[Classic_Rock_Forever] Black Sabbath, Kiss, Saxon, Metallica, Megadeth and tons more hard rock and heavy metal news

 

Legendary BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi spoke to Artisan News last week about the band's future and the possibility of a reunion with fellow original SABBATH members Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward.

 

Iommi has just completed a book-signing tour for his memoir, "Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven And Hell With Black Sabbath", which was released in the United States on November 1 in hardback by Perseus Books/DeCapo Press.

 

When asked about the much-rumored SABBATH reunion, Iommi said, "After I've done this book [tour], I go to L.A. and then we work out what we're gonna do — have meetings and then plan the next year what I'm gonna be doing. So it could be anything . . . We get on alright, we on well. We'll see what happens. There's nothing in stone as yet. But at least we are on the first stage towards it."

 

Iommi told Billboard.com earlier this week that he and fellow original BLACK SABBATH members Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward assembled earlier this year at Osbourne's home in California to play some music "for a bit of fun, and to see if we could all play. It was good, but it was just purely, 'Let's have a go and see what happens.'" Iommi said the group planned to get together again "very soon...to discuss things and see what's going to happen and see what we're going to do. It's all in the air at the moment, but it'd be nice to think we can actually do something."

 

Iommi did not give any hints about the press conference the group is holding in Los Angeles, but said, "We're talking. We've always been talking, to be honest. We've always been in touch with each other. There might be a lawsuit in-between us, but we still talk to each other like nothing's happened."

 

All four original BLACK SABBATH members will reunite for a press conference on November 11 at the Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood, California — the same venue where the band made its Los Angeles debut on November 11, 1970 (41 years ago), opening for ALICE COOPER — at exactly 11:11 a.m. They are widely expected to announce that they have begun writing material for a new album in addition to preparing to play their first live shows since the summer of 2005.

 

KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons revealed during an interview with the U.K. digital radio station Planet Rock that producer Bob Ezrin is remixing KISS' classic fourth album, "Destroyer", for re-release in 2012. The deluxe edition of the LP will feature outtakes and the original cover art.

 

Ken Kelly's original version of the album cover for "Destroyer" was rejected by the record company because they felt the scene was too violent-looking. Also, the original version had the members of KISS wearing the "Alive" costumes.

 

Released in March 1976, "Destroyer" was the second consecutive KISS album to reach the Top 20 in the U.S. The LP was certified gold by the RIAA on April 22, 1976. It was certified platinum on November 11, 1976, the first KISS album to achieve that distinction.

 

British heavy metal legends SAXON will release a new concert DVD, "Heavy Metal Thunder Live: Eagles Over Wacken", in early 2012. According to Classic Rock, it will feature performances from Germany's Wacken Open Air festival.

 

"There are five in all, from 2002 to 2009," SAXON singer Biff Byford tells Classic Rock. "But we've not got all five shows, in their entirety, because even I would get bored watching that! The most interesting one is 2009, which was Wacken's 20th anniversary and our 30th. We did a set that included songs from all of our studio albums, as voted for by the fans. And we did it with the most recent at the start working backwards to our debut album, 'Saxon', at the end."

 

In other news, Byford has revealed that SAXON has been working on an unplugged album.

 

"What we've been doing aren't necessarily the hits, but songs that sound good in an unplugged style," he said. "We will definitely be doing an album, although I don't know how we'll put this out. It may as a bonus CD with the next studio album."

 

SAXON's new album, "Call To Arms", sold around 700 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The CD debuted at No. 51 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.

 

The digipack version of "Call To Arms" includes a glorious bonus — a free seven-track CD, "Live At Donington 1980".

 

"Call To Arms" was issued in Europe in June. Recorded at Chapel Studios in Lincolnshire, U.K. and Brighton Electric Studios in Brighton, U.K., the 11-track album was co-produced by singer/songwriter Biff Byford and Toby Jepson (LITTLE ANGELS). Featuring Byford on lead vocals, Paul Quinn and Doug Scarratt on guitars, Nibs Carter on bass and Nigel Glockler on drums, "Call To Arms" is bang on-the-money brilliant SAXON music, a confident embrace of the aura and writing values from their early years married perfectly to a modern SAXON crunch.

 

We speak to legendary band's guitarist ahead of UAE gig Discuss this article

kirkhammet1109_1

View slideshow

 

    Picture 1 of 2

 

Had you never been to the Middle East at all?

I had; I'd been to Cairo, and a few other places.

 

But not played there?

No, we haven't played much in the Middle East. Turkey doesn't really count does it? I've visited Cairo, but this would be our first Middle East show, I guess.

 

How come? Why has the Middle East never attracted you before?

Well, it's hard to play in places that are a bit more isolated, like in the case of the Middle East, because of the resources: finding a place to play, whether or not the place is able to take on a big production like ours, you know, sometimes the power, even the electricity or energy is not enough. We have to bring in power, bring in lights, bring in our own production crew. Sometimes the security isn't great, and the conditions themselves aren't great. These are all factors that we rely on to have a good show, and when all those factors are in place we can come in and do the type of show we want to do. And you know, this is kind of a trailblazing gig – the thinking was if we could pull this off, play a gig here, then maybe we could play in other places in the area.

 

So why was it the right time now, and the right place?

Well, the promoter proved to us that they could come in and take on a production of this size. They assured us there would be a good show.

 

It was a fantastic show, we've had friends fly in from all over the place just to see it; Jordan, Syria, Saudi, Lebanon..

I know, I met a lot of Lebanese people in the meet and greets. I'd really like to go to Lebanon some day; I'd like to see Baalbek.

 

Baalbek's pretty amazing. Well, have you ever worked with any Middle Eastern artist before? Or do any show up on your radar?

I haven't, no. These days it's hard to find out about new bands – even in my own country. You see a lot of music around, and a lot of it doesn't mean anything until you download it and listen to it. And there's just so much music around, it's hard to digest it all. I don't even bother turning on the radio, because it's pretty bad these days. So it's really difficult for me to find new artists in general; and that's that question. Do you know any good Middle Eastern artists?

 

The rock scene is relatively young, but yes we've got quite a bit of talent around. You'll find plenty if you look for it, although not many pull off any big productions.

Yeah, I'd assume that the Middle East would be very musical in general. You've been playing music for thousands of years, and it's ingrained in your culture.

 

Well, Metallica's certainly been a massive influence on the local scene; plenty of people start off playing your covers, or trying to mimic your music.

Well, you gotta start somewhere! And what better place? They often try to tailor their stuff to the region. In fact, plenty of the big names that come to Abu Dhabi try to change their music or style a bit to suit the local audience, but not you...The audience wanted full-on Metallica, full-on 100 per cent Metallica.

 

Speaking of which, you know how massive bands sort of diminish over time? How is it that Metallica have managed to remain fresh and relevant even after all these years in the business?

A lot of energy. You know, for us, we're just totally the type of band personality where we want to try new things, different things. We're very curious in a creative way, and all of us share an intellectual curiosity to see what lies just right over that hill, you know, on the other side of the hill, creatively speaking. I think it's really important for our own satisfaction, and for our creative gratification, that we explore different things, and go down different avenues, and try different things musically. We want to experience it all, we want to taste it all, you know? I mean we don't want to be stuck in some corner when there's a huge playing field of things to try, you know what I mean? We don't want to be stuck, I think. Stuck how?

 

I mean, we're very aware that we can get stuck, playing the same kind of music and, you know, it's a very easy and comfortable place to be, in your little corner. But I think for us, we've always been about searching and actually rebelling. It's kind of like we're rebelling against the boundaries that are being put upon us. I totally see it that way, our fans would just like to keep us in our cage, but we refuse.

 

Well you haven't lost any fans, that's for sure.

Yeah, I think the large part of our fans understand that we need to be creatively unhinged and unbounded. There's no grand plan with our albums, we don't sit down and say 'OK, we're now going to play Indian ragas.' It's not like that, it's largely just instinct. We just follow our gut and our instinct, and go where they take us.

 

And after all this time, it still doesn't get tiring?

No, I'm not tired. Well, you know we could always use a little more sleep! But I'm not tired of it, it's always challenging. I'm never tired of playing my guitar, because my guitar offers me such a great opportunity to experience so many other things. I love music; there's no way I can really get tired of it.

 

There's no way we can get tired of it either; and we loved your set!

We chose a pretty comprehensive show spanning our entire career. We like doing that, it's fun, especially for the person who's never seen us because, I mean, you'll have the fan that's saying 'Oh they didn't play anything from Ride the Lightning!' Well, nowadays we make sure we play from Ride the Lightning.

 

Incidentally, a lot of the local fans are Filipino; and some people don't know this, but you're half Filipino yourself...

I heard yeah, they're mostly in the working and service class. I mean, the driver that picked me up, I said 'You're Pinoy huh?' and he's like yeah yeah! And I said 'I'm mistiso' which means I'm part Filipino. I mean, my grandmother was full-on Filipino; bless her soul. She lived till a hundred and four. I love it. I'm wondering if I can actually find some good Filipino food here, or in Dubai. Probably, right?

 

Plenty of it in Abu Dhabi and Dubai!

Great! Any of them 24-hours?

 

METALLICA will headline the 10th installment of the Download festival at Donington Park on Saturday, June 9, 2012, with an exclusive U.K. performance of the band's top-selling 1991 LP, "Metallica", a.k.a. "the black album." It will be the eighth time the California metal titans will have played at Donington during their three-decade-long career, having previously performed at both Monsters Of Rock and Download festivals.

 

"Six years is way too long to be away from the hallowed grounds of Donington Park," says METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich. "We are beyond psyched and feel privileged to come back once again to soak up the energy and vibe of the most legendary of festival sites."

 

"I am absolutely bowled over that METALLICA will be playing The Black Album at the 10th anniversary of Download," says Andy Copping, VP of Promotions at Live Nation. "The album is up there as one of the greatest albums of all time, everyone knows the songs. The Download festival has come a long way since we first started in 2003 and to have METALLICA back to help us celebrate this milestone is just fantastic."

 

Download 2012 takes place at Donington Park on June 8-10, 2012. Weekend with camping tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. on Friday, November 18 from www.downloadfestival.co.uk.

 

METALLICA's 1991 self-titled fifth album, commonly known as "the black album," in 2009 surpassed SHANIA TWAIN's 1997 record, "Come On Over", as the best-selling CD of the SoundScan era. To date, the black album has sold 15,715,000 copies.

 

Although METALLICA had scored their first radio and video airplay with their previous effort, 1988's "...And Justice For All", the black album was the band's biggest commercial breakthrough, producing five singles and making them into one of the most popular rock bands in the world.

 

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/soulflypremiere/metallicadown.jpg

 

MEGADETH kicked off its "TH1RT3EN" world tour last night (Wednesday, November 9) at Estadio Cubierto Malvinas in Argentina.

 

The band's setlist was as follows:

 

01. Trust

02. In My darkest Hour

03. Hangar 18

04. Wake Up Dead

05. She-Wolf

06. A Tout Le Monde

07. Whose Life (Is It Anyways?)

08. Public Enemy No. 1

09. Head Crusher

10. Sweating Bullets

11. Symphony Of Destruction

12. Peace Sells… But Who's Buying?!

13. Holy Wars

 

Zakk Wylde wishes you all a very Merry Christmas. Can't you tell? © Simone Cecchetti/Corbis

When you think Christmas, you naturally think Zakk Wylde, right? No? Well, that might come as something of a big lump of coal to the former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist and now full-time leader of Black Label Society. "I'm all about the Christmas spirit," Wylde says. "That's why I wanted to do this record, so I could spread a little joy to the world."

Wylde is referring to his just-released EP, Glorious Christmas Songs That Will Make Your Black Label Heart Feel Good, a steller mini-set that sees the guitar icon performing inspired instrumental versions of I'll Be Home For Christmas, O Little Town Of Bethlehem and, for good measure, a ho-ho-ho take on the Louis Armstrong classic, What A Wonderful World.

"What A Wonderful World isn't really a Christmas song," Wylde admits, "but it's got the vibe. It might as well a Christmas song. You put that thing on while you're sitting by the fire, forget about it, you're in the mood."

Thanksgiving is still two weeks away, but when MusicRadar spoke to Wylde today, on tour in the Midwest, the guitarist was already in a deck the halls frame of mind. He talked about his Xmas EP, as well as his admiration for Sarah McLachlan, who inspired some of the guitarist's choices for the record. In addition, Wylde shared his thoughts on touring with Judas Priest and Guns N' Roses.

So, Zakk, how did the EP come about?

