There is no denying: LED ZEPPELIN is one of the greatest rock bands of all time. How much would you give to go on tour with them, party with then, ride in their legendary tour jet, hang out with groupies and roadies, and experience countless live performances of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Bonham and John Paul Jones?
Rock writer Stephen Davis got to live out every fan's dream in 1975 as he toured with the band. He took meticulous notes, interviewed the band members, and took amazing candid photos to commemorate the time to share this never-before-seen side of LED ZEPPELIN with the world… but then he lost it.
Fast forward 30 years and Stephen miraculously found the notebooks with everything from the tour… and he wants to share everything with you in his new book "LZ-'75: The Lost Chronicles of Led Zeppelin's 1975 American Tour" (on sale October 28; $22.50). The book contains:
* Lost interviews with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page
* Revelations about a rock star who moonlighted as a heroin dealer
* A show-by-show account of the 1975 tour including technical details and descriptions of how the stage (and backstage) really looked and felt
* Insider info on what really went on at the "Riot House"
* The identity of the lover in "What is and What Should Never Be" and "Black Country Woman"
* Vivid descriptions of the extravagant lifestyle that the band lead while on tour: penthouse suites, weekend trips and late night parties on The Starship
"LZ-'75" will have readers feeling like they're on the road and backstage with the band, night after night. Strap yourself in and get ready to ride on the ZEPPELIN once again.
To arrive in Auckland for METALLICA's October 13 concert in style, Christchurch fans took over an Air New Zealand plane for a special "METALLICA-themed flight."
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, more 100 black-clad, gothic leather-wearing metal fans took advantage of the $NZ1 (approximately USD $54) "grabaseat" deal to fly to the band's third New Zealand concert. Among them was Andrea Grom, who started the successful Facebook campaign to get METALLICA to Christchurch.
"I've never ever flown before," she said. "I chose the best first flight ever. It was good, definitely a lot of fun."
Thanks to Auckland promoter Delaunay Enterprises, Grom and her partner were going to meet the band in Auckland before the show.
"I can't wait," she said. "I thought I'd missed out [the first time METALLICA played Auckland], but then this happened ... and I'm actually going to get to meet them. I'm so happy right now."
According to The Sun, GUNS N' ROSES is facing a fine of more than $100,000 after breaking 11 p.m. concert curfews at the band's two concerts at the O2 arena in London this past week.
GUNS N' ROSES overran the curfew with both their shows (October 13 and October 14) by a total of three hours.
When LADY GAGA broke her 11 p.m. curfew at the same venue by 25 minutes last February, she was hit with a £10,000 fine — which comes out to £400 a minute.
By that calculation, GUNS N' ROSES could now be fined £72,000 (approximately $115,000).
An O2 spokesman confirmed to The Sun that the promoters would incur a cost for the late finishes.
This latest drama follows the controversial GUNS N' ROSES August 2010 gigs at England's Reading and Leeds festivals, where the band came onstage late despite warnings from the promoters, and had both sets cut short.
On September 1, GUNS N' ROSES walked off the stage in Dublin, Ireland just 22 minutes into its set — after keeping fans waiting for well over an hour for the group to begin playing. The band returned an hour later to perform to a diminished crowd.
Andrew Lau of Crawdaddy! magazine recently conducted an interview with original GUNS N' ROSES and current ADLER'S APPETITE drummer Steven Adler. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.,
Crawdaddy!: After you left GN'R, they added keyboards, backup singers, and a horn section. Was that a direction you would've been okay with had you still been in the group?
Adler: No, that would've never happened, so they're lucky they did kick me out. I would've okayed the one keyboard player, but it wouldn't have been that jackoff [Axl's] got. It would've been a friend of ours named Howard; that was the whole plan, anyway, that was the only change we were going to make. Bit it was going to be kinda like the AEROSMITH keyboard player, off to the side. Put a mask on him or something [laughs].
Crawdaddy!: Does it makes things any easier for you knowing the band started to go downhill after you left?
Adler: No, it didn't, because I wanted them to succeed. Because Axl did this record, "Chinese Democracy", he didn't call it what he should've called it which was "W.A.R." — W. Axl Rose, not GUNS N' ROSES. It would've' been much better for him. Look at Sting, when he does his solo stuff, he doesn't call it THE POLICE. Phil Collins doesn't call it GENESIS. That's how you're supposed to do it. He's being a total baby. Fuckin' grow up already. For me personally, I want to finish what I started with those assholes. If it wasn't for all these fans who still love us 20 years later, we wouldn't have lived the way we lived, and it's not fair for Axl to keep it from them. All they want is to see the five of us assholes play. Together. I just got off 56 shows in 62 days and had the best time ever traveling around America meeting wonderful people, and all they keep saying is: "'Appetite For Destruction' is the soundtrack to my life, you guys gotta do a reunion."
No kidding, if it was up to me it would happen. I know we owe it to the fans.
Crawdaddy!: What have you found to be more difficult: Cleaning up and staying sober or being in a band with Axl Rose?
Adler: [exhales deeply] Wow. Quitting cigarettes. I'm having a harder time with quitting cigarettes than with that asshole and those assholes. [laughs] The reason, I'm telling you right now, the reason he started going off the wall like he [did] was because there wasn't someone there to focus him and bring him down to earth. If he would throw the microphone and leave the stage after the first song, I would go to him, "Dude, remember when we were kids and we wanted to go see our favorite rock bands? Remember how long and how hard we had to work to save up the money to go see them? That's what these people did to see us. You can't do that." He'd be, "You're right, Steven," and it would bring him back down to earth.
Crawdaddy!: A lot of bands lose sight of that.
Adler: He talked some pretty goofy fuckin' shit, you gotta admit. He can't deny it, but he's also done a lot of wonderful things, and those things don't get any press. People want to hear the negative.
"Lemmy", the long-awaited documentary examining the life and career of MOTÖRHEAD frontman and rock icon Lemmy Kilmister, will receive its U.K. premiere at the London Film Festival in the headline 9:00 p.m. slot at NFT1 on October 23, followed by a theatrical run in selected cinemas throughout the U.K. from December 3rd 2010.
"Lemmy" will be released on DVD by Entertainment One on January 24, 2011. The film premiered in the U.S. in March 2010 during the South by Southwest at the historic Paramount Theatre in Austin.
"Lemmy" directors/producers Greg Olliver and Wes Orshoski spent three years following Kilmister around the globe — from his Hollywood home to the hockey arenas of Russia.
"Lemmy" features appearances by such high-profile Kilmister friends/peers as METALLICA, Dave Grohl, Ozzy Osbourne, Slash, Billy Bob Thornton and pro wrestler Triple H.
Hailed as a godfather of heavy metal, 64-year-old Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister has established himself as the living embodiment of rock and roll over the past four decades. After stints with popular Mersey beat band THE ROCKIN' VICKERS and influential psychedelic rockers HAWKWIND, and even a brief time spent as a member of Jimi Hendrix's road crew, Lemmy formed MOTÖRHEAD in 1975.
Going on to record such influential metal classics as "Overkill", "Ace of Spades" and "Bomber", the Grammy Award-winning MOTÖRHEAD and Kilmister's fusion of punk and metal registered a major influence on such bands as METALLICA, GUNS N' ROSES and NIRVANA.
2010 marks the 35th anniversary of the birth of MOTÖRHEAD, which features Kilmister, guitarist Phil Campbell and drummer Mikkey Dee.
