Former Dio Guitarist Doug Aldrich Has Unheard Dio Track

Photo courtesy of The Inquisitr

When the god of metal, Ronnie James Dio passed away in 2010 due to stomach cancer the world of heavy metal was struck hard because it was believed that we would never hear any new music from him ever again. However, it seems that this isn't entirely true, as former guitarist for Dio's solo band Doug Aldrich has in his possession a recording of a rather trippy tune they worked on together that has yet to see a release.

In an interview with Roppongi Rocks (via Blabbermouth) Aldrich discusses the song and his part in the recording of it, saying:

“It was during the time he wrote Electra. We were kind of bouncing around some of his ideas and working on some of them.

Before we did Electra he had this other one that he said, ‘Can you put a solo on this?’ and he gave me the track. I had put a solo on it, and then when I brought it to his house, he goes, ‘No, no, no – I’ve got this new idea called Electra.’ We didn’t even listen to it.

This one track is haunting. He doubled his voice – it’s just really trippy. At some point it will have to come out. I offered it to Wendy and I don’t know. Maybe she forgot about it. I actually have the recording session which has got Ronnie playing bass, rhythm guitar and vocals, and then a drum machine.”

I really do hope that this song some day gets a proper release. It sounds interesting and creative, which makes me happy because even up to his death Dio was always doing something innovative and new. Plus, I would really like to hear Dio playing guitar and bass on a track because I'd love to hear what his chops sounded like. Hopefully Wendy takes Doug up on the offer soon.

Brian Johnson Returns to the Stage at Reading Festival

It's been about a year and a half since former AC/DC singer Brian Johnson was forced to retire from his iconic band due to problems with hearing loss. However, the capped screaming beast made his return to the big stage this past weekend to perform the AC/DC classic Back in Black with the modern alternative band Muse (which can be watched in the video above).

The crowd went insane with joy to see Johnson back where he belongs, or at least close to. Every last fan in that audience was singing along to every last lyric of the song and you can tell that there was an immense amount of positive energy just rippling through the venue. Johnson himself seemed to be completely thrilled. You could see it in his walk, his singing, and his overall attitude. He must have REALLY missed this.

I only hope that if some form of AC/DC is going to continue on into the future they can at least get Johnson back as lead vocalist of the band. I have LOVED Axl Rose fronting the band, but I think AC/DC needs Brian Johnson on the mic if they're going to have any real chance of keeping people coming out to the shows and buying anything new that they put out.

5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #131

5 Songs to Get You Through the Week is a feature I run on Young Ears, Fresh Perspective on Sundays/early hours of Monday morning where I pick out 5 tunes that I think are notable and tell you a bit about them. The point is to give you some rocking music to help you deal with your weekday blues. You can either listen to one each day, listen to them all at once, or any other combination that you feel. As long as you can get through the week without the man getting you down, that's all I care about. Without further ado, here are the 5 tracks I've picked out for this week:

1. Big Jack, by AC/DC

I always felt that ever since Black Ice came out in 2008 this particular track wasn't played or talked about enough. It's definitely one of the stronger ones on the album and could and should have gotten more attention than it did. Regardless, it's never too late to give high voltage rock n' roll goodness like this another look and keep it blaring through your speakers for years to come. You'll definitely wonder why you didn't know about this sooner.

2. Polar Trench, by Buckethead

This tune has a nice blend of funky, hard rock, and a bit of modern edge. Buckethead no matter what he does is one hell of a creative human being, even if it's a song meant for just getting your funky rocks off to. He always knows just the right moment to kick a groove, go hogwild on a guitar solo, and then slide back into the groove. If I were to try to describe it further, I'd say this is a blend of Hendrix, Slash, Trower, and any number of modern alt rock/metal bands.

3. Rocket Queen, by Guns N' Roses

If that last track got you in the mood for some Slash, don't fret. I've got you covered with a tune that features some of his best guitar work. I've always loved the sexy, hypnotic, slithery hip movements of this song (not counting the sex sounds in the interlude). It's one of my favorites to this day to crank through a stereo and I definitely feel it was one hell of a way for GN'R to give their first album a strong ending that makes things go out with a bang.

4. Big Bad Moon, by Joe Satriani

While Satch has always been known for his more exploratory style of playing, I've always loved it when he goes blues based hard rock. The riff in this song is just so big, beefy, and powerful. The fact that Satch sings in this tune (and about lycanthropy no less) makes it even more interesting to listen to. One of the most under rated tunes from the Flying in a Blue Dream album for sure (among countless others). It really makes you want to howl at the moon.

5. Am I Evil, by Diamond Head

The New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement in the late 70's/early 80's put out a hell of a lot of good bands and music that sadly don't get much attention any more due to them getting glazed over by the more commercially friendly bands. Diamond Head is definitely among the cream of the crop and this song will immediately tell you why. It starts off big, slow, and doom-like and then kicks things up into high gear; not leaving you much time to breathe. It seduces you slowly, then grabs you by the balls and takes you for the ride of your life.

Vicky Cornell, Wife of Late Chris Cornell Asks Fans for Tributes for Chris's Website

Photo courtesy of heavy.com

Ever since Soundgarden front man Chris Cornell was found dead at the age of 52 in a hotel room in Detroit back in May, the entire world of rock n' roll has been shaken considerably; especially Cornell's family. Cornell's wife Vicky Cornell has now as a way to help everyone deal with the pain has asked the fans to send tributes and messages to Chris to her so she can put them up on Chris's website.

