Legendary heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne has been forced to cancel Saturday evening's (June 25) performance at Graspop Metal Meeting in Dessel, Belgium. According to an official statement posted at Osbourne's web site, "Ozzy has severe laryngitis and his doctor has ordered an immediate 72 hours vocal rest before further evaluation."
Commented Ozzy: "I was so looking forward to performing at the legendary Graspop Metal Meeting. It really pains me to let people down and it is with great disappointment that I am unable to perform for the great fans of Belgium."
The reissues of OZZY OSBOURNE's classic first two solo albums, 1980's "Blizzard Of Ozz" and 1981's "Diary Of A Madman", sold around 6,000 copies each in the United States in their first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. They arrived on May 31 in definitive editions that restore and remaster the original recordings. Both were made available separately or as part of a deluxe box set that features both albums on CD and vinyl, a 100-page coffee table book, a documentary on DVD and a "full-size detailed replica of Ozzy's iconic cross."
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/soulflypremiere/ozzygraspop.jpg
During a short interview conducted this past Thursday (June 23) at the launch of a new art gallery and exhibition celebrating the history and continued importance of heavy metal in the Midlands region of England, Brad Sanders of The Quietus web site asked legendary guitarist Tony Iommi whether there is still any talk of a reunion of the original lineup of BLACK SABBATH. "You'll have to wait and see," he replied. "We've been doing all different stuff. I just talked to Ozzy [Osbourne] this morning — we talk about three times a week. He's doing his tour and I've been doing stuff with [current DEEP PURPLE and former BLACK SABBATH singer] Ian Gillan, I've done a few tracks with him, and I've been doing [my autobiography entitled 'Iron Man: My Life With Black Sabbath And Beyond']. So, when the time is right. If we're still alive."
Ozzy recently told The Pulse Of Radio that he's heard talk of BLACK SABBATH getting back together again, but isn't holding his breath. "Well, you know, there's rumblings about it. I'm sure eventually somebody will pop the question, and in a serious manner. I'm having such a good time with my band now, I don't want to go back and have an unhappy time, you know. I don't, I'm not in it for the money entirely. I would like to have some fun with it, you know."
Ozzy was asked by QMI Agency in a recent interview why the four members of SABBATH can't seem to agree on playing together again. Ozzy replied, "I haven't got a clue. If they want to call me, they can call me. I never say never. If it works, fine. If it don't, I'll move on. It ain't the end of the world. I ain't gonna get a box of Kleenex and cry my eyes out for the rest of my life."
Ozzy added, "I would love to do a great album with BLACK SABBATH. I would love to get the credit we so roundly deserve. At the same time, the pressure would be really intense. I could go tomorrow and make an album with them, but it wouldn't necessarily be something I would be proud of."
The original SABBATH lineup has not toured together since summer 2005, and last convened for their induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in early 2006.
SABBATH did try to record a new album 12 years ago, their first since 1978, but abandoned the attempt after just a couple of songs.
DEEP PURPLE singer Ian Gillan has narrated a Polish documentary on the life of Frédéric Chopin, a Polish composer, virtuoso pianist, and music teacher of French–Polish parentage. Produced by TV Project and directed by Jerzy Szkamruk, "Chopin's Story By Ian Gillan From Deep Purple" aired on the Polish channel Discovery Historia on June 21 and has won four international awards, including "Best Documentary" in Florianopolis, Brazil. A worldwide DVD release is in the works, with more details to be made available in the near future.
"Chopin's Story By Ian Gillan From Deep Purple" clocks in at around 23 minutes, and is accompanied by a 10-minute bonus interview with Ian focusing on his involvement with the project.
Official film description: "The movie is about the rise of extraordinary artistic genius of Frédéric Chopin and documents his Polish years. Ian Gillan, the singer of rock band DEEP PURPLE, takes you on the journey around Poland to show how his home country and the local people helped creating one of the most prominent artists in the history of music. The movie is contemporary take on how a piece of local culture morphed into beloved treasure of European heritage."
For more information, visit the movie's official Facebook page.
Joe Bosso of MusicRadar.com recently conducted an interview with DEEP PURPLE guitarist Steve Morse. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
MusicRadar.com: You're now the longest-serving guitarist in DEEP PURPLE history. Did you go into it thinking it would be a career gig? Also, did you have any trepidation stepping into the shoes of Ritchie Blackmore?
Morse: "I have been through something like this before when I replaced Kerry Livgren in KANSAS, so I was sort of prepared for what the experience would entail. You go in knowing that a certain percentage of fans will just hate it, no matter how well you play or what you do. A lot of fans like a band only one way; another guy comes in, they don't like it. It doesn't matter who it is, what songs they write, or even if they're better than the guy that came before — some fans will just fold their arms and go, 'I don't like it.' I understand that. Still, when I joined DEEP PURPLE, it was a chance for me to really bring something to the table. As a fan of the band, I felt as though they needed something. They did the organ and the keyboards thing really well, but with the guitar stuff, a lot of which was blues based — and I realize that's their meat and potatoes — I felt like there needed some stepping up, a different kind of attitude. Actually, I did
have some trepidation. They asked me to join the band, but I'd never even seen them play live. They played all over the world, but they didn't play a lot in America. I didn't know what they'd be like, whether they were a band just living of their name and not into new ideas – all those things. So my manager, Frank Solomon, set it up with DEEP PURPLE's manager that I would play four shows with the band. That way, it was an easy get-out-of-jail arrangement on both sides if we were unhappy. I didn't know what to expect, but during my first rehearsal with the band, which was only a couple of hours before we were supposed to do a gig, I was blown away by how great they were. I think we were all surprised at how good things sounded and how easy the chemistry was. Within an hour, we were laughing and slapping one another on the backs going, 'All right, this is gonna work!'"
MusicRadar.com: Tell me something, have you ever had any contact with Ritchie Blackmore? Has he commented on your playing?
Morse: "I've had no contact with him, but he has made some comments which I thought were remarkably…restrained. He's certainly had perfect opportunities to say whatever he wants, negative or otherwise. I realize I could be one giant target for him. And not just Ritchie, but for many, many fans out there. There's still lots of people who want the band to be the original guys. I understand all of that. But I'm really relieved that he hasn't said anything harsh about me. The most he ever said, and I'm paraphrasing, is something like, 'This guy plays very well and does a lot of different things. I'm not sure if he's right for DEEP PURPLE…' He said something to that effect. But you know, how can anybody replace Ritchie Blackmore in DEEP PURPLE? You can't. All you can do is come in, do what you do and change the band here and there. You can't be a clone…and you're shouldn't. What Ritchie did has been done. I do what I do. There you go!"
Halifax is playing hardball with organizers of next month's Metallica concert.
In a letter dated June 15, Jerry Blackwood, the revenue manager for Halifax Regional Municipality, spells it out for promoter Michelle MacKay. MacKay heads MacKay Entertainment Inc. and is married to Harold MacKay, the controversial former promoter who is also involved in organizing the concert.
"HRM's position regarding providing services to your concert is firm," Blackwood wrote to MacKay. "We will not release any services without an acceptable repayment strategy for the funds owing from the 2010 concerts.
"Based on the history and resulting public funds owed from the 2010 concerts, our position is that it would have been prudent and practical on your part to consult HRM at the senior management level as to your plans for the Metallica concert. Had HRM been advised upfront in the early days of planning for this concert, you would have known our position and could have made an appropriate business decision at that point in time. Today, the fate of the concert remains in your hands."
That letter was copied to Richard Butts, the city's chief administrative officer, Mary Ellen Donovan, the director of legal services, and Bruce Fisher, the acting finance director.
It shows the municipality has been trying to recoup the $359,550 remaining from the $400,000 advanced to Harold MacKay last summer because of poor advance ticket sales for the Black Eyed Peas and Alan Jackson shows.
"We have nothing to say," city spokeswoman Shaune MacKinlay responded Monday when asked about the city denying services for the Metallica show.
But correspondence between Harold MacKay and Blackwood earlier this month lays out the problem.
"From the public's perspective, public moneys were improperly used to finance the two concerts on the Halifax Commons that were held last summer," Blackwood wrote in a June 8 letter to MacKay. "This situation needs to be addressed."
Wayne Anstey, the city's former chief administrative officer, stepped down in March after he acknowledged that unauthorized outlays of cash had been provided to MacKay.
"Therefore," Blackwood's letter said, "any so-called grant from the municipality, if any, was not a valid grant and any moneys paid out pursuant to the invalid agreement are now due and owing.
"The MacKay family has asked the municipality to provide services in support of the Metallica concert. The municipality is not obliged to provide the services you have requested. If you and any member of your family wish to continue to do concert business with the municipality, the municipality expects that a payment plan to reimburse the public for concert debts will have to be negotiated."
It may already be too late to save Metallica's Halifax show. In that same June 8 letter, Blackwood said: "Any commitment of municipal services needs to be made by June 14, 2011, in order for the municipality to be in a position to deliver on those services for the July 14 concert date."
Harold MacKay had emailed Blackwood the previous day, June 7, saying his Power Promotional Events is no longer operating.
"The fact is, PPE did not owe the city any money when it ceased operations and you should know that," MacKay wrote. "The much-talked-about concert funds of $400,000 represented two loans of $200,000 each, and they were repayable grants completely tied to ticket sales. In the first case, repayment terms were set to start at 9,000 tickets sold, however that number was not attained, so the $200,000 amount was forgiven. In the second case, repayment terms were set to start at 10,000 tickets sold, and therefore repayment was made on the nine tickets over, at $50 per ticket."
In that email, MacKay told Blackwood that his wife's company, MacKay Entertainment Inc., is organizing the Metallica concert.
"My involvement is limited to assisting her and doing some PR work as the press does their usual stuff of trying to drive me out of town."
In an email sent to city councillors Monday, Michelle MacKay complains about the situation.
"There is absolutely no justification for the City of Halifax to deny these services at this time for the Rock the Hill 2011 Festival on the Parks Canada Garrison Grounds," she wrote. "The actions started with Jerry Blackwood, and in spite of our efforts to explain and resolve the issues, we have had no success and they refuse to assist us in any way.
"Geir Simensen of Scanway Catering applied for water and fire services and no one would deal with him due to direction from upper management; Kent MacDonald of Shadow Security was told the same thing regarding police services; David MacKay of (MacKay Entertainment Inc.) called the chief of police for a meeting, only to be told he couldn't deal with him at direction from the CAO office; David MacKay of MEI was told the same thing regarding the use of the CBC parking lot; and Allen McCandless of Commercial Tent was told the same thing regarding fire permits for his tents."
Michelle MacKay pleaded with the councillors for help.
"We are available at anyone's convenience to resolve this," she wrote. "On behalf of all the ticket buyers, which are over 20,000 to date, vendors, suppliers, artists, volunteers, hotels, travel agencies, tourism, bars, restaurants ..... and (MacKay Entertainment Inc.), we are asking you to step in and help to obtain the required services from the HRM services."
Neither Michelle nor Harold MacKay could be reached Monday for comment. Mayor Peter Kelly and Butts, the CAO, did not return calls, and Blackwood could not be contacted late Monday.
Simensen said he's still waiting for permits that would allow him to sell thousands of burgers and beers at the show. He said he still needs fire and water officials to sign off on his plans.
"If I don't have it by the end of this week, then I would certainly start to be nervous," he said.
"I couldn't imagine that I live in a city that would hinder the little man from being able to provide a service."
When asked if city officials are slowing down permits for the Metallica show in order to recoup money from Harold MacKay, Simensen played coy.
"That would be unethical and also illegal, wouldn't it?" he said. "Far be it from me to ever think that our city would behave in such a manner."
Coun. Sue Uteck (Northwest Arm-South End) said elected officials did not sanction the city's actions against the Metallica show organizers.
"Council did not authorize any such actions, nor was (it) made aware of any such actions," she said.
Terry McRae, a Halifax-area broker who is insuring the Metallica concert, emailed councillors Monday blasting the city for causing problems.
"I am wondering if this city has lost its mind," McRae wrote. "You have one of the biggest acts in the world coming to Halifax and (you're) refusing services."
In an interview, McRae stressed that his opinions are his own and not those of his employer, which he asked not be named.
