Thirteen appears to be a lucky number for Dave Mustaine

Written By:  Patrick Prince / Powerline

There’s quite a lot going on (or about to go on) in Megadethland. Of course, there’s the latest studio release of “Thirteen,” one of the finest metal albums in years, and then the December 10th jam of Dave Mustaine and Metallica, back on stage together again, playing old songs, for one of the 30th Anniversary Metallica shows at the Fillmore in San Francisco, California — a remarkable event that brought everyone from Jason Newsted, to Lloyd Grant and Ron McGovney out to celebrate.  And soon will be the launch of Gigantour on January 26 in Camden, NJ — the mega-Megadeth tour with Motorhead, Volbeat and Lacuna Coil (all bands hand-picked by Dave Mustaine, of course).
The following is an interview with Dave Mustaine on December 13, 2011.

This new album sounds fresh and exciting. Do you think the reappearance of David Ellefson had something to do with that?

Dave Mustaine: Oh, he had everything to do with it. I sucked without him.

Well, I didn’t mean it that way, man (laughs).

Mustaine: (laughs) I know, I’m just playing with you. Yeah, Dave added an element of excitement and fun to the band. Every player who plays an instrument is gonna have their own way that they handle the neck and the strings and stuff like that. We could have had the last guy [James LoMenzo] who was playing before Dave do this record and play exactly what Dave played but it still wouldn’t have sounded the same.

Dave was in the studio while we were getting ready for the Rust In Peace tour and I said ‘Hey, you want to try and record on (the song) “Sudden Death”?’ And he did and we just knew it was gonna work out. So, yeah, I think he added a really great element but I think there are a couple other guys in the band [Chris Broderick on guitar and Shawn Drover on drums] that aren’t so bad either.

In all sincerity, I think Thirteen is one of the best metal albums in years. I’m a traditional metal guy and the thing about it is that it sounded a lot more like traditional metal … songs like “We the People” and “Deadly Nightshade” … Was it intentional to bring back some of that classic sound?

Mustaine: There was no intention of anything on this record. Honestly, we just went into it with the desire to make our last record for Roadrunner and to make a really great offering and who knows where this record goes because I hadn’t had my surgery yet [neck surgery] and I pretty much thought as soon as this record was turned in I was gonna crawl off into a retirement home somewhere because my neck and back were becoming such a problem. But the record turned out pretty well and the label’s done really good with it and I got the surgery and, man, everything is just going great right now.

And some of the songs were written years ago, right? “Black Swan,” “New World Order” …

Mustaine: “New World Order” was really, really old. We had never really officially recorded that and some people had said stuff about Nick [Menza, drummer 1989-1198, 2004] and, you know, yeah, he wasn’t a really busy writer but he did write a couple good things and “New World Order,” he had a hand in writing some of it, so it’s kind of cool. I don’t know what he’s doing right now but I do know that when he wrote that, it was very modern sounding. So when I came to do that song on this record, because we hadn’t done it officially, it was a no-brainer.

And it still seems to fit seamlessly on this new record, it’s hard to tell it was written way beforehand.

Mustaine: It was. (laughs)

Looking at the lyrics on Thirteen, you lay out your political and spiritual views and it doesn’t come off as preachy, at least not to me. Do you agree?

Mustaine: I’ve become more active in politics and more concerned in my fellow man because of my own discoveries and decision-making. I know if someone would have told me ‘You couldn’t do that,’ I would have said ‘Watch me.’ Because it’s just part of my nature. Not that I’m defiant just for the sake of being defiant because that would become kind of predictable, and there’s nothing cool about being predictable. It all just kind of goes back to what you want to do with your life.

And you still feel strongly that we’re headed towards a global government?

Mustaine: Yeah, I do. You hear China say that they are preparing to go to war with the U.S. — they said that on Fox yesterday — that’s not small potatoes, bro.

Don’t you think that the government sometimes seems like a puppet for banks and corporations?

Mustaine: Yeah, it is. It is the elite that are doing this. But I gotta tell you, the elite have been running the government and all this stuff for a long time. People with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and with the Fed and it’s all the Rockefellers and the Rothschilds, they’re the ones that call the shots. I just think right now that the American people are getting screwed so bad and they just don’t know it. They cannot see the forest for the trees. Actually I think there’s lot of stuff that’s going on right now — I read a lot, I study a lot, I watch the news a lot because I’m a political writer. Not by choice. I started off writing about cars — “Mechanix” — and jumping into the fire. That had nothing to do with peace selling. …

You do say it best in the song “We The People”: “The devil’s henchmen in suit and tie.” That sums it up a bit.

Mustaine: Yeah, yeah, I think so. This whole nonsense … if you watch what’s going down with the super committee [on deficit reduction]. I called that before it even started — that it’s a joke and it’s not gonna work. And it didn’t work.

