In 2013, Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian asked fellow guitarist Jim Wilson for an unusual gift. For his 50th birthday, Ian wanted to play songs by Wilson’s then-defunct L.A. hard rock band Mother Superior — with Wilson, who agreed. Ian created a five-piece group with his wife Pearl Aday contributing backing......
Ask any group of serious guitar shredders who their influences were, and you’re likely to hear Uli Jon Roth mentioned at least once. His tenure with Germany’s Scorpions from 1974 to 1978 was brief relative to the longevity of the band, but his legacy among musicians who’ve crossed the line......
L.A. doesn't have a big death metal scene, but Abysmal Dawn is looking to change that. Their fourth album, Obsolescence, drops at the end of October and, spoiler alert: it’s sick. Check out their new track "The Inevitable Return to Darkness", below, for a taste. Or, even better the band is......
The seventh annual Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival goes down Saturday at San Manuel Amphitheater, featuring Avenged Sevenfold, Korn, Asking Alexandria, and others of the extreme music persuasion. None, however, are as extreme as death metal horrorists Cannibal Corpse, who will also be appearing. Vocalist George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher spoke to us......
It's been a wild decade for Brody Dalle, who has has a deep, husky voice and a tough attitude. The punk band she led, The Distillers, dissolved in 2006, and she subsequently went into recovery from a crystal meth addiction. After getting divorced from Tim Armstrong of Rancid, she married Josh......
Metal legend Ronnie James Dio, before dying from stomach cancer in 2010, led bands like Rainbow, Dio, and Black Sabbath (in the non-Ozzy era) with richly-colored vocals and fantastical lyrics. The pint-sized singer, at 5'3", was three inches shorter than his wife of 40 years, Wendy Dio, who now runs......
The running joke about L.A. metal band White Wizzard is that they've gone through more lineup changes since 2007 than Deep Purple did in 45 years. At last count, 16 musicians have been among Wizzard's ranks, and the only founding member who remains is bass player and chief songwriter Jon......
Seeing as the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival kicks off at San Manuel Amphitheater this weekend, we thought it high time to catch up with Robb Flynn, lead singer and guitarist of veteran Oakland metal band Machine Head. Besides touring in support of band's seventh album (Unto the Locust), he's......
This weekend at the San Manuel Amphitheater, shock rocker and horror Renaissance man (is that a thing?) Rob Zombie headlines the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival (that is definitely a thing). It's been a busy year for the man born Robert Cummings. His thriller film, The Lords of Salem, debuted......
Chuck Billy is the six-foot-four singer of veteran thrash metal band Testament, who play House of Blues tomorrow night. You do not want to piss him off; he once laid down some serious vigilante justice, and he's no stranger to hanging with felons. (More on that in the interview below.)......