Really Cool Music Collaborations That Time Forgot.
By Edtrader Oct. 11th, 2022
Biohazard-ONYX
1993 saw the movie Judgment Night getting a heavy push for success. To help with the promotion, a soundtrack album was released. A music video and single for the song by the same name were needed for MTV and radio. Rap group ONYX was hired to do the song but invited a special guest. That being the heavy metal band Biohazard.
The film had a group of white guys surviving a night in a crime-filled black neighborhood. So, the idea was to mix a white group with a black group. The two enjoined the song so much that they later did a song called Slam on a later ONYX album. The entire Judgement Night soundtrack was a collaboration between metal and hip-hop artists.
Which MTV promoted very well. Claiming it to be an artifact of the 1990s. The album was supported by national prime-time TV ads. As well as the movie did.
Why was it forgotten: Aerosmith and RUN-DMC defined the hip-hop and rock connection for the 80s. While Anthrax and Public Enemy defined it for the 1990s. A good rock and hip-hop collection can only come around every so often. Anthrax and Public Enemy wasn't even accepted, as well as Aerosmith and RUN-DMC were.
So, these two come along shortly after the Anthrax and Public Enemy song Bring The Noise. It just came too close to that union's coattails. Like Batman And Robin was a sequel that came too close to Batman Forever. So, the union, as well as Judgment Night the movie and soundtrack, wasn't all that successful.
1993 saw the movie Judgment Night getting a heavy push for success. To help with the promotion, a soundtrack album was released. A music video and single for the song by the same name were needed for MTV and radio. Rap group ONYX was hired to do the song but invited a special guest. That being the heavy metal band Biohazard.
The film had a group of white guys surviving a night in a crime-filled black neighborhood. So, the idea was to mix a white group with a black group. The two enjoined the song so much that they later did a song called Slam on a later ONYX album. The entire Judgement Night soundtrack was a collaboration between metal and hip-hop artists.
Which MTV promoted very well. Claiming it to be an artifact of the 1990s. The album was supported by national prime-time TV ads. As well as the movie did.
Why was it forgotten: Aerosmith and RUN-DMC defined the hip-hop and rock connection for the 80s. While Anthrax and Public Enemy defined it for the 1990s. A good rock and hip-hop collection can only come around every so often. Anthrax and Public Enemy wasn't even accepted, as well as Aerosmith and RUN-DMC were.
So, these two come along shortly after the Anthrax and Public Enemy song Bring The Noise. It just came too close to that union's coattails. Like Batman And Robin was a sequel that came too close to Batman Forever. So, the union, as well as Judgment Night the movie and soundtrack, wasn't all that successful.
Van Journey.
Imagine Van Halen doing a song with Journey. Sounds like a good team-up... Maybe not so after all.
Journey's guitarist Neal Schon met Sammy Hagar while he was still touring with Montrose. The two would jam together when their paths would cross. And spoke of doing an album together. Journey was going to take time off, so he finally called Sammy and got the project together. They added bassist Kenny Aaronson and drummer Mike Shrieve. With the additional musicians, the band was called Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve. Nicknamed named HSAS the group lasted for only a very short period.
Why was it forgotten: It was too rushed of a band. Rehearsing for a few short weeks before releasing their only album. I was actually recorded in concert. Just the audience noise was cut out to make it sound like a studio album.
But MTV heavily promoted this venture. Including broadcasting an entire concert of theirs. November 15 in San Francisco, California. Instead of going on tour and doing promotions, Neal went back on tour with Journey while Sammy did a solo album. Kenny Aaronson says Neal and Sammy thought they could just lay back and the album would just sell... Which it did not. Sammy echoed that feeling, saying they had done everything wrong.
Imagine Van Halen doing a song with Journey. Sounds like a good team-up... Maybe not so after all.
Journey's guitarist Neal Schon met Sammy Hagar while he was still touring with Montrose. The two would jam together when their paths would cross. And spoke of doing an album together. Journey was going to take time off, so he finally called Sammy and got the project together. They added bassist Kenny Aaronson and drummer Mike Shrieve. With the additional musicians, the band was called Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve. Nicknamed named HSAS the group lasted for only a very short period.
Why was it forgotten: It was too rushed of a band. Rehearsing for a few short weeks before releasing their only album. I was actually recorded in concert. Just the audience noise was cut out to make it sound like a studio album.
But MTV heavily promoted this venture. Including broadcasting an entire concert of theirs. November 15 in San Francisco, California. Instead of going on tour and doing promotions, Neal went back on tour with Journey while Sammy did a solo album. Kenny Aaronson says Neal and Sammy thought they could just lay back and the album would just sell... Which it did not. Sammy echoed that feeling, saying they had done everything wrong.
