Away Team

This is Judas Priest on 11-27-11 at the LJVM Winston Salem, NC. Thin Lizzy and Black Label Society opened the show with DJ Lady Starlight between sets.

I’ve seen Judas Priest nine times over four different decades. Plus a few incarnations of Halford or Fight. And yes, it’s true, I’ve walked through camera shots in one of the most important documentary films ever made (heavymetalparkinglot.com). So when I say this was one of the best Judas Priest concerts I’ve seen I have my reasons.

PERFORMANCE
Halford’s presence on stage goes from screaming madness in a song like Painkiller to calm grandpa delivering between song monologs about the old days, the history of Priest and just being thankful for the fans endurance. A man grateful for the career he has had.

SHOW / STAGE
Lasers. Fire. Metal. This was easily the most excessive use of lazers I’ve seen at any concert and definitely the most fire I’ve witnessed at a Judas Priest show. The screensaver back screen could of been more interesting. Stage basically consisted of lot of chains, lights and disco balls.

SET LIST
For the band and the fans there was always a fine line between the “hits” and the songs everyone wanted to hear live. Here it was. A set list you could put together an Epitaph with that was appropriate and true.

Rapid Fire / Metal Gods / Heading Out to the Highway / Judas Rising / Starbreaker /
Victim of Changes / Never Satisfied / Diamonds & Rust (Joan Baez cover) / Dawn Of Creation / Prophecy / Night Crawler / Turbo Lover / Beyond the Realms of Death /
The Sentinel / Blood Red Skies / The Green Manalishi (Fleetwood Mac cover) / Breaking the Law (No vocals) / Drum Solo / Painkiller / The Hellion / Electric Eye / Hell Bent for Leather / You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’ / Living After Midnight

Back in august I posted a ‘What the Metal Fuck?!?!‘ about Judas Priest‘s frontman Rob Halford firing his manager right after said manager, John Baxter, posted some cryptic musings on some of Rob‘s websites. You can read the first story right here.

Then yesterday we saw this:
From RollingStone.com:
Rob Halford‘s longtime manager John Baxter has filed a lawsuit against Halford and other members of the band and its management team, alleging fraud, breach of contract and intentional interference with contractual relations – and asking for around $50 million in damages.

Baxter, who had been Halford‘s personal manager since 1982 until he was fired in August, claims he discovered in August that frontman Rob Halford owes him millions of dollars for contract breaches, including failure to pay commissions, salary and expenses dating back to 1992. He alleges that Halford actively misled him by saying that he was simply unable to fulfill his financial obligations to his manager, promising that he would pay Baxter when he was able.

On August 9th, Baxter was fired from his job as manager via a letter from a British law firm that reads, in part: “It has become clear over recent weeks that the relationships between our parties has run its course and that you are not acting in our clients’ best interests.” The letter also claims that Baxter, who lives in Arizona, withdrew his sponsorship of Halford‘s U.S. visa in order to prevent his entry into the country and that he posted cruel comments on Halford‘s official website, actions that “placed an intolerable strain upon our clients’ ability to maintain constructive and professional relations with the remaining members of Judas Priest and their representatives at this crucial time.”

Defendant Andrew Thompson, a British lawyer whose firm sent Baxter the termination letter, tells Rolling Stone via email that he never interfered, intentionally or otherwise, with the Halford and Baxter relationship. In the suit, Baxter claims that Thompson and the suit’s other defendants (who include Judas Priest manager Bill Curbishley and Judas Priest bassist Ian Hill) intentionally tried to interfere with the Baxter/Halford contractual relationship because they wanted to be Halford‘s global managers and to influence Halford‘s relationship with Judas Priest, his participation in the Judas Priest farewell tour and Halford‘s post-Judas Priest career.

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/rob-halfords-longtime-manager-suing-him-for-breach-of-contract-20111102#ixzz1ceWedPox
You can read the whole article right here.

———–
EDITOR’s NOTE:
Not one to say I told you so.. but… Ok, I am totally the one to say it, and I will say it here, I told you so. The last paragraph says it all. And it is exactly what I thought was happening back in August when Baxter posted all over Halford‘s websites. Curbishley and Co want Halford to themselves, and that is the stance Baxter is taking on this. I’m not saying he is right, and I’m not saying his lawsuit is valid, but it is all so very entertaining…

Can’t wait to see what Miss Jayne Andrews says about this as she was named as a defendant too!

You can follow along at JudasPriest.com yourself.

MACHINE HEAD

UNTO THE LOCUST

Roadrunner Records

10 out of 10

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the album of the year. Your search is over. Just give in to the monstrosity that is Unto The Locust, declare the search for 2011’s #1 album over, crank it to eleven, and behold the majesty that is Machine Head. You’ll thank me later.

Ok, now that the dick sucking is out of the way, let’s get to the real meat of this album. It. Fucking. Shreds.

Machine Head have outdone themselves and have achieved a feat I didn’t think they could do, and that is follow up their best album ever, The Blackening, with what is arguably without a doubt their best album ever.

Welcome to Unto The Locust. The opening 3 part song I Am Hell sets the tone and raises the bar for Machine Head once again. Less than halfway through the eight and a half minute opus your hair is blown back, your dick has been knocked into the dirt and the massive riffs and monster drum sound pummels you into submitting to the notion that there is nothing out there that can possibly compete with Machine Head today. Their finest showing so far in a storied career and we’re only three minutes into the damned album.

The harmonies in the chorus of Be Still And Know will raise the hairs on your arms and the back of your neck, as the solo kicks in and knocks your teeth down your throat. You are now deep in the embrace and holy shit, hello twin guitar solo. There are so many styles of guitar bursting all over this album it is hard to keep up. You’ve read the interviews, and you’ve heard that Robb even took guitar lesson recently to be able to play parts of this album he had already written but couldn’t play properly, or as well as he wanted. In one song alone, you have the modern thrash high toned, thin guitar sound prevalent through most of the verses, then the break down goes into dual guitar wielding solo of the classic NWOBHM style of Maiden and Priest, there’s even some good old chugga-chugga-chugga of Prog Metal thrown in to temper the whole thing. Again, we’re talking all of this in one song. And we’re not talking St. Anger kitchen sink riffs here, we’re talking a madly cohesive sound tinged with a schizophrenic touch of multiple guitar styles to flavor the song, not to saturate and lose focus within (ala St. Anger).

Machine Head may well be the one band that can take Modern Thrash, Blast Beats, NWOBHM twin guitar solos, acoustic, melodic, Prog, and weave them in and out of each of their songs without losing the plot or seeming to be truly skitzo and jumbled. Their first single Locust starts out a bit … eh… But when it gets to the acoustic breakdown and Robb Flynn and Phil Demmel trading off on the guitar solo it pushes itself into contention for the strongest track off the album.

I am trying not to go song by song here but as each new song starts, I can’t help but … The acoustic intro to This Is The End going into the hyper guitar riff sends chills down my spine. The hyper-frenetic tempo will snap necks live.

Darkness Within… Three Days Grace? Emo Metal? It works, but pushing that Emo Metal thing a little close. They close the album out with Darkness Within in acoustic form, so I wonder how that will come out. I will say this: Machine Head has never had better guitar solos. Ever. Halfway through the album and every solo is epic! And Darkness Within goes from Emo Metal to Death, to Thrash, and back to Emo. Incredible really. Again, this isn’t hodgepodged, this isn’t piecemeal, this is great song craftsmanship.

And welcome to the traditional Bay Area Thrash epicness that is the opening of Pearls Before The Swine. Harkening back to Testament and Exodus, Pearls runs right through the heart of the Traditional Bay Area Thrash sound.

The children’s choir at the beginning of Who We Are is disconcerting at best. The Beast of Machine Head behind them, it must strike fear into the hearts of soccer moms and t-ball dads all over. And this slightly anthemic ditty closes out the regular version of Unto The Locust. Again, I have to bring up the solos, from a classical Prog sounding chugga chugga to twin guitar thrash, Phil and Robb have outdone themselves. If Unto The Locust is recognized for anything, it must be for the outstanding guitar solos that run consistently through the album. Every song is given an unforgettable solo that is completely unique to itself.

The expanded version (which includes a DVD) has three extra songs on it. The Sentinel, Witch Hunt and the acoustic version of Darkness Within.

The Sentinel is a cover of the classic Judas Priest song. And the beginning is spot on. A great cover. The band keeps it close to the original, the vocals are awesome. Flynn has a great voice but no one can properly cover Halford (save Tim Owens). They do deviate from the original on the guitar solos, but they manage to come up with some great stuff that fits the song just fine. This is where Machine Head add their own touch to the song.

Witch Hunt sees Machine Head taking on the stylings of none other than Rush. Not being a Rush fan, I can’t tell you how it stacks up to the original, and I’m not about to go find out. (Hello cowbell!!!!!) It is an odd choice at first listen. I mean you can totally see in your mind’s eye Machine Head rocking out the Judas Priest, and maybe a certain Rush song here or there, but Witch Hunt musically doesn’t quite fit them, or vice versa maybe. Not that they are not musically capable of covering Rush, Machine Head is quite adept musicianship wise to do so, but the song itself doesn’t sound like a Machine Head song. And this may be why they chose it. It doesn’t fit the feel of the rest of the album however. Again, even The Sentinel stands up to the rest of the original Machine Head works on Unto The Locust, but Witch Hunt just seems a bit out of place here.

