According to RollingStone.com, British heavy metal legends JUDAS
PRIEST will release a new compilation album, "The Chosen
Few", on October 11 via Legacy/Sony. The collection
contains songs that were selected by some of the biggest names of the hard
rock/heavy metal world, including KISS' Gene Simmons, Ozzy
Osbourne, Slash, METALLICA's James Hetfield and Lars
Ulrich, Alice Cooper and SLIPKNOT's Corey Taylor.
"This is a collection of songs chosen by our friends and respected
peers," PRIEST frontman Rob Halford tells RollingStone.com.
"So we hope all the metal maniacs out there will rock out to the tunes
enjoyed by metal legends."
"The Chosen Few" will contain explanations from the artists
about each of their selections, including Taylor making the argument
that PRIEST's early MTV anthem "You've Got Another Thing
Coming" established the group as "the blueprint for the ultimate
heavy metal band."
Lars Ulrich (METALLICA) on "Beyond The Realms Of
Death": "The blueprint for the epic rock ballad. Copied thousands
of times, never eclipsed."
Ozzy Osbourne on "The Ripper": "This has always
been one of my favorite JUDAS PRIEST songs… I just want to know what the
fuck that note is that Rob Halford hits in the beginning of the song.
Fucking hell!! That note is probably just below what only dogs can hear."
Alice Cooper on "Living After Midnight": "For a
metal band, PRIEST has always used tons of melody... when you have a
singer as great as Rob Halford, you have to write great riffs WITH great
melodies, you can't just have riffs.'Living After Midnight' is the
perfect example…"
Slash (VELVET REVOLVER, GUNS N' ROSES) on "Screaming
For Vengeance": "JUDAS PRIEST have put out their fair
share of great albums to be sure. But my all-time favorite is 'Screaming For
Vengeance'. It was and still is, one of the best metal records ever
produced and the title track is in my humble opinion, still ahead of its time."
Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT, STONE SOUR) on "You've Got
Another Thing Coming": "JUDAS PRIEST: the blueprint for
the ultimate heavy metal band..."
"The Chosen Few" track
listing:
01. Diamonds And Rust (1977) - chosen by Joe Elliott (DEF LEPPARD)
02. Dissident Aggressor (1977) - chosen by Steve Vai and Geoff Tate
(QUEENSRŸCHE)
03. Exciter (1978) - chosen by ACCEPT
04. Beyond The Realms Of Death (1978) - chosen by Lars Ulrich
(METALLICA)
05. Delivering The Goods (1979) - chosen by Kerry King (SLAYER)
06. The Green Manalishi (with the Two-Pronged Crown) (1979) - chosen by
David Coverdale (WHITESNAKE) and Randy Blythe (LAMB OF GOD)
07. The Ripper (1979) - chosen by Ozzy Osbourne
08. Victim Of Changes (1979) - chosen by James Hetfield (METALLICA)
09. Breaking The Law (1980) - chosen by Lemmy (MOTÖRHEAD)
10. Rapid Fire (1980) - chosen by Vinnie Paul (PANTERA, HELLYEAH)
11. Grinder (1980) - chosen by Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY)
12. Living After Midnight (1980) - chosen by Alice Cooper and Geezer Butler
(BLACK SABBATH)
13. Screaming For Vengeance (1982) - chosen by Slash (GUNS N ROSES)
14. You've Got Another Thing Coming (1982) - chosen by Klaus Meine
(SCORPIONS) & Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT)
15. The Sentinel (1984) - chosen by Chris Jericho (FOZZY)
16. Turbo Lover (1986) - chosen by Jonathan Davis (KORN)
17. Painkiller (1990) - chosen by Joe Satriani
KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons has shot
down rumors of a possible reunion with the band's original guitarist Ace
Frehley after they were spotted dining together at a Los Angeles restaurant on Monday (September
12). Simmons writes on Twitter, "Ace and I had nice,
friendly lunch together [yesterday]. It was wonderful to see him. He looked
healthy and happy." He added, "Nothing else was talked about. No
rumors, please. Ace and I are both happy with our lives and are not
changing anything."
Frehley performed with KISS from its inception in 1973 until his
first departure in 1982 before rejoining KISS in 1996 for a very
successful reunion tour. Frehley's second stint lasted until 2002 as Ace went back to being a solo artist again.
Frehley will release "No Regrets: A Rock 'N' Roll Memoir",
a look back at his "life of sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll" on
November 1 via Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Gallery plans to publish the 288-page title under the VH1 Books imprint.
MEGADETH's new single, "Public Enemy No.
1", has just been released digitally via iTunes. The song comes off the band's new album, "TH1RT3EN",
which is scheduled for release on November 1 via Roadrunner Records. The
CD was recorded at MEGADETH mainman DaveMustaine's Vic's Garage studio in San Marcos, California with producer Johnny K (full name: John
Karkazis), who has previously worked with DISTURBED, SEVENDUST, MACHINE HEAD and STAIND, among others. The artwork was once again
created by artist John Lorenzi, who worked on the last two MEGADETH studio albums, 2007's "United Abominations" and 2009's "Endgame",
as well as the band's 2007 box set, "Warchest".
CD track listing:
01. Sudden Death
02. Public Enemy No. 1
03. Whose Life (Is It Anyways?)
04. We The People
05. Guns, Drugs & Money
06. Never Dead
07. New WorldOrder
08. Fast Lane
09. Black Swan
10. Wrecker
11. Millennium Of The Blind
12. Deadly Nightshade
13. 13
Limited-edition picture-disc vinyl track listing:
Side A:
01. Sudden Death
02. Public Enemy No. 1
03. Whose Life (Is It Anyways?)
04. We The People
Side B:
01. Guns, Drugs & Money
02. Never Dead
03. New WorldOrder
Side C:
01. Fast Lane
02. Black Swan
03. Wrecker
Side D:
01. Millennium Of the Blind
02. Deadly Nightshade
03. 13
"Public Enemy No. 1" is now available for streaming at Megadeth.com.
"TH1RT3EN" marks the recorded return of bassist David
Ellefson who was part of the band's classic lineup from 1983 to 2002. In a
move that delighted the band's legion of diehards, Ellefson returned to
performing live with MEGADETH in early 2010 and has remained a fixture
on the stage ever since. This is the first time Ellefson has played on a MEGADETH record since 2002's "Rude Awakening".
The title has several levels of meaning, which leader and guitar deity Dave
Mustaine, who first picked up an axe at the age of 13, revealed in a recent
chat with RollingStone.com, saying, "I was born on September 13th;
this is my thirteenth record. It just seemed like it was the right thing to do
to call it 'TH1RT3EN'."
Mustaine is incredibly proud of the music put forth on the new
recording, saying, "This record is the culmination of my work over the 13
records I recorded. There are moments on 'TH1RT3EN' that capture my
every emotion, and other moments where I am releasing feelings I never knew
existed! My proudest moments of my musical career are captured on 'TH1RT3EN'."
Regarding what fans can expect from MEGADETH's next album, Ellefson told Martin Carlsson of Expressen TV, "Let's put it this
way: It's funny that 20 years ago, we came off 'Rust In Peace' and we
went in and made 'Countdown To Extinction'. So, to me, that's kind of
what this album feels like. We did 'Sudden Death' [for a title in the 'Guitar
Hero' franchise, 'Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock'] and then this new
song, 'Never Dead', which is a very violent riff. That was the first
song we did, and we finished it top to bottom because we had to get it into
this video game called 'NeverDead'. So that's a pretty good indication
of what the new record is gonna be. But it's a little wider than… That's why I
liken it to probably a little more to 'Countdown To Extinction', 'cause
there's a couple of songs that aren't just full-on, in-your-face thrashing.
However, most of it is. So you guys are gonna be excited. You'll like it.
You'll dig it. You'll have fun [listening to it]."
Lately, Scott Ian has had plenty of reason to celebrate. Revel, born in June
to wife Pearl Aday, is the couple's first child. The following month marked the
30th anniversary of his other baby, Anthrax. And this week, following the
release of their 10th studio album, Anthrax will play Yankee Stadium, part of
the Big 4 with Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth.
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Enlarge
Frank
Micelotta/Getty ImagesLike his newborn son, Scott Ian has a few
Yankees duds in his wardrobe.
But it hasn't been easy getting to this point. After trailblazing the metal
landscape through the 1980s, Anthrax has weathered a more tumultuous course
over the past decade, from their name becoming synonymous with post-9/11
paranoia to a revolving door of singers that left some fans wondering whether
the band had run out of gas.
They haven't, as it turns out. "Worship Music," with revered
frontman Joey Belladonna back on the mike, is unanimously being praised as a
triumphant return to form, arguably the best Anthrax album ever.
Family and band aside, Scott's other love is the New York Yankees. Despite
growing up in a Mets-friendly neighborhood, the Queens
native is die-hard pinstripes. Ian, 47, recently blogged about being at Game 6
of the 1977 World Series, where he watched Reggie Jackson hit a record three
home runs. That same year, seeing Kiss at Madison Square Garden would change him
forever.
Scott talked to The Life about parenthood, the development of "Worship
Music" (iTunes | Amazon), and the nervousness of fulfilling his childhood
dream in the outfield at Yankee Stadium.
The Life: Who's profiting more from sales of kids' apparel for your son,
Kiss or the New York
Yankees?
Ian: We haven't bought any of either, but from the gifts we've
gotten, definitely Yankees. I think we've gotten maybe one Kiss thing, and that
was sent from the merch company, but tons of Yankee stuff.
The Life: He's not yet three months old, but have you already exposed
Revel to baseball and music?
Ian: Not baseball, no. But he listens to music every day -- well,
it's on every day. Whether or not he's listening … it's around him, let's
put it that way.
The Life: What excites you most about someday taking him to concerts and
games? Those experiences can make such a big impact on the course of someone's
life.
Ian: Of course! I can't wait to do that. Obviously, he's going to get
to go to a lot of concerts with us over the next few years. If it's something
that he enjoys, I assume he'll get to do a lot more than that.
But, you know, we're not gonna shove anything down his throat. Just because
I play in a band, and Pearl
sings, doesn't mean that's what he's going to do. If he's into it, then
he's into it.
The Life: How prevalent was baseball, as far as the parent-son
relationship in your household, growing up?
Ian: You know, it was something that my dad would talk about. I can
remember [my brother and I] being kids, and my dad would talk about going to
see the Dodgers in Brooklyn when he was
a kid. And we would go to games once in a while. We would go to both, Met games
and Yankee games.
Anthrax's Big Day
Frank
Bello was 15 or so, out in the bleachers at the old Yankee Stadium, when crack! … a liner came off Dave Winfield's bat.
And Bello,
now 46 and the bassist for thrash metal giant Anthrax, reached out to catch it.
