RIP Meatloaf

Woke up to sad news this morning...legendary musician & actor, Meatloaf passed away.

Alphabet Korn

Now THIS you gotta see!!! A teacher singing the Alphabet to the tune of Korn's "Coming Undone".

Now that rocks!

Riz Ahmed makes the Sound of Metal real

I had wanted to write about this movie after I first watched it on Amazon Prime a few months ago because quite honestly, it was better than I expected. I was looking for new movies about rock music or rock musicians and then I found this. I thought it was going to be a typical behind-the-scenes look at the life of a rockstar, a drummer to be exact. Riz Ahmed plays Ruben, a drummer for a punk metal band.

I figured this role of a drummer ought to be an interesting role for him. He was easy to hate in Venom where he played very stubborn and sinister Carlton Drake / Riot. Then, I also remember feeling quite sorry for him as the successful tech giant Aaron Kalloor who gets blackmailed in Jason Bourne. (Sorry if that's a spoiler for you but that movie's been out for years!!!)

In the Sound of Metal, Riz Ahmed portrays the role so impressively that he's up for a Golden Globe Award for it this weekend. There's a great interview with him on Esquire magazine. Check it out if you can. Watch the movie, too. You'll follow his character's sudden onset of deafness and his unwillingness to accept it. You follow him as he enters a shelter for the deaf and get to experience (not just see) the emotions that go into living in a world with no sound. There's a struggle to feel "normal" again...and the reality of whether or not it can actually be achieved.

I think the director, Darius Marder, also did a great job with this movie. From writing the story to directing it, he captured the elements that really moves the viewer. His directing technique allows you to feel like you're there with Ruben (Riz). Of course, it's watching Riz Ahmed play the role so well, too, that makes the Sound of Metal real. Here's the trailer, if you haven't seen it yet.

Maybe It's Time

 

Have you seen this new video yet? It was just released yesterday and I thought I'd share it because it's one of my favorite tunes from the Sixx AM album, "Prayers for the Blessed" (released 2016).  

For this music video, these talented musicians joined together for a fundraiser to raise awareness for opioid addictions.  It's such a beautiful song and filled with such beautiful voices.  Check it out!

Same Title, Different Song

While I was driving to work this morning, I heard a remake of a song that I know I'd heard before. And it made me realize that many times, there are songs with the same title but are not the same songs at all. For instance, there's this song which I'm pretty sure you're familiar with.


The one I heard on the radio was a remake from Five Finger Death Punch, which I like, but delivers a much different impact than the Offspring's version. Listen for yourself.


What I did want to actually compare this song to is another song with the same title performed and recorded by a band known as Open Fire. They're not currently together but they did record some really good original hard rock/thrash metal tunes before the grunge era. (Search my blog for previous posts about them if you're curious).


I think I'll go find some more songs with the same title but are totally different and I'll share them here.

The Heroin Diaries 10th Anniversary

Wow! Can you believe it's been 10 years already since the release of The Heroin Diaries?  If you check out PledgeMusic, you can pre-order a copy of the album, anniversary shirt, signed book, the graphic novel that was announced at Comicon, and more!

By the way, there is also an option to get signed copies of the CD plus a special Access Pass that gives you a digital download and access to Sixx:AM update. This sounds exciting!

Have you heard the 2017 version of "Life is Beautiful"?  It's amazing...but don't take my word for it. Listen to it yourself here:

Extreme Metal Meltdown Live

So I just recently got my copy of Extreme Metal Meltdown Live! and it was amazing! This is perhaps one of the best live albums ever produced. I got to see and hear Extreme perform all their songs from their multi-platinum album "Pornograffitti" - bringing back memories from when I watched them perform these same songs live at the Blaisdell Arena in Hawaii back in 1991. Get your copy of this awesome album here - https://goo.gl/jqeWSw

By the way, here's me back in 1991 - yes, that night I went to see Extreme play live at the Blaisdell Arena. Man, I sure was skinny then!

The Heroin Diaries Graphic Novel

Yes, you heard it right. Nikki Sixx's The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star novel which was originally published in September 2007 is going to be published as a graphic novel.  Nikki Sixx made this announcement today. The book was already a New York Times best-seller.

The graphic novel has become an increasingly popular reading format, combining a lot of visual imagery much like comic books (but not always printed in color) with reading text. Nikki Sixx has partnered with the iconic HEAVY METAL magazine to create this graphic novel adaptation of Nikki's very personal autobiography.