Which leaves us with Darkness Within the acoustic version. And I can happily say that the acoustic version removes the Emo Metal feel of the first part of the song. And it works well acoustically so far.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Machine Head’s Unto The Locust. My current (and most likely final) pick for Best Album of 2011. You cannot go wrong by running out and grabbing this immediately. You must not miss out on this masterpiece of metal.

Go HERE and purchase it right now. Go on, you know you want to. You NEED this album. You do. Trust, you do.









For more Machine Head click here.

Away-Team: I’m sitting backstage at Mayhem Fest with Dave McClain from the Bay Area’s Machine Head. Thanks Dave for your patience while we navigated through the ridiculousness that was the venue trying to get the gates open an hour late. Let’s just get right into it shall we?

Dave McClain: Absolutely man, no problem.

Away-Team: Machine Head released The Blackening in 2007 to critical praise. To many, myself included it was the album of the year, and again for myself it was the best album Machine Head has ever put out.

Dave McClain: Awesome, wow! Thank you.

Away-Team: There was a ton of press overseas that embraced you and the album and sang the praise of Machine Head and The Blackening. While the US press didn’t seem to even acknowledge Machine Head even existed. It seemed to me that you guys couldn’t even get arrested here. What is it about Europe and their fans that seem to embrace metal so openly and fully, and yet the states can seem to be bothered with it? What I’m asking is… Is it the fans that feed the media over there or the media embracing the music and opening up the fans to it?

Dave McClain: It’s something you really can’t put your finger on here. You go anywhere else in the world and it’s the same mentality as when we were all kids getting into metal. When I started getting into Judas Priest and Iron Maiden and the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal back then… I think it’s the same thing here now, it’s a sub culture a community of misfits that latched on to this type of music and to this day around the world people simply live for this music. There are so many different things going on in the States to take your time and attention. It is so big over here territory wise that it’s harder to get to everyone or get everyone together for larger shows. Where Germany is the size of Texas and we can spend a week just in Germany hitting thousands and thousands of people, where in Texas there is a lot of empty space between towns and we’re playing to hundreds of people instead. There are so many types of music pushed here in the states and so many of those avenues don’t promote metal, I think Revolver is pretty much the only US magazine that promotes metal. And they are warming up to Machine Head now which is cool. There definitely was a while there in the US before The Blackening even where we couldn’t get any attention at all. We were sitting there like, ‘come on man, we’re right here!’ and they were just, ‘No thanks we’re going to go cover hip hop’ or whatever. So now, Through The Ashes was the record that finally kicked the door in a little and got our foot in. And The Blackening was the one that re-established us. It is getting better here; we are definitely NOT giving up on the US. We’ve never been that band in the US that’s just exploded! It’s always just been a fight for us, and that’s cool to us. Back in the day when gold records mattered we’d still be playing the same size venues as bands that had gold records. But it is coming around again now. Thank god for festivals like this. That are really band friendly and people like John Reese the guy that puts this thing on (John Reese is co-creator of Rockstar Mayhem Fest) loves metal, he tours with the festival, gets the bands together and has theme parties during the tour for the bands. It’s very cool to have the organizer be that involved with the tour and with the bands on that level. And then today with the internet the way it is, any interview you do can go anywhere, be read or heard anywhere in the world now. So that helps a lot in getting the word out about Machine Head.

Away-Team: So to you what is the main difference between US festivals like Mayhem and the European Festivals?

Dave McClain: Well mainly the festivals over there are just like for a weekend, where these are tours. It’s a lot of camping out over there, tent cities and stuff. They’re like the super die hards there. You’ve got some popping up here now like that, like Bonnaroo and Coachella. It’s really just a matter of time I hope before you see Metallica do like a Sonisphere over here you know? Just have a two day festival and do four or five of them around the country. And over there the festivals are pretty diverse music style wise.

Away-Team: You get a little bit of everything in a two day festival there. More of a “Lollapalooza” feel over there.

Dave McClain: Right, exactly. And this, while it is a tour, it’s different. Because for us, well, for the side stage bands, that’s the crowds we’re used to, the kids are flying around, the dirt is flying around, and everything is going crazy. Then you come over here to the main stage and you’re playing to a lot of people that don’t even get here till six o’clock and could give a shit about Machine Head or even Megadeth or Trivium. They’re just here for Godsmack or just Disturbed.

Away-Team: Those would be the people telling me to sit down and shut up as I’m trying to enjoy the show and your set.

Dave McClain: Right! Right. And we’re trying to win them over. And it is a great feeling really, because it’s just as good as having your crowd on the other stages in front of you, as having a new crowd being won over as they start to stand in their seats as our set goes on. We and Trivium have been doing this… and some days you come off the main stage and you’re just like ‘Fuck, man, those people could just give a shit about us.’ But then the days you do win them over, it is like the best feeling in the world.

Away-Team: You are getting ready to release Unto The Locust next month (out September 27th!!!), what can we expect from the new stuff? Is it a progression from The Blackening? Is it a foray into a new Machine Head sound? Have you finally gone Dub Step to get on the radio?

Dave McClain: (laughs), Yeah! That’s it! Really, we just definitely challenged ourselves going into it. We were in no way going to make The Blackening II. From Through The Ashes Of Empires to The Blackening to now, there are the same feelings going on and we’re just pushing them further. The main difference is that we now have total musical freedom; no one is looking over our shoulder. Roadrunner is just like, ‘Just give us the record and we’ll run with it.’ We’ve tried to challenge ourselves as musicians. The first song we wrote called This Is The End, Robb and I got together one day after everyone had taken a couple months off and he’s like, ‘It’s not complete yet, but I’ve got this song here…’ and he goes into this classical guitar thing that he couldn’t really play that well yet because he’d just gotten into the classical guitar thing. Then the song just goes into this super blast beat thrashy thing and we were just, ‘FUCK! It’s the first song and it is already a super hard one to play!’ And that just set the tone for the whole album writing process. On this new album we have the hardest, fastest, most brutal stuff we’ve done. And then we have the song Locust which is middle of the road, like almost a rock song for us with groovin’ beats, it’s just really weird. We’ve got some super dark stuff on there and then some mellow stuff that gets heavier, but over all just super dark theme wise. Robb Flynn went up to New York and started taking classical guitar lessons from this guy at the same time he was taking vocal lessons from Lady Gaga’s vocal coach. It’s all just us trying to push ourselves into a new place.

Away-Team: According to your bio, you are originally from Germany, yet speaking to you, you have no accent.

Dave McClain: Well I was born there; my dad was in the military…

Away-Team: Ah, that explains that…

Dave McClain: Yes, I am not a German. (laughs)

Away-Team: So how did you end up in the Bay Area and in Machine Head?

Dave McClain: I joined Machine Head in the end of 95 and I moved there in January of 96.

Away-Team: I know Machine Head went through something like 3 drummers in one year…

Dave McClain: Yeah, by the time I got to them they were pretty sick of drummers!

Away-Team: They were through playing Spinal Tap?

Dave McClain: Totally! But instead of their drummers dying there were just… ah, never mind, I’m not going there…

Away-Team: Ok, moving on!

Dave McClain: Yeah, moving on (laughs), so I was in a band called Sacred Reich out of Phoenix,

Away-Team: Yes, I am very familiar with Sacred Reich!

Dave McClain: Awesome! So a mutual friend of ours, who worked for Century Media at the time, knew they were looking, so he was helping them find a drummer, and he called Igor from Sepultura who also lived in Phoenix at the time. Igor was like, ‘Call Dave man.’ So Robb called me and at first I said no thanks, I was going to stick it out with Sacred Reich. That day I was laying in my bed and I was like, ‘What am I doing?!?’ Don’t get me wrong, I love Sacred Reich, but they were notoriously kind of lazy, and talking to Robb and only hearing Burn My Eyes once or twice… Just talking to Robb and hearing his passion and determination I was like, ‘What am I doing? These guys are where I’m at we’re like on the same wave length here.’ So I called Robb back and I’m like, ‘Hey man, I thought about it and I really want to do this!’ So he said to come in and audition. So I went out and auditioned, we played the whole Burn My Eyes record a few times and I could tell they were really into it, we were jamming really good. Then they kind of left me hanging as they went through the audition process for another week or so. And they called me up and told me to move out.

Away-Team: You were out on the road with Metallica for like a year, year and a half off and on. What are the pros and cons of supporting the biggest metal band in the world?

Dave McClain: There were definitely way more highs than lows on that tour. When they first asked us we had to tell them no! We’d already committed to doing the Slipknot tour over in Europe. They said, ‘That’s cool, we totally respect that, we’ll be touring for a while so we’ll work something out.’ Then they offered us all these dates and…

Away-Team: Yes, you were basically on the second leg of the Death Magnetic Tour correct?

Dave McClain: Yes, we did the US, Europe and then other countries like Poland and a bunch of little weird countries too. And with them being the not just the biggest metal bands, but being one of the biggest bands on the planet… the way they treat bands is fucking amazing! They are at the point where they just take bands out that they want to take. I mean they didn’t need us. They didn’t need The Sword, or Lamb Of God, they didn’t need Mastodon, but they WANTED us and them. They just take really good care of everyone. Like once a week they’ll take the bands out to a restaurant and just hang, and eat and drink. They took us on their jet for a show and, just made sure we were taken care of while we were out with them. The one thing about opening for them is that everyone in that crowd is there for them. Metallica didn’t need us to open, and the crowd didn’t fucking care that we were there (laughs)!

