Thanks to Sidney from Slogan’s Rock and Metal Extravaganza for inviting me to send in a video for this Poison-ous episode! (Logan declined to appear – not a Poison fan!) I was recently asked to participate in this list show, picking my favourite songs from each Poison studio album. Of course, I had to do something different, so I included Swallow This Live too, so that I could use one of their best singles “So Tell Me Why”. You will also get a list from Tim Durling in this video featuring Sidney and his guest Joseph Suto.
It’s pretty easy to slag Poison; I should know as I get enough troll-y comments about them. However, as you will see below, Poison have plenty of great material. You could make your own “best of” from these lists that are better than the ones you can buy at retail.
BONUS video: Some Poison-ous backstory with Sidney and some OCD…
Tim’s Vinyl Confessions Ep. 654: In Praise and Defense of BON JOVI
If there is one band who takes the lion’s share of derision in the rock community…it is probably Poison. If there is one band that takes all that derision unfairly…then we come out in defense of New Jersey’s favourite sons, Bon Jovi.
There is much to say in criticism of Bon Jovi. Are they a real band? Is Jon the best singer in his own band? There are already plenty of videos about that, so here is one that takes the opposite tack: in praise and defense of Bon Jovi.
Joining Tim in this episode are myself, Chez, Jose, Chris Preston, John Snow, Drew, and Steve Deluxe. Enjoy the hardy defense!
My written review of the Darkness’ new album Dreams On Toast will take some time, as there are 29 tracks to discuss. 29 tracks?! Why yes, including the five studio bonus tracks, six live ones, and eight acoustic demos. Nevermind that it’s one of the best new releases of 2025. These things take time!
Don’t worry though. Tim Durling has you covered. On Tim’s Vinyl Confessions, they already reviewed the album, and now I’m here to tell you about the bonus tracks. Let’s rip through ’em all like something that’s hot on your tail. Check this video for all the bonus track details for Dreams On Toast!
Who better to talk about extra songs than Mr. Bonus Tracks himself, namely Mike Ladano of @GrabAStackofRocK! We attempt to sort through the various paths and travels one must make to procure all of the Darkness goodness of 2025. Or something like that.
Please welcome back bicyclelegs, from the YouTube channel bicyclelegstalksmusic! He is the first guest to make a return visit to 50 Years of Iron Maiden. He got to talk about two of his favourites, Powerslave and now Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.
It’s another historic Iron Maiden album. Not just songs with common themes about topics such as “time”, but this time Iron Maiden completed their first and only full concept album. The topic was quite esoteric: a seventh son of a seventh son. Such people, born from an unbroken line of seventh sons without daughters in between, were rumoured to posses powers of healing or foresight. What if such a character found himself a pawn in a game of power between good and evil? Not every song on this album is a sequential part of the story, but together we try to walk you through the plot and the twist ending.
Musically, Iron Maiden were using keyboards, which caused some controversy. Though Bruce Dickinson was back in the game and contributing songs and lyrics for the first time in four years, it was a time for change. One member of the band found himself unhappy on tour, and the band’s longtime cover artist was also frustrated with his artistic expression. We cover all this tonight on the show.
Not only that, but as usual you can count on us to cover all the B-sides* (and one unique A-side). Physical product will include an original Seventh Son vinyl, a multitude of singles including a shaped picture disc, and of course CD. As per our custom, Harrison will walk us through the setlists for the tour.
Can I Play with Madness? Scream for us, YouTube, and enjoy this comeback episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden.
*The only B-sides we will not include in this episode are the tracks from “Infinite Dreams”, which were all re-released on Maiden England, a future live episode.
Airing Friday May 9 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube.
No show tonight, as Martin is off and the rest of us need a break.
Having these shows on Wednesdays all winter really did me a lot of good. It gave me something to look forward to in the middle of the week during the cold dark months. Now that summer is arriving, I cannot say what my involvement will be in the future. We haven’t discussed a topic for next week yet, and there is the question of how many more album cover topics there are, that are both interesting and allow for a large panel. We’re also losing a couple cast members for the coming weeks, as John Clauser is on hiatus and another is taking a break.
Stay tuned… we’ll see what next week brings! In the meantime, why not check out one of these cool subjects below?
50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 11: Somewhere In Time
With special guest Peter Kerr
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #101
Exit Pharaohs…enter synth!?
Please welcome Peter Kerr from Rock Daydream Nation to this epic episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden. Now that we are done with the 100th Episode festivities, we can get back to celebrating the 50th anniversary of Iron Maiden. After the lengthy Powerslave tour and resultant live album Live After Death, one member of Iron Maiden was completely burned out. The new album would be the first since The Number of the Beast to lack a Bruce Dickinson writing credit.
Not that this major detail held anything back. Bruce’s singing was still lung-burstingly powerful, and the band were writing amazing songs…this time with guitar and bass synthesizer. It was a controversial decision, but our panel was not phased. Check out what we have to say about all eight tracks, and all four B-sides.
We also take a serious deep dive into the album artwork, without any help from Wikipedia or other sources.
As usual, we close the show with Harrison’s deep dive into the tour (Somewhere On Tour) and setlists.
Scream for us, YouTube, and enjoy this comeback episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden.
Airing Friday May 2 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube.
A fun topic this week with a lot of variation: album covers featuring timepieces of any kind! Though a challenge at first, it became easier once I allowed myself to think outside the box a little bit. Unfortunately Peter Kerr cannot join us this week, and John Clauser is now on a sabbatical, so it will be a smaller group tonight.
I’ll be ready. What time is it? 7:00 PM EST!
THE CONTRARIANS – Rock Out With Your Clock Out! – Wednesday April 30 – 7:00 PM EST
This fun short video features Harrison walking us through his very first CD collection photo. You can see Young Harrison was already into Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden, but why, and how? Harrison walks us through them all in this fun nostalgia (and metal) filled episode.
Scream for us, YouTube! Dan Chartrand and I have reunited for this fun episode about nostalgia and dreams. So you wanna be a rock star? We’ll tell you what not to do!
In this incredibly fun episode, Dan will tell you about his rock star ambitions which eventually resulted in three CDs by Dead Culture Society. He’ll also tell you about “turning down” the bass player job in Quiet Riot, and pissing off Rudy Sarzo to an extreme degree. (Never make fun of the way Rudy licks his fingers when playing bass.)
I dug up some things from my teen years, dreaming of being a rock star. I found the original script for my remake of the “Nothing But A Good Time” music video, and some postcards from my partner in crime Bob Schipper. We talk air bands, buying our first guitars, and the art of swinging them over our shoulders. Learning to play? Not important! Getting the stage moves right was what we focused on.
Please join us for this incredibly fun and occasionally hilarious trip down memory lane, and give Dan a like and subscribe! We will be back!
I am humbled. Though I had planned this episode as a tribute to the co-hosts and guests, I was gladdened to see record views and a lively comments sections from old friends and new ones too.
This episode was a celebration of the people who help bring Grab A Stack of Rock to life. I was joined by Jex Russell, John Clauser, and the Mad Metal Man himself, Harrison Kopp. Together we too a trip down memory lane, spotlighting highlights from the entire history of the show.
In the comments section, Broadway Blotto himself congratulated us on 100 episodes. It was quite a surprise and I could not be further humbled, but here I am. Thank you Broadway for your support. Your correspondences have been invaluable and the show is only the better for it!
Finally, we showed off some new arrivals in our collections, and did an unboxing. Because that’s our roots and the kind of stuff we used to do!
Join us next week for the return of 50 Years of Iron Maiden!
List of everyone who has ever joined me on Grab A Stack of Rock to date:
mikeladano.com 