WHITESNAKE frontman David Coverdale says that he refuses to believe that music fans are no longer interested in purchasing albums and only want to download CDs illegally.
"I don't accept that people don't buy records anymore. I'm a huge iTunes fan," Coverdale told AOL's Noisecreep during a recent chat.
"I live up in the mountains of Lake Tahoe and any of the stores that sold records around the area are gone now. So Amazon and iTunes are my environment now. My wife is always concerned because I've had a hand-written note from the people who own Amazon thanking me for my business. I think to myself, 'Wait a second, how much am I spending [laughs]?' But I love buying new music."
WHITESNAKE's new album, "Forevermore", sold around 12,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 49 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was recorded, produced and mixed by Los Bros Brutalos (Coverdale, guitarist Doug Aldrich and Michael McIntyre).
WHITESNAKE's "Live At Donington 1990" DVD/live double CD set will be available on June 3 in Europe and June 7 in North America via Frontiers Records. This incredible, never-before-seen, visual footage captures one of the most musically intense WHITESNAKE lineups performing in front of more than 70,000 fans. Mixed in glorious 5.1 and living, breathing stereo, it's the next best thing to actually being there! WHITESNAKE 1990 featured guitar greats Steve Vai and Adrian Vandenberg, bassist Rudy Sarzo, drummer Tommy Aldridge and, of course, incomparable frontman David Coverdale.
The "Live At Donington" 1990 DVD also includes a substantial gallery of never before seen stills of the band on the "Liquor & Poker World Tour 1990", plus an intimate behind-the-scenes documentary of the making-of the "Slip Of The Tongue" album.
The "Live At Donington 1990" will be available in 2CD set, DVD coverpack, combo 2CD + DVD in digipak and digital edition.
A new Ronnie James Dio compilation album, entitled "Mightier Than The Sword: The Ronnie James Dio Story", will be released in the U.K. on June 6 via Sanctuary. The two-disc collection will feature tracks from ELF, RAINBOW, BLACK SABBATH, DIO and HEAVEN & HELL, as well as Dio's solo material.
The track listing is as follows:
Disc 1:
01. Carolina County Ball (ELF)
02. Love Is All (RONNIE JAMES DIO)
03. The Temple Of The King (RAINBOW)
04. Catch The Rainbow (RAINBOW)
05. Stargazer (RAINBOW)
06. Run With The Wolf (RAINBOW)
07. Kill The King (RAINBOW)
08. Long Live Rock 'N' Roll (RAINBOW)
09. Lady Of The Lake (RAINBOW)
10. Gates Of Babylon (RAINBOW)
11. Die Young (BLACK SABBATH)
12. Heaven And Hell (BLACK SABBATH)
13. Children Of The Sea (BLACK SABBATH)
Disc 2:
01. The Mob Rules (BLACK SABBATH)
02. Voodoo (BLACK SABBATH)
03. Country Girl (BLACK SABBATH)
04. Holy Diver (DIO)
05. Rainbow In The Dark (DIO)
06. We Rock (DIO)
07. Rock 'N' Roll Children (DIO)
08. All The Fools Sailed Away (DIO)
09. I (BLACK SABBATH)
10. Push (DIO)
11. One More For The Road (DIO)
12. Shadow Of The Wind (BLACK SABBATH)
13. Neon Knights (HEAVEN & HELL)
14. Bible Black (HEAVEN & HELL)
Legendary heavy metal vocalist Ronnie James Dio, best known for his work with BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW and his own band DIO, died of stomach cancer one year ago on Monday (May 16) at the age of 67.
His wife and manager, Wendy Dio, who still oversees all projects and releases related to the career and music of her late husband, wanted to let the fans know that Ronnie's bandmates and close friends gathered at his resting place yesterday. She said, "We had a beautiful prayer service followed by everyone sharing their special memories of Ronnie."
Dio was renowned throughout the world as one of the greatest and most influential vocalists in heavy metal history. The singer, who was recording and touring with SABBATH offshoot HEAVEN & HELL prior to his illness, was diagnosed with stomach cancer in late 2009. He underwent chemotherapy and made what is now his final public appearance in April 2010 at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles.
A free public memorial service was held on May 30, 2010 at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, attended by more than 1,500 fans, friends and fellow musicians.
This past March, it was announced that the surviving members of the final lineup of DIO would embark on a project with former JUDAS PRIEST frontman Tim "Ripper" Owens under the name DIO DISCIPLES.
Ronnie James Dio, real name Ronald James Padavona, was born in New Hampshire on July 10, 1942.
He moved to Cortland, New York at a young age, where he began playing with local acts. A street in Cortland, Dio Way, was named after him in 1988.
He released his first single, with a band called RONNIE AND THE REDCAPS, in 1959.
His first heavy rock act, ELF, released three albums and opened for DEEP PURPLE, where Dio's voice caught the ear of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Blackmore recruited Dio for his own band, RAINBOW, after leaving PURPLE in 1975.
Dio recorded three studio albums and one live set with RAINBOW before exiting in 1978, including "Rising" and "Long Live Rock And Roll".
He replaced Ozzy Osbourne in BLACK SABBATH in 1980, recording the "Heaven And Hell" and "Mob Rules" albums, plus "Live Evil", before leaving in 1982. He rejoined the group 10 years later for an album called "Dehumanizer", and again teamed with the group under the HEAVEN & HELL banner in 2006. HEAVEN & HELL released an album called "The Devil You Know" in 2009.
He has also recorded 10 studio albums with his own band, DIO, including a classic 1983 debut, "Holy Diver", and an equally renowned follow-up, 1984's "The Last In Line".
Dio was also behind the HEAR N' AID project, a collection of metal artists who recorded the track "Stars" in 1985 to raise funds for African famine relief.
Grab your neck brace and call the chiropractor: It's time to bang your head with Goldmine magazine's May 2011 heavy metal issue, on newsstands now.
With the anniversaries of METALLICA's "Master Of Puppets" and "The Black Album," celebrated author Mick Wall takes a closer look at the world's most popular heavy-metal band. Plus, you'll get an exclusive sneak peek at Wall's new book, "Enter Night: Metallica The Biography", which explores the band's adjustment to life without Cliff Burton.
Other "precious metal" features include:
* Ronnie James Dio: The eternal king of metal is gone, but most definitely not forgotten
* Duff McKagan: Catch up with the former GUNS N' ROSES bassist whose project, LOADED, is shaking things up with "The Taking"
* WHITESNAKE: Eternal charmer David Coverdale talks about his musical inspiration, plans for a DVD, the band's new lineup and his take on all the best rock and roll vices
* THIN LIZZY: Goldmine's Mick Wall reflects on the legacy of THIN LIZZY's "sensible one," Gary Moore, plus guitarist Brian Robertson launches his long-awaited solo debut
* Collecting Heavy Metal: How does your library fare with our list of 25 essential New Wave Of British Heavy Metal records?
* Lemmy Kilmister: Catch up with the MOTÖRHEAD madman about the band's new CD; "Lemmy" the movie; and topics as diverse as drugs, Joan Jett and stealing from the poor.