Do you agree with the Occupy Wall Street movement?

Mustaine: I think that the intent was very misguided. I believe that people going out into the streets to demand change — they went to the wrong address. They needed to go to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. You don’t go out and tell a bunch of guys who are working on Wall Street that you want change. You go to the President.

Or Congress.

Mustaine: Well, Congress is pretty much completely gridlocked right now. And the President is insulting them every chance he gets. So, I think the Occupy Wall Street people, if they really really want to see this happen, they need to go (to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue), instead of going to the ports and shutting down commerce ,which is hurting people like the truck drivers and longshoremen and all the people on the boats. It’s just ultimately hurting us because that’s just gonna raise the price of food and stuff. And there’s that old saying: He who controls the water and controls the food, controls the people. Well, these guys are handing our control over to the elite by taking the food off of the shelves. If you’re gonna have anything to do with these guys, somebody smart has to tell them what to do.

Recently in an interview you called yourself a survivalist — and the song “13″ expresses that — but if this were a reality show like Survivor you’d probably be the finalist.

Mustaine: (laughs) Maybe.

And it looks like you’ve had a guardian angel over the years.

Mustaine: That I have. I still have it.

And good luck comes into play, too. And maybe 13 isn’t such an unlucky number after all.

Mustaine: Well, it wasn’t on the day I was born. The number 13 was bad for the Templar Knights — the knights who helped Solomon’s temple — those dudes were all rounded up on Friday the 13th and burned at the stake or something like that. I think people don’t know about that and they kind of just connotate the number 13 with marijuana and that it’s bad, you know. I was born on the 13th, I started playing guitar when I was 13 and this record’s my 13th record.

As far as spirituality in the lyrics, as a born again Christian, the less challenging creative road would have been to write songs like Stryper. But you do a pretty good job at being provocative.

Mustaine: Music is something that we listen to give us a change in our mood, to help us get out of a bad mood or continue to perpetuate a good mood. And I think if you put on music and someone’s condemning you and making you sad or making you cry … that ain’t my gig. Somebody else can give that. You know, I like listening to stuff that’s sentimental and emotional and stuff, too, but I don’t want to be the guy who does that. I’m good at beating my guitar until it throws up and I think people got a good look at that this weekend when I went up and played with Metallica again. That was really fun. I know a lot of people were really surprised because they never saw me play with the band.

It must have been a great feeling going up there onstage again with them.

Mustaine: I had some mood swings. There was some ups and downs and stuff. And, you know, got excited, and kind of got impatient, ‘Let’s go. I’m okay. Well, lets go!’ and this kind of thing and that’s just the artist in me. I’m just squirrely like that.

Playing some of those old Metallica songs — did you have favorites or are there still favorites now?

Mustaine: You know, it felt fun to play them. I wish I would have had a little bit more opportunity to get prepared with the band. You know, because I’m a perfectionist. I would have liked to have had my sound just so and make sure when I did the solos they would jump up the volume and stuff like that that I’m used to, but we were at a club and playing at a club and playing like a club band. It was fun to take off all the rules and regulations and stuff and kind of shoot from the hip.

I was surprised you didn’t play “The Four Horsemen.”

Mustaine: I think there’s a reason for that. I think I know why we didn’t play that song but I’m not going to go out on a limb on it. I think one of the things was because we recorded “Mechanix” and they recorded the other way, there’s not really a need to do that. There were several other songs that were really important — like “Jump in the Fire” was the first song I brought those guys. And “Phantom Lord” and “Metal Militia” were songs that I brought to them, too, and the only other song was “Mechanix” which later changed to “Four Horsemen.” And the rest of those songs were written by James (Hetfield) or by Hugh Tanner or Lloyd Grant and that’s why those guys were there .. and a little weird for me, too, you know, standing onstage. I thought it was cool to be just with Metallica but Ron McGovney’s up there and Lloyd Grant’s up there. I was kind of like ‘Alright, well, I’ll bite the bullet. I’ll be cool. This is not so terrible.’ I got up there and, you know what, I didn’t even notice them. I was having so much fun they weren’t even there.

Well, you mentioned mood swings. You should have had flashbacks with McGovney ….

Mustaine: Actually, you know what. I didn’t even see him the whole time I was up there. It was cool that he was there. He was pretty nervous, too. Ron’s a good guy. I was locked into Lars’ playing and James’ playing. Me and James, we were like the the Toxic Twins back when we played together and we were a very very dangerous duo. And for a moment I think I stirred some of those old feelings up. I saw one of the videos and it looked like he was having fun. I know I was having fun. I had a smile that I went to bed with.

Do you remember the very first Metallica gig? I think it was in Anaheim, 1982.

