Tag: Things That Are Loud (11-20 of 28)

Jan 19 2012 11:47 AM ET

Bruce Springsteen returns with new album, fresh single 'We Take Care of Our Own': Hear it here!

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If you feel like your rock & roll has been lacking inspiration lately, there’s a guy in New Jersey who can take care of that. (Sorry, it’s not you, still-alive Jon Bon Jovi.)

On March 6, Bruce Springsteen will release Wrecking Ball, his first album of new material since 2009′s Working On a Dream. It’s the Boss’ 17th studio release and the first since the death of E Street Band stalwart Clarence Clemons. A long tour through both the U.S. and Europe will follow the album’s release.

“Bruce has dug down as deep as he can to come up with this vision of modern life,” Springsteen’s longtime manager Jon Landau said in a statement released to the press this morning. “The lyrics tell a story you can’t hear anywhere else and the music is his most innovative of recent years. The writing is some of the best of his career and both veteran fans and those who are new to Bruce will find much to love on Wrecking Ball.”

Fans can already start falling in love with the new album, as the first single “We Take Care of Our Own” is already online. Featuring a rugged backbeat, just the right amount of chiming, and slightly rawer production than we’re used to hearing from Jersey’s favorite son, it’s a pretty strong amalgam of classic Bruce and 21st-century Bruce. Give it a spin below: READ FULL STORY »

Jan 12 2012 01:59 PM ET

Kelly Clarkson pulls off national-anthem hat trick with slated Super Bowl appearance

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Last year, she sang it at the NBA Finals. The year before that, she sang it at the World Series.

And this year, Kelly Clarkson will get to sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl.

While it hasn’t been officially announced yet — and her publicist told EW that she is unable to confirm it yet — it’s been reported that the inaugural American Idol winner will be on “Star-Spangled Banner” duty at Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis on Feb. 5th. The broadcast will also feature Madonna, Nicki Minaj, and M.I.A. during the halftime show.

This will make Clarkson only the third Idol winner (after Jordin Sparks and Carrie Underwood) to belt the Francis Scott Key tune on Super Sunday, despite the fact that her widely praised vocal talents have always made her a natural candidate for the job.

Then again, Super Bowl organizers might be going the Idol route as a way of playing it safe this year, given Christina Aguilera’s much-criticized blunder last year.

What about you guys? Are you happy with the selection, or are there artists out there who you think deserve it more — or would simply be more interesting — than Clarkson?

Read more on EW.com:
Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, Kelly Clarkson, Foo Fighters and more join Grammy performance slate
Madonna enlists Nicki Minaj, M.I.A. for next album
Today in Kelly Clarkson: Yes, she’s ditching ‘Idol’ for the ‘Voice’; no, Ron Paul didn’t actually affect her sales

Jan 10 2012 11:10 AM ET

Van Halen release 'Tattoo,' first new song with David Lee Roth in 16 years: Hear it here

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When Van Halen invaded New York City’s tiny Cafe Wha? last week, they played one “new” song over the course of their one hour set.

The song in question, “She’s the Woman,” was kind of a cheat; it’s been kicking around since around 1976 but was never recorded. (It will finally get a proper release when the band drops A Different Kind of Truth, their first David Lee Roth-led album in 28 years, on February 7.)

But what of actual new music written in this century? [UPDATE: Or possibly not.] This morning, the band let loose the first official single from A Different Kind of Truth: A groovy little ditty called “Tattoo” that contains all the requisite elements for a Van Halen single—huge honking riff, rugged backbeat, blistering guitar solo, and enough room for Roth to do his talking-blues thing with the lyrics, which focus on a woman who goes from “mousewife to momshell in the time it took to get that new tattoo,” a lyric both charmingly inexplicable and almost alienating in its smugness. But then Diamond Dave smiles and winks and everything is all right again.

It’s not going to replace “Jump” or “Dance the Night Away” in the great VH pantheon, but it’s a pretty solid first step for a group of guys who haven’t recorded together since Roth lent his vocals to “Me Wise Magic” and “Can’t Get This Stuff No More” for 1996′s Best of Volume 1. (For the record, this is way better than either of those songs.) Give it a spin below. READ FULL STORY »

Dec 6 2011 02:16 PM ET

Ozzy Osbourne, Scott Ian, and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin to make fun of Zakk Wylde at inaugural 'Rock & Roll Roast'

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I’m not saying Zakk Wylde has a stupid name but…

Actually, I’m not saying anything bad about the hairy metal fretmeister at all. Instead, I’m going to leave that to Ozzy Osbourne, Scott Ian from Anthrax, pro wrestler “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and comedian Jim Norton, all of whom will be taking verbal aim at Wylde in the course of Guitar World magazine’s inaugural “Rock & Roll Roast.”

