Alice In Chains – We Die Young
Pantera – I’ll Cast A Shadow
Ozzy Osbourne – Diary Of A Madman
Black Sabbath – Devil & Daughter,
Dio – Hunter Of The Heart,
Kiss – Under The Gun,
Slipknot – Butcher’s Hook,
Doro with Peter Steele – Decent,
Avenged Sevenfold – Bat Country,
Drowning Pool – Sinner,
Metallica – Escape,
Rush – Finding My Way,
Warrior Soul – Rocket 88,

The latest episode of Mars Attacks Podcast contains interviews with Vinny Appice and Steve Zing. Both of these interviews were conducted a few months back, before Black Sabbath announced their return, and before the Danzig Legacy dates took place. As a result, some questions regarding both of these topics have since been answered.

Steve’s interview is up first, he discusses what it was like to prep for the aforementioned Danzig shows, what it’s like to switch from bass or drums (which he has played in Danzig and Samhain respectively), to lead singer in his band Marra’s Drug. Marra’s Drug is the main focus of the interview, but we give you a sneak peak of a future Mars Attacks Classic Albums Column, when Steve is asked about The Misfits. Steve grew up in the same town (Lodi, NJ), went to school with Doyle and was there when the band rose, and consequently came apart. As a result, he provides a unique point of view on the band, and the folklore/urban legend that has surrounded the band all these years later. He also discusses his tenure in Samhain.

Vinny’s interview comes up during the last half of the show, and centers around his new band Kill Devil Hill. He discusses how the band came together, their musical direction, and what each member adds to the mix that makes Kill Devil Hill. With Vinny you also get a sneak peak into a Black Sabbath album that will be featured in an upcoming Classic Albums Column that will debut this summer. While commenting on Sabbath he discusses the possibility of Heaven & Hell continuing without the late Ronnie James Dio, and mentioned several lead singer, namely Glenn Hughes, Bjorn Lande and Rob Halford. He also bring up the fact that he was asked to join Ozzy’s Blizzard of Oz before being asked to join Sabbath, how he purposely set out to differentiate himself from his brother Carmine, the project 9 Chambers, and what it was like to take part in Drum Wars with Carmine.

The episode contains music from Marra’s Drug, Danzig, Black Sabbath and Dio.

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During the latest episode of the Mars Attacks Podcast we interview Mark Hunter of Chimaira and Dave Reffett. Mark discusses the band’s new album The Age Of Hell, some of the band’s line up changes, releasing the new album for free in the UK, and what it’s like to have Chimaira associated to shows like Mythbusters, The Farmclub and Deathklok. He also fields a bunch of listener submitted questions.

There isn’t enough I can do to thank Dave Reffett for his help, he has assisted us in obtaining quite a few guests. As a result it is my pleasure to include him in the episode. He discusses his album The Call Of The Flames, what it was like to feature people like George Lynch, Chris Poland, Glen Drover and Mike Mangini, among others that appear on the album, his gear, and briefly touches on future projects he’ll be working on. He didn’t want to mention a whole lot about the latter, but I’m sure it will be cool none the less.

Pictures courtesy of Chimaira and Dave Reffett.

The episode contains tracks off of Chimaira’s Age of Hell, and Dave Reffett’s The Call Of The Flames

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The latest episode of the podcast contains an interview with drumming legend Carmine Appice. During the episode he discusses the latest album by King Kobra, why Paul Shortino is in the band and not Marcie Free, how he got into doing drum clinics, his upcoming autobiography which is co-authored by Greg Prato, and what Carmine finds exciting or boring with other autobiographies he’s read. He also discusses Ozzy’s legendary ant story, something he thinks never took place. Along the way he also touches upon a bunch of the bands he’s played with over the years.

During the episode you’ll hear tracks by King Kobra, Blue Murder and VBA a project that features Spanish blues guitarist Javier Vargas, Tim Bogert, Carmine and Paul Shortino.

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A while back I had read on Blabbermouth how Ozzy would be rereleasing Blizzard Of Oz and Diary Of A Madman, and my first thought was here we go again! Would this rerelease contain Trujillo and Borden? Or Daisley and Kerslake? The other thing to come to mind was an old VH1 special where Ozzy bashes Kiss and Gene Simmons, when they’ve had the dignity to only rerelease their albums once, while this is the fourth release on CD of these two albums.

I’m happy to say that Ozzy and his team have gone out of their way to make this release special. I purchased the 30th Anniversary Collectors Edition, it contains the following items:

Blizzard Of Ozz (expanded edition)
Diary Of A Madman (2 CD- Legacy Edition)
Blizzard Of Ozz and Diary Of A Madman (Vinyl Edition)
DVD – Thirty Years After The Blizzard
100 Page Coffee Book
Poster and replica of Ozzy’s cross

The tracks are remastered with Daisley and Kerslake being featured on both studio albums. This boxed set also features the first vinyl I’ve purchased in twenty years. The vinyl looks exactly like the original vinyls that came out in the 80s on Jet Records. The Diary Of A Madman CD is exactly the same as the original album, while Blizzard of Ozz contains the tracks “You Looking At Me, Looking At You”, and a 2010 remix of “Goodbye To Romance” which only features Ozzy and RANDY RHOADS. The one thing that is confusing is the live CD, it is listed as Ozzy Live on the back of the boxed set, and when I pop it into my system, iTunes detects it as Diary Of A Madman CD 2.