He said he is concerned that the city's actions could mean fewer big concerts for Halifax in the future.
"We're destroying our reputation as a host venue for big events by doing these things," McRae said.
"It's like we as a city want to find the worst in everything, as opposed to the best. And we're starting to look more and more like that. It's like we're whiners. All we want to do is whine about things. And if we don't stop doing that, no one's going to want to come here."
DEF LEPPARD will play two shows in Japan in November:
Nov. 05 - Grand Cube Osaka - Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka
Nov. 07 - Tokyo International Forum - Marunouchi Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Tickets go on sale on July 16.
ROB ZOMBIE bassist Matt Montgomery's (a.k.a. Piggy D.) skull face mask was stolen from the stage during the band's June 23, 2011 appearance at the Azkena Festival in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. He would very much like it back. It's a cherished item and an essential part of the group's stage show. So if you have it, or know who took it, please contact him at his web site, Piggy-D.com.
Commented Piggy: "Dear prick who stole my skull mask from the stage in Spain, [I] hope [you] get the black plague, and all your teeth fall out of your head. GFYS [go fuck yourself]."
Piggy D. last month released a new solo single, "God Save The Queen Bee", via iTunes. The track was produced by Montgomery and David Spreng (VALIENT THORR, DAMONE), who also worked on Piggy D.'s 2007 debut solo album, "The Evacuation Plan".
"The Evacuation Plan" featured Tommy Clufetos (OZZY OSBOURNE, ROB ZOMBIE) on all drum tracks and Alice Cooper's daughter Calico on some guest vocals. Spreng co-produced the album and took care of the mixing duties as well. The CD featured 12 songs that documented the year and half that followed Piggy D.'s evacuation from a devastated New Orleans.
The year's edition of the Graspop Metal Meeting festival in Dessel, Belgium is currently being streamed live at Skynet.be.
Remaining performances for today (Sunday, June 26) that will be streamed online (all times are CEST):
AMORPHIS 14:00 - 14:45
KREATOR 14:50 - 15:40
MOONSORROW 15:45 - 16:30
MASTODON 16:35 - 17:35
LEGION OF THE DAMNED 17:40 - 18:30
AVENGED SEVENFOLD 18:35 - 19:35
OPETH 19:40 - 20:40
ROB ZOMBIE 20:45 - 22:00
CAVALERA CONSPIRACY 22:05 - 23:05
Graspop Metal Meeting is an annual metal festival in Dessel, Belgium that has taken place each year since 1996. Despite the small size of the festival grounds, the event draws a large number of international spectators, with a total of 135,000 attendees at the 2008 edition. T
Graspop Metal Meeting was not originally a heavy metal festival; rather, it was conceived as a local family festival. In 1995, the headliners billed were JOE COCKER and SIMPLE MINDS. However, due to an oversaturation of family festivals, the number of visitors had dropped to an all-time low.
On Friday October 7, Glenn Danzig will headline Riot Fest at Congress Theater in Chicago, Illinois and perform a career-spanning show featuring sets of DANZIG, SAMHAIN and MISFITS songs with none other than ex-MISFITS axeman Doyle Von Frankenstein joining Glenn on guitar for the MISFITS set.
Commented Michael Petryshyn, founder of Riot Fest: "Everyone in music has a band or a musician that changed them. For me, it is Glenn Danzig. I am in music because of DANZIG, SAMHAIN and the MISFITS. I remember being a ten-year-old when my friend handed me 'Danzig', and it blew me away. It was different… it was the first album for me, now looking back, where form matched content. Soon after, I found this entire wealth of music he wrote before 1988 and I became an even bigger fan. Musically, it opened my world to punk, metal and hardcore. To have Glenn perform his solo works, to go on stage with SAMHAIN for a set, and, lastly, to play MISFITS songs with Doyle will always be the one show I remember."
For more information, go to this location.
ANTHRAX's long-awaited new album, "Worship Music", will be released on September 13 through Megaforce Records (one day earlier internationally via Nuclear Blast Records).
In a brand new Twitter post, ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian writes, "'Worship Music' mastering/sequencing begins. The final step!!! We've worked so hard on this over the last year and to hear it finished is huge!"
"Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't", a brand new song from ANTHRAX, can be streamed using the SoundCloud player below. The track is also available for free download at this location.
Not only is "Worship Music" ANTHRAX's first studio release in eight years, but the album marks the return of vocalist Joey Belladonna, whose last full-length studio work with the band was 1990's "Persistence of Time". Belladonna is now firmly back in the ANTHRAX lineup with drummer Charlie Benante, guitarists Scott Ian and Rob Caggiano, and bassist Frank Bello.
The 11-track "Worship Music" was produced by ANTHRAX, Rob Caggiano and Jay Ruston and recorded over a four-year period at studios in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Belladonna's return to the band prompted some of the songs originally recorded to be re-crafted with fresh lyrics or tweaked to better suit his overall vibe and energy. Some of the songs were completely replaced with brand-new songs and, of course, all have Belladonna's inimitable vocal stamp on them.
"Worship Music" is loaded with stand-out tracks. While "Judas Priest" is a nod to the huge influence that band has had on the members of ANTHRAX and metal heads everywhere. "I'm Alive" is beautiful and grand with a build that demands audience participation. "Crawl" is dark and moody, and filled with a lot of the emotion and stress the band was feeling when it was written. "Fight 'em 'til You Can't" is a song about killing zombies, and who doesn't love a good zombie song? It's the one new track that ANTHRAX has played live since they started touring with Belladonna a year ago, and has been getting tremendous audience response. The song "Earth on Hell" is classic ANTHRAX thrash. "The Devil You Know" is best-described as "an AC/DC groove filtered through an ANTHRAX lens," while "In The End" is epic-sounding and ANTHRAX's way of remembering the late Ronnie James Dio and Darrell "Dimebag" Abbott.
Seattle prog-metal/hard rock outfit Queensrÿche are celebrating their 30th anniversary this year. After releasing landmark albums such as 1988 concept masterpiece Operation: Mindcrime and 1990's multi-million selling Empire, the band's creative fortunes have wavered somewhat, much to the disappointment of some fans. Regardless, the band persevered, continued to tour the world and have released their 11th studio album, Dedicated to Chaos. Brendan Crabb chatted with frontman Geoff Tate between rehearsals about the new record, social media, career milestones, concept albums and more.
Q: Many bands write and record a new album and don't want to see the inside of a studio again for a lengthy period of time, yet I understand Queensrÿche are already working on new material.
A: Yeah, we began the writing sessions for the next record about a month ago. We kind of go from one project to the next fairly rapidly. In today's world, you kind of have to keep coming up with new stuff, so we like that. It's hard to keep us out of the studio actually (laughs).
Q: The new album has just been released and the title seems indicative of the band's desire to change things up. Was that the intention from the beginning?
A: Yeah, usually before a record we sit down and kind of map out what we want to try to achieve. Most of the time we're pretty successful at planning it out and figuring out the sketching of what we're going to try and go for. With this record, I wanted to take a break from working with concepts and themes, and just really focus on writing a collection of songs that were indicative of where the band's at, at this moment.
Q: Tracks like 'Hot Spot Junkie' and 'Retail Therapy' also make numerous references to how technology continues to change our world. I also know you're somewhat of a social media enthusiast. Is that where the inspiration for those lyrical ideas came from?
A: Yeah, I think so. It's sort of a commentary on modern life (laughs). We're all pretty plugged-in now, it's kind of an exciting time to be alive really and watch all the changes that are happening globally. We're all so plugged-in and dependent, not just economically but kind of multi-culturally in a sense, I suppose because we're all so well-connected and we know what's happening everywhere in the world at any given moment. It's kind of the first time in history it's been like that, so there's a lot to comment on. There's a lot of information out there, there's a lot of change going on. Not just technologically, but socially as well. So it's a pretty exciting time.
Q: The Internet is such a valuable promotional tool, but on the flipside of that there are the substantial effects of things such as illegal downloading. What's your take on that?
A: Oh yeah, the illegal downloading has pretty much gutted the music industry and it's working pretty well to gut the movie industry and books as well. It's pretty much an attack on intellectual property, and all the ways we have that set up and the system that was in place is completely wiped out now. So, on one hand I guess you could get real bitter about it and pine for the old days, but it ain't going away; it is what is and you have to kind of focus on what you can do. How are you going to navigate in this new frontier? I think that's really what musicians are kind of grappling with now, is how do we stay alive? How do we stay afloat economically now? So it's challenging, definitely. It's a big puzzle that we're all working on (laughs).
Q: Is there still a part of you that bemoans the fact that a heavier rock band like Queensrÿche can't really sell millions of records and match some of those earlier career achievements anymore though?
A: Well, a lot of things have changed since that time. One, rock music is not the pop music of the times anymore. People have moved on and that kind of music has really gone underground. The only people that are selling millions of records, and it's very few, are pop artists that are more attuned into I guess what they call urban music or dance music, that kind of thing. I guess there's a lot of ways you could describe it, but definitely rock music is back underground, kind of where it started originally. Two, you of course have the Internet and the downloading, so that just takes away all the outlets for selling music. Even the places where people bought music have changed. I know in the United States, I don't know how it is in Australia, but in the US all the record stores have mostly shut down now. Businesses aren't stocking the physical product anymore. In fact, it's not just records, it's retail in general. People are moving towards
purchasing goods on the Internet now, rather than going to a retail shops to buy it there. So it's kind of an economic indicator that things are really changing radically.
Q: Indeed. Back to the new album then – when the band is writing, is it a similar set of musical influences that still inspires Queensrÿche, or do newer sounds and acts also have an impact on what you do musically?
A: Well, I think one of the main things that really attracted us to each other 30 years ago when we started out was that we all had huge record collections of all kinds of music, from jazz to R&B to pop to classical, country and western. You name it - we had it in our collections. We had all those different styles and all those different influences when writing. And you can hear it in all of our stuff; you can hear influences from different kinds of music in what we do. So, no, that hasn't really changed and I think for us, it's really a matter of constantly experimenting what we can do with our chemistry. We're always trying to find new ways of presenting Queensrÿche music. We go to great lengths a lot of times to find inspiration, from going to a different location to write and record, to working with different collaborators and different people within the band and the organisation, such as how we kind of work in groups sometimes. This album, we
were all kind of working on our personal presentations, trying to find new ways of writing. I know Scott (Rockenfield) our drummer, for example set his drum kit up completely different than he has ever set it up before, forcing himself to play differently. I know Parker (Lundgren), one of our guitar players was playing around with tapings to stick his fingers together in different combinations to force him to play scales and (play) differently. If you approach your instrument differently like that, you get some different results. That's one of the things we talked about early on when we started the record; trying to take our instruments and play them in different ways.
Q: Also, perhaps after two concept albums in quick succession (2006's Operation: Mindcrime II and 2009's American Soldier) perhaps there was there a real sense of wanting to strip things back somewhat.
A: Well, let's see what the past couple of records were. American Soldier was a pretty serious record really, emotionally serious. We interviewed different soldiers from different conflicts from World War II all the way up to the present to get their stories of what it was like to be a soldier in battle. Because none of us had had that experience, we felt the best way to go about writing something like this was to kind of take it from the people who have actually experienced it. So hearing all those stories was really an emotional rollercoaster, but the album turned out really good, I like it a lot. The album before that was the sequel to Operation: Mindcrime, the finishing of the story, which is a group of songs and a story that we had been kicking around for a long time. In fact, we originally had planned to put Operation: Mindcrime II out after the Empire album, sometime around 1991 or '92 or something like that. But it didn't work out at the
time, so we continued on writing from some other perspectives.
Q: Do you feel the new album lends itself to the same kind of live show theatrics the previous few albums did?
A: It could definitely; it's always up to how you want to present it and its performance. One of the things about the timing of this particular record is this is our 30-year anniversary this year. So our tour is going to be really focusing on our catalogue of music. We'll be playing songs from all of our different records and it's a really cool visual show that we're presenting along with that, kind of a Queensrÿche retrospective where we have visuals that follow our catalogue of songs from our past. We've even had fans submit their videos of themselves talking about the band and the songs, and we're including that in the show as well.
Q: Great to hear. On that front, are we likely to see Queensrÿche in Australia again as part of the 30th anniversary tour?
