Exploring Rock's Hidden Gems - The power of B-Side tracks

  The Gospel According to Gore: A Rock ’n’ Roll Halloween Mass They say the gates of Heaven are guarded by angels with harps. But on Halloween night, when the amps roar to life and thunder rolls across the graveyard, it’s the fallen rockers who keep watch — tuning up their instruments for one last encore. This isn’t your average Sunday service. This is The Rock Resurrection Mass — the night when saints, sinners, and sound engineers of the underworld come together for the loudest liturgy in eternity. Because rock, my friends, was never truly evil. It was always resurrection in disguise. The Resurrection Gig The fog rolls thick over the stage — an altar built from shattered drum kits and cracked vinyl. Out of the mist steps Keith Moon, smashing cymbals just to announce his arrival. Bonham follows, hammering the thunder that shakes open the crypt. Then the lights flicker red, and Alice Cooper emerges, top hat tilted, cradling a live snake like a rosary. From the shadows, Lemmy grins. ...

  Rock’s Anti-Heroes: The Beautiful Monsters When rebellion became religion, and outlaws became icons Every generation has its villains, and rock ’n’ roll has made an art form out of them. They’re the ones who sneer at the system, who crash the party and steal the spotlight. They aren’t the clean-cut idols of pop—they’re the beautiful monsters of music, the ones who bleed on stage and dare you to look away. As Rocktober’s roar grows louder, we celebrate the anti-heroes—those from every corner of the globe who turned shock, scandal, and sheer nerve into sound. The Godfathers of Mayhem – The MC5 (USA) Detroit, 1969. The MC5 weren’t just loud—they were a revolution wrapped in feedback. Their stage shows were political rallies set to explosive distortion. “Kick Out the Jams” wasn’t a song; it was a manifesto. While America tried to tame its youth, Rob Tyner and Wayne Kramer set it on fire. Arrests, blacklists, riots—none of it silenced them. They were the blueprint for punk’s rebellion...

  Real-Life Rock Horrors When the music stopped — and the nightmare began. Rock has always flirted with the macabre — skulls, serpents, and shadowy riffs — but sometimes, the horror isn’t part of the act. It’s real. It’s raw. And it’s written in blood, broken strings, and tragedy. This week, as Rocktober screams toward its finale, we dive into the true horror stories that shook the rock world — and the eerie B-sides that echo those dark moments. Altamont, 1969 – The Day the Music Died Again What was meant to be the West Coast Woodstock turned into a nightmare. The Rolling Stones’ free concert at Altamont Speedway spiraled into chaos when violence erupted — and 18-year-old Meredith Hunter was stabbed to death by Hell’s Angels right before the stage. The dream of peace, love, and music ended that day — replaced by paranoia and pain. B-side pairing: The Rolling Stones – “Through the Lonely Nights” (1974) A forgotten gem from the It’s Only Rock ’n Roll sessions. Mournful, haunting, and...

 The Legacy Lives On: Rock’s Modern Monsters Rock has never really died — it just keeps finding new monsters to roar through the noise. From the thunderous riffs of the ‘70s to the stadium-sized choruses of today, the spirit of rebellion, volume, and visceral power has only evolved. The next generation isn’t imitating — they’re resurrecting, reshaping, and reigniting that primal energy that made rock dangerous again. Today’s monsters wear fresh faces, but the bones of the beast are the same — raw, loud, unapologetic. Ghost – Theatrical Darkness Reimagined Few modern acts embody the grand spectacle of old-school rock like Ghost. Tobias Forge’s masked army blends the satanic theatrics of Alice Cooper with the grandiose hooks of Queen and Blue Öyster Cult. Songs like “Cirice” and the B-side gem “Zenith” channel eerie harmonies, melodic menace, and lush production — the kind that turns every concert into a ritual. Ghost isn’t just keeping the pageantry alive — they’re perfecting it for...

