While Judas Priest is
in the midst of a worldwide farewell tour -- of sorts -- frontman Rob Halford
promises the group is not exactly going away. In fact, he says, the iconic
heavy metal troupe is well on its way towards making its next album.
Halford tells Billboard.com that he and guitarist Glenn Tipton "began
writing new music early on this year, before we went out on the road. We have
about 12 or 14 tracks completely mapped out, four of which have been recorded
and mixed and are ready to go... so the good news is that there will be a brand
new Priest record next year."
Judas
Priest Announces Farewell Tour Dates
Halford
adds that the group is leaving some room for new guitarist Richie Faulkner, who
replaced the retired K.K. Downing for the current Epitaph World Tour, "to
join in and make contributions as well." But he's confident that won't
change the overall tenor of the album. "I think it's fair to say that this
is going to be just another great, traditional British heavy metal album from
Priest with what you love about the band -- the riffs, the screaming vocals,
all of the tradition and heritage that we try to keep somehow in our music as
we've moved along," Halford promises.
This, of course, means that the Epitaph World Tour is hardly the last we'll see
of Judas Priest, and Halford acknowledges that the group is "taking every opportunity
to let our fans know this is not the end of Judas Priest. We're just cutting
back on these big, long treks around the world that we love to do. But yet
we're facing mortality; as a metal singer I'm still able to do the vast
majority of things that have laid out before me...but I'd be the first to admit
that I'm finding it more challenging now, and I don't want to get into that
syndrome where you end up a little bit punch-drunk and you're not giving the
performance that you want to give. I'm delighted that we're taking this
approach because the inevitable payoff is that it gives the band more life.
We're able to continue doing selective shows in the future and, as importantly,
keep recording and making new metal records."
Halford adds that one of those future live projects might be a live show based
on Priest's 2008 concept album "Nostradamus." "That is a very
important record for us," he says. "We had a big-picture aspect of
what we wanted to do with 'Nostradamus' in mind -- of course, to play it in its
entirety, which is completely feasible -- and because we are cutting back on
these intense tours we can focus more on that."
Halford adds that Downing's departure, announced April 20, was "a complete
surprise," but he likens it to his own time away from the band between
1992-2003. "Priest has always been there," Halford notes.
"Priest has never been away. The attitude is that the band is bigger than
you. The music and the heritage and the tradition of the band is bigger than
one member of the group. That's really important to think about, you
know?" He describes Faulkner, who was in Lauren Harris' band prior to
being tapped for Priest, as "a phenomenal talent" and "a
tremendous boost and a relief as well. There are a lot of different feelings we
went through, But Richie is out there night after night, tearing up the stage
and delivering the goods, as we like to say."
After a European swing this summer, Priest's Epitaph World Tour continues in
Latin America starting Sept. 10 in Sao
Paulo, Brazil.
The North American leg begins Oct. 12 in San Antonio,
and wraps on Dec. 3 in Biloxi,
Miss.
According to MusicWeek, METALLICA and Lou Reed will be
among the guests at BBC's television show "Later... With Jools
Holland" when it returns for its 39th series.
The former VELVET UNDERGROUND singer and the heavy metal titans will
perform together on "Later..." to promote their new
collaborative album "Lulu", set for release by Warner Bros.
Records on November 1. The CD was co-produced by Reed, METALLICA, Hal Willner — who has produced albums for Reed, Marianne
Faithfull, and Laurie Anderson, among others — and Greg Fidelman. Fidelman also mixed the record.
"Later…" began in October 1992 and is series produced by Alison
Howe, executive-produced by Mark Cooper and directed by Janet
Fraser Crook. It is now the longest-running music show in British TV
history aside from "Top Of The Pops".
The idea for these two giants of modern music to work together was born after
the 25th anniversary Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame concerts in New York City in October
2009. METALLICA — singer/guitarist James Hetfield, drummer Lars
Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo —
played with Reed on VELVET UNDERGROUND classics "Sweet
Jane" and "White Light/White Heat". "We knew
from then that we were made for each other," Reed says.
After that triumphant performance, Reed suggested they all make a record
together. At first they planned to record an album of Reedfraven's older
material, what Ulrich describes as "some of Lou's lost
jewels — songs that he felt he'd like to give a second spin, and we could do
whatever it is we do to some of those songs." That idea "hung in the
air for a couple of months." Then, a week or two before that session was
to begin, "Lou called up and said, 'Listen, I have this other
idea.'"
That idea was to record a series of songs Reed had written for American
avant-garde theater director Robert Wilson and German theater group the Berliner
Ensemble's production of the "Lulu Plays", which premiered
in April at the Theatre am Schiffbauerdamm in Berlin, founded by Bertolt Brecht.
The songs are inspired by German expressionist Frank Wedekind's early
20th century plays "Earth Spirit" and "Pandora's
Box", and were a rewrite of Edgar Allan Poe's "The
Raven", which emerged as a graphic novel on Fantagraphics Press.
"We were very interested in working with Lou," says Hetfield.
"I had these giant question marks: What's it going to be like? What's
going to happen? So it was great when he sent us the lyrics for the 'Lulu' body of work. It was something we could sink our teeth into. I could take off
my singer and lyricist hat and concentrate on the music part. These were very
potent lyrics, with a soundscape behind them for atmosphere. Lars and I
sat there with an acoustic and let this blank canvas take us where it needed to
go. It was a great gift, to be asked to stamp 'TALLICA on it. And that's
what we did."
"We had to bring 'Lulu' to life in a sophisticated way, using
rock," Reed says. "And the hardest power rock you could come
up with would have to be METALLICA. They live on that planet. We played
together, and I knew it: dream come true. This is the best thing I ever did.
And I did it with the best group I could possibly find. By definition,
everybody involved was honest. This has come into the world pure. We pushed as
far as we possibly could within the realms of reality."
"It's definitely not a METALLICA album, or a Lou Reed album," adds Hammett. "It's something else. It's a new animal,
a hybrid."
Songtitles set to appear on the CD:
* Junior Dad
* Little Dog
* Mistress Dread
* Pumping Blood
The
cover artwork for METALLICA's upcoming collaborative album with Lou
Reed, titled "Lulu", can be seen below. Due via Warner
Bros. Records on November 1. The CD was co-produced by Reed, METALLICA, Hal Willner — who has produced albums for Reed, Marianne
Faithfull, and Laurie Anderson, among others — and Greg Fidelman. Fidelman also mixed the record.
The idea for these two giants of modern music to work together was born after
the 25th anniversary Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame concerts in New York City in October
2009. METALLICA — singer/guitarist James Hetfield, drummer Lars
Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo —
played with Reed on VELVET UNDERGROUND classics "Sweet
Jane" and "White Light/White Heat". "We knew
from then that we were made for each other," Reed says.
After that triumphant performance, Reed suggested they all make a record
together. At first they planned to record an album of Reedfraven's older
material, what Ulrich describes as "some of Lou's lost
jewels — songs that he felt he'd like to give a second spin, and we could do
whatever it is we do to some of those songs." That idea "hung in the
air for a couple of months." Then, a week or two before that session was
to begin, "Lou called up and said, 'Listen, I have this other
idea.'"
That idea was to record a series of songs Reed had written for American
avant-garde theater director Robert Wilson and German theater group the Berliner
Ensemble's production of the "Lulu Plays", which premiered
in April at the Theatre am Schiffbauerdamm in Berlin, founded by Bertolt Brecht.
The songs are inspired by German expressionist Frank Wedekind's early
20th century plays "Earth Spirit" and "Pandora's
Box", and were a rewrite of Edgar Allan Poe's "The
Raven", which emerged as a graphic novel on Fantagraphics Press.
"We were very interested in working with Lou," says Hetfield.
"I had these giant question marks: What's it going to be like? What's
going to happen? So it was great when he sent us the lyrics for the 'Lulu' body of work. It was something we could sink our teeth into. I could take off
my singer and lyricist hat and concentrate on the music part. These were very
potent lyrics, with a soundscape behind them for atmosphere. Lars and I
sat there with an acoustic and let this blank canvas take us where it needed to
go. It was a great gift, to be asked to stamp 'TALLICA on it. And that's
what we did."