A: Yeah, we will have to get back down to Australia; it's been a few years since we've been there. Of course, it's all economics so we tour where we can play and we can get our crew there, pay them and all that kind of thing (laughs). I hope to come down there; I think if we do it'll probably be after the New Year.
Q: Fingers crossed. When reflecting on the band's lengthy career, is there an album in the catalogue that you feel is particularly under-appreciated?
A: Well, honestly no, because I don't pay much attention to ratings. I think music is a real personal journey, not just for the artist but for the listener as well. People discover music at different times in their life, and (whether) a song or an album becomes important to somebody really is dependent upon their life experience and what's happening to them at the moment. I know for me, I'm constantly discovering not just new music, but older music as well. There are albums that I stumble upon or somebody gives me or I hear a song and it sparks my interest and I end up discovering their whole catalogue of stuff, which is always an exciting thing.
Q: Obviously you reached a commercial peak around the time of Operation: Mindcrime and Empire, then shortly after grunge and alternative rock completely changed the landscape for heavier bands. What are your recollections of that time period?
A: Well, I think Phil Collins said it the best. He said a musician's life is like riding a boat on the ocean. You're just kind of floating along with the waves of things that happen to you. You go up, you go down, you go sideways and it's all kind of perspective really I think. We've had a very fortunate career, we've been able to just out of school start the band, get signed to a label, make records for 30 years and tour the world – we've played in I think 50-something countries now. It's just been an incredible experience that I have no regrets at all. I feel very fortunate and I think everybody in the band does.
Q: Obviously you still has success with albums like 1994's Promised Land, but many bands which had been in vogue in the late 80s/early 90s were suddenly out of favour throughout much of the latter decade. How do you believe Queensrÿche survived that?
A: We didn't really pay attention, honestly. Your question kind of concerns itself with feeling like your self-worth is based upon your chart position and we've never felt that way (laughs). We just make music and we play our music for people that want to come see us play, and that's all we've ever been concerned about. We've never been concerned with competing. I don't think music is a competition sport, you know? It's an art form, it's expression. Some albums you maybe tour a little bit more based upon what the economy is doing at the time; other albums you don't tour so much because that's the way the economy is (laughs). It's kind of an up and down thing, you know? All I know is we've never slowed down; we tour a lot and we still got to a lot of the same places we've been going to and every year we have new places we go to. So I don't really notice a huge difference from album to album, as far as that goes.
Q: Last year was the 20th anniversary of Empire, which was also reissued. Did this encourage you to think a lot about that era of the band and what you've achieved since?
A: Yeah, EMI re-released it with some bonus tracks and a live show that was included in there from London, I think from 1991. Yeah, it was a cool package; a lot of people liked it a lot and I liked it a lot. It did make us think back to that time a little bit because of course you do the interviews to support the release and some people ask you questions about it. We've honestly never been a band that really looks back. We finish one record and we start thinking about and writing for the next one. It's like once the songs are out of your system, you're moving on to the next thing that you're thinking about. We've never been a band that kind of stopped and rested on its laurels - we just continued to write music, put it out, tour and do our thing.
Q: Are there any plans to afford 1986's Rage for Order a similar treatment, given 2011 marks the silver anniversary of its release?
A: I haven't heard of any plans from EMI regarding that, but that could happen tomorrow, I don't know (laughs). It's really an economic issue; if they think they can press it up and people are going to buy it… I don't know - that's kind of their game.
Q: Any famous last words?
A: (Laughs) I would say thanks for the interview and we definitely hope to be down in Australia as soon as possible. The first time we played there was recently, like in the past few years and we had a wonderful reception, people seemed to really relate to the music quite a bit. So we hope to be back there soon, absolutely.
Drummer Mike Mangini will make his live debut with progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER on Monday, July 4 in Rome, Italy. He states, "Rehearsing with the guys was unbelievably amazing. It was really physically and mentally rewarding. The whole crew is the most professional group ever. I'm really getting into tweaking the parts to make a mix of the recorded parts and some moves of my own that I think are just plain fun. Hearing those guys right in my ear canals is one smile after another."
DREAM THEATER will release its new album, "A Dramatic Turn Of Events", on September 13 via Roadrunner Records. The CD was mixed by Andy Wallace, who has previously worked with AVENGED SEVENFOLD, WHITE ZOMBIE, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, SEPULTURA, SLAYER and NIRVANA, among many others.
"A Dramatic Turn Of Events" track listing:
01. On The Backs Of Angels
02. Build Me Up, Break Me Down
03. Lost Not Forgotten
04. This Is The Life
05. The Shaman's Trance
06. Outcry
07. Far From Heaven
08. Breaking All Illusions
09. Beneath The Surface
In a recent interview with Music Radar, Petrucci and Rudess were asked if Mike Mangini contributed to the songwriting on the forthcoming CD. "Mike didn't write with us," Rudess replied. "Basically, we got in the studio and did our thing. We wrote songs and sent them to him. He came in and just nailed his parts. He's incredible. I'm finishing my keyboard parts right now, and I'll go to the computer to see how things are lining up, and I'm just speechless. The guy doesn't mess up!" [laughs]
"We had the demos, had them fully written out, and he learned them and added his own stuff," Petrucci stated. "But every time he would do something, if I said, 'Hey, can you do that again?' he'd do it, and it would be perfect. The guy is… he's out of his mind! [laughs] People are not going to believe how great he is."
"But what's really special about him is, he's not just a technician," Rudess added. "Yes, he plays his parts perfectly, but he comes at everything as a total musician. Everything he does has real soul and a depth of feeling."
When asked how not having DREAM THEATER's former drummer, Mike Portnoy, in the recording and writing process changed the band dynamic, Petrucci replied, "It was a lot quieter. [laughs] Mike Mangini's playing style is different. He plays very hard, but he's got a very deep groove. He almost plays behind the beat just a little bit — even through he's right on the money. He's extremely locked in, but if he does do something technical, he's still right there."
The metal world's newest supergroup debuted in New York City last night, choosing the Hiro Ballroom to introduce their music to excited fans in a roaring, highly anticipated live performance.
Drummer Mike Portnoy has drawn much of the attention to this new band, following the drama surrounding his leaving Dream Theater and playing with Avenged Sevenfold. But many fans last night were equally excited to see vocalist Russell Allen from Symphony X fronting the group, and with only snippets of songs released through Facebook teasers, no one in the crowd really knew what to expect.
Further fueling the intrigue was a supposedly strict rule against any form of photography or videography, even for press. In addition to signs posted virtually everywhere, Eddie Trunk, host of the night, personally came out to plead with the crowd not to take any pictures or videos, in a way that suggested the band was perhaps afraid of losing control of their music and image. Other professional photographers and videographers were present the entire time, but in keeping with the band's wishes as personally expressed to me in an email, I took no pictures of the group. While the caveat was unprecedented for any concert in this Examiner's experience, the entire night was unique in other ways as well, considering that none of the few hundred people in attendance knew any of the band's music, and in fact this was the first ever metal concert at the Japanese-themed Hiro Ballroom, generally a club hotspot on Friday nights.
The band kicked off the night with a cover of Dio-era Black Sabbath's Mob Rules, instantly getting the crowd moving with the classic anthem. In interviews, members of Adrenaline Mob have compared their sound to bands like Disturbed and Black Label Society but with Dio singing, and while that seemed like a tall order, in fact Adrenaline Mob truly does sound like some BLS riffs mixed with Disturbed's radio-friendly production and songwriting, and Russell Allen's powerful voice allowed him to both cover and emulate Ronnie James Dio's distinct power metal sound.
Running through their entire upcoming record, the band played songs with titles like Hit The Wall, Feeling Me, and Hit The Gas, chugging hard rock with crushing Mike Portnoy percussion giving it extra drive. Lead guitarist Mike Orlando sizzled on his solos, shredding on almost every song alongside fellow axeman Rich Ward, from Fozzy and Stuck Mojo. But despite a heavy presence of Mike Portnoy fans filling the crowd, Allen made the biggest impact, singing, roaring, and vividly gesturing as he sang typical metal lyrics about fighting, driving cars, and other generic aggressive subjects.
While most tracks had a powerful groove and catchy riff, it's hard to say that any of the material really jumped at this first listen. A song entitled Angel Sky had a distinct Symphony X vibe, and one likely titled PsychoSane, which saw Portnoy whispering backup vocals, reminded this reviewer of the Disturbed track Get Psycho, both in substance and style. A power ballad was enjoyable as well, but like the rest of the music, seemed to lack a chorus or lick catchy enough to stay in your head once the song ended.
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Fans seemed to enjoy the show for the most part, nodding their heads to the beat and throwing up the occasional devil horns for particularly slamming passages, but there was never a chance of a mosh pit breaking out or true metal carnage, perhaps due to the fact that no one was able to have a favorite song or breakdown yet. The band themselves certainly enjoyed themselves, and as they should - the group was incredibly tight, and clearly has a great musical connection among themselves
After playing an unexpected cover of Duran Duran's Come Undone, the supergroup's potential was to become more apparent once Portnoy stood up from behind his drum kit and shouted "That's it! That's the whole album!" It was now cover time, and that's where the band truly shined. They blasted out High Wire by The Badlands, followed by Dio's Stand Up and Shout, neatly wrapping their own record between the night's first and last Dio covers. The show ended with an encore of War Pigs, which was truly crushing from start to finish, as Allen belted out the classic tune and alternated verses with the crowd, who were more than happy to sing along to a song they finally knew the words to.
In the end, it's hard to judge Adrenaline Mob based on last night's show alone. Without a doubt, the musicians are all spectacular, both in their own right as well as a cohesive unit. Russell Allen proved he can do much more than power metal, and Mike Orlando's guitar work was truly ferocious. Mike Portnoy needs to prove nothing at this point in his career, and while in fact his drumming was noticeably less "proggy" than Dream Theater fans might have expected, even playing more basic straight up hard rock the drummer still laid down a crushing, heavy impact base for the rest of the band to go to town on. The music, both original and covers, all gelled in the way that speaks to the immense talent in the supergroup.
But like other supergroups, the music itself might not equal the sum of its parts. It's not fair to judge a song off of a single listen, and the riffs, beats, and vocals were all quality, but with the possible exception of a song called Indifferent, nothing really jumped out as a kick-you-in-the-head instant favorite. The songs are radio-friendly, easy metal listening, but that's not necessarily what most metal fans want to hear, and this Examiner suspects that by merging such diverse raw talent, the finished results may lack any room for those raw talents to do what they do best on their own.
The band took an interesting chance by insisting on debuting their music live, ensuring that all the power and energy were delivered as loudly and in-your-face as possible, but the flip side is that no one could replay a song or take their time to let it grow on them. The band puts on a fantastic live show, but only time, and the official release of music, will tell if their songwriting meets the high level of expectation that fans have been developing.
As always, stay in the loop with the Hard Rock Examiner for further information on tickets on-sales and all local rock and heavy metal news by subscribing at the top of this page, or follow me at twitter.com/NYROCKEXAMINER.
Bassist Rex Brown has confirmed that he is no longer a member of DOWN. Speaking to Patrick Musumeche of 8countnews.com over the weekend, he said, "I'm officially out of the band. Things came to a head and they're better off doing what they're doing. They've got Patrick Bruders [from CROWBAR] playing bass and I kind of lost my passion after a while. There were some other problems that we had to address and it just turned out better that we just parted ways."
According to Brown, he will focus all of his attention on KILL DEVIL HILL, the new band featuring Vinny Appice (HEAVEN & HELL, BLACK SABBATH, DIO) on drums, Brown on bass, Mark Zavon (RATT, W.A.S.P., 40 CYCLE HUM) on guitar and Jason "Dewey" Bragg (PISSING RAZORS) on vocals.
Brown stated about KILL DEVIL HILL, "It's awesome. It's got a huge bottom end on it. It's coming on really well. It clicked and turned into a really cool project and it's gonna be a full-blown band. He added, "This is old school meets new school — it's got the heaviness of [BLACK SABBATH album] 'Mob Rules', with some ALICE IN CHAINS thrown in, some LED ZEPPELIN thrown in. There are a lot of different tunes on this record. It's just kick-ass fucking heavy."
8countnews.com's entire interview with Brown can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.
