Producer / Engineer Duane Baron Guests on This Weeks Focus on Metal

Episode 378 - Duane Baron

This week Richie sits down with mixer, engineer, and producer Duane Baron. Given the stellar cast of metal musicians that Duane has been able to work with (Dream Theater, Ozzy, Crue, and more) this chat should be a good one.

Track of the week is from “By Blood Sworn” the new release from Ross the Boss.

Get the this episode from the Focus on Metal Site, The Focus on Metal RSS feed, EarPeeler.com or subscribe on iTunes.

You can hear us every Tuesday night on Pure Rock Radio
and each Wednesday afternoon on Metal World Radio

Visit http://focusonmetal.net/ for information on all the past episodes and to find the links to all our other social media sites.

And as always

Focus On Metal…Everything Else is Insignificant.

ANGERHEAD release free download of Motorhead - "Iron Fist" cover song.

ANGERHEAD, the San Jose, California up and coming raging band have released a free mp3 download of the classic Motorhead song "Iron Fist", which is off of their upcoming new EP "Fueled by Rage".

Angerhead - "Iron Fist" (Motorhead cover - Free mp3 download)

Angerhead guitarist Eric Beard has checked in with the following comment:

We decided to go back in with Juan Urteaga (Machine Head, Testament) for the new EP. He worked with us on our 2nd EP “Headful Of Hate”. Juan is metal through and through. He has worked with a lot of Bay Area bands and friends so its a good fit for us. 

The EP starts out with "So Cold". This is probably our most sludgy song and also the last song in our live set. Downtuned, full of twists and turns, It is a definitely crowd pleaser and is heavy as fk!

The second song is one of oldest song I’ve written, "Face The Fear". The song has been a staple with me for a long time. I've done it in a few different ways and with other projects. I've even done it with a jazz feel and the song still holds up!! haha. I really enjoy the Angerhead version of it.

The 3rd song is called "Legacy of Hate". This is the longest song we’ve ever written. It was one that came together fully as a band and one of the favorites of the new EP.

The 4th song is "Take Me As I Am" and its a barnburner, kicks your ass from start to finish.

The Last song on the EP is a cover of Motorhead’s "Iron Fist". Paul and I loved this song, even before Ace of Spades when we were growing up, so we decided it was right. We have been seeing a lot of bands doing Ace Of Spades and wanted to do something different. RIP Lemmy. A True Legend!!

Angerhead, who expertly combine razor sharp elements of Thrash, Metal, Punk and Hardcore music into their pummeling sound, has been a crossover sensation with music fans throughout the Bay Area. The band has played many high profile support slots to big named acts such as Soulfly, Suicidal Tendencies,Testament, DRI, Exodus, Death Angel, Kittie and Quiet Riot to name a few.

Video - Angerhead - "Destroy The Trend"

For the latest band news and show dates, visit the official Angerhead website and Facebook page:

Official Angerhead website

Official Angerhead Facebook page

TKO / THE RODS members record MOTORHEAD cover of Ace of Spades as a tribute to Lemmy..

Members of legendary American metal bands TKO and THE RODS recently teamed up to record a high octane version of the MOTORHEAD classic "Ace of Spades" as a tribute to Lemmy.

Video Link - TKO / THE RODS members performing MOTORHEAD - "Ace of Spades" Lemmy tribute cover.

TKO vocalist Brad Sinsel has checked in with the following comment:

Immediately following the death of Rock Legend Ian Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister, the surviving members of Motorhead reached out to & simply requested that fans " Play Lemmy's music loud. Have a drink or few. Share stories. Celebrate the LIFE of this lovely, wonderful man celebrated so vibrantly himself."

Former members of TKO gathered together to follow those instructions on a dreary Saturday while tuning into the live broadcast of Lemmy's "Celebration of Life." Brad Sinsel, frontman for TKO / Warbabies / Angels of Dresden, took things a step deeper in his search for closure in the matter. Speaking with guitarist Rick Pierce, bassist Evan Sheeley, Guitarist Brynn Arens, Sinsel asked with a grin, "How 'bout we go in and record some Motorhead? Who's game?

Immediate reaction from everyone was "Hell Yeah!". My next call was to Carl Canady, drummer for the Rods" and I couldn't think of anyone more fitting to do this with, he added.

Dubbed ,"The Lemmy Sessions," TKO entered the studio in celebration of what they viewed as a rock n roll life well lived. Although the plan was never to release the recordings to the public, the final decision was made to release Ace of Spades as a loving tribute to Lemmy. All proceeds will go to the Ronnie James Dio "Stand Up and Shout" Cancer fund.