Away-Team: I can totally see that here in the states than Europe because they tend to be much more open minded musically there…

Dave McClain: Yeah, but still you get the Metallica die hards that follow, literally follows them around, go to multiple shows and it was hard. We were on the stage in the round and all the people on the floor are like fan club people and die hard Metallica fans, just rabid fans and you end up playing to the people way up in the stands that are actually into you. And you have those same nights where you’re, ‘Fuck man, we just couldn’t get it going tonight!’ It’s just very frustrating, then other times you have the crowd and it’s just killer. You don’t have them like Metallica has them, but you have a part of them. Probably THE best show we did on that whole thing was in Paris and it was like that was our crowd, everyone in the crowd was into us and they were all singing along like it was our own show, our own crowd.

Away-Team: Is that the show that Metallica released a DVD of?

Dave McClain: No, this was a different show. As amazing as that set was for us, when Metallica came on it was like being on a movie set and the director is like, ‘I want everyone to act as crazy as you have ever been!’ and yells action as they take the stage (laughs).

Away-Team: 2002 was a rough year for you guys; you had just released Supercharger and a video a few weeks after September 11th, 2001 that depicted falling buildings. It seemed everyone even your label stood against you and pulled the plug on the band. You negotiated out of your contract with Roadrunner. How close where you guys in the band to pulling your own plug?

Dave McClain: We were real close man. It was a super bad time and we were just so pissed off about everything that had happened. We weren’t working the record and we just felt like we were at an end, with Roadrunner and with the band. But after Roadrunner, we went out to test the waters with other people that had always been there for the band in the past, ‘you know, anytime you need anything, we’re here for you.’ Well we needed something, and nobody was there for us. They all disappeared. ‘Well we’re here now, you know?’ ‘Oh, yeah, well… ya know? Um…. ‘

Away-Team: ‘Had you come to us six months ago…’

Dave McClain: Right! ‘Who’s this? Prank call! Prank call!’ (laughs) I told our guitarist at the time, to basically leave the band. He was wanting to do a side project, and having us stick around funding his side project so I was like, run, go, do it, get out. It was bleak man. It wasn’t that we didn’t want to do it anymore; it was that we had no avenues TO do it anymore. So we started writing a couple of songs. Just trying to do something. And it was pure shit. It was bad. And it WAS fucking shit, and it felt horrible. We had a band meeting and I told the guys, ‘You know this fucking sucks. This is shit; this isn’t why I play music. And if we’re a heavy metal band, and we’re going to write an album. Let’s write the heaviest shit man. Let’s just write for ourselves. Let’s just take all this and put it into writing.‘ And that became Through The Ashes…

Away-Team: Which explains all the piss and venom in it…

Dave McClain: Yeah! It was definitely an angry and a dark record but Roadrunner UK never wanted to let us go, and they were still there quietly supporting us, and it turned out to be a great thing, it turned out to be more of a licensing thing for us which at the time was great. We were about to sign a deal with an American label for the US and Roadrunner US came up and came to us and said, ‘We want to be a part of this again!’ It made us all real happy, because it was a clean slate at that point.

Away-Team: Well at that point, with that album in the can ready to go, you kind of have them over a barrel, and you can say, ‘Well you want us? Here’s what it is going to take to get us back!’

Dave McClain: Yeah, but more than that, there were people there genuinely behind us again. There were people that cared about us and about the band. For us we never wanted to leave in the first place, we just wanted things to be right you know? And since then everything has been great. Not that we don’t go back and forth with Roadrunner on some things, but its constructive, it’s a good thing.

Away-Team: Great! So once Mayhem is done, what does Machine Head have on its plate? You’ve got Unto The Locust coming out in September, what are the current tour plans for that?

Dave McClain: We’ve got a month off after Mayhem. We headline the Soundwave Revolution metal stage.

Away-Team: Nice!

Dave McClain: Yeah, it is. It’ll be awesome, and we’ll get to see Van Halen! (laughs) We’re just as excited about seeing them play every day as we are to headline the metal stage! Then we’re doing our first headline run of South America since I’ve been in the band. We’ve got Sepultura there for the shows which is awesome. And then a headlining run of Europe with Bring Me The Horizon, DevilDriver, and Darkest Hour. First quarter of next year our main priority is doing a headline run here in the states.

Away-Team: You guys are definitely due.

Dave McClain: Yes, it’s been over four years we are so ready for it.

Away-Team: Well congratulations, and good luck on the new album, I can’t wait to hear it! And hopefully we’ll get to see you in 2012 in a theater or large venue around here soon! Thanks again Dave!

Dave McClain: Thanks! See you soon!

Away Team would like to thank Jay Beadnell and Stageshotz Photography for his permission and photos from the Raleigh stop of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Fest used in this interview.

There is a long list of people to thank for making this and all of our Mayhem Fest interviews happen, so, forgive me if I forgot anyone, but thanks to Lilly at Roadrunner, Bill at eOne Music, Rikki, Natalie, and Jessica at Adrenaline, and Laura Jean with Mayhem.

For more MACHINE HEAD click here.
Pick up what is sure to be on everyone’s top ten of 2011 Unto The Locust here.

WTF is going on in the world of JUDAS PRIEST?

First we have this diatribe (that I had to go find on a Polish website because Metal Gods et al had taken it down already):

Dear Visitors of RH.com:
Metal God Entertainment, Metal God Records and its affiliated companies and web properties will begin removing Judas Priest related topics from its web sites in protest of Glenn Tipton (decision maker), Jayne Andrews (amateur thug for Glenn, can’t trust, leach), Bill Curbishley (apathetic leach) and John McBride (Unlicensed, Unregistered Accountant, leach) for lack of Professional and Ethical conduct as it relates to Rob Halford‘s business matters for much of the last six (6) years.
Rob will publicly deny the above, so we will take a seat next to K.K. Downing and watch how the Glenn and Jayne show plays out.
I’m sure you’ll read about the details of this matter more in future.
Regards,
John Baxter

For those that don’t know, John Baxter is Rob Halford‘s Manager. And SUPPOSEDLY this missive came straight from him, and was at one time posted on some of Rob Halford‘s websites.

So, in response to the above message, we get this from JudasPriest.com:
There has recently been some nonsense and propaganda posted on the internet including on Rob‘s website, regarding the band and management. (Rob currently is not controlling his website and absolutely does not agree with the comments)
We refuse to get drawn into any public arguments – it is below us and will be dealt with legally. The band have always jointly made any major decisions and have been with the same management team for over 25 years. Everyone knows and respects them in the music business and we have ultimate faith and trust in the way they have always guided us.
We are totally focused now on the Epitaph tour and the reactions every night have been incredible. The shows have been amazing and we’re having the time of our lives! Our intention now is to travel the world one last time and perform Judas Priest style Heavy Metal for all the fans out there. The mood and atmosphere in the band has never been better!
We have just completed the European/UK first leg of our world tour and now after a short break are going to South America and then the States – come along – join in and keep the Faith !!
ROB, GLENN, IAN, SCOTT & RICHIE

Let’s not forget K.K. Downing‘s post about his departure from Judas Priest:
“There has been an ongoing breakdown in [the] working relationship between myself, elements of the band, and the band’s management for some time. Therefore I have decided to step down rather than to tour with negative sentiments as I feel that this would be a deception to you, our cherished fans.”

Ok, so apparently Rob‘s personal manager has beef with K.K. and the Management team of Judas Priest. (Jayne works for Bill who is listed as their manager).

I’ve heard stories about her for years, none I can print, but trust they are pretty good, and do not paint fair Jayne in a good light.

But, don’t take my word for it. Read the press releases she puts out herself. They are HILARIOUS…

You can scour the Judaspriest.com news for her posts. Which I’ve always found a little odd, is their manager running their website? Is Judas Priest‘s manager K.K. Downing’s personal manager too? Is that not some kind of conflict of interest?

You don’t see Q-Prime running Metallica‘s website, or posting on Queensryche‘s website about quashing rumors or ‘setting the record‘ straight. Every second post by Jayne, and every press release we ever get from her is ‘setting the record straight‘ on something. Most press releases are about positive things, new single/album/video/show date, etc. But not hers, they are ensuring that everyone knows who she is, and that she is ‘currently with the band‘ at such and such a place, and oh, while I’m writing this, let me spew some negative crap, and ‘quash‘ this rumor.

Most bands, and most certainly their managers simply don’t dignify the rumors with a response. If there is no fuel, the fire dies. But not Jayne, she’s online ASAP running roughshod over everything to make sure no one has the wrong idea about her, or ‘the band‘.

Looking forward to how this plays out… and I’m hoping John Baxter is wrong and it isn’t all done behind closed lawyer doors.

For more JUDAS PRIEST (and more Jayne Andrews than you probably care for) click here.

It’s almost impossible to find a modern day hard rock/heavy metal band that doesn’t list Thin Lizzy as an influence.
So the band couldn’t have picked a better time to launch an arena tour, opening for Judas Priest on their farewell “Epitaph Tour.”

Comprised of a kick ass line-up featuring such Phil Lynott-era Lizzies as guitarist Scott Gorham, drummer Brian Downey, and keyboardist Darren Wharton, as well as Guns N’ Roses guitarist Richard Fortus, former Almighty singer/guitarist Ricky Warwick, and bassist Marco Mendoza, Lizzy is aiming to bring the house down each night.

Understandably Lizzy is looking forward to teaming up with metal legends Priest and Black Label Society this fall.
“One of the big perks of being a member of Thin Lizzy is that sometimes we get to share the stage with other bands that have helped to shape the music we hear today,” explains Warwick. “Judas Priest helped define a genre and I am really looking forward to seeing them on tour.”