DOWN drummer Jimmy Bower said in an interview with MetalChroniques.fr last week about Brown's status in the band, "It's a real delicate situation, because what he went through was really… [In 2009 Brown was diagnosed with pancreatitis, a sudden inflammation of the pancreas which can have severe complications and high mortality despite treatment. — Ed.] I mean, he's got a scar from here [points to his stomach] all the way to here. We just wish him to find peace within himself and be healthy, and we weren't seeing that for DOWN. We have Pat now. Pat's playing bass. Pat's from New Orleans, [which] makes sense. He plays with CROWBAR as well." He added, "We love Rex to death, man, and wish him the best. He has a new project as well — KILL DEVIL HILL, with Vinny Appice — and I know he's having fun doing that. He gave Pat his blessing, so it was on a good term [that we parted ways]. But he will not be back."
During a press conference at this year's Sweden Rock Festival, DOWN frontman Philip Anselmo stated about Brown, "Just to put it kindly, [Rex] needs to address some personal things in his life and when he has to address these personal things, the extremity of them, it's gonna take him away from music and touring and stuff like that. We all support him, we love him, we're still very close with him, speak with him all the time. . . We wish the best for him."
Speaking to The Delaware County Daily Times this past spring, DOWN guitarist Pepper Keenan offered the following when asked about Brown, "Rex is not gonna be with us [on the road for the upcoming shows]. He's got things he needs to deal with, and we gave him an ultimatum and he's trying to work things out. We've got Pat from CROWBAR playing bass, and he's ass-kickin' in the same way. He plays with his fingers — which is really cool; he's got the whole Geezer Butler thing going on."
When asked if Rex was still considered a part of DOWN, Pepper replied, "I don't know what to really say on that; he's not out of the band, but he's not playing with us live."
During a recent interview with the "Focus In The Mix With Denise Ames" TV show, Brown was asked if he still speaks to Anselmo. "We're having a little marital spat, so… I'll just leave it at that. I'm in the doghouse," he replied.
Brazilian/American thrashers SEPULTURA released their new album, "Kairos" (an ancient Greek word signifying a time in between, a moment of undetermined period of time in which something special happens) in Europe on June 24 via Nuclear Blast Records. The artwork for the CD, which will be made available in North America on July 12, was created by Erich Sayers, a Los Angeles-based freelance digital artist and photographer whom SEPULTURA first met at the band's concert at the House Of Blues in West Hollywood, California.
Commented guitarist Andreas Kisser: "This album is inspired by ourselves, SEPULTURA, our whole history and all the experiences, after 26 years of a career, with many changes inside and outside the band, we are still here, in 2011, touring, playing, recording and doing what we love the most, to live for music. This is the kind of feeling on 'Kairos', all the lyrics are talking about us, our families, relationship with managers, labels, press and the fans, our experiences on stage and touring the world. It is a very intimate album, very personal views. Sound-wise, it has a little bit of everything we did in the past, plus new elements that we always bring to every new SEPULTURA album."
Description of first four tracks from "Kairos":
01. Spectrum
Kisser: "The first song of the album expresses what the album is all about, our experience being SEPULTURA, all the stuff we saw and lived in these 26 years. The way we see the world, the way we experienced the world, the whole spectrum of our living. The riff is very simple, yet very powerful, it sets the tone for the whole song, kind of an hypnotic effect, it was the first riff that I wrote for 'Kairos' and it turned out to be the first song of it."
02. Kairos
Kisser: "The title track, what we talked about here is a very special concept of time, which is not chronological but a specific moment of opportunity and change, the present is what it is, the past is a collection of 'kairos' moments and the future a consequence of the present, it is a very powerful concept which gave us the possibility to talk about ourselves and what is SEPULTURA today, NOW. It is a song with three different vibes, starts with a heavy, slow riff, then goes to an intermission, which is the lead part and then it ends with an upper beat with heavy picking riff."
03. Relentless
Kisser: "This song talks about our endless fight to keep our music going, regardless of any difficulties we had passed or are passing, nothing is easy and demands a lot of energy and work. We never lost sight of our goals and we never stopped, with integrity and respect. The music brings more of the old feeling of trash metal, raw and direct."
04. Just One Fix
Kisser: "A MINISTRY cover, a band that was very influential on SEPULTURA's music on the early '90s, we toured with them in 1992, it was a great tour where we learnt a lot. MINISTRY showed a new way of playing heavy/aggressive music, pioneers of the industrial metal style."
SEPULTURA's new CD was recorded at Trama Studios in São Paulo, Brazil with producer Roy Z. (JUDAS PRIEST, HALFORD, BRUCE DICKINSON, HELLOWEEN). 13 tracks were laid down during the sessions, including cover versions of MINISTRY's "Just One Fix" and THE PRODIGY's "Firestarter".
"Kairos" track listing:
01. Spectrum
02. Kairos
03. Relentless
(2011)
04. Just One Fix (MINISTRY cover)
05. Dialog
06. Mask
(1433)
07. Seethe
08. Born Strong
09.Embrace The Storm
(5772)
10. No One Will Stand
11. Structure Violence (Azzes)
(4648)
"Kairos" deluxe edition track listing:
01. Spectrum
02. Kairos
03. Relentless
(2011)
04. Just One Fix (MINISTRY cover)
05. Dialog
06. Mask
(1433)
07. Seethe
08. Born Strong
09. Embrace The Storm
(5772)
10. No One Will Stand
11. Structure Violence (AZZES)
(4648)
Bonus tracks:
12. Firestarter (THE PRODIGY cover)
13. Point Of No Return
* Plus bonus making-of DVD
Former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach will film two new video videos tomorrow (Tuesday, June 28) in Hollywood, California with director Devin DeHaven of Fortress Entertainment (PAPA ROACH, WHITESNAKE, METHOD MAN, TALIB KWELI). Bach says, "We are actually going to have three videos, but one of them is mainly live in concert. So, we shoot two concept videos tomorrow and then run through the third song to intersperse the live footage with studio video footage." He added, "It's gonna be a fun day."
Bach will release his new solo album, "Kicking & Screaming", on September 27 via Frontiers Records. The CD was produced by Bob Marlette (BLACK SABBATH, SHINEDOWN, ATREYU, FILTER) and features young virtuosic guitarist Nick Sterling and drum pro Bobby Jarzombek (HALFORD, RIOT, ICED EARTH). The follow-up to 2007's "Angel Down" was mastered at Precision Mastering in Los Angeles with Tom Baker.
Sebastian previously stated that the "Kicking & Screaming" cover would feature "the hottest model in the land" — presumably referring to his new girlfriend, 25-year-old model Minnie Gupta — "and reflect the lyrics as well as the brutality of the music. It's gonna be rock 'n' roll to the 9th degree — very heavy, cool, trippy and nightmare-ish."
Bach stated about his new solo material, "This CD will follow along the lines of 'Skid Row', 'Slave To The Grind', 'Subhuman Race' and 'Angel Down'. If you like rockin' guitar riffs, high-energy songs and performances, deadly drums of doom, and ear-shattering screams, we got your rock right here!" He also described the songs as "heavy, interesting, classic sounding, modern sounding, completely rock 'n' roll — just how we like it!"
Bach and his crew have been keeping busy playing selected tour dates nationwide, including recent appearances at major festivals M3 and Rocklahoma, and will continue to tour throughout the summer. Fans can expect Bach classics, as well as a sneak preview of material from the forthcoming album.
Niclas Müller-Hansen of Sweden's Metalshrine recently conducted an interview with drummer Robb Reiner of Canadian heavy metal legends ANVIL. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Metalshrine: Did you feel a lot of pressure recording this album, considering all the hype around the movie ["Anvil! The Story Of Anvil"], that this is a make-or-break album?
Robb: Well, let's be realistic. Of course we felt no pressure, because we had the material in hand all along and our mission was to make the most true-to-the-classic-form ANVIL album we've ever made and we had to make sure that we stood up and that we were gonna be counted this time, musically. We were looking forward to the challenge more than the pressure, you know. We had no choice but to do it and I think that we're definitely are gonna be counted this time.
Metalshrine: How come you ended up working with [producer] Bob Marlette? Was that something you chose or the record company?
Robb: No, no, no! Our manager. We knew that [former ANVIL producer] Chris Tsangarides could not take us to the next level and we've known that for quite a while. Chris is a great producer and he's my friend and all that, but he's not the man to take us to the next level and our manager suggested a few new people and we picked Bob out of the list. He was a great choice and he's an amazing, amazing producer and he's a songwriter and he really cares about making it right.
Metalshrine: After this and everything that happened, did you feel that you got a lot more attention from different record companies and how come you ended up with Steamhammer?
Robb: Listen, we're super-famous now! ANVIL has become worldwide super-famous — not just famous, but super-famous. It's unbelievable how famous we got! The story got told and the story needed to get told and by becoming the story, a lot of people didn't realize a lot of the truths about ANVIL, and yeah, that brought a lot of people that are in the business to the band, to become bona fide rock stars. We have a great team around us now and we have the best management any rock band can have. We have a great rock and roll agent, we've got a record company and we've been touring nonstop for years now. Last year we played to a total of more than 400,000 people and it's not stopping. The movie part will never stop. It will keep going forever!
Metalshrine: Did you ever feel like… that with everything that happened with the movie, that why did it take a movie to put you on the next level?
Robb: You know what?! Life is funny and that's just how it works. I would have never thought in a million years that it would take a movie to open the doors for us. Who would've thought? That was the beautiful part about it. The movie idea was the director Sacha's [Gervasi] idea. He came up with the idea and we just went along with it. We wanted to tell a story and the world needed to know the whole career of ANVIL. Our music made a difference and it inspired a whole generation of music that everybody veered and nobody knew that. We had to get everything told, we had to tell the whole story. I'm glad it did it. But listen, without the music there would be no movie, so it's the music that got the movie made and it's a beautiful thing. The movie now has inspired hundreds of other bands to make movies! Everybody's making a fucking movie now! I mean, even Lemmy has a fucking movie! Everybody saw that and, "Oh, my god, look at this! It's the biggest thing
ever! The biggest rock movie ever!" Believe it or not, it's true! I'm happy about it. How can I not be happy? It opened the doors for us and we walked in and we had to deliver the record of our career and we're a great band anyway. People are discovering it when we play live!
Emppu Vuorinen (NIGHTWISH), Santeri Kallio (AMORPHIS), Gus G. (pictured below; FIREWIND, OZZY OSBOURNE) and Jouni Hynynen (KOTITEOLLISUUS) are among the guest musicians who will appear on "Räyh!" , the third album from HEVISAURUS, a Finnish heavy metal band which wears dinosaur costumes and makes music for children. The CD is scheduled for release on September 28.
According to Helsingin Sanomat, many Finnish parents also like HEVISAURUS, as it differs from adult heavy metal only with respect to the lyrics, and the fact that instead of musicians adorned with heavy metal attire and makeup, the music is performed by four dinosaurs and a dragon.
HEVISAURUS's second album, "Hirmuliskojen Yö", entered the official chart in Finland at position No. 3. The CD featured guest appearances by Perttu Kivilaakso (APOCALYPTICA), Janne Wirman (CHILDREN OF BODOM), Antti "Hyrde" Hyyrynen (STAM1NA), Janne "Burton" Puurtinen (HIM), Elias Viljanen (SONATA ARCTICA) and Nino Laurenne (THUNDERSTONE).
HEVISAURUS' debut CD, "Jurahevin Kuninkaat", came out in October 2009 and has since been certified gold in Finland for sales in excess of 15,000 copies.
HEVISAURUS is:
Herra Hevisaurus - Vocals
Riffi Raffi- Guitar
Muffi Puffi - Bass
Komppi Momppi - Drums
Milli Pilli - Keyboards
Brian Rademacher of RockEyez recently conducted an interview with LIZZY BORDEN frontman and namesake. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
RockEyez: In recruiting Dario Lorina (guitar) into LIZZY BORDEN a few years back, did that make an impact?
Lizzy Borden: Absolutely! I mean, we had so many guitar players in this band and [they all] had one thing in common: [they were] hard to work with. Dario is the opposite — he's such a professional and a fun guy plus he's unbelievably talented. He's got the full package and he's someone I've been waiting for since the beginning when we started this band trying to find someone of his caliber that's so professional and not crazy.
