Concert Review: Judas Priest, 4-17-18 Portland, Oregon

In the shadow of Mount Hood,

We were all waiting....

For Lightning to Strike!

As most of you know, I became a truck driver last year. Well, last Friday, I delivered to Portland, Oregon. I am a trainer, and since we were going to here until Monday, my student wanted to go see a Portland Trailblazers playoff game on Saturday. I told him to go ahead, and I realized that all I ever did on downtime was sit in the truck. I decided to see if anything was going on that I would want to see. Tuesday, April 17th, Judas Priest was in town. DAMMIT, I was leaving on the 16th! Son of a...

It would take an act of the Metal Gods for me to get to go to that concert. Well, they decided to smile on me because my truck broke down on Sunday. Had to be towed Monday, soooo, I was PRIEST BOUND!

I got to the arena, and Saxon was playing. I was late for them, but that couldn't be helped. While waiting in line for my $11 beer, I met a proud father, taking his 9 or 10 year old daughter to her FIRST concert. I wrote about that meeting as well because it was really cool. I went in, and my seat was appropriately in section KK. I knew it was going to be an awesome night. 

If you don't already know, guitarist, Glenn Tipton has left the band because of health issues with Parkinson's Disease, and couldn't tour anymore. He has been replaced by guitarist, Andy Sneap, along with Richie Faulkner who replaced KK Downing after he retired. He's played for some amazing bands, so I wasn't worried about him playing Glenn's parts. He's done production work for Megadeth, Accept, Testament, and many other bands known for exceptional guitar ability, not to mention been members of various heavy hitting guitar bands. 

Rob Halford and Andy Sneap

The band opened with the title track of their latest album, Firepower, which is in the top 5 albums of their entire discography. Glenn Tipton played the songs on the album, and if anyone had any doubts about Sneap and Faulkner carrying the torch, they were quickly erased. The crowd accepted both guitarists with enthusiasm. Rob Halford's vocals were piercing, and strong as ever. I had never seen Faulkner with Priest before, but I was amazed. He is one HELL of a showman. I couldn't really see Scott Travis from where I was, and Ian Hill just did his normal performance, just staying on his side of the stage, beating the deep darkness from his bass that gives Priest songs the scary essence that they are known for. 

Showman Extraordinaire, Richie Faulkner 

The band played a wide variety of hits, classic gems, and several songs from Firepower. They played Sinner, Freewheel Burning, Grinder, The Ripper, and a couple other classics. I was a little surprised to hear Turbo Lover, but it was still great. Of course, they played Painkiller, which Rob nailed, and the solo was done perfectly by Faulkner and Sneap. After Painkiller, something happened that we were all hoping for, but not expecting. Sneap joined Ian Hill at the back of the stage, and none other than Glenn Tipton emerged from side stage. The place erupted with applause, and Glenn stood there with his hand on his heart and pointing at the audience. You could tell that our enthusiasm for him met the world to him. They finished the set with Tipton playing his signature Hamer guitar. His first song with them? Metal Gods of course. He then played Breaking the Law, You Got Another Think Coming, and Living After Midnight with the band. 

Rob and Glenn

That was an incredible concert, mixed with excitement, and emotion. The band sounded great, and everyone enjoyed it. I'm sure the people in attendance were a lot happier leaving than the Trailblazers fans were who had just watched them drop a second playoff home game in a row, going to a 0-2 deficit to the Pelicans. That arena is right next to Veterans Memorial Coliseum, where Priest played. You don't get many options for a personal life out on the road. I'm glad I had this opportunity, and it was a concert that I won't forget any time soon.

Rock and Roll Children: Parenting Done Right!

The (Metal) Kids Are Alright  

Everyone knows that the 80's metal children grew up with a level of intelligence that fans of other genres just simply didn't have. Its because the music made by iconic bands like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Dream Theater, Savatage, Megadeth, Metallica, and countless others was simply put, intelligent. Especially those kids who became musicians themselves. Metal fans don't just listen to their music. They absorb and ingest it, analyze it, and dissect it. They break every single little riff down individually, and know the most simple high hat ting as much as they know the lyrics and guitar solos. And, they know every single note of the guitar solos too. This intense studying of the music later turned into brains that are extremely attentive and sensitive to detail. 

So, what are these attentive brains doing to make me say that this is parenting done right? Its simple. They are exposing their kids to the same music that they grew up with. The result? Smart kids who know the difference between great music, and the over saturated commercial garbage that their classmates and adult drones are listening to on the radio. They have inducted their kids into a family that will be there for life. Metal is more than music. Its a lifestyle, and they (like us) will always have a home at a metal concert. Raising them on metal isn't easy either. You might have a spouse that doesn't like metal, and that can be a difficult hurdle, especially if the parents are no longer together, and share custody of the child.

