Art of Anarchymay have gotten off to a somewhat rocky start, but the supergroup — which features former Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland, Guns N’ Roses guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, a member of Disturbed and a pair of twins have posted the first video from the band’s upcoming debut album. Watch Til the Dust Is Gone below.
The band announced itself earlier this year with a two-minute video that promised an album in the spring. It didn’t take Weiland, who’s rubbed bandmates the wrong way in the past, long before he denied his membership in and commitment to the group.
“I just saw some press about a side project called Art of Anarchy that I worked on last year,” Weiland posted on Facebook at the time. “I wrote and put my vocals down for these guys and had fun doing a couple of videos too. We had a lot of fun. When they find their frontman to hit the road and play some dates, check them out.”
That is indeed Weiland in the above video. He’s also apparently the singer on all the songs from the group’s self-titled album, which will be released on June 2nd. But if and when the band decides to tour, there’s no telling who may be handling vocals. Weiland is currently supporting his own record, Blaster, which was released last month.
In addition to Weiland and Bumblefoot, Art of Anarchy include Disturbed bassist John Moyer, guitarist Jon Votta and drummer Vince Votta. Bumblefoot told Rolling Stone at the time of Weiland’s distancing himself from the group that the band “is not competition or a threat or interference to what any of us are doing — it’s a complement, an addition, one I’m proud of creatively.”
“I never wanted to discuss this in a public forum but Bill’s statements left me no option to but to respond honestly.
Wow Bill,
What the f–k are you on about? I cannot apologize for comments or opinions I may have made about you in the press during Sabbath’s 13 album and tour– physically, you knew you were f–ked. Tony, Geezer and myself didn’t think you could have done a two hour set with a drum solo every night, so we made the decision to move on. With Tony’s condition we felt that time was not on our side.
Bill, stop this smokescreen about an ‘unsignable contract’ and let’s be honest. Deep down inside you knew you weren’t capable of doing the album and a 16 month tour. Unfortunately for you, our instincts were correct as you were in hospital several times during 2013. Your last hospitalization was for a shoulder surgery that you now say you’ve only just recovered from. This would have meant that our world tour would have been canceled. So, how is all of this my fault? Stop playing the victim and be honest with yourself and our fans.
Bill, we go back a long way, let’s stop this now before it gets out of hand.
Greg Prato of Songfacts spoke with Europe frontman Joey Tempest. Excerpts from the interview appear below.
Songfacts: After hearing the leadoff single/title track [War of Kings], I was surprised by how heavy it was. Was it a conscious decision to go in a heavier direction?
Joey Tempest: I think it’s been an organic journey we’ve been on since we started up again 11 years ago. Just going on our own adventure musically. Every album’s got its own life. I suppose this record is – in ways – heavier than the others, but it’s also more tender in other aspects, like on Praise You and Angels (With Broken Hearts). It just happened that way, to be honest. The bass player supplied us with a few more riffs on this record to write music to. He has some heavy notes in there. It just happened this way.
Bag of Bones, the last record that we recorded with Kevin Shirley, that’s when we started recording live again-around the drum kit. It took about two or three weeks: just pick the best takes and move on. With War of Kings, we did the same but we also added a bit of vintage gear and Mellotron and Hammond. We wanted to create an atmosphere for the record.
But yeah, it is quite heavy in places, but it doesn’t surprise us – it’s more of a natural thing for us.
Songfacts: What inspired you to write [the song] Cherokee?
Joey: It was a book, actually, that [producer] Kevin Elson’s then-wife had. I think I saw it laying around, and I thought, “That would be interesting.” I started reading the story about the Cherokee Indians, and I thought it would be an interesting thing to write about.
It wasn’t so easy to write it, but I thought I had to give it a go. Musically, it was the last song written for The Final Countdown, and I remember having that riff, and we said, “We need to have one more song.” I showed that one and the guys said, “Yeah, let’s try that.” We built the solo part, which is quite nice, and recorded it with Kevin.
Songfacts: What about Rock the Night?
Joey: We started touring in Sweden – this was before The Final Countdown. It was just describing the feeling of having fun and the touring life.
There was a version of Rock the Night recorded before Kevin recorded the song. That was when we were touring around in Scandinavia, we started touring Japan. It was just describing our lives at the time. It was crazy.