RockEyez: Now you also have AC Alexander [guitar]. How's he working out?
Lizzy Borden: He's working out great, too. He brings a whole different element to the band. He has so much energy and a positive guy, great talented guitar player. Him and Dario work well together, they call themselves The Italian Stallions because they're both Italians. This lineup is the best lineup we've ever had, bar none. The combination is finally right as far as personalities go. The show is so much better than anything we've ever done because of the personalities and everyone brings something unique to their part of the show that works in conjunction with the whole band.
RockEyez: "Appointment With Death" came out in 2007 when are we going to see some new material?
Lizzy Borden: I started working on new material a long time ago. I'm not that anxious to run out and do another record. The record I have in mind is so unique it's even hard to picture. The way I look at "Appointment With Death" is we came full circle we all had the same influences on all the records. Now it's time to create something new so that's where my head is at right now. The album I want to do is ten amazing songs. I don't know exactly where it's going to go; it could be the heaviest record we've ever done. You know, you write ten songs and end up loving one. I hope to get something out soon but we have the tour right now, but we are working hard on songs right now. It's coming out really interesting but I'm still looking for that ultimate producer that I can work with so I can create something so unique that is sounds like we're breaking ground a little bit.
RockEyez: You always wear a U.S. flag on stage at some point, what does America mean to you?
Lizzy Borden: It means everything, especially since we've traveled all around the world. We were able to see how other people live in different countries. Everybody we meet, especially the younger kids, they think where I live in L.A. is like Disneyland. It's the mecca [and] they all want to come here. It's true — I look at my window right now it's absolutely amazing, and our whole country is that way. I love it and America means everything to me. When I wrote the song "American Metal", I kind of wrote it about the L.A. music scene at the time. It really means so much more now. When we go to Europe and sing "American Metal", I usually have an American flag joined with a flag of whatever country we're in. It's like a unity thing. It's not necessarily about America, it's about the world now being a unity. I love the way America is run; well, not completely (laughing) but I love most of it.
Brendan Crabb of Australia's Loud magazine recently conducted an interview with vocalist Anders Fridén of Swedish metallers IN FLAMES. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
On a recent incident when someone posted a fake audio clip on YouTube purportedly containing IN FLAMES' latest single, "Deliver Us", when in fact it was "Episode 666" from the band's 1997 album "Whoracle":
"All these people were posting these comments like, 'I hate the way you play now,' 'Your old stuff was so much better' and 'You suck now.' It was playing 'Episode 666' and people were still complaining about how much better we were in the past. It shows how much some people's attitudes won't change. It's funny how some people phrase some of these things."
On how some "fans" constantly call for IN FLAMES to perform more obscure earlier material:
"I've been hearing that since the day I joined the band — it's part of the game. I don't really get bothered by it. People can like what they want to like and there's nothing I can do about it. We still have a sound; it might be a little different (these days), but it's the same ideals and intentions. We didn't do a country album. If people like one song of ours, great. If they like an album or the whole catalogue, that's fucking awesome. Sometimes you're in a trend and the next day you're out of a trend, you can't do much about it. I don't like comparing old versus new, back and forth. Let them be what they are; they are different albums, different periods and we are different people."
On how last year's departure of longtime guitarist and songwriter Jesper Strömblad affected the songwriting process for IN FLAMES' new album, "Sounds Of A Playground Fading":
"The songwriting didn't change that much; it's Björn and I writing instead of three of us. We've been doing it since 'The Jester Race'. It was really bad the way everything ended, but it's not musically as big of a deal as some people have suggested. The way we were (previously) doing it (was) as a unit, but the problem was the unit didn't work anymore and we had to make a change. He had a problem with alcohol and that affected all of us. You have to be able to trust each other if you do what we do, touring all the time and being in a band. He's still a good guy — I played him some new tracks a few weeks ago… I think that was difficult for him. We didn't part ways because of musical differences or being enemies, it was because of addiction. I wish him the best, and I want him to get better. It can be really tough… It's a disease and if you have to treat it or it goes to hell."
On the new album title:
"It started on a program I saw on television. It was about that we're running out of places that are untouched by man. We're running out. In the Western world, we just take, take, take until we can't take no more, and then we move on to the next place. At some point, we will be wiped off this earth because of the way we act. How will that change our behavior now? That was one of the main inspirations for the lyrics. Who am I to say how things should be (though)? It mainly poses a lot of questions; asking the questions that somebody needs to answer or people need to discuss. The title fit very well with the lyrics. It's written in a way that it has meaning for me, but it's open for interpretation. It's always been that way; it's never wrong if it means something to you. It's written for me, but if it touches someone's heart, that's great."
David E. Gehlke of Blistering.com recently conducted an interview with vocalist Anders Fridén of Swedish metallers IN FLAMES. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.
Blistering.com: What was it like doing an album without [former IN FLAMES guitarist] Jesper [Strömblad]? Was it weird to not have him in the studio with you?
Anders: No, not at all. It didn't go from one thing to another. We had touring, where he wasn't with us for a lot of "A Sense Of Purpose" and we had a year off, so to speak, so it would be strange if he would leave us in the middle of the recording. Me and Björn [Gellote, guitar] have been in the band since '95 and Peter [Iwers, bass] and Daniel [Svensson, drums] since '97, so it's not like he was the main guy and we were standing around, waiting for his moves. He's still a good friend, but his alcohol addiction got in the way of the group. We're unique individuals and the unit just wasn't working. One day he was super-happy, the other he would be the total opposite, and it's really hard to work like that. I miss the guy. I sat down with him two weeks ago. It's hard for him, but we still had a good chat for a couple of hours, which felt good.
Blistering.com: There is already some degree of familiarity with Niclas [Engelin] being that this is his second stint with the band. How is he fitting in this time out?
Anders: We've known him for the early days of the Gothenburg scene, even when I was in DARK TRANQUILLITY and he was in other bands. He's a very good friend. We spend more time off the stage than on the stage, so it's important we have someone that's on your level… whatever that might be. He fits in. I don't know what we would have done he had said no. [laughs] The transition from him to Jesper would have been so much harder. We were going on a tour around 2009, but a few days before we were flying away, Niclas had to step in and he learned the songs, spent many hours playing the songs. He's really been a savior. We decided to do the album without him — he didn't record anything.
Blistering.com: Let's talk about Björn and how he shouldered the songwriting load this time out. How do you think he did?
Anders: I know he was a bit fucking desperate when Jesper decided to leave because they've been partners for a really long time. It's usually me, Björn, and Jesper writing, and I'm usually there talking about music, the big picture, but they've been the ones writing the actual guitars — I've been doing the melodies. To be honest, he's the more talented of the two of them. Don't get me wrong — Jesper is a great guitarist, but he's more of a melody-maker, so to speak, and Björn is more skilled at the guitar. I would say he really stepped up and I encouraged him like, "Come on, we can do this!" I'm not the biggest fan of guitar solos just for the sake of it [makes guitar solo sound] and I think every note, every guitar solo is awesome [here]. I don't think he could have done any better.
Blistering.com: You know, it is the 15-year anniversary of "The Jester Race" and the big trend is for bands to perform one of their classic albums in its entirety. Has any thought been given to that, even though you have a new album coming out?
Anders: It's not likely, and if you know IN FLAMES, we try not to do the most typical things. I see a lot of bands doing a whole album from their career where people said they were at their best… I can't see us doing that. It would be impossible to make those albums again. I keep on saying that [QUEENSRŸCHE's] "Operation: Mindcrime" is one of the best metal albums I've ever heard.
Blistering.com: Then they did "Mindcrime II".
Anders: And I'm like, "No, not really!"
Blistering.com: Ever since "Colony" and "Clayman", your popularity has increased dramatically, which means expectations for each album are extremely high. How do you deal with that? Do you pay attention to it?
Anders: I read reviews, I read what fans say, and I have interest in what people think of us. It doesn't bother me when someone says, "You suck." I sleep well anyway. [laughs] If people like a song or a whole album... we haven't gone from a sudden hit to world-famous. It's been very slow to get where we are today and I think the whole band has their feet on the ground. We try to be as normal and have a relaxed attitude, even though we take our music seriously. We are here on our own terms which we made. Not because of the record company or fans, or anyone else. It's always been the five of us and if we haven't agreed on something, we tried to agree on it. I'm so humbled and thankful to all the people that listen to us, to be here and do what we love.
Finnish/Swedish symphonic metallers NIGHTWISH have been confirmed for next year's edition of the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise, which will set sail from Miami, Florida to Cayman Islands on January 23, 2012 and return four days later. A total of 40 acts will perform on the cruise.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
AMORPHIS
CORONER
ELUVEITIE
GRAVE DIGGER
IN EXTREMO
MOONSORROW
MY DYING BRIDE
NIGHTWISH
PESTILENCE
SAMAEL
STRATOVARIUS
THERION
TRISTANIA
Ticket prices start at $666 plus $289 taxes and fees per person and include all onboard entertainment, non-alcoholic and non-carbonated beverages, all meals at the dining rooms, most on-board restaurants and even 24-hour room service.
For more information, visit www.70000tons.com.
"Sandstorm", a brand new song from Regina, Saskatchewan-based Canadian extreme progressive metallers INTO ETERNITY, will be released in July via iTunes. A one-minute audio sample of the track, which features "death" vocals by Rob Doherty, can be heard in the YouTube clip below.
INTO ETERNITY in March announced the addition of drummer Brian Newbury from Edmonton, Alberta. Newbury is known in the western Canadian metal scene as a member of Edmonton-based DEATH TOLL RISING.
INTO ETERNITY has been writing new material as a follow-up to the well-received 2008 Century Media release "The Incurable Tragedy". Guitarist Tim Roth commented back in March about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the new CD, "This will be our sixth album, so we have to make sure all the songs are perfect. I have over 60 minutes of music demoed now on my iPod, so things are slowly getting done. The music is all there now, so the rough arrangement of the songs has started."
Former MEGADETH guitarist Jeff Young's SOULS ON 11 project has parted ways with singer Schascle "Twinkle" Yochim and has replaced her with 24-year-old Swedish import Guernica Mancini (pictured below).
Due to various "personal and family situations," Twinkle was unable to move forward with the project. Young immediately followed in the footsteps of mentor Neal Schon and began searching the Internet for the perfect voice. Seeking a vocalist of European sensibility led the guitarist back to his Alma mater, Musicians Institute in Hollywood, California. Mancini is a recent graduate of MI's Vocal Institute Of Technology and is currently attending courses in Music Business at UCLA. During her tenure at VIT, Mancini went through a self-proclaimed "'80s metal phase," exploring a natural affinity and the uncanny ability to sing in the style of Ronnie James Dio, SKID ROW's Sebastian Bach, Janis Joplin and the like.
SOULS ON 11's lineup is rounded out by the world-class rhythm section of bassist James Lomenzo (MEGADETH, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, WHITE LION) and drummer Jeff Bowders (PAUL GILBERT, PUDDLE OF MUDD).
Stay tuned for two songs, plus accompanying videos, to be released over the summer, with world tour dates to follow. Mancini will also be an upcoming guest on Young's radio show "Music Without Boundaries".
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/soulflypremiere/guernica.jpg
Veteran progressive metallers ELDRITCH have inked a deal with Scarlet Records for the release of their eight studio album, "Gaia's Legacy", a concept effort dealing with global warming based on Al Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth". Due in late September, the CD will see ELDRITCH going back to its technical progressive roots, with lots of influences raging from thrash to AOR and a modern approach still in the band's distinctive style. Frontman Terence Holler wrote all the lyrics after a deep search of information on every kind of source for the last three years.
"Gaia's Legacy" was produced by Marco Ribecai and Eugenio Simone at Syncropain Products Studio in Pisa, Italy, and mastered by Göran Finnberg (OPETH, IN FLAMES, EVERGREY, DARK TRANQUILLITY) in Sweden. FIREWIND's Bob Katsionis, a longtime fan of the band, is credited as special guest keyboardist on the song "Like A Child".
