Scott Weiland is the enigmatic front man of not only the Stone Temple Pilots but also was fronting the band Velvet Revolver for a couple of albums before returning to touring and recording with STP. I loved those first two STP releases and that makes it a very exciting thing to know that Scott will be doing a “Greatest Hits” show at the Highline Ballroom on Monday 11/26. Thanks to the fine folks who book this awesome venue, we are going to put a few PiercingMetal readers into show for free. Pretty cool eh?
Continue reading Want To See Scott Weiland in NYC on 11/26/2012? →
Artist: Velvet Revolver
Title: “Live In Houston”
Label: Eagle Vision
Release Date: 11/16/2010
Genre: Hard Rock
Rating: 2.55/5
It might surprise you to learn that I have always felt that Velvet Revolver was not all that interesting nor deserving of the media accolades it seemed to get even though it found members of Guns ‘N Roses and Stone Temple Pilots in its membership roster. To be brutally honest I always felt that the overall output from them was nothing more than marginal when it came down to it and this amuses me greatly since I really enjoyed GnR when they first came onto the scene much like I did STP when I first heard their debut release. I think that the reason I get this perception is based on how I had hoped more for an original full on Guns reunion and that seemed to be a pipe dream in the minds of my own and many other Rock and Roll fans no matter how much we wished for it. That being said, the band does feature a strong core of former Guns musicians such as Slash on guitar, Duff on bass and Matt on drums along with singer Scott Weiland who comes from Stone Temple Pilots. The Velvet Revolver lineup is rounded out by Dave Kushner who adds a second guitar to the mix. This should have found the material being exemplary all around and all I ever took it as was lackluster. Onto the concert release we are examining here.
Continue reading “Live In Houston” by Velvet Revolver →
Artist: Velvet Revolver
Title: “Contraband”
Label: RCA Records
Release: June 8, 2004
Genre: Hard Rock
Rating: 8/10
Fans for years have longed for Guns N’ Roses to get back together, they wanted it, but it will most likely never happen when along comes the super group Velvet Revolver. Velvet Revolver formed in 2002 and brought together ex Guns N’ Roses members Slash on guitar, Duff McKagan on bass, and Matt Sorum on drums. They also brought in Dave Kushner (Wasted Youth, Dave Navarro) to play on second guitar and after a long search found their frontman none other than Stone Temple Pilots, Scott Weiland on vocals. This album grabbed instant attention and massive touring for the band and earned this album a spot as one of the most successful albums in 2004.
Continue reading “Contraband” by Velvet Revolver →
Artist: Various Artists
Title: “Fantastic Four” – Soundtrack
Label: Wind-Up Records
Release Date: 7/5/2005
Genre: Alternative
Rating: 7
I feel as though Wind-Up Records have optioned all the recent crop of super-hero soundtracks outside of Spiderman and l use the release of “Fantastic Four” to cement my statement. I had enjoyed listening to the “Daredevil” and “Elektra” pieces so I expected more of the same when it came to “Fantastic Four”. This piece however would be a half and half of good and bad in my opinion. There are some highlights from outside of the Wind-Up family such as Velvet Revolver and Sum 41. Each of the bands delivering a solid track. Simple Plan however simply ruins the classic Cheap Trick tune “Surrender”. Reviewing the contributions from the Wind-Up roster is the tune by Alter Bridge (the new band formed from the ashes of Creed) as well as another track from Ben Moody (co-founder of Evanescence). This time around Ben has Anastacia with him and this track has some heat to it. Ben has been keeping busy since he left Evanescence and hopefully will have a full release soon.
Continue reading “Fantastic Four – The Album” by Various Artists →
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