2011 was a crazy frickin’ year. And with it came plenty of good, bad, and ugly. As we do every year, we lost a number of great rockers (read about a few of the biggest names to pass away in our remembrance here). While such loss is inevitable and, in some way, expected, it nonetheless never fails to hit hard. But 2011 was also full of many completely unexpected and occasionally mind-blowing events. Below is our list of the biggest stories of the year.
1. Black Sabbath reunite
The rumors had been swirling for a while, but it seemed like every time things were looking good for a reunion of the original lineup of the original metal band, someone came in to dash the hopes of pretty much every headbanger on the planet. And then it happened: a press conference hosted by Henry Rollins and featuring Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward, announcing not only a world tour together in 2012 but also that they have been working on a new album together! Never say die, indeed.
2. The West Memphis Three are freed
In the 18 years since the West Memphis Three—three men who, as metalhead teenagers, were convicted for the allegedly Satanic-ritual murder of three young children—were first arrested, their case has galvanized heavy-music fans the world over. Everyone from the aforementioned Henry Rollins and Metallica to Pearl Jam and Marilyn Manson—who spoke at the 2010 Revolver Golden Gods Awards on their behalf—had gotten behind their cause, but as appeal after appeal was denied despite mounting evidence of their innocence, that cause did not appear very hopeful. Then, this August, the seemingly impossible happened when the WM3 were finally released from prison. Justice, long overdue.
3. Judas Priest play on American Idol, embark on farewell tour
If a Sabbath reunion and WM3 release seemed unlikely going into 2011, then Judas Priest performing on TV’s most popular show and pop music’s biggest forum seemed like just about the closest thing to a sign of the apocalypse that we could imagine. Well, then maybe the end is, in fact, nigh in 2012, because Priest did take the Idol stage this year, rocking with finalist James Durbin in front of the some 30 million viewers who tuned in to see the season finale. Sadly, we know that the end is nigh for Priest themselves, who played the first leg of their farewell tour this year. But at least Rob Halford & Co. are going out with a bang.
4. Dave Mustaine plays Metallica songs onstage with Metallica
The double takes continued this year when Dave Mustaine took the stage with Metallica earlier this month to play five ‘Tallica classics as part of that band’s 30th anniversary. Dave jamming on Diamond Head along with all the other members of the Big 4 was one thing. This, a whole other level of jaw-dropping. Can’t we all just get along? Why, yes, we can.
5. Metallica records album with Lou Reed
If Metallica’s series of 30th-anniversary shows this December was one of the most badass things these tried-and-true metal badasses have ever done, then their collaborative album, Lulu, with art-rock kingpin Lou Reed ranks up there among the most head-scratchingly bizarre moves they’ve ever made. “I am the table.” And we are dumbfounded.
6. Slipknot play first shows since Paul Gray’s death
After the passing of founding bass player and major songwriter Paul Gray in 2010, it was unclear whether Slipknot would pack up the masks and jumpsuits and call it a day or if they would forge ahead. This summer the band–who were the subject of a Revolver special issue this year–returned to the stage and did it in triumphant fashion, paying respect to their fallen bandmate and to their own origins, while looking ahead to the future. Which includes highly anticipated shows in the U.S. next year.
7. Phil Anselmo performs Pantera songs onstage for first time in a decade
His surprise appearance at this September’s Metal Masters Clinic 2 was a heavily guarded secret (which the Revolver staff may have been privy to, if not behind), but when Phil Anselmo stomped onto the stage and banged through absolutely rip-roaring renditions of Pantera’s “A New Level” and “Fucking Hostile” backed by Kerry King, Scott Ian, David Ellefson, Frank Bello, Mike Portnoy, and Charlie Benante, it resounded around the metal world. And only made us mourn more deeply the senseless death of Dimebag Darrell and the fact that a Pantera reunion is utterly impossible. If you weren’t there in September, kick yourself. Now.
8. Evanescence release first album in five years, debut at No. 1
One of the best-selling hard-rock acts of the last decade, Evanescence had all but fallen off the map when they returned with this year’s self-titled album and the relevance of their gothy nu-metal-infused sound was very much in question. Consider that question definitively answered as the record debuted at No. 1 on the charts and the group hit the road to overwhelmingly sold-out shows–not to mention the fact that frontwoman Amy Lee was voted by Revolver readers to be the single Hottest Chick in Hard Rock. Amazing accomplishments all, for a band that clearly had been very much been missed.