Also in this issue:
* Discover 991.com, the web site that helps fans fill in the gaps in their collections
* Get the scoop on "Meet The Beatles", "My Bonnie", "Magical Mystery" and "The Beatles on Parlophone"
* Meet FREE REIGN, the metal band that features the musical stylings of three pro football players
* Find out which albums TWISTED SISTER's Jay Jay French and metal music know-it-all Eddie Trunk say changed their lives
* Learn the story behind the last days of Paramount Records, and the blues act that did its best to save the label
The spirit of Ronnie James Dio loomed large over Syracuse, New York's Lost Horizon on Saturday night as more than two-dozen musicians gathered to pay tribute to the late legend. Held just two days shy of the first anniversary of Dio's passing, "Lock Up the Wolves" featured such area artists as co-organizer Terry LeRoi and his band TITANIUM BLACK performing classics from throughout Dio's five-decade career, including ELF's "Hoochie Koochie Lady", BLACK SABBATH's "Heaven And Hell" and DIO's "Holy Diver".
"The evening went off without a hitch," smiled LeRoi the following day. "The energy was consistent throughout the two and a half-hour show. But the highlight for me was walking out on stage and seeing a full house. Lost Horizon had not hosted that large of a crowd in a very long time. People came for all over the area, including Dio's hometown of Cortland."
The music icon, who lost his battle with stomach cancer on May 16, 2010, was a club regular during his days fronting RONNIE AND THE PROPHETS and ELF.
"The club was called The Yellow Balloon back then, but little else has changed," explained LeRoi.
Although the show's proceeds will benefit the Ronnie James Dio "Stand Up And Shout" Cancer Fund, the evening was about great music and paying tribute to the Central New York music scene's most successful alumni. In addition to TITANIUM BLACK, members of MALACHAI, KANE and CAROLINE BLUE and SALT CITY JAZZ COLLECTIVE were among the artists who stepped on stage in different configurations.
"Everyone was excited to see their favorite musician get up and do his or her thing," said LeRoi.
The TITANIUM BLACK frontman began to realize just how special the night would be when the musicians gathered at his home to practice for the performance.
"Usually, you don't have people applauding at a rehearsal," he laughed. "The musicians and their friends came out to my garage to support each other. It was like a club scene."
LeRoi is already looking forward to next tribute concert.
"I would do this again anytime," he explained. "I love the collective nature of this event. "There is really nothing I'd change, though next time I'd love to include musicians who worked with Dio during his illustrious career. I know they'd be impressed."
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's "The Song Remains Not The Same" sold around 12,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 41 on The Billboard 200 chart. Released on May 10 via Entertainment One Music, the offering features unplugged versions of material from BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's latest album, "Order Of The Black", as well as additional material recorded during the "Order Of The Black" sessions. "The Song Remains Not The Same" was conceived, created and compiled by BLS mainman Zakk Wylde himself and the title is, of course, a nod to one of Wylde's favorite bands, LED ZEPPELIN.
The latest single from BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's "Order Of The Black", "Darkest Days" went to radio adds on March 21. The track showcases Wylde's softer side with soulful lyrics, a hauntingly beautiful melody and captivating piano played by the guitar icon himself. An alternate version of the song featuring country superstar John Rich appears on "The Song Remains Not The Same".
"The Song Remains Not The Same" track listing:
01. Overlord (Unplugged version)
02. Parade Of The Dead (Unplugged version)
03. Riders Of The Damned (Unplugged version)
04. Darkest Days (Unplugged version)
05. Juniors Eyes
06. Helpless
07. Bridge Over Troubled Water
08. Can't Find My Way Home
09. Darkest Days (featuring John Rich)
10. The First Noel
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY will return to North America in early May to headline Fuse's Uranium Tour 2011 presented by Mistress Juliya.
"Order Of The Black" sold around 33,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to enter The Billboard 200 chart at position No. 4.
"Order Of The Black" was released in North America in August 2010 via E1 Music. The CD featured four unique covers designed by Zakk Wylde himself — one for each territory: North America, Europe, Asia and Australia/New Zealand.
GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal will take part in a video chat with Fan Time Live! tonight (Wednesday, May 18) at 8 p.m. EST. The event will be live-streamed at www.fantimelive.com and will feature an interview, question-and-answer session with the viewers, and maybe a few musical requests if there's a guitar around.
Thal has just released the fifth in a series of singles being made available digitally this year, an original song entitled "Father". Described as "melodic and grungy," the track is available in MP3 (320kps), AAC, and higher-quality formats FLAC, MP3 HD, Apple Lossless and WAV. An instrumental version of the song is available in these formats as well.
For guitarists, there's a Player Pack that has a transcription of the entire lead guitar track as a PDF file — musical notation, TAB, fingers, picking, and helpful hints. Included with the transcription is a Backing Track mix and a Boosted Lead Guitar mix, in both WAV and MP3 formats.
The Producer Pack contains 48kHz/24-bit Stereo WAV files of the mix "stems" — there's a file of drums, bass, guitar, strings, lead vocals and backing vocals that you can load into your multi-track software and play with levels, make your own mixes, and hear every nuance of each instrument's performance on its own track.
For more information, visit Bumblefoot.com.
Since I first became a fan back in 1986, German metal legends Accept have been one of those bands that I always looked up to and put right up there with bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest for being the forefathers of a whole movement of metal that would shape and inspire generations to come. I recently had the great honor of talking with guitarist Wolf Hoffmann about everything from their signature hit "Balls To The Wall" to his grim outlook on the future of heavy metal. Wolf was a super friendly and nice person and I really enjoyed talking with him. I hope you will enjoy this insightful interview as much as I did!
Wolf, before we get started I have to say its an honor to speak with you so thank you for taking the time to do this.
Thank you Don. Thank you for being a fan. I always try to say thanks to the fans because we forget sometimes.
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I know many fans my age got into you guys after hearing "Balls To The Wall" but I have to say that it was "Up To The Limit" that really made me a fan and I've been a fan ever since.
Oh wow. Thanks!
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It's so great to see Accept back in full swing and kicking so much ass.
Thank you. There are so many fans like you who are glad to see us back which is a very humbling experience. We travel around the world and we meet people like you, older and even much younger who are so happy to see us come back. I think we're one of the few bands out there still doing this old school stuff.
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Are you finding a whole new generation of fans since Accept has returned to the stage?
Oh hell yeah. Sometimes its bizarre. The age range of our audience is anywhere from people in their 50s to much younger. When we started touring I figured we'd be seeing a bunch of grey haired people or bald people like myself in the audience who remembered us from way back when. You'd be surprised at what a wide mixture we have. Some nights there are a lot of girls out there and teenagers and everything in between. It's just wild.
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Over the years it seems that metal took a weird turn and totally changed from the classic metal that I grew up with. Now I'm starting to see a whole new generation of young bands bringing back that classic metal sound that I grew up loving. How does it feel to see these bands coming out and doing what you started so many years ago?
It feels good and the more the better. I just don't envy these young bands nowadays because the landscape has change so much that unfortunately most of these bands are never going to see the light of day. A lot of them aren't going to survive very long because it is so difficult these days to establish yourself and make a name for yourself and actually survive. I really wonder how many of these bands are going to be around ten years from now because of that. That's just the unfortunate truth. There's hardly any bands that truly stand the test of time and that's the reason why on a lot of these festivals all over Europe you see the same headlining acts all the time. There's really not many other bands that make it to that level. Even in our case. There's really not any bands that took our place which is not what I had anticipated honestly. When we stopped touring and stopped making records, I figured we had a great run and that there would
be another Accept coming up shortly and that they would do what we did and nobody would ever remember us. That really wasn't the case.
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Why do you think that didn't happen?
