Rock | Music Junkie Press

Black Label Society “UNBLACKENED” out now!

September 24, 2013

Black Label Society release their highly awaited CD/DVD of their stripped down performance from the Club Nokia in Los Angeles several months ago. By no means is it stripped down in quality and performance! UNBLACKENED is Unbelievable, whether you are a long time Zakk Wylde and BLS fan or just finding out about this new album. You will be treated to live renditions that create an incredible bluesy rock jam style feel to them. The DVD/CD is quite amazing. It was filmed and recorded earlier this year at famed Los Angeles’ “Club Nokia”. Zakk Wylde in addition to his vocals, plays both guitar and piano, joined by Nick Catanase on guitar, John DeServio on bass/vocals, Chad Szeliga on drums, Derek Sherinian on keyboards/piano, and Greg Locascio providing additional vocals. Some of my favorites so far are Sold My Soul, House of Doom, Queen of Sorrow, Throwing it All Away, Rust, I Thank You Child, Song for You and of course Ain’t No Sunshine. But believe me, the list can go and on with every song. This is [Read More]

Tuesdays Travels is Ben Draiman of Jerusalem, Israel

September 24, 2013

For Tuesdays Travels I not only introduce you to the incredible music of Ben Draiman but I also have a review of his incredible EP “The Past is Not Far Behind” Ben was born and raised in Chicago but currently resides in Israel so he is our Tuesdays Travels pick of the week! This EP is truly a musical gem that will have you captivated by the emotionally driven vocals and melodic rock style. A perfect combination! If you are a fan of Coldplay or Shinedown… I think I found you your new favorite album….. First song off the EP is Soon Enough and is the perfect start. It has a beautiful piano intro that introduces Ben’s mysterious yet comforting vocals. it builds up to an incredible rock style that emotionally draws you in. Lyrically I am blown away and just can’t wait to see what the next song brings me. Avalanche starts in and you can’t help but enjoy the Black Sabbath guitar with touches of Blue Oyster Cult style thrown in to accentuate [Read More]

Interview & Photos of Pop Evil at Aftershock Festival

September 23, 2013

Last week at the Aftershock Festival I had the pleasure of seeing one of my favorite bands live for the 1st time!! I have had several missed opportunities at catching a Pop Evil concert for the last couple years. This time, there was nothing getting in my way. I headed over from the Media Tent to the Ernie Ball stage as fast as I could since Halestorm was taking the main stage. Then as I got closer and closer to the Ernie Ball stage, it was packed die hard Pop Evil fan’s like myself. It is so hard when these festivals have conflicting stage times but it was incredible to see the crowd at the Ernie Ball stage and Pop Evil dominated every second of their set. They truly captivate the audience and everyone was singing along to Trenches and Deal with the Devil. They also played one of my absolute favorites from their new Onyx album, Goodbye My Friend. They have such great stage presence and owned that stage with their adrenaline filled [Read More]

Another solid performance by Buckcherry at Aftershock Festival

September 22, 2013

Aftershock Festival was filled with so many great bands and gave us two days of non stop rock and metal. One band that I was looking forward to was Buckcherry since they put on a solid performance every time you see them and they just seem to maintain that 150% energy throughout their set. Aftershock Festival brought in an estimated 30,000 + fans who despite the high temperatures, gave back just as much energy to the bands as they performed. When Buckcherry took the stage, you could hear the crowd roar as they were about to witness one of the best rock shows of the day. Highlights of their set was when Stevie D. came out onto the speakers and started shredding on his guitar for his solo. Their set list was as follows: Lit Up Rescue Me All Night Long Recovery Everything Sorry Dead Ridin’ Porno Star Gluttony Crazy Bitch What an awesome time that I didn’t want to end. We had a chance to talk with Stevie D. backstage and here is that [Read More]

Girl on Fire play an incredible set at Aftershock Festival

September 21, 2013

Seattle Rockers, Girl on Fire release their spectacular debut album through Century Media Records, “Not Broken” today . Their first single, “The Takedown” has been getting great airplay and is rising on the charts on Sirius XM Octane. For a debut album, it is packed with energy driven and amazing songs from start to finish. You can pick up your copy today at your local music store, Best Buy, fye, or pick it up online at Century Media Records, Itunes, Amazon. It doesn’t matter where buy it at, as long as you pick up this “gotta have” CD! They were out on tour with Buckcherry and put on an incredible set at the Aftershock Festival in Sacramento. They truly had the crowd under their spell as everyone seemed to be talking about them after their set. We were able to chat with Josh and Nicholas after their set and are pleased to bring you that video here: Before we left for Aftershock we had the chance to chat with lead singer, Austin as he was [Read More]

Interview with Joey Roxx of Burn Halo at Aftershock Festival

September 21, 2013

Burn Halo which was created by James Hart (frontman of Eighteen Visions) sometime in 2007. We have had the pleasure of seeing Burn Halo about a dozen times since 2009 and they always put on an incredible show. James Hart always delivers intense energy with his vocals and Joey Roxx, their kick ass guitarist is right up front and center (well stage left to be exact!) Ryan Frost has returned to rhythm guitar. During Aftershock Festival weekend we ran into Joey Roxx and Ryan Frost at the Steel Panther pre-show at Ace of Spades, always fun running into them. Then on Sunday we had a chance to grab Joey Roxx for a quick interview where he updated us with details on the new album. I can’t wait for this album as Joey tells us it is a bit heavier and will have all the old 18 Visions fan nod in agreement. Check out the interview here: So make sure to visit their social media sites and stay up to date on the album announcements! ~ [Read More]

Heaven’s Basement highlights and interview from Aftershock Festival 2013

September 18, 2013

Aftershock Festival brought out a whole long list of great bands and one that I was truly looking forward to was Heaven’s Basement!!! We have been listening to them for a while and it was great seeing them at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in May. I couldn’t wait to see them live since they truly just rock with their hit single, “Fire, Fire“. So when I saw them on the bill for Aftershock, I couldn’t wait to see them. Well they took over the Ernie Ball stage and truly delivered an arena style performance. These young guys know how to ROCK and had the crowd instantly pumped! We had the opportunity to interview Aaron Buchanon – lead singer and Rob Ellershaw – bass. Here is that interview for you: They are literally booked with non stop tour dates that has them busy until next year. You have to make sure to check the listings so you don’t miss this high energy band coming to your town. Check out the photos from [Read More]