This is an excerpt from the September 2013 issue of Guitar World magazine. For the rest of this story, plus a Tosin Abasi poster and features on Tosin Abasi, Misha Mansoor, Ben Weinman, Metallica's Kirk Hammett (at Orion), Jason Newsted, a seven- and eight-string buyer's guide and more, check out the September 2013 issue at the Guitar World Online Store.
After nearly breaking up, Asking Alexandria return bolder and more guitar driven than ever. Ben Bruce and Cameron Liddell talk about the making of their latest album, From Death to Destiny.
In the crudest possible way, one that veers dangerously close to Spinal Tap territory, the cover art for Asking Alexandria’s new album, From Death to Destiny, illustrates the band members’ changed priorities since they started working on the disc.
In the image, a naked woman kneels inside a vending machine, legs parted, lips pouting and hands pressed against the glass. Standing to the left of the machine, singer Danny Worsnop lets a handful of coins drop to the ground as he heads for an open door that leads to a brightly lit arena packed with fans [Check out the photo gallery below to see the album cover].
“It’s symbolic of everything we went through as a band over the past couple years,” explains guitarist and songwriter Ben Bruce. “We fell prey to every rock and roll cliché—alcohol, drugs, girls. We nearly broke up. All this negative shit had the power to potentially destroy the band. But we addressed all that and decided to focus primarily on our music and not let our vices control us anymore. The whole album’s about not giving into temptation and moving on to bigger and better things.”
From Death to Destiny is both a natural progression and a major musical development for Asking Alexandria. The guitar parts are more multifaceted than those on its predecessor, 2011’s Reckless & Relentless, and there is far more separation between the abrasive riffs and the fluid melodies.
Breaking with their “no solos” formula, there are plenty of strong, bluesy leads, and Bruce plays them with confidence and agility. The production is more expansive, featuring actual strings instead of MIDI samples, a live choir and caustic industrial embellishments from producer Logan Mader (ex–Machine Head) instead of dubstep electro-programming. In addition, there are far fewer midsong percussive breakdowns, an element that once helped define the band.
“I concentrated intently on the songwriting and, in particular, on the structure of the rhythms,” Bruce explains, who shares guitar duties in the band with Cameron Liddell. “I hardly relied on heavy open rhythm parts at all because that gets boring and I wanted to explore other ways to transition from one part of a song to another.”
Considering Asking Alexandria’s reputation for imbibing, it’s surprising that Bruce wrote nearly all of From Death to Destiny while the band was on tour from November 2011 until the end of 2012. Although one of the group’s buses was, indeed, a party vehicle, the other was converted into a mobile studio, complete with a drum kit, a vocal booth, practice amps, the band’s custom Ibanez guitars, a mixing board and a computer with Pro Tools.
“James [Cassells, drums] and I stayed on the studio bus, so we didn’t have any distractions,” Bruce explains. “We would crack open a bottle of wine or some beers and sit in the back on our own and jam out for hours and hours. Then we brought what we did to the other guys to see what they thought, and we progressed from there. We did that every day.”
In early 2012, Asking Alexandria traveled to producer Joey Sturgis’ studio in Connersville, Indiana, to start recording. That’s when the problems began. Although Bruce and Cassells were committed to recording the album on schedule, Worsnop was in no position to create anything meaningful. Caught in a whirlpool of alcohol and cocaine abuse, the singer was belligerent, sloppy and unreliable and often failed to show up at the studio to record his vocals. By the time Asking Alexandria finished From Death to Destiny, they had been in and out of four vocal studios, including NRG in Los Angeles, where they waited for days for Worsnop, who never showed, then flew home in a huff.
“The album was finished, musically, before we went on the Mayhem tour in the summer of 2012,” Bruce reveals. “That’s how long it took for us to get Danny to finish the vocals. We could have potentially released this album months and months ago, but Danny had to go through some shit to get things off his chest. To be honest, he was a huge problem, completely off the rails. It was a real struggle and a real nightmare, which led to a lot of stress, struggles and fights.”
GUITAR WORLD: It’s next to impossible for most bands to write on the road, yet Asking Alexandria, one of the self-proclaimed hardest partying bands, composed a full album on, of all places, a tour bus. Have you mellowed out or become more professional over the years?
BEN BRUCE Speaking for myself and James, we’ve become much more professional. When we sat down to write Reckless & Relentless, we were so wankered, so hammered, it was unbelievable. Halfway through the process, we actually realized, Oh shit, we should probably stop drinking and concentrate on our record.
So we stopped drinking for a few days and we couldn’t get anything done. Nothing came out, no creativity. So we got wankered again, and that’s how we wrote the songs. Whereas with this album, we just chilled. There was no partying involved. The songs came straight from the heart. And we had the privacy to do that.
CAMERON LIDDELL Ben likes to be alone when he works. He’s the creative brain of the band. So we let him do his thing. [Producer] David Bendeth was out with us on the road for a few days last year, and he and Ben worked off each other really well. They came up with great ideas together and were really productive. But I just let him do his thing, and he shows me the parts later.
Today, GuitarWorld.com presents the exclusive premiere of Revocation's new, self-titled album.
You can check out the entire album — which will be released August 6 through Relapse Records — below.
On Revocation, the band's fourth full-length release, the modern-metal quartet display an unprecedented level of musicianship, shredding their way through 10 top-notch tracks. The album combines all of the band's trademark elements — and then cranks them up to 11.
The album is now available for pre-order in exclusive bundle packages at the Relapse Records Online Store. The album will be available in a deluxe CD, standard CD, 2xLP and digital formats. The deluxe CD and LP contain an exclusive bonus track, a cover of Metallica's “Dyer’s Eve." The album can be pre-ordered on iTunes.
For more about Revocation, visit the band's Facebook page. Be sure to check out all their current Summer Slaughter tour dates below the Soundcloud player!
