“I like what I like: Led Zeppelin, The Who, Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd. So when I see new bands on MTV if I’m flipping through the channels, they look like they’re all cut from the same cookie, and again derogatory. I’m sure there’s a lot of good bands out there but I’m not really interested in keeping up with them. That’s more of a young mans game. I’m not twenty years old anymore, what do I care about MTV?”
— Ratt front man Jizzy Pearl talking to Inside_Out666 about the current state of music.
Really, what does anyone care about MTV. FYI: for those not in the know, Pearl also fronted the very cool rock outfit Love/Hate.
This week’s most listened to CDs by yours truly were “The Devil’s Rejects” soundtrack, Mitch Hedberg’s “Strategic Grill Locations” (RIP) and New Dead Radio’s “Avalon Bridge Will Burn.”
It’s not news that Drowning Pool lost its latest lead singer, Jason “Gong” Jones, who left the band in June. The rumor going around is that the band has tapped former Soil front man, Ryan McCombs, to fill the slot. No official announcement has been made by the band, however Drowning Pool plans on debuting its new lineup during a one-off Ozzfest performance in the band’s hometown show in August.
Yet, while fans and the general public wait for an official announcement, one of McCombs former band-mates has already started the mudslinging.
In a posting on Soil’s official forum a couple of days ago, bassist Tim King “slammed” McCombs for joining Drowning Pool after allegedly deeming the songs on the band’s first album “average.”
“It is 100 percent true Ryan is in Drowning Pool … he lied to you (the fans) that he was leaving Soil to be with his family and be a proper father to his kids.
King rants on with a laundry list of grievances that include McCombs didn’t buy “Sinner” (the first Drowning Pool album) until Drowning Pool’s original lead singer, Dave Williams, dies; McCombs thought “Sinner” was average; McCombs only hung out with Williams 48 hours before he died; “Dave BEGGED Ryan to sing ‘Bodies’ and come out of his slumber in the back lounge of our bus to hang with him and Ryan never did until it was nearly too late.”
A day later King posted again stated he stood by his statements and reiterates McCombs has no right to join a band when he said Williams shoes were too big to fill.
Well, this whole thing sounds like sour grapes and melodrama (to, I assume, boost interest in the next Soil album or something along those lines). I don’t really care what McCombs thought of the band or why he quit Soil in the first place. He quit for whatever reason (maybe to get away from King) and ultimately decided he’d rather do the Drowning Pool thing. I know his voice; I think he’ll mesh well with Drowning Pool if he actually is the guy the band picked. Judging his work with Soil, I’d imagine he’d be a welcome addition to the band.
Drowning Pool has remained tight-lipped.
Well, enough drama… any other news out there?
..:..Enemy in hell..:.. Even though Arch Enemy has had to endure unusually high temperatures during the first few dates of Ozzfest, the band’s front woman Angela Gossow seems to be enjoying herself. In a posting on the band’s official Web site, Gossow said the temperature at the New Jersey date was over 110 degrees. “This is purgatory fire. We are actually happy to play the early (slightly less hot) slots, last show we were on at 9:20 a.m., today it was 9:40 a.m. … It is amazing to see a moshpit at this early time in the morning! Strange, but wonderful! Thanks to everybody who was there rocking out with us! It’s quite terrifying though to watch all these kids getting pulled out of the crowd by noon, burnt by the sun, basically fainting. … Let’s pray for the northern cold winds and some shadow to come…” It’s hard to have a good time when it gets that hot. A couple of years ago I was having a similar problem at an Ozzfest in Connecticut. Luckily the venue had mist tents set up. And 90 percent of the crowd is wearing black: the price paid for being a metal fan.