I have no idea but we're a dying breed. It seems like we're one of the last of the dinosaurs. We are actually not the first generation of all these metal bands. I would say that was Judas Priest, Scorpions, those guys. We came up in the same generation as Iron Maiden when the New Wave of British Heavy Metal started to happen in the 80's. We're about 10 years younger than those other bands but after us there is not another wave of bands 10 years younger than us that have the same status.
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I totally see that. I really do have high hopes for these new younger bands though. I hope that they will pick up the torch and carry it for us.
I hope they will too but so far I just don't see it happening. I think there is always going to be bands who will make music and be very enthusiastic about it but to be a professional touring act who does nothing but make records and tour around the world is at a whole other caliber. There are just very few bands who are doing that in the metal world.
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"Balls To The Wall" has to be one of the most famous metal songs of all time. Did you have any idea that song would connect with so many people?
No. We never had a clue. You always have a feeling when something feels right or when you feel a song is probably stronger than the other ones but that's the extent of it. You never really know what's going to happen once its released. Anyone who has ever released anything will tell you that you always hope that it will be a huge success in one way or another. More often than not its not. After you've made a few records you get a feel for what fans like and you get a little more realistic about it. You know its not going to be an overnight sensation after a while. Even with this album "Blood of the Nations" and the song "Teutonic Terror." You just go and do the best that you can, you put it out there and you just sit back and wait for something to happen. People will either love it or they don't and it's totally something that you never really know up front or have the slightest idea.
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"Balls to the Wall" is the song that everyone seems to connect to with Accept. Do you wish that sometimes a different song would have been your signature song?
Nah, I'm cool with it. I think its awesome. It was just recently in that wrestling movie with Micky Rourke and that song has made quite a few appearances over the years. I think it stands as an anthem for that whole time in the 80's arena rock and metal.
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You've been living in Nashville, TN for quite sometime now and even had a successful career as a photographer. How did a heavy metal legend end up doing photography in Nashville?
I've been here for about 17 years now. We moved there because it's all about music in Nashville. I didn't want to live in LA and I didn't want to live in New York because we don't like living in these huge metropolitan areas. Nashville was an obvious choice for us. It's Music City USA [laughs]. Even though we're not connected with the country music business it's a great place to live. As for photography, I've always have always had an interest in it. When the band sort of stopped back in 1996 I really didn't want to do any other musical projects because they would always compared to Accept right away. I didn't want to for my own band because I would have to play "Balls to the Wall" every night and then I'd just be a cover band of my own music. I figured if I didn't want to do music that my next passion in life was photography so that's what I threw myself into for the next 10-12 years and I'm still doing that. I'm
leading this parallel life. When I'm not on the road and I have time will do my photo shoots. Hopefully I can continue to do that for a long, long time.
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What a great and different form of artistic expression. Do you find parallels between photography and music?
Totally. You do get a similar thrill out of it sometimes but its never on the same level. That's why I missed making music. The thrill I get out of photography is nothing compared to the thrill I get from playing on stage or in the studio. That is a whole other level which is normal. You just don't get that kind adrenaline rush from anything else in life.
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While you had some time off after Accept, you did a few musical projects here and there. One of them was your contribution to former Skid Row vocalist Sebastian Bach's album "Bring "em Bach Alive." How did you get involved with that?
We have a farm in Tennessee where we live and there was a building on that farm that we rented to Michael Wagner, the producer who actually worked with Skid Row back in the day. Michael was always working in that studio and it was literally walking distance from the house and all these metal guys would come over there and record their stuff. One day Sebastian was over there doing some work on his solo album and since I lived there they would always ask if I would play a solo or help write a song. I got talked into doing something with them once or twice and I really enjoyed doing it for a day or two.
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Are there any other artists you would love to collaborate with sometime?
I don't know. I'd have to play that one by ear. These things happen a lot of times because you just hit it off with somebody you happen to meet. In my mind, you just meet somebody and if you like them you just work with them. I'll work with anybody if I like them.
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In 1997, you released the album Classical with rock versions of classical pieces. I really loved that album as it was really an amazing listen. Are you a classically trained musician?
Oh cool. Thanks. It was a huge challenge. I've always dabbled around in classical music ever since I was a kid but I'm not a classically trained musician. I just play rock guitar. I have a minimal theoretical background but that's kind of it. I play from my gut more than anything. I'm not a trained musician in that sense. I've always played with classic elements in Accept songs. Songs like "Metal Heart" and other songs kind of became a trademark of mine over the years. When the band took a long break I had the time and the opportunity so I just locked myself in the studio for a few weeks and wrote a whole classical record. Its really more a labor of love as I knew it wasn't going to be anything on the scale of Accept. I just really wanted to do it for myself. I didn't tour or put together a band. I just wanted to do it for myself.
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I can totally appreciate that because I always though it that many metal bands had classic elements to their music.
I always felt that about classical music. There are certain pieces that would me me go, "Wow. Now that's really got some balls every bit as big as a band could ever get." A lot of it is because an orchestra has so many more nuances and so much more dynamic range than a band ever has. I always felt that it would be cool to capture that and combine the two worlds. I'm working on a follow up project to "Classical" that has never been released but hopefully when Accept slows down I can work on that but it doesn't look like that's going to happen any time soon [laughs].
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I was so blown away when I heard "Blood of the Nations." It sounded like a young, new band with that classic Accept sound. Where you surprised at the feedback and reactions you received from this album?
But we are young! We are all 22 didn't you know? We're counting backwards [laughs]! We knew people would be highly critical of the band. When we announced we were coming back with Mark (Tornillo) on vocals everybody told us up front that it was not going to work and that nobody needs Accept without Udo (Dirkschneider; original vocalist). We got tons of hate mail which was kind of funny but it just made that whole album better. We were convinced that we needed to be twice as good and to show everybody what we can do. It was on every one's mind that the world was watching and that we better not mess up this one [laughs]. It influenced our attitude and work ethic to make the best album possible and to show the world that we still have it and that it is possible to write a great Accept album with a new singer. There was this universal thing out there that it was impossible and it can't be done. We didn't understand that because Peter (Baltes;
bassist) and I have been writing songs back in the 80's and we are writing the songs now. We didn't understand why it would be impossible to have a great album with a different singer. Now everyone has come around they love the new album which is great [laughs].
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Your producer Andy Sneap really did an amazing job on "Blood of the Nations." Do you feel like this album really captured what Accept is about?
Totally. Andy did such a tremendous job and we couldn't have done it without him. He was instrumental in this album in picking the right material to record and he got us the best sound that he could, the best production. He was really a master in his field and we are really happy to have him on board. He'll obviously to the next one as well. I cannot wait to start working with him again. He's a really good friend and a great team player and he really made this album possible.
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I don't think some people realize just how important of a role the producer plays in a band's creating of an album. The way you guys sound on this album is exactly how I wanted to hear you.
That is in part because Andy grew up as an Accept fan. He grew up with all our albums and he is super familiar with this stuff. Now that he's actually producing us he got the chance to make the album that he would want to hear as a fan.
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Accept's "Blood of the Nations" tour has been quite a success. Are you enjoying getting to play lots of different venues on this one?
Yeah, we've been touring super hard. We've done it all. We've played some huge stadium shows in Europe. We opened up for AC/DC in front of 80,000 people and the next day we were in a small club in front of 500 people and everything in between.
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Have you guys been working on new material while out on the road?
