Author: fgt

In a new video interview with music journalist Joel Gausten, former Prong / Flotsam And Jetsam bassist Troy Gregory discusses his upcoming, still-to-be-officially-named solo album, and other facets of his decades-long musical career. He also discusses late Killing Joke guitarist Geordie Walker, who passed away in November 2023 at 64. 

Gregory toured as Killing Joke’s fill-in bassist on the group’s 1996 Democracy tour at Walker’s invitation.

“The special time with Geordie was those two weeks rehearsing in England,” he says. “We stayed at (regular Killing Joke bassist) Youth’s place. We would sit up all night drinking tea and eating cookies – biscuits – and smoking. We’d always go, after rehearsals, to this little restaurant around town, a curry place that he loved. It was fantastic.”

“He was always nice to me,” he adds. “He picked up on that, at the time, I was still very naïve, still very troubled, and still very stupid in a lot of ways. Rather than knock me (for) that, he would give me advice and was helpful. There was no one like that cat, and it was a pleasure to know him.”

Describing his time in Flotsam And Jetsam and Prong as his “college,” Gregory shares that his evolving creative ideas were the catalysts for his eventual departure from both bands.

“I turned 21 about a month or two after I joined (Flotsam and Jetsam). It was fun being in that group and playing those shows. I was still discovering myself and realizing what it is I wanted to do. I realized that what I really liked in composing wasn’t working for any of the groups that I was in. There was this whole thing – was I gonna stick with this? With the Prong thing, we over-toured the group. Everybody had their own little personal issues, and there you go.”

Check out the full interview below.

 
 
Gregory played in Flotsam and Jetsam from 1988 to 1991 before starting a two-year stint in Prong. His post-Prong activities have included work with The Witches, Swans, The Dirtbombs, Crime and the City Solution, Super Birthday, Sixto Rodriguez, Nathaniel Mayer, and Troy Gregory and the Stepsisters, among others. A sampling of his vast solo output is available at troygregory.bandcamp.com.

Drummer Chris Slade (AC/DC, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band) will be joining Keith Roth on Ozzy’s Boneyard (Channel 38, SiriusXM) this Saturday at 7 PM, EST to talk about the new album from The Chris Slade Timeline, out now via BraveWords Records. The show will re-air on Monday (August 26) at 9 PM, Eastern, and streaming on the SiriusxmApp.

The Chris Slade Timeline’s Timescape contains completely original new tracks and some of Chris Slade’s  favourite covers. Purchase/stream here. The physical edition includes a limited edition postcard autographed by Chris Slade. Order at thestoreformusic.com.

During an era that some bands don’t even want to build a record, Chris Slade still believes believe in creating an actual album.

“Well, I’m a bit old-fashioned I’m afraid,” he admits. “It’s probably down to my age, but I’m of that generation that an album is the culmination of a previous time in the business. And this album has been that. It has two CDs as you know, one full of originals and the other features covers of all sorts of things that I’ve played on. So it’s a good mixture and it’s also the way that we do our shows. But the original album is very diverse. There’s some heavy rock in there, some prog and there’s actually a ballad. And I’m afraid that’s my taste. I can’t apologize for it because that is what I wanted to do. It wasn’t intentional, those were just the strongest songs that came out of our writing. But the guys were an enormous help, because I don’t play a chordal instrument or any instruments apart from the drums. I can hum pretty good though!”

Chris Slade launched the band, The Chris Slade Timeline, in 2012 to mark 50+ years as a professional rock drummer. For this project, Slade took on phenomenal vocalists Steve Glasscock and Paul “Bun” Davis with the added stunning musical techniques of guitarist James Cornford along with keyboard and guitar player Michael J. Clark you most certainly have a band to be reckoned with and worthy to mark Slade’s illustrious musical career.

This is a concept for Slade that will include performances from a varied set list from Tom Jones, Manfred Mann’s Earthband, Uriah Heep, The Firm, ASIA, MSG, David Gilmour, Gary Moore along with a fair degree of AC/DC numbers and many surprises to be unwrapped along the way.