Thin Lizzy became one of rock’s top bands during the 1970′s, on the strength of the hits “Jailbreak,” “The Boys Are Back In Town,” “Dancing in the Moonlight,” and “Waiting for an Alibi,” Lynott‘s poetic-yet-tough lyrics, and the highly influential dual guitar attack of Gorham and which ever second guitarist he was paired up with at the time (Brian Robertson, the late Gary Moore, Snowy White, or John Sykes). Lizzy split up in 1983, before Lynott passed away in 1986.

However, Lizzy‘s stature has continued to grow over the years, as their songs have been covered by a wide variety of artists, including Metallica (“Whiskey in the Jar“), Smashing Pumpkins (“Dancing in the Moonlight“), Bon Jovi (“The Boys Are Back In Town“), Sade (“Still in Love with You“), the Foo Fighters (“Bad Reputation“), and Mastodon (“Emerald“), among other rock bands.

Gorham especially is looking forward to Lizzy‘s triumphant return to the States. “We love playing in the USA and it will be great to show the rest of the States what we are made of. We are all fired and ready to kick some ass!”

JUDAS PRIEST, THIN LIZZY, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY dates:
12 October AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX.
14 October Concrete Street Amphitheater, Corpus Christi, TX.
15 October The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Houston, TX.
16 October Allen Event Center, Dallas, TX.
18 October Ava Amphitheater, Tucson, AZ.
19 October Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre, San Diego, CA.
21 October AZ State Fair, Phoenix, AZ.
22 October San Manuel Amphitheater, San Bernardino, CA.
23 October Hard Rock, Las Vegas, NV.
25 October Gibson Amphitheatre, Los Angeles, CA.
26 October Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA.
29 October WaMu Theater, Seattle, WA.
30 October Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC.
1 November Shaw Conference Center, Edmonton, AB.
2 November Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, AB.
4 November Maverik Center, Salt Lake City, UT.
5 November 1STBANK Center, Denver, CO.
12 November The Venue at Horseshoe Casino, Chicago, IL.
13 November Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI.
18 November Izod Center, East Rutherford, NJ.
22 November Air Canada Centre, Toronto ONT

From JudasPriest.com:
We would like to clarify a situation that seems to be confusing a few people out there.

When we issued our press release to announce the farewell tour – we stated that it was the last major world tour for Judas Priest - nothing has changed – we didn’t say it was the end of the band or that we were going to retire or the band was going to break up……….. Just that it would be the last major world tour we would be doing which is still the case.

We have plans for a new album (which we have already announced in an earlier press release) plus possible future releases and we would still consider doing the odd live show – if it is something special or for a great cause – but no more world tours.

JUDAS PRIEST recently announced the first set of North American dates for their Epitaph World Tour.

EPITAPH tour dates:
Oct. 12 – San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center
Oct. 14 – Corpus Christi, TX – Concrete Street Ampitheater
Oct. 15 – Houston, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Oct. 16 – Allen, TX – Allen Event Center
Oct. 18 – Tucson, AZ – Ava Ampitheater
Oct. 19 – San Diego, CA – Cricket Wireless Ampitheater
Oct. 21 – Phoenix, AZ – AZ State Fair
Oct. 22 – San Bernardino, CA – San Manuel Ampitheater
Oct. 23 – Las Vegas, NV – Hard Rock
Oct. 25 – Los Angeles, CA – Gibson Ampitheater
Oct. 26 – Oakland, CA – Oracle Arena
Oct. 29 – Seattle, WA – WaMu Theater
Oct. 30 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
Nov. 01 – Edmonton, AB – Shaw Conference Center
Nov. 02 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome
Nov. 04 – Salt Lake City, UT – Maverik Center
Nov. 05 – Denver, CO – 1st Bank Center
Nov. 12 – Chicago, IL – The Venue At Horeshoe Casino
Nov. 13 – Detroit, MI – Joe Louis Arena
Nov. 18 – East Rutherford, NJ – Izod Center

There will be additional tour dates forthcoming taking tour into December 2011.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pazzo Records

 

Fans get ready! POP EVIL will finally be able to release their second album, War Of Angels, on Tuesday, July 5 with new label Eone Music. The delay had nothing to do with the band, it was their former label, Universal, that was holding up the deal. I talked last month with Matt DiRito and Tony Greve and they were as frustrated as the rest of us that their 2nd release has been pushed back for months. “But I’m pissed that it ended up affecting the fans with the release date of the new album and everything. That’s what makes me mad. It’s everywhere we go, it’s every night, everyone’s asking us when the album is going to be released.  And I have to say I’m sorry. They sometimes get mad at us.” said Matt DiRito. But the wait is now almost over! YES!!!

War Of Angels is the follow up to their 2008 freshman release, Lipstick On The Mirror. It’s been a frustrating ride the last few months but finally the band will be coming to your town rockin’ with the new release. War Of Angels was produced by Grammy Award nominated producer/engineer Johnny K, who has worked with the Disturbed, 3 Doors Down and Staind.

Since the fall 2010 release of the single, Last Man Standing, the band has enjoyed success early on and the song peaked at #5 on the active rock charts. POP EVIL is more than ready to start this new chapter in their career and reward those loyal fans who have so patiently rode the storm out. The band even went so far as to tear up the band’s Universal recording contract while on stage at Rock on the Range festival a weeks ago to the cheers of thousands. It gave me tingles to watch it. And fierce pride to know these very talented musicians are finally going to get the recognition they deserve as contenders for the coveted belt of their genre.

Check out all that is going on with POP EVIL at their site: http://www.popevil.com

Also check these sites:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/popevil

Myspace: www.myspace.com/popevil

And for really cool stuff: www.evil-nation.com

POP EVIL is: Leigh Kakaty (lead vocals), Dylan Allison (drums), Dave Grahs (guitar), Tony Greve (guitar) and Matt DiRito (bass).

Continue reading on Examiner.com Pop Evil signs with eOne Music and prepares for release of War of Angels – Detroit Live Music | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/live-music-in-detroit/pop-evil-signs-with-eone-music-and-prepares-for-release-of-war-of-angels#ixzz1Oby6OJuN

 

If you want to catch the teaser video for the tracks on the album, see below.

 

Queensryche are offering a once in a lifetime chance to become ‘Ryche and Roll Royalty.’ two lucky winners will be chosen to be members of the Queensryche tour party for their entire tour supporting Judas Priest through the UK.

That’s right – you can be a fully fledged member of the ‘Ryche entourage for 10 days, from the first show day in Newport, England to last show at Bournemouth, England. You will travel on the bands tour bus through out the UK, including 8 stops in Scotland and England. You will have an ALL ACCESS PASS for each of the 8 Queensryche shows, backstage catering at every show, hotels with the band and crew. You are on the road with the band! You basically get everything the band and crew get, you are ‘Ryche and Roll Royalty’!

Queensryche is offering this once in a lifetime chance to only two fans.

As part of the tour party, each winner will receive the following:
An ALL ACCESS* PASS valid for EVERY SHOW on the forthcoming Queensryche UK tour – Dates 15th July 2011 through July 24th 2011 Inc. This includes all show tickets to all 8 shows. Every performance the band plays between the above dates you will be there with them – shows, soundchecks, backstage – everything!
A printed and bound tour Itinerary with full tour schedule and details – including your name printed in the ‘Tour Party’ section. 7 nights bunk accommodation aboard the Queensryche nightliner bus traveling overnight from city to city.
2 nights hotel accommodation at the same hotel as Queensryche band and crew.
All internal transport as required as part of the tour entourage.
Show day meals, as provided to the Queensryche band and crew.
A special Queensryche tour merchandise selection with various t-shirts and collectables

So there you go – wake up in a different city, enjoy a day sightseeing, come back for Soundcheck, have dinner, watch the show, hang out with the band, grab a slice of aftershow pizza, hang out on the bus, go to sleep and do it all again the next day…and the next!

To participate in this once in a lifetime opportunity, you will need to be a Queensryche Fan Club member and must bid via Silent Auction, Minimum starting bid is $4000.00 USD. You may bid any amount of times but each bid is a binding contract for you to pay that amount should you be chosen as a lucky winner.

The Auction to be ‘Ryche and Roll Royalty’ opens at Wednesday 1st June at 10am PST and ends Wednesday 22nd June at 10pm PST

For more QUEENSRYCHE click here.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Photos by Marcy Royce

May 19, 2011
Away-Team writer: Marcy Royce
Pop Evil members: Tony Greve and Matt DiRito

I became a  POP EVIL  fan in August 2009 after catching their live show at Merriweather Post Pavilion when they were the support act for KIX and JUDAS PRIEST on the British Steel Tour. And I have been following them ever since.  Their music is that good to me. I was excited to know that I would have the opportunity this night to interview two of the members of POP EVIL , Tony Greve, guitarist, and Matt DiRito, bassist. Both joined the band in 2007, just months apart.

Now, let me prefaced the following with this: I have NEVER, and mean NEVER, had so much fun doing an interview as I did with Tony and Matt. I’ve never laughed so much in between questions and I’ve never been sidetracked with so much fun.  Read on to see what these guy had to tell me about POP EVIL , their new upcoming release; War Of Angels, their management team and being on the road.

And just for the record, 7.5 ounces will live on, forever.  You would have had to been there to understand this. Too funny! Thanks guys.