"We had to bring 'Lulu' to life in a sophisticated way, using
rock," Reed says. "And the hardest power rock you could come
up with would have to be METALLICA. They live on that planet. We played
together, and I knew it: dream come true. This is the best thing I ever did.
And I did it with the best group I could possibly find. By definition,
everybody involved was honest. This has come into the world pure. We pushed as
far as we possibly could within the realms of reality."
"It's definitely not a METALLICA album, or a Lou Reed album," adds Hammett. "It's something else. It's a new animal,
a hybrid."
Songtitles set to appear on the CD:
* Frustration
* Junior Dad
* Little Dog
* Mistress Dread
* Pumping Blood
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/soulflypremiere/lulucover.jpg
This year's edition of the Rock In Rio festival —
which will take place September 23 - October 2 in "The City Of Rock"
in Olympic Park, Barra da Tijuca/Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — will be streamed live
via YouTube for fans outside of Brazil.
For more information, visit the Rock In Rio YouTube channel.
Among the acts scheduled to perform at this year's Rock In Rio are EVANESCENCE, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, GUNS N' ROSES, ANGRA, COHEED AND
CAMBRIA, METALLICA, MOTÖRHEAD, SEPULTURA and SLIPKNOT.
The Rock In Rio festivals are massive events, drawing millions of people
and a diverse roster of local and international artists.
Tickets are on sale now at the Rock in Rio official web site, www.rockinrio.com.br.
WINDSOR,
Ont. — The sinister tone of a song request on a Windsor-based Internet radio
show raised alarm signals for the show's hosts, and police in Wisconsin are crediting the duo's quick
thinking for stopping someone threatening a potential shooting spree.
Trevor
Fenton and Pat Ryan, hosts of The MeltDown Show on HardRockRadioLive, were
taking song requests on Tuesday afternoon when a listener logged into the
station's chat room as,
"Watch_The_National_new_tomorrow_I_am_going_to_go_a_shooting_spree_in_Appleton_WI."
The
listener asked the hosts to play "Killing is my business . . . and
business is good," by the American heavy metal band Megadeth, writing that
it would be, "good music to go postal & kill a bunce of people
to."
"We
had to take that threat seriously, we couldn't ignore him. That was something
we just couldn't ignore and not report," said Ryan. "It could have
been a prank. But if he was serious and something happened, I wouldn't have
been able to live with myself."
Fenton
contacted the Appleton Police Department and allowed an officer to access the
website, while Ryan played the song to keep the listener online.
Local
police and the FBI conducted an investigation and arrested David J. Lefever,
44, of Appleton, Wisconsin.
Detectives
working with FBI agents were able to identify the man by tracking an IP address
— a number that all Internet devices use to communicate with each other — to a
computer at a public library.
Online
court records indicate that Lefever was convicted in 2000 of two misdemeanour
offences related to unlawful use of computerized technology. In 2005, he was
cited for unlawful use of a telephone.
He
is being held in jail for possible charges of unlawful use of computerized
communication and disorderly conduct. An investigation is continuing.
Lefever
had never contacted Ryan or Fenton in the past, although Ryan says it's
possible he may have used the message boards under a different username.
"Neither
of us could sleep last night. I just kept thinking, 'What if it happens?' Let
me tell you, it was a huge relief that he was arrested this quickly," said
Ryan. "People, especially online, need to take these kind of threats
seriously when they see them and contact the authorities."
Read more: http://www.canada.com/news/Internet+blow+whistle+threatening+rampage/5336445/story.html#ixzz1WlG0Z2sO
Joe Bosso of Music Radar recently conducted an interview with
keyboardist Jordan Rudess of progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER.
An excerpt from the chat follows below.
Music Radar: Let's talk about [the new DREAM THEATER album] "A
Dramatic Turn Of Events". Without belaboring the exit of [former
drummer] Mike Portnoy, we're curious about some comments you made
recently where you said you felt free to expand the role of the keyboards.
Rudess: Yeah, I would say that's true. I feel that this change allowed
us to rethink everybody's role in the band — who are we, where we're at, what
kind of music do we want to make? We asked a lot of questions of ourselves. One
of the things that came up was maximizing everybody's input, and yeah, the role
of the keyboards was raised. How have we not been maximizing keyboards to their
best advantage? Who am I, what can I do, and how can we change things and make
them right? It was almost a spiritual thing, if you will. What kind of energy do
we want to put out to the world? How can we rebuild this band? What are the
kinds of things we need to do? All of those questions were important, and I
think our answers are reflected in the album we made. It didn't all come down
to me, though — it was everybody. With James [LaBrie, vocals], it
was about his melodies, his range and how he would feel most comfortable; and
as composers, how can we make sure that things really flow for him? With John
Myung [bass], who was feeling very re-energized, how can we use his
enormous talents as a bassist? So yeah, it was all around. Coming back to me,
we really took the time during the writing process to consider what I should be
doing. Which was great, because I was able to pick up the pencil and paper and
write stuff out. John Petrucci [guitar] would come up with a heavy
guitar riff, and instead of me just doubling it, the dialogue was more like,
"What can we do with that?" So it was exciting. I found new ways to
use the keyboards and bring the musicality in the band to a new level.
Music Radar: It sounds as though you feel the rebooting of DREAM
THEATER has been extremely positive.
Rudess: Well, you know, any change is good. But let's address the
situation with Mike Portnoy, and I should say right off that I'm a supporter
of his. He an exceptionally talented man, and he did so much for this band, and
he did so much for me, and we had such a great time making music together. I
would never want to take away anything from my years with him, musically. Sure,
everything has a balance, and yeah, there were some negatives — of course,
there were. But mostly, when I think back to making music with Mike Portnoy,
I'm very grateful. Moving forward, he decided to move on, and I can respect
that. Unfortunately, it got a little turbulent and created some friction with
the relationships, but hopefully everything will smooth over in time. The
positive thing for me and this band, however, has been the re-evaluating and
restructuring of who we are and what we do. Thankfully, within DREAM THEATER,
there's a whole lot of talent to work with. We're in a really good place. We
found an incredible drummer in Mike Mangini, who's talented, skilled and
funny. So life is good for us. We have a lot of exciting times ahead.
According to Newzjunky.com, GODSMACK's August 20 concert in upstate New York — which was held at the
CanAm Speedway in LaFargeville after promoters decided to move the concert from
its proposed location at Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds in Watertown — "went
smoothly," despite a lower-than-expected attendance of just over 4,000.
AMP Entertainment owner Sebby R. Abbate told reporters at a July
28 press conference the concert was being moved due to "logistical,
security and crowd control" issues.
"It wasn't a bad venue to hold a show at," Abbate said.
"Attendance-wise, we were a few hundred people short of our anticipated
number that we were trying to reach of 3,600 people." About 400 attended
the concert with complementary tickets, according to the promoter.
"The concert went smoothly and no sheriffs or state troopers were called
in," he added.
Abbate and Watertown
city officials were at odds over the use of a baseball park at Alex Duffy
Fairgrounds. City leaders were concerned about providing safety, security,
adequate bathroom facilities and potential damage to the ballpark. As a result,
the city was holding up a permit for the concert.
BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, the English-American rock
supergroup featuring the talents of bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes (DEEP
PURPLE, TRAPEZE, BLACK SABBATH), blues rock
guitarist/vocalist Joe Bonamassa, drummer Jason Bonham (LED
ZEPPELIN), and keyboardist Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER),
will release its first concert DVD, "Live Over Europe", on
October 24, 2011 (Blu-ray to follow November 15) on the J&R Adventures imprint. The two-DVD live set was filmed with 14 HD cameras and 5.1 Surround
Sound during the band's debut tour in the summer of 2011. Over three nights,
playing to packed venues in the German cities of Hamburg, Munich and Berlin,
the 18-song set list (17 originals and one cover) hits on both of BLACK
COUNTRY COMMUNION's albums — 2010's debut and 2011's sophomore release "2",
which The Sunday Mercury praised, "This is classic rock goes large,
an album that lives up to its heritage. It may not be bettered this year." "Live Over Europe" highlights include the songs "Black
Country", "One Last Soul", "Save Me", "Man In The Middle", "Cold" and "Song
of Yesterday", which fans can sign up to receive as a free audio track
download, available September 8. Bonus features include an exclusive 28-page
collector's booklet and DVD with a 20-minute "behind-the-scenes"
featurette and photo collection.
