Metallica’s Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett remember Cliff Burton’s final show

Kirk Hammett and Lars Ulrich have spoken in-depth about Cliff Burton’s last show with Metallica before his untimely death.

Promoting their expansive box set reissue of ‘Master of Puppets’, which is out today, the guitarist and drummer were asked by Rolling Stone if it was emotional listening back to Cliff’s last ever gig at Solnahallen in Stockholm, Sweden on 26th September 1986 - one day before the bassist's death. 

A fan recording of the show features in the box set on cassette format, which also includes a digital download card.

Lars said of the gig: “Obviously, we're 31 years past (the show taking place). So you pause, you reflect, you think, you appreciate, you're humbled. I move so fast through a lot of the stuff that I never slow down long enough to reflect.

“And occasionally, when you sit with some of the stuff at 2 o'clock in the morning, you go, ‘Wow.’ When you sit there and listen to the last two songs or look at the pictures from the last show with him, it stops you in your tracks as you deal with it.”

Cliff, Kirk, Lars and James in 1986

Asked what they specifically remember about the show, Lars responded: “We'd finished playing all the Odeons in England, which are these old, 3,000-seat movie theatres and we got to Scandinavia where they were more like ice-hockey holes – smaller, colder, darker. It was a different vibe.

“We played the show in Stockholm, and it went incredibly well. I think it may have been a rare case where we actually played an additional song that wasn't on the set list, because the show was so good. That's not something we did a lot then or now. So, there was a good vibe.”

Kirk added: “It was significant because it was the first show where James played guitar again (James had broken his wrist in a skateboarding accident several months previous).

“He strapped on a guitar and was able to play the encore; I think it was "Blitzkrieg" or something. But I remember the five of us, including John Marshall (Kirk’s guitar tech and stand-in for James), being really stoked James was back and playing and looking like was gonna make a pretty healthy recovery.

“I distinctly remember that show being good, and the feeling when we got offstage was really great and positive and forward-looking. Like, ‘Great, James is back in and it won't be long 'til we're back to our old selves again.’

“It was that kind of mood after the show and then the accident happened and it literally felt like we were going from a hopeful sort of circumstance to one where we found ourselves in into a deep, black pit.”

 Cliff and James in 1984

Lars continued: “We did a lot of press that day, and we did a photo shoot for a Swedish magazine called OK, which was almost like a teenybopper magazine. We were sitting on the bus afterwards, talking about how cool it was, and Cliff and I were hanging out, having a beer. It's a little fuzzy now but it was a good day.”

“I remember right when we were about to leave in the bus, the fans started running towards us,” says Kirk. “Cliff said, ‘Look at them. They look like zombies!’ He was way into zombies. We were all just kind of laughing. Then we started playing cards. And we had a long, long drive. And everyone knows the rest of it.”

The Genius Of AC/DC’s Malcolm Young And The Lost Art Of Rock And Roll Rhythm Guitar

On Saturday, AC/DC guitarist and co-founder Malcolm Young died at age 64. For the past three years, he had been retired from the road after being diagnosed with dementia. In his absence, the venerable Australian band released its sixteenth album, 2016’s Rock Or Bust, and embarked on a world tour that was almost derailed by the departure of singer Brian Johnson, who was ordered by doctors to quit the road lest he go permanently deaf. AC/DC subsequently tapped Axl Rose as a replacement, and the tour went on to gross more than $220 million. In true AC/DC fashion, the show went on, even without most of AC/DC.

 

With his brother Angus, Malcolm was AC/DC’s general — his no-nonsense leadership kept the band steadfastly pointed in the same direction for nearly 40 years, away from passing trends and toward foundational, meat-and-potatoes rock and roll. If you love AC/DC and feel grateful that the band never delved into ’80s power-balladry, ’90s rap-rock, or ’00s dance music, then send a prayer of thanks to Malcolm. While Angus was AC/DC’s duck-walking, schoolboy outfit-clad mascot, Malcolm was the band’s gritty soul. (Or, in the parlance of AC/DC, the balls.)

Someone unfamiliar with AC/DC’s history might question Angus’ apparent coldness in carrying on without Malcolm — their nephew Stevie was tasked with playing his uncle’s parts on the Rock Or Busttour — and later Brian. But surely this was what Malcolm wanted. When the band’s original lead singer Bon Scott died tragically in 1980 at 33, Malcolm corralled Angus and finished off what became the most popular hard-rock album of all-time, Back In Black. The Young brothers mourned Scott, but they integrated that grief into their work. Not working simply was not an option for rock’s quintessential blue-collar band.

