MERRY Christmas/KISSmas 2011!

Merry Christmas, Merry KISSmas, and Happy Holidays to you all! Here's some Christmas blues from Joe Bonamassa, and some classic Christmas metal from 220 Volt! And a lil' KISS too! ;)

A CHICKENFOOT Fetish!

     It's a huge understatement to say that I have been a longtime Sammy Hagar worshipper! His music, stemming from Montrose, to his solo years, to Van Halen, to right now, has been a constant source of fun & good times for me. And, uh, I happen to LOVE his Cabo Wabo tequila! Some of the most fun nights of my life have been seeing Sammy & the Waboritas live in concert, and my secret dream is to one day fly down to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and jam "Heavy Metal" with him. Yes, that IS my rock dream moment, right there! A future blog will absolutely deal with Sammy and his career of awesome music, but today I am talkin' about his latest project, Chickenfoot, the "supergroup" featuring classic Van Halen bandmate, Michael Anthony, and one of my favorite guitarists in the history of the instrument, the incomparable Joe Satriani. The latest release titled, "Chickenfoot III", continues where the first cd left off, and delivers an even stronger mix of bluesy, crunchy rockers that you'll find as addicting as a premium Cabo Wabo margerita (Waborita!). Slammin' riffs, beautiful guitar work, great song structure, and the fantastic vocal harmonies you've come to expect from Sammy & Michael singing together, are found all throughout this album. The chorus of the raucous opener, "Last Temptation" illustrates exactly that point. The first video, "Big Foot", is a grinding boogie-ing rocker, suitable for driving fast, or grilling your favorite meat, whichever you choose to do. "Lighten Up" might be my favorite track on the disc, starts with it's gospel-ish organ intro, then quickly punches you with a great, hard rockin' riff that has a little ZZ Top flavor in it. "Come Closer" is a great up-tempo, soulful, mellow song with fantastic lyrics, and "Something Gone Wrong" will serve as a reminder to anyone who thinks Joe Satriani is just a Shred-zilla. There's acoustic awesomeness, and incrediblly tasty bluesy leads all throughout this masterpiece. In fact, I take back what I said about "Lighten Up", this track is probably my favorite on the disc, complete with perfect singing by the 60+ year old rock phenom, Sammy. This new release is so worth being part of your collection, simply because it's a FUN rock project, as is just about everything Sammy Hagar involves himself with. Play it loud, and have yourself a margerita, watch the world's troubles disappear for a lil' bit..

Ed's Guest Spot: ANTHRAX = Still Relevant? Uh, More Like, Still DOMINANT!

"Worship at the altar of Anthrax"
Hey, Ed here, Thanks to Big Al for letting me guest on his blog.

     My musical tastes are pretty straight forward, fast-loud-aggressive. Sure, I’ll listen to some mellow stuff from time to time, hell I think Dean Martin is pretty f**kin’ awesome, but most of my CD collection is filled with punk, hard rock and metal.

     So, when word came that Joey Belladona had rejoined Anthrax I was excited. I had always preferred the Joey-era stuff to John Bush but, could they capture the sound and energy they had back in the 80’s? I was hopeful, but a bit worried. Anthrax has had more lead singers then Van Halen, and this could be a train wreck.

the bands latest release, starts with a mellow and moody instrumental. Strings lull you into a kind of daze with a creepiness that makes it feel like something might be hiding under your bed or around the next corner. Then ***BAM*** a punch right in the face, the first track starts viciously, heavy drums, and frantic guitars. Joey’s voice is strong, powerful and totally fitting the music. "Earth is on Hell" sets the stage for what is a beast of an album. Any doubts I had about the ability of these 80s thrashers to remain vital and relevant were crushed by Worship Music. The songs are fresh and as energetic as anything in Anthrax’s catalog. The production by Rob Caggiano (the bands lead guitarist) and Anthrax is superb. Better funded bands with bigger named producers haven’t had an album sound this good (Death Magnetic). Charlie Benante’s drums sound like their in the room with you. Rob’s solos scream and compliment the heaviness of the songs while Scott Ian and Frank Bello add depth and fullness to the sound.

     Worship Music...It’s tough to pick just a few tracks to check out but after "Earth is on Hell," "The Devil You Know," "In the End" (Big Al jumpin' in here. "In the End" is my personal fave...[video above].., as it crushes musically, and then the lyrics tell of love & respect for Dimebag & the always-legendary Ronnie James Dio! The riff destroys but the lyrics make the song goosebump-worthy!), and "Giant" are favorites of mine. I have to say I have been listening to this since its release in October and consider it to be the bands best work yet. The time apart from Joey seems to have worked. The maturity and richness of the songs never compromise the sheer aggression. The band has grown and it works. This isn’t 1988 Anthrax in "jams" shorts, but a band that is serious, hard and at the top of their game.

Happy Birthday & Forever RIP, Randy Rhoads

Just a quick pause from the blogs about all the great new music that's come out, to acknowledge the birthday of a guitar GOD who affected everybody's understanding of hard rock, metal, and classical guitar. "Genius" gets thrown around a lot these days. Sorry, but Amy Winehouse wasn't a genius, not even close. Randy Rhoads, on the other hand, was a bonafide GENIUS.

How Big? MR. BIG!