I have several stories about metal kids that I've encountered over the years, including a story about how I'm doing my part to raise a metal kid. We'll start with last night. I am in Portland, Oregon, and Judas Priest played a concert here. It took an act of the Metal Gods to get me to that concert, but you can read about that in my review here.

I was waiting in the line to get a beer, when I saw a father, age 40, and his daughter who looked about 9 or 10. She was dressed in black, and had a J and a P on each cheek. The father was proud to be taking his princess to her first metal concert. Judas Priest. Not bad, huh? He was beaming with pride, and we started talking about raising kids with metal. He said that his wife was leary about the girl going, to which he told her that there was nothing to worry about. The father told me that his daughter played guitar...an Ibanez, no less, and could play all the notes in Breaking the Law, among others. She even knew who Nita Strauss is, and is a fan. I enjoyed meeting them, and I wish I could hear what she thought of the concert. 

Guys, if you see this, please let me know
what she thought of the concert. She
was awesome!

Next, I'm going to tell you about a couple instances with my youngest daughter, who is 8 years old. The first concert she ever went to was a local band at a July 4th festival in South Carolina. She was still very little, and I spent the majority of the evening with her on my shoulders. There was a classic rock cover band playing onstage, but we were trying to stay away from them because my now ex wife was worried about the volume. (It wasn't that loud) But, she kept making it very known that she wanted to go closer. We did, and she was rocking on my shoulders, and loving every moment of it. A local newspaper took our picture, and it made it in the paper.

A few years later, we took her to a festival in Fayetteville, NC where Warrant was playing. Same thing, even down to the reporter taking our picture. Not sure if that one made it in the paper though.

My daughter,  Warrant,
And me

I've taken her to several concerts, mostly locals including my hometown heroes, Dead Serios, and Geezer, and a teen girl rock band called Good Luck Audrey. She loves all three of these bands. But, my the most special one to me was Dead Serios. I got to join them onstage to sing a part in their hit, No More Pipe For Potato Head. I didn't tell her that I was going to be doing this, so when I got called up to the stage, she had no idea. She was just sitting there in awe because she had heard me talk about how I used to be in bands before she was born, but she had never seen me perform. One guy told me that she looked at him, pointed at me, and yelled "That's my DAD!" Proud papa moment, for sure. But, another proud papa moment happened at that show as well. Guitarist, Doug Gibson, a local guitar virtuoso also had his own son join the band onstage to play guitar as a guest in their cover of Blister in the Sun by Violent Femmes. I talked to him, and he told me that his favorite guitarist growing up was his dad. He's one of my favorites too.

My daughter with Dead Serios

The last one I'm going to talk about happened at a Stryper concert in 2005, in Charlotte, NC. There were lots of teenagers there. I asked one of them why he was there. He told me that his dad listened to Stryper, and he grew up with them. He told me that he was learning to play metal guitar, and he just had to hear Soldiers Under Command live. 

Parenting. You're doing it right!
If you have pics of you and your metal kids,  email them to me at willtelltale@gmail.com subject line Metal Kids. If I get enough of them,  I'll make a folder on this blog for them.  I'm also thinking about doing a radio show on that topic once we bring the show back.

#MetalKids
#ParentingYoureDoingItRight

Who Dat? The Replacement Singers

Who Dat?

As the legendary bands age, members come and go. Some die, some get fired, some quit. But just because an original member isn't in the band anymore, is it still the same band? Should the band call it quits because the original bass player quit? Hell, should the band hang it up if the singer or guitarist quits? Gets fired? Dies? I got into a discussion with a good friend of mine a couple days ago, and we disagreed on the subject. He was saying that if the original lineup wasn't there, it was nothing more than a cover band. I maintained that it depends on the situation. Bands like Molly Hatchet, who have a lineup that features not one single original member are cover bands. Or, Bobby Blotzer, formerly of Ratt suing the original lineup for the name, where  he would be the only original  member. However, a band like Queensryche is still the band. 3/5 of the original lineup are still there. We're going to talk about several bands in this piece, and explore the fan's reaction to the new members. Since I've already mentioned Queensryhe, we'll start with them.

Queensryche's original lineup released their first 6 albums together. The first member to depart was guitarist, Chris DeGarmo, who left the band to pursue a career as an airline pilot. Many people considered the band to be dead when he left. Since his departure, they had 2 replacement guitarists, neither of who captured the essence of DeGarmo's playing. However, the third time is the charm in this case. Current guitarist, Parker Lundgren does the best job out of the three of them at matching the style of DeGarmo. And, he's been on more Queensryche albums than the other two guitarists, including the 2 released with replacement singer, Todd LaTorre. (Both albums charted in the top 30, which had not happened in a long time) LaTorre who replaced singer, Geoff Tate after his firing as mostly accepted by the fans, although you'd never know it if you look at social media, where supporters of Geoff Tate rattle off the same tired dribble like "No Tate, no Queensryche!" over and over again. Although they never seem to dispute the counter arguments that say that Tate can't even sing the songs anymore for some reason. The song writing is back to the style that the fans wanted, which is the classic power metal that made the band famous in the first place.

