Category: Random Thoughts
0 MAD MAX NEW ALBUM INTERCEPTOR TO BE RELEASED November 5th in North America on Steamhammer/SPV
One of Germany’s most prominent and consistent hard rock bands have just announced their next major coup: November 5th. Mad Max will be releasing their new album Interceptor, not just its title but also its cover artwork, created by Thomas Ewerhard, alluding to Mel Gibson’s legendary desert car in the movie classic Mad Max. The four musicians, Michael Voss (vocals, lead guitar), Jürgen Breforth (guitar), Roland Bergmann (bass) and Axel Kruse (drums), promise “full throttle from start to finish” and sum up the direction of their new record in just two words: “It rocks!” Or, as guitarist Jürgen Breforth puts it: “Whereas some rock groups become insipid and balladesque with time, we’ve taken the opposite route and deliver nothing but pure energy.”
Like its predecessors Interceptor was produced by frontman Michael Voss at his own Kidpool Studio in Münster, with the drum recordings completed at the renowned Principal Studios in Senden. The record was mastered at the MSM Studios in Munich, where once upon a time Gotthard added the final polish to their works. Breforth: “This time we made a conscious decision to allow ourselves more external output, yet without overdoing it.”
There are ten new songs to marvel at on Interceptor, including ´Turn It Down`, the obligatory cover song by The Sweet. “It’s what our fans are used to, so we just have to grit our teeth,” jokes Breforth.
0 Happy St. Patrick’s Day
Happy St. Patrick’s Day from Hard Rock Hideout!
0 Technical Difficulties
It appears that WordPress is having some issues Firefox today. Some of the links on the sidebar on the right are not working properly in Firefox, but are working fine in Internet Explorer.
If you can’t access the Hard Rock Hideout Forum/Message Board, please paste the following link into your browser window:
http://hardrockhideout.proboards99.com/index.cgi
Sorry for the inconvenience! WordPress is working on the issue.
1 Happy Thanksgiving!!
6 Hard Rock Hideout’s 1 Year Anniversary
Today is the 1 Year Anniversary of the Hard Rock Hideout! 2007 has been a great year for hard rock music. We are happy to be your source for rock on the World Wide Web!
We are always striving to grow and provide the best rock info out there. What do you like about HardRockHideout.com, and what can we add, or improve upon?
2 A Big Thank You!
I would like to thank the following people who wrote articles for the Hard Rock Hideout last week!
Metal Mark – Heavy Metal Time Machine
Bill Leslie – Rock of Ages
Allyson B. Crawford – Bring Back Glam
and last but not least, my favorite rocker from New Zealand, Tania!
Thank you for keeping the Hard Rock Hideout rolling while I was enjoying some downtime in the Big Apple. I will be posting some pictures and videos soon, once the allows for it.
Thanks Again!
Rob Rockitt!
0 Happy 4th of July!!
0 Happy Father’s Day
Happy Father’s Day to all of you hard rocking dads out there!
I thought the following video captures the spirit of Father’s Day perfectly.
Enjoy!
5 The Rocket Ride
Rob Rockitt takes a Rocket Ride
Wednesday morning I participated in an event that was cool beyond words.
Marlboro sponsored this closed event at the Kentucky Speedway in which I got to do a ride along (4 laps) in an IROC Dodge Avenger Stock Car, at 140 M.P.H. As much as I tried to coax the Marlboro staff, they wouldn’t let me drive. :) Nonetheless, it was an awesome experience that I will never forget. As a racing fan already, I always wanted to take hot laps in a stock car. At least I got to do this as a passenger. The great thing is, the experience did not end there.
Next stop was to the other side of the Kentucky Speedway infield, where they had a
mini road coarse set up on the infield. On this road coarse, we did 3 more hot laps as a ride along, in brand new, red Ford Mustangs, with Shelby racing stripes. This wasn’t any kind old kind of hot laps though….this was Drifting. The professional drivers were melting the tires off the cars as they came around the corners. The G Forces were actually stronger in the Mustangs, than in the Dodge Avenger stock cars.
After we had our fill of adrenaline, we were escorted into a nice air conditioned room 
complete with big screen TV’s, showing scenes from the day, and speakers blasting Europe’s the Final Countdown, as well as Foghat’s Slow Ride amongst a bunch of other hard rock tunes. (It is almost as if, they knew I was coming…lol.) Marlboro had a very nice catered lunch waiting for us, as well as a picture that they snapped of us earlier in the day, might I add, all free of charge.
Special thanks to my niece, Teresa for giving me the invitation to this awesome event, and for giving me an excellent reason to take a day off.
