According to RollingStone.com, LED ZEPPELIN guitarist Jimmy Page joined DONOVAN on stage last night (Friday, June 3) Royal Albert Hall in London, England to perform his classic "hired gun" solo from the British folk-rock legend's 1965 hit "Sunshine Superman". Page also sat in for another DONOVAN favorite, "Mellow Yellow".
Check out video footage of the performance below.
"In 1965, Jimmy had just left THE YARDBIRDS and hadn't started on ZEPPELIN yet," said Donovan. "So we hired him to do a session at Abbey Road."
"Though he's known for his power guitar, Jimmy is a real folk aficionado," added Donovan. Page agreed. "A lot of my songs were written on the acoustic guitar. And so much of the first album of LED ZEPPELIN was acoustic, too."
http://youtu.be/tIxzj1reru8
AC/DC fans will learn a lot more about frontman Brian Johnson's relationships with cars and auto racing than with music and the band in his new book, "Rockers and Rollers: A Full-Throttle Memoir." And that's not by accident.
"I hate autobiographies," Johnson tells Billboard.com. "I think they're boring and rotten, and I'm not interested. It's usually some bitter old git doing a tell-all to get back at everybody."
Instead, Johnson fills "Rockers and Rollers" with what he calls "short stories that are funny and positive," mostly about his lifelong fascination with cars -- including youthful misadventures and even a remembrance of his teenage driving test. "I just love cars," Johnson explains. "It's probably because we were born with no money, and it was always something you dreamt of when you saw it driving past -- 'I wonder what it would be like to have one of them?' But it went beyond that. I just loved these things, these motor cars, these things that you could get in and do anything. You could go anywhere. It becomes personal, you know?"
Johnson has parlayed his passion into a collection of four vintage race cars -- his "biggest prize" is a 1928 Bentley 4 1/2 Litre -- that he races regularly when he's not on the road with AC/DC. "I don't tell (the band) anything," he says with a laugh. "I just go out and do it, because otherwise they wouldn't let me."
Nevertheless, Johnson says racing and rock 'n' rolling pack a similar thrill for him.
"They're not much different," he notes. "You've got a band crew, and they're all there to egg you on, 'Brian, get on that stage! Go on, son!' and they give you a pat on the back. And before you go racing you get a pat on the helmet, 'Go on, give 'em hell!' It's the same thing -- the excitement when the green flag drops and the excitement when you walk on stage for the first song. It's a very similar feeling."
Johnson says another set of stories is possible -- "Man, I've got a million," he notes --- but if he ever does dip deeper into his music career for a book, he promises it will be of the same anecdotal style as "Rockers and Rollers." "If I could do it without stepping on anybody's toes, I think that would be quite fun," Johnson explains. "As long as it wasn't negative. It would have to be a positive, funny side of everything. I think that would be a great thing, and I have thought of it."
Meanwhile, Johnson has no firm idea about AC/DC's next move after the long cycle supporting 2008's "Black Ice," but he's hoping there won't be another eight-year interim before the band's next project. "I'll be six feet under by then, so no," Johnson says with a laugh. "We never say 'no' and we never say 'never.' If we can get out an album and do another short, little tour or something, have a bit of fun, I'll be right there. The thing with the boys in AC/DC you've got to remember is we're constantly surprised and amazed at how we keep the success going. We don't know what we're doing -- I mean, we literally don't know what we're doing except that we just play 100 percent every night and give it everything we've got. If that's the secret to success, we'll pass it on."
The always outspoken IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson talks about the key difference between MAIDEN and METALLICA in the new issue of U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine. In addition to lifting the lid on why his band has been able to stay on top of the world over the years and keep its integrity while doing so (and reminiscing over some of the insane trouble they've gotten in over the years!), Bruce took the time to discuss the secret to MAIDEN's success and why they're revered as one of the greatest bands to ever plug into an amp.
"You've just got to have a sense of fearlessness," says Bruce. "I got into trouble for saying that we're better than METALLICA… and, it's true! They might be bigger than us and they might sell more tickets than us and they might get more gold-plated middle-class bourgeoisie turning up to their shows but they're not MAIDEN. I did say it's a bit of a wind-up. I thought, if I'm going to turn into an asshole, I might as well, you know, go for it!"
A record-breaking crowd of over 35,000 fans were on hand May 27-29 to celebrate at Rocklahoma 2011, the Memorial Day Weekend camp and rock festival that features a mix of the best classic bands and today's top rock artists. Rocklahoma guests enjoyed ideal mild sunny weather throughout the festival at "Catch the Fever" Festival Grounds in Pryor, Oklahoma. In addition, over $10,000 was raised at Rocklahoma for the American Red Cross Joplin tornado relief.
"When we got involved with Rocklahoma last year, the goal was to try to help reinvent the festival without alienating the long-time fans or losing the 'magic' that had been created," commented Joe Litvag, executive producer of Rocklahoma for AEG Live. "In 2011 we proved that the plan is working, as the festival saw its highest attendance to date and the fans' experience was even more over-the-top than they thought possible. Now we've got to focus on topping it next year!"
Rocklahoma 2011 featured performances from top rock artists, including MÖTLEY CRÜE, POISON, STAIND, WHITESNAKE, SEETHER and PAPA ROACH.
"Rocklahoma is a great rock 'n' roll event," noted Vince Neil of MÖTLEY CRÜE. "I played it in '07 and it was great to be back there and have MÖTLEY CRÜE do it. After getting warmed up at Rocklahoma and in South America and Mexico we're excited to launch this new, huge production on our headlining run in the U.S. this week."
"We had a blast playing for the Rocklahoma crowd," said WHITESNAKE's David Coverdale. "We hope we get invited back... Too much fun! Our thanks to all involved for such great hospitality."
STAIND guitarist Mike Mushok agreed: "It was really an honor to be able to play with such a diverse group of bands and be one of the headliners for what turned out to be a record-breaking year for the festival. We would like to thank both Rocklahoma and especially the fans for making the night an unforgettable experience for us."
The media also raved about Rocklahoma. John Hall of TulsaToday.com wrote that "festival organizers saved the best for last as the festival grounds were packed throughout the day on Sunday… As the sun began to set, a quick look around the festival grounds revealed a sea of people as far as the eye could see…With the festival gaining momentum each year, one can hardly wait to see what organizers have in mind for Rocklahoma 2012 (May 31, 2011)."
Rocklahoma also used the mass gathering of rock fans to generate some community awareness and good will. The festival is proud to have raised over $10,000 for the American Red Cross as part of their tornado relief efforts in nearby Joplin, Missouri. Litvag added, "Not an hour went by the entire weekend where our thoughts didn't go back to our friends in Joplin. We're proud of their courage, and every person on site, each fan, each worker, each artist, is happy we could do something to assist them."
Rocklahoma is held just 45 minutes northeast of Tulsa, in Pryor, Oklahoma. The "Catch the Fever" Festival Grounds is a premier destination for a multi-day festival and includes onsite camping with access to restrooms and shower house, a general store for campers, VIP reserved seating, hospitality areas and much more.
Established in 2007 as a classic rock destination festival with the motto "life, liberty and the pursuit of rock," Rocklahoma was revamped for 2010 as organizers teamed with AEG Live to create an event encompassing a much broader mix of classic, current and up-and-coming rock artists.
MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars tells the Dallas Observer that he recently jammed with legendary jazz guitarist George Benson, and the two found that they had a lot in common — namely that they're both fans of Wes Montgomery. The session so affected Mars, he's now considering releasing a solo effort of R&B, soul, and blues songs. However, he is no rush to enter the studio — according to the guitarist, it will happen "if and when I find the right people." He adds, "I found the right drummer, and I've asked Macy Gray if she'd like to guest on it. It's not going to be anything like MÖTLEY CRÜE, but a lot of different cultural beats. I call it 'pure music,'" citing the work of Carlos Santana as an example of what might come.
Mick Mars' signature guitar sound has become a staple of American music and Mars has been deemed one of the world's greatest guitar players from critics around the globe to many recording artists and musicians who credit Mars as an influence, which include such notables as Slash, Joe Perry from AEROSMITH, Carmine Apice, Alice Cooper, BUCKCHERRY, and Marilyn Manson, just to name a few.
In August 2008, Cherry Lane Music Publishing Company, Inc. published "Hooks That Kill - The Best Of Mick Mars & Mötley Crüe", a collection of Mick Mars-approved notes and guitar tabs for 15 songs from the legendary guitarist of MÖTLEY CRÜE. It includes:
* Dr. Feelgood
* Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
* Girls, Girls, Girls
* Kick Start My Heart
* Hell on High Heels
* Looks That Kill
* Primal Scream
* Smokin' in the Boys Room
* Wild Side
Bret Michaels says that he doesn't understand why MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx continues to say "negative stuff" about the POISON singer and insists that the two bands could have "a great tour" if Sixx and his bandmates would just "put [their personal] feelings aside."
When asked by The Birmingham News if MÖTLEY CRÜE and POISON even like each other considering everything that has been said between the two camps in the past, Michaels said, "I want to make it very clear. I'm not a grudge guy, ever. They have said a lot of negative stuff about POISON. [MÖTLEY CRÜE singer] Vince [Neil] has toured with me and we've ridden motorcycles together. Nikki and [drummer] Tommy [Lee] have said a lot of negative things about a lot of people, and I was one of them.
"I don't know what the rhyme or reason is," Michaels continued. "I like some of their music. Fans want the [upcoming MÖTLEY CRÜE and POISON] tour [which is scheduled to kick off on June 7]. I think it could be a great tour for fans if we could just put our feelings aside. I think we can have a great time.
Michaels recently responded to Sixx's "trash-talking," insisting that the MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist did, in fact, apologize to the POISON singer for saying "a lot of bad crap" about Bret's band.