SplatterTribe.TV conducted an interview with ANTHRAX singer Joey Belladonna on October 12, 2010 in Louisville, Kentucky. You can now watch the chat below.
When asked about the status of his new solo album, Belladonna said, "I'd say [it's] about three-quarters done. There's probably three or four songs that need some lead breaks, three or four vocals to be done, maybe two or three drum tracks — stuff like that; little pieces. It's good; it's old-school metal. Like somebody said, 'It sounds like KING DIAMOND.' [laughs] I'm not sure it sounds like that — I don't hear it that way — [but] it's got some good riffs; a lot of good guitar stuff."
On the status of the unreleased ANTHRAX album "Worship Music" which was originally recorded with singer Dan Nelson and was supposed to come out in 2009:
"There's a chance for anything to happen as far as the songs [are concerned] at this point. I mean, you could leave a lot of it [as it is], 'cause it's really well done; there's not a whole lot of uncertainty about it. Of course, I have to come in and finish my part and do the vocals from the start, which I've already done one [song]. It seemed to fall right into place quite easy. I think there's room for any kind of adjusting any tracks. Obviously it [needs to] be remixed and stuff. But you get a second look at it, so anything could happen."
On what's preventing the material from his new solo album from appearing on the next ANTHRAX CD:
"I think there's some good songs there that we could actually definitely do [with ANTHRAX], but I don't think anybody is open to any of that kind of stuff, which I don't offer it. Even if I did something like that [and of my tracks] could be one of the better songs, no one will know that. But I don't advocate that — I don't try and get anyone to do it. I just do my thing, and they've [the other guys in ANTHRAX] got their songs. When you write stuff, it's like, 'This is our stuff.' It's hard for someone to come in with something. I've never done that with these guys. They've never offered me to like... 'Dude, you got any good stuff we could use?' It's never like that."
ANTHRAX performed a new song, "Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't", with Belladonna for the first time on October 8 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.
ANTHRAX debuted "Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't" on May 28, 2008 at Double Door in Chicago, Illinois during the band's first-ever gig with then-singer Dan Nelson. The song was also recorded with Dan for what was supposed to be the next ANTHRAX album, "Worship Music", but ended up getting shelved — along with the rest of the CD — following the departure of Nelson and return of Belladonna.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ_d78TRMj0&feature=player_embedded
Former ANTHRAX and current ARMORED SAINT vocalist John Bush was interviewed by host Victor M. Ruiz for the latest episode of the "Mars Attacks" podcast. You can now stream the podcast using the audio player below.
On being asked to sing for METALLICA in the early '80s and his decision to join ANTHRAX in 1992:
Bush: "[Joining METALLICA] just wasn't my fate, it wasn't my destiny. It would have changed metal in the most gigantic of ways and I wasn't meant to do that. Of course I was always flattered that those guys had an interest in me way back. You've gotta remember — this was, like, around [the time of the release of METALLICA's] 'Kill 'Em All' [1983]. It was way back early in the stages of their career and ARMORED SAINT. And ARMORED SAINT was doing well; we were starting to escalate in our popularity. So I didn't wanna just go join some other band. I was , like, 'Hey, this is my band, these are my friends. You guys are great, but I'm cool here.' So it wasn't my destiny and I can't even imagine what life would have been like; who knows what would have happened? I would say it would have much more of a bigger mistake to not join ANTHRAX. 'Cause by then my career already had gone through about eight or nine years, so it was the right time for me to do that.
If I would have not done that, that probably would have been a large mistake. I'm all good with the way my rock and roll career has gone . . . It's just about timing; it, really, was more about that than anything. The timing seemed right. I think ARMORED SAINT had exnhausted everything we could do and it was time for us to take a break, and that's what we did. It would have been a mistake to pass on [being] a part of the ANTHRAX world in the '90s, and I'm very happy that I did [decide to join the band]."
On his decision to not rejoin ANTHRAX full-time in early 2010, paving the way for ANTHRAX's reunion with singer Joey Belladonna:
Bush: "I think there were a few things that were a factor in that. The main factor was that I felt like it wasn't really time for me to resume my lead singer role in ANTHRAX on a permanent basis. I kind of felt like not enough time had elapsed. You've gotta remember that the last ANTHRAX record was 'We've Come For You All', of original material, so if I would have [gone] back in and re-recorded [the vocal tracks on the unreleased ANTHRAX album 'Worship Music', which was completed with lead singer Dan Nelson] and resumed my position in the band, there would have been nothing in between that, and I just didn't think that was... It didn't feel right. What those guys did is they did a tour where they had Joey Belladonna come in and do the reunion thing [in 2005] and it felt like the next step for them would have been to make a record with Joey. And, for whatever reason, they didn't. In retrospect now, it's like a bunch of time went by and they should have
just done what they are doing now then, and that made the most sense. Nothing against Dan Nelson — he was nothing but nice to me in the press — but that was a weird segue that probably didn't need to happen because they should have made a record with Joey Belladonna then. And I think that's what the ANTHRAX fan base wanted and expected after they did the reunion. And so for me to come in and to re-record Dan's stuff, which I was not into doing at all, and to kind of resume the position of the lead singer after the reunion, it just didn't feel right; it just never sat right in my stomach. To go and do those shows that I did [in late 2009 and early 2010], they were great, they were awesome. There were no weird vibes with the band whatsoever, I had a great time, it all was easy. Going on stage with them is cake; it's second nature and it's not a problem. But to resume my place in the band as the lead singer after what went on after I left, it just
didn't feel right to do that for me. And I was pretty clear about that to them. Were there other factors? Yeah. I have a new career that's doing well and I was kind of reluctant to go, I'm just gonna blow it out now to go back to the band — I had apprehensions in doing that. I've got a business with my wife, and I've got two kids now and that's another thing that I was, like, 'Well, I don't know how I'm gonna be able to juggle all this as well.' And those were factors as well. But I think that, more than anything, the main problem that I had is that I just didn't feel like it was time for me to resume being the lead singer in the band. We kind of roller coastered with it and I think feelings were hurt, and there was some understanding, but not. And you know what?! At the end of the day, it is the way it was meant to be. Joey did these shows. I think that no one could question whether or not he was part of this nostalgic tour ['Big Four'] that
happened. It kind of made sense that he would do it. Look, I had committed to doing [the 'Big Four' shows] and I was eager and excited about doing it, but it didn't happen, and that's life. ANTHRAX and Joey Belladonna doing these ['Big Four' dates], I think it's probably the logical thing. For me, I'm a real... I kind of stay firm in my thought process that things happen the way they're supposed to and they are what they are. Even though I've done a lot of thinking about it, because it's hard not to, at the end I'm pretty happy and I feel like it all kind of happened the way it was supposed to."
On whether he has seen videos of Joey Belladonna singing the John Bush-era ANTHRAX song "Only":
Bush: "I watched one thing; I was curious like anybody else. I wached one thing and that was about it. I'm not that much of an Internet guy where I sit around and watch a bunch of YouTube videos of anything in particular; it's just not my thing. So watching it once was enough... I would probably watch myself once and that would be enough. [laughs] To his defense, he sang it one time, or at least that one time that I saw it... I'm sure the first time I sang 'Indians', it probably wasn't stellar either. So I'm sure if they keep playing it, it'll just get better and better. My feelings on them doing songs that I was part of is actually [something] I feel they should do. Because otherwise if they don't, then it's erasing a huge part of the band's career. There's a bunch of amazing songs beyond 'Only' — 'Room For One More' and 'Inside Out' and 'Fueled' and 'Safe Home' and on and on and on... We had some great songs. So I think it would be sad if they didn't
play some of those songs, because I think the fans would wanna hear some of those songs. . . If they don't play songs that I made with the band, then it's kind of like they're saying, 'Well, this isn't up to snuff,' and that would be confusing, because they are great songs, and I think they should honor those songs."
