KISStory - a documentary on Hulu

KISS - You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!

I recommend the documentary KISStory.

I have been watching a documentary about "the hottest band in the world!" on Hulu: KISS. Hulu describes it as "The definitive documentary on the most recognizable band in the world, KISS. Chronicles the band's five decades in the business as founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons reflect on their historic career." It's a fascinating look into rock music in the 1970s in the United States, and why rock fans took to the band like fish to water! Watching it you will understand why just about all the 1980s heavy metal bands grew up on KISS music. The documentary covers the 1980s, 1990s and all the way to the reunion and beyond. You wanted the best, you got the best!

I transcribed the powerful beginning when bassist Gene Simmons and singer/guitarist Paul Stanley explain their childhood and their humble beginnings.

Gene Simmons: I was born in Israel. Both my mother and my father came from Hungary after World War II. When I was six and a half my father picked up and walked out, and my mother and I came to America. In New York my mother goes (to work) to a sweat factory. She makes half a penny for every button she sews on to a winter coat. Clears just enough money to pay the rent and food and we survive.

Paul Stanley: If Gene was a stranger in a strange land, I was a stranger in a strange neighborhood. I grew up in a one-bedroom apartment in an Irish Catholic area. We were the only Jews. My mom had been born in Berlin, and had fled to escape the Nazis and the extermination of six million of our people. I grew up with people with (Nazi concentration camp prison) numbers on their arms. On top of that I was born with a condition called a microtia, so I had no right ear. It was a crumpled mass of cartilage, and I couldn't hear on my right side. When you don't look like everybody else, the scrutiny is unrelenting. And for a little kid to be stared at or pointed to or taunted, is devastating. Gene and I, what we share is a sense of being outsiders for different reasons, but we also found escape in music.

Gene Simmons: I came here as Chaim Witz. I couldn't speak a word of English. I was aware I didn't fit in. I still feel like an outsider, but I soon devoured everything American, and I started listening to the radio all the time. I heard Chuck Berry, Jackie Wilson and Fats Domino. I couldn't speak English, I just loved the music.

[For more context, Wikipedia points about Gene's mother: Flóra Kovács (later Florence Klein, then Florence Lubowski) (1925–2018), was born in Jánd in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. She survived internment in Nazi concentration camps from November 1944 to her liberation from the Mauthausen camp in Austria on May 5, 1945. She and her brother, Larry Klein, were the only members of the family to survive the Holocaust. Witz's father, Ferenc "Feri" Yehiel Witz (1925–2002), was a carpenter whom Klein married in 1946; the couple moved to Israel the following year.]

Paul Stanley: I had a little pocket transistor radio, and I walked around with it waiting to hear The Beatles. Here were these four guys. They looked like buddies.

Gene Simmons. I'd never seen anything like it. The girls were going out of their minds.

Paul Stanley: And I had an epiphany.

Gene Simmons: And I thought, "That's a pretty cool job."

Paul: It was a revelation to me. I'm a little overweight kid named Stanley Bert Eisen. I'm deaf in one ear, but I see The Beatles, and I go, "I can do that. I can touch that nerve." Why I thought that, God only knows.

Gene: My mother bought me a copy of a Höfner bass called a Kent, and I've never looked back.

Paul: I knew I wanted to make rock and roll.

--

Here is one of my favorite KISS songs. It is from the 1984 album Animalize.

KISS - I've Had Enough (Into The Fire)

KISS - I've Had Enough (Into The Fire) Live (Ipswich 1984) Audio Only

Rocking Christmas Music

Howdy, friend.

How is that Christmas list coming along?!

I bought some CDs back during Black Friday, and I've got some more music I'd like to get. I'm hoping and waiting on some Christmas deals. Anyway, while we are on topic of Christmas and music, here are some Christmas songs done a little bit differently.

Alice Cooper - Santa Claws is coming to town

Carol of the Bells - Liliac (Metal Cover)

Joe Satriani - silent night/ holy night jam

Stryper - "Winter Wonderland" - Official Lyric Video

Iron Maiden - A Christmas Cheers

SUN OF THE SUNS - two music videos - Italian prog deathcore

Below are two official music videos from SUN OF THE SUNS.

SUN OF THE SUNS

Entanglement

Scarlet Records

12 December 2025

Since their 2021 debut album TIIT, the Italian progressive technical death metal band Sun of the Suns came out of the cage with a bag full of futuristic-contemporary deathcore-death metal prog groove. Here they are again, with their second album titled Entanglement. It looks like this record continues that signature style of cosmic soundscape that mixes the heavy, brutal rhythms of tech death with atmospheric melodies.

The core lineup for Sun Of The Suns on their album features Luca Scarlatti handling all vocals and Marco Righetti covering both rhythm and lead guitars. The instrumental foundation is rounded out by Ludovico Cioffi on rhythm guitar and bass, with the drumming provided by a guest appearance from Francesco Paoli (known for his work in Fleshgod Apocalypse).

The album was produced, mixed, and mastered by Simone Mularoni at Domination Studio. The cover art was created by Erskine Designs (Wormhole, Inanimate Existence, and Irreversible Mechanism). For reference, the band's style is generally recommended for listeners who enjoy Fallujah, Rivers Of Nihil, Shadow Of Intent, Lorna Shore, and Whitechapel.