Mustaine: You know, I remember a lot of those shows but not which one was the first one. One of them, when we played there .. this is funny, I was just saying this to somebody the other day, and I don’t even know if James will remember this. He used to go partying with me and we used to go out drinking all the time and we found out that when we were up there, there was a contest, a battle of the bands and the winner got to open up for this new band from Ireland — a band that had just come on MTV and had this song “I Will Follow.” I told James: ‘These guys are gonna be huge, dude. You watch.’ It was U2, when they came over and if we had entered the battle of the bands we probably would have gotten to open up for them which would have been pretty interesting. You know, there’s been a lot of firsts for Metallica but I don’t think that they’ve opened up for U2 yet.

Lastly, Gigantour. Are you glad you picked bands like Lacuna Coil for Gigantour?

Mustaine: Yeah, I ‘m glad I picked Motorhead and Volbeat, too. I think that all the bands that are on Gigantour this year are gonna be great. They all have a certain type of cool factor. Motorhead has that straight-forward, ‘I’m gonna kill you’ kind of music, and Volbeat is that kind of dangerous kind of music — kind of like Elvis metal — and listening to Lacuna Coil with the two singers, it’s very dynamic and they’ve got good guitar players in there. It’s also cool that at one point we had Christina (Scabbia) sing a song with us. We haven’t discussed having her come up and sing “À Tout le Monde” with us each night. We probably should but we haven’t talked about that yet.

Megadeth Official Site

Vintage Megadeth Posters

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Metal Evolution - "Thrash"

Metal Evolution: "Thrash" - Episode 106 
Sam Dunn
VH1 Classic

All Access Review:  A-

Squaring off against everything that ‘80s glam metal represented, the soldiers of thrash – glam’s uglier, angrier cousin – wanted to eradicate every trace of makeup, lipstick and hairspray from heavy metal’s dark underworld. Or, as Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine puts it in the “Thrash” installment of Sam Dunn’s “Metal Evolution” documentary series, the androgynous purveyors of glam metal, many of whom looked almost as pretty as the girls they were bedding, were “fleas on the balls of a camel” and thrash “was a flea bomb.”

The strongest of pesticides, thrash almost killed glam metal dead. Grunge would finish the job in the ‘90s. Obviously a fan of one of metal’s most extreme sub-genres, Dunn, author of the acclaimed “Metal A Headbanger’s Journey” documentary, explores the fiery origins and virus-like developments of thrash metal in the latest chapter of “Metal Evolution,” which appeared over New Year’s Eve weekend on VH-1 Classic. Up to this point, Dunn has done a fine job detailing with great care the genealogy of heavy metal. Every piece is rife with riveting interview material, classic live footage and historical fact. With the exuberant enthusiasm of a fan and the intellectual curiosity of an anthropologist, which is what he is, Dunn has dissected the body of and probed into every nook and cranny of that most reviled of all musical forms.

So far, “Metal Evolution” has taken viewers on a loud, crazed journey through all the mayhem and madness metal has produced over the years. Yes, it’s a history lesson, but the scope of Dunn’s work is wide-ranging, studying the influence of classical and jazz on metal, while also investigating the connection between the gritty, early ‘70s Detroit proto-punk sound of The Stooges and the MC5 and confronting the strained relations between English punk and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. And that’s just a small sampling of Dunn’s exhaustive, but never tedious, testimony.

“Thrash” is another winner. Starting off at its birthplace, Soundwave Studios in California’s Bay Area, where Testament is running through a fiery rehearsal, Dunn, through content-rich talks with Mustaine, Slayer’s Dave Lombardo, Testament’s Alex Skolnick and Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, finds the merging streams of hardcore punk and NWOBHM flowing electricity into thrash’s roiling sea. Taking the energy and spirit of punk and the melodic aggression of bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, thrash’s innovators, like Slayer and Exodus, upped the ante.

As Skolnick relates in “Thrash,” musicians like him loved punk’s songs and its undeniable vitality; however, what was missing was musicianship, and they wanted desperately to create something that would challenge their chops. Thrash was it. Heavy and punishing, the riffs raged, flying at unheard-of speeds. And the guttural vocals screamed and growled, spitting out graphically violent lyrical imagery that occasionally touched on war and social issues but more often told stories of serial killers and gruesome deaths. Using this symbiotic relationship as a jumping-off point, Dunn segues into how thundering, high-velocity double-kick drums became the driving force behind Trash. Ulrich and Testament’s Paul Bostaph give all the credit to Motorhead’s Phil Taylor for bringing the double-kick drums into fashion, and Thrash’s young vanguard of drummers took Taylor’s style and gave it a shot of adrenaline. Taylor is one of the surprising stars of Dunn’s “Thrash,” a metal veteran telling his war stories and explaining his absolutely vital contribution to metal, with Dunn hanging on every word.