No, we never write on the road because you never really have enough time. That is why we're going to stop touring in July because if we don't stop we would never get a new album done [laughs]. We would like to start working later this summer to start cranking out new songs so we're going to lock ourselves in, turn off the phones, stay off the road and create some magic hopefully.
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Wolf, thanks so much for taking the time to talk with me today. It's been an honor and you and Gabby (Wolf's wife/manager) are both very kind people.
She's the best I know [laughs]. It's been my pleasure Don. Thanks again and bye bye.
For more on Accept, head over to http://www.acceptworldwide.com
How has this tour with Buckcherry and All That Remains been doing so far?
How has this tour with Buckcherry and All That Remains been doing so far?
It's been great, you know? It's ten days in so far and it obviously started in
the west coast, San Diego, and I actually have a house in Las Vegas now, so I
was just flying in and out for all of the shows. Today is the first day it
really feels like we've been on tour because I get done and now I'll sleep in my
bunk, wake up in Kansas City tomorrow, and just roll from there. But all of the
bands have been super, they're all really great live bands, we all get along
really good, and it's just a really good variety of music for the fans who come
to the show.
It's a diverse lineup too, do you think it makes it difficult for the All That
Remains fans and HELLYEAH fans to connect with Buckcherry?
Not really, like I mean, they're a really entertaining live band, you know? And
the way the economy's gotten and the way the business has gotten, Europe's been
doing this kind of stuff for a long time, mixing up bills and putting all
different kinds of bands together, and it tends to bring all kinds of different
fans to shows, people that probably wouldn't normally go to a Buckcherry show,
are here to see us and All That Remains, then the vice-versa people that like
Buckcherry, never heard of us or whatever, it's an opportunity for them to see
us, so it really brings everyone together, and gives everybody an opportunity to
play to a lot of people that they normally wouldn't.
Yeah. You guys just announced an Asian tour coming up--
Yeah, man. It's going to be really cool, you know? As long as I've been doing
this, all of the places I've ever toured, I've never been to Taiwan, I've never
been to the Philippines. We're going to get to play with Anthrax, who I've been
friends with for years, all of them are like 30,000 seat festivals. And it's
just a great way to break the band in over there; never been there so, really
excited about it and looking forward to it.
Vinnie Paul InterviewYou guys released Stampeded last summer, how did everyone
connect to that album versus your self-titled release, HELLYEAH?
The first record was almost like an experiment, we had just gotten together, we
had just started to know each other, and luckily, we had some really good
chemistry together and we wrote some really killer songs, and then after having
a year or so to tour together, really get to know each other as friends, as a
band and everything, we really knew what we wanted out of the second record, and
I think we went into it with a lot more confidence and just we were able to
build the HELLYEAH name through the music.
Do you think that with Stampede, you found your element?
Umm... I just think we knew more about what we were doing. Before, we had
written 5 or 6 songs before we had come up with the name of the band. You know,
it was-- everything was in place this time around for it really gel and keep
moving forward.
How did everything start to materialize and come together for Stampede when you
were in the writing process?
Oh, I mean, it started back when Mudvayne was still on tour, you know, a year
and a half ago, and they'd get a break and come to my place in Texas where we
actually recorded the record. We'd record 2 or 3, maybe 4 songs, and then they'd
go back on the road for six weeks and come back, and we'd record 3 or 4 more
songs.
Around December last year, they finally finished the tour and we really got a
chance to be serious about finishing the record and getting everything in place,
and then all of a sudden, all the tours came together. We did the Uproar Tour,
did a bunch of radio festivals before that. We went to Australia, Uproar Tour
with Avenged [Sevenfold], Stone Sour. Then, we went to Europe, did all of Europe
with Avenged and Stone Sour, then came back here, did a small headline run, then
we're on this [tour]. Then we got that Asian thing coming up, and then all the
European festivals again. Then hopefully again another major summer tour too, in
the United States. So, we plan on touring for two years non-stop for this record
and we're about a year in right now and we're just going to keep going at it.
Vinnie Paul InterviewWhen you guys are writing your songs, when does everyone
really know the right moment when the songs are ready to be recorded?
Well, we work really different, you know. This started with probably the last
couple of Pantera records I was a part of. We always recorded everything as we
went, that way you capture the moment, you capture the vibe, you capture the
feeling of what's going on at that time. A lot of bands get what's called
"demo-itis" you know. They'll demo something out, they'll get real happy with
it, and then they'll go try to re-record it and it doesn't have the same vibe,
it doesn't have the same feel, it doesn't have the, you know, what you were
feeling that day, you know?
And so, we [Pantera] learned a long time ago, just record everything as we go.
And we build it from there, we're all producers, we all take turns having our
input into everything, and we [HELLYEAH] all get along very great. So, that
works out good and you know, we know they're good, when they're "comin' done,"
you know? We don't don't go back and redo them, we don't do anything. What you
hear is probably the first time we ever went through it. It's just a vibe thing
that we have.
How does everyone go about bringing "life" into the music for your albums?
Ah, it's just five people that have really umm, charismatic personalities, and
everybody in the band puts 100% of their effort into it. It's a band deal, it's
not, you know, one guy's the main dude and one guy doesn't do anything;
everybody puts their input into it, and on top of that, we all like to produce.
I'm the executive producer. Chad [Gray, vocalist] and Greg [Tribbett, guitarist]
come in and co-produced two and that's a way of being more than just a drummer.
You've got to get the big picture by the end of the day. You can help people
with their hooks and lines, this and that, and what they might've missed on the
other side of the control board and all that kind of stuff.
Vinnie Paul InterviewHow does it differ between HELLYEAH, Pantera, and
DAMAGEPLAN, or did it?
Umm... (pauses) You know... Here at this point, you know they were all pretty
similar. Like I said, they adopted my recording style when we all got together,
just recording things as we write them. That's the way we did it with
DAMAGEPLAN. With Dime, we'd just like to be very spontaneous. We wanted to
capture that moment, you know? So, it's not much different at all.
Did you derive any feeling or vibe from Pantera and incorporate into HELLYEAH?
I just think... (pauses) Probably, the biggest thing is just the Southern
hospitality, we just wanted to really bring that to the table and the spirit of
what it was about. We want to be heavy and we also want to have a good time, and
that's part of what we do. So, that would probably be the only things that came
from that.
A lot of your songs on the new album [Stampede] kind of remind me some of the
songs on The Great Southern Trend kill [Pantera] with the melodic songs and the
heavy songs. How did you all write and put together your songs so that they had
the melodic, slow, and heavy elements?
Umm... We just wanted a very diverse record, we wanted it to be like a roller
coaster ride, man. You know, just be as heavy as anything we've ever done with
any of our previous bands, but at times be more melodic, more Southern, more
groove oriented, more rock n' roll, you know? So, we incorporate all of those
elements into our music.
How would you describe the way your own emotions come out through your music,
especially over the years between Pantera to DAMAGEPLAN to HELLYEAH? And has
that changed at all?
I would just say, I love playing drums. I've always loved playing drums, I've
always loved being part of a band, the brotherhood, the camaraderie you get from
it, and those are the most important things to me. I mean, I'm not a solo
artist, I don't want to go and do things by myself, you know? I like doing
[things] as a band, as a crew; all of our crew guys are our family, they're all
apart of what we do. We consider them part of the band. And that's just the main
things I've enjoyed out of the most...Vinnie Paul Interview
How do you believe your passion for metal, or music in general effects the way
that your music turns out?
