It’s no secret I’ve always held a special place in my heart for the likes of Doom Metal acts such as Saint Vitus, Trouble, or Pentagram, and the minute I heard the latter would be releasing their tenth studio album, I knew the chances were good that what they would be putting out would be, well, Lightning in a Bottle.
Sure enough, the moment the sludgy opening riffs to “Live Again” began kicking in, I knew it was music to my ears instantly. Tracks like “Solve the Puzzle,” “In the Panic Room,” and “Dull Pain” only further cement this.
Legendary frontman Bobby Liebling, currently at the helm of a completely new band on this record, may just now be making waves among legions of youth after recently going viral online. But for those of us who have already been there for a good chunk of the ride, we already knew how awesome he was. Welcome aboard.
With the likes of All That Remains and now Killswitch Engage each releasing new music, 2025 is shaping up to be a great year for metal (specifically NWOAHM) already.
The moment I heard and saw the video for lead-off single “I Believe,” I too quickly became a believer that Killswitch have still got it nine full-length albums in. This merely scratches the surface though on the album’s ten tracks.
“Abandon Us” opens up the record in true KSE fashion, while “Aftermath,” “Forever Aligned,” and “The Fall of Us” each contain their own moments of unbridled fury and greatness.
There’s a certain nostalgia that comes to me when listening to bands like Killswitch now, similar to the feeling one might get while hearing the many acts that came long before them. No doubt this music unites, and even as I write this very article from a hospital bed two days after having surgery (which is another story in itself), I somehow don’t feel completely alone in the universe right now.
After a lackluster season or two (especially the forgettably generic Season IV), the writers of CobraKai were thankfully able to return the show to form just in time for its sixth and final season.
Unlike previous seasons, this one was broken into three, five-episode parts that actually started as far back as last July, and finally culminated this past February 13. Once again the usual faces – including cast from the original Karate Kid film series Daniel (Ralph Macchio), Johnny (William Zabka), Kreese (Martin Kove), Chozen (Yuji Okumoto), and Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) – are all back on board for another round.
At the offset we find the next generation of fighters, lead once again by Miguel (Xolo Mariduena), Robby (Tanner Buchanan) and Samantha (Mary Mouser), headed to Barcelona to take part in a premiere international tournament known as the Sekai Taikai. Along the way there’s plenty of subplots involving individual journeys and self-growth, including one that finds Daniel digging deep into the past of his late mentor Mr. Miyagi (originally played by Pat Morita, who makes an appearance by the end of the season via some questionable CGI).
By the time we make it to the final episode, the nostalgia is on point (complete with a full montage featuring Joe Esposito’s “You’re the Best” from the 1984 original), leaving fans primed for the upcoming Karate Kid: Legends film no doubt.
Long before I ever met my wife/Rewind It Magazine Photographer Brooke (or even founding Rewind It itself, for that matter) there was a period of much uncertainty and loneliness for me. For several years I was a single father hustling to keep my head above water, working full time (often overnights) while freelancing as a music journalist on the side and raising my son (thank God for the likes of my parents and certain other friends and family for being there during that time period, too).
But one thing was always a definite; I could always count on the likes of Eddie Trunk, Don Jamieson, and Jim Florentine to be there for me each and every Saturday night via That MetalShow on VH1 Classic. It was a small bright spot that I always looked forward to to help ease the void that was still very much present back in those days.
Needless to say, when the chance to speak to one of the aforementioned hosts of this show that once provided me with so much comic relief way back when, I couldn’t say no. I was able to speak with Jim from his New Jersey home (yet another thing we share in common aside from our love of heavy metal – I too originally hail from the Garden State) this past Monday, February 17, where the subject matter encompassed much of his past and present endeavors.
Knowing Jim would be performing at The Social in Orlando, FL this upcoming Saturday, February 22, one of the first things I asked was how familiar he was with central FL. He told me; “I’ve been to Orlando a bunch of times and recorded two of my comedy albums there. It’s a great market for comedy – Florida just in general is really – there’s always great crowds there. I’ll be in Atlanta the night before on Friday as well, and I’m looking forward to just getting down there and out of the cold!” (Laughs).
Of course I had to inquire about his time on That Metal Show and what originally lead to it. He filled me in; “Eddie Trunk had a radio show in New York, and I became friends with him as well as Don Jamieson. One day he just said ‘I know someone over at VH1 that we’re going to pitch this heavy metal talk show idea to and see if they go for it or not.’ And they pitched it and got it, and it wound up being on for eight years or so. It was great little run we had.”
In the span of those eight years, the three co-hosts were able to interview some of rock’s greatest icons, and I wanted to know if there were any that really stuck out more than others for him. Florentine said; “Almost every episode we did there was someone there I couldn’t believe we were talking to! Whether it was Angus Young of AC/DC, Marilyn Manson, Ted Nugent, the guys from Rush, or even the late, great, Ronnie James Dio. And I didn’t even have to do any research because I’ve been wanting to ask these guys questions for years, which was great!”
