Author Archives: destroyerofharmony

Music

Jeff Hanneman – South Of Heaven RIP

I saw Slayer at the Horden Pavilion in Sydney on April 17, 2007, with Mortal Sin and Mastodon opening. It was the classic album, with Dave Lombardo on drums, Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman on guitars and Tom Araya on bass and vocals.

On that night, Dave Lombardo was the star. He was tight and never missed a beat. Jeff Hanneman, just stood to Tom’s right, in the shadow, blond hair waving around, dressed in his German military gear.

At 49, Jeff is no longer with us. All from a spider bite. First it was the flesh eating disease and then the final act, he suffered liver failure during his recovery.

As a lead guitarist I didn’t rate him, but as a riff master, he was up there with James Hetfield. My favourite album was Seasons In The Abyss. The majority of the music on that album was written by Jeff Hanneman alone. The three signature songs from that album, War Ensemble, Dead Skin Mask and Seasons In The Abyss are all written by Jeff. Look at the set list that Slayer played at the 2007 gig. Jeff’s influence on thrash was large. He stayed true to the medium when Megadeth, Metallica and Anthrax tried to go more mainstream.

Disciple – from the 2001 God Hates Us All album. Music was by Jeff Hanneman.

War Ensemble – from the 1990 Season In The Abyss album. Music was by Jeff Hanneman.

Jihad – from the 2006 Christ Illusion album. Music was by Jeff Hanneman.

Die By The Sword – from the 1983 Show No Mercy album. Music was by Jeff Hanneman.

Show No Mercy – from the 1983 Show No Mercy album. Music was by Kerry King.

Captor of Sin – from the 1984 Haunting the Chapel album. Music by Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King.

Cult – from the 2006 Christ Illusion album. Music was by Kerry King.

Bloodline – from the 2001 God Hates Us All album. Music was by Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King.

Mandatory Suicide – from the 1988 South Of Heaven album. Music by Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King.

Seasons In The Abyss – from the 1990 Season In The Abyss album. Music was by Jeff Hanneman.

Supremist – from the 2006 Christ Illusion album. Music was by Kerry King.

Eyes of The Insane – from the 2006 Christ Illusion album. Music was by Jeff Hanneman.

Post Mortem – from the 1986 Reign In Blood album. Music by Jeff Hanneman.

Silent Scream – from the 1988 South Of Heaven album. Music by Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King.

Dead Skin Mask – from the 1990 Season In The Abyss album. Music was by Jeff Hanneman.

Raining Blood – from the 1986 Reign In Blood album. Music by Jeff Hanneman.

South Of Heaven – from the 1988 South Of Heaven album. Music by Jeff Hanneman.

Angel Of Death – from the 1986 Reign In Blood album. Music by Jeff Hanneman.

Rest in peace mate, as the Angel of Death has come to take you to that place South of Heaven.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/slayer-guitarist-dies-of-liver-failure-after-battling-flesheating-disease-20130503-2iwtm.html#ixzz2SCSU2KGn

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Music

Bon Jovi is coming to Australia – December 2013

Bon Jovi fans rejoice, Bon Jovi is coming to Australia, to play all of their classic songs, plus a couple of so/so new ones.

The Because We Can – The Tour will be visiting stadiums all over Australia.

Members of the Backstage JBJ can purchase tickets now. By the way to become it member it costs;

$300 for Premium Membership for 2 years,
$160 for Signature Membership which is for 1 year,
$80 for Standard Membership which is for 1 year,
$60 for Online Membership which is for 1 year.

So if you are a member of Backstage JBJ and have paid astronomically ridiculous prices to be a member, you then get the chance to pay even more astronomical prices for one of the backstage packages before anyone else can.

Anyway members of Backstage JBJ get first dibs when it comes to buying VIP Packages today, May 2nd at 9:00AM AEST (Sydney) and pre-sale tickets without packages beginning Monday, May 13th at 9:00AM AEST (Sydney).