There's already a soundtrack for the book - remember the popular album The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack released by his band, Sixx:AM? (That was an awesome soundtrack, by the way! I think everyone who has ever listened to that album can agree that the single hit "Life is Beautiful" is just one of the most inspirational rock songs ever recorded.)

Anyway, we will get to see a preview of the graphic novel at this year's San Diego Comic Con, booth #1529. Here are a few images that Nikki Sixx shared on Facebook:

This version will take on Nikki's life and death (and back to life) story from a different perspective.  I may not be a huge fan of the graphic novel format, but I appreciate all forms of art and this looks like it's going to be quite interesting. We'll have to wait and see...

Have you heard of Fozzy?

Is anyone here a fan of wrestling?  Do you watch WWE shows like RAW or SmackDown?  I've been to a few live events with my family in the past couple years and we've been enjoying them quite a bit.

If you're a big wrestling fan, you probably already know that a lot of wrestlers do things outside of sports when they're not doing promotions for the WWE company. But did you know that world-known champion (with over 32 titles) Chris Jericho is currently on tour with a rock band named "Fozzy"?  Believe it or not, Chris Jericho (whose real name is Christopher Keith Irvine) is the lead vocalist for the band! I don't know why I never knew that after all this time seeing him on SmackDown.

After hearing Fozzy on SiriusXM this morning on my way to work, I decided to check them out on YouTube. This song really kicks serious butt! And look at the video - it has over 5 million views after being published a month ago. Here it is - see for yourself!

RISE with Sixx:AM

The album I've been waiting for since 2014 (after 'Modern Vintage' was released) is finally out and I got my CD of it yesterday.  I would've blogged about it sooner but I've obviously been busy listening to the album over and over like I do whenever I get a new Sixx:AM album in my hands. When Nikki and James Michael talked about 'Rise' on Sixx Sense the day it was being premiered, I knew this album was going to be the best from Sixx:AM so far!

These are the titles of the tracks you'll find inside this amazing album:

1. Rise
2. You Have Come to the Right Place
3. I’m Sick
4. Prayers for the Damned
5. Better Man
6. Can’t Stop
7. When We Were Gods
8. Belly of the Beast
9. Everything Went to Hell
10. The Last Time (My Heart Will Hit The Ground)
11. Rise of the Melancholy Empire

Open Fire

 

What a rockin' start to the new year!  If you have been a long-time follower of LiggyzDreamz™ perhaps you might recall me mentioning a hard rock band from Hawaii known as Open Fire. I loved that band! I only wish I had more time and money to go to more of their shows at the time...otherwise, I would!

Well today I stumbled upon a social media post comment from someone else who listened to them in Hawaii (during those good ole metal mayhem days).  And after a quick search, I found a YouTube channel for J Azevedo - could that be the Jack Azevedo that played bass for this unforgettable band?

Yeah, of course, how can I forget this band when I've still got this scrapbook page with the napkin Jack signed and the picture my best friend took of us between their sets?  I wonder who else was with us that night and took that other picture of me and my friend when we were getting Jack's autograph.  Oh well!!  What a memory...and now I've got YouTube videos to relive some of those music memories with!!!  Awesome!!! 

Broken Silence

Back in 2008, I wrote a "I wonder what happened to..." post about this Christian heavy metal band from Hawaii that I believed could've made it big time if grunge hadn't permeated the music scene and killed off all the opportunities for many other talented rising heavy metal bands of the early 1990s.

Anyway, I never heard from anyone as a result of my blog post but I recently happened to stumble upon a Facebook page for Broken Silence.  There are also some links there to the former band members' personal profiles.  No, I didn't send them any friend requests (even though I was tempted to).  I think at this point in time, I would've felt like a stalker more than a fan if I were to do that.

If you like heavy metal music as much as I do, you need to check out Broken Silence's music.  They recorded a full-length CD (Discerning the Times) which was remastered and released by Retroactive Records in 2011.  It's one of those must-have albums for any heavy metal music collector.  If you've every listened to and liked Stryper, Holy Soldier, Sacred Warrior, or Guardian, you will definitely love Broken Silence.  In fact, No Life Til Metal webzine writer Scott Waters (Ultimatum) wrote, "Broken Silence is one of the greatest melodic metal bands that you have never heard. Every song has a killer hook, jaw dropping guitar solo, and phenomenal vocals."  

And as luck would have it, you can order the CD or download digital copies thru Amazon (best price), CD Universe (which is a bit pricier than Amazon), or eBay (priciest).