John Shearer, Getty Images Drummer Matt Sorum looks upon his tenure with Velvet Revolver as some of the best times of his career, but he definitely has some reservations about whether the band will continue. Speaking with ‘Source of the Sound With Wendy Campbell’ (audio below), Sorum initially referred to the band in past tense while using the term “broke up,” before correcting his wording and explaining, “I can’t say we’ve broken up because it’s a hiatus.” When asked about the possibility of continuing with former frontman Scott Weiland , he moved on from the notion quickly and changed the topic to Slash and his satisfaction with his current band. Sorum explained, “I think Slash is really kind of happy being Slash and not really dealing with the drama of being in a band. He’s the leader of his band and they go on stage on time and they play songs. And I’ve gotta kind of respect Slash for that, because he spent most of his career waiting around for people to show up. [laughs] [So he wants to just] go out on the road and have a nice easy go of it. Get on a tour bus [with] a new band, play songs. I totally respect that.” Sorum says of his time with the band, “Velvet Revolver, in my opinion, was a miracle, in a way. Because here we are, guys in our 40s, putting together a band that’s gonna be [perceived] as a modern rock and roll band. And we achieved that. We were competing against much younger guys, we had a huge success with it. I got my first Grammy, which was amazing and it was really, for me, one of the highlights of my life, because number one, I was an original member for the first time ever; I was always the guy that came in and took somebody’s place. Velvet Revolver [consisted of] guys that I already played with before, but it was considered a new band.” Though Velvet Revolver continues to be on hold, Sorum hasn’t let it stop his musical pursuits. He’s been working with a group of rock vets called Kings of Chaos, and also taking on more production roles of late. He recently finished a record with Diamond Baby and is heading into the studio to oversee another band’s record. Sorum also turns up on the ‘ Re-Machined ‘ Deep Purple tribute album. Listen to Matt Sorum Discussing Velvet Revolver [button href=”http://loudwire.com/duff-mckagan-velvet-revolver-lead-singer-search-nowhere/” title=”Next: Duff McKagan Discusses Velvet Revolver Singer Search” align=”center”]
Jason Smith, Getty Images Creed singer Scott Stapp has just released his official memoir, ‘Sinner’s Creed.’ You might not think Stapp’s bio would be as interesting as noted works by rockers such as Nikki Sixx and Keith Richards, but you might want to read the book with your eyes wide open . For instance, did you know the singer once fell 40-foot from a balcony while on a multi-day drug binge, fracturing his skull, breaking his hip and nose, before finally being discovered by his “guardian angel” — rapper T.I.? Stapp dropped by VH1′s ‘Big Morning Buzz Live’ to promote his new book, offering the incredible story for all who want to listen. Now sober and a mentor to various individuals who are struggling with addiction, Stapp begins to describe the cryptic night, which begins in the penthouse suite of Miami’s Delano Hotel. “I’ll never forget it,” begins Stapp. “The rooms were all white and I remember in one of the stages of my being awake for three days, I thought I was in ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’, in an asylum. I started hearing things, like the cops were coming through the door and I started thinking, “I can’t embarrass my family.” I was trying to climb over the balcony and fell 40 feet.” Stapp continues, “I had met T.I. back in 2004, we were both writing songs for ‘The Passion of the Christ’ soundtrack and we had briefly interacted there and knew what each other looked like. We’d talked about being fans of Alabama [Crimson Tide] … he came out, and as I’m laying on the ledge, blood fell to his feet and he looked up and he had an Alabama hat on. I said, ‘Roll tide,’ and then he looked at me and put two and two together and really saved my life.” Check out VH1′s video footage of Scott Stapp telling the story of his near-death experience. To buy Stapp’s book, ‘Sinner’s Creed’, click here . Scott Stapp on How T.I. Saved His Life
Larry Busacca, Getty Images Frontman Dave Grohl has officially announced that Foo Fighters will indeed be taking an extended hiatus. There’s no word on when Foo Fighters will play a show or record an album again, with Grohl himself writing, “I was serious. I’m not sure when the Foo Fighters are good to play again.” As we recently reported , Grohl told a New York City crowd during his band’s set at the Global Citizen Festival on Saturday (Sept. 29) that Foo Fighters have no additional shows planned. “We’re not making a big deal out of this, but this is it,” stated Grohl. “We don’t have any more shows after this. This is it. We don’t have any ones after this. This is the show where we play as many songs as we can in a short period of time because honestly, I