W.A.S.P. kicked off its European tour this past Wednesday night (October 13) at Kvarteret in Bergen, Norway. According to Roy Hilmar Svendsen of NRK.no, "The intimate show (capacity: 400) was stopped only seconds after the band took the stage, because of a fire alarm. The whole building was evacuated, but everyone was let in again after only a few minutes. W.A.S.P. came back on and started playing without their usual smoke-filled intro, which probably set off the fire alarm."
The band's setlist was as follows:
01. On Your Knees
02. The Real Me
03. L.O.V.E. Machine
04. Crazy
05. Live To Die Another Day
06. Wild Child
07. The Hellion
08. I Don't Need No Doctor
09. Scream Until You Like It
10. Babylon's Burning
11. The Idol
12. I Wanna Be Somebody
--------
13. Chainsaw Charlie (Murders In The New Morgue)
14. Heaven's Hung In Black
15. Blind In Texas
According to The Local, a drunk 40-year-old man bit off a security guard's ear during last night's (Friday, October 15) W.A.S.P. concert in Örebro, Sweden.
The man was detained by police at 11 p.m. at the Conventum arena in Örebro and was booked on suspicion of aggravated assault.
In addition to biting the guard's ear, the suspect also allegedly verbally threatened the guard, according to the Nerikes Allehanda daily newspaper.
As previously reported, W.A.S.P. kicked off its European tour this past Wednesday night (October 13) at Kvarteret in Bergen, Norway. According to Roy Hilmar Svendsen of NRK.no, the intimate concert (capacity: 400) was stopped only seconds after the band took the stage because a fire alarm was activated. The entire building was evacuated, but everyone was let in again after only a few minutes. W.A.S.P. came back on and resumed the show without the band's customary smoke-filled intro, which is believed to have set off the fire alarm.
The band's setlist was as follows:
01. On Your Knees
02. The Real Me
03. L.O.V.E. Machine
04. Crazy
05. Live To Die Another Day
06. Wild Child
07. The Hellion
08. I Don't Need No Doctor
09. Scream Until You Like It
10. Babylon's Burning
11. The Idol
12. I Wanna Be Somebody
--------
13. Chainsaw Charlie (Murders In The New Morgue)
14. Heaven's Hung In Black
15. Blind In Texas
W.A.S.P.'s latest album, "Babylon", was released in Europe on October 12, 2009 through Global Music (via Demolition Records) and was made available in the U.S. on November 17, 2009.
The last thing you expect when you get Zakk Wylde on the phone is to spend five or 10 minutes talking about Lady Gaga.
The subject rears its head when he's discussing the difficulties of routing a tour and how Black Label Society ended up being booked for an outdoor show in Pittsburgh in the middle of October.
"It's all about availability of venues," he says. "They'll tell you, 'Anthrax is already playing at that one place, and I've got Slayer over there. You can't play there.' "
Like most things he says, in his Jersey accent, it's a funny example when you think about it.
"I like the way you make it sound like there are only thrash metal bands out there," I tell him.
"Ha, ha!," he says, "There couldn't be Celine Dion or ..."
"... Lady Gaga."
Black Label Society
With: Clutch, Children of Bodom.
Where: Trib Amphitheatre, Station Square.
When: 6 p.m. Saturday.
Tickets: $40.90. 1-800-745-3000.
"Actually, Lady Gaga, she kicks [butt]," he says, taking the bait. "My daughter's 18, loves Lady Gaga. I think she's amazing, too, because you could put her behind a piano and she'll sing you a song, dude. And she writes all her stuff. She's not some fabricated thing. She's a legitimate artist. You could put her out on an unplugged tour. Madonna couldn't do that."
Being a legitimate guitar hero, Zakk Wylde could probably do an unplugged tour himself, but it's a lot more loud and fun seeing the Viking rocker in front of Black Label Society, a quartet that carries on in the spirit of Black Sabbath or Rainbow, with a touch of Southern hell-raising. Black Label is touring on its eighth album, "Order of the Black," and is fresh from taking its familiar spot on the second stage of Ozzfest.
Wylde, of course, made his name, quite literally, when he was hired away from his day job at a gas station to join Ozzy Osbourne in 1987 and then played with him on and off for 20 years, appearing on most of the albums between "No More Tears" and "Black Rain." For this year's "Scream" album, Ozzy was looking for a change and turned to Gus G of Firewind, leaving Wylde to focus on his 11-year-old Black Label Society.
He didn't have any hard feelings with the split.
"No, not at all. It's like my father passing away in January," Wylde says. "The bottom line is, he was 89 years. I just thank the good Lord he gave him to me for 89 years. You never ask, you always thank. The thing with Oz, if you remember, No More Tours, that was supposed to be the last tour. That was 1991, bro. I was on my own then. Ozzy always said, 'Don't be waitin' around for me. If you get an opportunity, take the fame I've given you and use it for something, man.' To me, it's all good, there's nothing bad that can come out of it. Without Oz, there'd be no Zakk Wylde or Black Label."
The latest BLS record, which has spawned such killer live tracks as "Crazy Horse," "Overlord" and "Godspeed Hellbound," was recorded in his new studio, but he says it didn't make much difference where it was cut.
"We've got the new Black Label Bunker, the Black cathedral over there, but you put me in any studio, we're going to have a blast recording anywhere. Abbey Road, Electric Ladyland, Olympic, dude, you put me in a studio, and there's a piano sitting there, me and you, we'll have a blast. Just mike it up and start recording.
"That's why when we go into the studio, I'll have no songs and then we just start writing. We can be driving to the studio and the radio comes on, 'Whole Lotta Love,' and I'll go 'Dude, we'd kill if I had something like this' -- just a pounding riff and two-chord chorus. And you get inspired to write something like that. Or you hear 'Heart of Gold' by Neil Young and go, 'What a [butt]-kicking song' and I just pick up an acoustic and start coming up with something. So we just went from Zeppelin to Neil Young on the way to the studio, you know what I mean?"
BLS songs don't really come out sounding much like either, particularly with the full-on apocalyptic metal imagery.
"I'm a classic rock guy, and I think it's hysterical when you listen to a lot of the lyrics, whether it's the '70s or '80s or '50s," Wylde says. "It's all about a guy picking up a girl and partyin'. Then the grunge stuff was just amazing. I remember the guys in Skynyrd were like, 'Man, what was the deal with the '90s? You guys, man, everybody wants to kill themselves,' " he says laughing. "I go, 'Yeah, but the lyrics got weight to them, they really meant something.' "
Wylde throws out the Kiss lyrics "She's a dancer/a romancer/I'm a capricorn/she's a cancer" as the kind he could never pull off, as his songs tend to focus on life and death, blood and war.
"I'll see cool titles or I'll just be watching the Military Channel. You're never going to run out of material, whether it's religion, war, the occult, things you read about that are just so interesting. It has layers and layers of things, it's not about one thing that's black and white."