When the conversation turns to Metallica, Jon Zazula, founder of Megaforce Records, and his wife reveal how their mom-and-pop metal label served as the launching pad for the band that would become Thrash’s version of The Beatles. Metallica’s tale serves as the lynchpin for “Thrash,” as Dunn follows the band from its lowly beginnings on through the explosion of San Francisco’s underground metal scene and into the controversial, MTV-courting “Black” album, which some in the Thrash community saw a betrayal of its values. Dunn and Lombardo make no bones about how they felt. It was treason, but to Dunn’s credit, he shares his feelings with Ulrich, who offers Metallica’s side of things. Ulrich feels that “betrayal” is such an ugly word and that if Metallica had done a rehashing of … And Justice for All, that would have been Metallica selling out. They needed to do the “Black” album to expand their horizons and grow artistically, as Ulrich explains. His reasoning makes perfect sense.

So does Nunn’s storytelling. In less capable hands, “Thrash” could have been a jumbled mess, but he sticks to the philosophy of “Metal Evolution,” and that is to follow each stage of metal’s growth and development to the wherever the story leads. Slayer’s Reign in Blood is treated with awe and respect, and the story behind landmark show at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City that led to major-label deals for Raven, Metallica and, eventually, Anthrax is told with an insider’s perspective.  By the end of “Thrash,” Nunn has traversed Sweden to investigate Thrash’s unlikely revival in the land of ice, snow and Lutherans – the Gothenburg sound, which, after Thrash’s mid-‘90s swoon, which married melody and harmonies with blinding speed and crushing heaviness in bands like In Flames – and Richmond, Va.’s burgeoning scene, which roared to life because of Lamb of God. Though previous segments of “Metal Evolution” – including a surprisingly sincere look at “Glam,” strategically shown the week before “Thrash,” the juxtaposition probably being no accident – were strong statements of purpose, “Thrash” is the best of the lot. Next week, it’s “Grunge,” as Dunn goes to Seattle to take on the movement that many say destroyed the careers of bands like Warrant and Ratt, among others. Let’s hope Dunn treats the subject matter with just as much care as he does with Thrash.

- Peter Lindblad

Episode Summary - Arguably metal's most popular and passionate genre, Sam journeys to Northern California to trace the roots of Thrash by interviewing the architects of this hugely popular genre. Sam interviews Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer, Testament, Exodus, and many more Thrash Metal legends.

Click here for more information on VH1's Metal Evolution

Collectible Heavy Metal Posters:
  
Anthrax
Megadeth
Metallica
Slayer

CD Review: Lou Reed and Metallica "Lulu"

CD Review: Lou Reed and Metallica "Lulu"
Warner Bros.
All Access Review: D-

Destined to become one of the most controversial albums of all-time, Lulu never had a chance. When news first broke of a Metallica-Lou Reed collaboration, on a record of songs for two plays by German playwright Frank Wedekind no less, critics from here to China were sharpening their knives to mercilessly skewer this pretentious pile of avant-garbage and then toss its bloody carcass into a landfill. No amnesty for past brilliance was promised, nor has it been given. To say the careers of Metallica and Reed are on suicide watch might be overstating the issue, but the reputation of both parties has been irreparably harmed in the making of Lulu. And hardly anybody is feeling sorry for them.

The die was cast as soon as Reed proclaimed Lulu the best work of his career. That declaration alone seemed like the delusional ravings of a once-genius artist gone completely mad. For Metallica’s part, the Bay Area thrash gods haven’t shrunk in the face of heavy criticism either. Lars Ulrich even went on “That Metal Show” and implored people to give it a chance. And they should. They ought to judge it for themselves without the white noise of critics’ drowning out their own thoughts. It is an important work for both, a crossroads record that will either point to a bold new direction that will shock and awe the world, or it’ll be an unmitigated disaster. So, what’s the verdict? Well, let’s put it this way: that therapist from “Some Kind of Monster” might have more work to do on Metallica … and maybe Lou, too.

It’s not lack of ambition that dooms Lulu. The problem has more to do with communication. It’s as if Metallica and Reed are speaking in foreign tongues and neither party understands what the other is trying to convey. Never has Metallica sounded more uncertain of itself, and part of the problem is, nobody knows where Reed is going with his senseless poetry. In a wobbly voice ravaged by age, Reed spits out ridiculously silly lines such as “I would cut my legs and tits off/when I think of Boris Karloff and Kinski/In the dark of the moon” and clumsy rhymes like “It made me dream of Nosferatu/trapped on the Isle of Doctor Moreau” – both from the opener “Brandenburg Gate” – in a spoken-word hemorrhaging that ought to be disinfected and bandaged.

And it’s tricky for Metallica, known for its aggressive, lightning-fast riffing and crashing rhythms, to figure out what mood to set. When Lulu’s first single, “The View,” was released, all you could hear was the chirp of crickets, and there’s a reason. It’s a grim death march from beginning to end, and “Pumping Blood,” with its violent, gory imagery of a rape or a murder, should be filled with tension, rage and desperate energy, but instead, it sounds impotent and mechanical, with Metallica pressing forward tentatively and then pulling back as if James and the boys are waiting for a cue from Reed.

