In the midst of the "No More Mr. Nice Guy" world tour, Alice Cooper treated fans to a special performance last night (Thursday, September 15) at the legendary Whisky a Go-Go. Cooper took the stage of the legendary rock venue on the Sunset Strip for the first time since Alice Cooper the band performed there live in 1969 with LED ZEPPELIN.
Cooper was joined by Steve Hunter, one of rock's great guitarists; Tommy Henriksen, who co-wrote much of the new release; bassist Chuck Garric; drummer Glen Sobel; and eminent guitar prodigy Orianthi, making her debut with the band. The audience heard some old-school hits in addition to songs from Cooper's new album "Welcome 2 My Nightmare", the long-awaited sequel to his 1975 classic "Welcome to My Nightmare", which was released on September 13. Also making special guest appearances during the set were former THE DOORS guitarist Robbie Krieger and pop singer Ke$ha.
Cooper's setlist was as follows:
01. The Train Kept A-Rollin'
02. Under My Wheels
03. No More Mr. Nice Guy
04. Is It My Body
05. Brown Sugar
06. I'll Bite Your Face Off
07. Muscle Of Love
08. Cold Ethyl
09. We Gotta Get Out Of This Place (THE ANIMALS cover)
10. Billion Dollar Babies
11. Break On Through (THE DOORS cover, feat. Robbie Krieger)
12. Back Door Man (THE DOORS cover, feat. Robbie Krieger)
13. Poison
14. I'm Eighteen
15. School's Out (feat. Ke$ha)
16. Elected
Cooper was joined by Steve Hunter, one of rock's great guitarists; Tommy Henriksen, who co-wrote much of the new release; bassist Chuck Garric; drummer Glen Sobel; and eminent guitar prodigy Orianthi, making her debut with the band. The audience heard some old-school hits in addition to songs from Cooper's new album "Welcome 2 My Nightmare", the long-awaited sequel to his 1975 classic "Welcome to My Nightmare", which was released on September 13. Also making special guest appearances during the set were former THE DOORS guitarist Robbie Krieger and pop singer Ke$ha.
Cooper's setlist was as follows:
01. The Train Kept A-Rollin'
02. Under My Wheels
03. No More Mr. Nice Guy
04. Is It My Body
05. Brown Sugar
06. I'll Bite Your Face Off
07. Muscle Of Love
08. Cold Ethyl
09. We Gotta Get Out Of This Place (THE ANIMALS cover)
10. Billion Dollar Babies
11. Break On Through (THE DOORS cover, feat. Robbie Krieger)
12. Back Door Man (THE DOORS cover, feat. Robbie Krieger)
13. Poison
14. I'm Eighteen
15. School's Out (feat. Ke$ha)
16. Elected
METALLICA headlined the second-ever U.S. "Big Four" show on Wednesday (September 14), joined by SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX for the first heavy metal concert ever staged at the new Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. Photos showed that the infield diamond was kept clear of fans, and METALLICA frontman James Hetfield told The Pulse Of Radio that the Stadium had some rules for the bands as well. "Don't touch the grass. Do not walk on the grass," he said. "We got told that quite a few times yesterday and our English crew was, you know, defiant as they usually are, you know, 'Okay,' you know, and then they'd run across really quick — 'Come back here!' you know. Yeah, they're very, very touchy about the grass, superstitious, whatnot. But the stadium itself's unbelievable. They did a great job with just keeping the vibe of old school, but modernizing it."
The first U.S. "Big Four" show took place last April at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, California.
METALLICA's nearly 20-song set on Wednesday night was capped by a jam featuring members of all four bands teaming up for the MOTÖRHEAD classic "Overkill".
METALLICA will release "Lulu", its collaborative album with Lou Reed, on November 1 in North America.
The first U.S. "Big Four" show took place last April at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, California.
METALLICA's nearly 20-song set on Wednesday night was capped by a jam featuring members of all four bands teaming up for the MOTÖRHEAD classic "Overkill".
METALLICA will release "Lulu", its collaborative album with Lou Reed, on November 1 in North America.
Fans lined up around the block yesterday (Thursday, September 15 ) as Slash appeared at the new GuitarGuitar store in Epsom, U.K. In between cutting the ribbon to officially open the impressive new building and sign autographs for hundreds of expectant fans, Music Radar managed to grab the former GUNS N' ROSES guitar hero to give them the skinny on his new Dunlop signature wah-wah pedal and the plans for the follow-up to his acclaimed debut solo album. You can now watch the chat at this location.
When asked about the status of the recording sessions for his new solo album, Slash said, "We actually haven't started recording, but we've been in pre-production. We're about nine songs in, as far as that goes. And when I get back from England tomorrow, we'll go in and do another 12 songs. And we start actually recording late October. This is a record with Myles [Kennedy of ALTER BRIDGE] singing in the entire thing. And also Brent Fitz's playing drums and Todd Kerns is playing bass."
He added, "I was really fortunate. When I'd done the record, I thought, 'I've gotta tour on this.' And I had to figure how I was gonna actually pull that off. And I set about auditioning musicians in L.A. and I just happened to meet Brent Fitz, who I'd never played before and who is not from Los Angeles; he was one of the guys I auditioned and he was great. And then he introduced me to Todd Kerns, who fit in perfectly. And it turned out to be a great band from the start — definitely worth going in and making a record with."
Slash's new album will once again be produced by Eric Valentine, who has previously worked with QUEENS OF STONE AGE and THE ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS. But "the big difference," according to Slash, will be that Eric is "also gonna be mastering this one" in addition to recording and mixing the CD. "So it's like one-stop shopping, which is pretty cool," the guitarist said.
Regarding the musicial direction of his new material and how it compares to last year's self-titled effort, Slash said, "This one's definitely a very focused… Very hard. Some of it's very heavy. It's got sort of a more unified sound to it, especially with one vocal all throughout."
"Slash" was released in North America in April 2010 via EMI Label Services. The album featured an all-star roster of guest musicians, including Ian Astbury, Chris Cornell, Rocco DeLuca, Fergie, Dave Grohl, Myles Kennedy, Kid Rock, Lemmy Kilmister, Adam Levine of MAROON 5, Duff McKagan, M. Shadows of AVENGED SEVENFOLD, Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop, and Andrew Stockdale of WOLFMOTHER.
"Slash" was completed with the rhythm section of bassist Chris Chaney (JANE'S ADDICTION) and drummer Josh Freese (NINE INCH NAILS). Slash handled the majority of arranging and songwriting duties and hand-picked each guest artist. The album's guests worked collaboratively with Slash to round out the song.
When asked about the status of the recording sessions for his new solo album, Slash said, "We actually haven't started recording, but we've been in pre-production. We're about nine songs in, as far as that goes. And when I get back from England tomorrow, we'll go in and do another 12 songs. And we start actually recording late October. This is a record with Myles [Kennedy of ALTER BRIDGE] singing in the entire thing. And also Brent Fitz's playing drums and Todd Kerns is playing bass."
He added, "I was really fortunate. When I'd done the record, I thought, 'I've gotta tour on this.' And I had to figure how I was gonna actually pull that off. And I set about auditioning musicians in L.A. and I just happened to meet Brent Fitz, who I'd never played before and who is not from Los Angeles; he was one of the guys I auditioned and he was great. And then he introduced me to Todd Kerns, who fit in perfectly. And it turned out to be a great band from the start — definitely worth going in and making a record with."
Slash's new album will once again be produced by Eric Valentine, who has previously worked with QUEENS OF STONE AGE and THE ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS. But "the big difference," according to Slash, will be that Eric is "also gonna be mastering this one" in addition to recording and mixing the CD. "So it's like one-stop shopping, which is pretty cool," the guitarist said.
Regarding the musicial direction of his new material and how it compares to last year's self-titled effort, Slash said, "This one's definitely a very focused… Very hard. Some of it's very heavy. It's got sort of a more unified sound to it, especially with one vocal all throughout."
"Slash" was released in North America in April 2010 via EMI Label Services. The album featured an all-star roster of guest musicians, including Ian Astbury, Chris Cornell, Rocco DeLuca, Fergie, Dave Grohl, Myles Kennedy, Kid Rock, Lemmy Kilmister, Adam Levine of MAROON 5, Duff McKagan, M. Shadows of AVENGED SEVENFOLD, Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop, and Andrew Stockdale of WOLFMOTHER.
"Slash" was completed with the rhythm section of bassist Chris Chaney (JANE'S ADDICTION) and drummer Josh Freese (NINE INCH NAILS). Slash handled the majority of arranging and songwriting duties and hand-picked each guest artist. The album's guests worked collaboratively with Slash to round out the song.
HAIL! â€" the supergroup featuring vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens (YNGWIE
MALMSTEEN, JUDASPRIEST, ICED EARTH, BEYOND FEAR) and guitarist Andreas Kisser
(SEPULTURA) alongside a rotating list of musicians, including drummers Paul
Bostaph (TESTAMENT, SLAYER, EXODUS, FORBIDDEN) and Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER,
AVENGEDSEVENFOLD); and bassists James Lomenzo (MEGADETH) and David Ellefson
(MEGADETH) â€" has issued the following update:
"Sorry this has been so long but all our guys have been busy touring and
recording.
"We
are happy to announce our triumphant return to Russia! Following our
amazing sold-out tour there last June, we will be coming back in
December for 10-11 more shows in eight new cities! We thank our
wonderful Russian fans for all their love and support and we look
forward to seeing you again soon. HAIL! will also play their first shows in
China and Taiwan!
"Our goal is to continuously break new ground around the world and we are coming
to Beijing, Shanghai and Taipei in December.
"The lineup for these dates will feature Tim 'Ripper' Owens, Paul Bostaph, James
Lomenzo and the newest member of our tribe â€" guitarist Glen Drover. Glen,
having had a long and wonderful career in metal having played with MEGADETH for
five years as well as TESTAMENT and KING DIAMOND, will be filling in for Andreas
Kisser as SEPULTURA are out touring in support of their newest release,
'Kairos'."
Said Glen, "It is an honor to play with HAIL! Everything that they have done and
stand for is what being a true metal fan is all about. To be a part of something
so special and playing in
these new places is really exciting and I can't wait to tear it up with
all you crazy fans!"
Details for the entire tour will be announced in a few days.
HAIL! lineup for December 2011 dates:
* Tim "Ripper" Owens (ex-JUDAS PRIEST) - Vocals
* Paul Bostaph (TESTAMENT, SLAYER, EXODUS, FORBIDDEN) - Drums
* James Lomenzo (MEGADETH, DAVIDLEEROTH, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, WHITE LION) - Bass
* Glen Drover (MEGADETH, KING DIAMOND) – Guitar
MALMSTEEN, JUDASPRIEST, ICED EARTH, BEYOND FEAR) and guitarist Andreas Kisser
(SEPULTURA) alongside a rotating list of musicians, including drummers Paul
Bostaph (TESTAMENT, SLAYER, EXODUS, FORBIDDEN) and Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER,
AVENGEDSEVENFOLD); and bassists James Lomenzo (MEGADETH) and David Ellefson
(MEGADETH) â€" has issued the following update:
"Sorry this has been so long but all our guys have been busy touring and
recording.