One of the challenges for bands like Black Label Society is that the chance of one of its songs working itself in the lexicon like "Whole Lotta Love," "Back in Black" or "Welcome to the Jungle" is becoming more remote.
"You're never going to have an 'Appetite for Destruction' again. If it came out now, it would still be great, be an amazing record, but instead of selling 17 million records, it would sell four. I mean, the first day your record comes out, it's gone, that's it. People are downloading it and the whole nine yards. It's gone.
"I don't understand. If there's a new thing with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones, I'm buying it. I'm not going to download the damn thing. It's not like the album is $6,000. C'mon, man. I don't get it. I go buy it. What are we lookin' at here, man, $14? That it's. For cryin' out loud. We might as well go to a movie theater and sneak in and hopefully we'll be able to steal some popcorn. It's stupid, man."
The other thing that's changed, he says, is the way fans interact with their metal heroes.
"The Zeppelin guys, they'd be on Twitter today. Or it'd be 'Oh my god, I'm writing to Randy Rhoads!' To me, it's all good. One of my buddies said, 'Yeah, but the mystique is gone.' It was a big deal if anyone ever got an interview with Jimmy Page 'cause he's living in a castle in Boleskine doing Aleister Crowley rituals. There's a mystique there. The only time you saw them was in a magazine. So when you saw them on stage, that was it, man. There was weight to it. There was no reality TV. I mean, Ozzy there was a mystique. Now, with reality, there's no mystique. It's gone."
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10287/1094969-388.stm#ixzz12S52n2Rj
Former NITRO guitarist Michael Angelo Batio and DEATHRIDERS, the fronted by ex-ANTHRAX singer Neil Turbin, will perform at the NAMM Metal Jamm 2011 on January 16 at the Whisky A Go-Go in Hollywood, California.
The 2011 NAMM (National Association Of Music Merchants) show will take place January 13-16 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.
Last year's NAMM drew 85,000 registrants from 100 countries and attracted 1,400-plus exhibitors.
The NAMM show is one of the largest music product trade shows in the world.
NAMM show is **NOT** open to the public. The only attendees are NAMM member companies and their invited guests.
German metal queen Doro Pesch has been confirmed for the next Sweden Rock Cruise, set to sail from Stockholm to Turku, Finland and back on April 7-8, 2011. Five more acts will appear at the event. Ticket prices — including cabin accomodations — start at only 395 SEK (approximately 43 euros) per person and go on sale next week. The exact date will be announced shortly.
Some of Sweden's finest heavy metal musicians gathered to pay tribute to Ronnie James Dio during this fall's edition of the Sweden Rock Cruise, which sailed on October 7 from Stockholm, Sweden for Åbo, Finland and returned the following day. There was a long tribute concert with a number of guest musicians performing classic songs from Dio's career with a main band consisting of members of LION'S SHARE. The show ended with all artists performing HEAR 'N AID's "Stars" (Dio was behind the HEAR N' AID project, a collection of metal artists who recorded the track "Stars" in 1985 to raise funds for African famine relief.)
Swedish metallers SABATON have been confirmed for the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise, which is set to sail from Miami, Florida to Cozumel, Mexico on January 24, 2011 and return four days later. A total of 40 acts will appear at the event.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
AGENT STEEL
AMON AMARTH
CRIPPER
DARK TRANQUILLITY
DEATH ANGEL
ENSIFERUM
EPICA
EXODUS
FEAR FACTORY
FINNTROLL
FORBIDDEN
GAMMA RAY
ICED EARTH
KORPIKLAANI
MARDUK
MOONSPELL
NEVERMORE
OBITUARY
RAGE
RAVEN
SABATON
SANCTUARY
SAXON
SODOM
SONATA ARCTICA
SWASHBUCKLE
TESTAMENT
TROUBLE
TÝR
ULI JON ROTH
UNLEASHED
WITCHBURNER
SAXON will play two unique shows. One night they will perform the "Wheels Of Steel" LP in its entirety and on a different night, for the second show, they will play "Strong Arm Of The Law" from start to finish.
70000 Tons Of Metal will sail Monday, January 24, 2011 aboard the Royal Caribbean "Majesty of the Seas" from Miami, Florida to Cozumel, Mexico and will not return you to the real world for four days until Friday, January 28, 2011.
Make no mistake, 70000 Tons Of Metal is not your grandma's cruise. It's also not one of the cruises that share the ship with normal cruise guests. This is an all-ship heavy metal cruise! Can you imagine that? A whole luxury cruise ship full of metalheads? And since there is no backstage area you will have the opportunity to mingle side-by-side with the artists in this incredibly fan-friendly scenario that has no comparison. It's like everyone has a backstage pass and you might even need a vacation from this vacation when all is said and done!
Ticket prices start at US$666 plus US$249 taxes and fees per person and include all on-board entertainment, all meals and non-alcoholic and non-carbonated drinks at the on-board restaurants and 24-hour room service!
For more information, go to www.70000tons.com.
Kristianstad, Sweden-based heavy rockers WASTELAND SKILLS have announced the addition of drummer Stefan Westerberg (CARNAL FORGE, STEEL ATTACK, WORLD BELOW, ASPERITY, 8 FOOT SATIVA) to the group's ranks. The band is currently rehearsing for upcoming shows.
WASTELAND SKILLS recently completed completed work on a six-song EP, "Beyond the Barrier". The effort wil be made available via iTunes, Spotify and other outlets in the coming days.
WASTELAND SKILLS is:
Andreas Ohlsson - Vocals
Andreas Pettersson - Guitar, Backing vocals
Fredrik Rosdahl - Bass
Fredrik Svensson - Guitar
Stefan Westerberg - Drums
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/wastelandskills.
CHILDREN OF BODOM's as-yet-untitled seventh studio album is being produced by Matt Hyde, who has previously worked with SLAYER and MONSTER MAGNET, among others. An early 2011 release through Spinefarm Records in Europe and Metal Blade Records in North America is expected.
In a recent interview with Revolver magazine, CHILDREN OF BODOM guitarist/vocalist Alexi Laiho said that he was happy with the decision to work with Hyde. "Our management was pushing the idea," Laiho said, "so eventually it was, 'All right, fuck it. Just to shut them up, let's do it.' We liked the way [Hyde] talked about music and the way he was already so fucking committed. He wanted to do the best fucking CHILDREN OF BODOM album ever and was pretty serious and convincing about that. After five minutes of talking to the dude, we knew he was the guy."
Regarding the musical direction of the new CHILDREN OF BODOM material, Laiho told Revolver, "It's maybe a little more melodic than [2008's] 'Blooddrunk' was. It's maybe more guitar riff-oriented, really '80s guitar and stuff like that."
According to Laiho, the recording sessions for the new CHILDREN OF BODOM album produced nine originals and one cover song that he says is "gonna be fucking funny as shit. I don't think it's something anybody would necessarily want to cover — not a metal band, anyway."
Among the new tracks that are set to appear on the next CHILDREN OF BODOM CD are "Pussyfoot Miss Suicide", "Ugly" and "Was It Worth It?", the latter of which the band shot a video for on October 6 somewhere in north Pennsylvania." Directing the clip was Dale "Rage" Resteghini, who has helmed over 550 music videos since 2003, including clips for such metal bands as MUDVAYNE, HATEBREED, ANTHRAX and SHADOWS FALL. Rage has also directed videos for some of the biggest names in the hip hop world, including Lil Wayne, Diddy, Snoop Dog and Ice Cube.