The video below is a nice recap with some of the pictures from the day!
0 Happy Mother’s Day
Happy Mother’s Day to all you Mom’s out there! I will be visiting my mother today, and will be posting very little today.
Until then, enjoy the video below for Danzig’s Mother!
Coming up this week at the Hard Rock Hideout!
Mighty MEGAWeek!
4 Reviews from the Megadeth Catalog inluding the brand new United Abominations and another edition of Rare Rock Rewind and Rocklahoma Reviews!
Stay Tuned!!
0 Happy Day at the Hard Rock Hideout!
On the way home, I stopped in the local Rock shop, and picked up Def Leppard X, Masterplan Aeronautics, and Rob Rock, Holy Hell for the grand tune of 7.99, TOTAL!
Then I came home and got the following announcement in email:
|
 |
Poison at Riverbend Music Center on Tuesday, June 19 at 7:00 pm
 |
Poison with Ratt and White Lion
Tuesday, June 19 at 7:00 pm
Riverbend Music Center
On Sale Friday, Apr 27 at 10:00 am!
This rock fan could not be happier! Ratt and Poison have not released all of their dates yet, but I am guessing by this email the announcement will be happening any day now!
Ratt released this press release this evening:
After much speculation and anticipation following the airing of their Behind The Music episode on VH1 last spring, multiplatinum hard rock act RATT with vocalist Stephen Pearcy, guitarist Warren DeMartini and drummer Bobby Blotzer will grace the stage together for the first time since 1999. Plans for not only a U.S. summer tour but a full-fledged comeback are being mapped out now as the band prepares to hit the road with POISON. The band’s own tour dates will extend into the fall and may also include shows in Canada, Europe, Japan, South America and Australia. Joining the band onstage will be bassist Robbie Crane and guitarist John Corabi.
A full itinerary is still being finalized, but Poison and Ratt will join forces for a summer trek that is scheduled to begin June 13th at the Bi Lo Center in Greenville, S.C., and wind around the country through the end of August.
The tour, which brings the two bands onstage together for the first time since 1999, will visit major U.S. cities such as Boston, Detroit, New York, Oklahoma City and Los Angeles.
The band has recently aligned with Carl Stubner, CEO of Sanctuary Artist Management (ZZ Top, Mick Fleetwood/co-manager of Fleetwood Mac, Tommy Lee/Supernova, Paulina Rubio, Jack’s Mannequin) and is booked by Jay Frey at Paradise Artists.
RATT made their mark in the early ’80s going ‘Round And Round’ with a string of hit songs, videos and four consecutive multiplatinum albums (over 16 million albums sold worldwide). Their arena-filling live shows set the standard for all bands to follow. Creating anthems for the youth of that era, their music and performances maintain a timeless quality to this day.
A new Ratt best of CD and DVD are due this summer from Rhino Records.
*******************************************************************************
GUNS N’ ROSES havee announced that their 2007 World Tour will begin on June 2 in Monterrey Mexico. The tour had been delayed due to an injury to bassist Tommy Stinson‘s left wrist. Fortunately, the sprain is healing nicely and soon the band will be ready to rock like only they can.
June will see GN’R perform three concerts in Mexico before heading to Australia and New Zealand. It’s been fifteen years since GN’R last performed in Mexico, Australia, or New Zealand and the anticipation is beyond belief. July has GN’R traveling to Japan for a series of rescheduled concerts. Fans attending can expect to hear GN’R classics like “Welcome To the Jungle”, “November Rain”, “Patience” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine” along with blistering new songs from the band’s forthcoming “Chinese Democracy” album like “Madagascar”, “IRS” and “Better”.
GUNS N’ ROSES tour dates:
June 02 – Monterrey Mexico Arena Monterrey
June 03 – Guadalajara Mexico VFG Arena
June 05 – Mexico City Mexico City Sports Palace
June 10 – Perth Australia Burswood
June 13 – Adelaide Australia Adelaide Entertainment Centre
June 15 – Melbourne Australia Rod Laver Arena
June 20 – Brisbane Australia Brisbane Entertainment Centre
June 23 – Sydney Australia Acer Arena
June 29 – Auckland New Zealand Vector Arena
July 14 – Tokyo Japan Makuhari Messe
July 15 – Tokyo Japan Makuhari Messe
July 17 – Tokyo Japan Budokan Hall
July 18 – Nagoya Japan Rainbow Hall
July 21 – Osaka Japan Osaka Jo-Hall
More dates will be announced.
