WHITESNAKE (with special guests, MR. BIG and BUCKCHERRY have been confirmed for next year's edition of the Sweden Rock Festival, set to take place June 8-11, 2011 in Sölvesborg in southern Sweden.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows (in alphabetical order):
AGENT STEEL
BUCKCHERRY
DAN REED BAND
DESTRUCTION
ELECTRIC WIZARD
FLÄSKET BRINNER
GHOST
GROUNDHOGS
HELLOWEEN
JASON & THE SCORCHERS
JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS
JUDAS PRIEST
MASON RUFFNER
MOONSPELL
MR. BIG
MUSTASCH
OVERKILL
OZZY OSBOURNE
RAGE (acoustic)
RAUBTIER
RHAPSODY OF FIRE
ROB ZOMBIE
SAXON
STYX
THE CULT
THE DAMNED
THE HAUNTED
WALTER TROUT
WHITESNAKE
SAXON will celebrate the 30th anniversary of its classic album "Denim And Leather" by performing it in its entirety at the event, "spiced with a lot of other immortal SAXON classics and yes, they will bring the eagle!"
Paul Di'Anno (ex-IRON MAIDEN singer) and Cliff Evans (TANK guitarist) are among the musicians who make guest appearances on "Here Comes The Lady", the debut album from HATTIE GREEN. The CD is described in a press release as "a dynamic [release] from one of the specialists of the kind. Loud, fast with beautiful riffs. The band combined their hard rock roots with sounds and rhythms familiar to American '70s heavy rock scene."
"Here Comes The Lady" track listing:
01. Rocket Roll
02. Straight Sin
03. Pain I.D.
04. Party Time
05. Lass Mich In Die Nacht
06. Gunsmoke
07. You!
08. Heritage
09. Oktober (instrumental)
For more information, visit www.hattie-green.com.
At first blush, Phil Anselmo is a pretty scary-looking character. Full arm and sleeve tats revealing the faces of monsters and demons and evil things burning in hell assault your eyeballs. His hair is either way beyond shoulder length and flapping to the rhythm of some insane Down riff or he's sporting a buzzcut that gives him the visage of a punker street thug. But the moment you sit and talk with the former Pantera singer, you're confronted with someone whose passions run deep for everything from his beloved New Orleans to his long gone pal, Dimebag. The cadence of his voice and the way every other word tends to be an epithet brings to mind David Lee Roth meeting Zakk Wylde.
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For years now, Anselmo has been working on Housecore Records, his own label, and it was four years that the company really got off the ground with their first release. Phil issued the Arson Anthem EP and since that time HC has been off and running. There are many more releases sitting in the wings and the singer wanted to talk about all of them. In a voice that sounded like crushed glass and nails was flowing through his larynx, he talked about Housecore, Dime, his various side projects, and separating the wheat from the chaff when it came to differentiating between the good bands, the bad bands, and the ugly bands.
UG: When Housecore Records began back in the '90s, was it originally intended to be just a way for you to release your own albums? And then it eventually grew into a real label?
Phil Anselmo: Well, let's not misconstrue here. F-ckin' Housecore was an idea in the '90s; actually culminated in the '90s and not as a record label. If anything kind of an inside joke because we had so many people in and out of my first house in New Orleans. F-ckin' musicians, man, jammin' there and whatnot. Side bands; the amount of side bands was insane. All these f-ckin' side bands started happenin' because with all these musicians around there's nothin' else to do but jam. I've said this before and I'll say it again, I don't mind: a lot of these side bands were just that; little quick one-offs that weren't necessarily taken seriously. And then some of 'em got more involved like Christ Inversion and stuff like that. And then there were bands like Eyehategod and Soilent Green and whatnot that used to actually practice there. Superjoint [Ritual] and Down practiced there. Sh-t, Dimebag came in and jammed there before with
us. It was always this f-ckin' spot.
So when did Housecore finally release it's first album?
Housecore today is finally a tangible thing. We recorded the first Arson Anthem in 2006. Katrina had hit and Mike [Williams] ended up in jail and the riots after Katrina [happened]. I bailed his ass out and I just had major back surgery a few months right after Katrina and we were just f-ckin' stircrazy. We did the Arson Anthem EP so I think that was the real launching point for the realistic version of the Housecore Records.
So the label did initially begin as just a vehicle to put out your own records.
Yes, but don't get me wrong: it is an outlet for me to release a bunch of stuff that people may not have that are interested. You know what I'm saying? If I was into a band or whatnot and I was into a certain cat's music, I'd want to hear everything he's got out there. I'd want to have the whole f-ckin' library. So I figured this was a good way to get some stuff like that out there to the f-ckin' people that want to hear it. And also being surrounded by so many badasses, I cannot help but want to help other bands, man. When you see another band out there like Warbeast or haarp or whatever, and you see 'em and you know that they're ready to graduate, it's like, "Share the wealth." Extreme music has been kind to me; give back. It only feels natural.
So it was important to you to create and nurture this real community of bands. You wanted these groups rehearsing, jamming, writing, and demoing at your Colbert Street residence in New Orleans. In a sense, you were creating a sort of de facto Factory scene ala Andy Warhol where there was a real communal thing going on.
You know, it's funny because when you mention crazy house and Andy Warhol references, it's like it wasn't on purpose but in a weird way it was. Coming in and addin' somethin' to the wall downstairs – writin' your f-ckin' name, puttin' a sticker up, puttin' whatever – adds somethin' to this insane collage and collection of sh-t that's now extinct thanks to Hurricane Katrina.
That's too bad.
It's alright though; memories are still there and the main part of the house is still there. Downstairs is f-ckin' washed away and that's where really everything f-ckin' took place and was cookin'. We had local artists contribute to a lot of the walls and I do have some of that stuff still up there; it's fantastic. But I had a lot of local artist's stuff in there. So in essence, it was a whole lot like that: f-ckin' LSD trips; swimming pool in the backyard with the famous f-ckin' pentagram at the bottom of the ol' circular swimmin' pool. Yeah, I was young; it was my first house in my original neighborhood growing up. Not original but the main neighborhood where I spent time growin' up. I was dreamin' and I was doin' it and all the people that came and went and f-ckin' contributed, it was Housecore.
And like I said, that was an inside joke really because we'd f-ckin' take these serious bands or let me rephrase that – the band that we took seriously, I would be the guy at home while everyone else was out workin' I'd be off tour, man, for a month or so; a couple months. Just f-ckin' relaxing. Back in the day, I was up 'til the wee hours drinkin', smokin', doin' whatever, man, so by the time these dudes would get off work at four o'clock, five o'clock, whatever the f-ck [laughs], six o'clock, I'd be just rollin' out of bed, man. So I'd come downstairs in my robe or some sh-t and that's kinda where the whole thing came from. It's Housecore: music created in the house only to be heard by the house.
"Being surrounded by so many badasses, I cannot help but want to help other bands, man."
There was never an intention of releasing these records on any kind of local or even regional level?
At the time, I was signed to a major label and I couldn't put any of this stuff out; the bulk of it couldn't come out. There was a few things that squirted here and there but really the bulk of it I was not free to release. And there was some pretty good sh-t out there.
Those first releases included the Arson Anthem EP, the first Christ Inversion record, and Valhall's Red Planet?
Yeah, that first Christ Inversion was 1994. Valhall was a rarity and how I came across it was very f-ckin' interesting. But yeah, they're from Norway but they're not necessarily the in-house Housecore-type band.
What was the reaction when those first Arson Anthem and Christ Inversion albums did get out there?
Hey, man, everyone gets mixed reviews! You've got to put time and perspective into it; it was 1994 when I did the Christ Inversion and the Norwegian black metal thing was on the rise since really in my book or from my knowledge, it was 1992 when I finally caught on. Those records in those times always brought me back to the early '80s and it was fun to do sh-t like Christ Inversion even though I wouldn't classify us as completely typical black metal. Definitely not. The Arson Anthem, oddly enough, the first EP was recorded out here at my new house which is not so new; I've been here almost 10 years now and I still do have Colbert Street.
But other than that, man, like I said we were stir crazy after Hurrican Katrina, man, when we did that f-ckin' Arson Anthem. So either way, mixed reviews or not, it's the people that f-ckin' love it, man, that really, really, really count. And feel free to dislike it.
In a way, did you want people to be shocked or revolted by it?
