In 1989 BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi and DEEP PURPLE singer Ian Gillan were just a few names in a long list of talent involved in the recording of the DEEP PURPLE track "Smoke on The Water". This song was re-recorded to raise money for those affected by the Leninakan earthquake that struck Armenia in 1988.
In October of last year both Tony and Ian traveled to Armenia to see how the funds raised had helped the local community. On their trip they visited a music school only to find it being run out of temporary accommodation, with its only location not having been rebuilt 20 years after the earthquake had struck.
Earlier this week, Tony and Ian headed back into the studio, joined by keyboardist Jon Lord (DEEP PURPLE, WHITESNAKE) and drummer Nicko McBrain (IRON MAIDEN) to record a new track, "Out Of My Mind", to raise money to rebuild the Armenian music school.
Commented Iommi: "I had a great time in the studio yesterday with Ian Gillan, Nicko McBrain and Jon Lord. We had a brilliant time together laying down the track 'Out of My Mind' and a lot of fun doing it, plenty of jokes and humor! As expected everyone played so well. What an exciting time!!"
In October 2009, Gillan and Iommi were awarded the Orders Of Honor — which were delivered to them by Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Sargsyan — for the Armenia Grateful To Rock program (see video below). The objective of the program, was to express gratitude to those musicians who 20 years ago participated in the Rock Aid Armenia.
According to Novinite.com, SCORPIONS' October 9 concert in Sofia, Bulgaria will go ahead despite the cancelation of the band's gig in Athens, Greece.
SCORPIONS frontman Klaus Meine has reportedly been diagnosed with acute laryngitis and the doctors suggested he take a break for a week.
Petar Haralampiev, a.k.a. Haro, one of the organizers of the concert in Bulgaria, has assured fans that the SCORPIONS' Athens cancelation would not affect their performance in Sofia.
"There is no problem for the concert of Sofia on October 9. The stadium is at its final part of preparations. The stage is constructed in 3-4 days," he said.
The farewell tour by the iconic band — Klaus Meine (vocals), Matthias Jabs (lead guitar), Rudolf Schenker (guitar), James Kottak (drums) and Pawel Maciwoda (bass) — is in support of their latest album, "Sting In The Tail" (Universal Music Enterprises). It entered the U.S. chart at No. 23, marking the band's highest chart debut in over 20 years.
The SCORPIONS' tour — in celebration of 40-plus years in music— has been a massive success in a soft touring economy, with the group filling many of the arenas they performed at in the United States and Canada.
In a recent interview with Billboard's Ray Waddell, Meine said, "What can I say? It's a celebration… We feel we owe it to our fans and ourselves to keep this energy level. What we pull off every night on this tour, we want to keep it that way to the very last show. We don't want to see ourselves rocking like a hurricane when it's not a hurricane anymore."
Rob Zombie recently announced that his next movie as a director will be "The Lords Of Salem", about a 300-year-old coven of undead witches that terrorizes the modern-day residents of the town of Salem, Massachusetts. Zombie told The Pulse of Radio that he has some very specific ideas about the kind of horror movie he wants to make this time. "With a lot of the movies over the years that we thought were, you know, very scary — 'The Exorcist' or 'The Shining' — there was the time to let it play out. They just had a different pace, you know, it sucks people in. And that was one of the main things that I was thinking that I wanted this film to have, 'cause I think a lot of times now horror movies are getting so short and so choppy, you can't do that. And that's why I think a lot of people got so scared with 'Paranormal Activity', 'cause you fell into the rhythm of the movie, and then it started seeming real to you."
Zombie will write and direct "The Lords Of Salem" for the same producers that were behind last year's horror smash, "Paranormal Activity".
He is working on the script now and plans to begin production early next spring.
Zombie told Billboard that the idea for the movie came from his own youth in Massachusetts. "The Salem witch trials and all that was always very prevalent. Even when I was a little kid, you take a school field trip and go to Salem to the witch museums and watch re-enactments of the witch trials. I always found it fascinating."
Zombie is currently co-headlining the Halloween Hootenanny tour with ALICE COOPER and promoting the new special edition of his latest album, "Hellbilly Deluxe 2", which arrived last week.
Mike Doyle of The Virginian-Pilot recently conducted an interview with MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
On recently returning to MEGADETH after spending eight years at odds with Dave Mustaine:
"You know, we have the same first name, but we have two very different lives, but that's what's cool. That's what the dynamic is in MEGADETH. We all come together from different worlds, but when we all play the same song, it's magic."
On appealing to fans of all ages:
"Video games like 'Guitar Hero' and 'Rock Band' have made wanting to be a rock star, or a guitar player, cool again. As a result, a lot of our music has been included in those games, and a lot of kids are now hearing some ferocious guitar playing and going, 'Wow! I wanna do that!'"
On the current touring lineup of MEGADETH, SLAYER and ANTHRAX:
"The fans love that it's popular again, and they love that these bands are out touring together, because it makes for a fun night out. We learned 20 years ago that when we collectively pull together, it's the coolest show in town that night."
On experiencing a renewed interest in exploring his Christian roots after becoming sober in 1990:
"I've found that my faith walk to Christianity was about being honest and being true, and not being diverted with the distractions. Being a Christian and a rocker aren't two totally separate things. Some people have to quit one to be true to the other, but for me, the two work very well together. When you're really being honest and true to yourself, you go and pursue the passions that the good Lord put in you anyway."
On influencing a new generation of bands to continue the genre's legacy:
"LAMB OF GOD, to a certain degree, picked up the PANTERA torch. And I'd say that BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE and TRIVIUM are kinda the METALLICA and MEGADETH of today. It's funny how things go around in cycles. But they're doing it in their own way."
Michael Lello of Weekender recently conducted an interview with ANTHRAX singer Joey Belladonna. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
On sharing the stage with MEGADETH and SLAYER as part of the Jägermeister Music Tour:
"I'm really psyched. It's a good metal evening, totally a nice package. Every (band) is different in their own way, too. No one's like one another. Even though it's all metal, we have our own styles."
On whether any hurt feelings that needed to be repaired in order for him to accept ANTHRAX's offer to rejoin this time:
"It's a business, so you try to put everything together so it's done equally and fair enough, just so you have a grip on what's going on. Mainly, the thing is not about bad feelings or anger amongst each other — it's never been that kind of way. It's been their show since I joined (in 1985), and I just want to make everything clear. Hopefully it's stuff that they dig doing, too, and not just, 'Hey, let's get the guy back, what the hell, we have everything else.' I don't think it's been that right now, and hopefully it's sincere. We have good management now that's been heading it off to make it right, so it makes sense."
On working on new ANTHRAX music that was originally intended for the unreleased 2009 album "Worship Music":
"I have some songs here, and I've worked on one already. We've actually recorded on one already; whether we use the track as I sang it or we do it over, it seemed to be pretty cool. It's kinda new, kinda old-type of vibe, a bit of both."
On touring with PUBLIC ENEMY after a 1991 collaboration on the song "Bring The Noise":
"I think it was cool. I'm glad to have been a part of it. I had a blast. Flav cracked me up every night, and just hangin' with those guys and having them join us on stage, and waiting for that song to come up at the end, it was really, really cool."
Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante has been with the band damn near since the beginning. He's seen a lot change since then - including, most recently, the band's most notable lead singer return for the second time.
Joey Belladonna rejoined the group late in 2009, ending an almost three-year period of curious frenzy where it seemed if the band may have to go on without a lead singer. After Belladonna left the band's reunion tour in 2007, newcomer Dan Nelson joined the band - and was out almost before anyone could blink an eye. John Bush filled in for a couple spot shows, leading to speculation (in some cases, hope) that Bush would sign back on. However, Bush returned to his old band, Armored Saint, leaving Anthrax in a bind--
--until Joey Belladonna returned. For a second time. Since he has, the band has seemed reinvigorated, going back on the road - and back in to writing - back in classic form.
Anthrax demonstrated this in Orlando when they took the stage at Hard Rock Live on October 2 as part of a historic tour. "The American Carnage Tour", the "Jagermeister Music Tour"...any name it went under, it was still "Clash of the Titans" revisited. Three of the "Four Horsemen" - Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax - were back on the road together for the first time since 1991. It all happened not too long after all four bands took the stage together for the first time ever over the summer - a show that may set record DVD sales when it's released in November.
Before Anthrax attempted to destroy Hard Rock Live the night of October 2 (and nearly succeeded), Charlie Benante sat down with us to discuss the band's turbulent past few years...as well as their triumphant return and what comes next for the legendary Anthrax.
Michael Melchor: Now, let's go back a little bit to about the time Dan Nelson was lead singer. You'd had a full album recorded, but then as soon as he was in, it seemed, he was out. What exactly happened with him? Did the band decide he wasn't working out or did he decide it just wasn't for him?
Charlie Benante: [Puts his head in his hands] I can't even begin to tell you what happened because it's so...you wouldn't believe it, anyway! Even if I told you! [Laughs]
MM: [Laughs]
CB: We've all taken this approach to this that, really, we're not talking about him. We're not giving him any, any attention at all.
MM: Wow...
CB: I'll just say it was a very bad emotional rollercoaster for all of us. I never want to be reminded of that again.
MM: Okay, gotcha. So we'll chalk it up to "didn't work out" and move on.
CB: Okay. [Laughs]
MM: [Laughs] Fair enough. Now, after he left, you did a couple shows - a couple one-offs - with John Bush back in the fold. Was there any talk of him coming back permanently, or was he just helping out for a minute?
CB: He was helping out for the moment. Basically, we were trying to figure out what we were going to do. What we wanted to do. John was very vocal in saying he did not want to do this anymore, music-wise. Which left us to kind of figuring out where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do. About that time, Joey [Belladonna] was in to us again. I guess we were kind of apprehensive about the Joey thing because of the way the reunion ended. It didn't end on a positive note. But I kept in contact with him and it was like, "Hey, man, you want to try and do this again?" And that's pretty much how it went.
MM: So he was all about coming back, then, even after all the history.
CB: Yeah, absolutely.
MM: After everything that's happened the last few years, he seems to be the most comfortable fit for the band nowadays, really.
CB: You'll see tonight. [Laughs] It just feels right now. It feels very comfortable and now when we're all in a room together, it's like back to the way it used to be. Very comfortable.
MM: Back to the good ol' days as far as how it feels. Everybody's getting along and playing nice.
