by Fred Phillips In the early days of my metal fandom, one of the best ways to sample new music was the compilation albums from K-Tel and the like. They were a lot cheaper than a standard cassette, usually running $4-$5 as opposed to $7-$8 for regular albums You MayRead More

A recent discussion around the water cooler at Something Else! Towers got me thinking about the development of my musical tastes. The topic was how the Internet has changed music consumption. One of the points raised was that the availability of music on the web has allowed people to sinkRead More

Sebastian Bach’s ‘Kicking and Screaming’ falls in sound somewhere between Skid Row’s ‘Slave to the Grind’ and ‘Subhuman Race,’ and that’s a very good thing

by Fred Phillips I don’t like White Lion. Not even a little bit. During my teen years I got so sick of “When the Children Cry” that I felt like puking every time I heard it. You May Also Like: Volcano Radar – Electro Parables/Electro Parábalas (2016) I Want, Need,Read More

As I await the release of Anthrax’s Worship Music, the band’s reunion with 1980s singer Joey Belladonna, I’ll try to drown out the soap-opera drama with changing lineups and re-records surrounding it by cranking up their last record You May Also Like: Anthrax, Sept. 23, 2016: Shows I’ll Never ForgetRead More

‘Southern Independent Vol. 1 and Vol. 2’ are a pretty good representation of what’s out there in country and related genres that you’re not hearing on the radio.

by Fred Phillips When I reached into the envelope from B Side Music Group and felt something fuzzy, I wasn’t sure what, exactly, was going on. It soon became clear You May Also Like: Steven Tyler – We’re All Somebody From Somewhere (2016)

Much of the soundtrack to my college years was set to the tune of Dash Rip Rock, one of Louisiana’s premier party bands. It’s unfortunate that every time I mention the band to someone not from Louisiana or the surrounding states, I’m usually met by a blank stare, or maybeRead More

In 1991, as Ozzy Osbourne wrapped up his “retirement” No More Tours tour, it seemed unlikely that guitarist Zakk Wylde would record three more albums with him You May Also Like: Zakk Wylde – Book of Shadows II (2016) Why You Should Count ‘No Rest for the Wicked’ Among OzzyRead More

by Fred Phillips This is the song that should have been Warrant’s defining moment. You May Also Like: Left Lane Cruiser’s Bring Yo’ Ass to the Table amped up North Mississippi blues Richard Turgeon, “Learning to Fly” (2020): One Track Mind