Black Zeppelin
In 1973, Sabbath were recording their Sabotage album. It just so happened that Led Zeppelin were in a studio down the hall. When John popped his head in to say hi. The band was in the middle of the song Supernaut when John said, Let's record that. So, he jumped in on the drums with drummer Bill Ward.
Soon after, Zeppelin's John Paul Jones and Robert Plant came looking for John. They heard Sabbath with John jamming to this cool song. So, they decided to join in as well. So, there it is—six (Sabbath's Geezer Butler was there as well) of the heaviest rock players in one room. Recording the same song and saying how great it would be to have this song out.
The members of Zeppelin would come over to Tony Iommi's house quite often to play. And he said he's got quite a few of those tapes still.
How was it forgotten: Unfortunately, Sabbath was signed to Warner Bros/Vertigo Records. While Zeppelin was signed under their own label. It's hard to get artists from different record labels on the same album. There's a lot of paperwork between the two different companies. It was even harder than it is now. It's something that has to be done in advance, and there is a lot of paperwork. Copyright issues, royalties, etc.
So, it just wasn't meant to be. Sabbath's record company was already ripping off Sabbath's money. But they didn't know it at the time. So legally, it just couldn't work. Tony Iommi has said he still has the tapes from the session. So maybe someday.
In 1973, Sabbath were recording their Sabotage album. It just so happened that Led Zeppelin were in a studio down the hall. When John popped his head in to say hi. The band was in the middle of the song Supernaut when John said, Let's record that. So, he jumped in on the drums with drummer Bill Ward.
Soon after, Zeppelin's John Paul Jones and Robert Plant came looking for John. They heard Sabbath with John jamming to this cool song. So, they decided to join in as well. So, there it is—six (Sabbath's Geezer Butler was there as well) of the heaviest rock players in one room. Recording the same song and saying how great it would be to have this song out.
The members of Zeppelin would come over to Tony Iommi's house quite often to play. And he said he's got quite a few of those tapes still.
How was it forgotten: Unfortunately, Sabbath was signed to Warner Bros/Vertigo Records. While Zeppelin was signed under their own label. It's hard to get artists from different record labels on the same album. There's a lot of paperwork between the two different companies. It was even harder than it is now. It's something that has to be done in advance, and there is a lot of paperwork. Copyright issues, royalties, etc.
So, it just wasn't meant to be. Sabbath's record company was already ripping off Sabbath's money. But they didn't know it at the time. So legally, it just couldn't work. Tony Iommi has said he still has the tapes from the session. So maybe someday.
#1. David Allen Pantera.
David Allen Coe is one of the last still living, great county musicians of all time. The same era that brought us Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, etc. While Pantera is one of the hardest-living heavy metal bands of all time. Too bad the country-metal album Coe did with the Pantera members thirty years his junior hit deaf ears. Yes... the heavy metal band recorded, after singer Phil Anselmo was gone, an album with David Allen Coe on all vocals. But it was more than just Coe singing. Rebel Meets Rebel was really an effort to mix country music and metal. Giving us a chance to hear a violin played over a crunching guitar lick.
They met as David Allen Coe had a brief cameo in the Pantera music video Revolution Is My Name. But being from Texas, the band loved his music. A few years later, Pantera hadn't officially broken up. But without Phil's knowledge, the other members started to write and record an album together.
Why was it forgotten: Their only album was released six years after it was recorded. The album was done between the years 2000 – 2003.
But once Pantera's Dimebag Darrell was killed, the album was never finished. It remained in tape form, and no release was in sight. It wasn't until 2006 that Pantera's Vinnie Paul finished and released the album. In 2000, Pantera was a huge act. By 2006, they were only half as popular. Being they had been broken up for five years.
David Allen Coe is one of the last still living, great county musicians of all time. The same era that brought us Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, etc. While Pantera is one of the hardest-living heavy metal bands of all time. Too bad the country-metal album Coe did with the Pantera members thirty years his junior hit deaf ears. Yes... the heavy metal band recorded, after singer Phil Anselmo was gone, an album with David Allen Coe on all vocals. But it was more than just Coe singing. Rebel Meets Rebel was really an effort to mix country music and metal. Giving us a chance to hear a violin played over a crunching guitar lick.
They met as David Allen Coe had a brief cameo in the Pantera music video Revolution Is My Name. But being from Texas, the band loved his music. A few years later, Pantera hadn't officially broken up. But without Phil's knowledge, the other members started to write and record an album together.
Why was it forgotten: Their only album was released six years after it was recorded. The album was done between the years 2000 – 2003.
But once Pantera's Dimebag Darrell was killed, the album was never finished. It remained in tape form, and no release was in sight. It wasn't until 2006 that Pantera's Vinnie Paul finished and released the album. In 2000, Pantera was a huge act. By 2006, they were only half as popular. Being they had been broken up for five years.