Tour Alert: Mastodon, Opeth & Ghost North American Dates
APR 04 |
Portland, ME State Theater |
APR 05 |
Boston, MA Orpheum Theater |
APR 06 |
Montreal, QC Metropolis |
APR 07 |
Toronto, ON Sony Centre |
APR 09 |
Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory |
APR 10 |
Wallingford, CT The Dome |
APR 11 |
New York, NY Roseland Ballroom |
APR 13 |
Chicago, IL Riviera Theatre |
APR 14 |
Grand Rapids, MI The Intersection |
APR 15 |
Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE |
APR 16 |
Knoxville, TN TN Theater |
APR 18 |
Oklahoma City, OK Diamond Ballroom |
APR 19 |
Dallas, TX Palladium Ballroom |
APR 20 |
San Antonio, TX Back Stage Live |
APR 21 |
Corpus Christi, TX Concrete Street |
APR 23 |
Denver, CO Fillmore Auditorium |
APR 25 |
Las Vegas, NV House of Blues |
APR 26 |
Los Angeles, CA Gibson Amphitheatre |
APR 27 |
Oakland, CA Fox Theatre |
APR 28 |
Reno, NV Grand Sierra Resort |
APR 30 |
Seattle, WA The Paramount |
MAY 01 |
Vancouver, BC Orpheum Theatre |
MAY 03 |
Edmonton, AB Edmonton Events Center |
MAY 04 |
Calgary, AB MacEwan Hall |
MAY 05 |
Saskatoon, SK The Odeon |
MAY 06 |
Winnipeg, MB Burton Cummings Theatre |
MAY 09 |
Washington, DC The Fillmore |
MAY 10 |
Charlotte, NC The Fillmore |
MAY 11 |
Myrtle Beach, SC House of Blues |
MAY 12 |
Atlanta, GA Masquerade Music Park |
Last week, Atlanta sludge metal outfit Mastodon announced their North American co-headlining tour with progressive rock five-piece Opeth.
The two groups – supported by Swedish melodic heavy metal band Ghost – will trade off performing last on the 30 double-billed shows throughout the Heritage Hunter Tour, which starts April 4 in Portland, ME and wraps up in Mastodon’s hometown on May 12. Out of the seven Canadian stops, they are only set to close the Calgary show.
Their critically acclaimed fifth studio album, The Hunter, debuted at #10 on the Billboard 200 charts last September and was named Album of the Year by Metal Hammer and Classic Rock Magazine. As of December, it had sold 75,133 copies in the U.S.
Mastodon’s setlist will likely include new hits such as “Black Tongue”, “Dry Bone Valley” and the Grammy-nominated single “Curl of the Burl”.
Tickets for all shows are on sale. Mastodon is scheduled to close the following 14 dates:
- April 4 – Portland, ME
- April 9 – Philadelphia, PA
- April 10 – Wallingford, CT
- April 11 – New York, NY
- April 13 – Chicago, IL
- April 14 – Grand Rapids, MI
- April 15 – Pittsburgh, PA
- April 18 – Oklahoma City, OK
- April 25 – Las Vegas, NV
- April 28 – Reno, NV
- May 4 – Calgary, AB
- May 10 – Charlotte, NC
- May 11 – Myrtle Beach, SC
- May 12 – Atlanta, GA
HEAVY Rotation: Quiet Riot’s “Cum On Feel the Noize”
Quiet Riot may widely be considered a one two-hit wonder, but the truth is, they were one of the most successful metal bands of the ’80s.
In preparation of their North American debut record, Quiet Riot was told by a record producer to record a demo version of a cover song. He insisted on ’70s glam rock outfit Slade’s hit, “Cum On Feel the Noize” from a decade earlier. “We hated it,” said drummer Frankie Banali in VH1’s 2006 rockumentary, HEAVY: The Story of Metal. “We didn’t want to do it. [Lead singer] Kevin DuBrow was dead set on not doing it.” |
They purposely played the song badly in hopes that a decidedly poor attempt would get the song cut from the demo. But when Banali started with the pounding drum track, DuBrow glared at him through the glass of the studio because it sounded good–too good to be dropped.