Vicky made a tweet on August 23rd saying:

"Since my husband’s tragic passing, fans from all over the world have come together to share their feeling about what Chris and music meant to them, leaving thousands of messages of love while visiting him at Hollywood Forever and online.

You have opened your hearts to me and our children, and we are grateful for your sympathy, love and support in bringing us solace and helping us heal. You have given us the hope and strength to endure the pain of these very dark days. I want to thank all of you and hope you will leave your tributes, personal stories, and messages for our family, to be shared on Chris's site for everyone to read.

Loud love,

VC"

Included in the tweet was a link to the submission form, which can be found here.

I definitely like this idea. It really shows how much his wife loves and cares for him even from beyond the grave. It's a nice way for the fans as well to be able to express their honest, raw, heartfelt feelings about Chris for the whole world to be able to see for all time. Not everyone gets a memorial like this, so I'm glad Chris is one of the lucky few.

Throwback Thursday: "Black Ice", by AC/DC

In 2008 hard rock legends AC/DC put out what many (including myself) consider to be their last true album: Black Ice, as it was the last one with the iconic five members. While the band's popularity had waned just a bit over the years, this album chocked full of brand new eargasmic high voltage rock n' roll catapulted them back into the spotlight instantaneously. Track after track after track of this album was highly praised and thus they went on a big world tour that lasted quite a while to support it.

Black Ice sticks to the famous AC/DC style, but it wasn't afraid to explore a little bit outside of the boundaries in order to give some of the songs a little more flavor. I think that is what made the album as special as it is. They don't stick to the generic formula entirely and thus were able to create the best album they had in a REALLY long time. The songs are still bluesy and rocking, but there are some songs where they do a bit more finger picking, slide guitar, playing around with arrangements, and even make things a bit more melodic in certain places.

Rock n' Roll Train was an excellent choice as a first single from Black Ice. It screams classic AC/DC all over it without sounding like any of their other songs. The guitar tone especially makes it sound like it could have been on Back in Black. I like how creative the riff is, though. It's not just a set of basic block chords or arpeggios. This is them getting a little more complex while still rocking it up the way they do. Angus Young of course has his moment in the spotlight with his classic iconic bluesy soloing and it's brilliant as ever. It's blood boiling, heart pounding, high voltage rock n' roll in its finest form.

Skies on Fire is an under rated track from Black Ice, if you ask me. It combines some of that classic early 80's AC/DC sound with a bit more modern dirty gritty punch in a rather seamless way. I especially love the backing vocals. Malcolm Young in addition to being a great rhythm guitarist and song writer is also great at doing the kind of evil dirty backing vocals that no one could ever seem to emulate. The song also showcases the fact that vocalist Brian Johnson can do more than just scream bloody murder at the top of his lungs. He actually has a REALLY nice rumbly gritty lower range that makes for an interesting bluesy cocktail.

Black Ice in my opinion is the culmination of the iconic AC/DC line-up's creativity and passion. In my opinion it was one hell of a way for that line-up to say goodbye even if they didn't realize that was what was happening at the time. Even all these years later I still jam this album from time to time as loud as I possibly can and it puts that same smile back on my face. It will always be one of the fondest memories of my teenage years, that's for sure. That said, I can't recommend it anywhere close to enough.

Black Ice, by AC/DC receives 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Track List:

1. Rock n' Roll Train
2. Skies on Fire
3. Big Jack
4. Anything Goes
5. War Machine
6. Smash n' Grab
7. Spoilin' for a Fight
8. Wheels
9. Decibel
10. Stormy May Day
11. She Likes Rock n' Roll
12. Wheels
13. Rock n' Roll Dream
14. Rockin' All the Way
15. Black Ice

Buy the album on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Black-Ice-AC-DC/dp/B00O75QDIC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503648965&sr=8-1&keywords=AC%2FDC+Black+Ice

Foo Fighters Premiere New Song and Video: "The Sky is a Neighborhood"

The Foo Fighters have been pretty busy prepping for the release of their upcoming album Concrete and Gold, due out next month on the 15th. They have put out song after song after song, including one with a video now titled The Sky is a Neighborhood (which can be viewed above).

This song definitely has a lot of that Sergeant Pepper vibe that front man Dave Grohl was mentioning when it came to the overall sound of the upcoming album. I hear Beatles influence plastered all over it, but with a lot more balls and edge to it than the Fab Four would have used back in the day. It has that laid back kind of melodic groove that you would have heard out of the later era Beatles for sure.

The video definitely has some psychedelic 90's feel to it, but in such a way where it doesn't feel like the band is stuck in the past. You can tell some thought was put into it, especially in the ways it correlates to the message of the song. It mesmerizes you and sucks you in, taking you on an interesting ride to say the least.

Man Plays 50 AC/DC Riffs in a Row

While the internet can be a silly place full of stupid things and people, some times you come across something that actually gives you a bit of hope for cyberspace and the universe as a whole. Today I came across such a thing when I discovered this video of a man by the name of Andrea Boccarusso playing 50 AC/DC riffs in a row without pausing at all in between (which can be viewed in the video above).

What makes this video even more cool is that not only does Boccarusso play Malcolm Young's rhythm guitar parts, but Angus Young's as well. I know a lot of people often comment on the way many AC/DC songs sound similar, but I still find it amazing how Boccarusso manages to get one AC/DC song into another so seamlessly. That takes some real talent and a good ear for transitions.

This isn't the first time Boccarusso has done such a video, however. If you're interested in more of his wizardry, he has also done videos of 50 Iron Maiden riffs, 50 Metallica riffs, and 100 metal riffs as well. This dude definitely has some respectable skills to say the least.