That aside, the real gems here are the live CD and DVD. Listening and watching both of these brought me right back to when I bought the Tribute album on vinyl as a kid. I remember getting home, going over to my neighbor’s house and reading him the notes, and checking out the pictures with him. Playing the album was mind blowing. I was too young to see Randy live (I was 9 when he died), and hearing him play so many classic songs live was just amazing.

RUDY SARZO’s book Off The Rails makes reference to the show that was used on the Tribute album, and alludes to the fact that one other show was recorded for WESTWOOD ONE. I am assuming that this is the show included in the boxed set. On a side note the track “No Bone Movies” that appears on Tribute actually comes from this other show. Randy’s playing is just amazing on the new CD. Although some of the licks are the same on these tracks, most are not. How many bands do you see nowadays that do this? Normally they’re playing everything identically the same no matter when you see them on tour. If you’re not familiar with his playing, he doesn’t get to the point where his playing is over the top, he’s tastefully accenting the songs.

What really blew me away was the DVD. It is great to see people like LEMMY talk about Randy and OZZY, ROB HALFORD. But what about STEVE VAI who mention something to the effect of Blizzard Of Ozz being the first album in a long time to offer something new guitarwise. The live footage is what makes this all worth wild, seeing Randy play live makes it all worth wild. Of course we’ve all seen bits and pieces of the band on AFTERHOURS. This footage is on YouTube and was heavily featured in the “Crazy Train” video that came out along with the Tribute album. Seeing him live at the Palladium in New York, in San Antonio during the Diary Of A Madman Tour is just way beyond cool. He shreds so effortlessly, and conveys emotion through his playing in a way that we haven’t felt and heard before on the studio albums, or in countless pictures that we’ve seen over the years. It almost makes his loss even greater.

Rounding out the live band is the aforementioned SARZO on bass and ever so influential TOMMY ALDRIDGE. All you have to do is compare his playing on the live tracks to KERSLAKE’s on the studio albums to see what I’m referring to (can you say double bass).

I would recommend this boxed set to any die hard OZZY or RANDY RHOADS fans. The live components alone make this boxed set worth its wild. Throw in the coffee book which features a lot of obscure pictures from that era, the poster, the cross (will anyone actually wear this?), and some classic vinyls and CDs, and you’ve got one of the best boxed sets that has been released in the past few years.

Grade: A+

Twisted Sister – The Kids Are Back
Van Halen – Loss Of Control
Iron Maiden – Sea Of Madness
Helloween – Save Us
Black Sabbath – Disturbing The Priest
Anthrax – Among The Living
Overkill – Powersurge
Ozzy Osbourne – S.A.T.O.
Metallica – Crash Course In Brain Surgery
Manowar – Black Wind, Fire And Steel
Krokus – Stay Awake All Night
W.A.S.P. – Animal (Fuck Like A Beast)
Danzig – Twist Of Cain

During the latest episode of the Mars Attacks Podcast we are lucky enough to welcome fellow New Jersey native, comedian Don Jamieson.

Be forewarned that this interview contains explicit content.

Don is co-host of VH1 Classic’s That Metal Show, and has just put out a live comedy album called Live and Hilarious. During the interview Don discusses what it was like to win an Emmy Award, being star struck or geeked out as he puts it when interacting with guests on That Metal Show, and the difficulties surrounding writing jokes in a PC era (among other things).

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During this episode of the podcast our guest is author, musician, and host of the show Glory Is Noise, Joel Gausten. Joel discusses his latest book From Sabbath To Satan, the aforementioned show which can be found on RadioFreeSatan.com, his work with the bands like The Undead, Electric Frankenstein and Pigface. He also describes what it was like being seventeen, in high school and being asked to help out Doyle and Jerry Only while they were trying to resurrect the Misfits. He dispels any rumors regarding his exact involvement in the band, and references a few projects that he is working on, including one for this very web site.

If you are interested in purchasing any of his books, go to GaustenBooks.com

The episode features the following songs:

Misfits – Mars Attacks
Killing Joke – The Great Cull
Prong – Prove You Wrong
Bill Ward – Bombers (Can Open Bomb Bays)

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During the latest episode of Mars Attacks Podcast we interview Joey Duenas of Anew Revolution, and Darroh Sudderth from Fair To Midland. Joey discusses Anew Revolutions current tour with Drowing Pool, past touring experiences, and what the band has been up to since my previous interview with their bass player Frank Salvaggio. With Darroh we discuss Fair To Midlands upcoming album Arrows And Anchors, the struggles the band has faced along the way, and how that has helped solidify the band, and with the aforementioned emotionally charged new album.

During the episode you will hear tracks by Anew Revolution, Fair To Midland, Queen, and Queens of the Stone Age.

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Van Halen – Romeo Delight
David Lee Roth – The Bottom Line
Living Colour – Pride
Lamb Of God – Pathetic
Anthrax – Inside Out
Trivium – Rain
Badlands – Silver Horses
Dokken – Night By Night
Shotgun Messiah – Don’t Care About Nothin
Spread Eagle – Suzy Suicide
Steve Stevens – Soul On Ice
Ozzy Osbourne – Soul Sucker