"Basically, I was asked by the folks at iTunes to do something, and I said, 'Absolutely. I love Christmas, and I love Christmas tunes â€" what's the big deal?' So I Googled Sarah McLachlan to see what songs she did â€" 'cause she's amazing, of course, as we all know â€" and I did a couple of the songs that she covered. To me, if they're good enough for Sarah, I might as well have a go at them."

Would these songs be representative of what we might hear in the Zakk Wylde house at Christmastime?

"Yeah, absolutely. My wife, Barbaranne, she's always buying Christmas records. In fact, that's how I first heard the Sarah McLachlan Christmas CD, 'cause she brought it home. That thing's fuckin' amazing, you know? Barb's always crankin' it in the house.

"I totally dig Christmas. When I was a kid, between my parents, my grandmother and my aunts, the whole thing was insane. So I try to make sure my kids have super-cool Christmases. Me and Barb do it up killer. When the kids wake up, they go crazy. That's what it's all about."

Growing up, what Christmas songs were biggies?

"Motorhead's Killed By Death, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath by Black Sabbath â€" the classics! [laughs] Feel-good music for the whole family. No, you know, I heard all the same songs as everybody. The Little Drummer Boy, Rudolph…all the warm, fuzzy

This is how Wylde feels when he hears Sarah McLachlan. © Nikolas ERNULT / Demotix/Demotix/Corbis

What made you decide to do instrumental versions of the songs?

"I don't know. We thought of doing vocals, but then I just decided that a guitar thing would be cool â€" that way, I could go off and do some crazy soloing. It turned out killer. I did the string arrangements, played piano and acoustic guitar, and of course, I did the electrics, too."

Your take on I'll Be Home For Christmas has a bit of Les Paul in there, but there's also a hint of Santo & Johnny.

"Yeah, totally. Well, I love Father Les, of course. You know, I just plugged my Vertigo guitar into my Marshall 800 and I went for it. There's some Les Paul-type feel there, the way he'd take liberties, some of the jazzy licks and what not. I just played what came out.

"My big thing when doing this was Sarah McLachlan. I watched her on YouTube and I was knocked out. Her version of O Little Town Of Bethlehem...it's just killer. Anything she does smokes."

What do you like so much about Sarah McLachlan? Obviously, you're a big fan.

"Totally. I don't know, she's just amazing. She's at the top of her craft; everything she does is great. I admire anybody who excels at what they do. Tom Brady [quarterback for the New England Patriots] is great at what he does. Jimmy Page is great. I could go on…Randy Rhoads, Eddie Van Halen…they all excel. If you're exceptional, then you're mind-blowing. Elton John, Neil Young…"

But lots of people are great, but not everybody is going to touch you.

"Well, sure, there's a big difference. Neil Young isn't technically as great as Al DiMeola, but you still feel him. Take David Gilmour, for example: he doesn't play as fast as Yngwie, but he's still fuckin' amazing. That solo in Comfortably Numb? Forget about it. One of the best solos of all time.

"Now, in the case of Sarah McLachlan, she's got it the whole package. She's great technically, and she can touch you spiritually. She's unreal. I dig anything she does."

Have you ever met her?

"No, man. Barb and I went to see her at the Hollywood Bowl, and it was being mind-blowing. Probably one of the best concerts I've ever seen."

 

 

Currently on tour with Judas Priest, Wylde will hit the road with Guns N' Roses in December. © Jason Moore/ZUMA Press/Corbis

If you did meet Sarah, what would you say?

"'Can I clean your house?' [laughs] I don't know! She's amazing. I'd ask her what chores she had for me to do. 'Can I walk your dogs, Sarah?' I'd be polite, I'd be respectful. I'd take out her trash if she wanted me to.

"She's a wonderful artist. You know, think about the female singers out there. You've got Adele, who's amazing, Lady Gaga and a few others, and they're all cool, but if they saw Sarah McLachlan live, they'd go crazy. They'd totally give it up for her. So yeah, I'd clean Sarah McLachlan's house, no problem." [laughs]

How's it going touring with Judas Priest?

"Couldn't be better. The Priest guys are so cool. They're treating us like gold. Plus, they're killin' it every night. Glenn, Rob, the whole band is awesome. I've been friends with the Priest dudes since they did Ozzfest, so we go back. They're total legends. They still have it, too. Glenn is slammin' it, the whole band's on fire. And Richie [Faulkner], who's taking over for KK, he's killin' it, man."

After Judas Priest, you're going on the road with Guns N' Roses.

"Yeah, that'll be amazing, too. I've been friends with Axl for a long time. He's the last of the great frontmen. Seriously, who else is there? You had Elvis and Mick Jagger, then you had Jim Morrison and Freddie Mercury, Robert Plant, Ronnie Van Zandt, and of course you can't forget about Ozzy, David Lee Roth… After all them, Axl came out, and it was like, Wow! The ultimate frontman, you know?

"You've gotta give it up for Axl. Amazing songs, amazing production â€" Appetite's one of the greatest records of all time. The guy's got the whole nine yards. As a frontman, nobody's come close to him since he busted out."

If you had your choice of a Guns N' Roses song you could play on stage with Axl, which would it be?

"Besides Get Down Tonight by KC And The Sunshine Band? [laughs] Tell me that wouldn't be brilliant. It'd rule the day if we did that. OK, if I had to pick one…I'd pick whatever Axl asked me to jam on. If it's a Guns N' Roses song, it'll be good. No worries there."

 

 

SCORPIONS, DEEP PURPLE, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION and Michael Monroe were among the honorees at the seventh annual Classic Rock Roll Of Honour, which was held last night (Wednesday, Novemebr 9) at the world-famous Roundhouse in Camden, England. The ceremony was hosted by KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons. Guitarist Jeff Beck was awarded the highest accolade of the evening, The Living Legend Award, presented by Roger Taylor from QUEEN.

 

The full list of winners is as follows:

 

* The Living Legend Award: Jeff Beck

* Event Of The Year: Roger Waters' The Wall Live Tour

* Breakthrough Act Of The Year: BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION

* The Spirit Of Prog: JETHRO TULL

* The Innovator Award: DEEP PURPLE

* Musicians' Union Maestro Award: Steve Winwood

* Tommy Vance Inspiration Award: Steve Marriot

* Classic Songwriter: MANIC STREET PREACHERS

* Outstanding Contribution: Bob Zrin

* Metal Guru Award: SCORPIONS

* Classic Album Award: THE WHO - "Quadrophenia"

* VIP Award: Baron Wolman

* Best New Band: VINTAGE TROUBLE

* Album Of The Year: Michael Monroe – "Sensory Overdrive"

* Reissue Of The Year: QUEEN reissues package of their five albums

* Film/DVD Award: Lemmy

* Band Of The Year: FOO FIGHTERS

 

MOTÖRHEAD's Lemmy, who picked up an award for his documentary "Lemmy", told BBC 6 Music he felt "fine" after getting the prize but was shocked the film was received so well. "It was flattering they wanted to do it, I didn't think it had a pony's chance in hell of making it do anything and then it did," he said.

 

Beck took his "Living Legend" award in his stride, saying "It's a bit overblown, it's a bit over the top, I am me and I am never going to forget who I am and I am glad I am rooted on the ground and my mum would never have tolerated that rubbish."

 

Fans voted QUEEN's reissues package of five albums the best reissues of the year, fighting off competition from THE WHO's "Live at Leeds" and DAVID BOWIE's "Station to Station" deluxe.

 

"It's a very nice surprise to me," QUEEN guitarist Brian May told BBC 6 Music. "You do beaver away on these projects and a lot of time and effort went into this and you think will anyone actually notice how brilliant they are and appreciate them and the good news is they do."

Rumor has it that VAN HALEN will appear at the November 30 Grammy Nominations Concert at Los Angeles' Nokia Theater to announce that they will perform at the actual Grammy Awards in February. The buzz around town is that they will also use this opportunity to announce details of their pending album and tour.

 

Singer Sammy Hagar, who was in VAN HALEN from 1985 to 1996 and again from 2003 to -2005, tells RollingStone.com that any reunion wouldn't include him. "If VAN HALEN play, it will be Dave [David Lee Roth], Eddie [Van Halen], Alex [Van Halen], and Wolfie [Wolfgang Van Halen], his kid — it wouldn't be Mike [Anthony] and I. First of all, we wouldn't be invited and second of all, if we were invited, we probably wouldn't do it. If Eddie is in the same condition he was the last time I saw him, I don't want to step onstage with him."

 

Anthony and Hagar both last played with VAN HALEN on a 2004 reunion tour that ended acrimoniously. Both maintain that Anthony was booted from VAN HALEN for maintaining a friendship and working relationship with Hagar.

 

Wolfgang appeared throughout the 2007/2008 tour, which was the band's first with original frontman David Lee Roth in 23 years. This lineup of the group recently completed work on a new album — the band's first with Roth in 27 years — although the project and its release plan are shrouded in mystery.

 

Hagar told The Pulse Of Radio that he thinks VAN HALEN made a grave mistake leaving Anthony out of the reunion tour with Roth. "Anyone in their right mind would know if you're gonna get Roth back — finally! — after all these abortions they've had, you get Mikey and you do the reunion tour, what the world really was waiting for. Not just fuck it up again. It's almost like they don't care about their fans. They just want to badger them until -- see how much they'll take."

 

Hagar added that he doesn't think the new VAN HALEN album will ever see the light of day, saying, "They've been working on that record for a year and a half or whatever, and they keep postponing and postponing it. I just know that Wolfie, Dave and Ed are not the VAN HALEN that the world wants to see. To do it with David without Mike was a horrible decision, but those guys haven't made a good decision since I left the band."

 

Hagar and Anthony now play together in CHICKENFOOT, who released their second album, "Chickenfoot III", in September.

 

 

"Trick Of The Wrist", the new video from former HANOI ROCKS singer Michael Monroe, can be seen below. The song comes off the Michael's latest album, "Sensory Overdrive", which was released in the U.S. and Canada on August 23 via Spinefarm/Universal. The CD, which was released in Europe on March 14 via Universal Music subsidiary Spinefarm Records, features guest appearances by MOTÖRHEAD's Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister and three-time Grammy-winning country/folk singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams.

 

"Sensory Overdrive" was recorded in Los Angeles with legendary producer Jack Douglas, who has previously worked with AEROSMITH, JOHN LENNON, CLUTCH, SLASH'S SNAKEPIT and NEW YORK DOLLS, among many others.

 

Monroe in June recruited Dregen (real name: Andreas Tyrone Svensson) of Swedish sleaze rockers BACKYARD BABIES to be the guitarist of Monroe's solo band following the departure of Ginger (THE WILDHEARTS).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osAmxyyxfvc&feature=player_embedded

 

During a recent interview with Metal Kaoz, German metal queen Doro Pesch was asked about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for her next studio album. "I think we have completed 80 percent of the new record and there are some great songs coming up," she replied. "Actually, one song is dedicated to Ronnie James Dio and the working title is 'Hero'. That's a very special song. I was a big Dio fan and I know that there are so many fans out there are missing him so much, so definitely this song will be on the new record. Also they will be some speed metal songs, some anthems songs and, of course, some power ballads."

 

Regarding when fans can expect to see the new CD released, Doro said, "Maybe next spring, because we'll be touring until the end of this year, so it's not enough time to work in the studio. And then we need some time to cool off after the tour and stuff like that. I think around springtime the new album will be out."

 

In conjunction with the Stateside release of the mammoth "25 Years In Rock" 2 DVD/CD set, Doro performed two special shows in New York City on September 9 and Chicago on September 11. Both nights included clips from the DVD, limited edition merchandise and an autograph session followed by a performance by the metal queen herself.

 

Released in Europe late last year (also via Nuclear Blast), the epic "25 Years In Rock" two-DVD/CD set includes Doro's 25-year anniversary show in its entirety as well as clips from her 2,500th concert and so much more.

 

"Fear No Evil", the latest album from Pesch, was made available in North America in June 2009 via AFM/Dismanic/Ryko Distribution.

 

Released in Europe in January 2009 via AFM Records, "Fear No Evil" entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 11. This was the highest chart entry for Doro in her home country in almost 20 years.

 

Geoff Tate, lead singer of prog-metal band Queensrÿche, is known for his four-octave vocal range as well for his band's conceptual epic albums. On its 30th-anniversary tour, the group's newest, Dedicated to Chaos, is a break from that format.

 

Tate recently shaved his tresses not because he wanted a new look but to support a friend with cancer. He's gone bald before but finds it spiritually uplifting and jokes that he's more aerodynamic. Once a vegan, the singer also has his own line of wines, has acted, and scored an upcoming film. We caught up with the singer to talk about all of his interesting projects and the band's newest musical endeavor.

