Heavy metal legends BLACK SABBATH have joined the club — Metal Club, that is. BLACK SABBATH's "Live At Hammersmith Odeon", a three-LP 180-gram vinyl with a triple gatefold packaging, will be released on January 11, 2011. This release will be limited to 3,000 numbered copies and is a Metal Club exclusive, so make sure to snatch yours up at a participating retailer as soon as it's available.
"Live At Hammersmith Odeon" features Ronnie James Dio, Tommy Iommi, Terry "Geezer" Butler and Vinny Appice live at Hammersmith Odeon in January 1982 during BLACK SABBATH's tour for "The Mob Rules".
Available for the first time on limited-edition numbered vinyl, the concert spotlights BLACK SABBATH as they storm through 14 of the Dio-era's best, including "Neon Knights", "Heaven And Hell", "Children Of The Sea" and "Country Girl". The band also performs several pre-Dio classics, including "Paranoid", "Children Of The Grave" and a white-hot version of "War Pigs".
Metal Club is a group of record stores throughout the U.S. and Canada that work to connect the vibrant metal community with their local record store. Fans will be able to visit their local Metal Club store for special metal promotional pieces, exciting in-store events, and a series of exclusive Metal Club releases. Please visit www.mymetalclub.com for store locations, news and information on other Metal Club releases.
After storming the world for nearly 40 years and taking its very special brand of heavy metal to all four corners of the planet, JUDAS PRIEST — one of the most influential heavy metal bands of all time — has announced plans to embark on a final world tour. However, the mighty PRIEST will certainly be going out strong as it rocks the planet starting in 2011 on the massive "Epitaph" trek — hitting all the major cities throughout the world where it will play the songs that helped make the name JUDAS PRIEST synonymous with heavy metal.
With all guns blazing and amps cranked to eleven, the band will be giving all its fans one last chance to witness the ultimate metal experience that is JUDAS PRIEST!
JUDAS PRIEST will be starting its world tour in Europe and has just confirmed the following festivals for 2011:
Jun. 09 - Sweden Rock Festival, Sölvesborg, Sweden
Jun. 11 - Sauna Open Air, Tampere, Finland
Jun. 17 - Copenhell, Copenhagen, Denmark
Jun. 19 - Hellfest, Clisson, France
Jun. 22 - Gods of Metal, Milan, Italy
Jun. 25 - Graspop Metal Meeting, Dessel, Belgium
Jul. 23 - High Voltage, London, UK
Aug. 05 - Wacken Open Air, Wacken, Germany
JUDAS PRIEST was honored in the "Best Metal Performance" category at the 52nd annual Grammy Awards, which was held on January 31, 2010 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. PRIEST was nominated for the track "Dissident Aggressor", from the band's 2009 live album "A Touch of Evil: Live". Singer Rob Halford and the band's drummer, Scott Travis, accepted the award at the event.
In his acceptance speech, Halford said, "The fifth time is the charm," referring to the fact PRIEST had been nominated four previous times and gone home without the award every time. He mentioned that PRIEST have been making metal for 35 years and that they still love what they do. He also remembered to thank all the radio stations and press that have supported the band, and he dedicated the award to all heavy metal fans.
In a 2008 interview JUDAS PRIEST bassist Ian Hill stated about being part of a band that has defined a genre and spawned countless imitators, "We are very proud of what we have achieved. When I formed this band way back in 1970 I had no grand plan. K.K. Downing [guitar] and I were just mates from school that wanted to play some music. We have a great family among us and like family we have our good and bad days, but without sounding nostalgic, yeah, it's pretty cool what we have achieved."
JUDAS PRIEST's most recent double-disc concept album, "Nostradamus", sold 42,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 11 on The Billboard 200 chart. This marked the band's highest-ever chart position in the U.S. In Canada, the CD opened at position No. 9 after shifting close to 4,000 units.
JUDAS PRIEST's previous studio CD, "Angel of Retribution", premiered with 58,000 copies in the U.S. back in March 2005 to debut at No. 13.
When asked about the varied reaction from JUDAS PRIEST fans to "Nostradamus", Halford stated in a 2008 interview, "The reaction has been very kind of mixed and diverse — very passionate responses. There are some PRIEST fans that only want 'Painkiller', 'Painkiller', 'Painkiller', which is fine. If you want to listen to 'Painkiller', throw it in your CD player. But I think, in terms of achievement, this is something we've always wanted to do. We've often talked about making a concept record, but it took until now to personally have the strong structure of an idea — in Nostradamus — and secondly have enough time to disappear into the recording/writing realm through almost a two-year period. But it's done now, and we feel very satisfied — we're proud of what we've achieved — and it's out there around the world settling into the psyche of everyone. My gut feeling tells me that in two, three, five years from now, the light will go on and people will
go, 'Oh yeah. I've got it. I understand what this is all about now.' We're all about music. Some of it is instant; some of it takes awhile [to connect with the listener] . That's the joy of listening to music in all the ways that we do."
JUDAS PRIEST's "A Touch of Evil: Live" live album sold around 5,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 87 on The Billboard 200 chart.
PRIEST chose 10 songs not previously released in live album form for "A Touch of Evil: Live", which was released in July 2009, in the midst of the band's U.S. summer tour.
"A Touch of Evil" included live renderings of longtime fan favorites such as "Painkiller", "Dissident Aggressor", "Riding on the Wind", "Between the Hammer & the Anvil" and "Eat Me Alive", as well as "Hellrider" from "Angel of Retribution", the group's 2004 reunion album with frontman Rob Halford, and two tracks — "Death" and "Prophecy" — from 2008's rock opera "Nostradamus".
Recorded by Martin Walker and Brian Thorene during JUDAS PRIEST's mammoth 2005 and 2008 world tours, "A Touch Of Evil: Live" marked the first PRIEST album that producer Tom Allom has worked on since 1988 (co-producing along with the band). It was such Allom-produced albums as "Unleashed In The East", as well as "British Steel" and "Screaming For Vengeance" (among others) that made PRIEST not only one of the premier metal acts, but one of the leading global rock acts.
After storming the world for nearly 40 years and taking its very special brand of heavy metal to all four corners of the planet, JUDAS PRIEST — one of the most influential heavy metal bands of all time — has announced plans to embark on a final world tour. However, the mighty PRIEST will certainly be going out strong as it rocks the planet starting in 2011 on the massive "Epitaph" trek — hitting all the major cities throughout the world where it will play the songs that helped make the name JUDAS PRIEST synonymous with heavy metal.
With all guns blazing and amps cranked to eleven, the band will be giving all its fans one last chance to witness the ultimate metal experience that is JUDAS PRIEST!
JUDAS PRIEST will be starting its world tour in Europe and has just confirmed the following festivals for 2011:
Jun. 09 - Sweden Rock Festival, Sölvesborg, Sweden
Jun. 11 - Sauna Open Air, Tampere, Finland
Jun. 17 - Copenhell, Copenhagen, Denmark
Jun. 19 - Hellfest, Clisson, France
Jun. 22 - Gods of Metal, Milan, Italy
Jun. 25 - Graspop Metal Meeting, Dessel, Belgium
Jul. 23 - High Voltage, London, UK
Aug. 05 - Wacken Open Air, Wacken, Germany
JUDAS PRIEST was honored in the "Best Metal Performance" category at the 52nd annual Grammy Awards, which was held on January 31, 2010 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. PRIEST was nominated for the track "Dissident Aggressor", from the band's 2009 live album "A Touch of Evil: Live". Singer Rob Halford and the band's drummer, Scott Travis, accepted the award at the event.
In his acceptance speech, Halford said, "The fifth time is the charm," referring to the fact PRIEST had been nominated four previous times and gone home without the award every time. He mentioned that PRIEST have been making metal for 35 years and that they still love what they do. He also remembered to thank all the radio stations and press that have supported the band, and he dedicated the award to all heavy metal fans.
In a 2008 interview JUDAS PRIEST bassist Ian Hill stated about being part of a band that has defined a genre and spawned countless imitators, "We are very proud of what we have achieved. When I formed this band way back in 1970 I had no grand plan. K.K. Downing [guitar] and I were just mates from school that wanted to play some music. We have a great family among us and like family we have our good and bad days, but without sounding nostalgic, yeah, it's pretty cool what we have achieved."
JUDAS PRIEST's most recent double-disc concept album, "Nostradamus", sold 42,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 11 on The Billboard 200 chart. This marked the band's highest-ever chart position in the U.S. In Canada, the CD opened at position No. 9 after shifting close to 4,000 units.
JUDAS PRIEST's previous studio CD, "Angel of Retribution", premiered with 58,000 copies in the U.S. back in March 2005 to debut at No. 13.
When asked about the varied reaction from JUDAS PRIEST fans to "Nostradamus", Halford stated in a 2008 interview, "The reaction has been very kind of mixed and diverse — very passionate responses. There are some PRIEST fans that only want 'Painkiller', 'Painkiller', 'Painkiller', which is fine. If you want to listen to 'Painkiller', throw it in your CD player. But I think, in terms of achievement, this is something we've always wanted to do. We've often talked about making a concept record, but it took until now to personally have the strong structure of an idea — in Nostradamus — and secondly have enough time to disappear into the recording/writing realm through almost a two-year period. But it's done now, and we feel very satisfied — we're proud of what we've achieved — and it's out there around the world settling into the psyche of everyone. My gut feeling tells me that in two, three, five years from now, the light will go on and people will
go, 'Oh yeah. I've got it. I understand what this is all about now.' We're all about music. Some of it is instant; some of it takes awhile [to connect with the listener] . That's the joy of listening to music in all the ways that we do."
JUDAS PRIEST's "A Touch of Evil: Live" live album sold around 5,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 87 on The Billboard 200 chart.
PRIEST chose 10 songs not previously released in live album form for "A Touch of Evil: Live", which was released in July 2009, in the midst of the band's U.S. summer tour.
"A Touch of Evil" included live renderings of longtime fan favorites such as "Painkiller", "Dissident Aggressor", "Riding on the Wind", "Between the Hammer & the Anvil" and "Eat Me Alive", as well as "Hellrider" from "Angel of Retribution", the group's 2004 reunion album with frontman Rob Halford, and two tracks — "Death" and "Prophecy" — from 2008's rock opera "Nostradamus".
Recorded by Martin Walker and Brian Thorene during JUDAS PRIEST's mammoth 2005 and 2008 world tours, "A Touch Of Evil: Live" marked the first PRIEST album that producer Tom Allom has worked on since 1988 (co-producing along with the band). It was such Allom-produced albums as "Unleashed In The East", as well as "British Steel" and "Screaming For Vengeance" (among others) that made PRIEST not only one of the premier metal acts, but one of the leading global rock acts.
As a tribute to the U.S. city that first played their music, Canadian rock legends RUSH have confirmed that the Cleveland performance of their "Time Machine" show on April 15, 2011 at the Quicken Loans Arena will be filmed for a full-length release.
British heavy metal legends JUDAS PRIEST and resurrected '80s French hard rockers TRUST have been confirmed for next year's edition of Hellfest, set to take place June 17-19, 2010 in Clisson, France.
TRUST is the only French hard rock band to have attained worldwide success in the '80s with its hit "Antisocial" (later covered, and still regularly performed, by ANTHRAX). The group will play only material from its first three albums at Hellfest.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows (in alphabetical order):
1349
ANATHEMA
ANCESTORS
ANGEL WITCH
ARKONA
ARMA GATHAS
ATHEIST
AUDREY HORNE
BAD BRAINS
BELPHEGOR
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY
BOLT THROWER
CHURCH OF MISERY
COMEBACK KID
CONVERGE
CORONER
DAGOBA
DØDHEIMSGARD
DORO
ELECTRIC WIZARD
EXHUMED
EYEHATEGOD
FIREWIND
GRAVE
HAWKWIND
IN SOLITUDE
JUDAS PRIEST
KARMA TO BURN
KORPIKLAANI
KREATOR
KRISIUN
KYLESA
MALEVOLENT CREATION
MASTERS OF REALITY
MAYHEM
MEKONG DELTA
MORNE
MY SLEEPING KARMA
NASTY
OPETH
ORPHANED LAND
OZZY OSBOURNE
PAIN OF SALVATION
RAW POWER
RED FANG
SATANIC WARMASTER
SCORPIONS
SEPTICFLESH
SHAI HULUD
SKELETONWITCH
SKYFORGER
SODOM
STREET DOGS
THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER
THE EXPLOITED
THE GATES OF SLUMBER
THE HAUNTED
THE MELVINS
THE YOUNG GODS
THERION
TRIPTYKON
TRUST
UNLEASHED
VADER
VALIENT THORR
YOUR DEMISE
For more information, visit www.hellfest.fr.