CB: Yeeeah. [Laughs] Same with all the other guys, too.
MM: Very good. How was the response from the outside to his return? Like, being back together on the road now?
CB: You know, we knew there were going to be people against it. They want to see this guy or that guy back with us, and then there are going to be people that are all for it because they want to see this guy back. But we've come out and stated that, this is it. This is the way we're going. This is the way it's gong to continue until we say, "That's it. We're done."
MM: I was actually going to ask about that - that Belladonna's the permanent guy. This is it.
CB: Oh, absolutely. 100%.
MM: Excellent. And the band's been on the road a little while now.
CB: Yeah, we did some stuff over the summer. The Big 4 show in Bulgaria.
MM: I'm sooo looking forward to that on DVD, I'm not gonna lie.
CB: Yes! [Laughs] You know, the thing about that - speaking from someone who was there and doing it - after we did it, we all sat back and said, "Wow. You know, that was a moment." [Laughs] It was a true moment we got to experience. And I think when people see the DVD, they'll feel that same way - like, "Wow, this is fucking crazy! These guys all finally came together."
MM: They probably will, because it's the first time all four of you have shared a stage.
CB: It should happen here [in the US], too.
MM: Yeah. That's history.You can't get around that. [Laughs]
CB: [Laughs] Yeah, it was. No other bands did that, which is a good thing. Now it's like its own entity - "The Big Four." At least here in the States, we have three.
MM: Exactly. Very nice. Now, have you had any chance to write any new music with Joey?
CB: Oh yeah, absolutely. We were working on it again yesterday. We think we're going to have a record finished by Spring. It's taking so long, though.
MM: Is it a reworking of the one you did...
CB: We're re-working about five songs.
MM: ...I'm not saying his name again. [Laughs] We'll just call [the record] "that one."
CB: [Laughs] Right. You have to understand, though, the music itself for that album was done before that guy was with us. So we have all these songs. Joey did a demo on one of the songs - he sang it with us - and, oh, God. I got chills when he was singing it with us because it sounded like the old Anthrax. We all looked at each other like, "This is fucking cool! This sounds good!" So, we're real happy about that.
MM: So you're keeping some of those and writing some new stuff to go with them? And, you said you're probably finishing next Spring, so...out by next Summer?
CB: Uh-huh. Oh, yeah.
MM: Very cool.
CB: Yeah, just in time for the Big Four show here. [Laughs]
MM: [Laughs]
CB: Just kidding there.
MM: Oh, God. Let that get out and watch people lose their minds! [Laughs]
CB: [Laughs] Yeah!
MM: So, has there been any talk of a timeframe left for the band? Or is it a matter of keep going until...
CB: Oh, no. We're finishing this run in October, then going to South America. And then we've got to get this record out. It feels like a weight on my shoulders! But, it's gonna be real good.
LAYER drummer Dave Lombardo was interviewed by MTV Greece's "Headbangers Ball" co-host Orpheus Spiliotopoulos when the band played the Greek edition of the Sonisphere festival on June 24, 2010 at Terra Vibe Park in Athens. The chat aired on the September 12 special episode of "Headbangers Ball" and can now be viewed below.
For the first time in its near-30-year history, SLAYER, the single most distinctive and radical thrash metal band ever, will see its ten American Recordings albums released as a limited-edition, high-end box set — "The Vinyl Conflict" (American Recordings/Sony Legacy). Ten albums on 11 discs, "The Vinyl Conflict" will feature the band's entire Def/American Recordings catalogue:
* Reign in Blood (1986)
* South of Heaven (1988)
* Seasons In The Abyss (1990)
* Live Decade of Aggression (1991)
* Divine Intervention (1994)
* Undisputed Attitude (1998)
* God Hates Us All (2001)
* Christ Illusion (2006)
* World Painted Blood (2009)
"The Vinyl Conflict" will be released on October 12, 2010.
On August 17, 2010, SLAYER's DVDs — 2003's "War at the Warfield" and 2004's "Still Reigning" — were reissued, and, for the first time ever, 1995's "Live Intrusion", having been digitally remastered, is also available on DVD. All three are sold separately at retail and online ($13.98 each), and the limited-edition "Slayer Live DVD 3-Pak" ($29.98), is available exclusively on SLAYER's web site, www.slayer.net.
ADLER'S APPETITE — the band led by former GUNS N' ROSES drummer Steven Adler — has confirmed the first batch of dates for a 2011 European tour.
"We are really excited to be returning to Europe," said Steven. "I cannot wait to see all of my Europen fans, both old and new."
The dates are as follows:
Feb. 10 - The Rock Temple, Kerkrade, Netherlands
Feb. 11 - Le Forum, Vaureal, France
Feb. 15 - Cafe Del Theatre, Lleida, Spain
Feb. 16 - Durango Club, Valencia, Spain
Feb. 17 - Porta Caeli, Valladolid, Spain
Feb. 18 - Sala Inferno, Vigo, Spain
Feb. 19 - [to be announced], La Coruna, Spain
Feb. 20 - Musicbox Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
Feb. 22 - The Underworld, London, UK
Feb. 23 - The Regent, Ipswich, Suffolk, UK
Feb. 24 - The Yardbirds, Grimsley, Lincolnshire, UK
Feb. 25 - The Diamond, Sutton, Nottinghamshire, UK
Feb. 26 - The Duchess, York, Yorkshire, UK
Feb. 27 - The Robin 2, Bilston, Wolverhampton, UK
More shows will be announced soon.
According to Amazon.com, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS frontman Scott Weiland has set "Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" as the title of his upcoming Christmas album. Tentatively due on November 23, the CD will be "very traditional," Weiland told ExploreMusic host Alan Cross in Toronto at the end of August. "You know, strings, upright bass, jazz horns, piano, and guitar." While he was unsure about the exact track listing for the CD, he revealed that he is recording a reggae version of "The Little Drummer Boy". "I'm sort of picking various versions of these songs, because they've been covered so many times, but my favorite versions — with a little twist," he said.
The upcoming album isn't Weiland's first foray into holiday music. Last December he released his cover version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" — made famous by Judy Garland in "Meet Me in St. Louis" — as a single. He also performed the song on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" back in 2006.
Weiland's rendition of the song is available for purchase via iTunes.
Regarding Weiland For English Laundry, his clothing collaboration with English Laundry designer Christopher Wicks, which features rock-inspired wovens, vests, t-shirts, pants, hats, ties and scarves, Weiland told Cross, "I think that fashion and music really go hand-in-hand. If you look at Elvis Presley through the '60s where it really took off — Jimi Hendrix, THE BEATLES, THE ROLLING STONES, THE WHO — fashion influenced rock and roll, which influenced fashion. Whenever they're synonymous with each other, that's when there's a real possible movement that can happen. The last real movement that happened in rock and roll was grunge. It may not have been the most glamorous of fashion movements, but it was a real movement within rock and roll."
Weiland also told Cross that he hopes to turn his passion for fashion design into a long-term career as he doesn't want to be "a slave to the road" anymore. "I'd like to tour when I want to tour, but I really prefer making albums," he said. "I love performing when I want to, I detest the feeling when it comes down to punching in the clock every night. It's difficult in the rock business for everyone, so I am trying to branch out into other artistic endeavors like fashion."
For those who "stayed hungry" for the riotous rock of Long Island's loudest band, Eagle Rock Entertainment are ready to satiate! "Twisted Sister: Live In Wacken - The Reunion" will be unleashed as a DVD/CD set on October 26, 2010. [MSRP $19.98]
TWISTED SISTER established itself as a band to be heard AND seen. Their instantly recognizable image, fiery live shows, and a string of highly successful albums loaded with defiant anthems rocketed them to stardom before their split in the late Eighties. In 2003, the classic lineup of lead vocalist Dee Snider, guitarists Jay Jay French and Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda, bassist Mark "The Animal" Mendoza, and drummer A.J. Pero joined forces yet again and took the stage at the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany. 110 minutes thick with riffage and rebellion, this DVD/CD reissue of the concert, which was previously released in 2005, was the first filmed performance of the fully revitalized, post-millenial TWISTED SISTER.
"Live In Wacken" is the full experience of the band's reunification. Fans are treated not only with live footage of Wacken on the DVD, but snippets of other performances and interviews chronicling the story of their reunion after so many years. The accompanying CD, "Live…Past & Present", completes the package, encapsulating the band's history with vintage live tracks from Detroit and Porchester in 1980, London in 1982, and the 2003 Wacken performance.
Track listing:
DVD:
(*interviews sections)
01. What You Don't Know (Sure Can't Hurt You)
02. In The Beginning*
03. The Final Show…1987*
04. The Kids Are Back
05. Stay Hungry
06. The Speaks Reunion*
07. A Night For Jason*
08. Destroyer
09. Like A Knife In The Back
10. TS on TV*
11. The New York Steel Benefit*
12. Under The Blade
13. Old School Returns*
14. You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll
15. The Fire Still Burns
16. South Korea April 2003*
17. Shoot 'Em Down
18. We're Not Gonna Take It
19. Festivals*
20. The Price
21. Reflections*
22. Burn In Hell
23. I Wanna Rock
24. Band Intro
25. S.M.F.
26. Credits
CD:
Detroit & Portchester 1980
01. Bad Boys Of Rock 'N' Roll
02. Born To Be Wild
03. I'll Never Grow Up. Now!
04. You Know I Cry
London 1982:
05. You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll
Wacken 2003:
06. What You Don't Know (Sure Can't Hurt You)
07. The Kids Are Back
08. Stay Hungry
09. Like A Knife In The Back
10. I Am, I'm Me
11. The Fire Still Burns
According to The Seattle Times, ALICE IN CHAINS's hometown show in Seattle this Friday (October 8) will be recorded and produced by the New Jersey company HDlogix for a 3D movie.
Directing the photography will be Jeff Cronenweth, cinematographer of movies such as "The Social Network" and "Fight Club". His brother, ad director Tim Cronenweth, will direct the concert movie.
After post-production is done, the 3D version of the concert will be shown in theaters and released on Blu-ray 3D discs.
HDLogix is a media and entertainment company specializing in 3D. The company most recently worked on the 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and several concert events.
