THE PRETTY RECKLESS RETURN TO THE ROAD FOR THEIR FIRST TOUR IN ALMOST FIVE YEARS

Shows begin in March, with more than three-dozen dates across the US, Europe, and the UK

The band’s bestselling 2014 album, Going To Hell, returns to vinyl in February

CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER GOING TO HELL

The Pretty Reckless are thrilled to return to the road this spring with more than three dozen shows across the US, Europe, and the UK.

The extensive outing, which marks their first run of dates since 2016–2017’s Who You Selling For tour, kicks off with a pair of sold out headline shows at Brooklyn Made on March 22 and 23. On April 1, the New York City band embarks on a 24-date run across North America with Shinedown, before heading across the Atlantic for shows throughout the summer, including festival appearances at Britain’s Download Festival, Germany’s Rock im Park and Rock am Ring, and the Netherlands’ Pinkpop as well as direct support to Foo Fighters in Berlin. The Pretty Reckless’ long-awaited tour follows the release of their No. 1-debuting and fourth studio album, Death By Rock And Roll.

Get tickets here.

Ahead of the tour, one of the band’s most popular titles, Going To Hell, will return to vinyl.

The album, which includes three No. 1 singles, including the platinum-selling “Heaven Knows,” “Messed Up World,” and “Follow Me Down,” lands in stores on February 11, 2022, and is available for pre-order today.

Fans can also visit the band’s official website to find two exclusive color variants, pressed on purple marble and purple splatter vinyl, respectively. A solid purple vinyl variant will also be available exclusively in independent record stores.

Originally released in 2014, Going To Hell marks the second studio album from The Pretty Reckless, which consists of Taylor Momsen (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Ben Phillips (lead guitar, backing vocals), Mark Damon (bass), and Jamie Perkins (drums). Following the release of 2010’s Light Me Up, plus nearly two years of non-stop touring, the band entered Hoboken, New Jersey’s Water Music with producer Kato Khandwala (Paramore, Blondie, My Chemical Romance). But Hurricane Sandy had other ideas. In October 2012, the storm raged through the Eastern Seaboard, destroying the studio and forcing the group to re-record much of their new material. The album’s title track chronicled the devastating period.

Despite the initial setbacks, the band released their sophomore album in March 2014 to massive commercial success. Going To Hell debuted at No.5 on the Billboard 200, marking The Pretty Reckless’ first Top 10 album on the chart. Abroad, the LP fared equally as well, debuting at No.8 in the UK and No. 5 in Canada. Going To Hell was also embraced by the press, with Rolling Stone raving that the album “rages with the upbeat, beat-wise humor that hard rock has suppressed ever since grunge.” Revolver praised, “Momsen leaves most chick rockers in her rearview mirror thanks to her greatest assets — her daring arrangements and well-crafted tunes” while Kerrang! declared, “If Taylor is indeed going to Hell, at least she’s released a truly great album on the way down.”

The album also spawned several best-selling singles, including the anthemic “Heaven Knows,” the rollicking “Follow Me Down,” and the guitar-driven earworm “Messed Up World.” All three songs topped Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Songs chart, while just two years later, the band set the record for the most No. 1 singles on the chart by a female-fronted band, thanks to “Take Me Down” (off 2016’s Who You Selling For). The Pretty Reckless continued to defend their title with the release of their latest LP, which delivered three more No.1 hits: title track “Death By Rock And Roll,” “And So It Went” (Feat. Tom Morello), and “Only Love Can Save Me Now” (Feat. Kim Thayil and Matt Cameron of Soundgarden).

Released in February, Death By Rock And Roll found the band reeling after two tragic deaths. The first was Soundgarden frontman, Chris Cornell, who tragically passed away while on tour with The Pretty Reckless. The second was the band’s longtime collaborator, Kato Khandwala, whose signature phrase inspired the album’s title. The album, which paid homage to both men, allowed the group to process their grief while taking a more vulnerable and reflective tone in their writing. Marking The Pretty Reckless’ Fearless Records debut, Death By Rock And Roll was welcomed warmly by audiences and critics alike — debuting at No.1 on several charts including Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart and earning glowing reviews from a variety of outlets, including PEOPLE!, V Magazine, and SPIN, who hailed the album as “a stunner; a dozen stellar songs that are at once reverential, referential and intensely personal.”