With his bare hand.
Ouch.
"I was an idiot," Bello
(pictured) said. "I didn't have a glove. … My hands went into my chest and
sent me back three rows. It was a rocket. I knocked this old lady [down]. I
felt so bad."
But that's what you do when you're a Yankees die-hard, a Bronx
kid who grew up 10 minutes away and went to game after game (back when you
could afford such a thing).
Now Bello, drummer/fellow Bronx native Charlie
Benante and the rest of Anthrax are set to play the new Yankee Stadium on
Wednesday, part of The
Big 4 featuring fellow metal gods Megadeth, Metallica and Slayer (and a day
after their new album, "Worship Music" drops in the United States).
It'll be big for the entire New York-based band, although Benante considers Bello and lead guitarist
Scott Ian the biggest Yankees fans.
For Benante it will be more personal; his father, also named Charlie, was a
huge baseball fan and onetime budding ballplayer, who died when Charlie Jr. was
5.
"I would give all this up just to have my father around," Benante
said, "but to have him be there and see me playing Yankee Stadium, I know
for him it would probably be the greatest thing ever."
For Bello,
meanwhile, it's mostly about fandom.
He's been in the building before -- just once, playing alongside Ian and
Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley at the Hard Rock Cafe opening. But he's still
Yankees-crazy -- watching highlights, celebrating past players (Thurman Munson,
Ron Guidry, and of course Winfield), praising the occasional pinstriped
metalhead (Jason Giambi and David Wells), and even meeting Yankee-turned-guitar
player Bernie Williams (they hung out stageside at a recent Thin Lizzy
show, and Bello invited Williams to the Big 4 concert).
So when Bello
gets back to the stadium? He'll be on a mission.
"I don't know if I'll actually be able to be on the grass, [but] I'll
find a way," Bello
said. "I'm going to make a diving catch in Yankee Stadium. … That's going
to happen."
This time, he'll have a glove.
-- Patrick Dorsey
I just gravitated to being a Yankees fan. I can't even tell you why, other
than I think it just comes down to the fact that my dad was a Dodger
fan, and the Yankees were like their arch-enemies for all those years in the
'40s and '50s. And it's not because I didn't like my dad. It's just, for some
reason, I guess I figured they would be my thing, whereas I just didn't
really give a s--- about the Mets at all. [Laughs]
We were in Queens and Long Island. Most
people in those areas were Met fans. In New York, the lines are drawn pretty boldly, as far as
where you grew up and what team you support. All my friends were Met fans, so
it was kind of weird that I was a Yankee fan.
But yeah, I loved it, from the first time we ever went to the ballpark. That
might even be why [I'm a fan], because I'm pretty sure the first baseball game
I ever saw was a Yankee game. I remember going to Yankee Stadium before it was
even renovated, before the Yankees [temporarily] played at Shea [Stadium]. And
then we went to a lot of the Yankee games at Shea when they were playing there.
I still get the same feeling now, 40 years later let's say, when you get
into the ballpark and walk through the halls where all the food stands are.
Then you walk out into the seating area and the field opens up in front of you.
It still gives me that same kind of amazing vibe, that you're about to witness
something really cool.
The Life: Do you feel serenity? A lot of fans describe a serenity, that
once you get inside a stadium or park, all problems evaporate and everything is
perfect.
Ian: Yes, that feeling lasts until the game starts, then it just
turns into two-and-a-half to three hours of stress. [Laughs] But I do agree
with that serenity feeling because I love walking into the ballpark. I
love getting there early. I love hanging out, especially at Yankee Stadium --
even the new Yankee Stadium -- it's a great feeling. But once the game starts,
it's all business.
The Life: What commonality did you find in loving baseball and music when
you were a kid?
Ian: None, really. There was really no crossover to me, especially in
my neighborhood. We used to play baseball in the field behind where we grew up.
Most of those kids, they didn't care about music at all. It was like two
different things. The kids I hung out with that were into music and the kids
that were into sports were two completely different crowds. Somehow I bridged
both of 'em because I really was so into baseball. I mean, I played
baseball in high school up until my junior year.
The Life: 1977 was a huge year for you: Being at Game 6 of the World
Series when Reggie Jackson hit the record three home runs, then Kiss at their
'70s peak at Madison Square Garden.
What does hindsight allow you to recognize about how those events affected your
life?
Ian: Well, it was actually three things that year. If I could
pinpoint one year in my youth, that would definitely be my golden year, like
the most important year growing up. The third thing was spending the whole
summer in California.
My brother and I flew out -- I actually used my bar mitzvah money to buy us
airline tickets -- and we spent the whole summer in Laguna Beach with my mom's best friend. Just
to be out there and ride a skateboard the whole summer, because that was when
skateboarding exploded and there were all these skate parks in California. Nothing like
that existed in New York City.
So we got to spend the whole summer out of the city, basically in dreamland
compared to where we lived, literally at the beach and riding skateboards all
day. Between that, going to the World Series that year, then the Kiss shows, it
was three things that had crazy impact on my life.
The Life: Obviously, you could not foresee how all of it would unfold.
Ian: I can actually say I do remember, after those Kiss shows in '77,
it was literally like a lightning bolt for me. Leaving the Garden -- Dec. 14, I
think it was, actually -- taking the train home, just in my brain knowing,
well, this is it. I'm on the path. This is what I'm going to do. There's
nothing else I could do with my life other than be in a band.
The Life: Prior to that, were your aspirations more geared toward
becoming a professional baseball player?
Ian: Maybe for three minutes. Granted, back in the '70s, you actually
did have guys like Freddie Patek playing shortstop for the Royals, and he was
5-foot-6. But that was definitely not the [norm]. [Laughs] Even though baseball
players weren't as big then, the odds of a 5-6 -- 5-7 in cleats -- 150-pound
kid making it in the big leagues to play second base for the Yankees was a bit
of a pipe dream.
The Life: As a kid, who was your favorite Yankees player?
Ian: Thurman Munson.
The Life: What was it about Munson that drew you to him?
Ian: To me, he just embodied the Yankees. He just had this toughness,
this grittiness, beside the fact that he was such a great player, such a great
offensive catcher. There was only him and Johnny Bench, at the time, who were
really great catchers that could hit -- well, [Carlton] Fisk, too, you could put in that
category, as well. That was a rare commodity back then.
Munson, he was just such a hard-nosed ballplayer. He was like a superhero to
me. He just looked scruffy, just tough and kind of ornery. I just loved that
about him. As a kid, he was just the coolest.
The Life: Those are great moments of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, Munson
and Fisk. As a fan, what's the most fun aspect about that rivalry for you? Do
you enjoy the intensity between those teams?
Ian: Yeah, of course. Maybe here's one thing I could say that crosses
over between my attitudes, whether it's music or anything in life: You want to
do your best against the best. If you're gonna compete, then your competition
should be the best competition. That's how I've always felt.
[+]
Enlarge
Archive Photos/Getty
ImagesThurman Munson's grittiness had great appeal to budding
young heavy metal star Scott Ian.
I love the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. I love the Yankees-Dodgers rivalry, even
though it really doesn't mean anything anymore. But there's still something
there when they play each other in interleague [play]. Sadly, the Dodgers will
never make it to October any time soon, [laughs] so the odds are we're not
going to see a Yankees-Dodgers World Series.
The Yankees-Mets rivalry is awesome. To me, in a sense, that's even
deeper than the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, because they're both New York teams. When you're in the middle of
it, living in New York
as a kid, then getting to boast '77, '78, when the Yankees won it -- of course,
then in '86 the Mets won it. I remember sitting there with all my friends,
watching it and not knowing how to feel, hating the fact that the Mets were
winning or loving the fact that the Sox were losing.
Yeah, those rivalries are the greatest. To me, that's what competition is
all about. What's the fun if there's no competition? Granted, I love seeing
blowouts. I'd rather watch an 11-0 game, truthfully, than a 1-0 game. I just
hope that comes against the Sox. [Laughs]
The Life: Who do you call or text immediately after the Yankees beat the
Red Sox or the Mets?
Ian: I'm not so much that guy because I'm not a s--- talker when it
comes to sports. I'm one of those people that [thinks] there are just too many
ways to jinx my team, and I actually believe that my actions have an outcome on
the game. [Laughs] I'm one of those maniacs. Literally, when it comes to the
postseason, my position on the couch can affect the outcome of the game.
Yeah, I don't s--- talk other teams because I feel like that's beneath what
the Yankees are about, even me as a fan. Here's another thing I can relate to
music: Unless I have something positive to say about something, there's no need
for me to waste my time talking. Like, I absolutely respect the Red Sox as a
team, and I'm not going to s--- talk them. There's no reason. They're good,
they're not crap.
On the other hand, to answer your question, I have a couple of friends who
are Met fans, namely ["That Metal Show" co-host] Eddie Trunk.
[Laughs] Every once in a while I will bust his [chops]. Recently, [bassist]
Frankie [Bello] and I were on the radio with him, and I made mention of how the
Big 4 were originally talking about [playing] Citi Field, but the bands decided
we couldn't play at a losing team's stadium. [Laughs]
Eddie's like, "Come on, they're only like two games under .500!" I'm
like, no Ed, four games under. [Laughs] I actually looked at the
standings to make sure I knew exactly how far I could dig the thumb. But you
can't even bust a Met fan's [chops], because they know their team sucks. What
fun is it ragging on a team that's terrible? It's almost like you've just got
to pity them.
The Life: The tone of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry seems to have changed
since Boston
won the World Series in '04. There's still a rivalry between fans, but it's
more good-natured rather than absolute hatred on the part of the Boston fans.
Ian: I think real fans -- you know, not drunk idiots who want to
start fights -- real baseball fans will grudgingly respect the rival
team. Our tour manager, Jason Engle, who's strangely enough born and bred in Los Angeles, is a Red Sox
fan. We spend a lot of time together, [laughs] and there's a grudging
respect between both of us. We watch a lot of baseball, we follow it online,
keeping up with everything going on. We're both the first ones to admit when
our team blows it.
The Life: The love of the game goes beyond love of the team.
Ian: I think if you're a true sports fan, you have to respect your
rival. You have to respect talent, and you have to respect a great
organization. I mean, look at the Braves through the '90s and even into the
2000s. All those great teams they had in all those years, to me it was so
shocking in '96 when the Yankees handled them the way they did in the World
Series. Truthfully, I expected the Yankees to lose, and it was kind of like,
what happened to the Braves?
The Life: You mentioned following baseball online. Are you the sort of
fan who needs constant updates, wanting to know the score, who got traded,
who's on the disabled list?
