The
Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger is rolling out his supergroup SuperHeavy next week.
The project also includes U.K.
guitarist/producer Dave Stewart, Damian Marley (son of Bob), Joss Stone and
A.R. Rahman. Jagger sings and plays guitar and harmonica on the album, which is
now completed.
The
self-titled SuperHeavy album will be released in September, but a taster
single, "Miracle Worker," will debut the week of July 4.
Stewart
describes SuperHeavy, in a statement, as "a mad alchemist type experiment."
Jagger says, "We haven't planned to do a tour or anything, but if people really
like it maybe we will. We'd love to get out and play some of it live. As soon
as we started playing together in the studio it gelled, and all these different
styles didn't seem to be a problem to make them fit together... I hope people
will like it."
Songs
on the SuperHeavy album include "One Day One Night," "Energy,"
"Unbelievable," "SuperHeavy," "I Can't Take it No More," "You're Never Gonna
Change" and "I Don't Mind."
The Ronnie Wood Show will launch in February 2012 on Sky Arts. Comments from Ronnie: "I've had so much fun
doing my radio show and had lots of success with recent awards. It's now going
to TV to give the audience the chance to see behind the scenes."
Charlie
Watts has announced a new show with the ABCD of boogie woogie in Paris, France,
October 2 at the New
Morning.
Charlie
Watts has announced another show in France with the ABCD of boogie
woogie. The day after the Paris show there will
be a show on Oct 3 at L'Estival Saint Germain en Laye France.
For
nearly 40 years, hardcore fans of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath have sought recordings of the infamous "Black Zeppelin" jam session rumoured to
have happened between the two 1970s rock giants. Whether the tapes exist, or
whether they are a figment of heavy metal myth-making, is a question that
continues to fuel debate.
Perhaps
what captures people's imagination most about the "Black Zeppelin" story is the
idea of Bill Ward and John Bonham — regarded as two of the greatest
skin-pounders in the pantheon of rock — together in the same studio, just a few
years before Bonham's untimely death at the age of 32.
That's
why Back Page Magazine recently
tracked down Sabbath stickman Ward to shed some light on the "Black Zeppelin"
legend and share insight on his late comrade "Bonzo" Bonham.
"It
only happened on one occasion that Zeppelin and Sabbath were in the studio at
one time, and I think it was in the mid-'70s," said Ward from his home in Seal
Beach, CA. "We were in sessions — I don't remember what album we were working
on — but it all started when Bonzo comes into the studio and sits down at my
drum kit and starts playing Supernaut. That was one of our songs that he really
liked."
"It
escalated to a pretty crazy situation within about 30 minutes, because not only
was Bonzo there, but Robert Plant and John Paul Jones were there as well. Jimmy
(Page) wasn't there, but I wish he had been. And Bonzo was kickin' the crap
out of my drum kit!" Ward laughed. "I can still hear him playing that intro
on the hat, over and over."
With
his thunderous, pounding style, Bonham led the roughly 45-minute session with
the other original Sabs — Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler.
"Bonham's
bass drum work, of course, was incredible," recalled Ward, who is currently in
the midst of finishing some solo projects. "I played two bass drums, and they
only let him play one in Led
Zeppelin, so there he was playing two bass drums. Supernaut, I tell you,
sounded like something from the hardcore bands of today, where they play two
bass drums with such incredible speed. And you know, Bonzo was doing that
easily. He was having a good time, playing two bass drums, and he was playing
all the down beats and some quiet treble with all the high hats. So, he was
playing Supernaut with a whole different feel, all the while yelling, 'Supernaut!'
for pretty much the whole time. It was crazy, man."
The
first time Ward ever saw Bonham perform was in a club in England, when
both drummers were just 15 years old. Ward clearly remembers that young Bonzo
had chops beyond his years. Simply put: "He kicked ass."
Ward
and Bonham were friends from that day forward, and would remain so even when
their respective bands skyrocketed to international fame and were rumored to be
fierce rivals. Any such rivalry between the two bands, particularly the two drummers,
Ward insists, was merely an invention of the rock and roll gossip press.
"(Bonham)
is a historical figure in drumming because he was so outstanding, and all of us
listen to Bonham to understand pace, timing and feel."
The
friendship between Bonham and Ward was founded on something deeper than
drumming, Ward said. "We both liked to live in the country, and would visit
each other in Worcestershire. He was quiet, observant and very thoughtful,"
said Ward. "We actually didn't talk a lot about drums, or about Zeppelin or
Black Sabbath. We just talked about our families, and those were some of the
nicer times I had with him."
Of
course, their reputations as debauched rock lunatics weren't totally unfounded,
either. "Then there were the times when we were raucous, drunk and wild," Ward
said. "We were both prone to verbal attacks against people, including each
other. When he passed away, I've always tried to speak about him in the most
respectful way, but there was a side to him that loved to party."
Sadly,
it was Bonham's excesses that would ultimately lead to his tragic death after a
full day of heavy drinking (beginning with a breakfast of four quadruple shots
of vodka). Ward, who was at the time spiraling into his own alcoholic hell, saw
the death of his friend as a wake-up call.
"I
got the news when I was reaching some of the lowest places in my alcoholic
depression," said Ward. "It was about 8:30 in the morning and I was here in California waiting for a
dealer to come to the house and drop off some dope, or what have you. When she
arrived, she announced that Bonham had died, and the very first thing I
thought, quite selfishly, was, 'Yeah, and I'll be the next one.'
