“I can’t think of one show that I ever played with that band where we walked offstage and said, ‘That was great.’ Never one. Only two times did I get any reassurance from Kurt. Once when I joined the band, in 1990, we were drunk at some disco in England, and Kurt came up and said, ‘I’m so glad you’re in this band. I’m so glad you’re down-to-earth.’ I was like, ‘Wow!’ The next time was in late ’93 or early ’94 when I came home and turned on my message machine and had a message from Kurt that said, ‘Y’know, I was just sitting here listening to ‘In Utero’, and your drumming is so awesome. You did such a great job!’ I was like, ‘Wow!’ Those two things were spread out by about four years.”
— Dave Grohl looking back on his days in Nirvana with Rolling Stone.
Who could have imagined Dave Grohl would one day become a pillar in the rock community? Foo Fighters just turned 10 and is still going strong … and Grohl has done good stuff with Probot, Queens of the Stone Age and Nine Inch Nails. If you ever doubt his musical prowess, throw on the first Foo Fighters disc — he did it all himself (except for a guest guitarist on one track). Still one of the best disc’s of the 90s …
This week’s most listened to CDs by yours truly were Brand New Sin’s “Recipe for Disaster” and New Dead Radio’s “Avalon Bridge Will Burn” (reviews forthcoming).
Last week I mentioned I hadn’t had a lot of time to check out the Brand New Sin disc. Well, I finally got through it all … again and again. Man, “Recipe…” is a good, straight-up, rocking metal disc. There’s something about it that just reminds me of being a kid, prior to all this “leaked” music, when you’d pick up an album without knowing anything about the band and just be blown away. It doesn’t sound old-school, but it has an old-school feel.
I don’t get that “feeling” enough nowadays from music, so for that I am very appreciative. (That’s not to say music today isn’t good, just that I’ve usually heard enough before I picked it up that I’m not surprised.) Brand New Sin surprised me, so “Recipe for Disaster” is my pick for album of the week. The disc sounds like a mix of old Black Sabbath, Black Label Society and maybe something like Damageplan. Check it out!
Before we get to the news today, allow me to editorialize …
A couple of month’s ago, when Wicked Wisdom was announced for the final slot for Ozzfest 2005, fans seemed up in arms. Some vanity act fronted by Will Smith’s wife? How dare they!
Sharon Osbourne defended the decision to Billboard.com: “I wasn’t sure what to expect when I went to see Wicked Wisdom play last April in a tiny (Los Angeles) club at midnight. But let me tell you, I was blown away. When you see and hear Jada (Pinkett Smith) with her band it’s apparent that she has nothing but love and respect for this genre of music. I totally respect that the band wants to pay their dues playing the second stage on Ozzfest.”
Hmmm. A band that opened for Britney Spears is looking to pay dues at Ozzfest?
And while media outlets such as MTV have described the band as “an Evanescence-esque act,” what little I’ve heard has sounded more like the pop-rock delivered by the likes of Avril Lavigne or Kelly Clarkson with a little more edge.
So, now Ozzfest is underway and every review I’ve read of the first three shows has said the band has had to endure constant heckling and booing throughout its set.
From MTV.com: … One of this year’s most anticipated (if for all the wrong reasons) bands was welcomed onto the stage by tour manager ‘Big Dave’ Moscato: Wicked Wisdom, the aggressive new metal target fronted by black-garbed Jada Pinkett Smith. The ‘Woo’ star was greeted with relentless booing and ‘f— you’s from a furious sea of extended middle fingers as her five-piece band launched into ‘Fakeness’, a Kittie-like tune that featured an almost spoken-word delivery from the headbanging Jada, spattered with unintelligible barks and growls.
“‘You think I don’t know, don’t you?’ she asked the crowd. ‘But I do.’ Pinkett Smith laughed off the ‘you suck’ chants and the concertgoers ridiculing her with grossly exaggerated moshing and neck-snapping headbangs through Wicked Wisdom’s entire 20-minute set … Screaming ‘Go Red Sox!’ would have been Jada’s best option for scoring applause.
So I applaud the band for sticking it out, but I don’t foresee it ever getting accepted on the tour. I’m just wondering how long this will last before this experiment comes to an end. Do you really think Wicked Wisdom will last the whole tour? I think not.
On a personal note: I ended up missing the Ozzfest this year. It was to be my last venture to the event. I figured it’d be cool to see the 10th anniversary show; I’d gone to opening day last year. Anyway, this was the first time in seven or eight years that I didn’t get to go … but life moves on.
