Motley Crue
Emerging from the blues and psychedelic rock of the 1960s and ’70s, heavy metal has been a driving force in music for nearly 50 years — known for its massive sound, extended guitar solos, and unrelenting intensity.
Despite being critically reviled throughout its history, metal has stood the test of time with bands such as Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Mötley Crüe achieving legendary status, unfathomable wealth and exerting a profound influence on generations of musicians and fans. Unlike many forms of popular music, whose followers are fickle and transitory, metalheads tend to embrace their favorite bands and follow them over decades. Metal is not only a pastime — it’s a lifestyle.
Written by veteran rock journalists Jon Wiederhorn and Katherine Turman, “Louder Than Hell: The Definitive Oral History Of Metal” (It Books; May 14, 2013; Hardcover; $32.50) was assembled from more than 300 interviews with members of Metallica, Megadeth, Pantera, Van Halen and many others, conducted over a 25-year span. Turman and Wiederhorn dug deep into their extensive list of contacts to uncover never- before-heard stories, eye-opening admissions and the truth behind metal’s most explosive legends. With an introduction by Scott Ian of Anthrax and an afterword by Rob Halford of Judas Priest, this is the book metal fans have been waiting for.
Icons of the genre offer candid and confessional commentary, including: Ronnie James Dio, Ozzy Osbourne, Bruce Dickinson, Eddie Van Halen, Vince Neil, Tommy Lee, Lita Ford, Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Axl Rose, Slash, Dave Mustaine, King Diamond, Kerry King, Philip Anselmo and more. The many musicians interviewed offer their take on their influences, touring, the music business and songwriting, as well as their often-traumatic upbringings, battles with substance abuse and bizarre sexual exploits. Industry insiders (including managers, record label executives, family members, friends, scenesters, groupies, journalists and porn stars) provide additional insight.
“Louder Than Hell: The Definitive Oral History Of Metal” explores the transformation of metal culture, with stories and anecdotes straight from the mouths of the most infamous and successful bands. Filled with hundreds of revealing interviews representing every type and era of heavy metal — from metal progenitors such as Blue Cheer, Led Zeppelin, and the MC5 to current day innovators — “Louder Than Hell” is the ultimate look behind the curtain at one of our most dynamic, controversial and enduring musical genres.
Alice Cooper: “This is the book every metal fan should own. A fascinating high-octane chronicle of metal mayhem that takes readers on a wild ride, from metal’s earliest days to the headbanging present. I’m not saying this just because I’m in the book, but . . . if you love metal, great stories, and music history told by the people who made it, then ‘Louder Than Hell’ is a must-read.”
METAL SHOP Rocks attended the announcement of the 2013 Revolver Golden Gods Awards nominees at The Hard Rock Cafe Hollywood in Los Angeles, California.
This will be the fifth year of the award show and it will take place on Thursday, May 2 at Club Nokia in Downtown L.A. The Golden Gods will be broadcast live on X Box Live and will also stream live on Revolver Magazine’s Facebook page.
To announce the nominees, host Chris Jericho was on hand, along with Sebastian Bach, Scott Ian (Anthrax), Zakk Wylde and others. Halestorm performed a special live set, including a guest appearance by Sebastian Bach on a cover of the Skid Row classic “Slave to the Grind.”
Fans everywhere can cast their vote to decide who will take home the awards for “Best Guitarist” (presented by Epiphone®), “Best Drummer” (presented by Drum Workshop®), “Best Vocalist” (presented by Rockstar Energy Drink®), “Album of the Year” (presented by Orange Amplification®), “Song of the Year,” “Best Live Band” (presented by Samson®/Zoom®), “Best New Talent,” “Most Metal Athlete” (presented by Roadrunner Records®), “Comeback of the Year,” “Paul Gray Best Bassist” (presented by Dean Markley®) and “Most Dedicated Fans” (presented by Xbox LIVE®). Voting is currently open at GoldenGodsAwards.com and ends on April 15.
The Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award (presented by Ernie Ball®) will go to hard-rock and metal icons METALLICA, who will release the 3D movie Through the Never in August. (Previous honorees include RUSH, MÖTLEY CRÜE, Lemmy Kilmister of MOTÖRHEAD and Ozzy Osbourne.) Metallica’s Lars Ulrich commented, “Since the Revolver Golden Gods Awards is fast becoming THE most rocking awards ceremony in the hard rock world, we are beyond psyched to be at the receiving end of this shout out and in the distinguished company of Rush, Lemmy, Ozzy and Motley Crue. I was hanging out and presenting at the shenanigans two years ago and the energy in the room and the vibe backstage was beyond fucking cool, so Metallica is chomping at the bit to partake in this year’s event. Once again, we are honored to be recognized as achievers (!!) and we can’t wait to get up and jam onstage and sweat for and on everybody gathered.”
