These past several days have been interesting ones in the metal community.
In perhaps one of the biggest recent controversies, rumors spread that moshing would be outlawed. This tweet by Oliver Sykes from Bring Me The Horizon fueled the speculation.
Moshing was made illegal in the city of Boston in 2012, and to the best knowledge of TBOS, there hasn’t been any more recent legislation put into action. Kevin Lyman, the promoter of Warped Tour, where BMTH are performing, assured his Twitter followers that moshing has not been outlawed on the tour, but bands are not allowed to encourage it due to possible legal problems.
Motörhead was forced to cancel three shows after singer/bassist Lemmy Kilmister suffered a hematoma. But the band released a statement proclaiming that their frontman was doing well. Motörhead will release their latest album, Aftershock, in September.
Tickets for Iron Maiden’s upcoming London show sold out in a mere 12 minutes. The band have since added a second show. It will be their last show in the UK before they tour the States and headline Rock In Rio and other shows in South America. The band also launched an online store for their Trooper beer this week.
Megadeth announced they will donate the proceeds from their upcoming Gigantour show in Oklahoma City will be donated to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma. According to Loudwire, singer Dave Mustaine said, “Many amazing bands have come forward to aid Oklahomans since the May tornadoes came and tore apart their homes and lives. Now it’s time for Heavy Metal to give to this community!”
A 6-year-old girl wowed audiences on “America’s Got Talent” by singing an original death metal song called “Zombie Skin”. Surprisingly, the kid band (called Murp) progressed to the next level of the show.
Another metal-related video went viral this week. The Badpiper, an Australian street performer, made headlines by performing AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck,” complete with pyrotechnics.
Unless you’ve been away from the headbanging world, you are aware that Halestorm won the 2013 Grammy for “Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance”. This win is historic in the sense that singer Lzzy Hale is the first female singer to ever be nominated for that category and win.
By all means, congrats to Halestorm. They are a hard working band and “Love Bites (So Do I)” is a great song.
But once again, this decision reflects the cluelessness of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), the head of the Grammys, when it comes to metal.
The hard rock/metal category has undergone several changes.
The first and only “Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental” Grammy was awarded in 1989. It was expected that Metallica would win. Their album “…And Justice For All” had spawned the hit “One” and was their best-selling album to date.
Jethro Tull released an ad in Billboard Magazine showing a picture of a flute and the line, “The flute is a real, heavy metal instrument!” Subsequent editions of Metallica’s “…And Justice For All” contained a sticker reading “Grammy Award LOSERS.”
Metallica: 1989 Grammy award LOSERS. Photo courtesy frenk tatranky on Flickr.
Entertainment Weekly called it one of the biggest upsets in Grammy history.
Here are some more examples of the board’s knowledge:
Metallica won the 1991 metal Grammy for their cover of Queen’s “Stone Cold Crazy,” though Queen itself was never nominated.
Motörhead won the 2005 metal Grammy for a cover of Metallica’s “Whiplash”.
The 2009 metal Grammy was awarded to Judas Priest for a live version of “Dissident Aggressor,” a song originally released in 1977.
Now it’s 2013, and though the board appears to have made progress, there are still changes to be made.
Up against Halestorm were Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Anthrax, Marilyn Manson and Lamb Of God.
Iron Maiden has one Grammy to their legendary name. They are often credited as one of the pioneers of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and are regarded as one of the most successful metal bands of all time.
Anthrax and Megadeth are two of the Big Four of Thrash Metal, which were credited with popularizing the genre. Neither have won a Grammy. Megadeth holds the record for the most Grammy nominations (eleven) in the metal category without a win.
The hard rock/metal category is the still the only one dedicated to this art form and the award is not televised. Eddie Trunk and other metal journalists have complained about the outright disrespect for these musical genres by the board.
Though the talent of all this year’s nominees is unmistakable, Halestorm’s win is reminiscent of actions by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Winners and inductees are not chosen according to a band’s record sales or influence, but according to politics.
While KISS, Deep Purple (“Smoke on the Water”), Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and countless other influential rock and metal bands have yet to be inducted, newer bands like Guns N’ Roses and non-rock acts like Madonna are in there.
With all due respect to Halestorm, the proponents of “Music’s Biggest Night” have a lot of explaining to do.
This week in metal was a hard one to cover due to the excitement surrounding NAMM. So here are the highlights of this week:
Ozzfest Japan 2013 will take place in May and feature Black Sabbath. Other bands include: Slipknot, Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, Deftones, Tool, The Treatment, Dir En Grey and Steel Panther.
Dave Mustaine revealed that Megadeth will embark on a short tour with Iron Maiden in Spain, Italy, and France. He said that Megadeth is nearly finished recording their fourteenth album, but did not reveal what record label they have signed with. Mustaine also gave some hints as to what bands will be on Gigantour 2013. He said they are “notorious bad boys”. Perhaps they will tour with Mötley Crüe once again?
Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) was the subject of an all-star roast featuring Lita Ford, Zakk Wylde and Jim Norton.
Ray Burton, father of deceased Metallica bassist Cliff Burton, signed autographs at the ARIA Guitars booth at NAMM.
David Ellefson of Megadeth (2nd from left) and Ray Burton (2nd from right) at the ARIA Guitars booth at NAMM 2013. Photo credit: Metallica official Facebook.
In Part 2 of our interview with Doro Pesch, she discussed her experiences performing at the Monsters of Rock and Wacken Open Air Festivals, her first tour with Judas Priest, and receiving health advice from Blackie Lawless. Here, she talks about meeting Lemmy Kilmister for the first time, discusses being a female pioneer in metal and gives advice to aspiring musicians. Click here to read the interview from the beginning.
The Blog of Shredding: Do you still keep in touch with (the musicians you’ve toured with)?
Doro Pesch: Yes, yes. Sometimes when I see somebody’s on tour, then I always go there. And actually the closest I’m with Lemmy and Motörhead. I love Lemmy so much, and I love all the other, you know, bands… I don’t know. I love him so much and he’s one of the first (famous) people I’ve ever met. It was actually—we played the Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington together. And I met him before too. And I couldn’t speak one word of English! (laughs) It was like the very early 80s. And he was so nice. He said, “Oh yeah, have a cigarette. Have a whisky cola.” And you know, we hung out and had a great time… He actually sang a duet with me on the new record. It’s called “It Still Hurts” and I love it so much. It means so much to me.
But all the other people too. When I see Judas Priest is playing where I am, I always try, you know, to go. Or the Scorpions. And Udo Dirkschneider from Accept and many many other bands. Yeah.
The Blog of Shredding: Why did you choose metal at the time when it was such a male-dominated music genre?
Doro Pesch: I love metal so much and think everybody knew that—that no matter what—I never thought it made a difference, being a man or a woman. If you love music and people, they feel you can touch their hearts, I think it doesn’t matter. I never thought, I never felt degraded or second-best being a woman. I felt really good, really respected. All the bands that we just talked about— and many more bands—they were always treating me really great. I never thought it was such a big deal. I always had a great time and always felt very supported. So, yeah, to me, I feel I’m just a human being and I want to try to do my best and make people happy, give them positive power, positive energy. I never felt bad being a woman. I just-I think it doesn’t matter in the end. And I think music is about that.
The Blog of Shredding: How do you feel about (female-fronted band) Halestorm being nominated for the hard rock/metal Grammy? Lzzy Hale’s the first woman to be nominated for that.
Doro Pesch: That’s super! I was so happy when I heard that. I just found out a couple of weeks ago, and I was like, “Wow! Super!” More power to them and more power to her, and of course, I keep my fingers crossed that she will win. And that’s great! I think that’s awesome! That’s awesome.
And I must say, when I started, we were just maybe a handful of women. And now there’s so many more, so that’s great, you know. It doesn’t feel so lonely anymore!
But all the women that were doing this, I always had great connections. Most of the girls I know, and most of the girls I’m great friends with, like for example, the girl of Girlschool. We started together in the early 80s. Yeah, I think that’s great. Halestorm were nominated. Super!
The Blog of Shredding: What do you want your legacy to be?
Doro Pesch: Just when the fans think of me, that they know that I always try to give my best and try to make the fans happy and give them something that they will never forget, that it’s like the real thing. And something they could always count on. I promise you that I will never ever give up and I want to do it till the day I die.
I will never ever do a goodbye tour, I promise that. And I will always try to give 150 percent in songs or shows or records. And they know that I love the fans more than anything else in this world and the fans, they are my family and they’re the most important thing to me, my only inspiration and motivation.
I love the fans—to death! (laughs)
The Blog of Shredding: Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?
Doro Pesch: I just would say, always give your whole energy, your whole heart, do 150 percent, and never let them change you. Always do what you feel is right. Follow your heart, follow your instincts. And never ever ever give up and do what you feel is right. Do what is you, you know, don’t follow a trend and just, you know, express yourself. Be the best you can be. And always try to find good people who will help you, support you, and even if you can’t find them, just believe in yourself and do whatever you can. I would say, you know, it’s a hard road but everything is worth it. If you try, if you believe in it, if you don’t give up, in the end, you definitely get to go to places. You definitely get successful. Whatever is in you, just follow that… And maybe find a good management. If you find somebody or if you want to sign a deal then, I would say, you know, it’s good to consider a lawyer because I [laughs] must say I can talk from experience. I signed my life away many times [laughs] because I thought, “Oh, everybody just wants the best for the band, just what’s best for you.” So I would get legal advice. Yeah, seek legal support like a lawyer before you sign a contract. Yeah, I would say that’s pretty good because, you know, I didn’t do it. And back in the day, actually, we made many handshake deals, which I believed when people told me something, that that was for real. I was very naive—I still am. I just want to believe the best in people, but sometimes it’s good to have a second opinion, somebody who knows. Yeah, a good lawyer who, you know, who loves music but takes care of you. That you don’t wind up in too much, you know, problems (laughs). I guess, you know, these experiences in the end, you know, it was alright to go through some hard stuff. And always know, always know it will always go up and down, up and down. But always try to keep a good attitude and if somebody knocks you out, get up as fast as you can, and you know, fight more and fight for what you want to do.