Ian: I sometimes am. Sometimes, it's just hard to keep up depending
on how busy I am. But I go to Yankees.com at least once if not twice a day. I
probably spend five to 10 minutes on the website, just catching up to see
what's what, who's injured, when so-and-so is coming back. I try and keep my
head in the game, so to speak, so I can at least make an educated argument when
I'm complaining how much I think they suck and need to make a move. [Laughs]
Like I said, going to the stadium, it's a pleasure until the game starts, then
it's all business.
The Life: "In The End," a centerpiece of the new album, is a
tribute to Dimebag Darrell and Ronnie James Dio. Blogging about that song, you
mentioned feeding Ronnie Yankees scores while he was onstage. Often, somebody
stepping offstage is really just getting the score from their tech's laptop on
the roadcase.
Ian: Yeah, exactly. I can't tell you how many times we've been on
tour in the fall, and we've been getting updates mid-song. I mean, that's just
the way it is.
The Life: Anyone following the tumultuous progression of "Worship
Music" couldn't help regarding it with a certain amount of skepticism. Is
it vindicating that some people are already regarding it as the band's best
album to date?
Ian: You know, I take all of that the same way, good and bad. Look,
of course I'm not going to sit here and say I don't like it when people say
they think our record's great. Of course I do. I feel great about that, and I
feel privileged that people take the time to listen. I'm just really happy that
people hear it the way I hear it.
[+]
Enlarge
AP Photo/Jason
RedmondJoey Belladonna's return helped bring the Anthrax team
back with "Worship Music."
But I think since we made "Fistful of Metal" [in 1983], basically
we've just learned to take the good and the bad, really, the same way. One way
or another it's not going to affect what we do as a band. It's not going to
affect our songwriting, it's not going to affect what we do onstage. That's
still just going to come from us.
It's great when people respect you and like the work you've created. Of
course, it makes us feel good. But, in the end, [laughs] no pun intended, it's
not going to change how we operate.
The Life: Looking at a band like a sports team, if you're a fan, you take
the same feeling of ownership. When your band hits one out of the park, as a
fan, you're excited. That's the feeling a lot of people might get with this
record.
Ian: Sure. No, I agree because I feel that way about the bands I
love. They put out a new record and it just crushes you, yeah, it's super
exciting.
I was just going to make a sports analogy, too: They say a team is only as
good as its ninth-place hitter. I kind of feel that way about making records,
that the last track on the record has to be as strong as your No. 3 slot, which
is usually the so-called hit or something like that. I feel like our record,
our 10th track is as strong as our first track.
The Life: Making the album was something that started several years ago,
literally. What point in that time frame was the most discouraging? Also,
within that time frame, when did you realize what you had, in terms of how good
it is?
Ian: As far as how good it is, we realized immediately once we had
three or four things together. It just felt great, and it felt … I don't know
any other way to explain it, but it was the music that kept us moving forward
and kept us focused up until [this] June, when the record finally got finished.
It really was the power of the music.
When [drummer] Charlie [Benante] and I literally first started writing, and
had a couple of things together, we couldn't wait to get Frankie and
[guitarist] Rob [Caggiano] in the mix because we were just like, this stuff is
killing. It just felt awesome, all the way through, even when we walked away
from it for a year.
We knew we had this amazing thing sitting up on the shelf. It just wasn't
time to take it down yet. And once Joey was back in the mix, that's when we
knew, OK, it's time to open up this rad box of songs and now make it even
better. Truthfully, we've never had the luxury of hindsight before, or actually
living with a record for a year then going back and making sure you're still in love with everything, then being able to fix stuff and change stuff and
re-record stuff.
It's not something we're going to do with every album, obviously, finish
then put it away for a year, then go back to it. It would be awesome to have
that luxury, but this one was a happy accident that it just worked out like
that. We were able to go back in and really hone it down from the 13 or 14
songs in some state of being done, to these 10 that just really nail it.
The Life: Because of the scenario where the music sat for that period of
time, did that make the band determined that the finished album had to be
perfect?
Ian: Yeah, you could say that. We had spent so much time that we
certainly weren't going to rush anything. And being in the situation where we
were able to basically go back and open the books on the record again, that was
all done last fall when we were out on tour with Slayer and Megadeth.
It was on that tour when we would pretty much spend almost every day in the
dressing room with a bunch of amps set up. We'd just pick a song, and we would
all sit around for a couple of hours and listen to it, play it. Some songs:
great, awesome, we don't need to touch this. Then, other songs: OK, this one
needs a ton of work; this one needs to go in the garbage; this one, maybe the
chorus just needs to be better.
There was stuff that was "finished" back in 2009, but we didn't
even know what was going to make the record. We didn't get to the point where
everything was mixed, then sequenced, and we actually knew what the record was
going to be. "In The End," which was a different song back then,
might not even have made the record because the chorus at that point still was
never there. It took that year away [from it], I think, when Charlie had this
idea for it, where things started to move forward on that song again and it
became what it is.
The Life: Your drive for it to be as good as possible is not only a sense
of professionalism, but also an emotional quotient that you want to get it
right.
Ian: Well, yeah. And once musically it was right, we knew. We never
would have finished it or written that song if we didn't think it was going to
become what it became. Like, I wouldn't have put something out there half-assed
as a tribute to Darrell and Ronnie.
The Life: How much of this album are you planning on adding to the live
set? You realistically won't go out and play a whole brand-new album, although
the songs are good enough that, in terms of quality, you could.
Ian: I mean, I know we could. [Iron] Maiden has kind of set the bar
for that because they're like, "Hey, this is what we're doing. Like it or
not, we're going to play our new album." I can look at it from both sides,
from the guy in the band who would love to go out and play the whole record.
And then I look at it from a fan [perspective], who maybe he wants to hear all
the songs, but he also wants to hear 15 or 20 other songs from our catalog.
One of the problems we have is, Anthrax can't play a three-hour show.
Nothing against any other band out there in our genre, but we're a very, very
physical band onstage. Certainly, Frankie, Joey and I up front, the physicality
is pretty intense. A 90-minute or two-hour Anthrax show is like a four-hour
show for anyone else. [Laughs] So it would be great to think we could go play
three hours, do the whole album and an hour-and-a-half of hits, but we'd be
sitting in chairs by the end. [Laughs]
We're going to know every song on the record, and we're going to do multiple
legs, I'm sure, through the states over the next year. So, at some point, we'll
have played everything on the record.
The Life: Most people probably thought an East Coast Big 4 show would
happen at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.
Behind the scenes, when did you know there was a chance that Anthrax might
actually be playing Yankee Stadium?
Ian: Well, we didn't [know] until they told us it was happening.
[Laughs]
The Life: Really, your management didn't know at all that it was trying
to be coordinated?
Ian: No, no, just like most of the other shows, we got the call
saying -- initially, I think it was a different day, and then the Yankees'
schedule changed because of a rainout or something, so there was a makeup game.
But, yeah, the call basically just came in: Yankee Stadium, Sept 14. Oh.
[Laughs] We're like, OK, put that, like, top three phone calls of all time.
[Laughter]
The Life: How did you react to that call, being a Yankees fan? Did you
jump up and down, or just stand in disbelief?
Ian: I was more just kind of like … yeah, a lot of disbelief, I
think. A lot of sheer euphoria, you know, just like, "Oh my God! Can you
believe this? Can you believe we're going to get to do this?" It's
literally a dream come true.
We also thought that if there was going to be an East Coast show, it would
probably be at Giants Stadium -- whatever they call it now -- because that's
generally where those size shows are done in the tri-state area. But at some
point I did say to [Metallica drummer] Lars [Ulrich], somewhere when we were in
Europe, that if we did get to do an East Coast show, we should do Yankee
Stadium: "Giants Stadium would be great, but you guys have already done
it, and everyone plays Giants Stadium. But nobody plays Yankee Stadium."
I'm not taking any credit at all. That was strictly my own selfish,
"Why not float it out there for the universe?" because you never know
what may happen.
The Life: You're very active with social networking. You were very
descriptive about your opportunity to play a zombie on "Walking
Dead," posting photos and such. What sort of volume of posting can people
expect during or after you play Yankee Stadium?
Ian: I'm sure a lot. I mean, I would hope so, unless for some reason
it's a total bummer. But it's hard for me to imagine that. Literally, when
we're onstage for line check at one o'clock in the afternoon that day, I know
this sounds crazy, if we're just playing to the empty stadium, if that
was the show, it would still be insane to me.
The fact that I get to walk out there with my guitar -- like, my tool --
like so many others before me on the Yankees have walked out with their gloves,
it's hard for me to put into some kind of context, just knowing how this band
started and where we come from. As a kid growing up in Queens,
I'm literally going to be standing out in center field doing what I do. It's
hard to put into words.
I'm sure maybe months afterward, I will be able to. I'm sure there
will be a lot of initial posting and photos and stuff around the actual event.
But I think for me to actually process it and put into words that are better
than these fractured sentences I'm expressing now, it'll take a few months. And
it'll obviously make a good chapter in the book, eventually.
The Life: What normally goes through your head when you're taking the
stage? It's speculative, but how do you suspect it might be different when
you're actually walking up the ramp at Yankee Stadium?
Ian: I will have had at least three beers, probably, before [playing]
Yankee Stadium. Generally, if I have one, that's a lot before going onstage.
But I just feel like I'm gonna need that just to not be stressing and not be
out of my mind. Like, I can't imagine myself being any other way at this point.
I get nervous only rarely, like New York, L.A., London,
those places will generally generate some nerves, just because it's the cities
where everybody sees everything all the time. You just want to make sure you do
your best. You just have to work that much harder to play those cities. This,
to me, is just that, but amplified times a thousand. It's Yankee Stadium, like,
what are we doing here? Who let us in there? That's literally my attitude
toward it, so I know the nerves are going to be there.
So, a couple of beers -- and we're going to do it right. We're going to go
to a [concession] stand and buy beers. [Laughs] We're going to do it right, and
I'm sure that will set me at ease.
But still, those two, three minutes when you're standing at the back of the
stage and the intro is rolling, I have no idea really how to know where my
brain's going to be at. I just hope I'm not too tight because then it's going
to make it hard to play.
Roger Lotring is an author, freelance writer and radio show host based in
Connecticut.
Chris Cornell can do the impossible.
In Soundgarden,
he's always mined the subtle middle ground between storytelling a la Bob Dylan and
thunderous wailing reminiscent of Led Zeppelin and Black
Sabbath. Cornell remains the ultimate frontman, and he deserves to be
revered in the same league as all of those legends.
However, the singer conjures the same magic with just an acoustic guitar and
that one-of-a-kind voice. His contribution to Relativity Media's Machine
Gun Preacher, "The Keeper", is hypnotic and haunting folk. It
tells the story of the film's subject, humanitarian hero Sam Childers [Gerard
Butler], while painting a personal picture for Cornell. Like all timeless
tunes, numerous interpretations will abound, and that's the beauty of it.