 

Dec 7 – Melbourne, Etihad Stadium – May 20 is the Public Sale
Dec 8 – Melbourne, Etihad Stadium – May 20 is the Public Sale
Dec 11 – Adelaide, AAMI Stadium – May 20 is the Public Sale
Dec 14 – Sydney, ANZ Stadium – May 20 is the Public Sale
Dec 17 – Brisbane, Suncorp Stadium – May 20 is the Public Sale

Sorry Western Australia people, it looks like another show has ignored you.

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Music, Piracy

Bon Jovi – The life cycle of What About Now – From 1 to 76 in six weeks.

The release of What About Now happened with a bang.  Due to record label collusion between Universal (Bon Jovi’s label) and Sony (Justin Timberlake’s and David Bowie’s parent label), the album was released the week before Justin Timberlake’s 20/20 album and because of that it went straight to Number 1, beating off David Bowie.

The second week saw the album slip to Number 7.  The third week saw it drop even more to 34 on the charts.  By the fourth week, it was down to position 50.  On the other hand, the Because We Can tour, was selling out arena’s and stadiums.

Digitally, the album performed even worse.  The iTunes chart had the album debut at 52 on the 12 March 2013, and by the March 15, 2013, it was out of the Top 100 iTunes chart. Three days.  That’s it.

Songs from the album do not even rank in the top 25 of the streaming charts.

The fans have clearly spoken.  The hard-core fans like me purchased the album so that we could have it in our collections.  It’s a collectors thing.  The fans that the band picked up during the Slippery/New Jersey era and the It’s My Life era, prefer to buy tickets to the show.

So where is the album, 6 weeks after its release.  Sitting at position 76.  Bands like Imagine Dragons and Mumford and Sons are still in the top 20 and their albums have been out since mid 2012.  Adele’s 21 (released in January 2011) is still charting and selling more than Bon Jovi’s new album (released in March 2013).

The labels will scream piracy.  However, data clearly shows, that if you release good music, it will sell, and it will be around for a long time.  Release crap music and expect it to be ignored.  Thank god, Bon Jovi delivered some classic albums in the past.

 

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A to Z of Making It, Music

Entitlement

I don’t know how my kids will be when they are adults. One thing I do know is that I don’t want them to believe that they are entitled to things. I don’t want them to believe that just because they are smart, they are entitled to the riches of the hard work of others, or to be
earning $100,000 salaries the minute they leave University.

In the last couple of weeks, I have come across entitled kids/adults
that know everything and anyone older knows nothing. These are the kids that always look sad and depressed just so that they can get a reaction from people, asking what’s wrong? These are the kids that when they go to make it in the real world they see it is not as easy as they thought and that mum and dad actually know what they are talking about. Instead of acknowledging their mistakes, they play the whole guilt trip, asking for money to pay the rent, money for a new car and so forth. These are the kids that lash out at other people, without thinking of the consequences, knowing all too well that their parents will do everything they can to fix the situation.

Look at this clip from a Machine Head fan called Frank playing one of the quickest and hardest songs Machine Head has ever written on the bass guitar, with one hand. That is real and that is the spirit of hope and we, the people got to see it, because of the internet. The same internet that the labels and their lobbyist want to control, so that they can have distribution back to the good old days, where they controlled everything. If anyone is entitled to something, it is this guy. He has worked hard to learn the song with a physical disability. He deserves the fame. He has put in the hard work. He is entitled to be recognized.

In music, people still believe that if they write a song, people will buy it and they will be rich. Great music will find an audience. It all takes time. You need to be around for a long time to see success happen. Don’t be fooled with the so called stars from The Voice, Idol
or XFactor. If you want to be rich quick, go into tech. Invent something and lawyer up. I guarantee that you will be sued by some other entitled kid, because they would have had a similar idea as you, but they couldn’t make it work, and since you made it work, they are entitled to a share of your wealth. Or you will sued by some company who purchases patents for patent infringement.

The nerds of my day are the new rock stars of today. They are the cool people these days. In the seventies music was innovative, questioning authority and the artists that created the songs were heroes. These days it’s technology.

No one is walking around with the newest album of Bon Jovi or Van Halen.
They are walking around with the newest gadget from Apple or Samsung.
Once upon a time, the obtaining of a drivers licence and the purchase of a car was the rite of passage. These days, no one really cares what they drive, as long as they have the latest tech in their arsenal.