There are moments when it seems as if the real Metallica will rise from the dead and let loose a whirling storm of chords that would trigger tornado warnings. And “Mistress Dread” starts out whipping around with serious intensity, but it just keeps whirling in the same direction and never gathers strength. Where Metallica feels lost at sea on “Mistress Dread,” they try to stage a pop-oriented surprise on “Iced Honey,” and it just might have a chance if not for a laughably disjointed duet between Reed and James Hetfield.

Putting the Disc 1 in the rearview mirror, the partners go for broke on “Frustration,” one of four tracks on Disc 2. Constructing a gargantuan wall of guitar sound and thick grooves that seems to blast upward through cold, dead, droning earth, Metallica appears to have righted the ship. It’s heavy, a thousand yards wide and satisfying, given everything that’s come before it. Then, suddenly, the action comes to an abrupt halt … for these head-scratching, disconnected interludes that interrupt the flow of the piece and let Reed prattle on about male sexual frustration and misogynistic hatred. Quietly muddled, “Little Dog” spends a lot of time mucking about with atonal stabs in the dark, and it seeps into “Dragon,” which could have been just as bloodless. Again, Metallica tries to propel the track with weighty, pounding riffage, and Kirk Hammett and Hetfield strongly assert themselves with crushing guitar and a tendency to toy around with Sonic Youth-style experimentation – something they do a lot of on Lulu. The problem with Metallica here, and almost everywhere else, is that once they take their bats to a riff, they beat it into the ground. And then they pound on it some more, just to make sure it’s dead.

There are ideas worth exploring on Lulu, and not everything the very elderly sounding Reed – and startling so – pours out onto the page is excrement. Scary, confrontational, ugly and dramatic, Reed’s words capture, in very stark and dangerous language, the abused, exploited life of tragic characters caught up in horrifying circumstances, and he tackles big themes. But, Lulu is too repetitive, too imbalanced, too directionless and too … well, boring and needlessly long, and Reed often commits egregious poetic crimes. Metal Machine Music now has some competition for the title of “most unlistenable album of Lou Reed’s career.” As for Metallica, one gets the sense they’re searching and trying to add layers of depth to their identity. Suddenly, however, St. Anger doesn’t look so bad.

-          Peter Lindblad

CD Review: Anthrax "Worship Music"

CD Review: Anthrax "Worship Music"
Megaforce Records
All Access Review:  A

A dark, evil hymnal for the damned, Anthrax’s Worship Music is a gloriously aggressive monstrosity, frightening in its intensity and yet somehow also melodically captivating. Already anointed by metal’s cognoscenti as one of the New York City bashers’ greatest works, the record is Anthrax’s first with singer Joey Belladonna since 1990’s Persistence of Time, and the long-awaited reunion, brokered for the recent earth-conquering Big 4 tour with Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth, has birthed a thrash-metal masterpiece, a teeth-gnashing symphony of sonic mayhem and beautiful violence that never takes a smoke break.

More than that, however, Worship Music is classic Anthrax. It doesn’t suffer from an identity crisis. Thirty years into a career built on uncompromising, brutal music, Anthrax has stayed true to itself, despite numerous vocalists and other personnel changes. Even when they stretch out a bit, like in the soul-searching, cavernous chorus “The Giant,” where Belladona passionately wails, “Caught between the lines of right and wrong yeah/Caught between the things that I don’t know,” Anthrax stamps its mark on the track with a heavy, furious cyclone of serrated guitars, pounding rhythms and a heaving bridge as clear proof that they’re as grounded and comfortable in their own skin as any metal band that’s ever lived.

To put it another way, Anthrax is, indeed, the devil you know, and the sprawling Worship Music won’t leave anybody wondering if Scott Ian, Charlie Benante, Frank Bello, Rob Caggiano and, of course, Belladonna, have traded in their aggressive, high-velocity riffage, searing guitar solos, hammering drums and quaking, blinding bass lines – not to mention Belladonna’s primal, raging vocal waging piercing through the magnificent din – for a bag of magic beans and glitzy, pop-music stardom. After the haunting instrumental intro “Worship,” Anthrax ignites all-out war in “Earth on Hell,” a hornets’ nest of activity and energy that attacks the senses from every angle. “The Devil You Know” follows, and its momentum is unstoppable. A runaway semi of sound with an instantly memorable chorus (“Gotta go with the devil you know!”) and an impossibly heavy groove, “The Devil You Know” has secured its place among Anthrax’s most revered aural assaults. And speaking of aural assaults, the unrelenting “Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can” – a song about fending off a zombie apocalypse – is a street fight of Benante’s vicious, martial-arts-style drumming, sharp guitar stabs and Belladonna’s bare-knuckled vocals.