The Pretty Reckless’ North American tour dates are below.

THE PRETTY RECKLESS ON TOUR: 
3/22 — Brooklyn, NY — Brooklyn Made
3/23 — Brooklyn, NY — Brooklyn Made

WITH SHINEDOWN:
4/1 — Spokane, WA — Spokane Arena
4/2 — Boise, ID — Extra Mile Arena
4/4 — Billings, MT — MetraPark
4/6 — Fargo, ND — Fargodome
4/8 — Green Bay, WI — Resch Center
4/9 — Peoria, IL — Civic Center
4/11 — Sioux Falls, SD — Denny Sanford Center
4/12 — Des Moines, IA — Wells Fargo Center
4/14 — Toledo, OH — Huntington Center
4/15 — Hershey, PA — GIANT Center
4/16 — Uncasville, CT — Mohegan Sun Arena
4/18 — Portland, ME — Cross Insurance Center
4/20 — Baltimore, MD — UMBC Fieldhouse
4/22 — Charleston, WV — Charleston Civic Coliseum
4/23 — Lexington, KY — Rupp Arena
4/24 — Grand Rapids, MI — Van Andel Arena
4/26 — Evansville, IN — Ford Center
4/28 — Wichita, KS — INTRUST Bank Arena
4/29 — Little Rock, AR — Simmons Bank Arena
4/30 — Birmingham, AL — Legacy Arena
5/ 3 — Greensboro, NC — Greensboro Coliseum
5/ 4 — Nashville, TN — Bridgestone Arena
5/ 6 — Greenville, SC — Bon Secours Wellness Arena
5/ 7 —Knoxville, TN — Thompson-Boling Arena

Fantasy Festival 2020 The Pretty Reckless

20 photos

The Pretty Reckless 2022 Tour Dates + “Going To Hell” on Vinyl first appeared on Game On Media.

2020 has been an atypical year for the music industry. The usual album and tour cycles have been turned on their heads. Some bands chose to hold their albums for when touring starts up again. Some bands found creative ways to release their albums, many with livestreams to go with it. Other bands took the opportunity to record and release unexpected music, and much more of that will be coming in 2021. In doing research for the end-of-year lists, I discovered new albums that I had not even known about, from bands I had only vaguely heard of. Here are our Five Fave: 2020 Metal Albums You May Have Missed.

5 – Odraza – Rzeczom

Odraza comes from Kraków, Poland and they sing in Polish. Their album “Rzeczom” is sonically similar to Germany’s Rammstein.

4 – Katatonia – City Burials

Katatonia is from Stockholm, Sweden. They returned from a well-earned hiatus with “City Burials”, an excellent album in the vein of Tool, Nine Inch Nails and Deftones.

3 – Dark Tranquillity – Moment

Dark Tranquillity hails from Gothenburg, Sweden, the birthplace of Swedish melodic metal. Three decades in, they dropped “Moment” in 2020, with 2 new guitarist joining the band. The sound is reminiscent of early Dream Theater.

2- Spirit Adrift – Enlightened In Eternity

Spirit Adrift is a metal project based in Phoenix, Arizona, which has been very active for 5 years. In 2020, they slimmed down to Marcus Bryant on drums and Nate Garrett handling everything else. The result is “Enlightened In Eternity”, which harkens back to the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal from the early 1980’s.

1 – Paradise Lost – Obsidian

Paradise Lost, from Halifax, West Yorkshire, England, has been consistently cranking out albums for 30 years. Their 16th, “Obsidian”, evokes the Seattle sound made famous by Alice In Chains and Soundgarden.

Five Fave: 2020 Metal Albums You May Have Missed first appeared on Game On Media.

Louder Than Life. The World’s Largest Rock ‘N’ Roll Whiskey Festival returned to Louisville, Kentucky on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 27 – 29, at its new home at the Highland Festival Grounds at KY Expo Center.

Produced by premier independent festival producer Danny Wimmer Presents, Louder Than Life delivered the most spectacular music lineup since the festival began in 2014, with performances from quintessential rock band Guns N’ Roses, the return of chart-topping festival favorites Slipknot and Disturbed, a reunited Staind (in their first public performance in 5 years), Godsmack, Rob Zombie, Ice Cube, Marilyn Manson, Breaking Benjamin, Chevelle, Halestorm, Dropkick Murphys, In This Moment, I Prevail, Deadland Ritual and many more.  In addition to more than 50 music acts on three stages, Louder Than Life featured award-winning bourbons, whiskey, spirits, craft beer, and the best food Louisville has to offer.