It's one of the best songs of 2011, and it perfectly complements one of the
year's best films.
In order to uncover the story behind "The Keeper", ARTISTdirect.com
editor in chief Rick Florino sat down for an exclusive interview with Chris
Cornell while in the midst of the Toronto International Film Festival. Cornell
discusses writing the song, another classic soundtrack song,
"Seasons", new Soundgarden music, meeting Sam Childers, storytelling
and more.
Machine Gun Preacher releases in select theaters on September 23. The
soundtrack will be available physical and digitally on iTunes September 20th!
Download "The Keeper" now iTunes!
On "The Keeper", it sounds like you're telling a story that
belongs to both you and Sam Childers. What's your take on the song? Is that on
the mark?
Well, I would say what you just described is probably the best possible
outcome. I don't think I or anybody could write a song about someone else
without the author's personality, thoughts, or emotions included. The old adage
is "Every time you paint someone's picture it's really a
self-portrait". I believe in that to some degree. I think you have to be
able to relate to it. If you can relate to the person and your interpretation
of that person's feelings and actions, then you can write about their experience
as if you were them. You can do that projection, and it's not a big leap from
you to them. If you can't, then it's harder. In this case, I can understand
where the passion and the empathy would come from. Certainly, there are similar
aspects in terms of understanding what it feels like when you're struggling
with substance abuse and feeling directionless as well as having that clouded
mental feeling and having to dig your way out of that. It's not only difficult
to dig your way out and just lead a normal life, but to dig your way out, move
on, and do something tremendous like Sam did is something I can see the kernels
of. It flowers into his story. That's something he did. Beyond that, there's a
whole bunch of inspiration. I think the song really sticks with the idea of
imagining that Sam Childers is singing it. What is he singing? It's a sort of
testimonial to the kids he puts his life on the line for. In that testimonial,
the singer is really saying, "I'm not Moses. I'm not this grandiose savior
to be worshipped. I'm just a guy who has faults, and I know it as much as
anybody". However, this person who does have faults and who isn't Moses is
going to be here until he dies doing what he does for others. That was my way
of being able to really get into the song without saying that I lived it
because I haven't.
Was the process behind "The Keeper" similar to
"Seasons"? It seems like there's a kinship between them.
I think it was a fast process in a sense. Although with "Seasons", I
didn't feel any responsibility to lyrically describe anything or lyrically
co-exist with anything for example. "Seasons" was written based on a
title that Jeff
Ament, the bass player of Pearl Jam, wrote
on a piece of paper. In a sense, there was a disconnection there because the
title wasn't my idea so I probably felt more freedom to write whatever I wrote
[Laughs]. Writing it from the standpoint of something that could exist
naturally just on an acoustic guitar and singing does it make a similar process
for both "The Keeper" and "Seasons". A lot of my early
songwriting was in Soundgarden. I didn't start really writing songs until we
started Soundgarden therefore a lot of that was based on riffs or it was
sonically based. Lyrics and melodies were finding their room inside of a
landscape of very aggressive music. It was very electric, loud, and amplified.
You couldn't necessarily strip those tracks down, play them acoustically, and
have them make sense as songs. They might, but they might not. With something
that's really stripped down and acoustic, it has to exist as a
"song". That's all it is. There's nothing else there. In that way, I
think that there is a comparison to be made to "Seasons" or anything
else I've done like that.
Were you reading anything while writing "The Keeper"? Do you often
read while writing music?
I do sometimes. I wasn't when I was writing "The Keeper". For
"The Keeper", I'd read the script and focused on the web site. There was a photo
gallery on the "Angels of East Africa" web site that I focused on
just because I wanted to get a sense of the environment. That, combined with
the story, is where the ideas and musical feel came from because the photos are
very moving. Some are difficult to see. There are some photos where it looks
like the children are suffering. However, most of the pictures in the photo
gallery show Sam with a smile surrounded by a bunch of kids who look very
happy. They look tended to, cared for, and loved. In the photos, the children
are together playing. You'll notice the atmosphere which is unusual. There are
pictures of a couple kids standing next to a crashed plane that people have
ripped parts off of. There's a photo of kids near a derailed train where the
cars have been left and no one's ever done anything. It's an unusual world, but
the theme was you did see children who appeared loved and cared for and
therefore were happy. They're acting like you'd see my children in a
photograph, smiling and being kids. That really influenced the writing of the
individual song more than anything.
Are there any other movies that have affected you like Machine Gun Preacher?
Well, this is a drama. The last movie I saw that really hit me on such an
emotional level was The
Cove. It's a documentary, but the filmmaking is unbelievable. From
beginning to end, I thought it was gripping. The story itself, the execution of
the documentary, and the dedication and ingenuity of the people involved in it
was pretty phenomenal. That's one I could say off the top of my head. I didn't
see it when it came out. I saw it more recently because I was honestly a little
bit afraid to watch it since I wasn't sure what kind of emotional impact it was
going to have on me. It had a big one
Have you met Sam Childers yet?
I met Sam about eight minutes ago and was very struck by him. He's a gentleman.
He was very complimentary, relaxed, not boastful, and very professional given
that this is sort of a professional situation at the Toronto Film Festival. I
walked into a big room where he was holding court with a table full of
journalists, foreign press, and probably 25 people listening and hanging on
every word. I immediately sat down and I was supposed to be interviewed by 12
people or so, and I couldn't draw myself away from listening to Sam. We had to
actually move to an entirely different part of the room to speak because it was
difficult to even think about talking over what he was saying. He definitely
has a charisma and an ability to speak and people will listen. I can tell you
that just from the personal experience I had a few minutes ago.
Is "The Keeper" indicative of your creative process on the new
Soundgarden or has that been much heavier?
Well, no matter what, Soundgarden is always going to be heavier. However, I
also think musically the new Soundgarden stuff is different than anything we've
ever done. Having said that, I think that's a theme we've always had. I think
every time we've made a record it wasn't really that easy to compare it to the
previous one—other than that we're the same band. I think may be some moments
that are sort of sonically quieter and more stripped-down. On the whole, it's a
rock record. That's what we do.
Have is it always been important for you to paint visual pictures that
aren't necessarily explicit? You can interpret "The Keeper" many ways
just like you can "Pretty Noose" or "Let Me Drown". Is it
crucial to tell a story that's both ambiguous and relatable?
That's always been the goal…I suppose the times I've missed the mark are when
it seems clear to me and it's not clear to anybody else [Laughs]. It's pretty
easy to get too far away from it. Literally a couple of poorly chosen words can
kind of obscure the thought, the idea, and the image, and it's not there
anymore. It's good to hear that you feel like it's in tact. The only direction
I got from Marc
Forster, the director, was "Don't be too literal", which I never
do. He actually followed that up by saying, "You never are, but if I would
say anything it's that". I agree with it. I really don't think that it
would be complimentary to a great film. I don't think there's really an
environment where that would work. I could point out a bunch of songs written
for films where they were completely word-for-word obvious and descriptive of
the synopsis. It's as if they were the synopsis. I won't waste either of our
time [Laughs]. Okay, Ghostbusters!
Out of curiosity, were you ever an Edgar Allan Poe fan? You often tread
similar ground as writers. Did you ever read his work?
No, but I'm going to now. As soon as I get back to the hotel, I'm going to go
online to get something and read it. I never have read his stuff. That's
interesting. Poets who I have gone back to often are Charles Bukowski, Dylan
Thomas, Sylvia Plath, and Jim Carroll—I'm actually a big fan—very little
classic poetry though.
Would you ever want to write a book like Sam did?
I'm not sure. Being involved in different documentaries, that has come up
lately. I've been asked to do interviews for a lot of those documentaries, most
recently the Pearl Jam film—PearlJam Twenty. Killing
Joke is doing one. I thought about it. I suppose that I have a hard time
believing whatever the real story is will ever get told. I think, with
something like the Pearl Jam documentary where the director has been there
pretty much from the beginning of the actual group and the band has been so
diligent about saving everything with a videographer and photographer there all
the time, though you can't necessarily tell the exact story ever because that's
impossible, there's a lot of supportable evidence. You can get a sense of it.
In and of itself, that's an event. Whereas with me, I'm just not sure that
makes sense. If I wanted to write a book, I'd want it to be the truth, and I'm
not sure how much personal truth I want to share.
—Rick Florino
09.13.11
Guitarist Mikko "Linde" Lindström of
Finnish love metallers HIM has revealed to Attention Deficit Delirium that the band is currently
working on music for the follow-up to 2010's "Screamworks: Love In
Theory And Practice". He said, "I am very proud of the material
so far and look forward to sharing our new music with you!"
It was revealed in March of this year that HIM had parted ways with Sire/Warner
Music after a six-year partnership that produced three albums.
Seymour Stein, founder of Sire Records, said at the time,
"It was a pleasure working with HIM, and we're very proud to have
been their partners for the last six years. Ville [Valo, HIM singer/songwriter] is a rare talent, and my relationship with their manager Seppo dates back to the days when he pioneered rock music in Finland looking
after the career of HANOI ROCKS. HIM are particularly important
because they are the first and only band from Finland
to reach gold status in America.
I, along with the entire Sire/Warner Bros. family, wish them
continued success in the future."
HIM's discography on Sire includes the 2005 album "Dark
Light", which was certified gold in the U.S. for sales in excess of 500,000
copies. Follow-up releases "Venus Doom" (2007) and "Screamworks:
Love In Theory And Practice" charted both in the U.S. and Europe.
"We're ever so grateful for having had Seymour and Co as the
generous hosts on our extended first stay in the New Country. It's been a Blast
Royale but now it's time to clean up the rubble and start anew", commented Ville Valo of HIM.
"Screamworks: Love In Theory And Practice" sold 26,000 copies
in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 25
on The Billboard 200 chart. Recorded at The Lair in Los Angeles, the CD was produced by Matt
Squire (TAKING BACK SUNDAY, THE USED, SAOSIN) and
mixed by Neal Avron (LINKIN PARK, WEEZER, FALL OUT BOY).
DANIEL LIONEYE, the band featuring HIM members Lindström on guitar, bass and vocals and Janne "Burton"
Puurtinen on keyboards, released its latest album, "Vol. II",
in North America in April 2010 via The End
Records.
U.D.O., the German band led by former ACCEPT frontman Udo Dirkschneider, will headline the Metal Addiction festival, a special event to celebrate AFM Records' 15th anniversary, on
November 26 at Markthalle in Hamburg, Germany. 15 of
the label's top artists and new hopefuls will perform at the event, which will
include several special attractions, like signing sessions, raffles and a huge
merchandise stand.
Confirmed bands:
U.D.O.