It's just like anything, if you're passionate about it and put your heart into
it, you're going to get your very best out, you know? If it's something you're
doing just to go through the motions or to make a paycheck or something, you're
not going to get your very best, you know? So, you really, you have to love
doing this otherwise, it's fake, it's not real, and it's not good.
Do you feel that HELLYEAH has already impacted people similar to how Pantera
affected and still affects many people?
Well, you know, Pantera came from a different era, a different time when people
still bought CD's, (laughs) cassettes even back then, stuff like that, you know.
It made a huge impact, you know. We touched a lot of people. It was truly an
international band and that was one of the goals with this band, on the second
record was to take this band international.
We did really great in the United States with the first record, it nearly went
gold, [it] did really good in Australia, but we never toured in places besides
that. So, with this record, we've already been to Europe twice, we've been to
Japan, Australia, we're about to go to Asia, all those places there. So, we just
are branching this thing out. It's a different day and age, it's just more
difficult now than it used to be.
You mentioned earlier that there is a brotherhood in HELLYEAH, how would you
describe the passion and connection you all have and how did your connection
with Dimebag [Darrell] differ because you two were real brothers?
Vinnie Paul InterviewYeah. Well, I mean the bond I had with my brother Dime, I
will never be able to touch that again, it was-- we did everything together
since I was two years old. He was two years younger than me. So, we were like a
machine, you know? The way we operated between the two of us, it was like I was
the business guy and he was the fun party guy. (laughs) As long as he was
throwing the party, I would take care of the business and vice-versa. Instead of
having to be the dude that is the fun party guy and handles the business because
it's usually rock 'n roll, you're one or the other. And usually it's the fun
party guy, you know? So, he's greatly missed and all that, you know?
It was one of those things that I didn't think I'd be apart of this ever again
without him and after about a year and a half had gone by, these guys called me
up, Chad [Gray] and Tom [Maxwell], they were like, "We're thinking about putting
this band together, would you be into it?" First couple of times, I told them,
"No, I don't think I'm ready to do this yet." And they just were real
persistent, they kept calling me. And one night, I had been drinking some red
wine and listening to some KISS on 12 [vinyl record] and I said, "You know what,
lets take a shot at this, lets see what happens."
They came down, and we all really liked each other, got along great, we did some
barbequing, did a lot of drinking, and the next day we got up and wrote our
first song together, which was Nausea, on the first record, and we wrote eight
songs the first seven days we were together, and we were like, "Wow." We came up
with the band name and were like, "Lets fuckin' do this! Lets do it man!" So
that's how it happened.
How important is it for newer artists/bands to have versatility in their music,
like what I said earlier, Pantera had with The Great Southern Trendkill, and
what HELLYEAH has, a mixture of different types of songs (melodic, heavy, etc)?
I like versatility, man. It's just like Baskin Robins, there's a reason why they
got 31 flavors of ice cream, man. There's a whole lot to choose from there, you
know? And I feel that way about music. I really like peaks and valleys in music.
There's so many bands that, it's just a fuckin' freight train from start to
finish, every song. It's just like you don't get a chance to breathe or to move,
or have another emotion or anything else, you know? That's one of the things I
really like about HELLYEAH, like I said, it could be a metal band, it could be a
rock 'n roll band, it could be a Southern rock band, it could be a lot of
different things, you know?
Vinnie Paul InterviewI have one more question... What is something that you
truly want Dimebag to be remembered for by everybody, especially Pantera fans?
Well, I mean... (pauses) The bottom line with him was that he wanted to put a
smile on people's faces, period. It didn't matter whether it was handing out a
guitar pick, doing a shot with him, taking a minute to talk to him, whatever it
was, he wanted to put a smile on people's faces. And that's what got him off.
That made him tick, you know? And that's something people may not have known
about him. But he always gave everything he had, every day, and that was the
thing I remember the most. It didn't matter how hung over he was, how tired he
was, whatever. If there was someone beating on the door of the bus, he would
shake hands, sign an autograph, bullshit with them for a minute, and then make
their day.
Those are all of my questions...
Alright, cool!
Unless you would like to add anything else?
Just thank all of the fans coming out supporting us, it's been a great run so
far and we're looking forward to keep kicking ass on the Stampede album, and
then getting back to the studio, my house so to speak, (laughs) and knocking on
our third album, doing it all over again!
"Juggernaut Of Justice", the new album from Canadian heavy metal legends ANVIL, sold around 1,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 12 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.
ANVIL's previous album, "This is Thirteen", opened with 1,400 units to enter the Top New Artist Albums chart at No. 19.
"Juggernaut Of Justice" was released on May 10 via The End Records. The CD was recorded at Dave Grohl's (NIRVANA, FOO FIGHTERS) Studio 606 in Northridge, California with famed producer Bob Marlette (BLACK SABBATH, AIRBOURNE, FILTER, ATREYU, ALICE COOPER). A special-edition two-song single featuring the tracks "Juggernaut Of Justice" and "FukenEh!" was made available on April 19 at select indie retail stores.
The iTunes version of "Juggernaut Of Justice" contains a bonus track, "What I Want To Be".
"Juggernaut Of Justice" track listing:
01. Juggernaut Of Justice
02. When Hell Breaks Loose
03. New Orleans Voodoo
04. On Fire
05. FukenEh!
06. Turn It Up
07. The Ride
08. Not Afraid
09. Conspiracy
10. Running
11. Paranormal
12. Swing Thing
In other news, ANVIL will play a handful of select, intimate U.S. shows this summer.
The dates are as follows:
July 26 - Chicago, IL - Reggies Rock Club
July 27 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
July 29 - West Chester, PA - The Note
July 30 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
July 31 - Boston, MA - Middle East Club
Tickets go on sale Friday, May 20 at local and online ticket outlets.
Six of the U.K.'s most highly-esteemed and experienced rock musicians have joined forces to create SNAKECHARMER. Original WHITESNAKE members Micky Moody and Neil Murray have teamed up with Laurie Wisefield (WISHBONE ASH), Harry James (THUNDER, MAGNUM), Adam Wakeman (OZZY OSBOURNE) and Chris Ousey (HEARTLAND) to bring you classic twin-guitar based rock as it should be played.
Playing classic rock songs that they helped create, such as WHITESNAKE's "Here I Go Again", "Fool For Your Loving", "Don't Break My Heart Again", "Ready An' Willing" and "Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City", together with other hits from the bandmembers' back catalogue, SNAKECHARMER is the genuine article.
The list of world-class bands and musicians that the members of SNAKECHARMER have collectively played with runs into literally hundreds: Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Jeff Beck, Gary Moore, MAGNUM, QUEEN & PAUL RODGERS, just to name a few.
SNAKECHARMER is:
Micky Moody - Guitar, Slide Guitar, Vocals
Neil Murray - Bass
Laurie Wisefield - Guitar, Vocals
Harry James - Drums, Vocals
Adam Wakeman - Keyboards, Vocals
Chris Ousey - Lead Vocals
For more information, visit www.www.snakecharmer.org.
Former and current members of DREAM THEATER, STONE SOUR and DEVILDRIVER have offered their words of support to STONE SOUR drummer Roy Mayorga, who recently suffered a "minor stroke," causing the cancelation of the remaining dates on the band's current U.S. tour.
