“If we define fun as the unknowing acceleration of time, then Rammstein’s particular brand of self-obliteration, in which time collapses entirely, is a guaranteed good time” —THE NEW YORKER
 
“The commitment to excessive pyromania was epic stagecraft on a Wagnerian scale, several notches up from most arena rock. More important was that the six-piece band… wasn’t dependent on those fireworks but could have easily punished and soothed the senses to nearly the same effect with music alone.” —THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
 
“One of heavy music’s biggest and most dynamic live acts” —CONSEQUENCE OF SOUND
 
The North American debut of the most extreme spectacle in live music will finally take place in fall 2022, when RAMMSTEIN brings its full-scale stadium production to this continent for the first time ever. Rock n roll’s most ambitious pyro-theatrical experience will be on display for a series of 12 open-air dates beginning August 21, 2022 at Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal and setting seven U.S. stadiums ablaze before concluding at Foro Sol in Mexico City on October 4, 2022. The tour is produced by AEG Presents.
 
Due to overwhelming popular demand, the tour has added a second date at the L.A. Coliseum on Saturday, September 24, 2022 and a third show at Foro Sol in Mexico City on Tuesday, October 4, 2022.
 
    ***Tickets for the new shows will go on sale to the public 10am local time Friday, May 28. Tickets for the original shows will be honored at the rescheduled dates.  To purchase tickets or for further information, go to rammstein.com.
 
The full itinerary for the tour, RAMMSTEIN’s most extensive series of N.A. shows in 10 years, is as follows:
 
Sunday, August 21, 2022 – Montreal, QC – Parc Jean-Drapeau
Saturday, August 27, 2022 – Minneapolis, MN – U.S. Bank Stadium
Wednesday, August 31, 2022 – Philadelphia, PA – Lincoln Financial Field
Saturday, September 3, 2022 – Chicago, IL – Soldier Field
Tuesday, September 6, 2022 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium
Friday, September 9, 2022 – Foxborough, MA – Gillette Stadium
Saturday, September 17, 2022 – San Antonio, TX – Alamodome
Friday, September 23, 2022 – Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Saturday, September 24, 2022 – Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum***
Saturday, October 1, 2022 – Mexico City, MX – Foro Sol
Sunday, October 2, 2022 – Mexico City, MX – Foro Sol
Tuesday, October 4, 2022 – Mexico City, MX – Foro Sol***
 
RAMMSTEIN’s six-man lineup CHRISTOPH SCHNEIDER, FLAKE LORENZ, OLIVER RIEDEL, PAUL LANDERS, RICHARD Z. KRUSPE, and TILL LINDEMANN, has remained unchanged since the band’s 1994 formation and 1995 release of its debut album, HERZELEID.  RAMMSTEIN’s second album, SEHNSUCHT, released in 1997, propelled the band to international fame and featured the GRAMMY-nominated single “DU HAST.” MUTTER, the third RAMMSTEIN album, was released in 2001 and was supported by what would be the band’s final U.S. tour for nearly a decade. REISE, REISE, the band’s fourth studio album, was released in 2004, preceded by the GRAMMY-nominated single “MEIN TEIL” and followed by fifth album ROSENROT in 2005. LIEBE IST FÜR ALLE DA, the sixth RAMMSTEIN studio album, was released in 2009 and reached #13 on the Billboard 200, making it RAMMSTEIN’s highest-charting album in the U.S. up to that point. LIFAD would be the first RAMMSTEIN album since 2001’s MUTTER to be supported by North American touring: On December 11, 2010, RAMMSTEIN played its first U.S. date in 10 years, a one-off headline at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The MSG show sold out in less than 20 minutes and was followed by extensive North American Tours in 2011 and 2012, which would sell out venues including the Forum in Los Angeles, Chicago’s Allstate Arena, the Bell Centre in Montreal and more. RAMMSTEIN made its debut on U.S. network television during the 2011 tour, performing “DU HAST” and “FEUER FREI!” on JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!
 
RAMMSTEIN broke into the U.S. Top 10 for the first time with the May 17, 2019 release of its seventh and most recent album, which entered at #9 on the Billboard 200. Produced by Olsen Involtini with RAMMSTEIN, the untitled record is comprised of 11 new RAMMSTEIN tracks including singles “AUSLANDER,” “RADIO” and “DEUTSCHLAND.” The release of the album was followed by the sold-out Europe Stadium Tour 2019, which ran May 17 through August 23, 2019.

TICKETS ON SALE MAY 18, 2021 12 PM (PST)

FIRST EPISODE, THE 80’S, TO PREMIERE JUNE 5, 2021 2 PM (PST)

VIA NO CAP SHOWS

Bad Religion is releasing the second season of their wildly popular streaming event, Decades.  Bad Religion singer Greg Graffin says, “We were blown away by the enthusiasm of our fans surrounding our first streaming event last year. We realized that we had only touched on a couple of songs from each album during Decades: Season One. We wondered if we could dig a bit deeper into our catalog and do it again. Many of these songs have never been performed on stage. Some of them are timeless fan favorites. A few, we may never attempt to play ever again! But all of them show the diverse and even experimental nature of Bad Religion‘s repertoire over the years”.  All four episodes of Decades: Season Two will include a live performance set filmed at The Roxy in Hollywood, California, candid interviews with all current band members, and behind-the-scenes footage of the band as they rehearsed. Bad Religion will participate in an accompanying live chat during the premiere of each episode. Tickets and merchandise are available for sale on the Decades: Season  NoCap Shows page.

The ’80s – Bad Religion performs songs from their albums How Could Hell Be Any Worse, Into The Unknown, Suffer, No Control and Against The Grain (yes, it was released in 1990 but, fuck it, we do what we want). Expanded exclusive interviews with band members and crew. Even more and fly on the wall rehearsal footage and behind the curtain shenanigans.

The ’90’s – Bad Religion performs songs from Generator, Recipe For Hate, Stranger Than Fiction, The Gray Race, and No Substance. Exclusive interviews with band members and crew. 

The ’00s – Bad Religion performs songs from The New America, The Process of Belief, The Empire Strikes First, and New Maps of Hell. The band discusses the evolution of their sound. 

The ’10s – Bad Religion performs songs from The Dissent of Man, True North, and Age Of Unreason. The Covid-19 pandemic cut short their plans to tour in support of The Age Of Unreason. Many of the songs included are being performed outside of the studio for the first and possibly last time.  

No Cap Shows will host Decades: Season Two; a four-episode package will sell for $40, individual episodes are available for $15. Tickets for Decades: Season Two will go on sale Tuesday, May 18, at noon PST. Episodes will remain up for sale and viewing till July 31st at midnight PST.  

Decades: Season 2 episodes will premiere at 2:00 PM Pacific Standard Time.

