Show 209 – Kiss of Death

Show Notes

• A rocker who FedExed heroin to himself
• Which rock star has social anxiety? Pariah has a theory
• Cruel Crue Summer
• A Motley Crue song so rare, it doesn’t appear on any album!
• News about the comeback of Kiss’s Vinnie Vincent
• A Cover Song of the Week from one of the “unholy trinity of British hard rock and heavy metal in the early to mid-seventies.”
• The No. 1 rock song
• A song from the Saints Row video game
• Rare Hare from Vinnie Vincent Invasion, Trixter, Roxx Gang, Steelheart, Big Guns, and Motley Crue
• Chart-Climbers by Bad Wolves, Northlane, and While She Sleeps
• Hits & Deep Cuts from Foreigner, Whitesnake, Great White, Kiss, In This Moment, AC/DC, Reality Suite, Dokken, Anthrax, Jorn, Pop Evil, Motley Crue, Faster Pussycat, and more!

Playlist

Own the hits and deep cuts you hear on Hard, Heavy & Hair! Click the iTunes/Apple Music or Amazon Digital Music icons to the left of each song.

Foreigner – Juke Box Hero

In This Moment – Roots

Northlane – Bloodline

Whitesnake – Still of the Night

KISS – Unholy

Faster Pussycat – Poison Ivy

Vinnie Vincent Invasion – Boyz Are Gonna Rock

AC/DC – Back in Black

Bad Wolves – Remember When

Reality Suite – Kiss the Ring

Steelheart – Steelheart

Mötley Crüe – Too Young to Fall in Love

Motley Crue – Sex

While She Sleeps – Haunt Me

Big Guns – Life Goes On (ft. Rachel Lorin)

Great White – All Over Now

Dokken – Kiss Of Death

Roxx Gang – Ball ‘n’ Chain

Anthrax – Among the Living

Pop Evil – Jupiter in June

Trixter – Dirty Love

Transcript of the Show

[INTRO]

Let’s start the show with an anthem from 1981 that helped inspire three generations of kids to pick up a guitar.

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Foreigner – Juke Box Hero
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“Juke Box Hero” from Foreigner. Did that song ever make YOU want to pick up a guitar? It did me.

I’m Pariah Burke, your hard talking, heavy drinking, hairball of a horny hedonistic host for the Hard, Heavy & Hair Show. Thank you for joining me for another head-banging, fist-pumping, and foot-stomping rampage through Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, and Hair Bands of the 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, 20-teens, and today.

This is show number 2 hundred and 9 and its filled with goodness, badness, and badassery on a hitherto unknown level. In the first hour of the show alone you’ll hear

Coming up this hour is Kiss, Faster Pussycat, Steelheart, AC/DC, Northlane, In This Moment, While She Sleeps, Cruel Crue Summer, news about Kiss’s Vinnie Vincent, and more.

Let’s keep the badassery rockin’ and rollin’ with In This Moment and then Australian Metalcore five-piece, Northlane.

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In This Moment – Roots
Northlane – Bloodline
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From Sydney, Australia, that’s Northlane with the first single off their upcoming 2019 album Alien, and that album is the reason everyone wants to storm Area 51, where there’s apparently a warehouse FULL of the new Northlane album!

I’m going to give you your first Cover Song of the Week clue early so that you can be thinking about it. Here’s that clue, the hardest clue of them all, the one specifically to challenge listeners who know the most obscure Rock N’ Roll facts.

The Cover Song of the Week original features lyrics written by its singer, who, in 1973, was an unknown who became the third vocalist for a pioneering Heavy Metal band, one of the so-called “unholy trinity of British hard rock and heavy metal in the early to mid-seventies.” At the time, the band was in discussion with Paul Rodgers of Free to take over singing. Paul, however, very much wanted to create Bad Company, so he passed on the job, leading to the recruitment of an unknown who would go on to become a household name. That household name is still–this year–putting out music with a different band, one nobody could argue is anything but entirely his.

Again, the first clue is always the hardest. They get easier as we get closer to the Cover Song of the Week itself.

Now it’s a triple-shot of hair with Whitesnake, Kiss, and Faster Pussycat.

AND, here’s a bonus Cover Song of the Week clue. One of the vocalists you’re about to hear performs has… something… to do with the Cover Song of the Week original. It could be a big something, or a little something.

“Still of the Night” kicks off the triple play.

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Whitesnake – Still of the Night
Kiss – Unholy
Faster Pussycat – Poison Ivy
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“Poison Ivy” from Faster Pussycat’s biggest album, 1989’s Wake Me When It’s Over, which turned 30 years old this past April 30th. That was the same album that gave us the power ballad “House of Pain.” It was also the last to feature drummer Mark Michals who was fired from Faster Pussycat during the tour supporting the album when he was arrested in Omaha, Nebraska for FedExing heroin to himself.

Before “Poison Ivy” was heavy Kiss hit “Unholy” from 92’s Revenge LP. It was one of three songs on the album co-written by Vinnie Vincent after he and Gene Simmons worked out their differences. Of course, that album also saw NEW conflicts arise between Vinnie and the band, leading Gene to say in his book Kiss and Make-Up that Vinnie was now, quote, “persona non grata forever.” That made Vinnie the Kiss of Death rather than the one of Eternal Life, the Ankh Warrior.

