Greetings from S Florida. Had a great live show here this past Friday with Don & Jim at Culture Room in Ft Lauderdale. The venue was a real cool spot and packed with TMS fans! Was also very cool to have special guests Nicko McBrain of Iron Maiden and former Overkill guitarist Bobby Gustafson in the house! Both old friends and we appreciate them both coming down and jamming with the band Made Of Metal who played some great covers. I even talked Nicko into playing the drum open to “Where Eagles Dare” for me! Nicko is excited about the new Maiden album and is going to do a listening party for it at his restaurant here in FL the day before release. I didn’t get to hear any of it yet but hope to soon. Really was one of our best live shows and thanks to all who came out and Culture Room for having us. Photos on my Twitter and Instagram pages.
Hanging here in S FL for a few extra days so tonight’s SiriusXM show is pre recorded. I am hosting Whitesnake this Wednesday at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood FL. This show is near sold out so get tickets now if you want to go. Winners from this site on ET’s box office will be notified very soon. If you are attending you can meet me after the show in front of the Hard Rock Cafe in the casino. Books and merch for sale as well. I’ll be doing the same thing for Alice In Chains here 8/11. Hope to see you if in S FL.
Saxon will be releasing a new album in called, Battering Ram, on October 16th in North America through UDR Music. Watch a video for the title track below.
On Battering Ram — with Biff Byford singing as well as he ever has, Paul Quinn and Doug Scarratt making full use of the term “shredding” with their guitars and the lock-steady rhythm of Nibbs Carter’s bass and Nigel Glockler’s drums — the future and the past crash together in an ear-scintillatingly engaging, raucous, melodic-yet-classically heavy ten-song collection which will instantly be hailed as a Saxon classic. The title track, with its delectable twin guitar assault heralding the album’s commencement, gives the listener an instant crack around the chops, whilst traditionalists will be delighted to hear such a perfect marriage of old, classic Saxon with the newer, fresher invective in such riff-fronted fare as “Destroyer” and “Stand Your Ground”, but there are still moments of space and exploration which fans will love.
“This one’s a natural progression from Sacrifice,” says Byford, “There’s a bit less rock ‘n’ roll and a bit more ‘heavy’ on it. We wanted to keep focused on a style rather than moving around too much.”
Lyrically, Battering Ram covers a variety of social situations, like the screaming fans who rage at the gig barriers (Battering Ram) or engaging in some good old fashioned myth (“The Devil’s Footprint” — a 200-year-old tale of people waking up in winter snowfall to see unexplained hoof prints which they followed, looking for an answer in vain).
“When I’m writing lyrics I like to switch back and forth between complex things, reality and rock’n’roll,” says Byford, “I thought the whole folklore behind ‘The Devil’s Footprint’ made it great material for a metal song, being that it’s both historic and mythical.
“With Queen of Hearts, I wanted to write something around Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland, and it’s about the chess game that happens in the story. I wanted it to have prog-feeling in the way of its ambiance and mood. Then you have songs like Destroyer and Hard And Fast which are ’80s-inspired songs with that modern slant on it. I’m a big fan of Marvel comics, and I wanted to write a song around the character Destroyer, and with Hard and Fast, it’s, as the title suggests, about driving fast! I do like to tie the lyric into the song, so if it’s going to be a song about driving fast, well, it has to be a fast, hard song!”
There is also the album’s closing cut, haunting, gripping, melancholic tale of the First World War, The Kingdom Of The Cross, where a poem unfurls the feelings and horrors which comprised this most brutal of global conflicts. “This year is the centenary of the end of the First World War. Nigel had a piece of music which he played on a synthesizer for a couple of years that I really liked. We had an actor (and singer), David Bower from the band HELL, read the poem and I sang the choruses. I didn’t want it to be typical SAXON, so it is just keyboards, bass, me and Dave.”
Battering Ram is available for pre-order now via iTunes, with Battering Ram as the instant great track.
Coming soon, Battering Ram will be available for pre-order via Amazon and various formats will include CD in ecolbook, 180 gram vinyl, limited edition boxset (containing CD, vinyl and a bonus CD with the band performance of their Denim & Leather tour Saxon Over Sweden 2011, featuring 18 tracks).
