There are not many guitarists with such a unique playing style that their sound can be identified in any situation. Mark Knopfler is one of them and he is celebrating a birthday today !!! (Photo: AP) Here are 20 interesting facts about the talented singer, songwriter, and guitarist: 1. He was born on 12 August 1949 in Glasgow, Scotland as Mark Freuder Knopfler. He is born to a Jewish father of Hungarian-Scottish descent. His father was born in Hungary, but in 1939 he fled to Scotland due to Nazi persecution. 2. In his youth he asked his father to buy him a Fender Stratocaster guitar, but because of the high price he had to compromise on a cheap "Hofner" guitar that cost £ 50. 3. He is left-handed playing the guitar with his right hand. 4. He is among the few guitarists who play electric guitar without a guitar pick. 5. He has written and composed all of the songs on all but three "Dire Straits" studio albums. These albums also give credit to other artists, including the song "Money for Nothing" which gives credit to Sting. 6. Regardless of "Dire Straits" albums, he has released 10 solo albums, 2 albums with other artists and 9 soundtracks, including for the films "The Princess Bride" and "Wag the Dog". 7. The band's name "Dire Straits" means turbulent water between two straits. It was offered to them by a friend because of their difficult financial situation. 8. There is a Fender Stratocaster guitar named after him: "Fender Mark Knopfler Stratocaster". Beyond that, there are two more Signature guitars in his name from the "Martin" guitar company. 9. Knopfler is known for his clean guitar playing. The band's first album featuring the hit "Sultans Of Swing" played almost with no guitar effects. 10. He wrote and played with Bob Dylan on the album "Slow Train Coming". In March 1979, Dylan was at the last "Dire Straits" show at the "Roxy" in Los Angeles. Dylan approached Knopfler after the show and offered him to play on his next album. Knopfler immediately agreed and also recommended "Dire Straits" drummer, Pick Withers. They both played on the album. 11. Knopfler also produced and played on Dylan's 1983 album "Infidels". 12. There is a dinosaur named after him, the "Masiakasaurus knopfleri". 13. He wrote the song "Private Dancer" for Tina Turner. 14. He plays the guitar in the song "King's Call" from the album "Solo in Soho" by Phil Lynott. (Photo: IMDB) 15. He also plays solo in the song "Ode to Liberty (The Protest Song)" from Phil Lynott's "The Philip Lynott Album". 16. In 1989 he formed the band "The Notting Hillbillies". 17. He plays lead guitar in the song "Time Out of Mind" from Steely Dan's "Gaucho" album. 18. He has about 50 guitars from different companies, in which he actively plays (not collectibles). Each guitar has its own role and sound for different songs. 19. He is ranked 44th on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of the 100 best guitarists of all time. 20. His solo in the song "Sultans of Swing" is ranked 22nd in the list of the 100 greatest solos of all time by "Guitar World" magazine. And now listen to the playlist we made for you from different stations in his career: Click Here. "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website

Written By: Noam Asulin Release date - 12.8.2022 This is the 11th studio album of the Swedish melodeath band "Arch Enemy". "Arch Enemy" was founded in Hamstard, Sweden. Originally it was a supergroup that included members from the bands "Carcass, "Armageddon", "Carnage" and more. The band was founded in 1995 by Michael Amott - the lead guitarist of "Carcass" and who was part of their album "Heartwork" and by singer Johan Liiva, both originally from a death metal band called "Carnage". The band started to form adding guitarist Christopher Amott (Michael's younger brother) and drummer Daniel Erlandsson. The group's debut album "Black Earth" was released in 1996 and already then Michael Amott took the lead, writing most of the songs on the album, playing lead and rhythm guitar, bass guitar, producing and mixing for the album. In 1999 bassist Sharlee D'Angelo joined the band, while in 2000 vocalist Johan Liiva left the band and was replaced by German singer Angela Gossow, who in 2012 decided to retire from singing and moved to manage the band. Angela was the one who strongly recommended the Canadian Alissa White-Gluz as a singer, then the vocalist of "The Agonist". The entry of Alissa White-Gluz into the band in 2014 and the album "War Eternal", which was also released in the same year, set new standards, when at the same time a significant reinforcement player was added in the form of Jeff Loomis, guitarist of "Nevermore", who replaced Nick Cordle, "Arsis" guitarist, who was called to flag as a replacement for Christopher Amott, who is currently the guitarist of the Swedish band "Dark Tranquility". (Photo: Metalinjection) So far the band has released three albums with Alissa White-Gluz, including the reviewed album. Upon joining the band, Alissa White-Gluz brought something new to the band that was not present during Angela's time. Clean singing which in my eyes only adds to the diversity and sound. "Deceivers" provides us with more of the same melodic death metal that we are used to getting from the band, strong riffs, soaring lead guitars, and death vocals, all of which, we have already gotten used to getting from "Arch Enemy", especially after Alyssa and Jeff Loomis joined the band. But still, this album feels a little different to me. Alyssa's vocals are exceptional as always, but this time the songs seem to have been written to give her the space she's always needed and she uses that space to the fullest, with incredible singing abilities that have simply improved miraculously from the previous albums. It is especially enjoyable to listen to Alyssa sing her clean vocals that add such important diversity to the band's sound. The band has released six singles from the album so far, the first "Deceiver, Deceiver" was released in October 2021 and the last "The Watcher" was released on August 14, 2022. The album starts with "Handshake With Hell" and there's a reason for that. The band knew very well why it was necessary to open the album with this song. "Handshake With Hell" shows what this album is going to sound like and sets the tone for what we're going to get next. Heavy, fast, heavy guitars and with infectious solos. This is one of the band's longest songs. One of the first things you notice when you listen to it is Alyssa's singing and growling abilities. They simply improved and for me she is the added value of the album that makes it one of their best so far. It's a kicking song and very pleasant to the ear. The eighth song "Spreading Black Wings" has not yet been released as a single, but it is a very special song written in memory of Lars-Göran Petrov, the lead singer of the band "Entombed", who died in March 2021 from cancer and is only 49 years old. The album maintains a very high level of writing and performing ability throughout and as I mentioned it is, in my opinion, one of the band's best so far, but that is with the exception of two sections that in my opinion fall short of all the rest. The first, is the instrumental piece "Mourning Star" which, despite its melodies, is, in my opinion, a kind of "filler". It is not new that "Arch Enemy" incorporates instrumental sections in its albums, but mostly these tracks add to the flow of the album or are meant as interludes between the songs, and as such, they have meaning and are interesting to listen to. This is not the case with "Mourning Star", which sounds a bit casual and unrelated to the album. The second, is the track that comes right after it - "One Last Time", which nevertheless manages to excite a little, especially in the solo during the C-Part. In conclusion, most of the album, as a whole is very melodic and yet very heavy, perhaps the band's heaviest ever. Alyssa continues to improve and proves how good she is, both in the clean vocals and the powerful growls, which in my opinion show how versatile she is. There is no doubt that this is a classic "Arch Enemy" album, with Michael's solos being a kind of "sound signature" associated with the band. However, songs like the opening song "Handshake with Hell" show that the band is interested in developing and presenting slightly different sides of themselves and that is worthy of appreciation in my opinion. The band's drummer, Daniel Erlandsson is my favorite drummer. It's hard for me to explain why, but I really relate to his style of playing and I really enjoy his powerful and precise drumming. Daniel is also responsible for the effects, and the keyboards, he co-produced the album and is the band's guitar and bass technician, so he turns out to be a kind of multi-talent whose contribution to the band is tremendous. Before ending, I must refer to the album cover, which in my opinion is a bit boring and one-dimensional, and does not at all indicate the material inside. I would expect such a beautiful, dynamic, rich, and powerful album to have a cover that would attract the eye with its color and diversity. "Deceivers" by "Arch Enemy" is a tight and good melodic album that will surely be a pleasure for every fan of the band, but also for everyone who loves the genre. In my opinion, this album is easily one of their best so far... For Listening: Deezer, Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website