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Music, Stupidity, Treating Fans Like Shit

One Less Reason Treat Fans Like Shit Continues on…

I thought I would do a follow-up to how One Less Reason treat their fans.  Verdict; SHIT.

Here are some recent comments taken from their Facebook page after my original post.

Ordered your CD from your website a while ago and still have yet to receive it, what does it take to get your cd? several attempts to contact you and no response yet.
I scroll thru others posts and see a lot of the same situations, you guys make great music, but if you really want to make it, you need to treat your fans better than this, you aren’t shy about taking the money.

Artists today have a lot more competition from other artists, all striving for the same thing, people’s attention.  This band One Less Reason or OLR as they like to call themselves, clearly have one thing going for them, they create music that finds a connection with people.  So these people become fans and spend money on the band.  Or course the CD is almost obsolete, and if the band doesn’t have any CD’s to ship, they should take them off their website store as selling items.  Its fraud.

I’m glad you made it this far guys without these frauds called labels, you deserve it, a great band, great music!

A happy fan.  I wonder who the frauds are when there is no label involved.  I will admit, i heard their songs and i am impressed.  However, the way they are treating their fans, is leaving a bad taste.

Blueprints for Writhing just arriveeeeeeeeeeeed!!

Another happy fan.  From the length of arriveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed, it looks like they waited a long time.  At least the band can say they are posting some out.

Do you think it’s normal to buy an album on 11/15/2012 and still waiting for receiving it ?  I live in France, 4 months passed by ! I CAN’T believe it ! Tell me what’s wrong !?

Sorry buddy, you live too far, and if OLR get back to you, they will say they shipped it, however France’s postal service loses heaps of packages and that they will re-ship again and will then ignore your emails.

Just bought 3 of your cds from Itunes! Awesome!

Smart way to deal with the band, deal with iTunes.  You know you will get what you paid for from them.

Big fan!!! Just started listening to your music last year. I found it on last.fm on xboxlive and have loved your music ever since. “A Day To Be Alone” is my favorite song. I have looked in stores for your CDs but had no luck. How can I purchase one of your CDs??

Use iTunes if you want to receive it. 

When do the pre ordered CDs ship?

According to the band, they have shipped (remember that the album came out in August last year) and the postal service has lost them all, so the band will re-ship as a good will gesture, but never do.

Hi My husband ordered all of your CD’s back on the 28 Dec 2012. I sent you a message as well with all the details of the order. I have read all the comments about the band not posting CD’s and taking the money, about the passing of a loved one, about its the USPS’s fault and to CD’s just arriving late. Whatever the reasons and explanations (good song title by the way) are, 2 months waiting is not good business. In addition my husband has sent three messages via the contact us page on your website, plus three email replies to the confirmation order email address and one post via Twitter.   

Should have used iTunes.  $50 wasted for nothing.

Final verdict, One Less Reason are still treating fans like shit.  They even fail to address the issue of the CD’s not being posted, instead focusing on lies and ignorance.  For a band that has done it all on their own, you would think they would have a better focus on band to fan relationships as that is what has sustained them these last 10 years or so.

However, it will come to a head eventually.  I am sure some promoter is just around the corner waiting to rip them off as well.

 

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Music, My Stories

Classic Songs To Be Discovered – Tesla, Machine Head, Thousand Foot Krutch, Trapt, Since October, Three Doors Down, Daughtry

It looks like my playlist shuffle is stuck in the song titles that begin with B.  Here is the list of songs driving in to work today.

Breakin Free – Tesla
Be Somebody – Thousand Foot Krutch
Beautiful – Since October
Back Again – Daughtry
Believer – Three Doors Down
Black Rose – Trapt
Beautiful Mourning – Machine Head

Breakin Free is from the rock band Tesla and it is from their hardly heard 2008 album, Forever More.  It is the Brave New World from Iron Maiden, meets Tool intro that hooks me, and the spiteful lyrics resonate with me.  Even though the song deals with a relationship break up, it could mean any situation where a person that you trust and liked ends up making life a living hell.  