Producer Kevin Shirley explains, "We saw that this live act could
be an awesome force of nature to behold; one that promised legendary
performances like those of our heroes of classic rock. The plan was to get them
out there for the entire world to hear. Records allow a certain musical
finesse, but live performance promises so much in the very transient nature of
a gig; chances are taken, boundaries are crossed and the most exciting
performances explode. Two studio albums built a repertoire big enough for a
full concert which allowed us to unleash the monster for all the world to see
and feel."
BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION recently completed its debut tour, visiting a
select number of cities in North America and Europe.
On June 10, the band played to a near-sold-out crowd in Anaheim, California,
prompting The Orange County Register to write, "The four members of BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION truly recast the heavy rock of the '60s and '70s
and yank it into the 21st century as well as anyone in recent memory." At
the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, The Birmingham Mail called the band's
performance "rip-roaring" and "breath-taking."
As part of J&R Adventures' strategy to use social media as an
integral part of the initial marketing launch of "Live Over Europe", they created the Facebook BLACK
COUNTRY COMMUNION event page. Facebook members can join the page here to receive
an exclusive glimpse of the new DVD and a chance to download the live free track "Song Of Yesterday".
"Live Over Europe" track
listing:
01. Revolution of the Machine
02. Black Country
03. One Last Soul
04. Crossfire
05. Save Me
06. The Battle For Hadrian's Wall
07. Beggarman
08. Faithless
09. Song of Yesterday
10. I Can See Your Spirit
11. Cold
12. The Ballad of John Henry
13. The Outsider
14. The Great Divide
15. Sista Jane
16. Man In The Middle
17. Burn
18. Smokestack Woman
Bonus Features
* Forging BCC - The Making of "Live Over Europe"
* Photo Collection - Live On Tour
* Photo Collection - Behind The Scenes
BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION initially came to fruition when producer Kevin
Shirley saw Hughes and Bonamassa join forces on stage in Los
Angeles in November 2009 for an explosive performance at Guitar Center's King of the Blues event. Shirley then recruited Bonham and Sherinian for the project, which is named after the industrial area in
the British Midlands where both Hughes and Bonham were born and
raised.
BLIND GUARDIAN, KREATOR, HYPOCRISY and ENSIFERUM have been confirmed for next year's installment of the Metalfest festival.
Metalfest 2011 was a huge success, having taken place over two weekends
in five countries. Bands such as SABATON, CRADLE OF FILTH, AMON
AMARTH, ARCH ENEMY and AMORPHIS rocked the Metalfest stages this year, with almost 100,000 fans in attendance.
Metalfest 2012 will be expanding to nine events in eight countries. In
addition to the five locations from this year, there will be Metalfests in Italy, Poland and Croatia,
with a second Metalfest in Germany set to take place in
Loreley.
Metalfest 2012 dates:
May 31 - June 2, 2012 - Mining, Metalfest Austria
May 31 - June 2, 2012 - Dessau, Metalfest Germany/East
June 1 - June 3, 2012 - Jaworzno, Metalfest Poland
June 3 - June 5, 2012 - Zadar, Metalfest Croatia
June 5 - June 7, 2012 - Milan, Metalfest Italy
June 7 - June 9, 2012 - Loreley, Metalfest Germany/West
June 7 - June 10, 2012 - Pratteln, Metalfest Switzerland
June 9 - June 10, 2012 - Plzen, Metalfest Czech Republic
Note: BLIND GUARDIAN will not play Metalfest in Dessau.
For more information, visit www.metalfest.eu.
Mastodon
is clearly establishing itself as a major metal band. Proposing both
terrifically aggressive and completely atmospheric compositions, and not to
mention exhilarating live performances, the band has a very strong personality.
Listening to the tracks of The Hunter, the band's new record that will be out
on Roadrunner Records the 26th of september, there's still this easily
recognizable "Mastodon sound", which is probably what makes an artist special.
In
that regard, it's not surprising to find reading the interview below Troy
Sanders (bass/vocals) that takes interests in every form of art and considers
the band from Atlanta a hunter that can make the (extra)musical moves he wants. "We're fans of all styles of music, we're fans of all sorts of artwork,
we're fans of travelling to all sorts of lands. So yeah, anything could be a
possibility in our world" says the musician.
Two
years after Crack the Skye, a very good progressive metal-oriented record
emphasizing harmonies and moving away from the sludge origins of the band,
Mastodon is coming back with The Hunter and its surprising artwork. A proof
that the band will keep surprising us with this new album? Anyway, two tracks
from The Hunter - "Black Tongue" and "Curl Of The Burl" - are already online,
and not to mention: they rock!
Now
let Troy Sanders take it away: in the following interview, he tells us more
about The Hunter.
Interview.
"We didn't think anything of Crack The Skye
when this music was being created. We definitely didn't try to create anything
to cater to a certain type of crowd, or a certain type of fan"
Radio
Metal: Crack The Skye was both a critical and a commercial success. Did this
album have an impact on the writing of your new album, The Hunter?
Troy
Sanders (bass and vocals) : I don't think so. We've always tried to be very passionate
about what we create. We write music from the heart, and it comes out very
authentically from the four of us. So when we create music and the four of us
are ultimately very happy with it, we kind of just go for it. And after months
of work, it turned out to be a collection of songs that we all loved within the
band. So we didn't really feel any pressure, like: "We've got to outdo
ourselves, it's got to be better than Crack The Skye", or anything along
those lines. If we put our hearts and souls into it a hundred percent, we feel
confident that it's going to be good on its own.
Do
you think that The Hunter would have been a different album if Crack The Skye
had not been that successful?
No,
we didn't think anything of Crack The Skye when this music was being created.
We definitely didn't try to create anything to cater to a certain type of
crowd, or a certain type of fan. We didn't try to please our old school fans,
we weren't trying to please new fans. This is just the stuff that we do. Making
the four of us happy while creating and piecing together meticulously all these
riffs and all these songs, and ultimately making a whole album, that's all we
have in our control. We don't let any success of anything in our past come into
play when it comes to creating something new. We have this path that we're on
and have been on, and we're travelling forward. We just try to continually do
that.
Do
you think that becoming popular changes the artistic path of a musician?
I
don't think that had anything to do with what we just did.
I
was thinking about other bands, maybe…
Oh,
good question. I have no idea! I don't know what kind of MO other bands have
when they're getting together. For us at least, we have no pre-determined
ideas, or any boundaries, like: "Hey, we shouldn't do anything that's like
super slow and long. We should have a couple of short, fast songs. We should
have a couple of ballad-type songs". None of that comes into play when
we're mapping out what kind of music we're about to write. It just comes out
very instinctually. That's just how we work. I don't know how other bands do
it, if they seek to please a certain group, or if they want to find more
commercial success, find fortune or find fame. I don't know how that works.
You're
a very creative band; your music can be complicated, very simple, very
aggressive or very melodic. Even your way of screaming is original. Do you
think that you are a band that's totally free artistically?
Yes,
we are. And I don't think we would have it any other way. That free-spirited
vibe from the four of us, it's been there since the day we formed the band. It
still is that way to this day. Even in 2005, when we signed over to Warner Brothers,
it was not only verbally spoken, but also in writing, than we must maintain
100% creative control.
About
this new album, Brent Hinds said:"Kids are going to get in trouble to this
album. They're going to break speakers, pop springs on their beds and get drunk
and nude in public". Did you already try to make kids listen to this album?
That's
the vibe we hope people get when they're listening to it! We feel, especially
coming off the Crack The Skye record, that this one brings a fresh breath of
energy back into the band, in a very positive way. With upbeat songs like
"Blasteroid", and real movers and shakers such as "Spectrelight", we hope it
kind of rejuvenates the fans that we already have, and the new ones that
hopefully will find us. Yeah, we want people to jump up and down and break
something! We want to pass that good energy that we feel on to anyone that will
listen.
