A Taste:

Clutch, Mastodon, Metallica, Eagles of Death Metal

So what was Mudvayne main man Chad Gray doing before he left for the Pedal to the Metal Tour?

“I was working on my house and then we had to go,” laughs Chad. “I go back to that handyman root that I have—working on the floors, painting, drywalling and stuff like that. In situations such as those, I turn on the radio, find the rock station and jam out.”

Chad’s home improvement got slightly interrupted by his band’s current tour schedule, but you can catch Mudvayne destroying arenas all summer with Black Label Society. In order to keep that energy on the road, Chad cranks a lot of his favorite hard rock and metal bands. He shared his playlist with ARTISTdirect.com in this exclusive feature.

Check out Chad’s playlist below and catch Mudvayne on tour now!

Chad Gray’s Playlist:

1. Clutch — Blast Tyrant

I’ve been listening to a lot of Clutch, man. I’ve been listening to Blast Tyrant over and over for like a year. All of my favorite Clutch tunes are on Blast Tyrant. That record fucking touched me. Neil’s such a fucking badass.

2. Mastodon — Crack the Skye

The new Mastodon is fucking phenomenal!

3. Bury Your Dead — It’s Nothing Personal

The new Bury Your Dead is awesome. I’m not just saying that because they’re on the tour with us either [Laughs]. Those guys are great.

4. Eagles of Death Metal — Heart On

That shit is badass too!

5. Metallica

Metallica, Slayer, Clutch, Mastodon—that’s generally what I listen to.

6. Slayer

—Rick Florino
08.03.09

A Taste:

Mastodon, Kings of Leon, M.I.A., Black Sabbath

“The beauty of the world is, there’s something for everybody,” says iconic skinsman Matt Sorum [Velvet Revolver/Guns N’ Roses/The Cult/Camp Freddy] with a smile.

He’s right, and diversity is definitely one plus side of modern music.

Matt continues, “People can find so many things to satisfy themselves. I don’t think one form of music is better than another. If some people dig pop that’s cool. It’s up to the person who likes it. Would I rather go back and listen to Led Zeppelin IV? Yeah, I would. That album still makes me experience that entire feeling that I did when I first heard it. I went, “Fuck!’ and then it just became part of my life and my essence.”

In between producing The Darling Stilettos, running his boutique Sorum Noce and pounding out some of the biggest rock n’ roll grooves ever, Matt Sorum sat down with ARTISTdirect.com to talk music. He opened up his iTunes and gave us an exclusive look at what he’s spinning. Check out his playlist below!

Matt Sorum’s Playlist:

1. M.I.A.

I got into M.I.A. because of my girlfriend. She buys more stuff than I do. She still goes and buys records, which is cool!

2. Kings of Leon — Only By the Night

I listened to this album and went, ‘Wow, these guys have really found their niche!” They had this Southern rock thing going on and then they made this album with these great vocals, very simple structures and melodies. It said something too. It had great guitar tones. Everything was very simple but majestic like an early U2 album. I’ve heard dashes of that when I first listened to Rattle and Hum.

3. The Killers

I think the Killers are coming into their own and turning into a class-A band. I saw them at Coachella, and they were stellar.

4. Mastodon — Crack the Skye

I really got into Mastodon. Their new album is awesome. Brendan O’Brien produced it, and I thought the tones were really cool.

5. Alice In Chains

I’m very excited about their new stuff. When we toured with them, I realized that I forgot how many fuckin’ hits they had. They waited and were respectful. God bless them. Why shouldn’t Alice In Chains be on tour playing those songs?

6. Darling Stilletos

I’ve been producing this group and we’ve been dabbling in listening to a lot of older stuff lately. We’ve pulled out stuff I love—The Clash, David Bowie and The Stooges. I turned all of these young girls onto this stuff. Let’s recreate the message here! Why does rock n’ roll make people feel good? When I was a kid, it was a lifestyle for me.

7. Black Sabbath — Vol. 4

The greatest era of rock n’ roll ever was the ’70s. Sorry, it was. Where could you find a band like Black Sabbath on the same stage doing a concert with Earth, Wind & Fire and The Eagles on the same day? It was California Jam 1974. The headliner was Emerson, Lake & Palmer. What happened to the fuckin’ world? The closest thing I’ve seen to it is the Coachella lineup. Shit’s so stagnant. When one band blows the doors off, the whole culture will change. It’s going to turn on a fuckin’ dime.

8. AC/DC — Back In Black

With this album, AC/DC were like, “We’re back, and we’re going to throw down the rock.” That’s fuckin’ heavy [Laughs].

—Rick Florino
06.29.09

A Taste:

The Melvins, Willie Nelson, Porter Wagner

Mastodon’s Troy Sanders is a true Southern boy. Even though he plays in metal’s most progressive quartet, the Atlanta native loves country. One look at his playlist, and it’s clear that Troy’s got quite eclectic taste.

“My five-CD player at home is still loaded up with the same CDs,” he laughs with a giant grin. “I rarely take out my five classic country albums. That’s my music for cooking, cleaning and all things home-y [Laughs]. I’ve got Willie Nelson, George Jones, John Prine and Porter Wagner. It’s all classic country. Nothing new and exciting to tell you on that end, unfortunately [Laughs].”

Troy still is listening to “a little old and new,” and he gave us an exclusive peek at his playlist.

Take a look at what Troy is spinning below and be sure to check out Mastodon’s latest epic, Crack the Skye.

Troy Sanders’ Playlist:

1. The Melvins

“Last December we played with The Melvins in HTC in England. They gave me a copy of their 1983 Mangled demos. I didn’t have a version of that. They were a totally different band.”

2. Willie Nelson – Red Headed Stranger

3. George Jones

4. John Prine – Best of John Prine

5. Willie Nelson & Johnny Cash – VH1 Storytellers

6. Porter Wagner

7. Norma Jean — The Anti Mother

“I just picked up the most recent Norma Jean record. They’re our Atlanta buddies.”

—Rick Florino
03.24.09