SUN OF THE SUNS - On The Last Day Of Earth (Official Video)

SUN OF THE SUNS - Ephemeral, Ethereal, Eternal (Official Video)

Entanglement by Sun Of The Suns

https://www.facebook.com/sunofthesunsofficial/

Wailing - barbaric-blasting death metal from New York

Wailing is a new death metal project that brings together instrumentalist/vocalist Tomrair of black metal entity Dawnbreaker (USA) with drummer Shawn Eldridge [Ruinous, ex-Abysmal Gates, ex-Seraphim Lament, ex-Wall of Water, ex-Death Fortress, ex-Funebrarum, ex-Kalopsia, ex-Krukh, ex-The Ciem Show, ex-Woe, ex-Ordeals (live), ex-Tchornobog (live), ex-Shadows of Dawn, ex-Flesh Mantle, ex-Nights Blood]. As of right now (December 9th, 2025), the record label Vision of God Records is streaming the song "A Curse Devours the Earth." The sound of this song, I would say, is in the general field of barbaric-blasting death metal. The vocals are generally low and pretty indecipherable, and the music is classic-style American death metal, maybe with a bit of that early 1990s New York death metal. Of course, this is only one song, so it's not appropriate to make definitive statements. I have not heard the rest of the album, but I like what I'm hearing so far.

Wailing

Oracles of Devastation

Vision of God Records

January 2, 2026

1.Until the Desolation

2.A Curse Devours the Earth

3.Shades That Cannot Rise

4.Celestial Hosts Will Rot

5.Darkness and Woe

6.You Who Immolate

7.Cast Without Burial

8.Crushed by Eons of Inequity

9.Abhorrence to All Flesh

Oracles of Devastation by Wailing

https://visionofgodrecords.bandcamp.com/album/oracles-of-devastation

review: Internal Decay - Swedish death metal album from 1993

Internal Decay

A Forgotten Dream

Vic Records

5 December 2025

Vic Records has a knack for finding recordings from the old days, before metal music became "internet metal." Back then, audiences went to shows, and the only way to remember an event was to rely on one's own memory, aside from the occasional picture that you did not take, but that a friend of a friend of yours took because, unbeknownst to you, he was able to find a camera and remembered to bring it to the show. You hadn't actually seen the picture with your own eyes, but you heard from a friend of a friend that he had seen the picture.

I know absolutely nothing about this band! I do not believe that I had ever heard their name before. Vic Records says about this album: "Recorded at Sunlight Studios, Stockholm, Sweden in January 1993 with Thomas Skogsberg and Lars Linden." The information on Metal Archives shows a demo in 1991 and this album, and then nothing else. This is the 1993 album, but it has been "Remastered by Achilleas Kalantzis at Suncord Audiolab (Possessed, Vio Lence, Varathron). Booklet and artwork carefully restored like the original release by Ra Design (Sodom, Asphyx, Destruction)." Metal Archives states that all five members were, are, and continue to be involved with a whole bunch of bands, but mostly names that are lesser known to me.

To my ears, the music is early melodic death metal. The vocals are intense, aggressive growling, similar to the classic death-thrash vocals of Kreator. There are some death-thrash moments, some background keyboards in certain places, slower segments, and plenty of uptempo passages, along with some nice guitar melodies. As I say, this is early melodic death metal, and it is not substantially incorrect to say that, on this album, there is a certain vibe also found during this period in Dark Tranquillity and At the Gates, a certain melodicism, a certain sensation that this is not some type of imitation of Entombed. If anything, by 1993, this band was thinking to make sure they sounded different because of all the Entombed clones at the time. In addition, these lyrics are different from the typical death metal fare. In general, the main point is not gore, zombies, satanism, or graphic violence. The lyrics on Metal Archives generally read like poetry, stories, personal struggles, depression, and loneliness. These lyrics are far better than the typical genre lyrics, while still not totally free in all respects from that typical imagery. Overall, though, they are not embarrassing lyrics, unlike so many bands.

This band, Internal Decay, keeps the music heavy while working in some melody. How does the album sound today? It is the sound of a band that has tons of ideas, and they are working on developing them. This album is the band laying down a general statement of purpose, but they were just getting warmed up. Their next album would have been Internal Decay really bringing to life a much fuller and more complete vision of their sound. Then, the third album would have been their masterpiece. On this debut, there are whispered vocals, a bit of guest female singing, acoustic or clean guitar, atmospheric moments, and piano/keyboard. They were hinting at many things to come. Looking on Metal Archives, it looks like they could not hold it together. Perhaps there was too much musical disagreement between the members wanting to be pure death metal and the members who wanted to be more than just another "Swedish death metal" band. For example, their 1991 demo seems like typical death metal focused on blasphemy, satanism, and that stupid stuff, whereas on the album, as already stated, there is much less of that.

Metal Archives shows the history of the band like this: 1987–1988 (as Misery), 1988–1989 (as Critical State), 1989–1991 (as Subliminal Fear), 1991–1994, 2023–present. Look at that last part! What?! Are they active again? Yes. In fact, their Facebook page says: "The wait is over — The fires of Internal Decay burn again! After 33 years of silence, the storm returns. Internal Decay is back and will release an EP with new material in February, on the mighty Hammerheart Records. Exclusive and limited to 700 ex in total (350 vinyl & 350 CDs). More info to come." We will soon find out where the new music stands in the current era. In the meantime, from Vic Records, we have this gem.