When I had that f-ckin' record done, I wanted the motherf-cker to be as hideous as it is! It explodes. If you have your motherf-ckin' iTunes on shuffle, I wanted it to come up like a f-ckin' goddamn car wreck on Canal Street in the middle of rush hour. I wanted it to be uggg-lee so I got what I wanted [laughs]. I knew we weren't gonna be millionaires from a 12-minute EP.
You talk about this fraternity of bands that existed there in New Orleans and how there was "some pretty good sh-t out there." Can you talk about how you differentiated between these authentic bands with real character and all the other clones lining up behind them? What drew you to Warbeast, for example, when there are a dozen other bands out there who sort of sound the same, dress the same, and project the same type of image?
I got'cha; I hear that. Well, first and foremost I'll say Arson Anthem is a hardcore band; fine. I'll say Christ Conversion can be classified black metal; fair enough. Warbeast is one of my only other true genre bands and what makes them different is association. And I'll be blunt about that. I've known these guys since I was in Pantera and those were very, very impressionable years. Bruce [Corbitt], the singer, was in Rigor Mortis and they were a rival f-cking band and when I joined Pantera there was animosity between the two bands even. There was some factions that said, "Dimebag was the best guitar player" in the DFW area and some people said it was Mike Scaccia from Rigor Mortis. Mike went on to become very successful in Ministry so god knows they're both great guitarists. Either way I definitely bridged the gap there because I was a Rigor Mortis fan. Matter of fact that was probably the first demo, the first f-ckin' thing I'd
heard out of Texas in early, early '88 or maybe even late, late '87. Because that was the moving point and Rigor Mortis was the first demo laying around this brand new place I was living.
So you can validate Warbeast's authenticity by a long association with them?
I've known Bruce and I know the guitar players; they played in a band called Gammacide and they were f-cking ripping thrash; old-school Slayer worship, '80s thrash. They're f-ckin' excellent guitar players so when Bruce got in touch with me and he said he was jammin' with these guys, I knew kinda what I was getting into here. It would not be the type of band that I would personally seek out but sure enough when Bruce sent the demos, there's an affectionate side of me that remembers and just adores that f-ckin' DFW sound.
And what about all the posers out there?
I'll tell you the truth: you are correct. There are a lot of cut-and-paste motherf-ckin' thrash metal acts today. That is harsh but I'll say it: there's a lot of Exodus worship. Fine. There's a lot of records where I can hear the first, what, 30 seconds of a song and know pretty much what I'm getting thereafter.
Exactly.
Warbeast has taken their influences and used them to the f-ckin' max. And they do it so well because they were there. It's not like a bunch of kids jumpin' on a trend here; they've been playing this f-ckin' sh-t for two decades now, man, and they haven't deviated. As far as I know, only Rick Perry the guitar player has a side band so to speak. All the other guys have either come from thrash metal or death metal bands. But I know for a fact, Rick, Scott Shelby the guitar player, and Bruce have always been thrash f-ckin' metallers, man. So there's some integrity there and I think they play their f-ckin' asses off and for me, I knew what I was getting into here. This is really, really an early point in their journey as a band so I'm takin' this record as kinda like a Cowboys From Hell no offense. Put it this way with Cowboys From Hell you got a glimpse into what Pantera was about but the true culmination did not come until Vulgar
Display of Power.
You're really talking about artist development here.
That's what I've got on my hands here because I already know their new sh-t is blistering in comparison. Still, it's an awesome launching point. It really is. It shows a lot of variation and as far as knowing exactly what you're gonna get 30 seconds into a song? That's definitely not true with Warbeast and I was pleased with that.
As the producer of the Warbeast album, how did you approach it? Pantera co-produced all those albums with Terry Date so did you bring in what you learned by working with him? Did you come in wearing a singer's hat? Guitar player's hat?
Bruce wanted to take his time and that's normal protocol for vocalists. Most record labels, most deals, most demo sessions revolve around time restrictions and the vocals are always the last to get done. You have a certain amount of days or a certain amount of hours to get your f-ckin' sh-t done. So with that being said, Bruce wanted to take time with his vocals. However, once again I was sent over a period of time, eight or nine demo tracks that were extremely rough.
So you were wearing your vocalist's hat when working with Warbeast.
Sure there was a meeting of the heads; we all sat down and I said, "Perhaps it would be a good idea to do this, move here, do this, move that." I leave it up to the bands completely to say, "Well that's a good idea" or whatnot. In the end if they're happy then I'm happy. Well, sort of. I know a good song and a good song has to be a good song from good songwriting. Anyway there was a lot of structure there and all we had to do was put a couple pieces together. They were very, very wide open and receptive and also once you suggest something then that generates ideas out of the actual members of the band.
Did you get involved in the mixes of the Housecore albums?
I'm there at the mix. I've mixed and been there for so many mixes on so many records, if it's drums we're listening for then it's the drums; if it's the bass; if it's the one note that sticks out too loud in the second verse of a song, yeah, we're zeroing in on that motherf-cker. So, yeah, man, I know the whole process down to the echoes on the end of leads for god sakes. Yeah, it's maddening and you sleep, work, and wake up with the same songs in your head for about two months later but once again, if everybody's happy, I'm happy and let's go.
The last thing I do wanna add. With Housecore? I ask no time limits; we shall sew no f-cking music 'til it's time; stealin' a half-line from Orson Welles. And that's the truth, man; if we have to recall a mix 'til the motherf-cker is mixed 1,000 times then so be it. These dudes have to live with this sh-t the rest of their lives and I want them to be at least as happy as they can be. Everyone listens to a record that they've done and says, "Oh, sh-t, I could do that 50 times better." Look, time restrictions and stuff like that? I know firsthand that can be a big distraction in your deliverance. So I just want to throw that out there.
[Note: A dog barks in the background and Phil says, "Hold on; there's a f-cking werewolf attacking."]
As Rick Perry and Scott Shelby were laying down guitar parts on the Warbeast album, would you ever revisit a moment with Pantera and think about how Dime might approached a riff? Or how he might have gotten his sounds?
No, not with Warbeast. There's a record coming out later this year by a band called haarp: all lower case letters; two a's; they're very particular about that so I want to make you cats know. Now what you've just brought up about what would Dimebag do or whatever, you may not know it or hear it necessarily on the haarp record but there are two solos on the whole one-hour of music record. Yes, I did think about a few things Dimebag did for this haarp session and it was f-ckin' cool, man, and it turned out really, really good. And it's not anything that anyone will say, "Oh, my god, listen to this guitar player! He sounds exactly like Dimebag." You know, no f-ckin' way. But I did use one of his little nuances; one of his little tricks of the trade, man. Who can argue the point there?
You have another record coming out by a group called the Sursiks which is about as far away from thrash as you can get. You are interested in other styles of music that don't involve monster guitar riffs and insane vocals?
That's really the credo of Housecore and you'll see that as a trend in the up and coming, man. I don't have it [schedule] in front of me but the new Arson Anthem is coming out and in concert with that record is a band called Sky High which is an all-acoustic record my buddy Donovan Punch did with his daughter and it's insanely creative and I can't even begin to pinpoint that one for ya.
If you look at our compilation record, we've got one side that is dedicated to the more aggressive extreme music as far as hardcore and thrash and whatnot. The other side of it is absolutely 100 per cent different; music that you can't put your finger on. And honestly that's what does it for me. There's so much regurgitation going around today that to be honest with you what does it for me as a musician myself, that all the notes have not been hit yet. You know what I'm saying?
That's a great line.
Yeah, look here: the Sursiks are a case in point; they are a band in search of that missing note and I think they're finding it, jack. I think they're alone in what they do. That's what I like about 'em. That's what I like about haarp. You can say that haarp is heavy metal and f-ckin'-a you'd be right; you could say they were slow and f-ckin'-a you'd be right. But would be fair to only say they're slow and heavy metal? No; they transcend the motherf-ckin' genre. They have invented something absolutely unique. I can't say enough about haarp.
I'm lookin' for the bands that are hittin' different notes. Really that's what does it for me. And like I say, I'll have my genre bands here and there. Even Evil Army, we put their first album out through Housecore and they're definitely a genre but they're one of your better genre bands that were doing it before the new trend even came up. I'm lookin' for that uniqueness, man.
So Down is your vehicle to pursue that uniqueness? To go after the missing notes? Anybody listening to Down will hear everything from acoustic guitar ballads to these dark songs that almost sound psychedelic. Songs like "Stone the Crow," "Pray For the Locust," "Jail" and "Where I'm Going" show a side of the band that other heavier groups just don't have.
