Say what you will about its corny message and lulzy ’90s in-your-faceness, but let us all face facts about Extreme’s “Get The Funk Out”: Holy ballz this jam is the work of superstuds. For starters, drummer Paul Geary just rips on it, esp on those big entrances to the choruses (i.e. on the “If you”s); the second one (at 1:53) is what a renowned musicologist may describe as mega-bonerz awesome. With Geary in charge, the whole band locks ass-tight into the swing. I love!
Wednesday, October 26th, 2011 at 2:30pm by Anso DF
Interview and live pics by Emily Eve; girls on stage pic by Friedia Niimura
In one sense, making records is like using the toilet: It takes more to do number two than number one. And in the case of L.A. heavy metal semi-parodists Steel Panther, a follow-up to their wildly funny and compulsively banging 2009 debut Feel The Steel is an even bigger, stinkier challenge: This time, fans can see them coming, um so to speak. But in the spotlight’s glare, before expectant ears and faces poised to smile, lead singer Michael Starr and crew deliver a bigger, dirtier, and awesomer mass of heavy metal hilarity called Balls Out (available Tuesday). The 14-track tour de farce covers 47 amazing minutes, a range of hot-button rocker issues (drugs, gender roles, boners), and a load of singalong mega-choruses and nip-scorching guitar solos unheard since pro tools was just an aisle at Sears. To those somehow able to resist Feel The Steel, I say: You’re fucked now. Balls Out is stronger than you and your feeble protestations. Crank. It. Up.
This feat of skill and cocksmanship on display in Balls Out begs for investigation, so last week I went to hear firsthand how Steel Panther achieved the equivalent of making a Ghostbusters II better than its Ghostbusters I. And though it was a rainy, gusty Autumn night, the huge Steel Panther dressing room was buzzing heatedly as I sat down with Starr and lead bass player Lexxi Foxxx to get answers. Just nearby were lead guitarist Satchel (at whom I gazed lovingly whenever his inattention allowed) and lead drummer Stix Zadinia (with entourage) as the three of us gabbed highly about Balls Out, drugs, vaginas, immaturity, maturity, the guy from Nickelback, shaving stuff, the responsibilities of being Steel Panther, and much more.
The most recent album by Jane’s Addiction, 2003′s Strays, was a big-budget, big-production heavy rock record that kinda flopped despite its awesomeness. Since those distant days, Jane’s members have flirted with a full reunion (momentarily counting longtime hold-out Eric Avery as a returned member), with ex-Guns N’ Roses/current Velvet Revolver bassist Duff McKagen (he came and went within weeks), and with total futility (via singer Perry Farrell’s lame project The Satellite Party, featuring his wife and Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt).
So, along with my fandom, Jane’s has my curiosity about their new stuff — not just for the abovementioned travails, but also ’cause the album is a Rich Costey production (Mastodon, Muse, Cave In) and is the beneficiary of creative goosings by TV On The Radio dude Dave Sitek. I don’t care about TVOTR, but I’ve surmised that a dose of noisy post-rock might be good medicine for trio of moribund freak-rockers whose attempted return to glory was a safe, anthemic rock radio record. And now I see that my diagnosis is accurate, so far: Just listen to their thunderous, cacophonous new jam “End To The Lies” and its nipply new video (above, NSFW; audio only here). The jam is on fire! Turn it up!
-ADF
Jane’s Addiction’s fourth album The Great Escape Artist is out August 23 on Capitol Records.
Wednesday, February 9th, 2011 at 11:30am by Axl Rosenberg
Do you guys know Electric Six? I guess they fall into the category of ironic hipster indie douche band, but they made at least one album, 2003′s Fire, that I thought was pretty good — and, certainly, the videos they made in support of that album are excellent.
Don’t turn this off before the 1:22 mark
Well, Electric Six’s new album is called Zodiac, and as you may have heard, the signs of the Zodiac recently changed — in other words, your sign may not be what you thought it was. (This is assuming you care about any of this shit. I don’t pay it much mind, although it can be fun to think about when trying to self-induce a coma.) And so Electric Six, those merry pranksters, have decided to have a little fun with their fans. From their official website:
Friday, December 3rd, 2010 at 4:00pm by MetalSucks
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Welcome to “Question of the Week,” a (sometimes) weekly debate amongst the MetalSucks staff regarding a recent hot button issue.
This week, Anso DF suggested the Question of the Week; unfortunately, he did so before Slipknot announced that they’re headlining the Sonisphere Festival this year, so it doesn’t seem quite as relevant anymore. Still, it was a fun question to answer, so:
TO WHAT EXTENT WOULD A SLIPKNOT BREAK-UP BE BAD FOR METAL?