"We want people to jump up and down and
break something! We want to pass that good energy that we feel on to anyone
that will listen."
Was
this a way to make fun of all the meaningless press releases that musicians do
on Blabbermouth?
No.
We're quite positive people, and we don't ever care to talk negatively about
anything. Anything with negative energy is just a bum out, in my opinion. I'm
surrounded by a group of dudes that strive on a positive vibe. That's a good
thing, and I'm glad that I'm surrounded by a group of friends like that.
The
drum tracks were completed in a different studio, in Los Angeles, at the Sound City Studios, where
Nirvana's Nevermind was recorded. Why did you choose to record the drums
separately?
Our
drummer Brann Bill (Dailor) really wanted to try something different and
special. He wanted to achieve this particular drum sound that he'd always
wanted, very reminiscent of Phil Collins, Genesis-day-type drums. He really
wanted to go somewhere special to try to achieve the sound that he was
searching for. Sound City is a legendary
studio that has been there for forty years; many classic, amazing albums have
been done there. Of course Nevermind was done there, Dio's Holy Diver was
recorded there, four Tom Petty albums were recorded there, amongst many other
"classics", in our opinion. So it just had a special vibe to it, and it was
something that Brann really wanted to do. So we packed up and went to Los Angeles for a week
and laid down fourteen songs of drums! I was really glad we did, because the
week after we finished there, they sold the building. So we kind of experienced
a piece of musical history.
Drum
parts are always very important in Mastodon's music. Can you tell us more about
the writing process? How is it different to write a Mastodon album, compared to
an album from a classic band?
There's
several ways. I guess there are two most common ways that we create songs.
First, one of our guitar players will come into the practice space and have
many parts pieced together already, or maybe even a complete song they have
written while at home on an acoustic guitar. A lot of times, Bill (Kelliher,
guitar and vocals) or Brent (Hinds, guitar and vocals) will walk in and say:"Hey guys, I've got something, check this out". And we'll kind of go
through this entire piece of music and take it from there. The other way a lot
of songs are written is, we come in to the practice space, everybody plugs in,
and then somebody starts jamming on something. If anybody turns their heads and
say: "That's cool, what was that?" or "Cool, let's build on that",
then we continue to build and let something grow until eventually, it's a song.
So those are the two main ways that we write music.
Can
you tell us more about the interactive experience featured on the deluxe
edition of the album?
It's
something they call "augmented reality". Basically, you hold a physical piece
of art up to your computer camera, and it will automatically morph you and your
face into the Hunter sculpture that's on the cover of our album. You kind of
morph yourself into this beast and it becomes you – or you become it. It was
just a little something special that we thought, if anybody cares about it,
they can take one step into our world, come into our world a bit more than they
could before. I think it might be neat, but it's never really been done before,
so I don't know if people will really dig on it or not. But anything that will
bring our fans, if they're willing and able, into our world, even a little bit,
is only cool, we think.
That's
a weird concept; reality is what it is, it cannot be augmented or changed. What
did you mean with that name?
We
didn't mean anything, that's just what they call it. And we never really
questioned why they called it that! (laughs) We just thought the idea might be
cool to any of our fans that wanted to try it. I don't really know what to
think about that.
"I think we would be open to and entertain
any idea about anything [...] It could be anything: creating music for a
certain film or going to play on the polar icecaps for a group of penguins… I
think we'd be open to entertain any idea."
Do
you think you'll go further into that kind of experimentation?
I
hope so. I mean, our band is quite open-minded to anything. Even if we have
some bizarre idea, or something that seems super out there, I think we would be
open to and entertain any idea about anything. It could be a collaboration
between Mastodon and David Hasselhoff, maybe, that might be kick-ass! It could
be anything: creating music for a certain film, or going to play on the polar
icecaps for a group of penguins… I think we'd be open to entertain any idea.
That's because we're not narrow-minded, and we would be open to anything
bizarre. We're just a bunch of crazy dudes, so we'll do anything.
Even
other forms of art, like painting or something?
Possibly,
yeah. We're fans of all styles of music, we're fans of all sorts of artwork,
we're fans of travelling to all sorts of lands. So yeah, anything could be a
possibility in our world.
Mastodon
always puts a lot of efforts in the making of the albums' artworks. Can we say
that without this visual aspect, Mastodon wouldn't exist?
Oh,
no, we would definitely exist. We've just always felt a very important link
between the visual artwork and the music itself. For all four of us in the
band, growing up, we would truly immerse ourselves into our favorite bands by
listening to the record, looking at all the artwork, going through all the
lines or notes – becoming one with the music we were listening to. We wanted
that feeling to never die. That's why we've always pressed vinyl, for every
release we've ever done, and we've always felt an important connection between
the artwork and the music itself.
In
the video for the song "Black Tongue", we can see A.J. Foski working on the
cover art piece. Do you think that people tend to forget the work of those
visual artists? Is that why you make that video?
Yeah.
The connection between visual art and music is obviously getting lost. It
doesn't exist nearly on the same level as it has in the past. That's one more
thing that we constantly want to keep alive. So with that little video of the
making of the Hunter sculpture, it was important to say: "Hey, look at this
epic, massive wood sculpture; look at the time and effort and patience and
talent that it takes to create this mythical beast that's gonna grace the cover
of our album". I think otherwise, it looks like it could be very much a
computer-generated image. So having that little teaser video for "Black Tongue"
was really important to us, because we wanted to show that a lot of thought,
time, effort and passion goes into our artwork as well.
Was
it a way to remind people that Mastodon are not only about musicians, but also
visual artists?
Yeah,
I believe so. When we put out a record, we feel that the art of the album is
very much alive in Mastodon's world. And we will continue to tie all of them
together. We want epic artwork, we want great music, we want the whole package.
What
will happen to the sculpture? Do you plan to sell it?
No.
It's going to be shipped to our rehearsal space in Atlanta, and we're gonna have it as a shrine,
as a centerpiece for inspiration. We might even put some candles around it! You
never know.
Will
you bring it on stage, maybe?
(laughs)
No, man, that thing is made up of so many different pieces of wood that it's
too fragile to travel.
Phone
interview conducted the 23th of august 2011
Transcription: Saff
Introduction: Doc'
Mastodon
website: www.mastodonrocks.com
Punk rock icon Henry Rollins says that he was
"in a state of shock" after he found out the about the outcome of the
"West Memphis Three" case, in which three men were released from
prison after serving 18 years for murder.
The "West Memphis Three" were freed on August 19 after 18 years
behind bars when new evidence surfaced that could have led to a retrial.
The three men — Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie
Misskelley, Jr. — were convicted as teenagers in 1993 of the murder of
three eight-year-old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas.
But the case was controversial from the start, with accusations that the three
teens were railroaded because they liked to wear black and listen to METALLICA.
The men won the support of numerous musicians and celebrities, including PEARL
JAM singer Eddie Vedder, NINE INCH NAILS' Trent Reznor, DISTURBED, Johnny Depp and director Peter Jackson, as well
as METALLICA.
The case inspired the 1996 documentary "Paradise Lost: The Child
Murders at Robin Hood Hills", and a 2000 follow-up, "Paradise Lost 2: Revelations". METALLICA gave the filmmakers permission to use its music in both films.
Rollins — who has worked tirelessly to bring attention to the West
Memphis Three's innocence and has put out a number of releases to benefit their
defense fund (including the 2002 compilation "Rise Above: 24 Black Flag
Songs To Benefit The West Memphis Three", which featured vocal
contributions from Chuck D, Iggy Pop, Ice-T, Corey Taylor of SLIPKNOT, and Rollins himself) — wrote in his LA Weekly column, "I found out about the case more
than a decade ago. I read about it online and it seemed to me that justice had
not been served. After seeing a documentary on the case, 'Paradise
Lost', with METALLICA providing the soundtrack, I decided I was
angry enough to get involved.
