AlphaMale

Maybe they should change the name of the band to "The Curse Of Eden".

He sounds like a bigger asshole with his second statement. Sounds to me like he backed the band into a wall demanding hundreds of dollars extra if they wanted him to fly to the shows overseas.

What a wanker.

Sounds like this asshole cares more about the money then the music. I love the band so that sucks but with that statement, he comes off like a real jackass.

I didn't like all that mellow solo crap from Butch so I'm sure I won't like this.

Why did he turn his back on his rock 'n' roll roots? Southgang and Marvelous 3 were brilliant. All his other shit is just that.... shit.

I really loved the S/T debut but "Seeds" didn't do much for me. How is "Wishpool"? More like the debut or "Seeds"?

If they could go back to the excellent sound on the debut like the stellar tunes "Got No Shame", "How Long", "Woman" and "Hard Act To Follow", I would be extremely stoked!!

I also love Fates but don't like Dream Theatre. DT lost me after "Images & Words".

Shameless self-promotion.

I just heard "Stained Glass Sky".

Very good!!

Man I love Fates Warning's early albums. I'm listening to "Prelude To Ruin" from Awaken The Guardian right now.

Bumped..... any news on this new CD?

Funny to release this right after Jizzy got the boot.... again.

BraveWords.com: You took a break from Alice’s band for a few years to do ‘your own thing’. What’s the status of your work outside of Cooper?

Johnson: “I’m always going to be juggling two or three things, Mitch. That’s the beauty of working with Alice. He takes up a certain amount of time each year for touring and then there’s a fair amount of time for you to work on other stuff. Alice is five or six months out of the year. As a writer, performer and just a guy who needs to keep working to feed his family I’m really fortunate that I’ve got some other things that I can do. I’m really looking forward to re-launching Brother Cane in 2012. I’ve put it off for a long time and I’ve been so focused on other things, but I can’t out-run the shadow of Brother Cane. People ask about it constantly in such a flattering way. Since the band broke up in 2000, I’ve tried to put together no less than four other projects, but it’s really hard. To have a name that people are familiar with and to have songs that people know... I just thought I could have the band available to do some shows and it’s a creative outlet for me. I haven’t made a rock record in a long time and I need to make another rock.”

BraveWords.com: Do you miss playing the Brother Cane songs?

Johnson: “I’ve always miss playing those songs. The band has played four shows in the last eleven years and for me as the guy who wrote all those songs and sang all those songs, I have a real attachment to them. I just want to go out there and sing those songs that I’ve had some success with.”

BraveWords.com: You mentioned ‘rock record’. When the band gets back together in 2012, will you have a new record to support the tour?

Johnson: “That’s what I would like to do. I would like to make a new record, yes. I want to write new music to go along with it (the tour).”

Me too!! Glad there's another Brother Cane fan out there!!

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Rock Star Supernova's DILANA the new voice of L.A. Guns. Welcome onboard!!!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Dilana is the new singer for L.A. Guns after an incredible amount of scrutiny and mixed opinions.

The final straw was her audition where she completely took control of the environment by injecting a type of soul into these old new songs that I have never heard before. The first tune we jammed on was the Otis Redding classic " These Arms Of Mine " and even a very skeptical Jeremy looked up at me and mouthed Holy Shit to me and I had the same feeling.

Then we ran through One More Reason, Never Enough and of course The Ballad Of Jayne and it was an awakening of just how professional and soulful of a Singer Dilana is.

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L.A. Guns (Tracii Guns version) is releasing an acoustic album of greatest hits called "Acoustic Gypsy Live", recorded in Los Angeles last February.

All the songs you would expect are included, like the classics "Never Enough" and "The Ballad Of Jayne".

According to the liner notes, when Tracii Guns was approached to do an acoustic album live, he was terrified because he hadn’t done an acoustic performance since grade school.

However Tracii was up for the challenge and delivered, bringing on crowd-pleaser Jizzy Pearl on vocals, Chad Stewart on drums and Danny Nordahl on bass.

Special guests were Teddy 'Zig Zag' Andreadis on keyboards and harmonica, former bassist Muddy Stardust who performed as a second guitarist and backup vocals-percussionist Doni Gray.

The opening track, "Crystal Eyes", begins with keyboard effects and percussion which drew in the audience as Tracii entered in on guitar while Jizzy Pearl sang with backing vocals done by the remainder of the group. This song still possess that haunting vibe and it's a fantastic choice for an acoustic makeover.

"One Way Ticket" is filled with vibrant guitar leads and drum rolls that move across the variation of tom-toms.

"Electric Gypsy" offers a great rhythm section, leads and percussion. I can feel the energy pulling together as the band becomes heavier and the track ends a roar from the crowd. Tracii's solo provide the listener a whole new feel for the melodic flow of this song.

In the middle of their set, they break into their hit, "Never Enough". Tracii does a fine job fulfilling all the leads on acoustic that are normally done on his electric. The band seems to be enjoying themselves while performing this piece delivering a great sound acoustically as they would have done electrically.