Shortly after that Vinnie put out another Vinnie Vincent Invasion record then fell off the map for 22 years before emerging suddenly last year apparently trans-gender, apparently ready to rock again. Appearances, as they say, can be deceiving. I don’t know anything about Vinnie’s current gender, but I do know they weren’t ready to rock. Comeback shows were scheduled for June and December 2018, then February 2019, but they were all postponed and ultimately cancelled. So was the show scheduled for June 7th of this year.

A couple of weeks ago Vinnie announced on their official website a performance for their 67th birthday. Scheduled for August 10th in Nashville is Vinnie Vincent’s Birthday Bash. Most people–including me–think that show will be cancelled, too. I think Vinnie has some kind of mental or emotional trouble they’re dealing with–severe performance anxiety, social anxiety, or even agoraphobia. I think Vinnie booking these performances is a sincere desire to appear, but later they may not be able to stand up to the anxiety or fear and has to cancel.

Whatever it is, I empathize with Vinnie, and I sincerely wish Vinnie all the best. Anxiety and fear on the level I suspect Vinnie is dealing with is a terrible, horrible burden to bear.

Let’s hear Vinnie at their greatest–at what Vinnie their self has called their greatest work. From the self-titled first Vinnie Vincent Invasion album and featuring vocals by former Journey vocalist Robert Fleischman. This is “Boyz Are Gonna Rock” leading into one of Rock’s greatest songs about making a comeback.

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Vinnie Vincent Invasion – Boyz Are Gonna Rock
AC/DC – Back in Black
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NO one needs me to tell them what that song was.

This next one is currently the biggest Hard Rock song in the world. Slamming into the Number 1 spot this week on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, this is Bad Wolves and “Remember When.”

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Bad Wolves – Remember When
Reality Suite – Kiss the Ring
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New Jersey rockers Reality Suite with “Kiss the Ring” off their 2019 debut LP dropped on June 28th.

It’s time for your second of three Cover Song of the Week clues.

Many people thought the Cover Song of the Week original was inspired by Fantasy novels by Michael Moorcock, though the lyric writer… Well, I’m just going to go ahead and tell you his name because you probably already guessed from me playing a Whitesnake song right after the first Cover Song of the Week clue… So, the lyric writer, David Coverdale, says the two are unrelated, that the lyrics he wrote about a mystical, mythical creature just happens to coincidentally share the name of a magic black sword in Moorcock’s books and no other connection.

The actual Cover Song of the Week is by a Norwegian Hard Rock and Metal singer-songerwriter who has a great affinity for mid-70s Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. He has released a dozen albums with his solo project since 2000, including an entire album in tribute to Ronnie James Dio and two albums of covers. The Cover Song of the Week is one of the tracks from his 2016 album consisting of covers of songs that inspired the singer to start his career in music.

More clues later.

Cruel CRUE Summer is coming up after a request.

Jessica Frehley is the Hard, Heavy & Hair Show’s number 1 fan, and Jessica sent me a request for Steelheart, her favorite band. Jessica said, quote, “this past week was 50 shades of crazy hell for [her] personally.” End quote. I’m sorry to hear that, Jessica. Hopefully this helps. Here’s your request for Steelheart’s song “Steelheart” off the Tangled in Reins record.

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Steelheart – Steelheart
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Every show this summer I’m going to play for you a Motley hit and a deep Crue cut or rarity in a little segment I call Cruel Crue Summer. This week’s Cruel Crue Summer is a hit from 83’s Shout at the Devil LP and a rarity that doesn’t appear on ANY album. Let’s start with “Too Young to Fall in Love” on Hard, Heavy & Hair.

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Mötley Crüe – Too Young to Fall in Love
Motley Crue – Sex
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“Sex” is the title of that Motley Crue ultra rare song. That track doesn’t appear on any album and most people, even hardcore Crue fans, don’t even know it exists. Seven years ago this week, the Crue released “Sex” as a standalone track for free download for 24 hours only on their website, Motley.com. Of course, I downloaded the 320 Kbps MP3 during that 24-hour period. If you weren’t one of those who did, then you can still buy it on Amazon Music and Apple Music via the Hard, Heavy & Hair Show show notes on PariahRocks.com. Just look for show number 209.

I’ll have another Motley Crue song that has never appeared on an album on an upcoming Cruel Crue Summer on Hard, Heavy & Hair in the very near future. Tune in next week for another Motley masterpiece and another deep or rare Crue cut–possibly that other track never released on any album.

This is “Haunt Me” from British Metalcore band While She Sleeps followed by 80s-Glam-inspired former Indie & Unsigned spotlight artist Big Guns.

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While She Sleeps – Haunt Me
Big Guns – Life Goes On (ft. Rachel Lorin)
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Featuring Rachel Lorin doing a guest duet with main vocalist Kieran ‘Twerp’ McCardle, that was Big Guns, a New York band I featured on Indie & Unsigned back on Hard, Heavy & Hair show number 177 last November. The song was “Life Goes On” from 2018’s Re-Loaded LP.