9. Anthrax release first album in eight years
It has been a tumultuous decade for the thrash legends, but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and while their trials and tribulations did nearly take the band down, Anthrax endured and reasserted their place among metal’s best with the critically acclaimed Worship Music, not to mention their ass-kicking sets at this year’s Big 4 shows.
10. Avenged Sevenfold dominate the Revolver Golden Gods awards
Absolutely proving their supremacy among their generation of hard-rock and metal bands, and completing their inspiring rise-from-the-ashes story since the death of founding drummer Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan, Avenged Sevenfold claimed the 2011 Revolver Golden Gods as their own. They all but swept the fan-voted awards, including the biggest trophy of the night, for Album of the Year, and crushed with their closing set, which featured guest turns by GN’R's Duff McKagan and Pantera’s Vinnie Paul. All hail the heirs apparent.
11. Disturbed go on indefinite hiatus
They are the only rock band to have four consecutive records debut at No. 1, other than Metallica and Dave Matthews Band, so when Disturbed announced, while headlining this summer’s Mayhem Fest, that they would be going on “indefinite hiatus,” fans were understandably shocked. But then, what better time to go out then when you’re on top? Only time will tell if the bandmates are just taking a break or if they’ve broken up—but there’s no arguing that these guys have earned a little rest.
12. Metal goes dubstep
It was this year’s biggest trend in heavy music—the fusion of metal and the electronic-music style known as dubstep—and while, like any trend, it led to some less than stellar music, it also led to our controversial pick for 2011 Album of the Year, Korn’s The Path of Totality. We at Revolver hate it when we see heavy music getting stagnant and conservative—music needs to evolve and cross-pollinate to stay vital—so we’re excited that everyone from Five Finger Death Punch to Asking Alexandria to Periphery are experimenting with dubstep and exploring alternative definitions of “heavy.” And it’s cool knowing that the style’s biggest producer, Skrillex, is a friend of hard rock and metal, having gotten his start fronting screamo band From First to Last and, this year, collaborated on the new Korn record. Let’s see where this new hybrid takes us in 2012.
13. System of a Down play first shows together in five years
In late 2010, System of a Down, one of the last decade’s most unique and innovative metal bands, announced that they would be reuniting to play shows after a five-year hiatus. When the first of those performances finally came to pass, in Canada this May, SOAD proved that they had not missed a beat. Welcome back. And make a new record. You know you want to.
14. Atreyu go on indefinite hiatus
In the 12 years since their formation, SoCal’s Atreyu have morphed from metalcore pioneers to a more straight-up hard-rock outfit, and they’ve graced the cover of Revolver more than a few times along the way. So when, this year, the bandmates broke the news that they would be putting the band on ice, it was a bummer, no question. The consolation is that the members are not exactly sitting on their hand since the decision: Frontman Alex Varkatsaz has a new band in the works with Bleeding Through’s Brendan Schieppati, called I Am War; drummer-vocalist Brandon Saller now fronts Hell or Highwater; and guitarist Travis Miguel has new project Fake Figures.
15. Ministry re-form
Ministry’s breakup never seemed particularly set in stone. After all, their “final” album, 2007′s The Last Sucker, was followed by not one record of covers and remixes but two—not to mention a 2009 live album. Still, it was hard for any fan of the seminal industrial-metal band not to be excited when main man Al Jourgensen announced in August that the group would not only be touring in 2012 but releasing a new, original studio album, fittingly called Relapse. Lead single, “99 Percenters,” hits iTunes on December 23.
16. Life of Agony frontman Keith Caputo transitioning gender to female
It might just be the biggest “WTF” revelation in a year full of “WTF” moments: the news that Life of Agony vocalist Keith Caputo was becoming a woman, Mina. As with Priest’s catalog after Halford came out of the closet, now we hear LOA’s songs just a little differently.
..And finally, Revolver releases 100th issue.