On August 4 and 11, 1979, Led Zeppelin played their final British shows at the "Knebworth Festival". These shows stand as a milestone in rock history, marking "Led Zeppelin's" triumphant return to the stage after a two-year hiatus since the death of Robert Plant's son during the band's 1977 North American tour, and four years away from British soil. Held at Knebworth House in Hertfordshire, England, the festival comprised two monumental concerts on August 4 and August 11, headlined by "Led Zeppelin", the concerts were supported by performances from various artists, including "The New Barbarians" with Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards, Todd Rundgren and "Utopia", Southside Johnny, and others. "Led Zeppelin's" appearance at the festival was a much-anticipated event due to their extended absence and their decision to forego a major tour, instead opting for this grand showcase. Leading up to the festival, "Led Zeppelin" engaged in rigorous rehearsals, choosing to return to the stage with a bang. The sheer scale of the event was awe-inspiring. A record-breaking 570 toilet seats, 750 feet of urinals, and an immense 100,000-watt sound system, a 600,000-watt light show, a swirling smoke that engulfed them and a pyramid laser. The anticipation for the show was immense. Already five days before the first of two shows, people started to surround the area. In the evening before the first show, there were around 30,000 people massing around the entrance to the festival grounds. After the fence had been breached for the third time, the organizers opened the doors allowing the fans to run towards the stage, staying there for 18 hours before the first show even started. In the end, between 110,000 and 150,000 fans were present at the first show. For many fans, the Knebworth Festival held a special place as their first encounter with "Led Zeppelin's" live presence. The band's performance, while displaying moments of brilliance, sometimes also showcased a sluggish and rusty return to the stage. The setlist was a blend of classic hits and newer material from their forthcoming album, "In Through The Out Door", released only 4 days after the second show. The shows started with "The Song Remains The Same" and ended with "Stairway to Heaven", capturing memorable moments such as the light and swirling smoke engulfed the band during "Achilles’ Last Stand", and the pyramid laser encasing Jimmy Page during "In The Evening". The shows had lasted three hours, when the final encores were "Heartbreaker" on the first show and "Communication Breakdown" on the second. "Led Zeppelin's" performance, captured by the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio and live video projections, resonated with the audience, despite receiving mixed reviews from critics. The legacy of the 1979 Knebworth Festival endures as "Led Zeppelin's" last major live performances in the UK before John Bonham's death. The event's scale, the band's undeniable presence, and the mix of nostalgia and uncertainty make these concerts a crucial chapter in "Led Zeppelin's' storied history. Here are the band's set lists: 1. "The Song Remains the Same" 2. "Celebration Day" 3."Out on the Tiles" (intro) / "Black Dog" 4."Nobody's Fault but Mine" 5. "Over the Hills and Far Away" 6. "Misty Mountain Hop" 7. "Since I've Been Loving You" / "Tea for One" (solo) 8. "No Quarter" 9. "Ten Years Gone" 10. "Hot Dog" 11. "The Rain Song" 12. "White Summer" / "Black Mountain Side" 13. "Kashmir" 14. "Trampled Under Foot" 15. "Sick Again" 16. "Achilles Last Stand" 17. Jimmy Page solo 18. "In the Evening" 19. "Stairway to Heaven" Encores: 20. "Rock and Roll" 21. "Whole Lotta Love" 22. "Heartbreaker" (on 4 August only) 22. "Communication Breakdown" (on 11 August only) "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website

Here are some interesting facts about Joe Jackson English musician, Keyboardist, Saxophonist and singer: Photo: John Huba = Joe Jackson was born as David Ian Jackson on August 11, 1954, in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. = He was raised in Swadlincote, Derbyshire, and later in the Paulsgrove area of Portsmouth. = Jackson began learning the violin before switching to piano, which his father installed in their council house. = He attended Portsmouth Technical High School and began playing piano in bars at age 16. = In 1968 he won a scholarship to study musical composition at London's Royal Academy of Music. = In the early 1970s he formed his first band, "Edward Bear" (later renamed "Arms and Legs"), which disbanded after two unsuccessful singles. = In the mid-1970s he worked on the cabaret circuit to fund his music career and recorded demo tapes. = He signed with A&M Records in 1978 after a producer heard his demo tape. = He released his debut album "Look Sharp!" in 1979 with the " Joe Jackson Band", featuring the songs "Is She Really Going Out with Him?", "Look Sharp", "Sunday Papers", "One More Time", "Fools in Love" and "Got the Time". = The album was voted number 865 in Colin Larkin's "All Time Top 1000 Albums". = The same year he released his second album "I'm the Man", featuring "It's Different for Girls," which became his highest-charting UK single, reaching No. 5. = In 1980 he released the album "Beat Crazy" and collaborated with reggae artist Lincoln Thompson. = In 1981 Jackson produced an album for British power pop group "The Keys" titled "The Keys Album". = The same year he released "Jumpin' Jive", an album of swing and blues covers credited to "Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive". = In 1982 Joe released "Night and Day", his most commercially successful album, reaching the UK and US Top 10 with hits like "Steppin' Out" and "Breaking Us in Two." = In 1983 Joe released the album "Mike's Murder" - a motion picture soundtrack album from the film of the same name starring Debra Winger. = In 1984 he released "Body and Soul", recorded in New York City, featuring the hit "You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)." = In 1985 Joe played piano on Joan Armatrading's album "Secret Secrets". = In 1986 he released "Big World", a live album recorded with a silent audience. = The same year he collaborated with Suzanne Vega on the single "Left of Center" for the "Pretty in Pink" soundtrack. = In 1987 Jackson released "Will Power", an instrumental album with classical and jazz influences. = In 1988 he released his second live album "Live 1980/86". the album contains three different versions of "Is She Really Going Out with Him?". = Joe returned to film soundtracks with "Tucker" released in 1988, for the Francis Ford Coppola film "Tucker: The Man and His Dream". The album earned Jackson a Grammy nomination for "Best Album of Original Instrumental Background Score Written for a Motion Picture or TV". = In 1989 he released "Blaze of Glory", an album he performed in its entirety during the subsequent tour. = His song "Got The Time" from the album "Look Sharp!" was covered in 1990 by the thrash metal band "Anthrax" for their album "Persistence of Time". = In 1991 Joe released "Laughter & Lust", featuring a more rock-oriented sound. = In 1994 he released "Night Music", which paved the way to his move toward classical music. = In 1995 Jackson contributed a cover of "Statue of Liberty" for the "XTC" tribute album "A Testimonial Dinner: The Songs of XTC". = In 1997 he signed with Sony Classical and began focusing on classical music. = The same year Joe released "Heaven & Hell", a musical interpretation and song cycle representing the seven deadly sins. = In 1999 Jackson released "Symphony No. 1", for which he won a Grammy Award for "Best Pop Instrumental Album" in 2001. = The same year he published his autobiography "A Cure for Gravity", which he described as a "book about music, thinly disguised as a memoir." = In 2000 Jackson released another live album - "Summer in the City: Live in New York". It featured Jackson playing the piano and singing, backed only by bassist Maby and drummer Burke, performing some of his old songs and several covers. = The same year he released "Night and Day II", a follow-up to his 1982 album. = In 2002 he released another live album called "Two Rainy Nights". = In 2003 Jackson reunited with the original "Joe Jackson Band" for "Volume 4" and embarked on a tour. = In 2004 he contributed vocals to William Shatner's cover of "Pulp's" "Common People" on Shatner's album "Has Been". = The same year he released another live album called "Afterlife", re-uniting with the musicians from his first successes: Graham Maby, Gary Sanford and Dave Houghton. = In 2005 he teamed up with Todd Rundgren and the string quartet ETHEL for a US and European tour. = In 2006 Jackson moved to Berlin, Germany, partially in protest against smoking bans, and recorded "Rain" with longtime collaborators. = In 2008 he released the album "Rain", followed by a five-month tour. = In 2012 Joe released "The Duke", a tribute album to Duke Ellington. = In 2015 he released "Fast Forward", recorded in four cities: New York, Amsterdam, Berlin, and New Orleans. = In 2019 Jackson released "Fool", which debuted in the top 20 album charts in several European countries and No. 25 on Billboard's Top Album Sales Chart in the US. = In 2022 he embarked on his "Sing, You Sinners!" tour, celebrating his long and varied career in music. = In 2023 Jackson released the album "What a Racket!", which explores themes of noise, communication, and the modern world. The album features a mix of electronic and acoustic elements, reflecting Jackson's continued experimentation with different musical styles. = Jackson is openly bisexual. His questioning of potential homosexuality and same-sex attraction is explored in the 1982 single "Real Men". "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website