The event is set to take place at the Grove in Anaheim, Calif., on Jan. 19, with proceeds going to the MusiCares charity. Sharon Osbourne will act as roastmaster. “Zakk has always called me his mom, but I think my boy needs a good kicking,” said Osbourne, in what could loosely be described as “a statement.”

You can check out the (foul-mouthed) trailer for Wylde’s roast below. READ FULL STORY »

Nov 23 2011 12:15 PM ET

Who is the greatest guitarist of all time? Prepare to be unsurprised!

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For decades, the question of who exactly is the greatest guitarist of all-time has occupied countless music fans — if not drummers, like myself, who are usually too exhausted from doing all the real work to debate such an inconsequential matter.

Regardless, Rolling Stone has just released a new list which ranks history’s top 100 fretmeisters and which was voted on by a veritable army of guitarists including Billy Corgan, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Lifeson, Ritchie Blackmore, Mick Mars, Robbie Robertson, Melissa Etheridge, and Kirk Hammett.

The list is packed with what can only be described as the usual, legendary, suspects. Jimi Hendrix tops the 100 and he is very much not the only featured musician currently jamming at the great gig in the sky.

Indeed, while such young-ish turks as Slash, Jack White, Derek Trucks, and Radiohead‘s Jonny Greeenwood are included, the entire top ten is made up of either the deceased or guitarists who, with the arguable exception of Jeff Beck, haven’t recorded anything of real note in a long time.

Take a look at the list yourself by clicking here and tell us what you think. Does the 100 merely reflect the electorate’s own often very “venerable” nature or is the golden age of the great, innovative, guitar hero now just a distant memory? And who is your pick for the best guitarist of all-time?

Read more:
The best bassline of all time? One (silly) poll gives Muse’s ‘Hysteria’ the top spot
Our take on this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees: Should the Beastie Boys, Guns ‘N Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and others get in?
Slash talks about his tour with Ozzy, the search for Velvet Revolver’s singer, and Axl’s latest accolade
Keith Richards: Music’s most influential character?

Nov 14 2011 01:08 PM ET

Ozzy Osbourne-led Black Sabbath returning in 2012 with first album in over three decades

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As noted rock historian Triple H once said, in the world of heavy metal, there are legends, there are icons, and there are gods.

He was putting Motorhead in the latter category, which means that Black Sabbath must qualify as Titans. The most influential metal band ever to sing about the devil announced on Friday that the original lineup — Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward, and Tony Iommi — will be getting back together for a new album and tour in 2012. They’ll play the 2012 Download Festival, with more details forthcoming.

This particular reunion has been a long time coming — it will be the first time that combination has recorded together since the release of 1978′s Never Say Die!, though they have been on stage together a bunch since Osbourne’s initial departure. But ever since a one-off show way back in December 1997, there have been a number of derailments that have kept Black Sabbath from being together full time.

Ward’s health problems kept him in the sidelines for a while, and efforts to record a new album in 2001 dissipated while both Osbourne and Iommi worked on solo projects. Then Ozzy became a television star with The Osbournes, which created a whole new weird secondary career for him. READ FULL STORY »

Oct 19 2011 10:58 AM ET

Metallica and Lou Reed's 'Lulu': Listen to the preview here!

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Throughout their respective careers, both Lou Reed and Metallica have spent a healthy amount of their creative energy challenging their audiences.

Enthusiasts of both have sometimes had to embrace extreme sounds and ideas that are both deeply noncommercial and passionately counterintuitive. But people keep tuning in because the personalities behind the music are so strong and compelling that they dare you to look away.

So it’s no surprise that a chance collaboration during a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame anniversary concert has now resulted in a full-length album featuring both entities. Lulu hits store shelves on November 1, but there are previews of each one of the songs below.

They’re a strange marriage of Metallica’s turned-to-11 thump, Reed’s catty delivery, and lyrics that tell the story of a dancer who rises through society only to end up a poor prostitute (a tale originally told in a pair of plays written by German playwright Frank Wedekind). Give the tracks a spin below. READ FULL STORY »

Sep 15 2011 12:00 PM ET

On the scene at Yankee Stadium: Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax crank and shred

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Over the course of his band’s two-hour set to close out the Big 4 show at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night, Metallica frontman James Hetfield repeatedly asked the assembled crowd of over 41,000 headbangers, “Can you feel it?”

He didn’t have to worry; the collective had no trouble feeling it. Or hearing it. In perhaps a grandiose feat of overcompensation for the outdoor venue and the noise from the adjacent subway line, everything was cranked up to 11 from the first note to the last bellow.

Of course, this is metal, which means the louder the better, and while everybody brought their best noise, Metallica reigned supreme above them all. The bands populating the under-card all fared well, with Anthrax picking up points for sheer enthusiasm — most of the members are from New York, they were celebrating the release of their new album, and there was a spry joie de vivre that infiltrated even their thrashiest material, especially on the set-closing “I Am the Law.”

