Maiden, Megadeth, Anthrax in Grammy nominations

Iron Maiden, Megadeth and Anthrax are among the big-name acts nominated in the 55th annual Grammy Awards, which takes place on February 10.

They appear in the category of Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance along with Lamb of God, Marilyn Manson and Halestorm for the gong which is traditionally handed out long before the main ceremony is broadcast on national TV.


Meanwhile, the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences’ long tradition of confusing rock fans with their definition of the genre continues. The organisation that runs the Grammys famously gave Jethro Tull the Best Metal Performance in 1988, the year Metallica were nominated for …And Justice For All.

The category of Best Rock Performance will be won by Alabama Shakes, the Black Keys, Coldplay, Mumford & Sons or Bruce Springsteen.

The Black Keys, Springsteen, Colplay, Muse and Jack White will battle it out for the Best Rock Album award. No other acts are mentioned in the Best Rock Song list either.

Maiden won their first Grammy in 2011 for the track El Dorado from their fifteenth studio album, The Final Frontier. Megadeth have now notched up eleven nominations but no wins, while Anthrax have never previously been named.

In other categories, Tom Waits is up for Best Alternative Music Album, Bonnie Raitt gets a nod for Best Americana Album and Best Blues Album will be won by Shemakia Copeland, Dr John, Ruthie Foster, Heritage Blues Orchestra or Joan Osborne.

Rock and metal Grammy nominations 2013

Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance
Anthrax: I’m Alive (Worship Music)
Halestorm: Love Bites (So Do I) (The Strange Case Of…)
Iron Maiden: Blood Brothers (En Vivo!)
Lamb of God: Ghost Walking (Resolution)
Marilyn Manson: No Reflection (Born Villain)
Megadeth: Whose Life (Is It Anyways?) (Th1rt3een)

Best Rock Performance
Alabama Shakes: Hold On
Black Keys: Lonely Boy
Coldplay: Charlie Brown
Mumford & Sons: I Will Wait
Bruce Spingsteen: We Take Care of Our Own

Best Rock Album
Black Keys: El Camino
Coldplay: Mylo Xyloto
Muse: The 2nd Law
Bruce Springsteen: Wrecking Ball
Jack White: Blunderbuss

Best Rock Song
Jack White: Freedom at 21
Mumford & Sons: I Will Wait
Black Keys: Lonely Boy
Bruce Springsteen: We Take Care of Our Own

source: classicrockmagazine.com

Maiden haven’t heard Harris album

Iron Maiden mainman Steve Harris believes his bandmates haven’t heard his solo album British Lion.

He didn’t want to force them into sitting through the recent release, and only played it to drummer Nicko McBrain when he asked to listen.

Harris tells Decibel: “When someone else in Maiden is working on another project, no one really talks about it. Bruce and Adrian don’t go around broadcasting to the others and I didn’t either.

“Nicko asked to hear it so I played it for him. But the other guys haven’t asked to hear it, so I haven’t played it for them. Simple as that, really.”

The bassist flatly denies the suggestion that his material is made up of Maiden cast-offs.

“This is not throwaway Maiden stuff,” he insists. “These aren’t riffs I could have used in Maiden. It was done with other people, and as soon as that happens it’s not going to be Maiden.”

He accepts three tracks, Us Against the World, The Chosen Ones and A World Without Heaven could sound a little like material from his main band, but only “because they’ve got those harmony guitars.

“In general it’s more riffy,” he continues. “Obviously there’s lots of melody. There’s lots of melody in Maiden as well. Sometimes I think Maiden doesn’t get enough credit for the melody we do have.”

Harris, who’d been working on the solo project on and off since at least 1993, says it’s a relief to have it released at last.

He explains: “I think everyone knows I’m the one that’s busiest in Maiden. When we’re not touring or recording I’m still doing loads of Maiden stuff, video editing and God knows what else, so I get less downtime than the others.

“That’s why it’s taken so long. I was trying to find bits in here and there when the other people were available to work while I was in the UK, which over the last few years has not been very often.”

source: classicrockmagazine.com

Maiden’s Clive Aid continues quietly

Iron Maiden will continue to actively support former drummer Clive Burr in his fight against multiple sclerosis – even though they want to keep quiet about it.

They’ve made a string of Clive Aid appearances in the past and helped found the Clive Burr Trust after MS began affecting his life and livelihood a decade ago, and put him in a wheelchair.

And mainman Steve Harris says they’ll be there whenever they’re needed by the man who played on the band’s first three albums.

Harris tells SamaritanMag.com: “We’ve been involved with stuff over the years. A lot of people make a big publicity thing out of it, but we don’t, so I’d rather not say.

“Our old drummer Clive has MS so we started the Clive Burr Trust. Another friend of mine, Ralph, has got it too – he’s in a wheelchair. I went to school with him. He’s my oldest friend since I was five years old, so we helped him too.”