Todd LaTorre of Queensryche

Next, we'll take a look at a replacement singer who was hated by the fans. Blaze Bayley of Iron Maiden. And, before you start sending me messages and comments, Yes, I know that Bruce Dickinson was also a replacement singer. We aren't talking about Bruce. Not to mention, he's back in the band, and has been for a long time, so its a non issue. Blaze had a rough time as Maiden's singer. All that really needs to be said is that the fans hated him, and they hated the 2 albums that he sang on. But, finally, Bruce came back on 2000's Brave New World, and the fans rejoiced.

Blaze Bayley with Iron Maiden

Next, we're going to talk about another group of metal gods, who are none other than the Metal Gods themselves. Judas Priest. When Rob Halford left the band to pursue a solo career, the fans were angry. But, a few years later, the band found Tim 'Ripper' Owens, who sounded just like Halford.  His first album with Priest, Jugulator was released with a mix of criticism and praise. Most fans liked the album, but there were some detractors who complained that it was too heavy. I've always maintained that if you read the album credits in Jugulator, you will see Halford's name listed in about half the songs. Jugulator was going to be the next Priest album with or without Halford. But, the next album, Demolition, a lot the praise for Ripper had gone away. Although it was a great metal album, it didn't sound like Priest, and many fans believed that it was time for Ripper to go. And, he did, and has had a pretty successful career. 

Tim 'Ripper' Owens with Judas Priest

And last, but not least, we're going to talk about the most successful replacement singer of all time...well, recent time, anyway, since Brian Johnson of AC/DC, who is the most successful replacement singer of all time is not with them anymore. Plus, he's a lot like Bruce Dickinson. He is a replacement singer, but the band got gi-normous once he came in. No, we're going to talk about Arnel Pineda of Journey. You all know his story. Guitarist, Neal Schon found him on YouTube, a singer in the Philippines, playing in cover bands, in crappy bars. They had tried to bring other singers, but were unsuccessful. But, once Pineda came in, Journey found themselves selling out arenas and stadiums once again. Having a singer who launches himself through the air like a young David Lee Roth certainly doesn't hurt. But, while there are detractors and purists for all of these singers, Pineda, I would say has had the most success. Sure, there are people who would rather have Steve Perry back in Journey, but I'm not one of them...And, neither is Steve Perry!

Perry and Pineda. Respect.

So, in conclusion, you simply aren't going to be able to please everyone. I don't think that just because an original singer goes away for whatever reason that the band simply becomes a cover band, or a 'Fake-Ryche' or 'Mock Up Priest,' or 'Iron Rip-Off' or whatever creative name that the detractors came up with. The band members want to continue to tour, and make albums, and the fans still want to see them. So, why should they quit? If you ask me, they shouldn't.

.

Arnel Pineda with journey

However, Bobby Blotzer needs to give it up! 

TNT Found Active on Skid Row

I really don't get it. All the hatred that comes from "fans" of rock/ metal singers when the band dares to replace a singer. We went through it when Todd La Torre replaced Geoff Tate in Queensryche, when Ripper Owens replaced Rob Halford in Judas Priest, and when Blayze Bayley replaced Bruce Dickinson in Iron Maiden. There are others which we will get to shortly, but now, we are going to focus on the current situation.

The current situation is of course, Tony Harnell of TNT replacing NOT Sebastian Bach of Skid Row, but Johnny Solinger of Skid Row. But, if you read over the comments on Blabbermouth's Facebook page. you'd swear that Skid Row with Sebastian Bach had been a united force releasing hits and packing stadiums since the 80's, and that the band had just replaced Bach out of the blue. That isn't the case. Not even close.

Its 18. As in the number
of years Solinger was in
Skid Row.

Skid Row and Sebastian Bach parted ways in 1996, and have had (NOT counting Tony Harnell) not one, but TWO singers since Bach. Johnny Solinger has been Skid Row's singer for almost TWENTY YEARS which is almost double the amount of time that Bach was the singer,

One of the most prevalent comments I've seen is about the newly released re recording of the Skid Row hit, 18 and Life with Tony Harnell on vocals. These people somehow think that the recording is a slap in the face to Sebastian Bach. It isn't. Its simply a preview of what is coming from the band, The band understands that releasing a classic hit would reach more people than it would if they had re recorded one of the songs from any of their albums with Solinger. Really. That's all it is. A preview, and a damn good one at that. The band is not going to re record the first two albums. Tony Harnell not only hit all of the notes in that song, he nailed them. That's the best that song has sounded since it was originally recorded. Sebastian Bach is a great studio singer, but he was nowhere near as good live than he was in the studio. Another fact that is lost on some of these people is that Harnell was announced as the singer 2 weeks ago, and the band has already clicked with him well enough to record this song.