Well, man, I just wanna keep it fresh. It goes back to my other answer: it really has nothing with what I do. Matter of fact, in the case of the Sursiks and haarp, that's two things I can't do. If either band asked me to jam tomorrow, it would honestly be a train wreck; I wouldn't know where to begin to tell you the truth.
Down makes Down music. There are so many genre bands today and so many bands that are lumped into genres, it's kind of maddening and kind of unfair at the same time.
"It's Housecore: music created in the house only to be heard by the house."
The new Down record is done?
Not even touched. We did a show in Switzerland, a festival, but that really wasn't as memorable as the second show which was with AC/DC in Bucharest, Romania and that was three days ago. That was f-ckin' amazing; it was 50,000 people. The only thing that tarnished the whole event was that Black Sabbath [Anselmo is referring to Heaven & Hell] and we all know that Ronnie James Dio just passed away.
You were a Dio fan?
I've got to say it right here and right now: Ronnie was probably one of the – you'll hear this a million times but if it were ever true – Ronnie was the nicest guy you could ever meet, man. He was one of the good guys. I've known him since 1993 and he's always kept in touch with me someway, somehow. We played more gigs together with Down a few years back and it's a big loss.
You did recognize what Ronnie brought to metal as a vocalist?
No matter what today's younger generation think, I know what my generation thinks and the generation before my generation: an end of an era has occurred, man. Ronnie was alone. Probably one of the best heavy metal rock and roll singers around; maybe even a little underrated. I think he was right up there; him and Glenn Hughes and Paul Rodgers and even Chris Cornell. Let's go for it.
Do you have any feelings about some of the modern metal bands? Groups like Mastodon, Lamb of God, Avenged Sevenfold, and those types of bands?
I've got respect for Mastodon; I think they play very well for what they do. I think the drummer is very, very entertaining to watch; he's a f-ckin' excellent drummer. Super cool guys to hang out with; a lot of fun. I think that music is a wide open world. Of course I know what you're fishin' for. I think Pantera left a big imprint on them. It's flattering and sometimes if I walk into a room and I hear somethin' playing real, real low that sounds real f-ckin' familiar, nine times out of ten it's one of them bands you're mentioning. But that's fine. The biggest argument could be this and I get this: Pantera doesn't exist anymore. The records exist but we're not creating music anymore so there's a void there. And I guess these bands are filling a void. So you've got to take that into account as well.
Just a few more questions, Phil, and we're done.
Man, I'm easy. It's about to rain and I don't have nothin' special to do.
Do you think that any of these contemporary bands will have the impact and staying power that Pantera had?
Pantera revolutionized the sound and the approach to heavy metal. It's been regurgitated. Once you up the production on a product and not just the playing but the actual production, then it's going to up the ante. Period. Bands are going to want that sound and Dimebag had a monster f-ckin' guitar sound; it was all a matter of getting it on tape right. He always had that great sound.
If a band called Pantera came out today with an album called Cowboys From Hell, would it make an impact?
Would it have been a tougher road [today]? I don't think so because I think Pantera at our prime would have destroyed anything in our f-cking path. So I can't really think that way.
So who's the new Pantera?
A modern band? The only band I can think of that will have longevity like that for heavy metal would be Metallica for sure. They're the Rolling Stones of metal. They can if they want to and I believe they do from the last I've seen of them, keep creating music; keep writing music together. They have a good time doing it and they have a massive f-ckin' following so why not do that very thing? Look at AC/DC; look at Heaven & Hell up to the point [of Dio's passing]; and look at Ozzy Osbourne. I'm not sure if he's doing gigs but he did gigs into his middle 60s. It's there for Metallica if they want it and like I say, I do believe they will be that band.
But modern bands? I can't really judge that; I don't know. Mastodon could play music together forever as well and they can have a hardcore following forever as well. Whoever's in the kid's faces; like Slipknot. If I was a young teenager or even a kid, they would be my Kiss of this generation. You know what I'm saying? So Slipknot could keep doing what they do for as long as they're havin' fun. So, yeah, there are some bands out there who can do it and will do it on a massive scale. Sure. 'Til they call it quits and only 'til that point and that's saying something; that's longevity one way or another. No matter what anyone thinks of the f-ckin' music. Because music is like f-ckin' opinions and like anything else you're gonna get in life: good and bad; I like it; I don't like it. Tastes are varied, man, so much in this music world.
Look, I adore the bands that I adore. On the flipside, as much as you love a 100 different genres of bands, there are another 100 I can easily say I dislike too.
In bands like Arson Anthem and I believe in Christ Inversion and maybe some of your other side projects, you were playing guitar and not singing. Do you dig the guitar playing side of things as much as you do being the frontman?
Well, man, I love playing guitar; I've always played guitar. I've written Pantera riffs; I write a real good amount of the Down riffs on every record. People would jam with me for years like Jimmy Bower from Down, Eyehategod, Clearlight and god knows how many other bands he's in, and he can tell ya that I've got my own style and I do. I've got my own approach to playing guitar and the other thing is all of my side bands, I can proudly say none of 'em sound alike. Not a damn one of 'em sound alike. They all are very unique within themselves and why not? Because music is very vast and I am just an explorer, man. Why imitate something you've already done? With that fact known, within all these different styles of music I play, my guitar style stands out, man. You have to listen close to anything I play guitar on.
You said that you write riffs for Down on guitar but do you actually play guitar on record?
You mentioned "Pray For the Locust"; I played that, man. That's me on the record.
You're playing those acoustic guitars?
F-ck, yeah.
That's really some wonderful guitar playing.
Thank you. Like on "Jail," I play the mandolin. I love playing guitar and as a matter of fact I'm writing some new stuff right now. Where it's just me and a drummer and I'm havin' fun with it, man, and it's aggressive; it's extreme and that's all I can say about it right now because it's a work in progress. But it's f-ckin' deadly.
You never played any guitar in Pantera?
I didn't play guitar in Pantera but I'd say, "Hey, Dime, listen to this. I wrote this." And I wrote "Mouth For War."
So you actually traded riffs and stuff with Dime?
The thing about Dimebag is he would grab the guitar, I'd show him somethin' but by the time he grabbed it, he just had this grip on the guitar that was f-ckin' inhuman. I can't explain it; just not human. I sounded very mortal. Believe me, the riff [for] the "Mouth For War" as you know it sounded very, very mortal compared to what it is now. Yeah, man, that's how that would work.
Who were some of the guitar players you were listening to? Certainly being in a band with Dimebag you must have been absorbing a lot of stuff?
I was never one to know a cover or really yearn to learn a cover song. I never wanted to do that; I always wrote my own stuff. OK, you go through different phases in life; my early phase of course I listened to a lot of Kiss but at the same time I was listening to Ted Nugent; I was listening to the Scorpions and I was listening to Peter Frampton.
It's hard to imagine that the guitar player from Humble Pie would have affected you in any way.
Peter Frampton really left a impression on me because the Comes Alive! record and actually all of his solo records after Humble Pie are some of the most beautiful, melodic solos I ever heard, man. Really f-ckin' fantastic playing. Oh, sh-t, man, of course Black Sabbath. Now that's one band I gotta kinda eat my words on because the riffs were so infectious and Tony Iommi was such a badass. And still playing the end of "Black Sabbath" is impossible for me to do so put it that way. The beginning is easy but the end of it is like f-ckin' forget it, I'm not doing it. You learn a few Black Sabbath riffs; "Paranoid" is an easy one. And then there's Slayer; talk about infectious riffs that you were dying to know how to play. Because Slayer reinvented thrash in matter of fact so much so that I've got at least 90 records - and I do mean vinyl – sittin' in my frontroom that are just pure Slayer worship. If Slayer hadn't existed, these
bands hadn't existed. So Slayer was always fun to play; Mercyful Fate was an influence for sure. I love trills, man; I'm a f-ckin' sucker for trills, man, and that's a Black Sabbath thing. Iommi was a trilling fool. I hate to leave anything out: I guess Judas Priest and stuff like that.
Then you've got the other side [and] Johnny Marr from the Smiths; the cat from the Birthday Party [but] I forget his name. Nick Cave and the Birthday Party. Very unique; very ugly tone; very dramatic tone. Almost follows the theme of the song because Nick Cave's lyrics will take you on a journey and the guitar does the same; it complements what he's doing. A lot of things stick out for me that have been influential.
"We did the Arson Anthem EP so I think that was the real launching point for the realistic version of the Housecore Records."
You've talked about tones and stuff from other guitar players. What is the Phil Anselmo sound?