"My bandmates and I did a small benefit show and donated all the money to
the WM3 Defense Fund. Nice, but a gesture at best. I decided to do a benefit
album. With the help of my bandmates, road manager Mike Curtis, Heidi
May, Cherokee Studios and many others, we set to work. Soon my phone
was ringing off the hook; there were even death threats.
"I thought it best to call in some of the great forces of the universe. We
reached out and were amazed to find how many people in the music world were
either fully up to speed on the case or, upon hearing the details, immediately
ready to contribute. It was incredible. Keith Morris, Chuck Dukowski, Kira Roessler, Chuck D, Lemmy, WEEN, Iggy, Mike
Patton, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, Ice-T, Hank III and Tom
Araya, to name but a few, stepped up and knocked it out of the park. Soon
we had an album done called 'Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs To Benefit The West Memphis Three'.
"We put the record out. We booked a tour and went around the world with
these songs. Keith Morris and I split the vocals on the American leg and
then I took it from there, all the way to Tokyo.
All the money went to the WM3's defense, with a lot of it going toward the DNA
testing of the crime-scene evidence, which Arkansas wouldn't pay for.
"This was two summers of my life and a lot of money. But it was nothing
compared to the grief of the families who had lost their children, both to
murder and incarceration. And it was nothing compared to the unimaginable
anguish of Damien, Jessie and Jason, who sat in cages as
their lives slipped by."
German "metal queen" Doro Pesch flew from
Düsseldorf to New York yesterday morning, just
three days after Tropical Storm Irene made landfall just west of her
second home on Long Island. When she arrived
in Long Beach, a city of 33,000 with many
apartment buildings built nearly up to the Atlantic Ocean,
instead of her neat house on the beach, Doro only came upon a heap of
ruins.
"The damage is disastrous," Doro states mournfully. "The
whole ground floor was flooded. It stinks, electricity failed and everything's
wrecked inside of the house. From the TV to the fridge to the furniture.
Everything's grime-stained, defective, unusable."
Doro continues, "The worst thing is that pieces of my stage
costumes and lots of my souvenirs and presents from fans from all around the
world are lost forever now."
Despite the damage to her house, Doro's previously announced concerts in
celebration of the North American release of the "25 Years In
Rock" 2DVD/CD set will go ahead as scheduled.
"The shows will take place, of course," Doro says. "For
now, I've found accommodation in a hotel in New York and will have to see where things
will go from here."
She adds, "I saw the pictures of Irene on TV when I visited my
mother in Germany
on the weekend. When a red rubber raft appeared canoeing through a road on Long Island, I already assumed the worst."
Although Doro has kept a busy touring schedule throughout the years,
she's called America
her home base for the past 20 years. "I got my green card in 1991 and I
was so happy," she told Noisecreep in a recent interview. "I
stayed in New York City
for the next ten years. It just got to be too expensive to live in Manhattan, so I moved to Long Beach,
Long Island. It's a nice community here and
I'm not that far from the city. I have no complaints."
The photo of Pesch below was taken this past spring when she sat by the
pier in front of her house to make use of the idyllic atmosphere to write songs
for her new album that will be released in 2012.
A CBS TV report on the damage to Long Beach, New York caused
by Tropical Storm Irene can be seen below.
In addition to the two special shows in New York City
on September 9 and Chicago on September 11, Doro
Pesch and her band will take part in an in-store signing session and live
performance on September 3 at the Best Buy in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania.
This is a FREE, all-ages event and will be Doro's only Philadelphia-area
appearance in 2011.
Date: Saturday, September 3
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Location: Best Buy, 310 Commerce
Blvd., Fairless Hills, PA 19030
OVERKILL has been confirmed for next year's edition
of the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise, which will set sail from Miami, Florida to Cayman Islands on January 23, 2012 and return four days
later. A total of 40 acts will perform on the cruise.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
AMORPHIS
CANNIBAL CORPSE
CORONER
DARK FUNERAL
ELUVEITIE
GOD DETHRONED
GRAVE DIGGER
HAMMERFALL
IN EXTREMO
MOONSORROW
MY DYING BRIDE
NIGHTWISH
OVERKILL
PESTILENCE
SAMAEL
STRATOVARIUS
TANKARD
THERION
TRISTANIA
VIRGIN STEELE
WHIPLASH
Ticket prices start at $666 plus $289 taxes and fees per person and include all
onboard entertainment, non-alcoholic and non-carbonated beverages, all meals at
the dining rooms, most on-board restaurants and even 24-hour room service.
For more information, visit www.70000tons.com.
Mary Ouellette of Loudwire recently conducted an interview with FIVE
FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Jason Hook. A couple of excerpts from
the chat follow below.
Loudwire: When you wrote the first single [from your forthcoming third
album, "American Capitalist"], "Under and Over
It", you were lashing out a bit. But now that some time has passed and
the fans have embraced the song, can you kind of sit back and enjoy the fun
that you're having with it and the implied sarcasm?
Jason: The lyric came from a direct response to Internet haters. The
Internet has a small community of haters, people that try to stimulate
themselves by attacking any news post that comes up on some of the favorite
music news sites. They leave harsh attacking comments and encourage other
haters to get on board. We read this stuff and kind of scratch our heads a bit
wondering where it comes from. I don't understand why some people feel that
that's necessary. But "Under And Over It" was a direct
response to that kind of stuff and that small group of people. The comment
threads are coming from anonymous people.
Loudwire: Online, people can flex their muscles anonymously without
having the nerve to say the same things to your face right?
Jason: Exactly, it's pretty lame. It's anonymous so it's pretty safe to
drum up the most horrible stuff you can think of and not have to accept
responsibility for it. That's pretty weak. Ivan [Moody, vocals],
who is responsible for 99.5% of the lyrics, had originally written them as
"I'm Fucking Over It." We told him we weren't sure if he should say
that, there's got to be a more clever way of saying the same thing. We tossed
around some ideas and came up with "I'm Under And Over It," which
actually fits the whole concept of how much work is involved and how we're
under a lot of pressure. Even though we enjoy what we do, you can't get away
from it. As far as the success of the song, it's now No. 8 on the Active Rock
charts after three weeks, so we're very happy with that. It's a pretty
aggressive song; we didn't know how it was going to perform at radio. We're really
pushing the boundaries which is kind of what we're all about anyway, taking
chances. No great reward comes without great risk. When we went to pick the
first single we decided to plant our feet as being an aggressive band without
seeming like we're concerned with the commercial response that we may or may
not get from it.
Loudwire: Does the album title "American Capitalist" relate to the overall album or is it just a blanket statement that you're
making?
Jason: When it comes to picking album titles, we like to come up with
stuff that makes people scratch their heads a little bit. It would be easy to
go with something safe, but we love to try to say something or have it raise an
eyebrow. With our last album, "War Is the Answer", you always
hear, "War is not the answer, peace is the answer," and all that
fucking crap. We knew people might think it was bold to come out and say,
"War is the answer," and what are they trying to say? It was all just
a mentality about winning, war being the absolute struggle between life and
death. The mentality that you give it your all because there is no second
place. With "American Capitalist", we are five extremely
driven and motivated individuals and I think capitalism, for me at least, says
that we're always trying to capitalize on whatever our situation is at the
time. We like opportunity, we like turn opportunity into bigger and better. A
winner takes all mentality of capitalizing on the situation, whatever that is
for you. For me, it's a positive thing, we're fighters, and we want everything.
You work hard for your money so we work hard for your money.
Loudwire: Do you think it's strange that healthy competition within our
society has been turned into a bad thing?
Jason: I'm not sure people are really going to dig too deep into the
album title. They may think it's a political thing, but it's not. For me, the United States of America
allows you all the freedom to go out and take as much as you are able to take.
So, that to me is exciting, we are into that and if you don't like it … fuck
off. If you want to be a part of it that legion then come on board, we're the
lions of the jungle. It's an honorable thing. Zoltan [Bathory,
guitar] said something interesting about it. He said, "If we were all
equal, evolution wouldn't exist. The human spirit encourages us to excel."
I thought that was a powerful message that people could stand to be reminded of
every now and then. Without being too heavy about it, that's really the message
we're trying to get across. We're trying to push people to go out and create
their future instead of settle for what they think they've been handed, and
that's the "American Capitalist", that's what we are and
that's the name of the record.
SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor says that it's
"still too soon" for the band to be thinking about recording a new
studio album following the death in May 2010 of the group's bassist, Paul
Gray.
SLIPKNOT completed a European festival run earlier this summer, which
marked the band's first live gigs since Gray's passing.
Taylor has been ambivalent about doing a new studio album, although percussionist Shawn
"Clown" Crahan and drummer Joey Jordison have been much more
confident about the band recording again.
Taylor tells U.K.'s Kerrang! magazine for
this week's cover story, "It's still too soon. At least that's how I feel.
I'm not ready to make a SLIPKNOT album. I think there will be a day when
we do. But for me, doing it now wouldn't make sense.
"You can't do a three-week tour then jump into the studio, especially
after something like this. It makes more sense to do a few more tours and
reconnect as a band first.
"If we jumped right in, it wouldn't be about the absence. It would be
about the rest of us. We were the nine, but there's a piece missing. We should
allow people to pay their respects before we come out with new music. We should
do this right."
Jordison told The Pulse Of Radio not long ago that he thinks the
band's next album could be its most intense. "We're a family, and losing a
family member sucks," he said. "But you can't help that, but you need
to move on and I think that what we're gonna do might be the most powerful
thing that we've ever created."
SLIPKNOT's last record, "All Hope Is Gone", was released in
2008.
Taylor and Crahan confirmed last week that SLIPKNOT will
tour the U.S.
sometime next spring.
Veteran rockers SEVENDUST,
formed in 1994 and making albums since 1997, are thinking about calling it a
day, according to The Pulse Of Radio. In an interview earlier this week,
drummer Morgan Rose and vocalist Lajon Witherspoon hinted that
the band's next album and tour could be their last. Rose tweeted later
on, "So guys: The whole farewell thing is bein 'talked' about. we love
each other, there's no issue with us. we just miss our families. no decision
yet." He later added, "Try n chill on making it into something it's
not. we love u guys n we are FOR SURE doing another record n touring it."
That was followed up with this tweet: "We're not goin away. Not for years.
Were 4 sure doin another record n 2 years of touring. We knew the rumors would
go nuts."
Rose told The Pulse Of Radio that SEVENDUST feels lucky to
have loyal fans who have kept the group going all these years. "We
constantly have to look and say, 'Wow, man, you know, this is 13 years,' with a
lot of trouble that's happened with us over those 13, and to be still moving
and still touring and still getting a reaction — testament to the people that
support us," he said. "You know, I've always said I've got a love
affair with the people that support our band, and they've given me the socks
I've got on my feet right now. Everything I've got's 'cause of them."
SEVENDUST issued its eighth studio album, "Cold Day Memory",
in April 2010 and has been on the road almost constantly since the record's
release.
The band is currently on the Rockstar Uproar Festival tour, alongside AVENGED
SEVENFOLD, THREE DAYS GRACE, SEETHER, BULLET FOR MY
VALENTINE, ESCAPE THE FATE and others. The trek pulls into Virginia Beach on
Thursday (September 1).
WHIPLASH has been confirmed for next year's edition
of the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise, which will set sail from Miami, Florida to Cayman Islands on January 23, 2012 and return four days
later. A total of 40 acts will perform on the cruise.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
AMORPHIS
CANNIBAL CORPSE
CORONER
DARK FUNERAL
ELUVEITIE
GOD DETHRONED
GRAVE DIGGER
HAMMERFALL
IN EXTREMO
MOONSORROW
MY DYING BRIDE
NIGHTWISH
PESTILENCE
SAMAEL
STRATOVARIUS
TANKARD
THERION
TRISTANIA
VIRGIN STEELE
WHIPLASH
Ticket prices start at $666 plus $289 taxes and fees per person and include all
onboard entertainment, non-alcoholic and non-carbonated beverages, all meals at
the dining rooms, most on-board restaurants and even 24-hour room service.
For more information, visit www.70000tons.com.
Former KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and current TIMES OF
GRACE/THE EMPIRE SHALL FALL frontman Jesse Leach will begin
demoing material for his new solo album this week. He states, "This will
be a whole new realm of material and style. No aggressive music, no yelling or
screaming — just me being who I am on my own."
Leach and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz spent the last few months touring with their collaborative project TIMES OF
GRACE. That band's debut album, "Hymn Of A Broken Man",
came out in January via Roadrunner Records.
Italian symphonic metal masters RHAPSODY OF FIRE have
revealed the name of the new musician who will join forces with Fabio Lione, Alex Staropoli, Tom Hess and Alex Holzwarth in the band
new and revamped lineup. German bass player Oliver Holzwarth (brother of RHAPSODY OF FIRE drummer Alex Holzwarth) has been recruited as an
official and permanent member of RHAPSODY OF FIRE, and will be involved
in both live performances and studio recordings.
Oliver is an excellent bass player who has toured with BLIND GUARDIAN, Tarja Turunen and SIEGES EVEN and has recorded several studio
albums with BLIND GUARDIAN.
Commented Staropoli: "It's a true privilege and honor to have the
two Holzwarth brothers playing together in RHAPSODY OF FIRE. I am
sure it will be fantastic to have the best rhythmic section on this planet, a
unique and true force of nature, on our side. I am really looking forward to
hearing them shaking the stages around the world on our upcoming world
tour."
Staropoli and RHAPSODY OF FIRE guitarist Luca Turilli recently announced their decision to go their separate ways.
Due to legal reasons, Staropoli will continue under the RHAPSODY OF
FIRE name. Turilli, on the other hand, will make his future efforts
available under the RHAPSODY moniker (RHAPSODY OF FIRE's original
name), in which he will be joined by musicians Dominique Leurquin, Patrice
Guers and Alex Holzwarth.
RHAPSODY OF FIRE's latest album, "From Chaos To Eternity",
was released in North America on July 12 via Nuclear
Blast Records. Described by the band as "the natural evolution"
from last year's "The Frozen Tears Of Angels", the CD marks RHAPSODY
OF FIRE's final release based on the fantasy saga started in 1997 with the
group's debut album, "Legendary Tales".
FOR ALL
WE KNOW, the new project led by Ruud Jolie from WITHIN TEMPTATION,
has inked a distribution deal with Rough Trade for the worldwide
distribution of the band's self-titled debut album.
For the last four years, Jolie has been working on this music both when
he was on the road with various bands (WITHIN TEMPTATION, AGUA DE
ANNIQUE, DAMIAN WILSON BAND, MAIDEN UNITED) and in his own
studio. He considers himself very fortunate to be able to work with some of the
greatest musicians and people imaginable on this project.
"For All We Know", written and produced by Ruud himself, contains 12 original songs that range from very atmospheric and
dreamily acoustic to heavy and pounding progressive metal tracks.
The track listing for the CD is as follows:
01. Blind Me
02. Busy Being Somebody Else
03. Out of Reach
04. When Angels Refuse to Fly
05. I Lost Myself Today
06. Keep Breathing
07. Down On My Knees
08. Save Us…
09. Embrace/Erase/Replace/Embrace
10. Tired And Ashamed
11. Open Your Eyes
12. Nothing More…
FOR ALL WE KNOW is :
* Ruud Jolie - Electric And Acoustic Guitars, Mandolin, Bass Guitar And
Backing Vocals
* Wudstik - Vocals
* Kristoffer Gildenlöw - Fretless Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
* Léo Margarit - Drums
* Thijs Schrijnemakers - Hammond
* Marco Kuypers - Piano, Rhodes, Harmonium
Guest musicians:
* Daniel Gildenlöw (PAIN OF SALVATION): Vocals On "Keep
Breathing"
* Sharon den Adel (WITHIN TEMPTATION): Vocals On "Keep Breathing'
* Damian Wilson (THRESHOLD, DWB, STAR ONE, AYREON, MAIDEN UNITED):
Backing Vocals, Vocals On "Keep Breathing"
* Ruud Houweling (CLOUDMACHINE): Vocals On "Keep Breathing"
* Anke Derks: Vocals On "Keep Breathing"
* Tom Sikkers (DAYBROKE): Vocals On "Keep Breathing"
* John Wesley (PORCUPINE TREE): Lead Guitar On "I Lost Myself
Today"
* Richie Faulkner (JUDAS PRIEST, LAUREN HARRIS): Lead Guitar On
"Busy Being Somebody Else"
* Camilla van der Kooij: Violin
For more information, visit www.forallweknow.net.