Let’s change speeds with the bluesy bite of Great White. This is “All Over Now” on Hard, Heavy & Hair.

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Great White – All Over Now
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Ready for another Cover Song of the Week clue?

The Cover Song of the Week original is a single that received radio play in the mid-70s for its combination of Hard Rock and Metal with Funk and Blues elements along with vocal harmonies and increased focus on the band’s classically-influenced guitarist. This band would gain entry to the Guinness Book of World Records in 1975 as “the globe’s loudest band” for their 1972 concert at the Rainbow Theatre in London.

During that monumental concert the band’s play list included some of the following song snippets.

[clips Deep Purple]

A few snippets from a band that would, in 1974 with a different vocalist, release the Cover Song of the Week original. What band was that?

I’ve got rare hair for you from Roxx Gang coming up after this Dokken classic. From 1987 this is deep cut “Kiss of Death,” the first song you heard after popping in the Back for the Attack cassette.

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Dokken – Kiss Of Death
Roxx Gang – Ball ‘n’ Chain
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You may be familiar with that song from the console game, the original Saints Row back in 2006. That track, “Ball ‘n’ Chain,” and another off the 1988 album Things You’ve Never Done, were included in the game. The band is Roxx Gang, formed way back in 1982 in St Petersburg, Florida. That ’88 album was their debut, though being involved in the Central Florida Rock scene at the time, I was aware of them before that. I had caught them live and snagged myself a copy of their demo cassette.

Lately I’ve been thinking about the music I discovered in those few years between 86 and 89–big acts like Guns N Roses, Poison, Tesla, and so on, as well as some of the smaller or more obscure artists I discovered at the time, artists like Roxx Gang, Roxy Blue, Baton Rouge, and others.

During that time I also discovered Anthrax. I remember my buddy Brian Jones, who also introduced me some time before to early Metallica, Bo Duked through the window of my red ’69 Chevy Impala and slapped in a cassette he bought me for my birthday. This is the song that rattled my windows and made me smack my forehead on the hard plastic steering wheel because we were banging our heads so fast and hard. Track 1, side 1, this is the title track to my favorite Anthrax record, Among the Living.

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Anthrax – Among the Living
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Going old school Thrash Metal there with the title track to Anthrax’s 1987 record Among the Living. That song wasn’t released as a single, but I actually like it better than the album’s singles, “I Am the Law” and “Indians.” That whole album shreds, along with Track 2, Side 1, “Caught In a Mosh.”

Now it’s time for the–

[cow]

Did you guess the Cover Song of the Week? How about the covering or original artists?

As the third vocalist for the band, starting what would be called the Mark III phase of this pioneering band in Heavy Metal and Hard Rock, pre-Whitesnake David Coverdale penned the lyrics to the song “Stormbringer” about a mystical creature that rampages through a Fantasy world. Though the song shares a title with the mystical black sword in early Michael Moorcock Fantasy novels, Coverdale didn’t even know of the existence of Moorcock’s books until after he and Deep Purple had recorded “Stormbringer,” the title track to DP’s 1974 album.

And Stormbringer isn’t the name of Thor’s new axe. That’s Stormbreaker.

The cover of “Stormbringer” is by prolific Norwegian Hard Rock and Metal vocalist and songwriter Jorn Lande with his solo project, Jorn. From the 2016 covers album Heavy Rock Radio, this is the Hard, Heavy & Hair Cover Song of the Week, Jorn with “Stormbringer” followed immediately by the original from David Coverdale-fronted Deep Purple.

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Jorn – Stormbringer
Deep Purple – Stormbringer
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“Stormbringer,” originally by Deep Purple, as you just heard, following the Cover Song of the Week by Norwegian Metal band Jorn.

This is “Jupiter in June” from Pop Evil’s 2008 debut studio album, Lipstick on the Mirror.

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Pop Evil – Jupiter in June
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You’re listening to Hard, Heavy & Hair, your weekly dose of Hard Rock, Metal, and Hair hits, deep cuts, newest releases, rarities, and trivia from the from the 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, 20-teens, and today. The Hard, Heavy & Hair Show airs every week on this station at this time, and streams forever more thereafter from PariahRocks.com, that’s P-A-R-I-A-H-R-O-C-K-S-dot com where you can stream any past show on-demand 25 hours a day, 8 days a week.

I’m your hard talking, heavy drinking, hairball of a horny hedonist host and Rock historian, Pariah Burke. I’m also the producer of Hard, Heavy & Hair.

Thank you for joining me. I’ll see you next week for another 2 hours of fist-pumping, head-banging, air-guitar-playing Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, and Hair Bands on another Hard, Heavy & Hair.

Let’s end this week’s show on more rare hair. Trixter’s original lineup put out the almost completely unknown 2012 album New Audio Machine on Frontier records. It’s a shame the record is so obscure with Glam tracks like this that keep the best of the late-80s Trixter while thankfully wiping just a little bit off that boys-next-door, squeaky clean shine.

I’ll see you next week. This is Trixter and “Dirty Love.”

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Trixter – Dirty Love