Right now it sucks. I'm f-ckin' hating it. I lost my Randall head; Dimebag gave me this old Randall head many, many, many moons ago and I guess when we recorded the last Down record, somewhere amongst 50 other Randall heads mine got taken. And I've not found one that sounds even close to my old and I'm bummin' out on that. So there's my tone right now in a nutshell.
What is your main guitar?
SG, jack, and I also an Ovation; I play Ovation acoustics. Just raw; I just mic 'em up, I don't ever plug 'em in much. But that's not entirely true. If I'm gonna do somethin' a little trippy of course I'll plug up. Gibson f-ckin' SG's. Believe it or not there's a guitar called a Gibson Sonick [in fact it is spelled Sonic] which was rare; badass guitars, man. I used to have a cream white one and I don't where the hell that thing was but it played mean and sounded rippin'. They were like a Les Paul-looking guitar; really excellent. Jimmy Bower plays those motherf-ckers, man.
Here's another quick Dimebag thing: we were in Japan and there it was on the wall. A '66 SG Mini and I was drooling. That sucker covered it right there with his credit card and I paid him back when I got home but still, man, that's my favorite guitar and I still play it today. The headstock got broken off; the original tremolo doesn't work anymore so it's not on there but it still rips.
Was the SG a nod at Tony Iommi?
Yeah, but it's also the feel of the thing. It's a Mini and they're very thin; they're light; and you can grip into 'em and the neck is just perfect long enough because of the cutaway.
What is on the agenda for Housecore in the coming months?
Let me take a look right here: Housecore releases 2010. OK, we just released Warbeast and the Sursiks. Coming up next in the middle of June will be the full-length Arson Anthem titled Insecurity Notoriety and it is blistering. That's coming out along with Sky High and it's a self-titled EP. It's acoustic Native American-feeling, Frank Zappa at times f-ckin' hippie music, I guess. It's great. And then in the end of August/early September, the full-length from haarp comes out and that was f-ckin' a blast to produce; a totally different band. That's another thing about production, man, each band requires different sounds; different things; different techniques. And I love that about that. And haarp is a very, very hardworking band and a very particular band; they're very dark. This record is very dark sounding. We do not have a title for this haarp yet and as a matter of fact we're all puttin' our heads together this weekend and
talkin' artwork. Paul Booth [tattoo artist] is doing the cover art for the haarp and it's f-ckin' massive and that's gonna be a good thing. Comin' out with that haarp is probably gonna be The Manson Family soundtrack finally. And that was for Jim Van Bebber's The Manson Family which finally got released, I think, in '06 and then has been re-released several times by a million different companies and whatnot. I did the soundtrack for the film back in the day; we started that in the '90s trackin' that stuff. But it's come a long way and that's a lot of noise stuff that I've done: the Disembodied and some Body and Blood tracks are on there and sh-t like that. Very different stuff, man.
Last thing here: you have that video up on the Housecore Records site from an interview you did at Loyola University. You were talking all about your addiction and it was unbelievably honest and open. That takes a lot to put yourself in a roomful of strangers and tell them you stick needles in your arm. Not to end up as another drug casualty speaks a lot about your character.
It's a plague, man, it's a plague. If you've got any hair left just yank that sh-t out because it really drives you f-ckin' crazy seein' what you were and what you put your family through and all your friends and stuff like that. So, yeah, man, I've got nothin' to hide when it comes to that and I'm wide open as a book. Ahem …
There is a book coming?
Yeah, man.
On the video you were reading from your computer and it came out like verses in a book.
Yeah, well, it's gonna be a lot of hard work.
Of course but if it wasn't hard it wouldn't even be worth doing.
You can say that in five different languages and every time it come up tough!
He is one of the greatest rock guitarists of all time ...but Slash insists he's sharper than ever after quitting drugs and booze.
The former Guns N' Roses guitarist, christened Saul Hudson, is loving every minute of his sobriety. His chronic chain-smoking days are over too.
That's quite a turnaround for the critically-acclaimed guitarist who, after the Roses, founded Slash's Snakepit and co-founded the successfu l Velvet Revolver with former Roses bandmates Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum.
But despite being under the influence the guitarist - ranked No.2 in Time Magazine's list of top 10 electric guitar players of all time - always somehow managed to stay on top form.
He explained: "I'd always been pretty good at being able to play no matter what. I managed to maintain things pretty well. I wasn't a fall-down drunk. But all things considered, I sort of burned out on that. I think I just over excessed and got to thepoint that I real ly wasn't enjoying it.
"I finally conquered that demon but it took me years. As a non- drinker and not doing drugs, I find that not being intoxicated at all lends itself to me being sharp.
"My reflexes are a lot better and my ability to concentrate and hit the notes on the fret board is as immediate as they come to my mind. Everything is more accurate, especially for the live performances which is when I improvise a lot. I find myspontaneity means I am able to connect faster than when I was drinking."
The 45-year-old, born in Stoke-on-Trent, attributes his decision to leave his crazy years behind him to the fact that he's still around in the music industry doing his thing.
He explains: "I'm in perfect shape but it is truly amazing that I am still around. I took that as a n omen and figured I'm not going anywhere so I might as well make the best of it.
" I don't wake up and make a cocktail first thing in the morning these days. I don't have a lot of vices I have to deal with first thing. I was a slave to my addiction, and had to take care of those first, so I don't have that any more. It leaves moretime to be productive."
With his trademark style - that hat, the shades and long mass of unruly, curly hair - Slash was always one of the world's most iconic rockers. And he play s up to the rock legend image in the video for his forthcoming single, Beautiful Dangerous, whichfeatures Black Eyed Peas beauty Fergie.
The American singer plays a rock groupie-turned-stalker who ties Slash to a bed before deciding to live out her deranged fantasies.
Slash admits that it was n't too much of a reach for him to play the guitarist that rock chick groupies lust after.
He said: "It was fun to do, you know. Fergie's great and it was probably the easiest concept shoot that I've done, at least in recent memory.
"It was several one-day shoots and two locations a block away from each other. I was tied up. It was one of those videos where we had a very loose treatment and idea of what the video was basically about and we just sort of made it up a s we went along."
He added: "I've had stalkers, none as crazy or as attractive as Fergie. Stalkers, real stalkers, are no joke or something to laugh at. The real ones tend to be dangerous or psychotic nuisances. This was an exaggeration on a theme. In reality, I havenever been drugged against my will. I have never been tied up against my will. It's always been consensual."
Fergie was one of several vocalists drafted in by Slash for h is eponymous solo album but he insists those who made it on t here were not part of some fantasy duets wishlist.
Instead, Slash only asked people he knew and thought would be perfect for the songs he had in mind.
On the album, an all-star roster of guest vocalists includes Ian Astbury, Myles Kennedy and Kid Rock.
Slash recalled: "I would just write music and put together arrangements and think in my mind's eye who would be t he right vocalist for that piece of music. It was quite simple. A lot of people think there's a lot of forethought that goes into thesecollaborations, like some sort of dream list or something. It's more of a spontaneous sort of thing.
"I always have a guitar by my side and I'm always out in circles where musicians hang out, or I'm in situations where I'm exposed to lots of different artists.
"I jump at t he chance to work with people when the opportunity arises. That's basically how these different collaborations happen. When I did the record, though, it was about trying to find the vocalist who was appropriate for each song. So those werevery specific.
"It's not really about putting together fantastical partnerships that I think in my imagination would be great. I haven't really done that."
Having known Iggy Pop since childhood, it seemed natural that he should join those helping Slash on the album.
"I have done a lot of work with Iggy," Slash said. "We've done a lot of live performances together. I've played on a bunch of tracks on his Brick By Brick record and we did a video for a t rack from that record.
"I did a song wit h him and Lenny Kravitz back in the early '90s which was never released that was really cool . So we have an ongoing relationship. I had this one song that screamed out for Iggy Pop so I called him up. He is t he epitome of what you'dwant to think a real rock 'n' roll guy is like. If it catches his ear, then he is off and running.
"I met him under strange circumstances when I was really little and I vaguely remember the details of all that. I ended up seeing him years later as an adult. At that point, I was a musician and we hit it off. Duff and I hung out with him at the sametime and Duff is a die-hard Iggy Pop fan. We have remained friends ever since."
Having received countless accolades and awards, including a 2007 star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame alongside his idols Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix, Slash's signature guitar riffs on songs such as Sweet Child O' Mine and Welcome To The Jungle helped rocklegends Guns N' Roses to dominate the music scene through the 19 80s and '90s, selling more than 100 million albums worldwide.