Cleveland is remarkable for being one of the very first U.S. cities where RUSH performed, in addition to being the first city to provide American airplay.
This will be a must-see event for RUSH fans in Cleveland — and for everyone able to make the road trip as it is will also mark the first live full-length filming on U.S. soil.
Tickets for Cleveland go on sale on Saturday, December 11, with pre-sales for RUSH fan-club and CITI cardmembers beginning December 7.
Tickets for Ft. Lauderdale, Greensboro, Nashville, Louisville, Toledo, New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Hamilton and Montreal all go on sale this week.
Newly announced RUSH tour dates:
Mar. 30 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Bank Atlantic Center
Apr. 01 - Greensboro, NC @ Coliseum
Apr. 03 - Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
Apr. 05 - Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center
Apr. 06 - Toledo, OH @ Huntington Center
Apr. 08 - Hershey, NJ @ Giant Center
Apr. 10 - New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
Apr. 12 - Chicago, IL @ United Center
Apr. 15 - Cleveland, OH @ Quickens Loans Arena
Apr. 17 - Detroit, MI @ Palace of Auburn Hills
Apr. 19 - Hamilton, ON @ Copps Coliseum
Apr. 20 - Montreal, PQ @ Bell Centre
Apr. 22 - Baltimore, MD @ 1st Mariner Arena
The "Time Machine" tour is an evening with RUSH, where they will perform their classics, give a taste of the future and will — for the first time ever in the U.K. — feature the "Moving Pictures" album live in its entirety.
The first North American leg of the tour kicked off in June of 2010 and led to RUSH ranking #1 on Billboard's "Hot Tours" chart, followed by a return to Brazil and first-time shows in Argentina and Chile on their South American tour this past fall.
"'Moving Pictures' is our most popular album and it's the one that seems to have passed the test of time most gracefully," observes singer/bassist Geddy Lee. "We're playing better than ever, and I'm not sure we're quite ready to put that tour away," he adds.
According to The Pulse Of Radio, METALLICA frontman James Hetfield admitted in a recent interview that the band's shows have become more family-friendly since he became a dad. Speaking with Australia's "The 7PM Project", Hetfield said he's even stopped singing the band's obscenity-filled cover of the ANTI-NOWHERE LEAGUE's "So What" because he doesn't want his son and two daughters to think it's okay to use bad language. Hetfield explained, "Since I've had kids the show's become more family-friendly as far as the language goes. We haven't played 'So What' in a while — there are too many words that just ain't right. My son's heard them all, but I don't need to promote them."
Hetfield also commented on his son's musical tastes, saying, "Now and then I get an email from iTunes saying, 'Here's what your son bought.' He loves the RAMONES, AC/DC, the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS right now. He buys some METALLICA stuff . . . He actually bought them. I'm like, 'Dude, how are you going to pay for these?'"
The legendary frontman revealed that his daughters are more into pop music, but that they still listen to their dad's music whenever they can come on the road with him. He said, "There's this thing called school, which sucks. But we yanked them on the last leg of the tour when we did Japan because they'd never been there."
As for whether he considers himself a strict father at home, Hetfield said, "My voice does get a little loud at home sometimes. But I'm learning it doesn't necessarily get anything done."
Hetfield's three children are 12-year-old Cali, 10-year-old Castor and eight-year-old Marcella. He and his wife Francesca have been married 13 years.
According to current GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Daren "D.J." Ashba, it will be a "cold day in hell" before former GN'R bandmates Axl Rose and Slash collaborate again, quashing rumors of a possible reunion.
When Becko of Australia's long-running rock radio station Triple M questioned D.J. ahead of GN'R's show at the Sydney 500 V8 Supercars about the reports of Axl and Slash possibly getting back together, he shot it down. "That's completely false," D.J. said. "I know Axl really, really well, and he basically said that it would be a cold day in hell [before they work together]. But, that being said, obviously I don't know the inside insight and I'm just happy to be in the shoes of an amazing, legendary guitar player. It's really a treat for me to stand on stage next to somebody like Axl and [the rest of] this band. Everybody in this band is just top-notch musicians."
As for "Axl Time," Rose's infamously late appearances onstage, which, according to Slash's autobiography, "Slash", were one of the main reasons key "Appetite For Destruction" songwriter and former GN'R rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin left the band, Ashba claims that they have nothing to do with the enigmatic singer — they are the fault of the room-service staff at the band's hotels. "It isn't even Axl that's late, it's always our room service that's late. We're waiting to eat before we go on," Ashba joked.
Listen to a clip of Ashba's interview with Triple M below.
As previously reported, GUNS N' ROSES kicked off an Australian tour in the city of Townsville last Wednesday night (December 1) and immediately made both local residents and fans angry. According to local media reports, Townsville residents slammed the group for starting over an hour late and ending some 75 minutes after a curfew on a weeknight. Authorities were reportedly investigating whether the event's promoters should be punished with a fine for breaking the terms of their entertainment license.
The show ended past midnight with a fireworks display that left many pet owners in the area complaining that their pets were agitated.
As usual, blame for the delay seemed to rest at the feet of Axl Rose, who kept the audience and the rest of his band waiting.
One fan said, "Everybody knew Axl would come on late — it's at the stage now where you think you're lucky because it was only an hour or so. It was a great show. I don't have any complaints about that. But he needs to remember people have ordinary lives to go home to and have to get up in morning."
Another concertgoer added, "The atmosphere was fantastic but coming on so late meant the whole night was only average," while New Zealand's 3 News interviewed one fan who was upset at the lack of original members in the lineup, saying, "I think it's an imitation band — it is absolutely terrible."
Other fans complained that the expensive VIP packages they bought did not deliver all the perks that had been promised.
The venue, called Reid Park, has only recently been converted to a concert facility, angering local residents who were not made aware of the change.
The band and Rose drew fire earlier this year from U.K. promoters, who cut the band's set short when they came on late and broke curfew at two British festivals.
VELVET REVOLVER guitarist Slash has revealed in a new Twitter posting that the band "is auditioning singers this week." He adds, "[It] promises to be very interesting."
In a recent interview with Artisan News Service, VELVET REVOLVER bassist Duff McKagan talked about what the hold-up has been with regards to the search for the right replacement for departed frontman Scott Weiland.
"VELVET REVOLVER is not done, we're not finished, and I don't think we've made our best record yet," he said. "We'll tour again, we'll find the guy."
He added, "It's one of those things, if you concern yourself with it [too much, it starts to work against you] because there's a not to pool from out there — for our particualr band. There's some great talent — we've heard some really, really good guys — but to get all of us to agree on what that… I don't know if the guy that all four of us want is ever gonna exist, but we've gotta get close."
Regarding a possible replacement for Weiland, McKagan said, "It's gotta be better than it was; it's gotta be as good, at least. And for us, it's gotta be better. And Scott is an amazing vocalist and frontman, so it's gotta be as good or better than that. We can't [step down a notch]."
Slash said in a recent interview with Backstage Axxess that the band has tried out a few new singers but has yet to find the right guy. Slash said, "We had a couple of guys [come down to the rehearsal room] [in October]. . . For the most part, there have been some really good singers. (But) trying to find the right guy for this thing is a lot more complicated than one would probably think. So we will keep on toiling away until we hit that magic and when that happens then everything will start rolling."
VELVET REVOLVER has been without a vocalist and on hiatus since dismissing Weiland in April 2008, although there have been rumored candidates to take the job from time to time.
Slash recently finished a tour in support of his debut solo album and will work with VELVET REVOLVER for the rest of this year, before heading out on the road again in January with OZZY OSBOURNE.
VELVET REVOLVER released its first concert DVD on November 16, titled "Live In Houston". The 12-song, 78-minute disc was filmed in 2005 while the band was touring behind its 2004 debut album, "Contraband". In addition to tunes from that record, the DVD also includes songs from its members' other bands, GUNS N' ROSES and STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, along with interviews with all five band members at the time.
MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine has revealed via his Twitter account that "a huge announcement is coming for next summer in the States and in Europe and the U.K." He added in a separate posting, "Just went through a couple weeks of hell arranging something special for summer. Stay tuned! We're going to have some Big shows coming up."
A tour of the U.S. and other parts of Europe featuring the so-called "Big Four" of 1980s thrash metal — METALLICA, MEGADETH, SLAYER and ANTHRAX — is very possible for next year.
The new DVD and Blu-ray titled "The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria", filmed last June at a concert starring METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard "Top Music Videos" sales chart last month month with sales of 22,000 copies. The set also debuted at No. 1 in Canada, the U.K. and Austria, while entering at No. 4 in Germany.
"The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria" set features full shows from all four bands along with behind-the-scenes and interview footage.
Mustaine revealed during an online chat last month with members of the band's official fan club, Cyber Army (formerly MegaFanClub), that MEGADETH has "five songs almost finished" for its next studio album. Mustaine is currently going over the new material at the band's Vic's Garage studio in San Marcos, California with engineer Ken Eisennagel, who previously worked with MEGADETH during the pre-production phase for 2009's "Endgame" and 2007's "United Abominations" CDs.
Mustaine said in a recent interview that MEGADETH's new album is shaping up to be "more like 'Endgame', maybe sticking in that vein and going a little forward toward what I like."
Speaking to Australia's FasterLouder, Mustaine said he preferred "Endgame"'s more aggressive moments. "We were forced, in a way, to have to do certain things and it's really easy for me to blame somebody, but at the end of the day it was my fault, I could have said no, but I didn't," he said. "I was nervous that we were going to end up getting kicked off the label. I figured I would rather go underground and play what I like, and not sell as many records, but still be able to look myself in the face in the morning."
"Endgame" sold 45,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 9 on The Billboard 200 chart.
MEGADETH's previous CD, "United Abominations", opened with around 54,000 copies in the U.S. to debut at No. 8. This was more than the 46,000 first-week tally registered by its predecessor, "The System Has Failed" (which landed at No. 18 on The Billboard 200 chart), and was a bit less than the 61,000 opening number of 2001's "The World Needs A Hero" (No. 16).
"Endgame" was recorded at Vic's Garage, which was named after the legendary and iconic Vic Rattlehead character. The CD was helmed by Mustaine and British producer Andy Sneap (EXODUS, NEVERMORE, ARCH ENEMY, MACHINE HEAD).
On December 3, TESLA guitarist Frank Hannon went on the air on Santa Rosa, California's 101.7 The Fox radio station inside the "Less Is More Lounge" to clarify comments he made during a recent episode of VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show" when accused GUNS N' ROSES of ripping off an early TESLA track for the GN'R classic "Patience". Watch video footage of his appearance below.
TESLA and GUNS N' ROSES were both signed to Geffen Records by the label's then-A&R executive Tom Zutaut. TESLA's debut album, "Mechanical Resonance", came out in 1986, while GUNS N' ROSES' first LP, "Appetite For Destruction", followed a year later.
Hannon's original accusation came during a debate over whether or not "Patience" was a better acoustic "hard rock" song than TESLA's "Signs". He said on "That Metal Show", "Let me tell you something: 'Patience'... We were labelmates with GUNS N' ROSES on Geffen. There's a demo of a song that we wrote called 'Better Off Without You'. It is 'Patience' note for note . . . I don't know if they ripped us off or Tom Zutaut or Geffen or somebody passed them the tape."
In response, former GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash wrote on his Facebook page, "I heard that one of the guys from TESLA claimed GN'R stole 'Patience' from them. I'm assuming he's smoking super crack. Or dreaming out loud . . . I didn't hear the actual interview so I won't jump to conclusions based on hearsay. I'll just make emotiphants!"
In the meantime, Hannon took to TESLA's official forum to clarify the comments he made on "That Metal Show", explaining, "The demo of 'Better Off Without You' I was talking about is an acoustic guitar version we did live at the Oasis Ballroom in 1985 that Geffen Records had on a 'live' cassette tape of a show we played. They did make some copies of it with labels on them and handed them out to people before we made our first album. If anyone can find one, that would be awesome. I was not talking about the piano version that's floating around on a bootleg.