This is Marcy Royce with away-team.com speaking today with Tony Greve and Matt DiRito from POP EVIL .

AWAY-TEAM: I’m really glad I had the opportunity to do this interview with you guys. I’m with away-team. com and I’ve been with them for over a year now.

TONY GREVE: It’s cool that this worked out and you could come in and chat and do this interview. It works out both ways, it’s good for us too.

AWAY-TEAM: How was the trip last night from Indiana?

MATT DIRITO: Yeah, it was easy. I slept the entire way. Not a big deal for me.

TONY GREVE: It was a pretty easy ride. It’s crazy though. We will pass out in one city and wake up another city.

AWAY-TEAM: (laughs) Good to have a dedicated bus driver.

TONY GREVE: Definitely!

MATT DIRITO: That’s why we have to take care of him and make sure he gets good sleep. I think he’s in his hotel room now sleeping.  

TONY GREVE: That definitely helps out. He’s gotta be well rested, that’s for sure. He’s got everybody’s lives in his hands.

 

AWAY-TEAM: You guys just did Carolina Rebellion almost 2 weeks ago, and this weekend you are doing Rock On The Range. And next weekend you are going to Rocklahoma.

MATT DIRITO: Yeah. Lotsa rockin’! 

TONY GREVE: Holy shit yeah! 

AWAY-TEAM: How do you feel about all these being packed into one month? 

TONY GREVE: It’s kinda cool, ya know. We’ve already had how many festivals we did. We did U Fest in Arizona, Carolina Rebellion, there’s been so many festivals going on. That’s the cool thing about summer, all the big outdoor festivals that they put on and we get to be a part of.  

AWAY-TEAM: Do you like the outdoor festivals better than the other places you do in the winter when you are inside confined in a building?

MATT DIRITO: Yeah. I do. I look forward to it all year and we know that these things are booked so far out because so many bands are going to be there. It’s crazy. We’re looking forward to it all year and all of a sudden it’s here. We’re like, oh, that’s next weekend already. Shit man! And they are all right in a row, too. It goes by like a flash. But just last weekend we did 3 outdoor festivals in a row. Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Every single one of them were cold and rainy.

TONY GREVE: I’m talking pouring rain. It was raining sideways.

AWAY-TEAM: I saw that on POP EVIL’s Facebook Page. Day 2 of rain, cold.

TONY GREVE: It’s still raining. We can’t get away from it, dude!

MATT DIRITO: I know dude! It sucks.

AWAY-TEAM: You just can’t get away from it.

TONY GREVE: It’s following us.

AWAY-TEAM: We’ve been dealing with it since Sunday in this area. I don’t know how long you’ve been dealing with it? It’s been awful here.

MATT DIRITO: It started in Denver for us last Tuesday and hasn’t stopped.

TONY GREVE: Everywhere we go, all the outdoor shows are rain and cold.

AWAY-TEAM: How have the fans been with it all? Are they still packed in?

TONY GREVE: Yeah!

MATT DIRITO: What’s cool about it is, and I think it’s kinda fun is, that you get the really hardcore fans that come out.

TONY GREVE: They’ll be out there in the rain, soaking wet, and just rockin’. It’s awesome!

MATT DIRITO: Covered in mud, and shit. They’re just like…

TONY GREVE: Remember that one guy that stopped us and asked to get a picture with us. He was covered in mud. Dude, was he rolling around in it or what? (laughs).  From head to toe he just looked like a mud monster.

MATT DIRITO: It looked like Woodstock.

TONY GREVE: Yeah, it did! (laughs).

AWAY-TEAM: Wonder if he just fell into it and he just said, eh, screw it I’m caked in mud. Who cares? I’ll just shower later. (laughs).

TONY GREVE: That’s cool to see the fans that are that hardcore and dedicated to just stick it out. You’re talking festivals that go from noon until ten o’clock at night or even midnight. And they’re out there the entire time.

AWAY-TEAM: For hours!

MATT DIRITO: Yeah. It’s kinda insane.

TONY GREVE: I like to call them rock and roll soldiers. Man, they’re definitely sticking it out.

AWAY-TEAM: Absolutely. For hours upon hours they muster through hot sun or cold rain. The fans are going to get the gamut with those festivals when it comes to the weather. You never know what you’re gonna have. You guys are protected on the stage, somewhat. Do you guys have side protection at all?

MATT DIRITO: Sometimes. It always seems if it’s raining it’s going to get everywhere.

TONY GREVE: Dude, the stage was soaked in Rockford, Illinois. I remember that. I walked offstage and my feet were soaked, soaked, soaked.

MATT DIRITO: Slipping and sliding.

TONY GREVE: Yeah.

MATT DIRITO: This was kinda cool. I was playing and my bass amp was vibrating on the stage around me. Puddles were vibrating. (demonstrates to my laughter). Like Jurassic Park. You could see the ripples in the water, you could see the ripples on the stage. It was sweet! YEAH! (shows rock horns).

AWAY-TEAM: (laughs).

AWAY-TEAM: The first time

I ever saw POP EVIL was at Merriweather Pavilion in August of 2009 when you guys were with Kix and Judas Priest.

TONY GREVE: In Baltimore?

AWAY-TEAM: Yeah, Baltimore kinda. It was Columbia, MD.

TONY GREVE: Is that when Kix played, that show?

AWAY-TEAM: Yeah.

TONY GREVE: Dude, that was one show wasn’t it?

MATT DIRITO: Yeah, that was the one.

TONY GREVE: (goes into singing the chorus from Don’t Close Your Eyes).  Yeah.

AWAY-TEAM: Exactly! That’s when I saw you guys for the first time. I had never heard of POP EVIL before that.

TONY GREVE: Before that show?

AWAY-TEAM: Yeah. And I’ve been following you since.

TONY GREVE: Really?

AWAY-TEAM: I was really, really impressed with you guys that day.

TONY GREVE: That is SO awesome! Thank you. (gives me the high five).

MATT DIRITO: Yeah, that’s cool. That was almost 2 years ago.

TONY GREVE: Yeah, that’s crazy.

AWAY-TEAM: And honestly, I have seen you guys grow so much in that time. You’ve solidified things, you’ve really moved forward and I am SO EXCITED for War Of Angels.

MATT DIRITO: Can’t wait for you to hear it.

AWAY-TEAM: I’ve read somewhere online that the release date is in June, not sure how true that is. However, I’m more than ready. POP EVIL is having this big announcement on Sunday at Rock On The Range, just under 70 hours or so and I’m interviewing you a few days too early. Damn! I know you can’t tell me anything.

MATT DIRITO: I don’t even know anything for sure. There’s still a bunch of stuff that is going on pertaining to the release of War Of Angels.

TONY GREVE: We’re always trying to grow and push forward, ya know.

MATT DIRITO: Yeah.  I think if we weren’t we’d be going down.

AWAY-TEAM: I can tell as a fan, you guys have definitely risen by leaps and bounds since the first time I saw you. I mean, you were good then in 2009, enough for me to take notice and for me to start following you. Getting Lipstick On The Mirror and really play it, dissect it in my iPod. I use it for my workout at the gym, too. Hero is one of my go-to tunes for my ab workout.

TONY GREVE: Nice!

AWAY-TEAM: (laughs).

TONY GREVE: I’m the kind of person that thinks like I’m never happy no matter what situation I’m in. Ever. It doesn’t matter. So unless something is constantly changing or growing or moving in one direction or another, either way, I just can’t be stagnate and still. Ya know? Some bands are just like okay with where they are at. We’ll never just be okay with where we’re at.

MATT DIRITO: It’s good to have that drive, ya know.

AWAY-TEAM: If you lose it, that drive, then things are going to change. And they are not going to change for the best either. You’ve gotta have that drive for the position you guys are in. I mean, you are really working your way up the ladder, you’ve got to keep putting your hook into things. Already I can see that.

AWAY-TEAM: I was on YouTube in the last week or so and I saw the teaser video for 10 tracks from the War Of Angels cd. I have watched that so many times. I’m trying to pick up the lyrics, pick up the riffs, pick up the hooks, pick up whatever is in there. I keep trying to really dig into it. I really want to get my hands on the cd so I can review it for www.away-team.com.  I know the beginning of May you interviewed with a guy from another publication  and I keep reviewing his interview. He already must have had War Of Angels and reviewed it. He was specifically talking about things in each track.

MATT DIRITO: We’d love to have you do a review of it.

TONY GREVE: Listen to the entire thing ahead of the release date and give us your feedback.

AWAY-TEAM: I can’t wait to hear more than what is on that video.  I know that guy asked each one of you which song you like to play live the most from War Of Angels.

TONY GREVE: Yes, yes he did.

AWAY-TEAM: Both of you said Boss’s Daughter.

TONY GREVE: It’s like a rock and roll song, ya know. It’s all about rockin’. It’s all about the party. It’s all about the Boss’s Daughter. Who doesn’t want to bang the Boss’s Daughter, right?

MATT DIRITO: Like the chick yesterday. Right? (laughs).

AWAY-TEAM: (laughs).

MATT DIRITO: You just don’t want to trip over your own feet.

TONY GREVE: Yeah.  And it’s just a heavy hitter. It’s a good rock and roll anthem.  Cool thing about it, I got to cowrite it with Mick Mars. Mick and I wrote the music to it. Guitar parts, the riffs and stuff. I went and spent the day at his house, we sat down and played guitar all day. What we came up with was the music for the riffs. The meat and potatoes for Boss’s Daughter.

MATT DIRITO: We put the lyrics to it.