In an interview with The Arizona Republic, Michaels claimed that Sixx said he was "really sorry" about some negative comments his MÖTLEY CRÜE bandmates made about POISON. A few days later, Sixx took to his personal Twitter page in order to "clarify" that he never apologized to Bret for derogatory statements that MÖTLEY made about POISON, explaining that what he did say was "I personally never had anything against you guys as a people but MÖTLEY just sorta thought you sucked as band but let's give the fans what they want and go out and have a good time."
POISON singer Bret Michaels will appear on ABC's "20/20" on Wednesday, June 8 at 10 p.m. EST.
Michaels' long-awaited autobiography, "Roses & Thorns", is now scheduled for release in early 2012 via Simon & Schuster. Bret says, "[The book] is written in a way that gives you an absolute feel of what I was going through; it's not just a shock-value book. This is a much-different-written autobiography; I'm not just trying to just get shock value out of people. What it does is it goes through, I call it, the moments and comedy of errors that is my life — the trying times, the good times, the bad times, the sex, drugs and rock and roll; everything that I went through — what led up to it, what happened, what I did about it. And I've got a lot of pictures to prove everything in there. And I think people will really get a feel that in some ways it's sort of part autobiography and part just trials and tribulations of my life and how I dealt with them."
Michaels will reportedly release a new solo album, "Get Your Rock On", later this year.
Bret has previously stated that his sixth solo CD would be "harder" than his past efforts and said his influences were GARTH BROOKS, JOHN MELLENCAMP, LYNYRD SKYNYRD and AEROSMITH.
"This one is primarily straight-up rock songs, which I think people will like," Bret said. "I've written a lot of good stuff over the last few years that I think are just good rock songs. I feel really strong about it."
Bret's last solo album, "Custom Built", sold 22,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 14 on The Billboard 200 chart.
KYUSS LIVES!, the project featuring three-quarters of KYUSS — the influential American stoner rock/metal band, originally from Palm Desert, California — will unleash its desert rock fury on the U.S. for the first time in over 15 years this fall. The eagerly anticipated near-total return of the California rock pioneers follows the blanket success of the group's sold-out spring European tour which has proven to be a feast of recognition for the band. Due to unprecedented demand, the legendary musicians — bassist Nick Oliveri, drummer Brant Bjork and singer John Garcia along with guitarist Bruno Fevery, who most recently played with Garcia in the GARCIA PLAYS KYUSS project — have announced the following dates:
Sep. 16 - Toronto, ON - The Sound Academy ++
Sep. 17 - Guelph, ON - Guelph Concert Theatre ++
Sep. 18 - Montreal, QC - Olympia de Montréal ++
Sep. 20 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium **
Sep. 21 - Philadelphia, PA - The Trocadero **
Sep. 23 - New York, NY - Terminal 5 **
Sep. 24 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club **
Sep. 25 - Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel ++
Sep. 26 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade ++
Sep. 28 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues ++
Sep. 29 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live **
Oct. 01 - Austin, TX - Stubb's **
Oct. 02 - Dallas, TX - South Side Music Hall **
Oct. 04 - Denver, CO - The Summit Music Hall ++
Oct. 05 - Santa Fe, NM - Santa Fe Brewing Company **
Oct. 06 - Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theatre **
Oct. 07 - Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues **
Oct. 08 - Pomona, CA - The Fox Theater **
** With support from THE SWORD, MONSTRO
++ With support from MONSTRO; remaining support acts to be announced
In a recent interview with UGO, Oliveri was asked how the idea for KYUSS LIVES! came about. "MONDO GENERATOR was on tour — we went to Europe and did a festival in France called Hellfest, and John Garcia and the guitar player, Bruno Fevery, were playing a version of KYUSS called GARCIA PLAYS KYUSS, and he was going out," he replied. "He hadn't toured for a bit and wanted to go out and do some KYUSS stuff. They were headlining one of the side stages, and Brant Bjork's band was playing, and MONDO GENERATOR was playing on the same day. John asked us to come up and play some songs with him, so me and Brant up and did it, and it felt really great. It was great to play those old tunes — we hadn't thought about them for a long time. I think Brant being the first drummer that I ever interacted with as a musician — I played in their bedrooms playing these songs — kind of just felt normal and natural. I got a call from him when I came home, saying, 'Hey
man, do you want to do some more shows?' And I said, 'Yeah man, that sounds cool. Let's do it.' So that's how it started — John was doing it and it was getting good response from people that never got a chance to see any version of KYUSS at all. We didn't realize there were so many people that wanted to see it, so it's been a pleasant surprise and it's been a lot of fun."
Regarding why KYUSS guitarist and founding member Josh Homme is not involved in the reunion, Garcia told Rock Sound, "I have nothing bad to say about Josh — he's extremely intelligent, very smart, a great guitar player, great songwriter, a great vocalist — he is a bad-ass, there is no question, and I love him dearly but he is busy with his own thing. He has THEM CROOKED VULTURES, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, he's a father, a businessman and even if we asked him to do it, I don't think he'd say yes, so I don't want to set myself up for a big fat no which is 99.9 percent what he would say."
KYUSS LIVES! recently revealed that it will record a new studio album following the band's current tour.
KYUSS, the inventors of Desert Rock, have been in the last ten years much more popular than when they were still around in the early Nineties. So, due to massive public demand over the years to play songs from his old cult band KYUSS, John finally made the decision to give the fans what they want.
Due to overwhelming demand, Maryland rockers CLUTCH have added a second Rocks Off Boat cruise on July 21 in New York City. The original cruise, which sold out in minutes, will board at 7:00 p.m. and run from 8:00 p.m. to 10:45 p.m. Tickets for the newly added cruise, which will board at 11:30 p.m and run from midnight to 2:30 a.m., go on sale for fan club members on Tuesday, June 7 and the general on sale is set for this Friday, June 10.
CLUTCH will embark on a headlining tour in July, with CORROSION OF CONFORMITY serving as direct support. The first show is on July 20 at the Brooklyn Bowl in Brooklyn, New York.
CLUTCH took part in its first-ever acoustic in-store performance on Saturday, May 28 at Earshot Music & Movies in Greenville, South Carolina. The band's set consisted primarily of selections from its "Basket Of Eggs" project from the "Blast Tyrant" deluxe reissue. The charitable food pantry "Loaves And Fishes" was also on site that afternoon collecting canned food and non-perishables for the region's recent weather-related victims. Earshot and Weathermaker Music set up a large "food basket" inside the retailer and those who donated a canned or non-perishable food item received a free CLUTCH tour poster and were first in line to have it autographed by the band after their acoustic performance.
The "Blast Tyrant" deluxe reissue sold 2,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release, landing at position No. 26 on Top Hard Music Albums chart, more than seven years after the original version debuted at No. 15. The double-disc package, which features the "Basket of Eggs" bonus CD, triumphed in the Northeast, where it broke into the Top 10 at the mammoth Newbury Comics chain, and was the No. 1-selling double disc.
CLUTCH kicked off a nine-date headlining tour on May 20 in Reading, Pennsylvania. The trek featured MAYLENE & THE SONS OF DISASTER as main support.
On Friday, June 3, DJ JC Green of Metal Messiah Radio's "Heavy Metal Thunder" show conducted an interview with veteran San Francisco Bay Area vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza (HATRIOT, TENET, DUBLIN DEATH PATROL, EXODUS, LEGACY).
When asked if there is any chance that he will ever rejoin EXODUS, Zetro said, "I would love to be there again. It would be great for all the fans to be able hear me sing my songs again. [The current members of EXODUS and I have] talked over the past few years. They do have a singer; his name is Rob [Dukes]. Everybody knows that that's their singer for right now and until that decision is made otherwise, I completely understand and that's why I go along with [my new band] HATRIOT, for one. But how great would that be to see Zetro up there again singing those famous songs like 'The Toxic Waltz' and 'Cajun Hell' and all the good ones? I'm looking forward to it, too. I'm sure it will happen one day. One of these days it will happen. I just saw Gary [Holt, EXODUS guitarist] about three weeks ago at a birthday party. Everything's great; me and him, everybody gets along. . . All you EXODUS fans will have to see. I hear you everywhere I go: 'Zetro, we want you
back in the band.' It's not my decision. If it was up to me, you know what I would do. So I just want you guys to know it probably will happen some day. Just keep your fingers crossed. Go to [EXODUS'] web site, [and] tell Gary Holt; he's the man you have to convince . . . The timing of what happened years ago [regarding my] departure, I can't fix. Gary knows that; all of the guys in the band know that. The way it went down wasn't the greatest — I understand it, I've apologized for it, I can't take it back. But now I'm better than I've ever been, I'm singing more metal than I ever have, I'm definitely on top of my game. My life is completely focused on music right now. I'm not even really working much. I usually work a construction job. I'm not even really doing that much right now 'cause I'm trying to focus on my musical projects. So that's where I'm at right now. A couple of years ago that wasn't necessarily the case. Right now it's definitely the
case. They know that, everybody knows that. So for all EXODUS fans, don't worry — my head's there. If somebody wants to come back and ask me to do that, you know what I would do."
JC Green's interview with Steve "Zetro" Souza will air on the June 15 edition of "Heavy Metal Thunder".
Zetro previously stated about HATRIOT: "I know a lot of people have been wondering what I was doing musically. Basically, last year I was working with these kids, putting songs together and getting to know them. I didn't want to say much because talk is cheap, although a lot of my close friends knew that I was doing this. I don't think they realized the magnitude of it, because in the meantime, I was writing lyrics and recording new songs for DUBLIN DEATH PATROL and also in the last year, I started my own AC/DC tribute [band called AC/DZ] and so for me to just come out of left field with a new original thrash metal project was probably not expected by anyone… Good, that's what I wanted.
"As I'm not as computer-literate as I would like to be, I do read what's on the Internet, but not necessarily chime in, and I know from all my friends and fans from all over the world, they were all wondering if I was going to do another project or quite possibly join EXODUS again and this whole time.
"I knew I was doing this HATRIOT project. I know all the EXODUS fans wanted me back in EXODUS, that is very flattering. For as great as it would be, EXODUS is doing fine right now, and I'm very happy for them.