"So
in part, I've always thought of his death as a signal for me that, 'If you
don't shape up, Bill, you will be the next one drowning in beer or overdosing.' After that of course, I was incredibly sad. I have so many good memories of
Bonham, though."
Memories,
incidentally, are the only keepsakes Ward possesses from the infamous Black
Zeppelin jam session.
"There
was a moment during that jam where we all kind of got this crazy notion and
said, 'Oh, let's just put something down on tape,'" said Ward. "But nothing
transpired and no tape rolled. The bottom line is, we were just pissin' around
that day, that one and only time that Zeppelin and Sabbath were in the
studio together. There was no musical crossover between the two bands, and
nothing was recorded. I believe at one point, Geezer and Robert did a bit of
writing together, but that was just their own personal thing, between them. But
the Black Zeppelin recordings, as people like to call it, didn't ever exist."
Of
course, new generations of fans will continue to debate the existence of the
elusive bootlegs. To Ward, though, a recording of the jam session pales in
comparison to the mental image of his friend Bonzo hammering away at his drum
kit, hollering 'Supernaut!'
"I
miss him still today," Ward says. "Whenever I hear Stairway to Heaven,
when John plays his famous triplets at the end, I'm reminded of the clubs he
played when he was 15 years old. And I can still see him kicking the crap out
of my drum kit that day he came into our studio. Oh my God, he was this
tremendous force of energy with those two bass drums. To me, Bonham was the
premiere hard rock drummer of the last century, and so far, still is."
"It
wasn't a fun, easy record to make," says producer Bob Rock, speaking of
Metallica's self-titled fifth studio LP, popularly known as the 'Black Album.'
"Sure, we had some laughs, but things were difficult. I told the guys when we
were done that I'd never work with them again. They felt the same way about
me."
When
Rock began sessions with Metallica in the fall of 1990, the band
(guitarist-singer James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett
and their then-bassist Jason Newsted) had already hit platinum with 1988's …And
Justice For All, which catapulted them from cult stars to arena headliners.
"They
had broken through to one level, but they still weren't on mainstream radio,"
says Rock. "When they came to me, they were ready to make that leap to the big,
big leagues. A lot of people think that I changed the band. I didn't. In their
heads, they were already changed when I met them."
Not
that Rock didn't help the group up their game any: Sonically, he gave them a
rich, low-end punch that had been lacking in their previous recordings. Part of
the process involved addressing Ulrich's drumming. "I noticed that Lars played
to James' guitar," says Rock, "much like the way that Keith Moon played to Pete
Townshend. That's fine for some bands, but not every one.
"Lars
wanted Metallica to groove more. AC/DC's Back In Black was a big reference
point as a rock record that grooved. I told him that in order to get that feel,
he had to be the focal point musically. So on certain songs, the band played to
Lars. They followed him. It made a real difference."
Meanwhile,
Hetfield was going through an even bigger transition, one which would hold
significant ramifications. "He wanted to go deeper with his writing," says
Rock. "He wanted his songs to really matter. We talked about the great
songwriters, like Dylan and Lennon and Bob Marley, and I think he saw that he
could write for himself but still touch other people. It was a struggle for
him, but he had a tremendous breakthrough as a writer."
Released
on 12 August 1991, the Black Album was immediately hailed as an artistic
triumph. Debuting at number one, it spawned the singles Enter Sandman, Sad But
True, The Unforgiven, Nothing Else Matters and Wherever I May Roam - songs that
would annex radio at multiple formats. Commercially, the album was a colossus,
selling a staggering 22 million copies and firmly establishing Metallica as
worldwide superstars and an essential part of the cultural landscape.
On
the following pages, Bob Rock (who would eventually work with Metallica again –
on five different projects, no less) takes a track-by-track look back at the
Black Album, 20 years after its release. "It's probably the biggest
accomplishment of my professional life," he says. "I think the band would say
the same thing."
"I
insisted on the band playing live in the studio. They had never done that
before – all of their previous records were recorded in sections. I told them,
'You're a great live band. That vibe is crucial to the album.'
Enter
Sandman
"On
Sandman, I asked Jason to play more like a bass player and less like a
guitarist. Put that with the new perspective Lars had on drums and we had a
song with a killer groove.
"At
first, based on the music and the riff, the band and their management thought
it could be the first single. Then they heard James' lyrics and realized the
song was about crib death. That didn't go over well.
"I
sat down with James and talked to him about his words. I told him, 'What you
have is great, but it can be better. Does it have to be so literal?' Not that I
was thinking about the single; I just wanted him to make the song great. It was
a process, him learning to say what he wanted but in a more poetic and open
sort of way. He rewrote some lyrics and it was all there…the first single."
Sad
But True
"They
played me the demo, and I told them I thought it was the Kashmir
of the '90s. The riff was astounding. To my knowledge, they never had anything
so heavy, so punchy and powerful. Rhythmically, I could tell it had the potential
to be absolutely crushing!
"We
were in pre-production, which was uncomfortable because nobody had ever made
them go through their songs in such a deliberate way before, and six songs in
Sad But True came along. Suddenly, I realized that every song, including this
one, was in the key of E.
"I
brought this to the band's attention, and they said, 'Well, isn't E the lowest
note?' So I told them that on Motley Crue's Dr Feelgood, which I produced and
Metallica loved, the band had tuned down to D. Metallica then tuned down to D,
and that's when the riff really became huge. It was this force that you just
couldn't stop, no matter what."