..:..Cannibal on technology..:.. Cannibal Corpse’s Alex Webster recently sat down with Wormwood Chronicles and offered his opinions of technology’s effect on the music industry. “It’s another part of how technology is changing the way things are done. I don’t think it really affects a band like us very much, because we don’t sell a lot to begin with. Most of our fans will usually get our stuff anyway, because they like the artwork. … I think in the long run it might make it more difficult for people spending a lot of money to make a record, but on the same token when you have the computer programs like ProTools that make it less expensive to make albums, it might not actually be an issue. Record sales will probably drop if people have the option to get things for free. I mean, everybody downloads things, if they can get them, more copies of albums from their friends, you know? It’s just what you do. I did it when I was young, I copied tapes. My friend had an album, I’d make a tape of it, if I didn’t have the money. So I don’t expect anyone to not do that now, when it’s such an easy option – why not do it, you know? At the same time like I was saying though, the cost of making an album has gone down, because of technology. So even if you’re selling less records, if it costs you less money to make an album, it can kind of even out, I think. … Nowadays you can go to a web site if you hear about a band, and listen to a free download or whatever, and make a decision on if it’s something you want to buy. It hasn’t been the negative effect that people think it is. We do better business now, not sales wise, but for tours and stuff. Everything has been better over the last 3-4 years, which is when the whole downloading thing took off. So it hasn’t hurt us.” I’ve had a similar opinion for a while now. I don’t actually download anything unless it’s something that I wouldn’t be able to buy. But all this talk about downloading hurting the industry is bogus. Only when the industry turns the critical eye towards itself will things truly make a turnaround. It’s nice to hear something like this from Cannibal Corpse, too. Usually it’s Lars Ulrich or someone else in the “big time” talking about how downloading doesn’t hurt them, only the smaller bands. Well, Cannibal Corpse is a small band — big for what its does, but small nonetheless.
..:..Review outlooks..:.. Blistering recently caught up with Nevermore vocalist Warrel Dane to discuss everything from the new album to problems with the last disc. “I haven’t read a bad review yet either. And you know what, I’m fully convinced that the one bad review we will get will come from here in Seattle. We always get bad reviews here in our hometown because the one newspaper here (The Seattle Times) will review it, and they’re really against metal. I remember when they reviewed ‘Dead Heart, In A Dead World’, and they equated that album to eating a really bad cheeseburger late at night when you’re super drunk. What they meant by that was that it tastes really good at the time, but in the morning when you wake up, it’s only then that you realize the horrible mistake you’ve made. That was basically the review for that album!” I loved the “Dead Heart…” disc. Check out the whole interview, there’s some great stuff in there about picking an opening track.
..:..Staind on Ozzfest?..:.. Staind guitarist Mike Mushok told Launch Radio Networks that Staind’s “diverse sound” probably wouldn’t go over on Ozzfest. “I think we’d get destroyed on Ozzfest. Like, the last two years of Ozzfest has been metal. Honestly, we could go out there and play an hour’s worth of real heavy stuff, but I think that there’s a perception with the band that that’s not what we are, because our success has come from more of the slower, melodic type of tunes, even though there is an aggressive side to what we do.” It’s actually really weird because Staind started out as a heavy band that used a little soft stuff now and then; now it’s pretty much 50/50. The band can tear it up if need be, but I have a feeling that’s not what the guys in the band are interested in doing anymore.
..:..My Wicked follow-up..:.. Wicked Wisdom front woman Jada Pinkett Smith recently spoke with Billboard.com about the band’s spot on this year’s Ozzfest: “It’s like, of course it would seem really bizarre and awkward and just completely out of line and out of place, so people come in with preconceived ideas because unfortunately we’re all taught to think so limitedly. Even myself, even when I got the invite, I wasn’t jumping at the opportunity to do Ozzfest. I had to really open my mind, and I’m glad I did.”…. I’m glad someone is. For more of my thoughts on Wicked Wisdom at Ozzfest, check out last week’s column.
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 vengeance …
Nevermore: “This Godless Endeavor” … progressive metal band’s sixth outing, a great band crafting epic-sounding metal tracks …
Here’s some CDs I want, recently picked up or already have that I haven’t listened to nearly enough (you should check them out too):
Byzantine: “And They Shall Take Up Serpents”
Various artists: “The Devils Rejects”
Obituary: “Frozen in Time”
Alice Cooper: “Hey Stoopid”
Brand New Sin: “Recipe for Disaster”
A brief note on that “Devils Rejects” soundtrack: I’m not a huge fan of classic rock and would never pick up a “classic 70s” collection or anything like that, but this soundtrack just seems to be the perfect mix of some cool material. A clean remaster of “Freebird,” some cool stuff from Joe Walsh (“Rocky Mountain Way”), Terry Reid (including the awesome “Seed of Memory”), James Gang (“Funk #49”) and more. Hey, I know it’s not for everyone, but I liked it. Plus, he’s Rob frigging Zombie, he could’ve put a crazy soundtrack together but stayed true to the movie and created a perfect companion piece for it instead.
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…
