Feature Photo: Bruce from Sydney, Australia, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Stella Donnelly is an Australian singer-songwriter from Perth, Western Australia, who has quickly established herself as a prominent figure in the indie music scene. She began her solo music career in 2017 with the release of her debut EP, Thrush Metal, which garnered critical acclaim for its candid approach and sharp songwriting, especially with tracks like “Boys Will Be Boys” that address significant social issues such as sexual assault. This EP was initially self-released and then reissued in 2018 due to its increasing popularity.
Donnelly released her debut studio album, Beware of the Dogs, in 2019, which expanded her reach and solidified her reputation for blending melodic indie pop with incisive lyrics. The album was praised for its wit and poignant commentary on personal and societal issues. Her follow-up album, Flood, was released in 2022 and saw Donnelly exploring a broader sound palette while maintaining her distinctive lyrical style. As of now, she has released two studio albums and one EP, with no live albums or compilations to date.
Stella Donnelly has received several accolades for her work, including nominations from the Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR) and winning multiple WAM (Western Australian Music) Awards. Her music has charted on the ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) charts, with Beware of the Dogs peaking within the top 40. Her tours and performances, both in Australia and internationally, have helped her gain a loyal following and critical recognition in the indie and alternative music communities. Donnelly’s career continues to evolve as she uses her platform to address vital issues and connect with audiences through her storytelling and performances.
Brian Kachejian was born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx. He is the founder and Editor in Chief of ClassicRockHistory.com. He has spent thirty years in the music business often working with many of the people who have appeared on this site. Brian Kachejian also holds B.A. and M.A. degrees from Stony Brook University along with New York State Public School Education Certifications in Music and Social Studies. Brian Kachejian is also an active member of the New York Press.
Iron Maiden bassist / founder Steve Harris recently guested on the Scars And Guitars podcast ahead of the Australian shows with British Lion and Iron Maiden. He discusses whether British Lion allows for deeper lyrical exploration and comparisons to Iron Maiden, shares his thoughts on Bruce Dickinson’s Mandrake Project, the recent reunion with Paul Di’Anno, and how fan interactions have shaped his legacy. They alsoexamine Iron Maiden’s themes concerning social and political climates, potential collaborations with contemporary artists, and the challenges metal faced in the mid-90s.
Check out the interview below.
When asked if there is one song he’s written that Harris believes encapsulates his legacy as a songwriter, he offered the following:
“That’s a hard one because there are so many songs that I’ve written. I don’t know how many I’ve written, but it’s got to be more than 150 songs over the years. That’s something you could ask the fans, but if you did you’d get 10 or 12 people giving you 10 or 12 different songs. It’s such a personalized thing. It’s very difficult (to answer that question), but I’d probably pick a long song with lots of stuff in it and say that’s fairly representative. There isn’t only one particular song that I can say is totally representative of what Maiden is.”
British Lion recently announced new tour dates including first-ever tour stops in Australia and New Zealand starting in Perth on August 31st with dates in Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and a stop in Auckland, NZ on September 15th. The band will then return to Japan for the first time in six years with shows in Osaka and Tokyo before returning to the U.S. for their long-awaited live debut on the West Coast with shows at San Diego’s Brick By Brick on October 3rd, the world-famous Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles on October 7th, and an appearance at Aftershock Festival in Sacramento on October 10th. Tony Moore’s Awake will be the special guest on all dates with the exception of British Lion’s performance at Aftershock.
“We’re really excited to be able to play our first ever shows in Australia and New Zealand” says Steve Harris. “We’ve been to the U.S. before, but this is our first time to the West Coast! And to top it off,” continues Harris, “we’ll also be returning to Japan to complete what I’m sure will be a fantastic tour! We look forward to seeing you all on the road!”
Dates:
August 31 – Perth, AUS – Magnet House
September 3 – Adelaide, AUS – Lion Arts Factory 5 – Melbourne, AUS – Croxton Bandroom 9 – Brisbane, AUS – The Triffid 11 – Sydney, AUS – Manning 15 – Auckland, NZ – Paraoa Brewing Co 23 – Osaka, JAP – Big Cat 25 – Tokyo, JAP – O-East
October 3 – San Diego, CA – Brick By Brick 7 – Los Angeles, CA – Whisky A Go Go 10 – Sacramento, CA – Aftershock Festival
Pantera – comprised of original members vocalist Phil Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown, along with guitarist Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society, Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Sabbath) and drummer Charlie Benante (Anthrax) – have spent 2023 and 2024 touring arenas, amphitheatres, and stadiums in tribute to the late Abbott brothers, guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul.
Guesting on Boston’s 100.7 WZLX, Wylde was asked if the line-up has considered releasing new music under the Pantera name.
Wylde: “No, we haven’t talked about anything like that… That’s up to the fellas (Anselmo and Brown); whatever they want to do. Me and Charlie, we’re basically just allied forces and they’re brothers. So it’s just, whatever the guys want to do right now. But as far as right now, I think we’re gonna be — we’re just rolling right now. After this (leg of the tour), I think we go out in February, over in Europe. Six weeks over in Europe.”
Pantera recently announced an early 2025 European tour.
The band previously announced a string of UK / Ireland dates in February 2025.
