about how he was just an average Joe from Brooklyn whose happiest days were back when he worked picking up garbage for NYC’s Dept of Parks and Recreation,” according to MTV.com.

In May 2005, rumors swirled of Steele’s death after the band’s Web site posted a headstone with his name and the dates “1962-2005.”

It turned out to be a hoax of Steele’s own warped sense of humor.

Type O Negative had it’s biggest year back in 1993, when the band’s album “Bloody Kisses” went platinum with the hits “Christian Woman” and “Black No.1.”

Steele was to begin writing and recording new music as a follow up for the band’s 2007 album “Dead Again,” according to the band’s Web site.

He is survived by five sisters, the eldest of whom praised him as a larger-than-life character whose death casts a shadow on the music industry."

“He was more than our brother, he was our son. His untimely death is tragic -- a great loss to us and to music,” she said.

The Runaways are Back!

As a kid growing up in Chicago, I'll never forget hearing a song called "Cherry Bomb" on WMET. The song stuck in my head and I had to hear more! I mean a rock group with chicks... cool! Finally I went down to the record store and picked up their new album and I was in love.

What a lineup of great teenage rockers: Joan Jett, Cherie Curry, Lita Ford, and Sandy West. Layin' down a whole new sound to the 70's rock scene. Many of them would go on to successful solo careers like Joan and Lita. This band pretty much reigned from 1975-1979 and broke the glass ceiling for female rockers in the industry.

Now a whole new generation will be exposed to their story with the release of the new motion picture The Runaways. Featuring Hollywood's young elite, Twilight's Kristen Stewart as Jett and Dakota Faning as Curry. The movie hits theaters this month.

I remember seeing them in concert around 1977, as a young teenager myself with hormones ragin'. Seeing Lita Ford in tight roller-girl shorts has haunted me for life. Joan Jett rocked the house like no other, what a great band!

I was lucky to see a special screening of this movie and it is so incredible as it follows the true life rise and fall of this legendary rock group from the 70's. Go see it, or buy it when it hits DVD, such an insight into the world of rock n'roll!

The Final Frontier for Iron Maiden?

Longtime fans of Iron Maiden are still confused as to what will be the fate of this legendary metal group. Last year bassist Steve Harris eluded to the fact that the end was near stating, "we've always said we're only going to do 15 albums; we're coming up to it. There's going to be an ending point." After that the rumor mill began to spin, with word they had one last worldwide tour and album to go before calling it quits.

The word has also begun to spread in the music industry, in which insiders confirmed the end was near in site, as the members were ready to move on with their lives after 35 years.

Awesome news however, as fans are pumped as the new album "The Final Frontier" was officially announced, as well as a tour to support the release with Dream Theater. Is the hint as obvious at the title of the new release?

Here are the tour dates as of today:

Jun. 09 – Dallas, TX – Superpages.com Center

Jun. 11 – Houston, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

Jun. 12 – San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center

Jun. 14 – Denver, CO – Comfort Dental Amphitheatre

Jun. 16 – Albuquerque, NM – The Pavilion

Jun. 17 – Phoenix, AZ – Cricket Wireless Pavilion

Jun. 19 – San Bernardino, CA – San Manuel Amphitheatre

Jun. 20 – Concord, CA – Sleep Train Pavilion

Jun. 22 – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre

Jun. 24 – Vancouver, BC – GM Place

Jun. 26 – Edmonton, AB – Rexall Place

Jun. 29 – Saskatoon, SK – Credit Union Center

Jun. 30 – Winnipeg, MB – MTS Center +

Jul. 03 – Toronto, ON – Molson Amphitheatre

Jul. 07 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre

Jul. 11 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC

Jul. 12 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden

Jul. 14 – Pittsburgh, PA – First Niagra Pavilion

Jul. 15 – Cleveland, OH – Blossom Music Center

Jul. 17 – Detroit, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre

Jul. 18 – Chicago, IL – First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre

Jul. 20 – Washington D.C. – Jiffy Lube Live

Let's hope the album and tour are a huge success and the boys decide not to run to the hills!

Record Label Review: MASCOT RECORDS

From time to time I will be reviewing the record companies who provide us with the hard rock and metal that keeps us alive. This month we are going to take a look at Mascot Records.

Mascot Records is an independent record company based in The Netherlands and specializes in guitar music, from Metal to (instrumental) Guitar, Hard Rock, Prog Rock and (guitar) Fusion artists.

The label is home to a catalog which is a whose who of rockers over the last 20 years, such as: Sadus, Vicious Rumors, Agent Steel, Volbeat, Lingua, Masters of Reality, LA Guns, Everon, C-187, Racer X amongst others. Guitarists such as Marty Friedman, Paul Gilbert, John 5, Andreas Kisser, John Norum, Marc Rizzo, Tony MacAlpine, Vinnie Moore, Michael Schenker, George Lynch, Jake E Lee, Steve Morse and many more.

If your into classic metal artists like me, I'm pretty sure you know the majority of these musicians. Mascot Records built their portfolio pretty much as the major labels and other indies dropped artists due to downsizing or shutting down their companies.

This European based record company did not have to suffer from the music industry collapse in Hollywood, or the music biz in general, and picked up some pretty big artists. Their diverse roster also allowed them breathing room going from one end of the spectrum with groups like thrashers Pestilence to guitar virtuoso Paul Gilbert.

Now Mascot is breaking into the U.S. market with artists like Heathen, with their long awaited album of 17 years, Heathen is one of the best melodic thrash bands to emerge out of the San Francisco bay area, named by their fans as the "mighty Heathen".