 

Queensrÿche has spent the past six months on the road with only two breaks to stop home. Though all the band members have come down with colds, they'll be well and ready to go again when filling up Revolution Live with sound on Friday.

New Times: Have you had any major incidents in the past six months, anything that stands out as an achievement or a challenge?

 

Well, it's been pretty eventful. We've been a lot of places, played a lot of shows, it's been a really good tour considering the worldwide economy is in such a state. We were wondering how the tour was going to go because of that, it's actually been very successful. We're very happy that people ace come out to see the band. We're not complaining, we're very happy to be working. The biggest challenge is to stay healthy, we've all come down with colds.

 

You're scoring a movie Fallen Moon. Has that project been completed yet?

 

No, it hasn't. It's actually been an ongoing thing.

 

You've worked on other movies, but is this the first full soundtrack you've done?

 

Yeah, first one that I've done personally. As a band, we've done a few other films. I just acted a film last year called the The Burningmoore Incident, should be coming out this winter at some point. That was an interesting experience. I've never acted in a film like that before. It was amusing for me challenging.

 

You're a performer so you might think it's a natural transition? Was it awkward in any way, did you feel uncomfortable in front of the cameras?

 

I got very comfortable with it. There's a lot of stuff you have to learn. I worked pretty closely with the director, Jonathan Williams on it. It was very helpful. I kind of adapted to it. I had to do a lot of stunt work which I'd never done before. The stunt coordinators show you how to roll, how not to get hurt. It's still really physical work, come out every day with scratches and bruises.

 

You also produce a wine. Have you always been a fan of wine?

 

Yeah, I actually have. I made my first batch of wine when I was 14. It was an experiment when I was in scouts to earn my merit badge. I kind of became fascinated with the whole chemistry aspect of it. The more I learned about it as I grew up, the more interested I became. About six years ago, I partnered up with Holly Turner out of Three Rivers Winery in Walla Walla, Washington, and we started making Insania brand. We released our third vintage last year in April. Two batches of white. Washington wines in the French Bordeaux style.

 

It's crazy you made wine in Boy Scouts! You're involved in the process of how the wine is made?

 

Yeah, from the grape selection to the craft to the fermentation process. I do a lot of selling, personal appearances at wine shops, people come to try the wine, I sign bottles for them. It's kind of fun actually.

 

You used to be a vegan. Is living a responsible lifestyle like that important to you?

 

Yeah. I'm not a vegan anymore, but I was for about 15 years, I guess. That was very difficult on the road. People hadn't heard of it yet. There wasn't a lot of selections to choose from on the menu. But since then, it's really caught on and a lot of people kind of eased up on the meat consumption quite a bit in our country. I think meat in moderation is probably a good idea for a lot of reasons.

 

It must be hard on tour to eat anything good unless you're driving from Whole Foods to Whole Foods. You were voted, for instance, by VH1 as one of the top five metal vocalists of all time, you've received other honors with the band. What's been the greatest honor for you as a musician?

 

I think the greatest honor is being able to performing a show and having people show up and be into the music. I always feel very honored and very humbled when I sing a song and look out on the audience  and they're singing it back to me. It means something to them. It's affected them in a positive way. Makes me very proud. I'm not so much interested in awards, accolades, in that respect, I get more satisfaction out of getting a one on one experience performing for people.

 

Your latest release Dedicated to Chaos, could you tell me a little bit about you went about making that and how you feel about the final product?

 

We're kind of known for doing concept records. The last two albums previous to this one were concept records. We wanted to step away from that, kind of change it up and experiment a little with our style and songwriting. So, we did, we wrote a collection of songs 15 or 16 tracks on the record. It was really just a conscious effort to stretch out and try some different things within our chemistry. Try some different ways of writing, change up our rhythm section is more featured in some of the songs, use the guitar more as a melodic instrument. Really kind of break away from the conceptual format for a while. Which is really interesting to do, but there's a lot of work to it, you have to connect all the dots, you have to be very concerned with how songs go in and out of each other, it has to tell a story.

 

For this record, we wanted to step away from that and have the freedom to just write anything. Come up with any ideas, explore any musical ideas. Kind of a chaotic blend, mix of different kinds of music together.

 

Queensrÿche. 8 p.m. Friday, November 11 at Revolution, 200 W. Broward Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. Tickets cost $29. Click here.

 

Guitar virtuoso, composer and producer Steve Vai will be presented with the prestigious Les Paul Award at the 27th annual Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards, to be held Friday, January 20, in the Pacific Ballroom of the Hilton Anaheim during the 2012 NAMM show. Co-presented by the TEC Foundation For Excellence In Audio and NAMM, the TEC Awards recognizes outstanding achievement in professional audio production and product design.

 

A student of Joe Satriani at age twelve, Steve Vai began his professional music career working with Frank Zappa, with whom he toured and recorded before launching his solo career. Since his groundbreaking album "Passion And Warfare", released in 1990, the brilliance of his musicianship has awed more than just rock fans and has stunned concertgoers worldwide, producing sales of over 15 million records and earning multiple Grammys.

 

Steve Vai has received honorary doctorates from Berklee College Of Music and Musician's Institute, and is also involved with many worthwhile organizations. He founded the record label Favored Nations, for musicians, who, in Vai's words, "have attained the highest performance level on their chosen instruments." He has also served as a Trustee for the Recording Academy, is on the board of Hollywood Arts, and works closely with his own Make A Noise Foundation, raising money for music education.

 

VOIVOD and Roadburn are equally thrilled to announce that seminal post-punk pioneers KILLING JOKE will perform at Roadburn 2012 on Thursday, April 12 as part of the newly expanded Au-delà du Réel event.

 

KILLING JOKE was at the top of VOIVOD's wish list as soon as they accepted the curator invitation. Unfortunately, Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards and arrangements), Geordie Walker (guitar), Youth (bass) and Paul Ferguson (drums) could not make it to Tilburg on Friday, April 13 due to prior commitments. However, in the spirit of Roadburn and true to the Outer Limits theme, it was quickly decided to expand Au-delà du Réel and turn VOIVOD's dream of sharing a stage with KILLING JOKE into reality.

 

Please note that VOIVOD's second show originally scheduled for Saturday, April 14 has been moved to Thursday, April 12 as part of the specially extended Au-delà du Réel.

 

The main stage lineup for Thursday, April 12 (in alphabetical, not official running order):

 

AGALLOCH

D.USK/DISEMBOWELMENT

KILLING JOKE

OM

ULVER

VOIVOD

 

While SWANS' intensely heavy headliner performance at this year's Roadburn is still resonating in the fans' collective minds, the Roadburn organizers are elated to announce the return of Michael Gira for an acoustic solo performance on Thursday, April 14 at the Midi Theatre in Tilburg, Holland.

 

In related news: Reunited Dutch doomsters CELESTIAL SEASON will perform their influential, groundbreaking second album, "Solar Lovers", in its entirety for the first time ever at Roadburn festival 2012 on Saturday, April 14. BARN OWL, JUCIFER, URFAUST, THE MOUNT FUJI DOOMJAZZ CORPORATION, PURSON, HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE, ORCHID, SIGIRIYA, LORD VICAR and END OF LEVEL BOSS have also been confirmed for Roadburn festival 2012.

 

Roadburn will run for four days — from Thursday, April 12 to Sunday, April 15, 2012 (the traditional Afterburner event) — at the 013 venue in Tilburg, Holland.

 

Tickets for Roadburn 2012 will go on sale Saturday, November 26, 10:00 Central European Time. There will be a two-ticket limit (per order) for three-day and four-day passes and Afterburner tickets — the same goes for the Campsite Tickets.

 

For more information, visit www.roadburn.com.

British thrashers EVILE will embark on a European headlining tour to promote their new album, "Five Serpent's Teeth". The trek, which is due to kick off on January 10 in Prague, Czech Republic, will feature support from PORTRAIT and DR. LIVING DEAD.

 

Commented EVILE lead guitarist Ol Drake: "The time has come for EVILE to return to Europe! It's been a long time coming since we last toured over there, but now 'Five Serpent's Teeth' is out worldwide, we thought it only right to return!

 

"I was a bit upset to hear kids in EVILE shirts were getting turned away from shows in the U.K. because they hadn't bought tickets and the show had sold out, so get your tickets now! See you all out there!"

 

Tour dates:

 

Jan. 10 - Prague, Czech Republic - Modra Vopice *

Jan. 11 - Budapest, Hungary - Club 202 *

Jan. 12 - Katowice, Poland - Mega Club *

Jan. 13 - Warsaw, Poland - Progresja

Jan. 14 - Bydgoszcz, Poland - Estrada

Jan. 15 - Rostock, Germany - Alte Zuckerfabrik

Jan. 17 - Munich, Germany - Backstage

Jan. 18 - Milan, Italy - Bitte Club

Jan. 19 - Aalen, Germany - Rock It

Jan. 20 - Wangen, Germany - Jugendhaus

Jan. 21 - Aarau, Switzerland - KiFF

Jan. 22 - Cologne, Germany - Werkstatt

Jan. 24 - Paris, France - La Scene Bastille

Jan. 25 - Weinheim, Germany - Cafe Central

Jan. 26 - Tilburg, Netherlands - 013

Jan. 27 - Enschede, Netherlands - Atak

Jan. 28 - Randers, Denmark - Midwinter Meltdown

Jan. 29 - Hamburg, Germany - Hafenklang

Jan. 31 - Osnabrück, Germany - Bastard Club

Feb. 01 - Saarbrücken, Germany - Garage

Feb. 02 - Braunschweig, Germany - Schweinebärmann

Feb. 03 - Vosselaar, Belgium - Biebob

Feb. 04 - Bamberg, Germany - Live Club

Feb. 05 - Siegen, Germany - Vortex

 

* No DR. LIVING DEAD

 

EVILE's third full-length album, "Five Serpent's Teeth", sold around 680 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 35 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.

 

EVILE's previous CD, "Infected Nations", opened with around 460 units to debut at No. 132 on the Heatseekers chart.

 

"Five Serpent's Teeth" was once again recorded with producer Russ Russell (NAPALM DEATH, DIMMU BORGIR) at Parlour Studios in Kettering, U.K. and was released in Europe on September 26 via Earache Records.

 

Regarding the new album cover, EVILE vocalist and rhythm guitarist Matt Drake stated, "As is always the case with EVILE, we try and do things a bit differently from what we've done before, so we fancied something a bit more design-orientated this time around. It's been done by a great artist by the name of Gustavo Sazes and he really came through for us as we were struggling to find something that visually accompanied the music, so hats off to the man! Make what you will of any meaning you think the cover may hold, much the same as you will be able to do with the lyrical content of the album; we know what it means to us, so enjoy!"

 

The world-renowned vocalist and musician scores director Saverio Cotanzo's latest horror drama, and offers an update on his own ever-growing slate of projects

 

Though The Solitude of Prime Numbers is not readily available in the States, as it has not been released theatrically or on DVD, the soundtrack for both the movie, and the book upon which it is based, will be available in stores and for download starting today, Tuesday, November 1st. It may seem odd that the soundtrack to a film that isn't slated for a US release would be something of interest, until you learn that it was scored by world renown musician and vocalist Mike Patton, who has decided to release the album as a stand-alone solo record; a companion piece to both the movie and Paolo Giordano's Italian novel upon which it is based.

 

This is Mike Patton's third time scoring a film project, coming after A Perfect Place in 2008 and Crank High Voltage in 2009. It is being hailed as a provocative, genre-defying work that is both beautifully orchestrated and quite a departure from Patton's previous works, of which there are many.

 

We recently caught up with Mike Patton to chat about the record. And as well, we got an update on quite a few of his upcoming projects, including Nevermen, the new Tomahawk record, the status of Peeping Tom, and the second return of Faith No More. We also found out a couple of other surprises along the way. If you've been needing a good, solid Mike Patton update, this should tide you over for a bit.

 

Here is our conversation:

 

In the folklore of your public persona, people understand you to be quite a superstitious fellow. You've even gone as far as to not include the 13th track on past albums. Yet, 13 is a prime number. And you've included 13 as the name of a track on this album. Are you surrendering to bad luck in the name of Prime Numbers?

 

Mike Patton: Weeeeellllllllll....I only left track 13 out on one CD. And that was just for fun. To see if I could do it, really. It was a numerical experiment, to see if I could get away with it on a CD. Actually, you can't get away with it. The way that CDs are manufactured, you have to follow the normal numerical sequence. But what happens is, the ID for track 13 comes, and it lasts for 2 seconds. I think that is the minimum. You have to index it at the end of track 12, so that it passes without you noticing. But its there. For this CD, that was sort of a primer. It gave me the courage to try something like this, where there is six different IDs buried within one track. If you watch your CD player, or your computer, or whatever you are listening to, you will see the track numbers flying by. It's pretty funny.