2006 saw GUNS N’ ROSES perform over 70 concerts all over the world to rave reviews. With the release of the highly anticipated and long-awaited “Chinese Democracy” album imminent, 2007 promises to be the time that GUNS N’ ROSES reclaim their throne as the world’s most dangerous band. Lead vocalist W. Axl Rose, guitarists Robin Finck, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal and Richard Fortus, bassist Tommy Stinson, keyboard players Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman, and drummer Frank Ferrer are a rock n’ roll spectacular that have to be experienced to be believed.
In other news, Robin Finck has posted an open letter on his official web site regarding the band’s cancelled shows and its postponed tour:
“I’m writing now in the wake of the recently postponed and cancelled GNR commitments in Japan and in South Africa,” he wrote. “I guess I’m writing because I too am disappointed, have a conscience, a website, and I am not on the Bullet Train to Osaka this evening.
“I purely want to share with those whom were avid for seeing GNR at these concerts that I too was looking forward to seeing you all. The band was primed and pumped, production packed and shipped. Then, much to our distress, unforeseen circumstance walked in, dropped its surly case and announced with certainty, ‘I’m here!’ What can we do.
“I have received innumerable emails from real people who where hooking up with friends or family, flying to faraway cities, booking hotels or friends’ couches, docking the USS Kitty Hawk, and otherwise scheduling their time and enthusiasm around these events. In short, these peeps wuz straight stung adrenalized and lettin’ me square have it! I too was psyched about the shows, planning to meet friends and family, watch the cherry blossom blossom etc. It is my wish that your bounce forward from here be one of a willful arc and opportunity. Believe me, I’m swallowing that very pill by your side.”
1 A little Blog Love, Hard Rock Hideout style
If you are a daily or weekly visitor to the Hard Rock Hideout, I have some other great sites to tell you about, that are required visits while you are getting your Hard Rock and Metal Fix.
Heavy Metal Time Machine is a great place to find out about new metal bands, some classic lost hard rock and metal acts, and talk about everything in between. Metal Mark posts new material daily, and is a regular stop of mine.
Bring Back Glam is a great resource for all things glam. Allyson does a great job at posting new and interesting articles that apply to great 80’s and current glam artists from around the globe.
If you get a few minutes, check out these site and make them a regular part of surfing routine. If you miss a day, you may miss a lot!
1 HAPPY FRIDAY The 13TH!!!
4 American Idol 2007 – A Small Rant
Before the beginning of the 2007 American Idol Season, I read that the shows’ producers were not looking for any rock singers for this year’s competition. Quite frankly, it has made the 2007 show a stale and a somewhat boring Pop music competition.
Over in Finland, where the rock scene has not died. The following news has come over:
22-year-old Finnish heavy metal singer Ari Koivunen was crowned the winner of the the national TV talent show “Idols” Friday night (April 6) after singing four songs — including SCORPIONS’ “Still Loving You”, SOUNDGARDEN’s “Black Hole Sun” and SONATA ARCTICA’s “Full Moon” — during the competition’s final. The performances — which were broadcast live on MTV3 from the Helsinki Ice Hall are available for viewing on YouTube:
Scorpions – Still Loving You
Soundgarden – Black Hole Sun
Sonata Artica – Full Moon
Led Zeppelin – Rock and Roll
Deep Purple – Perfect Strangers
Billy Joel – Piano Man
Stratovarius – Hunting High and Low
Iron Maiden – The Evil That Men Do
Whitesnake – Here I go Again
Ari Koivunen may not be the best singer in the world, but he is a good singer and I can only expect that he will continue to get better over the years. I am sure we will see this kid in another great Finnish hard rock band soon.
Sadly, Ari is the shot in the arm that American Idol badly needed. A rock singer of this caliber would have made the show interesting again.
Maybe 2008 will be better……..
1 Name that Hair Metal Band
I saw this over at EW.com over the weekend and thought it was too good not to share with you all.
Check out the link below:
Name That Hair Metal Band
Come back and tell me your score!
Yours Truly, scored 11 out of 11. :)
Can you get them all right?
0 A few site updates!
Hello All,
I made a couple of site updates to the Hard Rock Hideout over the last week.
The first being a new domain for the Hard Rock Hideout. You can reach the site by going to http://www.hardrockhideout.com.
I added news feeds from Z Records as well as ESplatter (for the horror movie fans out there).
Also, I added more 80’s Hard Rock videos on the Hard Rock Hideout Youtube channel.
Last but not least, I created a link in the Page Menu for the Hard Rock Hideout Forum. Stop in and shoot the breeze!
Let me know what you think, and give me your ideas on what else I can do to improve this site.
Thanks!