Revocation 2013 Summer Slaughter Tour Dates
July 30 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade
July 31 Knoxville, TN Old City Courtyard
Aug 01 Myrtle Beach, SC House of Blues
Aug 02 Silver Spring, MD The Fillmore
Aug 03 Worcester, MA The Palladium
Aug 04 Philadelphia, PA The Trocadero
Aug 07 New York, NY Best Buy Theater
Aug 08 Toronto, ON The Sound Academy
Aug 09 Montreal, QC Heavy MTL
Aug 10 Albany NY Upstate Concert Hall
Aug 11 Detroit MI Majestic Theatre
Aug 12 Chicago IL House of Blues
Aug 13 Milwaukee, WI The Rave
Aug 14 Minneapolis, MN Station 4
Aug 16 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre
Aug 17 Salt Lake City, UT The Complex
Aug 18 Boise, ID The Venue
Aug 19 Seattle, WA Showbox SODO
Aug 20 Portland, OR Roseland Ballroom
Aug 21 Richland, WA Ray's Golden Lion
Aug 22 Spokane, WA The Center
Aug 23 Billings, MT Railyard
Aug 24 Cheyenne, WY Ernie November Record Store
Aug 25 Des Moines, IA Vaudeville Mews
Aug 26 Columbus, OH Ace of Cups
As expected, Metallica have announced there will be a soundtrack album for their upcoming 3D film release, Metallica Through The Never.
According to an official release on the band's Facebook page, the soundtrack album will be released digitally and as a 2CD set on September 24, with vinyl versions (including a deluxe 45-rpm set) expected later this fall.
The album, which will be released on the band's own label, Blackened Recordings, includes 15 tracks recorded live in Edmonton and Vancouver, Canada, in August 2012 while Metallica were filming the performance footage in the film. Video from these performances is featured in the movie, which stars Dane DeHann as a roadie who sets out to collect something for the band but ends up getting caught in a police riot.
After debuting in 3D at IMAX theaters in September, the movie will open in more — and more traditional — theaters October 4. Check out a trailer below.
Metallica Through the Never (Music From the Motion Picture) Track List
‘The Ecstasy of Gold’ ‘Creeping Death’ ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ ‘Fuel’ ‘Ride the Lightning’ ‘One’ ‘The Memory Remains’ ‘Wherever I May Roam’ ‘Cyanide’ ‘… And Justice for All’ ‘Master of Puppets’ ‘Battery’ ‘Nothing Else Matters’ ‘Enter Sandman’ ‘Hit the Lights’ ‘Orion’
Last week, the band landed atop Billboard.com's "Hot Tours" list of top-grossing tours, with $19 million in ticket sales from 14 performances in 13 cities. The shows were attended by 259,298 fans, including a sellout crowd of 55,531 at Friends Arena in Sweden. Also included was a sold-out show May 29 at Lisbon's Pavilhão Atlântico.
Universal Music Enterprises will release a deluxe, remastered version of Nirvana's final album, In Utero, on September 24.
The release is timed to commemorate the landmark album's 20th anniversary.
From Universal Music Enterprises:
To say that Nirvana's third and ultimately final studio album, In Utero was 1993's most polarizing record would be the understatement of a decade. The unadorned sonic rawness of Steve Albini's recording laid bare every primal nuance of the most confrontational yet vulnerable material Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl would ever record.
And with its 1991 predecessor Nevermind having sold 30 million copies, returning honest rock and roll to the top of the pop charts, In Utero was the first record Nirvana would make with any expectations from the public. So from the opening quasi-shamble melodics of "Serve The Servants" through the bittersweet closing strains of "All Apologies,"In Utero was the sound of the most incredible yet conflicted rock band of the era at the peak of its powers coming to terms with a generational spokes-band mantle they'd never seen coming—and ultimately surmounting these struggles to make the record they needed to make.
UME will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the unwitting swansong of the single most influential artist of the 1990s with a multi-format release that spreads more than 70 remastered, remixed, rare, unreleased and live recordings over configurations ranging from a 3CD/1DVD Super Deluxe Edition to a standard digital/CD remaster of the original album.
Material exclusive to the various versions of the In Utero 20th Anniversary reissue will include never-before-heard demos, B-sides, compilation tracks and live material featuring the final touring lineup of Cobain, Novoselic, Grohl and Pat Smear, including the long-awaited release of the complete "Live and Loud" show from Seattle's Pier 48 on December 13, 1993. A standalone single-disc DVD of the complete "Live And Loud" show along with several never-before-released bonus performances also will be released September 24.
Richie Sambora has posted a new song, "Come Back as Me," which you can check out via the YouTube player below.
The song, which the longtime Bon Jovi guitarist unveiled Sunday, July 28, features a pounding rhythm and some nice guitar work.
“What do you want me to say, I gave you everything I could give. But everything just wasn't enough, so I just let live and live,” sings Sambora.
As Asbury Park Press music writer Chris Jordan points out, Sambora was conspicuously not with his Bon Jovi bandmates at the band's July 25 and 27 homecoming dates at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
We don't know if the song is the precursor to an upcoming solo album; there's actually very little information available at this point — but we'll keep you updated!
The guys over at Electro-Harmonix have released a new gear-related video.
The clip, which you can check out below, is a demo of the company's new 8 Step Program Analog Expression/CV Sequencer.
From EHX:
"The 8 Step Program plugs into the expression pedal or CV input of other effect pedals and synthesizers, delivering rhythmic sequencer control. It can turn an ordinary auto-wah into a step filter, a tremolo into a syncopated pulse effect and a pitch-shifter into an arpeggiator."
In the video, "JJ Likes Guitar" shows what the 8 Step Program can do with the Stereo Talking Machine Vocal Formant Filter and the Ring Thing Single Sideband Modulator.
Sony Music Entertainment will release the Clash's Sound System, a deluxe collection of the band’s recorded works — remastered and packaged together for the first time — September 10.
The box set, which comes in boombox packaging designed by the Clash's Paul Simonon, contains the band’s five studio albums (across eight CDs), all remastered by the Clash with engineer Tim Young.
Other features include an extra three discs featuring demos, non-album singles, rarities and B-sides; a DVD with previously unseen footage shot by both Julien Temple and Don Letts; original promo videos and live footage; an owner’s manual booklet; reprints of the band’s original Armagideon Times fanzine and a new edition of Armagideon Times curated and designed by Simonon; and merchandise including dog tags, badges, stickers and an exclusive Clash poster.
01. The Clash
02. Give 'Em Enough Rope (1 CD)
03. London Calling (double album, 2 CDs)
04. Sandinista! (triple album, 3 CDs)
05. Combat Rock (1 CD)
Sound System Extra CDs tracklist:
Disc One
01. White Riot (Single version)
02. 1977 (B-side)
03. Listen (Capital Radio EP) / Interviews (Capital Radio EP)
04. Capital Radio (Capital Radio EP)
05. London’s Burning (Live B-side Remote Control)
06. Complete Control (Single version)
07. City Of The Dead (B-side)
08. Clash City Rockers (Original single version)
09. Jail Guitar Doors (B-side)
10. White Man In Hammersmith Palais (A-side)
11. The Prisoner (B-side)
12. 1-2 Crush On You (B-side Tommy Gun)
13. Time Is Tight (Black Market Clash)
14. Pressure Drop (B-side English Civil War)
15. I Fought The Law (Cost Of Living EP)
16. Groovy Times (Cost Of Living EP)
17. Gates Of The West (Cost Of Living EP)
18. Capital Radio (Cost Of Living EP)
19. Armagideon Time
20. Bankrobber (A-side)
21. Rockers Galore On A UK Tour (B-side)
Disc Two
01. Magnificent Dance (12”) 5:36 (available on Singles box set)
02. Midnight To Stevens (Outtake)
03. Radio One (B-side Hitsville UK)
04. Stop The World (B-side The Call Up)
05. The Cool Out (US 12” B-side of The Call Up)
06. This Is Radio Clash (A-side)
07. This Is Radio Clash (B-side 7” – different lyrics)
08. First Night Back In London (B-side Know Your Rights)
09. Rock The Casbah (Bob Clearmountain 12” mix) – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
10. Long Time Jerk (B-side Rock The Casbah)
11. The Beautiful People Are Ugly Too (Outtake) – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
12. Idle In Kangaroo Court (Outtake listed as Kill Time) – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
13. Ghetto Defendant (Extended version - unedited) – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
14. Cool Confusion (B-side Should I Stay Or Should I Go 7”)
15. Sean Flynn (Extended ‘Marcus Music’ version) – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
16. Straight To Hell (Extended unedited version from Clash On Broadway) – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
Disc Three Extracts from The Clash’s first ever recording session at Beaconsfield Film School 1976. Recorded by Julien Temple
01. I’m So Bored With The USA
02. London’s Burning – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
03. White Riot
04. 1977 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
Polydor Demos - The Clash’s second recording session November 1976
Produced by Guy Stevens
05. Janie Jones
06. Career Opportunities
07. London’s Burning – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
08. 1977 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
09. White Riot – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
Live at The Lyceum, London 28th December 1978
10. City Of The Dead
11. Jail Guitar Doors – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
12. English Civil War
13. Stay Free – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
14. Cheapstakes – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
15. I Fought The Law
Bonus DVD
Julien Temple Archive - 6:20
White Riot Interview - 7:10
Promo and interviews with Tony Parsons
1977 1:87
White Riot 1:48
London’s Burning 2:05
Sussex University 1977
I’m So Bored With The USA 2:14 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
Hate & War 1:94 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
Career Opportunities 1:42 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
Remote Control 2:73 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
Don Letts Super 8 Medley 11:40
White Riot 1:52
Janie Jones 1:73
City of the Dead 2:04
Clash City Rockers 2:15
White Man in Hammersmith Palais 2:53
1977 1:41
Clash On Broadway - 19:50
London Calling
This Is Radio Clash
The Magnificent Seven
Guns Of Brixton
Safe European Home
Promo Videos
Tommy Gun 3:00
London Calling 3:20
Bankrobber 4:00
Clampdown (Live) 5:00
Train In Vain (Live) 2:10
The Call Up 3:10
Rock The Casbah 3:20
Should I Stay Or Should I Go (Live at Shea Stadium) 2:50
Career Opportunities (Live at Shea Stadium) 3:00
The Clash - The Clash - Hits Back
Released simultaneously, The Clash - Hits Back features 32 of the band’s iconic tracks across a 2-CD set. The tracklist is sequenced from the band’s legendary Brixton Fairdeal show in 1982.
The Clash - Hits Back contains the best studio recordings of the full set, plus 8 additional iconic tracks. It comes with the original setlist, handwritten by Joe Strummer which he usually taped to the back of his Telecaster before each gig.
“Every show was different. Joe would spend a lot of time composing the running order, considering dynamics, emotional impact and the key the songs were in. This record is based on Joe’s setlist from The Casbah Club UK Tour, Brixton Fairdeal, 10th July 1982”. Mick, Paul & Topper.
The Clash - Hits Back will also be released as a colored vinyl triple-LP set on October 15. This special package will only be available at indie retailers.
Disc 1
01. London Calling
02. Safe European Home
03. Know Your Rights
04. (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais
05. Janie Jones
06. The Guns of Brixton
07. Train in Vain
08. Bankrobber
09. Wrong 'Em Boyo
10. The Magnificent Seven
11. Police On My Back
12. Rock The Casbah
13. Career Opportunities
14. Police & Thieves
15. Somebody Got Murdered
16. Brand New Cadillac
17. Clampdown
Disc 2 (Joe Strummer's setlist continued)
01. Ghetto Defendant
02. Armigideon Time
03. Stay Free
04. I Fought The Law
05. Straight To Hell
06. Should I Stay Or Should I Go?
07. Garageland
Additional Tracks:
08. White Riot
09. Complete Control
10. Clash City Rockers
11. Tommy Gun
12. English Civil War
13. The Call Up
14. Hitsville UK
15. This Is The Radio Clash
The Clash 5 Album Studio Set
The Clash's 5 Album Studio Set includes The Clash, Give 'Em Enough Rope, London Calling, Sandinista! and Combat Rock. The titles will be available on CD (an 8-CD set) or digital download.
The Clash on 180 Gram vinyl
On October 15, all five of the band's classic albums will be released on vinyl, with The Clash, Give 'Em Enough Rope and Combat Rock as single LPs, London Calling as a double LP, and Sandinista! as a triple-LP set. The Clash – Hits Back will also arrive as a triple-LP set on colored vinyl sold exclusively at indie retailers.
Before Black Sabbath's show at New Jersey's PNC Bank Arts Center this past weekend, Ozzy Osbourne chewed the fat with the New York Daily News.
The topic? Why original Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward isn't filling the stool now occupied by touring drummer Tommy Clufetos.
“I don’t think he could have done the gig, to be honest. He’s incredibly overweight," Osbourne said. "A drummer has to be in shape. He’s already had two heart attacks. I don’t want to be responsible for his life.”
According to MetalInsider.net, Osbourne had some negative opinions about Ward's performance at Sabbath's initial rehearsals for 13, the band's new album. "We looked at Bill, and he couldn’t remember what the fuck we were doing. He didn’t come clean and say, ‘I can’t cut this gig, but can we work something out, guys, where I’ll come on but with another drummer backing me up?’ Or, ‘I’ll come and play a few songs.’ That would have been cool."
In another interview last month, Ward said, "I was offered a contact and I couldn’t sign it. I would never, ever show up for a commitment that I could not do physically. It was one of the toughest decisions that I ever had to make. Because I absolutely and without question wanted to play."
"I’m the drummer in Black Sabbath so I want to do the entire show," he added. "I play all or nothing."
Ward left Sabbath in 1980 to get help with his drinking and played with them on and off throughout the next two decades. He was replaced in 1997 (He said he found out by watching MTV). The band eventually let him back in — until they called it quits in 2005.
Ward and the band have been at odds since right after Sabbath announced they were reforming in late 2011; he wrote a 1,500-word letter about why he wouldn't participate in the reunion, and the band responded with a 45-word reply:
"We have decided not to make any detailed comment on Bill's latest statement. There are two sides to every story. We have been working hard at rehearsals making excellent progress after Tony's treatments and we have engaged a substitute drummer for the forthcoming shows. See you at Download."
Last month, Metallica surprised fans at the San Diego Comic-Con with a concert at the Spreckels Theatre to promote their upcoming 3D movie, Through the Never.
Now the band are selling a download of the secret Spreckels show at livemetallica.com.
Fans can buy individual tracks for 99 cents each or get the entire 15-song live set for $7.99 (MP3 format).
The set includes “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “Ride the Lightning,” “Seek and Destroy,” “Master of Puppets,” “One” and more. The band also recently released a lengthy video of the guys rehearsing and picking the set list for the Spreckels show — and performing “Seek and Destroy.” You can check out the video below.
Through the Never will open at IMAX theaters across North America for one week beginning September 27. After its IMAX run, it will move to regular theaters starting October 4.
Introducing the Official Guitar Aficionado Wine Club, which offers the perfect blend of wine and music. Each wine is created as a reflection and interpretation of the timeless music itself, inspired by our legendary artists and the rock and roll mythology behind their classic albums.
Included with initial Wine Club membership is a complimentary 12 issue subscription to Guitar Aficionado's and Guitar World's sister publication, Guitar Player ($14.99 value) and a BONUS issue of Guitar Aficionado. US residents, one per household.
Four times a year, you’ll receive three bottles from one of our award-winning rock-inspired wines for $39.95 per shipment, plus shipping and handling. Just like a four-chord guitar riff: It’s that simple. No hidden fees, cancel anytime.
It was the late 1980s, and I was a young impressionable aspiring guitar player.
Unlike many of my metal and punk peers, I did not have a “cool” older brother or sister to expose me to underground music. I would sit with my guitar and try and play along to my sister’s Jack Wagner record and my dad’s random collection of Broadway musicals searching for something inspiring.
The guitar ended up back in the closet within minutes. It was the '90s that really got me into music and would eventually help form my musical identity. It wasn’t long before Guns N' Roses were blasting through my bedroom at full volume. Sure, I had heard Bon Jovi and Poison, but this was edgy.
I immediately craved more, and the Seattle music scene was there to give it to me. Grunge had become a household name, and attached to every popular grunge band was a handful of influences that would lead me down a rabbit hole of musical wonderment.
Of all the amazing music that was hitting me during this time, Soundgarden was, without a doubt, the band that influenced me the most in terms of the way I think about and write music.
Jump ahead 10 years to 2005. Dillinger was playing a small club in Seattle named Neumos. I’m sitting backstage pacing around trying to calm my nerves, as I do, and I look up — and Kim Thayil is staring down at me.
“Hey man, you're you,” I said. Before a word came out of his mouth, I could tell he was one of the most humble dudes I would ever meet in this crude business. With a warm smile, he told me he had heard good things about us and was looking forward to seeing us play. Now I was really nervous.
After the show, I walked backstage covered in sweat and blood, completely exhausted. Kim is standing, staring at me and smiling from ear to ear. He told me it was one of the greatest shows he'd ever seen and that he had no idea how I could physically do what I do. I immediately was rejuvenated. It was one of those moments where I knew I was doing something right. It didn’t matter if I ever made money or whether people liked my music or not. One of my biggest influences was now a fan.
Recently, Kim and I have become reacquainted and even started collaborating on a song. It’s been an amazing experience, and getting to know him better as a person has been really rewarding. Kim is one of the weirdest, interestingly sarcastic and eccentric people I've ever met. And that's saying a lot. I've met a lot of fucking people on my journey.
BEN WEINMAN: Your parents are from India. I’ve always loved Indian culture and music (I even married someone named Adishakti Kaur). How has your background and upbringing influenced what you do musically? My parents really didn’t listen to anything but show tunes and watch old musicals, so I have no idea how I’m even a straight man, let alone an experimental metal guitar player.
KIM THAYIL: I'm not sure that my parents being from India had an overt influence on me, because they were raised in a fairly Western culture, India having been part of the British Empire and all. My folks met in church choir and immigrated, as people did in the '50s and early '60s, with a church sponsorship. My mom was a classically trained pianist from a very young age and graduated from the Royal Academy of London at 18.
I didn't benefit from her education, because my folks were struggling students. My mom never taught me a note, but she helped provide an environment that was pro-music. They were always singing around the house. However, like your folks, they were enamored with musicals and variety shows, such as Lawrence Welk. The cool thing was my parents were involved with a congregation that liked the folk music of the progressive, educated proto-yuppies of the '60s. This included Pete Seeger, Johnny Cash and other gospel-related artists who ventured into the pop market during the '60s and '70s.
Being raised in Chicago had a strong influence on me. My neighbors and friends as a kid listened to Motown and R&B, as did my folks, because of the gospel connection, along with the proximal fraternity of their peers and friends. Strangely, I was drawn to radio songs in my dad's car that evoked emotional responses that left my parents curious and dumfounded.
