Def Leppard Releases Official Video For Symphonic Version Of 'Animal'

Def Leppard just released the director's cut version of the track "Animal" from their upcoming album Drastic Symphonies.

I honestly love this new video. It takes original footage from the actual "Animal" video and uses modern clips of Def Leppard performing live. There are shots of the orchestral musicians during the recording process and a whole lot of nods to UK pride, making for a smart way to show this reinvented version of a classic song in a new way.

Drastic Symphonies comes out May 19th.

Power Trip Festival Announcement

Here are the confirmed bands for the first Power Trip festival. This begs the question: is this really a festival or just three big shows back-to-back?

3-Day GA starts at $599 and fees. Prices go up for reserved floor and grandstand seats. To access the pit a 3-day pass will run you $1599 plus fees. Ticket sales start April 6.

Power Trip Festival Lineup Announcement Coming Today

Power Trip is a new metal festival and the rumored lineup is huge. Bands like Metallica, Guns n' Roses, AC/DC, Tool, Ozzy Osbourne and Iron Maiden.

Yep.

The promoter is Goldenvoice - they do Coachella, so we're talking deep pockets here. Power Trip will apparently take place October 6 - 8 at the same location as Coachella, which is the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, California. That's not too far from Palm Springs.

At some point today, promoters will announce the official lineup and ticket prices. I expect both to be massive (ha).

Back to those "rumors." I'd consider them more confirmations when bands like Metallica and AC/DC literally tweet the same video as below with the saying "Are you ready for a Power Trip?" Then Sharon Osbourne was on Piers Morgan Uncensored and confirmed Ozzy's appearance and she also mentioned Metallica and AC/DC, so...

It will be interesting to see who rounds out the lineup. Will it be 70s and 80s metal or stray toward newer acts? I guess we will all know soon enough.

Are you ready for a Power Trip? https://t.co/9oGlfNjxW7 pic.twitter.com/ktC0ZWSi5i

— Power Trip (@Powertriplive) March 28, 2023

'American Idol' Contestant Auditions With Dokken Track

Self-proclaimed 80s music aficionado Nate Peck auditioned for American Idol. His song choice? Dokken's "Lightnin' Strikes Again."

Yes, from Under Lock and Key.

A non-single track. Not a ballad. A totally random choice that was really gutsy, fun and goofy to watch:

The judges put Michigan-native Nate Peck through and he will next compete at the Hollywood round. Peck is actually the frontman of a band called Wanted that does lots of hair metal songs and I bet their shows are a blast. 

Oh yeah, Nate Peck also sang on stage with Jack Russell's Great White at a recent show at BMI Speedway in Versailles, Ohio. That's about an hour from where I live.

Here's "Let Me" by WANTED:

Babylon A.D. 'Kid Goes Wild' -- New Video

Babylon A.D. recently dropped a new video for their classic track "Kid Goes Wild." The video promotes their new album Live Lightning that came out last week via Perris Records.

The album is comprised of 14 tracks recorded at different live shows.

Avenged Sevenfold Announce 2023 North American Tour

Today, Avenged Sevenfold announced North American tour dates. This is big since the band hasn't done a proper tour in five years. I expected an announcement like this to be coming after A7X released new music from their upcoming album Life Is But A Dream...

It's important to note that the lineup in the Tweet below says "part 1" - which makes sense because most of the dates are in Canada and Avenged Sevenfold will obviously have a decent run of dates in America, too.

General on sale for tickets starts Thursday. 

Routing so far: 

July 18 – Camden, N.J. @ Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
July 19 – Mansfield, Mass. @ Xfinity Center
July 21 – Québec City, Quebec @ Videotron Centre
July 22 – Montreal, Quebec @ Bell Centre
July 24 – Ottawa, Ontario @ Canadian Tire Centre
July 26 – Clarkston, Mich. @ Pine Knob Music Theatre
July 28 – Tinley Park, Ill. @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
July 29 – Minneapolis, Minn. @ Target Center
July 31 – Winnipeg, Manitoba @ Canada Life Centre
Aug. 2 – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan @ SaskTel Centre
Aug. 4 – Edmonton, Alberta @ Rogers Place
Aug. 5 – Calgary, Alberta @ Scotiabank Saddledome
Aug. 7 – Vancouver, British Columbia @ Rogers Arena

We’re stoked to announce the first leg of our Life Is But A Dream… North American Tour • July 18 through August 7 • with special guest @aof_official. @DeathbatsClub members can unlock exclusive 1st access to request tickets now through Tues 12PM PT. https://t.co/QgDdcoLVjZ pic.twitter.com/wP1U2VRJpC

— Avenged Sevenfold (@TheOfficialA7X) March 27, 2023

Sunday Spins: 'Miami Vice II' Edition

You may recall I wrote about the original Miami Vice soundtrack a few weeks ago. Through the comments (thanks Mike!) I learned that there was, in fact, a second Miami Vice soundtrack out there. It then became my mission to search the used record bins for this album. Lo and behold I found it for a few bucks and in great condition, too.

While the album plays beautifully with no pops or static, the songs just don't compare to the original soundtrack. That first soundtrack was so popular, it stayed at the top of the Billboard chart for weeks and sold to 4x platinum.

The second version features songs from artists like Roxy Music, Phil Collins, Jackson Browne and of course theme composer Jan Hammer but the high points are way fewer than the first release.

"Take Me Home" was a massive hit for Phil Collins and the inclusion of the track is probably the high mark of second compilation. The second soundtrack was originally released in 1986 via MCA.

There are a couple more Miami Vice soundtracks out there too, available as imports. We'll see if I can find them in some of my future bargain bin searches!

Want to hear the whole album? I got you: