THE BEAST

A presumed combination of blues-rock and psychedelic rock formed the roots of heavy metal. However, despite these beginnings, it has developed its own unique sound that is much loved by many loyal fans around the globe. Metal bands have heavy schedules, with tons of practice between concerts and roadshows. When they want to relax and switch off from their hectic lives, many of these artists turn to gambling as the perfect hobby. This interest is reflected in a number of metal songs about gambling, such as House of the Rising Sun (Animals), Ace of Spades (Motorhead), The Angel and the Gambler (Iron Maiden), Roller (April Wine), Train of Consequences (Megadeath), The Jack (AC/DC), Deuces are Wild (Aerosmith), and The Card Cheat (The Clash). Here are a few more of the stars who are known to love gambling.

Sully Erna - Godsmack

Sully Erna of Godsmack is both the vocalist and guitarist for the band and is credited with being one of the best heavy metal singers. One of the band’s best-known songs is “I Stand Alone” . In the video of this song, he has a tattoo of a scorpion on his hand. This love of tattoos and gambling is reflected in a tattoo he sports of four burning aces on his back, which is underlined with the words, “No Justice.” This was inspired by a game in which he held four aces but was outdone by another player with a royal flush.

Erna’s relationship with casinos started to get serious around 2006. Playing professional poker, he attained 713 th  place out of 8,000 players in a tournament in Vegas, not a bad starting accomplishment at all. He took second place in the Diamond World Poker Classic and came away with a healthy $307,000 prize in the following year. Erna has also been successful in tournaments like the World Series of Poker.

Lemmy Kilmister - Motorhead

Lemmy Kilmister founded the metal band Motorhead in 1975 for which he is a bassist, singer, and songwriter. His real name is Ian Fraser Kilmister. The band has sold over 15 million albums across forty decades in the music business. Motorhead, although classified as heavy metal, has infused punk rock into the mix and this combo heralded the way for speed metal and thrash metal. Their lyrics focus on good versus evil, war, substance abuse, abuse of power, promiscuity, and gambling.

Aside from his passion for metal music, Kilmister is known for his hedonistic lifestyle, which includes spending time on the slots and playing blackjack. He has been recognised for his documentary, Lemmy: the Movie , which records, amongst other aspects, his interest in gambling. The song, Ace of Spades, is also indicative of this.

Liv Boeree - Various

Liv Boeree did the cover for the song Black Widow by Children of Bodom , a heavy metal group. Fans commented that she performed it perfectly while another proposed marriage. With the nickname of Iron Maiden, she expresses her fondness for the heavy metal genre. Another metal band she played with is Dissonance, also a heavy metal group for whom she was a guitarist. She performs live and is starting to make a name for herself. Boeree holds an astrophysics degree which she uses as a British science communicator and television presenter.

However, Liv Boeree is better known for being a professional poker player. In this role, she is the recipient of numerous poker championship titles. She has been a member of PokerStars since 2010. Boeree is an accomplished speaker and has utilised this talent to speak on various gambling topics such as poker psychology and poker strategy and has also written about poker and other subjects.

Scott Ian - Anthrax

Scott Ian Rosenfeld, as he was born, more commonly known as Scott Ian, is a rhythm guitarist and vocalist for the heavy metal band, Anthrax. He is a world-renowned guitarist. The sole remaining original member of Anthrax, Scott is known for being energetic, a strategic thinker, and having a high tolerance for risk, which he puts to good use in poker.

Scott began his poker life during the mid-2000s when he unexpectedly won a Hold ‘Em tournament in Texas. This resulted in him being offered and accepting sponsorship for professional online poker. Playing online enables him to keep up with poker while touring with the band. However, he also enjoys playing live at a casino so that he can ‘read’ his fellow players. Unfortunately for poker fans, he opted to place his focus on his music as his priority.

Paul Daniel - Kiss

Paul Daniel, aka Ace Frehley, is a guitarist and songwriter for the heavy metal band Kiss, as well as being one of its founding members. He left Kiss to go solo but re-joined the band in 1996. He adopted the nickname Spaceman or Space Ace from 1973 to 1982 when the band started its career. His second time around with the band ended in 2002 on their farewell tour. Daniel continues to play solo.

Daniel has played poker in events such as the VH1 Celebrity Rock & Roll Tournament. Nevertheless, his music remains his key passion and he was ranked 14 th by Guitar World magazine in a list of the Greatest Metal Guitarists of All Time.

Heavy Metal And Gambling

We have seen that the twin passions of heavy metal music and gambling occur together frequently and how it has led to the creation and performance of songs related to the latter. In some instances, touring for concerts has led to an interest in casino games while at other times, gambling was the first activity to be taken up. Nevertheless, they often occur in tandem, highlighting the connection between the two. Having explored a few examples of this, we are now attuned to looking out for this trend.

If you want to follow in the footsteps of your favourite artists, Online Casinos has personally tested some of the top UK online casinos. You can use the link to find their reviews which ensures that you are steered towards safe and reliable online casinos. Most online casino reviews offer bonuses to attract players, which gives you a starting stake in the games you enjoy. 

Heavy metal artists will continue to be attracted to gambling, which offers a break from the strains of touring. In addition to providing fans of this genre with excellent music, many have also excelled at games like poker. Professional and dedicated to their music, they display the same characteristics when gambling.