"We
are happy to announce our triumphant return to Russia! Following our
amazing sold-out tour there last June, we will be coming back in
December for 10-11 more shows in eight new cities! We thank our
wonderful Russian fans for all their love and support and we look
forward to seeing you again soon. HAIL! will also play their first shows in
China and Taiwan!
"Our goal is to continuously break new ground around the world and we are coming
to Beijing, Shanghai and Taipei in December.
"The lineup for these dates will feature Tim 'Ripper' Owens, Paul Bostaph, James
Lomenzo and the newest member of our tribe â€" guitarist Glen Drover. Glen,
having had a long and wonderful career in metal having played with MEGADETH for
five years as well as TESTAMENT and KING DIAMOND, will be filling in for Andreas
Kisser as SEPULTURA are out touring in support of their newest release,
'Kairos'."
Said Glen, "It is an honor to play with HAIL! Everything that they have done and
stand for is what being a true metal fan is all about. To be a part of something
so special and playing in
these new places is really exciting and I can't wait to tear it up with
all you crazy fans!"
Details for the entire tour will be announced in a few days.
HAIL! lineup for December 2011 dates:
* Tim "Ripper" Owens (ex-JUDAS PRIEST) - Vocals
* Paul Bostaph (TESTAMENT, SLAYER, EXODUS, FORBIDDEN) - Drums
* James Lomenzo (MEGADETH, DAVIDLEEROTH, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, WHITE LION) - Bass
* Glen Drover (MEGADETH, KING DIAMOND) – Guitar
U.K. rockers STATUS QUO are currently filming their first-ever cinematic documentary with Emmy-nominated director Alan G. Parker. Provisionally titled "Hello Quo!", it is planned for release in the fall of 2012.
STATUS QUO's new album, "Quid Pro Quo", was released in the U.S. on July 12 via Eagle Rock Entertainment. The CD contains 14 brand new tracks plus the 2010 version of "In The Army Now" and is packaged with a second disc, "The Official Bootleg - Greatest Hits Live", making this serious value for money. "The Official Bootleg" was recorded in Amsterdam and Melbourne last year and offers 10 classic hits specially remixed by Gregg Jackman.
"Quid Pro Quo" was made available in Europe as a limited run of 1,000 deluxe box sets comprising a vinyl album in a gatefold sleeve, the 2xCD version featuring special artwork and 2 extra live tracks, a QUO poster, individually numbered "Quo Quid" banknote, a T-shirt and a set of badges (unavailable elsewhere). The deluxe box sets retail at £50 and are available worldwide, with only 500 available exclusively from StatusQuo.co.uk.
The 14 new tracks on "Quid Pro Quo" were produced by Francis Rossi and Mike Paxman, the 2010 version of "In The Army Now" was produced by Pip Williams.
STATUS QUO's new album, "Quid Pro Quo", was released in the U.S. on July 12 via Eagle Rock Entertainment. The CD contains 14 brand new tracks plus the 2010 version of "In The Army Now" and is packaged with a second disc, "The Official Bootleg - Greatest Hits Live", making this serious value for money. "The Official Bootleg" was recorded in Amsterdam and Melbourne last year and offers 10 classic hits specially remixed by Gregg Jackman.
"Quid Pro Quo" was made available in Europe as a limited run of 1,000 deluxe box sets comprising a vinyl album in a gatefold sleeve, the 2xCD version featuring special artwork and 2 extra live tracks, a QUO poster, individually numbered "Quo Quid" banknote, a T-shirt and a set of badges (unavailable elsewhere). The deluxe box sets retail at £50 and are available worldwide, with only 500 available exclusively from StatusQuo.co.uk.
The 14 new tracks on "Quid Pro Quo" were produced by Francis Rossi and Mike Paxman, the 2010 version of "In The Army Now" was produced by Pip Williams.
The previously unreleased NIRVANA concert film "Live At The Paramount" will be televised on Friday, September 23 at 11:00 p.m. ET on VH1, with the hour-long show being simulcast on VH1 Classic and Palladia. The broadcast will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the release of NIRVANA's landmark 1991 album, "Nevermind". The concert, shot at the Paramount Theater in Seattle on Halloween in 1991, features performances of several songs from "Nevermind", plus non-album cuts "Sliver" and "Aneurysm" along with a cover of THE VASELINES' "Jesus Doesn't Want Me For a Sunbeam".
"Nirvana: Live At The Paramount" will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 27, the same day as the 20th anniversary reissue of "Nevermind".
The deluxe edition of the "Nevermind" reissue will contain the "Live At The Paramount" show as part of the package, which also features studio and live B-sides, recordings from the BBC, music videos, a previously unreleased alternate mix of the album and a 90-page book.
A new website, Nevermind 20, has also launched to celebrate the 20th anniversary of "Nevermind". The site will allow fans to upload photos and memorabilia, as well as share their memories of the album.
"Nirvana: Live At The Paramount" will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 27, the same day as the 20th anniversary reissue of "Nevermind".
The deluxe edition of the "Nevermind" reissue will contain the "Live At The Paramount" show as part of the package, which also features studio and live B-sides, recordings from the BBC, music videos, a previously unreleased alternate mix of the album and a 90-page book.
A new website, Nevermind 20, has also launched to celebrate the 20th anniversary of "Nevermind". The site will allow fans to upload photos and memorabilia, as well as share their memories of the album.
According to The Pulse Of Radio, a song on the new CHICKENFOOT album, called "Up Next", is dedicated to the band's manager, John Carter, who died of cancer halfway through the recording the new disc. In a new podcast, vocalist Sammy Hagar said, "Carter was the guy who signed me to my first record contract when I was thrown out of MONTROSE, and produced my first four albums. Carter, dear friend, became our co-manager, and he got cancer: last minute, got it diagnosed, got operated on immediately and died. It was horrible."
Hagar told us how Carter inspired the song: "He's going, 'You need to incorporate your lifestyle into CHICKENFOOT.' He goes, 'You know, why do you have to, why does it have to be separate?' So he was really hammering me on this, to write some lyrics about myself, you know, and my lifestyle. Then he gets sick and we realize that he's gonna die. So that's where the lyric came from — you just never know who's next, you know, who would have thought Carter? This is for Carter, this song, 'cause I threw my lifestyle into that song for him."
"Chickenfoot III" comes out on September 27 and follows up the band's 2009 self-titled debut.
The band will hold a live webcast that night and perform tracks from the disc at 9:00 p.m. ET from TRI Studios in California, followed by a 30-minute question-and-answer session at the band's official web site. Fans can submit questions through the site.
CHICKENFOOT will hit the road sometime later in the fall to promote the new record, with veteran drummer Kenny Aronoff behind the kit for the band on tour while Chad Smith hits the road with his main act, the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS.
Hagar told American Rock Scene that his memoir, "Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock", will contain an additional chapter when it comes out in paperback. The book debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times non-fiction best seller list when it arrived in hardcover last March.
Hagar told us how Carter inspired the song: "He's going, 'You need to incorporate your lifestyle into CHICKENFOOT.' He goes, 'You know, why do you have to, why does it have to be separate?' So he was really hammering me on this, to write some lyrics about myself, you know, and my lifestyle. Then he gets sick and we realize that he's gonna die. So that's where the lyric came from — you just never know who's next, you know, who would have thought Carter? This is for Carter, this song, 'cause I threw my lifestyle into that song for him."
"Chickenfoot III" comes out on September 27 and follows up the band's 2009 self-titled debut.
The band will hold a live webcast that night and perform tracks from the disc at 9:00 p.m. ET from TRI Studios in California, followed by a 30-minute question-and-answer session at the band's official web site. Fans can submit questions through the site.
CHICKENFOOT will hit the road sometime later in the fall to promote the new record, with veteran drummer Kenny Aronoff behind the kit for the band on tour while Chad Smith hits the road with his main act, the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS.
Hagar told American Rock Scene that his memoir, "Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock", will contain an additional chapter when it comes out in paperback. The book debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times non-fiction best seller list when it arrived in hardcover last March.
Jeff Treppel of Roadrunner Records recently conducted an interview with guitarist John Petrucci of progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER. An excerpt from the chat follows below.
Q: Did you guys have any goals going into [the recording of the new DREAM THEATER album] "A Dramatic Turn Of Events"?
Petrucci: We did; we had several conversations before we went into the album, a few months before, and wanted to make sure we were all on the same page as to the kind of album we were going to make and the direction of the album. In general, we really wanted to focus in on the compositional elements, the originality factor, and honing in on all the qualities that make DREAM THEATER a special and unique band. We wanted to do something that was going to be on a grand scale, we wanted to take things to extremes and really explore deeply whatever element it was. We knew if we were going to do something in a progressive sort of tone, we would take that to an extreme. If we were going to do something that was sort of cinematic and broader, we would take that as far as we could take it. We wanted this album to be sonically interesting. I knew from the beginning, I had a dream of having Andy Wallace mix it, and that dream came true. We wanted it to be a real hi-fi, epic, cinematic experience. So when we went in to write, we had it in mind that we were going to take our time with chord progressions and melodic elements and vocal range and the general sound of the instruments and things like that. It was definitely a concerted and focused effort to keep the compositional qualities as high as we possibly could.
Q: How did you guys go about writing the music for this particular record?
Petrucci: It kind of starts at home, at my leisure I like to start a collection of riffs and ideas that I do on a portable recorder, just kind of get an idea or riff library going, and a lot of the guys do that. You kind of organize that and have it ready on your laptop to bring in. For example, the intro to "On the Backs of Angels", that was something I had written at home and brought in. I had demoed "This Is the Life" and brought that in. I had riffs that would become things like "Bridges in the Sky" and "Lost Not Forgotten", things like that. So the least you have these seeds to come in with. And then we set up in the studio, James [LaBrie, vocals], John [Myung, bass], Jordan [Rudess, keyboards] and me, everything in kind of ready-to-record mode, and we just sat there and wrote. As far as documenting stuff, it's all recorded. Jordan writes pretty much everything down on paper, we'll chart everything as we see we need it, and we have all different types of recorders going – in case we're improvising on something and it captures what we need, we can go back. We did that for about 2 1/2 months, and got everything not only written but fully demoed, fully mapped out, all of the tempos and markers and everything. It's like a masters preproduction at the same time that we're writing. That enables us to start the recording process really smoothly. When Mike Mangini [drums] came in, he was able to really just play along to the demo tracks that we had recorded, and we didn't have to go through a whole process of laying out tempos and maps and markers, that stuff was already done at the same time.