Dates:
February 2025 18 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro 19 – Leeds, UK – First Direct Arena 21 – Dublin, IE – 3Arena 23 – Birmingham, UK – Resorts World Arena 25 – London, UK – OVO Arena Wembley
2024 Pantera dates:
July 6 – Rock Fest – Barcelona, Spain
August 2 – Gilette Stadium – Foxborough, MA (with Metallica) 9 – Soldier Field – Chicago, IL (with Metallica) 16 – US Bank Stadium – Minneapolis, MN (with Metallica) 23 – Commonweath Stadium – Edmonton, AB (with Metallica) 30 – Lumen Field – Seattle, WA (with Metallica)
“I don’t think the underground or extreme metal scene will ever dig us. It’s elitist”: How Trivium defied the gatekeepers and split the critics with The Crusade
(Image credit: Press)
Trivium shot to fame with 2005’s breakout album Ascendancy and a star-making appearance at that year’s Download festival. But the following year’s The Crusade saw a backlash hit. In 2006, Metal Hammer caught up with the band on their first US tour to talk success, snobbery and the blessing of metal’s biggest bands.
The desert sun is blazing in a cloudless sky, turning your heavy breastplate into a furnace and boiling your brain in the heated metal confines of your helmet. Your coarse woolen tunic tears at your flesh while you struggle to keep your spear steady and your aim true. You drop the encumbering weight of your shield but your cape still tugs at your neck, belabouring your breath and making your fear of heights all the more unbearable as you stand atop a cliffside wondering whether the tiny holes dotting the landscape really are home to poisonous snakes.
It’s only noon, but your head screams with pain as you contemplate whether pounding over a dozen shots of Crown Royal whiskey and Jägermeister until 6am this morning was such a good idea. You smile faintly at a couple of joggers who wave as they pass by. They might just be wondering whether you’re the first human being in the 15 million year history of Phoenix, Arizona’s Papago Park to turn up dressed like a Spartan warrior. You’re Matt Heafy, 20-year-old frontman of Trivium, and for you, life has just gotten seriously weird.
If you were one of the thousands of metalheads on hand to witness Trivium’s slot at Download 2005, you might have some idea why. Just a few weeks before, the Floridian upstarts’ rapturously received UK tour was enough to propel a last minute change from a tent show to Donington’s centre stage. And it was also enough to make many believe that Trivium, this previously unknown dynamo of the live circuit, had suddenly arrived. Not even slightly.
Nearly 18 months have now passed, and in that time they’ve played nearly 400 shows. 2005’s Ascendancy has sold over 300,000 records worldwide, and the follow-up The Crusade has swiftly topped that with over 400,000 units shifted – 90,000 passed over the counter in the UK alone. 60,000 of those moved on the first day of release. Impressive stuff for a band that only formed in 2000 and whose average age is a mere 22.
But forget about numbers for a moment. Download 2006 also saw Trivium on the main stage at Download – twice. First, in the middle of the afternoon, and later on alongside none other than Sunday headliners Metallica. Kirk Hammett was wearing one of their shirts. Talk about your stellar ascents and golden stamps of approval.
You might wonder why it is then that Trivium are only just now playing their first headlining tour of the United States. Or why, in some circles, their album’s received a swift dismissal as a mere facsmile of Metallica riffs and, perhaps cutting closer to the bone, James Hetfield’s trademark vocal style. It would seem that being in the good graces of one of the biggest bands of all time has become something of a poison chalice.
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“Look, it’s probably not what people think,” says bassist Paolo Gregoletto, kicking his snakeskin boots into the dust in the direction of drummer Travis Smith, who’s nursing the worst hangover from last night’s drunken late night festivities judging by the kill-me-now grimace on his face. “Metallica approached us, so it wasn’t like we were all, ‘hey, we want to talk to them’. They dug what we were doing and that was an honour. Besides, we made The Crusade before we even met them.”
Read that last sentence again and ask yourself why the diminuitive four-stringer would say such a thing. It would seem the M-word strikes a nerve. But there’s more to the latest chapter in Trivium’s story than once favourable comparisons to their idols transforming into the basis of derision. Or their crusade to gain acceptance in their homeland after receiving such a warm embrace in the UK. For that, we quick-march off to a waiting cab, kicking up dust in the setting sunlight of Papago Park, trying to remember the lyrics to that odious but diabolically infectious Paul Stanley song and dodging the tiny holes in the ground.
Trivium in 2006: (from left) Corey Beaulieu, Matt Heafy. Travis Smith, Paolo Gregoletto (Image credit: Press)
“Metalica are YouTube fanatics,” laughs Paolo. We’re just boarding the air-conditioned splendour of Trivium’s tour bus outside the arse-end of Phoenix’s Marquee Theatre where they’re due to play tonight. Perhaps tellingly, the 1,000 capacity venue isn’t sold out. Someone’s fingered ‘I love you Corey!!!’ and a big heart into the behemoth’s desert-dusted side. Travis and Matt immediately collapse in their bunks.
“They were like, ‘yeah man, check this shit out,’” continues Paolo, taking a seat in the lounge. “They already knew about us when we met at [Germany’s] Rock Am Ring…”
“What was cool was, we gave Kirk a copy of The Crusade when it wasn’t mixed, just the rough tracks, and he was like, ‘yeah it fucking kicks ass, old school’. He was really digging the primitive sounding stuff.”
But it’s no mystery that Trivium have, and not for the first time, suffered something of a critical backlash despite their impressive sales. And not least of all, because of a peculiar similarity between Matt’s voice and James Hetfield’s. You sound like Metallica.