Was this a display of ruthlessness or just the sort of toughness and fortitude one must have in order to build and sustain a band as mighty as AC/DC? A bit of both, perhaps, though AC/DC never shied away from rock’s un-sentimental side in its music. “I tell you folks, it’s harder than it looks,” Scott mewls conspiratorially in “It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Want To Rock And Roll),” the ultimate “life on the road” anthem from the band’s 1976 debut, High Voltage. And yet Malcolm and Angus, for many years, did make sustaining the reliable, stubborn, reassuring sameness of AC/DC seem as easy as pounding a case of beer to Highway To Hell.

Looking back, the obvious question music historians will ask about AC/DC is: How did this band sell more than 200 million albums worldwide, and make hundreds of millions (if not billions) on the road? AC/DC is utterly anathema to any common-knowledge definition of pop music. AC/DC is not trendy. AC/DC is not cute. AC/DC is not pleasant or easy-listening. AC/DC never conformed to radio formats or made flashy music videos. AC/DC, in fact, always seemed to hold all of those things — trendiness, cuteness, pleasantness, conformity — in contempt.

Guns N’ Roses add 2018 European tour dates

After being confirmed for the UK's Download festival earlier this month, Guns N’ Roses announce extra 2018 European tour dates for next summer

Guns N’ Roses have announced live dates across Europe and Russia for next year on the latest leg of their Not In This Lifetime tour.

Axl Rose and co were recently confirmed as headliners for Download 2018 in the UK – and they’ve now added a further 14 shows which will kick off at Berlin’s Olympiastadion on June 3 and wrap up with a performance at Gothenburg’s Ullevi Stadium on July 21.

Among the new dates are appearances at the Download festivals in France and Spain.

Tickets for the new shows are now available along with VIP packages from the band’s website.

Earlier this year, GNR guitarist Richard Fortus said the band were “tighter and more focused than ever” since fellow guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan rejoined the lineup.

He said: “This tour has exceeded anything that I’ve previously been a part of. The band is tighter than it’s ever been and everyone is extremely focused. It’s been an honour to be a part of it and something that I will always be very proud of."

He added: “Slash and Duff have the same approach that I do. You play for the song, first and foremost – it’s about working together as a band.

“I don’t think this band has ever sounded better than it does right now. Axl has never sounded better and we’re tighter and more focused than ever.”

Earlier this week, Foo Fighters vocalist and guitarist Dave Grohl joined Guns N’ Roses onstage to perform Paradise City in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Find a list of Guns N’ Roses 2018 tour dates below.

Guns N’ Roses 2018 Not In This Lifetime tour dates

Jun 03: Berlin Olympiastadion, Germany
Jun 06: Odense Dyrskueplausen, Denmark
Jun 09: Donington Download Festival, UK
Jun 12: Gelsenkirchen Veltins-Arena, Germany
Jun 18: Paris Download Festival, France
Jun 25: Mannheim Maimarktgelane, Germany
Jun 26: Bordeaux Matmut Stadium, France
Jun 29: Madrid Download Festival, Spain
Jul 05: Nijmegen Goffertpark, Netherlands
Jul 07: Leipzig Festwiese, Germany
Jul 09: Chorzoq Stadion Slaski, Poland
Jul 13: Moscow Spartak Otkritie, Russia
Jul 16: Tallinn Song Festival Grounds, Estonia
Jul 19: Oslo Valle Hovin, Norway
Jul 21: Gothenburg Ullevi Stadium, Sweden

Scorpions have released the first single from their upcoming collection, Born to Touch Your Feelings: Best of Rock Ballads.

Scorpions have released the first single from their upcoming collection, Born to Touch Your Feelings: Best of Rock Ballads.

A newly recorded 2017 version of "Follow Your Heart" is one of three new recordings featured on the album, which will be released on Nov. 24. "Nowadays, ballads are the pinnacle of rock music,” said Scorpions frontman Klaus Meine. "If they’re well-written, they will go straight to the hearts of the fans."

"The meaning of a ballad always goes deep," Meine said. "It’s not surprising that a song like [1990's] ‘Wind of Change’ is received euphorically in the U.S. these days. The fans don’t connect the song to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the iron curtain but rather to their current situation, the desire for change and the hope for a world without nuclear threats and civil wars as well as the longing for peace.”

Guitarist Rudolf Schenker pointed out that the band's ballads have always been heavy influenced by popular as well as classical music. "Growing up, we didn’t really listen to Mozart or Haydn, but rather to Elvis, the Rolling Stones or Little Richard," he noted. "But still, the more serious kind of music is what we were influenced by starting at a very young age. There’s no denying that."

In addition to "Follow Your Heart," the career-spanning Born to Touch Your Feelings includes the new tracks "Always Be With You," written by Schenker after the birth of his youngest son, and guitarist Matthias Jabs' ode to the Los Angeles strip, "Melrose Avenue." There's also a new acoustic recording of "Send Me an Angel."