June 5th: Bad Religion, the ’80s

June 12th: Bad Religion, the ’90s

June 19th: Bad Religion, the ’00s

June 26th: Bad Religion, the ’10s 

4 Decades 4 Episodes $40 bucks

MODERATELY FAST, ADEQUATELY FURIOUS (3DOT RECORDINGS)

https://lnk.to/bulb-moderatelyfast-adequatelyfurious

WATCH THE “PARABOLICA” VIDEO NOW

Tom Clufetos has been behind the drum kit for some of rocks biggest acts including Rob Zombie, Ozzy Osbourne, Ted Nugent and Alice Cooper. Tommy’s newest project is a solo effort titled Tommy’s Rocktrip. Media Mikes had a chance to talk with Tommy about the debut solo album “Beat Up By Rock N’ Roll”, what it was like starting his first solo project and his plans once Covid-19 restrictions are finally lifted.

Adam Lawton: Where did the desire to do a solo project originate from?

Tommy Clufetos: Because of so much being closed due to the pandemic there really has been nothing to do. Especially on the music front and for the first time in my life I had sort of a break. I got an offer to do a record and thought “why not”. It was something I had never done before I wanted to give it a shot and see if I could actually do it. I have always loved playing for other people and helping them be the best they have ever been. I am one hundred and ten percent fulfilled by doing that but this open block of time came up and decided to experiment. I decided on trying to make a cool rock record of things I liked and hope other people will like as well. That was the basis. There was no master plan or anything like that. (Laughs)

AL: Was doing a solo album something you had ever thought of doing before?

TC: No. I had never thought about doing a solo record. I had never written music or produced prior to this. I always just played drums for other people. That’s why I saw it was an “experiment”. I guess you can call me a crazy, middle aged rocker. What you hear on this album is exactly that.

AL: How did you go about putting the band together?

TC: I have known our singer Eric Dover since we worked together in Alice Cooper maybe 15 years ago or more. I knew he would be an excellent singer as he has a very versatile voice. Most of the material on the record is straight ahead rock and roll. Eric knows how to go on the wild side which is how I like my music to be played. I didn’t want this to be a bunch of people from other bands as I was shooting for  more of a group effort. I was looking for younger guys who I could sort of shape them into the way I wanted the music played. Sometimes when you are playing with guys from other bands, they may not be completely into what you are doing, or it may be a little more difficult to get out of them what you are looking for. I wanted more of a unified band sound and I think I was successful in doing that.

AL: Did you have a preconceived sound you were going for prior to putting the group together or did the style we hear on the record happen organically once you all started working together?

TC: When I decide something I definitely know where I am going. Even though it may look like I am loose with things once I know where I am going, I turn on that switch and go into hyper mode. I knew exactly what I wanted and was very hands on with this. It is my material so no one was going to tell me how to play my music. It is not that I am not open to suggestion but there was a certain style and attack I was going for. I need both precision and looseness so this thing would rock. Another thing I wanted was this to recorded totally live. We recorded in a barn, set up facing each other with no headphones. All of my favorite albums were recorded that way and they have a certain feel. It can certainly be a lot more work doing things that way but that was the approach and I stuck with it.

AL: Did you have help with the writing of the record or was that all you?

TC: I had never written a song in my life and, then I had to write twelve! I did not know what was going to happen but once I turned that switch, I went the only way I knew. I do not play a lot of instruments so at times I was yapping licks to the guitar player or giving them instructions to try and get out what I was hearing in my head. There was a lot of arduous work but I grinded it out. I did not do demos or anything like because I didn’t want to go too deep into things. I wanted to keep things fresh and on the fly. I had a very strong idea of I wanted everything to be.

AL: What was the biggest adjustment you had to make being you were responsible for more than just drums on this record?

TC: I don’t really think about that. I just tend to go. You have to come up with parts which then need to be recorded so for me I go in there and work things out. There is a lot more grunt work when you do a project like this but there are always elements of grunt work which comes with every album. One thing I have learned from playing with people is that when they are really good you don’t have to say much. When I am playing the drums, I think about the vibe of the music and what people will want to hear and I try to go there and give it to them. Usually that works out for me.

AL: As things start to reopen have you started planning to tour behind the release?

TC: I wouldn’t say there are plans but I also wouldn’t say there are not plans. I am open to whatever present itself. Even though things are starting to open up I think its still to early to think about getting back out there. I am not going to say we won’t tour as this music lends itself to being played live but, we will just have to wait and see.

AL: Do you have anything coming up with any other projects you are involved with?

TC: I just started working with The Dead Daisy’s again and we have a few gigs scheduled for mid-July. I am really looking forward to getting back on some stages and playing loud. I had played with these guys back in 2015 for a couple gigs and they must have liked me because they called me back when they were in of a drummer. I am super happy and looking forward to playing.

For more info on Tommy’s Rocktrip and their album “Beat Up By Rock N’ Roll” click here

“God Is Partying” out September 10, 2021, via Napalm Records

Watch the New Music Video for ANDREW W.K.’s Most Intense Single Yet,
“I’m In Heaven”, HERE

Pre-Order God Is Partying HERE
 
North American Tour Dates Announced – Learn More HERE

Showcasing his indisputable musicality, God Is Partying features ANDREW W.K. performing all the album’s instruments, in addition to co-producing the album with his long-time recording partner, Grammy Award-winning engineer, Ted Young.
 
Channeling the manic euphoria that has compelled ANDREW W.K.’s auditory insignia for decades, God Is Partying is soaked with a flood of epic energy – often traversing seemingly impenetrable lyrical themes while remaining refreshingly relatable, inspiring, and vital for survival. From sinister metallic bastions like the buzzing single “Babalon”, to the timeless story telling of “Remember Your Oath”, the album will have fans embracing their own party power and reveling in the depths of musical euphoria. God Is Partying opens triumphantly with ANDREW W.K.’s hyper-melodic keyboard stylings introducing the menacing and magical music of “Everybody Sins”, perfectly setting the scene for the dramatic immensity to follow. Tracks like the poetic, “No One To Know”, and the soaring tension of “Stay True To Your Heart”, transport the listener to the precipice of a paradoxically infinite sonic horizon – rising into synthesizer-infused epics of mega-jumbo rock music, each track showcasing another example of ANDREW W.K.’s expanding abilities as a vocalist and songwriter. Only halfway through the album is the listener driven directly into fiery depths with the massive track, “I’m In Heaven”, before ascending back up and into the sonic stratosphere with the tracks “My Tower” and the album’s gargantuan closer, “And Then We Blew Apart”. God Is Partying is a true ode to the quiddity of ANDREW W.K.

