Newsted "Heavy Metal Music"

Earlier this year, former Metallica bassist Jason Newted’s new band, simply titled “Newsted” released their 4-track debut EP Metal. Earlier in the summer I wrote an article about it, not actually aware that Metal was so quickly going to be followed up by a full length album. Considering I’ve already written an article about the Metal EP, I suppose I can skip the whole history of the band and what not, besides I’m sure most of you already know who Jason Newsted is anyway.

Eagles "Desperado"

It’s the last week of summer. As it saddens me, I look back on it, and I’m sure many do, as a terrific summer full of memories. I’m going to take this opportunity to write about a classic rock album for the first time, something I’ve wanted to do since starting this website. The problem is, there are just so many albums to choose from. But I thought about this, and if there is one album that has defined my summer, one album that I listened to the most out of any album is The Eagles 1973 sophomore album Desperado.

Philip H. Anselmo and the Illegals "Walk Through Exits Only"

All, to almost all metal fans know the name Philip Anselmo (for reasons that I think are obvious, I prefer to refer to him as “Phil” rather than “Philip”). Whether or not you’re a fan, it is undeniable that he and a little band named Pantera made such a difference in heavy metal music that it is still being talked about today in the form of god status. Phil, as well as drummer Vinnie Paul, bassist Rex Brown and of course the late guitarist Dimebag Darrell are all equally responsible for changing metal as we know it.

Laura Wilde "Sold My Soul"

I believe it’s been about a year since I discovered Laura Wilde. Late August/early September of 2012 she followed me on Twitter, as I’m sure she did to a lot of people to broaden her reach. I told her that day that I was sure glad she followed me otherwise I’d never have discovered her music. I then realized that this lovely 23 year old young woman from Australia (who moved to L.A.) had spent the better part of 2012 touring with none other than Ted Nugent and had already slowly started making a name for herself.

Five Finger Death Punch "The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell: Volume 1

If the name Five Finger Death Punch sounds familiar, it’s probably because they’ve become one of the biggest names in modern metal over the past five or so years. Coming in to the metal world with their 2007 debut album The Way Of The Fist, the band caught some attention with their song The Bleeding. It didn’t take long before they released their second album, War Is The Answer, which rocketed to number 7 on Billboard. When their third album American Capitalist went to number 3, it was clear that they had established themselves with a true fan base.

Evan Egerer "Evan Egerer EP"

I don’t know if I’ve ever said this, but the basis of my music interests, as wide as they stem, always comes back to that simple blues influenced hard rock. Guys like Slash or early Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy, Nazareth, etc. After listening to (and of course loving) the latest in metal and alternative, I always find my way back to artists such as the previously mentioned artists and remember that they are where my roots of my love for music come from.

Black Sabbath "13"

Did anybody have their doubts when Black Sabbath announced a new album that it would be a display of the same excellence that the band made a reputation of recording in the early 70s? I think a lot of people did. Even I, among the more optimistic of music fans, was on the edge of my seat waiting to hear what 34 years of separation would have done to the chemistry that Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi once had. I think when it was announced that Bill Ward would not be participating in this reunion for the ages, even more doubt was put in the minds of fans. Hell, it created quite some backlash with fans, some even boycotting listening the project altogether. It reminds me exactly of Van Halen carrying on without bassist Michael Anthony. What these estranged fans (of both bands, frankly) have to consider to themselves is this: is the absence of one member so much worse than the band as a whole never touring again?

Butcher Babies "Goliath"

I’ve been wondering for weeks how to start off this article on the Butcher Babies. There is so much I can say, but I don’t know what would kick this off on the right foot. The reason being that every week or so I learn something different about the band that changes my perception of what they are about. Originally I was thinking of saying something along the lines of “some people would do anything to get noticed”, since in the early days of the band, their two female singers Carla Harvey and Heidi Shepherd would perform on stage wearing nothing on the top half of their bodies but tape covering their nipples. But not long after I discovered them, they dropped that gimmick, which was initially a tribute to punk legend Wendy O. Williams (the band’s name comes from her song Butcher Baby from the first Plasmatics album).