The band does the same for "Over The Edge", with pounding drums and screaming vocals by Jizzy. It's one of those songs that always pack a kick to the head regardless of the format, and it doesn’t disappoint here.

Throwing the listener off is the new song "Little Soldier", which is not what you’d expect from a glam metal band like L.A. Guns. This country-flavored track is surprisingly good, especially when a harmonica is thrown into the mix, the audience seems to have enjoyed it as they scream for joy at the end.

L.A. Guns performs a couple of covers; "These Arms Are Mine" by Otis Redding and Boudleaux Bryant’s "Love Hurts" made famous by Nazareth, the latter in a great form.

The album nears the end with “The Ballad Of Jayne” and of course "Rip And Tear" which leaves their fans crying for more.

"Acoustic Gypsy Live" offers a refreshing, melodious approach to these L.A. Guns classic tunes.

Plenty of bands have experimented with the acoustic set here and there; however most don’t realize the vulnerability that accompanies the transition from performing these songs in hard rock format to such a stripped down, intimate version.

Luckily, L.A. Guns didn't added overdubs, the show was pressed on CD as it was performed.

On this kind of recordings there is no where to hide. No effects or over amplification to gloss over imperfection. It is simply musician and instrument, where true talent is allowed to rise to the surface.

And for the most part, on "Acoustic Gypsy Live" L.A. Guns accomplishes the job.

Nice.

01. Crystal Eyes

02. One Way Ticket

03. Decide

04. Dreamtime

05. Electric Gypsy

06. It's Over Now

07. Never Enough

08. Over The Edge

09. Little Soldier (New Song 2011)

10. Sex Action

11. These Arms Of Mine (Otis Redding Cover)

12. Love Hurts (Nazereth Cover)

13. The Ballad Of Jayne

14. Rip And Tear

Jizzy Pearl - Vocals

Tracii Guns - Guitars, Backing Vocals

Muddy Stardust - Guitars

Danny Nordhal - Guitars, Acoustic Bass

Chad Stewart - Drums, Percussion

Doni Gray - Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals

Teddy Zig Zag Andreadis - Keyboards, Harmonica

Anybody gonna check this out??

MELODIC BRIEFS:

Damon Johnson says Brother Cane will be active in 2012. "I would like to make a new record."

http://www.bravewords.com/news/167309

Heard the whole disc today and I think it's pretty damn good!!

http://www.kikaxemusic.com/tourdates/item/4434-d-generation-return-tour-dates-announced

D GENERATION return - tour dates announced...

Written by Kik Axe

NYC's D GENERATION are reactivated, and after a run of shows in Spain earlier this month, followed by a free show tonight in New Jersey, the band will perform a headline show at Irving Plaza in NYC on Saturday, followed by a short run of shows in San Diego, Los Angeles, Oakland, Chicago, Austin, and possibly more.

From the official Press Release:

The band will be playing material from their three full-length albums D Generation (EMI, 1994), No Lunch (Columbia 1996) and Through The Darkness (Sony 1999) and plan to write new material post shows for a release in 2012. Breaking up in 1999, the members last got together as D Generation in 2008 to play three songs at the John Varvatos Store Opening (on the site of the legendary CBGB’s). Composed of Jesse Malin, Danny Sage, Howie Pyro, Michael Wildwood and Richard Bacchus, D Generation formed in the early 90’s and during the age of grunge and mainstream alt rock, were as Rolling Stone Magazine proclaimed “the stuff that popped-up 70s punk was made of" "tailor-made for grimy pinball arcades and Brand X beer-drinking binges." In addition to a 4 star review, legendary Rolling Stone writer David Fricke went on to comment "There is no better sales pitch for the snot-rock classicism and teenage-warfare spirit of D Generation than [the song] "No Way Out." Richard Bacchus’ and Danny Sage’s guitars spit bullets, singer Jesse Malin seethes with rabid impatience. Malin, Sage, Bacchus, bassist Howie Pyro and drummer Michael Wildwood embrace the values of aggressive brevity." Fricke went on to label the song a "stone classic" and fervently predicted more to come from the band.

A live force to be reckoned with D Generation toured with such artists as Social Distortion, L7, Green Day, Cheap Trick, The Misfits, and The Offspring, among many others. Most notably, the band also played on The Ramones’ farewell tour and the KISS reunion tour.

Speaking on the upcoming D Generation shows Sage says “We all still talk and have stayed in touch over the years. I’ve worked on all of Jesse’s solo albums. Over the years we have gotten a lot of offers to play but just were busy working on our own things. This year we decided to do two shows together and the offers began to fly in from all over the world and it just grew from there.”

Echoing the sentiment Malin said “There's a lot of love amongst the five of us, we grew up together. It's like a little gang, a bunch of friends hanging out on a street corner. I miss the good jokes, the unspoken understanding that people have that have such a real history. I miss putting on my creepers and screaming at the top of my lungs.”