I eventually visited India when I was 8, and that's where I first heard Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band! My older cousins had that, as well as other Beatles albums! I would play "Day Tripper" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" over and over to pass the time in a place that didn't have baseball or cartoons. My big cousin, Jai Boy, had a guitar, and he let me fuck around with it when he wasn't around. All my family sang gospel and folk. Indian music, however, was present as an ambient or sentimental reference. I, of course, tripped out on this as being source material for the Beatles!
So, I guess musicality was present in my family, but Indian music culture came via Western pop, while I, an American, was visiting India. Weird!
The fact that we are straight men likely has nothing to do with our unfortunate musical upbringing, nor our birth, although these are both factors in what many believe is a sexual-identity question related to our biology. We rock, and that could be due to our biology, but not necessarily our genetics, and if our genetics, not necessarily our birth. People confuse biological determinism with genetic propensity. We are who we come to be, and evidence shows little to contradict that. We also have will and volition, but that won't change the fact that we are rockers, even if we weren't born that way.
WEINMAN: How have accolades such as being named one of Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitar Players and winning multiple Grammy awards affected your outlook? When you were starting out, did you ever imagine how far your music and playing would take you?
THAYIL: I never thought I would have this success, but once I knew this might be something I would pursue, I thought I could achieve success. I never thought it was beyond me and always thought it would be attainable as long as I persevered and enjoyed the work and the camaraderie of my partners.
The accolades ultimately are flattering, but my parents value these achievements more than I can. I do value and appreciate this recognition, but on a very important and political level, this is not what I believe rock is about. It's not Franky and Annette, or Vegas, or MTV. It should be ultimately transgressive and subversive. It also is not about merely appeasing the fans. We have a responsibility to bring them along, if they wish, on our exploratory musings and not to patronize them.
This is an issue with many musicians I know who also feel there is a responsibility to do more than merely amuse or entertain. We don't have to presume we are artists in any academic sense, we just have to not give them what they may want, but provide the opportunity to want something other. Without this view of what we do, we would not have had the Ramones, Velvet Underground, David Bowie, Black Sabbath, Nirvana, MC5, Metallica, Public Enemy, Radiohead, Husker Du, Pink Floyd or countless others.
How about a Hall of Fame for achievement in popular music sales? Now that would be something both Captain Beefheart and Deep Purple could be proud of!
WEINMAN: We have had many conversations about music and your band, but I don’t think I've ever expressed how interesting it is, as a fan, to hear your stories about the Seattle music scene. I have to say maybe the coolest thing I’ve gotten from our conversations is the impression that all you guys are really positive about each other. Hearing you speak about Cornell and the other guys as brothers after all these years is really touching.
And the comradery you've managed to maintain with the Pearl Jam camp throughout the years is unbelievable. What advice do you have for younger bands that are coming up in a technological age where most communication and collaboration is through social media and not as influenced by the local subcultures we all came up in?
THAYIL: I'm sure young musicians will find a way to establish a sense of community and shared identity that will ultimately define their subculture(s). Regionalism might be dead, and that might be a good thing. Transcultural sharing is a benefit to decentralizing social and artistic communities. Rather than colluding, artists can be challenged by other input culturally. This should spur growth creatively, socially and ultimately economically. Until then, we still have to deal with parental-approved weenie pop-rock ditties.
WEINMAN: What was life like for you, creatively and personally, after Soundgarden called it quits in the mid-'90s? I know you collaborated with a bunch of people during that time, including one of my favorite guys, Jello Biafra.
THAYIL: After Soundgarden, I felt some relief from having to maintain the expectations our band and its success had placed upon itself. I felt free to do whatever — and nothing. I knew the kind of material I had might suffer without the shared vision of Matt, Chris and Ben, and I had no interest in doing a second-rate Soundgarden. After the band tucked it in, the record label was sold, and most of the staff was fired. Our management was the next to downsize, and it became a PO box + Vm.
This was all fine with me. publishing was not necessary to my enjoying playing or writing. Life without managers, lawyers, salesman and accountants in my music was liberating for me. Living without popular culture and its commodification was an important intellectual and artistic ass wiping! I wanted to move on and do whatever I thought was fun. I did not want to work from the ground up with a another bunch of guys after throwing all my volume into Soundgarden. However, I was always designing that ideal in the back of my mind.
WEINMAN: Soundgarden was one of the first bands to introduce me to odd time signatures and highly dissonant guitar chords (which are largely what I’m associated with as a player). Which bands were you guys listening to while forming your sound during the early years?
THAYIL: In our early years, Chris, Hiro and I listened to many different bands and genres individually. Hiro originally played mandolin before learning bass. He liked a lot of folk and art rock before turning on to new wave and punk. Chris liked everything from Joe Jackson to Rush. I had liked metal and art rock before the new wave/punk explosion. By the time Soundgarden formed, we had all been in various bands, mostly punk rock bands for Hiro and me. Chris and I briefly played in a band that did Hendrix, Stones and Doors covers. (Yikes!)
As a band, Soundgarden listened to a lot of music before and after our practices/jams while drinking beer and discussing the merits of the artists and their material. Bands we collectively loved included dark, melancholic and angular British bands from the late '70s and early '80s such as Joy Division, Bauhaus, Killing Joke, Gang of Four, Wire, PIL and Young Marble Giants. These bands tended to build songs around the bass. We were equally enthralled with American progressive post-hardcore bands from SST, Touch & Go and Homestead records like the Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Big Boys, Butthole Surfers, Sonic Youth, Husker Du and, of course, Black Flag. All these bands were very guitar-centric!
WEINMAN: So I see you've been sticking with the Mesa Boogie stuff all these years. I also use Mesa. I run two Mark V heads, which I love. What are you playing through these days?
THAYIL The guitar signal is split (via a Radial JX44) into one Mesa Tremoverb 2x12 combo and one Mesa Electradyne 90w head, which then runs into two 4x12 cabinets.
Both amps are active all the time. The Tremoverb has EL34 tubes installed and has a driven, midrange-focused sound. The Electradyne runs on 6L6 tubes and compliments the Tremoverb with more of a full-range (more highs and lows) sound. The Tremoverb stays on the Modern High Gain channel all the time and is usually fairly compressed and driven. The Electradyne alternates between the Lo- and Hi-gain channels as needed. Additional gain and drive comes from boost and distortion pedals or right-hand dynamics. Between the two amps, the full frequency spectrum and dynamic range are covered.