Hard Rock Hideout
4 Top 10 Hard Rock Hideout Last FM Artists
Here are the Hard Rock Hideout Top 10 Last FM artists for the week ending 1/28/07, based on the number of plays for the week:
| Position | Band Name | Songs Played |
| 1 | Masterplan | 47 |
| 2 | JORN | 30 |
| 3 | Riot | 19 |
| 4 | Motley Crue | 11 |
| 5 | Russell Allen/Jorn Lande | 10 |
| 6 | Def Leppard | 9 |
| 7 | Brazen Abbott | 8 |
| 8 | Cinderella | 7 |
| 9 | Winger | 6 |
| 10 | Whitesnake | 6 |
2 Top 26 Songs by Jorn on Last FM
This is the list of the most played Jorn Lande songs in the last 6 months on the web service Last FM. The number to the right is the number of spins in the last 6 months.
I thought this was kind of intersting, so I wanted to post it. Where does your favorite Jorn Lande song stand at?
Top Tracks, Last Six Months
|
1 |
380 |
|
|
2 |
342 |
|
|
3 |
330 |
|
|
4 |
325 |
|
|
5 |
319 |
|
|
6 |
316 |
|
|
7 |
311 |
|
|
8 |
299 |
|
|
9 |
282 |
|
|
10 |
258 |
|
|
11 |
225 |
|
|
12 |
186 |
|
|
13 |
174 |
|
|
14 |
165 |
|
|
15 |
160 |
|
|
16 |
159 |
|
|
17 |
154 |
|
|
18 |
149 |
|
|
19 |
132 |
|
|
20 |
118 |
|
|
21 |
117 |
|
|
22 |
115 |
|
|
23 |
110 |
|
|
24 |
109 |
|
|
25 |
105 |
|
|
26 |
103 |
|
|
26 |
103 |
6 Top Hard Rock and Heavy Metal CD’s of 2006
Here are my picks for the Top 5 Hard Rock and Heavy Metal CD’s of 2006.
Heavy Metal
1) Iron Maiden – A Matter of Life and Death – Just a Killer CD from Start to Finish.
2) Black Label Society – Shot To Hell- Zakk Wylde returns with another excellent CD.
3) Randy Piper’s Animal – Violent New Breed – Randy Piper puts out a killer W.A.S.P. like CD that kicks major ass.
4) Jorn – The Duke –Jorn Lande is an amazing vocalist who truly delivers with each new release. The Duke is no exception. Watch out for 2 new releases in January 2007 from Jorn.
5) Riot – Army of One – An excellentCD from Mark Reale and company. This is the kind of CD that will create new Riot fans.
Hard Rock
1) Buck Cherry – 15 – Can anyone deny the infectious single Crazy Bitch? This is a great CD with very little filler. A great surprise in 2006.
2) Black Stone Cherry– What’s this another Cherry group? This CD has gotten a ton of play from me this year. I describe them as the Allman Brothers meets Metallica, or Lynyrd Skynyrd meets Alice In Chains. Whichever way you look at it, this is a killer CD that is easy to head bang to.
3) Warrant – Born Again – Another surprise in 2006 was Warran’t Born Again. This CD has amazing replay value, and recaptures the sound of Early Warrant, without Jani Lane. Great Stuff!
4) Krokus – Hellraiser –80’s Rock Made a Pretty good comeback in 2006, and Krokus put out a great CD that is easily one of the best they have ever done! This one is a must buy for all Hard Rock Fans.
5) Whitesnake – Live…..In the Shadow of the Blues – Whitesnake returns with a double live CD with 4 new Studio tracks with David Coverdale and company. The live tunes are great, and the new studio tracks are killer. Whitesnake is returning in June 2007 with a new studio disc, and will be another band to watch in ’07.
There was so much great music in 2006, it was really hard to choose a top 5 from each category. The CD’s listed above got the most spins from me in 2006, and I enjoyed these the most by far.
1 Happy Heavy Metal New Year From the Hard Rock Hideout
Ok…so its Aluminum. LOL.
0 More Heavy Metal X-Mas Fun
Merry Christmas from the Hard Rock Hideout!!
Nothing better than some Ozzy Claus! :)
2 Heatmiser was a headbanger!
If you don’t believe me, watch the video below…..just look at the big hair!
0 Twisted Sister Animated Christmas Video
I about busted a gut when I saw this one!
0 Classic Rock Magazine December 2006, Issue 100
In the 100th issue of the UK based Classic Rock Magazine, there is a killer CD in it this month. This is a great chance to pick up some cool tunes for the price of a magazine!
I picked it up for $8.99 U.S. Currency.