A Forgotten Dream by Internal Decay

https://www.facebook.com/internaldecayofficial/

review: Withering Soul - paranormal-themed black/death metal from Chicago, USA

Withering Soul

Passage of the Arcane

Liminal Dread Productions

14 November 2025

When a new Withering Soul album arrives, it calls for repeated listening. Active since 1999, this American band from the Chicago area consistently delivers quality songwriting that only reveals itself in full over time, a characteristic exemplified by their fifth and latest effort. On this new release, their sound is black and death metal, characterized by speed, intense melody, and subtle progressive elements. The growled vocals are notably enunciated, clear, deep, and sustained, carrying a distinct black metal intensity in the long-lasting screams. This sound could be described as melodic black metal fused with an aggressive American death metal production, for brutality, speed, and melodic depth.

It is clear that black metal is a crucial component, shaping the melodies, the drumming style, and a significant portion of the riffs. However, Withering Soul rejects the "garage" or low-fidelity aesthetic often associated with certain black metal acts. Conversely, they also avoid the "boring" aspects of death metal, such as generic growling, simple chugging, faceless guitar work, and overall minimal-effort songwriting. They take the best elements of both genres, the melodic complexity and intensity of black metal, and the clarity of modern death metal for their unique musical vision.

The album, featuring an intro and seven songs totaling 41 minutes, provides substantial value to the listener. The band has clearly worked hard to deliver songwriting that can withstand the test of time. The combination of American and European characteristics, along with the amalgamation of various time periods (the 1990s and 2000s) within their sound, makes for an engaging and dynamic listen. Listeners can be confident that they are receiving a work put together not just with serious effort, but with demonstrable skill. Two quick clarifications: First, there are no clean, melodic vocals on this album. Second, regarding the lyrics, I have not seen the official text, but my understanding is that the band explores themes related to the paranormal, such as town legends of unexplained disappearances or myths surrounding local spectral sightings.

https://www.facebook.com/witheringsoulband

review: Atavistia - melodic extreme metal from Canada

Atavistia

The Winter Way (Reforged)

Blood Blast Distribution

12 December 2025

Once upon a time, in a land far away, there lived a mighty queen. There, in the land of Mal-ibu-Cal, she possessed an abundance of riches and a multitude of servants, with all the diamonds and crowns, jewels and palaces, and land and rivers that a monarch could desire. Yet, she remained unhappy. Her true poverty was not gold, but the one thing that she could never own for herself: time. She gazed upon the vast oceans and the sailors who served her, who smiled readily upon her sight, and she sang “If I could turn back time, if I could find a way, I’d take back..." her thoughts trailing into the distance of infinity, while the sailors looked at each other glad standing behind the presence of the queen.

Where the mighty queen failed, the band Atavistia succeeds. Atavistia has turned back time. They have found a way. They have taken back their regret. How did they achieve this bending of time? Before addressing that, we need to answer something else: What, or rather, who is Atavistia? This melodic death metal band is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, on the western side of Canada.

Back to the matter at hand: this album. In a time-warping move that would surely impress the queen of Mal-ibu-Cal in this story, Atavistia traveled back to 2020, took their original work from that year, and brought it forward to 2025 and recorded the entire album again. This is not, the band says, a remaster nor a remix of the 2020 album. They say that it is a total rebuild. "The Winter Way (Reforged) features new recordings, arrangements, modern production, and completely rewritten orchestral and atmosphere elements." It is a new recording of the album of the same name.

The music is a catchy blend of progressive, melodic, and grand death/black metal, which should appeal to fans of both melodic death metal and melodic black metal. Reviewers have often noted the band's epic and neosymphonic feel, drawing comparisons to groups like Wintersun. The vocals integrate traditional black metal and death metal growls with melodic singing. Instrumentally, the guitars and rhythm section work with elements from black metal, epic heavy metal, power metal, and shredding. While the 2020 album was certainly enjoyable, this new interpretation is a strong effort. I would agree with the band: start here. It is such a catchy and melodically compelling album that it serves as a great starting point into their discography.

The Winter Way (Reforged) by Atavistia

AC/DC - 50 Years of Rock and Roll

In the 1980s AC/DC became a household name for rock and heavy metal fans in the United States. However, before reaching such status, they had worked their way through the ranks of 1970s hard rock music. Their first album was released in 1975 only in Australia and it was called High Voltage. The album has such an interesting story that goes with it. Check out below the stories and information that Wikipedia has compiled about AC/DC's debut album.

AC/DC

High Voltage

17 February 1975

Recorded November 1974

Label Albert

Producer Vanda & Young

High Voltage is the debut studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released only in Australia and New Zealand, on 17 February 1975. Their first international release in 1976 would also be named High Voltage, though with a radically different track list. In November 1973, guitarists Malcolm Young and Angus Young formed AC/DC and recruited bassist Larry Van Kriedt, vocalist Dave Evans, and Colin Burgess, ex-Masters Apprentices drummer. Soon the Young brothers decided that Evans was not a suitable frontman for the group; they felt he was more of a glam rocker like Gary Glitter. The band had recorded only one single with Evans, "Can I Sit Next To You Girl", with "Rockin' in the Parlour" as the B-side. In September 1974, Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott, an experienced vocalist and friend of producer George Young, replaced Dave Evans after friend Vince Lovegrove recommended him. The addition of Scott redefined the band; like the Young brothers, Scott had been born in Scotland before emigrating to Australia in his childhood, and loved rock and roll, especially Little Richard. Scott had played in the Valentines, the Spektors and Fraternity. In a 2010 interview with Mojo's Sylvie Simmons, Angus Young recalled that Scott "moulded the character of AC/DC... Everything became more down to earth and straight ahead. That's when we became a band."

