New specials premiere June 2022

REELZ has announced new programming that profiles Eddie Van Halen, Motley Crue, Vince Neil, Guns N Roses, Skid Row, Scorpions, Foreigner, and Alice Cooper. The episodes premiere in June.

Autopsy: The Last Hours of… “Eddie Van Halen” premieres on Sunday, June 5th at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT. On October 6, 2020 the world was shocked by the news that guitar legend Eddie Van Halen had died. A rock prodigy with a boyish charm he was never more comfortable than when he had a guitar in his hand. Known as the founder of Van Halen, the band that became synonymous with California cool, Eddie was actually of both Dutch and Indonesian heritage. His family moved to California from the Netherlands when Eddie was a child. Eddie came to America without knowing English but by the time he was 25 years old his band had sold multiple platinum albums and his innovative guitar techniques cemented him in rock and roll history. But behind his contagious smile there was a darker undercurrent that would plague Eddie throughout his life. As an extremely shy kid Eddie started drinking alcohol at just 12 years old to calm his nerves after seeing his father drink to calm himself and for the next four decades Eddie wrestled with addiction issues. Often relying on alcohol and other substances to maintain his creativity Eddie would spend many years in and out of rehab. He was a workaholic often pushing his body to the limits in order to perform while secretly battling illness. Eddie died at the age of 65 from cancer but if caught early Eddie’s disease had reasonable survival rates so what exactly happened? Now renowned forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Hunter will analyze every detail of his life in order to piece together what else may have been going on in his body, ultimately leading to his untimely death.

Van Halen: Story of Their Songs premieres on Sunday, June 5th at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT. They were the band that changed the face of heavy rock and created a formula for a four decade run as a legendary band. From their early days playing parties in Pasadena to becoming the biggest rock act in America Story of Songs explores six key songs that helped make them rock music titans. After announcing their arrival onto the music scene with the bold and timeless “Runnin’ with the Devil” they hit a commercial peak with synth heavy chart topper “Jump” before reinventing themselves not once but twice as singer David Lee Roth was replaced by Sammy Hagar who then made way for Gary Cherone. Despite the lineup changes they still produced hit music including “Why Can’t This Be Love?” and mainstream smashes “When It’s Love” and “Can’t Stop Loving You” along with the experimental “Without You.” Elliot Gilbert who created the cover art for the band’s debut album recalls the photo session that left him deaf for a week. “Jump” music video producer Robert Lombard reveals the dilemma that eventually got him fired and Dweezil Zappa, son of music legend Frank Zappa, remembers the time when Eddie revealed some of his guitar playing secrets. Nuno Bettencourt quizzes his band mate Gary Cherone about the former Extreme singer’s stint as Van Halen’s front man while cinematographer Daniel Court explains the real reason for the band’s famed “no brown M & Ms” rider request.

Guns N’ Roses: Story of Their Songs premieres on Sunday, June 12th at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT. With more than 80 million albums sold worldwide and more than $700 million in concert ticket sales Guns N’ Roses lit up the world of rock music with an unflinching run of hit songs en route to becoming one of the most popular bands in rock history. These are the inside stories of six hits that sent them soaring from their breakthrough single “Welcome To The Jungle” with its controversial music video that initially proved too edgy for MTV to the global smash “Sweet Child O’ Mine” that gave them their first and only Billboard No. 1. Those close to the band including publicist Arlett Vereecke and friend and photographer Marc Canter share their memories of the Guns N’ Roses journey from obscurity on the Sunset Strip to becoming the hottest rock band on the planet in the late 1980s. Founding Guns N’ Roses band member Tracii Guns reveals how the band got its name and the story behind why he left the group after only a few weeks. Members of the band’s production team including mixers Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero recall recording the iconic tracks while music video director Nigel Dick reveals what went on behind the scenes during the filming some of their most famous videos including wild shoot for “Paradise City” to the intimate “Patience.” Along their journey Guns N’ Roses survived fallouts, concert riots and drug addictions to release some of their greatest songs in the early 1990s including “Don’t Cry” and the epic nine-minute ballad “November Rain.”

Foreigner: Breaking the Band premieres on Tuesday, June 19th at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT. Formed in New York in 1976 by musical powerhouse Mick Jones Foreigner would become one of the most successful groups of all time as Lou Gramm’s incredible vocals and unique talents helped the band to sell more than 80 million albums. By the mid-1980s their blend of hard rock and atmospheric ballads were a stadium filling success all over the world but behind the scenes their move towards synth-led soft rock most famously the chart topping global hit “I Want to Know What Love Is” had started to create fault lines between musical architect Jones and frontman Gramm. As resentment grew the once tight knit songwriting partnership started to fall apart and when Gramm embarked on a successful solo career. In May 1990 Gramm leaves acrimoniously fracturing the musical heart of the band. It seemed like they would never get back together but music is a powerful force. Helping to tell the Foreigner story is former bassist Rick Wills and current lead singer Kelly Hansen while Gramm in his own words discusses the perfectionist pressure of Jones, the impact of band lineup changes and the series of uneasy truces between him and Jones throughout the years.