"So now our plans are to find a record deal, and get this thing off to an amazing start.
"Thanks again to everyone, I'm just as excited as all of you are, as you should be, because I know what I have here, and let me tell you this right now, the best is yet to come.
"See all of you soon… I'M FUCKING BACK!!!"
HATRIOT will make its live debut on July 16 at The Avalon in Santa Clara, California as the support act for FORBIDDEN.
EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt says that the band's former singer, Steve "Zetro" Souza, will never be asked to rejoin the group despite the fact that Zetro has gone "on a public relations blitz to get his job back."
In a June 3 interview with DJ JC Green of Metal Messiah Radio's "Heavy Metal Thunder", Zetro was asked if there is any chance that he will ever return to front EXODUS. "I would love to be there again," he replied. "It would be great for all the fans to be able hear me sing my songs again."
He continued, "[The current members of EXODUS and I have] talked over the past few years. They do have a singer; his name is Rob [Dukes]. Everybody knows that that's their singer for right now and until that decision is made otherwise, I completely understand and that's why I go along with [my new band] HATRIOT, for one. But how great would that be to see Zetro up there again singing those famous songs like 'The Toxic Waltz' and 'Cajun Hell' and all the good ones?"
He added, "I'm looking forward to it, too. I'm sure it will happen one day. One of these days it will happen. All you EXODUS fans will have to see. I hear you everywhere I go: 'Zetro, we want you back in the band.' [But] it's not my decision. If it was up to me, you know what I would do. So I just want you guys to know it probably will happen some day. Just keep your fingers crossed. Go to [EXODUS'] web site, [and] tell Gary Holt; he's the man you have to convince."
Responding to Zetro's comments after they were posted on BLABBERMOUTH.NET, Holt wrote, "This dude is on a public relations BLITZ to get his job back!
"Just because I don't hold a grudge [against him] DOES NOT mean he's ever gonna get his job back.
"What TOTAL disrespect he showed to me, Rob, and this band. I guess he figures he'll take it to the streets to build up some kind of hype. He believes what he wants to believe, I guess, that the entire world is waiting for his glorious return.
"He came to my birthday party and I figured he'd hit me up, but he's saving it for interviews. I'd feel bad if I were in his band, knowing all he wants to do is bail on them.
"Funny, the band is doing better than ever and we so desperately need him, it seems! LOL! . . . It's really quite sad, like a dude begging for his woman back even though she's long since moved on. Like 'I'll get her back, you just watch, she may be getting nailed by someone else, but she really belongs to me, she just doesn't realize it yet!'
"Move on, man, move on. [You] had your chance, [you] didn't want to work at it, now it's not waiting for you anymore."
In another message, Holt added, "I think [Zetro's] band [HATRIOT] is cool and they are a bunch of motivated youngsters with a lot of drive.
"I have nothing against Zetro; really I don't. I consider him a friend, but the lobbying through the press for people to convince me to give him his job back just got under my skin, because Rob is NOT a placecard holder in EXODUS, he's our singer.
"Zetro's place in EXODUS history is solid, he made some great records with us, and had a good run with the band. But this is now, not then, and we do not plan on throwing away what we have to go back in time."
Zetro left EXODUS in September 2004 on the eve of the band's South American headlining tour over what was described as long-standing business and personal differences. Holt subsequently issued a statement calling Souza "human crap" for pulling out the trek "only about twenty-four hours before were ready to leave." He added, "Yes, he did a killer job on the new album [2004's 'Tempo Of The Damned'], but mainly because we did not allow him to fuck everything up with his stupid Bon Scott impersonations anymore. We made him sing more like [previous vocalist Paul] Baloff. I tried to make it work. More than you can imagine. But he was (is) the most miserable pile of crap to be around."
Swedish progressive metallers OPETH will embark on a North American headlining tour in September with support from fellow Swedes KATATONIA.
The dates are as follows:
Sep. 19 - The Palladium @ Worcester, MA
Sep. 20 - Webster Theater @ Hartford, CT
Sep. 21 - Webster Hall @ New York, NY
Sep. 22 - Webster Hall @ New York, NY
Sep. 23 - Trocadero @ Philadelphia, PA
Sep. 26 - Newport Music Hall @ Columbus, OH
Sep. 27 - Expo Five @ Louisville, KY
Sep. 28 - Cannery Ballroom @ Nashville, TN
Sep. 29 - Amos' Southend @ Charlotte, NC
Sep. 30 - Center Stage @ Atlanta, GA
Oct. 01 - House of Blues @ Lake Buena Vista, FL
Oct. 03 - Warehouse Live @ Houston, TX
Oct. 04 - – Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater @ Austin, TX
Oct. 05 - Granada Theater @ Dallas, TX
Oct. 06 - The Beaumont Club @ Kansas City, MO
Oct. 07 - First Avenue @ Minneapolis, MN
Oct. 08 - Burton Cummings @ Winnipeg, MB
Oct. 10 - Edmonton Events Centre @ Edmonton, AB
Oct. 11 - MacEwan Hall Ballroom @ Calgary, AB
Oct. 13 - Commodore Ballroom @ Vancouver, BC
Oct. 14 - Knitting Factory Concert House @ Spokane, WA
Oct. 15 - Showbox SoDo @ Seattle, WA
Oct. 16 - Roseland Theatre @ Portland, OR
Oct. 18 - The Warfield @ San Francisco, CA
Oct. 19 - Mayan Theatre @ Los Angeles, CA
Oct. 20 - House of Blues @ San Diego, CA
Oct. 21 - The Fox Theater @ Pomona, CA
Oct. 22 - Marquee Theatre @ Tempe, AZ
Oct. 24 - The Complex @ Salt Lake City, UT
Oct. 25 - Ogden Theatre @ Denver, CO
Oct. 27 - The Rave @ Milwaukee, WI
Oct. 28 - Vic Theatre @ Chicago, IL
Oct. 29 - St. Andrews Hall @ Detroit, MI
Oct. 30 - Guelph Concert Theatre @ Guelph, ON
Oct. 31 - Mr Smalls Theatre @ Millvale, PA
Nov. 01 - Rams Head Live! – Baltimore, MD
According to the French edition of Rock Hard magazine, keyboardist Joakim Svalberg (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, GLENN HUGHES) has been rehearsing with OPETH for the past few weeks, but has not yet been made an official member of the band.
A photo of Svalberg in the studio with OPETH during the mixing sessions for the group's new album, "Heritage", can be seen below.
Keyboardist Per Wiberg, who joined OPETH in 2005, was relieved of his duties in April as part of a mutual decision with the remaining members of the band.
OPETH vocalist/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt released the following statement on the matter: "Well, it's been somewhat of a revolving door of members during the last couple of years, and now Per is no longer a member. [Martin] Mendez [bass], Axe [Martin Axenrot, drums] and Fredrik [Åkesson, guitar] and I came to the decision that we should find a replacement for Per right after the recordings of the new album, and this came as no surprise to Per. He had, in turn, been thinking about leaving, so you could say it was a mutual decision. There's no bad blood, just a relationship that came to an end, and that's that. We wish Per the best, and he did a splendid job recording keyboards for the last record, which stands as his final recording with OPETH."
OPETH will release its tenth album, "Heritage", on September 20 via Roadrunner Records. The CD was produced by Mikael Åkerfeldt and was recorded earlier this year at Atlantis studios (formerly Metronome studios) in Stockholm. Mixing duties were handled by Steven Wilson (PORCUPINE TREE) and Åkerfeldt. Longtime collaborator Travis Smith also worked with Åkerfeldt to create, design and execute the album's artwork, which can be seen below.
"Heritage" will be released in several configurations that will certainly incite the interest of OPETH's legion of fans, known for their passion for collecting and collectibles. The album will be released as a standard version; as a special edition loaded with extras; as a box set exclusive to the Roadrunner and the band's own official Omerch webstore; and as a double LP. There is something for every OPETH fan, thanks to this variety of options.
Commented Åkerfeldt, "It will be our 10th album/observation. I dig it; we all do. In fact, it feels like I've been building up to write for and participate on an album like this since I was 19."
Åkerfeldt went a little deeper and described the music contained within "Heritage", saying, "It's quite intense at times in some 'old' murky way, and quite beautiful and stark at times, if I may say so myself.
"It's obvious I'm going to say nice things about it since I wrote, basically, the whole piece, but I guess it will raise a few eyebrows and it certainly is an acquired taste.
"I think you'll need a slightly deeper understanding of our music as a whole to be able to appreciate this record.
"I've realized my influences for this album are so diverse that I can't really say what it sounds like.
"If I can compare it to any other band, it would have to be OPETH, but it's different from the stuff we've done before.
"I've listened a lot to ALICE COOPER for the last year, yet I can't say it sounds like 'No More Mr. Nice Guy'.
"I hope you'll like it once you hear it."
"Heritage" track listing:
01. Heritage
02. The Devil's Orchard
03. I Feel The Dark
04. Slither
05. Nepenthe
06. Haxprocess
07. Famine
08. The Lines In My Hand
09. Folklore
10. Marrow Of The Earth
Greek melodic metallers FIREWIND — who feature in their ranks OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist Gus G. (real name: Kostas Karamitroudis) — have announced their first-ever North American headlining tour, dubbed the "Frets of Fury". The trek kicks off on October 9 and features support from ARSIS, WHITE WIZZARD and NIGHTRAGE.