He hates to disappoint those die-hard Guns N' Roses fans but Slash insists he'll never step into the studio with Axl Rose again.
He explained: "It's been 14 years. I haven't spoken to him in all that time. There really is no relationship. That's why it i s frustrating when people ask about band reunions and what's going on.
"Fourteen years is a long time to not be in a band for people to still be a sking about that. Having said t hat, it's an appreciation, I guess, for the band from a lot of fans who care about it that much. It's very flattering that after all that timethat the original line-up still has that appreciation. I try not to scoff about it that much but the Axl question is redundant."
After the band's break-up, Slash went on to have global success as a guitarist and has been widely sought after by t he biggest musicians of all time, performing with everyone from Michael Jack son to Stevie Wonder to Ray Charles.
The good news is that although he's currently having some time off, the guitarist is planning another solo album with Alter Bridge's Myles Kennedy providing the vocals. After that, he plans to head back out on the road in 2011 and Scotland will be on thetourschedule.
He said: "I am on a break while Myles is out on his Alter Bridge tour then we are out in January until mid-April then Alter Bridge goes out again. Then we'll do a proper UK tour and European tour and we'll come to Scotland because, put it this way, wealways have a great time. Simple as that. I love Scotland. It's beautiful countryside. The people are great and I love the pubs and the gigs. I've always had a great time."
In addition to that, Slash has also promised that Velvet Revolver will make a resurgence.
He revealed: "We are going to go in and try out a couple of new singers. The band itself is fine . It's just a matter of patching that hole. Nothing can happen until we do that. It has been quiet but there are things going on."
Beautiful Dangerous is released in the UK through Roadrunner Records on the February 27, 2011. The album Slash is out now, while the special edition is due to be released on March 7, 2011.
ANVIL's classic 1982 song "Metal On Metal" landed at position No. 4 on Sweden's official single chart for the week ending December 24 after a Facebook campaign was launched by the band's Swedish fans to put the track at the top of the chart in time for Christmas. The song — which has **not** been released as a CD single — also made it to No. 1 on the "Digilistan" chart, which ranks the best-selling digital tracks in Sweden, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Dubbed "Anvil Aid", the campaign was started "out of love for and devotion to the band," and was meant to prevent yet another insipid song from the "Idol" reality show and singing competition from hitting No. 1.
In a recent interview with Bandit Rock, the biggest rock radio station in Sweden, ANVIL guitarist/vocalist Steve "Lips" Kudlow stated about the "Anvil Aid" campaign, "It's pretty amazing, really — incredible."
He added, "The song probably should have been a huge song and success in its day, but we were way, way ahead of the curve, so to speak, and the label and the management and everything that was involved around us, it was much like an ant pushing the Empire State Building — it just wasn't gonna happen. So it's extraordinary to hear something like this — it's really fantastic. I don't know what else to say.
"It's not about money. It's really about hard work, determination and getting the reward.
"I think what actually triggered it is... And it's not unusual, in a certain sense. It's sort of an opposite attraction. I think that people get really bored with the mundane aspect of what radio is about, what publicity in general [is like] — for music, for movies, [where] there is a lot of hype and very little substance. And I think what people discovered, particularly through the movie [the acclaimed ANVIL documentary 'Anvil! The Story Of Anvil'], is that we have a whole lot of substance, but not the success that should have come with it. And I just think that people just want to right a wrong.
"You can look at bands that sell millions of records, but for the most part they don't really have the influential edge, and I think that people wanna see something that had an influential edge succeed and go far beyond all the trite kind of music, stuff like Christmas carols and sort of sappy love songs and stuff like that. It's time for something different. Let's shake up the tree."
Resurrected NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) band TYTAN is the first confirmed act for the 15th-anniversary edition of the Keep It True festival, set to take place in 2012 (exact date to be announced) in Lauda-Königshofen, Germany.
TYTAN's lineup for the Keep It True performance will consist of the following musicians:
* Norman "Kal" Swan (BAD MOON RISING, LION) - Vocals
* Kevin "Skidz" Riddles (ANGEL WITCH, LION, SAMSON) - Bass
* Steve Mann (MSG) - Guitar
* Steve Gibbs - Guitar
* Simon Wright (AC/DC, DIO, RHINO BUCKET) - Drums
TYTAN was a British heavy metal band formed at the height of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal in the fall of 1981 by the former ANGEL WITCH rhythm section, bassist Kevin Riddles and drummer Dave Dufort (ex-E.F. BAND), Scottish vocalist Norman "Kal" Swan, and guitarists Steve Gibbs and Stuart Adams.
Signed to Kamaflage Records, a subsidiary of DJM, TYTAN recorded its lone album at Ramport Studios in Battersea with Will Reid-Dick manning the boards. Former JUDAS PRIEST and LIONHEART drummer Les Binks joined the band just in time for the recording. Jody Turner of ROCK GODDESS made a guest vocal appearance on the song "Women On The Frontline". Binks was replaced by Tony Boden for the band's October '82 U.K. tour with the TYGERS OF PAN TANG, with Simon Wright joining the group shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, Kamaflage folded before the album had chance to be released but managed to release the single "Blind Men And Fools" in both seven-inch and 12-inch formats in September 1982 before the band split up the following summer. In 1985, London-based label Metal Masters released the shelved TYTAN tapes as the "Rough Justice" LP. A Japanese CD bootleg followed in the early 1990s, before Majestic Rock Records gave the album an official CD reissue in 2004
and again in 2006, with four BBC "Friday Rock Show" session live tracks ("Cold Bitch", "The Watcher", "Far Side Of Destiny" and "Blind Men And Fools") and a live DVD added as bonus on the second edition.
EXODUS, KHOLD and NEVERMORE have been confirmed for next year's edition of the Brutal Assault festival, set to take place August 11-13, 2011 inside the Old Army Fotress in Josefov, Czech Republic.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows (in alphabetical order):
DORDEDUH
EXCREMENTORY GRINDFUCKERS
EXHUMED
EXODUS
GORGUS
KHOLD
KVELERTAK
MORBID ANGEL
NEVERMORE
SKELETONWITCH
SKYFORGER
SUICIDAL TENDENCIES
TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED
TRIPTYKON
VADER
For more information, visit BrutalAssault.cz.
JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EXPERIENCE — which celebrates the life and music of Jason's father, the legendary LED ZEPPELIN drummer John Bonham — just wrapped a successful 39-city North American tour. The critically acclaimed North American trek stunned audiences and featured Jason Bonham on drums, Tony Catania on guitar and theremin, Michael Devin on bass, Stephen Leblanc on keyboardists/pedal-steel guitars and James Dylan on lead vocals. The tour included a roof-raising, jam-packed show at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood late last month which saw Jason's younger sister Zoe Bonham perform blues-harp on the ZEPPELIN classic "When The Levee Breaks".
According to Billboard.com, the tour grossed $2.1 million after playing 38 cities and cracked the top 50 of trade publication Pollstar's annual top tours list. Bonham is expected to launch a second leg in the spring, although details have not been announced.
"I never imagined we'd receive the reaction we've been getting," explained Jason. "It's beyond my wildest dreams to come out represent my family, my father and the music of LED ZEPPELIN."
Here is the JASON BONHAM LED ZEPPELIN EXPERIENCE setlist from the Los Angeles show.
Set I:
01. "Rock and Roll", (Led Zeppelin IV), 1971
02. "Celebration Day", (Led Zeppelin III), 1970
03. "Black Dog", (Led Zeppelin IV), 1971
04. "Your Time Is Gonna Come", (Led Zeppelin), 1969
05. "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You", (Led Zeppelin), 1969
06. "Dazed & Confused", (Led Zeppelin), 1969
07. "What Is and What Should Never Be", (Led Zeppelin II), 1969
08. "Thank You", (Led Zeppelin II), 1969
09. "The Lemon Song", (Led Zeppelin II), 1969
10. "Moby Dick", (Led Zeppelin II), 1969
Set II:
01. "Good Times Bad Times", (Led Zeppelin IV), 1971
02. "I'm Gonna Crawl", (In Through The Out Door), 1979
03. "Since I've Been Loving You", (Led Zeppelin III), 1970
04. "When The Levee Breaks", (Led Zeppelin IV), 1971
05. "The Ocean", (Houses Of The Holy), 1973
06. "Over The Hills And Far Away", (Houses Of The Holy), 1973
07. "How Many More Times", (Led Zeppelin), 1969
08. "Stairway To Heaven", (Led Zeppelin IV), 1971
09. "Kashmir", (Physical Graffiti), 1975
Encore:
10. "Whole Lotta Love", (Led Zeppelin II), 1969
Danish metal rock 'n' rollers VOLBEAT have been confirmed for next year's edition of the With Full Force festival, set to take place July 1-3, 2011 at Flugplatz Roitzschjora in Löbnitz, Germany (near Leipzig).
