Hollywood Vampires, the self-described "best bar band in the world", consists of core members and rock legends Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp and Aerosmith's Joe Perry, together with guitarist Tommy Henriksen. Books, media, tickets, Rammstein, Die Ärzte, Die Toten Hosen, Feine Sahne Fischfilet, Broilers, New Balance, Böhse Onkelz, Funko Pop! The Vampires make it cool to be a rock star again; only Keith Richards is missing to complete the ultimate level of awesomeness (but Depp‘s pirate look from his Jack Sparrow / Richards influence gives the vibes that the latter could be there in spirit). The accompanying music video shows the sheer magnitude of this concert and the reactions that this song still evokes in people — even 55 years after it was written. These guys play music together purely for fun, choosing covers which have impacted them throughout their life and career and adding that ever-elusive sense of genuine enjoyment to their music.

The 16-track album Rise is one of the purest, most unapologetic and enjoyable rock and roll albums of recent times, made by masters of the craft and true fans of the form. I'm not really a fan of the Vampires (even though I like everyone involved in the project) so I'm surprised that I like this album as much as I do. Their tradition is to play a riotous tribute to the great lost heroes of music and their own original material, released on their recent studio album Rise. However, I was interested when I saw the Hollywood Vampires release Live In Rio from their 2015 show.

Live In Rio has expertly captured a moment in time that until now has been immortalized in only the minds of those fortunate enough to have been there. I too am early retired giving me more time to listen to my fave bands…GnR, Maiden, Acdc and my first loves Rainbow and DP.

And just like that, Johnny was writing, Joe was writing, Tommy was writing, I was writing … and we just all kind of put it together while I was on tour. And let’s face it, if The Rolling Stones will no longer play the great “Brown Sugar,” the villain Cooper will with his army of vampires ending the show with the crowd loving every second of it, singing along and showing that hard rock and classic music is still wanted around the world.The second album had more originals and only three covers but was released after this recording and so, unfortunately, doesn’t feature here. Starting with a quote from the movie “Dracula” talking about the Children Of The Night and “what music they make” is a perfect intro for the original song “Raise The Dead. At times he almost has a Joey Ramone type thing going on on this version and I think it really works.

The name has its origins in a drinking club created by Alice Cooper in the 70s; it became the perfect name as Cooper, joined by Joe. Unlike their 2015 debut record, the latest album consisted mainly of original material, written by the band. The studio excellence transfers well to their live set, it is something to behold on a live recording from 2015 at the Rock In Rio festival, imaginatively titled Live In Rio.Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Azerbaijan Republic, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde Islands, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Fiji, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon Republic, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Republic of the Congo, Reunion, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Swaziland, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Virgin Islands (U. In 2019, HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES completed a triumphant seven-city North American tour which included a sell-out show at the famous Greek Theatre in Los Angeles and were voted the "best performance" of 2018 at London's Wembley Arena. Rock in Rio is not only one of the most famous festivals, but also the origin of the Hollywood Vampires' first live album. My live music collection is limited only because most of the time, I’d rather spend my money on a concert release via DVD or Blu-ray if I want to see a band in a live setting, as opposed to getting a music-only release.