“That’s better than a lot of things people have called it,” chuckles Paolo. “I’d be more mad if they called it metalcore. Of course there’s a huge Metallica influence in our albums. That’s a negative thing? We’re such huge fans. That’s a huge part of our lives. How is that not going to show?”
It seems a diplomatic response to what has dogged the band from the moment their follow-up to Ascendancy hit the shelves. Certainly, the similarities seem like no accident, but Paolo and Corey seem slightly offended at the suggestion. As they see it, listen a little more deeply to The Crusade and there’s far more than those similarities.
“You’re going to hear all of our influences on there!” blurts Corey. “Your mom, your dad, whatever the hell it is. Wherever you get that, whatever it sounds like it always sounds like something. Always. I don’t care who you are. Is anyone saying it sounds like Annihilator? I’ve been listening to them a lot too.”
Just then Matt emerges and takes a seat, and mutters something about the greatness of riding in a proper touring vehicle. It’s the first time Trivium haven’t been in a van Stateside. He’s picked up on the conversation. A detached smile reads across his face.
“We’ve got approval from Metallica and Iron Maiden,” he says, referring to Trivium’s latest support tour. “I don’t give a fuck if anyone else doesn’t. That proves that we’re metal. We’ve got too much else going on to worry about whether some people are ever going to accept us. Even I used to be a snob.”
The hungover frontman explains how bands like Emperor, Lord Belial, Aborym and Dark Funeral were what he grew up listening to. For him, it was about drawing a line in the sand as much as it was the music. The parallel makes sense.
“I don’t think the underground or extreme metal scene will ever dig us,” he continues. “It’s elitist. People are free to be into what they like, but in school everyone was into emo and hardcore, so I’d listen to the most Satanic and terrifying black metal I could find. Whatever scared them.”
So you were a snob?
“I was, but that culture just isn’t my personality. We’re going to be supporting Iron Maiden soon. They’re one of the biggest metal bands in history.”
Of course, this is only your first headlining tour of the States. You’d think it’d work the other way around seeing as you’re from this country.
Paolo says: “Everything develops at its own pace. The UK just happened to be the first place where it blew up, but slowly but surely, all the hard work we’ve put in has been paying off. You can’t go around the world and expect to do the same things everywhere at the same time. We want to be a worldwide headlining band, that’s our ultimate goal.”
That’s ambitious!
“Yeah, but it’s always like that for us. We’ve got to think that way. If you have nothing to prove, you have nothing to work for. Playing Download in 2005, on the main stage, was the ultimate high for us, but that’s just one step we had to take.”
“The States just isn’t ready for us yet,” adds Corey. “When we started out we were a band with no sales, so we’ve just been touring as much as possible to get the word out. You’ve got to get out and go and not think about the big picture all the time. As it is we’ve just got a couple of hours to get ourselves together. But it’s part of being in a band, it’s part of doing what we do.”
(Image credit: Daniel Boczarski/Redferns)
It’s an interesting point, because despite the thrilling success of Ascendancy, it won Trivium no luxurious studio time or stays in stately manors. But if you’re guessing that’s because of their record label Roadrunner cutting corners, then you’d be wrong. All of The Crusade was written on the road in the spare minutes and hours afforded to Trivium between interviews, load-ins, load-outs, shows, and whatever social lives granted them.
So why didn’t you have more time to write The Crusade?
“I wish!” says Matt. “Hopefully on the next record, but some bands do take too long. I’d like three or four months to write an album but last time we didn’t get the opportunity to do that.”
Why not?
“We wanted that, but we wanted to stay out on the road,” says Corey. “We all figured there was no point in sitting on our asses in a studio for a month. If we’d taken three or four months off, we would have fallen out of sight. If people don’t hear the name all the time the next band comes in and picks up your crowd. It’s like, ‘why stop?’”
That sounds a little paranoid. Do you really think that you’d lose all this in just a few months?
The guitarist takes a moment to think about it. He’s the quietest of the group, often opening his mouth to speak at the precise moment that Paolo begins speaking. But perhaps his is the best assessment of Trivium’s current predicament.
“When you’ve worked this hard for something you don’t want to risk anything. We’ve still got a very long way to go.”
“And we’ve made some mistakes too,” says Matt, “when we first started we were going crazy trying to inebriate ourselves, just mask ourselves from everything. When we first got into it we were just the young cocky kids that thought it was all about partying, but I think it was nice because the four of us are all pretty normal, pretty humble dudes. I mean, there are a lot of bands that are twice our age that act like idiots, but that’s not me. I prefer this way.”
What was your vice?
“It was totally sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll. Briefly.”
How briefly?
“Briefly.”
How long is ‘brief’?
“About a year,” he hesitates. “OK, a year and a half. It definitely wasn’t drugs so much, but it was us drinking every night and being new and naïve and really into it and having a good time. I’m having a good time now, but it’s me having a good time, not this person I thought I was having a good time.
“I look at interviews and I think, ‘man, I just sound like an asshole’. People praise that, they think that’s interesting, and a lot of bands crave that, but they’re going nowhere. They end up being a bunch of alcoholics playing crappy shows while they’re hungover every day.”
You’re ashamed of how you were?
“Not so much,” he says. “None of that really matters now. I mean, shit happens, and on top of that people will make up shit about our character. You’re not really doing well until people talk shit about you. Defamation and lies will happen no matter what you do. I used to worry about it.”
Do you regret all that now?