The album was produced by Vanda & Young at Albert Studios in Sydney, Australia. George Young was the older brother of Angus and Malcolm, and also plays bass guitar on a number of the album's songs. Harry Vanda was a bandmate of George's in the Easybeats, and the pair were the main songwriters of the band's later hits, including their international smash "Friday on My Mind". When George Young heard what his younger siblings were up to, he was quite impressed, telling VH1's Behind the Music in 2000, "All of a sudden the kid brothers were still the kid brothers... but my God, they knew how to play. There was no sort of, 'Do they have it or don't they have it?' It was obvious that they had something." AC/DC were still developing its sound when High Voltage was recorded in November 1974, and singer Bon Scott and the Young brothers were backed by a rhythm section different from the Mark Evans/Phil Rudd combination, which would feature on their next three full-length studio recordings. Rob Bailey and Peter Clack were the band's bassist and drummer, respectively, at the time. Although Murray Engleheart writes in his book AC/DC: Maximum Rock N Roll that bass guitar duties were shared by Malcolm and older brother George, who also played live with the band infrequently, as well as Bailey, Tony Currenti has revealed that he mostly recorded alongside Bailey and that George played bass on "Stick Around", "Love Song" and the song "High Voltage". Clack played drums on "Baby, Please Don't Go", while the rest of the tracks were recorded by Currenti.

AC/DC biographer Jesse Fink laments Currenti's lack of recognition, noting that his name "doesn't bob up anywhere on the Australian or international releases of High Voltage, TNT, '74 Jailbreak, Backtracks or any other releases on which his playing may or may not have appeared." Malcolm and Angus traded-off lead guitar parts on "Soul Stripper" and "Show Business," and Malcolm played the solo on "Little Lover." In the book Highway to Hell: The Life and Times of AC/DC Legend Bon Scott, author Clinton Walker quotes Angus Young: "It was actually recorded in ten days in between gigs, working through the night after we came off stage and then through the day. I suppose it was fun at the time, but there was no thought put into it."

While the songs on High Voltage showcase a glam rock influence that the band would soon discard in favour of a more riff-based hard rock sound, the foundation for the band's songwriting structures are clearly evident. As Angus told Benjamin Smith of VH1 in 2014, "I think the '60s was a great time for music, especially for rock and roll. It was the era of the Beatles, of the Stones, and then later on the Who and Led Zeppelin. But at one point in the '70s it just kind of became... mellow. When Malcolm put the band together, it was obvious what was missing at the time: another great rock band. So it was basically a reaction to that, because the music at that point had just turned into that soft, melodic kind of period, and that seemed to be all over the world. For us, it was a pretty easy choice, especially because Malcolm and myself – we’re two guitarists – so from the get-go, it was going to be a guitar band." Six of its eight songs were written by the Young brothers and Scott, with "Soul Stripper" being credited to the Young brothers alone. "Soul Stripper" evolved from an unrecorded song called "Sunset Strip", also written by Malcolm and Dave Evans. "Soul Stripper" is similar in theme and structure to "Squealer," a song that would be included on Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap in 1976. "Baby, Please Don't Go" is a cover version of a Big Joe Williams song and was chosen as the LP's first single, leading to the group's third appearance on Australia's Countdown music program. The band's appearance included the now-legendary live performance of "Baby, Please Don't Go" featuring Scott dressed as a blonde schoolgirl. "Love Song" evolved from an unrecorded song called "Fell In Love", also written by Malcolm and Dave Evans. This earlier version of the song had different lyrics, and the finished lyrics as heard on the album were added by Scott. In 1994, Bon Scott biographer Clinton Walker speculated that the uncharacteristically maudlin lyric to "Love Song" was likely a leftover from Scott's previous band Fraternity. "Love Song" was released as the album's first single (under the title "Love Song (Oh Jene)") and was backed with "Baby, Please Don't Go", but radio preferred the flip. "She's Got Balls" (about Scott's ex-wife Irene) was the first song that Scott and the Young brothers put together, while "Little Lover" had been a song Malcolm Young had been tinkering with since he was about 14 and had been originally titled "Front Row Fantasies" (Scott, who wrote the song about Angus, mentions glam rock star Gary Glitter by name in the song).

High Voltage was originally released on Albert Productions only in Australia and New Zealand, and has never been reissued by another label in this format. The international version of High Voltage, which was issued on Atlantic Records in 1976, has a different cover art and track listing, with only "She's Got Balls" and "Little Lover" appearing overseas. "Baby Please Don't Go", "Soul Stripper", "You Ain't Got a Hold on Me" and "Show Business" were later released on '74 Jailbreak in 1984. "Stick Around" (about Scott's inability to hold onto a lover for more than one night) and "Love Song" have been released on Backtracks in 2009. The title and artwork were the suggestion of Chris Gilbey of Albert Productions. In the 1994 Scott biography Highway to Hell, Gilbey explains that he came up with the concept of "an electricity substation with a dog pissing against it. It's so tame now, but back then we thought it was pretty revolutionary."

Most of the original LP and Cassette releases contain an error to the writing credits for "Baby, Please Don't Go" with credit going to Broonzy (Big Bill Broonzy). Broonzy recorded a cover of the song in 1952, but it was in fact "Big" Joe Williams who wrote the song in 1935. The error was corrected on all CD releases.

All tracks are written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Bon Scott except where noted.