Q: Did you guys have any goals going into [the recording of the new DREAM THEATER album] "A Dramatic Turn Of Events"?
Petrucci: We did; we had several conversations before we went into the album, a few months before, and wanted to make sure we were all on the same page as to the kind of album we were going to make and the direction of the album. In general, we really wanted to focus in on the compositional elements, the originality factor, and honing in on all the qualities that make DREAM THEATER a special and unique band. We wanted to do something that was going to be on a grand scale, we wanted to take things to extremes and really explore deeply whatever element it was. We knew if we were going to do something in a progressive sort of tone, we would take that to an extreme. If we were going to do something that was sort of cinematic and broader, we would take that as far as we could take it. We wanted this album to be sonically interesting. I knew from the beginning, I had a dream of having Andy Wallace mix it, and that dream came true. We wanted it to be a real hi-fi, epic, cinematic experience. So when we went in to write, we had it in mind that we were going to take our time with chord progressions and melodic elements and vocal range and the general sound of the instruments and things like that. It was definitely a concerted and focused effort to keep the compositional qualities as high as we possibly could.
Q: How did you guys go about writing the music for this particular record?
Petrucci: It kind of starts at home, at my leisure I like to start a collection of riffs and ideas that I do on a portable recorder, just kind of get an idea or riff library going, and a lot of the guys do that. You kind of organize that and have it ready on your laptop to bring in. For example, the intro to "On the Backs of Angels", that was something I had written at home and brought in. I had demoed "This Is the Life" and brought that in. I had riffs that would become things like "Bridges in the Sky" and "Lost Not Forgotten", things like that. So the least you have these seeds to come in with. And then we set up in the studio, James [LaBrie, vocals], John [Myung, bass], Jordan [Rudess, keyboards] and me, everything in kind of ready-to-record mode, and we just sat there and wrote. As far as documenting stuff, it's all recorded. Jordan writes pretty much everything down on paper, we'll chart everything as we see we need it, and we have all different types of recorders going – in case we're improvising on something and it captures what we need, we can go back. We did that for about 2 1/2 months, and got everything not only written but fully demoed, fully mapped out, all of the tempos and markers and everything. It's like a masters preproduction at the same time that we're writing. That enables us to start the recording process really smoothly. When Mike Mangini [drums] came in, he was able to really just play along to the demo tracks that we had recorded, and we didn't have to go through a whole process of laying out tempos and maps and markers, that stuff was already done at the same time.
PAPA WHEELIE, the "stoner punk metal" crew consisting of former METALLICA/VOIVOD bassist Jason Newsted (a.k.a. Jaylor) on guitar/vocals, Steven Wiig (a.k.a. Swiiglor) on drums and Joe Ledesma (a.k.a. Joefus) on bass, will open for KYUSS! LIVES on Saturday, November 19 at The Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, California. Also scheduled to appear are THE SWORD and BLACK COBRA.
PAPA WHEELIE originally emerged from a mountain biking-based friendship between Jason and his friendly neighborhood bike shop owner Joe Ledesma, and was founded on the simple premise that at least two bikers must be jamming together for it to be justified as a PAPA WHEELIE session.
In the early stages of the project, Jason started out playing the drums — a period during which a number of guest performers were sitting in on guitar, including Raymond Anthony, Ken Ingersol, Jason Wisenor... and some guy from the Midwest named Steven Wiig. The project's current lineup came together when Steven Wiig finally decided to move out to Northern California and Jason decided to reshuffle the deck. Jason now took over the guitar, Joe continued to play bass, and Steve officially joined the project full-time on drums.
By September 2000, PAPA WHEELIE had transformed into a full-on stoner rock-lovin' power trio that would eventually spawn the psychotic alter-egos of Jaylor, Swiiglor and Joefus. PAPA WHEELIE's motto (taken from the infamous Fathor Wheelor) is "Upon the same ground twice shalt not thy Wheelie tread!" The premise is that whatever the group plays on the day has never been played before and will never be played again. No pre-written material. Nothing scripted, nothing planned. Simply raw, unadulterated music from The Chophouse as it bleeds. No overdubs. No B.S. According to Swiiglor, "Simply put, we just turn the amps up high, the lights down low and let it rip."
PAPA WHEELIE originally emerged from a mountain biking-based friendship between Jason and his friendly neighborhood bike shop owner Joe Ledesma, and was founded on the simple premise that at least two bikers must be jamming together for it to be justified as a PAPA WHEELIE session.
In the early stages of the project, Jason started out playing the drums — a period during which a number of guest performers were sitting in on guitar, including Raymond Anthony, Ken Ingersol, Jason Wisenor... and some guy from the Midwest named Steven Wiig. The project's current lineup came together when Steven Wiig finally decided to move out to Northern California and Jason decided to reshuffle the deck. Jason now took over the guitar, Joe continued to play bass, and Steve officially joined the project full-time on drums.
By September 2000, PAPA WHEELIE had transformed into a full-on stoner rock-lovin' power trio that would eventually spawn the psychotic alter-egos of Jaylor, Swiiglor and Joefus. PAPA WHEELIE's motto (taken from the infamous Fathor Wheelor) is "Upon the same ground twice shalt not thy Wheelie tread!" The premise is that whatever the group plays on the day has never been played before and will never be played again. No pre-written material. Nothing scripted, nothing planned. Simply raw, unadulterated music from The Chophouse as it bleeds. No overdubs. No B.S. According to Swiiglor, "Simply put, we just turn the amps up high, the lights down low and let it rip."
Guitarist and founding member talks about the band's new album Khaos Legions and their 2011 North American Khaos tour.
September 2, 2011
The name Michael Amott should be familiar to readers of Live-Metal.net. As the founding member and guitarist of Sweden's Arch Enemy, his riffs, leads and harmonies, along with Angela Gassow's deadly vocals, has made Arch Enemy one of the top extreme metal bands in the world. During the past few years, with each new release, we've had the opportunity to talk with Amott about anything and everything Arch Enemy.
The band's latest album, Khaos Legions, plays like a tribute to hardcore fans and sounds like the final chapter of a trilogy that began with Wages of Sin (2001) and continued with Anthems of Rebellion (2003). With songs like "Yesterday is Dead and Gone," "Bloodstained Cross" and "No Gods, No Masters," Khaos Legions delivers on every level of Arch Enemy.
Speaking of trilogies, just under two weeks before the start of the band's North American Khaos tour, Live-Metal.net's Jeff Maki talked with Amott for a third time, this time about the new album, upcoming tour and the chances of Arch Enemy ever "crossing over." Plus, we had to ask about his other project, a little band called Carcass.
The band's latest album, Khaos Legions, plays like a tribute to hardcore fans and sounds like the final chapter of a trilogy that began with Wages of Sin (2001) and continued with Anthems of Rebellion (2003). With songs like "Yesterday is Dead and Gone," "Bloodstained Cross" and "No Gods, No Masters," Khaos Legions delivers on every level of Arch Enemy.
Speaking of trilogies, just under two weeks before the start of the band's North American Khaos tour, Live-Metal.net's Jeff Maki talked with Amott for a third time, this time about the new album, upcoming tour and the chances of Arch Enemy ever "crossing over." Plus, we had to ask about his other project, a little band called Carcass.
Live-Metal.net: I wrote in my review of the new album, Khaos Legions, that it seemed like it was the third part of a trilogy, along with the earlier albums, Wages of Sin and Anthems of Rebellion. Would you consider this an accurate statement on my part?
Michael Amott: It can be whatever you want it to be. For us, it's just another album. But yeah, I can see some similarities with both of those records—absolutely. But I think that we sort of try to do different things along the way. Every new album is kind of a reaction to the previous album. If we went heavily into a direction on one album, then we want to do something a little bit different on the next. You're always going to have those key elements of Arch Enemy's style of extreme metal: Angela (Gassow)'s voice, the guitar playing, drumming and everything.
From what you're saying, there was no real consensus within the band to get back to the sound and feel of those older albums at all?
Well, I think with Rise of the Tyrant, we started going back to guitar solos and more harmonies like we did in the earlier days. But I think the mix on that album let it down. It didn't sound as good sonically. But I think we got it right with Khaos Legions. There's a lot of clarity in the sound, and good songs, I think. So I think we got it right.
What is the meaning of "Khaos Legions?" Is it meant as the fans of Arch Enemy, or is there an overall concept to the album title?
Angela wrote a lot of lyrics, and she came up with the title, as well. I think on the album there's a lot of talk of chaos and creation in the world. We're atheists, so we believe in science and that the world was created out of chaos—the big bang theory. So I think there's some of that in there, but there are also a few political leanings in the lyrics. We were a bit inspired by what was going on in North Africa while we were making the record—uprisings and so forth.
I really like the album cover. I think it's somewhat Iron Maiden-esque. I don't know if you would agree or not.
Yeah, musically we've always been a band that's had a lot of traditional metal in our sound. It's really been a big part of our sound sonically and musically. But graphic-wise, in the past, we've gone for a not so much of a traditional metal approach. So we just thought it would be cool to have something like that, and it looks great on vinyl. And it's just like you said, something that would be (in the style) of classic Judas Priest or something.
Now that's the band depicted on the cover, I take it, with Angela leading the charge? That's what it looks like to me—maybe it's obvious.
That's right, yeah. It's like a whole apocalyptic scene there in the background. And yeah, we look very, uh, pretty. [laughs]
Do you have a name for those gas-masked creatures on the cover, and which one are you? Are you the one on the right?
Yeah, but I actually didn't get a gas mask. I don't know why. I guess I'm just so badass I just didn't need one. I just tore it off and said, "Fuck it! If I'm going to spread chaos I don't need a gas mask."
[laughter]
You mentioned that Angela wrote all of the lyrics, but this hasn't always been the case. She hasn't always overtaken every lyrical aspect with past albums, right?
I think even with Wages of Sin, when she joined, she wrote a few lyrics on that one—a few songs, I don't remember how many. But then it's just become more and more. I used to write a lot of the lyrics—really, all of them. When Angela joined, she wanted to write and I knew that she was good at it, and it's just natural that she writes mostly because she's the one that's going to sing these songs every night on stage. She's got to feel it and it has to be something that she's interested in singing about. Once in a while, I'll have an idea or a concept for a song and I'll write a few lines, but I never actually finish it—I'll give it to her and just pass it on. So there's a few collaborations, a few co-writes, but mostly it's her.
How does the process work with a song coming together?
We'll write a lot of lyrics without hearing any music, like poetry, I guess. But she never really ends up using that stuff because once she hears the music after we give her a demo or tape, then she gets a vibe off that. But to answer your question, the music comes first.