The Riff Lord Award (presented by EMG Pickups®) is given each year to a legendary guitarist in the field of hard rock & heavy metal. This year it’s going to none other than Black Sabbath axeman, Tony Iommi, who had this to say about the honor, “What a great honour to receive the Golden Gods Riff Lord Award for 2013, especially with our new Sabbath album coming out. I hope there will be some new favorite riffs in these songs.” Slash of Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver won the award last year.
Adding to the celebration, the 2013 REVOLVER GOLDEN GODS AWARDS SHOW will feature one-of-a-kind special performances and collaborations that honor both the past, present and future of heavy music. The night’s hard-rocking musical performances will include sets by Metallica and Anthrax, with more performers to be announced in the coming weeks.
Returning as well is the “Black Carpet” pre-show that will be hosted by legendary heavy-metal frontmen Sebastian Bach and Dee Snider. Bach and Snider will be interviewing all the nominees, honorees and performers on the Revolver Black Carpet before show time for the special, which will air on both AXS TV and Xbox LIVE.
Looking forward to the show in May… in the meantime Click Here for the nominees and to cast your vote. Below are a few photos of the presser. -Ralph.
Noisecreep: Among the many mighty metal milestones of 2012, the 30th birthday of Metal Blade Records stands as an amazing testament to the strength of metal devotion. Label founder Brian Slagel became a businessman almost by accident. He was a die-hard fan first, and editor of the fanzine New Heavy Metal Revue. Scraping together funding from money he saved while working at Sears, and a loan from his aunt, Slagel in 1982 created Metal Massacre, a Southern California-centered compilation to answer the countless label showcase collections of Britain’s NWOBHM.
From that first release, which introduced the world to Metallica and Ratt, Metal Blade Records was born. Over most of the next decade, the next installments of the Metal Massacre compilation series unveiled some of the greatest names in metal, including Slayer, Trouble, Voivod, Fates Warning, and Hellhammer.
METALLICA: The band that had the least going for it at the time of this record’s release has gone onto become the biggest rock band in the world. When Mötley Crüe bailed on Slagel’s compilation project, he offered his tape trader pal Lars Ulrich the slot if he could scrape together a band in time. Ulrich persuaded James Hetfield to join him, and for the initial release, Jamaican guitarist Lloyd Grant appeared as a guest soloist patched into the mix to play the leads. Future pressings included a different recording of the song with Dave Mustaine handling the trademark over-the-top trills.
RATT: A much more typical Southern California metal act than Metallica, Ratt were San Diego transplants to the Sunset Strip. Awestruck by Van Halen but chained down with a lean and relentlessly melodic double-guitar sound, Ratt cruised through a string of multi-platinum, platinum, and gold records and remain a musical and commercial highlight of the glam metal era.
ARMORED SAINT: Like many bands on the L.A. club circuit, Armored Saint relied heavily on image, but their studded leather armor was a far cry from the spandex and mascara of Mötley Crüe. Singer John Bush was openly courted by young Metallica, but he refused to leave his boyhood pals in this band. After Armored Saint’s early record deal with Chrysalis Records went South, Bush joined Anthrax for over a decade, and has since returned to his original armored homies.
This is a fascinating read. Check out more reviews of those auspicious debuts, in honor of three decades of Metal Blade, plus hear audio from these early recordings at Noisecreep.com.
With laser lights, huge explosions and a massive amount of pyro, KISS and Mötley Crüe left the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, California on August 14, 2012 looking like a war zone.
Mötley Crüe was first to perform and kicked ass on a set that included ‘Wild Side’, ‘Dr. Feelgood’, ‘Girls Girls Girls’ and ‘Kickstart My Heart’. After seeing them last summer at the Sunset Street Music Festival, I started to notice that it was almost the same setlist and the pyro did not change, which was not necessarily a bad thing… pyro is always good 
. Tommy Lee did his roller coaster drum solo and Mick Mars still looks like he is about to fall over his guitar. Mötley Crüe still brings it full blast with a high-energy, rockin’ show fans have come to expect.
