This summer is gonna rule so hard with the upcoming Monsters on the Mountain Festival, brought to you once again from the creators of Monsters of Rock Cruise! Taking place this August 19th-21st, 2022 at The Gatlinburg Convention Center the fest is going to have a ton of killer bands from your favorite era of music such as Cinderella’s Tom Keifer, Night Ranger, Extreme, Queensrÿche, Quiet Riot, Stryper, Kix, and Firehouse, plus an array of interactive events and activities for fans! Get ready for photo opportunities with bands, access to the Rock N’ Roll Vendor Market, Rock N’ Roll Art Gallery, and the Outdoor Patio Experience, with more to be announced. The MOTM fest is once again hosted by Eddie Trunk (VH1, SiriusXM), comedians Don Jamieson and Jim Florentine (former hosts of VH1 Classic’s hit TV show, “That Metal Show”), and pioneer rock radio DJ Nikki Blakk. Plus, Eddie Trunk will be broadcasting his SiriusXM show live on Friday (8/19). Three-day packages and individual day tickets on sale now!
Get ready to rock! Brought to you by the minds behind the Monsters of Rock Cruise, Monsters on the Mountain brings together the best names in classic 1980s hard rock and hair metal! Taking place this October 15th-17th at the LeConte Center at Pigeon Forge (2986 Teaster Lane, Pigeon Forge, TN 37863) in Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains, a huge lineup of bands from Tesla, Vince Neil of Motley Crüe, Night Ranger, Winger, Kix, Slaughter, Firehouse, Eclipse, Pat Travers, Bulletboys, Vixen, Kingdom Come, Lynch Mob, Rhino Bucket, Liliac, Native Sons, Gilby Clark, John Corabi, Anthony Corder, Mark Evans, Randy Hansen, and Jeff Scott Soto & Jason Bieler, plus a surprise or two to be announced will perform. Serving as official event hosts are Eddie Trunk (VH1, SiriusXM) and comedians Don Jamieson and Jim Florentine (former hosts of VH1 Classic’s hit TV show, “That Metal Show”). Plus, SiriusXM’s Boneyard and Hair Nation are certain to keep the party going. Tickets are on sale now at the link below!
Let’s face the facts, folks, the music industry has changed drastically in the last 30 years. I firmly believe that change is inevitable and most of the time I embrace change with open arms. The recording process has been completely revolutionized to the point that musicians can produce their own albums right from home on their computers. The problem with having the ability to record and release music so easily is the plethora of music that is flooding the market that just does not stand the test of time. Think of some of the current songs you hear on Fm radio stations, most of them will spin themselves out of rotation and vanish to the isle of forgotten songs within 6 months of their release. Career longevity has become an elusive beast in the music industry, so when an artist who released his first album over thirty years ago is touring and selling out venues, a Skullgurl must pay attention. Of course, I am talking about the original untamed mane rock star, Sebastian Bach.Continue reading →
I love Metal music, my name is Skullgurl Metalchick after all. Full disclosure, I am still a sucker for the music of the Glam Metal days. The sub-genre had many aliases, Hair- Metal, Cock Rock, Bubble Gum Rock, depending on who you ask. The last couple of years there has been a renewed interest in the bands of the era of hair, I call it Nostalgia Rock. The headbangers of the 1980s now have 401ks, disposable incomes and the silent yearning to connect with the carefree days of youth. In all reality, most of these bands, are content to do some festivals and then go back to their own suburban democracy. Then there are bands like Spread Eagle, that did not go gentle into that good night of musical obscurity. Spread Eagle continues to make their music tantalizingly relevant with the release of their newest studio album, Subway To The Stars (Frontiers Srl).Continue reading →
At its molten heart, Rock music should be a very simple beating beast indeed. It should inspire and excite, yes, but it doesn’t need complicated rhythms, progressive tendencies, cerebral lyrics, analysis, politics or a whole plethora of interesting and additional ingredients to be successful or do what it sets out to do. And that is to, unequivocally, “Rock”.Continue reading →
One of the nice things about a band like Steel Panther is that, like a box of chocolates, you always know what you’re gonna get. And with the Panther, you get the chocolate too; vocalist “Michael Starr” dips right in on the opening track of Lower the Bar (Open E), dropping this little nugget of wisdom: “Sometimes the back door is the only way in.”Continue reading →
Serenity from Austria releases their fifth album Codex Atlanticus via Napalm Records on 29 January 2016. The opening of Codex Atlanticus sounds like a soundtrack for some epic heroic battle. There are lots of violins and ethereal vocalizing. As it moves forward you are swept up in the grandiose music and then it abruptly ends. I halfway expected our hero to come bursting forth, sword in hand to take on the bad guy. But no, then came some really nice piano music and the crushing sound of rock and roll which quickly led to electronica prog. A lot of stuff is happening and ‘Follow Me’ hasn’t even been on for a minute. The vocals kick in and I’m transported to the 90s and Japanese cartoons. I swear, Georg Neuhauser sounds like the go to singer for every awesome Japanese anime series. You want to sing along whilst striking a pose in a mirror.
