Classic Rock News

Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson is giving fans a first taste of his upcoming solo album, The Mandrake Project, which drops March 1.

The rocker has just released the album’s first single, “Afterglow of Ragnarok,” along with a brand new video, which premiered at the launch of CCXP23, Brazil’s Comic-Con, in São Paulo.

Dickinson describes the track as “a heavy song and there’s a great big riff driving it,” but he notes, “There’s also a real melody in the chorus that displays the light and shade that the rest of the album brings.”’

Fans are getting more than just music with The Mandrake Project. There will also be a new comic series created by Dickinson, written by Tony Lee and illustrated by Staz Johnson.

The comic, which will be released by Z2 Comics, is described as “a dark, adult story of power, abuse and a struggle for identity, set against the backdrop of scientific and occult genius.” It will be released as 12 episodes, which will be turned into three graphic novels, with the first edition coming to stores January 17. 

The Mandrake Project, Dickinson’s first solo album since 2005’s Tyranny Of Souls, is available for preorder now. Plus, a seven-inch vinyl of “Afterglow of Ragnarok” is now available; it comes with an eight-page prequel of the comic.

Here is the track list for The Mandrake Project:

“Afterglow Of Ragnarok”
“Many Doors To Hell”
“Rain On The Graves”
“Resurrection Men”
“Fingers In The Wounds”
“Eternity Has Failed”
“Mistress Of Mercy”
“Face In The Mirror”
“Shadow Of The Gods”
“Sonata (Immortal Beloved)”

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U2 has shared a tribute to their fellow Irish musician Shane MacGowan, who died Thursday, November 30, at age 65.

In an Instagram post remembering the late Pogues frontman, the “With or Without You” band writes, “Shane MacGowan’s songs were perfect so he or we his fans didn’t have to be.”

The post is accompanied by a sketch of MacGown drawn by Bono, who scrawled a quote from the Pogues tune “A Rainy Night in Soho” underneath: “I’ve been loving you a long time/Down all the years, down all the days/And I’ve cried for all your troubles/Smiled at your funny little ways.”

Others who’ve paid tribute to MacGowan include Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea and NFL player Jason Kelce, who recently covered The Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York” with his brother, Travis Kelce, of the Kansas City Chiefs.

“Shane’s prowess as a singer, songwriter, and poet was truly a gift to this world,” the Philadelphia Eagles center tells Consequence. “He could make you feel what he was saying, attaching his soul to his music. ‘Fairytale of New York’ has long been one of my favorite songs (not just Christmas songs), as it gets to the roots of love, anger, resentment, sacrifice, and ultimately companionship.”

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Queen continues the look at their encores in this week’s episode of their weekly YouTube series, Queen the Greatest Live.

While “We Will Rock You” and “We Are The Champions” became staples of Queen’s encores, early in their career, they tried out other songs to end their shows. Now, they are giving fans a look at one of those performances.

The clip features footage of their encore performance of the Elvis Presley classic “Jailhouse Rock,” shot December 24, 1975, at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. The band sped up the Elvis tune to rock out with the crowd, and the performance featured balloons, blow up dolls and frontman Freddie Mercury throwing flowers to the audience.

It seems the members of the band, particularly Mercury, were big Elvis fans growing up. 

“I think it’s impossible to have been a kid at that time and not been influenced by Elvis,”  Brian May revealed in a 2021 interview. “Freddie in particular though, of course. He was one of Freddie’s great heroes.”

Next week on Queen the Greatest Live: “Friends Will Be Friends.”

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In 2018, Dave Grohl released a 23-minute instrumental solo composition titled Play. Later that year, he performed the piece for the first — and, so far, only — time live at the 2018 Christmas Jam, an annual holiday benefit concert hosted by Gov’t Mule frontman Warren Haynes. Five years later, official video of the Play performance has been released.

While the studio version of Play featured Grohl on every instrument, the Foo Fighters frontman anchored the Christmas Jam performance from his drum set. He was accompanied by a band that included frequent Foos producer Greg Kurstin, Grohl’s Them Crooked Vultures bandmate Alain Johannes and ex-Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney.

You can watch the debut Play performance, which ballooned to nearly 36 minutes on the live stage, streaming now via the Gov’t Mule YouTube channel. The recording will also be included in an upcoming live album capturing the 2018 Christmas Jam, due out December 8.

Meanwhile, the 2023 Christmas Jam takes place December 9 and will stream live online. Performers include Gov’t Mule, ZZ Top‘s Billy F. Gibbons, Slash & Myles Kennedy, Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening and Clutch.

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U2 is marking World AIDS Day on December 1 in Las Vegas, with the help of the Sphere, the location of their current residency, U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere. 

The skin of the venue is being lit up in red to honor the lives saved by global HIV/AIDS programs, like the (RED) and The ONE Campaign, both of which were co-founded by U2 frontman Bono to fight AIDS and extreme poverty.

