Monsters On The Mountain Announces Daily Lineups, Kicking-Off Today!


Heavy Metal and Glam Rock-centric festival Monsters On The Mountain have announced the daily lineups for the inaugural event, a three-day hard rock music experience brought to you by the creators of the pioneering Monsters of Rock Cruise, kicking off this Friday (10/15), Saturday (10/16), and Sunday (10/17) at the LeConte Center at Pigeon Forge in Tennessee’s beautiful Great Smoky Mountains.

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Tesla, Vince Neil of Motley Crüe, Night Ranger, Winger, Kix, Slaughter, Firehouse, and More Booked for Monsters on the Mountain


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!

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Alice Cooper, Queensrÿche, Cinderella’s Tom Keifer, Skid Row, Lit, L.A. Guns, and More Booked for Monsters Of Rock Cruise 2022


 

Rock and metal cruises are coming back post-lockdown. Monsters Of Rock Cruise 2022 will set sail February 9-14 Miami, Florida aboard Royal Caribbean’s Freedom Of The Seas ship, visiting Cococay, Bahamas, and Lababdee Island. The all-star lineup features Alice Cooper and over 35 Artists including Queensrÿche, Cinderella’s Tom Keifer, Skid Row, Lit, L.A. Guns, Kix, Winger, Michael Monroe, Great White, H.E.A.T, Loudness, Pat Travers, Y&T, and many more. Hosted by Eddie Trunk, Don Jamieson, Jim Florentine, Keith Roth, Lüc Carl, Nikki Blakk, Izzy and Brian, Metal Dj Will, and Ginger Fish. The public on-sale begins today, at the link below.

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Alice Cooper, Beasto Blanco, Winger, John Corabi and More Booked for Operation Monster Beach 2021


From the creators of the Monsters of Rock Cruise and the Megacruise comes Monsters of Rock – Operation Monster Beach, setting sail for Punta Cana, Dominican Republic in 2021! Expected to be one of the first major Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Travel Experiences for next year. Operation Monster Beach on May 26 – 31, 2021. Going on sale tomorrow, 12/1/2020 to the general public tomorrow, Tuesday, December 1st at 2 pm Eastern time! . The cruise features stops at two resorts and will be headlined by Alice Cooper, Beasto Blanco, Winger, “The Mayor” of MOR, John Corabi, Signal 13, H.E.A.T., LA Guns, Kix, Vixen, Eclipse, Mike Tramp, Killer Dwarfs, Black N Blue, Bullet Boys, Pink Cream 69, Faster Pussycat, Electric Boys, Joel Hoeksta, XYZ, Little Caeser with many more acts to be announced. Book your tickets tomorrow and get your passport to rock right now!

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Corey Taylor (Slipknot, Stone Sour) Writes The Forward for Definitive History Book of Hair Metal


Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor has written the forward to “Nothin’ But A Good Time”, described as the definitive, no-holds-barred oral history of 1980s hard rock and hair metal, will be released on March 16, 2021 via St. Martin’s Press. 1980s hard rock was a hedonistic and often intensely creative wellspring of escapism that perfectly encapsulated — and maybe even helped to define — a spectacularly over-the-top decade. Indeed, fist-pumping hits like Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It”, Mötley Crüe’s “Girls, Girls, Girls”, and Guns N’ Roses‘ “Welcome To The Jungle” are as inextricably linked to the era as Reaganomics, Pac-Man, and E.T.Continue reading


The Jelly Jam – Profit


The Jelly Jam profit ghostcultmag

With the likes of Dream Theater’s John Myung and Ty Tabor of King’s X in their ranks (alongside Winger’s Rod Morgenstien), one would expect The Jelly Jam to be an ambitious and challenging progressive band, with a wide range of influences in their arsenal. In contrast, over their lifespan, their sound has been a much more direct, song based affair; and latest album Profit (Mascot).

With a plethora of ambitious works and journeys under their belt, Profit still shows them flexing their impressive creative muscles and offering virtuoso performances, but in a more refined and concise manner. This is more straight-forward grunge infused rock with some shades of AOR and the like, for a more gritty but no less immediate hard rock sound. Album opener ‘Care’ is a particularly heavier moment to kick of proceedings and provides an immediately anthemic chorus, preceding the softer, acoustic ‘Stain On The Sun’, before picking pace again.

