Pop Evil’s Leigh Kakaty shared his opinion about rock music in an interview regarding the band’s new album, Skeletons, with Classic Rock. He said:

“We started this journey when rock music was on a decline. We were pushing ourselves up a steep hill when the musical landscape had shifted to hip-hop, pop, and country and kinda abandoned us rockers. I can sing pop until the cows come home, and a lot of people said to us why don’t you just switch genres. And we had the opportunities.”

According to Pop Evil frontman, rock music was abandoned by people, so, Kakaty explained why he never gave up on his music:

“But it was like, I’m a rock guy, man. I grew up blue-collar in Michigan. I really feel indebted to this genre. I don’t care about the success. “

It seems like Leigh Kakaty has internalized the rock culture, and switching genres is not on the table for him. Pop Evil showed its dedication to rock music during the pandemic while COVID restrictions were going on; most of the members needed regular jobs to keep food on the table since they couldn’t go on tours. Kakaty explained in a previous talk with The Liquid Conversations podcast:

“The first few months of COVID, we were really hoping that, ‘Okay, we’ll be back by spring.’ ‘We’ll be back by summer.’ So right around summertime, we were finally, like, ‘Okay, this is gonna be a whole year off.’ And then once you got [over] the terror and the shock that we’re not gonna make any money… Our touring monthly keeps the lights on, so the fact that we weren’t gonna tour was devastating. And for our band, the other band members had to get jobs. There was no writing and creativity; they had to make money to live. So we weren’t able to write.”

You can read the full interview here.

The post Leigh Kakaty Explains Pop Evil’s Dedication To Rock appeared first on Ntertain Us!.

Judas Priest is preparing for a new album. According to Richie Faulkner, the band is working on a new album after 2018’s Firepower. This will be the third album with Faulkner on the guitar after K. K. Downing’s retirement from the band.

Recently, the guitarist was a guest on Mike Z’s YouTube channel, and the challenges regarding the band’s new album came along as a topic. He said:

“Easier in some sense. You know what to expect, but on the other side of things, it becomes harder. You have got to match what you did before. You’ve got to make another record that’s better, better songs, better production. How do we make this better played? So, it raises the bar. Especially the last record seemed to connect with a lot of people around the world. It was well received by a lot of people. So, how can we make a record that’s better than that one? That’s the goal going in. So, it’s harder in some senses as well.”

Apparently, playing as good as the last record was never enough, and there was always room for improvement.

Then, while discussing the new album’s release date, Faulkner said it shouldn’t be too long now. He explained:

“We gotta finalize artwork and actually manufacture the stuff … Make the vinyl and get that done. I think vinyl takes a little while these days, so it depends on how long that takes to actually manufacture the physical product. So that’s the question mark.”

The guitarist’s new band, Elegant Weapons, has recently released their new album, Horns For A Halo. You can stream the album on YouTube by clicking here.

The post Richie Faulkner Explains The Challenges Judas Priest Faced On New Record appeared first on Ntertain Us!.

Steel Panther recently took the stage on America’s Got Talent with Eyes of A Panther from their 2009 debut, Feel The Steel.

Before the performance took place, Steel Panther’s Satchel surprised jury members Sophia Vergara and Heidi Klum:

“Let me just say before we go on, we decided backstage to give Sophia and Heidi tickets to Steel Panther for life and backstage passes included.“

Although the band’s decision seemed a bit like they were trying to infiltrate the jury, the guitarist was quick to add:

“Not trying to influence the judging in any way.”

After the laughter, Klum and Vergara thanked the band; Michael Starr then took the mic and explained why the Steel Panther is on AGT’s stage:

“This is the best way to reach so many other people have never seen us before and teach them the ways of heavy metal and we just wanted to come on the show because we want to; we wanna win.“

Steel Panther’s performance was liked by all of the jury members, given that they received four yes votes, but that does not mean everyone in the studio was happy. We can see a man covering his ears while the band was performing right at 2:28 on the performance video, which you can view below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHfSRef0Scs

The post Steel Panther Impress America’s Got Talent Judges With ‘Eyes of A Panther’ Performance appeared first on Ntertain Us!.

