Hard Rock
King Crimson’s Robert Fripp and Wife Toyah Unveil Cheerleader Rendition of Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell”: Watch
A week after going viral with an eye-catching cover of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman”, King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his singer wife Toyah are back with an equally fun rendition of Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell”. The couple have been putting an eccentric spin on rock classics as part of their “Sunday Lunch” quarantine series for a few months now, but last weekend’s cover of the iconic Metallica tune completely blew up, garnering nearly 3 million views to date. Judging by the pun-filled comments on YouTube and social media, it was Toyah’s revealing choice of attire that made the clip a whopping sensation, even more so than the quirkiness of her singing the iconic metal song while riding an exercise bike. Now, the playful pair take on Billy Idol’s sing-along anthem “Rebel Yell”, with Toyah d...
Baby Dancing to Tool’s “Invincible” Will Lift Your Spirits During These Dark Times: Watch
Dancing Tool Baby (via YouTube), Tool’s Maynard James Keenan (photo by Kevin RC Wilson) With a pandemic still plaguing the world and insurrectionists storming the U.S. Capitol, we need a bit of levity in these dark times. That’s where a new video of a baby dancing to Tool’s “Invincible” comes in, brightening our spirits with every one of his little stomps. We stumbled on this video in its infancy, and we’re not just talking about the baby’s age. Criminally, it only had 20 views since being uploaded just before Christmas by YouTube user Mom of Five. With the Fear Inoculum track “Invincible” playing on the family’s television, complete with a graphic of the album cover, the little Batman-pajama-wearing toddler seems to be drawn to the music. As he makes his way to the TV with his sippy...
AFI Return with New Songs “Twisted Tongues” and “Escape From Los Angeles”: Stream
AFI have unleashed two new songs — “Twisted Tongues” and “Escape From Los Angeles” — ahead of a new album planned for 2021. Both tracks can be heard in the visualizers below. The two new songs mark the veteran California rock act’s first new music since they dropped the five song EP The Missing Man in December 2018. When a new LP arrives, it will be the band’s first since 2017’s AFI (The Blood Album). “Twisted Tongues” explores AFI’s goth-rock side, while “Escape From Los Angeles” gives off more of a punk vibe — both highlighted by singer Davey Havok’s signature haunting vocals. “As I recall, ‘Twisted Tongues’ came of the Blood era and was the first piece of music we explored on the new album,” Havok explained of “Twisted Tongues” in a press release. “The dreaminess of the music lyrically ...
Serj Tankian on System of a Down: “As Long As We’re on the Same Page, We Can Continue Doing Stuff”
System of a Down surprised fans in November when they released their first new songs in 15 years. The band had been stagnated by creative differences, but singer Serj Tankian offers hope that more new music could be on the way, as long as the members are “on the same page.” For a while it appeared that System of a Down’s recording days may have been over. While the band continued to tour occasionally, the members just couldn’t see eye to eye when it came to creating a follow-up to their last album, 2005’s Hypnotize. Tankian and guitarist-singer Daron Malakian made headlines in 2018 when they publicly aired their grievances about their creative differences, with Tankian accepting responsibility for spearheading a band hiatus that lasted from 2006 to 2011. A further divide seemed to happen t...
Jeopardy! Celebrated Rob Zombie’s Birthday with a Clue About the Rocker-Director: Watch
Rob Zombie turned 56 years old on Tuesday (January 12th), and he received the ultimate television honor — a mention on Jeopardy! The rocker-director was the correct response to a clue about his movie House of 1000 Corpses. With previous champion Ken Jennings guest hosting in the wake of the legendary Alex Trebek’s tragic passing in November, last night’s new airing of Jeopardy! featured a category titled “Insane Clown Posse”. No, the category wasn’t about the face-painted rap duo or their Juggalo fans. Instead, it focused on famous clowns from horror movies and TV. The clue was, “Hooray for Captain Spaulding, the murderous clown in House of 1000 Corpses, directed by this White Zombie frontman.” The correct $1,200 question, of course, was, “Who is Rob Zombie?”, as answered by contestant Dus...
Corey Taylor Recruits Reality Star, Movie Actors, and Steel Panther for “Samantha’s Gone” Video: Watch
Corey Taylor’s new music video for his solo single “Samantha’s Gone” is a star-studded affair. The Slipknot frontman recruited the likes of Vanderpump Rules reality star Tom Sandoval, actor Dean Cameron (Summer School, Straight Outta Compton), and hair-metal parody band Steel Panther for the humorous clip. The backdrop is the set of the video shoot for the song, a track on Taylor’s recent debut solo album, CMFT. Sandoval appears as a mulleted frontman of an overzealous indie-rock band that also features Greg Grunberg (Star Wars movies), Latin musician Travis Miguel, guitarist Ace Von Johnson (Faster Pussycat, L.A. Guns), and musician Jonah Nimroy. As they deliver a ridiculous performance of “Samantha’s Gone”, the director (played by Cameron) screams in disgust. When he begs them to stop, T...
