He'd probably say groove metal though there's really not much of it on that album. There are more melodic moments and such but it's more thrash than anything else. True American Hate and Rise Up, anyone?

A link on that Nikki claim? And where does he get off saying that about Bruce?

I was always under the impression that Burr quit over constant touring. I'll have to check this out again.

I thought Paul was kicked out because he refused to perform in big venues, and wanted to keep Maiden as an underground thing.....

Im guessing Agent Steel hates Anthrax:

http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/af3/MercyfulSaint/AgentSteelLyricsheet_zpsb1d3e1de.jpg

The story, as I read it, was the Paul was the self-sabotaging type. The bigger Maiden got, the more fucked up he'd get and it was clear to the band that they couldn't get to the next level with him. Paul's been pretty open about his partying. He may have wanted to keep it underground, but that's also a good excuse for the self-sabotaging type (and I'm not saying that everyone who wants to stay underground is like that).

lol @ that shitty mallcore band insulting the guys from Venom, sure Cronos may be a bit terse but I've heard rumors of Dez being just as much of an asshole to the bands that tour with those Hottopic fixtures as well.

Im guessing Agent Steel hates Anthrax:

http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/af3/MercyfulSaint/AgentSteelLyricsheet_zpsb1d3e1de.jpg

I looked through my copies of Mega Metal Kerrang #3 and #4 (1986) last night. In MMK #3, Scott Ian stated that John Cyriis tried to start a fight with a road crew member, and then was sarcastic that John Cyriis would return to the planet he came from in 2011. In MMK #4, a female fan defended John Cyriis in a letter. This fan is listed on the Agent Steel thank you list that says "NOT Anthrax." Also, the Fates Warning album "Spectre Within" has Anthrax listed in its "No thanks to" section.

So more or less what I expected. Ian and Belladonna are well-known douchebags, and Cyriis' reputation for being a fucking loon certainly seems like it could extend to his being a dick as well. Not surprised about the Fates Warning liner notes, either, as Anthrax pissed off a lot of people in their time.

Frank, what exactly have you heard about Joey?
Because I too, have only heard that Scott is the douche el grande of that band.

A few friends of mine who worked the Mayhem Fest all told me that he was a colossal dick. Rude as hell to the staff, arrogant, pushy, obnoxiously demanding, and extremely unpleasant to be around in general, which happened to be the exact same things they said about Ian. Surprisingly enough, they said that Benante was actually pretty chill for the most part, while Caggiano and Bello apparently kept to themselves. I don't know if that was an off night or what (this was at the Mass date), but one of them was friends with someone who worked at the Corfu, NY show and who more or less said the same thing about him.

Really surprised me when I saw that for the first time, because up to that point I 1) didn't know that Dio cussed (I always saw him as an extremely polite person) and 2) just couldn't imagine the man himself hating someone so much. Still, it's not like Campbell ISN'T a backstabbing bastard.....

You should hear the Canadian radio interview Dio gave in 1981 where he called Ozzy "an animal...a stupid human being." I loved RJD, but that was a stretch too far, especially since in the same radio special Ozzy was very polite about Ronnie.

Sorry, it was actually the other way around. Dio said that Clampbell had called him the most despicabe person alive.

Definitely agreeing with Lilker on Neil Turbin. Lilker did alright with Nuclear Assault and SOD, but Turbin has kind of dropped off the radar a bit.

I read once that Dave said "That Queensryche guitarist looks like Jamie Lee Curtis". Hmmmm....wonder who he was referring to.

There is about 5% (if that) thrash on the new album. Each of the big 4's most recent albums had more than that (even though I strongly dislike 50% of them). I like "The Dark Roots of Earth" (mainly because of the solos), but to say that it tops The Big 4's output is ludicrous.

Actually Ilwhyan, there's a video on YouTube where Dio says some seriously nasty shit about Vivian. You can look it up if you want to.