 

I remember getting the Fantomas album, and it doesn't skip track 13. It comes up on the display for just a second or two...

 

Mike Patton: That is correct!

 

With A Perfect Place, you were working with one main theme that you ran through various different genres of music. Then with Crank 2, that was a series of individual vignettes. Here, with The Solitude of Prime Numbers, we really hear a full narrative in the music, from beginning to end, and it even circles back to that open track during the climax...

 

Mike Patton: Correct! This is a very different type of film, first of all. A Perfect Place is character driven. The director for that wanted a couple of identifiable themes with a bunch of variations. That is what I did. The director for The Solitude of Prime Numbers did not want that at all. In fact, a lot of things I submitted, he thought were too thematic. He wanted there to be no real identification, or no one theme or sound for any one character. Initially, I wanted to write the entire thing for solo piano. He had a very different viewpoint. I work for him, so we went back and forth. Basically, what he wanted, was like you said, a narrative. Something that is way more organic. The changes come in a subtle way, where you might not even notice them. There is one thing that is really, really long. I think I put it on the last track of the CD. It's a composite of five or six different ideas. The way he uses it in the film is really nice. Because Its way in the background, but its always there. You think it's gone, but it comes back again. It was a nice approach. It was definitely challenging for me.

 

I read that you'd assigned each instrument used in the recording of this its own Prime Number. How did you work through that in deciding or discovering which Prime fit with which instrument?

 

Mike Patton: Wow! I didn't actually do that. But that is not a bad idea. (Laughs) I'm just not that good of a mathematician. I didn't map it out that way at all. I'm not sure where you read that...

 

I read that in another interview this morning. I thought that is what you'd said. But I guess I misunderstood how you were explaining the process...

 

Mike Patton: Yeah. You must have. Because I didn't do that. But, no...I think there were four or five moods that I wanted to tie together. Seamlessly. Organically. So that it felt like one particular mood or emotion. That flowed back and forth in different places. And then it tied itself up nicely in a bow, there at the end.

 

With A Perfect Place and Crank 2, we, as listeners, had the visual element that goes along the music. Here, we don't have those visuals. This is a score we have to take on its own. Were you offered the luxury of having visuals from the movie when you put the music together? Or were you solely going off of the director's instructions, as far as what he wanted you to create?

 

Mike Patton: Yeah. I did have the visuals. But I started writing it before I'd seen the visuals. I had read the script. I met the director. And I thought it would be a fun thing to do. Then I went out and got the book. After I read the book...I actually read the book in English and Italian...I was getting musical ideas while I was reading this book. It really hit me. It is beautiful writing. It's really strong. At that point, I wasn't totally positive about what the visuals were going to be like. And they were very different than what I was expecting, to be honest. The director, Saverio Costanzo, had a vision of the book as a romantic horror film. Which I didn't pick up on. But I thought that take was interesting.

 

I've only seen photographs of the film. It's not at all what I was expecting, either. I have no idea what the actual moving images look like...

 

Mike Patton: It's nice looking. The way it's pieced together is unorthodox. It jumps through decades and decades in these kids' lives. It takes you a while to get it. It's a little bit disorienting, to be honest. But it is beautiful.

 

You mentioned that this may never be released in the states...

 

Mike Patton: It's possible. One can only hope.

 

Fans, right now, only have the music as a reference. They don't have the movie. In a way, the music overrides what we will come to know in the film, if we ever see it...

 

Mike Patton: I think it's an independent entity, obviously, or I wouldn't have even bothered releasing it. It's also a peculiar release in that a lot of this music isn't in the film. I ended up writing a lot of things that the director didn't want to use. Hence, the very verbose title. Music from the film and inspired by the book! I had to find a way to make all of these ideas concise. And poignant. If you even see the film, you won't hear a lot of this stuff in it. I'd say it's about half and half. For me, to hear the music independently from the film, especially with a peculiar release like this...I think it's not a problem at all.

 

Do you recommend fans listen to the record in solitude?

 

Mike Patton: They can do whatever they like! It certainly isn't music you'd put on at a rave (laughs). I wrote it, actually, in solitude. I wrote it completely by myself while I was on a short vacation in Indonesia. That is when I wrote most of this stuff. I felt like, instead of hiring a particular group, or a set of musicians, or an ensemble to do this, I had to play all the instruments, and record it myself. I had to make it a hands-on, lonely experience.

 

Do you feel that the atmosphere of where you were, there, alone in the jungle, seeped into the music while you were creating it?

 

Mike Patton: Ahhhhh? Not really. Because I was just in a small room. (Laughs) I was in this small dark room most of the time. I just felt that being alone while I wrote this was important.

 

Maybe I have my facts wrong. But it seems like the first solo album you put out was recorded in a similar fashion. Alone in hotel rooms as you toured.

 

Mike Patton: That is, more or less, correct. But that was just a little different in that it was written for a solo instrument. That was written for just my voice. I couldn't hire anyone to do what I did on that record. Trust me! (Laughs)

 

That first solo album was way ahead of its time. I don't think I've heard anything else released that is quite like that...

 

Mike Patton: Oh, yeah...A number of people have released albums like that over the years. In the 60s, there was the Fluxus Movement. There were a lot of sound poets at the time. I took inspiration from them in doing that record. It was pre-verbal language. I believe that's what they called it. It was a lot of grunts and sounds. Sometimes, there would be a lot of effects. It was really interesting stuff. There was a whole scene of those guys doing that. Obviously, I am not coming from an academic or poetic background. I did a different take on that.

 

Here is a question that a lot of fans want to know...Why does Ali Larter have the ability to download an entire CD of Crudo in the movie Obsessed? And here, three or four years later, we still can't get our hands on that music?

 

Mike Patton: Well, I don't believe there is a record. We certainly haven't released anything. That is one of those projects that, I think, is on the shelf. I don't know if people have found it somehow. But I'm not even really sure where it is, to be honest. I think it's important sometimes...You don't have to release everything you do. Some ideas need to just stay on the shelf. That's not to say it's not good, or that I'm not proud of it. There are a lot of other considerations. It's just not fit for consumption yet.

 

Did you see that movie, Obsessed?

 

Mike Patton: No. You know what? I have never seen it.

 

In that movie, Ali Larter has the whole Crudo album. It plays a major plot point in the story. She uses that album to lure in Idris Elba. She gives it to this guy she is stalking...

 

Mike Patton: I think they used a little creative license there (laughs). I mean, we gave them one song. That is the only thing that is in the movie. She is probably holing some fake CD. Beyonce is probably holding her own CD!

 

I thought that was a really weird CD to even have in that particular movie.

 

Mike Patton: (Laughs) It was strange when we got that proposal. We were like, "Huh? We're not even a band yet." I figured they were going to use the song somewhere, buried in some really bad scene. They ended up talking about the group. That is hilarious. I don't know what lunatic wrote that into the script, but he may not have a job now! (Laughs)

 

You have so many fans working in film and television right now, so I don't think its that odd. We were recently on the set of Ghost Rider 2. Have to ask, what happened with that? Were you just too busy to do the score?

 

Mike Patton: No. I didn't really get asked to do the score. I love those guys. Neveldine and Taylor, obviously. We had talked about it. Basically, after I finished Crank High Voltage, they said, "We're going to call you about this next thing we are doing." That thing didn't pan out (Jonah Hex), and then a couple of years passed. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance came up. It's not an easy thing. Maybe they wanted me. The studio wanted someone else. Okay, no big deal. At the last second, I got a call from those guys. And they wanted me to do some voice over sound effects. Nicolas Cage is in that, right?

 

Yeah. Nicolas Cage said that he was given the Mondo Cane album. He had gotten the record from the directors...

 

Mike Patton: What did he think of it?

 

He seemed to love it. That's the thing, though. Sometimes, you don't know if they are just being nice. He seemed to dig it, though...

 

Mike Patton: Wow.

 

At the time, the directors weren't sure what was going on with you, or the score. So, you are going to actually voice some of the demons in the movie?

 

Mike Patton: Well, no...It didn't work out. The way these things go...They contacted me, and they needed it in one day. They sent me the scene. I said, "Oh, yeah. I can do this." It was basically a couple of really loud, roaring screams that Ghost Rider does at some point. I still haven't seen the film, so I can't tell you exactly what it was. They sent me this short scene of him transforming. He opens his mouth, and he has this incredible roar. They wanted me to do a few of those roars. But I was on tour. I couldn't do it.

 

It's funny, because I will see your name pop up all the time now, in terms of rumors. You are voicing different characters for whatever film. I think there was even a rumor that you were voicing Snowy, the dog in Tintin...

 

Mike Patton: People have asked me about that. I have no idea where this stuff comes from. It is funny. Maybe one day one of these rumors will come true. Who knows?

 

The Transformers rumor was a pretty popular one. They had you voicing a cement mixer, or a dump truck. That was proven false, then part 3 comes out. Oh, wait, Mike Patton is voicing a soda machine in this new sequel...

 

Mike Patton: Yeah! (Laughs)

 

You did, however, narrate the recent release Bunraku. That is a very neat voice-over. How did that gig come about?

 

Mike Patton: That is a beautiful movie. It is crazy. That is one of those films that will hopefully find its place in the world. As of now, I am not sure what is going on with it. Turns out, the director was a fan. Basically, he just found me. He asked me if I would be into it. I read the script, and I couldn't make heads or tales of it. Once I saw some images, it clicked for me. I thought, "This is something I better try." Also, it was very straight forward, as opposed to doing sound effects. And screams. Zombie noises. I was doing a straight, voice of God type of narration thing. It's throughout the entire film. I thought, "Hmm. I haven't tried this before. Let's see if I can handle it."

 

I don't know if you've seen it yet, but someone cut the first part of that narration and opening together into a music video. It's pretty cool.

 

Mike Patton: I haven't seen that yet.

 

The movie hit theaters in September, I think. It was also on VOD.

 

Mike Patton: I knew that it had played at some festivals. I wasn't sure if it had ever been properly released yet, or not.

 

No, its out there. People are seeing it. Now, I have to address this. According to my sources, which would be Billy Gould on Twitter, you guys are in the midst of rehearsals for your next set of Faith No More shows...

 

Mike Patton: That is true.

 

Roddy Bottum, just in the last week or two, debuted his score for Fred 2. Do you guys ever talk shop, or discuss the process of what it takes to score a film? Do you ever give each other notes?

 

Mike Patton: Yeah, we definitely do. There is a lot of time to kill on the road. Plus, we are all reconnected now. We are enjoying each other's company. So we do talk about that stuff. He has done a lot more scoring work than I have. I ask him a lot of questions. I think when I did Crank High Voltage, I asked him for a few bits of advice. In terms of how the business side of the process works. Whether he worked a picture. What different programs he used. Yeah. That kind of stuff. We are always swapping spit, so to speak.

 

In the past, when you first started going down this road of wanting to score films, and getting involved in the movie side of music and sound effects, you said that the projects came out of people approaching you. That they were a friend of a friend. Now that you have a couple of scores under your belt, do you ever seek out certain projects, or throw your hat into the ring, so to speak, in attempting to land a job?

 

Mike Patton: I tried for a while to seek them out. I just never had much luck. I had a couple of different agents try to help me. Nothing has ever panned out. I spent quite a frustrating phase of going to meetings, and shaking hands...Doing things like this, and I kind of lost patience with it. I figured that, if this is something that is going to become a part of my life, it will happen naturally. There is not a lot I can do about it. There is plenty of other things I can do. I think...I hope...That it can be something I do from time to time.

 

I brought up Roddy's work on Fred 2, because that seems like a throwaway Nickelodeon movie that kids will watch, and then they will forget about it two minutes after its over. But when I listened to the score, I was surprised by how good that music is. He's not just tossing off fast food riffs, he's actually putting a lot of thought into it. That made me think of you. If someone asked you to participate in something like Fred 2, which may not necessarily be in your wheelhouse, would you take on the project? Or do you feel the need to be selective when it comes to taking on a film score at this point?

 

Mike Patton: Yeah...I wouldn't...Look, It may not be my first choice, but I figure, the only way to learn is to keep putting challenges ahead of yourself. That's what works for me. So, yeah, if there was a children's movie, or, God forbid, a romantic comedy that I thought I could do something with, I would. I would of course try it. The tricky part is developing a nose for it. Knowing what you can get away with, and what you can't. Sometimes a certain project will have a smell...It will have a little stench about it. That is a warning signal. You know it's going to be a nightmare. You know they are not going to like it, and it's not worth it. It has to feel comfortable, no matter what it is.