NOFX announce new album, unveil single “Linewleum” featuring Avenged Sevenfold: Stream
Los Angeles punk veterans NOFX have announced their 14th full-length LP, titled Single Album. In advance of its February 26th release, frontman Fat Mike and co. have unveiled the single “Linewleum” featuring contributions from members of Avenged Sevenfold. Single Album marks NOFX’s first LP since 2016’s First Ditch Effort. It is also the band’s first album since members of NOFX made highly insensitive onstage comments about the country music fans who died in the horrific Route 91 Harvest music festival massacre in Las Vegas in 2017. While the band apologized profusely, they were dropped from their own Punk in Drublic festival’s lineup and had a series of tour dates canceled. The new single, “Linewleum”, is actually an update of NOFX’s song “Linoleum”, which was the lead track on their 1994...
Limp Bizkit, Mastodon, 311, Filter, The Used, Veruca Salt Members Cover Jane’s Addiction’s “Mountain Song”: Watch
The Kings of Quarantine — a collective spearheaded by Slaves on Dope members Jason Rockman and Kevin Jardine along with Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher — are back with an all-star cover of the Jane’s Addiction classic “Mountain Song”. This time around, they’re joined by members of Limp Bizkit, 311, Filter, Veruca Salt, The Used, and In Flames. Kelliher and Jardine are joined on guitar by Limp Bizkit’s Wes Borland, while vocals are handled by Rockman, Veruca Salt’s Louise Post, Filter’s Richard Patrick, and The Used’s Bert McCracken. The rhythm section is made up of 311’s P-Nut on bass and In Flames’ Tanner Wayne on drums. The singers all do an admirable job on the challenging tune, as “Mountain Song” is one of Perry Farrell’s finest vocal moments in Jane’s Addiction. McCracken’s turn is e...
King Crimson’s Robert Fripp and Wife Toyah Gift Us with Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” on an Exercise Bike: Watch
King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his singer wife Toyah owned the pandemic in 2020 with a “Sunday Lunch” quarantine series featuring a number of memorable performances. Thankfully, for those of us still wanting eccentric covers of our favorite rock songs, the couple have continued the series into 2021. Their latest effort is a rendition of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” featuring Toyah riding an exercise bike. As Fripp plays the iconic “Enter Sandman” riff on guitar, Toyah rides the bike, writhing around as she sings and acts out the song’s lyrics. This time around, it’s not so much the performance as it is Toyah’s revealing choice of apparel that has garnered the most comments on YouTube. In just one day, the clip has more than a half million views. “Enter Sandman” isn’t Robert and Toyah...
EVH Unveils New 2021 Guitar Models in Eddie Van Halen’s Honor
EVH has unveiled a new series of colorful guitar models for 2021, honoring the company’s founder and namesake, the late Eddie Van Halen. All in all, there are nine new EVH guitars coming in early 2021. New models for the 5150 Series will include the 5150 Series Deluxe Poplar Burl featuring ebony fingerboard ($999.99 MSRP), the 5150 Series Standard with ebony fingerboard ($899.99), and the neon pink finished 5150 Series Standard with maple fingerboard ($899.99). The standard guitar will be available in February while the Poplur Burl arrives in April. The reimagined 5150 series guitars are engineered for “speed” and “comfort” — no surprise given Eddie’s lightning fast playing technique. The guitars’ Stratocaster-style basswood body has a deeper upper body curve, bold-on quarter-sawn maple ne...
Linkin Park’s “One Step Closer” Gets New Remix by 100 gecs: Stream
Linkin Park’s mega-selling debut album Hybrid Theory continues to be celebrated after marking its 20th anniversary in October. A new officially sanctioned remix of “One Step Closer” by the innovative hyper-pop duo 100 gecs is the latest musical tribute to Linkin Park and their landmark LP. 100 gecs were personally recruited by Linkin Park to remix “One Step Closer” in any way they saw fit. The duo of Dylan Brady and Laura Les not only offer a new spin on Linkin Park’s breakout hit, but also add their own vocals to the mix, dubbed “One Step Closer (100 gecs Reanimation)”. Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda referenced his band’s 2002 remix album, Reanimation, when praising the 100 gecs version of “One Step Closer” in a press release. “Part of the spirit of Reanimation was to take the&...
KISS’ Gene Simmons and Gibson Team for New G² Line of Electric Guitars and Basses
Founding KISS bassist Gene Simmons has partnered with Gibson for a new line of electric guitars and basses dubbed G². The new collection will launch with the release of the G² Thunderbird bass later this year. Simmons unveiled the Thunderbird during KISS’ elaborate New Year’s Eve livestream concert in Dubai. The entrepreneurial bassist recently reaffirmed his belief that “rock is dead,” but that’s not stopping him from releasing a new series of rock instruments. “You live and die by the instrument in your hands,” Simmons said in a press announcement. “You can stick your tongue out only so many times, but you have got to deliver the goods.” The new collection of right and left-handed guitars will span Gibson’s numerous brands — Gibson proper, Epiphone, and Kramer — which indicates a variety...
