Iommi is Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi's first official solo album. He came close before. 1986's Seventh Star was supposed to be, but Warner Bros. insisted on calling it a Black Sabbath Featuring Tony Iommi record for marketing purposes. In a way, Iommi is nearly a Black Sabbath tribute album since its ten songs each feature an all-star guest vocalist…
When Temple of the Dog released their lone album in the spring of 1991, it landed to little fanfare despite being a sterling example of how the Seattle scene could push itself. The end result of two songs Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell had written in memory of former roommate and friend, the late Mother Love Bone vocalist Andrew Wood, Temple of the Dog was populated by luminaries of Seattle's soon-to-be-grunge-explosion…
Decades before Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden, and even well before anyone had heard of Ann and Nancy Wilson, Seattle gave the rock and roll world The Ventures, one of the single most influential rock bands of all time, and perhaps the biggest-selling all-instrumental band ever, with the possible exception of the similar British band The Shadows…
It’s quite understandable for a fan of Bathory to be interested by Quorthon’s solo project, aptly named Quorthon. However, if you’re expecting thrashy viking metal or misanthropic black metal, you will be disappointed. The best way to describe Quorthon is as a modern grunge tinged hard rock band. There is a lot here that will entice an Alice in Chains fan more than a Bathory fan…
Truth be told, Target Earth was a make or break studio album for prog metal veterans Voivod. The band's last studio offering, 2009's INFINI, was assembled from the hard drive guitar parts of deceased guitarist (and chief songwriter) Denis "Piggy" D'Amour's…
When Alice in Chains' debut album, Facelift, was released in 1990, about a year before Nirvana's Nevermind, the thriving Seattle scene barely registered on the national musical radar outside of underground circles (although Soundgarden's major-label debut, Louder Than Love, was also released that year and brought them a Grammy nomination)…
1995's Classicks is another in a long line of Alice Cooper best-of compilations, and it includes both live and studio material. Featured are such late-'80s and early-'90s favorites as "Poison," "Hey Stoopid," "House of Fire," and a great duet with Soundgarden's Chris Cornell, "Stolen Prayer," among others…