The gig is part of the band's current BlackDiamondSkye tour, which recently brought ALICE IN CHAINS to New York City to headline the legendary Madison Square Garden. Singer/guitarist William DuVall told The Pulse of Radio he was overwhelmed by the place even before hitting the stage. "Walking the hallways with all these historic portraits on the wall, you know, everyone from Elvis to Sly Stone, you know, to Dylan and just on and on, you know — it's just history, history, history, history. Not to mention all the fights and all the basketball games. It's just endless, and so you can't help but be overtaken by that."
The BlackDiamondSkye tour, which also features DEFTONES and MASTODON, pulls into Vancouver on Thursday (October 7).
ALICE IN CHAINS is touring behind its 2009 album, "Black Gives Way To Blue", the group's first all-new release in 14 years.
DuVall joined the band when it was reactivated in 2006. Original singer Layne Staley died in April 2002 of a drug overdose.
On Wednesday, October 6, DJ JC Green of Metal Massiah Radio conducted an interview with DREAM THEATER singer James LaBrie about James' new solo album, "Static Impulse", and the recent departure of DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy. The entire 25-minute conversation will air tonight (Friday, October 8) at 8:00 p.m. EST only on www.metalmessiahradio.com. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below (as transcribed from the raw audio file by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).
Q: Mike was the spokesperson of the band. How will the remaining members of DREAM THEATER manage this task [going forward]?
LaBrie: Well, obviously, he was taking on a lot of those responsibilities and he wanted to be hands-on all the time, especially the interaction with fans and everything like that. So what do we do at this point? We establish the communication, we get in touch with our fans, we establish a great rapport with our fans, and we become more personable with our fans and let them hear who and what we are and let them know that we are there for them and that we appreciate who and what they stand for. So it's a matter of us communicating, it's a matter of the other four guys stepping up to the plate and establishing a great relationship with our fans on a more communicative level.
Q: So we can even see the quiet guy [presumably referring to bassist John Myung — Ed.] speaking to the press?
LaBrie: Absolutely. He already is. John Myung is much more verbal than he was and he's into it — he's up for it and he's excited. I think that one of the great things is that you're going to hear from four guys a lot more than you ever have in the past, so there will be many more opinions and views and situations that normally you might not have heard from. So I think, if anything, it's gonna be very cool.
Q: I have read in other interviews that the band has done that you are looking for a replacement for Mike behind the drum kit, but I don't sense any kind of rush or pressure in the band. Are you really looking for a replacement or do you already have one or two candidates in mind?
LaBrie: We're not rushing into it, because it's a big move for us; it's unprecedented within the band. This is our first time coming up against finding a drummer for DREAM THEATER. We do have everything in place. We don't have a drummer yet, but we have auditions for drummers all set up, and it's all ready to go within two weeks. So in two weeks we will start auditioning drummers. We already have seven guys lined up that are gonna come into the studio and they are going to play through some songs and so on and so forth. We are looking for the right chemistry, the right vibe, the right attitude, the right personality, the right look — somebody that we feel really will embellish upon what DREAM THEATER has stood for and what we plan on standing for in the future. So it's pretty exciting. We have everything in line, we have everything set up, so it's just a matter, within a couple of weeks, to start the auditions and then to eventually make the
announcement who the new drummer is.
Q: So there will be open auditions then?
LaBrie: It's not open; it's already decided who's coming in. There's seven drummers that are coming in, and out of those seven, we will definitely have our drummer. They're all world-class drummers. I can't tell you who — I'd love to tell you, but I can't; I can't divulge or disclose that information. Not at this point. It's too sensitive at this point. But it will be a very intense week for us while we're jamming and playing with these drummers.
Q: I will mention one name that, personally, I think is the full package for DREAM THEATER — John Macaluso. He played with you on your "Elements Of Persuasion" tour, even by recommendation from Mike, and you even sang on one of his tracks on his UNION RADIO solo project, he's from New York, he has played progressive metal for most of his career — a lot of things in common. What do you think of him?
LaBrie: Oh, well, it goes without saying John Macaluso is a fantastic drummer; he's an incredible talent. He reminds me of the current-day John Bonham — he's just got a really cool, Bonham-esque kind of feel to him, but at the same time he can also play in a very progressive outfit as well and get into more syncopated areas of drumming with ease. Yeah, I had the pleasure of going out and bringing him out on tour with me throughout Europe on the "Elements Of Persuasion" tour, and he is fantastic — there's no doubt about it; he's quite capable. Whether he is one of those seven drummers or not, I can't tell you. [laughs] But without a doubt, the guy is a fanstastic drummer. He's extremely talented. I love his playing, I love his style, and he's a great guy.
On Mike Portnoy's recent online posting in which he accused LaBrie of being "insensitive" and "disrespectful" for proclaiming in a recent interview that the remaining members of DREAM THEATER were "not sad at all" about Mike's departure from the group:
LaBrie: I'm not going to start getting into justifying who I am or where he's coming from or anything like that. I don't wanna go in those areas — I wanna keep everything positive. If something is being interpreted as being negative, that's very unfortunate. It was never ever intended to be, and I think that if anyone was to read my words within the interview from "Used Bin Radio", they would realize that in no way was I insinuating anything that was negative or insensitive.
Q: Do you plan to begin working on the new [DREAM THEATER] album in January, just like it was planned before Mike's departure?
LaBrie: Yeah. I mean, at this point I think everything is lending itself to stay within that schedule; I don't see, at this point, why it would change or why it would be delayed. I think that we're all very much ready and looking forward to getting back into the studio and creating some music. So at this point, definitely, I think January is still the reality.
Q: Do you think the absence of Mike's input in the studio as a songwriter and producer will give [DREAM THEATER] more freedom or pressure in the process?
LaBrie: I don't think there's gonna be any pressure. I think, if anything, it could change the dynamics within the band, it could change the way that things in the past always developed as far as the songs and the writing process. I think, yeah, definitely, there's room for change. I'm sure that, to some extent, it has to change, it has to be... It's a new chapter in every sense of the word. So I think that, definitely, it's quite possible that in many areas — in that area, in the approach to the sonwriting process — there's room for change, and more than likely there will be.
Q: Have you already decided how the writing process will be for the new [DREAM THEATER] album? Will you write in the studio as you have recently done or do you expect to change that process?
LaBrie: I think that we're gonna still go along with getting into the studio as a band and writing within the studio so we're all there collectively within the same room. So I think that that will go down as it has for the last several albums.
Q: Will you consider using an external producer or will John [Petrucci, DREAM THEATER guitarist] or any of the other guys in the band take care of it?
LaBrie: I think we kind of all, at this point... I mean, that's still stuff that we're discussing. But I think that, for the most part, we've all given the nod to John Petrucci to go ahead and produce. I think that he is extremely competent and he knows exactly where we need to go and what we need to do and how we need to sound. I think he's more than capable of doing it and being in that position.
JC Green's entire interview with James LaBrie will air tonight (Friday, October 8) at 8:00 p.m. EST only on www.metalmessiahradio.com.
BLACKFINGER, the new project featuring ex-TROUBLE vocalist Eric Wagner, has been confirmed for the Days Of The Doomed Fest, set to take place June 17th and 18th, 2011 at The P.L.A.V. in Kenosha, Wisconsin
Single-day tickets and weekend passes are now available through PayPal, with a free Days Of The Doomed sampler CD with each purchase made using PayPal.
The Days Of The Doomed Fest billing is shasping up as follows:
ADMIRAL BROWNING
APOSTLE OF SOLITUDE
ARGUS
BACKWOODS PAYBACK
BLACK PYRAMID
BLACKFINGER
CARBELLION
EARTHEN GRAVE
ORODRUIN
PALE DIVINE
PALLBEARER
REVELATION
SINISTER REALM
SLEESTAK
THE GATES OF SLUMBER
ZEBULON PIKE
For more information, contact Mike at: cosmic_doom_420@yahoo.com.
Former MANOWAR guitarist Ross "The Boss" Friedman will release the second album under the ROSS THE BOSS banner, "Hailstorm", in Europe on November 1 via AFM Records (three days earlier in Germany).
"Hailstorm" track listing:
01. I.A.G. (1:15)
02. Kingdom Arise (4:57)
03. Dead Man's Curve (3:33)
04. Hailstorm (3:52)
05. Burn Alive (4:11)
06. Crom (3:29)
07. Behold The Kingdom (5:28)
08. Great Gods Glorious (3:16)
09. Shining Path (4:36)
10. Among The Ruins (4:30)
11. Empire's Anthem (6:18)
This past Wednesday night (October 6), The Uptown Theatre in beautiful Napa, California hosted the first show of Joe Satriani's "Black Swans And Wormhole Wizards World Tour". As Joe performed the first few songs of his new set to a crowd of appreciative fans, an overzealous fog machine caused the fire alarms to sound throughout the theatre. The show was stopped temporarily as Joe calmly announced that the fire marshall needed the audience to step outside so they could complete a fire check. After the brief "intermission," the eager crowd was let back in and Satriani was finished his complete set, but not before performing the first few bars of DEEP PURPLE's "Smoke On The Water".
A fan caught the scene outside and posted it on YouTube (see video below).
"Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards", Satriani's 14th studio album, which was produced and recorded by Mike Fraser (AC/DC, METALLICA) and Satriani, was released on October 5 through Epic Records. Veteran Satriani bandmate Jeff Campitelli joins Joe on drums, while newcomers, keyboardist Mike Keneally (FRANK ZAPPA, STEVE VAI) and bassist Allen Whitman (MERMEN) are adding their expertise to the mix. Satriani's classic sound also carries a surprisingly rich texture of new material as well. First single, "Light Years Away", the first single on the 11-track album, is destined to hit big, with several other high-energy offerings, like "Wormhole Wizards" and "Premonition". Satriani's world tour promoting "Black Swans" will begin in this fall, kicking off on October 16 in Dublin, Ireland with the North American dates starting on December 1 in Atlanta, hitting cities such as Chicago, New York, Boston and more.
In 2009, Satriani joined with former VAN HALEN front man Sammy Hagar, former bassist Michael Anthony, and RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS' drummer Chad Smith, to form the stand-out rock collaboration CHICKENFOOT. After a highly successful U.S. tour, their self-titled debut album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America with over 500,000 in album shipments.
