According to Reuters UK, Friar Bonizzi became a metalhead after getting into Metallica about 15 years ago and doesn’t use his metal pulpit to preach Christianity, preferring instead to educate the moshing masses “to try to understand life, to be able to enjoy it. Nothing more.”  He even flashes the metal horns as he prances the stage.   Although I wouldn’t exactly call him a singer, his energy & passion for the form is undeniable - more heart then art.

No word yet on how the Vatican feels about the 62 year old headbanger but based on the response the band has been getting in Italy (especially the Gods of Metal festival where they played about a month ago), it might just be time for the good father to tour.

I’m thinking Fratello Metallo should co-headline with Deicide and call it the ‘True Heaven & Hell’ tour.

In preparation, tonight we had our own Rock School where I showed about 10 videos to the twins in hopes of acquainting them a little with some of Maiden’s greater hits.  ‘Number of the Beast’, ‘Fear of the Dark’, ‘Hallowed be thy Name’ - just to name a few.  The reaction was mild interest, polite attention to my brief intros and more than one sneaky glance at a cell phone to see if a friend, ANY FRIEND, might be calling to save them.

So ok, perhaps my enthusiasm is fueled by memories of the 80’s and I don’t really see Maiden as the group of geezers they probably are in the eyes of a teenager.  Plus, the videos vintage 1983 don’t really make the impression they did back in say, 1983.  However, I think once we’re settled on the lawn, the lights go out, the amps go up and the stage extravaganza that is Iron Maiden pours forth onto the audience - I don’t think for a minute it will look dated or tired.  It will be kewl and it will be loud.  But most of all it will be true metal, which is really what it’s all about. 

I want my girls’ first concert to be something they can unashamedly talk about in 20 years, just like my own was Eric Clapton & Muddy Waters.  Was Clapton my first choice? No, and I didn’t even know who Muddy Waters was at the time, but now it’s a memory I cherish.  I can proudly say I was indoctrinated into the concert-going world in style and class, watching legends of their genres on stage at a historic venue (Cincinnati’s Riverfront Collesium - RIP).  Hopefully, I’m passing the torch to my kids the same way.  If not, screw’em - they’ve got I-pods.

Anyhow, my review will follow on Friday with (hopefully) a playlist to share.   Until then, UP THE IRONS!

This is huge recognition for the band, which they richly deserve (in my opinion) as they’re one of the few long standing metal acts that has consistently maintained a high level of quality, despite enduring line-up changes and the constant ebb & flow of musical trends. Maiden has always been Maiden - whatever incarnation you’re talking about.

And since they’re embarking on perhaps one of the most massive tours of their long careers, what better fitting time for them to get some mainstream press on this side of the pond.  The article goes on to talk about some CNN coverage the band is also getting so be sure to follow the link and read the whole post.

And go buy this issue of Billboard on May 10th so you can read THAT whole article too.  I know I will ! 

And a couple of horn’s up to my buddy Chris, who was technically the first place that I found talking about the release.

But with each new album that was released, I felt a little disappointed. “Master of Puppets” took me longer to grow accustomed to then “Ride” did, and “And Justice For All” took me almost two months to warm up to. Nowadays those discs are mainstays in my library but to me, they never really captured the feel of songs like “For Whom the Bell Tolls” or “Trapped Under Ice” or “Fade to Black”. Not quite.

When the Black album hit, I didn’t even buy it for almost 6 months. . . I feared where the band was headed. But I eventually came around and now jam out to that one as well. I came around everytime - until “Load”.

After the release of “Load”, I took my entire collection of Metallica paraphernalia - including the original Metal Massacre album, the ‘Jump in the Fire’ shaped picture disc, the Creeping Death import EP, etc. etc. and I sold them all in one big lump for pocket change. I was THAT pissed off. Of course now, when I think of the value of what I sold - that’s what REALLY pisses me off, but I digress.

So ok, you know where I stand with this band. I felt betrayed, I felt they’d sold out. I felt like I’d lost my best friends, and indeed in a way I had. But I still watched them from the shadows . . .waiting. . .hoping. . .remembering. Sometimes shaking my head, sometimes with a tear in my eye. Always watching them.

Flash forward to now. The rumblings have begun about their new album, about how Rick Rubin - producer extraordinaire - is now sitting behind the board. I began to have hope. Rubin has produced Slayer albums since they were just little devils, as well as half the artists you’ve ever heard of. Don’t believe me? Just read this article on Wiki about him.

So you’ve got arguably the most talented producer in the industry pushing you to recover the sound you had with “Master of Puppets”, and you KNOW in your heart of hearts you’re fans feel betrayed. What do you do? Answer: you come out fighting like you did in the old days, in the days where you couldn’t get a club gig because you were “too hard”. You come out and kick ass.

I want to go on record in front of the entire world, right here, right now and say this: I’m not their ‘greatest’ fan - the blogs are full of those people already. But I am a fan - and they’ll be back. This time, they’ll be back.