As far as the trio’s relationships goes today? Jim stated; “Don and I still tour together sometimes doing stand-up. We’re all still friends, all still in New Jersey, so we still talk and hang out from time to time.” He continued; “If you grow up together liking heavy metal and still like it later in life, you still have those friends. You just bond over that music.”
Many of you may also recall Florentine voiced the characters of Bobby and Special Ed on the Comedy Central show Crank Yankers. I asked what that experience was like doing as well, to which he replied; “Well it was Jimmy Kimmel’s and Adam Carolla’s show, so when I would go in to record in the studio to make the calls, they would always be there as the producers of the show. Either way I couldn’t believe I was there getting paid to make prank phone calls (Laughs). I was just happy I had two characters though.”
As far as what else occupies much of his time now, Jim informed me; “I’ve been doing my podcast, Everybody’s Awful since 2011. I also do a music show on Ozzy’s Boneyard on Sirus XM. So I keep myself busy for sure.” Be sure to check all of these out, as well as Florentine’s Orlando show on Saturday night!
After more than forty-five years since disbanding after the loss of legendary drummer John Bonham rock royalty Led Zeppelin finally get the long-overdue documentary treatment that so many other contemporaries have since received before them.
The result is nothing short of extraordinary, with surviving members Jimmy Page (guitar), Robert Plant (vocals), and John Paul Johns (bass and keyboards) recounting the band’s early formation in great detail (Bonham also provides some post input via some never-before heard unearthed interviews).
Learning the paths that each member took in order to get from point A to point B is nothing short of fascinating, though those unfamiliar with the band might find their attention spans easily wandering. There’s also some early live performances thrown in to add to the excitement, though not one but two takes of the track “Communication Breakdown” is a bit of a head scratcher indeed.
The two-plus hour runtime might also cause some fatigue for non-fans, but overall it’s a well put together (and deserved) piece of immaculately shot cinema.
Sweden’s Crazy Lixx have been steadily climbing the ranks of rock for over two decades now, yet somehow feel as though they’re still one of rock’s best kept secrets. It’s been four years since the band’s last studio album, and Thrill of the Bite could not have come at a better time.
Kicking off their ninth full-length effort appropriately enough with “Highway Hurricane,” the band truly find their footing by the time they reach “Who Said Rock and Roll is Dead” and the six-minute “Little Miss Dangerous.”
Other tracks like “Hunt For Danger” and “Midnight Rebels” are fun enough. But the album’s finest moments find themselves sandwiched between the rest; “Call of the Wild,” “Recipe For Revolution,” and “Run Run Wild” are enough to make the likes of Whitesnake or Dokken proud just about any day of the week.
It might be easy for some to just write-off a band like Crazy Lixx and label them as “silly,” but make no mistake that this is the type of music with the power to motivate and make one take notice/feel alive again, and there’s not a damn thing silly about that.
It’s taken seven years for All That Remains to release their tenth studio album, and the band has no doubt gone through much loss and hardships in that time span (most notably the untimely passing of guitarist Oli Herbert). But as the old saying goes, all good things come to those that wait.
Since last May we’ve been getting snipets of new music from Antifragile, with songs like “Divine” and “Let You Go” being released as singles. By the time they got to “Forever Cold” last November, I was completely sold.
“Kerosene,’ “No Tomorrow,” “Blood & Stone,” and the title track are just a few more tracks that give off those 2010’s metalcore vibes. Frontman Phil Labonte has kept the ATR ship sailing admirably while aging with grace (unlike some contemporaries), and I look forward to seeing what is next for the band.
I can honestly say I did not have “critiquing the new country album by former Beatle Ringo-Starr” in my deck of cards for my first album review of 2025, but here we are.
Yet somehow…it actually works. The introduction track to Look Up for me was the title track and first single, which is just catchy enough in its simplicity. Other tracks like “Never Let Me Go,” “I Live For Your Love,” and the masterful “Time on my Hands” (no doubt the album’s highlight) sound worthy enough to stack alongside the likes of Cash, Williams, or Jennings nearly any day of the week.
There’s also guest appearances along the way from Molly Tuttle, Billy Strings, and Alison Krauss (among others). All in all, Look Up is far from a perfect effort, though a welcomed surprise from a music legend nonetheless.
A demonic, shadowy figure spreads doom, despair, and death upon a 19th-century German town. The story of Nosferatu originates from Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula, which set the stage for all vampire lore and mythology to follow. Along with Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein, two of the horror genre’s greatest monsters were created.
The 1922 silent film Nosferatu was my gateway into German Expressionist films of the 1920s, which included The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), The Golem (1920), and Faust (1926), among others. The golden age of German cinema culminated with Fritz Lang’s epic sci-fi masterpiece Metropolis (1927) and his equally brilliant mystery thriller M (1931), starring Peter Lorre.
This period of innovation and landmark filmmaking ended upon the collapse of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Nazi Party, which subsequently turned the film industry into a propaganda machine for their twisted goals.