“Actually I’m glad that I did it,” he says. “There’s never been anything I’ve said that I’ve regretted, unless it was a complete misquote. But the shit where I’m probably fucking smacking my head, where I’m thinking ‘why the fuck did I say that?’ I’m not denying anything I’ve said, but I’ve learned from that so I’ll take responsibility for it. But then stuff gets written where you’re getting criticised for politeness. That’s actually the kind of person that I am!”
He’ll go on to describe how the mistake people make with him is that they expect him to be the same person offstage as when he’s on it, about how terrified he is at the thought of losing himself, being subsumed in the limelight. You just got out of school, do you stay in touch with your friends much?
“No,” he says. “Maybe I’ll see them at a show or something, but it’s mostly just the band, crew, mom, family, girlfriend…”
That’s a pretty small world, and certainly a pretty isolated one.
“I love the attention we get in the shows, I love making the videos and I love to see the fans out there but I would never knowingly act like a rock star. If I’m out at a mall, I’ll sign everything I’m given because even though I’m reserved I wouldn’t want to let my fans down. To be honest, I think I have mild social anxiety disorder sometimes.”
It sounds like a flippant self-diagnosis, but when really pressed on anything during this interview the newly long-haired frontman seems strangely ill-at-ease. He breathes deeply before replying, shifts uncomfortably in his couch and has the demeanour you’d expect of someone you were interviewing for a job. Heafy the frontman simply isn’t present.
“I’m fine at shows, but when I’m out with billions of people, from record companies, the press… being in those social situations, my brain sometimes just starts freaking out, and that’s happened a lot lately. There are days where there’s so many people involved in this thing called Trivium… I don’t know how the other guys are with it, but I’ve just noticed this problem recently. I want to be cordial, to say hi to everyone who’s hanging around but I’ve got problems and shortcomings just like everybody else. I’ve only freaked out a couple of times though, when it’s all just too much sometimes. I’m like, ‘fuck, what do I do here?’ but when that passes it’s fine. I’m fine on stage, but outside of that, I’m a dweeb. Video games and TV. That’s me.”
(Image credit: Press)
If you spend a little time with Matt you get the definite sense that the little shift in character he goes through when he’s on the stage and off is more than subtle. In real life he’s a completely different, unrecognisable guy from the one who’s known to conjure circle pits in the crowd, play blazing solos and seems, to many fans, superhumanly talented. But right now Matt rubs his left arm with other thngs on his mind. He’s just had a massive piece of tattoo work completed that’s currently wrapped up in cling film but clearly causing him discomfort.
“It’s late 1800s Japanese,” he says. “It’s from Japanese mythology where there was this demon terrorising Rashomon gate, and there was one samurai that was able to chop off the demon’s arm, but I’ve got the pre-battle scene where the samurai’s just about to go and chop the demon’s arm off.”
He’ll explain how it’s only very recently that he’s had a real awakening of curiosity in his heritage – Heafy’s mother is Japanese and used to relate that very same demon story to him when he was a child. According to Heafy, his was an idyllic upbringing. His mother and father are still together, he did well in school, he didn’t do drugs, and the worst problems he had were related to girls. Like many in their late teens, he went through a string of ‘stupid post school relationships’.
“All these young kids who are straight-edge now, a girl’s going to break their heart and they’ll start drinking,” he says, laughing. He’ll smile as he recalls the days when it was he who was outside of the mainstream. “That’s why I never give myself rules like that. When I was younger and I’d go to shows just so I could see the bands I liked, and I wouldn’t smile the entire time. If it wasn’t my band on stage, I’d just stand there and ignore it but we’re not about that now.”
So what drives you?
“What do you mean, why am I doing this?”
Yeah.
“It’s weird,” he says with a crooked grin. “I was gifted according the staff at my school, I wasn’t this nerd kid but I always did well. I’ve never had a job. This is my first. Maybe it’s because I don’t know anything else, or how hard this is supposed to be. It isn’t like touring’s easy, we’re up against it all the time. You don’t have any real comforts, there’s a lot of people who want to bring you down, but it’s getting past that kind of shit that makes a band big. We’re here to conquer. There’s no halfway for us.”
Later that night, with a packed crowd reciting his every lyric, Matt Heafy again becomes the frontman he’s recognised to be, like the geeky Peter Parker turning into the superhero Spiderman. He goads his audience, shouts, grunts and shreds his way through a 90 minute set as if he’s been doing this his whole life.
Wherever they go from here, it seems that Trivium’s story is only now just beginning.
Originally published in Metal Hammer issue 161.
Alexander Milas is an erstwhile archaeologist, broadcaster, music journalist and award-winning decade-long ex-editor-in-chief of Metal Hammer magazine. In 2017 he founded Twin V, a creative solutions and production company. In 2019 he launched the World Metal Congress, a celebration of heavy metal’s global impact and an exploration of the issues affecting its community. His other projects include Space Rocks, a festival space exploration in partnership with the European Space Agency and the Heavy Metal Truants, a charity cycle ride which has raised over a million pounds for four children’s charities which he co-founded with Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood. He is Eddietor of the official Iron Maiden Fan Club, head of the Heavy Metal Cycling Club, and works closely with Earth Percent, a climate action group. He has a cat named Angus.
“It was an unfortunate incident which has been exaggerated and turned into folklore”: How contractual differences between Aerosmith and Metallica at Woodstock 1994 came to blows
Steven Tyler and James Hetfield onstage at Woodstock 1994(Image credit: Brian Rasic via Getty Images)
Like its predecessor 25 years earlier, Woodstock ’94 offered “3 More Days of Peace & Music.” Unless you were Aerosmith‘s manager and one of the festival’s organizers.