Paul Di’Anno is not satisfied with Tobias Forge‘s vocals on Ghost’s cover of Phantom Of The Opera. On the same day that Ghost’s Phantom became available, the former Iron Maiden lead vocalist commented in a since-deleted Facebook post:

“Everyone asking my opinion on the Ghost cover of Phantom well not that it matters, but it f*ckin sucks.”

The vocalist explained his opinion of Ghost’s cover in a subsequent interview with Loaded Radio. He stated:

“The music’s great. I just don’t think Tobias fucking tried hard enough vocally. He sounds a bit plain… And he changed the lyrics slightly… That was a bit weird.”

Although his initial comments were scathing, it seems that Di’Anno’s main criticisms were Tobias’ vocal performance and the altered lyrics. He continued:

“When I first heard it, I was probably in a bad mood that day. I said, ‘This is fucking bullshit.’ But I’ve listened to it about three or four times. [The music is] pretty damn good, actually, to be honest with you. But as I said, I just feel like Tobias didn’t give it some welly [using British slang for ‘energy’], as we say… Give me some fucking well.”

It appears that Paul revised his opinion of the song after several listens and was in a better mood. Even though he appreciates the music, he remains critical of Tobias’ performance:

“As I said, I just wish he’d put a bit more effort into the vocals. That’s all.”

Despite his views on Tobias’ vocal performance on the cover, Di’Anno clarified that his harsh criticism wasn’t due to personal animosity against Ghost or Tobias. He explained:

“Regardless of what you think of Ghost, I’m very happy for them. Maybe I was just pissed off with life [that day], as usual. The older I get, the grumpier I am. Fucking great. Once you get over 50, you’ve got every fucking right to say what you want.

You can reach the transcribed interview by clicking here.

The post Paul Di’Anno Is Not Happy With Tobias Forge’s Iron Maiden Cover appeared first on Ntertain Us!.

M Shadows says their late drummer Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan would have been on-board with the band’s new album, Life Is But A Dream…. The album includes many different genres, such as lounge jazz and hip-hop-inspired beats. 

The Rev is on the new album, not only in spirit and memories of friends but with his music and lyrics. There is a bridge written by the drummer in the song ‘Mattel,’ which finally found its place. Shadows said to Metal Hammer:

“He’d be stoked. Me and Brian [Haner, aka guitarist Synyster Gates] know that guy better than anyone. He was always the biggest proponent of instigation and trying new things.” 

Although the album is about exploring new paths, it doesn’t imply that the band is turning their back on the past. Another track in the album, Beautiful Morning, has a lyric the drummer and Gates wrote back in their Pinky Smooth days. The singer said:

“That’s something him and Brian came up with a long time ago: ‘It’s a beautiful morning, it’s a beautiful day, everybody is smiling, in a beautiful way.’ That’s when it [the song] gets creepy.”

The band seems to be on a spiritual journey. The frontman revealed that he flew in a shaman for a rare Sonoran Desert toad, aka 5-MeO-DMT, venom experiment. In the same interview, Shadows talked about the record’s purpose:

“This record [Life Is But A Dream…] dove into, ‘Now what do we do with all that information as a human that has emotions, that evolved to this spot where we have our upper brain [wired for reasoning] and lower brain [wired for primitive responses] and they’re battling each other?”

A7x singer had a lot on his mind. He continued:

“You come to terms with how important everyone thinks everything is, and how they work themselves up. And none of it means anything. You work your fingers to the bones and everyone tells you you’re great your whole life. And then all of a sudden, you look back on your life and you go, ‘What the fuck was that?’”

You can reach the interview by clicking here.

The post M. Shadows Believes Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan Would Have Loved New A7X Album appeared first on Ntertain Us!.