 

Lovage could play into any type of romantic drama or comedy, and I think it would play well...

 

Mike Patton: That is true!

 

Is it cool if I ask you about some of the upcoming projects people want to know about?

 

Mike Patton: Sure!

 

You are currently working on Nevermen with Doseone and Tunde. What is that going to sound like, and when is that going to hit?

 

Mike Patton: Not sure when it's hitting. There are just a few tunes that are completed, now. It is something that we are all working on in our spare time. It's one of those things that has involved quite a bit of editing and studio trickery. Its basically vocalists that are also doing programming. We've done a few sessions together that were pretty loose, and pretty improvisational, really. Now, we are becoming surgeons in turning these sessions into quote-unquote songs. But its very vocal based. There are also a lot of electronics. But its not completely apparent yet, what it sounds like. Not yet. I can't tell you. It certainly doesn't sound like anything else I have ever done. Not quite.

 

Is the Nevermen an offshoot of Peeping Tom? Were these contacts you'd made while putting that record together?

 

Mike Patton: Uh? It could be. Certainly with Doseone. We met around that time. We'd always talked about doing something together. We'd been mutual admires for quite awhile, from a distance. We finally met, we hit it off, and we became fast friends. At some point, I must have mentioned to him that I had this idea. I wanted a band with three vocalists. Three people that can sing, and they can also program. But there wouldn't be any backing band at all. He though that was a good idea. A little while later, he came back to me, and he said, "Let's do this! Who can we get?" We went through a couple of crazy ideas. Finally, he mentioned Tunde. I love his voice, and his writing is great. So we met up, and we hit it off. We decided to do it. The important thing was to not put a timeline on it. To just let it happen when it happens.

 

That's the cool thing about you, and trying to follow your music. We'll hear about a project, but we never know when it may hit. Years will go by, and then there's that sudden notice. It's coming next week. It's like getting a little Christmas gift...

 

Mike Patton: Ah, thank you!

 

It's always pretty neat. Pretty fun. Now, when Peeping Tom came out a couple of years ago, you claimed that it was a part of a trilogy. Is that still hold true? Will you be going back to that project? Will we see those albums?

 

Mike Patton: Uh....Yeah! You have to do the second one before you can do the third one. But that is something I am looking to do next year.

 

Whenever I see the guys from Sunny, I ask when you're going to be in an episode. They say they've tried to get you a couple of times, but it's never worked out time wise, with all the touring you do. The show only has two seasons left. Are we eventually going to see you on there?

 

Mike Patton: Gosh, I don't know. I love those guys. I certainly would be up for it. If I remember correctly, they've only asked me once. That time, yes, it didn't work out. If they are still into it, I think it would be fun. I don't know what the Hell I would do...

 

They've never tossed a couple of ideas your way? I know they are a little secretive when it comes to storylines and characters, but I'd have to imagine they have a seed of an idea...

 

Mike Patton: Oh, they are even apprehensive when it comes to telling me about storylines. Its funny. Hanging out with those guys? You can see where the material comes from. They just sit around, in a bar or a restaurant, and they crack on people. And each other the entire time. Its non-stop. In an odd way, just hanging out and being a fly on the wall, you see how all of that stuff comes together. Just sitting around a table with those guys? It's like watching their show. It's so great.

 

I always imagined that you'd be part of the McPoyle family.

 

Mike Patton: Uh...What is that?

 

The two brothers that sort of drift in and out of seasons. They're kind of creepy. They hang out in bathrobes and drink warm milk...

 

Mike Patton: Oh, yeah! (Laughs) I know what you mean. Oh, man...Well, sure...I'm sure that they could cook up something pretty interesting for me if they wanted to.

 

If you've seen the recent episodes, they've gotten quite weird, and quite bloody, which is new territory for a sitcom.

 

Mike Patton: They get away with a whole hell of a lot from what I've seen. It's worked out for them. People sort of expect it. I tip my hat to them, for sure.

 

It seems like quite a long time ago that you said all of the music was done for a fourth Tomahawk record. Now, you are finally approaching that project vocal wise, and we may see it next year. Is that correct?

 

Mike Patton: Yeah, we are recording early next year. I think we are recording in February. But yes, most of the music is done. It's written. We just have to record it.

 

Duane wrote the entire last album, right? Anonymous?

 

Mike Patton: Um...No....We wrote most of that together. Duane wrote most of it. Most of it was actually public domain Native American or Cowboy tunes that we rearranged. In terms of taking writing credits? That's not too prudent. Most of that music was already written. The main themes, let's just say. Duane and I would work together in fleshing them out. Sometimes we would add our own parts to them. Sometimes we would just use a snippet of a song, and then we would write around it. But it was basically us using those old songs and themes as building blocks.

 

I wasn't trying to pry into who wrote what, really. I just knew that Duane came up with the main concept on that last album. And I was wondering what your theme or narrative would be this time out. If you were pointing the music in a particular direction, or if you were going back to the roots of the original album, or maybe even the second album...

 

Mike Patton: No, we haven't figured that out just yet. Let's just say that it is more of a rock record. It's a little more stripped down. It's a little more lean. That's pretty much it. Sometimes these things don't take shape until you are doing them. Right now, it sounds like a pretty nasty record.

 

I watched the Director's Cut DVD that just came out last month, and I believe you put that package together, and helped edit it. You guys really found an interesting way to make a concert movie that is re-watchable on many levels. I've seen some of the beautifully shot Mondo Cane video. Are we going to see a proper release for that? Because that needs to be seen to fully enjoy the impact of what you are doing with that project...

 

Mike Patton: There will be a DVD at some point. There is also a second record that is in progress as well. I will probably put that second record out first. And then the DVD. At some point, you will see one. I'm not sure if it will have all of the editing and effects. It may be a much more subtle affair. But in any case, it will come out.

 

I don't want to pry to much into budgetary issues, but I was watching a clip of that the other day, and that has to be a pricey affair. You have so many people in this orchestra, and they are just top-notch musicians. They can't be turning minimum wage...

 

Mike Patton: Yeah. It's not easy for a lot of different reasons. But finances is one of the biggest ones. It's tough. That's one of the reasons I have only done one concert with it in the states. It's much easier to pull it off financially in Europe, at a big festival that has a big budget. We also get citywide sponsoring. We've played a lot of these outdoor city festivals in Italy. There are all of these sponsors, and they can afford to hire the orchestra. The band isn't cheap. There are thirteen people in the band. The one thing I have done to make it more affordable is, I have cut the orchestra way down. I have a redux version that translates well live. That is what I have been playing. I just got back from a tour about a month ago. We played South America with that line-up. It was great.

 

The funniest part of those videos for me to watch is watching members of the orchestra watch you. Just the looks they get on their faces sometime. Have you gone back and looked at some of the reactions you get, especially when you start to break into a bout of loud screaming...

 

Mike Patton: I have watched some of that, yeah. (Laughs) I see it live, so I don't need to go back and watch it. The people laughing, and the wide eyes, and what not...Yeah...

 

There was this one woman sitting behind you, that stopped playing her instrument, and she is just starring at you in total shock and awe. She is just amazed that these sounds that are coming out of you. It's hilarious to watch them watch you.

 

Mike Patton: (Laughs) It's unfortunate, but in that world, there are a lot of time clock musicians that play with orchestras. They get the call, and then they look at the charts a little bit. They arrive, and its music by numbers, unfortunately. Sometimes. That's why, when we are on tour, we have to build in an extra day or two, to make sure they really get this. Even though it's not like playing Paganini, it is deceptively complex. Its not like they can just snooze their way through it. There is a lot of police work that goes on.

 

Does it ever get tense with one of those studio musicians, when they come in, and they don't understand something, or understand where you are coming from...Where the music is headed?

 

Mike Patton: It's never really tense. At that level, everyone is usually quite professional. But you do see people plugging their ears. Or they will make an unpleasant face. Its two worlds that are colliding. It's my job, and the arranger's job...The conductor's job, to make sure that everything is cool. That the musicians are happy. And that everything is meshing together. Because, obviously, we don't want to piss them off. And they don't want to piss us off. We have to find a common ground. Its fun to do that.

 

Now, you guys are in the midst of rehearsing for the upcoming Faith No More shows. Can you hint at any of the surprises that fans are really going to get a kick out of this time around?

 

Mike Patton: Um...Yeah, there are a couple of new things. But those are all better left as surprises. We are playing some stuff that we haven't ever played live before. The most unique thing we are doing is a show in Chile. There, we will be playing King for a Day from front to back. We are doing it with the guitarist that played on that record, Trey Spruance. We have never played live with him before. So that will be pretty exciting.

 

I didn't know you guys were doing that. You, of course, have played live with Trey for many years in Mr. Bungle. What is that like to bring him into this particular mix?

 

Mike Patton: We'll find out. We start the rehearsals with him tomorrow. (Laughs) Those guys have played with him. They played with him a couple of weeks ago, before he left on his own tour. And they said it went great. I am anticipating that it will go good. I think it will be smooth.

 

I've heard for a long time that there were certain songs from both Angel Dust and King for a Day that were never released. Is that true? And if so, is that stuff we will ever hear?

 

Mike Patton: No. I can't think of any. I think most of the stuff we did...There may be a song or two...But there are reasons for leaving something off a record. Maybe we didn't think they were good enough. Over the years, there have been so many compilations, and greatest hits, I think they have gone through the graveyard of B Sides, and they have exhausted them all.

 

Are you going to play some of those King for a Day B Sides during this show? Or is it going to be straight through track one to I'm Just a Man?

 

Mike Patton: I think we are just going to do front to back. I think there maybe...We are doing a tune we've never done from that era. I guess that would be a B Side. I don't know if we released that at all...I don't know (laughs)!

 

Are you going to bring that show to the states at least once? I mean, that's a show that I think a lot of fans would die to see...

 

Mike Patton: The King for a Day?

 

Yeah...I would love to see that show. You guys did that with Director's Cut, right? The New Years Eve show that is on the DVD?

 

Mike Patton: Yeah, we did that. We played the whole album, but we may have switched a thing or two around. We've done that a few times. Obviously, we did that hear in NSF, the one we recorded. We did it in Europe a couple of times. We did it in Australia. In terms of the Faith No More one, we'll see. We don't have any plans.

 

I'd love to see that show. I'd love to see Angel Dust done live all the way through. I think that is one of my all-time favorite records. I don't know in what regard you hold it.

 

Mike Patton: I'm proud of it. I'm glad we did it. But I don't really make a list of my own favorite records (laughs). There are too many other great records out in the world that I hold in higher regard!

 

Well, I don't, so there you go. It's interesting to see that album keep popping back up now, as time goes on. When you guys made that, it barely got noticed in the states. Now it always makes, like, the hundred greatest rock albums of the last century lists.

 

Mike Patton: The reviewers are getting older (laughs)!

 

Last question, which I know people keep asking, and we get the back and forth from Roddy and Billy Gould all the time. Do you think there will be new material, a new song, or possibly a new album from Faith No More sometime in the future?

 

Mike Patton: Well...There are no plans. That is all I can say. We have basically talked very little about it. I think that is because we are really just getting to know each other again. And we are getting to enjoy each other's company again. We are taking it, and appreciating it for what it is. We are not trying to look too far ahead. That is the honest truth.

 

Does that make it a funnier experience for you? To know that you don't have to work towards that particular end goal in terms of the music. If it comes naturally, it comes naturally. If it doesn't, it doesn't...

 

Mike Patton: Basically. Yeah. I think its important not to make plans. And to not put extraneous demands on something like this. It's a delicate thing. We hadn't played together in more than ten years. It was nerve wracking enough to get in the same room again, and revisit this, and play some of this stuff. But I think we were all really, very pleasantly surprised.

 

I think everyone has been pleasantly surprised. The shows have been great. I've only gotten to see the clips here and there. But the response has been very positive from the fan community. Do you think you guys will play the states at all, again?

 

Mike Patton: Not sure, again. We are not getting back in that habitrail. We are not getting back on the circuit. Milking it too much is a real danger. You can only bleed the cow so many times.

 

The Solitude of Prime Numbers comes to theaters in 2011 and stars Alba Rohrwacher, Luca Marinelli, Martina Albano, Arianna Nastro, Tommaso Neri, Vittorio Lomartire, Aurora Ruffino, Giorgia Pizzio. The film is directed by Saverio Costanzo.