The festival billing is shaping up as follows (in alphabetical order):
50 LIONS
AGNOSTIC FRONT
DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER
DIE KASSIERER
DEEZ NUTS
DEATH BY STEREO
ELäKELäISET
EVILE
HATEBREED
PARKWAY DRIVE
PETER PAN SPEEDROCK
CARNIFEX
MISERY INDEX
MORE THAN A THOUSAND
NEGATOR
ILL NIÑO
KRAWALLBRüDER
MADBALL
THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER
THE CASUALTIES
TERROR
STREET DOGS
VOLBEAT
Swedish metallers CLOUDSCAPE have issued the following update:
"CLOUDSCAPE is very excited about 2011 considering they'll release their fourth album, to be entitled 'New Era'. All songs are now written and the band is making plans with their management. CLOUDSCAPE will most likely enter the studio during the first months of 2011.
"CLOUDSCAPE have, as you may know, gone through a few member changes and it's been two and a half years since the release of 'Global Drama' so the band is happy to say that all wounds are healed and the band is back in the saddle more inspired than ever."
CLOUDSCAPE earlier year announced the addition of guitarist Daniel Paulson to the group's ranks.
"Darkest Legacy", the latest video from CLOUDSCAPE, can be viewed below. The clip was filmed, directed and edited by Rainer Holmgren (PAIN OF SALVATION, ARSIS).
"Darkest Legacy" comes off the group's third album, "Global Drama", which was released in 2008 in Europe through Goldencore/Roastinghouse Records and in North America through Nightmare Records.
CLOUDSCAPE previously described "Global Drama" as "the most varied and interesting album by CLOUDSCAPE so far. It contains a few really hard and raw metal songs and there will also be a few more atmospheric and dynamic songs progressively spiced." The CD was produced by Pontus Lindmark and recorded at RoastingHouse Studios in Malmö, Sweden.
Metal Shrine recently conducted an interview with EXTREME/ex-VAN HALEN frontman Gary Cherone. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Metal Shrine: First up, this band HURTSMILE, what's the story behind it and working with your brother?
Cherone: After all these years it's a wonder why didn't hook up sooner, but we had different bands. He's a little younger than me and during the EXTREME days, in the clubs, the funny thing was that he hooked up with Nuno's [Bettencourt, EXTREME guitarist] brother Paul and he was in a band called FLUSH. It (HURTSMILE) was a project that started in 2007 and the I had to put it on the shelf because of the EXTREME reunion and we did the record and tour and then when Nuno had an opportunity to do the Rihanna tour, it made sense to finish the record. I love playing with those guys, they're all East coast guys and I've known them for years and I really wanted to write a record with my brother.
Metal Shrine: Is the plan to tour with this band?
Cherone: Absolutely! The record is coming out on January 19th and in America on February 8th. We're looking at dates now. Obviously the economy is tough and to get everywhere you wanna go was even impossible for EXTREME. But we'll get to Japan and do at least a handful of dates in Europe. That's the plan and, of course, America is a bit easier to play.
Metal Shrine: Are there plans for another album after this one and the tour?
Cherone: Yeah, we've finished the record and we're excited that it's coming out and we actually wrote some more stuff that we plan on putting out at the time of the release. Just on the Net, because if we're gonna go out and tour this thing, I'd like to have a little bit more material, so I don't have to dip too much into the past. I will do a few older tracks, but the more the band writes the better it gets, so that's the plan. With EXTREME, we're writing and we'll have some new music next year as well. The bands won't conflict because Nuno's got some things to do with Rihanna and we're able to get together over the Internet.
Metal Shrine: This album is released on Frontiers as well and was that just a natural step since EXTREME's last album was on Frontiers as well?
Cherone: Yeah, those were obviously the obvious… we had an obligation to tell them and they were interested and I think they would be interested in a Nuno project or anything with EXTREME. They liked what they heard and they offered us a deal we liked and the same with JVC. There were a few other interesting things but I was so eager to… it was a little bit of a long process in scheduling and getting this record finished. I really wanted the record to come out and I'm happy it's coming out in January.
Metal Shrine: What's the story behind the name HURTSMILE?
Cherone: (laughs) I guess that's an inside joke with my brother. That's one of the toughest thing to do, to name a band. This is the first time in my life, actually, that I came up with a name that everyone liked the first time. They scratched their head a bit and I had to explain it. I said "Marc, I've got the name of the band!" and he goes "What is it?". I said "HURTSMILE!" and that goes back 30 years when we were growing up as kids, me and my brother and my friend were playing football or messing around in the house… I grew up with four brothers so there were a lot of fighting going on and that term came from like if someone got hurt, if they fell down and they were in pain but didn't want to cry in front of the rest of the kids, they couldn't hide that. They tried to smile through the pain and everyone would point and go "Hurtsmile, hurtsmile!". So he laughed and I think it works, like BLACK SABBATH or IRON BUTTERFLY, the opposite names. HURTSMILE,
isn't that what we do in life? Smile through pain? They like it and it's humorous.
Metal Shrine: You mentioned that with EXTREME you're working on some new stuff and I also realized that it's the 20th anniversary of the release of "Pornograffitti" this year. I read somewhere that you had plans of doing something before the end of the year. Do you still have any plans of playing?
Cherone: We really messed with that idea and we were excited to do it, but scheduling didn't permit it because of Nuno's Rihanna thing and I don't blame him. It was an intriguing gig. He says it's great, but he misses the rock and roll part of EXTREME. I think some day… we missed the 20th anniversary, but I'd like to do a string of dates and do the whole record because there are some songs there that we haven't done in over 20 years or let alone, I think, have ever done. Maybe get some horns out for "Get The Funk Out" and "Li'l Jack Horny" and some of those tracks.
Metal Shrine: When you were singing with VAN HALEN, do you have any memory of the first meeting you had with those guys and the first jam session? Do you remember what songs you played? Was it just VAN HALEN songs?
Cherone: Yeah, that was the plan. Here I am, just getting out of EXTREME, I had a vocal operation and that year I did "Jesus Christ Superstar" and my manager says "You're gonna be auditioning for VAN HALEN!" and I go "Yeah, right!" and he goes "No, really!" Eddie called me and we had a great conversation and we talked about maybe five or six songs I'll learn. A couple from the Sammy [Hagar] era and a couple from the Dave [Lee Roth] era and I remember arriving there in the afternoon… I knew Michael Anthony before that and he came out and greeted me. Alex and Eddie were in the studio 5150 at the time and I go, "Hey, Mike, what's up man?" I'd met him a few times and he remembered me and I go, "You gotta help me out here man, I'm a little nervous!" and he goes "Nah, don't worry about it!" Then Eddie literally came out and shook my hand and said, "Hey, man, you ready to sing?" I go "Yeah! You mind if I go to the bathroom?". (laughs) So I went to the
bathroom and said a little prayer, you know, "Just let me do good!" (laughs)" If I'm not in the band, so what!" Believe it or not, I went in there and I had nothing to lose. I sang… I think it was "Panama" and then we had a little break and he showed me what was to become "Without You" and we wrote that and I even think some of that take was even on the record.
Metal Shrine: Going back to EXTREME again, the new album, will you produce it yourselves or get an outside producer?
Cherone: There's talk of a few people. It would be great to get an A-list name. I don't know if that happens? My dream producer would probably be Rick Rubin. Here's a guy that's done JOHNNY CASH, the CHILI PEPPERS and you know, NEIL DIAMOND.
Metal Shrine: And SLAYER!
Cherone: And SLAYER! Yeah, he's the guy that pulls the best out of the band. He doesn't overwhelm the band and make it a Rick Rubin production, like some producers.
Isaac Delahaye, the newest member of symphonic metal band Epica, showcases his talents through the group's most ambitious effort to date, Design Your Universe. The 75-minute saga reveals a new side of the band: a driving heaviness, exploding through their signature blend of heartfelt ballads and infectious brutality. Prior to the band's much-anticipated appearance at the Key Club in LA, I had the chance to speak with Delahaye on the band's new direction, their charitable contributions, and what they have in store for 2011.