Neuhauser’s vocals aren’t the only things that are inspiring. The sheer cacophony of composition on Codex Atlanticus is uplifting. From Andreas Schipflinger’s drumming to Jan Vacik on keyboards. Codex Atlanticus may at first sound cheesy, but let yourself go and get lost in the music. It makes you feel good! The lyrics are uplifting and powerful. The more you listen to this album, the better it becomes. For example, ‘Iniquity’ is a song that Iron Maiden wishes they wrote. It’s got great guitars, awesome soloing, epic auxiliary music, and meaningful lyrics without being boring and heavy handed. ‘Iniquity’ is definitely my favourite track on the album!
Codex Atlanticus is multilayered. The compositions are chalk full of twists and turns. ‘My Final Chapter’, for example, starts out with a pagan influenced flute and adds power ballad vocals. It’s an interesting mix. At 2:28 a strong 80s hair metal guitar solo crashes in and uplifts the song. Codex Atlanticus is full of such juxtapositions. Serenity’s Codex Atlanticus is a solid progressive orchestral saga soundtrack album.
Long-running glam rock icons Mötley Crüe will play the final show of their 34-year career tonight in their hometown of Los Angeles, CA at theStaples Center. Since their announcement a year and a half ago announcing the end of the band, on the “All Bad Things Tour” Mötley Crüe has played 163 shows on 5 continents with one final show left. The performance will be filmed for a special DVD/pay per view event that will also see a run in movie theaters next year. Next summer will also see the movie version of The Dirt, the authorized biography of the band. The band has released nine studio albums and sold approximately 100 million records to date since 1981.
It’s taken them 20 years to rediscover their midas touch, but of late Earache Records have been on a roll. A rock n’ roll, if you will. Whether Dig installed a Hot Tub Time Machine or not is open to scandalous rumour, but the label has been plucking 70’s rock success after retro-fuelled triumph, seeing the likes of The Temperance Movement, Rival Sons and Blackberry Smoke bring home the bourbon. Atlanta, Georgia’s Biters look set to be the latest in the line of acts on their roster recreating the magic of yesteryear, adding a street-smart proto-punk bite to their rock, rather than the smokey Southern vibe of their new label mates.
Kicking off with ‘Restless Hearts’, rocking a brilliant earworm of a bubblegum chorus, whose conception seems rooted in a world where punk and rock first met, as if Social Distortion had rocked out a couple The Sweet covers, Electric Blood manages to be effortlessly cool in its’ skin-tight Ts and tassle leather jackets. All through, the effortlessness with which the choruses lodge in the brain is to be admired, as Biters bring the pop of 80’s hair metal, mixed into a cocktail of the rough, sleaze and cool of The Rolling Stones and the panache (and tambourine) of 70’s Glam Rock.
Swagger, nonchalance and above all quality simple rock songs dominate the skyline of their début. ‘1975’ and ‘Heart Fulla Rock n’ Roll’ overload with lyrical cliché but this is no parody as they swing authentic, with the latter breaking out into a Gary Moore descending guitar harmony and old-school bass-led breakdown. Vocalist Tuk is part-cheerleader, part-rabble rouser and full-time tunesmith, his simple tones knowing their limitations, but infusing these straight-forward good time songs with the melodies and hooks they need.
Don’t go into Electric Blood expecting anything other than oh-so-cool pop rock, and a love of yesteryear. In the heaviness stakes, Biters are more Gaslight Anthem than Green Day, and at times both are brought to mind. With traces of Americana lacing tracks like ‘Dreams Don’t Die’ and nods to AC/DC (‘Electric Blood’) and Thin Lizzy (‘Space Age Wasteland’), this is an album that demands the top (or at least the windows) down, the open road, the speed-dial nudging naughty and voices raised in joyous communion.
These songs have teeth. Biters just bit hard, and these songs aren’t letting go.
The V is the solo project of Veronica Freeman, and Now or Never (Frontiers Music) is her debut album. Freeman has been storming her way through the music scene for ten years with Benedictum, and now brings forth a Hard-Rock album supported by a lot of big names in the scene. Not the least of these is Tony Martin, formerly of Black Sabbath, who appears in the duet ‘King for a Day’.
Unlike Benedictum, this album falls in the Hard Rock or Hair Metal categories, and as it turns out, these work very well with Freeman’s very strong vocals. The subjects vary from empowerment to love, and in the absence of love, sex. Musically, the album opens and closes with a very classic hard-rock sound, while everything in between has the same modern quality and feeling as Jorn Lande puts into his album. However, it has even more clichéd riffs and far more clichéd lyrics.
Of the more classical songs ‘Now or Never’ is probably the most exciting, with funky guitars and bass and that same unapologetic rock-vibe that Gotthard excels in. Of the more modern songs ‘Line in the Sand’ is the catchiest, although the modulation gives a certain cheesy quality to the thing. The real highlight of the album is ‘Kiss My Lips’, which has a lot of variation in vocals and music, but keeps it all together. The mysteriously soft pre-chorus contrasts nicely with the heavy and driving chorus.
Although the album is very enjoyable in places, the overuse of echo and somewhat unoriginal lyrics and music in some places is a bit of a let-down. It is certainly not a bad debut, but hopefully the focus on the next album will be a bit more on the writing of the songs and a bit less on the production value.