Harnell

Bach

Click this link. Its a live performance of Sebastian Bach while with Skid Row.(In the 80's.) Now, click this link. Its a performance of Tony Harnell that was done last year with TNT. At 50 years old, Harnell sounds better live than Bach did when he was in his 20's. There, I said it. Nothing against Bach at all. He has always been and always will be one of my favorite singers. But so is Harnell.

This move also is not like Owens, La Torre, or Bayley replacing the singers in Priest, Queensryche, and Maiden. Its much different. Its more like Ronnie James Dio replacing Ozzy in Black Sabbath than anything. Harnell is a well known and respected singer. The aforementioned singers were relative unknowns for the most part.

Truth

Its really as simple as this: Sebastian Bach and Skid Row will never reunite. To expect them to hang it up just because Bach (who is NOT even the original singer) is stupid and delusional. If you like Skid Row, they finally have a singer who can not only nail the notes, but is a class act. Go see them, and buy the albums. Or, don't. But to trash and insult the band is stupid. To say that Tony Harnell sucks is idiotic, and shows ignorance on an epic scale. The band knows better what is best for them than their so called fans who apparently didn't even know that Bach has been gone for years. To expect them to simply change the name is even more ignorant. The band owns the name, so why should they?

I guess another situation you could compare this to would be when Van Halen brought in Sammy Hagar. Everyone was screaming about how horrible it was. Then, after a couple decades, they brought back David Lee Roth, and the same people are bitching about that. Maybe these people need to just let the band do what they need to do. Van Halen proves that no matter what a band does, the fans are never going to be satisfied as long as it doesn't sound exactly like it did back in the glory days.

We brought Dave back!
What more do you want???

People need to stop living in the past, and accept what is in front of them, or just be happy listening to the old music.

Metal in the Super Bowl? Time For a Metal Crusade!

______________________________________

...Here comes the metal meltdown

Run for your life...

______________________________________

Katy Perry, Prince, Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, etc. They were all big time guests for the Super Bowl Halftime show, but they all have one thing in common. They aren't metal. The NFL and the record company moguls seem to be in lock step agreement about what the public wants to see on the biggest stage on Earth. They actually think that everybody wants to see either the current radio cash cows (Katy Perry, New Kids on the Block, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake) or the super classic artists (Paul McCartney, The Who, Prince, etc) And, they even threw us a bone with Aerosmith and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but sorry...That is not good enough.

I'll take a gigantic Eddie over a walking
tiger any day.

The fact of the matter is that there are 3 metal bands that fit BOTH categories...Record album sales and classic artist. They are: Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Metallica. And, they are all three still going strong. I'd include Black Sabbath, but they aren't going strong, despite a great showing with their latest album.

So, I am launching a 'Metal Crusade.' Simply put, I am going to do everything I can to make the NFL do the right thing, and schedule a metal band for the halftime show. You may like one of the bands I listed better than another, but if we throw the top 3 metal bands of all time in their face, they will have to pick one. Personally, I'd be stoked if any of these three were to be selected.

Think the halftime show would suck
with Priest? 'You Got Another
Think coming!"

So, how do we accomplish this? Its easy. Click this link and like and share the hell out of this Facebook page. Tell all your metal friends to do the same. Comment on the page repeatedly. If we get a million likes, then maybe the NFL will notice. Once we get to 500,000 REAL likes (meaning I am not going to enlist fake likes the way some people do) I will send the NFL an email a week until I get a reply. I'll post the contact info as well so that everyone can email.

You might think that I'm wasting my time because not everyone likes metal. You're wrong for several reasons. One, not everyone likes bubblegum pop garbage either. Katy Perry's huge tiger was cool, but her music sucks. How in the can you use the 'Eye of the Tiger' line in a song??? Next, is she going to come out with a song talking about being 'Comfortably Numb' on a 'Stairway to Heaven? Come on now. Anyway, let me get back on track here. There are just as many country fans in the US than there are metal fans. But, country fans actually LIKE Metallica. Seriously. One night years ago, I went to a country concert with a friend who had an extra ticket. The headliner took the stage at 9PM. (NINE? WTF?))) That was my reaction too. But after the early show ended, the cowfolk line danced the night away. One of the songs that they danced to was Enter Sandman by Metallica. No joke. They had a routine that looked like puppets on strings (MASTER!!!) and it really did twist my mind and smash my brain.

Say your prayers, little one, don't forget my son
to include every one!!!