Singer and flutist (He plays many more instruments) Ian Anderson is celebrating his birthday today !!! (Photo: Wordpress) Let's celebrate his birthday with 25 interesting facts: 1. He was born in Edinburgh Scotland on 10 August 1947 as Ian Scott Anderson. 2. In 1959 he moved with his family to the city of Blackpool in the northwest of England. 3. In 1963 he formed his first band - the blues band called "The Blades", together with his classmates Barriemore Barlow (drums), John Evan (keyboards), Jeffrey Hammond (bass guitar) Michael Stephens (guitar). Anderson sang and played the harmonica. 4. By 1964 the band already had six members, and was renamed "John Evan Smash". 5. In 1967 the band moved to the city of Luton, but did not last and disbanded. 6. In Luton, Anderson met drummer Clive Bunker and guitarist Mick Abrahams. Together with bassist Glenn Cornick, whom Anderson knew through John Evan, the first lineup of the band "Jethro Tull" was formed. 7. At this point Anderson abandoned his desire to play the guitar because he thought he could not be as good as Eric Clapton. 8. He replaced the electric guitar with a side flute, and began playing it even in non-traditional styles like rock and blues. (Photo: courtesy of Chipster PR) 9. When "This Was" - Jethro Tull's debut album came out in 1968, it was only a few months after Ian started playing the side flute. 10. Anderson later taught himself to play many other instruments, such as saxophone, mandolin, bouzouki, keyboards, balalaika, and various whistles. 11. In 1968 he performed with his band on the show "The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus". The one who played guitar on that show was none other than Tony Iommi from "Black Sabbath". 12. Anderson and the band's big break came with the album "Aqualung" from 1971, which is considered the band's most successful album and in the eyes of many also its best. 13. The materials on the album were influenced by homeless photographs taken by Ian Anderson's wife near the Thames. 14. Also the album cover which many thought to be a cartoon character of Anderson (and it's not), corresponds with the same photographed subjects. 15. A year later, Anderson released with the band what is considered its creative peak - the concept album "Thick as a Brick". 16. To date, Anderson has released no less than 23 studio albums, 4 EPs, and 9 live albums under the "Jethro Tull" brand. 17. In addition, as part of his solo career, Anderson has released 6 albums, including the masterpiece follow-up album to "Thick as a Brick" which was released in 2012. 18. In 1988 he co-won with "Jethro Tull" the title of "the best hard rock/metal" act at the MTV Awards, for the album "Crest of a Knave", bypassing Metallica with "...And Justice For All". This win caused a kind of storm. Even Anderson himself joked about it when he noted that the members of "Jethro Tull" probably play a very strong mandolin. 19. His daughter Gail works in the film industry and is married to actor Andrew Lincoln, the star of the series "The Walking Dead". (Photo: Loudersound.com) 20. Anderson is the leader and lead writer of "Jethro Tull" and is also the only permanent member in it. 21. Ian has also been featured on albums by bands such as "Blackmore's Night" and "Renaissance". 22. Anderson's works combine a variety of musical styles including progressive rock, folk, blues, psychedelia, and hard rock. 23. His works have also influenced a very wide range of artists such as: Steve Harris, Bruce Dickinson, Eddie Vedder, John Myung, Joe Bonamassa, Geddy Lee, and more. He even invited Bruce Dickinson to a very special show. 24. Anderson is also a successful businessman, and owns a salmon fish farm and marketing company, valued at about £ 10.7 million. 25. In an exciting interview with Dan Rader on AXS TV, Ian said that he suffers from incurable lung disease and that his days as a singer are few. "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website

On August 10, 1984, "Red Hot Chili Peppers" released their first studio album "The Red Hot Chili Peppers". Long before "Red Hot Chili Peppers" became capable of filling stadiums, writing melancholy California ballads or turning funk rock into mainstream radio currency, they sounded like four musicians trying to force several different musical cultures into the same room. "The Red Hot Chili Peppers" is the document of that collision. Punk, funk, rap, art rock and Los Angeles club culture are all present, but they have not yet settled into a coherent language. The fascinating thing about the record is that the band's identity is already obvious even when its music is not fully under control. The roots of "Red Hot Chili Peppers" stretch back to Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, where Anthony Kiedis and Flea became friends and connected with guitarist Hillel Slovak and drummer Jack Irons. By early 1983 the four had come together as Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem, initially conceived as a one off live act built around Kiedis delivering his rhythmic poetry over a funk driven jam. The response convinced them that the chemistry deserved more than a single performance. After playing around Los Angeles and developing material from those early jams, they adopted the name "Red Hot Chili Peppers" and began treating the project as a real band. The original quartet would not remain intact long enough to record the debut, however. Slovak and Irons were also committed to "What Is This?", and when that group secured its own record deal, they stepped away, leaving Kiedis and Flea to rebuild with guitarist Jack Sherman and drummer Cliff Martinez. That personnel change helps explain the strange character of the album. Kiedis handles vocals and Flea bass, but founding guitarist Slovak and drummer Irons did not perform on the record. Sherman played guitar and Martinez drums, while Gang of Four guitarist Andy Gill produced the sessions. That makes "The Red Hot Chili Peppers" an unusual debut: the band was introducing itself to a wider audience without actually having its original lineup in the studio. Photo: Gie Knaeps Recording began at Eldorado Studios in Hollywood in April 1984 with Gill producing, and the sessions quickly exposed a fundamental disagreement over what "Red Hot Chili Peppers" should sound like on record. Kiedis later recalled in Scar Tissue that the opening days went smoothly before he and Flea became increasingly frustrated with Gill's approach, believing his production was restraining the raw force and frantic funk energy they generated live. The conflict became severe enough for the sessions to turn openly hostile. More importantly, the disagreement can be heard in the finished album: Gill brought separation and discipline to music whose creators wanted impact, looseness and chaos. Flea has remained dissatisfied with the result decades later, arguing that the songs were strong but that replacing Slovak and Irons with Sherman and Martinez meant the musical connection was never as deep as that of the founding lineup. He has even expressed a desire to rerecord the debut, an extraordinary admission that reinforces how much "The Red Hot Chili Peppers" represents a compromise between the band that existed onstage and the one captured in the studio. Gill's production is consequently one of the album's defining tensions. The songs demand sweat, impact and physical movement, yet the record frequently sounds controlled when it should sound dangerous. Flea's bass punches through because his playing is almost impossible to contain, but the guitars can feel clipped and comparatively restrained. Martinez gives the music a firm rhythmic backbone, while Kiedis attacks the microphone less as a conventional singer than as a rhythmic provocateur. The result is recognizable as "Red Hot Chili Peppers", but only in outline. That outline becomes immediately convincing on "True Men Don't Kill Coyotes". Flea's bass establishes the song's personality before anything else has a chance to compete with it. The groove is elastic and strange, Sherman's guitar cuts around it rather than overwhelming it, and Kiedis delivers the vocal with the exaggerated rhythmic phrasing that would define the band's earliest period. The arrangement is repetitive by design, but the repetition creates momentum. For the first time on the album, funk and punk stop behaving like separate influences and start sounding