This week marked the 40th anniversary of the second edition of the Woodstock series, which took place Aug. 12-14, 1994 in Saugerties, N.Y., on a site the festival’s principals wanted for the original 1969 edition. Aerosmith – riding high on its multi-platinum 1993 album Get a Grip and its five Top 5 U.S. hits – were one of the headliners and played on the Saturday night (August 13), just before Metallica. Both bands delivered killer sets, but unseen by fans were some brief backstage fisticuffs between then-manager Tim Collins and Woodstock ’94 co-producer John Scher.
It came down to this: Collins was angry because Aerosmith was told it could not use any customized staging or pyrotechnics during its set. Contract terms also stipulated that the group could provide just one souvenir T-shirt for sale and that it could not be customized to the event.
Lo and behold, Metallica followed with its own stage set and offered a shirt that was specific to the festival, leading to the confrontation between the two men, during which Scher reportedly threw a cup of water and a punch at Collins and one of Aerosmith’s security guards hit Scher in the face.
“It was the only fight that weekend,” Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang noted during a conference call with reporters announcing the upcoming Woodstock ’99 festival.
On the same call, Scher downplayed the incident and assured the gathering that bygones were bygones. “Tim Collins and I have remained – and I want to stress remained – good friends,” Scher said. “It was an unfortunate incident which has been exaggerated and turned into folklore in the entertainment business. Aerosmith will be there, and Tim is certainly welcome if he’d like to come.” Collins, who managed Aerosmith for 12 years and engineered their comeback during the mid-80s, had been fired by the band in 1996.
Aerosmith were one of the first acts announced for the famously ill-fated Woodstock ’99 – which took place July 23-25 in Rome. N.Y. – but cancelled a month before the festival.
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“What it came down to was scheduling conflicts and logistical problems with other gigs,” festival spokesperson Ilene Marder said at the time. Instead, Aerosmith played an extensive tour of Europe, including several festivals, during June and July.
Gary Graff is an award-winning veteran music journalist based in metro Detroit, writing regularly for Billboard, Ultimate Classic Rock, Media News Group, Music Connection, United Stations Radio Networks and others. Graff’s work has also appeared in Rolling Stone, Guitar World, Classic Rock, Revolver, the San Francisco Chronicle, AARP magazine, the Detroit Jewish News, The Forward and others. Graff has co-written and edited books about Bob Seger, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen. A professional voter for the Grammy Awards and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Graff co-founded the Detroit Music Awards in 1989 and continues as the organisation’s chief producer.
Our “Top 10 Covers of Beach Boys Songs” presents an article filled with covers originally written by a band that stands as one of the most successful and famous bands in classic rock history. The Beach Boys first formed in 1961 on the west coast of the United States, in Hawthorne, California. The band’s original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine—everyone related except for Al Jardine. The group has sold over 100 million albums worldwide since they were first established in the 1960s, making them one of the most covered bands of all time, thanks to a catalog that is both deep and rich.
Since their debut album, Surfing Safari, was released in 1962, The Beach Boys have released 29 studio albums. Additionally, they have released 11 live albums, and with a band as legendary as they are, there is, of course, the addition of numerous compilation albums—close to 60. There’s been much turmoil throughout the band’s career, much of it surrounding Brian Wilson, but that’s a story for another time and place.
I was born the same year the band got together, in 1961, so I wasn’t that aware of their music growing up in the 60s, although I’m sure I heard it on the radio. However, as a teenager in the 70s, I remember going to see The Beach Boys playing with Chicago all the time. Their music in the ’70s still dominated radio and continued to develop a fan base that would last forever. Today, we celebrate some of the most enjoyable cover songs of Beach Boys that we’ve ever heard.
# 10 – Don’t Worry Baby – Billy Joel (Live)
“We open up our top 10 covers of Beach Boys songs with a great one by Long Island’s own Billy Joel. The man has never really gotten the credit he deserved as a singer; he’s one of the finest out there. Because he’s such a brilliant songwriter and entertainer, his songs have long overshadowed his vocal chops, which are on full display here in this sensational cover of this classic 1964 Beach Boys song. The original Beach Boys version appeared on the album Shut Down Volume 2. The song has long been one of Brian Wilson’s favorites. Billy Joel’s cover version was recorded live and appeared on his box set My Lives.”
Johnny Rivers has long been one of the best at covering songs. His cover of the Beach Boys’ ‘Help Me, Rhonda’ was released in 1975 on his album New Lovers and Old Friends. It features the typical Johnny Rivers swinging style, full of passion and soul, that makes it a real winner. The Beach Boys’ original song ‘Help Me, Rhonda’ appeared on their album The Beach Boys Today!, which was released in 1965. The song was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love. It went all the way to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 when the Beach Boys originally released it.
We return once again to The Beach Boys’ 1964 album Shut Down Volume 2 with a cover of their classic song ‘Fun, Fun, Fun.’ This time, it’s Joan Jett who gives it the pure rock and roll treatment when she recorded this kicking version of the classic Beach Boys song on her album Good Music. What made this one extra special was that Joan had Carl Wilson, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, Mike Love, Billy Hinch, and Bobby Figueroa singing backing vocals on the album. Good Music was released in 1986.
As we continue with this Beach Boys cover song article, we return to a surprising number by a band you never would have thought would cover a Beach Boys song, but what they did with it was just outstanding. The Red Hot Chili Peppers paid tribute to the Beach Boys at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony with a funky, rocking version of one of the most famous Beach Boys songs of all time.