Writing on Twitter, the following musicians have commented on Mayorga's health scare:
Mike Portnoy (pictured below with Mayorga; DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD): "All my love and positive vibes going out to my good bro Roy Mayorga...get well soon, buddy!"
Corey Taylor (STONE SOUR, SLIPKNOT): "Thank you so much, everyone. I know Roy appreciates all your love and thoughts. I do as well. We will keep you all posted about everything."
Dez Fafara (DEVILDRIVER): "Heartfelt goes out to Roy Mayorga from STONE SOUR who suffered a stroke! Fast recovery, brother. Love and endurance golden orbs around you, Roy."
The canceled STONE SOUR concerts include stops in Rapid City, South Dakota, Fargo, North Dakota, Detroit, Libertyville, Illinois, and Columbus, Ohio.
Mayorga joined STONE SOUR in 2006 after the band's previous drummer, Joel Ekman, was forced to leave the group in order to spend time with his son, who was diagnosed with brain stem cancer.
STONE SOUR bassist Shawn Economaki was forced to leave the band's current tour to deal with undisclosed "personal issues." STONE SOUR has used a replacement bassist for some recent shows.
The band's third album, "Audio Secrecy", has sold more than 170,000 copies in the U.S. since its September 2010 release.
STONE SOUR is not scheduled to perform again until September, when the band will appear at Brazil's Rock In Rio festival. Frontman Corey Taylor and guitarist Jim Root will play shows this summer with SLIPKNOT.
Legendary keyboardist Don Airey (DEEP PURPLE, OZZY OSBOURNE, RAINBOW) will release a new solo album, "All Out", on August 22 via Provogue Records. The CD features a guest appearance by blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa (BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION).
"All Out" track listing:
01. The Way I Feel Inside
02. Estancia
03. People In Your Head
04. B'cos
05. Running From The Shadows
06. Right Arm Overture
07. Fire
08. Lon Road
09. Wrath Of Thor
10. Tobruk
Schmier of DESTRUCTION and members of SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, MISFITS and DEAD KENNEDYS will join veteran Brazilian thrashers KORZUS on stage during their appearance at the Rock In Rio festival in September.
In other news, KORZUS will be direct support for SLAYER on June 9 at Via Funchal in São Paulo, Brazil.
KORZUS' "Truth" video can be viewed below. The song comes off the band's latest album, "Discipline Of Hate", which was released in Brazil on May 24, 2010 and the rest of the world on June 11, 2010 via AFM Records. The international version of the CD contains a bonus track, "We Are Just The Same", featuring a guest appearance by Zoltán Farkas, lead singer of the Hungarian metal band EKTOMORF. For the Brazilian market, the album came with a bonus track sung in Portuguese, entitled "Hipocrisia". The music video for "Truth" was included in both versions of the CD.
KORZUS' current lineup consists of Marcello Pompeu (vocals), Dick Siebert (bass), Heros Trench (guitar), Antonio Araújo (guitar) and Rodrigo Oliveira (drums).
Formed in 1983, KORZUS is one of the oldest and most important bands of the Brazilian thrash metal scene, along with groups like DORSAL ATLÂNTICA, SARCÓFAGO, SEPULTURA, GENOCIDIO and VULCANO. The band made its first vinyl appearance as part of the seminal metal compilation called "SP Metal" on the Baratos Afins label back in 1985. KORZUS went through numerous lineup changes over the years, with the group's three-member nucleus — Marcelo Pompeu (on vocals), Silvio Golfetti (on guitars) and Dick (on bass guitar) — remaining intact for much of this period.
KORZUS' classic lineup (1988-1992) consisted of Marcelo Pompeu (vocals), Silvio Golfetti (guitar), Marcelo Nicastro (guitar), Dick (bass) and Beto Silesci (drums, replacing Zema who committed suicide in 1988).
Golfetti temporarily played guitar for SEPULTURA on a European tour in December 1991 when Andreas Kisser was unable to perform due to an arm injury.
ENEMY OF THE SUN, the German band featuring guitarist Waldemar Sorychta — former member of GRIP INC./DESPAIR and producer for such bands as LACUNA COIL and MOONSPELL — has announced the addition of Greek bassist Eirini to the group's ranks. She made her live debut with the band on April 30 at the Rock in den Ruinen-Festival in Dortmund, Germany.
ENEMY OF THE SUN is currently working on material for a new album, tentatively due next spring.
Eirini made a name for herself under the pseudonym "Absinthe Green," playing bass in the band RANDOM WALK.
"Caedium", the second album from from ENEMY OF THE SUN, was released in North America on June 22, 2010 via The End Records and in Europe on May 28, 2010 through Massacre Records.
Sorychta previously stated about the band, "I call ENEMY OF THE SUN my family because in a family you have to feel comfortable. If not, it's not a good family. ENEMY is a good one. It's the way I wake up and feel the excitement about this band. It's the way I go to bed and want to stay awake because of this band. Music without limits, pure power saved in every note, deepest emotions bound in tones, burning pleasure in each single tune."
Reactivated San Francisco Bay Area thrashers FORBIDDEN will embark on a European headlining tour in August. Support on the trek will come from COMMUNIC.
The dates are as follows:
Aug. 26 - Netherlands- Kerkrade -Rock Temple
Aug. 27 - Belgium – Deinze - Alcatraz Metal Festival
Aug. 28 - Netherlands – Eindhoven - Dynamo
Aug. 30 - Germany – Aschaffenburg - Colos-Saal
Aug. 31 - Germany – Karlsruhe – Stadtmitte
Sep. 01 - Switzerland – Aarau – KiFF
Sep. 02 - Italy – Milan - Live Club
Sep. 03 - Germany – Ingolstadt – Paradox
Sep. 04 - Hungary – Budapest - Club 202
Sep. 06 - Poland – Warsaw - Progresja
Sep. 07 - Poland – Wroclaw – Firlej
Sep. 08 - Germany – Braunschweig – Schweinebärmann
Sep. 09 - Germany – Osnabrück - Bastard Club
Sep. 10 - Germany – Essen - Turock
Gene "The Atomic Clock" Hoglan (ex-DARK ANGEL, ex-STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, FEAR FACTORY, DETHKLOK) filled in for FORBIDDEN drummer Mark Hernandez at the band's recent appearances at Inferno Festival in Norway and Metropole Ruhr Fest in Germany.
"Omega Wave", the latest album from FORBIDDEN, sold around 950 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 27 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.
"Omega Wave" was released in Europe on October 22, 2010 and in North America on October 26, 2010 via Nuclear Blast Records. It was recorded at Sonic Room/Audio Voyage Studios in Livermore, California, produced by FORBIDDEN guitarist/songwriter Craig Locicero with Tim Narducci, and mixed by Sean Beavan (SLAYER, MARILYN MANSON, NINE INCH NAILS).
FORBIDDEN's current lineup consists of Russ Anderson on vocals, Craig Locicero on guitar, Steve Smyth on guitar, Matt Camacho on bass and Mark Hernandez on drums.
"Coat Of Arms", the fifth album from Swedish metallers SABATON, was certified gold in Poland for sales in excess of 10,000 copies.
"Coat Of Arms" sold around 450 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 124 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.
"Coat Of Arms" was released in Europe on May 21, 2010 via Nuclear Blast Records.
SABATON drummer Daniel Mullback was forced to sit out dates on the band's recent European tour "due to problems with his knees." He was temporarily replaced by Robert Bäck. Also performing with SABATON during the trek was DRAGONFORCE bassist Frédéric Leclercq. He filled in for regular SABATON guitarist Rikard Sundén, who "has decided to multiply himself and will have his first kid at this time," according to a statement released by the band.
