A VETERAN MUSIC JOURNALIST EXPLORES HOW FOUR LEGENDARY ROCK BANDS–KISS,CHEAP TRICK,AEROSMITH, AND STARZ–LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR HAIR METAL IN THE ’80S AND GRUNGE IN THE ’90S. Doug Brod’s THEY JUST SEEM A LITTLE WEIRDoffers an original, eye- and ear-opening look at a crucial moment in hard-rock history, when the music…
Kiss
The Sword Release Cover of KISS Track ‘She’
Austin, TX heavy rockers, The Sword have released their rifftastic cover of the KISS classic ‘She’ today. The track is taken from Chronology 2006 – 2018 and Conquest of Kingdoms, the two career-spanning collections that will be released simultaneously, both showcasing the technically dazzling, riff-heavy and far-reaching metal that…
RICHIE SCARLET – Discuss Return of the Comet, upcoming Solo album and working with Ace Frehley, Corky Laing’s Mountain, and Alice Cooper Group members
INTERVIEW AND PHOTOS BY MARKO SYRJÄLÄ Richie Scarlet, also known as “The Emperor of Rock and Roll,” is a New York native musician, songwriter, and producer. Richie started his career as a solo artist in the early ’80s, and he was a founding member of the former Kiss guitarist Ace…
Prato, Greg -Take It Off – Kiss Truly Unmasked (Book review)
Take It Off-Kiss Truly Unmasked (Book review) Published: 2019, Jawbone Press Reviewed: October, 2019 Reviewer: JP Rating: 4.5/5 I know it’s not competition but Greg Prato seems to be intent on catching up with Martin Popoff as title-holder of most books written about Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. Prato has…
UGLY KID JOE – Vocalist Whitfield Crane discusses the past, present, and the future of his career, and more
WHITFIELD CRANE INTERVIEW AND LIVE PICTURES BY MARKO SYRJALA Ugly Kid Joe is a hard rock band from California, fronted by vocalist Whitfield Crane. The group was initially formed in 1987, and to date, they have released four full-length albums, two compilation albums, and two EPs. Ugly Kid Joe’s best-selling…
Lucifer – Johanna & Nicke Andersson
INTERVIEW WITH JOHANNA AND NICKE ANDERSSON FROM LUCIFER Lucifer made a huge impact on the doom metal fans with the debut album simply named LUCIFER I. When the first line-up of Lucifer dissolved and Nicke Andersson stepped into the picture, the second album once again simply named LUCIFER II saw…
SWEDEN ROCK 2019
SWEDEN ROCK FESTIVAL Solvesborg, Sweden 5-8 June 2019 REPORT AND PICTURES BY MARKO SYRJÄLÄ AND ARTO LEHTINEN Once again, it is time for the annual march to Sweden Rock. This is the 18th time in a row that the Finnish Metal Rules team made an invasion to the mighty Sweden…
RUSS BALLARD – Legendary musician and songwriter discusses his career, the past, present, and future
RUSS BALLARD Russ Ballard is an awarded-winning English musician, songwriter, and producer, best known from his compositions “New York Groove”, “Since You Been Gone”, “Winning”, “I Surrender”, “I Know There’s Something Going On”, “Liar”, “So You Win Again”, “You Can Do Magic”, and “God Gave Rock and Roll to You”,…
Sawyers, Jack Edwards (Dir)- The Eric Carr Story (DVD)
Artist: Jack Edward Sawyers (Director) Title: The Eric Carr Story – Inside The Tale Of The Fox Label: Creative Worx Year: 2000 Reviewed: May, 2018 Rating: 3.5 /5 Reviewer: JP Long time readers of Metal-Rules may know that we are slowly trying to review every Hard Rock / Metal DVD…
Jean Beauvoir discusses recent collaboration with the Finnish monster band Lordi, the state of solo career, Crown of Thorns, Voodoo X, and how it was to work with KISS in the 80’s.
JEAN BEAUVOIR INTERVIEW BY MARKO SYRJALA LIVE AND OFFSTAGE PHOTOS BY MARKO SYRJALA AND TARU SAARINEN Originally from the legendary punk band the Plasmatics, Jean Beauvoir is nowadays a multi-platinum solo artist who wrote and performed the hit song “Feel the Heat”, lead song for Sylvester Stallone’s highly successful “Cobra”…
Strine, Fran (Dir.) – Hired Gun (DVD Review)
Director: Fran Strine Title: Hired Gun Studio: Vision Films Year: 2016 Reviewed: March 2019 Reviewed by: JP Rating: 3/5 This month I’m going to look at two relatively new documentaries that focus on the Hard rock and Heavy Metal music industry. They are BAND VS. BRAND (2019) and HIRED GUN…
BRUCE KULICK Discusses KISS Kruise VIII and More
INTERVIEW AND LIVE PHOTOS BY MARKO SYRJALA Former KISS guitarist, Bruce Kulick, returned to the KISS Kruise after last his highly successful debut last year. This time, Kulick performed not only with his solo band, but with KISS, for the first time since 1995! Seeing Kulick perform with KISS was…
ACE FREHLEY RELEASES NEW MUSIC VIDEO FOR “ROCKIN’ WITH THE BOYS”, ALL NEW SOLO LP, SPACEMAN, DUE THIS FRIDAY
ACE FREHLEY ACE FREHLEY RELEASES NEW MUSIC VIDEO FOR “ROCKIN’ WITH THE BOYS”,ALL NEW SOLO LP, SPACEMAN, DUE THIS FRIDAY Founding KISS guitarist and Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame member ACE FREHLEY has released the music video for “Rockin’ With The Boys” Filmed live in Detroit Rock City, this is the first music video we’ve seen from The…
ROBERT FLEISCHMAN discusses his career with Vinnie Vincent, Journey and more
INTERVIEW BY MARKO SYRJÄLÄ Robert Fleischman is an American artist/singer, songwriter, producer and renowned painter. He is best known for his collaboration with Journey, Vinnie Vincent Invasion, Channel and The Sky. Fleischman has also released several solo albums, and he has written music for TV and commercials such as “That…
ACE FREHLEY – new “Spaceman” album details revealed
ACE FREHLEY RELEASES NEW TRACK, “ROCKIN’ WITH THE BOYS” ALL NEW SOLO LP, SPACEMAN, DUE OCTOBER 19, 2018 EXCLUSIVE EUROPEAN COVER ARTWORK Founding KISS guitarist and Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame member ACE FREHLEY has released a new song today called “Rockin’ With The Boys” This is the second song Frehley has released this year, from his forthcoming all-new Spaceman album,…