Heavier still is the militaristic stomp of “I’m Alive,” with its thick, crushing riffs and Belladonna delivering the poisonous lyric “heaven lives in every gun” with gut-level urgency and theatrics, while the churning epic “In the End” rises slowly and majestically like a rogue wave that’s about to crash down on a defenseless fishing trawler. Everything on Worship Music boggles the senses. It’s war-like, with a little bit of dark, oaken cello and the occasional church bell for atmosphere. Tempos shift on a dime, and Anthrax’s frantic energy strains at the leash, while Belladonna barks like a Doberman at times and soars to the sun when coaxed to fly, like he does on the retina-scorching supernova “Crawl.” Always ready to do battle in the streets if they have to – as the haymaker-throwing, nose-bloodying riots of “The Constant” and “Revolution Screams” bear out – with Worship Music, Anthrax has come to blow open the doors of cathedrals everywhere and unleash hell.

-Peter Lindblad

Official Websites: 

Anthrax

Odds and Ends

Each week I use this space to post some mini-reviews, cool tracks, random thoughts, neat news, or whatever else I damn well please.

MiniReview

Alpine White “The Hale” [EP] – The band did not take its name from the at-home teeth bleaching system, but rather the Gibson guitar. Colin Denker (lead vocals, guitar, piano, drums) is the mastermind behind this San Francisco quartet, which is rounded out by his brother Ian (bass, vocals), Ivan Wence (guitar, vocals), and Javier Benavides (drums). “The Hale” EP consists of four songs, the first half being superior to the second half. The gentle yet bright acoustic strumming of “When She Gets Home” serves as a fine introduction to this mellow rock band that straddles indie rock and power pop. “When She Gets Home” is memorable and moving, with enchanting backing vocals providing a sobering warmth. “The Evidence” picks up the pace a bit, practically floating with its soaring harmonies and crisp guitar line – another winner. “Days and Nights” is plagued with a lumbering introduction, but even when the vocals finally kick in, the song just doesn’t seem to get out of second gear. The record ends on a decent note with the steady “All The Weight” – lyrically strong, but musically less exciting than the standouts. Check out Alpine White if you like Snow Patrol, Arctic Monkeys, or Band of Horses. The EP is due out November 1 – learn more here.

Surprise of the week
Science has spoken – what are the catchiest songs ever? Some of them might surprise you…

News
I think this one will be a contender against the Lou Reed/Metallica collaboration for worst record of the year. Listen to William Shatner covering Black Sabbath here.

It has been a long time since we’ve heard from Alien Ant Farm (remember their awesome cover of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal”)? I’m looking forward to the new record from these guys due early 2012. Details here.

Def Leppard discusses the state of music business: "The music industry went from being an art form to a business, and then to an industry." Read more here.

Butch Walker autobiography details here.

It’s confirmed: Jani Lane died of alcohol poisoning. Story here.

Rooney frontman Robert Schwartzman has announced the release of a new solo album and a supporting tour this fall.

And finally, in memory of Steve Jobs – a man who changed the face of the music business as much as he did computers.

Random iPOD song of the week
The Jayhawks – “Blue”


Reminder: we’re now on Twitter! Follow us for even more updates, news, and reviews!

Odds and Ends

Each week I use this space to post some mini-reviews, cool tracks, random thoughts, neat news, or whatever else I damn well please.

MiniReview

House of Lords “Big Money” - House of Lords debuted in 1989 with the release of the self-titled album, a record which is still regarded as one of the best arena rock releases of the 80s, up there with frontrunners like Whitesnake, Deep Purple, and Van Halen. The band has a varied and spotty catalogue ever since, with frequent lineup changes and oscillating musical styles to match. Some releases are downright catchy arena rock whereas others are less melodious prog rock. This month the band will add “Big Money” to its discography, which feels like a blend of their mixed melodic and prog rock past. The trademark vocals of James Christian sound finer than ever, and he is surrounded by updated guitar sounds and pounding beats. James teamed up again on the songwriting with long-time friend and partner Mark Baker along with the other band members Jimi Bell and BJ Zampa for this release. While “Big Money” rocks through and through, several of the tunes are overly long and burdened with less than compelling riffs. Standouts include “First To Cry”, “The Next Time I Hold You”, “Run For Your Life”, and “Once Twice”. More info on House of Lords can be found here.

Surprise of the week
Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars is recording with latest American Idol winner James Durbin. Get the scoop here.

News
R.E.M. has broken up. Hard to believe…read about it from the band member’s perspectives here.

New “best of” collection coming from Paul Simon October 24. Details and track listing here.

Get a taste of the Lou Reed and Metallica project, “Lulu” here. It’s only 30 seconds, but confirms my worst fears about this collaboration.

Love this article at Popdose about Survivor’s underrated ballad “Ever Since The World Began” (video below).