Track Listing:
1. Whitesnake – Ready To Rock (New track from the (Live in the Shadow of the Blues)
2. Motley Crue – Dr. Feelgood (Live from Carnival of Souls CD)
3. Skid Row – Shut Up Baby, I Love You (From RPM)
4. Motorhead – Sword Of Glory
5. Dio – One More For The Road
6. Saxon – Man And Machine
7. Helloween – Mrs. God
8. Magnum – Brand New Morning
9. UFO – Hard Being Me
10. Angra – Breaking Ties
11. Cheap Trick – Perfect Stranger
12. Tommy Bolin – Teaser
13. Uli Jon Roth – All Along The Watchtower (Live)
14. Monster Magnet – There’s No Way Out Of Here
15. Amplifier – Elysian Gold
I found this yesterday in Borders. The new issue will be coming out soon, so if you are interested, get to Borders and pick this up, before it is too late!
1 Battle of the Metal Queens
I have 2 reviews coming up that are similar in nature….so why not make it a Battle Royale.
VS.
Doro Pesch has a new release out, Doro – Warrior Soul. Brand new metal queen Julie (just Julie) is singing on the new release from Hydrogyn. Both releases are sure to please, but which one is the best? New Reviews are coming soon!
0 Trans Siberian Orchestra – Wizards in Winter
Believe it or not, this house was a short drive from me. So many people saw this on You Tube last year, they actually made a Miller Lite commercial out of it.
1 Year Later and it is still cool!
2 Just a crazy amount of new reviews on the way…….
Hi Guys and Girls,
I have an absolute crazy amount of CD’s that I am listening too that I will be reviewing soon!
Coming up are reviews for House of Lords – World Upside Down, Ian Gillan – Gillian’s Inn, Europe – Secret Society, Demon Angels – Time of Confusion, Riot – Army of One, Doro – Warrior Soul, Carmen Appice Project – Ultimage Guitar Zeus and few others. I will try to get these done soon. There is so much quality music here, it is hard to pick just one CD to focus on. I will have more posted soon. Until then….keep it heavy!!
0 The Charlie Brown Heavy Metal Christmas
This was just too great not too share!
5 A Van Halen Reunion?
I saw this post over at Blabbermouth (see below), and I thought I would repost it here. Could it finally happen? Could David Lee Roth actually sing for Van Halen again? Could David Lee Roth pull it off?
I played a lot of Van Halen on my 7 hour drive home Thanksgiving weekend, and I pretty much decided right then and there that I prefer David over Sammy in VH. I am knocking Sammy ( I love him too), but I think the DLR VH tunes were the best. I would love to see David front the band again, but I question his range and if he could actually do it. I saw him live when Sammy opened for him a few years ago, and he couldn’t hit the high notes then.
Could this reunion happen or will Guns and Roses Chinese Democracy album be released first?
Today’s Hard Rock Questions that may never get answered!
Here is the post from Blabbermouth:
EDDIE VAN HALEN: The Ball Is In DAVE LEE ROTH’s Court – Dec. 11, 2006
Eddie Van Halen spoke to Guitar World magazine about the current status of VAN HALEN following the departures of vocalist Sammy Hagar and bassist Michael Anthony.
Rumors continue to swirl that original singer David Lee Roth, who was replaced by Hagar in the mid-1980s, will return to the fold, despite years of enmity. Roth, who has recently worked as a radio DJ and a paramedic, told Billboard.com in May that he saw it “absolutely as an inevitability.”
“I’m telling Dave, ‘Dude, get your ass up here and sing, bitch! Come on!'” Eddie told Guitar World. “As it stands right now, the ball is in Dave‘s court. Whether he wants to rise to the ocassion is entirely up to him, but we’re ready to go.”
Eddie has brought his 15-year-old son, Wolfgang, into VAN HALEN as the veteran rock band’s new bass player. Father and son, along with Eddie‘s drummer brother Alex, have been rehearsing for a 2007 tour.
“Wolfgang breathes new life into what we’re doing,” said Eddie. “He brings youthfulness to something that’s inherently youthful. He’s only been playing bass for three months, but it’s spooky. He’s locked tight and puts an incredible spin on our shit. The kid is kicking my ass! He’s spanking me now, even though I never spanked him. To have my son follow in my footsteps on his own, without me pushing him into it, is the greatest feeling in the world.”
23 XM Radio Boneyard vs. Sirius Hair Nation
VS.
Which one do you think is better?
I am a happy subscriber to XM Radio, solely for the reason of the Boneyard. As of late, I was kind of wondering if I may be missing out. I haven’t ever had the opportunity to listen to Hair Nation, and I was wondering, could it possibly be better than the Boneyard?
