The Metal Command Show

07/24/2025

Ozzy Osbourne passed away a legend. I have had a couple days to collect my thoughts on this and have even had a few people from some pretty well known bands reach out to me and had a few conversations about the "Prince of Darkness". A lot of sad folks over this and rightfully so. We grew up with this man's music and he inspired generations of heavy metal fans not to mention being part of a band like Black Sabbath who laid out the foundation for an entirely new genre of music known as Heavy Metal. The man gave it 110% one last time on stage back on July 5th 2025 despite all of the physical ailments he had, despite having parkinsons and despite anything else he was suffering from. Dude is a legend and always will be and to this day there has never been a singer who sounds anything like him.

I convey my thoughts in this video.

In the comments, i'd love to know what your favorite album is that Ozzy sang on, maybe some memories of seeing him live or meeting him and/or what the first album of his that you bought/heard.

07/23/2025

What was your first album with Ozzy singing? This is the first one I ever bought. Paid $11.99 for it back in 1993. I became a fan of the Ozzman and Randy all on the same day. If CDs could wear out I would have worn this one out within a year.

I will be recording a podcast tomorrow about Ozzy and reflecting on how iconic he really was.

There is only one word I can think of any time his name gets mentioned:

Legend

-Tony

07/22/2025

Ozzy Osbourne passed away, I have even more mad Respect for him because he went out on stage one last time, despite being in absolutely terrible health and left it all on the stage giving 110%. A true showman and he went out a legend. RIP He will be missed.

07/20/2025

I remember when I first ended up getting into Iron Maiden it was right around the time Bruce Dickinson had left the band. He became my favorite singer in music at that time even though metal was going into the dark ages. Then I remember reading a list of new releases in Metal Edge magazine back then and seeing that Bruce was coming out with a new album called "Balls to Picasso".

Seeing how big Maiden were I immediately went down to a local music store near my house called "Music For You" which no longer exists now to preorder the album, basically me leaving a small deposit so I can get the album first, but I remember thinking people would be lining up to pre-order this. The dude kind of laughed at me because I was probably one of the only people who cared about this album at that time period. At the time I didn't know that.....but by then Metal had all but died in America but I was really into it.

I still have my original CD that I bought, I also have the double disc remaster and back then I also found the double live album shortly after called "Alive in Studio A/Live at the Marquee" both on CD and Vinyl at the time.

I went back and revisited this record again. So many quirky songs on it that I forgot I liked "1000 Point of Light", "Sacred Cowboys", "Shoot all the Clowns", "Tears of the Dragon", "Gods of War" etc. If you have the remaster there are a couple of remixes of "Shoot all the Clowns" and a lot of other interesting tracks.

I always thought this album was different than anything Bruce has ever done and have always been intrigued by it.

The new "Reimagined" version of this album comes out soon and I will post a review of it soon. I even dug up an old interview with Roy Z talking about the recording of this record and how he met Bruce.

How many of you like this album?

07/20/2025

Here is my review for the new Primal Fear album coming out called "Domination"

Primal Fear has long been a favorite band of mine for the last 27+ years and their new album comes out on Reigning Phoenix Music September 5th 2025. Not long ago you saw and heard my latest interview with Primal Fear frontman Ralf Scheepers

Well now I review the band's new album and revisit a couple clips from my interview with Ralf. I am curious what you think of the new singles released by Primal Fear so far and would love to hear what YOU think in the comments. Happy watching/listening!

07/19/2025

The new NefariousOfficial album is out and they play their first show tonight! Here is Doug Piercy and Rick Hunolt talking about Katon De Pena's vocals on the album!

07/18/2025

Were they at a Coldplay concert?

07/18/2025

Hung out with Matt Barlow from Ashes of Ares last night for the show. Interview coming soon!

07/17/2025

Ok here it is everyone, the review many of you were waiting for. My review of the new Helloween album entitled "Giants & Monsters" which comes out August 29th 2025 on Reigning Phoenix Music

A few things about the record:

The album flows better and for me, the songwriting is better than the last album I think it's a step up from the last album.

Kai Hansen wrote two of the best songs he has ever written for this record and I love the sci-fi/alien theme of both tracks.

Sascha Gerstner in my opinion wrote the two best songs he has ever written for the band.

Andi Deris wrote a song called Into The Sun.....the lyrics hit home with me on a personal level more than any song he has ever written

Overall the performances if everyone in the band were on point and I give a short track by track description of each song plus deep dive into the album here. Enjoy!

07/14/2025

Imagine a guy who hasn’t made a good record since 1997 having the audacity to want to charge his former band $1 million to play a solo….lol

Yngwie Malmsteen Wants $1 Million to Play One Song On New Alcatrazz Album, Gary Shea Confirms
https://rockcelebrities.net/yngwie-malmsteen-wants-1-million-to-play-one-song-on-new-alcatrazz-album-gary-shea-confirms/

07/14/2025

Who’s going?

Truly can't wait to get back out with our friends Sonata Arctica and give "Underworld" its final curtain call!
Can't wait to finally unleash the next chapter in our 30+ year Journey!!
TICKETS ON SALE NOW!
---> https://bnds.us/zwnq7z

07/14/2025

If you’re in the USA, want to know why your favorite band from overseas won’t or can’t come here to go on your? Many times it’s because of stuff like this. Also let me throw in there that they raised the fees when it comes to getting your visas if you want to come here. I’ll give Glenn from ProgPower USA a lot of credit for sticking it out through all this crap. Most people would have given up at this point.

Vanden Plas cancel ProgPower USA festival appearance.

In my 24 years as a promoter, I have never come close to experiencing the challenges of this year. Honestly, if this type of year would have happened previously, the festival would have already been retired. I know I have your sympathy, but the stress has reached levels that have begun to physically affect me. The absolutely most frustrating part is that every single instance this year has been beyond my control. There was nothing I could do about it. In fact, I took every step to either prevent it or resolve it and gained zero traction as I have successfully in the past. Make no mistake, I'm just as pi**ed as you are about things this year. Honestly, even more than you.

Vanden Plas had all of their visas preliminarily approved by the USCIS. They scheduled their consul interviews immediately after they were approved to obtain the physical visas. There were no issues as they have received visas in the past as normal. Through a totally random series of events at the German consul, one interview could not take place as scheduled. We explored all avenues of expediting the interview date so the visa could be obtained prior to the festival. We were told student visa application backlog was causing severe delays. I went so far as to hire a lawyer in the UK that specializes in assisting with visas and consul interviews with over 10 years experience. Regardless of the efforts and additional money I spent, there was still no guarantee of success. With all of the obstacles in place, the band felt they had no choice but to cancel now rather than leave me in an even more difficult position. They are absolutely crushed by the entire situation. I will announce the replacement within 48 hrs. There is no need for band replacement submissions as I started work on it this past weekend.

I have one more festival to say goodbye. I refuse to go out on bended knee. All sorts of potential visa scenarios have been taken into account and discussed with all bands before they were confirmed for next year. You have stood by me for over two decades and trusted me to provide you with a first class experience. I hope you will do the same next year as I close out my legacy.