INXS have sacked their singer JD Fortune for the second time. Story here.

Where are they now? Colin Hay (Men At Work) released a new video. Check it out here.

Toto collides with Survivor – Kimball Jamison. Debut video!


Random iPOD song of the week
Survivor “Ever Since The World Began” from the album “Eye of the Tiger”


Reminder: we’re now on Twitter! Follow us for even more updates, news, and reviews!

Odds and Ends

Each week I use this space to post some mini-reviews, cool tracks, random thoughts, neat news, or whatever else I damn well please.







MiniReview

Xorigin “State Of The Art” – Frontiers Records has done a superb job this year keeping the flame of the melodic rock genre alive and well. They’ve put out terrific contemporary AOR records from Toby Hitchcock, Work Of Art, Airrace, and more, and now we have Xorigin to add to that fine collection. Xorigin is influenced by Giant, Toto, Foreigner, and Yes, and features AOR veterans Johannes Stole (vocals, keyboards) and Daniel Palmqvist (guitars, The Murder of My Sweet). Standout tracks include the fighting anthem “Can’t Keep Running”, “Crying For You”, and the harmonious mid-tempo rocker “The One For Me”. “In The Blink Of An Eye” is a grand power ballad in the REO Speedwagon tradition. Very little filler on this one, so be sure to check it out if you miss the 80s melodic rock heyday. More info on the band can be found here.







Surprise of the week

Lou Reed made the guys in Metallica cry. Here’s why.



News





Cruise on over to the web site for The Tonighters and grab three of their EPs for FREE! Masterminded by UK musician Billy Gilbert, the Tonighters incorporates elements from his extensive background in diverse musical areas ranging from power pop to punk. Awesomely catchy pop rock here, with some of my favorites including “Sad Forever” and “Down To One” from “Closet Classics Volume I”, “How Am I Supposed To Let You Go?” from “Closet Classics Volume 2”, and “Finish What You Started” from “Trivia Melodies”. With a total of 10 tracks, you are bound to find something you’ll love.

Get the free downloads here (if all used up, wait until Sept 7).

And be sure to “Like” them here.



Both amazing Jellyfish albums are being re-issued on vinyl only – details here.



New CD of Aerosmith rarities coming soon! Track list can be found here.



Producer Jack Douglas says that the new Aerosmith is due May 2012 and will be “nasty and raw” – kind of like those chicken fingers I ordered at Pizzeria Uno. Read about it here.



Next to jump on the covers album bandwagon: Scott Weiland. Details here.



The new Chickenfoot video, for lead single “Bigfoot”





What are the guys from the Replacements doing now? Well, Tommy Stinson just released a new solo record and Paul Westerberg contributed to the latest record by Glen Campbell. Details here.



Random iPOD song of the week

Sinead O’Connor does a brilliantly endearing rendition of this wonderful song originally performed by Elton John. This track appeared on the 1991 Elton John Tribute album, “Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin”

Odds and Ends

Each week I use this space to post some mini-reviews, cool tracks, random thoughts, neat news, or whatever else I damn well please.



MiniReview







Raining Jane “The Good Match” – Eclectic LA-based folk-rock band Raining Jane is back with their latest full-length CD, “The Good Match”. Long time touring partners of Sara Bareilles, and musical collaborators with acoustic rock luminaries like Willy Porter and Jason Mraz, the girls in Raining Jane have a lot to brag about. The songs on this new album span a range of emotions and feature outstanding songwriting, silky smooth harmonies, and unorthodox instrumentation including an occasional sitar, cajon, and glockenspiel. The result: a light folk rock soundtrack best suited for a lazy afternoon. Highlights for me include the polished radio-friendly title track, the buoyant “A World That's Made For Me And You”, and the closing acoustic track “New Year” (which strangely reminds me of Johnny Cash’s rendition of the Nine Inch Nails hit “Hurt”). And be sure to give a listen to their haunting reworking of Pat Benatar’s “Love Is A Battlefield”. Find out more about Raining Jane here.







Jason Dean “Coffee” [EP] - More acoustic rock goodness this week from singer/songwriter Jason Dean. With the backdrop of Virginia, Dean was inspired at a very early age by Hank Williams Jr, “not just a musician, but an entertainer as well”. Dean’s debut is this five song EP called “Coffee”, produced by himself and Pete Evick (Shinedown, Paramore, Bret Michaels). The songs are southern, bluesy and soulful, like too unlike what Kid Rock did on his last record, with hints of Stevie Ray Vaughn, The Allman Brothers, and Big Head Todd. Highlights include the groovy blues rock of “Only Wanna Be Me”, the Everlast vibe of “These Times”, and the breezy “Narrow Passage Creek”.

Jason Dean – official website.