Pre-Order God Is Partying HERE

God Is Partying tracklisting:*
1) Everybody Sins
2) Babalon
3) No One To Know
4) Stay True To Your Heart
5) Goddess Partying
6) I’m In Heaven
7) Remember Your Oath
8) My Tower
9) And Then We Blew Apart
 
*Various formats will include additional bonus tracks “I Made It” and “Not Anymore”.
 
God Is Partying will be available in North America in the following formats:
-1CD Jewelcase
-1LP Gatefold White + Poster
-1LP Gatefold Turquoise Transparent + Poster
-1LP Gatefold Marbled Transparent / Dark Green + Poster (Napalm Worldwide Mailorder only – limited to 800)
– 1LP Gatefold Marbled Red Transparent / Black + Poster (ANDREW W.K. store only)
-Digital Album

his just in – ANDREW W.K. will bring his party of positivity on the road this fall! Beginning on Friday, September 10 in Los Angeles, CA, the tour will traverse several major cities before ending on the east coast on Friday, September 24 in Philadelphia, PA. See below for all confirmed tour dates and visit https://andrewwk.com/tour for more information.

ANDREW W.K. 2021 US Tour Dates:
9/10 – Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom
9/11 – San Francisco, CA – Bimbo’s 365
9/13 – Seattle, WA – Neumos
9/14 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall
9/19 – Pittsburgh, PA – Spirit Hall
9/21 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
9/22 – Boston, MA – Royale
9/23 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
9/24 – Philadelphia, PA – The Theatre Of The Living Arts
9/26 – Birmingham, AL – Furnace Fest (**festival date)

“When God Was Great”

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

Hellcat Records

Producers: Ted Hutt/Tim Armstrong

Tracks: 15

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Ska-punk pioneers The Mighty Mighty Bosstones are set to release their 11^th studio record on May 7^th. The album titled “When God Was Great” is being released via Hellcat Records and features 15 tracks Co-produced by longtime collaborator Ted Hutt and Rancid front-man Tim Armstrong. “When God Was Great” has the band bringing back friends, tour-mates, and bandmates from the past for a sonic celebration that stresses the power of perseverance and human connection during tumultuous times.

The patron saints of plaid are back and doing what they do best, bringing upbeat, relatable music to anyone willing to listen. Over the course of the fifteen tracks which make up “When God Was Great” listeners are treated to a wide musical landscape that blends almost seamlessly with the signature raspy delivery of vocalist Dicky Barret. Tracks like the catchy “I Don’t Believe In Anything”, “The Killing of Georgie (Part III) and “You Had To Be There” are classic Bosstones through and through as each song offers an upbeat feel with bright instrumentation and resonating lyricism which will surely align with issues many people are facing each and every day. As little more than midway through the album listeners are treated to a unique rendition of the John Fogerty song “Long As I Can See The Light”. The band does a great job of capturing the original versions soulfulness while at the same time breathing in a breath of freshness and style. Other tracks worth mentioning are “The Truth Hurts” which features the return of original guitarist Nate Albert who left band in 2000 and “The Final Parade” which features guest spots by Angelo Moore, Tim Timebomb, Aimee Interrupter among others as they take turns belting out verses for the albums closing number.

“When God Was Great” is a fitting follow up to the bands 2018 release “While We’re at It” as it follows the more mature sound of later Bosstones records featuring more laid-back traditional ska sounds as opposed to the distorted, punk driven sounds found on earlier records such as “Devil’s Night Out” and “Don’t Know How to Party”. Sure, it would have been nice to hear some of the sounds that first got me into the band however it is a completely different time and place. People change, bands change, musical tastes change. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones have embraced these changes and because of this we are treated to albums like “When God Was Great” which will provide an enjoyable listening experience time and time again.   

Track List:

1.) Decide

2.) M O V E

3.) I Don’t Believe In Anything

4.) Certain Things

5.) Bruised

6.) Lonely Boy

7.) The Killing of Georgie (Part III)

8.) You Had to Be There

9.) When God Was Great

10.) What It Takes

11.) Long As I Can See the Light

12.) The Truth Hurts

13.) It Went Well

14.) I Don’t Want to Be You

15.) The Final Parade

The rock group Staind is back on May 7^th with their first release in nine years titled “Live: It’s Been Awhile”. Accompanying the album’s release is a two-night streaming event titled “The Return Of Staind: A Two Part Global Streaming Series”. Media Mikes had the chance recently to talk with Staind guitarist Mike Mushok about the release, the set of streaming performances and the bands plans for going forward.

Adam Lawton: Can you tell us about the decision to release the bands new album now amidst the ongoing pandemic?

Mike Mushok: If this were a record with new material, we would be holding on to it like a lot of other bands are. This was a chance for us to get some material out there as we were trying to put a couple things together at one time. We had filmed the show where we got back together in 2019 at the Foxwoods Casino. We put a lot more than normal into that show and we wanted to capture all of that. Starting May 1^st fans can stream that show. The album will come out May 7^th and then on May 8^th we will be doing another stream celebrating the 20-year anniversary of “Break the Cycle”.

AL: What was it like putting together the “Break the Cycle” show

MM: It is definitely different going out there and performing with no audience. It is almost like a rehearsal that is being filmed. It’s different but, you just get into what you are doing and do the best you can. I thought the venue we chose to film at was great and the lighting looked great as well. I don’t remember how many different cameras were being used but some of what I have seen is really exciting. To go along with the performance is a short documentary which takes fans back to where we were when the album initially was released. I also went back and found a ton of old footage from around that time is well. When I was going through all this stuff, I actually found the footage from our first gig ever in 1995.The cool thing about that was it was filmed about three blocks from where we shot this new performance There’s a lot of other things that fans will get to see besides us performing the record.

AL: How was it as a band revisiting this material?

MM: It was great to be able to go back and revisit such a good time in our career. This was our most successful record and it really changed everything for us. It was cool going back listening to things and relearning that material. There are a few songs that we had never played lived from this record so that was another that was really cool.

AL: The band had plans to go out and tour in 2020 but due to the pandemic those shows were unable to happen. Have there been any talks about trying to reschedule?

MM: We are trying to figure that all out right now. We had originally planned to go out with Disturbed as part of their 20-year celebration of “The Sickness”. That tour was recently cancelled but we are looking at some festival shows in July that we are booked for as well as some shows later in the summer. We are still waiting on confirmation of those so there is still a chance that we will be out there later this year. I think everyone is still just trying to figure stuff out as every place is different which makes things challenging.

AL: How much of an effect did the Pandemic have on the band personally being that you had just gotten back together after some time?  

