GnR Rumors to Return

So Guns n Roses are "confirmed" to reunite at Coachella. I put "confirmed" in quotes because this is GnR so it's a crap shoot that it actually happens. I would bet it will, because there is a shitload of money at stake and even Axl has to appreciate that. But again maybe not.

I for one won't be going to Coachella to see this. Nor would I pay the astronomical price a ticket to the show would cost once they go on tour. Again, assuming they do. It's Axl and it's Slash and it's Duff, so that makes the reunion. Matt Sorum on drums is fine; it'd be nice to see Steven Adler, but for me Izzy Stradlin was the secret weapon in GnR. Gilbey Clarke is a good guitarist (his Pawnshop Guitars record is really good) but Izzy really brought that 70s Stones vibe to the band. GnR get lumped in with metal but they are not a metal band. They are a heavy rock band. They wanted to be the Rolling Stones. Izzy is so under-rated as a guitar player and song writer. He's doing his thing now and god bless him.

I got to see Guns n Roses in 1991 in Dallas at Starplex Amphitheater. This was right before the Illusion records came out. I don't remember much from the show except that Axl was late and water bottles and beer bottles were being thrown everywhere and girls were lifting their tops whenever the camera panning the crowd would show them on the big screens. To a 17 year old, it was awesome. Skid Row opened and they were adequate. When GnR hit the stage Axl said "If another bottle hits this stage we walk." Naturally three bottles landed at his feet but happily the band played on and it was a great show.

The thing about GnR is that with Appetite For Destruction they really sounded dangerous.  When the record came out I was listening to Iron Maiden and Metallica and Rush and Pink Floyd and Zeppelin. But GnR sounded so raw, crazy. My brother played me Appetite on tape and it was unlike anything I had heard. I was 13. Dangerous music. That opening riff to "Welcome to the Jungle". What is this?!? "You in the jungle, baby! Yur gonna diiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeee in the JUNGLE!!!" This sounded real and heavy.

Appetite still stands up today. Every song is great. "Pretty Tied Up" is the weakest track because it's lyrically dumb, but at least it fits the record. "Paradise City" might be my LEAST favorite track on that record, just because it's overplayed. "Mr Brownstone", "My Michelle", "Rocket Queen." FUCK! Those songs are just killer.

I'm not going to see them though. I wish I could have seen them in 87 or 88 but I saw them in 91 with Izzy and that is good enough for me. It won't be the same. Maybe it will be great. I was totally wrong about the Zeppelin Celebration Day reunion show. Maybe I will be wrong here. But GnR have a lot of baggage, and Axl just doesn't sound the same.  I hope it goes well for them, because I hope the people who do go and were too young to see them at the top have a great time. Plus I am old and cranky and am tired of big stadium shows.

Heavy Round-Up

If you've read here enough you know I have a soft spot for heavy rock and metal. Here's a round-up of some records of that ilk I have been digging and playing regularly.

The back of Old Man's Will eponymous debut says "File Under: 70s rock/blues rock/hard rock." That sums them up just right. Hailing from Sweden they are a modern band doing old school heavy rock. They are another great band on the EasyRider Records (about to become Riding Easy due to legal reasons) label. Deep Purple minus Jon Lord is what comes to mind when listening. "An Ennobling Evening" has that Ritchie Blackmore kind of vibe, heavy guitar licks over a thudding beat and wailing Ian Gillian-esque vocal. "Alidheim" is slow burn, rhythm and bluesy vocals before the bottom-friendly guitar lick kicks in. It's a nice debut by a very promising band. I look forward to hearing more from them in the future.

The Oath are a couple foxy ladies from Sweden and Germany respectively and a couple guys named Fred (no offense) doing a fast, witchy blend of hard rock and metal. German singer Johanna Sardonis has a fascination with evil things and the hereafter; it bleeds into her lyrics. Swedish guitarist Linnéa Ollson can flat out play. Take the also eponymously-named album opener "All Must Die." That title does not express the end is imminent but that it's eventual, and that it might not be a happy eternity awaiting you. Musically it has a nice time shift in the middle. They do that a bunch keeping things especially interesting. The song titles are as expected: "Night Child," "Black Rainbow," "Death Delight" and "Psalm 7" for example. My copy came direct from Rise Above Records and includes a 7" for "Night Of The Demon." The album cover alone gets attention and the music backs up the look. If you dig devilish metal you'll dig this. It's harmless fun, whether or not they believe the shtick.

Less metal and more heavy rock is the wonderfully named British outfit Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovel and their new LP Check 'Em Before You Wreck 'Em. Another offering from Rise Above Records, these fellows bring more 70s inspired rock. These Brits sound more like late-era Ozzy Sabbath. It's not earth-shattering but it's rock n roll and it's fun. Plus their guitarist calls himself Johnny Gorilla and I respect that. They look like they stepped out of the 70s. Denim and boots and weird birds riding motorcycles. It's fun and sort of stupid but the fun is in the stupidness. 100% respect in that statement. I dig it and if you dig loud guitars and heavy rhythm you will dig this. What's not to like about a song called "2 Tonne Fuckboot"?

Here's Old Man's Will doing "Evil Woman"

The Oath and "All Must Die"

YouTube is coming up short on stuff from their new record

so here is a clip from a February show of theirs:

Awaiting the Mothership

In the DISCOVER section of Spotify, it will say things like "You listened to so-and-so, you might like these-other-folks!" or "You haven't listened to Debbie Gibson in a while. Listen now?" or "Your friend  likes Stryper. Check it out?"

One of the bands that fit under the first statement is Texas' Mothership.  Apparently there are a lot of bands out there named Mothership. Most of them seem to be cover bands, including one Led Zeppelin tribute band. These guys are a tribute in that they salute the 60s and 70s hard rock and heavy blues bands of days gone by. A lot of bands do this kind of stuff but most of them unfortunately can't quite pull it off. Mothership, surprisingly in a way, do. The lyrics are...well let's just say it..sort of dumb in spots. For example "City Nights" talks about rock n roll being here to stay and how they are ready to fight and yadda yadda yadda.

But a band like this isn't agreeable because of the lyrics. Or the vocals, which are kind of meh, but are very happily crystal clear so that you can hear the guy is really singing, so I really do dig that. But it's all about the riffs, man.

And the awesome album cover. See said awesome-ness there ----->

But mostly the riffs. The jams are classic sounding 70s hard rock veering into metal. Like the side 1 closer "Angel Of Death", it's got a killer Richie Blackmore-esque lick that drives the song. "City Nights" has the wanting lyrics but it's no worse than any Scorpions song (that's a compliment). The album opens with a wicked-cool instrumental "Hallucination" before segueing right into "Cosmic Rain." The back side opens with a "Win Or Lose," which could have been a bonus track off some expanded edition of Never Say Die. It has songs that every hard rock record should have: songs about eagles and guys in charge of the moon and some weird word that looks like a girl' name. She's probably  the busty angel on the cover. Or at least a witch.

The band is a power trio from where I grew up...Dallas, Texas. Two brothers and a guy named Judge.  The bassist kind of look like Kim Thayil from Soundgarden. The lead singer looks like the fat violin guy from Kansas. The drummer looks like a drummer. The LP comes with a poster, which is fucking cool and should be in every metal record, that shows a wall of Orange speaker cabinets, so that immediately makes these near and dear to my heart.

Jokes aside, I like this record a lot. Music is supposed to be fun and this record is fun! It's not as inventive as Kylesa or as wicked as Blood Ceremony or as retro as Kadaver or as scary as Baroness but it's incredibly, incredibly solid heavy rock.

Here they are doing their thing with "Win Or Lose."