Over the last two decades, Satriani has traveled the world, playing to sold-out crowds as both a headliner and as founder of the all-star "G3" guitar extravaganza. As one of the world's most renowned instrumental artists, Satriani recorded "Live in Paris: I Just Wanna Rock!" in 2008 at The Grand Rex Theater in Paris, France. The live two-disc CD and DVD was released in February 2010 through Epic Records and contained such memorable songs as "Surfing With The Alien", "Flying in a Blue Dream", along with recent hits like "Super Colossal" and "I Just Wanna Rock". Of his many solo albums, two have gone platinum and four others went gold, with 15 Grammy nominations between them.
MIKE ALBERT PROJECT — the project led by former MEGADETH touring guitarist Mike Albert — has announced the addition of drummer Austin Burcham to the group's ranks. According to the band, "[Austin] is a MI graduate with a BS degree in music and he is totally incredible!"
MIKE ALBERT PROJECT's "Weapons Of Mass Destruction" video can be viewed below. The song comes off the group's latest CD, "Afterlife", which was released last year via Big Deal Records.
According to a press release, Mike Albert's "name and credits are well known in international music circles as a session guitarist and top hired gun. His newest endeavor, the MIKE ALBERT PROJECT, lays down an earthshaking brand of metal edged rock that bridges the abyss of eras, genres and definitions — even the namesake guitarists own history — with pulverizing power. With tracks like 'Why Do You Always Say Goodbye', 'Realms' and 'Stalker', it's evident that the group has set up its own terrain and the band is well refined and supplies solid support for Albert's guitar wizardry. This is a well-defined melodic mastery that is evident with its song structures and intricate arrangement that stretch the borders of metal genre with hints of blues, jazz, baroque and classical cross currents. The MIKE ALBERT PROJECT is a cathartic reminder that real melodies will always communicate, heal, and transcend. Mike Albert's notable history is only a prelude for
what is yet to come with 'Afterlife'."
MIKE ALBERT PROJECT is:
Mike Albert: Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals
Colin Simson: Vocals
Jon Escobedo: Bass
Austin Burcham: Drums
According to ChicagoGigs.com, Mike Albert joined MEGADETH in April 1985 after the band had completed the recording of their debut album, "Killing is My Business… and Business is Good". The band's lead guitarist at the time, Chris Poland, had left the band due to personal reasons. In need of a new axeman for the upcoming tour, MEGADETH recruited Mike Albert, who performed all 40 shows with the group. Upon returning, he attended rehearsals for the "Peace Sells…But Who's Buying?" album but left the band shortly after due to "financial issues."
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/mikealbertproject.
Prog-Sphere.com has posted an extensive interview with acclaimed guitarist Ron Jarzombek (WATCHTOWER, BLOTTED SCIENCE, SPASTIC INK). During the chat, Jarzombek talked about everything from his early days with S.A. SLAYER, also featuring current MACHINE HEAD drummer Dave McClain, to his feelings on jazz music, and the upcoming BLOTTED SCIENCE EP which will be the group's first recording with new drummer Hannes Grossmann (OBSCURA, ex-NECROPHAGIST).
On S.A. SLAYER: "We used to play around Texas with WATCHTOWER and HELSTAR quite a bit. It was more of a straight-ahead metal kind of thing. I wore black spandex and a leather vest (which was actually made out of vinyl — LOL) and I always felt a bit out of place, but went along with it because it was a cool gig. The other guys in the band were listening to MOTÖRHEAD and IRON MAIDEN while I was into RUSH. It all was working pretty well until Don (Van Stavern) and Dave (McClain) decided that they wanted to form a band with Mark Reale from RIOT, which fell apart almost as soon as it started. S.A. SLAYER was then over and I was I in WATCHTOWER shortly after, which was just fine with me, although I had a bitch of a time trying to fill Billy (White)'s shoes."
On jazz: "Sometimes my music is described as jazz, which I do not hear at all. I'm not a fan of jazz and actually whenever I try to work with heavily influenced jazz guys, I have problems. If a musician isn't grounded in rock or metal and they have a bunch of jazz wanker guys listed as their influences, a bright red flag goes up for me. Don't get me wrong, I totally respect and admire players like Larry Carlton, Allan Holdsworth, Al DiMeola, Frank Gambale, etc., but I don't want to write/play with drummers and bass players who don't have clue what they are supposed to be playing in a rock/metal context. Figure out all your widdling going-nowhere-crap on your own time, then when you figure out what you're going to play, THEN hit the record button."
On BLOTTED SCIENCE: "We incorporated the 'Circle Of 12 Tones' writing system that Alex [Webster] and I we are still using, and actually have a pretty interesting thing going. On the upcoming EP we have a VERY cool concept of what we are writing music to, and to be quite honest I don't think any band has done it before. I've dabbled in it before with SPASTIC INK, but this is EXTREME! and I'm sure this will knock people's socks off. It's a little too involved to do a whole album, so we're going to see how all goes with this EP."
AMARANTHE (formerly AVALANCHE) — the new project featuring Olof Mörck (NIGHTRAGE, DRAGONLAND), Jake E (ex-DREAM EVIL, DREAMLAND), Andy Solveström (WITHIN Y, EVILDOER, CIPHER SYSTEM), Morten Lowe Sorensen (THE ARCANE ORDER, SUBMISSION) and Johan Andreassen (ex-ENGEL) — has entered Hansen Studio in Ribe, Denmark with producer Jacob Hansen (VOLBEAT, MERCENARY, NIGHTRAGE) to begin recording its debut album for a spring 2011 release via Spinefarm Records.
The first in a series of video reports featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the studio can be viewed below.
Commented guitarist Olof Mörck: "There has been quite a stir and hype around AMARANTHE lately, and it is funny to think that everything that people have heard so far are demos recorded in bedroom. It is going to be fantastic to able to show people the true potential of our music, with a killer sound!
"This whole production is going to be HUGE and spending two months with Jacob Hansen recording the album will ensure that we will have a production second to none!
"Jacob Hansen is definitely one of the top names in today's metal recording scene, and when we found out that he was available on quite short notice, we where very enthused!"
AMARANTHE vocalist Elize Ryd was selected to fill the female singer spot on KAMELOT's last European tour.
Mörck previously stated about the band: "AMARANTHE has for long been an idea between me and Jake E to break out of the mold of our past projects and create something new and fresh entirely and to give room for ideas not appropriate for the other acts and projects we are part of. The result is an onslaught of soaring melodies, heavy riffing and guttural screams from the netherworld, a result of having three singers in the band; Jake E on clean vocals, cabaret virtuoso Elize on female vocals and Andy on screams. The result is a quite distinct sound, especially combined with the music itself that draws upon influences from a varied spectrum of genres, all to create a thrilling experience for the listener. Another defining feature of AMARANTHE is the idea of a collective — everyone from superstars of the industry to just generally talented people will lend their unique skills to AMARANTHE on the coming album. This, however, won't stop AMARANTHE from being
a tour de force in live shows and tours, since the core of this metal machinery is based primarily on the regular members."
AMARANTHE is:
* Olof Mörck (NIGHTRAGE, DRAGONLAND) - Guitar, Keyboards
* Jake E (ex-DREAM EVIL, DREAMLAND) - Clean Vocals
* Andy Solveström (WITHIN Y, EVILDOER, CIPHER SYSTEM) - Screams
* Morten Lowe Sorensen (THE ARCANE ORDER, SUBMISSION) - Drums
* Johan Andreassen (ex-ENGEL) - Bass
* Elize Ryd - Female Vocals
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/amaranthemetal.
Julian Lennon, John Lennon's (THE BEATLES) son with his first wife Cynthia, has posted the following message on his official Facebook page:
"I had the pleasure of going to see Glenn Hughes [BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH, TRAPEZE) play tonight [Tuesday, October 5] in Islington [England]. I can say, without a doubt, he is one of the best singers/songwriters/performers I have ever seen. His range is mind-blowing! And his talent knows no bounds...
"If he's playing in your neighbourhood, I urge you to go see him play LIVE, whether with BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION or as a solo artist.
"Just amazing... Initially the show explodes with rock tunes, the likes of which have been missing from our airwaves for many years now, but then Glenn also opens up and shows us his abilities as a funk/jazz/soul/blues performer.
"Outstanding...
"A GREAT night out! Looks like we might try a little writing together too..."
The self-titled debut album from BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION — the Anglo/American rock supergroup featuring Hughes, drummer Jason Bonham (LED ZEPPELIN), Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER) and blues rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa — has entered the official U.K. chart at position No. 13. The CD, which was made available in Europe on Monday, September 20 via Mascot Records and North America on Tuesday, September 21 through J&R Adventures, was produced and mixed by Kevin Shirley (BLACK CROWES, AEROSMITH, LED ZEPPELIN), and mastered by the legendary Bob Ludwig. It was recorded at Shangri-La Studios in early 2010.
Hughes' latest solo CD, "First Underground Nuclear Kitchen (F.U.N.K.)", received its official North American release on October 7, 2008 via Blistering Records through Ryko/Warner distribution. The CD came out in Europe in May 2008 via Frontiers Records.
Produced by Glenn in Los Angeles, after countless hours spent writing in his home studio, "F.U.N.K." was another magnificent statement from the "Voice of Rock." "It is a roots album, it is a true account of my musical heritage but also fearless and multi-dimensional," Hughes said shortly after the CD's release. Once again all drums on the record were played by none other than the great Chad Smith of the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, while Luis Maldonado took care of the majority of the guitars (JJ Marsh and George Nastos only appear on two songs each) and Anders Olinder is on keyboards (with Ed Roth guesting on three songs).
EVILE, GAMA BOMB, ONSLAUGHT and MY RUIN have been confirmed for next year's edition of Hammerfest, set to take place March 17-19, 2011 in Prestatyn, North Wales.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
ACCEPT
ATTICA RAGE
BIOHAZARD
EVILE
GAMA BOMB
MUNICIPAL WASTE
MUTANT
MY RUIN
ONSLAUGHT
REVOKER
Many more bands will be announced during the coming months.
For more information, visit www.hammerfest.co.uk.
Jay Nanda of the San Antonio Metal Music Examiner recently conducted an interview with NEVERMORE/SANCTUARY frontman Warrel Dane. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
San Antonio Metal Music Examiner: Why have you chosen to reform SANCTUARY after 20 years, especially with NEVERMORE doing so well?
