JUDAS PRIEST celebrates 40 years of heavy metal dominance with ‘Epitaph‘, a 23-song live concert Blu-Ray/DVD from the closing night of the “Epitaph World Tour” – the band’s final world tour – recorded at London’s HMV Hammersmith Apollo in May 2012.
This release contains live versions of at least one song from each of JUDAS PRIEST’S 14 classic albums from 1974 to 2008.
“Epitaph” track listing:
01. Battle Hymn
02. Rapid Fire
03. Metal Gods
04. Heading Out To The Highway
05. Judas Rising
06. Starbreaker
07. Victim Of Changes
08. Never Satisfied
09. Diamonds And Rust
10. Prophecy
11. Night Crawler
12. Turbo Lover
13. Beyond The Realms Of Death
14. The Sentinel
15. Blood Red Skies
16. The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)
17. Breaking The Law
18. Painkiller
19. The Hellion
20. Electric Eye
21. Hell Bent For Leather
22. You’ve Got Another Thing Coming
23. Living After Midnight
The Jeff Hanneman Memorial took place on May 23, 2013 at the Hollywood Palladuim in Hollywood, California. This gathering was open to the public, giving Slayer fans a chance to pay their respects to one of the greats of metal.

The stage was set-up with all of Jeff Hanneman’s guitars, his baseball shin guards, Marshall stacks and a black box with the remains of the legend.

Special guest speakers where Brian Slagle (Metal Blade), Kerry King (SLAYER), Roberto Trujillo ( Metallica), Nick Boycott (Ex-Grim Reaper), Chavo (System of a Down) and a few other people from Slayer’s management company. Spotted outside the venue were Chuck Billy (Testament), Gary Holt (Exodus), Dave Navarro (Janes Addiction) and Gene Hologan (Testament).

It was very cool to hear stories about Jeff Hanneman, especially the one told about how after all the surgeries he had on his arm, he became very insecure about how his arm looked and started to wear long sleeves to cover it up. Then came the Big 4 concert in Indio, California and when Jeff decided he wanted to come out and play the encore with SLAYER… right before he took the stage, he ripped off the sleeve of his shirt and said “fuck it!”… that’s what you see in the iconic photo of Jeff’s last performance with SLAYER, the one sleeve photo.

Here are a few more photos of the memorial. R.I.P. Jeff
Southern California is home to Suicidal Tendencies and an adoring crowd welcomed them back at the Fox Theater in Pomona, California on Saturday, May 11, 2013.

In support of their new album “13”, S.T. is on ‘The Slam City Tour’ and they blasted through a set that included ‘Can’t Bring Me Down’, ‘Cyco Vision’, and the 80′s classic ‘Institutionalized’. Lead singer Mike Muir whipped the fans into a frenzy and the huge mosh pit didn’t let up the entire show.

Near the end, Suicidal Tendencies jumped into ‘Pledge Your Allegiances’ and invited the crowd on stage. I was able to make it up there and got a couple of cool photos.