In closing Sage says of the new era of D Generation “I think it’s a good time for D Generation, the state of rock & roll is so pathetic and somebody needs to kick it in the ass and I’m glad it’s us.”

TOUR DATES BELOW

9/17 New York @ Irving Plaza

9/23 San Diego, CA @ Casbah

9/24 Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour

9/25 Oakland, CA @ The Uptown

10/08 Chicago, IL @ Double Door / Riot Fest

11/04 Austin TX, Fun Fun Fest

Piano? Cowbell?

I hope this thing smokes!

Awesome!!

I voted.

Just got this!! Holy fuck!! This fucking ROCKS!!!

Here's Hardrock Haven's Review:

http://hardrockhaven.net/online/2011/hammerfall-infected/

Weird. To hear the opening track “Patient Zero” on HammerFall’s new release, Infected, is just plain weird. Known for being one of the most galloping and triumphant composers in all of Power Metal, this somewhat new direction will take longtime fans by surprise. And why the new logo? Not that metal fans are control freaks, but knowing you can “count” on something — like your favorite band not turning their logo from a sword into a scab — is not the same as wanting to control it. All that weirdness aside, it’s HammerFall, and Infected is still going to end up being a success … maybe even in spite of themselves.

A female voice opens the album on “Patient Zero,” with sirens wailing in the background, as she says “Contamination breach in sector 7G. Evacuation protocols for Project Legion in effect. Emergency shutdown in five seconds.” Instead of spirited riffs and soaring vocals, you get a near Candlemass dirge, a doomy, mid-tempo construction with Joacim Cans singing with his fathomless talent but at a much more metered and measured pace. While it’s a great track … it’s nearly uncomfortable as you wait for them to double or triple the speed. And they don’t, not here, not yet. Obviously, there’s a bit of a concept here, with Patient Zero being infected with Project Legion, meaning, there’s a lot more than one person/soul/being inside the body. Still …

HammerFall had little choice but to get back on track with the second song, or risk losing people. “Bang Your Head” is probably how most people expected the album to begin. Here, you’ll get tempo changes and those insane vocal melodies so germane to HammerFall’s legacy. Of course, Dronjak’s solo is as vivid and effortless as expected, and everything new is old again.

“The Outlaw” is a chaotic and cool barnburner. The riffs are complicated, and Anders Johansson’s drumming is a marvel. It’s mostly unfair how much talent this band wields in every facet. While the music is intense and interesting, the lyrics and the way the vocals are delivered don’t measure up; were they trying not to let the vocals get in the way of the musical mastery? Or is this just an uninspired lyrical and vocal moment?

Again, just when you start questioning the band, they come at you with the majestic and heartfelt “Send Me a Sign.” Maybe HammerFall is just so damn good they have finally started screwing with their fans — as in, expect the unexpected, metalheads. With deft acoustic picking, haunting and masterful vocals from Cans, “Send Me a Sign” blazes near the end and then fades to an acoustic end. Not weird.

Getting back to the Patient Zero theme, the uplifting “666 – The Enemy Within” is one of the highlights of the entire release. With a more reminiscent song structure, the tale speaks of a man awakening to a bloody trail, spouting poetry like “There’s an echo in the mirror, of a man I do not know, staring back at the scar on my neck, and the numbers are screaming … 666!” The entire song crescendos near the close, changing pace and becoming both glorious and vile all at the same time.

Whether this is a concept record or really an album with a running theme (you say potato, they say potato gun), the narrative from “Immortalized” to ”Lets Get It On” to “Redemption” is the album’s denouement. In the keyboard-crazy “Redemption,” you will experience sorrow-laden musical passages, metallic orchestration and overall, it’s a madly fitting way to close the pages of Infected.

In fairness, you can’t expect HammerFall NOT to grow as musicians, even though historically they’ve shown little interest in doing so. Wake up call — they are interested now. Infected is darker, more intense and perhaps more thematic than anything they’ve ever composed. That means little if it isn’t a good album, but it is. Whether this is a one-time “off the beaten path” journey or an indication of what lies ahead, HammerFall is still a force, albeit a weird one this time around.

Band:

Joacim Cans – Vocals

Oscar Dronjak – Guitar

Anders Johansson – Drums

Fredrik Larsson – Bass

Pontus Norgren – Guitar

Tracklist

1. Patient Zero

2. Bang Your Head

3. One More Time

4. The Outlaw

5. Send Me A Sign

6. Dia De Los Muertos

7. I Refuse

8. 666 – The Enemy Within

9. Immortalized

10. Let’s Get It On

11. Redemption

Label: Nuclear Blast Records

Online: http://www.hammerfall.net/

Hardrock Haven rating: 7.7/10

Anybody checked this out yet? Pretty much a disappointment for me. A few songs are good but for the most part, this is a bad disc. Songs about zombies and radiation clouds instead of templars, battlefields, and warriors? WTF?

Even the bands mascot Hector is gone. What happened HammerFall??