Carl Canedy has checked in to share his favorite memory of Motorhead's Lemmy:

When The Rods opened for Motorhead at the Calderone Concert Hall in Hampstead, Long Island, New York, we were in the middle of recording our "Live" album for Combat Records.

It was a crazy time for us and I remember having been called to the back of the venue during Motorhead's set. They were so loud that even outside, we had to yell to each other to be heard. Motorhead was so loud, I couldn't believe it. As we'd been called the "American Motorhead" in the first Sounds review by Geoff Barton, I was eager to see them live. They didn't disappoint. It was truly one of the loudest shows I've ever seen.

After the show Lemmy hung out with us at the back of the venue. I remember him being a really good guy. He had his arm around me chatting and offering me his seemingly "never ending" beer. He was patient and kind to the fans. The nicest and most unpretentious guy I'd met in the music business. A true metal icon!

For the latest band news and show dates, visit their official websites

Official TKO Facebook page

Official The Rods website

DANGEROUS TOYS / BROKEN TEETH vocalist Jason McMaster: Hanging and learning Lemmy things.

DANGEROUS TOYS / BROKEN TEETH vocalist Jason McMaster has shared his favorite memories of Motorhead's Lemmy.

I heard Motorhead for the very firs time in spring of 1981. I was about 17 years old and the Ace of Spades record was brand new. They were touring with Ozzy's Blizzard of Ozz through Texas and my friends had seen them live. I missed my chance at that time.

Fast forward to 1988.

My band Dangerous Toys was recording with Ozzy's producer Max Norman (Blizzard of Ozz, Diary of a Madman, Megadeth; Y&T; Fates Warning; Armored Saint; Loudness) at Sound City studios in Van Nuys, California. We all went to the Rainbow Bar & Grill for the very first time, starry eyed with hopes to run into someone famous. That someone was Lemmy. Max busted my balls telling him I did a Lemmy impersonation. Max made me do it for him. It was ridiculous. Lemmy was unphased and super down to earth. We all wound up sitting at his table for hours.

In summer 1991, our 2nd major label release "Hellacious Acres" put Dangerous Toys 2nd on the bill of the legendary Operation Rock N Roll U.S. tour with Judas Priest, Alice Cooper Motorhead and Metal Church.

I saw Lemmy everyday for about two months and got to hang and learn Lemmy things. I have a video of Lemmy wearing "Daisy Dukes" playing guitar and former Motorhead guitarist Wurzel (R.I.P.) just drinking in our dressing room and jamming along on the song "Leaving Here". I cherish it, even though it is not that great.

Lemmy gave me his number and we kept in touch.(I still have his business card with hand written address and phone number on the back).

In early 1992, we were writing new music and Lemmy offered his lyrical skill to the cause. I still have the hand written lyrics give to me by Lemmy in yellow legal pad paper signed and dated by L. Kilmister. It was crazy to get that in my mailbox.

We dropped by with a cassette of the song at a Motorhead rehearsal, where they were rehearsing with who at the time was their new drummer Mikkey Dee. We hung out, listened to the song and Lemmy says "I wrote it as a 12 barre", kinda like a WTF moment. We were thinking he didn't like it that much, that we had opted out of writing something that sounded like a Motorhead song.

The song never made any final cut but the mere fact that he would offer some kid in a band he may not have liked much, a hand in helping with some lyrics still blows my mind.

Me and my friends had a blast hanging with him, touring with him and writing with him. We were not close, but he made us feel that we were all connected.

Fast forward to 2015.

Little did we know. My band Broken Teeth were recording our recently released "Bulldozer" record, we planned for the Motorhead song "The Hammer" to be on it; as it was always a favorite off of the Ace of Spades album. 

Like most bands, we wanted to have a couple of kick ass cover songs to make it even more fun.

In hindsight, it is very sad to have lost two founding members of the original Motorhead line-up (drummer Philthy "Animal" Taylor and Lemmy) just months after the album's release.

"Born to Lose, Live to Win"...Infamous words, even while they were walking and breathing in his song or on his tattoo. I say farewell now, to the General of Rock N Roll, Ian Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister. We were not close, but you brought me in and fed me. I will never leave you. Thank you sir.

I believe in Motorhead. Greatest words I've ever said, Motorhead, never dead".