Anyway, my point of that last paragraph was that even though we can't stand pop music, we all watched the rest of the half time show after we took a piss and grabbed some more beer and hot wings. Need proof? How many of you saw Janet Jackson's boob live? I know I did. But on the flip side of that coin, pop heads and country fans will watch a metal band if its on the halftime show. AND, the show would get enormous ratings which could pave the way for future metal bands to get the call.

Plus, metal is kicking its way into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The time is right to do this, but it doesn't matter. Which conquering army ever asked permission to invade?

You know you were watching!
Don't lie!

So, I am calling the metalheads to action! Let's get this done, and bitch slap the corporate douchebags in the record industry by demanding a metal band on the world's biggest stage! Lets get it done. Let's show the world that metal is more relevant than all this candy ass pop. I'd bet that Powerslave by Iron Maiden has sold more copies than all of Katy Perry's albums combined.

Hey, NFL..You will do what the fans say
when the fans say!!!

So, let's do this!!! Don't disregard this post and Facebook page as just another fan page. It isn't! Its a call to action to all metal lovers not just in the US, but the world. The NFL wants a team in London? I'm looking at you British metalheads too! Up the Irons! Summon the Metal Gods, and lets shove some metal up the NFL's ass!!!

"It has to start somewhere, It has to start some time. What better place than here? What better time than NOW???"

If you don't get on board, don't bitch about lame halftime shows. Its as simple as that.

Album Review: Judas Priest, Redeemer of Souls

Right off the bat, let me tell you what I think of the post-Painkiller albums just so you know where I am coming from. I liked Jugulator and Demolition, although I acknowledge the fact that they weren't exactly canon. Angel of Retribution was very good, but it seemed rushed. Nostradamus? Not so much. Didn't really care for that one.

Now that we have that out of the way, let's get down to business here. I heard that Judas Priest were hanging up touring, but were going to release another album. I was excited to hear it, and I was optimistic too. I knew that Priest wasn't going to call it a career with Nostradamus being the last album that they put out. Then, I heard that they are going to be touring after all? SWEET!

The Metal God,
Rob Halford

But, what I wasn't expecting was a juggernaut of a metal album. Not only is Redeemer of Souls a very worthy successor to Painkiller in the sense that the music easily represents the next step in the musical evolution of the band's style, it also is easily the band's best sounding album. Period. It is very well produced, and the guitars sound like they were played through a wall of Marshalls, 100 feet tall. The Metal God, Rob Halford's voice is very powerful, and while Redeemer isn't full of the piercing high notes that Angel of Retribution and Painkiller had, he still showcases his vocal range with several very high screams. In fact, we get to hear him go guttural in one song. And to anyone who would say anything negative about Halford's voice, I would tell them (dis)respectfully to go back and keep listening to their auto tuned pop heroes like everyone on the radio these days. I would rather hear someone real over a singing computer any day, and that goes for music too.

Richie Faulkner and Glen Tipton

From the first track on Redeemer of Souls, we are treated to the powerful metal riffs, heavy rhythms, and brutal twin leads that Priest is known for. Guitarists Glen Tipton and newcomer, Richie Faulkner are all over the place with their twin leads, more-so than on any other recent album. There are also several anthem type songs, like Battle Cry. The bass and drum combo of Scott Travis and Ian Hill is solid and heavy as ever, and while there are no drum-gasams like in Painkiller and Machine Man, Scott Travis displays some of his finest drum work. With this album being the little brother of Painkiller, you'd expect to hear some songs that resemble that album, right? Well, the opening track, Dragonaut and title track, Redeemer of Souls could have been on it. But, the whole album really is an evolution.

Ian Hill

We are also introduced to a couple new monsters/ heroes. Dragonaut, and Metalizer. I wonder how they would match up against the formidable Priest characters, Painkiller and Nightcrawler? There is a SyFy Original Movie there somewhere, I'm sure.*

Scott Travis

If this is to be the final chapter in Judas Priest music, then I am okay with it. They will go out with a bang. But, if they decide to do another album, after hearing this one, I say **"Bring it On!" As I mentioned before, I liked all of their most recent albums except for one. I can't say that about other favorites of mine, including Iron Maiden. The fact that since 1990, Priest has taken their time between albums is very likely a reason why. Take Iron Maiden for example. They haven't. In 1990, they released No Prayer for the Dying. Not a very good album by a long shot. Their next albums were Fear of the Dark, X Factor, Virtual XI, Brave New World, Dance of Death, A Matter of Life and Death, and The Final Frontier. That's 2 more than Priest put out, INCLUDING, like Priest, 2 albums with a different singer. Iron Maiden only put out 2 good albums since 1990, and Priest only put out one bad one. Now, I'm as big of a Maiden fan as I am of Priest. They are my number one and two favorite bands. I am only bringing up Maiden for comparison, and not to bash them.