Holier
Than Though
"The
band still teases me about this song because it was the first track that jumped
out at me as a potential single. I should point out that at this stage in
cutting the record there were no lyrics, so initially, something about the song
spoke to me. It rocked in a very aggressive way that said 'Metallica' to me.
"As
we got deeper into the record, the tide turned and other songs blossomed and
became bigger and turned into things like Enter Sandman, whereas Holier Than
Though…great song, not a single.
"I
still like its energy and tempo. It's got such a lethal bite to it. Every time
I see the band, they always say the same thing: 'Holier Than Thou, huh?'
They'll never let me live it down. What can I say?" [laughs]
The
Unforgiven
"James
was very enamored with Chris Isaak's song Wicked Game. He loved the way the
vocal sounded big and warm. At this point, James wanted to sing. He had done a
lot of screaming, but now he wanted to go somewhere else.
"In
the past, he had always doubled his vocals. He didn't sing harmonies per se; he
just sang the same thing on another track. But the process of doubling doesn't
give you character, really; in fact, a lot of times it takes character away,
because you're hoping that the second vocal gives you the depth that your first
vocal should have.
"I
told James that we should record his vocal, but instead of listening to himself
on headphones I wanted him to listen on speakers. The difference was amazing.
He sang the song, and because he heard himself in a different way, there was a
whole new dimension to his voice. It was big and deep and warm and jumped out
at you."
Where
I May Roam
"Realistically,
the guys in Metallica can shit out riffs all day, and half of them will be
incredible. When you hang out with them, though, you start to hear the
difference between a great riff and a Smoke On The Water-type riff – Metallica
had several on this album, and I'd say this one is pretty high up there.
"So
we started out with a great riff, and then it became my job to help them carry
that as a theme throughout the song. There had to be a movement to the parts. Like
on other tracks, the big moment in Wherever I May Roam came about when the
lyrics were finished. At that point, everything made sense and came together.
"I
wish I could take credit for the sitar, but it was the band's idea. I thought
it worked beautifully – a great element to a great song."
Don't
Tread on me
"For
me, this was a strange song. The jagged rhythm, kind of a marching feel, which
was the whole point, I guess… There was an angry, political slant to Don't
Tread On Me that I had a hard time relating to at first.
"This
one represented my learning the difference between Bon Jovi and Loverboy and
the real deal in terms of songwriting. Metallica went to a level of depth and
passion that I had never encountered before.
"That's
what you get when you come face-to-face with the greats: Even if you aren't in
on what they're saying, you can tell that they mean it, and in that way, the
song makes a connection."
Through
the Never
"It's
funny talking about some of these songs and remembering my learning curve in
understanding what Metallica were all about. While I was helping them be the
best band they could be, I was gaining so much insight into what made them
tick. Each day brought discovery on both sides, theirs and mine.
"It
took me a while to realize what was good in Through The Never, but once I did,
I realized that it was quite good. And what's good is there's a bit of a fiery
punk rock vibe to it. A new shade, a new color - that was exciting!
"Previously,
I thought their influences were all metal, but talking to them and
understanding that they had other sides to them really opened my eyes. Once I
saw where they were coming from, the song made total sense."
Nothing
Else Matters
"I can't speak for what James
wrote, but to me, the song was all about him trying to write a love song
without saying the word 'love.'
"It's
interesting: The man that I knew back then…he could certainly feel love, but he
could never say the word, especially in a Metallica song. This is his genius,
to be able to say it in his own way and really mean it, despite everything he
was going through, all the demons, all the anger he had in him. I think it's
one of Metallica's best songs ever.
"Musically,
we wanted it big but not bombastic. We wanted size and weight, but we didn't
want to do what all the '80s metal bands were doing in those kind of cheesy
power ballads. We really worked out the arrangement to make it huge and
dramatic…but real."
Of
Wolf and Man
"I'll
be honest: at first I thought it was silly to write about a wolf. I was like,
'Oh, great, a song about a wolf. What are you fucking getting at? May as well
write about pyramids or something.' When metal goes in these kinds of areas, I
lose the plot.
"Then,
as we got more into James' lyrics, I realized that the song wasn't silly, that
there was an earthiness to it. We talked about making the song go through a
transformation, kind of reflecting the lyrics. It took a while. I'm not sure if
we got there fully, but we got there most of the way."
The
God that Failed
"That's
the song that really broke the ice between James and me. We had our tensions,
but we would talk a lot, and the more I got to know him, the more I realized
how much there was to this guy.
"The
God That Failed is deep. It's not just a cheap shot at religion; it's him
tackling the subject in a very complex manner. Emotionally, it's as real as
Nothing Else Matters.
"Working
with Kirk on this song was interesting – and this goes for the whole record,
too: I was told that he'd come in the last few weeks of making a record to do
his guitar solos. I told everybody right off, 'Well, that's not how we're going
to do things. He's going to play live, like everybody else.'
"At
first, Kirk was very uncomfortable with this approach, but he was game and
played what he thought were guide solos. In many cases, including this one, his
first ideas were the ones that we'd go back to and use when doing overdubs. He
learned how to be spontaneous."
My
Friend of Misery
"This
was pretty much a Jason song. It started out with his intro, so a big part of
working on this track was spent developing a great riff into a song that would
take flight and really go places. Which it does – it builds and builds quite
nicely.
"The
song is all about a mood, which is very cinematic in feel. Metallica know how
to play to their strengths, dishing out raw power, but on this song we went for
more of an atmosphere. It's ominous, and it works."
The
Stuggle Within
"Here,
too, I found myself really immersed in something I didn't fully understand at
first. Darkness and all of the emotions that can be attached to it…the subject
matter can be very elusive.