DARK AGE
ORDEN OGAN
VOODOO CIRCLE
KISSIN DYNAMITE
LAKE OF TEARS
MOB RULES
A LIFE DIVIDED
THE NEW BLACK
STAHLMANN
CRYSTAL VIPER
BLACK MESSIAH
BYFROST
BURIED IN BLACK
Tickets are available through Ticketmaster for a pre-sale price of 19.96
euros (AFM was founded in 1996) and service charges.
In addition, every festival attendee will receive a free two-CD compilation
containing highlights from AFM's catalog AFM Records (including
music from such bands as EDGUY, U.D.O., DORO, AVANTASIA, DESTRUCTION, DANZIG). This
two-CD collection will also be made available in stores in late October.
Guitarist John
Petrucci is one of only two founding members of Dream
Theater still with the group. He's also recorded and performed with Liquid
Tension Experiment and as a solo artist, but Dream Theater is his
primary artistic outlet. On the band's brand-new album A Dramatic Turn of
Events, Petrucci and his bandmates delve deep, attempting eleven studio
releases into their career to make the most Dream Theater-ish Dream
Theater album possible. The epic songs, filled with tricky tempo changes
and wild solos, prove that they've succeeded. Below, John Petrucci talks
about the creative process, collective goals, and technology that went into
making A Dramatic Turn of Events the powerful musical statement it is.
Interview by Jeff Treppel
Did you guys have any goals going into A Dramatic Turn of Events?
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.
How did you guys go about writing the music for this particular record?
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.
Did you use any new gear this album?
Well, as a guitar player, one of my goals was to look into whatever advances in
technology are out there in terms of preamps, microphones, things like that. We
did do some experimenting right at the beginning and demoed out a bunch of my
preamps and came upon a couple that were really cool, one by Shadow Hills and
one by Universal Audio, and in addition to an SM57, which is standard, a new
Shure ribbon mic. We did some additional experimenting with the guitar to
capture the best tone possible. We did demo out, and end up using, the
new digital gear towards recording our digital in-outs and our plots, so we
kind of upped our game regarding the equipment and the system we were using.
Do you think the advances in recording technology have helped streamline the
process of putting together your complex music?
I definitely think the advances in technology help me organize things really
well. It helps us to be able to quickly reference and edit things. Things we
couldn't do 10 years ago, we can do so easily now. And as far as the gear
again, it ups the overall quality and openness and sound of the album.
Obviously as recording gear gets better and technology progresses, we are able
to do things a lot easier, a lot more efficiently, and most of the time in a
lot better-sounding way. Which is great. You think about even the last
album we did, or the album before that, and we've definitely made great
advances as far as the sonic impact. It's really cool to go down that road, top
the last thing you did.
How else do you keep yourself creatively challenged this far down the road
in your career as a guitarist?
As far as creativity and writing music and coming up with new ideas, in this band
there is no shortage of ideas. Everybody is super creative, we always
have ideas flowing. If anything, we have too many ideas that we have to kind of
sift through and work through. So part of the answer is, playing with guys that
I have great chemistry with and are incredibly creative and prolific as
writers. And the other part is, to always be analytical about what you're
doing. You know, as a guitar player, I'm always trying to listen to what I'm
recording objectively, and I'm always asking myself questions about tone and
the playing and the phrasing of the riffs and ideas – are these things exciting
to me, is it original, is it interesting, is it piquing my interest or am I
getting bored listening to it? So you have to kind of stay very objective and
ask questions, and as a producer I do that throughout the whole process. So as
the songs are being written, as the instruments are being recorded, as the
lyrics are being written, as the vocals are being recorded, as the mix is being
done, I'm trying to constantly step back with an objective, analytical ear, as
if I'm someone listening to this for the first time. What is this doing for me
– is it reaching me emotionally? Is it driving, is it passionate? And if the
answer to any of those questions is "no," you have to go in and try
to get it to the point that it is.
Dream Theater's A Dramatic Turn of Events is in stores now; get
it from Best Buy or iTunes.
New York-area fans, head to Guitar
Center at 25 West 14th Street
to purchase your copy and receive a wristband to meet the band for a signing
session on Friday, September 16 at 6 PM. Only 200 wristbands will be handed
out, so get there early!
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Joe Bosso of MusicRadar.com recently conducted an interview with drummer Mike Mangini of progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER. A couple
of excerpts from the chat follow below.
MusicRadar.com: What have you discovered about the band [since you
joined]?
Mangini: What I didn't expect on one level was more personal. What I did
expect on a musical level has happened. Let me explain: On a musical level, the
thing that makes us really close — as close as you can be in a very short time
— is our love of progression, of trying to be better, of digging in deeper.
It's about trying to achieve the ultimate and never giving up. That's what we
have in common, and I noticed that from the first day I spent with them. On a
personal level, they're all extremely respectful and in tune with what's going
on around them. They're very mature, and they're in the business of music to
make music. They speak highly of other musicians. They give credit where credit
is due, and they applaud that which deserves applause. We don't sit around and
talk trash about this band or that person. The guys in DREAM THEATER talk about music and pursuing happiness… riffs and instruments…this part versus
that part. It's so pleasant. Every night is about moving forward. I don't mean
for this to sound so 'rah-rah,' but that's what they're like. They're an
extremely passionate, positive bunch. It's all in this quote, I don't remember
who it's from [editor's note: Eleanor Roosevelt]… "Great minds
discuss ideas, average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people."
I really think that's true. Don't spend your time gossiping when you should be
doing something.
MusicRadar.com: That said, how have you dealt with some of the haters,
the Mike Portnoy-only supporters who diss the band without him?
Mangini: Well, I don't really focus on it. But I also look at it the
same way that attraction works, meaning it's either God's business or the
business of human nature. If you believe in God, then you understand, and if
you don't, then you can understand human nature. If you're attracted to
somebody, it's beyond one's control. It is what it is. So if people are
attracted to what Mike Portnoy brought to DREAM THEATER — as I
am, because I'm certainly attracted to it — then that's nature. People are just
doing what they do, and that's fine — I applaud them. If other people are
anti-me because they're pro-Mike Portnoy, there's really nothing I can
say or do about that. They're going to think what they think, and it really has
nothing to do with my playing. Have they listened to the album? Have they seen
the show? In most cases, no. So they're just going on their emotions. That's
fine. I can't change that. All I can do is do what I do.
MusicRadar.com: The recording process for the new record — was it a
little strange that the tunes were already written, with drum programs mapped
out?
Mangini: It wasn't strange for me, and I actually welcomed it. It's kind
of funny: When John Petrucci [guitar] called me to tell me that I wasn't
going to be around for the writing process, I was elated, and I said, "John,
thank you so much." He was curious about my reaction, and my answer to him
was two-fold: Number one, I still wanted to take a lot of time to review the
band's catalogue and nurture my drumset. The other thing was, I didn't want to
change things right out of the box. The important thing to stress, however, is
that John didn't program all the drum parts that I would play, and I
didn't play them note-for-note. He created outlines for me. Some things I
played as they were, other things I changed, and in some cases he and I tried
something totally different. I welcomed working that way.
GENERATION KILL, the crossover metal outfit featuring EXODUS frontman Rob Dukes, will perform its debut album, "Red
White And Blood", in its entirety on Friday, September 16 at a
CD-release party at Duff's Brooklyn in Williamsburg,
Brooklyn.
The address is:
Duff's Brooklyn
168 Marcy Avenue (between S 5th & Broadway)
Williamsburg, New York
For more information, visit www.duffsbrooklyn.com.
"Red White And Blood" will be released on September 16 in
Europe and September 27 in North America via Season
Of Mist. The CD was recorded at J. Rod Production Studios in New City, New York (where the vocal tracks for EXODUS' "Let
There Be Blood" and OVERKILL's "Ironbound" were
previously laid down).
"Red, White and Blood" track listing:
01. Hate
02. Red White And Blood
03. Feast For The Wolves
04. Self-Medicating
05. Depraved Indifference
06. Slow Burn
07. Section 8
08. Walking Dead
09. Dark Days
10. Let Me Die
11. Wish (NINE INCH NAILS cover; bonus track)
FAITH NO MORE singer Mike Patton, moved by the Paolo Giordano novel "The Solitude Of Prime Numbers" and having contributed music to the movie of the same name, has created a
16-track release that boasts some of the most contemplative and stirring music
of his multi-faceted career with Patton describing the release as a
personal "sonic departure." The album, titled "Music From The
Film And Inspired By The Book The Solitude Of Prime Numbers (La Solitudine Dei
Numeri Primi)", has been set for a November 1 release via Ipecac
Recordings.
Where Patton's projects (FANTÔMAS, MONDO CANE, TOMAHAWK)
often thrive on abrupt transitions and multi-layered instrumentation, "The
Solitude Of Prime Numbers" collection boasts a cinematic feel that
allows instruments an individual voice, emphasizes isolated notes and subtly
transitions from piece to piece, acutely capturing the introspective and
reflective feel of the novel. The album's intricate packaging further conveys
this dramatic and minimalistic approach, with a multi-panel digipak featuring a
leaf cut out, embossed with a locking mechanism.
"The Solitude Of Prime Numbers" was released in 2008 and
quickly became a national sensation in Italy where it sold over one
million copies before it was translated into thirty languages worldwide. The
novel tells the story of two individuals, Mattia and Alice, whose
lives parallel each other in uncanny ways, like twin primes: both lonely but
close to each other, separated by an even number. In 2010, a movie based upon
the book, starring Isabella Rossellini and directed by Saverio
Costanzo ("Private", "In Memory Of Myself")
was released.
"Music From The Film And Inspired By The Book The Solitude Of Prime
Numbers (La Solitudine Dei Numeri Primi)" features a unique
arrangement with each track sequentially numbered with the first 16 prime
numbers:
02. Twin Primes
03. Identity Matrix
05. Method of Infinite Descent
07. Contrapositive
11. Cicatrix
13. Abscissa
17. Isolated Primes
19. Radius of Convergence
23. Separatrix
29. The Snow Angel
31. Apnoea
37. Supersingular Primes
41. Quadratix
43. Calculus of Finite Differences
47. Zeroth
53. Weight of Consequences
Sometimes you
just have to feel the music. Don't think about it, don't whine or worry about
what will be played, and certainly don't go to your seat with any preconceived
notions that the man singing in place of the band's longtime vocalist will not
be up to par with the original. You just have to stop and feel the music.
Fans of the band Great White are loyal and they have stayed with them through
good songs and bad songs, tragedy and heartaches, highs and lows. And the band
knows this more than anyone. "I really, really, really, really appreciate all
the support from the fans over the years," guitarist Mark Kendall stresses to
me a few days before their show in Biloxi.