AWAY-TEAM: How did that opportunity come up with Mick Mars? 

TONY GREVE: Well, at the time we both had the same publishing company. 

MATT DIRITO: He owed me money so I was like, Mick you owe me money. So let’s just hash this out… 

TONY GREVE: Let’s just do this and call it even. (laughs).  

MATT DIRITO: That’s a joke. That’s really just a joke.

TONY GREVE: That publishing company is always looking to get people together to write and see who comes up with what.  Our manager called me and said, guess what, guess who you get to work with? I said, I don’t know. Slash? He said no. But then he said Mick Mars. I said, that’s even way f’in cooler. He’s one of the most underrated guitar players, EVER!  

MATT DIRITO: He really is. He’s a great player.  

TONY GREVE: Being as f’in awesome as he is. He’s so good, it’s unreal.

AWAY-TEAM: So how long did you spend with him?

TONY GREVE: An entire day almost. Noon to midnight pretty much. He looks like he would be quiet and shy, and he’s none of that. He talks a lot and likes to tell stories. It was great, he was very talkative. You can tell he’s had his share of health stuff going on, but he was much better than I expected.  

AWAY-TEAM: That’s really cool that he worked with you on Boss’s Daugther. And I really do like that track off War Of Angels. And it’s one of my favorites off the teaser video. 

TONY GREVE: We had none of those riffs for Boss’s Daughter before we went in. We just sat down and we came up with all of it. It was way cool!

AWAY-TEAM: What other songs did he work with you on?

TONY GREVE: Just that one, that’s it.

AWAY-TEAM: Did you work with anyone else on any of the other songs?

TONY GREVE: I did not personally.

MATT DIRITO: Well, there is that song with Jack Blades.

TONY GREVE: Jack Blades, yeah.  From Night Ranger. That was more Leigh and Jack working on that. There’s a song on the album, well, maybe it will come out on this version of it or it may be a special bonus track in the future. I’m not sure. But we did a song called The Good With The Bad with Jack Blades. And that was pretty cool and he’s very awesome, too.

AWAY-TEAM: I know the big thing right now is the upcoming release of War Of Angels. I’ve read  another interview you had at the beginning of May and also listened to the radio studio stuff with Carson earlier today from 105.7, The X. And with War Of Angels, there are 10 songs on that teaser video. Is there going to actually be 12 songs total?

MATT DIRITO: We don’t know yet. That’s something we’ve got to work out.

AWAY-TEAM: I downloaded the song from POP EVIL‘S Facebook page, Save The World.  And I like that too.

MATT DIRITO: There’s another one that you can download, too. It’s an acoustic version of Monster You Made.

TONY GREVE: Yeah, yeah. Have you heard that one yet?

AWAY-TEAM: Yes!

AWAY-TEAM: POP EVIL played with Rev Theory at Ram’s Head Live in Baltimore in March of this year. And I was there covering them and I also photographed you guys as well.

TONY GREVE: Oh, awesome!

AWAY-TEAM: Your photos are on my Facebook page, my Flickr page as well as on the Away-Team page under the photos section. There is also a brief review of you guys in the show review for that night.

MATT DIRITO: Sweet!

AWAY-TEAM: And Tony, you have a lot of flying V’s.

TONY GREVE: Yeah, the Dean Guitars. I’m a Dean Guitar player. And I’m branded for life now. (shows me his Dean Guitar tattoo on his wrist).  I love the way those guitars are shaped, they’re so awesome. 

AWAY-TEAM: And Matt, you are on the Spector Bass website.  A photo of you is there.

MATT DIRITO: I am on the Spector website.

AWAY-TEAM: Matt McCloskey of Rev Theory saw my photos from that show in Baltimore in March and contacted me about 2 particular photos that he liked. He wanted permission to send them to Spector. So one of those photos is just below yours on the left hand column.

MATT DIRITO: Oh. You shot that one? That’s awesome.

AWAY-TEAM: Yeah, thanks! Do you play Dean as well as Spector?

MATT DIRITO: Yeah, I do play Dean.

AWAY-TEAM: I noticed the head stock on the white one. Is there more than one?

MATT DIRITO: Yeah. Right now I use all Deans. I think I probably used a Spector about a year ago. It was just kind of a fill in bass here and there. But right now I only used Dean.  But Spector still has me up on the website. I still talk to the guys over there. They are really cool at Spector.

AWAY-TEAM: Well, with you guys moving farther up the ladder as a band and becoming bigger and bigger, Spector wants you on that site. They want you to help promote Spector. So as long as you are okay with it, they are okay with it.

MATT DIRITO: Yeah. Anything that gets us out there, you know.

AWAY-TEAM: And Matt, you are a joy to photograph. Let me tell you.

MATT DIRITO: Oh, well, thank you!

AWAY-TEAM: It’s the hair, it’s the moves, it’s your stage presence, it’s…

TONY GREVE: He’s a joy to party with too. (winks).

AWAY-TEAM: (laughs). I wouldn’t mind doing that! (laughs).

TONY GREVE: Well, ALRIGHT!

MATT DIRITO: YEAH!

TONY GREVE: You just opened a whole new bag of worms! (gives me another high five).

Sidenote: Much laughter and off subject material happened here. Sorry. Just had to be there. I laughed so hard! Now back to the interview… (ha ha).

AWAY-TEAM: Who’s idea was it to market Last Man Standing to the NHL, the NFL, auto racing, the boxer, Mir? How did that all happen?

TONY GREVE: It was just kind of a no brainer, really, for us to pitch it to all of those guys.

MATT DIRITO: Good management.

TONY GREVE: Great management! You listen to that song and that song is a battle anthem. Going head to head, can ya handle it?

MATT DIRITO: We wanted to get it out as many ways as possible. It’s even on a video game now too. It’s on NX vs ATV, or something like that.  It’s an off road racing game. Last Man Standing, YOW!

TONY GREVE: It’s a battle anthem song that gets you pumped up. Whether you’re playing sports or MMA fighting, it’s gonna get ya!

AWAY-TEAM: I heard that song on Nascar one day and thought, I know this song.

MATT DIRITO: That’s awesome! So cool!

TONY GREVE: It’s great management too. Those guys really push us and work hard at what they do and they really care about this band. And it shows.

MATT DIRITO: They’re really good looking too!

TONY GREVE: Best looking managers out there.

AWAY-TEAM: (laughs)

MATT DIRITO: George and George, man. G and G. Get between 2 slices of George bread, ahhhh.

TONY GREVE: Make a little George bread pie.

MATT DIRITO: Yeah!

AWAY-TEAM: How often do you guys see them?

TONY GREVE: They come out quite a bit. George Jr. was just out with us a couple days ago.  Yeah, they’ll come fly out and stay a few days or a week or for however long.

MATT DIRITO: They’ll be at Rock On The Range for sure.

AWAY-TEAM: So they’re very supportive, they’re very interested in you and pushing you and taking you to new levels.

MATT DIRITO: Anytime, day or night, we can talk to them.

AWAY-TEAM: So you can call them at 2 in the morning and they’ll answer?

MATT DIRITO: Yeah, I can call them right now. We can drunk dial them later, ha ha!

TONY GREVE: Oh my gosh, YEAH!

AWAY-TEAM: (laughs hysterically).  How often do you do that?

MATT DIRITO: Every once in a while. Maybe you don’t want to put that in the interview. Sorry George! (waving). He’ll just tell us to go focus on the next hit. And ask me when I’m gonna give him the next hit.

TONY GREVE: Please don’t show him this. (laughs).

Sidenote: I’ll stop at the boys request. However, they did share interesting tidbits.

AWAY-TEAM: Talking about how great G & G is, I know that you can’t say a lot about Universal but what can you tell me? How bad did they “f” you over? Because you’re going with a new label now for reasons.

TONY GREVE: I almost want to wait to answer that comment. Wait until everything is complete.

MATT DIRITO: Until we make the announcement. The new label is not going to “f” us over. We’re going to keep doing what we do not matter what.

TONY GREVE: That’s true.

MATT DIRITO: But I’m pissed that it ended up affecting the fans with the release date of the new album and everything. That’s what makes me mad. It’s everywhere we go, it’s every night, everyone’s asking us when the album is going to be released.  And I have to say I’m sorry. They sometimes get mad at us.

TONY GREVE: They just don’t realize.

MATT DIRITO: I’m on their side, too. I’m angry that it’s not out.

TONY GREVE: We want it out, too.

AWAY-TEAM: From a marketing standpoint I think it’s helping you in a way for the fact that they know it’s not you, but yet you’re playing stuff from it live, it’s bringing the fans out more to your live shows than maybe they had been. I don’t know. It’s hard to tell with different fans and different reasons those fans may or may not have. I think it’s helping you. It’s building momentum, it’s really creating…

TONY GREVE: You think so?

AWAY-TEAM: Me, I’m salivating for it. I CAN NOT WAIT!

TONY GREVE: I think it is, as long as you don’t wait too long. There comes a point where you build the hype and momentum but if you don’t put something behind it, the momentum will die.

MATT DIRITO: You can’t have too much space in between.

TONY GREVE: It’s gotta come out.

AWAY-TEAM: It was supposed to be released in February, correct? And Last Man Standing was released as a single last fall.

TONY GREVE: Yeah.

AWAY-TEAM: So we are 3 months, almost 4 months past that original date. Sometime in June?

MATT DIRITO: Before the end of summer it will be out. Yeah.

AWAY-TEAM:  I cannot wait.