The centerpiece of this year’s event was Guns N’ Roses performing on Saturday night, September 28, 2019. After last year’s event was completely washed out when torrential downpours interrupted the Bourbon & Beyond Festival and destroyed the previous site’s festival grounds, the producer knew they had to deliver something special this year. There are few bands as legendary as Gn’R, and the current lineup featuring Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan resumed their global “Not In This Lifetime” tour this week after a 9 month hiatus.

The anticipation grew as fans waited for 45 minutes after the scheduled performance time, while a custom Gn’R Louder Than Life animated teaser video played on the screens. Finally a helicopter landed nearby, presumably delivering one of the most dynamic front men in rock history to the festival grounds. Minutes later, Duff McKagan walked out and began playing the intro bass line to “It’s So Easy”, as one by one the rest of the band took the stage and joined in. Frank Ferrer on the drums, Richard Fortus on rhythm guitar, Dizzy Reed on piano, Melissa Reese on keyboards, the one and only Slash on lead guitar, and finally the man, the myth, the legend – W. Axl Rose on lead vocals. The band that took the world by storm over 3 decades ago had announced their presence, middle finger to the sky.

They went on to play a full 3 hours of material, pulling from their entire catalog and splashing in some inspiring cover songs. Perhaps the most inspired was a beautifully arranged “Black Hole Sun” by Soundgarden. Velvet Revolver‘s “Slither” was a close second. The band sounded amazing. Axl was impressive overall, with a few moments of imperfection here and there, but let’s be real – this is live rock and roll – if you want perfection, listen to music alone in your bedroom. Guns N’ Roses is the epitome of epic grandeur, and experiencing songs such as “Coma”, “Civil War”, “Rocket Queen”, “You Could Be Mine” and “November Rain” live is all about the emotional release and shared passion. The true range of their talent and songwriting were evident when they began their encore with the classic Axl whistle on “Patience”, and ended it with the reckless abandon of “Paradise City”.

Guns N’ Roses set list at Louder Than Life 2019 at KY Expo Center in Louisville, Kentucky:

It’s So Easy
Mr. Brownstone
Chinese Democracy
Welcome to the Jungle
Double Talkin’ Jive
Better
Estranged
Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
Rocket Queen
You Could Be Mine
Shadow of Your Love
Attitude (Misfits cover)
Civil War
Yesterdays
Coma
Slash Guitar Solo (including Maggot Brain)
Sweet Child O’ Mine
Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd cover) (Slash and Richard Fortus guitar duet instrumental)
November Rain (Axl Rose on piano)
Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover) (with Alice Cooper’s “Only Women Bleed” intro)
Nightrain

Encore:
Patience
Madagascar
The Seeker (The Who cover)
Paradise City

Guns N’ Roses Welcomes Louder Than Life to KY Expo Center in Louisville first appeared on Game On Media.

The I Am The Highway: A Tribute to Chris Cornell concert was held at The Fabulous Forum in Inglewood, California on January 16, 2019. Chris Cornell died by suicide on May 18, 2017, after an extensive career with 3 bands that were worshipped by fans – Soundgarden, Temple Of The Dog and Audioslave. He also had a successful solo career, with memorable acoustic tours and soundtrack contributions. His friend Chester Bennington, lead singer of Linkin Park, also died by suicide 2 months later on what would have been Chris’ 53rd birthday, July 20, 2017. While the Chester Bennington tribute concert touched long and often on the topics of suicide prevention and mental health awareness, the Chris Cornell tribute was focused on the music that Chris created over the course of 33 years.

The Chris Cornell songbook spans so many styles and contains so many well-loved songs that it took 5 hours to do it justice. It also took an unprecedented combination of artists who crossed all artificial boundaries of music to offer their take on this classic material. Hollywood’s biggest stars showed up to introduce musical collaborations between members of Cornell’s family, his bands and admirers from the metal, rock, alternative, country, pop, reggae and R&B worlds. Fans braved the rain and Los Angeles traffic as they travelled from all around the globe to be part of this special night.