“After all these years recording and playing with some of the world’s greatest rock musicians such as Tom Jones, Manfred Mann’s Earthband, Gary Moore, Gary Numan, Denny Laine, Jimmy Page, Paul Rodgers, David Gilmour, Uriah Heep, Asia and of course AC/DC.

Timescape tracklisting:

Disc 1:
“Sundance”
“We Will Survive”
“Joybringer”
“Living The Dream”
“Freedom Song”
“Back With A Vengeance”
“Questions”
“Time Flies”
“End Of Eternity”

Disc 2:
“The Razors Edge”
“Free”
“Blinded By The Light”
“July Morning”
“Thunderstruck”
“Big Gun”
“Hells Bells”
“High Voltage”

“Back With A Vengeance” video:

Trailer:

The Chris Slade Timeline is:

Paul “Bun” Davis – vocals
Stevie Gee – vocals, bass
James Cornford – guitar, vocals
Mike Clarke – keyboards, guitar, vocals

*Andy Crosby play bass on “Sundance”, “Back With A Vengeance”, “Questions”

About Chris Slade:

Slade started his career at the age of 16 with Tom Jones before he changed his name to Tom Jones, this included World tours and recording throughout the 60’s.

Chris Slade was a founding member of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band in January of 1971. He was to spend seven years with the band, recording eight albums and achieving three UK Top Ten singles in the process: “Joybringer” (No. 9, October 1973), “Blinded By The Light” (No. 6, September 1976 & a multi million selling #1 in the USA) and “Davy’s On The Road Again” (No.6, June 1978). After ‘Earthband’ he spent two years with Uriah Heep, a Year with Gary Numan, and a year with David Gilmour in 1984.

He later teamed up with Jimmy Page, Paul Rodgers and bassist Tony Franklin to form The Firm. They produced two excellent albums for Atlantic in 1985 and 1986 that gave them a few radio hits including “Radioactive” and “Satisfaction Guaranteed”.

Then Chris joined Gary Moore, taking over from Cozy Powell just four days before the start of the 1989 After The War tour. It was at one of Gary Moore’s gigs in The UK that Malcolm Young saw Chris Slade play. After the tour it was Chris’s intention to put together a band with ex-Aerosmith guitarist Rick Dufay. But the call from AC/DC scuppered those plans as he was destined to tour and record with them over the course of the next five years, playing on their acclaimed Razors Edge album, and giving a killer performance on their concert DVD Live From Donington.

After his stint with AC/DC Chris joined the prog-rock band Asia, who (even with the many personnel changes over the years) had still been managing to churn out some excellent music. Chris recorded with them on their 2000-2004 studio recordings, Aura and Silent Nation, and put forth his ‘trademark’ energy-filled live performances on all the subsequent tours that ensued over five years in total.

In the 21st Century, for a period of five years, Slade played drums for German guitarist Michael Schenker before forming The Chris Slade Timeline in 2012.

Today, Skid Row and earMUSIC share “Piece Of Me,” the second single and video from Live In London, their first official live album and concert film. earMUSIC will release the concert (which took place on October 24, 2022, at London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town) as a 2LP set and CD/DVD digipack worldwide on September 20.

“Piece Of Me” (Live in London) is a fiery rendition of a standout track from Skid Row’s multi-platinum debut album, captured in front of an electrified, sold-out audience. This blazing performance is just one track from the live album that Skid Row fans — both old and new — have been waiting over 35 years for, and this show, in this instant, is exactly what they’ve delivered.

“Like our heroes before us, Skid Row has always taken great pride in delivering a high energy, in your face live show. We’re very excited to finally have a live album as a snapshot of that approach to performing, and we couldn’t think of a better place than London! Cheers to all our fans who help create these shows with us!,” says Rob Hammersmith.