I want to thank Arielle Rosselli at Adrenaline PR for the tickets and photo pass… YOU ROCK!!!! Dont forget to check out Suicidal Tendencies new music online and look for them on tour. It’s a Kick Ass Show you don’t want to miss.
RATT singer Stephen Pearcy’s long-awaited book, “Sex, Drugs, Ratt & Roll: My Life In Rock“, will be released on May 7, 2013 via Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. The 288-page hardcover is described in a press release as “a jaw-dropping tell-all from the lead singer of the 1980s supergroup RATT: the groupies, the trashed hotel rooms, the drugs — and just how much you can get away with when you’re one of the biggest hair metal stars of all time.”
In the mid-1980s, RATT, alongside MÖTLEY CRÜE, POISON and QUIET RIOT, were laying down the riffs and unleashing the scissor kicks that would herald the arrival of music’s most flamboyantly debauched era. Now with “Sex, Drugs, Ratt & Roll”, RATT frontman and chief rabble-rouser Stephen Pearcy divulges all the dirty details of the era when big-haired bands ruled the world.
Stephen was primed for a life of excess from an early age — his father died of a heroin overdose when he was twelve, and by the age of fifteen, Stephen was himself a drug addict. When Stephen met the thrill-seeking Robbin Crosby, he knew he’d found his perfect partner in crime — both in music and partying. RATT’s 1984 debut single, “Round And Round”, became one of the top-selling metal songs of all time, but it was the band’s off-stage escapades that were the stuff of legend.
“Our tour bus is like our pirate ship, it’s where we rape and pillage,” said Pearcy in 1987. Now Pearcy’s memoir reveals all the rock star excess — the partying, the women, the $2,000-a-day drug habits — letting fans see into this harrowing hair-metal lifestyle and what it’s really like behind the scenes when you’re a rock star.
Famed book editor Jeremie Ruby-Strauss, editor at Gallery Books stated about what fans can expect from Stephen Pearcy’s forthcoming book: “There will be a ton of sex, mind-boggling amounts of drugs, and, of course, a whole lot of RATT and roll. There’s also stuff about him breaking both legs as a kid and whatnot, but are you seriously not more intrigued by the sex and drugs?”
In a 2011 interview, Pearcy stated about “Sex, Drugs, Ratt & Roll: My Life In Rock” — which has been in the works for more than three years: “[It will include] so many stories. The good, the bad (real bad) and the ugly.” He added, “It’s a big wakeup call to remember some things, but have to share. Some might learn something from my experiences and get something positive in the end. There are bright moments; it’s not all about Ratt ‘n’ Roll.”
Pearcy told the San Antonio Metal Music Examiner in a separate interview: “There’s lots of tales in there that people need to know or haven’t known. You know, to get the real opinion. . . It’s a real honest book. The kitchen sink is in there. It’s time to share because nobody knows what we’re about or how you got there or what you went through. I got into music by accident — realistically by accident (laughs).
When asked if his book be a rebuttal to RATT drummer Bobby Blotzer’s “Tales Of A Ratt – Things You Shouldn’t Know” autobiography or if it will be more autobiographical in nature, Pearcy said, “Both. Because when I started that band, people got the wrong perspective on so many things. That’s why we’re on the level we don’t wish to be on, by default and admission. But everything I say is going to be honest. Bob took his own side on his book. But it’s his own. It’s like when I read the Keith Richards and [Steven] Tyler books, I thought, ‘That’s how I want my book to read.’” Blabbermouth.net
Culture Brats: A good portion of the book focuses on Robbin Crosby, your relationship with him, and his contribution to RATT. Was it important to you to make everyone know his role in the band?
Pearcy: Definitely. 100%. Because as the first incarnation of RATT after MICKEY RATT had imploded, Robbin had been jamming with Jake E. Lee and myself. We were actually opening up a lot of club shows for MÖTLEY [CRÜE]. His band imploded and he was very important in the direction and the look we created and where we were going musically. I don’t want him forgotten. I want him to forever be associated as an integral part. Granted, what made RATT RATT as we know it are the surviving members and thank God we’re together doing what we do to this day. But if it wasn’t for Robbin, we could’ve had a totally different direction.
Culture Brats: There’s a reason the book’s called “Sex, Drugs, Ratt & Roll: My Life In Rock”: there are tons of pages devoted to sexual conquests and drug usage. You have any estimate on how many women you’ve been with?