Megadeth primed the crowd for the headliner with some early shout-alongs (the one-two punch of “Symphony of Destruction” and “Peace Sells” was surprisingly anthemic), and Slayer bowling over everybody with a solid hour of ritual eardrum destruction (“Mandatory Suicide” was especially savage).

But then Metallica emerged, and everybody was reminded exactly why they remain one of the biggest bands in the world. Aided by some well-orchestrated pyrotechnics, a healthy dose of theatricality, and a bucketload of massive songs, the members of Metallica spryly navigated the huge stage parked in the outfield and held heavy court. READ FULL STORY »

Sep 13 2011 03:49 PM ET

Anthrax's Scott Ian on playing Yankee Stadium, getting inspiration from 'Lost,' and facial hair

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As any devil-horn devotee will tell you, metal is forever.

There will always be a cadre of kids looking to bang their heads, which is why hard and loud music has endured the ups and downs of the musical marketplace in the 21st century.

Case in point: The biggest concert event of the fall concerns a quartet of bands who were all founded in or before 1983. After a well-received weekend in Indio, California, earlier this year, Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax have come east and will take the stage at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night, September 14. It will be a huge, loud spectacle, the kind that only metal veterans can deliver.

It’s an extra-busy week for Anthrax, who not only have the hometown show to look forward to (the founding members of the band are all from New York) but also their tenth album to promote (it’s called Worship Music, hits stores today and features the first recordings with singer Joey Belladonna in two decades).

EW caught up with guitarist Scott Ian to talk about the new album, the Big Four, and why he no longer buys Rolling Stone.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: With the Yankee Stadium show and the new album out, is this the busiest week in Anthrax history?
SCOTT IAN: It very well could be. It started last Tuesday, and now it’s really ramping up.

How did Worship Music come together?
We spent most of the time working on this record last fall. Joey rejoined the band in the beginning of 2010 and we spent most of the year on the road doing Big Four shows and then another tour with Slayer and Megadeth, which we called the Almost Big Four. We spent pretty much every day in the dressing room working on that record. We had something like 14 tracks, and it was just a case of listening to them and nitpicking the hell out of them. Once we finished that tour, we were ready to go back in and re-record stuff and let Joey go in and sing everything.

The song that really stands out to me is “The Constant.” Can you tell me where that came from?
That was one of the first songs that came together, at least musically. It went through a couple of different rewrites. The idea initially came from an episode of Lost called “The Constant.” READ FULL STORY »

Jul 22 2011 03:41 PM ET

Rob Zombie Q&A: Rocker and filmmaker talks Slayer tour, new movie, and the legend of Mick Jagger

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Two nights ago, Rob Zombie turned the summertime volume up to 11 by kicking off his co-headlining tour with shred legends Slayer in Reading, Pennsylvania.

But the multi-talented Zombie has quite a few tentacles in a number of different pies at the moment, so when we caught up with him a few weeks ago, he ran down the seemingly ever-growing list of projects he’s currently advancing.

Entertainment Weekly: The last time we talked, you were also working on a tour and getting movie stuff together at the same time. Can we safely call you a workaholic?
Rob Zombie: I like to have a lot of projects going at once because I work in a very kind of schizophrenic manner. So if I ever get stuck on something, I can just to the next thing and the next thing. It’s kind of a blessing and a curse because at the same time, I hate working that way. I’m like “Boy, if I could just focus on one thing…” but then I’m always afraid if you’re only focusing on one thing and if the one thing falls apart, you’re like “Now what?” It’s sort of a paranoia.

You’ve played with Slayer before in the past, going back to the White Zombie days. Were you a fan before you worked with them?
I was a fan before we opened but not for long time. I was never a crazy metal fan. I saw them at the Felt Forum in New York on one of the early shows on the South of Heaven tour. That’s when I really was blown away by the show and the insane intensity of the whole thing.

Is it inspiring to you that they can still put out that kind of energy all these years later?
It’s not really inspiring to me because we’re all the same age. So I’m not inspired by that. I’m inspired if I watch the Rolling Stones. I think, “Holy f—, Mick Jagger is almost 70 and look at the energy that guy’s got.”

Is that going to be you? Will we be able to see you live at 70?
Who knows? I mean, there’s very few people that have that. Probably not, because when I’m together with all the guys from Slayer, everybody’s  just sitting around talking about how much their necks hurt. Mick Jagger is just possessed. People take for granted that they don’t even understand how great it is sometimes. Like when the Stones played the Super Bowl and everyone complained about it. Give me a f—ing break! You work that f—ing stage the size of a football field when you’re 66 years old, and we’ll see if you come out alive. It’s a phenomenon. READ FULL STORY »

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