When Skid Row took to the stage that night, they captured lightning in a bottle. Live In London, the album and film, showcase unforgettable, definitive performances of their timeless classics, including “18 And Life,” “Monkey Business,” and “I Remember You,” as well as new fan favorites like “Time Bomb” and “Tear It Down” from their critically acclaimed, Nick Raskulinecz-produced album, The Gang’s All Here.

Skid Row crossed the Atlantic to find a fierce crowd awaiting the power of a band truly committed to rock ‘n’ roll, past present and future. Live In London is a classic live album from a band that continues to innovate, grow and fire up audiences around the globe.

Stream “Piece Of Me” here; watch the music video below:

“London has always been a home away from home for us. We are very excited to finally capture a live show on video for the rest of the world to see,” says the band’s Rachel Bolan.

“After the release of The Gangs All Here album we realized that something special was happening. This record perfectly captures that moment in time. Thank you, London! You always deliver!! Onward and upward,” shares Snake.

Pre-order and pre-save the album now on Vinyl, CD, and all digital formats, here

Live In London tracklisting:

“Slave To The Grind”
“The Threat”
“Big Guns”
“18 And Life”
“Piece Of Me”
“Livin’ On A Chain Gang”
“Psycho Therapy”
“In A Darkened Room”
“Makin’ A Mess”
“The Gang’s All Here”
“Riot Act”
“Tear It Down”
“Monkey Business”
“I Remember You”
“Time Bomb”
“Youth Gone Wild”

“Slave To The Grind” (Live In London) video:

Following a hugely successful Record Store Day release in April 2024, Def Leppard – One Night Only Live At The Leadmill Sheffield May 19, 2023 will be available on October 11 on CD, DVD+CD, Blu-ray+CD, Limited Edition 2LP pressed on orange vinyl, Digital Audio and Digital Video.

The Def Leppard store is offering copies of the CD with a signed card (limited to 100 copies), and a Live At The Leadmill shirt.

This unique set was from one of the most intimate shows the band has played in the UK or Europe in over 35 years, giving their fans the chance to hear and see the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inducted band up close performing an extraordinary stadium style set in a club setting.

Watch “Excitable” from the upcoming release below.

Tracklisting:

“Action”
“Fire It Up”
“Let It Go”
“Too Late For Love”
“Excitable”
“Mirror, Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)”
“Slang”
“Kick”
“Bringin’ On The Heartbreak”
“Switch 625”
“Hysteria”
“Pour Some Sugar On Me”
“Wasted”

“Excitable” video:

When progressive ideals and pop sensibilities collide, the results can be variable; but Norway’s Meer seem to have found the perfect formula.

Led by brother-and-sister duo Knut and Johanne Nesdal, their second album, 2021’s Playing House, was almost overburdened with great melodies and tumultuous, theatrical arrangements, and frothing, elated critical responses followed. Now their distinctive sound achieves new levels of drama, bombast and melodic elegance on Wheels Within Wheels.

A sumptuous, hour-long stream of enormous hooks and fizzing ensemble chemistry, it reaches several goosebump-inducing, emotional peaks, powered in part by the siblings’ startlingly powerful vocals, but also by a production that wrings every last drop of grandeur from each song.

As razor-sharp and memorable as the songs on Playing House were, they were also introspective and intimate. The follow-up is full of the same striking melodies and their unashamedly overblown backdrops – but this time the band’s lyrical gaze is directed outwards, as the Nesdals contemplate the complex nature of how we each interact with the world around us. 

This Is The End goes even more over the top, with tech-metal grooves and musical theatre crescendos

‘Oh how we learned the truth in “ignorance is bliss”!’ sings Johanne during the opening Chains Of Changes, an early indication that these songs are a little darker and edgier than those on their previous outing.

Scurrying along at a nimble, pacy gait, it skips from joyful, harmony-drenched verses and choruses to a wild, none-more-prog instrumental breakdown that ends far too soon. As it heads to a euphoric, West End-worthy climax, Meer’s big band-style line-up makes more sense than ever. Violins sweep, pianos resound, multilayered vocals cloud the foreground, and everything short of a kitchen sink is used to underpin them.