Regarding the subject matter covered in the "Pussyfoot Miss Suicide" lyrics, Laiho told Revolver, "I've been involved with stupid chicks who were trying to get attention by being, 'Oh, I'm so fucking depressed. I'm gonna slit my wrists with a cheese grater...' And it's so fucking boring, like, 'Just let it go. You're really not gonna do it, anyway.' It's kind of harsh, but it's fuckin' black humor." "Ugly", on the other hand, is "really just venting and screaming stupid stuff. Nobody should expect anything deep and poetic and sensitive and intelligent, y'know?"
CHILDREN OF BODOM launched a full North American tour on September 22 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The band is touring through November alongside BLACK LABEL SOCIETY.
Altsounds recently conducted an interview with KORN drummer Ray Luzier. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Altsounds: Why [call the new album] "Korn III: Remember Who You Are"? Some found it cheesy and hated it, and some went crazy for it. What's the inspiration behind the title?
Luzier: Well, it's exactly what it reads as — it's "Korn III" because it's our third album with [producer] Ross Robinson. It's not like we're trying to start a new generation of KORN or anything, but I'm a permanent member now it feels like a mini fresh start. "Remember Who You Are"? Well, we're not in the giant comfy recording studio that we're used to, we tried not to be too overproduced and really tried to capture our passion. That's pretty much what this whole record's about. There was nothing like, "Let's try and play our instruments perfectly." It was much more, "Let's just rock this," and we played what we felt like at the time. It's all about the passion. I kind of miss that. You hear so many records nowadays that just sound perfect, and when you see the band live they're very untidy. You're just left with this feeling of, "Why? That sucks!" [laughs] When we play our songs live, they sound just like the album, except with an added energy of the
live scenario. We're kind of proud of that.
Altsounds: So you're confident that you've captured this return to roots in your current sound?
Luzier: Yeah, for the most part it doesn't sound like we were trying to replicate the first two albums at all. Which is not what we were doing, It's more of a message to be read in the album. When you look at the incredible success KORN has had, it's very easy to say, "Oh, we'll just take a year to write this record, maybe take a few months off in between." We wanted that garage stage where we can capture that moment, and there's no over-thinking of things, no trying to write a hit song, or any of that. People get too wrapped up in that. We would just write what we would feel. There's no bullshit. So many bands find success and then keep trying to write hit songs and it just fails. I think there's a reason why KORN has been around for seventeen years, and why the fans are so die hard. So many different generations come to the shows, it's really great.
Altsounds: KORN's sound and attitude has always had a lot to do with the band's lyricism — KORN's lyrics are disturbing at the best of points…
Luzier: Exactly man, there's just no bullshit. Jon [Davis] writes the lyrics mostly about things that he's gone through, or things he's passionate about. He's always sung from the heart. You can see it when the fans show up — they're laughing, they're crying, they're experiencing it. We play for real, we don't fake it. There's no point in that. On the deluxe edition of "Remember Who You Are", there's a little part of the DVD that goes with each song, and it really captures the moments when we were creating the album. Our photographer was crammed into our tiny shed of a studio, it got a bit cramped, but it really shows us sweating it out in the old cat box. Ross wanted to make us uncomfortable. He was punching cymbals, hitting guitars, and I think it worked. [laughs]
Altsounds: When you joined KORN, you originally just joined as a touring member. How did the transition to becoming a permanent member occur?
Luzier: It was great, because I never do anything half-assed with my music. I've had a pretty extensive music career, I've had the privilege of working within the music and touring industry for so long now — I started touring back in '94. OZZY OSBOURNE was my first tour and then everything in between — eight years of DAVID LEE ROTH, three years of ARMY OF ANYONE — and loads of other great things too. Everything I do I try and do it 110%. Personally, I also love watching a band grow, I love doing a record with a band and then later coming back to the same guys and see how both they and I have progressed. It's quite exciting.
Altsounds: When you first joined, did you feel obliged to play like Dave Silveria did?
Luzier: I respect the guy a lot, and KORN wouldn't have got anywhere without the power of his drums and that's set in stone. I know what it can be like for fans though, if I saw my favorite band and there was some new guy up there, especially when you're so emotionally attached to a band, it can be really difficult. I remember when I was doing the first couple of meet-and-greets, a lot of people were just like, "Who the hell are you?" I'm like, "I'm the new guy!" Bands are a lot like marriages — people get divorced all the time and things change. It's really tough. It's just the way things work and people have to accept that. I think Dave created some really great parts and I totally respect that, but we're totally different drummers — way, way different. I love his playing style, and I love his uniqueness. But when they hired me for the band, they said, "We want Ray Luzier. We want a new fire and a new energy." Hopefully that's what I've been
bringing.
X JAPAN, the biggest rock band in Japan, wrapped up its first-ever North American tour last weekend with an SRO show at New York's Roseland Ballroom. Over the course of the seven dates, all played at theatre-sized venues, X JAPAN easily demonstrated why they've sold 30 million units and filled the 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome a whopping 18 times.
X JAPAN hadn't played venues this small in more than 20 years, so they tailored their "stadium-sensibility production" to the theaters, bringing in everything from lasers to pyrotechnics to CO2 to a jumbo screen.
If you missed seeing the band this time, they will be back, as 2011 will see a full-on North American tour.
The members of X JAPAN have been writing and recording what will be their first album to be released in North America and to contain English lyrics. According to mainman Yoshiki, about half of the album will feature some of the band's most popular songs from throughout their career, with all lyrics re-recorded in English, and the other half all brand-new songs.
Riot Entertainment has announced distribution deals with Victory Records and Peaceville Records for the Australian market.
Commented John Howarth, CEO of Riot: "Riot and I are totally honoured to be working with Victory and Peaceville. I have chased these labels for a long time and so we are extremely excited to be working with both labels. Tony Brummel [Victory head honcho] and I are also huge wrestling fans so that is a bonus.
"I have known Tony for a long time; he is an innovator in the industry and I am looking forward to working with him and learning from him, too. With a stack of killer new releases such as A DAY TO REMEMBER, ILL NINO, COMEBACK KID, HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS and more, this is a great time for Victory and Riot to start doing business together."
Howarth continued, "Peaceville is a label I have always been keen on and they have really been at the forefront of the darker side of the metal scene with bands like MY DYING BRIDE, KATATONIA, PARADISE LOST, OPETH, DARKTHRONE and more. Now with CRADLE OF FILTH on board, the sky is the limit. It is a really strong catalogue and a lot of their bands have really loyal followings here.
"The vibe on the new CRADLE OF FILTH is really strong and they have some other really impressive titles due for release."
Victory and Peaceville join a stable of other labels at Riot that includes Nuclear Blast, Metal Blade, Season of Mist, Relapse, Edel, Good Fight, Earache and more.
"There have been so many changes and massive upheaval in the industry here that we have to continue to build and consolidate, and becoming a home to these key labels is something that retail have been demanding," Howarth said. "Housing all the key product under the one roof is really helping all the labels as a lot of great product is all feeding off each other.
"We have so many bands from the Riot roster touring here between now and early 2011, such as SOILWORK, KATATONIA, A DAY TO REMEMBER, GWAR, DIMMU BORGIR, FOZZY, KYLESA, SILVERSTEIN, SMASHING PUMPKINS, BAYSIDE, ILL NINO, SAXON and plenty more. We are also building a profile here for RISE TO REMAIN who are playing Soundwave 2011. We really want to bring this amazing band to the fans here."