It’s not easy to recreate the big Beach Boys sound and harmonies, but the Red Hot Chili Peppers did it in their own way. Listen to Flea’s grooving bass on this one; it just works so magically. John Frusciante is on backing vocals, which is really cool, and of course, Anthony Kiedis does his own thing on the lead vocals. Holding it all together is Chad Smith’s tribute to Dennis Wilson’s style of drum playing. While some people may not like this one, I think it’s simply fabulous.”
Our list of Beach Boys cover songs is showcased across an article presenting both live and studio versions. We didn’t want to just stick to studio versions because there were some really important live performances that we wanted to make sure to present here. One of them was Paul Simon’s very moving cover performance of The Beach Boys’ “Surfer Girl.” Paul Simon presented this song at the All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson. Here was an artist who grew up and celebrated success around the same time as The Beach Boys, although he came a little bit later. Paul Simon covering Brian Wilson—two of the most brilliant songwriters of our lives. It doesn’t get much better than that.
We thought it was very important to include at least one Wilson Phillips cover of a Beach Boys song in this list, given the relationship between the band and the Beach Boys. For those who may not be familiar, Wilson Phillips consists of Chynna Phillips, the daughter of John and Michelle Phillips from The Mamas & the Papas, and Carnie and Wendy Wilson, who are Brian Wilson’s daughters. When Wilson Phillips first emerged on the scene in 1990, they were a massive success.
Wilson Phillips was nominated for multiple Grammy Awards and achieved significant chart success, with their debut album going platinum worldwide. The album climbed all the way to number two on the US Billboard Top 200 charts, and they had multiple number one singles with “Hold On,” “Release Me,” and “You’re in Love.” However, the band didn’t last for too long; they broke up after releasing three albums.
They reunited in 2004 with the album California. On this wonderful album, they covered multiple Beach Boys songs, closing out the album with a breathtaking version of their father’s song “In My Room.” Listen to those harmonies—that’s what Wilson Phillips is all about. This cover is a simple version with just piano and vocals, but the vocals are so stunning that it probably worked better this way than with a full orchestra behind them because you can really take in and feel the passion and talent of these three wonderful musicians.
# 4 – I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times – Jakob Dylan and Neil Young
This one was really special in so many ways. Brian Wilson and Tony Asher’s song “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times” was originally released on the Pet Sounds album in 1966. The album and the song are among the most celebrated Beach Boys releases of all time. So many people have felt the way Brian Wilson did in this song—being depressed, being unsure of where they fit in a world that seems both lonely and challenging is something that we’ve all been through. This song spoke to so many people.
The cover version here was done by Jakob Dylan, who, if you did not know, is Bob Dylan’s son and, of course, the legendary Neil Young. Jakob Dylan takes the lead vocal on this one all the way through, while Neil Young backs him up on the chorus. This cover version was released on the soundtrack to the Echo in the Canyon documentary. If you’ve ever seen that documentary, we highly recommend it. If you’ve never listened to Pet Sounds, I highly recommend it. Everything about this one is just spectacular.
If you’re a fan of rock music, then you have to be a fan of Todd Rundgren—there’s just no doubt about that. Todd Rundgren is one of the most celebrated musicians in classic rock history. He’s renowned not only as an artist, musician, singer, and songwriter but also as a producer of some of the greatest rock and roll albums of all time, like Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell and Grand Funk Railroad’s We’re an American Band. Todd Rundgren’s album Faithful was simply a masterpiece, and his version of The Beach Boys’ beloved song “Good Vibrations” pays stunning tribute, showcasing both the brilliance of the song and the amazing talents of good old Todd.
If we had to pick our favorite Beach Boys song of all time, it would definitely be “God Only Knows.” I don’t think we’re alone in that sentiment. We’ve listened to many different covers of this song, and while there were some really special ones—especially Elton John’s live cover of this classic—the one we chose was David Bowie’s very creative and original-sounding studio version released on the Tonight album. David Bowie has never been a follower; he did things his own way, and that’s exactly what he did with this one. Singing in a lower voice and still able to reach all the notes, he delivered simply an astonishing version of this song that, if you’re a Bowie fan, you will just fall in love with.
One of the most exciting aspects of putting together a top 10 list is figuring out which entry will claim the number one spot. Sometimes it’s easy, and other times it’s a real struggle. On this list, it wasn’t easy because there are some really great versions here, especially the last couple we’ve just written about. However, in the grand scheme of things, what we always look for in a cover version—at least in our opinion—is creativity and fun. We want a cover version to almost sound like it’s brand new, to bring something different to the audience. That’s exactly what David Lee Roth did with “California Girls.” He made the song his own; he was born to sing it. Of course, the video helps a lot—it’s one of the most enjoyable videos to watch that we’ve ever seen. This song was one of the factors that helped catapult him into a solo career. Some people aren’t happy about that, of course, but that’s what he did, and this song played a role in it.
UK metal legends Carcass performed at Bloodstock Open Air 2024 in Walton-on-Trent, England on August 11th. Fan-filmed video of their entire show can be veiwed below.
