Last week, we went on the lighter side of the spectrum of music with a hard rock classic in Street Fighting Man by The Rolling Stones and between Motley Crue and Tesla, you voted and chose Motley Crue as the winner by half the votes. This week we have another hard rock classic for you guys to vote on, but this is a unique one because it’s a battle of metal subgenres. This week we are checking out the classic 1984 track Perfect Strangers which was the title track to Deep Purple’s 11TH studio album (check out the review here). The album was iconic because it featured the return of Deep Purple’s famous Mark II lineup consisting of Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord, Roger Glover, and Ian Paice. Now you are probably wondering what two bands did I find that covered the track that pin certain metal sub-genres against each other? In one corner, we have progressive metal legends Dream Theater who covered the track for their 1995 EP A Change Of Seasons. In the other corner, we have legendary symphonic black metal legends Dimmu Borgir who covered the song on their 2010 album Abrahadabra. Now only one version can prevail and it’s up to you to make the choice. You have until the next War Of The Covers to decide.
Another week has passed and another war is finished as all of you came by and you voted as to who covered Kiss’s War Machine better. Was it Amon Amarth or was it Six Feet Under? Well, you voted and Amon Amarth came out on top by one vote. When it came to deciding this week’s War Of The Covers, I wanted to go on the hard rock side of things and find a track that some legendary 80’s bands have covered. I found it int he form of the classic 1968 Rolling Stones classic Street Fighting Man which was off of the band’s legendary album Beggar’s Banquet. The two bands we chose for you guys to fight over is none other than 80’s Hair Metal giants Mötley Crüe and a band that should have never been looped in that conversation in Sacramento hard rock legends Tesla. In 2005, Mötley Crüe covered the track for their 2005 greatest hits album Red, White, and Crüe as part of three unreleased never before heard tracks. In 2007, Tesla would include a cover of the song as part of an all covers album entitled Real To Real which also included covers of Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, Guess Who, and many more. Now it’s up to you guys to decide who you think did the better cover of Street Fighting Man, is it the bad boys from Hollywood Mötley Crüe or is it Tesla? You have until the next War Of The Covers to decide.
It is here, the moment you have all been waiting for when we separate the men from the boys. Two bands are one step closer to realizing their goal of winning the pedal to the metal championship which has seen the likes of Motley Crue, Judas Priest (2013 & 2014), Kreator, and Destruction (defeated Iron Maiden to win championship) all win the pedal to the metal championship. I was wondering heading into this tournament if we would finally see someone other than Judas Priest go back to back, but after three rounds of fan voting, we are going to once again have a brand new champion. In fact, all four bands in the final four have never been this far in the tournament which makes it even more exciting and this is also the first time in three years that not a single member of the Big Teutonic Four are in the final four. For Lamb Of God and Amon Amarth, this is the first time these two bands have been in the tournament so it’s a win no matter the result for both these bands. For tournament veterans Queensryche and Megadeth, this is a chance for both bands to finally win the championship that has been alluding them both since 2011 when the tournament started. You have until March 28 at 11PM ET to vote for who you want to see in the finals. I want to remind people that without the bands sharing the tournament, there is no tournament. This is a fan base vs fan base tournament so vote for the band you love and show your unity. If you forget how it works then follow this 
Last night was Alumni Takeover Weekend over at Bridgewater State University’s radio station WBIM 91.5FM. The reason it’s special and why I did a show is because that is my Alma Mater and I was a DJ at the radio station where I hosted the show Pedal To The Metal. It’s a tradition that has been going on for some time at the school during Homecoming weekend where alumni of the station will come and take over the station for a weekend. It’s an awesome tradition that I wish was more than just one weekend a year because it’s so nice to run into some familiar faces and hear some stories from some of the guys that came before you. I want to go ahead and thank John Coombs for putting this together once again and I hope he feels better, it wasn’t the same without him there. I also want to thank the school for allowing us to do this and the current staff at WBIM for allowing us to come and takeover the station from them. Here is my playlist from that featured a special Black Sabbath medley (of sorts).
“We’re told Nic and Vince were inside when a woman came up to Nic and asked for an autograph. Our sources say Vince allegedly got behind the woman, grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to the ground. The video we got shows the end of a fight between Vince and Nic. Our sources tell us Nic was trying to restrain Vince and calm him down, taking him outside the hotel and into a car. Nic is screaming at Vince, imploring him to calm down.” That is what TMZ is reporting right now about an altercation between cult film actor Nicolas Cage and former Motley Crue singer Vince Neil. They are reporting that the incident took place according to police around 5PM Las Vegas time yesterday (April 7). In the video that TMZ posted you can see Nic physically restrain Vince and he’s yelling at him saying, “Stop this s–t now!” TMZ also reported, “Cops tell us Vince was cited for battery and never taken to the station.” To check out the full video that was caught on camera, check it out 
The Pedal To The Metal March Madness style tournament is coming back and once again it will be decided by you the fans. You will be given all of the matches and the brackets followed by the opportunity to vote. This year, we are doing things a little different this year and we have updated the tournament as far as bands are concerned and the divisions have new names. There is the Lemmy Kilmister division (formerly the Hard Rock division), teh Jeff Hanneman division (formerly Thrash Metal division), the Chuck Schuldiner division (formerly the Extreme Metal division), and the Ronnie James Dio division (formerly the Power Metal divsion). One of the new rules, we have enforced is that if you’re band is no longer functional (meaning touring, recording, etc.) then you will not be in the tournament. That sees the exit of a lot of bands that used to participate in the tournament.