Best of 2013 -- Brian's Take

Allyson asked me for my opinion on the five best albums of the year. Here's my list!

1.    Built to F***, Born to Kill by Bile - OK, I get that this is a glam site, but if this is my top 5 list of 2013, this album is FAR AND AWAY my No. 1 album of the year.  For those that do not know, Bile is an underground techno hardcore band who have been around for over 20 years, and quite honestly, are amazing.  This new album is, perhaps, their greatest album since 1996's Teknowhore album.  'Robots Ate My Baby' is one of my new favorites, but the album is strong from beginning to end.  I have listened to this album consistently since its release in January, and it is angry perfection. 

2.    Start @ One by Killer Dwarfs - Since this album was officially released in 2013, it can be included here. I LOVE the classic 80s Dwarf sound on this album.  The guitar tone, the sound of Russ' voice and the general feel of this album are all solid 80s glam, and this is the perfect follow-up album to Dirty Weapons and Method to the Madness. 

3.    No More Hell To Pay by Stryper - What else can be said about Stryper? They are a band that have found new life over the past eight or 10 years, and are one of only a few bands that sound as good, if not better, than they did in their prime.  This album is, in my opinion, their strongest since To Hell With The Devil.  Michael Sweet can still hit all the high notes and the band sounds as tight as ever.

4.    Blackout the Sun by Sevendust - One of my favorite bands.  Morgan Rose's drumming along with the staccato guitar/bass and Lajon's powerful voice never disappoint. While it was almost an impossible task to follow-up the previous album Cold Day Memory, this was as strong an effort as imaginable.  Now I'm anxiously awaiting the acoustic album the band is currently in the process of recording.

5.    Second Coming by Stryper - Cannot believe that this band is making a second appearance on a listing of only five albums, but they deserve to be on here twice.  Second Coming is re-recorded versions of songs up through To Hell With The Devil. There are some tweaks and differences to the songs (changes that the band has made to the songs while playing live) that give the songs some new life.  Again, the band sounds great on these versions, and this does not come across as an easy way to put out a new product for fans to buy, but rather seems to really pay homage to the songs that helped them build their career.

So, what do you think? Like my list or hate it? Let me know in the comments below.

Rock Star Etiquette?

Help me out BBG! readers... am I being too sensitive?

A few months ago, I attended a show on the Tom Keifer/John Corabi tour. The show was amazing and both guys really 'brought it' that night.

Now, I have seen Keifer several times (all previously with Cinderella), but this time was something different, as Keifer had a renewed energy playing his solo material. I had seen Corabi once before, but he was solid as well, and quite simply has an amazing and powerful voice.

My issue was with the merch table. Now we all know many of these bands largely support themselves on tour by the money they make off of the merch table. Specifically, John Corabi was selling his acoustic CD for $15 at the table. I pulled out my iPhone and logged onto iTunes and saw that I could purchase the same album for $9.99. However, I was impressed with his performance and thought to myself, "I'll pick one up when he comes out and get it signed." I kept an eye on the table throughout Keifer's set, and even hung around for a while after the show was over, but John never appeared at the merch table, or anywhere else. As such, I left without purchasing the CD, and in all honesty, I never got around to purchasing it otherwise.

What offended me was how the CD was MORE expensive when buying it at the show as opposed to ordering it, when there was no added value in doing so. It seemed like a way an artist was attempting to take advantage of fans in attendance. If you want to sell your product to your fans at a premium, I think there should be some added value to the purchase. Come out with a sharpie, shake some hands and meet the fans. I wouldn't have taken that long (as there were maybe 300 total in attendance and about 200 or so of those left immediately after Keifer's set). But instead, he stayed in the backstage area and offered for sale a product that was available for $5 cheaper with no incentive to spend the extra money. I would have been happy to have purchased if he was out there greeting fans (like L.A. Guns does after every show), but there was nothing.

Again, I'm wondering if I was simply being over sensitive, or was John wrong? Should he have lowered the price of the CD to match the cost elsewhere, or should he have come out and helped 'sell' the more expensive CDs?

Very Rare Sex Pistols Video Clip

If you're a fan of the Sex Pistols and punk, get ready: a very rare clip of the band has just surfaced on YouTube. The previously unreleased clip is from a gig at Ivanhoe's Nightclub in Huddersfield (U.K.) on Christmas Day. The Guardian has a nice article about the video.

View on YouTube

New Band Alert -- Kill Shott

More new Glam! Today, it's Kill Shott from Melbourne, Australia. They just released a video for the song "50 Sold." The song is from the band's self-titled debut. Let me know what you think.

View on YouTube

M3 2014 Dates Announced

Talk about early! Having a festival in April means we can't consider M3 a summer event this year at all. It's going to be cold! What do you think about this crazy early start to festival season?

New Band Alert - Bloody Heels

Want some new Glam? Enter Bloody Heels from Northern Europe. This new band actually took the time to produce a high quality video for their song "Hungry For Your Love." I believe these guys have a lot of potential. They surely wear their love for Glam on their collective sleeves, right? Just check out their hair, clothes... and guitar solos!

'Last Christmas', - Glam Metal Version

Happy Christmas!

Today, I present to you a Glam version of my favorite holiday song, "Last Christmas," originally recorded by Wham! This is the one holiday song I can really tolerate... and I'll even listen to it in the middle of summer. This cover is by the German Glam band Nightlife. The band is currently working on a debut album. They are definitely on my radar.

Have a great holiday.