like components of the same band. "Baby Appeal" pushes further into funk, although it also exposes the album's central weakness. There are plenty of ideas, but not always enough development. Flea can generate excitement almost independently, yet the surrounding arrangement occasionally seems satisfied simply to remain inside the groove. That distinction matters. The later "Red Hot Chili Peppers" would learn how to make repetition feel hypnotic. Here, repetition can simply feel repetitive. "Buckle Down" is tougher. The bass and drums give it a compact muscularity, while Sherman's guitar works in short, abrasive figures rather than attempting to dominate the track. Kiedis is still treating words largely as percussion, throwing syllables against the rhythm with more concern for velocity and attitude than melody. It is primitive compared with what the band would eventually become, but that primitiveness is part of its appeal. Then comes "Get Up and Jump", perhaps the clearest expression of the young band's original philosophy. The riff is less important than propulsion. Flea attacks the bass as both rhythmic and lead instrument, the drums keep everything moving at near punk speed, and Kiedis turns the vocal into another piece of percussion. The structure is basic because complexity would defeat the purpose. This is music designed to make a room move before anyone has time to analyze why. The Hank Williams composition "Why Don't You Love Me" is the album's strangest detour. Rather than treating the song as sacred material, the band pulls it into its own rhythmic universe. It demonstrates an instinct that would become increasingly important throughout their career: genre is raw material, not a boundary. At this stage that instinct can sound reckless, but it is already central to the band's personality. "Green Heaven" is more revealing. Its bass line carries real authority, while the arrangement hints at the harder, more muscular funk rock the band would develop later. Kiedis still lacks the melodic vocabulary that would transform him as a vocalist in subsequent years, but his limitations work with this material. He sounds confrontational because confrontation is the song's natural language. The second half becomes increasingly erratic. "Mommy, Where's Daddy?" settles into a sleazy, low slung groove and features backing vocals from Gwen Dickey, while "Out in L.A." compresses the band's early identity into two frantic minutes. "Police Helicopter" is even shorter, barely giving its riff and rhythm enough time to register before disappearing. These songs often feel closer to fragments of a live set than carefully constructed studio compositions, but they also reveal why the band attracted attention. Conventional polish was never the point. The nineteen second "You Always Sing the Same" functions almost like a joke inserted before the record takes its most unexpected turn. "Grand Pappy Du Plenty" closes the album with an instrumental drift that abandons the frantic attack heard elsewhere. It is atmospheric, strange and slightly disconnected from everything preceding it. Yet as an ending, it works precisely because it refuses the obvious conclusion. A record built on nervous movement ends by dissolving. "The Red Hot Chili Peppers" is not a great album, but it is a revealing debut. Its production often suppresses the very volatility that made the band interesting, its songwriting frequently mistakes energy for development, and the chemistry is inevitably complicated by a lineup assembled during a transitional moment. What survives those weaknesses is personality. Flea already sounds unlike almost anyone else in rock. Kiedis already understands that rhythm can define a vocalist as strongly as melody. The band already views punk, funk and hip hop not as separate territories but as things that can be thrown together until something new emerges. This debut provides something different: the blueprint before the architecture. Messy, abrasive, funny and frequently underdeveloped, "The Red Hot Chili Peppers" captures a band whose ideas were moving faster than its ability to record them. That imbalance is exactly what makes the album worth hearing... For Listening: Spotify, Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website

We are happy to celebrate the album "One Day Remains" by the band "Alter Bridge" which was released on August 10, 2004. You are probably familiar with the nickname of the first episode of a new TV series, it is called "Pilot". In the pilot, there are usually one or two famous actors, the concept of the series is a bit familiar from other series or movies, and the production and directing do not really belong to big names. This one is a little bit different !! We really loved the previous series ("Creed") and also the main actors (one of them celebrated their birthday yesterday), we know how to recite the lyrics and even shed a tear in the drama scenes when the main actor welcomes us "with arms right open". So why the hell was the lead actor (Scott Stapp) replaced, the "characters" of the other actors and so was the "plot" ??? We are sure that this is what the audience, critics, and other friends who loved "Creed" felt. What now?? Doing a spinoff of something that ended just a year ago? Well... for sure it's not !! This is a completely new series, which gives actors more freedom to express themselves because they aren't in the shadow of the main famous actor, and they have a leading talent who knows how to take them to new heights. (Photo: promediabank.com) This "Alter Bridge" album is exactly this "pilot" and that's how it was created. In the same year when "Creed" members announced their breakup, this debut album by Alter came out! Already around the year, 2000 things started to bubble up in "Creed", disagreements mainly between singer the band leader Scott and the rest of the band intensified and this became even more valid with the departure of Brian Marshall when in 2004 they announced that they were disbanding (although they returned for another album "Full Circle" released In 2009). It's not that simple to break up a package with a winning formula after three successful albums, three Grammy nominations, and one Best Rock Song win in 2001, especially when in addition they have a large and devoted fan base. Our special friend, the "The Texas Chainsaw" Mark Tremonti was determined to continue to form and create a new band, and together with the other members of "Creed", they were looking for a singer... Three years earlier (in another dimension) the second album of the band "The Mayfield Four" was released after the commercial failure of their first album (but a great success by the critics and musicians) this album also did not really succeed and the end has already begun to give its signals. The band's founder and lead singer Myles Kennedy drowned in depression following his band's failure and returned to teaching guitar, which he did just before founding the band. Some say this is also the reason for his refusal when he received an offer from "Velvet Revolver" (not sure if Slash or Matt approached him) but he refused, yes... yes... he refused the Guns lineup !! Anyway, he refused Slash and Matt but when Tremonti approached him a year later, he said yes !! (And how glad we are that he said yes) In the fall of 2003, the three band members sent Myles three demos and asked him to record vocals for them, this was actually the beginning of Myles' audition. He sent them the song "Broken Wings" and the three didn't wait another moment and flew the new guy to Orlando on January 2, 2004. On January 4, 2004, the four entered a rehearsal room for the first time and started playing together. (Photo: wallpapaerflare.com) The band members began working on their debut album, with Tremonti bringing to the studio almost all of the music and about half of the lyrics and Myles completing the other lyrics. And here you have a "pilot" album ready. How simple and easy! Although it sound simple and easy it was much harder!! Everyone expected to get "Creed", these are the same musicians! Ok, you replaced the main "actor" but it should be the same?! "Creed" members were exposed to pressure not only from fans but also from producers, executives, and record companies. Everyone demanded "Creed" and the band to return to Scott. Imagine how difficult it was for a new actor to join a "cast" that everyone knows and loves when apart from the same cast no one wants him. But unlike what happened on the outside, this bonding was so natural and amazing that the band members did not let any outside pressures dictate the way for them and they released this album the same year they announced "Creed" breakup as mentioned. So everyone who expected to get "Creed", got a whole new and completely different band. This album is special for a lot of reasons, let's start with the fact that we undoubtedly feel that there is a moving touch here, but Tremonti here gives his creativity a complete freedom that is not dictated by anyone (especially not by people who think they are in the image of Messiah). The riffs and guitar sound sometimes feel like grunge, sometimes heavy metal, and sometimes melodic hard rock. Myles brings an