     I was ecstatic when I heard that Mr. Big was hooking back up to pump out some new music this past year, as Paul Gilbert is one of my favorite guitar players on the planet, and Billy Sheehan IS my favorite bass player! When Billy hooks up with Steve Vai or Paul Gilbert, it's just musical magic waiting to happen. Well, it happened again, and Mr. Big lets loose with an incredible, riff-laden, hard rockin' album that you've barely heard anything about in the States here, because the music business SUCKS if you're not a pop star, rap star, or hip-hop star. Meanwhile, the cliche joke of "But, we're big in Japan!" is absolutely no joke when it comes to Mr. Big, as they are a U2 or Michael Jackson-level of huge overseas. This new cd kicks total ass, and is best represented by the catchy, driving boogie of "Undertow", the instrumental insanity of "Around the World", the bluesy rock swagger of  "As Far As I Can See", and the heavy riff-o-rama "Once Upon A Time". Some slammin' tracks by slamming musicians, and fantastic (as usual) singing of Eric Martin. Longtime fans of the band that gave you those late 80's/early 90's rock radio gems will be more than satisfied by this new slab of sonic greatness, one of 2011's best...

                                                             "Around the World" ....insane!!

BOW DOWN to the Greatness of STEEL PANTHER!

     Parental warning: The Panther ain't for the younger ears! So send the lil' rugrats outta the room when you crank these audio clips! Make 'em go wash the stank milk outta their own sippy cup, or wipe up their own piss-miss around the toilet base..anything, just get 'em out of the room, so you can enjoy some comedic metal vulgarity in peace! Because Steel Panther is simply brilliant. Brilliant in their songwriting, mixing very adult-themed comedy with 80's-styled metal. Brilliant in their musicianship, especially Satchel, the guitar player, who is basically a GIT freakshow of talent. Brilliant in their showmanship, as Michael Starr (who can sing his ass off, by the way) channels his inner-David Lee Roth and reminds you of how great a frontman can be when he pulls it off correctly. And brilliant in their concept, which takes what Spinal Tap started, and elevates it to a new realm of rock awesomeness! Spinal Tap may have set the table of rock comedy, but Steel Panther shows up with 2 hot strippers carrying a big crate of prime steaks, boxes of the finest cannolis, and a few bottles of the finest tequila! In other words, Steel Panther makes Spinal Tap's dinner party WAAAYY cooler!

     Steel Panther's latest release, "Balls Out", continues the fantastic run of their previous, "Feel the Steel", and shows an even more polished songwriting effort, and even better vocal harmonies. It might be found under comedy, but this is serious musicianship here, boys & girls. Tracks that grabbed me by the crotch immediately were, "Just Like Tiger Woods", "If You Really Really Want Me", "It Won't Suck Itself, "Let Me Come In", & my favorite, "Tomorrow Night", which is a song that the mighty RATT wish it wrote back in '88! Oh, and let me give special mention to "Critter", which you'll have to spin for yourself to hear what those hilarious lyrics are all about... You'll hear equal parts RATT, Dokken, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, & Van Halen in the pot of stew that is Steel Panther, and if you're in my age bracket, you will remember those young pre-teen & teenage years when those bands were unstoppable! Well, the Panther is bringing it back! Check out the cd, check 'em out live! It might be fantastic comedy, but the music quality & song delivery is ALL business! Go get your "Balls Out", and throw a fist in the air for the new "good ol' days"! Aqua-Net, anyone?

                                                               "Tomorrow Night"

BACH is BACK!

     Yeah, Yeah, I know it's often spoke of, in rock circles, about how great a reunion between estranged Skid Row members, Sebastian Bach, and..uh..the entire rest of the band, would be. That it would bring back many fond memories of those great summers, blasting, "I Remember You" or "Sweet Little Sister" as you cruised, top-down (or windows open, if your top didn't actually go down!) to your local beach or concert tailgate. Sure, a reunion would be nice... But let me say, unequivocably, that Sebastian Bach's newest solo release, "Kickin' & Screamin'", is a tour de force of fantastic, crushing rock songs, that are both fresh AND heavy! Not stuck in the past, Sebastian retains the edge that we all loved from the Skids' years, but then pumps out modern-sounding ass-kickers. This cd WILL be played loud if you get it, and you'll find yourself hitting replay many, many times! Standouts include the title track, plus "Tunnelvision" (with lethal guitarist John 5), "Dance on Your Grave", and "Dirty Power". This disc CRUSHES!

The mighty Lance Lopez!



     The purpose of this blog is to, yes, talk about the greatness of past music, turn you on to things you mighta' missed out on..but most importantly, it's to keep everyone abreast of the best NEWLY-released rock/blues/metal that comes out, because rock radio is floundering, and everything's about the latest pop idiot or rap a$$hole, so blues & metal don't even get a chance! Hell, they don't even get let in the room anymore, and that's frustrating enough to make me start writing!

Mr. Lance Lopez...a BEAST of a musician!

     Those of you that know me, know how much I always rave about my pal, Texas-based guitar beast, bluesrocker phenom, Lance Lopez. Lance has a new CD just released (available on amazon & iTunes), called "Handmade Music", and it is an all-you-can-eat buffet-table of amazing guitar, Texas-flavored blues, and just generally well-crafted songs. Lance gives you shuffles, slow blues, crunchy riff rockers, and, as always, a healthy dose of funky. This is the 2nd cd in a row where Lance has hooked up with legendary producer, Jim Gaines (Lynyrd Skynyrd), and the results here are just as satisfying as Lance's previous disc, "Salvation from Sundown". On this latest disc, though, standout tracks for me include: crunchy ZZ Top-ish "Hard Time", soulful ballad-ish Let Go", bluesrock grinder "Black Cat Moan", and Lance's unique take on the Robert Johnson classic blues track, "Traveling Riverside Blues"..which is so delicously different from the Led Zeppelin version, it's mind-blowing! ..Here's "Hard Time", to give you a taste:

     Lance has never put out a bad disc, and I highly recommend the whole catalog: "First Things First", "Wall of Soul", "Simplify Your Vision", "Higher Ground", "Salvation from Sundown", and this newest masterpiece, "Handmade Music". Pick it up, and fire up the grill! It's the best BBQ music you may have never even heard of yet!


From when LL rolled thru NYC, in '09