Also, the Electradyne's two 4x12 cabinets are set up on either side of the Tremoverb combo — which spreads the sound across the width of the stage and provide lots of potential pockets for interesting feedback (on a good day...).
WEINMAN: We have talked at length about the difference between bands using your music as inspiration (like the Dillinger Escape Plan) and bands who have just tried to sound like Soundgarden. Why do you think all these bands are just horrible? Do they just not realize the true spirit of what you guys do?
THAYIL: I'm very proud of the bands I like and listen to that have cited Soundgarden as an inspiration. I'm a bit embarrassed by those who attempt to imitate us. The forward-thinking bands I listen to don't sound anything like us, but are willing to work with odd timings, tunings, noise, feedback, harmonics, etc., within the context of the song. The imitators sound like bad impressionists who grasp onto the most pedestrian and commercial aspects of what we do without any of the risk. Of course, Soundgarden is a bit more difficult to imitate than, say, Nirvana, Alice in Chains or Pearl Jam.
Nirvana has been victimized by many grave robbers over the years. They were ultimately the more successful and commercial band whose accessibility provided what may have appeared to be a lucrative opportunity for imitators. I won't mention any of these names, but I would like to reference some those bands I like who have tipped their hat our way: Sunn0))), Boris, Storm of Light, Om, High on Fire, Oneida, Eagle Twin, Lichens, Mastodon, Neurosis, Ghost and, of course, the Dillinger Escape Plan!
For more about Ben Weinman, who forms Guitar World's ultimate Prog Roundtable with Animals As Leaders' Tosin Abasi and Periphery's Misha Mansoor, plus a Tosin Abasi poster and features on Metallica's Kirk Hammett, a seven- and eight-string buyer's guide and more, check out the September 2013 issue at the Guitar World Online Store.
Mark Knopfler has announced that his new studio album, Privateering, will be released September 10 through UMG’s Verve Records.
Privateering will be Knopfler’s first double album in his 35-year recording career.
“I chose to make a double album this time just because of the sheer volume of material," Knopfler said. "I didn’t want to separate songs into genres and I didn't want to leave too many songs on the shelf. I just wanted it to be a reflection of the fantastic sessions we had.
"With a great bunch of players, it’s the same as a great group of actors reading a script from the page, the thing can come alive in ways it just never has before. This is the band I have been working toward my whole life.”
Recorded at Knopfler’s British Grove Studios in West London, Privateering is a collection of 20 tough tales of real people living hard lives in difficult times. The album features Guy Fletcher (keyboards), Richard Bennett (guitar), Jim Cox (piano), Glenn Worf (bass), Mike McGoldrick (whistle and flute), John McCusker (fiddle) and Ian Thomas (drums).
Guests include Paul Franklin (pedal steel guitar), Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds (harmonica), Tim O’Brien (mandolin) and singer Ruth Moody of the The Wailin’ Jennys.
“The older I get, the more I want to write,” Knopfler said. “I’m enjoying the process more than ever, writing, recording and playing live, I enjoy all of it. I’m almost tripping over songs.”
He's the lead guitarist for one of the world's best-selling classic rock acts of all time. But what Guitar World readers really want to know is ...
I love your tone on the early Foreigner material. What was your setup on songs like “Feels Like the First Time” and “Hot Blooded”? — Shannon Decker
My gear then actually wasn’t too far away from what it is now. My guitar was a ’57 Les Paul Custom. It was originally a three-pickup, and I took out the middle one. And it had switches that would take the signal straight from the pickup to the amp, bypassing the volume and tone control. So the guitar was always at full-on 10.
That gave me a little bit of an edgier tone for solo work, because when the signal goes through the controls it loses a little bit. For amps, I used 100-watt Marshalls, which is what I still use today. And back then I had Hiwatt cabinets with Fane speakers, which was a good combination.
You produced Van Halen’s 5150. What was that experience like? — Patrick Gottheil
The idea for that came through Sammy Hagar and [A&R legend] John Kalodner, who had worked with Foreigner early in our career. And I remember Sammy met me at the airport and drove me up to the studio at Eddie Van Halen’s house. He was talking to me in the car, and he said, “Mick, we’ve done some crazy things together over the years and we’ve had some crazy times. Get ready. Because this is gonna be pretty crazy!”
So I thought, What have I let myself in for? [laughs] And there were a few crazy times. There was a little incident where things got a little wild with [engineer] Donn Landee, whom I had tremendous respect for. I don’t know how it started, but it ended up that he locked himself in the studio with the master tapes and threatened to set the place on fire. But it all got sorted out. So it was a challenging album in a way, but I was really just giving my input as far as song construction. The playing was all the band. They’re so talented that it wasn’t the most difficult thing to do. I just had to get it down on tape. And it was incredible working with Eddie. I spent some time with Jimi Hendrix way back, and I think Eddie sort of had that same gift that comes down from somewhere above and goes through you. He’s able to express it.
Who were your early guitar influences? — Michael O’Brien
When I formed my first band at around 15, it was based on a lot of Chuck Berry stuff. And my parents had a collection of Les Paul and Mary Ford albums, and that sound stayed with me all through my life. It was otherworldly, some of the sounds Les came up with. And then, obviously, the Beatles and the Stones. I was a great fan of George Harrison and Keith Richards. I think that’s how I sort of developed my style as a semi-rhythm/semi-lead player. And, of course, Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. I think you start out emulating these people you admire and then you gradually develop your own style. That’s what I tried to do.
Your solo in “Cold as Ice” is so different from a standard pentatonic-based rock lead. How did you come up with it? — Chris Bingham
Well, that solo now opens Kanye West’s live show. So he must like it, too! It was actually pretty spontaneous in the studio. That song is constructed in a way where it keeps building up. And in the middle it breaks down and then builds up to something where it needs to go even higher. And that little solo takes it to where the a capella part starts. I double-tracked it as well. I thought at the time it was a little bit Queen-y. But it sounded cool, and we went with it.
Is it true the song title “Double Vision” came from a hockey game? — Darren Caldwell
It is. Lou [Gramm, original Foreigner singer] and I were big New York Rangers fans, and we used to go to quite a few games together. At one of the games, the Rangers’ goalie, John Davidson, got hit in the head with the puck and was taken off the ice. The announcer said he was suffering from double vision, and I had never heard that term before.