The upcoming U.S. tour starts in Baltimore on Sept. 8. That's us—we'll be there for that show. How hard is it now to choose a set list? I'm sure it's getting difficult now with so many albums. And do you have any surprises in store within the set?
We're quite lucky in the sense that we can always play new material, and the fans will want to hear that new material. At least I think that's the case. They want to hear some new songs; they don't only want to hear the old stuff. We're not that old yet. So we have that luxury, and I think we're going to play four or five new songs. And like you said, it's getting increasingly hard to pick and choose from the old stuff because we have songs we have to play now, like "Ravenous," "Nemesis" and "We Will Rise." Fans would be quite disappointed if we didn't play them because they have become part of the ritual, so to speak. And we love playing them, as well.
We're looking at the set list we did last year in 2010—we did a headline tour with Exodus and Arsis (concert review). So we're looking at that set list now, and we're going to try and play different songs. We're going to try and get rid of some of the old stuff and replace it with other old stuff, and hopefully it'll be cool.
Talking about going on tour, from my perception of the band, it seems to me that you guys are extremely organized, coordinated and almost methodical in every aspect, especially when it comes to the stage. But I'm talking about everything from stagewear down to the band's website. Is this perception accurate? Do you have regular band meetings and is everything really meticulous and planned out?
We are self-managed, so there's really no big operation behind us. Angela manages the band and she does all the day to day business. She runs the whole business side of the band. As far as the creative stuff, she's involved in that, as well. But we all come up with ideas for it, like our presentation on stage. We're actually kicking it up a notch for this U.S. tour with video stuff synchronized with the music and some other things, as well. It's going to be a fun show. We kind of like to challenge ourselves a little, too. And even if we're playing a small place, we like to put on a show like it's big. Fans have so many shows to choose from that you have to give them a reason to choose Arch Enemy. I think we have the reputation as being a very strong live band, and that's a reputation that we pride ourselves on. I'm more proud of that than I am of our studio albums because I think it's onstage that you really prove yourself as a musician. I like to think that we're better live than we are in the studio, actually.
It's like I was getting at with my complicated question: You guys just aren't getting up there with T-shirts and jeans and playing whatever.
Yeah, and I don't like that approach either. We try to put a little more thought into it. We just try to take the concept a little further rather than what everyone else is doing. It's fun, as well, because if you're a creative person, you can put so much into this Arch Enemy concept—the whole stage presentation, the clothes, everything and, like you said, the website and whole online community thing. It's a fun thing. It's very time consuming, of course, but it's not only our passion, it's our job. It's very rewarding, actually.
When making an album, do you ever consider having a song that's maybe a "crossover"-type song? It just seems to me—especially here in the U.S.—that I've come across a lot of people that just haven't heard you guys. I'm not talking about a complete sell-out but maybe something that could be on radio, maybe in the realm of Metallica's "Black Album." Something like that wouldn't be too far out of the realm from some things you're doing now. Would you ever consider a crossover to draw in a larger audience?
That's a good question—a difficult question, really. If we could do it right. If it comes naturally and you write a song that has some crossover potential, then you need the whole machine behind it—a record label to put a lot of effort into promoting it to radio and stuff like that. And we just haven't been that kind of band. We kind of pride ourselves on not selling out. I see a lot of bands that are metal bands per se, but they are really, really trying to get on the radio and really trying to cover all the bases. They're taking everything with what is popular right now—how they structure the music, how it sounds, how they look, how they present themselves. And I think that kind of thing seems really forced. So we're kind of anti-that. We don't have clean vocals on our albums. We all come from a musical background where it's more of an extreme music thing.
There's been a lot of talk about the "Big Four," and one of the bands that I really respect out of those four bands is Slayer because they're just uncompromising, diehard, extreme metal. People over the top of them must have been trying to get them to do a song for radio at some point, but no, I never heard one from them. I like to model my career (after that). They stick to their guns and stay true to what they believe in.
When I grew up, I wanted to train to be in an extreme metal band. I wanted to thrash, and I was listening to Slayer, Megadeth and Metallica, of course. All those bands, plus some hardcore and punk stuff, as well. And I never really thought that music was going to be a career, that I could have this as a job. But now it does after all of these years, and Arch Enemy does very well on a worldwide basis. But it's all on our terms musically. We haven't had to sell out, which is a satisfying feeling.
But to go back to your question; we are collaborating right now with Fred Durst.
[laughter]
Looking into 2012, are we going to see Arch Enemy in the U.S.? We just attended the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, and when we were speculating about next year's lineup, Arch Enemy was a name that popped up. I still remember to this day you guys opening up Ozzfest 2005 and as we're walking into the venue hearing Angela screaming, "Good morning, Ozzfest!" Would you consider something like the Mayhem Festival next year?
I think we're definitely planning to come back. That's the idea. We'll see how this next tour goes, and if people want us back in the U.S. next year, it's definitely something that we would like to do. We just got our new U.S. working visas that are good for three years, so we should really come back and do some work over there while we have them. [laughs]
As far as playing something like the Mayhem Fest, yeah, it's a great opportunity like the Ozzfest when you can reach a lot of people. But at the same time, it would not be that satisfying playing with these short sets in daylight. That's kind of like the downside. [laughs] So I'm not sure about that. We actually have not been offered anything like that for awhile, so we don't consider something like that very seriously, but it is an opportunity. But right now there's a lot on the table, but we never say never. We would definitely consider it, yeah.
Can you give us some insight for your fans into something we may or may not know about yourself or the band? Anything surprising?
I guess there's a lot of information about us out there. I'm not sure how much of it is true. I think we are very calm as a band. I think we're relaxed. When we tour, a lot of bands are really surprised that we're not really a party-type band. We kind of tend to stick to ourselves, and people have said that we come off as arrogant, but we just kind of live privately. We don't really get into people's faces all the time. It's a "European dryness" that we have. (laughs)
OK, well I can't let you go without asking you about the current status of Carcass, if there is any at all.
Status unknown. I don't know anything, actually, right now. I spoke to (guitarist) Bill (Steer) this summer, but we didn't talk about Carcass. They're still friends and everything, of course. But right now, (drummer) Daniel (Erlandsson) and I—who's also doing Carcass with me—are very busy this year and through next year with Arch Enemy. I would love to play with them again, but I don't know if it's in the cards.
OK, Michael. Is there anything else you would like to say?
Thank you for the interview. I hope to see as many metalheads down at the shows on the U.S. tour as possible. It's going to be a good time.
This is actually the third interview that you've done with our site over the past few years. I was thinking maybe we should just cut to the chase and give you your own regular column or feature on the website.
[laughs] Yeah, I recognized your name, actually, when talking to people. It's awesome that we could hook up again, and I really appreciate the support and helping us spread the word about the tour.
No problem. Thanks Michael, and I will see you in Baltimore on Sept. 8.
Arch Enemy "North American Khaos" tour dates:
w/ DevilDriver, Skeletonwitch, Chthonic
Sept. 08 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head
Sept. 09 – New York, NY – Best Buy Theater
Sept. 10 – Worcester, MA – The Palladium
Sept. 12 – Quebec City, QC – Imperial
Sept. 13 – Montreal, QC – Metropolis
Sept. 14 – Toronto, ON – Phoenix
Sept. 17 – Winnipeg, MB – The Garrick Center
Sept. 19 – Calgary, AB – McEwan Hall
Sept. 20 – Edmonton, AB – Edmonton Events Centre
Sept. 22 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
Sept. 23 – Seattle, WA – Showbox
Sept. 24 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory
Sept. 26 – San Francisco, CA – Regency Center
Sept. 27 – Los Angeles – Nokia Theatre
Sept. 29 – Phoenix, AZ – The Marquee
Sept. 30 – Albuquerque, NM – The Sunshine
Oct. 01 – Denver, CO – The Gothic
Oct. 03 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
Oct. 04 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
w/ DevilDriver, Skeletonwitch, Chthonic
Sept. 08 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head
Sept. 09 – New York, NY – Best Buy Theater
Sept. 10 – Worcester, MA – The Palladium
Sept. 12 – Quebec City, QC – Imperial
Sept. 13 – Montreal, QC – Metropolis
Sept. 14 – Toronto, ON – Phoenix
Sept. 17 – Winnipeg, MB – The Garrick Center
Sept. 19 – Calgary, AB – McEwan Hall
Sept. 20 – Edmonton, AB – Edmonton Events Centre
Sept. 22 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
Sept. 23 – Seattle, WA – Showbox
Sept. 24 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory
Sept. 26 – San Francisco, CA – Regency Center
Sept. 27 – Los Angeles – Nokia Theatre
Sept. 29 – Phoenix, AZ – The Marquee
Sept. 30 – Albuquerque, NM – The Sunshine
Oct. 01 – Denver, CO – The Gothic
Oct. 03 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
Oct. 04 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
Legendary doom pioneers THE OBSESSED will reunite for an appearance at next year's edition of the Roadburn festival, set to take place from Thursday, April 12 to Sunday, April 15 (the traditional Afterburner) at the 013 venue in Tilburg, Holland. The band's lineup for the concert will be Scott "Wino" Weinrich on guitar/vocals, Greg Rogers (GOATSNAKE, SONIC MEDUSA) on drums and Guy Pinhas (ACID KING, GOATSNAKE, BEAVER) on bass.
There is no debating the impact that Wino has had (and continues to have) on the stoner scene, and THE OBSESSED is the band with which he developed his signature doom songwriting and guitar sound. Formed in Maryland in 1976 as WARHORSE, they soon changed their name to THE OBSESSED. The original four-man lineup was pared down to a power trio and they spent several years playing shows and honing their sound, culminating in the release of the "Sodden Jackal" seven-inch single in1983. The band then went on hiatus as Wino joined SAINT VITUS for a few years in the late '80s. They reformed in 1990 with Wino, joined by a rhythm section of Greg Rogers and Scott Reeder. The new lineup released "Lunar Womb" before Reeder left to join KYUSS. At that point Guy Pinhas joined as the bass player and the band was signed to Columbia Records and went on to release "The Church Within".
"The Church Within" was Wino's most critically hailed album. Despite being co-released by Hellhound Records and the major label Columbia Records, the music-buying masses were not ready to embrace doom in 1994 and instead fixated on buying records by rehashed pop-punk bands. Several factors led to "The Church Within" becoming THE OBSESSED's last full-length album. Despite not becoming a top-seller, the album remains hugely influential.
For more information, visit www.roadburn.com.
