Prolific world-class concert pianist and YouTuber Gamazda has turned her love of Rck and Heavy Metal and more into a booking YouTube channel with over half a million subscribers. Watch her latest cover of Iron Maiden’s iconic jam, “The Trooper” and give her a Like and subscribe.
Although the brand of epic European power metal that Crystal Viper performs is most definitely up my street, I must preclude this review by admitting that aside from hearing the odd song here and there, I have had no real exposure to them on a studio album level. The Cult, is the Polish act’s eighth full-length release in a legacy that has thus far lasted eighteen years. At face value, a band that maintains that level of consistency would have me assume they have nailed down a singular style and were comfortable releasing records in said style without a whole lot of variation. It is therefore with a great sense of irony that my first review of their noise is of a disc which caught me completely off guard by occupying a different scene entirely. The sweetly epic elements the band is known for are certainly present in The Cult, but the power metal is largely downplayed in favour of a more classic but simultaneously epic style of heavy metal, one that calls back to the days of bands like Accept and Saxon without ever sounding derivative of either.
In a press conference this morning and stating “We Simply Cannot Stay Closed,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that New York State will open arenas and other large capacity venues to the public with only 10% capacity and assigned seating, on Feb. 23rd, provided they receive a negative (PCR) COVID-19 test within 72 hours before an event. This is meant to open up venus to not only shows and concerts but to continue to grow for use as mass vaccination centers, sports games, and other events. This has been the first ray of light for the concert and touring industry since the pandemic broke out, even though major concert agencies and even the worlds leading infectious disease doctorspredicted shows would comeback in fall 2021 or sooner. Declaring New York state’s demonstration with the Buffalo Bills an “unparalleled success,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday he will extend the testing- based program to any large stadium or arena later this month. Barclays Center, the site of concerts from Metallica, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Tool, and others, has been cleared to reopen on that day and has been granted approval to host fans for the Nets game against the Sacramento Kings, Cuomo said, adding, “Anyone else who is interested should let us know.” Watch the video below.
Often criticized by fans for not including enough actual rock and metal bands, The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has announced their nominees for the class of 2021. Among the included artists and bands are Iron Maiden, Foo Fighters, Rage Against The Machine, Tina Turner, Jay-Z, and New York Dolls, The Go-Gos, Todd Rundgren, LL Cool J and others. The Hall has always been inclusive of other genres of pop music such as Rap and Jazz even. RATM was denied last year after being a finalist and other heavy acts like Judas Priest and Soundgarden, mounted big campaigns, but ultimately fell short. The top vote-getters will be announced in May and inducted in a Cleveland, Ohio, ceremony in the fall. To be eligible for this year’s ballot, each nominee’s first single or album had to have been released in 1995 or earlier.
Translating roughly to “fallen angels”, the eponymously titled seventh album from Spanish thrashers Angelus Apatrida is another brutal barrage of sweat, riffs and fury. Once again, guitarist/vocalist Guillermo Izquierdo and his bass playing brother José J. Izquierdo are joined by second guitarist David G. Álvarez, and Victor Valera on drums, admirably retaining the same stable line-up now for close to twenty years.
Iron Maiden’s legendary frontman Bruce Dickinson will participate in a listening party for Maiden’s 1984 NWOBHM classic album “Powerslave” in the February 12 installment of “Tim’s Twitter Listening Party”. Dickinson will offer up a track-by-track rundown of the record for the 666th edition of Tim Burgess’s show, a virtual listening party and launched during the pandemic. Watch a video message from Bruce about the event!
Ghost Cult is kicking off our “End of Year Guest Post Extravaganza” with a slew of posts from bands, industry, PR types, and more! We’ll be sharing lists, memories, and other shenanigans from our favorite bands, partners, music industry peers, and other folks we respect across the globe. Today we have Dave Smalley (Dag Nasty, ALL, Down By Law) of Don’t Sleep with his top 10 releases of 2020. Don’t Sleep’s Debut Turn The Tide is out now via Mission Two Entertrainment and you can buy it here!Continue reading
Legendary Heavy Metal band Iron Maiden will release a new live album this month, Nights Of The Dead, Legacy Of The Beast: Live In Mexico City, due out on November 20 via BMG. According to the press release, the album has 100 minutes of classic Maiden music and available in multiple formats, including a limited edition Mexican Flag, triple colored (180g) vinyl, and a limited-edition deluxe two-CD book format, Nights Of The Dead, Legacy Of The Beast: Live In Mexico City was recorded during the band’s three sold-out arena shows there in September 2019 and is a celebration of their “Legacy Of The Beast” world tour which began in 2018 and will finish next summer in Europe. Watch a new video with singer Bruce Dickinson discussing the album.
Heavy Metal legends Iron Maiden have booked four additional tour dates to their sold-out world tour Legacy of the beast. Celebrating their entire career on the back of their 2015 album Book of Souls (Parlophone) the band tours 5 continents and two years of shows. The tour now begins June 5 at St Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland and hit Arena in Zagreb, Croatia on June 7 and Grouparama Arena in Budapest, Hungary on June 9. Lord Of The Lost will serve as the support act at these shows. The fourth and final extra show will take place on July 6 at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, Germany, with Sabaton And Airbourne as support. Avatar and Lord Of The Lost will support at Sportpaleis in Antwerp, Belgium on June 27 and Amon Amarth and Airbourne will open at the Gelredome in Arnhem, Netherlands on July 10. This completes the “Legacy Of The Beast” summer 2021 touring schedule and no further dates will be added. There will be an exclusive pre-sale for fan club members at the appropriate time. The band and BMG will release a new double live album on November 20. Containing over 100 minutes of classic MAIDEN music and available in multiple formats, including a limited edition Mexican Flag, triple colored (180g) vinyl and a limited-edition deluxe two-CD book format, “Nights Of The Dead, Legacy Of The Beast: Live In Mexico City” was recorded during the band’s three sold-out arena shows there in September 2019 and is a celebration of their “Legacy Of The Beast” world tour which began in 2018 and will finish next summer in Europe. According to a recent video from Bruce Dickinson, the band is in the studio working on their next album, their 17th, for a 2021 release.