"The
more and more I plunged into the world of Metallica, the more I came to
understand that dealing with tough, scary and not-so-pretty topics were things
they were driven to explore.
"The
band I got after this record was never the same, but I guess that's to be
expected. They grew up. They became men, father and husbands. Being in
Metallica was still vitally important to them, but when we did the Black Album,
it was the only thing to them. I got them at just the right time."
There
was a time when heavy metal band Mötley Crüe represented all that parents
feared about what their children listened to — loud, fast, music and debauchery
that led to brushes with the law, substance addictions and well-documented
escapades with women.
These
days, singer/front man Vince Neil says, when he looks out into the crowd, he
sees "kids — like 5-year-olds on their fathers' shoulders for their first
concert experience."
"It's
not just the fans that grew up with us," Neil says is a recent telephone
call from the road. "It's 12- and 13-year-olds with 'Shout at the Devil'
shirts on. An attorney standing next to a biker."
But
Neil says he's comfortable with the band's position these days as it celebrates
its 30th anniversary with a tour with Poison and New York Dolls that stops
Sunday at Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain in Scranton.
In
fact, he says "we're just really lucky that we're still viable — our music
and live concert show — in today's market."
Much
of that can be attributed to the band's extensive song catalog — 25 Top 40
Mainstream rock hits starting with 1983's "Shout at the Devil" and
including Top 10 hits "Dr. Freelgood," "Girls, Girls,
Girls" and "Without You."
The
band also has six Top 10 albums, including its latest, 2008's "Saints of
Los Angeles," which went to No. 4. In all, Motley Crüe has sold 25 million
albums in the United States
alone.
So
extensive is that catalogue that for this tour, Mötley Crüe let its fans choose
online the 11 songs it performs.
"We
already knew some of what would be chosen — you know, 'Girls, Girls, Girls,' 'Feelgood,'
those ones were pretty obvious," Neil says. "But a few of the songs,
like 'Smokin' in the Boys Room,' we hadn't played that in like 20 years, but
everybody wants to hear it. 'Too Young to Fall in Love,' 'Ten Seconds to Love,'
'Too Fast for Love' … a lot of them we hadn't played in a long time."
But
those songs came back quickly when the band started rehearsing, Neil says.
"We
rehearsed for three days, the songs, and went on tour," he says. "I
mean, these are songs we played forever, except for some of the newer songs.
And you play some of this throughout your whole life, it's not that
difficult."
Part
of what makes things so smooth these days is that the band's members — Neil,
drummer Tommy Lee, guitarist Mick Mars and bassist Nikki Sixx —
are friends, Neil says.
Asked
about turmoil that saw Neil leave the band for five years in the 1990s, Lee for
four in the early 2000s and the whole band go on hiatus for four years, Neil
disdainfully replies, " It seems that press people just dwell on the fact
maybe 10 years ago we got in a fight. You know, it's not like that.
"A
lot of people just forget that bands just sometimes take breaks. With us, if we
don't tour a year, people figure we've broken up. But you look at a band like AC/DC, who won't put out a record for four or five
years, and nobody seems to think they broke up. It just kind of stupid thinking
on people's parts."
Neil
says he doesn't mind being reminded of the band's senior status, although
"30 years, it's like that's a lifetime. And it just kinda hasn't sunk in."
Particularly
cool, he says, is how in three weeks Mötley Crüe will be honorees of the fourth
annual Sunset Strip Music Festival, with West Hollywood recognizing the band
with a day in its honor.
He
says the honor from the Sunset Music Festival is particularly cool.
"They
finally have something to honor bands that started on the strip," he says.
"And so now it's our turn. It's like when we got our star on the Hollywood
Walk of Fame. That was a huge deal to us, 'cause we grew up in L.A. So it's something you never think you
would achieve, and then you get it and it's like, 'Wow, our star's on the Walk
of Fame.' It's cool."
It's
not just Mötley Crüe as a band that seems to be settling into the mainstream.
Neil even took a turn on the ABC-TV show "Skating With the Stars"
last year.
"It
was tough. It was the hardest thing I ever did in my life," he says with a
laugh.
"I
didn't really realize what I was getting into. It sounded like fun, but I
hadn't skated since I was 12 years old. … I was on the ice for eight hours a
day, five days a week, and it takes a toll on your body. That was a
beating," he says. "And so believe me, I was really happy when I got
booted."
And
if some people question Neil's rock credibility because of that, he says,
"It is what it is. You can take It any way you want it. I do things just
kind of to plot my career out. If it sounds like fun, I just say, 'OK, yeah.
I'll do it if I have the time.' "
Neil
clearly hasn't settled down entirely. Despite detailing in an autobiography
last year how he spent time in rehab and counseling for substance abuse, Neil last June was charged with
drunken driving as he was driving his black Lamborghini sports car in Las Vegas, where he
lives.
He
pleaded guilty and early this year served 15 days in jail.
"Well,
I made a mistake," he says. "It was one of those things. I was at the Emmy Awards and drank too much and should
not have gotten behind the wheel. And that's really kind of it. And it doesn't
help driving a black Lamborghini around."
And
Neil says anyone who comes to see Mötley Crüe will realize it hasn't settled
down, either. The show still offers "a lot of over-the-top pyro, visual
effects, lighting. We have dancers, background singers." And, Neil says, a
drum solo that is a the roller-coaster. Literally.