TONY GREVE: Us either. We’re ready to get this thing out and be able to tour on it, and play on it. And have everyone know the songs and sing them back to us.

 

AWAY-TEAM: Since you are playing the songs now, what is the percentage of songs from Lipstick On The Mirror to War Of Angels is there?

MATT DIRITO: It’s 50-50 pretty much. As far as the set goes.

AWAY-TEAM: So it looks like you are doing 12 songs tonight for the set. That’s awesome.

TONY GREVE: It will be a good show.

MATT DIRITO: Yeah, I’m going to be exhausted. (laughs).  It’s been awhile since we’ve done a set that long.

TONY GREVE: Yeah, we’ve been doing these tours with Drowning Pool, Papa Roach and we’re only used to doing 6 songs in the set during those tours.

MATT DIRITO: It’s no longer than 30 minutes for the set.

AWAY-TEAM: You just get warmed up… and you’re done.

TONY GREVE: Yeah pretty much.

AWAY-TEAM: You’re really into it, you’re hitting your groove. And you’re done!

TONY GREVE: This one is going to wipe us out tonight! (laughs).

MATT DIRITO: It’s kinda like when I have sex. You just get into it and, bam, it’s done.  It’s over before you know it.

AWAY-TEAM: So the new label you guys are with, they are more inline with where you want to go as a band? With your goals?

TONY GREVE: There going to stand behind us.

MATT DIRITO: We think so. Their already doing good stuff for us. Just showing interest in how we present ourselves and stuff like that. It’s cool. The entire time we were with Universal I had no contact information for anybody even at the label. If I wanted to go talk to someone, like an AR rep or anyone who represents us from publishing to marketing, I didn’t know who to talk to.

AWAY-TEAM: Totally disconnected. Unreachable.

MATT DIRITO: I didn’t have any emails. Nothing from nobody. The only people’s names I know are the presidents of the label. They were the only ones we met really. Well, we kinda met everybody once but I wouldn’t have known who to talk to. These guys from the new label are already showing interest in being hands on with us. We’ll be able to tell you more in year or so.

AWAY-TEAM: After you’ve been through the honeymoon period with them.  Everything gets worked out. You get used to them, they get used to you.

MATT DIRITO: Yeah. We never got a honeymoon period with Universal. They kinda f’d us in the ass and left us on the curb.

TONY GREVE: (laughs). That’s a great analogy! Awesome dude! That’s true though.

MATT DIRITO: There was no wining and dining, bro.

TONY GREVE: No phone call, no nothing.

MATT DIRITO: Not even a damn reach around.

TONY GREVE: They didn’t even have the common courtesy to give that guy a f’in reach around. (laughs).

MATT DIRITO: What the f*^#!

AWAY-TEAM: So how long have you been working with G & G then?

TONY GREVE: We met them before Universal.

AWAY-TEAM: So they’ve been with you through thick and thin.

MATT DIRITO: Yeah. All the success that we’ve had up to this point it due to George.

TONY GREVE: All credited to them. Universal never got us one radio ad. Never one radio play. Nothing. It’s been George, he’s done everything.

MATT DIRITO: After all this time, people at Universal didn’t even know we were signed to their label. So the people that were supposed to be working us to the radio didn’t even know we were signed to the label.

AWAY-TEAM: That’s messed up. So it’s very good that the band has moved on to a different, and better, label. It sounds like they are going to take you where you need to go just from what they’ve already started to show to you guys. Along with G & G. And are the new label and G & G married together to making POP EVIL what it needs to be in the future?

TONY GREVE: G & G are in the thick of it.

MATT DIRITO: They’re in the trenches taking grenades right now.

TONY GREVE: Yeah, they are.

AWAY-TEAM: As a fan, I really want to see you guys rise to the level of Motley Crue, Poison, Guns & Roses.  I really want to see POP EVIL do arenas. On your own, headling. Not opening for anyone.

TONY GREVE: We’re trying.

MATT DIRITO: That would be bad ass!

TONY GREVE: Maybe some day. Right? We’ll just keep pushing this f’in train forward.

AWAY-TEAM: So, the order of the tracks from War Of Angels, do they have a progression of a story or are you trying to say something with the way they flow?

MATT DIRITO: We tried to set it up that way. I think the goal was to really do sort of a theme album. And I think we are close to it. That’s just my opinion.  So when I think of theme albums I think of Pink Floyd, The Wall.

TONY GREVE: Or Dark Side Of The Moon.

MATT DIRITO: It literally tells a story, from start to finish. It’s like you can see a movie happening in your head. I don’t think ours is that crystal clear but it really does show a lot of what we’ve been through in the past few years as far as the transition from doing this part time, having day jobs, to where we are at now. Getting used to touring and being on the road. And how people respond to you and react to you.  Dealing with management and other bands, just everything that comes along with it. So I really do think it tells the story of all that and we did try to put it in order that way. It is interrupted in a few spots with a song that might be about getting a broken heart, somewhere in the middle of that. Sorta like you wouldn’t really know how it relates to us unless you sat down with us and went through it song by song, I guess.

AWAY-TEAM: Which one is the broken heart song? I don’t want to guess and be wrong.

MATT DIRITO: You can guess. That’s actually what’s cool about it. A lot of these songs can be taken in so many different ways. Like our next single, Monster You Made, to us, and to me personally, is a song about how our skin has become thick by being on the road, working with the record labels, and how the industry is. And about how it’s a horrible time to try and be breaking into this industry. It’s kinda changed us. I think people always change. If you’re not changing you’re not growing and becoming better. If you’re just staying the same, it’s just not good.

AWAY-TEAM: Did POP EVIL pull for these songs on War Of Angels, any influences

you may have from bands of the 80’s? It seems to me like a lot of flavor there from 80’s bands.

TONY GREVE: One of the coolest things is that, for me, music that has influenced me from the 80’s have been Slash, and many of those guitar players. I’m really not influenced by anything modern so the way I play would naturally come off that way. Slash and Dimebag…

MATT DIRITO: YEAH! Tony and I kinda grew up on that music. We grew up on Queen.

TONY GREVE: Yeah, Queen, Zak Wilde, Randy Rhoads and others. That stuff just has rock and roll heart and soul.

MATT DIRITO: Tony and I are the youngest guys in the band but we’re probably the most 80’s influenced.

TONY GREVE: Kinda funny how that works out.  We are pretty much the same age.

MATT DIRITO: We’re twins, separated by 3 minutes or so.

TONY GREVE: Yeah. Three minutes apart.

AWAY-TEAM: (laughs). So, ha ha, if you are ‘twins’, how much do you find yourselves being alike and thinking alike?

TONY GREVE: I just look at him and I already know what he’s thinking.

AWAY-TEAM: You’ve been together that long that you can do it?

TONY GREVE: I can just tell by his face and be like… Yeah, me too!

MATT DIRITO: Oh yeah!

TONY GREVE: We don’t even have to discuss what it is. I just say, yeah, I feel the same way.

MATT DIRITO: It’s true, that actually does happen. It really is true.

 

AWAY-TEAM: Is there anything else you guys want to tell the fans, tell me. Anything else you want to be know about this tour and War Of Angels?

TONY GREVE: Yeah. We want to thank the fans for everything, ya know. We really appreciate everything they’ve done and been through with us and for supporting us. We always, always want to thank the fans.  Without them there is no band, no show. None of this even matters without them. We wouldn’t even be having this interview right now.

AWAY-TEAM: You are so right.

TONY GREVE: So thank them, God bless them for everything. For this opportunity to do this. To be able to write and perform this music that we love so much. And sharing it with all of them means everything to us.

AWAY-TEAM: With War Of Angels, I really think POP EVIL is going to hit gold with this. It is so awesome from what I’ve heard so far.

TONY GREVE: I just want to move the fans. From in here (clutching chest). Ya know.

AWAY-TEAM: Like you said, it talks to everyone differently. Everyone has a different situation. But yet everyone can relate to the songs in their own special way. One song, different meanings to everyone.

TONY GREVE: Yeah, exactly. That’s what is so cool about it.

MATT DIRITO: It’s like my favorite albums that I listen to. If they get too specific on something it’s like you can’t always relate to it. But the songs that really hit home are the ones that are open to where you can apply it to your own life. They may have not be written like that but it’s how they are used. It’s how the meanings are taken from it.

AWAY-TEAM: Tony, you started Purple, right?

TONY GREVE: Yeah. It started with a friend of mine. We both got matching flower tattoos on our shoulders that are purple so I started writing it about that. Then Leigh took it to a whole new level with a new mindset, new mindframe.

AWAY-TEAM: And all of you contribute to every song?

MATT DIRITO: Not all the time. Sometimes it might be more Tony, sometimes more me.

TONY GREVE: It’s always different.

AWAY-TEAM: But everyone is comfortable where everyone else is with sharing of things.

MATT DIRITO: Yeah, we work on it.

TONY GREVE: It has to come to an agreement at the end of it.

MATT DIRITO: We all just want to have the best songs for our band and to move it forward with that.  So it’s not really an issue.

AWAY-TEAM: Well guys. I think that is about it. I want to thank you for your time tonight. Away-Team is grateful for this opportunity to speak with you both. And I look forward to see you again soon in the near future.

TONY GREVE: Yeah, Marcy, it’s been fun. A blast!

MATT DIRITO: Sure. We’re glad you were here.

