Sevendust

Sevendust never follow a linear path. Instead, they continue to bulldoze a lane of their own with a provenone-two punch of rumbling grooves, unpredictable riffing, and stirringly soulful vocals unlike anything elsein hard rock. As a result, their music connects straight to the heart as evidenced by their full-contact liveshows and diehard “family” of fans. It’s why they’ve been around since 1994, tallied global sales of sevenmillion, logged three gold-selling albums, delivered three Top 15 debuts on the Billboard 200, andgarnered a GRAMMY® Award nomination in the category of “Best Metal Performance.” They’re the rareforce of nature who not only graced the bills of Woodstock and OZZfest, but also Shiprocked! and SonicTemple and some of the largest stages around the globe. Along the way, they’ve notably collaborated witheveryone from members of Deftones, Daughtry, and Staind to Alter Bridge, Periphery, and Xzibit. 2020saw them deliver one of the most-acclaimed albums of their career with Blood & Stone, which MetalHammer christened “Sevendust’s best work in years” and Outburn dubbed “everything a Sevendust fancould want.” However, the Atlanta quintet—Lajon Witherspoon [lead vocals], Clint Lowery [lead guitar, backing vocals],John Connolly [rhythm guitar, backing vocals], Vince Hornsby [bass], and Morgan Rose [drums]—defyexpectations yet again on their fourteenth full-length and debut for Napalm Records, Truth Killer.“We really cared about the process,” notes Clint. “It’s never a straight line with Sevendust. We’ve alwaysmade left turns and dip into super heavy and very melodic sounds. We still try to do things a littledifferently. I think we recreated the magic on this one, and we overcommitted to making sure every songwas great.” In order to do so, the guys regrouped as friends first. Initially, they decamped to Lajon’s farmhouse. Overthe course of four days in 2022, they demoed out the bulk of the record, rekindling the spark that definedtheir seminal output. “We wanted to be friends again, shoot the shit, and become that garage band we were,” Clint goes on.“It set the tone for our relationship, and the creativity opened up. We got back together and made anotherfun record.” Once again, they recorded in Florida with producer Michael “Elvis” Baskette [Alter Bridge, Mammoth,Trivium]. This time around, they expanded the soundscape, incorporating programming by Clint andadding cinematic heft to their signature style. “We took our time on this record,” he goes on. “We pulled in a lot of electronic elements. In the past, Ihired outside programmers, but I did the programming myself. I tried to create a musical bed that madeit easy to sing cool vocal parts. We always set a goal to have a certain sound, and we followed throughwith it. We didn’t compromise.” As such, the album opens with perhaps the biggest departure, the slow-burning “I Might Let The DevilWin.” Piano pierces glitchy beat-craft as Lajon’s delivery borders on magnetic and manic as he confesses,“I want to give in, oh no, the devil won’t win.” If Trent Reznor produced The Weeknd, it might sound something like this…“When we agreed on the song, we realized we could do anything,” says Clint. “The vocal is really upfrontand in your face. It seems like he’s whispering the lyrics in your ear. You keep resisting temptations, butfinally you’re like, ‘It’s just who I am. I’m going to do it’.” On the other end of the spectrum, the first single and finale “Fence” goes right for the jugular withpummeling drums, a chugging riff, and guttural barks from Lajon. It crashes right into a hammering hookbefore spiraling into an incendiary solo. “It has the old school Sevendust vibes,” he smiles. “It was really a product of collaboration at thefarmhouse. Morgan was playing, and we all started jamming in the same room. I’m so glad we got a chanceto do a headhunter like ‘Fence’ for this album.” The title track “Truth Killer” fuses searing orchestration with a rush of distortion and powerhouse refrain.“Nobody wants to hear the real truth,” laments Clint. “They want things sugarcoated and watered-down,so they can feel better. It definitely spoke to the overall tone of the subject matter.”Then, there’s “Everything.” A jarring guitar melody underlines an affirmation on the catastrophicallycatchy chorus. “You’re basically saying, ‘I’ll be anything you need me to be, and I’ll be there for you in everyway possible’,” he elaborates. As if baptized in frustration, “Holy Water” snakes through an off-kilter bounce over incisive synths towardsa massive chant, “Someday I’ll see the light. I hope before I die.”“None of us are perfect, so there’s no reason to judge,” Clint observes. “We’re all trying to figure it out,but a lot of people will sling their holy water at you and act like they’re better than everyone. I have adefinite belief and relationship with God, but I’m not here to make anyone believe anything.”“Superficial Drug” intoxicates with a sinewy bass line and head-nodding groove as one of the record’smost melodic moments takes hold. “Everyone needs the ‘follows’ and ‘likes’,” he continues. “The social media world is very superficial for themost part. It’s part of the design, and I’m guilty of it too. So, the song says, ‘Go ahead and take yoursuperficial drug. I’m over it’. I want to be around people where there’s depth to the conversations. Wehave enough friends. We would die for our fans and the Sevendust family. That’s all we need.”In the end, Truth Killer reaffirms there’s only one Sevendust—and they’re here forever.“As a kid who used to wait in lines to see concerts, I want to deliver the artistic quality I was looking for asa fan,” Clint leaves off. “I want people to know we cared, took some chances, and still have the creativespark. I want them to know we have more to say and more to prove.”

