Including two of their biggest hits.

The post Bush’s Four-Song Set For NPR’s ‘Tiny Desk Concert’ Newly Released appeared first on Theprp.com.

The post Cogley Deep Blue Sky Review appeared first on Edgar Allan Poets – Noir Rock Band.

Swords, sorcery & sci-fi.

The post Finger Eleven Are Off To Beat The Wizard In “The Mountain” Music Video appeared first on Theprp.com.

Rock music history is riddled with iconic guitars, signature sounds, and legendary partnerships between artists and world-class guitar brands.

Slash’s enduring status as a Les Paul player is nearly 40 years in the making. The handcrafted tone of Brian May’s DIY build, the Red Lady, made him one of the top rock guitarists of all time. And The Beatles’ early Rickenbacker era lives on as one of the most stylish moments in Brit-rock memory.

Our list collects 7 of the most famous rock guitarists in history, diving deep into the guitars that captured their swift ascent to fame and revealing the stories behind the legendary axes used at the height of each icon’s heyday.

1. Slash: The “Gibson” Les Paul

Slash certainly played some Jacksons and B.C. Richs was back in his early days, but for most rock fans, it’s impossible to imagine the legend wielding anything other than a Gibson Les Paul. That is until you find out that Slash’s iconic Les Paul isn’t a Gibson at all. It’s a knock-off replica of a 1959 Les Paul, bought just as Guns ‘N’ Roses were tracking their debut album, Appetite For Destruction. This iconic guitar is known as the “Derrig Les Paul,” named after its creator, Kris Derrig.

Stamped with a Gibson headstock logo, it’s easy to see why so many fans assume Slash’s legendary Derrig Les Paul is genuine, especially after releasing a range of signature Gibson guitars and adding a selection of genuine Gibsons to his early armory. As he told Guitar World in 2023, “I bought a couple of factory second Les Paul Standards from Gibson. I took those on the road and retired the Derrig from touring. But I always use it, […] that’s always been my main recording guitar. Why? Because it’s always the best-sounding Les Paul in the room.”

2. Jimi Hendrix: The Fender on Fire

White Fender Stratocasters were Jimi’s means of changing guitar music forever. But the infamous white Strat Jimi burned on stage at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival wasn’t picked out from his regular rotation. This guitar was one worth sacrificing to the rock gods: a 1963-64 Fender Stratocaster custom painted psychedelic graffiti-style in nail polish by Hendrix only the night before his infamous gig.

While the sound of this iconic guitar is easily replicable (assuming you can play a stock-standard ‘60s Fender as well as Hendrix), the “Monterey Strat” was truly one of a kind in aesthetics until 2017, when Fender reproduced Hendrix’s custom design on some limited edition replicas, paying tribute to the 50-year anniversary of Jimi’s career-defining stunt.

3. Kirk Hammett: Gibson vs. Jackson Flying Vs

It’s no secret that Metallica’s lead guitarist, Kirk Hammett, has an affinity for V-shaped guitars. Kirk adopted two Flying Vs into his golden-age artillery, the first being a 1979 Gibson Flying V in jet black. Die-hard Metallica fans will already know that this ‘79 Gibson V was used across Metallica’s early albums, specifically taking the spotlight on their debut, Kill ‘Em All.

Meanwhile, the Jackson “Randy Rhoads” Flying V was the main guitar Kirk used to record Metallica’s legendary LP, Master of Puppets. In 2020, Kirk recalled the guitar set up which catalyzed the distinct voice of its title track, stating, “I used my Jackson Randy Rhoads V for [the Master of Puppets’] solo […] Most of Master of Puppets was tracked with Boogie heads and Marshall heads combined, and I used my Gibson Flying V and my Jackson.”

4. Jimmy Page: The Double-Necked Gibson EDS-1275

Jimmy Page’s Gibson EDS-1275 is a Frankensteined beauty featuring a 12-string neck on top and a regular 6-string neck beneath. It soon became synonymous with Led Zeppeling’s illustrious live renditions of Stairway To Heaven, despite not actually featuring on the studio recording.