Next week Riot will announce the signing of a seminal Australian metal band returning to the scene. Howarth said, "I sat and listened to the final product and it is possibly the best Australian metal recording I have heard."
At the beginning of 2010, Riot set up an elite distribution deal with Warner Music Australia and more recently with New Zealand for its licensed and key label titles. These include the latest releases from THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, HELLYEAH, FILTER, JOHN 5, PEARL, AS I LAY DYING, DIMMU BORGIR, KAMELOT and others through the Warner system, several of which have had strong chart success.
"Warner have been great," commented Howarth. "They are also going to support us with key overseas signings and albums that we bring to the table, so if there are any international bands looking at doing deals for Australia, just reach out to us!"
Finnish/Swedish symphonic metallers NIGHTWISH have officially started recording the follow-up to 2007's "Dark Passion Play". Drummer Jukka Nevalainen writes on the band's official web site, "After spending an intensive summer camp on Finnish countryside and putting a final touch to [a pre-production/demo recording of all the songs that will be featured on the CD], we started recording the drums for our next album. We gathered together [on Thursday, October 14] and set up the drums and all the recording devices. [Friday, October 15] was mostly spent just perfecting the sounds. Just like with our last album we got some back-up from Mr. Kai Hahto (SWALLOW THE SUN and WINTERSUN), who is known to be able to conjure godly sounds by tuning the drums. The legendary duet of Mikko Karmila and TeeCee Kinnunen are taking care of the engineering again. [Friday night] ended with a complete take of the first song, so the recording session has now officially started!"
CKY returns to the music scene with the release of a new single, "The Afterworld". The song, which builds upon the band's signature sound, is used during the closing credits of Paramount Pictures/MTV Films' "Jackass 3D", opening nationwide on October 15. The track will also be featured on the "Jackass 3D" soundtrack, which will be released on October 26 via Epitaph Records. The single is currently available digitally via iTunes.
After playing at Sonisphere and touring across Australia and New Zealand, CKY has an intensive tour lined up for their North American fans. The band will hit the road on October 29, starting off in New Jersey and wrapping up on November 13 in Maryland.
The origins of CKY can be traced all the way back to 1992 when Jess and Deron met in high school and decided to begin writing music together. The band has gone through various names and lineups before settling on the current version, with one clear mission statement. According to the band "CKY's goal is clear: To force change within the music industry and bring rock back to an acceptable state."
CKY's fourth album, "Carver City", sold 11,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 46 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released in May 2009 via Roadrunner Records.
CKY is:
Jess Margera - Drums
Deron Miller - Vocals/Guitar
Chad Ginsburg - Guitar/Vocals
Matt Janaitis – Bass
Chris Harris of Gun Shy Assassin recently conducted an interview with current TRIPTYKON and former HELLHAMMER/CELTIC FROST singer, guitarist, and main songwriter Tom Gabriel Warrior. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
On the songwriting process for TRIPTYKON's second full-length album, tentatively due in late 2011 or early 2012:
"I feel very inspired at this time, and it is a pleasure to work with this band. I am very proud and happy to work with them and there is plenty of material that I think is worthy enough to be on a new album so we are working on this."
On whether it gets old fans always kissing his ass:
"You never like people kissing your ass, but you also don't like people screwing with you. It goes both ways. I'm just a musician and I am very passionate about music. It's fine with me if people just appreciate my music. I don't do this to be worshipped. If anything, my beginnings were so difficult and so humble and I still feel mentally so close to those times that it feels completely contrived to me. I'm not Tom Warrior, the legend — as people call me. I'm just Tom Warrior — somebody who had a teenage dream to play music to escape from a dismal reality in my private life. Music makes me happy and that's really the end of it."
On his departure from CELTIC FROST:
"I knew I was giving up a lot when I left CELTIC FROST. It was not a decision I made in a hurry or in anger or something. I knew it was coming to this and I knew I was going to give up a lot and have to start from scratch again. So I did and I was totally open in what to expect and I was surprised that there were far more people interested right from the beginning in TRIPTYKON than I thought and I am very happy and proud about that."
According to NBC Washington, a 27-year-old man was killed early this morning (Friday, October 15) a short distance from the DC9 club in Washington D.C. where AGNOSTIC FRONT and MOTHER OF MERCY had just finished performing.
The victim, Ali Ahmed Mohammed was reportedly denied entry into the nightclub, as it was closing time, so he threw a rock or brick through the club's window and fled. He was then chased down by five employees who were inside the club at the time and was tackled and beaten. Police said Mohammed was "barely conscious" when they arrived and later died of blunt force trauma at Howard University Hospital.
"He was critically injured when police arrived on the scene," Lanier said.
The five people were arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
DC9 employee and witness Damon Dixon gave NBC Washington a different version of what happened than police.
"One was just kind of pressing him down; the other guy was just restraining his hand," Dixon said. "I did not see a single person punch or kick anybody… The gentleman was awake; he was alive. He was being subdued, but in no violent way."
Meanwhile, DC9 has issued the following statement regarding last night's incident:
"DC9 is deeply saddened by the tragic events that have occurred. Our condolences go out to the family of the victim. We would like to thank our friends, family, and all the employees of DC9. DC9 is a special environment of some of strongest friendships that could only be compared to a close family, which we consider ourselves. We very much look forward to our day in court."
On November 29 in Europe (January 11, 2011 in the U.S.), ten years after the recordings of the band's debut album, "Saviour", ANTIMATTER will release "Alternative Matter", a retrospective of another kind. This is not a standard best-of album, but a compilation of exclusively unreleased recordings and alternative versions from the archives of the band, compiled by ANTIMATTER mastermind Mick Moss with care and passion. "Alternative Matter" features demo and acoustic versions of well-known ANTIMATTER songs, live recordings, remixes, and also new recordings which have been conceived especially for this compilation. And in their entirety all these songs tell a yet unknown ANTIMATTER story.
After months of intense work on his anniversary compilation, Mick Moss himself is very pleased with its outcome. "The amazing thing about this compilation is that these pieces were set to tape in many different places during a period of over ten years, yet collected together they form a coherent and united new listening experience, a fascinating alternate history that sounds unlike any prior ANTIMATTER album," he said. "I would love to be able to hear this collection in its entirety with fresh ears for the first time, but that's now for the listener to do."
ANTIMATTER is the U.K. project whose recording/touring lineup has included current and former members of ANATHEMA. The group's fourth album, "Leaving Eden", was released in April 2007.
After Duncan Patterson left the band in 2005, Mick Moss gathered a number of guest musicians around him — among others Danny Cavanagh (ANATHEMA) — to record the most depressive and heaviest album of ANTIMATTER's discography. This is attested by the dynamics of "Leaving Eden", the increased use of electric guitars and forceful drumming.
LEAVES' EYES — the German/Norwegian band formed by ex-THEATRE OF TRAGEDY singer Liv Kristine Espenaes Krull and members of ATROCITY — has parted ways with bassist Alla Fedynitch "for personal reasons." The group will play the last two shows of this year — at the Metal Female Voices Fest on October 24 in Wieze, Belgium and on November 19 at the Indian Music Conference in Goa, India — with Dutch session bassist J.B. van der Wal (ABORTED, DR. DOOM).