"Also, for the record: 'Better Off Without You' is a song in 'D' and it does the 'D/F#-to-G' chord change in it. This is also the same type of change that GN'R used at the end of 'Patience' and also the same change that John Lennon uses in 'Imagine'...
"I do not seriously feel that we wrote 'Patience' in ANY WAY.
"The song 'Patience' is a great song that they [GUNS N' ROSES] wrote themselves, and it is only the end part that has any similar part to the guitar chords we used.
"I apologize for any controversy or disrespect I may have projected in my joking around with Eddie Trunk ['That Metal Show' co-host] about this."
LINKIN PARK and ROB ZOMBIE have been confirmed for next year's edition of the Download festival, set to take place June 10-12, 2011 at Donington Park in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. Also scheduled to appear are the reunited SYSTEM OF A DOWN and Orange County, California's AVENGED SEVENFOLD.
Commented LINKIN PARK frontman Chester Bennington: "We are very excited to be playing Download again next year. It's one of the best festivals in the world and it's always an honor to play in front of such a great crowd. We can't wait!"
A limited number of weekend-with-camping tickets for Download 2011 went on sale on Friday, December 3 at DownloadFestival.co.uk. This "early-bird" offer ends at 5 p.m. on Monday, December 20, and includes three-day and five-day camping options. The popular Download RIP packages also went on sale on December 3, and include yurtels, pod pads, tipis, kip and kits, yurtys, gypsy caravans, kabin kreek, camping caravans and even a luxury bus.
We've often referred to ourselves as the "Where's Waldo" of L.A. music and nightlife, and now that our pal Sean Yseult has released her new book, I'm In The Band- Backstage Notes From The Chick In White Zombie, we really feel that way.
Yseult, who was a founding member and bass player for White Zombie, has compiled old photos and scrapbook style mementos and ephemera from her time with the popular art-metal band for the tome, and yours truly makes a couple of look-hard-and-you'll-spot-us appearances.
We became friends with this talented lady when she moved from N.Y. to L.A., which was also when her band took off. It was fascinating to see the group as a whole transition into superstardom. (Zombie were one of the last bands in heavy rotation on MTV, just before the channel ceased regular video clip play.) The usual challenges--record label bullshit and frontman ego--caused the band to implode around '98, and we might be biased, but we think that even when things got personal, Yseult kept it admirably classy throughout.
She does so in the book as well, focusing on the best parts of her wild rock n' roll ride. In addition to tons of Yseult's personal photos, the book offers tour diaries, flyers (all the way back from when she and then-boyfriend Rob Zombie first conceptualized the band in Lower Eastside New York) plus commentary and coverage about the bands they toured with: The Cramps, The Ramones, and Motorhead to name a few. It's not only a chronicle WZ fans will enjoy, it's a colorful and honest look at band life from a female perspective in general.
The book's name is obviously a play on the title of Pamela Des Barres' groupie bible, but it also refers to the fact while in Zombie, Sean was constantly having to tell security and the like that she was actually in the band. And when she wasn't doing that, she was having to tell girl groupies that she was in fact a "chick," not a long-haired, effeminate "dude."
She'll be in town in a few weeks to promote the book, first, for in-store party at Wacko/La Luz De Jesus, Tues., Dec. 7, then at Book Soup, Wed., Dec. 8, and finally for a guest DJ gig (along with former Zombie drummer Johnny Tempesta) at Metal Army Night at Three Clubs Thurs., Dec. 9.
Wthin: a little Q&A about the book, Zombie life and what she's up to now.
Where's Nightranger?
Why did you decide to do the book?
It was inspired by our White Zombie boxset. A couple of years ago I was informed that we were finally releasing a boxset with all of our history--the very first seven inch to the last record. Management asked me for all of my Zombie video footage to add a DVD, and I began to dig out the boxes out of storage. After more than ten years, what I found was mind-blowing. I not only had saved all of our old vinyl and bootleg videos, but there were piles of tour diaries, photo albums, laminates, notebooks, my old journals of booking tours, everything that covered the history of our career. When we met in design school, I was a photo major, so I took photos of the band and me and Rob since day one. While I was sorting through this treasure trove, [guitarist] J. and I were told the boxset was already in print without our input--no liner notes, no history, nothing. That was a shame, because J. also had 10 boxes of amazing history. Shortly after the release, I began
receiving tons of mail from fans who felt robbed--they had been waiting so long for something comprehensive, some insight into the freakshow that was Zombie, and they received none. I knew I had to do something with all of my material, and tell my story of White Zombie. Having been the other co-founder of the band, I was the only person besides Rob who could tell the story from beginning to end. Of course it's from my perspective, but I also include input from many members and ex-members of White Zombie, as well as some key players along the way. I spent the first year writing, photographing, and scanning items to create the book, and the second year writing more and gathering writings and photos from others. It is exactly how I envisioned it: a collaged coffee table book, with a lot of commentary.
Why did White Zombie really break up?
Why does any band break up? Members aren't getting along, everyone's worn-out, lead singers want to go solo, all of the stereotypical reasons. J. and I felt like we had more riffs and songs in us, but Rob was already finishing up his solo record when we had "the phonecall."
What was it like playing in a band with your boyfriend and then ex-boyfriend?
When we were a couple for the first seven years, it was us against the world. We worked hard together 24/7--me doing logos, typography, and layout, him drawing imagery, me writing riffs, him writing lyrics. Pressing our own records, booking our own tours. It never stopped. All four of us were like a gang. We practiced constantly, toured in a van that we all slept in when there wasn't a floor, went flyering with wheat paste at 4am. Notice how quickly I include the band--that reflects our relationship--it was all Zombie, all work, and exactly what we wanted. Once members of our fucked-up family started getting replaced, and the label started taking over many of our jobs, things weren't quite the same. We broke up, and touring together was still fine. But shortly after, Rob met a fan and things changed. I didn't mind at first, but it escalated into childish nonsense and Spinal Tap moments that none of us want to relive--haha!
What is your relationship with Rob now and how do you think he'll feel about the book?
He hasn't spoken to any of us for years--his choice, not ours--so I have no idea what he thinks of this book. After his solo record, the press asked him a similar question in regards to me and J., and he responded with a rather negative retort, "I don't give a rat's ass." I guess I would have to return the sentiment if he had any issues with the book, really. I have no idea if he will like it or hate it or just ignore it since I decided not to "let sleeping corpses lie," as he seemed to have wanted with the boxset.
What were high points of your time with White Zombie? How are they chronicled in the book?
It was definitely crazy when La Sexorcisto started climbing the charts, and those tours during that time with bands like Pantera and Anthrax were such a blast! Of course, playing in front of 80,000 people at Castle Donnington--or 300,000 people in Rio de Janiero--were extreme high points. It's hard to explain the adrenaline rush you receive from that many screaming people! I have photos, laminates, tour diaries and present day commentary on all of these events in the book.
What are you up to these days?
Although I've spent most of the past two years on this book, my design company yseultdesigns.com has done well. My home decor pieces were added to Barney's last year, and I've acquired fans from Kate Hudson to Anna Sui--even the great Helen Mirren, who are all women I have huge respect for, so that's nice! I've also had two great shows in the past year with my photography, which I love getting back to after all of these years. My band Rock City Morgue just played VoodooFest and I'm in the middle of recording sessions in Joshua Tree with my new band, Star & Dagger. My husband (Chris Lee of Supagroup) and I recently sold our bar, the Saint, which kept us occupied for a while, so you could say I keep busy.
What do you think White Zombie's legacy in music will be--or is at this point?
I always think of us as the band that straddled metal and alternative--always too weird for metal and too metal for alternative. It should be for being the only band to start off as an art/noise band at CBGB's and to then make it as a headlining arena metal act! But our legacy will probably be "the band that Beavis and Butthead said was cool!" They had great taste so that's fine with me.
Jägermeister, the brand known for decades of involvement with rock bands, continues to own the concert circuit with the 2011 Jägermeister Music Tour featuring BUCKCHERRY. The Jägermeister Music Tour kicks off January 19 in San Diego, California and plays 26 shows across the nation in celebration of BUCKCHERRY's new single, "It's a Party", on their recently released album "All Night Long". BUCKCHERRY will rock the 2011 Jägermeister Music Tour through February with HELLYEAH as direct support as well as ALL THAT REMAINS and THE DAMNED THINGS. Each concert will also feature a local Jäger Band. Mr. Dee Jay, Brian Barr, known for delivering a great vibe and unique flavor, will spin during set changes to keep the party going.
Jagermeistermusictour.com will feature a free download of BUCKCHERRY's "It's a Party" as well as exclusive band video footage from BUCKCHERRY, HELLYEAH, ALL THAT REMAINS and THE DAMNED THINGS.
"For the brand's 19th music tour, Jägermeister is bringing BUCKCHERRY's raw rock together with the blazing metal style of HELLYEAH and ALL THAT REMAINS. Add some Jägermeister to the mix and you are looking at one of the top shows of the year," says Bill Henderson, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Advertising at Sidney Frank Importing Company, Inc. "Additionally, instead of booking big arenas, Jägermeister continues to do things differently and is bringing this tour to theatres and ballrooms."
BUCKCHERRY frontman Josh Todd says, "Every night we're on stage we LOVE to host a party. We can't think of a better partner to do it with than Jägermeister." Guitarist Keith Nelson adds, "This is the first time we're really going to be able to celebrate the theme of our album, 'All Night Long', on the road. It's going to be loud and sweaty, just the way we like it."
"Hello all fellow Hellions!!! I am so pumped for our upcoming tour of the USA! That's right; every night is gonna be a Friday night with BUCKCHERRY, HELLYEAH, ALL THAT REMAINS and THE DAMNED THINGS. The Jägermeister will be flowing, the jams will be kicking and the good times will be back in rock and roll!!! It's time to let it all hang out!!! See y'all there," says HELLYEAH drummer Vinnie Paul.
The 2011 Jägermeister Music Tour will feature Jägermeister custom tour prizes from Schecter Guitars and Peavey Electronics. In addition, Jägermeister will be hosting nightly text-to-win giveaways including tap machines, tee shirts, hats and other branded POS. Giveaways are subject to state and local laws and participants must be of legal drinking age or older.
Jägermeister will market and promote the Jägermeister Music Tour through social media channels Facebook and Twitter, local print outlets, Sirius XM Satellite Radio and terrestrial radio along with band video footage through YouTube and the music tour website. Visit www.jagermeistermusictour.com for various contests, promotions, tour dates and additional tour information.
The dates are follows:
Jan. 19 - San Diego, CA - 4th And B
Jan. 21 - Anaheim, CA - The Grove
Jan. 22 - Las Vegas, NV - The Joint
Jan. 23 - Reno, NV - Reno Events Center
Jan. 25 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Great Salt Air
Jan. 27 - Denver, CO - The Fillmore
Jan. 28 - Kansas City, MO - Midland Theater
Jan. 29 - Des Moines, IA - 7 Flaggs Events Center
Jan. 31 - Peoria, IL - East Peoria Event Center
Feb. 01 - Chicago, IL - Congress Theatre
Feb. 02 - Waterloo, IA - McElroy Auditorium
Feb. 04 - St. Louis, MO - Pop's Nite Club
Feb. 05 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
Feb. 08 - Youngstown, OH - Covelli Center
Feb. 09 - Lousville, KY - Expo Five Outdoors
Feb. 11 - Myrtle Beach, SC - House Of Blues
Feb. 12 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live
Feb. 13 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom
Feb. 15 - New York, NY - Best Buy Theater
Feb. 16 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
Feb. 18 - Albany, NY - Northern Lights
Feb. 19 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
Feb. 20 - Manchester, NH - Verizon Wireless Arena
Feb. 22 - Charlotte, NC - Fillmore Charlotte
Feb. 23 - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
Feb. 24 - Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
Punk rock icon Henry Rollins will guest on the Thursday, December 9 episode of NBC-TV's "Last Call With Carson Daly" (which will actually air the morning of Friday, December 10 at 1:35 a.m. EST).
In other news, Rollins will make his National Geographic debut as the host of the newest installment in the channel's signature series "Explorer" on Tuesday, December 14 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. This edition of the series, titled "Born To Rage", examines the topic of nature vs. nurture and the discovery of a so-called "warrior gene." The show follows Henry as he meets gang members, MMA fighters, bikers, Navy SEALS, and even Buddhist monks examining the topic of nature vs. nurture and learning more about a newly discovered "warrior gene" and the link it has to violent behavior.
