Lest we forget...

On 22 June 2010 Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax (known as the Big 4 of thrash metal) performed in Sofia, Bulgaria. The concert was screened live at hundreds of cinema theatres across the world and, as to be expected, in South Africa nearly 4 weeks later.

Regardless of the fact that we were watching a ‘live’ broadcast weeks after the show, we saw this collaboration of rock gods as an opportunity that could not be missed. In a cinema packed with metalheads we watched the legends do what they do best and like a bucket of arctic water to the face, we were reminded of what metal was all about.

The current rock scene is flooded with new bands. There are so many to choose from that I find myself feeling a bit frustrated at times trying to keep up with the who’s who of the rock world.

But amongst the scramble of Heavy metal, Thrash metal, Alternative metal, Black metal, Death metal, Gothic metal, Industrial metal, Nu metal, Metalcore and several other sub-genres, there will always be the pioneers, like the Big 4, that stood out and that formed the foundation of current hard rock culture. They refuse to be ignored and their music will always be in a class of their own, their performances will always grip you and leave you feeling like you need a cigarette afterwards. 

Although some may not be enjoying as much mainstream success as others; here is, in a nutshell, some info on what some of our rock masters have been doing lately:

Three of the Big 4 bands have new albums in 2011. Anthrax’s tenth studio album, Worship Music, hit the shelves on 12 September. Metallica’s latest album (a collaoration with Rock legend, Lou Reed) is due for release on Halloween, 31 October, whilst Megadeth’s new album, Th1rt3en, is being released the day after, on 1 November 2011.

Anthrax - Worship Music, Metallica ft. Lou reed - LuLu, Megadeath - Th1rt3en

 

Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier world tour

Iron maiden released their album The Final Frontier on 16 August 2010 and did the Final Frontier world tour until mid 2011. This album received great reviews and was noted to be one of Maiden’s best, quoted to be "the most ambitious album Iron Maiden has ever made, a 76 minute opus." Iron Maiden was ranked No. 24 in VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock, and were named as the third best heavy metal band of all time on VH1 Classic’s Top 20 Metal Bands. MTV also named them fourth in the Top 10 Greatest Heavy Metal Bands of All Time.

Known for the timeless classic Smoke On The Water, Deep Purple has started working on a new album again, which may be available in 2012. Bassist, Roger Glover stated that songs “evolve out of some kind of mysterious foggy wasteland, which is called jamming,” and that they have had a nine day jamming session. They are currently busy with The Songs That Built Rock tour. Deep Purple was ranked 22 on VH1's Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.

K K Downing retired from Judas Priest whilst busy with the Epitaph World Tour and Richie Faulkner was elected replacement for the remainder of the tour performances. Vocalist Rob Halford has confirmed that they have nearly completed a new album which would probably be due for release in 2012. They are also releasing a compilation album on 11 October where some of the biggest names of the hard rock/heavy metal world picked their favourite Judas Priest songs. The track listing is as follows:

Judas Priest frontman, Rob Halford

1) Diamonds And Rust (1977) - chosen by Joe Elliott (Def Leppard)

2) Dissident Aggressor (1977) - chosen by Steve Vai

3) Exciter (1978) - chosen by Accept

4) Beyond The Realms Of Death (1978) - chosen by Lars Ulrich (Metallica)

5) Delivering The Goods (1979) - chosen by Kerry King (Slayer)

6) The Green Manalishi (with the Two-Pronged Crown) (1979) - chosen by David Coverdale (Whitesnake) & Randy Blythe (Lamb of God) 

7) The Ripper (1979) - chosen by Ozzy Osbourne

8) Victim Of Changes (1979) - chosen by James Hetfield (Metallica)

9) Breaking The Law (1980) - chosen by Lemmy (Motorhead)

10) Rapid Fire (1980) - chosen by Vinnie Paul (Pantera & Hell Yeah)

11) Grinder (1980) - chosen by Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society)

12) Living After Midnight (1980) - chosen by Alice Cooper & Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath)

13) Screaming For Vengeance (1982) - chosen by Slash (Guns n Roses)

14) You’ve Got Another Thing Coming (1982) - chosen by Klaus Meine (Scorpions) & Corey Taylor (Slipknot) 

15) The Sentinel (1984) - chosen by Chris Jericho 

16) Turbo Lover (1986) - chosen by Jonathan Davis (Korn) 

17) Painkiller (1990) - chosen by Joe Satriani

Judas Priest was named the 78th greatest artist of all time by VH1 in 2010 and 2nd Greatest Metal Band by MTV (after Black Sabbath).

Nazareth is still alive! Their discography consists of a whopping 22 titles of which the latest one is Big Dogz, was released on 15 April 2011. The album was generally well received; some critics called it a bit mellow and even the band themselves confessed that they tried to make it bluesy - just below heavy metal.

If you think Nazareth’s 22 albums were impressive, Status Quo’s 29^th album Quid Pro Quo went out on 30 May 2011. In December the band will start touring the ‘Quofest’ alongside Roy Wood and Kim Wilde.

Def Leppard ranked 31 in VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock and ranked 70 in 100 Greatest Artists Of All Time. They released their Live album called Mirrorball on 7 June 2011. The first single from the live album is a studio track, Undefeated. Classic Rock magazine quoted the song to be an us-against-the-world anthem that is as good as anything they have written in the past 30 years.

A 2005 USA Today opinion poll named Journey the fifth best American rock band in history. Struggling to find a suitable lead vocalist after Steve Perry left; Journey hired Filipino singer, Arnel Pineda, of the cover band The Zoo in December 2007 after Neal Schon saw him on YouTube singing covers of Journey songs. Wow, this guy must be living the dream going from covering Journey to actually playing for them. After Pineda joined, Journey released the album Revelation in 2008 and then Eclipse on 24 May 2011. Critics called the latest album a strong melodic hard rock album, but one that inevitably lacks the magic of their greatest work.  



The new (and old) Van Halen


Van Halen is nearing completion of a new album. It will be the first full length Van Halen album since 1998's Van Halen III and the first new music from the band since the three new songs from the 2004's Best of Both Worlds compilation. It will also be the first Van Halen album to feature Eddie's son, Wolfgang Van Halen, on the bass in place of the band's original bassist Michael Anthony.

David Lee Roth will feature on vocals for the first time in 27 years, and it will be the first new material with Roth in 15 years. It will also be the first music from David Lee Roth since 2003's Diamond Dave. Wow! Exciting times...

Even if the band wagon is a bit overcrowded, there will always be the select few, the legends that set the standards. Even if some of these bands aren’t exactly your brand of whiskey, their vintage alone demands respect, and they are still rocking...

Gothgirl