Herein lies the album’s problem, of an undefined sound which seems to try and encompass too many tones and paces without flowing all too well. Immediately following one of the album’s heavier points with a complete contrast proves somewhat jarring in a manner such rock shouldn’t do. Fortunately the strength of the songs alone, whilst not groundbreaking by any stretch, do hold up strong enough to return to on numerous occasions.

Those unfamiliar with the band before hand may have expected wildly different when noting the personnel involved, but The Jelly Jam are a chance to prove that these guys are not just one trick ponies and can do short, sharp and catchy just as well as sprawling, complex epics. It does still need some refining in their sound to feel truly wholesome; but they have certainly succeeded in making a straight forward, fun album; and that is most definitely the mission.

6.0/10

CHRIS TIPPELL

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Whitesnake – The Purple Album


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“I’m sixty-three years old, booking a world tour, the tickets are flying out the door… Why the fuck should I give a fuck?!” was David Coverdale’s rather eloquent response to criticisms of the concept of Whitesnake’s The Purple Album (Frontiers), an album that does exactly what it says on the tin (and then some), revisiting The Cov’s years as frontman of Deep Purple and Whitesnake-ing up a selection of his favourite tunes.

And, the guy has a point (so to speak – as the millions… and millions… of The Cov’s female fans would testify), for not only did he co-write all of these magnificent and timeless rock songs in the first place, but The Purple Album is a rather fine run through of them that will please both ‘snake and Purple fans alike, as tracks from the 70’s are electrified by the guitar talents of former Winger six-stringer Reb Beach and Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s Joel Hoekstra.

It needs to be said, these are not “better” versions of the originals, but new, different versions, presented in vibrant aural technicolour – a thoroughly enjoyable run through of a selection of songs that do benefit from the modern, ballsy rock (but oh-so-slick) production, provided by Coverdale, Beach and Michael McIntyre. It also needs to be acknowledged that this is no bog-standard re-record. What we have here is one of Rock music’s most iconic and distinctive vocalists laying down versions of some truly seminal tracks – ‘Burn’, for example, an instantly identifiable riff and powerful chorus that inspired many . All through, The Cov is on absolute fire, effortlessly wrapping his larynx, like thick, oozing melted chocolate undulating down and over a fulsome breast, around ‘Love Child’, playful and powerful on a driving version of ‘Lady Double Dealer’ that sounds like it could have been on 1987 (EMI/Geffen) or soulful and with gravitas on ‘Soldier of Fortune’. While predominantly a Rock album, ‘Holy Man’ and ‘Sail Away’ are sensitively delivered by the distinctive, legendary tones of Lord David Coverdale.

What we have is a celebration of Coverdale’s career that sees him taking classic songs from the very beginning of it and peppering them with the condiments of his band, Whitesnake. The only real mis-step is ‘Mistreated’, because despite all the skill and best will in the universe no one can play that song and make those notes sing and emote like Ritchie Blackmore, but it is the only time things don’t quite hit the mark. For when all is said and done, all The Purple Album is, is a(n excellent) selection of Deep Purple songs played by Whitesnake. And a very good thing that is too.

8.5/10

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STEVE TOVEY


Download Festival 2014: Live at Donington Park, Derbyshire UK



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Day 1

 

The return of rival event Sonisphere to this year’s UK rock calendar meant that Download has to seriously step it up to retain its title of heavyweight champion of rock and metal. The crowded festival market appears to have reduced attendance figures from last year yet there are several tempting morsels on the bill to intrigue the discerning rocker.

 

Legendary post-hardcore (that’s pre emo for those who weren’t born till the 90s) crew Quicksand manage to make several new converts on the Pepsi Max stage if attendance for their set is any indication. Walter Schreifels hasn’t lost his youthful energy dancing in between the scything guitars of ‘Fazer’ although the absence of anthem of disaffection ‘Dine Alone’ is damn near criminal. This glaring omission aside the band appears energised with bassist Sergio Vega clearly glad to be reunited with the group despite enjoying greater success with Deftones. ‘Landmine Spring’ brings their abridged set to a close. Just imagine what it would have been like if they were firing on all cylinders.