Setlist:
“Buried Dreams” “Kelly’s Meat Emporium” “Incarnated Solvent Abuse” “Under the Scalpel Blade “This Mortal Coil” “Death Certificate” “Dance of Ixtab (Psychopomp & Circumstance March No. 1 in B)” “Black Star / Keep On Rotting in the Free World” “Genital Grinder” “Pyosisified (Rotten to the Gore)” “Exhume to Consume” “Corporal Jigsore Quandary” “Ruptured in Purulence / Heartwork” “Tools of the Trade” “Reek of Putrefaction”
Due to popular demand, Lamb Of God have announced a second voyage of their mind-blowing metal celebration at sea, Lamb Of God Presents Headbangers Boat 2024, highlighted by two unique headline performances from the ground-breaking 5x Grammy Award-nominated band.
Presented by Sixthman, the leader in festivals and music cruises for more than two decades, Lamb Of God Presents Headbangers Boat 2024 sails October 28 – November 1, 2024 from Miami, Florida to the brand new port of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic aboard the Norwegian Gem.
Lamb Of God recently announced the following lineup change aboard Headbangers Boat 2024:
“Headbangers! We regret to announce that At The Gates is unable to perform on the boat this year due to scheduling conflicts. We are, however, excited to announce the addition of Carcass to the 2024 Headbangers Boat lineup!”
“Miss out on securing a cabin? We will be releasing a very limited number of cabins for the SOLD OUT 2024 cruise this Friday (June 21st) over at HeadbangersBoat.com – grab them while they’re available!”
First unveiled during Lamb Of God’s second performance on Headbangers Boat’s sold-out premiere sailing, Lamb Of God Headbangers Boat 2024 will feature live music from dawn into dark, across several stages and settings throughout the Norwegian Gem. Along with two exclusive shows from Lamb Of God, the fully immersive event will further feature a truly stunning range of special guests, including such heavy metal masters as Dethklok, Chimaira, Poison The Well, Carcass, Soulfly, Exodus, Napalm Death, Corrosion Of Conformity, After The Burial, Currents, Bleeding Through, Unearth, Eyehategod, Frozen Soul, UnityTX, and Lamb Of God’s Mark Morton (Solo Band), plus standup comedy from Shayne Smith and Mike Abrusci, and more to be announced. In addition, members of Lamb Of God will host an array of guest activities, with all guests who booked during the pre-sale securing a photo opportunity for their cabin with the band.
“The sense of connection and family that was shared on the Headbangers Boat has been overwhelming,” says Lamb Of God guitarist, Mark Morton. “We were all reminded of the power that music has to bring joy, inspiration and healing. We are beyond grateful to have had the chance to bring so many people from the heavy metal community together to share and celebrate this music we all love. And it doesn’t end here! We are thrilled to announce Headbangers Boat 2…”
Lamb Of God’s Headbangers Boat 2024 will see special guests Dethklok’s first performance at sea, and their first announced show following their first tour in over a decade, the successful “The BabyKlok Tour” with co-headliners Babymetal. Other live metal performance rarities offered by Lamb Of God’s Headbangers Boat 2024 will include additional support acts Chimaira (who reunited this year for their first two shows in over 5 years) and Poison The Well (who in January are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their album You Come Before You with a string of shows).
Beyond the onboard experience, Headbangers will have the chance to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime day of adventure in Puerto Plata (officially known as San Felipe de Puerto Plata), the ninth largest city in the Dominican Republic and the capital of the province of Puerto Plata. Cruisers can enjoy spectacular city views atop the 2,600-foot-high Pico Isabel de Torres mountain, explore the 16th century Fortaleza San Felipe, or visit the Amber Museum, a museum filled with a unique collection of valuable Dominican amber capturing millions of years of fossils of plant and insect life. Please note: shore excursions will not be available until 4-6 weeks prior to sailing. Cruisers will be able to book an excursion upon receipt of their official booking number.
The opulent Norwegian Gem will provide everything needed to make Headbangers Boat the most electrifying cruise vacation ever, with fully stocked bars at (almost) every corner, tasty dining options, the Pool Deck (with multiple hot tubs), Gem Club Casino, Mandara Spa, Body Waves Fitness Centre, Sports Court, and much more.
Take a look back at the inaugural Headbangers Boat with the official aftermovie from 2023:
Former Sabaton guitarist / Majestica frontman Tommy Johansson has shared his weekly cover, this time performing a powermetal version of Irene Cara’s 1983 hit, “What A Feeling”.
Majestica are back with their first new music of 2024. The Swedish power metal quartet proudly presents their latest single, “A New Beginning”, which is the band’s first release since 2021. Therefore, the song name not only fits in relation to this, but also speaks about a new beginning and letting things come to an end. Paired with musical elements reminiscent of the 80s, Majestica unleashes a new catchy tune upon their fans that puts the band back on the radar.
As if the release of this brand new single wasn’t enough, Majestica have also delivered a brand new music video for their single, which you can watch below.
Tommy Johansson comments: “When Majestica finally returns with a new song it couldn’t have been a better one than ‘A New Beginning’. Not only is it a heavy power metal song with a catchy sing-along chorus, but it’s also very melodic in the style of Stratovarius, 80’s rock, and Helloween with some hints of Gary Moore. The song reflects on (as the title says) to start over, but also of something that comes to an end. But the end isn’t always a bad thing. It feels great to finally release some new music with Majestica again and to show that we’re back – back with a new beginning.”
Stream the new single here, and watch the video below:
Majestica is:
Tommy Johansson – guitars, vocals Petter Hjerpe – guitars Chris David – bass Joel Kollberg – drums
Florida-based death metal veterans, Obituary, will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of their World Demise album with a full album performance “studio stream”.