As an unofficial film adaptation of Bram Stoker’s famous novel, Nosferatu was accused of copyright infringement by the Stoker estate. German courts ruled all copies to be destroyed, but several prints survived. It remains one of the most influential horror films of all time.
2024’s Nosferatu embarks as a tribute to the original silent film and Expressionist filmmaking. The familiar story of Dracula is told through a landscape of dreamlike visuals, fantastic settings, foreboding doom, and grotesque imagery. Unfortunately, it fails to realize its potential as a memorable Gothic horror film.
Director Robert Eggers delivers grandness to this obvious passion project. There’s no doubt he’s a talented filmmaker. His eye for authenticity in set design, costumes, and dialogue is admirable and immersive. I liked The Witch (2015) but never saw The Northman (2022). And I’m not a fan of The Lighthouse (2019).
Ultimately, I was taken with Nosferatu’s style, atmosphere, and darkness, but something didn’t quite add up. Its deliberate pacing and attention to detail should have left little room for confusion, whereas Eggers does exactly that.
His attempts to bring something new gloss over pivotal details and turn Nosferatu into a tale of possession, obsession, and psychic connections. Aside from muddled character motivations, the plot unfolds conventionally in the fictional 19th-century town of Wisborg, Germany.
Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult), newlywed husband to Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp), is summoned to a remote castle in Transylvania by his employer Herr Knock (Simon McBurney) to finalize a real estate transaction with the mysterious Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård). Herr Knock (aka Reinfeld) is actually a devoted servant to the Count, aiding him in his menacing quest.
After an arduous journey, Hutter finds himself captive in Orlok’s castle unable to warn his wife of impending doom. The Count purchases property in Wisborg after seeing a small portrait of Ellen on her husband’s locket. He then travels by ship with coffins of cursed earth and unleashes a plague of disease-ridden rats upon the unsuspecting town.
Hutter escapes, returns home, and finds his wife in the throes of demonic possession. A sympathetic doctor, Dr. Wihelm Sievers (Ralph Ineson), can’t determine what’s wrong with her. They then enlist the aid of disgraced Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz (Willem Dafoe) to save Ellen and stop Count Orlok before it’s too late.
Hutter and Von Franz are, of course, based on Jonathan Harker and Dr. Abraham Van Helsing from Stoker’s novel, and the film reuses most of the names from its 1922 predecessor which changed them to avoid similarities to Stoker’s novel. Dafoe also naturally stands out, bringing some much-needed warmth and humor.
Perhaps the greatest treat is the depiction of Count Orlok famously played by Max Shreck in the original. Skarsgård’s portrayal may be polarizing, but it completely worked for me. His deep, menacing voice, thick accent, labored breathing, and guttural growls were jarring and fascinating to behold.
Largely shot within shadows, Orlok looks the part of a repulsive and immortal recluse from the Carpathian Mountains, replete with decayed skin, long, claw-like hands, and a thick mustache. Keeping his appearance a secret from the trailers and movie posters was also a genius stroke in advertising, as his brooding, mysterious presence carries the film.
This is no romanticized vampire tale either. As an ominous prophet of doom, Orlok embodies pure evil and leaves behind a wasteland of apocalyptical horror in his wake. Scenes of a desolate, disease-ridden Wisborg are chilling and harken back to the profound bleakness brilliantly captured in Werner Herzog’s 1979 remake, Nosferatu the Vampyre. There are also lots of rats, so consider yourself warned.
Nosferatu’s tragic tale of sacrifice lives on in an effectively dark and sinister reimagining. Though it’s not a movie without flaws. Those expecting a conventional big-budget horror experience might be disappointed. Random jump scares employed throughout worked on the audience but mostly annoyed me.
The results make one long for the visual splendor, excitement, and coherence of Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), which remains a modern-day classic, in my opinion.
Conversely, the movie’s trappings could also be its strong points. If Eggers had simply remade Nosferatu, emulated Coppola’s vision, or modernized the story to make it more accessible, it would be something else. It wouldn’t be art in all its confounding glory.
It’s interesting going from a rock bio like Alex Van Halen’s, the last book I had reviewed prior to Tom Selleck’s recent memoir You Never Know, to essentially the polar opposite with the much more reserved actor Selleck’s life story.
I knew much of the Magnum P.I. actor’s work before diving into his book, but never put much thought into just how his (or many other actors for that matter) career had begun. From juggling time in the army reserves, a love of playing baseball, and more or less stumbling upon attending an entry-level acting program via a major film studio, there’s no shortage of intrigue or grace for the extremely fascinating and respectable journey he has taken and put into print here.
As a child of the ’80s, I’ll confess I always wanted to be one of the “good guys” I saw on TV and in film, and in full disclosure, in my adult life I may or may not have at one point actually worked as a licensed Private Investigator (well, an intern at least) thanks in part to Selleck’s previously mentioned-role as one. Surely that kind of influence on people has got to stand for something.
But I digress; there’s a good amount of actor’s around from my childhood today that I don’t necessarily maintain much respect for after all of these years. Selleck definitely does not fit in this category; read You Never Know and you’re sure to find out why for yourself.