"Our fans are the most unreal friends and fans ever and I'm just like
overwhelmed by joy to actually meet people that have been watching us for
twenty plus years. You never get to meet them because you can't go out and meet
twenty-thousand people so it's so neat now that we have the Facebook and
everything and to be in touch with fans who have the stories and we really
enjoy the stories, you know."
And meet with the fans they do. Not only did they take time out before their
concert to meet some extra-special fans, but they hung out after the show to
sign autographs and meet anyone and everyone who wanted to stop by their table.
One young fan in particular caught my attention. His name was David and he is
eleven years old. He was waiting along with his parents to meet his guitar hero
Mark Kendall and see if he would sign the beautiful black guitar that he had
brought with him. With eyes wide with excitement, not only did Kendall take the
time to sign this precious instrument, as did all his band-mates, but he took
the time to show that he cared about his young fan, who said he knew how to play
all the Great White songs. That, folks, is why this band keeps their fans,
thirty plus years down the pipe, when the hair is less and the spandex has long
been hanging on some Goodwill hanger.
For anyone familiar with the Great White saga, you will have known beforehand
that singer Jack Russell is not currently out on tour with them. He has
physical issues that have to be repaired and strengthened before he can endure
life on the road once again. Thinking that this might keep some fans from
attending shows, it was good to see that in fact, it did not. Great White is
more than Jack Russell alone. Although it is his bluesy emotion-driven vocals
that have always put the primal soul into the songs, it is also the excellent
blues guitar of Mark Kendall, the powerhouse drums of Audie Desbrow, the melody
of guitar, keyboards and harmonica that Michael Lardie adds, and the superpump
of bassist Scott Snyder. Never underestimate this band as a whole.
So who is
stepping into the spotlight to reinterpret the songs? Enter the spitfire of a
vocalist Terry Ilous. He has the vocal range that can split eardrums yet can
soften to whisper out a song like "Save Your Love". He has a
kid-in-a-candy-store excitedness on stage that immediately pulls you to the
front to sing along with him. "He has a style that is kind of more of a blues
kind of voice but a lot of power and can hit every note under the sun," Kendall explained to me about Ilous, who has fronted the
band XYZ for years. "He is really dynamic and has such a good energy about
himself. He is such a positive guy that our stage shows have just been
phenomenal. We've been so well received from everyone and they've really
accepted him filling in for Jack. Man, he is something else … Just a blessing."
Keeping tradition alive, Great White kicked off their set with "Desert Moon",
followed by "Lady Red Light", "On Your Knees" and "Face The Day". "Save Your
Love" was dedicated to former Warrant singer Jani Lane, who passed away a few weeks
ago and actually did some dates fronting Great White last year. It brought a
somewhat melancholy to this beautiful song, but as Ilous said sadly, "the show
must go on".
Kendall was definitely on fire, pulling out
such electric solos on "Big Goodbye", "On Your Knees" and "Rock Me". But he
outdid himself on "Can't Shake It", breathing holy batman blues licks on a
slinky grungy fat cat solo backed by the humping rhythm of Desbrow on drums and
Snyder on bass. It was a definite highlight of the night seeing this man just
excel on his instrument. Why he is not mentioned more often when talking about
great guitar players is baffling. He also turned on the kinetic juice to
playfully spar with Ilous on "Mista Bone". "Mr. Kendall, you trying to say
something?" asked the singer to his guitarist, who replied with some fun
kicking chords.
If you watched carefully, you noticed that smiles were on every musician's
face. They were having fun, enjoying this moment in time. "We always try to
keep it exciting for ourselves as well so we like to give the audience a lot of
surprises," said Kendall. "We like to involve
the crowd into our show so we have a lot of like crowd participation and stuff
like that … So it's usually a pretty high energy show".
Although "House Of Broken Love" was most definitely a Jack Russell song to sing
and Ilous did his best to add a bit of his own technique to it, you couldn't
help but miss the former man's presence. I asked Kendall
how Russell was doing and when he might be able to rejoin the band: "Jack, you
know, just had a lot of physical things. He's recovering from surgeries and he
just has a lot of damage to overcome but he is doing a lot better. He's been
working out with his trainer and getting a lot stronger. He just doesn't want
to come back like half way. He wants to be strong and mobile and singing his
best. So we're holding out hope that he comes back soon. Probably next year
we're hoping."
One song that Ilous did shine brighter on than the original was "All Or
Nothing" from the band's last studio album Rising. With Desbrow pounding out a
heavy beat, Ilous just owned it. He also took it home on "Can't Shake It" and
"Back To The Rhythm", both rocking numbers that made the body feel good.
I also want to
make mention of Michael Lardie. Playing guitar, keyboards and harmonica, and
being the band's de facto filmer of the crowd from the stage, he brought a
subtle cohesiveness to every song, especially the pretty melody on "Save Your
Love" that weaved through the song like a breath of fresh spring air and kept
it from becoming an over-the-top over-the-hill power ballad.
It really isn't that odd that Great White has stuck around for over thirty
years. Although they were cutting their teeth on the LA Strip when poufy hair
and lipstick were the normal everyday du jour, you could usually find these
guys in jeans and paying very close attention to the original Van Halen. "They
were the best band around so we kind of watched what they were doing, which
they were just playing more than everyone. They played like every night. So
that's what we tried to do. We just tried to play more than everybody and
promote ourselves. We figured nobody was at the high school at three in the
morning putting flyers in lockers so we did that," Kendall
remembered with a laugh. "Our whole thing was that we figured even if we're not
good enough to make it or whatever, maybe people will be brainwashed into
thinking they're supposed to like us (laughs) because they see our name around
so much."
Their longevity probably has more to do with being a straight shooting rock
& roll band; something that many bands on the Strip ignored while riding
the glam rock jet stream into an eventual dead end. "We were mostly just
playing from our influences, you know, more blues overtones and whatever, and
the music was always kind of the most important thing for us. The fashion was
what it was. We did have long hair but so did the guy walking to the 7-Eleven,
you know what I mean." Kendall, who is now sporting that sleek noggin look now
considered sexy, I asked him if he missed his hair: "Well, no not really", he
said with a big laugh. "It was really a pain in the butt, if you want to know
the truth. In about early 2000, I remember, I started cutting it shorter and I
was just like, not only does it look way better, it's so much cooler in the
summer. Then before you knew it I went way down all the way. I just shaved it
one summer and I went, Oh man, this is just totally it … It is the best thing I
ever did, I can tell you. It was such a pain and with the baseball hats and all
the hair and sweating, I was like, ugh."
So with such a kick ass show in Biloxi,
fans of Great White should be proud of their band for still rocking and not
completely falling back on past glories. The songs were still fresh and vibrant
and Ilous brought enough of his own personality to keep the live show
energetically entertaining.
Below, I would like to share with you some excerpts from my interview with Mark
Kendall. He was very open about his life in music and had some interesting
things to say about the early days of Great White, Jani Lane, his love for the guitar, and
how after thirty plus years, the band has yet to strangle each other on the
road.
How would you compare the Great White of 2011 with the Great White of the
early nineties when you were riding that wave of popularity? How do you think
the music has changed?
Well, as far as changing, I just think the way our thinking is is we're always
trying to get better and learn from past mistakes as far as our songwriting and
stuff. We're just always trying to improve and to continue writing music. We
try not to live off the past. I mean, we've had big songs and stuff like that
but we don't make that our focal point. Of course we play all those songs in
the show but we're also trying to improve. I think we probably play a little
better than we did way back then because for one thing, everybody's really
clear in their heads and nobody drinks to where back in the early days, like in
the late eighties or whatever, there was some partying and you don't always play
your very best live when you're kind of in party mode (laughs). So I think
we're a little bit more focused these days and I think our consistency as far
as how well we play is probably a little better than the past. But the past had
it's good moments too (laughs).
So tell us
about the past, being on the LA Strip and trying to make it with all those
other hundreds of bands trying to make it too.
You know, it's funny. We really promoted. I would be like going down the Sunset
Strip with my staple gun and my posters and putting up our poster of us playing
somewhere and look across the street and there's Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue
doing the same thing (laughs). That was the thing we did, we just all kept our
dreams alive and when Van Halen did get a record deal, I was happy. Some bands
might have got jealous or whatever but I was just like, are you serious? It CAN
happen and you CAN get a record deal and you CAN go on tour. So we just kept
plugging away and we figured if we played more than everyone, cause we know you
have to be very lucky to make it or get a record deal or whatever, we figured
if we put ourselves in maybe a better position to get lucky than a band that
just plays on Saturday night, if we're playing on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday and Friday, then our chances are a lot better at getting lucky or
having someone in the crowd that means something, like a record company guy or
whatever. And that's what happened. We were just playing at the Whiskey one
night, like a Wednesday night, no big deal, and some guy that was just in the
crowd that worked for a label came back and handed us his card and before you
know it we're in the studio making a record.
When did you fall in love with the guitar?
Actually at a really young age. It wasn't just only the guitar. There was
always music around. My dad was a trumpet player and my mom sang and we always
had music going in the house and all that. And my Grandpa was also kind of an
accomplished piano player and played like the vaudeville kind of show tunes and
all that. So music was just kind of bred into me and I just kind of picked up
on melodies really easy when I was probably like seven or eight years old, just
sitting by the hi-fi, just singing to songs and whatnot. And then there was
this group that played across the street in a garage and I used to watch them
through the side window. The bass player I remember playing with his teeth
(laughs) and I just went crazy and went running to my dad, "I got to get a
guitar, I need a guitar". And so he got me a guitar … but the guitar didn't
really consume me until I was a teenager and then I just never put it down.
Jani Lanepassed away recently. Would you mind saying a few words about him?
You know, my wife and I were close to his wife and him. We had something in
common with alcoholism. I battled alcohol before. I wouldn't want to call
myself his sponsor but I was more like a sober friend and I tried to encourage
him. He was actually out singing with us for a little bit, completely
professional, he wasn't drinking or anything, he looked amazing, he sang
wonderful. The fans hadn't seen him look so good and sing so good in twenty
years and he was just so great. I remember sitting in an airport one time and
he was sitting with his wife and I go, "Jani, man, you look so amazing right
now." I go, "What's wrong with this? I mean, you've got to feel great. The fans
say you haven't sang this great in so long and you're just looking so good".
And he goes, "I know it, I love it." So I really encouraged him and I sent him
daily prayers, every single day I sent him a prayer … What people don't realize
is Jani, for one thing, he's got a lot of talent. I mean, he is the most
talented guy. He played drums on his own records, that's how good he is. People
don't even know that. He wrote every Warrant song you've ever heard. But with
his alcoholism, his demons … He wanted to be sober more than anything. He
really, really loved his sobriety. It's just the demons he battled and I know
what it's like. I understand it because I'm an alcoholic myself. I've just
managed to overcome it a day at a time. I found something that works for me …
Jani just kept firing the bullet and it was just the fatal one that finally
happened. But he didn't want it to happen, believe me. So it's really a horrid
tragedy and when something like that happens, it just hurts so many people and
it's unfortunate. But I want everyone to know that he really wanted to be a
sober man.
