Crazy Train (Ozzy cover) Hello Kitty Style...

I hereby declare June to be "Shred on a Hello Kitty Guitar Month"

...and this guy just kills it on this cover of Ozzy's "Crazy Train"

The Heavy Metal Vegan Chef...

Finally, something I can post both here AND on my food blog at the same time...

Check below the break for a video of the Heavy Metal Chef whipping up vegan food. I'm no vegan, but when you cook to Dimmu Borgir, Six Feet Under, Iron Maiden, and Styper!?, you've got my attention...

Around the World - Queensrÿche (2011) - pre-release track

Queensrÿche has (pre) released a single from their upcoming album "Dedicated to Chaos" for download from their official facebook page.

The track is very telling- while it is a well crafted song in it's own right, it represents a very different musical direction than the sound from the band's heyday before the departure of guitarist Chris DeGarmo in 1997- which will no doubt disappoint many fans who have been hungry for another prog-metal magnum opus like their 1988 "Operation:Mindcrime" production.

I have to hesitate to label this track as "Progressive Metal" - it really is not. On the "progressive" side of the coin- I can see it as an experiment with different styles, but is it metal? Not really, in my book.

Neil Peart on Letterman - Drum Solo

So, as I mentioned in my last post - the great Neil Peart did indeed perform a drum solo on the Letterman show Thursday night. The performance was a shortened version of the 8+ minute solo he's been performing on Rush's Time Machine tour for the past year or so.

In order to avoid getting the stink-eye from the show's producers, the solo was shortened to a mere 4 minutes- meaning the changes were accelerated, and most of the improvisational section was dropped for brevity. See the video below...

Neil Peart to be featured on Letterman June 9th

David Letterman has declared the week of June 6th 2011 as "Drum Solo Week". Each night, his show is featuring a different drummer performing a solo. Guests include the Late Show's own Anton Fig, Sheila E, and Roy Haines.

The finale spot on the night of Thursday, June 9th goes to the one and only Neil Peart- who is considered by many (ok, most) people to be the greatest rock drummer of all time.

Walk (video) - Foo Fighters (2011)

The Foo Fighters have released the third video from their new album "Wasting Light" - "Walk" on their website and YouTube. In true Foo Fighter fashion, the video is jam packed with the band's trademark slapstick humor.

"Walk" is probably the most inspirational song on the album- but, of course, the video contains nothing relating to the subject of the sing (other than the fact that it shows Dave Grohl walking around).

The thing that really drives the humor home is the fact that the video closely follows the plot of the film "Falling Down" - which is anything but an inspirational story...

Even the Slept (Local band from Philadelphia)

Local bands are the heart and soul of any music scene. These are the people who are out making music because it's what they love to do, day in, day out- usually with only a small amount of recognition, and rarely for more than a pocketful of money. These are the bands that may very well become the next big thing, or may have a strong influence on whatever that next big thing is. As important as they are to the culture of the music we all love, it is very easy for a writer to overlook them in favor of more popular, more well documented bands.

I'm going to attempt to correct that oversight in my own writing by introducing to you an up and coming band based in the Philadelphia, PA area called Even the Slept. Over the past few years, they have played numerous shows throughout the greater Philadelphia area, and have even ranged out as far as New York and Delaware. They have also spent time in the studio recording songs for their 2 track demo in 2009, and their upcoming EP, "Sinks the Ocean" (check it out their website and facebook page.)