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Dickie Peterson (that awesome-looking dude in the center here (and yes, the guy on the left looks pretty awesome, too)), who succumbed to liver cancer on October 12, 2009, was the original bass player and vocalist of incalculably influential San Francisco superblues power trio Blue Cheer. In the late '60s, Peterson, Leigh Stephens (guitar) and first drummer Eric Albronda represented about the most extreme rock music around, as far as double-tracked guitar freakouts, dog-exploding volumes and all-out heaviness were concerned. The overfuzz of his bass and long haired yahoo screaming on hit single "Summertime Blues" simply defined acid rock, not to mention the rest of Blue Cheer's skull-rattling 1968 debut, Vincebus Eruptum (they're all good but do not miss last song "Second Time Around"). Released that same year, follow-up Outsideinside was murky and deliberate -- a menacing flipside to the sunny hippie rock of the times. Even today you can hear unmistakable traces of Outsideinside's trudging riffology in basically all the music that came out of Seattle in the early '90s, and all over the sludgemetal of modern day New Orleans. From here, Blue Cheer's history becomes convoluted as guitarists and drummers come and go, with long hiatuses throughout the '70s and '80s. Recently, however, Peterson had successfully reformed the band and recorded What Doesn't Kill You in 2007.

Lead singers tend to be prima donnas who snag all the front-row babes and front-page accolades. Unfortunately, replacing these ego freaks is almost always an exercise in failure. Though the dude might've skipped a rehearsal or three, he’s the vessel through which all those killer songs are delivered to the masses. The medium is the message and to lose the medium means nose-diving right back into club circuit hell, where green rooms are nothing more than a gutted bathroom plastered in hand-scrawled personals: For a good time call ...

Musicians know all this, and yet there are always going to be successful bands who believe they can succeed with a newbie frontman. Can you blame them? If you were Eddie Van Halen, wouldn’t you feel a powerful urge to stick it to that blowhard D.L.R.? I know I would. Of course, Van Halen are one of the rare exceptions to the rule. Say what you will about Van Hagar and lame-o hits like “Right Now,” but they sold a ton of records. Roth’s popularity, meanwhile, declined with each passing year he wasn’t swinging from the rafters 40 feet above Michael Anthony and his Jack Daniels bass.

But what of the other titans of rock who dared switch frontmen? How did they fare? Let's find out ...

The H1N1 Influenza virus -- popularly known, to the chagrin of the Other White Meat industry, as "swine flu" -- keeps spreading. And with some estimates claiming that it could affect as many as two to three billion people, it's only natural that celebrities will be stricken, along with the rest of us schlubs. (I'm not a doctor, but I play one on this blog.) From the cases reported so far, it looks like swine flu is not immune to irony. CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta got it. Epidemiologist and Huffington Post medical blogger Larry Brilliant, M.D. got it -- just days after agreeing to write an article on the disease, at that. (In addition to all its other evil powers, swine flu also apparently rifles through your email. Maybe they should call it crazy ex-girlfriend flu?) And now, it turns out, Marilyn Manson has gotten it too.

First off, welcome to the first installment of my new column, Classic Rock Crate Digger. Like the dashboard of a vintage Saab, my mission statement is simple and to the point: dive into Rhapsody’s insanely bottomless catalog and explore all the nooks and crannies of that hairy, sweaty behemoth known as classic rock. You see, I love rock 'n' roll from the 1970s, but I’m so sick and tired of the same 40 songs my local DJ has been regurgitating for the last 35 years. Call me crazy, but there’s way more to classic rock than “Free Bird,” “More Than a Feeling” and “The Joker.” For example, just about anybody who worships riff-a-rific hard rock has cranked a little Free, those skinny, blues-rock Brits who sculpted one of the most titanic grooves ever know to man: “All Right Now.” Yet how many out there have dug into sprawling discography of The Groundhogs, who -- in my humble opinion, at least -- rock as hard as Free and Mountain and Grand Funk Railroad COMBINED? Unfortunately, the Groundhogs never scored a hit here in the States, so they're relatively unknown outside select circles. But just about any longhair between the ages of 18 and 65, regardless of his/her classic rock IQ, would absolutely flip for the band’s 1971 magnum opus, Thank Christ for the Bomb.