As Jimmy Page told Guitar World way back in 1977, “I didn’t use a doubleneck on [Led Zeppelin IV], but I had to get one afterward to play Stairway to Heaven.” The Gibson EDS-1275’s extensive range of tones ingeniously fulfilled Page’s need to perform the vast range of sounds present on the original ‘71 recording of Stairway To Heaven live, without swapping guitars mid-song. 

A bit of digging reveals the true sound of Stairway To Heaven’s studio recording: an acoustic ‘60s Harmony Sovereign H1260, with a twelve-string 1965 Fender XII to play the electric overdubs, finished by a 1959 Fender Telecaster for the solo. Fun fact: this ‘59 Telecaster, which Jimmy Page used for Stairway To Heaven’s solo, was a gift from Jeff Beck;.

5. Eddie Van Halen – The Frankenstrat

Eddie Van Halen’s Frankenstrat was a custom-built icon of 70s-80s metal. This axe underwent a constant evolution, modified time and again by Van Halen himself to craft the perfect signature sound.

This sound came in the form of a Fender Stratocaster clone. The body was an unfinished and “cosmetically unfit” Strat replica Eddie bought for just $50. According to legend, Eddie would “cannibalise his 1961 Stratocaster” to bring the Frankenstrat to life, transferring its neck, pickguard and humbuckers to his new mutation. 

Just about every element of this guitar was modified many times during its six years in the spotlight, including the neck, bridge, and pickups. The Frankenstrat was all about experimentation, a sly mix of anarcho-punk DIY mentality, instinct, and imagination. Its paintwork shows it; its sound personifies it.

6. Kurt Cobain – The Jag-Stang

Kurt Cobain’s Jag-Stang was another mix-matched custom icon. After Kurt patchworked its design together from cut-up polaroids of Fender Jaguar and Mustang guitars, Fender custom-built the world’s first Jag-Stang especially for the Nirvana front-man, crafting an axe that soon defined his anti-hero persona.

Kurt explained the inspiration behind having a guitar custom-built for him, stating, “Ever since I started playing, I’ve always liked certain things about certain guitars but could never find the perfect mix of everything I was looking for. The Jag-Stang is the closest thing I know.”

Despite Fender commercially producing Kurt’s Jag-Stangs for a handful of years after Kurt Cobain’s death, the Jag-Stang remains exceptionally rare and collectible. But this didn’t stop Fender building another custom Jag-Stang for My Chemical Romance guitarist Frank Iero after mourning the loss of his original edition, sleekly leading us to the final iconic guitar on our list.

7. Frank Iero – “Pansy” 

My Chemical Romance’s early days were riddled by the sight of “Pansy” — a snow-white, Japanse-built Epiphone Les Paul Custom Elitist played by rhythm guitarist, Frank Iero, crowned by circus-style letters stickering its name punk rock-style across its body.

Played predominantly on the studio recordings of the band’s cult hit record, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, Frank Iero’s iconic guitar was stamped into every alternative kid’s mind in the mid-2000s, featuring in the music videos of Helena and I’m Not Okay (I Promise), and across MCR’s 2004-05 live shows. But this guitar swiftly fell off the scene, allegedly “destroyed” by an MTV guitar tech in an unrevealed accident, leading Frank to retire Pansy shortly after she became one of the most iconic guitars of the emo rock era.

The post 7 of the Most Iconic Guitars Ever in Rock Music History appeared first on Metal Shout.

Unless you already herd about it.

The post Cultist Stream “Den Of Snakes”, Ready New Album “Saint” For A Summer Release appeared first on Theprp.com.

The post Outlaw Cartier lil runaway Review appeared first on Edgar Allan Poets – Noir Rock Band.

“Only the vultures will come to see me hang”

The hills of Tyburn ring with the awesome sound of the epicus, the doomicus, and the metallicus on Candlemass’ At The Gallows End. Taken from their second album, 1987’s Nightfall, this is basically about as metal as it gets. Life and death, faith and damnation soundtracked with the legendary Swedish band’s bludgeoning and mournful neo-classical riffage.