There is no debating the impact that Wino has had (and continues to have) on the stoner scene, and THE OBSESSED is the band with which he developed his signature doom songwriting and guitar sound. Formed in Maryland in 1976 as WARHORSE, they soon changed their name to THE OBSESSED. The original four-man lineup was pared down to a power trio and they spent several years playing shows and honing their sound, culminating in the release of the "Sodden Jackal" seven-inch single in1983. The band then went on hiatus as Wino joined SAINT VITUS for a few years in the late '80s. They reformed in 1990 with Wino, joined by a rhythm section of Greg Rogers and Scott Reeder. The new lineup released "Lunar Womb" before Reeder left to join KYUSS. At that point Guy Pinhas joined as the bass player and the band was signed to Columbia Records and went on to release "The Church Within".
"The Church Within" was Wino's most critically hailed album. Despite being co-released by Hellhound Records and the major label Columbia Records, the music-buying masses were not ready to embrace doom in 1994 and instead fixated on buying records by rehashed pop-punk bands. Several factors led to "The Church Within" becoming THE OBSESSED's last full-length album. Despite not becoming a top-seller, the album remains hugely influential.
For more information, visit www.roadburn.com.
NWOBHM legends CLOVEN HOOF have recruited Mark Gould as their new drummer. The band states, "Contractual obligations have previously prevented Mark from being able to take on the prestigious role, but now he is delighted to be part of the band at last. He is a powerhouse drummer and a human metronome. The rest of the band describe him as a cross between John Bonham and Phil Collins, the perfect man for the role! Mark is currently in the studio working on the new song 'I'm Your Nemesis' and looking forward to the video being shot on 27th September."
CLOVEN HOOF recently announced the addition of guitarist Joe Whelan to the group's ranks. Joe's previous band was called DEMENTIA and his high-octane fluid lead style will bring a whole new dimension to the band.
CLOVEN HOOF last year released a five-song EP entitled "Throne Of Damnation". It contained three new songs — "Prime Time", "Running Man" and "Freak Show" — along with reworked versions of "Whore Of Babylon" and "Night Stalker", the latter of which is featured on the Brütal Legend game.
CLOVEN HOOF re-recorded 24 of its classic songs for a two-part "best-of" compilation, "The Definitive Part One" and "The Definitive Part Two".
CLOVEN HOOF recently announced the addition of guitarist Joe Whelan to the group's ranks. Joe's previous band was called DEMENTIA and his high-octane fluid lead style will bring a whole new dimension to the band.
CLOVEN HOOF last year released a five-song EP entitled "Throne Of Damnation". It contained three new songs — "Prime Time", "Running Man" and "Freak Show" — along with reworked versions of "Whore Of Babylon" and "Night Stalker", the latter of which is featured on the Brütal Legend game.
CLOVEN HOOF re-recorded 24 of its classic songs for a two-part "best-of" compilation, "The Definitive Part One" and "The Definitive Part Two".
FIREWIND/OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist Gus G. will head to Japan this November for a series of exclusive M.I. guitar clinics. Prior to the clinic tour Gus will attend the prestigious Tokyo Music Fair on November 5 and November and then he'll head out on a six-city tour across Japan, visiting Tokyo, Sendai, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Osaka and Nagoya.
Nov. 06 - Tokyo - Musician Institute
Nov. 07 - Sendai - Musician Institute
Nov. 08 - Sapporo - Musician Institute
Nov. 09 - Fukuoka - Musician Institute
Nov. 10 - Osaka - Musician Institute
Nov. 11 - Nagoya - Musician Institute
Gus G.'s new instructional DVD for Rock House, "Lead & Rhythm Techniques", was released last October 17. In this program, Gus reveals the secrets that have propelled him into the guitar stratosphere and shows you how to incorporate them into your playing. Learn the natural minor and Phrygian major scales, patterns, scale sequences and full neck runs he uses to take control of the fret board to form soulful leads that rip into shred masterpieces. Learn diminished sweep and chromatic arpeggios, emotional bending techniques and how to create a minor 3rd harmony lead. Gus reveals the chords, voicings, syncopated, pivoting staccato, interval, and clean picked rhythms that form the foundation of his style. He analyzes many of his FIREWIND leads and song structures complete with full band backing tracks that you can use the apply what you learn.
DVD includes:
* More than 40 lessons
* 46-page interactive tab book you print from DVD
* Free lifetime web membership for online support
* Behind-the-scenes photos and video
* Interview, live performances & more
* iPod-ready video
Language: English
Length: 120 minutes
Zones: The DVD is zoned to play anywhere in the world
"Lead & Rhythm Techniques" is available for order at this location.
"Gus plays with a great sense of melody and when he combines his technical chops and tone, out comes mind-blowing riffs," said Joe Palombo, Executive Director of Rock House. "More than just a shredder, Gus really plays with tremendous amounts of feel. His work with FIREWIND and DREAM EVIL show his has incredible writing abilities and versatility."
Nov. 06 - Tokyo - Musician Institute
Nov. 07 - Sendai - Musician Institute
Nov. 08 - Sapporo - Musician Institute
Nov. 09 - Fukuoka - Musician Institute
Nov. 10 - Osaka - Musician Institute
Nov. 11 - Nagoya - Musician Institute
Gus G.'s new instructional DVD for Rock House, "Lead & Rhythm Techniques", was released last October 17. In this program, Gus reveals the secrets that have propelled him into the guitar stratosphere and shows you how to incorporate them into your playing. Learn the natural minor and Phrygian major scales, patterns, scale sequences and full neck runs he uses to take control of the fret board to form soulful leads that rip into shred masterpieces. Learn diminished sweep and chromatic arpeggios, emotional bending techniques and how to create a minor 3rd harmony lead. Gus reveals the chords, voicings, syncopated, pivoting staccato, interval, and clean picked rhythms that form the foundation of his style. He analyzes many of his FIREWIND leads and song structures complete with full band backing tracks that you can use the apply what you learn.
DVD includes:
* More than 40 lessons
* 46-page interactive tab book you print from DVD
* Free lifetime web membership for online support
* Behind-the-scenes photos and video
* Interview, live performances & more
* iPod-ready video
Language: English
Length: 120 minutes
Zones: The DVD is zoned to play anywhere in the world
"Lead & Rhythm Techniques" is available for order at this location.
"Gus plays with a great sense of melody and when he combines his technical chops and tone, out comes mind-blowing riffs," said Joe Palombo, Executive Director of Rock House. "More than just a shredder, Gus really plays with tremendous amounts of feel. His work with FIREWIND and DREAM EVIL show his has incredible writing abilities and versatility."
Sweden's TIAMAT has inked a deal with Napalm Records.
Commented the band's founder/mainman Johan Edlund: "We are very proud to announce that TIAMAT have signed to Napalm Records, home of great bands such as MONSTER MAGNET, SEVENTH VOID, LEAVES' EYES and many more. We are very excited about this new collaboration and are working on our new album which will be released in 2012."
TIAMAT's latest album, "Amanethes", was produced by Johan Edlund and was recorded mainly at The Mansion in Greece, with additional recordings taking place at Studio Mega in Sweden and Cue in Greece. The album was mixed and mastered by Siggi Bemm in Woodhouse Studios, Germany in January 2008.
Century Media Records released a limited-edition collector's box from TIAMAT entitled "The Ark of the Covenant - The Complete Century Media Years". Limited to 3,000 copies worldwide, this noble box set also includes two exclusive audio CDs, a numbered authenticity certificate, as well as a comprehensive 74-page booklet with all lyrics, terrific artwork, rare photos and extensive liner notes by Anders Iwers.
Commented the band's founder/mainman Johan Edlund: "We are very proud to announce that TIAMAT have signed to Napalm Records, home of great bands such as MONSTER MAGNET, SEVENTH VOID, LEAVES' EYES and many more. We are very excited about this new collaboration and are working on our new album which will be released in 2012."
TIAMAT's latest album, "Amanethes", was produced by Johan Edlund and was recorded mainly at The Mansion in Greece, with additional recordings taking place at Studio Mega in Sweden and Cue in Greece. The album was mixed and mastered by Siggi Bemm in Woodhouse Studios, Germany in January 2008.
Century Media Records released a limited-edition collector's box from TIAMAT entitled "The Ark of the Covenant - The Complete Century Media Years". Limited to 3,000 copies worldwide, this noble box set also includes two exclusive audio CDs, a numbered authenticity certificate, as well as a comprehensive 74-page booklet with all lyrics, terrific artwork, rare photos and extensive liner notes by Anders Iwers.
Finnish/Swedish symphonic metallers NIGHTWISH recently spent time not only putting finishing touches to their new album, "Imaginaerum", but also planning a movie of the same name. The CD will be released in December via Nuclear Blast Records in Europe and Roadrunner Records in North America.
"Imaginaerum" is one of the projects which recently received grants from the Finnish government institution called the Finnish Film Foundation. The movie, directed by Stobe Harju, about an old man on his deathbed who glimpses a childhood dream in which he refuses to grow old, and fights aging with his imagination, will get $575,000 toward its $3.7 million budget.
NIGHTWISH keyboardist and main composer Tuomas Holopainen has issued the following update on the "Imaginaerum" film:
"Yesterday I had the chance to walk into the studio for the first time and see the set-up, props and dresses, and meet the actors. I was blown away by everything I saw, from the dedication of the people working there to the otherworldly atmosphere of the different stages. I had my make-up tests and dress fittings done, and truly enjoyed seeing myself as a gray and wrinkled 50-year-old. Ha!
"Four years in the making, and finally 'Imaginaerum' is coming alive in a most beautiful way. I can't help feeling completely awestruck and grateful for the chance of doing something that was nothing but an insane (but sincere) idea a few years ago."
"Imaginaerum" will be released in Finland on Wednesday, November 30 and the rest of Europe on Friday, December 2 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD will be made available in North America through Roadrunner Records.
NIGHTWISH's new single, "Storytime", will be released on Friday, November 11 via Nuclear Blast Records.
Regarding the musical direction of the forthcoming album, NIGHTWISH singer Anette Olzon wrote on her official blog, "I think it's a great and varied CD. The feelings in it are great and there are a lot of elements in it, so I am sure it will have many different favorite songs for the listeners since the songs are so different in styles and sound. [2007's] 'Dark Passion Play' is a great album and this one, too, so I don't know yet which one I like more, but, of course, for me personally, this one feels better to do since the songs are more adjusted to my voice and my style."
NIGHTWISH will kick off the "Imaginaerum" world tour in Los Angeles. The very first show of the trek will take place at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California on Saturday, January 21. This will be the biggest NIGHTWISH show production ever on North American soil and strictly a one-off — there will be no U.S. tour until later in 2012.
"Imaginaerum" is one of the projects which recently received grants from the Finnish government institution called the Finnish Film Foundation. The movie, directed by Stobe Harju, about an old man on his deathbed who glimpses a childhood dream in which he refuses to grow old, and fights aging with his imagination, will get $575,000 toward its $3.7 million budget.