The
show has a massive iron roller coaster loop on stage, and during Lee's solo, he
rides his kit through a handful of 360-degree loops on the track, then invites
an audience member along for the ride.
"It's
a visually amazing show," Neil says.
"I
mean, we are what we are off stage, and we are what we are on stage. We're
definitely not mainstream on stage. We're still the bad boys, up there doing
what we're doing."
john.moser@mcall.com
610-820-6722
MOTLEY
CRUE and POISON
With
New York
Dolls
•When: 7 p.m.
Sunday
•Where:Toyota
Pavilion at Montage Mountain, 1000 Montage Mountain Road, Scranton
•How
much:$40-$115.16
•Set
list: Motley Crue does a set chosen by fans,
including such hits as "Shout at the Devil," "Home Sweet
Home," "Dr. Feelgood," "Girls, Girls, Girls" and
"Smokin' in the Boys Room."
•Info:http://www.livenation.com, 800-745-3000
J. Bennett of Decibel magazine recently conducted an interview with SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow
below.
Decibel: Do you spend much time reading what people say on message
boards about SEPULTURA?
Andreas: A little bit. You have to be aware of what's going on. And SEPULTURA is so much criticized. But we're not the only band that changed their
formation, you know? METALLICA had the accident, other bands have
members with different ideas — ANTHRAX, MEGADETH, SLAYER, BLACK
SABBATH — it's happened to all of them. There's so many different reasons,
but the music goes on. And we have many fans who believe in the music and
spirit of SEPULTURA regardless of formation, but not everybody. It seems
little unjust with us — we feel like the only band that cannot have a normal
life after the lineup changes. But in a sense, we are used to that. It's
something that's gonna go on forever, either with Max [Cavalera,
former SEPULTURA guitarist/vocalist] or with Igor [Cavalera,
former SEPULTURA drummer] or whatever happens in the future. It's part of
our story, of our career, of our history. But you know, we play songs from
every album regardless of who is in the band or who wrote the fucking riff.
We're there for our fans and to enjoy ourselves, not to make politics. I hate
politics, anyway. I'm a musician. I love to play guitar and enjoy myself.
That's what keeps me going.
Decibel: It seems like Max wasn't making things any easier for
you guys last year when he kept talking about a SEPULTURA reunion. You
ended up releasing a video statement telling fans not to believe the rumors.
Were you surprised that it got to that point?
Andreas: Yes, very much. It's surprising that people care what Max is saying and really believe what he's saying. If you read his interviews,
they're all very contradictory. One time, two plus two is four, and the next
time it's five, you know? [Laughs] You never know what's coming. And it was
pretty scary when promoters started believing what he was saying. He has nothing
to do with our business. He's been away from SEPULTURA for many years —
by his choice. He left the band in '96, so it's annoying that he still talks
about us. Of course, every time he puts out something new, he has to talk about
us, to bring some attention — I understand that — but for a promoter to believe
what he says when he talks about a reunion, it's too much. People are allowed
to say whatever they want, but don't believe it as truth. He's not in SEPULTURA,
so he can't speak for SEPULTURA. I don't understand why people take his
word. So, the video came out under those circumstances — he was getting in the
way of our business, of our plans. I guess it worked. I hope it did.
Decibel: Did the situation get worse when Igor left in 2006?
Because then there were no Cavaleras left in SEPULTURA.
Andreas: No, I don't think so. The biggest blow was Max leaving.
After that, everything was much easier to deal with. And you know, opinions are
opinions. There are so many different SEPULTURAs in so many different heads
now. I don't agree with them all, but I respect them. Everyone is entitled to
think whatever they want. But for me, SEPULTURA is something that is
bigger than any one person. It's a spirit of freedom. And I think you can hear
that on our albums — we never try to reproduce what we did before. Our attitude
is that the past is already gone. That's why the present is so important.
Decibel: What do you think of CAVALERA CONSPIRACY?
Andreas: It's kind of weird, because I don't see Igor's input
there. I mean, he's a DJ now. He plays drums in CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, but
he doesn't write. He's just a drummer who happens to be Max's brother —
which is weird to me. Max writes everything. So, it's like they're
together, but they're not. I don't feel the chemistry between the brothers.
They play SEPULTURA stuff, and that's fine, but we're here, you know? We
never stopped. I'm not here to fulfill anybody's expectations. It's impossible
to do.
Decibel: Do you feel like you've been able to take SEPULTURA in
directions that you wouldn't have if Max was still in the band?
Andreas: I don't know… that's hard to say. It's a good question. I don't
think so. Me and him, without fucking managers and other people around, just us
and the band in the practice room — it was fucking beautiful. That's why SEPULTURA is what it is. I remember when we were in the studio for "Arise",
telling [Roadrunner Records A&R representative] Monte Conner not to touch the fucking board, you know? [Laughs] We needed our freedom to do
what we needed to do. That's what SEPULTURA was about then, and that's
what it's about now.
Christine Caruana of Australia's Loud recently conducted an interview with vocalist Maria
Brink of Southern California's IN THIS
MOMENT. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Loud: Your latest release, "A Star-Crossed Wasteland",
is very different from your previous releases, which is expected as you are an
experimental band. Do you think it depicts the IN THIS MOMENT you've
been working towards?
Maria: Yeah, I think we are definitely finding our defining sound. Like
you said, we experiment a lot and we go from really melodic to really heavy,
we're kind of all over the place, and I think we kind of collaborated a lot of
aspects of our band in that album.
Loud: So writing for the new album has begun?
