L.A. Guns, 'Diamonds' -- New Video

L.A. Guns have another single and video off their upcoming album Black Diamonds. The video for the track "Diamonds" was released yesterday. Yes, this is a power ballad! In 2023!

Check out the awesome guitar solo at 3:30! If I didn't know it, I would guess it was Tracii Guns playing and it sounds straight out of 1989 versus today. Good stuff.

Queen + Adam Lambert Announce North American Tour

One of the acts I still really want to see live is Queen + Adam Lambert.

This morning, the group announced live dates for North America. It's a short routing for October and November.  Unfortunately for me, I don't see how I can possibly get to any of the shows. I will be in Greece during a lot of the dates and then there's the NFL football season to work around, too (season ticket holder). I remain hopeful I can make one of the dates work. Yes, these are true first world problems.

Do you plan to attend this tour?

Tickets go on sale March 31st. Full routing:

Oct. 04 - Baltimore, Md. @ CFG Bank Arena
Oct. 08 - Toronto, Ontario @ Scotiabank Arena
Oct. 10 - Detroit, Mich. @ Little Caesars Arena
Oct. 12 - New York, N.Y. @ Madison Square Garden
Oct. 15 - Boston, Mass. @ TD Garden
Oct. 18 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Wells Fargo Center
Oct. 23 - Atlanta, Ga. @ State Farm Arena
Oct. 25 - Nashville, Tenn. @ Bridgestone Arena
Oct. 27 - St. Paul, Minn. @ Xcel Energy Center
Oct. 30 - Chicago, Ill. @ United Center
Nov. 02 - Dallas, Texas @ American Airlines Center
Nov. 05 - Denver, Colo. @ Ball Arena
Nov. 08 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Chase Center
Nov. 11 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ BMO Stadium

📢 Queen + @AdamLambert - The Rhapsody Tour is coming to North America!
🎟️ Tickets go on sale Friday, March 31st. See you on the road!#RhapsodyTour pic.twitter.com/RkFYR3hTnp

— Queen (@QueenWillRock) March 24, 2023

Home Taping Is Killing Music

I noticed something in the lower left corner of my vinyl copy of Tygers of Pang Tang The Cage the other day. A little graphic featuring a Jolly Roger and the words "Home Taping Is Killing Music." So of course I Googled (as you do) and found a treasure trove of information.

The phrase has a whole Wiki page and starts:

"Home Taping Is Killing Music" was the slogan of a 1980s anti-copyright infringement propaganda campaign by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), a British music industry trade group. With the rise in cassette recorder popularity, the BPI feared that the ability of private citizens to record music from the radio onto cassettes would cause a decline in record sales. The logo, consisting of a Jolly Roger formed from the silhouette of a compact cassette, also included the words "And It's Illegal". The campaign was officially launched by then-BPI chairman Chris Wright on 28 October 1981.

Obviously, this was overtly mocked and punk bands had a field day. Then came Metallica and Napster... and later bit torrents and the decline of the major record label deal and fall of MTV... so musicians have basically all just relented that their music is stolen and the way to make money is by touring and selling merchandise.

Taping songs off the radio is one of my favorite kid-time memories. I loved it! I had so many custom cassettes I made from songs I "stole" I guess. More often than not, I ended up buying the album eventually anyway. I feel sorry for today's kids who don't know the joy of fighting with a double tape deck and pressing record at the perfect time to get a clean recording of a beloved song from commercial radio. (Insert "Okay Boomer!" here).

I don't recall ever seeing the little Home Taping warning on any other album I own. How about you? Do you remember the warning?

The Home Taping Is Killing Music campaign looks really odd in retrospect. A combination of knee-jerk panic, fear of new technology, iconography adjacent to the idea that Video Nasties could 'get' you from beyond the tape, and time-honoured finger-wagging at 'teenagers'. pic.twitter.com/ma5fCO40xp

— Tim Worthington (@outonbluesix) January 28, 2023

“Home taping is killing music” ☠️ pic.twitter.com/Cen1RNwRdR

— JayKeeley (@doomedparade) March 7, 2021

Throwback Wednesday - Maiden Memories!

Just mad respect, that's all: remembering the legendary The Number of the Beast by Iron Maiden. Released on this date back in 1982. Do you have a favorite Iron Maiden memory?

On this day in 1982, Iron Maiden released ‘The Number Of The Beast’. pic.twitter.com/LX0OXsY0So

— Monsters Of Rock® (@MonstersOfRock) March 22, 2023

Vinnie Vincent Is Back (Maybe?)

Vinnie Vincent, former KISS guitarist and long-time recluse is apparently about to release a new album. The new work is reportedly called Judgment Day (Guitarmageddon Pt. 1).

I started seeing social media and forum posts about possible Vinnie news a few days ago but I took it all with a grain of salt. We have been tricked before! Now it seems double-V really is going to release some new music to his long-waiting fans. On May 19 and 20, Vincent will host a listening party for Judgement Day at Starstruck Entertainment Studio in Nashville, TN.

It costs $500 to attend. We'll see if this materializes I guess.

Rick Allen Issues Statement After Attack

Rick Allen of Def Leppard was attacked by an Ohio man last week. Now he is speaking out... a little. It sounds like Rick is recovering and doing so in private, as you would expect. While the statement doesn't explicitly say, I will assume Allen is still planning on pressing charges against 19-year-old Max Hartley. Maybe there is way more to this story. The statement seems a little odd to me.

Sunday Spins: Slipknot, 'All Hope Is Gone'

Slipknot hit pay dirt when they released All Hope Is Gone in August of 2008. The album was huge for the band and really put them on another level, at least commercially. The album debuted in the top spot on Billboard, which is (still) not common for metal acts. The album spawned a big tour and I saw them perform at Rock on the Range in 2009 as part of that run.

All Hope Is Gone is the last Slipknot album with what I consider to be the band's best lineup, featuring both drummer Joey Jordison and bassist Paul Gray. Gray and Jordison have since departed this earth. 

For the tenth anniversary of the album, Slipknot re-released the album with live tracks. In August 2022, Roadrunner Records released a limited edition, double-orange vinyl of All Hope Is Gone. The vinyl is a gatefold with printed sheets and great photography. This is the version I have. There are copies of the 10th anniversary reissue out there as a silver marbled edition but those fetch a crackers amount of cash.

I have a white Fluance turntable and let me tell you that the orange vinyl looks incredibly sexy as it spins. This is a great sounding press and worth the money - I think I paid around $30 on sale.

All Hope Is Gone is one of my most favorite metal albums. I still use many of the tracks as part of my running playlist. It doesn't get much better than "Psychosocial" for pushing up hills (ok, or a treadmill incline). The title track is also a banger for aggressive workouts, plus the lyrics spit the truth about the world these days. When I spin the vinyl, Roosevelt the Cat will come in and sit by the turntable and push his ears back and just listen. I'm making that cat Metal, after all! Also, I think he likes Corey Taylor's voice.

I cannot recommend this orange re-issue enough. It's a fun addition for any Slipknot fan who also loves collecting records.