don’t know when we’re gonna do it again, but this is the perfect place to do it right now tonight.” Now, Grohl elaborates further in a post on Foo Fighters’ Facebook page: Hey everyone… Dave here. Just wanted to write and thank you all again from the bottom of my heart for another incredible year. (Our 18th, to be exact!) We truly never could have done any of this without you… Never in my wildest dreams did I think Foo Fighters would make it this far. I never thought we COULD make it this far, to be honest. There were times when I didn’t think the band would survive. There were times when I wanted to give up. But… I can’t give up this band. And I never will. Because it’s not just a band to me. It’s my life. It’s my family. It’s my world. Yes… I was serious. I’m not sure when the Foo Fighters are going to play again. It feels strange to say that, but it’s a good thing for all of us to go away for a while. It’s one of the reasons we’re still here. Make sense? I never want to NOT be in this band. So, sometimes it’s good to just… put it back in the garage for a while… But, no gold watches or vacations just yet… I’ll be focusing all of my energy on finishing up my Sound City documentary film and album for worldwide release in the very near future. A year in the making, it could be the biggest, most important project I’ve ever worked on. Get ready… it’s coming. Me, Taylor, Nate, Pat, Chris, and Rami… I’m sure we’ll all see you out there… somewhere… Thank you, thank you, thank you… Dave [button href=”http://loudwire.com/foo-fighters-best-of-you-top-21st-century-hard-rock-songs/” title=”Foo Fighters: Top 21st Century Hard Rock Songs” align=”center”]
BaronessMusic.com On Aug. 15, Baroness were involved in a terrible bus accident in the United Kingdom. The accident that occurred that morning caused Baroness’ bus to break through a guard rail at 50mph, plummeting 30 feet off a cliff into a wooded area below. Incredibly, every passenger on the bus survived, and in a fascinating recollection written by Baroness frontman John Baizley, fans are now able to understand how truly lucky the band was to survive. No matter your personal religious convictions, or lack thereof, one word can be universally shared to describe the survival of each bus passenger — ‘miracle.’ In Baizley’s written account on his brush with death, which left him with a severely broken arm and leg, he shares with incredible depth exactly what happened, the moment of impact, insight into his near-death experience (which is oddly reminiscent of Woods of Ypres ‘ song ‘Death is Not an Exit’) and much more. Baizley writes: On August 15th, just before 11 am, Baroness and our crew were involved in a very bad crash while on tour. The brakes in our bus failed completely, on a notoriously dangerous, incredibly steep (12% grade) hill in Monkton Combe, UK, on our way from a show Bristol to another show in Southampton. Our bus went entirely out of control, and we had no choice other than hitting a perpendicular guardrail going about 50 mph at the bottom of the hill. The guard rail and the 20 or 30 trees we ploughed through snapped like matchsticks as we went fully airborne and fell down more than 30 feet off of a viaduct to the ground below. Half of the band/crew were asleep while we lost our brakes, and a few of us were awake and sitting in the rear lounge. I was up front with our driver, and I bore witness to the entire thing. Once our brakes failed, the bus could do little more than gain momentum and plummet down the hill. There was nothing anyone on the bus could have done during our descent to avoid the crash, and no one, the local residents, the police or any of us can believe we survived the impact. Most people who have been in accidents understand the pre-trauma sensation of time slowing down. There were almost two minutes during which I knew we were heading for a collision. It felt like two hours. I remember the sound of the air-brakes failing, and the panicked cursing of our driver as we slowly realized how desperate the situation was. I tried as hard as I could to yell and wake everyone up to prepare for impact. I remember the sounds of confusion from behind me as our collective terror rose. I remember seeing the guardrail split, then a cluster of trees smacking against the front windshield. While we were airborne my eyes met with our driver’s. I knew then that we each shared the same look on our face; and I won’t soon forget it. We had spent enough time in the air to appreciate, make peace with and accept a fate we thought inevitable, and we looked at one another with a horribly silent “goodbye” in our eyes. When the bus hit the ground, I flew like a missile into the windshield. I can still see the double-paned auto glass turning blue and the spider-webbing cracks spreading outwards from the impact my body made. I hit the glass so hard, that the entire windshield flew from the frame to the ground, and I bounced back inside the bus. I landed on the ledge of the windshield. This came with an immediate and overwhelming pain throughout my body. I surveyed the damage to see instantly that my left leg was very obviously and badly broken. Then I lifted my arms forward to see if either had been damaged. My right arm was covered in burns, blood and broken glass, but working well enough. My left arm was crushed beyond belief, broken in the middle of the bone in my upper arm (humerus), and hanging 90 degrees backwar ds, with many spurs of bone poking through muscles and sinew at the surface of my skin. The bone was shattered into seven free-floating pieces, and my wrist and hand were swinging behind my back, spasming freely. Instinctively, I reached behind my back, grabbed my wrist and re-broke my arm forwards, hugging it to my chest, where it remained for the next three hours until it was cast in plaster. Meanwhile, I watched as some of the band was able to get off the bus and help the others, many of whom were broken-up as well, and several of whom were unconscious. There was blood, glass and diesel fuel everywhere. We were all rushed to the hospital in Bath, and treated for our various injuries, broken arms, legs, vertebrae, bruises, cuts, etc. Our driver was air lifted to a separate hospital with many breaks as well. A few of us had to remain in the hospital for a few days, I was hospitalized for two weeks, following an eight-hour surgery in which my arm was rebuilt with the aid of 2 massive titanium plates, 20 screws and a foot-and-a-half of wire. The 15? incision took almost 50 staples to close up. I was left completely immobilized for the remainder of my hospital stay, able to do next-to-nothing on my own and in need of constant care. Following those excruciating first two weeks, I was quite literally stuck in an apartment for another three weeks with my family while waiting for my doctor to allow me to safely board an airplane, for fear of bloodclots and swelling. I have just this past week returned back to the US and my home, where I am wheelchair-bound for another several weeks of physical therapy, learning to use my arm and leg again. While I cannot lift a glass of water to my lips to drink with my left arm and hand, I am still able to play music with it. I picked up a guitar and played the day after I returned. Not without pain (for the time being), but the hand still acts out the creative impulses I give it. I’m told I was quite lucky to have regained any use at all of my hand and arm, though I have sustained quite extensive nerve damage. In spite of this and against my logic and reason, when I pick up an instrument, my hand remembers exactly what to do. It’s far from perfect, and will require a lot of therapy in order to recover mobility and strength, but I am encouraged by the ability I have been allowed. I do not believe in superstitious signs, but I am truly overwhelmed to have been granted the continued use of my hands. As a result of the crash, I feel encouraged not only to recover, but to move forward with Baroness, as we had been doing every day previous to August 15th. This accident has inflicted an injury which has left its mark on the band: physically, mentally and spiritually. In order to rehabilitate ourselves fully, we must work towards and then past the goals we had prior to the accident. I will consider our immediate recovery a success only on the day we plug back in to play another show. We cannot allow this accident, which I believe is unrelated to the band or our music, to slow down or stifle what has become so much more than a passionate hobby for the four of us. Through Baroness, we have discovered a method by which we may harness our drive to create, and channel all the emotion, anxiety and pain in our lives into something constructive. Music is the universal means of communication we have chosen to express ourselves. Our message has never been one of the absolute positive or negative, neither black nor white. True life occurs within the shades of grey, and I see this experience form that perspective. It seems only fitting to me that we continue working towards creating and performing again as soon as possible, as this band and its music are the vehicle through which we grow as individuals, artists and brothers. The injury the band suffered is an injury to my family and loved ones. Rather than allow it to become a wedge that forces us apart, I would like to see this experience become part of the glue that strengthens us. We have only begun to accomplish what we set out to do through this band. There is so much more to say, and though we do need to heal up a bit; we will not allow any of those things to be left unsaid. I have no regrets about touring. I don’t blame music or the touring lifestyle for my current physical state, or for the accident itself. It happened the same way all things happen: randomly. If I was a carpenter, and I was injured on the way to the job-site, I wouldn’t consider quitting my job. That is truly how I see this situation. Baroness doesn’t stop because we got hurt on the way to work. We love what we do much more than that, and we have