Scorpions: Breaking the Band premieres on Tuesday, June 19th at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT. With more than 100 million albums sold worldwide across an incredible 50 year career German heavy metal giants Scorpions are one of the most successful international rock bands of all time. Now four of the original members including lead singer Klaus Meine, lead guitar Matthias Jabs, drummer Herman Rarebell and founder and guitarist Rudolf Schenker tell the story of their meteoric rise from post-war Germany to headlining Madison Square Garden and living out their American dream. After establishing themselves as one of the iconic heavy metal acts of the 1980s the band’s attention turned to geopolitics and Scorpions debuted their massively successful single “Winds of Change” hit just as the Cold War was coming to an end. But as is so often the case when a rock band realizes its ambitions trouble is never far away. As Scorpions members tell it their American dream turned into a heavy metal nightmare with outrageous excess, the weight of expectation for more album sales, disputes over money and power-struggles within the band taking their toll after decades of chart topping and arena filling success.

Alice Cooper: Story of The Songs premieres on Sunday, June 19th at 10 pm ET/7 pm PT. Alice Cooper has his own wild chapter in the story of rock music as one of the greatest showmen to ever perform. The band of the same name was led by his signature brand of theatricality which shocked and delighted audiences. In exploring three huge Alice Cooper hits see what was behind the singular style of the godfather of shock rock from the revolutionary and controversial stage shows to the iconic and rebellious 1972 smash hit “School’s Out.” With his first-hand account of sharing the stage with Cooper guitarist Steve Hunter discusses the exhilaration of opening night for the infamous Welcome to My Nightmare album tour while former Alice Cooper bass player Prakash John recalls the unique and horror-fueled performances that broke creative boundaries. Guitarist Dweezil Zappa shares stories of how his legendary producer and musician father Frank Zappa signed the Alice Cooper band while the GTO’s Pamela De Barres shares her stories of helping the fledgling Vincent Fournier become Alice Cooper from his style to his sound. Award winning video director Nigel Dick and actress Rana Kennedy give insight into shooting Alice Cooper’s iconic “Poison” video and how his late 1980s comeback cemented his legacy as an all time great.

Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil: My Story premieres on Sunday, June 26th at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT. Vince Neil, the lead singer of legendary heavy metal band Mötley Crüe gives viewers exclusive insight into his wild ride to fame and its many bumps in the road. In candid and fresh interviews with never before heard stories Neil details what led him to music, the formation and early days of Mötley Crüe, surviving the hardest of party days and how he navigated the road to super stardom. Neil also gets candid about his much publicized setbacks from the heartbreak of losing a child to being arrested for driving under the influence and causing a crash that killed a friend. Sharing their stories of Neil are those closest to him including his son and daughter, bandmates Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee and others who have been a part of his story through today. Now 41 years after first forming Mötley Crüe is preparing to launch a 36 city tour in June 2022 and Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil: My Story shows the incredible journey of the band and its frontman like it’s never been seen before and is fully authorized by Neil.

Skid Row: Breaking the Band premieres on Sunday, June 26th at 10 pm ET/7 pm PT. Skid Row burst onto the rock and roll scene in 1989 with a leg up from band co-founder Dave “Snake” Sabo who was childhood friends with Jon Bon Jovi. The pact Sabo and Jon Bon Jovi made ensured that whoever made it big first would bring the other along which led to Skid Row getting a major early boost opening for Bon Jovi. United in their sheer ambition and drive Skid Row stormed the stage and set the charts ablaze selling more than five million copies of the debut self-titled album. Marketed as “the new bad boys of rock,” their unpredictable frontman Sebastian Bach did his best to live up to the label. But as tales of controversy stalked them Bach’s behavior began to jeopardize everything the band had worked towards. The charismatic, sex-symbol frontman of the band became a double-edged sword pushing their popularity up but also pushing them closer to the brink of break-up with every Bach outburst worse than the last. As Skid Row became more popular power struggles and clashing egos destroyed the brotherly bond that had propelled them to fame. And a band already self-combusting had no choice but to pull the plug on their nine year rock and roll ride. Giving an unfiltered, first-hand look at Skid Row are original members and co-founders Rachel Bolan and Sabo along with former frontman Sebastian Bach and manager Doc McGhee.