We don't need to rave about the well-known legacy of the man who is Scott Weinrich, better known as Wino. With dozens of albums released throughout his time spent in THE OBSESSED, SAINT VITUS, SHINE, SPIRIT CARAVAN, THE HIDDEN HAND, SHRINEBUILDER, Dave Grohl's PROBOT project and much more since the late '70s, his mammoth and varied resume spans nearly three full decades, essentially set him up as a purveyor and forerunner of the entire genre we now call doom rock. A true legend; this is Wino. But, with the release of the humble but legendary musician's new solo album, "Adrift", a side of the man that most haven't heard is being uncovered for the first time.
Answering the call from his friends and supporters to record an acoustic solo album following the sudden and tragic passing of friend and bandmate Jon Blank, who appeared on Wino's first "solo release," "Punctuated Equilibrium", in 2009, he set to work on his most personal and powerful recording to date. "Adrift" is a revealing alternative view of this underground legend's personality and history. Stripped down to the bare minimum — just his voice and his guitar — the songs on "Adrift" follow classic American songwriting ideals offering a compelling mixture of emotion and storytelling.
Wino is a man on his own in a boat without sails. He's fighting against tides and storms, enjoying the moments of bright sunshine; bound to the will of something external — the wind, destiny and the drift. Easily his most heartfelt and personal material to be recorded to date, the twelve tracks on "Adrift" help elevate this already iconic musician to a new level of storytelling, setting Wino up to fall right in line with greats like Johnny Cash, Woodie Guthrie, Neil Young, Bob Dylan and other classic American songwriters.
"Adrift" track listing:
01. Adrift
02. I Don't Care
03. Hold On Love
04. Mala Suerte
05. Old And Alone
06. Iron Horse/Born To Lose
07. Suzane's Song
08. DBear
09. Whatever
10. Shot In The Head
11. O.B.E.
12. Green Speed
"Adrift" is set for official release on respected German label Exile On Mainstream Records on March 8, 2011 in North America, the label now distributed domestically by E1 Entertainment. A limited-edition vinyl version of the album featuring extended liner notes and more is to be released in the U.S. on January 18 by Volcom Entertainment.
Wino will hit the road stateside this February on a short acoustic tour, rocking alongside longtime friend, and also SHRINEBUILDER bandmate, Scott Kelly (NEUROSIS). The tour will be in support of the upcoming split seven-inch single between Wino and Kelly, to be released early in the year by Volcom, as well as the "Adrift" album. Sponsored by BrooklynVegan, the tour will venture through California, Texas, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland and New York, showcasing both legendary artists each in solo, acoustic mode.
Wino/Scott Kelly February 2011 tour:
Feb. 05 - Viper Room, Hollywood, CA
Feb. 07 - Casbah, San Diego, CA
Feb. 08 - Emo's, Austin, TX
Feb. 09 - Abbey Pub, Chicago, IL
Feb. 10 - Great Scott, Allston, MA
Feb. 11 - Sonar, Baltimore, MD
Feb. 12 - Mercury Lounge, New York, NY
Legendary Swedish doomsters CANDLEMASS will celebrate their 25-year anniversary by performing an extra-long, two-and-a-half-hour set at Debaser Medis in Stockholm on December 18. The band's classic debut album, "Epicus Doomicus Metalicus", will be played in its entirety for the first time with the original singer Johan Längqvist. In addition, the group has been in the studio recording a couple of cover songs especially for a limited vinyl maxi that will be sold on the evening of the show. A five-CD "Doomology" box will also be available featuring the following:
CD 1: First-ever concert in Jönköping (1987)
CD 2: Buckley Tivoli (1988)
CD 3: Demos for the white album (2003 - 2004)
CD 4: "King Of The Grey Islands" demos with Mats Levén (THERION, KRUX, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) on vocals
CD : Miscellaneous demos (Johan Längqvist vocal audition for "Chapter VI") and other rarities.
The price will 250 SEK, but a free 50 x 70 show poster will be included.
CD 1: First Gig Ever In Jönköping, 1987
01. Intro
02. Crystal Ball
03. Under The Oak
04. Bewitched
05. Demon's Gate
06. The Well Of Souls
07. A Sorcerer's Pledge
08. Solitude
CD 2: Buckley Tivoli, 1988
01. Mirror Mirror
02. Bewitched
03. Solitude
04. The Bells Of Acheron
05. At The Gallows End
06. Demon's Gate
07. Bearer Of Pain
08. Samarithan
09. A Cry From The Crypt
10. Dark Are The Veils Of Death
11. The Well Of Souls
12. A Sorcerer's Pledge
CD 3: Demos From The White Album, 2003-2004
01. Black Dwarf
02. Spellbreaker
03. Seven Silver Keys
04. Assassin Of The Light
05. Copernicus
06. Witches
07. Born In A Tank
08. Black Dwarf
09. Spellbreaker
10. Witches
11. Witches
CD 4: "King Of The Grey Islands" Demos With Mats Levén On Vocals
01. Emperor Of The Void
02. Devil Seed
03. Of Stars And Smoke
04. Demonia 6
05. Destroyer
06. Man Of Shadows
07. Embracing The Styx
08. Edgar Grey
CD 5: Miscellaneous Demos (Johan Längqvist Vocal Audition for "Chapter VI") + Other Rarities
01. Ebony Throne
02. The Dying Illusion
03. Temple Of The Dead
04. The End Of Pain
05. Black Dwarf
06. At The Gallows End
07. Solitude
08. Lucifer Dance
09. Handklover Ouh Klarinett
10. Vört Sistz Rushed
"Epicus Doomicus Metallicus" was re-released on fat 180-gram blood-red vinyl in numbered gatefold sleeve on June 28 via Peaceville Records. The gatefold sleeve features the original artwork (red text and skull not white as on the CD) on a matt-laminated sleeve with logo and text on front in spot varnish. It also includes new sleeve notes written by the band.
CANDLEMASS released a new DVD, "Ashes To Ashes - Live", in North America on June 29 via Nuclear Blast Records (April 23 in Europe). The set contains footage of the band's performance at last year's Sweden Rock Festival in front of 30,000 people as well as CANDLEMASS' entire October 2009 concert in Athens, Greece. It also includes a 30-minute interview and two photo galleries. The DVD was released as a CD+DVD, with the Sweden Rock show as the audio CD.
"Death Magic Doom", the latest album from CANDLEMASS, debuted at No. 79 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.
"Death Magic Doom" entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 52. The group's previous CD, "King of the Grey Islands", debuted at No. 83 back in June 2007.
DREAM THEATER and JUDAS PRIEST will headline next year's edition of Classic Rock magazine's award-winning High Voltage festival, set to take place Saturday, July 23 and Sunday, July 24, 2011 in Victoria Park, London, England.
Progressive metal titans DREAM THEATER will headline the main stage on July 24. High Voltage 2011 will mark the first U.K. performance of the band's new lineup following the departure of drummer and founding member Mike Portnoy.
Ace Café London will return to High Voltage in 2011 with a bigger, bolder area offering drinks, food and generous seating, all set within the surroundings of the historic Ace Café London experience.
The True Evel Exhibition will be dedicated to Evel Knievel, the original motorcycle daredevil. On display will be Evel's original motorcycles, jump leathers, personal memorabilia and more.
Like last year's inaugural festival featuring ZZ TOP and EMERSON LAKE & PALMER, High Voltage 2011 will be custom-built by rock fans for rock fans.
The facilities will be second to none: great food, proper beer, clean toilets, deluxe hospitality packages, designated hotels, free shuttle transport. This is somewhere you can take the whole family.
Only High Voltage gives ticket buyers the freedom to design their own bespoke festival package — which can include accommodation, transport, parking and VIP bar access.
Tickets are priced £99 (for weekend tickets) and £56.50 (for day tickets). VIP tickets will be available at £105 for the day and £199 for the weekend. There will also be various VIP and hotel packages available, at varying price levels to suit. There is no booking fee for tickets.
Tickets are available from www.highvoltagefestival.com or 24hr cc ticketline 0871 230 5582.
MÖTLEY CRÜE singer Vince Neil and pro-skate partner Jennifer Wester became the second pair to be eliminated from ABC's newest reality show, "Skating With The Stars", after receiving the lowest combined judges' scores and audience vote.
"It was a lot of fun! It was really a great experience to re-learn something that I knew so long ago," Neil said after leaving. "There are some great skaters here and I'm really happy for everyone. Plus, the judges were nice to me!"
According to Digital Spy, here's what the judges — Olympian Johnny Weir, skating commentator Dick Button and celebrity choreographer Laurieann Gibson — said about Vince's final performance:
Johnny: Says that he's "proud and happy" that Vince took the judges' advice from past weeks but advises him to stretch his arms out and lengthen his body to "give us something gorgeous". (Technical Merit: 5 / Artistic Impression: 6)
Laurieann: Loves his "showmanship" and the way he lets the music move him and praises his choreography. (Technical Merit: 6 / Artistic Impression: 7)
Dick: Thinks it is a great compliment that Vince listened to past feedback and is glad that he seems to be more comfortable as the weeks go by. "I see the talent in you, and don't forget it!" he adds. (Technical Merit: 5 / Artistic Impression: 7)
Total: 36/60
Watch video footage of Vince's final performance below.
Neil was one of six celebrities who are taking part in the competition. The other contenders were Sean Young ("Blade Runner", "No Way Out"), reality star Bethenny Frankel, Olympic gold medal skier Jonny Moseley, "All My Children" actress Rebecca Budig and Brandon Mychal Smith of the Disney Channel sitcom "Sonny With a Chance".
A new series from BBC Worldwide Productions, "Skating With The Stars" pairs celebrities with a world-class ice skater as they prepare to compete in front of a live audience in a televised ice skating competition. The skating pairs are critiqued by a panel of expert judges and receive a set of scores based on artistry and technique, and also by viewers at home, with one couple being eliminated each week.
"Skating With The Stars" kicked off its six-episode run with a live premiere episode on Monday, November 22 on the ABC television network.
"Skating With The Stars" is produced by BBC Worldwide Productions. Izzie Pick ("Dancing With The Stars" and the U.K.'s "Strictly Come Dancing") and Phil Edgar Jones ("Big Brother" and "Celebrity Big Brother") serve as executive producers. Paul Osborne ("I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!" and "Secret Millionaire") serves as co-executive producer. Alex Rudzinski ("Dancing With The Stars") directs.
Former SKID ROW frontman Sebastian Bach has revealed via Twitter that "all the songs are done" for his next solo album and he is "finalizing recording plans now."
As to which approach he is taking with his new material, Bach says, "Same as the other ones — just make something I really like and that I want everyone to hear. It's worked so far!"
Although nothing has been confirmed yet, Sebastian's new CD will likely be made available through Sony Music in Japan.
Bach's current solo band includes guitarists Nick Sterling and Johnny Chromatic, drummer Bobby Jarzombek and bassist Rob DeLuca.
Sebastian last year collaborated with HATEBREED frontman Jamey Jasta on several tracks for Bach's new solo album, with Nick and Charlie Bellmore of the Connecticut band PHANTOMS assisting during the pre-production process. The singer has also written material with John 5 (ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON).
Following a week in which two members of SLIPKNOT issued contradictory comments about making a new album, the band has now confirmed a second European festival appearance for the summer of 2011 — Graspop Metal Meeting in Dessel, Belgum on June 24-26. As previously reported, SLIPKNOT will also perform at Europe's Sonisphere festival next year — the band's first shows without late bassist Paul Gray.
The band issued a statement saying, "We're looking forward to spending our summer in Europe. This tour is about us and our fans. It's about celebrating the life of our brother, Paul, and his legacy. The door is neither open nor closed. This tour is about burning down that door. See you this summer."
If the band sticks to the plan revealed to The Pulse Of Radio by drummer Joey Jordison, SLIPKNOT will use a touring bassist for live work but will remain an eight-piece onstage. "We're not gonna have anyone on stage right now," he said. "The bass player, he'll be behind me, you know, when I'm playing to lock in with me, but there's no one right now to go onstage. There's no replacement for Paul right now."