NIGHTWISH keyboardist and main composer Tuomas Holopainen has issued the following update on the "Imaginaerum" film:
"Yesterday I had the chance to walk into the studio for the first time and see the set-up, props and dresses, and meet the actors. I was blown away by everything I saw, from the dedication of the people working there to the otherworldly atmosphere of the different stages. I had my make-up tests and dress fittings done, and truly enjoyed seeing myself as a gray and wrinkled 50-year-old. Ha!
"Four years in the making, and finally 'Imaginaerum' is coming alive in a most beautiful way. I can't help feeling completely awestruck and grateful for the chance of doing something that was nothing but an insane (but sincere) idea a few years ago."
"Imaginaerum" will be released in Finland on Wednesday, November 30 and the rest of Europe on Friday, December 2 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD will be made available in North America through Roadrunner Records.
NIGHTWISH's new single, "Storytime", will be released on Friday, November 11 via Nuclear Blast Records.
Regarding the musical direction of the forthcoming album, NIGHTWISH singer Anette Olzon wrote on her official blog, "I think it's a great and varied CD. The feelings in it are great and there are a lot of elements in it, so I am sure it will have many different favorite songs for the listeners since the songs are so different in styles and sound. [2007's] 'Dark Passion Play' is a great album and this one, too, so I don't know yet which one I like more, but, of course, for me personally, this one feels better to do since the songs are more adjusted to my voice and my style."
NIGHTWISH will kick off the "Imaginaerum" world tour in Los Angeles. The very first show of the trek will take place at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California on Saturday, January 21. This will be the biggest NIGHTWISH show production ever on North American soil and strictly a one-off — there will be no U.S. tour until later in 2012.
"Saints Of Sulphur", the sophomore album from the Finnish power metallers FORCE MAJEURE, will be released on October 19 via Scandal Music Company. A single, "Ecstasy", will be made available digitally on September 22.
"Saints Of Sulphur" is the long-awaited follow-up to FORCE MAJEURE's 2008 debut "Frozen Chambers", an album which was received well by listeners and press alike and which found its way to Finnish national top 40 album chart. On their second offering, "Force Majeure" has successfully elevated their sound, songwriting and delivery to a whole new level. With production duties masterminded by Scandal Recordings' very own Kari "Huikka" Huikuri, the album stands out as a quality product that measures up well against the very best of the genre.
No less than 12 minutes in length, the album-closing title track is FORCE MAJEURE's first truly epic song that takes the listener on an enchanting journey, painting a vivid and terrifying musical picture of insanity and war.
Adding to FORCE MAJEURE's already formidable strength, "Saints Of Sulphur" features guest appearances by acclaimed musicians such as Matias Kupiainen (STRATOVARIUS), Tapio Wilska (SURVIVORS ZERO, SETHIAN, FINNTROLL), Asim Searah (KIUAS) and Alexa Leroux (SHEAR), as well as the booming voice of opera singer Jaakko Hietikko and that of Marc David Taylor who is responsible for the haunting narration on the title track.
"Saints Of Sulphur" is the long-awaited follow-up to FORCE MAJEURE's 2008 debut "Frozen Chambers", an album which was received well by listeners and press alike and which found its way to Finnish national top 40 album chart. On their second offering, "Force Majeure" has successfully elevated their sound, songwriting and delivery to a whole new level. With production duties masterminded by Scandal Recordings' very own Kari "Huikka" Huikuri, the album stands out as a quality product that measures up well against the very best of the genre.
No less than 12 minutes in length, the album-closing title track is FORCE MAJEURE's first truly epic song that takes the listener on an enchanting journey, painting a vivid and terrifying musical picture of insanity and war.
Adding to FORCE MAJEURE's already formidable strength, "Saints Of Sulphur" features guest appearances by acclaimed musicians such as Matias Kupiainen (STRATOVARIUS), Tapio Wilska (SURVIVORS ZERO, SETHIAN, FINNTROLL), Asim Searah (KIUAS) and Alexa Leroux (SHEAR), as well as the booming voice of opera singer Jaakko Hietikko and that of Marc David Taylor who is responsible for the haunting narration on the title track.
STATIC-X frontman Wayne Static will take part in an in-store signing session on Monday, October 10 at Soundcheck Hollywood in West Hollywood, California beginning at 5:00 p.m.
For more information, see the flyer below.
Static recently spoke to Revolver magazine about his first solo album, "Pighammer", which will be released on October 4 via Dirthouse Records.
"I've wanted to do a solo album since 2000 when I was writing songs for the 'Machine' record," Wayne said. "Even in those early years of STATIC-X, there was a pattern emerging where I would spend all my free time writing songs for STATIC-X and the other guys in the band spent their free time working on their other projects. I was a bit jealous that they had time to do more than one thing, but, being the band's main songwriter, I knew that if I were to do a solo album, I would have to put STATIC-X on hold, and it wasn't until recently that I've been willing to do that. After the 2009 'Cult Of Static' touring cycle ended, I felt that, as a band, STATIC-X had accomplished everything we set out to accomplish, and now I could finally take the time to do my own thing and make a record that is completely my vision without compromising for anyone or anything."
When asked what he wanted to do differently with his solo project than what he has done with STATIC-X, Wayne said, "Mainly, I didn't want to compromise. Don't get me wrong: I love the great times I had with STATIC-X, but sometimes the writing/recording process was frustrating for me. I would spend months by myself writing and recording demos, then hand them over to the band, then we would rehearse for weeks during which time everyone changed parts and added their own ideas. By the end of the process, I always felt some of my original vision and passion was lost. This time I wrote and recorded everything on my own, playing all the instruments myself, and did not compromise with anyone."
According to a press release, "Pighammer" "has a disarming raw quality of heavy driving guitar riffs and lyrics that will take hold of your bowels and into the mind of Static's dark past and warped mind. This is blatant, as the first single, 'Assassins Of Youth', was inspired by Wayne Static's last days of drugs and partying.
"The 'Pighammer' concept conjures up bizarre images," Static explains. "It's about a mad plastic surgeon, with a pig fetish, that likes to convert hot chicks into pigs. It is the total opposite if what a plastic surgeon would do. He has this crazy hammer device made from a pig foot. The images of the surgery in the CD package are only a dark comedic visualization of the real theme of the album, which is my transformation."
"Pighammer" track listing:
01. Pighammer
02. Around The Turn
03. Assassins Of Youth
04. Thunder Invader
05. Static Killer
06. She
07. Get It Together
08. Chrome Nation
09. Shifter
10. Slave
11. The Creatures Are Everywhere
12. Behind The Sky
Wayne Static will embark on a string of dates this fall in support of "Pighammer". Static will be accompanied by special guests EYE EMPIRE, KYNG, ONE EYED DOLL and GEMINI SYNDROME. He will play select tracks off his solo CD and a number of classic STATIC-X songs, giving fans the hard driving metal they crave.
For more information, see the flyer below.
Static recently spoke to Revolver magazine about his first solo album, "Pighammer", which will be released on October 4 via Dirthouse Records.
"I've wanted to do a solo album since 2000 when I was writing songs for the 'Machine' record," Wayne said. "Even in those early years of STATIC-X, there was a pattern emerging where I would spend all my free time writing songs for STATIC-X and the other guys in the band spent their free time working on their other projects. I was a bit jealous that they had time to do more than one thing, but, being the band's main songwriter, I knew that if I were to do a solo album, I would have to put STATIC-X on hold, and it wasn't until recently that I've been willing to do that. After the 2009 'Cult Of Static' touring cycle ended, I felt that, as a band, STATIC-X had accomplished everything we set out to accomplish, and now I could finally take the time to do my own thing and make a record that is completely my vision without compromising for anyone or anything."
When asked what he wanted to do differently with his solo project than what he has done with STATIC-X, Wayne said, "Mainly, I didn't want to compromise. Don't get me wrong: I love the great times I had with STATIC-X, but sometimes the writing/recording process was frustrating for me. I would spend months by myself writing and recording demos, then hand them over to the band, then we would rehearse for weeks during which time everyone changed parts and added their own ideas. By the end of the process, I always felt some of my original vision and passion was lost. This time I wrote and recorded everything on my own, playing all the instruments myself, and did not compromise with anyone."
According to a press release, "Pighammer" "has a disarming raw quality of heavy driving guitar riffs and lyrics that will take hold of your bowels and into the mind of Static's dark past and warped mind. This is blatant, as the first single, 'Assassins Of Youth', was inspired by Wayne Static's last days of drugs and partying.
"The 'Pighammer' concept conjures up bizarre images," Static explains. "It's about a mad plastic surgeon, with a pig fetish, that likes to convert hot chicks into pigs. It is the total opposite if what a plastic surgeon would do. He has this crazy hammer device made from a pig foot. The images of the surgery in the CD package are only a dark comedic visualization of the real theme of the album, which is my transformation."
"Pighammer" track listing:
01. Pighammer
02. Around The Turn
03. Assassins Of Youth
04. Thunder Invader
05. Static Killer
06. She
07. Get It Together
08. Chrome Nation
09. Shifter
10. Slave
11. The Creatures Are Everywhere
12. Behind The Sky
Wayne Static will embark on a string of dates this fall in support of "Pighammer". Static will be accompanied by special guests EYE EMPIRE, KYNG, ONE EYED DOLL and GEMINI SYNDROME. He will play select tracks off his solo CD and a number of classic STATIC-X songs, giving fans the hard driving metal they crave.
Finnish folk metallers KORPIKLAANI will embark on the "Ukon Wacka" North American tour in November with support from Russia's ARKONA. POLKADOT CADAVER and FORGED IN FLAMES will complete the package.
Confirmed dates are as follows:
Nov. 23 - Montreal @ Club Soda (no ARKONA)
Nov. 24 - Toronto @ Mod Club (no ARKONA)
Nov. 25 - New York, NY @ Gramercy Theater
Nov. 26 - Cleveland, OH @ Peabody's
Nov. 27 - Joliet, IL @ Mojoe's
Nov. 29 - Winnipeg, MB @ Park Theater
Nov. 30 - Regina, SK @ The Exchange
Dec. 01 - Edmonton, AB @ Pawn Shop
Dec. 02 - Calgary, AB – The Distillery
Dec. 03 - Vancouver, BC - TBA
Dec. 04 - Seattle, WA @ Studio Seven
Dec. 05 - Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
Dec. 06 - Oakland, CA @ The Pound
Dec. 07 - Hollywood, CA @ Key Club
Dec. 08 - Tempe, AZ @ Clubhouse
Dec. 10 - Austin, TX - Emo's
Dec. 11 - New Orleans, LA @ Hangar
Dec. 12 - Orlando, FL @ Firestone Live
Dec. 13 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
Dec. 14 - Columbus, OH @ Alrosa Villa
Dec. 15 - Springfield, VA @ Jaxx
Dec. 16 - Reading, PA @ The Reverb
Dec. 17 - Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
Dec. 18 - Quebec City, QC @ Imperial Theater (no ARKONA)
KORPIKLAANI recently parted ways with longtime violinist Jaakko "Hittavainen" Lemmetty and replaced him with "a young prodigy" by the name of Teemu Eerola. According to a press release, "There is a mutual understanding between [Hittavainen] and the rest of the band and there is no big drama involved. His personal health issues made the constant touring and recording impossible."