Evidently, the producer loved the song and it was kept on their 1983 album, Metal Health. After the first single, “Bang Your Head (Metal Health)”, only reached #31 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, “Cum On Feel the Noize” was released as a single.
![]() We hated it. We didn’t want to do it. Kevin DuBrow was dead set on not doing it. Frankie Banali
VH1’s HEAVY (2006) ![]() |
It reached #5.
Then, on the last week of November 1983, Metal Health reached the #1 album position ahead of Lionel Richie’s Can’t Slow Down, The Police’s Synchronicity and Michael Jackson’s Thriller. It became the first heavy metal album to peak at the top of the charts, thanks to the success of an unrehearsed glam rock cover.
“What you have on record is the first take,” said Banali. “That was the first time that we had ever played that song.”
Just imagine what it would sound like if they tried to play it well.
HEAVY Rotation: Warrant’s “Cherry Pie”
To most, Warrant is a one-hit wonder like so many ‘80s Sunset Strip glam bands, but despite other hit singles, their innuendo-riddled “Cherry Pie” is the song the band will most be remembered for.
As the story goes, lead singer Jani Lane received a phone call from Columbia Records president Don Ienner leading up to the release of their then-untitled sophomore album. Ienner wanted a rock anthem a la Aerosmith’s “Love in an Elevator” to be on the record–something that would get copious amounts of radio airplay. Within fifteen minutes, Lane had written the lyrics to Warrant’s most well-known single–on a pizza box. The song peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Charts and the album of the same name went double-platinum. |
But with mainstream success came accusations of selling out. That three-and-a-half minute song overhauled the marketing of their second album and overshadowed other singles like “Heaven” and “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”
![]() I could shoot myself in the f**king head for writing that song. Jani Lane
VH1’s HEAVY (2006) ![]() |
Members of the band didn’t even think it was their best music. In an interview with the VH1 rock doc, HEAVY: The Story of Metal, Lane expressed deep regret for penning the track and giving it to Columbia.
“All of a sudden, the album’s called Cherry Pie, the record’s called Cherry Pie, I’m doing cherry pie-eating contests, the singles ‘Cherry Pie,'” he said. “I could shoot myself in the f**king head for writing that song.”
He later clarified that the producers had caught him on a bad day, but it seems Lane may still have had some resentment for one smash hit almost negating everything else that they ever recorded.
With the recent passing of Lane, hopefully more people will be introduced to Warrant’s music–not just a slice of “Cherry Pie.”
Jani Lane
February 1, 1964 ~ August 11, 2011
HEAVY Rotation: Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man”
“Iron Man” is among Black Sabbath’s greatest hits and it has one of the most recognizable guitar riffs ever.
In fact, that’s how the writing of the song started. Tony Iommi wrote the riff in preparation for recording their second album, 1970’s Paranoid. Ozzy Osbourne heard the riff and his initial reaction was that “it sounded like a big, iron bloke walking about.” They named the song “Iron Bloke,” but later renamed it “Iron Man.” Bassist Geezer Butler took the title and wrote the lyrics about a man who time travels into the future and witnesses the end of the world. He tries to go back in time to warn people, but a magnetic field turns him into steel. |
Unable to speak and ignored by the masses, he grows angry and takes out his rage on mankind, which happens to be the destruction he saw in his vision of the apocalypse. (And in case you were wondering, steel does contain iron.)
Now the time is here
for Iron Man to spread fear
Vengeance from the grave
Kills the people he once saved
The band’s sixth single, “Iron Man” only peaked at #52 on the Billboard charts, though in 2008, it reached #5 on Billboard’s Hot Ringtones chart. It was ranked #1 on VH1’s 40 Greatest Metal Songs, #317 on Rolling Stone‘s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and in 2000, a live version of the song won a Grammy for Best Metal Performance.
It’s been used in such films as Detroit Rock City, Dogtown & Z-Boys, and fittingly, Iron Man. It has also been covered by Metallica, NOFX and Marilyn Manson, and it’s been sampled by Sir Mix-A-Lot. (Yes, that Sir Mix-A-Lot.)
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