This is prog pop, maxed out and magnified; and to reinforce the point, Behave unfolds like a tiny symphony, with orchestral embellishments exploding from all directions, and a dizzying succession of melodic money shots. It’s very beautiful and very strange.

As the album evolves, it takes a meandering route through the plaintive, folk-tinged confection of Come To Light, the hazy pop-rock of Golden Cycle and the spiky, stuttering To What End; stopping off at Today Tonight Tomorrow, a pretty but downbeat ballad with an opulent, arena-levelling conclusion. 

Somehow, the closing This Is The End goes even more over the top, with tech-metal grooves and musical theatre crescendos. In fact, Meer frequently sound like a band built for enormodomes.

These are such meticulously crafted, absurdly catchy songs that vast mainstream success should be, at the very least, a possibility.

Wheels Within Wheels is on sale now on CD and limited-edition vinyl via Karisma Records.

Since her emergence in 2021, Cassyette – real name Cassy Brooking – has been one of the leading lights for the nu gen, the genre-splicing alternative movement that has reshaped the music landscape in recent years. 

Whether collaborating with Frank Carter, supporting massive acts like Bring Me The Horizon or My Chemical Romance, or just attracting massive interest online – she currently has 1.2 million followers on TikTok and over 416,000 monthly listeners on Spotify – Cassyette has proven time and again she is destined for greatness – and all before her debut album This World Fucking Sucks came out. 

Hammer spoke to Cassyette to find out the 10 records that have shaped her as both a musician and a music fan – and as you’d expect she offered a diverse selection covering everything from t.A.T.u to Evanescence and Slipknot. Here are her picks… 

t.A.T.u. – All The Things She Said (200 Km/h In The Wrong Lane, 2002)

“I had a kind of queer awakening to All The Things She Said by t.A.T.u. I was really young when it was released and I had the single of it, where you could type in this address that was printed on the single to see the music video. It was like ‘oh, what is this?’ I had to ask my dad, like ‘so two girls can be together?’ and when he said yes I became obsessed with it. 

It’s such a fucking sick song too – Poppy did a really cool cover, but you can’t beat the original. It’s weird listening to it now because you can hear that the synths are really outdated, but you can’t take away from its iconicness.”

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Bring Me The Horizon feat. Babymetal – Kingslayer (Post-Human: Survival Horror, 2020)

“Bring Me The Horizon released this really cool EP and it had Babymetal on, and I loved that through lockdown. It was so cool and experimental – I was partying on my own a lot and got obsessed with it. There were a lot of raging nights to that song! If someone has been going to Download for a long time, I think there’s a culture that can be gatekeep-y, especially about the headliners. Which is a real shame, because I think Bring Me The Horizon are amazing and they are pushing rock music further and further forwards. 

It’s not always going to necessarily be the best song ever – if you’re experimenting, that’s just not going to happen because you’re trying out new stuff and it doesn’t always work – but it’s all in the eye of the beholder and I’m gassed they are headlining [festivals] because their music is so lawless – they break every single rule and do what they want, pulling in references from all over music. What more could you want?”

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Evanescence – Bring Me To Life (Fallen 2003)

“I was a kid when Evanescence’s Bring Me To Life came out and it was fucking awesome, and the video was awesome. It was the first time I paid attention to screaming, because it was in this more commercial sounding rock song – I’d heard Lamb Of God before that and didn’t really get it, but Evanescence helped me so that next time I heard Lamb Of God I was like ‘oh, sick!’ I actually wrote a song that I pitched to Amy Lee, so I’m still hoping she’ll take it!”

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Enter Shikari – Sorry You’re Not A Winner (Take To The Skies, 2007)

“Sorry You’re Not A Winner by Enter Shikari was such a moment in time. That was a serious growing pains era, so I just remember being like ‘YES’ the first time I heard it. My fashion sense was so fucked I was trying to be an emo and scene kid at the same time, at one point. 