Maria: Yeah, we're slowly starting to write now. Slowly starting to dive
into it, and it's really exciting, it's like starting all over again. I get so
excited, just everything about it, the creation of it, the concept, everything.
Loud: "A Star-Crossed Wasteland" hinted at a concept
album, do you think your next album will be a full concept album, or steering
away from that idea this time?
Maria: I don't think so. I definitely do love the idea of having the
loosely threaded concept theme to it, not the story from the beginning to the
end, because I feel too constricted with my writing. I do like a loose story
line that goes through an album because it's cool to write, and metaphorical,
versus something like, "Oh, I'm really sad my boyfriend left me." It
kind of gets old for me, so it's kind of cool to write my personal experiences
in a story, metaphorically. I like that.
Loud: You do all the lyric writing for IN THIS MOMENT, correct?
Maria: Yeah, I write all the lyrics, and the melodies, but when it comes
to the actual music, we all kind of do that together.
Loud: What inspires you the most, is it strictly personal experiences,
or do other bands, movies and books play apart too?
Maria: It is a collaboration of all of those things. Definitely,
whereever you are in life is going to influence your writing. Like if somebody
you truly love just died, or you know, obviously how you're feeling strongly in
your life is going to have an overtone in your album. I am influenced by art in
general, in movies and visual things and other music of course. So it's kind of
everything together. Then I find what I'd like the overall feel to the album to
be like, then I go from there.
Loud: You are a big inspiration to other female metal and punk
vocalists, as well as fans. Does that put a whole new world of pressure on you
personally?
Maria: No, you never really feel like that personally. You're never
like, "Oh, I'm an inspiration!" You know what I mean? [laughs] It
definitely does somewhat, in some ways, like I get thousands of fans writing to
me that maybe at one point they were suicidal and our music kind of gave them
an inspiration. I write about dark things, but I always end it [that] there is
a light at the end of a dark tunnel. So I personally don't want to write about
things too morbid or dark, because you don't want to influence them completely
in a dark way. But at the same time, I still want to be real and always have a
balance between the dark and the light. So, I just have to be
"Bigfoot", the new single from CHICKENFOOT — the supergroup featuring guitar hero Joe Satriani, drummer Chad
Smith, former VAN HALEN bassist Michael Anthony and frontman Sammy
Hagar — will be released via iTunes tomorrow (Monday, August 1). The
track, a sample of which can be heard on Amazon.com,
will make its online debut later today (Sunday, July 31).
CHICKENFOOT will release its sophomore album, "Chickenfoot
III", on September 26 via earMUSIC/Edel and from eOne
Music in North America in a special 3D
designed package.
Produced by Mike Fraser (AC/DC, METALLICA), "Chickenfoot
III" and is described by Hagar as "the best record I've
ever made." He tells RollingStone.com, "It's a lot more musical than the
last record – the hooks and the songs are better. Satriani adds,
"We created a record that was deeper and better than the first one . . .
it makes a musician very happy when they can see that they are involved with
something that's very moving forward and life-changing."
Smith will have two new records out within a month of each other, since
the new RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS album, "I'm With You",
arrives on August 30. Smith will not tour with CHICKENFOOT this
time due to his commitments with his main band.
"That's the biggest disappointment about the whole thing," Hagar tells RollingStone.com, adding the band has auditioned several drummers
and have an audition with Kenny Aronoff (JOHN MELLENCAMP, JOHN
FOGERTY, SMASHING PUMPKINS). "He's going to spend a couple days
with this and were just going to jam and if he fits. It's got to be the
chemistry. Kenny can play that's for sure and we all like him. He's kind
of like Chad — he's kind of crazy and he hits so fucking hard that he beats his drum set to
the ground that after every show he needs a new drum set."
EXODUS, HEAVEN SHALL BURN, KATAKLYSM, MARDUK and TRIPTYKON have been confirmed for this year's edition of the Eindhoven
Metal Meeting, set to take place December 16-17, 2011 at the Effenaar in Eindhoven, The
Netherlands.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows (in alphabetical order):
ADEPT
ASPHYX
BALFOR
CRIPPER
DESASTER
DESTRUCTION
DISABUSE
EXODUS
GOD DETHRONED
HEATHEN
HEAVEN SHALL BURN
HEIDEVOLK
KATAKLYSM
KATATONIA
MARDUK
MILKING THE GOATMACHINE
NIFELHEIM
SEMARGL
SYLOSIS
STORMRIDER
TANKARD
THE ROTTED
TRIPTYKON
VALKYRJA
More bands will be announced soon.
For more information, visit www.eindhovenmetalmeeting.com.
Swedish metallers IN FLAMES have released the
following statement:
"It is with huge regret that today with immediate effect IN FLAMES must cancel their current U.S.
shows as part of the Rockstar [Energy Drink] Mayhem Festival and their own U.S.
headline shows. But due to a serious terminal illness of one the band's
immediate family members, they feel they have no option.
"We have had the most amazing and fun times as part of the Rockstar
Mayhem Festival and we are truly grateful for all the support the whole
festival has shown
"We will be back at the start of 2012.
"Once again, our apologies."
