Tag Archives: heavy metal

In Memorium, Rock You To Death: An Interview with Murderdolls Guitarist, Joey Jordison

Joey jordison murderdolls
Joey Jordison (Center) WithThe Murderdolls in 2003 (Image Source)

Musician Joey Jordison, best known as the legendary original drummer for Slipknot, and guitarist for The Murderdolls, passed away on Monday, July 26th, 2021 from the neurological disease transverse myelitis, which he had suffered with for many years.  This is very sad news, not only because Joey was an extremely talented musician, but because he was a cool guy who was just too young to go.

This interview, which was conducted in person by me for the now defunct MK Ultra Magazine, took place in 2003, while Jordison was doing press for The Murderdoll’s debut, Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls. I pulled this from my archives this morning, to re-post here on The ‘Gig.  It is not available in its complete form anywhere else on the web, so I thought it would be a nice remembrance for the enjoyment of Joey’s fans, and those who loved him. Goodspeed, Joey.

Rock You To Death

An Interview with Murderdolls Guitarist, Joey Jordison

By Gail Worley

The most important lesson I learned from conducting the following interview with Murderdolls guitarist Joey Jordison is to never, ever do an interview in a conference room that has no ceiling, especially when the floor outside said conference room is a highly polished wood floor. Because here’s what happens whenever someone walks by the room: not only does your tape recorder pick up the clomp-clomp-clomping of their shoes as they walk the hallway, but the echo from their clomping footsteps rises up over the walls of the room in which you’re trying to do the interview, creating an echo chamber wherein, upon playback of the recorded tape, every single one of my questions and every single one of his answers sounds like the chorus to a Morbid Angel song. Live and learn.

Continue reading In Memorium, Rock You To Death: An Interview with Murderdolls Guitarist, Joey Jordison

Yes, It Exists: King Diamond Action Figure

King Diamond Action Figure
Photo By Gail

You are not hallucinating; this is an officially licensed King Diamond Action Figure that you can own! Created by Super7, the best description I could find of this awesome collectible, including the priceless headline, was found Right Here:

PREPARE FOR HEAVY METAL ACTION

Who said rock stars can’t also be action heroes? With this King Diamond ReAction Action Figure, you can add the famous Danish musician to all your wild adventures. Have him save the day with his impressive vocal range, or with his powerful Dark Metal ballads. Either way, he’s a perfect piece to add to your collection.

You can find King Diamond on various sites around the web for prices ranging from $19.99 to $24.99, so do some creative Googling and get a bargain!

Spotted at The Five Points Festival!

Video Clip Of The Week: Kodiak, “Goodbye”


I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again right now: I would rather listen than any ’80s Metal band for one hundred million billion years than listen to any artist currently on the pop charts for five minutes. Just being serious. For that reason, this week’s high energy clip from New Jersey-based rockers Kodiak is like a breath of fresh air in a vacuum. The no-frills clip for their single “Goodbye,” featuring footage from the studio and the band’s stage show, is a great introduction to this talented band, which includes brothers Pete (Drums) and Chris (Guitar) Biggiani, with Bassist TJ Haefner, and lead singer Eric Dalton. Plus, the group is co-managed by Warren Wyatt and drum legend Carmine Appice. So, props for that.

While “Goodbye” is a classic metal scorcher (comparisons to Van Halen are not unwarranted) Kodiak remind me most of bands like Winger and Dokken: groups with handsome, charismatic frontmen who achieved a crossover appeal by infusing their glam metal repertoire with a few well-placed “power ballads.” I can’t guess whether that will also be Kodiak’s approach, but the potential to stretch out is certainly there. In the mean time, Kodiak guarantee that feel-good, edgy hard rock is officially back in acton. Like them on the FaceBook at This Link. Enjoy!

Kodiak Band

Video Clip of The Week: “Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In” By Tragedy


If you get 20 seconds into this week’s awesome Video Clip and suspect that you may be watching an outtake from This is Spinal Tap, you are not to blame. The tristate area band Tragedy started out as a heavy metal tribute to the Bee Gees, but they have now expanded their repertoire to include a wider variety of classic pop acts, and that’s just good news for everyone. Today we feature the video for Tragedy’s metalized performance of “Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In,” a song from the legendary Broadway musical Hair, which was popularized in a 1969 single release by The 5th Dimension. Wikipedia confirms that this song, which is actually a medley of two songs from the play,  was one of the most popular songs of 1969 worldwide, but the lyrical message of “Aquarius” — about welcoming an age of love, light, and humanity — is more important at this moment than maybe ever before in our lifetimes.

Visually, this video is a straight-up, fully stylized band performance intercut with a few thematically appropriate cosmic visual effects and a brief modern dance interlude featuring a pair of blonde babes, to keep it very theatrical and visually engaging throughout. And as much as I wish that the drummer would put on a shirt, I respect the fact that he is fully immersed in his art. Aurally, Tragedy stay faithful to the song’s original arrangement while rocking hard enough to crack a skull. Even the most devoted head bangers will give the horns up on this one.

“Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In” is part of the just-release album Tragedy Goes to the Movies, featuring metal-injected takes on music from cinema classics such as Grease, 007 Skyfall, Hair, and Star Wars: Return of The Jedi, which can be procured at This Link.  The Tragedy Goes To The Movies World Tour kicked off on February 22nd, 2019, for stops in the UK, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Germany and all across the US. Consult the Google for tour dates! Enjoy!

Tragedy Band

Video Clip of The Week: Monster Magnet, “When the Hammer Comes Down”

If there is one band that can always be relied on to deliver the goods when you just want to Rock Out, that band is Monster Magnet. This week’s featured clip is a performance-based lyric video for the group’s current single, “When the Hammer Comes Down,” and it does not disappoint in its delivery of the relentless heavy metal Sturm und Drang that defines iconic front man Dave Wyndorf and his head-banging bandmates.

Visually, this clip reminds me of classic Black Sabbath, with its film negative imaging and minimal, but signature, visual effects. Though not an overtly political song, I’m pretty sure that Wyndorf is opposes the current Administration, which makes me love him even more. Point being that the basic titular theme, and the song’s refrain, “The Universe will do you right/ when the Hammer Comes Down,” can certainly be embraced by the Resistance movement going surging in this country. It could not come at a better time.

The video release of “When the Hammer Comes Down” coincides with the kick off of Monster Magnet’s North American Fall Tour, dates for which are below, in support of their most recent album release, Mindfucker. Enjoy, bitches!

10/8: Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
10/9: Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
10/10: Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
10/12: San Francisco, CA @ Thee Parkside
10/13: Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock Festival*
10/15: Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
10/16: San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick
10/17: Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge
10/19: San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger
10/20: Dallas, TX @ Canton Hall
10/21: Houston, TX @ White Oak (Upstairs)
10/23: Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
10/24: Nashville, TN @ Basement East
10/26: Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage
10/27: New York, NY @ Gramercy Theater
10/28: Boston, MA @ The Sinclair

Monster Magnet 2018