You joined the band during the songwriting process for Design Your Universe, which seems like an intimidating time to come in. Do you feel that you were able to contribute as much as you wanted to or was there a sense of restriction from being "the new guy"?
Not really restricted, but when I came in, the song structures were already written so I didn't participate in the actual songwriting. But as far as guitar and guitar parts go, I really had the opportunity to kind of make them my own. Basically, the basic guitar structures were already written.
It took me like three months to go through all of the guitar parts and to actually rearrange them. In the end, it was intimidating for sure because you never really know if they're going to like it. But then there's also a reason that they asked me to join the band, and that's because they already thought I would be good enough. So in the end, it worked out fine. I just sent my first file to the band and they were all happy, and we just went on with all the rest!
And how did the dynamic change for you, coming in from God Dethroned?
God Dethroned was basically all melody because it was a melodic death metal band, and all the melodies came from the guitars. And now, with Epica, there's also melody in the guitar parts, of course, but there's much more going on: choirs, vocals, both clean and grunting, and also the orchestration.
There are more things going on and in that way, it's interesting as a guitar player. Sometimes you can be really technical and other times you can just play rhythm guitar and not worry about anything else because all the melody is coming from somewhere else. It's actually more interesting for a guitar player.
Design Your Universe is somewhat of a departure from the band's more recent work, in terms of its overall heaviness. As far as your involvement during the songwriting process, would you say that there was a conscious effort to move the sound in a new direction, or was it more so a natural progression within the band?
Well, it was natural in a way. Both me and Ariën came from God Dethroned, so we were more heavier influences. In that way, it's kind of natural, but I think it was also the thing that the band wanted, or Mark wanted, as the band leader, for our sound.
You have all these bands like Evanescence, Nightwish, Within Temptation, Lacuna Coil—those are all female-fronted, symphonic bands. They're all kind of more commercial than the things we are doing, so we wanted to go in the other direction, more heavy. And it worked in the end, I think we grabbed that spot that was open. There are not many bands that are female-fronted and heavy like Epica is.
At this point, you've had the chance to play the material all over the world. How are the fans reacting to the new songs, or I guess, the new sound?
Well, we play more new songs now, so it's obvious that they have to react. (LAUGHS)
From what I've heard, most people really like the direction we went. They also like the guitar solos; that was something that never really happened before. And yeah, I think overall, if you have the set list like it is nowadays, it's very varied. We have "Tides of Time," which is a ballad, and we can play "Kingdom of Heaven," and there's lots of stuff going on, not only in one song, but also in the whole set list. There's everything. There are ballads and really heavy stuff that we play. It's cool. It's really challenging.
And I know that you've already begun working on Design's follow-up. Do you think your contributions will be greater this time around?
Yes, probably. Right now, everyone is kind of writing on their own, individually. We have another tour coming up early next year, and probably, after that, we're going to start doing the pre-production with the whole band.
But I'm just writing some licks and songs here and there, and everyone is doing that, so we'll see how it works out in the end.
Well I know you touched on this before, but being in a female-fronted band undoubtedly brings irrelevant comparisons from the press and uninformed fans alike. Do you feel that the attention to Simone has helped or hurt the band at all?
It helps, it helps.
Do you think it attracts an audience that's more so focusing on that, as opposed to the music?
Not being an original member and knowing the band for years, I had also checked the other bands that are out there. And for me personally, not because I'm in the band now, but Epica was always the band that was not the same as all the rest. Maybe also because of the grunts and that stuff. But it's difficult to answer, especially if you're in the band.
Yves, our bass player once said that if Simone would've been an ugly troll then maybe we wouldn't have been so successful, so I guess maybe he's right. (LAUGHS)
The band recently released the This is the Time EP, with all profits going to the World Wildlife Fund. How did the relationship with WWF come about, and what made you choose this specific organization to contribute to?
Well, Mark already did something. He did something with cycling I think…
He did a marathon, right?
Yeah, something like that, and he gave money from that.
But it was a song actually that I was recording, I was doing some acoustic songs in the studio and had that song already for years. Mark thought it was a cool song and said, "Let's just record it and see what we can do with it." We didn't use it for the album because we didn't really spend time to produce it or whatever, but then afterwards he said, "Why don't we just use it for WWF and do something with that?" I thought it was a cool idea. It's the least we can do before it's too late. It's something that you can't really ignore nowadays.
But then we also get the critics that say "Yeah, you're a touring band, and there's lots of waste there"—you know, just filling up a tour bus on its own. So we're not saints I guess, but we just try to make a little difference.
Well early next year, you'll be embarking on the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise. Do you know any details about that? Will the boat be docking for performances, or are bands actually playing while it's moving?
Well, actually, I don't know (LAUGHS)
Tour Manager: Basically, it goes out to sea for five days, and bands will be playing all day and all night. It's a moving festival.
It leaves Miami and bands start to play, and then it docks in Cozumel. There's going to be an off-day and stuff like that. It's an interesting thing.
Other than that, I know you just announced some dates in the UK. Aside from those, how's the rest of 2011 beginning to take shape for you guys?
So, we have the 70,000 Tons of Metal, and Latin America for two weeks—Columbia, Mexico, Ecuador. Then UK, and some single shows. Then we have MaYan, the other project of Mark, so it's going to be busy. And then summer festivals. So that's basically it. We just keep on going, and in between, if we have time, we write music. (LAUGHS)
We just hope for the best, that we can come up with a good album, and then everything will start all over again. (LAUGHS)
–
For more information on Epica, check out:
www.epica.nl
Shannon Joy In addition to moonlighting as a freelance writer, Shannon Joy heads an online marketing consulting company specializing in alternative marketing, image management, and branding. The core of her endeavors have been centered around music, particularly hard rock, heavy metal, and hardcore.
California-based progressive metal quintet THE CONSEQUENCE OF CHAOS has announced the addition of vocalist Norman Skinner (TRAMONTANE, UTOPIAN TRAP, MACHINE.CALLED.MAN, IMAGIKA) and bassist Jim Pegram (IMAGIKA, NITEMARE, BAPHOMET, HARUM SCARUM) to the group's ranks. The band is currently writing material for its debut album, tenatively due next summer.
THE CONSEQUENCE OF CHAOS's lineup is rounded out by guitarist Scott McPhie (COLLAPSING SKY, SPIRAL DAWN), drummer Paul Mansur (SHATTERED ILLUSION) and keyboardist Jeremy Delaune (REQUIEM).
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/theconsequenceofchaos.
Norwegian heavy/prog metallers FRAIL GROUNDS have entered Lionheart Studio in Oslo to begin recording their as-yet-untitled "conceptual" debut album.
The first video footage from the studio can be viewed below.
FRAIL GROUNDS is:
Morten Søbyskogen - Lead vocals
Erik Fidgett - Guitar
Thomas Oppedal - Bass
Magnus Nødset - Drums
Sigbjørn Galåen - Synthesizers
Vegard Amundsen - Guitars
For more information, visit www.frailgrounds.com.
Finnish folk metallers KORPIKLAANI have scheduled the following CD-release shows in their home country:
Feb. 09 - Turku, Finland - Klubi
Feb. 10 - Tampere, Finland - Klubi
Feb. 26 - Lahti, Finland - Sibelius-talo
KORPIKLAANI will release its new album, "Ukon Wacka", in Europe on February 4, 2011 via Nuclear Blast Records.
The track listing for the CD is as follows:
01. Louhen Yhdeksäs Poika
02. Päät Pois Tai Hirteen
03. Tuoppi Oltta
04. Lonkkaluut
05. Tequila
06. Ukon Wacka
07. Korvesta Liha
08. Koivu Ja Tähti
09. Vaarinpolkka
Check out the cover artwork below.
According to the band, "Ukon Wacka, or Ukon Vakat, is a pagan sacrificial feast from ancient times, on which a special made beer richly flowed. As can be expected from the title, this album has an ancient and very folky feel and is totally in Finnish. To make the lyrics understandable for non-Finnish people, we will add an English description/translation in the booklet as usual. The album consists of 10 songs, among which you will find a song name 'Tequila', which is especially written for (and inspired by) our South American fans, with whom we celebrated such hard times, and who welcomed us so warmly, when we were touring in South America. Another surprise is the title song, 'Ukon Wacka', in which a special guest features: the famous Finnish singer Tuomari Nurmio! Last but not least features a tribute song ('Päät Pois Tai Hirteen') to the Finnish rock band PEER GÜNT, a great and underestimated band. We hope and expect that this album will give you as
much joy as we had making it; a big folky feast for all!"