Everyone was getting scene jeans and hoodies from H&M, I remember getting stuff and not being comfortable enough to wear it, like ‘cool I’m going back to all-black’.”

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Paramore – Decode (Twilight, 2008)

“Every teenage girl – and guy – was obsessed with Hayley Williams from Paramore. Misery Business was my gateway, but when Decode came out I had so much affinity for it that it became my song. 

I love making music and coming up with visuals at the same time, when I was writing Petrichor we were watching Suckerpunch at the same time and it was like ‘this song sounds like this film!’ ha ha. Decode has such a great visual aspect, and was part of Twilight too!”

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The Prodigy – Omen (Invaders Must Die, 2009)

“Omen means so much to me. The Prodigy mean so much to me because they’re from my home town. I was in year ten when I discovered their music and it really reminds me of this era of my life from the end of school and college where I’d go to illegal raves with my friends. It was fun, exciting and experimental.”

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Nero – Guilt (Welcome Reality, 2011)

Nero’s Guilt is in a similar vein – I went through a very intense obsession with that kind of music when I discovered it, this hardcore dance scene. I take a lot of inspiration from both worlds in my music now, but this whole era was just so much fun. 

It reminds me of being up to no good and going for all-night benders with my mate! We’d go to clubs like Fabric, but also emo nights. My group of friends were so rogue, and it makes me so joyful to remember that stuff, Guilt is such an amazing dance song.”

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Motley Crue – Kickstart My Heart (Dr. Feelgood, 1989)

“Kickstart My Heart by Mötley Crüe is my all-time favourite song. When I was a baby I loved that song – you know how kids get weirdly obsessed with songs? Well that was mine! I loved the motorbike sound at the start – I’d run round in circles and crash into the kitchen cabinets. I want to see them live so badly.”

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My Chemical Romance – Teenagers (The Black Parade, 2006)

“Teenagers by My Chemical Romance was another gateway song for me. Like Bring Me To Life, it was that sense of discovering new bands and having these more classic big pop choruses. Me and my sisters played it so often that my mom can’t stand it anymore, but in fairness when she came to see me support them she loved it! She was like ‘that’s that song!’ and it was like ‘mom, you always ask us to turn it off’ ha ha. 

It was fucking amazing supporting them – the most unreal gig I’ve ever played, with so many people. So many emos! It was like looking at a rainbow because everyone had different coloured hair, so I got on and all I could see were these beautiful colours.”

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Slipknot – Duality (Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses, 2004)

“Slipknot are one of the most amazing bands of all-time, and Duality just never gets old. I literally could never tire of that song – it’s so awesome that you can listen to it in any state of mind and feel good. I remember going through one of those ‘try not to headbang’ challenges online, and it was so hard and then Duality came on and it was like… you can’t not move!”

If Tony Levin hadn’t been busy with Peter Gabriel in 1987, Guy Pratt might not have landed the bassist role with Pink Floyd – a role that cemented his career. In 2019, as Prog celebrated our 100th issue by celebrating 100 great musicians of the genre, Pratt explained why bass, upright bass and Chapman Stick player Levin was his personal prog icon.

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“I’m choosing Tony as my prog icon, although obviously his work straddles a great deal of genres. He’s as much art-rock as anything; you could say the same of Robert Fripp.

Tony has played on so many records that I love. He’s probably been the biggest influence on me as a bass player, more than anyone, yet not in an overt way. What’s so extraordinary about him is that for someone who has such stratospheric technical ability – he’s transcribed Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite for the Chapman Stick, for Christ’s sake – he’s so playful and cheeky as a player.

Nothing he ever does sounds muso. I recognise the punk-rock chancer that I am in his playing. He’s one of the few players where I often think: ‘I would have done that!’

