Author Archives: Mark

Axl does “his best” to play on time, apparently

Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe recently conducted an interview with Guns N’ Roses bassist Tommy Stinson. The bassist, in particular, discusses Axl’s reputation for turning up 38 hours late to concerts. Check out some excerpts below:

The Boston Globe: Is there any way to sit down with Axl [Rose] and say there’s no reason that fans should have to wait up to three hours between the opening act and Guns N’ Roses?

Stinson: There is no reason ever for that to be.

The Boston Globe: So why does it happen? What is happening during the time that people are waiting?

Stinson: You know what? I don’t even know. I just know that some days my boy gets [expletive] derailed. I know he does his best to get out there on time. He doesn’t want to make people wait and bum out on him but, again, he can’t play before he’s ready either.

The Boston Globe: Maybe he should start getting ready earlier then, because he must be paying all kinds of overtime and fines at these arenas which must be eating into the tour profits.

Stinson: You’ve got a good point there. You know, that’s never been something he’s ever given a [expletive] about. When he’s ready to put on his best show, that’s when he’s going to put it on, and if it’s on the late side, so be it. He’ll gladly pay the extra money.

Source: Blabbermouth

You know what, Tommy? If I turn up 3 hours late to my job, I get fired. I don’t exactly perform “at my best” when I have to wake up for work at 6:45am, but I do it, because I have to. Frankly, I’d rather Axl had the respect for his fans to turn up on time and play the show the fans paid their hard earned cash for. The cash they probably earned by turning up to work on time and doing a good job. Maybe Axl should try that, huh? There isn’t any excuse for the disrespect Axl shows to his fans.

Learn how to retail, kid

Love metal and looking to get into the retail industry? Ignore those people that argue “music doesn’t sell” if you wish, but if you want to build a strong clientèle, it’s probably best to adopt an ‘honesty is the best policy’ rule. Just check out JB Hi-Fi‘s supreme retailing skillz.

I wonder how many albums they’d sell with that there?… You’d have to be pretty stupid to buy an album that even the store trying to sell it to you is telling you not to buy it. And yes, my brain does hurt after writing that sentence.

Friday Top 10: Heaviest albums of all time

Just a couple of weeks ago, the UK’s Kerrang magazine counted down their top 10 heaviest albums of all time. The thing is with Kerrang’s list, though, was I just couldn’t really agree with it. I mean they had The Beatles in the top 10! It was obvious the list was a bit of a joke, so I decided I would put together my own top 10. A top 10 that was just a bit more credible, serious, and would appeal more to so called “real” metalheads.

So to the elite, for real fans of Metal, this top 10 is for you. I hope ya’ll enjoy it, yo.

Behemoth confirmed for UK’s Bloodstock Festival

Behemoth have been confirmed for next year’s Bloodstock Open Air festival in the UK, set to take place August 10-12.

I don’t really have much to say, other than yay. I guess. They’re an awesome band, so great news for UK fans. Damn, news is slow today though.

The influence of Pink Floyd

I don’t what it is about Pink Floyd, since I was a child their music has dominated my repertoire like no other band. Atmospheric, experimental, deeply dark and disturbing, musically it isn’t difficult to see why I like them so much. Whilst I eventually discovered other bands, starting with the Led Zeppelins and Black Sabbaths and eventually moving onto far heavier music (I’ll ignore certain ‘gateway’ bands for now), it wasn’t until my tastes delved deeper down the paths of prog/experimental rock and metal, that I realized how much my tastes had come full circle.

Four years ago, I moved out and was discovering what it was like to live within the student environment. I had my own computer, my own internet connection, and besides re-discovering internet porn, it was actually my wider discovery of music that had me most interested. Browsing various black metal, doom metal and prog metal websites, the majority that had details of Pink Floyd initially dumbfounded me (although I now wonder why – perhaps I was drunk, as I was 99% of the time). The fact is though, their influence can be heard so widely across a plentiful array of genres, and particularly within metal.

So, here’s to one of the greatest bands of all time. Thank you. Without Pink Floyd, they’d certainly be no Opeth, no Neurosis, no Cult of Luna and no Between the Buried and Me. For now, why not join me in listening to one of the finest Floyd tunes, ‘Welcome to the Machine’, above.