MM: We had a great plan in place, and it was disappointing. I was definitely looking forward to getting back out there. I can’t complain though as other people have gone and continue to go through way worse things. During that first part of things when I was home, and you couldn’t go anywhere it was nice to be able to be with my family and not have to worry about other obligations. It was great to just be together and now things are starting to get back to the way they were and that is nice also. For the band we are looking to regroup and get things back on track. 2021 seems like it is going to be this feeling out period as more and more things change and open.

AL: Your involved with a couple other projects can you give us an update on those?

MM: I have the band Saint Asonia with Adam Gontier who used to be in Three Days Grace. We are working on some new music and hope to have an EP out sometime soon. Staind is also working on some new material as well. Aaron is finishing up a country record at the moment and once that is done, we can start digging through some of the material we have. I am part owner of the Six String Grill and Stage in Foxboro; Massachusetts and we are starting to look at being able to book shows there again later this year. Combine all of that with being a dad and a husband I am pretty busy (Laughs).

For more info and updates on Staind be sure to visit www.staindofficial.com

New EP “The Disc With No Name” Out May 28th

GWAR’s latest musical masterpiece “The Disc With No Name” is set for release on May 28th via Pit Records. This four song EP finds GWAR exploring their sensitive side (and yours if you aren’t careful) with acoustic versions of four well-known numbers from the band’s storied career as legitimate gods of shock rock. The picture disc is sold out at GWAR.net but limited quantities will be available at indie retail stores in the US starting on May 28th.  

Here’s a link to find one near you: https://recordstoreday.com/UPC/619011964500 

Today, your Lords and Masters are as thrilled as David Crosby scoring an eight-ball to unveil a new epic video for the acoustic version of “Fuck This Place.”  Watch the video HERE. Guitarist Pustulus Maximus confessed, “I forgot to pay my electric bill so we were forced to rehearse acoustically and this is the result. The GWAR, the bad, and the ugly,”  

Singer Blóthar the Berserker had a somewhat more confusing take; “This isn’t what I thought they meant by ‘unplugged.’ I haven’t been able to muster a turd for years.”  

Stay tuned for more GWAR news including info on their forthcoming “Ragnarok” rye whiskey, “Bud of Gods” CBD and touring plans.

“The Disc With No Name”

Tracklisting:
Side A:

1.Fuck This Place (Acoustic)

2.Gonna Kill You (Acoustic)

Side B:

1.I’ll Be Your Monster (Acoustic)

2.The Road Behind (Acoustic)

Band To Exclusively Perform At All Four Danny Wimmer Presents 2021 Festivals,Including Headlining Set At Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival, As Well As Performances At Louder Than Life, Aftershock & Welcome To Rockville

Mudvayne–one of the most creative and distinctive bands in the aggressive music world–has announced that they’re reuniting after a 12-year hiatus, and will be performing at all four Danny Wimmer Presents U.S. festivals in 2021: Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival (a headlining performance) in Ohio, Louder Than Life in Kentucky, Aftershock in California and Welcome To Rockville in Florida. These dates mark the band’s first shows since 2009 and their only dates this year. Watch the Mudvayne announcement video here: https://youtu.be/vQdT5_YxAwIMudvayne formed in 1996 and has sold over six million records worldwide, earning Gold certification for three albums (L.D. 50, The End Of All Things To Come, Lost and Found). The band is known for their sonic experimentation, innovative album art, face and body paint, masks and uniforms. Mudvayne is Chad Gray (vocals), Greg Tribbett (guitar, backing vocals), Matthew McDonough (drums, synthesizer) and Ryan Martinie (bass). Danny Wimmer, founder of Danny Wimmer Presents recalls, “In our fan surveys, Mudvayne has consistently been one of the most requested bands – even though they weren’t an active band! We’ve been working for years to make this happen, so when I got the call that they’d finally take a meeting, [DWP Executive VP & Talent Buyer] Gary Spivack and I jumped at the chance to fly to Vegas. We sat down for dinner with Mudvayne, their lawyer Eric German, manager Diony Sepulveda and agent Ryan Harlacher – the band hadn’t even been in the same room together for 10 years – and pleaded our case for why the time was right for this to happen. We were hoping to announce this in 2020, we’re fortunate enough to be able to do it in 2021, and DWP is super pumped to have Mudvayne exclusively at all four of our festivals this year.” The full list of Mudvayne performances at 2021 DWP festivals is as follows. Specific show dates and performance times will be announced later. – Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival, which takes place September 10-12 at Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio. Early bird passes are on sale now. Full lineup announcement coming Tuesday, April 20 at Noon ET. – Louder Than Life, which takes place September 23-26, 2021 at Highland Festival Grounds at KY Expo Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Early bird passes are on sale now. – Aftershock – revealed as the “mystery reunion band,” performing on Saturday,October 8 at Discovery Park in Sacramento, California. Weekend passes are sold out, but a very limited number of single day passes are still available. – Welcome To Rockville, which takes place November 11-14 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Early bird passes are on sale now. Danny Wimmer Presents is known worldwide for their stellar portfolio of music and lifestyle events, which includes Aftershock, Bourbon & Beyond, Epicenter, Hometown Rising, Louder Than Life, Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival, and Welcome To Rockville. DWP recently entered the digital content curation space, promoting pay-per-view concert streams and creating the popular digital series Offstage with DWP and Beyond the Barrel, with new episodes debuting this spring.

: Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival (a headlining performance) in Ohio, Louder Than Life in Kentucky, Aftershock in California and Welcome To Rockville in Florida. These dates mark the band’s first shows since 2009 and their only dates this year. 

Watch the Mudvayne announcement video here: https://youtu.be/vQdT5_YxAwI

Mudvayne formed in 1996 and has sold over six million records worldwide, earning Gold certification for three albums (L.D. 50, The End Of All Things To Come, Lost and Found). The band is known for their sonic experimentation, innovative album art, face and body paint, masks and uniforms. Mudvayne is Chad Gray (vocals), Greg Tribbett (guitar, backing vocals), Matthew McDonough (drums, synthesizer) and Ryan Martinie (bass). Danny Wimmer, founder of 

Danny Wimmer Presents recalls, “In our fan surveys, Mudvayne has consistently been one of the most requested bands – even though they weren’t an active band! We’ve been working for years to make this happen, so when I got the call that they’d finally take a meeting, [DWP Executive VP & Talent Buyer] Gary Spivack and I jumped at the chance to fly to Vegas. We sat down for dinner with Mudvayne, their lawyer Eric German, manager Diony Sepulveda and agent Ryan Harlacher – the band hadn’t even been in the same room together for 10 years – and pleaded our case for why the time was right for this to happen. We were hoping to announce this in 2020, we’re fortunate enough to be able to do it in 2021, and DWP is super pumped to have Mudvayne exclusively at all four of our festivals this year.” 

The full list of Mudvayne performances at 2021 DWP festivals is as follows. Specific show dates and performance times will be announced later. 

– Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival, which takes place September 10-12 at Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio. Early bird passes are on sale now. Full lineup announcement coming Tuesday, April 20 at Noon ET. 

– Louder Than Life, which takes place September 23-26, 2021 at Highland Festival Grounds at KY Expo Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Early bird passes are on sale now. 

– Aftershock – revealed as the “mystery reunion band,” performing on Saturday,October 8 at Discovery Park in Sacramento, California. Weekend passes are sold out, but a very limited number of single day passes are still available. 

– Welcome To Rockville, which takes place November 11-14 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Early bird passes are on sale now. 

Danny Wimmer Presents is known worldwide for their stellar portfolio of music and lifestyle events, which includes Aftershock, Bourbon & Beyond, Epicenter, Hometown Rising, Louder Than Life, Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival, and Welcome To Rockville. DWP recently entered the digital content curation space, promoting pay-per-view concert streams and creating the popular digital series Offstage with DWP and Beyond the Barrel, with new episodes debuting this spring.

The Limit are a newly formed heavy rock band that is set to release their debut album “Caveman Logic” on April 9^th. Consisting of Bobby Liebling (Pentagram), Jimmy Recca (ex-The Stooges), Sonny Vincent (Testors), Hugo Conim (Dawnrider) and Joao Pedro (Dawnrider) the bands five members combine their diverse talents to craft a unique sound which is equal parts punk and doom. Media Mikes had the chance recently to speak with Bobby and Sonny about the group’s formation and their new album.

Adam Lawton: How did the group initially come together?

Sonny Vincent: We didn’t know each other really at all. Bobby and I have a mutual friend who was my tour bus driver on a couple of tours. He played Bobby my music and after that he gave me a call. We started talking over the phone and got to know each other pretty well. After awhile we started to get serious and thought we should make an album

Bobby Liebling: After talking for awhile we decided to give Jimmy Recca a call as he was a guy, we both knew. Sonny had worked with Hugo Conim previous and he had just gotten a new drummer (Joao Pedro) that he was going to bring along as well to start recording in Maryland. That ultimately didn’t work out and we ended up traveling to Portugal to make the album.

SV: None of us new each other well. Aside from meeting briefly over the years and talking on the phone that was really it. Now Bobby, Jimmy and I were flying to Portugal to meet these other two guys. It was sort of “Lord of the Flies” at first because Bobby and I are used to running the show in our other projects. Add in Jimmy, Hugo and Joao and everything but the music at first was this weird nightmare. We had a killer engineer and the music turned out better than we had expected.

AL: What was the writing process like?

SV: Bobby and I had written a bunch of songs together. I would have the riffs and song structures and then Bobby would come in with the melody. We had some songs together prior going to Portugal but there were some lyrics that still had to be finished.

BL: We still had to do the arrangements once we got there with the whole band. There was some switching around and extending certain parts we did in order to make them all fit.

SV: I had sent the songs to Jimmy prior to leaving so he could get all his parts down. He actually got a little mad as he had learned the songs the way they were originally sent to him then we ended up changing a bunch of parts, so he had to go back and learn them again but with all the changes.

BL: He was pretty pissed. I do remember that.

AL: Was this how you have worked in your previous projects?

SV: We both approached this in different ways. Sometimes you start with the lyrics and then add the music or its the other way around. I know Bobby has done things differently as well. In fact, he told me about one album where he virtually played everything but drums.

BL: When we go in to do a Pentagram album, I am used to the whole band being there in the same place. We then take a good three to six months to play and plan everything out that way when you get to the studio you can bang out each song pretty quickly. We sort of stumbled our way through things with this project.

SV: I know that was one of the things that was pretty difficult for Bobby being in the past he has always worked in a very methodical way. I don’t do that.

BL: Sonny has worked with a lot of different people where I have worked in a more stabilized environment. Yes, Pentagram has switched members, but we have been together for fifty years so of course you’re going to have some member changes. Not many guys are going to dedicate half a century to a project. Sonny has a much bigger network of people that he has worked with. He has worked more as a solo artist per say where he reaches out to well know players for an album and after that he moves on.

SV: Early on I wanted to have a group with a solid lineup, but something was always happening where members couldn’t stay. I knew I wasn’t going to break up with myself, so I just decided to skip the whole band thing.

BL: I have always been opposite where I am the guy continually waving the Pentagram flag and bringing in new members to keep the band moving.

SV: With us coming from such different styles there was a good amount of stress at the start for sure. We got passed it and we found that we generally did agree on how things should go.

BL: We knew this was for the cause of making each song our child. You then groom that child to have certain traits which each person feels is best for them.

AL: How did you go about choosing the first three singles that have been released?

SV: The first two released were “Black Seas” and “Kitty Gone”. Those were both quite popular and the label asked us to do one for “Death of My Soul”. They felt this song really showed the scope of what we do. For the video I knew a guy in Canada who is a professional film maker. I was originally going to give him some guidance as to what we were looking for but decided not to as I wanted to let him come up with what he thought fit the song. He shot it and sent it back and then I took it to the label and they really liked it, so we were all happy.

BL: We had a lot of artistic freedom when it came to picking songs. However, our label has a staff of nine people who have to arbitrate over decisions and of course not everyone is going to think the same thing.

SV: The singles were a bit difficult especially the first one. Hugo and I worked for about a month on that when I looked at it there was something missing. It just didn’t have the emotion to tie everything together. Even though we had made it ourselves I just wasn’t happy. We ended up sending that to the record company and they had some who worked there that took parts of what we did and mixed it with some new things and that helped a lot. The final version made you feel things as you were watching and that’s what I was going for. With “Kitty Gone” we used the same guy at the label, and we shared ideas and that one turned out much better.

BL: That one is fantastic as far as I am concerned. You can actually watch it and lyrically follow it as if you are watching a film where people are talking to one another. You can really follow it from scene to scene. It has a screenplay type feel.

AL: Prior to COVID-19 were there plans to tour and, if so, are you still planning to do so when possible?

SV: We didn’t put any barriers up against doing things at first. We went in to do the album and while listening to the rough mixes we thought it could be cool to play these for people. When we heard the final mixes, we got really excited. There are offers for the band to perform and we are interested but things are still very uncertain due to COVID-19. We just have to wait and see what is going to happen.

AL: Do you see The Limit as a one-time thing or are you interested in working more together as a group?

SV: We want to do another album. We all know each other more now and at the start of this record there were things that moved in a negative way. We had a thirty-four-hour travel time to Portugal, during that trip Jimmy had lost his wallet at one point and was back tracking his steps trying to find it. He asked Bobby and I to watch his bag. We got talking and accidentally walked away from the bag. We saw Jimmy at a coffee shop, and he asked where his bag was. He of course got mad and thought that we didn’t care about him enough to even watch his bag. That set things off in the wrong direction.