This label is bringing life to rockers who were on top of their game 10 and 20 years ago and back to release new content. You have to tip your hat to a company willing to make a gamble like that, but with an artist roster like the one they have, I'll take those odds!

Record Label Review Rating
Mascot Records 5*****

Long Live Dio!

I was pumped when I heard about the Heaven and Hell project, bringing back the Dio era Black Sabbath crew together again. It marked the 40th year of Black Sabbath, and 30th year with Dio.

This reunion all comes together with 2 serious bummers behind the scenes, as Ozzy sues Tony Iommi claiming he illegally took sole ownership of the band's name in a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Then during the Heaven and Hell Tour, Dio had to stop the show and headed for the hospital!

Word hit the street Thanksgiving weekend from Dio's wife and manger Wendy Dio, that he was fighting stomach cancer. Since his initial visits to the hospital, Dio has had to endure chemo treatments and even a blood clot issue. Some of the tumors have been cleared out, with some still in process of being destroyed.

Fans from all over the world are in shock and awe over this revelation, but many feel strongly he will recover and return as the King of Metal!

Last Sting For The Scorpions!

Say It Ain't So Guys!

German rock band Scorpions have announced they will break up after a career spanning over 40 years.

Best known for their European hit single Wind of Change, a statement on the band's website read: "We agree we have reached the end of the road."

The group say they will release a final album - Sting in the Tail - in March before embarking on a farewell tour.

The band was founded by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, 61, in 1965 in Hanover.

"We want to end the Scorpion's extraordinary career on a high note", the band said on the website.

"We finish our career with an album we consider to be one of the best we have ever recorded."

The tour will start in Prague on 15 March and go round the world "over the next few years" and the album will be released on 19 March.

The current line-up is Klaus Meine, Matthias Jabs, Rudolf Schenker, Pawel Maciwoda and James Kottak.

Scorpions have released more than 20 albums since they started out.

The end of an era for one of the greatest metal bands of all time!

Metal Is Back Baby!

I've been a metal head since the late 1970's growing up in Chicago suburbia. I learned about hard rock music from 3 sources: radio, record stores, and concerts. The Windy City area had it all when it came to this. I grew up bangin' out to Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Nazereth, Montrose, and AC/DC to name a few.

When the 1980's came, I was in head-bangin' heaven! Chicago radio gave us killer stations like The Loop and WMET. Both competed for hard rock listeners, and brought the sounds of Iron Maiden and Judas Preist to commercial radio in Chi-town.

In the mid to late 80's both those stations wimped out for "Adult rock" and shed their metal. So other suburban stations emerged playing real metal! WRRG in River Grove launched a lot of bands like Metallica, Anvil, Trouble, and the like with Metal Mania hosted by Rockin' Ron Simon. I use to listen every Saturday night to his show then head to the Thirsty Whale to see the bands he played.

Then came more metal on the dial with Real Precious Metal RPM on 103FM, which was a haven for nightly hair bands of the 80's like Ratt, Bon Jovi, Winger and whatever that had lipstick. This was hard to listen to at times for true metal heads---until Labor Day 1986!

Adult Contemporary station WYEN 106-7FM dropped Elton John and Madonna for Slayer and Megadeth as Z-Rock 106-7FM made its awesome debut! 24 hours a day of non-stop metal-with no wimp music. I mean Slayer and Motorhead at like 7 in the morning! Awesome--totally awesome!

Great on-air talent like Wild Bill Scott (he was on WMET and The Loop back in the day), Mad Max Hammer, Shelly Steel, Killer Craig, Freeze Disease and lets not forget Boobie Bondage! It was unreal! I heard my first King Diamond song on there. Paul Dianno's Battlezone, Zoetrope (another Chicago fav), Anthrax, Metal Church, Accept--every killer band from 1980's metal!

A little over a year later I turn on my radio and hear Yanni crap! Z-Rock switched to The Wave, some new-age mindless middle aged crappy format. Rockers in Chicago united, staged rallies, bitched to the Trib and Times, just went nuts and into depression! I was sooo bummed! The music seemed like it was over and my main outlet for this lifestyle had just vanished!

I made mix-tapes in my car of bands I knew on Z-Rock and played them over and over again until the tapes snapped! About a year later I read in the Illinois Entertainer that a bunch of former hard rock radio and Z-Rock jocks were starting up another station on 1330AM--later named G-Force 1330. It was like Z-Rock on steroids! They had Z-Rock alumni like Wild Bill & Boobie, and locals like The G-Ster, Rockin' Ron Simon, Jammin' Janet and Scott Davidson.

It seemed like the AM band was the ONLY place to hear real metal on Chicago radio in late 80's and into the 90's. G-Force eventually became Rebel Radio, with Scott Davidson becoming the new voice for metal on the airwaves. Yeah, only a few could hear the station, but they patched a bunch of small AM stations together around town, a somewhat-wannabe network which never quite made it. But at least they kept it going as corporate giants moved into the Chicago landscape and changed radio forever!

Today I have XM and Internet radio to listen to. But honestly it just ain't the same. I mean, going to AM/PM Minimart to get some beer and hear the kid behind the counter crankin' out Slayer on Z-Rock--WOW--I could never forget that!

Metal is coming back into the mainstream these days. Just tune into The Metal Show on VH1 sometime, metal heads are now in our 40s and 50s--finally we're now the baby-boomers of real rock as metal becomes mainstream! We're back baby--so bang your head!