Side one

No. Title Writer(s) Length

1. "Baby, Please Don't Go" Big Joe Williams 4:50

2. "She's Got Balls" 4:52

3. "Little Lover" 5:40

4. "Stick Around" 4:39

Side two

No. Title Writer(s) Length

5. "Soul Stripper" A. YoungM. Young 6:25

6. "You Ain't Got a Hold on Me" 3:31

7. "Love Song (Oh Jene)" 5:14

8. "Show Business" 4:46

Total length: 39:51

"Baby Please Don't Go", "Soul Stripper", "You Ain't Got a Hold on Me" and "Show Business" were later included on the international release of '74 Jailbreak.

"She's Got Balls" and "Little Lover" were later included on the international version of High Voltage.

"Stick Around" and "Love Song" were never officially released internationally in album form. They were eventually included in the 2009 boxed set Backtracks.

AC/DC

Bon Scott – lead vocals

Angus Young – lead guitar, rhythm guitar

Malcolm Young – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lead guitar (3, 5–6, 8)

Rob Bailey – bass guitar (1–3, 5–6, 8)

Peter Clack – drums (1)

Session musicians and production

George Young – production, bass guitar (4, 7) backing vocals

Harry Vanda – production, backing vocals

Tony Currenti – drums (2–8)

Richard Ford – artwork

AC/DC - High Voltage - King of Pop Awards 1975 (Remastered)

AC/DC - Baby, Please Don't Go LIVE 1975 FULL HD

AC/DC - High Voltage (Live at Donington, 8/17/91)

Alice Cooper's Nightmare and Subsequent Redemption

Rock fans know the name Alice Cooper and know the name of the game: shock horror theatrical rock. The shock rock on stage has been a defining characteristic of Alice Cooper’s legendary career for more than 50 years. The theatrics have served his career well—too well, in fact. The persona and theatrics have worked so well that sometimes we forget that behind the spectacular circus of the macabre is a man of flesh and blood. The business of entertainment and the world of rock music are no place to preserve your sanity. Behind the persona of Alice Cooper there is a man who has reached the greatest heights of the business and has fallen to the lowest of lows that are often secret, hidden from public view. Nowadays, when you mention substance abuse and rock music, lots of names come up—L.A. bands infamous for lip-synching, Bay Area bands notorious for their drinking habits, and British bands with big budgets dedicated to purchasing illegal drugs.

However, the case of Alice Cooper’s addiction to drugs and alcohol is a tale of downfall and redemption through the power coming from an unexpected helper.

Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier in 1948) has been a major name in shock rock since the 1960s and 1970s, but Cooper says that something was wrong: “The persona I created was a mask to hide my insecurities. I was lost inside, trying to find my purpose, and I turned to drugs and alcohol to numb that pain. I thought I was invincible. We’d be out on tour, and I’d be drinking heavily, doing whatever it took to keep going. I didn’t realize how much I was destroying myself, or the people around me.”

His marriage to Sheryl Cooper was in bad shape. “I was a mess. I was selfish, angry, and constantly under the influence. I didn’t see how much I was hurting her, or our daughter, Calico. I was headed for a disaster I couldn’t see coming.”

In the late 1970s Cooper’s health and marriage were in trouble. “I was drinking to escape everything—my fears, my doubts, my loneliness. I never thought I’d get off that treadmill. There were nights I didn’t know how I’d wake up the next morning, and I didn’t care. One night, I woke up in a hotel room, hungover and empty. I looked in the mirror and saw a broken man. That was the moment I realized I was killing myself and everything I loved.”

In 1983, after years of problems, Cooper’s course began to change. “I was at my lowest point. I didn’t want to live anymore, and I certainly didn’t want to keep hurting the people I loved. That night, I prayed—really prayed—and I asked Jesus Christ to save me. I knelt in that hotel room and said, ‘God, if you’re there, I need you now more than ever. Please help me.’ And I felt this overwhelming peace wash over me. It was like a light turned on inside my soul.”

His wife Sheryl remembers, “Seeing him turn to God was a miracle. He was a different person—more humble, more loving, more present. It was as if he had finally found his true purpose.”

Alice has said, “That night changed everything. I realized I’d been living in a fog, trying to fill a void that only Jesus could fill. I finally understood what real salvation meant—a forgiveness that’s bigger than any mistake I’d ever made.” His wife Sheryl has observed, “Watching him surrender his life to Christ was the greatest gift I’ve ever received. It gave us hope, healing, and a new beginning. Our marriage, which was almost broken beyond repair, was restored through faith and love.”

Sheryl also adds, “There were many nights I wondered if we’d make it,” she admits. “But I held onto my faith, trusting that God was working behind the scenes. Seeing him walk in the light after years in darkness was a miracle—proof that nothing is impossible with God.”

Alice shares a powerful story from that era. “One time, I was about to relapse. I remember feeling the temptation so strongly, and I knelt in my hotel room. I prayed, ‘God, I can’t do this without you,’ and suddenly, I felt a strength I knew didn’t come from me. That was the moment I truly surrendered.”

Alice Cooper has been sober for a long time, happily married, and deeply committed to his faith. “God healed me in every way,” he declares. “He restored my marriage, my relationship with my daughter, and gave me a purpose beyond music and shock theatrics.” Sheryl agrees, “Our relationship is stronger than ever. Our faith keeps us grounded. We’ve learned to forgive and to trust in God’s plan for our lives.”

