Cactus Teams Up With Eric Gales for ‘Back Door Man': Exclusive Premiere

Carmine Appice's Cactus has teamed up with guitarist Eric Gales for an incendiary new cover of the blues classic "Back Door Man."

You can watch an exclusive premiere of the video - which tells a spooky ghost story we won't spoil - below.

"Back Door Man" also features bassist Billy Sheehan (of Mr. Big and David Lee Roth fame) and guitarist Arty Dillon. It is taken from Cactus' most recent album, Temple of Blues II, which as you can see from the track list below features a dazzling array of guest stars.

"I wanted to make a real blues album for Temple of Blues 2," Appice explains. "We cut 'Back Door Man' with my Cactus guitarist, Artie Dillon, and then I started thinking about who should sing and play on it. I wanted a great blues artist, so I called Eric Gales and asked him to be part of the track. Then I thought Billy Sheehan would be perfect for it, creating a killer blues trio."

Appice explained how he gave Gales extra room to roam on 'Back Door Man.' "When I arranged the song, I pushed the tempo up and changed the energy. Eric thought one section was meant for the drums, so he sent it back. I told him, “No, it’s for you to kick ass!” When I got it back, the three of us had created something really special."

Appice - whose long and storied drumming career includes stints with Vanilla Fudge, Rod Stewart, Beck, Bogart & Appice and Blue Murder - also made sure that the "Back Door Man" video was something special.

"It all started at our Cactus charity show at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, Illinois, where we filmed all of the performance footage," he explains. "From there, Dom Esposito and I spent hours talking about the concept. Dom than spent countless hours editing and re-editing the video until he got the story exactly right.

"What started as a straightforward performance video evolved into a full-blown urban ghost story starring Eric Gales, Billy Sheehan, and yours truly. We wanted something that was more than just a band playing—we wanted atmosphere, mystery, attitude, and a little bit of old-school MTV magic. The finished video captures the spirit of the song perfectly. It’s got that classic ’80s MTV feel from a time when music videos were events and every song had a story to tell."

Cactus' Temple of Blues II is available now on vinyl and CD and in digital formats from Cleopatra Records.

Watch Cactus Perform 'Back Door Man'

Cactus, 'Temple of Blues II' Track List

1. "Back Door Man Pt. 1 & 2" feat. Eric Gales & Billy Sheehan
2. "300 Pounds Of Joy" feat. Ty Tabor
3. "Moanin’ At Midnight" feat. Pat Travers
4. "Down In The Bottom" feat. Dug Pinnick
5. "Token Chokin’" feat. Bumblefoot
6. "Bad Stuff" feat. Steve Morse, Joe Lynn Turner, Derek Sherinian
& Tony Franklin
7. "Tail Dragger" feat. Rudy Sarzo & Alex Skolnick
8. "The Little Red Rooster" feat. Dee Snider, Tracii Guns, Jimmy Haslip
9. "Purple Haze" feat. Melanie
10. "Spoonful" feat. Ted Nugent & Bob Daisley

BONUS TRACK [CD ONLY]
11. "Feel So Good" feat. Billy Sheehan & Britt Lightning