..:..Boston Globe crosses Osbourne..:.. This one isn’t typical of the type of news I pass along in the column: it seems the Boston Globe ignored a ban of Ozzy Osbourne Ozzfest performance photos (something his wife, Sharon, set up). After the Herald published a picture last year, Sharon called the editorial director to complain — he reportedly hung up on her. According to Blabbermouth.com, “Ozzfest publicist Shazila Mohammed said the Herald wasn’t given photo access this year but still sneaked a shot of Ozzy into its Saturday paper. The paper’s managing editor said “No one is going to tell us what pictures we’re going to put in the paper.” He also revealed that Clear Channel pulled the paper’s remaining Tweeter Center summer review tickets. Every angle of this is weird. I can understand the idea of Sharon wanting to “protect” the “image” of Osbourne (related to his body tremors), yet she had no problem with season upon season of MTV’s “The Osbournes.” If she really did have a ban in place, I can’t understand the Boston Globe intentionally breaking it. Yet how could you run a review of the show without a photo of the main attraction? This really boils down to someone wanting publicity, but attempting to control said publicity. The Globe called their bluff and are now paying the price. Maybe I only find this really interesting since I’m in the business. Moving on …
..:..Ozzfest picks up a Pool..:.. Drowning Pool will make a one-off appearance at this year’s Ozzfest. The Main Stage performance in the band’s hometown, Dallas, Texas, on Aug. 25 will be the group’s debut live appearance with its new singer, whose identity has yet to be revealed. While initial rumors pegged former Damageplan vocalist Pat Lachman as the new voice, talk has now moved to former Soil front man Ryan McCombs. Well, Lachman’s out of the running since he has a new project. I think McCombs would be an awesome fit, he’s got a good look and a sick voice. Plus, he’s not a total unknown. I don’t think the band will be able to keep it a secret up to the event but either way we’ll know in a few weeks. Stay tuned …
..:..Remains bassist hooks up with CKY..:.. Matt Deis, former bassist for All That Remains, has been named the official touring bassist for CKY. Deis made his live debut with the group on Monday at a surprise/rehearsal show in West Hollywood, California. CKY’s first major North American tour in two years will kick off Aug. 8. I saw the group open up for Guns N’ Roses on the “Chinese Democracy” tour. Good stuff! The band’s latest album, “An Answer Can Be Found,” is out now.
..:..Fear Factory fans needed for new book..:.. Fear Factory is putting together a (photo) book documenting the band’s 2004 tours in support of “Archetype” along with this summer’s “Gigantour.” The band is looking to fans to share their favorite stories about how Fear Factory influenced the music scene in general and the fans in particular. “Just write up something no shorter than half a page and no longer than a full page and e-mail it as an attachment in MS Word format to fearfactory@SeventhFrame.com with the subject heading “Fan Input.” Make sure to include your name, email address, age and location. I’m not usually one for books like that and most probably wouldn’t buy it, but even I have a little urge to send something out. Fear Factory has always been pretty fan-interactive so this book comes as no surprise.
..:..Sneak peeks..:.. Roadrunner Records is previewing Opeth’s new album, “Ghost Reveries,” here; want to check out new Fear Factory material before “Transgression” hits shelves?; “Stricken,” the first single off Disturbed’s next album, “Ten Thousand Fists,” can be heard here.
Obituary: “Frozen in Time” … a comeback from the death metal icons…
New Dead Radio: “Avalon Bridge Will Burn” … a cross between older Amen and Static X (?) but less catchy …
Soilent Green: “Confrontation” … the usual extreme metal…
A Perfect Murder: “Strength Through Vengeance” … a metal band from Canada embracing old-school influences …
Arch Enemy: “Doomsday Machine” … female-fronted metal maniacs back with a vengence …
Nevermore: “This Godless Endeavor” … progressive metal band’s sixth outing, a great band crafting epic-sounding metal tracks …
Here’s a little mix I put together featuring bands on tour with this year’s Ozzfest. I wanted to spotlight a band to try and turn readers on to music they might not be aware of. Check one, some or all of them out … who knows, you might discover something you like or remember something you used to …
Bury Your Dead– “Magnolia” (off “Cover Your Tracks” )
The Black Dahlia Murder — “Miasma” (off “A Vulgar Picture” )
Soilwork — “Distance” (off “Stabbing the Drama” )
Arch Enemy — “We Will Rise” (off “Anthems of Rebellion” )
The Haunted — “99” (off “rEVOLVEr” )
As I Lay Dying — “Empty Hearts” (off “Shadows Are Security” )
Mastodon — “Iron Tusk” (off “Leviathan” )
Trivium — “End of Everything” (off “Ascendancy” )
Killswitch Engage — “When Darkness Falls” (off “The End of Heartache” )
Rob Zombie — “Spookshow Baby” (off “Hellbilly Deluxe” )
Trust me … that doesn’t even scratch the surface …
Rolling Stone did a great job with the piece on Dave Grohl. The story is chock-full of information as Grohl touches on a bunch of good topics.
Here’s a good quote talking about the time right after Cobain returned from Rome following the overdose.
“When he came home, I talked to him on the phone. We tried to avoid the subject — we were talking about buying minibikes or something, and I told him, “Look, man, I was really scared.” He said, “I know. I’m really sorry. It was just an accident.” I was trying to reach out to him and tell him that I really cared about him, but it wasn’t enough. The time leading up to his death was really strange. He disappeared. He just seemed like he wanted to get away. He bailed. I honestly did not think he was going to kill himself. I just thought he was on someone’s floor in Olympia, listening to albums.”
A very good read. Check out the whole interview here. Grohl covers everything from starting out in the business to his time in Nirvana to his work with Foo Fighters and his family life.
And that’s that. As always, drop me a line. Until next time, I’ll be here at Inside Pulse making sure no metal news falls through the cracks.
Take it easy…
