King Kobra was started by drummer Carmine Appice after he finished work touring with Ozzy Osbourne for the “Bark At The Moon” tour.  The band was rounded out by mostly unknown musicians at the time consisting of Mark Free (Lead…

Formed in 1982 by Tom Keifer and Eric Brittingham, Cinderella was one of the biggest bands of the ’80s rock and metal era.  Following several lineup changes, the band solidified their members with Jeff Labar and Fred Coury.    The band’s…

Artist: Dirty Shirley Album: Dirty Shirley Genre: Melodic Metal \ Hard Rock Label: Frontiers Music Srl. Release Date: January 24, 2020 Reviewed by: Bobby Caughron Review: Okay, so I hate the album cover and the name of the band….but believe…

Reb Beach is a true journeyman of rock n’ roll music.  You may know him as the guitarist from Winger, Whitesnake or from stints with Alice Cooper, Night Ranger, and Dokken. His skills and professionalism are highly sought after in…

Just a few hours before their show, I sat down with Frankie Nardiello, A.K.A. Groovie Mann, vocalist for My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult. It was almost 30 years since I had last seen the band perform. I caught…

Often, I’m asked what it’s like backstage when I get to interview the artists. Many times the artists arrive at the venue with a very limited amount of time to get the equipment set up, do soundchecks and take the…

I joined Wednesday 13 on his tour bus in Ybor City, Tampa Florida for a discussion that including the new album Necrophaze, his take on the music business, touring with Static-X, his musical influences and what the future holds for…

I recently caught up with Virus from the band Dope on their current tour with Static-X.  I’ve been a longtime fan of the band and Virus’ guitar work is some incredible stuff. If you’ve never seen the band live, definitely…

The XS ROCK Best Metal Album Of 2019 is “Humanicide” by Death Angel.  An outstanding metal album that has to be heard to be believed and appreciated properly. Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Death Angel guitarist…

  You know what’s wrong with rock music? it’s not reckless and it’s not dangerous anymore. Josh Todd – Buckcherry Lead Singer This is the best lineup of Buckcherry that we’ve ever had. On longevity in the rock music business:…

RAVEN are that rare thing in music,  true originals – cut these guys with a razor and they will BLEED true heavy metal – a more intense live band does not exist on this planet! Hailing from Newcastle Upon Tyne…

Def Leppard is arguably one of the most successful bands to emerge from the 80’s hard rock and heavy metal scene.  The band found success early on, hitting the scene with their debut full-length album “On Through The Night” in…

As one of the founding members of the iconic EBM band Nitzer Ebb, Bon Harris is practically a legend to fans of the genre.  Nitzer Ebb has a combined output of fourteen albums and EP’s since 1983.  If you ask…

Artist: Death Angel Album: Humanicide Genre: Metal Label: Nuclear Blast Records Release Date: May 31, 2019 Reviewed by: Bobby Caughron   Review: If the new Death Angel album Humanicide was your opponent in a boxing match, you’d be pummelled into…

You wanted the best….you got the best! Now here are some of their worst albums These 10 artists are some of hard rocks’ most famous bands.  Most have long careers with certified Gold and Platinum albums.  But even these artists…

Artist: Whitesnake Album: Flesh & Blood Genre: Hard Rock / Classic Metal Label: Frontiers Music Srl. Release Date: May 10, 2019 Review By: Bobby Caughron   Review: It seems like it’s been an incredibly long wait for an album of new material from…

Marc Ferrari. You probably know him from his work in the band Keel as well as his own bands Cold Sweat and Medicine Wheel.  But, what you probably didn’t know, is you’ve most likely heard his work in numerous movie…

David Ellefson, the legendary bassist for Megadeth, is gearing up for some special tour dates with his all-star group Metal Allegiance.  Metal Allegiance’s core members are David Ellefson (Megadeth), Alex Skolnick (Testament), Mike Portnoy (Ex-Dream Theater) and Mark Menghi.  Guest…

On March 22nd, Netflix premiered “The Dirt”, the biopic about the infamous and sordid details of lives of Motley Crue.  Having read the book, I was curious how they were going to fit everything into a two hour movie.  And…

XS ROCK: So I’ve had a chance to listen to the new album, The Devil You Know and it’s fantastic. It sounds just like what I remember from listening to the first two LA Guns albums years ago. It’s kind…

When your resume’ includes playing in both legendary rock bands, Dio and Whitesnake, you know you’re doing something right.  That’s definitely the case with Doug Aldrich. With a long history of playing and creating incredible songs with bands like Lion,…

When Dave King joined Fastway he was relatively unknown at the time. Fastway was put together by Motorhead guitarist “Fast” Eddie Clarke and UFO bass player Pete Way.  The name Fastway was a combination of the “Fast” from Eddie Clarke…

01. Stryper-Stryper has to be at the top of this list. Not because I think they’re the best, but because their contribution to Christian metal is the equivalent of Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and Judas Priest in the non-christian metal…

I recently had the opportunity to sit down and talk with legendary drummer Ken Mary.  Over the years, Ken has played with some of the best bands around, including Alice Cooper, Accept, House Of Lords, Chastain, Fifth Angel and most…

Recently, I had the chance to sit down backstage and talk with Monte Pittman. Monte’s out on the road with Sebastian Bach and supporting not one, but two great new albums that were recently released on Metal Blade Records. If…

Review: Extra! Extra! Read all about it….The latest news headlines should read Stephen Pearcy releases great new Ratt album, on his own!  Why? Because the material on Pearcy’s latest release “View To A Thrill” sounds so much like Ratt, that…