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The New Yorkers may not have lived up to the immense hype surrounding them yet they were a good excuse for skipping most of Black Label Society’s set on the main stage. New record Catacombs Of The Black Vatican is decent, but Zakk Wylde’s performance feels contrived with all the over-reliance on pinched harmonics and some indulgent soloing. The former Ozzy Osbourne fret mangler’s status as a highly decorated guitar legend cannot be denied, but today’s performance felt tired like a flower withering in the afternoon heat.

 

Main stage performance of the day had to go to Symphonic metal act Within Temptation. Rightfully proud of new album Hydra, Sharon Den Adel leads her band mates through a set of rousing choruses and bombastic strings. ‘Let Us Burn’ is as fine an opener as you will find, Den Adel hitting every note effortlessly while encouraging the crowd to join in. Playing both ‘Dangerous’ featuring Devil You Know/ ex-Killswitch Engage vocalist Howard Jones and ‘And We Run’ with rapper Xzibit was perhaps a little ambitious with neither man on hand to deliver his performance in the flesh. The latter particularly gives Sharon little to do during the rap section although it can’t be denied it is a fine slice of pop metal.

 

If anyone could make the most of a big stage appearance it would be horror rocker Rob Zombie. All the theatrics you’d expect from the man himself are here yet sound trouble and the lack of quality new songs hampers the party somewhat. Club anthems like ‘Living Dead Girl’ still impress and the sleazy grind of ‘House Of 1000 Corpses’ deliver fine hooks but Zombie flings himself across the stage often sounding out of breath as he does so. Zombie certainly knows how to pack in the hits and deliver a thrilling stage show but today’s performance was nothing we haven’t already seen from the groovy ghoul before.

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Anathema are simply spellbinding. Transcending genre boundaries with a set of ethereal beauty having again raised the bar with their Distant Satellites opus. The Cavanagh brothers are in fine voice tonight bolstered by a lush sound mix which accentuates every nuance of their performance. ‘Fragile Dreams’ begins a jaw dropping performance of raw emotion while Lee Douglas performance on ‘The Lost Song Part 3’ would make the lips of even the hardest headed quiver, its’ soaring melody both heart-breaking and uplifting all at once. Confidently signing off with the title track of the new record, the Liverpudlians deliver a life affirming performance capable of connecting with so much more than just the traditional rock and metal crowd which makes you wonder why they aren’t headlining arenas the world over.

The dry sardonic wit of Mikael Åkerfeldt remains as sharp as ever. ‘The Devil’s Orchard’ from Heritage still stands up live, but little can compare to the mighty rendition of ‘Demon Of The Fall’ and the crushing ‘Deliverance’. Opeth may be done making death metal records but live the band is focussed on retaining the diehard fanbase they have fought to build up over the years with a set of faithful classics.

 

Avenged Sevenfold make their debut headlining appearance tonight. They may not have twenty plus years of hits to rely on but you have to credit M. Shadows and company for attempting to step up. Unfortunately when most of your songs lift parts from Metallica, The Misfits and AC/DC liberally it won’t be a set that can retain all in the crowd’s attention. Instead it was time to visit the second stage to witness pop punks The Offspring turn deliver a pleasant if unremarkable feast of nostalgia with a set that included the entirety of their breakthrough record Smash.

 

Day 2

 

Groggily emerging to greet yet another sunny day Saturday sees death metal crew Dying Fetus opening the main stage with their brand of technical death metal yet the real intrigue is in the identity of mysterious masked outfit Iceman Thesis? who manage to perform a song on both the Pepsi and Red Bull stages back to back. Their brand of Metalcore bluster, rumoured to comprise members of Pitchshifter, Funeral For A Friend and Hundred Reasons it will be of great interest to see where this clandestine mob appears next.

