Z2 Comics proudly announces that one of the biggest acts in the history of heavy music will team with the rapidly growing entertainment brand for an original graphic novel to be released in 2022, in time for the anniversary of their highest selling album of all time, the indisputable classic: Screaming for Vengeance.
Teaming with writers Rantz Hoseley (Comic Book Tattoo, the Heroin Diaries) and Neil Kleid( Savor), and artist Christopher Mitten (Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.), the multi-platinum selling Metal Gods bestow upon their generations of fans their first-ever graphic novel!
500 years from now, a ring of cities orbit high above the surface of a dead world, controlled by a ruling elite that maintains power through manipulation and brutality. When a naïve engineer inadvertently threatens the status quo with his vital scientific discovery… A Bloodstone… he is betrayed by those he trusted and cast out to the broken planet below. In the wreckage and desolation of a broken world where every day is a battle for survival, he must choose between accepting his new life in exile…or Screaming For Vengeance.
“I cannot overstate what an inspiration Judas Priest has been to me, personally.” said Hoseley. “I was already a fan of the band, when Screaming for Vengeance was released, but no one was ready for the impact it had. That incredible cover art? Those songs? That album became my daily soundtrack and creative fuel, to the point where I wore the cassette out in my car. To be able to contribute to a project inspired by these songs that mean so much to me? Well, that is an honor and a responsibility I take very seriously.”
To further celebrate the creative legacy of this monumental album and landmark anniversary, the graphic novel includes an extensive interview with original cover artist Doug Johnson in which he discusses the process of creating the award-winning album cover design, and the origin of the metallic bird of prey, now known as “The Hellion.” Additionally, as part of the expansion of Z2’s product offerings, newly appointed Z2 Vice President of Collectibles and Aggronautix founder Clint Weiler has designed a detailed Hellion statue, with working “electric eyes” in celebration of both the original album design, and the dramatic conclusion of the story in the Screaming For Vengeance graphic novel”
Certified double platinum in the United States, Screaming for Vengeance was released in July of 1982, and marked the beginning of the band’s success in North America, transcending the “new wave of British heavy metal” sound they had come to define, and moving them into the mainstream despite a heavier-than-ever sound. The album’s first single You’ve Got Another Thing Coming would prove to be one of the biggest hard rock hits in history and continues to inspire fists in the air around the world to this day. The album was ranked #3 on Rolling Stone’s 2017 list of “100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time,” and is celebrated throughout the world as one of the genre’s most defining moments, ushering in the success of heavy music in the 1980s up through today.
Judas Priest: Screaming for Vengeance will be released in both softcover and hardcover formats in finer bookstores, comic shops and record stores everywhere in July 2022, with special limited deluxe and super deluxe versions featuring an exclusive anniversary vinyl LP, prints and more available to preorder now exclusively through the Z2 website.
KISS manager Bill Aucoin‘s partner shared the following information with Eddie about scattering his ashes in Iceland. He writes:
“We always talked about places we wanted to go – Boston, the city where he studied communications at Northeastern University; revisit his old rental house in New City just north of New York, a place with just the right energy for a late twenty-something Bill Aucoin and his partner Sean Delaney to begin cooking up an early KISS stew; Barcelona (or, to be more precise, El Bulli, Ferran Adria’s original gastronomical science lab where molecular gastronomy was born); and… Iceland.
I’m not sure what the point of ignition was for the concept of traveling to Iceland. It may have started with me and my fascination with The Sugar Cubes (Bjork’s pre-solo career alternative troop). But Bill, a lifetime million mile American Airlines Advantage member, had never been there despite a decade-plus worldwide globe-trot with the mighty KISS, and consequently, Billy Idol, so he liked the idea. Bill and I were science and travel buffs, often spending Sundays at home watching programs on astro-physics, string theory, and quantum mechanics. We in fact attended a symposium during the World Science Festival in New York on this very subject featuring Dr. Brian Greene and Alan Alda (yes, that Alan Alda). Sometimes one of these shows would cover our own planet, geothermal activity, volcanoes or glaciers, and our appetite for Iceland would be piqued.