 

 

SLIPKNOT recently completed a three-week European tour that was the band's first run of dates since the death of bassist Paul Gray in May 2010. Singer Corey Taylor, who has been unsure of SLIPKNOT's future since Gray's death, told The Gauntlet earlier this week that there are currently "no solid plans to do a SLIPKNOT album. Joey [Jordison, drums] and Paul were really the ones who would get things started. Then I would take what they wrote and really try to put it in a song sense and then that would get us all going. Especially on [the latest SLIPKNOT album, 2008's] 'All Hope Is Gone', they gave me a lot of great material to work with. It was up to me to shorten it and make the songs into songs, basically."

 

He continued, "There is a huge pull in this band right now. It doesn't mean we can't go out on the road and share the music we have with the audience. But rushing in and making another album does not compute to me right now. It will be a few years before it does.

 

"There are some guys in the band that are painting me as the villain, but at the same time I have some guys in the band that support me and feel the same way.

 

"There are a lot of things in the band that have to change before we can go in and make an album. There are a lot of things we have to figure out and make peace with. We already know what the album is going to be about; we just need to find the strength to do it the right way."

 

Taylor told Billboard.com last week that when SLIPKNOT does eventually make it back into the recording studio, "We know that everything we do on that album is going to be about Paul. It's going to be very melancholy. It's going to be a more saddened form of rage when it does happen, and it'll be a whole path that we've never gone down before." He added that he personally was "not as anxious to make a new album as maybe certain people in the band are, and I know a lot of the guys in the band feel the same way I do, whether they want to admit it or not. It just makes more sense to try and figure things out before we try to get into a studio... I don't want to risk losing what we've built because somebody's trying to prove a point."

 

Jordison said earlier this year that SLIPKNOT can carry on "with or without" Taylor.

 

Taylor, for his part, has been touring with his other band STONE SOUR and has indicated that he would like to return to the studio with that group next.

 

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 concluded its three-week European tour on July 10 with a headlining set at England's Sonisphere festival.

 

Taylor and Crahan recently confirmed that SLIPKNOT will tour the U.S. sometime next year.

 

Arrangements have been finalized for the memorial service for Cory Smoot (a.k.a. Flattus Maximus), the GWAR guitarist who was found dead as the U.S. band was about to enter Canada on November 3. He was 34 years old. The service will take place this Friday, November 11 at the Bennett Funeral Home Chesterfield Chapel, located at 14301 Ashbrook Parkway in Chesterfield, Virginia. It will begin at 4:00 p.m. and is open to the public. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that contributions be made to the Smoot Family Fund.

 

The remaining members of GWAR will have to cancel two performances on their current tour — Thursday, November 10 in Medford, Oregon and Friday, November 11 in San Francisco, California — so they can attend the services. Tickets for both dates will be refunded at point of purchase. The band's tour with EVERY TIME I DIE, GHOUL and WARBEAST will resume on Saturday, November 12 at the House of Blues in Hollywood, California, and run through Sunday, November 27 at Toad's Place in New Haven, Connecticut.

 

Cory's obituary can be found here.

 

Smoot joined GWAR in 2002 and first appeared on the band's 2004 album "War Party". He was the fifth guitarist to play the character of Flattus Maximus, known by his red face, white dreadlocks, dinosaur-head shoulder pads and reptile feet.

 

Born August 25, 1977, Smoot previously played in metal bands MISGUIDED and LOCUS FACTOR and continued to play with MENSREA, in addition to establishing his own solo project, THE CORY SMOOT EXPERIMENT.

 

DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT will release "Contain Us", a special tribute box set for its epic quadrology ("Ki", "Addicted", "Deconstruction" and "Ghost") on November 29 in North America. "Contain Us" was designed and created by Man Alive's Tom Bejgrowicz (who also conceived the classic and must-have MISFITS "Coffin" box-set) and is the ultimate collection for every diehard Devin fan. Pre-orders are now exclusively available at CM Distro. The standard box-set is priced at $80.00 while the hand-numbered box with the 10" and a lithograph drawn and autographed by Devin is $100.

 

"Contain Us" track-listing:

 

DVDs

 

DVD 1

 

* Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, 2010

* "Coast" promo video

* "Bend It Like Bender" promo video

* "Supercrush" promo video

* "Juular" promo video

* NAMM 2011 show

 

DVD 2 (Data disc with audio/video files)

 

* NAMM 2011 show (audio files)

* Audio commentary for all four albums

* Live in the USA, 2010 (audio files)

 

01. Supercrush

02. Kingdom

03. Truth

04. Om

05. By Your Command

 

* "Bend It Like Bender" song stems for remixing

* "Juular" song stems for remixing

* Poopynuggeteer's YouTube video clips

* Deep Thoughts videos

 

CDs

 

"Ki:

 

01. A Monday

02. Coast

03. Disruptr

04. Gato

05. Terminal

06. Heaven Send

07. Ain't Never Gonna Win...

08. Winter

09. Trainfire

10. Lady Helen

11. Ki

12. Quiet Riot

13. Demon League

 

"Addicted"

 

01. Addicted

02. Universe in a Ball

03. Bend It Like Bender

04. Supercrush!

05. Hyperdrive!

06. Resolve!

07. Ih-Ah!

08. The Way Home!

09. Numbered

10. Awake!!

 

"Deconstruction" (remastered)

 

01. Praise The Lowered

02. Stand

03. Juular

04. Planet Of The Apes

05. Sumeria

06. The Might Masturbator

07. Pandemic

08. Deconstruction

09. Poltergeist

 

"Ghost" (remastered)

 

01. Fly

02. Heart Baby

03. Feather

04. Kawaii

05. Ghost

06. Blackberry

07. Monsoon

08. Dark Matters

09. Texada

10. Seams

11. Infinite Ocean

12. As You Were

 

Official bonus tracks from all four albums:

 

01. Synchronicity Freaks

02. Om-2011

03. Catwalk (Fucker rework)

04. Juno

05. Ho Krll

06. Radial Highway

07. Watch You

08. Traestorz

09. Sticks And Stones

 

Demos from each album plus various unused/unreleased songs:

 

01. Coast (demo)

02. Disruptr (demo)

03. Gato Negro (demo)

04. Addicted (demo)

05. Numbered (demo)

06. Timmy (Awake! Demo)

07. Stand (demo)

08. Juular (demo)

09. Brown Man (demo)

10. Pandemic (demo)

11. Madd At My Dadd (demo)

12. Flies (Fly demo)

13. Call Management (demo)

14. Freedom (Kawaii demo)

15. Two Turntables And A Mike St-Jean (Kitchen Aid mix)

 

Limited Edition 10" (500 made, available in deluxe-set only)

 

A. Dinosaurs

B. A Ziltoidian Rapture

 

"Contain Us" official specs:

 

* A 12" x 12", 64-page, perfect bound book featuring a charcoal linen hardcover with ink-less debossing of the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT logo on the front and applicable titling on the spine.

 

* Housed in an uncoated, charcoal linen, hardcover slipcase — presented with a photographic portrait of Devin inset on the front and ink-less embossing of applicable titling on the spine.

 

* Contains the following: the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT albums: "Ki", "Addicted", "Ghost" and "Deconstruction" plus two bonus DVDs and CDs. The DVDs have one featuring live performances and all the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT promotional videos while the other has audio commentary for all four albums, live audio tracks, song stems for remixing and more. One of the audio CDs features all the bonus tracks from the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT sessions with the other having the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT session demos. "Ghost" and "Deconstruction" were both remastered just for this set.

 

* The four DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT albums will be housed within the front cover's pastedown while the four unreleased discs will be in the back's.

 

* The interior features acid free, linen-embossed charcoal end papers and museum-quality, dull text and cover stock throughout.

 

* The center of the book will feature a double gatefold printed on cover stock and comprised of the four album covers.

 

* A clean, crisp, classic-yet-modern design featuring color and black-and-white imagery throughout. Materials include Devin and the band's personal archives, photography from around the world, and any InsideOut/Devin-related photoshoots from the period.

 

* A permanently attached, purple fabric linen bookmark.

 

* This edition is limited to 5000 copies worldwide

 

* 500 individually-numbered, limited edition copies that include two exclusive items: A. An autographed lithographic print featuring original artwork by Devin drawn exclusively for this edition, and B. A 10" piece of vinyl featuring two exclusive tracks, "Rapture" and "Dinosaurs". Note: 250 copies of the record will be pressed on black vinyl while the other 250 are on white.

 

Reunited '80s melodic heavy rock band DRIVER — featuring powerhouse vocalist Rob Rock (IMPELLITTERI, JOSHUA, WARRIOR, AVANTASIA, AXEL RUDI PELL) and acclaimed guitarist/producer Roy Z (BRUCE DICKINSON, HALFORD, JUDAS PRIEST, SEBASTIAN BACH, ROB ROCK, TRIBE OF GYPSIES, HELLOWEEN) — is continuing to write, produce and record its new album for an early 2012 release. The new CD will carry on in the tradition of the latest DRIVER album, "Sons Of Thunder", and feature brand new songs as well as a few reworkings of some classic demos. The effort will be released worldwide on King Records in Japan, Metal Heaven in Europe, and RockZilla in the U.S.

 

 

"Sons Of Thunder" was released in September 2008 via Metal Heaven.

 

DRIVER issued a widely circulated five-song cassette EP demo in 1990 that garnered the band a dedicated worldwide following as well as attained cult status as one of the most underrated hard rock acts of its time. Since then, Rock and Roy Z have forged ahead to garner long successful careers in the music business. 2008 saw the reunion of the band which resulted in the recordings of the aforementioned CD.

 

DRIVER is:

 

Rob Rock - Vocals

Roy Z - Guitars

Reynold "Butch" Carlson - Drums

Ed Roth - Keyboards

Aaron Samson - Bass

 

Vocalist Mark Hunter of Cleveland, Ohio metallers CHIMAIRA has released the following statement:

 

"I would like to start off by thanking our fans for a great tour. This last run was a blast, and truly the most fun we've had in a long while. The energy from the audience was exactly what we needed, and a welcoming return. Thank you, guys!

 

"Unfortunately, as much fun as we were having, behind the scenes we were aware of some unfortunate realities that prevented us from 'living the dream' and having the time of our lives. We had another bomb to drop on the fans.

 

"Early in July, we were informed that Rob Arnold [guitar] and Matt DeVries [guitar] would be leaving CHIMAIRA at the end of 2011. Of course, this was a huge blow, but there were no hard feelings. We understand that life invades art, everything runs its course, and we have to take different paths. We respect their decision and wish them only the best. We made heavy metal history together and that is all that matters at the end of the day. 'Chimaira Christmas 12' will be their last show, and we've been preparing to make it one that you'll never forget.

 

"I would personally like to thank Rob and Matt for all of their hard work, years of service to CHIMAIRA, amazing songs, and for their friendship. Together we built something special that will remain for generations to come.

 

"I'm looking forward to spending another five weeks on the road with two of the best (and criminally underrated) guitarists in modern metal.

 

"What's next for CHIMAIRA in 2012? More on that very soon.

 

"Rather than try and make light of unpleasant news, or downplay this by hyping up a new lineup, let's take a few to honor Rob and Matt. My favorite solo of Rob's is on 'The Heart Of It All' and my favorite riff of Matt's is 'The Dehumanizing Process'. I'll be cranking those today. What about you?"

 

CHIMAIRA's new album, "The Age Of Hell", sold more than 7,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 54 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, "The Infection", opened with 15,000 units back in April 2009 to land at No. 30. This figure was roughly in line with the first-week tally registered by CHIMAIRA's 2007 album, "Resurrection", which shifted 16,000 copies to enter the chart at No. 42.

 

"The Age Of Hell" was released in the U.S. on August 16 via eOne Music; in Germany on August 26; and in the United Kingdom, Australia and the rest of Europe on August 29 through Long Branch Records.

 

German thrash metallers NECRONOMICON have inked a deal with Massacre Records. The band has been busy writing material for a new album, "Invictus", which will be produced at the Arsen Music Studios in Breisach and Berlin. Achim Köhler (PRIMAL FEAR, BRAINSTORM) will once again handle the mix and mastering. The CD will feature guest appearances by Randy Black (ex-ANNIHILATOR) and Ben Krahl (FINAL KINGS).

 

NECRONOMICON last year released a special-edition vinyl of the band's first album on High Roller Records. The self-titled LP was first made available on CD in 1986, and the vinyl release includes not only the original eight tracks, but also NECRONOMICON's 1985 "Blind Destruction" demo and two additional tracks that have appeared on different compilations. The double LP comes in a heavy gatefold cover, embossed with the band logo, and with a cardboard lyric insert. It is limited to 666 copies, with the first 100 copies on gold vinyl and including a free woven patch, while the next 200 are on a silver/black "blend" vinyl, and the remaining 366 copies on black vinyl.