This was my first time seeing KISS play live and I have to admit, I was kind skeptical of what they would bring to the tour as I have always considered them a gimmick band, but after seeing them play live they sure know how to put on a great show and I have been converted to be a full on KISS fan. As the show began, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer made their entrance via a platform that lowered them down to the stage from the top of the amphitheater. KISS opened with ‘Detroit Rock City’ then blasted through ‘Lick It Up’, ‘Love Gun’ and ‘Shout It Out Loud’. Watching them perform all theses hits and seeing the kids faces light up as did their parents, made the drive out to Irvine and the fist of cuffs, well worth it. Now time to watch Detroit Rock City (the Movie).
The KISS and Mötley Crüe tour rolls on to Northern California and Washington State before returning to the Eastern U.S.
Click Here for photos.
KISS and Mötley Crüe held a press conference on March 20, 2012 to announce a co-headliner tour that will take them across the America this summer. Both bands took the stage at the Roosevelt Hotel Ballroom in Hollywood, California with KISS coming out in full gear. Mötley Crüe and KISS will each play full sets (about 90 minutes) and bring a full stage show.
Comedian George Lopez was a special guest who introduced the bands and said he will NOT miss the tour and plans to get, as he put it WASTED with legal and Illegal substances. Tickets for this tour go on sale Friday, March 23rd to the genral public. For more information, log on to kissonline.com or motleycrue.com. Special thanks to Liz and Greg at Live Nation and the staff at 10th Street Entertainment. Here are a few photos of the event… Enjoy. -Ralph
- Jul. 20 – Jiffy Lube Live – Bristow, VA
- Jul. 21 – Farm Bureau Live – Virginia Beach, VA
- Jul. 22 – Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion – Raleigh, NC
- Jul. 24 – Aaron’s Amphitheater at Lakewood – Atlanta, GA
- Jul. 25 – Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre – Charlotte, NC
- Jul. 27 – Cruzan Amphitheatre – West Palm Beach, FL
- Jul. 28 – 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheater – Tampa, FL
- Jul. 31 – Oak Mountain Amphitheatre – Pelham, AL
- Aug. 03 – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion – Woodlands, TX
- Aug. 04 – Gexa Energy Paviliion – Dallas, TX
- Aug. 07 – Hard Rock Casino Presents: The Pavilion – Albuquerque, NM
- Aug. 08 – Comfort Dental Amphitheater – Englewood, CO
- Aug. 10 – Ashley Furniture Home Store Pavilion – Phoenix, AZ
- Aug. 11 – Mandalay Bay Arena – Las Vegas, NV
- Aug. 12 – Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre – Chula Vista, CA
- Aug. 14 – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater – Irvine, CA
- Aug. 16 – Sleep Train Pavilion – Concord, MA
- Aug. 18 – White River Amphitheatre – Auburn, WA
- Aug. 19 – Sleep Country Amphitheater – Ridgefield, CT
- Aug. 24 – Rock Jam – Grand Junction, CO
- Aug. 26 – BOK Center – Tulsa, OK
- Aug. 27 – Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre – Maryland Heights, MO
- Aug. 29 – Minnesota State Fair – Minneapolis, MN
- Aug. 31 – Riverbend Music Center – Cincinnati, OH
- Sep. 01 – Klipsch Music Center – Noblesville, IN
- Sep. 02 – First Niagara Pavilion – Burgettstown, PA
- Sep. 04 – Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN
- Sep. 05 – DTE Energy Music Theatre – Clarkston, MI
- Sep. 07 – First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre – Tinley Park, IL
- Sep. 08 – Alpine Valley Music Theater – East Troy, MI
- Sep. 11 – Allegan County Fair – Allegan, MI
- Sep. 12 – Blossom Music Center – Cuyahoga Falls, OH
- Sep. 13 – Molson Amphitheatre – Toronto, ON
- Sep. 15 – Darien Lake PAC – Darien Lake, NY
- Sep. 16 – Comcast Center – Mansfield, MA
- Sep. 18 – Toyota Pavilion – Scranton, PA
- Sep. 19 – Susquehanna Bank Center – Camden, NJ
- Sep. 21 – PNC Bank Arts Center – Holmdel, NJ
- Sep. 22 – Nikon at Jones Beach – Wantagh, NY
- Sep. 23 – Comcast Theater – Hartford, CT
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