Hollywood Monsters (band)

Hollywood Monsters
Company type	Supergroup
Industry	Music
Founded	2013
Headquarters	Los Angeles, United States
Products	Hard rock, progressive rock, heavy metal music

Hollywood Monsters was a hard rock supergroup originating from Los Angeles, California, established in 2013. The ensemble featured Steph Honde on vocals and guitar, Don Airey handling keyboards—known for his work with Deep Purple, Whitesnake, Gary Moore, Ozzy Osbourne, and the Michael Schenker Group—alongside Danko Jones providing additional vocals, Ronnie Robson on bass, Vinny Appice on drums—renowned for his tenure with Dio, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and Kill Devil Hill—and Tim Bogert also on bass, recognized for his contributions to Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, and the trio Beck, Bogert & Appice.

Their musical style fuses the essence of 1970s hard rock with elements drawn from progressive rock and heavy metal genres. Steph Honde’s vocal delivery, guitar skills, and melodic songwriting inject a contemporary flair into their traditional hard rock framework.

History

The band was initiated in 2013 by French singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Steph Honde, who leveraged his established success in France to create this project. Born on 5 September 1975 in Manosque, Honde earned acclaim as the guitarist and lead vocalist of Café Bertrand between 2004 and 2010. During that period, the group released two well-received albums: Les Airs Empruntés (2005) and L'Art délicat du Rock'N'Roll (2008). Café Bertrand extensively toured Europe, notably opening for Deep Purple during their Rapture of the Deep tour and supporting AC/DC on their 2009 Black Ice World Tour dates in France. Their performances also included prestigious venues such as Stade de France and the Montreux Jazz Festival.

Following his departure from Café Bertrand in 2010, Honde toured alongside former Iron Maiden frontman Paul Di'Anno before relocating to California in 2012 to establish Hollywood Monsters. He remains the exclusive songwriter for the band’s material, including their first album Big Trouble.

Honde first crossed paths with Don Airey during the 2006 Deep Purple tour when Café Bertrand served as an opening act. After hearing Honde's demo recordings, Tim Bogert came out of retirement to play bass on three tracks. Drummer Vinny Appice performed on the majority of the album; notably, Honde composed "Village of the Damned" as a tribute prior to meeting Appice. Paul Di'Anno contributed lead vocals to the bonus track "Fuck You All," a selection he personally chose from Honde’s suggestions; they had previously collaborated during tours in France.

Hollywood Monsters intended to release a third studio album titled Thriving on Chaos, which would feature contributions from Honde, Appice, Bogert, Robson, Danko Jones, and Blitz from Overkill. This project was planned to include an eleven-track main album plus two additional bonus albums: A State of Nature, an acoustic compilation mixing early works and new songs alongside cover versions; and Isolated Incidents, consisting of demos and isolated recordings.

Members

Steph Honde – lead vocals, guitar (2013–2021)
Danko Jones – vocals (2013–2021)
Ronnie Robson – bass guitar (2017–2021)
Vinny Appice – drums (2013–2021)
Tim Bogert – bass guitar (2013–2016; deceased 2021)
Jim Crean – vocals (2018–2021)
Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth – vocals (2016–2021)
Alexis Von Kraven – drums (2016–2021)

Big Trouble (2014)

The group’s inaugural album, Big Trouble, was launched in 2014 through Mausoleum Records with promotional support from Rock N Growl Records. It saw staggered release dates: May 23, 2014 in the United States; July 8, 2014 globally except Canada; and October 14, 2014 within Canada via Universal Music. The record comprises ten tracks plus one bonus song, all penned by Steph Honde.

Track listing:

01. Another Day In Grey – Part 1
02. Move On
03. Big Trouble
04. The Only Way
05. The Cage
06. The Ocean
07. Oh Boy!
08. Underground
09. Village of the Damned
10. Song For a Fool
11. Fuck You All (bonus track)

Contributors to "Big Trouble"

Steph Honde – vocals, guitars, piano, bass
Paul Di'Anno – vocals (track 11)
Denis Baruta – guitars (tracks 5, 9, and 11)
Tim Bogert – bass (tracks 1, 2, and 10)
Olivier Brossard – bass (track 11)
Vinny Appice – drums (all tracks except 7, 10, and 11)
Don Airey – Hammond B3 organ (track 2)
Emmanuel Lamic – drums (tracks 10 and 11)
Laetitia Gondran – drums (track 7)
Scott Tenzer – orchestral arrangements (track 6)

Capture the Sun (2016)

The follow-up album, Capture the Sun, was issued in 2016 under Cleopatra Records, comprising twelve original songs plus an additional bonus track.

Track list:

1 Mysteries of Life
2 Evilution
3 Always Crashing the Same Car
4 It's a Lie
5 Waiting
6 Don't Let it Happen
7 Another Day in Grey, Pt. 2
8 Everything is Going To Be Alright
9 Dreams
10 King For A Day
11 Capture The Sun
12 Sweet Thing / Candidate / Sweet Thing (David Bowie cover)
Bonus Track: Fool for Your Loving (Coverdale/Moody/Marsden)

Contributors on "Capture the Sun"

Steph Honde: vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass
Vinny Appice: drums
Neil Murray: bass
Pascal Mulot: bass
Tony Franklin: bass
Tim Bogert: bass
Danko Jones: vocals
Jenny Haan: vocals
Tracy G: guitar
Craig Goldy: guitar
Alessandro Bertoni: keyboards
Eric Lebailly: drums on "Fool For Your Loving"
Andreas Johansson: drums on "King For a Day"
Darren Crisp: vocals

External links

References