I only got the Pink Floyd gig because Tony had to go on tour with Peter Gabriel, so I owe him. On that first tour with Floyd, on One Slip there’s a Stick solo in it, which I had to emulate on bass. I did it by turning up every effect I had and just going nuts. Copying his playing felt really natural – pretty much everything he does feels incredibly natural.

I went with Lee Harris [from Nick Mason‘s Saucerful Of Secrets] to see him at the reunion of L’Image, Tony’s original 70s band with Steve Gadd. Everyone in this band was so stellar. Lee said that they were so good, it was the only time he’d ever seen a band with Steve Gadd in it and forgotten that Steve Gadd was in it!

I’ve always got on fantastically with Tony – he’s the most charming, delightful company. We got on stage together at the NAMM Show in California in 2013. He’d done a long thing explaining to the audience why he couldn’t play Sledgehammer because he didn’t have the right effects. I reminded him that the first rule of showbiz is that you don’t tell people why you can’t do something – you just do it. So we started playing it.

King Crimson’s Elephant Talk is a riff I always play at soundcheck, but my personal favourite – and that’s because there’s a little trick I nicked off it unconsciously, which has been a mainstay of my playing ever since – is Not One Of Us from Peter Gabriel III. I wasn’t even sure that was a Stick; I just wondered how on earth you could get a bass to sound like that.”

It wasn’t ideal that the Georgia Thunderbolts released their debut album Can We Get A Witness during the pandemic, but it garnered praise for its spirited fusion of Americana and southern rock. 

The first thing you notice about their second album is a glaring issue with its pacing. Gonna Shine opens with moseying, mid-tempo nonchalance, and Rock And Roll Record is a strangely dour, piano-heavy paean to the apparently exhilarating experience of touring and performing in a band. 

Three songs in, the album finally comes to life with the title track’s muscular blues rock. Crawling My Way Back To You is a lovelorn ballad led by TJ Lyle’s sonorous voice. Moments later, on She’s Gonna Get It, he’s wailing about ‘whisky smiles’ and ‘cocaine eyes’ to a backdrop of beefy riffs. 

There’s still plenty of promise, but with the benefit of hindsight this record might have made more sense if the band had figured out exactly where their sound sits.

Eighties rockers invariably mature either like fine wines, intensifying in quality over time, or like stilton, becoming increasingly cheesy and starting to stink. 

Mike Tramp sits resolutely in the former category, as underlined by his decision to sing selections from his former band White Lion‘s well-endowed catalogue in lower registers appropriate to his present-day vocal range on the first Songs Of White Lion album. 

Although its predecessor had the Lion’s share of hits, Vol. II still plays two Pride-era aces with heftier takes on Lonely Nights and Don’t Give Up, emphasising the fact that Danish-born Tramp and guitarist Vito Bratta’s songwriting had way more in common with classic European hard rock than many of their peers. 

The effect intensifies as deep-cut highlights like Mane Attraction’s Lights And Thunder and Fight To Survive’s El Salvador are reinvigorated with Deep Purple-hued organ and an earthier delivery.

In the 1960s, Steve Cropper was held in awe by top UK guitarists for his producing and playing with Otis Redding and Stax house band Booker T & The MG’s. Six decades on, he continues forging forward after 2021’s Grammy-nominated Fire It Up. 

Using the same squad named after one of his most famous compositions, including co-producer Jon Tiven and singer/lyricist Roger C Reale, Cropper welcomes Billy Gibbons on stinging form and Brian May on Jailhouse Rock-referencing single Too Much Stress. 

Cropper is a sublimely understated presence as his blues and soulrock blueprints get amplified and elevated by stellar accomplices, rising to Reale’s roughshod reboot of society-lambasting 60s soul on Talkin’ ‘Bout Politics (‘liars, crooks and clowns’), There’s Always A Catch and Reality Check. His illustrious Stax 60s further bathe optimistic Rain On My Parade and gorgeous closing ballad I Leave You In Peace.

Inspirational.