As with Iron Maiden’s Hallowed Be Thy Name, the song is narrated by a condemned prisoner facing his final moments on Earth. His doomed musings as he ponders his own personal Golgotha are the perfect fodder for the band’s bleak, weighty style and an ideal vehicle for the band’s new vocalist, operatic frontmonk Messiah Marcolin. He excels here. His singing over the song’s pastoral acoustic passages is wistfully sensitive but he thunders with bombastic defiance over the track’s heavier sections. It’s the kind of performance you can imagine parting the clouds.

At The Gallows End is one of the quintessential Candlemass tracks. It’s an unforgettable masterpiece that, in much the same way as the barbaric and emotive early work of Manowar, induces a very pure metal fervour. Dark, powerful and perfectly executed.

Heavy//Hitter and Peace Of Mind will also be playing select stops.

The post Stick To Your Guns Announce Summer European Touring With Terror, Deez Nuts & More appeared first on Theprp.com.

Anna Cara is replacing Nita Stauss, who is taking a career break

Torn apart by your disease
with the head in your hands
reveal your true belief
you exist nowhere 

Christine Plays Viola have been at the game long enough to know that gloom is cheap and conviction is rare, and on their latest single Desolate Moments, they walk straight into the chapel of collapse. This band from Abruzzo has spent years building a name across Europe on baritone gravity, hard-edged post-punk motion, and gothic rock, and stage presence that can make a room feel like it has lost its oxygen. Here, though, they pare the drama down to a slow bleed.

Desolate Moments drifts in on Vangelis-like synths and spectral guitar figures, carrying a faint kinship with Joy Division in its emotional weather, though Christine Plays Viola gives the song its own glacial poise. It moves like a slow dance with extinction, tracing a line between regret, spiritual vacancy, and the sickly afterglow of promises already broken. Massimo Ciampani sings as if reading the last decent page from a life already set on fire, his voice holding guilt, illness, and the ache of promises dropped in the dirt with grave conviction. It sounds worn, wounded, and terribly sure of where this story ends.

Behind him, the band keeps the ground shifting. Fabrizio Giampietro’s guitar and synth work stalk the song, letting tones hang in the air like intrusive thoughts. Marco Di Ianni’s bass gives the track its black backbone, while Gianluca Orsini’s drums move with funeral patience, then strike with sudden force when the song needs a crack of lightning. There is real discipline here, the kind that comes from years of touring, years of learning how to hold tension without spilling it.

Instead of presenting the band like heroes posed for adoration, the video turns them into phantoms slipping in and out of sight, as live footage bleeds into abstract overlays and dissolving forms. Faces never settle. Bodies blur. Bright strobe bursts interrupt the slow drift, then vanish into haze. It has the feel of identity breaking apart in real time, as if the song itself were eating the people performing it.

Watch the video for Desolate Moments below:

After nearly twenty years, Christine Plays Viola still knows how to make darkness feel dangerous rather than decorative. “Desolate Moments” is lean, bruised, and grave with purpose, a ballad for anyone who has watched the floor give way beneath love, faith, and the idea of themselves, then stood there listening to the crash. The band has toured extensively across Europe, performing at major festivals and sharing stages with artists such as Das Ich, And Also the Trees, Clan of Xymox, and Chameleons.

Listen to Desolate Moments below and order F.I.V.E., out now via Cleopatra Records, here.

With F.I.V.E. Fear Increases Violent Emotions, Christine Plays Viola have built a record that treats fear not as passing atmosphere but as a corrosive force working from the inside out, tightening each song until guilt, dread, desire, and self-division begin to bleed together. We recently took a deeper look at the album track by track and spoke with the band about the long writing process behind the record, the psychological architecture of its songs, and the ideas of identity, confrontation, and collapse that shape its world. Read our full review and interview here.

Follow Christine Plays Viola:

• Website
• Bandcamp
• YouTube
• Spotify
• Facebook
• Instagram

The post “You Exist Nowhere” — Italian Goth Rockers Christine Plays Viola Share Video for “Desolate Moments” appeared first on Post-Punk.com.