chosen this path because it offers us an unpredictable adventure. With any adventure that involves travel, and with any real passionate pursuit, one will occasionally come face-to-face with the reality of living on the other side of the yellow line. I didn’t choose to be a musician in order to live a risk-free life, safely avoiding bumps and bruises. I didn’t choose to play music because it seemed like a simple opportunity to make some quick cash. Nor did I ever make the assumption that things would get easier as we progressed. We can do nothing but attempt to make something constructive and beautiful out of all this disaster, and we are well on the way to becoming active again. I have used this time, stuck inside my own head, to consider the importance of music and Baroness in my life. I can say, after nearly 6 weeks of reflection, that I feel more resolute and passionate about our music than ever. I have come to realize the importance of time in this particular equation, that is, I have none to waste and none to spare. There is no better moment than now, broken and in physical stasis, to devote ourselves more fully towards our art than ever. We cannot allow the traumatic fallout of our crash to cripple us internally. It seems simple: the shows we have cancelled we will reschedule and play in the future. It isn’t going to happen next week nor will it be next month. But it will happen. We will be back on tour as soon as we possibly can. There was one moment in the crash that cut me deeply. For one heartbeat and one tiny sliver of time, I became disconnected entirely. It was, specifically, the moment I impacted with the glass. In that barest heartbeat of a moment, I came face to face with the infinite. I didn’t see a light, or the tunnel or hear any music. Nor did I get a “best-of” montage of my life. Instead, I felt the tip of my nose brush up against the very same fate I had accepted moments before. I looked into a cold, unreflective mirror. It was the dark, silent, dispassionate logic of the end. I realized in that moment that life can be seen as a light switch: “on” or “off”. When the moment passed and I heard the screaming, felt the pain, and tasted my own blood, I was overcome with joy. I was ecstatic to be back amidst all that chaos and horror because it was alive and real. I finally glimpsed the relative importance of all things. The support of our fans, our friends and our families has real meaning to me now. I say that now honestly, without false humility. Thank you. Everyone. Till the wheels fall off . . . John Baizley & Baroness BaronessMusic.com BaronessMusic.com BaronessMusic.com [button href=”http://loudwire.com/baroness-march-to-the-sea-best-2012-rock-songs/” title=”Baroness: Best Rock Songs of 2012″ align=”center”]
BangerFilms.com Canadian film director Sam Dunn was the guest on Full Metal Jackie’s radio show this past weekend. Dunn, who put together and starred in the ‘Metal Evolution’ series on VH1 Classic and is the co-founder of Banger Films, talked all about his effort to raise money in order to film the ‘missing’ episode of the ‘Metal Evolution Series’ which covers a sub-genre very near and dear to him, extreme metal. If you missed Jackie’s show, read the full interview with Sam Dunn: You’ve been very busy with Banger Films which you are the co-founder of — Grammy nominated and ‘Juno’ award winning Banger Films. Congratulations. Thank you, yeah it’s been a busy few years since we last talked, so we got to catch up. Last year Banger films released the biggest ever series on the history of metal and hard rock. It was called ‘Metal Evolution’ and featured over forty years of metal history from early metal and shock rock to thrash and nu-metal. The series followed Sam on an amazing journey, over 30 countries, four continents and you interview 300 of metal’s most respected musicians including the likes of Lars [Ulrich] from Metallica, Alice Cooper, Van Halen, Lamb of God, Slash, Bruce Dickinson who typically is not down for doing interviews so props to you on that and so many more. It’s a huge success on VH1 Classic and it broadcasts all over the world. Despite the success, we the metal fans and Sam, as well, all felt that there was definitely a series that was missing and that is extreme metal. Since the ‘Metal Evolution’ series was pretty comprehensive about the sub-genres of metal, what factors prevented there from being an exteme metal episode? When we initially approached VH1 Classic about doing ‘Metal Evolution,’ they were really excited about the series. They’ve always been supportive of us, three of our four featured documentaries have aired on the network so they’ve always been really good to us. When we pitched the initial series we did have the extreme metal episode in our initial proposal but I guess for their audience I guess they perceived their audience as being more geared towards the older stuff and not necessarily towards the heavier end of the spectrums. So Slash was as heavy as we could go and that was tough for us because we are fans of