Jason McMaster
Motorhead Fan

For the latest band news and show dates, visit their official websites

Official Dangerous Toys website

Official Broken Teeth website

Just posted: Joel McIver is our guest on this weeks Focus on Metal

Episode 264 - McIver Alive V

Joel McIver helps us wrap up 2015 by making his fifth appearance on Focus on Metal. Joel chimes in on his thoughts on the year in metal and also lets us know what's going on in the land of McIver. Find out what he's up to at http://www.joelmciver.co.uk/ Besides his fine books Joel is also a driving force behind Bass Guitar magazine which you can find on the web at bassguitarmagazine.com

I'm sure that even Joel would agree that the single biggest impact of 2015 is the recent death of the legendary Lemmy. It's a massive blow to music, metal and the next generation of bass players that will never get to see (and feel) how bass can truly drive the bus.

Big thanks to all of you for a great 2015 and we look forward to a most metal 2016. No new show next week but we'll be embarking on the 2016 edition of Focus on Metal the week after with a massive music episode.

Get the this episode from the Focus on Metal Site, The Focus on Metal RSS feed, or on iTunes.

You can hear us Tuesdays on Platinum Rock Radio and be sure to check their schedule because we usually get a repeat run during the week.

You can hear us every Wednesday on these great stations:
Pure Rock Radio & Metal World Radio

Visit http://focusonmetal.net/ for information on all the past episodes and to find the links to all our other social media sites.

Focus on Metal is damn proud to be part of The Blast Syndicate. You can get this show as well as many other kick ass metal podcasts by clicking the link below.

And as always Focus On Metal…Everything Else is Insignificant.

Just posted: Mike Lepond on this weeks Focus on Metal

Episode 248 - Mike Lepond

A bit of prog this week as we welcome bassist Mike Lepond to the show. Mike will of course be talking about the latest release from Symphony X, "Underworld". He also gives us some insight into his solo venture Mike Lepond's Silent Assassins. Also this week a bit of discussion on some timely metals topics and of course a track of the week. Our track of the week this week "Mad As Hell" comes courtesy of Frontiers Records from Frank Dimino's latest one "Old Habits Die Hard". Nice to see he hasn't lost anything since his days in Angel.

Get your prog fix at http://www.symphonyx.com or hook up with Mike at https://www.facebook.com/mikelepondssilentassassins and of course find out about all the latest metal releases from Frontiers at http://www.frontiers.it/

Get the this episode from the Focus on Metal Site, The Focus on Metal RSS feed, or on iTunes.

You can hear us Tuesdays on Platinum Rock Radio and be sure to check their schedule because we usually get a repeat run during the week.

You can hear us every Wednesday on these great stations:
Pure Rock Radio, Metal World Radio,  and now on The Indie Authority

Visit http://focusonmetal.net/ for information on all the past episodes and to find the links to all our other social media sites.

And as always Focus On Metal…Everything Else is Insignificant.

Motor Sister to perform with Steel Panther next week

New music video online now!

Motor Sister to Take Part in Motörhead's "Motörboat"

Motor Sister have just confirmed a special show on June 26th in San Francisco with Steel Panther! The show is at the Regency Theater, and doors are at 8pm. Get tickets online now at axs.com HERE. In celebration of this show announcement, Motor Sister is proud to release a brand new music video for "Beg Borrow Steal" from their Metal Blade Records debut, "Ride." The Jack Bennett directed video is streaming now at metalblade.com/motorsister!

Motörhead's "Motörboat" is known for their amazing lineups, and it was only fitting that Motor Sister be part of the bill. The band will bring the songs of Mother Superior to the high seas for the first time! The cruise takes place September 28th through October 2nd and more info can be found at motorheadcruise.com.

Motor Sister's "Ride" debuted on the Billboard charts after its first week of release. The album cracked the top 10 with the #9 position on the Billboard New Artist (Heatseekers) chart. Additional chart numbers have been listed below!

#12 Debut @ Billboard Hard Music Albums

#40 Debut @ Billboard Rock Albums

#27 Debut @ Billboard Independent Albums

#163 Debut @ Billboard Top 200 Albums (current)

MOTOR SISTER is a group of musicians whose collective musical pedigrees speak for themselves. Mother Superior founder, guitarist, and vocalist Jim Wilson fronts the band, with Anthrax's Scott Ian on guitar, Pearl Aday on backing vocals, Joey Vera on bass, and John Tempesta on drums.