Audio of Jordison stating that SLIPKNOT's new touring bassist will be hidden from view can be heard at this location (Real Media).
Jordison said last week that he and other members of the eight-piece band were already separately recording demos of new material, which he hoped to begin recording sometime in early 2011.
But frontman Corey Taylor disputed that, saying he has "no plans" to make a new album with the band anytime soon.
Following the announcement of the Sonisphere shows, Taylor tweeted, "Honestly, I don't know how to feel about the tour. But it's for the fans, and for the family. We'll see. I don't know WHEN I'll be ready to make an album. Might not be for years. But we will definitely play shows. We'll see what happens."
Taylor and SLIPKNOT guitarist Jim Root have been on the road with their other band, STONE SOUR, since early summer.
Jordison has toured with ROB ZOMBIE and recorded a new album with his band MURDERDOLLS, although that group just canceled a tour.
SLIPKNOT/STONE SOUR vocalist Corey Taylor spoke to NME.com about how he has dealt with the death of SLIPKNOT bandmate Paul Gray — saying he thinks the bassist "would want us to keep going." During the chat, which you can see at this location, Taylor revealed that he took inspiration from HELLYEAH/ex-PANTERA drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott when dealing with Gray's death.
"It seems like everybody's doing great," Taylor can be heard saying in the clip which was shot during STONE SOUR's recent tour with AVENGED SEVENFOLD and HELLYEAH. "There are some moments that are more somber than others. But when you are here to entertain, you don't wanna spend too much time in melancholy. There is time to reflect, there is time to celebrate, and for me, dealing with loss, it's important to celebrate life and not revel in death, to be honest. I mean, Jimmy ['The Rev' Sullivan, AVENGED SEVENFOLD drummer who passed away last December] and Paul wouldn't want anyone to do that, they would want us to keep going, because they loved doing this — they absolutely loved doing this. And in their spirit we should continue doing that."
He continued, "I've never seen a guy more into playing live than Paulie and just watching his reaction when the crowd goes off. And even though I'm doing STONE SOUR right now, he was such a huge supporter of STONE SOUR that if I didn't give it every little bit of gusto I had, he would be super-disappointed.
"Honestly, even with Vinnie... I've taken a lot of cues from Vinnie after what happened with him. [Vinnie's brother, PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN guitarist 'Dimebag', Darrell Abbott, was murdered onstage in Columbus, Ohio in 2004. — Ed.] He looked me right in the eyes and said, 'Man, you just gotta remember you're living for two now, you're living for two people, 'cause that spirit's always with you.' And something about that really sticks with me and it helps me remember to embrace life, to celebrate life. Don't spend too much time on the darkness and the depression — you have to live every single minute with every little bit of spirit you have. So that keeps me going."
German power metallers GRAVE DIGGER have been confirmed for next year's edition of the Bloodstock Open Air festival, set to take place August 12-14, 2011 at Catton Hall in Derbyshire, United Kingdom.
"Hell yeah!" proclaims the band. "After all these years we will return to the U.K. again in August 2011. We are really proud that we are invited to the famous Bloodstock festival. We will bring the Clans back to the U.K. to play the tunes of war again! We can't wait to enter the stage to present the audience our true German heavy metal. Watch out for a great show filled with power and emotion. The clans are still marching..."
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
ANGELWITCH
CORONER
GARVE DIGGER
IMMORTAL
LAWNMOWER DETH
MORBID ANGEL
RHAPSODY OF FIRE
THERION
TRIPTYKON
The Bloodstock Open Air heavy metal festival was established in 2005 to bring a wider choice of heavy metal bands to the U.K. and provide a venue for the best established and unsigned metal bands to perform in front of a large an enthusiastic audience of true metalheads.
Bloodstock Open Air features three days of diverse international heavy metal bands across three stages, a large selection of merchandise stalls, metal karaoke, campsite and a wide selection of food, bars and other refreshments.
WJCU 88.7 FM and Auburn Records will host a food drive for the Cleveland Foodbank on Saturday, December 11 at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio.
Fans attending the Iron Ingo Cleveland Indoor Air festival are encouraged to bring canned or non-perishable foods to the Beachland to help those in need this holiday season. A donation will be made from the Cleveland metal community to the Cleveland Foodbank.
"Heavy metal fans are the most generous people in the world when it comes to supporting good causes," says Auburn Records president and WJCU "Metal On Metal" host Bill Peters. "The stereotyped negative images many outsiders have of the metal community are simply not true. This is a very intelligent, passionate and tight=knit group who cares deeply about their local community and will rally together to help anyone in need."
Last December's Cleveland Metal Food Drive at the Beachland generated an incredible 340 pounds in food donations.
"The Foodbank was and still is in dire need of food donations due to the poor economy," adds Peters. "Cleveland has been hit very hard by the recession. We filled every inch of a large-sized van with food last year. There was so much food in the van that it was falling out as we tried to close the doors. You couldn't put anything else in there if your life depended on it. The Foodbank was very appreciative of the donations and completely taken back by the response. Our goal is to top that total this year. I know we can do it. We may have to rent a semi-truck to transport them the food but we'll get it there!"
The festival will be hosted by Germany's Iron Ingo Stührenberg. Ingo is a writer for the popular German underground heavy metal webzine Metal Rules. He has traveled to Cleveland from his home in Wiesmoor, Germany, at his own expense, for the second year in a row to be part of this event. His first visit to Cleveland was in 2009.
"I absolutely love Cleveland!" says Ingo. "The city has a very Nordic feel to it, similar in many ways to Hamburg in the Northern Germany area near where I live. It has a reputation in Germany for being a great heavy metal town but it's actually the people that make Cleveland such an amazing place. I do not think the people realize what a special place they have going here. Sometimes you need to be on the outside looking in to fully appreciate things. I have made some long-term friendships with many people in this city. Oh my god, I really love this place!
"Last year my mom could not understand why I had to go to Cleveland this time of year and was not staying at home working in my family company. When I got back home from the USA, I showed all the pictures of my friends from the festival. I told my parents it was a very special free-admission event for metal fans who wanted to come bringing food for the Cleveland Foodbank to help people getting to eat. It was such a big success and the fans brought so much food. The moment my mom saw the pictures of all the food donations, it immediately moved her to tears. She said I absolutely did right to go to Cleveland and was very happy and proud about me. It was a moving moment for me. Everyone else in the family was happy about it too — a perfect Christmas time for all of us!"
Bands performing at the festival this year include: BLACK DEATH, BREAKER, DESTRUCTOR, ETERNAL LEGACY, GROUND ZERO, H.A.T.E., LICK THE BLADE, SHOK PARIS, SOULLESS and VENOMIN JAMES, plus special guest appearances by MAIDEN VOYAGE (performing IRON MAIDEN's "Number Of The Beast" album in its entirety) and THE CLEVELAND BURLESQUE COMPANY girls. Iron Ingo and CELLBOUND's Chris Emig will co-host. The festival runs from 4:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Doors open at 3:30 p.m. Admission is FREE!
"I have attended hundreds and hundreds of live shows and festivals over the years but never have I seen girls doing burlesque at a heavy metal concert," adds Ingo. "This will be a lot of great fun!"
"It is my pleasure and honor to be involved with not only one of the best charities in Cleveland (Cleveland Foodbank) but also with the best group of people in Cleveland...the heavy metal family!" says Cleveland Burlesque Company co-founder Aurora Sans. "Our group is thrilled to pioneer the first Cleveland metal and burlesque experience a la the newest trend made popular by Queensrÿche Cabaret. We look very forward to adding an extra titillating experience to the whole festival...tassels a twirlin'...shimmying and shakin' our way through the night!"
"It's amazing what music can do," proudly states Ingo. "It can make friends forever and bring people together to help each other. On the 11th of December you are all able to see a free unforgettable show with some great Cleveland metal bands at the Beachland Ballroom. Bill has put a lot of hard work, time and money into setting this event up for me. It's truly unbelievable what this guy has done for the community by bringing everyone together to help with this food drive. He is always helping people. If you want to do us one important favor, please bring a food donation for the Cleveland Foodbank. Even the smallest gift can help a lot. Bring as much food as you are able to and help those less fortunate people get something to eat this holiday season. In union we stand!!!"
Running order and set times for the Iron Ingo Cleveland Indoor Air festival:
GROUND ZERO - 4:00 p.m.
VENOMIN JAMES - 4:45 p.m.
ETERNAL LEGACY - 5:30 p.m.
DESTRUCTOR - 6:15 p.m.
H.A.T.E. - 7:00 p.m.
THE CLEVELAND BURLESQUE COMPANY (Act I) - 7:45 p.m.
SOULLESS - 8:05 p.m.
BREAKER - 8:50 p.m.
LICK THE BLADE - 9:35 p.m.
BLACK DEATH - 10:20 p.m.
THE CLEVELAND BURLESQUE COMPANY (Act II) - 11:05 p.m.
SHOK PARIS - 11:25 p.m.
MAIDEN VOYAGE - 12:10 a.m.
In the photo below: Iron Ingo Stührenberg with some of the girls from the Cleveland Burlesque Company. Pictured left to right: Deliah Von Dagger, Madison, Aurora Sans
Steven Rosen of Ultimate-Guitar.com recently conducted an interview with JANE'S ADDICTION guitarist Dave Navarro. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: Though people may not think about it but the acoustic guitar has always been a big part of what JANE'S ADDICTION does.
Navarro: JANE'S ADDICTION has always celebrated the instrument, whether it's a straight-up acoustic song or whether it's a rock song that incorporates acoustics and goes into acoustic breaks. It's just such a great way to shift gears. Especially if you listen to something like — and I hate to go back and date myself — but if you go to "Nothing's Shocking" and listen to "Ocean Size", which is probably one of our more aggressive songs, the thing starts with acoustic guitar and breaks down to acoustic guitar twice within the song. And it's just such a great tool for a dynamic gearshift within the studio that I love.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: A lot of JANE'S music does get written acoustically first?
Navarro: Yeah. We spend time on the couch and Perry [Farrell] is singing out without a microphone; Stephen [Perkins] on bongos; acoustic bass and acoustic guitar. Really paying attention to the lyrics and the melody and paying attention to what each other is playing and then we'll adjust when we get up on the big stage. That has become a real important aspect for us as a band and I don't think that we would be where we're at and I don't think we would have the body of work we have without the acoustic.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: You sometimes don't think of JANE'S ADDICTION as a trio because there are so many guitar parts going on in a lot of the songs.
Navarro: Yeah, well, that's the thing is like live I've gotta be naked out there trying to do my best to cover all this stuff so you better bet that goddamn well that in the studio I'm gonna be puttin' 500 guitars on everything. But, you know, I feel like it's not my job to reproduce the record; the record is one thing and live is another and of my great escape clauses is listening to bootlegs of ZEPPELIN on an off night. And just go, "Well, you know, see it's OK, LED ZEPPELIN, they're doin' it, so I guess it's not that big a deal." It's just kinda that Page school: this is the record and this is what I'm doin' in the studio and live it is what it is. And we're fuckin' rockin' it out anyway.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: Any feelings about the "Live Voodoo" DVD that came out a while ago?
Navarro: It's a bittersweet recording for me because it's the last recording that anybody can ever see with Eric Avery. It's nice to have that documented but it's also bittersweet because it's the last visual recording of the band with Eric Avery. To be honest with you, I haven't sat through the whole thing. I don't know. Once I get off tour with the band, the last thing I do is sit and home and watch the show back. I'm kinda ready to see something else. You know what I mean? I've got a season of "Dexter" to catch up on so the "Live Voodoo" DVD is probably pretty far down in my cue.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: How are the sessions going for the new JANE'S album? The band hasn't recorded together since the "Strays" album back in 2003.
Navarro: Yeah, it's going really good. It's really hard to describe something that no one can hear.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: I understand.
Navarro: The best job I can do is to say that we are staying within the parameters of JANE'S ADDICTION which are no parameters and each song is its own thing. At times you wonder if they're all gonna fit on the same record and then you think, "But [with] JANE'S ADDICTION they shouldn't feel like they should be on the same record." If one thing is that diverse from the last? Then we're doin' something right. And we're just experimenting a lot with different sounds and different instrumentation. And I'm actually kind of trying to approach my guitar playing on this record in a lot simpler of a way than I ever have. I think it's time. My favorite guitar players from the '80s are probably the simplest players around there and I'm pretty inspired by them right now.
