By Greg Maki Is this it? Is this really the end? Forty-four years after Michael Myers stabbed his way and prototypical “final girl” Laurie Strode screamed her way into the hearts of movie-goers in John Carpenter’s slasher masterpiece “Halloween,” director/co-writer David Gordon Green wraps his sequel trilogy with a period rather than the ellipsis we’re... Continue Reading →
By Greg Maki So much has happened in the world of Machine Head in recent years that its previous album, the scattershot “Catharsis,” seems even more in the rearview than its January 2018 release indicates. Later in 2018, longtime drummer Dave McClain and guitarist Phil Demmel left the band, leading to guitarist Logan Mader and... Continue Reading →
By Greg Maki I’m not sure if it's criticism or praise to say that “Introvert,” the new seven-song EP from Saint Asonia, sounds exactly how one would expect it to sound. Probably a little of both. The band, of course, is based on the musical partnership of ex-Three Days Grace frontman Adam Gontier and Staind... Continue Reading →
By Greg Maki With “The Stadium Tour” finally underway, Mötley Crüe is officially back in action, playing its first shows since “The Final Tour”—supposedly sealed with a legal contract—wrapped on Dec. 31, 2015. Though known for spectacle and its band members’ outrageous lifestyles—immortalized in “The Dirt,” the book and movie—more than anything else, the Crüe... Continue Reading →
By Greg Maki Looking to build off the success of 2019’s “Disguise”—particularly the singles “Brand New Numb” and “Another Life”—Motionless in White has returned with arguably its most complete album to date in “Scoring the End of the World.” Like its most immediate predecessor, the record leans heavily into the hard rock aspect of the... Continue Reading →
By Greg Maki With warm weather here and the official start of summer just around the corner, there isn’t a batch of tunes more suitable for this season of good times than “Feel This,” the fourth full-length from Pennsylvania rockers Crobot. In a just world, “Better Times” would be the song of summer 2022, a... Continue Reading →
By Greg Maki And now for something completely different … Hear the name Mark Tremonti and you’ll think of Alter Bridge, Creed and his eponymous solo band. Most of all, you’ll probably think of guitars—huge, muscular riffs and shredding solos. I’m reasonably sure that you won’t think of Ol’ Blue Eyes. Mark started talking up... Continue Reading →
By Greg Maki After the COVID-19 pandemic wiped away touring—the lifeblood of any legitimate rock band—for more than a year, “Back from the Dead” feels like a restatement of purpose for Halestorm. It sees the band tossing aside its dalliances with pop and country music and finding its way back to its hard-rocking roots. While... Continue Reading →
By Greg Maki From classic metal cover act to legitimate metal band of its own to rock radio stalwart, Fozzy has had one of the most unlikely paths to success imaginable. After the 2017 album and single “Judas” propelled the band to new heights, Chris Jericho, Rich Ward and company seem concerned mostly with sustaining... Continue Reading →
By Greg Maki No band defined my late-’90s musical tastes more than Stabbing Westward. Something about Christopher Hall’s emotive vocals and the heavy guitars layered on top of dark, electronic rhythms spoke to me. “Wither Blister Burn & Peel” (1996), featuring the hits “What Do I Have to Do?” and “Shame,” made me a fan,... Continue Reading →