extreme metal but we were thankful that they could do 11 episodes on metal at all, no one else would really do that these days. So we did the series as you said and it did really well and it even went to number one on VH1 Classic and on Much More here in Canada but we always had this nagging feeling in the back of our brains that’s like, “We really should have done that extreme metal episode.” As it turns out we got hundreds of messages from fans saying, “We wished it was there, too,” so we decided to do something about that and launch this Indiegogo campaign. Anthropologically speaking, how important is extreme metal to heavy metal as a whole, more than some of its other sub-genres. It’s a great question, I think the popular conception is that extreme metal is kind of in this dark, obscure corner that is an irrelevant minority within the history of heavy metal music but that’s just not true. Extreme metal is the sub-genre within metal over the last 20, 30 years now that’s really pushed the genre in new direction. It’s kind of like the kamikaze guy out on the front of the battalion making sure its safe to go over the hill and looking around every corner to see where the genre could go. So we just think when we’re talking about a series that’s about the evolution of metal it seems crazy not to include that genre which really has pushed it forward. More recently I love Keith Kahn-Harris’s phrase; he’s a well-respected academic and writer in metal fan in the UK, he uses the phrase “Motor of Innovation” and I just think that totally captures it. It’s not an obscurity, it’s a style of metal that young fans, frankly are most excited about because metal is all about pushing things to the next level. What an amazing experience it must have been for you to travel the world and interview all the bands that you’ve loved. Did you ever in a million years imagine you would be able to do something like the ‘Metal Evolution’ Series? For Scot [McFadyen] and I — we produced and directed the series together – it was an amazing experience. I think with all the movies we’ve made, we’ve had a lot of success so far and we’ve always felt the comprehensive history of metal needed to be done and back when we did ‘Headbanger’s Journey’ in 2005 and we put together out heavy metal family tree – ever since then we’ve got this amazing response from fans saying, “Can I get a copy of the tree?” or even people critiquing the tree which we actually like which is all a part of the heavy metal culture. To go out and now explore the full history of metal was an amazing experience and I got to meet some incredible musicians that I didn’t get to meet making our previous movie. We’re really proud of it, we hope it stands the test of time as the definitive library of metal until someone – 15, 25 years from now should come around and do another one. [Laughs] But until then I’m happy to have this one out there for everyone. Sam, with several films and a television mini-series under your belt, how has what you envisioned for yourself as a filmmaker and Banger Films as a production company changed since your first film back in 2005? When we started out on the road to make the first film, we really just wanted to make the first in-depth, intelligent film about heavy metal, that was our goal and we were lucky. The film did really well, we realized that there were thousands of people out there whether they were metal fans or just general music fans that felt the same way. So since then we’ve had the opportunity to go on and do ‘Iron Maiden: Flight 666’ and ‘Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage’ and now ‘Metal Evolution’ so it’s been a great experience. I think what we’ve learned at the end of the day is that what’s most important is to tell great stories and now we’ve moved on to a new film we’re working on – the story of Alice Cooper’s career from the beginning of his life right up to his big comeback in the ’80s. I think there is a pretty remarkable story unfolding there, revealing some stuff about Alice and his life that people don’t really know about. We’re also doing a documentary on the cultural history of the Devil – looking at why the Devil has been such a pervasive character in film, literature, TV, music and popular culture over the last several decades. I think that’s a really interesting question that hopefully will get some interest. The Devil has always been kind to us so we’re trying to keep that going – I think what we’ve learned is we start out to make a film about metal and then realize that there’s still a lot of great stories out there to be told not only about hard rock and metal music but maybe some of the darker subject matters of our culture that tends to get ignored. We’re talking about the extreme metal episode that Sam is trying to put together for the continuation of the ‘Metal Evolution’ series, calling it the lost episode. Go to fullmetaljackie.com , I’ve got a link for you to check out the video where Sam is looking to raise funds. I’ll tell you what If there’s one