t’s been two years since drum legend Carmine Appice and his reformed Cactus—singer Ed Terry, guitarist Artie Dillon, bassist James Caputo–first unbarred the doors to the Temple Of Blues–a 15-track slab of head-banging, hip-swinging heavy blues rock whose subtitle, Influences And Friends, roped in a host of special guests, all of whom held the band very close to their hearts.
Now the Temple opens again with its sequel, Temple Of Blues II, due out April 3rd via Cleopatra Records. This time there’s an all-star aggregation that recalls Ted Nugent, Billy Sheehan, Bumblefoot, Dee Snider, and Pat Travers from volume one, alongside an all-new wave of heavy hitters including Steve Morse (Deep Purple, Dixie Dregs), Tracii Guns (L.A. Guns), Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow, Deep Purple), Rudy Sarzo (Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet Riot), Alex Skolnick (Testament), and a whole lot more.
Vinyl and CD pre-orders for Temple Of Blues II are available now here, while pre-orders on all digital outlets are available here.
The album’s second track, The Little Red Rooster (featuring Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider on lead vocals and L.A. Guns’ Tracii Guns on guitar) was released today on all digital outlets here. With a little help from AI, a Western-themed video was created and edited by Dominic Esposito/Deville Films and co-directed by Carmine Appice. It can be seen below.
“It was great working on The Little Red Rooster with Dee and Tracii,” says Appice. “I arranged it with the drums first, then sent it to Artie Dillion and Ed Terry for their feedback. We created the demo with Ed’s amazing vocals for Tracii, Dee and James Haslip who finished the song. Ed was gracious sitting on the sidelines for this one so Dee could sing the lead vocals. It was such an honor to have Dee on the song and to have him make an appearance in the video, especially since he’s retired now. The song rocks.”
“Cactus. The name conjures such amazing memories for me,” exclaims Dee Snider. “An inspiration for the rock I would play in the years to come. Can you imagine what it was like to ‘get the call’ that your heroes want you to rock with them? Mind blowing! And now to be asked for second time!? What a treat to dig into a blues classic like The Little Red Rooster with Cactus, Hell yeah.”
“The Little Red Rooster is the follow-up to the first single, Back Door Man (featuring Mr. Big bassist Billy Sheehan and guitarists Eric Gales and Artie Dillon), which was released February 18th on all digital outlets. As Carmine enthuses about the track, “When we finished Back Door Man and listened to the whole mix, it blew me away. Billy and Eric are amazing together on top of my drums.”
Oft-described as America’s Led Zeppelin, the original Cactus grew out of Appice’s past experiences with Vanilla Fudge and Tim Bogert and Appice, debuting in 1970 with a self-titled album and an immediate impact on the live circuit. Temple Of Blues II takes us back to their birth. That summer, Cactus were among the main attractions at the Isle of Wight Festival in England, and the new album’s Purple Haze reunites them with both another of that bill’s audience favorites, Melanie (who recorded lead vocals for the song before her passing in 2024), and its overall headliner, Jimi Hendrix.
Elsewhere on this thunderous sequel, Pat Travers returns for the mighty Moanin’ At Midnight, Joe Lynn Turner joins Morse, Carmine’s Guitar Zeus bandmate Tony Franklin and Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater) for Bad Stuff, and Ted Nugent and Bob Daisley (Uriah Heep, Ozzy Osbourne, Rainbow) join forces for an astonishing Spoonful.
“We are doing seven of the great Howlin Wolf and Willie Dixon songs,” Appice says.
Every track expands the raw blues-rock vision of volume one with even more fire, swagger, and authority. And Carmine, of course, anchors the proceedings with his unmistakable power, groove, and feel, driving every track and reaffirming his status as one of the most influential drummers in rock history.
Here’s the track listing for Temple Of Blues II:
1. Back Door Man Pt. 1 & 2 feat. Eric Gales & Billy Sheehan
2. 300 Pounds Of Joy feat. Ty Tabor
3. Moanin’ At Midnight feat. Pat Travers
4. Down In The Bottom feat. Dug Pinnick
5. Token Chokin’ feat. Bumblefoot
6. Bad Stuff feat. Steve Morse, Joe Lynn Turner, Derek Sherinia & Tony Franklin
7. Tail Dragger feat. Rudy Sarzo & Alex Skolnick
8. The Little Red Rooster feat. Dee Snider, Tracii Guns, James Haslip
9. Purple Haze feat. Melanie
10. Spoonful feat. Ted Nugent & Bob Daisley
Bonus Track [CD ONLY]
11. Feel So Good feat. Billy Sheehan & Britt Lightning
Cactus online: Official Website and Facebook
One Response
I really like the car Snider is driving, but I like the Back Door Man performance far better, it rocks.