Is it 2011′s biggest story? No. But it might be for us here at Revolver. We’ve been told repeatedly over the years that rock is dead, metal is dead, the music industry is dead, print media are dead. So to make it to 100 issues—100 real, tangible, bathroom-ready printed issues—feels like a real accomplishment. And maybe even more importantly, it feels like a big, fat middle-finger to all the disbelievers, doubters, and haters who didn’t think we would make it. Fuck you. And thank you to all our readers who have stuck with us, whether for all 100 issues, or only for this year’s six. You rule. Happy holidays.
For the finale of Metallica’s four-night 30th Anniversary concert extravaganza on Saturday night at San Francisco’s the Fillmore, the legendary thrash band reunited onstage with the musicians of its earliest lineups for a rendition of the song “Hit the Lights.” Guitarist Dave Mustaine, who’s made his name with Megadeth in this years since his departure from Metallica, joined Metallica with original bassist Ron McGovney and guitarist Lloyd Grant, who played on the first recording of the song as it appeared on the Metal Massacre compilation in 1982. You can see fan-filmed video of the performance below.
Over the course of the shows, which were held for members of the band’s fan club, Metallica paid tribute to their now-deceased bassist Cliff Burton and joined up with musicians whom they have played with over the years, including Jason Newsted, Black Sabbath’s Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler, Kid Rock, Lou Reed, Marianne Faithfull, Glenn Danzig, Judas Priest’s Rob Halford, Alice in Chains’ Jerry Cantrell, and present and former members of Mercyful Fate, Diamond Head, Armored Saint, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Down, Faith No More, the Anti-Nowhere League, Death Angel, Apocalyptica, Saxon, and more. The band filmed each of the shows, so look for a release of these shows in some form in the future.
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Metallica and Lou Reed have released a video for their song, “The View,” from their collaborative album, Lulu. It is directed by Darren Aronofsky, who is known for dark movies like Black Swan, Requiem for a Dream, and The Wrestler. “The first time I heard ‘The View’ I was stunned,” Aronofsky told IFC.com, where the song premiered. “I had never heard anything like it. Half was all Lou. The other half all Metallica. It was a marriage that on the surface made no sense, but the fusion changed the way I thought about both artists and morphed into something completely fresh and new.”
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Metallica and Lou Reed’s collaborative video, Lulu, came out yesterday. Below, you can watch a video of a cat reacting to the song “The View.”
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Metallica and Lou Reed are releasing their collaborative album, Lulu, today. The album tells the tale of a girl, Lulu, who falls from her place in high society into prostitution and other questionable activities—she even has a run-in with Jack the Ripper. Reed took the concept from a pair of plays by 20th Century German playwright Frank Wedekind, and the music he and Metallica play is just as dramatic, full of plodding guitars, Reed’s spoken-word recitations, and lots of strings. Below, Kirk Hammett talks about how meeting Reed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th anniversary concert led Metallica into making an album that forced them outside of their comfort zone. For more on the making of Lulu, check out the November/December issue of Revolver, available on newsstands everywhere and online here.
REVOLVER Was Lou Reed influential on Metallica, musically, prior to this?
KIRK HAMMETT That’s a very, very interesting question because the person who turned me onto the Velvet Underground was Cliff Burton. He would listen to the Velvet Underground. He started listening to the Velvet Underground on the Ride the Lightning tour, and him and I shared a room. So we would take turns playing DJ and throwing on various stuff. And he would always throw on the same stuff. He would always throw on Misfits , Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Velvet Underground, the Dictators, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Having said that, I’ve always been a huge Velvet Underground fan, ever since Cliff turned me onto them.
You have to really, really understand the Velvet Underground in context to really truly appreciate what they did. They were writing songs, and Lou was writing lyrics that there was no precedent for that before them. To me, that earns the utmost respect, because you can almost say that about Metallica. Before us there was no precedent for what we did. In that regard, sure, a huge influence. They’re outsiders, the Velvet Underground, in much the same way Metallica were outsiders back then, and still to a certain extent are now. So come on Lou is the original punk. He truly is the original punk. He explored that whole punk attitude. It’s in Metallica now, because we share a little bit of that punk ethic. We always did and we still kind of do now, I would say. Our fuck-it-all sort of attitude.
It’s interesting that, 25 years after his passing, Cliff is still affecting what you do.
You know, you’re absolutely right. I actually never gave it that much thought or looked at it like that. But yeah, he still is affecting us and he is still having an influence over us, which is pretty amazing.