The dates are as follows:
Oct. 09 - St Petersburg, FL - The State Theater
Oct. 10 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
Oct. 11 - Springfield, VA - Jaxx
Oct. 12 - New York, NY - Gramercy Theater
Oct. 13 - Manchester, NH - Rocko's
Oct. 14 - Montreal, QC - Les Foufounes Electriques
Oct. 15 - Ottawa, ON - Maverick's
Oct. 16 - Cleveland, OH - Peabody's
Oct. 18 - Joliet, IL - Mojoe's
Oct. 19 - St Paul, MN - Station 4
Oct. 20 - Winnipeg, MB - The Osborne Village Inn
Oct. 21 - Edmonton, AB - Pawn Shop
Oct. 22 - Kelowna, BC - Sapphire Nightclub
Oct. 23 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theater
Oct. 24 - Seattle, WA - Studio Seven
Oct. 25 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theater
Oct. 26 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's
Oct. 27 - Hollywood, CA - Whisky A Go Go
FIREWIND has also decided to ensure that their loyal fans are getting the first opportunity to buy tickets before they go on sale to the general public. This is a first-come-first-served online ticket ordering system. The maximum order is four tickets. There are three ticketing/VIP package options that includes meet-and-greets with the band with exclusive 3D posters and laminates, as well as a Platinum Package featuring a private 20-minute guitar lesson with Gus G. Head over now to this location to register and get your tickets and VIP access before they are sold out. General-admission tickets go on sale everywhere on June 16.
Commented Gus: "We couldn't be happier to announce our first full North American tour!
"It's been over three years since FIREWIND toured from coast to coast across the U.S. and we're coming back stronger than ever with a killer package.
"We put a lot of thought into who we wanted to go out with us and truly believe that each band on this bill brings something special to the table making this a very diverse lineup. However, shredding guitar driven metal remains the prominent feature across the board. In fact, there's more to it than just that, as this package is somewhat of a musical family tree.
"Not many people know this but ARSIS' guitarist James Malone and I went to Berklee together back in 1998. We had an instrumental band together for awhile, which later became FIREWIND.
"James is a kick-ass shredder and I'm glad our bands are finally touring together.
"Also, most people don't know that I played in NIGHTRAGE for few years. I did two albums with them and their main-man Marios Iliopoulos is a phenomenal guitar player. He also filled in on bass for FIREWIND this year, when Petros was unable to tour.
"NIGHTRAGE is one of my favorite bands and you definitely got to come down early to check them out.
"WHITE WIZZARD are currently making noise worldwide and they're definitely a band to watch out for as well.
"We're proud to have these great bands on board with us, making this such a high-quality package for all metal fans."
FIREWIND's latest album, "Days Of Defiance", sold around 700 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 53 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.
"Days Of Defiance" was released in North America on October 26, 2010 (one day earlier internationally) via Century Media Records. The CD's striking cover artwork was designed by the band's longtime partner in all design matters, Gustavo Sazes.
The Pulse Of Radio reports: Although NIRVANA is credited with being the first "alternative" band to break out into huge mainstream success, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE guitarist Tom Morello has taken issue with that. Speaking at the induction of JANE'S ADDICTION into the Guitar Center RockWalk in Hollywood last Wednesday (June 1), Morello argued, "NIRVANA often gets credit for being the first 'alternative' band to break through, the band that changed music and led rock out of the hair metal wilderness of the '80s. That's just not true. It was JANE'S ADDICTION: inspiring, intelligent, furiously rocking and artistically deep."
JANE'S frontman Perry Farrell said after Morello's speech, "That speech made me sound so damn good, I don't need to look in the mirror ever again. Just play that over and over every morning."
Guitarist Dave Navarro added, "When I first heard we were going to be honored here at the RockWalk I thought of coming here 10-plus years ago to witness Jimmy Page's induction . . . now to be permanently embedded in cement beside one of my hugest influences is probably one of those dreams coming true that you didn't know you had."
JANE'S ADDICTION will release its first studio album in eight years, "The Great Escape Artist", later this summer. A first track called "End To The Lies" has already been made public.
The band reformed in 2009 after a six-year break, although founding bassist Eric Avery, back in the band for the first time since 1991, left again last year.
ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) has announced that Oscar and Golden Globe-winning composer Trent Reznor (NINE INCH NAILS) will be honored with an ASCAP Film Music Award at the 26th annual ASCAP Film And Television Music Awards. The black-tie gala salutes those ASCAP composers whose music was featured in the top box office films and top television series of 2010. Reznor is being honored for "The Social Network". Also being honored are John Debney for "Iron Man 2", "Valentine's Day" and "Yogi Bear", James Newton Howard for "The Last Airbender", "Salt" and "The Tourist", Randy Newman for "Toy Story 3", Trevor Rabin for "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", Pharrell Williams ("Despicable Me") and Hans Zimmer for "Inception" and "Megamind", among others.
Two special ASCAP awards will be presented to Angelo Badalamenti, who will receive the ASCAP Henry Mancini Award, and Alf Clausen, who will receive the ASCAP Golden Note Award. Badalamenti is widely known for his collaboration with the director David Lynch ("Blue Velvet", "Mulholland Drive", "Twin Peaks"). Clausen is best known for his scoring and songwriting for the hit television series "The Simpsons".
The invitation-only event takes place June 23 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, California.
Veteran Canadian hard rockers HELIX are planning to release a compilation album in the fall featuring five new songs plus selections from the band's previous three CDs, "When Pigs Fly", "Vagabond Bones", and "Power Of Rock And Roll". According to singer Brian Vollmer, "This could all change if the songs we're recording now [at A Studios in London, Ontario, Canada] turn out to be so amazing that we feel we should go with an entire CD of new material." He adds, "There are several reasons I've chosen to go with a compilation CD versus a new CD, but it's not like my decision is based in stone. We'll see how it goes."
HELIX entered A Studios on Thursday morning (June 2) "to bang out some ideas on the new tunes before we record 'em," says Vollmer. "Some of the ideas worked, others didn't, but we managed to kick out three rough demos to take home and listen to. This Tuesday we'll take another crack at it. When everyone is in agreement, then we'll start recording…"
HELIX's acoustic album, "Smash Hits Unplugged", was released in January. The effort was recorded at A Studios in London, Ontario with co-producer Aaron Murray and is comprised of "all our hits plus the JAMES LEROY song 'A Touch of Magic' which I've always wanted to record," stated singer Brian Vollmer. The artwork for the CD was executed by Matt Brooks of Babyjack Design, who also designed the cover for the last HELIX"Vagabond Bones".
Austria's Stormbringer.at webzine recently conducted an interview with RHAPSODY OF FIRE and current KAMELOT touring vocalist Fabio Lione. An excerpt from the chat follow below.
Stormbringer.at: How is the tour with KAMELOT going so far?
Fabio: Great! I have to say that the guys are very nice, I love the songs and the band and everything is going in the best way. I'm also very happy to see that the KAMELOT fans are with me and the band. Every show we have a great time, it's a great experience for me. We feel like old friends, I have to say that we are having a great time and great shows together.
Stormbringer.at: Currently you are a temporary replacement of Khan in KAMELOT. Would you ever consider a permanent place in KAMELOT should the guys of the band ask you?
Fabio: Well, I would love it!!! The KAMELOT songs are great, I really like the style and [former KAMELOT vocalist Roy] Khan is probably one of the few singers that I like. So, of course, I would consider that!!! But first let's do the European tour and the North American one, Then if they will ask me, I'll be more than happy to join the band permanently. Since the first time we met and played together we had a very good feeling. Everything was easy and natural like we knew each other for years and everybody who saw the band in South America or Europe said we did great shows!!! I'm happy for the guys and the fans, so let's see what the future will bring for us. Never say never!
Stormbringer.at: Where are the differences or challenges in singing for your own band in comparison to being a guest singer in another well-established band like KAMELOT?
Fabio: It's not easy, I have to say, but in this case I knew Khan since [his pre-KAMELOT band] CONCEPTION era and I know his voice, style and way to sing; he's great!!! So it was a little bit more easy for me 'cause I knew the songs and especially the singer very well, but you have to be in front of many people, fans that are used to see and hear someone else, it's not really an easy job. The best is [to] do it with passion and make people happy. Anyway, I don't think I do something easy in RHAPSODY OF FIRE or VISION DIVINE, I always liked to do not easy things and this new experience it's very good for me. I just try to do it in the best way I can.
In a May 11, 2011 interview with Metal-Trails.com, KAMELOT guitarist/mainman Thomas Youngblood stated about Fabio Lione, "Our producer, Sascha Paeth, he also does RHAPSODY's records and he suggested Fabio because he knows the guy can sing anything. He sings totally different than he does with RHAPSODY with us. He's an amazing singer. I mean, technically, he's probably the best singer that I've ever worked with. So I think he was the perfect choice to finish this tour, to fulfill our obligations to ourselves and the fans. And he's actually a new dynamic to the show, which I think is really cool."
When asked if there is a possibility that Fabio will be the new permanent lead singer of KAMELOT, Youngblood said, "There's always possibilities, you know?! He's got his band, but I think what I wanna do is do this big audition process where we have as many people as possible to choose from and then we'll make a decision."
Regarding possible candidates for the singer position in KAMELOT and what the band will be looking for in a new vocalist, Youngblood said, "I definitely don't wanna say any names right now, but we've gotten a lot of e-mails from people that are known, people that are unknown. Obviously they have to have a certain charisma, they have to understand the dynamics of what KAMELOT is and also what we're gonna be on the next record. Vocally, they have to be a master at what they're doing. So there's a lot of elements. There's also a social part of it — making sure they have no religious restrictions, no addiction issues, they don't have a girlfriend or a wife that says, 'You can't tour,' or something like that. All I can say is that so far a lot of the e-mails I've gotten have been very encouraging."
On whether KAMELOT wants someone who will sound very similar to Roy or a singer with his own style, Youngblood said, "The new guy should have his own thing going on. Of course, he has to be able to sing the old songs and do it properly — give it justice and respect. But to bring in a clone makes no sense; that's not our goal."
Guitarist/vocalist Paul Masvidal of the reunited progressive rock/metal band CYNIC has issued the following update:
"I've been working away in the home studio writing lots of new songs and keeping off the grid to stay creatively focused. It's safe to say that CYNIC already has plenty of material for a new record, but something keeps the inspiration going to write more. I feel like I'm on for the ride and just seeing what manifests as a result of sitting on the train and looking out the window.
"As we move further along and closer to 'destination recording,' the album will start to shape itself and the appropriate songs will be chosen.