I’m done with swallowing my pride
And the truth in the end denied
You know it makes me sick how you’re so quick to always criticize
You never find fault in yourself
You’re always blamin’ someone else

Breakin Free is written by the band, along with classic rock producer Terry Thomas.  If anyone remembers the 1991 album from Foreigner (the one with Johnny Edwards on vocals), Terry co-wrote most of those songs as well, along with the Bad Company albums released between 1988 and 1992.  That is why the song sounds classic but modern.

Be Somebody is from Thousand Foot Krutch.  It’s from the fan funded The End is Where We Begin album, released in 2011.  

We all wanna be somebody, we just need a taste of who we are
We all wanna be somebody, we’re willing to go but not that far

Isn’t that so true.  We all want to be recognised for something.  In order to get there, we end up changing who we are.  We sell our souls for money and fame.  We betray the most important person, ourselves.  The lyrics bring it all home, we are willing to do what we need to do to be somebody, but we have boundaries as to who far we will go.

Beautiful is from Since October.  It is from their debut 2006 album Gasping For Hope, that they released as an unsigned band relying completely on Myspace to push it and sell it.  In the end it got them signed to Christian label Tooth and Nail, and so far they have released another two more albums after that.

It is the Duran Duran – Come Undone similarities that grab me.  For some reason derivative works in pop and rock work, however in metal, if they are too similar they are decried.  

You’re completely perfect but perfectly incomplete
You’re lacking only me but you acted like you didn’t want to know me

Unrequited love.  The lyrics are nothing earth shattering, and very adolescent like, and that is what works with the song.  Of course the guys in the band were in their early twenties when they wrote this song.

Back Again is from Daughtry.  It is the bonus track or b-side to the No Surprise single, that comes from the Leave This Town album released in 2009.  It is a classic rock song.  It deserved to be on the album.

We’ve all been down this road before,
I give it all, you wanted more
I’ve only got myself to blame

That is the best part of the song.  It is where Chris Daughtry really shines on the vocals.  It is a song Chris wrote with Adam Gontier from Three Days Grace, well ex Three Days Grace now and produced by Howard Benson, who is the mainstream go to producer for metal and rock music these days.

Believer is from Three Doors Down.  It is from the 2011, Time Of My Life album.  It is very different to what Three Doors Down are renowned for and it works.  The intro rocks, and the melodic lead kicks things off nicely.

I would have been in doubt
When this started out
That everything would turn out this way
First it was a phone call
Then it was another
From a mother who was ready to play

It’s written by the band, and at 2.57 it’s short and sweet, but hectic just the same.  Of course the sound is very modern like, thanks to Howard Benson again.  Sometimes, we need music to have a laugh with, and in this case, I get that from the lyrics, about a married lady who wants to play, only for her affair to be busted up by her husband.

Howard Benson’s story is interesting, going from being a keyboard player, to a producer, to the Vice President of Giant Records, to an A&R rep for Elektra and now Warners Music.  This is proof that you don’t go to 0-Riches in an instant.  It takes time and a lot of work.

Black Rose is from Trapt.  It is from the 2008 album, Only through The Pain.  It is a ballad with a killer chorus and a killer ending.  

Black rose your thorns are cutting into me for the last time
Black rose I watched your petals wilt away I couldn’t bring you back to life
You were always where the sun could never go,
I never wanted you to have to be alone
But I couldn’t find a way to help you grow,
Black Rose

It’s written by vocalist Chris Brown and songwriter, Adam Malka.  It’s produced by Garth Richardson from Chevelle/Atreyu fame.  These lyrics found a connection within me, due to my struggles dealing with my cousins fall into mental illness.  I had to cut loose, as if i stayed he would have dragged me along with him.

Beautiful Mourning is from Machine Head and it is from the best metal album of the two thousands, the mighty Blackening album released in 2007.  The song has been said to be about Rob Flynn, tripping on acid and taking a razor to his wrists.  It is the most depressing  words every put to paper.

My redemption is knowing
This will be over
My aggression,
I fear I’ve lost control
Who is this man I said?
Mirror reflects a stranger
Fist shatters the despair
Awake the pain to anger

The music was written by Robb and Phil Demmel, with lyrics by Robb.  This is real.  Life isn’t all about the highs and the laughs even though we take photographs showing that is the case.  Life has a darker side to everything.  We are fragile, we can snap at any minute.