Amy Kelly of Ultimate-Guitar.com recently conducted an interview with drummer Chad Smith (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, CHICKENFOOT, CHAD SMITH'S BOMBASTIC MEATBATS). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: There was a rumor that you weren't going to continue with CHICKENFOOT.
Chad: That's not true. Sam [Sammy Hagar, CHICKENFOOT frontman] likes to talk. He was kind of frustrated. He knew all along that I was in another group. A little band from Hollywood — well, two bands — but one of them takes a lot of my time right now. So he was a little frustrated. But we played the other day and it was really fun. We had a great time again. So Joe [Satriani, guitar] is doing his solo album tour, and I think he's starting now. In December or maybe two weeks in January, we're going to start up. I'll be done with my CHILI PEPPERS stuff long before then. We'll go into the studio probably in the middle of January. That's the plan.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: How unique is the songwriting process with the BOMBASTIC MEATBATS compared with CHICKENFOOT or the CHILI PEPPERS?
Chad: They're different and they're the same. Your ultimate goal is to play what's best for the song. In the CHILI PEPPERS, we always jam. Then we have people come in with ideas, so it's a combination of both. The CHICKENFOOT thing is more — certainly on the first record — Joe had a lot of ideas. He would send demos around. He's got a little studio in his house. Then he and Sam would get together. Then Mike [Anthony, bass] and I would come up from L.A. when it was like, "Yeah, we've got great ideas." Joe comes up with the initial ideas, not just songs but riffs. Then everybody puts in their input, which is great. For the MEATBATS, it's really organic. Out of 12 songs, I would say eight of them came out of jams. We came up with them in this little place that's cool called the Tiki Room. In the Tiki Room, it all goes down! I may have a beat or Jeff might have an idea. That's usually how it goes. Somebody has got something, and then we run with it. We
start playing and jamming. Sometimes it's great and sometimes it doesn't go anywhere. It's a real organic process, which is really fun. It just comes out of nowhere and it's real. I prefer it because everybody has their input.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: Do you have a dream collaborator with whom you'd like to work?
Chad: Yeah, I'd like to play with Jimmy Page. Who wouldn't, though? We have the same managers, and he used to come to some of our gigs. I was like, "Man, do you want a rhythm section?" He smiles! I can tell that he wants to play. He's frustrated. I don't think Robert Plant wants to do it anymore. I could play LED ZEPPELIN songs all day long, but supposedly he has a bunch of ideas and a bunch of stuff recorded. I don't know. That's what I've heard. I mean, LED ZEPPELIN was my favorite band. I think it would be fun to get in a room and bang out some ideas and see what would happen. I think there would be five million drummers right behind me wanting to do the same thing. I'm so fortunate. I get to play with the best musicians. I'm in a fantastic musical situation. The CHILI PEPPERS have been together for 25 years and we're still happy to be doing what we're doing. We're lucky, fortunate, and grateful. We're changing and growing. I think wherever I go in
all my musical situations, I am just happy to be playing music. That's what I love to do. I'm just really lucky, but I work at it. I want to keep growing and getting better as a person and a musician and a friend and dad and a husband. It all goes together.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: Congratulations on being voted the 10th best drummer of the last 25 years by Rhythm magazine. How does it feel to have an honor like that?
Chad: It makes me feel old! That's really nice. It's always nice to be recognized by your peers or the industry or your fans — anybody. With lists and things like that, it kind of sounds like a competition. I don't really subscribe to that. Music is nothing about competition. You basically do your thing. It's what you like and what you don't like. You have a choice. It's really nice because I'm proud and do the best that I can. The great thing about that is that if I can inspire somebody to pick up an instrument or the drums or start a band or anything, that's great. For people who are just starting out, that's cool.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: What advice would you give to up-and-coming musicians in today's current industry?
Chad: Be yourself first and foremost. That's the most important thing. Don't try to be like somebody. You can be influenced by other people, but don't copy somebody. You can really tell if somebody is being authentic. The only thing is that I see this immediate gratification or "I want it now, right now, and then I'm on to the next thing tomorrow." It's a craft unless you're an incredibly gifted genius and can grasp everything at once, like if you're Tony Williams and you play with Miles Davis when you're 17. That's far and few between. You have to really work at it. That takes putting in time and energy. It just doesn't happen overnight. People are like, "Oh, I've got my one beat and one fill and I'm going to be on TV." That's part of our culture and this whole reality-TV thing. I think it's detrimental to what people really need to do to be able to be really good and have quality in their life. I think it just takes time, whether it's time as in years
or time as in how much work you put into it. That's the only thing I can see a little bit. It's a lacking of a wanting to put in the hard work into what needs to be done to be proficient at what you do and get good at something. What good is something unless you really work at it? You have to be passionate about it. I want to work at it because I love it. I would just say be yourself and do it because you love it. Good things will happen. Whenever you play, try to play in all kinds of situations. Get out of the box. When I was a kid I really liked hard rock like LED ZEPPELIN and the English hard rock blues bands from the late '70s. I really didn't listen to lots of different music. I had music that spoke to me, so I stayed there for awhile. I wish at a younger age that I would have branched out a little bit to different types of music and became more well-rounded earlier. If you love it, you'll see it out. It will work out.
Midwest thrashers LAZARUS A.D. have set "Black Rivers Flow" as the title of their second full-length album, due on February 1, 2011 via Metal Blade Records. The CD was recorded in July and August 2010 at Belle City Sound with Chris Wisco and was mixed and mastered by James Murphy at Safehouse Production.
"Black Rivers Flow" track listing:
01. American Dreams
02. The Ultimate Sacrifice
03. The Strong Prevail
04. Black Rivers Flow
05. Casting Forward
06. Light A City (Up In Smoke)
07. Through Your Eyes
08. Beneath the Waves of Hatred
09. Eternal Vengeance
LAZARUS A.D. bassist and lead vocalist Jeff Paulick comments: "First off, I have to say we are incredibly proud of 'Black Rivers Flow'.
"It's been three and a half years since we recorded our last album and we've grown a lot since then.
"During the writing process for 'Black Rivers Flow', we were dealing with great personal tragedies. We found a way to draw strength from those tragedies and use it as inspiration to write what we feel is an incredibly more sound record than the last.
"On 'Black Rivers Flow', everyone stepped up their game; the riffs are heavier, the choruses catchier, and the vocals have improved and been diversified tenfold.
"We are on a mission to show the world that we are a force to be reckoned with and aren't thinking about a trend, we're thinking long-term.
"I think our fans will hear these songs and be blown away. The energy and power this time around is undeniable, and we hope the reaction amongst the community reflects just that."
LAZARUS A.D. is
Jeff Paulick - Bass/Lead Vocals
Dan Gapen - Lead Guitar / Vocals
Alex Lackner - Guitar
Ryan Shutler – Drums
AT THE GATES, ARCH ENEMY, EXODUS, MESHUGGAH and KILLING JOKE are among the first confirmed bands for next year's edition of the Tuska open air metal festival, set to take place July 22-24, 2011 at Suvilahti in Helsinki, Finland.
Tuska 2011 will feature performances by more than 50 bands — almost 20 more than in previous years. A new addition to the event will be a fourth stage, which will provide "more marginal and extreme program," according to a press release.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows (in alphabetical order):
AGNOSTIC FRONT
ARCH ENEMY
AT THE GATES
CHURCH OF MISERY
ENSLAVED
EXODUS
GRAVE
KILLING JOKE
KVELERTAK
MESHUGGAH
MISERY INDEX
MOONSORROW
MYGRAIN
SPIRITUAL BEGGARS
WITCHERY
Three-day tickets for Tuska 2011 are now on sale at Lippupalvelu.fi and Tiketti.fi for a special price of 100 euros. A ticket agency fee will be added to the ticket price. The special-edition tickets will be on sale until the end of the year or until sold out.
For more information, visit www.tuska-festival.fi.
Italian symphonic metal masters RHAPSODY OF FIRE have set "From Chaos To Eternity" as the title of their tenth studio album, due in the spring via Nuclear Blast Records. Described by the band as "the natural evolution" from this year's "The Frozen Tears Of Angels", the new CD will mark will RHAPSODY OF FIRE's final release based on the fantasy saga started in 1997 with the group's debut album, "Legendary Tales". As in the past, RHAPSODY OF FIRE founding members Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli will produce the effort, part of which (vocals and guitars) will be laid down in their hometown of Trieste. The bass and drum recordings have already been completed in Wolfsburg, Germany at the Gate Studio under the supervision of RHAPSODY OF FIRE's longtime friend and collaborator Sascha Paeth (AVANTASIA, ANGRA, KAMELOT).
Commented Luca: "We are really proud to reveal to the whole world that the production of our new full-length album is at a very good point already. Lyrically it has a particular meaning for all of us, as with the fifth and final chapter of the 'Dark Secret Saga' our band will close its fantasy cycle started 13 years ago. The dark secret will finally reveal itself and for the last time Sir Christopher Lee will give his unique and fundamental contribution to our work. Musically, expect something really special out of the ten album titles. A song like 'Ghosts Of Forgotten Worlds', with its rageous and hypnotic guitar riff, will make you breathe the dusty atmospheres of the southern ghostlands. 'Aeons Of Raging Darkness' is pure melodic chaos translated into music, 'Tornado', the greatest technical challenge for each single bandmember, and 'Tempesta Di Fuoco', the first speed track completely sung in Italian language. For my song, 'Fantasia Gotica', I wrote
and finalized the cinematic orchestral arrangements inspired by the visionary genius of Tim Burton, while 'The Splendour Of Angels' Glory (A Final Revelation)' is Alex's choral and majestic track for the perfect finale of the dark secret saga. Our bass player, Patrice Guers, and our drummer, Alex Holzwarth, did their best job so far in a RHAPSODY OF FIRE album. One more word is needed to underline the excellent performance of our singer: in this new release, Fabio Lione will present himself definitely as one of the best and most versatile singers, being able to pass with unique ability and talent from the most aggressive vocals, to clean angelic voices and powerful operatic parts. Once more, you are going to be really surprised."
Added Staropoli: "As always, the cinematic elements that defined our style will enrich each track, but the guitar work will be again very important too. What is sure is that for such an album Luca and I composed our best solos ever!"
"From Chaos To Eternity" will be released in the spring of 2011 in a standard jewelcase edition of 24 pages, and in an exclusive limited edition of 48 pages, full of great and unique surprises, as well as two bonus tracks, for a total of 65 minutes of RHAPSODY OF FIRE's legendary music.
"The Frozen Tears Of Angels" was released in Europe on April 30 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was produced by Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli and it was mixed and mastered by Sascha Paeth at the Gate Studio (AVANTASIA, EPICA) in Wolfsburg, Germany. It was made available as a standard version jewelcase, as "a highsize digipak" with two bonus tracks and as a gatefold double-vinyl.
German thrashers EXUMER have been confirmed to headline one additional festival date in Cuautitlan, Mexico on December 18. The Keep The Thrash festival will be second date on the band's itinerary and will feature some of the bands that will appear at the Thrash Or Die event in Tijuana, Mexico on December 17.
This Keep The Thrash date was added "due to the requests by Mexican fans and on the recommendation of the Mexican promoters who want to expose EXUMER to as many Mexican fans as possible," according to a press release.
Commented EXUMER vocalist Mem V. Stein: "We were surprised and delighted at the same time when the Mexican promoters asked us to add another stop in Mexico. It proves the band's popularity and cult status in Latin America. We will definitely try to cover as many countries in that region as possible when we return there next year. We have focused on playing live in Europe last and this year, which was important for the band's re-establishment as a whole. However, North and South America are on our agenda for 2011, and that is where we would like to play the majority of our live shows."
For more information, go to www.myspace.com/exumerwaingthefire.
Guitarist/mainman Jeff Waters of Canadian metal veterans ANNIHILATOR has posted the following message on the band's official web site:
"A few weeks ago (while I was touring in Europe), I got word that we lost a former member of ANNIHILATOR's touring lineup, Dave Machander. He passed away from cancer.
"Dave was a super-nice guy. I met him under stressful circumstances. In 1996, we did a record called 'Refresh The Demon'. Randy Black was our drummer then and I had bought everyone's plane tickets for our upcoming 'Refresh the Demon' Europe tour 1996.
