Former Stone Temple Pilots Singer Scot Weiland Reported Dead

We're taking a break from our regularly scheduled format on Young Ears, Fresh Perspective tonight for a special news bulletin.

Former lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver: Scott Weiland has just been reported dead.

Weiland (aged 48) was found so on his tour bus this evening (December 3rd) by his personal manager around 9 PM according to TMZ. He apparently died quietly in his sleep. Weiland and his band The Wildabouts were set to play a show in Rochester, MN tonight, but the show was cancelled.

Weiland has been known for his substance abuse for years (particularly heroin). It has gotten him kicked out of both Stone Temple Pilots as well as Velvet Revolver. He had been supposedly clean for a long time now, but unfortunately that seems to have been more than likely not the case; especially since in recent interviews with him he looked rather sickly and also had visible track marks on his arms.

People in the music community such as Dave Navarro, Dave Kushner, Amanda Palmer, Zach Myers, Alice Cooper, and more are already making statements on social media about Weiland's passing.

This, boys and girls is why you do NOT mess around with hard drugs. You end up losing all sense of self and turn into something that no one ever wants to be. It's a shame that Weiland wasted his talent and life on such harmful vices. Sadly this leaves us also with no potential for a reunion with STP or VR. For someone who wanted such things, staying on drugs was not the best way to go about it. However, I'm going to quit railing on Weiland now because it really is a tragedy that he has passed. He made some iconic and unforgettable music in his life time; for which he will be remembered forever. We'll try to remember the songs he gave us, rather than what he did to himself.

Scott Weiland R.I.P.

Freddie Mercury and Rob Halford "Forgiven" For Being Gay in Russian Magazine

It's kind of astonishing to realize that blatant homophobia is still such a thing in certain parts of the world in this day and age. However, in Russia there was recently an article written in their version of the men's magazine Maxim where they made a list of people whose contributions are so great that they have "earned our respect and the right to remain real men in our eyes". Part of the list included Queen front man Freddie Mercury and Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford.

The magazine also included actors like Sir Ian McKellen and Neil Patrick Harris and started off the article saying, “We, men, do not consider men who love men to be men. This is the rule. But there are exceptions.”

For Halford, they said:
 
“If you’re cool enough, it doesn’t matter what your orientation is.”

As for Mercury:

“Brought us so much joy, we are ready to forgive him anything.”

Needless to say there has been a great deal of public outrage about the piece. Though they insist it was a joke, it is not surprising that such a piece would be published in Russia given how vehemently against homosexuality they are. U.S. Maxim was quick to act, saying:

“We are deeply disturbed by the article in Maxim Russia and fully condemn it. It is entirely against the views of U.S. Maxim.”

It really shouldn't matter what your orientation is regardless of whether or not you are a popular performer. With as many strides as we have made towards equality worldwide I guess some places *cough* *cough* Russia *cough* still have a ways to go in terms of getting their heads out of their asses in that regard.

New Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow Line-Up Revealed

Not long ago it was announced that guitar giant Ritchie Blackmore was making an extremely brief return to rock music after playing nothing but renaissance music in his group Blackmore's Night for the past two decades. After some shows in Europe being confirmed, the line-up for the gigs has also been revealed.

Guitar: Ritchie Blackmore
Vocals: Ronnie Romero
Bass: Bob Nouveau
Drums: David Keith
Keys: Jens Johansson

Romero is still very new to the scene and according to Blackmore sounds like "a combination of Ronnie James Dio and Freddie Mercury". Blackmore intends to give him some considerable exposure to the mainstream and hopefully help him to be successful. Nouveau and Keith have already worked with Blackmore before in Blackmore's Night, whereas Johansson has not but is already a long time veteran.

Seems like a fairly decent line-up, though personally I am a little skeptical of people from a renaissance band doing hard rock and metal. However, I may yet be proven wrong and pleasantly surprised. Regardless, it's about time that Ritchie Blackmore finally got back to his roots and made the music that got him where he is today.

Geezer Butler Behind Call For No More Black Sabbath Albums

We unfortunately got the news not that long ago that Black Sabbath will not be putting out one final album as we had all hoped and thought they might. It has come to light though from an interview with guitarist Tony Iommi with Q Magazine (via Blabbermouth) that he was not the reason for this, rather it was bassist and lyricist Geezer Butler.

Iommi says:

“Geezer didn’t particularly want to do another album. Then again, after you’ve just had a No. 1 album (2013's reunion release 13), where do you go from there?”

The band only released 11 of 16 tracks that they recorded during the sessions. On the subject of possibly releasing them, Iommi says:

“We may still put something out from that. We don’t know yet.”

On January 20th Black Sabbath is embarking on one final world tour before they throw in the towel and call it a day for good. This is due to Iommi having lymphoma and needing blood tests every six week as well as having to be hospitalized from time to time for back problems.