Pearcy: Oh God, no. I don’t. I actually had a quota of three a day, but I did have normal relationships that did last awhile. I told myself until I was married I would just be me. It’s like a kid in a candy store. I didn’t keep track, I just knew I was going for that grab bag every day.
Huffington Post: Stephen Pearcy’s New Memoir Is Awesome. Period. Rock memoirs are a dime-a-dozen these days, and my expectations of this one were not high. But Pearcy delivers big, and if you like the rock ‘n roll debauchery kind of thing, you’ll love this thing. That said, there’s some truly moving and heartfelt moments throughout, particularly when it comes to Pearcy’s discussion of his late ‘partner in crime’ RATT guitarist Robbin Crosby, his own battle with addictions, and his daughter, Jewel.
Q: On a more serious note, you speak very warmly of the late guitarist Robbin Crosby throughout the book, but I feel like you hold back a little as his problems increase and he ultimately loses his battle with addiction. Not saying you gloss over it, but you don’t dive very deep. Tough subject, I imagine?
A: Well no, I could write 10 books and not fully cover what went down. We (the band) all went thru our own trip with the partying. I didn’t feel I had to make the negatives into a positive. Robbin was so important to the band, he was my right hand man starting RATT, as we knew and know it. I was on my own and his band imploded around the same time. Thats when we became partners in crime.
Q: Conversely, you’re frank throughout on the difficult relationship you and drummer Bobby Blotzer have always had. How are things between the two of you today? Has he read the book? He pissed? He comes off as a huge dick, which surprised me as a fan. He kind of always seemed like the chill one…
A: We (in the band) have a saying: Bob is Bob. We are brothers, and sometimes brothers fight. He hasn’t read it but I’m sure he’ll have something to say. Matters not. Bobby is a great drummer, take it as you may.
Q: I was surprised to find that you are a Duran Duran fan, but looking back on how you dressed around the time of the first album in particular, I can totally see it. I love Duran, so I was bummed to read that Simon LeBon was a dick to you at Limelight. Was that as soul-crushing as it sounds?
A: I was a bigger fan of Adam and the Ants, that’s where the pirate image came from. I wasn’t that pissed off at LeBon, it wouldn’t have bothered me if he said hello or not. We had the picture taken just to piss him off, LOL.
Back in 1986 when I was a 14 year old kid, I was a roadie for a friend’s band in the L.A. area and one night while driving to a gig in the equipment van, my good friend Art Rodriguez put on SLAYER’s ‘Reign in Blood’ on the stereo and I will never forget my reaction and my immediate question for Art…. who is that!!!????
I was hooked instantly and the next day I went out and bought the album and poured through the words to all the songs. I was amazed by the lyrics and also curious as to who was writing such great songs.
JEFF HANNEMAN was the name noted under music and lyrics. He wrote music that no one even thought about writing back in the 80′s and along with Kerry King, had since kept SLAYER relevant in the metal industry for over 30 years.
SLAYER has been part of my life since that fateful day in 1986 and I was lucky enough to have seen the band and Jeff play live so many times I lost track.
The music Jeff wrote got me through rough times in my life. From 1994 to 1998, I was in prison for drugs and SLAYER music got me through a lot of my down time. I would just sit in my cell tuned to any rock station and just to listen to any Metal and SLAYER. I also remember watching the video for ‘Seasons In The Abyss’ in the day room in Springfield, Missouri on a Saturday night on MTV’s ‘Headbangers Ball’ and couldn’t wait to get out to see SLAYER live again.
After being released from jail, a family member working at The Palace (Avalon) in Hollywood, California told me SLAYER was going to be playing there and he asked if I wanted to go? Of course! I told him and he was able to get me and my buddy comp tickets to the sold out show.
In January 2011, I was lucky enough to meet Jeff at NAMM and took a photo with him. A month later, it was reported that Jeff had been bitten by a spider and was in a hospital recovering. Then came the ‘Big 4′ concert in Indio, California where Jeff made a two-song special appearance and that was the last time he ever performed with SLAYER ![]()
I want to send out my condolences to the Hanneman family and just know that Jeff touched a lot of people with his music and his talent. He was one of the best guitar players in metal music and certainly left his mark on the genre. He is a legend and will never be forgotten. R.I.P. Jeff. We will miss you. -Ralph