"We're looking at late summer/early fall to enter the studio. At the moment, I have no idea when the record will be released. Maybe later this year or early next. We're also in communication with lots of fantastic new musicians who will be involved.
"I can already sense this next album is going to take our listeners on a whole new sonic adventure that words cannot yet describe. I say this because the work is feeling based and there's a lot of life poured into these embryos that will speak for themselves when heard.
"I'm always amazed at how living life informs the art so directly and yet we have no power over it. The songs have a directness and urgency unlike anything we've done before due to a bountiful influx of concentrated life experiences.
"Thank the universe for the gift of music.
"I am so absolutely grateful to be alive and to be able to share the potency and beauty of music with you. In the meantime keep spreading the love and thank you for taking this journey with us."
CYNIC last year parted ways with bassist Robin Zielhorst and guitarist Tymon Kruidenier due to the "logistical challenges of maintaining a band that is half based in The Netherlands and the other half in the United States" (drummer Sean Reinert and Masvidal live in California).
CYNIC last fall completed Decibel magazine's inaugural Hall Of Fame tour. Historic in every sense, the trek, dubbed "Re-Traced / Re-Focused Live", saw the band performing Hall Of Fame album "Focus" in its entirety, along with tracks from the group's lauded second album, "Traced in Air", and more. Direct support came from progressive masters INTRONAUT and DYSRHYTHMIA.
In May 2010, CYNIC released a brand new EP entitled "Re-Traced", featuring reinterpretations of four songs from the group's critically acclaimed "Traced In Air" album as well as a previously unreleased song.
SABATON came to the US to support ACCEPT's second live round and METAL KAOZ grabbed the opportunity to have a really interesting talk with the band's frontman Joakim Bróden. So, for about 20 minutes we discussed all about SABATON and their upcoming album.
________________________________________Hey, Joakim how does it feel having the full lineup back together?
It feels really good! You know, with Rikard [Sundén] we were prepared since his wife was about to bring birth to their child but with Daniel [Mullback] and his knee problem we had only one week to find a replacement! And this was a very short notice.
Let me ask a stupid question if you don't mind; how can a drummer learn all the songs in such a short period of time?
First of all this a good question; it depends on which song it is actually. Some songs are pretty much straightforward and we don't demand for the replacement to play everything like Daniel did. For the hard parts we may have breaks or stops or even change the beat a little. We always skip the entire track if getting the drum parts right is difficult (laughs).
You could do that… so, how does is the first US tour for SABATON?
This is the first US tour although we have been here for some festivals in the past. But, I have to say I like it and people are really friendly with us. Sometimes the venues are not that well equipped like in Europe and maybe sometimes we cannot even get a shower or even have a decent dressing room.
Usually the band has some pyros in the concerts so, how different is performing without them?
No different at all! The only difference with have here with the US metalheads is that some things are ok to joke about in Sweden but not in America…
Yeah, I want to ask you about that…
(laughs) It's gonna come later huh? All about the YMCA stuff, right? (laughs)
I like that (laughs)…
Yeah, but most people in America don't… I tried it once in Fort Lauderdale and… we said let's not to do that anymore (laughs). Seriously now, I don't miss big stages. Actually, we see that as a challenge like today; we don't have a lot of space on stage with the ACCEPT equipment so we have to adjust. I also believe if we cannot rock our ashes off in a small stage in front of 150 people then we don't deserve playing in bigger stages.
So, how the onstage humor is combined with the military history lyrics in SABATON's music?
I know this is kind of a paradox singing with a big smile about people dying in battle. Sometimes we hit our own wall like when we play songs like "The Final Solution" in Europe during which we have decided not try to get the audience clap along, scream and stuff like that because it would be too crazy for us. It would be strange watching the band and the audience screaming and jumping up and down while I am singing "Enter the gates - Auschwitz awaits!".
Have you ever faced harsh criticism for your lyrics? I mean do people understand that you are just narrating stories and talking about people dying in battle regardless of their beliefs?
In the beginning we were facing a lot of criticism. Especially, due to some artwork we had in albums and t-shirts; maybe the German style helmets and stuff like that. But, most of the time let's say 8 of 10 people get it instantly, person number 9 gets the whole idea if you explain to him the concept of writing about military history and then there is last person who will know understand you no matter what you'd say or do; you are fucked anyway.
Good that the last person belongs to the minority. SABATON are going to be back in the US with EVERGREY. ACCEPT and EVERGREY are musically different bands and so is the audience they attract; has this any effect on your setlist?
We won't change the setlist that much after all we are not big at all around here. But we also know that our fans tend to be very loyal so we don't want to come back and play exactly the same songs. Maybe, we will use some of the more progressive songs we have but other than that of course we are going to play "Primo Victoria" and stuff like that. We would be crazy to make radical changes.
You have also announced a Swedish live date supporting IRON MAIDEN; so there you are going to have a really big stage and a bigger audience; have you planned something special for that show?
We wanted to bring pyros and everything but we are not allowed and I don't think it is matter of IRON MAIDEN but it is the production company's decision. But still, it is going to be great since this is our country (even though it is not our hometown) and 64000 tickets have been already sold. This is going to be the biggest audience SABATON have played for. We you are playing in small stage you do not understand what a guy like Bruce Dickinson does and how great frontman he is. Because, we you are in big stages it might take half of the song to get from one side to other and then you are just panting…(laughs)
Yep, you have to fill that space… You have also re-released the first four albums here in the US and you have some interesting cover songs; first of all I have to ask you how did you come up with the Doro cover "Fur Immer"?
Actually, we were asked to do two years ago for a Doro tribute album. I don't think it was widely released so we put it in the re-release.
How was it singing the song?
It was real strange and also my German are not that good (laughs). I studied them on school and I can make myself understood but there were so many words I did not understand…
The next one was –please excuse my pronunciation– SVENE RUBIS….
Yeah it was "Långa Bollar På Bengt"…
That sounded like a curse… but give us some details about it.
(laughs) This was originally released in Sweden in the early 90s and it was a huge hit there. We started playing that while we were jamming in the studio and we had a great fun. And then we decided to do this in some shows and I think we did it in 'Sweden Rock Festival'… all of a sudden people started asking questions about this song so we decided to record it last summer. We also had the band's original singer with whom we also played it live again in 'Sweden Rock Festival'.
Have you done any other cover songs?
We have done JUDAS PRIEST's "Jawbreaker" and that's all. The thing is that my vocal range rarely fits many other singers so it is not easy to do cover. Once I did a Christmas show in The Netherlands in 013 in Tilburg and there were also Udo, Simone from EPICA and we sung with a orchestra. I sung "Primo Victoria" and two cover songs; the first was METALLICA's "Master Of Puppets" and "Feuer Frei" from RAMMSTEIN.
Great! You have been on the road for quite some time; so, are there any thoughts about the next album? Do you write music while on tour?
Well, at least I try to write while on tour but I am afraid there is not much coming out of me. There are some ideas but I cannot really work on them since I need to have many vocal harmonies and stuff like that and it is not that easy to do with just one guitar. But, I think two or maybe three songs are almost complete in terms of music and vocal melodies. But, not the lyrics; it is going to be a surprise so I cannot really tell you everything (laughs). It will still be about war but not what people are expecting from us. Most people are going to be surprised when they see the war we are singing about.
Is it going to be a concept?
It will be a concept album. We are not going to rely on one book like we did in "The Art Of War"… (the door opens and there is a lot of noise)
I am sorry I did not catch that; what will be the main subject of the album?
Hmmm, that I did not say… Nice try though… (laughs). The recording will start in January and will be done by mid February since we do not like spending six months in recording sessions; it such a waste of time.
So, you are the history freak who reads all the books?
Mostly is me and Pär [Sundström]. But, the rest of the band also likes learning about history. Usually in the tour bus we have a tv system and we are watching a history documentary. But, when it is hockey time Oskar [Montelius] simply says "If you touch the remote you die"…(laughs)
Is there a chance to get bored writing lyrics about military history?
No, I don't think so. Although, this kind of happened in "Coat Of Arms" where the lyrics were only about WWII and that felt a little bit limiting. I liked it also but I found that my interest was getting elsewhere and this is where we are heading right now with the next album. When it comes to reading books I have all the time in the world when we are on tour and especially in America where there is a lot of traveling between cities and states. I mean nine hours in a bus what can you do?
Kill myself…
Yeah, probably (laughs). I have books in the iPhone or in the iPad so you don't have to physically carry all these books. I don't like history books that are like dots in a map. I want to learn what a soldier experienced in a battle and not about the war's big picture that is all about politics; this is boring.
Do you think that history can be objective? I mean, isn't the history written by the winner?
I know what you are saying and this is why we try to be as objective as possible. And what we can do is use more than one source. We don't learn about this in Wikipedia…
This sounds like a research…
Yes it is. We try to do this with most of our song. There are some lyrics solely based on a single book like "Angels Calling" from "Attero Dominatus" that was written from a personal level based on WWI survivors' experiences. "Stalingrad" from "Primo Victoria" was based on a Russian soldier's diary that I found translated in English. Ok, I had read a really big book about the battle of Stalingrad and there were some interesting stuff there but there was no emotion. And then I found this 40 pages diary that inspired me to write the lyrics.
I didn't know that you are putting so much effort in the lyrics.
We want to write something to make you think and not just sing along.
Ok, I've got one more question that is more general. Nowadays, we are getting many very good bands from the Scandinavian countries that are dominating the Metal scene so, my question is; is something 'wrong with you?" are they adding something to the water you drink?
(laughs) Maybe, but I don't know what… Honestly, I am not sure about Finland and Norway as much as I know for Sweden. But, I do know that this is due to the long Swedish tradition and not only from Folk music. Also, the government helps the young bands (and this is rare for other countries) to release albums. In fact when a you are 10 years old they invite you to play an instrument and the state pays half of the money that costs. A student can study with the state's support for five or six years. We have also organizations supporting education and just musical. They get some money from the state and some from private benefactors. They have these big houses where kids can go and pay something like 5 or 10 euros per month to rehearse in rooms where the equipment is provided. The only thing you need is a cable and an instrument and you are good to go.
