Scorpions

Scorpions are a German rock band formed in the year 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, who is the band's only constant member (although Klaus Meine has been lead singer for all their studio albums).^[11][12][13] They are known for their 1980s rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and many singles, such as "No One Like You", "Send Me an Angel", "Still Loving You", and "Wind of Change". The band was ranked No. 46 on VH1'sGreatest Artists of Hard Rock program.^] "Rock You Like a Hurricane" is also No. 18 on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs. On January 24, 2010, after 45 years of performing, the band announced that they would be retiring after touring in support of their new album Sting in the Tail,^[16][17] although this decision was eventually retracted.^[18][19] The band has sold over 150 million records worldwide.

Formation and early history (1965–1973)

Rudolf Schenker, the band's rhythm guitarist launched the band in 1965. At first, the band had beat influences and Schenker himself did the vocals.

Mc Shanker and temple rock

Michael Schenker – photo credit: Stephen Fourie

Michael Schenker has spent the past four decades as the lead guitarist for some of the biggest names in rock and roll, such as The Scorpions, UFO, and MSG.

He would go on to assist in creating some of the most gripping tunes in classic rock and hair metal history, with his consistent craving for creativity and experimentation bringing him to front some forceful and inventive bands.

And it seems that right from the start, Michael was destined for rock greatness. His first gig was at the age of 11, in which he manned lead guitar duties and played nightclubs with a little known band called The Scorpions.

At the age of 15, Michael took a major role in shaping what would become The Scorpions’ debut album, Lonesome Crow.

Soon following, he was snatched up by UFO, and quickly began catching the world’s attention with the rampaging riffage he generously slathered across such classic rock hits as “Doctor Doctor” and “Rock Bottom“.

Michael Schenker would soon become a known quantity as he continued to mesmerise the eyes and ears of metal world.

However, Michael’s

Scorpions Cancel Retirement Plan

Remember a few years ago when we found out that Scorpions were not only still around, but releasing a final album, touring the world, then gracefully retiring? Well, it turns out that the band aren’t ready to pack it in just yet. “It’s one thing to say ‘this is going to be the end of the Scorpions’ and another to do it,” singer Klaus Meine told Classic Rock Magazine. “Our Sting in the Tail album was such a success that a whole new generation of fans joined the party. It was amazing. And you know that with all the best parties it’s sometimes hard to find the door?”

Wait, what? Listen, we’re not going to begrudge Scorpions any of their success, but if anyone thinks it’s their last album that brought people on board, that person is wrong. What was the single off that album? Oh, you don’t remember? Neither does anyone else. Granted, it’s not surprising that some younger fans have found their way to the Scorpions, but there’s no way it’s because of Sting of the Tail or their album of covers that we kind of remember happened as well.

The band plan on recording another studio album, this one featuring songs that they initially started working on in the ‘early ’80s. “We started that over a year ago,” Meine says. “It will be material that was never finished; songs with pure Scorpions DNA from a very exciting time. Once we close the book on the crazy touring schedule that’s something we’ll pick up again.”

Queen (band)

 

Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1970, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar, vocals), John Deacon (bass guitar), and Roger Taylor (drums, vocals). Queen's earliest works were influenced by progressive rock, hard rock and heavy metal, but the band gradually ventured into more conventional and radio-friendly works, incorporating more diverse and innovative styles in their music.

Before joining Queen, Brian May and Roger Taylor had been playing together in a band named Smile with bassist Tim Staffell. Freddie Mercury (then known as Farrokh/Freddie Bulsara) was a fan of Smile, and encouraged them to experiment with more elaborate stage and recording techniques after Staffell's departure in 1970. Mercury himself joined the band shortly thereafter, changed the name of the band to "Queen", and adopted his familiar stage name. John Deacon was recruited prior to recording their eponymous debut album (1973). Queen enjoyed success in the UK with their debut and its follow-up, Queen II (1974), but it was the release of Sheer Heart Attack (1974) and A Night at the Opera (1975) that gained the band international success. The latter featured "Bohemian Rhapsody", which stayed at number one in the UK Singles Chart for nine weeks; it charted at number one in several other territories, and gave the band their first top ten hit on the US Billboard Hot 100. Their 1977 album, News of the World, contained two of rock's most recognisable anthems, "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions". By the early 1980s, Queen were one of the biggest stadium rock bands in the world, and their performance at 1985's Live Aid is regarded as one of the greatest in rock history. In 1991, Mercury died of bronchopneumonia, a complication of AIDS, and Deacon retired in 1997. Since then, May and Taylor have infrequently performed together, including a collaboration with Paul Rodgers under the name Queen + Paul Rodgers which ended in May 2009.