We figured it could be a real cool name for a song. And there’s a bit of a double entendre there because people always think about other reasons a person might be seeing double. Now when I’ve been asked about it, I usually say it’s a bit of a mixture of both those things.
How was it working with Mutt Lange, who produced the 4 album in 1981? — Dennis Dorany
It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had with a producer. Mutt had really wanted to do our second album [1978’s Double Vision], I believe. But he didn’t seem quite ready at the time. So we did the next one [1979’s Head Games] with Roy Thomas Baker, and then Mutt was kind of knocking on the door again. I must say, he was quite enthusiastic.
And based on what he had done with other bands, I thought he could be good. He was the first producer I worked with who really challenged me. He was not only very insightful with the songs and in helping to bring them to fruition but he was also really great at achieving sounds. He was just unbelievably dedicated to the process…to the point where I think we kept Def Leppard waiting six or nine months because Mutt was still working with us on 4. It went that long!
I’ve heard you once played on a bill with the Beatles. How did that happen? — Liz Morales
In the early Sixties I was living in Paris and playing with a French singing star named Sylvie Vartan. We played on a three-band bill with the Beatles, and we were the middle band. It was the show right before they came to America for the first time. After we played, the curtain came down and the Beatles ran onstage carrying their amps.
There were no roadies in those days—the term didn’t even exist! But I remember the curtain came down and it snagged my guitar. Pulled me down to the ground. I started cursing in English, and John Lennon came behind me to help pick me up, and he said, “Hey, lad, didn’t know you were British! Come out and have a drink with the boys after.” They took me under their wing for a bit, and going out with them was like living A Hard Day’s Night. Then they went to America without me!
So many artists have covered “I Want to Know What Love Is” over the years. Do you have a favorite version?
There’s an obscure reggae version that was recorded by a guy named Lucky Dube, from South Africa, that I’ve always rather liked. I also remember that, after the song first came out, I was down in the Caribbean, and I was driving along looking for a little church where they do their equivalent of gospel. I stopped by this little place and sat down in the back and suddenly the choir broke into “I Want to Know What Love Is.”
It was one of those moments that stayed with me. Just so emotional. I’ve actually heard that the song has been sung worldwide in churches, which is nice. People have gotten the universal message of the lyrics, as opposed to just interpreting it as a love song. They get married to it, or celebrate and even mourn people they’ve lost to it. You sometimes take it for granted, but when those things like that happen, it’s very satisfying.
How was it to play with Foreigner at the Led Zeppelin reunion show in 2007? — Anthony Sigro
It was phenomenal. I had done some session work in London with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones in the Sixties, so I’d known them since those days, but I had never seen Led Zeppelin live. So for me it was a moment I had been waiting a long time for. And they didn’t let anybody down. I remember when “Kashmir” started, the power and the darkness…it was amazing. And it’s funny—the original idea of the concert was to celebrate the life of Ahmet [Ertegun, Atlantic Records founder and president], with all these Atlantic bands involved. Then Led Zeppelin came into the picture, and I think everybody kind of dropped out! It turned into a Led Zeppelin reunion. But it was so great to be there. Everybody was in the spirit.
Is it true that when you and Lou Gramm met in the early Nineties to discuss reuniting together in Foreigner, you got trapped in a hotel when the L.A. riots broke out? [The 1992 race riots were incited by the police beating of Rodney King. The rioting last six days and resulted in 53 deaths.] — Brandon Miller
Yes. I was working in L.A. at the time, and the record label approached us to ask could we could possibly get back together. Lou had done a couple of solo albums at that point, and I had been producing. I think we both felt we had some unfinished business together. So we decided to give it a shot and scheduled a meeting at the Sunset Marquis in Hollywood. Lou flew in just about the day the riots erupted, and we wound up being sequestered together in that hotel. There were armed guards and everything all around. So we didn’t have a choice but to talk! And that was the beginning of that chapter of the band.
How often do you get confused with the other Mick Jones, from the Clash? — Aaron Kettering
It happens, but it used to happen more in the Eighties. A long time ago, I remember, we passed each other in a hallway in a recording studio, but neither of us knew who the other was. Then about six years ago we were on the same bill at a show in Portugal and we finally got to meet. Mick said to me, “Yeah, it’s great—sometimes I get your royalty checks!” We had a good time. He was very complimentary, which was nice, because Foreigner was a bad word in the punk world way back when. But it’s surprising how many musicians I meet from that period who were actually closet Foreigner fans.
Asking Alexandria will cap off the most successful year of their career with their biggest headlining North American tour yet.
The “From Death To Destiny” tour is a diverse package featuring some of hard rock and metal's biggest acts, from All That Remains and Sevendust to Emmure and For Today. This trek kicks off October 25. Visit the band's Facebook page over the coming weeks for all the tour dates.
“America! We are back and have returned with our biggest lineup to date," says Asking Alexandria guitarist Ben Bruce. "Bigger songs, bigger bands, louder shows and more rock than the fucking Swiss Alps. We can't wait to bring this new live show to the masses. We will be playing songs spanning our entire catalog, and, of course, a shit-ton of new songs from our new album, From Death to Destiny.
"We have never been more excited to headline a tour. It's an honor to be touring with such great bands and we know you are going to love all of them. We have the perfect lineup for you to mosh to, sing along to, bounce to and bang your fucking head to. We're back and we're better than ever. See you all very soon.”
Asking Alexandria's new album, From Death to Destiny, was released today, August 6, and is available everywhere
Last month, Guitar World launched its latest transcription challenge, asking readers to learn a portion of Slayer's "Raining Blood," the transcription for which appears on Page 112 of our August 2013 issue (with Slayer's Jeff Hanneman on the cover).
Over the course of several weeks, guitarists checked out the transcription, learned the applicable section of the song (sections A, B and C, before the vocals kick in) and sent us videos of themselves playing to no backing track at all, to their own backing track, to the Slayer recording — or to the accompaniment of their own band.
The prize? A new Marshall MG Series MG15CFXMS 15W Mini Stack Carbon Fiber guitar amp (MSRP: $540). For more about this amp, visit marshallamps.com.
