By Jason D. Greenough

The temperatures may (finally…possibly) hit freezing, but the metal is burning hot! November 2016 is sure to bring any metal fan a few moments of bliss.

Want to get away from the awkward family get-together? Need something to keep you awake before you go shopping on black Friday? With retrospective releases galore, ranging from Queen’s …On Air: The Complete BBC Sessions, and Pink Floyd’s The Early Years: 1965-1972, to REM’s Out of Time celebrating it’s 25^th anniversary with a re-issue, and Soundgarden’s Badmotorfinger, you’re pretty much all set. But, I have a few other suggestions as well…

For all the hair metal misfits, Bon Jovi is back with their second album in just over a year, This House Is Not For Sale, due out November 4^th, and I can honestly say that, to me, it is a sign that Bon Jovi is back. With as much as grit and riff rock as Slippery When Wet, but as much personal discovery and uplifting as Have a Nice Day, Jon Bon Jovi further cements his rightful place among the best songwriters and musicians in all of rock history. While Richie Sambora is AWOL from this studio effort, the New Jersey quintet didn’t skip a beat in creating one of their best records since the turn of the century, and I know I won’t be disappointed, and I have a feeling that, if JBJ is your jam, you won’t be either!

While Bon Jovi & Co. tucks you into bed, Metallica is under your bed, waiting for you to fall asleep. With Hardwired…To Self-Destruct on the horizon, the Bay Area Thrash vanguards have blown me away with their first two singles featured on the album (“Hardwired” & “Moth To Flame”), and it just makes me wonder how much more they have in store when the album hits shelves on November 18^th. It was no secret that many metal fans, and even those who eat, sleep, and breath Metallica were not too enthused by 2008’s Death Magnetic, so you could probably assume that the Rock n’ Roll Hall-of-Famers knew they had to redeem themselves with their first full-length EP in 8 years. And you know what? So far, it has blown my mind as much as it has the speakers in my headphones.

Nikki Sixx, legendary bassist for Motley Crüe, and founding member of Sixx:A.M., is going to have a busy month in November!

Although Crue’s 35-year career came to a close at the end of last year, the full-length feature DVD documenting their final concert, Motley Crüe: The End Live in Los Angeles, is set to make its way to the masses on November 4^th as well, and a limited edition version seeing daylight on November 25^th. Also on Sixx’s plate is the release of Sixx:A.M.’s Prayers For The Blessed: Vol. 2, dropping on November 18^th, a follow up to their smash hit Prayers For The Damned. A tour to support the new release will also bring them to Worcester’s DCU Center on November 25^th, in case you really dig it and want to see it played live!