Dane: Well, I said years ago that it would never, ever, ever fucking happen, but that was at a time when we weren't really friendly with each other. But we are now. "Water under the bridge" would be the best way to describe our relationship, and I've heard some of the new material Lenny (Rutledge), the guitar player, has been working on, and it's fucking killer. So I had to re-evaluate the situation. It's kinda weird, because NEVERMORE has been doing so well.
San Antonio Metal Music Examiner: So was the grunge factor of the early '90s the reason for SANCTUARY's casualty after "Refuge Denied" and "Into The Mirror Black", or was there something more to it?
Dane: You know, I'm pretty sure that did affect the break-up in some way. The songwriting got a little weird toward the end, and at that time, there was a lot of pressure, especially from record company people saying, "Well, I expected something a little grungier." "Ehhhh... We're not a grunge band!" When you have a major label telling you that, it just goes to show that they're so fucking clueless.
San Antonio Metal Music Examiner: What did you guys learn early in your career from [MEGADETH's] Dave Mustaine as he produced the first SANCTUARY record?
Dane: Oh boy, that whole period is kind of a drunken blur. (laughs) I think every band gets a break somewhere, and to make it in the music business, you get your foot in the door. We were fucking lucky that Mustaine paid attention to us. Had it not been for him, I probably would not be talking to you right now, so I have to give much respect to him for that. We were at a KING DIAMOND/MEGADETH show, and Lenny gave somebody a demo, and he heard it, and we were told he said, "I'd like to produce you guys." And we were like, "Yeah, right." But he must've been serious, because we got the call, and the rest is just crazy history.
San Antonio Metal Music Examiner: Will SANCTUARY be working on another album, or is the cruise a one-off reunion thing? Will every original member be part of it?
Dane: We're gonna do another record, but I'm not sure when we're going to have time because the touring cycle for NEVERMORE just started, and it's going to get crazy. (Guitarist) Sean (Blosl) didn't really want to do it basically, so Jeff [Loomis; NEVERMORE guitarist], who was actually a member of SANCTUARY at the end, is going to do it live. I'm not sure he'll be recording, though. That band was about Lenny, and NEVERMORE was more about Jeff, so we try to keep both of those separate.
U.K. post-punk industrial icons KILLING JOKE will return to North America this winter for a long-anticipated run of live dates. The tour will commence on December 3 in New York City and run through nearly a dozen cities before coming to a close in Los Angeles on December 18. The trek will coincide with the release of the band's latest studio offering, "Absolute Dissent", due on November 16 via Spinefarm Records.
"Absolute Dissent" is KILLING JOKE's 13th full-length and finds the original lineup of Jaz Coleman (vocals), Geordie (guitar), Youth (bass) and Paul Ferguson (drums) sharing studio space for the first time in 27 years. The 12-track recording was engineered and mixed by Clive Goddard, and produced by the band.
KILLING JOKE North American tour dates:
Dec. 03 - Irving Plaza - New York City, NY
Dec. 04 - Paradise Lounge - Boston, MA
Dec. 06 - Cabaret Du Musee - Montreal, QC
Dec. 07 - Phoenix Concert Theatre - Toronto, ON
Dec. 09 - Crofoot Ballroom - Pontiac, MI
Dec. 10 - Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL
Dec. 11 - Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL
Dec. 14 - The Venue - Vancouver, BC
Dec. 15 - Showbox - Seattle, WA
Dec. 16 - Wonder Ballroom - Portland, OR
Dec. 17 - Regency Ballroom - San Francisco, CA
Dec. 18 - Wiltern - Los Angeles, CA
"Absolute Dissent" will be released on various formats including CD, two-colored vinyl and a two-CD deluxe edition entitled "Absolute Respect" featuring a bonus disc with KILLING JOKE songs covered by METALLICA, AMEN, HELMET, ECONOLINE CRUSH, DEAD BY APRIL, THE MAD CAPSULE MARKETS, NOUVELLE VAGUE, FEAR FACTORY, FOO FIGHTERS and KOTITEOLLISUUS.
"Absolute Dissent" track listing:
01. Absolute Dissent
02. The Great Cull
03. Fresh Fever From The Skies
04. In Excelsis
05. European Super State
06. This World Hell
07. Endgame
08. The Raven King
09. Honour The Fire
10. Depthcharge
11. Here Comes The Singularity
12. Ghosts Of Ladbroke Grove
CD 2 ("Absolute Respect" - deluxe edition only)
01. The Wait - METALLICA
02. Europe - AMEN
03. Primitive - HELMET
04. Pssyche - ECONOLINE CRUSH
05. Love Like Blood - DEAD BY APRIL
06. Democracy (NIN Remix) - KILLING JOKE
07. Wardance - MAD CAPSULE MARKETS
08. Pssyche - NOUVELLE VAGUE
09. Millennium - FEAR FACTORY
10. Requiem - FOO FIGHTERS
11. Pandemonium - KOTITEOLLISUUS
Formed in London, England, in October 1978, KILLING JOKE was the brainchild of classically trained musician and vocalist Jeremy "Jaz" Coleman and drummer "Big" Paul Ferguson, who eagerly recruited two like-minded comrades in the form of guitarist Kevin "Geordie" Walker and bassist Martin "Youth" Glover and set about establishing a brand new and highly idiosyncratic manifesto for reinventing the rock 'n' roll wheel. Coming to life during what would become known as the "post-punk" era, KILLING JOKE was never willing to conform to the artistic restrictions of any particular scene or genre. Instead, they took a vast and bewildering array of influences and experience, and combined them to create something entirely unique and utterly timely that still stands up today.
Over the years, the band members have chosen to develop their talents in a variety of ways: Triple Grammy winner Jaz Coleman, for instance, has established an international reputation working with some of the world's greatest symphony orchestras, while Martin "Youth" Glover has become one of the U.K.'s most celebrated producers, supervising albums from THE VERVE and PRIMAL SCREAM, among many others, as well as achieving major success as one half of highly-regarded duo THE ORB.
Covered by METALLICA, FOO FIGHTERS and so many others, KILLING JOKE's apocalyptic post-punk/industrial vision continues to draw praise from such high-profile supporters as Jimmy Page and Billy Corgan, and the band's considerable musical legacy can be heard in the works of NIRVANA, MINISTRY, NINE INCH NAILS and the like — artists whose rise to fame never saw them cutting ties with the underground/alternative scene.
Once described by Paul Ferguson as "the sound of the earth vomiting," KILLING JOKE is now poised to take their music of resistance to a whole new level, both in the studio and on the road.
Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE have issued the following update:
"The band regrets to inform you that Jason James [bass] will be taking time off from the current North American tour. He has to take some time to attend to a family matter starting October 8th, and he will be re joining the band on October 18th in Calgary, [Alberta, Canada]. No tour dates have been cancelled and the tour will continue as planned. Calvin Roffey, the BULLET guitar tech (and amazing bassist) will take over bass duties until Jason returns."
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE recently tapped award-winning filmmaker Nigel Dick (GUNS N' ROSES, BLACK SABBATH, DEF LEPPARD, NICKELBACK) to direct the videos for its songs "Fever" and "Bittersweet Memories".
"Fever", the third album from BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, sold 71,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 3 on The Billboard 200 chart. "Fever" also landed in the Top Five in Australia, the U.K., Japan, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In the U.K. it reached No. 5 on sales of 21,965.
"Fever" pairs BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE with producer Don Gilmore, best known for his work with LINKIN PARK and GOOD CHARLOTTE.
The Boston Globe reports that DISTURBED's previously announced U.S. tour has been canceled because the band's lead singer, David Draiman, has been diagnosed with a serious throat condition.
According to tour promoter LiveNation, the unspecified "condition" is not permanent, but Draiman must stop performing for at least four weeks in order for it to heal. Refunds are available at point of purchase.
Draiman in 2006 underwent successful surgery to fix a deviated septum which was making breathing difficult and affecting his vocal abilities on stage.
Draiman told a California radio station last month that the band will be doing two legs of its Music As A Weapon tour in 2011. Draiman did not reveal the lineup, but said, "The co-headliner for the tour [rumored to be KORN. — Ed.] is massive. And it's going to be appearing in a union that I think hard rock and heavy metal fans have been wanting to happen for awhile. It has happened before, but only in brief stints. Now it's gonna happen for the duration of a two-leg-long tour. And we're gonna join forces with a leviathan. And we're really looking forward to it."
Previous Music As A Weapon lineups have included CHEVELLE, STONE SOUR, DROWNING POOL, ALTER BRIDGE and others.
DISTURBED's fifth studio album, "Asylum", arrived on August 31 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, the fourth consecutive release from the group to do so.
A free public listening party for "Omega Wave", the new album from reactivated San Francisco Bay Area thrashers FORBIDDEN, will be held on Friday, October 22, 2010 at Soundwave Studios (is located at 2200 Wood St.) in Oakland, California beginning at 9 p.m. Fans will have a chance to get free swag, win a Fernandes bass guitar, and purchase the CD before it hits the streets. Members of FORBIDDEN will also be in attendance to sign autographs and meet the fans.
"We are all very excited about our new release, 'Omega Wave'," commented vocalist Russ Anderson. "Everyone involved with creating the record worked extremely hard. Now we want to share it with our fans and friends! So anybody who wants to come out and celebrate with us is officially invited! We will also have plenty of Nuclear Blast and FORBIDDEN swag on hand for giveaways. Be a part of our special night and you may just win some free shit too!"
"Omega Wave" will be released in Europe on October 22 and in North America on October 26 via Nuclear Blast Records. It was recorded at Sonic Room/Audio Voyage Studios in Livermore, California, produced by FORBIDDEN guitarist/songwriter Craig Locicero with Tim Narducci, and mixed by Sean Beavan (SLAYER, MARILYN MANSON, NINE INCH NAILS).
FORBIDDEN's current lineup consists of Russ Anderson on vocals, Craig Locicero on guitar, Steve Smyth on guitar, Matt Camacho on bass and Mark Hernandez on drums.
The cover artwork for "Omega Wave" by Kent Mathieu can be viewed below.
Songtitles set to appear on the new FORBIDDEN album are as follows:
* Alpha Century
* Forsaken At The Gates
* Swine
* Immortal Wounds
* Hopenosis
* Adapt Or Die
* Inhuman Race
* Behind The Mask
* Dragging My Casket
* Overthrow
* Omega Wave
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, MASTODON, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY and THE HAUNTED are among the bands who are featured on the soundtrack to Splatterhouse, a beat-'em-up video game currently in development by Namco Bandai Games. It is a remake of the original Splatterhouse which was released in 1988. Like the rest of the series, the game combines beat-'em-up mechanics with survival horror.