"All you really need to know about Ride is that it kicks a massive amount of ass" Revolver Magazine

"the retro rock and roll band that you didn't even know you were missing in your life until right now!" MetalInjection.net

"This is kick ass classic sounding hard rock! Blazing guitars, great vocals and songs! Everything I love most about hard rock music in one killer album." Eddie Trunk

Follow Motor Sister online:

https://www.facebook.com/motorsister

https://twitter.com/MotorSister

Follow the band members online:

https://twitter.com/scott_ian

https://twitter.com/pearladay

https://twitter.com/jimwilson45

https://twitter.com/joey_vera

https://www.facebook.com/JohnnyTempesta 

1982 Metal Fanzine THE HEADBANGER Issue #2 Now Available on iTunes and Amazon!

Issue #2 of the Legendary early ’80s fanzine The Headbanger

Now re-released as an ebook through Japanime Publishing

Bob Nalbandian, founder and publisher of the esteemed early '80s heavy metal music fanzine THE HEADBANGER, has just released issue #2 of the groundbreaking Xeroxed fanzine in ebook form through the Tokyo-based company Japanime Publishing. This is the second issue (out of 11 total issues) to be released as an ebook, the first issue, which was also originally released as a Xeroxed fanzine in 1982, was made available as an ebook earlier this year. Never before has the fanzine — which featured early interviews of local and international heavy metal bands, including the very first profiles of then-unsigned LA bands Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth — been available for mass distribution until now.

Bob Nalbandian founded THE HEADBANGER in early 1982 when he was just 17 years old, and released the inaugural issue in May of that year. The seminal fanzine featured articles and interviews that vividly captured the emerging heavy metal scene.

Nalbandian says, "(Japanime founder) Glenn Kardy and I decided to present the readers an ebook version of the fanzine in its all its original, raw glory — without any touchups or changes to it. I've scanned all the pages of the first issue as is, or as was! What you’re getting is a digitized version of the original mockup, complete with cutout pictures and logos, rub-off letters, and typewriter print! THE HEADBANGER was published long before the widespread use of home computers and desktop printing, so this is as old-school as it gets!"

This second installment of the ebook will include an all-new introduction from Nalbandian, along with the entire contents of THE HEADBANGER Issue #2 (original fanzine release in late October of 1982). The issue features cover story/live review of British metal legends Motorhead on their first US headlining tour playing the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles; a 1-page European metal report (featuring then, fresh new metal bands Accept, Trust, Mercyful Fate, Electric Sun, Silver Mountain, Bodine and many others); a live review of Scorpions, Sept. 1, 1982 show at the Long Beach Arena; a heavy metal news section called “Hot Tips”; and no-holds-barred commentary on “new” albums by Saxon, Raven, Rainbow, Riot and “heavy metal masters” Judas Priest.

Nalbandian states, “I originally sold THE HEADBANGER for a dollar per issue (and the first one, I gave away for free). By transforming them into ebooks, I feel I can still offer it at an ultra-low price and give readers the same experience as if they were reading the original fanzine with its wrinkled pages, typos, faded print, and atrocious spelling and grammatical errors! I can't think of a better way to expose readers to a time in history when heavy metal music truly was an underground phenomenon, and tape-trading and metal fanzines were a way of life."

Both Issues #1 and #2 of The Headbanger are currently available worldwide in the Apple iBookstore and the Amazon Kindle store. Here are direct links to the latest issue (#2) for customers in the United States.

Itunes:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-headbanger/id621352581?mt=11

Amazon: 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Headbanger-Issue-2-ebook/dp/B00C5NYYJS 

Christmas on Wikimetal

For those of you that haven't caught this monster metal podcast yet, now's the time.

This week's episode is unbelivable! A truly Heavy Metal Christmas special. 

Our metal brothers from Wikimetal dedicate the whole episode  to three legendary bands: Motörhead, Kiss and Iron Maiden! They talk about cool facts about the bands and ask for amazing sounds that you can't miss. 

The bands were chosen accordingly to the 3 amazing Christmas gifts Wikimetal will be offering: A poster signed by the one and only, Steve Harris from Iron Maiden; A collection of 4 action figures featuring Kiss; A Motörhead photo book that comes with a Vinyl, a Blu-Ray, a DVD and a double CD.

What other metalcast does that?

 Oh yeah one small detail. this puppy is from Brazil so if ya don't speak the language you are SOL on the discussion, but the the music is killer in any language.

Get your fill here or on the Cast Iron Ring