J.B. van der Wal previously played with LEAVES' EYES at the Bloodstock Open Air and Summer Breeze festivals as well as on the band's last U.S. tour.
"Take The Devil In Me", the new video from LEAVES' EYES, can be viewed below. The song comes off the group's latest album, "Njord", which was re-released in May as a "special fan edition," containing three previously unreleased tracks — "At Heaven's End", "Angus and the Swan" and an acoustic version of "Irish Rain". The set also features an appearance by Liv's sister, Carmen Elise Espenaes from MIDNATTSOL, as a guest vocalist on "Irish Rain". The special fan edition comes with a noble matt and glossy foil printed slipcase, which is strictly limited.
The "special fan edition" of "Njord" consists of the "Njord" digipack, including two bonus tracks, as well as the brand new bonus CD "At Heaven's End", which contains seven non-album tracks, and the "My Destiny" video.
LEAVES' EYES recently entered Mastersound Studio in Germany to begin recording its new album for a tentative early 2011 release.
Finnish metallers SAATTUE have parted ways with drummer Mikael "Miku" Ahlstén and have replaced him with Sameli Köykkä, formerly of the Finnish funeral doom metal band COLOSSEUM. According to SAATTUE, "Ahlstén decided to leave the group after being a member of SAATTUE for five years and being responsible for recording drums for both of the band's albums, 'Jäähyvästi' (2006) and 'Vuoroveri' (2009)."
"Vuoroveri" was released in October 2009 via Spikefarm Records. The CD includes "eight works of heavy, dark and multi-dimensional saatto metal," according to a press release.
"Vuoroveri" was recorded at D-Studio in Klaukkala, Finland with producer Jarno Hänninen and was mastered at Finnvox Studio by Mika Jussila.
"Vapahtaja" features special guest appearances by Alexi Laiho (CHILDREN OF BODOM) on guitar solo, Pasi Koskinen (AJATTARA) on backing vocals and Aapo Romu (VANGUARD) on cello.
SAATTUE writes its lyrics in Finnish and calls its music "saatto metal."
"Saatto," as well as "saattue," means "procession" in Finnish.
For more information (in Finnish), visit www.saattue.net.
Chicago-based progressive metal hybrid BORN OF OSIRIS has entered BOTA Studio in Lake In The Hills, Illinois to begin recording its third album for an early 2011 release via Sumerian Records. The CD is being produced by the band with the help of BOTA's producer/engineer Don "dB" Byczynski. The CD will be mixed by Brandon Paddock.
Commented guitarist Lee McKinney: "The new album [is] WAY heavier than anything the band ever released. There is definitely nothing we've done that's anywhere near this heavy. We have moved on to seven strings and it couldn't have complemented our sound any better. We brought back the 'BOO-bounce' on this one. It's definitely a really fun and upbeat album. We've also been writing this album for a long time. We had 16 to 18 songs going into the studio and we are going to be leaving with 12 songs that we feel are the strongest.
"We all live in a house together and that has really upped the creativity level. We go from on tour to living at home together, so we are all focusing on the band constantly. Also, the addition of our new guitar player Jason Richardson has increased the amount of shred on this album. There are some really incredible guitar solos on this album from the both of us. It takes the band to a whole new level of musicality.
"This album contains an awesome mix of our most heavy, most technical, most atmospheric and most beautiful melodies ever.
"No matter what album you've liked better of ours so far, this one tops both easily."
BORN OF OSIRIS will take a break from the recording process to join ALL THAT REMAINS and labelmates ASKING ALEXANDRIA for a North American run, which kicks off on October 19.
BORN OF OSIRIS's sophomore album, "A Higher Place", came out last year. The CD was recorded at Planet Z in in Hadley, Massachusetts with producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris, who has previously worked with HATEBREED, SHADOWS FALL, WHITECHAPEL and THE ACACIA STRAIN, among others.
BORN OF OSIRIS' debut album, "The New Reign", was produced by Michael Keene of THE FACELESS.
The band's sound is said to be "an epic mix of intricate and memorable melodies with challenging time signatures that still hold an infectious groove, all while maintaining sheer, tasteful brutality."
POISONBLACK — the Finnish band featuring former SENTENCED frontman Ville Laihiala — will enter Antfarm Studio in Århus, Denmark in January 2011 with producer Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, MOONSPELL, DARK TRANQUILLITY, GOREFEST) to begin recording its new album, tentatively titled "Lead & Roll Vol. 5". A late spring/early summer release is expected.
Madsen previously mixed POISONBLACK's 2006 effort "Lust-Stained Despair".
As previously reported, guitarist Antti Leiviskä (MARY, BRYSSEL KAUPALLINEN, SICKNOTE) will fill in for POISONBLACK's Janne Markus at all upcoming shows.
"Of Rust And Bones", the fourth album from POISONBLACK, entered the official chart in the group's home country at position No. 6. The follow-up to 2008's "A Dead Heavy Day" was recorded with producer Hiili Hiilesmaa, who has previously worked with such acts as HIM, SENTENCED, AMORPHIS and ENSIFERUM. The cover and booklet artwork was created by Teemu Hostikka.
"A Dead Heavy Day" also entered the Finnish chart at position No. 6.
Sheffield, England's WHILE SHE SLEEPS has inked a deal with Good Fight Music, home to such popular groups as MADBALL and THE CHARIOT. The band has a new album set for a digital-only release on November 23, 2010, entitled "The North Stands for Nothing".
Vocalist Alan "Nemtheanga" Averill of Irish dark metal masters PRIMORDIAL has issued the following update:
"It's been a while since my last confession.
"Joking aside, it really has been a long time since our last transmission and the reasons are manifold and really pretty simple.
"This has been one of the most tumultuous years in the band since the mid-Nineties. The wheels very nearly came clean off, so where do I start?!
"We can't go any further without clearing up the drummer situation. Truth is, we had an incident in Greece that if you follow or know anything about the band has been well documented, so we won't go into again. [Longtime PRIMORDIAL drummer] Simon [O'Laoghaire] had some real problems that night.
"Firstly, we thank the Greek fans for their understanding and we will be back in 2011.
"Yes, it's true in the aftermath of that we auditioned some drummers and I must also thank everyone who applied from abroad, the Irish drummers we did play with and everyone who sent us emails and messages wishing us strength and asking after Simon.
"Suffice it to say Simon is the drummer of PRIMORDIAL and I have no doubt this will never change. He is fit and well and we rehearsed yesterday.
"For our own piece of mind, we had to audition people and in hindsight maybe something positive came out of it in that we had to put the album recording back and I feel we will be better prepared.
"We all, of course, have a long history together of over two decades in various personal combinations, and to put it mundanely, you go through ups and downs and this year has had more than its fair share of downs. For the first time in years, we played a few very average shows and by our own admission became unfocused. Yet as always we regroup, our own biggest critics, and in one month we enter the studio to record album number seven.
"We would like to extend massive thanks to Gareth Averill for filling in at short notice for a fistful of gigs over the summer.
"In case you didn't know, he's the guy who shot and edited our DVD, and as you may recognize, my cousin. He stood up to the plate and in a couple of days learned our set, having been a session drummer in the Irish indie/rock scene for a decade.
"The whole experience and auditioning drummers at the very least gave us a greater insight into the dynamic that makes PRIMORDIAL PRIMORDIAL and that dynamic belongs to all five of us. We may have stand-ins for shows now and again because we are not a professional band nor make a living from it and life gets in the way of us all doing every show, but we realized that replace one of the five of us creatively and PRIMORDIAL is not PRIMORDIAL.