Cooper now uses his platform to inspire others. “I want people to know that no matter how lost or broken you feel,” he says, “Jesus can change your life. I’ve seen it happen firsthand.”

It may be surprising to learn that a major figure of shock rock, whose music and shows have horrified more than a few people, has something in his personal life that he wants to tell people about—but it’s true: “God’s grace is real. And it’s never too late to turn things around.”

Alice Cooper - Hey Stoopid (Official Video)

Alice Cooper - Lost In America

Alice Cooper - No More Mr. Nice Guy (from Alice Cooper: Trashes The World)

Greg Howe - 1988 "Greg Howe" shred debut album

Guitar visionary Greg Howe begins his 1988 debut album with the song "Kick It All Over."

After leaving high school and playing the club circuit around the New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania areas with his brother Albert Howe (a singer) for most of the 1980s, Greg Howe officially began his solo career after sending a demo tape to Shrapnel Records in 1987, upon which he was immediately signed by founder Mike Varney. His self-titled debut album, Greg Howe, was released in 1988 during the popular shred era, and went on to become his highest-selling album; a 2009 article in Guitar World magazine ranked it tenth in the all-time top ten list of shred albums. (Wikipedia)

ABOUT GREG HOWE: Legendary guitarist, Greg Howe, has developed a solid reputation as a technical innovator, particularly for his "hammer-on from nowhere" technique, legato runs, unusual time signatures, and linear tapping approach. His self-titled debut album "Greg Howe" is ranked tenth best shred album of all time by Guitar World Magazine.

In addition to being part of the 2018 GRAMMY® nominated band ‘Protocol IV’ which features Simon Phillips, Ernest Tibbs, and Otmaro Ruiz, Howe has produced, written and arranged ten solo instrumental studio albums along with two collaboration albums with Richie Kotzen of the Winery Dogs. Howe has contributed to a long list of albums/records by other legendary artists such as Dennis Chambers, Victor Wooten, Jason Becker, Billy Sheehan, Marco Minneman, and Eddie Jobson.

He's also made a name for himself as a stellar sideman and session musician with artists such as Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Rihanna, Enrique Iglesias, and many more. His TV appearances include The Grammy's, American Music Awards, The Tonight Show, The Today Show, The Billboard Awards, Teen Choice Awards, just to name a few.

Howe’s latest release “Wheelhouse”, was voted #6 of the top 20 best guitar albums of the decade by Guitar World Magazine.

Musical trends may come and go, but you always know what's in store with Greg Howe, and this veteran guitarist certainly won't disappoint with this breathtaking showcase as one of the best Rock/Fusion players in the world.

(Greg Howe endorses: DV Mark Amps, Kiesel Guitars, D'Addario Strings, and Carl Martin Pedals.)

Greg Howe - Kick It All Over

Ted Nugent - 50 Years of "Ted Nugent"

The legendary and influential album “Ted Nugent” by the Motor City Mad Man Ted Nugent was released in 1975. Time flies, and Ted flies right along with it. Fifty years ago, the guitar gonzo double bonanzo deer hunter Uncle Ted began the album with “Stranglehold.” Here is the studio version and a live version: a song so nice you have to hear it twice.

Ted Nugent - Stranglehold (Official Audio)

Stranglehold - Ted Nugent | The Midnight Special

Led Zeppelin - 50 Years of Physical Graffiti

In 1975 Led Zeppelin unleashed the double album Physical Graffiti, a work that the rock/metal critic Martin Popoff has called the “aircraft carrier” of an album. Martin Popoff, who is exceedingly knowlegeable and has written tons and tons of reviews and books on rock and metal music, considers Physical Graffiti to be the greatest album of time. Full stop. Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, John Bonham = Led Zeppelin. These are the two first songs from this classic of classics.

Led Zeppelin - Custard Pie (Remaster) (Official Audio)

Led Zeppelin - The Rover (Remaster) (Official Audio)

DAWNBREAKER (Part 3) - Finding a New Beginning in Black Metal After Chaotic Spiritual Upheaval

This is the third installment in a series of interviews with black metal act Dawnbreaker (United States), active since 2018, with five albums released since that year, and a sixth album that will come out very early in 2026.

Hello! You've been busy! You have two new albums coming up. What's going on with these two new albums? One is with Dawnbreaker, and the other with a new project, correct?

- Yes, I’m fortunate to have not only one but two new full-length releases coming up! The two albums are Dawnbreaker’s 6th epic “Pactum Sanguine Novo” and the debut for a new collaboration called Wailing. Both will be released on January 2nd, 2026, and both will be available on CD through Vision of God records. But Pactum Sanguine Novo will be released on vinyl as well at a slightly later date! Wailing is a death metal band and will be my first time releasing purely death metal music in over 15 years. Wailing features Shawn Eldridge on drums, who played in many popular death and black metal bands in the New Jersey / New York / Pennsylvania area. He’s also one of my best friends!

Previously we learned about your blasphemous black metal music from 2003 (and earlier) until 2016 or 2017, more or less, with Angelcide and other projects. However, the excesses of the hedonist lifestyle led you to a crisis, and you called on God for help, and God responded. You began to change your life, but you did not immediately tell people. In 2018 the first Dawnbreaker album, titled Deus Vult, comes out. From the very first second, the music hits loud, fast, barbarically and relentlessly. Can you take us back to your mindset throughout 2017 before the debut album? This would be a big year for you. Where did you find new ideas for lyrics? What's going on with artwork of this album? Who else knew that you were finished with Angelcide and that Dawnbreaker was your new project? What does the name Dawnbreaker mean? The year 2017 must have felt like one of the most exciting in your life: you were working on a renewal.