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Sticking with the Pepsi stage Mancunians Collibus deliver a stellar set of tunes from their rousing opus The False Awakening. Vocal dynamo Gemma Fox is all smiles as she leads the band through a set of intricate yet accessible numbers ably flanked by bassist Rick Kershaw and guitarists Dan Mucs and Stephen Platt with Aliases sticksman Darren Pugh locking down a tight groove. Showing much promise, this progressive metal crew possess the power of many classic metal acts with a knack of producing heavy, groovy riffs. ‘The False Awakening’ itself sees the audience raise their hands in the air to sway along with Fox. It’s an impressive showing from an act who have only begun to give us a glimpse of their potential.

 

Gaining plaudits from artists like former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted, youthful Brits/Yanks Marmosets pop rock is played with vigour, but Becca McIntyre’s screaming vocals feel over done in an attempt to pander to the more metal orientated members of the audience. That aside the Yorkshire quintet have plenty of catchy melodies despite their lack of power.

 

If it’s power you are after then it was all about the force of Massachusetts mob Killswitch Engage. Guitarist Adam D has dialled down the quirky banter and onstage goofing off which threatened to overshadow the band’s masterful Metalcore anthems. Instead today we get a more focussed and hungry KSE looking to push themselves back to the top of the food chain.

 

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Tearing ourselves away from the main stage we manage to grab a glimpse of Orange Goblin. Man Mountain Ben Ward is clearly loving the day, drinking in the sunshine and blasting out gritty heavy metal like ‘Scorpionica’. Since quitting their day jobs altogether the Goblin has gone from strength to strength turning in another fine showing leaving the stage white hot for Monster Magnet. Dave Wyndorf is in fine form with acid fried salvos like ‘Space Lord’ still going down a storm.

 

Clearly Wyndorf is growing old disgracefully but nothing prepares us for how good the Newcastle party machine that is pop rockers, The Wildhearts! Kicking off with ‘Vanilla Radio’ Ginger and company stick to the classics turning out ‘I Wanna Go Where The People Go’ and ‘29xThe Pain’. A truly beautiful moment occurs before the latter when Ginger touches on the passing of acclaimed photographer Ashley Maile dedicating the song to his memory.

 

When it comes to showmanship however none match the flamboyance and presence of Twisted Sister. Dee Snider and company may not have released a new album in over a decade but you can’t deny that their canon speaks for itself. Few frontmen have such a way with an audience with joking about low flying planes coming into nearby East Midlands airport reminding him of 9/11 while ‘I Wanna Rock’ remains an anthem that transcends generations.

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If it is the cutting edge of extreme metal you are after then Poland’s Behemoth are just the ticket. New platter The Satanist continues to be the album of the year for many and on tonight’s performance you can’t fail to see why. The stage is adorned with blazing lamps creating the required atmosphere of evil. What sets Behemoth apart from so many contrived extreme metal acts is the humanity of their performance. Nergal’s brush with death has made him even stronger as an artist and a more dynamic and fearless performer. Older material like ‘Conquer All’ is well received but the rapture that greets recent works like ‘Blow Your Trumpets, Gabriel’ and the spine-chilling closer ‘O Father, O Satan, O Son’ are delivered with a passion and burning intensity that simply cannot be faked. Tonight’s triumphant performance should lure many new converts and whet their appetite for their return to the UK in December.

 

Day 3

 

Another former Ozzy Osbourne fretmangler Jake E. Lee opens festivities on Sunday with his group Red Dragon Cartel. The group have attracted headlines for all the wrong reasons recently with issues with agents, cancelled shows and other Spinal Tap type shenanigans. Looking gaunt and frail, Lee himself still appears an able player but today’s set is embarrassingly loose and shambolic with a murky sound mix that only further hampers proceedings. Retreating after a lacklustre rendition of ‘Bark At The Moon’ Lee and company seriously need to get their shit together before he further damages his legacy.

 

By contrast Winger are the picture of professionalism. ‘Heading For A Heartbreak’ has the crowd in the palm of their hand and despite the rain beginning to fall spirits could not seem higher. The surprise appearance of The Dillinger Escape Plan’s Liam Wilson at the climax of their set is as heart-warming as it is a shock, with Wilson grinning like a star struck fanboy.

 

It’s of comfort to know there are some musicians who are unafraid to hog the spotlight and put on a show. Joshua Todd of Buckcherry is one such character, preening and declaring “I’ve got big balls” the heavily inked rocker is a throwback to the days of uninhibited abandonment swaggering through ‘Lit Up’ and sleaze anthem ‘Crazy Bitch’ without a hint of self-consciousness. He’s everything a proper rock star should be.