The band don’t share details of the charity, although it’s known one early Clive Aid show raised £235,000 and the trust has provided Burr with specialist treatment in Belgium and a customised bed and computer. Others have received cash for modified vehicles and to adapt their homes.

The website CliveAid.com is no longer running. But Harris says: “The fans know about it and they contribute to it. Every now and again we’ll do a show and just donate all the money.

“When we need to top it up, we do something.”

MS reduces the ability of the brain and spinal cord to communicate with each other, resulting in a wide range of potentially severe symptoms. The cause is unknown and there is no cure.

Former Maiden singer Paul Di’Anno recently urged Burr to undergo risky stem cell treatment, saying: “He sounds drunk all the time. He sounds terrible. He can’t walk. He can’t use his hands now. It’s a bloody evil disease.”

Classic Rock presents an exclusive interview with Harris, available on this website on Monday, in which the bassist talks about touring his solo album, saying: “I know we’ll be playing clubs, which is great because I’ve not played clubs for years. But do we play in front of 200 people, 400 people, 600? I’d be totally happy with 200 people a night – that’d be brilliant.”

source: classicrockmagazine.com

Newsbites: Dio planned retirement call

Ronnie James Dio would have decided whether to retire yesterday had he not died of cancer in 2010, says bandmate Geezer Butler. Speaking on what would have been the singer’s 70th birthday, the bassist said: “Ronnie should have been celebrating and probably would have been if he’d had his health checked regularly. I once asked him if he’s ever thought about retiring. He said he would make that decision on his 70th birthday. That is why today is so poignant. I think I know what his decision would have been.”

The new Thin Lizzy album will not follow Phil Lynott’s last music footsteps, says guitarist Damon Johnson. He reports: “Towards the original end they made Thunder and Lightning. That album was so heavy – it seemed Phil wanted to go down a heavy metal route for a while. That’s not what the new album will be. There are some big, fat classic riffs. We all know it’s going to be under the microscope. We know there will be pundits who criticise it, but pundits aren’t necessarily fans.” Of frontman Ricky Warwick Johnson says: “The guy is a class songwriter, and that’s what Scott Gorham and Brian Downey needed to make another Thin Lizzy record.” [Gibson]

Troubled comedy actor Charlie Sheen made fun of Guns n’Roses frontman Axl Rose when he unveiled guitarist Slash’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame yesterday. Sheen said: “It’s quite fitting the Slash is getting a star on the very street Axl will one day be sleeping on. This star is going to be stepped on more than the coke we did in the eighties.” [Rolling Stone]

Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith is considering the release of an instrumental album he recorded a few years ago. Smith says: “It’s still in the can, as they say, but that was interesting. A lot of fun to do. I like so many different types of music. I’m probably going to do something with it in the future.” [BraveWords]

Green Day will launch two documentaries to coincide with their upcoming three-part album releases. The first movie covers the making of discs Uno, Dos and Tre, which appear in September, November and January respectively. The second film features the band’s early days. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong says: “It’s not going to be the sitting down, headshot of going, ‘We started out blah blah blah.’ We wanted to get into lifestyles of rock’n'roll, and letting the story tell itself rather than be revisionist.”

Serj Tankian doesn’t believe some of the anti-consumerist material on new solo album Harakiri was created on his iPad. “If you’re looking for irony you can find it anywhere,” he says. “Utilising an iPad to write a song is no different from using acoustic guitar or piano. As a songwriter you always want to change and progress. While I’m not endorsing the Apple corporation in any way, it is a useful tool. Consumerism is part of our life – there’s blind consumerism and then there’s consumer awareness. They are very different things.” [Noisecreep]

Stone Gossard’s attitude to Pearl Jam‘s live setlists has changed over the years. The guitarist explains: “When we started out I wold have been one of those people that thought, ‘Let’s just play the hits – why play anything other?’ But as you get more songs we work them in. It’s given us so much more room because the fans now expect something different each night. Even if you fuck something up, the fact that you’re trying songs you haven’t played before… it’s good to have that challenge.” [MusicRadar]

Radiohead paid tribute to tragic drum tech Scott Johnson, who died when the band’s stage collapsed in Canada last month. At the end of their concert in Nimes, the first since the accident which is still under investigation, they performed their track Reckoner as a third encore. Frontman Thom Yorke dedicated it to “our friend Scott” and a picture of Johnson was displayed on video screens.

Courtney Love‘s former assistant Jessica LaBrie has filed a lawsuit against the Hole singer in Los Angeles. The PA says Love tried to make her forge legal documents and hire a computer hacker, then withheld wages because she refused to “commit fraudulent, unlawful and unethical acts”. LaBrie says she had to quit after 13 months because she was not receiving her salary. [TMZ]

source: classicrockmagazine.com