​Today would have marked the 50th birthday of a bass guitarist named Clifford Lee Burton who played for a band called Metallica. You may have heard of them. Unfortunately, Cliff passed away in 1986 in a bus crash shortly before he would have turned 25. Of course, if you've ever had even a passing interest in Metallica, you're keenly aware of this. His presence can be felt all over their first three albums (see: "Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth)," Cliff's legendary bass solo, or that trademark bass intro to "For Whom the Bell Tolls") and his distinct absence can be felt on their first one without him, in the bass-less mix of ...And Justice for All.

Even now, 26 years later, his absence is still felt. Metallica have never forgotten Cliff or failed to acknowledge his part in where they are today. The year after his death, they released a videotape (this is what people used before DVDs and Blu-Rays existed, kids) entitled Cliff 'Em All which featured footage of Cliff's performances with the band taken from bootleg fan recordings. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with them in 2009. Last year at their 30th anniversary shows, they held a tribute to Cliff each night, featuring guest speakers such as Cliff's father Ray Burton, Scott Ian from Anthrax, and Jim Martin from Faith No More.

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Drummer Bill Ward, furthest right, has left the band.

​Black Sabbath's big reunion plans seem to be cursed. First, guitarist and the only consistent member of the band Tony Iommi was diagnosed with lymphoma. Then they had to drop out of playing Coachella due to Iommi's diagnosis. The latest speed bump for them is that last week founding drummer Bill Ward dropped out of the reunion citing a lack of respect in the terms of the contract presented to him by the Sabs camp. Sabbath has pledged to move on with the reunion without him. Dates, however, have been taken off of the official website and the only one they have confirmed will happen is Download Festival in their official statement on the Bill Ward matter.

I personally feel that Ward is irreplaceable. Simply put, without him it's not a true Sabbath reunion. I'll still go see them. But it won't feel completely right without him. That being said, since the band is committed to continuing without him despite the objections of purists like me, I decided to consider their options. After all, there's plenty of superstar drummers that could fill Ward's shoes that, while lacking the history with the band, may even add a thing or two to their new sound. Here's my top five.

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Photo By Groovehouse

Megadeth's Dave Mustaine in Houston in March 2010

​And just like that, my normally non-soiled jeans were not. Yes, March 2 the traveling metal bonanza Gigantour is hitting Houston's Verizon Wireless Theater, with Megadeth, Motorhead, Lacuna Coil, and Volbeat in tow. Are we excited? A little. Kind of a fan of Motorhead fan and all.

Megadeth last came through Houston in September 2010, with Slayer and Anthrax. Lemmy and company's last Houston date, in September 2009, ended with me having temporary hearing loss. Sweet, sweet deafness. You owe to yourself to at least experience the inability to walk due to sound at least once in your life. You can read more about Rocks Off's unhealthy Lemmy fixation here. The man just turned 66 years old.

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Dave Grohl and Ratt team up

​When Dave Grohl released his Probot project in February 2004, it opened a whole new world of metal to a new legion of kids whose only exposure to the hard stuff may have been whatever was on MTV or VH1 Classic. Here was Grohl teaming up with crusty scumlords like Lemmy, Wino of St. Vitus, Tom G. Warrior from Celtic Frost, and Mr. King Diamond, at a time when he was fronting one of biggest mainstream rock bands in the land, the Foo Fighters.

Today we get word from the metal press that Grohl recently spent time in the studio with Ratt members vocalist Stephen Pearcy and lead guitarist Warren DeMartini to record something the Foo maker is cooking up.

Is this a hair metal answer to the acid bath and throbbing gristle that was Probot? We sure as hell hope so, because with the current hairspray renaissance afoot, along with acts like Motley Crue and Guns N' Roses still in the thick of touring, the glittery stuff is hot, and in the right and reverent hands, this could be fun as a barrel of groupies.

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Yes, yes, shred until you bleed!

​Well, it's the day after Christmas and many of you probably have some holiday blues. Maybe you had a rough Christmas. Maybe your family is making you crazy. Maybe you didn't get that brand new navel ring you wanted or perhaps you filled up on so much food and egg nog, you can't seem to walk.