It’s not JUST that they have Rick Rubin, it’s that they wanted him. They’re looking in his direction because they and he are on the same page now. Doing another ‘St. Anger’ isn’t the point this time. Their goals have changed, they’ve lost something and I think they aim to get it back. Respect.

And if I’m right (and you know I ALWAYS think I am), they have the talent and the willpower and now the perspective to do it. So they’ll prevail.

And I may be buying my first Metallica concert ticket in a very, very long time.

Originally this was announced as being a CD/DVD combo - which made sense because there’s nothing like seeing a Zombie concert.  The live shows are pure legend with high energy, heavy theatrics and explosions galore but sadly, it seems there was a last minute change of plans.  Within only a couple weeks of release on Amazon.com, the price suddenly dropped to under ten bucks BUT the DVD part of the combo was removed.  Not sure exactly of the reasons but now it appears there may be a DVD in the spring of 2008.

This is a fatal flaw, in my opinion as the CD sounds awesome, and the adrenaline of the band in performance is still captured - but without being able to see it something is definitely missed.  It’s like listening to a movie from the other room - you can just sense you’re not getting all that you should out of it.  There ARE 2 bonus videos and some links to Youtube available if you put the disc into your PC and access ‘bonus.robzombie.com’ however the sound is horrible and they look like what you would expect from streaming video.

Aside from that, the CD is slickly produced and chock full of songs (18 of ‘em) as recorded during Zombie’s Educated Horses tour.  The set list is a good mix of White Zombie material, solo hits and a few tracks off the Horses CD.  The crowd is clearly full of fire but there’s not much ‘between song’ dialogue represented or extended ‘live’ variations of most songs.  I counted 1 drum solo (after ‘House of 1000 Corpses’) and 2 guitar solos (following ‘SuperBeast’ & ‘Thunderkiss ‘65′).   What also improves the listening experience is that most songs are considerably heavier live versus their studio versions.  ‘Never Gonna Stop’ for example, which I’ve always considered one of his weaker hits, gains some much needed ‘umph’ from the live sound mix.

The included booklet is also a real plus, as it focuses on the band as whole rather than just Zombie, the man.  This is a generous move, when you think of it - how many egomaniacal singers would share the spotlight so readily with their musicians?  But considering the band, most notably the severely under-rated John 5 on guitar plus Piggy D. on bass and Tommy Clufetos on drums, this is a wise choice making sure each of them is recognized.

I was disappointed that we weren’t treated to any of Zombie’s original artwork but the band photos and stage shots were still cool to look over.

And that sums up my thoughts on this release.  It’s good, but not great - and at the end of the disc I found myself wishing to have had a more complete sampling of the Rob Zombie experience.   It is rumored that Zombie is working on a definitive White Zombie box set, to include basically all of the output of the band during it’s brief career plus bonus and/or unreleased material. 

Let’s hope that that set gets a more thorough treatment.

As I said, the packaging is pretty sparse. It’s basically a cardboard gatefold sleeve with minimal graphics, a tracklist and very little else. Oh, and a coupon with the aforementioned ticket code. yippee. After the ticket rush is over, a lusher version will undoubtably be available.

Press releases to this disc herald it as the true successor to 1991’s No More Tears, which may be good or bad depending on your viewpoint. Personally, I was hoping for a successor to Blizzard of Ozz instead.

Ozzy is joined on the songs once again by the formidable Zakk Wylde on guitar & ex-Faith No More drummer Mike Bordin as well as adding ex-Rob Zombie bassist Blasko. The new songs are as crunchy and heavy as could be hoped, many sounding like leftover rifts from Zakk’s Black Label Society sessions. It’s Ozzy’s own vocal stylings which tend to water down the mix but hey, at his age I respect the guy for still adding some decibels to his output.

As with many Ozzy recordings, the appeal runs the gamut from definitely crank-worthy (”Not Going Away” and radio heavy “I Don’t Wanna Stop”) to not bad (”Trap Door”) to so-so filler material (”11 Silver” & “Black Rain”). Nothing is truly bad of the set, but very little stands out as legends-in-making. I do applaude the attempts to go in a more experimental direction with the longer, funkier “The Almighty Dollar”, the comparatively lethargic “Countdown’s Begun” (which does sport a nicely blistering guitar solo) and the faux-industrial “Civilize the Universe”. There are also two ballads on the bill, “Lay Your World on Me” & “Here For You”, both very reminiscent of earlier Ozzy snifflers.

Lyrically, many subjects are tackled again by his Ozziness that he has covered in the past such as war (”Black Rain”), environmental concerns (”The Almighty Dollar” ironically enough) and good old fashioned defiance (”I Don’t Wanna Stop”). Sadly, the concerns he voices are just as topical today as when he first broached them in Black Sabbath.

All in all, this is a decent effort by a true pioneer of the genre. Ozzy cannot be accused of laying on any well-deserved laurels, either for his musical output or for clever concert ticket marketing strategies. It shouldn’t disappoint loyalists but it’s doubtful many of these songs will be played live in 5 years. God willing, Ozzy will still be though!