Lou Reed is known for being…difficult. Were you nervous about working with him?
Yeah, because he has a reputation for being a grouchy kind of guy, but he couldn’t be a nicer kind of fellow. It’s really remarkable because he has a really similar attitudes about things that we do. He has a bit of sarcasm to his personality, which is exactly how we function. We function on sarcasm. I was just with Lou, like, 15 minutes ago and I said, “Lou, you’re one of us. Are we one of you?” And it’s just one of those situations where it’s incredible how well we get on. We get on that well musically and it’s just amazing to me.
When did you feel a connection with him?
Once we started playing, he was just like, “Oh, my God. This is great! This is what I’ve wanted to hear all my life.” He was just basically saying that the day we rehearsed with him for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And that’s what led to, “Oh, we should make an album.” And we all kind of unanimously agreed: Yes, we should make an album. And that’s pretty much how things started. It was really actually very cool.
How did the Lulu concept come up?
Originally, we were supposed to cover some of his songs, maybe some of the more well-known songs as well as some of the more unknown songs in his catalog. But then he got this idea to present these lyrics to the Lulu plays that he wrote and pretty much present the lyrics to us and say, let’s do something around this. Let’s write some music around this. And basically that’s what we did and it turned out really well. The lyrical content was pretty heavy, but very cool nonetheless. And it didn’t even take that long, which was amazing for me. We were thinking it was going to take two or three weeks, but really took only about a week. Maybe a week and a half. Totally not as long as we expected it to.
How did you change the music from Lou’s demos?
They were really loose-knit. The demos basically were… Most of the lyrics were there, I would say 95 percent of the lyrics were there. But then you would have a few chords underneath the lyrics, or he would have a very definitive sort of melody that ran through the song. A melody that went over those chords and basically we took what was there and just kind of riffed on it and just made it grow and turned it into something else. It was really very easy, just because it was.
At what point did the wall come down in regard to working with him?
He was very comfortable with us. He was very honest. And us as a band, we totally respect honesty. We totally respect all the things that come along with building a musical relationship, and he totally trusted us musically. It was an amazing sort of situation that we’re still blown away at how good it turned out. All five of us. It’s just one of those things, bro. Just one of those things.
What did you do that was adventurous in the studio?
For me, the one huge thing was that Lou Reed doesn’t like guitar solos, and I’m a lead guitar player. I had to come up with a totally different approach, so I played a lot of synth guitar, a lot of Moog guitar. And I played a lot of eBow, electronic bow on my guitar. I took it from that approach and it worked out brilliantly because we were coming up with sounds and textures that fit the overall mood of the lyrics and the songs. And basically what we were trying to achieve. And Lars did a lot of totally experimental drum stuff. James was really, really happy about the fact that he didn’t have to write a ton of lyrics and sang every word to every song. Rob was just totally into it. He was totally and completely into it. It was a very cool situation for us and it felt very, very comfortable. It was very cool.
Lou is a great guitarist. What was it like for you to play with him?
He is absolutely a great rhythm guitar player. He has a very, very unique sound. he’s very into his guitar gear. I was shocked at how into it he was. He pored over every little nuance in his guitar sound and put a lot of time into making sure that his guitar sound was the way that he wanted it to sound. I was very impressed by that and I was very impressed by his overall guitar sound. To the point I was thinking, Wow, I have to check some of this stuff out because it’s really tremendously great. He was just phenomenal. What can I say?
Did you discover any new things about the band or yourself in this process?
Yeah, it showed me that we could still be truly spontaneous and in the moment. We wrote the songs right there on the spot, and the entire time I thought we were just coming up with some rough, basic tracks. But they sounded so good and Lou was so bent on using that and using those particular takes on the album that all we truly could say was, “Sure, we are capturing a moment, and it really is truly, truly spontaneous.” We haven’t been spontaneous like that for years and years and years, probably since the ’80s. To actually see that we were still capable of something like that this far into our career is very cool. Truly very cool.
I think it’s one of the best things we’ve ever done. I say that from a pure musical standpoint. I’m not saying that from a heavy metal fan’s point of view. I love it. I can’t say enough about how great I think it is.
How would you describe the music you’ve recorded?