Battering Ram track listing:
1. Battering Ram
2. The Devil’s Footprint
3. Queen Of Hearts
4. Destroyer
5. Hard And Fast
6. Eye Of The Storm
7. Stand Your Ground
8. Top Of The World
9. To The End
10. Kingdom Of The Cross
Ted Nugent has weighed in on the killing of Cecil the lion, calling the story “a lie.”
US dentist Walter Palmer caused outrage when he shot and killed Zimbabwe’s most famous animal in what he believed was a legal hunt. But, Cecil was being monitored as part of an Oxford University study into lion conservation and was a major tourist attraction at the Hwange National Park – Zimbabwe’s largest game reserve.
Nugent, who is known for his pro-hunting stance, was drawn into the conversation on Facebook when he was asked for his thoughts on the incident.
He wrote, “The whole story is a lie. It was a wild lion from a ‘park’ where hunting is legal and essential beyond the park borders. All animals reproduce every year and would run out of room/food to live without hunting. I will write a full piece on this joke ASAP. God are people stupid.”
Palmer and his guides reportedly lured Cecil from the park before Palmer shot the beast with a bow and arrow. They then caught up with the injured lion 40 hours later where it was shot with a rifle and beheaded.
Palmer said he regretted his actions but maintains he had no idea the lion was a local favorite.
Former Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum called Nugent a “sick individual” last year when the guitarist posed with a picture of a dead groundhog.
Iron Maiden have released a 28-second teaser clip from their forthcoming double album, The Book Of Souls, due out September 4th. Watch the clip below.
Drummer Nicko McBrain recently called their first-ever double-length studio release “a stunning piece of work.”
He added, “Every time you make a record it’s the best you’ve ever made. This one, without a doubt, is the best record we’ve ever made. Sonically it’s brilliant. The compositions of the songs are fantastic.”
To read more about this release, and to view the track listing, please click here.
Went out the The Sands in Bethlehem PA last night to catch Cheap Trick. I’ve been seeing this band since around 1981 when I used to go see them co headline with UFO. CT is another band that defies father time. They still sound amazing and look pretty much the same. Robin Zander another one of those total freaks that looks like he stepped off the cover of Budokan and more importantly still sings that well! Rick is one of the most unique players out there. Watching him and his array of guitars is truly amazing. Tom is as cool as ever with that innovative 12 string bass he developed. And Dax does a phenomenal job on drums for Bun E who no longer tours. Cheap Trick tour constantly and are currently on a co headline with Peter Frampton (who also sounded great the little I got to see of his set). It’s baffling why they aren’t a way bigger band than they are now. Especially when you consider the hits they have and the fact they are still so damn great. They also appeal to a very wide range of rock fans, metal, hard rock, rock, pop. In many ways they are the ultimate power pop band. Really good guys who just love to play and can play their entire catalog at any second. I know this because for the second time they let me pick the bulk of their set list last night! Imagine how cool that is? If you could ask a band you love to play 10 songs from their history and they actually do it?! Cheap Trick did that last night for the second time for me. Of course I picked a ton of deep tracks and they know them all. You see they don’t rehearse. They always plays and just get up and go for it. It’s remarkable really and so rare. Raw, live and real. You can see photos of the set and from the show on my Instagram or Twitter feeds. Long live Cheap Trick, another band that is a HUGE oversight for the HOF! Thanks to the guys and the crew for letting me take over the show haha. Rick once again introduced me to the crowd and said if they didn’t like the set to blame me.. priceless!
Headed to FL tomorrow. I’ll be in S FL for a week. This Friday I am at the Culture Room with Don & Jim in Ft Lauderdale for our live show. Live music as well and some special guests. Tickets and VIP tickets on sale now and at the door. Then I’ll be hosting Whitesnake 8/5 at Hard Rock in Hollywood and Alice In Chains there 8/11. After Whitesnake meet me in front of the Hard Rock Cafe in the casino. Books and merch for sale.
New podcast tomorrow with Corey Taylor. Free on Itunes or www.podcastone.com
Operation: Mindcrime – the band fronted by former Queensryche man Geoff Tate – have launched a video for their track Re-Inventing The Future. Watch it below.
The Key is scheduled for release on September 18th through Frontiers Music Srl. To read more about this release and to view a track listing, please click here.