 

Unfortunately the fun machine has a spanner thrown in the works when Frankie Palmeri and Emmure arrive touting their puerile, misogynist lyrics and macho bluster. The New Yorkers are everything that non aficionados of heavy music believe it to be. Luddite cretins and immature man-boys who belt out contrived testosterone fuelled detritus with no depth of emotion other than self-hatred and a “woe is me” mindset.

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Thankfully Sepultura are on hand to show how it’s done. The Brazilians turn in an admirable shift with Derrick Green and Andreas Kisser looking fired up and ready. A sweet seven song set is highlighted rousing opener ‘The Vatican’ and an expected, but crushing ‘Roots Bloody Roots’.

Quite why rapcore chancers Crazy Town still exist beggars belief. The band plough through their tired shtick about smoking weed and “da ladeez” as if it was still 2002 not 2014. One hit wonder ‘Butterfly’ aside it’s a set with very little entertainment value. Not so secret “surprise” band Black Stone Cherry may have spoiled the surprise with an errant post on their Facebook page but no one seems to care about that. ‘Rain Wizard’ and ‘White Trash Millionaire’ are Southern Rock done right and new single ‘Me And Mary Jane’ has hit running right through it. Big choruses and watertight musicianship.

 

Philip H. Anselmo is in a playful mood this evening. Blasting out Pantera’s ‘Hellbound’ and featuring a cameo from former bassist Rex Brown on ‘A New Level’ it’s as close as we’re going to get to a Pantera reunion, at least for now. Material from his solo album and Superjoint Ritual are well received, but the crushing finale of ‘Hollow’ will only have fans wishing that Vinnie Paul can be coaxed into returning to the stage with his former brethren.

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Today’s main stage has played host to Bon Jovi axeman Ritchie Sambora and Winger giving the hair rock contingent someone to root for. How ironic then to see a band whose purpose was to lampoon the excess of 80s rock further above them. Steel Panther bring bananas, spandex, big hair and the baring of several breasts of female audience members during ‘17 Girls In A Row’. Some may find their antics somewhat juvenile considering that the ‘Panther spend as much time telling jokes as they do playing tunes but their irreverent banter makes for many smiles.

 

A future headliner for many, Alter Bridge deliver a set of typically uplifting arena rock with Myles Kennedy showing he is possibly the best pure singer in rock right now. The newer material has benefited from an injection of heaviness in the guitars and Kennedy’s model looks certainly have won many admirers. Surely the next album should see them crack the glass ceiling of festival headliner?

 

Before we get caught up in all the arena rock nostalgia of Steven Tyler and company there is time to check out a few songs of math rock’s enfants terrible The Dillinger Escape Plan. Greg Pucato snarls and flails around the stage, but the bass heavy mix negates the subtleties of ‘Farewell Mona Lisa’. The crowd joins in on the clean chorus regardless but the jazzy textures of D.E.P. songs seem to confuse as many as they convert. Knowing the New Jersey natives penchant for noise terrorism that’s probably the intention.

 

Aerosmith may not have written a new album in over a decade but the Boston hit machine pull out a mean showing. Defying age, Steven Tyler belts out the notes to ‘Livin’ On The Edge’ in a manner that no sixty something should be able to do. Joe Perry is another story however. Slowly morphing into his hero Keith Richards the legendary guitarist’s lead vocal performance on ‘Freedom Fighter’ is somewhat shaky as is the cover of The Beatles classic ‘Come Together’. This small blip aside Aerosmith remind us of how many iconic classics they have produced from emotive ballad ‘I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing’ to a soaring ‘Dream On’ they make the vast grounds of Castle Donington feel very intimate indeed. Leading the crowd in a chant of “Fuck Curfew” the rebellious rockers launch into ‘Mama Kin’ bringing a hit-packed set to a close. It’s debatable how much fuel “The Toxic Twins” may have in the tank but if this is the last time they headline here they sure went out with a bang. In the face of increasing competition, the UK’s heavy hitter put in another decent shift this year.

 

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