The show began with an introduction by Soundgarden members Kim Thayil, Ben Shepherd and Matt Cameron. Matt Cameron spoke about the journey to this night, and how he gained the strength to put this together by listening to all of Chris’ music. He introduced the first performers of the evening, The Melvins, one of the founders of the Seattle sound. The band featured Buzz Osbourne on vocals and guitar and Dale Crover on drums and vocals, along with 2 bass players, Jeff Pinkus and Steven Shane McDonald. They launched into a tight medley of grungy songs – “The Kicking Machine”, “With Yo’ Heart, Not Yo’ Hands”, “Leech”, “Let It All Be”, “Honey Bucket” and Soundgarden’s breakout hit “Spoonman”.

The organizers used a rotating stage with a center barrier of lights, so that they could quickly break down and set up while performers were playing. They also used videos on the large screens to help distract the viewers during transitions. The first video featured Cornell’s wife and children, along with many musicians and actors, who shared their love of Chris and vowed to keep the promise he made to protect the innocent and vulnerable. See https://thepromisetoact.org/ and #keepthepromise for more details. Pete Thorn played acoustic guitar, as Rita Wilson sang “The Promise”, from the movie of the same name, about the Armenian genocide.

Jimmy Kimmel emerged as emcee of the evening and reminisced about moving to Los Angeles 25 years ago to work at KROQ radio, about the time when Spoonman came out. He was very busy throughout the night, as the crew worked hard to set the stage between acts. Nearly every song had a different ensemble of musicians, so this was no small feat. During large changes, videos of some of Cornell’s greatest performances were shown, including a live video of “Ritual”, a live acoustic rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”, candid photos shown with his acoustic rendition of “I Am The Highway”, Soundgarden’s “My Wave”, and “Scar On The Sky” live.

Nikka Costa and Alan Johannes performed “Disappearing One”, a Chris Cornell song. Courtney Cox and Kaley Cuoco came out to speak about https://ebmrf.org/, the charity beneficiary of the evening. Chris Stapleton played another Cornell song, “The Keeper”. Then things turned up several notches as Foo Fighters took the stage. They tore through Soundgarden’s “No Attention”, “Girl U Want” and “Earache My Eye”. The band left the stage but Dave Grohl said he could not leave without playing one more song for Chris. He led the crowd through an emotional “Everlong” on electric guitar.

John Carter Cash talked about getting to know Chris when his father Johnny recorded “Rusty Cage”, how he could see that there was love inside. Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stone Age performed the song after explaining how people die but great music lives forever. Next to the stage was Adam Levine and Jesse Carmichael of Maroon Five and Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam who performed “Seasons” from the Singles soundtrack, which was one of the best moments of the night.

Miley Cyrus was the most surprising performer of the night, delivering a powerful rendition of Cornell’s “As Hope And Promise Fade” AKA “Two Drink Minimum”. She has come a long way since her Hannah Montana days, and she impressed everyone with her ability to deliver this song.

The next extended set was Audioslave with Tom Morello on guitar and Brad Wilk on drums. They rotated singers and bassists throughout their set. First up was Perry Farrell from Jane’s Addiction on vocals, and Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler on bass for “Cochise”. Actress Juliette Lewis replaced Farrell for “Be Yourself”, giving her all with a spirited performance. Jane’s Addiction’s Chris Chaney took over on bass as Rise Against’s Tim McIlrath belted out “Set It Off” with help from Sam Harris, and Brandi Carlile led the crowd through a heartbreaking “Like A Stone”. Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters blasted “Show Me How To Live” with Robert Trujillo of Suicidal Tendencies and Metallica on bass. Tom Morello took a moment to talk about his friend Chris, and how he had his demons, but he rode them for 52 years as a rock legend. His light will never be outshined. We will always have his beautiful voice and our love for him.

Showcasing how much of an impact Chris Cornell had on this world, some of Hollywood’s heroes stepped up to contribute. None other than Brad Pitt came out to introduce Chris and Vicky’s 14 year old daughter Toni Cornell, who performed “Redemption Song” (which she had performed with her Dad) with Ziggy Marley on guitar and backing vocals. Jack Black came out next, fawning over how Chris could sing a note that doesn’t even exist, which once sung, opened a portal to another dimension. He spent a few minutes chatting with the audience and the stage manager, giving the crew time to set up for the next act. Metallica’s James Hetfield strolled out for an impromptu jam of “One” with Jack.