Remaining Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival dates:
Jul. 31 - Susquehanna Bank Center - Camden, NJ
Aug. 02 – Farm Bureau Live at Virginia Beach - Virginia Beach, VA
Aug. 03 - Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek - Raleigh, NC
Aug. 05 - First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre - Tinley Park, IL
Aug. 06 - DTE Energy Music Theatre - Clarkston, MI
Aug. 07 - Verizon Wireless Music Center - Noblesville, IN
Aug. 09 - Zoo Amphitheatre - Oklahoma City, OK
Aug. 10 – Gexa Energy Pavilion - Dallas, TX
Aug. 12 - Aaron's Amphitheatre at Lakewood - Atlanta, GA
Aug. 13 - 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre - Tampa, FL
Aug. 14 - Cruzan Amphitheatre - West Palm Beach, FL
IN FLAMES' tenth album, "Sounds Of A Playground Fading",
sold around 14,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to
debut at position No. 27 on The Billboard 200 chart.
IN FLAMES' previous CD, "A Sense of Purpose" (Koch)
opened with 20,000 units to land at No. 28. This was slightly less than the
opening tally of "Come Clarity" (Ferret), which shifted
just under 24,000 copies in February 2006 to enter the chart at position No.
58.
Elash On Tour recently conducted an interview with
guitarist-turned-producer Logan Mader (MACHINE HEAD, SOULFLY, DEVILDRIVER, GOJIRA, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY). You can now
watch the chat below.
In a recent interview with Hollywood Music Magazine, Mader was
asked what a band can expect when it is working with him. "They can expect
nothing but the best," Logan laughed. "I do all my own engineering, all my recording, editing, mixing
and mastering. So they can expect high quality of performance across the board
with all aspects of recording based on what I do and you can tell what I do.
Another thing you can expect is that I don't try and make a band sound like me
in the production. I like to make a band sound good, but like themselves, and I
think I do a pretty good job of that because when I listen to different
projects I don't hear a common thread of similarities through all of them. I
don't try to attempt to just put my stamp on something; I try to go freestyle
when I am working with sounds, or what the song feels is necessary, I let the
music tell me what to do."
Regarding his take on where the music industry is headed, Logan said, "I'm starting to shy away
from the traditional record label thing in some ways and I'm trying to look at
some other ways to go. There's other ways to do it. You're probably not going
to sell very many CDs, but people are always going to want to see live music
and want to buy merchandise. There are companies like Red Bull who are doing a
lot of creative investment into music and they're not a record label but they
have tons of money. More money than any record label does right now. There's
interesting new ways to evolve with the changing industry, the dying industry,
and instead of just surviving and extracting blood from dinosaurs that have
been bled to death find new ways and find new blood."
On the topic of where the music industry will be when all the hands are played
out. Logan said, "Well, I think the giants are going to come
crashing down eventually or they are going to morph into something other than
the traditional distribution warehouse, CD marketing, music sales and content
sales. I think it really depends on the future of physical content and I kind
of suspect that big companies are going to lean towards membership-driven
streaming music to where you don't possess the MP3 or CD. You get to be a
member which gets you a login code, so you can listen to their entire catalog
or whatever they let you listen to, whenever you want. But you don't get to
have possession of it. I mean, that's one way to stop piracy but I really don't
like that idea too much. I don't see how it can work yet, maybe someone is
working on it, and I kind of get the sense that someone is. I heard Apple might be trying to buy Pandora, which started out as a pirate site and
then became so big that they made deals with all the copyright owners and now
it's a big platform. But I'm sure CDs will be obsolete soon, and DVD players
will be gone and all your music will be played from a device either hand held
or on your computer. I don't know where it's all going to go but I think that
artists need to think about new ways to generate revenues that don't necessarily
have anything to do with selling their music. Build up a community and artists
can really do a lot on their own. If they are really motivated they can make
shit happen. Like an unknown band getting a big placement on a TV show or
something like that can happen for an unsigned band. That coupled with a really
good feeling of community online. A good fan base, a good database and a
community that follows them the bigger it gets is a valuable asset to have. You
can sell ad space and become sponsored to make your money and do your music.
You will get your money from Coca-Cola and Red Bull instead of a
record label. And then touring: if you're good enough you will make money. The
music will go on and on and on and there will always be good artists coming in
and old ones dying but how it monetizes in the future nobody really knows. It's
an interesting time, kind of revolutionary."
Nuclear Blast Records has set a March 9, 2012
European release date for the next studio album from Dutch symphonic metallers EPICA.
A CD-release party will be held on March 16, 2012 at 013 in Tilburg, Netherlands.
Commented the band: "As our previous CD presentation ('Design Your
Universe' at Paradiso in Amsterdam)
sold out in advance, we have decided to play the next one in a slightly bigger
club."
EPICA will play the new album in its entirety, along with some older
tracks, during the more-than-two-hour event. Pyrotechnics and special show
elements will be added as well.
EPICA's new album is being recorded at Gate Studio in Wolfsburg, Germany
under the watchful eye of Sascha Paeth.
EPICA's latest album, "Design Your Universe", landed at
position No. 12 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists
the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who
have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.
"This Is The Time", the latest single from EPICA, was
released digitally on October 15, 2010. A video for the song, which was written
for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), was filmed in March 2010 was
in Hilversum,
The Netherlands.
NO LOVE LOST, the Birmingham, England-based
gothic/doom band featuring ex-CANCER bassist Adam Richardson,
along with Laura Burton (vocals), Shaun Watts (guitar), Adam
Kendrick (guitar) and Kostas Kyriakidis (drums), will release its
new mini-CD, "What's It Like To Be Awake?", on August 1 via Audiosyncrasy
Records.
The limited-edition digipak contains the following four songs:
01. Trinity (4:55)
02. Sleep For A Thousand Years (6:21)
03. The Bridge Between Heaven & Earth (6:30)
04. Into The Dark (6:49)
For more information, visit the band's Facebook page.