So, go get this album. Whether you are a Priest fan from the beginning, or a newer one, Redeemer of Souls will be sure to make your neck sore from headbanging. I won't say its better than Painkiller, but its easily their best SINCE Painkiller, and easily in the top 5 Priest albums.

Once again, BUY IT!

EDIT: This album debuted at #6 on the US Billboard charts, making this the most successful Priest debut of all time. Amazing, isn't it? And with bands like Black Sabbath, Queensryche, Stryper, The Winery Dogs and others all putting out awesome albums that are debuting in the top 25, I think its safe to say that....METAL IS BACK!!!

....Seems like I've heard that somewhere before. ;)

*  I have an outline for a movie like that. Contact me if you're in the business and interested.

**Bring it On is the title of a bonus song on the deluxe edition of Redeemer of Souls.

Movie Autopsy: Rock Star

I was talking with some friends last night, about the movie Rock Star, starring Mark Wahlberg, and several musicians that I respect as musicians. As actors? Not so much. They are Zakk Wylde, Jeff Pilson, and Jason Bonham. But, here we go. I'm calling this an autopsy because Rock Star is about as dead as it gets, and we need to figure out what caused the movie to die. Basically, the premise is this: A singer of a tribute band replaces the singer of the band that he idolizes. But, a couple of my friends did not understand why I hate that movie so much. I explained, and they understood, but I'm going to go into detail here.

This post contains spoilers. Lots of them.

Judas Priest with Rob Halford

We'll start at the beginning. That movie was originally supposed to be called 'Metal Gods.' And of course, every metalhead knows that 'Metal Gods' is the name of a Judas Priest song. The movie was supposed to be the story of Tim 'Ripper' Owens, who replaced Rob Halford in Judas Priest. Ripper was in a Judas Priest tribute band in Ohio, and he was discovered, and flown to England to audition after the band found out about him. I was excited to see that movie, UNTIL (Dum dum DUMMMM) Hollywood had to fluff the story with a sappy love story, and include things that never happened in the story. Priest told Hollywood that if they wanted to tell Ripper's story then they could do it, but if they wanted to make a sappy chick, then they could stuff it.

Judas Priest with Ripper Owens

Rather than dump an entire script, the producers made changes to it that made it into a movie that was 'loosely based' on Ripper Owens and Judas Priest. It was 'loosely' all right. About the only thing that even resembled Ripper's story was the premise that a tribute band singer becomes the singer for the band he idolizes. However, if you watch the movie, and pay attention, you will see that Rock Star is more than that. Of course, its the general premise, and of course a sappy love story, but the movie is also loaded with subtle jabs at Ripper Owens and Judas Priest. THAT is what we are going to cover in this post. We will also be separating fact from fiction.

Chris Cole in his bedroom, making sure he looks exactly
like his life sized Bobby Beers card board cutout

First of all, the way that Chris Cole (Wahlberg's charater) was portrayed is an obvious jab. He is a grown man who lives with his parents, and is so obsessed with Steel Dragon (the legendary band in the film) that he dresses just like Bobby Beers, (Dragon's singer) and emulates every single thing (well MOST every single thing) that Beers does in his personal life, even down to getting his nipple pierced just because Beers did it. The tribute band is Cole's only band, and he would never dream of playing anything other than Dragon tunes. He also doesn't know how to write original material.

In real life, Ripper Owens was in TWO bands. He had a band that played original songs, that he also helped write. The tribute band was a side project that opened for his other band from time to time, and played parties. Sure, Rob Halford is Ripper's favorite singer, but Ripper did not worship him like a little teenage fangirl.

Steel Dragon with Bobby Beers

Steel Dragon, as I mentioned before was the legendary metal band. The opening scenes show Cole and his friends getting ready to go see them in concert. When they get to the arena where the show is taking place, people are protesting them with signs that say 'Steel Dragon Is Satan' and things like that. Now, that happened to Judas Priest a lot. But, it would never happen with Steel Dragon. Why? Because Priest is a dark heavy metal band that uses dark minor chords, and scary lyrical content. Dragon is a glam band. You never saw people protesting Ratt because they sang about girls and partying. Same as Steel Dragon.  And, using Ratt as a comparison is appropriate because a Dragon member himself compared Dragon to Ratt later in the movie.

After the Dragon concert, Cole and his band members encountered ANOTHER Steel Dragon tribute band in the parking lot. They are advertising their show, and taking the flyers off cars that Cole's band had placed there. It then becomes 'ON' as the 2 bands appear to get into a rumble. However, since both bands are dressed just like the Dragon members they are mimicking, they start bickering about the embroidery, and when they start shoving, they are more concerned about tearing their costumes than winning a fight. Sure, this is another jab at Ripper and his tribute band, but TWO tribute bands in one city? Not likely.