thing metal fans are good at it’s getting together and doing the right thing and anytime anything has come about whether it’s Randy [Blythe] from Lamb of God or any topics – I feel like no matter which sub-genre anybody thinks is better or any opinions they have – metal fans unite. Yeah this is the first time we’ve tried something like this, we’ve always gone the traditional route where we’ve got broadcasters and distributors to finance our work but because our usual sources aren’t really going to get behind this – we’re having to do it a different way. I think that we’ve got a long way to go, it’s a lot of money to raise, we don’t cut any corners. We pride ourselves to taking people to all the important places that are part of metal history, to going to the source, to meeting the people who are part of the story not flying ten people into a room and claiming that’s the comprehensive history of extreme metal. So we’ve got a long way to go but because we’ve had such a great response from the fans, we’re hopeful we can do this all together for the first time. Like you mentioned, this is a sub-genre of metal that means a lot to us as fans and story tellers about heavy metal, not just the folks out there that have watched our movies and supported our work. We’re hoping we can all get together on this one and actually make it happen. The ‘Metal Evolution’ series aired on VH1 classic, super thorough 11 episodes including pre-history of heavy metal and shock rock to grunge and the greatest episode, the thrash metal episode – did you get a lot of compliments on that one? That one I feel like I heard the most chatter – it was not only entertaining but educational. [Laughs] Good, well like yourself, thrash is really close to my heart. That along with the extreme metal stuff that we’re trying to do now was really what excited me when I discovered metal as a teenager and still to this day is what excited me. To go to the Bay area and go to the rehearsal rooms where Exodus and Death Angel and Testament have played for all of these years and get to meet all of these bands it was a great experience. I think thrash is that important mix of the energy and attitude and speed of punk along with the real virtuosity and musicianship that came from bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest in the UK and there’s also some interesting turns in that story. An album like ‘The Black Album’ obviously catapulted Metallica into a totally different sphere and you could argue or question rather “Were they still a thrash metal band at that point?” and we wanted to tackle that because I’ll be honest I love those guys and they’re friends of mine but ‘Enter Sandman’ was not my thing. [Laughs] When I turned up at high school and all of a sudden everyone that hated Metallica had Metallica shirts on, it was tough to take but from the perspective at looking at the history of this that was a real important turning point because I think it put a lot of pressure on the other thrash metal bands to produce a song like ‘Nothing Else Matters’ to produce a big hit like ‘Enter Sandman.’ It was great that guys like Gary Holt and Chuck Billy and the guys from Death Angel could really open up about that. We think that the thrash episode probably dug a little deeper than what people expected and that’s what we wanted the series to do. Sam, first and foremost like all of us, you’re a fan and metal fans are intense to say the least. Is it difficult to maintain professionalism when meeting some of your biggest musical heroes? [Laughs] Yeah, ever since I met Bruce Dickinson on the stage at the Hammersmith when we did ‘Headbanger’s Journey’ that was back in 2004 when we shot that interview – that was the beginning of a pretty exciting road. Guys like Dickinson and others were my heroes, they were my idols and they created music that made a huge impact on me and excited me and was music it was challenged by as a musician and it felt like it had so much more depth to it than so much of the other music that was going on back in the ’80s when I was a teenager. It’s been a fantastic experience and I think what’s even more exciting is that most of these guys are very respectful of what we do, know what we do and recognize that I think, we’ve brought a lot to metal and to the vitality of this music. It’s a little easier now to keep my professionalism in tact when I get to meet some of these musicians but I’m still meeting people I’ve always wanted to meet a guy like Arthur Brown in the shock rock episode in ‘Metal Evolution.’ A lot of people don’t know that he was really an early architect of combining spectacle and really over the top performance with rock music long before Alice Cooper and Kiss were doing it. Believe me I’ve had worse jobs, I’ve been a dish pig so I’m loving what we’re doing. Full Metal Jackie will welcome Machine Head guitarist Phil Demmel to her show this coming weekend. Full Metal Jackie can be heard on radio stations around the country — for a full list of stations, go to fullmetaljackieradio.com .