BL: That layover in the London airport was fourteen hours by itself. We were already ten to fifteen hours into the thing prior to this layover and then we had another flight to get to Portugal. It was a pretty rough start to say the least.

For more info on The Limit and their debut album “Caveman Logic” click here.

Dey Street Books, an imprint of the William Morrow Group at HarperCollins, announced today that they will publish THE STORYTELLER by Grammy-winning musician, documentary filmmaker, and fledgling author Dave Grohl. Dey Street VP and Editorial Director Carrie Thornton negotiated the deal with WME. Grohl is managed by Silva Artist Management. The book will go on sale October 5, 2021 and will also be published in UK & Commonwealth (Simon & Schuster), Finland (Bazar), Germany (Ullstein), Holland (A.W. Bruna), and Italy (Rizzoli).

Dave Grohl has been one of the most beloved and respected figures on the international music scene since his recorded debut with Nirvana on 1991’s generation-defining Nevermind. Grohl took center stage with Foo Fighters’ 1995 self-titled debut, the first of 10 albums in a massive 12-Grammy-winning streak, most recently including the #1 album sales charting Medicine at Midnight. Grohl has traveled the planet doing the thing he loves most—playing rock n roll marathons for tens of thousands of ecstatic Foo Fighter fans. But when the pandemic necessitated going into lockdown, Grohl took stock of how he might use this moment of pause. Channeling his creativity into writing and using his remarkable skill for storytelling, in May 2020 he wrote a moving reflection for The Atlantic on missing the thrill of live music during the Covid era that went viral. Then, ending a longstanding self-imposed exile from social media, Grohl’s new Instagram account @davestruestories was born. This new platform became a way for Dave to share his extraordinary (and funny) stories with fans and fellow music nuts and now, Grohl is set to build upon that momentum with his first book.  

Grohl’s new book is as much a celebration of music as it is about the moments that have molded him into the man he is today. From hilarious childhood mishaps, touching family moments, leaving home to see the world at eighteen, to spectacular stories about Nirvana, Foo Fighters, David Bowie, Joan Jett, Iggy Pop, Paul McCartney, playing drums for Tom Petty on Saturday Night Live, performing at the White House, and even swing dancing with AC/DC, with all love, laughs, loss, and embarrassments along the way, THE STORYTELLER is a fascinating look at a life lived loud. 

“There is a common thread that runs throughout everything that I do: storytelling. Whether in song, documentary film or on the page, I have always felt compelled to share moments from my life. This inclination is a huge part of what excites me creatively but also as a human being. In March 2020, realizing that my day job with the Foo Fighters was going to go on hold, I started an Instagram account (@davestruestories) and decided to focus all of my creative energy on writing some of my stories down, something I love doing but I’ve never really had the time for. I soon found that the reward I felt every time I posted a story was the same as the feeling I get when playing a song to an audience, so I kept on writing. The response from readers was a soul-filling as any applause in an arena. So, I took stock of all the experiences I’ve had in my life-incredible, difficult, funny and emotional-and decided it was time to finally put them into words. Now with the amazing people at Dey Street books I’m excited and honored to announce THE STORYTELLER, a collection of memories of a life lived loud. From my early days growing up in the suburbs of Washington, DC, to hitting the road at the age of 18, and all the music that followed, I can now share these adventures with the world, as seen and heard from behind the microphone. Turn it up!” Grohl says.

“From the second I saw Dave’s first post on Instagram, I knew I was going to publish his book. Well, to be honest, I’ve been hoping to publish Dave Grohl’s book since I became a book editor. I’m a Gen-Xer. I’m from Virginia just like Dave. We grew up listening to a lot of the same music. I’ve always admired his Puckish personality and his awesome musicianship. It turns out that he can write with as much energy and passion as he performs. Plus, he’s a spectacular human who cares deeply about his mom, his family, his bandmates, music, art and the world. All of that passion comes through in his stories and in THE STORYTELLER. I am a lucky editor indeed, but mostly because I get to read the book first,” says Thornton. 

DAVE GROHL is a 16-time Grammy-winning musician and 2-time Emmy-winning director.

Dave Grohl has been one of the most beloved and respected figures on the international music scene since his recorded debut with Nirvana on 1991’s generation-defining Nevermind. Grohl took center stage with Foo Fighters’ 1995 self-titled debut, the first album in massive 12-Grammy-winning catalogue that now includes The Colour & The Shape (1997), There Is Nothing Left To Lose (1999), One By One (2002), In Your Honor (2005), Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (2007), Wasting Light (2011), Sonic Highways (2014), Concrete and Gold (2017) and, most recently, Medicine at Midnight (2021).

Grohl has a well-earned reputation as a prolific collaborator: His various endeavors have included “Cut Me Some Slack,” written and recorded with Paul McCartney and Grohl’s Nirvana bandmates Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear; Them Crooked Vultures, formed with Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones and Queens of the Stone Age’s Joshua Homme, late legends David Bowie and Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead, as well as Mick Jagger, Neil Young, Elton John, Nine Inch Nails, Roger Taylor and Brian May of Queen, to name a few.

In 2013, Grohl made his debut as a feature director/producer with the acclaimed documentary Sound City. Named for the Van Nuys CA studio where Nirvana recorded Nevermind in 1991, which would sell more than 30 million copies and transform the modern musical landscape. Premiering to unanimous raves at Sundance and achieving a 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating, Sound City focused both on the history of the legendary studio and on the ongoing fight to preserve the human element of music. Hailed by Peter Travers of Rolling Stone as an “exhilarating documentary about what makes life worth living,” by The New York Times as “candy to several generations’ worth of rock fans” and NPR as “a celebration of just how unbelievably awesome it is to make rock music for a living,” Sound City has since been certified as a Gold Longform Video by the RIAA, while the Sound City—Real To Reel companion album took the 2013 Grammys for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media and Best Rock Song (“Cut Me Some Slack”). 

Grohl also directed the eight-part HBO docuseries Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways, which premiered in October 2014 and went on to win two of the four Emmys for which it was nominated (outstanding sound mixing for nonfiction programming and outstanding sound editing for nonfiction programming). Described by Grohl as a love letter to the history of American music, Sonic Highways was comprised of eight one-hour episodes, each chronicling the creation of one song on Foo Fighters’ Sonic Highways album, each written and recorded in a different American musical landmark — Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. 

Lizzy Borden burst on to the Los Angeles heavy metal scene in the early 1980’s with their debut EP “Give ‘Em the Axe” and subsequent full-length release “Love You to Pieces”. The band also appeared in Penelope Spheeris rockumentary “The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years”. Media Mikes had the chance recently to talk with Lizzy about his newest movie titled “Die Influencers Die” where he plays a dark and sinister character known only as Otherworld-Coyote.  