Danish thrashers HATESPHERE will release their new
album, "The Great Bludgeoning", via Napalm Records on
the following dates:
* Spain, Finland, Sweden:
September 21
* Germany, Austria, Switzerland,
Benelux, Italy:
September 23
* Rest Of Europe: September 26
* USA, Canada: September 27
The CD was produced, mixed and mastered by Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, SICK OF IT ALL, MOONSPELL, DARK TRANQUILLITY) at the Antfarm
Studios in Aarhus, Denmark. The cover artwork as
created by Mircea Gabriel Eftemie, who has previously worked with SOILWORK, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD and MNEMIC (for which he also plays the
guitar).
"The Great Bludgeoning" track listing:
01. The Killer
02. Venom
03. Smell Of Death
04. Decayer
05. The Wail Of My Threnode
06. Resurrect With A Vengeance
07. The Great Bludgeoning
08. Need To Kill
09. Devil In Your Own Hell
Commented the band: "We have aimed the new album in a more old-school
direction than its predecessor.
"With people this experienced joining the band, it has been a very relaxed
and enjoyable process to write the songs, and we have all agreed on the
concept. More metal and everything that follows. The cover, the title and the
lyrics speaks for themselves.
"We are an angry-sounding metal band, and we have no intention of denying
that. That's why the cover is more back-to-the-roots and the lyrics are again
about aggressions, drinking and hate. The things that HATESPHERE has
always been about.
"Expect brutality, melody and groove in just the right dose.
"We have had one hell of a time writing and recording it, and we can't
wait to present the album to all of you before long! Within a month or so, we
will have the first song snippet and video ready for you — so keep your eyes
and ears open."
HATESPHERE recently announced the addition of bassist Jimmy
Nedergaard (GOB SQUAD) to the group's ranks. Nedergaard was
described by his new bandmates as "a metalhead [with] a punk rock
background [who] knows what he is going into, he shares our visions with the
band, he has tried something different than metal but still has it deep in his
heart, and last but not least he's a great guy." The group added,
"Fitting in personally means a lot to us, so Jimmy's age and
experience has made him the perfect choice."
Vocalist Esben "Esse" Hansen joined HATESPHERE as the
band's new singer in June 2010.
HATESPHERE's last CD, "To The Nines" entered the
official chart in Denmark
at position No. 36.
Former THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN and BURNT BY THE
SUN members have joined forces with MUNICIPAL WASTE drummer Dave
Witte and EAST OF THE WALL bassist Brett Bamberger in a brand
new band called ARGONAUTS.
A description of the group from ARGONAUTS Facebook page: "The tail end of '09 saw four gentleman
who did time in BURNT BY THE SUN, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN and THE
POSTMAN SYNDROME and currently play in MUNICIPAL WASTE and EAST
OF THE WALL as well, start charting out sea changes. ARGONAUTS have
set their own course in heavy music, unconcerned with limitation or agenda.
Hold fast."
ARGONAUTS is:
Dimitri Minakakis (ex-THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN) - Vocals
John Adubato (ex-BURNT BY THE SUN) - Guitar
Brett Bamberger (EAST OF THE WALL) - Bass
Dave Witte (MUNICIPAL WASTE, ex-BURNT BY THE SUN) – Drums
Norwegian black metallers SATYRICON have scheduled
the following dates in Mexico, South and Central America:
Oct. 28 - Mexico City, Mexico - Circo Volador
Oct. 29 - San Salvador, El Salvador - Jar Rock
Oct. 30 - San José, Costa Rica - Pepper's Club
Nov. 01 - Bogotá, Colombia - Teatro Metro
Nov. 03 - Santiago, Chile - [to be announced]
Nov. 04 - Montevideo, Uruguay - La Trastienda Club
Nov. 05 - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Teatro Flores
Nov. 06 - São Paulo, Brazil - Hangar 110
In late 2009, SATYRICON announced that it was planning to take a break
following the completion of the group's most recent headlining European tour.
"We tried to perfect everything SATYRICON has learnt and
experienced musically for the last decade on 'The Age Of Nero' and we
feel that we reached the goal we set out to achieve," the band stated at
the time. "It is time to pave way for something new. No, we won't return
to something old. Forget it! All we know is that regardless of what we end up
doing, it will still sound unmistakably like SATYRICON."
SATYRICON vocalist Sigurd "Satyr" Wongraven told Terrorizer.com that the band's December 20, 2009 concert in
London, England would mark the beginning of
a new phase in the group's evolution. "From then on, there are going to be
a lot of changes in the SATYRICON camp," he said. "After we
take a long touring break and come back a couple of years later, certain people
may not be with us any longer. Although we won't be doing anything overly
dramatic, we'll be trying quite a few different things, which I think is going
to be really good for SATYRICON. The reason we're doing that is so we
can continue to develop our sound. At the moment we are still enjoying what we
do, but if that continues any longer it'll undoubtedly stagnate, so we need to
ensure that doesn't happen. And moving in different musical directions is
definitely a good way to go about it."
"As an artist, there are so many new things I'd like to do," Satyr added. "And one of them is to work on some songwriting for SATYRICON,
though from an entirely different angle. For example, we may chose to go for a
similar tone, but use a different set of instruments in the next record. Maybe
there are also other recording techniques, which could add a different element
to our work and open up fresh musical territory. Our last three releases all
follow a certain style and pattern, and we want to create a record that's
radically different from the others. Though the foundation of SATYRICON's
sound — my songwriting and Frost's signature drumming — will always
remain unchanged."
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