To be continued. Part 4 of 4 will be published soon.
The Blog of Shredding: So could you tell us about the new album?
Doro Pesch: It’s called “Raise Your Fist,” and it took about 2 1/2, three years to make it. And it has many anthems, which I love. For example, songs like “Raise Your Fist in the Air,”—which was actually the first single and the first video—“Rock Till Death,” and there’s another one, another neck-breaker, real heavy metal and speed metal tunes on this, like “Little Headbanger” or “Revenge,” and it has some beautiful ballads on it as well.
And we have two killer guests. One is a guitar player. He plays the solo on the song “Grab The Bull (Last Man Standing)”: Gus G. from Firewind and Ozzy Osbourne. And then I sing a duet with Lemmy Kilmister (of Motörhead), and the song is called “It Still Hurts,” and yeah, that’s one of my favorite songs and it’s a very deep, dark ballad.
The first song I wrote for this record is called “Hero”. It’s actually a song dedicated to Ronnie James Dio and gives him thanks and honor and respect. We just played all over Europe and I played the song every night. The fans, they really, really, really love that. There will always be Dio chants before or after the song, you know. “Dio! Dio!” Yeah, I’m just so touched and happy to sing about Ronnie, so “Hero” is just one of my most important songs on this record.
There’s some other cool tunes on this record, “Coldhearted Lover,” “Free My Heart,” “Victory”. There’s one in German. It’s called “Engel”—that means “angel”. That’s a ballad and there’s another one that’s titled in German-English. It’s called “Freiheit (Human Rights)”. “Freiheit” means “freedom, liberty”. It’s actually a human rights song, and I dedicated that song to a human rights organization. It’s called Terre Des Femmes. They’re a big organization. Whenever young girls, young women need help in all kinds of areas, they’re supportive there. I wanted to dedicate a song to the ladies all over the world.
The Blog Of Shredding: Could you tell us about the opening band Sister Sin?
Doro Pesch: Yes, it’s actually a Scandinavian band. It has a female singer. Her name’s Liv (Jagrell). She’s a really cool girl. Actually, we toured together before and like each other a lot. And we just did a song together for their record. It’s a cover version of the Motörhead classic “Rock N’ Roll”. Great band, great attitude. It’s a great, exciting package for the fans.
German singer Doro Pesch (Warlock, DORO) is called “The Metal Queen” for a reason.
Her first major tour was with Judas Priest. She sang duets with Ronnie James Dio and was the first woman to perform at the Monsters of Rock and Wacken Open Air festivals.
“I never thought, being a little metalhead from Germany, you know, that you could ever tour the world and tour with your favorite bands,” Pesch says over the telephone. “It was such a dream come true and it still is.”
During an extensive 40-minute interview, Pesch opened up about everything from her new album to receiving health advice from W.A.S.P. singer Blackie Lawless.
She just wrapped up filming “Anuk: The Path of the Warrior 2” and plans to celebrate her 30th anniversary with big shows in Europe—and perhaps even a new champagne.
Due to the length of this interview, the full transcript will be published over the next several days. For now, here are some highlights.
On quitting her job in graphic design:
I got the phone call from my manager at the place I worked. It was actually totally forbidden to take phone calls there, and then my boss, he said, “Hey, little girl. It better be important!” And I’m like, (stutters) “Yeah, I hope so!” So I got on the phone and my manager said, “Hey, are you ready to quit your job?” I said, “Why?” “You’re going on tour with your favorite band!” I said, “What you mean?” “Yes. Judas Priest.”
On meeting Lemmy Kilmister (Motörhead singer and bassist) for the first time:
I love him so much and he’s one of the first (famous) people I’ve ever met. I couldn’t speak one word of English! (laughs) It was like the very early 80s, and he was so nice. He said, “Oh yeah, have a cigarette. Have a whisky cola.”
On the current state of metal:
I think it almost reminds me of the 80s, and I think that’s very good. I miss all the great magazines. I miss the big record stores where you could, you know, go in and weed through for ten hours. So that’s what I miss a little bit. But on the other hand, now everything’s available on the Internet.
Pesch embarks on her North American tour next month. It stops in Tempe, Ariz. Feb. 23.
Her latest album, “Raise Your Fist,” is now available, and features Gus G. (Ozzy Osbourne, Firewind) and Lemmy Kilmister.
The Blog of Shredding 