Ok, now apart from being jealous I am also depressed. Well, thank you for your time Joakim it was a pleasure.
Florida metallers TRIVIUM have set "In Waves" as the title of their fifth studio album, tentatively due on August 9 via Roadrunner Records.
TRIVIUM's follow-up to 2008's "Shogun" was recorded at Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida with the production/mixing team of Colin Richardson (MACHINE HEAD, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, SLIPKNOT, FEAR FACTORY) and Martin "Ginge" Ford, along with engineer Carl Bown.
During an appearance on a recent edition of the Metal Injection Livecast, TRIVIUM guitarist/vocalist Matt Heafy stated about the forthcoming CD, "We've been writing this same record for a year and a half. We demoed it for eight months. . . [but] when we actually started the record, it took us about three months or so of tracking and it's gonna take maybe two months to mix, and Colin and the team are working on that right now."
On the new album title and artwork:
"We've been working on the album's art almost for about a year now with… There's a bunch of different people involved with all the different stages of the art."
On which previous TRIVIUM album the new CD sounds most like:
"It's hard to say which one it sounds most like, but I can say, to date, my favorite one that we have ever done is 'Ascendancy' [2005] — that's been my favorite. There was a lot of experimentation on 'The Crusade' [2006] and 'Shogun' [2008]. 'The Crusade' was the opposite of everything 'Ascendancy' was and 'Shogun' was kind of pulling elements from every single record. Whereas this one, nothing sounds like any of the other ones at all, but with this record it sounds more like us than ever. 'Cause with the other records, you could go, 'OK, maybe this sounds like this kind of music' or 'This sounds like this kind of band,' or maybe 'It pulls from here or there,' whereas this is just definitive 'our' sound; there is nothing that really deviates from the past; it's all in the realm of itself. I know that's really broad and it doesn't really answer too much of it. It's a whole new thing. It's not like anything we've done before… again."
On the lyrical themes covered on the new TRIVIUM album:
"With 'From Ember To Inferno' [2003] and 'Ascendancy', they're both kind of in the same realm; they're both a lot of personal stuff, a little bit of social things, things that I saw around me. With 'Crusade', it was a lot of sociopolitical [commentary], maybe drawing more from specific current events and a couple of other bits here and there; there are obviously some things that are personal. With 'Shogun', there was a lot of mythology influence, there was a lot of Japanese history influence. With this new record, the long answer, or the short answer, is basically is that there is no right or wrong answer on what anyone's gonna perceive of what the lyrics mean to them, but I will not be saying what they mean to me at all. Because I really want people to come up with everything… Everything down to the music to the visuals to the art… because we're recreating everything with this new record. There's a new TRIVIUM logo, there's a new style of art,
there's a new look, there's a new feel, there's new kinds of videos and everything going on. And I really want it to be up to the ear and the eye of the beholder of what they feel it means to them. So whatever it means to you is gonna be right. I don't want people to go into it with a preconceived notion of what I feel like it should mean where it could mean something else to that person and to that listener."
TRIVIUM's last album, "Shogun", sold just under 24,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 23 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD followed up "The Crusade", which opened with 31,000 copies in October 2006 to land at No. 25.
"Shogun" was released in North America on September 30, 2008 via Roadrunner Records. The CD was mixed in London by Colin Richardson, with Jeff Rose and Martin "Ginge" Ford assisting on engineering duties.
The writers of Sweden Rock Magazine, the country's biggest-selling music magazine, have named HARDCORE SUPERSTAR's eponymously titled album from 2005 the third best album of the last ten years. The CD was also voted the twelfth best album of the past decade by the magazine's readers. To celebrate this, HARDCORE SUPERSTAR will perform the entire LP live for the first time on Wednesday, June 8 at this year's edition of the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg in southern Sweden.
"When I got the news, I at once wanted to sit down and write such an album again," says HARDCORE SUPERSTAR drummer Magnus "Adde" Andreasson." We were extremely flattered and wondered how to pay back. [So] for the first time [ever we will] play the whole self-titled 'black album' live, as a one-time-only [event] at Sweden Rock Festival. We have, for example, never played [such] songs as 'Simple Man' and 'Cry Your Eyes Out' [live before]."
The 10-year-anniversary June 2011 issue of Sweden Rock Magazine is on sale on June 14.
HARDCORE SUPERSTAR's latest album, "Split Your Lip", was released in Europe on November 26, 2010 via Nuclear Blast Records (except in Scandinavia, where it was made available through Gain Records). The CD's first single, a two-side split featuring the songs "Moonshine" and "Guestlist", was made available in early November exclusively with Sweden Rock Magazine.
"Split Your Lip" was recorded over a five-day period at at Bohus Sound studios in Kungälv, Sweden with producer Tobias Lindell.
HARDCORE SUPERSTAR re-released two of their albums — "Hardcore Superstar" (2005) and "Dreamin In A Casket" (2007) — on October 16, 2009 via Nuclear Blast's "Reloaded Series." Both reissues contain bonus material such as demo tracks and rehearsal takes.
Finnish melancholic dark rock/metal icons AMORPHIS will be direct support for NIGHTWISH at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California on January 21, 2012. Also appearing on the bill will be DOMMIN. Tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster.
"The opportunity of playing exclusive show with NIGHTWISH came about around February," commented AMORPHIS guitarist Esa Holopainen. "We were totally excited about the idea as we didn't have a chance to do a tour in the U.S. with the 'Skyforger' album. Now we have a special show where we will try to offer as much material as possible from the last two albums. It's a great privilege to be part of an evening which is going to be memorable and special for everyone."
"The Beginning Of Times", the new album from AMORPHIS, landed at position No. 1 on the Finnish chart.
Released on May 27 via Nuclear Blast Records, "The Beginning Of Times" is described as "the most challenging AMORPHIS album so far in terms of both music and lyrics." Its central character is the iconic hero of Finnish mythology, Väinämöinen, whose tale has been masterfully retold by lyricist Pekka Kainulainen.
"The Beginning Of Times" was produced by the band; vocals were recorded under the guidance of Marco Hietala (NIGHTWISH, TAROT) in his home studio in Kuopio. Like its predecessors, the album was mixed by Mikko Karmila. Its cover artwork shows Travis Smith's magnificent interpretation of the mythological birth of the world from a goldeneye's egg.
"The Beginning Of Times" track listing:
01. Battle For Light
02. Mermaid
03. My Enemy
04. You I Need
05. Song Of The Sage
06. Three Words
07. Reformation
08. Soothsayer
09. On A Stranded Shore
10. Escape
11. Crack In A Stone
12. Beginning Of Time
13. Heart's Song (digipack bonus track)
The "You I Need" video can be viewed below. The clip was filmed on April 29 in Berlin, Germany. Check out photos from the video shoot at Metal-Hammer.de.
NIGHTINGALE — the Swedish band featuring acclaimed musician/producer
Dan Swanö and his brother Dag — has been confirmed for the inaugural installment of the progressive rock festival OhioProg, set to take place September 7-9, 2012 in northeast Ohio (exact location to be announced). An exceptional lineup has been assembled, which includes a Friday pre-show, "A Tribute To The Classics," and a Saturday and Sunday full-day main event.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
AFTER THE FALL
ARENA
CRYPTIC VISION
FM
GOING FOR THE ONE
NIGHTINGALE
ORPHAN PROJECT
PERSEPHONE'S DREAM
RC2
SCRIPT FOR A JESTER'S TOUR
The schedule features the YES cover group GOING FOR THE ONE, and SCRIPT FOR A JESTER'S TOUR, a MARILLION tribute act featuring original MARILLION drummer Mick Pointer and Nick Barrett of PENDRAGON. FM, a regrouping of Cameron Hawkins' Canadian progressive rock act, will headline day one of OhioProg 2012. 2011 marks the 35th anniversary of the band's inception. Headlining day two of OhioProg 2012, Dan Swanö and brother Dag Swanö return from Sweden to bring their progressive rock act NIGHTINGALE back to the U.S. for their second-ever appearance, their first since 2001. Mick Pointer, Clive Nolan, John Jowitt, John Mitchell and Paul Manzi round out the all-star cast of the veteran U.K. progressive rock band that is ARENA. Jowitt returns to ARENA on bass and the band will have a new album under their belt before OhioProg 2012. RC2 from Barcelona will be making their first U.S. appearance at OhioProg 2012. After nearly 20 years together, PERSEPHONE'S DREAM
of Pittsburgh will be making their first-ever northeast Ohio appearance at OhioProg 2012, as will Maryland's ORPHAN PROJECT. Connecticut-based band AFTER THE FALL have regrouped for an OhioProg 2012 appearance. AFTER THE FALL's last release, "kNOwleDGE", came out in 2005. Additionally, hailing from Florida, progressive rock festival veterans CRYPTIC VISION return to the festival circuit with a new album forthcoming, the third album in a trilogy started in 2003 with "Moments of Clarity". Additional acts will be announced in coming months.
OhioProg 2012 has turned to Kickstarter to help ensure its success by rolling out a "Pledge Your Ticket" program. By pledging at various tiers, you can secure a ticket of your choice to either the pre-show or main event, or both. A number of rewards will be given for specialized pledges, and patron tickets are available for those who wish to have first choice of seats. Pledging begins September 2, 2011 and is a great way to show your support to the progressive rock festival community even if you are unable to attend the festival. Pledges start as low as $1, and even non-attendees can walk away with an OhioProg 2012 program, poster, t-shirt or limited-edition compilation by pledging at the appropriate tier. Pledges will fund all aspects of the festival including all operational, marketing, and transportation costs. "Pledge Your Ticket" funding goals must be reached by the end of the day on November 30, 2011. Pledges will only be processed on November 30
if the festival reaches its funding goals. If funding goals are not met, the festival will be cancelled and pledge funds will not be processed.
For more information, visit www.ohioprog.com.