amazing vocal talent and presents the songs with caresses, roars, assertiveness, and full synchronization with Tremonti. There are also good performances by Brian on bass and Scott Phillips on drums but they are not prominently expressed throughout the album. Aside from being a talented singer, Myles is also a guitarist by grace but does not perform guitars on this album, at least not getting credit for it, unlike what happens on the band's future albums. The album brings a number of songs that make up the band's base in terms of sound, melody, and lyrics. The song “One Day Remains” which begins with Tremonti's "dance" and the rhythm of Brian and Scott is one of the band's foundations. Continue to "Open Your Eyes" which is one of the most exciting on the album and an integral part of the band's stylist in performances, with a melodic and catchy structure that makes you want to sing out loud. The song "Metalingus" is one of the most prominent songs on the album and one of the band's hallmarks at the beginning, although it was not released as a single, it became the theme song of the wrestler "The Edge". It is something completely new that feels like a piece all band members have wanted to create for a long time and failed with their previous lineup, with Myles as we said performing amazingly with scary lows and frightening highs. Moving on to the most moving song on the album (in our opinion yes!) “Broken Wings”, Tremonti’s fret with the text and voice of Myles showing here that this is just the beginning of the amounts of emotion we are going to get from it is just an amazing opening shot. If that's not enough then there is another little thrill "In Loving Memory" that totally breaks you down. One of our most moving songs in recent years as it has a personal pedigree, a song that embraces our lost loved ones and says goodbye to them as it promises not to be forgotten. But with the song "Watch Your Words" you already know... while in the Tremonti language "The Sawmill from Texas" (we invented it) drops "bombs" that have been boiled down somewhere in the metal cellars, Brian and Scott carry it on their shoulders and Myles like a huge giant lead you towards the horizon, it happens... a small smile slowly expands on your face with the internalization of the insight that there is something new, exciting, kicking, aggressive and amazing. If until now there were doubts or uncertainties, now you already know this is it !! So in honor of the end, we will have an apocalyptic song that also clearly characterizes the sound of the band "The End Is Here", "Here you have found the answers for the rest of your life..." We know that a lot of the band's fans were not really exposed to this album, especially because the second album "Blackbird" is the one that was the band's breakthrough and brought it to international success, we are convinced that there is even a chance it is not in your arsenal. In honor of the 20th anniversary of the album, the band shared the demo of the song "Broken Wings". This is the first song the three Creed veterans played together with their new singer Myles Kennedy on January 4, 2004. So it's not too late, this is a good opportunity to go back and listen to the album from which it all started because today we already know who Alter Bridge is and we're just crazy about them !! Listen to the album on: Spotify, Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website

On August 9, 1968, the album "Wheels of Fire", the third album by the band "Cream", was released in England (and on June 14 in the USA). Beyond the fact that this album is probably the the band's best work that has been included in "Rolling Stone" magazine's 500 greatest albums of all time, it is historically the first double album in the world to have received platinum status (over a million units) in sales. The first record consists of songs recorded at the studio in late 1967, while the second vinyl was recorded at live performances at "Fillmore West" and "Winterland Ballroom" in San Francisco, in early 1968. This is a more ambitious and experimental project of the amazing trio of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce. The band here is one step further than what they did on previous albums, with complex compositions and asymmetrical time signatures on the one hand and expanding to new genres like jazz while using additional musical instruments like brass and string instruments, on the other. The material for the studio record consists of two covers of blues songs chosen by Eric Clapton, along with original material written by two duos. The first duo, are lead bassist and singer Jack Bruce who co-wrote with lyricist Pete Brown four of the studio tracks, while the second duo consisted of drummer Ginger Baker who co-wrote three more songs with musician Mike Taylor. During the sessions for the album Clapton wrote the song "Anyone for Tennis", which was released as a single and also entered the soundtrack of the movie "The Savage Seven". The song also went into the later extended versions released of the album. (Photo: George Stroud) The album includes one of the band's greatest song "White Room", which is the opening track that was also released as a single and reached number six on the US charts and became the band's biggest hit. The song began with a section by Jack Bruce based on the chords in the song "Tales of Brave Ulysses" from the band's previous album. The lyrics were written by Pete Brown who also helped Jack Bruce write the hit "Sunshine Of Your Love". Drummer Ginger Baker was the one who devised the opening rhythm, but he did not receive credit for it. Clapton uses the Wah-Wah effect under the influence of Jimi Hendrix. He reached the second place for it, in the greatest Wah-Wah songs of all time by "Guitar" magazine. By the way, in the first place was chosen "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" by Jimi Hendrix from which Eric Clapton was influenced. Immediately after that comes the cover version of "Sitting on Top of the World" known from Howlin' Wolf. This is a particularly heavy version whose effects and guitar sounds will be heard a year later by Jimmy Page playing on Led Zeppelin's debut album. "Passing the Time" was written by the duo Ginger Baker and Mike Taylor is made up of three sections that were joined together. It opens with a strange drumming with vocal harmonies, from there we move on to a quiet and psychedelic section that includes organ and viola, with the third section being rhythmic and "rockish", after which everything dissipates to the second quiet section that leads us to the end of the song. The psychedelic line continues with "As You Said" a track by the duo Jack Bruce and Peter Brown finishing the first side of the vinyl to the sounds of an acoustic guitar and viola played by Felix Pappalardi. A magical and beautiful piece whose acoustic playing reminds us again what "Led Zeppelin" will sound a few years later. The other side of the vinyl on the first album opens with Baker and Taylor's song "Pressed Rat and Warthog" which includes a recitation of Baker's which he initially intended for his daughter, but eventually performed himself. "Politician" is one of the most beautiful on the album. A classic "Creamy" blues-rock song, with a mesmerizing riff and guitar sentences recorded on two different channels and hover above between the speakers in the stereo mix. We continue with the rock line with "Those Were the Days" which includes drums and amazing percussion by Baker and beautiful vocal harmonies by Clapton and Bruce, which even reminded us at times of "Gentle Giant". "Born Under a Bad Sign" is the second cover version on the studio album. A song written by Booker T. Jones and William Bell and performed by Albert King among others. It is strange that although this is a song that Clapton chose for the album, he is not the one who sang it, especially since there are rumors that the bass line, which is complex and different from the rhythm of the singing, made it very difficult for Jack Bruce to sing. The studio album ends with "Deserted Cities of the Heart" perhaps the best song on the other side of the vinyl featuring a wild rhythm where the rock blends with a bit of folk and even jazz with an amazing bass work by Jack Bruce. As for the live album, it features 4 songs carefully selected by producer Felix Pappalardi, who also plays on a number of instruments on the studio album, such as viola, organ and trumpet. The songs were selected from six different performances recorded at "Fillmore West" and the "Winterland Hall" in San Francisco. In the selection of song, Papaldi tried to balance the inflated egos of each of the three members of the band. "Traintime" was chosen to highlight Jack Bruce with his harmonica solo playing, while "Toad" was designed to "lift" Ginger Baker with the drum solo included, significantly longer than the studio version from the album "Fresh Cream". Eric Clapton, on the other hand, received the classic blues tracks "Spoonful" and "Crossroads" whose insane performance in the show became synonymous with "Guitar God" and was used for the guitar festival inaugurated by Clapton in 1999, as well as the box name he released in 1988 and includes the best repertoire from all periods and lineups in his career. It is interesting to note that Eric Clapton actually thought that the specific performance of the song, which was not edited at all, was not good enough. "Cream"'s performance of this song particularly influenced Geddy Lee bassist of "Rush", who noted that Jack Bruce's playing and his improvisations on the Gibson EB3 guitar in this song, not only made him want to play bass guitar, but to play bass on a power trio. Of course, "Rush" will later perform their own cover version of the song, which was included on their "Feedback" EP. This album also marked the beginning of the end of the formidable supergroup. Shortly after completing the recordings of the album, the members of "Cream" decided that they wanted to go on separate ways. At the request of the label, they went on a final tour in late 1968, when almost the entire set played on it included songs from the double album "Wheels of Fire". The record company's pressures led the Power Trio to release one last album called "Goodbye", another one which is a hybrid of live and studio material, which came out in early 1969, after the band had already disbanded. 