Enjoy.

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Alternate Reality, Music

Trivium

Since they are working with David Draiman, lets get to the songs that will be appearing on the More Blacker Than Black album (that was going to be called Shark Sandwich)

Down With The Shogun
Entrance Of the Sickness
Voices Come In Waves
Stupified Martyr
A Gunshot to The Head of the Game
Perditions Prayer
Liberate As The World Burns
Remember The Calamity
Believe (As Chaos Reigns)
Ten Thousand Fists Anthem
Stricken In The Floods
Indestructible Hell
Into The Mouth of The Asylum
Tread Down From The Sky
Forsake All These Yesterdays

Ooo ooo aah aahh.

The lead single “Hellhole” was too good to be on the album and it will be released as a stand alone album of one song.
🙂

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Copyright, Music, My Stories

Living with unfairness

It’s late and I’m laying in bed. I can’t sleep so I reach over to the iPhone.

How things have changed? We are connected all the time. As I’m checking
my emails I’m thinking about the game of football my kids played on the
Saturday and the refereeing from the other teams coach. It got me a bit
upset at how the referee was coaching his team while refereeing. I started to think about how unfair it was that my boys team had to go back to half way when his team had a goal kick and when we had a goal kick he would make his players stay 5 meters away. It’s not fair is it.

The kids had a draw but they won the game in my heart and everyone else’s that watched it.

Why?

They rolled with the punches and kept on rising to the occasion. A game of football is the same as life.

We win, we lose. We feel good, we feel bad. However in football when something is not fair, the team unites and rises above and beyond their
abilities. In life, that feeling of unfairness can either cripple you or make you work harder or work differently.

How many times have I heard a person say, it’s not fair. It probably wasn’t fair to one person but it was fair to the other.

Don’t complain about it. Don’t forget about it. Learn from it and move on.

Music is a classic example when it comes to unfairness. The whole
industry is built with the cards stacked against fairness. Artist used to say how unfair the contract was that they signed or how unfair the label treated them. Then the Internet came along and now it’s the labels shouting how unfair it is. The favourite PR line, “the Internet spreads piracy and it needs to be controlled.”

Instead of rolling with it, learning from it just to rise above it, they want to control it, obliterate it as they are too lazy to innovate on their own. Spoil it for billions to protect the profits of a few. Maybe these label heads and their politician friends in their lobby group need to come and watch a junior football game, see how unfair the real world actually is.

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Music

Black Sabbath – the final word

When I was checking the stats of the page, I saw that a lot of people where referred to my site by typing “Brad Wilk drum solo Allphones Arena” in Google.

So people are going to watch Black Sabbath, but they don’t even know who the drummer is performing live with them, even after Ozzy mentioned that “on drums we have Tommy Clueftos”.

I am a big Black Sabbath fan. That is the beauty of music, I like a lot of bands and styles. I like Machine Head, Dream Theater, Motley Crue, Killswitch Engage and so on. I even saw the set list on http://www.setlist.fm from the New Zealand and Brisbane shows, so that I could do a play list of the songs they would be playing live. More importantly, I knew who was playing on the stage for them. Why would I want to know that? That is what fans do, we want to know everything about our heroes. When information was scarce in the seventies and eighties about our heroes, we seemed to know more. Now with the rise of the internet and information at our fingertips, we seem to know less.

How a person can spend $160 on a ticket and not know who the drummer is beyond me?

Black Sabbath is an institution. The name of the band is now bigger than the individuals in it, I heard a person say. Sort of like Pink Floyd. Roger Waters thought he was Pink Floyd, and then when he left, he thought the band would end. Dave Gilmour had other ideas.

Will Black Sabbath fans care if Zakk Wylde fills in for Tony Iommi on certain dates of the North American tour? I’m not saying that Tony is ill or is pulling out, I am just getting that thought out there. All you need to do is glance back a year and see the Ozzy and friends shows played when Tony was undergoing cancer treatment.

