Weekly Music News 13.10.24
"Saffek", led by Oren Amitai, releases another single this week from its new album, "I/U/WE/US", released in July. Amitai says the video embraces the pain we have all been going through for a year, and our way of coping and healing is through music and art.
You can see them this Saturday, October 19, at the Psycho Ward festival at Gagarin, Tel Aviv.
Wow! Jerry Cantrell releases his fourth solo album today, "I Want Blood", his first since "Brighten", released in 2021. On a first listen, the style here is different, darker and heavier than its predecessor. You can hear it from the drum intro to opening track "Vilified" and the heavy riff that follows, to the erupting guitars, which we somewhat missed on "Brighten", attacking us on "Let It Lie", and the title track, "I Want Blood", with its galloping feel reminiscent of Queens Of The Stone Age. Then there is the opening of the hypnotic "Afterglow", where we even noticed keyboard accompaniment. Good heavens... Go and listen!
Listen on: Spotify
Hold on tight!!! "Heavy Lifting", the first album of new material from "MC5" in 53 years, is out today!
Although this should be a happy occasion, it is not entirely so. Not long after work was completed on "Heavy Lifting", the band's first studio album since 1971's "High Time", guitarist Wayne Kramer died of cancer in February 2024 at 75. Three months later, original drummer Dennis Thompson, who plays on two tracks, also died. As if that were not enough, MC5 will enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Excellence category the day after "Heavy Lifting" is released, but no original members will be there to accept the award. Singer Rob Tyner died in 1991, guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith in 1994, and bassist Michael Davis in 2012.
Despite all that, there is plenty to look forward to. Kramer worked on the album over the past two years, after reviving MC5 and touring with members of Jane's Addiction, Mavis Staples' band and David Bowie's backing band. He was not alone: he recruited famous friends and fans to work on the album, including Tom Morello, Vernon Reid, Slash and producer Bob Ezrin, to bring MC5 to life one last time.
Listen on: Spotify
The band "Breaking Benjamin" releases "Awaken", its first single in five years!! In case you missed it, the band has not taken a break or stopped working. Quite the opposite: the members have been busy touring intensively around the world. Their latest album, "Ember", came out in 2018.
The band "Slaughter To Prevail" releases a new single, "Behelit". Departing from its wild, relentless deathcore style, this time the band adds strings and softens the lyrics. The video draws on the Japanese manga and anime series Berserk.
Unlike many artists who choose to stay silent, veteran rocker Bon Jovi publicly shares his choice for US president in the upcoming election. The band is rereleasing a video for "The People's House", featuring The War & Treaty, to encourage Americans to vote and declare its support for Kamala Harris.
What is this???? Guitarist Jake E. Lee, best known as Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist on the albums "Bark At The Moon" and "The Ultimate Sin", has been shot several times in Las Vegas. Lee is recovering in a Las Vegas hospital. He is fully conscious and expected to recover. He was shot while walking his dog in the city. The circumstances remain unclear and the police investigation is ongoing, but he is believed to have been the victim of a random act of street violence.
(Photo: Richard E. Aaron)
On Yom Kippur 5785, Paul McCartney, currently in the middle of his "Got Back" tour in South America, took a short break and, wearing a kippah, joined his wife, businesswoman Nancy Shevell, for prayers at the Great Synagogue in Santiago, Chile. As you may recall, McCartney's beloved first wife Linda was also Jewish.
What did we just hear? Jared Leto, frontman of "Thirty Seconds To Mars", managed to offend and anger his Ukrainian fans after revealing his wish to perform in Moscow. The 52-year-old musician and actor expressed a desire to play in the Russian cities of St. Petersburg and Moscow during his band's show in Belgrade. Onstage as part of the band's world tour, he thanked Russian fans in the audience and said he wanted to visit their homeland when "these problems" were over. Fans quickly criticized the singer's insensitivity on social media: "It is not 'some problems', it is genocide," they wrote, asking, "Are you aware that Russians come here voluntarily to commit genocide and war crimes?"...
And we ask: why do we need this? Rolling Stone published its list of the 50 most disappointing albums of all time this week, noting: "Even the greatest artists screw up sometimes. Here are the most iconic duds from Dylan, the Stones and more". Leading the list of "blunders" is John Lennon's "Some Time in New York City", followed by the Rolling Stones' "Their Satanic Majesties Request", Bob Dylan's "Self Portrait", David Bowie's "Tonight" and Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy". Further down the list you will also find Yes' "Tales From Topographic Oceans", "Flick Of The Switch" by AC/DC, "Balance" by Van Halen, "The Final Cut" by Pink Floyd, "One Hot Minute" by Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Technical Ecstasy" by Black Sabbath, and more.
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