It also serves as a reminder that even though the (RED) campaign has raised over $750 million, there’s still more to be done. “Where you live shouldn’t decide whether you live,” (RED) notes in a post, ending with the hashtag #ENDAIDS.

(RED) is giving folks new ways to help this holiday season with The Red Edit, 25 days of one-of-a kind events and experiences that can be purchased to help save lives. More info can be found at red.org.

Meanwhile, after a few weeks off, U2 returns to Sphere for a new run of shows on Friday, December 1. A complete list of dates can be found at U2.com.

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On This Day, December 1, 1944…

John Paul Densmore, future drummer of the rock band The Doors, was born in Los Angeles, California.  

Densmore co-founded The Doors in 1965, along with frontman Jim Morrison, guitarist Robby Kreiger and keyboardist Ray Manzarek. They released their self-titled debut in 1967, which featured their breakthrough single “Light My Fire.” Both the album and the song were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and chosen by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry.

The Doors released six studio albums, and in addition to “Light My Fire,” are known for such classic tunes as “LA Woman,” “Riders on the Storm,” “Break on Through (To the Other Side),” “Hello I Love You” and more. 

Following the 1971 death of Morrison, Densmore has been the member of the band to veto any attempts to license The Doors’ music for commercial purposes, and even went to court to protect the use of the band’s name and music. Densmore also teamed with the Morrison estate to stop Kreiger and Manzarek from touring under The Doors’ name.

Densmore was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Doors in 1993.

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Mötley Crüe will be kickstarting 2024 live onstage.

The band has announced a New Year’s Eve show, taking place December 31 in Palm Springs, California.

“Ring in the New Year in style… Mötley Crüe are having a party!!!” Mötley says. “Join us for CRÜE YEAR’s EVE at the brand new Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, CA for a night not to be missed!”

A presale begins Wednesday, December 6, at 10 a.m. PT. Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday, December 8, at 10 a.m. PT. For all ticket info, visit Motley.com.

The concert will close an eventful year for Mötley Crüe, which included touring the world with new guitarist John 5 in place of Mick Mars, who retired from touring in 2022. They’ve also been involved in legal proceedings with Mars over a financial dispute.

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It’s been over three years in the making, but touring life is almost over for members of KISS. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers roll into New York’s Madison Square Garden on December 1 to wrap their End of the Road tour, which they insist will be their last one ever. 

KISS initially announced their intention to launch one final tour back in September 2018. It kicked off January 31, 2019, in Vancouver, hitting the U.S., Canada, Europe, Mexico, Japan, Latin America, Australia and more.

When it came to where they wanted to end things, KISS picked New York for purely sentimental reasons. 

“KISS was born in New York City. On 23rd Street. Half a century ago,” the band explained. “It will be a privilege and honor to finish touring at Madison Square Garden, 10 blocks and 50 years from where we first started.”

Of course, many fans are skeptical that this really is the final KISS tour, considering they previously went on their Farewell Tour in 2001, only to change their minds by 2002.

One person who does believe KISS isn’t lying about the end is songwriter Desmond Child, who helped pen their hit “I Was Made For Lovin’ You.” 

“I do believe them. They’re not going to come back with, you know, the 20th farewell tour because they have other interests,” he says, noting he could see KISS living on with a possible biopic or hologram show like ABBA’s Voyage.

“I hope they do that in the future,” he says. “This way KISS can be everywhere.” 

While the New York shows are certainly a hot ticket, fans who weren’t able to snag a seat will still be able to enjoy the final night on December 2. KISS is offering it as a pay-per-view event on PPV.com.

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The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are up for a second Grammy Award this year.

The band is already nominated for Best Rock Song for the Hackney Diamonds track “Angry,” but Billboard reports Mick and Keith have now been added to a nomination for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella, for the arrangement of their hit “Paint it Black,” which was part of the Netflix series Wednesday.

When the nominations were initially announced in early November, only Esin Aydingoz, Chris Bacon and Alana Da Fonseca were listed as arrangers for the song.

“Paint it Black,” a #1 song for The Stones in 1966, was used in the premiere episode of the Netflix series, with the title character Wednesday Addams, played by Jenna Ortega, playing it on the cello.

It marks Jagger and Richards’ first nomination as arrangers. The Rolling Stones have been nominated for 12 Grammys, winning three. Including The Stones nods, Jagger has had 18 nominations, while Richards has had 16.

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Elton John ended his touring career in 2023 and did so with one of the top-grossing tours of the year.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour wrapped in July. Sir Elton’s 65 shows this year landed him at #7 on the Billboard Boxscore Top Tours of 2023 list, bringing in $210 million.

Dead & Company’s final tour also brought in the big bucks: $114.7 million, landing them at #15. The Eagles are at #25 with $76.4 million, Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks land at #39 with $56 million and Sting is at #40 with $55.7 mil. 

Other artists making the year-end Top 40 include Metallica, Guns N’ Roses and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

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