Adam Lawton: Can you tell us how you got involved with the film “Die Influencers Die”?

Lizzy Borden: I was good friends with the director Gary Orona.  We both were moving to Las Vegas around the same time and he mentioned he was thinking of doing a move. He had asked if I would be in it and I said yes but, I was heading out on touring. While I was out on the road, they contacted me about the part and said that they were going to be doing table reads. I missed all of those and only had gotten the script about a day and a half before I was set to film. Everything just sort of happened while I was out with the band.

AL: What can you tell us about your character?

LB: It’s kind of weird because when I first got the script was trying to figure out how this character was involved with everything. There was no backstory for him, so I tried to figure out what his motives are. This character literally has no name and appears out of nowhere. I had to try and figure out how to really play this character. I thought of things like “Othello” and made this guy a real instigator. We have actually talked about doing another film that would explore this guy’s back story. There is just this unexplained nature about this guy that made it a lot of fun.

AL: Being there wasn’t a lot that was known about the character were given creative freedom or did the director have you stay within certain parameters?

LB: We knew this was going to be a supernatural character so I kind of knew where to take things, but I still didn’t know even what he was going to look like. On the first day of shooting, I had about five or six different looks we could go with for this character. Gary came in and the one you see is what he picked. When I then went into hair and makeup, they suggested I should just put a ton of gel in my hair. They put probably a half gallon of gel in there and it really sold the character and took it in another direction. We were kind of improvising. As far as the acting went when I looked at the lines it always seemed to me that he was screaming and very angry. I thought back to all of the great scenes where someone has portrayed being angry and those were usually done in a very calm way. I wanted to bring his presentation down to a whisper and if he did get angry, I wanted whoever else was in the scene to feel his intensity without me having to scream at the top of my lungs. I remember the first thing we shot with everyone there Gary asked to do a practice. We did the scene and he ended up getting really mad. I asked what was wrong and he was mad that he didn’t film it because it was so good. From then on, he filmed everything.

AL: At what point did the option to have a song in the film come up?

LB: That was an afterthought. The film was finished however it was taking awhile to release. It was originally supposed to go to either Netflix or Amazon Prime but there were some paperwork problems. We couldn’t even promote the film. Then Covid-19 hit. We had planned to do a red-carpet event in Las Vegas where we showed the movie and then my band would play. We had it booked and set up but then COVID-19 happened. We had done a soundtrack video for the film “The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years” that turned out really good and a lot of people got to see clips of the movie through that video, so we started with that same idea. It came down to a matter of picking the song and the scenes and we landed on “My Midnight Things” which is the title track from our last album.

AL: Can you tell us a little bit about the video for the song?

LB: The whole point of the video was to make a commercial for the movie. I really wanted to do something interesting and asked how could we do some new shots of me singing the song while also incorporating the scenes from the film. We talked about a lot of things and a bunch of those were unrelated to the movie. I wanted for the video to look like it was another part of the movie. We ended up using the same studio we filmed in and we also brought in green screens which was a lot of fun. Ultimately, we needed something to promote the film and help tap into people who might not normally go see a movie like this. Through the video they can get a good representation of the film through the four-minute video.

AL: When you perform with the band it is very theatrical. Did you notice any similarities in how you prepare for a live show and how you prepared for the film?

LB: It was almost identical. Other than memorizing lines that was the only thing. I had the lines, but it was all about the delivery. That is where my focus was. I do the same thing backstage when I am working on the show. I think about the previous night’s performances and what I liked or didn’t like and how I can make those things better. I do a lot of pacing. (Laughs) They gave me my own spot at the studio and I just wandered around between shots until they were ready for me.

AL: Having now done the movie do you think you will take what you learned from there and apply it to your live performances?

LB: I think so. There is a subtlety to it as my live shows are pretty over the top. What I got out this character is that there was nothing flamboyant about him in any way. I tend to try and pull out all of the stops with my shows but, maybe if I am in a support slot where I am not able to do that by having played this character, I know I can go out there in a stripped-down format and still deliver a highly theatrical and interesting show.

AL: In 2020 you released “Best of Lizzy Borden” Pt. 2 which included two newly recorded cover songs. (Blue Oyster Cult’s “Burnin’ for You” and The Ramones “Pet Sematary”) How did you go about selecting those songs being they are quite different from one another?

LB: Almost all of my influences are set in the 1970’s. They are all established, big bands which I saw when I was a kid, so they are just imbedded in my brain. I could have chosen two hundred songs! There are just so many good songs. Blue Oyster Cult is one of my favorites and definitely one of the top ten best song writers that I love. On an earlier record we recorded a cover of their song “This Ain’t the Summer of Love” as we had been playing it at our live shows. I originally wanted to do “Burnin’ for You” for the album but was out voted by the producer so that was a song I have been wanting to do. I am a huge Ramones fan and love all their work. I thought about all of their songs and a majority of them have to be done in a punk a style. “Pet Sematary” is one that you really don’t have to do that. We did a Halloween show at the Whiskey in Los Angeles and I had the band learn the song prior to the show and people loved it. That’s ultimately how it ended up getting chosen.

AL: With the uncertainty of 2021 are there any other projects that you are currently working on or have coming up?

LB: I am almost halfway completed with a new album. It is coming along but it is very slow. I can imagine this being one of the most favorite albums I have ever done. I still see myself doing four or five more but this one is coming together in a really fun way. I have never had more fun putting a record together. I am not sure how that will translate over to people responding to it but as far as making it I am really enjoying it. I have been doing one song at a time and am about halfway done. I have been getting show offers as well but it doesn’t make sense to me to book shows only to have them cancelled. I see others starting to get out there, so we have to just wait and see. Everyone is ready to go we just don’t want to book something and have to cancel.

AL: When you are writing do you do that all your self or is it a more collective effort?

LB: I do it differently for every record. I have done records in the past where I record everything myself. On this new album I am having the musicians replace what I have already put down with their performances. I will play all the parts then have Joey Scott add in drums and then we build from there. Usually, my vocals are done as well so we kind of work backwards. I like to hear how it sounds in my head rather than putting just a scratch track out there for everyone. A lot of time when you do that a song can change quite a bit and when you are all done its not what you had envisioned. This way I get my idea out there the way I want it and if someone adds something really great to what I have already played we will keep. So far with this record things have stayed pretty much the same as I wrote it.