Reunited San Diego, California-based progressive metallers PSYCHOTIC WALTZ will headline the Keep It True XV festival, set to take place April 27-28, 2012 ay Tauberfrankenhalle in Lauda-Königshofen, Germany.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
PSYCHOTIC WALTZ (USA)
SWORD (CAN)
TYTAN (UK)
OZ (FIN/SWE)
TENSION (USA)
MYSTIC FORCE (USA)
ADRAMELCH (ITA)
OSTROGOTH (BEL)
WITCH CROSS (DEN)
MYSTIK (USA)
FISCHELS BEAST (USA)
PORTRAIT (SWE)
DARK WIZARD (HOL)
SAVAGE BLADE (CAN)
VOLTURE (USA)
PSYCHOTIC WALTZ's participation in the "Power Of Metal" tour with SYMPHONY X, NEVERMORE, MERCENARY and THAUROROD marked the band's first live appearances in 14 years, and saw the reunion of the original lineup that recorded the group's first three albums: Devon Graves (a.k.a. Buddy Lackey) on vocals, Dan Rock and Brian McAlpin on guitars, Ward Evans on bass and Norm Leggio on drums.
PSYCHOTIC WALTZ will make a couple of European festival appearances this summer, but beyond those dates, it doesn't seem likely that any further live shows will be possible in 2011. The band plans to start creating new material with the hopes of recording a new studio album with the original lineup.
All four of PSYCHOTIC WALTZ's studio albums were released together in a deluxe, limited vinyl box by Century Media Records in Europe. Titled "The Architects Arise: The First Ten Years", this box contains gatefold 180-gram LPs of all four studio records plus their ASLAN (pre-PSYCHOTIC WALTZ) demo from 1986 and the "Into The Everflow" demo. This six-LP box is limited to 500 copies, and the band had copies of the box for sale during the "Power Of Metal" tour. Additionally, 500 extra copies of "A Social Grace", "Into The Everflow" and "Bleeding" were pressed in a different vinyl color and sold individually.
PSYCHOTIC WALTZ's current lineup is :
* Devon Graves (a.k.a. Buddy Lackey) - Vocals
* Brian McAlpin - Guitar
* Dan Rock - Guitar
* Ward Evans - Bass
* Norman Leggio - Drums
PSYCHOTIC WALTZ's last studio album, "Bleeding", was released in 1996. Scott Burns engineered the effort, which was mixed by Dan Rock and Woody Barber.
In the years that followed PSYCHOTIC WALTZ's demise, Rock recorded two instrumental albums with his project DARKSTAR. In the meantime, Norm Leggio and Steve Cox created the band TEABAG, while Buddy Lackey launched his own group, DEADSOUL TRIBE, where he performs using his real name, Devon Graves.
ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO, the experimental band led by TESTAMENT/ex-SAVATAGE guitarist Alex Skolnick, will play live at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis on June 8 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Bin 55 Lobby Lounge. The group will perform selections from its new album, "Veritas", and more uring the week of the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco.. Bandleader and guitarist Alex Skolnick, a Bay Area native, will perform using AmpKit, an amps, effects and recording app for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, and the AmpKit LiNK guitar interface.
Skolnick is one of the true guitar heroes. He has performed in some of the world's biggest venues with his seminal thrash metal band, TESTAMENT, and relocated to New York City to earn a jazz degree from the New School. He has recorded four albums with his acclaimed trio, including his most recent, "Veritas", out now on Palmetto Records.
BLEEDING THROUGH's Dave Nassie will lead an open counseling session for Musicians Institute's guitar program next Thursday, June 9.
The accomplished shredder, who moonlights as a guitar teacher, has been offering lessons to students internationally through the magic of Skype. His brand new YouTube page has accumulated over 50,000 views in less than four days with virtually no promotion through official channels.
Nassie's lead guitar work is featured on BLEEDING THROUGH's 2010 self-titled album for Rise/Roadrunner Records as well as the band's previous album, 2008's "Declaration". He is the former guitarist for NO USE FOR A NAME and has played with INFECTIOUS GROOVES.
Musicians Institute guitar program presents a guest open counseling session with Dave Nassie.
Date: Thursday, June 9
Time: 4-7 p.m.
Room: MI-201
VREID and DORDEDUH (the Romanian metal band featuring former NEGURA BUNGET members Hupogrammos and Sol Faur) are among the artists who will contribute to the forthcoming "official tribute" to Norwegian masters of progressive/experimental metal ENSLAVED. Twenty acts are scheduled to appear on the CD, entitled "Önd - A Tribute", which will coincide with 20-year anniversary of Norway's finest.
The cover artwork for "Önd - A Tribute" was created by David "Darkarts" Thiérrée in close collaboration with ENSLAVED members and can be seen below.
The final list of confirmed acts for ENSLAVED tribute:
* DORDEDUH (Romania)
* ODEM ARCARUM (Germany)
* ISLAND (Germany )
* ASMODEE (France)
* ANGANTYR (Denmark)
* REVERENCE (France)
* FOSCOR (Spain)
* STAGNANT WATERS (France/Norway)
* WODENSTHRONE (UK)
* ANGMAR (France)
* RIBOZYME (Norway)
* EL REGN (Norway)
* VREID (Norway)
* JANVS (Italy)
* BELENOS (france)
* KRAKOW (Norway)
* LUX DIVINA (Spain)
* AS LIGHT DIES (Spain)
* FEN (UK)
* DARKENHOLD (France)
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/soulflypremiere/enslavedtributecd.jpg
German metallers DIABOLOS DUST have inked a deal with Massacre Records.
In existence since 2007. DIABOLOS DUST consists of vocalist Jürgen Dachl (ex-FLOOD OF AGES, EL-K-MINO), bassist Roland Zehrer (ex-SENGAYA) as well as the two founding members Anton H. Lini (guitar) and Stefan Fesser (drums).
According to a press release, DIABOLOS DUST "play tough '80s metal but the band isn't a copy of other bands in this genre. DIABOLOS DUST uses the trademarks of this era and makes the sound unique with its catchy and variable songwriting. The sound is also characterized by various influences from the metal scene and so every song is a piece of art on its own. Monstrous power drumming and a driving bass provide the foundation for a solid guitar work and powerful vocals. With a rhythm section that knows how to create pressure and polyphonic shouting DIABOLOS DUST's independent trademark's created."
DIABOLOS DUST is:
Roland Zehrer - Bass/Backing Vocals
Jürgen Dachl - Vocals
Stefan Fesser - Drums
Anton H. Lini - Guitars/Backing Vocals
For more information, visit www.diabolosdust.de.
Montreal, Quebec, Canada-based female-fronted progressive metal/hard rock band ARAPACIS has entered the studio to begin recording the follow-up to 2009's "Consequences Of Dreams". Guitarist Jerry Fielden and vocalist Lizzie Fyre have once again shared the writing duties and drummer Matt Roy (ex-OBTENEBRIS) has added his considerable arranging talent and even contributed an instrumental song of his own. Chris Brideau on bass completes the lineup. Expect some special guests as well on other instruments. And as is the norm with the band's recordings, the album's nine songs will feature different styles ranging from classic metal to thrash, doom and progressive.
Mediaskare Records has announced the signing of the Thousand Oaks, California-based band MUREAU. The group's debut album, "Rumors And Reputations", was recorded at Undercity Studios and will be released in the summer. A track from the CD, "Bedroom Eyes" (featuring Brendan Foley of BETRAYAL), can be streamed at the band's Facebook page.
MUREAU features in its ranks vocalist Taylor Voeltz, who has previously worked as a producer/engineer with such bands as AS BLOOD RUNS BLACK, SUFFOKATE, BETRAYAL and HUNDREDTH.
Metal Kaoz recently conducted an interview with drummer Fredrik Andersson of Swedish death metallers AMON AMARTH. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Metal Kaoz: How do you think AMON AMARTH is musically restricted?
Fredrik: Yeah, there is a certain plan of how AMON AMARTH should sound and what to do and what not. We generally try to follow this plan but this time we tried different things in the new album and it felt less limited in the songwriting process.
Metal Kaoz: Who has set this plan for AMON AMARTH?
Fredrik: It is something that was decided from the beginning of the band, actually, so it was the original lineup's idea.
Metal Kaoz: Have you ever felt restricted in your drum work by having to follow this plan?
Fredrik: Keep in mind that I found this plan and that I am the new guy even though I have been in the band for almost 13 years. (laughs) When I got in the band, the guys told exactly how I was to play. Even though they liked the style of Martin Lopez [previous drummer] they thought that it did not match the band's sound and they wanted straightforward drumming. So, they wanted from me to play hard and no fiddling about it. Obviously, this is kind of limited for a drummer and sometimes it feels like you are just the beat for the guitars to follow and not really expressing your musicality. And this is the hardest struggle for me especially during the last years that I feel I need to do more. But, on the other hand, this is the way to do it in AMON AMARTH.
Metal Kaoz: You have added some cover songs in the special editions of the album and I am sure you are getting a lot of questions about them. The most obvious is about the SYSTEM OF A DOWN cover. Why did you decide to do that? Was it just a marketing move to draw attention?
Fredrik: No, it had nothing to do with that since we did not think it would attract that attention. The cover songs were meant to be just on the special editions (fan package and digital versions). We did not think that the fans would be so angry… (laughs)
Metal Kaoz: Angry? Do you get this type of feedback?
Fredrik: Yeah, we are getting a lot of anger for some fans. In fact I've heard people would stop listening to AMON AMARTH because of that cover song. Of course, I am not gonna judge anyone on this but the reason we did that was because people were calling us narrow-minded and that we are doing only one thing. So, we did this song to challenge ourselves and shock everyone by doing something that was not expected from AMON AMARTH.
Metal Kaoz: Did you have any other songs in mind to choose from?