In the early 2000’s, Bill and I paid a visit to his sister Betty and her son Mark Britton in Westerly, Rhode Island. This had been Betty’s home since the 1970’s where Bill and Sean would sometimes take refuge and devour homemade pot roast and apple pie when the couple were still “roughing it” during their early years after Bill’s successful stint in TV but pre-profitable in music. During this visit, the subject of Iceland somehow came up and Betty explained that she had visited the island in recent years, describing what a beautifully unusual and captivating place it was. When we revealed that Bill and I had set our sights on the icy country, his sister, in her usual sternly but encouraging tone insisted that we make the pilgrimage. Bill had great respect for both of his older sisters, Betty and Janet, so when they spoke, Bill took note, he may not have always followed their advice, but he paid close attention. I think Betty’s insight is what cemented the Icelandic concept for us, from then on it wasn’t a topic of conversation between us so much as a mission we had to commit the time to.
Bill and I would soon thereafter begin working together with a South Florida group, Nothing Rhymes With Orange, whom we traveled with frequently, often to the UK, New York, etc. Then Bill signed on metal monster group and Eurovision winners, Lordi. They toured as part of Ozzfest and that would take Bill around the U.S., as well as tours in Japan, New Zealand, etc. With all that traveling, we never found an opportunity to visit Iceland and Bill would soon succumb to complications stemming from prostate cancer in 2010.
Bill was cremated and initially, half of Bill’s ashes were scattered at LeTub Saloon on the intracoastal waterway in Hollywood, FL. LeTub is a burger joint and watering hole that Bill and I would frequent – sometimes up to five days a week. We’d host friends and family there, and often times music industry peers too. It was one of our favorite spots since it’s partly outdoors and Bill could smoke his cigars while sipping a Sea Breeze. A plaque donated by Bill’s close friend and once assistant, Suzanne, was installed at the table where we would normally hold court – “You’re Sitting in Great Company,” it reads.
Bill’s sister, Betty (Janet tragically passed a year after Bill), spread some of Bill’s ashes over the grave sites of Bill’s parents in Ayer, Massachussets, where Bill was born and raised. I kept some of the ashes as I knew there would be at least one other location where Bill’s remains would go, a place that will remain a secret for now.
However, my love affair with Iceland didn’t perish with the loss of Bill. It persisted and my current partner, Joe, and I had discussed visiting Iceland since shortly after we met several years ago. So, when it was announced in March of 2021 that a new volcano had been born in Fagradasfjall, and it was predicted that its lava would likely spill for months if not years to come, I heard the voice of Bill and his sister in my head telling me it was now or never. Now, turned out to be eight months after the volcano began to erupt, but this gave me time to better plan my trip and to hatch a plan to bring Bill with me. Bill was all about the spectacle, and to let him rest atop of an active volcano, to go up in flames in a blaze of natural pyrotechnic glory seemed, well… natural.
I’ve never hiked a mountain, let alone a snow smothered active volcano, but professional excursion companies on the island made the idea plausible. I didn’t read any restrictions about leaving photos of loved ones in the lava beds, and the idea of asking permission to spread ashes at a volcano of all places seemed a little absurd, so I never bothered to ask. This is how on Sunday, November 7th, 2021, I found myself, my partner Joe, Suzanne, and three friends, marching lock-stepped up a 2,000 foot mountain to the site where the new baby volcano had been spewing fresh, hot lava up until five weeks earlier. None of us are experienced mountain hikers, especially in these icy conditions and I’ll confess that at times, we all had second thoughts. But a back pack with Bill’s remains and bottle of Fireball for an after-tribute toast kept me from backing out. When we finally reached the site, we were welcomed by a field thousands of acres wide of smoldering, cooling lava. Although in my mind’s eye I pictured a glowing light show of rolling fire, the cooler grounds gave me the opportunity to actually walk into the field of the setting lava stone and with precision, wedge a photograph of Bill wielding a fat Partagas cigar at our favorite LeTub table, within a crack in a plate of hardened black magma. The same crevasse also allowed for me to spread his ashes within it in order to protect them from being blown away by the freezing wind.