I feel your pain and in an effort to ease your suffering and give you back some of the energy you lost chasing your twin five-year-old nephews around the Christmas tree while they screamed "WE HATE YOU!" (was that just me?), I would like to offer you this belated Christmas gift. If Santa was ever going to stuff your stocking (ahem) with anything, wouldn't it be cool if it was shredder guitar players from the 1980's? I thought so. Happy head banging!

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​If there is one thing virtually all of us agree on when it comes to Thanksgiving, it is that we like to eat and we often do more of it on that particular day than we should. Apparently, heavy metal musicians are no different. In between blood-soaked shows filled with music that will melt your face, these guys (and gals) like to get their food on. Who knew?

Last year for Christmas, a good friend bought me Mosh Potatoes: Recipes, Anecdotes and Mayhem from the Heavyweights of Heavy Metal, proceeds of which benefit Meals on Wheels. Who says metal guys don't have heart, but can they cook? Sure, there are some really disgusting offerings like Lemmy's "Krakatoa Surprise," which is basically a mound of uncooked flour, chocolate syrup, refried beans, curry powder and strawberry syrup you smother in brandy and light on fire. He suggests you eat it while it is still burning. Oh, Lemmy. But, overall, there are some damn fine recipes in there.

For this Thanksgiving, I decided to compile a complete Thanksgiving meal with the recipes from the book and provide a little music video accompaniment so you can bang your head while you prepare dinner. Oh, and the entire book is available online at Amazon, so check out the full recipes there.

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​Today in Los Angeles, legendary, pioneering heavy metal group Black Sabbath convened in front of reporters at the Whiskey A Go Go to announce a 2012 reunion tour and album, set for a fall release. The event, hosted by Henry Rollins, was telegraphed by a countdown clock on the band's official site and a tweet or two from their Twitter account.

This past weekend at Fun Fun Fun Fest, Rollins was very excited about the event, himself being a longtime fan of the band and their imagery. We couldn't think of a better person to host a press conference announcing a Sabbath reunion. Or maybe Satan himself.

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Photos by Andy Buchanan

Anthrax 2011 (L-R): Scott Ian, Frank Bello, Joey Belladonna, Charlie Benante, Rob Caggiano

​After a tumultuous few years both musically and memberwise, New York thrash metal pioneers Anthrax will be able to close out 2011 on a pretty high note. In addition to releasing the critically and commercially acclaimed Worship Music - their first studio album in eight years, and first with classic-lineup vocalist Joey Belladonna in almost 20 - they've played "Big 4" concert dates with Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer, and launched their own headlining tour. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the band's founding.

But the creation of Worship Music could have tested the patience of a saint. After parting with the band post a successful reunion tour of the classic lineup, Belladonna was replaced by Dan Nelson, who sang on an earlier version of Worship. An acrimonious split led to dates with post-Belladonna vocalist John Bush, who then left, leading the band back to...Belladonna, who re-recorded Worship's vocals.

Got that?

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​Today we celebrate the death of Gilles de Rais. Back in the 15th century, de Rais took up killing children like it was going out of style, though some claim that he was framed by the Church so it could seize his lands. Here's what went down in the history books, though.

De Rais confessed to having begun kidnapping children sometime in 1432. His body count is supposed to be well north of 40 and may reach as high as 200. At first it was just ridding himself of children he sodomized so they would not implicate him, but then he moved on to ritual torture and necrophilia. There were also accusations of summoning demons using parts of dead children, but this aspect didn't really make up much of his M.O.

He was brought to trial in 1440, and on October 26 he two accomplices were hanged and burned.

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A wish many Houston music fans barely even dared to think to themselves, let alone utter out loud, came to pass when deadhorse returned from oblivion to face a nearly sold-out, wildly enthusiastic Warehouse Live crowd Saturday night.

From what Rocks Off could tell, about a third of the audience (including ourselves) was too young to have seen the band that all but patented the twisted brand of Texas thrash-metal known as "horsecore" during their original run, which ended in the mid-'90s.

Some looked like they weren't even born when deadhorse hung it up, but whatever their age, they had plenty of disposable income: Sales at the bar and merch booth were brisk, with many choosing to put on their brand-new deadhorse T-shirts over whatever they had worn to the show.

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