I only got to see the definitive Alice In Chains line up once back in the fall of 1992 when the came to Vancouver opening up for Van Halen, and to this day I can never forget the awesome chemistry on stage that Sean Kinney, Jerry Cantrell, Layne Staley, and Mike Starr had. I’ve seen them a few times over the years after that performance, but it was never the same. Seeing Mike on Celebrity Rehab was truly sad, as he looked to be in rough shape. I was hoping he would come out ok, but sadly it was not to be. R.I.P Mike Starr.

May 29 – Pryor, OK – Rocklahoma
Jun. 07 – Dallas, TX – Gexa Energy Pavilion
Jun. 09 – San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center
Jun. 10 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
Jun. 12 – Albuquerque, NM – Hard Rock Pavilion
Jun. 14 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
Jun. 15 – San Francisco, CA – Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
Jun. 17 – Phoenix, AZ – Desert Sky Pavilion
Jun. 18 – Las Vegas, NV – [to be announced]
Jun. 19 – Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre
Jun. 21 – Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center
Jun. 22 – Maryland Heights, MO – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Jun. 24 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
Jun. 25 – Milwaukee, WI – Bradley Center
Jun. 26 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
Jun. 28 – Toronto, ON – Molson Amphitheatre
Jun. 29 – Clarkston, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre
Jul. 01 – Tinley Park, IL – FMB Amphitheatre
Jul. 02 – Noblesville, IN – Verizon Wireless Music Center
Jul. 03 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
Jul. 05 – Hollywood, FL – Seminole Hard Rock Live Arena
Jul. 06 – Tampa, FL – St. Pete Times Forum
Jul. 08 – Biloxi, MS – Mississippi Coast Coliseum
Jul. 09 – Pelham, AL – Verizon Wireless Music Center
Jul. 10 – Atlanta, GA – Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood
Jul. 12 – Charlotte, NC – Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Jul. 13 – Hershey, PA – Star Pavilion at Hersheypark
Jul. 15 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
Jul. 16 – Camden, NJ – Susquehannna Bank Center
Jul. 19 – Mansfield, MA – Comcast Center
Jul. 20 – Uniondale, NY – Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Jul. 22 – Darien Center, NY – Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
Jul. 23 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Jul. 24 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
Jul. 27 – Cheyenne, WY – Frontier Days
Jul. 29 – Youngstown, OH – Covelli Centre
Jul. 30 – Frederick, MD – Outlaw Jam 2011
Jul. 31 – Scranton, PA – Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain
Aug. 5 – Tomah, WI – Fort McCoy

This hellfire of a release is a much different affair then say the earlier releases Dopethone and Let Us Prey. While those two records were more on the heavy doom side of things, Black Mass sees them marching to the locked in groove of mid 90′s Fu Manchu. The riffs sway back n forth, while the choruses jump at you one after another, all the while keeping the aura evil and eerie as possible. This album will make you drop your gun and pick up a bong.

The two songs that sorta set the vibe of the whole album are  ”Black Mass” and “Venus In Furs”. These stoner rock anthems got locked in my head immediately after first listen. The only nit pick I have with this record is the production. It kinda sounds messy and mid level, and could been mixed a lil better for more of a thicker, cleaner sound. Otherwise, another solid batch of groovy tracks by the doom wizards. Now if only they would release this on 8-track.

Rating: 8/10

Thirty years later and the band are still going strong, as the new album Absolute Dissent and live show are both very strong, and can show the youngins out there how it’s supposed to be done. I always though the secret weapon in Killing Joke was their guitarist Geordie, If their is such a thing as the “signature” Killing Joke sound, then it revolves around Geordie. The lush surreal guitar tones clashing with the industrial sounds of the other members makes for one hell of a sweet racket. The industrial flame still lives on after all these years.

The secret to this band is the unique, raspy, and oh-so heavy stylings of Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth. The man is one of the best thrash vocalists to ever come out of the 80′s thrash scene. Too bad Bobby has never gotten the recognition he deserves in the metal world. Anyway, check out the track below and tell me different.

Steven doesn’t leave any stone unturned in this book, as he talks about everything from his early childhood upbringing to his final days in one of the biggest rock bands on the planet. My favorite parts of the book are Stevens stories about his relationship with Axl Rose, and the early road tours pre-platinum albums. What was it like touring with The Cult, Motley Crue, and Iron Maiden? It’s here in all its ugly glory.

The only nit pick I have is that, I wish Steven gave more pages to his relationship with Izzy, and Duff as much as he did with Axl and Slash. Also his days of working with Davy Vain in 1991 as part of the Road Crew project are a lil’ skimmed over. Other than that, I think the book does well in painting a picture of one of the most decadent periods of hard rock music.

The orgies, the drugs, the alcohol, get some major talking time in this biography. It’s pretty much a tell all, which I love to hear in my rock n roll biography’s. There will never be another time like the late 80′s hard rock scene, and Steven Adler puts a stamp of approval on that. Highly recommended read for any hardcore GNR fan.

Rating: 8/10

If you really wanna see Ace at the top of his game, check out his acting performance Kiss Meets The Phantom Of The Park. Pure fucking genius.