 

Formed in Southern Germany in 1983 by frontman Freddy and then-members Axel and Lala, NECRONOMICON is one of Germany's longest-running thrash metal bands.

 

MASTODON's Brent Hinds, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN guitarist Ben Weinman, former MARS VOLTA drummer Thomas Pridgen and ex-JANE'S ADDICTION bassist Eric Avery have joined forces in a new project called G.T.O. (GIRAFFE TONGUE ORCHESTRA). Weinman states, "Brent and I have already got new material. The guy just spits out riffs like a riff machine. [We have a] day off tomorrow [during the ongoing MASTODON/THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN tour] in Colorado and we shall be working all day on sweet, sweet melodies sure to make the young girls cry and the old ones scream (not necessarily in that order)."

Cradle Of Filth guitarist Paul Allender was scheduled to call at 1:00 p.m. sharp. It was now 1:30 and there was still no call. The publicist was contacted and virtually seconds later the phone rang. "I would have called on time but I completely forgot about it," Allender said. In fact he apologized about three or four times. That's the kind of person Allender was. Though he appeared as some menacing gargoyle on stage with his band, when the makeup came off he was a funny and thoughtful chap.

 

UG plus: remove banner

Still, you couldn't fault him for calling late. He was in the middle of writing music for the next Cradle Of Filth album—three songs were completed—and had just wrapped up work on Evermore Darkly…, the sort of follow-up CD/DVD EP to the Darkly, Darkly Venus Aversa recording. The CD contained a new track titled "Thank Your Lucky Scars" as well as Darkly, Darkly Venus Aversa remixes [including an electro-trance version of "Forgive Me Father" that left Allender less than complimentary], alternate album versions and an accompanying DVD. Cradle had finished a tour of Russia and were now hunkering down in anticipation of recording a new album. Amidst it all, the martial arts-trained guitarist talked at length about the music and life in the Cradle.

 

UG: Darkly, Darkly Venus Aversa was based on the concept of the demon Lilith. Many other Cradle of Filth albums were also concept albums. What is the appeal musically of creating records around a central theme?

 

Paul Allender: The concept doesn't actually get decided 'til like everything's recorded and finished. That's the very last thing, which gets decided whether it's going to be a concept or not. Because when I'm writin' songs, I try to write each track so it can stand out on its own. I don't have songs that follow from one to another—I'd like to think each track can stand out on its own as its own entity. They'll go to Dani and he'll suggest, "Oh, can we put this one here and this one here?" because lyrically it might fit better or blah blah blah blah blah. You know? It gets put together like that and then the concept will get decided right at the last minute when Dan's writing the lyrics. All the music and everything comes first and then it goes to Dani for lyrics and concept and whatnot. Doing a concept album musically is fine but lyrically—stuff on Dan's side of things—to be honest is a bit of a pain in the ass.

 

Will the next studio album be a concept record?

 

I know the next one we've got coming out isn't a concept. I'm writing it at the moment and it's just a collection of songs. The new album has definitely, definitely gone back to what we used to be like for The Principle of Evil Made Flesh and Dusk… and Her Embrace. It's totally gone back that way though it's a bit hard to explain really. I know I've had a few friends that have come over and heard me writin' and asked me to play them stuff. I've played it and they said, "Oh, well that sounds old."

 

Did you want the next album to specifically sound like it was from the Principle and Dusk… era?

 

The last thing we want to do is come out with another album that sounds like the last two. So this is the reason why we decided to change up the direction and go back to what we used to do with the female vocals like we used to have on there. All the strong melody lines and harmonies and that sort of shit. I've also put a lot of punk orientated riffs back into it again. It's really gone quite dark and pretty hardcore.

 

Did the punk riffs come from touring with certain bands or listening to any specific albums?

 

I've always wanted to put the punky stuff back into it again. Yeah, I've always wanted to do that. It's just what happened—it's just the way it's come out. I mean I must admit this time 'round like I said, "Let's try and make it a bit different" but different in a good way. We listened to a lot of the fans this time and we've kind of gone the direction they wanted or the suggestions they've come up with. So we've done that but as I said, I've always wanted to put the punky stuff back in. For like Principle, there was loads of punk-styled riffs all over that and there were some in Dusk… as well. So we decided to go back into it again and the people that have heard it have gone, "Fuck, it's amazing."

 

Godspeed On the Devil's Thunder was the first time you used drummer Martin Skaroupka and he also played on the Darkly, Darkly Venus Aversa album. What did he bring rhythmically that was different than your former drummer Adrian Erlandsson?

 

Oh, completely. As soon as Martin came and we actually started playing properly, it was such a breath of fresh air because it was so easy to play with him it is just ridiculous. He's the first drummer I've played with who actually listens to the guitar riffs and basically plays the guitar riffs on his drums and it's the way it should be. It sounds amazing and it fits and playing with a drummer like that is effortless. Once they know the songs and they know what you're playin' and especially with writin' with him and he comes up with the parts, he puts so much feel into the tracks and it's really, really good.

 

"The next studio album we've got coming out isn't a concept. I'm writing it at the moment and it's just a collection of songs."

Another aspect of Godspeed On the Devil's Thunder was that you played all the guitars on it. In an interview we'd done previously you said that James Mc Illroy was great live but that he sometimes froze in the studio.

 

Yeah, he didn't really cut it. Personally I prefer to do it myself. If somebody else does one side of guitar for argument's sake and then someone else does the other side, I mean it kinda works. But if you wanna absolutely get it nails on, I think it just needs to be one player on there just so it's easier to actually have both sides line up properly. You know what I mean?

 

Even though you've written the parts, no other guitar player is going to interpret them exactly as you would.

 

Plus it's a time thing. When you're in a studio unfortunately nowadays and even then, you're always constantly being hassled. Like, "C'mon, we've got to make sure we get this on time" and blah blah blah. And the whole red tape thing when it comes to labels and money. So it's kind of a time thing as well just getting one person to lay it down that knows it better. If someone already knows it better than anyone else, that person needs to go and do it basically. There's no point in actually havin' someone on there—like I said whether it's myself or anyone else—and it doesn't matter what band it is who kind of knows the stuff or isn't quite sure on something or isn't quite as good as the other person in the band. Do you know what I mean?

 

Completely.

 

So it's always best to suck up the pride and say, "Yeah, you go and do it" or "I'll do this 'cause basically you haven't quite got it nailed yet."

 

James Mc Illroy is cool with that and understands his position in the band?

 

Oh, James is amazing don't get me wrong. For the writing side of stuff and the performance, he's fuckin' unreal. He's such a showman. Plus he's workin' at the moment [with his own band] so I'm writin' this new album with Martin 'cause Martin is actually doing the orchestration on it as well. Yeah, Martin is properly trained.

 

On Evermore Darkly… "Thank Your Lucky Scars" was one of the songs being considered for the Darkly, Darkly Venus Aversa album that didn't make it. Why?

 

I don't know why it didn't get put on the album to be honest. I thought it was pretty cool but then again when I heard it back recently before changing it, I thought, "No, this needs to change; it's quite bland actually." So I think Dan redone some vocals on it and I changed some of the riffs on it and I put some punk stuff into it and I stuck a lead section on it. Yeah, I pretty much kind of brought it up to be good enough to be put on the disc coming out.

 

Your solo was like some Egyptian scale gone wild.

 

Ah, cheers. Just somethin' a bit different.

 

On Evermore Darkly… there are a couple versions of "Forgive Me Father (I Have Sinned)," the track that appears on the Darkly, Darkly Venus Aversa album. Where did the Elder version come from?

 

All those are demos that come from my studio. Basically when I'm writin' stuff, I come up with the whole complete demo once I've got everything from everybody else. I'll arrange it and send it off and then it kind of just gets tweaked and basically what we'll have is an album full of demos exactly the same way it should be on the album with everything: We'll have a CD that I burned from my machine and that'll be a demo version of the album basically. And all we'll do in the studio is maybe tweak the odd riff here or there or add an extra sound in. But pretty much what we have on a CD from demoing will be the same as when the album comes out.

 

So you've obviously arrived at a point in the development of Cradle of Filth's music where you can hear every note and every nuance in your head. You know precisely what will and will not work?

 

Yeah, yeah, it's completely in my head how it should sound.

 

Was that electro-trance remix of "Forgive Me Father (I'm In a Trance)" by Rob C from Anthrax something you were hearing in your head?

 

I hate that fucking song [laughs]. I'm not into remixes like that; it was Dan's idea. It's something that he wanted on there. I'm not really into shit like that for being put on albums. But he wanted it on there so he god Rob to do it and yeah, it was kinda him and Rob. He just went off on a tangent and got Rob to do it on his own and that's about it really.

 

"Lilith Immaculate" is a good example of keyboards in Cradle of Filth. In our previous interview you said keyboards were always more of an afterthought. Have synthesizers become more important in the band's sound?

 

For that album, for the keys in general I wanted to try something different. I wanted the keys just to be more of like a background texture. A lot of the keys are right behind the guitars, which is a really cool thing and works really well. If it's an important melody line or a keys playin' like a good hook or something obviously that section has to shine above the guitar. Because when I'm writin' if there's a keyboard line, which is like really catchy and it stands out, I will make sure the guitars are right and really basic and sit behind it. It can be anything, just some chords, just to actually boost the top line of the melody. And vice versa as well—if I'm doin' something on the guitar and I'm playing harmonies or I've got a melody line, I'll make sure the keys just stick to basic chords underneath.

 

You want to make sure all the instruments are properly orchestrated so they don't clash with each other.

 

There's nothin' worse than trying to have a really cool melody line on either instrument and you've got another instrument trying to do exactly the same thing and compete for the space. It's a complete waste of time and a songwriting nightmare.

 

You worked with producer Andy Sneap on Thornography and Godspeed On the Devil's Thunder but you didn't work with him on Darkly, Darkly Venus Aversa. Why?

 

We did approach him but he said he didn't want to do it. He goes, "I've done two albums and I really suggest you find someone different to do this one." Which is fair enough 'cause you don't want a lot of albums sounding exactly the same.

 

"It's really gone quite dark and pretty hardcore. I've always wanted to put the punky stuff back into it again."

"The Persecution Song" has huge rhythm and lead guitar sounds. Are you still looking for the ultimate tone or have you found the Paul Allender trademark sound?

 

I don't know really. I can just sit there and come up with a guitar sound and will listen to it and record it. When we record, I'll just play a riff and then we'll get another guitar sound and obviously not the one we just tried and then we'll play the same riff with a different sound. We'll have about seven or eight tracks of different guitar sounds of the same riff and we'll go through and I'll re-listen to the stuff when I'm not playin' and go, 'Uh, I really like that one."

 

So you do experiment in a way with different guitar sounds?

 

I always compare guitar sounds before I start to see what is the best one we can get out of the collected [tracks]. Because the producer has already got the settings written down, then we just go back to that and we'll use that one for the album.

 

Did you use a PRS in the very early days of the band?

 

No, I wasn't actually on PRS until I actually left the band. I mean I left the band for a while and basically that's when I got my first PRS when I was doing a band called the Blood Divine.

 

When you listen to the Cradle of Filth albums before you got your PRS, can you hear a difference in your playing?

 

Oh, completely. It's horrible [laughs].

 

"The Spawn Of Love and War (Elder Version)" has a slightly different mix than the one that appears on the Darkly, Darkly Venus Aversa album. The riff seems to pop a bit more on the remix.

 

I don't know how they've remixed it; I don't know what extra stuff they've done. When I record guitars, I always record a clean D.I. [direct inject or straight into the board with no effects] as well. So I make sure just for stuff like this because if you've got a clean D.I. you can always re-amp it and play it back to yourself and just mess around and get a completely different sound. They might have done that on there but I don't know. But the thing is I always record clean D.I.s just in case. Or at the end of an album I might go, "Actually I hate this guitar sound" [laughs] and then I'll re-amp and listen and go back and rerecord the sound again. That way I've already recorded the riffs and it's been played in properly so then we'll discuss just getting the sound again and it's no hassle really.

 

"Summer Dying Fast" is a preview of the upcoming Midnight Labyrinth orchestral album that will be coming out. Cradle have always been heavily into orchestrated sections in the music—strings, vocal chorales and things like that—so an album of all orchestrated music really makes sense. Would you agree?

 

Yeah, totally. Midnight Labyrinth is a collection of songs off the first three albums [the first three albums and the EP, V Empire (Or Dark Faerytales In Phallustein)] converted into orchestral pieces. Mark Newby-Robson [auxiliary keyboard player who has worked with the band since 1999] arranged and did all the orchestration for the whole thing. Fuck, he's done a helluva job. Amazing.