Basically, I want to help expand the horizons of the average classic rock fan by offering him or her sounds that feel familiar yet new. I want to take Zep fanatics and turn them on to Terry Reid (or maybe even the second Cactus record). I want to explain to Floyd freaks why I dig Obscured by Clouds more than its successor, Dark Side of the Moon.

And you know what? Rhapsody is just perfect for this kind of exploration. Sure, I sound like a corporate shill, but think about it: our service allows all of us to transcend the tyranny of America's classic rock DJs. No longer will we be beholden to their limited and antiquated playlists. We can roam as freely as we want.

Now time for the twin lead...

To discuss their latest effort Grey Britain, we caught up with Laurent Barnard and Lee Barratt, the noble guitarist and drummer of the U.K.'s fiery hardcore/ punk exports Gallows.

Alexisonfire’s latest release Old Crows, Young Cardinals, is a hardcore fan’s wet dream. The songwriting demonstrates exactly what this Canadian quintet has to bring to the table and is Alexisonfire’s most thought out and impressive release to date. Featuring 43 minutes of non-stop, explosive, rock ecstasy, Old Crows may very well be the all-around best release to come out of the hardcore genre this year. Combined with string-bending hammer-ons, backed by raucous drum fills, Dallas Green and George Pettit’s mixture of angelic and demonic vocal styles create an almost perfect collection of tracks that when performed live, will assuredly be fueling circle-pits around the globe. Alexisonfire might possibly be the best band you’ve never heard of. With four full-length releases behind them, two of which went Platinum in Canada, one of which went Gold and Old Crows, Young Cardinals, which peaked at #2 on the Canadian charts, it’s a mystery as to what has kept them from climbing to the top of US rock charts, until now. The guys recently sat down with Rhapsody to discuss the death of punk rock, how Nickelback has influenced their band and exactly what has kept them from exploding onto US rock radio.

Wailing solos, catchy hooks, sing-along choruses, ventures into heartfelt balladry: there's a lot to be said for the sonic style of hair metal. To look at the fashion -- between the sleazy cross-dressing, the leather-denim-spandex combinations and the studded spikes and shiny belts -- there are so many key elements. But hey, there's a reason it's called HAIR metal, am I right? So many creative coifs came and went with the rise and fall of '80s pop metal. From pretty procurements to crazy creations, let's take a look at the excessive hair that dominated a decade and thus named a movement.

Listen to our all-new hair metal radio station here while reading on.

Right before they departed for Wacken, we caught up with Italian goth metal outfit Lacuna Coil's leading lady Cristina Scabbia to find out what she listens to when she's not controlling crowds or giving advice in her Revolver magazine column. Says Scabbia, "It's definitely a question I'm sure every musician hates -- if you love music, just 10 songs are nothing!" But she happily obliged us nonetheless, and goes on to express her love of Faith No More, Muse, Alter Bridge and more. Check it out right here.

Moving from the center of the deathcore scene through the history of American death metal, Job for a Cowboy have embarked on an expansive journey in their so-far short career. With their top-100-charting 2007 debut, Genesis, and a celebrated, self-released 2005 EP in tow, they got the metal underground's attention. Now with their sophomore effort, Ruination, featuring new guitarist Al Glassman and new drummer Jon Rice, as well as the band's coveted slot in this year's Mayhem Festival, J.F.A.C. are expanding on their sturdy foundation and conquering new territory. We caught up with guitarist Bobby Thompson to find out more about their transition into death metal.

GWAR's infallible leader, Oderus Urungus, has an advantage to playlist making that no other band can boast: according to GWAR mythos, this alien-barbarian is billions of years old, and therefore has seen music emerge, unfold and flourish. And yet he picked William Shatner?! Explains Urungus, "I don't know much about music even though I sing in a band -- I use these terms very loosely. Nevertheless, there is a lot of human music out there (written in tribute to GWAR, no doubt) that actually titillates my warty protuberances. I listen to everything from death metal to cheesy pop, so don't get your knickers in a twist if this list is a little weird ... I am Oderus, after all!"

Even weirder is his new gig. As GWAR celebrate 25 years of thrashing shock rock by returning to Earth and gearing up to release their 11th album, Oderus Urungus has also joined the ranks of FOX News' late-night program Red Eye as an interplanetary correspondent. From on the job at the World Series of Poker, here's the playlist of charmingly witty, cuttlefish-carrying Oderus Urungus.