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On August 9, 2005, "Staind" released their fifth studio album "Chapter V". By 2005, "Staind" had reached an interesting point in their evolution. The suffocating heaviness that defined their early records had gradually given way to the more melodic and introspective approach of "Break the Cycle" and "14 Shades of Grey". The latter pushed the band particularly far toward post grunge accessibility, placing melody and Aaron Lewis's emotional writing ahead of sheer aggression. "Chapter V" does not reverse that progression, but it does restore some of the physical weight that its predecessor occasionally lacked. The recording of "Chapter V" marked the first time "Staind" worked with producer David Bottrill, whose résumé already included albums by "Tool", "King Crimson" and Peter Gabriel. Recorded during the period following the extensive touring behind "14 Shades of Grey", the album was made with the established lineup of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Aaron Lewis, lead guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist Johnny April and drummer Jon Wysocki. Bottrill also handled the mix, and his production helped give the record a denser, more forceful character than its predecessor while preserving the melodic clarity that had become central to the band's sound. The result feels less like a retreat to the aggression of early "Staind" than an attempt to bring heavier guitar textures back into the increasingly polished songwriting the group had developed across its previous two records. "Run Away" immediately announces that "Staind" have rediscovered some muscle. Mushok's guitar work carries more bite than much of "14 Shades of Grey", while Wysocki and April give the verses a thick, grounded pulse. Lewis remains unmistakably Lewis, wounded, withdrawn and emotionally exhausted, but the music surrounding him is less passive. The chorus opens the arrangement without sacrificing its tension, establishing one of the album's central strengths: heaviness and melody are no longer fighting for space. Then comes "Right Here", the album's most obvious single and one of its most carefully constructed songs. Mushok's restrained guitar figure leaves enough room for Lewis to control the verses, while the chorus expands naturally rather than simply becoming louder. Lewis delivers the song with the weary conviction that became his trademark, but there is more composure here than on earlier records. Instead of exploding, he sounds like someone trying desperately to hold a collapsing relationship together. That restraint gives the song its power. "Paper Jesus" provides the necessary counterweight. It is darker, heavier and considerably more abrasive, driven by one of Mushok's strongest riffs on the record. The guitars grind rather than shimmer, Lewis pushes his voice harder and the structure keeps returning to tension instead of searching immediately for radio sized release. This is where "Chapter V" comes closest to reconnecting the melodic "Staind" of the early 2000s with the hostility buried inside their older material. That contrast becomes one of the album's defining characteristics. "Schizophrenic Conversations" turns inward again, using quieter passages to create a claustrophobic mood before the band expands around Lewis. The title captures the nature of his writing particularly well. These songs often feel less like statements than arguments conducted inside one person's head. Lewis repeatedly shifts between accusation, guilt, dependence and self examination, and the band's loud and quiet dynamics mirror those changes. "Falling" is more direct. Mushok builds the track around a muscular guitar foundation while Wysocki gives it a firm rhythmic push, allowing the chorus to land with considerably more force. Lewis sounds increasingly agitated as the song develops, and the arrangement understands when to let that frustration breathe rather than covering every space with distortion. It is accessible, certainly, but it retains enough grit to prevent the polish from becoming harmless. The album grows darker through "Cross to Bear" and "Devil". The former is compact and confrontational, its riff giving Lewis a harder surface against which to deliver the vocal, while "Devil" stretches the tension further. At five minutes, it is the longest track on the standard edition, and the additional space matters. Instead of chasing an immediate hook, the band allows atmosphere and repetition to do the work. There is, however, a limitation to this approach. Lewis's emotional vocabulary is intensely recognizable by this stage of the band's career. Guilt, resentment, isolation and damaged relationships remain his natural territory, and when the musical arrangements become too restrained, the distinctions between songs can narrow. "Chapter V" works best when Mushok's guitar language or Wysocki's rhythmic attack creates friction around the vocal rather than simply supporting it. "Everything Changes" demonstrates why the softer side of "Staind" can still succeed. The song does not need a particularly complicated arrangement because its strength lies in escalation. Lewis begins from a position of regret, and the band gradually increases the emotional pressure around him. The chorus is broad without becoming excessively sentimental, making it one of the record's most effective examples of the band's post grunge songwriting instincts. By "King of All Excuses", some of the bitterness has returned. The song has a sharper attitude and benefits from the contrast between Lewis's vocal phrasing and the heavier guitar attack. It is also a reminder that "Staind" are more convincing when their melancholy contains resistance. Pure resignation can flatten their music. Anger gives it shape. The closing "Reply" chooses reflection instead. Rather than ending with the band's heaviest statement, "Staind" pull the record back toward intimacy. It works because "Chapter V" has spent much of its running time balancing those two identities: the heavy band that emerged from the late 1990s alternative metal scene and the enormously successful melodic rock band they had become. That balance is ultimately what separates "Chapter V" from "14 Shades of Grey". It does not abandon the accessible songwriting that brought "Staind" a much larger audience, nor does it pretend the band can simply return to its earliest aggression. Instead, it integrates both sides more effectively. Mushok sounds more present, the rhythm section carries greater weight, and Lewis is given enough space to remain the emotional center without reducing every arrangement to a vehicle for his voice. "Chapter V" is not a radical reinvention, and its consistency can occasionally become predictability. But it is a stronger record than that criticism suggests. Its best songs understand exactly what made "Staind" distinctive: unusual guitar textures, controlled dynamics, a rhythm section capable of turning restraint into pressure and a vocalist whose limitations are inseparable from his strengths. Lewis lives inside a narrow emotional room, but when the rest of the band starts pushing against its walls, "Staind" can still sound enormous. For Listening: Spotify, Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website

