Rock Ramblings: New releases that will keep you rockin’ in 2018

By Medicine Hat News on January 11, 2018.

Happy New Year, from me — the new guy in the 105.3 Rock family — to you!

Last time around, our producer, Melissa, wrote about some of the biggest rock songs of 2017, and where they placed on our year-end “Rock 20 Countdown.” Today I’m looking ahead a bit, at a few highly anticipated rock releases for this year.

Jack White, formerly of The White Stripes, but still a member of The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather, is set to release his third solo album sometime in 2018. His first two solo sets, “Blunderbuss” (2012) and “Lazaretto” (2014), were both universally accepted, so I’m expecting nothing less than excellence once again from one of the most respected musicians of the past 20 years. In addition to the new album, White will also be headlining several music festivals in the spring, including the “Shaky Knees” music fest May 4-6 in Atlanta, “Boston Calling” May 25-27, and “The Governor’s Ball” in New York June 1-3. If you’re a fan of Jack White, or the Stripes, I highly recommend you indulge in his other two bands mentioned earlier, especially The Dead Weather, wow.

Tool is one of the most enigmatic yet popular hard rock bands of all time. They sell out concerts without even having new music to showcase at the gigs, as evidenced by last year’s sold out North American tour; tickets were completely gone in minutes. Rumours have been floating around for the past three years as to when Tool would finally get some new music out to their rabid fanbase, and it seems to have been confirmed last fall, that this would be the year. Tom Morello, guitarist for Rage Against The Machine, and Audioslave, had the opportunity to listen to some of the new tracks while visiting Maynard James Keenan & Co. in the band’s studio and had nothing but glowing reviews for what he heard. One or two of the members in Tool have also stated that 2018 would indeed see the release of new material from the often cryptic outfit. Their last release, “10,000 Days,” came out back in 2006.

Stone Temple Pilots have had a very interesting history, to put it mildly. Almost from their beginnings at the start of the grunge era to present day, there hasn’t been a time when STP wasn’t making waves in one way or another, usually because of something original lead-singer — the late Scott Weiland — was doing (drugs). Even through the on-again off-again relationship the band had with him, Stone Temple Pilots always persevered musically. In 2013 STP enlisted Chester Bennington to take over vocals, releasing a five-cut EP called “High Rise,” before Bennington went back to full-time status with Linkin Park in 2015. Since then, the band had been searching for a new singer, and they revealed his identity, along with a slick new single back in November. Jeff Guttis is his name, the new track is called “Meadow,” and I think it’s a vintage sounding Pilots tune. The prowess and legend of Weiland aside, there’s no denying the musical sound of STP is due to the band’s DeLeo brothers, and I’m looking forward to their new studio album, which will (hopefully) be out this year.

Happy listening, keep rockin’ and all the best to you in 2018!