Swedish metallers THE HAUNTED were honored at SKAP's (Svenska Kompositörer Av Populärmusik, The Swedish Society Of Popular Music Composers) annual ceremony this past Monday, May 16 at Blå Hallen in Stockholm.
Every year SKAP awards scholarships and prizes to celebrate Swedish creativity across all musical genres. The awards ceremony takes place in tandem with SKAP's annual spring party which is organized with the composers in mind and creativity as the main focus. During the event, there are 13 recipients of a scholarship valued at 40,000 SEK (approximately $6,350) each.
A photo of THE HAUNTED guitarist Patrik Jensen and vocalist Peter Dolving accepting the SKAP grant at this year's ceremony can be seen below.
For more information (in Swedish), go to this location.
THE HAUNTED's seventh studio album, "Unseen", sold around 1,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 33 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.
THE HAUNTED's previous album, "Versus", opened with 1,600 units back in October 2008, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
"Unseen" has registered the following first-week chart positions:
Sweden: #5
Finland: #26
The Swedish chart position marked the highest chart entry ever in THE HAUNTED's home territory.
"Unseen" was released on March 29 via Century Media Records. The CD was once again recorded with longtime producer Tue Madsen (MOONSPELL, DARK TRANQUILLITY, GOREFEST, SICK OF IT ALL) at his Antfarm Studio in Århus, Denmark.
In addition to the regular CD as well as a limited LP version (180-gram black vinyl with the full album on CD as bonus!) and the digital download format of the record, a very special limited edition of "Unseen" was released in Europe as a silver-foil-wrapped digipak, including not only classy packaging and extended artwork but also three bonus audio tracks: The brand new song "Attention" as well as radio-session live versions of the tracks "The Reflection" and "The Fallout".
Miami hard rock quartet BLACK TIDE has set "Post Mortem" as the title of its sophomore album, due on August 23 via DGC/Interscope Records.
"Post Mortem" was written and recorded in the summer of 2010, and is the follow-up to 2008's "Light From Above", which garnered instant critical acclaim from Rolling Stone, Spin, Revolver and more.
The band followed the release of "Light From Above" with an appearance on the inaugural Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, performed on the main stage of Download 2008 and capped it off by playing the entire 2009 Vans Warped Tour.
In April 2011 BLACK TIDE was added as support for the only two announced U.S. dates of IRON MAIDEN's "The Final Frontier" world tour, which took place in BLACK TIDE's home state of Florida.
BLACK TIDE will hit the road later this year as part of the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival. The trek will run from August 26 through October 15, conquering North America with a massive active rock lineup which features veteran acts AVENGED SEVENFOLD, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, SEVENDUST and more.
Commented BLACK TIDE guitarist/vocalist Gabriel Garcia: "August 23rd 2011 will be huge step in our lives. Not only as a band, but as people. This record means everything to us. We poured our heart and soul into this and have been waiting for it to come out like the rest of you.
"'Post Mortem' is the name of the record. It means 'after death.' The reason we love this title is because we feel that we are so lucky to be able to be doing this, and having an opportunity to put our music out there is honestly the closest thing to heaven we have on this earth. It's a like a dream.
"We love all our fans and hope to see you all at the Rockstar Energy Uproar Festival this summer! This is the beginning of a long, crazy and yet beautiful ride."
San Antonio cult TV show "Robb's MetalWorks" has released a four-minute preview of an interview with Mark Tremonti of ALTER BRIDGE and CREED conducted on May 3, 2011 at the House of Blues in Chicago, Illinois. Mark discusses ALTER BRIDGE's new album, "ABIII"; the rumors of an ALTER BRIDGE/CREED tour; his upcoming "Tremonti Project" release which will include speed and thrash metal; and why Texas crowds rule.
Regarding his upcoming solo project, Tremonti said, "I just had three months off while [ALTER BRIDGE singer] Myles [Kennedy] was touring with Slash, so I figured it was a good time to get some music put together. I collaborated with Eric Friedman [a.k.a. Erock] and Garrett Whitlock. All this stuff that I wanted to see the light of day that never really got used for ALTER BRIDGE and CREED is what I'm putting on the record. There's a lot of speed metal and thrash stuff in there — riffs that I had sitting around — that I'm putting on this record. So it's definitely a heavier-sounding album."
FIREWOLFE is a new band featuring vocalist David Fefolt (HAWK, MASI, ANGELS OF BABYLON), guitarists Paul Kleff and Nick Layton, Jay Schellen (HURRICANE, ASIA) on drums and Zack Uidl (THOUGHTS BETRAYED) on bass. Due in July, the group's debut album has been described as "a turbine-powered, twin guitar, screaming eargasm" with overtones of DIO, IRON MAIDEN, SCORPIONS, and JUDAS PRIEST.
Commented FIREWOLFE in a statement, "We love heavy metal!!! So we're just writing an album that we personally would want to buy and we are doing it the old-fashioned way... turning up to ten and just kicking ass! There's nothing high-tech about it."
FIREWOLFE has launched a brand new web site where you can listen to song clips, order t-shirts or download a free song.
After three years' turmoil, Jyväskylä, Finland's RANDOM EYES returns stronger than ever and armed with its third album, "Light Up", and a rejuvenated lineup, featuring drum prodigy Rolf Pilve (SOLUTION.45, STATUS MINOR, BEYOND THE DREAM, CODE FOR SILENCE) and two new guitarists. Run by Christian Palin, the Uruguayan/Finnish vocalist who fronted French power metal unit ADAGIO, RANDOM EYES presents its own brand of melodic metal in which modern metal soundscapes, created by NIGHTWISH producer Tero Kinnunen, meet melodic hooklines, simultaneously contemporary and bowing to the '80s.
Light-hearted and uplifting, yet thought-provoking, RANDOM EYES is unique as a Finnish melodic metal act because of its international and multi-cultural influences. The group draws influences from the musical cultures of countries ranging from Uruguay to Egypt to Sweden to Finland.
Due on May 25, "Light Up" is full of music and vibes that will move your body and envigorate the soul. RANDOM EYES prove that even though a band plays metal, you can still be sleek and sexy, enjoy life and even shake your booty!
Yet, to truly understand RANDOM EYES, we must look to the town of Carrasco in Uruguay, where group frontman Christian's father immigrated as a missionary back in the day. Christian's father married a local girl from Uruguay, and she bore two boys, Christian and Selim. Christian's father enrolled both of his sons in piano classes early on.
Christian proved to be a multi-faceted musician, playing the piano, guitar and drums in the churches of South America. The conservative-minded locals were befuddled by the pastor, whose son had long hair. Christian went on to tell the locals about his vision, to perform at big music festivals which no one had ever heard of before.
Christian moved from Uruguay to Finland when he was 20 years of age. He immediately entered the Finnish Army, where he had to lose his long hair and learn the Finnish language. As Christian sang away in the army barrack showers, his musical skills were noticed by others. A fellow by the name of Timo Kuusijärvi, also serving his term with the Finnish Army at the time, asked Christian to come aboard his band as vocalist. A few years later, the fruits of their combined labors became known as the debut album of RANDOM EYES in 2002.
