What happens when the lead singer of Soundgarden gets together with three quarters of Rage Against The Machine? Answer: the high-IQ post-grunge of Audioslave.
The new quartet’s chemistry is null and void, resulting in a dated and, at times, painful collection, of stuff that wouldn’t have made it onto a Soundgarden B side in a million years
He’s best known as the voice of Soundgarden and Audioslave. But now grunge legend Chris Cornell has embarked on his most far-fetched adventure yet – a hook-up with uber-beatmaster Timbaland.
The opening track from the Belgian rockers’ second LP, the Josh Homme-produced Paradisiac, kicks off with an understated swirl of bass-heavy drumming, riffage to the max and crazed electronic distortion before the climactic chorus proves them to be a version of Soundgarden introduced to the complex ways of the noughties.
Sadly, Tim Vanhamel’s sound isn’t so much a voice as an unprojected whisper, but given time they could prove to be something very special.
With their latest album Riot Act, Pearl Jam have recaptured the blistering form of their first three albums. Matt Cameron, once of Seattle comrades Soundgarden, gives an insight into how the band has outlasted and outperformed most of its contemporaries
The Neon Handshake sounds like a record made of bits cherry-picked from the rock radio airwaves of the last ten years: some tried and tested Pumpkins bellyaching, a few attempts at the clenched angst of the mighty At The Drive-In, a slice or two of prime Soundgarden
When the whisperings of a union between core members of two of rock’s greatest bands first set wires buzzing, fans were torn between horror (“Rage? And Soundgarden? Together?! No! Don’t ruin the memories...”) and good old fashioned cat-slaughtering curiosity: what as-yet-unheard epics could such a cross pollenation bring forth? And could they ever top the likes of ‘Killing In The Name’ or ‘Pretty Noose’?
Chris Cornell is set to play The Olympia Theatre, Dublin. The former front man with Seattle trailblazers Soundgarden hit Ireland for a one-off show in the capital on Sunday 14th June, 2009.
Spoken of in hushed, reverential tones by an entire generation of aspiring guitarslingers, QOTSA are modern-day six-string gods, utterly fluent in post-Zep/Hendrix metal, and heavily informed by a certain strain of early-‘90s stoner rock (Soundgarden, Alice in Chains) though without the glum, humourless self-absorption that made most of the latter ilk such a charmless proposition.
Citing “irresolvable conflict”, grunge legend Chris Cornell has packed in his day job with Audioslave to pursue a solo career. Here, he explains why he’s decided to go it alone.
headswim have left behind the "English Pearl Jam" tag that dogged them and are about to release their second album, the tortured pop of Despite Yourself, on an unsuspecting public. Interview: john walshe.
headswim have left behind the "English Pearl Jam" tag that dogged them and are about to release their second album, the tortured pop of Despite Yourself, on an unsuspecting public. Interview: john walshe.
tim rogers, frontman of Australian popsters you am i, talks to nick kelly about the primeval forces that made him want to get into the rock n roll business.
With a new album ready for release, Idlewild 's Irish bassist Gavin Fox talks about celebrity spotting in LA, touring with Pearl Jam and why Warnings/Promises is the best thing they've ever done. Interview by John Walshe
It wasn't too long ago that The Blizzards were unknown outside of their native Mullingar. Now they've three top 10 Irish singles to their credit and an album, A Public Display Of Affection, that has the potential to explode internationally.
He can't sing, he can't play but Jim Rose can sure wail on a pile of glass! STUART CLARK meets the man behind the travelling freak show that took Féile by storm and Ray Darcy by surprise. Pix: CATHAL DAWSON
THE PRODIGY may be one of the biggest dance acts in the world but, increasingly, they’ve been developing a rock ’n’ roll attitude. As the band line up for their Friday night headlining slot at Féile, techno guru LIAM HOWLETT talks to STUART CLARK.
With the death of Johnny Cash two weeks ago, music’s Mount Rushmore finally crumbled. From the hell-raising country outlaw of the ’60s to his final incarnation as a patriarchal figure intoning songs of guilt and redemption, Cash’s voice resonated down through the years with undimmed intensity. In this special Hot Press tribute to the Man In Black, Peter Murphy talks to Cash collaborators Sandy Kelly and U2, and recounts the turbulent life and times of one of the most iconic figures in 20th century music
Nirvana - Ten years after. Peter Murphy talks to producer Butch Vig, musician Mark Lanegan and critic Greil Marcus, and gets the inside story of the making of Nevermind, the classic album that changed the face of music, unveiled the anthem 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' and brought the world face to face with a screaming soul called Kurt Cobain.
GREEN DAY have had a meteoric rise over the last 18 years, from poky Dublin dives to colossal international stadia. But despite their maturing worldview and increasing political articulacy, they’re still as exciting a kick-ass punk rock group as ever.
You wanted the best, you got GENE SIMMONS. Here, the motormouth frontman of KISS, the world s greatest showband, talks about sex and women at length (quelle surprise), discusses his Jewish heritage, explains why Kierkegaard and Nietzsche obviously never got laid, and announces to an increasingly bemused JOE JACKSON that he Gene, that is possesses the world s smallest penis.
Our annual HP-7 summit brings together some of the pre-eminent movers and shakers in irish music to reflect on everything from backstage catering to the end of war, pestilence and famine. Your host: Stuart Clark.
He was a midwife to grunge and has worked with artists as diverse as Marilyn Manson, Hole and Ozzy Osbourne. Far from being a studio boffin, though, Michael Beinhorn believes modern music is too often reliant on technology.
With the tragedy which disfigured their last Irish appearance still fresh in people's minds, SMASHING PUMPKINS' return to a Dublin stage was never going to be an ordinary affair. As it turned out, PETER MURPHY witnessed an act of redemption and spoke to BILLY CORGAN about surviving troubled times.
Grunge: The Lost Civilisation. Our musical archaeologist? Dave Navarro, former Jane’s Addiction guitarist and part-time MTV celebrity, joined by his former bandmates, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Chris Chaney. Filling the Perry Farrell role, none other than renowned vocalist/guitarist Steve Isaacs. Yep, that’s Steve Isaacs of Skycycle fame. No, me neither.
Carlsberg don’t do comebacks, but if they did, it would probably go a little something like this one. Some bands just deserve to be resurrected, and Kerbdog are very much one of them.
Hot Press illustrator David Rooney returns to the city he lived in over fifteen years ago and finds that – even accompanied by a fake plastic Kurt – Seattle retains its beating heart.
US metallers Creed are the latest in a long line of Stateside wavemakers to hit our shores. As a guitar driven hard rock four-piece caught somewhere between Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots, they've notched up a rather impressive 9 x platinum sales figure on this, their second release, Human Clay.
Metallica have emerged as the most popular metal band in Ireland to judge by their showing in the chart of the one hundred best metal tracks of all time as chosen by the readers of Hot Press and the listeners to 2FM’s increasingly popular Metal Show.
Hard rock has taken on many forms, but if it's loud enough to annoy the neighbours, it should be categorised as good old-fashioned metal. Peter Murphy guides you through our choice of the Top 30 metal albums of all time.
