In a year worthy of your rage, metal delivered in spades. What with the economy circling the drain and Sarah Palin coming down from the tundra and then refusing to go back, 2008's been the kind of year that really makes you want to smash your head into walls or punch random strangers in the face. Good thing there were so many awesome records available to serve as a soundtrack for exactly that kind of behavior. The ten discs below are just the tip of a very big, very heavy iceberg. Metal seems to
If you've seen Rock Star starring Mark Wahlberg, you know (at least Hollywood's version) the story of how Tim "Ripper" Owens came to be lead singer of the Rob Halford-less Judas Priest. Long story very short: Halford left the band to thrash solo. Meanwhile Ripper Owens was in a Judas Priest tribute band, got discovered that way, and started playing with the real Judas Priest. The story behind the Whitesnake's lead singer is a little less interesting. David Coverdale sang for Deep Purple, then st
via myspace.com/whitesnake​Poor David Coverdale. Here he was, on a triumphant return to the road under the Whitesnake moniker, including a gig this past June at the gigantic O2 Arena in Dublin. With his current band, he was playing a string of well-received gigs with Judas Priest, which was slated to continue through the end of August.But suddenly, during a Tuesday-night gig at Denver's Red Rocks Amphitheater, Coverdale, suffering severe vocal chord pain, was forced to cut Whitesnake's set sho
​Judas Priest is so influential, so part of the original heavy music, that the band was already rocking when the term "heavy metal" was invented. Formed by guitarist K.K. Downing and bassist Ian Hill, the band originally came together in 1969 over a shared love of bands like Cream. Their hometown of Birmingham, England, though, is not exactly a pastoral place -- it's industrial gothic, and the sooty gloom eventually penetrated their heavy blues rock. (It's absolutely no surprise that Black Sab
​Judas PriestMonday, August 17Hard Rock Live, HollywoodBetter Than: A case of the MondaysThe Review:Classic metal shows are always an excellent bang for the buck -- see previous reviews on local shows by Iron Maiden or Slayer, for example. The bands are drawing on years of a critic- and fan-vetted catalog, so as a fan, you're guaranteed to like at least 90 percent of the songs played. So will everyone around you, who will generally be drunk, possibly sunburned, and generally good-natured and u