ELDRITCH's "Livequake" CD/DVD was released in November 2008 via Diversity Media/LMP. The disc was recorded in March 2008 at Music Street Club in Lugnano, Pisa, Italy. The two-hour show was split into two equal parts: the first portion featuring songs from 2001's "Reverse" album and subsequent releases; and the second half containing material from the first three LPs, with all the keyboard parts played by former ELDRITCH keyboardist Oleg Smirnoff.
ELDRITCH parted ways with guitarist Rob "Pek" Proietti in October 2009 and replaced him with Rudj Ginanneschi.
ELDRITCH 2011 is:
Terence Holler - Vocals
Eugene Simone - Lead and Rhythm Guitar
Rudj Ginanneschi - Rhythm Guitar
John Crystal - Bass
Raffahell Dridge - Drums
Gabriele Caselli - Keyboards
ELDRITCH released its seventh album, "Blackenday", in April 2007 via Inside Out Music. The CD featured guest appearances by Ray Alder (FATES WARNING, REDEMPTION, ENGINE) and Nicholas Van Dyk (REDEMPTION) on the song "Broken Road".
ELDRITCH made its U.S. live debut at the Chicago Powerfest 2006.
SOULMOTOR bassist Brian Wheat, along with lead vocalist, songwriter and video director Darin Wood have documented a drug deal gone bad "Down In Mexico" by being in the "Wrong Place …At The Right Time". The fictitious drug deal and more are stories set to song are all part of SOULMOTOR's upcoming CD, "Wrong Place At The Right Time!", available on iTunes this coming Monday, June 28.
Wheat and Wood have created a cast of characters, including the more-than-shady Reefer-Man Sam who appears on both "Down In Mexico" and the title track. This low-life has double-crossed the FBI, double-crossed the mob and has even double-crossed his mom. A knife fight results in murder and Sam heads south of the border with a suitcase full of cash, a .45 in the glove box and a few tabs of mescaline playing pinball in his brain. Along the way, Sam picks up more bad news in a tight dress by the name of Lola De La Mota and by the time he reaches Mexico, he's seduced by The Chick With No Name, ambushed by the cops and gets his own music video directed by none other than SOULMOTOR lead singer Darin Wood.
Wheat produced and engineered "Wrong Place …At The Right Time!" at his J Street Recorders that turned out to be the very last production ever done within the walls of the studio. A fire in September of 2010 destroyed J Street. Wheat is in the process of building a new studio, tentatively called The Trax.
SOULMOTOR's release is on Wheat's newly formed custom label, Good Seed Music, with partner Brian Clausman, a career-long marketing pro with a history of success stories with some of the leading brands in the U.S. Many years prior, Clausman's dad owned a management company that signed three artists including … TESLA.
In addition to SOULMOTOR, Good Seed's roster currently includes the pop/rock band BUILT BY STEREO and legendary photographer and published photojournalist Ross Halfin.
The controversial NC-17 rated version of the video for "Down in Mexico" is available now for viewing on SoulMotor.com. An R-rated version will be available shortly for purchase on iTunes and can be viewed below.
Wood created the SOULMOTOR CD package, accompanying series of artwork and cast of characters related to the SOULMOTOR project. Some of the characters have already been introduced to SOULMOTOR's followers on the band's Facebook page, with more to be rolled out in the coming weeks.
Wood has over 15 years experience writing, directing, producing and editing film and video projects, as well as experience in exhibition. His background includes cartooning and graphic design, and for your horror film fanatics, Darin is a writer, director and producer of horror films and writes all of the stage shows for the Trash Film Orgy Film Festival.
While many are familiar with Wheat and his TESLA roots, SOULMOTOR is a departure, with one journalist describing SOULMOTOR as "pounding riff-rock" along with a "crushing rhythm section."
SOULMOTOR was born under a full autumn moon in the city of Sacramento, California, home of Wheat, Wood and the former home of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The organizers of the U.K.'s Sonisphere festival will honor late SLIPKNOT bassist Paul Gray on July 10 when the band closes the festival with a headlining performance on the Apollo Arena stage. At 2:00 p.m. on that day, a two-minute silence will fall over the whole arena and all the stages at Knebworth, allowing fans to pay tribute to Gray, who died last year. Fans will also be able to leave a more personal tribute in the book of remembrance that will be left at the Metal Hammer signing tent for the duration of the weekend. The giant, leather-bound book will be open to those who wish to leave their own obituaries, thoughts or drawings, from midday to midnight each day. The book will be passed to SLIPKNOT at the end of the festival on Sunday night.
Gray passed away in May 2010 from an accidental overdose of drugs, leaving behind his wife Brenna and daughter October, who was born the following August.
Playing bass for SLIPKNOT on the current run of tour dates is Donnie Steele, who was the guitarist in an early incarnation of the group. Steele, however, is hidden from the audience's view.
SLIPKNOT singer Corey Taylor has expressed doubts about making another SLIPKNOT record without Gray, although other band members have indicated that they intend to record again.
California traditional heavy metallers WHITE WIZZARD have parted ways with vocalist Wyatt Anderson and are currently on the road with a stand-in singer, former CELLADOR frontman Mike Germino. According to a posting on the WHITE WIZZARD Facebook page, "Wyatt Anderson wrote WHITE WIZZARD three weeks before [the group's current] tour [with FORBIDDEN] and said he did not want to tour for personal, health and family reasons. This well after tour was booked and his flights. Mike has stepped in and is doing a stellar job. There will be a full press release soon. Ask Wyatt for further explanation."
Affectionately known as "The Screamin' Demon", Wyatt Anderson previously appeared on WHITE WIZZARD's sophomore release, "Over The Top". He left the band in early 2010 after a U.K. tour with EDGUY to pursue a "different path," but rejoined the group earlier this year following the departure of Peter Ellis.
WHITE WIZZARD recently spent time in the studio with producer Ralph Patlan (MEGADETH, UFO, MICHAEL SCHENKER, BONDED BY BLOOD) recording its new album, to be released before the end of the year.
Czech heavy metal act SEVEN has inked a deal with Nuclear Blast Records. The band's new album, "Freedom Call", will be released on September 2.
"We are very delighted to announce that the new record is being released under the Nuclear Blast label, which is one of the biggest and most professional labels on the whole world," says SEVEN guitar player and founding member Honza Kirk Behunek. "We are very proud of it and looking forward to the new fans."
In the Czech Republic, SEVEN is already an established name. The band has thus far released several instrumental records, some of which have featured guest appearances by such vocalists as Doro Pesch and Blaze Bayley.
SEVEN recently supported RAGE on the German band's European tour. In addition, RAGE guitarist Victor Smoski produced "Freedom Call", performed as a guest musician and wrote some of the lyrics on the CD.
"Victor isn't only a great musician, but also an amazing and modest person," says Honza. "I would even consider him as a part of SEVEN, even though he doesn't play with us."
"Freedom Call" is the first SEVEN album to feature vocalist Lukas Pisarik. Honza says, "Lukas is a young and talented singer. He's also a great person and everything is only ahead of him. He came to our audition and I knew from the very first moment that he is the one we're looking for."
"Freedom Call" track listing:
01. Freedom Call
02. Brain Eater
03. Get It
04. The Road
05. So Scarred
06. Suicide Fall
07. Abandoned
08. Wild In The Night
09. The Joker
10. You Steal My Breath
11. To Hell
12. War Within
13. Autumn In The Rose Garden (bonus)
14. No Surrender (bonus)
Vocalist Fernando Ribeiro of Portuguese metallers MOONSPELL has issued the following update:
"I know we are being a bitch with nothing giving any solid news regarding [our new album] but we do have the feeling that most of the bands give it all in the Net, spoiling any possible romance, seduction game which is essential for a MOONSPELL record. So it's not that we don't want to be generous to our fans, it's just that we don't want to lose any impact on this one as we believe it to be one of the finest jewels we ever wrote.
"Nevertheless, there's some stuff I can say about the album. Its initials are 'A.N.' and we refer to it as such while working on it.
"Revealing the [full] title now would be premature. The record is coming out on 2012 (first trimester) but through which label we still do not know, as we are now an unsigned band, financing from our own pocket our new album and all that it involves.
"We will produce the album ourselves but we are working with two producers and friends that are helping out the final shape of the album. One is Benny Richter, who works with bands such as CALIBAN but whose musical vision and classical training and fresh ideas (he is quite younger than us, a first time for us, hehe) are bringing a great added atmosphere and freshness into the record. We are working with Benny for two and a half years now and in July we will have a final round at the ludus for the more atmospheric songs of the album. The other person is already well-known for us, he is Tue Madsen, who worked with us in 'Under Satanae' and 'Night Eternal'.
"The drums for 'A.N.' are already recorded at the Antfarm studios in Aarhus, Denmark and Tue is coming to Portugal to setup the rest of the instruments and he will be our choice to mix the album which will only happen in September.
"The record is tentatively divided in two parts ('A.N.'/'O.W.') and drums' second session will happen very soon in Berlin, Germany. The rest of the record will be done in Portugal, at our own revamped Inferno Studios, and the mixes will be Antfarm as stated.
"We will keep you informed about this one trying not to lose any of its original secrecy, mysticism and strength. This is a very important card for MOONSPELL and all our fans and we will not give hand and spoil the mood."
MOONSPELL completed the "Sombra" (English translation: Shadow) tour of Portugal in November-December. The band performed acoustic and semi-acoustic versions of its best-known songs while backed by the Crystal Mountain Singers female choir and the Opus Diabolicum quintet composed of four cellists and a percussionist.
MOONSPELL released a DVD, "Lusitanian Metal", in December 2008 in Europe via Century Media Records.
The band's latest album, "Night Eternal", entered the national chart in Portugal at No. 3 and in Germany at No. 62. The follow-up to 2006's "Memorial" was recorded at Antfarm studios in Denmark with producer Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, DARK TRANQUILLITY, HALFORD).
Drummer Asgeir Mickelson of Norwegian progressive metallers SPIRAL ARCHITECT has issued the following update on the band's current status:
"Some time ago Blabbermouth picked up 'news' that we were working on a new album. Fact is that we've been doing that since we recorded the last album in 1998/1999. However, not very often… We got lots of material but since most of it is old by now we'll have to see what survives. We also need to write a lot of new stuff. Unfortunately, the album is still years from release."
SPIRAL ARCHITECT was founded in 1993 in Oslo, Norway, when lead guitarist Steinar Gundersen (ex-KING'S QUEST) joined the remains of ANESTHESIA consisting of Kaj Gornitzka (guitar), Lars K. Norberg (bass) and Asgeir Mickelson (drums). From the onset, the band set out to branch off from the music of contemporary innovative metal bands like WATCHTOWER, FATES WARNING and PSYCHOTIC WALTZ. The overall idea was to once and for all integrate jazz-fusion elements with uncompromising metal.
"A Sceptic's Universe" was recorded in June 1998 at Village Productions in Texas with producer Neil Kernon (QUEENSRŸCHE, NEVERMORE, DEICIDE, NILE) and was released in Japan on December 16, 1999 (with the FATES WARNING cover "Prelude to Ruin", originally recorded for the FW tribute "Through Different Eyes", as a bonus track) and the rest of the world on January 18, 2000.
LAMB OF GOD's Chris Adler will make a special guest appearance on a couple of bonus tracks on the forthcoming album from San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal veterans TESTAMENT. The rest of the drums tracks on the CD are being laid down by Gene "The Atomic Clock" Hoglan (ex-DARK ANGEL, ex-STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, FEAR FACTORY, DETHKLOK), who previously played on TESTAMENT's 1997 album, "Demonic".
Due to a "serious injury," drummer Paul Bostaph is unable to take part in the new CD recordings but will rejoin TESTAMENT for future touring activities.
Regarding his collaboration with TESTAMENT, Chris told Gun Shy Assassin, "They just sent me the first song, so we're going to do that while we're set up [at a studio in New York City recording the new LAMB OF GOD album]. I haven't had time to sit down and learn the tune, but they have programmed drums on it. I guess Gene is doing the rest of the record, which is amazing. When I first started talking to Eric [Peterson, TESTAMENT guitarist], they had me going out there, sitting with them, and figuring out the whole thing. They said they might do it with Gene, and I was like, 'If you can get Gene, don't bother with me. He's the king.'"