  Real Rock Monsters -  The beasts that crawl from the amps. October brings out the shadows — and rock’s always had a thing for monsters. They’ve stalked its riffs, haunted its lyrics, and roared from its stages since the very beginning. Whether they’re born of fame, fear, or fantasy, these songs remind us that rock was never meant to be tame. Today, we raise the volume and unleash five “monster” tracks that capture the spirit of Halloween — loud, larger-than-life, and a little bit dangerous. Skillet – “Monster” (2009) “I feel it deep within, it’s just beneath the skin…” Skillet’s powerhouse anthem isn’t about the creature under your bed — it’s about the one inside your head. With a pounding heartbeat of drums and a guttural growl of guitars, “Monster” turns inner demons into headbanging therapy. It’s Halloween fuel for the soul that won’t stay silent. Imagine Dragons – “Monster” (2013) A reflective kind of fright. Dan Reynolds howls about the cost of being seen — about fame t...

  Titans of Volume: The Beasts That Built Rock How the loudest bands on earth turned sheer noise into art. There’s a moment when volume becomes more than sound — it becomes visceral. It rattles glass, shakes floors, and stirs something primal inside. That’s where the Titans of Volume came alive — bands who didn’t just play loud, but felt loud. In the early ’70s, a new kind of power emerged. Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and AC/DC weren’t content with melody — they sculpted entire worlds out of distortion, feedback, and ferocity. Their amps were cathedrals; their riffs, hymns of rebellion. The Volume Wars: Turning Chaos into Craft These bands weren’t chasing noise — they were perfecting it. What separated them from imitators was control — knowing when to explode, and when to pull back just enough to make the next crash feel seismic. Zeppelin blended thunder and blues like alchemists of sound. Sabbath slowed it down, turned it darker, and invented an entirely new language...

  In Memory of Ace Frehley — The Original Spaceman Before we blast off on this cosmic ride through rock’s farthest frontiers, it feels only right to tip our hats to one of the galaxy’s true explorers — Ace Frehley. The “Spaceman” of KISS didn’t just play guitar; he launched riffs into orbit. His shimmering solos and out-of-this-world persona helped turn rock into something galactic — loud, luminous, and limitless. So tonight’s journey is for you, Ace. May the stars keep your rhythm. The Rock n Rollers Guide to the Galaxy Because the meaning of life isn’t 42. It’s “B.” The B-side. Prologue: The Great Vinyl Hitchhike In a universe filled with noise — political chatter, social media feeds, overproduced singles — there exists a small, shimmering corner where truth hums quietly beneath the static. It’s called the B-side. Douglas Adams once told us the most useful item for intergalactic travel was a towel. Wise advice. But if you truly plan to survive a cross-galactic journey, you’ll als...

  Wildcard Wednesday: Legends, Myths & Rock Alchemy When fantasy bleeds into reality, myths are born — and in rock, every myth has a riff. From whispered pacts with the devil to cosmic jam sessions under the stars, rock’s most mysterious tales exist somewhere between magic and melody. These weren’t just musicians — they were myth-makers, alchemists turning power chords into prophecy. Today, we dive into the real-life myths behind the music — the places where spellbooks met soundboards, and riffs resonated with something far deeper than the charts. Led Zeppelin — The Deal, the Darkness, and the Myth That Wouldn’t Die No band embodied rock’s mythic aura quite like Led Zeppelin. The tale of Jimmy Page selling his soul at the crossroads may be nothing but folklore, yet somehow… it fits. Page’s fascination with Aleister Crowley, the infamous occultist, gave fans all the fuel they needed. Owning Crowley’s former home on the shores of Loch Ness, dabbling in esoteric texts, and weaving...

  The Dreamers of Rock “In the dreamscapes of rock, some artists didn’t just play music — they built worlds.” Rock has always been the language of rebellion, emotion, and release — but for a few, it became something even greater. It became a portal. A place where myth met melody, and imagination blurred into reality. These were the dreamers — artists who didn’t just want to play on Earth, but to rewrite its skies. Marc Bolan – The Cosmic Poet Marc Bolan didn’t walk this world like the rest of us. He glimmered through it — a stardust troubadour spinning tales of wizards, elves, and electric warriors. He once said he was from another star, and when you listen to T. Rex’s “Jewel” (B-side to Ride a White Swan), you believe him. The song drips with mystery — a hazy shimmer of glam and cosmic poetry, like he’s channeling messages from a world only he could see. Bolan wasn’t escaping reality; he was re-enchanting it. His music turned the mundane into the mythical — and made glitter a form...