Well, guess what? Here we are, three months later, and Extreme have debuted another video via Noisecreep, “Run.” And, once again, I really dig the song (especially Nuno’s drunk-sounding, warbly solo), and once again, I still haven’t listened to the fucking record. What is wrong with me?
So I’m gonna listen to Saudades de Rock. I’m totally serious this time. I’m gonna listen to it right now.
Vince, if you’re reading this and you have a copy in your wing, please dispatch it to me via MetalSucks Mansion Monkey. Thanks, dude.
This video is actually to promote a new Extreme live DVD/CD set, Take Us Alive, which is out now. I guess after I finally listen to Saudades de Rock, I should check that out, too.
Since its inception by the typings of some clever music journalist in the 80s, the categorization “hair metal” (or “glam metal”) has been as amorphous and, consequently, as misused as “metalcore” has been in the aughties. And since it’s hair metal week here on MetalSucks, we thought we’d try to address this issue by pointing the spotlight on ten bands that are often, and incorrectly, deemed “hair metal.” And to that end…
If Van Halen set the standard for the flashy guitar techniques and outrageous frontman theatrics that would later come to define hair metal, then it’s only fair to call Extreme their proverbial nephews and similarly disrobe them of the “hair metal” tag. At their peak more than a full decade after EVH and DLR changed the face of heavy music forever, the Boston duo of Gary Cherone on vocals and wunkerkind Nuno Bettencourt on guitar channeled the vintage feel-good VH vibes into three killer albums that still stand up today. Nuno’s unabashed EVH worship was on display at all times both in his supersonic leads and intricately voiced, highly rhythmic rhythms — I suppose one could argue that he stylistically one-upped EVH and took everything he’d done to the next level, but I don’t think I’m gonna go there — and Cherone, though not as outrageous as David Lee Roth, certainly summoned his whacky / feel good on-stage personality, and not for nothin’ was definitely a better vocalist. And of course there’s that little thing where Cherone sang for Van Halen for a minute… but we don’t talk about that.
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010 at 12:30pm by Axl Rosenberg
Slash allegedly plays on the new Rihanna single, “Rockstar 101.” I say “allegedly” because there’s barely any guitar in the damn song, and what guitar there is sounds like it could have been played by just about anyone with fingers and five free minutes to spend in the studio. But apparently the guitars are by Slash, and he was supposed to be in the video, too, but couldn’t make it ’cause I guess he afraid he was gonna make Fergie jealous. So Rihanna decided she was just gonna dress-up as Slash, which is, uh, an interesting solution.
Meanwhile, Nuno Bettencourt is part of Rihanna’s band now, and he’s in the video, but he never gets a close-up. In fact, most of the time he’s either in the background or out-of-focus.
So, to review: Rihanna would rather have a fake Slash in her video than a real Nuno.
Monday, December 7th, 2009 at 10:00am by Axl Rosenberg
Someone on the SNL writing staff must like metal. Just a couple of weeks ago, Dave Matthews did a pretty killer Ozzy Osbourne impression; now, this past Saturday, the show, which is usually pretty terrible these days, did a spot-on satire of that infamous Gathering of the Juggalos infomercial. If every sketch on SNL were still this funny, I’d say the show was actually worth watching.
This same episode also saw the debut of Nuno Bettencourt as Rihanna’s new guitar player. I’m not going to post video of that here, though, because Nuno’s talenters were just as wasted as you’d imagine they’d be playing in Rihanna’s back-up band.
Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 3:30pm by Axl Rosenberg
“Make love not war sounds so absurd to me.” But not as absurd as the idea of Extreme’s Nuno Bettencourt touring with Rihanna, and trying to pass it off as “a high-energy experience” that really fits “‘my’ style.” Because “Umbrella-ella-ella” really requires someone who can shred. I’d almost have more respect for him if he just said “The Extreme reunion tour didn’t pay as well as I hoped and I got rent to pay.”
The announcement follows Bettencourt’s cameo on How I Met Your Mother, which is being called “the best show on television” by people who can’t find their remote and are too lazy to change the channel manually.
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 at 11:00am by Axl Rosenberg
Nuno Bettencourt is apparently going to be on CBS’ How I Met Your Mother. How I Met Your Mother is a shitty show, but I guess I should just be happy that Nuno is on television again? And I liked Jason Segel in Knocked Up and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, so there’s that.
Anyways, I have no idea at what point this video will actually air on the show, or how it ties into the plot of the show, or why anyone would watch the show to see if now that you can just watch it on the net anytime you like. Take what enjoyment you can from this.
And just for fun, here’s Extreme’s video for “More Than Words,” which was the inspiration for the above.
