Guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (ex-Guns N' Roses) recently guested on the The Heavy Hooks Show to talk about his solo project and the new Art Of Anarchy album, due to be released in February 2024. He also discusses the state of the music industry and offers advice to unsigned bands. Check out the interview below.
Thal on being a professional musician:
"In the end, you're still a traveling T-shirt salesman. Just now, the labels don't have a pot to piss in. Not all, but a lot of them, because nobody's buying physical products, and that's where they made their money. So they can't fund and support the band anymore. So the band is relying on other ways to make money, and they're not getting it from Spotify, that's for shit sure. Ultimately, meet-and-greets and selling T-shirts are the only two ways musicians can nowadays pay bills on tour, and getting rich doesn't even enter the equation. But you know what? Fuck all that. It doesn't matter. We don't do this to get rich. If we did, we'd be doing something else. We do this because we fucking love music. That is the reward... when you play a show and people love it."
Heavy Metal music fans are well-known for being some of the most passionate and devout fandoms on the planet. Just ask any metal band or artist and they will inevitably say that it’s the fans who keep them going, making all of the difficulties and struggles of being a road-weary artist worthwhile. So now, in the spirit of the Giving Season, Christmas, some of the metal world’s most renowned vocalists, shredders, and virtuosos are repaying their fans with not one but two volumes of Holiday-themed metal albums that are sure to have the whole family raising the horns and rocking around the Christmas tree!
Perhaps no Christmas song is as inescapable during the holidays as Mariah Carey’s retro pop classic, “All I Want For Christmas Is You”, but rarely is the question asked, what if that song ROCKED? Well, the former Guns N’ Roses axeman Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal along with Kings Of Thrash bassist David Ellfson and perhaps the only vocalist on the planet who could go toe-to-toe with Carey, ex-Judas Priest vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens, have the answer. Together, this triumvirate turn in a spine-tingling, superbly epic version of this holiday favorite that deserves to be overplayed this year and every year - just like the original!
Stream/download the single here, and listen below.
A Very Metal Christmas and A Very Metal Christmas II feature brand new recordings from an incredible array of supremely talented metal artists including Rainbow's Graham Bonnet, Megadeth's Chris Poland, King's X's Ty Tabor, Ratt's Stephen Pearcy, Bulletboys' Marq Torien, UFO's Vinnie Moore, King Kobra's Paul Shortino, Deep Purple's Glenn Hughes, George Lynch, Marty Friedman, Great White's Jack Russell, Vixen's Janet Gardner, Angel's Frank DiMino and many more! Grab your copy today and grab another to give as a gift to the metal fan in your life!
Order via the links below:
A Very Metal Christmas:
- CD
- Vinyl
- Digital
A Very Metal Christmas II:
- CD
- Vinyl
- Digital
A Very Metal Christmas tracklisting:
"All I Want For Christmas Is You" - Tim "Ripper" Owens, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, David Ellefson "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" - Cherie Currie, Tracii Guns
"Feliz Navidad" - Stephen Pearcy, Vinnie Moore
"Carol Of The Bells" - Chris Poland
"Last Christmas" - Graham Bonnet, Mick Box
"Please Come Home For Christmas" - Carmine Appice, Ty Tabor, Paul Shortino, Phil Soussan
"White Christmas" - Bulletboys
"Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/2"4 - George Lynch
"Merry Xmas Everybody" - Kim McAuliffe & Cliff Evans
"Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town" - Paul Dianno
"Happy Holiday" - Enuff Z'nuff
"Little Saint Nick" - L.A. Guns
"Donner & Blitzen" (Achim Koehler Mix) - Thor
A Very Metal Christmas II tracklisting:
"O Holy Night" - Glenn Hughes
"Blue Christmas" - Jack Russell, Chris Holmes
"Winter Wonderland" - Fast Eddie Clarke, Steve Overland
"All I Want For Christmas Is You" - Janet Gardner
"Another Rock And Roll Christmas" - Paul Dianno, Paul Samson
"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" - Marty Friedman
"It's A Wonderful Life" - George Lynch & Jeff Pilson
"Father Christmas" - Pretty Boy Floyd
"Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" - Gilby Clarke
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" - Helix
"Run, Rudolph Run" - Faster Pussycat
"Silent Night" - Frank DiMino, Tracii Guns
"What Child Is This?" - Glen Drover