I haven't
yet heard what exactly he died of but I guess when you're young you just don't
realize that you are destroying your body until years down the road when it
starts to give out on you.
Yeah, your body is just hating it. That's why you at some point have to grow up
and you just got to say, well, if I have a problem I've got to fix it somehow
and just figure it out because usually you're injuring a lot of people around
you when you're abusive. It's best if you find something that can fill that
void. Some people get it and some people don't and it's unfortunate. Some don't
have a bottom … Everything that surrounds that is just an ugly dark world. Such
a horrible place and I think one of the reasons that I'm sober today is because
I like the place I'm at now and I don't want to go back to that ugly place
anymore.
Since you guys have been together so long, how have you not just wrung each
other's necks out on the road?
I don't even know if I have an answer (laughs). Mainly, it's we've always kept
the music the most important thing so we never really sweated the small things
or made too big of a deal out of arguments or anything. There were more
arguments and problems when we had alcohol involved in the band. Nothing ever
like fist fight level or anything. I actually did take a break in 2000. They
wanted to go to Europe and I was just like, we
literally had not stopped for I don't know how many years and I needed a break
so bad (laughs). I needed to get away from it for like six months or something
and they didn't want to do that, so they got another guitar player to fill in
and went over and they played one show and everybody quit or something. It was
crazy. So obviously I guess I saw we needed a break before anyone else did
(laughs). I think our personalities are so different that they just kind of
meld together like a puzzle. Some people are a little more reserved than
others, some of them have a little bit more forward personality so the softer
personalities lean back a little more. It's not like we're all so strong headed
that everybody has their opinion and they won't take no for an answer … Another
reason we make things work is we never put too much emphasis on the behind the
scenes as far as the personalities clashing. We make the most important thing
the time on the stage. Whatever it takes to make the best music we can make,
let's do that and not worry and sweat the small stuff.
Watch for more with Mark Kendall in my upcoming new column MY ROOTS.
Craig Locicero — guitarist, songwriter and founding
member of the reactivated Bay Area thrash band FORBIDDEN — has issued
the following update:
"After getting kicked in the balls last month, we've managed to land on
our feet and keep running. We're already starting to think about the next
record now and will be choosing a drummer sometime in October. I would call
that progress!
"Ever since we started our quest for a new drummer, we've been walloped by
videos from some pretty amazing players as well as offers from more established
guys. It's been fun looking at the videos objectively and imagining what these
hopeful dudes could do with FORBIDDEN if given the chance.
"There will be a lot more videos posted on our YouTube channel and
we're still taking video submissions through the end of September.
"Some of the most impressive guys aren't all from the U.S.; some
drummers from abroad have to be taken seriously.
"We'll announce our decision as to who gets to come out and jam with us
soon. Stay tuned for that.
"We performed at Belgium's Alcatraz festival in late August with Gene
Hoglan on the drum kit. It was an incredible night. The fan reaction was a
huge lift to our spirits. That gig may have been one of our BEST shows since
we've gotten back together! Getting to play there after cancelling our European
tour was pretty special, and hanging out with our friends in DEATH ANGEL, HELSTAR, ANACRUSIS, and VICIOUS RUMORS was way too much
fun. Seeing them on the side of the stage while we were playing was good motivation!
"Thanks to everyone involved with the festival and all of the fans that
came from different parts of Europe to see us.
We still have a tour to make up!
"We've been invited to play the ProgPower festival in Atlanta this weekend.
This will be another show with Gene behind the kit. We're getting
spoiled!
"There are many cool things about playing this gig, but the coolest one is
that we'll be filming it for a live DVD, to be released sometime in the near
future.
"Our fans have been hounding us about when we're going to do something
like this; the time is now. Those of you fortunate enough to be there on
Saturday will be a part of our history! We will be playing a few songs we have
not brought out in years, too. Maybe even something off of 1995's 'Distortion'?
We shall see..."
Drummers interested in online auditions should send a Dropbox, Fileblaze,
or Mediablaze download link to: forbiddendrummer2011@gmail.com.
By sending in your submission, you are granting your consent to having your
video file uploaded onto the FORBIDDEN "Drummer 2011" YouTube
channel and other social media sites for comments.
Make sure to include your name and contact information in your e-mail.
Fan-filmed video footage of FORBIDDEN's performance at this year's
edition of the Bloodstock Open Air festival, which was held August
12-14, 2011 at Catton Hall in Derbyshire, United Kingdom, can be viewed below.
FORBIDDEN's latest album, "Omega Wave", was released in
Europe on October 22, 2010 and in North America on October 26, 2010 via Nuclear
Blast Records. The CD landed at position No. 27 on the Top New Artist
Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and
developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of
The Billboard 200.
Swedish power metallers DRAGONLAND will release their
new album — the third part of the "Dragonland Chronicles" trilogy —
on November 18 via AFM Records. Musical actor Fred Johanson will
play the role of the antagonist, with all three singers from AMARANTHE — Elize Ryd, Jake E and Andy Solveström — also set to make
appearances.
The visual artist from million-selling PC game "The Witcher", Damian
Bajowski, will provide artwork for the album; not only will he be
responsible for the cover, but will also make illustrations for the various
locations in the saga.
Commented guitarist Olof Mörck: "To say I am excited about this
album is a grave understatement!
"We were more than thrilled when both Damian Bajwoski and Fred
Johanson accepted to contribute to this album. To have the album fully
illustrated with majestic scenes and vistas from the story, and to have such a
powerful and convincing voice in the role of the antagonist will lend a lot of
credibility and depth to the final project! Our singer friends from AMARANTHE also appear in minor roles, further developing the universe the story is set
in.
"We really feel that our ambition to give our fantasy story a touch of
depth, credibility and maturity paid off well! Lending influences from
classical mythology, the best fantasy movies, video games and books, we feel
that fans of the style who normally finds fantasy power metal to be too over
the top and ridiculous could wholeheartedly enjoy this. We also have some
further surprises for you before the actual album release, to keep your eyes
open and your senses wary!"
DRAGONLAND recently parted ways with guitarist Nicklas Magnusson and bassist Christer Pedersen. Taking over bass duties is Anders
Hammer (NIGHTRAGE) and sitting behind the drums is Morten Lowe
Sorensen (THE ARCANE ORDER, SUBMISSION, AMARANTHE).
Previous drummer Jesse Lindskog will handle second-guitar duties in the
future.
DRAGONLAND 2011 is:
Vocals: Jonas Hedigert
Guitars: Olof Mörck
Keyboards: Elias Holmlid
Guitars: Jesse Lindskog
Bass: Anders Hammer
Drums: Morten Lowe Sorensen
DRAGONLAND's fifth album was recorded at several different studios, with Jacob Hansen adding his magic touch to the mix at Hansen studios
in Ribe, Denmark. Twelve songs were recorded during the sessions, and the music
itself is based on a deep and emotional story, picking up where the band's
second album, "Holy War", left off nine years ago. The effort
also includes a guest appearance by the legendary musical stage actor Fred
Johanson.
Songtitles set to appear on the new album include "The Tempest", "A Stranger I Know", "The Shadow Of The Mithril Mountains" and "A
Thousand Towers White".
DRAGONLAND's fourth album, "Astronomy", was released in
November 2006 via Century Media Records.
Denmark-based symphonic metal band EVIL MASQUERADE has completed work on its fifth album, "Pentagram", for a late
2011/early 2012 release via an as-yet-undetermined record label. The CD was
once again produced by guitarist Henrik Flyman and mixed by Tommy
Hansen (JORN, HELLOWEEN) at Jailhouse Studios in Denmark.
The track listing for the CD is as follows:
01. Pentagram
02. A Silhouette
03. Perfect Disgrace
04. The Spirits of the Dead
05. Moonlight Fantasy
06. Unholy Water
07. Pray For Mercy On Our Souls
08. Soul Taker
09. On a Bed of Thorns
10. Strangers Might Fool Ya
11. When the Fire Dies
12. The Golden Ratio
The music on "Pentagram" is described as heavily influenced by
such bands as DIO, BLACK SABBATH and RAINBOW.
EVIL MASQUERADE is:
Henrik Flyman - Guitar
Apollo Papathanasio (FIREWIND, SPIRITUAL BEGGARS) - Vocals
Dennis Buhl - Drums
Thor Jeppesen - Bass
EVIL MASQUERADE's fourth album, "Fade To Black", was
released in January 2009 via Escape Music. The follow-up to 2006's "Third
Act" was mixed and mastered by Tommy Hansen and featured a
guest appearance by former RAINBOW keyboardist Tony Carey.
SLIPKNOT's Sid Wilson has just released his
debut solo album, "Sid", via
iTunes and other Internet retailers. The CD features Wilson on lead vocals and sees him
departing from his usual role as a DJ in both SLIPKNOT and as DJ
Starscream.
"Sid" was written, produced, engineered and recorded by Wilson himself and was mixed by Ross Robinson (SLIPKNOT, KORN, LIMP BIZKIT) and Tobias
Lindell (EUROPE, MUSTACH). The mastering duties were handled
by Chris Gehringer (CEE-LO GREEN, DRAKE, RIHANNA).
In a recent interview with Billboard.com, Wilson described the disc as "an
eclectic mix of all the different styles of music I grew up listening to.
There's a strong B-Boy influence in my music, 'cause I'm a DJ. I used to listen
to a lot of SKINNY PUPPY and more mainstream things that came out of
industrial, like NINE INCH NAILS. I was always influenced by the BEASTIE
BOYS a lot and RUN-DMC and the way they mixed their rock influences
in their hip-hop stuff."
The 13-track album begins with an intro entitled "Paul" which
contains audio of SLIPKNOT bassist Paul Gray talking about Sid,
recorded prior to Paul's untimely passing in 2010. Other songs on the CD
include the first single "Nervous Central" and "Flat
Lace", which Wilson wrote for Gray five years before the bassist's death.
"It's just about the different struggles in his life," Wilson told Billboard.com, "and it was just my way of letting him know
that I was always there for him and that I was aware of the things he had to
deal with. It's definitely difficult (to sing). It's hard for me to even talk
about it."
"Sid" track listing:
01. Paul
02. Flat Lace
03. Bad History
04. Hearts That Race
05. Go the Distance
06. Live & Strong
07. I Can't Save Ya
08. All I Want
09. Petrified
10. Leave it All
11. Segue to Orion
12. Nervous Central
13. Punk Rock Noise
Several tracks, including "Nervous Central", can be previewed
by visiting www.sidthe3rd.com and clicking on the "Music" icon.