Songfacts: What about Superstitious?
Joey: I don’t remember that, but I do remember it was the first single after The Final Countdown, from Out of This World. It sort of went back to the day when we used to see early Whitesnake, with Bernie Marsden and Micky Moody. It was a song that had that sort of hard rock with a slight blues feel, but it was also a big chorus. It was just a cool track. It was a good song to start off with after The Final Countdown record. I don’t remember the lyric inspiration. I would suspect I was interested in superstitions at the time… I don’t know!
Songfacts: Do you feel it was difficult following up the success of The Final Countdown album?
Joey: We just decided not to emulate it. We tried to go on our own journey after that. Out of This World is slightly different: more guitar driven, more classic rock driven. I don’t remember having a big problem with it, because we took the decision not to try to write another The Final Countdown. It was just moving on, really. Out of This World was quite a good album and a great tour, I remember.
Songfacts: Who are some of your favorite singers and songwriters?
Joey: These days, I really like the new bands that carry the torch for classic rock, bands like Rival Sons, White Denim. I do appreciate what Jack White is doing, too. But in the past, I was very thrilled when Audioslave came out with Cochise just after the millennium. That’s when we re-started, and we used that record as a benchmark. It’s amazing.
In the past, I was a huge fan of Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, Led Zeppelin. But I also have another side: I did three solo albums in the ’90s when I was very much influenced by Jackson Browne, Randy Newman, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan. I did a few years just going to those shows and buying all those CDs. It gave a new perspective lyrically when we started Europe up again.
Songfacts: Do you feel that John Norum is one of the more underrated guitarists in rock?
Joey: Absolutely. He’s not much into self-promotion, he’s very laid-back in that sense. He knows everything from cables to how to set up a guitar – he works on guitars himself. And as a player, he’s one of the best of his generation. I’m so lucky to play with that guy. I saw him play when I was 15 and he was 14, and we’ve been brothers since then. He’s an amazing guitar player – I’m so proud to stand on the same stage. He’s one of the best of his generation, without a doubt.
The 52-year-old Posion frontman opened up on his near brushes with death over the years and the moment he made peace with the fact that he may not make it through.
“There has definitely (been) moments in my life where I am thankful to still be on the good side of the dirt,” he told the Daily News at the Sing For Your Supper charity event at the Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood, California, on April 15th.
“I can tell you the moment in my spirit there was a time when they were taking me in and about to put me out and I was slipping in and out of the coma with the brain hemorrhage,” he explained of the health scare he suffered in 2010.
“You feel there is a good chance you are going to meet your maker and make your peace. All I said is that, ‘I am fighter and I going to keep going as long as you can.'”
“It is a pretty surreal moment.”
Michaels most recently found himself laid up last fall after undergoing kidney surgery.
The famed rocker was in and out of the hospital six times in a two-week span.
“It puts life into perspective real quick,” Michaels added.
“And makes sure you love the people around and have a great time.”
Michaels, who starred in three seasons of the VH1 reality series Rock of Love, where women competed for his affection, is currently living the single life.
“My love life is a constant work in progress I will leave it at that,” he told The News.
“I went in there and had blast doing it, and the girls were stars, they got in and they fought it out. It truly was a real reality show,” he said, noting the network “talks a lot about (bringing) it back and doing it again.”
Episode 9 of season 14 of VH1 Classic’s centerpiece in original programming That Metal Show marks another first for the critically acclaimed talk show. Ever since Kirk Hammett first picked up the electric guitar he dreamed of jamming one day with Michael Schenker. Well TMS makes it happen and the world’s most recognized heavy metal guitarist, Kirk Hammett, jams live on stage with UFO/Scorpions guitar legend, Michael Schenker, during this week’s episode. Hammett flew in for the sole purpose of appearing alongside his guitar idol on the show hosted by Eddie Trunk, Don Jamieson, and Jim Florentine. As Hammett states in two recent tweets this week on his twitter account, “Today I was in fanboy hero worship mode w/ @MW Schenker Thanks @ThatMetalShow!” and later adding, “Still wrapping my head around yesterday. Jamming w/ my guitar idol Michael Schenker, it was a mind bending, a truly inspirational experience!”. During the interview, both Kirk and Michael discuss their current projects, and Hammett updates us on the status of the next Metallica project. During the TMS Top 5 where the hosts discussed their Top 5 Michael Schenker UFO-era Songs, Hammett includes his Top 6 picks as well.
