Jon Wiederhorn

Author of 'Louder Than Hell,' 'Raising Hell' and four artist memoirs.

Jul. 10, 2020

Metal Hammer Magazine

The Story Behind The Song: Tool’s Prison Sex

“When we got signed [by Zoo Records in 1992], the most important thing for us was to have creative control,” Tool guitarist and art director Adam Jones emphasised in a 2008 interview with Revolver. “We went, ‘OK, if we take less money can we have…

Jun. 30, 2020

Alcest's Neige: "I went with my aggressive feelings and wrote these songs very quickly - they were true to my emotions"

When they released their second full-length offering, 2010’s Écailles de lune, French experimentalists Alcest were widely considered pioneers of blackgaze. The seemingly unlikely style blended the roaring riffs and torrential tremolo guitars of black…

Jun. 24, 2020

Kirk Hammett: "I love that Greeny has its own fanbase that’s completely independent of me"

Forget BB King's Lucille, Eric Clapton’s Blackie and Brownie, Keith Richards’ Micawber. Nevermind Willie Nelson’s Trigger, Prince’s Cloud, Jimmy Page’s Dragon and Eddie Van Halen’s Frankenstrat. For Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, the…

Jun. 17, 2020

Code Orange: "We've taken guitar headstocks to the forehead, and broken fingers and toes onstage"

They’re not the kind of band that finishes a song and then delivers a rehearsed speech to the crowd. They don’t dwell on chart numbers or write music for the times. And they’re not easy to categorize. Yet Code Orange are one of the most exciting and…

Jun. 13, 2020

Metal Hammer Magazine

Fire up the hot tub. Ice-T just invited us over to his house

Walk into Ice-T’s house and you are immediately greeted by a breathtaking oil painting of his wife Coco, lying naked with her back arched, tendrils of red fabric strategically placed. Across the narrow entranceway, there’s a portrait of the couple’s…

May. 5, 2020

Glenn Danzig Gives the King a Dark Revamp on 'Danzig Sings Elvis'

ROCK The "evil Elvis" reverently covers tracks like "Always on My Mind" and "Love Me." Even casual Glenn Danzig fans know he loves Elvis Presley. His titular group, formed in 1987, his ’80s death rock/punk band Samhain, and even his renowned…

Apr. 9, 2020

Louder Than Hell : The Definitive Oral History of Metal(Paperback) - 2014 Edition

Product details Paperback Publisher: It Books (2014) Language: English ASIN: B00XWRVDTK Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies Customer Reviews: 4.4 out of 5 stars133 customer ratings Would you like to tell us about a lower price? If…

Apr. 2, 2020

Six Years Ago: GWAR Mastermind Dave Brockie Passes Away

For intergalactic warriors and metal fans alike, March 23, 2014 was a sad day. Two years ago, shock metal pioneer Dave Brockie, the founder, frontman and creative force behind GWAR, was found dead by a roommate. Brockie was 50. Richmond police…

Apr. 2, 2020

37 Years Ago: Kirk Hammett Invited to Audition for Metallica

In the middle of the afternoon on April 1, 1983, Exodus guitarist Kirk Hammett was sitting on the toilet when the phone rang. He picked it up and it was the band’s manager Mark Whitaker. After exchanging pleasantries, Whitaker cut to the chase and…

Apr. 2, 2020

38 Years Ago: Ozzy Osbourne Arrested for Urinating on Alamo Cenotaph

Ozzy Osbourne didn’t wake up Feb. 19, 1982, and decide he was going to cause trouble that afternoon by pissing on a treasured national monument in San Antonio, Texas. He was simply going about his business, partying like a rock star, and after a few…

Mar. 27, 2020

Def Leppard Reflects on the 'Early Years' and Why Those Iron Maiden Comparisons Were 'Tiresome'

ROCK A new five-disc box set includes remasters of 'On Through the Night' and 'High 'n' Dry.' Best known for ’80s hard-rock fist-raisers such as “Rock of Ages” and “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” as well as pioneering hair metal ballads including “Hysteria”…

Mar. 26, 2020

34 Years Ago: Guns N’ Roses Sign to Geffen Records

When Guns N’ Roses signed to Geffen Records on March 26, 1986, for an estimated $250,000, no one could imagine that less than three years later the band would be one of the biggest names in rock 'n' roll. Many speculated that Geffen would never even…

Mar. 25, 2020

16 Years Ago: Ozzy Osbourne’s House Nearly Burned Down in Fire-Related Mishap

No one can deny that Ozzy Osbourne has repeatedly played with fire throughout his career with Black Sabbath and as a solo artist. But fanning the flames of controversy played no role in the fire that spread through his seven-acre Buckinghamshire…

Mar. 24, 2020

41 Years Ago: Motorhead Paved the Way for Thrash With Second Album ‘Overkill’

With their 1977 self-titled debut, Motörhead opened the floodgates for a new style of bluesy, bombastic biker metal, but two years later, on March 24, 1979, they rewrote the rule book altogether with the more urgent, combustive Overkill. From the…

Mar. 22, 2020

33 Years Ago: Anthrax Make Thrash History With ‘Among the Living’

After Anthrax finished touring for their second album – their first with vocalist Joey Belladonna – the band was on fire. They had just experienced their first taste of mainstream exposure and had even played eight shows as the opening band on a bill…

Mar. 17, 2020

The ultimate Spinal Tap moments: rock 'n' roll's biggest names share their most embarrassing stories

The 1984 album This Is Spinal Tap was the soundtrack to the mockumentary of the same name and contained full parodies of metal songs with titles like Big Bottom, Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight and Sex Farm. The album, which featured an all-black…

Mar. 16, 2020

Lamb of God Members Are Feeling Surprisingly Hopeful Amidst Political Strife

ROCK The band's upcoming self-titled album is the first to feature ex-Winds of Plague drummer Art Cruz. From the moment Donald Trump announced he was running for president, Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe has criticized “the orange idiot” in…

Mar. 13, 2020

Metal Hammer Magazine

Ice-T’s track-by-track guide to new Body Count album Carnivore

Lots of bands are getting political nowadays, but Ice-T’s been up there since 1992’s controversial Cop Killer. Seventh album Carnivore, the follow-up to 2017’s Bloodlust, sees him on seething form, taking aim at everything from politic brutality to…

Mar. 3, 2020

34 Years Ago: Metallica Unleash the Epic Album ‘Master of Puppets’

They had already established a blueprint. Now, all Metallica needed to do was create the next-level songs for their epochal third album, Master of Puppets, which they started writing in mid-1985 and released March 3, 1986. It was easier said than…

Feb. 24, 2020

Raising Hell: Backstage Tales from the Lives of Metal Legends

From the author of Louder Than Hell comes an oral history of the badass heavy metal lifestyle - featuring metalhead musicians from Black Sabbath and Judas Priest to Twisted Sister and Quiet Riot to Disturbed, Megadeth, Throwdown, and more. In his…