That’s a really, really hard one. All of us were pretty much out of our element. We were all out of our comfort zone, and because of that, we came up with stuff we normally wouldn’t come up with. The heavier songs are just super different and loose but heavy. The more ballady songs were very, very—I don’t even know how to describe it. There’s a lot of strings. There’s a complete string section on most of the songs. It’s just something that’s completely different from anything any of us have done. And the fact that there are strings on a lot of it brings it to a different place completely. “Junior Dad” is 19 minutes long. And a lot of the reason why it’s so long is because of the strings. There’s a complete string section that we used as an outro and it works really well.
You’ve said in other interviews how emotional “Junior Dad” was for you. Why is that?
I had lost my father about three weeks previous. It’s one thing when you work on a song, you work on the chords, you work on the music, you have a certain emotional attachment, but it becomes next level when you become exposed to the lyrics and you’re exposed to the actual subject matter of the song. That song, I don’t really want to pinpoint exactly what the song is about, because it’s one of those songs that could mean a million different things to a million different people, but what it really meant to me, it had everything to do with the fact that my relationship with my father was just kind of, you know, very emotional. And that’s really what hit it. It pretty much touched up on my own relationship with my own father. It’s a hard one for me to talk about. Even now, bro.
Having worked together now, what does Lou think about Metallica now?
I get the feeling that when we got together with him at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, that was his very first experience with us. From what I could gather, he loved what he heard right off the bat. He became a tried and true believer—not so much a fan—but a believer in us. We’re definitely kindred spirits. In our approach, in our attitude, in the way we believe things should be done. It truly is amazing because, like I said, he was not really a fan…ever, I think. Maybe not even now! But he totally believes in us a hundred percent.
Are you worried at all about how Metallica fans will receive the album?
It was a creative journey that we needed to embark on for ourselves, and I would say that it’s not for everyone. It definitely is not for everyone. If you can tune into it, I would say that that’s a great thing. But if you can’t really relate to it, that’s fine, too, because it really isn’t for everyone. I would venture to say that some Metallica fans would love it and I would venture to say that some Metallica fans would hate it. And I’m not trying to be safe or anything like that or trite, but that is how I truly feel. This was not a very accessible album. It’s artsy in a lot of different ways, but it’s something that we wanted to pursue creatively. And it’s something that we wanted to see where it would go, where we could take it. And it’s largely an artistic endeavor for ourselves, and we’re just inviting everyone else along for the party. Truly, that’s what it is.
Do you have anything else you want to say about Lulu?
I would just say that it’s something that most people won’t be expecting from us. All I have to say is don’t judge it by heavy-metal standards and maybe you’ll understand it a little better.
Black-and-white photo by Anton Corbijn
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Metallica and Lou Reed have released a full electronic press kit, discussing their upcoming collaborative album Lulu. The video shows each member of Metallica, as well as Reed, talking about the process of creating the record, which will be released on November 1. Let us know what you think of it in the comments section.
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Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo has revealed that the band have commenced work on a new record. Speaking to Gulf News, while on tour in Abu Dhabi, Trujillo commented:
“We’ve been busy writing and recording. We’ve got a couple of new songs we have been working on the past couple of weeks. The writing process for the new Metallica album has begun. We’ve been in the studio with Rick Rubin, working on a couple of things, and we’re going to be recording during the most of next year.”
Metallica’s collaboration record with Lou Reed, Lulu, will be released on November 1, however the thrash icons have been quick to stress that the album does not represent the band’s follow-up to 2008′s Death Magnetic.
Trujillo continued by saying “For me, personally, Death Magnetic was the launch pad for the next record. This is the beginning of something very, very cool.”
You can read the full interview here.
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Metallica and Lou Reed have posted their collaborative album, ‘Lulu,’ due out on November 1, for streaming. You can hear it by clicking here. You can also read the lyrics to every song on the album here. Let us know what you think of it in the comments.
]]>Metallica and Lou Reed have posted 30-second samples of every song on their forthcoming collaborative album, Lulu, to Soundcloud. Listen to it below (if you want to hear more, you can click here to hear the full version of “The View”) and let us know what you think of it in the comments.
]]>Metallica and Lou Reed have released another teaser video for their collaborative album, Lulu, which comes out November 1. Check it out below and let us know what you think of it.
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