The band have released a total of 18 number one albums, 18 number one singles, and 10 number one DVDs. Estimates of their album sales generally range from 150 million to 300 million albums, making them one of the world's best-selling music artists. They received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Phonographic Industry in 1990, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.

Early days (1968–1974)

In 1968, guitarist Brian May, a student at London's

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. They became the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed act in the rock music era.^[1] The group's best-known lineup consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. Rooted in skiffle and 1950s rock and roll, the Beatles later utilized several genres, ranging from pop ballads to psychedelic rock, often incorporating classical and other elements in innovative ways. In the early 1960s, their enormous popularity first emerged as "Beatlemania", but as their songwriting grew in sophistication, they came to be perceived by many fans and cultural observers as an embodiment of the ideals shared by the era's sociocultural revolutions.

The band built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over a three-year period from 1960. Manager Brian Epstein moulded them into a professional act and producer George Martin enhanced their musical potential. They gained popularity in the United Kingdom after their first modest hit, "Love Me Do", in late 1962. They acquired the nickname the "Fab Four" as Beatlemania grew in Britain over the following year, and by early 1964 they had become international stars, leading the "British Invasion" of the United States pop market. From 1965 on, the Beatles produced what many critics consider their finest material, including the innovative and widely influential albums Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966), Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), The Beatles (1968), and Abbey Road (1969). After their break-up in 1970, they each enjoyed successful musical careers. Lennon was shot and killed in December 1980, and Harrison died of lung cancer in November 2001. McCartney and Starr remain musically active.

Avenged Sevenfold, Deftones, Linkin Park + More Reveal Record Store Day Release Plans

 

Record Store Day (April 20) is fast approaching and a number of top hard rock bands have begun revealing what they plan to do to mark the occasion.

Avenged Sevenfold are plotting a pair of limited edition exclusive releases. ‘Carry On’ will be available as a 12-inch vinyl picture disc. On one side is the original studio version of the song as created for ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops II.’ Meanwhile, the b-side offers a previously unreleased instrumental version of the track. The disc features the ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops II’ artwork, as well as the Avenged Sevenfold deathbat. Only 5000 copies are being pressed. The other Avenged Sevenfold offering is a 12-inch vinyl and DVD deluxe edition of ‘Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough.’ Only 3500 copies are being offered for the Record Store Day festivities.

Deftones are offering the first of seven exclusive vinyl releases on Record Store Day (April 20). ‘Live: Volume 1 – Selections from Adrenaline’ is being released as a single disc 12-inch vinyl EP. The music comes from a live performance at Buffalo’s Memorial Auditorium in October, 1996.

Linkin Park‘s contribution to Record Store Day will be a two-song 10-inch EP, complete with an exclusive poster and sticker that will be limited to 3,000 copies. The two songs are ‘One Step Closer’ and ‘My December’ from the band’s breakout album, ‘Hybrid Theory.’

Avenged Sevenfold

Avenged Sevenfold (sometimes abbreviated to A7X) is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California. Formed in 1999, the group consists of M. Shadows (lead vocalist), Zacky Vengeance (rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist), Synyster Gates (lead guitarist and backing vocalist), and Johnny Christ (bassist).

They are known for their diverse rock sound and dramatic imagery in album covers and t-shirts.^[1][2][3] Avenged Sevenfold emerged with a metalcore sound on their debut Sounding the Seventh Trumpet but their style had evolved by their third album and first major label release, City of Evil into a hard rock/heavy metal sound. The band continued to explore new sounds with their self-titled release and enjoyed continued mainstream success before their drummer, James "The Rev" Sullivan, died in 2009. Despite his death, the band continued on with help of now-former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy and released and toured in support of their fifth album Nightmare in 2010 which debuted on the top spot of the Billboard 200, their first number one debut.^[4]

To date, Avenged Sevenfold has released five studio albums, one live album/compilation/DVD, and eighteen singles and sold more than 8 million albums worldwide

Synyster Gates

 

Brian Elwin Haner, Jr. (born July 7, 1981), better known by his stage name Synyster Gates or simply Syn, is an American musician, best known for being the lead guitarist of the American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. He has appeared with many different styles of his Schecter guitar, however he tends to use his black with white pinstripes.

