All posts by Ken Pierce

Ken Pierce is an NYC based Music Journalist and the Editor In Chief of PiercingMetal.com; He's been documenting the live Metal and Rock scene of the Big Apple since 2003 and believes that there is always something exciting happening in this Metropolis.
Features, PiercingMetal Says

Attention: Today Is Bandcamp Friday (2/3/2023)

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Greetings my music minded friends and welcome to February. It’s super cold here in New York City and if you trust the Groundhogs prediction, we are set to have another six weeks of winter. If you view that as utter hogwash since the animal is not a meteorologist I say relax because its a lot of fun thinking that this is actually the reason for the weather changes. So here we are at another one of those “Bandcamp Friday” announcements and this is the very first one for the 2023 year. Last year I pointed out that we’ve taken the page out of the book of some of the other websites that we know and since this actually helps the artists out I’ve decided to make it a regular thing. I also said that this kind of news might be better served over on the Ken Pierce Media site, but since this is aimed at the music side of the fence I run them on PiercingMetal.com for now. Maybe the next one will be over there. Who knows but I digress. So here is a final reminder that the Bandcamp company being acquired by Epic Games (discussed HERE) and while that is some seriously big news I was stoked to find them leaving this particular angle alone. So what is Bandcamp Friday you might ask if you are one of our newbie site visitors, let’s review just what this is shall we?

What Is Bandcamp Friday: Bandcamp Fridays allow artists and labels releasing music to take back 93% of the money earned through sales, with the other 7% being used for processing fees and charges. Launched on the first Friday of March in 2020, Bandcamp Fridays normally take place on one Friday a month (usually the first).
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Features, PiercingMetal Says

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2023 Nominations Announced

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The nominations for the 2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class have been announced and the rundown is as follows along with some of my own editorial views on each of the artists in the running.

Kate Bush Kate’s been nominated a few times over the years if I am remembering correctly and if you are like myself and many friends, you only know her name from that big hit from the eighties in “Running Up That Hill” which was truly a solid number. Course I never looked deeper into her catalog to learn more so can’t gauge the need for her in the Hall or not. Her inclusion in the Netflix hit series “Stranger Things” made this song a hit once more in the modern times so perhaps this bodes well for an extry.

Sheryl Crow It seems that I know more of Sheryl’s hits than I anticipated and I have no hate for any of these numbers but I will also add that I have often felt she was more of a Country Pop artist more so than a tried and true Rocker. I’d take her at Country Rock but she sure does sell a lot of albums and will fill seats at their banquet so her chances are good as well.

Missy Elliott As expected I am not listening to a whole lot of Rap with a site that’s called PiercingMetal but I do really enjoy some of the legends like DMC, Sugar Hill Gang, Grandmaster Flash and the stuff that launched this very impacting genre. She is one of two Rap artists being nominated and one will usually get in since that’s the way the Rock Hall works nowadays but I cannot speak to her material in the slightest.

Iron Maiden I’ve for sure heard of this band over the years. They’ve got an interesting premise, a few solid numbers and a good stage show. Now with all kidding aside its great to find the mighty Iron Maiden up in the nominations list once more and I hope that they will get in this year. The band is still selling out arenas on a nightly basis and while I lean more towards the classic material, can say that they are a forward thinking Metal band that pulls out all the stops each and every time and deserves to be in there alongside their fellow Brits Black Sabbath and Judas Priest.
Continue reading Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2023 Nominations Announced →

Features, Tours and Festivals

Ozzy Osbourne Cancels Upcoming European/UK Tour Dates

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Statement from OZZY OSBOURNE:

“This is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to share with my loyal fans. As you may all know, four years ago, this month, I had a major accident, where I damaged my spine.

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Ozzy Osbourne w Black Sabbath (2016) by KP

My one and only purpose during this time has been to get back on stage. My singing voice is fine. However, after three operations, stem cell treatments, endless physical therapy sessions, and most recently groundbreaking Cybernics (HAL) Treatment, my body is still physically weak.
Continue reading Ozzy Osbourne Cancels Upcoming European/UK Tour Dates →

Features, PiercingMetal Says

Presenting The 2nd Annual Drumeo “Drummer Of The Year” Awards Winners

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Last month I shared the nominations for the 2nd Annual Drumeo “Drummer Of The Year” Awards and in that post I mentioned that I had not heard of it before publishing that post. I also pointed out that a wide variety of awards show rundowns are shared over on “The Chronicles of Piercing Ken” since that lets me post a wider variety of them. Now we are back on the Drumeo topic as they just recently revealed the winners in a streamed video on YouTube so if you scroll on down below you will see all of the winners of the awards as well as those honored with some special legacy awards. The streaming cermony was hosted by Jared Falk and Dave Atkinson and a few others. Here now are your winners for “Drummer Of The Year”.

Drummer Of The Year:
Mark Guiliana
WINNER – Chad Smith
Benny Greb
Steve Smith
Todd Sucherman

Rock Drummer Of The Year:
Ray Luzier
Rook
Daniel Fang
Josh Freese
WINNER – Travis Barker
Continue reading Presenting The 2nd Annual Drumeo “Drummer Of The Year” Awards Winners →

Features, PiercingMetal Says

BMG Releases Dokken “The Elektra Albums 1983-1987” Boxed Set

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The Press Release:
The 4 albums that made Dokken one of the ‘80s top rock bands collected together as a box set (available in LP or CD formats) from BMG, ‘The Elektra Albums 1983-1987.’

Available now, the limited edition set includes Dokken’s million-selling, worldwide charting first 4 studio albums (‘Breaking the Chains,’ ‘Tooth and Nail,’ ‘Under Lock and Key,’ and ‘Back for the Attack’) as a either a 5LP or 5CD set. This era features the classic line-up of Don Dokken (vocals), George Lynch (guitar), Jeff Pilson (bass), and “Wild” Mick Brown (drums), and all have been newly remastered by Andy Pearce (Black Sabbath, Motorhead). Additionally, the LP box features 180g black vinyl.

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Continue reading BMG Releases Dokken “The Elektra Albums 1983-1987” Boxed Set →