"12 days BEFORE the tour was supposed to start, I get a call from Randy telling me that, if I did not pay him double+ the money I was to pay him for the tour that he would not come along and would join another Vancouver artist BIF NAKED instead (as she apparently was offering more money). I told him that we could not afford this and that it is very, very wrong to hold us 'hostage' like this. He ended up leaving for BIF NAKED (which ended up lasting one tour and he was out anyway!) but, more importantly, Randy Black left us with NO DRUMMER, a cancelled flight that I did not get my money back for and a tour in 12 days!!!
"12 days is wayyyy too short of a time to get someone to jump in and play an ANNIHILATOR set and I still had to hope I could find someone!!
"Dave Davis, our long-time guitar player, suggested his friend Dave Machander and thought he could handle the gig/pressure. I was not convinced but had no other option than to literally say 'you are in' before I even heard him play drums!
"We rehearsed on Vancouver Island, near where both Dave's lived. We had six rehearsals scheduled. Normally, for a drummer with us, headlining Europe, we would need 10 rehearsals.
"Many drummers play along with a 'click.' That is a cowbell kind of sound that keeps a time/beat in the drummer's earphones and lets him play close to perfect timing... it helps him zoom in and play tighter than without one. Well, Dave was not playing well to it. Turns out, he had never played to one before. I was in panic mode. So was everyone else. So by the fourth rehearsal of six, I was ready to cancel. Almost. Then Dave Davis said, 'Jeff, why don't we simply take Machander OFF the click and let him just 'feel' the music?'
"I said, 'Might as well try, Dave.'
"We did. INSTANTLY the guy played fantastic. Really good. Better than good. He then really only had two good rehearsals with us and then got on the plane with us and kicked fucking ass on that tour. The guy pulled through and stuck with it. Most guys would have quit after the first few rehearsals but he would not give up. And thanks to Dave Davis for the tour-saving suggestion!
"Anyway, I only saw/knew Dave Machander on that one tour with us. He was a biochemist, if I have my info right. A very smart guy and seemed to be a very nice guy, too!
"Send a thought out to him and his family. He was a good guy. And grab a loved one and give them a hug."
WITCHERY and J.B.O. have been confirmed for next year's installment of the Summer Breeze festival, set to take place August 18-20, 2011 in Dinkelsbühl, Germany.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows (in alphabetical order):
ARCH ENEMY
BOLT THROWER
CALIBAN
J.B.O.
KVELERTAK
PRIMORDIAL
SALTATIO MORTIS
THE HAUNTED
TÝR
VOMITORY
WITCHERY
Tickets can be purchased for 72 euros (excluding pre-sale fees, including parking/camping) at Silverdust-Shop.de. The first 10,000 tickets get a free DVD with live footage and impressions from the 2009 edition of the festival.
After a few live appearances, Greek doom metallers SORROWS PATH have officially recruited Giannis Tziligkakis (OMINOUS SKY) as their new second guitarist.
SORROWS PATH released its debut album, "The Rough Path Of Nihilism", on October 29 via Rock It Up Records. The CD was recorded at Fragile Studios in Athens with producer Vangelis Yalamas, who also played the synthesizer on the effort. The artwork and photography for the album were handled by Seth Siro Anton (PARADISE LOST, KAMELOT, MOONSPELL, EXODUS).
"The Rough Path Of Nihilism" track listing:
01. All Love is Lost
i) Lost Innocence
ii) Lost Youth
02. The Beast (S.P.R.)
03. Honestly...
04. Fetish
05. Dirty Game
06. Mr. Holy
07. Getting Closer
08. Queen of Doom
09. Prostitute
10. Hymn of Differentiation
11. Empty Eyes and Blackened Hearts
12. Nihilism
"The Rough Path Of Nihilism" also features a guest appearance by the vocal teacher Eleni Danielson on female vocals.
SORROWS PATH's Achilles Villiotis-directed "Empty Eyes And Blackened Hearts" video can be viewed below.
SORROWS PATH is:
Stavros Giannakos: Bass
Angelos Ioannidis: Vocals
Fotis Mountouris: Drums
Kostas Salomidis: Guitar
Giannis Tziligkakis: Guitar
SORROWS PATH has performed many gigs all over Greece since their birth and their rebirth as well, either supporting well-known metal bands like MEMORY GARDEN, PAGAN ALTAR, SCANNER, CRYSTAL VIPER and BROCAS HELM, or sharing the stage with some of the most popular Greek bands.
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/sorrowspathmusic.
Sweden's IN SOLITUDE has been confirmed for next year's edition of the Wacken Open Air festival, set to take place August 4-6, 2011 in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany.
The festival billing is now shaping up as follows (in alphabetical order):
APOCALYPTICA
AVANTASIA
BLIND GUARDIAN
EXCREMENTORY GRINDFUCKERS
IN SOLITUDE
KHOLD
KNORKATOR
MAYHEM
OZZY OSBOURNE
SEPULTURA
SUICIDAL TENDENCIES
WARRANT
Wacken Open Air was first held in 1990 as a small event for local German bands. By 1998 the event had become the major festival on the European metal calendar and has included over 70 bands from all over Europe, North America and Australia.
Wacken Open Air is usually held at the beginning of August and lasts three days, during which the festival-goers camp on several large camping grounds surrounding the actual festival area. The 70 or more bands perform across four separate stages over the course of the event.
The 2009 edition of Wacken Open Air set a sales record; it sold out on December 30, 2008. All 70,000 tickets were sold over 200 days before the start of the festival.
Wacken Open Air, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, was honored with a Live Entertainment Award in 2008 in the "Festival Of The Year" category. This award recognizes distinguished achievements in live entertainment and is given out by Live Entertainment Award (LEA) committee.
Canadian progressive thrash band SENATE has reunited after nearly three years away from the stage. The revamped lineup includes founding members Jay Siebert, Matt Di Franco, Jay Hudson and new addition, George Parfitt (drums, ex-THREAT SIGNAL). The band has auditioned several bass players and will make an announcement shortly.
SENATE will unleash three songs that were recorded shortly before the band's breakup but never released and will play the first reunion show in the group's hometown of St. Catharines, Ontario on March 18.
SENATE plans to play several shows throughout the spring/summer of 2011, and then set to work on the follow-up to its critically acclaimed effort, "The Great Northern Scenekill", which was released in December 2006.
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/senatemetal.
Southern California's IN THIS MOMENT was recently announced as the opening act on next year's "Monster Energy Music As A Weapon V" tour, featuring co-headliners KORN and DISTURBED. Also appearing on the bill is SEVENDUST.
Commented IN THIS MOMENT guitarist Chris Howorth: "When we received the news that we were a part of the 'Music As A Weapon' tour, we were overwhelmed with emotion; Maria [Brink, vocals] and I were literally moved to tears.
"Our band has been constantly clawing our way up the ladder in this business and it's very hard to get on a big tour like this.
"Getting this news is like getting the best Christmas present we could hope for.
"We are truly blessed and extremely excited for this huge opportunity!
"We have been fans of DISTURBED since their first record and have always wanted to tour with them.
"We adore KORN (our Mayhem festival buddies) and SEVENDUST are some of the coolest guys we've met during our travels!
"This is going to be an amazing kick-off to our 2011 tour cycle!
"Eternal thanks to Monster and DISTURBED for allowing us to be a part of such an epic event."
Fan-filmed video footage of IN THIS MOMENT's December 4, 2010 performance at Webster Theater in Hartford, Connecticut can be viewed below.
IN THIS MOMENT's new album, "A Star-Crossed Wasteland", sold 10,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 40 on The Billboard 200 chart.
The band's sophomore CD, "The Dream", opened with more than 8,000 copies back in October 2008 to land at No. 70.
"A Star-Crossed Wasteland" was released on July 13 via Century Media Records. The CD was recorded at The Wolves Den studio in Las Vegas, Nevada with producer Kevin Churko (OZZY OSBOURNE, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH).
Mariangela Demurtas from the Norwegian band TRISTANIA and Danny Cavanagh from ANATHEMA will take part in a joint live acoustic performance on Wednesday, December 8 at Buckleys in Oslo, Norway. The setlist will include songs from ANATHEMA — both solo and with Mariangela on vocals — some classic covers and songs that Danny and Demurtas wrote together.
Demurtas and Cavanagh previously collaborated on songwriting this past summer in Algarve, Portugal, along with Daniel Cardoso (Portuguese drummer and producer).
Northern California-based crossover veterans CONDEMNED? have re-signed with Nuclear Blast Records.
The second band to ever be released by Nuclear Blast, CONDEMNED? is putting the finishing touches on its new album at Prairie Sun Recording Studios with producer Billy Anderson (NEUROSIS, MR. BUNGLE, CATTLE DECAPITATION, CATHEDRAL, EYEHATEGOD) for an early 2011 release.
"CONDEMNED? is a nostalgic connection for me and it is a pleasure to go somewhat back to our roots," commented Nuclear Blast founder and owner Markus Staiger.
"Nuclear Blast's second release ever (NB002) from 1987 was the band's debut. Now the band continues mixing the past with the present for a new release, plus a bonus compilation that will include their debut album 'Humanoid Or Biomechanoid?!'
"CONDEMNED? stands for old-school raw metallic hardcore and combines the feeling of late '80s cross-over/punk-metal, with some brutal and melodic touches. The USHC legends have recorded 14 tracks especially for this release, some are new recordings from when they were USHC legends ATTITUDE!"
CONDEMNED? added in a statement: "We are excited to be re-signing with Nuclear Blast! Markus launched our first album in Europe as his second release ever in 1987! He started as we did, 'doing it yourself' for the music and the scene.
"Our latest double CD release with Nuclear Blast has 14-new recordings fresh from the forge, produced by Billy Anderson and CONDEMNED? The bonus disc is a timeline from 1983-1993 covering all the different incarnations over the years."
"We definitely have diverse roots, growing up in the S.F. Bay Area! Founded during the '80s hardcore/thrash metal scene, we bridged the two, plus we are influenced by the European punk movement and S.F.'s acid rock past. We bridged all styles, so we could to stay unique! The latest release reflects both the past and the present."
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/c2dcondemned2death.
Icelandic metal band SKÁLMÖLD has been confirmed for next year's edition of the Wacken Open Air festival, set to take place August 4-6, 2011 in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany.
The festival billing is now shaping up as follows (in alphabetical order):
APOCALYPTICA
AVANTASIA
BLIND GUARDIAN
EXCREMENTORY GRINDFUCKERS
IN SOLITUDE
JUDAS PRIEST
KHOLD
KNORKATOR
MAYHEM
OZZY OSBOURNE
SEPULTURA
SKÁLMÖLD
SUICIDAL TENDENCIES
WARRANT
Wacken Open Air was first held in 1990 as a small event for local German bands. By 1998 the event had become the major festival on the European metal calendar and has included over 70 bands from all over Europe, North America and Australia.
Wacken Open Air is usually held at the beginning of August and lasts three days, during which the festival-goers camp on several large camping grounds surrounding the actual festival area. The 70 or more bands perform across four separate stages over the course of the event.
The 2009 edition of Wacken Open Air set a sales record; it sold out on December 30, 2008. All 70,000 tickets were sold over 200 days before the start of the festival.
Wacken Open Air, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, was honored with a Live Entertainment Award in 2008 in the "Festival Of The Year" category. This award recognizes distinguished achievements in live entertainment and is given out by Live Entertainment Award (LEA) committee.
New York/New Jersey hardcore act HOMICIDAL has inked a deal with Eulogy Recordings. The band's debut album, "State Of Mind", will be released in the spring. The CD features guest appearances by some of the most influential vocalists in hardcore, including Lord Ezec of SKARHEAD, Jorge of MERAUDER, Eddie Sutton of LEEWAY, Puda of AGENTS OF MAN and Martin of BILLYCLUB SANDWICH.
HOMICIDAL was formed out of the ashes of some of the most influential hardcore acts of the '90s. The band "brings violent music to violent people of all ages," according to a press release.
HOMICIDAL is:
* Mc G - Vocals
* Mike the Bull (BULLDOZE, TRAIN OF THOUGHT) - Guitar
* Zack Thorne (BULLDOZE, TRAIN OF THOUGHT, AGENTS OF MAN, SKARHEAD) - Guitar
* Dimi (CROWN OF THORNZ, SKARHEAD, YUPPICIDE)- Drums
* Mike Heinzer (ONE 4 ONE, 25 TA LIFE) - Bass
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/homicidal.