Splatterhouse is coming to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on November 23.
Soundtrack track listing:
* THE ACCUSED - "Pounding Nails"
* ASG - "Dream Song"
* CAVALERA CONSPIRACY - "Must Kill"
* FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH - "Dying Breed"
* GOATWHORE - "Apocalyptic Havok"
* THE HAUNTED - "Hollow Ground"
* HIGH ON FIRE - "Fire, Flood & Plague"
* INVISIBLE ENEMIES - "Dead Eyes"
* LAMB OF GOD - "Walk With Me in Hell"
* MASTODON - "Blood and Thunder"
* MUNICIPAL WASTE - "Rigorous Vengeance"
* MUTANT SUPREMACY - "Morbid Dismemberment"
* TERRORIZER - "Dead Shall Rise"
* WOLFSHIRT - "Headlong Into Monsters"
New Jersey thrashers WHIPLASH have parted ways with Pulverised Records, the Singaporean label that released the band's 2009 album, "Unborn Again". The group is currently writing new material and preparing to hit the road in March 2011.
In other news, WHIPLASH has released professionally filmed video footage of the band's performance at last year's 20th-anniversary edition of the Wacken Open Air festival, which was held July 30 - August 1, 2009 in Wacken, Germany. A clip of the three-piece power trio performing the song "Feeding Frenzy" from "Unborn Again" can be viewed below.
"Unborn Again", the latest album from WHIPLASH, was released last fall via Pulverised Records. The CD was recorded at Mozart Studio with Harris Johns. The band mixed and mastered the album at Spiderhouse Studio. The cover artwork was created by Ed Repka (DEATH, ATHEIST, MEGADETH, NUCLEAR ASSAULT, POSSESSED, etc.).
WHIPLASH is a three-piece power trio hailing from New Jersey. The band was assembled back in 1984 when Tony Portaro (guitar, vocals) and Tony Scaglione (drums) joined forces, recruited Tony Bono on bass and released their first CD, "Power and Pain", in 1985 on Roadrunner Records. The debut CD was followed up by their first live performance at Ruthie's in Berkley, California with POSSESSED and DEATH ANGEL.
WHIPLASH's current lineup:
Tony Portaro - Guitar/Vocals
Joe Cangelosi (ex-KREATOR) - Drums
Rich Day Bass (ex-PRIMAL SCREAM) – Bass
Vocalist/guitarist Mike Conte of EARLY MAN has issued the following update:
"We are currently one week into our U.S. tour with EVILE and BONDED BY BLOOD.
"I haven't had a chance to get to a computer until now so here's a much-needed update for you.
"It's been a crazy few weeks, to say the least.
"About five days before this tour started, I made the decision to part ways with Adam [Bennati], our drummer of the past seven years. A plethora of things were taken into consideration before making this difficult decision, but as the leader and founding member of the band, it is my responsibility to make decisions based on what I feel is best for myself and the band in both the short term and long term.
"I wish Adam the best in the future and have some fond memories of his time spent in the band. That being said, my number one interest as always is to take EARLY MAN to the next level, and that process continues.
"EARLY MAN has been my musical creative outlet for nearly 15 years, the band is essentially an extension of me. As always, the creative vision and everything that the band has been about since its inception continues to be steered by me and remains unchanged. There have been numerous musicians involved with the band over the years and there will be more in the future and I appreciate the time spent with all of them. For me, the beat goes on. I've already recently turned my attention to writing songs for the next EARLY MAN record and am eagerly looking towards the future with newfound interest.
"Speaking of time, I realize parting ways with a bandmember five days before the start of a U.S. tour is far from ideal, but it is what it is. We'll soon have another permanent drummer. In the meantime and in order to salvage this tour, I found a drummer through a good friend by the name of Jabari Parker in Los Angeles who learned six of our songs in one day, something that I would've thought was impossible when I started spreading the word that I was looking for a fill in for this tour. Rather than cancelling any dates, I practiced with Pete (our other guitarist) and the new drummer for about five hours and then we got into a van and drove 24 straight hours to Tulsa, Oklahoma to start our current tour. We played four shows without a bass player and then we picked up an old friend of mine in Austin, Texas who is the guitarist and singer of a band called LIONS OF TSAVO to play bass.
"Although it's been a whirlwind of insanity, we are having a fucking blast! I honesty haven't laughed this much in years. I can't remember a time in the recent past where I was having this much fun on a tour, something that has been missing in the band at least for me for many years now. Everyone from the fans to the bands have been such a huge support and they've made it easy to keep the fire burning.
"So if we're hitting your city over the next few weeks, come out and say hello, share a drink and bang your head.
"I apologize for the fact that we are playing an abbreviated set (6-8 songs a night) but the important thing is we're making it happen, and to be honest, it sounds pretty goddamn amazing given the circumstances, which attests to the talent and ability of the the fill-in drummer and bassist."
EARLY MAN's sophomore full-length album, "Death Potion", was released in July 20 The End Records. The Los Angeles- and Brooklyn–based band tracked the 12-song CD at Soundhouse Recording in Seattle, Washington with producer Jack Endino.
EARLY MAN released its debut album, "Closing In", in 2005 and then followed it up with the "Beware The Circling Fin" EP in 2008. The trio toured extensively for the past three years with such acts as ICED EARTH, SKELETONWITCH, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD and HIGH ON FIRE, among others.
Finnish thrash metal band THE SCOURGER has issued the following update:
"THE SCOURGER proudly presents, two new members: Jani Hentilä on guitar and Jape Nummenpää on bass! Guitarist Jani Hentilä is previously known from his work with the bands FIERCE and FLESHRED. Jape Nummenpää is the guitarist of WITHERIA and SORROWED and will now take on the challenge to bash the bass for THE SCOURGER. Both Jani and Jape will continue to play also with their current other bands as usual."
In May 2009, Jari Hurskainen and Seppo Tarvainen, the two founding members of THE SCOURGER, decided to go their separate ways. Vocalist Hurskainen is using the name THE SCOURGER for his new group.
THE SCOURGER's second full-length studio album, "Dark Invitation to Armageddon", was released in January 2008 (March in continental Europe via Cyclone Empire). Joe Petagno, the artist behind the MOTÖRHEAD logo and album art, designed the cover for the CD.
"Dark Invitation to Armageddon" was mixed by Pelle Saether at Studio Underground in Västerås, Sweden. Pelle's previous work includes, among others, such names as CARNAL FORGE and MILLENCOLLIN.
THE SCOURGER reissued its debut album, "Blind Date with Violence", in October 2006 across Europe via Germany's Cyclone Records. The bonus material on the CD was taken from "To the Slayground" EP, the "Maximum Intensity" single and the Tuska 2006 live performance.
THE SCOURGER was formed in 2003 by former GANDALF singer Jari Hurskainen, guitarist Pekka Hämäläinen and drummer Seppo Tarvainen. Jani Luttinen of THE WAKE took the second-guitar post from Harri Hytonen, this new lineup debuting with a hometown (Helsinki) support to TRIVIUM in October 2005. THE SCOURGER issued their full-length debut, "Blind Date with Violence", produced by BLAKE's Aaro Seppovaara, in January 2006. In May Jani Luttinen injured his hand, necessitating WARMEN's Antti Wirman stepping in as substitute.
For more information on THE SCOURGER, visit www.thescourger.net.
"Abrahadabra", the ninth album from Norwegian symphonic black metallers DIMMU BORGIR, has registered the following chart positions:
Norway: #2
Germany: #15
Sweden: #17
Ireland: #19
Austria: #20
Switzerland: #24
France: #43
Finland: #48
Belgium: #52
Poland: #89
"Abrahadabra" will be released in North America on October 12 via Nuclear Blast Records.
"In Sorte Diaboli" sold 14,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 43 on the Billboard chart. This was more than double the 6,400 first-week tally achieved by its predecessor, "Death Cult Armageddon", which came out in September 2003 and landed at position No. 169 on The Billboard 200 chart.
The word "abrahadabra" (which roughly translates into "I will create as I speak") first publicly appeared in Chapter III of "Liber AL vel Legis" (commonly referred to as "The Book of the Law") written by Aleister Crowley in Cairo, Egypt in 1904.
"Abrahadabra" track listing:
01. Xibir (2:50)
02. Born Treacherous (5:02)
03. Gateways (5:10)
04. Chess With The Abyss (4:08)
05. Dimmu Borgir (5:35)
06. Ritualist (5:13)
07. The Demiurge Molecule (5:29)
08. A Jewel Traced Through Coal (5:16)
09. Renewal (4:11)
10. Endings And Continuations (5:58)
In a recent interview with the German edition of Metal Hammer magazine, DIMMU BORGIR vocalist Shagrath (real name: Stian Tomt Thoresen) was asked why the band chose to break the tradition of using a three-word title for a DIMMU BORGIR album on its latest effort. "It was a tradition for the last records to use a three-word title, basically, for the fact that it represents much more of a unity thing than just one word," he replied. "'Abrahadabra' is more about the transfusion of new blood, I would say, in a way that we have chosen to do a lot of things differently from what we had done before. We wanted to break out of the patterns in many ways, including the people who play on the record, and also the studios we have used for the record — everything is basically different, so therefore we felt it was more right to use a one-word title instead of a [three-word one]."
When asked why DIMMU BORGIR chose to hire almost 100 guest musicians to replace two former members — bassist/clean vocalist ICS Vortex (real name: Simen Hestnæs) and keyboardist Mustis (real name: Øyvind Mustaparta) — Shagrath said, "Well, you can't see it like that; it's a stupid way of saying it. I wouldn't phrase the question like that. It doesn't make sense, really, because the orchestration has nothing to do with the firing of the two members at all. That's just a stupid question. We have used an orchestra before, but this time we're going for a bigger orchestra to make it more epic and sound bigger, and that's the way we want to go and that has, basically, nothing to do with any previous members leaving or being fired."
New York City hardcore masters MADBALL will embark on an East Coast headlining tour in December. Support on the trek will come from BITTER END and LIONHEART.