"For the foreseeable future Cathal Murphy is going to be behind the kit live, making his debut with us at the end of the month in Spain and Portugal. Simon is just taking a break for a short while, nothing more and nothing less. This will be our first time in Madrid and Barcelona since 2000 when we played with IMMORTAL. Been way too long.
"Touring and festival plans are being thrown about now for 2011; hopefully some more news very soon…
"The new songs are coming thick and fast at this stage as studio time is approaching.
"Sometimes I really wish we made a living from the band so could take more time than the snatches of rehearsal we get but that said we also thrive on some pressure and it seems to give the songs some extra edge.
"Foel Studios in Wales is booked for two sessions in November and December.
"Looking forward to a Welsh Indian Winter.
"Bring on the monsoon season."
The third in the reissue series from PRIMORDIAL, "Spirit The Earth Aflame", came out in July via Metal Blade Records. The LP was originally released in 2000 and was now re-released as a two-disc digipack.
PRIMORDIAL released its first-ever DVD, "All Empires Fall", in the U.S. on March 16 via Metal Blade Records. Disc 1 of the two-disc set is the centerpiece of the DVD and features a full PRIMORDIAL headline show recorded live on January 24, 2009 in the band's hometown of Dublin, Ireland. The concert was filmed with five cameras and has an exceptional vintage look due to the hard work in post-production. Disc 2 features live clips from the band's appearances at Ragnarök Festival (Germany), Hove Festival (Norway) and Graspop Metal Meeting (Belgium) in 2008. The second disc also contains a band documentary with all the inside stories and loads of ancient footage from the early stages of the band. The documentary has a playing time of approximately 60 minutes. Interviews with all band members and rehearsal footage complete the second disc of the set.
Greek gothic metal band SORROWFUL ANGELS has parted ways with singer Kostas Katikos "for personal reasons." Dion Christodoulatos, who previously played guitar in the group, will take over the vocal duties and the band will remain a four-piece.
Kostas will play his final shows with SORROWFUL ANGELS in Belgium on November 5 and November 6.
SORROWFUL ANGELS' "Denial" video can be viewed below. The clip was directed by Bob Katsionis for Progressive Vision Group. The song comes off the group's debut album, "Ship In Your Trip", which was released last year via Sleaszy Rider Records. According to a press release, the CD contains "10 darkly brooding melancholic songs which showcase how much the band has evolved" since its inception in 1999.
"Ship In Your Trip" features artwork by Natalie Shau (LACUNA COIL, POISONBLACK) and a guest appearance by Mike Galiatsos (SNOWBLIND, ex-NIGHTFALL).
SORROWFUL ANGELS is:
Dariusz Sipiora (Guitar)
Dion Christodoulatos (Guitar)
George Mundaneas (Bass)
Fivos Andriopoulos (Drums)
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/sorrowfulangels.
WHILE SHE SLEEPS formed with a blue-collar and hard-nosed work ethic that resulted in them playing close to 300 shows across the U.K. and mainland Europe. Their hard work steadily began to payoff as "The North Stands for Nothing" started to receive critical acclaim from European music publications like Kerrang! and Metal Hammer. Their songs and videos also started getting highly sought-after spins and views on major European media outlets like Xfm, Total Rock, Scuzz and Kerrang! TV in the U.K. As their profile began to ascend, the opportunities being presented grew bigger accordingly. They became one of only two bands in the U.K. to be endorsed by Fred Perry, the renowned U.K. street fashion clothing line. The band also booked a full European headlining tour this coming December and will be gearing up to support ATTACK ATTACK on a major U.K. tour in early 2011.
WHILE SHE SLEEPS is:
Lawrence Taylor - Vocals
Sean Long - Guitar
Mat Welsh- Guitar, Vocals
Aaran Mckenzie - Bass
Adam Savage - Drums
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/whileshesleeps.
French industrial black metal horde REVERENCE has inked a deal with Candlelight Records for the release of the band's next album.
Commented the group: "After 12 years of adventure and three albums, REVERENCE is proud to announce his signing with Candlelight Records. The band took advantage of this new way to enter in another dimension of his universe. After the trilogy ('Industrial Mental Concept', 'Chamber Of Divine Elaboration', 'Inactive Theocracy'), REVERENCE pushes its limits further into violence and introspection."
REVERENCE was born in 1998 and issued a few demos and split releases between 2001 and 2004 ("Decorporation" with BLUT AUS NORD in 2003 probably being the most well-known one). In September 2005, seven years after the band's birth, REVERENCE recorded its full-length debut, "Industrial Mental Concept", which came out through the French label Dead Sun Records. In early 2007, while the band was taking part in a new split album featuring French comrades BLUT AUS NORD through U.K. label PanikTerrorMusik, they got signed by Avantgarde Music and in 2007 released "Chamber Of Divine Elaboration". At the beginning of 2009, the group inked a deal with Osmose Productions for the release of "Inactive Theocracy". The opus was recorded at the Drudenhaus Studio with Neb Xort of ANOREXIA NERVOSA.
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/reverenceimc.
Drummer Dave Astor of American brutal death metal masters PATHOLOGY has issued the following update:
"We regret to say that we are forced to miss the last two weeks of the IMMOLATION/VADER U.S. tour.
"At the show in Los Angeles, our guitarist, Tim Tiszczenko, decided he no longer wants to be a part of PATHOLOGY.
"Tim has been with me for almost five years, so having him quit like this is a big disappointment and shock. He basically cannot handle life on the road so he has to leave the band mid-tour despite us requesting him to complete the dates through year's end.
"In addition, many of you know we have been touring in support of 'Legacy of the Ancients' with different fill-in singers waiting for Matti Way to clear some personal issues and join us on the road, but it is becoming more and more evident that he just can't commit to the live activity we have planned. So, while we sound down we are definitely not out and plan to be back on the road beginning October 28 in Chicago as part of the last show of the IMMOLATION/VADER tour and then to start our tour with NILE immediately after. We have a new singer willing to do the dates and we currently have several guitarists lined up to audition.
"If you would like to be considered for the open guitarist positions, or even as a new future vocalist, hit up our management at salemrosemusic@aol.com. Note, especially for guitarists, there is not a lot of time so it would be ideal if you were already in Southern California or the West Coast/southwest part of the U.S. and are familiar with our music. We are looking for someone with band experience and good stage presence who understand the realities of the road and is easy to get along with and understands that at this level there is no money to be made. Ideally we want someone to join the band for the long run but even if you can just help temporarily please get in touch.
"We want to thank and apologize to our booking agent for understanding our disappointing news and giving us another chance. Same goes out to IMMOLATION and all the bands on that tour — thanks for being so cool. We will be back soon!"
PATHOLOGY's latest album, "Legacy Of The Ancients", came out on July 6 via Victory Records. The CD was engineered by Jeff Forest (AS I LAY DYING, BLEEDING THROUGH) at Doubletime Studios in the band's home base of San Diego, California and was mixed and mastered by Erik Rutan (CANNIBAL CORPSE, MALEVOLENT CREATION) at Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida. The album cover displays an artistic zombie theme, designed by Pär Olofsson (WINDS OF PLAGUE, ANNOTATIONS OF AN AUTOPSY, IMMORTAL).
0 comments:
Post a Comment