  Madness in the Music (Hidden Gems) When rock went off the rails — and found its soul. Every once in a while, rock loses its mind — and somehow finds its truest voice in the chaos. The greatest madness in music didn’t happen under stadium lights or on the A-side of a single — it lurked in the shadows, buried deep in B-sides where artists could truly lose control. These are the songs that broke rules, bent genres, and sometimes sounded like the result of a beautiful nervous breakdown. But that’s where the magic was born. The Sound of Madness There’s a strange brilliance in the offbeat, the unpredictable, the “what on earth were they thinking?” moments of rock. On the flip side, musicians let their instincts lead. Studio experiments, late-night takes, lyrical detours — sometimes those misfits became masterpieces. These tracks remind us that the best art often teeters on the edge of sanity — and that the heart of rock has always been a little unstable. 5 Hidden Gems of Controlled Cha...

  Madmen, Misfits & Masterpieces – The Obscure Ones Somewhere beyond the headlines and the polished anthems, rock’s true spirit lives in the shadows — in the cracked voices, the warped guitars, and the souls who burned too bright to last. They didn’t fill stadiums or chase perfection. They screamed, bled, hallucinated, and sometimes completely fell apart — but in their chaos, they left behind some of the most haunting, honest music ever made. These are the obscure madmen of rock — the forgotten prophets who turned madness into melody. 1. Roky Erickson – The Psychedelic Prophet Before psychedelic rock was a genre, it was a fever dream — and Roky was its wild-eyed messenger. Fronting The 13th Floor Elevators, he screamed through reverb-heavy tracks that sounded like acid and gospel had collided. Then came the real madness — paranoia, institutionalization, and years of battling demons both real and imagined. But even through the fog, he wrote songs like “Two Headed Dog” and “Blood...

  Monday Madness – The Birth of Chaos Rock was born in madness. It still lives there. There’s a certain pulse in rock music that’s never quite behaved — a twitch, a wild grin, a scream from somewhere deep in the human gut. From the moment distortion first hit tape, rock carried the DNA of madness. It wasn’t just rebellion. It was release — a beautiful, electric kind of chaos that both terrified and liberated the world. The birth of rock was the birth of mayhem: speakers blown to smoke, guitars turned to splinters, fans leaping barricades, and artists who looked more like outlaws than entertainers. Yet behind the smashed hotel rooms and parental outrage, there was something deeper — a raw honesty. Rock wasn’t about being polished. It was about being real. And when that honesty couldn’t fit on the A-side, it found a home on the flip — the B-side, the shadow track, the place where madness could breathe freely. The Who – “Heaven and Hell” (1970 B-side) If chaos could sing, it would sou...

  Dirty Dismembering: Nobody Takes Baby’s Axe Rock fiction has always thrived on the “what ifs.” What if Elvis never made it to Sun Records? What if Kurt survived? And, in this case… what if Dirty Dancing wasn’t a cheesy romance but a heavy-metal horror slasher? Welcome to Dirty Dismembering—a tale soaked in blood, riffs, and the most brutal B-sides. Act I: Welcome to Kellerman’s Hell In the original film, Baby and her family arrive at Kellerman’s Resort for a wholesome summer. In our reimagined nightmare, Kellerman’s is an abandoned mountain lodge squatted by a metal cult. The “guests” aren’t here to do the cha-cha—they’re here for an unholy underground festival where every dance ends in dismemberment. Baby, still naïve, wanders into the wrong room. Instead of a forbidden dance party, she finds a blood-slick basement mosh pit, where guitars scream, chainsaws roar, and bodies aren’t so much moving to the rhythm as being sawn apart by it. 🎶 Soundtrack B-side #1: “E5150” – Black Sab...