- Yes, 2017 was a pivotal year indeed! I had gotten a big raise at my job and could finally afford an apartment in one of the “cool” neighborhoods in New York City. In March I moved to Williamsburg Brooklyn – a place with a reputation for being “a mecca for creative types.” It was home to the famous Duff’s metal bar, the iconic Saint Vitus music venue (which I performed at many times), and a lot of other very culturally exciting places. I met my future wife that same month, and I also started attending church regularly – something I had not done since my teenage years. I wrote occasional pieces for a metal zine and got more politically active. The possibilities seemed endless in those days!

- Around this time I started attending a megachurch called C3 (a.k.a. “Christ City Church”) and was invited to audition for their worship team as a guitar player. I got the part, and for awhile I was playing guitar during their services – which had attendances of 400-500 people and were at some pretty big New York venues like Williamsburg Music Hall and Grammercy Theatre. Ironically these were bigger attendances and venues than I had in my days playing metal, haha! This was a few months after the final Angelcide album was released, and I had completely ended the project. I thought I was done with metal but one of my C3 colleagues said “you know, you can make metal that praises God.” And that got me thinking that I should do a Christian metal project, with Christian lyrics.

- I did have a hard time with the lyrics, because I wasn’t too familiar with Christian doctrine in those days. I even made one of the songs an instrumental because I just didn’t have enough ideas. I would hear sermons and write down the things I thought were cool and metal, like “Armor of Light.” But for the most part, the lyrics were about converting to Christianity and all of the growing pains that come about it. A crusade on the darkness! The cover is done by Gustave Dore, an artist from the 1800’s who was frequently used by Norwegian black metal bands like Emperor (who were probably my favorite overall). It’s from his illustrations for a comprehensive book about the crusades. Nobody really knew that I was working on a new metal project, except for the engineer and the logo designer.

- As for the name, it’s from a video game Skyrim – there was a sword in the game that was powerful against vampires and undead, a “sword of the light” called the Dawnbreaker. I was a huge fan of the game, I’d had played it for over 1,000 hours! And I remembered the quote “Mortals called it Dawnbreaker, for it was forged in a holy light.” I thought that was the perfect name for the project, a sword against the darkness.

In 2017 you were rethinking many things, I would imagine. For example, did you look into Christian metal and rock bands? What conclusions did you arrive at, in terms of lyrics for the first Dawnbreaker album? What else would you like to let us in on, in terms of things that you were discovering about making music with a focus on Jesus at that time as a new Christian? Did you feel joy as you were making the new music? Did you have any feelings of being a “beginner” of sorts? Did you have a sense of mischievous joy knowing that people had no idea what you were about to do?

- Ironically my original plans for Dawnbreaker were completely different. It was going to be a side project to Angelcide and was going to be more specifically about the actual crusades. I was going to call the band “Deus Vult” (which would become the title for the first album). The original lyrical ideas were pretty gruesome – some of the early song titles were “The Slaughter of Infidels” and “The Choke of Hanging Witches.” Sort of a cross-and-dagger “kill the heretic!” approach, haha!

- But somewhere along the line, I decided I didn’t want to do Angelcide anymore. I didn’t want to do a band couldn’t be proud of. And so Dawnbreaker became a replacement of Angelcide, almost like a “reboot” of a TV series or movie series. And I wanted to have lyrics that wouldn’t be ashamed of if my fellow parishioners or church leaders were to read. So, the lyrics were reframed to become more of a testimony than a dark fantasy novel. But by making it a new solo project to replace the old, it was extremely liberating. I could start over and make more primitive music than the more technical stuff I was doing in my other bands. So, the sound of Deus Vult became based on a combination of first wave black metal, the earliest American black metal bands, and early thrash-driven death metal. Some of the songs were remakes of old material, and I mean really old material! Others were new songs I had written over the prior years in these varying styles. They were intended for different short conceptual releases, but I eventually came up with a track list that felt like one complete story.

- Yes, there was that mischievous joy. I had low expectations for the album and the response, but I was also really excited about it. Given the sensitive nature of the themes, I chose not to pitch it to any record labels – I instead formed my own label, New Templar Records, and self-funded the entire release and production. This was a very new and exciting endeavor. I sent a lot of copies to Christian metal labels as a gift, and this opened up many opportunities and relationships that continue to this day.

Back then, as you work on your new music, how do you approach the vocals, on one hand, and the technology that you use for the vocals, like recording techniques and technology, microphones, layering, reverb, and similar effects? What were you thinking in terms of vocals: did you plan to make some changes or pretty much continue the same style as before with Angelcide?

- I used the same engineer that recorded the vocals for my work in Abazagorath and Angelcide. The vocals are the only thing I didn’t record myself, because I just couldn’t do that vocal style in a small apartment without scaring the neighbors, you know? But for the Dawnbreaker vocals I tried something a little different – a lower pitched scream. I remember a lot of my friends mentioning how much lower the vocals were from my previous releases, which were all high pitched. I wanted something different, and it fit the heavy riffs of “Deus Vult.” But I kept that style on all of the other Dawnbreaker albums, even though the music changed drastically the voice on each album was the same, guiding through many different storms and seasons.