Basically if Ozzy goes out on the road with his solo band and calls the tour Black Sabbath, I don’t believe people will care that it is not the original line up anymore. It has already happened. Remember, that Tony Iommi did the same with the Dio and Tony Martin versions of Black Sabbath. You can say the Dio version of Sabbath is the real deal as it featured three of the original members, however the Tony Martin era, was all new musicians and if anything should have been called Iommi.

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Music, My Stories

Black Sabbath – Are They Still Relevant?

I watched Black Sabbath at the Allphones Arena, in Sydney last night and i was wondering, if they are still relevant.

Black Sabbath owned the beginning of the 70’s.  Towards the end of that era the band was bleeding and Ozzy was fired.  The beginning of the 80’s, saw Black Sabbath have the Heaven and Hell period, with Ronnie James Dio on vocals.  After that, you can say the band didn’t really set the world of fire, however i must admit that i have a soft spot for the Eternal Idol and Headless Cross albums with Tony Martin on vocals.  The Dehumanizer album in 1992 with Dio was an attempt to make both Dio and Sabbath relevant in the 90’s, however it didn’t really hit the mark.  

In the crowd around me, there was an audience of young and old.  Fan T-Shirts of the younger generation showed a lot of Ozzy colours (especially the Diary/Blizzard era), so it is safe to say, that Ozzy’s solo career has played a big part in Sabbath finding a new audience.   That is how i got into Sabbath, from Ozzy’s solo career.

Then I saw Machine Head, Iron Maiden, Slayer, Rob Zombie and Metallica t-shirts on fans.  These concertgoers are fans of those bands, checking out Black Sabbath, as all of those bands have mentioned Sabbath as an influence.  Rob Zombie is one person who speaks very highly of Sabbath.

One thing that really irks me, is Rick Rubin.  He was an extraordinary producer once upon a time.  Not anymore.  Black Sabbath did wrong taking him on board for the new album.  From what I have heard so far, it is a dead set joke.  It is basically Black Sabbath 2013, covering Black Sabbath 1969 – 1972.

Black Sabbath of the 70’s questioned authority, challenged institutions and preyed on people’s fears of heaven and hell.  They don’t do that anymore.  Why is why the current music they are releasing sucks.

What happened to the two new tracks Psycho Man and Selling My Soul from the Reunion CD?   They are better than the two songs they have released so far from 13.  I was re-listening to God Is Dead! again.  I have given this song a few go’s now, trying to find something to like about it, as all the celebrity metal / rock musicians have spoken what a great song it is.  

It is still mediocre.  Then I came across a song called In Due Time from Killswitch Engage.  It got me interested.  It hit a nerve inside of me, and I needed to know more.  The melody in the music is captivating and heavy, the chorus is unbelievable melodic and catchy, the screaming in the verses borders on insanity… SHADOWS GIVE WAY TO LIGHT…  

Listening to In Due Time brought back memories of Live In Love from Times of Grace, which is more or less Adam and Jesse from Killswitch.  After listening to Live in Love, I went back to the 2009 Killswitch album and cranked The Forgotten, hearing Howard Jones singing it and if he is reading this, he will never be forgotten.

When i listen to Sabbath, i think of Randy Rhoads and the unbelievable version he did of Children of the Grave on the Tribute album.  When i listen to Sabbath, i think of Ronnie James Dio.  When i listen to Sabbath, i think of Ozzy.   To me Ozzy is more relevant than what Sabbath is.  Ozzy really didn’t have to go back to Sabbath for a new album, he didn’t need it.

So is Black Sabbath still relevant.  For their influence and legacy, YES.  As a band writing new music, NO.  It is great that they are attempting to release a new album, however as i have mentioned previously, if it is not great, people will move on.  Our time is short these days.

Life has its highs and it’s lows.  Careers are the same.  I don’t want to waste time listening to lame music anymore, I’m ready for great.  Black Sabbath have been away for a while now.  The Ozzfest shows gave them some leverage again.  People saw them, appreciated it, but no one was eagerly waiting for them to reform and do a new album.

The new Black Sabbath album will be a hit.  It will sell at least a million in my view.  These days, it’s not about the hit record anymore, it’s about sustaining the buzz.  In my mind, 13 is already in the rearview mirror and it hasn’t been released yet.     

 

 

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