Columbia It was Sept. 29, 1992 when Alice in Chains released their sophomore set, ‘Dirt,’ a brooding masterpiece that would stand as one of the ’90s best works. Having made inroads with their debut full-length ‘Facelift’ and its pre-grunge explosion single ‘Man in the Box,’ many felt the group was primed for something big now that their music scene was finally taking off nationwide. They didn’t disappoint, and got an early boost when the song ‘ Would? ‘ from the forthcoming album would turn up on the ‘Singles’ soundtrack. The melancholy track was penned by guitarist Jerry Cantrell as a reaction to the death of his late friend, Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone, who died from a heroin overdose a few years prior. Cantrell would state on the ‘Music Bank’ liner notes, “I was thinking a lot about Andrew Wood at the time. We always had a great time when we did hang out, much like Chris Cornell and I do. There was never really a serious moment or conversation, it was all fun. Andy was a hilarious guy, full of life and it was really sad to lose him. But I always hate people who judge the decisions others make. So it was also directed towards people who pass judgments.” The feelings brought about by addiction issues would play a large role in the recording of ‘Dirt.’ ‘ Them Bones ‘ would be the second single from the disc (first if you consider ‘Would?’ initially coming from a soundtrack prior to the album’s release). From a vocal standpoint, there’s not much more powerful than the primal scream that Layne Staley delivers at the beginning of the song. On the lyrical side, Cantrell would state that the track was his take on the mortality that faces us all. The guitarist also took great pride in the track’s 7/8 time signature, telling Guitar World , “Off-time stuff is just more exciting. It takes people by surprise when you shift gears like that before they even know what the hell hit ‘em … A lot of Alice stuff is written that way. ‘Them Bones’ is a great off-time song.” The other major songwriter in Alice in Chains, Layne Staley, stepped up with the band’s third single, ‘ Angry Chair .’ The singer even strapped on the guitar to add a little something extra to the track. ‘Angry Chair’ is also a notable song in the band’s history as it was one of the final moments where bassist Mike Starr got to shine. Starr would eventually exit the band, leaving Mike Inez to finish out the disc and eventually take over as a full-time touring and recording member. But before he left, Starr and drummer Sean Kinney laid down the killer low end on this classic cut. The group hit on something big with their fourth single, ‘Rooster.’ The haunting opening melody of Staley and Cantrell is spine tingling, and the way Staley moves between the moody intro into the full-on belting of “ I ain’t gonna die ” later in the track shows his range. Cantrell wrote the song about his Vietnam War-vet father, who was nicknamed “The Rooster,” and the track shares some of the horrors of war that his father finally opened up about. It would go on to become the biggest song on the disc, topping out at No. 7 on the Mainstream Rock Chart. Finishing out the singles was ‘ Down in a Hole ,’ a rare love song from Alice in Chains. Cantrell said in the ‘Music Bank’ liner notes, “It’s to my long-time love. It’s the reality of my life, the path I’ve chosen, and in a weird way it kind of foretold where we are right now. It’s hard for both of us to understand … that this life is not conducive to much success with long-term relationships.” In addition to the singles, the album is filled with heavy goodness, as the chugging rocker ‘ God Smack ,’ the darkly wailing ‘ Rain When I Die ,’ and the hard-hitting ‘ Sick Man ‘ are among the standouts that never got commercial airplay. By the time the album cycle was complete, Alice in Chains had gone from potential buzz band to having their rock ‘n’ roll legacy cemented. ‘Dirt’ was the right album at the right time, and took full advantage of being released at the height of the grunge era. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/best-grunge-bands/” title=”Next: 10 Best Grunge Bands of All-Time” align=”center”] Watch Alice in Chains ‘Rooster’
Cooking Vinyl Rock icon Marilyn Manson has been riding high since the release of eighth album and self-professed “comeback” record, ‘Born Villain.’ After already unleashing videos for the singles ‘No Reflection’ and ‘Slo-Mo-Tion,’ Manson has brought us his third visual offering from ‘Born Villain’ with a new video for the album’s opening track, ‘Hey, Cruel World…’ One interesting aspect of the video that should be pointed out is that ‘Hey, Cruel World…’ has been released entirely in black and white. When Manson set out to write the ‘Born Villain’ album, the musician chose to isolate himself in a small apartment, bringing only a few possessions with him into a room with white walls and a black floor. Either purposely or subconsciously, perhaps the video is a representation of that starting point. “It took me completely stripping my life away,” Manson told us in an interview shortly before the release of ‘Born Villain.’ “Moving into a place with black floors and white walls, putting all my things in storage and just taking my movies, my instruments, my cats and realizing, ‘I don’t need anything else. All I need to do is fill this [room] full of something.’” ‘Hey, Cruel World…’ is what fans have come to expect from a Manson offering; unnerving imagery, extreme close-ups and epileptic transitions, with a strange sense of hypnotic fascination. The video’s director, Tim Mattia, says of the clip, ”We shot over four nights in the UK, Italy and America, capturing what I think is one of the world’s most exciting live performers at his best.” Be sure to check out Marilyn Manson’s new video for ‘Hey, Cruel World…’ in the player below. Marilyn Manson, ‘Hey, Cruel World…’ [button href=”http://loudwire.com/marilyn-manson-slo-mo-tion-video/” title=”Next: Watch Marilyn Manson’s ‘Slo-Mo-Tion’ Video” align=”center”]