Fredrik: Not really. The ACCEPT selection was kind of easy since everyone is familiar to that. The first thought was to do "God Of Thunder" by KISS since the title was close to AMON AMARTH's songtitles but while listening to the original we did not feel it was that funny to cover so we went with "War Machine". When we were in Japan for the Loud Park festival we went in a karaoke bar and we were singing the SYSTEM OF A DOWN song (laughs). So, when we returned we thought it would be a good idea to try that. But, we were totally shocked by the reaction we got with "Aerials". After all, we have been accused for being single minded and then the moment we did something different there were people reacting like that. You cannot please all the fans whatever you do; there will always be some who will not like what you do.
Canadian modern metal masters THREAT SIGNAL have issued the following update:
"On June 12th we are driving our asses out to Massachusetts to begin tracking our third release with metal mastermind Zeuss [Chriss Harris]. He has worked on many killer albums from bands such as CHIMAIRA, HATEBREED, ALL THAT REMAINS, THE ACACIA STRAIN, BORN OF OSIRIS, SHADOWS FALL, and many more… We are extremely excited to have Zeuss on board producing and mixing our new record!
"So what can you expect from the new THREAT SIGNAL record? Well… basically we said, 'Let's write the heaviest fuckin' record we possibly can.' We've been experimenting with seven-string guitars and drop tunings since the early days, so we have decided to write almost the whole new record that way. We are headed back to the 'Under Reprisal' days but with bigger balls."
Fan-filmed video footage of THREAT SIGNAL performing a brand new song, "Fallen Disciples", on May 13, 2011 at Foufounes Électriques in Montreal, Quebec, Canada can be viewed below.
THREAT SIGNAL recently parted ways with drummer Norm Killeen and guitarist Adam Weber and replaced them with Alex Rudinger from Frederick, Maryland and Chris Feener from Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland, Canada, respectively.
THREAT SIGNAL last year completed the "Threat Over Europe 2010" headlining tour with RAUNCHY (Denmark), SYBREED (Switzerland), M.A.N (Sweden) and ILLIDIANCE (Russia).
THREAT SIGNAL's sophomore album, "Vigilance", sold around 1,100 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 32 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. Released in September 2009 via Nuclear Blast Records, the CD was produced by vocalist Jon Howard and mixed by Greg Reely (FEAR FACTORY, FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY).
THREAT SIGNAL members Jon Howard and Pat Kavanagh are also involved with ARKAEA, the band featuring FEAR FACTORY members Raymond Herrera (drums) and Christian Olde Wolbers (guitar).
KORN singer Jonathan Davis and SUFFOCATION frontman Frank Mullen will make guest appearances on "The Black Crown", the new album from California deathcore masters SUICIDE SILENCE. The CD was recorded with heavyweight producer Steve Evetts (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, EVERY TIME I DIE, HATEBREED) and will be released on July 12 via Century Media Records.
"The Black Crown" track listing:
01. Slaves To Substance
02. O.C.D.
03. Human Violence
04. You Only Live Once
05. Fuck Everything
06. March To The Black Crown
07. Witness The Addiction (feat. Jonathan Davis)
08. Cross-Eyed Catastrophe
09. Smashed (feat. Frank Mullen)
10. The Only Thing That Sets Us Apart
11. Cancerous Skies
SUICIDE SILENCE began filming a video for the song "You Only Live Once" on Sunday, June 5. Vocalist Mitch Lucker commented, "This music video is going to be fucking insane!"
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," 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.
Mysterious Swedish buzz band GHOST will embark on its first-ever North American tour this fall following the group's crowd-pleasing U.S. promotional performances last week in Baltimore (at the Maryland Deathfest) and New York City. GHOST cult leader "The Ghoul With No Name" (a.k.a. REPUGNANT/SUBVISION's Tobias Forge, who takes the stage in the form of "a satanic pope") and his anonymous ghouls will team up with ENSLAVED and ALCEST for a three-week trek that will launch on September 23 in Springfield, Virginia. GHOST will be touring in support of its debut album, "Opus Eponymous", which has been called "amazing" by Stereogum and "a primer on the creation of melodic hard rock" by The Big Takeover.
GHOST floored music fans with its first U.S. shows and served notice that it is not only a "band to watch" but will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. In its live review of GHOST's New York City headlining show, the Village Voice called the group's performance "lurching and menacing", saying "GHOST's sound is like heavy metal trapped in a state of suspended animation since 1973." A sneak peek at GHOST performing live can be viewed now as the band was captured on film by a recent attendee of the band's black mass. Check out the band performing the song "Satan Prayer" as part of its May 29 headlining set at the 2011 Maryland Deathfest below.
GHOST's "Opus Eponymous" is a daringly fascinating combination of satanic rock music merged with an almost unthinkable pop sensibility. Enveloped in a shroud of mystery and standing anonymous beneath the painted faces, hoods and robes which their sect demand, the GHOST deliver litanies of pulsating heavy rock and stimulating lyrics which "glorify and glamorize the disgusting and sacrilegious." The music and philosophies of GHOST specifically target "individuals who have a void in their life perhaps caused by some form of emotional trauma or upset" (research suggests these are most likely adolescents); this dearth can then be alluringly filled by GHOST's music and philosophies.
GHOST North American tour dates with ENSLAVED and ALCEST:
Sep. 23 - Springfield, VA - Jaxx
Sep. 24 - Millvale, PA - Mr. Small's Theatre
Sep. 25 - New York, NY - Gramercy Theatre
Sep. 26 - Cambridge, MA - The Middle East
Sep. 28 - Quebec City, QC - Impérial
Sep. 29 - Montreal, QC - Cafe Campus
Sep. 30 - Toronto, ON - Opera House
Oct. 01 - Columbus, OH - Outland Live
Oct. 02 - Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge
Oct. 03 - St. Paul, MN - Station 4
Oct. 05 - Winnipeg, MB - WECC
Oct. 06 - Regina, SK - The Exchange
Oct. 07 - Edmonton, AB - The Starlite Room
Oct. 08 - Calgary, AB - Dickens
Oct. 10 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theatre
Oct. 11 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
Oct. 12 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre
Oct. 13 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's
Oct. 14 - Los Angeles, CA - The Troubadour
THE PROJECT HATE MCMXCIX — the Swedish band featuring Jörgen Sandström (vocals; VICIOUS ART, KRUX, ex-ENTOMBED, GRAVE), Lord K. Philipson (guitar; TORTURE DIVISION, ex-GOD AMONG INSECTS, HOUSE OF USHER, LEUKEMIA), Anders Bertilsson (guitar; COLDWORKER), Tobben Gustafsson (drums; TORTURE DIVISION, VOMITORY) and Portuguese vocalist Ms. Roque (a.k.a. Ruby Roque of WITCHBREED) — has commenced the songwriting sessions for its next album. Philipson states, "To beat [2011's] 'Bleeding The New Apocalypse (Cum Victriciis In Manibus Armis)' will be a monumental task, one we will, of course, accomplish.
"I am currently working on a huge bunch of things music wise and at the moment there's tons of stuff, song sketches and ideas to continue to work with, with one of these ideas already clocking in at over six minutes — meaning it looks like this one will be the first one completed for the next recording.
"We really do not have any schedules as for when to record this and it will take the time it takes to make it all answer to the standards I have for THE PROJECT HATE MCMXCIX. We haven't even discussed with Season Of Mist if they will release the next album or not; it will all show eventually. What we do know, though, is that we are determined to create another insane monster of apocalyptic visions, brutality and beauty."
THE PROJECT HATE MCMXCIX's seventh album, "Bleeding The New Apocalypse (Cum Victriciis In Manibus Armis)", was released in February via Season of Mist. The CD was mixed and mastered by Swedish producer and multi-intrumentalist Dan Swanö (EDGE OF SANITY, BLOODBATH, NIGHTINGALE) and contains six songs with a running time of over 60 minutes.
Reactivated Swedish death metallers MALFEITOR have inked a deal with Hellthrasher Productions for the release of their new full-length album, "Dum Morior Orior", during the first quarter of 2012.
MALFEITOR recently announced the addition of drummer Janne (Rudberg) Björkenfjäll (EXCRUCIATE, MORPHEUS, MASTICATION, EXHUMED) to the group's ranks.
After MALFEITOR split up in 1994, Benny Moberg and Mattias Parkkila started BLOOD MORTIZED as an old-school Swedish death metal band in an effort to recapture a small shade of Tomas Skogsberg's famous Sunlight sound.
In 2010, Moberg decided to leave BLOOD MORTIZEDand focus on the resuscitation of MALFEITOR. What we now will hear is a more intense, faster and brutal version of MALFEITOR, with influences from such acts as IMMOLATION and DEICIDE.
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/malfeitorswe.
Swedish melodic death metallers LOCH VOSTOK have inked a three-album deal with ViciSolum Productions. The band's fourth album, "Dystopium", will be released on September 23.
U.K.'s psychedelic brutal death metal masters MITHRAS have announced the return of longtime frontman/bassist Rayner Coss.
Rayner, who left the band back in 2008, commented, "Firstly, it's good to be back!
"When I departed in 2008, Leon [Macey, guitar/drums] and I had been playing in bands together non-stop for over 12 years, and for various reasons I was finding it really difficult dedicating the necessary amount of time and attention to MITHRAS. But, during the near three years I've been away, my situation has changed to the point where I'm able to fully concentrate on the band again.
"We've gone straight to work on the new record, which Leon already had a lot of ideas down for and so far it's been the easiest writing process we've ever had, which is really promising."
Macey added, "It's great to be working with a re-energized Rayner on new material again, and the tracks we're developing for the next album are sounding incredible.
"Even though I needed a rest and had put MITHRAS practically on hiatus for the last six months, I already had a fair amount of material demoed up which I'd been working on solo. It's only taken a month to get Rayner up to speed with where I'm at with everything and it's also extra great because I don't need to record the vocals myself now, haha! So for the next record, we'll be sticking to the formula which worked great on all our others, Rayner Coss on oratory/bass and Leon Macey on guitars/drums."
The as-yet-untitled follow-up to the critically acclaimed "Behind The Shadows Lie Madness" (which was released in 2007 via Candelight Records) is due sometime in 2012.
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