Last month, Scorpions had to cancel their remaining North American tour dates after Meine got laryngitis, but the band promised to return to the U.S. in the near future. You can pre-order the upcoming collection on the band's website now.

Ozzy Osbourne Announces Farewell World Tour

Ozzy Osbourne announced Monday that he will embark on his "farewell world tour" starting in 2018, a trek that will take the Black Sabbath singer around the world through 2020.

Even though the farewell tour will mark Osbourne's retirement as a touring artist, the heavy metal legend plans to continuing performing live at select shows following the global jaunt.

"People keep asking me when I’m retiring," Osbourne said in a statement. "This will be my final world tour, but I can’t say I won’t do some shows here and there."

The announcement of Osbourne's final world tour comes nine months after Black Sabbath bid farewell to fans with their own The End trek, which concluded in February in Birmingham, England.

Osbourne's farewell tour kicks off with a May 2018 leg that will pass through Mexico, Chile, Argentina and four dates in Brazil. Following a pair of early June dates in Russia, Osbourne sets off on a month-long European leg where the singer will perform at music festivals across the continent.

Details of the North American leg of Osbourne's final tour will be announced in 2018. For the tour, guitarist Zakk Wylde, bassist Blasko, drummer Tommy Clufetos and keyboardist Adam Wakeman will serve as Osbourne's backing band.

ICED EARTH To Tour Europe With FREEDOM CALL, METAPRISM

ICED EARTH will embark on a European tour in January with support from FREEDOM CALL and METAPRISM.

ICED EARTH guitarist Jon Schaffer stated: "Brothers and sisters, the time is drawing near! We're happy to announce FREEDOM CALL and METAPRISM as support for our upcoming January dates in Europe. Lots of 'Incorruptible' and lots of classics headed your way! Metal will flow!!"
The dates are as follows:
Jan. 09 - Saarbrücken, Germany - Garage
Jan. 10 - Berlin, Germany - Festsaal
Jan. 11 - Hannover, Germany - Capitol
Jan. 12 - Geiselwind, Germany - Musichall
Jan. 13 - Leipzig, Germany - Hause Auesee
Jan. 14 - Osnabrück, Germany - Hyde Park
Jan. 16 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle
Jan. 17 - Wiesbaden, Germany - Schlachthof
Jan. 18 - Bochum, Germany - Zeche
Jan. 19 - Regendsburg, Germany - Airport Obertraubling
Jan. 20 - Memmingen, Germany - Kaminwerk
Jan. 21 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
Jan. 23 - Thessaloniki, Greece - Principal Club *
Jan. 24 - Athens, Greece - Fuzz Club *
* ICED EARTH only

ICED EARTH's latest album, "Incorruptible", was released on June 16 via Century Media. The cover artwork for the disc (as well as additional illustrations to every song) was created by David Newman-Stump from Skeleton Crew Tattoo (pencil illustrations) and Roy Young (colors).
Regarding how "Incorruptible" compares to previous ICED EARTH albums, Schaffer told Metal Wani: "They're all kind of their own thing, but I have a very strong gut feeling about this, and so does everybody in the band, that this is one of the really special ones. So I put it up there with 'The Dark Saga' [1996], 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' [1998], 'Dystopia' [2011] — it's in that league of records — so it's really gonna be something special, man. I know musicians always say that, but there is something going on here, so it's cool. We're all very excited about it."
Asked if he is the leader of ICED EARTH and everyone else in the band takes cues from him or if they make joint decisions as a group about how to approach things, Schaffer said: "I am the leader of the band and [I've been] the driving force of the band since the very beginning. [But] that does not mean that I don't take in the input of the guys on anything, you know what I mean? But as far as starting a cycle… I'm the chief songwriter, so… What I did, for instance, on ['Incorruptible'], I talked to Stu [Block, ICED EARTH singer], and said, 'Hey, you've gotta give me some lyrical themes of where you wanna go, titles, subject matter, whatever,' because it's my job to create the soundscape for that. And I knew where I was gonna go with the direction of the songs I was gonna write lyrically. And so he sent me some titles, and then whatever resonates with me, I've gotta be inspired by it in order to create that landscape that really is sort of like the soundtrack of a movie — it's very, very important. And then the other guys will send me riff ideas, and if it's fitting in and if it's a cool part… Luke [Appleton, bass] wrote the majority of a song called 'Defiance' on this record. So it depends on the song and what the parts are doing, if they're inspiring me and I run with it and go somewhere else or whatever — it can happen in all different ways — but definitely it starts here and I drive it the whole way through."
ICED EARTH took a break from touring in 2015, primarily due to Schaffer's second cervical fusion surgery.