I call this scene 'Attack of the Clones'

Next, we have Cole's tribute band concert. There is a crowd of at least 1500 (all of which were probably at the real band's concert just a few days before) people at a steel plant. Not a club. Its cool, but it would never happen. The band's guitarist starts adding his own touch to a Dragon song, and Cole flips out, and they fight on stage in front of everyone. He is in turn, kicked out of the band. He is bummed and depressed, but all of a sudden, the phone rings. Guess what?? Its none other than Curt Cuddy, Dragon's guitarist. At first, Cole doesn't believe its really him, so he screens him, asking what he called his third wife. After Cuddy passes Cole's test, Cole goes into fangirl mode, saying how sorry he was to hear about the death of his dog, and how he sent flowers and a card. Another jab at Ripper. Cuddy asks him to come out to LA because he heard a tape of him singing the Dragon tunes perfectly. He agrees, and he and his girlfriend, Emily fly out to LA. Once they arrive in LA, we find out that Cuddy got the tape from 2 groupies who had filmed Cole's concert, and then came on the road with Dragon.

How Chris Cole became Dragon's singer

In real life, Ripper's tribute band was playing a show, and Judas Priest drummer, Scott Travis was there. He was so impressed with Ripper that he spoke to the band about him, and had a member of management contact him. He was invited to London to audition for Priest. After the phone conversation, Ripper looked for the management person's name on his copy of Painkiller. Ripper went, and the audition scene in the movie is pretty much spot on accurate. They both started singing a song, and the song was stopped after a few lines. They had heard enough on the tape, (or concert in Ripper's case) and just needed to verify that it was really his voice. They were both offered the job on the spot. That's about the only accurate part of the movie, and it only lasts a matter of seconds.

Next, we find out that Bobby Beers is being kicked out of the band because he is gay, among other reasons. Cole is devastated. In reality, everybody knew about Rob Halford's sexuality, and nobody cared when he came out of the closet. Looking back, I'm not sure how anybody could have missed the fact, but regardless, Priest did not lose one fan because of it. Not to mention the fact that Halford left on his own because he wanted to release solo albums, and was already gone long before Scott Travis saw Ripper in concert. But, Hollywood wanted Halford kicked out because he was gay.

Steel Dragon with Chris Cole

The next portion of the movie is Steel Dragon touring, partying, getting laid, etc. Cole is trying to be good and faithful to his girlfriend, Emily, but when she decides to go to Seattle to start a business, and Cole is by himself on the road, he becomes a party animal. Dragon plays a show in Seattle, and his girlfriend goes to see him, but catches him wasted, and zipping up his pants. She leaves him. He gets bummed for a few minutes, but the final straw comes after the break when the band gets back together to record the next album. Cole has written a few songs, and Cuddy tells him to forget it. He doesn't even want to hear Cole's songs. So, they record the album, and Cole is demoralized. At a concert, he just walks off stage, and hands the mic to a Chris Cole clone who knows all of Cole's moves to finish the concert. Then, we see interviews with the band, and they are angry, but not worried about the future.

Next, we see Cole in Seattle. Grunge has arrived, and Cole has cut his hair, and is wearing gray sweaters. His old guitarist has moved to Seattle, and the 2 meet up again, and decide to start a grunge band, playing all original songs. They are playing a show at a small coffee house, and Emily shows up. The 2 reunite with a passionate kiss as the band plays on. <gag>

Next, as the credits roll, they take a shot at Rob Halford. They show Bobby Beers being interviewed, and he has cut his hair, and is downing heavy metal. He has now joined Riverdance, and will never go back to Steel Dragon. What did this Hollywood producer have against Rob Halford? 

In real life, Tim 'Ripper' Owens recorded TWO albums with Priest, and even co wrote one song on the second album. He did not quit and storm off the stage. The band and Halford decided to reunite, and Ripper and Priest parted ways on good terms, and are still good friends. Ripper did NOT start an emo grunge band. He became the singer of Iced Earth, and recorded two amazing albums with them, then sang with Yngwie Malmsteen, and did a tour with Dio's Disciples. He did this all while still recording with his ORIGINAL band in Ohio, and opening a club that national touring bands frequent.
2020 UPDATE: Ripper is joining KK Downing's band, KK's Priest.

So, now that you know all this, what do you think of that stupid movie now? Surely, the producer could have made a movie without all the childish jabs right? You would think so, but there are some real childish people out there. And, don't call me Shirley. Be sure to let me know what you think in the comments.

When Rob Halford was on That Metal Show, he gave his own movie review. It was a nice 2 word review, reminiscent of the review of the Shark Sandwich album by Spinal Tap. They did a 'Q&A With the Metal God' segment, where the audience members were able to ask questions of him. One guy asked him what he thought of Rock Star. Rob's reply: "It sucked."

Rock Star? It sucked.