Hetfield explained that they were grateful to be a part of this event, and there to have fun celebrating life. They had dedicated several songs to Chris during their 2017 performance at Rock On The Range, which Soundgarden had been scheduled to play the day he died. He also commented on how he absolutely loved the lyric “All your fears are lies” and how the band loved Soundgarden’s earliest, heaviest material. Metallica sandwiched 2 Soundgarden songs from their first album “Ultramega OK” – “All Your Lies” and “Head Injury” – around their own classics “For Whom The Bell Tolls” and “Master Of Puppets”.

Josh Brolin came on to announce that the Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation had raised over $1 million for homeless, poor, abused or neglected children. Vicky Cornell, was clearly overwhelmed with emotion, but she gave thanks to everyone for coming, and noting how the event showcases Chris’ contributions to music history across genres and generations. Ryan Adams came out with a full string section playing “Dead Wishes” and “Fell On Black Days”.

Jimmy Kimmel thanked all the artists and all the fans for attending, and then introduced the Temple Of The Dog set. Stone Gossard represented throughout on guitar, with Jeff Ament on bass for the final five songs. Matt Cameron, Josh Freese and Matt Chamberlain alternated on drums throughout the set. Alain Johannes handled most of the lead guitar duties. Nikka Costa sang “Preaching The End Of The World” with Brendan O’Brien on bass, and “Can’t Change Me” with Eric Avery on bass. Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall of Alice In Chains ripped through “Hunted Down”. Fiona Apple gave a classy, sultry turn on “All Night Thing”. Nikka Costa returned to back up Miguel, who gave perhaps the best vocal performance of the night on “Reach Down”, leading the arena through the soaring chorus. If that wasn’t the best performance, then it was Miley Cyrus rocking “Say Hello 2 Heaven”, with a heartfelt performance saying it was an honor to have sang this song and thanking Chris for bringing everyone together as he always had. Cyrus showed rock vocal chops and stage presence on this one. Brandi Carlile and Chris Stapleton finished the set with “Hunger Strike”.

Stone Gossard gave a speech, touching on how we were all there to share, grieve and celebrate a bluesman who turned his feelings into songs, and he thanked the universe for a complicated man who gave us all so much. Lilly Cornell-Silver, his eldest daughter shared that he loved what he did and he only did it because he loved it. Jimmy Page pre-recorded a video admiring Chris and his music and thanking him for his contributions to the rock canon. Christopher Cornell then introduced his Dad’s first band, the one that started it all, Soundgarden.

Matt Cameron, Kim Thayil and Ben Shepherd played 8 songs with all of the passion and desperation as if it were to be for the last time. Taylor Momsen of The Pretty Reckless, who had been opening for Soundgarden on their final tour, opened things up with “Rusty Cage”. Marcus Durant sang on “Flower” and “Outshined”, which featured Stone Gossard. Taylor Momsen returned for an intense “Drawing Flies” with 2 saxophone players, and “Loud Love” with Tom Morello and Wayne Kramer. Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins sang lead for “I Awake” and “The Day I Tried To Live”, both with Buzz Osborne of the Melvins. Brandi Carlile finished things off with Tim and Phil Hanseroth offering backup vocals on “Black Hole Sun”, and Peter Frampton joining in on lead guitar. Everyone left the stage, except for Kim and Ben, who played feedback through their instruments for what seemed like forever, with nobody wanting this night to end, and the finality of the loss of the greatest rock voice of several generations being gone forever hitting hard. After 5 solid hours of music, it was staggering to think of all of the legendary songs one man created, and all of the incredible tunes that were not even played that night. One thing was abundantly clear – Chris Cornell’s music, artistry and vibrations will surely live on.

The I Am The Highway tribute was a celebration of the life and music of Chris Cornell and benefitted the Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation as well as The Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to raising funds and awareness for this painful and debilitating genetic disorder. This was one of the causes that Chris cared deeply about and supported through his commitment to helping others. Ticket purchases also included a complimentary CD, Chris Cornell Career Retrospective Album, which features over 60 songs spanning his career with Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave, and his solo work. It is the first new Chris Cornell release since his death in May 2017.

Chris Cornell Tribute Unites Artists From All Genres first appeared on Game On Media.