The dates are as follows:
Dec. 09 - Miami, FL @ The Vagabond
Dec. 10 - Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum
Dec. 11 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
Dec. 12 - Raleigh, NC @ The Brewery
Dec. 13 - Huntington, WV @ Shamrock's
Dec. 14 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Altar Bar
Dec. 15 - Syracuse, NY @ Lost Horizon
Dec. 16 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Barbary
Dec. 17 - Albany, NY @ Bogies
Dec. 18 - Providence, RI @ Jerky's
Dec. 19 - New York, NY @ The Studio at Webster Hall
In other news, MADBALL will team up with the nation's largest college radio station — WSOU in South Orange, New Jersey — for a radio premiere of the band's new album, "Empire", in its entirety on the station's specialty show "Pirated Advance", this Friday, October 8 at 9 p.m. EST. The program will also include an interview with MADBALL vocalist Freddy Cricien and on-air giveaways of "Empire" to some lucky winners. If you reside in the tri-state area, you can pick up WSOU at 89.5 FM on your dial, or if you're out of the area, stream the show at this location. Make sure to request songs by tweeting @WSOU, or call the request line at (973) 761-9768.
"Empire" will be released on October 12 via Good Fight Music. The CD was recorded at Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida with producer Erik Rutan, who has previously worked with MISERY INDEX, CANNIBAL CORPSE and GOATWHORE, among many others.
Regarding the new album's title, MADBALL vocalist Freddy Cricien previously stated, "MADBALL has come a long way from being street kids to becoming very established in our genre, and even beyond the music. We're finally at a point in our life where we're taking control of our things, whereas before we didn't have control of some things or didn't choose to have control. We have the feeling that we've built a little empire for ourselves with our band, brand, and different endeavors." He continued, "We get this reference that we're kings of New York."
"There are plenty of awesome bands that have come out of the city. AGNOSTIC FRONT are the godfathers of New York hardcore, SICK OF IT ALL are one of the undisputed champs of the scene... we were always known as more of the bad guys, but now people are calling us the kings. It's not a title we gave ourselves and it's not that we call ourselves that, but it's just a term of endearment and respect that people use and it plays into the name 'Empire'.
According to Cricien, fans of MADBALL should expect the sound that they have always loved, but some evolution as well. "There's a certain sound that we're known for, and as much as we want to evolve with the times, we also have to keep in mind that there's a certain standard and integrity with MADBALL, and we have to preserve that," he said. "Real-deal hardcore kids totally appreciate that. That said, the foundation always has to be a certain sound, but we always bring new elements into our sound. There has to be some evolution. It might appeal to people outside of the hardcore realm, but in the end, it's going to be a MADBALL record."
Guitarist Matteo Di Bon and bassist Michele Colussi have left Italian melodic metallers RAINTIME for "personal reasons" and have been replaced by Ivan Odorico (ex-SLOWMOTION APOCALYPSE) and Dario Battiston, respectively.
RAINTIME's third album, "Psychromatic", was released in North America in March. The follow-up to 2007's "Flies and Lies" was recorded at Remaster Studios in Italy and was mixed and mastered by Logan Mader (MACHINE HEAD, SOULFLY, MEDICATION) at Undercity Recordings in Los Angeles, California.
RAINTIME's latest album was released via Lifeforce in Europe, Replica in France, Soundholic in Japan and Bieler Bros. in the U.S., Canada and U.K.
RAINTIME's previous CD, "Flies and Lies", was recorded and mixed at Jailhouse Studios in Horsens, Denmark with producer Tommy Hansen (HELLOWEEN, TNT, PRETTY MAIDS, FATE).
Swedish metallers KATATONIA have issued the following update:
"We're very proud to announce that KATATONIA will perform at the music portion of the annual cultural festival for students, Mood Indigo, held for the 39th time in Mumbai, India. We'll be flying into India straight after our Australian run on the travelling 'No Sleep Till...' festival and will headline the main stage on Tuesday, December 21 where, hopefully, a big portion of the 72.000 students attending will come to check us out."
For more information about this festival, go to www.moodi.org.
Fan-filmed video footage of KATATONIA's September 12, 2010 headlining performance in Montreal, Quebec, Canada can be viewed at this location. One of the clips is available below.
KATATONIA kicked off its North American tour — dubbed "Night Over North America" — on September 8 in Baltimore, Maryland. To coincide with the 26-date U.S. and Canadian trek, Peaceville Records released a special edition of the band's acclaimed 2009 studio album, "Night Is The New Day", in a hardback mediabook, featuring a 20-page booklet and bonus track, "Ashen".
The special edition of "Night Is The New Day" was made available on August 24.
Support on KATATONIA's North American tour came from Finland's SWALLOW THE SUN and Israel's ORPHANED LAND.
KATATONIA released a new EP, "The Longest Year", on March 15 via Peaceville Records.
In addition to the album cut "The Longest Year", the EP features the previously unreleased song "Sold Heart", "Day And Then The Shade" (remix), and an alternative version of "Idle Blood". The enhanced EP also features the videos for both "The Longest Year" and "Day And Then The Shade", directed by Lasse Hoile (PORCUPINE TREE, OPETH).
Fredrik "North" Norrman (guitar) and Mattias "Kryptan" Norrman (bass) left KATATONIA in December and were temporarily replaced by Per "Sodomizer" Eriksson (BLOODBATH) and Niklas "Nille" Sandin, respectively.
"Night Is The New Day" sold more than 2,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Southern California's purveyors of pain WINDS OF PLAGUE have entered a Los Angeles studio with renowned producer Matt Hyde (SLAYER, HATEBREED) to begin recording their new album for an early 2011 release via Century Media Records.
Commented vocalist Johnathan "Johnny Plague" Cooke: "Coming off of [Rockstar Energy Drink] Mayhem (the biggest tour of our career) was inspiring to say the least. Literally the day after Mayhem fest ended we were in the studio hard at work on new material. Fast forward a few weeks and we are now into week one of the recording process for our new album (yet to be named).
"We set out with producer Matt Hyde to raise the bar for WINDS OF PLAGUE both as a band and as musicians. We put a lot of our writing focus into the energy and the structure of the songs and everything else just seemed to fall into place naturally.
"Although it is early in the recording process, I can confidently say this will be our best offering yet. Both fans of 'Decimate The Weak' and 'The Great Stone War' will be pleased for we haven't altered the formula or strayed from our roots, but injected them with rage and fury. The game certainly will change in 2011."
Eternal Descent comic book pre-sales for issue #5 are now available. Issue #5 features guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel of popular metal band ATREYU. In the storyline inspired by the ATREYU song "Black Days Begin" from the album "Congregation of the Damned", the battle of Wayne Static from the previous issue has left the city in smoldering ruins and Lyra Constance burning with a new determination: find Loki and bring his reign of madness to an end once and for all. But in Loki's lair, nothing is ever as it seems. What looks like a way in could be a perilous trap lying in wait.
Llexi Leon, creator of the multimedia concept ETERNAL DESCENT, recruits ESP artists for cameo appearances in the Eternal Descent comic which is inspired by a host of iconic metal musicians. The initial launch issue was released on March 31, 2010 with subsequent issues released every 4-6 weeks, spotlighting GOD FORBID guitarist Doc Coyle in issue 2, Gus G. of FIREWIND and OZZY OSBOURNE in issue 3, and Wayne Static of STATIC-X in issue 4. Other bands including SHADOWS FALL and SOULFLY are slated for upcoming cameo appearances in subsequent issues.
For more information, visit www.eternaldescent.com.
WINDS OF PLAGUE will embark on the "December Decimation" North American headlining tour this fall. The trek, which kicks off on November 26 and wraps on December 23 at the third annual December Decimation Fest at The Glasshouse in Pomona, California, also features AFTER THE BURIAL, CARNIFEX, WAR OF AGES and UPON A BURNING BODY.
"The Great Stone War", the latest album from WINDS OF PLAGUE, sold 6,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 73 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released on August 11, 2009 in the U.S. via Century Media Records.
Atlanta rap/metal pioneers STUCK MOJO have parted ways with Austria's Napalm Records, the label that released the band's last two albums, 2007's "Southern Born Killers" (originally made available in 2005 as a free download) and 2008's "The Great Revival".
Commented guitarist/songwriter Rich Ward, "We released two records [through Napalm] and did two extensive tours of Europe with EKTOMORF and VOLBEAT [while signed to the label]. We both got what we wanted and when the initial recording obligations were fulfilled, we parted company happy, which was a first!"
STUCK MOJO will embark on the "Here Comes The Monster" tour of Europe starting on October 25. The trek will include a total of 16 shows in France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Hungary, Switzerland, Denmark and Czech Republic. Joining STUCK MOJO on the bill will be Atlanta progressive metal outfit HALCYON WAY and the rock quartet LIES from France. This follows STUCK MOJO's July 2010 appearance in Germany, where the band performed on the main stage as part of the With Full Force festival.
During the 18-month hiatus from the road, STUCK MOJO released guitarist Mike Martin and welcomed back long time drummer Frank Fontsere, returning to its original four-man roots. "Here Comes The Monster" tour will feature Lord Nelson on the mic, Rich "The Duke" Ward on guitar, Sean Delson on bass and Frank Fontsere on drums and will include material from all six of the band's studio records.
"The Great Revival" was released in November 2008. The CD — which was mixed at producer Andy Sneap's (MEGADETH, MACHINE HEAD, NEVERMORE, ARCH ENEMY, EXODUS) Backstage studio — was previously described by guitarist Rich Ward as " very heavy in spots and very mellow in spots. When it's angry, it's angry. When it's not, it's not. No politics, just songs about life and how our experiences have molded us. A record about friends, family, love, loss, success and failure. Any fan that has followed us over the years will not be super surprised as we have left a bread crumb trail over the last few years."