Swiss folk metallers ELUVEITIE have entered New Sound Studio in Pfäffikon, a municipality in the canton
of Zurich in Switzerland, with producer Tommy Vetterli (a.k.a. Tommy
T. Baron; CORONER/ex-KREATOR guitarist) to begin recording
their new album for an early 2012 release.
ELUVEITIE's latest album, "Everything Remains (As It Never
Was)", sold around 1,600 copies in the United States in its first week of
release. The CD landed at position No. 23 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.
"Everything Remains (As It Never Was)" registered the
following first-week European chart positions:
Switzerland: #8
Germany: #19
Austria:
#22
"Everything Remains (As It Never Was)" was released on
February 19, 2010 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was mixed at Nott-In
Pill studios in Wales
with Colin Richardson (SLIPKNOT, MACHINE HEAD, KREATOR, BEHEMOTH, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) and Martyn
"Ginge" Ford.
Swiss folk metallers ELUVEITIE have entered New
Sound Studio in Pfäffikon, a municipality in the canton of Zurich in
Switzerland, with producer Tommy Vetterli (a.k.a. Tommy T. Baron; CORONER/ex-KREATOR guitarist) to begin recording their new album, "Helvetios", for an early 2012 release. According to the band, Vetterli "will record drums, guitars and vocals and will also be
producing and mixing the record. Most folk instruments and also vocals will be
recorded by Anna Murphy and Marco Jencarelli at the Soundfarm studios in Lucerne."
ELUVEITIE's latest album, "Everything Remains (As It Never Was)",
sold around 1,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD
landed at position No. 23 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.
"Everything Remains (As It Never Was)" registered the
following first-week European chart positions:
Switzerland: #8
Germany: #19
Austria:
#22
"Everything Remains (As It Never Was)" was released on
February 19, 2010 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was mixed at Nott-In
Pill studios in Wales
with Colin Richardson (SLIPKNOT, MACHINE HEAD, KREATOR, BEHEMOTH, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) and Martyn
"Ginge" Ford.
After seven records and seven world tours, Swedish sleaze
rockers HARDCORE SUPERSTAR are celebrating 10 years with a best-of
album. "The Party Ain't Over 'Til We Say So" will be released
on October 26 and will contain songs from all the records that the band has
released between 2000 and 2010 along with a newly written track, "We
Don't Need A Cure".
"We Don't Need A Cure" had its world premiere this past
Wednesday on Sweden's Bandit radio and can now be streamed below (radio-rip quality).
HARDCORE SUPERSTAR will embark on a club tour in November with support
acts AVATAR and AMMOTRACK.
Nov. 02 - Stockholm, SWE @ Debaser Medis
Nov. 04 - Malmö, SWE @ KB
Nov. 25 - Göteborg, SWE @ Trädgår'n
HARDCORE SUPERSTAR's latest album, "Split Your Lip",
was released in Europe on November 26, 2010 via Nuclear Blast Records (except in Scandinavia, where it was made available through Gain Records).
The CD's first single, a two-side split featuring the songs "Moonshine" and "Guestlist", was made available in early November
exclusively with Sweden Rock Magazine.
"Split Your Lip" was recorded over a five-day period at at Bohus
Sound studios in Kungälv, Sweden with
producer Tobias Lindell.
HARDCORE SUPERSTAR re-released two of their albums — "Hardcore
Superstar" (2005) and "Dreamin In A Casket" (2007) —
on October 16, 2009 via Nuclear Blast's "Reloaded Series."
Both reissues contain bonus material such as demo tracks and rehearsal takes.
Danish hard rockers ROYAL HUNT are preparing enter
the NorthPoint studio in Copenhahen to begin recording their
as-yet-untitled new album for a tentative November/December release through Marquee/Avalon (Japan and Southeast Asia) and Frontiers Records (rest of the world).
The music for the follow-up 2010's "X" is described in a press
release as "full-fledged return to that classic ROYAL HUNT sound which put
the band on the map in the first place, all the way back in 1991."
ROYAL HUNT's current lineup:
André Andersen (keyboards)
DC Cooper (vocals)
Allan Sorensen (drums)
Andreas Passmark (bass)
Jonas Larsen (guitar)
ROYAL HUNT's latest album, "X", was released in Europe
on June 7, 2010 via Scarlet Records. The CD, which featured the vocals
of Mark Boals (ex-YNGWIE MALMSTEEN'S RISING FORCE, BILLIONAIRE
BOYS CLUB, RING OF FIRE), came out in Japan and Southeast Asia on
January 21, 2010 through Marquee/Avalon.
Singer John West joined ROYAL HUNT in 1999 during the recording
of the "Fear" album and he worked with the band up until its "Royal
Hunt 2006" live CD/DVD.
CHARRED
WALLS OF THE DAMNED— the project led by acclaimed metal drummer Richard Christy (ICED
EARTH, DEATH, LEASH LAW, CONTROL DENIED, BURNING
INSIDE) — has set "Cold Winds On Timeless Days" as the
title of its sophomore CD, due on October 11 via Metal Blade Records. Audiohammer's Jason Suecof produced and Mark Lewis mixed, while mastering was
handled by Alan Douches at West West Side Music (SEPULTURA, SUFFOCATION, UNEARTH) in New Windsor, New York. Christy states, "It's 12 songs of crushing heavy metal and I CAN'T WAIT for
everyone to hear it.
"I'm VERY proud of this album — everyone worked so hard on it and when you
listen to it, it definitely shows."
The writing process for "Cold Winds On Timeless Days" actually
began while the band was mixing its 2010 debut. Christy used his
experience on the first album to write songs that catered not only to each
member's playing style, but to Jason Suecof's production style. The
result: demos that turned out nearly identical to what ended up on the album.
With 12 songs clocking in at 58 minutes, fans are getting a lot more music this
time around. Recording twelve songs in a short amount of time is no easy feat,
but one that was accomplished because of the stellar talents in the band. Christy elaborates further: "I wanted to get a natural sound out of this album, I
wanted everyone to be well rehearsed, not that I wanted the album to be rushed,
but I wanted the spontaneous live feel and not over think anything too
much." Christy describes "Cold Winds on Timeless Days" as a "perfect storm of producing."
"Cold Winds On Timeless Days" track listing:
01. Timeless Days
02. Ashes Falling Upon Us
03. Zerospan
04. Cold Winds
05. Lead The Way
06. Forever Marching On
07. Guiding Me
08. The Beast Outside My Window
09. On Unclean Ground
10. Bloodworm
11. Admire The Heroes
12. Avoid The Light
The cover artwork for the album can be seen below.
Fans can hear the first single, "Zerospan", in the YouTube clip below.
Christy previously stated about the new CHARRED material,
"If you liked the first album, you're definitely going to love this album!
It's going to be super-melodic, have plenty of blast beats, plenty of
super-catchy vocal parts, heavy guitars, and insane bass parts!"
Fans got a chance to watch Christy and vocalist Tim
"Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ICED
EARTH) perform the songs from CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED's debut
album during a July 2010 tour that included stops in Chicago, Detroit,
Montreal, Toronto, New York, Cleveland and Pittsburgh before wrapping up in
Worcester, Massachusetts as part of a massive show with DREAM THEATER.
CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED's touring lineup made its live debut on July
1, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. Stepping in for the concerts were Cleveland guitarists John
Comprix and Matt Sorg. Comprix is Owens' bandmate in
several projects, and Sorg plays with Comprix in RINGWORM.
The self-titled debut album from CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED sold around
2,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD
landed at No. 6 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.
CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED's recording lineup:
* Richard Christy - Drums
* Jason Suecof - Guitar, Producer
* Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ICED
EARTH) - Vocals
* Steve DiGiorgio (SADUS, TESTAMENT) - Bass
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/soulflypremiere/charredwindsnew.jpg
JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EXPERIENCE — a unique
trifecta of an amazing rock concert featuring the unforgettable blues-rock of LED
ZEPPELIN, an over-the-top video and light show as well as the personal
history that Jason Bonham shares in commemoration of his father with the
legendary rock 'n' roll band — will return mid-October for a fall North
American tour through November (confirmed dates are listed below).
"The music created by John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, Robert
Plant and my father John Bonham is timeless, groundbreaking and pure
magic," says Jason. "I always feel closer to him while I'm
performing their music and the response has been overwhelming."
JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EXPERIENCE features Bonham on drums, Tony
Catania on guitar and theremin, Stephen Leblanc on keyboards/pedal-steel
guitars, Dorian Heartsong (in for Michael Devin) on bass and James
Dylan on lead vocals. The band's powerful live performance of LED
ZEPPELIN's classics takes concert-goers through a mesmerizing visual and
aural journey as giant backdrops display iconic art and Bonham's own
historical video footage and photos give the show an intimate feel. Show
highlights include a heartfelt duet with Jason performing "Moby
Dick" off "Led Zeppelin II" alongside his father.
Jason is honored to perform 20 hand-picked favorites encompassing the band's
albums including their 1969 debut "Led Zeppelin" ("Your
Time Is Gonna Come", "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You"),
1969's "Led Zeppelin II" ("Thank You", "Lemon
Song"); 1970's "Led Zeppelin III" ("Celebration
Day"); 1970's "Led Zeppelin IV" ("When The Levee
Breaks" and "Rock and Roll"); 1975's "Physical
Graffiti" ("Kashmir") and many more LED ZEPPELIN favorites.
The dates are as follows:
Oct. 12 - Riverside, CA - Fox Performing Arts Center
Oct. 13 - Bakersfield, CA - Fox Theatre
Oct. 14 - Los Angeles, CA - The Greek Theatre*
Oct. 15 - Las Vegas, NV - Alliente Casino*
Oct. 17 - Sacramento, CA - Crest Theatre*
Oct. 18 - Napa Valley, CA - Uptown Theatre*
Oct. 27 - Englewood, NJ - Bergen PAC
Oct. 28 - Huntington, NY - Paramount Theater
Oct. 29 - Upper Darby, PA - Tower Theater
Oct. 31 - Boston, MA - The Wilbur Theatre
Nov. 01 - New York, NY - Best Buy Theater
Nov. 02 - Hartford, CT - The Webster
Nov. 04 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom
Nov. 05 - Orillia, ON - Casino Rama
Nov. 06 - Ottawa/Gatineau, QC - [to be announced]
Nov. 07 - Quebec City, QC - [to be announced]
Progressive instrumentalists ANIMALS AS LEADERS will
release their second full-length album, "Weightless", in North
America on November 8, in mainland Europe on November 4 and in the U.K. on
November 7 via Prosthetic Records. The CD was recorded with drummer Navene
Koperweis handling production duties.
In a recent interview with "Ryan's Rock Show!", ANIMALS AS
LEADERS guitarist Tosin Abasi stated about the band's forthcoming
CD, "When we did the first album, it wasn't anything anyone knew about, so
there was total freedom — there was no expectation. A lot of people really
liked the first album, and it created a weird sense of obligation to continue
in a direction that allowed people to like it in the first place… But that
isn't necessarily the best way to make music."
ANIMALS AS LEADERS is currently in Europe
opening for BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME following a string of shows as
direct support to the DEFTONES. They will kick off an extensive North
American tour alongside BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME on October 27.
Bassist Johan Husgafvel of Swedish industrial
metallers PAIN will sit out the band's upcoming European headlining tour
for "family" reasons. His temporary replacement will be Andre
Skaug (CLAWFINGER), who previously toured with PAIN in 2007.
Commented Johan: "The forthcoming PAIN tour is just about to
start and I'm completely sure that all of the shows will be absolute killer!!!
Unfortunately, I've decided to sit out this tour due to family reasons. I won't
be able to do the European four-week run, but I'm really looking forward to do
the first and last leg of the tour, the Swedish and Finish tour dates. So to
all of you I don't get to see this year, we'll make it up on the festivals next
year!"
For a list of upcoming PAIN shows, go to this location.
Husgafvel and his girlfriend, NIGHTWISH singer Anette Olzon,
welcomed their first child, a baby boy named Nemo, on July 30, 2010. Olzon also has a ten-year-old son, Seth, with her now-ex-husband.
PAIN's seventh album, "You Only Live Twice", was
released on June 3 in Europe and June 21 in North America
via Nuclear Blast Records.
Guitarist/vocalist Ola Lindgren of Swedish death
metal veterans GRAVE has tapped TRIPTYKON's Norman Lonhard to play drums on the upcoming recording from Lindgren's solo project
called GREY HEAVENS. Ola says, "I'm super-stoked and I'm
sure it will be amazing!"
Lindgren in 2009 stated about GREY HEAVENS, "For many years
I have had plans to do a project to explore different sides of extreme music
with ideas that simply would not fit in my main band.
"This is a more dark and experimental side of my musicality and shows a
different approach to metal than just the straightforward death metal that has
been my main inspiration and which has resulted in the eight GRAVE albums in the past 21 years."
Vocalist Martin Schönherr has left Swedish death
metal band DERANGED for "personal reasons".
"I've lost my motivation in DERANGED and after some 'issues' within
the band, I felt it was time to quit. I will now focus 150% on my other bands SPLATTERED
MERMAIDS and RAZORRAPE; both bands will enter the studio this year
and record full-length albums!"
RAZORRAPE will enter the studio in October for the recording of its
second CD, entitled "Revenge Of The Hermaphrodite Whores",
tentatively due this winter through Rotten Roll Rex. Songtitles set to
appear on the album include "Triple Cock Buttfuck", "Beautiful
Girl Hunter", "Rabid Shemale Rape Squad", "Revenge
Of The Hermaphrodite Whores", "Castrated By Children" and "Three On A Meathook".
"We have about 14 tracks for the album and it will beat all our previous
recorded stuff, so stay tuned for some bulldozer gore/grind with a lot of sick
influences," says Schönherr.
GOD SEED — the Norwegian band featuring former GORGOROTH members King (bass; real name: Tom Cato Visnes) and Gaahl (vocals; real name: Kristian Espedal) — will release a concert DVD, "Live
At Wacken", in Europe on October 21 and in North America on October 25 via Indie Recordings. The set will
include footage of the group's infamous live show from the 2008 edition of the Wacken
Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany where
they performed on the main stage in front of 75,000 screaming fans.
The Wacken performance was a reconstruction of GORGOROTH's
controversial "Black Mass" show from Krakow in 2004 filmed in a TV
studio in Kraków, Poland. The concert featured sheep
heads on stakes, "crucified" nude models, satanic symbols, and eighty
liters of sheep's blood. The band came under fire for violating Polish
anti-blasphemy laws as well as Polish animal-rights laws, resulting in a police
investigation with allegations of religious offence and cruelty to animals. The
band went free of all charges and at Wacken 2008 they recreated this
now-legendary show in all its glory.
This spectacular show is made available as a live CD, including the film of the
entire show on DVD. The album is only available in a deluxe digipack edition
and holds liner notes from the band about the process of recreating this
special show.
"Live At Wacken" features session players Nick Barker (drums) and Ice Dale (guitar) alongside King and Gaahl.
GOD SEED came to life after Gaahl and King lost a court
battle in early 2009 against guitarist Infernus (real name: Roger
Tiegs) over the rights to the GORGOROTH band name.
Commented King: "GOD SEED represents a more spiritual side
to us than what GORGOROTH did. GOD SEED represents the will to grow;
the will to be the super man, so to speak. I think it's a suitable name for
what we will represent in the future. I am also aware of the fact that we use
the word 'God' in the name. It will challenge the weak minded in the respect
that we in the past used the word Satan a lot, but it's all about the same
thing. The God within man, and the God within nature. I never believed in a
Christian force named Satan. I believe in the God within man."
Gaahl left GOD SEED in 2009 because he chose to retire from metal
music.
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