What about the guitars and the guitar sound? Musicians are notorious for never being happy or satisfied with the sound of their albums because they focus too much on the “mistakes” that audiences often don't hear or notice. In your case, with Dawnbreaker, did you want to make particular changes to your guitar sound? I am not a musician nor an expert, but I would venture to say that Dawnbreaker seems to have a more robust guitar sound. It also seems to me, here from a distance, that thrash and death metal manifest themselves more than on Angelcide, as if you felt freer to do more with your guitar, but I don't know.

- Yeah, my earliest music ever was more in the death/thrash metal style. So as Dawnbreaker was meant to be a “reboot” of my metal career, I wanted to start at the beginning. I tried a different guitar tone for this – I think it was modeled after the Cannibal Corpse tone if I remember correctly. Definitely a lot more low end that what I had been doing for a while!

May 25th, 2018: The debut album from Dawnbreaker comes out. How is the album received? Did it get coverage in the metal press? Do you remember if you had any particular expectations?

- Yes actually, I had the opportunity to do an op-ed about my conversion in a metal zine called “Death Metal Underbground.” DMU was a really underground zine, the ultimate gatekeeper and most hardcore of fans. A lot of them really hated that I was playing metal with Christian lyrics but even they admitted the music was good. That article got a lot of attention and boosted a lot of sales. I made enough money from the sales of that pressing to cover all of the production costs and give many copies away for free. I was really impressed with the response. I thought it would be forgotten quickly and go largely unnoticed. But it did incredibly well, both among Christian and secular fans alike. I saw a number of non-Christians call it “The only good Christian metal album.” Deus Vult is unique in that it would get two more CD pressings and a limited-run vinyl pressing over the years to follow!

What about the Christian metal press? Dawnbreaker would have been a new name. The Christian metal world had not been your world. So, what happens with the Christian metal press and the music of Dawnbreaker? Did you begin making a bunch of new contacts with press people, radio people, labels, and promoters in Christian metal? How did you feel as you were making new contacts in a different corner of the music world? Were you pleasantly surprised?

- I did a lot of marketing in the Christian metal world – in fact that’s where I focused most of the marketing. I was fortunate to get the opportunity to premiere a song in HM Magazine – a popular Christian music zine. The response was really really good, and yes I made many new contacts in press. Most importantly though, I got a call from the owner of Vision of God records with an offer to sign to the label’s subsidiary Christian Metal Underground. He wanted to do a second pressing of Deus Vult and wanted me to sign on for two new albums. I took the deal and I’ve been with Vision of God ever since!

Did you play any shows in 2018? Did you have enough contacts to recruit other musicians to play Dawnbreaker music live in 2018?

- Nope, I never played live with Dawnbreaker and probably never well. I just don’t like organizing concerts, negotiating with promoters etc. I was never good at it, and my most successful bands involved someone else handling that department. I also don’t think I would be able to put a lineup together. Maybe if I used an already established Christian metal band, haha!

In 2018 your new album is your statement of your new mission. I would think that you expected some support from fans that support Christian metal. However, negative, pessimistic, and judgmental people are everywhere, including in the Christian metal scene. Did you get criticism that your music still sounded like satanic evil music? Have you gotten critique that your music is too dark and ominous to be Christian music?

- Nobody in the Christian world had anyone bad to say to me I don’t think. But that’s more likely because of the timing – we’ve already had many decades of great Christian black metal bands like Antestor, Slecthvalk, and Crimson Moonlight. Had I released the album in the 90’s I believe the response would have been much different! I didn’t show the album to Christian friends unless they were already metalheads.

I don't know if your parents and relatives heard Dawnbreaker, but by 2018 how are you doing in terms of repairing your relationship with your parents? I bet they were relieved in some ways to know that you were not going to end up dead or in jail from the reckless lifestyle of promiscuity, substance abuse, and general antisocial behavior from before.

- No, I never played it for family, they never really took that style of music seriously so I typically don’t mention what’s happening in my music life. This is the case for most of the people I know unless I know they’re into extreme metal. I hate talking about my music with “normies” haha! But yes, by now my relationship with my family has been very good for many years, other than my mother arguing with me about politics! It helped that I had moved out several years prior and was living in New York now. You know what they say, “happiness is a tightly knit family – that lives in another state!”

How are you feeling at the end of 2018, after the album has been out? Are you happy with your new life and new music? Now at the end of 2018, most of your friends in the music scene, who are in their vast majority not Christians, know about Dawnbreaker. Basically, just about everyone knows. You must have felt good to finally release the Dawnbreaker album. It wasn't a secret anymore!

- Yes, 2018 was a great year. I started working for a new company, the one I currently work for! I moved to the Upper East Side of Manhattan, which was exciting to be in the “the real New York.” Dawnbreaker is doing well, I have a long-term record deal and a plan for the next album. I’ve sold my Deus Vult stock, and am fully plugged into the Christian metal scene. My relationship is good, I’m attending mass at a church that I really really like, finishing my first read of the Bible, plugged into the Christian world and culture. Probably one of the best years of my life to date!

Of course, as usual, you are a workaholic, and I'm sure you had your next album in the works because Metal Archives shows that in September 2019, Dawnbreaker returns with a second album Total Depravity. Seeing as I have already asked too many questions for this segment of the interview, let’s stop for now and come back to 2019 next time.

- Thanks for all of the great questions! Looking forward to the next chapter of this series!

-- -- Dawnbreaker - Black Metal after Nihilism, Atheism and Self-Destruction (Part 2) https://metalbulletin.blogspot.com/2025/09/dawnbreaker_29.html