On August 3, 2011, "Trivium" released their fifth studio album "In Waves". Few modern metal bands have spent as much of their early career battling expectations as Trivium. After the technical ambition of "Shogun", the Florida quartet faced the challenge of following an album many fans still regard as untouchable. Rather than attempting to outdo its predecessor's progressive excesses, "In Waves" chose a more direct route. It is heavier than "The Crusade", leaner than "Shogun", and ultimately became the record that redefined Trivium's identity for the next decade. With Matt Heafy handling lead vocals and guitar alongside Corey Beaulieu's razor-sharp lead work, Paolo Gregoletto's muscular bass lines, and newcomer Nick Augusto behind the kit, the chemistry feels refreshed. Augusto's arrival injects urgency into every performance, delivering relentless double-kick precision without sacrificing groove. Producers Colin Richardson and Martyn "Ginge" Ford give the album a polished but aggressive production that allows every riff to breathe without softening its impact. The recording of "In Waves" reflected Trivium's desire to sharpen rather than reinvent their sound. The band tracked the album at Paint It Black Studios in Altamonte Springs, Florida, and Audiohammer Studios in nearby Sanford, working with producers, whose resumes already included landmark releases by Machine Head, Carcass and Bullet for My Valentine. Richardson and Ford pursued a highly detailed production, with engineer Carl Bown overseeing the sessions and Michael "Elvis" Baskette handling additional vocal recording. The result is a remarkably tight performance in which every layered rhythm guitar, harmonized lead and Nick's precise drumming remains distinct without sacrificing the album's crushing weight. After recording in Florida, the album was mixed at Treehouse Studio in Derbyshire, England, before Ted Jensen completed the mastering at Sterling Sound in New York, giving "In Waves" its polished yet relentlessly aggressive sonic character. The opening instrumental "Capsizing the Sea" acts as a cinematic prelude before collapsing into "In Waves", one of the defining songs of Trivium's career. Built around one of the band's most memorable riffs, it balances crushing breakdowns with melodic choruses in a way that feels effortless rather than calculated. The contrast between Heafy's harsh vocals and soaring clean melodies demonstrates how much his vocal confidence had grown since earlier releases. "Inception of the End" pushes the technical side of the band without becoming self-indulgent. Intricate guitar harmonies weave through shifting rhythms while Augusto drives the song with explosive fills. "Dusk Dismantled" is pure controlled aggression, embracing blast beats and death metal intensity before giving way to surprisingly memorable melodic passages. The album's biggest surprise comes with "Built to Fall". Initially divisive among longtime fans, its accessible chorus has aged remarkably well. Rather than sounding like a commercial compromise, it demonstrates Trivium's growing understanding of songwriting economy. The hooks never overshadow the musicianship, and the riffs remain unmistakably metal. Elsewhere, "Caustic Are the Ties That Bind" recalls the epic songwriting of "Shogun", blending progressive structures with emotional melodies, while "Forsake Not the Dream" delivers one of the album's finest guitar performances. The closing stretch, particularly "Chaos Reigns" and "Of All These Yesterdays", refuses to let the momentum fade, ending the record with intensity instead of sentimentality. What makes "In Waves" endure is its balance. It never chases technical complexity simply to impress, nor does it dilute the band's heavier instincts in pursuit of mainstream success. Every melodic chorus is earned by crushing riffs, and every accessible moment is supported by musicianship that few metalcore bands could match. Some listeners still place "Ascendancy" or "Shogun" above it, and there is a reasonable argument for both. Yet "In Waves" arguably represents the point where Trivium finally unified every aspect of their sound. Thrash precision, melodic death metal aggression, metalcore breakdowns, classic heavy metal hooks, and progressive ambition all coexist without fighting for attention. More than fifteen years later, "In Waves" remains one of the defining modern metal albums of the 2010s. It marked the beginning of Trivium's most consistent creative era and proved that evolution does not always require reinvention. Sometimes refinement is the boldest step a band can take. For Listening: Spotify | Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website

It seems like just yesterday that the horror bomb swept the world of metal and music in general. An album concocted by eight Slipknot members in the depths of a dark abyss, haunted by creatures, sounds, voices, and out-of-this-world experiences. We are dramatic and we love it... From the first teasers ahead of the album, "Slipknot" made us develop expectations at the levels of Quentin Tarantino's next film. Unprecedented marketing work in the rock world, unprecedented in the sub-genre world, and unprecedented on the part of the band. Posts on various social media, collaborations with huge brands, and one slogan that has made anyone who is not connected to this band inferior, different, and even undeveloped. "WE ARE NOT YOUR KIND" How bold, how unstoppable, and how talented this band brought us this groundbreaking, dynamic, and diverse album that will be a beacon in the world of music. Again, we get carried away here but we love it... It all started after completing the tour for the previous album in 2017, Shawn "Clown" Crahan and Jim Root started writing new material together, Shawn and Jim originally intended to take the time on this album and not run forward indiscriminately. Not only new material but also material that they wrote together during the tour. Jim said he was very pleased that he could concentrate on one band, without having to split into two, which is also why he did not continue with "Stone Sour". Even then Shawn had the idea to produce a double, large, and experimental concept album. At a later stage, the drummer (the huge and crazy one who by the way has not yet received a number in the band) Jay Weinberg joined and they began to form demos to record the album. Corey Taylor at the time was busy on the "Hydrograd" album of his second band "Stone Sour". Photo: Paul Harries Although the single "All Out Life" was released in October 2018, the band gathered to start recording only in early 2019. For two whole years, the three worked on the album's demos, like a witch who cooks a potion from dangerous substances and lets it brew in the fire, so the album crystallizes. The songs evolved and grew during this time, every time they touched them, something different happened and it gave them the ability to experiment and create in new spaces. Shawn words... “Let me tell you, this one’s biblical” After the demos were done all the materials were transferred to Corey who was blown away by the creativity of the three and was inspired to go to places he had not dared to go before and he wrote from the depths of his soul all the lyrics to the album. Corey, who today had already found a new love, got married, and regained his sanity, at that time was suffering from severe depression. He went through a difficult and ugly divorce from a relationship that was "toxic" as he said, he went into depression and tried to find a way to recover from the difficult experience. Corey said that this is an almost autobiographical album in which he reveals all his experiences and feelings, he claims that he has never been so personal on any of the band's albums. Gloomy lyrics that tell the process that Corey went through on the way to "redemption"! Nearly 27 tracks were formed during the writing and in early 2019 it was time to start recording. Together with producer Greg Fidelman who produced the band's previous album, the horror dance of this crazy album began (and we say this in a positive sense). Jim said that during the recordings there was a direct continuation of the process that started the writing. The recordings were made fluently and quickly. It all happened together, and fast. The band members recorded the album while they were all playing together and not when everyone was recording their part separately. Corey said that suddenly the pieces took on a different volume and meaning, from a crazy evolution that took place in the band along with the songs, imagine eight crazy members in one studio, after 5 years not being together in this situation, and everyone longing to get everything they have in their stomachs !! Just before the release of the album, Chris Fehn decided to sue the band members for royalties on the tour. This led to a huge lawsuit and very negative public relations that made the band's fans suspect that something was wrong with the band members again and everything was starting to fall apart once again. But that did not happen, they came out stronger, armed with a new slogan, new masks, and crazy visual teasers released in all possible media, and so the eight released the album on August 9th, 2019! So even if you are not in the "Maggots" community, click play and go crazy: Spotify, Apple Music The album opens with "Insert Coin" just to have a test for your eardrum and make sure everything is balanced before entering the official 2019 anthem (there is no need to deny that it will not help) "Unsainted" !! This is one of the greatest songs of this ensemble, strong, powerful, exemplary, melodic at times, cut to chapters, with dynamics that can accommodate everything "Slipknot" have done up to that moment. All the hype created around the album erupted in this wonderful single that without you noticing puts the visit to the band's show at the top of your priorities in life, in general !! Musical elements