Luminare Christmas

Steel Panther

For the uninitiated, Steel Panther was formed in 2000. Hailing from Los Angeles, the epicenter for rock n’ roll in all its debauchery and glamour, Steel Panther has established themselves as the world’s premier party band, melding hard rock virtuosity with parody and criminally good looks. Steel Panther is a global phenomenon with four full-length albums, touring across the world, platinum-level You Tube status and high-profile television appearances such as Jimmy Kimmel Live, Larry King Now, and FOX NFL Sunday.Rolling Stone avowed, “There’s a reason Steel Panther have transcended their origins as a cover band playing the Sunset Strip,” while Metal Sucks declared, Steel Panther’s concept is genius...their songwriting is...preposterously snappy – and relatable.”

WAPL Xmas Bash - Buckcherry

BUCKCHERRY   Josh Todd – vocals Stevie D. – guitar, backing vocals Kelly LeMieux – bass, backing vocals Kevin Roentgen – guitar, backing vocals   Ask Josh Todd about the inspiration behind Warpaint, Buckcherry’s eighth studio album--and indeed, the frontman’s goal in making music--and he’s got a ready response: “I want to connect with people, host the party, and give people a night they’re never going to forget,” Todd says. As he sings in Warpaint’s title track, “I wanna have fun blowing out your eardrums keep it rocking state to state.” The Los Angeles-based lineup has been doing exactly that since the 1999 release of their self-titled album. Hits including “Lit Up,” “For the Movies,” “Crazy Bitch” and “Sorry,” not to mention Grammy nominations, international touring and Platinum sales, have solidified Buckcherry’s rock ‘n’ roll bona fides. Warpaint, produced by Mike Plotnikoff (Halestorm, All That Remains), with a March 8, 2019 release date, adds to that impressive legacy, boasting the dynamics and immediacy of the band’s incendiary live show, coupled with Todd’s personal, no-holds-barred lyricism.   Recorded at West Valley Recording Studios with Plotnikoff, who also helmed the band’s 15 album, Todd’s goal for Warpaint was for it to be “sonically current. We didn’t want it to sound retro.” Going into the studio in late 2018 with an arsenal of 30 songs written by Todd and guitarist Stevie D., the band worked around the clock for several weeks to capture the energy of the 11 cuts ultimately chosen for Warpaint. The first single, “Bent,” is anthemic but raw, with big drums and even bigger guitars. And, of course, Todd’s relatable, agro lyrics, as he snarls: “the chaos always turns to rage and now I feel so alone and I’m always insane,” before ultimately “breaking all the rules” and emerging as triumphant and “bulletproof” as the song itself.   Todd and Stevie D. had written together on a few side projects prior to Warpaint: An electronic EP for the Spraygun War project, and songs for Josh Todd and the Conflict. “So when we came to the table for a new Buckcherry album, we were in full song. It was a great foundation to launch this great record,” Todd explains. Following the 2015 release of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Todd was faced with issues “both business and personal. And I’ve grown a lot. I can’t say that it’s been joyous. But any time that happens, I get to a new level, and expressing it through song is something I’ve done my whole life.”   The lyrics of “Right Now” speak to Todd’s goal of living in the moment. “There is no past and there is no future… If you really think about that, it’s heavy,” he says. While rock ‘n’ roll is a spiritual catharsis, the singer also works to stay in that state offstage.  “I’m coming up on 24 years of sobriety. I meditate 45 minutes a day, and I focus on the now. So much of society is really ‘contempt prior to investigation,’ and I try to be present and non-judgmental and not come from a place of resentment. So many of the songs on Warpaint reflect that.” The tune “Warpaint” is about Todd’s own heavily tattooed warrior self—but also much more than that. “When I was a little kid I was fascinated with Native Americans and warpaint. People paint themselves or tattoo themselves to not only show up for battle, but to mark really amazing times in their lives. It’s a celebration. I like people who cut off the lifeboat and go for it, and not look back. I feel Buckcherry is that band. It represents perseverance and passion, and not censoring yourself. Sometimes it’s worked for us and sometimes against us, but we always put our best foot forward.”   Buckcherry is the rare band whose talent has allowed them to get away with using F-bombs in their biggest radio hit—‘Crazy Bitch.’” Yet Todd didn’t hesitate when it came to looking at all sides during the creation of Warpaint.  “I don’t censor myself when I write,” he understates. “I use profanity in my everyday life and it’s all around me, and us. So, on this record, I looked at all my lyrics, and if I felt swearing might be overdone, I changed it. But if it was needed, I left it, because, ultimately, I have to be happy with it.”   Warpaint delivers an aural punch, a refreshing boldness even on the ballads, and stellar lead guitar work (check out the fretwork on “Vacuum”) and the album closes with an unexpected kick.  Todd explains: “’Radio Song’ is introspective look at myself my part in things. And ‘No Regrets’ is so heavy for me to listen to. Stevie came in with this music, saying he wanted to write a punky, Social Distortion-type song. It was amazing, so I went back to my 15-year-old punk rock self and what was going on with me. I thought about the independent records I listened to then, and what they meant to me, plus all the dysfunction that was going on in my home when I was growing up. And it all came out of me in this song.”   The raucous “Devil in the Details” ends Warpaint with “a fiery burnout. I like to put songs like that deep on the record so that people who are really into your band--for more than just the single--get to discover something cool. Just a little thank-you for sticking around to the end.”   Then, of course, there’s the wild-card on Warpaint: Buckcherry’s take on Nine Inch Nails’ classic “Head like a Hole. It was just done as a lark, live in the studio, but came out so cool it made the album. “Yeah, it was very organic. I don’t know Trent [Reznor] but I really admire him,” Todd says. “He did his own thing and created a sound for himself--and a brand--and really stuck to it. When I listen to Nine Inch Nails, I admire the honesty, and no rules.”   In fact, those “no rules,” are what he judges Buckcherry by: Is there unbridled, reckless honesty?  “That’s what I ask myself when I listen to Buckcherry: Would my teenage self-put a stamp of approval on it? If the answer is yes, I can go out and represent and feel great about it. I want to compete at the highest level,” Todd concludes. “Keep the integrity, but still please people. If you can do that, great things happen. I feel like we’ve done that on this record.”   BUCKCHERRY DISCOGRAPHY Buckcherry, 1999 Time Bomb, 2001 15, 2006 All Night Long, 2010 Confessions, 2013 Rock ‘n’ Roll, 2015 Warpaint, 2019