Eerola will make his live debut with KORPIKLAANI on September 24 in Rotterdam, Holland.
KORPIKLAANI's latest album, "Ukon Wacka", was released in North America on February 25 via Nuclear Blast Records.
Confirmed dates are as follows:
Nov. 23 - Montreal @ Club Soda (no ARKONA)
Nov. 24 - Toronto @ Mod Club (no ARKONA)
Nov. 25 - New York, NY @ Gramercy Theater
Nov. 26 - Cleveland, OH @ Peabody's
Nov. 27 - Joliet, IL @ Mojoe's
Nov. 29 - Winnipeg, MB @ Park Theater
Nov. 30 - Regina, SK @ The Exchange
Dec. 01 - Edmonton, AB @ Pawn Shop
Dec. 02 - Calgary, AB – The Distillery
Dec. 03 - Vancouver, BC - TBA
Dec. 04 - Seattle, WA @ Studio Seven
Dec. 05 - Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
Dec. 06 - Oakland, CA @ The Pound
Dec. 07 - Hollywood, CA @ Key Club
Dec. 08 - Tempe, AZ @ Clubhouse
Dec. 10 - Austin, TX - Emo's
Dec. 11 - New Orleans, LA @ Hangar
Dec. 12 - Orlando, FL @ Firestone Live
Dec. 13 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
Dec. 14 - Columbus, OH @ Alrosa Villa
Dec. 15 - Springfield, VA @ Jaxx
Dec. 16 - Reading, PA @ The Reverb
Dec. 17 - Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
Dec. 18 - Quebec City, QC @ Imperial Theater (no ARKONA)
KORPIKLAANI recently parted ways with longtime violinist Jaakko "Hittavainen" Lemmetty and replaced him with "a young prodigy" by the name of Teemu Eerola. According to a press release, "There is a mutual understanding between [Hittavainen] and the rest of the band and there is no big drama involved. His personal health issues made the constant touring and recording impossible."
Eerola will make his live debut with KORPIKLAANI on September 24 in Rotterdam, Holland.
KORPIKLAANI's latest album, "Ukon Wacka", was released in North America on February 25 via Nuclear Blast Records.
"Worship The Animal - 1994 The Lost Recordings", featuring the original NILE lineup of Karl Sanders, Chief Spires and Pete Hammoura, will be released as a collector's-edition digipak on October 11 via Goomba Music. These previously unreleased recordings pre-date NILE's groundbreaking debut album, "Amongst The Catacombs of Nephren-Ka".
With four critically acclaimed albums, a few EPs and several world tours under their belt, NILE has raised the bar for extreme metal bands musically, lyrically and conceptually. Their withering live performances are nothing short of legendary.
Formed in 1993 by Karl Sanders (guitar/vocals), Chief Spires (bass/vocals), and Pete Hammoura (drums), NILE wasted little time combining their interest in Egyptian history, culture and lore with the ferocity of modern death metal. Using a symphonic approach to songwriting and arrangement, NILE unleashed an uncompromising attack that fused unique, technical death metal with organic Middle Eastern tones. Their unique lyrical approach was inspired by Sanders' interpretation of ancient Egyptian inscriptions, temple carvings, papyri, hieroglyphics and tomb paintings depicting ancient battles, rituals and religious ceremonies. Each following year brought a new recording, which marked a large step forward in their musical evolution.
Recorded in 1994, "Worship The Animal" set the tone for what would become one of extreme metal's most popular bands.
"Worship The Animal" track listing:
01. La Chant Du Cygre
02. Worship The Animal
03. Nepenthe
04. Surrounded By Fright
05. Mecca
With four critically acclaimed albums, a few EPs and several world tours under their belt, NILE has raised the bar for extreme metal bands musically, lyrically and conceptually. Their withering live performances are nothing short of legendary.
Formed in 1993 by Karl Sanders (guitar/vocals), Chief Spires (bass/vocals), and Pete Hammoura (drums), NILE wasted little time combining their interest in Egyptian history, culture and lore with the ferocity of modern death metal. Using a symphonic approach to songwriting and arrangement, NILE unleashed an uncompromising attack that fused unique, technical death metal with organic Middle Eastern tones. Their unique lyrical approach was inspired by Sanders' interpretation of ancient Egyptian inscriptions, temple carvings, papyri, hieroglyphics and tomb paintings depicting ancient battles, rituals and religious ceremonies. Each following year brought a new recording, which marked a large step forward in their musical evolution.
Recorded in 1994, "Worship The Animal" set the tone for what would become one of extreme metal's most popular bands.
"Worship The Animal" track listing:
01. La Chant Du Cygre
02. Worship The Animal
03. Nepenthe
04. Surrounded By Fright
05. Mecca
Rising British metallers IMPALED EXISTENCE have set November 21 as the release date for their debut EP, "These Lifeless Plains". The five-track EP was recorded at Endless Studios in Birmingham and offers listeners a finely tuned combination of brutality and melody as well as taking on broad lyrical views ranging from humanity and our place within it to personal life struggles. The artwork was created by Darkgrove Designs (APOCALYPTICA, MANOWAR, TURISAS) and can be seen below.
Having shared the stage with the likes of EXODUS, SUICIDE SILENCE, EVILE, DECAPITATED, BORN OF OSIRIS, ANNOTATIONS OF AN AUTOPSY and destroying "The New Blood Stage" at this year's Bloodstock festival, IMPALED EXISTENCE has earned its stripes and is fast becoming one of the U.K.'s most promising underground metal acts.
Commenting IMPALED EXISTENCE frontman Danny Hughes: "'These Lifeless Plains' has been a long time in the making and we couldn't be more proud of what we've created, we can't wait to get out there and start touring this EP and spread the IMEX brand of death metal all over the UK!"
"These Lifeless Plains" track listing:
01. Between Sensation & Reality
02. Fictions Within The Mind
03. If Error Were True
04. Through Stinging Eyes
05. Worthy Of Remains
IMPALED EXISTENCE will hit the road extensively in support of the EP, with a date already confirmed with orchestral groove metallers XERATH at Central Station, Wrexham on Sunday, September 25.
Having shared the stage with the likes of EXODUS, SUICIDE SILENCE, EVILE, DECAPITATED, BORN OF OSIRIS, ANNOTATIONS OF AN AUTOPSY and destroying "The New Blood Stage" at this year's Bloodstock festival, IMPALED EXISTENCE has earned its stripes and is fast becoming one of the U.K.'s most promising underground metal acts.
Commenting IMPALED EXISTENCE frontman Danny Hughes: "'These Lifeless Plains' has been a long time in the making and we couldn't be more proud of what we've created, we can't wait to get out there and start touring this EP and spread the IMEX brand of death metal all over the UK!"
"These Lifeless Plains" track listing:
01. Between Sensation & Reality
02. Fictions Within The Mind
03. If Error Were True
04. Through Stinging Eyes
05. Worthy Of Remains
IMPALED EXISTENCE will hit the road extensively in support of the EP, with a date already confirmed with orchestral groove metallers XERATH at Central Station, Wrexham on Sunday, September 25.
Prosthetic Records, whose current roster of artists includes ALL THAT REMAINS, ANIMALS AS LEADERS and SKELETONWITCH, is in the process of pulling its catalog from streaming music service Spotify.
"There [does] not appear to be an upside," Prosthetic co-owner E.J. Johantgen tells LA Weekly. He adds that the only income from the service comes in "fractions of pennies," even on the label's biggest titles.
The only revenue independent labels receive is pay-per-stream royalties. To Johantgen, this doesn't sound quite right. "I would like to see what their projected ad revenue would be. Then we could really determine if their rates are fair," he tells LA Weekly.
Prosthetic is the third Los Angeles-area metal label to remove its titles, joining Century Media and Metal Blade.
Fans began noticing late last month that Metal Blade was beginning to pull its music off Spotify. However, the label — which was founded by Brian Slagel in 1982 — has not issued an official statement explaining its decision to make the move.
Century Media announced on August 9 that it was pulling its repertoire from Spotify in order "to protect the interests of their artists".
"The income streams to the artists are affected massively and therefore that accelerates the downward spiral, which eventually will lead to artists not being able to record music the way it should be recorded," Century Media said in a statement. "Ultimately, in some cases, it will completely kill a lot of smaller bands that are already struggling to make ends meet.
The U.S. version of Spotify, which gives its users access to all the songs in its cloud to organize into playlists and listen to as they please, reportedly attracted 1.4 million registered users of its ads-supported free service in the first month, as well as 175,000 paid subscribers for its promo-free version. In Europe, where Spotify has been available in seven countries since its launch in 2008, the company currently has around 1.6 million paying users, according to published reports.
According to the an infographic on the Information Is Beautiful web site, which visualizes the different monetization methods available to artists and how profitable they are, if you are a solo musician, at $0.00029 per play on Spotify, you will have to receive 4,053,110 plays per month to earn the U.S. minimum wage of $1,160.
"There [does] not appear to be an upside," Prosthetic co-owner E.J. Johantgen tells LA Weekly. He adds that the only income from the service comes in "fractions of pennies," even on the label's biggest titles.
The only revenue independent labels receive is pay-per-stream royalties. To Johantgen, this doesn't sound quite right. "I would like to see what their projected ad revenue would be. Then we could really determine if their rates are fair," he tells LA Weekly.
Prosthetic is the third Los Angeles-area metal label to remove its titles, joining Century Media and Metal Blade.
Fans began noticing late last month that Metal Blade was beginning to pull its music off Spotify. However, the label — which was founded by Brian Slagel in 1982 — has not issued an official statement explaining its decision to make the move.
Century Media announced on August 9 that it was pulling its repertoire from Spotify in order "to protect the interests of their artists".
"The income streams to the artists are affected massively and therefore that accelerates the downward spiral, which eventually will lead to artists not being able to record music the way it should be recorded," Century Media said in a statement. "Ultimately, in some cases, it will completely kill a lot of smaller bands that are already struggling to make ends meet.
The U.S. version of Spotify, which gives its users access to all the songs in its cloud to organize into playlists and listen to as they please, reportedly attracted 1.4 million registered users of its ads-supported free service in the first month, as well as 175,000 paid subscribers for its promo-free version. In Europe, where Spotify has been available in seven countries since its launch in 2008, the company currently has around 1.6 million paying users, according to published reports.