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/soulflypremiere/sidalbumcover.jpg
Finnish folk metallers KORPIKLAANI have parted ways
with longtime violinist Jaakko "Hittavainen" Lemmetty and have
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.
On September 24, Mumbai will play host to India's first-ever SLAYER tribute concert. This gig is a tribute organized by Mumbai death thrash metal
band DEVOID. Members of DEMONIC RESURRECTION, BHAYANAK MAUT, ZYGNEMA, ATMOSFEAR and others will also join them on stage. The
event will also host a screening session of SLAYER videos prior to the
gig.
Several international artists have come and gone over the years to India, but one
band that Indian audiences have been yearning to watch is SLAYER. Your
everyday Indian metalhead may not have even seen the band once in his/her
lifetime but that does not hold back the massive following the band has in this
country. For such a scene, hearing the band's music live is the closest they
can get to the SLAYER experience.
Remember that statement made in the Sam Dunn documentary "Metal:
A Headbanger's Journey" — no one can ever say "There was that one
summer when I was into SLAYER, but it was a phase?" That is what is
all about — the scale of the epicness that is called SLAYER.
"We always loved listening to SLAYER," said DEVOID vocalist Arun
Iyer. "We always loved playing SLAYER. On this occasion we will
be combining the both for one night that we guarantee will not be soon
forgotten. The slayer carnage will be doubled as we will be joined by other
artists from various bands for a gig that will send you screaming from the sky.
This September 24th things are going to get really, really intense."
Venue: B69, Andheri
Date: September 24
Time: 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Entry: Rs 200/-
Polish extreme metallers HATE have inked a worldwide
deal with Napalm Records.
Commented the band's frontman ATF Sinner: "We are really proud to
have found a new partner with Napalm Records for our future endeavors!
"Even though we have been touring intensively in support of our latest
album, 'Erebos', we have already started writing new material for a 2012
release. It sounds very promising to my ear, and with this new record deal, I
am quite sure it will definitely signify a progress in our career. At the same
time, I'd like to show my appreciation for our past record label, Listenable
Records, for their dedication and help that we experienced thru years of
collaboration. I wish you all the best!"
HATE will embark on a European headlining tour on September 16 with
support from VESANIA, NEGURA BUNGET, INFERI and LIVARKAHIL.
HATE recently finished filming a video for the song "Erebos" with the Warsaw-based Agency Moderna and visual art group Suka Off,
who are well known for their performances and film art activities. The entire
clip, which will make its online debut later this month, was shot at club M25
in Warsaw,
famous for its post-industrial atmosphere.
Commented ATF Sinner: "We've managed to gather a great group of
people consisting of Moderna Agency and Suka Off to work on this
video. It's a dark, apocalyptic vision of humanity showing its downfall, moral
and biological degradation. In the script we used lots of metaphors and
symbolism; some of it is based on classical Ancient Greek tragedies. We tried
to capture the destructive mechanisms of human nature and show the basic
instincts in man getting out of control. The main figure in the clip is Erebos
— embodiment of Darkness dominating the human psyche and actions. Our goal was
to make a video on a high artistic level, avoiding clichés and all those
accessories usually associated with metal clips."
"Erebos" is the title track of HATE's latest album,
which came out last year via Listenable Records. The CD was recorded at Hertz
Studio in Bialystok, Poland with producers Slawek and Wojtek Wieslawski (DECAPITATED, VADER).
"Erebos", which comes from ancient Greek and means literally
"deep darkness" or shadow, contains ten new songs, which are said to
be a fusion of blackened death metal, industrial and ambient sounds, deathcore
and heavy metal.
The past few years have seen Norway's TAAKE busier than
ever before with numerous tours around the world and increased productivity.
With its fifth studio offering, "Noregs Vaapen", TAAKE has refined its respected black metal sound, expanding this time around to
include new elements. The album is filled with Hoest's trademark riffs,
melodies and vocals, but also embraces the unpredictable — more black 'n' roll
grooves, ice-cold mellotrons and Southern-inspired banjo. It is, without a
doubt, TAAKE's most diverse and unique recording to date.
Due on November 1 via Candlelight Records, "Noregs Vaapen" was produced by Bjørnar E. Nilsen (DEAD TO THIS WORLD, THE
BATALLION, HELHEIM, VULTURE INDUSTRIES) and features guest
appearances by Nocturno Culto (DARKTHRONE), Attila Csihar (MAYHEM) and Demonaz (IMMORTAL).
"Noregs Vaapen" track listing:
01. Fra Vadested Til Vaandesmed
02. Orkan
03. Nordbundet
04. Du Ville Ville Vestland
05. Myr
06. Helvetesmakt
07. Dei Vil Alltid Klaga Og Kyta
Formed in 1993, TAAKE has built a loyal fanbase and an even more curious
press profile. The controversial episodes of band leader Hoest have
resulted in several incarcerations.
The band's previous album, simply titled "Taake", was released
in the U.S.
via Century Media.
FIASCO GENERAL — the Finnish band featuring Sami
Kukkohovi (ex-SENTENCED bassist, current KYPCK guitarist) on
guitar — has parted ways with vocalist Risto Stenroos and is currently
seeking a replacement.
FIASCO GENERAL in 2009 announced the addition of second guitarist Janne
"Jakke" Dahlgren (AUDACITY, POISONBLACK) to the
group's ranks.
Currently unsigned, FIASCO GENERAL's lineup consists of the following
musicians:
[to be announced] - Vocals
Sami Kukkohovi - Guitar
Janne "Jakke" Dahlgren - Guitar
Harri Halonen - Bass
Anssi Vetämäjärvi - Drums
Tim Aymar (PHARAOH, CONTROL DENIED, PSYCHO
SCREAM, TRIPLE-X, VICIOUS CYCLE) and Shannon Hamm (METALSTORM, DEATH, CONTROL DENIED, BEYOND UNKNOWN) will pay tribute to
late DEATH/CONTROL DENIED mastermind Chuck Schuldiner with
a special performance on December 18 at Latino Rock Café in San Jose, Costa
Rica. They will be joined at the event by musicians from the local progressive
metal band BLACK GALLERY. Support at the gig will come from ADVENT OF
BEDLAM and PSEUDOSTRATIFIED EPITHELIUM.
The setlist will include songs from CONTROL DENIED's "The
Fragile Art Of Existence" and DEATH's "The Sound Of
Perseverance" albums, along with "many other classics" by DEATH.
BLACK GALLERY features former members of the Costa Rican group GRECCO which performed the entire "The Fragile Art Of Existence" album with Aymar during a March 5, 2011 concert in San Pedro, Costa Rica.
As previously reported, the family of Chuck Schuldiner is moving ahead
with plans to complete and eventually release the long-awaited second CONTROL
DENIED album.
Chuck — who died in December 2001 after a battle with pontine glioma, a
rare type of brain tumor — began work on the CD, tentatively titled "When
Machine And Man Collide", but never managed to finish the effort
before his health quickly deteriorated in the months leading up to his tragic
death. The remaining members of the group — bassist Steve DiGiorgio,
vocalist Tim Aymar, guitarist Shannon Hamm, and drummer Richard
Christy — subsequently announced their desire to complete the album and
release it in Chuck's memory, but legal hassles between Schuldiner's
family and Hammerheart Records (to whom Chuck was signed at the
time of his death) put the entire project on hold. (Karmageddon Media —
formerly Hammerheart Records — has since issued various incomplete demo
recordings as two separate low-quality albums, "Zero Tolerance" and "Zero Tolerance II".)
Chuck's mother, Jane Schuldiner, previously stated about the
unfinished recordings: "[Chuck's] last masterpiece deserves more
than to be released as unfinished bits of rehearsal room recordings on CD, or
to be grabbed for free on the Internet. It deserves to be finished by the rest
of the band and to be released on a full-length album, titled: 'When Machine
And Man Collide'."
Swedish black metallers MARDUK and their record
label, Blooddawn Productions, have ended their cooperation with Regain
Records. According to the band, a "new working partner will be
presented within the nearest future."
MARDUK completed the "7 Bowls Of Wrath" North American
tour in early June.
The band's latest EP, "Iron Dawn", was made available at the Maryland
Deathfest on May 27 (May 30 in the rest of the world via Regain Records)
and at the six North American shows that followed.
According to a press release, the songs included on "Iron Dawn" differ from the concept that is being created for the next full-length album.
Therefore this EP was made available as a special treat for all MARDUK legionaries out there.
"Wormwood", the eleventh album from MARDUK, sold around
650 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD
landed at position No. 99 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.
Italian black/thrash metal veterans NECRODEATH will
release their brand new album, "Idiosyncrasy", in October via Scarlet
Records. This new effort is arguably the band's most challenging so far,
both musically and lyrically, consisting in one single, 40-minute-long track
which sums NECRODEATH's musical approach without necessarily trying to
sound "progressive." Drummer Peso has once again written the
majority of the music, this time with a big help from guitarist Pier Gonella,
whose importance within the band's dynamics is constantly increasing. Singer Flegias and Peso are co-authors of the lyrical concept, inspired by the eternal
conflict between good and evil and the struggle towards reaching the interior
peace against all odds.
"Idiosyncrasy" was recorded at Outer Sound Studios in Rome, Italy
and Music Art Studios in Rapallo, Italy and mixed
by Giuseppe Orlando (NOVEMBRE). The artwork, inspired by Quentin
Tarantino's classic movie "Reservoir Dogs", was created by Nerve Design (NILE, THRESHOLD, VISION DIVINE, BULLDOZER). Leif Jensen (DEW-SCENTED)
is credited as a very special guest on vocals.
Notorious and resurrected U.S. black metal enigma LEVIATHAN (masterminded by multi-instrumentalist Wrest) has completed work on what
has already been deemed one of the most controversial releases of the year, "True
Traitor True Whore", for a November 8 release through Profound Lore
Records. The follow-up to 2008's "Massive Conspiracy Against All
Life" is described in a press release as "different and more
unique than anything Wrest has created under the guise of LEVIATHAN.
[It] is the most introverted, claustrophobic, disturbing, maniacal,
progged-out, and eerily beautiful LEVIATHAN album to date. This work of
black metal psychosis was realized within the confines of Engine Studios in Chicago with
producer/engineer Sanford Parker at the helm, which incidentally marks
the first LEVIATHAN album to be recorded in an actual proper studio
environment."
"True Traitor True Whore" track listing:
01. True Whorror
02. Her Circle Is The Noose
03. Brought Up To The Bottom
04. Contrary Pulse
05. Shed This Skin
06. Every Orifice Yawning Her Price
07. Harlot Rises
08. Blood Red And True
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