For more info on Lizzy Borden, you can check out www.Lizzyborden.com

“Live in Richmond, VA” LP

Lamb of God

Epic Records

Tracks: 10

Our Score: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Originally, released June 19 of 2020, Lamb of God’s first new album in five years was met with universal acclaim. The self- titled album landed at number one on the Overall, Rock and Metal iTunes album chart upon release and would then go on to take the coveted #1 spot on Consequences of Sound’s Top 30 Metal + Hard Rock Albums of 2020. “Live in Richmond, VA” was recorded at The Broadberry in the band’s hometown of Richmond, Virginia and gives fans their first live taste of the new material due to the COVID 19 pandemic postponing the bands scheduled spring/summer tour.

When COVID-19 brought the world to a standstill in early 2020 it also brought with it a whole host of questions and problems. For musicians they could no longer support new releases due the traditional routes of promotion being put on hold or cancelled. To combat that artists turned to live streaming performances which fans could watch from the safety of their homes. Lamb of God took that model and ran with it. Over the course of two nights in September of 2020 the band performed their latest self-titled release just as it appears on the studio version. Live albums tend to be hit or miss for me, but I have to say I actually almost prefer the live version of “Lamb of God” to the studio version. Don’t get me wrong the studio version is a great album but this newly released live version really captures the band in their element giving each of the ten songs extra edge and bite. “Momento Mori” and “Resurrection Man” kick off each side of the LP setting the standard high for the tracks which follow. Songs like “Checkmate”, “Gears” and “Poison Dream” pulverize your senses via the razor like vocals of Randy Blythe and the twin guitar attack of Willie Adler and Mark Morton while other songs like “New Colossal Hate”, Bloodshot Eyes” and “On The Hook” go straight in for the kill with thunderous bottom end courtesy of bassist John Campbell and drummer Art Cruz.

This was a record I found myself listening to multiple times in one sitting. A rarity for me as I tend to have a tension span that is a bit on the shorter side especially when it comes to music. The overall mix of the album combined with the bands impressive performance kept me coming back for more even after listening to it in succession. Though I had wished the full live performance had been included on the 150 gram LP as those missing songs would have been a nice bonus but, given the time constraints vinyl present I understand. Thankfully, the complete performance is available in a Deluxe three-disc version of “Lamb of God” which includes the studio version of the record, the live version including two bonus tracks and a live DVD performance. If you missed the initial streams or you want to revisit those performance’s, you will certainly want to grab one of these as you won’t be disappointed.   

Track Listing:

Side: 1

1.) Memento Mori

2.) Checkmate

3.) Gears

4.) Reality Bath

5.) New Colossal Hate

Side:2

1.) Resurrection Man

2.) Poison Dream

3.) Routes

4.) Bloodshot Eyes

5.) On The Hook

Stripped Down, Unplugged Version of “Fuck This Place” Streaming Now

We are just a mere three months into the year, but 2021 truly is shaping up to be the year of the Bohab! Following the announcement of GWAR’s “Ragnarok” Rye and their brand new CBD line “Bud of Gods,” your Lords and Masters have yet another surprise up their sleeve. May 28th will see the release of “The Disc With No Name,” via Pit Records. The EP is a limited edition 12” picture disc. It is available for purchase at GWAR.net and indie retailers.

“The Disc With No Name” features unplugged versions of four GWAR classics, completely reimagined and rearranged with acoustic instruments. The idea to release the EP came during last year’s quarantine following the band’s heart wrenching, emotional and ridiculous acoustic performance for The A.V. Club during their quarantine sessions. With this release, the band looks back wistfully on eons of murderous rock and roll and the lonesome time of the great GWARANTINE of 2020. Listen to the unplugged version of “Fuck This Place” HERE

Lead singer Blóthar the Berserker had this to say: “During the quarantine of 2020 I spent long, lonely days with my hand down my pants, hiding out in a fortress made entirely of rolls of toilet paper, drinking hand sanitizer and watching ‘1000-Lb Sisters’… which is business as usual for me. So I was relieved when I got the call to lay down some vocals on “The Disc With No Name.” We recorded this record over the telephone, which was fine with me, because I can’t stand to be in the same room as the other members of GWAR.” 

In other GWAR news, the alien overlords have teamed up Puck Hcky for an exclusive live of GWAR hockey jerseys. The jerseys are available for purchase HERE.

“The Disc With No Name” Tracklisting:

Side A: Fuck This Place Gonna Kill You
Side B: I’ll Be Your Monster The Road Behind

“Assembly”

Joe Strummer

Dark Horse Records

Tracks: 16

Our Score: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Remastered by three-time GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer Paul Hicks (The Beatles / The Rolling Stones / David Bowie) Joe Strummer “Assembly” is a 16-track compilation featuring three previously unreleased versions of classic The Clash tracks, including a never-before-heard recording of “Junco Partner” a live performances of “Rudie Can’t Fail” and “I Fought The Law” recorded by Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros at London’s Brixton Academy on November 24, 2001. In addition, Assembly” includes exclusive liner notes written by Jakob Dylan.

Joe Strummer’s work as the front man for legendary punk rock group The Clash has been well documented through various forms of media however the music Joe went on to create after the groups disbanding in 1986 has received less coverage and fan fair. The newest compilation from Dark Horse Records does an impressive job shining the light on Joe’s solo work with the sixteen tracks which make up this release. The album runs the gamut of styles associated with Strummer’s career as listeners are treated to a spattering of sounds including upbeat rockers like “Coma Girl” and “Love Kills” to raucous live version of Clash staples “I Fought the Law” and “Rudie Can’t Fail”. The album is not all just angsty vocals and distorted guitars as tracks like “Long Shadow” “Redemption Song” and “Junco Partner” (previously unreleased) all feature acoustic accompaniment which showcase Strummer’s signature vocal style. Also included are tracks like “Get Down Moses” and “At The Border, Guy” which lend a nod to Joe’s reggae influences. You even get a little of that 80’s synth rock sound with the inclusion “Love Kills” which was a person favorite of mine.

“Assembly” offers a wide sound pallet that showcases a portion of Joe Strummer’s career which in my opinion does not get enough credit. From rock to reggae and electronic to acoustic Dark Horse put together a solid compilation that showcased the diversity of Joe Strummer’s post Clash career. To add to the audio portion of the release is some very cool packaging which combines a mixture of matte and glossy appointments and photos, Lyrics for all sixteen tracks and newly written liner notes from Jakob Dylan.

Track Listing:

1.) Coma Girl

2.) Johnny Appleseed

3.) I Fought the Law (Live)

4.) Tony Adams

5.) Sleepwalk

6.) Love Kills

7.) Get Down Moses

8.) X-Ray Style

9.) Mondo Bongo

10.) Rudie Can’t Fail (Live)

11.) At The Border, Guy

12.) Long Shadow

13.) Forbidden City

14.) Yalla Yalla

15.) Redemption Song

16.) Junco Partner (Acoustic)