KISS co-founder/bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons found himself under fire last week for comments he made in a recent interview with SongFacts.com. When asked about his relationship with ex-bandmates Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, Gene said, “I don’t get along with anybody who’s a drug addict and has a dark cloud over their head and sees themselves as a victim. Drug addicts and alcoholics are always: ‘The world is a harsh place.’ My mother was in a concentration camp in Nazi Germany. I don’t want to hear f**k-all about ‘the world is a harsh place.’ She gets up every day, smells the roses and loves life. And for a putz, 20-year-old kid to say, ‘I’m depressed, I live in Seattle.’ F**k you, then kill yourself.” He added, “I’m the guy who says ‘Jump!’ when there’s a guy on top of a building who says, ‘That’s it, I can’t take it anymore, I’m going to jump.’ Are you kidding? Why are you announcing it? Shut the f**k up, have some dignity and jump! You’ve got the crowd.”
After a storm of controversy erupted, which included radio stations refusing to play Kiss songs, Gene spoke out on Facebook to offer his apologies. “Depression is very serious and very sad when it happens to anyone, especially loved ones,” he wrote. “…I deeply support and am empathetic to anyone suffering from any disease, especially depression. I have never sugarcoated my feelings regarding drug use and alcoholics. Somewhere along the line, my intentions in speaking very directly and perhaps politically incorrectly about drug use and alcoholics have been misconstrued as vile commentary on depression. Unkind statements about depression was certainly never my intention. And I do not intend to defend myself here and now by listing the myriad charities and self-help organizations I am involved with. This is not about me. This is about clearing up misconceptions and being clear. My heart goes out to anyone suffering from depression.”
Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx, who publicly criticized Gene’s original diatribe, spoke out following Gene’s apology. Wrote Nikki (on Facebook), “[Apologizing] was 100% the right thing to do. This has turned into a bit of an anti-Gene Simmons bashathon and I don’t condone that nor do I support that radio stations across the country who are banning Kiss (the guys in the band didn’t do anything). Gene said something that has been addressed and maybe in a moment of bravado he was just being cocksure and pompous?”
Have a look at episode #4 of Cooking Hostile with Phil Anselmo. The just-released new episode is part of an ongoing animated series that imagines Pantera singer Philip Anselmo at the helm of his own cooking show, and changes up the lyrics to Pantera songs to fit the cooking-centric theme.
According to a post on Danzig’s Facebook page, frontman Glenn Danzig is at work on a new EP of Elvis Presley covers. The album is reportedly out early next year.
Aerosmith cancelled a show on August 13th reportedly due to illness in the band. Many news outlets reported that it was due to drummer Joey Kramer experiencing some sort of unnamed heart problems. Aerosmith’s official Facebook page admitted that Joey had undergone a “minor medical procedure” but added he’d never suffered heart issues.
Wrote Joey, “I’m feeling better than ever and I’ll be back sitting in the best seat in the house, hitting it harder than ever for our amazing fans. My gratitude and thanks for all the love and support showered on me during this time.” The band was back on the concert circuit just three days later with Joey’s son (and drum tech) Jesse filling in for his dad on drums.
Are German headbangers Scorpions recording a new album and heading out on the road in 2015? Rumors are flying!
So, just how much can some top-tier metal tunes fetch for an appearance in a movie? Quite a lot. Thomas Golubic, who secures licensing for tunes that appear in TV shows like Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead, recently told Variety’s Artisans that the biggest deal he’d ever brokered was for AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” in the film Varsity Blues. The cost: a whopping $500,000. “I remember being absolutely horrified when I heard that number,” says Thomas, “and we spent a lot of time coming up with what we thought were great alternates, but there was going to be no budget on that, and they had money so they paid for it.”
Check out the official lyric video for Accept’s “Final Journey” off their just-released new studio album, Blind Rage.