Now, there you have it. Rock Star sucked. Why?
Nevermind all the reasons I listed. It sucked because The Metal God himself said so.

Top 11 Best Metal Anthems of All Time!

I've gotten away from music a little too much this month, so to make it up to my readers, its time for the baddest and the loudest list you'll ever see, and you'll be cranking it, I promise. Grab a beer, and get ready to rock!

Now, I have a criteria. This is strictly metal anthems. There will be no death metal, and no nu metal or grunge. There will only be glam if the song or band is considered metal. For example, Slayer used to be glam, but they were always metal. There will also be no classic rock bands like Foreigner or Led Zeppelin. Its just METAL! Also, only one entry per band. Makes it more difficult, and more entertaining to list.

So, here we go with the top 11 (HAD to be 11, and you know why!) songs that make us want to break out the air guitar, and rip out some air solos, while throwing the horns, and just all out jamming!

So, crank it to 11, sit back, and get ready to head bang! Ready? Too bad! We're starting!!!

Number 11: Death to All but Metal by Steel Panther Sure, I've mentioned them before, but this song HAS to be included. You can't get much more metal than calling for the death of lame acts in a song with a brutally tough guitar lick, blistering solo and piercing screams. Say what you want, but Steel Panther is partially responsible for the resurgence that metal is seeing right now.









Number 10: Bang Your Head (Metal Health) by Quiet Riot You can't have a metal countdown without this song somewhere. The press hated this band, but they didn't care, and the fans loved them. Plus, it spawned 2 legends on guitar and bass. Of course, I'm talking about Randy Rhoads, and Rudy Sarzo.

Number 9: Caught in a Mosh by Anthrax This one brought the mosh pit into the spotlight, and made parents from coast to coast consider insuring their kids before they went to an Anthrax concert.

Number 8: Soldiers Under Command by Stryper
Some of you guys are going to give me grief on this one, I know it. But this song has it all. Twin axe attack, blistering high notes, powerful rhythm section, huge chorus, and one of the most legendary opening riffs there is. Funny...I never knew they made a video for this song.







Number 7: Symphony of Destruction by Megadeth I know Megadeth has lots of better songs than this, but this one fits with the anthem format, since that's what we are going with here. Hangar 18 just doesn't have the chorus that you would want to sing along with. Sure, Peace Sells could be on here too, but I can only pick one, and everybody picks Peace Sells. We like to be different and not cliche. Wait..Wrong band. Anyway, CRANK IT UP!!!

Number 6: Master of Puppets by Metallica How could we not include this one? If this is #6, what could possibly be #1??? Be patient, my friends. This song defined a genre. This was the song that put thrash metal on the map, and blew everyone's doors off. I still remember being afraid of this album when I first heard it. Master of Puppets was my first thrash album.








Number 5: Mister Crowley by Ozzy Some of the finest guitar work ever done, and it is unmatched to this day. If I were to do an air guitar list, this song would likely be #1. I think this song also has some of Ozzy's best vocals too.

Number 4: Holy Diver by Dio Never before has there been a bigger voice from such a little guy. He is one of the 4 singers that when you hear their name, you think METAL. The other 3 are also on this list too. This song put Ronnie James Dio on the map as a solo artist. And by the way...He didn't die. He was killed by a dragon. I am convinced of this.

Number 3 Hallowed be thy Name by Iron Maiden So many to choose from Iron Maiden. I chose this one because of the guitar work, however its vocals are raw power, especially when the song kicks into full speed. Out of Iron Maiden's many masterpieces, I would rank this one definitely top 5. You can't go wrong here, and if my memory serves, this was the song that got me into Iron Maiden.

Number 2: Heaven and Hell by Black Sabbath I had a very hard time choosing this one. It was between 4 songs. This, Black Sabbath, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, and NIB. I finally went with this because it would have required choosing between 3 Ozzy songs, and I couldn't do it. Plus, Heaven and Hell has that anthem sing along feel to it on top of the dark overtones. Plus, what would it hurt to have a second tribute to RJD?

Number 1: Painkiller by Judas Priest And, now here we are at number one. This song is so badass that it KNOWS it is #1 It even has its own drumroll to intro the song to the number one slot. Sure, Priest has lots of songs that are more anthem like than Painkiller like Metal Gods, Breaking The Law, Another Think Coming, Electric Eye, and the list goes on and on. But, this song is their most heavy hitting, and is the epitome of what a metal anthem should be. Plus, the number one song shouldn't be in my opinion a radio hit. So, get ready to blast it, and get the air guitars blazing because Painkiller is bad. Think there's a better song than Painkiller to be number one? Well, you got another think coming!




So, there you have it. The top 11 Metal Anthems of all time. I hope you enjoyed it. I sure as hell did. As always, I welcome comments. And as always, if its not METAL, TURN IT OFF!!!