From the late 80’s into the early 90’s Winger built momentum and became an overnight sensation, in part thanks to heavy rotation of their videos on MTV, which at that time, actually showed music videos. Winger’s debut album went platinum…

During the 80’s glam and melodic metal ruled the airwaves. For all of the bands that made it big, there were plenty of other talented bands that got lost in the shuffle. Many of them suffered from lack of promotion…

During the 80’s hard rock ruled the airwaves. Quiet Riot’s Metal Health became the first #1 metal album of all time. Soon after the scene exploded with bands like Motley Crue, Guns N’ Roses, Dokken, Ratt, Warrant, Poison, and many…

Recently, I had the chance to catch up with Patrick Stone, lead vocalist for Budderside. I spoke with him just before he was going on stage to perform as the opener for L.A. Guns on their latest tour. He invited me me…

Artist: Budderside Album: Budderside Genre: Metal Label: Motorhead Music Release Date: September 2017 Reviewed by: Bobby Caughron Review: Budderside’s self-titled release is an incredible album filled with diversity of both sounds and style that still manages to create a cohesive,…

Geoff Tate seems to be sort of an enigmatic person for a lot of people. Always a bit mysterious and probably often misunderstood. Prior to meeting Geoff for the first time, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. I have…

Michael Sweet (Stryper) and George Lynch (Dokken, Lynch Mob)  have reunited once again to create Unified, the second album by Sweet & Lynch. I had the chance to sit down and talk with Michael Sweet about the new album, working…

Carmine Appice is a legend in the world of rock drummers. Over the years he has played with a virtual who’s who list of artists including Ozzy Osbourne, Rod Stewart, King Kobra, Blue Murder, Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, Pink Floyd, Michael…

Artist: L.A. Guns Album: The Missing Peace Genre: Hard Rock Label: Frontiers Music srl. Release Date: October 13, 2017 Review by: Bobby Caughron Review: So now that hell has finally frozen over and Tracii Guns and Phil Lewis have officially…

Today I sat down with Chris Jericho. Pro wrestler, rock singer, writer, podcaster and the list goes on and on. Chris is a multi-talented guy and was great to interview. We talked about his latest album, Judas by his band…

Stryper have posted the following regarding Tim Gaines termination from the band: A MESSAGE FROM STRYPER Dear fans and friends,We wish Timothy Gaines nothing but the best, and we will always remember the history and the good times that we…

The Most Successful Bands To Change Singers While many bands have tried, only a few have been really successful with switching lead singers after they become famous. Let’s take a look of some of the best lead singer changes first….…

XS ROCK: So, Quiet Riot now has James Durbin as lead vocalist. I’ve had a chance to listen to Road Rage and I think it’s going to surprise a lot of people. I was surprised that he was able to…

Recently, I received an advanced release for Josh Todd & The Conflict’s debut album, “Year Of The Tiger”. Most of you probably know Josh and guitarist Stevie D from the band Buckcherry. Buckcherry is still alive and well, but I’ve…

XS ROCK: Hey Robert! It’s a pleasure to talk with you. I’ve been a fan for many years. I want to talk about the new Warrant album in a moment, but first, let’s go back to the beginning for a…

    In my opinion, one of the best metal bands to come out after the year 2000 had to be Sister Sin. Each album seem to be better than the one before it as the band continued to release…

Recently, I reviewed the latest album by Art of Anarchy called “The Madness”. Which you can read here.  Needless to say I was blown away by it. When I got the chance to interview guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, I was thrilled.…

Today I had the privilege to sit down and talk with Alex Grossi. Most of you probably know Alex as the guitarist in Quiet Riot. But Alex is quite the journeyman of rock n’ roll and always seems to have a…

Jack Blades Talks To XS ROCK About New Night Ranger Album, His Career and More… Rewind back to the year 1982. I was in middle school and I had gotten a part time job so that I could buy my…

XS Rock readers know that I’ve recently been raving about the debut album by Sainted Sinners featuring David Reece (Accept, Bonfire, Bangalore Choir). Well, today I had the chance to talk with him about his new band, his past work…

XS ROCK: So tell me about your great new album “He Saw It Comin”. I just did a review on it recently and in my opinion, it’s some of the best material that you’ve ever done. Does the title reference your…

When I was in high school, I had the walls of my room covered with posters and magazine pages from my favorite bands. No one got more space on those walls than my favorite band, Ratt. When “Out Of The…

When it comes to metal’s greatest anthems, Accept’s Balls To The Wall is always listed as one of the top songs. And, with good reason. From the opening chords, you immediately recognize it, your head begins to start rocking in…

Recently, I had the chance to talk with Deen Castronovo. A man with a music resume’ as long as my arm. You know his work from bands and playing with artists like Bad English, Ozzy Osbourne, Steve Vai, Paul Rodgers,…

Today, we’ve got a great interview with Tora Tora’s guitarist, Keith Douglas. After signing with A&M Records, Tora Tora recorded their debut album Surprise Attack in 1989. Surprise Attack hit Billboard’s Top 200 at No. 47 and featured the great…

XSROCK recently posted the announcement of the new band, Angels In Vein, featuring former members of L.A. Guns, Faster Pussycat and White Lion.  We were immediately bombarded with questions from our readers demanding to know more about this new group.…

A BRIEF HISTORY OF JAPANESE HARD ROCK AND METAL Part One Recently, there has been a lot of publicity around the Japanese band Babymetal. This trio of Japanese teens have taken the world by storm and found international success. Now,…

Chastain is the XSROCK Metal Artist Of The Month for November If you haven’t heard their latest album. It’s a must have for all metal fans! Leather Leone, metal vocalist extraordinaire, talked to us about all things Leather and Chastain.…