Experts are saying the Fagradasfjall volcano will begin erupting once again in the near future and likely continue this on and off cycle for some time. Whenever it may take place – be it days, weeks, or months from today – the stage is now set for Bill to set off his next fiery display and put on one hell of a show atop the land of fire and ice we planned on visiting for so many years. I will keep some of his remaining ashes for the next adventure.”
Motor City Madman Ted Nugent releases his brand new single Come and Take It (see the lyric video below). The song is a powerful, patriotic rock anthem that reminds Americans of our sacred 1rst and 2nd Amendment rights. Rights that Nugent promotes each and every day. Come and Take It is the first single from the upcoming album Detroit Muscle, which is slated for release this spring on April 29th.
When asked what inspired the new single, Nugent had this to say, “Being the all-time gonzo progenitor of love songs that I am, it is only fitting that I unleash the All-American defiant battle hymn from we the people to punks who dare tread on us. Do you feel the love! Come and take it at your own risk.”
Nugent is primed for the release of Detroit Muscle. He notes, “The mighty Motor City is forever globally known as the epicenter of the ultimate high energy soul-music firestorm, and everybody desperately needs a suckerpunch of Detroit Muscle now more than ever. Relax, it’s good for you. ”
Track listing for Detroit Muscle is as follows:
1. Detroit Muscle 2. Come and Take It 3. Born in the Motor City 4. American Campfire 5. Drivin’ Blind 6. Just Leave Me Alone 7. Alaska 8. WinterSpring SummerFall 9. Leave the Lights On 10. Feedback GrindFire 11. Starspangled Banner
Stream Come and Take Itnow on all digital platforms by goinghere and pre-save Detroit Muscle here.
Ted Nugent has carved a permanent place in rock & roll history, selling more than 40 million albums, performing more than 6,750 high-octane concerts, and continuing to set attendance records at venues around the globe. Cranking out hits like Cat Scratch Fever, Great White Buffalo,Free for All, Fred Bear and the iconic Stranglehold, he has garnered international acclaim. For all things Nuge, visit tednugent.com.
KISS‘ Paul Stanley says that “self-preservation” was the main reason he, and manager Bill Aucoin, turned down the opportunity to work with Van Halen in 1976, reports blabbermouth.net.
While KISS was in Los Angeles to tape a three-song performance for ABC Television’s The Paul Lynde Halloween Special, Stanley and Gene Simmons received an invitation from DJ and club impresario Rodney Bingenheimer to watch two unsigned local acts, The Boyz and Van Halen, at the Starwood club. After the show, [KISS bassist/vocalist Gene]Simmons was introduced to Van Halen and he expressed a desire to work with the band, offering to sign them to his management label, Man Of A Thousand Faces, and to produce a demo for them to shop to record labels. Simmons ended up flying Van Halen to New York to record a demo at Electric Lady Studios, with Simmons at the production helm. But, he ended up not working with the group after Stanley and Aucoin expressed little interest in his demos.
They discussed the decision during Q&A session on this year’s Kiss Kruise, which concluded earlier this month. Simmons said, “We made one big mistake — one. There was a band called Van Halen. They were signed to Man Of A Thousand Faces Inc. There was a 24-track demo. They were owned lock, stock and barrel and signed and happy and wanted to sign with us, and we said no.”
Stanley added, “Thank goodness. The reason we said no was because part of Gene’s joie de vivre, which means love of life, is he likes to look and do all different things. And sometimes that means reining him in, especially early on in the band’s career where getting involved in other projects was really going to hurt the band. You couldn’t listen to Van Halen and not think they were great. Bill knew it. I was with Gene when he first saw Van Halen at the Starwood. But the idea of managing or producing bands, when we really were still at the beginning of our career, was something that was… The move is called self-preservation.”