Over the years, Christian has sung in France's ADAGIO, finished in the final stage of Finnish "X Factor", voluntarily bowing out of the show, and fathered RANDOM EYES like his own child, both musically and as a performer. The band's lineup today is professional in every sense, a passionate group of good looking musicians who know their craft.
"Light Up" is currently being streamed at Imperiumi.net until May 25.
"Light Up" track listing:
01. Light Up The Dark
02. Decadence
03. Hold Me
04. Tell Me
05. Blind Man
06. Megalomaniac
07. Stand Your Ground
08. Eclipse
09. Chaos Theory
10. Vendetta
RANDOM EYES is:
Christian Palin - Vocals
Sami Rönkkö - Guitar
Karim Elbanna - Guitar
Voitto Rintala - Bass & Vocals
Rolf Pilve - Drums
California deathcore masters SUICIDE SILENCE will release their new album, "The Black Crown", on July 12 via Century Media Records. The CD was recorded with heavyweight producer Steve Evetts (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, EVERY TIME I DIE, HATEBREED) and features the following songtitles, among others: "Human Violence", "Cancerous Skies" and "Fuck Everything".
The cover artwork for "The Black Crown" was created by the Delaware-based freelance graphic designer and illustrator Ken "K3N" Adams, who has previously worked with LAMB OF GOD.
"'The Black Crown' is our most mature, well-produced, and well-written record as a band," SUICIDE SILENCE singer Mitch Lucker told AOL's Noisecreep. "People should come see us play songs from it live on [this summer's Rockstar Energy Drink] Mayhem [Festival] this summer, or buy it when it comes out!"
Lucker also revealed that "The Black Crown" will be SUICIDE SILENCE's third and final release for longtime label Century Media Records. Lucker noted that the band will be free agents after the release of this album.
SUICIDE SILENCE's last album, "No Time To Bleed", sold 14,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 32 on The Billboard 200 chart. The effort was made available on June 30, 2009 in a number of different versions.
"No Time To Bleed" was recorded with acclaimed producer Machine (LAMB OF GOD).
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/soulflypremiere/suicidecrown.jpg
Florida-based extreme metal veterans MORBID ANGEL have issued the following update:
"World Management and MORBID ANGEL would like to announce that [May 16] was Morbid Monday with the new single, 'Nevermore', reaching #1 most downloads on Amazon.com for hard rock / metal category. The single as a remix also charted at #3.
"We thank all the fans for helping making this happen and hope they enjoy the first offering from the new album which we are all very proud of.
"The band are in rehearsals in Tampa and are getting ready for their shows all around the world starting with MORBID ANGEL's first-ever show of Singapore, followed by two shows in Australia as previously reported. We would also like to announce that we have added a headline show at Tuska Festival in Helsinki, Finland to the list and will shortly announce a surprise North American show for this summer as well."
"Nevermore" comes off MORBID ANGEL's new album, "Illud Divinum Insanus" which will be released on June 7 (one day earlier internationally) via Season of Mist. The cover artwork was designed by Gustavo Sazes and can be viewed below.
Relapse Mailorder is the only North American outlet to offer the deluxe, limited-edition wooden box set of MORBID ANGEL's brand new album, 'Illud Divinum Insanus". The box set includes the "Illud Divinum Insanus" CD in a real leather-bound book, "Illud Divinum Insanus" on double, 180-gram vinyl, two black candles with red wax blasphegrams, incense and incense burner, an exclusive MORBID ANGEL poster and full-color t-shirt. The box itself is a wooden six panel box with pull-out drawer and engraved markings. All of the items have been made exclusively for this limited edition and will not be available separately.
Swedish death metallers AMON AMARTH have issued the following update:
"Yes, it is true! We are coming back to tour North America. The spring tour turned out to be so successful, and we had such a great time playing the double sets each night, that we decided to bring 'An Evening With Amon Amarth' to the rest of the continent, including Canada! We will perform the new album ['Surtur Rising'] in its entirety, and after that we're doing a revised second set with all the classics as well as some 'wildcards.'"
The dates are as follows:
Aug. 04 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom
Aug. 06 - Calgary, AB - Macewan Hall
Aug. 07 - Edmonton, AB - Edmonton Events Centre
Aug. 08 - Saskatoon, SK - Odeon
Aug. 09 - Winnipeg, MB - The Garrick Centre
Aug. 12 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre
Aug. 13 - Montreal, QC - Metropolis
Aug. 14 - Quebec City, QC - Imperial De Quebec
Aug. 16 - Milvale, PA - Mr. Small's Theatre
Aug. 17 - Detroit, MI - St. Andrew's Hall
Aug. 19 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live
Aug. 20 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom
Aug. 21 - Rochester, NY - Water Street Music Hall
Aug. 23 - Louisville, KY - Expo Five
Aug. 24 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave
Aug. 26 - Houston, TX - House Of Blues
Aug. 27 - Dallas, TX - House Of Blues
Aug. 29 - Albuquerque, MN - Sunshine Theater
Aug. 31 - Anaheim, CA - House Of Blues
Sep. 01 - Las Vegas, NV - House Of Blues
Sep. 02 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
Sep. 03 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory
Tickets go on sale May 19.
Video footage of AMON AMARTH's April 24 performance at the House Of Blues in West Hollywood, California can be viewed below.
"Surtur Rising", the eighth studio album from AMON AMARTH, sold around 15,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 34 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, "Twilight of the Thunder God", opened with more than 11,000 copies back in 2008 to land at No. 48.
Named in tribute to Surtur, leader of the fire giants of Muspelheim ("flame land") and the oldest being in the nine worlds of Norse mythology, "Surtur Rising", which came out in North America on March 29 via Metal Blade Records, features 10 tracks of sword-wielding, fist-pumping, hyper climactic battle anthems. The album was once again recorded at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden with Jens Bogren and features strikingly brutal cover art by Tom Thiel.
"Phoenix Amongst The Ashes", the new album from Florida-based extreme metal veterans HATE ETERNAL, sold around 1,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 14 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.
HATE ETERNAL's previous album, "Fury & Flames", sold 2,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release.
"Phoenix Amongst The Ashes" was recorded at HATE ETERNAL mainman Erik Rutan's Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida and was mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music (SEPULTURA, SUFFOCATION, UNEARTH) in New Windsor, New York.
"Phoenix Amongst The Ashes" track listing:
01. Rebirth
02. The Eternal Ruler
03. Thorns Of Acacia
04. Haunting Abound
05. The Art Of Redemption
06. Phoenix Amongst The Ashes
07. Deathveil
08. Hatesworn
09. Lake Ablaze
10. The Fire Of Resurrection
J.J. Hrubovcak has been added as the band's bassist, alongside the devastating combo of Erik Rutan on guitar and Jade Simonetto on drums.
Commented Rutan: "'Phoenix Amongst The Ashes' is an album that we as a band worked so very hard on to achieve a record of mammoth dynamic proportions. Jade, J.J. and I gave everything we had to make a death metal record that would incorporate a balance of speed, heaviness, melody, and pure power. Every song we labored over to have stand out with originality, individuality and unique creativity. We feel we accomplished everything we set out to do with this album and are very proud of the results."
The "Phoenix Amongst The Ashes" cover artwork was once again handled by Paul Romano (MASTODON, CHIODOS, THE ACACIA STRAIN, GODFLESH, EARTH CRISIS) who previously worked on HATE ETERNAL's "I, Monarch", "The Perilous Fight" (DVD), and "Fury & Flames" releases.
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