Surprise of the week

And Dave Mustaine’s (Megadeth) favorite Metallica song is…

Click here to find out



News

35 years in the business and still going strong – Heart is planning a new album to follow up 2010’s “Red Velvet Car”. Can’t say I was a fan of that album, but I hold out hope…details here.



Motorhead is planning an album of cover tunes – should be interesting! Read all about it here.



Despite the death of Brad Delp, and the recent departure of Michael Sweet, Boston insists they are still together and will release the long awaiting album (the first since 2002’s "Corporate America"). Delp will be heard on this record. It is 85% finished according to the band, so that means we can expect it sometime in 2025. Details here.



Don’t know about you, but I am a sucker for these types of lists. Here are the top songs of the 80s, picked by Gibson.com



I admire Lita Ford’s take on aging! Ford says she still feels like the “20-year-old sexy rocker chick” at 51 and rejects plastic surgery, makeovers and working out…she looks fantastic. More here.



Details on Jani Lane’s final recording, “Sin”, done with Liberty n’Justice, a band featuring former Alice Cooper guitarist Keri Kelli, King Kobra’s JK Northrup and Bill Leverty of Firehouse. Lane’s last media activity was an appearance on VH1′s That Metal Show, which was due for broadcast on October 1 but has been brought forward to August 27. Story is here with an update here.



More Jani Lani news: 80s rockers (including Great White, Quiet Riot, LA Guns, Enuff Z'nuff) will be playing a free tribute to the late singer and songwriter. Details on that story here.



Random iPOD song of the week

“Impossible” by Anberlin…one of the finest modern rock songs I’ve heard in a long time.

Odds and Ends

Each week I use this space to post some mini-reviews, cool tracks, random thoughts, neat news, or whatever else I damn well please.

MiniReviews
Golden Bloom “March To The Drums” [EP] – Shawn Fogel, the mastermind behind Golden Bloom is back with a new six song EP (3 “proper” songs really, the other 3 tracks are short interludes). The EP follows his excellent 2009 effort, “Fan The Flames” (reviewed here). With “March To The Drums”, Fogel keeps us hungry for another full-length release with these teaser tracks, the most impressive of which is “You Go On (& On)”. “You Go On” has a tasty melody that suits Fogel’s smooth vocal delivery flawlessly and is instantly likeable, sounding like one of the better songs recorded by Guster. “Rhyme The Reason” is another strong effort, possessing a more pronounced indie vibe than the radio-friendly “You Go On” – very Ben Kweller. “We Have Grown” features the best lyrics and Fogel’s music perfectly balances melancholy with optimism. And, while just an interlude, “Passing” is a beautiful acoustic piece with soft harmonies that serve to relax and sooth between tunes. The EP is due to be released August 16. Learn more about Golden Bloom here.

Venice Sunlight “Vs. the Rabid Rabbits” [EP] – Here is a great new 4 song effort from Philly band Venice Sunlight. Their sound blends a bit of the post-grunge pop that emerged during the late 90s with more contemporary indie rock songwriting. What results is something along the lines of Foo Fighters mashed with Fountains of Wayne. “Annabel” and “Arms” are excellent pop rockers that offer instant gratification, while “The Green Room” takes a little longer to grow on you – but the stomping chorus is worth waiting for. The only track that sounded a bit too nondescript was “Bridges”, but it isn’t bad by any means and does have a wicked solo. These guys hold a lot of promise and if they stay focused on keeping the melodies strong and hooks sharp, they could be the next big thing. More about Venice Sunlight can be found here.

Surprise of the week
An amusing surprise…Michelle Bachman can’t catch a break trying to find a theme song for her political campaign! First Tom Petty filed a cease and desist for her unauthorized use of his hit “American Girl”, and now Katrina and the Waves refuse to let her exploit their hit “Walking On Sunshine”. Maybe she should try “Crazy” by Aerosmith! Read about here.

News
Cool article on Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine. Interestingly, he calls musicians who give away their music “stupid” and “careless”. Read it here.

Has it really been 20 years? U2 will mark the 20th anniversary of their classic album “Achtung Baby” by re-releasing it in a deluxe package. Regarding the bonus material that will appear, The Edge said: "There's some very interesting alternative versions that we discovered of songs that wouldn't have seen the light of day" and described them as being "like 'Achtung Baby' out of focus". U2 is also working on an app for iPAD to tie into this release! Details here.

Not quite the masterpiece to rival “Achtung Baby”, but the Spin Doctors are also marking the 20th anniversary of their breakthrough record, “Pocketful of Kryptonite” with a glorified reissue. Read the details here, Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong…

New Tesla record called “Twisted Wires & The Acoustic Sessions...” coming July 25th in Europe…details here.

Lou Reed on collaborating with Metallica: “The music I've done with Metallica is the best thing done by anyone, ever.” Read all about it here.

Random iPOD song of the week
Eddie Brickell’s cover of Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall”.