"Here Comes The Monster" tour dates:
Oct. 25 - E - Pamplona - Sala Totem
Oct. 26 - E - Madrid - Sala Ritmo y Compás
Oct. 27 - E - Barcelona - Sala Salamandra
Oct. 28 - FR - Lyon - Ninkasi Kao
Oct. 29 - CH - Luzern - Schuur
Oct. 30 - DE - Pforzheim - Rockstüble
Oct. 31 - AT - Wien - Viper Room
Nov. 01 - AT - Linz - Posthof
Nov. 02 - H - Budapest - Dürer Kert
Nov. 03 - CZ - Ceske Budejovic - Marty´s Club
Nov. 04 - DE - Cham - L.A. Cham
Nov. 05 - DE - Rostock - Alte Zuckerfabrik
Nov. 06 - DK - Aalborg - Aalborg Metal Meeting Festival
Nov. 07 - DE - Berlin - K17
Nov. 08 - DE - Hamburg - Logo
Nov. 09 - DE - Osnabrück - Bastard Club
Earache Records has announcef the signing of an eclectic, unique and extraordinarily talented band from Texas known as THE BROWNING. In what could be described as nothing short of "adventurous," THE BROWNING's music takes influences from all across the metal spectrum and heavily fuses them EBM, hardstyle, trance and other areas of electronic music in a way that most metal acts would not dare attempt. The band pushes boundaries and pushes buttons. In short, when it comes to THE BROWNING, TheNewReview.net put it best when they said "the soundtrack to the apocalypse has arrived."
Consisting of members Jonny McBee (vocals/electronics, ex-AS BLOOD RUNS BLACK), Brian Cravey (guitars), Jesse Glidewell (bass) and Noah Robertson (drums), THE BROWNING cannot wait to get started working on output for Earache Records. "I grew up listening to Earache bands like DECAPITATED, CARCASS, and AT THE GATES," says drummer Noah Robertson. "It's an honor to be on a roster with such extraordinary talent and to be backed by the knowledge and expertise Earache Records has to offer. We can't wait to get out there and destroy! I hope the world is ready for THE BROWNING!"
THE BROWNING's Earache Records debut will arrive in 2011.
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/thebrowningproject.
Norweigian black metallers GORGOROTH have issued the following update:
"GORGOROTH will spend the following week in [drummer] Tomas Asklund's Monolith Studio to put the finishing touches on a project which has been kept secret until now: a complete re-recording of the band's third album, 'Under The Sign Of Hell'.
"It has long been Infernus' [guitar] wish to do such a re-recording, and now the work is close to an end. No release date has been set yet, but an early-to-mid-2011 release is likely.
"In addition, the time in the studio will be spent working on the still-untitled next GORGOROTH full-length album, tentatively scheduled for a late 2011 release. Both albums will be released by Regain Records."
Dates for the second leg of GORGOROTH's "Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt" European tour:
Nov. 20 - Prague, Czech Republic - Meet Factory
Nov. 21 - Bratislava, Slovakia - Majestic Music Club
Nov. 22 - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Metelkova
Nov. 23 - Schio (Vicenza), Italy - Mac 2
Nov. 24 - Bulle, SWitzerland - Ebullition
Nov. 25 - Caen, France - Cargo
Nov. 26 - Brugge, Belgium - Magdalenazaal
Nov. 27 - Derby, England - Redemption
Support on the trek will come from CAVUS from Finland and NOCTEM from Spain.
GORGOROTH's ninth album, "Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt", is now finally available on vinyl, in two different versions. The regular vinyl edition, which includes a poster, is released by Regain Records, whereas the picture disc version is released by Forces of Satan Records. Both versions are strictly limited pressings.
"Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt" was released on October 21, 2009 in Europe via Regain Records. The CD, which was made available in the U.S. on November 11, was recorded at Tomas Asklund's Monolith Studio and features Infernus on guitar, OBITUARY's Frank Watkins (a.k.a. Bøddel) on bass, Pest on vocals and Tomas Asklund on drums.
"Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt" was produced by Infernus and co-produced/engineered by Tomas Asklund. It was mastered at the Cutting Room in Stockholm.
Montreal's rambunctious and unique classical/black metal ensemble UNEXPECT has completed work on its sophomore album for a tentative early 2011 release via the band's own label.
Commented the group: "After some deep and profound thinking, we finally decided to take back the reins of our destiny and go independent for the release of the next album! We gave this option a lot of attention/thinking time and the conclusion was that we think it's all positive and for the best! And the fact of removing intermediaries will let us be even closer to our public!
"The [new UNEXPECT] album has been completed for a while and we're currently working on some re-adjustments so that we can release it as soon as we have the ideal conditions."
In other news, UNEXPECT has announced the departure of keyboardist Exod. The band says, "The lifestyle and sacrifices that go with touring is not to everyone's taste and it's been the main reason behind his choice. We were already talking about all of this while touring North America in 2008 so it's been a well-thought decision that we all knew of for a long time. That said, it doesn't mean that there won't be more future collaborations with him as we're still very good friends and are, as always, totally musically compatible...as you'll be able to hear on the new album."
UNEXPECT is not currently searching for a replacement for Exod but is "open to diverse possibilities." As for the band's upcoming Canadian tour, which is scheduled to kick off next week, the group states, "Exod, our favorite cyborg, prepared an electronic alter ego (read: a sequence) which reproduce exactly the same sonorities as when he was physically with us. It feels like playing with an invisible Exod."
UNEXPECT is:
Syriak - Vocals, Guitar
Artagoth - Vocals, Guitar
Leïlindel - Vocals
Chaoth - 9-Stringed Bass
Borboën - Violin
Landryx - Drum
UNEXPECT released its debut album, "In a Flesh Aquarium", in the summer of 2006 via The End Records.
Upcoming UNEXPECT shows:
Oct. 12 - Bar le Cactus - Rimouski, Québec
Oct. 13 - Le Zaricot - Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec
Oct. 14 - Impérial - Québec City, Québec
Oct. 15 - Café-Théâtre Côté-Cour - Jonquière, Québec
Oct. 16 - Petit Théâtre du Vieux-Noranda - Rouyn-Noranda, Québec
Oct. 17 - Bar Le Magog - Sherbrooke, Québec
Oct. 19 - Sneaky Dee's - Toronto, Ontario
Oct. 20 - Café Campus - Montreal, Québec
Oct. 22 - Mavericks - Ottawa, Ontario
Los Angeles, California's ABYSMAL DAWN has completed work on the follow-up to 2008's "Programmed to Consume" for an early 2011 release via Relapse Records. The drum parts for the as-yet-untitled album were recorded at Trench Studios in Corona, California with John Haddad (PHOBIA, INTRONAUT, HIRAX). The majority of the sessions were produced and recorded by Mike Bear (ARTISAN, ex-PROTOTYPE), at Artisan Road Studios in Encino, California. The CD was mixed and mastered by Erik Rutan (CANNIBAL CORPSE, GOATWHORE, HATE ETERNAL) at Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida.
"We've been working on and off in the studio on this album since May and now we're finally done," commented ABYSMAL DAWN guitarist/vocalist Charles Elliott. "After a series of setbacks, illness, and going through a world of shit in our personal lives, we had no choice but to make this record our revenge and the defining moment for ABYSMAL DAWN. We've had the finished mixes for about a week now and everyone that has heard it has been just blown away. We can already tell that this will be the record that the band will become known for. It's a very varied, extreme, technical, and melodic record and I can promise you that no one will be disappointed."
Finnish melodic death metal band ETERNAL TEARS OF SORROW has issued the following update:
"It's been a long time since we've been writing a blog entry [on our MySpace page], so I suppose it's time to summarize what we've been doing during the past 12 months.
"We started our Finnish/European tour a year ago with several gigs here in Finland. You know, between 2001 and 2008, we only played four gigs (!) of which only one took place outside Oulu, our hometown (!!). There were a lot of reasons for not playing live shows during that time, and the most important reason was that between late 2001 and late 2004, we were in an inactive state — in short, this band didn't even exist at that time.
"But during the last 12 months, we've been doing more gigs than ever (excluding the year 2000 that was an exception in many ways). So, thanks to all who came to see us in Finland, Romania and Russia! We still have one more gig this year — Hamburg in a couple of weeks. There may be a gig or two next year, but we want to work on our next album in 2011.
"Currently, we're writing new songs. We already got a lot of 'em but, you know, there's always room for new great songs. We have several ideas on how the next album should sound like... I can't tell you guys much about the ideas but let's just say we (once again) want to be versatile and try to to something new. We also want to make the album heavier, more extreme, more beautiful, more athmospheric than ever before.. Well, not in one song but as a whole.
"The schedule is a bit tentative at the moment. You see, if there's something we learned from the 'crazy years' between 1997 and 2001, it's this: we don't want to wear ourselves out anymore. We did that ten years ago and that's what caused us break up. We want to keep our schedules a bit loose. Ten years ago, we would have gone to the studio right after the last gig of the tour. Now, we need a bit more time.
"So, we're trying to get the next album out in early 2012. We're going to have our first studio session sometimes in April and May 2011 and the second session sometimes during the autumn or early winter."
"Summon The Wild", the latest video from ETERNAL TEARS OF SORROW, can be viewed below. The performance footage for the clip — which was wirected, filmed and edited by Anssi Lautjärvi — was filmed at S-Osis in Turku, Finland on October 16, 2009.
"Summon The Wild" comes off ETERNAL TEARS OF SORROW's sixth album, "Children Of The Dark Waters", which entered the official chart in the group's home country at position No. 19.
"Children Of The Dark Waters" was released in Finland on May 27, 2009 via Suomen Musiikki. As was the case with the band's previous five LPs, the effort was recorded at Tico-Tico Studio in Kemi, Finland. The CD was released in the rest of Europe via Massacre Records and in Asia through Marquee/Avalon.
ETERNAL TEARS OF SORROW's fifth album, "Before The Bleeding Sun", came out in Finland in April 2006 via Spinefarm Records.
Montreal deathcore act GHOULUNATICS, which split up in May of 2008, will reunite for one night only for an appearance ay this year's edition of a Montreal food drive for local food bank Sun Youth called La Grande Guignolée Underground. The fourth edition of the event will be held at on December 10 at Foufounes Electriques in Montreal. Also on the bill are local favorites LES EKORCHES and ARSENIQ33 (also reuniting for one night only). Opening the show will be stoner metal outfit BUFFALO THEORY MTL, which is comprised of members from all three of the other bands on the bill.
The event — which also took place in 2005, 2006, 2007 and was originally called The Ghouls X-Mass Party — is back for another edition and aims at surpassing the amount of non-perishable food items collected the previous years.
"We're asking everyone to bring at least one food item," the organizers say. "We all have a couple extra cans in our cupboards, and a lot of Montrealers need a helping hand at that time of year, so please be generous!"
Tickets are on sale now at Foufounes Electriques and at www.admission.com.
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