from all of the band's albums are combined with harsh and gloomy lyrics about Corey's depression that brings a ruthless bomb. In the video of the song, the band members reveal their new masks, but what does it matter now that Shawn hits his baseball bat on the barrel... The song that opens like this is called "Birth Of The Cruel" is the third track on the album with a different style from what we've heard so far from the band, with an industrial scent coming to the chorus, and Corey bursting into flames. The third single was written in the garage of Jim's house with the riffs leading the song and vice versa, with the drums and clicks on the barrel leading the song. Here, too, Corey copes with depression but manages to break through to overcome it. One of the gloomy parts of the album is "Death Because Of Death", the fruit of Shawn's work that takes you to a kind of obscure moment of thought... and then it comes... Explosions !!!!! The album's fifth track "Nero Forte" opens with a deadly and fast reef accompanied by Jay's superhuman drumming, but wait..."Nero Forte" what is it? Background noises? The vocal harmony of sounds is almost palpable? It suddenly upsets us, and we move uncomfortably, but in the second cycle we are already flowing with it and it's good because the roars, the guitars, the drums, everything just blends in perfectly, insane. Feels a bit like an evolution of the song "Psychosocial". Moving on to the sixth track "Critical Darling", which starts very strong, a shape that is very characteristic of the first materials of the band, but later gets a kind of melodic poppy twist, as if something has melted here and become sticky and pleasant. Of course, the craze returns immediately afterward, a fascinating musical roller coaster !! The basic of the song was written during the previous album, but such and other changes to the riff and additions of electronic effects brought it to this album. Now we change the atmosphere and move on to something slower and heavier that is very reminiscent of "Snuff". The episode "A Liar's Funeral" is another journey into the depths of Corey's wounded and depressed soul, how exciting it is... how painful it is... In this song, Corey sees the people around him with crooked eyes and condescendingly, calling them liars. Jay's blows on the high hat feel like pieces of metal that torment and hurt. Take a deep breath and let's continue... Straight back to the familiar and beloved inferno with "Red Flag", Jim said that producer Greg took the demo of this song and stripped it completely until he found a certain riff part on which the whole song was rebuilt. We will continue from here to a psychotic passage “What’s Next” reminiscent of a scene in the elevator or lobby of a creepy hotel a second before a horrific apocalypse occurs. With this creepy piano melody, we continue to one of the most wonderful and surprising works on the album "Spiders". This is a new side of Slipknot that takes them to new spaces and different styles that characterize the band, and it's just an amazing piece, no need to be afraid to see more colors of the band. Photo: Slipknot Continue to the section called "Orphan" which begins with a long opening section and erupts into fast, high-quality thrash metal. We just admire Jay for his talent and abilities, he certainly does not fall short of Joey Jordison and maybe even surpass him (do not be angry if you are one of Joey's fans), he blends in perfectly with the new directions of the band, while still holding the rhythm. Corey tells you how lonely he feels, just like an orphan, but a ruthless orphan who destroys your world. The song "My Pain" is another slow, heavy, and moving piece but... presented here with a musical, psychedelic twist that is not even close to the world of "Slipknot". The xylophone here puts us in an atmosphere of horror as Corey sings to us in a gentle way, if it is not daring, creative, and breaking boundaries then the settings need to be changed. The music for the song was written back in 2008 and every time the band members approached it was not ripe for the album, this time it was! The penultimate section is called "Not Long for This World" and is simply perfectly constructed, a pleasant and caressing easy opening that breaks at once with the guitar riff and melody of the vocals. This is how the parts come back again and again with the exploding chorus in "Slipknot" style. This is not a catchy or hit song, it is a song that requires further listening with depth and internalization. The section that seals the album is "Solway Firth" for some reason feels like a direct sequel to "Spiders" but is a wonderful summary for this album. A song that simply sums up everything we heard from this band here and now, the mowing, roaring, fragility, breaks with a pleasant melody, electronic effects, creepy music boxes, and a variety of other styles we got here from the band. This different, diverse, and experimental album went straight to number one on the Billboard 200 and took first place in dozens of other countries in the world, it was not only a musical explosion but without a doubt also a commercial explosion. This must be taken seriously in the world of instant, pop, Instagram, and Tik Tok where we live today. The album gained insane exposure and brought the "new" metal to the various media headlines, even if it was only for a brief moment. Along with the album that is considered in our eyes and in the eyes of the band for a leap, their tour also underwent a leap and it is impossible to separate the two. As they took their musical creativity to other, more extreme, unfamiliar districts, even in their performances today they went far. Add dramatic elements, pyrotechnics, and a crazy show, as an integral part of what they want to convey with the album. Listen to the album on: Spotify, Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website

If you are a fan of Hard Rock or Metal, there is no way you have not ever listened to an album produced or mixed by Martin Birch. (Photo: Fin Costello) Birch was for "Iron Maiden" as was George Martin for "the Beatles". If Martin was then called "The Fifth Beatle" then Martin is undoubtedly the sixth "Maidenist" (the band numbered 5 members at the time) or Eddie's stepbrother. He has produced nine consecutive "Iron Maiden" albums ranging from "Killers" in 1981 to "Fear Of The Dark" in 1992. Only the masterpieces he produced and engineered for Maiden alone justify putting him in the Hall of Fame for producers (if there was one). "The Number Of The Beast", "Powerslave", "Somewhere in Time", "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" and more. Birch was born on December 27, 1948 in Surrey, England. He began his professional career as a technician and producer in the late 1960s as a sound technician on the albums of Jeff Beck and "Fleetwood Mac". He later became the sound engineer for masterful albums by the band "Wishbone Ash" such as "Argus" and "Pilgrimage". He rose to fame in the early '70s when he worked on "Deep Purple" albums including masterpieces "In Rock", "Machine Head", "Fireball", "Burn" and even the masterpiece live album "Made in Japan". Birch stays with the extended "Deep Purple" family as he produces albums for Jon Lord and Roger Glover, among others. Even after the breakup of "Deep Purple" in the mid - 1970s, Birch worked with "Rainbow" while producing his first three studio albums and the live album "On Stage" with Ronnie James Dio. But that is not enough. Birch produced all of "Whitesnake's" first albums, from "Trouble" in 1978 to "Slide It In" in 1984. Birch is also responsible for the production of "Black Sabbath"'s first two masterpieces with Ronnie James Dio "Heaven And Hell" and "Mob Rules". Birch encouraged the band to explore new areas and experiment with musical structures appropriate to Dio’s multi-octave vocal range and the results were nothing short of stunning. He has also produced other artists such as Gary Moore, "Blue Öyster Cult" and even "Michael Schenker Group" on the amazing album "Assault Attack". Birch believed in working for a long time with a certain artist, as George Martin did with "The Beatles". He believed that in-depth work with a certain band, album after album, was preferable to moving and skipping between artists, and indeed as can be seen in his career he accompanied bands such as "Black Sabbath", "Deep Purple", "Iron Maiden", "Whitesnake" and "Rainbow" across a sequence of albums. Martin's last album to be produced was Iron Maiden's "Fear Of The Dark" from 1992, after which he retired. Over the years, Birch has earned various nicknames on the album covers of the bands he has produced, such as "Farmer", "Black Night", "Pool Buly" and more ... The song "Hard Lovin 'Man" from "Deep Purple's" "In Rock" album was dedicated by the band to Birch. It is interesting to note that on Fleetwood Mac's "Mystery to Me" album, Birch also received credit for playing an acoustic guitar. Martin Birch passed away on August 6, 2020, he was 71 years old at the time of his death. There is no doubt that Birch will be remembered as the super producer of the Hard Rock and Metal genre. "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website