Personally I think it is kind of a shame that they aren't doing one more album. If Iommi has more songs in the tank then they should by all means record and release them. The guy is pretty darn creative and practically invented heavy metal himself. I would love to see something a little more creative and original than what was on 13 because to me it sounded like they were trying too hard to rip off their old songs in the worst ways. There were some good tracks on it, but it could have been better.

Jack White to Open Record Pressing Plant in Detroit

Looks like Jack White is at it again. White is pushing forward with his love of vinyl and old ways of making music by starting a record pressing plant under his self-run label Third Man Records in his home town of Detroit, Michigan.

A statement on Third Man's website says:

“Third Man is thrilled to announce that we will be opening a vinyl record pressing plant, and in it we will run brand new record presses. There’s a bottlenecking in the record pressing industry right now – so much glorious demand, so few presses. We want to help ease the flow, and we want to bring more “real-life manufacturing jobs back to Detroit.”

The new plant will be the first new one in Detroit since Archer Record Pressing in 1965. It is set to open about halfway through next year. In addition to the pressing plant opening, White is also opening a brand new Third Man retail establishment in Detroit this Friday (11/27). It will be located at 441 W. Canfield in Detroit.

Personally I'm glad that White is not only making it easier to fill the demand for vinyl that seems to keep growing, but that he is also bringing several jobs to an area that is in desperate need of them. Hopefully this will revitalize one of the poorer areas of Detroit and bring back some of the rich musical culture that the place once had.

5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #53

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. Devil in Me, by The Last in Line

The original Dio band is back together! Unfortunately it is sans-Ronnie (for obvious reasons), but Vivian Campbell, Jimmy Bain, and Vinny Appice are now making new music again. On vocals they have Andrew Freeman from Lynch Mob. The single Devil in Me from their upcoming debut album Heavy Crown is pretty darn fantastic. It's a stomping, smashing taste of what is to come from the album when it's released next February.

2.  Black Country, by Black Country Communion

The opening track from the super group comprised of Glenn Hughes, Joe Bonamassa, Derek Sherinian, and Jason Bonham immediately grabs you by the balls with its deep intense bass riff that is followed by the rest of the band crashing in, following suit. It packs a punch and does not let up from start to finish. It is thundering and unforgiving, but in the best ways possible. Powerful vocals, wicked guitar solos.... What more could you ask for?

3.  Mama Said, by Lenny Kravitz featuring Slash

This funky horn backed tune has one of the sickest main guitar riffs I have ever heard. Slash and Lenny Kravitz absolutely tear it the hell up in this. You can tell they were having an absolute blast just having a big jam. The solos will melt your face harder than it has been melted before. It's like Stevie Wonder on steroids blasted into outer space. It will get you moving and stuck in your head for DAYS.

4. The Loner, by Cozy Powell

In 1979 drummer Cozy Powell put out a solo album Over the Top with some of the best musicians of the time: Jack Bruce, Bernie Marsden, Don Airey, Gary Moore, and more. The Loner in my opinion is the crown jewel of that album. It is such a powerfully emotional instrumental track. It makes you feel the kind of deep loneliness that such a person might feel when they are The Loner. It's great for when you're having one of those moments where you just need to feel your feelings and let them be ridden out.

5. Sucker Train Blues, by Velvet Revolver

My god.... This track is one of the best ways to start off a hard rock album I've ever heard... You can feel the tension and build up from the guitar riff and the siren, but once the band punches their way through your speakers you are grabbed along for one hell of a ride through the entire Contraband album. This song says everything that Velvet Revolver was about. This was one hell of a way for the former members of Guns N' Roses to make a comeback into the mainstream music scene.

 

Europe Finally Hit Number 1 in Billboard

 

After a 3+ decade career metal band Europe have finally reached the top spot in the Billboard & Clio Music’s Top Commercials chart - a chart that tracks the most popular songs in US advertisements.

The song in question is their biggest hit The Final Countdown, which originally came out in 1986. The song recently made a comeback however when it and the band made an appearance in a Geico commercial (which can be viewed below). When first released in 1986 The Final Countdown reached the #1 spot in the charts in 17 countries but never climbed higher than #8 on any Billboard charts until this recent comeback.

According to a report from Billboard, The Final Countdown has had 12,000 Shazam tags this past October as well as 28,000 digital sales last month. Furthermore, it has been streamed 5.8 million times in the US.

I guess the right kind of marketing can do wonders for you no matter who you are. Since nostalgia is such a profitable venture these days it's no wonder there is room for one hit wonders like Europe to make such a big comeback. Somehow I don't see it lasting all that particularly long, but who knows? Maybe they will get lucky and I will be wrong.