When asked what he thought of the tune he's been sent, he said, "It's great. It sounds a lot like the stuff on [TESTAMENT's 1988 album] 'The New Order'. I still have that vinyl. Definitely my favorite TESTAMENT record. This one . . . sounds like old TESTAMENT. It's super old school, and real thrashy. It's definitely very heavy. It's different than what we're doing. They're sticking to their guns: San Francisco thrash. To me, it's a different kind of challenge. I wanted to do the whole record, but at least I get to do two."
The new TESTAMENT album is being helmed by British producer Andy Sneap, who has previously worked with MEGADETH, ARCH ENEMY, NEVERMORE, MACHINE HEAD and EXODUS, among many others.
Jeffrey Easton of Metal Exiles recently conducted an interview with guitarist Ken Susi of Massachusetts metallers UNEARTH. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Metal Exiles: Trevor Phipps [vocals] said "Darkness In The Light" was the best [UNEARTH] record since "The Oncoming Storm". What do you think "In The Eyes Of Fire" and "The March" were lacking?
Ken: The only way I can reference it is that when THE BEATLES came out they would play stuff like "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "Love Me Do" and stuff like that and then they get into stuff like "Sgt. Peppers". For UNEARTH we did "The Stings Of Conscience" and "The Oncoming Storm" and people got used to what we did. At the time we thought there was going to be a huge climate change so we wanted to thrashier, more chaotic and faster, just different. We gained a lot of fans from doing that type of thing so those were records were done well. Now, do I think if those records were done properly, recorded well or sounded great? No I do not. I love "In The Eyes Of Fire", though, it has a lot of great songs, and if you fast-forward to "The March", that has some great songs as well and it is great for what it is and it was a step in the right direction and it was a great stepping stone to "Darkness In The Light". I do not want to play the "This record is our
best one yet" card, so I would rather say that I like this record a lot, it has all the ups and downs, it has spirit, the rhythm section is tight and the solos are great. I spent a lot of time on the songs and songwriting and I think the songs are well orchestrated than they have ever been. If you like "The Oncoming Storm" more, if you want to carry a torch for it, that's good, but I can assure you that if you like that record you will love "Darkness In The Light". Who am I to say, though?! That is for the public to decide, but I think it is a record I can get behind and listen to from top to bottom.
Metal Exiles: The opening track from "Darkness In The Light", "Watch It Burn", has an intro that really minds me of a lead off to an IRON MAIDEN track. Was that what you were going for?
Ken: We have been open in public since day one that we are huge IRON MAIDEN fans and sometimes it comes out. Believe it or not, the lead on the original take was double that length, but I had to cut it in half because I want the songs to start within the first 20 seconds with the vocals so I cut it short because it was almost a minute long. It was very MAIDEN-influenced in the intro, but the song has everything. The song has the 12-year-old me obsessing over MAIDEN, it has the traditional UNEARTH verse, it has a double breakdown back to back and right back to the verse. To me it was my favorite song that we have ever done, because it was able to capture the spirit of the band rolled into one package.
Metal Exiles: Adam Dutkiewicz is a great producer, [and] he brings so much to KILLSWITCH ENGAGE. So what does he keep bringing to your records?
Ken: This is our third time using him, and the thing about Adam is he is a good friend of mine as well as the band's and it is not so much of what he brings to the table is that he has the knowhow and his wisdom is very important. I think very highly of my friend and only one person every decade really changes something and Adam really changed metal for this decade. Adam is just like a Paul McCartney — ask him to write something and he will write it. For the way it works with UNEARTH, we will bring the material to him, and what it comes down to is emotional involvement and since Adam has no emotional involvement — meaning, he did not write the song — he can easily come in and orchestrate whether or not something is good or bad. You can say to him that "this part is awesome" and he will shoot back that it really isn't as great as you think it is. Adam makes you step back and look at the song in a different light. George Martin, even though
Lennon/McCartney were superior songwriters, was there to orchestrate everything. A great producer's job is to keep everything in order and make sure you do not get to invested in the material and make the proper calls. Adam is meticulous, he makes sure the guitars and drums are tight and sound great. I co-produced this record so I was able to work on my own guitar and vocal parts as Adam was not there for most of the vocal tracking.
Wayne Townsend of I'm A Stain webzine recently conducted an interview with vocalist Trevor Phipps of Massachusetts metallers UNEARTH. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
I'm A Stain: What is it about "Darkness In The Light" that sets it apart from the previous works of UNEARTH?
Trevor: It is less "setting apart" from our past efforts and more of a continuation and furthering of our sound. We made an effort to use every element from the previous four albums and write a modern metal album that is both heavy, fast at the right moments, melodic at times and catchy.
I'm A Stain: Can we expect a music video for the album anytime soon?
Trevor: We are in discussions about that right now. Videos are starting to be a dying breed as YouTube and fan-filmed footage seems to be leading the charge in how people see bands. We'll definitely be shooting some live footage and candid footage while on the road and posting it to our YouTube pages, though. So we'll be totally visible online for a long time to come, maybe a video will surface sometime this year.
I'm A Stain: How was it working with [drummer] Justin Foley of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE?
Trevor: He's an amazing drummer and a longtime friend, so it was a great experience working with him. He'll be doing the first two tours of the album cycle while KILLSWITCH ENGAGE takes a short break. We're psyched to have him on board to start this album cycle.
I'm A Stain: Where do you think Unearth will go from here, musically?
Trevor: We do what we do well and will likely keep our sound. Some of our favorite bands — SLAYER, IRON MAIDEN and AC/DC — are bands you can throw on their album and right away you know it is them. We've accomplished that with our sound and want to continue to have the original UNEARTH flavor in our songs and albums. That said, we're always open to try new things and experiment with different sounds, so I am sure we'll have some songs that are a departure for us, but our albums will always be mainly our sound.
I'm A Stain: If you could tour with any band, who would it be and why?
Trevor: METALLICA, because they wrote some of the best metal albums in the history of metal. And, they are the biggest metal band in the world so we would get to share our music with a ton of people.
Massachusetts metallers UNEARTH have scheduled a special in-store autograph signing in Lubbock, Texas next month. The signing will take place at Hastings Books Music & Videos on Tuesday, July 5, 2011, the same day the band's long awaited new full-length album, "Darkness In The Light", drops in North America.
Tuesday, July 5 at 5:30 p.m.
Location: Hastings Books Music & Videos
5005 50th Street
Lubbock, TX
"Darkness In The Light" was recorded at Zing Studios in Westfield, Massachusetts with producer (and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist) Adam Dutkiewicz. The effort was mixed by Mark Lewis (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, WHITECHAPEL, DEVILDRIVER, TRIVIUM) from Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida.
"Darkness In The Light" track listing:
01. Watch It Burn (4:06)
02. Ruination Of The Lost (3:35)
03. Shadows Of The Light (3:45)
04. Eyes Of Black (3:53)
05. Last Wish (3:06)
06. Arise The War Cry (3:55)
07. Equinox (2:58)
08. Coming Of The Dark (3:07)
09. The Fallen (3:35)
10. Overcome (3:11)
11. Disillusion (3:37)
Several pre-order deals for "Darkness In The Light" are available. Packages include:
* CD: $9.99
* CD + T-Shirt: $19.99
* CD + Unearth Beer Bong: $20.99
* CD + T-Shirt + Unearth Beer Bong: $29.99
For more information, visit www.darknessinthelightalbum.com.
Commented vocalist Trevor Phipps: "This album is without a doubt some of the heaviest, most dynamic and memorable tunes we've ever written. The disc is littered with the shred 'n' stomp-filled songs our fans would expect from us, as well as some added vocal hooks, guitar melodies, guitar solos and some different paths taken in style and structure. We knew we had to continue to separate ourselves from the pack and to cement our place in the heavy metal world as one of the leaders and not as one of the many followers that seem to hop on the trend wagon and give up so easily when the going gets hard. We are here to stay and collectively we couldn't be any more fired up to play these songs around the world for our fans new and old. So check it out, spread the word of underground metal and leave some feedback."
UNEARTH has tapped drummer Justin Foley (KILLSWITCH ENGAGE) for the band's upcoming slot on this summer's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival and subsequent European headlining tour (dubbed "Hell On Earth").
Foley, who also performed on "Darkness In The Light" album, takes the place of former drummer Derek Kerswill, who parted ways with the band last year due to creative differences.
San Diego's PATHOLOGY has entered Lambesis Studios (owned by AS I LAY DYING vocalist Tim Lambesis) in the band's hometown with producer Daniel Castleman (IMPENDING DOOM, AS I LAY DYING, WINDS OF PLAGUE) to begin recording its new album for a fall release. This will be PATHOPLOGY's first CD to feature the group's new lineup, including vocalist Jonathan Huber and second guitarist Kevin Schwartz, who have spent time on the road with their new bandmates during recent U.S. and European tours with DEICIDE and OBITUARY.
"I'm very excited to be back in the studio," states drummer Dave Astor. "Producer Daniel Castleman has done some of the best and heavy recordings out there. This will be the tightest and heaviest recording we have ever done. The new material we wrote is more thought out and way more brutal then anything that we have ever written. We're doing the same brutal music as we have always done. We just made the breakdowns heavier, the fast parts faster, and the slow parts slower."
PATHOLOGY's next U.S. tour — as the support act for GRAVE and BLOOD RED THRONE — will kick off on August 30.
2010 was a volatile year for PATHOLOGY. While it saw the band releasing its Victory Records debut, "Legacy Of The Ancients", and doing three tours (alongside NILE, IMMOLATION/VADER and DESTROYER 666), the group was plagued by a rotation of fill-in singers and ultimately a horrible van accident that derailed the band from continuing.
Since that tragic event November 10, the guys have been putting things back in order. In addition to a new van, trailer and gear, PATHOLOGY has also enlisted a new full-time vocalist to replace original voice Matti Way, who was unable to tour with the band. Jonathan Huber, formerly of I DECLARE WAR, has taken over duties as frontman for PATHOLOGY. In addition to his stellar vocal capabilities, Jonathan proved to have the right attitude and presence that won him the spot. The band has also welcomed back guitarist Tim Tiszczenko, who stepped down midway through the touring cycle. Tim joins his replacement guitarist Kevin Schwartz for a dual-guitar assault. Both guitar players have also been writing new material in the downtime, bringing a whole new level of intensity to the band.
EVANESCENCE is currently recording its self-titled third album at a Nashville studio with producer Nick Raskulinecz (RUSH, FOO FIGHTERS, VELVET REVOLVER, DEATH ANGEL, TRIVIUM) for a tentative October 4 release via Wind-up Records.
In a brand new interview with MTV News, EVANESCENCE vocalist Amy Lee stated about the band's new material, "There's a huge body of work right now, 16 songs, and obviously not all of them can be on the record, and that's going to be a heartbreaking moment. But, for me, when I listen to them, it's a journey. It takes you on an emotional ride ... it takes you to a lot of different places, emotionally. It makes me feel really happy, because even the songs that are desperate, like, those desperate feelings were turned into something beautiful and productive and great. There's songs that are painful, but listening to them makes me feel so good, because I took that pain and made it out of it by using music as an outlet and turning it into something great, moving on with my life, being productive instead of sitting around in a rut."
Regarding the decision to make the album a self-titled affair, she said, "It's about the band; it's more of a band record. But I started thinking about it, and it's also that this whole record and the lyrical content and a lot of the things that it's about to me is about falling back in love with this thing, with EVANESCENCE, with what I've obsessed over for a decade, longer than that," she said. "And it took me a minute, I definitely stepped away from it in a big way, and went, 'OK, guys, I don't know what we're going to do. I don't know what's going to happen here. Let's just live our lives for a while and see what happens next.' "
Lee began recording an album last year with producer Steve Lillywhite (DAVE MATTHEWS BAND, U2) that leaned heavily in the direction of electronic and dance music, but her label reportedly rejected that project and made her start from scratch on a more traditional EVANESCENCE offering.
Guitarist Troy McLawhorn recently officially rejoined EVANESCENCE after leaving SEETHER in March. McLawhorn first joined EVANESCENCE in 2007 but left a year later and was hired by SEETHER. He quit that group three months ago, claiming "personal friction" with one of the band members, with SEETHER frontman Shaun Morgan saying at the time that McLawhorn was returning to EVANESCENCE.