 

 

Check out all that is going on with POP EVIL at their site: http://www.popevil.com

Also check these sites:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/popevil

Myspace: www.myspace.com/popevil

And for really cool stuff: www.evil-nation.com

YouTube videos you should check out:

                For War Of Angels  Last Man Standing: http://youtu.be/4YB6H5q_gyU

                Teaser Video for War Of Angels: http://youtu.be/2Ptq4jMH5OM

                For Lipstick On The Mirror  100 in a 55: http://youtu.be/DcfmwfY2GOE

Take it from me, you MUST go see these guys if you haven’t already. If you have seen them, you MUST see them again. They just keep getting better and better. And on June 28 be sure to get your own copy of War Of Angels through your favorite retailer or on Amazon or iTunes. This new album will kick your ass!

Special thanks to Tony Greve and Matt DiRito for taking the time to speak with me, and to George Cappellini at G & G Entertainment and Chris Iteen, Tour Manager, for helping to make it happen. It was a great pleasure and a thrill to do this interview.

JUDAS PRIEST announced during a press conference in Los Angeles, California their North American Epitaph Tour dates with support from THIN LIZZY and BLACK LABEL SOCIETY.

JUDAS PRIEST NORTH AMERICAN EPITAPH TOUR dates:
Oct. 12 – San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center
Oct. 14 – Corpus Christi, TX – Concrete Street Ampitheater
Oct. 15 – Houston, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Oct. 16 – Allen, TX – Allen Event Center
Oct. 18 – Tucson, AZ – Ava Ampitheater
Oct. 19 – San Diego, CA – Cricket Wireless Ampitheater
Oct. 21 – Phoenix, AZ – AZ State Fair
Oct. 22 – San Bernardino, CA – San Manuel Ampitheater
Oct. 23 – Las Vegas, NV – Hard Rock
Oct. 25 – Los Angeles, CA – Gibson Ampitheater
Oct. 26 – Oakland, CA – Oracle Arena
Oct. 29 – Seattle, WA – WaMu Theater
Oct. 30 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
Nov. 01 – Edmonton, AB – Shaw Conference Center
Nov. 02 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome
Nov. 04 – Salt Lake City, UT – Maverik Center
Nov. 05 – Denver, CO – 1st Bank Center
Nov. 12 – Chicago, IL – The Venue At Horeshoe Casino
Nov. 13 – Detroit, MI – Joe Louis Arena
Nov. 18 – East Rutherford, NJ – Izod Center

There will be additional tour dates forthcoming taking tour into December 2011.









For more JUDAS PRIEST click here.

FROM JUDASPRIEST.com:

It is with regret that Judas Priest announce that K.K. Downing has formally retired from the band and will therefore not be joining them on their forthcoming tour. The band respect his decision and naturally wish him well.

Having thought long and hard about how to proceed, singer Rob Halford, guitarist Glenn Tipton, bassist Ian Hill and drummer Scott Travis unanimously agreed that they should go ahead with the tour and not let fans around the world down.

Fate also stepped in and delivered the perfect replacement – 31 year-old British guitar player Richie Faulkner – he has blended into the band perfectly and is a great talent who is going to set the stage on fire, according to a press release.

The Epitaph Tour will include songs from every Priest studio album and also tracks that they have never before performed on stage plus all the old favourites.

With a new album due to be released next year, the ‘METAL GODS‘ are preparing to tour the planet once more. Heavy metal at it’s best complete with lasers, lights, bikes and hellfire! It’s a show not too be missed!









For more JUDAS PRIEST click here.

STRYPER
The Covering
Big 3 Records
0 out of 10



Ok, who here had The Yellow And Black Attack? Raise yer hand! Right.
Who here had Soldiers Under Command? RAISE YER DAMNED HAND! Right, thought so.
Who here had To Hell With The Devil? Raise yer hand, yeah you, there, right there. Raise your hand, you know you had that cassette jamming in your Pinto on the way to high school in 85. Don’t lie to me.
Now, who has any album after that by Stryper? Me neither.

25 years later and the bumble bees are back buzzing around with a new album. Only this time it is covers of their influences, the songs and bands that made them want to be musicians. The list of bands they are covering on the album is great. You’ve got Ozzy, Sweet, Black Sabbath, Scorpions, UFO, Kansas, Kiss, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Deep Purple, Van Halen, and Led Zeppelin. Sounds like a pretty badass CD doesn’t it?

Well it’s pretty bad alright. Don’t believe me? Here is Away Team‘s very own Bam Bam’s two word review of The Covering right here.

Musically there are some decent points to the disc. I mean, as soon as the song starts you can name every song they are playing. So, there’s that. That should almost be worth a point on the 1 to 10 scale right? Ok, so we’ll give them 1 point for being able to recognize the songs they are playing.

And of course the song list is great. Lights Out, Immigrant Song, Breaking The Law, The Trooper, Over The Mountain, Heaven And Hell, Carry On, Highway Star, Set Me Free, Shout It Out Loud, Blackout, and On Fire. I mean, I truly don’t think I’ve seen a better cover album song list than this on one album. So there’s a point for that. Now we’re at 2 out of 10.

The dude on the cover of the album looks like Chris Jericho the wrestler to me, so if you’re into wrestling you might give them a point for that. Now it’s 3 out of 10.

Then Michael Sweet begins to sing. Not that the guy has a bad voice, I mean he’s no Joey Belladonna and that is a point IN his favor, so we’ll give them a point on this CD just because he CAN sing better than Joey Belladonna. Here’s to 4 out of 10. Damn, they’re almost batting .500!

Oh, wait, Michael is still singing. Wow. Ok, I am TRYING to be fair here. His vocals on Set Me Free aren’t THAT bad. I’ll say that. So, in starting off the album it is OK. Of course starting off an album at just OK is not a good place to start. You better go up real quick, because you don’t have far to fall into the ‘this stinks like 10 pounds of hot steaming dog shit’ pile of no return.

The opening riff to the Scorpion’s Blackout kicks in, and you’re like, ok… Let’s get this going. Hey, Michael Sweet doesn’t sound too far off from the Scorpion’s Klaus Meine here. I’ll be damned. Oh wait, there’s the Michael Sweet Stryper Scream… Oh wait, just fucked the whole song, and now his inflection is more Stryper than Scorpions. Lost me there boys.

Heaven And Hell is next. I mean… It’s HEAVEN AND HELL for fuck’s sake! How can you butcher this? Dio, Tony, it may very well be the ultimate old school metal song. And these holier than thou jesus freaks are singing it? I was personally offended when Michael Sweet said that Stryper could have written Heaven And Hell themselves and YOU SHOULD BE OFFENDED TOO because he said that. I’m calling Bullshit! If you could have written something as epic as Heaven And Hell you’d have had a longer career than three years of semi-relevance. And the chorus of ‘ahhhhhh’ during the breakdown????? This isn’t church camp, this is Black Sabbath motherfuckers. How do you remove the balls from one of the most badass songs of all time? HERECY!!!!!!

UFO’s Light Out. Skip it. I can’t deal anymore. Again, I’ll say FOR THE MOST PART, the music isn’t bad. But fuck his voice is so unique, and so pussified that it has no balls to it. And every chance he has to pull this off, he just completely fucks it up. Maybe this should be an instrumental cover album!!!! Yeah, then it would only suck half as bad. Hell, I’d probably rate it a solid 5 then.

The weak ass drum intro into Carry On. What the fuck is that? There’s no balls in the drums either? WTF?????? Skip.

Everyone has their breaking point when it comes to savagely raping the legacy of metal. Stryper covering Deep Purple’s Highway Star is it for me. And we haven’t even gotten to Judas Priest or Iron Maiden yet. Fuck you Stryper for even THINKING about doing this album. Skip.

I don’t think I can continue. Really… My blood pressure can’t take this; my ears can’t handle the blasphemy coming from the speakers, my co-workers are yelling at me to stop killing the litter of cats in my cubicle already. Must. Finish. Worst. Album. Ever.

Shout It Out Loud. Starts out as pussy as the original does. Does that make it bad? No, but at least they can’t fuck up such simpleton songwriting as KISS. If this was maybe the second or third song on the disc, I could probably have handled it, but as we are on the seventh song of this musical abortion, I can’t take anymore, I am up to my limit in shit, so…. Moving on…..

Over The Mountain. Holy Fuck Randy Rhoads just died again. I can’t play guitar that well and I can play the opening riff better than Oz Foxx. Skip.

The Trooper. Stupid fucks, if you are going to take songs like Over The Mountain (Randy Rhoads), Highway Star (Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord), The Trooper (Steve Harris), that have such a distinct musical sound and style, you best be able to reproduce the opening riff, the organ solo, the bass line (respectively) of those songs, or fuck off and JUST DON’T DO THEM. And never mind the shit fucked guitar solo in The Trooper, come up with your own (not). Skip.

Nobody should cover Judas Priest. Period. Skip

Van Halen. Really? You try to tackle the intricacies of Ritchie Blackmore, Tony Iommi, Randy Rhoads, AND Eddie Van Halen? Who do you think you are, Oz Foxx? Oh, wait… skip.

Do I even have to say anything about Stryper trying to cover Led Zeppelin? Really? Are you going to make me listen to this? FUCK YOU. and fuck Stryper.

And no, I’m not going to listen to their new song called ‘God’. Fuck that. You don’t get to do that to me after aurally sodomizing me for the last 30 minutes.

So, we got the album up to 4 out of 10 before Michael sang, so now where are we? Someone owes me for my therapy bills now!
DO NOT PICK THIS UP, you’ll thank me later.