 

When you listen to "Summer Dying Fast" for instance, can you hear all the power of the original track?

 

Yeah, but you can't look at it as a proper album—it's an orchestral thing. As long as you accept the fact it's an orchestral album and that's what it's there for and not trying to compare it to the original songs. I mean if it was a complete covers album, yeah, fair enough then you could like compare it to the original songs. But it's a complete entity on its own you know? So you can't really compare and go, "Well, I don't really like that version, I prefer that one." But then again if someone says that anyone is gonna turn around and say, "Oh, yeah, but the one with the guitars is blah blah because it's the original one." But I think Mark's done an amazing job on that album and once it's mixed and stuff and comes out, I think it will be really, really cool.

 

Did you have any input in terms of suggesting parts or arrangements?

 

Well actually it was me and the manger that come up with the idea. The original idea was to actually have video with it as well. The idea was to have visuals with it as well so you could have the music coming across in all its glory then having actual visuals representing the music in certain parts like you would in a silent film. That was the idea of it but it was an absolute nightmare trying to find film sections that people would let us use or anything that was out of copyright infringement. We wanted to get the old stuff but a lot of the old stuff is still in copyright so you can't use it without paying extortionious amounts of money. Do you know what I mean? So we just ended up it as an album.

 

What instrument did you hear representing your guitar solos?

 

It would have to be violins. One thing I wanna do is the next time we gig—because we've got all these orchestrations done for them old songs—I wanna play some of these old songs live but have the whole orchestration on backing track as well. Because Martin plays to a click anyhow and we've really got clicks set up for everythin' so everyone seems to have decided they wanted to go with it. I mentioned it a while ago when Mark was actually doin' this album and yeah, everyone was totally up for it. So what we're gonna do when we start giggin' again is stick the whole orchestral pieces on backin' tracks and then play the old songs but with guitar, drums and vocals and the orchestration.

 

In a backwards sort of way, it's what Deep Purple did with their Concerto For Group and Orchestra album.

 

Yeah, that type of thing but we just won't have like a massive amount of people onstage [laughter].

 

Were the songs on Midnight Labyrinth chosen because they translated more readily into orchestral versions? Or were they simply the band's favorite tracks?

 

Well, they were mainly chosen because we liked 'em and a lot of fans are really into those albums. And also it just kinda made sense to try and revive that type of thing but in orchestral [style]. Because we can't go around and do another cover utilizing a full band so we decided to do orchestral versions of all them songs. And they worked really, really well; I'm really chuffed with them.

 

"We decided to change up the direction and go back to what we used to do with the female vocals like we used to have on there. All the strong melody lines and harmonies."

So choosing a song like "The Forest Whispers My Name" from The Principle of Evil Made Flesh album had a lot to do with being a fan favorite?

 

Yeah, totally. I mean we played that live on the last shows we did. It goes down really well. And essentially on the new stuff that I'm writin', there's a lot of that type of riffin' on this new Cradle album I'm doin' at the moment. Yeah, it's like Principle and "Forest" and all that sort of guitar playing I've put back on it again.

 

On You Can't Polish a Turd…But You Can Roll It In Glitter Rockumentry on the DVD, you document your experiences touring in Russia.

 

It was weird because usually before when we've gone to Russia, we've only gone to two, three places at the most and that was just like main cities. But this was the first time we've flown and got the trains and stuff from smaller places because we've never been to that part of Russia before. It was a bit of an eye-opener [laughs]. It was good though and it was really, really cool. And yeah, the gigs were great and just the general travel of it was amazing. But yeah, it was very different compared to like St. Petersburg and Moscow.

 

It probably felt like the early days of the band when you were doing the small clubs and stuff.

 

Yeah, it was exactly like that. Because these other places nobody had a clue who the hell we were [laughs]. It was actually really refreshing and really cool. I mean there was fans turned up, there was people turned up but all different types of people turned up which was kind of really strange. We had like loads of old people in the audience as well. "Do you actually know this is a Cradle of Filth?" You know what I mean? We're just sittin' there goin' on full makeup and playing as loud as we possibly can and these old people are just sittin' down in front and like clapping their hands and stuff. It was like, "Oh, shit—really?"

 

How would you characterize your performance on the DVD from the Burning Down Graspop festival?

 

That was amazin'. Because to be honest when it was bein' filmed I didn't know it was being filmed for a DVD, right? I had no idea. I saw the cameras there and I thought it was just like a normal festival where they shine the cameras on people and then they project it on a screen on the side of the stage. I just thought it was one of those. And then after making stupid faces and God knows what in the camera, I was told, "It's for the DVD." I went, "Oh, fuck, you should have told me."

 

Because they didn't tell you, your playing probably came off more natural.

 

Yeah, I think it was considering in the whole gig there is no edits, no overdubs. No nothin'. What's on the DVD is straight off the desk and raw and straight from the stage.

 

Cradle of Filth have their own iPhone app—how does that feel?

 

It just gives you like information and all that sort of shit you know.

 

At this point you're finishing up the songs for the next album?

 

I'm writin' 'em. I'm waiting for my computer to come out from bein' serviced 'cause my motherboard died on me. So I haven't done much writing at all really for about a week and a bit because my computer is bein' fixed. Hopefully it's coming back today so once that comes back, I'll carry on writin'. But yeah, I've just been writin' songs at the moment and I've got three tracks finished. And Midnight Labyrinth comes out soon. I think the DVD is comin' out this month actually. Isn't it?

 

Reactivated California death metal pioneers POSSESSED have been forced to cancel their previously announced November 12 concert in Bogota, Colombia due to issues with promoter.

 

Commented the band: "We did everything in our power to come out and play this show for [the fans]. In preparation for this show, we are all actually in Los Angeles this minute practicing for this show and have even made special t-shirts for this Colombian November 12th show. We are really disappointed that this is not going to happen the way it was supposed to, since the whole band was really excited to go to Colombia to give you a killer show."

 

 

POSSESSED 2011 is:

 

* Jeff Becerra - Vocals

* Emilio Marquez (SADISTIC INTENT) - Drums

* Tony Campos (STATIC-X, PRONG, ASESINO) - Bass

* Kelly Mclauchlin (DIABOLIC, UNHOLY GHOST, PESSIMIST) - Guitar

* Daniel Gonzalez (NAILSHITTER, OCCISAS) – Guitar

 

Fan-filmed video footage of POSSESSED performing the song "Swing Of The Axe" on June 17, 2011 at Hellfest in Clisson, France can be seen below.

 

Becerra previously stated about POSSESSED's current lineup: "I am quite happy with this new lineup and truly respect every member in the band now. It just makes everything so much easier and worthwhile whenever everyone is as into the music as I am. Also the professionalism and dedication is unwavering. These guys came in with guns blazing and knew the songs so well that even the first time around they were playing them almost perfectly."

 

"It was incredible for me to see and hear my songs played the right way for the first time in over 20 years. I just couldn't ignore the many fans that were writing, calling, and telling me in person, respectfully, that POSSESSED didn't sound right tuned down. Also I was able to sit with these guys and go through every single part of the songs and work them out technically so that they once again sounded great.

 

"I want POSSESSED to be like the old days which, while very fun, were also very serious in our presentation and meticulous and fully dedicated to the music and playing well as a whole.

 

"Finally, for the first time since the '80s, I have found a group that are able to not only play well but also have the brotherhood and respect for one another that just makes it so much better."

 

POSSESSED's last lineup featured sole original member Becerra backed by musicians from California's SADISTIC INTENT.

 

In the October 2008 issue of Guitar World magazine, Becerra talked candidly about the 1989 shooting that left him paralyzed from the chest down, his battle with drugs and alcohol, the early days of the Bay Area thrash metal scene and his future as a wheelchair-bound frontman for the death metal legends.

 

Regarding the robbery that left him paralyzed, Becerra said: "The first bullet went into my chest about six inches above the nipple, went through the lung and stuck on the inside of my spine. I put my hand up as I was going down, and the second bullet clipped the top of my ring finger off. But at least it didn't hit me in the head. So I was on the ground, and the first guy put the gun to my head and pulled the trigger, and the gun jammed — luckily for me, some criminals don't know how to clean their automatic weapons."

According to ColombiaReports.com, the November 12 concert in Bogota, Colombia by reactivated California death metal pioneers POSSESSED was canceled by the promoter, Invoking Productions, because "less than 55 tickets" were sold for the event.

 

"We are very grateful to those who supported us and we will refund the money for the tickets immediately," the promoter said. "A thousand thanks to everyone for the support, but it is impossible to continue with the concert without the support of concert attendees."

 

In a statement released earlier today, POSSESSED said about the Bogota concert cancelation, "We did everything in our power to come out and play this show for [the fans]. In preparation for this show, we are all actually in Los Angeles this minute practicing for this show and have even made special t-shirts for this Colombian November 12th show. We are really disappointed that this is not going to happen the way it was supposed to, since the whole band was really excited to go to Colombia to give you a killer show."

 

POSSESSED 2011 is:

 

* Jeff Becerra - Vocals

* Emilio Marquez (SADISTIC INTENT) - Drums

* Tony Campos (STATIC-X, PRONG, ASESINO) - Bass

* Kelly Mclauchlin (DIABOLIC, UNHOLY GHOST, PESSIMIST) - Guitar

* Daniel Gonzalez (NAILSHITTER, OCCISAS) – Guitar

 

Italian brutal death metallers SICKENING have parted ways with bassist Dario and have replaced him with Massimo.

 

A photo of the band's current lineup can be seen below.

 

SICKENING's second full-length album, "Against The Wall Of Pretence", was released earlier this year via Japan's Amputated Vein Records. The CD was recorded in August 2010 at Studio Emme in Florence and was mixed at 16th Cellar Studio in Rome with Stefano Morabito.

 

SICKENING released its debut CD, "Ignorance Supremacy", in 2008 via the Czech label Nice To Eat You Records (with distribution in the U.S. by Sevared Records).

 

Australian technical death metallers PSYCROPTIC have set "The Inherited Repression" as the title of their fifth studio album, due on February 10 in Europe via Nuclear Blast Records.

 

Commented PSYCROPTIC guitarist Joe Haley: "'The Inherited Repression' is far and away my favorite PSYCROPTIC record thus far — all of us in the band think this.

 

"It's the age-old cliché from bands when they talk about their new album as being the best of their career, blah, blah, but I have to say it because it's true. We wouldn't think there is a point of going on if we couldn't outdo each record prior. We are certainly not playing music for anything else than the love of creating it and performing it.

 

"'The Inherited Repression' is quite different from anything we have done in terms of songwriting and structure, and we spent a lot longer writing and demoing the songs before we recorded it, which you can tell. It's a very dynamic album — the fast elements faster, the slow elements slower, and a lot of light and dark binding it together. It's a very catchy album as well — you can tap your foot, bang your head or anything else you want. Basically, it has a lot of groove on it from start to finish."

 

"The Inherited Repression" was produced, engineered and mixed by Haley, while Alan Douches will handle mastering duties.

 

"We had the luxury of recording in my home studio without deadlines, so we spent a long time on getting it how we wanted," said Haley. "We can't wait for people to hear it, and get out and play the songs live!"

 

"The Inherited Repression" track listing:

 

01. Carriers Of The Plague

02. Forward To Submission

03. Euphorinasia

04. The Throne Of Kings

05. Unmasking The Traitors

06. Become The Cult

07. From Scribe To Ashes

08. Deprivation

09. The Sleepers Have Awoken

 

PSYCROPTIC is:

 

Jason Peppiatt - Vocals

Cameron Grant - Bass

Joe Haley - Guitars

Dave Haley – Drums

 

 

 

Austrian black/thrash metallers IRDORATH have inked a deal with Massacre Records. The band's second album, "Dekonstrukteur Des Fleisches", will be released in late January 2012. The CD was recorded at the Soundtempel Studio and was produced by Stefan Traunmueller.

 

IRDORATH was formed in 2005 by Markus (guitar) and three other musicians. The group's first demo, "Erwachen", and debut album, "Goetterdaemmerung", were recorded and the first gigs were played.

 

After the recording of "Dekonstrukteur Des Fleisches", the singer and the bassist left the band. Markus then took over the vocal duties and Mario joined the band as its new bassist.

 

IRDORATH is:

 

Markus - Guitar, Vocals

Esche - Guitar

Mario - Bass

Thomas – Drums

__._,_.___

Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic

Messages in this topic (1)

Recent Activity:

• New Members 6
• New Photos 1

Visit Your Group

MARKETPLACE

Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get the Yahoo! Toolbar now.

Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use

.

__,_._,___