Pearl Jam might not showcase a lot of a heavy steel affect, however guitarist Stone Gossard did certainly love steel rising up and shouted out a few of his favourite steel albums as a child throughout a current interview.

Gossard’s response got here in a wide-ranging interview with KLOS DJ Matt Pinfield (who additionally co-hosts The Power Hour on AXS TV) on his “New and Approved” radio present. The two chatted about Eddie Vedder’s lyrics on the title observe of Pearl Jam’s new album, Dark Matter, and the way there’s some ambiguity within the which means of among the traces.

As the guitarist notes, “Dark Matter” options the lyric “King Diamond to discard,” to which he gives, “I don’t know what that means or where it’s going, but King Diamond — yes!” He then references King Diamond’s early profession with Mercyful Fate, calling them “the greatest.”

READ MORE: Lyrics to New Pearl Jam Song ‘Dark Matter’ Reference Metal Legend King Diamond

Stone Gossard’s Love of Metal + Favorite Albums As a Kid

Gossard hasn’t been shy about his love of heavy music. In early 2022, when Eddie Vedder took a swipe at Motley Crue and triggered a response from Nikki Sixx, the Pearl Jam guitarist stepped in as a peacekeeper. He defended Crue, speaking about how he purchased the band’s first album again within the day.

Diving into the music of his youth with Pinfield, Gossard said, “Heavy metal changed my life. And then punk rock, on top of that, allowed me a door into heavy metal. I sucked and heavy metal was a little bit about being fucking wizardly. If you couldn’t compete with Yngwie [Malmsteen], you needed to be gifted,and punk rock allowed me to be gifted in a different way, which was, like, can you just hit a couple of notes that sound good? And maybe that’s enough, and then maybe somebody else can do something too. More of The Talking Heads approach.”

Asked particularly about which steel albums have been amongst his favorites as a child, Gossard shouted out Mercyful Fate’s traditional first two albums, Melissa and Don’t Break the Oath. He additionally talked about Iron Maiden, stating, “the first two or three Iron Maiden records freaked me out.”

Mercyful Fate, “Evil”

READ MORE: The Most Played Song Live by 15 Big Grunge Bands

Stone Gossard’s Favorite Rock Bands as a Kid

Working his method again within the musical timeline, Gossard says of his rock favorites rising up, “Going back and then finding Alice Cooper and T. Rex and the ’70s glam and punk rock and [the] New York [scene]. And then Sex Pistols. How good does The Sex Pistols record sound right now? And there’s nothing to it. It’s just four points of view just fucking jammed in there.”

Watch the total interview with Matt Pinfield under.

Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard With KLOS’ Matt Pinfield

Pearl Jam in 2024

Pearl Jam are presently on a North American tour in help of their new album, Dark Matter. The trek kicked off on May 4, the place the group performed 25 songs in Vancouver, Canada.

They’ll be on a world tour via the top of the yr and you may see all of these dates right here.