The episode features the debut of Damon Johnson from Black Star Riders as the guest musician who discusses the new Black Star Riders record and his time playing with Thin Lizzy. Johnson wows the crowd by showcasing his lap steel guitar playing abilities and lives up to the challenge of playing in front of Hammett and Schenker, leaving them impressed with his abilities. Johnson also tweeted about his experience on the show on how he felt watching the guitar legends play, “Not a bad way to spend a Tuesday afternoon…”
This week’s Rank segment finds Hammett ranking his favorite Metallica albums in order. Kirk even declares if bassist Cliff Burton had been alive for the …And Justice For All recording Cliff’s bass lines would have been heard throughout the album, a common complaint about that album. Eddie fights through another “Stump The Trunk” segment this week, but Ms. Box Of Junk Jen makes a few appearances. This week’s Throwdown puts UFO’s legendary live album Strangers In The Night against Thin Lizzy’s Live And Dangerous. The hosts, guests, and audience are split evenly down the middle when the dust settles after the two-minute debate.
Fans can watch all previous episodes, exclusive bonus clips and the new That After Show segment at ThatMetalShow.VH1.com and on the new VH1 app.
Frontiers Music Srl is thrilled to announce the release of the new studio album from good-time rock n’ rollers, Trixter entitled Human Era on June 5th in Europe and June 9th in North America.
Following on the heels of the successful comeback album, New Audio Machine – a record chock full of rocking anthems, Trixter are returning stronger than ever.
“After the success of our last album, New Audio Machine, we felt more confident than ever in making another top notch album. I’m so proud to say that after more than 25 years of making records, Trixter is getting better and better. Human Era will show the world this band at it’s finest,” says lead guitarist Steve Brown.
The new album sees Trixter sticking to their guns and delivering 11 new choice cuts, with a sound reminiscent of their earlier work which they were well known for in the ‘90s. For fans new to Trixter, their sound fits in nicely to an album collection next to Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Van Halen, AC/DC and even 70’s classic rock mainstays.
“Almost 30 years together and the band is tighter than ever! We are family and that makes everything we do more and more special. The title track Human Era really sheds insight into our story,” concludes Steve Brown.
Enjoy the first video single and album opening song Rockin’ to the Edge of the Night – a true and instant classic from the band. Watch it bellwo
Human Era track listing includes:
1. Rockin’ To The Edge Of The Night
2. Crash That Party
3. Not Like All The Rest
4. For You
5. Every Second Counts
6. Beats Me Up
7. Good Times Now
8. Midnight In Your Eyes
9. All Night Long
10. Soul Of A Lovin’ Man
11. Human Era
12. Always a Victim (Acoustic version – bonus track iTunes)
13. Road of a Thousand Dreams (Re-recorded version – bonus track iTunes)
Tour dates:
*Fri May 1st- M3 Festival, MD
*Sun May 3rd-Stanhope House NJ Album Preview Party & Live Set from the band
Northern New Jersey’s Trixter’s self-titled debut album (1990) spawned three monster hit singles/videos with Give It To Me Good, One in a Million and Surrender, as well as an RIAA-certified Gold album. Trixter has toured extensively in the United States, Canada and Japan. They have performed in arenas and amphitheaters and have appeared live on numerous television and radio programs such as Entertainment Tonight, Pay-Per-View, VH-1, MTV, Z-Rock and MetalShop. TRIXTER has shared the stage with such rock heavyweights as KISS, Boston, Scorpions, Poison, Cinderella, Warrant, Slaughter, Winger, Skid Row, Firehouse, Stryper, Dokken and more. The band recently nabbed the #29 spot on VH-1’s “Top 40 Hair Bands of All Time” countdown.
Trixter is Pete Loran (lead vocals/rhythm guitar), Steve Brown (lead guitar/harmonica/backing vocals), P.J. Farley (bass/backing vocals) and Gus Scott (drums/percussion/backing vocals).
