JudasPriest Blog

The Red Rocker’s new 10-track release Cosmic Universal Fashion is in stores now. Sammy Hagar offers a cover of the Beastie Boys’ “Fight For Your Right To Party,” as well as a refreshing live Van Halen medley “Dreams/Cabo Wabo.” The new original songs are equipped with the classic Hagar sound and influences that span 60 years of rock and roll.

Below is a brief track-by-track overview of the album:

“Cosmic Universal Fashion” — Contains cool lead guitars with repetitive vocals.

“Psycho Vertigo” — A tune with a psychedelic 70s rock style.

“Peephole” — Has an interesting 90s Pearl Jam Ten-style vibe.

“Loud” — Very typical of the Red Rocker to provide good bar music.

“Fight For Your Right To Party” — It is fun because it is only right to honor Sammy, but this track could have been reserved for the live shows only. Sad to say, but this version is forgettable.

“Switch on the Light” — Groovy blues tune of the record.

“When The Sun Don’t Shine” — A happy summer track with a retro feel suitable for happy hour.

“24365″ — Contains good riffs that turn dull after the first verse.

“I’m On A Roll” — Song for driving fast but not nearly as great as “I Can’t Drive.” However, it does have some sweet lead guitar pull-off fills towards the end.

“Dreams/Cabo Wabo” — Live medley with a great crowd grooving to two great songs. Also, contains good banter from Sammy.

Verdict: Sammy Hagar’s true fans should pick this record up now. Rock fans should consider downloading the title track and “Dreams/Cabo Wabo.” Still looking forward to the upcoming work of the supergroup with Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony, and Chad Smith.

Buy Sammy Hagar - Cosmic Universal Fashion [2008]

Yes, you read that right…Myspace Records. Japanese art punk rock troupe Polysics and their latest installment of Devo-inspired new wave WE ATE THE MACHINE is a weird but refreshing choice for such a mainstream outlet, but it works. Heavy beats, odd sounds, and tons of synth-rock give songs like “Kagayake” a Mr. Bungle-esque carnival feel, while “Digital Coffee” has all of the nuances to be considered for an Asian game show theme song. While singing occurs in Japanese, English, and gibberish, the electronic manipulations and pop-rock guitar and drums pretty much translate across the board for a stimulating listening experience for purveyors of video game robot rock. Www.myspace.com/myspacerecords -Mike SOS

Buy We Ate The Machine

That Metal Show starring hard rock guru Eddie Trunk, comedian Jim Florentine, and Inside The NFL’s Don Jamieson finally made its debut on VH1 Classic last night at 11 p.m.

Iron Maiden’s current world tour was the first topic of discussion. Trunk and Florentine made the point that fans have been psyched with the setlist of the “Somewhere Back In Time” tour making it the most talked about tour of the year. However, this episode was recorded on June 11 making this and several other topics somewhat dated. If this show was taped within the last couple months, surely the AC/DC and Metallica tours would be the special tour feature.

The legendary Lita Ford was the special guest and talked about her family life and return to the stage, which would ultimately take place one month after the recording of the show at Rocklahoma. Ford became a little emotional when discussing her love for rock and roll and her children.

Before the first commercial break, there was a reading from the holy “Book of Warrant” which consisted of the lyrics from “Cherry Pie”—”swinging to the left, swinging to the right…etc.”

Florentine and Jamieson starred in a segment where they messed around with Van Halen fans outside of Madison Square Garden. While wearing fake earpieces, they talked to people and pretended to consult the band before the VH concert. Wolfgang Van Halen made for a great target and Jamieson made out with a random fan.

The next segment was called “Stump The Trunk” where studio audience members asked rock trivia questions to Trunk. Surprisingly, he was stumped two out of three times on a Van Halen question and an Iommi question. Florentine acted unusally belligerent toward Trunk throughout the segment—perhaps he was going through a rocky time with, then girlfriend, Robin Quivers.

The “Pick of the Week” was The Scorpions Live At Wacken Open Air 2006…the June taping may have affected this choice as well.

The next question raised by the hosts was “Will Chinese Democracy ever come out?” Guns ‘N Roses’ guitarist Bumblefoot was actually in the studio audience to answer the question with an “I don’t know.” Hopefully, they can tape closer to the air date if there is another season.

That Metal Show’s final segment is known as “The Throwdown” where the hosts have two minutes to answer a debatable rock question. Episode 1 posed the classic metal pregunta of “Sammy or Roth?” Lita went with Sammy through the scientific “eeny, meeny, miny moe” method and Trunk acknowledged that Roth made the better records with Van Halen [Editor's note: the DVR ran out causing me to miss the final words of the show...oops].

Overall, this is a great show for us hard rock and metal maniacs. It is about time that we got our own version of The View or The Best Damn Sports Show. I wish the hosts all the best and hope to watch this show every week in the future. I can say that I am very much looking forward to the upcoming episodes and guests such as Mike Piazza, Dee Snider, and Mike Portnoy.

ACDC Tickets

To commemorate their 25-year run as the premiere Polish death metal band, Vader has released XXV, a twin-disc set which finds the band re-recording a slew of their songs from their humble beginnings to their later works. Adorned with liner notes explaining each track straight from mainman Peter as well benefiting from the technological advances of recording in a studio in 2008, Vader put their legacy to the test and once again show why they’ve been such a dominant force in the underground metal scene for all these years. The re-recordings of such death metal staples as “Sothis,” “Blood of Kings,” and “Dark Age” showcase a sharpened brutal edge complete with the troupe’s trademark deathly growls, whammy-bar acrobatics, and pummeling rhythms coming across as powerful and enraged as ever. www.regainrecords.com -Mike SOS

Purchase Vader - XXV