Says Obituary: “We are super excited and want to invite all our fans around the World to join us September 7th & 8th (5 PM, EST) as we celebrate the 30 year anniversary of World Demise as we go “LIVE” from RedNeck Studio in Florida and bring you back-to-back nights of Obituary classics and World Demise full album performance!!”
Obituary will bookend their support slot on Sepultura’s “Celebrating Life Through Death” farewell tour this autumn with a trio of just announced headline shows. The official poster, as well as venue info, can be found below.
September 14 – Louisville, KY – Portal 15 – Indianapolis, IN – Black Circle
October 14 – Richmond, VA – Canal Club
As part of their massive “Celebrating Life Through Death” farewell tour, metal legends Septultura will be hitting the North American roads; you can witness the ambassadors of Brazilian metal with a career-spanning set that will honour the band’s 40 years of existence.
Joining them on this momentous tour will be Obituary, iconic New York hardcore pioneers Agnostic Front, and Sao Paulo’s death/thrash metallers Claustrofobia. Together, this package will unleash an electrifying display of power, passion, and raw emotion.
Andreas Kisser comments: “We are so excited to announce the North American concerts of the ‘Celebrating Life Through Death’ farewell tour. We are having a blast doing these shows and celebrating 40 years of history, and now it is your turn! Happy to share the stage with our brothers from Obituary, Agnostic Front, and Claustrofobia! Do not miss this! See you all on the road!”
Dates:
September 17 – Chicago, IL – ConcordMusic Hall 18 – Minneapolis, MN – UptownTheater 20 – Denver, CO – The Ogden Theater 21 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot 22 – Boise, ID – Knitting Factory 23 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox SODO 25 – San Francisco, CA – The Warfield 26 – Los Angeles, CA – The Novo 27 – San Diego, CA – House Of Blues 28 – Tucson, AZ – RialtoTheatre 30 – Dallas, TX – The Factory
October 2 – Tampa, FL – JannusLive 3 – Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theater 4 – Raleigh, NC – The Ritz 5 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live 6 – Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall 8 – Cleveland, OH – The Agora Ballroom 9 – Toronto, ON – Rebel* 10 – Montreal, QC – L’Olympia* 11 – Worcester, MA @The Palladium 12 – New York, NY – The PalladiumTimes Square
If you’ve ever thumbed through a music magazine or gazed in admiration at a poster of a legendary rock star, the chances are good you were looking at the work of Bob Gruen. From his iconic portraits of John Lennon in New York to his seminal studies of the punk explosion of the late 1970s, Gruen has been at the forefront of capturing our culture heroes on camera for over half a century. And now the public gets to see the proof up close via a retrospective exhibit of his absolutely electric rock photography at Toronto’s Liss Gallery.
The show will spotlight the keen eye for the moment Gruen has brought to some of the most memorable images in pop history. He’s the visionary who took the photo of John Lennon flashing a peace sign in front of the Statue of Liberty in 1974, along with its equally famous companion picture of the artist with his arms folded across a T-shirt emblazoned with the logo “New York City.” As the Liss Gallery retrospective will make clear, Gruen has brought that instinct for the instantly timeless to images of an entire firmament of rock’s greatest, immortalizing them at crucial junctures when their talent and their significance collided in a way only he could do justice.
The show runs from September 3 to October 5, 2024. The Liss Gallery is located at 112 Cumberland Street, Toronto. For more information or to RSVP, call (416) 787-9872 or email info@lissgallery.com.
Gruen’s tenure with Lennon is the most widely renowned instalment in his long and illustrious career. As the personal photographer to John and Yoko, he chronicled their doings at a time when the expatriate Englishman was making a new life for himself in his adopted city across the pond – and fighting the efforts of the Nixon administration to have him ejected from the country. But Gruen’s photojournalistic activity back then wasn’t restricted to hanging around the Lennons. He was an active and essential observer of the punk and new wave scene at downtown hotspots like CBGB, shooting nascent stars like the Ramones, Blondie, the New York Dolls and Patti Smith Group. British upstarts the Clash and the Sex Pistols caught his eye as well. (His photo “Sid Vicious with Hot Dog” is now in the collection of London’s National Portrait Gallery.) As chief photographer for the cutting-edge music periodical Rock Scene, he shared the pictorial evidence of that transformative movement with the world, along with equally earth-shaking photos of international rock royalty like Led Zeppelin, The Who, Tina Turner, KISS and Alice Cooper.
Gruen’s vitality and relevance have remained strong right up to the present day, as he’s filled out his portfolio with dynamic shots of Green Day, AC/DC, Madonna, Ozzy Osbourne, The Strypes and Ryan Adams. And the art world has taken due notice: His works have been exhibited in some of the most prestigious venues across the globe, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Grand Palais éphémère in Paris and the Museu da Imagem e do Som in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Over the years, Gruen has brought his vision to bookshelves with photo collections devoted specifically to the New York Dolls, the Rolling Stones, John Lennon, and others. His autobiography, Right Place, Right Time: Diary of a Rock & Roll Photographer, was published in 2020. In addition, he revisited the heyday of the New York Dolls in two video documentaries, and he himself was the subject of Rock & Roll Exposed—The Photography of Bob Gruen, a filmed tribute that included testimonials from many of the music luminaries who have been fortunate enough to be seen through his lens.
“Gruen is THE world’s best rock and roll photographer,” Publishers Weekly once declared. Come to the Liss Gallery and find out for yourself just how right they were.