He studied at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood as part of the Guitar Institute of Technology program, studying jazz and classical guitar.^[1] After a year or so of being there, he got a phone call from The Rev asking him if he wanted to join his band, as lead guitarist. Haner joined rather than continuing his education to become a studio musician. Up until that time he was primarily self-taught by watching music videos and reading books. His father, Brian Haner, Sr., also known as "Guitar Guy," is a songwriter, guitarist and comedian. Gates is of Native American and German ancestry.

Gates joined Avenged Sevenfold together with his best friend, The Rev, when they were 18 in 1999, right after the recording of the band's first album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. He was featured on the EP Warmness on the Soul which contains select songs from the first album as well as Synyster's new version of "To End The Rapture". His name on Avenged Sevenfold's debut album was "Synyster Gates", M. Shadows on the album was simply "Shadows".

Gates became the band's lead guitarist. Since Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, the band has released 4 studio albums: Waking the Fallen, City of Evil, Avenged Sevenfold, Nightmare and a live DVD/CD Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough.

Synyster Gates plays piano in tracks "I Won't See You Tonight part 1", "Beast and the Harlot" and "Sidewinder".

Avenged back from Death

According to Blabbermouth.net, Synyster Gates, lead shredder for Avenged Sevenfold told that A7X came incredibly close to splitting up after the 2009 death of their drummer James Sullivan aka “The Rev.” What kept them from doing so was their fans and Sullivan’s family.

When speaking to The Pulse of the Radio, Gates said that the band was over for two weeks after Sullivan’s death. “For the first two weeks after he passed, we were done as a band,” he said. “We were just done. And because of the fans and Jimmy’s parents and relatives and stuff like that, they just demanded that we continue on and spread the legacy that is, you know, the crazy James ‘The Rev’ Sullivan. And we feel so good doing that and they completely expedited that process. They really got our ass in gear to get out and finish the record and bring it to life, you know.”

In another interview, Gates said, “One of his gifts in passing was definitely that we now appreciate everything a lot more than we did before and it’s really cool that we all came from childhood friends . . . to being in this band together.”

Don Felder release new song

Don Felder  has joined forces with Styx (@STYXtheband) singer/guitarist Tommy Shaw for the second single, “Wash Away” from Felder’s second solo album (and first since 1983), Road To Forever, released October 9, 2012 on Rocket Science Ventures.

The song, which hit radio airwaves today, was co-written by Felder and Shaw, and features Shaw’s signature vocal sound.

The singer/guitarist/songwriter/New York Times best-selling author/four-time Grammy® Award winner’s critically-acclaimed Road to Forever debuted on Billboard’s “Heatseekers” chart at #27.  “Girls In Black,” the album’s first single, reached the Top 30 on the Mediabase Rock chart.

Speaking with Sterling Whitaker at Ultimateclassirock.com about the track, “there were a couple of songs on the album, including ‘Wash Away,’ that I had built the track pretty much top to bottom and there was a couple of areas where I needed some lyrical help and I said, ‘I’ll just see if Tommy [Shaw] is in town.  I’ll just have him come over and listen to this and see if anything bounces off of him.’  He listened to it and loved it and we sat and wrote lyrics together that day for that song. And then he came back the next day and I said, ‘Well, you’ve got to sing some of these parts while you’re here,’ because he was getting ready to go back out on the road with Styx.  So we set up a mic in my studio and he sang some of the harmonies on a couple of songs, ‘Wash Away’ and ‘Heal Me.’”

As Tommy Shaw continues, “The best songs to write are the ones that just roll out of you and you look back and wonder, ‘Where’d that come from?’  That’s what it was like working with Don.  There was a natural chemistry there.”

Many of Felder’s fans tuned in to Showtime earlier this month for the premiere of the two-part documentary, “History of the Eagles.”  He spoke with Billboard.com’s Gary Graff soon after it aired, saying he thought it was a bit incomplete.

“Overall I thought it was OK, but I didn’t think it was really an accurate documentary…I thought a lot was omitted from the documentary.  There were a lot of things that weren’t discussed, a lot of issues that aren’t brought to the forefront.  It glorified [Don] Henley and [Glenn] Frey’s work, giving very little credit to all the other people who had worked so hard on the recordings — including Bernie [Leadon], Randy [Meisner], myself, the other things people brought to the table like [producer] Bill Szymczyk.  It was a large team of a lot of people working together to make it happen, and I don’t think that’s really reflected in there.”

As for the depiction of his dismissal in part two, Felder says he was surprised by “the anger that was displayed, and the bitterness, especially from Glenn.  It really left me taken aback that he was still so angry about all of that, and I couldn’t understand why, to tell the truth.  I’ve been way past it for about 10 years now.”