The High-Altitude Circus and Steam-Powered Salvation

This week on CMS, we’re looking at the absolute degradation of modern society through the lens of a middle seat on a Spirit Airlines flight. Chris is ready to drive three days to Austin just to avoid the DMV and the “Real ID” surveillance state, while Neeley is gearing up to chase the “Big Boy”—a 6,000-horsepower relic of a time when things actually worked and looked cool doing it.

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We dive deep into the “seat squatting” epidemic and why airlines should honestly just charge $1,000 a ticket to keep the riff-raff from making sandwiches in the aisles. Plus, we look back at the utter idiocy of 2021—remember when the virus was only dangerous if you were standing up or drinking after 9:00 PM? We’re pulling back the curtain on the “new normal” and why it’s anything but.

The version you’re seeing here is the “sanitized” edit. To hear the full, unfiltered, and legally dangerous deep dive—including the stuff that gets us banned elsewhere—join the Inner Circle at https://classicmetalshow.locals.com. Become a VIP and get the substance the mainstream won’t touch.

For years, Nicko McBrain has been the smiling assassin behind the drum kit of Iron Maiden — funny, unpredictable, brutally honest, and somehow always at the center of the band’s most chaotic moments. Now he’s finally putting it all into a book, and let’s be honest: this thing has the potential to blow the lid off decades of metal history.

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McBrain officially announced his autobiography Hello Boys And Girls, and the timing couldn’t be more interesting. After stepping away from touring in 2024 following serious health battles, including the aftermath of a stroke, fans have been wondering what the future looked like for the iconic drummer.

Here’s the reality: musicians don’t release autobiographies unless they’ve got stories to tell. And if you know anything about Maiden’s history, you already know this won’t be some sanitized corporate PR book loaded with safe clichés and recycled tour anecdotes.

This is Nicko McBrain.

The guy who survived the madness of the 80s metal explosion.
The guy who watched Bruce Dickinson leave and return.
The guy who stayed behind the kit through lineup wars, industry collapse, grunge backlash, reunion tours, health scares, and one of the most relentless touring schedules in music history.

And fans are already wondering how deep he’s willing to go.

Because let’s not pretend there isn’t tension built into this story.

When a band survives 50 years, there are fractures. There are egos. There are backstage fights. There are decisions fans still argue about daily. There are albums people defend like religion and others they pretend never existed.

That’s what makes this dangerous—in the best possible way.

McBrain has always had a reputation for being more open than a lot of veteran metal musicians. He talks. He jokes. He rambles. He tells stories other bands would bury forever. That’s exactly why this book immediately became must-read material the second it was announced.

And yes, some fans are probably nervous.

Because once these legacy bands start opening the vault, the mythology changes. Suddenly the “untouchable gods of metal” become human. Sometimes that strengthens the legacy. Sometimes it wrecks it.

There’s also another uncomfortable truth here: autobiographies are often where fans finally learn who actually carried these bands behind the scenes.

And if you’ve watched Maiden over the years, you already know McBrain was never just “the drummer.” The chemistry of that classic lineup depended on personalities as much as musicianship. Remove one piece, and the machine changes.

That’s exactly why his retirement from touring hit fans harder than many expected.

This book now feels less like a side project and more like the beginning of the next chapter of Maiden history.

Midway through all this, one thing is guaranteed: fans are going to dissect every single quote looking for hidden shots, buried truths, and clues about what really happened during key moments in the band’s history.

And honestly? That’s exactly why this thing is going to sell.

Metal fans don’t want polished.
They want real.
They want scars.
They want the stories that never made the documentaries.

Expect massive reactions the second excerpts start leaking.

Expect fan wars online.

Expect endless debates about whether legends should stay mysterious or finally tell the truth.

And most of all, expect this book to remind people just how important Nicko McBrain really was to the identity of Iron Maiden.

Because behind all the mascot artwork, giant stages, and aviation theatrics, Maiden was always powered by personalities that felt larger than life.

Nicko was one of the biggest.

What happens next is the interesting part. If Hello Boys And Girls delivers the honesty fans are hoping for, this could instantly become one of the defining metal memoirs of the modern era.

If it plays things too safe?

Fans will smell that immediately too.

Either way, metalheads are going to read every page.

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POLL

Should legendary metal bands keep their backstage history secret?

• Yes — the mystery is part of the legacy
• No — fans deserve the full truth no matter how ugly it gets
• Most autobiographies are sanitized cash grabs anyway

For longtime sleaze and glam metal fans, this is the kind of comeback that instantly gets attention. Original SHOTGUN MESSIAH vocalist Zinny Zan and guitarist Harry Cody are officially back together under the ZAN/CODY banner, and they’re bringing their signature style back with a new album called Beautiful ‘N Damned, arriving July 24 through Frontiers Music Srl.

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The reunion matters because SHOTGUN MESSIAH has quietly remained one of the most respected cult names to come out of the late-'80s Swedish hard rock scene. While the band never reached the commercial heights of some of their peers, records like Shotgun Messiah and Second Coming built a loyal fanbase that still talks about Harry Cody’s guitar work and the band’s gritty Hollywood-meets-Stockholm attitude decades later.

The first single, “Damn,” already gives fans a clear picture of what ZAN/CODY is aiming for: aggressive hooks, street-level sleaze energy, and a modern production approach without abandoning the band’s roots. According to Zinny Zan, the track represents the core identity of the project and taps into themes surrounding truth, illusion, and questioning what people are told.

Here’s the reality: a lot of legacy hard rock reunions feel forced or purely nostalgic. This one feels different because the chemistry between Zinny and Cody was always central to what made early SHOTGUN MESSIAH stand out in the first place. Fans have wanted some version of this collaboration back for years, especially after failed reunion discussions surfaced previously.

Harry Cody’s return alone is going to pull serious interest from guitar fans. His playing on the original SHOTGUN MESSIAH material earned major attention back in the late '80s and early '90s, and many longtime listeners still consider him one of the more underrated guitarists from that era.

The new album was mixed by Chris Laney and reportedly balances classic sleaze-metal attitude with updated production power. That’s probably the smartest move possible. Fans don’t want a polished pop-rock rewrite of the past — they want swagger, riffs, hooks, and danger.

“Beautiful ‘N Damned” Track Listing

1. Sever
2. I Am The Shit
3. Ride Or Die
4. Suffer City
5. She Walks With Violence
6. Damn
7. Let's Be Heroes
8. Beautiful 'N Damned
9. Bad Bad Man
10. Tear It All Down

The timing also feels right. There’s been renewed interest in sleaze-era hard rock over the last few years, and younger fans have started rediscovering bands that never fully got their due during the MTV era. ZAN/CODY could easily tap into both audiences: the longtime diehards and newer listeners hunting for authentic, riff-driven hard rock.

And honestly, the title Beautiful ‘N Damned sounds exactly like the kind of record SHOTGUN MESSIAH fans hoped these guys would make.

What happens next is the real question. Is this a one-off nostalgia project? Or the beginning of something much bigger tied to the SHOTGUN MESSIAH legacy?

Either way, people are definitely paying attention now.

Get more uncensored hard rock and metal coverage at Classic Metal Show Locals — including bonus episodes of THE CLASSIC METAL SHOW, early releases of CHRIS AKIN PRESENTS, giveaways, exclusives, and the CMS community.

Poll

Does the Zinny Zan/Harry Cody reunion deserve a full SHOTGUN MESSIAH comeback?

• Absolutely — the classic lineup deserves one more real run
• No — leave the legacy untouched and keep it as ZAN/CODY
• Only if the music is stronger than nostalgia