"Karkelo" (English translation: "Pleasure" or "Party"), the sixth album from KORPIKLAANI, was released on June 26, 2009 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was recorded at Petrax studio in Hollola, Finland.
KORPIKLAANI's previous CD, "Korven Kuningas", came out on March 21, 2008. The CD entered the album chart in the band's home country at position No. 16.
Danish modern "melodeath thrashers" PITCHBLACK have inked a deal with the Danish label Mighty Music, which is a part of Target Records. The band's sophomore album, "The Devilty", will be released on February 28. The CD was recorded at guitarist Thomas "Pede" Pedersen's Earplug Studio in Copenhagen and was mixed and mastered by Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, SICK OF IT ALL, MNEMIC, HEAVEN SHALL BURN). The album features a guest appearance on lead guitar by Hank Shermann of MERCYFUL FATE. The bloody photo artwork was created by professional crime photographer Johnny Frederiksen who spent 17 years at the Danish most controversial tabloid Ekstra Bladet.
Commented the band: "We have had some offers beside Mighty Music, but they seemed to be the most serious and after one meeting with them, they left us with no doubt that they were the best for us. We had some more meetings with them and then we signed a contract.
"Right now we' re doing a video for the track 'You're Fucking Below Me' as well as we are planning gigs for 2011.
"We are so fucking eager to play the new material for you and we hope you like the shit that we've spent a lot of hours on!"
30-second audio samples of all the songs that will appear on "The Devilty" can be heard in the YouTube clip below.
"The Devilty" track listing:
01. Replacing God
02. Defriended
03. You're Fucking Below Me
04. Don't Make Me Mad
05. The Siren Song
06. I Return
07. One Day We'll Break Them
08. Bandido
09. Revenge (…Injustice For All)
10. Slow The Hate
PITCHBLACK's debut album, "Designed to Dislike", was released in Denmark on August 13, 2007 via Target Distribution. The CD was produced by Steen Mogensen (CORNERSTONE, ex-ROYAL HUNT).
Formed in late 2002, PITCHBLACK released two demo tapes prior to recording its debut album: 2003's "No Sympathy Left" and 2004's "PitchBlack Promo 2004".
For more information, visit the band's MySpace page.
DJERV — the Norwegian band featuring singer Agnete Kjølsrud of ANIMAL ALPHA, drummer Erlend Gjerde of STONEGARD and WARDRUNA and guitarist Stian Kårstad of TRELLDOM — will perform at next year's by:Larm festival, set to take place February 17-19, 2011 in Oslo, Norway. The group states, "It's a showcase festival that's also open to the public, and we'll be doing at least two shows during the three days the festival runs."
DJERV is putting the finishing touches on its debut album for a spring release through an as-yet-undisclosed label.
The band's first-ever recordings were issued as the "Headstone EP", available via Indie Distribution and the group's own label, Katapult Music. The three-track EP was originally intended as a demo but is now exclusively available for digital download.
"Headstone EP" was recorded at various studios in Oslo in the fall of 2009, and was mixed by Vangelis Labrakis and Stamos Koliousis, who later joined the band as a live guitarist, at 210 Studios in Berlin. It was produced by the band and was mastered by Espen Berg at Livingroom Studios in Oslo. The cover artwork was created by Christian Sloan Hall, who has previously worked with DIMMU BORGIR, TESTAMENT and SLAYER, among others.
DJERV's current touring lineup is rounded out by guitarist Stamos Koliousis (MENCEA) and bassist Victor Brandt (TOTALT JÄVLA MÖRKER, ENTOMBED, SATYRICON).
DJERV is a new act exploring the borderlines between rock, metal and black metal — with its members consciously pulling threads of their former bands into the new project. The overall sound is stripped down, groove-oriented and melodic, yet with cold black metal-influenced riffs accompanying the dark moods of the music.
DJERV/ex-ANIMAL ALPHA frontwoman Agnete Kjølsrud joined Norwegian symphonic black metallers DIMMU BORGIR on stage at their October 18, 2010 concert at Sentrum Scene in Oslo to perform the song "Gateways".
In a recent interview with Music-Photocalypse.net, DIMMU BORGIR frontman Shagrath (real name: Stian Tomt Thoresen) stated about the band's collaboration with Kjølsrud on DIMMU's latest album, "Abrahadabra", "I'm a very big fan of her previous band called ANIMAL ALPHA. Agnete is also a good friend of mine. We met out in the city. I've been talking to her a lot and I also like her new band DJERV. So I asked her if she wanted to become a part of one song on the album and she said yes, 'cause she is also a fan of DIMMU BORGIR. So she came to the studio, we nailed it in a couple of hours, it was done." (Agnete is also featured in the official "Gateways" video.)
Former CONSTRUCDEAD and current CARNAL FORGE members have joined forces in a new band called GODSIC. The group, which features Peter Tuthill (vocals), Rickard Dahlberg (guitar), Chris Barkensjö (drums) and Thomas Wallander (bass; ex-CONSTRUCDEAD), has spent the last month or so recording songs for its upcoming debut album, "As The Heavens Burn", due out in late spring 2011.
As a sneak peek of what is to come, GODSIC has decided to share rough mixes of three songs from the upcoming CD on the band's newly launched official web site, www.godsic.net, on New Year's Eve.
Commented the group: "We hope you all enjoy the songs as much as we do, and we are looking forward to putting 'As The Heavens Burn' out there for all of you new and old fans. We can't wait to get out on the road with this new killer album!"
Dutch death metallers SINISTER have issued the following update:
"We have just our new record out but in the next year we will come with more new stuff. [Poland's] Metal Mind [Productions] will bring out the SINISTER box 'Altered Sins Birth' including nine CDs, the live DVD 'Prophecies Denied' and a full-color book with the history of the band and many many pictures. All this is made by the mighty Graal from Poland. The box will come out on February 14 in Poland, in the U.K. it will be released on February 21 and in the USA it will be out in April."
SINISTER recently announced the addition of bassist Joost van der Graaf (CYPHER, CREEPMIME) to the group's ranks. The band states, "We practiced now a couple of times together and it's going fucking amazing... The band is really happy with him and we cannot wait to show this to you by one of our live gigs."
SINISTER released its new album, "Legacy of Ashes", on December 17 via Massacre Records. The CD was recorded at Soundlodge studios in Rhauderfehn, Germany with producer Jörg Uken (GOD DETHRONED, OBSCENITY).
"Legacy of Ashes" track listing:
01. Herd Of Damnation (intro)
02. Into The Blind World '
03. The Enemy Of My Enemy
04. Anatomie Of A Catastrophe
05. The Sin Of Sodomy
06. Legacy Of Ashes
07. The Hornet's Nest
08. Righteous Indignations
09. The Living Sacrifice
The limited-edition digipack includes four exclusive bonus tracks.
Polish death metallers SPHERE have completed work on their sophomore album, "Homo Hereticus", at Zed Studio for an early 2011 release via an as-yet-undetermined record label.
According to a press release, "SPHERE, established in 2002, was standing for death metal as it always meant to be. Rooted in brutal, straight forward and yet genuine old-school death metal. After few lineup changes band recorded 'Spiritual Dope' demo and 'Damned Souls Rituals' album followed by skull-crushing gigs. Three years passed and SPHERE entered Zed Studio to record revolting album 'Homo Hereticus'. It stems from death metal origin but it's enriched in fresh groovy ideas. 'Homo Hereticus' is a powerful tool blasting minds and souls. It makes a perfect base upon the redemption march."
"Homo Hereticus" track listing
01. Forever Sworn to Blasphemy
02. Godless Profanity
03. Third Scent Carcass
04. Sadistfucktion
05. Homo Hereticus
06. Holistic Paralisys
07. Psalm to the Dark One
08. Grave's Cold Darkness
09. Vengeance is the Core of All
10. Devils Reunion
11. Beyond Madness of Gods
12. War
SPHERE is currently seeking a suitable record label to release "Homo Hereticus".
SPHERE is:
* Th0rn (CONQUEST ICON) - Drums, Percussion
* Lukasz (PYORRHOEA, ex-HATE) - Guitar
* Burning (ex-MAESTUS) - Bass
* Cthulhu - Guitar
* Analripper (REVELATION OF DOOM, ex-PYORRHOEA) - Throat
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/sphereband.
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