Portuguese dark-rock/metal band HEAVENWOOD has inked a worldwide, multi-album deal with Listenable Records. The band is currently mixing its fourth album, entitled "Abyss Masterpiece", with German producer Kristian "Kohle" Kohlmannslehner (CREMATORY, AGATHODAIMON, BENIGHTED) at Kohlekeller Studios in Germany for an early 2011 release.
Commented HEAVENWOOD singer Ernesto Guerra: "We are very excited to be able to partner up with Listenable. They've proven all these years to be hard-working, honest and dedicated people to their bands and above all, they feel, understand and believe on our music as we do, and this seems the perfect combination for achieve our goals. I am very confident that with their involvement HEAVENWOOD will reach the next level with 'Abyss Masterpiece', our heaviest, darkest and most intense album ever."
"Abyss Masterpiece" was recorded at Ultrasound Studios in Braga, Portugal during August and September 2010 under the guidance of Daniel Cardoso, Pedro Mendes and Ricardo Dias (HEAVENWOOD). The editing was completed at 213 Studio in Oporto, Portugal.
"Abyss Masterpiece" will feature a guest appearance by RAM-ZET's Miriam Renvag (also known as SfinX) on a track called "Leonor".
Commented HEAVENWOOD guitarist Ricardo Dias: "'Abyss Masterpiece' perfectly symbolizes all the feelings that flow on each one of the songs included in this album — an album that will be dark, deep, melancholic, and above all with a very intense sound on which each song have their own soul. We consider 'Abyss Masterpiece' another step forward in HEAVENWOOD's career."
Songtitles set to appear on "Abyss Masterpiece":
* The Arcadia Order
* Fading Sun
* Like Yesterday
* Winter Slave
* September Blood
* Sudden Scars
* A Poem For Mathilde
* Leonor
* Burden
* Goddess Presiding Over Solitude
* Morning Glory (In Manus Tuas Domine)
* Her Lament
HEAVENWOOD's "13th Moon" video can be viewed below. The clip was shot on May 30, 2009 in Braga, Portugal with the production team of Carlos Barros, Rui Correia and Ricardo Coutinho (NomedeCena.com), who are described as "young talented Portuguese video/filmmakers, designers and photographers." The video concept is based on the Zodiac signs.
"13th Moon" comes off HEAVENWOOD's third album, "Redemption", which was released in August 2008. The CD was mixed at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden with Jens Bogren (OPETH, SOILWORK, AMON AMARTH). The initial recording sessions for the album took place at Ultrasound Studios with Daniel Cardoso and Ricardo Dias. The CD features guest appearances by ANNIHILATOR guitarist Jeff Waters (in the song "Bridge To Neverland"), FIREWIND guitarist Gus G. (in the track "One Step to Devotion") and singer Tijs Vanneste of the Belgian progressive metallers OCEANS OF SADNESS (in the song "Obsolete").
HEAVENWOOD is:
Ernesto Guerra - Vocals
Ricardo Dias - Guitars and Vocals
Bruno Silva – Guitar
Dose Of Metal recently conducted an interview with vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway of British grindcore pioneers NAPALM DEATH. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Dose Of Metal: So, you play in a very extreme band, yet you're nicknamed "Barney." Could you come up with something better for us, in the vein of black metal bandmembers' alter-egos?
Barney: Well… in the vein of "The Tormentor" kind of thing. I think… "The Pacifier" would be suitable — it's not evil at all, but I don't really do "good" or "evil," so it suits me fine. But to make it a bit more of a mouthful, it should have some meaningless words attached to the end. So… The Pacifier-al-kabob-urath.
Dose Of Metal: Does Barney, the nice guy, get a lot of misconceptions because of Barney, the NAPALM DEATH frontman, and vice versa? How do you cope with that?
Barney: Well, it seems a little pretentious doing the self-analysis thing. But the NAPALM DEATH message is a very humane and compassionate one; it's only the way in which it is expressed which is the ferocious thing. So I would find it hard that people who are of the opinion that I am "a nice guy" would make a distinction between that and what the band is when you get down to the ideas — NAPALM DEATH and myself would be quite the same thing in several ways. Still, some people do assume I'm some kind of merciless beast because of my vocal approach when all I feel in most situations is calm, peace and balance. I do have the odd head explosion, but that goes with just about every human being. Overall, it's not a question of coping with differing opinions about me or the band. I'm definitely a people person, but I have no problems with people forming negative opinions about either me or the band — that's life. So there's no need for me to have to cope
with anything if I'm comfortable with myself and confident in the ideas I'm putting forward in what is a very ethically-driven band.
Dose Of Metal: NAPALM DEATH are a few years older than me. The lineup with you on vocals is about old enough to drink legally in the U.S. Yet you're still on tour, still making albums. How does it feel to still be doing what you're doing? Any pro tips for the younger bands out there?
Barney: I don't take anything for granted, and it feels great to make albums — and that they somehow seem to come out quite good in the end — and to be able to go fucking loopy on stage. If ever I wake up in the morning and feel that it's all just a chore, or that we've run out of ideas, I'll call it a day. My tips, for what they're worth, are 1) Always do what you feel is the right thing creatively. If a manager or somebody tells you to do something and you really feel it's a crock of shit, then you should follow your own path. 2) Try to keep your head out of the clouds and in reality 3) The rock and roll life is a stinking myth 4) On the road, always treat other bands fairly and as equals — you'll need somebody's help one day too. 5) If somebody promises you the world, they're usually lying.
Dose Of Metal: You're currently heavily touring with NAPALM DEATH, and it's been almost two years since "Time Waits For No Slave". Are there any plans regarding a new album? Or is time waiting for that one?
Barney: We will be starting more or less from scratch in January 2011 making a new album and will record in May. Don't read that wrong — it doesn't take us that much time to get our stuff together, it's just that Russ Russell, our producer, has his hands full until May. It does seem a while since "Time Waits…", but we recorded the previous few albums in quick succession so thought we'd hold back for a change. Time can indeed fucking wait.
Dose Of Metal: You've made your religious beliefs (or lack thereof) pretty clear, but are you superstitious about anything?
Barney: No, I'm not at all. Really. Everything has a physical or scientific explanation, even if I can't always personally explain things as a lay person. I don't think you want me to go deeply into my faithlessness here, but I will say that it is quite sad how people can't trust in themselves or the physical world anymore — divine faith is like an easy out for people because it doesn't require deep thought or logical application.
Dose Of Metal: We see you use Twitter. Many musicians have complained it's things like it, that are sort of killing the rock star image, there is barely any mystery left when everyone can see what everyone else is doing. Are they right? Or should they just get with the times?
Barney: Who cares either way? Is this something that is really worth any kind of debate? If people want to build up their own mystique, then that's their funeral. I have no rock-star image to live up to because I never went down that road and was never interested in doing so. I'm not concerned with pissing about with all the social-networking detritus, but Twitter suits me because it's a few words and I can say random stuff. I try to throw a bit of comedy in there, but to tell you I'm just going to shave or something is something that nobody really wants to hear about. I would hope people have better things to do with their time.
Brooklyn, New York trio TOMBS has entered Elmwood Recording studios in Dallas, Texas with engineer John Congleton (BARONESS, EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY, BLACK MOUNTAIN, ST. VINCENT) to begin recording its new album for a spring release via Relapse Records.
TOMBS released a 14-track collection of early material, tracks from the band's split with PLANKS, and previously unreleased demos on November 9 via Relapse. Entitled "Fear Is The Weapon", the set is strictly limited to a one-time pressing of 1,000 copies and is available through Relapse mailorder.
"Fear Is The Weapon" track listing:
01. Fountain Of The World 666
02. Course Of Empire
03. Calvaire
04. Marina
05. Monuments
06. Darker Than Your Nights
07. Hallways Of The Always
08. Cypress
09. Gods of Love and Suicide
10. Cheval Noir
11. Gossamer (demo)
12. Merrimack (demo)
13. Beneath The Toxic Jungle (demo)
14. Filled With Secrets (demo)
TOMBS' latest album, "Winter Hours", was released in February 2009 via Relapse Records. The CD was recorded at the Etching Tin Studios in Richmond, Virginia with engineer Ian Whalen.
Portland, Oregon's RABBITS has completed work on its new album, "Lower Forms", at Type Foundry (THE DECEMBERISTS, LAST OF THE JUANITAS, RED FANG, THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS) in the band's hometown with Jeremy Romagna and Lauren Newman at the helm. A February 15 North American release via Relapse Records (February 28 internationally) is expected.
RABBITS' music meets somewhere in the crossroads of punk, sludge, and metal, using unwavering volume and intensity as their guides. The three-piece, which features ex-members of ANGEL HAIR, THE VSS, PLEASURE FOREVER and LION FEVER, previously released three vinyl-only records, including a 12-inch split with UNDER MOUNTAINS.
Swedish melodic death metal pioneers AT THE GATES have been confirmed for next year's edition of the Metaltown festival, set to take place June 17-18, 2011 in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
SYSTEM OF A DOWN
AT THE GATES
CRADLE OF FILTH
PARKWAY DRIVE
RAUBTIER
Commented AT THE GATES in a statement: "AT THE GATES will do a limited run of select shows in 2011. Simply put, we had the time of our lives during the 2008 reunion and have decided to do a couple of more shows. Although we won't be touring extensively, and we stick to the initial promise of not making any more music."
AT THE GATES' "The Flames Of The End" DVD was released on April 6 in the U.S. through Earache Records.
AT THE GATES released its definitive album, "Slaughter Of The Soul" — often regarded as one of the all-time greatest metal albums — on Earache in 1995, before touring the world and abruptly disbanding. Members of the band went on to play major roles in other notorious metal acts such as THE HAUNTED and CRADLE OF FILTH, before reforming for a one-off tour in 2008 to rapturous response.
Swedish melodic death metallers DARK TRANQUILLITY will perform in India for the first time on February 12, 2011 at the BITS Pilani in Hyderabad.
DARK TRANQUILLITY earlier in the year completed a North American headlining tour with support from THREAT SIGNAL and MUTINY WITHIN.
"We Are The Void", the ninth album from DARK TRANQUILLITY, sold around 2,100 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 15 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.
"We Are The Void" was released in North America on March 9 via Century Media Records. The LP was made available in Europe as a CD, digital download and strictly limited-edition die-cut digipak featuring two bonus songs ("Stars Of Nothingness" and "To Where Fires Cannot Feed") and a bonus DVD.
Norwegian old-school black metallers KAMPFAR have parted ways with guitarist Thomas. His statement on the matter reads as follows:
"After playing guitar in KAMPFAR for quite a few years, I have now decided to leave the band.
"I cannot even begin to sum up all the good times I've had together with my bandmates, and our close friendship will surely continue outside of the context of the band.
"I sincerely hope the guys will find another guitarist to play in the band (the riffs are not that hard to play and there are no solos, which could be seen as a plus or a minus depending on perspective.) On the stage, you'll only need to pay attention to Ask, since he knows how to keep in time. It is also best to watch out for Jon and Dolk as they are maniacs and will not stand still for a moment.
"To all the good people I've met through KAMPFAR. Take care and I'll see you around.
"For my brothers in the band, my love and respect as always."
KAMPFAR has set "Mare" as the title of its new album, due on March 25, 2011 via Napalm Records. The follow-up to 2008's "Heimgang" album was recorded at Abyss studios in Pärlby, outside Ludvika, Sweden with producer Peter Tägtgren (HYPOCRISY, PAIN).
"Heimgang" (said to be "the connection between the underworld and our own") came out in September 2008 via Napalm Records.
A press release reads: "Refusing to follow in the footsteps of others before or after them, the band delivered an album that sounds, looks, and feels like the very essence of KAMPFAR music inspired by Nordic natural beauty, folklore and myths. It is dark, cold, menacing, and yet alluring in a unique way. These Norwegians belong to the forerunners of the genre, though they cannot be compared to any one specific band. KAMPFAR does not place the most importance on speed, as do others, but rather on expression and content. KAMPFAR is a self-contained mix of raw black metal and pagan metal embossed with traditional folkloric influences. KAMPFAR's music is and remains Norse pagan folklore metal, and proves that compromises are unnecessary in creating greatness."
Check out audio samples on the band's MySpace page.
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