From left: Tim Sult, Dan Maines, Neil Fallon and Jean-Paul Gaster

Nearly 20 years since their inception, roots rockin' stoner metal outfit Clutch may have grown, but they have never wavered. Beginning in 1991 with groove-oriented funk 'n' roll, fast-forwarding to 2009's blues-based ninth album Strange Cousins from the West, Neil Fallon and co. have run the gamut between rock and metal, but have always done exactly what they wanted to do. Explains Fallon, "This is a band that ... made music for music's sake and wasn't interested in anything else other than improving itself and being sincere while doing it." As a further testament to that, Clutch have even formed their own label imprint as a vehicle for exercising their creativity, which -- in addition to Clutch's most recent releases -- has also spawned an instrumental project called the Bakerton Group. To learn about Fallon's philosophical take on his musical output and humble fascination with rock history, plus the inner workings of Clutch's latest record, stay tuned right here.

Founded in 1982, Metal Blade Records was young metal fan Brian Slagel's DIY solution to the absence of metal music in record stores across the nation. In a time of tape-trading and word of mouth propelled by a burgeoning underground scene, he saw an opportunity missed by major labels to get metal out to the masses, and nearly 30 years later Metal Blade is still thriving and bringing metal to your doorstep. Boasting an eclectic roster, from Florida death metal legends Cannibal Corpse to Polish black metal heroes Behemoth, as well as Christian metallers Whitechapel, thrash apprentices Lazarus A.D. and heralded deathcore outfit Job For a Cowboy, Metal Blade is a veritable heavy music institution. Here's a taste of some Metal Blade essentials, available for streaming exclusively on Rhapsody.

Dan Palmer (left), Efrem Schulz

For California skate punk outfit Death by Stereo, it's been a tough journey through the darkness, but they've found their way back. Formed in 1997, D.B.S. took hardcore mentality, punk ethics and metallic tones; injected their outspoken swagger; and made a name for themselves with incredible live shows all across the country. As they gained momentum and their sound turned more aggressive, the band found themselves stricken by tragedy and at the center of some unwanted controversy in 2003 when a fan was killed at one of their shows -- a memory that frontman Efrem Schulz recalls as "one of the most awful things I will probably ever see in my lifetime."

Bouncing back from the misfortune was not easy, but Death By Stereo persevered and continued writing and releasing music. Then, after parting ways with Epitaph Records, Schulz explains, "the planets were aligned to end our band." But in trying to do it on their own, D.B.S. found an ally in System of a Down's Serj Tankian, who took the band in under his Serjical Strike imprint to release their Jason Freese-produced fifth album, Death Is My Only Friend. To learn more about the new record and how far Death by Stereo have come since 2005's Death for Life, read what else Schulz had to say in our interview (click below).

Warning: While you're welcome to try and construct a harder rocking playlist than this one , you'll most likely fail miserably. For one thing, all the selections are from the '70s, after rock got heavy but before metal shot itself in the foot by draining all the boogie out. So most of the songs are very funky as well as very fast, which only makes them rock harder. And best of all, the songs only cost 69 cents each, which means more pennies left in your pocket for beer!

From left to right: Jeremy DePoyster, Andy Trick, Mike Hrancia, James Baney, Chris Rubey, Daniel Williams

The Devil Wears Prada are not your average scene band. Sure they have their merch in Hot Topics all over the country, and yeah, their fans average around the age of 16, but  in their three-album, five-year-and-counting career, these young Ohio natives have accomplished a lot more than any band with "street cred" (though they have that in their own right, if you want to get technical). Debuting at No. 11 on the Billboard 200 with their latest effort, With Roots Above and Branches Below (see: the same debut Mastodon had with Crack the Skye not two months prior), it's like guitarist/backup vocalist Jeremy DePoyster puts it: "Obviously we're young guys and we're small guys and we wear tight pants, but we can make some really heavy music." So with that "don't judge a book by its cover'" admonishment out on the table, find out what else DePoyster had to say about these young guns' thoughts on their "scene," their success and their goals as a Christian metal band. Forget what you may have heard, and please meet the Devil Wears Prada.