EVANESCENCE's management denied that McLawhorn was coming back, but he announced it on June 14 at his Facebook page.
The new EVANESCENCE album comes five years after the band's last effort, 2006's "The Open Door".
EVANESCENCE is currently recording its self-titled third album at a Nashville studio with producer Nick Raskulinecz (RUSH, FOO FIGHTERS, VELVET REVOLVER, DEATH ANGEL, TRIVIUM) for a tentative October 4 release via Wind-up Records.
In a brand new interview with MTV News, EVANESCENCE vocalist Amy Lee states about the band's new material, "I can't give a good quote about it, because it's probably the heaviest record we've ever done, but we're having a great time making it. I don't want to say the word 'fun,' but it is ... it's totally fun. We're just going for it. So I don't want to say that it's 'expressing the pain of a thousand sorrows,' because it's not that. I mean, it's just more mature; it's just a great record. It's hard to sum it up."
According to Lee, the album's first single is a definite departure for the band. "It's really different for us," she says. "It doesn't sound like any EVANESCENCE track you've heard before. It's heavy, but the melodies and stuff, I feel like I just did what I wanted. I just literally sang what I wanted to sing, because it was fun and it kind of made me smile, and that ended up being the really fun, cool, catchy thing that got everybody hooked on it.
"There's a lot I want to get across all at once, before I lose anybody's attention. So, the song that I think is the first single is the song that wraps it all up. It's got a cool meaning, a lot of great lyrics going on, it also just smacks you right in the face and it's heavy and it's great ... I think that there's a couple songs that meet that same criteria."
Regarding the lyrical themes covered on the new EVANESCENCE album, Lee says, "There are themes of brokenness, the quest for freedom, and then there's songs that are just about falling in love ... it's just all over the place. There's this beautiful song that — it's definitely going to make the album, or I will kill someone — it's not like a single or anything, it's just this epic album track that's about loss from the perspective of someone losing someone in a tragedy, and it's really cool to listen back to that, too. That's not something I did on [2006's] 'The Open Door'. 'The Open Door' was all about me and my personal experiences. And there's some moments on this one that are actually taken from things that I watched go down, from my friends and stuff like that. But really, whatever makes me feel the most, that's what's on the record, because that's what I need to get off my chest."
Lee began recording an album last year with producer Steve Lillywhite (DAVE MATTHEWS BAND, U2) that leaned heavily in the direction of electronic and dance music, but her label reportedly rejected that project and made her start from scratch on a more traditional EVANESCENCE offering.
Guitarist Troy McLawhorn recently officially rejoined EVANESCENCE after leaving SEETHER in March. McLawhorn first joined EVANESCENCE in 2007 but left a year later and was hired by SEETHER. He quit that group three months ago, claiming "personal friction" with one of the band members, with SEETHER frontman Shaun Morgan saying at the time that McLawhorn was returning to EVANESCENCE.
EVANESCENCE's management denied that McLawhorn was coming back, but he announced it on June 14 at his Facebook page.
Scott Sugarman of Rock Edition recently conducted an interview with guitarist Mark Heylmun and vocalist Mitch Lucker of California deathcore masters SUICIDE SILENCE. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Rock Edition: Let's talk about "The Black Crown" a bit. Did you guys approach the writing and recording process differently than with "No Time To Bleed"?
Mark: Yeah, we did. First, it started off as just conversation and talking about what we wanted to do. It wasn't really even writing; it was just talking and getting on the same page. That turned into a month-long trip to a cabin in the mountains in the snow that we lived in together. [We] set up a little studio and jammed and got all of our ideas and basically got onto the right page with each other and got the mojo of writing together. From there, it was just like we knew what we wanted to do, and then whenever we had free time together off tour, we would write. We're not really a band that writes on tour a lot. We might write a riff or two while we're on tour, but we don't really write songs while we're on the road. Every time we could, while we were home, it was just me and our other guitar player, [Chris] Garza. We would just get together and write a ton of riffs, and we would just have — literally, before we sat back down with Alex or with Dan or
Mitch — we just had at least three hours of just riffs and parts. Not even songs, just little doodads here and there that we could use as songs. Once we got together, it all came together really fast.
Rock Edition: So you just transferred all those guitar parts over to the rest of the band?
Mark: Yeah. It wasn't like we had a bunch of riffs and we just pieced it together. We didn't just go this riff, this riff into this riff into this riff into that riff. A lot of the stuff would be kind of similar because it was like, "Oh, we obviously wrote this stuff, these few riffs, in the same day." They sounded like they would be in the same song. We would take two or three riffs and then — we even, at one point, took a bunch of riffs and said, "These all sound like intros." We labeled them as intros, and we labeled other things like, "This sounds like a good chorus, or this sounds like a verse or this sounds like a bridge." We were just labeling things as what we thought they might be good as. It was definitely a lot different than the writing process for "The Cleansing" and "No Time to Bleed". Another reason why we went to the cabin was because we got a new bass player [Dan Kenny], and we had never written with him. We wanted to get a good sit
down with all of us together so he could see how we work, and we could see how he worked with us. It was all different. We even were talking about it, like, "How the fuck did we even write the first two records?" We couldn't even remember. We didn't even know how it happened, just because this was so much different. [laughs]
Rock Edition: You guys have also said that this is going to be your last release from Century Media.
Mitch: No, it's not our last release from Century Media; it's just that contractually, this is the last record we're signed up for. It doesn't mean we're leaving, necessarily, because they're an amazing label, and they've done amazing things for us, and we fucking love them. It doesn't mean it's our last record with them at all.
Rock Edition: So have you started to think about what you're going to do once that contract is fulfilled?
Mitch: Yeah, we've been looking around, seeing what's up. Other people have looked into us, seeing what's up with us. We're just going to keep our fucking eyes open and see where it goes. Especially with this just being our third full-length record coming out, who knows what it can do? It can do terrible; it can do good. So we've just got our fingers crossed, and we always look up. We never try to think about what's going to happen. We're always just, "Let's go. Let's do it. Let's run up this fucking hill as fast as we can."
Mark: Especially since who knows what's going on with the industry nowadays. A lot of bands, I think, don't even need a label, and I think a lot of times, a bigger band will be done with their contract and — I'm talking about bands that are bigger than us — and they'll go to another label and then realize that it was just a bad idea to sign another contract because then they're just stuck in whatever they have to do within the contract. I think that KILLSWITCH [ENGAGE] is a good example of that, and that's kind of why you don't hear about them anymore. I think it kind of tore them apart.
Rock Edition: Do you think you would ever try to go the do-it-yourself way of distribution?
Mitch: Being a young band, I think that would be a hard thing to do, but at the same time, the industry's not what it used to be. Everything's completely different. It's almost like you have to keep your fingers crossed and just jump in to some things because you don't know what the outcome's going to be. You don't know if this label's going to work out for you, or if your own label's going to work out for you. You gotta do it, do it because you love it, and hope it works out. That's basically it. We're here not because we're on this label or that label; we're here because we're a fucking band and we like to jam. That's it. Think about when you're a little kid and you've got a garage band. How fun is that? We're here because we love playing music, and that's it.
Death metal veterans IMMOLATION and KRISIUN will join forces for the four-week European "Sounds Of Extreme Tour 2011" in November. Exact cities and dates will be announced soon.
IMMOLATION is currently working on a new EP, to be released after the summer. The band's last album, "Majesty And Decay", was released on March 9, 2010 in North America (one day earlier internationally) via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD sold around 1,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release. it landed at position No. 29 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.
KRISIUN entered Stage One Studios in Bühne, Germany in May to begin recording its eighth full-length album for a fall release via Century Media Records. The CD was once again produced by Andy Classen, who previously worked with the band on the "Conquerors Of Armageddon" (1999), "AssasiNation" (2005) and "Southern Storm" (2008) releases.
Maryland-based extreme metallers DYING FETUS will enter the studio in November to begin recording their new album for an early 2012 release.
DYING FETUS' last CD, "Descend Into Depravity", sold around 2,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 166 on The Billboard 200 chart. The effort landed at position No. 4 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 on September 15, 2009 via Relapse Records, the follow-up to 2007's "War Of Attrition" was recorded at Wright Way Studios in the group's hometown with producer Steve Wright.
Remastered and repackaged editions of DYING FETUS' earliest records were made available in January. DYING FETUS' 1995 collection of demos "Infatuation With Malevolence" and the band's debut album, "Purification Through Violence", both include liner notes written by the band, archival photographs from each period, expanded artwork, and two previously unreleased bonus tracks.
Resurrected Dutch death metallers PESTILENCE will support SLAYER on the following dates:
July 10 - Paradiso – Amsterdam, The Netherlands
July 12 - Effenaar – Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Commented PESTILENCE guitarist/vocalist Patrick Mameli: "This is a huge honor for us and we are really stoked!
"I have a 25-year career with PESTILENCE and we've been doing some pretty amazing stuff, but supporting the mighty SLAYER is definitely a highlight."
PESTILENCE's new album, "Doctrine", will be released in North America on July 19 via Mascot Records. The eleven-track CD was recorded and mixed at Woodshed Studio in southern Germany with engineer Victor Bullok (TRIPTYKON, DARK FORTRESS). The artwork was designed by Marko Saarelainen.
Regarding the direction of the band's new music, Mameli previously stated, "The new songs have the rawness of [1989's] 'Consuming Impulse', the theatrical [quality] of 1991's 'Testimony Of The Ancients' and the brutallity of [2009's comeback effort] 'Resurrection Macabre'."
PESTILENCE 2011 is:
Patrick Mameli - Guitar/Vocals
Jeroen Paul Thesseling - Fretless Bass
Patrick Uterwijk - Guitar
Yuma Van Eekelen – Drums
Greek demons SEPTICFLESH will open for Swedish death metallers AMON AMARTH on their European tour which kicks off October 12 in Stuttgart, Germany and ends on November 26 in Prague, Czech Republic. Direct support on the trek will come from AS I LAY DYING.
SEPTICFLESH released its new album, "The Great Mass", on April 18 in Europe (April 19 in North America) via Season Of Mist. The cover artwork of the album's jewel case edition was designed by Seth Siro Anton. The main artwork for "The Great Mass" appears on the limited digipak edition, the gatefold LP and the dust jacket of the collector's book.
"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.
Veteran Canadian metallers INFERNAL MAJESTY will perform their classic 1987 album "None Shall Defy" in its entirety with special guest vocalist George "Corpsegrider" Fisher from CANNIBAL CORPSE on August 20 at Rickhaw Theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Also appearing on the bill are TYRANTS BLOOD and SINNED.
For more information, go to this location.
When asked in an interview why INFERNAL MAJESTY was dropped by Roadrunner Records after the release of "None Shall Defy", guitarist Steve Terror said, "At the time Roadrunner was just starting out in the States so they didn't have the clout that they have now. There have been many bands that have been unhappy with Roadrunner and I don't think we are any different. I think what really happened was, [former INFERNAL MAJESTY drummer] Rick [Hughes] went to New York to the label and told them that we didn't want to tour, but to put out a second album instead. The rest of us didn't find this out for about five years after the fact. The label wanted bands that wanted to tour so they became disinterested with us. You have to remember that at the time labels where signing everyone in sight and not really paying much attention to each band."
Athens, Ohio's SKELETONWITCH has set "Forever Abomination" as the title of its new record, due in the fall via Prosthetic Records. The follow-up to 2009's "Breathing The Fire" is being recorded at a Los Angeles studio with producer Matt Hyde (SLAYER, MACHINE HEAD, KREATOR). The effort will include the track "The Infernal Resurrection", the demo version of which appears as the B-side on the final seven-inch of a limited-edition vinyl trilogy. This marks SKELETONWITCH's first recording with the group's new drummer, former DEMIRICOUS skin-pounder Dustin Boltjes.
The band will play two Midwestern shows — their first with Boltjes — before heading to Europe for a run of dates, including appearances at several of the continent's biggest metal festivals. They will then embark on a fall North American tour alongside ARCH ENEMY, DEVILDRIVER and CHTHONIC.
SKELETONWITCH's latest album, "Breathing the Fire" (2009), debuted at No. 151 on The Billboard 200 chart and No. 2 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. It was SKELETONWITCH's second full-length release for Prosthetic Records, with whom the band recently extended its recording deal.
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