According to the an infographic on the Information Is Beautiful web site, which visualizes the different monetization methods available to artists and how profitable they are, if you are a solo musician, at $0.00029 per play on Spotify, you will have to receive 4,053,110 plays per month to earn the U.S. minimum wage of $1,160.
UMORAL, the "highly nihilistic" Norwegian black metal band featuring current and former members of MAYHEM, NIDINGR, FLEURETY, DØDHEIMSGARD and GORGOROTH, has commenced work on its debut album, entitled "Der Hvor Sola Aldri Skinner".
An UMORAL full-length release has been planned for several years, following the band's highly successful seven-inch EP, which came out in 2007 on Vendlus Records.
The recording has been delayed for a long time due to the busy schedule of UMORAL's former drummer Hellhammer.
For the "Der Hvor Sola Aldri Skinner" sessions, UMORAL has recruited a new drummer, Anti-Christian (TSJUDER, GRIMFIST, THE CUMSHOTS).
UMORAL's lineup is completed by guitarist Teloch and vocalist Zweizz.
An UMORAL full-length release has been planned for several years, following the band's highly successful seven-inch EP, which came out in 2007 on Vendlus Records.
The recording has been delayed for a long time due to the busy schedule of UMORAL's former drummer Hellhammer.
For the "Der Hvor Sola Aldri Skinner" sessions, UMORAL has recruited a new drummer, Anti-Christian (TSJUDER, GRIMFIST, THE CUMSHOTS).
UMORAL's lineup is completed by guitarist Teloch and vocalist Zweizz.
AMON, the resurrected Florida-based death metal band featuring former DEICIDE members Eric Hoffmann (guitar) and Brian Hoffman (guitar), has set an October 31 release date for its new album, "Liar In Wait". The effort will be made available at the group's newly launched official web site at Amon.mobi as well as via iTunes and Amazon.com.
AMON is currently mixing "Liar In Wait" at RedRoom Recorders in Tampa with producer Mark Prator. Eric previously told BLABBERMOUTH.NET, "[The CD sounds] brutal! Drums sound like a helicopter on steroids. Engl amps crushing."
In a an interview with U.K.'s Terrorizer magazine, Eric stated about the decision to bring AMON back from the dead, "We were actually going to use the [DEICIDE] name [for the new band], but [DEICIDE members Glen Benton and Steve Asheim] got on the bandwagon faster than us. "They basically took the name, and Glen writes all the lyrics, so the kids are familiar with that, but in the beginning we hired Glen, and we wrote most of the music. So we had to go out and find a singer, which was pretty difficult at the time."
When asked about the musical direction of AMON, Eric said, "[The music's] a little bit more technical than the DEICIDE stuff. It's not too intricate, so it's still catchy at the same time. You'll still have a couple of classic DEICIDE beginnings, and then it'll go into some killer technical, in-your-face shit."
While confirming that AMON will play several DEICIDE classics during the band's upcoming live shows — "We've gotta give it to the fans," said Eric — the guitarist remains adamant that any chances of a reunion with Glen and Steve remain slim.
"This is our band," Eric said. "I haven't seen [Glen] in [seven] years. He says if he sees me, he's gonna shoot me and ask questions later. He hates me more than Jesus."
AMON recorded two demos — 1987's "Feasting The Beast" and 1989's "Sacrifical" — before signing with Roadrunner Records and changing its name to DEICIDE. After producing two extremely successful albums as DEICIDE, the band chose to make the AMON demos available on CD in 1993 under the title "Amon: Feasting The Beast".
The Hoffman brothers parted ways with DEICIDE in 2004 after becoming embroiled in a bitter dispute with DEICIDE bassist/vocalist Glen Benton over royalties and publishing issues.
AMON is currently mixing "Liar In Wait" at RedRoom Recorders in Tampa with producer Mark Prator. Eric previously told BLABBERMOUTH.NET, "[The CD sounds] brutal! Drums sound like a helicopter on steroids. Engl amps crushing."
In a an interview with U.K.'s Terrorizer magazine, Eric stated about the decision to bring AMON back from the dead, "We were actually going to use the [DEICIDE] name [for the new band], but [DEICIDE members Glen Benton and Steve Asheim] got on the bandwagon faster than us. "They basically took the name, and Glen writes all the lyrics, so the kids are familiar with that, but in the beginning we hired Glen, and we wrote most of the music. So we had to go out and find a singer, which was pretty difficult at the time."
When asked about the musical direction of AMON, Eric said, "[The music's] a little bit more technical than the DEICIDE stuff. It's not too intricate, so it's still catchy at the same time. You'll still have a couple of classic DEICIDE beginnings, and then it'll go into some killer technical, in-your-face shit."
While confirming that AMON will play several DEICIDE classics during the band's upcoming live shows — "We've gotta give it to the fans," said Eric — the guitarist remains adamant that any chances of a reunion with Glen and Steve remain slim.
"This is our band," Eric said. "I haven't seen [Glen] in [seven] years. He says if he sees me, he's gonna shoot me and ask questions later. He hates me more than Jesus."
AMON recorded two demos — 1987's "Feasting The Beast" and 1989's "Sacrifical" — before signing with Roadrunner Records and changing its name to DEICIDE. After producing two extremely successful albums as DEICIDE, the band chose to make the AMON demos available on CD in 1993 under the title "Amon: Feasting The Beast".
The Hoffman brothers parted ways with DEICIDE in 2004 after becoming embroiled in a bitter dispute with DEICIDE bassist/vocalist Glen Benton over royalties and publishing issues.
German progressive death metallers OBSCURA have recruited Linus Klausenitzer as their new bassist. Linus, who is also part of the progressive metal outfit NONEUCLID, played with OBSCURA on the band's recent European tour with HATE ETERNAL as well as the North American trek alongside CHILDREN OF BODOM and the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT.
A video statement from OBSCURA announcing the band's latest addition can be seen below.
OBSCURA will head to Southsast Asia and Dubai for the first time ever at the end of this month. This run of dates kicks off on September 23 and is in support of the band's latest album, "Omnivium".
Bassist Jeroen Paul Thesseling recently left OBSCURA "due to repetitive conflicting schedules with job-related obligations."
"Omnivium" sold around 2,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 11 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.
OBSCURA's previous album, "Cosmogenesis", opened with 900 units to debut at No. 71 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart.
The "Omnivium" artwork was designed and laid out by Orion Landau (ORIGIN, DYING FETUS, ZEKE, DISFEAR).
"Omnivium" was recorded at Woodshed Studio in southern Germany with engineer V. Santura (TRIPTYKON, DARK FORTRESS). The album is based on Friedrich Schelling's "On Nature's Connection to the Spirit World".
A video statement from OBSCURA announcing the band's latest addition can be seen below.
OBSCURA will head to Southsast Asia and Dubai for the first time ever at the end of this month. This run of dates kicks off on September 23 and is in support of the band's latest album, "Omnivium".
Bassist Jeroen Paul Thesseling recently left OBSCURA "due to repetitive conflicting schedules with job-related obligations."
"Omnivium" sold around 2,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 11 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.
OBSCURA's previous album, "Cosmogenesis", opened with 900 units to debut at No. 71 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart.
The "Omnivium" artwork was designed and laid out by Orion Landau (ORIGIN, DYING FETUS, ZEKE, DISFEAR).
"Omnivium" was recorded at Woodshed Studio in southern Germany with engineer V. Santura (TRIPTYKON, DARK FORTRESS). The album is based on Friedrich Schelling's "On Nature's Connection to the Spirit World".
Dutch death metallers ASPHYX entered the studio in January with engineer Frank Klein Douwel to begin recording their new album, "Deathhammer". Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Reign Of The Brute", "Vespa Cabro", "We Doom You To Death", "Asphyx-Minefield" and "Deathhammer". Axel Hermann will create the cover artwork while Dan Swanö (BLOODBATH, EDGE OF SANITY) will take care of the mixing duties.
Commented the band: "By now, all the guitars, drums and bass tracks for the upcoming 'Deathhammer' album are recorded. Drums were recorded in the classic Harrow Studio, known from the ASPHYX classics as 'The Rack' and 'Last One On Earth'. The guitars and bass were recorded in The Mörser Studio. In a few weeks the vocals will be recorded in the Harrow Studio as well and then Dan Swanö will do the album's mixing and mastering, just as on 'Death…The Brutal Way' and 'Live Death Doom'.
"'Deathhammer' promises to be a darkened successor of 'Death…The Brutal Way'. Almost every band is praising their newest album to be heavier and more brutal than the previous one, but actually in this case it's the harsh truth. 'Deathhammer' is in every way heavier, doomier and darker. Maybe it's because of the fact that most of the songs were written in late autumn/winter?! We do not know…but it's easily our heaviest effort so far!"
"Deathhammer" is scheduled for release in early 2012 via Century Media Records.
For the rest of this year, ASPHYX will be playing a string of quality shows in Europe, including an appearance at this weekend's underground institution NRW Deathfest on Saturday, September 17, at AJZ Bahndamm in Wermelskirchen, Germany. Additionally, ASPHYX have chosen to perform two very special "full-album setlist" concerts on October 15 at Metropool in Hengelo, The Netherlands (where the band will be playing their complete "Last One On Earth" album) and at this year's Eindhoven Metal Meeting on December 16 at Effenaar in Eindhoven, The Netherlands (where the band will be playing their complete "The Rack" album for its 20th anniversary of release).
Commented the band: "By now, all the guitars, drums and bass tracks for the upcoming 'Deathhammer' album are recorded. Drums were recorded in the classic Harrow Studio, known from the ASPHYX classics as 'The Rack' and 'Last One On Earth'. The guitars and bass were recorded in The Mörser Studio. In a few weeks the vocals will be recorded in the Harrow Studio as well and then Dan Swanö will do the album's mixing and mastering, just as on 'Death…The Brutal Way' and 'Live Death Doom'.
"'Deathhammer' promises to be a darkened successor of 'Death…The Brutal Way'. Almost every band is praising their newest album to be heavier and more brutal than the previous one, but actually in this case it's the harsh truth. 'Deathhammer' is in every way heavier, doomier and darker. Maybe it's because of the fact that most of the songs were written in late autumn/winter?! We do not know…but it's easily our heaviest effort so far!"
"Deathhammer" is scheduled for release in early 2012 via Century Media Records.
For the rest of this year, ASPHYX will be playing a string of quality shows in Europe, including an appearance at this weekend's underground institution NRW Deathfest on Saturday, September 17, at AJZ Bahndamm in Wermelskirchen, Germany. Additionally, ASPHYX have chosen to perform two very special "full-album setlist" concerts on October 15 at Metropool in Hengelo, The Netherlands (where the band will be playing their complete "Last One On Earth" album) and at this year's Eindhoven Metal Meeting on December 16 at Effenaar in Eindhoven, The Netherlands (where the band will be playing their complete "The Rack" album for its 20th anniversary of release).
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