SimmonstoldPaul Brannigan, the writer of the Eddie Van Halen biography titled Unchained(U.S.) / Eruption (U.K.), that he couldn’t believe it when Stanley claimed not to hear anything special about Van Halen. “Everybody shrugged their shoulders and went, ‘So what?'” Simmons said. “And I’m going, ‘You’re killing me! Whaddya mean, ‘So what?’ Listen to that!'”
“I tore up the contract and said, ‘You guys are free,'” Simmons told Brannigan. “I said, We’re going out on tour, and when I get back, if you don’t have a deal, I’ll come back and I’ll try to help you. But right now, I don’t feel ethical in shopping your tape because the rest of the guys don’t get it.'”
The full Q&A with Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Tommy Thayer, Eric Singer and comedian Craig Gass, from the KISS Kruise X, can be seen below.
Wymer Publishing has announced the launch of UFO: A Visual Biography, due for release on February 25th.
This A4 224-page hardback coffee table book by esteemed author Martin Popoff is crammed full of memorabilia, including backstage passes, gig posters, media adverts and much more.
Following on from the success of his two previous UFO books, Popoff takes us on a visual journey through the bands entire career from 1968. Despite lead singer Phil Mogg saying he would retire, the band continues to tour with plans for 2022 in the pipeline.
A glorious pictorial celebration of the band’s full career, this visual biography timeline acts as a reference book, including the side projects, and documents the parallel career paths of UFO and Michael Schenker since 1980, along with Waysted. It covers it all in one mighty tome crammed full of stunning visuals including many previously unpublished photos.
In related news, UFO announced their final tour dates for the summer 2022, more information can be found here.
Mogg, who turned 73 in April, said, “After so many years with countless highlights, fantastic experiences and lots of beautiful memories — as well as some difficult moments, naturally — it’ll be a worthy finale to say goodbye to your fans in person. I know that there are bound to be some very emotional moments on both sides.”
Pittsburgh native, Poison frontman and son of a veteran Bret Michaels joined Steelers alum, and Vietnam veteran Rocky Bleier, to honor active duty service members and veterans during the Steelers Salute To Service game against the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football on Monday, November 8th.
Michaels and the Steelers participated in the Salute To Service game, an annual NFLinitiative which honors our nation’s service members, veterans, and their families. Prior to the game, Michaels, Bleier and the Steelers fan of the year, army veteran Nelson E. Lowes conducted the legendary Terrible Towel twirl. The Steelers and Bleier also honored Michaels’s late father, veteran Wally Sychak, with a dedication and donation to American Legion hall.
Michaels stated, “I could not be more honored to be on Monday Night Football at Heinz field standing by Rocky Bleier and Nelson Lowes, saluting our veterans and service members around the globe.”
Coming from a military family, Michaels is dedicated to honoring service members every day. He has made a nightly ritual out of inviting service members and first responders to be recognized on stage during his performances. He also meets with active duty service members and veterans before his shows and at military events such as the Military Child Of The Year event.
Micahels was born in Butler, Pennsylvania on March 15th, 1963. Rising to fame as the frontman of Poison, one of rock’s most iconic and enduring bands, he helped define rock ‘n’ roll on the Sunset Strip. The band’s massive success includes selling over 30 million records worldwide and numerous hit singles. Bret’s solo career has charted its own course with multiple solo albums. His Custom Built album included guest appearances by Joe Perry (Aerosmith) Loretta Lynn, Jimmy Buffett, Ace Frehley (KISS), Michael Anthony (Van Halen/Chickenfoot/The Circle) and members of Lynyrd Skynyrd.
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. The song is a powerful, patriotic rock anthem that reminds Americans of our sacred 1rst and ... )