After much deliberation, the Guitar World editors have chosen Canadian guitarist Yves Custeau as the winner of the Slayer challenge! You can check out his winning video below (It's the top video).
For your viewing pleasure, we've also included the two runner-up videos, both of which were sent to us by the guitarists in a metal band called Chaos Reigns. Check out all three videos below (and try to watch the Chaos Reigns videos until the end).
Thank you, as always, to all the awesome guitarists out there who entered our latest transcription challenge! Stay tuned for the next one!
A few years ago, the editors of Guitar World magazine compiled what we feel is the ultimate guide to the 100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time.
The list, which has been quoted by countless artists, websites and publications around the world, starts with Richie Sambora's work on Bon Jovi's “Wanted Dead or Alive” (100) and builds to a truly epic finish with Jimmy Page's solo on "Stairway to Heaven" (01).
On June 10, we kicked off a summer blockbuster of our own — a no-holds-barred six-string shootout. We pitted Guitar World's top 64 guitar solos against each other in an NCAA-style, 64-team single-elimination tournament. Every day, we asked you to cast your vote in a different guitar-solo matchup as dictated by the 64-team-style bracket. Now Rounds 1 and 2 have come and gone, leaving us with 16 guitar solos and eight matchups.
So ... WELCOME TO THE SWEET 16 ROUND, where all 16 still-standing solos will go head to head before your eyes! As always, you can vote only once per matchup, and the voting ends as soon as the next matchup is posted.
In some cases (like today), genre will clash against genre; a thrash solo might compete against a Southern rock solo. But please get real: They're all guitar solos, played on guitars, by guitarists, most of them in some subset of the umbrella genre of rock. When choosing, it might have to come down to, "Which solo is more original and creative? Which is more iconic or important? or Which one kicks a larger, more impressive assemblage of asses?"
The Sweet 16 Round Begins (Matchup 1 of 8) "One" Vs. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
How fitting it is that a song titled "One" is part of our very first Sweet 16 matchup. Yes, Metallica's "One" (07), featuring a guitar solo by Kirk Hammett, will square off against the Beatles'"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (42), which features a solo by Eric Clapton. Although Jimmy Page alone is responsible for four guitar solos in our Sweet 16 group, "One" is Metallica's only Sweet 16 guitar solo (including Hammett and James Hetfield) and "Gently Weeps" is Clapton's only Sweet 16 solo.
How They Got Here
• "One" defeated Clapton's "Cocaine" (58) in Round 1 and Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer" (39) in Round 2. • "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" defeated Rage Against the Machine's "Bulls on Parade" (23) in Round 1 and Joe Satriani's "Satch Boogie" (55) in Round 2.
Get busy! You'll find the poll at the very bottom of the story.
07. “One” Soloist: Kirk Hammett Album: Metallica—…And Justice for All (Elektra, 1988)
“I had a very clear idea of where I wanted to go with my guitar playing on …And Justice for All,” recalls Kirk Hammett. “Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time for me to fully execute my ideas.
“We worked on basic tracks for six or seven months, and then I only had eight or nine days to record all my leads because we were heading out on the Monsters of Rock tour [with Van Halen, Scorpions, Dokken and Kingdom Come]. To get that done, I had to do incredibly long, grueling days—like 20 hours at a pop—and it took so much out of me. As soon as I finished one solo, I had to do the next one. There was no time to breathe, as the whole vibe was to do it the best you could and keep moving. It was a pretty frustrating experience, to be honest.”
Despite these frustrations, Hammett was immediately pleased with most of his work on “One,” which featured three very different solos. “The first solo and the last solo were completely worked out in advance because I had been playing them for months,” recalls Hammett. “So in those cases it was just a matter of fitting in tone-wise. I elected to use a clean sound in the intro solo, which was the first time we used that kind of sound. I dialed it up on an ADA preamp and, once we found the right sound, it just flowed.
"For the final solo, I used my conventional lead sound of the time. That one flowed quickly, too—once I worked out the intro right-hand tapping technique, a process I really enjoyed. I wanted a high energy intro that would be different from anything I had done in the past. So I got those two solos done quickly and was pleased with them. But the middle one just wasn’t happening.”
Ultimately, Hammett was so displeased with the results of his second solo that he returned to the studio in the midst of the Monsters of Rock tour—spending a day at New York’s Hit Factory with producer Ed Stasium. “I redid the entire second half of the second solo and worked to make it all fit in,” Hammett recalls. “It was better, although I was never totally satisfied with it. I guess I did a good enough job.”
Apparently so. The song would soon become Metallica’s first legitimate radio and MTV hit, its solos firmly established as Hammett signature licks.
“When we actually started recording this, it was just me playing the acoustic guitar and singing it, and nobody was interested,” recalls the song’s author, George Harrison. “Well, Ringo probably was, but John and Paul weren’t. When I went home that night, I was really disappointed because I thought, Well, this is really quite a good song; it’s not as if it’s crap!
"And the next day I happened to drive back into London with Eric [Clapton], and I suddenly said, ‘Why don’t you come play on this track?’ And he said, ‘Oh, I couldn’t do that; the others wouldn’t like it…’ But I finally said, ‘Well, damn, it’s my song, and I’d like you to come down.’ So he did, and everybody was good as gold because he was there.
"I sang it with the acoustic guitar with Paul on piano, and Eric and Ringo. Later, Paul overdubbed bass. Then we listened back to it and Eric said, ‘Ah, there’s a problem, though; it’s not Beatlesy enough.’ So we put the song through the ADT [automatic double tracker] to wobble it a bit.”
Guitar World magazine has launched its Ultimate Subscription Offer!
Receive 12 (13, actually — let's not forget the holiday issue!) issues of Guitar World AND instantly download four exclusive tracks: "Optimist" by Tosin Abasi and Misha Mansoor, "Pessimist" by Tosin Abasi and Misha Mansoor, "Nanna Banana" by Ben Weinman and Kim Thayil and "Vices" by Ben Weinman and Dweezil Zappa.
As another bonus, you'll receive Asking Alexandria’s EP of covers, Under The Influence: A Tribute To The Legends of Hard Rock! This latest collection features the band covering songs by their idols.
Songs include “Here I Go Again” by Whitesnake, “Separate Ways” by Journey, “Hysteria” by Def Leppard and “Kickstart My Heart” by Mötley Crüe.
